Obama won't send delegation to Poland climate conference
President-elect Barack Obama will not attend the United Nations climate conference in Poland next month nor send a delegation on his administration’s behalf, the U.N. climate chief announced today. Many climate activists had high hopes that whoever was elected to succeed President Bush would attend the conference as a way to jumpstart the sluggish talks. Explaining his decision, Obama said, “There is one president at a time.”

source: Reuters

Publ.Date : Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:11:40 PDT

NYC announces new, voluntary plan to encourage hybrid taxis
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg outlined a new, voluntary plan to encourage taxi-fleet owners to use hybrid vehicles after the city’s initial plan to dramatically increase taxi fuel-efficiency was struck down by a federal judge last month.

source: The New York Times

Publ.Date : Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:11:42 PDT

International talks to save Atlantic tuna begin in Morocco
Representatives from some 46 nations are meeting this week in Morocco to try to hash out an agreement on stemming overfishing of imperiled bluefin tuna while still keeping the bluefin fishing industry alive. Experts say the sustainable catch limit in the Mediterranean Sea should be about 15,000 tons a year, but last year fleets caught an estimated 61,000 tons.

source: Agence France-Presse

Publ.Date : Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:11:59 PDT

Concerns raised about wildfire-fighting chemicals
As wildfires rage in southern California, concerns are burgeoning about the chemical mix that firefolk drop as a fire retardant. It’s “fairly well known that it’s toxic to aquatic organisms, to fish,” says one fire management officer; nonetheless, notes another firefighter, “It’s the people whose houses are not on fire that are concerned about it.”

source: The New York Times
see also, in Grist: U.S. forest official narrowly escapes being jailed over fish-killing flame retardant

Publ.Date : Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:11:37 PDT

Western lands opened to oil-shale development
The Bush administration on Monday cleared the way for tens of thousands of acres in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming to be used for oil-shale development, publishing final rules governing how federal land will be leased for extraction of the expensive, pollute-y, only recently un-banned fuel source. Companies tapping into oil shale will have to pay far less in royalties than the going rate for conventional gas and oil. Still, commercial oil-shale leasing is at least five to 10 years off.

sources: The Salt Lake Tribune, Denver Business Journal, Associated Press
see also, in Grist: It’s a 1980 flashback, as energy price spikes make oil shale economical once again

Publ.Date : Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:11:22 PDT

Giant public-lands bill put on hold 'til next year
A bill that would protect hundreds of miles of public land is being put on hold until the new year, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act passed out of committee with bipartisan support, but Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has threatened to filibuster over concerns that it will stymie oil and gas development. Congress doesn’t have the time to deal with Coburn’s shenanigans this month, says Reid, but the bill will be top priority next year.

sources: CQ Politics, Casper Star-Tribune, Mail Tribune

Publ.Date : Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:11:13 PDT

iPhone rideshare app coming soon
It’s the 21st century, folks — text with your hitchhiker’s thumb. An iPhone application called Avego will soon be available to hook up drivers with those who need rides, helpfully suggesting a safe place to pull over and calculating the split cost between driver and rider. No word on how it’ll go over in Ontario, which recently effectively made ridesharing illegal.

sources: Los Angeles Times, Avego

Publ.Date : Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:11:20 PDT

Thank you!

Publ.Date : Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:31:00 GMT

Whaling fleet attempts to sneak out of port
Our activists marked the departure of Japan’s whaling fleet from the port of Innoshima with banners declaring “Whaling on Trial.” The fleet had attempted to leave for the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary unnoticed, by canceling their traditional high-profile departure ceremony in Shimonoseki. Instead, the factory ship Nisshin Maru left with no fanfare, waved off only by the crew’s families and whaling officials.
Publ.Date : Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Dead tuna heads for deadbeat tuna managers
What does it take to get the governments responsible for the imminent collapse of the East Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery to wake up and do something? What about a mock “Pirates of the Mediterranean” poster of the responsible minsters in Pirate gear in the Economist? How about more than 10,000 emails? OK, how about several tonnes of dead tuna fish heads dumped on the doorstep of the French Fisheries minister?
Publ.Date : Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Rainbow Warrior impounded by Dutch police
The Rainbow Warrior has been impounded and the captain arrested after it was boarded by the police three times over the weekend. The ship was part of a protest against the new coal fired power station that E.ON is building next to their existing climate changing coal plant. The Rainbow Warrior together with one of our other ships - the Beluga II - were blocking the coal port of Rotterdam to stop any coal ships from entering. After spending the day surrounded by police boats they were eventually forced to leave the coal port in the evening.
Publ.Date : Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Konin coalition stands up against coal
Our team at the Climate Rescue Station in Poland joined 400 local people who live close to an open coal mine for a mass demonstration. Seven mayors from villages and towns, which are facing destruction because of the mine’s expansion, also attended.
Publ.Date : Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Put this banner on your blog or website, you criminal

Publ.Date : Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:07:26 GMT

E.ON’s coal construction brought to a full stop
Supported by the Rainbow Warrior, a hundred Greenpeace activists have occupied the construction site of the new E.ON coal fired power plant on the Maasvlakte in Rotterdam. The activists have halted construction and intend to stay until the coal plant is cancelled. The activists locked themselves onto strategic points at the site and occupied the building cranes.
Publ.Date : Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

W.House: not proposing relaxing fuel efficiency
The White House on Saturday said it was not proposing relaxing fuel efficiency requirements as part of efforts to speed up government loans to the ailing auto industry. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said media reports saying that was a White House proposal were “false.”

Energy at a Tipping Point Part 1: A Conversation with Worldwatch's Chris Flavin
Last week I attended a discussion entitled After the Election: Where is Cleantech Headed Now? hosted by TiE(The Indus Entrepreneurs) at their Silicon Valley headquarters. The event was moderated by Andrew Chung ofLightspeed Venture Partners with presentations by Chris Flavin of Worldwatch Institute and Dr. Dick Swanson, founder of SunPower.

Dow CEO calls for comprehensive U.S. energy policy
Dow Chemical Co has called on the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and Congress to implement a comprehensive national energy policy. “I will guarantee you that I am not going to drop my voice one iota until we get an energy policy in this country that makes sense,” Chief Executive Andrew Liveris told Reuters in an interview on Friday.

As ethanol shipments grow, safety remains a concern
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Surging U.S. ethanol production may force the industry to step up transport safety measures in the face of growing concern that communities are ill-prepared to deal with the volatile, flammable liquid.

Will Detroit's cash crisis kill the electric car?
Call it an economic and environmental murder mystery in the making: Will a cash-strapped Detroit kill the electric car — again? Stung by an association with gas-guzzling SUVs and pushed to the brink of failure by plunging sales, U.S. automakers have been touting efforts to roll out more fuel-efficient small cars, gas-saving technology and gas-free electric vehicles.

EU’s ideas for energy looking tired
Brussels, Belgium: A coherent plan to reduce energy consumption was conspicuous by its absence from the European Union’s latest attempt to deal with the energy and climate crisis. The European Commission today released an “Energy security and solidarity action plan”�, which addresses some of the gaps in the present EU climate and energy policy.

Key African countries 'not keeping health research promises'
[BAMAKO] Several key African countries have done “very little” to invest in health research since pledging to do so at a world meeting of health and science ministers in Mexico four years ago, say critics. But others — including Tanzania, Rwanda and Mali — have made significant progress in investing in their health research.