http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news.html News from the Nicholas Institute of Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University en-us http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=0F50513D-18FE-70B2-A837C41153C8B5F0 Sens. Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman have been working overtime to craft a climate bill that can attract significant GOP support. But they aren’t exactly scoring points with their mutual best friend in the Senate, John McCain. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/a-climate-communicators-indian-journey/ Eric Roston, a former Time magazine journalist and author of “The Carbon Age,” spent three weeks roaming India at the invitation of the United States State Department to explore and talk about north-south differences in talking about climate change. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/10/lieberman-finds-stride-senate-democrats-maverick/ Sen. Joe Lieberman is emerging as a big factor in the health care reform debate, and he is poised to lead an investigation into the Fort Hood shooting. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/11/offsets_farmers.html When it comes to legislation cutting carbon pollution, two Iowans steeped in agriculture policy take very different views of the likely impact on rural America. http://www.aginfo.com/index.cfm/event/report/id/Line-on-Agriculture-14891 Scrutinizing Climate Change. I’m Greg Martin as Line On Agriculture presents the Harvest Clean Energy Report. http://www.pbs.org/nbr/site/onair/transcripts/what_is_the_climate_economy_091029/ In Washington today, Senate hearings on a bill to cut carbon dioxide emissions wrapped up with no action. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/business/story/1023556.html Bank of America Corp.'s newest director, Chad Holliday Jr., will be in town next month to see another power player and friend, Duke Energy chief executive Jim Rogers. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/10/kenworthy_hat_trick.html American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman (above center) is urging farmers to join a “Don’t Cap Our Future” campaign by sending farm caps with that message to legislators. http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/37929/group/News/ Earlier this month, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) released a report titled “Climate Change Will Cost Farmers Far More than a Climate Bill.” http://www.gloucestertimes.com/punews/local_story_293224913.html?keyword=topstory Catch shares are a double-edged sword to be used with caution and a good deal of forethought, expert participants agreed yesterday at the start of a high-level workshop on the preferred tool of the Obama administration to modernize the regulation of fisheries across America. http://www.grist.org/article/2009-10-19-a-little-heresy-on-transmission/ The last thing renewable energy needs right now are new transmission lines. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-regulation.10.08.09.html A new analysis backs up assertions by the Obama administration and congressional leaders that key climate regulations will encompass only the largest industrial emitters. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-climate.10.07.09.html Lawmakers seeking to minimize costs of a new global warming law should consider giving out coupons to industrial firms that can later be used should compliance prices from a cap-and-trade system get too high. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48739 How would development programmes look if viewed from the position of scarcity, especially the scarcity of food, water, and energy? http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2009/10/should-we-nix-capandtrade.php# Discussions over how to mitigate climate change's worst effects -- which policies we can and should implement -- have set off one of the most important and most complex debates to take place in Congress. http://www.ncnn.com/content/view/5011/26/ A report from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill says the best place to build a wind power farm would be 40 miles off the North Carolina coast. http://www.jdnews.com/articles/appointed-67798-director-duke.html Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions has a new director of of ocean and coastal policy. http://www.greentechmedia.com/green-light/post/harry-reid-harshes-panels-mellow/ During a panel on carbon-based greentech financing at Always On's Going Green event, Jon Anda, Visiting Fellow, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, delivered news that harshed everyone's mellow. http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/09/14/14climatewire-rockefeller-finds-its-better-to-negotiate-on-65562.html As one of the nation's largest producers of coal, West Virginia has more to lose than many other states when it comes to the debate over comprehensive global warming and energy legislation. http://www.agriculture.com If the Senate passes a cap and trade bill, it needs to be regulated so that trading of carbon credits are transparent and not subject to manipulation, members of the Senate Agriculture Committee were told Wednesday. http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/09/05/carbon-trading-market-undergoes-growing-pains/ As carbon trading grows in the U.S. — estimated at a $60 billion market in 2012 — new products and business opportunities are expected to emerge including more forestry mitigation projects as carbon offsets, reports the Delta Farm Press. http://deltafarmpress.com/legislative/climate-change-0904/ Climate change legislation, awaiting resumption of debate when the Senate returns from its August recess, “has both great opportunities and great risks, and we want to be sure that if anything passes it is what’s best for landowners and tree farmers,” says Erica Rhoad, director of policy for the Society of American Foresters. http://deltafarmpress.com/news/carbon-market-0907/ A recent Congressional Budget Office study projected that carbon offsets could be a $60 billion market in 2012, on a par with U.S. corn and wheat markets, and “as it grows beyond that, it will make forestry mitigation opportunities more important,” says Jeffrey O’Hara, senior economist, Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125185523668478151.html?mod=residential_real_estate Critics say the U.S. power grid is outdated, in part because its many owners have trouble attracting investors. A Duke University report published this week presents a solution: publicly traded real-estate investment trusts that would own the power lines and collect rent from energy companies. http://www.environmental-expert.com/ The US will need to expand and modernize its outdated power transmission grid to incorporate more renewable energy sources, but balkanized ownership and regulation are going to make that process slow and difficult, according to a new Duke University analysis. http://www.physorg.com/news170955192.html The U.S. will need to expand and modernize its outdated power transmission grid to incorporate more renewable energy sources, but balkanized ownership and regulation are going to make that process slow and difficult, according to a new Duke University analysis. http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2009/08/31/grid-lock-new-transmission-lines-key-for-clean-energy-and-coal/ Environmentalists are already hoping that the Senate tackles both energy and climate change this fall, rather than simply dealing with the clean energy bits (which are popular) and punting on the climate-change stuff (which isn’t so popular). http://www.grist.org/article/2009-08-27-a-climate-for-monkey-business/ The Climate Post is a weekly roundup of climate news, produced by the The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University. http://solveclimate.com/blog/20090824/electric-energy-storage-digging-foundations-part-i Part I of a two-part series on the development of electric energy storage, starting with the storage we need and continuing on Aug. 31 with a look at the technologies and the political challenges they face. http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/082009/08232009/486939 Alfred Hitchcock filled his movies with suspense by picking some object of life-or-death consequence--microfilm, documents, uranium-filled wine bottles--and setting his characters in pursuit. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/23/eric-roston-climate-change-bill-obama Barack Obama might be the most powerful man in the world, but he faces tough opposition from all sides over climate-change legislation. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2009-08-19-forest_N.htm New forests would spread across the American landscape, replacing both pasture and farm fields, under a congressional plan to confront climate change, an Environmental Protection Agency analysis shows. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/breaking/story/890624.html Legislature struggled to respond to opposing needs of a not quite urban, not quite rural constituency. http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/much_ado_about_carbon_offsets/ Five experts debate if carbon offsetting is the quick, efficient way to decarbonize the global economy, or the loophole that will derail such efforts. http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/08/03/price-ceiling-sought-on-carbon-markets/ From political pundits to a think tank, the new prevailing wisdom on carbon trading suggests there should be a series of price caps in order to prevent the sort of rampant speculation that caused such mayhem in the commodities and derivatives markets. http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2009/07/15/1 It was a scorcher nine years ago in Northern California's Sierra Nevada. http://www.sustainableindustries.com/breakingnews/50166292.html?viewAll=y Many battles loomed large in the debate around federal climate change legislation that passed the House of Representatives in June. http://www.climateactionreserve.org/2009/07/06/steven-corneli-and-tim-profeta-elected-to-climate-action-reserve-board-of-directors/ Corneli and Profeta provide wealth of climate change experience from academic and business perspectives http://www.examiner.com/x-10317-San-Diego-County-Political-Buzz-Examiner~y2009m7d4-Congressman-Bilbray-dicusses-capandtrade-frankly San Diego- First Washington spent a trillion dollars on stimulus without a thorough-reading by Senators or Congressmen; up next cap-and-trade legislation, the largest tax increase in American history. http://www.bloomberg.com The climate-change bill that passed the U.S. House on June 26 would set up a “cap-and-trade” market for greenhouse gases that cushions the cost for power producers, manufacturers and farmers while limiting aid to oil companies. http://southwestfarmpress.com/legislative/climate-change-legislation-0626/ Greenhouse gas emission legislation will be either a boon to agriculture or a nightmare to farmers and ranchers. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1579674.html Cary officials say a new digital radio water meter will help conserve water and benefit citizens, but others claim the device will enable an unnecessary invasion of privacy that can be used to gather personal information. http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0618-duke_forests.html The fate of millions of hectares of tropical forests will probably be sealed this year and next year, reports a new set of policy papers detailing an emerging climate change mitigation mechanism known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-18-climate-post-your-wallet/ The Obama administration this week released a 196-page plain-language report that describes predicted future impacts of climate change on the U.S. http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/06/12/12climatewire-agriculture-offsets----a-savior-or-a-boondog-33517.html A dispute is heating up over the role of farms and forests in climate legislation. http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/got-water/view Bill Holman, director of state policy, and Peter McCornick, director of water policy, are guests on the June 10, 2009, edition of "The State of Things" with Frank Stasio on WUNC-FM (91.5). http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2009/06/08/story3.html?b=1244433600^1839815 The era of free water for energy companies, farmers, golf courses and many other industries and businesses may soon come to an end. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/732278.html The controversial measure would require big users of water to first get permission from the state. http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/05/18/New-North-Atlantic-circulation-path-found/UPI-31721242668417/ U.S. scientists say they have discovered a new pathway for the global ocean circulation known as the Great Ocean Conveyor. http://www.bloomberg.com/ Toyota Motor Corp. said U.S. consumer demand for plug-in hybrids, a technology backed by President Barack Obama, may be limited by the vehicles’ price, recharge time and battery durability. http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/05/15/this-week-in-climate-change/ I know what you've been telling yourself: What we really need right now is another aggregator of web-based content! http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/05/15/1933744.aspx http://www.theturnerreport.com/2009/05/pelosi-tortured-goracle-to-self.html Queenie's in a tiff, no doubt about it. Didn't you read it here first that O wouldn't move on a torture witchhunt, bc he knew what Congressional Dems knew and when they knew it? Politics as usual, bay-bee. The Republican obit is veddy veddy premature, despite crowing from all the Dem pollsters. http://www.grist.org/article/2009-05-14-the-climate-post/ This week’s climate headlines are reminiscent of an old joke that touted “newspaper headlines the day after nuclear war.” http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2009/05/green-electric-industry-mandat.php A cross-section of Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are backing legislation that would require U.S. electric companies to generate 15 percent of their power from renewable sources of energy and to demonstrate annual electricity savings of 5 percent by 2020. http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2009/04/waxmanmarkey-tweak-it-or-overh.php House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey, D-Mass., held a marathon of hearings last week on their draft climate change and energy strategy. http://www.eponline.com/articles/71660/ The Climate Change Initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) has awarded three grants totaling more than $1.6 million to the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University, Resources for the Future, and the World Resources Institute to conduct nonpartisan research on critical issues in the ongoing debate about cap-and-trade legislation and complementary federal policies. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2009/04/13/2 Climate legislation will not cause a surge in natural gas demand, despite the worries of some policymakers and businesses, according to a new report. http://nicholas.duke.edu/news/ns-doctrine.04.09.09.html Recent discussions about ocean policy reform have focused on ecosystem-based management, which fully incorporates humans and considers the cumulative impacts of their activities on ecosystems and the services they provide. http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/04/07/article/editorial_the_challenge_of_water The economy is still in a drought, but nature has been kinder to the Triad lately. There's been plenty of rain. http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/3180927# Jane Rogers is among the many Raleigh residents who have continued to practice the water conservation habits they adopted during the last drought. http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/04/02/article/greensboro_developing_a_resilient_water_system Much of the South's post-war population growth has followed the Piedmont Crescent from the Research Triangle region through the Triad, Charlotte, Upstate South Carolina, Atlanta to Birmingham. The cities and counties of "Rallatantingham" are located in the headwaters of streams on fractured bedrock with relatively small amounts of surface water and ground water available to them. http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/04/02/article/will_nc_have_enough_water Water: It's essential to life itself. We drink it. We wash with it. We cool our power plants with it. We grow our food with it. We manufacture with it. We dispose of our waste in it. It sustains both our environment and our economy. http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/04/02/article/how_collaboration_replaced_conflict_in_roanoke_basin From 1984 to 1991 -- for seven years -- North Carolina sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in federal court to block a permit that enabled the city of Virginia Beach to transfer 60 million gallons of water per day from Lake Gaston on the Roanoke River 76 miles to Virginia Beach. North Carolina ultimately lost. http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/04/02/article/unlike_nc_water_issues_take_high_priority_in_georgia North Carolina and Georgia have much in common. Both have coastal, piedmont and mountain regions. Each state has 9 million citizens and is projected to have more than 12 million by 2030. Both have worked hard to diversify their economies. Both are major producers of food and fiber. Each state has sprawling metropolitan areas and struggling small towns and counties. Both also have major population centers located in the piedmont with headwaters streams and limited groundwater resources. http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSTRE53178920090402 U.S. lawmakers took a big step forward on climate change legislation this week, but the cratering economy makes it unlikely Congress will approve a controversial cap and trade system this year. http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/03/three_organizations_conducting.html Three organizations conducting non-partisan research on federal policies involving climate change, including cap-and-trade legislation, will share more than $1.6 million in grants from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2009/03/23/story13.html?b=1237780800^1797349 Charlotte leaders say they should be part of the U.S. Supreme Court battle over rights to the Catawba River because the city’s transfer of water is the real target of South Carolina’s lawsuit against North Carolina. http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2009/03/should-industry-pay-to-pollute.php?print=true How should emission credits be distributed under a climate change cap-and-trade program. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/07/us/politics/07carbon.html Representative John B. Larson embarked again this week on his lonely quest to enact a national tax on carbon dioxide emissions. http://bbjonline.hu/index.php The United States should take the lead in reducing carbon emissions to be able to enlist China in the global campaign to curb global warming, an expert told an annual USDA conference on Friday. http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2237450/obama-budget-displays-cap-trade President backs up environmental rhetoric with the greenest budget in US history http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-02-26-deficit_N.htm This is change, whether you believe in it or not. And not just pocket change. http://uk.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idUKN2639202120090226 U.S. President Barack Obama's estimate of $646 billion in revenue for the first years of a carbon-capping program to curb climate change is realistic or possibly a little low, policy analysts said on Thursday. http://washingtontechnology.com/blogs/editors-notebook/2009/02/natures-view-of-homeland-security.aspx I’ve always admired people who can make connections between seemingly unrelated ideas or concepts. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2009/02/25/archive/8?terms=sequestration/ The United States has decades of carbon dioxide storage potential, but it's not necessarily in the places where the Energy Department is planning to pump... http://nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-carbon.02.23.09.html The United States has decades of carbon dioxide storage potential, but it's not necessarily in the places where the Energy Department is planning to pump... http://sciencemode.com/2009/02/13/duke-ecologist-preaches-natural-security-for-homeland-defense/ In nature, the threat level is always at least orange: Predators and plagues are an unrelenting menace to the well-being (and successful reproduction) of every living thing. http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2009/02/carbon-dioxide-should-epa-wait-on-congress.php?rss=1 Should the Obama administration's Environmental Protection Agency begin regulating carbon dioxide emissions under the Clean Air Act. http://nicholas.duke.edu/news/ns-aaas.01.16.09.html Pat Halpin, Rafe Sagarin, Eric Roston and Sheril Kirshenbaum will take part in this year's annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-uscap.01.15.09.html Policy analysts at Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions say the climate protection initiative announced today on Capitol Hill by members of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) is "an equitable solution to a difficult problem," and sends "a unified signal" that environmentalists and industrialists alike support federal cap-and-trade legislation to address climate change. http://www.peopleandplanet.net/doc.php?id=3474#krupp Four Institute board members are among the experts offering guidance for President Obama. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1618420/permits_to_pollute_could_help_tackle_climate_change/ A new way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and tackle climate change had been unveiled by leading economists. http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/letters/v-print/story/1336633.html Duke University's Bill Holman said he feels state regulators will find the watershed rules inadequate and that Raleigh will have to spend millions of dollars to clean up its primary drinking water source. http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/editorials/story/1335412.html A permit system for large users would help ensure a fair, sustainable allocation of North Carolina's water supplies. http://www.news-record.com/content/2008/12/11/article/editorial_minding_nc_s_spigot Why, when the skies are gray and the December chill conjures visions of anything but parched lake beds and sun-baked clay, would anyone want to talk about ... water shortages? http://www.reflector.com/news/state/a-sampling-of-editorials-from-nc-newspapers-288294.html A sampling of editorials from NC newspapers. http://www.ncnn.com/content/view/3672/26/ An environmental policy analyst recommended to a commission on climate change that the state expand green energy projects quickly. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/402179.html Advocates, officials say water-use regulations needed to get Catawba off endangered list. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/207705.html For 18 months Charlotteans have put up with drought, brown lawns and water restrictions. Now comes the hard part. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1325384.html A UNC-Duke study recommends steps the state should take to avoid water shortages in the future. http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/12/06/mass_to_retrofit_hybrid_vehicle_fleet_to_plug_in/ 40 modifications planned after 1 Prius racks up the miles. http://nicholas.duke.edu/news/ns-energy.12.04.08.html When the 111th Congress convenes in January 2009, one of its top priorities will be to pass comprehensive climate and energy legislation. A new policy brief by the Climate Change Policy Partnership (CCPP) at Duke University makes the case that increased investment in energy efficiency will play a critical role in mitigating carbon. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/World-Affairs-Council-Luncheon-Powering/story.aspx?guid=46CD3FDC-4EA7-4EB7-899F-BF358AC556B8 Energy is the political issue of the 21st century. It lies at the heart of our economy, foreign policy, environment, national security, and our system of education. http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2008/12/designing-a-green-energy-plan.php?rss=1 Last week, President-elect Obama announced plans for a massive new economic stimulus package that he said will include a plan to promote renewable energy and create green jobs. How would you design a green energy plan to meet those goals? http://www.newsobserver.com/100/story/1313496.html New reservoir's protection too lax, Raleigh leaders say. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97393883 Many environmental activists, scientists and business leaders worry that a recession and two wars will force President-elect Barck Obama to put his ambitious plans to tackle global warming on the backburner. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97412198 All the carbon dioxide pouring into the atmosphere is making the oceans more acidic — and those effects appear to be striking very close to home. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/406/story/357943.html Global warming and economy are twin ills, so address them together. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/breaking/story/269062.html Charlotte could save millions of dollars and billions of gallons a year by making more efficient use of its water, says a report to be released today. http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1219105.html In a campaign ad opposing him, Democratic congressional candidate Larry Kissell looks like he's standing on a dark and lonely stage as he declares his opposition to oil drilling off the coast of North Carolina. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2008-09-10-candidates-energy-policy_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip Record-high prices for gasoline, heating and electricity and growing concern about global warming have pushed energy issues to the forefront of the 2008 presidential campaign. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008171997_sept11oped11.html The 9/11 Commission Report declared that the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil represented a "failure of imagination" on the part of national security. The true threat to U.S. security, however, is not a failure of imagination but a "failure of adaptation." http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/videos.jhtml?episodeId=177159 http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1826813,00.html For a substance that is the basic building block of life as we know it — without it, our planet might be little more than a dull rock — carbon has gotten a bad rap lately. Bound to two atoms of oxygen, it creates carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas that has kept our planet warm for billions of years — and is now, thanks to human activity, making us too warm. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/31/AR2008053102471.html?hpid=moreheadlines When the Senate takes up landmark climate legislation this week, its backers can be sure of just one thing: The obstacles they face show how hard it will be to enact a meaningful cap on greenhouse gases -- probably under the next administration. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/12/politics/washingtonpost/main4086672.shtml In December 2005, Republicans were poised to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, an achievement they had sought for decades. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) had attached the provision to a must-pass defense spending bill and threatened to keep lawmakers in Washington until Christmas if they tried to strip it. Desperate to remove the provision, leaders from national environmental groups turned to a handful of key GOP senators for help. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1057954.html Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama support more aggressive efforts to curb global warming and federal spending to create green jobs. http://www.grist.org/feature/2008/04/18/nijhuis/?source=daily Marine biologist Raphael Sagarin has eclectic interests. During the course of his career, he's scoured an Alaskan gambling record for clues to climate change, retraced John Steinbeck's and Ed Ricketts' survey of the Sea of Cortez, and even studied how Easy Cheese escaped early chlorofluorocarbon regulations. In 2002, as a science fellow on Capitol Hill, he turned his biologist's eye to post-9/11 Washington, D.C., with its proliferating Jersey barriers and security checkpoints. http://www.charlotte.com/112/story/571429.html Even as they repealed the most severe water-use restrictions on residents and businesses, Raleigh officials said Monday that that water conservation will no longer be merely an occasional goal. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/ns-safetyvalve.html The staffs of two nonprofit groups with important roles in shaping the leading Senate global warming bill are suggesting a compromise that would bridge one of the measure's biggest sticking points -- the uncertainty over what the carbon emissions cap-and-trade system will cost the nation's economy. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8725597 Death Valley-like daytime highs and hot nights in Utah and the West last summer reinforced the Southwest's status as ground zero for deadly global climate disruption, a new report says. http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20080326/NEWS/803260400/1002/news06&title=Moore__Perdue_dodging_true_debate When they invited the leading Democratic candidates for governor to a water policy forum, organizers at Duke University hoped Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and State Treasurer Richard Moore would answer questions together on the same stage. Instead, Moore and Perdue appeared separately Tuesday, sitting at different times in the same red wing-back chair. The format provided more verbal artillery for Moore, who again accused Perdue of purposefully avoiding one-on-one debates in the final weeks of their high-stakes campaign. http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2008/03/26/News/Governor.Candidates.Debate.Water.Use-3284112.shtml Four of the 10 candidates for governor of North Carolina gathered in the Griffith Film Theater Tuesday to discuss an issue that many of the state's voters are talking about for the first time-water. http://www.newsobserver.com/weather/drought/story/1013377.html Candidates for governor were asked questions Tuesday about water and drought at a forum at Duke University. The questions touched on the legal, economic, environmental and political aspects of the state's water supply and the continuing drought. Two Democrats, one Republican and a Libertarian took the stage one at a time to face questions from a moderator. http://climateprogress.org/2008/03/12/the-history-of-the-safety-valve-debate/#more-2430 Congress’ effort to pass passing global warming legislation faces many sticking points, but few are as sticky — or as wonky — as the battle over whether a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions should include what is called a "safety valve." http://www.charlotte.com/business/breaking_news/story/519831.html With demand for water increasing as the drought and growth continue, some coastal counties in Eastern North Carolina are tapping a saltier source: rivers of brackish water that flow underground. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/962017.html It was the sort of gathering that would have been unthinkable just 10 months ago in pre-drought Raleigh. More than 200 residents from around the Triangle spent their Saturday morning listening and talking about water -- how it's consumed, managed and paid for. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-water.html "We'll get through it, but the era of cheap and abundant water is over." That was the assessment Sunday of expert Bill Holman in the aftermath of last year's drought and its effect on Durham's water supply. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-rafe-security.html Protection from terrorism is an unusual subject for a marine biologist to get involved with, but Raphael Sagarin has a special reason. He believes living things can show us how to keep society safe. He explains to John Whitfield why one look at natural systems will tell us that the war on terror is doomed to fail http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/editorials/story/920211.html A Raleigh City Council member's proposal for water impact fees should be part of any conservation-and-growth discussion. http://www.charlotte.com/409/v-print/story/381420.html We have all experienced drought pains this summer -- mandatory water restrictions, alarmingly low lake levels, and parched landscapes. It would be comforting to know that this summer's drought is an anomaly and we will not experience the hardships of drought again for years to come. Unfortunately, research is forecasting the opposite. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/health_science/daily/20071125_Digging_in_to_cool_the_planet.html Planting a tree used to be such a simple thing. For many, it was a simple act of beautification. Or perhaps a way to shade a patio. But lately, planting a tree has been elevated to a cause, a mission, a step - however tiny, as skeptics note - to stall global warming. http://www.charlotte.com/local/v-print/story/367803.html N.C. ski resort operators say the ongoing drought doesn't change how they operate. None of them rely on the wet stuff from the sky, otherwise known as natural snow, no matter the year. Snowmaking requires water, but several resorts said they maintain their own reservoirs fed by natural springs and melting snow reclaimed off the mountains. http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/772011.html Durham water bills almost certainly will be higher next year, as city officials must pay for pumps and pipes to connect to new water sources and offset the money lost when residents conserve. http://www.charlotte.com/local/story/351670.html Pouring dish and bath water over the Charlotte region's parched yards and wilting gardens is a popular way to fight the drought. It's also illegal.State law prohibits rerouting anything headed for the drain to the dry outdoors, even if it's something as simple as leftover water from half-empty glasses at the dinner table. http://www.charlotte.com/local/v-print/story/344841.html Dale Johnson first noticed them in August -- big tanker trucks stopping to fill up at a fire hydrant in his Providence Crossing neighborhood on N.C. 16, just before the Union County line. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1007/6602.html After years of debates and documentaries, Congress is poised to address the issue of climate change. The Warner-Lieberman bill is the vehicle and it’s headed for a bumpy ride, as industries mobilize to set up roadblocks to stall or wreck the passage of legislation that could cost them millions. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/747408.html Easley's plea has residents struggling to figure out how to reduce consumption dramatically. http://www.charlotte.com/local/story/331526.html Drought conditions around Charlotte will likely trigger the severest water restrictions -- Stage 4 -- in three to six weeks, Duke Energy predicted Tuesday. http://www.charlotte.com/local/story/330070.html Gov. Mike Easley asked North Carolinians on Monday to cut water consumption in half between now and Halloween, offering tips that included speedy showers and shallow dishpans. http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=275694 I remember the moment I learned to stopped worrying and love the drought.I was sitting on a bench in Linear Park downtown, looking at a water fountain that had no water. Earlier, I had passed a waterless water feature near the library. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/726889.html Drought's harshest hold now grips the Triangle and more than half of North Carolina's counties, increasing the likelihood of tougher conservation measures for homeowners and industry. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-capefear.html Projects are planned that would pull millions more gallons of water from the Cape Fear River in the near future. Some of it will fill water glasses in towns such as Cary, Dunn, Fayetteville and Sanford. Some of it will be used at the Smithfield Packing plant in Tar Heel to clean up after the slaughter of thousands of hogs every day. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-warming.html President Bush assured the rest of the world yesterday that he takes the threat of climate change seriously and vowed that the United States "will do its part" to reduce the greenhouse gases that are warming the planet, but he proposed no concrete new initiatives to reach that goal. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Green-MBAs.html Business professor John Stayton remembers when eyes would start rolling at the idea of a "green MBA." These days, business schools across the country are incorporating the environmental and social costs of doing business into their curricula and a few, like the program Stayton directs at Dominican University of California, aim for an all-green program. http://www.dailyreportonline.com/Editorial/News/print_article.asp?individual_SQL=9/20/2007@16724_Public_.htm There has been an "explosion of activity" on energy and climate change in the current Congress, according to Manik Roy, director of congressional affairs for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. "Climate change is an important issue in Congress." http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/article/20070916/NEWS/709160419/1017/SPORTS0701 The half-dozen broken trees and gnarled branches perched on top of the spillway seemed destined for the foamy water at the dam's base. But five minutes later, the debris was still rooted in place. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/califconstiution.pdf Climate change, like many environmental challenges, is a global problem requiring local solutions. While the United States has of yet not passed meaningful legislation that addresses climate change, several U.S. states are taking steps to reduce the carbon footprints of their industries and citizens. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/692277.html As North Carolina wilts for lack of rain, a group of Duke researchers is offering suggestions for better long-term water use. http://www.nbc17.com/midatlantic/ncn/news.apx.-content-articles-NCN-2007-09-06-0007.html Researchers at Duke University are calling for a unified approach to protecting our water supply. http://www.charlotte.com/opinion/story/265405.html When it comes to having enough water for our future, it's a matter of simple arithmetic, says a report from Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions: "By 2030, 12 million North Carolinians will demand use of the same water resources that served four million North Carolinians in 1960." http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=284392 Sen. Barbara Boxer had been chair of the Senate's Environment Committee for less than a month when the verdict landed last February. "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal," concluded a report by 600 scientists from governments, academia, green groups and businesses in 40 countries. Worse, there was now at least a 90 percent likelihood that the release of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels is causing longer droughts, more flood-causing downpours and worse heat waves, way up from earlier studies. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news.html This was to have been the year that that Congress finally took meaningful action to address the related problems of energy dependence and global warming. The new Democratic majority vowed to make these issues a top priority, President Bush spoke of ending America’s addiction to imported oil and industry groups promised to do their share to build a cleaner and more efficient future. http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/7/24/15505/0806 So you want to have greenhouse gas standards with teeth, but you want to minimize the risk they take too big a bite from the economy. And, of course, like me, you don't like the safety valve idea. What do you do? Banking and borrowing, of course. http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/070723cd1.htm The House and Senate turn their attention to spending for domestic security, law enforcement and public works this week, as the FY08 appropriations process lurches into an uncertain future. http://blogs.zdnet.com/green/?p=106 I wouldn’t hold my breath on anything getting done about the atmosphere and climate change in the current configuration of power in Washington D.C. But there are some rumblings that may hint about the next phase of American politics. http://gristmill.grist.org/print/2007/7/25/01948/0376?show_comments=no As Joe mentioned yesterday, four moderate-to-conservative senators -- John Warner (R-Va.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) -- just proposed a measure to achieve "Cost-Containment for the Carbon Market." http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/washington/news.aspx?id=41323 It seems everyone on Capitol Hill has a solution for dealing with global warming these days. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-climate2.html Four senators today offered a global warming bill that is intended to be less burdensome on business than a competing plan by fellow moderates. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-climate.html More than 125 bills, resolutions and amendments related to global warming and greenhouse gas emissions have been introduced in Congress so far this year, compared to just 106 in the previous two-year session of Congress, reports the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/us-senators-lieberman-warner-co2/story.aspx?guid={BEA01E4A-0213-4A61-93A8-40A156AC7449} The new cap-and-trade climate-change bill currently being drafted by U.S. Sens. John Warner, R-Va., and Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., includes emergency 'offramps' to protect the economy if costs for cutting carbon dioxide rise too high. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4996468.html A bipartisan group of four senators who have never voted for climate-change legislation is proposing a plan to limit the costs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/health_science/story/637853.html Global warming is a big thing. The pine beetle is an exceedingly small thing. But when the two are combined, it means one thing for North Carolina's pine forests -- trouble. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/637672.html As part of the series on the current and potential effects of global warming on our state, The News and Observer asked Dr. Brian C. Murray, an economist at Duke University, to answer your questions about the economic consequences of a changing climate and the various costs and benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through public policies. Murray, director for economic analysis at Duke's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, has expertise in forestry, agriculture and energy. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/14/AR2007071401246.html Here's the good news about climate change: Energy and climate experts say the world already possesses the technological know-how for trimming greenhouse gas emissions enough to slow the perilous rise in the Earth's temperatures. http://deltafarmpress.com/news/070619-carbon-trading/ Whatever program or term is favored — carbon sequestration, offset credits, cap-and-trade — there remains a glaring problem with the practice of polluting companies buying greenhouse gas reduction credits from farmers and landowners. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-06/18/content_6259475.htm The first manual for farmers and foresters on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will be available to Chinese users soon, a U.S. environmental protection NGO announced here on Monday. http://www.greenoptions.com/blog/2007/05/25/ecotality_carbon_sequestration_could_be_8b_business_for_agriculture It’s not going to be the most scintillating beachside reading this summer, but a new guide coming out in June from Duke University Press could help prevent rising seas from obliterating your favorite beach. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-guide.html As the White House outlined its greenhouse gas reduction goals, the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University last week unveiled a new guide aimed at helping farmers participate profitably. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-bushgreenhousegas.html President Bush issued an executive order last week aimed at reducing domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions linked to purported global climate change. That could both offer opportunities and pose new regulatory risks for producers. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-naturescarbonsink.html While the continents and oceans have absorbed much of the carbon dioxide that humanity has pumped into the atmosphere so far, they won't be able to keep up with the expected rise in greenhouse-gas emissions over the next several decades. Indeed, some recent studies suggest that current scientific estimates about natural absorption are too optimistic: Earth's climate by century's end could be on average up to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F.) hotter than current "business as usual" projections suggest. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-greenglasses.html It's no longer news that "green" products and practices are good for the bottom line. But the days when "green" is only a garnish on the business plate might be ending. With the integration of greenhouse-gas emissions controls into our national economy seemingly inevitable, we may soon take our longest stride toward an inherently green and sustainable economy in American history. As a result, "green" increasingly is business, not just good for it. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-greentech.html In San Francisco last month, I found myself discussing the concept of carbon sequestration with my friend Kevin while he was giving his daughter Emma a bath. The fact that we were chatting about injecting carbon dioxide into untapped oil fields as we squirted water at a 2-year-old highlights just how trendy the U.S. green-tech market has become. Kevin is what you call a "serial entrepreneur," who spots business trends and invests in start-ups before selling them and moving on to the next promising venture. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-supremecourt.html Yesterdays Supreme Court ruling on carbon dioxide emissions largely shredded the underpinning of other lawsuits trying to block regulation of the emissions and gave new momentum to Congressional efforts to control heat-trapping gases linked to climate change. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-carbonworth.html If continuing discussion in Congress on climate change is solidified in legislation capping emissions, electricity rates would most likely spike. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-wisewater.html More people moving to North Carolina means more water usage in homes, businesses and industrial plants. North Carolina is, after all, sixth in growth rate in the United States, and water demand is expected to increase 35 percent by 2030, to 2.2 billion gallons a day. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-babbitt.html Planning could help North Carolina prepare for rising sea levels that are predicted as part of global climate change, Bruce Babbitt, a former secretary of the interior, said Thursday. Babbitt, who held the position in the Clinton administration, made his comments to a group meeting in Raleigh on the state's future water supply. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-bigbus.html Recent state actions to curb global warming are having a surprising effect: They are prompting big power companies and manufacturers to call on the Bush administration to mount a fight against climate change. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-boxer.html Among the most daunting hurdles facing Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) as she tries to craft legislation capping greenhouse gas emissions is the narrow level of support on her Environment and Public Works Committee. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-holmaninterview.html Bill Holman has been at the center of N.C. environmentalism for more than a quarter-century. Holman worked for 18 years as an environmental lobbyist, later served as state environment secretary. He became executive director of the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, which makes grants to protect the state's waters, in 2001. Last week, he joined Duke University as a visiting scholar at its Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.