Desperate measures? A desalination plant in San Francisco Bay has pit environmentalists, who see the plant as too energy intensive, against business and development interests, which fear the district is going to run out of water. [News Source]

Senate urged to let states keep climate plans. Five states have asked U.S. Senate leaders to let them impose stricter limits on greenhouse gas emissions than what would be permitted under the climate legislation working its way though Congress, saying both levels of regulation are necessary to fight global warming. [News Source]

Poor nations need ‘wartime’ support against climate change. Developing nations need a 600-billion-dollar "Marshall Plan" annually to tackle climate change with support from rich nations on a scale not seen outside wartime recovery, a UN report said Tuesday. [News Source]

China’s high price for emission cuts. The cost of reducing China’s total greenhouse gas emissions is likely to reach $438bn a year within 20 years, and developed economies will have to bear much of that cost, according to a group of Beijing’s leading climate economists. [News Source]

Brazil points to sharp drop in Amazon destruction. The annual rate of destruction of Brazil's Amazon rain forest has fallen 46 percent. The drop could allow Brazil to argue at a major world climate summit later this year that it is delivering on a pledge to slash deforestation after decades of criticism by environmentalists. [News Source]

Food talks focus on crop genetics. Understanding the impact of crop genetics on the environment is essential to future food security, delegates in Dundee will hear. Scientists from across the world are gathering in the city to discuss the challenges faced by producers as the climate changes. [News Source]

Arctic climate change at “tipping point.” A new report confirms Arctic climate change is happening faster than anyone anticipated and may soon be forcing more rapid warming on the rest of the planet. [News Source]

French carbon tax debate turns toxic for Sarkozy. French President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan for a carbon tax on fuel threatened to backfire as critics slammed it as unfair. The tax is part of a effort to wean consumers off polluting energies and slash global warming emissions. [News Source]

No delay for car makers on EU chemicals ban. Car makers will not be granted a delay to an agreed 2011 European ban on climate-damaging chemicals in the air conditioners of new car models, European Parliament officials said on Tuesday. [News Source]

Oceans could absorb much more CO2. Earth's oceans are vast reservoirs of carbon dioxide with the potential to control the pace of global warming. It all hinges on the fate of marine "snow" -- a constant sprinkle of carbon-rich bits that flutter down from the sea surface to the cold depths below. [News Source]

Warning on hopes for Copenhagen deal. The success of the Copenhagen summit on climate change in December will not depend on a final international deal being sealed there, according to Helen Clark, the United Nations’ new development chief. [News Source]