Climate Pulse

Texas Republican Joe Barton provokes anger and ridicule over his apology to BP for its treatment by the US governmentAt the congressional hearing on the tragic Gulf of Mexico oil spill, it was BP chief executive Tony Hayward who was expected to be savaged. But it was one of Hayward's inquisitors,... [continue]

President Obama to announce that BP will pay $20bn into fund administered by mediator who oversaw 9/11 paymentsUnder intense pressure from the White House, BP has agreed to contribute $20bn into a special fund to compensate victims of the Gulf oil spill.The terms of the deal were being thrashed out... [continue]

photo via flickr Much has been made in the media about the president's perceived inability to get mad over the BP oil spill and the inability for either the government or BP to stop the gusher. Obama, or probably more accurately, his handlers, are aware of this criticism and have pushed back with... [continue]

photo via flickr While scientists say we need to peak our emissions by 2015 and then dramatically reduce them thereafter, the US is projected to actually increase our greenhouse gas emissions through 2020, according to estimates from the government submitted to the United Nations. CO2 emissions are... [continue]

Hearing reveals continuing differences between the coal industry and federal attempts to tackle climate changeThe big three of American coal were called on to the carpet by Congress today - nine days after one of the deadliest mine accidents in history - for trying to block climate change... [continue]

Document outlines key messages the Obama administration wants to convey in the run-up to UN climate talks in Mexico in NovemberA document accidentally left on a European hotel computer and passed to the Guardian reveals the US government's increasingly controversial strategy in the global UN climate... [continue]

The US will target greenhouse gases emitted by cars for the first time, thanks to new regulations on exhaust emissionsThe Obama administration, frustrated by Congress from acting on climate change, finalised its first national greenhouse gas limits on car exhaust emissions today. The new rules will... [continue]

Obama administration proposals will make destructive mountaintop mining operations effectively impossibleThe Obama administration effectively called time today on one of the most destructive industries in America, proposing new environmental guidelines for mountaintop mining removal.The move was... [continue]

photo via flickr In a surprising but welcome move, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers today sent a letter to House and Senate leadership stating its opposition to Sen. Lisa Murkowski's efforts to take away the EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA has the ability, known... [continue]

People are drifting into a lethal slumber on climate change. More of the same won't wake them upIt's an exceptionally inconvenient truth. Only one American in three believes that human beings are responsible for climate change: a polling result 10% down on where opinion rested the year before.... [continue]