Scientists studying Earth system processes, including climate change, are now working with one of the largest supercomputers on the planet. The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has begun using a 1.5 petaflop IBM system, called Yellowstone, that is among the top 20 supercomputers in the world, at least until the global rankings are updated next month. [Computerworld]
They say that to tell who won a debate, watch it with the sound off. What I learned after the last debate, however, is that to tell what was actually said at a debate, you don’t want to watch it at all. You want to read it. [Wonk Blog]
President Obama and Mitt Romney threw plenty of jabs about energy at their second debate Tuesday but said nothing about climate change. [The Hill]
Warming could be a winning issue, but President Obama isn’t pushing on it — and experts finger one of his top aides as the culprit. [Atlantic]
We heard some oldies but goodies in Tuesday night’s feisty debate between President Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney. Here are some factual highlights — or lowlights. [Washington Post]
On Monday, a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences, or PNAS, concluded that large Katrina-sized hurricanes were twice as likely to form off the United States’ southeast coast in hotter years than they were in colder years. [Los Angeles Times]
A ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday (October 15) marked the official opening of the NOAA’s new world-class center dedicated to advancing the state of weather and climate science and transitioning research findings to improved weather forecasts and related information. [Weather Gang]
A major review into the impact of climate change on plants and animals has found that scientists have almost no idea how it drives various species to extinction. [Guardian]
Data from Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute provide a detailed picture for the first 40 weeks of the year, from January 1 to October 7, and indicates the scale of grid balancing already needed. [Reuters]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday defended her government’s decision to phase out nuclear power and switch to renewable energies within a decade, but acknowledged the need to overhaul and speed up the transition plan. [Associated Press]
Overcapacity in the solar industry is likely to result in at least 180 panel makers either going bust or being acquired by 2015, according to a research report released on Tuesday. [Reuters]
The Middle East and North Africa, home to about half the world’s oil reserves, has more than 150 renewable-energy projects under way, a map from the Abu Dhabi- based Clean Energy Business Council shows. [Bloomberg]
