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Scientists urge speedy emission cuts

29 01 08 - 05:49

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Scientists urge speedy emission cuts




By Peter N. Spotts






Stepping up the pressure for political action on global warming, scientists for the second time in two months have called for strong measures to curb greenhouse-gas emissions.

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) - the world's largest scientific organization dedicated to Earth, atmospheric, and space sciences - warned Thursday that the world will need to reduce emissions by 50 percent below 1990 levels within this century if countries are serious about holding down warming to around 3.6 degrees F. by 2100.

Significantly warmer temperatures over that period would lead to seriously disruptive changes for societies as well as for ecosystems around the planet, many scientists say.

Scientists urge speedy emission cuts











Stepping up the pressure for political action on global warming, scientists for the second time in two months have called for strong measures to curb greenhouse-gas emissions.

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) - the world's largest scientific organization dedicated to Earth, atmospheric, and space sciences - warned Thursday that the world will need to reduce emissions by 50 percent below 1990 levels within this century if countries are serious about holding down warming to around 3.6 degrees F. by 2100.

Significantly warmer temperatures over that period would lead to seriously disruptive changes for societies as well as for ecosystems around the planet, many scientists say.

The statement is the strongest the AGU has made since it first took a stance on the issue in 1998.

The warning comes on the heels of a similar call at the United Nation's global climate talks last month in Nusa Dua, Indonesia. There, scientists released the "Bali Declaration," which calls on negotiators to craft a new climate treaty that will aim to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 to avoid what UN treaties refer to as "dangerous" human interference with climate.

Although the three major reports released last year by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate (IPCC) usually provide the scientific framework for policy debates on global warming, the AGU's statement is also likely to be influential, especially for those who distrust the UN, some analysts say.

The scientists' statement comes at a time when international climate talks led by both the UN and the US are moving into high gear.

Next week, the Bush administration is convening the second of it's Major Economies meetings in Hawaii in an attempt to bring big emitters from both industrial and developing countries together to find ways to deal with the climate problem. The administration says the results of its series of meetings, which is expected to end in July, would feed back into the formal UN process. For its part, the UN is moving forward on negotiations for a new climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, when its first commitment period ends in 2012.

Among many people, "there's a deep level of distrust toward the United Nations," says Matthew Nisbett, a professor of communications at American University in Washington who focuses on the intersection of science and public policy, adding that the IPCC's scientific reports are "routinely dismissed" by skeptics because of the panel's UN connection. However, when a prominent American scientific institution weighs in, whether it's the AGU or the National Academy of Sciences, "that shores up the credibility of the science."

In addition, he says, the statement needs to be seen in the larger context of increasing activism by some scientists. To be sure, individual scientists have tilted with the political process for decades, observes Gavin Schmidt, a climate researcher at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. From the Manhattan Project to climate change, "some scientists have always been out there," he notes.

Still, Dr. Nisbett maintains that many scientists are giving fresh thought to their roles as communicators and contributors to policy. Indeed, the AGU's statement advocates a more active role for its members in communicating their work to the public and to people "who can implement policies to shape the future of climate."

This is a significant shift for the 50,000-member organization. "The AGU has not done this in the past," says AGU president Timothy Killeen.

Adds Nisbett, "You do see a mobilization of scientists ... around the idea of scientific activism." He notes, for example, that a group of prominent scientists formed Scientists and Engineers for America in 2006, to provide public education on science issues as well as train scientists to run for political office.

Another group, ScienceDebate 2008, aims to encourage this year's presidential candidates to include more science issues in their debates

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Used tags: alternative_energy, emission_cuts, emissions, green_energy, pollution, reducing_emissions

Toward a greener economy

Friday 17 October 2008 at 2:55 pm Toward a greener economy




By Moises Velasquez-Manoff





New York - Market bubbles occur when goods are traded at prices that greatly exceed real value. They burst when they grow so bloated that they become unstable. The current economic turmoil, widely viewed as the worst since 1929, is one example of what can happen when the difference between market value and actual value becomes too great.

Environmentally minded economists have long warned that equally burstable ecological bubbles can occur if humanity lives beyond earth's capacity to regenerate. The problem, they say, is that we're addicted to economic growth. Mainstream economics assumes that the economy, the engine of modern civilization, can grow perpetually. more

Renewable Electricity Surges by 32 percent-Provides 11 percent of U.S. Net Generation

Sunday 12 October 2008 at 06:23 am Renewable Electricity Surges by 32 percent-Provides 11 percent of U.S. Net Generation




Washington - According to the latest "Monthly Electricity Review" issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (October 3, 2008), net U.S. generation of electricity from renewable energy sources surged by 32 percent in June 2008 compared to June 2007.

Renewable energy (biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) totaled 41,160,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) in June 2008 up from 31,242,000 MWh in June 2007. Renewables accounted for 11.0 percent of net U.S. electricity generation in June 2008 compared to 8.6 percent in June 2007. more

City Trash Plus Farm Leftovers May Yield Clean Energy

Sunday 12 October 2008 at 06:15 am City Trash Plus Farm Leftovers May Yield Clean Energy




Washington - Tomorrow's household garbage might be blended with after-harvest leftovers from fields, orchards, and vineyards to make ethanol and other kinds of bioenergy. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are investigating this straightforward, eco-friendly strategy in their laboratories at the agency's Western Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif. more

Big Help in Biofuels Research

Monday 29 September 2008 at 02:52 am Big Help in Biofuels Research


Washington - A short little grass known as purple false brome may speed discoveries about switchgrass, its famous cousin and energy-crop hopeful.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists like John Vogel and Yong Gu at the agency's Western Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif., are probing the genetic makeup of purple false brome, or Brachypodium distachyon, as a faster way to learn more about the genes inside switchgrass. more

Precedent-setting carbon auction Thursday

Monday 29 September 2008 at 02:43 am By Mark Clayton


For almost as long as people have worried about global warming, economists have called for taxing carbon emissions. As long as sending CO2 skyward was cost-free, they argued, the practice would continue.

Starting Sept. 25, for the first time in US history, a price tag will begin to be placed on millions of tons of carbon dioxide spewing from every major power plant from Maine to Maryland.

Just what that price will be won't be known until after Thursday's computerized auction of about 12.5 million tons of "carbon allowances," essentially permission slips to pollute.

Utility companies will bid on the allowances. They may be used, saved, or traded so that any company with a need to send more CO2 up the stack can buy more - at the market price. The amount of CO2 to be cut over the next decade is modest - about 18 million tons annually (US power plants collectively emit about 2.8 billion tons of CO2 yearly). But the auction and process of setting a price for carbon are critical first steps, many say. more

Dispelling The “Twisted Truths” Of Energy-Saving Light Bulbs

Saturday 13 September 2008 at 5:18 pm Dispelling The “Twisted Truths” Of Energy-Saving Light Bulbs







For more than 129 years, people have used the incandescent light bulb as the primary light source for the home. With more consumers searching for products that are good for the environment, a new light bulb is revolutionizing lighting around the world. Energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) have become the symbol of the “green” movement. They use 75 percent less energy and last as much as 10 times longer than traditional incandescent light bulbs. Plus, they help reduce carbon dioxide emissions linked to global warming. more

Campaign Plants Trees At Schools Across The U.S.

Saturday 13 September 2008 at 5:08 pm Campaign Plants Trees At Schools Across The U.S.






Schools are generally seen as the place to plant the seeds of knowledge. Yet thanks to a one-day environmental campaign, schools and parks across the country became places to plant something a little greener.

Sixteen schools across the country, from Long Island to Hawaii, participated in the initial “Trees for Success” campaign, with more than 800 trees planted in schools and neighboring parks in a single day. The schools were selected by the Arbor Day Foundation out of more than 200 applications based on need, civic and local support, student involvement, a plan for upkeep, and location. more

Wind Power Is Poised To Support U.S. Jobs

Saturday 13 September 2008 at 4:50 pm Wind Power Is Poised To Support U.S. Jobs

The U.S. Department of Energy contends that wind power can provide 20 percent of the nation’s electricity by 2030.

Experts say there is a renewable source of energy that is capable of becoming a major contributor to America’s electricity supply over the next three decades--wind power.

In 2007, wind was already one of the fastest-growing sources of electricity in U.S. households, and the U.S. Department of Energy contends that wind power can provide 20 percent of the nation’s electricity by 2030 and be a critical part of the solution to global warming. more

Weathering Rising Costs With Free Program

Saturday 13 September 2008 at 4:41 pm Weathering Rising Costs With Free Program





AEN News




Spiking energy costs are prompting many Americans to find ways to conserve energy.

Escalating energy costs have affected low-income Americans the most, says a recent study by the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association, forcing them to cut staples such as food and medicine. more

Algae-To-Energy Tests Planned

Saturday 13 September 2008 at 4:23 pm Algae-To-Energy Tests Planned



AEN News




For decades, scientists and energy executives have sought to unlock the energy potential of algae. Best known as the green pond scum that befouls rivers, lakes and streams, the single-celled plants are also a potentially prolific source of renewable fuels that could be used to power engines in cars, trucks, generators and many other machines.

Because algae use carbon dioxide to grow and reproduce, releasing oxygen in the process, systems that use them to produce renewable biofuel supplies are also being eyed for their promise in reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and other sources generally believed to promote global warming.

Despite the promise of this approach in a world searching for renewable alternatives to limited fossil fuel supplies, attempts to develop algae-derived biofuels in commercially viable volumes have not been successful.

Now, that could be changing. more