Today’s Climate: July 6, 2010

Tar Balls From Gulf Oil Spill Turn Up in Texas (AP)

A top Texas official said Monday that tar balls from the Gulf oil spill have been found on state beaches, marking the first known evidence that crude from the Deepwater Horizon well has now reached all the Gulf states.

Obama Decried, Then Used, Some Bush Drilling Policies (Wall Street Journal)

Less than four months after Pres. Obama took office, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. found that the government was unprepared for a major spill at sea, relying on an "irrational" environmental analysis of the risks of offshore drilling.

Federal Wildlife Agency Saw Low Risk in Oil Spills (AFP)

Documents show federal regulators concluded offshore oil drilling posed a low risk to endangered wildlife. The conclusion is at odds with scenes of pelicans fighting to survive the massive Gulf oil spill.

U.S. Climate Scientists Receive Hate Mail Barrage in Wake of UEA Scandal (Guardian)

Climate scientists in the U.S. say police inaction has left them defenseless in the face of a torrent of death threats and hate mail, leaving them fearing for their lives and one to contemplate arming himself with a handgun.

China Needs to Increase Renewable Energy Capacity (Bloomberg)

China, the world’s biggest polluter, needs to increase its capacity to produce electricity from renewable energy sources by 50% to meet the country’s 2020 targets, a government official said.

Doubt Lingers on Indonesia’s Emission Target (Jakarta Post)

Nine months after Indonesia declared its ambitious pledge to cut emissions with its own money, doubts remain over whether the government can meet its own target, with no clear supporting regulations made.

Study Claims Hydroelectric Dams Hurt Climate More than Oil (Wired)

A study from Brazil’s National Institute for Research in the Amazon claims that hydroelectric power could be considerably more damaging to the atmosphere than generating the same amount of energy from oil.

Indonesian Firm Accused of Clearing Rain Forests (New York Times)

Greenpeace has accused one of the world’s largest pulp, paper and palm oil companies of aggressively clearing Indonesian rainforests and throwing into doubt a landmark billion-dollar deal that aims to fight climate change by curbing deforestation.

China Starts Generation at Its Largest Offshore Wind Farm, Xinmin Reports (Bloomberg)

China has officially started transmitting power from its biggest offshore wind farm, the 102-MW Donghai Bridge Wind Farm off Shanghai’s coast, to the mainland grid, Xinmin Evening News reported.

National Energy Lab in Golden a Model of Super Efficiency (Denver Post)

A new $64 million research building at National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s campus in Golden, Col. is designed to be net-zero energy — using only as much energy as it produces from rooftop solar panels and other renewable sources on the campus.

Climate Change ‘Bringing New Crops’ to South East (BBC)

Rising temperatures could see lemons and sunflowers being grown as crops in the UK South East, a Kent agricultural college has predicted.

Nissan’s 1st Hybrid Aims to Almost Double Mileage (Reuters)

Nissan said it aims to nearly double the mileage on its first hybrid car developed in-house compared with the gasoline engine version, while keeping costs down with a simple, single-motor system.