The UN negotiators reached a deal in Cancun very early this morning. It's being praised from virtually all angles, and it's being labeled as "modest" at the same time.
continued at Daily Kos....
Showing posts with label climate change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label climate change. Show all posts
Saturday, December 11, 2010
We can do this
by LaughingPlanet
continued at Daily Kos....
OK, so my previous post might have been a teeny bit alarmist. But, hey. We need a good slap in the face right now.
The good news is that those bleak scenarios need not become reality. The future has not yet been written. We are at what many call the jumping off point. We can stand on the edge of the diving board for hours, wetting ourselves, skeerd about diving in. We can succumb to cowardice & crawl backwards and give up.
OR, we can jump forward boldly and proudly. Who cares if we dive gracefully, cannonball, or belly flop? We will be in the pool where we wanted to be in the first place.
And, yes, if we don't jump in the pool, and quickly, the water will indeed rise and engulf us eventually anyway.
Hope for mankind is there to be found. Below are a few examples for those feeling exasperated and doomed. If we ramp up our efforts, the sky is the limit. Heck, we might even leave a world for our kids about which we can be proud!
continued at Daily Kos....
Friday, December 10, 2010
Big Oil Praises Latest Obama Cave on EPA Regs.
by TomP
continued at Daily Kos....
The caves keep coming. The Obama adminstration is delaying new rules governing smog and toxic emissions from industrial boilers, and keeping the Bush standards for now. Big Oil loves it, but wants even more.
The Obama administration is retreating on long-delayed environmental regulations — new rules governing smog and toxic emissions from industrial boilers — as it adjusts to a changed political dynamic in Washington with a more muscular Republican opposition.
The move to delay the rules, announced this week by the Environmental Protection Agency, will leave in place policies set by President George W. Bush. President Obama ran for office promising tougher standards, and the new rules were set to take effect over the next several weeks.
snip
But in a striking turnabout, the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Petroleum Institute — which have been anything but friendly to Mr. Obama — are praising his administration.
NY Times: E.P.A. Delays Tougher Rules on Emissions
continued at Daily Kos....
Thursday, December 9, 2010
bangladesh & COP16: "real people don't live underwater"
by boatsie
continued at Daily Kos....
फ़ेस् फ़ीयर् विथौत् फ़ीयर्
"Fear the threat until it comes. When it comes, turn and face it without fear." Sanskrit.
In no uncertain terms, officials and scientists representing Bangladesh at the Cancun talks made it clear yesterday that their country, which unabashedly occupies Ground Zero in the climate wars, is fearless and righteously proud in its determination to save itself by ensuring it receives an equitable share of fast track financing to assist developing countries in adapting to climate change.
"Loans are not an option for my country," said Bangladesh Minister of State for the Environment Dr. Hasan Mahmud. "We did nothing to create this problem and we should not be charged in solving it."
Unless something is done now, chances are in less than 40 years you will look at the map and Bangladesh will no longer be there. What will remain of this country will not be recognizable.
continued at Daily Kos....
eKos: Acidifying Oceans Endanger Web of Life
by FishOutofWater
continued at Daily Kos....
Oceans acidifying at the highest rate since the last great mass extinction 65 million years ago, threaten marine life, coral reefs and nutrition for over a billion people according to a report (PDF)just released by the UN. Fossil fuel burning, cement production, deforestation and land use changes have increased atmospheric CO2 from 280 to 390 PPMs. Increasing atmospheric CO2 has dissolved in the oceans, increasing the acidity (decreasing the pH) by 30%. Increasing acidity is destabilizing shells and corals, threatening the web of life in the ocean.
Recent studies of a Mediterranean vent in shallow waters revealed key ecosystem changes in high CO2 areas compared to normal CO2 areas. Certain algae and seagrasses were found to grow more efficiently closer to the vents where there was also a large reduction in biodiversity, notably a loss of calcifying organisms adjacent to the vents where the pH was lowest.
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Unvarnished truth is hard to swallow
by Steve Masover
continued at Daily Kos....
A summary for a study titled Global Warming Warnings Can Backfire begins:
From Priuses to solar panels and plastic-bag bans (and even green dating!), it seems that everyone’s going green. The message that our world is in danger if we do not take action is also everywhere: from images of baby polar bears drowning to frightening images of a parched barren future. The push to go green is based in good intentions, but an upcoming study in Psychological Science shows that the popular 'do or die' global-warming messages can backfire if the situation is presented too negatively.
continued at Daily Kos....
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
COP16, hairy flies, and giant storks: a mishmash Earthship Wednesday
by eKos
continued at Daily Kos....
Beneath the fold you will find news and notes, community announcements, and our eco-diary roundup.
Peruse the eKos Library to find previously listed diaries. You can also follow eKos on Twitter.
Tonight's editor: patrickz
With contributions from: citisven and WarrenS
continued at Daily Kos....
While you were arguing about taxes...
by LaughingPlanet
continued at Daily Kos....
primary challenges, and Dancing with the Stars, our planet is galloping one day closer to real-life Waterworld.
Yesterday on my local listener-supported radio, I heard a powerful & terrifying interview with the author of a book I am now afraid to read.
"The Flooded Earth" by University of Washington professor Peter D. Ward, paints a detailed picture of where we are headed in the not-distant future. If mankind does not change its ways, and quick, the reality of what our planet will look like is not pretty, to put it very mildly.
Hearing the facts about climate change, it is hard for me to watch our current discourse about minor day-to-day trifles when it is so clearly this one, singular issue which will supersede all else unless we turn our full attention to it right now.
continued at Daily Kos....
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
LocaPower to the People! - Cancun can because locals can
by citisven
continued at Daily Kos....
I don't know about you, but following all the different angles of negotiation at a conference as broad and multidimensional as the UNFCCC makes my head spin. I understand that dealing with a complex problem like climate change that literally affects every nation and every individual on earth offers no simple solutions, but the pitfall of trying to think about everything can be that you end up doing nothing.
This is why I'm very pleased to see that local governments and their representatives are gaining some real traction in Cancun.
On Saturday, local governments took a huge step when the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) officially adopted the concept of "governmental stakeholders" for the first time in UNFCCC history.
continued at Daily Kos....
The Biggest Obstacles to a Climate Deal at COP16 are Overwhelm and Emotional Disconnect
by greenmedia
continued at Daily Kos....
In a completely unscientific study, Green Media News has found the biggest obstacles to reaching a global deal on climate change are the massive overwhelm and emotional disconnect that stop climate change issues from becoming part of the national discourse.
Huh?
OK, I'm overwhelmed with all this. And I have a high tolerance for minutia; if I'm overwhelmed, that's not a good sign for the climate movement.
I have to admit I'm torn. I've been reading news from Cancun all afternoon. And I'm tempted to go down the list and talk about all the things that are happening at COP16 and around the world relative to climate change.
Fyi this article was cross-posted to Green Media News at around midnight last night.
continued at Daily Kos....
pakistan: climate = a human problem
by boatsie
continued at Daily Kos....
In a stunning series of short films depicting last summer's biblical floods, Pakistan today issued a passionate and powerful appeal to the heart and soul of the international community.
Calling for COP16 negotiators to rise about politics and circumnavigate the complexities which have a stranglehold on both process and progress, a panel of Pakitani ministers, ambassadors and scientists called on the parties to reach agreement on an adaptation fund which recognizes and adequately addresses the disproportionate impact of climate change on the world's most vulnerable populations.
"Pakistan is on the front line in two wars, the war against terrorism and the war against climate change," said Khalid Sherdit, Director General of PDMA and General Relief, Punjab. "Both battles need global coordination and cooperation, Both are unpredictable. But in the war against climate change, there is no exit plan."
continued at Daily Kos....
Monday, December 6, 2010
Did China just save the world?
by eKos
continued at Daily Kos....
Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series.
Today's editor: LaughingPlanet
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(Reuters) - China on Monday offered for the first time to submit its voluntary carbon emissions target to a binding U.N. resolution, buoying climate talks where Bolivia accused rich world policies of causing "genocide."
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Beneath the fold you will find news and notes, community announcements, and our eco-diary roundup.
All views expressed by today's editor do not necessarily represent those of eKos or eKos listed diarists.
continued at Daily Kos....
Get Ready For Huge Reversals in Energy and Climate Change Policies
by BWISC
continued at Daily Kos....
One overlooked election tidbit: GOP gains in state legislatures (and governors’ offices) will throw a major wrench into efforts to slow climate change. What follows is an explanation on why and how.
Basically, it’s all about buildings. The energy used to power commercial and residential buildings is responsible for 38 percent of the nation’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – emissions that worsen climate change.
Rulemaking is not sexy, but in this case, the rules behind how buildings are designed and run have a huge impact on climate change. And this is why, if you care about the environment, there is about to be a very big problem.
continued at Daily Kos....
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Eco Activists "Greatest Threat" to Society and Church
by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse
continued at Daily Kos....
The scary part is not just that a GOP lawmaker who might become chair of an environmental committee may be an adherent of this group's extreme views, but the GOP selected the founder of Cornwall Alliance as a witness for Congressional hearing on climate policies.
continued at Daily Kos....
Saturday, December 4, 2010
What matters.
by RLMiller
continued at Daily Kos....
I'm sorry. I've been lurking since the election, and now the recommended list is alien to me.
Tax cuts.
Unemployment insurance.
Wikileaks.
These matter today, and they'll matter tomorrow, but I tend to take a long view: what will matter in 2020? what will matter in 2100?
continued at Daily Kos....
Friday, December 3, 2010
gender in cancun
by boatsie
continued at Daily Kos....
For many women living in the Cook Islands, collecting yellow land snails to make jewelry and other handicrafts is their sole source of income. Recent extensive dry spells have made these shells more difficult to find.
"Sometimes we will spend weeks on end to fill an empty can which we used to fill within a few hours," says Tangiruaine Ngaruaine. "At the beginning of this year, it was truly tough because there was hardly any rain. Whatever I make from selling these shells is my 'income' and it has been my only source of income."
Ngaruaine's story is represented here at COP16 by Ulamila Wragg, one of an expanding number of women participating in official UNFCCC climate negotiations.
Wragg is here at COP16 an an official delegate for the Cook Islands, one of the women delegates funded and trained by the Women's Development Fund to represent female voices, particularly those of women who are disproportionately impacted by the impacts of climate change in least developed countries.
continued at Daily Kos....
US Green Energy Fail
by Steven D
continued at Daily Kos....
Here's we in the United States should be doing now to keep up with the rest of the world's investment in research and development of green energy technologies:
The United States needs to more than triple its spending on energy research, development and demonstration projects, from about $5 billion now to $16 billion, and should review national energy policy every four years, an advisory group of scientists and engineers said in a report to President Obama this week.
The US is falling behind almost every other major developed country in the world. Look at this chart from 2007 that shows R & D spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product:
continued at Daily Kos....
The Tantra of Climate Change: Keep Holding Back
by greenmedia
continued at Daily Kos....
Cross-posted to Green Media News.
Let's face it - Climate Change talk is boring. Most people just don't get excited talking about things like "MRV" (the monitoring, reporting, verifying and reducing of greenhouse gas emissions across geo-political borders) and those who aren't on the front lines of the climate change action movement generally don't have the attention span to focus on serious talk like this... well at least, not when "Dancing with the Stars" is on.
continued at Daily Kos....
Thursday, December 2, 2010
eKos: Labrador Sea 9F Above Normal, Changing Global Weather
by FishOutofWater
continued at Daily Kos....
Loss of Arctic sea ice is changing northern hemisphere ocean currents and atmospheric circulation patterns. A massive influx of warm water as much as 9° F above normal has flowed up the west coasts of both Greenland and Norway towards the Arctic ocean causing a new northern hemisphere weather pattern called the warm Arctic cold continents pattern to develop.
Temperature anomaly in ° C at 100 meters depth in far northern waters.
continued at Daily Kos....
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