Another recent study also has found that mountain butterflies in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California are moving up in elevation to flee from warmer temperatures.

A big reason why scientists are extrapolating conclusions from the lives and habits of butterflies is because we have always looked at butterflies. Their beauty and elegance capture the attention of people, and therefore the records that have been kept regarding their habits have been very detailed for a long time.

These changes in butterflies may seem small, but they are a great indicator of the larger changes going on in the world.

Please do your part to reduce your own carbon footprint. You can visit www.carbonfund.org to learn more about reducing and calculating your carbon footprint.

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The Accord, reached at the United Nations Conference of the Parties (or COP15) meeting in Copenhagen last December, commits all the signatories to reduce emissions to help keep global temperature increases below 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F) from pre-industrial levels. To date, over 100 countries have signed on to the Accord.

While the Copenhagen Accord is non-binding, it may prove to be the precursor to a legally binding global agreement. The world’s largest emitters like the US, Canada, India and China will have responsibility for some of the largest reductions, but even small nations will be provided incentives to reduce. A key component of the Accord is the inclusion of up to $100 billion a year in subsidies for developing nations to adapt to climate change impacts and implement cleaner technologies.

With India and China on board, hopefully this paves the way for the US to take strong action on climate change. The climate bills that have been debated in Congress have stalled for the time being, but may get another shot for a vote before the year is up. While their passage is nowhere near a given, at least one excuse for inaction (what about China and India?!?!) is no longer on the table.

Image Courtesy of The New York Times

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• The global climate is changing.

A 1.5-degree Fahrenheit increase in global temperature over the past century has been documented by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Numerous lines of physical evidence around the world, from melting ice sheets and rising sea levels to shifting seasons and earlier onset of spring, provide overwhelming independent confirmation of rising temperatures.

Measurements indicate that the first decade of the 2000s was the warmest on record, followed by the 1990s and the 1980s. And despite the cold and snowy winter we’ve experienced here in Texas, satellite measurements show that, worldwide, January 2010 was one of the hottest months in that record.

• Human activities produce heat-trapping gases.

Any time we burn a carbon-containing fuel such as coal or natural gas or oil, it releases carbon dioxide into the air. Carbon dioxide can be measured coming out of the tailpipe of our cars or the smokestacks of our factories. Other heat-trapping gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, are also produced by agriculture and waste disposal. The effect of these gases on heat energy in the atmosphere is well understood, including factors such as the amplification of the warming by increases in humidity.

• Heat-trapping gases are very likely responsible for most of the warming observed over the past half century.

There is no question that natural causes, such as changes in energy from the sun, natural cycles and volcanoes, continue to affect temperature today. Human activity has also increased the amounts of tiny, light-scattering particles within the atmosphere. But despite years of intensive observations of the Earth system, no one has been able to propose a credible alternative mechanism that can explain the present-day warming without heat-trapping gases produced by human activities.

• The higher the levels of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere, the higher the risk of potentially dangerous consequences for humans and our environment.

A recent federal report, “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States,” commissioned in 2008 by the George W. Bush administration, presents a clear picture of how climate change is expected to affect our society, our economy and our natural resources. Rising sea levels threaten our coasts; increasing weather variability, including heat waves, droughts, heavy rainfall events and even winter storms, affect our infrastructure, energy and even our health.

While there may be debate around the margins, it is hard to argue comprehensively with the science of climate change. There will always be room for improvement in studies and reports, but small errors should not cause us to ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater.’

The time to act is now, and in spite of what you may have heard from some, the science of climate change is still very clear.

For a few more answers to typical climate change skeptic questions, please see this recent article in Scientific American.

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While researchers aren’t making snap judgments about what this implies for the Earth’s climate, the potential impacts could be huge. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is not as abundant in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, but has a warming effect about 23 times greater than CO2. Concentrations of methane have roughly doubled since pre-industrial times – most of these increases have come from human sources – and there appears to be no slowing of these emissions.

One of the scarier things about global warming is that changes in temperature can have far-reaching effects. Scientifically, this is commonly referred to as feedback. If increased CO2 causes temperatures to rise and warm arctic waters such that stored methane is released, and that methane in turn warms the planet more causing more methane to be released – it’s an example of feedback. Given the risks and effects – such as rising sea levels, floods, heat waves and spread of diseases are serious – it makes sense for all of us to take action on global warming.

Remember to calculate, reduce and offset your carbon footprint today. For example, check out Carbonfund.org’s carbon calculators and third-party validated carbon reduction projects to offset your footprint by clicking here.

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According to Reuters news service, Senators John Kerry, Joesph Lieberman and Lindsey Graham are weighing options that will allow the Senate to move forward with legislation. But the issue that is facing this group is only partially related to policy; politics will play a big role in if, when and how a bill may be passed in the Senate.

Options in Broad Strokes

There are many options for potential Senate climate legislation. This may include a comprehensive cap on carbon emissions that covers nearly the entire economy, or a bill that only covers part of the economy such as power plants and/or other areas of the economy. The latter seems more viable in the short run to some, in order to build a broad base of support. One very distinct piecemeal approach may be to cap the electricity sector of energy, representing about 40% of US emissions. This could make a significant dent in carbon emissions now without necessarily affecting other carbon intensive industries like cement and steel, and may also be administratively easier to monitor. However– critics view the piecemeal approach as inherently lacking, in that climate change should involve a comprehensive approach to emissions cuts.

The Politics

With elections coming up in November, it would be foolish to think that there will not be a fair amount of political jockeying between now and then. So trying to pass a bill in the middle of campaign season like this may be difficult, but not impossible. If the Senate is to pass a global warming bill, it will likely need to happen in the next couple months, before members of Congress focus on their districts and states and other issues that Congress is trying to clear this session.

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Biking also helps to promote good health which keeps society’s costs of health care down. It reduces burden on over-crowded streets and public transportation. Helps to improve mental health. Improves safety of neighborhoods. And creates healthy and sustainable habits that can last a lifetime.

But the biggest problem that cyclists face is safety. Let’s face it, you are exposed to the elements on a bike – road conditions, weather, and crazy traffic patterns can all affect cyclist safety. For that reason, it is important for cities, municipalities, states and the federal government to prioritize development of cycling infrastructure that helps to improve cyclist safety and encourages participation in this sustainable means of transportation.

A big step towards improving cyclist safety was taken as the US Department of Transportation awarded a $23 million grant to help complete part of the East Coast Greenway in the Phila., Pa. region. The East Coast Greenway is a developing bike trail system that spans 3,000 miles from Maine to Florida.

The grant will help to create or preserve about 1,000 jobs as it helps to make the region a more bicycle friendly area by building trails, bike lanes and other cycling infrastructure to encourage participation. Cycling in cities is normally the quickest way to travel and does amazing things to improve local air quality and minimize urban congestion.

When complete, the East Coast Greenway will provide cyclists of all skill levels a safe way to see the east coast and navigate our nation’s largest cities. While not all of us will be able to make it up and down the full 3,000 mile route, having such an accessible bike route near tens of millions of Americans will benefit us all.

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The mobile carbon calculator was developed by OpenPath for the Symbian Foundation in response to a comment posted on the Symbian Ideas website – an interactive forum that enables users to ask questions and suggest ideas for the Symbian Platform. The mobile carbon calculator has been a featured demo app for the Symbian Foundation at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

This mobile carbon calculator is helping to further Carbonfund.org’s mission of carbon reductions, education and outreach. Carbonfund.org has also worked previously with developers on the Ecorio mobile carbon footprint application for the T-Mobile G1 phone.

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The Mid-Atlantic is yet again being blasted with snow. This current blizzard is going to add up to 16 inches to our standing snow pack of about 2-3 feet, likely making this the snowiest winter on record in the Washington, DC area (and Baltimore, and Wilmington.. you get the point). Federal government offices have been closed for several days. The mail is not going to be delivered. The bodega across the street is closed. And your devoted Carbonfund.org staff cannot make it into the office and need to work from home.

But there is a perception that is held by some that these extreme blizzards contradict evidence of global warming. While one cannot argue with anecdotal evidence it is inappropriate to try and explain global climate variations with weather events. The big difference is that weather is what happens now or this coming weekend, and climate is the long-term trends that take place over years and decades.

With that said, there are experts out there that create a pretty sound logic for how global warming can actually make blizzards more common in winter. Dr. Jeff Masters with Weather Underground sums it up well:

…record-breaking snowstorms are not an indication that global warming is not occurring. In fact, we can expect there may be more heavy snowstorms in regions where it is cold enough to snow, due to the extra moisture global warming has added to the atmosphere–an extra 4% since 1970. Snow is not the same as cold, and we have to look at global temperatures, not snowfall, to evaluate whether global warming is occurring.

So there is actually a reasonable rationale for how global warming and blizzards can coexist. Please add your comment on this post.

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This is not the first time that Canada has made a strong commitment to emissions reductions to the UN. Canada signed on to the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, committing the nation to CO2 reductions from a 1990 baseline. In spite of this commitment, Canadian emissions continued to rise to an extent.

The US has pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels, though the commitment is contingent on passing legislation by Congress.

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The President stressed the need for Congress to take action on climate change to reduce emissions and also remain competitive in the international marketplace and help create jobs here in the US.

[T]o create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives… And yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.

President Obama tried to reframe the climate legislation awaiting action in Congress in terms of clean energy and jobs, particularly as some observers have deemed the legislation stalled for the time being. It’s true that investing in clean energy will create new jobs in construction, manufacturing, installation, as well as research and development. With our nation still in economic recovery, climate legislation can help re-invigorate and re-energize our economy and should be a focus for Congress and the White House.

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