On Climate, Symbols Can Overshadow Substance   [archive]
by Shanka Vedantam, Washington Post, 5/17/2008
After years of conflict with climate-change deniers and a White House that has resisted mandatory efforts to address global warming, the movement has become a crusade that is partly moral statement and partly fashion statement. Earth Hour, Earth Day and the Miss Earth beauty pageant -- "saving the planet, one pageant at a time" -- generate lots of publicity, but they also tend to prompt people and companies to choose what looks good over what works.

Greenhouse Gases Highest for 800,000 Years: Study   [archive]
by Alister Doyle, Reuters, 5/15/2008
Greenhouse gases are at higher levels in the atmosphere than at any time in at least 800,000 years, according to a study of Antarctic ice on Wednesday that extends evidence that mankind is disrupting the climate.

Giant Study Pinpoints Changes from Climate Warming   [archive]
by Deborah Zabarenko, Reuters, 5/15/2008
Human-generated climate change made flowers bloom sooner and autumn leaves fall later, turned some polar bears into cannibals and some birds into early breeders, a vast global study reported on Wednesday.

United Nations Has a Tree-mendous Goal   [archive]
from The Washington Post, 5/14/2008
The United Nations is leading an effort to plant 7 billion trees worldwide -- to help protect the environment and slow climate change -- by the end of next year.

Science

Ocean Nitrogen Only Limited Help for Climate: Study [archive]
by Alister Doyle, Reuters, 5/15/2008
Rising amounts of nitrogen entering the oceans from human activities are less beneficial than previously thought as a fertiliser for tiny fertilizermarine plants that help slow global warming, scientists said on Thursday.

Climate Change 'To Make Atlantic Hurricanes Rarer' [archive]
by Olive Heffernan, Nature, 5/18/2008
Hurricanes may become rarer in the Atlantic throughout the 21st century if the world continues to warm, suggests a new study.

Carbon Market

Toyota's Green Machine Clocks Up One Million Sales  [archive]
from The Age (Australia), 5/16/2008
Toyota's Prius started out a decade ago as a risky experiment in green technology. Today it is the world's first mass-produced petrol-electric hybrid car to hit 1 million in sales.

A Moment of Truth  [archive]
from The Economist, 5/15/2008
On the face of things, business is booming: trading in the credits that are the CDM's currency more than doubled last year, to $13 billion, the World Bank says. It reckons the CDM has prompted investments of $59 billion. But the same report says the value of new projects under the CDM will barely grow this year, halve next year, and shrink to almost zero by 2010.

A $3 Trillion Climate Change Battle  [archive]
from CNN Money / FORTUNE Magazine, 5/15/2008
A climate-change bill that has widespread support as it heads to the Senate floor will create an estimated $150 billion of new assets in the first year it takes effect. Between now and 2050, regulating greenhouse gases could easily generate $3 trillion worth in value in the United States.

Politics/Legislation

US Lists Polar Bear as Threatened  [archive]
from BBC, 5/15/2008
The United States has listed the polar bear as a threatened species, because its Arctic sea ice habitat is melting due to climate change.

Bush Halts Oil Reserve Purchases  [archive]
by Steven Mufson, Washington Post, 5/17/2008
The Bush administration yesterday halted purchases of crude oil for the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, reversing its policy on the emergency reserve three days after Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of suspending the purchases to ease the upward pressure on oil prices.

191 Nations to Convene For Conference Aimed at Stemming Damage to Global Biodiversity  [archive]
from AP, 5/18/2008
A two-week conference aimed at ensuring the survival of global biodiversity in the face of climate change and pollution gets under way in Germany on Monday.