The Obama administration moved on Tuesday to open up a vast
stretch of waters off the American East Coast to oil and gas
drilling. The decision could have a profound impact on the economic
and environmental future of states from Georgia to Virginia, the
New York Times says. Meanwhile, in a political balancing act to
appease environmentalists, the Obama administration will ban
drilling in portions of the Arctic Ocean. The overall 5
year-leasing plan mean that nearly 80% of oil and gas resources on
the US continental shelf are available to explore, reportsRTCC.

Pennsylvania fracking companies commit environmental
violations once a day, on average, campaign group Environment
America finds. The violations include land spills, well failures,
surface water contamination, and site restoration problems. A
separate report from UK researchers found one-third of a set of
3,533 wells in Pennsylvania had been reported for environmental
violations between 2008 and 2011.

More than 5,000 flights have already been cancelled as
America prepares for a potentially record-breaking blizzard. It may
seem strange to talk about a major winter storm in the context of a
warming world, but as the climate changes we are likely to get
fewer but more extreme storms. This is because a warmer atmosphere
holds more moisture, which can mean more snow as long as
temperatures remain cold enough. Gristalso reports on the seemingly
counter-intuitive weather.

Since Obama’s “historic” climate deal with China last
November there have been hopes that India – the world’s third
largest emitter – would follow a similar route during the US
President’s visit. Despite reports that the US was keen for a
similar deal with Delhi, the Indian government was not willing to
make any major commitments, particularly about when its emissions
may peak. Despite making little headway on climate
change progresswas made on clean energy,
with deals to boost nuclear and solar. The Daily Mailalso has the
story.

The UK’s food and drink industry has cut emissions by more
than 35 per cent since 1990, meeting its carbon saving target seven
years ahead of schedule. This, the conclusion of a new report from
the Food and Drink Federation. The trade group is now looking to
revise the target, BusinessGreen reports.

A vital message is buried in a new report on climate change,
argues The Times. In order retain meat in our diets, while to
continuing to raise livestock with due regard for animal welfare,
we need to eat less of it. Around 40 per cent less, according to
the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Meat production is a
carbon-intensive business, but the case for cutting back meat is
compelling regardless of its impact on global warming, says the
editorial.

“What’s been happening on fracking is not democracy in
action. It’s democracy in free fall”, argues the UK’s former
climate envoy. The government’s enthusiasm for fracking ignores the
wishes of the people, as the “odious” Infrastructure Bill puts
corporate interests first.

The fishery off the Pacific coast of Peru and Chile is one
of the most productive in the world. Upwelling of cold,
nutrient-rich water attracts millions of fish each year. However
new research using climate models shows a decrease in this
upwelling during late summer as temperatures rise under climate
change. This may have a major impact on the system’s biological
productivity, the study says.

A new study estimates the amount of carbon stored in Central
Asia’s temperate deserts, which account for 80-90 per cent of all
those on Earth. The results show that Central Asia amounts to 18-24
per cent of the global carbon stock in deserts and dry shrublands,
similar to that of major drylands such as Australia. But this
carbon store is under threat from declining rainfall caused by
climate change, the researchers say.