tagged w/ Climate Crisis
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If we’re going to tell this story — and it’s the most important story of our time — we’re going to have to tell it ourselves.
by Bill McKibben, via TomDispatch
The Williams River was so languid and lovely last Saturday morning that it was almost impossible to imagine the violence with which it must have been running on August 28, 2011. And yet the evidence was all around: sand piled high on its banks, trees still scattered as if by a giant’s fist, and most obvious of all, a utilitarian temporary bridge where for 140 years a graceful covered bridge had spanned the water.
The YouTube video of that bridge crashing into the raging river was Vermont’s iconic image from its worst disaster in memory, the record flooding that followed Hurricane Irene’s rampage through the state in August 2011. It claimed dozens of lives, as it cut more than a billion-dollar swath of destruction across the eastern United States.
I watched it on TV in Washington just after emerging from jail, having been arrested at the White House during mass protests of the Keystone XL pipeline. Since Vermont’s my home, it took the theoretical — the ever more turbulent, erratic, and dangerous weather that the tar sands pipeline from Canada would help ensure — and made it all too concrete. It shook me bad.
And I’m not the only one.
New data released last month by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities show that a lot of Americans are growing far more concerned about climate change, precisely because they’re drawing the links between freaky weather, a climate kicked off-kilter by a fossil-fuel guzzling civilization, and their own lives. After a year with a record number of multi-billion dollar weather disasters, seven in ten Americans now believe that “global warming is affecting the weather.” No less striking, 35% of the respondents reported that extreme weather had affected them personally in 2011. As Yale’s Anthony Laiserowitz told the New York Times, “People are starting to connect the dots.”
Which is what we must do. As long as this remains one abstract problem in the long list of problems, we’ll never get to it. There will always be something going on each day that’s more important, including, if you’re facing flood or drought, the immediate danger.
But in reality, climate change is actually the biggest thing that’s going on every single day. If we could only see that pattern we’d have a fighting chance. It’s like one of those trompe l’oeil puzzles where you can only catch sight of the real picture by holding it a certain way. So this weekend we’ll be doing our best to hold our planet a certain way so that the most essential pattern is evident. At 350.org, we’re organizing a global day of action that’s all about dot-connecting; in fact, you can follow the action at climatedots.org.
The day will begin in the Marshall Islands of the far Pacific, where the sun first rises on our planet, and where locals will hold a daybreak underwater demonstration on their coral reef already threatened by rising seas. They’ll hold, in essence, a giant dot — and so will our friends in Bujumbura, Burundi, where March flooding destroyed 500 homes. In Dakar, Senegal, they’ll mark the tidal margins of recent storm surges. In Adelaide, Australia, activists will host a “dry creek regatta” to highlight the spreading drought down under.
Pakistani farmers — some of the millions driven from their homes by unprecedented flooding over the last two years — will mark the day on the banks of the Indus; in Ayuthaya, Thailand, Buddhist monks will protest next to a temple destroyed by December’s epic deluges that also left the capital, Bangkok, awash.
Activists in Ulanbataar will focus on the ongoing effects of drought in Mongolia. In Daegu, South Korea, students will gather with bags of rice and umbrellas to connect the dots between climate change, heavy rains, and the damage caused to South Korea’s rice crop in recent years. In Amman, Jordan, Friends of the Earth Middle East will be forming a climate dot on the shores of the Dead Sea to draw attention to how climate-change-induced drought has been shrinking that sea.
In Herzliya, Israel, people will form a dot on the beach to stand in solidarity with island nations and coastal communities around the world that are feeling the impact of climate change. In newly freed Libya, students will hold a teach-in. In Oman, elders will explain how the weather along the Persian Gulf has shifted in their lifetimes. There will be actions in the cloud forests of Costa Rica, and in the highlands of Peru where drought has wrecked the lives of local farmers. In Monterrey, Mexico, they’ll recall last year’s floods that did nearly $2 billion in damage. In Chamonix, France, climbers will put a giant red dot on the melting glaciers of the Alps.
And across North America, as the sun moves westward, activists in Halifax, Canada, will “swim for survival” across its bay to highlight rising sea levels, while high-school students in Nashville, Tennessee, will gather on a football field inundated by 2011’s historic killer floods.
In Portland, Oregon, city dwellers will hold an umbrella-decorating party to commemorate March’s record rains. In Bandelier, New Mexico, firefighters in full uniform will remember last year’s record forest fires and unveil the new solar panels on their fire station. In Miami, Manhattan, and Maui, citizens will line streets that scientists say will eventually be underwater. In the high Sierra, on one of the glaciers steadily melting away, protesters will unveil a giant banner with just two words, a quote from that classic of western children’s literature, The Wizard of Oz. “I’m Melting” it will say, in letters three-stories high.
This is a full-on fight between information and disinformation, between the urge to witness and the urge to cover-up. The fossil-fuel industry has funded endless efforts to confuse people, to leave an impression that nothing much is going on. But — as with the tobacco industry before them — the evidence has simply gotten too strong.
Once you saw enough people die of lung cancer, you made the connection. The situation is the same today. Now, it’s not just the scientists and the insurance industry; it’s your neighbors. Even pleasant weather starts to seem weird. Fifteen thousand U.S. temperature records were broken, mainly in the East and Midwest, in the month of March alone, as a completely unprecedented heat wave moved across the continent. Most people I met enjoyed the rare experience of wearing shorts in winter, but they were still shaking their heads. Something was clearly wrong and they knew it.
The one institution in our society that isn’t likely to be much help in spreading the news is… the news. Studies show our papers and TV channels paying ever less attention to our shifting climate. In fact, in 2011 ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox spent twice as much time discussing Donald Trump as global warming. Don’t expect representatives from Saturday’s Connect the Dots day to show up on Sunday’s talk shows. Over the last three years, those inside-the-Beltway extravaganzas have devoted 98 minutes total to the planet’s biggest challenge. Last year, in fact, all the Sunday talk shows spent exactly nine minutes of Sunday talking time on climate change — and here’s a shock: all of it was given over to Republican politicians in the great denial sweepstakes.
Continued at linkIf we’re going to tell this story — and it’s the most important... more
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By Ted Glick
“Part of the challenge over these past three years has been that people's number-one priority is finding a job and paying the mortgage and dealing with high gas prices. In that environment, it's been easy for the other side to pour millions of dollars into a campaign to debunk climate-change science. I suspect that over the next six months, this is going to be a debate that will become part of the campaign, and I will be very clear in voicing my belief that we're going to have to take further steps to deal with climate change in a serious way.”
-Barack Obama, in “Ready for the Fight: Rolling Stone Interview with Barack Obama,” April 25, 2012
From April 22-26 there were a series of activities on the climate crisis in Washington, D.C. organized primarily by religiously-based groups. One took place on April 23rd in an auditorium of the Old Executive Office Building, right next to the White House. Several Obama administration officials, including Heather Zichal, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, spoke to and answered questions from about 100 people from a variety of groups and parts of the country.
One question, asked several times, was if President Obama was going to be speaking out on the climate crisis in coming months. He has not been doing so, by and large, ever since the December, 2009 international climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Zichal’s response to this question was unclear. Either she did not know about the Rolling Stone interview, about to come out two days later, or what Obama said in that interview is somewhat provisional, not to be relied on. Hopefully, recent polls that have shown broad support for action on global warming—in the mid- to high-60’s percent range--will help to move Obama and others running for office to reflect that broad support in what they say between now and November 6.
It is clear, however, that if the climate emergency is going to be a major campaign issue, and if, after the election, we are going to get the kind of federal action urgently needed on it, we can’t depend upon Democrat/Republican interactions and messaging. We need to take action so that this and other important issues are visible, out there, difficult to sweep under the rug.
It is good news that a growing number of religious denominations and leaders are doing just that. Among the activities over the past week in D.C. were these:
an event at the National Cathedral on Earth Day, April 22, honoring Wendell Berry organized by the National Religious Coalition on Creation Care (NRCCC);
the meeting next to the White House on April 23rd organized by two Christian evangelical student-based groups, Renewal and Restoring Eden. and supported by many other organizations;
a day-long conference also on April 23 organized by NRCCC on the Scientific, Religious and Cultural Implications of Global Warming, which included presentations by 24 religious, government, scientific, military, medical and cultural leaders;
a day-long series of activities on April 24th organized by Interfaith Moral Action on Climate (IMAC), a newly-formed collaborative initiative endorsed by 45 groups and scores of religious and other leaders. Highlights were:
an inspiring program at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial early in the morning featuring Bill McKibben, Ibrahim Ramey, Luci Murphy and Sarah James;
a very diverse multi-faith service at the NY Avenue Presbyterian Church with leaders from Christian (Evangelical, Protestant, Catholic), Islamic, Jewish, Baha’I, Hindu and Native American faith traditions;
a religious procession/march down Pennsylvania Avenue to Capitol Hill led by Native American women from the Onondaga and Mohawk Nations; and,
the public announcement and distribution to every Senator and House member of an “ethical report card” grading the response of Congress to the climate emergency. The overall grade given by IMAC to Congress was an “F.”;
a Global Day of Prayer for Creation Care event organized by the Evangelical Environmental Network on April 26, the highlight of which was a 3 ½-hour program of music, videos, presentations and prayers by a range of evangelical leaders from the US, Latin America and Africa.
I can’t remember ever participating in so many actions on an issue organized by religiously-based groups over such an extended period of time. It is a very hopeful sign that among people of faith, many different faiths, there is a clear stirring into action on this huge moral issue, this threat to human civilization and the ecological systems that have allowed for its development over the last 10,000 years.
The climate crisis is a deeply moral and ethical issue. To quote from the Call to Action issued by Interfaith Moral Action on Climate: “It is morally wrong to unjustifiably cause human suffering and death. Human-induced climate change is correlated with storms, floods, droughts, crop failures, diseases, and water and food shortages, as well as associated breakdowns in political, economic, social and ecological systems. . . The greatest impacts are falling on low-income people, communities of color, Indigenous peoples and others who have contributed little to climate change. . . To disrupt the climate that is the cornerstone of all life and to squander the extraordinary abundance of life, diversity and beauty of the planet is a moral failure of the first order.”
More at the linkBy Ted Glick
“Part of the challenge over these past three years has been that... more
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YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) — To the world's military leaders, the debate over climate change is long over. They are preparing for a new kind of Cold War in the Arctic, anticipating that rising temperatures there will open up a treasure trove of resources, long-dreamed-of sea lanes and a slew of potential conflicts.
By Arctic standards, the region is already buzzing with military activity, and experts believe that will increase significantly in the years ahead.
Last month, Norway wrapped up one of the largest Arctic maneuvers ever — Exercise Cold Response — with 16,300 troops from 14 countries training on the ice for everything from high intensity warfare to terror threats. Attesting to the harsh conditions, five Norwegian troops were killed when their C-130 Hercules aircraft crashed near the summit of Kebnekaise, Sweden's highest mountain.
The U.S., Canada and Denmark held major exercises two months ago, and in an unprecedented move, the military chiefs of the eight main Arctic powers — Canada, the U.S., Russia, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland — gathered at a Canadian military base last week to specifically discuss regional security issues.
None of this means a shooting war is likely at the North Pole any time soon. But as the number of workers and ships increases in the High North to exploit oil and gas reserves, so will the need for policing, border patrols and — if push comes to shove — military muscle to enforce rival claims.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its untapped natural gas is in the Arctic. Shipping lanes could be regularly open across the Arctic by 2030 as rising temperatures continue to melt the sea ice, according to a National Research Council analysis commissioned by the U.S. Navy last year.
What countries should do about climate change remains a heated political debate. But that has not stopped north-looking militaries from moving ahead with strategies that assume current trends will continue.
Russia, Canada and the United States have the biggest stakes in the Arctic. With its military budget stretched thin by Iraq, Afghanistan and more pressing issues elsewhere, the United States has been something of a reluctant northern power, though its nuclear-powered submarine fleet, which can navigate for months underwater and below the ice cap, remains second to none.
Russia — one-third of which lies within the Arctic Circle — has been the most aggressive in establishing itself as the emerging region's superpower.
Rob Huebert, an associate political science professor at the University of Calgary in Canada, said Russia has recovered enough from its economic troubles of the 1990s to significantly rebuild its Arctic military capabilities, which were a key to the overall Cold War strategy of the Soviet Union, and has increased its bomber patrols and submarine activity.
He said that has in turn led other Arctic countries — Norway, Denmark and Canada — to resume regional military exercises that they had abandoned or cut back on after the Soviet collapse. Even non-Arctic nations such as France have expressed interest in deploying their militaries to the Arctic.
"We have an entire ocean region that had previously been closed to the world now opening up," Huebert said. "There are numerous factors now coming together that are mutually reinforcing themselves, causing a buildup of military capabilities in the region. This is only going to increase as time goes on."
Noting that the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the globe, the U.S. Navy in 2009 announced a beefed-up Arctic Roadmap by its own task force on climate change that called for a three-stage strategy to increase readiness, build cooperative relations with Arctic nations and identify areas of potential conflict.
"We want to maintain our edge up there," said Cmdr. Ian Johnson, the captain of the USS Connecticut, which is one of the U.S. Navy's most Arctic-capable nuclear submarines and was deployed to the North Pole last year. "Our interest in the Arctic has never really waned. It remains very important."
But the U.S. remains ill-equipped for large-scale Arctic missions, according to a simulation conducted by the U.S. Naval War College. A summary released last month found the Navy is "inadequately prepared to conduct sustained maritime operations in the Arctic" because it lacks ships able to operate in or near Arctic ice, support facilities and adequate communications.
"The findings indicate the Navy is entering a new realm in the Arctic," said Walter Berbrick, a War College professor who participated in the simulation. "Instead of other nations relying on the U.S. Navy for capabilities and resources, sustained operations in the Arctic region will require the Navy to rely on other nations for capabilities and resources."
He added that although the U.S. nuclear submarine fleet is a major asset, the Navy has severe gaps elsewhere — it doesn't have any icebreakers, for example. The only one in operation belongs to the Coast Guard. The U.S. is currently mulling whether to add more icebreakers.
Acknowledging the need to keep apace in the Arctic, the United States is pouring funds into figuring out what climate change will bring, and has been working closely with the scientific community to calibrate its response.
"The Navy seems to be very on board regarding the reality of climate change and the especially large changes we are seeing in the Arctic," said Mark C. Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences University of Colorado. "There is already considerable collaboration between the Navy and civilian scientists and I see this collaboration growing in the future."
The most immediate challenge may not be war — both military and commercial assets are sparse enough to give all countries elbow room for a while — but whether militaries can respond to a disaster.
Heather Conley, director of the Europe program at the London-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said militaries probably will have to rescue their own citizens in the Arctic before any confrontations arise there.
"Catastrophic events, like a cruise ship suddenly sinking or an environmental accident related to the region's oil and gas exploration, would have a profound impact in the Arctic," she said. "The risk is not militarization; it is the lack of capabilities while economic development and human activity dramatically increases that is the real risk."YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) — To the world's military leaders, the debate over... more
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Once again, the World Bank is pushing a massive, dirty coal plant in a developing country — this time in war-ravaged Kosovo. The 600-MW project would exacerbate public health problems, do nothing to improve Kosovo’s grossly inefficient electrical grid, and would put the poverty-stricken country into a massive carbon debt that would last for generations.
We wrote about the project last month. This week, activists working to stop coal in Kosovo released a fascinating 15-minute documentary on the issue, outlining the World Bank’s contradictory policies and the potential renewable energy solutions that could help avoid building more dirty coal in the country.
The World Bank says tackling climate change is necessary to “avoid the unimaginable.” But the organization continues to push the dirtiest resource imaginable, lignite coal. When will it actually treat climate change with genuine urgency?
By Stephen Lacey on Apr 16, 2012 at 3:11 pmOnce again, the World Bank is pushing a massive, dirty coal plant in a developing... more
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Most of England is now in drought and the dry spell could last beyond Christmas, the Environment Agency will announce on Monday, as government officials started planning for a long-term water shortage that could be disastrous for wildlife, the landscape and farming.
Large swaths of the Midlands and the south-west have entered official drought status, meaning water companies in those areas can apply to place restrictions on water use for households and businesses. This could mean an extension of the hosepipe bans in the south of England.
The drought now extends from Cornwall to Kent, East Anglia to Shropshire and Herefordshire, and as far north as Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and North Yorkshire. Even parts of Wales – normally one of the wettest parts of the UK – are reporting ill-effects from the dry spell. The smattering of rain in many areas over Easter gave little respite from low river flows and falling groundwater levels, with only England's northernmost counties still getting enough wet weather.
While rain over the summer and autumn could alleviate the water shortages, officials are planning for the third dry winter in a row, which could devastate wildlife and farming. Only a very wet autumn and winter could prevent the drought stretching into next year. Soils are so dry that they will need a prolonged heavy soaking to recover, while levels at reservoir across much of England are so low they will take time to replenish.
Trevor Bishop, head of water resources at the Environment Agency, warned the outlook was bleak. "A longer term drought, lasting until Christmas and perhaps beyond, now looks more likely, and we are working with businesses, farmers and water companies to plan ahead to meet the challenges of a continued drought," he said. "While we've had some welcome rain recently, the problem has not gone away and we would urge everyone – right across the country – to use water wisely now, which will help prevent more serious impacts next year."
Households and businesses in areas not yet badly affected, and not under hosepipe bans, are also being urged to save water. Caroline Spelman, the environment secretary, said: "As more areas of the UK move into drought it is vital we use less water to protect the public's water supply in the driest areas of the country. It is for everyone to share the responsibility to save water. We are asking everyone to help by using less water and starting now."
Helen Vale, national drought co-ordinator at the Environment Agency, added: "The amount of water that we use at home and in our businesses has a direct effect on the amount of water available in the environment, for wildlife and for farmers, so we would urge everyone to start using less water now, whether or not they live in an area with a hosepipe ban."
The state of restrictions varies widely. While most of the south-east is under a hosepipe ban, the south-west – despite being now officially in drought – has more reservoirs and fewer people. South West Water has no plans to restrict consumer usage as its reservoirs are at 84% of their capacity.
Farmers, particularly arable farmers and vegetable growers, face a difficult summer as decisions have already been taken on what to grow this year. Further restrictions such as curbs on abstracting groundwater will become more likely if the drought continues. Price rises are likely for thirsty crops such as soft fruit and vegetables, while the price of beer is also expected to increase.
Wildlife is being hard hit across the south of England, with little that can be done for many species. Amphibians such as frogs, toads and newts are particularly at risk, as their breeding season has been hit by the drying out of ponds and ditches, and fish have died in large numbers after becoming trapped in diminishing pools as the river flow fell.
Although some fish have been moved from some of the most drought-stricken spots, government agencies lack the means to carry this out on the vast scale that would be needed in a prolonged drought. Species from water voles and wildfowl to dragonflies and wading birds will also be hit, wildlife experts have warned, as the drought reduces their habitats, kills off food supplies and leaves them vulnerable to predators and disease. Wildfires – more likely as vegetation dries out – may also pose a danger if hot weather continues this summer.
Welcome though rain would be, sudden showers also carry risks, the Environment Agency warned, as flash floods become more likely when soil is dry. England needs rain – but the right kind of rain.
Fiona Harvey and Madeleine Cuff, The Guardian, Sunday 15 April 2012Most of England is now in drought and the dry spell could last beyond Christmas, the... more
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Snow plows were brought out to clear muddy piles of hail that were up to 4 feet high on Route 287 in Texas. More hail is forecast for this weekend.
By Linda Stewart, Assocaited Press /April 13, 2012
Dallas
Maintenance crews worked Thursday to clear roads after a storm dumped several inches of hail on parts of the Texas Panhandle, trapping motorists in muddy drifts that were waist-to-shoulder high.
The storm left so much hail in its wake that workers had to use snow plows to clear the piles from the road.
"It was crazy," National Weather Service Meteorologist Justyn Jackson said about the strange storm, which hit Wednesday afternoon. The hail was "real small" but there was a lot of it in a concentrated area, accumulating 2- to 4-feet deep, he said.
The rural area where the storm struck was mainly ranch land, about 25 miles north of Amarillo and south of Dumas. Rainwater gushed across the parched land, washing dirt and then mud into the hail, pushing it all onto U.S. 287, Potter County Sheriff Brian Thomas said.
"There were just piles of hail," said Maribel Martinez with the Amarillo/Potter/Randall Office of Emergency Management. "Some of the cars were just buried in hail and people were trapped in their cars."
The southbound lane of the highway, which was shut down around 5 p.m. Wednesday, finally reopened early Thursday morning, shortly after midnight though water remained on the road until around 5 a.m., said Paul Braun, a Texas Department of Transportation spokesman in Amarillo.
Emergency crews also got several swift-water rescue calls as the road was flooded in low-lying areas, she said. Rural fences and vehicles suffered hail damage but there were no reported injuries.
Braun said work crews stayed in roadside ditches Thursday afternoon diligently trying to break up the ice jams and debris that had fused together and prevented drainage.
"We've got five, 6-foot high icebergs along the roadway," Braun said. "If we get another rainstorm it will flood again."
But the National Weather Service said it's starting to clear up and should be a sunny weekend.
"That's a good thing since it will take a few days for that hail to melt," said Andrew Moulton, an NWS meteorologist in Amarillo.
Meanwhile, forecasters say they expect a wave of strong-to-severe thunderstorms to sweep across Texas Saturday night and Sunday.
Conditions are expected to fuel a severe weather outbreak in Oklahoma and Kansas Saturday night and Sunday that could include tornadoes. The late-night and early morning timing of storm development in North Texas won't favor tornado development in North Texas, but National Weather Service Senior Meteorologist Eric Martello said tornadoes can never be ruled out.
Martello said the major threat to Texas would most likely be damaging straight-line winds and, yes, more hail late Saturday and Sunday.Snow plows were brought out to clear muddy piles of hail that were up to 4 feet high... more
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New York Times Reporter Criticizes His Paper For ‘Scandal’ Of ‘Dodging’ How Global Warming Is Poisoning Our Weather
By Brad Johnson | April 3, 2012
In an interview with Columbia Journalism Review, New York Times reporter Justin Gillis criticizes the media, including his own paper, for failing to connect the dots on how the hundreds of billions of tons of greenhouse pollution humanity has spewed into the atmosphere is making weather more extreme and “crazy”:
“One thing I’m seeing—and I see it in our own paper as well as many other news outlets—is that people are covering the crazy weather we’re having and, more often than not, dodging the subject of whether there’s any relationship to climate change. TV weathermen are dodging that subject. Print reporters are dodging the subject
"And it’s not so easy to cover because science does not have particularly good answers for us. The concept that I wrote about last week—that we’re in the middle of a sort of weather “weirding”—isn’t really a scientific concept for which you can build a weird index and figure out where we are on that index, but there are some things that scientists can say about weather extremes. Some of the extremes are very consistent with what is expected and what has long been predicted, and we’re seeing very clear trends in certain extremes like heat waves and heavy precipitation events.
"Reporters are not going to be able to be definitive, in real time, about whether this particular event was or wasn’t connected to climate change, but it’s a bit of a scandal that there’s not enough connecting the dots for people.”
As climate scientist Kevin Trenberth said in 2011, “It is irresponsible not to mention climate change in stories that presume to say something about why all these storms and tornadoes are happening.”New York Times Reporter Criticizes His Paper For ‘Scandal’ Of... more
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The Daily Mail is a British tabloid that has repeatedly misrepresented climate research. Naturally, it is also one of Fox News' chief sources on climate science.The Daily Mail is a British tabloid that has repeatedly misrepresented climate... more
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Climate change could fuel a giant ‘compost bomb’, scientists have warned, as decaying vegetation stuck under the ice or in peat bogs starts to heat up and tips the world into dangerous global warming.
In gardens every spring compost heaps are beginning to warm up as the microbes in the soil get to work breaking down vegetable matter and releasing a certain amount of greenhouse gases - as well as a pungent smell.
This process is repeated on a much larger scale when microbes trapped in the permafrost in the Arctic, tropical swamps or peat bogs around Europe and the UK heat up.
Scientists fear that if temperatures warm up too fast it will destabilise these natural cycles and unlock billions of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Peatlands cover just 3 percent of the world's land area, but the soil could store up to twice the amount of carbons currently in the atmosphere.
Peter Cox, Professor of Climate System Dynamics at the University of Exeter, explained the process of decomposition kicked off by warmer temperatures.
He said microbes in the soil generate more heat as they break down vegetable matter, releasing a certain amount of gases until the “compost heap” is exhausted or temperatures cool.
However if temperatures rise too fast there is a “runaway effect” as the microbes are producing heat so fast it cannot be released and builds up, potentially causing fires. Gases also build up eventually causing a huge ‘burp’ or explosive release of carbon into the atmosphere all at once.
“If you put your hand to a compost heap it is warm,” he said. “It is exactly what is happening in peat soils around the world as organic matter breaks down.
“Normally it does not matter as carbon dioxide and other gases are released gradually into the atmosphere.
“But if we are warming the planet too fast then theoretically the soils will warm up like a compost heap, making the microbes work faster and generate yet more heat. This causes heat and gases to build up and an abrupt release of carbon into the atmosphere.”
The compost bomb also causes a positive ‘feedback loop’ as the hotter the soil gets the harder the microbes work, causing yet more heat. Also the gases released cause more global warming.
Speaking at the Planet under Pressure conference in London, Prof Will Steffen, a global change expert from the Australian National University, described the ‘compost bomb’ as one of many “tipping points” in danger of pushing global temperatures beyond dangerous levels.
Almost 3,000 scientists are attending the conference to discuss the threats of global warming and the best way forward.
He said that there is evidence of a ‘compost bomb’ around 55 million years ago that caused a huge amount of carbon to be released into the atmosphere all at once.
Scientists are also investigating whether a ‘compost bomb’ caused the peatland fires around Moscow a couple of years ago.
“We know how the compost bomb process works, we think we have seen it in the past, we just do not know what global warming will trigger it or when it will happen, " he said.
Other tipping points identified by Prof Steffen as part of the 'great acceleration' in global warming include the melting of ice in the Arctic that creates more areas of ocean and therefore absorbs more heat than reflective white, again causing a positive feedback loop.
Although the global population is stabilising and we are more efficient at producing energy, human beings are causing more carbon dioxide to be released than ever before because the amount individuals consume is still rising, causing a number of environmental impacts.
Prof Steffen said that this period of climate change caused by humans, known as the ‘anthropocene era’, could ultimately cause the whole system of ice ages followed by warm periods, that has allowed life on Earth to flourish, to be over.
“The further and faster we push temperatures up, the more serious the risks,” he said. "But we simply do not know where these tipping points lie."
By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent
7:00AM BST 27 Mar 2012Climate change could fuel a giant ‘compost bomb’, scientists have warned,... more
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[Last week] Barack Obama wrapped up his first trip to Oklahoma as President. He arrived just after a week of floods, capping off a winter that never came, which followed the hottest and driest summer Oklahoma had seen in thousands of years, perhaps ever.
But he wasn’t in Oklahoma to talk about these climate disasters. He was there to laud his administration’s fast-tracking of the southern leg of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. In his speech today, President Obama didn't connect the dots between fossil fuel extraction, climate change, and the extreme weather that has reshaped so much of the American landscape this past year.
It’s a painful reminder that sometimes we must be leaders ourselves, before we can expect our elected officials to follow. It’s clearly up to us to connect the dots.
Today 350.org is launching a global day of action to call attention to these and other climate disasters, here on the same day as the President’s announcement. Across the planet now we see ever more flooding, ever more drought, ever more storms. People are dying, communities are being wrecked -- the impacts we’re already witnessing from climate change are unlike anything we have seen before.
If we're going to do these communities justice, we need to connect the dots between these disasters and show how all of them are linked to fossil fuels. We're setting aside May 5th for a global day of action to do just that: Connect the Dots between extreme weather and climate change.
Anyone and everyone can participate in this day. Many of us do not live in Oklahoma, the Philippines, or Ethiopia -- places deeply affected by climate impacts. For those of us not in directly-impacted communities, there are countless ways to stand in solidarity with those on the front-lines of the climate crisis: some people will be giving presentations in their communities about how to connect the dots. Others will do projects to demonstrate what sorts of climate impacts we can expect if the crisis is left unchecked. And here in the US, it’s particularly important that we make the connections clear to our elected officials -- beginning with President Obama.
However you choose to participate, your voice is needed in this fight -- and you can sign up to host a local event here: www.climatedots.org/start
350.org has done giant global days of action before (over the last three years we've helped coordinate over 15,000 events in 188 countries) and they're always beautiful moments when our movement stands together. This year we'll use that same captivating tactic to draw attention to the struggles of our friends around the world -- the communities already feeling the harsh impacts of climate change.
These will also be beautiful events, we’re sure. But they will also have an edge. It’s right that we get a little angry at those forces causing this problem. The fossil fuel industry is at fault, and we have to make that clear. Our crew at 350.org will work hard to connect all these dots -- literally -- and weave them together to create a potent call to action, and we will channel that call directly to the people who need to hear it most.
May 5 is coming soon; we need to work rapidly. Because climate change is bearing down on us, and we simply can’t wait. The world needs to understand what’s happening, and you’re the people who can tell them.
Please join us -- we need you to send the most important alarm humanity has ever heard.
Onwards,
Bill McKibben[Last week] Barack Obama wrapped up his first trip to Oklahoma as President. He... more
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As 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben explains in the video, we're gearing up for a major new fight to end the billions of dollars in subsidies the fossil fuel industry receives each year -- the tax-breaks, handouts, and loopholes that are just adding to the record-breaking profits that these companies are already making. And perhaps most importantly, getting rid of fossil fuel subsidies across the board would be a huge step to cutting carbon emissions and putting us back on a pathway to 350 ppm.
The subsidies battle is gaining momentum, and fast. In a recent speech, President Obama called for an end to subsidies to Big Oil and said, “Let's put every single member of Congress on record: You can stand with oil companies or you can stand up for the American people.”
As you probably know, we haven’t agreed with President Obama on everything, but we think getting every member of Congress on the record is a great idea. As a first step, we just launched this short and simple petition that reads: "I call on Congress to end all subsidies to fossil fuel companies, and invest in green jobs and clean energy instead."
Please take a minute to add your name to the petition calling for Congress to put an end to fossil fuel subsidies. Over the next month, we'll ramp up the pressure -- on Twitter, on Facebook, over the phones, and in district -- to get every politician to tell us where he or she stands on these subsidies. For now, we'll use this petition to show Congress how important this issue is -- and when we launch our big push to get every member of Congress on the record, they'll know that we have an army of concerned citizens who have our back.
As Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip-Hop Caucus says in the video, “To make this movement successful, we have to continue to keep the pressure going.” We couldn't agree more. Along with taking on fossil fuel subsidies, we're gearing up for some massive new efforts to build this movement:
- Taking on more iconic fossil fuel fights across the country and around the world.
- “Connecting the Dots” between climate change and extreme weather -- expect more on that front very soon!
- Training and supporting thousands of new climate leaders to strengthen our movement.
- And lots more…
None of this work is possible without your participation and leadership. As Bill says in the video: “This fight is going to be a lifetime fight. I’m so, so, so grateful to all of you who are playing such a huge role in it.”
On we go,
May Boeve for the 350.org TeamAs 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben explains in the video, we're gearing up for a... more
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Multiyear composite (1992, 2000, 2010) of nighttime satellite images of the Midwestern United States, showing recent Bakken shale boom. Image courtesy NGDC.
The boom in shale oil and gas exploration in North Dakota during the Bush and Obama presidencies has transformed the state, satellite imagery shows. This composite image from the National Geophysical Data Center combines nighttime satellite imagery from 1992, 2000, and 2010. Places that had lots of light in all three years show up bright white. The red area in North Dakota — home of the shale boom changing America’s energy politics and physical landscape — shows the bright lights of drilling in 2010 where it was was dark in 2000 and 1992.
The SkyTruth blog explains why shale gas fracking in North Dakota is so bright at night:
“So why is this area all lit up at night? Well, the rigs and other facilities are highly illuminated because drilling is a 24/7 proposition – time is money so there is no ‘down time.’ But there is another reason too: operators in this oil field are flaring off large quantities of natural gas. That’s right, burning it off as a hazardous nuisance. Meanwhile some folks on the campaign trail and on Capitol Hill complain loudly that environmental rules and government policies are limiting industry’s access to more public lands throughout America so they can drill for – you got it – natural gas. Despite the fact that industry is already sitting on thousands of approved drilling permits that remain idle, and millions of acres of leases they aren’t developing.”
By Brad Johnson on Mar 13, 2012 at 4:41 pmMultiyear composite (1992, 2000, 2010) of nighttime satellite images of the Midwestern... more
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Record floodwaters inundated parts of southern Louisiana early Tuesday after intense rains caused flash flooding and prompted hundreds of rescues.
Estimates by the National Weather Service put total rainfall at 12 to 18 inches across the region, with possible amounts of 20 or more inches in some areas. A flood warning has been issued until late Tuesday.
Floodwaters were cresting overnight for Bayou Vermilion at Carencro at 5.5 feet over flood stage and 12 inches above the record set in May 2004.
"We're still conducting rescues," Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office spokesman Kip Judice said Monday evening. "We've done over 150 rescues throughout the day today."
One of those involved 16 middle school students whose bus became stuck after more than 4 feet of water covered the road.
"It was really scary because we couldn't get out of the bus ... the water was closing it in," said student Cory McCall. "It was thundering and lightning."
Boats and dump trucks were used to reach the children and bring them to safety, Judice said.
The town of Carencro was among the hardest hit communities in Lafayette Parish, according to Capt. Craig Stansbury, who is also from the Parish Sheriff's Office. He noted there were reports of water as high as 8 feet on some roadways.
Stansbury said fire department vehicles, tractors and conventional boats and airboats were being used to reach those stranded in homes and cars.
"A lot of things that we have at our disposal, we're just going to go ahead and utilize," he said. "Whatever it takes to get to the people."
The parish declared a state of emergency in the midst of the high water.
"We are working with local officials to ensure they get the resources and support they need to respond to the flooding," said Kevin Davis, director of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. "We urge residents to be mindful ... and to take precautionary measures."
A state of emergency was also declared in St. Landry Parish, where Government Administrative Director Jessie Bellard estimated that some 2,000 people had been affected.
People were driving dump trucks to rescue residents who have flooding in their homes and can't get out. Bellard said several minor and major roads, including part of U.S. Highway 190, have experienced significant flooding.
"It's just a terrible situation," Bellard said.
Maj. Ginny Higgins of the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office said flooding affected at least 15 to 20 roads Monday in that parish. Several people were safely rescued after being trapped in their vehicles, she said.
A state of emergency has been declared for that parish, Higgins said.
Stansbury, from Lafayette Parish, said residents knew Monday would be wet but didn't foresee the volume or intensity.
"There was a forecast of some heavy rains, but I don't think anybody could have predicted that amount of rain," he said.
And while the worst precipitation is over, the headaches are not.
Intermittent rain continued to fall.
Judice, from Lafayette Parish, said water levels were continuing to rise in his area.
"It's still a very crazy situation," he said.
CNN's Joe Sutton and Barbara Hall contributed to this report.
8:21 AM EDT, Tue March 13, 2012Record floodwaters inundated parts of southern Louisiana early Tuesday after intense... more
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By Eric W. Dolan
Monday, March 5, 2012 18:45 EST
Televangelist Pat Robertson on Monday tried to deflect the blame for tornadoes away from God, saying people shouldn’t build houses in the Midwest and could prevent the deadly storms by praying.
“God doesn’t send tornadoes to hurt people,” he said. “We call them acts of God, but they’re not. All I can say is, why do you build houses in a place where tornadoes are apt to happen?”
Recently, early spring tornadoes in the Midwest and South have killed 39 people.
“If enough people were praying He would’ve intervened, you could pray,” Robertson continued. “Jesus stilled the storm, you can still storms.”
“But the hurricane for example is a release mechanism that God set in to take the heat out of this world and to transfer heat around various parts of the globe,” he added. “It’s very necessary. The fact that people want to build houses on the edge of an ocean is their fault, it’s not God’s… So don’t blame God for doing something foolish.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/05/pat-robertson-tornadoes-wouldnt-happen-if-enough-people-prayed/
Watch video, via Right Wing Watch...
"D'OH!!! And I have Gas cos I don't pray enough, I knew it was all My Fault!!!" =(By Eric W. Dolan
Monday, March 5, 2012 18:45 EST
Televangelist Pat Robertson on... more
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Corey Husic, a 17-year-old high school student from Pennsylvania, is sending a message to Joseph Bast, President and CEO, Heartland Institute that he cease and desist his effort to bring climate change denial into our schools. Al Gore’s Climate Reality has a petition to allow people to join Corey in standing up for reality. They have also made a video of children explaining that global warming is fake and gravity is just a theory — because, they say, they learned it in school.
NOTE: One in a series of posts about the Heartland Institute’s inner workings, from internal documents acquired by ThinkProgress Green. ThinkProgress is among several publications to have published documents attributed to the Heartland Institute and sent to us from an anonymous and then unknown source. The source later revealed himself. Heartland Institute has issued several press releases claiming that one document (“2012 Climate Strategy”) is fake and asserting other claims regarding the other documents. ThinkProgress has taken down the “2012 Climate Strategy” document as it determines the document’s authenticity.
By Brad Johnson on Feb 24, 2012 at 6:00 pmCorey Husic, a 17-year-old high school student from Pennsylvania, is sending a message... more
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I just received this great e-mail from 350.org about the 35,553 petitions signed last week on behalf of President Nasheed of the Maldives.
Dear friends,
You may not know me, but I’m writing to thank you.
My name is Zaheena. I’m a young Maldivian, recent university graduate, former 350.org intern, and member of the Maldives’ movement for democracy. I’m writing to personally express my gratitude. Your outpouring of support for President Nasheed’s safety, and the plight of democracy and peace in the Maldives, was truly inspiring.
In under a week, an incredible 35,553 of you signed our petition to world leaders.
Last week, I was able to travel to Washington, DC to hand deliver your messages to the political desk that handles Central and South Asian affairs at the US State Department. Here’s a picture of us about to make the delivery.
The response from the State Department was standard boilerplate, but they were clear that your messages made a difference--and I believe them. International pressure was crucial in making the democratic elections of 2008 happen and in bringing democracy to the Maldives, and will be important in restoring democracy.
After the frightening events that took my country by surprise a few weeks back, thousands of people marched in the capital Male’ protesting the coup d’état and calling for democracy and justice. In recent days all political parties agreed to early presidential elections, giving us hope that we will overcome these trying times democratically.
I am so grateful to know so many people care about my homeland, and I sincerely believe that if the world keeps an eye on the Maldives, things will start to change for the better.
There is much in common in the battle against climate change and for democracy--the right to a healthy and dignified life--and this can happen when people are free to speak their minds, make decisions over their own resources, and have the power to act against injustice.
Thanks for all the work you do in your own community to fight climate change, and for standing in solidarity with our fight for climate safety and democracy.
Onwards,
Zaheena RasheedI just received this great e-mail from 350.org about the 35,553 petitions signed last... more
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If science isn’t enough to convince people that warming is a real “planetary emergency,” the panelists asked, what can researchers try next?
AAAS 2012 Annual Meeting: Science Is Not Enough
The crowd of scientists, journalists, and students had their audience participation clickers in hand, ready to answer two vital questions:
Is climate change a serious problem? More than two-thirds of the audience at the plenary address voted that it was “a very serious” problem. And what is the main cause of climate warming? The favorite answer—chosen by 86% of the audience—was human activity.
But when the Pew Research Center in 2011 asked Americans these same questions, the percentages were dramatically different. Only 38% of those polled said that climate change was a very serious problem, and the same percentage said warming was caused by human activity.
It’s a disconnect that scientists—armed with indisputable data that the Earth is warming—have tried to overcome for more than a decade. In a passionate, humorous, and often raucous 90-minute session at the 2012 AAAS Annual Meeting, a panel of renowned science communicators on Saturday night debated ways to break through public apathy and misinformation on climate.
The plenary began with a dramatic video of shifting images of canyon vistas and rainbows giving way to pipelines and calving glaciers, and throughout the night the discussion gave way to a multimedia backdrop of slide shows, viral videos, street interviews, and even a few stage shows.
The interactive event, held before a packed ballroom of more than 1400 participants and webcast live, was billed as a way for scientists to explore new ways of getting their messages out to the public. If science isn’t enough to convince people that warming is a real “planetary emergency,” the panelists asked, what can researchers try next?
“The big thing is to be responsible, to tell the story,” said former CNN journalist Frank Sesno, who moderated the discussion. “We need to convey the information, to help people learn so they can be more active, more informed, and more engaged citizens.”
At its best, said writer and researcher Olivia Judson, this kind of storytelling "can capture the imagination, and make someone gain curiosity" about the natural world.
Scientists have more options than ever for telling that story, the group agreed, but what approaches are most effective? Should they try new metaphors, new visual aids, or new ways of reaching a global audience?
Video and more at linkIf science isn’t enough to convince people that warming is a real... more
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From Bill McKibben for 350.org
Hey everyone,
Yesterday was one of the truly fun days in this whole wild year of organizing. We had hundreds of referees outside the Capitol, and we blew our whistles like crazy, and we threw penalty flags, and we had a hell of a good time.
My favorite scene, actually, was watching hundreds of people in ref shirts descending the escalators to the subway for the ride to the day’s final stop, the American Petroleum Institute. It was an endless line of black and white, a long human stripe of fair play!
Not only that, it was productive. Two great things happened: one, Senator Bernie Sanders announced at the demonstration that he’s introducing a bill to remove all the subsidies from the fossil fuel industry. And two, Barack Obama, eight hours later in his State of the Union address, joined us to demand that handouts to the world’s richest companies stop. The speech wasn't perfect -- he called for far too much new drilling -- but this was an important bright spot.
Ending those handouts is absolutely crucial to our big fight against climate change. A new report from the International Energy Agency shows that ending subsidies for the fossil fuel industry will cut half the carbon emissions we need to stop catastrophic climate change. And it's partly because they take so much monety from the government that Big Oil can afford to spend millions lobbying for projects like Keystone XL.
It felt darned good to be on the offensive for once, not just trying to beat back disasters like Keystone, but taking the battle to Big Oil.
I'd like to ask you to join in the fun by leading an action that blows the whistle on your local Member of Congress who is taking money from the oil industry. We need to be a little nuanced: for those of you with representatives who have been taking lots of oil money and then voting for handouts for oil companies, then the task is clear -- they need to hear from some refs. For those of you with representatives who are doing what's right already, get in touch with us - I'm sure there is some other elected official nearby who needs to hear from some refs.
Even five or ten of you can form a “referee squad.” All you need are shirts and whistles (and maybe some strips of cloth to throw as penalty flags!) -- and you need some knowledge: how much money did your Congressperson or Senator take from the fossil fuel industry. The 350.org organizers are ready to help you with the supplies, and information on your representatives is available here.
With those things in hand, you’re prepared to go to a district office, to a town hall meeting, or to almost any other occasion and raise uncomfortable questions: Are you going to vote for or against subsidies for big oil? And if you’re going to vote on these company’s interests, why do you take money from them?
We’ll be doing a lot of this. We need to make these outfits a feared sight for corrupt Congresspeople everywhere. In fact, it’s already happening—early this morning, a dozen college students in ref shirts lined up to make sure they’d get in the room for new hearings on the Keystone pipeline. They dominated the coverage, using their flags to call foul on the proceedings.
You don’t need to wait for your politicians to get home for recess. You can mount a small demonstration outside their office—and if you do it in the run up to the Super Bowl, you’re almost certain to get some media notice. Remember: if one team was buying off the refs in the big game, it would be a national scandal. In DC, it’s business as usual—until now.
I know that in some ways this is harder than traveling to DC to be with a big crowd. But you’re capable of this kind of activism, and it’s what we need so badly right now.
And here’s the thing: it was indeed a little strange to dress up like a referee and blow whistles all afternoon in Washington DC - and I haven't blown a whistle since I was a kid - but with a big movement behind us, that awkwardness evaporated immediately and we started to have a really good time.
So go to it!From Bill McKibben for 350.org
Hey everyone,
Yesterday was one of the truly fun... more
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Is fear of the "Dirty Oil" label behind Canada's tarring of Artist's European tour?
What lengths will the Canadian Government go to ensure that oil from the Alberta Tar Sands is not labelled "dirty"?
Watch this video about Canadian artist Franke James, and how a dream opportunity -- a 20-city European artshow to educate youth about climate change -- faced behind-the-scenes interference by the Canadian Government.
"The government of Canada has no right to determine what is an acceptable opinion for an individual citizen, on climate change or any matter of public interest," said Charlie Foran, President of PEN Canada, "To do so is clearly not in the spirit of the Charter and the long history of freedom of expression in Canada."
Greg Hollingshead, Chair of The Writers' Union of Canada, "The right to freedom of expression includes freedom from official disapproval, including the sort of bureaucratic interference encountered by Franke James."Is fear of the "Dirty Oil" label behind Canada's tarring of... more
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