By John Parnell
– The day’s top climate change stories as chosen by RTCC
– Tweet @RTCCnewswire and use #RTCCLive hashtag
– Send your thoughts to [email protected]
– Updated from 0900 BST (GMT+1) Last updated 1800 BST
Latest news
The UAE safety regulator has cleared the way for the country to build its first nuclear power station. It is the first new nation to ‘go nuclear’ in 31 years.
Police have ended the ‘ClimateGate‘ inquiry after ruling that there is no prospect of them finding the culprit. Two batches of emails written by climate scientists at the University of East Anglia were released to the public in an attempt to discredit them.
The average Chinese person’s carbon footprint is now the same as a European’s according to a study by the European Commission. The findings are sure to carry little weight in Beijing given the source, but they are sure to provide fodder for the European delegation at the next climate negotiations in November.
New data from a Japanese satellite shows the extent of Greenland ice melt producing some dramatic imagery. It also revealed larger than expected rainfall.
While power generating technologies, wind or coal, solar or nuclear, tend to steal the headlines, the networks that move that power around our countries can be just as critical. This new deal between Ireland and the UK will allow the latter to receive excess power from Ireland’s blustery wind farms.
Greenpeace’s Arctic campaign is grabbing the headlines as its activists target Shell petrol stations, but did you spot this subtler campaign effort earlier in the year? The group carried out a number of hoaxes online but they also went a step further staging this fake, disastrous ‘Shell press event‘…
Germany’s Environment Minister Peter Altmaier has issued some cautious optimism ahead of the Doha climate change talks later this year: “There was more consensus here than I had thought possible,” he said of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue that concluded yesterday.
The UK wind energy subsidy cut continues with investors wading into the debate. They have called the ongoing debate harmful and added that the creation of new jobs could be jeopardised. The UK’s Department for Energy and Climate Change is seeking a 10% cut, but the Treasury is pressing for a 25% reduction.
The chairman of food giant Nestle has said that the “time of cheap food prices is over” and has pointed the finger squarely at biofuels.
Native Americans in the North West of the US have teamed up with climate scientists to monitor environmental changes.
Video of the day
An incredible water-free fire suppression technique from the US Defence Department’s (sometimes unorthodox) research group Darpa. The method uses sound waves to douse, an albeit small, fire. Insurance bills for the recent wildfires in Colorado that are thought to have killed six people and caused $500m of damage.
Top tweets
‘Breaking’ news: A big chunk of Greenland’s Petermann Glacier has broken lose; image from our Aqua satellite. go.nasa.gov/OQvyzV
— NASA (@NASA) July 17, 2012
Two giant bees handed the Govt an invoice for pollination services today bit.ly/NzC2oL#thebeecause
— Friends of the Earth (@wwwfoecouk) July 18, 2012
Picture of the day
Thanks to USA Today for publishing this excellent summary for detractors of the climate change negotiation process…
