Melt-pools ‘accelerating Arctic ice loss’
Pools of melted ice and snow that form on the surface of the Arctic sea ice explain why it is melting faster than predicted, scientists say

Study: Antarctic glaciers slipping swiftly seaward
Antarctic glaciers are melting faster across a much wider area than previously thought a development that could lead to an unprecedented rise in sea levels.

Scientists urged to step to plate on climate politics
Money and politics, the stuff of social science, now drive global warming, and climate science needs to get with it, a report suggests. “Demand is growing for credible, understandable and useful information for responding to climate change,” says the report, called Restructuring Federal Climate Research to Meet the Challenges of Climate Change. The report, released Thursday, calls for “transformation” of climate science to emphasize the climate’s influence on food, economics and public health. Otherwise, there’s lots of evidence that politicians will tackle such practical problems without scientists.

Washington governor sets goal for greenhouse gas reductions, new jobs
Gov. Chris Gregoire announced … a package of legislation intended to create green jobs and reduce greenhouse gas pollution to 1990 levels by 2020.

Stimulus funds to benefit homeowners with energy-efficiency
In Santos Espinosa’s small beige house near Arden Fair mall last week, a crew installed fluorescent lightbulbs, swapped out an old water heater and filled drafty gaps beneath doors.

Kentucky aims for lead in energy-efficient homes
Lexington, Ky., [kicked] off a pilot program to make the houses of 100 low-income people energy efficient.

Smart Meters Help Household Energy Savings
For years, consumers have gauged their electricity usage with the monthly bill. Coming days or weeks after the end of the period it isn’t a very efficient tool if you want to cut you household usage, but a new breed of meter is changing all that and can provide real-time updates that give you an instant indication of the cost of running a house full of gadgets.

In-river generator may give Alaska power alternative
A technology almost as simple as a Yukon River fishwheel could one day power the laptop computers and microwave ovens of Alaska’s river people. In Ruby it’s beginning to do just that.

California wind fa[rm]s providing energy and jobs
Like the first blades of grass in scorched earth, a new crop of wind turbines in Solano County will be generating not only electricity but steady income for refugees of the ravaged housing and automotive industries.

Coal-fired power plants back on agenda in Kansas
Lawmakers in Kansas on Thursday will revisit a bruising fight that dominated their work last year: efforts to resurrect two rejected coal-fired power plants in western Kansas.

New Jersey Utility Plans Major Solar Project
Public Service Electric and Gas said it would unveil a five-year plan on Tuesday to install solar panels on 200,000 utility poles in its service territory.

Will early hydrogen fuel cell investment pay off for South Carolina?
State and local taxpayers have paid $40.7 million in the past five years to establish a University of South Carolina research base in hydrogen fuel cells and create a cottage industry for Columbia and the Midlands.

Plastic from plants? Researchers test possibilities
Money may not actually grow on trees, but if some University of Missouri researchers have their way, plastic eventually might. They say the “plantastic” discovery would make for a cleaner, greener planet.

Exxon Valdez oil spill still taking toll on killer whales
An already fragile population of killer whales that hunts Prince William Sound never recovered from the Exxon Valdez oil spill and is doomed to die off, biologists said this week.

California river conditions could starve killer whales
Federal wildlife officials have concluded that killer whales are threatened by California’s massive network of dams and water diversions, a development that could bring a massive shift in public opinion about the state’s water issues.

California drought fears intensify
California’s top water official warned Thursday that the state’s drought, now in its third year, could become the most severe on record.

In the Everglades: Exotic fish threaten native species
The small pond six miles deep in Everglades National Park suddenly began bubbling like a pot aboil — a telltale sign of air-slurping walking catfish.

Wetlands decline along East, Gulf coasts, report shows
A new U.S. government report Tuesday shows a high rate of decline in wetlands along the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, raising concerns about habitat for migratory birds and sea life as well as for humans, who also need wetlands as buffers from stormy seas.