Hybrid sales are taking off again as gasoline prices soar:

Reported sales of hybrids in the US in November rose 82% year-on-year to reach 33,233 total units, representing 2.8% of all light-duty vehicles sold during the month. GM does not break out its hybrid sales separately, and so is not reflected in the hybrid number–thus, the actual hybrid total and new market share will [be] slightly higher.

Toyota posted a strong month, with Prius sales hitting 16,737 units, up 109% from the year before.

Still a small fraction of U.S. vehicles sold, but gas prices clearly do have some impact on purchasing decisions.

As expected feared, the supporters of the energy bill could muster only 53 votes for cloture (i.e. for ending the filibuster), well short of the 60 needed.

This doesn’t mean we’ll have no energy bill, but it probably dooms the tax package that was aimed at boosting renewables/conservation at the expense of fossil fuels.

The renewable portfolio standard may have 60 votes in the Senate, but not the same 60 votes that CAFE has, so it may also be salvageable, but that isn’t certain.

The Senate moves on to the distinguished Sen. Akaka (D-HI) remembering the 66th (!) anniversary of Pearl Harbor. I wonder if anyone will be speaking so eloquently and positively about this generation 66 years from now….

You can watch or listen online here.

Sen. Reid (D-NV) says “The time to act is now!”

Sen. Boxer (D-CA) says there aren’t 60 votes for the bill, unfortunately.

So it looks like it will go down in flames today and they’ll have to split out CAFE from the tax provisions and renewable portfolio standard. We are going to get 35 mpg one way or another — yes, I know, too little, too late, but infinitely better than nothing!

Warming, Biofuels to Boost Food Prices for Years – Reuters. “Food prices may climb for years because of expansion of farming for fuel, climate changes, and demand from richer consumers in fast-growing developing nations, a report from a top food research group said on Tuesday. ” Report HERE.

In Britain, Insurers Call for 25-Year Flood Strategy – Reuters. “The Association of British Insurers (ABI) urged the government to embark upon an investment programme that reflects climate change and the ‘real’ flood risks from rivers, coasts and drainage. (For exemplary information on flooding events in Britain, see the government’s summer flooding page here; also, see the full ABI report here.)

US blasted for carbon greed at UN climate meet – The Economic Times (India). A full report by the National Environmental Trust is here, and here are some of the most interesting factoids:

The US is responsible for 27.8% of the cumulative global warming pollution, while all developing nations’ emissions put together totals just 23%.”

Forty-two US states individually emit more carbon dioxide than 50 developing countries combined, and three states individually emit more CO2 than 100 developing countries, NET said.

Texas, with 24 million people, emitted 696 million tonnes of CO 2 per year, more than Britain, whose 60 million people emitted 578 million tonnes.Even Wyoming, the most sparsely populated state in the US, with only 510,000 people, emits more carbon dioxide than 69 developing countries that are home to 357 million.