Earth nears tipping point on climate change – Christian Science Monitor. A fine article on Hansen’s recent study. Quotable quote: “What should be the target for mugging old ladies? You want to minimize the number, regardless.”

Public concern over climate change jumps-survey – Reuters. Factoid: “Although up 7 percent in six months, still only 13 percent of United States citizens … see climate change as one of their biggest worries.”

Europe Moves to Make Big Polluters Pay for Emissions – N.Y. Times. Europe is working to fix its problem-plagued carbon-permit trading program: “We are considering auctioning up to 100 percent of credits.”

The White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair showed off his legendary verbal skills at a G8 press briefing today. Here are the two best:.

Yoda Connaughton was enumerating the President’s “domestic agenda on climate” when he said:

The President has set out his support at the state level for renewable power mandates, and we now have the United States of America, 80% [sic] of our power under state renewable power requirements.

Packed in a lot of doubletalk in one sentence, he has. The president opposes a federal renewable power mandate (even though he signed one into law in Texas). Second, the 80% is just plain wrong. The 20 states with renewable mandates (plus DC) account for 42% of electricity sales. Can anyone can explain what he meant?

The second example is even more garbled:

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As expected, the Bush administration successfully blocked the G8 nations from setting a firm target for greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The administration wants to spend the next 18 months coming up with a purely “aspirational” goal. Isn’t that special?

An unnamed reporter asked White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairman Jim Connaughton the question of the day:

Can you explain why you guys are calling it leadership from the President to talk about continuing to talk, as opposed to just sitting down with the countries who are here in coming to some form of agreement?

Connaughton, a master of doubletalk, answered:

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NASA administrator Michael Griffin offered a lame apology for his Denyer remarks on climate change. The Associated Press reports Griffin “regrets airing his personal views about global warming during a recent radio interview.” That is, he apologized for speaking his mind. Sad.

In a related story, the media revealed a recent report on how NASA and the Bush administration are gutting Earth observation work crucial to tracking climate change:

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Pelosi Statement on Legislation Addressing Energy Independence and Global Warming:

“Any legislation that comes to the House floor must increase our energy independence, reduce global warming, invest in new technologies to achieve these goals and create good jobs in America.“

Any proposal that affects California’s landmark efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or eliminate the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions will not have my support.”

We agree! More from E&E Daily (subs. reqd.):

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You can skip George Monbiot’s book “Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning.”

Slightly longer book review:

Because there are far too many climate books to read, I confess I apply a litmus test. I look up “hydrogen” in the index. If the writer thinks they are a climate solution, the book can be skipped.

I thought I would like this book since I like many of the columns of the British author, including an early excerpt on the connection of the global warming deniers to big tobacco. But on page 162, he writes, “hydrogen fuel cells are beginning to look like a feasible technology for motor transport, if not on the time scale the producers predict.”

No. Not even close. They are looking less feasible these days. They are a post-2050 climate solution at best. And Monbiot is a man in a hurry — he believes the only hope for mankind is “for rich nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent by 2030.”

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