Arguments
2013 SkS Weekly News Roundup #11
Posted on 16 March 2013 by John Hartz
- Canada losing its seasons
- Can the world fight climate change and energy poverty at the same time?
- Chief of US Pacific forces calls climate biggest worry
- Five companies vie to build wind farms off North Carolina
- Global warming brings on more pollen
- Green Climate Fund planning
- India and Bangladesh very short of water
- President Obama should abandon the all of the above energy strategy
- Somalia famine partially blamed on climate change
- US EPA likely to delay climate rules for new power plants
- Warming drives worrying surge in Arctic fishing
- Why saving the planet means saving the economy, too
Canada losing its seasons
“Canada is not a country, it’s winter,” Canadians say with pride. But the nation’s long, fearsome winters will live only in memory and song for Canadian children born this decade.
Canada Losing Its Seasons by Stephen Leahy, Inter Press Service (IPS), Mar 11, 2012
Can the world fight climate change and energy poverty at the same time?
The United Nations has set two huge energy-related goals for the coming century. The first is to bring electricity to the 1.3 billion people who still don’t have it. The second is to curtail fossil fuel use and keep global warming below 2°C.
Can the world fight climate change and energy poverty at the same time? by Brad Pulmer, Washington Post, Mar 10, 2013
Chief of US Pacific forces calls climate biggest worry
America’s top military officer in charge of monitoring hostile actions by North Korea, escalating tensions between China and Japan, and a spike in computer attacks traced to China provides an unexpected answer when asked what is the biggest long-term security threat in the Pacific region: climate change.
Chief of US Pacific forces calls climate biggest worry by Bryan Bender, Boston Globe, Mar 9, 2013
Five companies vie to build wind farms off North Carolina coastline
Five companies are interested in developing wind farms in the ocean off North Carolina, hoping to take advantage of what could be the East Coast’s most promising chance to create energy through giant turbines anchored to the sea floor.
Five companies vie to build wind farms off North Carolina coastline by Sean Cockerham McClatchy News, Mar 12, 2013
Global warming brings on more pollen
With global warming, temperature extremes are becoming a norm -- and that's bad news for allergy sufferers.
In a single century, our planet went from one of the coldest decades since the last ice age to one of the hottest. That hasn't happened in the last 11,300 years, according to a recent study on global temperatures published in the journal Science.
By 2100, temperatures will rise "well above anything we've ever seen in the last 11,000 years," said study co-author Shaun Marcott.
Global warming brings on more pollen by Elizabeth Landau , CNN, Mar 12, 2013
Green Climate Fund Planning
As the new board of the United Nations Green Climate Fund meets in Berlin this week, activist and watchdog groups here and around the world are expressing frustration over proposed rules they say are already significantly limiting civil society participation in the new initiative.
Civil Society Wants Bigger Role in Green Climate Fund Planning by Carey L. Biron, Inter PressService (IPS), Mar 12, 2013
India and Bangladesh very short of water
Three out of four countries in Asia and the Pacific are facing a serious lack of water, and some are in danger of a crisis unless steps are taken to improve water management, a report by the Asian Development Bank and the Asia-Pacific Water Forum has said.
India, Bangladesh very short of water, among Asia's worst - report by Nita Bhalla, Alertnet, Mar 13, 2013
President Obama should abandon the all of the above energy strategy
If the Environmental Protection Agency works hard to regulate greenhouse gasses and pushes energy development away from fossil fuels and the Department of Energy works to develop the science and engineering of solar energy, we might be able to move from the non-strategy of "all of the above", to something that makes choices and makes sense.
President Obama Should Abandon the All of the Above Energy Strategy by Steven Cohen, The Huffinton Post, Mar 11, 2013
Somalia famine partially blamed on climate change
Global warming may have contributed to low rain levels in Somalia in 2011 where tens of thousands died in a famine, research by British climate scientists suggests.
Somalia Famine Partially Blamed On Climate Change in New Study by Jason Straziuso, The Huffington Post,
US EPA likely to delay climate rules for new power plants
The Obama administration is leaning toward revising its landmark proposal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants, according to several individuals briefed on the matter, a move that would delay tougher restrictions and could anger many environmentalists.
EPA likely to delay climate rules for new power plants by , Washington Post, Mar 15, 2013
Warming drives worrying surge in Arctic fishing
Climate change may be good news for the Arctic fishing industry over the next few years, but it could spell long-term disaster for one of the world’s most promising yet fragile fisheries.
Warming drives worrying surge in Arctic fishing by Ali Morrow, Alertnet, March 14, 2013
Why saving the planet means saving the economy, too
Let’s be clear: the deficit is not our biggest problem right now. Climate change is. It isn’t even our biggest economic problem. A stagnating economy is. And—as the majority of economists have pointed out, and as the European experience clearly shows—austerity will only make our economy worse.
Why Saving the Planet Means Saving the Economy, Too by John Atchenson, Common Dreams, Mar 12, 2013
As a Canadian, when I first saw the headline Canada Losing its Seasons I thought "Oh no, another 'kids won't see snow' comment." However the article notes a variety of changes that are already started and changes that are much less weather dependent than "no snow" allusions. Still I'd be naive to think deniers won't (incorrectly) use it.
It all makes me wonder if I shouldn't send the kids north to get established as those who are their first usually benefit the most. Of course that would be based on an orderly migration north. With who knows how many millions making the trek I get the feeling the migration may not be particularly orderly.
The link for 'Why saving the planet means saving the economy, too' is the same as the one for 'Five companies vie to build wind farms off North Carolina coastline'.