Ice melt worse than expected

A debate on how to apportion BP fines for Deepwater Horizon disaster
A task force created by President Obama in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has recommended that a “significant portion” of the billions of dollars in fines paid out by BP for the environmental disaster should go to restoring the gulf. The recommendations include projects like conserving habitat, restoring water quality, protecting marine resources, and enhancing community resilience. Currently, legislators are debating what percentage of funds will go into these efforts versus broader economic ones favored by states to do things like rebuild boardwalks and convention centers. Many lawyers representing victims are also looking to score their healthy cut of proceeds too, demanding as much as 6 percent of all judgments and settlements.

Studies say emission levels and ice melt are worse than expected
A new report out says that emissions of carbon dioxide grew 5.9 percent last year, which the New York Times says has upended the notion that declines in the recession would persist through the recovery. Quite the opposite. The jump represented the biggest increase since the Industrial Revolution. This, on top of reports that the Antarctic ice sheets are melting faster than expected. On the positive side, another week brings another project to do something about climate change. At the COP17 conference in Durban, African farmer and society groups announced a push to develop food sovereignty in the region.

Fewer trees chopped down in Amazon rain forest…for now
Brazil seems ready to screw up progress on the deforestation front. Scientists in the country report that deforestation has hit a record low for the third consecutive year, translating into significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. However, the Brazilian senate is primed to prove legislation that would reform the forest code by reducing protections rivers and other areas and providing amnesty for some landowners.

Amsterdam experiments with a new way to get rid of birds at airports
As any aviation junkie will testify, birds presents big flight risks. As a result, airports around the world have responded by doing everything in their power to scare off the geese. Measures have included having a cadre of trained dogs to bark at the birds, loud sonic booms, pyrotechnics, scarecrows, radio-controlled remote cars, banging on pots and pans, and most controversially, just shooting them. We thought we’ve heard it all, but now comes word of a new approach. In the Netherlands, they’ve decided to gas them.

Better to use sunscreen
From the department of dumb ideas comes a solar-powered tanning salon in California. Instead of biking to the beach, tanners drive to the below-pictured lounge, which yes, uses solar panels, but hardly in an efficient way.