Heating up. If the talks fail, the world will have no plan for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, a state of affairs that leading scientists warn would lead to a disastrous future. If a deal is struck, it will require the transformation of nearly all sectors of the global economy. [News Source]

Sen. Barbara Boxer considers climate power play. Barbara Boxer may not only force her climate bill through the Environment and Public Works Committee without any Republican votes; aides say she could also do it without any Republicans in the room at all. [News Source]

Boxer pushes ahead with climate markup tomorrow; GOP still plans to boycott. Full-blown partisan warfare is expected tomorrow when Democrats try to begin a markup of global warming legislation in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee despite plans by the panel's seven Republicans to skip the meeting altogether. [News Source]

America’s energy policy dilemma. The future of both oils - black and green - will be shaped by the debates in Congress. And that's why oil producers, old and new, are so anxiously trying to shape the outcome. [News Source]

Portland establishes climate action plan. The Portland City Council passed a Climate Action Plan last week. The 70-page document establishes 93 action steps, including curbside pickup of compostables and an expansion of the city’s streetcar system, that are to be taken to reach emissions-reduction goals. [News Source]

Gore ’s dual role as advocate and investor. Al Gore says he is putting his money where his mouth is by investing in green technology, but his critics say he is profiteering from government policies. [News Source]

Chincoteague Bay coastline slowly rising. Ocean waters are slowly encroaching low-lying areas along the Chincoteague Bay says a new report, suggesting Maryland communities will face tough decisions of whether to save quickly developing low-lying areas as sea level continues to rise. [News Source]

Climate change threatens Native American lands. Climate change may be only the latest of many challenges facing Indian country, but it is having devastating effects in parts of the far North where at least one Native village faced with inundation by melting polar ice is suing energy companies it says are responsible. [News Source]

Al Gore’s sequel stresses spiritual argument on climate. Al's Gore's much-anticipated sequel to An Inconvenent Truth is published today, with an admission that facts alone will not persuade Americans to act on global warming and that appealing to their spiritual side is the way forward. [News Source]

Lobbying cash obscures US climate debate. When it comes to the debate in the United States over what to do about climate change, cash may very well have clouded the issue. [News Source]

Barcelona and Copenhagen: Make or break for climate? Climate campaigners say negotiations under way this week in Barcelona represent a last-ditch effort to save the planet. [News Source]