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	Set a price on carbon emissions by U.S. National Academy of Sciences USA   May 20, 2010   In three reports on global warming, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences has called for limiting greenhouse gas emissions by setting a price on them.   "Together, these reports show that the state of climate change science is strong," NAS chief Ralph Cicerone says. "The data show the reality of climate change."   Echoing past reports such as those by the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, researchers in the new reports expressed confidence that average global atmosphere temperatures were about 1.4 degrees warmer in this decade compared with a century ago and that future fossil-fuel emissions of greenhouse gases and related activities would increase temperatures anywhere from 2 to 11 additional degrees by 2100.   "The reports reinforce that we know enough, now, to take sensible actions to address climate change," says James Connaughton, a former environment council chief.   In wide-ranging recommendations, the studies call for better coordination of federal climate research efforts and for setting a price on carbon emitted from industrial smokestacks, either through a tax or through a carbon market.   The report explicitly calls for cutting U.S. carbon emissions 50% to 80% from 1990 levels by 2050, in line with goals of both the Bush and Obama administrations.   "This is a wake-up call from science telling Congress to get real," says Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington, D.C. "Wake up and smell the carbon." This week, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration independently reported that 2010 has been the warmest year so far recorded worldwide. Visit the related web page
	Oil rig disaster devastates Gulf coast by News agencies USA   Sept 2010   In the early days of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, estimates varied wildly on the amount of oil gushing from the blown-out well.   As spring turned to summer and the oil kept flowing, the government revised its calculations. And then revised them again -- each estimate higher than the last.   First, it was 42,000 gallons a day. Then 210,000. Then 504,000 to 798,000. Finally, in early August, a team appointed by the government produced the highest estimate yet: 2.2 million to 2.6 million gallons leaking per day from the broken wellhead.   July 2010   BP has finally plugged its oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico after more than 85 days and up to 184 million gallons of spilled oil.   June 2010   BP has agreed to put $US20 billion into a fund to help pay compensation claims from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill after a deal was struck at the White House.   "This $20 billion fund will not be controlled by either BP or by the government. It will be put in an account, administered by an impartial, independent third party," President Obama said.   The fund is not capped and it does not include BP"s costs for repairing the environmental damage done by the oil spill. Nor does it include the fines and penalties BP may eventually have to pay.   May 2010   Oil spill creates huge undersea "dead zones". (The Independent)   The world"s most damaging oil spill – now in its 41st continuously gushing day – is creating huge unseen "dead zones" in the Gulf of Mexico, according to oceanologists and toxicologists. They say that if their fears are correct, then the sea"s entire food chain could suffer for years, with almost no marine life in the region escaping its effects.   At least two submerged clouds of noxious oil and chemical dispersants have been confirmed by research vessels, the largest is some 22 miles long, six miles wide and 3,300 feet deep. Another spans an area of 20 square miles.   Scientists predict it will be many months – even years – before the true toll of the disaster will be known.   In previous spills, oil rose to the surface and was dealt with there, but due to the use of dispersants, as well as the weight of this particular crude oil and the pressure created by the depth of the leak, much of the oil has stayed submerged in clouds of tiny particles. At least 800,000 gallons of dispersants were sprayed at escaping oil in a frantic attempt to keep it offshore, but it now seems this preventative measure has created a worse disaster. The chemicals helped to keep the oil submerged and are toxic to marine life, resulting in unprecedented underwater damage to organisms in the Gulf.   Once these harmful substances enter the food chain, almost nothing will escape their effects. Forests of coral, sharks, dolphins, sea turtles, game fish and thousands of shellfish are affected.   "It"s the biggest environmental disaster of our time and it"s not even over yet," said the marine toxicologist Dr Susan Shaw, director of the Marine Environmental Research Institute based in Maine. She has been diving among the damage and is horrified by the contamination caused by BP"s continued use of dispersants. "They"ve been used at such a high volume that it"s unprecedented.   According to Dr Shaw, plankton and smaller shrimps coated in these toxic chemicals will be eaten by larger fish, passing the deadly mix up the food chain. "This is dismantling the food web, piece by piece," she said.   "We"re not talking about adults on the surface; it will impact on the young – and potentially a generational life cycle."   Millions of gallons of crude are sloshing about in the Gulf waters, and a visibly angered President Barack Obama lashed out at BP, suggesting it sought to downplay the true extent of the economic and ecological disaster now threatening the southern states of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi as well as Florida.   Defenders of Wildlife Statement on Gulf Oil Spill Disaster.   "In a catastrophe that imperils the entire Gulf Coast, oil continues to gush into the Gulf and move towards our beaches, coastal communities, wildlife habitat and Gulf fisheries," said Richard Charter, Senior Policy Advisor, Marine Programs.   "The extent of the environmental and economic impacts of this spill have yet to be seen, but clearly raise grave concerns for any expansion of drilling off of our coasts in the future."   "Shell has announced plans to move forward with drilling in the Arctic, an area just as ecologically fragile as the Gulf, and where cleanup technology doesn’t even exist," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president of Defenders of Wildlife and former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.   "Hopefully this catastrophe will be a wake-up call for Congress to pass comprehensive climate change legislation that moves us beyond drilling along our fragile coastline and towards a cleaner greener energy future."   * Below is a link to the PBS Oil Spill news page.
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