Posts filed under 'Global warming'
September 22nd, 2009
These graphs from the AP story summarize it pretty well:
Today’s U.N. summit and the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh later this week seek to put added pressure on rich nations to commit to greenhouse gas cuts and to pay for poorer nations to burn less coal and preserve their forests.
(President Barack) Obama sought repeatedly to hold everyone accountable. He said developed nations such as the United States have a “responsibility to lead” but rapidly-growing nations must do their part.
If you have time for two more:
Obama sought to show U.S. resolve ahead of crucial talks in Copenhagen in December, when nations will try to reach a new global treaty to address climate change. …
“It is true that for too many years, mankind has been slow to respond to or even recognize the magnitude of the climate threat. It is true of my own country as well,” Obama said. “We recognize that.”
August 27th, 2009
The Illinois Food Farms & Jobs Bill was passed on August 18, 2009.
This law creates the Illinois Local Food, Farms and Jobs Council, which will work with state agencies, Illinois businesses, organizations, and citizens to build a fully functioning local farm and food system in Illinois. It will open new avenues of entrepreneurship, and we are grateful for the opportunities. This legislation will begin a long overdue transformation of our communities. There are plenty of business opportunities to go around.
Believe it or not, an estimated $46 billion of our money flows out of our state for food each year. Even if the number is off a bit, that’s no small potatoes. Currently, Illinois produces approximately 4% of the food we consume. The goal is to increase that to 10% by 2020 and 20% by 2030. The greatest natural resource in Illinois is our soil. It’s among the best in the world, and is absolutely irreplaceable.
People are needed to grow specialty crops, and workers will be needed to harvest and process the products. Engineers are needed to design and build equipment for those specialty crops. There will be an endless need for modern, reasonably priced, small scale equipment, and people to weld, paint, repair, and sell it.
Distribution hubs are also desperately needed. These will have to be built, furnished, and staffed. Other needs include farm co-ops that meet the needs of diversified growers; specialty crop advisors; and Illinois-specific seed and plant production, plus plant breeding work.
Value-added product development for the local food industry will offer quite a bit of work, including labeling, packaging, publicizing, and marketing these products. Suppliers of soil amendments will find an up tick in work. This could even be the start of diverting some of the organic material that ends up in our landfills, back to farms.
Financial advisors specializing in the local foods industry will be needed. And don’t forget all those farmers who will need to add infrastructure like buildings, storage, and equipment to their farms in order to diversify their cropping systems.
Different industries are specifically mentioned in the legislation, including agri-tourisim, which is already popular in some parts of America and abroad. People want to visit farms to connect with the source of their food. One area farmer, David Cleverdon of Kinnickinnick Farm, is already trying to do this.
The cosmetic/healthcare industry is on the list, along with dairy products and eggs. The fiber industry could see innovations in sustainable fabrics, dye, design, and production. Fish and forestry products include Christmas trees, wood, syrup, mushrooms, and nuts. Fifteen different grains are listed, plus herbs, honey, meat, ornamental plants, recreation, and renewable energy. How about some beer made with local grain?
To read the legislation, visit www.foodfarmsjobs.org. I think this may be the road back to the land of milk and honey, bread and roses.
July 12th, 2009
It’s apparently so difficult?
May 26th, 2009
As we look ahead to reduced carbon emissions and better gas mileage in our vehicles in the next decade thanks to the Obama deal last week, AP has released an interactive graphic showing vehicle carbon emissions.
Winnebago County is one of the darker, or heavier, counties on the map with almost 400,000 metric tons in 2002 — 40 percent of the county’s total carbon emissions. But not nearly as bad as most large metro areas.
May 19th, 2009
The Obama administration is expected to announce today the nation’s first emission limits and a higher requirement for an average miles per gallon — 35.5, up from 25.
Consumers should expect to pay an extra $1,300 per vehicle by the time the plan is complete in 2016. …
Obama’s plan couples for the first time pollution reduction from vehicle tailpipes with increased efficiency on the road. It would save 1.8 billion barrels of oil through 2016 and would be the environmental equivalent to taking 177 million cars off the road, senior administration officials said Monday night.
New vehicles would be 30 percent cleaner and more fuel-efficient by the end of the program.
April 20th, 2009
WREX-13 meteorologist Eric Sorensen has told me before that the issue of global warming has been a debate in the weather forecasters’ community.
Last weekend, Eric attended a national forum on the subject in Chicago. He wrote on his weather blog, but here’s a sample:
Consider this: Most people in our society are quite knowledgeable in the day to day Hollywood gossip but lack daily information on science. It’s not the fault of anyone. However local news, and more importantly local weather, is the #1 source of science information for everyone. It’s for this reason solely that we are starting the 13Climate Authority.
Many TV meteorologists squabble when it comes to whether they want to be the “station scientist.” For many this is a valid point. When there’s an earthquake why does CNN turn to meteorologists for insight? … They aren’t the experts on the subject. They use the information they know to broadcast it. The same holds true for us here at WREX. We’re not experts in climatology. That’s why we’re not doing the research! We are going to publish and air the research that scientists all across the globe come up with.
April 6th, 2009
Do you leave your computer running at night when you leave work?
A new report estimates that half of the United States’ 108 million office PCs are not shut down properly, wasting $2.8 billion a year in energy and emitting 20 million tons of carbon dioxide (as much as 4 million cars).
Another “thinker” of a stat: If the world shut down all PCs for one night, it would save enough energy to light New York’s Empire State Building for more than 30 years.
March 30th, 2009
I’m back in the real world after a week of vacation. Even though I had access to the Web and TV, I was pretty tuned out. So much so that I missed Earth Hour. The World Wildlife Fund encouraged people to turn off their lights for an hour Saturday night to draw attention to the problem of global warming.
In case you missed it, too, you can see a slideshow of darkened world landmarks.
Or you can read about whether this effort made a difference in this Time article, which notes that more than a third of Americans think that global warming fears are exaggerated.
What’s next?
1. Probably another Earth Hour.
2. You can “vote for the Earth” by filling out this form and sending it to politicians.
3. This December, world leaders are expected to work on an agreement to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
UPDATE: Did you participate? Did you take pictures? Share with me in the comments or at jpollock@rrstar.com.
February 25th, 2009
According to a new study, the Earth doesn’t have to warm up as significantly as previously thought to cause extreme weather events and threaten ecosystems.
The AP reports:
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated that the risk of increased severe weather would rise with a global average temperature increase of between 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit and 3.6 degrees above 1990 levels. The National Climatic Data Center currently reports that global temperatures have risen 0.22 degree since 1990.
Now, researchers report that “increases in drought, heat waves and floods are projected in many regions and would have adverse impacts, including increased water stress, wildfire frequency and flood risks starting at less than (1.8 degrees) of additional warming above 1990 levels.”
Side note: In looking for this story, I found on CNN.com the five places you should travel before “global warming messes them up.”
1. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
2. New Orleans, La.
3. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colo.
4. Alpine Glaciers, Switzerland
5. Amazon rain forest, Brazil
I’ve been to the Rockies, the Alps and the Big Easy. Not sure I’ll make it to the other two, though I’d pick Australia in a heartbeat over South America.
January 2nd, 2009
There were, as usual, a slew of polar bear plunges across the country Thursday to ring in the new year, like the Coney Island folks above.
Some are fund-raisers for the usual causes, but others raise awareness for global warming and the plight of polar bears.
Below is video if you’ve never seen the madness before.
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