June

White House and Kremlin Join Forces to Combat Global Warming: "President Clinton and President Putin … announced a new commitment between the United States and the Russian Federation to strengthen joint efforts to combat global climate change… pledged… expand cooperation on… measurement and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions… strong… international rules… maximize… the [Kyoto] Protocols's… tools to achieve cost-effective emissions reductions." U.S. Newswire, 6/4/00

Florida Fires Close Highway Due to Smoke: "Wildfires' smoke… closed 14 miles of a major north-south interstate… Drought has left much of Florida extremely susceptible to fire… Since January 1st, 3,313 wildfires have burned 11,852 acres across Florida." Mike Schneider. AP, 6/5/00

Thunderstorms Wreak Havoc in Wisconsin: "Thunderstorms packing heavy rain and strong winds pounded Minnesota and Wisconsin… A tornado touched down in southwest Wisconsin… In parts of Minnesota, up to five inches of rain flooded communities… 'It was just like a wall of water that came through,' said Jim Cooper... emergency management coordinator. 'It happened so fast… we were not able to get in and sandbag.'" AP, 6/5/00

New Fires Flare Up in North, Central Florida: "More than a dozen new wildfires flared up across drought-stricken Florida… [F]irefighters continued to grapple with scores of blazes… Fifteen new fires flared on Monday in the Orlando area, three in Putnam County… and another in Marion County." Reuters, 6/5/00

Drought Threaten Wildlife Species: "A third straight year of unusually dry weather in the U.S. Southeast is forcing alligators to find new homes, threatening endangered mollusks and drying up cool springs in the Flint River." AP, 6/5/00

Drought in Afghanistan Threatens Millions: "Afghanistan's worst drought in almost 30 years is parching crops, draining wells and causing widespread famine and economic hardships… Last winter brought much less snowfall than the winter of 1998-1999,… also a drought year. The water table has dropped throughout much of the country, drying up the shallow wells relied upon for drinking water in most areas." Cat Lazaroff, ENN, 6/6/00

DynaMotive Technologies Joins With Genergy to Test BioOil as Clean Fuel: "DynaMotive Technologies Corporation… signed an agreement with Genergy to test Dynamotive's BioOil as a clean furl to generate 'green' power."… This is important because it will develop and expand the gas turbine market for potential users of BioOil fuels. "[S]aid Antony Robson, Managing Director of DynaMOtive Europe Limited, 'This builds on out strategy of validating BioOil… increasing range of power generation equipment… ultimately provide customers with… flexibility in… selection of BioOil-fueled systems.'" CNW, 6/6/00

Forecaster Increases Hurricane Prediction: "Long-range hurricane forecaster William Gray predicted today there will be 12 named storms, eight hurricanes and four major hurricanes this season, an increase of one in each category… [He] said the changes were prompted by a series of changes in atmospheric and oceanic phenomena [called] `climate signals.' 'There has never been a case where La Nina has remained as cold as at present and El Nino has then developed before the season is over.'" UPI, 6/7/00

Fire Danger Rises in Hot West: Due to extreme drought conditions in many western states, forecasters are predicting things will get worse before the get better. "[C]onditions are ripe for wildfires… State Forester Firewarden Roy Treoweth said warm, dry breezy days are drying out vegetation in all area but a few parts of northeastern Nevada. Much of the southern and western parts of the state already are primed for fires." AP, 6/7/00

Floods in China Kill 74 People: "Flooding and landslides in separate regions of China have killed 74 people and left thousands homeless… Torrential rains triggered floods and landslides… Each summer, floods due to heavy seasonal rains cause widespread damage in many parts of China." AP, 6/8/00

Oakland Takes Key Step Toward Becoming World's Largest Green Power City: "A Public Works Agency subcommittee recommended to [Oakland's] full City Council… to approve a power purchase contract for green electricity with ABAG Power to meet 100% of its electricity needs with green power." Business Wire, 6/7/00

DaimlerChrysler Taps Landfill Gas to Power Plant; Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Cuts Costs: "DaimlerChrylser Corporation is tapping waste gases from the decomposition of landfill trash to provide power for its two St. Louis, Missouri, assembly plants." The landfill gas is 50 percent methane, also a greenhouse gas. ["T]he project will reduce use of fossil fuels and eliminate a source of greenhouse gas emissions." PRNewswire, 6/8/00

Florida Seeks Federal Drought Relief Aid: "Gov. Jeb Bush urged federal officials… to declare all of Florida an agricultural disaster area as the drought stricken state struggles with searing heat, parched crops and smoky wildfires. 'This is one of the most unique and threatening weather phenomenons that the state of Florida has ever experienced.' Bush said." Michael Peltier. Reuters, 6/9/00

Rising Temps Forecast Changes: A four-year study of the effects of global warming on the United States projects that if the nation's climate increases by five to ten degrees over the next 100 years, there will be "'a complex mix of positive and negative impacts' [with some] surprises…. [E]ntire ecosystems… will shift northward as temperatures increase… coastal area will… cope with higher sea levels and… more frequent storms... Cities will [experience] more frequent heat waves… droughts… likely in parts of the Midwest… [O]cean levels [will] rise… barrier islands… disappear. Tree, fish and animal species will migrate northward everywhere." H. Josef Hebert, AP, 6/9/00

Rains in Guatemala Leave 21 Dead: "The start of the rain season has caused at least 21 deaths and more than 2,000 victims in Guatemala… Meteorology Institute sources said that the rain has surpassed this year by one hundred percent the recording of the last decades." Xinhua, 6/9/00

Global Warming - House Still Blind: Even though "Senators [are] shifting their debate from 'Is global warming real?' to 'How can we prepare for global warming in an economically sensible way?'", this shift in thinking has been slower to reach the "House of Representatives… expected to consider a measure that bars federal officials from taking almost any steps to confront climate change and mitigate its effects." L.A. Times, 6/11/00, M4

Southeast Suffers Through Drought: "Across the Southeast, farmers are watching their crops wither in the fields," and cattle are being slaughtered early because they are running out of food. "The Southeast is in the grip of a drought the like of which some states have not seen in generations." Vickie Chachere. AP, 6/12/00

Floods Hit Nepal's Western Region: "Incessant pre-monsoon rains have brought… pervasive flood in the mid-western and western regions of Nepal." Xinhua News, 6/12/00

46 Die in Torrential Rain in North India: "At least 46 people were killed in house collapses, landslides and flash flood, triggered by heavy rain in Uttar Pradesh stae in north India." Xinhua News, 6/12/00

Heavy Rains and Wind in Catalunya: Torrential rains and gusting winds killed two elderly people, stranded 500 tourists and drove 200 people from their homes in eastern and northern Spain." AP, 6/12/00

Hundreds Evacuated From Floods in France: "Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes in southern France and the Pyrenees mountains… when violent rain and snowstorms caused flooding." AP, 6/12/00

Drought Continues in South: "One of the worst droughts on record… in the South, continu[es] to threaten wildlife and agriculture with no relief in sight… The National Weather Service said this could be the driest 6-month period in southern Alabama in more than a century." UPI, 6/12/00

Daimler's Hubbert Calls for "Urgent" Action on Gasoline: "Daimler-Chrysler's Jurgen Hubbert has issued an "urgent" call for the global oil refining industry to clean up its gasoline and diesel product. If the oil industry failed, Hubbert threatened by implication, automakers would opt for hydrogen fuel cell and other alternate fuel technology and leave the oil industry behind." Will Harvie, BridgeNews, 6/12/00

Downtown Detroit Hit by Power Outage: "A power outage struck downtown Detroit on Tuesday afternoon, cutting electricity to police and government offices, stranding people in elevators and forcing the closure of 70 schools." Reuters, 6/13/00

Mother Nature Turns Up the Heat: "Summer has arrived in the Southland about a week early… According to National Weather Service specialist Stuart Seto, highs… should be about 15 degrees warmer [today]… 'This is unusually high for this time of year… We don't usually see these sort of highs until later in the year, even the fall.'" MSNBC.com, 6/13/00

Harsh Change Predicted for State Climate: "Global warming over the next 100 years will probably cause drastic changes in California's climate-increasing the state's bouts with fires, floods and drought, a new federal report says." Rising temperatures could augment California's periodic water shortage even though they may actually increase the overall rainfall. This is due to a possible shift in rain and snow away from the areas where it counts most, the Sierra Snowpack, where California's own natural water supply originates. "The report `paints quite a sobering picture of the future,' President Clinton said… 'I have tried for several years to get the United States to respond, to do our part. We are the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world." Kenneth R. Weiss, LA Times, 6/13/00

UN Conference Takes Up Technical Issues on Global Warming Treaty: "Some 2,000 representatives from 150 countries opened a week of talks Monday aimed at resolving technical and political differences over a global treaty on reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other global-warming gase… A protocol for reducing greenhouse gases worldwide was adopted in Kyoto, Japan in 1997, [but has yet to be enforced] because most governments are holding off ratifying it until agreement is reached on how it will operate in practice." AP, 6/13/00

Flour City International Completes Prototype of Device for the Wireless: Management and Transference of Electricity Generated by Photovoltaic Panels
"Flour City International Inc… announced the completion of the first prototype for its wireless device developed to harness and transfer electricity generated by photovoltaic panels. The patent-pending technology will eliminate the network of wires currently used to capture and transfer electricity generated by PV panels to battery storage for… electricity in mid to high-rise buildings." Business Wire, 6/13/00

World Petroleum Congress Confronts Environmental Issues as Well as Activists: 3,000 oil and gas executives and officials from 80 countries have convened at the World Petroleum Congress in Calgary Canada. At issue are the growing expense of production of cleaner burning fuels, adaptation to climate change and the demand for carbon free energy. "Most of the easy environmental improvements have now been made, said Bob Peterson, chief executive of Imperial Oil, and that due to the expense of upgrading and retooling refineries, governments and industry must work out uniform standards." At the same time dozens of activist groups protested outside the congress and simultaneously held their own convention, voicing their concern with the effects of burning fossil fuels on climate change, as well as "the oil industry's record on the environment and human rights." ENS, 6/13/00

Floodwaters Take Deadly Toll in India's Remote Northeast: "Floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains have killed at least 20 people and marooned more than 10,000… The floodwaters also threatened to submerge the 430-square-kilometer Kaziranga National Park." AP, 6/14/00

Smog From Huge Ontario Power Affecting Upstate New York Upstate: New York is being inundated with three times the rate of nitrogen oxides allowed in New York, thanks to emissions from North America's largest coal-fired power plant in Nanticoke, Ontario, Great Lakes United, [63 miles north] equipped with second-rate pollution equipment. "[N]egotiators are meeting… in Washington to consider smog reductions under the United States-Canada Air Quality Agreement." Individual.com, 6/14/00

Northern China Fights Dust Bowl: "A dozen massive dust storms [have] scoured northern China this spring… Prolonged drought, excessive grazing and timber cutting and the cultivation of grasslands, riverbanks and mountains with corn and other grains have made northern China a dust bowl… 'There's a connection between the dust storms and ourselves,' says Liang Conjie, head of the environmental group Friends of Nature. 'People take eating mutton for granted... But the sheep are grazing pastures bare." Elaine Kurtenbach, AP, 6/15/00

Northern California Heat Wave Relents: "Temperatures edged lower around northern California today after an early summer heat wave slammed the San Francisco area with a blast of triple-digit temperatures… San Jose… saw the temperature climb to a record 109F." Reuters, 6/15/00

Spire to Convert Brownfield to Solar Brightfield: Spire Corporation's business unit, Spire Solar Chicago, will provide a 500kW photovoltaic system to be used at a reclaimed industrial dumping ground and landfill on Chicago's south side, converting an environmental Brownfield into a Solar Brightfield(TM). "This 500kW array [is] the first installment of the City's announced 2.5 megawatt PV array… the world's largest when completed covering… 10 acres." Business Wire, 6/15/00

LADWP Invests $6 Million in Solar During First Year of Effort: The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power… has awarded AstroPower Inc. a $6 million contract to supply solar electric power modules. This contract is the largest single award for solar power since utility deregulation… 'This marks a new chapter in our quest to make solar power widely available in the City of Los Angeles,' said Angelina Galiteva, LADWP director of strategic planning. 'We hope that other energy companies throughout America will take our lead and give the people what they want: electricity that is clean, safe, and reliable.'" Business Wire, 6/15/00

Floods Kill 120 in Mexico: "Floods caused by torrential rains have killed 120 people in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca." Xinhua News, 6/16/00

Chilean Storm Leaves 60,0000 Homeless: "A powerful storm left some 60,000 people homeless in a midweek rampage across central Chile… Heavy snow blocked border crossings with Argentina." AP, 6/16/00

Researchers Believe Global Warming May Affect El Nino Pattern: In a new report in Science magazine, two Princeton researchers, Alexey Federov and George Philander, propose that the frequency and intensity of the El Nino Southern Oscillation cycle follows a measurable pattern which possibly influenced by climate change. Looking at the increased intensity of El Nino in 1982 and 1997, they are considering what role global warming may be playing. "At the heart of all activity that influences sea surface temperature in the eastern tropical Pacific are… wind strength and the depth of the transition zone between the warm and cold layers of the ocean [which] are supremely vulnerable to shifts in global temperature." Kathleen Wren, Science/MSNBC, 6/16/00

Spring Broke Record as Nation's Warmest: This spring was the warmest on record for the United States since 1910. "Climatologist Jay Lawrimore of the National Climatic Data Center said even though being reluctant to blame global warming directly, "[T]here is the possibility that there is some impact from global warming and it is amplifying the normal oscillations in our climate." AP, 6/17/00

Romania Seeks to Ease Drought Worries: "The Romanian government is struggling to quell public fears that the country's worst drought since 1947 will trigger runaway inflation and food shortages… The 2-month-old drought has wiped out an estimated $330 million worth of cereal crops; sugar beets; corn; potatoes; sunflowers and hay." UPI, 6/18/00

Los Angeles Bars New Diesel Garbage Trucks, Buses: The Los Angeles air quality agency [AQMD] has voted to require almost 11,000 transit buses and garbage trucks to convert to cleaner burning alternative fuels. "Existing diesel buses and trucks will not be affected, [b]at any new purchases by government agencies, transit companies and universities in Los Angeles and a three county area covering Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, must use cleaner burning alternative fuels." Cat Lazaroff, ENS, 6/19/00

World Expo 2000 Hears Urgent Warning to Limit Resource Demands: "A pioneering analysis of the world's ecosystems reveals a widespread decline due to increasing resource demands… As part of the global dialogue at Expo 2000, the World Resources Institute warned that if the decline continues, consequences could be devastating." ENS, 6/20/00

Fargo in Emergency State After Rain: "[A] night of heavy rain left the city [Fargo} looking like a watery maze…The city got about 7 inches of rain in a six-hour period from Monday night into Tuesday, said Mayor Bruce Furness, who declared a state of emergency." Brian Witte, AP, 6/22/00

California Could Face More Blackouts This Summer: "California is at risk for power losses due to a lack of new generating units in the next two years, little construction of new power lines, less available power from neighboring states and climbing rates of population and economic growth within the state, especially in the hotter valley regions… Most power traders agreed that areas of California could experience blackouts… in the coming months. 'No doubt,' on trader said. '(Blackouts) could happen in Los Angeles too. There's just not enough supply.'" David Feliciano, David Given and Laura Hertzfeld; Bridgenews, 6/23/00

Operators of State Power Grid Declare "Stage One Emergency": Due to the recent high temperatures in the West, there has been an increased demand for energy as people turn to their air conditioners for relief from the near-record and record heat. Because of this, the California Independent System Operator has declared a "Stage One Emergency" and is calling on all customers to cut back on their power usage, thus preventing more severe measures, such as declaring a Stage 2 and 3 alert. At "Stage 2," certain customers agree to reduce their power use and at Stage 3, "rolling brown outs" are put into effect, when the ISO cuts off energy to different areas at different times. MSNBC, 6/27/00

Beach Properties Are Washing Away: "One of every four building near a coastline will be destroyed or severely damaged by erosion in the next 60 years," according to James Lee Witt, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "'If coastal development continues unabated, and if the sea levels rise as some scientists are predicting, the impact will be even worse.'" MSNBC, 6/27/00

Homeowners Urged to Conserve Power: "The California ISO declared a Stage 2 alert yesterday … as the demand for electricity peaked, due mainly to increased air-conditioning use." Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric were asked to "activate voluntary load management programs in phases as part of the Stage 2 alert." MSNBC, 6/28/00