Climate Change Reports

Climate Change Scrambles Feeding For Nesting Birds

melharte — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 23:21:18 +0000

New research suggests that shifting seasons due to global warming have thrown the delicate timing of bird nesting and food availability out of whack, reports Bob Weber at the Ottawa Citizen. “Selection has favoured birds arriving at the perfect time, so they get there right at the peak of insect food, the big flush of all different kinds of insects we get in spring,” said lead author and university scientist Kevin Fraser, of the new study, published in the online journal PLOS One. But spring has been arriving earlier and earlier. Migrating martins, the study’s subjects, were found in 2012 to migrate later from the tropics than normal, arriving past their food peak at nesting sites. Some species of migratory birds that don’t roam as widely have been able to adjust their flight schedules, Fraser said. “It’s the long-distance migrants that are having trouble.” Purple martins may just be too far away to receive signals about conditions on their breeding range. The same issue may be affecting other bug-eating long-distance migrators, which are all suffering from population declines as large as three per cent annually.

Join the swelling numbers of voters TELLING Congress they’ll vote for Clean Energy candidates here: http://signon.org/sign/we-are-the-clean-99?source=c.em.cp&r_by=487176 . This is an ongoing campaign (the next Congressional election is in 2 years!) so please, spread the word. It’s our way of telling Congress that a strong clean energy voting bloc is out there. This is how YOU can make a difference.

For more on Climate Change, check out my weekly column at the HuffingtonPost, Climate Change This Week : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=mary-ellen-harte

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Another Big Tar Sands Pipeline Trying to Sneak into US

melharte — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 23:18:31 +0000

While all eyes are on TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline, another Canadian company is quietly building a 5,000-mile network of new and expanded pipelines that would achieve the same goal as the Keystone, reports Lisa Song at InsideClimate News. In fact, the project by Enbridge, Inc., Canada’s largest transporter of crude oil, would bring even more Canadian oil into the U.S. than the much-debated Keystone project. Enbridge has already begun growing its existing pipeline infrastructure to increase the flow of Canadian and U.S.-produced oil into refineries and ports in the Midwest, Gulf Coast and Northeastern Canada. The company’s plans have largely escaped public scrutiny, in part because its expansion has proceeded in many segments and phases. The essential development is the expansion of Line 67, which currently ships up to 450,000 barrels of oil daily. Enbridge wants to increase that figure to 570,000, and possibly to 880,000 in the future. That’s larger than the Keystone XL’s proposed daily capacity of 830,000 barrels. Like the Keystone pipeline the project needs a presidential permit from the State Department, which is starting to review public comments on the project.

For more on Climate Change, check out my weekly column at the HuffingtonPost, Climate Change This Week : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=mary-ellen-harte

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Another major tar sands pipeline seeking US permit. Canadian energy giant Enbridge is quietly building a 5,000-mile network of new and expanded pipelines that would achieve the same goal as the Keystone. Inside Climate News http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20130603/map-another-major-tar-sands-pipeline-seeking-us-permit

US Women Mobilize to Promote Clean Energy and Divest from Dirty

melharte — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 23:16:54 +0000

Massachusetts mothers and grandmothers are mobilizing under a new group, Mothers Out Front, to pressure the state become the first US state to stop investing in fossil fuels and invest only in renewable energies. “Every time there is a decision between investing in clean energy or dirty energy, we will make sure that Massachusetts picks clean — because this is the only choice that protects our children’s future,” co-founder KelseyWirth said at the first public gathering of the group. This month marks 25 years since the first congressional hearings on global warming took place, presided by Wirth’s father, Tim Wirth, as the Democratic senator from Colorado. “Obviously, I’m very proud of my father having been a leader on this when he was in Congress,” Wirth said. She continued, “Of course, it points to how broken our political system is that 25 years later there has been no significant action to address climate change. But it also speaks to the need to have people come together to put pressure on leaders to do the right thing. And that political will is what we are hoping to inspire.”

For more on Climate Change, check out my weekly column at the HuffingtonPost, Climate Change This Week : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=mary-ellen-harte

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MA Mamas Confront Leaders on Switching From Dirty to Clean Energy reports Lisa Bennett at the huffingtonpost. http://mothersoutfront.org/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-bennett/mothers-out-front-on-climate-change_b_3376432.html

Population Growth Nixes Sustainable Energy Gains – UN Study

melharte — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 23:15:16 +0000

The world has made important progress towards improving energy efficiency, using more renewable sources of power and providing basic electricity to every household over the last two decades, but the gains have barely been enough to keep up with population growth and surging energy demand and are far short of what is needed to curb climate change, a new UN-backed energy report suggests, reports Laurie Goering at Reuters News. In the last 10 years, 1.7 billion people around the world gained access to electricity. But the world’s population grew by almost that much over the same period, nearly wiping out the gains. Similarly, rising energy demand effectively eliminated half the energy efficiency savings and 70 percent of the gains from growth in renewable energy over the past decade. “Even to stand still, we have to run extremely fast. That’s the challenge,” said Vivien Foster, a lead author of the new Global Tracking Framework report. Access to clean and sustainable energy remains an enormous problem around the world, but this won’t be solved until we bring our populations to sustainable levels.

For more on Climate Change, check out my weekly column at the HuffingtonPost, Climate Change This Week : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=mary-ellen-harte

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Population growth erodes sustainable energy gains – UN report. The world has made important progress towards improving energy efficiency, using more renewable sources of power and providing basic electricity to every household over the last two decades. But the gains have barely been enough to keep up with population growth. Reuters http://www.trust.org/item/20130531145822-jlky7/

Global Price of Climate Change Going Up – Conference

melharte — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 23:12:58 +0000

Natural disasters are increasing around the world as the climate changes, costing lives and billions of dollars in damage, and governments need to act to minimise the effects, a conference on natural calamity mitigation heard last month, reports Paul Cox at Aljazeera. The global disaster conference brought together more than 3,500 delegates from nearly all countries to discuss reducing the risk of natural disasters in the years ahead. Political and community leaders met with scientists, NGOs, international agencies and businesses to give input and to question why recent attempts to manage disaster risks haven’t slowed the rising tide of destruction. The UN has estimated the direct economic cost of disasters since 2000 is almost $1.5 trillion, but indicated the cost could well be more. As the thermometer rises, so does the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported last year that droughts and heat waves are growing harsher and longer, causing deaths, fires and crop failure. More intense rain storms are causing flooding and landslides. The most reasonable answer? Bring populations to sustainable levels, levels which create a sustainable climate.

For more on Climate Change, check out my weekly column at the HuffingtonPost, Climate Change This Week : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=mary-ellen-harte

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World faces mounting damage from disasters. Natural disasters are increasing around the world as the climate changes, costing lives and billions of dollars in damage, and governments need to act to minimise the effects, a conference on natural calamity mitigation in Geneva heard last month. Al Jazeera

Most GOPs and Dems Agree – Push Clean Energy And Regulate Emissions

melharte — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:54:59 +0000

The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and George Mason University released their latest annual survey recently, showing that majorities of Democrats and Republicans agree about some climate and energy policies, reports Ryan Koronowski at Climate Progress. Other results indicated more education was needed; half of respondents had not heard of the Keystone XL pipeline, a project sure to increase global carbon emissions. On the bright side, 60 % or more of Republicans and about 80 % of Democrats favored clean energy rebates and more clean energy research funding, and roughly the same percentages wanted to regulate carbon emissions. A clear half of Republicans want to end government subsidies to fossil fuel industries. Independents favored these policies even more than Republicans, an important point for Republicans to note, given that many recent elections have hinged on the power of independent voters. Strong majorities said that President Obama and Congress should make climate change a high priority, and that President Obama should make clean energy development a high priority. The majorities have spoken. Now if only Congress would agree to represent us…

For more on Climate Change, check out my weekly column at the HuffingtonPost, Climate Change This Week : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=mary-ellen-harte

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http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/05/24/1959711/poll-finds-strong-support-for-clean-energy-68-of-independents-want-to-regulate-co2-as-a-pollutant/

First US County Bans Fracking to Save Its Water

melharte — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:52:04 +0000

As fossil fuel industries contemplate New Mexico as the next major area to develop natural gas, one county is taking preventative measures to protect its water, reports Rebecca Leber at Climate Progress. Mora County in New Mexico has become the first county in the US to ban oil drilling and the controversial technique of hydraulic fracturing. For Mora County, fracking is particularly contentious because everyone relies on water wells. Fracking relies heavily on water. In areas that face exceptional drought like New Mexico, that means fracking must compete with farmers and others, such as beer brewers, for already scarce resources. The county joins many cities that have already banned fracking. County commissioner Alfonso Griego noted that he supported the ban because he feels that federal and state laws fail to adequately protect communities from the impacts of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. He said, “They just come in and do whatever is necessary for them to make profits. So we don’t want any oil and gas extraction in the county of Mora. It’s beautiful here.”

For more on Climate Change, check out my weekly column at the HuffingtonPost, Climate Change This Week : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=mary-ellen-harte

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First County In The U.S. Bans Fracking To Save rIts Water

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/05/31/2082271/first-county-in-the-us-bans-fracking-to-save-its-water/

Indonesia To Conserve Borneo Rainforest for Carbon Credits

melharte — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:49:20 +0000

Rimba Raya, the largest United Nations’ REDD project for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, has been approved by the Indonesian government and verified under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), a leading certification standard for carbon credits, reports Mongabay. The 64,000-hectare forest carbon project in Indonesia’s Central Kalimantan Province on the island of Borneo is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 100 million tons during its 3-decade life-span. The emissions reductions will come from avoiding, drainage of the area’s carbon dense peatlands and avoiding conversion of its forests to oil palm plantations. Rimba Raya reduced emissions by 2.1 million tons from mid 2009 to mid 2010, resulting in the largest-ever number of Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) generated in a single year. The head of the project’s carbon credit auditing service noted that “The scale of this project is truly precedent setting, demonstrating a strong market value in preserving forests.” Supporters say the project will provide the most important global conservation of endangered orangutans by protecting critical habitat. This first Indonesian REDD project could help green light others in Indonesia, where deforestation is occurring rapidly.
Join the swelling numbers of voters TELLING Congress they’ll vote for Clean Energy candidates here: http://signon.org/sign/we-are-the-clean-99?source=c.em.cp&r_by=487176 . This is an ongoing campaign (the next Congressional election is in 2 years!) so please, spread the word. It’s our way of telling Congress that a strong clean energy voting bloc is out there. This is how YOU can make a difference.

For more on Climate Change, check out my weekly column at the HuffingtonPost, Climate Change This Week : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=mary-ellen-harte

Source

World’s largest REDD project finally approved in Indonesia
(05/30/2013) Rimba Raya, the world’s largest REDD+ project, has finally been approved by the Indonesian government and verified under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), a leading certification standard for carbon credits. http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0530-rimba-raya.html

Earth Likely to Warm 4-10oF by 2100 – Study

melharte — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:45:53 +0000

A new Australian scientific study projects that the world will likely warm between 4 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit from pre-industrial levels by 2100 if greenhouse gases are not curbed, reports Jeremy Hance at Mongabay. Already the Earth has warmed about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit over the past century. This warming has led to shrinking glaciers, vanishing Arctic sea ice, increased risk of floods and drought, more extreme storms, and rising sea levels. Published in Nature Climate Change, the study finds that exceeding the 4-degree Fahrenheit threshold is very likely under business-as-usual emissions scenarios, a level that scientists have long warned would lead to catastrophic climate change. The wide 6-degree temperature range is due to three factors: climate sensitivity to greenhouse gas emissions, the unpredictability of the carbon cycle, and aerosols, which cool the planet. These three factors “remain highly uncertain,” but historical data imply that the projections become more certain when the factors are combined, rather than taken individually. “This study ultimately shows why waiting for certainty will fail as a strategy,” lead author Roger Bodman said, since some uncertainty will always remain, so we need to manage risks with the knowledge we have.

For more on Climate Change, check out my weekly column at the HuffingtonPost, Climate Change This Week : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=mary-ellen-harte

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Earth likely to warm between 2 and 6 degrees Celsius this century
(05/30/2013) A new study by Australian scientists projects that the world will likely warm between 2 and 6 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels by 2100. The study published in Nature Climate Change finds that exceeding the 2-degree threshold is very likely under business-as-usual emissions scenarios even as scientists have long warned that passing the 2-degree mark would lead to catastrophic climate change. http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0530-hance-temperature-range.html

Minnesota Creates Solar Standard and Incentives

melharte — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:44:03 +0000

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed into law a new economic development bill that contained several powerful incentives for solar development, reports Adam James at Climate Progress. This confirms what many have been saying for quite some time – that solar is careening toward widespread adoption and will create jobs while reducing emissions along the way. This development is a good indicator of some fundamental dynamics that are playing out in the energy space. With the cost of solar panels dropping 80 percent since 2008 alone, solar has become practical even in relatively unsunny Minnesota. Additionally, the political will appears ready to galvanize around smart, forward looking investments that create good jobs. The bill now requires 1.5 percent of the state’s electricity to come from solar by 2020, encourages new forms of solar power, such as community projects, and provides economic paybacks, such as compensating solar rooftop owners for any extra power they produce, and for using smart forms of technology. Hopefully, coming months will see more advocates, cities, and states working together for clean economic growth.

Join the swelling numbers of voters TELLING Congressthey’ll vote for Clean Energy candidates here: http://signon.org/sign/we-are-the-clean-99?source=c.em.cp&r_by=487176 . This is an ongoing campaign (the next Congressional election is in 2 years!) so please, spread the word. It’s our way of telling Congress that a strong clean energy voting bloc is out there. This is how YOU can make a difference.

For more on Climate Change, check out my weekly column at the HuffingtonPost, Climate Change This Week : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=mary-ellen-harte

Source

The Three Best Things Minnesota Did For Solar Energy In The Last Week

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/05/28/2065681/the-three-best-things-minnesota-did-for-solar-energy-in-the-last-week/