News bites: Climate change got real in 2012

“In 2012 many of the warnings scientists have made about global warming went from dry studies in scientific journals to real-life video played before our eyes: Record melting of the ice in the Arctic Ocean. U.S. cities baking at 95 degrees or hotter. Widespread drought. Flooding. Storm surge inundating swaths of New York City,” AP’s Seth Borenstein writes.

The New York Times reports that the oil boom in Montana and North Dakota is convincing some teenagers to forgo college.

{mosads}“For most high school seniors, a college degree is the surest path to a decent job and a stable future. But here in oil country, some teenagers are choosing the oil fields over universities, forgoing higher education for jobs with salaries that can start at $50,000 a year,” the paper reports from Sidney, Mont.

The Dallas Business Journal has the latest on Exxon snapping up assets in the booming Bakken formation.

Time magazine reports that “there are clouds on the horizon for renewables” despite solid wind and solar power growth over the past year.