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Avoiding “dangerous” climate change

Well, if precise scientific terms haven't worked to dramatize the potential impact of climate change, perhaps imprecise, scary-sounding ones will. The U.K. government kicked off Tony Blair's promised climate science conference today with a call to avoid "dangerous climate change." All could agree it is to be avoided. Agreeing on a definition of "dangerous" is perhaps another matter.

This conference, held at the leading Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research in Exeter, England, is part of the lead-up to Blair pushing climate change as he hosts the upcoming G8 summit. The U.S. government is a key target audience. When pushed to provide evidence of any budging in the U.S. position, U.K. Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett offered no examples, according to this BBC story. See also Andrew Revkin in The New York Times on the Exeter Conference.

Sustainable development saves lives

This is a pretty remarkable story:

Two years ago, drought-stricken farmers in a village on the southern coast of India walked into the Guinness Book of World Records by planting the highest number of saplings in a 24-hour period.

On Dec. 26, as the killer tsunami struck down thousands of people and homes in Tamil Nadu state, the casuarina and eucalyptus trees which had been planted to appease the weather gods saved the lush green village of Naluvedapathy.

Of the nearly 8,000 people who died in the state, including 6,000 in one fishing village, only seven were from Naluvedapathy.

Lesson learned.

Authorities are now proudly showcasing the benefits of tree plantation in mitigating the impact of natural disasters, pointing to Naluvedapathy's example in an effort to encourage a coastal green belt.

Umbra on freshwater

Dear Umbra, What percentage of the Earth’s water is drinkable? What are the remaining percents in categories, such as salt water, polluted water (polluted with what?), and frozen water? And where can I find these statistics? ScottBozeman, Mont. Dearest Scott, About 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is constantly wet. Of all that water, only […]

Extractive myths

Speaking of rural renewables: One of the vexations of blog life is that good posts quickly recede down the page and get missed -- so don't miss this excellent post by new Gristmill contributor Tom Power on the myth that B.C.'s economy depends on extractive industries. Everything he writes could be transferred straightforwardly to Oregon, Washington, Kansas, etc. etc.

Rural renewables

Rural areas in America are hurting, losing people and vitality by the day. The extractive industries upon which many rural economies are based are either dying, being outsourced, or taken over by megacorporations who offer residents low-quality, unstable service jobs. What if greens had something to offer these red areas? As I keep saying, a rural future based on small-scale green industry is both substantively and politically a huge potential win for environmentalists.

A story in The Oregonian on rural Oregon's renewable energy potential illustrates both the opportunity and challenges involved.

Purple Haze, All in My Parks

Gas drilling in the West threatens air at national parks Air quality and visibility at more than a dozen of the nation’s oldest and most beloved national parks and monuments, including Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone National Park, are under threat from the ongoing boom in natural-gas drilling in the Western U.S. Officials from the Bureau […]

The liter of the pack

I didn't know this: In Canada, automobile fuel economy is expressed as gallons per mile, not miles per gallon as it is in the U.S. (Well, really, it's liters per hundred kilometers, but if you're south of the 49th parallel and a metric-system-phobe, gallons per mile is essentially the same thing.)

Now, I don't mention this just to expose my lack of cultural knowledge of my northern neighbors. I mention it because it seems to me that liters-per-kilometer is a much better way of expressing the fuel efficiency of autos.

Buy Buy, Love

Richard Brooks, Greenpeace campaigner, answers questions

Richard Brooks. With what environmental organization are you affiliated? I am a forest campaigner with Greenpeace Canada. What does your organization do? What, in a perfect world, would constitute “mission accomplished”? Greenpeace campaigns in 35 different countries using lobbying, science, public education, markets mobilization, and peaceful protest to bring about increased environmental protection of the […]

Shrinking glaciers

Via BoingBoing, a series of pictures showing melting glaciers from story in the San Fran Chronicle a few months back.