PredictIQ-Today’s Climate: August 9, 2010

Browner: Energy Bill Success Still Possible Before End of the Year (The PredictIQHill)

White House Energy Adviser Carol Browner said Sunday that while the Obama administration is "deeply disappointed" that an energy bill was unable to make its way through Congress, the president has not given up hope that it can get done this year.

BP Plans to Continue Relief Well Work This Week (AP)

The oil that poured into the Gulf for more than 12 weeks has been forced back underground and BP engineers expect to spend this week drilling the final leg of a relief well to complete the "bottom kill" designed to permanently seal the leaking well.

BP Spends $6.1 Bln on Gulf Spill Response (AFP)

Energy giant BP said on Monday that it had spent $6.1 billion so far to meet costs from the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, days after plugging the damaged well with concrete.

Crabs Provide Evidence Oil Tainting Gulf Food Web (AP)

Weeks ago, scientists began finding specks of oil in crab larvae plucked from waters across the Gulf coast. The discovery is an ominous sign that crude had already infiltrated the Gulf’s vast food web — and could affect it for years to come.

Deepwater Drillers Face Labor Dilemma (Wall Street Journal)

The oil industry is wrestling with how to address the pervasive problem of undertrained and overstretched workers on deepwater rigs as federal investigators probe those issues in the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe.

Jerry Brown Emphasizes Green Energy in Jobs Plan (Los Angeles Times)

California gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown quietly unveiled a jobs plan Sunday that calls for creating green-energy jobs, investing in the state’s infrastructure and education, increasing manufacturing jobs and improving job-training programs.

China to Unveil $739 Bln "New Energy" Plan Soon (Reuters)

China will soon publish a plan for what it called "newly developing energy industries" that will involve $739 billion in investment through 2020, the China Securities Journal reported on Monday.

China Orders 2,000 Firms to Shut Outdated Plants (AFP)

The Chinese government has ordered over 2,000 firms in high-polluting and energy-intensive industries to shut down outdated plants in its latest efforts to cut pollution and restructure the economy.

Delegates Close to Outlining Outcome for Cancun: UN Climate Chief (Xinhua)

Climate negotiators are "very close" to making a decision on "what shape the Cancun outcome is to be" as they completed the third round of talks in Bonn, Germany, the UN climate chief said.

Bonn Climate Talks Disappointing: Indonesia (Jakarta Post)

Indonesia voiced concern over the outcome of climate change talks in Bonn, Germany, which seemed to move the world further away from a global treaty on emissions cuts targets in Cancun, Mexico, this year.

Hawaii Sugar Grower Working to Power Navy (AP)

The Navy will spend at least $10 million over the next five years to fund research and development at Maui cane fields for crops capable of fueling Navy fighter jets and ships.

UK Will Open Nuclear Power Station in 2018, Energy Minister Huhne Says (Bloomberg)

Britain’s first new nuclear power station will open in 2018, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said, denying the country will miss its own carbon-reduction targets because of delays over planning permission.

Hydroelectric Dams Pose Threat to Tribal Peoples, Report Warns (Guardian)

Giant hydroelectric dams being built in remote areas of Brazil, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Peru and Guyana will devastate tribal communities by forcing people off their land or destroying hunting and fishing grounds, according to a report by Survival International today.

The World’s First Really Green Oil Deal (The Independent)

Ecuador is promising to lock up as much as a fifth of its oil reserves indefinitely, providing rich nations pay out at least half the market value of the oil – some $3.6 billion – as compensation.