Today's post is by Bill Chameides, Chief Scientist at Environmental Defense.

The hurricane season began on June 1, and we are all waiting with some dread to see what this year will bring. Will it be a relatively mild season like last year, a devastating one like 2005, or something in between? An ominous sign is that we have already seen two tropical storms in the region: Andrea, which formed almost a month before the season began, and Barry, which formed on the first day of the season.

Last week I read that Oman was hit by Tropical Cyclone Gonu. ("Hurricane", "typhoon", and "cyclone" are all names for the same thing.) I know that Asia and Australia are regularly hit by tropical storms, but the Arabian Peninsula? Is that normal? I didn't know, so I decided to do a little investigating. Here's what I learned.

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Today's guest columnist is Mark MacLeod, Director of Special Projects for our national climate campaign.

When it comes to global warming, this is looking to be an action-packed Congress. There are no fewer than seven global warming bills under discussion. While the titles make the bills sound very much alike, they differ in both subtle and significant ways.

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Guest blogger Lisa Moore, Ph.D., is a scientist in the Climate and Air Program.

There's always something new in climate change research. This week, scientists described the risks of geo-engineering, proposed an efficient way to reduce Arctic climate change, and discussed options for decreasing deforestation in developing countries.

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Today's guest blogger, Annie Petsonk, is International Counsel at Environmental Defense.

The Group of Eight (G8) is an international forum of eight industrialized countries representing the lion's share of the world's economy. High on this year's agenda is global warming, with European countries calling for a mandatory 50 percent cut in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Recognizing that America must take the lead, the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) has gone even further. This group of 27 leading U.S. companies and environmental groups has urged Congress to enact legislation [PDF] mandating that the U.S. cut emissions by 60 to 80 percent by 2050.

Today the G8 Summit reached an agreement.

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It's going to be a quiet couple of days Climate411. We're out of the office today and tomorrow at an off-site staff retreat, so I won't be able to post as often as usual. There's an easy way to find out if we've posted without having to come check every day.

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Today's post is from Sara Hessenflow Harper, a policy analyst for our national climate campaign. She does extensive outreach to the agricultural community.

Yesterday, Mark MacLeod wrote about the "safety valve" and its flaws. I wanted to add to the discussion a more specific look at its implications for rural America. In addition to the problems Mark noted, the "safety valve" would also cut farmers out of the carbon market. Here's how.
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Today's post is by Mark MacLeod, director of special projects for the national climate campaign at Environmental Defense.

Some people have proposed a "safety valve" to control the costs of a cap-and-trade policy to fight global warming. This post explains what a safety valve is, and why it provides only an illusion of cost management.

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This post is by Mark MacLeod, director of special projects for the national climate campaign at Environmental Defense.

Cap-and-trade is the structure of most of the global warming bills being considered by Congress.

The "cap" is the cornerstone of the policy. It is an absolute, nationwide limit on global warming pollution. Congress would most likely establish a cap measured as billions of tons of carbon dioxide (or equivalent) released into the atmosphere each year. Over time, the cap would be lowered to cut emissions enough to avoid the worst consequences of global warming. (See our earlier series for more on how much we need to cut.)

The "trade" part is a market that creates powerful incentives for companies to reduce pollution, and provides flexibility in how companies can meet the limits.

Here's how it works:

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Guest blogger Lisa Moore, Ph.D., is a scientist in the Climate and Air Program.

Last week, Bill summarized two new studies about carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and ocean. This week brought three very different topics: hurricanes (quite timely, since today is the first day of the Atlantic hurricane season!), global rainfall patterns and rainbow trout.

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