Featured Stories
Here are items that are of current, local or special interest. Submissions welcome (send to mailto:pmmckerc@ucsc.edu)
| The New Kyoto Protocol Meeting in Bali | |
| 12/4 | Plenty is going on at the United Nations climate conference in Bali, Indonesia, where delegates from nearly 190 nations are gathered to lay the groundwork for a post-Kyoto climate treaty. Conference leaders have said they aim to have a new treaty ready to go by 2009 |
| Australia Ratifies the Kyoto Protocol | |
| 12/3 | On his very first official day in office today, new Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd ratified the Kyoto Protocol, committing his country to deep emissions cuts and putting ever more peer pressure on the United States -- the only industrialized nation still holding out on Kyoto ratification. |
| New 35 MPG Standards for Cars | |
| 12/4 | Democratic leaders in the U.S. House reached a deal late Friday night to raise fuel-economy standards for cars and light trucks to an average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020 -- a 40 percent increase from today's standard of 27.5 mpg for cars and 22.2 mpg for SUVs and pickups. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who's been pushing for an increase, came to agreement with House Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.), a longtime defender of automakers in his state. Dingell called the new standards "both aggressive and attainable." link |
| OIL SPILL IN SAN FRANCISCO BAY | |
| 11/9 | A Cosco freighter collided with a bridge, spilling 58, 000 gallons of crude oil; 8,000 have been cleaned up Volunteer to help birds here newspaper account
Info on latest count of birds affected Channel 4 has good coverageincludes video NPR radio show Forum (audio) [http://www.iar.org.uk/globalnews/articles/2007/11/oil_spill_threatens_russian_dolphins_920.html a much larger spill] threatens dolphins |
| UCSC Treesit Protest | |
| 11/8- | Students protesting the Long Range Development Plan have established a presence on Science Hill as well as a website with activities. |
Newspaper account written in part by Paul Rogers, who will speak at the Plenary in a few weeks. Here is the City on a Hill article on event and one on Chancellor's response
| Congress Passes Water Bill over Presidential Veto | |
| 11-12/16/ | 34 Republicans (led by Inhofe, who was instrumental in delaying awareness and action of Global Warming) passes a bill which would include coastal wetlands restoration ENN |
| California Sues Feds to Allow Cleaner Air | |
| 11/8 | {{{3}}} |
| Progress on Fuel Cells for Cars | |
| 11/8 | "The average price for all types of gasoline is holding steady around $2_95 per gallon nationwide, but the pain at the pump might be short-lived as research from the University of Houston may eliminate one of the biggest hurdles to the wide-scale production of fuel cell-powered vehicles."ENN |
| Australian Scientists Decode Whale Sounds | |
| 11/8 | "Australian scientists studying humpback whales sounds say they have begun to decode the whale's mysterious communication system, identifying male pick-up lines and motherly warnings."ENN |
