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Report spells out high economic costs of climate chaos

Peter Madden, chief executive of Forum for the Future, writes a monthly column for Gristmill on sustainability in the U.K. and Europe.

While the U.S. was absorbed in the midterm elections, a major report on the economics of climate change was launched in the U.K. The weighty "Stern Review" -- 700 pages in all -- was the work of Sir Nicholas Stern, ex-chief economist at the World Bank. Produced at the behest of the chancellor, Gordon Brown, it has had a profound impact on political and business attitudes in this country.

This is not surprising when the headline message of the report is that climate change could shrink the global economy by a fifth, equivalent to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Stern's analysis shows that taking action now will cost an average of 1 percent of global GDP a year over the coming decades, whilst not acting will cost between 5 and 20 percent of GDP a year over the same time frame.

Nothing

Last weekend I was riding the King County Metro bus when a nice man who had recently moved to Seattle from Taiwan asked me to tell him about Thanksgiving. I started in about how we get together with people we love, engage in gluttony, etc., etc.

He said, "Uh, but I mean, what about the day after Thanksgiving? Tell me about the sales." At which point I realized I'd never been anywhere near a place of commerce on Black Friday. I grew up on a farm, and, well, we just don't like people or commerce enough to risk leaving the house.

Then this week I discovered an organized ritual against the wanton post-T-day, pre-Christmas consumption of holiday-related paraphernalia: Buy Nothing Day.

It’s depressing.

The Los Angeles Times today concluded a four-part series (with photos) on uranium mining on 27,000 square miles of Navajo lands in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

It's a depressing, but interesting, read.

The line-up of legal issues

Lawyers and Supreme Court commentators hardly seem the type to camp out for tickets. But that's precisely what a line of expectant court-watchers will be doing one week from today -- braving early morning Capitol Hill in hopes of gaining entrance to oral argument in Massachusetts v. EPA.

Like a pre-game sportscast, today's post will attempt to give a flavor for points of contention -- in this case, the legal issues before the court. It won't be exhaustive. If you're looking for greater detail, refer to either the briefs or to this recent report (PDF).

The case involves a suit by Massachusetts and its allies (a coalition of other states and nonprofit groups) -- I'll refer to them as the petitioners -- against the EPA for refusing to use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide emitted from motor vehicles. The petitioners lost (PDF) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, but convinced the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.

When the Supreme Court decides to hear a case, it grants certiorari on specific questions. In Massachusetts v. EPA, the Court agreed to consider two:

The pop star shares his holiday plans

Ever wonder what celebrities do for the holidays? Are they sipping Cristal and nibbling foie gras, or throwing back eggnog and turkey giblets like the rest of us?

During a phone chat with pop star Moby this week, I got the chance to ask that very question. A strict vegan, Moby hasn't touched anything close to eggnog for 20 years, so what is he chowing on this weekend? You might be surprised by what's on -- or off -- his menu.

The following is a snippet from a longer discussion about Moby's new release Go, a two-disc "best of" album, and his work with various political and social causes. Consider it an appetizer, a holiday-themed taste of what's to come. Stay tuned for the full interview -- or main course, as it were -- in the illustrious pages of Grist next week.

Albertsons joins the ‘green list’

For the past two years my organization has been working with supermarkets around the country to get them to post FDA warnings about mercury in seafood.

The FDA warns women of childbearing age (including pregnant and nursing women) and young children to avoid eating any swordfish, tilefish, shark, or king mackerel, and to limit their consumption of albacore tuna and tuna steaks. One store we've focused on, along with Women's Voices for the Earth in Missoula, is Albertsons.

Today, I'm happy to report that Albertsons and its subsidiaries Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, and Star Market will be posting that much-needed advice at their seafood counters.

George Allen’s parting shot

Priceless:

As a last little gift to America, Senator George Allen, who was narrowly defeated by James Webb this month, has introduced what may be his final piece of legislation: a bill that would allow the carrying of concealed weapons in national parks.

(via TP)

Enviros, believe it or not, protest

A government commission has recommended lifting Australia's restrictions on nuclear energy and uranium mining, according to a report by Tim Johnston in The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune.

Australia, with 40% of the world's uranium reserves, currently has no commercial nuclear power plants and strictly limits uranium mining. Along with the U.S., Australia refused to join as a signatory to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

The panel, commissioned by Prime Minister John Howard's government last June, asserted that developing nuclear power and easing curbs on uranium mining could reduce carbon emissions from coal and lift revenues from uranium exports by $1.4 billion a year. The commission advocated constructing 25 nuclear reactors to supply a third of Australia's electricity by 2050.

Electric bike talk

This post is for all the nerds out there who keep sending me emails with technical questions. Consider it an update to my update.

I designed a new battery holder out of PVC sheet to replace the wooden box used on my first prototype. I also replaced a fried switch with one that has a higher current rating and designed a new wiring harness with quick disconnects. My lead-acid battery pack is already starting to take less charge and I have now relegated it to back-up status.

‘Chaotic systems are not predictable’–Sure, but who says climate is chaotic?

(Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide)

Objection: Climate is an inherently chaotic system, and as such its behavior can not be predicted.

Answer: Firstly, let's make sure we define climate: an average of weather patterns over some meaningful time period. We may thus discount the chaotic annual fluctuations of global mean temperature. That's weather, and one or two anomalous years does not represent a climate shift.

Quite a few people believe that climate is a chaotic system, and maybe on some large-scale level it is. But it is not chaotic on anything approaching the time scales of which humans need to be mindful.