It's a Mini disaster! BMW sponsors deadly cold front - Europe - World - The Independent

The mounting fatalities lent a sinister aspect to Germany's practice of allowing companies to sponsor high and low pressure weather systems. BMW, it emerged yesterday, paid the trifling sum of €299 to get the current cold front – named "Cooper" to advertise its Mini – before it started claiming lives. The company plans to name a low pressure area "Minnie" later this year.

US wheat at 4-1/2 months high on Russia's export worries | Business Recorder

A fierce cold snap is engulfing Russia, Ukraine and western European grain producers France and Germany and there are fears deep frosts could damage harvests.

Frost Threatens Colombian Flowers For Valentine's Day - PerishableNews

Europe freeze kills 89, fears rise over Russian gas | Reuters

(Reuters) - Record-low temperatures in parts of Eastern Europe pushed the death toll from Arctic conditions to at least 89 people on Wednesday, and have forced Russian gas provider Gazprom to warn over supplies to Europe.

Climate scientists not cowed by relentless climate change deniers | Print Edition - Physics Today

“Many scientists think they can win by blocking punches. You have to throw them,” says Mandia, who teaches physical sciences at New York’s Suffolk County Community College.

[Examples of Hayhoe's "hate" mail] | Texas Tech scientist sees intimidation effort behind barrage of hate mail

I am afraid [blogger Anthony Watts, a former television meteorologist and prominent climate-change skeptic] has exposed you as something of an academic fool. Try using actual data next time.

Stop using Jesus to justify your wacko ideas about global warming. First, it is an insult to the Lord Jesus. Second, it is insulting to those of us who actually take our Christianity seriously. Third, it is juvenile.

Do you believe in God? If you do, then you must believe that He is all powerful. But believing in AGW contradicts that, because to be able to change the climate in such a manner as you prescribe to would mean that we are more powerful than He is. I know better than that, but it would appear that you and your husband don’t. Maybe you should both take another look at your belief system. I think it needs some adjusting.

KfW Committed 22.8 Billion Euros to Climate, Environment in 2012 - Bloomberg

KfW, Germany’s state-owned
development bank, committed 22.8 billion euros ($30 billion) to
climate and environment projects last year, almost a third of
all its lending, and said it will increase this share in 2012.

Did Plants Freeze the Planet? - ScienceNOW

The first plants to colonize land didn't merely supply a dash of green to a drab landscape. They dramatically accelerated the natural breakdown of exposed rocks, according to a new study, drawing so much planet-warming carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere that they sent Earth's climate spiraling into a major ice age.