Copenhagen Day 4: Obama's Speech, and Senators Send Tripartisan Message

We're already well into (ahem, past) day five of the international climate talks in Copenhagen, so before the weekend arrives -- a look at what happened Thursday.

Over here on this side of the pond, three U.S. senators announced a new climate compromise bill, that as BNET Energycovered yesterday, is rather vague at the moment, but seems to offer something for everyone. Nuclear energy, clean energy jobs, regulation of carbon markets, expanded drilling and funds for clean-coal technology. The triapartisan trio -- Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., provided a general framework for the compromise bill, which they also sent to the White House. Details on the framework may be spotty at the moment, but it also sent another message to Copenhagen: the U.S. is still in this thing.

President Obama warned of the geopolitical implications of climate change in his Nobel Peace Prize speech in Oslo, Norway on Thursday. He called on world leaders to come together to combat climate change.

"It is also why the world must together to confront climate change," Obama said in his Nobel Peace Prize speech. "There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing, we will face more drought, famine and mass displacement that will fuel more conflict for decades. For this reason, it is not merely scientists and activities who call for swift and forceful action -- it is military leaders in my country and others who understand that our common security hangs in the balance."

Now onto day-four action in Copenhagen:

To get in the mood, check out this video montage of climate change art in Copenhagen, put together by Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University's Good COP/Bad COP blog.

How old will you be in 2050? (FT's Energy Source) Throngs of young people descended onto the climate talk steps Thursday, wearing T-shirts asking the question" How old will you be in 2050?"

Soros proposes $100 billion climate fund (Earth2tech) Billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros had a word or two for the $10 billion per year developing countries have proposed to help poor nations adapt to climate change: I'll raise you. Soros called the amount "not sufficient" and proposed instead to move $100 billion from the International Monetary Fund.

International chamber: We don't know those guys in the U.S. (Grist) The International Chamber of Commerce in a vague, sugar-coated and jargony way distanced itself from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's opposition to clean energy legislation that passed in the House and its call earlier this year for a Scopes Monkey Trail to question the science of climate change. In short, ' um we're not with those guys.

A forested view courtesey of Google (Official Google blog) The folks over at Google put their new technology prototype to work -- a tool that provides an online, global-scale observation and measurement of changes in the earth's forests. On top of the prototype, that uses raw satellite imagery, Google teamed up with the Carnegie Institution for Science to give scientists access via a Google cloud.

Russian Pres. to join the party (COP15) Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will attend the U.N. climate conference Dec. 17 and Dec. 18, the last and most crucial days of the summit.

Got something to say about climate change? (Official Google blog) The CNN/You Tube Climate Debate in Copenhagen has announced its panelists, which include former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, journalist Thomas Friedman and U.N. Executive Secretary Yves de Boer. Submit your questions to these leader by uploading a short video of yourself.