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In the ‘it was just a matter of time’ category: Saying she’s promoting “freedom to breathe,” a Northern Arizona legislator is working to assert the state’s control — or lack of it — over greenhouse gases. Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, said there is absolutely no evidence that carbon dioxide, whether from power plants, vehicle emissions [...] In addition to cutting funding for the IPCC, the recent budget passed by the House also cut money for other climate related programs: Budgetary measures passed by the House at the weekend would not only withdraw US funding from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - they would also end financing for the office occupied [...] This past weekend the American Association for the Advancement of Science held it’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. One of the segments of the meeting featured climate scientists and journalists who participated in an open discussion on why the American publics understanding of climate change is at odds with the global research [...] This week focused on the issue of human denial when dealing with climate change. The readings gave a good overview of the topic and the class lecture and videos allowed for more development and discussion regarding the reasons behind this phenomenon. As an open-minded, knowledgeable student, I am aware of the climate change taking [...] Warmer temperatures are likely to increase allergy seasons, and it has actually already started! http://healthland.time.com/2011/02/22/get-out-the-kleenex%E2%80%94climate-change-lengthens-allergy-season/ CNN posted a quiz to test your sustainability knowledge! http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/02/22/sustainable.living.quiz/index.html?hpt=C2 After our class discussion today, I was intrigued to learn more about the carbon labeling and the different products that we should consider for our daily consumption. Interesting site! “While many of us are learning to recycle, drive less and better insulate our homes, we must also recognise that every product we use has [...] Today an earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand has taken the lives of approximately 75 people with an estimated 100 missing. Although the news report have relatively limited with information, it will be important to follow how the city rebuilds given the destruction. As we have read in a previous post from Dr. Elwee, it [...] At 2am on Saturday morning, the US House of Representatives voted along party lines to eliminate US funding for the IPCC, which has been around $2 million a year. The amendment’s sponsor, Rep. Luetekmeyer (R-Mo.) stated his reason for the funding cutoff: My constituents should not have to continue to foot the bill for [...] An interesting report on the linkages between cholera outbreaks and climate change. As noted in the map below, it is a serious disease of the developing world. Image from: http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMp0810559 Businesses and investors are increasingly realizing their assets may be at risk from climate change. A new report tries to quantify this, and help institutional investors (i.e. large investors like pension funds) manage climate change risk: New approaches to Strategic Asset Allocation are therefore required to tackle fundamental shifts in the global economy. This [...] Regional weather patterns have been much harder to link conclusively to global warming, but two new studies in the journal Nature this week assert that we can now begin to understand how much additional risk rising greenhouse gases have created: No computer simulation can conclusively attribute a given snowstorm or flood to global warming. [...] A recent AFP news article looked at the confluence of rising populations and higher food prices as drivers of unrest in Egypt and Tunisia. According to Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs, who was interviewed by the report: [T]he world’s No. 1 wheat importer [was] more exposed to dissent when global food prices surged to [...] On the heels of the collapse of the Metrodome in Minneapolis a few weeks ago comes a New York Times article looking at whether or not US building codes are up to the challenges that climate change brings. The article notes: In Brisbane, Australia, January storms ripped apart a riverside boardwalk — turning a concrete [...] From our colleagues down at UofA comes a new study using elevation mapping to show vulnerability to the projections of sea level rise by 2100 for the US. The study has produced several maps indicating cities of particular vulnerability. New Orleans, Miami, NYC and a few others are noted below: Caption: This map [...] Image: Flickr/dullhunk – Science Magazine Data Wordle and Cover by Yael Fitzpatrick The role of science in climate change was at first promising. In 1985, the International Council for Science, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) held a conference in Villach, Austria which “produced a new scientific [...] New Hampshire is considering dropping out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (or RGGI – pronounced “Reggie”) that has been operating for the last few years in the Northeast US. The program has raised a considerable amount of money, but is opposed by new leadership in the state skeptical of climate change. This website, BreathingEarth, provides a real-time visualization of population and carbon emissions world-wide. It allows you to click on any country to see the average per capita Co2 and total country Co2 per year. This articles gives a brief run down of the potential reasons a large minority of Americans do not believe in climate change. At the end the author offers his opinion as to the largest reasons, as well as a semi-solution. http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/02/climate_change This is an interesting film that unites stunning cinematography with a global perspective of the Earth’s environment and how humans interact with it. While not a scientific documentary, and admittedly a bit melodramatic in some parts, I think Home provides a unique illustration of what we have been discussing in class. Using all aerial shots, the manner in [...] In late January, a US funded polar program in Antactica completed a five-year-long drilling project to extract ice cores: The U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) has drilled and recovered its longest ice core to date from the polar regions, officially hitting 3,331 meters. It took five years working from a lonely field camp in one of [...] In response to Alli’s post, here’s another article referencing the melting arctic ice. What will happen if there are no polar bears? Do you think that their extinction will make the international community agree that climate change does exist, particularly global warming trends? Click here for the article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41475129/ns/us_news-environment/ February 1, 2011: What are the key pieces of evidence showing anthropogenic climate change? Summary of Readings and Class Discussion: Science is continuously demonstrating the impact of human activities to the warming of the climate (Archer, & Rahmstorf, 2009, p.67). The readings and class discussion focused on the key pieces of evidence that [...] This article discusses how sections of the Amazon are undergoing drought, which will release many tonnes of carbon dioxide from the dying trees as well as inhibit the absorption of carbon dioxide by the forest. The scientists are unsure whether the droughts are due to climate change or natural variation in climate but either [...] Image: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/SmallBiz/story?id=4941737&page=1 On the surface Gasland fits the cliché of environmental documentaries. The film places the negligent consequences of a goliath industry in the limelight, while also developing emotional ties to the characters most effected. Fortunately Josh Fox, the director of Gasland, captured something more than just another dispiriting reminder of our environmental shortcomings [...] |
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