Asia-Pacific countries must respond to climate change: UNDP
Countries
in Asia and the Pacific are at a crossroads and must strike a balance
between rising prosperity and rising emissions as their success or
failure will have repercussions worldwide, the United Nations
Development Programme has said in a new report.
"The Asia-Pacific
region must continue to grow economically to lift millions out of
poverty, but it must also respond to climate change to survive.
"Growing
first and cleaning up later is no longer an option," says the
Asia-Pacific Human Development Report 2012 --One Planet to Share:
Sustaining Human Progress in a changing Climate. 5.13.12 See Article
Heartland Pulls Billboard on Global Warming
Heartland Institute
A billboard campaign: Ted Kaczynski, whose homemade bombs killed 3 people and wounded 23.
The Heartland Institute, a
libertarian research center based in Chicago, describes its chief
mission as promoting free-market solutions to social and economic
problems. Recently, though, the institute has drawn considerably more
news media attention for its efforts to advance skepticism about climate change.
5.6.12 See Article
75% of Americans Support Regulating CO2; 60% Support Carbon Tax
4.29.12
For Earth Day, a Bit of Perspective
The overriding message in these vignettes is that local communities
do not have to wait for national political leaders to come around on the
issue of climate change.
Saving energy makes economic sense now, these efficiency advocates
say, even for people who may harbor some lingering doubt about the
science of climate change. 4.21.12 See Article
Climate change helps then quickly stunts growth, decade-long study shows
Grassland ecosystems found in northern Arizona were used in a decade-long study conducted at Northern Arizona University that simulated the long-term effects of global warming. Credit: Michael Allwright and Paul Dijkstra.
Global warming may initially make the grass greener, but not for long, according to new research conducted at Northern Arizona University. 4.12.12 See Article
New simulation predicts higher average Earth temperatures by 2050 than other models
Evolution of uncertainties in reconstructed global-mean temperature projections. Image (c) Nature Geoscience (2012) doi:10.1038/ngeo1430
Over the past several years, researchers have built a variety of computer simulations created to predict Earth’s climate in the future. Most recently, most models have suggested that over the next fifty years, we’ll see an average worldwide rise in temperature of perhaps 1°C. Now a new group of simulations, using the combined computing power of thousands of personal computers, says that number is too low, and that we might see temperatures rise as much as 3°C, which would of course, be a far more serious situation. The simulations, run by climateprediction.net in conjunction with the BBC Climate Change Experiment, resulted in predictions of a rise in temperature ranging from 1.4°C to 3.0°C by 2050. The large team involved in the project has published their findings in Nature Geoscience. 3.31.12 See Article
Both Coasts Watch Closely as San Francisco Faces Erosion
Jim Wilson/The New York Times
At the south end of Ocean
Beach, top, a 3.5-mile stretch of the Pacific in San Francisco, El
Niño-driven storms have torn down bluffs, pulling huge amounts of sand
into the sea.
The explosive waves of Ocean Beach, a 3.5-mile stretch separating the
city from the gray edge of the Pacific Ocean, have long been a draw for
tourists, local families and an international tribe of surfers.
But every few years, stormy surf driven by the weather pattern known as
El Niño grinds away at a thinning section of beach, pulling sand out to
sea. Some comes back, but two years ago, bluffs collapsed and massive
amounts of sand disappeared for good. 3.24.12 See Original Article
Iron is key to reversing global warming, Nature research shows
Canada defines itself as a nation that stretches from coast to coast to coast. But can we keep those coasts healthy in the face of climate change? Yves Gélinas, associate professor in Concordia's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has found the solution in a surprising element: iron.
In a study published in Nature, Gélinas — along with Concordia PhD candidate Karine Lalonde and graduate Alexandre Ouellet, as well as McGill colleague Alfonso Mucci — studies the chemical makeup of sediment samples from around the world ocean to show how iron oxides remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. 3.14.12 See Original Article
Time for a rethink on climate change, say top environmental
economists
Governments have done so little to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they should consider investing into the Rand D of large scale geo-engineering projects and their governance, according to 26 of the world’s leading environmental economists.
Examples could include firing sulphates into the atmosphere, Iron fertilisation of the oceans or oceanic ‘heat pipes’.
A ten point consensus, published this month in a book edited by two top environmental economists at The University of Manchester, argues that among other things, policy makers should ‘think outside the box’ to tackle climate change.
Also, argues the consensus, greenhouse emissions should be taxed or capped to help consumers, businesses and governments account for the social cost of their behaviour. 2.28.12 See Original Article
How the Gleick Crisis Is Killing The Global Warming Cause
Last week an anonymous person leaked several documents from the Heartland Institute to a number of prominent blogs that focus on climate change. The Heartland Institute (HI) is an organization that is skeptical that climate change is being caused by humans. They are viewed with contempt among many in the climate change community, who feel like HI is funding a disinformation campaign against climate change.
2.25.12 http://theenergycollective.com/robertrapier/77433/how-kill-global-warming-cause 1
Extreme summer temperatures occur more frequently
The Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI) incorporates satellite observations of vegetation to monitor at a finer spatial detail than other commonly used drought indicators. Photo courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey
Extreme summer temperatures are already occurring more frequently in the United States, and will become normal by mid-century if the world continues on a business as usual schedule of emitting greenhouse gases.
By analyzing observations and results obtained from climate models, a study led by Phil Duffy of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory showed that previously rare high summertime (June, July and August) temperatures are already occurring more frequently in some regions of the 48 contiguous United States.
2.16.12
Political leaders play key role in how worried Americans are by climate change: study
More than extreme weather events and the work of scientists, it is national political leaders who influence how much Americans worry about the threat of climate change, new research finds.
In a study of public opinion from 2002 to 2010, researchers found that public belief that climate change was a threat peaked in 2006-2007 when Democrats and Republicans in Congress showed the most agreement on the issue.
But public concern has dropped since then, as partisanship over the issue increased.
"It is the political leaders in Washington who are really driving public opinion about the threat of climate change," said J. Craig Jenkins, co-author of the study and professor of sociology at Ohio State University.
"The politics overwhelms the science."
2.12.12 http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-02-opinion-climate.html
Earth's Energy Budget Remained out of Balance Despite Unusually Low Solar Activity, Study Finds
A graph of the sun's total solar irradiance shows that in recent years irradiance dipped to the lowest levels recorded during the satellite era. The resulting reduction in the amount of solar energy available to affect Earth's climate was about .25 watts per square meter, less than half of Earth's total energy imbalance. (Credit: NASA/James Hansen)
A new NASA study underscores the fact that greenhouse gases generated by human activity -- not changes in solar activity -- are the primary force driving global warming. The study offers an updated calculation of Earth's energy imbalance, the difference between the amount of solar energy absorbed by Earth's surface and the amount returned to space as heat. The researchers' calculations show that, despite unusually low solar activity between 2005 and 2010, the planet continued to absorb more energy than it returned to space. 1.31.12 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130172611.htm
Unprecedented, man-made trends in ocean's acidity
Recent carbon dioxide emissions have pushed the level of seawater acidity far above the range of the natural variability that existed for thousands of years, affecting the calcification rates of shell-forming organism. These findings by an international team of scientists appear in the Jan. 22 online issue of Nature Climate Change. 1.23.12 http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-01-unprecedented-man-made-trends-ocean-acidity.html
NASA Finds 2011 Ninth-Warmest Year On Record
While average global temperature will still fluctuate from year to year, scientists focus on the decadal trend. Nine of the 10 warmest years since 1880 have occurred since the year 2000, as the Earth has experienced sustained higher temperatures than in any decade during the 20th century. As greenhouse gas emissions and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise, scientists expect the long-term temperature increase to continue as well. (Credit: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory, Robert Simmon) 1.21.12 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119152353.htm
Climate Balancing: Sea-Level Rise Vs. Surface Temperature Change Rates
Engineering our way out of global climate warming may not be as easy as simply reducing the incoming solar energy, according to a team of University of Bristol and Penn State climate scientists. Designing the approach to control both sea level rise and rates of surface air temperature changes requires a balancing act to accommodate the diverging needs of different locations. 1.19.12
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118123056.htm
On Our Radar: Reducing Soot and Methane
Adam Ferguson for The New York Times
Soot from early-morning cooking fires in a village in Uttar Pradesh, India.
Reiterating that carbon dioxide need not be the only focus, an international team of scientists suggests 14 ways of controlling emissions of methane and soot,
from cleaning up cookstoves to changing cultivation methods for rice
paddies. If adopted more widely, the scientists calculate, these methods
would reduce projected global warming by 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit by the
year 2050. 1.14.12 http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/13/on-our-radar-reducing-soot-and-methane/?ref=energy-environment
Josh Haner/The New York Times
Katey M. Walter Anthony, a scientist, investigated a
plume of methane, a greenhouse gas, at an Alaskan lake. Dr. Walter
Anthony is a leading researcher in studying the escape of methane.
Experts have long known that northern lands were a storehouse of frozen
carbon, locked up in the form of leaves, roots and other organic matter
trapped in icy soil — a mix that, when thawed, can produce methane and
carbon dioxide, gases that trap heat and warm the planet. But they have
been stunned in recent years to realize just how much organic debris is
there.
A recent estimate suggests that the perennially frozen ground known as
permafrost, which underlies nearly a quarter of the Northern Hemisphere,
contains twice as much carbon as the entire atmosphere. 12.17.11 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/science/earth/warming-arctic-permafrost-fuels-climate-change-worries.html?_r=1&ref=global-home
U.N. Climate Talks End With Deal for New Emissions Treaty
The deal renews the Kyoto Protocol, the fraying 1997 emissions agreement
that sets different terms for advanced and developing countries, for
several more years. But it also begins a process for replacing it with
something that treats all nations equally. The expiration date of the
protocol — 2017 or 2020 -- and the terms of any agreement that replaces
it will be negotiated at future sessions of the governing body, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 12.11.11
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/science/earth/countries-at-un-conference-agree-to-draft-new-emissions-treaty.html?ref=global-home
Paleoclimate Record Points Toward Potential Rapid Climate Changes
New research into Earth's paleoclimate history by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies director James E. Hansen suggests the potential for rapid climate changes this century, including multiple meters of sea level rise, if global warming is not abated. 12.10.11
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111208173647.htm
At the Earth’s current rate of carbon dioxide increases in the atmosphere, the planet is likely to experience several degrees increase in average temperatures and large-scale changes such as ice sheet loss that could lead to several meters of sea level rise this century, NASA’s James E. Hansen said in a recent paper. (Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio)
Global warming 'not slowing down,' say researchers
Researchers have added further clarity to the global climate trend, proving that global warming is showing no signs of slowing down and that further increases are to be expected in the next few decades. They revealed the true global warming trend by bringing together and analysing the five leading global temperature data sets, covering the period from 1979 to 2010, and factoring out three of the main factors that account for short-term fluctuations in global temperature: El Niño, volcanic eruptions and variations in the Sun's brightness. 12.7.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-12-global.html
Record Jump in Carbon Emissions in 2010, Study Finds
Global emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning jumped by
the largest amount on record last year, upending the notion that the
brief decline during the recession might persist through the recovery.
Emissions rose 5.9 percent in 2010, according to an analysis released
Sunday by the Global Carbon Project, an international collaboration of
scientists tracking the numbers. Scientists with the group said the
increase, a half-billion extra tons of carbon pumped into the air, was
almost certainly the largest absolute jump in any year since the
Industrial Revolution, and the largest percentage increase since 2003.
12.5.11 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/science/earth/record-jump-in-emissions-in-2010-study-finds.html?_r=1&ref=global-home
Financing battle emerges at climate change talks
International climate negotiators were at odds Tuesday on how to
raise billions of dollars to help poor countries cope with global
warming. A major shipping group is willing to help, endorsing a proposal
for a carbon tax on vessels carrying the world's trade.
Details
of the tussle over the funding emerged as the U.N.'s weather agency
reported that 2011 was tied as the 10th hottest year since records began
in 1850. Arctic sea ice, a barometer for the entire planet, had shrunk
to a record low volume, said the World Meteorological Organization.
Putting
the final touches on what's known as the Green Climate Fund is a top
issue at the 192-party U.N. climate conference that was in its second
day Tuesday in the South African coastal city of Durban, and one of the
keys of a strategy to contain greenhouse gas emissions and keep global
warming within manageable limits. 11.29.11
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hUSEGKJg9ZgOzwrbhnE_QptC5eyQ?docId=cdc3bd8ce82a4615ad32197137ce8f49
Greenhouse gases soar; no signs warming is slowed
New figures from the U.N. weather agency Monday showed that the three biggest greenhouse gases not only reached record levels last year but were increasing at an ever-faster rate, despite efforts by many countries to reduce emissions. 11.22.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-11-greenhouse-gases-soar.html
Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events
and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation
The new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report indicates that anthropogenically-caused climate change is causing some extreme weather events. 11.20.11
http://www.ipcc.ch/
Greenhouse Gas Index Continues to Climb
NOAA's updated Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI), which measures the direct climate influence of many greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, shows a continued steady upward trend that began with the Industrial Revolution of the 1880s.
NOAA's Annual Greenhouse Gas Index is a gauge of the climate warming influence of greenhouse gases added to the atmosphere by human activities and compared with the "index" year of 1990. The AGGI shows a steady upward trend, reaching 1.29 in 2010. This means that the heating effect of additional greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased by 29 percent since 1990. (Credit: NOAA) 11.11.11 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111109143007.htm
In Changing Ecosystems, Winners and Losers
Jeff Topping for The New York Times Ponderosa
pines, above, lodgepole pines and noble firs could become less common
in northwestern forests thanks to climate change.Two
new peer-reviewed studies, one about forests and the other about
oceans, predict that existing ecosystems will rearrange themselves over
the next 70-plus years in response to global warming. 11.6.11 http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/in-changing-ecosystems-winners-and-losers/?ref=energy-environment
Biggest jump ever seen in global warming gases
Map shows 10 countries with most carbon emissions in 2010 and last 50 years of worldwide emissions.
The global output of heat-trapping carbon dioxide jumped by the biggest amount on record, the U.S. Department of Energy calculated, a sign of how feeble the world's efforts are at slowing man-made global warming.
11.4.11
Prior to the economic meltdown in 2008, the threat of global warming, combined with record high oil
prices, convinced policy makers in the industrial world that dependence
on fossil fuels was economically and geopolitically unsustainable.
Europe, the United States and China earmarked billions of dollars for low-carbon technologies like clean coal, wind and even nuclear power.
But the credit crunch and recession
reined in the gallop toward a low-carbon future. Now, as countries
reassess the likely depth and duration of the economic chill, many are
rethinking their energy policies. 10.30.11 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/business/energy-environment/drive-toward-low-carbon-future-stalls.html
Climate: which nations, cities most at risk?
Bangladesh, India and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are among 30 countries with "extreme" exposure to climate shift, according to a ranking of 193 nations by Maplecroft, a British firm specialising in risk analysis.
Five Southeast Asian nations -- Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia -- are also in the highest category, partly because of rising seas and increasing severe tropical storms.
Maplecroft's tool, the Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI), looks at exposure to extreme weather events such as drought, cyclones, wildfires and storm surges, which translate into water stress, loss of crops and land lost to the sea. 10.27.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-10-climate-nations-cities.html
California Cap and Trade: Sweating the Small Stuff
'Albedo effect' in forest disturbances can cause added warming, bonus cooling
The defoliation from major epidemics of bark beetle infestation, such as these in these stands of lodgepole pine in British Columbia, can increase reflectivity of heat back into space and largely offset warming that would otherwise result from increased release of carbon dioxide, a new study suggests. (Photo courtesy of Oregon State University) 10.20.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-10-albedo-effect-forest-disturbances-added.html
Where Did Global Warming Go?
IN 2008, both the Democratic and Republican candidates for president, Barack Obama and John McCain, warned about man-made global warming
and supported legislation to curb emissions. After he was elected,
President Obama promised “a new chapter in America’s leadership on
climate change,” and arrived cavalry-like at the 2009 United Nations
Climate Conference in Copenhagen to broker a global pact.
But two years later, now that nearly every other nation accepts climate
change as a pressing problem, America has turned agnostic on the issue. 10.16.11
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/sunday-review/whatever-happened-to-global-warming.html?_r=1&ref=global-home
Arctic sea ice continues decline, hits 2nd-lowest level
NASA satellite data reveals how this year's minimum sea ice extent, reached on Sept. 9 as depicted here, declined to a level far smaller than the 30-year average (in yellow) and opened up Northwest Passage shipping lanes (in red). Credit: NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio 10.6.11
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-10-arctic-sea-ice-decline-2nd-lowest.html
Where Did Global Warming Go?
10.16.11
South Africa takes climate change seriously
- Image Credit: Illustration: Luis Vazquez/©Gulf News
-
When the sun
rises over Durban’s Indian Ocean coastline in November, the world’s eyes
will be firmly centred on the city as world gathers for the 17th United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 17). The
parties to the convention have met annually from 1995 in Conferences of
the Parties (COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change. In
1997, the Kyoto Protocol was concluded and for the first time established legally binding obligations for developed countries to
reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. 10.2.11 http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/south-africa-takes-climate-change-seriously-1.883674
Steep Increase in Global CO2 Emissions Despite Reductions by Industrialized Countries With Binding Kyoto Targets
Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) -- the main cause of global warming -- increased by 45 % between 1990 and 2010, and reached an all-time high of 33 billion tonnes in 2010. Increased energy efficiency, nuclear energy and the growing contribution of renewable energy are not compensating for the globally increasing demand for power and transport, which is strongest in developing countries. 9.23.11 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110921074750.htm
By Storing More Heat, Oceans Create 'Hiatus Periods' in Rise of Global Warming -- Study
9.20.11
Scientists: Bacteria spreading in warming oceans
The rising temperature of ocean water is causing a proliferation of the Vibrio genus of bacteria, which can cause food poisoning, serious gastroenteritis, septicemia and cholera.
"Millions of euros in health costs may result from human consumption of contaminated seafood, ingestion of waterborne pathogens, and, to a lesser degree, through direct occupational or recreational exposure to marine disease," says the paper. "Climatic conditions are playing an increasingly important role in the transmission of these diseases." 9.14.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-09-scientists-bacteria-oceans.html
Switching from coal to natural gas would do little for global climate, study indicates
Shifting from coal to natural gas would have limited impacts on climate, new research indicates. If methane leaks from natural gas operations could be kept to 2.5 percent or less, the increase in global temperatures would be reduced by about 0.1 degree Celsius by 2100. The reduction in global temperatures would be more minor with higher methane leakage rates. Credit: Courtesy Springer, modified by UCAR.
Although the burning of natural gas emits far less carbon dioxide than coal, a new study concludes that a greater reliance on natural gas would fail to significantly slow down climate change. The study appears this week in the Springer journal Climatic Change Letters. 9.9.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-09-coal-natural-gas-global-climate.html
Pics of Greenland glacier melt shocks expert
Aerial oblique view of the Petermann glacier front on 5 August, 2009 Jason Box Byrd Polar Research Center. Credit: Ohio State University.
Aerial oblique view of the Petermann glacier front on 24 July, 2011 Alun Hubbard of Aberystwyth University, Wales.
“Although I knew what to expect in terms of ice loss from satellite imagery, I was still completely unprepared for the gob-smacking scale of the breakup, which rendered me speechless,” said Dr. Alun Hubbard from the Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University said in a statement released by the Welsh university.
Dr. Hubbard visited the site in July 2009 and again in July this year to observe the change.
“It was incredible to see. This glacier is huge, 20km wide and over 600m thick and hemmed in by sheer cliffs that rise to 1000m on either side. It’s like looking into the Grand Canyon full of ice and coming back two years later to find it’s full of water.” 9.7.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-09-pics-greenland-glacier-shocksexpert.htm
Cutting Soot Emissions: Fastest, Most Economical Way to Slow Global Warming?
A new study of dust-like particles of soot in the air -- now emerging as the second most important, but previously overlooked, factor in global warming -- provides fresh evidence that reducing soot emissions from diesel engines and other sources could slow melting of sea ice in the Arctic faster and more economically than any other quick fix. 9.3.11 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110831205919.htm
Seeing Irene as Harbinger of a Change in Climate
The scale of Hurricane Irene,
which could cause more extensive damage along the Eastern Seaboard than
any storm in decades, is reviving an old question: are hurricanes getting worse because of human-induced climate change?
The short answer from scientists is that they are still trying to figure
it out. But many of them do believe that hurricanes will get more
intense as the planet warms, and they see large hurricanes like Irene as
a harbinger.
While the number of the most intense storms has clearly been rising
since the 1970s, researchers have come to differing conclusions about
whether that increase can be attributed to human activities. 8.27.11 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/us/28climate.html?ref=science
2010 Saw Largest CO2 Rise for 22 Years
Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rebounded in 2010 but still remained six percent below 2005 levels, according to an analysis by the Energy Information Administration.
Energy-related CO2 underwent a historic decline in 2009. That year
the economy as measured by the real gross domestic product (GDP) fell by
3.5 percent compared to the previous year, but emissions fell by over 7
percent.
Last year, CO2 emissions saw their largest absolute and percentage
increase (213 million metric tons or 3.9 percent) since 1988. Only two
years – 1996 and 2000 – have shown similar growth in the time period
since 1990. 8.20.11 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2011/08/19/2010-saw-largest-co2-rise-for-22-years/
After 2 Studies, Methane Puzzle Persists
The unsolved mystery, or perhaps now, twice-solved mystery: Why did
atmospheric methane levels, steadily on the rise since record-keeping
began, abruptly level off and stabilize in the last three decades?
Methane, which
is primarily found deep within the earth and deep within the guts of
microbes, is one of the most potent greenhouse gases, second only to
carbon dioxide in its impact....
...since around 2006, methane levels have again been on the rise. The
recent trend makes it more urgent than ever to understand the human
influence on methane concentrations in the atmosphere, scientists say,
so that it can be controlled to combat global warming. 8.14.11 http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/after-2-studies-methane-puzzle-persists/?ref=energy-environment
Australia's overheated climate debate
Climate-change wrangling in Australia has descended into death threats and extreme insults. The science is being drowned out
THE battle over global warming, reaching fever pitch in Australia amid plans to introduce a carbon tax, is part of a long-running and bitter culture war between conservatives and liberals dating from the 1960s.
In the US, it is no accident that the Tea Party seamlessly incorporated climate-change denial into its suggestions of a liberal elite conspiracy and claims of populist rage. The same toxic brew is being drunk in Australia, a nation that has always hovered between European social democracy and US individualism. 8.10.11 http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128240.200-australias-overheated-climate-debate.htm
Human influence on the 21st century climate: 1 possible future for the atmosphere
New computer modeling work shows that by 2100, if society wants to limit carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to less than 40 percent higher than it is today, the lowest cost option is to use every available means of reducing emissions. This includes more nuclear and renewable energy, choosing electricity over fossil fuels, reducing emissions through technologies that capture and store carbon dioxide, and even using forests to store carbon. 8.8.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-08-human-21st-century-climate-future.html
Slowing Climate Change by Targeting Gases Other Than Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide remains the undisputed king of recent climate change, but other greenhouse gases measurably contribute to the problem. A new study, conducted by NOAA scientists and published online August 3 in Nature, shows that cutting emissions of those other gases could slow changes in climate that are expected in the future.
The
direct radiative forcing (warming effect) of greenhouse gases under
various scenarios. a) Red: constant 2008 emissions of both CO2 and
non-CO2 greenhouse gases. b) An 80% cut in non-CO2 emissions. c) An 80%
cut in CO2 emissions. d) An 80% cut in all greenhouse gas emissions. In
all scenarios, emissions cuts are phased in between 2009 and 2050.
(Credit: NOAA) 8.5.11 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110803133522.htm
OK, climate sceptics: here's the raw data you wanted
Anyone can now view for themselves the raw data that was at the centre of last year's "climategate" scandal.
Temperature records going back 150 years from 5113 weather stations around the world were yesterday released to the public by the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK. The only records missing are from 19 stations in Poland, which refused to allow them to be made public. 7.29.11 http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20739-ok-climate-sceptics-heres-the-raw-data-you-wanted.html
Unravelling a few of Australia's climate change myths
The heat that's now being generated by the climate change debate in Australia seems truly amazing to an outsider.
7.28.11 http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2813856.html
Dramatic Climate Swings Likely as World Warms: Ancient El Niño Clue to
Future Floods
Much warmer than the worst-case scenario?
Four new scenarios presented by climate scientists clearly show that it could get much warmer than the present worst-case scenario calculations by the IPCC, particularly around the North Pole. Credit: Sanderson et al., 2011
According to a new study, it could become much warmer towards the end of the century than originally anticipated. The study has found that the average temperatures calculated are much higher than the IPCC’s worst-case scenario to date. 7.14.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-07-warmer-worst-case-scenario.html
Climate change study warns 1 in 10 species could face extinction by 2100
One in 10 species could face extinction by the year 2100 if current climate change impacts continue. This is the result of University of Exeter research, examining studies on the effects of recent climate change on plant and animal species and comparing this with predictions of future declines.
Published in leading journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PNAS), the study uses the well-established IUCN Red List for linking population declines to extinction risk. The research examines nearly 200 predictions of the future effects of climate change from studies conducted around the world, as well as 130 reports of changes which have already occurred.
The research shows that on average the declines that have already happened match predictions in terms of the relative risk to different species across the world. 7.12.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-07-climate-species-extinction.html
E.P.A. Chief Stands Firm as Tough Rules Loom
In the next weeks and months, Lisa P. Jackson, the Environmental Protection Agency
administrator, is scheduled to establish regulations on smog, mercury,
carbon dioxide, mining waste and vehicle emissions that will affect
every corner of the economy.
Ms. Jackson said she intended to go forward with new, tougher air- and
water-quality rules, including those that address climate change,
despite Congressional efforts to override her authority and even a White
House initiative to weed out overly burdensome regulations.
The first of these new rules is expected to be announced Thursday,
imposing tighter restrictions on soot and smog emissions from
coal-burning power plants in 31 states east of the Rockies. The
regulation is expected to lead to the closing of several older plants
and will require the installation of scrubbers at many of those that
remain in operation. 7.10.11 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/06/science/earth/06epa.html?ref=energy-environment
UN Report: World needs $1.9 trillion a year for green technology
"Over the next 40 years, $1.9 trillion (1.31 trillion euros) per year will be needed for incremental investments in green technologies," the UN Economic and Social Affairs body said in its annual survey.
"At least one-half, or $1.1 trillion per year, of the required investments will need to be made in developing countries to meet their rapidly increasing food and energy demands through the application of green technologies," it added.
At the moment, "external financing currently available for green technology investments in developing countries is far from sufficient to meet the challenge," it assessed. 7.6.11
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-07-world-19tn-year-green-technology.html
Climate Skeptics Meet to Hear Attacks on Mainstream Scienc e and Responses
A Washington, D.C., gathering reveals nuanced levels of belief
Hundreds of global warming skeptics are in Washington to hear attacks on mainstream climate science and responses to it, like renewable energy programs and federal initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 7.2.11
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=climate-skeptics-hear-attacks-mainstream-science
California cap and trade plan cleared by court
An appellate court is allowing California to go ahead with a
market-oriented cap-and-trade system of pollution credits to combat
global warming while state officials appeal a judge's order to look
harder at alternatives that some environmentalists prefer, such as a tax
on carbon fuels.
The order by the state's First District Court of Appeal in San
Francisco was a victory for the California Air Resources Board, which
says it needs to keep planning in order to put cap and trade into effect
by January as scheduled. 6.30.11
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/29/BAHT1K49H5.DTL#ixzz1QjVYMdp0
Global warming continues as greenhouse gas grows
The annual State of the Climate report said 2010 was tied with 2005 as the hottest year on record, worldwide and added that the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide increased faster than it has in recent decades.
Peter Thorne of North Carolina's Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites called the finding "a clear and unmistakable signal from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans." 6.29.11
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-06-global-greenhouse-gas.html
Warming Accelerates Sea Level Rise on U.S. East Coast
A new study finds that sea levels are creeping up faster along the coast of North Carolina thanks to climate change
Sea level is rising faster along the U.S. East Coast than it has for at least 2,000 years, according to new research. The ocean began rising an average of 2.1 millimeters per year some time between 1865 and 1892 and hasn't stopped, the study concludes. The current rate of sea level rise is about 3.2 mm per year. 6.22.11 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=warming-accelerates-us-east-coast-sea-level
Republican Budget Remedies Could Prevent Climate Plans for More Than a Decade
Spending caps proposed by Republicans would make it "virtually
impossible" to enact climate legislation for a decade or longer.
Automatically triggering widespread funding cuts if federal spending
exceeds a percentage of the gross domestic product is a popular theme in
Congress and in presidential campaigns. But the plan would rule out a
carbon tax, cap and trade, and other programs that raise -- and spend --
money by limiting greenhouse gas emissions, says the Center for Budget
and Policy Priorities.
"The cap that these proposals would establish very likely would make it impossible to enact any
market-based strategy to reduce the carbon pollution that drives global warming," the center says.
Many Republicans hail the idea as a good way to enforce bipartisan
agreement around spending cuts. But technicalities in the way that
spending is scored by the Congressional Budget Office would trigger
automatic defunding even if a climate program offsets its spending with
emission revenue, the center says. 6.19.11 http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2011/06/17/17climatewire-budget-remedies-could-prevent-climate-plans-67593.html
NOAA Makes It Official: 2011 Among Most Extreme Weather Years in History
Just past the halfway point, 2011 has already seen eight weather-related disasters in the U.S. that caused more than $1 billion in damages
The devastating string of tornadoes, droughts, wildfires and floods that hit the United States this spring marks 2011 as one of the most extreme years on record, according to a new federal analysis. Just shy of the halfway mark, 2011 has seen eight $1-billion-plus disasters, with total damages from wild weather at more than $32 billion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Agency officials said that total could grow significantly, since they expect this year's North Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1, will be an active one. 6.18.11 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=noaa-makes-2011-most-extreme-weather-year
Scientists predict rare 'hibernation' of sunspots
According to three studies released in the United States on Tuesday, experts believe the familiar sunspot cycle may be shutting down and heading toward a pattern of inactivity unseen since the 17th century.
The signs include a missing jet stream, fading spots, and slower activity near the poles, said experts from the National Solar Observatory and Air Force Research Laboratory.
"This is highly unusual and unexpected," said Frank Hill, associate director of the NSO's Solar Synoptic Network, as the findings of the three studies were presented at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society's Solar Physics Division in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
"But the fact that three completely different views of the Sun point in the same direction is a powerful indicator that the sunspot cycle may be going into hibernation."
Solar activity tends to rise and fall every 11 years or so. The solar maximum and solar minimum each mark about half the interval of the magnetic pole reversal on the Sun, which happens every 22 years. Hill said the current cycle, number 24, "may be the last normal one for some time and the next one, cycle 25, may not happen for some time. 6.16.11 http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110614/ts_afp/usspacesun
Action to Curb 'Soot' and 'Smog' Pollution Could Help Limit Global Temperature Rise
Multiple Benefits Include Improved Air
Quality and Human Health, Higher Crop Yields, Reduced Rate of Climate
Change in the Near-Term and a Chance to Slow Serious Melting of the
Arctic
New UNEP-WMO Assessment Complements Urgent Action Needed to Cut CO2 Emissions Under UN Climate Treaty
Fast action on pollutants such as black carbon,
ground level ozone and methane may help limit near term global
temperature rise and significantly increase the chances of keeping
temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius, and perhaps even 1.5 degrees
C, a new assessment says. Protecting the near-term climate is central
to significantly cutting the risk of "amplified global climate change"
linked with rapid and extensive loss of Arctic ice on both the land and
at sea. 6.15.11 http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=2645&ArticleID=8780&l=en&t=long
Carbon Management Market ‘to Grow 700% in 7 Years’
The global market for carbon management grew 84 percent from 2009 to
2010, and is now set to expand by over 700 percent by 2017 to $5.7
billion, according to a report by cleantech analysts Pike Research. The projection is a 30 percent upgrade to Pike’s previous forecast,
from Q1 2010, which projected a $4.4 billion industry by 2017. In the
most recent report, “Carbon Management Software and Services”,
Pike forecasts that the market will reach $1.3 billion in 2011, from
$705 million last year, and will grow at a rapid compound annual growth
rate (CAGR) of almost 35 percent through 2017.
6.14.11 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2011/06/13/carbon-management-market-to-grow-700-in-7-years/
Romney draws early fire from conservatives over views on climate change--All Other Republicans Continue to Ignore the Irrefutable Facts of Climate Science
It seemed like a straightforward question on a second-tier issue: Would Mitt Romney disavow the science behind global warming?
The putative Republican presidential front-runner, eager to
prove his conservative bona fides, could easily have said what he knew
many in his party’s base wanted to hear. Instead, the former Massachusetts governor stuck to the position he has
held for many years — that he believes the world is getting warmer and
that humans are contributing to that pattern. 6.9.11 http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romney-draws-early-fire-from-conservatives-over-views-on-climate-change/2011/06/08/AGkUTaMH_story.html
Researcher says climate change may be cooling California
6.4.11 http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/04/3676297/researcher-says-climate-change.html
Climate projections don't accurately reflect soil carbon release
A new study concludes that models may be predicting releases of atmospheric carbon dioxide that are either too high or too low, depending on the region, because they don't adequately reflect variable temperatures that can affect the amount of carbon released from soil.
The study points out that many global models make estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from soils based on "average" projected temperatures. But temperatures vary widely from those averages. That variability, along with complex biological processes, makes the issue far more complicated. 6.3.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-06-climate-dont-accurately-soil-carbon.html
World Bank to Help Cities Control Climate Change
World Bank
signed an agreement with mayors from 40 of the world’s
biggest cities to work on technical and financial assistance for
projects to minimize the effects of climate change.
The deal, announced at the C40 large cities climate meeting here, will
ease access to financing for climate-change-reduction projects.
Worst ever carbon emissions leave climate on the brink
Economic recession has failed to curb
rising emissions, undermining hope of keeping global warming to safe
levels Photograph: Dave Reede/All Canada Photos/Corbis
Greenhouse gas emissions increased by a record amount last year,
to the highest carbon output in history, putting hopes of holding
global warming to safe levels all but out of reach, according to
unpublished estimates from the International Energy Agency.
The shock rise means the goal of preventing a temperature rise of more than 2 degrees Celsius – which scientists say is the threshold for potentially "dangerous climate change" – is likely to be just "a nice Utopia", according to Fatih Birol, chief economist of the IEA. It also shows the most serious global recession for 80 years has had only a minimal effect on emissions, contrary to some predictions. 5.29.11 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/29/carbon-emissions-nuclearpower
Global warming may affect the capacity of trees to store carbon, study finds
The study confirmed, as others have, that a warmer climate causes more rapid decomposition of the organic matter in soil, leading to an increase in carbon dioxide being released to the atmosphere.
But the study also showed, for the first time in a field experiment, that warmer temperatures stimulate the gain of carbon stored in trees as woody tissue, partially offsetting the soil carbon loss to the atmosphere. The carbon gains in trees, the scientists found, is due to more nitrogen being made available to the trees with warmer soil. 5.26.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-05-global-affect-capacity-trees-carbon.html
California: Aggressive efficiency and electrification needed to cut emissions
If California continues "business as usual" (BAU), or without any additional energy-savings measures, greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 are expected to nearly double those in 2005, to more than 900 metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent. (Credit: Jeff Greenblatt)
In the next 40 years, California's population is expected to surge from 37 million to 55 million and the demand for energy is expected to double. Given those daunting numbers, can California really reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, as required by an executive order? Scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who co-wrote a new report on California's energy future are optimistic that the target can be achieved, though not without bold policy and behavioral changes as well as some scientific innovation. 5.25.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-05-aggressive-efficiency-electrification-emissions.html
California: Judge Blocks Cap-and-Trade Plan
A California judge ruled on Friday that state air regulators must stop carrying out a cap-and-trade
plan until they examine alternatives to emissions trading to meet the
state’s aggressive greenhouse gas-reduction targets. The judge, Ernest
Goldsmith of the Superior Court of California in San Francisco, said
that the California Air Resources Board should “take no action” to put
its cap-and-trade plans into effect until it completes the analysis of
the alternatives. 5.22.11 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/us/21brfs-JUDGEBLOCKSC_BRF.html?ref=health
Climate Scientists Now Connect Extreme Weather with Global Climate Change
Record-setting weather events -- vast floods along the Mississippi River and shockingly destructive tornadoes in the South -- have dominated the news in the U.S. for the past several weeks. Up to now, climate scientists have always been careful to say that no particular weather event can be linked directly to climate change. But many climate experts are now pointing linking climate change directly to some of these weather-related disasters. 5.19.11
http://www.btlonline.org/2011/seg/110527cf-btl-trenberth.html
Report finds 'pressing need' for climate action
There is a "pressing need for substantial action" by the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid serious environmental, economic and humanitarian risks, a National Academy of Science report issued Thursday concludes. Risks from dangerous climate change impacts are "growing with every ton of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere," said the report, prepared by a team of scientists, policy experts, environmental advocates and business leaders. 5.13.11 http://wvgazette.com/News/201105121737
CO2 makes life difficult for algae
The acidification of the world's oceans could have major consequences for the marine environment. New research shows that coccoliths, which are an important part of the marine environment, dissolve when seawater acidifies.
These findings underscore that the acidification of the oceans is a serious problem. The acidification has enormous consequences not only for coccoliths, but also for many other marine organisms as well as the global carbon cycle. 5.11.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-05-co2-life-difficult-algae.html
Cereal Killer: Climate Change Stunts Growth of Global Crop Yields
A crop-yield analysis reveals that warming temperatures have already diminished the rate of production growth for major cereal crop harvests during the past three decades 5.6.11
Seas could rise up to 1.6 meters by 2100
Quickening climate change in the Arctic including a thaw of Greenland's ice could raise world sea levels by up to 1.6 meters by 2100.
Such a rise -- above most past scientific estimates -- would add to threats to coasts from Bangladesh to Florida, low-lying Pacific islands and cities from London to Shanghai. It would also, for instance, raise costs of building tsunami barriers in Japan.
"The past six years (until 2010) have been the warmest period ever recorded in the Arctic," according to the Oslo-based Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP). 5.5.11 http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre7422yq-us-climate-arctic/
Around the Globe, Companies, Groups Take a Swing at Climate Initiatives
"...the Washington-based group, The Business Roundtable, a group of CEOs from companies such as General Electric and Exxon Mobil, urged the Obama administration to abandon efforts to regulate greenhouse gases from industrial polluters, writes Bloomberg.com. The group wants the EPA to scrap its “stifling” rules for power plants and oil refineries, and wait for Congress to craft legislation. With the statement, the Roundtable joins business lobbying group, the Chamber of Commerce, Republican lawmakers, and some Democrats who also have called for blocking or delaying the EPA rules." 5.2.11
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2011/05/02/around-the-globe-companies-groups-take-a-swing-at-climate-initiatives
Disaster Needed for U.S. to Act on Climate Change, Harvard’s Stavins Says
The U.S. probably won’t take significant steps to curb climate change until an environmental disaster sways public view and prompts political action, Robert Stavins of Harvard University said.
U.S. concern about climate change has declined in recent years, according to polls. Americans who agree the Earth is warming because of man-made activity dropped to 34 percent in October, from 50 percent in July 2006, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. 4.30.11
Study shows developed nation's reduction in CO2, outpaced by developing country emissions
April 26, 2011
In a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a group of researchers and scientists show that the gains that have been made in stabilizing CO2 emissions in developed or "rich" countries since the signing of the Kyoto agreement, have been neutralized by the increase in CO2 emissions from developing nations as they produce goods for trade, primarily to developed countries. Because of this disparity, many groups are calling for a change to the Kyoto agreement practice of only counting CO2 emissions that are produced in-country, rather than the CO2 footprint of those products that are consumed.
The Top 5 emitters from a consumption-based perspective in 2008 plotted as production-based emissions (left) and as consumption-based emissions (right). Image credit: PNAS, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1006388108
Warmer oceans release CO2 faster than thought
As the world's oceans warm, their massive stores of dissolved carbon dioxide may be quick to bubble back out into the atmosphere and amplify the greenhouse effect, according to a new study. The oceans capture around 30 per cent of human carbon dioxide emissions and hide it in their depths. This slows the march of global warming somewhat. But climate records from the end of the last ice age show that as temperatures climb, the trend reverses and the oceans emit CO2, which exacerbates warming.
Previous studies have suggested that it takes between 400 and 1300 years for this to happen. But now the most precise analysis to date has whittled that figure down. "We now think the delay is more like 200 years, possibly even less," says Tas van Ommen from the Australian Antarctic Division, in Hobart, who led the study. 4.25.11
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20413-warmer-oceans-release-co2-faster-than-thought.html
Scientists: Soot may be key to rapid Arctic melt
This undated handout photo provided by NOAA-STAD, shows Bob Stone, a researcher studying the snow surface, he is with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder. An international research team is in the land of snow and ice in search of soot. Though the Arctic is often pictured as a vast white wasteland, that can be deceiving. And carbon deposited there as a result of activities elsewhere can have a long-term impact on climate. (AP Photo/NOAA-STADS)
Though the Arctic is often pictured as a vast white wasteland, scientists believe a thin layer of soot - mostly invisible - is causing it to absorb more heat. They want to find out if that's the main reason for the recent rapid warming of the Arctic, which could have a long-term impact on the world's climate. Soot, or black carbon, is produced by auto and truck engines, aircraft emissions, burning forests and the use of wood- or coal-burning stoves.
"The Arctic serves as the air conditioner of the planet," explained Patricia Quinn of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, one of the research participants. Heat from other parts of the Earth moves to the Arctic in the circulating air and ocean water, and at least some of that warmth can radiate into space. 4.21.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-04-scientists-soot-key-rapid-arctic.html
Climate Change Heads to the Supreme Court
Green activists hope to force electric utilities and many others to pay 'public nuisance' claims for emitting carbon dioxide.
On April 19th, the Supreme Court hears American Electric Power v. Connecticut,
a case that asks whether America's climate change policy can be
designed and managed by the federal courts.
Hoping to force congressional action that would severely restrict
greenhouse gas emissions, a series of lawsuits alleging "public
nuisance" has been brought by various states, interest groups and
activists. They claim that electric utilities and other large emitters
of carbon dioxide have injured them by causing or contributing to global
warming.
4.16.11 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703551304576261271226827718.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Natural Gas Stature Undercut
Natural
gas’ stature may get undercut. A new study says it is responsible for a
lot more greenhouse gas emissions than either coal or oil.
The
analysis by Cornell University says that the total greenhouse gases
over 20 years as a result of exploring for shale are at least 20 percent
greater -- possibly as much as double -- when compared to those of
coal. That’s because natural gas is composed mostly of methane, which
may have the ability to dissipate but is still capable of trapping more
heat than carbon dioxide. 4.14.11 http://www.energybiz.com/article/11/04/natural-gas-stature-undercut
Environment takes the hit in US budget deal
The environment – or more specifically, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – is arguably the main loser in the eleventh-hour budget deal struck between Congressional Republicans and Democrats that averted a looming government shutdown.
Late on Friday, negotiators for both parties announced that $38.5 billion would be cut from federal government spending for the current fiscal year. But the details of where those cuts will fall emerged only earlier today, in a summary (pdf) and full breakdown (pdf) released by Republican appropriators in the House of Representatives. The deal is expected to pass Congress this week and be signed into law by President Barack Obama.
The EPA takes a big hit, losing $1.6 billion, or about 16 per cent less than its 2010 funding. The agency has been a lightning rod for attacks on Obama's policies on climate and other environmental issues by the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives. 4.13.11
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/04/environment-takes-the-hit-in-u.html
GHG Regs Avoid Ax in 11th Hour Budget Deal
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on greenhouse gas
emissions appear to have escaped the hatchet in federal budget
negotiations. Democrats and Republicans came to a tentative consensus on the budget
shortly before 11 p.m. on Friday night, averting the government
shutdown that was due to start just over an hour later. The parties agreed on broad terms to fund the government for the next
six months, and Democrats said that the agreement did not include
Republicans’ sought-after provision to limit EPA regulations on greenhouse gases (GHGs), the New York Times reported. 4.11.11 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2011/04/11/ghg-regs-avoid-ax-in-11th-hour-budget-deal/
"A major challenge facing climate scientists is explaining to non-specialists the risks and uncertainties surrounding potential" climate change, says a new Perspectives piece published today in the science journal Nature Climate Change. The article attempts to identify communications strategies needed to improve layman understanding of climate science.
"Few citizens or political leaders understand the underlying science well enough to evaluate climate-related proposals and controversies," the authors write, at first appearing to support the idea of specialized knowledge--that only climate scientists can understand climate research. But, author Baruch Fischhoff quickly dispels the notion. "The goal of science communication should be to help people understand the state of the science," he says, "relevant to the decisions that they face in their private and public lives." 3.30.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-03-uncertain-climate.html
Japan Atomic Crisis May Mean Tougher Time Meeting Climate Pledge
The nuclear crisis in Japan may prompt the government to say that it may have difficulty delivering on a pledge to cut emissions by 25 percent in 2020 from 1990 levels, said Artur Runge-Metzger, director for climate strategy and negotiations at the European Commission. 3.25.11
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-24/japan-s-nuclear-crisis-may-mean-tougher-climate-talks-eu-says.html
UN releases pledges by poor countries to curb climate change: expand forests, go with green energy
Mongolia says it will erect solar power plants in the frigid Gobi desert. The Central African Republic says it will expand its forests to cover a quarter of its territory. Mexico promises to slash carbon emissions by 30 per cent by the end of the decade. Costa Rica and the Maldives aim to become carbon neutral and even chaotic Afghanistan is promising to take action on climate change. The pledges from dozens of developing countries, compiled by the United Nations and released Monday, are voluntary, and many made them conditional on financial and technical help from the industrial world.
But the list helps bring into focus demands by wealthy countries that everybody reduce greenhouse gases to fight global warming. Scientists say carbon dioxide from industrial processes trap the Earth's heat, causing climates to change in ways that could alter agriculture, raise sea levels and contribute to more extreme weather. Industrial countries that signed up to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol are obliged to cut carbon emissions by a total 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. Intense negotiations among more than 190 countries have failed to set new targets for those 37 wealthy nation when the Kyoto provisions expire. 3.22.11 http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gDDdNzWWIQAauoVpVYc1ghSCSIpQ?docId=6320016
Americans' Concern For Climate Change Drops as Temps Rise
Although NASA says 2010 is tied for the warmest year on record, Americans are less concerned about climate change today than they were just a few years ago, according to a new poll. The difference in opinion along political lines is greater than ever.
In its annual Environment poll, Gallup found that 51 of Americans worry a fair amount or great deal about global warming, just one percentage point higher than the poll's lowest mark in 1997. Three years ago, 66 percent expressed worry.
Fewer Americans -- 49 percent -- think climate change is already happening today, compared to 61 percent in 2008. Eighteen percent of respondents don't believe climate change effects will ever happen. 3.19.11
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2011/03/18/americans-concern-climate-change-drops-temps-rise#ixzz1H1OtXWYR
Climate science 'may have underestimated' damage from rising levels of carbon dioxide
GLOBAL warming may push sea levels
rises to the upper limit of current projections and temperatures above
previously anticipated levels, Julia Gillard's top climate change
adviser has warned. Ross Garnaut today issued a pessimistic assessment of likely
climate change effects, suggesting recent updates to climate science
showed previous research may have underestimated the effects of
increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Professor
Garnaut flagged the "awful reality" that global political leaders may
have to go further than the emissions reduction targets they have been
aiming for in international negotiations. These targets aim for a
concentration of carbon dioxide equivalent of 450 parts per million,
which would limit temperature increases to 2 degrees celsius.
"There
is a case in managing the risks of climate change for seeking to reduce
emissions concentrations below 450ppm carbon dioxide equivalent,"
Professor Garnaut said. 3.17.11 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/climate-science-may-have-underestimated-damage-from-rising-levels-of-carbon-dioxide/story-e6frg6xf-1226019239310
Japan nuclear crisis mixed message for climate change
Japan's nuclear crisis will boost interest in clean renewables such as solar and wind power but may also sharpen demand for coal, oil and gas, whose carbon pollution drives climate change, experts said Monday.
Nuclear energy provides around 14 percent of the world's electricity mix, although this is overwhelmingly concentrated in six countries, and is not going to disappear off the map any time soon, they said.
"The accident in Japan is not a death sentence for nuclear power," stressed Jean-Marie Chevalier, an economist and energy expert at the Universite Paris Dauphine, pointing to the hundreds of billions of dollars invested in existing reactors and plants under construction. But the scare surrounding the crippled reactors at the earthquake-struck Fukushima plant means nuclear's renaissance after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster will be crimped, at least in the short term.
Governments in India, the United States and Europe are under pressure to review safety standards or slap a moratorium on new projects, and Germany and Switzerland have already said they will be on hold plans to extend the operational life of existing plants, pending safety reviews. "At the very least, we would expect significant investments in nuclear to be delayed, or deferred, for a period of one to two years," said Rupesh Madlani, renewables analysts at Barclays Capital in London.
In the short run, any energy shortfall in Japan, and elsewhere, will be filled by fossil fuels, said other experts. 3.15.11
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jHG76nWOpLiU_3d0i66L1-VUMVbQ?docId=CNG.9cac656ee218c88029a4490458898142.5b1
Bioenergy crops could lower surface temperatures
The study, published online in the Feb. 28 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), comes on the heels of federal initiatives to wean the United States off fossil fuels by mandating significant increases in ethanol production. The Department of Agriculture forecasts that by 2018, more than one-third of the country's corn harvest will be used to produce ethanol. But concerns about the impact of corn ethanol on food prices, deforestation andglobal warming have raised interest in the cultivation of perennial grasses – such as switchgrass – as alternative sources of biofuel. Previous studies suggest that ethanol made from switchgrass emits less carbon dioxide than corn-derived ethanol and would therefore have less of an impact on global warming. 3.12.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-03-bioenergy-crops-surface-temperatures.html
China Accelerates Energy Efficiency Goal
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao has pledged that the country will reduce
the carbon intensity of its economy by 17 percent over the next five
years. The aim to reduce carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product
by 17 percent between 2011 and 2015 is part of China’s previously
stated goal of reducing carbon intensity by 40 percent by 2020, from
2005 levels, AFP reports.
Wen said the country aims to generate 11.4 percent of energy from
non-fossil fuels by 2015, up from 8.3 percent last year. China has
previously stated a goal of meeting 15 percent of energy demand from
renewable energy by 2020. 3.9.11 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2011/03/08/china-accelerates-energy-efficiency-goal/
Diversifying Crops May Protect Yields Against a More Variable Climate
A survey of how farmers could protect themselves by growing a greater diversity of crops, published in the March issue of BioScience, has highlighted economical steps that farmers could take to minimize the threat to crops from global climate change, including a greater frequency of extreme climate events. 3.3.11 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110301091123.htm
China's Goal: Cut Energy and Carbon Intensity 16% by 2015
Pollution is seen over an industrial area of Huaxi village, at Jiangsu province December 3, 2010. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
China aims to cut the amount of energy and carbon dioxide emissions needed for every unit of economic growth by 16 to 17 percent from this year to the end of 2015, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday. This was the first time a top Chinese leader had spelled out the nation's energy and carbon "intensity" goals for its new five-year development plan.
China is the world's biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas from using fossil fuels that is stoking global warming. The goals for 2011-2015 set out by Wen are generally in step with the government's pledge to cut carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percent by 2020, relative to 2005 levels.
3.1.11 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=china-vows-to-cut-energy
Impact of Climate Change on Health
Health officials in the USA have issued a warning about likely health impacts of climate change. Among the illnesses likely to increase are microbial disease, asthma, insect-borne illnesses, and heat stroke. 2.25.11 http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/allergy-and-asthma/articles/2011/02/24/medical-groups-warn-of-climate-changes-potential-impact-on-health
Immediate Climate Change Mitigation from Reduced Black Carbon and Methane Emissions
Curbing emissions of black carbon, a component of soot, along with methane and tropospheric ozone, could cut projected climate warming by 0.5 degree Celsius, or about 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit, by 2070. Such cuts could be made with existing technology, the report says, and would "have immediate and multiple benefits for human well-being." Possible strategies for reducing black carbon, methane and ozone include capturing methane produced by landfills and fossil fuel extraction, introducing cleaner-burning cookstoves, installing particulate filters on diesel engines and banning the practice of burning fields of agricultural waste.
The research shows that cutting black carbon and methane emissions would slow the rate of warming up until about 2040, while starting soon to cut emissions of carbon dioxide would only have an appreciable effect after 2040. 2.23.11 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cutting-black-carbon-methane-immediate-climate-change
Global Warming may Increase Toxic Algae and Bacteria in Oceans
Global warming could spur the growth of toxic algae and bacteria in the world's seas and lakes, with an impact that could be felt in 10 years, US scientists said Saturday.
Studies have shown that shifts brought about by climate change make ocean and freshwater environments more susceptible to toxic algae blooms and allow harmful microbes and bacteria to proliferate, according to researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
In one study, NOAA scientists modeled future ocean and weather patterns to predict the effect on blooms of Alexandrium catenella, or the toxic "red tide," which can accumulate in shellfish and cause severe symptoms, including paralysis, in humans who eat the contaminated seafood.
"Our projections indicate that by the end of the 21st century, blooms may begin up to two months earlier in the year and persist for one month later compared to the present-day time period of July to October," said Stephanie Moore, one of the scientists who worked on the study. 2.21.11 http://www.greenwala.com/green-news/13625-Global-warming-could-spur-toxic-algae-bacteria-in-seas
Permafrost Thawing will Accelerate Global Warming
"Up to two-thirds of Earth's permafrost likely will disappear by 2200 as a result of warming temperatures, unleashing vast quantities of carbon into the atmosphere, says a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.
The carbon resides in permanently frozen ground that is beginning to thaw in high latitudes from warming temperatures, which will impact not only the climate but also international strategies to reduce fossil fuel emissions, said CU-Boulder's Kevin Schaefer, lead study author."
2.17.11
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1786720821?bctid=786834489001
Earth Would Continue to Warm Even if Greenhouse Gas Emissions Completely Stopped Now
New research shows that even if all emissions were stopped now, temperatures would remain higher than pre-Industrial Revolution levels because the greenhouse gases already emitted are likely to persist in the atmosphere for thousands of years.
2.16.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-02-greenhouse-gas-emissions-earth-warmer.html
Republicans Fighting to Block Climate Change Mitigation
Obama's administration has given up on seeking a cap and trade program for the time being, and is recently emphasizing the EPA's roll under the Clear Air Act (CCA) authority. The CCA derives from the 2007 US Supreme Court Decision in Massachusetts vs. EPA, that requires the EPA to act to mitigate climate change, unless the EPA determines that greenhouse gases do not cause climate change. Republicans are doing all they can to stop the EPA, but Obama can veto any such efforts. It is totally shameful that Republicans are still denying the extraordinarily obvious anthropogenic contributions to climate change, and in the coming years as it becomes obvious even to the general public that the Republicans are standing in the way of an uphill battle to avoid even worse climate change, the Republicans will be recognized as the Charlatans they are.... 2.15.11
EU Banning Two Key GHGs from Trading in 2013
The European Union (EU) will ban trading of HFC 23 and Nitrous Oxide in 2013. These two greenhouse gases (GHGs) account for the majority of trading in the EU emission trading system, which is the largest certified
emission reduction (CER) trading market under the clean development
mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. HFC 23 is roughly 12,000 to 14,000 times as potent as carbon dioxide for global warming impact. The value of the HFC 23 UN CERs can be about 100 times the cost of incinerating
the gas, which can provide a strong incentive to produce HFC 23 simply for the profits for being paid to stop producing. However, by barring trading of these two gases, there would be no incentive for
the chemical industries to trap and destroy these gases to prevent them
from entering the atmosphere. A better solution must be found than simply banning trading.
02.12.11
US Chamber of Commerce Still in Denial About Climate Change
Despite President Obama's recent overtures to the US Chamber of Commerce, and the overwhelming evidence of anthropogenic causes to climate change, the Chamber of Commerce remains steadfastly opposed against any responsible action to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. 02.11.11
UN Shifting Focus from Climate Change Treaty to Green Energy
UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon has indicated that the UN will shift the focus to greater
implementation of green energy. This is a natural outcome from the failed attempts for a global climate change treaty, particularly by the two largest greenhouse gas emitters, USA and China. By taking smaller steps, it would move
the global community forward and position it to adopt a cohesive climate
strategy at a later time. By extension, there will be no follow on to
the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012 either before or during the next
set of global climate talks in Durban, South Africa, in December 2011.
2.9.11 http://www.energybiz.com/article/11/02/un-shifting-climate-focus?utm_source=2011_02_08&utm_medium=eNL&utm_campaign=EB_DAILY&utm_term=Original-Member
China will be Source of Majority of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Coal in 2035
The USA's Energy Information Administration (EIA) is forecasting over half of all greenhouse gas emissions from coal will emanate from China by 2035. China has been experiencing about 10% annual growth for many years, and even with that rate of growth projected to slow down significantly, China's demand for coal will continue to increase steadily (some say at a rate of one new large coal power plant per week). Meanwhile, the economies of industrialized countries' have been experiencing anemic or decreasing economic activity, decreasing their share of coal demand. 2.6.11 http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2011/02/04/04climatewire-chinas-booming-economy-may-produce-the-major-52705.html?ref=energy-environment
Warmer Temperatures Make People More Likely to Believe in "Global Warming"...and Vice Versa
In an article printed in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers explain this (maybe not very surprising) outcome.
2.2.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-02-people-global.html
New Technology is Needed to Verify Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions
Current U.N. rules require countries to submit national emissions
inventories, but the data are self-reported, not required annually from
all countries, and there is not always independent information to
verify it.
A highly-regarded group of independent of scientists known by the acronym JASON, has issued a report that explores the feasibility of using ground monitoring stations,
aircraft and satellites to measure CO2, as well as methods to estimate
emissions by monitoring a country's energy infrastructure. JASON is also recommending the federal government develop a new carbon-tracking
satellite to fly in geosynchronous orbit, and has issued a challenge to
develop a sensor capable of measuring CO2 to 1-part-per-million
accuracy at a cost of $500 or less.
1.29.11 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=jason-greenhouse-gas-monitoring
Global Warming in the Arctic Causing North Atlantic Water to Warm Up
Enlarge
Photo of the German research vessel Maria S. Merian moving through sea ice in Fram Strait northwest of Svalbard. The research team discovered the water there was the warmest in at least 2,000 years, which has implications for a warming and melting Arctic. Credit: Credit: Nicolas van Nieuwenhove (IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel)
The temperatures of North Atlantic Ocean water flowing north into the Arctic Ocean adjacent to Greenland -- the warmest water in at least 2,000 years -- are likely related to the amplification of global warming in the Arctic, says a new international study involving the University of Colorado Boulder. 1.28.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-01-north-atlantic-tied-arctic.html
Obama: 80% Clean Energy by 2035
President Obama, in his State of the Union Address, set a goal for the USA to achieve 80% of all energy needs in 2035 with clean energy sources. Obama also said he would ask Congress “to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies.”
1.26.11
Many Species will not Survive the Higher Temperatures
Over the next 100 years, many scientists predict, 20-30% of species could be lost if the temperature rises 3.6 degrees to
5.4 degrees Fahrenheit. If the most extreme warming predictions are
realized, the loss could be over 50 percent, according to the United Nations climate change panel. Scientists say that tens of thousands of smaller species that live in
the tropics or on or near mountaintops are
vulnerable. These species, in habitats from the high plateaus of Africa
to the jungles of Australia to the Sierra Nevada in the United States,
are already experiencing climate pressures, and will be the bulk of the
animals that disappear. 1.24.11
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/22/science/earth/22kenya.html?_r=1&ref=science
Greenland Ice Sheet Melting at Fastest Rate Ever
This figure shows the standardized melting index anomaly for the period 1979 - 2010.
New research shows that 2010 set new records for the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, expected to be a major contributor to projected sea level rises in coming decades. 1.22.11 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-01-greenland-ice-sheet-video.html
Climate Change Impacts of High Carbon Dioxide Could Exceed Expectations
A study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research reveals that, if carbon dioxide emissions continue to increase at the current rate through the end of the century, atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases could reach levels that existed 30-100 million years ago, when global temperatures averaged about 29 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels. 1.19.11 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110113141607.htm
Shrinking Ice and Snow in Northern Hemisphere Accelerates Climate Change
THAW OF EARTH'S ICY SUNSHADE MAY STOKE WARMING The snow-covered landscape is seen in an aerial photo near the town of Uummannaq in western Greenland March 17, 2010. REUTERS/Svebor Kranjc
The melting of ice and snow results in less reflection of sunlight back into the atmosphere, further accelerating the rate of warming and climate change. A study from the University of Michigan has estimated that the reduced ice and snow cover results in ground and water (darker than the ice and snow) absorbing even more heat. The ice and snow in the Northern Hemisphere now reflect on average 3.3 watts per square meter back to the atmosphere, which is .45 watt per square meter lower than in the late 1970s. 1.17.11 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=thaw-of-earths-icy-sunshade-may-sto
Carbon Dioxide Emissions Expected to Fall Slightly in 2011, Increase in 2012
Long Term Climate Change Impacts Through 2100, and Beyond
Increasing temperatures from Climate Change could totally let away about 75% of Europe's alpine glaciers by 2100. Mountain glaciers and icecaps could shrink between 15-27% in volume by 2100 as well, with some regions impacted much more due to the altitude of their glaciers, nature of their terrain, and susceptibility to localized warming. Melted water could drive up sea levels an average of 5 inches by 2100, but this excludes the additional sea level rise due to the expansion of the oceans with increasing temperatures. Sea levels could increase by about 13 feet by 3000 as a result of melting the West Antarctic icesheet.
1.10.11 For more on the scientific studies making these projections, see:
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-01-devastate-glaciers-antarctic-icesheet-.html
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-01-climate-year-case-scenarios.html
Republicans Seeking to Accelerate Climate Change and Condemn the USA to Inferior Status in the World's Clean Economy
As has been their strategy for years, Republicans continue to ignore the overwhelming evidence of the anthropogenic causes for climate change. While China and other countries steal the leadership of the new clean economy, the USA falls further into the gutter as a backwater for clean technologies and the mitigation of climate change. Most recently, Republicans have introduced three bills to preclude the EPA from mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, they have the audacity to boycott even a debate on a Senate Panel Committee addressing climate change. 1.8.11
Atmospheric Pressure Can Cause Temporary Cold Spells During Long-Term Global Warming
As increasing temperatures have melted polar ice, "...ice-less ocean is darker and, thus, absorbs more solar heat, which in turn spews warmer air than average back into the Arctic atmosphere.
That unusually warm air can contribute to a "bulge" effect to the atmospheric pressure controlling how cold air flows, according to NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. Rather than moving circularly in the Arctic from west to east as typical, the bulge may prompt air to move in a U-shaped pattern down to the southern United States." 1.6.11 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=bulge-in-atmospheric-pressure
How Will Climate Change Impact Wind Power?
("According to various scientists, the major risks for wind power fall
into two basic categories - changes in the wind resource distribution
and risks to infrastructure. All forms of renewable energy are somewhat
sensitive to climate variation. While not as vulnerable to climate change as hydropower or biomass, wind resources will likely face some shifts in location, intensity, interval and duration.
However, those shifts are difficult to predict. While climate
models do include air-circulation patterns, the models’ outputs focus
primarily on projected changes in temperature and precipitation, not
wind flows.")
1.5.11
http://nawindpower.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.7130
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects that CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, which increased by 3.8% in 2010, will decline by 0.6% in 2011. EIA projects that emissions will increase by 2.4% in 2012
as consumption grows for all fossil fuels. But emissions in 2012 are
projected to remain below levels seen every year from 2000 to 2008. 
