Emissions of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels soared by 41 percent from 1990 to 2008 and have jumped 29 percent since 2000. Yale

New editorial in "the architect's website" claims there is no proof for global warming. (Can't say I didn't warn you...)

Amanda Baillieu states: "While there’s no argument that natural resources such as water need to be conserved and low-energy buildings make sense, the scientific evidence has now shifted enough to warrant a more questioning position on climate change."

However, on Twitter, she also stated: "Basically believing in man made climate change is a bit like hoping that fairies live at the bottom of the garden." << Really? Is this "a more questioning position"? Nevertheless, the fact remains, the scientific evidence hasn't shifted.

"U.S. military and intelligence officials are factoring the symptoms of climate change into their estimates of where and what kind of conflicts are in store." And..."This helps explain why China holds Tibet in an iron grip. So long as its water is one of China's most precious resources, Tibet has little hope of attaining independence." MMc

For most sustainability-minded architects, a net zero energy building is the holy grail. But Elithis Tower, located in Dijon, France, has surpassed the net zero energy ideal to become the first energy positive office building, meaning it creates more power than it uses. The building, which was designed by Arte Charpentier Architects, also produces six times fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditional office structures. Inhabitat

Archinect scoops BLDGBLOG: Chinese to keep skies clear for the 60th China anniversary: Meteorologists said their efforts to prevent foul weather on Oct. 1 involved satellites, 400 scientists, cloud-probing lasers and a squadron of transport planes capable of sprinkling liquid nitrogen into pregnant clouds. “It is the first time in Chinese history that artificial weather modification on such a large scale has been attempted.”
Via the NYT.

"...With the most diverse array of alternative energy potential of any state in the nation, Hawaii has set out to become a living laboratory for the rest of the country, hoping it can slash its dependence on fossil fuels while keeping the lights on." Via the NYT.

Leading the way to a more sustainable nation, the White House has announced that it is aiming for LEED certification. The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) are leading the effort to upgrade to more energy efficient equipment, improve procurement, reduce waste and toxins and lower the overall carbon footprint of the complex. Inhabitat

Anders Eldrup, the chief executive of Dong Energy, told Green Inc. in a telephone interview on Tuesday that the project was “historic.” He said that the offshore farm “will be for some time the biggest in the world.” Via the NYT.

"Despite our romantic ideas about nature, it will be well-run, energy-efficient cities that ultimately save us from ourselves" - David Lepeska for the Guardian

“Everyone recoils at [the height of the windmill],” said Jonathan D. Fitch, the Howlands’ lawyer. “It reminds me of the litigation involving cell towers in the beginning — a lot of neighborhood hostility back then, but today you hardly notice them.”
via the NYT.

"...Some experts have contended that the seal should be withheld until a building proves itself energy efficient, which is the cornerstone of what makes a building green, and that energy-use data from every rated building should be made public..." NY Times

From this week's New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolbert's great send up of a current fad in environmental writing, the gimmick: "...most people are in no mood to read about how screwed up they are. It’s a bummer. If you’re the National Academy of Sciences or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or the Pope or Al Gore, you can try to fight this with yet another multivolume report or encyclical. If not, you’d better get a gimmick."

Engineers say a forest of 100,000 "artificial trees" could be deployed within 10 to 20 years to help soak up the world's carbon emissions. BBC

...It starts to sound like chapters in a Mike Davis exposé, except not. Here's a slew of new articles in Miller McCune (remember New Ruralism?) all relating to the ecological politics of California. Take the jump for more on a nuclear meltdown near downtown L.A., the uses of sewage, and the making of wildfires.

50 Years After America’s Worst Nuclear Meltdown: Human error helped worsen a nuclear meltdown just outside Los Angeles, and now human inertia has stymied the radioactive cleanup for half a century.

From Sewage to Artichokes: Wastewater recycling and other water-efficiency programs are saving aquifers and helping a famed produce industry thrive.

Drought, Not 'Old Chaparral,' Aiding Wildfires: Decades of 'fuel management' have been ineffective in preventing wildfires, scientists say, and in all likelihood make the blazes more likely and more devastating.

The NYT finally catches up with 50% of all architecture school theses: "If climate change and population growth progress at their current pace, in roughly 50 years farming as we know it will no longer exist. This means that the majority of people could soon be without enough food or water. But there is a solution that is surprisingly within reach: Move most farming into cities, and grow crops in tall, specially constructed buildings. It’s called vertical farming."