TOP STORY

Selling Americans on a 'Green-Collar' Economy

"Van Jones may have one of the hottest assignments in the Obama administration -- selling the notion of a new "green-collar" economy -- but in a country burdened with a 9.4 percent unemployment rate, it's not easy.  The Special Advisor to the President for Green Jobs talks about the challenges and myths of creating green jobs." [Washington Post]

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Attack of the Climate Spam?

"News Web sites that allow reader comments are experiencing "climate spam" -- generic, marginally relevant comments on climate news stories denying that human activities are causing climate change or the need to do anything about it. The same comments are posted verbatim on multiple sites. The comments repeat the talking points of PR firms paid by fossil fuel industries -- and they are anonoymous." [Christian Science Monitor]

Time Running Out For December Climate Pact-U.N.

"About 180 nations met for U.N. climate talks on Monday amid warnings that time was running out for them to reach agreement on a hugely complex pact, due for completion at the end of the year. About 2,400 delegates at the Aug 10-14 negotiations in Bonn will try to shorten a draft text, outlining options for combating global warming, that has swollen to about 200 pages from 50 just a few months ago. Time is running out,' Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, told Reuters in a conference hall where a large clock is ticking down the 118 days left until a meeting of environment ministers in Copenhagen in December." [Reuters]

AUDIO

Zoning Busy Ocean Waters To Avoid Conflicts

"The oceans may seem endless, but in fact we're starting to run out of elbow room. Now, both the federal government and the state of Massachusetts are making plans to zone the oceans, much as planners zone our cities. Instead of trying to allocate space for schools and skyscrapers, ocean planners are trying to keep harmony between fishermen, wind farmers, aquaculture developers, freighter traffic and, of course, the rich sea life that depends on this space." [All Things Considered - NPR]