‘Noise’ about climate change. Downtown Olympia appeared to be floating on top of Budd Inlet on Monday morning as one of the higher tides of the year filled up Puget Sound. Climate change activists used the high tide to show how vulnerable downtown Olympia is to flooding if the sea level rises from climate change. [News Source]

South Africa wants to cut emissions, but lacks policies to match its rhetoric. Slashing emissions in coal-dominated South Africa will require an overhaul of national policies as well as significant funding, a new study finds. [News Source]

Bingaman: Cap-and-trade bill unlikely this year. The chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee said Tuesday that it's unclear whether Congress will be able to pass cap-and-trade legislation aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions this year. [News Source]

N.D. likely to sue Minnesota over carbon tax. North Dakota’s attorney general said he expects the state to sue Minnesota over a plan there to tax carbon created by electrical generation. [News Source]

Manure-to-power technology could spread across Vermont. Vermont could see a boost in the number of farms producing electricity from methane gas, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would work to bring more manure digesters to large and small dairy farms across the country. [News Source]

Undersea rocks could store carbon dioxide, roll back global warming. In the ongoing search for ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change, scientists are looking at undersea rocks as a safe and secure place to bury excess carbon dioxide. [News Source]

North America’s cooling due to natural causes in 2008? Average temperatures across North America dropped in 2008 - which may seem to contradict global warming theory. Not so, scientists say. The cooling, caused by natural changes in global air circulation, temporarily masked the effects of global warming, which is getting worse, a new study says. [News Source]

‘No conflict’ between Big Freeze and climate change. Stephen Dorling, of the University of East Anglia's school of environmental sciences, said it was not surprising the cold period raised questions over climate change - but the snowy weather should not be used as evidence against it. [News Source]

Seaweed chokes Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Australian natural wonder the Great Barrier Reef is overgrown in places by seaweed in what could be a worrying indication of the health of the coral structure, scientists said on Wednesday. [News Source]

Scientists set to drill Antarctic coast for climate clues. Scientists will soon begin drilling off Wilkes Land - on the edge of the East Antarctic Ice Shelf in waters up to 3705m deep - to investigate links between past climate change and the stability of the Antarctic ice sheets. [News Source]

Count signals decline in bird populations. Declining bird populations may provide insight about environmental conditions, according to affiliates of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and the National Audubon Society. [News Source]