Posted December 8, 2009
Climate Change | Energy | Environment
EPA: Greenhouse Gases Threaten Public Health and the Environment
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), December 7, 2009
"After a thorough examination of the scientific evidence and careful consideration of public comments, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on December 7 that greenhouse gases (GHGs) threaten the public health and welfare of the American people."
The mission of EPA is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment. Fulltext D1a/06-09 COUNTDOWN to Copenhagen
Motavalli, Jim E.
The Environmental Magazine, November/December 2009, v20, #6, pp28-33
"Although experts concur that it’s already too late to stop global warming, its intensity can still be mitigated. The course of world emissions in the next decade is likely to be set within a few scant months of this article appearing. Will Copenhagen contribute to a global consensus on finally reducing emissions—not just slowing the rate of growth?"
Jim Motavalli is senior writer at the Environmental Magazine and a contributor to the The New York Times, The Daily Green, BNET.com and Mother Nature Network. Fulltext D1/06-09
Awaiting Climate Accord, Governments Toy with Dubious Measures
Motaal, Doaa Abdel
YaleGlobal, November 6, 2009, online edition
"In the lead up to the Copenhagen Climate Summit in December, developed and developing nations are already preparing themselves for the outcome, a multilateral deal or not. This approach is bound to harm the prospects for reversing global warming, for fostering free trade, and for ensuring competition, according to World Trade Organization Counselor Doaa Abdel Motaal. Many countries plan to enact unilateral measures to prevent domestic industries from losing competitiveness and to stem “carbon leakage,” the shift in emissions from countries that cap emissions to those that don’t. [...] If a congeries of unilateral measures get enacted, the potential for discord over tackling climate change is likely to become more pronounced. Such strife would do little to help the environment."
Doaa Abdel Motaal is counselor in the Office of the Director-General of the World Trade Organization. Fulltext D3/06-09
Gore Out To Change The World
Brownstein, Ronald
National Journal, November 13, 2009, v41, #46, pp57-58
"With the domestic and international debates over climate change reaching a critical point, former Vice President Gore is back with a book on the issue. In Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, Gore argues that the prospect of disruptive climate change presents "a unique and unprecedented challenge" because its impact will unfold over decades and affect societies worldwide. Those are bigger units of measurement than political leaders usually work with when trying to build coalitions for action. "In other words, because of its planetary scope, this crisis masquerades as an abstraction," Gore writes, in one of his book's most memorable passages. [...] Gore spoke with Atlantic Media Political Director Ronald Brownstein [...] about his new book, the Senate climate debate, and the prospects for the international climate-change meeting that will open in Copenhagen on December 7."
Ronald Brownstein is the political director of Atlantic Media Company, publishers of The Atlantic Monthly, National Journal, and The Hotline, among other publications. He was national political correspondent and columnist for The Los Angeles Times. Fulltext D4/06-09
Global Climate Change Policy Tracker: An Investor's Assessment
Columbia Climate Center, Columbia University and Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors, October 26, 2009, online edition
"This report provides investors with an analysis of climate change policies and assigns a risk rating to 109 countries, states and regions based on key government mandates and supporting policy frameworks. The Climate Tracker is the first publicly-available analysis of its kind. It incorporates results of a model prepared by Columbia Climate Center researchers that estimates the impacts on carbon emissions of each of 270 major climate policies, and aggregates them at country, regional and global levels. The Climate Tracker provides a risk rating of countries and regions based on their relative attractiveness to investors. It is designed to help investors identify the best risk-adjusted returns in climate change investment opportunities around the world." Fulltext D5/06-09
Climate Change in the United States: The Prohibitive Costs of Inaction
Union of Concern Scientists, September 2009, online edition, 14p
"If global warming emissions continue to rise unabated, we will see growing costs related to climate change." This fact sheet reports "some of the projected damages [...] that will occur in states and regions throughout the United States. Making the choice to dramatically lower [...] emissions at least 80 percent from 2005 levels by 2050 will help avoid some of the worst consequences of climate change."
The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. This fact sheet is a collaborative effort between the Union of Concerned Scientists and independent researchers Frank Ackerman and Elizabeth A. Stanton of the Stockholm Environment Institute at Tufts University. Fulltext D6/06-09
Why Must the U.N. Be Central to Addressing Global Warming?
Schaefer, Brett D.
Heritage Foundation, November 6, 2009, online edition, 4p
"The U.N. is supposed to be a neutral facilitator, not a decision-making body. The decisions over what commitments nations make should be left to their respective governments—they have to justify them to the citizens who will be affected. In this debate, the U.N. has moved inappropriately beyond serving as bureaucratic “butlers of the process” to full-blown advocates pushing for ever more stringent commitments in the face of countervailing evidence and lack of political support for its suggested actions."
Brett D. Schaefer is the Jay Kingham fellow in International Regulatory Affairs at The Heritage Foundation. Fulltext D2/06-09
Responding to Threats of Climate Change Mega-Catastrophes
Kousky, Carolyn; Rostapshova, Olga; Toman, Michael; Zeckhauser, Richard
2009 Resources for the Future, November 2009, online edition, 37p (PDF)
"There is a low but uncertain probability that climate change could trigger “mega-catastrophes,” severe and at least partly irreversible adverse effects across broad regions. This paper discusses the state of current knowledge and the defining characteristics of potential climate change mega-catastrophes. While some of these characteristics present difficulties for using standard rational choice methods to evaluate response options, there is still a need to balance the benefits and costs of different possible responses with appropriate attention to the uncertainties."
Carolyn Kousky is a doctoral research fellow at Harvard’s Center for International Development and the Environmental Economics Program at Harvard University. Olga Rostapshova is a Ph.D. student in Public Policy. Michael Toman is lead cconomist on Climate Change in the Development Research Group and Manager of the Energy and Environment Team at the World Bank. Richard Zeckhauser is the Frank P. Ramsey Professor of Political Economy at Harvard Kennedy School.Fulltext D7/06-09
Reconciling Climate Change and Trade Policy
Mattoo, Aaditya et al.
Center for Global Development, Working Paper #189, November 10, 2009, online edition, 45p (PDF)
"There is growing clamor in industrial countries for additional border taxes on imports from countries with lower carbon prices. A key factor affecting the impact of these taxes is whether they are based on the carbon content of imports or the carbon content in domestic production. The study estimates suggest that the former action when applied to all merchandise imports would address competitiveness and environmental concerns in high income countries but with serious consequences for trading partners."
Aaditya Mattoo is lead economist in the Development Research Group of the World Bank. Fulltext D8/06-09
Livestock and Climate Change: What if the Key Actors in Climate Change Are... Cows, Pigs, and Chickens?
Goodland, Robert; Anhang, Jeff
WorldWatch Magazine, November/December 2009, online edition, 10p (PDF)
"Whenever the causes of climate change are discussed, fossil fuels top the list. Oil, natural gas, and especially coal are indeed major sources of human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). But we believe that the life cycle and supply chain of domesticated animals raised for food have been vastly underestimated as a source of GHGs, and in fact account for at least half of all human-caused GHGs. If this argument is right, it implies that replacing livestock
products with better alternatives would be the best strategy for reversing climate change. In fact, this approach would have far more rapid effects on GHG emissions and their atmospheric concentrations—and thus on the rate the climate is warming—than actions to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy."
Robert Goodland retired as lead environmental adviser at
theWorld Bank Group after serving there for 23 years. Jeff Anhang is a research officer and environmental specialist at theWorld Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation, which provides private-sector financing and advice in developing countries. Fulltext D9/06-09
Giving Away Green Technologies
Stokes, Bruce
National Journal, November 20, 2009, v41,#47, 2p
"Scientists and climate experts say that faster dissemination of clean technology is needed to have a hope of meeting the target of limiting the rise in average global temperatures to less than 2 degrees Celsius, a level that should minimize potentially catastrophic climate changes. To achieve that ambitious goal, the current level of global emissions of CO2 must be cut by at least half by 2050. Installing climate-friendly technologies at an unprecedented pace is the only way to ensure that success." The author points to a recent study by Chatham House, the British think tank, that "concludes that the most important result from Copenhagen would not be some new technological aid program but merely a clear signal to global markets and investors that far-reaching change in business-as-usual technological development is imminent and inevitable. This, more than anything, would spur greater business investment and international collaboration to develop the technologies needed to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions."
Bruce Stokes is the international economics columnist for the National Journal, a Washington-based public policy magazine and a journalism fellow at the German Marshall Fund. Fulltext D10/06-09
U. S. Energy Policy
Bazerman, Max H.
Environment, November 2009, v51, #5, pp22-34
"This article discusses the barriers preventing the U.S. government and its citizens from addressing energy problems despite clearly defined solutions and course of actions. The author notes that the issue of global warming has been recognized for decades but largely ignored by the media, politicians, and citizens. It focuses on how climate change is an energy-related problem whose relevance to enacting wise policies range across a variety of issues. He draws on the September 11, 2001 terrorists attacks as an example of human failure to act in time to prevent a catastrophe that he believes was foreseeable and cites the creation and implementation of policy recommendations that require an anticipation of change and the development of strategies to overcome barriers to action."
In addition to being the Straus Professor at the Harvard Business School, Max Bazerman is formally affiliated with the Kennedy School of Government, the Psychology Department, and the Program on Negotiation. Fulltext D11/06-09
New Report Debunks Common Myths about Energy
Tanton, Tom
Pacific Research Institute, November 4, 2009, online edition, 19p (PDF)
"Contrary to common belief, most of our energy does not come from oil, and most of that oil does not come from the Middle East. The United States does have alternatives to importation, particularly in the form of domestic energy production. New technology has greatly reduced the risk of offshore spills, but renewables such as solar and wind will not increase our energy security." This report by Tom Tanton challenges the conventional discourse about energy. He outlines the types of fuel most used in the U.S.—where they come from, the risks involved, and the potential for alternative technologies.
Tom Tanton is a senior fellow in energy studies at the Pacific Research Institute. Fulltext D12/06-09
Energy Needs and Efficiency, Not Emissions: Re-framing the Climate Change Narrative
Birdsall, Nancy; Subramanian, Arvind
Center for Global Development (CGD), Working Paper #187, November 18, 2009, online edition, 37p (PDF)
"The basic narrative on climate change between the rich and poor worlds has been problematic. The focus on emissions has made industrial countries inadequately sensitive to the unmet energy needs in developing countries. And it has led developing countries to adopt the rhetoric of recrimination and focus on the legacy of historical emissions by industrial countries. The ensuing blame game has led to the current gridlock. As a way out, we suggest some simple principles for determining equitable distribution of emission cuts between developed and developing countries to meet global targets. These principles emphasize basic energy needs and the equality of access to energy opportunities rather than emissions, taking account of development levels, as well as energy efficiency in creating such opportunities."
Nancy Birdsall is CGD’s founding president. Arvind Subramanian is a senior fellow at CGD with a joint appointment at the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics and is also a senior research professor at Johns Hopkins University. Fulltext D13/06-09
A Path to Sustainable Energy by 2030
Jacobson, Mark Z.; Delucchi, Mark A.
Scientific American, November 2009, v301, #5, pp58-65
"The article discusses how alternative energy sources, such as wind, water, and solar power, can provide all of the world's energy needs and eliminate fossil fuels. Topics include an in-depth discussion of how the construction of millions of wind turbines, water machines, and solar installations can provide energy, the need to use clean energy such as geothermal energy that has near-zero emissions, and statistics regarding the amount of installations needed worldwide to supply energy."
Mark Z. Jacobson is professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University and director of the Atmosphere/Energy Program there. Mark A. Delucchi is a research scientist at the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis. Fulltext D14/06-09
Zero Net Deforestation by 2020
World Wildlife Fund, Briefing paper, November 19, 2009, 21p (PDF)
"Deforestation continues at an alarming rate − 13 million hectares per year, or 36 football fields a minute (7.3 million hectares per year “net” forest loss taking into account forest restoration and afforestation). Deforestation and degradation of forests, particularly in the tropics, have dire consequences for the global climate, biodiversity and people. In proposing a target of zero net deforestation by 2020, WWF aims to help consolidate efforts to halt deforestation across various international initiatives and to set a global benchmark against which the success of these efforts can be measured. This briefing paper provides guidance and recommendations on implementation strategies to achieve the zero net deforestation target." Fulltext D15/06-09
Arctic Report Card: Update for 2009
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, October 22, 2009, online edition
"Despite the fact that summer 2009 had more sea ice than in 2007 or 2008, scientists are seeing drastic changes in the region from just five years ago and at rates faster than anticipated, according to the report, a collaborative effort of 71 national and international scientists." Fulltext D16/06-09
Have "Green" U.S. Automobile Drivers Made an Impact on Greenhouse Gases?
Roberts, Jennifer D.
Natural Resources & Environment, Fall 2009, v24, #2, pp28-34
"In an effort to reduce CO2 emissions and increase the use of cleaner energy sources within the United States, alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) have been considered as one of the most viable solutions to mitigating the environmental impacts of tailpipe emissions. This article focuses on the transportation sector as related to greenhouse gas emissions and examines the actual and potential environmental impacts of alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles on CO2 emissions."
Jennifer Roberts is a senior scientist in Exponent's Center for Exposure Assessment and Dose Reconstruction based in one of the Chicago area offices. Fulltext D17/06-09
The CALIFORNIA Experiment
Brownstein, Ronald
Atlantic Monthly, October 2009, v304, #3, pp66-76
"This article discusses California's leadership on energy issues. California is responsible for three major Federal efficiency innovations, including standards of energy efficiency for household appliances, decoupling of energy use from the profit motive for electrical and gas utility companies, and automobile energy standards. The author also cites State Senator Fran Pavley as the originator of the automobile energy standards, and says the state has avoided the need for 24 power plants with its innovations."
Ronald Brownstein is the political director of Atlantic Media Company, publishers of The Atlantic Monthly, National Journal, and The Hotline, among other publications. Fulltext D18/06-09
The New Dust Bowl
Harkinson, Josh
Mother Jones, November/December 2009, v34, #6, pp52-57
"This article focuses on the projected effects of climate change on California's Central Valley including high temperatures and loss of 90 percent of the Sierra Nevada snowpack, the main source of water. The agricultural economy of the region is in collapse due, in part, to its lack of preparation for drought.
Josh Harkinson is a staff reporter at 'Mother Jones'. Fulltext D19/06-09
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