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Progress in Stopping Global Warming
John Addison, Cleantech blog
Good news. Methane concentration in the atmosphere has not increased during the past 8 years. Methane is estimated to be responsible for 9 to 17% of the global warming caused by human activity. During its total life in the stratosphere, methane does 23 times the heat trapping damage of CO2 over a 100 year period.
( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas ) Fortunately methane released into the atmosphere largely dissipates in about 12 years. CO2 stays as part of the heat trap for about 100 years.
Back in 1860, before we became big users of fossil fuels, methane concentration was 750 ppb. By the year 1998, it was 1,750 ppb, a frightening increase. Since 1998, however, there has been no increase. This represents major progress in the battle to stop global warming. We should celebrate.
The good news was reported by Dr. Sherwood Rowland, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for co-discovering the atmospheric damage caused by another family of greenhouse gases – chlorofluorocarbons (CFC). Dr. Rowland and his team at the University of California at Irvine have been carefully monitoring greenhouse gas concentrations for many years.
…Although the news is good about reducing emissions of methane and CFC, CO2 concentration continues to increase at a rate which threatens our future. What works? What needs to be done?
Methane concentration may have stopped growing because natural gas prices have skyrocketed, and natural gas is typically 90% methane. Natural gas is often a byproduct of oil drilling. When natural gas was cheap, oil producers let it vent into the atmosphere. As more power plants have used natural gas, its price has increased.
…International treaties work. Market mechanisms work. International treaties that include market mechanisms for trading greenhouse gas emissions work great. A new treaty with binding targets and pricing mechanisms is needed. It is time for the world’s biggest emitters, the USA and China, to lead the process to a health future and away from a reckless joy ride towards climate chaos.
John Addison is the author of the upcoming book Save Gas, Save the Planet. He publishes the Clean Fleet Report (www.cleanfleetreport.com) and is a popular speaker
(21 Nov 2006)
Pace of Global Warming Causes Alarm
Seth Borenstein, AP via Common Dreams
Animal and plant species have begun dying off or changing sooner than predicted because of global warming, a review of hundreds of research studies contends.
These fast-moving adaptations come as a surprise even to biologists and ecologists because they are occurring so rapidly.
At least 70 species of frogs, mostly mountain-dwellers that had nowhere to go to escape the creeping heat, have gone extinct because of climate change, the analysis says. It also reports that between 100 and 200 other cold-dependent animal species, such as penguins and polar bears, are in deep trouble.
(21 Nov 2006)
Sir Nick Stern on climate change review (Audio)
Global Public Media
Sir Nicholas Stern speaking at the London School of Economics about his 30th October, 2006 review on how to prevent dangerous climate change. Although he sets a stabilization target between 450-550ppm he admits this entails risk. See the full report.
Sir Nicholas Stern, FBA is a British economist and academic. He was the Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President of the World Bank from 2000 to 2003, and is now a civil servant and government economic advisor in the United Kingdom.
(7 Nov 2006)
US: Climate Change Climate Changing
Haider Rizvi, OneWorld.net via Common Dreams
There are signs that key U.S. officials are ready to take on global warming, even as much of the world community failed to show its will to deal with the impending threat at a recent global conference.
Despite intense calls for new and radical actions, last week delegates at the UN-sponsored meeting in Kenya agreed on many outstanding issues, but not on further cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
Environmental groups widely described the outcome as a failure, but not all were expressing despair. Though equally unhappy with the results, some believe that meaningful global action on climate change is not a distant possibility.
(21 Nov 2006)
