science and climate negotiations. mr. franken: climategate. sometimes you and i refer to it as -- mr. whitehouse: climategategate. the scandal wasn't the attack on the scientists, the scandal was the phony attack on the scientists. mr. franken: let's talk about that. this is a leak of thousands of emails from scientists at the university of east anglia's research unit in 2009, done right before the copenhagen conference, is that right? mr. whitehouse: i believe that's correct. mr. franken: the conservative media -- remember, this doubt is amplified the in the conservative echo chamber, talk radio, etc. you know, "the wall street journal" editorial page, fox news. and the conservative media just pounced taking quotes out of context to sensationalize this scandal, scandal. now, most of the attacks are directed at an email by phil jones, a climate scientist working with the east anglia's climactic research unit and which he referred to using "mike's nature's trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 2

next stop, climate change. we take the climate train.reedom of the press -- holiday broadcaster is defying the regime. and, a far cry from hollywood -- life after the silver screen for "slum dog millionaire's" child actress. climate change is far down the list of concerns in south africa with the largest number of aids-related deaths in the world. one of africa's richest nations is still over coming effects of apartheid. large parts remain disenfranchised with one-quarter receiving state benefits. the perception of climate change remains abstract, a product that is out there, but not part of the daily struggle. a special train has made it its mission to inform the population that dealing with climate changes not only necessary, but will ultimately provide helpful. it will go on its way to the climate conference. they want to demonstrate the destruction of the plan that does not have to be a one-way track. >> so, we are here to learn what is making our mother sky said, and we need to make sure she is not sick anymore, and make her beautif

. >> a new global climate deal is unlikely now. that was the message that ban ki-moon had for the climate conference today. he told the delegates they should be realistic about the chances of achieving a breakthrough. china and india have already delivered a blow to european plans for a new, globally binding treaty on greenhouse gas emissions. instead, he urged the that they keep up momentum by finding solutions to smaller issues -- he urged that they keep up momentum by finding solutions to smaller issues. our correspondent is in south africa. i asked how talks are progressing. >> we just talked to the german head of the delegation. he told us that what is crucial from his point of view is to put the screws on china. he said germany and the you have been weak negotiators in the past during these kinds of -- the e.u. have been weak negotiators in the past during these kinds of negotiations. there is no hope that there will be a significant shift, especially not with presidential elections coming up next year. he said that china mig

groundbreaking work when it comes to confronting the dangers of climate change. in the last few weeks we've learned that this is been one of the costliest years on record in terms of climate disasters but the keystone x.l. pipeline isn't going away anytime soon and that another un climate summit in durban ended without any significant reforms to combat global warming that's why it's important that we once again listen to bill mckibben on these numerous environmental challenges and the best ways for us to begin healing our planet. earth rise conversations of great minds i'm joined by bill mckibben bill is an author environmentalist and activist in one thousand nine hundred eighty eight he wrote the end of nature in my opinion the heir to rachel carlson carson's silent spring and since then gone on to write more than a dozen notable books about the environment and our human impact on it he's the co-founder and chairman of the board of the grassroots organization climate change organization three fifty dot org which is coordinating fifteen thousand rallies in one hu

dealing with climate change is much the same. we need the recognize there is not a hundred percent certainty but we need to protect ourselves appropriately. >> it seems like at least in the terms of the yore that we're talking about here that california has sort of dodged the bullet, if you will, and spared most of the climate ka t tas t catastrophes. >> california has problems with draught, water availability. critical for the future of california, especially agriculture. california has a huge and wonderful coast where field horizons are an issue. we also have potential for profound problems with flooding. >> i have just seen a paper with your name attached to it where we are seeing the aspens start to die. >> when we look at evidence from climate change in forest, where we are really seeing it is in large scale mortality events across the western u.s., especially in colorado. something like 15% of the aspens, the tree of the west have just died. what we concluded is it is a as a result of draught stress. >> it is the holidays.

climate summit called it a day without a treaty as we careening headfirst toward the point of no return and third party candidates are the underdogs in the american political landscape right. not so much when they have millions of dollars in secret funding find out why the one percent is pure enough to make sure that their status is protected and everything you know about the medicines that are supposed to cure what ails you may just be wrong. the u.n. climate summit in durban south africa wrapped up over the weekend with out a comprehensive treaty for the world to stop or even slow down global climate change the deal reached in durban just kicks the can down the road by laying out steps towards signing a new climate change treaty in two thousand and fifteen that will be enacted in two thousand and twenty. the time frame most climate scientists agree is the point of no return one small victory for the durban summit is that nations like china and india will no longer be considered developing nations will no longer be exempted from mandatory emissions cuts when the deal is finally reached

we were talking about climate change. a spirited climate debate ensued during the break.yroll tax cut extension set to expire on december 31st. what is it about this tax cut? president obama is for it. the prerogative tax cut. the real stimulative effect. and today the bill to cut the taxes lower, which would have been paid for was denied an up or down vote despite the backing of a majority of the majority of senators, not enough to overcome the republican filibuster. and by cutting salaries and jobs of sfral workers, also failed with the majority of republicans voting against their own plan. still republicans seem to understand the political cost of imposing the tax cut. and so they are trying to get giveaways in order to turn chicken extrament. i'm paraphrasing. what's so interesting about this, and josh, i want you to respond to this. i'm going to play sound from obama in a second. there's two theorys about republicans. what is animating republican objections for the president. the good faith theory is they o positive the policies because they think they are bad. they

and set up a green climate fund.would use public and private money to help developing nations combat the impacts of climate change. here to discuss what came out of durban and the future of global climate talks are nathan hultman, director of environmental policy for the school of public policy at the university of maryland. he is also a fellow at the brookings institution and was in durban for the conference. and samuel thernstrom, senior climate policy advisor for the clean air task force, a non- profit group dedicated to reducing air pollution through private sector collaboration. he was a former member of the white house council on environmental quality during the george w. bush administration. well, nathan hultman, did the delegates head back to their planes in durban to held home feeling that they had accomplished something significant? >> i think they felt like they accomplished something significant. they did pull out an agreement of sorts at the end. it was an agreement, as you mentioneded, to keep talking a

as the climate grows drier, that is not being replenished. a project was launched to make better use of this precious resource. >> this is a delivery of drinking water. one cubic meter costs over 2.70 euros. >> it is not enough for that days. in the summer, you use more water. >> 20% of households in lima do not have water. they have to buy it from the tanker. his water costs five times the water from the state facility. water is scarce and expensive. there is little evidence of poverty in the city center. there appears to be plenty of water. lima wastes a lot of its resources. the idea is to develop sustainable water and waste water management systems. >> lima is a city where it never rains. it is v4ervery dry. the river still provide enough water for the millions of people here. >> lima is growing fast. it is estimated that the population may rise from 9 million to 11 million by 2020. there is water in the mountains nearby because of the glaciers. this is a reservoir at an elevation of more than 4,000 meters. the local people say they notic

. >> brown: ray suarez gets two views of the global climate deal reached in durban, south africa over the weekend. >> woodruff: and we talk with british foreign secretary william hague about his country's decision to reject an agreement aimed at fixing europe's debt crisis. >> in europe but not run by europe. that's all been my mantra, if you like. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy productive life. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. a final summit today before the last american troops withdraw from iraq. the december 31 deadline comes after nearly 4500 american deaths in a war that began in 2003. for for weeks, u.s. troops have bee

climate summit. what comes after the kyoto protocol? ♪ >> german leaders are downplaying the latest threat by the ratings agency standard and poor's to strip germany of its top-notch credit rating. german chancellor angela merkel brushed off the news and said european leaders would make decisions later this week to restore confidence in the eu. >> the standard and poor's 11 step further today put the credit worthiness of the ems neff of negative watch. in the u.s., treasury secretary timothy geithner says the world is watching eurozone leaders but says he does see progress. >> the u.s. treasury secretary had positive words for europe. at the finance ministry in berlin, timothy geithner expressed optimism over the course eurozone leaders are taking with the debt crisis. >> i am very encouraged by the developments in europe of the past few weeks, including the reform commitments made by the new governments of italy, spain, and greece, and the new steps we have heard this week about progress towards a fiscal compact for the eurozone. this,

>> that would be good for climate protection. there are already a few vertical farms in the world, but not yet the size of skyscrapers. still, increasing numbers of city governments, architects and agricultural scientists are working on the idea. and dickson despommier will continue to promote his vision of vertical farming as a solution to the world's hunger problem. >> some 55 thousand inmates are currently in morocco's prisons. around one in ten are teenagers, or even children. there are no separate procedures or facilities for under-age defendants. many youngsters are also sentenced without a trial, or without access to legal counsel. in prison, they then end up in a cell with adult men. as part of our "africa on the move" series, we've teamed up with moroccan reporters. and found some signs that the judiciary there is beginning to re-think the way it treats juveniles. >> "freedom is everything," says mustapha azendour. it's been three years since he left prison, but freedom is still something special to him. he landed in pri

ninety seven history was made when thirty seven nations committed themselves to the only binding climate agreement to date kyoto protocol and december twenty two of that agreement is going to expire so beginning this monday representatives from one hundred ninety five countries began gathering in south africa for the two week german climate change conference and yes they did also gather and coo last year with just very little results copenhagen before that with even fewer results so could this conference with time running out for an extension or a completely new and binding global agreement be any different at issue here is not only where the money's going to come from to help developing countries and how the rules have be applied but perhaps not importantly if anybody actually wants to play by any rules u.s. never ratified kyoto and is apprehensive through agreeing to a new set of regulations because they're saying that there are any regulations or rules drawn up yet russia canada japan and possibly australia they don't want a second agreement and they back ideas for voluntary targets a

>>> climate talks countdown. delegates at a u.n. conference in south africa try to walk away with some sort of agreement on controlling greenhouse gas emissions. >>> welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima in tokyo. >>> delegates at the climate change meeting in durban have a lot to do and not much time left to do it. they have to agree on whether to extend the kyoto protocol on cut cutting co 2 emissions. if so, for how long? then, they have to drop a road map to formulate a pact that will include all countries, especially major co2 emitters such as the u.s. and china. nhk world susumu kojima is in durban. earlier he updated us on the focus of negotiations. >> reporter: the talks are on based on the presumption that the kyoto protocol will be extended. they are now trying to figure out a framework for extending kyoto. the focus is on how initial redactions can be imposed on developed countries from 2013. they are working out the details of the ruse including how many years they are to be committed to the carbon cuts. many of the d

china, india, and america, all worries that a climate treaty could restrain growth. and that's the reality. >> to make the case for a really robust and ambitious agreement. can be supported by many developing countries. unless china and india and the u.s. are onboard, we're not going to have a global solution. >> near the conference center, a new solar power station, many companies and countries are turning to green energy. but not having an international treaty makes that harder, and the talks up the road are struggling tonight. they'll run into the weekend and no one can predict the outcome. david shookman, "bbc news." >> for most of his life, harji has lived in the tough conditions in can stan -- kurdistan. but now she is becoming a sensation. the dutch media are calling her the lady of color. here's her story. >> she's known as the lady of color, but she has never been to school or taken any art classes. she waited for 65 years to get the chance to show her talent. >> creating a piece of art gives me joy and pleasure. if one doesn't have a purpose in life, like m

the climate humans and induced are the hammer striking and will. we should restore it to the natural habitat without a golf course. -- striking the anvil. >> are there any other members of the public who would like to comment? now is the time. see no one come forward, i will close public comment. i would like to thank all of them members of the public on all sides of the issue for being here and spending most of your day to be here. clearly we have a piece of legislation that there is a lot of passion about on both sides. i do believe there are good intentions on both sides of the issue. the environment to one is one that i happen to side with. -- the environmental one is the one that i happen to side with an think is critical. it is not just saving money for the city and county. it is about having the best method of protecting species. that is why i am supporting and came forward with the legislation. i want to thank all of the committee groups that came forward, especially the sierra club, the wild equity institute, for their work on the legislat

>>> climate talks countdown. delegates at a u.n. conference in south africa try to walk away with some sort of agreement on controlling greenhouse gas emissions. >>> welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima in tokyo. >>> delegates at the climate change meeting in durban have a lot to do and not much time left to do it. they have to agree on whether to extend the kyoto protocol on cut cutting co 2 emissions. if so, for how long? then, they have to drop a road map to formulate a pact that will include all countries, especially major co2 emitters such as the u.s. and china. nhk world susumu kojima is in durban. earlier he updated us on the focus of negotiations. >> reporter: the talks are on based on the presumption that the kyoto protocol will be extended. they are now trying to figure out a framework for extending kyoto. the focus is on how initial redactions can be imposed on developed countries from 2013. they are working out the details of the ruse including how many years they are to be committed to the carbon cuts. many of the d

change it's now clear that kyoto is not the path forward for a global solution to climate change if anything it's an impediment. now according to several course this was for all was a long time coming especially since prime minister stephen harper's conservative government never braced the agreement signed by the previous administration but under the protocol signed in one thousand nine hundred seven canada was obligated to cut their emissions to six percent below nine hundred ninety levels our emissions were actually seventeen percent higher than the one nine hundred ninety levels by the year two thousand and nine now when ten ounce can this withdrawal he cited several reasons one of which is the price tag for meeting those target emissions levels he explained it would cost the country thirteen point six billion dollars because that's how much can they would have to spend on carbon emission permits for other countries. canada is facing radical and irresponsible choices if we are to avoid punishing multi million multi billion dollar payments to meet the targets under kyoto for two t

getting a climate -- getting a binding agreement globally on climate change. that goal is reaching a new set of complications. >> the world of the order is changing. once negotiations are about rich versus poor. bangladesh, gambia, and nepal are calling on china, india, the u.s., and brazil to move forward. climatists were able to show that there are countries willing to back this and what clear results. we talk to 120 countries represented here. >> inside the conference, activist and pointed the finger at the u.s. >> you must put aside partisan politics and make decisions. >> they feel that because of next year's election, the obama administration is stonewalling. >> it is completely off-base to suggest that the u.s. is proposing we delay action until 2020. let's stop and think what is on the table over the next number of years. >> protest are aimed at keeping pressure on the delegations that are accused of holding out. thousands of local school children in the symbolic shape of a lion roar their frustration. >> delegates here have tough negotiations ahead of

to prevent climate change there was damage wasn't it severely by those leaked e-mails from scientists suggesting are they want manipulating the data but despite now or of course but we spoke about that two years ago but still many governments many countries many people are taking this issue seriously piers and that's two years on from that. well it's delusional . founded on fraud and these people will be called to account eventually world opinion is moving against people in england are now realizing that building is wind farms which are going to increase their electricity bills by thirty percent annoy improve anything for electricity supply is a nonsense and you know the liberal democrats in the government in britain are going to suffer as a concert but surely just very briefly and finally reducing carbon emissions and preventing further deforestation around the world surely that's going to be a good thing for the world's climate just growing very different things do you forestation is about to go your way and we support. defending forest but just as a matter of fact a mature forest d

changes in the nigerian climate mean that floods are becoming more frequent, lasting longer.he people that live here have no choice but to adapt. >> from my house to my office, i come this way. >> the house has been underwater for the lasted two weeks. this mother of three says that the water has brought diseases, but she cannot afford to live anywhere else. >> if you enter my room right now, everything is so with water. we manage ourselves. nowhere to go. this is what we are doing because of this water. i cannot move anywhere. >> the geography leaves it vulnerable to rising water levels. its population of 15 million people almost all near a river, lagoon, or the sea. scientists are predicting that things will get worse. >> one of the climate change impacts is that this area in nigeria will get more wet. if it gets more wet, it means more flooding. if there is more flooding, it you will have this kind of devastation. >> flooding is not the only effect of climate change in legos. changes in weather patterns mean that the sea is rougher. meaning more erosion of the coastline in

lager that the great wall of china and victim of a climate change. natural, but damaged gift to the public. the contents of this might be a savior. stored in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196 degrees celsius, 7 billion cells. >> we have the ability to take the sperm and an reanimate it and fertilized eggs and create coral. >> this is the first time they have been frozen. it is a product being run in sydney. >> will never have as much as we do now. it is incredibly important that we start saving the brief right now. -- reff right now. >> the great barrier reef already suffers. higher water temperatures, leaving it in a damaged state. by freezing particle before this happens, the hope is to create a bank of replacement coral. with the rising temperatures of the ocean, about 1% or 2% of the great barrier reef is being lost every year. scientists hope they will never have to reproduce the cells back on to the reef. one day, they may well have to. >> in south africa, a major international talks aimed at tackling global climate change had entered a

>> the question is, does the climate change? the climate does change. the question is, is its man- made? -- is it man-made? is you are going to focus on that, you say, what is the best way to deal with this. with 8.6% unemployment, we need to deal with the economy. we need to use all of the sources of energy we have. oil, gas, coal, uranium for nuclear power, the renewables and a more efficient use of energy. >> what is the one thing you would really like to see get done next year? >> i would like to see americans get back to work by having more focus on jobs. the president continues to take his eye off of that ball. he has continued to take his eye off of that ball. we need to take away the regulations that make it more difficult for the private sector to create jobs. >> thanks for being with us this week. happy holidays. >> we are back. after talking with senator john barrasso of wyoming, who has a new job. let me ask you both about this year, the last half of this year. it has been about gearing up for the 2012 elections. are there clear winners and

it is now clear that this is not the path forward for a global solution to climate change. if anything, this is an impediment. we believe a new agreement with legally binding commitments, will allow us to generate jobs and economic growth, represents the path forward. >> speaking to us from canada is david sawyer, the director of climate change and energy at the international institute of sustainable development. this is a non-partisan research organization. earlier, we spoke to the leader of the green party, and she said she was devastated by the decision of the government. what do you think of the announcement, that 24 hours after these talks -- >> this was not a surprise as the government has been signaling for some time that they were going to be pulling out of kyoto. but the timing is a surprise. they basically released this news on the day -- the opening day of the climate conference. and within hours, of the settlement -- the minister stepped off the plane, at 3:00, and within two hours, he held a press conference and made this announcement. >> the environment minist

conference on climate change is no exception. record rains hit durban just as the meetings were getting under way. at least five people died. now researchers from japan are helping the colleagues in south africa develop a system to forecast such events. nhk world's susumu kojima reports. >> i'm in a village south of durban. the unseasonal heavy storm recently damaged all these crops. villagers grow peppers, tomatoes and other vegetables here on communal farms. heavy rains last month pounded their fields, leaving their crops rotten. the rains were unprecedented this time of year. they devastated farmers' livelihoods. >> translator: it's really painful. because we are never going to get money. we can't get anything. >> reporter: some scientists may be able to help. more than 70 south african and japanese researchers got together last year to minimize the damage from abnormal weather. they are developing a system to forecast weather, several months to several years ahead. on this day, scientists from south africa visited a japanese

canada becomes the first country to withdraw from the kyoto protocol on climate change. welcome to pc world news. whistle-blower's strikes back. japan's olympus returns in a bid it to clean up the board. the god particle. a revolution that could revolutionize the way we look at the world. top human-rights official says there has been a huge rise and the number of people killed in it syria. since the anti-government protest started in march, it is believed that more than 5000 people have now died. she said her figure suggested that 14,000 people have been arrested and more than 12,000 have fled to neighboring countries. syria accuses her of not be objective or fair, since her report took no account of the more than 1000 syrian security forces they say have been killed. jane o'brien reports from washington. >> heavy shelling nrocks houses in syrian city. one of the focal points that has resulted in a crackdown by the government. president al-assad has been condemned by the international community, and the u.s. says he must step aside to allow the transition to democracy. s

once, climate negotiations were all about rich versus poor. now they are about countries that want a strong deal soon and those that do not. the ministers stood alongside european counterparts calling on china, india, the u.s., and brazil to move forward. >> the fact that we are able to show today that there are so many countries of backing this roadmap, we calculate more than 120 of the countries represented here. >> inside the conference, activist pointed the finger at the u.s. >> you must set aside partisan politics and let science dictate decisions. >> they feel that because of next year's presidential election, the obama administration is stonewalling, looking to keep promises to a minimum. >> it is completely off base to suggest that the u.s. is proposing that we delay action until 2020. let's stop and think what is on the table over the next number of years. >> protests are aimed at keeping the pressure on delegations like the u.s. and china that are accused of holding out. thousands of local children show their frustration at the slow

critics say that by then, i will be far too late to tackle climate change.nalyst jim walker says as china develops it will not agree to any cuts. but it does want to use energy more efficiently. >> you have china making its first commitment on carbon as part of its current government plan for the next five years. that is significant. the way they will do that is to try to drive energy efficiency in industrial sectors and thereby increasing the share of global -- low carbon generation, like wind and solar in the energy mix. >> china is pouring development in to clean technology, driving down costs are around the world. but critics say the pace of change is not happening -- happening quickly enough to make a significant difference paradox -- a difference. >> in the future, changes may go a long way, but for now, it will be cold at continues to fuel the country's great development. it will lift millions out of poverty, but it is coming at a growing cost to the environment. >> one of the several proposals being considered at the climate change talks is that of c

a climate change, climate change arrangement that would allow us to address this enormous change in the temperature of this planet. so we've hit peak globalization at 147 a barrel. every time we try to regrow the economy, we're going to have growth/collapse, growth/collapse. we could go to dirtier fossil fuels, heavy oil and coal and shale gas, that's more co2. how much co2 can we put up there? so what do we do? we need a new economic vision, we need a new economic game plan. it has to be comprehensive, it has to be compelling, it has to be deliverable, it has to move as quickly in the developing world as a developed world. it has to get us off carbon in less than 40 years. so the question we need to ask, how do the great economic revolutions in history occur, because that's going to give us a little road map for the kind of economic vision and game plan we have to set out for ourselves. the great economic revolutions in history occur when two things happen. first, when we humans change the way we organize the energy of this planet, and we've had various energy regimes through history.

>> i called the climate conference to wake people up to the threat and to the opportunity. there's many, many jobs to be created as we adapt to climate change. >> reporter: despite a crippled economy and the collapse of solar cell manufacturer solyndra in the face of cheaper solar cells from china the governor says the time is right for green businesses and consumers. >> california is going to put into place over 12,000 megawatts of solar cells to generate electricity from the sun rather than from natural gas. >> you see the sea level rise 7 to 8" or so over the last century. >> reporter: california's not been building bridges levees or roads for the impacts of warmer climates says suzanne. >> we basically need to build into our repair and maintenance of those infrastructures thinking that more threats are coming in the future more floods are coming our roads need to be built so that basically we can deal with more heat. >> reporter: but underscoring the climate change is a bipartisan problem, governor brown invited a special guest. >> it's great to be here and it's also we

its forest, water, and soil are part of a sensitive ecosystem intimately linked to the climate of the entire region. >> now, africa has also been the scene of much social upheaval in recent times. as a result, hundreds of thousands of africans go to europe each year in search of a better life. our new multimedia series "destination europe" follows the journey of some of these immigrants. we hear what they have to say about where they are from and where they hope to be in the future. >> destination europe. this is razak from donna. he is struggling to survive in spain, his new home. destination europe -- stories of africans hopes and how they fare here, looking at the lives of people who come to europe from africa. house sue from kenya successfully made her fortune in europe -- how sue from kenya successfully made her fortune in europe. destination europe -- a multilingual media project by deutsche welle. >> more on that in a few weeks from now, but if you want to get a taste of this new series, please go online. at www.dw-world.de /destinationeurope, you can tap into a broad variety o

. >> climate negotiations are really slowing down. the kyoto protocol, the first and only treaty on greenhouse gases, runs out at the end of 2012. only the european union and others are prepared to stick with it. a new global treaty covering all the major polluters may not come until 2020 or even later. this afternoon, protesters tried to disrupt the conference, accusing negotiators of stalling. but jostling with the police will not do anything to budge the biggest economies -- china, india, and america, all were that the treaty could restrain growth. >> the european union could make the case for a robust agreement that could be supported by many developing countries, but unless china, india, and the u.s. are on board, three of the biggest emitters on the planet, we will not have a global solution but >. >> many countries are turning to green energy, but not having an international treaty makes that harder. athat will run into the weekend, and nobody can predict the outcome. on all of thea offense, spoke with the director of the envir