Author Eric Pooley's 'The Climate War' goes behind scenes of environmental lawmaking | cleveland.com

...if you are skeptical about human-caused climate change, or chalk up the uproar to political conspiracy -- a phenomenon the author dubs "The Denialsphere" -- you also may wish to scream. Al Gore turns out to be the primary hero of this tale.

The World’s Ever-Increasing Hunger for Coal | The SPPI Blog

Experts at the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris estimate that demand for coal will increase in the next two decades by more than for any other energy source except wind and solar power, from the current level of about 6.7 billion tons per year to almost 10 billion tons in 2030.

China and India are mainly responsible for the coal boom, with the two countries already accounting for more than half of global demand. According to the IEA, they will have more than doubled their coal consumption by 2030. Coal provides them with electricity, and electricity is the elixir for progress and prosperity. In China, a new coal power plant is placed into service about once a week.

World Climate Report » Mortality Update

The bottom line though, is that the results from these studies suggest that the ultimate impact of climate change—especially a winter-dominated and/or nighttime-dominated warming—on weather-related mortality is likely minimal at worst, and perhaps, at best, even slightly beneficial.

THE HOCKEY SCHTICK: Study: A Dog or Cat Pollutes more than a SUV

(AGI) - Rome, August 18 - How much pollution results from keeping a dog? More than a SUV. A paradox? Perhaps, but in terms of resource consumption, domestic animals have a high impact on the environment.