Carbon Dioxide Pollution Kills Hundreds A Year: Study   [archive]
by Deborah Zabarenko, Reuters, 1/4/2008
Climate-warming carbon dioxide spewed by coal-fired power plants and fossil-fueled vehicles has been causing hundreds of premature U.S. deaths each year over the several decades, a new study reported.

2008 To Be In Top Ten Warmest Years, Say Forecasters   [archive]
by Jeremy Lovell, Reuters, 1/3/2008
2008 will be slightly cooler than recent years globally but will still be among the top 10 warmest years on record since 1850 and should not be seen as a sign global warming was on the wane, British forecasters said.

A Global Turning Point   [archive]
Opinion from the Sunday Times (UK), 1/6/2008
When a New York oil trader pressed the button to buy a consignment of oil for $100 a barrel last week, he confirmed that we have entered a new era. As in the 1970s, a huge transfer of wealth is happening from oil consuming nations to the producers.

Science

Global Warming May Reduce Carbon Sink Capacity in Northern Forests  [archive]
from ScienceDaily, 1/3/2008
An international study investigating the carbon sink capacity of northern terrestrial ecosystems discovered that the duration of the net carbon uptake period (CUP) has on average decreased due to warmer autumn temperatures.

Scientists: We've Entered a New Epoch: The Anthropocene   [archive]
by Lee Dye, ABC News, 1/2/2008
We humans are having such a dramatic impact on our planet that some leading scientists think the current era needs a new name. We're no longer in the Holocene epoch, they say. We're now well into what they are calling the Anthropocene.

Scientist Sees Few Benefits from Biofuels  [archive]
by Nigel Hunt, Reuters, 1/4/2008
Rising production of biofuels has distorted government budgets, helped to drive up food prices and led to deforestation in south-east Asia, the chief scientist of Defra said on Friday. "The way we are currently producing biofuels is not the way to go," former World Bank chief scientist Robert Watson said.

Carbon Market

Tokyo Eyes Buying Carbon Credits from China - Report [archive]
from PlanetArk, 1/4/2008
Japan is planning to buy up carbon credits yielded by its investments in emissions-cutting projects in China, a newspaper said on Thursday. The two governments agreed the deal on Wednesday and will probably sign it in late March.

Investment in Clean Energy Topped $100 Billion For First Time in 2007 [archive]
by James Kanter, International Herald Tribune, 1/2/2008
Despite the global credit crunch in 2007, new investment in clean energy industries like wind and solar power rose sharply to break through the $100 billion barrier for the first time, a research group, New Energy Finance, said Wednesday.

Politics/Legislation

The One Environmental Issue  [archive]
Editorial from the New York Times, 1/1/2008
The Democratic hopefuls in the 2008 campaign are calling for large — if still unquantified — transformations in the way the country produces and uses energy. The Republicans do not go much further than conceding that climate change could be a problem and, with the notable exception of John McCain, offer no comprehensive solutions.

Of Two Minds on Polar Bears  [archive]
Editorial from the New York Times, 1/2/2008
Two agencies in the Department of the Interior are nearing significant yet contradictory decisions that will affect the fate of one of America’s iconic animal species, the polar bear.

California Rules  [archive]
Editorial from the New York Times, 1/6/2008
California has now sued the Bush administration over its refusal to allow the state to set its own rules controlling greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. The state’s legal arguments are sound and so is its policy.