Seriously? Donald Trump wants Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize to be revoked, claiming that record-breaking U.S. snowstorms prove Gore goofed on climate change and that strategies aimed at curbing carbon emissions have threatened the American economy. "With the coldest winter ever recorded, with snow setting record levels up and down the coast, the Nobel committee should take the Nobel Prize back from Al Gore," the billionaire trumpeted to an audience of 500 at his Trump National Golf Club in Westchester, N.Y.

Trump continued, "Gore wants us to clean up our factories and plants in order to protect us from global warming, when China and other countries couldn't care less. It would make us totally non-competitive in the manufacturing world, and China, Japan and India are laughing at America's stupidity."

We can only hope Trump was joshing his well-to-do cohorts in order to make a point. Despite snowy conditions here at home, other parts of the world are (naturally enough) experiencing variations of their own, such as Vancouver's painful lack of snow just in time for the Winter Olympics. Local and regional weather patterns do not negate the larger picture of climate change. In fact, scientists often predict that snowfall will increase in areas affected by global warming, since when all other things are equal, warmer air holds more moisture and the potential for greater amounts of precipitation.

(Photo credit:Wikipedia)

How did climate change become such an issue? Who's responsible? In a fresh message to the world, Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden points the finger squarely at the United States and other developed nations for not taking steps to control climate change. His proposed solution: boycotting American goods and the American dollar. Reports The New York Times:

"In the message broadcast on Friday, Mr. bin Laden veered away from his traditional vows to inflict death and destruction on the United States, and instead discussed climate change, globalization and monetary policy in a message that he said was directed to 'the whole world.'

He called for a worldwide boycott of American goods and the dollar. He faulted the United States for failing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, which sought to curb global warming by restricting greenhouse gas emissions. And he offered a word of praise for Noam Chomsky, the American linguist and liberal political activist. 'Noam Chomsky was correct when he compared the U.S. policies to those of the Mafia,' Al Jazeera quoted Mr. bin Laden as saying. 'They are the true terrorists and therefore we should refrain from dealing in the U.S. dollar and should try to get rid of this currency as early as possible.'"

Two fresh signs of hope

Ok, so the focus veers off there at the end ... But the Al Qaeda leader is right about one thing: we haven't done enough—yet. And while going cold on the dollar isn't quite the solution the world is searching for, getting hot under the collar about policy still has a chance to prevent a boilover. It's not too late. Two new studies out this week indicate that the planet's boiling point may be farther off than we fear. One study notes that oceans and other sources of carbon dioxide will be slower to release CO2 than previously anticipated. The other discusses the effects of atmospheric water vapor on rising global temperatures. The time is there ... Now all we need are the support and leadership to make solutions happen.

(Photo credit:xymonau, SXC)

In the end, climate change doesn't really matter—it's the side effects we can all get behind fixing. Republican craftsman of public opinion Frank Luntz, infamous for devising such charged phrases as the "death tax," says environmentalists are fighting the wrong battle. Changing the very language we use to address the issues caused by global warming, he claims, would go a lot farther in getting people focused on their ways and the world around them. Pragmatic language aimed straight at specific issues ignites more action than fiery rhetoric about climate change and the world at large.

"It doesn't matter if there is or isn't climate change," he said. "It's still in America's best interest to develop new sources of energy that are clean, reliable, efficient and safe." Green light words: "cleaner," "healthier," "safer," "independence from foreign oil." Red light words: "sustainability" and "carbon neutral." In fact, Luntz warns Republicans that continued squabbling over climate science could give them a political black eye. Time instead, he says, to engage the public over American jobs, American energy and American oil—whether or not it's "green" or "sustainable."

Luntz's common sense strategies may help us move forward together despite those with their fingers in their ears, humming over brand new reports from NASA showing that the last decade was the very warmest ever. Ultimately, we don't have to agree on the concept of climate change or, strangely enough, even the facts—as long as we can all get behind efforts to change the effects.

(Photo credit:DerrickT, flickr)

Baby, it's cold outside! It's been snowing in Paris, the strawberry crop is freezing in Florida, and New Yorkers and midwestern Americans have been shivering through absolutely frigid conditions for the past week. In the face of all these frosty lows, whatever happened to the idea of global warming?

The missing piece of information here is the difference between weather and climate. Weather refers to the specific conditions in a given area at a given time. Climate, the concept connected with global warming, is the history of our weather over time. Climate looks at the history of prevailing weather conditions. It's quite possible to experience cold snaps in a warm climate—and coincidentally enough, in climates that are getting warmer over time. In fact, scientists often predict that snowfall will increase in areas affected by global warming, since when all other things are equal, warmer air holds more moisture and the potential for greater amounts of precipitation.

In the end, it may simply be that you're focusing on all the right (or wrong, depending on your perspective) areas. You may indeed feel like an icicle—but did you know that there were record highs last week in Washington State, Alaska, Bulgaria and New Zealand, plus the second hottest year on record (after 2005) in Australia? Follow our tips for a snugger winter, and buck up ... Your time in the sun will inevitably return!

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We're sure you've all heard the news on the climate change accord at Copenhagen: a last-minute deal that falls far short of both global consensus and original goals, leaving smaller nations and many environmentalists feeling betrayed. Emotion is still running high, fingers are being pointed every which way, and nobody seems quite sure whether the whole thing is a conservative success, a decent first step, a neutral flop, an outright failure or a political travesty and environmental tragedy.

Let's look at some of the recent analyses:

• Is the weak agreement Obama's fault? The European reporters I met wanted Obama to lead their nations—lead the world—when in reality he leads a country whose progress on climate change is many steps behind the developed world. (Grist)
• Renewable energy outlook brightens The wind market is heating up in India and China, and some see China solidifying its position as the world's renewable energy trend leader if the United States does not come up with a green energy policy. (Seeking Alpha)
• An outright failure Low targets and dropped goals make Copenhagen's weak agreement an outright failure. (The Guardian)
• What's missing from the current agreement? The most important part of this deal is what's not in it. Crucial unresolved questions will continue to dog climate negotiators into 2010 and beyond. (Treehugger)
• Improved position for Obama at home President Obama may have improved his chances for passing global warming legislation in the Senate by forging an interim international agreement here that puts both rich and poor countries on a path to curtail greenhouse gas emissions. (The New York Times)

It's hard to end the year on such a limp note. We have to hope that individual nations will honor the pledges they've made. We have to hope that these lukewarm results don't have a chilling effect on our ability to affect real change to the conundrum of climate change.

(Photo credit:america.gov, flickr)

All puns aside, the international climate change conference coming together next week in Copenhagen is a burning topic for our times. The event brings together several momentous threads in global consciousness and development: contentious debate, scientific scandal, political maneuvering ... With so many heavy-hitters swinging such big bats at the issues, it's hard to tell whether it the event will prove a catalyst for change or become mired in breast-beating rhetoric and politically charged disagreements.

To the rescue: Tonic.com's Copenhagen for Dummies: A climate conference primer. This reading's about as easy as it gets.

• So just what is all this talk about Copenhagen, anyway?
• Sounds like a party. Who's going to be there?
• Hmm, this all sounds kind of familiar ... haven't they done this before?
• Kyoto! Yeah, that's it! So why go through this again?
• But isn't it all bunk anyway? Didn't I just hear something about all of this being based on faked data?
• So what's likely to happen over December as COP15 unfolds?

The answers are straight talk that'll catch you up on the issues, putting you in position to make sense of the deluge of news that'll be flowing out of the conference next week. Motivated readers can go straight to the source and pick up their news from the conference web site itself. Hot stuff!

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It's a week of provocative news, insightful opinion and fresh thought about the eco-sphere. Super Eco's Thinking Thursday post rounds up recent points worth pondering.

• Japan is aiming to collect solar power in space and zap it down to Earth using laser beams or microwaves.
• Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have been awarded nearly $1 million from the National Science Foundation to create a whole new kind of robot—or rather, robots ... Lots of little robots that will collect lots of location-specific data that will help scientists learn more about marine ecosystems. 
• The 10th annual Global Green Sustainable Design Awards honor advancements in the fields of industry, building, media, nonprofit organizations and public policy that design a more sustainable future.
• In the wee hours of Sunday morning, Spain set quite a record: The country got more than half its electricity from wind farms, a first for a country long invested in renewable energy.
• This is the consequence of failure at Copenhagen: A marked shift in scientific effort from solving global warming to adapting to its consequences, a hodge-podge of uncoordinated local efforts to trim emissions—none of which deliver the necessary cuts—and an altered climate.
• What's it like to install a solar array at home?
• Climate scientists reporting more record highs, fewer lows.

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The heat's on: blogs and bloggers all over the world are steaming up the internet today with posts on climate change and global warming. It's an unavoidable topic—and that's the point. Shouldn't there be a wealth of debate and discussion on a topic that affects literally every single person on earth?

You can't hold up your end of the conversation without the facts. Allow us to present you with some ammunition. Here's what Super Eco has rounded up most recently on climate change.

• Visualizing our carbon impact It's an entertaining, if disturbing, tool: A new Carbon Cycle imaging map from Google Maps shows carbon currents, the places where our carbon emissions collect and disseminate, to graphically demonstrate and put into context our carbon impact upon the planet.
• World's largest beef producer limits Amazon production JBS-Frisboi of Brazil pledges it will no longer buy cattle raised in areas of the Amazon that were deforested after Sept. 23 of this year, in designated protected areas, or on indigenous lands.
• Sting sends message in a bottle to climate change activists Rock star Sting is lending his undeniably infectious "Message in a Bottle" song to Prince Charles’ Rainforests Project, urging fans to text their own rainforest SOS messages advocating an end to deforestation of vital rainforest ecosystems and an increase in efforts to combat global warming.
• Celebs sing on climate change anthem A new eco-activist remake of Midnight Oil's "The Beds Are Burning," focusing on global warming, is making waves as the world's first global musical petition.

And a sampling of conversations around the web—some of our favorite early picks from today's worldwide coverage of the topic:

• How to get Jordanians to care about climate change Making climate change a relevant topic to Jordanians is as easy as finding ways to connect this global issue to local thinking. In other words, thinking global can help kick-start our ability to think local.
• Fix the climate, or the kid gets it So what is it going to take to get action on this issue? You know the answer--we all do: It's going to take popular pressure, aka politicians feeling that they have to produce something on this issue to get reelected. And that, in turn, takes convincing Americans that something we care about is actually at risk here.
• The meat of the matter For meat lovers like me, turning your back on Mae West’s “too much of a good thing” philosophy can help make a big difference. You don’t have to give up meat—just eat less of it.

(Photo credit:svilen001, SXC)

"We Are the World" (the 1985 charity single recorded by a chorus of socially conscious celebrities) set the bar for humantiarian, fundraising anthems. Now, a new eco-activist remake of Midnight Oil's "The Beds Are Burning," focusing on global warming, is making waves as the world's first global musical petition. By downloading the celebrity-packed remake, fans add their names to a petition urging world leaders to reach a fair, binding agreement at the United Nations Climate Change Conference slated for December in Copenhagen.

The musical petition springs from the Global Humanitarian Forum's Time for Climate Justice campaign and includes celebrities such as Lily Allen, Duran Duran, Fergie, The Scorpions, Jet Li, Marion Cotillard and Desmond Tutu.

The effort follows on the heels of Sting's "Message in a Bottle" campaign to prod fans into texting their support of the rainforest's own SOS to Prince Charles’ Rainforests Project.

Hear "Beds Are Burning" for yourself, below, or download the song and become a climate ally.

(Photo credit:TimeForClimateJustice.org)

If you caught our climate change news roundup yesterday, we know you'll understand how very desperately we need to send an SOS to the world to control global warming. Rock star Sting is doing exactly that, lending his undeniably infectious "Message in a Bottle" song to Prince Charles’ Rainforests Project. Sting's message urges fans to text their own rainforest SOS messages advocating an end to deforestation of vital rainforest ecosystems and an increase in efforts to combat global warming.

“Thirty years ago, I wrote ‘Message in a Bottle,’” he notes in the video below. “Today, I’m joining forces with His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and many others supporting The Prince’s Rainforests Project to send an SOS to the world. Sending your SOS is easy, and can help create the climate for change. If there is one thing you do today, make it this.”

Sting has also created his own Rainforest Foundation, which aims to protect the environment and indigenous peoples of the Amazon rainforest.

Prince Charles himself has also released a video urging support for his project, in preparation of the upcoming United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen this coming December. He may not capture our hearts and imaginations in the same manner as Sting, but his eloquence is undeniable: “Rainforests are utterly essential in our fight against climate change. They absorb nearly a fifth of all our carbon emissions and yet they are being destroyed at the rate of a football pitch every four seconds. To solve the problem, we have to find ways to ensure the trees become more valuable alive than dead so there is no incentive to cut them down.”

(Photo credit:YouTube)