No climate for old men: Sen. John McCain is the only GOP candidate who believes in the science of global warming and who has proposed specific legislation that mandates a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, especially carbon dioxide. That said, a President McCain would not be the climate leader that America and the world requires. As increasingly desperate climate scientists have been telling us, the effects of global warming are occurring faster than anyone had thought possible. The next president must make reducing GHG emissions a central focus of his or her administration if we want to avoid the worst impacts of global warming: catastrophic sea level rise, widespread drought and desertification, and loss of up to 70 percent of all species. Salon

Offshore wind farms to generate £100m windfall for Crown Estate: The Crown Estate will earn windfall profits of at least £100million a year from Britain’s booming offshore renewable energy industry. The estate, which owns the foreshore and seabed around the UK, has already signed contracts worth tens of millions of pounds with operators of offshore wind farms. Rents from the siting of wind turbines are only the beginning of a vast new commercial opportunity for the Crown Estate. In addition to a huge expansion in offshore wind power and the development of tidal power, the estate will profit from the laying of subsea cables and an emerging industry in storing carbon captured from coal-fired power stations. Times

America’s 50 greenest cities: In the international alliance to fight climate change, the United States is considered the sullen loner. But in the seven years since we rejected Kyoto, changes have begun. Not at the federal level, however. It’s the locals who are making it happen. In everything from emissions control to environmental stewardship, cities across the country are far ahead of the federal government, and they’re achieving their successes with ready-made technology. Austin has pledged to meet 30 percent of its energy needs with renewable sources by 2020, aided by planned wind-power installations that will surpass their predecessors in efficiency. Seattle has retrofitted its municipal heavy-duty diesel vehicles with devices that will reduce particulate pollution by 50 percent. Boulder has enacted the country’s first electricity tax to pay for greenhouse-gas emission reductions. Popular Science

The ‘ePod’: The world’s first wind-up music and video player: It is the latest must-have gadget for the environmentally aware – and will come in rather handy for the more forgetful among us as well. Dubbed the “greenPod”, this is the world’s first wind-up music and video player. The brainchild of Trevor Baylis, the inventor of the clockwork radio, it can play music for an astonishing 20 hours before needing to be charged. Daily Mail

United Arab Emirates ‘green city’ to cost $22 bln: State-controlled Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co (Masdar) said it would cost $22 billion to develop a “no-carbon” urban district it is planning in the United Arab Emirates. The district, Masdar City, on the edge of the city of Abu Dhabi, will eventually be home to 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses, Masdar said in a statement. No cars will be allowed. Guardian