China’s Yellow River: Pollution levels have risen so fast that one third of the Yellow River is now unsafe for any use.  The Yellow River, the second-longest in China, has seen its water quality deteriorate rapidly in the last few years, as discharge from factories increases and water levels drop because of diversion for booming cities. A third is now unfit for drinking, aquaculture, industrial use and even agriculture. see

Global Warming Effects: The projection is for as great as a six degree rise by 2100. Here is a degree by degree summary of how it will happen. see

Organic Makes Green: Organic, sustainable agriculture has turned out to be one of those ideas that just won’t go away. Growing numbers of farmers, ranchers and research scientists are showing that sustainable, organic methods and practices can produce yields as high or higher than those of industrial agriculture. And organic methods are showing long-term benefits of regenerating soils, which include reducing water usage, pollution and erosion as well as improving habitat for other forms of life. see

Clean Coal? Not So Much: The term “Clean Coal” is basic shorthand for a technology  that does not exist. It’s a marketing myth promoted by the big coal companies in order to rake in more public subsidies. Coal, which makes up 50% of our energy use in the US today, is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country and on the planet, as well as one of the largest sources of air and water pollution worldwide. It’s the dirtiest of all energy technologies. And we’re at least a decade away from knowing how to burn “clean” anything from coal. see. see

Arctic Warming: Temperatures in the Arctic in the fall of 2007 hit an all-time high — more than 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Centigrade) above normal — and remain almost as high this year, said an international team of scientists. "The year 2007 was the warmest year on record in the Arctic. '' see

Climate Change: Earth Policy Institute report on how exactly to cut carbon emissions 80 percent by 2020. While corporations typically prefer cap-and-trade, economists overwhelmingly favor tax restructuring. See the entire pdf:  see

Electricity Better than Biofuels:  A recent Science study concludes that using biomass to produce electricity is 80 percent more efficient than transforming the biomass into biofuel. In addition, the electricity option would be twice as effective at reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. The results imply that investing in ethanol infrastructure, even if based on more efficient cellulosic processes, may prove misguided. see , see

California Changes Approach to Delta Water: The state must make environmental needs for water equal to human needs for restoring the state's ailing water network, a new state government report says.  It orders California to amend its laws and build new dams, canals and desalination plants or face economic and ecological disaster. see,  see

Salmon Poisoning Killer Whales: Killer whales that feast on salmon in the Pacific Northwest are getting a heaping side of contaminants with each meal. The chinook salmon are heavily dosed with chemicals such as DDT and PCBs, nearly all of which the fish acquire in their years at sea. see   

Bananas —Another Endangered Species: Bananas are dying. The foodstuff, more heavily consumed even than rice or potatoes, has its own form of cancer. It is a fungus called Panama Disease, and it turns bananas brick-red and inedible. There is no cure. They all die as it spreads, and it spreads quickly. In five, 10 or 30 years - the yellow creamy fruit as we know it will not exist. see

Introduction to Greenhouse Gases: A Philazine Powerpoint Presentation about greenhouse gases. Basic introduction showing which gases are of most importance to the climate change phenomenon and how and why they are accumulating in the atmosphere.  Details which countries and which industries are contributing most to the problems.  see

No More Cheap Food: The era of cheap food appears to be over. The health of a nation’s food system is a critical issue of national security. After cars, the food system uses more fossil fuel than any other sector of the economy — 19 percent. The way we feed ourselves contributes more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than anything else we do — as much as 37 percent, according to one study. see

Paper or Plastic? Study of San Francisco’s ban on plastic bags reveals that a paper bag might just be worse for the environment than the maligned plastic bag. Residents now consume up to 84 million extra paper bags a year. That many paper bags weigh about 5,250 tons, come from felling of 72,000 trees, create sulfur dioxide emissions of 91,200 pounds, release 21.5 million pounds of greenhouse gases, and generate 40 million gallons of wastewater. see

James Hansen’s Letter to Barack Obama: Recommendations by a leading climate scientist dismiss current plans as “ineffectual and not commensurate with the climate threat.” “Instead a large part of the total fossil fuels must be left in the ground. In practice, that means coal.” "Australia exports coal and sets atmospheric carbon dioxide goals big enough to guarantee destruction of much of the planet’s life." see

Recycling Curbed by Economy: Plummeting global market prices for such items as aluminum, paper, plastic and steel — some have fallen by as much as 80% — are forcing recycling companies to lay off workers, cut expenses and stop accepting certain materials because of their decreased worth. The price of steel has dropped from $210 to $77 a ton, copper from $1.58 a pound to 40 cents a pound and cardboard from $115 to $40 a ton. see

Date Local: Living sustainably should mean no more long distance relationships. This tongue in cheek article gets at the heart of the changes necessary for green living. The same type of environmental logic has already been applied to our eating habits. Isn't it time for a Date Local movement, too? Let's start thinking about “sex miles.”  see

Biggest Foe of California Solar? Environmentalists. The Sierra Club fought hard against the Sunrise Powerlink project. They focused on the line's route through the arid mountains of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The lack of transmission has slowed the development of renewable energy in California. see

Steven Chu Makes Warming Seem More Real: He warned that California’s major cities will be in jeopardy and that the state’s agriculture will grind to a halt by the end of the century if steps are not taken to combat global warming. “I don’t think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen,” Dr. Chu said. “We’re looking at a scenario where there’s no more agriculture in California.” see

Paint the Roof White:  Painting as many of the nation's roofs as possible white or a light color – and as much of its pavement, as possible — would direct more solar radiation into space. Painting urban surfaces in the warm parts of the world white or a light color could offset the carbon emissions of all 600 million of the world's cars for 18 to 20 years — at a savings equivalent to at least $1 trillion worth of CO2 reductions.” see

Pacific Ocean’s Floating Garbage: The Pacific Gyre is a vast area of plastic debris and other flotsam drifting in the northern Pacific Ocean, held there by swirling ocean currents. It stretches from about five hundred nautical miles off the coast of California, across the northern Pacific to near the coast of Japan. The islands of Hawaii are placed almost in the middle, so piles of plastic regularly wash up on some beaches there. see , see

Acid and the Oceans: Once the acidity of the Southern Ocean reaches a certain level, the shells of these and other calcareous marine creatures will start to dissolve. "That's a really bad point to get to," Dr McNeil said. "After that point, we can't go back unless we suck the CO2 out of the atmosphere," said a scientist from the University of New South Wales This so-called 'tipping point' of acidification had been predicted to occur when atmospheric CO2 levels hit 550 parts per million, around the year 2060. However, the new research shows levels of the carbonate that these creatures need to build and maintain their shells drops naturally in winter, due to natural variations in factors such as ocean temperature, currents and mixing, and pH. see

Mass Extinctions: Earth is in the midst of the sixth mass extinction of both plants and animals, with nearly 50 percent of all species disappearing, scientists say. The last mass extinction near the current level was 65 million years ago, called the Cretaceous Tertiary extinction event, and was probably the result of a meteor hitting the Earth. see

Oceans Not Absorbing CO₂: Scientists have discovered a collapse in the amount of carbon emissions absorbed by the Sea of Japan. Currently, the world's oceans soak up about 11 billion tons of human carbon dioxide pollution each year, about a quarter of all produced. Even a slight weakening of this natural process would leave significantly more CO₂ in the atmosphere. see , see , see , see

Arctic Ice Gone by 2030: Summer ice at the North Pole has been shrinking since 1979. Computer models now predict that this trend will continue and the Arctic will be ice-free during the summer of 2030. Over the past five years, ice loss has been accelerating. see ,  see

Organic Farming: Organic farming offers Africa the best chance of breaking the cycle of poverty and malnutrition it has been locked in for decades, according to a major study from the United Nations to be presented today.  The practices is delivering sharp increases in yields, improvements in the soil and a boost in the income of Africa's small farmers. see