Jul 31 2009

Climate Changes

Posted by: Jonathan Marshall

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

At the request of the National Academy of Sciences, the Obama administration released thousands of intelligence photos of Arctic ice that had been classified by the Bush administration. They show the rapid decline in sea ice off the northern coast of Alaska and the shrinkage of glaciers in Alaska and Washington. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the world's ocean surface temperatures rose to record levels in June.

Droughts aggravated by global warming are drying rivers in Mesopotamia, the "cradle of civilization," shrinking ancient marshes and forcing peasants in Iraq and Syria to abandon their farms. Climate experts say the encroachment of desert may be permanent.

Global warming may explain a 24 percent decline in the number of large trees found in Yosemite National Park over the past half century, according to scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey and University of Washington. "Warmer conditions increase the length of the summer dry season and decrease the snowpack that provides much of the water for the growing season," said one researcher. "A longer summer dry season can also reduce tree growth and vigor, and can reduce trees' ability to resist insects and pathogens."

Curbing carbon emissions will become an ever greater challenge as the number of cars on the world's roads doubles to two billion over the next decade, according to Dan Sperling, a professor at the University of California, Davis, and member of the California Air Resources Board. One driver of this trend is the development of ultra-cheap car models like the $2,000 Tata Nano. Sperling favors higher gasoline prices and government support for electric and hybrid vehicles to minimize the environmental impact of bigger vehicle fleets.

Despite (or because of) their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, Americans care less about government action to address climate change than people from 18 other nations, according to a new global survey conducted by the University of Maryland. Only Iraqis and Palestinians registered anywhere near the same lack of concern. In a separate Pew poll earlier this month, fewer than half of Americans (49%) said they believe the planet is warming because of human activity.

Californians remain more committed to action against climate change than the average American, but their support is slipping as the recession deepens, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Although 66 percent of state residents support AB32, the 2006 law that requires greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020, support has slipped 12 points since 2007. The partisan divide is strong: 76% of Democrats say warming is already happening, versus just 36% of Republicans. Almost as many Republicans (34%) say global warming will never happen. However, very strong majorities of state residents favor making automakers improve fuel efficiency and increasing federal funding for renewable energy technology.

San Francisco announced a coup this week: its Hunters Point Shipyard, a polluted Superfund site, will become home to the future United Nations Global Compact Center, a think tank, conference center and incubator for environmental start-ups. The 80,000-square-foot facility will cost $20 million, still to be raised from government, corporate and foundation donors. 

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