The IPCC's official total temperature increase since 1850 has gone from .6° Celsius to .76° C (or about 1.4° Fahrenheit). The Fourth Assessment also explains that, "For the next two decades a warming of about 0.2° C per decade is projected for a range of [emission scenarios]. Even if the concentrations of all greenhouse gases and aerosols had been kept constant at year 2000 levels, a further warming of about .1° C per decade would be expected." Their best estimate for a low emissions scenario is still a temperature increase of 1.8° C by 2100. Their best estimate for a …

While Bush talks a good game on energy security, he doesn't back the rhetoric up with action. That is especially true when it comes to his own budget, as made clear in a press release from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy: President's Budget Undermines Energy Security Washington, D.C. (February 6, 2007): The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) today issued a preliminary assessment of the Administration's FY 2008 budget request, finding that the request continues to shrink funding for the energy efficiency programs that should be front-line priorities in the nation's energy agenda. "The President can't increase …

According to the IPCC's Fourth Assessment (PDF), "discernible human influences now extend to other aspects of climate, including ocean warming, continental-average temperatures, temperature extremes and wind patterns." The increases in oceanic temperature are particularly worrisome: "Observations since 1961 show that the average temperature of the global ocean has increased to depths of at least 3000 m and that the ocean has been absorbing more than 80% of the heat added to the climate system." As the oceans warm, they expand, and they provide fuel for more intense tropical storms. Also, warmer oceans "reduce ... [their] uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide, …

There is a bombshell buried in the middle of the IPCC report. So far, it hasn't received the attention it deserves. In a bullet point on the bottom of page twelve, the report says that dangerous feedback mechanisms are a ticking timebomb, and require dramatic action now. Translated into plain English, they are saying that we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions far more than previously expected -- up to 27% more -- or else it will be impossible to deal with global warming because of feedback mechanisms. This is one of the central premises of my book Hell …

The report hasn't even been released yet, but one of the big stories around this Friday's release by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the conservative edge to the final product, which does not fully account for the melting of the Greenland and/or Antarctic ice sheets. The report is consensus-based, and as such carefully written and meticulously reviewed. The process is heavily bureaucratic, a maze of international political and scientific red tape, which is both its strength and weakness. While the level of international cooperation attests to its conclusions, scientists have struggled with how to model variables like …

A new "semi-empirical" method of estimating sea level rise shows that earlier techniques underestimated the likely rise, according to research published in Science online. Ocean expert Stefan Rahmstorf noticed a correlation between the warming in the atmosphere and the rise of sea levels over the 20th century. Having also watched the actual rate of sea level rise pass earlier computer estimates, Rahmstorf integrated his real-world observations with the models. Rahmstorf estimates a possible sea level rise of anywhere from 50 to 140 centimeters, up from 9 to 88 cm. The new numbers would put North Atlantic shore cities, like New …

In his State of the Union address, President Bush threw away the last opportunity he had to save his historical legacy. He continued his business-as-usual do-nothing approach on global warming, which is the gravest threat facing the American way of life. As I wrote earlier in a column for the Center for American Progress web site: President George W. Bush believes history will end up judging him favorably. He compares himself to Harry Truman who left office unpopular in large part because of a difficult war on the Korean peninsula but who is now admired by historians. President Bush suffers …

Bush's much hyped U-Turn on climate wasn't even a Double U-Turn. All he said was: America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil. And these technologies will help us be better stewards of the environment, and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change. Technology, Technology, yada, yada, yada. Straight from the Frank Luntz playbook on how to do nothing but sound like you really care. Fool me once ... For more response, here I am on CNBC:

The media is abuzz that Bush will unveil new energy proposals in the State of the Union address. But it really is a "dog bites man" story. Has any president ever talked so much about a problem while doing nothing to address it? The President's sweeping rhetoric on energy independence, unfortunately, has never been accompanied by serious policies -- he has actually cut funding for the key energy-saving technologies -- which is one reason our dependence on imported oil has kept rising throughout Bush's presidency. So we should take any new words in the 2007 address with many, many grains …

The emerging new economy created by the Internet is producing more than just a business revolution -- it is also generating enormous environmental benefits. The Internet can turn buildings into websites, and replace warehouses with supply-chain software. It can turn paper and CDs into electrons, and replace trucks with fiberoptic cable. This means significant energy savings, and perhaps a very different type of economic growth than we have seen in the past. An enviro's new best friend? By reducing the amount of energy and materials consumed by business, often dramatically, and by increasing overall productivity, the Internet stands to revolutionize …