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"Make no mistake, Arctic Sea ice is melting."

So begins a Washington Post editorial that implicitly acknowledges the mistakes and misstatements in Op-Ed columnist George Will's three recent columns.   "According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the maximum extent of the winter sea ice cover for 2008-09 was the fifth-lowest on record...Global warming is doing a number on Arctic Sea ice."  [Washington Post Editorial]

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Changing Rains

The world is already bearing witness to climate change's impacts on precipitation patterns.  What's in store?  OnEarth contributor Elizabeth Kolbert says, "Look for floods where it's already wet and deeper droughts where water is scarce."  [National Geographic]

A Future for High-Speed Rail

Some money for high-speed rail was slipped into the stimulus plan, but not enough to actually build even one system.  "Roughly six proposed routes with federal approval for high-speed rail stand a good chance of getting some of the $8 billion award, according to U.S. Transportation Department officials. The spurs include parts of Texas, Florida, the Chicago region, and southeast routes through North Carolina and Louisiana."  But many say the money will wind up improving existing lines, none of which could be considered "high-speed."   [Associated Press]

Related:

• Craig Canine looks at the potential for high-speed rail in the U.S. [OnEarth]

Solar Cooker Wins Climate Prize

The Kyoto Box, a solar-powered cardboard cooker, wins the Forum for the Future's Climate Challenge.  Aimed at the 3 billion people who use firewood to cook, the simplicity of the device might be its greatest asset.  "The cooker consists of two cardboard boxes, one inside the other, with a clear acrylic cover on top that lets in and traps heat from the sun, and acts as a hob. Black paint, foil and insulation work together to raise the temperature high enough to boil water."  Jon Bøhmer, the entrepreneur behind the box, offered, "I doubt if there is any other technology that can make so much impact for so little money.” [Financial Times]

QUOTATIOUS

"Suicide is high. Depression is huge. Families are breaking up. It's devastation.  I've got a neighbor in terrible trouble. Found him in the paddock, sitting in his [truck], crying his eyes out. Grown men -- big, strong grown men. We're holding on by the skin of our teeth. It's desperate times."  -Frank Eddy, Australian farmer on climate-driven drought conditions in the Murray-Darling Basin  [Los Angeles Times]