- In a Commentary published in the journal Nature Geoscience UK climate scientist Kevin Anderson accuses his fellow climate scientists of deliberately downplaying the challenge of keeping warming below 2 degrees C. His analysis concludes that to have even a slim chance of staying under that limit will require a revolution in how we both consume and produce energy. This is a very sobering commentary, as discussed by Ed King, who also cites a paper published this week in Environmental Research Letters that warns that the combined climate plans of the U.S., the EU, and China leave “little room” for emissions from other countries if we are to stay below the carbon budget.
- In a new series of articles, The Guardian asks “Which countries are doing the most to stop dangerous global warming?”. In those articles they examine the pledges of 14 nations ahead of the November Paris climate conference.
- N. Gregory Mankiw is a conservative economics professor at Harvard, yet he advocates a carbon tax as the best way to fight climate change. To find out why, read this interview by Amanda Little in Grist. Then read what Eduardo Porter has to say about “Bringing Republicans to the Climate Change Table.”
- A new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change examined precipitation in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California to determine how frequently it has been as low as this past year. They used precipitation records back to about 1930 and tree ring data back to around 1500. They found that the current drought was the worst in the entire 500 year record. Furthermore, with further warming the frequency of such a drought is likely to increase.
- In an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences researchers from the US and Germany examine the possible fate of US cities in the face of sea level rise. A key finding is that millions of Americans may already live in cities destined to be inundated. Whether they will or not depends on whether we reduce our CO2 emissions and the fate of the West Antarctic ice sheet. Andrew Freedman provides a more detailed analysis in Mashable.
- Climate feedbacks have a very important impact on the outcome from adding CO2 to the atmosphere. In fact, they are the major complicating factor that makes it difficult to know exactly how much Earth will warm in response to more CO2. Prof. Eric Wolff of the University of Cambridge in the UK has explained the term feedback and summarized the major ones acting on the climate system, indicating where uncertainties lie. His piece was prepared for a general audience.
- Boreal forests are Earth’s northern-most forests, ringing the globe and providing nearly a third of Earth’s forest cover. Unfortunately, they are in trouble because of the more rapid warming of the Arctic, thereby impacting the large number of species that live there. Jim Robbins summarizes the present state of the boreal forests and how they are changing in response to warming.
- A massive review of 632 published papers about the world’s oceans has found that climate change in combination with ocean acidification is reducing both the abundance and diversity of marine species. Unfortunately, there is little evidence for acclimation to acidification or temperature increases, except for microorganisms. This simplification of ocean ecosystems is likely to have major impacts on the ability of the oceans to support human life.
- The melting of the land ice on Antarctica will have a major impact on sea level rise. To get a better picture of how melting might proceed, a group of scientists conducted a study to see how rising air temperatures might effect surface melting. One finding was that whether humans act to curb CO2 emissions will have a major impact on the melt rate during the second half of this century.
- Three items from the oil front. BP’s top economist has admitted that some of the world’s oil will not be burned because of concerns over climate change. While many factors enter into decisions concerning oil exploration, it is encouraging to note that exploration for new oil reserves has been significantly curtailed. On Friday the Interior Department announced that it is cancelling oil lease sales for the Arctic Ocean for 2016 and 2017.
- Kristen Meek and Rebecca Gasper, writing for the World Resources Institute, outline ways Virginia can meet its obligations under the EPA Clean Power Plan.
- Recently I have put in links to articles dealing with the cold blob in the North Atlantic and evidence for an impact on North Atlantic ocean circulation. Now Chris Mooney of The Washington Post reports on two new articles that relate to this circulation and its importance in influencing global air temperatures.
- A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that if we continue to burn fossil fuels in a business as usual manner for the rest of the century, the amount of the Amazon forest subject to severe drought could triple. This, in turn, could lead to tree death, with the release of the carbon in them as CO2, exacerbating the problem.
- Perhaps it’s the crazy weather we’ve been having, but according to a new poll, there has been a significant increase in the percent of Americans who believe that climate change is happening and that humans are influencing it.
- Government forecasters expect the strong El Nino to cause the northern states to have a milder and drier winter and the southern states to have a cooler, wetter winter.
These news items have been compiled by Les Grady, member and former chair of the CAAV steering committee. He is a licensed professional engineer (retired) who taught environmental engineering at Purdue and Clemson Universities and engaged in private practice with CH2M Hill, the world’s largest environmental engineering consulting firm. Since his retirement in 2003 he has devoted much of his time to the study of climate science and the question of global warming and makes himself available to speak to groups about this subject. More here.
Climate Action Alliance of the Valley 