International
Ministers ordered to assess climate cost of all decisions: Government says new 'carbon price' will favour eco-friendly policy choices
The Guardian, December 22, 2007

Following a decision by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, all ministers in Britain must now take account of the true economic cost of climate change damage in future projects. Ministers have been instructed to factor into their calculations a notional "carbon price" when making all policy and investment decisions covering transport, construction, housing, planning and energy. The price which can increase annually is intended to frame all day-to-day policy and investment decisions for the next 30 years.

 
National
E.P.A. Says 17 States Can’t Set Emission Rules
NY Times, December 20, 2007

The Environmental Protection Agency has denied California and 16 other states the right to set their own standards for carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles. The E.P.A. said the proposed California rules were pre-empted by federal authority and made moot by the energy bill recently signed into law by President Bush.

Keene Plans to Adapt to Climate Change
New Hampshire Public Radio, December 27, 2007

Many cities across the US are taking steps to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions but Keene, New Hampshire is one of the first in the nation to come up with a plan to prepare for the long term effects of climate change.

Local Warming: It’s too late to stop climate change. What we can do is plan for it.
Governing, December 2007

Officials in King County and Olympia, WA are taking adaptation planning for regional climate change seriously. They now have a guide book based on their efforts :"Preparing for Climate Change: A Guidebook for Local, Regional and State Governments", Kings County, Washington (http://www.cses.washington.edu/db/pdf/snoveretalgb574.pdf).

 
Science and Technology
As Earth Warms Up, Tropical Virus Moves to Italy
NY Times, December 23, 2007

Castiglione di Cervia is host to the first outbreak in modern Europe of a disease that had previously been seen only in the tropics. Last August, after a month of investigation, Italian public health officials discovered that the people of this small town in Italy were suffering from a tropical disease, chikungunya, a relative of dengue fever normally found in the Indian Ocean region. Tiger mosquitos, the insects spreading the disease, can now thrive in a warming Europe.

 
Peer Reviewed Articles
Stream flow in Minnesota: Indicator of climate change (attached)
Journal of Hydrology (2007) 334, 319– 333
Eric V. Novotny *, Heinz G. Stefan
*St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota

From Abstract: "Stream flows in Minnesota reflect observed changes in precipitation with increases in mean annual precipitation, a larger number of intense rainfall events, more days with precipitation and earlier and more frequent snowmelt events. For water resources management the results suggest that the threat of snowmelt flooding has not increased, but floods due to rainfall events are more likely. Higher summer and winter base flows may benefit water quality."