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U.S. plans to replace 15 percent of gasoline consumption with crop-based fuels including ethanol are already leading to some unintended consequences as food prices and fertilizer costs increase. About 33 percent of U.S. corn will be used for fuel over the next decade, up from 11 percent in 2002, the Agriculture Department estimates.

The shift to renewables has been ditched for a carbon intensive future

The Armani-style beige suits worn by security staff at BP headquarters in London and introduced under the reign of former boss, Lord (John) Browne, are to be quietly dropped in favour of more traditional grey ones. It is a small change but one dripping with symbolism that the flamboyant days of the "sun king" are definitely over and the company is going back to basics and a bit of no-nonsense austerity.

Porsche, whose cars are seen as an emblem of wealth and success in London's financial district, is planning a legal challenge to prevent its customers from paying an increased congestion charge in the UK capital.

The German company intends to seek a judicial review aimed at quashing the plan by Ken Livingstone, London's mayor, to impose a £25-a-day ($49, €33) charge for the most polluting cars from October. Porsche said its solicitors were formally writing to the mayor to challenge his decision.

Yesterday's picture in the Mail of a cascade of icicles in the Yorkshire Dales was a reminder of how cold Britain can be – something many of us have forgotten in this unusually mild winter.

But it really is remarkable how little attention has been paid to the extraordinary weather events which in recent weeks have been affecting other parts of the world

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States fell by 1.8 percent in 2006, compared to a 0.3 percent increase in emissions in the European Union (EU), according to newly released data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The new data confirm the continuing success of market-oriented, voluntary greenhouse gas emissions programs in the U.S. versus European cap-and-trade mandates.

The stark difference occurred even though the two economies grew at a near-identical pace in 2006, roughly 3 percent for the year.

Dr. Peter Friedman is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at UMass Dartmouth and a member of the American Geophysical Union.

Although there are many uncertainties in climate science, we do know with reasonable assuredness that the earth is currently experiencing a modest warming trend. We also know that CO2, which is a small contributor to the "greenhouse effect," is increasing in concentration in the atmosphere.

The short-term confluence of these trends has led many to disregard the more convincing longer-term data and jump to a conclusion that there is a cause-and-effect relationship. But while the media have decided that the science is settled, many in the scientific community are skeptical — and with good reason.

Exxon used to encourage motorists to ''put a tiger in your tank.'' Well, a different animal may begin influencing traffic soon. Polar bears could force drivers to shell out even more money for gasoline.

Why? Because environmental groups are pushing to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, and the Bush administration is considering their demands.

Which 88 per cent of the economy would my reader most like to kiss goodbye?

I ask this question only as a practical matter, after reading the summary of a Japanese study on the economic implications of the "global warming" fraud.

Al Gore had to take the two biggest spin words of 2007 and combine them into a really scary scenario at a UN meeting with institutional investors. He warned the executives that they ought to clean their portfolios of carbon-intensive industries, as those inevitably will lead to huge losses.

I can't help but feel that there is some magic in his words, as Al Gore himself has worked hard to make it harder to run and operate carbon-intensive portfolios. Maybe I can get paid $100,000 per speech to explain the investment consequences of the policies I have promoted, that would be sweet!

He is "misunderestimating" one thing though, human ingenuity and adaptability. As energy rationing makes it harder to run carbon-intensive industries, those companies will find other energy sources and transform their companies. The other ones will die at the hands of capitalisms creative destruction. That is an investment tip from me, and its totally free!