California Sues E.P.A. Over Denial of Waiver
NY Times, January 3, 2008
California sued the federal Environmental Protection Agency, challenging its recent decision to block California rules curbing greenhouse-gas emissions from new cars and trucks.

San Diego Non-Profit Hydrologic Research Center (HRC) Helps California Adapt to Climate Change
Reuters, January 7, 2008
A recently completed river-flow and reservoir management demonstration project, the Integrated Forecast and Management (INFORM) system, has the potential to boost hydroelectric production by up to 20% while increasing water supplies by up to 50%. INFORM, developed by the Hydrologic Research Center (HRC), a San Diego non-profit research organization, and the Georgia Water Resources Institute (GWRI), inputs present-day weather, climate and hydrologic forecasts into extended weather models and decision management models covering a network of Northern California reservoirs. The INFORM system analyzes resulting flow into Northern California river and reservoir systems, together with increased demand scenarios and alternative management scenarios, for improved water-use efficiency.

F.T.C. Asks if Carbon-Offset Money Is Well Spent
NY Times, January 9, 2008
The Federal Trade Commission, which regulates advertising claims, held its first hearing in a series on green marketing, this one focusing on carbon offsets. Corporations and shoppers in the US spent more than $54 million on offsets last year. The F.T.C. has not accused anyone of wrongdoing but, the hearings suggest that the market will soon be facing greater scrutiny.

Poughkeepsie Town Hall Lights Up With Solar:
Hudson Valley Clean Energy Installs First SunPower T10 System in Upstate New York
MSN Money, January 9, 2008
Hudson Valley Clean Energy and SunPower Corporation, a manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, announced the completed rooftop installation of a 10-kilowatt solar electric power system at the Poughkeepsie Town Hall.

Southern Dutchess leaders tell green plans: Chamber hears '08 agendas
Poughkeepsie Journal, January 10, 2008
Several municipal leaders have plans for greening their communities according to their panel statements at the recent Greater Southern Dutchess Chamber of Commerce meeting in Fishkill. Supervisor Joan Pagones said Fishkill now buys all its electricity generated by wind energy, Beacon Mayor Steve Gold plans have one person available to help residents find incentives to pay for energy-efficiency improvements, and Supervisor John Hickman of East Fishkill plans to consider energy efficiency in new construction.

Cornwall-on-Hudson might build wall to keep park from flooding
Times Herald-Record, January 16, 2008
The village is considering an offshore buried wall to keep the Hudson River from washing away Donahue Park. After April's rains flooded the riverfront park, the Public Works Director obtained a $260,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the erosion-control work. The money must be spent this year.

Baby mammoth could shed light on warming
Associated Press, January 4th, 2008
Frozen in much the state it died some 37,500 years ago, a Siberian baby mammoth undergoing tests in Japan could finally explain why the beasts were driven to extinction - and shed light on climate change, scientists said.

Digital Tools Help Users Save Energy, Study Finds
NY Times, January 10, 2008
Giving people the means to closely monitor and adjust their electricity use lowers their monthly bills and could reduce peak loads on utility grids by up to 15 percent a year, according to a new study by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory of the Energy Department. Outside of Seattle, 112 homes were equipped with digital thermostats and computerized control of their water heaters and clothes dryers, all connected to the Internet. The households became active participants in managing the load on the utility grid and their own bills saving significant energy use.

Study: Northeast Winters Warming Fast
NY Times, January 14, 2008
A study of weather station data from across the Northeast from 1965 through 2005 found December-March temperatures increased by 2.5 degrees. Snowfall totals dropped by an average of 8.8 inches across the region over the same period, and the number of days with at least 1 inch of snow on the ground decreased by nine days on average. Art DeGaetano, Director of the Northeast Regional Climate Data Center at Cornell University, and a member of our Hudson Valley Climate Change Network, is interviewed.

A Survey of Climate Change Adaptation Planning (Press Release)
THE H. JOHN HEINZ III CENTER FOR SCIENCE, ECONOMICS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Heinz Center recently released “A Survey of Climate Change Adaptation Planning,” a report that summarizes adaptation planning resources available both in the United States and internationally including 8 existing adaptation plans and 18 adaptation planning efforts.

In 2008, a 100 Percent Chance of Alarm
NY Times, January 1, 2008
This piece, by John Tierney of the New York Times, reminds us, as we develop the messages we carry to the public, of the media's power to influence us, and the importance of keeping an open mind and broad perspective on the state of this new and evolving science.