Warming could kill reef in 40 years, Australia's iconic and beloved Great Barrier Reef will be destroyed by erosion and swamped by invading algal slime within 40 years if current global warming trends continue, new research suggests. [News Source]

2008: A warm and dry year, The year 2008 was another very warm and dry one across North Texas. While rainfall was below normal, temperatures were much above normal. In fact, 2008 turned out to be the second warmest year since records began way back in 1898. The only warmer year was 2006. [News Source]

Offsets in the air in San Francisco. This spring, travelers entering San Francisco International Airport will see a new type of kiosk at check-in — one offering carbon offsets for those who wish to counter the greenhouse-gas emissions from their trip. [News Source]

Lake Tahoe climate change plan to be revealed in 2009. As California Attorney General Jerry Brown increases the pressure on local planners to consider the effects of global warming, government agencies in the Tahoe Basin are integrating climate change into their agendas for the coming years. [News Source]

Panel outlines greenhouse gas reduction options for Iowa. A state panel appointed to study ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today outlined 56 options for state lawmakers and Gov. Chet Culver to consider for Iowa to minimize its impact on global warming. [News Source]

County sees forests as source of future clean-air funds. The public forest lands across Oregon have long been measured in terms of their value to lumber, recreation and natural habitat, but now the county board is considering a new role for them: Battling global warming. [News Source]

Cars soon will come with ‘green’ score. Automobile comparison shoppers who want to reduce their contribution to air pollution and global warming will have some help later this year. [News Source]

Why tropical forests fall. Tropical forests cover about seven percent of the Earth, but the widespread cutting and burning of these forests causes some twenty percent of all global warming gas emissions worldwide. [News Source]

Global tourism and a chilled beach in Dubai. The idea of constructing an artificially cooled beach may sound a bit like an anachronistic excess in a world that is struggling to be more energy efficient. [News Source]

New bill would cut greenhouse gases emitted from Texas refineries. If Texas were a country, the refineries lining the Gulf would make it the eighth-largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world. “Texas is a major emitter of carbon, in part because we fuel the rest of the country,” State Sen. Rodney Ellis said. [News Source]

Climate change and the new Congress. The depth of a recession is no time to raise energy prices. That's the argument against a climate change bill, and one we're sure to hear a lot this year. But don't tell that to California Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer who chairs the Senate's environment committee. [News Source]