Brooke Griffin had an ambitious goal: She wanted to raise thousands of dollars for a local homeless shelter. Inspired by philanthropist Malaak Compton-Rock’s new book, If It Takes a Village, Build One, Brooke asked her aunt and a friend to help. Soon their entire Northern Kentucky community was participating in a charity cocktail gala that raised nearly $40,000 for needy women and children. By Lindsey Palmer In a crowded ballroom decorated with red and white flowers, heart-shaped Mylar balloons, and crisp white linens, Brooke Griffin looks around at the dozens of tables of friends, relatives,...

Methane is leaking into the atmosphere from permafrost in the Arctic Ocean and could accelerate global warming. THE GIST: A large, overlooked source of methane gas is escaping from arctic permafrost underwater. Ocean-bottom permafrost contains vast amounts of carbon, and experts are concerned that its release as methane gas will speed warming. Earlier studies had only considered methane escaping from permafrost on land. Methane is leaking into the atmosphere from unstable permafrost in the Arctic Ocean faster than scientists had thought and could worsen global warming, a study said Thursday. Read...

By Fiona Macrae It is a claim guaranteed to wipe the smug smile off vegetarians’ faces. Meat-free diets can be bad for the planet, say researchers. Vegetarians and green activists have long taken pleasure in telling those who enjoy a good steak that livestock farming is a major source of harmful greenhouse gases. Lord Stern, one of the world’s leading climate change economists, caused uproar among Britain’s farmers in October when he said that cutting down on meat was good for the planet. Read More…

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We ask leading climate change experts for their assessment of the Copenhagen deal The negotiations in Copenhagen ended without a fair, ambitious or legally binding treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Despite this, what emerged was an agreement that will, at the very least, cut greenhouse gasses, set up an emissions verification system, and reduce deforestation. Given the complexity of the issue, this represents a step forward. I hasten to add that much of the hard work still lies ahead. The Copenhagen accord, the text that came out of the talks, leaves a long list of issues undecided. Among...

Non-binding accord limits temperature rises but includes no emissions targets John Vidal and Jonathan Watts in Copenhagen The UN climate summit in Copenhagen has formally closed with a deal many countries admit falls far short of the action needed to tackle global warming. The non-binding accord, which the US reached with key nations including China and Brazil, “recognises” the scientific case for keeping temperature rises to no more than 2C but does not contain commitments to emissions reductions to achieve that goal. US officials spun the deal as a “meaningful agreement”...

Key states have reached what they call a “meaningful agreement” at the Copenhagen climate summit. The US, China, India and South Africa had agreed the “historic step forward”, a US official reported. The deal was not enough to prevent dangerous climate change in the future – but was an important first move, the official said. President Barack Obama said the deal would be a foundation for global action but there was “much further to go”. BBC environment correspondent Richard Black said it was not yet clear how other countries would view the agreement. Read...

Nations Agree There is Problem, but Climate Deal Remains Elusive By BILL BLAKEMORE COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, Dec. 17, 2009 As the global climate talks in Copenhagen reach a climax, there is a chorus of agreement from world leaders on the gravity of the global warming issue, but a tangle of disagreement on how best to iron out an agreement . The talks continued as President Obama headed to Denmark to address the summit on Friday, the last day of the gathering. Take, for example, the tensions at play when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – with negotiations stalled – announced the U.S....

Jonathan Watts in Copenhagen China rebuffed efforts to prod it towards major climate concessions today, but nudged closer to meeting US demands that it open its carbon accounts to the world. As talks moved into the final day, China pledged more flexibility on the vexed issue of how its pledges to curb pollution will be internationally verified. The world’s biggest carbon emitter also confirmed it wants to set a 2C rise as the maximum temperature target. But it accused developed nations of failing to set sufficiently ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gases. Read More…

By CHARLES J. HANLEY (AP) COPENHAGEN — The 10-day-old climate talks ran into disputes and paralysis as they entered a critical stage Wednesday, just two days before President Barack Obama and more than 100 other national leaders hope to sign a historic agreement to fight global warming. Poorer nations stalled the talks in resistance to what they saw as efforts by the rich to impose decisions falling short of strong commitments to reduce greenhouse gases and to help those countries hurt by climate change. Conference observers said, however, that negotiators still had time to reach agreements....