Climate scientists reconcile a long-standing challenge to global warming predictions; space energy gets dragged out of the realm of sci-fi; and the ethanol industry pays the price for its own success. Welcome to the weekend — and your Saturday edition of The Daily Five.

Apparent Problem With Global Warming Climate Models Resolved: A nagging difficulty with global warming models has been a discrepancy between predicted upper atmosphere temperatures in the tropics and what scientists have actually been able to measure. Now a pair of Yale scientists have developed a more accurate method of measuring temperatures aloft than using thermometers. Robert J. Allen and Steven C. Sherwood arrived at the idea of observing changes in upper atmosphere winds, then calculating the temperatures which would be required to produce those changes. Using the new methodology, the pair estimates that 10 km temperatures have risen approximately 0.65 degrees Celsius per decade since 1970 — right in line with what the best climate models predict. (Science Daily)

How to harvest solar power? Beam it down from space!: The idea of beaming down solar energy collected in space has been around since the Sixties, but has always seemed less financial than technically possible. Skyrocketing energy prices have brought the idea back to the table. Pranav Mehta, director of Indian operations for the California-based Space Island Group, thinks the concept will become both practical and necessary in the next two decades. Mehta says the nation or nations which successfully place solar farms in orbit will become the next energy superpower. The idea is to place miles-long solar photovoltaic arrays in a geosynchronous orbit, then use microwaves to send the power to Earth. It’s likely to face a high level of scrutiny over safety concerns. (CNN)

Sunk: Shippers Try to Balance Fuel and Emissions Worries: Practically all bulk cargo from overseas gets transported by container ships. Maritime shipping — with its carbon-belching engines and gunky, sulfur-rich fuel oil — isn’t the planet’s most environmentally friendly economic sector. The industry is responding to green concerns by building larger, more efficient ships. They’re also moving to diesel fuels. But, as the Wall Street Journal reports, this isn’t entirely welcome news. Sea shipping could require up to 10 million barrels a day of diesel by 2025. That’s over half the projected demand of the developed nations during the same period. There just won’t be enough diesel to go around. (WSJ.com)

Maria Energia Hits the Road for Renewables: Maria Surma Manka has been on the road this week. liveblogging from a American Petroleum Institute/Newsweek-sponsored discussion series tagged Energy’s Future is in Technology: Innovation in Energy Supply, Energy Efficiency and Alternative/Renewable Energy. You’ll find Maria’s summaries here, here, here, and here. On Sunday, Maria Energia will begin reporting from the American Wind Association’s Windpower Expo in Houston. Well worth a read. (Maria Energia)

High Summer Corn Prices to Squeeze Ethanol: Corn-based ethanol production is beginning to be crushed under its own weight. Fuel demand for corn stocks is driving market speculation, with price-per-bushel futures averaging about $4.66. Since ethanol currently is going for $2.30 a gallon on the West Coast, producers will find it difficult to preserve profit margins. And that assumes a normal growing season, free from widespread drought or crop failures. (Earth2Tech)

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