http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/12/31-9
Published on Monday, December 31, 2012 by EcoWatch
Story of the Year: It's Global Warming, Stupid
by Stefanie Penn Spear
My favorite headline of 2012 was "It's Global Warming, Stupid," which
appeared on the cover of Bloomberg Businessweek on Nov. 1, just days
after Hurricane Sandy hit the Northeast. On the same day, New York
Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed President Barack Obama for
re-election for president.
Bloomberg, having seen firsthand the devastation of the severe
weather on his city and region, said:
The floods and fires that swept through our city left a path of
destruction that will require years of recovery and rebuilding work.
And in the short term, our subway system remains partially shut
down, and many city residents and businesses still have no power. In
just 14 months, two hurricanes have forced us to evacuate
neighborhoods-something our city government had never done before.
If this is a trend, it is simply not sustainable.
Our climate is changing. And while the increase in extreme weather
we have experienced in New York City and around the world may or may
not be the result of it, the risk that it might be-given this week's
devastation-should compel all elected leaders to take immediate
action.
Hurricane Sandy certainly wasn't the only indicator this year of the
consequences of a warming planet. I would think that the following
reports would have been enough to encourage policymakers to
prioritize climate change and pass policies to help reverse global
warming, and people to become conscious of their impacts on the Earth
and make changes in their daily lives to help create a sustainable
world:
Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must be
Avoided <http://ecowatch.org/2012/turn-down-the-heat/> - This report
is a snapshot of the latest climate science prepared for the World
Bank by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and
Climate Analytics. It states that the world is on a path to a 4
degree Celsius (4°C) warmer world by end of this century and current
greenhouse gas emissions pledges will not reduce this by much.
World Meteorological Organization Report
<http://ecowatch.org/2012/greenhouse-gas-new-record/> - This report
states that the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached
a new record high in 2011. Between 1990 and 2011 there was a 30
percent increase in radiative forcing-the warming effect on our
climate-because of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping long-lived
gases.
Emissions Gap Report 2012
<http://ecowatch.org/2012/brink-of-climate-catastrophe/> - This
report from the UN Environment Programme identifies a huge gap
between current pledges to cut polluting greenhouse gas emissions for
2020 and the benchmark of 44 gigatonnes that offers a credible
pathway to staying below 2°C.
Global Coal Risk Assessment
<http://ecowatch.org/2012/global-climate-at-risk-coal-plants/> -
World Resources Institute analyzes information about proposed new
coal-fired plants and other market trends in order to assess
potential future risks to the global climate. The report finds that
there are 1,199 new coal power plants in the works, totaling more
than 1.4 million megawatts of capacity worldwide. That's four times
the capacity of all the coal-fired power plants in the U.S.
Seventy-six percent of the coal plants are proposed for India and
China, with the U.S. seventh in the world for coal power plants in
development. We have thirty six on the table.
National Snow and Ice Data Center Announcement
<http://ecowatch.org/2012/record-low-ice-loss/> - This announcement
stated that the Arctic sea ice cover was at its lowest level since
the satellite record began in 1979. Also this year, Australian
scientists found concrete evidence of "very unusual warming" over the
last hundred years in Antarctica. And in July, 97 percent of
Greenland's ice sheet melted, an event that received little coverage
in the American news media.
If you're a more visual person, you can watch the Chasing Ice trailer
to see the impacts of global warming on the glaciers in the Arctic.
http://ecowatch.org/2012/chasing-ice-ground-zero/
_______________________________________________
Sustainablelorgbiofuel mailing list
Sustainablelorgbiofuel@lists.sustainablelists.org
http://lists.eruditium.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel
