David Roberts (drgrist) on Twitter

# "'No, no, no,' Lugar said when asked if he would back the [utility-only] approach." All the compromise is on 1 side, as usual.
# "Asked about the [utility-only] proposal, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said, 'Oh lordie, I don't know.'" Glad she's taking this seriously.
# So much for that: Utility-only proposal fails to move the needle on Capitol Hill http://bit.ly/9a1gWQ [subscription req'd]

Kai Point coal selling like hot cokes | Stuff.co.nz

Coal merchants in Eastern Southland are struggling to keep up with demand for Kai Point Coal as cold weather and looming price hikes send people stockpiling.

Three depots said they had run out of the popular coal in the past week.

Hokonui Haulage 2003 manager Peter MacKay said he started rationing Kai coal sales on Saturday to ensure everyone could get some. Kai Point Coal was the most popular type in the region and customers had been telling him they were stockpiling to avoid paying more for it when the emissions trading scheme becomes law on July 1, he said.

When that happens, coal prices will increase from between $17 and $30 a tonne depending on the emissions released while burning different types.

Acknowledging Recent Natural Cooling

In a paper entitled "A strong bout of natural cooling in 2008," which was published in Geophysical Research Letters, Perlwitz et al. (2009) recount some interesting facts about which many climate alarmists would rather the public remained unaware, including the fact that there was, in Perlwitz et al.'s words, "a precipitous drop in North American temperature in 2008, commingled with a decade-long fall in global mean temperatures."