Bangladesh's rivers giving and taking life away

Reuters: The mighty rivers that give Bangladesh life are slowly taking it back again. With the monsoon rains yet to start, hundreds of families living along the banks of the Padma and other rivers are having to uproot themselves as the powerful waters erode their homes and land from almost under their feet.

…Rivers that offer millions of Bangladeshis a living as fishermen and merchandise carriers also pose a great danger, especially during the monsoon season and the onrush of floodwaters from their source, upstream in India.

Thousands of villagers are forced each year to migrate to higher ground or overcrowded cities after losing their homes and farms to erosion or floodwaters. Government officials and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) estimate at least 10 million people have been displaced in the past decade.

….Experts say a third of Bangladesh's coastline could be flooded if the seas rise one meter in the next 50 years, creating an additional 20 million displaced Bangladeshis -- about the population of Australia….

The Padma River in Bangladesh -- shot by Sayutee, who has generously released it into the public domain on Wikimedia Commons. Thank you, Sayutee

Prions survive conventional sewage treatment

Science Daily: Scientists in Wisconsin are reporting that typical wastewater treatment processes do not degrade prions. Prions, rogue proteins that cause incurable brain infections such as Mad Cow disease and its human equivalent, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, are difficult to inactivate, resisting extreme heat, chemical disinfectants, and irradiation. Until now, scientists did not know whether prions entering sewers and septic tanks from slaughterhouses, meatpacking facilities, or private game dressing, could survive and pass through conventional sewage treatment plants.

Joel Pedersen and colleagues used laboratory experiments with simulated wastewater treatment to show that prions can be recovered from wastewater sludge after 20 days, remaining in the "biosolids," a byproduct of sewage treatment sometimes used to fertilize farm fields.

Although emphasizing that prions have never been reported in wastewater treatment plant water or biosolids, the researchers note that existing tests are not sufficiently sensitive to detect the extremely low levels of prions possible in those materials….

Magnified 158 times and stained, this light photomicrograph of brain tissue reveals typical amyloid plaques found in variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). From the Centers for Disease Control, Wikimedia Commons

Poor agriculture policy blamed for Kenyan underproduction

Kenya Broadcasting Corporation: The current food crisis is likely to worsen as the Kenyan population continues to grow. Speaking during an agricultural policy meeting held in a Nairobi hotel, Agriculture minister, William Ruto said his ministry is working on modalities to ensure the food crisis is put under control. He said the government intends to expand the acreage available for irrigation from 110,000 hectares to 1 million hectares in the next five years to put the country back on the path to food sufficiency.

The minister said in order for Kenya to achieve the Vision 2030 the country has to develop new ways of dealing with its agricultural problems. Ruto re-affirmed the government's commitment to partnering with the private sector to facilitate farmers' access to credit facilities.

Last week President Mwai Kibaki called for an urgent and decisive action to curb the rising food prices. Speaking when he officially opened the 25th Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Conference for Africa at the United Nations Office Nairobi, President Kibaki urged the participants to come up with practical recommendations that would help in permanently resolving the food crisis that has adversely affected the survival and well being of the vulnerable members of the society….

A roadside market in Kenya, shot by Angela Sevin, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License

Ghana's citizenry need more education on climate

Modern Ghana.com (Ghana): The Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi-Hughes, on Saturday called for continuous education on climate change in order to protect the environment from degradation. "Climate change is arguably the greatest danger facing humanity in the years ahead. Here in Ghana, the year 2007 saw severe drought with cracking lands followed by massive flooding and destruction of agricultural products and other properties in an unprecedented scale. We cannot therefore afford to sit down unconcerned and it is time we got the citizenry educated about it"

Mr. Sekyi-Hughes was speaking at the opening of a collaborative workshop on climate change for Members of Parliament organised by the Ministry for Parliamentary Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). …He called for the extension of the awareness campaign on climate change to educational institutions and urged politicians to make climate change part of their campaigns for the impending elections.

…Mr. Dauda Toure, Resident Co-ordinator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), called for a linkage between climate change response measures and the livelihood of the poor. "Climate change should be viewed as additional vulnerability and must not be overlooked when addressing issues of poverty reduction and sustaining growth. It is important therefore to assess climate vulnerability at the geographically appropriate level and prioritise it in the context of other challenges to development," he said….

Tonga envoy addresses climate change, feminism

From the Fiji Times Online (Fiji), a Tonga official emphasizes the link between adaptation and women’s rights: Climate change is a threat to the security of women and children in the Pacific and around the world. These sentiments were made by Mahe Tupouniua, deputy Permanent Representative Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Tonga to the United Nations on behalf of Pacific Small Island Developing States last week.

He said it was important for the Security Council to address issues such as climate change in relation to women's security. "Climate change is an emerging cross-cutting issue with serious security implications," said Mr Tupouniua. He said women and children accounted for an estimated 70 per cent of the world's poorest. "Women in the developing countries are responsible for an estimated 45 per cent to 80 per cent of household food production.

"Women are arguably much more dependent on agriculture for their livelihood and survival and thus far, the effects of climate change are mostly likely to erode women's capacity to be able to provide for themselves and their families because of the loss of their livelihood. "It is important to recognise gender differences not just in terms of differential vulnerability but also as differential capacity to adapt and to mitigate the effects of climate change. "Climate change is not gender neutral. Gender is an important determinant in climate change mitigation and adaptation….

Women voting in Bangladesh, USAID, Wikimedia Commons

California wildfires -- a selection of stories

Washington Post

Thunderstorms spark more than 75 wildfires in Northern California WELT ONLINE, Germany - 6 hours ago Thunderstorms sparked as many as 75 wildfires in a wilderness area in far Northern California on Saturday as officials farther south got close to containing ... Wildfires are raging in California, New Mexico but firemen making ... The Canadian Press Lightning sparks 75 North Calif. wildfires San Jose Mercury News Calif. firefighters wrestle with hundreds of blazes The Associated Press KDBC - ABC News all 1,619 news articles »

Washington Post

Western wildfires...California heatwave...Midwest flooding ... KXMC, ND - 12 hours ago SACRAMENTO, California (AP) As many as 75 wildfires have been burning in far Northern California. They were likely triggered by thunderstorms early Saturday ... Water Shortage Warning, Red Flag Warnings and Excessive Heat ... MyFox Los Angeles Southern California blisters in record heat wave The Associated Press Brush Fire Erupts in Ventura Amid SoCal Heat Wave FOXNews Ventura County Star - WTTE all 1,090 news articles »

Global warming to boost Pacific pests

ABC (Australia): While global warming threatens the lowlying countries of the Pacific, higher temperatures and changing rainfall patterns are expected to give invasive pests from South Pacific countries a major advantage. Australian ecologist Tim Low says pests will adapt faster to climate change, and cope better with extreme weather events like cyclones and fires.

To protect native species, Mr Low says the Australian Government needs to strengthen its biosecurity presence in South Pacific countries where many potential threats live. "Electric ants which turned up in Cairns, they are in very high density in a number of other Pacific countries as well."

He says, "We know that timber imports from New Guinea and the Solomon Islands are likely to be bringing these ants in and we've got to get out into those countries to make sure they're not getting loaded on the ships in the first place. Moving quarantine off-shore would be one strategy."…

This sketch of ants is by "VxD," Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative CommonsAttribution ShareAlike 2.5 License

Canada braces for wave of newcomers

CNews on Canoe (Canada): Climate change is playing havoc with more than weather. Canada and other rich nations should soon expect waves of "climate change refugees" to appear on their shores as a result of being forced out of their homes by environmental disasters. "We can expect some immigration impact from climate change," warned Professor Peter Penz, of York University's Faculty of Environmental Studies. "All these people who were displaced in Myanmar are refugees somewhere."

Penz told a York University immigration conference that catastrophes such as May's cyclone Nargis that rocked Myanmar, killing 90,000 and leaving 56,000 missing, or 2004's Asian tsunami that killed 225,000 people in 11 countries, can displace refugees to countries worldwide. "These are climate change events and I don't expect flotillas of refugees arriving at our shores and making refugee claims," he told the immigration and refugee workers, adding areas closest to the disaster will receive the most claimants.

Penz was among 130 delegates from across the country at the four-day conference that wrapped up in Toronto Wednesday. Much of the work highlighted the plight of refugees and the celebration of World Refugee Day.

Belgian refugees in 1914, Wikimedia Commons

Vietnam and UK boost climate cooperation

NhanDan.com.vn (Vietnam): Vietnam and the UK have discussed ways to promote bilateral cooperation in coping with climate change and controlling environmental pollution during a week-long visit by Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) Pham Khoi Nguyen. While in the UK from June 12-18, Minister Nguyen held working sessions with senior officials of the Department for International Development, the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

At these sessions, the minister sought the UK support for Vietnam’s pollution reduction programmes and partners in dealing with climate change as well as building an economy with less carbon dioxide emission level.

In an interview granted with the Vietnam News Agency in the UK, Minister Nguyen said the UK pledged to share experiences with and assist Vietnam in weather forecast, enhance officials’ capability and technology and transfer communications….

Flag of Vietnam, Wikimedia Commons

Ecosystem and resource managers must prepare for climate change

Red Orbit (US): A key government report issued today concludes that climate change is having a significant and irreversible impact on sensitive ecosystems and resources and urges the immediate implementation of ecosystem adaptation strategies on federally protected and managed lands and waters. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) officials called on Congress and the administration to provide the leadership, funding and reforms that federal managers require to implement the report's recommendations.

The report, Preliminary Review of Adaptation Options for Climate-Sensitive Ecosystems and Resources, finds that climate change is stressing natural systems with such intensity and rapidity that concerted efforts must be taken to help ecosystems adapt to climatic shifts. The report warns: "If the management cultures and planning approaches of agencies continue with a business-as-usual approach, it is likely that ecosystem services will suffer major degradation. It is the opinion of this report's authors and expert stakeholders that we may be seeing a tipping point in terms of the need to plan and take appropriate action on climate adaptation."...

The logo of the US National Park Service, which manages some of the federal lands mentioned in this report.

Recycled sewage may solve crisis

Adelaide Advertiser (Australia): With reservoirs less than half full and River Murray inflows headed for a record low this month, University of Adelaide Professor of Water Economics and Management Mike Young said all possibilities to secure SA's water supply had to be investigated. Professor Young said the State Government could follow the lead of Queensland and look at pumping recycled sewage into drinking water reservoirs.

Draconian water restrictions, including a total ban on garden watering except by bucket, would have to be considered for this summer unless significant rain fell during winter, he said. "If we get to August 1 and we've had a dry June and July in both the Murray catchment area and the Adelaide Hills the Government should immediately convene a major review of what steps to take next to deal with water supply," Prof Young, a member of SA's Sustainability Roundtable, said.

"We have had the fourth to driest autumn ever, and the second to driest May ever – if it continues we are in serious strife. The Government will have to consider everything on the table – including recycling sewage water for human consumption and tougher water restrictions – as the state government is doing in Queensland."…

Second Creek near St Peters, South Australia, Adelaide. This stream is one of the tributaries of River Torrens. Photo by "Peripetus," who has generously released it into the public domain. Thank you, Peripitus

Norway gives 500 million birr to Ethiopia drought-affected people

AllAfrica.com, via the Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa): Norway has allocated Birr 500 million [very roughly, about 283 Norwegian kronor, or US$55 million] in humanitarian assistance for people affected by the drought in Ethiopia, according to a press statement from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Addis Ababa. The funding is being channelled through the UN, the Red Cross and other NGOs that are already working in the country and that are familiar with its needs, Raymond Johansen, State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was quoted as saying.

Drought and rising food prices have resulted in a critical situation in several regions of Ethiopia. Last week, the UN warned of widespread food shortages as a result of serious drought and rising food prices. According to the UN, more than three million Ethiopians are in acute need of assistance, and the number of people suffering from malnutrition is increasing.

"Even though there has now been some rainfall, important crops have already been lost. The grazing will improve gradually, but it will take time before new crops can be harvested," said Johansen. "Our aim is to mitigate the consequences of the humanitarian crisis now affecting people in Ethiopia," he added….

Map showing location of Ethiopia by "Rei-artur," Wikimedia Commons, under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2

Birds migrate earlier, but some may be left behind as the climate warms rapidly

Science Daily: Many birds are arriving earlier each spring as temperatures warm along the East Coast of the United States. However, the farther those birds journey, the less likely they are to keep pace with the rapidly changing climate.

Scientists at Boston University and the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences analyzed changes in the timing of spring migrations of 32 species of birds along the coast of eastern Massachusetts since 1970. Researchers at Manomet gathered this data by capturing birds in mist nets, attaching bands to their legs, and then releasing them. Their findings show that eight out of 32 bird species are passing by Cape Cod significantly earlier on their annual trek north than they were 38 years ago. The reason? Warming temperatures. Temperatures in eastern Massachusetts have risen by 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1970.

Species, such as the swamp sparrow, that winter in the southern United States are generally keeping pace with warming temperatures and earlier leafing of trees. They migrate earlier when temperatures are warm and later when spring is cool.

Birds that winter further south, like the great crested flycatcher, which spends its winters in South America, are slow to change, though. Their migration times are not changing, despite the warming temperatures in New England….

This shot of a swamp sparrow is by "Tnolley," Wikimedia Commons

New satellite is launched -- a selection of stories

Canada.com

French-US Jason 2 satellite blasts off: NASA AFP - 9 hours ago WASHINGTON (AFP) — The French-US oceanographic monitoring satellite Jason 2, designed to measure rising sea levels and track the effects of climate change, ... French-US Jason-2 Sat Launched Aviation Week French/US Jason 2 launches to measure rising sea levels iTWire · Science/Tech United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches Jason-2/OSTM Mission ... Earthtimes (press release) BBC News · Science/Tech - China Daily all 147 news articles »

eFluxMedia

NASA's New Jason - 2 Satellite Launched To Help Forecasts eFluxMedia - 5 hours ago By Michael Todd Jason – 2, the new satellite developed to help with the understanding of climate change was launched today on top of a Delta – 2 rocket from ...

LIVE: Delta II set to launch with Jason-2
NASASpaceflight.com, UK - 12 hours ago
By Chris Bergin, 6/20/2008 12:47:17 AM A United Launch Alliance Delta II (7320-10) launch vehicle is set to launch Jason-2 - a European/American Ocean ...
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Engine Launches New Ocean-Mapping ... Earthtimes (press release)
all 8 news articles »

Disasters raising new tests for telecoms: experts

Terra Daily, via Agence France-Presse: Disasters like the devastating earthquake in China have highlighted the need for countries to develop better emergency communications plans, experts say. With indications that the number of disasters may be rising around the globe, nations need to think seriously about how to deliver communication equipment to make rescue operations quicker and more efficient, they say.

Telecommunications were interrupted for more than 30 hours in the areas hardest hit by last month's quake in China, said Wu Guoxiang of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). He told CommunicAsia, a regional trade show, that there were lessons to be drawn from some of the communications problems that developed as authorities grappled with the scope of the disaster.

The quake killed tens of thousands of people but also destroyed more than 18,000 mobile base stations and nearly 30,000 kilometres (20,000 miles) of cable and optical fibre, he said. But when the Chinese government sent a fleet of emergency communications vehicles with satellite facilities to the quake zone, many could not reach the hardest-hit areas because of landslides and other damage. That points to the most important lesson, he said: the capability for rapid deployment….

Biofuels as invasive species

Environmental Research Web: Biofuels have been getting some bad press recently. They have been blamed for food shortages, rising food prices and destroying livelihoods and some have been accused of increasing carbon dioxide emissions. Now there is more bad news. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warns that many biofuel crops are invasive and can be hugely detrimental to the environment.

The IUCN's Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) has identified all the crops currently being used or considered for biofuel production and ranked them according to the risk they pose of becoming invasive species. The report calls on countries to carry out risk assessments before they plant biofuel crops. It also urges governments to use low-risk species of crops for biofuels and introduce new controls to manage invasive species.

"The dangers that invasive species pose to the world couldn’t be more serious," says Sarah Simons, executive director of GISP. "They are one of the top causes of global species loss, they can threaten livelihoods and human health, and they cost us billions in control and mitigation efforts. We simply cannot afford to stand by and do nothing in the face of this threat."…

Desert plant may hold key to surviving food shortages

Science Daily: Scientists at the University of Liverpool are investigating how a Madagascan plant could be used to help produce crops in harsh environmental conditions. The plant, Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi, is unique because, unlike normal plants, it captures most of its carbon dioxide at night when the air is cooler and more humid, making it 10 times more water-efficient than major crops such as wheat. Scientists will use the latest next-generation DNA sequencing to analyse the plant’s genetic code and understand how these plants function at night.

….The research comes at a time when farmland across the globe normally used for growing food such as rice and wheat is being taken over by bio-fuel crops used for bioethanol production as a petrol substitute. Scientists believe that the novel genes found in Kalanchoe could provide a model of how bio-fuel plants could be grown on un-utilised desert and semi-arid lands, rather than on fertile farmland needed for producing food.

Biological scientist, Dr James Hartwell, said: “There is a lot of concern over food shortage at the moment, with more farmland being commandeered for bio-fuels. As a result of changes in our climate the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted a large expansion of arid regions so there is an increasing need for new crop varieties that can be productive in deserts.

“Kalanchoe is a good example of how plants can flourish in harsh environments. If we can understand how it is able to photosynthesise using much less water than current crops, we may be able to use its genetic code to develop a crop able to withstand harsh environmental conditions. It is essential that farmland be returned to food production."...

Olaf Leillinger took this picture Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi in 2006 at the Botanical Garden in Dresden. Found on Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License and under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2

France: Climate change 'could cost Mediterranean up to $35 bln'

ADNKronosInternational: Unless Mediterranean countries take action, climate change could cost them 30-35 billion dollars by the end of this century, according to a new study to be presented in Paris next month. The study bases its projections on current oil prices of 120 dollars per barrel. "If oil was to go to say 170 dollars, the cost of inaction could be much higher," the European Investment Bank's spokesman in Paris, Henry Marty, told Adnkronos International (AKI).

Entitled, Climate Change, Energy and Water in the Mediterranean, the study has been carried out by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with financial support from the European Investment Bank. By 2100, temperatures will rise by 2.2-5 degrees celsius, rainfall levels will fall by 4-27 percent and sea levels are expected to rise by 35 centimetres, according to the study.

Heatwaves, fires and flooding will become increasingly common occurrences with "intolerable human consequences", the EIB said in a statement on Friday announcing the report. These changes will have a major impact on the region's economies, especially those of countries in the southern and eastern Mediterranean….

A satellite view of the Mediterranean, NASA, modified by Eric Gaba (Sting), Wikimedia Commons

Researchers explain nitrogen paradox in forests, illuminating ecosystems response to global warming

Science Daily: ….[C]ertain aspects of the nitrogen cycle in temperate and tropical forests have puzzled scientists, defying, in a sense, the laws of supply and demand. Trees capable of extracting nitrogen directly from the atmosphere often thrive where it is readily available in the soil, but not where it is in short supply. Now scientists from the Carnegie Institution have explained the paradox by recognizing the role of two other factors: temperature and the abundance of another key element, phosphorous.

….Nitrogen in the form of dinitrogen (a molecule made of two tightly bound nitrogen atoms) makes up nearly 80% of the Earth's atmosphere, but few organisms can directly convert dinitrogen into biologically useful nitrogen compounds. Nitrogen fixation, as the process is called, requires the enzyme nitrogenase, possessed by specific types of bacteria. Some of these bacteria live symbiotically in the roots of certain plants, such as legumes, giving these plants a "built-in" nitrogen-fixing capability.

…A survey of diverse species and bacterial strains across different latitudes and environments showed the strong influence of temperature on the enzyme's activity. A consequence is that in cooler climates more of the enzyme is needed to fix a given amount of nitrogen. The high cost of producing the enzyme offsets the benefit of nitrogen fixation in temperate forests, despite low-nitrogen soils.

In tropical forests, it's the link between nitrogen and phosphorus that explains the abundance of nitrogen-fixing species. "Many tropical [forest] soils are severely depleted in phosphorus, even where nitrogen is relatively abundant," says [the paper’s lead author, Benjamin] Houlton. "The extra nitrogen added to the soil by nitrogen-fixers helps mobilize phosphorus, making it easier for roots to absorb. That stimulates the growth of these plant species and puts them at a competitive advantage, despite the energetic cost of nitrogen fixation. It's really quite striking how simple the economics of nitrogen fixation fall out, once you consider the link between the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles in the tropics."

"Put together, these two factors give us a coherent picture of what was formerly a very enigmatic distribution pattern for nitrogen-fixing trees in plant communities," says [Christopher] Field, director of the Department of Global Ecology [at the Carnegie Institution]. "The more we understand about these essential ecological processes, the better we'll be able to manage Earth's ecosystems in the coming decades, especially in the face of unprecedented climate change."

Tropical forest in Martinique, near Fond St. Denis, photo by "Frameme," Wikimedia Commons, under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2

Sustainable agriculture will help stop desertification, UN agency says

UN News Centre: Poor farmers and herders in countries bearing the brunt of desertification and land degradation can help stop or reverse those processes by engaging in sustainable agriculture, the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) says. Marking World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, which is observed on 17 June, IFAD said in a statement that poor farmers and herders can form part of the solution with the assistance of international agencies.

“Ill-conceived agricultural practices, traditional or intensified, only make things worse as their poor populations have no choice but to adopt short-term survival methods, putting more pressure on increasingly scarce local resources,” IFAD said. “Climate change is increasing that pressure, and exacerbating droughts.” This year’s theme for the Day is combating land degradation for sustainable agriculture.

The agency called for more efficient water use, improved cropping systems and better forest management, adding that hardier seeds will also help poor farmers withstand droughts and floods....

A pineapple farmer in Ghana, USAID, Wikimedia Commons

How municipalities can adapt to climate change

A piece by Environmental Law Specialist Dianne Saxe in Environmental Communications Options (Canada): Climate change poses expensive threats to municipalities, both because it changes average weather and because it increases the frequency of "severe weather events".

…Someone - municipal governments, residents or insurers - will have to pay for the inevitable damage. And it could be huge. In Toronto, for example, a mere three hour rainstorm on August 19, 2005 racked up $500 million in insurance claims. The Insurance Bureau of Canada cites this as the country's most expensive natural disaster (in terms of insurance claims) after the 1998 ice storm.

… The best way for a municipality to adapt to climate change is to evaluate its unique vulnerabilities and take appropriate action. Unfortunately, senior governments have not been as helpful as they could in this regard. IPCC maps take no account of specific local circumstances, and environment Canada is about 15 years behind in analyzing temperature and rainfall and wind data.

The City of Toronto has introduced one useful new resource - an on-line library dealing specifically with climate change adaptation - as part of its "Ahead Of The Storm" initiative. Other help is coming from the insurance industry in the form of an Industrial Research Chair on Extreme Weather Events at McGill University, and a study on municipal disaster prevention.

Fortunately, the federal government's report concludes with a dry, but significant, call to action: "Integrating climate change into existing planning processes, often using risk management methods, is an effective approach to adaptation. Barriers to adaptation action need to be addressed, including limitations in awareness and availability of information and decision-support tools." Stirring rhetoric, it isn't. But when even the federal government admits we have a problem, then we have a problem.

The Arch Bridge over the Bay of the Humber River where it enters Lake Ontario. Photographed by Sandra McKeown, who has generously released it into the public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Thank you, Sandra

Scientists: Weather extremes consistent with global warming

USA Today: If you think the weather is getting more extreme, you're right — and global warming caused by human activity probably is the reason, according to a report released Thursday by a panel of government scientists. The report comes as the Midwest copes with record rainfall and catastrophic flooding.

There is strong evidence the increasing frequency of extreme rain, heat, drought and tropical storms is caused by global climate change, according to the report from the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. "Changes in some weather and climate extremes are attributable to human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases," the study authors concluded.

The report is a synthesis of the latest research on extreme weather in the U.S. and comes after nearly six months that saw a record number of tornadoes, unusual winter warmth and record-setting precipitation in many regions….

During the late afternoon and early evening of April 3, 2004, this supercell thunderstorn dropped 2 inch-diameter hail over Chaparral, New Mexico, causing widespread damage. Photographed by Greg Lundeen, NOAA, Wikimedia Commons

Insurers broaden coverage for climate change risks

Reuters: Insurers are developing new ways to help commercial customers adapt to emerging climate change risks, a panel of experts said on Wednesday. Underwriters are busy coming up with new insurance policies, and fine-tuning already existing products, to provide broader coverage to companies grappling with a wide range of emerging climate-related risks.

These include regulations that are being crafted or implemented around the world requiring companies to provide greater disclosure of risks, and to reduce energy use in order to meet new carbon emission rules. Insurers are rolling out the new products in the wake of increasing scientific evidence that man-made carbon dioxide emissions are fueling an increased chance of global catastrophes.

Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services is one of those actively developing insurance products to meet rising demand, said Chief Climate Product Officer Lindene Patton on a panel at a green business summit in New York. "There are new physical realities that confront us," said Patton. "And there is clearly a new political will."…

Oldest insurance policy, at the Museum of Insurance, shot by "Delimata," Wikimedia Commons, under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2

Ocean temperatures and sea level increases 50 percent higher than previously estimated

Science Daily: New research suggests that ocean temperature and associated sea level increases between 1961 and 2003 were 50 percent larger than estimated in the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. An international team of researchers, including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory climate scientist Peter Gleckler, compared climate models with improved observations that show sea levels rose by 1.5 millimeters per year in the period from 1961-2003. That equates to an approximately 2½-inch increase in ocean levels in a 42-year span.

The ocean warming and thermal expansion rates are more than 50 percent larger than previous estimates for the upper 300 meters of oceans. The research corrected for small but systematic biases recently discovered in the global ocean observing system, and uses statistical techniques that “infill” information in data-sparse regions. The results increase scientists’ confidence in ocean observations and further demonstrate that climate models simulate ocean temperature variability more realistically than previously thought.

“This is important for the climate modeling community because it demonstrates that the climate models used for assessing sea-level rise and ocean warming tie in closely with the observed results,” Gleckler said….

Waves at La Jolla, California. Shot by Jon Sullivan, who has generously released it into the public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Many thanks, Jon

Growing strength—and divide—in climate opinion

Environmental Science & Technology: Although recent polls show that a majority of Americans are willing to tackle climate change, the political divide over this issue is deepening. Democrats support climate action overwhelmingly, but the number of Republicans who believe that the earth is warming and who rank global warming as a top policy priority has dropped compared with last year. Republicans and Democrats tend to use information about climate change to reinforce different beliefs, research shows….

However, there is some good news for climate action supporters. A new survey of U.S. electricity consumers shows that Americans seem ready to open their wallets—at least a crack—to slow warming. The study, released in May by the accounting and consulting firm Deloitte LLP, found that 62% of 1000 Americans surveyed say they would pay higher electricity rates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their state. They would accept only modest increases, however; although 62% say they would pay 5% more, only 5% would accept an increase greater than 15%.

Overall, 74% of consumers expressed concerns about global warming, says Branko Terzic, Deloitte's energy and resources regulatory policy director. When asked about specific technologies, more than 60% supported "clean coal" and nearly 60% supported nuclear power. Deloitte did not survey enough people to break down the results by political party, Terzic says, but the overall findings can help regulators gauge public sentiment.

In a 2007 survey conducted with New Scientist magazine, social scientist Jon Krosnick of Stanford University and colleagues described to 1500 Americans several electricity and gasoline policies that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions. "People were more keen on electricity emission reduction policies than gasoline policies across the board, and people preferred mandated standards to a cap-and-trade system," notes Krosnick's colleague, research psychologist Ariel Malka. Raising taxes was the least popular option, and support dropped as costs rose…

Waving American flag shot by "Scrumshus," who has generously released it into the public domain. Thank you, Scrumshus

A way of life is feeling the heat

Long piece in the BBC: International development policies are undermining the long term survival of some of the globe's poorest communities, argues Masego Madzwamuse. In this week's Green Room, she says the skills and knowledge needed to survive in the world's harsh drylands are being sacrificed in the name of progress. The world's poorest of the poor live in the toughest areas of the planet - the drylands.

These areas all have key factors in common: water is scarce, and rainfall is unpredictable - or it rains only during a very short period every year. Drylands cover more than 40% of the Earth's surface and are home to more than two billion people. These areas are also home to a disproportionate number of people without secure access to food.

Why are 43% of the world's cultivated lands found in dry areas? And why have decades of development not led to significant improvements? Rather than improving, it would appear that the situation is getting worse, with more frequent droughts, such as those in Ethiopia and Northern Kenya. Another important issue that strikes me about drylands is that these areas have been completely neglected despite being the world's home of the poor….

The Sahara in Algeria, shot by Florence Devouard, Wikimedia Commons, under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2

Harsh weather hits insurers in Uganda

New Vision (Kampala, Uganda): The harsh weather conditions have started biting into the profitability of insurance companies by making them pay huge claims. "In the first quarter of this year, we have paid claims in excess of a billion shillings, arising out of weather-related calamities, which occurred in the last half of 2007," Azim Therani, the managing director of Goldstar Insurance Company, explained.

During the last half of 2007, there were floods in several districts in eastern Uganda and Kampala suburbs including industrial areas and business centres. Therani added that whereas insurers and reinsurers in the developed world were already addressing the impact of climate change on the industry, nothing was in place for the developing world.

"It is obvious to anyone in Uganda that the extreme weather has caught up with us given the change in the rainy seasons and the severity of rainfall we get these days." He said insurance companies should seek details like the drainage systems for factories and warehouses and provision for storing goods on pallets in areas that are prone to floods such as 6th and 7th streets in Kampala.

Uganda map from CIA World Factbook, Wikimedia Commons

Midwestern floodwaters tainted with sewage, pollution

Environment News Service: Raw sewage is flowing into rivers and streams across central and eastern Iowa as one after another wastewater facilities are inundated by the record floods that have swept the state during the past two weeks. Livestock manure is also part of the nasty mix, along with spilled fuel and chemicals, all heading to the flooding Mississippi River and down to the Gulf of Mexico.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is warning people to avoid contact with floodwater that may be contaminated with sewage or hazardous substances because exposure to the waste could transmit intestinal illnesses and skin infections. Do not wade, swim, or enter floodwaters and immediately wash hands and bare skin that comes in contact with floodwater with soap and hot water, health officials warn.

….The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been asked by FEMA to coordinate hazardous material and oil-related response in flooded areas throughout Iowa. The EPA will retrieve orphaned hazardous containers and drums, such as fuel and propane tanks, respond to chemical and oil releases, collect and dispose of flood-damaged household hazardous waste, and conduct monitoring and sampling of air and water. To report orphaned hazardous containers or chemical/oil releases, citizens should call the EPA Region 7 24-hour Response Line at (913) 281-0991.

Another round of downpours put more pressure on Guangxi

CCTV: Flood waters in south China's Guangdong province have been slowly receding. Meanwhile, there's been another round of downpours in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, putting more pressure on local disaster relief efforts. Flood peaks from two major rivers, Xijiang and Beijiang, have converged into the Pearl River in Guangdong Province, and run into the sea. Water levels in the Pearl River reduced below danger levels on Tuesday.

In Guangdong, PLA soldiers have worked alongside local police and residents. They have blocked flooding water from seeping through river embankments and ensured the flood peaks passed relatively smoothly. The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region suffered another round of heavy rain on Tuesday. Local officials say more than 200 roads have been damaged and the continuous downpour has also threatened a local reservoir. Since the 6th of June, rainstorms and floods have ravaged the provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guizhou and Yunnan and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Authorities say heavy rainfalls have killed 63 people and injured 13 others. 25 million have been affected in nine provinces throughout China. Thousands of houses have been torn down and farmlands ruined. The economic losses are estimated at 14.5 billion yuan, or 2 billion US dollars.

The Lijiang River in Guangxi province, China. Photo by Fanghong, Wikimedia Commons, under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2

Why flooding worsens in the US

A few snips from a solid piece in the Christian Science Monitor: ….In many communities, levees protect low-lying neighborhoods and farmland. “America has had a love affair with levees since the 1800s,” says Marceto Garcia, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. But levees cause new problems by confining rivers and increasing flooding in other stretches.…Levees also leave some people with a false sense of security. In some cases, experts say, homeowners don’t know that their houses are at risk of flooding.

Experts also fault poor local planning. They say that economic and political pressures in many cases cause communities to slight flood-plain management for fear of hurting economic growth. In addition, they say, communities typically plan for present conditions without taking into account future growth and developments upstream that may create worse flooding – and worse damage – in the future.

“We have as a nation spent increasing amounts of money on preventing floods, and yet the cost of flooding continues to rise dramatically,” says Andrew Fahlund, vice president for conservation at American Rivers, an environmental advocacy group based in Washington. “Clearly we’re not doing something right. Certain kinds of flooding are going to be pretty much unavoidable. When water levels get to a certain point it’s pretty difficult to prevent damage. Our hearts go out to people who have been impacted by all this. The fact is that we have reduced the capacity our rivers have to absorb these floods significantly.”

Climate change has recently cast a new and disturbing uncertainty over flood-management questions by suggesting that history may be an unreliable guide to the future. Kenneth Potter, a civil and environmental engineer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says many scientists agree that climate change is likely to increase the occurrence and severity of storms as well as droughts, and thus increase the likelihood of flooding. “The question is, are you going to face that once a century or once every 10 years?” he asks….

Sandbags in New Orleans in preparation for flooding from Hurricane Katrina, FEMA, Wikimedia Commons

Managing risk in an era of shifting assumptions

Times Online (UK) has an interesting article by Alistair Dale of Capita Symonds: Residual risk management - a topic that does not generate much interest in the media. It is, however, a discipline that will dramatically affect our ability to adapt to the consequences of climate change. Last summer's floods provide clear evidence that, without decisive action, climate change will leave future generations increasingly subjected to lengthy periods of hardship.

Traditionally the approach has been to look for “quick fixes” - large projects literally to plug the gaps - but we are entering an era where the cost and lifetime of such schemes will make them unfeasible. Accordingly, Sir Michael Pitt's interim review of last summer's flooding hints that there will be some significant recommendations to overhaul existing practices.

Designing infrastructure that can resist increased wind speeds, wave heights, rainfall and flood water depths induced by climate change would create unsustainable economic burdens. The fallback position is to prepare for the future by contemplating how systems might fail when they are subjected to extreme forces of nature. This is residual risk management - and the challenge is to introduce complementary policy, process and practices that can deliver affordable infrastructure that is not only safe now but also for a landscape 100 years hence.

…High level policy and planning guidance is setting the agenda for step changes in the response to sustainability, flood risk management and climate change. However, there must be concern that there is a huge inertia associated with the way people view the world - the problems posed to coastal areas by a 1m rise in sea level over the next 100 years require radical restructuring of coastal communities that simply won't be achieved through application of existing policies and practices.

Climate change isn't an issue that can be easily escaped as it lies at our doorstep: drainage systems aren't designed for climate change conditions, and replacing the underlying sewers would be horrendously expensive. We need to consider other ways of addressing the emerging problems. This involves understanding what fails, how it fails and what we can do to minimise the consequences when it does fail. Solutions to these problems require a new approach based on the analysis of computer simulations. Using the latest software it is possible to generate high-quality predictions of the hazards posed by floods, and test a wide range of responses and adaptation strategies….

Drainage of the old school, via Wikimedia Commons

Early monsoon baffles Indian officials

NDTV.com (India): The early arrival of the monsoon in Delhi, breaking a 108-year old record, has puzzled weather officials. It punches a hole in the entrenched theory - the hotter it gets, the better the chances of the monsoon. But this year, the north has been cooler by almost 1.5 degrees centigrade. Yet, it took merely 12 days, instead of 30, for the monsoon to cover most of India.

So is this freak weather? Is it climate change? ''This early onset has really surprised us and we need to do some data analysis as to why it has happened and at present, we do not have much knowledge as to why it has happened,'' said Dr M Rajeevan, Director, National Climate Centre, IMD, Pune. ''We need to do more studies on the monsoon, but it is very difficult to link this situation to climate change,'' he added.

Monsoon clouds near Nagercoil (not Delhi), photo by "PlaneMad," Wikimedia Commons, under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2

Combating land degradation for sustainable agriculture

Commodity Online: The World Day to Combat Desertification is celebrated every year on June 17 all over the world in order to highlight the urgent need to curb the process of desertification and to strengthen the visibility of this serious drylands issue on the international environmental agenda.

17 June constitutes a unique occasion to remind everybody that desertification can be effectively tackled, that solutions are possible, and that key tools to this aim lay in strengthened community participation and co-operation at all levels. The theme of this year’s World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, “Desertification and Climate Change — One Global Challenge”, reminds us that climate change and desertification interact with each other at a variety of levels. They are two major manifestations of the same problem. And together they seriously threaten our ability to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Another environmental issue of growing urgency today is climate change. This is reflected in the theme for this year’s World Day, which focuses on the important synergy between desertification and climate change. The Day will draw attention to the significant benefits of an integrated approach to tackling these two major environmental challenges…..

Kelso Dunes in California, shot by Mark A. Wilson, who has generously released it into the public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Thank you, Mark

Extra tropical cyclones in Europe

Mediasyndicate.com: Powerful winds from extra tropic cyclones could threaten both UK and Europe with the potentially destructive force of a tropical category four hurricane, global warming researchers warned at a conference held at the Institute of Physics on the 6th June. The Global Warming Alliance, which monitors the core pressures of Atlantic depressions and extra tropical cyclones, revealed dramatic evidence of the increase in risks from devastating super winds for the UK and Europe.

The conference was attended by emergency planners from several London Boroughs as well as members of Climate Wise, the initiative launched by the Prince of Wales last September to get insurance companies to encourage the public to adapt to the growing impact of climate change as well as to promote climate friendly behaviour. ‘When we think of hurricanes or cyclones we automatically think of the tropics. That is where all the action is.’

Cyclones outside that band of latitude are called Extra Tropic Cyclones. These are common and are becoming more intense said Donald Burfitt-Dons, chairman of the Global Warming Alliance. ‘We have seen steadily rising numbers of these intense winter systems in the North Atlantic. So far this year alone we have had five make landfall on continental Europe.