Guardian: The government was accused yesterday of unveiling plans for a significant expansion of offshore wind power that were very similar to an announcement it made five years ago. Industry secretary John Hutton announced in Berlin that Britain wanted to expand offshore wind power to provide about a fifth of the country’s electricity by 2020. This would mark a big increase from the current level of less than 1%. Five years ago the then energy minister, Brian Wilson, announced that vast …

New York Times: He has said it again and again, with increasing urgency, to anyone who will listen. And on Monday, former Vice President Al Gore used the occasion of his 2007 Nobel Peace Prize lecture here to tell the world in powerful, stark language: Climate change is a "real, rising, imminent and universal" threat to the future of the Earth. Saying that "our world is spinning out of kilter" and that "the very web of life on which we depend is being ripped and frayed," Mr. Gore warned that "we, …

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: A Northern Territory scientist is calling for the emergency conservation of over 60 tropical Australian bird species under threat from climate change. Charles Darwin University’s professor Stephen Garnett issued the warning in the latest State of Australia’s Birds report. Professor Garnett says many birds live in specific areas and would be vulnerable if their habitats change. The 66 species considered to be under threat include: white throated …

New York Times: After 32 years of hunting ducks here in the wetlands of west-central Missouri, Chuck Geier knows when temperatures will drop and waters will freeze. That means he also knows when the birds will fly and hunting will be best. Except that now much of what he knows is in question. "It used to be by Dec. 6, this place was frozen," said Mr. Geier, 51, a national sales manager for a telecommunications company. "That’s not true anymore." From the "prairie potholes" of Canada …

Times (UK): Al Gore received his Nobel Peace Prize yesterday, declaring that America would "stand accountable before history" if it failed to take action to combat climate change. "It is time to make peace with the planet," he said in a speech in Oslo. "We must mobilise our civilisation with the urgency and resolve that has previously been seen only when nations mobilised for war." Mr Gore added: "It should be absolutely clear that it is the two largest CO2 emitters [China and the US] – …

Radio Australia: The former US Vice president Al Gore has used his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech to compare the climate change crisis to the fight against Facism in the 1940’s. Mr Gore accepted the award at a ceremony in Oslo alongside the head of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri. Mr Gore says world leaders need to summon the moral authority that was on display during the fight against Adolf Hitler in World War Two. "We must quickly …

Malaysian Star: PROTECTING tropical rainforests, which soak up vast amounts of greenhouse gases, is proving a real headache at the climate talks in Bali, where delegates are trying to sort out a pay-and-preserve scheme. Scientists say deforestation in the tropics is responsible for about 20% of all man-made carbon dioxide emissions blamed for global warming. Curbing the clearing and burning of remaining tropical forests is widely regarded as a crucial part of any new climate pact. Under a …

Reuters: Finance ministers met in Bali on Tuesday to debate how to fund the fight against climate change, the first such meeting on the fringes of annual U.N. climate talks. The ministers, from about 20 nations, would debate issues ranging from the potential for carbon markets to help cut industrial emissions of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels to incentives for people to put solar panels on the roof at home. At the main talks, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was to arrive in his …

Guardian: Ladies and gentlemen, I have the answer! Incredible as it might seem, I have stumbled across the single technology which will save us from runaway climate change! From the goodness of my heart, I offer it to you for free. No patents, no small print, no hidden clauses. Already this technology, a radical new kind of carbon capture and storage, is causing a stir among scientists. It is cheap, it is efficient and it can be deployed straight away. It is called … leaving fossil fuels in the …

Malaysian Star: INITIALLY, there was vehement denial. But, increasingly there is gradual admission. The facts that peat is a vital carbon sink and that disturbed peat is a significant source of carbon emission are being accepted by the oil palm industry. Expansion of landbank by major industry players is the order of the day. More land – forested or degraded – is being converted into plantations. Spurred by escalating crude palm oil (CPO) prices and the hype over biofuel, oil palm ventures are …