Climate Change

Last week’s Northeast snowstorm and extended power outages have focused renewed attention on extreme weather. But was this event related to climate change? Most press coverage says no, and as a result the press are well on their way to getting the story wrong. Read the full post

Climate skeptics have denounced studies of temperature rise because of alleged biases in data sets. So in an effort to get to the bottom of these critiques, a group of scientists launched the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature study, using different methods with skeptics’ arguments in mind. Its findings are in, and they confirm that not only is the Earth’s land temperature warming, but the results mimic the very results of previous assessments that the skeptics had tossed aside.

“Bangladesh offers a good example of a country that has moved from disaster relief to disaster preparedness with the development of pioneering early warning systems,” said Kelly Levin, senior associate at the World Resources Institute and research director for the report “Decision Making in a Changing Climate”. Read the full story

Catalina Garzon of Pacific Institute presented findings from the group’s report on the effects of sea-level rise on the California coast. She used a map of projected flooding to show that people of color living in Oakland’s flatlands are disproportionately vulnerable to flooding from sea-level rise. Garzon also reported on adaptation strategies implemented in other communities, including emergency warning systems, repurposing of community centers for emergency use and retrofitting. ...

Download the report "Decision Making in a Changing Climate" by Kelly Levin

Derek Lemoine, an assistant professor of economics, found that simultaneously reducing emissions, investing in low- and zero-carbon research and development, and developing technologies to remove emitted carbon dioxide—a greenhouse gas—from the atmosphere is the most cost-effective approach to limiting global warming to a 2-degree Celsius increase (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Read the full story

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But Laura Wisland, an energy analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the program has had a significant effect. "I do think it's done its job, because it has created strong demand in the state, and that encourages solar developers to find cost savings," said Wisland, who was not involved in the Environment California report. "Panel prices are falling for everyone, so you need to find ways to innovate and make your projects cheaper to compete." Read the full article

America has talked for a long time about embracing green energy. President Obama discussed the idea last year, saying, "Building a robust clean-energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future, jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced. But it’s also how we will reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, a dependence that endangers our economy and how security. And it is also how we will leave our children a safer planet than the one we inherited."