After dangerous lull, war on climate change faces crunch year (AFP via Yahoo! News) After a year in which it nearly lost its compass, the campaign against climate change heads into 2009 needing top-level political commitment, creative thinking and a deep well of money. [News Source]

EPA job filled with challenges. When Lisa Jackson takes the helm of the federal Environmental Protection Agency next month, she will face some of the most pressing issues of our time: climate change, air pollution, Superfund. And that's just for starters. [News Source]

Get ready for worse climate change impacts: expert. An extra billion people will face water shortage, cereal production in developing countries will drop and coastal regions will face more damage from floods and storms because of delay in combating climate change, says a leading expert. [News Source]

The Delta debate: Resurrecting the canal. California as we know it today was built largely on this fantasy: That arid cities in the south could indefinitely satisfy the thirst of a growing population by importing water from the north. [News Source]

Climate change in Latin America. A new report shows that more destructive hurricanes, shrinking forests, melting glaciers, and disappearing animals are all prospective damage to Latin America and the Caribbean from climate change. [News Source]

Analysis: For many, global warming kills. Hardly anyone at the U.N. climate-change conference in Poland needs to be convinced of the need for urgent action to stop global warming. Yet for some delegations in Poznan, the issue is a matter of life and death. [News Source]

Climate change adding to hunger, illnesses worldwide. The Dec 1-12 climate change summit is entering its final day without any sign of substantial progress, but climate change effects have progressed dramatically, adding to hunger and illnesses worldwide, say international experts. [News Source]

Red tape strangles Whitehall’s plans to boost green energy. Penny-pinching and red tape are suffocating government plans for a rapid increase in the amount of renewable energy used in Britain. [News Source]

Earthweek: a diary of the planet. Initial estimates of the 2008 average global temperature point to the year being the coolest in a decade that has seen most of the warmest weather on record. [News Source]

Fighting global warming. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a seven-year $135 million national programme to deal with climate change. [News Source]

Gas prices fall but concerns linger. Breaking America's foreign-oil addiction was all the rage on Capitol Hill when gas cost $4 a gallon. Now that it's under $2 and falling, history suggests the enthusiasm for alternative fuels and more efficient cars will subside. [News Source]