May 22 2009

Climate Changes

Posted by: Jonathan Marshall

Several news stories on the science and politics of global warming caught our attention this week:

• The House Energy and Commerce Committee last night approved a landmark energy bill that would set the first national limit on greenhouse gas emissions. It targets a 17 reduction in emissions by 2020 and an 83 percent reduction by 2050. "I don't think it's too much of an exaggeration to say that this is a turning point in the history of the United States and [its] energy sources," said Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), one of the bill's chief sponsors. 
• Over in the Senate, Republican staffers for the Committee on Environment and Public Works proposed accusing Democrats of supporting various businesses in "corporate America" who are are "guilty of manipulating national climate policy to increase profits on the backs of consumers." Said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who chairs the committee, "I find it extremely amusing that suddenly the Democrats are being attacked as being too friendly to business creation." 
• In addition to congrssional Republicans, a major source of opposition to climate change legislation is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. A new study of the Chamber's board of directors shows surprisingly that 19 of the businesses represented there favor such legislation and only four oppose it. Three of the four are coal-mining companies. "The staff seem to be freelancing on the agenda of just a few of their members," said the study's author, Peter Altman of the the Natural Resources Defense Council.
• A recent national public opinion poll shows majority support among American adults for regulation of greenhouse gases, but only a slight majority in favor of a cap-and-trade policy. Nine out of ten of those polled favor more federal research on renewable energy, but two-thirds oppose higher gasoline taxes.
• An ambitious vehicle fuel economy plan announced by President Obama would raise average fuel economy to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016, saving an estimated 1.8 billion barrels of oil. "Few actions could have a more profound impact in the fight against global warming," said Bill Becker, leader of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies. However, some experts predicted that the new standards would have a limited impact without higher gasoline taxes.
• Meanwhile, "The most comprehensive modeling yet carried out on the likelihood of how much hotter the Earth's climate will get in this century shows that without rapid and massive action, the problem will be about twice as severe as previously estimated six years ago - and could be even worse than that," according to the news office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where the giant computer simulation was conducted. The new median estimate of warming by 2100--5 degrees Celsius--would cause havoc to ecosystems and food supplies, massive coastal flooding, and many other severe consequences.

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