Climate Progress: An insider's view of climate science, politics, and solutions

A friend of mine “assigned” my book to his 15-year-old daughter over the summer. When she was done, she wrote me a letter. The letter really touched me, and I thought I would share it here. The letter gives me some hope about the next generation — and boosts my desire not to leave them an irreversibly ruined world. They deserve a fighting chance to undo our mistakes. Anyway, here is the letter:

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Once again, I am writing this mostly off-topic post as part of a blog post writing contest — but I am hoping to become a better blogger and bring in some new readers. I have to pick the best of the submissions on “Tips & Tricks” (the full list is here) –and I’ve tried to pick ones that will be of most interest to general readers (and I included mine since you gotta vote for yourself, no?):

• Five Quick Tips On Evaluating Your Kids’ Teachers
• Beware of Fakes on Ebay
• Tips and Tricks to Get More Out of Your Laptop Battery
• Warning: These 9 Photoshop Techniques May Result In Great Photos
• Must Read Tips for Writing a Post that Attracts 15,000 Readers

The Center for American Progress has put together two interactive maps in advance of next week’s climate meetings. They allow you to

Hover over a country to see how many metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions it emits per capita, or how many millions of tons it emits total, and whether it has ratified the Kyoto Accord. Invitees to Bush’s September 28th major emitters meeting are also marked.

I think you’ll find them useful tools.

Greenland ice melt shocks scientists — The Oregonian. A good article on the subject, with the added bonus of an explanation of how ice loss in the Arctic will affect the U.S.’s climate:

The melting removes an insulating blanket from the ocean surface, releasing warmth from the water into the cold air above as towering columns of warmer air.

Those columns appear to reorient global air flows the way a boulder falling into a stream reorients the current, said Jacob Sewall, a professor of geosciences at Virginia Tech, who has used atmospheric models to study the effect. The result is that the stream that carries storms over the West Coast of North America shifts north, turning much of California drier, and the Northwest wetter.

Calif. lawmaker chides EPA for approving coal plant – The Boston Globe. “Remarkably, EPA refused to consider the global warming effects of the plant or to require any measures to mitigate that harm, contravening a Clean Air Act mandate and ignoring EPA’s ample discretionary authority to act,” wrote Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson.

Hefty Rebate For Backyard Wind Turbines In California – Environmental News Network. Homeowners who install a turbine that costs between $12,000 and $15,000 to purchase and install and is rated at 1.8 kiloWatts, are eligible for a $4,100 rebate from the state of California.

The renewable energy future – LA Times. “As Los Angeles creaks through its driest year on record and nervously awaits its next explosive wildfire, many wonder if global warming is already taking a toll.” Duh. Anyway, a pretty good article on the prospects for renewables in California.

Evidence of global warming surrounds a skeptic – Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Another good dissing of Lomborg, focusing on forest loss in the West. No matter what Steve says, I say you can’t have too many!

Forest nations want billions for not logging – The Sydney Morning Herald. A multibillion-dollar plan to protect forests and reduce global warming is to be backed by an alliance of nations that are home to more than 80 per cent of the world’s tropical rainforest.

A “speculative 15,000 square foot mansion in Manalapan, Fla., will be the first home of its size to be certified green by the U.S. Green Building Council and the Florida Green Building Council.”

Is that a good idea for USGBC? That’s my question to you. Obviously people are going to build big homes–and it is better if they have green features. But should USGBC single out such “eco-mansions” for positive recognition?

On the big side, the mansion has:

… eight bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, two elevators, two laundry rooms, two wine cellars (one for red, one white), a movie theater and guesthouse.

On the green side, the mansion has a:

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Damage to the planet ‘is already inevitable’ – The Times online (UK). “Just eight years are left for the world’s carbon dioxide emissions to peak if there is any hope of limiting temperature rises to no more than 2C (3.6F) over the next century.” Not gonna happen, if the Deniers have there way. And that means: “The choice is now between a future with a damaged world and a future with a severely damaged world,” said Professor Martin Parry, of the Met Office.

EU to give poor nations at least €50 million to deal with climate change – International Herald Tribune. The article suggests that much of the money is for adaptation (i.e. “we’re sorry we screwed you”): “to help them cope with more frequent storms, floods and drought linked to man-made climate change.” On the other hand, some funds will go to “helping poor countries set up programs that could cash in on rich nations’ carbon offsets.” Now we’re talkin’! I wanna get me some of that offset money.

Effort to Get Companies to Disclose Climate Risk – New York Times. “Two environmental groups and the financial officers of 10 states and New York City are asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to require companies to disclose the risks that climate change may pose to their bottom lines.”

Arctic summer ice thickness halves to 1 meter – Environmental News Network. “All of these areas have previously had two meters of ice.” More evidence the Arctic will be ice free by 2030.

My discussion with Mike Tidwell on the latest in climate change news is now online here. Even better for Climate Progress readers — who get more than their fill of me — is the first interview on the show with Mark Serreze of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

If you want the latest on the stunning loss of ice in the Arctic from one of the country’s foremost authorities, that interview is a terrific place to start.