Fans have been put to good use this year, which is on pace to be the hottest on record.
The latest figures are in from NASA and, surprise, surprise, this remains the warmest year on the planet since they started tracking temperatures 131 years ago. Last month was the third warmest October, ensuring that temperatures from January to October were still the highest on record.
Top of the heat: At this rate 2010 will beat out the other years at the top of the list — 1998, 2007, and the current leader, 2005. And so far November is tracking at a record level. What makes this more significant, says NASA, is that the record temperatures have come during a “minimum of solar irradiance,” when temperatures would be expected to drop. [Climate Progress]
They’re definitely noticing the difference in Moscow. It’s nothing like the hideous heat wave that baked the city last summer, but temperatures have been running more than 20 degrees above the November average, which is 30 degrees F. [TerraDaily]
Nonetheless, it’s still all a hoax: Because climate expert Rush Limbaugh says it is. Here’s Rush’s response to recent comments by Robert Kennedy Jr. that “narcissistic” Republicans and Fox News killed cap-and-trade:
Now, I sit here and I look at this and I ask: Who is Robert Kennedy? Robert Kennedy Jr. is Robert Kennedy Jr., but who appointed him climate expert? Okay, so he sets up an organization. He’s worried about the filth in the Hudson River. All of a sudden he becomes an expert in energy policy, and it’s just accepted. But the thing that really offends me about this is how dare he? I’m to blame! I’m the reason that the climate bill went to hell. It isn’t Fox News. It’s not the “narcissistic” Republicans. I did it. I’ve been working to tweak this kinda stuff since 1990. I’ve been calling global warming, man-made global warming a hoax. There’s actually a better word for it. Fraud. It is a fraud, and RFK Jr. and every one of the people promoting it are also part of a fraud.
And in other green news:
There’s always a catch: Some geoengineers have proposed fighting global warming by fertilizing the oceans with iron. That would spur the growth of phytoplankton, which sucks up carbon dioxide. Not such a good idea, say other scientists, who warn that it could also spur the growth of toxic microbes. [LiveScience.com]
Plaque ‘em up: Coal and oil companies love to show off safety awards from regulatory agencies as some kind of government seal of approval. Turns out that some may not be worth the cost of the frame. (Case in point: BP was a finalist for the 2010 SAFE award.) [Washington Post]
Not exactly what they had in mind: In order to meet goals for reducing carbon emissions, local governments in China have been imposing blackouts. But industrial plants that have production goals to meet have kept running by using diesel generators. And that increases carbon emissions and has also led to a diesel shortage. [Technology Review]
Failure is an option: On Monday, researchers will finally begin testing on the four-story blowout preventer that failed to stop the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf. But a nasty spat between federal agencies threatens to muck up the investigation. [Wall Street Journal]
A clean break: The U.S. Patent Office says it will extend for another year its program to fast-track applications for cleantech inventions. [Scientific American]
Now hiring: Sun and wind greeters: Walmart keeps greening up, now with a huge distribution center in Canada with solar panels and wind turbines on its roof. The company says it will be 60 percent more energy efficient than any other Walmart center. [GreenBiz]
This does not compute: Ferrari, Porsche, and Bentley are all coming out with “green” models. [Wall Street Journal]
