Amid a two-week long protest in front of the White House, the State Department was due to publish its final environmental assessment of the Keystone XL pipeline on August 26, which would make it easier for the pipeline to be built. The proposed pipeline would traverse several Western and Midwestern states to bring oil from tar sands in Western Canada to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Canada’s environment ministry estimated that production of the tar sands would double in the next decade and increase the greenhouse gas emissions from the country’s oil and gas sector by one-third. Meanwhile, the protest has resulted in the arrest of more than 275 demonstrators, including 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben. “This is the primary test for Obama and the environment in the period between now and the election. [Denial of the pipeline permit] is his chance to do something on his own, without interference from Congress,” said McKibben. Release of the final environmental assessment triggers a 90-day public comment period before the decision goes to President Obama for approval or denial. While TransCanada, developer of the pipeline, stated the United States would become more dependent on Nigeria, Venezuela, and Libya if the pipeline is not built, analysts note that the oil coming from Canada to be refined in Texas may very well end up in Latin America or Europe because the companies Shell, Total, and Valero, who have signed agreements to take oil from Keystone XL, run refineries in Texas’ free trade zone which makes it easier to ship oil overseas.

For additional information see: Washington Post, Guardian, Politico

Australian Climate Change Minister Greg Combet requested states to end “inefficient” climate change policies ahead of the rollout of the country’s nation-wide carbon tax in 2012. Included in the state-level policies are solar feed-in tariffs, which the New South Wales and federal government intend to scale back. In June, the Productivity Commission found that the 230 climate change policies in Australia were costing an average of $44 per ton of carbon dioxide, but that the 12.5 million tons saved could have cost $9 per ton on average. “I will be having discussions with my state counterparts in coming months about this issue, and I think as the dust settles and the carbon price legislation is passed, and we start to do the implementation, we intend advancing the argument that it (the market mechanism) is the most efficient, least-cost way of reducing pollution in our economy,” Mr Combet said.

In related news, the Australian Senate passed a law establishing the trade of carbon credits for farm and forestry projects on August 22. Known as the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI), the scheme will allow such projects like tree plantations, methane reduction from livestock, and better fire management of grasslands to trade the credits earned for sequestering carbon with carbon emitting facilities domestically and internationally. The House is expected to pass the legislation with little change.

For additional information see: The Australian, Reuters

Landowners and the environmental organization Friends of the Earth have filed a lawsuit against a proposed coal mine in Australia on the basis of climate change, on August 22. The case seeks to ban development of the $6.2 billion Wandoan mine, which would export approximately 30 million tons of coal per year. Litigants in the case said the project will cause irreversible damage to Australia’s natural icons like the Great Barrier Reef and the tropical rain forests in the northeast from climate change. The mining company Xstrata will call witnesses who will testify to the local economic benefits of the mining project, while local landowners claim the project will destroy much of the region’s grazing and crop land as well as affect the air, soil and water quality, local wildlife and the health of livestock.

For additional information see: AFP, AUDIO: Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Sources involved in European Union (EU) negotiations on the fate of the Kyoto Protocol indicated that the powerful voting bloc could offer language that would salvage the mechanisms of the landmark international climate treaty after it expires in 2012. Speaking to Point Carbon, a senior EU official said that diplomats were working on language that would preserve the mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol even if no binding international targets were set at the next round of international climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa in December. The proposal, which has not been agreed to with the EU, would also let the Kyoto Protocol lapse in 2018 to allow a new global pact to replace it. “We see there are a lot of parties that want to maintain the Kyoto Protocol and its rules-based system,” said an EU negotiator. “Maybe it’s possible to preserve the rules, but not ratify (a second period).”

For additional information see: Reuters, Business Green

The prime minister of Bhutan, a country situated in the Himalayan mountains of Asia, issued a dire warning of the impending negative impacts of climate change on the productivity of his country. Speaking to Agence France Presse, Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley said that his country is already facing challenges from dryer winters and wetter summers. “The glaciers are retreating very rapidly, some are even disappearing. The flow of water in our river system is fluctuating in ways that are very worrying,” he said. Bhutan gets the majority of its power from hydroelectric dams that are fed by glaciers in the Himalayan mountains. In the summer months, river systems are overflowing, threatening people who live in the valleys below. During the winter months, the rivers dry up much more than before, creating a shortage of hydroelectric power that the country relies upon. Bhutan has plans to build more hydroelectric capacity to foster its growth and export power to neighboring India. However, climate change threatens that plan. Bhutan will host a conference with India, Nepal, and Bangladesh in November to discuss ways to reduce climate change impacts on the Himalayas, which are a source of water for 1.9 billion people.

For additional information see: AFP

On August 19, Canadian government officials announced draft rules that would effectively ban new coal-fired power plants that do not capture and store most of their carbon dioxide emissions. Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent said that the rules would likely take effect in 2015 and include exemptions for demonstration projects and emergency facilities. The draft rule would require new coal-fired facilities to make their emissions comparable to a natural gas-fired power plant. Approximately 33 of the 51 existing coal-fired power plants are expected to be shut down by 2025, according to government officials. It is expected that the rule will spur investment in natural gas and renewable energy. The public has 60 days to submit comments on the draft rule.

For additional information see: Power Engineering, Proposed Rule

Swiss researchers have discovered a huge discrepancy between what several European countries state in their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reports and what has been observed in the atmosphere. In a study published in Geophyscial Research Letters, researcher Stefan Reimann found that the levels of the potent and long-lived GHG HFC-23, a byproduct of the manufacture of the cooling and foaming agent HCFC-22, is roughly twice what some countries have reported it to be. Using atmospheric and climate models, Reimann also was able to pinpoint the source of the emissions because there are only six sources in Europe that manufacture HCFC-22. Italy, Great Britain, and the Netherlands significantly under-reported their emissions, while Germany and France reported within the values observed by the scientists at research stations in Switzerland and Ireland. HFC-23 emissions were observed over a two-year period from 2008 to 2010. Compliance to the Kyoto Protocol does not require independent control mechanisms such as the Swiss findings. It relies on the reporting from countries subject to the climate treaty.

For additional information see: Science Daily, Abstract

New research has found that the hidden genetic diversity of some species is threatened by climate change, in addition to the threat of extinction to some individual species. A study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, analyzed what is known as “cryptic” diversity, such as different lineages, or even species within species, in aquatic insects of Central Europe. By conducting gene sequencing of the insects’ mitochondria, researchers were able to identify evolutionary significant units (ESUs), a term for a genetically distinct population within a species. Using two different climate change models from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, they found that ESUs suffered a greater rate of extinction with warmer temperatures which would hinder the species’ evolutionary capability. “This genetic diversity is the most fundamental form of biodiversity — essentially, it’s the substrate for evolution,” said scientist Carsten Nowak. Co-author Steffen Pauls added, “We hope that this approach will be developed further to incorporate different migratory abilities, types of dispersal and thermal adaptability.”

For additional information see: Nature, Abstract

Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have discovered the presence of a deep ocean circulation system off the coast of Iceland that could change the way scientists think the ocean reacts to climate change. The current, called the North Icelandic Jet (NIJ), feeds into a larger system that circulates warm water northward, where it is cooled, sinks, and loops back, or oscillates, southward. Scientists have been concerned that warmer temperatures will slow down the loop as ice melts, freezing the warm northward water and preventing it from sinking. This would, in turn, create colder climates in parts of Europe. While this scenario is far from certain, researchers point out that they need to better understand the overturning process. The research also found that the NIJ carries the majority of the denser, colder water. It had been previously thought that the primary source of the system that feeds the loop was the East Greeland Current. “These results. . . raise new questions about how global ocean circulation will respond to future climate change,” said Eric Itsweire of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Division of Ocean Sciences, which funded the research.

For additional information see: Reuters, Science Daily, Abstract

On August 25, a study published in Nature found that during the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) weather pattern, civil conflict increased by six percent from non-weather related conflict. The ENSO cycle changes rainfall and temperatures throughout Africa, the Mideast, India, Southeast Asia, the Americas, and Australia, and disrupts weather patterns in over 90 countries worldwide. Researchers used data from 1950 to 2004 to show that the probability of new civil conflicts in the tropics doubles during El Nino years compared to La Nina years. “What [the study shows] and [shows] beyond any doubt is that even in this modern world, climate variations have an impact on the propensity of people to fight,” said Mark Cane, a scientist at Columbia University. Some scientists are skeptical of the connection the study drew between climate change and violence. “The study fails to improve on our understanding of the causes of armed conflicts, as it makes no attempt to explain the reported association between ENSO cycles and conflict risk,” said Halvard Buhaug, of the Peace Research Institute. Though not all scientists agree on the correlation between El Nino and political instability, they do agree that at-risk governments could use the data to prepare for potential conflicts during times of ENSO-related weather.

For additional information see: AFP, Science Daily, Nature, Abstract

On August 23, a research paper in the journal Global Change Biology found that prolonged exposure to heat limits plant growth, even if there is an increase of CO2 in the atmosphere. The study concluded that prolonged exposure to heat dries the soil, effecting nitrogen production and plant growth. “When you’ve previously seen a significantly higher plant growth at elevated CO2 concentrations, it is typically because it has been controlled studies, where only the CO2 concentration was changed. We fundamentally had the theory that you have to look at the combination of the different climate variables, since the plants in the future will be exposed to multiple changes simultaneously,” stated Klaus Steenberg Larsen, lead author on the study.

For additional information see: Science Daily, Abstract

Other Headlines

Writers: Matthew Johnson and Alison Alford

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McConnell Files Anti-EPA Amendment to Small Business Bill

On March 15, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) introduced an amendment to a small business bill to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The McConnell amendment closely resembled the bill H.R. 910, now under consideration in the House. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) indicated he would schedule a vote for the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Reauthorization Act of 2011 (S. 493), despite the inclusion of the amendment, but the date has yet to be determined. Authored by Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), the bill mirrors the McConnell amendment, has the support of 42 Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).

For additional information see: Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Politico, SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Bill

On March 15, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed H.R. 910, a bill intended to strip the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its authority to regulate greenhouse gases (GHG). Co-authored by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), the bill cleared its second legislative hurdle on a 34-19 vote, after the Energy and Power Subcommittee approved passage days earlier on a voice vote. Three Democrats, Rep. John Barrow (D-GA), Jim Matheson (D-UT), and Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR), joined a unanimous Republican voting bloc. Specifically, the bill would repeal the EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding” that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are a threat to human health, and bar the agency from implementing rules to control them. A floor vote on H.R. 910 is expected later this Spring.

In related news, several Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee introduced amendments to the Inhofe/Upton bill intended to put Congress on record as either supporting or denying the science of climate change. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) introduced an amendment to H.R. 910 that Congress accept the EPA’s finding that global warming is unequivocal, which failed on a party-line vote 31-20. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) offered an amendment that stated Congress accepts the EPA’s finding that “the scientific evidence is compelling” that man-made emissions “are the root cause of recently observed climate change.” That measure also failed by the same margin. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) also offered an amendment that Congress accept EPA’s finding that climate change threatens human health. It was defeated 31-21. The three Democrats who voted in favor of H.R. 910, Reps. Ross, Matheson, and Barrow, voted in favor of all three amendments.

For additional information on the Bill passage see: LA Times, NY Times, H.R. 910

For additional information on the Democratic amendments see: Politico, LA Times, Politico

On March 14, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of six states and New York City in a public nuisance lawsuit against five utilities over their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Filed in 2004, the lawsuit considers whether states and other entities have the right to sue major utilities because their power stations are causing a public nuisance with their GHG emissions. The states named in the lawsuit are New York, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Rhode Island, Vermont, plus New York City. The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the states’ right to bring the suit, American Electric Power Co. Inc. v. Connecticut in 2009. However, the electric companies, American Electric Power, the Southern Company, Xcel Energy, the Cinergy Corporation and the Tennessee Valley Authority, appealed and the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments next month and decide on the case in July.

In related news, on March 11, New Jersey Attorney General Paula Dow informed the U.S. Supreme Court that her state will withdraw from the public nuisance lawsuit. In a statement to the Associated Press, Dow’s spokesperson said, “Considering the Supreme Court’s ruling and the Obama Administration’s subsequent position that the EPA must determine an appropriate plan of action, it does not make sense to incur further taxpayer expense on an unnecessary lawsuit.” Wisconsin withdrew from the lawsuit in February.

For additional information see: Business Green, Environmental Leader, NY Attorney General’s Brief, NJ.com

On March 4, the Supreme Court of Virginia agreed to hear the appeal of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli on the case against the climatologist, Dr. Michael Mann, whom he accused of fraud. In April 2010, Mr. Cuccinelli demanded that the University of Virginia supply him vast numbers of academic documents regarding Dr. Mann’s work, including emails, computer programs and data, and others. Mr. Cuccinelli has accused Dr. Mann, now a professor at Penn State, with defrauding the state of hundreds of thousands of dollars by providing false information and records in his research grant applications. Last August a state judge ruled against Mr. Cuccinelli, because he had failed to provide any evidence. Mr. Cuccinelli appealed the decision, and now the Virginia Supreme Court will hear the case.

For additional information see: NY Times, Virginia Supreme Court

On March 15, carbon credits rose to 17 euros after German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed that several older reactors in Germany will shut down temporarily for a three month moratorium. Merkel ordered seven reactors, all brought online before 1980, to close to conduct a sweeping safety review in the midst of the growing crises at several Japanese reactors following the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11. The carbon price spike was fueled by carbon traders who speculated that coal and natural gas will meet most of the unmet demand. According to industry analysts, energy and industrial firms currently hold a surplus of emissions allowances as a result of the economic recession, but a lengthier nuclear shutdown could eat into the surplus.

For additional information see: Reuters, Business Green

On March 15, the European Commission Director General for Climate, Jos Debelke, announced plans to auction 120 million carbon allowances for the next phase of the European Union’s cap and trade program. “Stakeholders have expressed a strong preference to have the early auction volume fixed now as this gives market actors time to adapt to the chosen level,” Jos Delbeke acknowledged. Set to begin in 2013, the European emissions trading scheme will enter its third phase and begin to ratchet down the number of emission allowances it distributes to 11,000 installations for free. Instead, companies subject to the program will have to purchase more allowances at auction to cover their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In addition to the 120 million allowances, the European Investment Bank intends to sell 300 million allowances by the end of 2012 as part of its NER300 demonstration program to raise funds for low carbon projects./p>

For additional information see: Business Green, European Commission

On March 16, a report released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) found that the 2010 average carbon emissions for new cars in the United Kingdom fell 3.5 percent as compared to carbon emissions in 2009. The “New Car CO2 Report” also found that 40 percent of new cars average emissions below 130g/km, the 2015 targeted EU fuel efficiency standards for new vehicles. “New technology has delivered impressive reductions in CO2 emissions, but coordinated action, to support research and development, new infrastructure and consumer incentives, is critical to securing significant future advances.” said SMMT’s chief executive Paul Everitt. The report stated that 56 percent of new cars have a CO2 emission level of 140g/km or less, compared to 10 years ago, when the average new car in the United Kingdom was well over the 140g/km CO2 emissions level.

For additional information see: Business Green, Report

On March 17, a study published in the journal Nature found that rapid climate change occurred on Earth much more frequently than previously thought, with limited biological impact at the time. A team led by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography analyzed sea floor sediments to see how climate change affected marine ecosystems during four short periods of intense warming in the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum–a transition period between two geologic epochs 65 to 33 million years ago, in which global temperatures rose 7.2-12.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Researchers attributed the rapid global warming events to different feedback mechanisms, such as a substantial release of carbon from the ocean. Scripps geologist and study co-author Richard Norris noted that the research discovered more periods of intense warming and, that despite significant global change, biological effects seemed modest. While Norris pointed out there were differences between then and now, indicating that the earth’s surface has been massively restructured, making it harder for species to relocate en masse, reaction to the findings in the scientific community included several remarks about comparisons to human-induced climate change. Current ecosystems, including human beings, were not around back then, noted Gavin Schmidt, of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. “So, while interesting from an intellectual standpoint, this new information is not going to change how ‘scientists’ think about climate change.”

For additional information see: Science Daily, San Diego Union-Tribune, Abstract

On March 15, a study published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment reported a new method to more accurately assess carbon stored in Hawaii’s forests. A team from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Department of Global Ecology developed a 30-meter resolution map of the above ground carbon density of the island of Hawaii, spanning 40 vegetation types, by combining field measurements, airborne Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR)-based observations, and satellite-based imagery. The estimated total of 28.3 million tons of carbon was 56 percent lower than the estimate of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. However, the latter assessment was not intended to resolve carbon variation on so fine a scale. Researchers noted that the new approach represented a fourfold decrease in the regional costs of carbon management over using field samples only. “We are very excited about the prospects of applying this new approach to other regions of the world to facilitate faster and more accurate forest carbon assessments. It is a true leap forward in understanding the state and dynamics of the world’s forests,” said Dr. R. Flint Hughes, an ecologist and co-author of the study.

For additional information see: Science Daily, Press Release, Study

On March 17, an international study published in Trends in Plant Science found that the phenotypic plasticity of plants enables them to adapt to climate change. Researchers reviewed plants’ molecular and genetic mechanisms which showed that plants have “the capacity to adapt to a changing environment without requiring any evolutionary changes,” according to Fernando Valladares, co-author of the paper. Scientists used various indicators to study the plasticity of the plants, including pigmentation, root length, and leaf mass. Valladares stated that “various studies suggest that species from more heterogeneous and changing environments have greater degrees of plasticity. For example, plants from these environments have great root plasticity in order to be able to take better advantage of fertile and damp areas and to avoid sterile, dry ones”. He continues, “The differences in plasticity and its mechanisms allow us to better understand why various plant species grow where they do. This will enable us to project their most likely ranges in climate change scenarios.”

For additional information see: Science Daily, EurekAlert, Abstract

On March 11, a study published in The Journal of Climate found new evidence of the relationship between movements in the Earth’s core, rotation, and atmospheric temperature change. According to researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the link between the three variables and the effect each has on the length of Earth’s day has been established for some time. In addition to finding a correlation between long-term variations in temperature to long-term variations in the length of day, researchers also found how much core variations affect the length of day over various time periods. Scientists used two sets of global surface temperature data from NASA’s Goddard Institute and the UK’s Met Office since the 1880’s and compared it to existing models of the fluid movements of the Earth’s core and recorded changes to the length of day. They then subtracted human-produced temperature changes to create a “corrected” temperature record and found that the Earth’s core effect on climate is substantially smaller than human effects. Data showed that since 1930, global temperature began to rise without corresponding changes to other variables. “It’s just a wiggle on top of what ever else is going on,” said JPL’s Steve Marcus, a co-author of the study. “It’s just an added variability on top of these larger trends we’ve observed in climate over the last century or so, when human global warming has certainly been kicking in.”

For additional information see: Science Daily, Pasadena Star News, Abstract

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have determined the greenhouse gas emissions of septic tanks to be approximately half as high as previously estimated. The waste sent to septic tanks is broken down by microorganisms that then produce methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide – all of which contribute to the warming of the atmosphere. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that an average septic tank emits 0.23 metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent per tank per year, but this new research indicates that annual per-tank emissions are between 0.10 and 0.12 metric tons. Approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population uses septic tanks in their homes.

For additional information see: Chemical and Engineering News, Abstract

Northern peatlands did not play as large a role as previously thought in the warming of the atmosphere at the end of the last ice age, according to research conducted by PhD students at the University of Alberta and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Northern peatlands, the largest of which occur in subarctic regions of Canada and Russia, are a boggy mixture of dead organic material and water. Covering more than four million square kilometers, they sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow and emit methane – a greenhouse gas many times more powerful than carbon dioxide – as old peat is buried and decomposes. Scientists had previously believed that northern peatlands were a principal source of the increase in atmospheric methane 10,000 years ago, but a comparison of radiocarbon dates of ancient peatlands with ice-core records showed that peatlands did not colonize the north until 500-1000 years after the dramatic increase in methane. These results imply that tropical wetlands were instead the likely cause of the initial rises in methane levels at the end of the last ice age.

For additional information see: Science Daily, Press Release, Abstract

Other Headlines

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing on hydropower. The event will be held from 3:00-4:30 p.m., April 6, at the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2322. It is free and open to the public. For more information contact Laura Parsons at lparsons[at]eesi.org or 202-662-1884.

Writers: Matthew Johnson, Alison Alford, Laura Parsons

Please distribute Climate Change News to your colleagues. Permission for reproduction of this newsletter is granted provided that the Environmental and Energy Study Institute is properly acknowledged as the source. Past issues are available here. Free email subscriptions are available here. We welcome your suggestions, comments, and questions.

EESI’s work, including this free newsletter, is made possible by financial support from people like you. Please help us continue to make it available by making a secure, online donation today by clicking here or mailing a check to Environmental and Energy Study Institute; 1112 16th St NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036. Please contact Susan Williams at (202) 662-1887 (202) 662-1887 or see www.eesi.org/donate to find out more. Thank you for your support!

GOP Files Three Bills Intended to Block EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Regulations

On January 6, three Republican representatives filed separate bills to block the Enviromental Protection Agency (EPA) from implementing rules intended to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a leading cause of climate change. A bill filed by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) would prohibit the EPA from using any money to enforce GHG regulations. A bill by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) would amend the Clean Air Act to prohibit the regulation of GHGs. A third bill filed by Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) would delay the implementation of GHG regulations for two years, similar to the bill filed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) publicly stated that she will use “every tool available” to her to block any attempt to scuttle the EPA’s enforcement of the Clean Air Act, which now includes regulation of GHGs.

For additional information see: Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Politico, Guardian

Arizona reluctantly agreed to permit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to step in and enforce new rules regarding GHGs by adding them to the list of pollutants already specified under air-quality permits.  Arizona is one of the seven states that failed to submit its own program for controlling its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  Even though Arizona claimed unfair federal intervention on behalf of the EPA, the state agreed to allow the plan’s implementation rather than face the prospect of planned projects being blocked for failing to comply with the Clean Air Act.  Main opponents of the rules include elected Congressional and state-level officials, as well as the regulated industries. Critics maintain that the EPA exaggerated the environmental threat of GHGs and bypassed Congress to write the new rules.  The possibility exists for Congress to take away funding for the EPA’s program or the courts to block the EPA’s rules, but Arizona will continue to allow the EPA to enforce its new rules, which took effect this week.  The regulations apply only to new facilities that would have needed an air-quality permit regardless of the new rules, but over the phasing-in period of two years, the permits will apply to a larger number of smaller-scale businesses.

In related news, in the first week of January, a federal appeals court temporarily delayed the EPA’s plan to control Texas’s GHG emissions.  The delay was expected to last until Friday, January 7, when the court was scheduled to make a decision on Texas’s bid to prevent the federal intervention.  Texas is one of many states to challenge the EPA’s new climate regulations, but it stands alone in its complete refusal to implement the new rules, claiming the EPA has abused its power by taking full control of the process.  A reply from Texas was due on Friday afternoon.

For additional information see: Arizona Republic, New York Times, Houston Chronicle, New York Times

Changes in Landscape, Climate Increase Flooding in Iowa

On January 2, the Des Moines Register published a review of changes in the landscape and weather patterns of Iowa in an effort to find out why Iowa’s risk of flooding has increased. From examination of climate records, stream data, flood forecasts, weather modeling, dam operations and interviews of scientists, the newspaper found that Iowa’s rainfall has increased gradually over the last 60 years–by as much as 15 to 20 percent along some rivers, and Iowa State University researchers predict another 20 percent jump by 2040. The review also found that rivers and streams were running faster–noting that the Des Moines river was running 137 percent faster than in 1951. Improved drainage systems in rural areas and urban sprawl were cited as land use changes that also have increased flooding. Ron Fournier, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, said that the Corps was not convinced that climate change has permanently changed the natural variation of rainfall patterns in Iowa. Gene Takle, an atmospheric scientist at Iowa State University, disagreed, noting the trend toward wetter weather in Iowa was clear.

In related news, on December 31, researchers from three Iowa universities published a report entitled, Climate Change Impacts on Iowa, which found that Iowans are already affected by climate change through longer growing seasons, and increased precipitation and temperatures. “High-intensity storms and climate extremes are part of the normal climate, but they are becoming more frequent than happening just by chance,” said University of Northern Iowa professor Laura Jackson, who was part of the research team.

For additional information see:Des Moines Register, WCF Courier, Report, Heartland Connection

New Mexico Reverses Stance on Environmental Regulations

xOn January 4, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez instructed officials not to publish a new rule in the state register that would reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 3 percent. The move effectively renders the regulation adopted in December by the state’s Environmental Improvement Board (EIB) unenforcable. Martinez’s move also threatened the viability of the Western Climate Initiative, an effort to establish a regional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading program. Martinez declared on Tuesday that she also would remove all members of the state’s EIB since, she contended, it operated under “anti-business” policies that hurt New Mexico and resulted in businesses leaving the state. During an EIB hearing last year on emissions proposals, cap-and-trade critics claimed that some board members were too closely aligned with environmental interests. The board’s chairwoman, Gay Dillingham, noted that the board reviewed 200 hours of technical testimony, public comments, and complex documents before its decision, and expressed hope that Martinez would give the policy the same dedication before overturning it.

For additional information see: LA Times, New York Times

Canadian Business Leaders Brace for Climate Change Impacts on Their Operations

A recent national survey taken by Canadian business and government leaders revealed a majority of companies and industries acknowledge the impacts of climate change on their organizations.  The business leaders who believe climate change is already taking place have begun to determine ways to adapt to the rising costs and regulations, which they recognize as factors related to the changing climate. A report from the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy warned that Canada needs to step up its economic analysis of climate change impacts in order to understand the costs and benefits of adaptation, because the focus up to now has been on the economic costs of reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Industries that depend on naturally functioning ecosystems in Alberta and central British Columbia, such as forestry companies, have already witnessed dramatic impacts of climate change, like warmer winters that led to mountain pine beetle infestations. Many companies have begun tailoring their business practices to adapt to changing circumstances that threaten the industry. For example, forestry companies using what used to be waste products like saw dust and wood chips as a renewable energy stream for their operations.

For additional information see: Montreal Gazette

Insurance Giant: Natural Disasters in 2010 Indicate Advancing Climate Change

On January 3, one of the world’s leading reinsurers, Munich Re, released a report on the natural disasters of 2010 and concluded that the high number of weather-related natural catastrophes and record temperatures provide further indication that climate change is advancing. According to the report, 2010 had the second highest amount of weather-related catastrophes since 1980, and caused about $130 billion in damages–$37 billion of which was insured. While some of the 950 natural disasters that occurred last year were earthquakes, and not attributable to climate change, nine-tenths of them were weather-related. The major share of fatalities were attributed to major earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, and China, as well as the heatwave in Russia and floods in Pakistan. The report noted that although last year’s hurricane season was relatively benign because few storms reached land, it was tied for the third most severe hurricane season in the past 100 years. “This long-term trend can no longer be explained by natural climate oscillations alone. No, the probability is that climate change is contributing to some of the warming of the world’s oceans,” said Professor Peter Hoppe, head of Munich Re’s Geo Risks Research.

In related news, a report published recently in Environmental Research Letters found that while climate change causes more frequent and severe hurricanes–or cyclones, attributing economic damage to climate change through cyclones would take hundreds of years to determine. Researchers urged extreme caution when attributing short-term trends in cyclone losses to human-caused climate change. One of the key factors that led to their findings was the fact that buildings and infrastructure are not located uniformly along the coastline, which dilutes the climate signal in economic losses. “It’s not to dispute that [global warming] is happening or what influence it will have on hurricanes,” said Ryan Crompton, a co-author of the report. Roger Pielke Jr., another co-author, addressing Munich Re’s stance said, “If you have a vested interest in particular outcomes, you want to try to emphasize that science or that information that best makes your case. If there’s an expectation that losses over the next few years are going to be higher because of climate change, it provides a scientific, quote-unquote, basis for justifying rate increases.”

For additional information see: AFP, Munich Re Press Release, New York Times, Report

Global Warming Changing the Flavor of India’s Popular Breakfast Teas

On December 31, the Associated Press reported that tea planters in Assam, India’s top tea producing region, are concerned that rising temperatures are changing the flavors found in their popular breakfast teas.  Tea-growers that produce Assam tea, preferred by tea-drinkers all over the world for its strong flavor, claim that climate change is decreasing their crop yields and weakening the flavor of their historically strong teas. Sudipta Nayan Goswami, an Assam planter, said, “the flavour has changed from what it was before.  The creamy and strong flavour is no more. The changes will sharply hamper the demand for this variety of tea abroad.”  The Tea Board of India, an umbrella group of over 400 plantations, claimed that they have recorded a steady decline in tea production in recent years.  In 2007, Assam produced 512,000 tons of tea, and crop yields have steadily decreased so that by 2009 the annual production was only 445,000 tons.  The Tea Research Association is researching temperature statistics to determine links between temperature rise and fluctuations and tea yields. The Tea Board of India said that in the past 60 years the minimum recorded temperature has risen by a degree to 67.1 Fahrenheit, and local rainfall has fallen by more than one-fifth.

For additional information see: AP, The Scotsman, United Press International

Study: No-Till Farming Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions

In the January edition of the Soil Science Society of America Journal, researchers at Purdue University published a report that found that cropland, left unplowed between planting seasons, significantly reduces the amount of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), released into the atmosphere compared to conventionally plowed fields.The federally funded study concluded that no-till farming can help counteract global warming, as well as help farmers use their costly nitrogen-based fertilizers more efficiently.  Researchers looked at the amounts of nitrous oxide released by no-till fields and plowed fields for three years, and found that no-till fields released 57 percent and 40 percent, respectively, less nitrous oxide than two types of tilling called chisel tilling and moldboard tilling.  The researchers also found that emissions were fewer in fields with rotating crops than fields planted only with one crop each year.  Nitrous oxide contains 310 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide and can remain in the atmosphere for 120 years. The findings represent another benefit to the practice of no-till farming, which has been shown to reduce erosion and improve soil quality.  Sixty-eight percent of U.S. nitrous oxide emissions came from farmland in 2008, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

For additional information see: AP, Purdue Press Release, Study

Warming Threatens to Melt Ice Climate Record in Alps Glacier

A study published in the December, 2010, volume of the Journal of Glaciology found that the Alto de dell’Ortles glacier in the eastern European Alps may hold records of climate change extending back 1,000 years. Paolo Gabrielli, a research scientist with Ohio State University’s School of Earth Sciences and Byrd Polar Research Center, noted how the glacier, “is an ideal observatory to have monitored climatic change in the region in the past as well as currently.” Researchers drilled a 10-meter core at the surface to assess how well the ice had been preserved over time; recent records were degraded due to some surface melting, but ice formed before 1980 is likely unharmed. The team hopes to extract a 70-meter long core through the ice to the bedrock, with the hope that there could possibly be ice reaching back 5,000 years. This specific site offers researchers a unique opportunity to reconstruct the region’s human history and discover how it may have interacted with ecosystems and climate. Full cores are analyzed for various climate signals that offer clues to past climate conditions, including oxygen isotope ratios, heavy metals, organic material, sulfates, chlorides, dust, pollen, and volcanic ash. The team submitted a proposal to the National Science Foundation to support the project, but Gabrielli expressed concern that the team must move quickly, saying “this is basically the only hope of finding a record of changing climate conditions at high elevations in this part of Europe. . . but unfortunately, time is running out to save this ice.”

For additional information see: Science Daily, Study

Researchers Find Dramatic Shift in Atlantic Ocean Current

In November, a report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found evidence of a dramatic shift in North Atlantic Ocean currents since the 1970s. These currents play a significant role in determining weather patterns in the northern hemisphere. According to the researchers, changes detected by studying the growth rings of deep sea corals indicated a declining influence of the northern Labrador current, which interacts with the Gulfstream current. This interaction affects weather patterns across North America and Europe. Research was based on the nitrogen isotope signatures of the corals, which feed on sinking organic particles. The Gulfstream current is rich in nutrients while the Labrador current carries fewer nutrients. Since the change in currents is unique in the last 1,800 years, researchers raised the prospect of a direct link to global warming.

For additional information see: AFP, Statement, Abstract

Other Headlines

Writer: Matthew Johnson, and Alison Alford

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On November 29, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu spoke at the National Press Club, warning that the United States faces a “Sputnik moment” in the global clean energy race with China. Chu said that the United States needs to respond like it responded to the Soviet Union’s launch of the world’s first space satellite in 1957 to remain a leader in clean energy innovation. Chu outlined efforts currently underway at the Department of Energy to give America’s entrepreneurs and manufacturers an edge in clean energy investment and innovation, and defended the potential costs of climate change by comparing climate skeptics to homeowners who are repeatedly told to change wiring but keep looking for electricians to tell them they do not need to. Chu also focused on the threat of China as a technological competitor. “From wind power to nuclear reactors to high speed rail, China and other countries are moving aggressively to capture the lead,” Chu said. “Given that challenge, and given the enormous economic opportunities in clean energy, it’s time for America to do what we do best: innovate. As President Obama has said, we should not, cannot, and will not play for second place.”

For additional information see: DOE Press Release, Guardian, Reuters, New York Times, AFP

On November 30, House Republicans hoping to lead the Appropriations Committee in the new Congress threatened to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs) under the Clean Air Act. On November 29, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, writing, “in addition to scrutinizing the agency’s entire FY 2012 budget, with particular attention to the agency’s rulemaking process, the House Appropriations Committee will be exercising its prerogative to withhold funding for prospective EPA regulations and defund through the rescissions process many of those already on the books.” Specifically, Lewis said that he wants to target EPA’s “ongoing arbitrary interpretation of the Clean Air Act.” He said he will refuse to support funding to EPA to regulate GHGs “unless Congress passes bipartisan energy legislation specifically providing the authority to do so.”

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), who is also seeking to lead the Committee, said of the EPA’s greenhouse gas rules, “I will look at it very carefully with that in mind. There are things that the Appropriations Committee and the legislative branch can defund or modify or do things about, and we now have a ticket to the table which we have not had for four years.” The EPA is scheduled to begin regulating GHGs in January 2011.

For additional information see: Politico, The Hill

On December 1, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), current ranking member of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, announced that the committee would no longer exist under the new Congress. Republicans will take over as majority party in the House when the 112th Congress begins in January 2011. The announcement came during a climate change hearing held by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), the current chairman. Sensenbrenner had advocated to keep the panel to focus on climate policies and regulations generated by the Obama administration, but House Speaker-designate John Boehner (R-OH) did not support it. “The global warming committee doesn’t need to be a separate committee,” Boehner told reporters. “We believe that the Science Committee is more than capable of handling this issue, and in the process, we’ll save several million dollars.” During the hearing, Markey lamented the end of the panel. “Some day our children and grandchildren will read the record of our committee. . . . Whether or not they see a solution remains to be seen,” he said. Current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) formed the committee in 2007 to investigate and make recommendations concerning global warming and energy independence. Most recently, the committee investigated the Gulf oil spill disaster.

For additional information see: New York Times, Washington Post, CBS News

On December 2, four Republican Senators sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying the United States must freeze climate-aid payments to developing nations. “We remain opposed to the U.S. commitment to full implementation of the Copenhagen Accord, which will transfer billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to developing nations in the name of climate change,” they wrote. “We do not believe that billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars should be transferred to developing countries through unaccountable multilateral or bilateral channels for adaptation, deforestation and other international climate finance programs.” The letter states that President Obama has requested $1.9 billion for 2011 out of $3.6 trillion in annual government spending. The money is part of the fast-track financing that Obama agreed to at last year’s UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen.

For additional information see: AFP, The Hill, Bloomberg

On November 29, the U.S. delegation at the UN climate negotiations in Cancun announced that it will stand behind greenhouse gas emissions cuts that were pledged at the negotiations held in Copenhagen in 2009. President Obama pledged to cut emissions in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. “We must stand behind the underpinnings of what our leaders agreed to last year,” said Jonathan Pershing, head of the U.S. delegation. He also said that an increase in natural gas production due to shale rock exploration could help the nation reduce its dependency on coal. Natural gas produces about half of the carbon emissions as coal production. “One of the things that appears to be coming along is significant improvement in our supplies of shale gas, which could perhaps (replace some) coal and further reduce U.S. emissions,” said Pershing.

For additional information see: Reuters

On November 29, government officials from the United States and China revealed to Reuters they had been discussing the climate negotiations over the past few weeks, and were optimistic about the outcome of the UN climate negotiations in Cancun, Mexico. “We have spent a lot of energy in the past month working on those issues where we disagree and trying to resolve them. My sense is that we have made progress. It remains to be seen how this meeting comes out,” said Jonathan Pershing, head of the U.S. delegation. China’s chief climate delegate, Su Wei, said, “we’ve had a very candid, very open dialogue with our U.S. friends and I think both the U.S. and China would very much like to see a good outcome at Cancun.”

For additional information see: Reuters, Business Green, Telegraph

On November 29, at the opening of the UN climate negotiations in Cancun, Mexico, the head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) announced that the fifth assessment (AR5), due to be presented to the UN in 2014, will include geo-engineering options. Geo-engineering seeks to alter the earth’s systems in an effort to reduce or reverse the effects of global warming. Head of the IPCC, Rajendra Pachauri, said, “the AR5 has been expanded and will in [the] future focus on subjects like clouds and aerosols, geo-engineering and sustainability issues.” Options include putting mirrors in space to reflect sunlight, covering Greenland in a massive blanket in order to reduce the melting of ice, sprinkling iron filings in the ocean to fertilize algae so it will suck up carbon dioxide (CO2), seeding clouds to reduce sunlight, creating artificial trees to suck out CO2, painting roofs white to reflect sunlight, and creating manmade volcanoes that spray sulphate particles high in the atmosphere to scatter the sun’s rays back into space. Pachauri said he was confident that the IPCC would live up to global expectations and would be stronger after undergoing a review that stemmed from the inclusion of the mistaken claim that the Himalayan glaciers could melt by 2035 in the fourth assessment.

For additional information see: Telegraph

On November 29, the Alliance of Small Island States pleaded their case at the UN climate negotiations taking place in Cancun, Mexico, to keep the global temperature rise under 1.5°C. The Alliance represents 43 member states, but those most at risk include Kribati, Tuvalu, the Cook Islands, the Marshall Islands, and the Maldives. The islands face catastrophic consequences with increased sea level rise, and are already coping with eroding beaches and salt water contaminating fresh water supplies. “We are facing at this moment the end of history for some of us,” said Antonio Lima, an envoy from Cape Verde and vice- chair of the Alliance. He said of the countries most at risk, “all these countries are struggling to survive. They are going to drown. I have mountains in my country. I can climb. They cannot climb.”

For additional information see: Bloomberg, Reuters

On November 29, Oxfam released a report that shows deaths related to climate change more than doubled in 2010 and urged international negotiators in Cancun to raise funds for those most vulnerable to climate change effects. Climate-related disasters killed 21,000 people in the first nine months of 2010, more than twice the number killed for all of 2009. Oxfam released the report to urge immediate action at the UN climate negotiations being held in Cancun, Mexico. “This year has seen massive suffering and loss due to extreme weather disasters. This is likely to get worse as climate change tightens its grip,” said Tim Gore, author of the report. “The human impacts of climate change in 2010 send a powerful reminder why progress in Cancun is more urgent than ever.” Oxfam said that flooding in Pakistan killed 2,000 people, and affected 20 million. Oxfam is calling for a fair Climate Fund for money for those who need it most to adapt to climate change impacts and says that for every $1 spent on adaptation, $60 will be saved in damages.

For additional information see: Reuters, Oxfam Report

On November 26, the Inter Academy Medical Panel (IAMP) released a statement urging international climate negotiators to consider climate change mitigation strategies that have health co-benefits as first priority. The statement said climate change was a threat to human health in many ways, and while mitigation would be costly, some of the expenses might be offset by lower health care expenses. Suggested strategies included replacing inefficient cookstoves with low-emission cookstoves, encouraging active urban travel through cycling and walking, and reducing consumption of animal-source food. The report was signed by health academies from 40 countries, including the United States.

For additional information see: New York Times, IAMP Statement

On November 30, the European Environment Agency (EEA) launched its five-year assessment on Europe’s environmental conditions and said that children born today in Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Italy will witness a 7°C temperature rise in their lifetime. Experts said that at the end of the century, annual heat-related deaths could double the total from the European heat wave of 2003 that killed 70,000 people. The report says that Europe has warmed more than the global average, with average temperatures now 1.3°C higher than the 1850-1899 average, compared to the global increase of around 0.7°C. EEA director Jacqueline McGlade said the impacts of climate change were already being felt all over Europe.

For additional information see: Reuters, EEA Report

A public accounts report released on November 30 indicated Britain will not meet its 2010 target to supply 10 percent of its electricity from renewable energy until 2012. The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) admitted they will not meet the 10 percent goal by 2010, according to the report. While DECC is responsible for ensuring the country meets its renewable electricity goals, renewable energy funding is delivered through mechanisms it does not control. The report said, “the Department does not have a clear understanding of how much has been spent or what has been achieved.” Margaret Hodge, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, said approximately 180 million pounds allocated to support renewable energy had gone unspent. The committee said that the DECC has been slow in planning and implementing green energy growth plans. Forty percent of renewable schemes do not get planning approval, and others fail to get adequate funding. “The Department will have to have a greater sense of urgency and purpose if it is to achieve the dramatic increase in renewable energy supplies needed to meet them,” said Hodge.

For additional information see: Reuters, BBC

On November 29, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that a national agreement on carbon pricing would be forced in 2011. This was the first time that Gillard’s Labor party put a timeline on a carbon price introduction. Earlier this year a climate change committee was established to investigate the best way to price carbon and present the evidence in an undeniable way. “The Climate Change Commission will carry out its task of bringing together expert opinion and public attitudes,” Gillard said. “I promise you, no responsible decision maker will be able to say next year that they need more time or more information on climate change.”

For additional information see: Business Green, Reuters, UPI

On November 29, the Consumer Goods Forum — a CEO-level organization with more than 400 companies and revenues in excess of $2.8 trillion — announced two major initiatives to combat climate change: ending deforestation and the use of hydroflourocarbon (HFC) refrigerant gases. The forum pledged to achieve net zero deforestation by 2020, and was confident that sourcing materials sustainably would not lead to an increase in prices for consumers. The forum also agreed to begin phasing out HFCs — greenhouse gases that are more potent than carbon dioxide — in 2015 and replace them with non-HFC refrigerants. “[W]e are in Cancun to lend our support to this monumental but essential task of creating solutions that lead to a low-carbon world,” said Muhtar Kent of the Coca-Cola Company at the UN climate negotiations being held in Cancun, Mexico. “The initiatives that our industry announced today are good examples of the kind of bold and positive action that will be needed to move the needle in combating climate change.” The forum is co-chaired by companies such as Coca-Cola, General Mills, Johnson and Johnson, Kellogg, Kraft, L’Oreal, Nestle, Pepsi Co, Proctor and Gamble, Sara Lee, Unilever, and Wal-Mart.

For additional information see: PR Newswire, Reuters

New computer simulations done by Xi Zhang at the California Institute of Technology show that the atmospheric sulphur cycle is more complicated than originally thought. Recently, some scientists have proposed shooting sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere to reflect more solar radiation away from Earth in an effort to mitigate the effects of climate change. The proposal stems from studying the effects of the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo that shot sulphur dioxide particles into the air, which then formed small sulphuric acid droplets and spread around the earth. This effect is similar to the gaseous sulphuric acid blanket that surrounds Venus, which cools the whole planet by about 0.5°C. However, scientists have discovered by studying the gases surrounding Venus that injecting sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere may prove unsuccessful, because it is unknown how quickly the transformed sulphuric acid will evaporate to form sulphur dioxide — which is transparent, and will not reflect solar radiation. The scientists said that more research is needed to fully understand this geo-engineering option.

For additional information see: Science Daily

On November 29, Chinese government officials announced they were on course to meet their 2010 pollution reduction and energy efficiency goals. China’s 11th Five-Year Program (2006-2010) on national economic and social development set a 10 percent total pollution emissions reduction target for 2010 from 2006 levels. The Program also set to decrease energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of gross domestic product (GDP) by 20 percent. Xie Zhenhua, China’s chief climate negotiator and deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said these targets have already been met. Xie also said the Five-Year Program target for the 2011-2015 period were being developed, and would also be binding.

For additional information see: Reuters, AFP, People’s Daily

On November 29, a series of journal papers was published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, showcasing how climate change could increase average global temperature by 4°C as early as the 2060s, and what that might mean for different societies and ecological systems. The international study team behind the researchers wrote that increasing greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decade rendered the target of keeping global warming below 2°C “extremely difficult, arguably impossible, raising the likelihood of global temperature rises of three or four degrees Celsius within this century.” The scientists analyzed the non-binding emissions agreements made last year at the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen, and found that the cuts are not enough to prevent food shortages, rampant spread of disease, and mass migration. While a 4°C rise in temperature was once seen as an extreme scenario, researchers argue that it is becoming more plausible without a binding agreement to limit to greenhouse gas emissions.

For additional information see: Business Green, Science Development, Science Daily, Guardian

On November 15, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that catabolic (carbon dioxide (CO2) production) and anabolic (biomass synthesis) processes in frozen soils are similar to those in unfrozen soil. Previously, scientists believed that microbes in frozen soils were inactive during colder months, but this study shows that the microbes remain active. The amount of CO2 sequestered in frozen soils is not completely known, although most scientists agree that the amount is massive. A group of soil scientists recently estimated the amount to be double that of atmospheric CO2. Ted Schuur, a permafrost expert and ecologist at the University of South Florida, estimates that under thawed conditions, 40 to 70 percent of the carbon stored in the permafrost would escape into the atmosphere within a decade, and vegetation would not be able to keep pace. These findings have important implications for carbon models and cycles. “These microbes are doing a lot more than staying alive,” Ben Bond-Lamberty, a scientist at the Joint Global Change Research Institute at the University of Maryland, said. “And as we construct annual carbon budgets, this raises the possibility that there’s a lot more wintertime CO2 coming out of these systems than we realized.”

For additional information see: New York Times, Study Abstract

On December 1, the International Food Policy Research Institute released a report showing that if greenhouse gas emissions levels are not curbed, grain prices could double by 2050 and leave millions malnourished and hungry. The report showed that prices would rise due to decreased productivity from warming and rain pattern changes, in addition to population and income growth. The authors projected 15 different scenarios for food security through 2050 using various modeling techniques. The authors concluded that the negative effects of climate change could be balanced with broad economic growth. The report read, “Reducing emissions growth to minimise the effects of climate change is thus essential to avoid a calamitous post-2050 future.”

For additional information see: Guardian, AP, IFPRI Report

Other Headlines

• From Wesleyan: An Energized Call to Price Carbon
• Leaked Cables Show U.S. Pressured Saudis to Accept Copenhagen Accord
• States Diverting Money from Climate Initiative
• States Want Cap-and-Trade Added to U.S. Carbon Rules
• DuPont, Zurich Chase $135 Billion Climate Market as Warming Forces Change
• Africa Rejects Joint Stand with EU on Climate
• Experts Split on Global Warming, Highland Malaria Link

Writers: Amber Pembleton and Matthew Johnson

Please distribute Climate Change News to your colleagues. Permission for reproduction of this newsletter is granted provided that the Environmental and Energy Study Institute is properly acknowledged as the source. Past issues are available here. Free email subscriptions are available here. We welcome your suggestions, comments, and questions.

EESI’s work, including this free newsletter, is made possible by financial support from people like you. Please help us continue to make it available by making a secure, online donation today by clicking here or mailing a check to Environmental and Energy Study Institute; 1112 16th St NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036. Please contact Susan Williams at (202) 662-1887 (202) 662-1887 or see www.eesi.org/donate to find out more. Thank you for your support!

On October 25, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced new regulatory standards to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve fuel efficiency of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The new EPA and NHTSA standards are a response to President Obama’s May 21, 2010 memorandum regarding fuel efficiency standards, and will require medium- and heavy-duty vehicles sold between 2014 and 2018 to have emissions and efficiency improvements that will ultimately save 500 million barrels of oil and cut GHG emissions by 250 million metric tons over the lifetime of the vehicles. In a press release, EPA estimates that the program “would cost the affected industry approximately $7.7 billion, and generate total societal benefits of $49 billion, providing $41 billion in net benefits as a result of the standards over the lifetimes of model year 2014-2018 vehicles.” On October 27, the Canadian government announced that it also will create new emissions regulations for heavy-duty vehicles that will be aligned with those of the United States. Jim Prentice, Canadian Minister of the Environment said in a statement that “Canada and the United States have had great success in working together to reduce emissions from new light-duty vehicles, and we are looking forward to doing the same for heavy-duty vehicles.”

For additional information see: New York Times, Environment Canada Press Release, AP, EPA Fact Sheet

On October 25, the Climate Action Network Europe (CAN Europe) released a report which revealed that several large European companies are funding the campaigns of U.S. Senate candidates who oppose climate legislation. According to the report, Senators Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) received $240,200 in campaign funding from Bayer, BASF, Solvay, Lafarge, BP, GDF-SUEZ, Arcelor-Mittal and EON in 2010. All of these companies are significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters themselves, together emitting 130 million tons of GHGs in 2009, according to CAN Europe. The report states, “European companies are funding almost exclusively Senate candidates who have been outspoken in their opposition to comprehensive climate policy in the U.S., and candidates who actively deny the scientific consensus that climate change is happening and is caused by people.”

For additional information see:Climate Action Network Press Release, Climate Action Network Europe Report, Guardian, Deutsche Welle

On October 23, the Joint Implementation Supervisory Committee (JISC) – the UN body in charge of expanding emissions reduction projects – agreed to a proposal to simplify carbon offset rules, following climate discussions in Bonn, Germany. The Joint Implementation process allows companies in Kyoto Protocol-participating countries to invest in projects that reduce carbon emissions, and in return receive carbon credits which can be used for internal carbon offsets or sold for profit. The present model allows countries to either monitor emissions reductions themselves or let the UN do an independent assessment. Allowing two monitoring methods is considered unsustainable because different projects have been subject to different regimes in different countries. The JISC now wants to create a universal system that is simpler and more transparent. “This is a landmark moment for the market-based approach to combating climate change,” JISC chair Benoît Leguet said on Friday. “We’re putting forward ambitious but extremely practical proposals that would draw on the best features of national and international approaches to incentivizing emission reduction projects.” The new model still needs to be approved at December’s UN climate talks in Cancun.

For additional information see: Business Green, Reuters

On October 28, representatives from energy company National Grid and Cambridge University told British Parliament members the UK should extend daylight savings time to reduce the country’s energy consumption and cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The panel discussion was held by Parliament’s Energy and Climate Change Committee. According to National Grid’s operations manager Alan Smart, peak evening energy usage could be reduced by 1,300 megawatts if clocks were not pushed back an hour in October. Cambridge researchers told the panel that putting clocks an hour forward year-round would reduce annual GHG emissions by 447,000 tons. Following the panel discussion, Tim Yeo, chairman of Parliament’s Energy and Climate Change Committee said, “At a time when public finances are tight, making better use of the available daylight is a cheap and cheerful way for the U.K. to do its bit in reducing emissions. I am calling on the government to launch a full scale trial.”

For additional information see: Bloomberg

On October 22, the Asia Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the World Bank released a joint report showing that large Asian coastal cities will experience frequent flooding and extreme weather events if current climate change trends continue. The report studied potential risks due to climate change in the cities of Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Manila, and suggested measures and strategies to address these issues. In Bangkok, better control of ground water pumping and further investments in pump station capacity are needed to reduce urban vulnerability to flooding. In Ho Chi Minh City, 26 percent of the population is already affected by extreme weather events and a comprehensive climate change adaptation strategy was recommended. In Manila, city flooding may cause damages up to one-quarter of the city’s gross domestic product; a complete redesign of flood control infrastructure would be needed to protect against sea level rise and typhoons. The report concluded that climate-related risks need to be a central part of city planning.

For additional information see:

Reuters, International Business Times, ADB Press Release, ADB Report

On October 22, Pakistan’s Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with the United Nations, held an international conference on climate change. During the conference, Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani said that climate change is a major environmental issue and urged nations to form a universal and collective response, particularly in vulnerable South Asian regions. Gilani said Pakistan is developing a comprehensive climate change strategy and the country is looking forward to a substantive outcome at December’s UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun. Pakistan was one of the first nations to sign the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Although Pakistan emits a small percentage of global greenhouse gas emissions, it faces severe climate change impacts such as melting of glaciers, sea level rise and flooding.

For additional information see: Business Recorder, Pakistan Observer, Daily Times

On October 27, the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) released a joint report on climate projections for 10 national parks in California. The study considered a medium-high emissions scenario with heat-trapping pollutants rising at slightly lower levels than in recent years. Using six climate models, researchers predicted that Yosemite National Park will become 7.5°F warmer by the years 2070 to 2099 than it was from 1961 to 1990. Temperatures in the Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Mojave and Death Valley National Parks also are expected to rise. The report says that Joshua trees and giant sequoias may not be capable of adapting to predicted temperature changes. California’s economy will be impacted as national parks located in the state draw more than 34 million visitors a year. “The natural and cultural resources of California’s national parks are directly linked to over one billion dollars in economic activity and 19,000 jobs.” According to Theo Spencer, a senior advocate in NRDC’s Climate Center, “by acting now to reduce the pollution that causes global warming we will preserve these jobs and create new ones while continuing America’s long-standing position of technological leadership.”

For additional information see: Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and NRDC Report, Rocky Mountain Climate Organization Press Release, National Parks Traveler, San Francisco Chronicle

On October 24, Nature Geosciences published a study that explains where old carbon was stored during the last glacial period. According to lead researcher Dr. Ellen Martin, the study results will help scientists “understand how the carbon cycle works, which is important for understanding future global warming scenarios.” Martin measured isotopes of neodymium preserved in microscopic fossil fish teeth to trace whether old carbon samples had come from the North Pacific or the Southern Ocean. The results showed that most of the carbon was being stored in the Southern Hemisphere. When southern ice sheets melted, they released carbon dioxide (CO2) consistent with accepted measurements. The implication of the study is that during warming scenarios, oceans cannot store as much CO2 as they can under glacial conditions. “The oceans have 60 times more carbon dioxide in them than the atmosphere, so when we worry about what’s happening with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, we often look to the oceans as a potential source or sink,” Martin said. During glacial periods, CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere average 200 parts per million, compared with 280 parts per million between glacial periods. Today’s concentration level is about 380 parts per million.

For additional information see: Science Daily, Abstract in Nature Geosciences

• Bill Gates and Sergey Brin Donate Funds to Fight Proposition 23

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and ICLEI–Local Governments for Sustainability USA invite you to learn about the role of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainability in developing successful local economic development strategies. Practitioners and leading experts will discuss key concepts and practical examples of how energy and sustainability issues factor into fundamental economic development goals to save money for businesses and households, create new markets and business opportunities, and develop a talented workforce, as well as spur job creation and retain dollars in the local economy. Intended for local officials, economic development, energy, and sustainability professionals, and policymakers, this webinar series will examine the opportunities and obstacles facing local communities to achieve long-term prosperity in a changing economy. Part I: Saving Money, Expanding Markets, and Building a Talented Workforce will be held on Tuesday, November 16, 2010 from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. and can be registered for here. Part II: Leveraging Public Resources and Federal Funding will be held on Thursday, November 18, 2010 from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. and can be registered for here. For more information, contact Jan Mueller at jmueller [at] eesi.org or (202) 662-1883 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (202) 662-1883      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

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