Climate Digest- January 19, 2011

Rising home insurance rates point to climate change

(January 17, 2012)

LA Times via NPR/ The Hill

Insurance executives at major firms are planning to raise home insurance rates as much as 10% “in response to the record number of tornadoes, floods, fires, blizzards and other heavy weather that hit the country in 2011.”

In Washington, the Interior is preparing for the worst (The Hill), establishing a “Strategic Sciences Group” to bolster the department’s ability to respond to environmental crises and natural disasters.

The Year That Winter Forgot: Is It Climate Change?

(January 9, 2012)

Time

All across the United States, and many other parts of the planet, December and the first part of January has been strangely mild.  This article examines the recent warmth in relation to current climate trends and the larger-perspective picture that is climate change.

A short new video also offers a very simple explanation of the relationship between climate and weather:

Next ice age not likely before 1,500 years: study

(January 9, 2012)

Reuters

Although the causes of ice ages are not fully understood, analysis suggests that the end of the current interglacial period would likely end within the next 1500 years under different atmospheric concentrations of CO2.  The current levels of 390 parts per million by volume, however, would prevent an increase in the volume of ice sheets.

No Maple Syrup by 2100?

(January 5, 2012)

Mother Jones/ The Whig Standard

This article and accompanying video follows one woman’s quest to understand the decline of the sugar maple and its sap quality in NH in recent years.  The trees face a multitude of climate associated risks that have led some to speculate that they will not last through the century.

Sugar maples farther north, in Canada, are also facing similar threats, with invasive pests, a climate that is becoming less conducive to their growth, and landscapes to the north not suitable for harboring northward-moving trees.

Report Challenges Ambitious Plan for U.S. Climate Research

(January 5, 2012)

Science

The National Research Council has released a report that commends the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) for broadening its scope beyond basic climate research, but points out one major issue with the plan–  the group lacks the capacity, funding, expertise and structure to support and manage such ambitions.

Reports:

U.S. Better Off “Thinking Big” about Energy Efficiency Instead of Focusing First on Development of New Energy Sources

(January 12, 2012)

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)

“America is thinking too small when it comes to energy efficiency, while also making the mistake of “crowding out” economically beneficial investments in energy efficiency by focusing on riskier and more expensive bids to develop new energy sources”

Climate Digest- January 5, 2012

Articles:

BLM Seeks Comments on Development of Regulations for Competitive Leasing of Solar and Wind Energy on Public Lands

(January 5, 2012)

BLM News Release

The BLM has announced an “advance notice of proposed rulemaking… to express interest in establishing an efficient, competitive process for issuing right-of-way (ROW) leases for solar and wind energy development on the public lands.”  “The notice of proposed rulemaking comes as BLM pursues a zone-based approach to solar development that aims to speed permitting in areas that minimize environmental harm” (E&E News LandLetter).

Sierra snow survey finds hardly any

(January 4, 2012)

San Francisco Chronicle

The first Sierra snow surveys in California have found very little to measure so far this year, with just 19% of the average water content in snow measured across the entire range.  Almost two-thirds of the water used to irrigate millions of acres of farmland and quench the thirst of California’s 38.8 million people is contained in the Sierra snowpack.  Because of the unusually large amount of storms last year and a lot of carry-over storage, the state’s reservoirs are still brimming, but are depending on the typically wet months of January and February to make up for the early-season dryness.

Climate Change Models May Vastly Underestimate Extinctions

(January 3, 2012)

Science Daily

“Predictions of the loss of animal and plant diversity around the world are common under models of future climate change. But a new study shows that because these climate models don’t account for species competition and movement, they could grossly underestimate future extinctions.”  The study can be read in full here.

Storehouses for Solar Energy Can Step In When the Sun Goes Down

(January 2, 2012)

New York Times

Two California companies are planning to build plants that would store solar energy for use when the sun is not shining.  The solar thermal technology relies on trapping solar heat in salts, for later use, on the premise that falling solar panel prices will lead to wider adoption, pushing the peak demands on the grid and highest energy prices to later in the day when direct solar production would be minimal.

Investors not shying away from solar power

(December 21, 2011)

San Francisco Chronicle

The recent plunge in solar-cell prices has been a boon for developers of solar power plants, despite last year’s high profile Solyndra bankruptcy.

Reports and Studies:

Forest Clearing in the Pantropics: December 2005–August 2011

(December 28, 2011)

Center for Global Development: Forest Monitoring for Action

The Forest Monitoring for Action (FORMA) initiative uses satellite imagery to estimate monthly deforestation rates in 27 countries.  This report summarizes recent trends in large-scale tropical forest clearing since from December 2005 to August 2011.  While the overall trend seems hopeful, divergent experiences between countries have produced diverse trends, with significantly reduced deforestation rates in some countries and significantly increased rates in others.

Fuel reduction likely to increase carbon emissions

(December 20, 2011)

Oregon State University

A new study finds that forest thinning to help prevent or reduce severe wildfire will release more carbon to the atmosphere than any amount saved by successful fire prevention.  While thinning may provide some benefits such as restoration of forest structure or health, wildlife enhancement or public safety, the scientists say that increased carbon sequestration is not one of them.

Climate Digest- December 22, 2011

Finding tomorrow’s agriculture, today

(December 8, 2011)

CGIAR Climate Change: Agriculture and Food Security

In an effort to make climate change adaptation more tangible, this new report encourages the exchange of knowledge between communities around the world regarding current agriculture practices that can help farmers maintain productivity in the future, despite potentially dramatic shifts in growing conditions.  “With climate change posing a threat to food production around the world, scientists are developing a form of virtual time travel that can offer farmers in many countries a glimpse of their future by identifying regions where growing conditions today match those that will exist 20 years from now.”

Climate Talks in Durban Yield Limited Agreement

(December 11, 2011)

New York Times

The Durban Climate Talks ended with a promise to work toward a new global treaty in coming years and the establishment of a new climate fund.  The future treaty deal renews the Kyoto Protocol while beginning a process for a new treaty that will treat all nations equally.  The established Green Climate Fund is a new reserve to help poor countries adapt to climate change and for “measures  involving the preservation of tropical forests and the development of clean-energy technology”, though the precise source of the money has not yet been determined.

According to AFP (December 14, 2011), in the end, there was little headway in Durban on deforestation, “opening the way to a future carbon market and stressing the need for rules to guarantee emission curbs and protect indigenous communities and biodiversity.”  The future challenges of a new global treaty will pose a plethora of challenges for the EU and Climate Chief Hedegaard, who “has a next-to-impossible task ahead of striving to shame the world’s biggest polluters into real action and tackling the EU’s own environmental shortcomings” (Reuters, December 15, 2011).

Canada Announces Exit From Kyoto Climate Treaty

(December 12, 2011)

New York Times

In a long-expected decision by Canada’s Conservative party government, the nation announced that it would withdraw from the 1997 treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Canada had until the end of the year to announced it’s intent to withdraw from the treaty, or face huge penalties for failing to meet the treaty’s emission reduction targets.

Scrubbing Carbon Dioxide from Air May Prove Too Costly

(December 13, 2011)

Scientific American

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that the seemingly ideal answer of simply vacuuming up greenhouse gases from the air is far-fetched and tremendously expensive.  Such processes would cost far more than measures to prevent the air from getting dirty in the first place, and using traditional sources such as coal or natural gas, would produce as much or more emissions from the energy needed to run them than they cleaned up.

New UN iPhone Application Highlights Role of Ecosystems in Tackling Climate Change

(December 13, 2011)

United Nations Environment Programme

A new iPhone application allows users to calculate their personal carbon footprint for journeys taken by air, train, or road, and then shows them the equivalent area of a particular ecosystem (such as a tropical forest) that can store this amount of carbon dioxide.  The application also provides in-depth information on critical ecosystems and key climate initiatives.  It is available for download at the Apple Store.

Changing Climate Will Make Massive Shifts in Earth’s Vegetation

(December 16, 2011)

Scientific American

According to researchers at at NASA and the California Institute of Technology, “climate change will alter the mix of vegetation on 49 percent of Earth’s land surface by the end of this century, scrambling and shifting existing ecosystems.”   37% of ecosystem types are projected to change to a different type, with the largest changes in the far Northern hemisphere.  The study, published in Climatic Change, is based on computer modeling of middle-of-the-road emission projections developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Climate Digest- December 8, 2011

U.S. Climate Envoy Seems to Shift Position on Timetable for New International Talks

(December 8, 2011)

New York Times

The chief American negotiator at the Durban Climate Talks has firmly denied that the US is dragging its feet in an effort to put off climate change action.  He was put on the defensive by a narrative developing at the conference that the US is opposed to any further action to address global climate disruption until after 2020, when the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, a primary United Nations climate agreement, and voluntary programs negotiated more recently have run their course.  He then seemed to endorse, but remained non-committal, to a European Union “roadmap” for future discussions leading to a formal climate change treaty to be completed by 2015 and to take effect in 2020.

Seeing REDD: Forest Program May Be Only Success of Climate Talks

(December 7, 2011)

Voice of America

With deadlock on major initiatives at the Durban, South Africa Climate Conference, one of the few potential successes could be with progress on the REDD+ Forestry Program (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation).  REDD provides financial value for carbon stored in trees, allowing developed countries to invest in standing forests in developing countries to offset their own carbon emissions.  The program has been protested at the conference by indigenous groups, representing those people that live in and use the forest resources.

New estimate boosts permafrost contribution to climate change

(December 1, 2011)

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

“An international group of researchers believes greenhouse gases from thawing permafrost will be released at a much faster rate- 1.7 to 5.2 larger than previously estimated, which could have significant implications for climate change projections.”

New plant reflects optimism on biofuel:  Enzyme producer thrives as political support falls

(November 21, 2011)

Delaware Online/ Associated Press

“The leading maker of the enzymes used to produce biofuels says the declining political support for ethanol subsidies hasn’t diminished the long-term prospects for the industry making fuel from plants.”

A Quiet Push to Grow Crops Under Cover of Trees

(November 17, 2011)

New York Times

The Department of Agriculture began an initiative this year to encourage agroforestry, the science of incorporating trees into traditional agriculture. Depending on the species, trees make all sorts of contributions to agriculture, experts say, in a science that goes back many centuries around the world.  “A major hurdle to widespread adoption of agroforestry, though, might be conventional thinking about trees,” with farmers traditionally expending significant energy to remove trees in order to establish agriculture.

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Adds 16,000 Jobs and $1.6 Billion in Value to Northeast Economies, Study Finds

(November 15, 2011)

Climate Progress

“A new report finds that America’s first mandatory, market-based carbon cap and trade system added $1.6 billion in value to the economies of participating states, set the stage for $1.1 billion in ratepayer savings, and created 16,000 jobs in its first three years of implementation.”

Studies:

Cellulosic ethanol won’t reach first-generation price until 2020

(November 21, 2011)

E&E Publishing via Governors’ Biofuels Coalition

“Even with subsidies, ethanol made from crop waste or wood chips won’t be competitive with fuel made from corn until 2020 at the earliest, which is at the tail end of the most optimistic industry predictions, a new study said this week”:

“So-called second-generation ethanol faces significant extra costs due to the need for pre-treatment of the sturdy, cellulose-rich raw materials, as well as the more complex enzymes employed, says the study by the Department of Wood Science at the University of British Columbia.”Production requires significant cost reductions and at least the same level of financial support that was given to the first-generation systems if second-generation ethanol is going to be fully competitive by 2020,” said the study’s lead author, Jamie Stephen.Cellulosic ethanol’s potential appears to be enormous. With over 1.3 billion tons of biomass available for ethanol production, the United States could in theory replace all gasoline made from imported oil with ethanol.”

Observed increase in local cooling effect of deforestation at higher latitudes

(November 17, 2011)

Nature

While planting trees has been widely touted as a strategy for controlling climate change, this research provides concrete evidence that in some locations, trees do not prevent warming, and in fact, deforestation leads to cooling temperatures.  This “albedo effect” only happens at northern latitudes, and occurs through altered biophysical processes in response to ground cover and air movement changes from deforestation on a local level.

Climate Digest- November 10, 2011

Adaptation Clearinghouse- Georgetown Climate Center

The Georgetown Climate Center has released this comprehensive website, along with a sea-level rise toolkit, to help US states and localities identify information about state and local policies that can be passed or updated to target climate change impacts specifically.  The website identifies a variety of tools based on sector or policy area, and provides an interactive map to help users locate adaptation resources by location.

Climate change causing movement of tree species across the West

(November 3, 2011)

Oregon State University

The forests of the west are rapidly changing, with a huge migration of species due to a warming climate, insect outbreaks, disease, and fire, a new study finds.  Many species that have been able to survive and thrive in regions for centuries will die out, with new species and landscapes taking over.  The study also finds that these changes are already happening rapidly and on a large scale in some places.

Biggest jump ever seen in global warming gases

(November 3, 2011)

Associated Press

The 2010 global output of CO2 jumped by the largest amount on record, exceeding levels established for the worst-case scenario outlined by climate experts 4 years ago, and exemplifying “how feeble the world’s efforts are at slowing man-made global warming.”  More than half of the increase comes from extra pollution from the US and China.

In Iowa, some farmers see changing climate

(November 2, 2011)

Harvest Public Media

“Nearly two-thirds of Iowa farmers believe climate change is real and more than 60 percent say farmers should take additional steps to protect their land from increased rainfall. This data come from this year’s Iowa State University Extension Farm and Rural Life poll, which for the first time the survey included questions about attitudes toward climate change.”

Study: Biomass tax credit led to $12M in economic activity

(November 1, 2011)

Sustainable Business Oregon

A new study shows that Oregon’s 2007 Biomass Producer or Collector Credit “helped wood fuel prices stay competitive, support jobs and create economic activity, perhaps as much as $12 million,” based on the $5.5 million awarded in 2010.

New Poll: 9 out of 10 Americans Support Solar, Across Political Spectrum

(November 1, 2011)

Solar Energy Industries Association

A new survey finds continued widespread public support for the development of solar energy and federal incentives for solar, across the political spectrum:

“For the fourth consecutive year, the survey found that about nine out of 10 Americans (89 percent) think it is important for the United States to develop and use solar energy. Support for solar is strong across the political spectrum with 80 percent of Republicans, 90 percent of Independents and 94 percent of Democrats agreeing that it is important for the United States to develop and use solar.“

Eastern U.S. Forests Not Keeping Pace With Climate Change, Large Study Finds

(October 31, 2011)

Science Daily

“More than half of Eastern U.S. tree species are not adapting to climate change as quickly or consistently as predicted, posing risks for their survival”, according to a new Duke University-led study.  Previous models have predicted that species would move upward in latitude or elevation to cope with warming temperatures, but the analysis, based on data on 92 species in more than 43,000 forest plots in 31 states, finds essentially no evidence that this migration is actually happening in the Eastern US.

Wyoming CO2 storage project may get put on hold

(October 28, 2011)

Casper Star-Tribune

“Work on a much-touted experimental underground carbon dioxide storage facility could come to a halt, partly because the CO2 needed to test the project is in such high demand by Wyoming oil producers that it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Bananas grown with coffee to combat climate change

(October 27, 2011)

AFP

In Africa’s most densely-populated Great Lakes Region, some farmers have begun a practice known as “inter-cropping” to deal with the effects of warmer temperatures on cash crops.

Reports:

People Restoring America’s Forests:  A Report on the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program

(November, 2011)

A bipartisan federal program that seeks specifically to create job stability, achieve a reliable wood supply, restore forest health, and reduce the costs of fire suppression in overgrown forests has released its first annual report.

The 10 projects funded in 9 states in the first year have cumulatively:
•     Created and maintained 1,550 jobs
•     Produced 107 million board feet of timber
•     Generated nearly $59 million of labor income
•     Removed fuel for destructive mega-fires on 90,000 acres near communities
•     Reduced mega-fire on an additional 64,000 acres
•     Improved 66,000 acres of wildlife habitat
•     Restored 28 miles of fish habitat
•     Enhanced clean water supplies by remediating 163 miles of eroding roads

Download the report: CFLRP Annual Report Nov2011 (pdf 4.8mb)

Climate Digest- October 31, 2011

Green groups give EPA more time on CO2 rule

(October 30, 2011)

Reuters

After delays and political pressures, the EPA is being given “more time to forge the first-ever plan to regulate carbon dioxide from power plants, the country’s single biggest source of greenhouse gases.”  Several green groups and states have sued the EPA to issue the carbon rules, but are now negotiating on the deadline for the plan.

Farming for Energy Starts to Gain Ground

(October 26, 2011)

New York Times

The world’s largest commercial farm project producing microalgae for biofuel is planned for central Malaysia next year.  The algae will feed on carbon dioxide from nearby industrial facilities and use the waste water of nearby mills as fertilizer.  To date, most projects that are investigating deriving biofuels for microalgae are small, pilot, or demonstration projects.

National group joins whitebark pine battle

(October 19, 2011)

Jackson Hole News and Guide

National Conservation Group American Forests is embarking on a 5- year plan to plant up to 77,000 periled Whitebark Pines in ID, CO, and WY that could cost as much as $10 million.  Whitebark pine trees play an important role in Rocky Mountain ecosystems by securing soil and providing shelter at treeline, slowing snow runoff, increasing biodiversity, and providing food for a number of species such as the Clark’s nutcracker and Grizzly Bears.  Currently, the trees are in sharp decline from blister rust disease, pine beetle attacks, and a warming climate.

Better Road Building Paves Way for Energy Savings

(October 17, 2011)

National Geographic

While roads of all kind take energy to build, there is a branch of environmental science that is looking at road construction and the energy requirements of creating and using different types of paving materials.  Paving components, application methods, and surface textures all play into the amount of energy that a road takes to create and maintain, and over the lifetime of roads, small changes can potentially have large energy saving impacts.

Reports:

Can forest management be used to sustain water-based ecosystem service in the face of climate change?

Ecological Applications

This study by Forest Service Scientists in North Carolina examines how forest management would affect stream flows under both extremely wet and extremely dry conditions predicted to occur as a result of climate change.  Examined forest management prescriptions included clearcutting, converting one forest type to another, and no management.  Results show that in all cases, changing land use alters streamflow, but “managing forests to offset the effects of climate change on streamflow is not a viable solution to protect water supplies from drought or flooding as temperatures rise.”

Carbon Dioxide Emissions Associated with Bioenergy and Other Biogenic Sources

(September 2011)

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA has released a report outlining a framework to account for carbon dioxide emissions from plant-based industries.  The study seeks to “identify methodological implications, and it recommends a framework to implement such a policy- or program-specific decision in a scientifically and technically rigorous manner”, which in turn can help to determine whether biomass energy  industries are carbon neutral and should be regulated under Clean Air regulations.

Climate Digest- October 13, 2011

Big catches mask dwindling numbers of sea bass

(October 3, 2011)

Los Angeles Times

A study from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego blames overfishing and warmer temperatures for a 90% decrease in kelp bass and barred sand bass in Southern California.  The fish aggregate in the same half-dozen bustling offshore spawning grounds each year, allowing sporting boats to still keep their catches high by targeting the grounds.

With Deaths of Forests, a Loss of Key Climate Protectors

(October 1, 2011)

New York Times

Scientists have just recently determined that forests have been absorbing more than a quarter of the human-produced carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, enough to account for all of the planet’s vehicle emissions.  The climate change that they are helping to limit, however, is threatening them on very large scales, from climate change induced drought, fire, insect outbreaks, and stress.  Some of the forests that have recently died are not expected to grow back.  The article includes a video “The Forest for the Trees” about thinning forests in Arizona to combat large fires and climate change (accompanying Green blog, Chopping Down Trees to Save Forests) as well as a link to an interactive map of the planet’s changing forests (click on image below):

 

The Solyndra saga and its key players

(September 30, 2011)

The Washington Post

Solyndra, a solar manufacturer backed by more than a half billion dollars in federal loan guarantees, filed for bankruptcy and shut its doors in August, 2011, putting 1,100 workers out of a job and leaving federal taxpayers on the hook to repay the guarantees.

Grim predictions say 9 more years of Texas drought possible

(September 29, 2011)

Reuters

A Texas state Climatologist draws similarities between the current drought and past multiyear droughts like what was seen in the 1950s, based on long-term weather patterns and tree-ring patterns.

Reports:

Science Supporting the Economic and Environmental Benefits of Using Wood and Wood Products in Green Building Construction (pdf, 212 kb)

USDA Forest Service

This USDA report compiles peer-reviewed scientific studies to explain the environmental and economic benefits of using wood for new construction and recommend 3 initiatives to increase the use of wood in building materials.

Climate Digest- September 29, 2011

Amphibians, Other Species May Struggle wtih Climate-Induced Migration

(September 29, 2011)

Scientific American

New research that looks at 15 Pacific Northwest amphibian species concludes that as the climate shifts and species move to more favorable destinations, many species may not be able to make the transition.

Plants take in more CO2 than thought, study finds

(September 28, 2011)

Reuters

The new finding by an international team of researchers shows that plants are consuming carbon dioxide 25% faster than originally thought.  This finding may lead to more accurate climate change predictions, but the studies’ authors say it is to early to determine exactly how.

On global warming, Oregonians see ‘separate realities,’ survey finds

(September 26, 2011)

Portland Oregonian

Oregonians are living in “separate realities” of climate change views, an online survey finds. The survey had approx 2250 respondents, and though it wasnt scientific, confirms stereotypes with deep divides based on political ideology.

The Big Payback from Bringing Back Peat Bogs

(September 26, 2011)

Yale Environment 360

The wildfires in Russia last summer poured huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the air by burning the peat in drained bogs.  After burning fossil fuels and deforestation, drained and burned peat bogs are the 3rd largest source of CO2 emissions, releasing 2 billion tons into the atmosphere every year.   A new plan is underway to restore, by re-flooding, 35,000 hectares in Russia, with future targets in Indonesia- the world’s biggest emitter of CO2 from dried out peat bogs.

Main salmon killer still elusive, inquiry told

(September 21, 2011)

Burnaby NewsLeader

A new report finds no conclusive culprit for why millions of Fraser River Sockeye Salmon have died off in recent years.  Climate change and ocean conditions are cited as 2 “likely” factors contributing to the long-term decline.  The report comes from the Cohen Commission, an organization appointed to study the decline of sockeye “after less than 1.5 million sockeye returned in 2009, far fewer than the more than 10 million expected.”

Analysis: Extreme steps needed to meet climate target

(September 20, 2011)

Reuters

New research finds that at present emissions levels, the sky will effectively be full of carbon in less than 20 years, necessitating removal from the air at a vast scale. The research will be published in the journal Climatic Change in November, and will form the basis of a report due out on 2013 and 2014 from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) providing scenarios and estimating what the world must do to have a likely chance of keeping long-term warming below 2 degrees Celsius.

From fire: BWCA forest of the future

(September 20, 2011)

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Climate change is transforming Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area, as a new kind of forest emerges from the latest Pagami Creek Fire.  A less dense landscape that includes a mix of grassland, maples, and oaks, and potentially more invasive species, will likely result as the area adjusts to a warmer climate.

EPA Delays Greenhouse Gas Regulations, Raising Concerns Over Climate Change And Public Health

(September 16, 2011)

Huffington Post

The EPA has announced that it will miss a September 30 deadline for issuing new rules on greenhouse gas emissions.  The agency also missed a July deadline,  creating concern for public health from further delays in air quality regulations.  Industry figures continue to say that the upcoming regulations will be economically damaging, while other researchers find that infrastructure investment will provide long-term economic benefits and create jobs.

Reports:

Methodology for Sustainable Grassland Management (SGM)

Verified Carbon Standards

A new methodology has been formulated, and is being proposed to “estimate greenhouse gas emission reductions and carbon sequestration in grasslands, by applying sustainable grassland management practices (SGM). ” If accepted, it will be the first framework of its kind for grasslands. Download the methodology: FAO-SGM-Methodology (pdf. 1.3mb)

Technology Roadmap Carbon Capture and Storage in Industrial Applications (pdf 2.2mb)

International Energy Agency and United Nations Industrial Development Organization

The analysis finds that equipment installed on factories outside of the energy sector could reduce CO2 levels by 1/10th of the amount needed to halve global emissions from the energy sector by 2050.  Capture from industrial plants tends to be cheaper than from fossil-fuel fired power plants generating electricity, although capture from industrial plants has so far received little attention in government spending and research.  The analysis lays out key finding and key actions that will be necessary over the next 10 years.

PiPe dreams? Jobs Gained, Jobs Lost by the ConstruCtion of Keystone XL

Cornell University Press Release

(September 28, 2011)

“Energy industry claims of jobs created by the TransCanada Corporation Keystone XL Pipeline are inflated at best and misleading at the worst, according to a new report by Cornell University’s ILR Global Labor Institute. The… report, “Pipe Dreams? Jobs Gained, Jobs Lost by the Construction of Keystone XL,” notes that the project may actually kill more jobs than it creates.”

Download the report: GLI_KeystoneXL_Reportpdf (pdf, 1.2mb)

Climate Digest- September 16, 2011

Articles:

Switching from coal to natural gas would do little for global climate, study indicates

University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

September 8, 2011

“Although the burning of natural gas emits far less carbon dioxide than coal, a new study concludes that a greater reliance on natural gas would fail to significantly slow down climate change.”  Methane leakage from natural gas, along with the release of other particles from burning coal that actually cool the planet (although they are environmentally detrimental), play into the complex ways that fossil fuel burning affects the planet.

King crabs on Antarctic march

Australian Broadcasting Corp

September 7, 2011

For about the last 14 million years, waters off of the Antarctic Peninsula have been too cold to support king crab life.  Recently, the water there has been warming very rapidly, and is now home to a large population of king crabs.  The crabs are voracious predators, while the native fauna for Antarctica have evolved without predators for millions of years.  Initial studies show changes in the natural ecosystem where the crabs have newly arrived, including less biodiversity and changing geochemistry of the ocean-floor sediment.

Scientists explore locking CO2 in rocks

Associated Press/ Delaware Online

September 3, 2011

Later this month, a new experiment that involves “locking away carbon dioxide forever” with seltzer water in a deep hole will begin in Iceland.  In theory, the calcium in the highly reactive basalt rock beneath 90% of Iceland will react with CO2 and create limestone permanently.  The researchers, however, warn that the experiment may fall short of expectations, and advise against “looking for a climate fix from the project any year soon.”

Studies and Reports:

REDDy-Set-Grow Part II:  Recommendations for international climate change negotiators

UNEP Finance Initiative

September 13, 2011

“In this report, the financial sector voices recommendations to international climate change negotiators on how an effective regime for forest-based climate change mitigation should be designed to mobilise private finance engagement and investment.”  The report warns against the huge financial and environmental losses that could stem from a post-Kyoto climate change deal that fails to spur private sector investment into deforestation and forest degradation reduction efforts.

The human dimension of fire regimes on Earth (pdf, 1mb)

Journal of Biogeography, 2011

This article provides a historical framework to promote understanding of the development and diversification of fire regimes in order to help managers assess the role of fire in communities.  It examines how humans have caused a departure from ‘natural’ background levels that vary with climate change.

CDP Global 500 Report 2011- Accelerating Low Carbon Growth (pdf, 6.4mb)

Carbon Disclosure Project

According to the executive summary of the CDP’s annual request to the Global 500 companies, asking them to measure and report what climate change means to their business, “Low carbon growth is now widely accepted as fundamental to generating long term shareholder value, avoiding dangerous climate change and helping the global economy recover from recent turmoil.”

Increased forest ecosystem carbon and nitrogen storage from nitrogen rich bedrock

Nature

August 31, 2011

This study finds that the Nitrogen content of the bedrock beneath forests affects the amount of carbon storage of the forest’s mass.  “Forests associated with N-rich parent material contain on average 42% more carbon in above-ground tree biomass and 60% more carbon in the upper 30 cm of the soil than similar sites underlain by N-poor rocks”

Climate Digest- September 2, 2011

EPA Accepts First GHG Reporting Data/Agency launches electronic GHG reporting tool

August 22, 2011

US Environmental Protection Agency

By September 30, 2011, the top emitters in the country- those responsible for 70% of emissions across 28 industrial sectors- will be required to submit their greenhouse gas data through the EPA’s online Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.  Industries and businesses will be able to use the data to help find new ways to decrease carbon pollution, increase efficiency, and save money.

Number of Green Jobs Fails to Live Up to Promises

August 18, 2011

New York Times

In the bay area, as well as the rest of the country, the green-job economy is not proving to be the job-creation engine that many politicians envisioned.  Projections for job creation in the sector have consistently fallen short, frustrating proponents of the green economy.

Studies:

New Study Shows Deforestation Much Higher in Protected Areas Than Forests Run by Locals

Center for International Forestry Research

An article published in Forest Ecology and Management finds that tropical forests designated as strictly protected areas have annual deforestation rates much higher than those managed by local communities, challenging the idea that locking forests away is the best way to conserve them.  “With billions of dollars being channeled into Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) – a climate change mechanism that pays developing countries to protect the world’s forests – the paper suggests that community-managed forests could be a more cost-efficient and effective solution to reducing deforestation and ensuring the sustainable use of forests while benefiting local livelihoods.” Download the paper from here.

Evidence for the effect of homes on wildfire suppression costs (pdf 1.6mb)

Headwaters Economics

Hotter weather and increased building in the Sierra Nevada region along the California-Nevada border are strongly associated with more intense fires and dramatically higher costs to fight the fires.