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theatlantic: The Spring of 2012 Is the Hottest in U.S. History In case, you know, you haven’t been outside in the past three month, it’s about to become official: unless a freak blizzard blankets the country by Thursday, the spring of 2012 will go down as the warmest for the U.S. in 117 years of record-keeping. The National Climatic Data Center won’t release a report on the temperatures in May until sometime in June, but based on their assessment of March and April, University of Maryland professor Steve Scolnik, who blogs at Climate Capital, says that our warm May will smash the 102-year-old record. Read more at The Atlantic Wire. [Image: Dino Grandoni]

theatlantic:

The Spring of 2012 Is the Hottest in U.S. History

In case, you know, you haven’t been outside in the past three month, it’s about to become official: unless a freak blizzard blankets the country by Thursday, the spring of 2012 will go down as the warmest for the U.S. in 117 years of record-keeping. The National Climatic Data Center won’t release a report on the temperatures in May until sometime in June, but based on their assessment of March and April, University of Maryland professor Steve Scolnik, who blogs at Climate Capital, says that our warm May will smash the 102-year-old record.

Read more at The Atlantic Wire. [Image: Dino Grandoni]

Source theatlanticwire.com

Reblogged from The Atlantic

shortformblog: Hybrid hit: Prius becomes the third-highest-selling car line in the world Thanks in part to high demand in the United States, and new tax incentives in Japan following last year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, Toyota’s Prius line of hybrid vehicles is officially the third-highest-selling line of vehicles in the world. “It’s the phenomenon we saw with Chrysler and minivans,” says automotive historian and independent analyst John Wolkonowicz. “After all these years, Chrysler still is minivan sales leader. Prius was the first hybrid on the block.” (Photo via Toyota)source Follow ShortFormBlog:Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook Good news!

shortformblog:

Hybrid hit: Prius becomes the third-highest-selling car line in the world

Thanks in part to high demand in the United States, and new tax incentives in Japan following last year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, Toyota’s Prius line of hybrid vehicles is officially the third-highest-selling line of vehicles in the world. “It’s the phenomenon we saw with Chrysler and minivans,” says automotive historian and independent analyst John Wolkonowicz. “After all these years, Chrysler still is minivan sales leader. Prius was the first hybrid on the block.” (Photo via Toyota)source

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Reblogged from ShortFormBlog

New Solar Technology is one of the 11 new clean, energy efficient technologies showcased in Mother Nature Network’s blog today.   Check out all 11. By using curved mirrors that can collect five times more energy than ordinary solar collectors, new technology developed by Israeli company ZenithSolar is making solar power cost competitive against fossil fuels for the first time. The incredible technological advance can improve overall solar power conversion efficiency up to 75 percent. We not sure about #8 — electric geobacter microbes that “turn pollutants into clean energy.”  At the least, the microbes should not be a license to pollute. Photo from zenithsolar.com

New Solar Technology is one of the 11 new clean, energy efficient technologies showcased in Mother Nature Network’s blog today.   Check out all 11.

By using curved mirrors that can collect five times more energy than ordinary solar collectors, new technology developed by Israeli company ZenithSolar is making solar power cost competitive against fossil fuels for the first time. The incredible technological advance can improve overall solar power conversion efficiency up to 75 percent.

We not sure about #8 — electric geobacter microbes that “turn pollutants into clean energy.”  At the least, the microbes should not be a license to pollute.

Photo from zenithsolar.com

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Global CO2 Emissions Rise 3.2% in 2011

CO2 Emissions Reached Record Levels in 2011, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Reuters reports:

CO2 emissions rose by 3.2 percent last year to 31.6 billion metric tons (34.83 billion tons), preliminary estimates from the Paris-based IEA showed.

China, the world’s biggest emitter of CO2, made the largest contribution to the global rise, its emissions increasing by 9.3 percent, the body said, driven mainly by higher coal use.

“When I look at this data, the trend is perfectly in line with a temperature increase of 6 degrees Celsius (by 2050), which would have devastating consequences for the planet,” Fatih Birol, IEA’s chief economist told Reuters.

Scientists say ensuring global average temperatures this century do not rise more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is needed to limit devastating climate effects like crop failure and melting glaciers.

They believe that is only possible if emission levels are kept to around 44 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020.

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Pres Obama Allows Offshore drilling in Arctic — Is it about energy independence or for political advantage in election year? or both? We’re not sure.  In-depth NYTimes article about the history leading up to Obama’s decision in March of this year and Royal Dutch Shell Oil’s 7 year campaign.  The ex-mayor of North Slope Borough, pictured above, fought against drilling, ultimately losing to Shell Oil.  The area is close to shore and to Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuge. Broder and Krauss of NYTimes: The move also provides the president a measure of political cover. “Alaska tends to be a litmus test for the energy debate,” said Amy Myers Jaffe, director of energy policy research at Rice University. “When Romney says the president is anti-drilling and causes high gas prices, Obama can turn around and say, ‘I approved drilling in Alaska.’ ” See our post on Lloyd’s of London’s warning about “unique” risk of artic ocean drilling.

Pres Obama Allows Offshore drilling in Arctic — Is it about energy independence or for political advantage in election year? or both?

We’re not sure.  In-depth NYTimes article about the history leading up to Obama’s decision in March of this year and Royal Dutch Shell Oil’s 7 year campaign. 

The ex-mayor of North Slope Borough, pictured above, fought against drilling, ultimately losing to Shell Oil.  The area is close to shore and to Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuge.

Broder and Krauss of NYTimes:

The move also provides the president a measure of political cover. “Alaska tends to be a litmus test for the energy debate,” said Amy Myers Jaffe, director of energy policy research at Rice University. “When Romney says the president is anti-drilling and causes high gas prices, Obama can turn around and say, ‘I approved drilling in Alaska.’ ”

See our post on Lloyd’s of London’s warning about “unique” risk of artic ocean drilling.

Source http