Global Warming = Climate Crisis III (News Roundup)
Submitted by Real Science on May 12, 2006 - 11:01am.
Real Science
Global Warming = Climate Crisis (News Roundup I)
This week, while we science geeks take a little more time to work on the next entry (and rest our brain cells a bit), we’re posting a “news roundup” of some of the articles we’ve been reading. We hope that in reading one or more of these,some of you might be encouraged to post some articles that you’ve found too. Below, you’ll find links to the featured articles and a bit of description below each of the links. (We owe a big thanks to the hard-working staff at energybulletin.net from whose website we found several of the articles below.) This news roundup focuses (as our team currently does) on global warming/climate crisis:
Some of the “wake up” calls about what’s currently happening to our climate:
Scientist Jerry Mahlman: Straight Talk On Climate Change
by Jorge Salazar, Earth and Sky
Jerry Mahlman, currently a senior researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, discusses the very significant shift in thinking still needed by individuals and governments as we turn our sites to reducing carbon emissions; a sobering interview, to say the least.
Can We Still Avoid Dangerous Human-Made Climate Change?
James E. Hansen
Dr. James Hansen is NASA's top climatologist perhaps around the world at this time. He will NOT be silenced by this administration anymore. Columbia University provides this pdf downloadable file from a presentation that he gave at The New School, NYC, on "Politics and Science". Knightrider attended this special forum, hosted by former Senator Bob Kerrey, a few months ago and posted it on his blog.
Like Jerry Mahlman, and so many others, Hansen sees climate change, as a consequence of human-caused fossil fuel emissions and the net effect of our present energy infrastructure. He advocates public outreach in order that the political will be changed and action come to the fore. Together, they warn of a very small window of opportunity to incorporate revolutionary change towards how we produce energy and reduce greenhouse gases. This is a very historic document worth saving, too. :)
Climate change drives disease to new territory
by Doug Struck, Washington Post
More and more evidence is emerging showing that climate change and global warming will result in expanding the host territorial range of mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus or the plasmodium parasite that causes malaria, significantly affecting human health,as well as wildlife in regions of North America that have never experienced these deadly deseases.
by Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor, The Independent (subscription needed)
China’s emergence as an industrial nation is coming even as impacts of global warming are upon them. And this doesn’t seem to be anything China (or India) is ignoring (this study was done by The Chinese Academy of Sciences). I wonder what impact this will have on how Indo-Asian nations forge ahead. This certainly seems like a prime time for nations of the world to be working together on these enormous challenges that face us all…
From the “Executive Summary” of their report, Energy Bulletin outlines what would be a “perfect storm” emerging among the problems of tight energy supply, security, and global warming (all of which Gen. Clark certainly appreciates). This report reviews the relationship between global warming relative to our dependency on energy. The two are so deeply intertwined that in order to tackle the energy problem of tight supply, we must keep well in mind the other problem bearing down us: that of how our greenhouse gas emissions are affecting our climate:
• "Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion are increasingly at the center of decisions about how the global energy system evolves – one that carries on in the “business as usual” overwhelming dependence on fossil fuels or one that introduces technologies and policies that greatly improve efficiency, dramatically expand use of less carbon-intensive or “carbon free” energy, and implement large scale carbon dioxide capture and sequestration."
RealClimate reviews Al Gore’s upcoming film, An Incovenient Truth
“I'll admit that I have been a bit of a skeptic about our ability to take any substantive action, especially here in the U.S…Gore's aim is to change that viewpoint, and the colleagues that I saw the movie with all seem to agree that he is successful.”
The movie will open nationwide on May 24, I believe. I’m looking forward to seeing the movie and Gore’s presentation in person when he comes to Houston in early June." - LindaG
Data is getting better, shedding further light on climate change, and giving less for the skeptics to call upon.
Oops! Sorry About That: Climate Change is Real, After All
by Alex Steffan
Another example of one of the legs for skeptics to stand on giving way. Some of the things beginning to happen - how some people are beginning to help us mitigate our impact on global warming:
Taking Action against global warming:
What cost climate change?
: State team will try to assess pros and cons
by Lisa Stiffler, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Thankfully, many localities and regions within this country are not waiting for the Bush administration and the current congress to lead the way. This is one example of local/regional officials and others coming together over this issue. See other examples below.
Northeastern Governors Show Bold Leadership on Global Warming:
Innovative Plan to Limit Carbon Dioxide Emission Good for Businesses and Consumers
By Union of Concerned Scientists
“The Union of Concerned Scientists today praised the governors of seven Northeastern states for their leadership in reducing global warming pollution. Earlier in the day, the governors announced a landmark agreement creating a program to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a chief heat-trapping gas, from the region's power plants. This effort, known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative(RGGI), is the first multi-state effort to combat global warming”.
Seattle Cools Down Global Warming
by Carl Pope and Michael McGinn, seattlepi.com
Here’s an article that describes more about the origin of the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement – how Seattle is helping to lead the way (so there’s more than great grunge bands and innovative software coming from the great Northwest, huh?) From the article:
“Don't be dismayed by the bad news that leaders at the federal level refuse to even acknowledge the growing threat of global warming. The good news is that we have the tools today to reduce harmful emissions, and cities of all sizes are stepping up to pursue innovative energy solutions. Cool cities such as Seattle literally are re-energizing our nation, proving that we can solve global warming one city at a time.”
Sustainable World Coming:
Independent scientists join forces with global civil society
by Rhea Gala
“Independent scientists from four continents joined national politicians and many interested individuals and groups to discuss strategies for changing agriculture worldwide to a diversity of locally-based sustainable systems that can provide food sovereignty and security to all and protect the earth from the ravages of global warming.”
The 100-Mile Diet
by Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon
One helpful part of the potential solution comes from a couple living in Vancouver, British Columbia. (The couple has developed a website to describe what they’ve experienced):
“On the first day of spring 2005, Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon made a commitment to live for a full year on food and drink drawn from within 100 miles of their home in Vancouver, British Columbia. The 100-Mile Diet was born -- and response to the local-eating experiment was overwhelming…”
Vegetables Fight Global Warming
By Larry O'Hanlon, Discovery News
YUM!! Doesn't this just make your mouth water? ;) Don't worry, it's good for you the environment -- actually both :)
Speaking of how human use of food affects global warming, this is something that certainly might not seem obvious at first, but turns out to have a dramatic impact on the climate.
Vegans may just actually claim that they release less gas! So, dive into those lima beans! ;)
Adapting zones and sectors for the city
by Bart Anderson,The Permaculture Activist
(one of the editors of energybulletin.net)
Proposed solutions are often so big and general that we feel helpless. What can one person do to follow the Kyoto protocol?... To this impasse, permaculture brings a unique emphasis on what can be done by individuals and small groups, fostering a sense of empowerment…
Turning Dirty Coal into Clean Energy
By Elizabeth Shogren, NPR
We’re hearing a lot about coal these days, but unless carbon emissions are taken seriously in terms of global warming, coal may be plentiful, but it will not serve us well.This article and others it points to describe how entrepreneurs are beginning to look into this problem.
When Will Companies Start Accounting for Environmental Costs?
By Al Gore and David Blood, The Wallstreet Journal (by way of truthout.org)
Hints at changes beginning to emerge within today’s companies… as “capitalism is at a crossroads.”
Our team has found these articles very informative, and we hope the rest of the Clark Community finds them valuable as well. Furthermore, by all means, please feel free to share what you have found regarding the issue of global warming/climate change and to discuss any of these with the rest of us… Also, feel free to ask whatever questions may come to mind.
Next week, our team will post a new entry in our continuing series about global warming/climate crisis, and we hope you’ll join us again then too…
Click Here to Read Part I
Click Here to Read Part II
From the “Real Science” team: LindaG, Archimedes, Judy from NJ, Knightrider
So much for supply and demand. How about we just continue not buying the stuff for the rest of the future?
Thanks for the coffee, donuts; and of course this great material, LindaG ;)
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"Debate, Dialogue, Discussion, Disagreement - that's not wrong -that's not unpatriotic, that's one of the highest forms of patriotism and love of country, and we need to say it!" - Gen. Wesley Clark (Ret.)
via energybulletin.net:
Reason and light by Caspar Henderson
John Houghton tells Caspar Henderson how he convinced the leaders of 30-40 million evangelical Christians in the US to get serious about climate change.
a few excerpts:
How do you define yourself and the frame for your actions?
The Christian faith means a lot to me. I believe in God as creator and sustainer of the universe. He has given us the ability to understand creation and to find out about it in order to be creative within it. The first instruction in the Bible is that we are put on the earth to look after it, not to do what we please, but to take care of it on behalf of God. As scientists we work with an open mind to see how [creation] works and describe what might be occurring. We do that without assuming any prior ideology or belief other than absolute honesty and integrity.
As Christians we are told to love our neighbour, whether he's in the UK or the Congo. This is not only a Christian idea, of course.
All of us in the rich world have benefited enormously from fossil-fuel burning on the cheap. This is having a terrible impact on the planet, which will fall disproportionately on the poorest nations and, within those nations, on the very poorest people. There is an enormous moral imperative to try and right that wrong as far as we can. This should be obvious not just to people of faith, but to anyone with a social conscience.
So why isn't this obvious, especially in the US?
A misinformation campaign about climate change began in earnest in 1992, directly after the earth summit in Rio, when the first President Bush signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Senate ratified it unanimously. Energy companies - Exxon and the coal industry - set up a very well-financed and professional organisation, staffed with top lawyers, to spread misinformation about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
As chairman of the Scientific Assessment Working Group of the IPCC, I recognised what they were doing of course. After all, they came to our meetings, which were very open to everybody, and commented on all our drafts. Some of it was not very sensible, but we took it all seriously. The IPCC was made better by them. Their challenges made our material far more clear than it would have been otherwise, and eliminated any inconsistencies.
Nevertheless, their influence on the Senate and the public in general remains very strong. The average American still doubts the science of climate change, despite the IPCC and the unambiguous statement by the national science academies of the G8 nations (including the US), plus those of China, India and Brazil.
By and large the evangelical community is strongly Republican and very supportive of George W Bush. If he says the science is not firm, they believe him. Further, there is widespread suspicion of science, fostered by the feeling that science goes against the Bible. This is very unfortunate; it takes a very small view of God, and a very inadequate view of science.
the 1st 2 articles by Real Science?
Why?
Click on "Real Science" and you can get to the whole of our blog... (the same way you would get to any member's blog as a whole).
Nah, not me. There's a misinformation campaign going on, and I need Fitz to find out what's this about 
on behalf of the Clark community of course, but really for a far wider circle than that. Your original writing on this subject has been superb, and this digest of important reading is excellent! A deep thank you for all of your efforts.
Thanks, Tom...
I still remember that great thread posted by Judy on nuclear energy and your part in that, along with others'.
That thread remains an inspiration to me regarding potential discussions w/i the Clark community and beyond about important topics that face us these days...
This is such a rich compendium of resources.
Kind of the beginning of a CCN Library. . .
carol4clark
General Wes Clark * * * * 4 Stars Over Texas
Simply awesome! Thank you all for this really important work.
...and now thanks to 'angel', we can bookmark this valuable resource!
How great must our failure be until we turn in panic and disgrace to a Man of Honor? - Quigley
Kudos to the Science team!
This is not a time for a candidate who will offend no one; it is time for a candidate who takes clear stands and kicks ass.....Molly Ivins
What can I say?
Another fantastic entry ....
And I have learned so much from you all in the past few weeks alone. By the end of the year I'll be geekified!
Thanks so much for all your hard work!
> By the end of the year I'll be geekified!
Now that's high praise indeed.
BTW, credit for this entry goes mainly to LindaG
Some geekificatioin can take years and cost thousands. It can involve pain and sacrifice beyond belief...
But-- I may be instantly geekified by just reading the Science Team's posts!
Yes. Praise to the Science Team!
And to LindaG for this entry's main thrust. : )
Just so you know, it's clickable to take you to more photos from the presentation he gave that I believe Knight attended?
Indeed I did,..and actually, I think that it was CarolNYC(??) who mentioned the special seminar, here on CCN back in February.
After the panel dicussion, Hansen sat on his knees on the stage to be at eye level with the reporters and students (The New School). From the pic, you can see how it reflects his very humble demeanor (which reminded me of Jimmy Carter). The way that he answered and responded to everyones questions was certainly not someone whom you would expect to take on this corrupt administration and the Industry-led GOP establishment.
Of course, he has international reknown, and acknowledged that helped. But that day that he shared "breaking news" and told the audience that he was aware of the administration's policy to listen in on his colleagues at the NOAA, whenever the press asked questions about global warming.
Sadly, the GOPs and this Administration want to silence everybody, suppress free speech,....you and every American who dissent against their political agenda.
They were listening in on the UN before the Iraq vote. Poor guys-- it's the only way they can get anyone to cooperate is by listening, threatening and smearing. I still always think of these guys like the kid nobody wanted to play with in school. Er, that would be because he punched everybody in the stomach perhaps...
Hansen looks nice. I get that Carter thing in his face.
Plebe Geek, 1rst Class ms in la-
These two (Jerry Mahlman from the first sobering article and James Hansen from the second sobering one), along w/ Keeling (of the "Keeling Curve" - that shows the earth "breathing," who died last year, I believe) are now three of my heroes; kind of the "elder statesmen" of the science of global warming/climate change, who have been patiently perservering in trying to pass along this information over the years. Hopefully, those of us coming around to really listen (I'm a late comer, myself) will be reaching critical mass fairly soon.
I know us Clarkies will be listening, ;-)...
and a number of folks from other great institutions are stepping forward and weighing in, saying enough is enough - these are things that must be talked about and worked through... and on all levels (by individuals, localities, nations, and internationally).
If we, as fellow human beings, can pull together to work through these massive looming twin challenges of climate change/energy, challenges that face us all... well, if we can find a way to do that... then maybe we will have finally come of age...
As I keep seeing over and over again in my research these days... "We are living in interesting times..."
Indeed...
They don't want to pay for gasoline anymore. They want to buy ethanol to run their vehicles. Need E85 fueling stations now!
Governors should be finding money to help vendors do what they need to do to provide these fueling stations. People are wanting to buy it and it is available. There are kinks in supply, but it's going to be summer so let's get this show on the road!!
Ask Senators to co-sponsor the Wyden bill www.savetheinternet.org
"I saw someone once pull themselves up by their bootstraps - - it was at the Cirque Du Soleil " - Stephen Colbert
SOMETHING INNOVATIVE
http://www.greenroofs.com/projects/
http://www.greenroofs.com/aboutus.htm#About%20the%20Greenroofs.com%20Principals
Cultivate Greenroofs - Sky Gardens
Result
Savings on energy costs
50% cooling
25% heating
Ask Senators to co-sponsor the Wyden bill www.savetheinternet.org
"I saw someone once pull themselves up by their bootstraps - - it was at the Cirque Du Soleil " - Stephen Colbert
really like this... emailed it out to friends and family already :-)
from the looks of this, just now making it worth getting in the game. Poor Alberta, living around that area sounds like it will be nasty.
Compressed air technologies are developing strongly outside the USA, particularly in Europe and Australia. A gallon of gas here in the UK is already $8, so we have more incentive than Americans to seek alternatives. Also, parking space is at a premium in our crowded European cities. The cars are cheaper as they have fewer parts (likely price $8,000). And we like style too! The MiniCAT wins on all counts.
Best of all, the fuel is freely available anywhere you can plug in an airpump (4 hours and $3) or even fill 'er up using the compressed air hose at your local garage (3 minutes).
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/5/14/8553/81120
This is not a time for a candidate who will offend no one; it is time for a candidate who takes clear stands and kicks ass.....Molly Ivins
...resolving formating conflicts with [[[[The BLOG]]]].
A Computer Science Geek issue, ... another department. Guess who?
Hope that you enjoy this week's resources. :)