Climate change in the news

Climate change is becoming more of a focus for me…we’re learning more and more, but also starting to see more effects of this. So, I’ll be posting summaries, like this one, of various climate change stories I find on the web, rather than posting them one at a time.

First up, the latest National Climate Assessment, produced by more than 300 government scientists and outside experts, paints a bleak picture for this country. The report, still in draft form, predicts warming and more extreme weather events. Read more here.

A forthcoming report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was leaked online (not due to be released until September of 2013 as it is not yet peer-reviewed), and paints a grim picture for our civilization…if we continue on our current path, warming will be ‘a catastrophic and unmanageable 10F over much of Earth’s habited and arable land.” The report also concludes that it is ‘virtually certain’ that human activities are responsible for this global warming. Read much more about this report here.

The World Bank is raising the red flag about global temperature increases above 4C (7F), saying that “we’re on track for a 4C warmer world marked by extreme heat waves, declining global food stocks, loss of ecosystems and biodiversity, and life-threatening sea level rise.” Food security is in doubt as temperatures rise, with crop yield reductions and extreme temperatures likely leading to shortages and hunger. What’s worse is that this 4C ‘danger zone’ is something that our current policies can’t even meet – we’ll overshoot that easily. Read more here.

The BBC reports that current CO2 emissions are too high to curb climate change, and are increasing, rather than decreasing as we need.

The Washington Post reports that, while there is a wide range of predictions from the various climate models, the National Center for Atmospheric Research is finding that warming is likely to be on the high side of predictions – not good, as it means we’ll substantially overshoot the target world leaders have agreed upon as the limit to avoid catastrophic consequences.

It’s basically all bleak news these days…but what makes it worse is that we have the technology and resources, right now, to make significant reductions in our CO2 emissions but we fail to act. Future generations will pay the price…and it doesn’t have to be this way.

January 14, 2013

Climate Change News

I’ve seen a number of interesting articles regarding climate change in the news lately, so figured I’d just sum them up in a single post. As always, follow the links for the full stories.

First, the World Bank has issued a report (PDF link) that finds a very high chance of hitting an average warming of 4°C by the end of this century…twice the international ‘goal’ of 2°C. The report goes into details of why this is bad, but chances are if you’re reading this you already believe it’s bad…what is significant here is that yet another scientific report is showing we’re making too little progress towards combating climate change, and are leaving a pretty messed up world for future generations. (full article at the Washington Post). It’s also worth noting that while the impacts of a 2°C rise have been studied quite a bit, the same scientific scrutiny has not been applied to a 4°C rise. They conclude that, “Given that uncertainty remains about the full nature and scale of impacts, there is also no certainty that adaptation to a 4°C world is possible.” Think about that.

Our neighbors in Canada are feeling a bit better about global warming, as it’s not expected to impact them as negatively (or other northern countries like Russia). (link) The warmer temperatures could even have some benefits…more tourism and increased food production, for example.

In Iowa, more than 130 scientists from Iowa colleges and universities have pointed out the obvious…that the bad drought they experienced this year is a predicted effect of global warming, and that we can and should expect more of the same (or worse) in coming years. (link) I wonder if this will lead to a mass exodus of people moving from the Midwest to Canada?

In light of the news that the US is on track to be a net exporter of energy by 2020, no longer dependent on foreign oil, the IEA warns that

No more that one-third of proven reserves of fossil fuels can be consumed prior to 2050 if the world is to achieve the 2°C goal.

By pursuing energy independence via increased domestic fossil fuel production, we’re also sealing the fate of future generations. (link)

Last, but most certainly not least, is that when you look at global average temperature, October 2012 was above average…but what’s most significant is that this was the 332nd consecutive month where the global average temperature has been at or above average. Remember, there are local variations – some parts of the world may be cooler, some hotter – but globally, the data indicates that this planet is warming up. (link)

I’d like to wrap up this post with advice for how we can stop this, but that’s a real tough one. I’m convinced that the only solution is to provide people with a clean energy alternative at a lower cost. More importantly, we need action fast…which means we need a dramatically lower cost, something that makes everyone rush to adopt this new technology. I’m not aware of any technologies that fit that requirement…and our country lacks the political will to implement change on a national level. Any ideas?

November 19, 2012

World CO2 emissions increasing

We’re doing a lousy job of fighting global warming, despite science giving us a pretty good understanding of the impacts continuing along this current path. Rather than cut emissions, global CO2 emissions in 2011 increased by 2.5% to a new record of 34 billion metric tons, according to Scientific American. It’s depressing that we can’t solve this problem…but the reality is, people are more worried about themselves than future generations. Or at least, that’ll be the case until those future generations grow up and realize who’s to blame for the mess they face.

November 13, 2012

Making fuel from air

A company in England, Air Fuel Synthesis, has demonstrated a method of making a liquid hydrocarbon fuel from nothing more than air. Well, more specifically, they say the process:

“captures carbon dioxide and water from the air, electrolyzes the water to make hydrogen, and reacts the carbon dioxide and hydrogen together to make hydrocarbon fuels”

Naturally, they believe it is a scalable process but is so far confined to laboratory volumes – they’ve produced five liters since August, which is fantastic but they have a ways to go. What’s key here, too, is how much energy is consumed in this process, something that so far I can’t find details of. If powered by solar or wind, though, a process like this could theoretically be nearly carbon neutral, yet still provide fuel to power cars and trucks. Or, if coupled with a utility-scale solar panel installation, some excess solar energy could be funneled to this process during the day, producing fuel which can power generators during the night when the panels aren’t producing.

Read more over at Wired, Inhabit, or Jalopnik.

October 24, 2012

Arctic Sea Ice Vanishing

It seems to me that every year or so for the past decade, I’d see a story in the news reporting on the minimum extent of arctic sea ice, comparing it to previous years, etc. Sometimes it’d be reaching a new minimum, sometimes it’d be the second or third worst on history. This usually occurs around late September or early October, when arctic sea ice usually hits its minimum for the year. So, it’s too soon to be hearing doom and gloom about the arctic this year, right, since we’re still in August?

Nope.

As the graph above shows, we probably haven’t reached the 2012 arctic sea ice minimum point yet…but we have already set a new record for minimum sea ice extent in the arctic. If historic trends prove true, we have another month of so of melting before we reach the actual minimum for this year. 2012 is, unfortunately, providing global evidence of the impact our species is having on this planet through CO2 emissions and global warming. While the technology exists to halt this slide into oblivion, we so far lack the willpower to do something about it. On the contrary, the Republican party is in outright denial of the issue, and a very large percentage of Americans are blindly following along.

What will it take to convince people that preserving this awesome planet for future generations to enjoy is worth a bit of personal sacrifice?\

(via climatecrocks.com)

August 27, 2012