Climate change has been at the top of nearly every political agenda this fall.

The incoming Massachusetts governor heralded energy reform throughout his campaign, and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill have pledged that legislation to curb global warming will be a top priority in the coming year. Elsewhere in the world, the United Nations earlier this month assembled a climate change conference in Nairobi only days after a landmark British government report spelled out the global economic crisis that will occur if countries do not control their greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible.

Here on the Vineyard - an Island more susceptible to fluctuations in energy prices and where the effects of a warming earth, such as sea level rise, will be felt quite strongly - government leaders have been virtually silent on the issue.

http://www.mvgazette.com/news/
2006/11/24/vineyard_energy_report.php

Wed. Nov. 29, 2006, 9 am and noon
94 North Road in Chilmark
Visit anytime for casual and informal seasonal activities, animal visits and outdoor fun, supported by donation. For details, call 508-645-3304.

Thurs, Nov 30, 2006, 7:30 pm
Katharine Cornell Theater in Vineyard Haven
How can we keep the Vineyard’s economy robust? Michael H. Shuman, one of America’s leading figures in this field, will speak at 7:30 p.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theater in Vineyard Haven. For more information, call the Martha's Vineyard Commission at 508-693-3453.

Thurs. Nov. 30, 2006, 5 pm
Chilmark Public Library
Ocean aquaculture specialist Richard Langan will deliver a talk. 508-645-3360

Thurs. Nov. 30, 2006, 5 pm
Edgartown Council on Aging, Anchors, 10 Daggett St.
Susan Whiting on birding vacations. Free. 508-627-4368.

Thurs. Nov. 30, 2006, 5:30 pm
Katharine Cornell Theatre, Tisbury
Followed by a Island Plan Public Forum: 7:30 PM

PARIS (Reuters) - Representatives of more than 30 countries signed a deal on Tuesday to build the world's most advanced nuclear fusion reactor, aimed at developing a cheap and abundant energy source as the end of fossil fuels looms.

After months of wrangling, France edged out Japan last year in its bid to host the 10 billion euro ($12.8 billion) International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which will be built at Cadarache, near the southern city of Marseille.

http://today.reuters.com/news/
articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews
&storyid=2006-11-21T101722Z_01_L20690598
_RTRUKOC_0_US-NUCLEAR-ITER.xml&src=rss

An influential environmental group in New England has teamed up with a group in Canada in a campaign to declare large chunks of the northwest Atlantic Ocean off-limits to fishing and other human activities to protect a wide diversity of marine life and habitat.

http://www.boston.com/news/
local/articles/2006/11/20/
groups_seek_to_create_atlantic_marine_reserves/

In 2005, carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels climbed to a record high of 7.9 billion tons, an increase of some 3 percent from the previous year. Annual global emissions have been increasing since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the late eighteenth century, when humans first began burning fossil fuels on a large scale to produce energy. Since the early 1900s, emissions have been rising at an increasingly rapid pace. Annual emissions have grown by a factor of fifteen since 1900, advancing nearly 3 percent a year over that time.

http://www.earth-policy.org/
Indicators/CO2/2006.htm

Friday night's satisfying, well-attended program at Agricultural Hall featuring grass farmer Joel Salatin of Swoope, Virginia, was the work of a consortium of Island groups and individuals. Thank you to the Agricultural Society, Farm Institute, Island Grown Initiative, and Slow Food MV (and members wearing multiple hats) for working together to bring Mr. Salatin and his ideas for local agriculture and local economies to the Vineyard.

http://www.mvtimes.com/calendar/
2006/11/22/garden_notes.php

The District is poised to become the first major city in the country to require that private developers build environmentally friendly projects that incorporate energy-saving measures.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp-dyn/content/article/
2006/11/15/AR2006111501624.html