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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: China beats the U.S. — again; EPA vetoes mountaintop removal permit for first time; Rightwing’s (very mature) response to Earth Hour; Trapped coal miners in China; WV Chamber of Commerce fights against coal miner disability payments… PLUS: Sarah Palin recycles! (2008, that is) … All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’: IPCC head cleared of financial wrongdoing; Convictions in Rio Tinto mining bribery case; Mandatory solar power building codes for India; Mysterious whale die-off is largest on record; Emission Control Area created around U.S. and Canadian; EPA to crack down on toxic chemicals in water; Oil giant Koch Industries funds climate change deniers … PLUS: News Flash: WMO says world still getting hotter …

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today’s episode follow below…

• Not Everybody Liked ‘Earth Hour’:
• Competitive Enterprise Institute Promotes ‘Human Achievement Hour’ (Think Progress)
• Earth Hour: Landmarks went dark in call for climate action (Grist)
• The World Unites for WWF’S EARTH HOUR 2010 (WWF press release)
• SLIDESHOW: World’s Great Monuments Go Dark for EARTH HOUR 2010 in global call to action on climate change (WWF)
• SLIDESHOW: EARTH HOUR 2009: Before and After Pix (Earth Hour blog)
• China Surpasses U.S. In Clean Energy Investment:
• China takes lead in clean-power investment: U.S. falls to No. 2 in funding for such alternative sources as wind and solar (LA Times):
  China overtook the United States for the first time last year in the race to invest in wind, solar and other sources of clean energy, according to a comprehensive new report that raises questions about American competitiveness in a booming global market.
  …
  Although part of the U.S. investment decline last year can be attributed to the deep recession, the Pew report pointed to another factor constraining U.S. competitiveness: a lack of national mandates for renewable energy production or a surcharge on greenhouse gas emissions that would make fossil fuels more expensive.
• Green economy grows despite policy vacuum (The Daily Climate)
• China’s Growth Shifts the Geopolitics of Oil(Greenwire)
• Rescue Efforts Underway for Trapped Chinese Coal Miners:
• China update: Warnings ignored before mine flood that has 150 workers trapped underground (Coal Tatto)
• Race against clock to save China mine workers: Workers angrily accused mine management of ignoring warning signs of the impending disaster. (AFP)
• Families of 153 trapped Chinese miners fight for hope (Washington Post)
• Rescuers in China Struggle to Free 153 Trapped Miners (NY Times)
• EPA Halts Mountaintop Removal Permit:
• Best Coal Industry Blog: Coal Tattoo (West Virginia Gazette)
• TAKE ACTION: EPA seeks YOUR COMMENTS on veto of mountaintop removal permit (EPA)
• EPA proposes veto of largest W.Va. strip mine’s permit:
  Damage from Spruce No. 1 Mine ‘would be irreversible,’ official says (West Virginia Gazette):
  “Coal, and coal mining, is part of our nation’s energy future, and for that reason [the] EPA has made repeated efforts to foster dialogue and find a responsible path forward,” Shawn Garvin, the EPA’s regional administrator, said in a prepared statement. “But we must prevent the significant and irreversible damage that comes from mining pollution — and the damage from this project would be irreversible.”
• Waiting on EPA: Spruce Mine decision would be just the beginning of another long process (Coal Tattoo)
• JPMorgan’s War on Nature: How the Wall Street darling underwrites environmental Armageddon. (Mother Jones)
• WV Chamber of Commerce Tries to Halt Black Lung Benefits::
• The W.Va. Chamber of Commerce continues its misinformation campaign against Sen. Byrd’s effort to help disabled miners get black lung benefits (Coal Tattoo)
• Byrd Amendment bring more black lung benefit approvals, costs (WV Public Broadcasting)
• Chamber of Commerce (Again) Hopes to Scale Back Proposed Black Lung Benefits (Washington Independent)
• Palin Recycles at Tea Party in Nevada:
• Palin: White House, Congress blocking use of ‘God-given’ U.S. energy (The Hill)
• Drill team leader: Palin sticks with ‘drill here, drill now’ in Nevada Tea Party speech (Grist):
  The substance of her energy argument isn’t all that interesting, because…

  * The White House strongly supports nuclear energy. Last month President Obama announced an $8.3 billion federal loan guarantee to build two new reactors in Georgia.
  * The potential of offshore drilling has been widely debunked—it’ll take 10 years to reach significant production levels and 20 years to reach peak production.
  * Clean coal doesn’t exist, except as a marketing ploy.

• Sing a catchy tune: She & Him: Gonna Get Along Without You Now

‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’: More green news not covered in today’s audio report…

• China and Australia swap criticism over Rio Tinto case: China and Australia have traded criticism in the wake of the jailing of four Rio Tinto executives for corruption and commercial espionage. (BBC)
• Solar power to be mandatory in building codes India’s ‘Solar Cities’: In a bid to make Agartala, India a solar city, the Tripura government has decided to make solar energy tapping provision mandatory in buildings. (New Kerala Times)
• Mysterious whale die-off is largest on record (Live Science)
• U.S. Bolsters Chemical Restrictions for Water (NY Times)
• Big Victory for Clean Air! Emission Control Area Created Around U.S. and Canadian Coastlines (Treehugger)
• Greenpeace: Koch Industries Funds Climate Change Deniers: Koch Industries, a huge privately-owned US company dominated by oil and chemical interests, is plowing millions of dollars into campaigns to discredit climate science and clean energy policies, a Greenpeace report says. (SolveClimate)
• IPCC’s Pachauri cleared of financial wrongdoing
  : The embattled head of the United Nations’ scientific panel on climate change has been cleared of allegations of financial irregularity by an independently conducted review. (Climate Progress)
• News Flash: World Still Getting Hotter (Mother Jones)