Archive for February, 2007

For detailed disscussion on the science of climate change, check out the science blog Atoms to Zebras

Not only will you learn a lot about the science of climate change, you can read about present-day Stone Age tribes untouched by modern civilization, why drinking moderate amounts of wine may be good for your health, and other wonders of the pale blue dot called Earth.

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Posted by Tim Roth, author of the political blog Think Anew and Act Anew

In most of my articles for this blog, I’ve focused on the environmental and geopolitical reasons why we need a green revolution. One aspect that I have yet to mention is the enormous economic benefit that a green revolution will fuel. Ironically, many critics of green policy proposals claim these policies will stifle the economy when actually such measures will provide much needed economic stimulus.

The Apollo Alliance (named in the spirit of President John F. Kennedy’s ambitious goal of the Apollo manned missions to the moon) is a group that put together a $300 billion policy proposal for another moon-shot: a green America.

According to studies by the non-partisan Perryman Group, the Apollo Alliance’s ambitious and very achievable plan would have the following benefits:

1. Add more than 3.3 million jobs to the economy

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Posted by Tim Roth, author of the political blog Think Anew and Act Anew

“Friday, 2 February 2007 may go down in history as the day when the question mark was removed from the question of whether climate change has anything to do with human activities” — Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) [1]

In an important report published yesterday in Paris, France the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) declared that human are “very likely” a cause of global warming. While this isn’t exactly breaking news, what is significant is that in a 2001 report the IPCC said humans are “likely” a cause of global warming. In more concrete terms, the IPCC definition for likely is a 66-90% probability. This means the probabilty of a human effect is now greater than 90%. [2]

Another interesting paragraph of the IPCC Executive Summary read the following:
“The observed widespread warming of the atmosphere and ocean, together with ice mass loss, support the conclusion that it is extremely unlikely that global climate change of the past fifty years can be explained without external forcing, and very likely that it is not due to known natural causes alone.” [3]

Other highlights from the IPCC report:
1. By the end of the century, temperatures will probably rise 1.8-4C (3.2-7.2F) and could possible rise between 1.1-6.4C (2-11.5F)
2. Sea level likely to go up by 28-43 cm (11-16 inches)
3. By the second half of the century, Arctic sea ice will disappear entirely during the summer months.
4. Eleven of the last 12 years are some of the warmest on record
5. Changes in weather patterns will lead to longer and more intense droughts, heatwaves, and tropical storms.

The IPCC will release a full report later this year and will release reports on how to adapt to climate change and suggestions towards reducing greenhouse gases. Stay tuned for more updates.

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Posted by Tim Roth, author of the political blog Think Anew and Act Anew

Sources:
1. “Analysis: Through the climate window” by Richard Black, BBC News
2. “Humans blamed for climate change” by Richard Black, BBC News
3. IPCC report (PDF), released on February 2, 2007