Ice age report heats up queries on electric cars

Sure it's cold enough for politicians to have their hands in their own pockets.

But I suppose we'd better get used to it, especially on the heels of another report -- this one out of Russia -- cautioning that the Earth has entered another ice age because of a cyclical reduction in solar activity. As usual with climate change, man can do nothing to stop it.

Cold, Hard Truth Will Hurt - washingtonpost.com

It is bitter cold in Washington in January. And now the news: The coldest weather in more than a decade is going to continue until the full spectrum of synonyms for "bitter" is exhausted.
...
The current cold weather will cause consternation about the fate of millions expected to turn out for the presidential inauguration Tuesday. It is safe to predict that they will be cold but that they will survive if they take all of the necessary precautions. The usual list of recommendations has been trundled out, but it boils down to this: Dress warmly.

Biodiesel fuel woes close Bloomington schools

All schools in the Bloomington School District will be closed today after state-required biodiesel fuel clogged in school buses Thursday morning and left dozens of students stranded in frigid weather, the district said late Thursday.

Rick Kaufman, the district's spokesman, said elements in the biodiesel fuel that turn into a gel-like substance at temperatures below 10 degrees clogged about a dozen district buses Thursday morning. Some buses weren't able to operate at all and others experienced problems while picking up students, he said.
...
In 2005, a new requirement went into effect that all diesel fuel sold in Minnesota had to contain 2 percent biodiesel. Kaufman said that some school districts keep their buses in temperature-controlled garages, and that the First Student bus service, which contracts with several metro-area school districts, keeps its buses in garages or idles them through the night.