Climate change is the most important long term problem facing this country and the world. Without presidential leadership, there is no chance for meaningful action on such a pressing issue.
California draws visitors year round. But it’s a big state with many climates so some areas are best in certain seasons. Off-season is also less crowded.
We are never going to get to a majority in the Senate on climate legislation until the farming and faith-based communities have a more serious and urgent conversation about climate with their elected officials.
So it is interesting to see these two reports come out on the same day.
This research paper is intended to identify issues relating to climate change that the Forest Service should consider as it revises its forest management plans in the Sierra Nevada. Climate change puts at risk the ability of ecosystems to continue to provide the values we expect from wildlands.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007) reports a likely 2°C to 4.5°C temperature rise in the upcoming decades. This warming is likely to affect ecosystems and their ability to provide services that benefit human well-being.
The country has much to gain by being smarter with the energy we already produce. The suite of technologies and practices commonly referred to as "energy efficiency" is defined as the products, systems, building practices and materials, and other technologies that result in delivery of the same energy services using less energy than their conventional counterparts. Energy efficiency would save Americans money and would result in reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Efficiency is also critical to protecting wild lands.
The planning, siting, and managing of electric transmission lines in the United States must be reformed as part of a comprehensive effort to transition to a clean energy economy. Because the focal point of a national clean energy strategy must be an economy-wide limit on global warming pollutants that results in rapid and dramatic emissions reductions, a strong renewable electricity standard must be put in place to promote deployment of renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency measures.
President Obama has stressed the urgency of cap and trade program implementation to help stabilize our climate. Unfortunately, the cost of inaction is growing daily.
Global warming is draining our economy, and the damage of global warming is growing more deadly.
Legislation is needed immediately to benefit our economy and our future.
Many areas in Alaska are already showing signs of climate change. In order to understand what these changes may be like, data from a composite of five down-scaled global circulation models was used to estimate decadal averages of future temperature and precipitation values within Izembek National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). These models assume a steady increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel combustion over the first several decades of the 21st century, followed by a gradual decline in emissions as several kinds of low-emission energy alternatives become more prevalent.
Following on the heels of December's failure to achieve a binding international agreement on climate and January's surprise election of a Republican Senator in Massachusetts running against the administration's healthcare reform plan, it is time to look again at the public strength of support for pending energy and climate legislation. Public polling suggests that the public's support for action is deep and resilient in favor of capping global warming pollution, increasing energy independence, and relying more on clean renewable sources of energy.
