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.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

A few of the most anticipated films include Gasland, chronicling the natural gas industry, and Sweetgrass, about a group of Montana shepherds. Films like these add to one of the strongest lineups in Environmental Film Festival history. With a full schedule of films playing at locations throughout Washington, DC, be sure to get your tickets soon! A list of films and locations can be seen here with full show times.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

“We recognize that the first step in lessening laundry’s carbon footprint is reducing energy consumption, which is why we recommend the most water- and energy-efficient washers and dryers.  We then rely on our ‘Lighten the Load’ initiative to offset unavoidable emissions,” said Michael Calderaro, Mac-Gray’s Vice President of Campus Laundry.

Mac-Gray will be supporting three methane destruction projects of Carbonfund.org which were selected based on criteria set forth by the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment 2008 Voluntary Carbon Offset Protocol, in that they must represent immediate and verifiable GHG emissions reduction.

The destruction of methane from such projects is important in the fight against global climate change because methane is approximately 23 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.  Such projects not only reduce the amount of methane released into the atmosphere, but also help protect an area’s local groundwater, reduce localized air pollution, control odor and produce power for regional electricity grids.

“In selecting a laundry services company for our campus, our University chose Mac-Gray because it is a company that cares about the environment and is willing to invest their own money to offset the carbon footprint that our washers and dryers produce. This partnership is an important part of the university’s overall sustainability initiative,” says Ron Dalton, director of housing at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C.

The 14 colleges and universities now participating are: Colorado College, Colorado State University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Keene State College, Salisbury University, Stonehill College, University of Montevallo, UNC Charlotte, UNC Wilmington, USC Aiken, USC Upstate and Western Carolina University.

To learn more, please visit: www.cleanandgreenvision.com.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

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

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

• 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.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

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.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Despite the snowy pummeling the US received, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Climate Data Center reports that January 2010 was one of the warmest Januarys on record. Temperatures were about half a degree Fahrenheit above the long-term averages in the chilly US while South Africa, Australia and Brazil suffered from excessive heat waves.

“This pattern of warmer temperatures and stronger storms is consistent with climate models that show global warming will bring more extreme weather, specifically more severe storms with greater amounts of precipitation,” says  William L. Chameides, dean of Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Additionally, climate scientists are still reeling from leaked emails from the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit in November 2009. The documents were apparent proof to skeptics that scientists conspired to overstate the case for a human influence on climate change.  But Chameides asserts that “careful, objective, complete reading of the scientific literature reveals the scientific evidence that the globe is warming – and that this warming is connected to human activities – remains strong.”

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

While some critics feel that a signed treaty by December is still a stretch of the imagination, a slightly longer timeframe may be more realistic in encouraging countries to climb on board. Countries such as Mexico, India, and China have already stated that more negotiations are needed before the summit in Cancun commences. In the letter the US emphasized the importance of providing “adequate time for countries to consult with each other bilaterally and regionally,” and that smaller gatherings are at least initially preferable.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

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.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites