Despair flows as fields go dry and unemployment rises. Drought and irrigation battles are threatening to turn huge swaths of the San Joaquin Valley into a dust bowl. Farmers have idled half a million acres of once-productive ground and are laying off legions of farmhands. Climate change is intensifying competition for water and may well force changes in farming. [News Source]

Poor face more hunger as climate change leads to crop failure, says Oxfam. Hunger may become the defining human tragedy of the century as the climate changes and hundreds of millions of farmers already struggling to grow enough food are forced to adapt to drought and different rainfall patterns, a report warns. [News Source]

Climate battle moves to Senate. President Obama's landmark energy and global warming bill squeaked through the House only after dozens of concessions to coal, manufacturing and other interests. Now, as the battle moves to the Senate, Obama faces demands for even more concessions. [News Source]

Tucson rainwater harvesting law drawing interest. From Seattle to San Francisco and Austin, Texas, voluntary rainwater harvesting is being used to capture water falling onto roofs or pavement that otherwise drains into sewers as wastewater. Conservation and rainwater harvesting are becoming more important as global warming threatens water supplies. [News Source]

States digging deep to monitor water. The goal of forming a nationwide network got a boost this year as Congress approved the SECURE Water Act, directing the U.S. Geological Survey to work with states to develop a national monitoring program for underground water supplies, known as aquifers. [News Source]

Climate battle moves to Senate. With Republican opposition solid and many Democrats concerned about the effects on their constituents, President Obama's landmark energy and climate bill will likely see even more concessions to coal, manufacturing and other interests. [News Source]

Poor face more hunger as climate change leads to crop failure, says Oxfam. Hunger may become the defining human tragedy of the century as the climate changes and hundreds of millions of farmers already struggling to grow enough food are forced to adapt to drought and different rainfall patterns, a report warns. [News Source]

Despair flows as fields go dry and unemployment rises. Drought and irrigation battles are threatening to turn huge swaths of the San Joaquin Valley into a dust bowl. Farmers have idled half a million acres of once-productive ground and are laying off legions of farmhands. Climate change is intensifying competition for water and may well force changes in farming. [News Source]

Making officials see green. China will assess economic performance of government officials by how much less carbon development programs emit per unit of GDP growth - a policy likely to accelerate the restructuring of China's economic structure and energy mix, experts say. [News Source]

Welsh scientists unlock secrets of carbon capture from the Amazon. A process invented thousands of years ago by Amazonian Indians could play a key role in defeating global warming, experts in Wales claim today. [News Source]

China again objects to tariffs on nations not capping emissions. China's central government reiterated its opposition to carbon tariff policies and said they could provoke a trade war, ratcheting up the rhetoric as lawmakers in the U.S. consider legislation to reduce greenhouse gases. [News Source]