2012 February Environment & Climate News

The February issue of Environment & Climate News reports on Climategate 2, the release of more than 5,000 emails revealing misconduct and fraud among prominent scientists at the heart of the assertion that humans are causing a global warming crisis. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is in damage control mode.

Also in this issue:

• Utah state and county officials are suing the federal government, claiming the Interior Department and Bureau of Land Management improperly have claimed ownership of hundreds of road segments.

• Floyd County, Virginia is considering banning structures taller than 40 feet on ridges within the county. Although the ordinance would apply to most structures, the proposed ban has been drafted in response to local concerns about potential siting of wind farms.

• High-level negotiators are attempting to reach an agreement on competing Marcellus Shale oversight bills that have passed the Pennsylvania House and Senate. The most contentious disagreements involve the amount of hydraulic fracturing impact fees.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved Florida’s plan to reduce nutrient levels in waters within the state. EPA’s approval heads off a brewing legal battle in which the federal agency had threatened to impose its own restrictions on Florida waters.

• North Dakota is suing Minnesota over a state law that impedes utilities from entering into new contracts to import coal-fired power from other states.

• Chinese solar power companies reported larger-than-expected losses in the third quarter of 2011, with few buyers lining up to purchase solar power equipment. The companies are trying to stay afloat by selling excess inventory at below-production costs.