Ice News (Iceland):Despite freezing temperatures and snow lashing many parts of Europe, delegates at this year’s climate change conference say 2010 has been one of the hottest years on record. According to the latest data released by the World Meteorology Organisation (WMO) at the conference in Cancun, Mexico, warmer than usual temperatures have been recorded in Greenland, Canada and East Africa.Sea and land surface temperatures have been among the highest since 1850 and final analysis early next year will confirm whether 2010 was warmer that the two previous hottest years, 1998 and 2005. “The deviation from normal temperatures ranged from 1-3 degrees centigrade which is very significant. This may be due to climate change induced by humans,” said the WMO’s Secretary General Michel Jarraud.
The report also indicated that the last decade has been the warmest in recorded history, prompting calls for faster action against climate change. Progress is, however, currently being hampered by disputes between developed and developing countries.
The WMO also reported an increase in extreme weather events such as floods and drought, and the highest level of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere since pre-industrial times. “Greenhouse gas concentrations have reached record levels despite the economic slowdown. They would have been even higher without the international action taken to reduce them,” said Jarraud….
Calving icebergs at Cape York, Greenland, shot by one of Carbon Based's favorite photographers, Mila Zinkova, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
2 comments:
The best time to have enacted ballast water legislation was in 2008 when h.r.2830 passed the House 395-7 at the beginning of the global economic crisis when ship traffic, that is needed in economic globalization was curtailed. Unfortunately this administration chose to delay meaningful legislation with another study for a still purposed military plan of 20 plus years.
Knowing a report prepared for Congress in 2009 stated that legislation calling for mandatory technology installation would increase the cost of foreign manufactured products, this administration made a conscious choice to not address the issue passing up the opportunity to again place America on a level playing field in manufacturing cost. Although some forms of economic globalization are inevitable and beneficial, globalization for economic reasons, at the expense of human health and the environment of future generations is nothing more than economic greed.
In the millennium report prepared for the army in 2005-2006 detailing the military role with the environment it is made clear that international treaties are often thwarted by foreign countries and economic interest. Environmental issues are also cited as the cause of military conflicts. Sadly they also detail the governments policy will be to continue to follow the international communities lead, because of interdependency with foreign economies.
This Administration Ocean initiatives policy states that all international treaties that have been ratified and those presently being adhered to will be honored. This means in its present form the ballast water provision in the International Law of the Sea treaty will apply for the waters of the United States at the Federal level. The millennium report also states that many problems exist with coastal countries and the provisions in international treaties.
Fortunate for the environment, is pressure being applied by the individual states of our country enacting their own laws as a results of this administrations failure and the pressure of environmentalist, technology is now available to address ballast water.
Unfortunately the continued failure of this administration to act with meaningful ballast water regulation has the shipping industry procrastinating on the economic investment to retrofit with technology quickly. As more shipping companies began to retrofit slowly the effect that logistics and cost would have to again create a cost competitive America will be forever lost, as human health and our environment continue suffering while waiting for an international solution or a purposed 20 year Coast Guard plan.
Our Great Lakes are also in danger from terrorist attacks using ballast systems according to Homeland Security as stated on their own web site.
Ships used exclusively on the Great Lakes should also be required for technology as it is now know from government studies that influenza, h1n1, bird flue, and mutations occur in FRESH water lakes and glacier and moved by birds. Ballast water should not facilitate this movement.
This Administration Ocean initiatives policy states that all international treaties that have been ratified and those presently being adhered to will be honored.
Your blog's informative is very rich in contents.
Post a Comment