NSIDC: Arctic sea ice extent for June 2008 is close to that for 2007, which went on to reach the lowest minimum since at least 1979. More notably, however, satellite data indicate that melt began significantly earlier than last year over most of the Arctic Ocean. The large area of... (read more)

Hawaii has become the first state to require solar water heaters in new homes. The bill was signed into law by Governor Linda Lingle, a Republican. It requires the energy-saving systems in homes starting in 2010. It prohibits issuing building permits for single-family homes that do not have solar water... (read more)

As forecasters take that possibility more seriously, they describe fundamental shifts in the way we work, where we live and how we spend our free time. The more expensive oil gets, the more Katherine Carver's life shrinks. She's given up RV trips. She stays home most weekends. She's scrapped her twice-a-month... (read more)

Here's a shocker: Electricity bills are heading up. Way up. Utilities across the USA are raising power prices up to 29%, mostly to pay for soaring fuel costs, but also to build new plants and refurbish an aging power grid. Even more dramatic rate increases are ahead. The mounting electric bills will further squeeze households... (read more)

San Francisco—As world oil prices reached their highest levels ever Monday, a new study released today ranked the largest 50 US cities by their readiness for $4+ a gallon gas and $100+ barrel oil prices. The top ten cities ranked according to providing the best alternatives to oil dependence are as follows: 1. San... (read more)

It used to be that only environmentalists and paranoids warned about running out of oil. Not anymore. As climate change did over the past few years, peak oil seems poised to become the next big idea commanding the attention of governments, businesses and citizens the world over. The arrival of... (read more)

Philadelphia, April 15: Dr. Wallace Broecker, the 2008 Benjamin Franklin Medalist in Earth and Environmental Sciences, participated in a panel discussion at the Franklin Institute this evening on the Ocean and Earth's Climate. Moderated by NPR's Joe Palca, and joined by Dr's John Byrne (Center for Energy and... (read more)

Shell chief fears oil shortage in seven years Carl Mortished, UK Times World demand for oil and gas will outstrip supply within seven years, according to Royal Dutch Shell. The oil multinational is predicting that conventional supplies will not keep pace with soaring population growth and the rapid pace of economic development. Jeroen van... (read more)

This month may have been the most important yet in the two-decade history of the fight against global warming. Al Gore got his Nobel in Stockholm; international negotiators made real progress on a treaty in Bali; and in Washington, Congress actually worked up the nerve to raise gas mileage standards... (read more)

The Story of Stuff, premiered at the IGF Triple Threat Teach-In at American University in Washington, DC as an 18 minute presentation on the connection between consumerism and environmental degradation. Ann Leonard introduced the film by saying that it wasn't often that she would shut up and sit down for... (read more)

MagLev wind turbines, the next generation of wind turbines is capable of generating power from wind speeds as low as 1.5 m/s and reported to operate in winds reaching 40 m/s. This large wind turbine from maglev industries will also increase generation capacity by 20% at the same time decreasing... (read more)

Caveat: The item below this introduction has just made the rounds of the Delaware Valley Sustainability list-serve and seems authentic. Although extremely pessamistic, from an anthropocentric point of view, this kind of talk and information has been quietly echoing through the halls and off the cliffs for a number of... (read more)

ScienceDaily (Oct. 23, 2007) — A team of scientists has found that atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) growth has increased 35 percent faster than expected since 2000. Lead author and Executive Director of the Global Carbon Project, CSIRO’s Dr Pep Canadell, says the acceleration is due to three factors: global economic... (read more)

Here is a message from Bill Marston, a member of ECLA PA, and the other lovely folk working on the upcoming conference: Bill Marston, AIA & LEED AP is a member of the Relocalization Network's maturing growth - in the greater Philadelphia metropolitan region, another jewel along the legacy I-95 corridor... (read more)

The Arctic ice cap shrank so much this summer that waves briefly lapped along two long-imagined Arctic shipping routes, the Northwest Passage over Canada and the Northern Sea Route over Russia. Over all, the floating ice dwindled to an extent unparalleled in a century or more, by several estimates. Now the... (read more)

The warming climate is undermining biodiversity by accelerating habitat loss, according to Vital Signs 2007–2008. Consumption of energy and many other critical resources is consistently breaking records, disrupting the climate and undermining life on the planet, according to the latest Worldwatch Institute report, Vital Signs 2007–2008. The 44 trends tracked in... (read more)

THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON GLOBALIZATION, THE INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES, AND THE GLOBAL PROJECT ON ECONOMIC TRANSITIONS ANNOUNCE A TEACH-IN September 14-16, 2007 —Lisner Auditorium George Washington University, Washington DC CONFRONTING THE TRIPLE CRISIS — THE PROBLEMS & THE SOLUTIONS — 60 SPEAKERS INCLUDING: Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben, Michael Klare, Martin Khor, Richard... (read more)

Watts Up With That? Here's a story of scientific investigation and discovery I'm proud to have had a small part in. Regular readers may remember that I posted about a climate station in Detroit Lakes MN last week, surveyed by volunteer Don Kostuch, and cross posted it to the website... (read more)

Not long ago, global warming action in Congress seemed a distant dream. Now some of the world’s largest corporations have joined Environmental Defense in calling for a firm cap on emissions, and bipartisan leaders in the House and Senate have put the issue on the fast track. Their committments have... (read more)

Dear Friend, I'm writing to ask your help again. There are occasional moments in history when we desperately need leadership, and this is one of them. If we’re going to deal with global warming, then we need to go beyond politicians who say the right words and find champions who will... (read more)

Through the courtesy of Warner Independent Pictures and Action PA's DVS list we were able to preview this important addition to major films on the climate crisis and peak oil. The film is a must see for any of us working for change. It is not "the next Inconvenient Truth".... (read more)

Washington, DC -- Congressmen Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) and Tom Udall (D-NM), co-chairmen of the Congressional Peak Oil Caucus, held a Capitol Hill news conference to discuss the scheduled release today of an embargoed report by the National Petroleum Council (NPC), "Facing the Hard Truths about Energy." The NPC met this... (read more)

Fears that global sea levels this century may rise faster and further than expected are supported by a study showing that 300 glaciers in Antarctica have begun to move more quickly into the ocean. Scientists believe that the accelerated movement of glaciers in the Antarctic Peninsula indicates a dramatic shift in... (read more)

Antarctic glaciers drain ice from the mountains to lower levels, where it either melts, breaks away into the sea as icebergs or feeds into an ice shelf. New satellite data show that hundreds of glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula are flowing at a faster rate, contributing to the rise in sea... (read more)

Predictions Vary From Catastrophic to Cataclysmic Huge, pristine, dramatic, unforgiving; the Antarctic is where the biggest of all global changes could begin. There is so much ice here that if it all melted, sea levels globally would rise hugely - perhaps as much as 80m. Say goodbye to London, New York, Sydney,... (read more)