EARLY STUFF

TOP STUFF

Obama seeking $60.4B for Sandy recovery, some bux for future climate risks.

Study: death rate of many of biggest, oldest trees around world increasing rapidly. At all latitudes, in most types of forest. Combo of factors from climate change to insects, diseases.

Over 62% of lower 48 states still in moderate to exceptional drought.

Deforestation talks at UN climate conference broke down on finance, verification.

Presidential panel warning US ag research not keeping pace with climate change, water shortages, new pathogens, etc. Call for $700M for new research. Fed ag research funding roughly same in real dollars for 30 years.

US carbon tax would be "disastrous": House GOP resolution.

Obama offering $6B of investment in clean energy in Asia-Pacific region. To help US exports.

China econ growth forecast 7.7% for '12, 8.2% for '13.

OTHER STUFF

NASA's measurements of plant stress anticipated this year's severe drought in US a month before drought monitor.

S Korea dropped plans to resume whaling.

Huge flows of vapor in atmos - "atmos rivers" - have unleashed massive flooding in Cal every 200 years, turning central valley into inland sea. Last time was 1861-2. Lasted 43 days.

China increased wind farm approvals 8% to meet '15 goal. Their installed wind capacity forecast to hit 150Gw by '15, 50% above govt goal.

India hopes to ramp up installed solar capacity to 9Gw by '17. Over 8x current cap. But higher interest rates and short-term lending add up to 32% to cost compared to US, Europe. Govt grants to come from National Clean Energy Fund. It taxes coal producers $.92/ton since mid-10.

Jinko Solar getting up to $1B finance from China Development Bank.

LDK slashed revenue forecast for year, laid off over 2.5K workers in Q3.

S Korea comps to build 45Mw solar farm in Japan. Cost est. $120M.

Solar Frontier (Japan) to supply 14Mw thin-film solar for 4 projects by Mitsui. Mitsui and partners planning $110M for 10 solar projects in Japan by early '14.

SunPower (SPWR) extended its supply contract to Toshiba to '18. Also forming JV with 3 Chinese comps to make, install its panels and trackers in China.

First Solar (FSLR) to ship 2Mw of panels for 1st-ever demo plant in China in early '13.

Admin OK'd 170-mile powerline through Utah.

Nepal El customers facing 10 hours daily power cuts now, more than before.

Wanxiang Group (China) won bid for A123. AONEQ was down 64% last I saw today.

Canada cleared $15B CNOOC (China) buy of Nexen. Also approved $5B buy of Progress Energy Resources by Petronas (Malay). Canada says that's the last of foreign govt investment in oil sands. $650B more of investment needed in oil sands development next 10 years. Canada can't finance all that themselves.

Oil sands emissions rose last year.

US has 1.7 failures per 1K miles per year on oil pipelines. 52,475 miles of pipe. Alberta has 2, higher occurrence thought to be from the oil sands' diluted bitumen.

Enbridge to spend $6.2B on pipeline expansion.

Colorado groundwater contaminated by drilling.

Brit N Sea oil output likely to increase next few years. Could reach 1.4Mb/d in '17.

Investments in Eagle Ford shale (TX) expected to top that projected for Kazakhstan's giant field.

Imperial Oil (Canada). BP, Exxon partnership may seek approval to start work in Beaufort Sea by summer.

China told Vietnam to stop unilateral oil exploration in disputed areas of S China Sea and to stop harassing Chinese fishing boats.

Kurd leader says over 3Mb/d could be flowing from their region with proper export infrastructure.

Russian crude and condensate production for Nov up .5%, post-Soviet record of 10.5Mb/d.

Much of forecasted world oil supply - like, out to '30 - has not yet been discovered or has no demo'd tech that can extract or produce it economically. A 43Mb/d gap by '30.

Gallon of premium gas costs Americans 3% of daily income, 55th of 60 nations. In Pakistan, a gallon costs 46% more than a worker's daily wage. (Count your blessings and consider the luck of birth.)

Houston-based utility canceled coal power plant upwind of Dallas, Ft Worth. (There's a good pard.)

Vietnam started build of $1.37B 1.24Gw coal power plant in Mekong Delta.

Kuwaitis demonstrating against newly-elected parliament, claiming it illegitimate.

Transponders on 31 Iran-owned oil tankers still signal Tanzania registration. Tanzania says nuh-uh, they de-registered all Iranian ships.