Final Test Before California's Cap-and-Trade Program Kicks Off | Kristin Eberhard's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

Next week’s scheduled practice auction of greenhouse gas allowances for California’s largest polluters will provide an important first look into how the state’s cap-and-trade program, a key element of the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), will work going forward.

Too soon to scrap B.C.'s carbon tax

The B.C. carbon tax is good news, not only for the environment, but for nearly everyone who pays taxes in British Columbia, because the carbon tax is used to reduce taxes for individuals and businesses.

Someday, a green tax we can all be thankful for | NJ.com

First, we established that global warming was happening. Then we proved it was caused by excess gases, such as carbon dioxide, accumulating in the atmosphere.

Los Alamos researchers study climate change | WashingtonExaminer.com

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — For a plant physiologist whose research points to a looming disaster in the world as we know it, Nate G. McDowell is a surprisingly upbeat guy.
...
McDowell was among five Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists to receive federal ARRA funding for their individual projects along with Andrew Gaunt, Christopher Mauger, Evgenya Smirnova and Tsuyoshi Tajima. McDowell received $2.5 million to cover the first five years of the project, most of which went to designing and building the test site.

"I have $100,000 left," McDowell said
...One hypothesis they're testing is that a long, hot drought damages a tree's foliage and the photosynthetic mechanism that maintains the tree's metabolism.

"If a plant is starving for carbon, it can't repair that damaged tissue," McDowell said. "It's a hypothesis that makes sense but has never been tested. It could be the final straw that breaks the camel's back. If the leaves get cooked and the plant can't rebuild them because it has no carbohydrates to use as energy sources to rebuild them, that could be the end of it."
...
"Carbon dioxide is rising and that's a fact. Temperatures are rising and that's a fact. Third, the rising greenhouse gas levels do drive a large, large part of the temperature rise. The only people who debate these things are contrarians or people who have an ulterior motive."

"Now, are trees dying because of (rising carbon dioxide and temperature levels)? That's what we can't say that for sure," McDowell said. "But, there's a bunch of lines of evidence suggesting that they are."

"I can't say this with absolute certainty, but I don't expect there to be conifers in Los Alamos or Santa Fe County in 50 years," McDowell said.