A good selection of important climate news

At the national parks: Melting glaciers, dying trees. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell says she sees the impact of climate change at just about every national park she visits. USA Today

New York towns can prohibit fracking, state's top court rules. In a decision with far-reaching implications for the future of natural gas drilling in New York State, its highest court ruled on Monday that towns can use zoning ordinances to ban hydraulic fracturing, the controversial extraction method known as fracking. New York Times

The ocean is swallowing up Virginia so rapidly that its leaders are forgetting to bicker about climate change. The usual US partisan divisions over climate change were absent today in the state of Virginia, where Republican and Democrat officials met to discuss what to do about the threat of rising sea levels to the state. Quartz

Climate at your Doorstep

New map of Inuit trails highlight Arctic's human presence amid ice melt. As the climate warms and the sea ice melts, many industries are looking north either to extract mineral resources or to ship goods through thawing waterways, including the Northwest Passage, which became open to ships without an icebreaker for the first time in the summer of 2007. ClimateWire

GAO: Pentagon needs to improve climate planning. The Defense Department needs to better prepare for the potential impact of climate change, a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warns. The report, recommends that the Pentagon form a plan and set hard deadlines to assess which military bases are vulnerable to climate change. The Hill, District of Columbia

How climate change will affect the taste of your wine. The wine industry has been described as being a bit like the canary in the proverbial coalmine; when it comes to climate change, it could be one of the industries most affected. Australia ABC News, Australia

Solutions

Solar costs tipped to halve and beat wind in 5 years. One of the world’s biggest solar manufacturers and project developers, the US-based First Solar, has predicted that utility-scale solar costs in Australia will halve over the next five years, becoming cheaper than wind energy by 2020. Renew Economy, Australia

Georgia coal-to-nuke pivot shows the way on climate regs. Clean-energy advocates say that Georgia could accomplish much of what President Barack Obama’s EPA is demanding with initiatives already underway. Ten aging coal-fired plants are scheduled to be shut, two atomic-power units are due to come on line by the end of 2018 and Georgia Power has begun a solar-energy program at the behest of its state regulator. Bloomberg News

Powerful Savo volcano could be solution to electricity demands of Solomon Islands capital Honiara. An Australian company is hoping it can use thermal power from a Solomon Islands volcano to provide electricity to the country's capital, Honiara. Australia ABC News, Australia

Causes

US Supreme Court refuses challenge to California climate rule. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to California's landmark low-carbon fuel standard, in a blow to out-of-state ethanol and gasoline producers that say the rule unfairly discriminates against their products. Reuters

Fracking study finds new gas wells leak more. In Pennsylvania's gas drilling boom, newer and unconventional wells leak far more often than older and traditional ones, according to a study of state inspection reports for 41,000 wells. Associated Press

How much your meat addiction is hurting the planet. The average meat-eater in the U.S. is responsible for almost twice as much global warming as the average vegetarian, and close to three times that of the average vegan, according to a study published this month in the journal Climatic Change. Washington Post

Politics

UK doctors vote to end fossil fuels funding. The UK's national medical organization sends a strong message about climate change by voting to withdraw funds from the fossil fuel industry and to support renewable energy instead. Climate News Network, United Kingdom

Coal mine's rejection on global-warming grounds has major implications. A federal judge has blocked a coal project in the wilds of Colorado because federal agencies failed to consider the future global-warming damages from burning fossil fuels. InsideClimate News

Is Duke Energy following its home state's turn to the right? Jim Rogers is burnishing his reputation as an influential former utility executive willing to prod the industry to tackle climate change and embrace a cleaner, smarter grid. But a conservative takeover in North Carolina puts his legacy on shaky ground. Greenwire