Can we manipulate the weather? By the end of last month, farmland in the already dry north of China was suffering badly due to drought. So on Saturday night China's meteorologists fired 186 explosive rockets loaded with chemicals to "seed" clouds and encourage snow to fall. [News Source]

Rent clothes to cut carbon emissions, says green watchdog. Large wardrobes of seldom-used clothes are no longer environmentally acceptable and people should instead rent outfits and accessories, according to the Government’s waste watchdog. [News Source]

Coming clean. Disagreement over carbon capture and storage, or CCS, has opened a fissure in the environmental movement and divided opinion shapers who ostensibly want the same thing. [News Source]

Brazil raises cane over U.S. ethanol tariff. Brazilian sugar producers say sugar-based fuel is more environmentally sound than electricity or corn ethanol as an alternative for powering cars. But the odds are long for a change. [News Source]

Why African countries are boycotting climate change talks. UN climate change talks in Barcelona have stalled as African countries say the world's rich nations must do more to cut emissions. [News Source]

Senate panel’s climate markup in holding pattern. A partisan standoff over Senate global warming legislation clouded the start of the Environment and Public Works Committee's markup of the sweeping proposal today with just one Republican in attendance. [News Source]

Kyoto climate treaty’s greenhouse ’success.’ A new UN report describes how the Kyoto Protocol has achieved real strides in slowing the growth of greenhouse-gas emissions, thanks to mostly to European nations. [News Source]

Russia still dragging its feet on climate change. Russia doesn't seem to care about global warming. Most Russians would probably be happy if the country was warmer. Melting icecaps would enable Russia to drill for oil and gas in the Arctic Ocean. For the rest of the planet, however, the picture is not so cheerful. [News Source]

Economists see threat in climate change. Researchers who deal in cold numbers rather than warming climates believe the "significant benefits from curbing greenhouse-gas emissions would justify the costs of action," a new survey finds. [News Source]

‘Whitewash’ could slow global warming: Peruvian scientist. A Peruvian scientist has called on his country to help slow the melting of Andean glaciers by daubing white paint on the rock and earth left behind by receding ice so they will absorb less heat. [News Source]

Coral bleaching gives rise to reef bullies. To the average snorkeller a coral reef might seem like a watery paradise, but new research has found coral bleaching could turn reefs into rough neighbourhoods. Coral bleaching is expected to become more widespread because of the effects of global warming. [News Source]