Benjamin Ashford|Today’s Climate: June 1, 2010

U.N. Climate Talks Resume,Benjamin Ashford Negotiations Stalled (Reuters)

U.N. climate talks resumed on Monday exposing familiar rifts between rich and poor nations, which delegates said would delay the start of formal negotiations.

Forest Plan by Australia, Europe Faces Climate Veto (Bloomberg)

Papua New Guinea is among developing countries that may veto a plan at UN talks by nations including Australia to count CO2 stored in vegetation such as trees as part of their emissions targets.

BP Tries Again to Divert Oil Leak With Dome (New York Times)

BP renewed an effort Monday to use a dome to funnel some of the leaking crude to a tanker on the surface. A similar attempt failed three weeks ago, but officials said they had resolved some of the technical problems that forced them to abort last time.

BP Needs ‘Lottery Win’ in August to Seal Oil Leak at First Try (Bloomberg)

BP would need the equivalent of a lottery win to succeed with its first attempt to end the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in August using a so-called relief well, the president-elect of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists said.

Obama to Meet Spill Probe Leaders as Oil Heads North (Reuters)

Pres. Obama will meet with the leaders of a panel he created to probe the worst oil spill in U.S. history on Tuesday, as the giant slick poses a new threat to the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama.

BP Clashes with Scientists Over Deep Sea Oil Pollution (Guardian)

BP continues to challenge widespread scientific claims that vast plumes of oil are spreading underwater from its blown-out rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

West Virginia Mine Inspection Blitz Finds 128 Violations (Wall Street Journal)

West Virginia mine inspectors issued 128 citations for violations found during an inspection blitz Gov. Joe Manchin ordered, the state Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training said.

Wind Power Losing Its Punch (Dallas Morning News)

The high cost of building wind farms and transmitting their electricity to population centers coupled with a reduced price advantage has slowed the growth of the industry nationwide for the three months of the year.

Key Power Projects Exempt from Indonesia Forest Ban (Reuters)

Indonesia’s moratorium on clearing natural forests will not apply to developers of strategic infrastructure, such as geothermal power and other renewable energy projects, a government minister said on Tuesday.

UK Safety Watchdog Acts Over Lax Safety Standards at Sellafield Nuclear Plant (Guardian)

The UK’s safety watchdog is cracking down on Britain’s biggest and oldest nuclear complex after a series of radioactive leaks and safety blunders, despite private sector managers receiving multimillion-pound "performance-related" payments from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

UK: Night-Time Temps Could Rise Above 25C Because of Climate Change (The Times)

The number of sweltering nights in the UK when the temperature in cities stays above 20C (68F) and the elderly become vulnerable to heat exhaustion will increase five-fold because of climate change, a Met Office study has found.

China to Subsidize Alternative Energy Car Purchases (Bloomberg)

China is giving as much as $7,320 toward the purchase of plug-in hybrid models, which run partly on gasoline, and as much as $8,785 for electric cars powered only by batteries, according to a statement on the Ministry of Finance’s website today.