Today’s Climate: August 28-29, 2010

Probe Seeks UN Climate Panel Changes (Wall Street Journal)

A group investigating the UN IPCC will recommend in a report Monday that the organization beef up its capacity to ferret out errors in its scientific assessments.

Engineers to Remove Temporary Cap from Gulf Well (AP)

Engineers will soon start the delicate work of detaching the temporary cap that stopped oil from gushing from BP’s blown-out well and the hulking device that failed to prevent the leak.

BP Internal Report Said to Find Engineers Misread Gulf Well Test Results (Bloomberg)

BP’s internal investigation of the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster found company engineers misinterpreted pressure data that indicated a blowout was imminent, according to a person familiar with the report.

BP to Admit $1Mlln-a-Week Advertising Spree (Telegraph)

BP is set to come under renewed fire from U.S. politicians this week as it reveals it has spent more than $1 million a week on television and radio advertising since the April 20 oil explosion.

Gulf Drilling Costs, Regulations Likely to Rise (Rigzone)

The Gulf spill has set the stage for dramatic changes to the deepwater exploration industry, with future costs of drilling expected to rise considerably, according to a white paper released by Grant Thornton LLP.

Deepwater Horizon Fears Resurface as Rigs Probe for Oil Under Arctic Ice (The Observer)

ExxonMobil, Shell and Norway’s StatOil are competing to drill for oil and gas in Greenland’s waters, despite Greenpeace’s fears a broken well could gush for years.

W.Va. Governor Wins Dem Primary for U.S. Senate (AP)

Popular Gov. Joe Manchin won the Democratic nomination Saturday and will face GOP primary winner and wealthy businessman John Raese in the race to fill the Senate seat vacated by the late Robert C. Byrd.

California Proposes Feed-in Tariff Pilot Program for Renewables (Sustainable Business)

The California Public Utilities Commission last week proposed a new feed-in tariff requiring investor-owned California utilities to purchase electricity from midsized renewable energy systems — ranging from 1 MW to 20 MW in size.

Green-Tech Patent Program Off Target Pace (CNET News)

A trial program run by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which was meant to speed the pace of innovation in green technology, hasn’t unleashed the torrent of activity as hoped.

Truckers to Appeal Ruling for LA Anti-Smog Program (AP)

Environmentalists on Friday hailed a federal judge’s ruling that allows the nation’s largest port to enforce anti-smog rules on big rigs that haul goods in and out.

California Energy Panel Promises Millions to Ethanol Firm Founded by Schwarzenegger Ally (Los Angeles Times)

California’s energy commission has promised millions of dollars to the struggling corn ethanol business founded by Gov. Schwarzenegger, Pacific Ethanol, despite public assurances that the commission’s funds would not be used to subsidize that technology.

China Coal Drive Will Not End Health Risks: Report (Reuters)

China’s drive to promote clean coal technology is unlikely to reduce significantly the health risks of extracting what remains the dirtiest of fossil fuels, environmental group Greenpeace said.

Chile: Coal Plants Under Fire (IPS)

Controversial plans to build the Barrancones thermoelectric plant near a protected area in the northern Chilean region of Coquimbo were canceled Friday, but not before reviving the debate on other projects for polluting coal plants.

NZ Seabed Samples Clue to Global Warming (Australian Associated Press)

The fossil record from oceans around New Zealand shows a sudden discharge of CO2 into the atmosphere at the end of the last ice age, raising the possibility that a similar process may occur as a result of global warming, researchers say.