Today’s Climate: May 31, 2010

Gulf Coast Warned Oil May Leak Until August (Reuters)

U.S. government and BP officials are warning that the blown-out oil well causing an environmental disaster on the Gulf Coast may not be stopped until August as the company begins preparations on a new attempt to capture the leaking crude.

BP Robots to Begin Next Attempt to Curb Record Spill (Bloomberg)

BP will use undersea robots to begin cutting damaged pipe from its damaged oil well as early as today, risking temporarily increasing the flow as it seeks to end the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

BP CEO Disputes Claims of Underwater Oil Plumes (AP)

Disputing scientists’ claims of large oil plumes suspended underwater in the Gulf of Mexico, BP’s CEO said the company has largely narrowed the focus of its cleanup to surface slicks rolling into Louisiana’s coastal marshes.

New Orleans Protesters Rage Against BP (Los Angeles Times)

Some 200 people gathered in New Orleans’ French Quarter on Sunday to hear speakers demand the ouster of BP and other oil giants from the gulf region and to plead for volunteerism to save turtles, birds and other wildlife.

BP Hires Ex-Energy Dept Official for U.S. Media Effort (Reuters)

BP has hired a former U.S. Department of Energy official as head of U.S. media relations, as it fights to defend its reputation in the face of political attacks and public rage.

Hurricane Season Raises New Fears (New York Times)

Officials and scientists are worrying that the environmental disaster in the Gulf could be compounded later this year by hurricane season, which starts Tuesday and runs through November.

‘Prudence’ Now the Watch Word as UN Climate Talks Resume (AFP)

UN climate talks resume in Bonn on Monday with negotiators branded by caution after the near-fiasco of the Copenhagen summit six months ago.

Breakthrough for Climate Talks Far Away Amid European Debt Crisis, U.S. Reluctance (Xinhua)

The chance for a breakthrough in world’s efforts to seal a legally binding climate deal remains slim as a result of the current European debt crisis and U.S. reluctance to take bold actions to fight climate change, analysts say.

Figueres Says UN Will Set ‘Pillars’ of Climate Deal (Bloomberg)

Christiana Figueres, the Costa Rican who becomes the top UN climate official in July, said envoys will form "pillars" of an agreement to tackle global warming at a summit in December.

Copenhagen Climate Failure Blamed on ‘Danish Text’ (Guardian)

The UN’s climate chief, Yvo de Boer, blamed a leaked draft treaty by Danish PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen for the failure of the Copenhagen summit, saying "[the Danish text] destroyed two years of effort in one fell swoop."

Colo. Legislature’s 2010 Session Best Yet for Renewable Energy (Denver Post)

The 2010 legislative session proved to be the clean-energy sector’s biggest out of a four-year stretch in which Democrats led by Gov. Bill Ritter focused on promoting his "New Energy Economy."

Panasonic Aims to be Japan No. 1 in Solar Business (Washington Post)

Panasonic is banking on the solar-panel business that it gained by acquiring domestic rival Sanyo, aiming for top market share of at least 35% in Japan by 2012.

China Wind Power Group in $1.2 billion IPO: Sources (Reuters)

China’s second-largest wind turbine maker, Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology, plans to raise up to $1.2 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering, sources close to the deal said.