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Climate Change News from the Front Line
giving voice and finding solutions to the impacts of climate change in Alaska
Alaska Conservation Solutions
September 2010 newsletter |
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| Local Action Moves
the World | |
Cities have a unique power to drive immediate change and could be the key in how societies reduce their climate impact. Local governments cut more than 23 million tons of greenhouse gasses -- equivalent to the emissions produced by 1.8 million households -- in 2009 alone (Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media, 9/14/10). ACTION ALERT: Network for a greener Alaska on Oct. 10 for 350.org International Climate Action Day, Alaska Go Green. |
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| Dear Friends, | |
Thanks to everyone who filled out last month's survey for your invaluable feedback. Most of you who responded to the survey indicated you prefer Alaska news with national and international news important to Alaska and the Arctic. Your suggestions included devising ways to make the issue of climate change more relevant, shifting focus somewhat from impacts to solutions, and keeping the format succinct and easy to read. Many of you also revealed you would like to read more about positive gains through environmental action. Over the next few months I will incorporate as many of your ideas as I can into our climate change newsletter. Together we can make a difference to protect Alaska and change the world!
With hope and determination,
Penny Bauder
Project Director, Alaska Conservation Solutions |
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| ALASKA, ARCTIC, AND ANTARCTIC NEWS | |
| Arctic Ice Melt Far Exceeds Average | |
A report shows this summer's Arctic sea ice melted to the third-lowest level (all three lows were in the past five years) since satellite monitoring began in 1979, continuing a trend of habitat loss for walrus, polar bears, and other ice-dependent marine mammals. According to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, this summer's sea ice melt is significantly below the long-term average and well outside the range of natural climate variability (Science Daily, 9/16/10). ACTION ALERT: Comments on the Chuitna Coal Project are due Oct. 13. Coal-fired power plants are the source of 20% of global greenhouse emissions, and the coal stripped from this mine would emit 54 billion pounds of carbon dioxide each year. Please take five minutes of your time to get involved by clicking here. |
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Greenland and Western Antarctic Icecap Melting Rates Lower Than Expected | |
A new study found that the Greenland and Western Antarctic icecaps are melting at a slower rate than previously expected. A collaborative research team of American and Dutch scientists found that Greenland and West Antarctica may be melting just half as fast the earlier studies estimated. One researcher said that the earlier estimates failed to account for glacial isostatic adjustment -- the rebounding of the Earth's crust after the end of the last Ice Age (Science Daily, 9/7/10). ACTION ALERT: Click here to check out a series containing responses to the most common skeptical arguments on global warming. |
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Melting Sea Ice Forces over 10,000 Walruses Ashore | | For the third time in four years, melting sea ice has forced walruses to come ashore in Alaska, which results in food shortages and increased mortality. Officials estimate that over 10,000 animals have congregated in a dense clump at Point Lay, Alaska. The director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center explained, "We'll likely see more summers like this. There is no sign of Arctic recovery" (AP, 9/13/10). |
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More Arctic Wildlife in Danger of Extinction | |
The Center for Biological Diversity released a report that detailed the growing extinction risks of Arctic wildlife due to warming temperatures. According to the report, sixteen species join the well-documented polar bear as species at risk of extinction. These animals include the arctic fox, caribou, musk ox, pacific walrus, and four species of whale (Telegraph, 9/14/10). Another article (Yale Environment 360) details the troubling decline of 34 of the 43 major caribou herds that scientists have studied worldwide. Scientists point to rising temperatures and resource development as the prime culprits. |
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Alaskans Must Fight for Renewable Energy | |
Clem Tillion, former state legislator and former president of the Alaska State Senate, stresses that logic dictates earnest investment in Alaska's renewable resources. Tillion points out that there is wealth of energy waiting to be tapped by hydroelectric dams, wind farms, tidal generators, and solar panels, and that not far from Anchorage lies yet another source of unlimited energy -- the geothermal potential beneath Mount Spurr (ADN, 9/11/10). ACTION ALERT: The Fire Island wind project, scheduled to begin construction early next year, is facing some big obstacles. In order to make the wind project a reality, your help is needed. Click here to learn what you can do. |
| Models Show Fairbanks Shifting to Prairie ConditionsArticle Headline |
The projected warming of the planet could give Fairbanks the same weather as midwest Canada, according to a scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Fairbanks faces a roughly 11-degree Fahrenheit temperature increase by 2100 if moderate climate change models are used. If that happens, the interior no longer will be characterized by permafrost and boreal forests. "I think that's very realistic. We'd be in a zone that would potentially be prairie," the scientist said (Fairbanks Daily News Miner, 9/17/10). ACTION ALERT: Looking for a new way of approaching the question of climate change impacts in Alaska? Download the final report from the Connecting Alaska Landscapes into the Future project. |
| Climate Change Could Make Canada Economic Superpower | |
A top U.S. geographer and author of the new book, The World in 2050: Four Forces Shaping Civilization's Northern Future, says Canada and the other "NORCs"--Northern Rim Countries--will emerge as major world powers within 40 years as part of a climate-driven transformation of global trade, agriculture, and geopolitics. "While wreaking havoc on the environment, global warming will liberate a treasure trove of oil, gas, water, and other natural resources previously locked in the frozen North, enriching residents and attracting newcomers," he said (Wall Street Journal, 9/18/10). |
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UAF Increases Research into Ocean Acidification | | The University of Alaska Fairbanks is stepping up its research into ocean acidification with a dedicated program, increased staff, and the first deployment of stationary monitoring buoys. The UAF center will be a key player in studies to measure the western Arctic Ocean as well as subarctic waters, and as a repository for data collected. "What makes us unique is that we will lead the way for high latitudes for ocean acidification response, research, and keeping everything organized," the program director said (Alaska Journal of Commerce, 9/10/10). |
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| Bingaman: Climate Bill Is Dead for At Least Two Years | | Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman believes Congress will not pass a comprehensive climate bill for at least two years. Bingaman said, "I'd be surprised if that kind of a comprehensive climate and energy bill could pass both houses of Congress in the next Congress, since they've been unable to pass in this Congress." Republican Congressional candidates, most of whom oppose greenhouse gas regulation, are anticipated to gain several Congressional seats in the November 2 election (Reuters, 9/22/10). |
| Conservation Agencies Release Sweeping Climate Plans | | The U.S. National Park Service published its Climate Change Response Strategy which outlines the agency's efforts to address and lessen the effects of climate change. According to the report, NPS has set the goal to be a "leader in all aspects of recycling, alternative fuels, energy efficiency, and sustainable design and construction" (NPS Report). Similiarly, a new plan lays the framework for how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will handle what it calls the increasing threat of global warming. The plan is part of the Department of Interior's coordinated strategy of responding to the impacts of climate change on natural resources (FWS Report). |
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U.S. Maintains 2020 Greenhouse Gas Reduction | | The United States affirmed its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent to meet 2020 targets. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will likely assume a larger role in these efforts, as the passing of new climate legislation during the present Congressional term appears unlikely. "I think the EPA will be an important piece of the total equation, and there will be legislative progress also, though I cannot tell you when it's going to be," explained the U.S. climate negotiator (Reuters, 9/3/10). ACTION ALERT: New fuel efficiency and carbon standards are being developed for all types of vehicles covering model years 2017-2025. Click here to get involved. |
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California's Climate Change Progress Threatened | | California's ambitious climate change agenda could evaporate in a vote in November that pits renewable energy advocates and allies against oil companies and manufacturers. California is the clear U.S. leader on addressing climate change, unless California voters kill a landmark 2006 state law known as AB32, which was intended to cut carbon dioxide emission to 1990 levels by 2020. On Nov. 2 Californians will vote on Proposition 23, which would put AB32 on hold (New York Times, 9/19/10). |
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Republican Candidates Reject Global Warming | | A recent survey showed that all of the Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate in 2010 dispute the scientific consensus that the United States must act urgently to mitigate global warming. According to the survey, all 37 of the candidates reject legislative efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The strong Republican front against established science includes entrenched Senate leaders as well as the new wave of conservatives endorsed by the Tea Party activists, says the report by the Center for American Progress (Guardian, 9/14/10). |
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Ozone Layer Depletion Has Stopped | |
The protective ozone layer in the Earth's upper atmosphere has stopped thinning and should largely be restored by mid-century thanks to a ban on harmful chemicals, U.N. scientists said. A new report said a 1987 international treaty that phased out chlorofluorocarbons -- substances used in refrigerators, aerosol sprays, and some packing foams -- had been successful (Agence France-Presse, 9/16/10). |
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Developing Nations to Get Clean-Burning Stoves | |
The U.S. has announced a significant commitment to the group Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, with a goal of providing 100 million clean-burning stoves to villages in Africa, Asia, and South America by 2020. Nearly three billion people in the developing world cook their meals on primitive indoor stoves fueled by crop waste, wood, coal, and dung. The stoves contribute to global warming as a result of the millions of tons of soot they spew into the atmosphere and the deforestation caused by cutting down trees to fuel them (New York Times, 9/20/10). |
| Aviation Industry: Committed to CO2 Reduction | | The International Air Transport Association called on the world's governments to agree on a global carbon dioxide emission plan for the aviation industry. Aviation is a global industry that will be hurt by regional differences in national emissions trading schemes and taxes. The industry hopes to achieve a 1.5 percent average improvement in fuel efficiency each year until 2020, achieve carbon-neutral growth by 2020, and cut net emissions in half by 2050 compared to 2005 (Business Green, 9/20/10). |
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Charcoal Emerges as Major Tool for Curbing Carbon | |
Scientists are probing the limits of how high-grade charcoal, dubbed biochar, can be formed from plant and animal waste to squirrel away the atmosphere's carbon for centuries, or even millennia. "Biochar is one of the major tools we can use to fight climate change, if we decide to do so," said an environmental geochemist. Researchers believe that biochar will allow society to generate energy from plant waste and nonfood crops while also reducing CO2 emissions (New York Times, 9/7/10). |
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Super Car Gets 102 Miles Per Gallon | | A four-seat car that gets 102 miles per gallon is the top winner in a $10 million contest designed to encourage the development of ultra-efficient automobiles."We wanted to incentivize the dreamers and the doers out there to take on an audacious act," said the contest chairman and chief executive. The winning car has a chassis made of steel tubing, a fiberglass body, one small electric motor, and a proprietary battery management system that balances the voltage going into lithium-ion cells (New York Times, 9/16/10). |
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Famed Climate Skeptic Changes His Mind | |
One of the world's most prominent climate change skeptics has called for a $100 billion fund to fight the effects of global warming, after rethinking his views on the severity of the threat. With his new book, Danish scientist Bjørn Lomborg has become an unlikely advocate for huge investment in fighting global warming (Guardian, 8/30/10). |
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This newsletter is produced by Alaska Conservation Solutions, a program of the Alaska Center for the Environment, Alaska's largest home-grown citizen's group working to enhance Alaskans' quality of life by protecting wild places, fostering sustainable communities, and promoting recreational opportunities. Alaska Conservation Solutions was founded in 2005 to draw attention to the pervasive consequences of climate change in Alaska and to pursue solutions and responses to the problems. Please join ACE to support our work. |
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