The Energy Challenge - New York Times

The Energy Challenge - New York Times This archive of New York Times articles gives an outstanding overview of global warming, its consequences and possible solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Govt. sees polar bears as 'threatened' - Yahoo! News

Govt. sees polar bears as 'threatened' - Yahoo! News

Dire warnings from China's first climate change report - Yahoo! News

Dire warnings from China's first climate change report - Yahoo! News China is coming to grips with the consequences of global warming. This is very hopeful, as is the report from the Dept of Interior that polar bears are being considered for the Threatened Species list due to global warming. Now if Bush would only have the wisdom to partner with China (and India) as well as the Kyoto partners on addressing this global threat.

The Chinese View of Global Warming, by Hedvah Shuchman, Ph.D.

From October 29 to November 17 this year, I traveled in China visiting Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, Suzhow, Hangzhow and other cities. Each of these cities has multi-millions of people. I interviewed a member of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Agency who spoke to me about the great efforts this city of 15-18 million people is making to control air pollution. I traveled by train from Shanghai to the city of Suzhow, which is west of Shanghai and to Hangzhow in the south. This opportunity to see the countryside and meet the people was exciting. But it also alerted me to some of the incredible problems which face Chinese air pollution engineers. For hundreds of miles I looked out at rice fields which had been harvested and in which the peasants were setting fire to the chaff to clear the land for replanting. White smoke covered the sky and filled the train to the point that it was sometimes difficult to breathe. In Beijing and Shanghai great efforts are being made to control air pollution by regulating the use of automobiles. But only 10% of Chinese own automobiles now. This number is expected to increase exponentially in the next ten years. China’s pollution problems are monumental. In order to present a birds-eye view of the issues being dealt with by a country of 1.3 billion people, I culled clippings from the National English Language Newspaper, China Daily: “Global warming will melt China’s glacier by 50% and cause the nation’s sea levels to rise by up to 15 centimeters within 40 years, according to the theories of China’s leading scientists. “A study from Shanghai Normal University initially revealed the link between climate change and the spread of the lethal H5N1 virus. The transmission of the virus is largely relying on migratory birds whose habitats can be significantly changed by climate change… “More than half of the country’s rivers are severely polluted and about a third of the territory affected by acid rain… The Chinese central government has set a target of reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20% and cut major pollutants by 10% by 2010. “China is speeding up efforts to formulate regulations on the collection and disposal of electronic garbage such as TV sets, refrigerators and computers. Under the soon to be formulated regulations, manufacturers and distributors of home appliances as well as after-service providers will be obligated to reclaim waste and used products and then sell them to licensed disposal enterprises. Statistics show that China discards about 5 million TV sets, 4 million refrigerators, 6 million washing machines and 10 million mobile phones every year. “The manager of China’s largest wind farm is winding up negotiations on his first deal to sell credits for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, which he expects to rake in up to US$500,000 a year in extra revenue in 2007. “China needs daily pollution fines, according to a study of the State Environmental Protection Agency. More than one quarter of the water in the Yangtze River is so polluted that it cannot be treated to make it drinkable. Most of the Yellow River – the cradle of Chinese civilization – is not fit for drinking or swimming.

Say No to Coal, Say Yes to Renewable Energy

FPL has announced that it intends to build one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the world in Glades County on the northwest shore of Lake Okeechobee. Their reason is to, “diversify [their] fuel supply and meet the state’s growing demand over the next 10 years.” They also cite as further justification the rising price of natural gas and disruptions in supply due to hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. Although coal-fired power plants use the most abundant fuel and are the cheapest way to make electricity, nothing contributes more to the emission of greenhouse gases. A Dec. 12, 2006 article in the New York Times said, “The iconic culprit in global warming is the coal-fired power plant.” In the same article, James E. Rogers, chief executive of Duke Energy, a coal burning utility in the Midwest and the Southeast, was quoted, “Climate change is real, and we clearly believe we are on a route to mandatory controls on carbon dioxide,” Mr. Rogers said. “And we need to start now because the longer we wait the more difficult and expensive this is going to be.” While I believe that FPL has one of the better track records in the power industry in minimizing environmental impacts, building a huge coal plant is NOT the answer. In fact, it's the worst possible choice. The world should be dramatically reducing carbon dioxide emissions, not adding to the problem. FPL says the proposed plant will use ultra supercritical coal technology, which produces steam at very high temperatures and pressures, resulting in higher efficiency and fewer emissions. It would still generate about twice the tonnage of CO2 as a natural gas fired power plant per unit of electric power generated. Furthermore, coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel with respect to toxic pollutants. Even with the best pollution control processes available, FPL cannot eliminate toxic ash and emissions of toxic mercury and sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide, which contribute to acid rain and smog. According to FPL’s disclosure, for example, about 21% of the mercury will still be released to the surroundings. Do we really want this on the shores of Lake Okeechobee, the headwaters of the Everglades? I believe FPL should set an example by employing low carbon emission technologies to the fullest extent possible. Besides writing to FPL to tell them we disagree with their decision, we can send them an affirmative message that we are serious about regenerable energy from solar and wind power by signing up for FPL’s "Sunshine Energy" program. I have. By paying a modest premium of $9.75/month, FPL will purchase renewable power from other producers. According to FPL, “In just one year as a Sunshine Energy customer, you can avoid over 8,000 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions nationwide – as much as a car would produce in almost 9,000 miles of driving.” The money also helps FPL and the industry accelerate development of solar and wind technology. So far, only 24,000 customers statewide have signed on. Imagine the impact if a million households did the same. That would tell FPL loud and clear that “We want global warming reversed and we are each willing to pay a little more to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” A significant fraction of power requirements can probably be supplied by renewable energy, but FPL points out that solar and wind are dependent on weather conditions and cannot be relied on as for baseline power supply. Natural gas is preferred over coal, but in order to persuade FPL to build more natural gas fired power plants, they will need increased natural gas supplies, such as by importation of liquefied natural gas from South America and Africa that is not vulnerable to hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. If natural gas is in short supply, they will be forced to build coal-fired plants. Consideration should also be given to nuclear power as a carbonless long range solution for baseline power demand.

Global warming said killing some species

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer Tue Nov 21, 8:07 PM ET Animal and plant species have begun dying off or changing sooner than predicted because of global warming, a review of hundreds of research studies contends. These fast-moving adaptations come as a surprise even to biologists and ecologists because they are occurring so rapidly. At least 70 species of frogs, mostly mountain-dwellers that had nowhere to go to escape the creeping heat, have gone extinct because of climate change, the analysis says. It also reports that between 100 and 200 other cold-dependent animal species, such as penguins and polar bears are in deep trouble. "We are finally seeing species going extinct," said University of Texas biologist Camille Parmesan, author of the study. "Now we've got the evidence. It's here. It's real. This is not just biologists' intuition. It's what's happening." Her review of 866 scientific studies is summed up in the journal Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. Parmesan reports seeing trends of animal populations moving northward if they can, of species adapting slightly because of climate change, of plants blooming earlier, and of an increase in pests and parasites. Parmesan and others have been predicting such changes for years, but even she was surprised to find evidence that it's already happening; she figured it would be another decade away. Just five years ago biologists, though not complacent, figured the harmful biological effects of global warming were much farther down the road, said Douglas Futuyma, professor of ecology and evolution at the State University of New York in Stony Brook. "I feel as though we are staring crisis in the face," Futuyma said. "It's not just down the road somewhere. It is just hurtling toward us. Anyone who is 10 years old right now is going to be facing a very different and frightening world by the time that they are 50 or 60." While over the past several years studies have shown problems with certain species, animal populations or geographic areas, Parmesan's is the first comprehensive analysis showing the big picture of global-warming induced changes, said Chris Thomas, a professor of conservation biology at the University of York in England. While it's impossible to prove conclusively that the changes are the result of global warming, the evidence is so strong and other supportable explanations are lacking, Thomas said, so it is "statistically virtually impossible that these are just chance observations." The most noticeable changes in plants and animals have to do with earlier springs, Parmesan said. The best example can be seen in earlier cherry blossoms and grape harvests and in 65 British bird species that in general are laying their first eggs nearly nine days earlier than 35 years ago. Parmesan said she worries most about the cold-adapted species, such as emperor penguins that have dropped from 300 breeding pairs to just nine in the western Antarctic Peninsula, or polar bears, which are dropping in numbers and weight in the Arctic. The cold-dependent species on mountaintops have nowhere to go, which is why two-thirds of a certain grouping of frog species have already gone extinct, Parmesan said. Populations of animals that adapt better to warmth or can move and live farther north are adapting better than other populations in the same species, Parmesan said. "We are seeing a lot of evolution now," Parmesan said. However, no new gene mutations have shown themselves, not surprising because that could take millions of years, she said. ___ On the Net: The Parmesan study on biological changes from global warming: http://cns.utexas.edu/communications/File/AnnRev_CCimpacts2006.pdf

Recent Books on The Threat to the Planet • Field Notes From a Catastrophe:Man ,Nature and Climate Change. Elizabeth Kolbert, Boomsbury 2006 Meet some of the world’s leading climate researchers who explain the dangers in non- technical language without sacrificing scientific accuracy. • , Thin Ice Mark Bowen,Henry Holt. The story of the heroic work of Lonnie Thompson in extracting information on climate change from some of the most forbidding and spectacular places on the planet. • The Weather Makers: How Man is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth, by Tim Flannery, Atlantic Monthly Press. Emphasizes the effect of man- made climate change on other life on the planet. Continuing with business-as-usual could l cause 60% of today’s species to become extinct. • An Inconvenient Truth, The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What we Can Do About It. Al Gore A beautifully illustrated and extremely exciting discussion of the critical issues in global warming and a program of action for citizens concerned with reducing the impacts of the human contribution to the crisis. New Childrens Book on Global Warming: • The North Pole Was Here:Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World Andrew Revkin, NY Times eco-journalist, (Kingfisher Books,2006) Many full color photographs, archival reproductions and photos of previous excursions make for a dynamic layout. Recommended for grades 6-9.

Global Warming in the News Compiled by Hedvah Shuchman, BCAS U.S. Supreme Court Gets Arguments for EPA to Regulate CO2. Science, September 8,2006 The Supreme Court will consider the question this term whether greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide should be regulated as pollutants. EPA has used the Clean Air act of 1970 to regulate smog and other pollution from cars ---not greenhouse gasses. In 1999 a nonprofit organization petitioned EPA to change its mind. EPA declined and in 2003 a number of states and nonprofit groups sued. That case, Massachusetts v.EPA, is now before the Supreme Court and last month 12 states and a number of cities and nonprofit groups filed Arctic Research Hints at Future Warming by Patrick Tucker, The Futurist, Sept-Oct 2006 p 8 The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program has succeeded in taking core samples from the floor of the Arctic Ocean, a first for science. The samples contain the remains of animal and plant life several million years old. By analyzing the fatty substances in the cells’ membranes, researchers can determine the average temperature that prevailed during the organisms’ life. At some time during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum period (PETM) the earth released a great abundance of greenhouse gas (possibly methane or carbon dioxide.) into the atmosphere, resulting in a greenhouse effect and accompanying global temperature rise of 5 degrees C. This shows that if you pump a bunch of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, the planet warms. This is a good analog for today’s greenhouse gas emissions. Climate Change May Destroy Coast Fishing National Wildlife Federation Fishing as we know it could disappear in a few decades. Flooding of bays and estuaries on Florida coasts as a result of global warming. Predicted fallout of global warming will be increased disease among marine life, more outbreaks of harmful algal blooms, fiercer hurricanes and more extreme rainfall patterns. In addition to the effect on commercial fisheries, sport fishing will be affected and that could mean a big dent on the state’s economy. In 2005 recreational fishers spent $3.3 million and supported nearly 60,000 job. Among the game fish species most likely to be affected are flounder, gray snapper, tarpon, bonefish , redfish and snook. Feds Say Yes to Bio-based Products by Kimberly Palmer, Plenty August/September 2006 In April 2006, Congress requested the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to start a program requiring federal agencies to buy bio-based products, which are made from renewal sources such as soybean oil instead of petroleum. The department says the program will help boost the industry and encourage the creation of more bio-based products. The USDA has a compiled a list of petroleum-based products that should be replaced with bio-based counterparts, including hydraulic fluids, roog and water tank coatings, diesel fuel additives, lubricants and linens. Hand-cleaners, sanitizers and germ-killers will probably be phased in. The USDA’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland, one of the first places to embrace bio-based products, already uses bio diesel fuel in its tractors, soybean oil as a lubricant for machinery and bio-based soap in its bathrooms.

Global Warming No Longer in Dispute

When reporters present both sides of the debate about global warming with equal weight, not only is the truth distorted, a tremendous disservice to the public is done. In June, after extensive review at the request of Congress, the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council, an independent institute of America’s most respected scientists, concluded "with a high level of confidence" that Earth is experiencing the highest temperatures in more than 400 years, that "available proxy evidence does indicate that many locations were warmer during the past 25 years than during any other 25-year period since 900," and that "current warming is occurring in response to human activities." Only a handful of scientists affiliated with the oil industry and other special interests express unsubstantiated opinions to the contrary. Global warming is probably the biggest single threat civilization has ever faced. The public and leaders in business and government must understand what is happening, why it is happening, and its potentially catastrophic consequences. Global warming will never be reversed without American leadership at home and with the other nations of the world. New policies must be established that set tough emission limits, enable trading of emissions credits, and incentivize American industry to apply its technology and capital to developing carbon-free energy alternatives. It is time to stop making excuses and denying what is obvious. I hope that my grandchildren's generation will not look back on us and say “They saw it, they knew what to do, but they didn’t do it.” If that happens, shame on us. The press has a responsibility not to mislead the public into the false belief that all is well with the world’s climate when the preponderance of scientific evidence says otherwise.

NASA's Goals Delete Mention of Home Planet - New York Times

From the New York Times: NASA's Goals Delete Mention of Home Planet - New York Times By ANDREW C. REVKINPublished: July 22, 2006 From 2002 until this year, NASA’s mission statement, prominently featured in its budget and planning documents, read: “To understand and protect our home planet; to explore the universe and search for life; to inspire the next generation of explorers ... as only NASA can.” In early February, the statement was quietly altered, with the phrase “to understand and protect our home planet” deleted. In this year’s budget and planning documents, the agency’s mission is “to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research.” *** That the Administration would remove understanding and protecting our home planet from NASA's mission statement, especially at this time is mind boggling. NASA has been playing an important role in developing our understanding of global warming and climate change. How can we continue to research what may well be the biggest global threat humanity has ever faced without the dedicated efforts of the world's premiere space agency that provides so much information through satellite observations of the entire globe and the atmosphere. And besides, Dr. James E. Hansen, a climate scientist at NASA, has been one of the leading voices who recognizes and understands this issue. If the United States would apply the resources and skills of NASA and its network of high technology contractors to the development of technologies for energy conservation and regenerable alternative energy resources, we might not only save the world from the consequences of global warming but open the door to economic opportunities to rival or exceed the Industrial and Information Revolutions. The 21st Century can and must be the century of the Energy Revolution if we are to preserve a livable world for generations to come.

What is planned for this website is an anthology of information about Global Warming and
the initiative being taken by the Florida Climate Protection Initiative and Broward County Audubon Society to encourage local leaders to endorse and join the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement started in Seattle, WA by Mayor Greg Nichols.
See PowerPoint presentation on Global Warming. Click here.