Far below: for some odd reason, global warmers love to bring up that big ship that hit an iceberg

Merkel's Global Warming Waffling: Europe Puts Hurdles in Obama's Climate Path

Just as the US gets a new president who promises to reverse years of climate change neglect, American environmental experts worry that Europe's resolve on climate change is weakening. Merkel's recent about-face is especially alarming. [to who?]
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It was a telling moment. Normally these days, when President-elect Barack Obama appears before the press, even his designated cabinet secretaries arrange themselves dutifully in a row behind him. But when Obama met with Al Gore in Chicago on Tuesday afternoon, the former vice president politely offered Obama a seat at a table. Gore is, after all, a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Many see him as a saviour of the global climate.
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One thing especially in the crossfire is the emissions trading system that Obama wants to set up as soon as possible. After the lessons from Europe, where, in the opinion of many experts, freely giving out emissions credits has tended to benefit energy companies, the Obama team now plans to auction them. In this way, they function as a kind of tax on CO2 emissions -- an unpopular concept in the US.

Obama is aware of how controversial his plan is, and he hardly mentioned it during the campaign. Instead, he preferred to emphasize his proposal to invest $15 billion in research into alternative energies.

Prentice Meeting: some personal thoughts

The meeting ended with a very touching closing statement by Thea Whitman, a colleague of mine here. She concluded our meeting by saying that we, the youth present here, are a small slice of the Canadians who so strongly care about climate change. She mentioned that this was not just like any other trade of business conference where we are talking about money. At this conference we are talking about life, death, and the elimination of whole species and ecosystems.

Chuse Science | DeSmogBlog

A few weeks ago in Los Angeles, I saw Chu speak at a National Academy of Sciences event devoted to connecting science and the entertainment industry. Chu focused on global warming and compared our civilization to the Titanic, about to hit an iceberg unless we wake up and recognize the course we're on. It was a brilliant message, although I can testify that while Chu may be an electrifying choice for Energy Secretary, he is not a very electrifying lecturer.

Poznan: Green Leader Despairs at Conference Potential | DeSmogBlog

"It's like attending a family reunion on the Titanic."

Canadian Green Party leader Elizabeth May is a difficult person to interview at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Poznan, Poland. She seems to know nearly everyone, and when she isn't waving and smiling at passersby, she is fending off phone calls or emails buzzing on her blackberry.

But regardless of the old-home week atmosphere, she is bleakly disappointed about what's going on in this sprawling conference centre. Having attended the organizational meeting for the UNFCCC in 1990 and the inaugural meeting in Rio in 1992, and being a veteran of many "COP" (Conference of the Parties) meetings for the inrternational biodiversity treaty, she has seen her share of such events.

"But this has a dreadful pall to it."

Poznan: Canada Snags Another Fossil of the Day | DeSmogBlog

In awarding Canada the (not-very) coveted Fossil, youth delegate Katherine Trajan sang the following, to the tune of "My Heart Will Go On," perhaps appropriately from "The Titanic."

Canada keeps blocking
Objecting, obstructing
Hoping that the talks won't go on

We object to targets
Commitments, and funding
We wish that Kyoto were gone

Stop, no, we don't want to go
To a world where our tar sands are banned
We love to burn fossil fuels
And we'll keep on emitting
Emitting till Harper is gone