Bloggers are ruminating over a new economics-based analysis of climate change, disturbed by the Mexican military's actions in Oaxaca, and mourning the possible demise of the pink-flamingo lawn ornament.

Climatic: In a new report about impending global climate change, British economist Nicholas Stern issued a warning befitting his last name about the steep costs of ignoring global warming: $9.6 trillion or a depression rivaling the great one. On the bright side, if the world addresses climate change seriously, the global economy could see a $2.5-trillion gain in the coming years. "We know now urgent action will prevent catastrophe, and investment in preventing it now will pay us back many times," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said.

Former editor-in-chief of the Economist Bill Emmott, blogging at the Guardian's comment is free, believes that climate change is a reality that we now must address: "[T]he scientific case that warming is occurring, that human actions are a principle cause, and that warming could produce damaging outcomes is so strong that complete denial of it now relies on either lunacy or the same sort of spurious claim to certainty of which deniers accuse greens. … Where fair debate can and should occur is over how much needs to be done about it, and when and by whom."

Glen at environmentalist Climate Ark applauds the report for its accuracy: "This is not alarmist doomsdayism - it is the best policy predictions based upon the current science. … The report is the best policy document to date regarding likely apocalyptic social and economic outcomes of doing nothing to address the global ecological crises of which climate change is part and paramount."

At Energy Outlook, Virginia-based energy consultant Geoffrey Styles is heartened by this novel take on climate change: "The key contribution here is something we've lacked for some time: a serious cost estimate grounded in the science of climate change but focused on the economy and the consequences of the status quo and various levels of response."

But others see the findings as merely another way to inflate the government. At Right is Right, Rumsfeld the Brit is unamused by the prospect of new taxes, the details of which the report roughly outlines. "The cretins in Westminster and on the TV news seem unable to understand that even if the whole of Britain completely gave up the car, and stopped producing carbon emissions, it would make absolutely bugger-all difference to global warming. Britain's overall global emissions are miniscule," he writes. Brit Philip Chaston, Samizdata's UK Affairs expert, is similarly irked: "These taxes are politically unpalatable and would be rejected by the electorate, if levied without green cover. Therefore, climate change and catastrophism are the reasons for a 'greener than thou' ratchet effect, where politicians use Britain and our money to puff themselves up as a moral example for others."

Conservative Virginian Jerry Fuhrman at From On High is upset about the report from across the pond: "The chief economist of Great Britain has become a soothsayer. He's predicting massive floods and drought (at the same time) and is calling for ... drumroll ... a boatload of new taxes."

Read more about the British report on climate change.

Oaxaca in crisis: Draped in riot gear and backed by water cannons, Mexican federal forces on Sunday dispersed a group of protesters. The members of a yearly teachers' protest had been encamped in the center of Oaxaca since May and were clamoring for an end to the corruption plaguing their state.

Remembering a Oaxacan protest she once observed, Beth Whitman, writing at her Seattle Post-IntelligencerTravel Blog, voices solidarity with the protestors: "This is about Oaxaca and an amazingly strong group of people who are fighting for what they believe in." At Elena's Adventures, the traveling blog's namesake files a dispatch from the chaotic city: "Oaxaca is burning: buses, tires, encampments." But she cautions that the end may not be near: "We may be starting all over again. … Keep your fingers crossed for the people of Oaxaca."