Prospects at Copenhagen: No Deal, No time
President Obama announced that the prospects of securing a binding agreement on climate targets at Copenhagen was not possible given the time remaining to the conference in December and the challenges that still remained in negotiating a deal amongst the parties. Read more at the Guardian.

Moving Species?
As local and regional climates change in the near future, many plant species are unlikely to naturally relocate to their favored climate fast enough (seeds usually can only disperse a few hundred meters). This could lead to thousands of species becoming extinct. What should be done? Botanists, scientists, and policy makers are debating this issue, and some are taking action. An article in the New York Times explores this issue in depth.

Low-Carbon 5-Year Plan for China
China is set to include a “low carbon road map” in its next 5-year  plan (2011-2015). This road map aims to increase deployment of renewable, nuclear, and CCS energy technologies, with the goal to reduce China’s energy consumption per unit of GDP by 75-85% by 2050. Ambitious, though completely necessary. A business as usual growth scenario would be detrimental not only for China, but for the world.

China’s Wind Turbines Sitting Idle
Up to 1/3 of China’s installed wind turbines in Inner Mongolia are not producing electricity due to a number of factors, including an overburdened grid and excess capacity that is too concentrated. An article from Caijing.com is a good example of the challenge of reconciling renewable energy ambition and reality.

Knowledge vs. Perception in the Climate Change Debate
Recent studies indicate that people’s perceptions of whether climate change is indeed occurring, and if it is caused by human activity, are increasingly skeptical. Why are there such enormous gaps between what scientists tell us about climate science, and what we hear and believe? The Earth Institute offers some quick tips on how to better communicate climate change.

Where Our Trash Goes
Read an interesting and important story in the New York Times about a floating trash island in the Northern Pacific that is roughly twice the size of Texas.