tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29195093627405317112024-02-06T22:10:39.566-08:00Global Warming CenterUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1285125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-75521949161498842612012-09-19T09:34:00.000-07:002012-09-19T09:35:02.772-07:00Aerosmith: Second Leg of 'The Global Warming Tour' - JamBase<div id=""><td> <p><strong>TICKETS GO ON SALE SEPTEMBER 24</strong></p> <table align="right" hspace="5" vspace="5"><tr><td><img width="250" height="167" src="http://images.jambase.com/bands/aerosmith/default/artist250.jpg"/><p><em>Aerosmith</em></p> </td> </tr></table> Legendary rockers <strong><a href="http://www.jambase.com/Artists/Artist.aspx?artistID=16692">Aerosmith</a></strong>, <strong>Steven Tyler</strong> (vocals), <strong>Joe Perry</strong> (guitar), <strong>Brad Whitford</strong> (guitar), <strong>Tom Hamilton</strong> (bass) and <strong>Joey Kramer</strong> (drums) return for the second leg of The Global Warming Tour launching November 8. The month-long, 14-city arena tour will take the band to New York City (Madison Square Garden), Los Angeles (Staples Center) and Las Vegas (MGM Grand Garden Arena), among other cities. Theyâre fully armed with career-defining hits and blazing songs from their new album <em>Music From Another Dimension</em>, out November 6 on Columbia Records. <p>The Live Nation-produced tour will include support act <a href="http://www.jambase.com/Artists/Artist.aspx?artistID=37258">Cheap Trick</a>. Tickets go on sale Monday, September 24 at 10:00 AM (local time) at <a target="blank" href="http://www.livenation.com">www.LiveNation.com</a>. American Express card members can get advance tickets beginning this Wednesday, September 19 at 10:00 AM (local time). For VIP ticket packages, including opportunities to meet band members, backstage tours, great tickets and more, visit <a target="blank" href="http://www.aeroforceone.com">www.Aeroforceone.com</a>. In addition, a Facebook pre-sale begins Friday, September 21; fans who visit <a target="blank" href="http://www.livenation.com/aerosmith">www.livenation.com/aerosmith</a> and RSVP to the presale will have early access to tickets.</p> <p><strong>Aerosmith Tour Dates</strong></p> <ul><li>Thu 11/8 Oklahoma City, OK Chesapeake Energy Arena</li> <li>Sun 11/11 Wichita, KS INTRUST Bank Arena</li> <li>Wed 11/14 Kansas City, MO Spring Center</li> <li>Fri 11/16 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center</li> <li>Tue 11/20 New York, NY Madison Square Garden</li> <li>Fri 11/23 Atlantic City, NJ Revel Resorts â" Ovation Hall</li> <li>Sun 11/25 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena</li> <li>Tue 11/27 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre</li> <li>Sat 12/1 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena</li> <li>Mon 12/3 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center</li> <li>Thu 12/6 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena</li> <li>Sun 12/9 Fort Lauderdale, FL BB&T Center</li> <li>Tue 12/11 Tampa, FL Tampa Bay Times Forum</li> <li>Thu 12/13 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena</li> </ul> <p><a href="http://www.jambase.com/Artists/16692/Aerosmith/Shows">Aerosmith Tour Dates</a> :: <a href="http://www.jambase.com/Artists/16692/Aerosmith/Articles">Aerosmith News</a> </p> </td> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-31572418253695169022012-09-19T07:34:00.001-07:002012-09-19T07:34:03.436-07:00PBS Attacked for Allowing Global Warming Skeptic to Speak - NewsBusters (blog)<div id="content-inner"> <div class="user-picture"><a href="http://newsbusters.org/bios/noel-sheppard.html" title="View user profile."><img src="http://newsbusters.org/sites/default/files/user_pics/picture-26.jpg" alt="Noel Sheppard's picture" title="Noel Sheppard's picture"/></a></div> <p>If you had any doubts about the level of zealotry involved in today's global warming movement, they likely will be erased by the goings on at PBS the past few days.</p> <p>Since allowing well-known climate realist <a href="http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/17/my-interview-with-pbs-newshour-now-online/">Anthony Watts on <em>NewsHour</em></a> Monday to voice his views on this controversial issue, PBS has been under attack for doing so (videos follows with transcripts and commentary).</p> <p>The ten-minute segment began:</p> <p class="rteindent1">JUDY WOODRUFF: Now to the debate over the magnitude of climate change, its impact, and the human role in it.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Typically, the battle plays out among prominent climate scientists and a vocal group of skeptics. But one skeptic's recent public conversion is adding new fuel to that fire and sparking criticism from both sides.</p> <p class="rteindent1">"NewsHour" correspondent Spencer Michels has the story.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: Physicist Richard Muller and his daughter, Elizabeth, a mathematician, are not exactly household names.</p> <p class="rteindent1">But in the world of climate change, where most scientists and a much smaller group of skeptics remain bitterly divided over their assessment of what's happening to the planet, Richard Muller has long been on the side of those who deny climate change is happening.</p> <p class="rteindent1">So, when he published an op-ed in The New York Times last month saying he was no longer a skeptic, it captured national attention and sparked angry reaction on both sides of the climate fence.</p> <p>Here were Watts's contributions:</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS, HOST: Yet, many of those believers were annoyed that Muller's conversion got more attention in the media than their reports have gotten in the past. They dismissed him as being publicity-hungry and adding nothing new to the debate.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Climate modeler and British Green Party member William Connolley called Muller's study rubbish, saying they hadn't added any knowledge to what had been done before. Skeptics were even more dismissive of Muller`s work.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Judith Curry, professor of earth sciences at Georgia Tech, who suspects natural variability accounts for climate change, not human- produced CO2, said Muller`s analysis is "way oversimplistic and not at all convincing."</p> <p class="rteindent1"><img alt="" src="http://newsbusters.org/sites/default/files/2012/Anthony%20Watts%20918.png" class="c9"/>Even former ally Anthony Watts thinks Muller got it wrong. Watts works five hours from Muller in Chico, California. There, he runs a company supplying data and display systems to television weather forecasters and private individuals. He was trained as a broadcast meteorologist, though he has authored some papers with academic researchers.</p> <p class="rteindent1">His blog, <a href="http://wattsupwiththat.com/">Watts Up With That?,</a> bills itself as the world's most viewed sight on global warming and climate change. Watts believes all climate warming data, Muller's included, is off because weather stations where temperatures are recorded have soaked up heat from their surroundings.</p> <p class="rteindent1">ANTHONY WATTS, Meteorologist: A brick building that's been out in the summer sun, you stand next to it at night, you can feel the heat radiating off of it. That's a heat sink effect. We have got more freeways, you know, more airports. We have got more buildings.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Yes, we have some global warming. It's clear the temperature has gone up in the last 100 years, but what percentage of that is from carbon dioxide and what percentage of that is from the changes in the local and measurement environment?</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: He also thinks believers have a hidden agenda.</p> <p class="rteindent1">ANTHONY WATTS: Global warming has become essentially a business in its own right. There are whole divisions of universities that are set up to study this factor. And so there's lots of money involved. And so I think that there`s a tendency to want to keep that going and not really look at what might be different.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: It's a charge climate change believers say is totally false. But many do agree with Watts' criticism of Muller for presenting his report in a newspaper, rather than in a scientific journal.</p> <p class="rteindent1">ANTHONY WATTS: He has not succeeded in terms of how science views, you know, a successful inquiry. His papers have not passed peer review. [...]</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: And polls conducted by Gallup and other news organizations suggest the issue ranks lower on voters' top priorities. Watts says polls can be manipulated by how the question is asked. He's worried that those who believe in manmade climate change will have their way in Washington.</p> <p class="rteindent1">ANTHONY WATTS: Some of the issues have been oversold. And they have been oversold because they allow for more regulation to take place. And so the people that like more regulation use global warming as a tool as a means to an end. And so, as a result, we might be getting more regulation and more taxes that really aren't rooted in science, but more in politics.</p> <p>Pretty innocuous stuff. In fact, the entire segment was surprisingly balanced offering views from both sides of this contentious debate.</p> <p>And therein lies the problem for climate alarmists, especially as a blog was <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/09/why-the-global-warming-crowd-oversells-its-message.html">posted</a> by Michels with video including a more extensive discussion with Watts:</p> <p>The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sent a response to PBS:</p> <p class="rteindent1">The American public can be confident in NOAAâs long-standing surface temperature record, one of the worldâs most comprehensive, accurate and trusted data sets. This record has been constructed through many innovative methods to test the robustness of the climate data record developed and made openly available for all to inspect by NOAAâs National Climatic Data Center. Numerous peer-reviewed studies conclusively show that U.S. temperatures have risen and continue to rise with recent widespread record-setting temperatures in the USA. There is no doubt that NOAAâs temperature record is scientifically sound and reliable. To ensure accuracy of the record, scientists use peer-reviewed methods to account for all potential inaccuracies in the temperature readings such as changes in station location, instrumentation and replacement and urban heat effects.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Specifically, NOAAâs National Climatic Data Center published a scientific peer-reviewed paper (Menne, et al., 2010) that compared trends from stations that were considered well-sited and stations that received lower ratings on siting conditions, which found that the U.S. average temperature trend is not inflated by poor station siting. A subsequent research study led by university and private sector scientists reached the same conclusion (Fall et al. 2011). Additionally, the Department of Commerce Inspector General reviewed the US Historical Climatology Network dataset in July 2010 and concluded that âthe respondents to our inquiries about the use of and adjustments to the USHCN data generally expressed confidence in the [USHCN] Version 2 dataset.â</p> <p class="rteindent1">Looking ahead to the next century, NOAA has implemented the U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) â" with 114 stations across the contiguous United States located in pristine, well-sited areas. Comparing several years of trends from the well-sited USCRN stations with USHCN shows that the temperature trends closely correspond â" again validating the accuracy of the USHCN U.S. temperature record.</p> <div id="interad" class="c10"> <p>Story Continues Below Ad â"</p> </div> <p>And that brought out the zealots. Climate Progress's Joe Romm was <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/17/863551/false-balance-lives-in-worst-climate-story-of-the-year-pbs-channels-fox-news/">global warming alarmist on the spot</a>:</p> <p class="rteindent1">If you happened to be watching the PBS News Hour tonight, you probably thought the show had been hijacked by Fox News. At first, their climate segment seemed to be about Koch-funded former âskepticâ Richard Muller and his conversion to scientific reality.</p> <p class="rteindent1">But then PBS decided that the way to âbalanceâ a former skeptic who merely confirmed what climate scientists have demonstrated repeatedly for decades was by quoting nonsense from Sen. James Inhofe and then giving an extended interview to former TV weatherman and current A-list disinformer Anthony Watts.</p> <p>The New York Times' Andrew Revkin <a href="http://revkin.tumblr.com/post/31752773475/surreally-softball-newshour-q-a-with">observed</a> (HT <a href="http://tomnelson.blogspot.com/2012/09/remember-all-those-times-when-warmist.html">Tom Nelson</a>):</p> <p class="rteindent1">Surreally softball @newshour Q&A with @Wattsupwiththatâs A. Watts. For starters, might have been worth asking about research showing Watts stock-in-trade surface station issues donât significantly affect global warming finding.</p> <p>The propagandists at DeSmogBlog <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/09/17/pbs-falls-fair-and-balanced-trap-airs-one-sided-interview-climate-skeptic?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter">followed</a> (HT <a href="http://www.climatedepot.com/">Climate Depot</a>):</p> <p class="rteindent1">PBS â" the network that conservatives have regularly attacked for âliberal biasâ for more than 40 years â" finally put that myth to rest tonight by airing a one-sided interview with climate change denier Anthony Watts. The former weatherman-turned business owner and blogger Watts, was given close to ten minutes of uncontested airtime to spout his disinformation about climate change, without any retorts from actual climate scientists.</p> <p>The global warming advocacy group Forecast the Facts <a href="http://act.engagementlab.org/sign/climate_pbs_watts/?source=climate_website">published</a> a petition "calling on the PBS ombudsman to immediately investigate how this segment came to be aired and recommend corrective action to make sure a journalistic abomination like this never happens again":</p> <p class="rteindent1">Immediately investigate the NewsHour segment featuring climate change denier and conspiracy theorist Anthony Watts for violations of PBS standards on accuracy, integrity, and transparency, and recommend corrective action to ensure that such reporting never again occurs on PBS.</p> <p>The George Soros-funded shills at Media Matters predictably <a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2012/09/18/pbs-newshour-propagates-confusion-on-climate-ch/189966">joined</a> in:</p> <p class="rteindent1">Last night, PBS NewsHour turned to meteorologist and climate change contrarian Anthony Watts to "counterbalance" the mainstream scientific opinions presented by the program. This false balance is a disservice to PBS' viewers, made worse by the program's failure to explain Watts' connection to the Heartland Institute, an organization that receives funding from some corporations with a financial interest in confusing the public on climate science.</p> <p class="rteindent1">While PBS mentioned that 97 percent of climate scientists agree that manmade global warming is occurring, it did not reflect this consensus by giving significant airtime to Watts' contrarian views. The segment presented Watts as the counterbalance to scientists that believe in manmade global warming -- every time a statement that reflects the scientific consensus was aired, in came Watts to cast doubt in viewers' minds. As 66 percent of Americans incorrectly think that "there is a lot of disagreement among scientists about whether or not global warming is happening," news organizations need to be careful not to contribute to this confusion.</p> <div id="interad" class="c10"> <p>Story Continues Below Ad â"</p> </div> <p>The far-left Huffington Post also <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/18/pbs-newshour-climate-change_n_1894042.html">weighed in</a>:</p> <p class="rteindent1">A recent report from "PBS NewsHour" on climate change has drawn sharp criticism from climate groups that feel it provides a false sense of debate around the facts of climate change.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Despite PBS' acknowledgement that climate scientists almost unanimously concur that manmade climate change is occurring, critics charge that featuring Watts "propagates confusion" and obscures the distinction between a scientific consensus and a very small, but vocal, minority who has a vested interest in this confusion.</p> <p>All this pressure led Michels to publish what almost reads like an <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/09/climate-change-from-different-perspectives.html">apology</a> Tuesday:</p> <p class="rteindent1">Anything dealing with climate change is bound to provoke an argument. And our story on Berkeley physicist Richard Muller's recent conversion to a believer in man-made global warming, which he made in an op-ed in the New York Times, certainly stirred the pot. In addition to preparing a video story on the PBS NewsHour, I had written a blog that included extended remarks from Anthony Watts, a well-known blogger and prominent voice in the skeptic community. Watts -- a former California TV weatherman who runs a company that provides weather data to TV stations -- says he doesn't completely discount global warming, but he says that much of the data recording temperatures are flawed because the stations are in areas like urban settings which retain heat and therefore read too high.</p> <p class="rteindent1">The idea of the online post -- in part -- was to let the audience hear more about the views of a prominent voice from the community of skeptics. In the past, we have on occasion provided a more expansive view from the overwhelming majority of climate scientists who say climate change is real, an ever-growing problem and one that is getting significantly worse because of our own contribution to greenhouse gases. (In fact, my colleague Hari Sreenivasan posted links to some of that prior reporting earlier today.) We thought the online post with Watts would provide a chance for viewers to hear more about the skeptical perspective than we have done recently.</p> <p class="rteindent1">That said -- and as many of you wrote us to complain -- we should have not ONLY posted additional comments from Watts' perspective.</p> <div id="interad" class="c10"> <p>Story Continues Below Ad â"</p> </div> <p>So Michels decided to publish numerous quotes and videos from global warming alarmists to counter Watts's position including NOAA's statement.</p> <p>What Michels and PBS seem to misunderstand is that the public practically only gets such views from America's media. It was therefore refreshing to see a segment that actually had some balance.</p> <p>Sadly, the global warming skeptics don't want that, and PBS caved to the pressure.</p> <p>Regardless, kudos go out to Watts for continuing to fight the good fight. His website <a href="http://wattsupwiththat.com/">Watts Up With That?</a> is a daily must-read for those looking to keep truly informed on this subject.</p> <p>Here's the full transcript of this segment:</p> <p class="rteindent1">JUDY WOODRUFF: Now to the debate over the magnitude of climate change, its impact, and the human role in it.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Typically, the battle plays out among prominent climate scientists and a vocal group of skeptics. But one skeptic`s recent public conversion is adding new fuel to that fire and sparking criticism from both sides.</p> <p class="rteindent1">"NewsHour" correspondent Spencer Michels has the story.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: Physicist Richard Muller and his daughter, Elizabeth, a mathematician, are not exactly household names.</p> <p class="rteindent1">But in the world of climate change, where most scientists and a much smaller group of skeptics remain bitterly divided over their assessment of what`s happening to the planet, Richard Muller has long been on the side of those who deny climate change is happening.</p> <p class="rteindent1">So, when he published an op-ed in The New York Times last month saying he was no longer a skeptic, it captured national attention and sparked angry reaction on both sides of the climate fence. Perhaps most disturbing to some of his former allies was this conclusion:</p> <p class="rteindent1">RICHARD MULLER, University of California, Berkeley: In our world, we attribute the warming from 1753 to the present essentially exclusively to humans -- not mostly, but exclusively.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: Even those skeptics who accept that the climate is changing attribute it to natural cycles, but Muller even claimed his study was more conclusive in that regard than any that came before.</p> <p class="rteindent1">RICHARD MULLER: We really are in some sense coming out with a stronger conclusion than the prior group had come out with.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: Working out of their house in Berkeley, where Muller is a physics professor at the University of California, the Mullers formed the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Project.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Using funds partly supplied by the Koch brothers, who have also funded skeptical organizations like the Heartland Institute, the Mullers had long analyzed temperature data others had collected. But, for years, they said they hadn`t trusted that data.</p> <p class="rteindent1">RICHARD MULLER: I think many of the people working on this had convinced themselves that global warming was real and had lost some of their objectivity.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: But in their op-ed, the Mullers said that their latest research showed that the data from other climate change scientists was by and large correct.</p> <p class="rteindent1">ELIZABETH MULLER, Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Project: We used all of the data, or essentially all of the data, five times more than any other group had done. And after having done all of that, we determined that the previous -- the previous studies on global warming had been about right. There was global warming of about one degree Celsius in the past 50 years. And that was a big surprise to us.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: The conclusion about a warming climate due to human actions matched what many other climate change believers have been saying, including William Collins, a senior scientist at Lawrence-Berkeley Laboratory. He acknowledges that natural warming and cooling periods have occurred for eons, but the warming occurring now is off rhythm.</p> <p class="rteindent1">WILLIAM COLLINS, Senior Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: What we`re seeing now is occurring much faster. Rather than happening over tens of thousands of years, we`re seeing very rapid change occurring on just the time scale of a single century.</p> <p class="rteindent1">This timeline is showing how the temperature all over the globe has changed since the beginning of the 20th century. Look at how warm California has gotten, four or five degrees hotter than our historical climate.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: And, Collins concludes, man is a big contributor.</p> <p class="rteindent1">WILLIAM COLLINS: What man has been doing is enhancing the greenhouse effect by taking carbon dioxide that was formed over the last half-a- billion years and releasing that carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas, back into the Earth`s atmosphere.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: Yet, many of those believers were annoyed that Muller`s conversion got more attention in the media than their reports have gotten in the past. They dismissed him as being publicity-hungry and adding nothing new to the debate.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Climate modeler and British Green Party member William Connolley called Muller`s study rubbish, saying they hadn`t added any knowledge to what had been done before. Skeptics were even more dismissive of Muller`s work.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Judith Curry, professor of earth sciences at Georgia Tech, who suspects natural variability accounts for climate change, not human- produced CO2, said Muller`s analysis is "way oversimplistic and not at all convincing."</p> <p class="rteindent1">Even former ally Anthony Watts thinks Muller got it wrong. Watts works five hours from Muller in Chico, California. There, he runs a company supplying data and display systems to television weather forecasters and private individuals. He was trained as a broadcast meteorologist, though he has authored some papers with academic researchers.</p> <p class="rteindent1">His blog, Watts Up With That?, bills itself as the world`s most viewed sight on global warming and climate change. Watts believes all climate warming data, Muller`s included, is off because weather stations where temperatures are recorded have soaked up heat from their surroundings.</p> <p class="rteindent1">ANTHONY WATTS, Meteorologist: A brick building that`s been out in the summer sun, you stand next to it at night, you can feel the heat radiating off of it. That`s a heat sink effect. We have got more freeways, you know, more airports. We have got more buildings.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Yes, we have some global warming. It`s clear the temperature has gone up in the last 100 years, but what percentage of that is from carbon dioxide and what percentage of that is from the changes in the local and measurement environment?</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: He also thinks believers have a hidden agenda.</p> <p class="rteindent1">ANTHONY WATTS: Global warming has become essentially a business in its own right. There are whole divisions of universities that are set up to study this factor. And so there`s lots of money involved. And so I think that there`s a tendency to want to keep that going and not really look at what might be different.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: It`s a charge climate change believers say is totally false. But many do agree with Watts` criticism of Muller for presenting his report in a newspaper, rather than in a scientific journal.</p> <p class="rteindent1">ANTHONY WATTS: He has not succeeded in terms of how science views, you know, a successful inquiry. His papers have not passed peer review.</p> <p class="rteindent1">RICHARD MULLER: In science, peer review means you give talks to the public. You send your papers to colleagues around the world. That`s what I did. Before I wrote my op-ed, we put all of our papers available on the Web.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: But the fight over climate change is anything but academic. Whether the politicians listen to the 97 percent of scientists who say that it is real or they pay attention to the vocal community of skeptics will determine to a large extent what regulations and what laws get passed.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Neither presidential candidate is talking about climate change, but, in Congress, it`s a different story; 74 percent of U.S. Senate Republicans publicly question the science of global warming, including Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, who thinks it`s a hoax.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SEN. JAMES INHOFE (R), Oklahoma: Those people who really believe that world is coming to an end because of global warming, and that`s all due to manmade anthropogenic gases, we call those people alarmists.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: Polls show more than half the Republicans in the House are global warming skeptics. Many were elected with the Tea Party wave during the 2010 election.</p> <p class="rteindent1">In 2011, a Republican-dominated House committee defeated an amendment offered by Democrats simply acknowledging warming of the Earth.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Stanford University professor of communication and political science Jon Krosnick, who has polling on climate change for 15 years, thinks the skeptics are winning in Washington.</p> <p class="rteindent1">JON KROSNICK, Stanford University: The voices of skeptics on climate change are very loud in this country and particularly effective in Washington at the moment. But they`re a very, very small group.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Less than 10 percent of Americans are confidently skeptical about climate change at the moment. And yet that group expresses its points of view so often and so vociferously that I believe they have got Washington confused at the moment.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: He says his polls, taken nationwide, show many Americans still worry about climate change.</p> <p class="rteindent1">JON KROSNICK: From the very beginning, we were surprised that large majorities, and in some cases huge majorities of Americans, expressed what you might call green opinions on the issue. They said they thought the planet had been gradually warming over the last 100 years. They thought human activity was responsible for it. And they supported a variety of government actions because they saw it as a threat.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: Krosnick says that neither storms nor the recent drought that has been affecting the Midwest affect his poll numbers, which have remained steady for more than a decade.</p> <p class="rteindent1">However, other polls showed a significant decline in the number of Americans saying there is solid evidence global warming is occurring, a drop of 20 percent between 2008 and 2010, when belief started rising again.</p> <p class="rteindent1">And polls conducted by Gallup and other news organizations suggest the issue ranks lower on voters` top priorities. Watts says polls can be manipulated by how the question is asked. He`s worried that those who believe in manmade climate change will have their way in Washington.</p> <p class="rteindent1">ANTHONY WATTS: Some of the issues have been oversold. And they have been oversold because they allow for more regulation to take place. And so the people that like more regulation use global warming as a tool as a means to an end. And so, as a result, we might be getting more regulation and more taxes that really aren`t rooted in science, but more in politics.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: But Muller and others think action is exactly what is needed.</p> <p class="rteindent1">RICHARD MULLER: I expect we will have considerable warming. And I think, depending on the growth of China, between 20 years and 50 years from now, we will be experiencing weather that`s warmer than Homo sapiens ever experienced. And I tend to think that`s going to be bad and we should do something about it and we can do something about it.</p> <p class="rteindent1">SPENCER MICHELS: Doing something about global warming raises a host of other issues, including new regulations and the costs of reducing greenhouse gases, issues that inflame an already contentious debate.</p> <p class="rteindent1">JUDY WOODRUFF: Online, Spencer talks to climate skeptic Anthony Watts about politics and global warming.</p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-29852210071023133502012-09-19T04:34:00.001-07:002012-09-19T04:34:03.064-07:00Arctic ice melt indicates accelerated global warming, leading to severe winter ... - God Discussion (blog)<div> <div id="more"> <p class="date">By <strong><span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/author/rover/" title="View all posts by God Discussion Reporter">God Discussion Reporter</a></span></strong><br/>On September 19, 2012 At 3:11 am</p> <p class="detail">Category : <a href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/category/religious-news/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a><br/>Tags : <a href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/tag/arctic-ice/" rel="tag">Arctic ice</a>, <a href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/tag/climate-change/" rel="tag">Climate Change</a>, <a href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/tag/environment/" rel="tag">Environment</a>, <a href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/tag/global-warming/" rel="tag">Global Warming</a>, <a href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/tag/green-dragon/" rel="tag">Green Dragon</a>, <a href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/tag/peter-wadhams/" rel="tag">peter wadhams</a>, <a href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/tag/winter-storms/" rel="tag">Winter Storms</a>, <a href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/tag/young-turks/" rel="tag">Young Turks</a></p> <p class="detail">Responses : <strong><a href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/101221/arctic-ice-melt-indicates-accelerated-global-warming-leading-to-severe-winter-storms-and-scorching-summers/#comments"/><a href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/101221/arctic-ice-melt-indicates-accelerated-global-warming-leading-to-severe-winter-storms-and-scorching-summers/#comments">No Comments</a></strong></p> <br class="clear"/></div> <a href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Arctic-Ice-Melt.jpg" rel="lightbox" title="Arctic ice melt indicates accelerated global warming, leading to severe winter storms and scorching summers"><img src="http://www.goddiscussion.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Arctic-Ice-Melt.jpg" alt="" width="473" height="258" class="colabs-image wp-post-image"/></a> <p>An area of Arctic sea ice the size of Canada and Alaska combined is gone.</p> <p>The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released an animation that shows the daily average loss of sea ice between 1979 and 2012. Scientists say the drastic decline is sign of long term global warming.</p> <p>In March this year, it was reported that <strong><a title="hottest decade ever" href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/94099/global-warming-results-in-the-hottest-decade-of-record-changing-growing-patterns/">the last decade has been the hottest worldwide</a></strong>, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture released data showing that warmer weather plants are now thriving further north.</p> <p><br/>{<a title="Arctic ice disappearing" href="http://youtu.be/NyBCEQsYSTo" target="_blank">video link</a>}</p> <p>In 2012, the rate of ice loss for August was 91,700 square kilometers (35,400 square miles) per day, the fastest observed for the month of August over the period of NOAA's satellite observations. Oceans are 30% more acidic now and the atmosphere is 5% wetter in the oceans.</p> <p>The ice melting has sped up. Scientists are warning that storms in the winter this year will be more likely to be extreme and summers will be hotter.</p> <p>Monday, <strong><a title="UK's Guardian" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/17/arctic-collapse-sea-ice" target="_blank">the UK's Guardian</a></strong> reported that Prof Peter Wadhams of Cambridge University is predicting the final collapse of Arctic sea ice in summer months within four years, which could lead to a global disaster.</p> <p>As Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks points out, it does not matter whether global warming is the result of human activities or not â" it is something that needs to be seriously addressed.</p> <p><br/>{<a title="video about global warning" href="http://youtu.be/h6VK6CNmIZU" target="_blank">video link</a>}</p> <p>Religious right and conservative activists in the United States argue that global warming is a myth. In 2010, for instance, <strong><a title="South Dakota on climate change" href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/20459/astrology-the-cause-of-climate-change-in-sd-schools/">the South Dakota legislature</a></strong> unanimously passed a resolution declaring that schools should teach that global warming is a scientific theory, not a scientific fact. A number of <a title="GOP platforms on science" href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/98346/gop-creation-science/"><strong>Republican state platforms</strong></a> referred to global warming as a myth this year, with Iowa's GOP declaring that "We believe that claims of human-caused global warming are based on fraudulent, inaccurate information and that legislation and policy based on this information is detrimental to the wellbeing of the United States. We deplore extremist scare tactics not based on scientific evidence. We recognize it as a plan to take our freedoms and liberties away from the people through legislation."</p> <p>In 2010, religious right activists like Focus on the Family's Tom Minnery, the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins, the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission's Richard Land, Concerned Women for America's Wendy Wright, Home School Legal Defense Association's Michael Farris, National Religious Broadcasters' Frank Wright, WallBuilders' David Barton, and radio talk-show host Janet Parshall all teamed up to produce and appear in a documentary called "<a title="The Green Dragon" href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/36342/right-wing-evangelicals-warn-christians-to-resist-the-green-dragon/"><strong>Resisting the Green Dragon</strong></a>" that warned that environmentalism represents "a great threat to society and the church" and called for "a biblical response to the times in which we live."</p> <p><br/>{<a title="green dragon video" href="http://youtu.be/vAA2sLtzXJM" target="_blank">video link</a>}</p> <div class="wp-about-author-containter-top c3"> <p><img alt="" src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/539d13368c519fa26431740bbce05a9c?s=100&d=&r=PG" class="avatar avatar-100 photo" height="100" width="100"/></p> <div class="wp-about-author-text"> <h3><a href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/author/rover/" title="God Discussion Reporter">God Discussion Reporter</a></h3> <p>Deborah is the owner and administrator of the site, starting it in February 2009. She received her business education at the University of Texas and operates a number of websites and small businesses. She hosts the God Discussion show and handles the site's technical work and editing.</p> <p class="wpa-nomargin"><a href="http://www.goddiscussion.com/author/rover/" title="More posts by God Discussion Reporter">More Posts</a> - <a href="http://www.goddiscussion.com" title="God Discussion Reporter">Website</a> - <a href="http://www.twitter.com/http://twitter.com/#!/GodDiscussion">Twitter</a></p> </div> </div> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-45578644280037462792012-09-19T03:34:00.001-07:002012-09-19T03:34:02.859-07:00Shame on PBS (2) - Record-Searchlight (blog)<div> <p>In the past six years, I have purchased over 200 books and over 20 documentaries on the science of global warming and climate change. I spent hundreds of dollars on the PBS website for most of my DVDs about the climate crisis. I bought them in the hopes that KIXE would allow me to underwrite a special hour on climate change to show the PBS documentaries but several overtures regarding this idea were ignored and I gave up.</p> <p>One of those documentaries is <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/extreme-ice.html">NOVA's <em><em>"Extreme Ice"</em>:</em></a> <strong>"Follow photojournalist James Balog to some of the most remote and beautiful places on Earth as he documents the disappearance of an icy landscape that took thousands of years to form. An artist, scientist, explorer, and former mountain guide, Balog braves treacherous terrain to site his cameras in ideal locations to record the unfolding drama."</strong></p> <p>And there is <a href="http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=2819344"><em>"Global Warming: The Rising Storm".</em></a> <strong>"The signs are alarming and everywhere. Storms are more intense, heat waves are more severe and long-lasting, polar sea ice is thinning and shrinking, and more and more animal species are in danger of extinction. Where are we headed with climate changes caused by global warming? Get a glimpse of the future and see what's in store for us in the years and decades to come."</strong></p> <p>And the Frontline/NOVA special, <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/warming/"><em>"Global Warming, What's Up With The Weather?"</em></a> <strong>"The overwhelming majority of scientists agree: earth's temperature has risen during the past century. But is it due to man's use of fossil fuel energy? And if so, how can we prevent the catastrophic results that some scientists predict if global warming continues? In 'What's Up with the Weather?' NOVA and FRONTLINE join forces to investigate the science and politics of one of the most controversial issues of the 21st century: the truth about global warming."</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.pbs.org/e2/energy.html">And then we have the PBS Home Video on <em>"e2/energy,</em> the economies of being environmentally conscious."</a></p> <p><strong>"Global in scope and comprised of six 30-minute chapters filmed in HD, e² energy features the engineers, policymakers and innovations that are transforming energy availability and consumption. Each episode covers viable policy and technology alternatives to the fossil fuel culture. Episodes explore: California as a world leader in emissions control; transportation and the need for greater efficiencies; ethanol in Brazil and its future in the United States; distributed solar energy as a means to poverty alleviation in Bangladesh; community wind in Minnesota and its role in regional economic development; and the role of coal and nuclear power in our future energy mix. Solutions-oriented, the series illustrates the trials and trade-offs that any evolution in our global energy system will demand. e² energy is narrated by Morgan Freeman."</strong></p> <p>And then we have the <a href="http://shop.history.com/nova-becoming-green-growing-environmental-awareness-dvd/detail.php?p=105326">American Experience/Frontline/NOVA special: <em>"Becoming Green, Growing Environmental Awareness."</em></a> <strong>"What will the car of the future be like? Can solar power help save the Earth from the ravages of global warming? Deadly flooding in Africa, catastrophic hurricanes in the U.S. record high temperatures worldwide, are these natural, temporary glitches in our global climate, or is the devastation the result of global warming? Join NOVA as they explore these topics."</strong></p> <p>And finally this: NOVA's <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/saved-by-the-sun.html">"Solar Energy, Saved by the Sun."</a> <strong>"Solar power has long been effective for small electronic devices and for a certain kind of individual who grooves on the sun. But as worldwide demand for electricity increases, so does the burning of fossil fuels to create it, which is contributing to global warming and the dangerous climate conditions that may result. This is forcing us to take a fresh look at a clean energy source with the potential to revolutionize power production."</strong></p> <p>Many PBS affiliates take their responsibility to educate the public about environmental issues very seriously. For example, the Oregon Public Broadcasting and Boise State Public Radio, Idaho Public Television, KCTS 9 Seattle, KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio, Northwest Public Radio and Television, Southern Oregon Public Television and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting all promote <a href="http://earthfix.soptv.org/">"EarthFix, News Fixed on the Environment."</a></p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-21368720660758744372012-09-18T20:34:00.001-07:002012-09-18T20:34:03.052-07:00Judge rules in favor of former U-Va. professor in global warming case - Washington Post<div> <p>The <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/prince-william-hosts-important-global-warming-case/2011/11/01/gIQAn6TcfM_blog.html">battle over global warming</a> in a Prince William County Circuit Court, focused on renowned climate scientist <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/07/AR2010100705484.html">Michael E. Mann</a>, was either an assault on science or a <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/pwm-climate-change-case-takes-center-stage/2012/03/19/gIQA1vLGQS_blog.html">search for the truth</a>, depending on whose brief you were reading.</p> <p>But after <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/prince-william-climate-case-already-anticipating-the-appeal/2012/04/17/gIQAfE1BNT_blog.html">reading all the briefs</a>, a judge ruled Monday that Mannâs e-mail correspondence was exempt from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and did not have to be provided to the American Tradition Institute, which was trying to delve into the discussions and data behind Mannâs conclusions that humans are causing Earth to grow hotter.</p> </div><div id="article-side-rail"> <div class="article-graphic border-top padding-top padding-bottom margin-bottom photo-wrapper"> <p><img src="http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_296w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/05/25/BookWorld/Images/mann.jpg"/></p> <p class="caption">(Tom Cogill/Photo courtesy of Tom Cogill) - Scientist and author Michael E. Mann.</p> </div> </div><div> <p>The ruling is almost certain to be appealed, and retired Arlington Circuit Court Judge Paul Sheridan had <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/prince-william-climate-case-already-anticipating-the-appeal/2012/04/17/gIQAfE1BNT_blog.html">told both sides</a> that he wanted the case properly briefed and argued so that the record would be in order for the Virginia Supreme Court. But then Sheridan ruled orally from the bench Monday, rather than issuing a written opinion, and both sides were awaiting the hearing transcript before plotting their next step.</p> <p>Mann issued a statement declaring, âA victory for science!â Now working at Penn State, Mann was doing climate research at U-Va. from 1999 to 2005, when he had voluminous correspondence with other climate researchers.</p> <p>âThis finding is a potentially important precedent,â Mann said, âas ATI and other industry-backed front groups continue to press their attacks on climate scientists through the abuse of public records and FOIA laws and the issuing of frivolous and vexatious demands for internal scholarly deliberations and personal correspondences.â</p> <p>Sheridan ruled that Mannâs correspondence while a professor at U-Va. qualified as public records, but they were exempt from disclosure under <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+2.2-3705.4">one particular exclusion</a> listed in the Freedom of Information law: âData, records or information of a proprietary nature produced or collected by or for faculty or staff of public institutions of higher education .â.â. in the conduct of or as a result of study or research on medical, scientific, technical or scholarly issues .â.â. where such data, records or information has not been publicly released, published, copyrighted or patented.â</p> <p>David Schnare, a former Environmental Protection Agency lawyer now representing ATI, said that while research was in process, the creative process should be protected. But once the research is published, the public should be entitled to see the process and data behind it.</p> <p>Sheridan ruled that the FOIA exemption âis critical to protect the academic process,â Schnare said. âWe agree that it is, but we believe the judge went too far and prevented all transparency. And we believe thatâs improper.â</p> <p>The suit was filed by Del. Robert Marshall (R-Prince William) after he and ATI made a FOIA request for Mannâs e-mails and learned that 12,000 e-mails were being withheld by the university. Marshall and ATI sued in Prince William, and all the judges recused, requiring Sheridan to be brought in.</p> <p>Both sides <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.atinstitute.org/law-ctr/hosted-foia-documents/">filed voluminous briefs</a>, and Mann was allowed to intervene in the case as a third party, although his lawyer and U-Va. worked together. The Union of Concerned Scientists filed an amicus brief in support of the university and Mann, and officials with the Association of American Universities and the American Council on Education, as well as various U-Va. professors, <a data-xslt="_http" target="_blank" href="http://www.atinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012-07-24-Respondents-other-Affidavits.pdf">filed affidavits</a> saying that releasing Mannâs e-mails would have a chilling effect on academic research.</p> <p>Mann argued that his e-mails were not prepared in the conduct of public business, but were internal deliberations between scientists. In <a data-xslt="_http" target="_blank" href="http://www.atinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Part-1-2012-07-24-Mann-Affidavit.pdf">his own affidavit</a>, Mann said that a prior release of some of his e-mails in an episode in England caused him to â<a data-xslt="_http" target="_blank" href="http://www.atinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Part-2-2012-07-24-Mann-Affidavit-2.pdf">endure countless verbal attacks</a> upon my professional reputation, my honesty, my integrity, even my life and liberty.â</p> <p>Schnare argued in <a data-xslt="_http" target="_blank" href="http://www.atinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012-07-18-Petitioners-Memorandum-of-Facts-and-Law-as-filed1.pdf">his main brief</a> that as a state employee, Mannâs correspondence was state property and had no expectation of privacy. He noted that the prior release of Mannâs e-mails had not chilled his communications or his career; he published a book, âThe Hockey Stick and the Climate Warsâ earlier this year.</p> <p>Sheridan listened to about four hours of oral argument Monday before ruling. Schnare said he would have to review the transcript of Sheridanâs ruling before deciding what aspects to appeal. Sheridan had earlier rejected ATIâs argument that <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/pwm-climate-change-case-takes-center-stage/2012/03/19/gIQA1vLGQS_blog.html">releasing the e-mails to Mann</a> constituted a waiver of the FOIA exclusion.</p> <p>Madelyn Wessel, associate general counsel for U-Va., said the FOIA exclusion the university used to withhold the e-mails âhad no time limit,â regardless of the publication status of the research, and âthus our position that we can protect this material permanently was, I believe, validated.â</p> <p>After Sheridan listed his reasons for dismissing the suit, he asked U-Va. to prepare an order reflecting the decision. The transcript of Sheridanâs ruling from the bench âwill essentially become the decision,â Wessel said.</p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-39336679943750127952012-09-18T19:34:00.001-07:002012-09-18T19:34:03.321-07:00Aerosmith Cooks Up More 'Global Warming' Tour Dates - Billboard<div> <p><a href="http://www.billboard.com/news/artist/aerosmith/3931">Aerosmith</a> has announced the second leg of its "Global Warming" tour. The rock act's latest jaunt picks up in Oklahoma City on November 8, and will travel through North America until wrapping up Dec. 13 in Nashville.</p> <p>The 14-date run will including opening sets from Cheap Trick, with tickets on sale through Live National on Monday, Sept. 24. The arena tour will see Aerosmith in major venues including New York's Madison Square Garden and Los Angeles' Staples Center, among others.</p> <p>The band will be playing familiar hits as well as tracks from the group's upcoming studio album "Music From Another Dimension," due Nov. 6 on Columbia Records in advance of the new dates.</p> <p><strong>See Aerosmith's upcoming "Global Warming" tour dates below</strong>:</p> <p>11/8: Chesapeake Energy Arena - Oklahoma City, OK<br/>11/11: INTRUST Bank Arena - Wichita, KS<br/>11/14: Spring Center - Kansas City, MO<br/>11/16: Frank Erwin Center - Austin, TX<br/>11/20: Madison Square Garden - New York, NY<br/>11/23: Ravel Resorts - Ovation Hall - Atlantic City, NJ<br/>11/25: Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio<br/>11/27: Air Canada Centre - Toronto, ONT<br/>12/1: MGM Grand Garden Arena - Las Vegas, NV<br/>12/3: STAPLES Center - Los Angeles, CA<br/>12/6: New Orleans Arena - New Orleans, LA<br/>12/9: BB&T Center - Fort Lauderdale, FL<br/>12/11: Tampa Bay Times Forum - Tampa, FL<br/>12/13: Bridgestone Arena - Nashville, TN</p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-2345506578897989722012-09-18T16:34:00.001-07:002012-09-18T16:34:03.825-07:00McRib delayed from McDonald's until late 2012: blame global warming... - Jackson Clarion Ledger<div id="firefly-password-reset"> <div class="body" id="ff_pw_rs_frm"> <p>Enter your email and we will send you a link to reset your password.</p> <form id="firefly-password-reset-form" action=""> <p><label for="fireflymodal_email">Email <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="email@example.com" id="fireflymodal_email" required=""/></label></p> <p><button type="submit" class="primary">Reset my password</button> <button type="reset" class="cancel">Cancel</button></p> <p><button type="reset" class="cancel subprim">OK</button> <button type="submit" class="primary-a">Resend Email</button></p> </form> </div> </div><div id="firefly-cookies"> <a class="close" title="Return to Homepage" href="http://www.clarionledger.com/" rel="home"><img src="http://www.clarionledger.com/odygci/firefly/close-x.png" alt="Close"/></a> <div class="copy gnp">It's possible that your browser cookies are turned off. <a href="http://www.clarionledger.com/faq">Read our FAQ page to find out how to enable cookies in your browser.</a></div> </div><div id="firefly-shared-revoked"> <p><img src="http://www.clarionledger.com/odygci/firefly/assets/D0/options-full-digital.jpg"/></p> <button type="button" class="close" title="Close"><img src="http://www.clarionledger.com/odygci/firefly/close-x.png" alt="Close"/></button> <div class="body"> <p>We're sorry, your shared access privileges have been removed by the subscriber. You can still look at a limited number of articles per month.</p> <div class="gnp"><a href="http://www.clarionledger.com/section/subscription-options" class="button primary">Subscribe now</a> <button type="button" class="secondary cancel">Continue reading</button></div> </div> </div><div id="firefly-account-inactive"> <p><img src="http://www.clarionledger.com/odygci/firefly/assets/D0/options-full-digital.jpg"/></p> <button type="button" class="close" title="Close"><img src="http://www.clarionledger.com/odygci/firefly/close-x.png" alt="Close"/></button> <div class="body"> <p>We're sorry, this account no longer has full access. You can still look at a limited number of articles per month.</p> </div> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-19564161595014327402012-09-18T15:34:00.001-07:002012-09-18T15:34:04.473-07:00Arctic sea ice thaw may be accelerated by oil, shipping - Reuters<div> <div class="relatedPhoto landscape" id="articleImage"><img src="http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120918&t=2&i=654329074&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE88H1OHK00" border="0" alt="The sun sets over Arctic ice near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in this March 18, 2011 picture. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson"/><div class="rolloverCaption rolloverBg captionText" id="captionContent"> <p>The sun sets over Arctic ice near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in this March 18, 2011 picture.</p> <p class="credit">Credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson</p> </div> </div> <span id="articleText"/> <div id="articleInfo"> <p class="byline">By Alister Doyle</p> <p><span class="location">OSLO</span> | <span class="timestamp">Tue Sep 18, 2012 5:46pm EDT</span></p> </div> <span id="midArticle_0"/> <p><span class="focusParagraph"><span class="articleLocation">OSLO</span> (Reuters) - Local pollution in the Arctic from shipping and oil and gas industries, which have expanded in the region due to a thawing of sea ice caused by global warming, could further accelerate that thaw, experts say.</span></p> <span id="midArticle_1"/> <p>The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said there was an urgent need to calculate risks of local pollutants such as soot, or "black carbon", in the Arctic. Soot darkens ice, making it soak up more of the sun's heat and quickening a melt.</p> <span id="midArticle_2"/> <p>Companies such as Shell, which this week gave up a push to find oil this year in the Chukchi Sea as the winter closed in, Exxon or Statoil say they are using the cleanest available technologies.</p> <span id="midArticle_3"/> <p>But the risks of even small amounts of pollution on the Arctic Ocean, emitted near ice with little dispersal by winds, have not been fully assessed.</p> <span id="midArticle_4"/> <p>"A lot of the concerns need urgent evaluation," said Nick Nuttall, spokesman of Naibori-based UNEP, referring to issues such as flaring of gas or fuels used by vessels in the Arctic.</p> <span id="midArticle_5"/> <p>"There is a grim irony here that as the ice melts...humanity is going for more of the natural resources fuelling this meltdown," he said. Large amounts of soot in the Arctic come from more distant sources such as forest fires or industry.</p> <span id="midArticle_6"/> <p>The extent of sea ice on the Arctic Ocean has shrunk this summer to the smallest since satellite records began in the 1970s, eclipsing a 2007 low. The melt is part of a long-term retreat blamed by a U.N. panel on man-made global warming, caused by use of fossil fuels.</p> <span id="midArticle_7"/> <p>"We're working to get a better documentation of the risks of black carbon in the Arctic," said Lars-Otto Reiersen, head of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP), part of the Arctic Council.</p> <span id="midArticle_8"/> <p>An AMAP report last year said that "regulation of black carbon production from all sources, especially those resulting locally from activities in the Arctic, is required at all scales."</p> <span id="midArticle_9"/> <p>400 FIELDS</p> <span id="midArticle_10"/> <p>More than 400 oil and gas fields within the Arctic region were developed by 2007, according to AMAP, mostly in West Siberia in Russia and in Alaska. Most of the undiscovered oil and gas is now estimated to be offshore.</p> <span id="midArticle_11"/> <p>Soot is an extra problem for planners, adding to risks such as of an oil blowout or a shipwreck. The U.N.'s International Maritime Organization is trying to work out a new "Polar Code" that might tighten everything from emissions to hull standards.</p> <span id="midArticle_12"/> <p>Still, for shipping, use of the Arctic route may be less damaging overall in terms of global warming, including soot, since it is a short-cut between some Atlantic and Pacific ports. That means ships burn much less fuel on the route.</p> <span id="midArticle_13"/> <p>"We are working on the net effect of the Arctic route compared to the Suez Canal," said Jan Fuglestvedt, of the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo.</p> <span id="midArticle_14"/> <p>In 2009, the Bremen-based Beluga Group sailed from South Korea to Rotterdam across the Arctic, cutting 4,000 nautical miles off the route via Suez. This year, for instance, an icebreaker became the first Chinese vessel to cross the ocean.</p> <span id="midArticle_15"/> <p>One study indicated that increased use of the Arctic route might limit carbon dioxide emissions for global shipping by 2.9 million tons a year by 2050, or 0.1 percent, compared to use of the Suez Canal.</p> <span id="midArticle_0"/> <p>"If the Arctic route is really open by then it may reduce carbon emissions a bit on the global scale," said Leif Ingolf Eide, an author of the study at Norwegian-based risk management group DnV. The study did not assess soot, he said.</p> <span id="midArticle_1"/> <p>In a 2011 report, UNEP estimated that a global crackdown on soot, methane and ozone could slow global warming by 0.5 degree Celsius (0.9F). It would also protect human health and promote crop growth.</p> <span id="midArticle_2"/> <p>Almost 200 nations have agreed to limit climate change to below 2 degrees C (3.6F) above pre-industrial times, seeing it as a threshold to dangerous changes such as more droughts, floods or rising sea levels.</p> <span id="midArticle_3"/> <p>(Reporting By Alister Doyle; Editing by Rosalind Russell)</p> <span id="midArticle_4"/> <div class="module shareLinks horizontal moduleBody"> <ul> <li class="linkedIn" tns="no"><span class="hrefClone" onclick="Reuters.utils.popup('http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&source=Reuters&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2F2012%2F09%2F18%2Fus-arctic-idUSBRE88H15A20120918&title=Arctic+sea+ice+thaw+may+be+accelerated+by+oil%2C+shipping&summary=By+Alister+Doyle%0AOSLO+%28Reuters%29+-+Local+pollution+in+the+Arctic+from+shipping+and+oil+and+gas+industries%2C+which+have+expanded+in+the+region+due+to+a+thawing+of+sea+ice+caused+by+global+warming%2C+could+further+accelerate+that+thaw%2C+experts+say.%0AThe...', 520, 570, 1, 'shareArticle');">Link this</span></li> <li class="facebook" tns="no"><span class="hrefClone" onclick="Reuters.utils.popup('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2F2012%2F09%2F18%2Fus-arctic-idUSBRE88H15A20120918&t=Arctic+sea+ice+thaw+may+be+accelerated+by+oil%2C+shipping', 626, 436, 1, 'shareArticle');">Share this</span></li> <li class="digg" tns="no"><span class="hrefClone" onclick="Reuters.utils.popup('http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2F2012%2F09%2F18%2Fus-arctic-idUSBRE88H15A20120918&bodytext=Arctic+sea+ice+thaw+may+be+accelerated+by+oil%2C+shipping', 1062, 570, 1, 'shareArticle');">Digg this</span></li> <li tns="no" class="email"><span class="hrefClone" onclick="Reuters.utils.popup('/do/emailArticle?articleId=USBRE88H15A20120918', 580, 735, 1, 'emailArticle');">Email</span></li> <li tns="no" class="reprints"><a href="http://www.reutersreprints.com">Reprints</a></li> </ul></div> <br/> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-1026647300605977012012-09-18T14:34:00.001-07:002012-09-18T14:34:04.985-07:00MIT Study: For Every 1 Degree C Rise In Temperature, Tropical Regions Will ... - ThinkProgress<div> <p><em><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-868861" title="tropicalrainstorm" src="http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/tropicalrainstorm-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="236" height="177"/>by Jennifer Chu, via <a title="mit" href="http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/study-shows-intensified-tropical-rainfall-with-global-warming-0917.html" target="_blank">MIT News</a></em></p> <p>Extreme precipitation in the tropics comes in many forms: thunderstorm complexes, flood-inducing monsoons and wide-sweeping cyclones like the recent Hurricane Isaac.</p> <p>Global warming is expected to intensify extreme precipitation, but the rate at which it does so in the tropics has remained unclear. Now an MIT study has given an estimate based on model simulations and observations: With every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature, the study finds, tropical regions will see 10 percent heavier rainfall extremes, with possible impacts for flooding in populous regions.</p> <p>âThe study includes some populous countries that are vulnerable to climate change,â says Paul OâGorman, the Victor P. Starr Career Development Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Science at MIT, âand impacts of changes in rainfall could be important there.â</p> <p>OâGorman found that, compared to other regions of the world, extreme rainfall in the tropics responds differently to climate change. âIt seems rainfall extremes in tropical regions are more sensitive to global warming,â OâGorman says. âWe have yet to understand the mechanism for this higher sensitivity.â</p> <p>Results from the study <a href="http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1568.html" target="_blank">are published online</a> this week in the journal <em>Nature Geoscience</em>.</p> <p><strong>A warm rain will fall</strong></p> <p>Global warmingâs effect on rainfall in general is relatively well-understood: As carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere, they increase the temperature, which in turn leads to increases in the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. When storm systems develop, the increased humidity prompts heavier rain events that become more extreme as the climate warms.</p> <p>Scientists have been developing models and simulations of Earthâs climate that can be used to help understand the impact of global warming on extreme rainfall around the world. For the most part, OâGorman says, existing models do a decent job of simulating rainfall outside the tropics â" for instance, in mid-latitude regions such as the United States and Europe. In those regions, the models agree on the rate at which heavy rains intensify with global warming.</p> <p>However, when it comes to precipitation in the tropics, these models, OâGorman says, are not in agreement with one another. The reason may come down to resolution: Climate models simulate weather systems by dividing the globe into a grid, with each square on the grid representing a wide swath of ocean or land. Large weather systems that span multiple squares, such as those that occur in the United States and Europe in winter, are relatively easy to simulate. In contrast, smaller, more isolated storms that occur in the tropics may be trickier to track.</p> <p><strong>An intensity of extremes</strong></p> <p>To better understand global warmingâs effect on tropical precipitation, OâGorman studied satellite observations of extreme rainfall between the latitudes of 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south â" just above and below the Equator. The observations spanned the last 20 years, the extent of the satellite record. He then compared the observations to results from 18 different climate models over a similar 20-year period.</p> <p>âThatâs not long enough to get a trend in extreme rainfall, but there are variations from year to year,â OâGorman says. âSome years are warmer than others, and itâs known to rain more overall in those years.â</p> <p>This year-to-year variability is mostly due to El Niño â" a tropical weather phenomenon that warms the surface of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. El Niño causes localized warming and changes in rainfall patterns and occurs independent of global warming.</p> <p>Looking through the climate models, which can simulate the effects of both El Niño and global warming, OâGorman found a pattern. Models that showed a strong response in rainfall to El Niño also responded strongly to global warming, and vice versa. The results, he says, suggest a link between the response of tropical extreme rainfall to year-to-year temperature changes and longer-term climate change.</p> <p>OâGorman then looked at satellite observations to see what rainfall actually occurred as a result of El Niño in the past 20 years, and found that the observations were consistent with the models in that the most extreme rainfall events occurred in warmer periods. Using the observations to constrain the model results, he determined that with every 1 degree Celsius rise under global warming, the most extreme tropical rainfall would become 10 percent more intense â" a more sensitive response than is expected for nontropical parts of the world.</p> <p>âUnfortunately, the results of the study suggest a relatively high sensitivity of tropical extreme rainfall to global warming,â OâGorman says. âBut they also provide an estimate of what that sensitivity is, which should be of practical value for planning.â</p> <p>The results of the study are in line with scientistsâ current understanding of how global warming affects rainfall, says Richard Allan, an associate professor of climate science at the University of Reading in England. A warming climate, he says, adds more water vapor to the atmosphere, fueling more intense storm systems.</p> <p>âHowever, it is important to note that computer projections indicate that although the rainfall increases in the wettest regions â" or similarly, the wet season â" the drier parts of the tropics ⦠will become drier still,â Allan says. âSo policymakers may have to plan for more damaging flooding, but also less reliable rains from year to year.â</p> <p><em>This piece was originally published at <a title="MIT" href="http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/" target="_blank">MIT News</a> and was reprinted with permission.</em></p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-84662697698172204392012-09-18T13:34:00.001-07:002012-09-18T13:34:02.767-07:00Arctic sea ice thaw may be accelerated by oil, shipping - Chicago Tribune<div id="story-body-text"><br/> OSLO (Reuters) - Local pollution in the Arctic from shipping and oil and gas industries, which have expanded in the region due to a thawing of sea ice caused by global warming, could further accelerate that thaw, experts say.<p>The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said there was an urgent need to calculate risks of local pollutants such as soot, or "black carbon", in the Arctic. Soot darkens ice, making it soak up more of the sun's heat and quickening a melt.</p> Companies such as Shell, which this week gave up a push to find oil this year in the Chukchi Sea as the winter closed in, Exxon or Statoil say they are using the cleanest available technologies.<p>But the risks of even small amounts of pollution on the Arctic Ocean, emitted near ice with little dispersal by winds, have not been fully assessed.</p><p>"A lot of the concerns need urgent evaluation," said Nick Nuttall, spokesman of Naibori-based UNEP, referring to issues such as flaring of gas or fuels used by vessels in the Arctic.</p><p>"There is a grim irony here that as the ice melts...humanity is going for more of the natural resources fuelling this meltdown," he said. Large amounts of soot in the Arctic come from more distant sources such as forest fires or industry.</p><p>The extent of sea ice on the Arctic Ocean has shrunk this summer to the smallest since satellite records began in the 1970s, eclipsing a 2007 low. The melt is part of a long-term retreat blamed by a U.N. panel on man-made global warming, caused by use of fossil fuels.</p><p>"We're working to get a better documentation of the risks of black carbon in the Arctic," said Lars-Otto Reiersen, head of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP), part of the Arctic Council.</p><p>An AMAP report last year said that "regulation of black carbon production from all sources, especially those resulting locally from activities in the Arctic, is required at all scales."</p><p>400 FIELDS</p><p>More than 400 oil and gas fields within the Arctic region were developed by 2007, according to AMAP, mostly in West Siberia in Russia and in Alaska. Most of the undiscovered oil and gas is now estimated to be offshore.</p><p>Soot is an extra problem for planners, adding to risks such as of an oil blowout or a shipwreck. The U.N.'s International Maritime Organization is trying to work out a new "Polar Code" that might tighten everything from emissions to hull standards.</p><p>Still, for shipping, use of the Arctic route may be less damaging overall in terms of global warming, including soot, since it is a short-cut between some Atlantic and Pacific ports. That means ships burn much less fuel on the route.</p><p>"We are working on the net effect of the Arctic route compared to the Suez Canal," said Jan Fuglestvedt, of the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo.</p><p>In 2009, the Bremen-based Beluga Group sailed from South Korea to Rotterdam across the Arctic, cutting 4,000 nautical miles off the route via Suez. This year, for instance, an icebreaker became the first Chinese vessel to cross the ocean.</p><p>One study indicated that increased use of the Arctic route might limit carbon dioxide emissions for global shipping by 2.9 million tons a year by 2050, or 0.1 percent, compared to use of the Suez Canal.</p><p>"If the Arctic route is really open by then it may reduce carbon emissions a bit on the global scale," said Leif Ingolf Eide, an author of the study at Norwegian-based risk management group DnV. The study did not assess soot, he said.</p><p>In a 2011 report, UNEP estimated that a global crackdown on soot, methane and ozone could slow global warming by 0.5 degree Celsius (0.9F). It would also protect human health and promote crop growth.</p><p>Almost 200 nations have agreed to limit climate change to below 2 degrees C (3.6F) above pre-industrial times, seeing it as a threshold to dangerous changes such as more droughts, floods or rising sea levels.</p><p>(Reporting By Alister Doyle; Editing by Rosalind Russell)</p></div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-52303322779336668502012-09-18T06:34:00.001-07:002012-09-18T06:34:24.875-07:00As The Temperature Rises, So Too Does Tropical Rainfall - RedOrbit<div> <p><strong><a href="http://blogs.redorbit.com/author/flowers/" target="_blank">April Flowers</a> for redOrbit.com â" Your Universe Online</strong></p> <p>Extreme precipitation events in the tropics can come in many forms; thunderstorm complexes, flood-inducing monsoons and wide-sweeping cyclones like the recent Hurricane Isaac.</p> <p>Scientists expect global warming to intensify extreme precipitation, but the rate of intensification in the tropics remains unclear. A new study from MIT, published online this week in <a href="http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1568.html" target="_blank">Nature Geoscience</a>, gives an estimate based on model simulations and observations.</p> <p>The <a href="http://web.mit.edu/press/2012/study-shows-intensified-tropical-rainfall-with-global-warming.html" target="_blank">study</a> finds that with every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature, tropical regions will see 10 percent heavier rainfall extremes, with possible impacts for flooding in populous regions.</p> <p>âThe study includes some populous countries that are vulnerable to climate change,â says Paul OâGorman, the Victor P. Starr Career Development Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Science at MIT, âand impacts of changes in rainfall could be important there.â</p> <p>Compared to other regions of the world, extreme rainfall in the tropics responds differently to climate change.</p> <p>âIt seems rainfall extremes in tropical regions are more sensitive to global warming,â OâGorman says. âWe have yet to understand the mechanism for this higher sensitivity.â</p> <p>The impact that global warming has on rainfall in general is relatively well-understood. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere increase the temperature, which in turn leads to increases in the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. When storm systems develop, the increased humidity prompts heavier rain events that become more extreme as the climate warms.</p> <p>To help understand this phenomenon, scientists around the world have been developing models and simulations of Earthâs climate to show the impact of global warming on extreme rainfall around the world. For the most part, existing models do a decent job of simulating rainfall outside the tropics â" for instance, in mid-latitude regions such as the United States and Europe. In those regions, the models agree on the rate at which heavy rains intensify with global warming.</p> <p>When it comes to rainfall in the tropics, these models are not in agreement with one another. The reason may be resolution. Climate models simulate weather systems by dividing the globe into a grid, with each square on the grid representing a wide swath of ocean or land. Large weather systems that span multiple squares, such as those that occur in the United States and Europe in winter, are relatively easy to simulate; in contrast, however, smaller, more isolated storms that occur in the tropics may be trickier to track.</p> <p>OâGorman studied satellite observations of extreme rainfall between the latitudes of 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south â" just above and below the equator. The observations spanned the extent of the satellite record, covering the last 20 years. These were compared to the observations from 18 different climate models over a similar 20-year period.</p> <p>âThatâs not long enough to get a trend in extreme rainfall, but there are variations from year to year,â OâGorman says. âSome years are warmer than others, and itâs known to rain more overall in those years.â</p> <p>Most of the blame for this year-to year-variability rests on El Nino â" a tropical weather phenomenon that warms the surface of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. El Nino causes localized warming, changes in rainfall patterns, and occurs independent of global warming.</p> <p>OâGorman found a pattern looking through climate models that can simulate the effects of both El Nino and global warming. Models that showed a strong response in rainfall to El Niño also responded strongly to global warming, and vice versa. The results, he says, suggest a link between the response of tropical extreme rainfall to year-to-year temperature changes and longer-term climate change.</p> <p>Actual rainfall satellite data over the past 20 years was compared to the model predictions for rainfall caused by El Nino and the results were consistent. The most extreme rainfall events occurred in warmer periods. Using the observations to constrain the model results, he determined that with every 1 degree Celsius rise under global warming, the most extreme tropical rainfall would become 10 percent more intense â" a more sensitive response than is expected for nontropical parts of the world.</p> <p>âUnfortunately, the results of the study suggest a relatively high sensitivity of tropical extreme rainfall to global warming,â OâGorman says. âBut they also provide an estimate of what that sensitivity is, which should be of practical value for planning.â</p> <p>The results of the study are in line with scientistsâ current understanding of how global warming affects rainfall, says Richard Allan, an associate professor of climate science at the <a href="http://www.reading.ac.uk/" target="_blank">University of Reading</a> in England. A warming climate, he says, adds more water vapor to the atmosphere, fueling more intense storm systems.</p> <p>âHowever, it is important to note that computer projections indicate that although the rainfall increases in the wettest regions â" or similarly, the wet season â" the drier parts of the tropics ⦠will become drier still,â Allan says. âSo policymakers may have to plan for more damaging flooding, but also less reliable rains from year to year.â</p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-31940956107370857312012-09-18T02:34:00.001-07:002012-09-18T02:34:24.562-07:00Global warming foreign to many - Vancouver Sun<p><strong>Redirect Notice</strong></p> <div class="c"><p class="readability-styled"> The previous page is sending you to </p><a href="/url?q=http://www.vancouversun.com/Global%2520warming%2520foreign%2520many/7257775/story.html&ei=wjxYUOnLD-rWiwK2wYGgBA&sa=X&oi=unauthorizedredirect&ct=targetlink&ust=1347961802257952&usg=AFQjCNE1c7C6BtlSQ6me7w9buyC86UOyDA">http://www.vancouversun.com/Global%20warming%20foreign%20many/7257775/story.html</a><p class="readability-styled">.</p><p> If you do not want to visit that page, you can <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNE3XjEwKfLVscjbEhVQvg-NRkzgWg&url=http://www.vancouversun.com/Global+warming+foreign+many/7257775/story.html" onclick="return go_back();" onmousedown="ctu();">return to the previous page</a>.</p></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-16483043422178058922012-09-18T01:34:00.001-07:002012-09-18T01:34:26.302-07:00Global warming drives extreme rainfall in the tropics - Summit County Citizens Voice<div> <p class="c1"><span class="c2"><em><strong>Researchers estimate 10 percent increase in rainfall during extreme events for every 1-degree Celsius of warming</strong></em></span></p> <div id="attachment_48075" class="wp-caption aligncenter c5"><a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/?attachment_id=48075" rel="attachment wp-att-48075"><img class="size-full wp-image-48075" title="tropic" src="http://summitvoice.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/tropic.jpg?w=468&h=351" alt="" width="468" height="351" /></a> <p class="wp-caption-text">Rainfall amounts during extreme weather events in the tropics are expected to increase by 10 percent for every 1-degree Celsius rise in temperatures. <em>Photo by Bob Berwyn.</em></p> </div> <p><strong>By Summit Voice</strong></p> <p>SUMMIT COUNTY â" Researchers at MIT say extreme rainfall in the Earthâs tropical regions appear to be more sensitive to global warming than other parts of the world. While they donât fully understand the mechanism for that higher sensitivity, they estimate that rainfall amounts during extreme weather events â" monsoons, thunderstorms and tropical cyclones â" are likely to increase by 10 percent for every 1-degree Celsius increase in temperatures.</p> <p>âThe study includes some populous countries that are vulnerable to climate change â¦Â and impacts of changes in rainfall could be important there,â said Paul OâGorman, assistant professor of Atmospheric Science at MIT.</p> <p>In general, most climate models agree that a warming atmosphere hold more water vapor. When storm systems develop, the increased humidity prompts heavier rain events that become more extreme as the climate warms.<span id="more-48074"></span></p> <p>The challenge has been to quantify that effect. For the most part, existing models do a decent job of simulating rainfall outside the tropics â" for instance, in mid-latitude regions such as the United States and Europe,â OâGorman said. In those regions, the models agree on the rate at which heavy rains intensify with global warming.</p> <p>However, when it comes to precipitation in the tropics the models often donât agree. The reason may come down to resolution, according to OâGorman, who explained that most models simulate weather systems by dividing the globe into a grid, with each square on the grid representing a wide swath of ocean or land. Large weather systems that span multiple squares, such as those that occur in the United States and Europe in winter, are relatively easy to simulate. In contrast, smaller, more isolated storms that occur in the tropics may be trickier to track.</p> <p>So the MIT researchers zoomed in on extreme rainfall between the latitudes of 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south â" just above and below the Equator. Using satellite observations from the past 20 years, OâGorman compared the observations to results from 18 different climate models over a similar 20-year period.</p> <p>âThatâs not long enough to get a trend in extreme rainfall, but there are variations from year to year,â OâGorman says. âSome years are warmer than others, and itâs known to rain more overall in those years.â</p> <p>This year-to-year variability is mostly due to El Niño â" a tropical weather phenomenon that warms the surface of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. El Niño causes localized warming and changes in rainfall patterns and occurs independent of global warming.</p> <p>Looking through the climate models, which can simulate the effects of both El Niño and global warming, OâGorman found a pattern. Models that showed a strong response in rainfall to El Niño also responded strongly to global warming, and vice versa. The results, he says, suggest a link between the response of tropical extreme rainfall to year-to-year temperature changes and longer-term climate change.</p> <p>OâGorman then looked at satellite observations to see what rainfall actually occurred as a result of El Niño in the past 20 years, and found that the observations were consistent with the models in that the most extreme rainfall events occurred in warmer periods. Using the observations to constrain the model results, he determined that with every 1 degree Celsius rise under global warming, the most extreme tropical rainfall would become 10 percent more intense â" a more sensitive response than is expected for nontropical parts of the world.</p> <p>âUnfortunately, the results of the study suggest a relatively high sensitivity of tropical extreme rainfall to global warming,â OâGorman said. âBut they also provide an estimate of what that sensitivity is, which should be of practical value for planning.â</p> <p>âHowever, it is important to note that computer projections indicate that although the rainfall increases in the wettest regions â" or similarly, the wet season â" the drier parts of the tropics ⦠will become drier still,â Allan says. âSo policymakers may have to plan for more damaging flooding, but also less reliable rains from year to year.â</p> <p>Results from the study <a href="http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1568.html" target="_blank">are published online</a> this week in the journal <em>Nature Geoscience</em>.</p> <p><span class="latitude">39.586656</span> <span class="longitude">-106.092081</span></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled"> <div class="wpl-likebox sd-block sd-like"> <h3 class="sd-title">Like this:</h3> <div class="sd-content"> <p>Be the first to like this.</p> </div> </div> </div> <p class="postinfo">Filed under: <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/climate-and-weather/" title="View all posts in climate and weather" rel="category tag">climate and weather</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/environment/" title="View all posts in Environment" rel="category tag">Environment</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/climate-and-weather/global-warming/" title="View all posts in global warming" rel="category tag">global warming</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/climate-and-weather/tropical-storms-and-hurricanes/" title="View all posts in tropical storms and hurricanes" rel="category tag">tropical storms and hurricanes</a> Tagged: | <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/atmospheric-science/" rel="tag">atmospheric science</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/climate-change/" rel="tag">climate change</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/el-nino/" rel="tag">El Nino</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/extreme-rainfall-events/" rel="tag">extreme rainfall events</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/extreme-weather/" rel="tag">extreme weather</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/global-warming/" rel="tag">global warming</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/nature-geoscience/" rel="tag">Nature Geoscience</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/tropics/" rel="tag">tropics</a></p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-3907245625795021742012-09-17T22:34:00.001-07:002012-09-17T22:34:24.174-07:00U.Va. wins key ruling in Prince William global warming-FOIA case - Washington Post (blog)<div id="entrytext"> <p><span class="imgleft"><img border="0" align="bottom" src="http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_296w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/05/25/BookWorld/Images/mann.jpg?uuid=R4kDLKaoEeGec_Tjh5s0ow" width="228"/><br/><span class="blog_caption">Scientist and author Michael E. Mann now works at Penn State University. His e-mails from his six years at the University of Virginia were being sought by groups skeptical of climate change. (Tom Cogill - TOM COGILL)</span></span> The <a target="_blank" data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/prince-william-hosts-important-global-warming-case/2011/11/01/gIQAn6TcfM_blog.html">battle over global warming</a> in Prince William County Circuit Court, focused on renowned climate scientist <a target="_blank" data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/07/AR2010100705484.html">Michael E. Mann</a>, was either an assault on science or a <a target="_blank" data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/pwm-climate-change-case-takes-center-stage/2012/03/19/gIQA1vLGQS_blog.html">search for the truth</a>, depending on whose briefs you were reading. But after <a target="_blank" data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/prince-william-climate-case-already-anticipating-the-appeal/2012/04/17/gIQAfE1BNT_blog.html">reading all the briefs</a>, a judge ruled Monday that Mannâs e-mail correspondence was exempt from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and did not have to be provided to the American Tradition Institute, which was trying to delve into the discussions and data behind Mannâs conclusions that humans are causing the Earth to grow hotter.</p> <p>The ruling is almost certain to be appealed, and retired Arlington Circuit Court Judge Paul Sheridan had <a target="_blank" data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/prince-william-climate-case-already-anticipating-the-appeal/2012/04/17/gIQAfE1BNT_blog.html">told both sides</a> he wanted the case properly briefed and argued so that the record would be in order for the Virginia Supreme Court. But then Sheridan ruled orally from the bench Monday, rather than issue a written opinion, and both sides were awaiting the hearing transcript before plotting their next step.</p> <p>Mann issued a statement declaring, âA victory for science!â Now working at Penn State, Mann was doing climate research at U.Va. from 1999 to 2005 when he had voluminous correspondence with other climate researchers.</p> <p>âThis finding is a potentially important precedent,â Mann said, âas ATI and other industry-backed front groups continue to press their attacks on climate scientists through the abuse of public records and FOIA laws and the issuing of frivolous and vexatious demands for internal scholarly deliberations and personal correspondences.â</p> <a name="pagebreak"/> <p>Sheridan ruled that Mannâs correspondence while a professor at U.Va. qualified as public records, but they were exempt from disclosure under <a target="_blank" data-xslt="_http" href="http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+2.2-3705.4">one particular exclusion</a> listed in the Freedom of Information law: âData, records or information of a proprietary nature produced or collected by or for faculty or staff of public institutions of higher education...in the conduct of or as a result of study or research on medical, scientific, technical or scholarly issues...where such data, records or information has not been publicly released, published, copyrighted or patented.â</p> <p>David Schnare, the former EPA lawyer now representing ATI, said that while research was in process, the creative process should be protected. But once the research is published, the public should be entitled to see the process and data behind it.</p> <p>Sheridan ruled that the FOIA exemption âis critical to protect the academic process,â Schnare said. âWe agree that it is but we believe the judge went too far and prevented all transparency. And we believe thatâs improper.â</p> <p>The suit was filed by state Del. Robert Marshall (R-P.Wm.) after he and ATI made a FOIA request for Mannâs e-mails and learned that 12,000 e-mails were withheld by U.Va. Marshall and ATI sued in Prince William, and all the judges recused, requiring Sheridan to be brought in.</p> <p>Both sides <a target="_blank" data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.atinstitute.org/law-ctr/hosted-foia-documents/">filed voluminous briefs</a>, and Mann was allowed to intervene in the case as a third party, though his lawyer and U.Va. worked together. The Union of Concerned Scientists filed an amicus brief in support of U.Va. and Mann, and officials with the Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education as well as various U.Va. professors <a target="_blank" data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.atinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012-07-24-Respondents-other-Affidavits.pdf">filed affidavits</a> saying that releasing Mannâs e-mails would have a chilling effect on academic research.</p> <p>Mann and U.Va. argued that his e-mails were not prepared in the conduct of public business, but were internal deliberations between scientists. In <a target="_blank" data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.atinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Part-1-2012-07-24-Mann-Affidavit.pdf">his own affidavit</a>, Mann said that a prior release of some of his e-mails in an episode in England caused him to â<a target="_blank" data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.atinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Part-2-2012-07-24-Mann-Affidavit-2.pdf">endure countless verbal attacks</a> upon my professional reputation, my honesty, my integrity, even my life and liberty.â</p> <p>Schnare argued in <a target="_blank" data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.atinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012-07-18-Petitioners-Memorandum-of-Facts-and-Law-as-filed1.pdf">his main brief</a> that as a state employee, Mannâs correspondence was state properrty and had no expectation of privacy. He noted that the prior release of Mannâs e-mails had not chilled his communications or his career; he published a book, âThe Hockey Stick and the Climate Warsâ earlier this year.</p> <p>Sheridan listened to about four hours of oral argument Monday before ruling. Schnare said he would have to review the transcript of Sheridanâs ruling before deciding what aspects to appeal.</p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-39461190740150617872012-09-17T18:34:00.001-07:002012-09-17T18:34:23.810-07:00Global Warming Alarmists Seek More Power, Not Emissions Reductions - Health Care News (blog)<div> <p><a target="_blank" href="http://blog.heartland.org/2012/09/taylor-at-forbes-global-warming-alarmists-seek-more-power-not-emissions-reductions/a-giant-ballon-representing-the-earth-fi/" rel="attachment wp-att-10487"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-10487" title="A giant ballon representing the earth fi" src="http://blog.heartland.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/TonneGlobe.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="200"/></a>[First posted at <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamestaylor/2012/09/12/global-warming-alarmists-seek-more-power-not-emissions-reductions/" target="_blank">Forbes</a>.]</p> <p>As U.S. carbon dioxide emissions continue to decline, one would think global warming alarmists would celebrate the ongoing achievement. Instead, alarmists are ramping up their vitriol. The alarmistsâ increasing vitriol reveals that for many alarmists, the true goal is not a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, but instead a transfer of wealth and power from individuals to government.</p> <p>The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. carbon dioxide emissions during the first quarter of 2012 were the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=7350">lowest since 1992</a>. With more and more U.S. power plants switching from coal to natural gas, the decline is likely to continue and the reductions are likely to be permanent.</p> <p>The decline in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions is striking when we compare U.S. emission trends to global emission trends.</p> <p><span id="more-10486"/>In 2000, U.S. emissions totaled 5.9 billion metric tons, while <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/iedindex3.cfm?tid=90&pid=44&aid=8&cid=regions&syid=2000&eyid=2010&unit=MMTCD">global emissions totaled</a> 23.7 billion metric tons. Accordingly, in 2000 the United States accounted for 25 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.</p> <p>By 2010, however, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/iedindex3.cfm?tid=90&pid=44&aid=8&cid=regions&syid=2000&eyid=2010&unit=MMTCD">U.S. emissions fell</a> to 5.6 billion metric tons, while global emissions rose to 31.8 billion metric tons. Accordingly, in 2010 the United States accounted for merely 18 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.</p> <p>If the U.S. emissions reductions in early 2012 hold throughout the year, theyâll likely fall to merely 15 percent of the global total.</p> <p>By the end of the decade, U.S. emissions will most likely decline to approximately 12 percent of global emissions, or less than half the U.S. share in 2000.</p> <p>Keeping in mind that the United States produces <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)">23 percent of the worldâs Gross Domestic Product </a>, reducing U.S. emissions to 12-to-15 percent of the global total is quite impressive.</p> <p>These reductions in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are taking place without all-intrusive, economy-wide, government-imposed restrictions. Yes, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations that economically punish coal power plants are somewhat responsible for the shift to natural gas power, but so too are technological advances and new natural gas discoveries that have dramatically reduced the price of natural gas.</p> <p>If the alarmistsâ true goal is significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions, they would acknowledge and celebrate these ongoing reductions. Instead, however, alarmists are doubling down on vitriol and hateful rhetoric.</p> <p>Consider, for example, Bill Blakemoreâs <a target="_blank" href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/09/the-elephant-were-all-inside/">most recent column</a> on the ABC News Nature and <a target="_blank" title="Environment" href="%20http://heartland.org/issues/environment">Environment</a> webpage. Among other things, Blakemore writes that âa number of climate scientists have told this reporter they agree with those, including NASA scientist James Hansen, who charge fossil fuel CEOs are thus guilty of a âcrime against humanity.ââ The traditional punishment for âcrimes against humanityâ is execution.</p> <p>Why is it that so many alarmists are ratcheting up their vitriol and hateful rhetoric precisely when U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are rapidly declining? The answer is the alarmists are motivated more by a desire to reshape society into a government-centered model than they are interested in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Emissions are rapidly declining, yet money and power remains largely with the people rather than the government. Accordingly, activists ratchet up their hateful rhetoric.</p> <p>For those who truly care about reducing carbon dioxide emissions, now is a time for celebration. For those who truly care about transferring money and power to government, now is a time to intensify their attacks.</p> <p class="post_tags">Tagged as: <a href="http://blog.heartland.org/tag/alarmism/" rel="tag nofollow">alarmism</a>, <a href="http://blog.heartland.org/tag/bill-blakemore/" rel="tag nofollow">Bill Blakemore</a>, <a href="http://blog.heartland.org/tag/carbon-dioxide-emissions/" rel="tag nofollow">carbon dioxide emissions</a>, <a href="http://blog.heartland.org/tag/climate-change/" rel="tag nofollow">climate change</a>, <a href="http://blog.heartland.org/tag/co2-emissions/" rel="tag nofollow">CO2 emissions</a>, <a href="http://blog.heartland.org/tag/global-warming/" rel="tag nofollow">global warming</a>, <a href="http://blog.heartland.org/tag/u-s-energy-information-administration/" rel="tag nofollow">U.S. Energy Information Administration</a></p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-15991606539170650572012-09-17T14:34:00.001-07:002012-09-17T14:34:23.932-07:00Climate Change Skeptic Says Global Warming Crowd Oversells Its Message - PBS NewsHour (blog)<div> <p class="author">By: <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/author/spencer-michels/">Spencer Michels</a> </p> <p>It was about 105 degrees in Chico, Calif., about three hours north of Sacramento, when we arrived at the offices of one of the nation's most read climate skeptics. Actually, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Watts_%28blogger%29">Anthony Watts</a> calls himself a pragmatic skeptic when it comes to global warming. Watts is a former television meteorologist, who has been studying climate change for years. He doesn't claim to be a scientist; he attended Purdue. He's the author of a blog, <a href="http://wattsupwiththat.com/author/wattsupwiththat/">Watts Up with That?</a>, which he calls the world's most viewed site on global warming. For a story I was working on for the PBS NewsHour, Watts was recommended by the <a href="http://heartland.org/">Heartland Institute</a>, a conservative, Chicago-based non-profit that is one of the leading groups that doubt that climate change -- if it exists -- is attributable to human activities.</p> <p>Watts doesn't come across as a true believer or a fanatic. For one thing, he has built a business that caters to television stations and individuals who want accurate weather information and need displays to show their viewers. He has developed an array of high tech devices to disseminate weather data and put it on screens. He has several TV stations around the country as clients.</p> <p>But Watts' reputation doesn't come from his business -- <a href="http://intelliweather.com/">IntelliWeather</a> -- but rather from his outspoken views on climate change. He says he's been gathering data for years, and he's analyzed it along with some academics. He used to think somewhat along the same lines as <a href="http://muller.lbl.gov/">Richard Muller</a>, the University of California physicist who recently declared he was no longer a skeptic on climate change. Muller had analyzed two centuries worth of temperature data and decided his former skepticism was misplaced: yes, the earth has been warming, and the reason is that humans are producing carbon dioxide that is hastening the warming the planet.</p> <p>Watts doesn't buy Muller's analysis, since, he believes, it is based on faulty data. The big problem, as Watts sees it, is that the stations where temperatures are gathered are too close to urban developments where heat is soaked up and distorts the readings. So it looks like the earth is warming though it may not be, he says.</p> <p><strong>Read a transcript below.</strong></p> <p>SPENCER MICHELS: So let's start out with the basic idea that there's this debate in this country over global warming. There's some people who call it a complete hoax and there are some people who completely embrace it and so forth. Where do you stand in that spectrum?</p> <p>ANTHONY WATTS: Well, I at one time was very much embracing the whole concept that we had a real problem, we had to do something about it. Back in 1988 James Hanson actually was the impetus for that for me in his presentation before Congress. But as I learned more and more about the issue, I discovered that maybe it's not as bad as it's made out to be. Some of it is hype, but there's also some data that has not been explored and there's been some investigations that need to be done that haven't been done. And so now I'm in the camp of we have some global warming. No doubt about it, but it may not be as bad as we originally thought because there are other contributing factors.</p> <p>SPENCER MICHELS: What's the thing that bothers you the most about people who say there's lots of global warming?</p> <p>ANTHONY WATTS: They want to change policy. They want to apply taxes and these kinds of things may not be the actual solution for making a change to our society.</p> <p>SPENCER MICHELS: What are you saying? That they're biased essentially or motivated by something else? What?</p> <p>ANTHONY WATTS: Tthere's a term that was used to describe this. It's called noble cause corruption. And actually I was a victim of that at one time, where you're so fervent you're in your belief that you have to do something. You're saving the planet, you're making a difference, you're making things better that you're so focused on this goal of fixing it or changing it that you kind of forget to look along the path to make sure that you haven't missed some things.</p> <p>I started looking into the idea that weather stations have been slowly encroached upon by urbanization and sighting issues over the last century. Meaning that our urbanization affected the temperature. And this was something that was very clear if you looked at the temperature records. But what wasn't clear is how it affected the trend of temperatures. And so that's been something that I've been investigating. Anyone who's ever stood next to a building in the summertime at night, a brick building that's been out in the summer sun, you stand next to it at nigh,t you can feel the heat radiating off of it. That's a heat sync effect. And over the last 100 years our country, in fact the world, has changed. We've gone from having mostly a rural agrarian society to one that is more urban and city based and as a result the infrastructure has increased. We've got more freeways, you know more airports, we've got more buildings. Got more streets, all these things. Those are all heat syncs. During the day, solar insulation hits these objects and these surfaces and it stores heat in these objects. At night it releases that heat. Now if you are measuring temperature in a city that went from having uh maybe 10% of um, non-permeable surface to you know maybe 90% over 100 years, that's a heat sync effect and that should show up in the record. The problem is, is that it's been such a slow subtle change over the last 100 years. It's not easy to detect and that's been the challenge and that's what I've been working on.</p> <p>SPENCER MICHELS: Well in a way you're saying that the records aren't accurate, the data isn't accurate.</p> <p>ANTHONY WATTS: I'm saying that the data might be biased by these influences to a percentage. Yes, we have some global warming, it's clear the temperature has gone up in the last 100 years. But what percentage of that is from carbon dioxide? And what percentage of that is from changes in the local and measurement environment?</p> <p>SPENCER MICHELS: I want to go back to what we were talking about a little bit earlier, the idea that there is, there are people who are sort of invested in promoting the fact that there is global warming. There's money involved and grants. Is that what you were saying? Maybe explain that.</p> <p>ANTHONY WATTS: Well global warming had become essentially a business in its own right. There are NGOs, there are organizations, there are whole divisions of universities that have set up to study this, this factor, and so there's lots of money involved and then so I think that there's a tendency to want to keep that going and not really look at what might be different.</p> <p>SPENCER MICHELS: Now Dr. Muller at the University of California Berkeley had similar concerns. Went back and looked at the data, took much more data than anybody else had, and concluded, well maybe there was some problems, but basically the conclusions were right. There is global warming and it comes from carbon dioxide which is meant, made by man. Do you buy that?</p> <p>ANTHONY WATTS: Unfortunately he has not succeeded in terms of how science views, you know, a successful inquiry. His papers have not passed peer review. They had some problems. Some of the problems I identified, others have identified problems as well, for example, he goes much further back, back to about 1750 in terms of temperature. Well from my own studies, I know that temperature really wasn't validated and homogenized where everything's measured the same way until the weather bureau came into being about in 1890. Prior to that thermometers were hung in and exposed to the atmosphere all kinds of different ways. Some were hung under the shade of trees, some were on the north side of houses, some were out in the open in the sun, and so the temperature fluctuations that we got from those readings prior to 1890 was quite broad and I don't believe that provided representative signal because the exposure's all wrong. And Dr. Muller did not take any of that into account.</p> <p>SPENCER MICHELS: His conclusion though is that basically global warming exists and that the scientists, no matter what the problems were, were pretty much right on.</p> <p>ANTHONY WATTS: I agree with him that global warming exists. However, the ability to attribute the percentage of global warming to CO2 versus other man-made influences is still an open question.</p> <p>SPENCER MICHELS: I want to ask you a little bit about attitudes towards this among the public. We talked to a public opinion specialist at Stanford who says there's been 80 percent belief in global warming and man-made global warming consistently over at least the last 15 years in this country. Do you buy his theory?</p> <p>ANTHONY WATTS: Well I look at a number of opinion polls. You'll find a lot of them on my blog and that we've covered. And depending on how you ask the question we'll sometimes give you a different answer. My view is, is that the view of global warming peaked about at the time that Al Gore came out with his movie, An Inconvenient Truth. But ever since then other factors have kicked in. Climate Gate for example. And it has become less of an issue, in fact you hardly see politicians talking about it anymore, or pushing it as an issue. What's been happening now it's just become a regulation issue. It's gotten away from the political arena and into the bureaucratic regulation arena. And so people I believe based on the polls I've seen, aren't quite as believing as they used to be. And I think the trend is downward.</p> <p>SPENCER MICHELS: What do you think is the upshot of your attitude toward this? Should the Congress, should the American public say, you know nothing's been proven yet. We should wait. Or should we go ahead with trying to solve what many people consider a really scary problem?</p> <p>ANTHONY WATTS: Hmm...You mentioned a really scary problem and I think that's part of the issues. Some people don't respond well to scare tactics and there have been some scare tactics used by some of the proponents on the other side of the issue. And that's where the overselling of it comes in. But this is a slow problem and it requires a slow solution I believe. For example, our infrastructure for electricity and so forth and highways didn't happen in 5 years or 10 years. It happened over a century. We can't just rip all that up or change it in the space off five, 10 or 15 years because it'll be catastrophic to our economy. We need a slow change solution, one that is a solution that changes over time at about the same rate as climate change. More efficient technologies, new technologies, the use of more nuclear for example. There's a nuclear type of a reactor that's more safe called a, a liquid thorium reactor that China is jumping on right now. And we should be looking into things like that.</p> <p>SPENCER MICHELS: Has this issue, I know you think it's been oversold and scare tactics have been used. Do you think it's become too politicized?</p> <p>ANTHONY WATTS: Oh, it's definitely become too politicized. In fact, some of the scientists who are the leaders in the issue have become for lack of a better word, political tools on the issue.</p> <p>SPENCER MICHELS: One final question, do you consider yourself a skeptic when it comes to global warming?</p> <p>ANTHONY WATTS: I would call myself a pragmatic skeptic. Yes, we need to make some changes on our energy technology but more efficient technology's a good thing. For example, I have solar power on my own, you know, I have done energy reductions in my office and in my home to make things more efficient. So I think those are good things. Those are good messages that we should be embracing. But at the same time I think that some of the issues have been oversold, may have been oversold, because they allow for more regulation to take place. And so the people that like more regulation use global warming as a tool, as a means to an end. And so as a result, we might be getting more regulation and more taxes that really aren't rooted in science, but more in politics.</p> <p><a href="http://to.pbs.org/PBSFoundation"><img src="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/images/primary2/shared/pbs-promote.png" class="c5" /></a></p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-87313856579237144252012-09-17T13:34:00.001-07:002012-09-17T13:34:23.780-07:00Global-warming fighter unbowed by climate of cynicism - Walla Walla Union-Bulletin<div id="target-story_body_template"> <p id="h6967-p1" class="permalinkable">SEATTLE -- If you dedicated your life to fighting global warming, these have got to be about the worst of times.</p> <p id="h6967-p2" class="permalinkable">There's the climate itself, which is smoking. So far, 2012 has been the hottest year ever recorded in the U.S. It ranks as one of the 10 warmest years ever planet-wide (with most of the other top 10 in the past decade.)</p> <p id="h6967-p3" class="permalinkable">But then there's the political climate. It's downright arctic. Global warming isn't mentioned much by political candidates these days. When it is, it's mocked as a leftist hoax.</p> <p id="h6967-p4" class="permalinkable">So Seattle's KC Golden is acutely aware of the irony. That someone chose right now to give him a $250,000 national award for having an "enduring and meaningful impact" on the world.</p> <p id="h6967-p5" class="permalinkable">"I'm floored by it, but if you're a climate guy, like me, you can't help but also feel a little bittersweet," says Golden, 53. "I'm being honored for work on an issue that we've utterly failed to come to grips with. That in some ways we've gone backwards on."</p> <p id="h6967-p6" class="permalinkable">Golden last week was plucked out of relative obscurity to receive the Heinz Award in Public Policy. Past winners have included former surgeon general C. Everett Koop, for his crusade against smoking, and the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. The award comes with a $250,000 prize that Golden can spend however he wants.</p> <p id="h6967-p7" class="permalinkable">Not bad for an energy wonk for a small Seattle nonprofit called Climate Solutions. Someone most people not in the clean energy or utility industries have probably never heard of.</p> <p id="h6967-p8" class="permalinkable">Golden is one of those crazy people I get the pleasure of meeting in this job. Crazy because they just don't know when to give up.</p> <p id="h6967-p9" class="permalinkable">I read him a quote I found in The Seattle Times newspaper archives:</p> <p id="h6967-p10" class="permalinkable">"Waiting for consensus about how fast the earth is warming before acting is like being on a plane falling from the sky and bickering about the rate of descent."</p> <p id="h6967-p11" class="permalinkable">That was from testimony Golden gave to the Bush Administration -- the first Bush Administration. In 1991.</p> <p id="h6967-p12" class="permalinkable">"I know, I should be cynical and frustrated by now, because to some extent it's true, we haven't budged since 1991," he said. "But I see cynicism as a form of capitulation."</p> <p id="h6967-p13" class="permalinkable">So, instead, he spent those two decades straining to budge the Northwest. In some cases not by much. But in others, in ways that permanently changed how we do business around here.</p> <p id="h6967-p14" class="permalinkable">In the late 1980s, Golden was a leader in a hugely controversial movement arguing that first Seattle, and then later the Northwest, could satisfy all energy needs for decades solely through conservation. There would be no need for any new dams or power plants, if we could just learn to cut back.</p> <p id="h6967-p15" class="permalinkable">Many thought that was hopelessly idealistic. But since then, the Northwest has reduced its power usage (per capita) by the equivalent of five nuclear plants (which we then didn't have to build). And the ability to save even more is not ebbing -- last week it was announced the Northwest in 2011 achieved the biggest leap in energy efficiencies in its history.</p> <p id="h6967-p16" class="permalinkable">"I think that is by far the best environmental story of the last 30 years," Golden says. "And nobody talks about it!"</p> <p id="h6967-p17" class="permalinkable">Golden also launched the movement in which cities pledge to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, as a grass-roots rebuttal to federal inaction. Plus, he's partnered with big business, such as Boeing and Alaska Airlines, on reducing carbon in jet fuels.</p> <p id="h6967-p18" class="permalinkable">Still, it's nibbling around the edges compared to the big challenge. Which is mobilizing the nation to rebuild its economy away from fossil fuels.</p> <p id="h6967-p19" class="permalinkable">Golden said climate denialism, despite its current hold on the Republican Party, isn't what's holding the U.S. back.</p> <p id="h6967-p20" class="permalinkable">"More interesting is the rest of us," he said. "Almost none of us, including environmentalists, are acting like there's a big problem either."</p> <p id="h6967-p21" class="permalinkable">He said he doesn't know yet how to spend the $250,000. If he could somehow leverage that into more national focus on climate change, he said, thinking out loud.</p> <p id="h6967-p22" class="permalinkable">Of course that's less than 1/1000th of what the Koch brothers, billionaire conservative financiers and global-warming critics, are spending in this election alone.</p> <p id="h6967-p23" class="permalinkable">So Golden's not going to get his wish this year. As we've seen, that's about the last reason to count him out.</p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-90940156158318582632012-09-17T12:34:00.001-07:002012-09-17T12:34:24.399-07:00Study estimates increasing rate of extreme rainfall with global warming - R & D Magazine<div id="ctl00_MainContent_ContentBlock1"> <p><img src="http://www.rdmag.com/WorkArea/images/application/loading_big.gif" alt="Loading..."/></p> Extreme precipitation in the tropics comes in many forms: thunderstorm complexes, flood-inducing monsoons and wide-sweeping cyclones like the recent Hurricane Isaac.<p>Global warming is expected to intensify extreme precipitation, but the rate at which it does so in the tropics has remained unclear. Now a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study has given an estimate based on model simulations and observations: With every 1 C rise in temperature, the study finds, tropical regions will see 10% heavier rainfall extremes, with possible impacts for flooding in populous regions.</p><p>âThe study includes some populous countries that are vulnerable to climate change,â says Paul OâGorman, the Victor P. Starr Career Development Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Science at MIT, âand impacts of changes in rainfall could be important there.â</p><p>OâGorman found that, compared to other regions of the world, extreme rainfall in the tropics responds differently to climate change. âIt seems rainfall extremes in tropical regions are more sensitive to global warming,â OâGorman says. âWe have yet to understand the mechanism for this higher sensitivity.â</p><p>Results from the study are published online this week in the journal <em>Nature Geoscience</em>.</p><p><strong>A warm rain will fall</strong><br/>Global warmingâs effect on rainfall in general is relatively well-understood: As carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere, they increase the temperature, which in turn leads to increases in the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. When storm systems develop, the increased humidity prompts heavier rain events that become more extreme as the climate warms.</p><p>Scientists have been developing models and simulations of Earthâs climate that can be used to help understand the impact of global warming on extreme rainfall around the world. For the most part, OâGorman says, existing models do a decent job of simulating rainfall outside the tropicsâ"for instance, in mid-latitude regions such as the United States and Europe. In those regions, the models agree on the rate at which heavy rains intensify with global warming.</p><p>However, when it comes to precipitation in the tropics, these models, OâGorman says, are not in agreement with one another. The reason may come down to resolution: Climate models simulate weather systems by dividing the globe into a grid, with each square on the grid representing a wide swath of ocean or land. Large weather systems that span multiple squares, such as those that occur in the United States and Europe in winter, are relatively easy to simulate. In contrast, smaller, more isolated storms that occur in the tropics may be trickier to track.</p><p><strong>An intensity of extremes</strong><br/>To better understand global warmingâs effect on tropical precipitation, OâGorman studied satellite observations of extreme rainfall between the latitudes of 30 degrees north and 30 degrees southâ"just above and below the Equator. The observations spanned the last 20 years, the extent of the satellite record. He then compared the observations to results from 18 different climate models over a similar 20-year period.</p><p>âThatâs not long enough to get a trend in extreme rainfall, but there are variations from year to year,â OâGorman says. âSome years are warmer than others, and itâs known to rain more overall in those years.â</p><p>This year-to-year variability is mostly due to El Niñoâ"a tropical weather phenomenon that warms the surface of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. El Niño causes localized warming and changes in rainfall patterns and occurs independent of global warming.</p><p>Looking through the climate models, which can simulate the effects of both El Niño and global warming, OâGorman found a pattern. Models that showed a strong response in rainfall to El Niño also responded strongly to global warming, and vice versa. The results, he says, suggest a link between the response of tropical extreme rainfall to year-to-year temperature changes and longer-term climate change.</p><p>OâGorman then looked at satellite observations to see what rainfall actually occurred as a result of El Niño in the past 20 years, and found that the observations were consistent with the models in that the most extreme rainfall events occurred in warmer periods. Using the observations to constrain the model results, he determined that with every 1 C rise under global warming, the most extreme tropical rainfall would become 10% more intenseâ"a more sensitive response than is expected for nontropical parts of the world.</p><p>âUnfortunately, the results of the study suggest a relatively high sensitivity of tropical extreme rainfall to global warming,â OâGorman says. âBut they also provide an estimate of what that sensitivity is, which should be of practical value for planning.â</p><p>The results of the study are in line with scientistsâ current understanding of how global warming affects rainfall, says Richard Allan, an associate professor of climate science at the University of Reading in England. A warming climate, he says, adds more water vapor to the atmosphere, fueling more intense storm systems.</p><p>âHowever, it is important to note that computer projections indicate that although the rainfall increases in the wettest regionsâ"or similarly, the wet seasonâ"the drier parts of the tropics ⦠will become drier still,â Allan says. âSo policymakers may have to plan for more damaging flooding, but also less reliable rains from year to year.â</p><p><a title="http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1568.html" href="http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1568.html">Sensitivity of tropical precipitation extremes to climate change</a><br/>                     <br/>Source: <a title="http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/study-shows-intensified-tropical-rainfall-with-global-warming-0917.html" href="http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/study-shows-intensified-tropical-rainfall-with-global-warming-0917.html">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a></p></div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-77592034416174095982012-09-17T08:34:00.001-07:002012-09-17T08:34:25.964-07:00The End of Global Warming: How to Save the Earth in 2 Easy Steps - The Atlantic<div> <p><em>The radical optimist's case for rescuing the planet</em><br /></p> <img alt="599px-The_Earth_seen_from_Apollo_17.jpg" src="http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/599px-The_Earth_seen_from_Apollo_17.jpg" class="mt-image-center c11" height="385" width="615" /><p>Wikimedia Commons</p> <p>You may not believe me, but I have news about global warming: Good news, and better news.</p> <p>Here is the good news. US carbon emissions are decreasing rapidly. We're down over 10% from our emissions peak in 2007. Furthermore, the drop isn't just a function of the Great Recession. Since 2010 our economy has been growing, but emissions have kept on falling. The reason? Natural gas. With the advent of "fracking" technology, the price of gas has plummeted far below that of coal, and as a result, essentially no new coal plants are being built. Although gas does release carbon, it only releases about half as much as coal for the same amount of electricity. This is why -- despite our failure to join the Kyoto Protocol or impose legal restrictions on CO2 -- the United States is now outpacing the rest of the developed world in reducing our contribution to global warming.</p> <p>Now for the better news. A technology is in the pipeline that has the potential to eliminate CO2 emissions entirely. Solar power, long believed to be unworkably expensive, has actually been falling in cost at a steady exponential rate of 7 percent per year for the last three decades straight. Because of this "Moore's Law for solar", electricity from solar panels now costs less than twice as much as electricity from coal, and only about three times as much as electricity from gas. Furthermore, technologies now in the pipeline seem to ensure that the cost drop will continue.<br /></p> <p>Within the decade, solar could be cheaper than coal. Within two decades, cheaper than gas. When that happens, assuming we also have electric cars, it is game over for carbon emissions.</p> <p>Am I being optimistic? Wildly. Global warming might still destroy the world. But technology has given us a fighting chance and this has big implications for at least four groups of people: Environmentalists, conservatives, economists, and policymakers.<br /></p> <p><strong>Environmentalists</strong> have been the main force behind the fight against carbon emissions. But, as it became apparent that there would be no drastic voluntary worldwide curtailment of industrial society, many seem to have fallen into a funk of despair. Perhaps that despair will be justified in the end...but instead of cowering in the closet and holding their heads in their hands and saying "Oh God, we're all going to die," environmentalists should be doing what they can to seize the chances that we do have. And those chances are all related to technology. Natural gas may be the enemy in the long run, but in the short run it is our most powerful friend. Gas has succeeded in sending U.S. emissions tumbling; what else has managed that feat? Instead of panicking over the environmental dangers of fracking (toxic chemicals that can seep into groundwater), environmentalists should focus on finding ways to limit those risks.</p> <p>This means working with gas companies, which often are also the same oil companies that have funded denial of global warming. Environmentalists will be understandably wary about partnering with such entities. But remember, the true enemy is not corporations; it's global warming. If Exxon can help fight warming by replacing coal with gas, then they are temporarily on the side of the good guys. (And take heart; the fall in solar costs, if it continues, will eventually render all of this fighting irrelevant.)</p> <p><strong>Conservatives</strong>, meanwhile, need to recognize that solar is for real. Modern American conservative ideas were mostly formed in the late 70s and early 80s, when solar really was prohibitively expensive. But things change. At one point, computers were so big that CEOs laughed out loud at the idea of a "personal computer"... but a few years later, Moore's Law had made those dreams into reality. Similarly, the conservative conventional wisdom - that solar will only ever survive by leaning on the crutch of government subsidies - is an anachronism whose expiration date has arrived. Solar is now so advanced that Germany, although it is cutting subsidies, is installing capacity at a breakneck pace; solar now provides over 4% of the electricity consumed by that cloudy, high-latitude country, and over 10% at peak times. Meanwhile, solar installations in the U.S., though helped by regulation and subsidies, are approximately doubling every year, without causing civilization to collapse. This trend will only make more sense as the exponential cost drop continues.</p> <p><strong>Economists</strong> are confronting an unpleasant truth with the rise of natural gas: Often, technology trumps our clever policy prescriptions. For many years, we have been vocal in our support for carbon taxes, which would act as a penalty on emissions and create incentives for the development of greener technology. This idea works great on paper, and would probably work great in real life ... if countries were willing to try it. But the fatal weakness of the carbon tax is that in order for it to work, it has to be global -- implemented by most or all industrial countries -- or else carbon-emitting activity will just migrate to whichever country has the weakest standards (in the process, hollowing out the economies of the countries with high carbon taxes). In other words, carbon taxes would be great, but they require the world to solve a coordination problem, a notorious bête noire of economic models. To make a long story short, China and India have absolutely no intent of curbing their carbon, and without them on board, a U.S. carbon tax might tax our own economy without making a difference to the planet.</p> <p>The real, workable solution is one that doesn't easily lend itself to supply-and-demand graphs. Technology, as economists say, is nonrival. If you invent an idea, it's very easy to have everyone copy that idea for essentially no further cost. So if low-carbon energy technologies become cheaper than fossil fuels, they will spread like wildfire around the world, displacing dirty fuel overnight. That is what is now happening with gas displacing coal. And if solar gets cheap enough, it will happen again.</p> <p><strong>Policymakers</strong> don't need to push for an unpopular carbon tax. Policymakers need to be encouraging the rapid creation of low-carbon energy technologies. Government-funded research has worked miracles in the past (think internet, satellites, nuclear power), and has the potential to do so again. To keep solar on or below its exponentially falling cost curve, we need the federal government to step up spending on solar research. As of now, that spending totals somewhere around $500 million - not peanuts, but not nearly enough. Why not triple or quadruple that? Two billion dollars would still be cheap compared to the cost of subsidies.</p> <p class="c13">***<br /></p> <p>And here is the next step, the really radical policy idea: We need to give our low-carbon technologies away to other countries, starting with gas extraction technologies. China now burns much of the world's coal, but they have big deposits of frack-able gas. A deliberate technology transfer is thus the fastest way to lower China's emissions. This will mean lower profits for some U.S. companies, but in the long run it will be a boost to our economy too, even without considering the "world doesn't get destroyed" aspect. And importantly, green tech transfers will seem fair to developing countries. The West developed first, burning coal and oil the whole time. It's only fair that we shell out our own money to save the world from global warming now. Realize that if there is ever to be a global carbon tax, it will require (a) the existence of almost-as-cheap alternatives (like solar), and (b) the perception of fairness on the part of China and India. U.S. government research and free tech transfer kills both birds with one stone.</p> <p>So to sum up: The way to save our planet is clear. Step 1 is to embrace natural gas as a "bridge" fuel, limiting the risks from fracking and helping China and other developing countries to switch from coal to gas. Step 2 is to fund research to ensure that the jaw-dropping three-decade plunge in solar power costs continues for two decades more. Natural gas is the temporary ally. Cheap solar is the cavalry that will ride in to finally save the day.<br /></p> <p>Preventing catastrophic global warming might still be a long shot. But if we do the right things now, we just might make it.</p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-82392763809229860112012-09-17T04:34:00.001-07:002012-09-17T04:34:24.206-07:00As climate change crisis looms, presidential campaigns stay quiet - Macon Telegraph (blog)<div> <p><span class="dateline">CHARLOTTE, N.C.</span> â" It was just six words, but when President Barack Obama gave a shout-out to global warming in his acceptance speech this month, he reintroduced an issue that had all but disappeared from the political debate.</p> <p>"Climate change is not a hoax," Obama said, an assertion that brought Democratic National Convention delegates to their feet, as he pledged to continue approaching energy policy in a way he said would "continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet."</p> <p>In a year when the political debate has lacked nearly any discussion of climate change, some environmentalists have struggled to summon enthusiasm for the Democratic president they helped elect in 2008 in part because of his views on global warming. So they rejoiced when the president rebutted a taunt tossed out by Republican candidate Mitt Romney the week before. Romney had quipped in his own acceptance speech in Tampa, Fla., that Obama âpromised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet.â</p> <p>"My promise is to help you and your family," Romney added.</p> <p>It was a rhetorical flourish, an attack line offered to make the point that Romney understands the kitchen table issues that, he says, the president doesnât. But environmentalists heard it as heresy.</p> <p>"Twenty years from now, history is going to judge the next generation on how they responded to the destabilization of our climate," said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. "With a couple of short sentences, Romney made clear whatâs at stake in this election."</p> <p>Yet the nationâs disappointing economic picture, as well as the complexities of each candidateâs record on global warming, make climate change a tough sell for the independent voters who will decide the presidential race.</p> <p>Although climate change typically ranks below such issues as the economy, polling done in March 2012 by Yale University and George Mason University found that 72 percent of Americans think that global warming should be a priority for the president and Congress. Among registered voters, 84 percent of Democrats, 68 percent of independents and 52 percent of Republicans think global warming should be a priority.</p> <p>Regardless of the candidatesâ relative silence about global warming on the campaign trail, the next president will face tough choices on controversial energy and environmental issues such as whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline and how to handle natural gas development and the environmentally fraught âfrackingâ that goes with it.</p> <p>The silence on the campaign trail belies the reality â" and the gravity â" for many coastal communities. Planners in south Florida and New York City already are looking at the multibillion-dollar expense of upgrading infrastructure to address rising sea levels.</p> <p>Until recently, though, climate change has been so low a priority in the yearâs political discourse that some major political contributors with a strong interest in environmental issues have been reserved in their giving.</p> <p>They include such high-profile donors as Susie Tompkins Buell of San Francisco, a close friend of Hillary Clintonâs and co-founder of the Esprit clothing line, who last year protested the interstate Keystone XL pipeline outside an Obama fundraiser, the sort of event she normally would have attended.</p> <p>Environmentalists have applauded some of the administrationâs top achievements, such as raising automobile mileage standards and lowering mercury emissions. But they also have concerns about opening areas of the Arctic to drilling, increased offshore development in the Gulf of Mexico and other coastal regions, and the failure of Congress to pass cap-and-trade legislation that could have curbed carbon emissions.</p> <p>Betsy Taylor, a Democratic strategist and consultant who represents a coalition of wealthy environmentally minded donors, said plenty of environmentalists support Obama. But some have been waiting for the president to renew his call for more action on climate change before they donate more. They saw Romneyâs remarks as "a great opportunity for the president to step up and distinguish himself," Taylor said.</p> <p>The political arms of the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the League of Conservation Voters see it as a winning issue, particularly in races for the Senate and the House of Representatives. Theyâve targeted candidates who deny climate change; the League of Conservation Voters, for example, has a âFlat Earth Five" itâs targeting. They all say it was insulting for Romney to say that families donât care about climate change.</p> <p>"I would hazard to guess that those people who got flooded out by Hurricane Isaac are super worried about climate change," said Heather Taylor-Miesle, director of the NRDC Action Fund. "The seas rose in New Orleans. To imply that those families donât care about sea rise is both insensitive and completely oblivious. This is an issue that has real consequences for American families."</p> <p>Romney has said previously that he believes climate change is occurring and that human activity is a contributing factor. During the Republican primary season, though, he said he didnât believe it was the right course to spend âtrillions and trillionsâ to reduce carbon emissions. More recently, he said in a questionnaire submitted to Science Debate, a non-profit organization focusing on science issues in the presidential campaign, that he believes human activity contributes to global warming and that policymakers should consider the risk of negative consequences.</p> <p>Frank Maisano, a lobbyist whose firm represents energy interests and who has been involved in climate change discussions for 15 years, cautioned not to read too much into Romneyâs dig about the rise of the oceans. It was designed to show Obama is "a little bit out of touch," he said.</p> <p>"Right now, you need someone who cares about you rather than these larger, soaring rhetorical issues," Maisano said.</p> <p>Jim DiPeso of ConservAmerica had the same reaction.</p> <p>"(Romney) acknowledged that science has shown there is a human role in global warming,â said DiPeso, who represents a national grassroots organization of conservation-minded Republicans who would like to see a fiscally conservative approach to capping carbon emissions.</p> <p>DiPeso said he hopes Romneyâs acknowledgement will give Republicans lower down on the ticket the freedom to talk about climate change, an issue that once had Republican support. Policymakers may differ on how to address emissions, but carbon dioxide molecules are apolitical, he said.</p> <p>âBecause weâve gotten to the point where a good Republican canât acknowledge the real science that backs up climate change without being cast as some sort of infidel, or somebody whoâs not a real conservative,â he said.</p> <p>There are ways to make climate change part of the overall discussion on energy without actually saying "climate change," said Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, who hails not only from an energy-producing state, but one that has to grapple with the eroded coastlines, fiercer storms and melting icepack caused by the changing climate.</p> <p>Rather than talking about climate change in a vacuum, Begich said, Democrats need to talk about it in the context of national security, energy security and a thriving green economy.</p> <p>"I think we have a habit as Democrats, we want to get touchy feely and policy wonk stuff to death," he said, while speaking at an energy panel at the convention. "Instead, just plain and simple, this is about economic security, itâs about national security. We cater so deep to our base, we forget the average person is looking at, well, how does it affect them? What does it do for national security? What does it do for the economy?"</p> <p>Plenty is at stake, said Marc Weiss, a documentary filmmaker and Obama supporter whose film on the history of the environmental movement will be released in the coming month. He continues to support the Obama-Biden campaign. But Weiss wants more voices to speak out on climate.</p> <p>"Itâs not just about the moral imperative," he said. "I think it could be a winning political strategy. Thereâs a dramatic choice here, and for me itâs a no-brainer."</p> <p class="shirttail">Email: ebolstad@mcclatchydc.com; Twitter: @erikabolstad</p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-4733324756443712122012-09-17T03:34:00.001-07:002012-09-17T03:34:23.890-07:00Study estimates rate of intensification of extreme tropical rainfall with ... - Phys.Org<p>An image taken during Tropical Storm Fay in 2008. Photo: flickr/minds-eye</p><p id="news-desc"><strong>Extreme precipitation in the tropics comes in many forms: thunderstorm complexes, flood-inducing monsoons and wide-sweeping cyclones like the recent Hurricane Isaac.</strong></p><div id="news-text"><p>Global warming is expected to intensify extreme precipitation, but the rate at which it does so in the tropics has remained unclear. Now an MIT study has given an estimate based on <a href="http://phys.org/tags/model+simulations/" rel="tag" class="textTag">model simulations</a> and observations: With every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature, the study finds, tropical regions will see 10 percent heavier rainfall extremes, with possible impacts for flooding in populous regions.</p> <p>"The study includes some populous countries that are vulnerable to <a href="http://phys.org/tags/climate+change/" rel="tag" class="textTag">climate change</a>," says Paul O'Gorman, the Victor P. Starr Career Development Assistant Professor of <a href="http://phys.org/tags/atmospheric+science/" rel="tag" class="textTag">Atmospheric Science</a> at MIT, "and impacts of changes in rainfall could be important there."</p> <p>O'Gorman found that, compared to other regions of the world, extreme rainfall in the tropics responds differently to climate change. "It seems rainfall extremes in <a href="http://phys.org/tags/tropical+regions/" rel="tag" class="textTag">tropical regions</a> are more sensitive to global warming," O'Gorman says. "We have yet to understand the mechanism for this higher sensitivity."</p> <p>Results from the study are published online this week in the journal <em>Nature Geoscience</em>.</p> <p><strong>A warm rain will fall</strong></p> <p>Global warming's effect on rainfall in general is relatively well-understood: As carbon dioxide and other <a href="http://phys.org/tags/greenhouse+gases/" rel="tag" class="textTag">greenhouse gases</a> enter the atmosphere, they increase the temperature, which in turn leads to increases in the amount of <a href="http://phys.org/tags/water+vapor/" rel="tag" class="textTag">water vapor</a> in the atmosphere. When storm systems develop, the increased humidity prompts heavier rain events that become more extreme as the climate warms.</p> <p>Scientists have been developing models and simulations of Earth's climate that can be used to help understand the impact of global warming on extreme rainfall around the world. For the most part, O'Gorman says, existing models do a decent job of simulating rainfall outside the tropicsâ"for instance, in mid-latitude regions such as the United States and Europe. In those regions, the models agree on the rate at which heavy rains intensify with global warming.</p> <p>However, when it comes to precipitation in the tropics, these models, O'Gorman says, are not in agreement with one another. The reason may come down to resolution: Climate models simulate weather systems by dividing the globe into a grid, with each square on the grid representing a wide swath of ocean or land. Large weather systems that span multiple squares, such as those that occur in the United States and Europe in winter, are relatively easy to simulate. In contrast, smaller, more isolated storms that occur in the tropics may be trickier to track.</p> <p><strong>An intensity of extremes</strong></p> <p>To better understand global warming's effect on tropical precipitation, O'Gorman studied satellite observations of extreme rainfall between the latitudes of 30 degrees north and 30 degrees southâ"just above and below the Equator. The observations spanned the last 20 years, the extent of the satellite record. He then compared the observations to results from 18 different climate models over a similar 20-year period.</p> <p>"That's not long enough to get a trend in extreme rainfall, but there are variations from year to year," O'Gorman says. "Some years are warmer than others, and it's known to rain more overall in those years."</p> <p>This year-to-year variability is mostly due to El Niñoâ"a tropical weather phenomenon that warms the surface of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. El Niño causes localized warming and changes in rainfall patterns and occurs independent of global warming.</p> <p>Looking through the climate models, which can simulate the effects of both El Niño and global warming, O'Gorman found a pattern. Models that showed a strong response in rainfall to El Niño also responded strongly to global warming, and vice versa. The results, he says, suggest a link between the response of tropical extreme rainfall to year-to-year temperature changes and longer-term climate change.</p> <p>O'Gorman then looked at satellite observations to see what rainfall actually occurred as a result of El Niño in the past 20 years, and found that the observations were consistent with the models in that the most extreme rainfall events occurred in warmer periods. Using the observations to constrain the model results, he determined that with every 1 degree Celsius rise under global warming, the most extreme tropical rainfall would become 10 percent more intenseâ"a more sensitive response than is expected for nontropical parts of the world.</p> <p>"Unfortunately, the results of the study suggest a relatively high sensitivity of tropical <a href="http://phys.org/tags/extreme+rainfall/" rel="tag" class="textTag">extreme rainfall</a> to global warming," O'Gorman says. "But they also provide an estimate of what that sensitivity is, which should be of practical value for planning."</p> <p>The results of the study are in line with scientists' current understanding of how <a href="http://phys.org/tags/global+warming/" rel="tag" class="textTag">global warming</a> affects rainfall, says Richard Allan, an associate professor of climate science at the University of Reading in England. A warming climate, he says, adds more water vapor to the atmosphere, fueling more intense storm systems.</p> <p>"However, it is important to note that computer projections indicate that although the rainfall increases in the wettest regionsâ"or similarly, the wet seasonâ"the drier parts of the tropics ⦠will become drier still," Allan says. "So policymakers may have to plan for more damaging flooding, but also less reliable rains from year to year."<br/></p> <p class="infobox"><strong>Journal reference:</strong> <a href="http://phys.org/journals/nature-geoscience/" class="textTag" rel="news">Nature Geoscience</a> </p> <p class="infobox"><strong>Provided by</strong> <a href="http://phys.org/partners/massachusetts-institute-of-technology/" class="textTag" rel="news">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> </p> <p><em>This story is republished courtesy of MIT News (<a href="http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/" target="_blank">web.mit.edu/newsoffice/</a>), a popular site that covers news about MIT research, innovation and teaching.<br/></em></p> <div class="col-s" id="sclTb"> <ul class="inline"><li><a href="http://phys.org/print267079832.html" title="print"><img src="http://cdn.physorg.com/tmpl/v3/img/img-dot.gif" width="25" height="25" class="toolbox news-print" alt="print this article"/></a></li> <li><a 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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-37922232915755785512012-09-17T03:04:00.001-07:002012-09-17T03:04:23.840-07:00Global warming: More bad news for coral reefs - Summit County Citizens Voice<div> <p class="c1"><span class="c2"><em><strong>New global assessment predicts significant damage to majority of reef ecosystems unless greenhouse gases are curbed drastically</strong></em></span></p> <div id="attachment_48032" class="wp-caption aligncenter c5"><a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/?attachment_id=48032" rel="attachment wp-att-48032"><img class="size-full wp-image-48032" title="staghorncoral_sefsc" src="http://summitvoice.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/staghorncoral_sefsc.jpg?w=468&h=351" alt="" width="468" height="351" /></a> <p class="wp-caption-text">Staghorn coral. Photo courtesy NOAA.</p> </div> <p><strong>By Summit Voice</strong></p> <p>SUMMIT COUNTY â" Most coral reefs are likely doomed unless humankind acts quickly to curb greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new global assessment of global warming impacts published last week in Nature Climate Change.</p> <p>âOur findings show that under current assumptions regarding thermal sensitivity, coral reefs might no longer be prominent coastal ecosystems if global mean temperatures actually exceed 2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level,â said lead author Katja Frieler, of the <a href="http://www.pik-potsdam.de/" target="_blank">Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research</a>. âWithout a yet uncertain process of adaptation or acclimation, however, already about 70 percent of corals are projected to suffer from long-term degradation by 2030 even under an ambitious mitigation scenario.â</p> <p>The threshold for protecting at least half the worldâs coral reef ecosystems is estimated at 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to the study conducted by scientists from Potsdam, the University of British Columbia in Canada and the Universities of Melbourne and Queensland in Australia. <span id="more-48031"></span></p> <p>To project the cumulative heat stress at 2160 reef locations worldwide, they used an extensive set of 19 global climate models. By applying different emission scenarios covering the 21st century and multiple climate model simulations, a total of more than 32,000 simulation years was diagnosed. This allows for a more robust representation of uncertainty than any previous study.</p> <p>Coral reefs house almost a quarter of the species in the oceans and provide critical services â" including coastal protection, tourism and fishing â" to millions of people worldwide. Global warming and ocean acidification, both driven by human-caused CO2 emissions, pose a major threat to these ecosystems.</p> <p>Corals derive most of their energy, as well as most of their famous color, from a close symbiotic relationship with a special type of microalgae. The relationship between coral and algae breaks down when stressed by warm water temperatures, making the coral âbleachâ or turn pale. Some corals are able to rebound from short episodes, but if the heat stress persists, they die.</p> <p>âThis happened in 1998, when an estimated 16 percent of corals were lost in a single, prolonged period of warmth worldwide,â said Frieler.</p> <p>To account for the ability of some corals to adapt,the study included some optimistic assumptions.</p> <p>âHowever, corals themselves have all the wrong characteristics to be able to rapidly evolve new thermal tolerances,â said co-author Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a marine biologist at the University of Queensland in Australia. âThey have long lifecycles of 5-100 years and they show low levels of diversity due to the fact that corals can reproduce by cloning themselves. They are not like fruit flies which can evolve much faster.â</p> <p>Previous studies estimated the effect of thermal adaptation on bleaching thresholds, but not the possible opposing effect of ocean acidification. Seawater gets more acidic when taking up CO2 from the atmosphere. This is likely to act to the detriment of the calcification processes crucial for the coralsâ growth and might also reduce their thermal resilience.</p> <p>The researchers said their work highlights how close we are to a world without coral reefs as we know them.</p> <p>âThe window of opportunity to preserve the majority of coral reefs, part of the worldâs natural heritage, is small,â said Malte Meinshausen, co-author at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the University of Melbourne. âWe close this window if we follow another decade of ballooning global greenhouse-gas emissions.â</p> <p><span class="latitude">39.586656</span> <span class="longitude">-106.092081</span></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled"> <div class="wpl-likebox sd-block sd-like"> <h3 class="sd-title">Like this:</h3> <div class="sd-content"> <p>Be the first to like this.</p> </div> </div> </div> <p class="postinfo">Filed under: <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/environment/biodiversity/" title="View all posts in biodiversity" rel="category tag">biodiversity</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/climate-and-weather/" title="View all posts in climate and weather" rel="category tag">climate and weather</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/environment/biodiversity/coral-reefs/" title="View all posts in coral reefs" rel="category tag">coral reefs</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/environment/" title="View all posts in Environment" rel="category tag">Environment</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/climate-and-weather/global-warming/" title="View all posts in global warming" rel="category tag">global warming</a> Tagged: | <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/coral-bleaching/" rel="tag">Coral bleaching</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/coral-reefs/" rel="tag">coral reefs</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/environment/" rel="tag">Environment</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/global-warming/" rel="tag">global warming</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/potsdam-institute-for-climate-impact-research/" rel="tag">Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/university-of-queensland/" rel="tag">University of Queensland</a></p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-44143069568798302872012-09-17T02:34:00.001-07:002012-09-17T02:34:23.919-07:00Global warming: Tracking Himalayan glaciers - Summit County Citizens Voice<div> <div id="attachment_47998" class="wp-caption alignright c5"><a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/?attachment_id=47998" rel="attachment wp-att-47998"><img class="size-medium wp-image-47998" title="himalaya_ali_2009359" src="http://summitvoice.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/himalaya_ali_2009359.jpg?w=300&h=300" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a> <p class="wp-caption-text">Scientists are trying to pinpoint the impacts of global warming on Himalayan glaciers and regional water supplies. <em>Photo courtesy <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=43391" target="_blank">Nasa Earth Observatory.</a></em></p> </div> <p><span class="c2"><em><strong>New report outlines potential impacts of climate change to regional water supplies</strong></em></span></p> <p><strong>By Summit Voice</strong></p> <p>FRISCO â" Many of the worldâs glaciers and ice sheets are retreating in the face of global warming, but a few are stable or growing â" including glaciers in the western Himalaya Mountains, according to a new report from the <a href="http://nationalacademies.org/nrc/" target="_blank">National Research Council.</a></p> <p>The report was aimed at determining how changes to glaciers in the <a href="http://www.icimod.org/?q=1137" target="_blank">Hindu Kush-Himalayan region</a>, which covers eight countries across Asia, could affect the areaâs river systems, water supplies, and the South Asian population.</p> <p>The mountains in the region form the headwaters of several major river systems â" including the Ganges, Mekong, Yangtze, and Yellow rivers â" which serve as sources of drinking water and irrigation supplies for about 1.5 billion people. The eastern Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau are warming, and the trend is more pronounced at higher elevations. Models suggest that desert dust and black carbon, a component of soot, could contribute to the rapid atmospheric warming, accelerated snowpack melting, and glacier retreat.<span id="more-47997"></span></p> <p>Glacier melt contributes water to the regionâs rivers and streams,but retreating glaciers over the next several decades are unlikely to cause significant change in water availability at lower elevations, which depend primarily on monsoon precipitation and snowmelt, the report concluded. Variations in water supplies in those areas are more likely to come from extensive extraction of groundwater resources, population growth, and shifts in water-use patterns.</p> <p>High-elevation areas could see changes in the timing of season floes, with the impacts of glacial retreat most evident during the dry season, especially in the western part of the region, where glacial melt is more important to the river systems. Nevertheless, shifts in the location, intensity, and variability of both rain and snow will likely have a greater impact on regional water supplies than glacier retreat.</p> <p>Melting of glacial ice could play an important role in maintaining water security during times of drought or similar climate extremes. For example, during the 2003 European drought, glacial melting played an important role in sustaining Danube River flows.</p> <p>Water stored as glacial ice could serve as the Himalayan regionâs hydrologic insurance, adding to streams and rivers when it is most needed. Although retreating glaciers would provide more meltwater in the short term, the loss of water stored in glaciers could become problematic over the long term.</p> <p>Water resources management and provision of clean water and sanitation are already a challenge in the region, and the changes in climate and water availability warrant small-scale adaptations with effective, flexible management that can adjust to the conditions, according to the report.</p> <p>Current efforts that focus on natural hazard and disaster reduction in the region could offer useful lessons when considering and addressing the potential for impacts resulting from glacial retreat and changes in snowmelt processes in the region.</p> <p>Many basins in the region are âwater-stressedâ due to both social changes and environmental factors, and this stress is projected to intensify with large forecasted population growth, the committee concluded. Climate change could exacerbate this stress in the future.</p> <p>Although the history of international river disputes suggests that cooperation is a more likely outcome than violent conflict in this region, social conditions could change. Therefore, modifications in water supplies could play an increasing role in political tensions, especially if existing water management institutions do not evolve to take better account of the regionâs social, economic, and ecological complexities, the report concluded.</p> <p><span class="latitude">39.586656</span> <span class="longitude">-106.092081</span></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled"> <div class="wpl-likebox sd-block sd-like"> <h3 class="sd-title">Like this:</h3> <div class="sd-content"> <p>Be the first to like this.</p> </div> </div> </div> <p class="postinfo">Filed under: <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/climate-and-weather/" title="View all posts in climate and weather" rel="category tag">climate and weather</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/climate-and-weather/drought-climate-and-weather/" title="View all posts in Drought" rel="category tag">Drought</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/environment/" title="View all posts in Environment" rel="category tag">Environment</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/climate-and-weather/global-warming/" title="View all posts in global warming" rel="category tag">global warming</a> Tagged: | <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/climate-change/" rel="tag">climate change</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/global-warming/" rel="tag">global warming</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/himalayas/" rel="tag">Himalayas</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/retreat-of-glaciers-since-1850/" rel="tag">Retreat of glaciers since 1850</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/tibetan-plateau/" rel="tag">Tibetan Plateau</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/united-states-national-research-council/" rel="tag">United States National Research Council</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/water-resources/" rel="tag">Water Resources</a></p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-12484491186619400522012-09-17T00:04:00.001-07:002012-09-17T00:04:24.392-07:00Global Warming Must Be Made History - AllAfrica.com<div> <p>Last Saturday, September 15, Rwanda was presented with an award for her outstanding contribution to Ozone layer protection at the 14th Ordinary Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment in Arusha, Tanzania.</p> <p>The award is in recognition of the country's outstanding contribution to the protection of the Ozone Layer for generations to come by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).</p> <p>Rwanda has, through different measures, prevented use of Ozone depleting substances through research and creating a database on major consumers of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS).</p> <p>It is puzzling to observe that there is no mass uprising today on environmental degradation similar to the ones in the West a few years ago on poverty reduction in the developing world. There is need for action if humankind is to avert a man-made environmental apocalypse that threatens our very existence. The consequences of climate change are already here with us. Africa is already suffering from frequent droughts and serious floods. It is estimated that by 2036 Hemingway's snows of Kilimanjaro will have no snow left on its summit!</p> <p>Recent studies on energy use in Africa indicate that promoting cleaner, more efficient technologies for producing charcoal in Africa can save millions of lives and have significant climate change and development benefits.</p> <p>The African continent is dependent on both wood and charcoal for cooking and heating homes. It is estimated that in 2000, nearly 470 million tons of wood were consumed in homes in sub-Saharan Africa in the form of firewood and charcoal. This is more wood per capita than is used in any other region in the world.</p> <p>However, more than 1.6 million people, primarily women and children, die prematurely each year worldwide and nearly half a million of these are from sub-Saharan Africa. These people die from respiratory diseases caused by the pollution from such fires, according to previous studies by researchers from the Universities of California, Berkeley and the Harvard School of Public Health.</p> <p>The conclusion made in a recent study by the said two Universities is that by 2030, smoke from wood fires used for cooking will cause about 10 million premature deaths among women and children in Africa.</p> <p>By 2050, according to the same study, smoke from cooking fires will release about 7 billion tons of carbon in the form of greenhouse gases to the environment-that is about 6 per cent of the total expected greenhouses from the continent.</p> <p>Africa looks to be caught up in an endless cycle of environmental degradation and poverty. What is perhaps needed is a proper international economic order in which more investment would ensure that farmers make better and less destructive use of the land. But first we must have infrastructure, notoriously insufficient, to ensure that our people stay on the land, and to transport crops to the markets.</p> <p>Africa's climate is so vulnerable and fragile. And yet in today's world, less than a quarter of the world's inhabitants consume three-quarters of its resources-and these are not Africans. The rich world is said to emit half of the planet's carbon dioxide fumes, while Africa emits just 3 per cent. And the rich world continues to chase our scarce resources like fish, timber and minerals with reckless abandon.</p> <p>The much-hyped Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), of which Rwanda is doing well to attain, cannot be reached unless the developed world invests in the continent so that we can transit to the use of clean charcoal without increasing pollution and decimating our diminishing, in fact vanishing tropical forests.</p> <p>The many vehicles that ply Africa's dilapidated highways and roads, particularly the 4-WDs, emit gases that are equally hazardous to the health and safety of the people of our continent. Our factories, many of which are located in urban centers, happily add air pollutants, which have negative health and environmental effects when emitted into the atmosphere in large volumes on a continuous basis, as is the case.</p> <p>We seriously need stringent mechanisms in form of legislation or self-regulation to monitor and control emissions.</p> <p>The said legislation must involve the investigation of all the factories and where available refineries that produce emissions so that a detailed emissions inventory is established.</p> <p>The escape route from extreme poverty in Africa must take environmental conservation seriously. But first we must be ready and equipped to implement legislation as well as monitor the new legislation once implemented. In the meantime, I wish to convey my congratulations to the Rwanda Environment and Management Authority for a well deserved award in their fight against environmental degradation as well as the fight against the thinning of the Ozone Layer that protects life on our mother earth!</p> </div><p><a href="http://allafrica.com/misc/info/copyright.html">Copyright</a> © 2012 The New Times. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (<a href="http://allafrica.com/">allAfrica.com</a>). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections â" or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, <a href="http://allafrica.com/view/publisher/editorial/editorial/id/00010267.html">click here.</a></p><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919509362740531711.post-61161569506751049522012-09-16T23:34:00.001-07:002012-09-16T23:34:24.228-07:00Global warming: Businesses see 'tangible and present risk' - Summit County Citizens Voice<div> <p class="c1"><span class="c2"><em><strong>Investor support for addressing climate change is growing</strong></em></span></p> <div id="attachment_48036" class="wp-caption aligncenter c5"><a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/?attachment_id=48036" rel="attachment wp-att-48036"><img class="size-full wp-image-48036" title="GHCN_GISS_HR2SST_1200km_Anom08_2012_2012_1951_1980" src="http://summitvoice.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/ghcn_giss_hr2sst_1200km_anom08_2012_2012_1951_1980.gif?w=468&h=277" alt="" width="468" height="277" /></a> <p class="wp-caption-text">August 2012 temperature anomalies compared to the 1951-1980 average. <em>Courtesy NASA.</em></p> </div> <p><em>* Republished from Climate Progress under a content exchange agreement</em></p> <p><strong>By Stephen Lacey</strong></p> <p>The number of large corporations reporting current risks from climate change has grown substantially over the last two years.</p> <p>According to <a title="survey" href="https://www.cdproject.net/en-US/Pages/global500.aspx" target="_blank">a survey</a> of 405 of the biggest global companies conducted by the Carbon Disclosure Project, 37 percent say they are already seeing the impact of climate change on their business â" up from 10 percent in 2010.<span id="more-48035"></span></p> <p>The Carbon Disclosure Project attributes the increase in companies worried about current climate risks to the <a title="rise" href="http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/09/timeline-extreme-weather-events-2012" target="_blank">rise in extreme weather</a> globally:</p> <blockquote> <p><em>Recent extreme weather and natural events have tested companiesâ business resilience and increased their level of understanding of the timeframes of the physical risks they associate with climate change. Physical risks are viewed as tangible and present, impacting companiesâ operations, supply chains and business planning. The majority of companies (81%) report physical risks and the percentage of companies that view these risks as current has nearly quadrupled from 10% in 2010 to 37% in 2012. Insurance company Allianz reports that in 2011 it processed $2.2 billion in natural catastrophe (including non-weather related) claims, the largest sum for natural catastrophes in its history.</em></p> </blockquote> <p>So far this year, America has seen <a title="wunderblog" href="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2227" target="_blank">the most extreme period</a> for weather ever recorded. The country is on track to surpass last year, when there were <a title="extreme weather" href="http://www.wunderground.com/resources/severe/severe.asp" target="_blank">14 extreme weather events</a> that each caused more than a billion dollars in damage â" the most in U.S. history.</p> <p>In response to these tangible impacts, more large companies are crafting strategies for addressing climate change. According to the survey, 78 percent of responding companies are factoring climate into their business plans, up from 68 percent in 2011.</p> <p>The reaction from corporations is similar to those seen among individuals: Polls show that as people see the impact of extreme weather first hand, <a title="changing" href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/04/18/466621/poll-large-majority-of-americans-understand-global-warming-made-several-major-extreme-weather-events-worse/" target="_blank">theyâre far more likely</a> to say they understand the climate is changing due to human activity.</p> <p>âBusiness and economies globally have already been impacted by the increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events, which scientists are increasingly linking to climate change,â wrote Paul Simpson, CEO of the Carbon Disclosure Project. âIt is vital that we internalize the costs of future environmental damage into todayâs decisions by putting an effective price on carbon.â</p> <p>The Carbon Disclosure Project is a group of hundreds of financial institutions and corporations worth $78 trillion that have pledged to release data on their greenhouse gas emissions and implement reduction strategies.</p> <p>This latest survey shows yet again how private companies are taking action to address the problem, while politicians in Washington debate whether the problem even exists. Last year, <a title="investors" href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/10/19/347597/investors-worth-20-trillion-call-for-urgent-action-on-climate/" target="_blank">a group of investors</a> worth $20 trillion in assets called climate action the foundation of âlong-term economic growthâ that will âpresent significant opportunities for investors in areas such as cleaner and renewable energy, energy efficiency and decarbonisation.â</p> <p>Investor support for addressing climate change has doubled in the last three years â" growing from 150 investors managing $9 trillion in assets to todayâs 285 investors with $20 trillion.</p> <p><span class="latitude">39.586656</span> <span class="longitude">-106.092081</span></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled"> <div class="wpl-likebox sd-block sd-like"> <h3 class="sd-title">Like this:</h3> <div class="sd-content"> <p>Be the first to like this.</p> </div> </div> </div> <p class="postinfo">Filed under: <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/colorado/business/" title="View all posts in business" rel="category tag">business</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/climate-and-weather/" title="View all posts in climate and weather" rel="category tag">climate and weather</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/colorado/business/economy-business/" title="View all posts in economy" rel="category tag">economy</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/environment/" title="View all posts in Environment" rel="category tag">Environment</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/category/climate-and-weather/global-warming/" title="View all posts in global warming" rel="category tag">global warming</a> Tagged: | <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/business/" rel="tag">business</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/carbon-disclosure-project/" rel="tag">Carbon Disclosure Project</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/climate-change/" rel="tag">climate change</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/climate-progress/" rel="tag">Climate Progress</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/economy/" rel="tag">economy</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/extreme-weather/" rel="tag">extreme weather</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/global-warming/" rel="tag">global warming</a>, <a href="http://summitcountyvoice.com/tag/think-progress/" rel="tag">Think Progress</a></p> </div><img src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0