A setback for England’s windpower industry; make that global cooling; and Al Gore puts $683 million where his mouth is. Plus: the winner of April’s Brita Faucet Filter giveaway on your Friday Daily Five:

Shell Game: Oil Giant Pulls out of U.K. Wind Farm: Clean energy takes a big hit in the UK as Royal Dutch Shell pulls out of the massive offshore London Array windfarm. Analysts are split on the two most likely reasons: Shell is more interested in developing Canada’s tar sand reserves, or Britain’s renewables program has become a bureaucratic shambles. Meanwhile, European energy companies are shifting their production to supply the United States’ robust wind market. (WSJ.com)

Cooler Climate May Hit N. America, Europe Next Decade: On second thought, maybe it will actually get cooler during the next decade or so. Scientists at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences in Kiel, Germany, are floating the possibility that naturally fluctuating ocean currents could temporarily offset the effects of anthropomorphic climate change, especially in the U.S. and Europe. Colder water moving south could signal a cool-down period for the North Atlantic and tropical Pacific. (National Geographic)

Court Orders U.S. to Stop Keeping Polar Bear Status on Ice: A federal judge this week ordered the Bush Administration to end their glacial deliberation over the fate of the polar bear. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ruled that the Administration must speak up no later than May 15th, or be in violation of the Endangered Species Act. At issue is the impact of retreating Arctic sea ice on polar bear populations. (Scientific American)

Gore Investment Vehicle Closes $683m Fund Demonstrating That Green Is Fundamental Finance: It’s a great time to be part of the CleanTech sector — even during an economic slowdown. Al Gore’s new Climate Solutions Fund says they’ve tied up financing for almost $700 million worth of green investments. On the “buy” list: renewable energy; energy efficiency technologies; biofuels and biomass; and carbon trading markets. (Treehugger)

Toyota to make a bigger iQ, no hybrid model: If Toyota’s impossibly cute iQ subcompact makes it to North America, it will be in larger trim than the model displayed at the Geneva auto show — and will ship without a hybrid option. The reason? It’s too small, and there’s just no room for a bank of batteries. The iQ should hit showroom floors in 2009, taking on diminutive competition from the MINI Cooper, smart ForTwo, and the up! compact under development by Volkswagen. (Autoblog Green)

Congratulations to the winner of our April Brita Faucet Filter giveaway: Adam Parks of Norman, Oklahoma. Thanks to everyone who participated — and to the folks at FilterForGood, who supplied the prizes. On Monday, we’ll announce a brand new contest for May.

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