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Tonight's editor: LokiMom
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A direct observation of climate change includes the extent of Arctic sea ice - it has shrunk by 2.7% since 1978 according to the IPCC: Source is here: http://www.ipcc.ch/... and it says:
Frequently Asked Question 4.1
Is the Amount of Snow and Ice on the Earth Decreasing?
Yes. Observations show a global-scale decline of snow and ice over many years, especially since 1980 and increasing during the past decade, despite growth in some places and little change in others (Figure 1). Most mountain glaciers are getting smaller. Snow cover is retreating earlier in the spring. Sea ice in the Arctic is shrinking in all seasons, most dramatically in summer. Reductions are reported in permafrost, seasonally frozen ground and river and lake ice. Important coastal regions of the ice sheets on Greenland and West Antarctica, and the glaciers of the Antarctic Peninsula, are thinning and contributing to sea level rise. The total contribution of glacier, ice cap and ice sheet melt to sea level rise is estimated as 1.2 ± 0.4 mm yr–1 for the period 1993 to 2003.
My Editor's Choice diary tonight is about snow and ice and it comes from Jill Richardson and is called: "Cancun Diaries: Why a "Radical" Call for Action Isn't Radical At All"
It is not listed in the tables below of eKos diaries, due to the lack of tag, that I can see, and I wanted to highlight the following paragraphs of Jill's in particular:
One or two years of strange rainfall patterns could be just that, and may not be an indication of a larger, catastrophic pattern. But Bolivians, especially the elderly, are reminded daily of their changing climate by the dwindling glaciers on the mountains around them. Perhaps not surprisingly, the snow-capped Andes are sacred in pre-Columbian Andean religions. The Aymara empire extended across Bolivia's highlands for several hundred years before they were conquered by the Inca, and then the Spanish shortly thereafter. Both Aymara and Quechua (Inca) traditions live on today, with many Bolivians speaking indigenous languages first and Spanish as a second language or not at all. In the last half-century, these ancient peoples have seen many of their glaciers shrink or even disappear.
Perhaps the starkest example is the glacier on Chacaltaya, a mountain near the capitol city of La Paz. Chacaltaya was once home to the world's highest (and Bolivia's only) ski resort, which was built in 1938. Between then and 2009, the glacier melted and entirely disappeared. As of 2009, the ski resort's operations became limited to a small area that sometimes receives snow. A travel Web site now boasts that, "it is still fun to visit this mountain whether or not you plan on skiing," suggesting that visitors go hiking and take in the beautiful views of La Paz and Lake Titicaca.
Of course, the loss of a ski resort is nothing compared to what else is at stake. Nor is Chacaltaya the only mountain with a glacier in jeopardy. The majority of Bolivia's population lives in the highlands, and they depend on the glaciers for drinking water, irrigation, and hydroelectric power. Climate scientist Lonnie Thompson has been studying Andean glaciers in Bolivia and Peru since the 1970s and during that time, he's witnessed the formation and disappearance of rivers and lakes as glaciers melt and water evaporates.
"It doesn't matter which tropical glacier you look at," he says, noting that 90 percent of the earth's tropical glaciers are found in Bolivia and Peru, "100 percent of them are retreating in today's world."
So, melting in Arctic sea ice, and a melting in tropical glaciers... and from yesterday to today we had about a foot of snow in Geneva, where, according to all kinds of long-timers here, 'It NEVER snows in Geneva - well, much anyway..."
Climate change is part of a larger pattern and shifts in weather that cause melting in some places and heavy snowfall in others that 'normally' don't get a lot of snow. A facebook friend of mine today put a comment on a 'Snow-pocalyse' photo of mine from the snows today that said:
I know you know, but I am obliged to say it until people stop with this confusion; "Climate change is not something that we can recognize in our experience of weather. It's the global shift of 1 or 2 degrees on average that wreaks havoc on our ecosystems."
This I feel is part of the issue: the lack of direct observability by ALL humans, not just the Andeans, or some Old Swiss Folk, or Inuit, or Maldives Islanders...it is happening and there is a lot of interesting research going on in this are....see the news section next.
At Climate Progress, news from the Royal Society:
Royal Society special issue details ‘hellish vision’ of 7°F (4°C) world — which we may face in the 2060s! it says:
"In such a 4°C world, the limits for human adaptation are likely to be exceeded in many parts of the world, while the limits for adaptation for natural systems would largely be exceeded throughout the world."
and the UK Guardian states:
A 4C rise in the planet’s temperature would see severe droughts across the world and millions of migrants seeking refuge as their food supplies collapse.
Climate-related deaths have doubled in 2010 compared to 2009 per a news article on Reuters that comes from Oxfam: reuters article is here: Climate Death News 2010 and here is teh Oxfam Report on Climate Deaths.
An excerpt from the report says:
21,000 people died due to weather-related disasters in the first nine months of 2010 – more than twice the number for the whole of 2009. This year is on course to experience more extreme-weather events than the ten-year average of 770. It is one of the hottest years ever recorded with Pakistan logging 53.7°C – the highest ever in Asia.
Report author Tim Gore of Oxfam said: "This year has seen massive suffering and loss due to extreme weather disasters. This is likely to get worse as climate change tightens its grip. The human impacts of climate change in 2010 send a powerful reminder why progress in Cancun is more urgent than ever."
If you want to kep up with what Oxfam is doing on Climate change reporting you can read their blog here: http://blogs.oxfam.org/...
Good News...well, news about 'adapting' to climate change is something I found on ELDIS - a website that offers policy, research, development and more info: http://www.eldis.org/... this news is about the work of Assessments of Impacts and Adaptations to Climate Change (AIACC):
Assessments of Impacts and Adaptations to Climate Change (AIACC) is a global initiative developed in collaboration with the UNEP/WMO Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to advance scientific understanding of climate change vulnerabilities and adaptation options in developing countries. The AIACC funds collaborative research, training and technical support, and aims to enhance the scientific capacity of developing countries to assess climate change vulnerabilities and adaptations, and generate and communicate information useful for adaptation planning and action.
Resources available on the AIACC website include an electronic library, publications and a working paper series, as well as regional study reports.
Website: http://www.aiaccproject.org
With that....we'll move into letter writing advocacy by WarrenS...
WarrenS made a New Year's Resolution to write a letter advocating climate action every day. The result is over three hundred letters to congresspeople, newspapers, President Obama, and more. Warren has even had letters published in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times and the Boston Globe.
Learn Warren's letter writing technique here. Be sure to steal his stuffand visit his blog.
Month 12, Day 1: We’re Number One!
Warren's Letter:
The Guardian’s US Environment correspondent, Suzanne Goldenberg, reports on America’s stance going into the Cancun talks. My country really really really needs a talking to.
It is a curious irony that the Republican champions of American exceptionalism currently poised to take over the U.S. House of Representatives are opposed to any sort of meaningful action on climate change — because it is "too hard" on businesses, taxpayers and consumers. Trumpeting the notion that America is the only country that has a "can-do" spirit, they simultaneously assert that American industries are too fragile to participate in a world economy with rules have drastically changed by environmental exigencies. Apparently, since its participation in World War II was crucial to an Allied victory, America deserves a lifetime free pass from the rest of the globe. While it’s unfortunate for the likelihood of a genuine emissions agreement that climate change is represented by massed statistics rather than mustached dictators, the deaths and tragedies brought about by this more insidious enemy will exceed all of humanity’s wars combined.
WarrenS
My environmental image of the day is of an avalanche, from National Geographic.
Original Photo and Fact Sheet on National Geographic
My home is in Seattle, I love Mt. Rainier and I will be home to Seattle in 2 weeks. :-)
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(All times Eastern!)
eKos diaries from 12/01/2010 |
Diary | Author | Time (Eastern) | Tags |
DailyCancun: A Mayor Breakthrough! | citisven | 20:01:45 | dailycancun, eKos, tcktcktck, climate insider, COP16 |
COURT: Pull out the Monsanto Sugar Beets! | greendem | 19:44:21 | Recommended, eKos, environment, food, Monsanto |
"Weak" Obama Admin: Wind, not Oil! | Lawrence | 18:55:22 | eKos, offshore wind, offshore oil drilling ban, solar, Obama Administration |
Gulf Watchers Wednesday - 1990 Act of Congress Should Have Prevented Spill -
BP Catastrophe AUV #434 | Yasuragi | 15:13:29 | Gulf Watchers, Oilpocalypse, BP, Deepwater Horizon, Macondo |
At COP16, UNFCCC and USA Look for Agreement to Agree | greenmedia | 08:54:52 | ekos, dailycancun, tcktcktck, climateinsider, unfccc |
eKos diaries from 11/30/2010 |
Diary | Author | Time (Eastern) | Tags |
The Real Story Behind Fiji Water "Woes" | Patric Juillet | 21:29:24 | Water, Bottled Water, Fiji Water, Plastic Bottles, Environment |
dailycancun: traffic justice | boatsie | 04:03:41 | dailycancun, ekos, ecojustice, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, carbon trading |
Royal Society: 4C (Catastrophic) Global Warming by 2070 | FishOutofWater | 03:56:49 | eKos, environment, climate change, global warming, food security |
COP16 Climate Talks Kick Off in Cancun, Mexico - So What? | greenmedia | 00:33:23 | ekos, COP16, UNFCCC, tcktcktck, global campaign for climate action |