RECOMMENDED READING

NAACP Resolves To Fight Climate Change

"The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People celebrated its centennial last week by jumping into the policy debate over global warming. Delegates at the storied civil rights organization’s annual meeting in New York voted to adopt a resolution supporting clean energy development, curbs on greenhouse gas emissions, and policies to foster green collar jobs." [Grist]

Massive Saharan Solar Project Leaves U.S. in Shade

"Large-scale solar power may still be a shimmering mirage on the desert's edge, but since last week, when a group of European companies laid out a half-trillion-dollar plan for a solar power plant in North Africa, it's a mirage with international financing...The real riddle is: What's taken so long? Particularly in the United States? American deserts receive almost as much sunshine as the Sahara, and they're more stable, politically, than Algeria or Morocco."  [European Dispatch - Miller-McLune] 

Climate Bill A Farm Income Boost, USDA Estimates

"U.S. farmers and foresters could earn more money from carbon contracts than they pay in higher costs from legislation to control greenhouse gases, the Agriculture Department estimated on Wednesday.  In the near term, most of the money would go to people who plant trees to lock carbon in the soil or enroll woodlands as carbon sinks. Relatively small amounts would be generated by changes in tillage or crops.  USDA's 'preliminary analysis' was one of the first attempts at a broad-spectrum examination of the House-passed climate bill. Most of its 13 pages were devoted to grains, cotton and soybeans. Limited space went to livestock and none to fruits and vegetables.  Skeptics like the American Farm Bureau Federation say climate legislation will drive up sharply the cost of farm fuel, fertilizer and pesticides. A carbon offset market will not benefit all farmers or all parts of the country, it says."  [Reuters]

Are We On The Brink Of Saving Rainforests?

"Until now saving rainforests seemed like an impossible mission. But the world is now warming to the idea that a proposed solution to help address climate change could offer a new way to unlock the value of forest without cutting it down." [MongaBay]

AUDIO

Hot Climates May Create Sluggish Economies

"New research suggests that poor countries experience significantly slower economic growth in years when the thermometer soars. Economists are studying why poorer economies of the world tend to be in hot places."  [Morning Edition - NPR]