The misplaced emphasis on extreme weather in environmental threat communication
Environmental advocates have a compelling story to tell, but it has been hard to get people to listen. The advocates argue that the ever increasing burden of human activities— reflected in rising world population, coupled with rising per capita GDP— is taking an increasingly heavy toll on the global environment. The impacts encompass climate change, ocean acidification, destruction of terrestrial ecosystems, the appropriation of most of the world's great river systems for hydroelectric power projects, the depletion of fossil aquifers, the loss of topsoil, water and air pollution, and the squandering of irreplaceable resources. On a global scale, environmental capital is being liquidated at a much faster rate than it is being renewed.
NASA Study: Climate Sensitivity Is High So 'Long-Term Warming Likely To Be Significant'
A new NASA study suggests that projections of Earth's future warming should be more in line with previous estimates that indicated a higher sensitivity to increasing greenhouse gas emissions. (Credit: NASA)
Yet another new study finds the climate's sensitivity to carbon pollution is on the high side. That means, absent rapid reductions in greenhouse gases, global warming is likely to be high enough to destroy a livable climate.
This is consistent with a January Nature study on climate sensitivity, which found we are headed toward a "most-likely warming of roughly 5°C [9°F] above modern [i.e. current] temperatures or 6°C [11°F] above preindustrial" temperatures this century.
This finding is also consistent with paleoclimate data (see "Last Time CO2 Levels Hit 400 Parts Per Million The Arctic Was 14°F Warmer!"). Also, this study is consistent with other recent observation-based analyses (see "Observations Support Predictions Of Extreme Warming And Worse Droughts This Century").
Study Analyzes Processes that Influence Global Warming in Western Tropical Pacific Ocean
The findings, published online Feb. 27 in the journal Nature Geoscience, will help inform scientists about the processes influencing global warming in the western tropical Pacific Ocean.
The study analyzes how much temperatures have increased in the region near Indonesia, and how ocean temperatures affect nearby tropical glaciers in Papua New Guinea and Borneo. Researchers also evaluated the accuracy of existing climate model predictions for that region. The findings illustrate that the region is very sensitive to climate change and that it has warmed considerably over the last 20,000 years, since the last ice age.
There is No Scientific Evidence That Humans are Causing Global Warming
Submitted by may on March 15, 2014 - 1:54am
There exists not one shred of scientific evidence that human activities are causing Earth to warm or to cool. The normal range of weather and occasional changes in the climate of Earth are not different now than at any time in history.
In fact the temperatures on Earth at this time are much colder than normal. The average surface temperature for Earth is only 45 degrees Fahrenheit and ice covers both poles, so warmer temperatures would seem to be welcome and more desirable.
Democrats have again been trying to scare the American people with threats of impending doom if fossil fuel use is not stopped. Much of this recent resurgence is probably an attempt to divert public attention from the ongoing catastrophic failures of ObamaCare.
Global Warming Negatively Affect Fisheries
Added by Tina Zhang on March 15, 2014.
Saved under Global warming, Science, Tina Zhang
Tags: Global Warming
Global warming has had more impact on fisheries relying on short life species such as shrimp or sardine, because it affects chlorophyll production which is vital for phytoplankton, the main food for both species. This is the conclusion of a research on the impact of global warming on the fishing resources in Mexican Pacific published on March 7, led by Ernesto A. Chávez Ortiz from the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN).
The research compared historical data regarding fisheries, available since 1950, from The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to the data of weather variability and concluded a lot of the variabitlity in the fishing in the Mexican Pacific Ocean is caused by climate change. The sardine production increases in the 1970s, but decreased below average levels in the 1980s. While shrimp fishing increased above average but decreased in the 1990s. All these were affected by the climate change, possibly due to El Niño. In the case of shrimp, the production is linked to an input of water from the continent. A good raining season means an increase in the crustacean production, which is reduced by a dry season.
Even the benefits from global warming on fisheries previously thought to be true was proven wrong. New surface areas of the Arctic Ocean got opened up due to the earlier warming and later freezing. Besides providing easier access to oil and gas deposits, people thought it would increase the fish catch from the Arctic waters, which is currently 20 percent of the world's catch, as warmth and light would bring nutrients to the newly open water. There are three types of algae. Ice algae are algae attaching to ice sheets and accounts for half of the living masses in Arctic waters. Phytoplankton (unattached algae) and zooplankton (tiny animals) are the bases of the food chain in the waters. All these three kinds are flourishing due to longer summer and more light in the water. These have created food sources north of the historic ground and are the base of the high hope for more catch.
There are three reasons such hope is bound for disappointment. The first reason requires an understanding of "pelagic" and "benthic"—the former means fish lives near the surface of the water and the latter means fish lives near the bottom. Benthic fish that can live in the bottom of Beaufort cannot survive in the central Arctic (depth difference is 200 meters vs. 4,000 meters). The second reason is the ocean acidification. Cold water absorbs carbon dioxide faster and the new opened ocean provides bigger absorbing area. The ocean turns carbon dioxide into carbonic acid, discouraging the formation of calcium carbonate which gives shells strength. This means less shelled organisms and less food for fish. The last and most important reason is the warming ocean may intensify the ocean stratification, defined as the tendency of seawater to separate into layers because fresh water is lighter than salt and cold water heavier than warm.
The Ocean Stratification poses danger to disrupt nutrients cycles critical to the output of the ocean. Most ocean creatures are pelagic and when they die, they sink to the bottom and are eaten by benthic creatures. The nutrients are fed back to the surface mainly through upwelling of water from the bottom, caused caused by the collision of cold and temperature water. The Arctic is home to two of the most important nutrient moving locations. Tropics water is nutrient-poor due to lack of such events. Stratification threatens this recycling system by suppressing the vertical movement of the water and is worsened by global warming. Some parts of the Arctic already showed bad stratification, limiting nutrient replenishment, especially at high latitudes which are going to get worse with global warning, therefore the fisheries will not get the benefits people expected.
By Tina Zhang
Conference helps strengthen REDD+ safeguards
With a conference on "Operationalizing REDD+ Safeguards in Southeast Asia and the Pacific," held recently in Subic Bay Freeport, stakeholders from the Philippines and countries of the Asia-Pacific region made an important step toward safeguarding forests and the rights of indigenous communities and peoples.
The conference was organized by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and Climate Change Commission (CCC). The conference took place within the framework of the international climate and forest protection mechanism "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation" (REDD+) with cost-effective conservation, sustainable management of forests and the enhancement of carbon stocks.
How a false solution to climate change is damaging the natural world
In growing maize for biogas, the crop that does most damage to the soil is being specifically exempted from the rules
In principle it's a brilliant solution. Instead of leaving food waste and sewage and animal manure to decay in the open air, releasing methane which contributes to global warming, you can contain it, use micro-organisms to digest it, and capture the gas. Biogas from anaerobic digestion could solve several problems at once. As well as a couple of million tonnes of sewage sludge, the UK produces between 16-18m tonnes of food waste, much of which still goes into landfill. Farms in this country generate around 100m tonnes of animal manure and slurry, a major cause of water pollution. It could all be processed in digesters. A tonne of food waste can produce about 300 kilowatt hours of energy: the UK's discarded food, the renewable industry says, could generate enough electricity for 350,000 households. The residue can be used as fertiliser.
It was also a brilliant idea to turn waste chip fat into biodiesel. But the incentives to produce biodiesel, often justified by the claim that they would make use of waste, have created multiple ecological disasters. They have encouraged farmers to feed cars rather than people and financed the conversion of rainforests in Indonesia, Malaysia and West Africa into oil palm plantations, driving orangutans and many other species to the brink of extinction. In most cases, biodiesel, as a result of the changes in land use, has much higher greenhouse gas emissions than the fossil fuel it replaces.
Africa Urged To Embrace Agroforestry
Mitigate Effects Of Climate Change
NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Africa can achieve climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as provide livelihood for poor smallholder farmers by embracing agroforestry, scientists said on Tuesday.
The scientists at the Nairobi-based World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) said agroforestry, which is an integrated land use management technique that incorporates trees and shrubs with crops and livestock on farms, can ensure food security and mitigate the effects of climate change in Africa .
"It has been demonstrated by science that if you develop agroforestry it has the potential to buffer the impact of climate change," said Dr. Cheikh Mbow, Senior Scientist, Climate Change and Development at the ICRAF and lead author of the article. "For example, a farm with trees will suffer less to the impacts of climate change because it will absorb some of these impacts so agroforestry is a good response to develop resilience of agrosystems to the challenges brought about by climate change," he said.
African nations should address the critical nexus between climate change and food security.
In Kenya , agriculture accounts for about 20 percent of GDP and is very sensitive to climate change requiring that it adapts to ensure provision of adequate food for a growing population, and to improve production of export crops.
Trade and industry rely on infrastructure and services such as water, energy and transport, and are vulnerable to disruptions caused by droughts and heavy rains whereas tourism depends on a wide range of environmental resources.
Global warming and our health
Dear EarthTalk: How is it that global warming could cause an increase in health problems and disease epidemics? Do we have any evidence that it is already happening? -- Jim Merrill, Provo, UT
Global warming isn't just bad for the environment. There are several ways that it is expected to take a toll on human health. For starters, the extreme summer heat that is becoming more normal in a warming world can directly impact the health of billions of people.
"Extreme high air temperatures contribute directly to deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory disease, particularly among elderly people," reports the World Health Organization (WHO). "In the heat wave of summer 2003 in Europe, for example, more than 70,000 excess deaths were recorded."
Most Americans Undaunted by Global Warming
Although most Americans believe global warming's effects will take hold during their lifetime, they don't expect these changes to pose a serious threat to their way of life, according to a new poll.
A Gallup survey found that 54 percent of Americans believe global warming is already impacting the planet; another 3 percent think these effects will occur in a few years and 8 percent think these effects will occur in their lifetime. Meanwhile, 16 percent think global warming's effects will happen sometime after they die, and 18 percent don't expect these effects to ever take hold.
Cities around the World sharing Climate Solutions via C40
On January 31st, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon named former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as a Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change. This appointment reflects the growing recognition of the global impact of cities which, according to Bloomberg, account for "more than 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and two-thirds of the world's energy use today." Sarah Glazer reports here on the current efforts by C40 - a network of major cities - to work together to take local actions to address climate change. The UN hopes that Bloomberg, also chair of C40's Board, will in his new role stimulate even more commitments by municipalities to reduce emissions and increase their capacity to adapt to a changing climate.
Weathering climate change [Commentary]
So, how about this weather? This question is often just small talk, but conversation about the recent weather has not been simple idle chatter. While Baltimore was bundled up against the frigid "polar vortex," Alaska saw record high temperatures. While Atlanta was virtually shut down in an unusual winter storm, California experienced a severe drought.
Scientists predict climate change will mean more extreme weather — longer droughts, bigger storms and more extreme hot and cold temperatures. While the effects of climate change will affect all communities, coastal urban areas like Baltimore are particularly vulnerable. Experts tell us that more frequent power outages, flooding and property damage are all part of our future.
We have two chief responsibilities to help ensure our city and our residents can "weather" the coming storm. First, we have a moral obligation to do everything we can to limit the activities that contribute to climate change — to help prevent the worst impacts. Second, we must prepare to adapt to the climate change effects we are already experiencing.
Tropical Ecosystems Are Under Threat
Scientists at the Univ. of Liverpool have found that tropical grassy areas, which play a critical role in the world's ecology, are under threat as a result of ineffective management.
According to research, published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, they are often misclassified and this leads to degradation of the land which has a detrimental effect on the plants and animals that are indigenous to these areas.
Greater area than tropical rain forests
Tropical grassy areas cover a greater area than tropical rain forests, support about one fifth of the world's population and are critically important to global carbon and energy cycles, and yet do not attract the interest levels that tropical rainforests do.
They are characterized by a continuous grass understory, widespread shade-intolerant plants and the prevalence of fire, which all generate a unique and complex set of ecological processes and interactions not found in other habitats.
http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2014/03/tropical-ecosystems-are-under-threat
As it happened: UN climate change talks in Bonn, closing session - See more at: http://www.rtcc.org/2014/03/14/live-un-climate-change-talks-in-bonn-closing-session/#sthash.coLAfkKS.dpuf
Global warming slowdown could not help to cool down the earth
Researchers have revealed that the climate of the earth shall continuously get warmer day by day through this century as per the former estimates, in spite of the current slowdown in global warming. A novel NASA study has provided us with a prior warning about it. The research pivots on a fresh as well as all the more precise calculation related to the sensitivity and compassion of earth's atmosphere and climate to all the factors and elements that are the causes of change in the climate, for instance, greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate change: The wealthy behind it will profit
Our planet is warming, and the climate is changing. Homo sapiens is a major cause, and there is overwhelming scientific consensus which agrees.
A decade or two at the most is all we have to reverse these trends; this would depend largely on replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy and efficiency, and quickly moving to a sustainable society before the catastrophe is irreversible.
Climate change deniers and their multi-billionaire funders are still at it; perhaps some fresh thinking would be helpful.
Climate Change Is Increasing Extreme Heat Globally
Despite reports of a global warming "hiatus," a new study shows that the number of areas being affected by extreme heat are on the rise and that the hottest temperatures on the planet are also increasing. The idea of a hiatus comes from reports of recent slowing in the rise of the globe's average temperature. But average temperature is only one measure of the state of the Earth's climate, and in some ways, it's a rather poor one. After all, nobody actually experiences the planet's average temperature.
Integrating climate change in the post-2015 development agenda
The Climate Change Express: Ignoring Your Views at Every Meal
Imagine you're on a multi-day train ride. Perhaps you're crossing Australia. Or Africa. Perhaps you're retracing the historic Orient Express route, from Istanbul to Calais.
At every meal you're handed a menu with three choices: chicken, beef, or vegetarian. And at every meal the waiters serve everyone on the train the vegetarian option.
It doesn't matter how clearly, loudly, or politely you speak when placing your order. It doesn't matter whether you tip the waiters generously or not at all – the result is always the same. The train is an alternate universe in which your input is ritually requested and then ritually ignored. No matter how many times (or in how many languages) those in charge are reminded that the vast majority of the passengers aren't vegetarians, you all continue to be served what the kitchen thinks is healthy for you.
Welcome to the climate change discussion circa 2014. Ordinary people are the passengers being transported by this steam engine. Our political leaders are the waiters.
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