In U.S., heat records far exceed cold for 9th consecutive month

NASA released its monthly global temperature data, revealing November was easily the hottest in the temperature record.  The “meteorological year” — December to November — was also the hottest on record.  Calendar year 2010 appears poised to be the hottest on record.

These records are especially impressive because we’re in the middle of a strong La Ni±a, which would normally cool off temperatures for a few months (relatively speaking), and we’ve been in “the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century.”  It’s just hard to stop the march of manmade global warming, other than by sharply reducing greenhouse gas emissions, that is.

As for the U.S., Steve Scolnik at Capital Climate analyzed the data from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) for his post, “November Temperature Extremes: Heat Records Far Exceed Cold For 9th Consecutive Month,” which notes:

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Big push for an agreement on tropical forestry at Cancun climate summit in final hours

By CAP’s Andrew Light

The watchword in the halls of this year’s UN climate summit is “balanced package.”  It’s the oblique phrase referring to what might be possible as a final agreement at this year’s meeting, at least to those who don’t have unreasonable expectations on what can be achieved.  What many hope can be achieved is not a full blown climate treaty but rather a package of discrete agreements – what we’ve joined the United Nations Foundation and others in calling “building blocks” – that can advance an ambitious agenda on mitigation and adaptation in the absence of complete climate treaty.

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The Wonk Room is reporting and tweeting live from the international climate talks in Cancun, Mexico.

At the climate talks in Cancun, Israel’s ambassador to Mexico gave her heartfelt thanks to the nations that came to her country’s aid — including Turkey, Jordan, and Egypt — during the worst wildfire in its history, and called for climate negotiations to be driven by the “spirit of shared destiny.” After discussing the many advances the state of Israel has made in greening its economy, Ambassador Rodica Radian-Gordon addressed the threats that global warming pollution poses for her Mediterranean nation. She discussed the “terrible forest fire” that raged last week, fueled by record heat and drought, until other nations came to join the battle:

Last week, a terrible forest fire broke out in northern Israel, devastating acres of land. This was the worst wildfire Israel has experienced and resulted in loss of life, and the evacuation of thousands of people from their homes, acres of devastated forest area including a large percentage of the limited natural forests that exist in the country.

This had been the hottest and driest November on record, after years of drought, and the dry land made it impossible to extinguish the flames. Finally the fire was controlled through assistance we received from many countries in our region and as well as others, and I would like to take this opportunity to express Israel’s heartfelt thanks for the generous help received.

This international cooperation that was so needed in fighting the flames in Israel further emphasizes the significance of the global effort that is required when dealing with the challenges of climate change. This spirit of shared destiny between the peoples of this planet lies at the heart of the climate change convention. As leaders, we must do whatever it takes to reflect that spirit and by coming to an agreed outcome here in Cancun.

Watch it:

The devastating wildfire that ripped through Israel last week was a predicted consequence of global warming pollution. Scientists could not predict, however, how the peoples of the region would transcend their deep political and religious divides to help each other in the face of biblical destruction, building hope through solidarity on our shared planet.

Yes, the Politico has picked up the technical term “Climate Zombie.”  But the real news from the inside-the-beltway gaggle is that the GOP is shrinking the House Energy and Commerce committee and stuffing it with those zombies:

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Kiribati President: “Whoever thinks they are more vulnerable than we are, they can swap countries.”

It’s crunch time in Cancun, and with one day left — and a possible extension into Saturday in emergency session — delegates are scrambling for some closure.  CAP’s Susan Lyon has the story.

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In just over a year, we have attracted 18 domestic and international companies, which are projected to create 63,000 private-sector jobs in Michigan. With breathtaking speed, we built an entire advanced-battery “ecosystem” for the purpose of electrifying the automobile.

If the states are the laboratories of democracy, Washington can take a lesson from what is happening in Michigan.

That’s Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm in a Politico op-ed.  Here’s more:

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Few observers expected this week’s international meeting in Cancun, Mexico of U.N. climate negotiators to conclude in forging a legally binding treaty for greenhouse gas reductions as a next phase of the Kyoto protocol. Instead, the likely outcome may simply be a balanced package of incremental though significant measures designed to make progress on key climate issues.  CAP’s Bracken Hendricks and Lisbeth Kaufman have the story in this repost.

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Negotiations are approaching their final stage here in Cancun, and the scope of an agreement on financing for climate change mitigation and adaptation is becoming clearer.  As expected, negotiators appear to be limiting the finance agreement to the structure of a climate fund, pushing decisions on actually raising money to next year’s meetings.  CAP’s Richard W. Caperton has the story.

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