Adapting to climate change -- Facing the consequences

Global action is not going to stop climate change. The world needs to look harder at how to live with it

Nov 25th 2010 | from the print edition

Climate change -- How to live with climate change -- It won’t be stopped, but its effects can be made less bad

Nov 25th 2010 | from the print edition

Peters G, Marland G, Le Quéré C, Boden T, Canadell JG, Raupach RR (2012) CO2 emissions rebound after the Global Financial Crisis (pdf, 252kb). Nature Climate Change 2: 2–4

doi. 10.1038/nclimate1332.

Le Quéré C, Raupach MR, Canadell JG, Marland G et al. (2009) Trends in the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide.  Nature Geoscience 2,

doi: 10.1038/ngeo689

Friedlingstein P, Houghton RA, Marland G, Hackler J, Boden TA, Conway TJ, Canadell JG, Raupach MR, Ciais P, Le Quéré C (2010) Update on CO2 emissions. Nature Geoscience 3: 811-812.

DOI 10.1038/ngeo_1022

Climate Change: Ice-Free Arctic Sea May Be Years, Not Decades, Away

Science 337, 1591 (2012)

Race Is On as Ice Melt Reveals Arctic Treasures

By Elisabeth Rosenthal

Published: September 18, 2012 -- NY Times

Ending Its Summer Melt, Arctic Sea Ice Sets a New Low That Leads to Warnings

By JUSTIN GILLIS

Published: September 19, 2012, NY Times

Reconstructed changes in Arctic sea ice over the past 1,450 years

The future of biofuels: The post-alcohol world | The Economist

Page 84-86

Seeing the Wood

A special Report on Forests

September 25th, 2010

The Economist

Special report: The Arctic

US Energy policy

NYTimes

Greenhouse gases

Japan Split on Hope for Vast Radiation Cleanup, NYTimes Dec 6, 2011

At Climate Talks, a Familiar Standoff Emerges Between the U.S. and China, NYTimes Dec 7, 2011

Arctic ozone "hole" in early 2011

Nature Abstract: Chemical ozone destruction occurs over both polar regions in local winter–spring. In the Antarctic, essentially complete removal of lower-stratospheric ozone currently results in an ozone hole every year, whereas in the Arctic, ozone loss is highly variable and has until now been much more limited. Here we demonstrate that chemical ozone destruction over the Arctic in early 2011 was—for the first time in the observational record—c omparable to that in the Antarctic ozone hole. Unusually long-lasting cold conditions in the Arctic lower stratosphere led to persistent enhancement in ozone-destroying forms of chlorine and to unprecedented ozone loss, which exceeded 80 per cent over 18–20 kilometres altitude. Our results show that Arctic ozone holes are possible even with temperatures much milder than those in the Antarctic. We cannot at present predict when such severe Arctic ozone depletion may be matched or exceeded.

Thanks to Eliana Ritts for finding this article!

News story suggested by Brendan McHugh about sea level rise and Philadelphia

Thanks to Daniel Urdaneta for giving us a conservative view from a WSJ columnist. 

BRET STEPHENS, who writes the column in the WSJ, is a pretty widely read although highly controversial conservative writer. Found this interesting not just because of the connections of some of his arguments (exaggerated rhetoric aside) to some of the assertions made by republican hopefuls, but also because it’s  number one on the most emailed article list (quite a big deal for as big a publication as WSJ)—could be an indicator of shifts in public opinion on the issue, especially among conservatives.

'This house believes that climate-control policies cannot rely on carbon capture and storage.'

 Eileen Norton brings to our attention that The Economist has an interesting debate posted on carbon control and carbon storage

NYTimes Dec 4, 2011

Global emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning jumped by the largest amount on record last year, upending the notion that the brief decline during the recession might persist through the recovery.

Emissions rose 5.9 percent in 2010, according to an analysis released Sunday by the Global Carbon Project http://www.globalcarbonproject.org/, an international collaboration of scientists tracking the numbers. Scientists with the group said the increase was almost certainly the largest absolute jump in any year since the Industrial Revolution, and the largest percentage increase since 2003.

The researchers said the high growth rate reflected a bounce-back from the 1.4 percent drop in emissions in 2009, the year the recession had its biggest impact. In the United States, emissions dropped by a remarkable 7 percent in the recession year of 2009, but rose by just over 4 percent last year. In China, emissions grew 10.4 percent in 2010.

NYTimes Opinion Page December 2, 2011

After Fukushima: Now, More Than Ever The primary lesson from Japan’s recent trauma, however, is that a tsunami is dangerous to everything in its path, nuclear plants included. Consider the growing needs for reliable energy, the fact that nuclear is probably the safest form of power that can meet those needs, and the unfortunate truth that fossil-fueled alternatives emit so much pollution that they arguably pose a much greater threat than the darkest nuclear accident scenario.

NYTimes Opinion Page December 2, 2011

After Fukushima: Enough Is Enough  The nuclear power industry has been resurrected over the past decade by a lobbying campaign that has left many people believing it to be a clean, green, emission-free alternative to fossil fuels. These beliefs pose an extraordinary threat to global public health and encourage a major financial drain on national economies and taxpayers. The commitment to nuclear power as an environmentally safe energy source has also stifled the mass development of alternative technologies that are far cheaper, safer and almost emission free — the future for global energy.

News Analysis

Where Did Global Warming Go?

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

Published: October 15, 2011

The Clouds of Unknowing

Spin, Science and Climate Change

Who Cares? pg. 15

What Needs to Change pg. 21-22

Vampires On A Diet pg. 12

Unpacking the Problem

The Green Slump pg. 8-10

Sources and Acknowledgements

Is It Worth It pg. 6-8

Good Policy, and Bad pg. 10-12

Getting Warmer Pg3-4

Closing the Gaps pg 18-20

Cap and Tirade pg 14-15

A Long Game pg. 16-17

New York Times, October 1, 2011

Unpacking the Problem

Who Cares?

Stopping Climate Change

Sources and Acknowledgements

UnPacking The Problem

What Needs to Change pg. 21-22

Closing the Gaps pg 18-20

A Long Game

A Long Game pg. 16-17

Who Cares? pg. 15

Cap and Tirade pg 14-15

Vampires On A Diet pg. 12

Good Policy, and Bad pg. 10-12

The Green Slump pg. 8-10

Is It Worth It pg. 6-8

Getting Warmer Pg3-4

Spin, Science and Climate Change

The Clouds of Unknowing