Kyoto 'a slogan, not a solution'
(Courier Mail) ENVIRONMENT Minister Ian Campbell today stood firm on Australia's long standing refusal to sign onto the Kyoto protocol to limit greenhouse gas emissions, declaring it a slogan not a solution. Senator Campbell, fresh back from the UN framework conference on climate change in Switzerland, backed urgent action on climate change but with better quality practical international action. He said there was a sense of frustration that the whole process was becoming too bureaucratic and that more practical action was needed.

Dying glaciers draw curious to Swiss Alpine peaks
(Zee News) While it is hardly unusual for ice to melt in the summer sun, scientists are concerned that a heating-up of the world's atmosphere is causing Europe's glaciers to steadily disappear. Swiss glaciers have lost more than 15 percent of their surface area in the last two decades, and could vanish almost entirely within a century if climate shifts are not moderated, said Max Maisch, a glaciologist from the University of Zurich.

Bush 'prepares emissions U-turn'
(Independent) President Bush is preparing an astonishing U-turn on global warming, senior Washington sources say. After years of trying to sabotage agreements to tackle climate change he is drawing up plans to control emissions of carbon dioxide and rapidly boost the use of renewable energy sources. Administration insiders privately refer to the planned volte-face as Mr Bush's "Nixon goes to China moment", recalling how the former president amazed the world after years of refusing to deal with its Communist regime.

No more green posturing
(the planet can't wait) Climate change sceptics, once a thriving species, will soon be extinct. The overwhelming majority of scientific opinion recognises that global warming is a reality and that humankind is responsible. As a result of carbon compounds emitted into the atmosphere the world, on its current trajectory, will get up to six degrees hotter this century, with drastic consequences. One example: the Arctic ice sheet receded by 280,000 square miles between 2004-2005. At that rate the North Pole will be ice-free in the lifetime of many of us.

World Has Only 10 Years To Prevent Climate Catastrophe...
(Huffington Post) A leading U.S. climate researcher says the world has a 10-year window of opportunity to take decisive action on global warming and avert catastrophe. NASA scientist James Hansen, widely considered the doyen of American climate researchers, said governments must adopt an alternative scenario to keep carbon dioxide emission growth in check and limit the increase in global temperatures to 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

Clinton-Gore could take on new meaning for 2008
(Houston Chronicle) Al Gore's statement that he wouldn't rule out running for president raises the possibility of a Democratic duel between the former vice president and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Gore, who steadily has dismissed questions about his plans for 2008, created a stir when he told reporters: "I haven't completely ruled out running for president again in the future, but I don't expect to."