Antarctica feeling global warming heat as well as Arctic, says new study

Last year the U.N. panel on global warming said that the human fingerprint on climate "has been detected in every continent except Antarctica." Now a new scientific study says we can add Antarctica to the list too, according to Reuters.

"We're able for the first time to directly attribute warming in both the Arctic and the Antarctic to human influences," said Nathan Gillett of England's University of East Anglia of a study he led with colleagues in the United States, Britain and Japan.

"Temperatures in Antarctica, an icy deep freeze bigger than the United States, had gained by a few tenths of a degree," the report notes. "The Arctic is warming fast because darker water and ground soak up ever more heat than ice and snow that reflect the sun's rays."

Yet the Antarctic's warm-up is causing changes that are far from subtle. Earlier this year, a gigantic ice shelf about seven times the size of Manhattan collapsed. A shelf the size of Rhode Island collapsed in 2002 -- an event that caught even the experts somewhat off-guard, according to a new book on Antarctica, The Entire Earth and Sky.

"Its demise, while predicted, happened stunningly quickly," writes author Leslie Carol Roberts. "Scientists were left studying the images taken from space -- a now you see it, now you don't moment...No one expected it to collapse literally OVERNIGHT."

[AP photo]

Judge puts brakes on NYC hybrid cab switch

A federal judge has overturned New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's new rule requiring all 13,000 taxis to be hybrid vehicles, the New York Times is reporting.

The judge ruled that "the new regulations were pre-empted under federal law, which reserve regulation of fuel economy and emissions standards to federal agencies." The ruling halts implementation of Bloomberg's rule, which was to take effect on Saturday and would have resulted in a virtually all-hybrid fleet by 2012.

"The mayor made it clear that he strongly disagreed with the ruling, which he said could cripple efforts by other cities to combat air pollution," the Times reports.

“The decision is not a ruling against hybrid cabs,” Bloomberg said, “rather a ruling that archaic Washington regulations are applicable and therefore New York City, and all other cities, are prevented from choosing to create cleaner air and a healthier place to live.”

Although the rule had been challenged by the city's cabbies, not all drivers opposed the hybrid switch. Read our earlier post about this dispute, which features a ride with an enthusiastic Ford Escape hybrid taxi driver.

[AP photo]

--Craig Pittman

Brazil and Cuba sign oil exploration agreement

Brazilian president Inacio Lula da Silva is in Cuba today to sign an agreement between his country's state oil company, Petrobras, and its Cuban counterpart, Cupet, (CNN reports) to explore for oil in waters off Cuba's north coast.

Details on the oil agreement have not yet been made public. The deal is expected to include rights to one of Cuba's offshore exploration blocks. Brazil will also help Cuba cultivate soy beans to substitute for current food imports. Brazil is also helping Cuba develop its sugar cane for ethanol program.

Cuba said earlier this month that the country may have over 20 billion barrels of recoverable oil in its offshore fields in the Gulf of Mexico, much more than previous estimates. If true, that would put Cuba among the world's top 20 oil producing nations. As a comparison, the U.S. has reserves of 29 billion barrels.

(Map graphic by The New York Times)

The US Geological Survey says the North Cuba basin could hold up to 9.3bn barrels and 21.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, though how much of that is proven and recoverable is far from clear. Cupet says it is using newer and more accurate data.

(More details of the deal from AP Havana)

(Photos of Lula and Raul Castro by AP)

- David Adams, Times Latin America Correspondent

Methane gas rose abruptly

Levels of climate-warming methane -- a greenhouse gas 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide -- rose abruptly in Earth's atmosphere last year, Reuters is reporting today.

As if that's not worrisome enough, the scientists who reported the change don't know why it occurred.

"The worry is that we just don't understand the methane cycle very well," said Matthew Rigby of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the study's lead authors.

The increase in methane in the Northern Hemisphere might be due to a year-long warm spell in Siberia, where thawing wetlands are inhabited by methane-producing bacteria, the scientists said. But that doesn't explain why methane emissions rose in the Southern Hemisphere at the same time.

[Photo of the sun by NASA]

--Craig Pittman

Exxon-Mobil breaks its own record on profits, even as production declines

Exxon Mobil Corp. smashed its own record for quarterly profits today, ringing up $14.8 billion in net income in the third quarter, the Washington Post reports today.

The big profits were powered by soaring summertime crude oil prices, and although oil prices are now dropping, "firms such as Exxon Mobil are still barreling toward full-year earnings that will easily set new marks in the history of U.S. corporate profits," the Post says.

"The third quarter results also included a $170 million charge to cover a punitive damages award from the oil spill that took place when the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska in March 1989," the Post notes, adding that that amount "is barely more than 1 percent of the company's profits this quarter."

Curiously, notes Bloomberg News, "Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson, who has led Exxon Mobil to nine of the 15 largest quarterly profits in U.S. history, hasn't been able to stem declines in production. Third- quarter crude and natural-gas output was equivalent to 3.6 million barrels of oil a day, the lowest since Exxon Corp. bought Mobil Corp. in 1999."

--Craig Pittman

The world's biggest boat show has a green look this year

The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, which runs from Thursday through Monday, features some intriguing, new environmentally-friendly craft.

Check out the Island Pilot DSe Hybrid (see photo) a 39-foot motoryacht with a catamaran hull that "may be the first to combine solar, diesel and electric power in a livable family cruiser," according to an article this morning in The Miami Herald.
The Island Pilot makes up to six knots using only its six-kilowatt solar array, which is mounted on the superstructure. It can switch to diesel or bio-diesel for cruising at up to 13 knots.

Then there's the smaller Calypso Classic 23e (see photo left), made by Tarpon BoatWorks in Holiday, Florida, the first all-electric inshore fishing boat. It's well-named Whisper XT electric outboard motor is totally silent (see image below).

The show also features a 100% recyclable 'Piranha Propeller', which the makers say are cheaper than stainless steel props and outperform some aluminum models.

- David Adams, Times Staff Writer

South Florida commuter trains switch to biodiesel

South Florida's inter-county Tri-Rail system is to start operating on bio-diesel, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority has announced today.

Eight of 10 Tri-Rail locomotives, which run between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach, will use a 99% blend of either palm or soy oil, official say. The other two locomotives will continue to use regular diesel.
Because of Miami's warm climate, the Tri-Rail is one of the few commuter rail systems in the country that can tolerate such a high blend of bio-fuel (biodiesel will congeal at cold temperatures).

While the Tri-Rail locomotives use 7 percent more fuel when operating on biodiesel, the fuel costs approximately 30 cents per gallon less than diesel, according to the South Florida RTA.

Read more about the announcement in the Palm Beach Post.

- David Adams, Times Staff Writer

Debating California-cation of clean car rules

UPDATE: The commission decided to delay the vote until its Dec. 2 meeting.

The Associated Press reports that Florida may adopt California’s tougher standards for auto and light truck emissions today.

The state’s Environmental Regulation Commission is expected to vote on the standard at its meeting. If approved, the proposal would go to the state legislature, where it was hotly contested in the debate over the recently enacted energy bill. If it clears that hurdle, Florida would still have to wait for resolution of a lawsuit between California and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which so far has not allowed California to impose the stricter standard.

Supporters say the standards will mean cleaner air and more fuel-efficient vehicles, and reduce greenhouse gases blamed for climate change. Manufacturers oppose the standards, saying they aren’t technically feasible, will increase car prices and reduce the availability of certain vehicles in Florida.

-Times staff and wires

Gas under $2 in parts of the country

Gas prices are now cheaper than they were a year ago, according to AAA Fuel Gauge report.

The Tampa Bay area has seen a steep drop in prices in recent weeks, with some gas stations around the area charging $2.35 to $2.45 for a gallon of regular. The average price is about $2.67 a gallon in the Tampa Bay area, according to AAA.

Gas prices dropped below $2 in parts of Ohio, according to the Associated Press.

-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer

Another big year for wind energy

The wind energy industry installed 1,389 megawatts (MW) in the third quarter of 2008, bringing the total of wind power projects completed to 4,204 MW in 2008, according to Frank Maisano, the always-up-to-date Washington energy industry insider.

Maisano says 2009 is expected to be another record year for wind development, on track to surpass the banner year of 2007, when 5,249 MW were installed. The total new installed wind power for 2009 is expected to reach about 7,500 MW, enough to power about 2.2-million homes.

There has also been major expansion of the industry's manufacturing base in the United States, creating jobs and fostering investment and growth even in a difficult financial climate, Maisano reports.

In its latest report, the American Wind Energy Association says eight new wind turbine component manufacturing facilities opened this year, another nine underwent expansion, and 19 new facilities were announced. The AWEA estimates that the domestic share of the market has risen from about 30 percent in 2005 to 50 percent today, with the new facilities creating an estimated 9,000 jobs.

(Photo by Associated Press)

David Adams, Times Staff Writer

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