Serious Hotness via It's Getting Hot In Here
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Carbon Limit Underestimate as Climate Deaths Start via Earth Blog
As climate change caused deaths surge [ark | moreark | search], the world's leading climate scientist is urging the European Union to urgently reconsider their atmospheric carbon dioxide target [ark] of 550 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide. Dr. James Hansen warns this target -- which informs global policies efforts -- must be slashed to 350 ppm [ark] if "humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilisation developed". Unfortunately the world is already at 385ppm. Meanwhile the recently completed UN meeting of world governments in Bangkok has agreed upon an agenda for talking about more talks [ark], following upon the victory of the Bali roadmap which, you guessed it, agreed that more talks were desirable.
The growing awareness that carbon levels have... Beyond Al Gore and Inconvenient Truths: A New Generation, A New Vision, a New Dream via It's Getting Hot In Here
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BaliBuzz: U.S. Finally Dragged Kicking And Screaming into UN Climate Deal via It's Getting Hot In Here
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BaliBuzz: Youth Statement to High-Level Plenary in Bali: “This is our last chance” via It's Getting Hot In Here
Yesterday, the International Youth delegations read a powerful statement to the high-level plenary in at the climate conference in Bali. Giving the UN climate conference’s closing statement, it was a defining moment. The incredble speakers were Anna Keenan from Australia, Karmila Parakkasi from Indonesia, Whit Jones from SustainUS in the United States, and Bambou Chieppa (a 13-year old girl). At 4 minutes, the statement was powerful and concise — and called for bold action.
I helped coordinate the drafting of the statement, and it was an amazing experience. Written together by the Indonesian, Japanese, American, Australian, Canadian, Belgian, and French youth delegations, it was a true international collaboration. I am so proud of the inclusive and consensus process we... BaliBuzz: U.S. Finally Dragged Kicking And Screaming into UN Climate Deal via It's Getting Hot In Here
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BaliBuzz: And the Beat Goes On… via It's Getting Hot In Here
It is the final night of the UN conference. All of the side events have ended and all of the displays have been taken down. Compared to the constant bustle of normal conference pace, the convention center feels like a ghost town.
Yet, the negotiations goes on.
It is now 2am and negotiations are continuing to take place behind closed doors. In the main hall, people are waiting, and some are sleeping, for the final report and close of these negotiations. As rumor has it, that time will not come until at least 5am at the current rate of progress. Outside in the halls, there are intense strategy huddles, camping outside of the negotiation rooms in hopes of catching a hint of how they are going, and finally outright partying complete with rum, wine, and music. Other than the fact that anytime... Breakthrough Institute 2008 Youth Conference: Breakthrough Generation via It's Getting Hot In Here
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Dispatch from Bali: Joining Leaders of the Global Youth Climate Movement via It's Getting Hot In Here
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Nobel IPCC Finalizes Out-of-Date Report, Next Due in 5 Years via Earth Blog
Having recently won the Nobel Peace Prize, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [search] is meeting in Spain Monday to finalize the landmark Fourth Synthesis Report on global warming. Scrutiny and criticism of the IPCC's processes is growing [ark] despite their new found fame, and we share these concerns. The synthesis report may be badly out of date before it is even printed, past IPCC reports have been shown to be too conservative in their assessment of the climate threat, some current trends are already at the upper range of current IPCC projections, and even these conservative outdated finding will not be updated in 5 years.
The IPCC scientific process, like international and national government's policy making processes, is falling dangerously behind with...
Troubling Speed of Global Warming via Earth Blog
Professor James Lovelock is making similar warnings as this blog, that the rate of observable global heating appears to far exceed even the most pessimistic predictions [ark] made by the cautious, conservative and at times political IPCC climate science process. He expresses concern that the speed with which climate change [search] is progressing will lead to ecological and social crises as "6 to 8 billion people face diminishing food and water supplies in an increasingly intolerable climate". Earlier this year the IPCC concluded that average global temperatures could rise by as much as 6.4C by the end of the century, with a rise of 4C most likely.
Yet Professor Lovelock believes even this quite substantial and dramatic rate of global warming understates the speed with which climate is...
Global Warming Claims Island Community, Displaces 2,000 in Papua New Guinea via It's Getting Hot In Here
The 2,000 residents of the Carteret Islands in Papua New Guinea are now some of the world’s first climate change refuges, as rising sea levels driven by global warming have claimed their island homes. The residents of the low-lying South Pacific atolls have given up their 20-year losing fight against rising seas and will be resettled elsewhere in Papua New Guinea.
[From Pacific Islands Report:]
The Carteret Islands are almost invisible on a map of the South Pacific, but the horseshoe scattering of atolls in eastern-most Papua New Guinea is on the front line of climate change, as rising sea levels and storm surges eat away at their existence.
For 20 years, the 2,000 islanders living there have fought a losing battle against the ocean, building sea walls and trying to plant... White House Puts the Muzzle on CDC Testimony on Health Effects of Global Warming via It's Getting Hot In Here
The White House is at it again, censoring expert testimony on Global Warming. This time the Bush Administration cut out over half of Center for Disease Control Director Julie Gerberding’s Senate testimony on the public health effects of climate change.
The White House PR machine first tried to pass the Administration’s edits off as “minor edits.” DeSmogBlog blows away that argument with a comparison between the Gerberding’s original testimony and the final version after the White House got through with it.
The White House cut the original version down from 3,100 words to only 1,500, completely wiping out whole sections on health related effects due to extreme weather, air pollution-related health effect, allergic diseases, water and food-borne infectious... Wildfires in California via It's Getting Hot In Here
The fires in southern California have now been blazing for more than a week, forcing more than half a million people to be evacuated between Santa Barbara and the Mexican border. The fires, fueled by thick underbrush, thundering winds and months of dry weather in the region, have devoured more than 800 structures and burned close to 300,000 acres. Residents from the San Diego area huddled in Qualcomm Stadium as the fires creeped closer and closer to their houses, an image reminiscent of the Superdome after hurricane Katrina uprooted hundreds of thousands of people.
Though there have only been a handful of injuries and one death, the hot winds show no sign of letting up. President Bush has declared the fires a national emergency, and directed FEMA to take part in firefighting and recovery...