Following in Al Gore's footsteps
First he loses a presidential election to George Bush, now John Kerry is taking up the fight against climate change. Kerry was in Washington on Tuesday debating republican Newt Gingrich in a friendly exchange. Both Kerry and Gingrich were promoting new books that they have written on climate change.
My question to Kerry: What ever happened to hunting down and punishing the terrorists?
by Graham French
Flying high...
Two European airlines are letting passengers choose whether or not they want to help out with global warming reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
British Airways and Scandinavian Airlines System give passengers the opportunity to pay carbon-offset fees to fund clean technology projects.
The programs give travelers a chance to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide created per person per trip, assign a money value and pay via the airlines website. The fees are not included in the airline fares.
So far only 7 to 8 percent of web users have paid the fee, and it is not sure how the program will evolve.
By Debbie
Toronto Kills BikeShare Program
This magazine has reported several times on the impact cycling can have on global warming. Individuals who choose to ride their bikes for commuting or training purposes choose not to operate a vehicle and therefore reduce their emissions.
Sadly, the City of Toronto is killing off the Community Bicycle Network's BikeShare program. The non-profit group supplied bikes to individuals to commute as part of a lending network. They relied on grants and private donations to fund their operation.
The group was looking for $80,000 to keep the program running, but the city said it was too much and cited their own financial hardships as reason to not help BikeShare continue.
Posted by Adam Klevinas
IPCC Report Paints Grim Picture for Canada
As part of last week's IPCC report, Canadians can expect to see the part that focuses on North American released in the coming days. The Globe and Mail received a preview of what the report will entail and highlighted some of the crucial areas in an article in today's paper.
The report has painted Canada has having a hot, polluted, pollen filled future. Canadian cities can expect to go through even hotter, muggier summers while winters will also see the reduction of snowfall amounts.
There is also the threat of an impact on the baby boom generation as more deaths are expected as a result of the heat waves.
The article further outlines threats to crops, animal species, insects and winter recreation activities.
Posted by Adam Klevinas
Three steps to climate change action
Improving global warming in three steps? sounds easy according to this site.
1) make an effort in reducing your personal carbon emission
2) ask world leaders to take charge and enforce serious carbon reduction policies
3) communicate the devastating impact to others around you
Sounds very easy. These steps were written down after a number of comments written on the Global-Greenhouse-Warming.com web site.
But will simplifying what we already know have any effects?
will people even take the initiative to change what they can on their own?
By Debbie
IPCC predicts Asia to be badly hit by climate change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported at a press conference in Brussels, Belgium, last Friday that Asia will be sorely tested by global warming. The Manila Bulletin recounts that the IPCC warns of major flooding, sea-level rise, and storm surges in Asian megadeltas. The U.N. body predicts that from tens of millions to billions of Asians could be affected by water scarcity by 2050.
The Manila Bulletin reports that Greenpeace's Southeast Asia campaigns director Von Hernandez feels that the Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Hernandez predicts that the Southeast Asian island-nation is particularly at risk to the effects of sea-level rise. He has urged the Philippines' government to act now by choosing an environmentally-friendly energy development plan.
Posted by Nick Say
China soon to become world's biggest polluter
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| A coal power plant in the People's Republic of China. |
The Chinese seem to have no intention of slowing down on coal as it reduces their dependence on oil. While they have begun experimenting with cleaner alternatives to coal-burning, it might be a long time before this processes become profitable, as Peter Fairley reported last January in the Technology Review.
Posted by Julie Geffard
Concordia goes green
During this year's CSU election, Concordia students voted in favour of making the University "greener." Over 4,000 students voted in favour of the fee levy, which will require all 42,000 students to contribute 75 cents more per course. This initiative will add $185,000 towards making Concordia's campus one of the greenest in the world. Organizers hope the provincial government will match this quota.
By Stephanie
Lake Superior at a boil
A study conducted by the American Geophysical Union, reports that Lake Superior is warming faster than its surrounding climate. The lake's summer surface temperature has increased by 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979 and its "summer season" is starting two weeks earlier than normal. On the other hand, the annual average air temperature has increased by 2.7 degrees. One of the leading scientists says the increase in temperature is "a symptom of climate change." He's worried that Lake Superior could be completely ice-free by 2040 if the current trend continues.
By Stephanie
Kyoto critics Australia & U.S. target deforestation in developing world
The only two developed countries who have refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol are discussing a deforestation initiative to combat global warming. Australia's ABC News reports that officials from the Antipodean country are in contact with Washington over a plan to reduce forest logging in developing countries. Given that both countries refusal to sign the 1997 protocol has its roots in the treaty's lack of binding emissions targets for developing countries, their new plan reflects the U.S. and Australia's view that poorer countries must also make a commitment. Avoiding questions of equity - considering the history of industrialization - it should be noted that a fifth of global emissions stem from deforestation.
Posted by Nick Say
Climate change report passes after all-nighter and modifications
That report Adam talked about earlier was finally passed after all-night session during which key sections were deleted from the draft and scientists angrily confronted government negotiators who they feared were watering down their findings, reports the CBC. Several scientists objected to the editing of the final draft by government negotiators but in the end agreed to compromises, but some vowed never to take part in the process again. Who was causing the problems? The U.S., China and Saudi Arabia, raising many of the objections to the phrasing. They were looking to tone down the certainty of some of the more dire projections.
Read more at CBC.ca.
The big yellow bus gets greener
A Florida school board is the first in the US to begin using hybrid plug-in school buses. The first 19 buses will each cost twice the amount of a regular school bus but will use up to 50% less fuel. It is likely that the buses will soon drop in price and that they will become a cost effective, as well as environmentally responsible alternative, as they will pay for themselves in fuel savings.
posted by Graham French
Don't drop that cup! Montreal takes hard stance on littering.
Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay is putting on a tough face against the city's filth. He announced yesterday that people caught littering will now be fined between $60 and $1000, depending on the severity of the offense.
Tremblay finally admitted the city is very dirty, an about-face from his previous stance last fall when he called for the resignation of Charles Lapointe.
Posted by Adam Klevinas
Thousands of Species Threatened by Global Warming
Thousands of species could be wiped out by the effects of global warming, according to the latest report by the IPCC.
An article in this morning's Globe and Mail describes the flooding of coastal cities and the water shortages billions of people could face.
The report is set to deal with the effects that will be had on a large portion of the world's eco-systems, but already said there is a 90 per cent chance that global warming has already impacted the northward migration of many plant and animal species.
The report will be released this Friday.
Posted by Adam Klevinas
3 blustery comments:
Graham,
Concordia is actually planning to replace the shuttle buses (which currently run on biodiesel fuel) with electric buses. They've been thinking about doing this for awhile, but now they have the funds since 4,242 students voted to increase tuition fees by 75 cents per course in order to make Concordia more environmentally-friendly.
Adam,
if Tremblay wants to fine people for littering, then he should invest in more garbage cans! Sometimes, I have to walk three blocks before I can found one downtown. It's even worse in the West Island!
Stephanie,
I agree, the city is brutal when it comes to the number of garbage cans. I often stick things in my pockets until I find one.
There is also a serious lack of ash trays in the streets which makes Montreal's already too large smoking problem that much worse when all the butts are thrown onto the streets.
I'm also really happy to see that Concordia passed their 1% green resolution. It was the only reason I bothered to vote in the first place. I hope other universities follow in their footsteps. It's nice to know our school will be leading the way to becoming a greener institution.
Debbie,
Those steps are funny. Don't you think everyone has already gone beyond realizing those are some of the more general efforts individuals have to make? I guess a lot of people are still ignorant about their habits, but there can't be a politician on the continent that isn't aware of global warming.
I like the sites that give information on how you can actually reduce your carbon emissions. David Suzuki's site is good for that.
And as just a general question to all, what impact do you think these IPCC reports are having? Are governments taking the problem any more seriously? Or do they fall out of memory as soon as something else comes up?
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