<html dir="ltr"><head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=Windows-1252">
<style id="owaTempEditStyle"></style><style title="owaParaStyle"><!--P {
MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN-TOP: 0px
}
--></style>
</head>
<body ocsi="x">
<div style="FONT-SIZE: x-small; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; COLOR: #000000; DIRECTION: ltr">
<div></div>
<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="2" face="Tahoma">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Speaking in Indonesia, Secretary of State John Kerry spoke of climate change as a great threat and called for us to respond with action at every level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/16/politics/kerry-climate/"><font color="#0000ff" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/16/politics/kerry-climate/</font></a><font size="3"><font face="Calibri"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Sources such as CNN and AP carried the story straight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>(Notice the odious “think about it” ad to the right of the CNN page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>It’s like an industrial growl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When they say what we are supposed to think about, it is how much money we could make with natural gas.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The speech was less bland than CNN reports, though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Kerry warned that our window for action is closing, called for new investment for a thorough and global transition to renewable energy, and said that “We just don’t have the time to let a few loud interests groups hijack the climate conversation.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://blueandgreentomorrow.com/2014/02/17/john-kerry-we-have-to-invest-in-new-technology-to-fight-climate-change/"><font color="#0000ff" size="3" face="Calibri">http://blueandgreentomorrow.com/2014/02/17/john-kerry-we-have-to-invest-in-new-technology-to-fight-climate-change/</font></a><font size="3"><font face="Calibri"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The full speech, worth the 45 minutes:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/02/221704.htm"><font color="#0000ff" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/02/221704.htm</font></a><font size="3"><font face="Calibri"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>As this speech represents our government’s position, it indicates a most significant and hopeful change in US posture on climate. It is the first of a series of presentations Kerry plans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>He said that he will emphasize security concerns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>President Obama has also indicated that he intends to make a series of speeches on climate.
<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
<o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><font size="3" face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The State Department’s study of the environmental impact of the Keystone XL pipeline ignored the administration’s climate action plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Its warming scenarios put us on track for over 6° of warming by 2040, which should have set off alarms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-kretzmann/climate-goals-keystone-xl_b_4802968.html"><font color="#0000ff" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-kretzmann/climate-goals-keystone-xl_b_4802968.html</font></a><font size="3"><font face="Calibri"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The State Department seems at odds with its Secretary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>I hope some staffer wrists are being slapped.<o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><font size="3" face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The change in Arctic albedo with the melting of sea ice may well be contributing more warming than models had indicated it would.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/warming-arctic-sea-ice-melting-more-dramatic-thought-202504784.html"><font color="#0000ff" size="3" face="Calibri">http://news.yahoo.com/warming-arctic-sea-ice-melting-more-dramatic-thought-202504784.html</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><font size="3" face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>About a third to half of Americans would engage, or have engaged, in some degree of climate activism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>About 1/6 say they would engage in civil disobedience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://environment.yale.edu/climate-communication/article/Behavior-November-2013"><font color="#0000ff" size="3" face="Calibri">http://environment.yale.edu/climate-communication/article/Behavior-November-2013</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><font size="3" face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">5.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>In “Renewable Energy, Nuclear Power, and Galileo” James Hansen provides an overview of the global energy and emissions situation, along with an argument for a program of Chinese-US energy conversion which would allow carbon emissions to peak this decade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></font></font><a href="http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2014/20140221_DraftOpinion.pdf"><font color="#0000ff" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2014/20140221_DraftOpinion.pdf</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><font size="3" face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">6.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Pine Island Glacier in the Antarctic appears to have shrunk rapidly about 8,000 years ago, and may do so again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></font></font><a href="http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/02/antarctic-glacier-shrank-quickly-in-the-past/"><font color="#0000ff" size="3" face="Calibri">http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/02/antarctic-glacier-shrank-quickly-in-the-past/</font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><font size="3" face="Calibri"> </font></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">7.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>NOAA has produced a video showing the progressive diminution of Arctic sea ice over the past 27 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>It appears to flow out over Greenland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
</font></font><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/21/arctic-ice-melt-video"><font color="#0000ff" size="3" face="Calibri">http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/21/arctic-ice-melt-video</font></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><font size="3" face="Calibri">
</font></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</font></div>
</div>
</body>
</html>