Climate change brings security risks, says NATO chief. NATO's new secretary general wants the alliance to begin discussing climate change because it has potentially huge security implications. Temperature changes and rising sea levels will prompt large populations to move, and could spark conflict. [News Source]

US bill could pave way for hybrid taxi fleets. A bill before Congress would give local governments the authority to set fuel efficiency standards for taxicabs, allowing cities like Boston to overcome federal court rulings that struck down their ambitious efforts to require all taxis to be hybrids. [News Source]

Ohio’s manufacturing economy at heart of debate over climate change bill. As the Senate heads for an acrimonious debate over climate change and the cost of fuel, Ohio, its two senators and its manufacturing-based economy are certain to be in the limelight. [News Source]

Do U.S. Chamber defections reflect new dynamic in climate debate? Recent high-profile departures from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over the lobbying powerhouse's position on climate change will reshape the debate on Capitol Hill over cap-and-trade legislation, according to climate bill supporters. [News Source]

Mining giant backs govt emissions scheme. The federal government's proposed emissions trading scheme has been endorsed by an unlikely ally - one of the world's largest mining companies, Newmont Mining Corporation. [News Source]

Sydney dust storm helping scientists study ocean’s food chain. Satellite images from NASA breaking down chlorophyll levels in oceans around the world taken before and after last week’s dust storm show a marked increase in algae growth in the Tasman Sea. Algae are also known to absorb as much as 40 percent of carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere. [News Source]

The Senate bill tinkers with touchy issue — carbon offsets. Major climate legislation introduced Wednesday in the Senate makes significant changes from a House version of the bill on offsets, or clean-energy initiatives that businesses can use to meet emission cuts outside their own facilities. [News Source]

Kerry gives Dems chance to frame climate debate around security. Sens. John Kerry and Barbara Boxer both say there is little to read into with Kerry listed as the lead sponsor of the global warming bill. Several sources said the lawmakers are trying to frame the climate debate around national security. [News Source]

Native leaders decry Murkowski’s EPA amendment. Native leaders last week chided Sen. Lisa Murkowski for her proposed amendment to the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 spending bill that would have delayed for one year the agency’s regulation of carbon dioxide from industrial sources. [News Source]

Coming Monday: Climate changes Andes culture. For ages Qoyllur Rit'i pilgrims have hauled themselves ever upward to celebrate the glaciers' life-giving waters. As that world rapidly melts, the Andes' Quechua-speaking farmers face a profound change in their relationship with their environment. [News Source]

Wetter is more costly than drier. If changes in the climate create a wetter world, the cost will be higher than if it dried things out, a World Bank study finds. [News Source]