AGU Revises Position on Climate Change
SRM Joins Invasives Coalition
SRM is a participant in the newly formed Washington D.C.-based NGO Invasive Species Coalition. The name is likely to change as the coalition matures. Over 20 organizations are a part of this developing coalition. Participants include organizations such as The Wildlife Society, National Association of State Foresters, National Academy of Sciences, Ecological Society of America, American Farm Bureau Federation, and the National Association of Conservation Districts.
The initial meeting in April 2006, covered such topics as: what is in it for each of the organizations, what are the opportunities to collaborate, and current/upcoming legislative opportunities. The initial meeting resulted in several actions, including formation of a steering committee with representation from the Weed Science Society of America, Wildlife Management Institute, National Association of Conservation Districts, and the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. In addition, a joint letter is being sent to several congressional leaders calling for an oversight hearing to address the findings of a Government Accountability Office report on invasive species. Congressional staff members that deal with invasive species will be invited to the next coalition meeting.
For more
information
contact
SRM, 10030
W. 27th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, CO 80215; (303)
986-3309; fax:
(303) 986-3892.
Website: http://www.rangelands.org.
New
Executive Vice President
The SRM
Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Ken
Johnson as executive vice-president. Johnson currently is a
district conservationist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service in Kentucky. He is a past elected
president of the American Forage and Grassland Council. Johnson will report to
work on September 15.
For more
information, contact: John Tanaka, Society for Range
Management, 10030 W 27th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, CO 80215. (303)
986-3309
AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY
The
Power of Multiples: Connecting Wind Farms Can Make A More Reliable--and
Cheaper--Power Source
Wind power, long considered to be as fickle as wind itself, can be
groomed to become a steady, dependable source of electricity and
delivered at a lower cost than at present, according to scientists at
Stanford University. The key is connecting wind farms throughout a
given geographic area with transmission lines, thus combining the
electric outputs of the farms into one powerful energy source. The
findings are published in the November 2007 issue of the American
Meteorological Society's Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology.
Wind is the world's fastest growing electric energy source, according
to the study's authors, Cristina Archer and Mark Jacobson. However,
because wind is intermittent, it is not used to supply baseload
electric power today. Baseload power is the amount of steady and
reliable electric power that is constantly being produced, typically by
power plants, regardless of the electricity demand. But interconnecting
wind farms with a transmission grid reduces the power swings caused by
wind variability and makes a significant portion of it just as
consistent a power source as a coal power plant.
"This study implies that, if interconnected wind is used on a large
scale, a third or more of its energy can be used for reliable electric
power, and the remaining intermittent portion can be used for
transportation, allowing wind to solve energy, climate and air
pollution problems simultaneously," said Archer, the study's lead
author and a consulting assistant professor in Stanford's Department of
Civil and Environmental Engineering and research associate in the
Department of Global Ecology of the Carnegie Institution.
"The idea is that, while wind speed could be calm at a given location,
it could be gusty at others. By linking these locations together we can
smooth out the differences and substantially improve the overall
performance," Archer said.
Another benefit of connecting multiple wind farms is reducing the total
distance that all the power has to travel from the multiple points of
origin to the destination point. Interconnecting multiple wind farms to
a common point and then connecting that point to a far-away city
reduces the cost of transmission.
Archer said that if the U.S. and other countries each started to
organize the siting and interconnection of new wind farms based on a
master plan, the power supply could be smoothed out and transmission
requirements could be reduced, decreasing the cost of wind energy. This
could result in the large-scale market penetration of wind
energy--already the most inexpensive clean renewable electric power
source--which could contribute significantly to an eventual solution to
global warming, as well as reducing deaths from urban air pollution.
For
more information contact
AMS, 45 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02018; (617) 227-2425. Website: http://www.ametsoc.org.
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS
New Report Brings Sustainable Landscapes Mainstream
For more
information contact ASLA, 636 Eye Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001;
(202) 898-2444; fax: (202) 898-1185. Website: http://www.asla.org.
AMERICAN
WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION
Summer Specialty Conference
SOCIETY OF WOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY
THE WILDLIFE SOCIETY
Science Ignored In FWS Spotted Owl Recovery Plan
SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION SOCIETY
New Book About Environmental Benefits of Conservation Practices
UNEP and
WMO Panel Puts Final Full Stop Behind Risks and Rewards of Combating
Climate Change
The challenges and opportunities facing the world as a result of
climate change have been distilled into a concise and sobering guide by
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The guide,
launched after five days of discussions in the Spanish city of
Valencia, was essential reading for delegates attending the UN climate
convention meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
The guide, officially known as the Summary for Policy Makers,
underlines the urgency to act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
alongside the economic costs of a transition to a low carbon society.
It also argues strongly in favor of stepping up support and action on
adaptation.
"Neither adaptation nor mitigation alone can avoid all climate change
impacts. However, they can complement each other and together can
significantly reduce the risks of climate change," says the report by
the IPCC, a panel jointly established by the UN Environment Program
(UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
It also highlights five "reasons for concern" which are now stronger
than before. This is because scientists now conclude that they may
happen at lower increases in temperature or because the risks may be
larger than had previously been supposed.
These include: the impacts on species and biodiversity hotspots as
temperatures rise including polar and high mountain communities and
ecosystems; focus on the risks of extreme weather events with higher
confidence in the projected increases in droughts, heatwaves and floods
as well as their adverse impacts; concern that the poor and the elderly
in low-latitude and less-developed areas including those in dry areas
and living on mega-deltas are likely to suffer most; concern that any
benefits linked with climate change will be gone after more modest
temperature rises; and concern that new observations linked with the
Greenland and possibly Antarctic ice sheets may mean that the rate of
ice loss will increase above previous forecasts.
Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director, said: "This is perhaps the most
essential reading for every person on the planet who cares about the
future. In this Summary, the hard science has been distilled along with
evidence of the social and economic consequences of global warming but
also the economic rationale and opportunities for action now".
"The momentum on climate change in 2007 has been nothing short of
breathtaking and in no small measure due to the series of assessments
from the IPCC. Today's final synthesis report translates the complex
science into a lingua-franca so that governments meeting in Bali can
not only understand the challenge but be empowered to act collectively
on a decisive post 2012 emission reductions regime," he added.
"This pocket guide for policymakers is also more than that. It is also
a citizens guide for engaging political leaders, their members of
parliament, local authority officials the chief executive officers of
national corporations in a public debate on what needs to happen next,"
added Mr. Steiner.
The summary makes a strong link between climate change and the wider
challenges facing in particular developing countries a result of issues
like poverty, unequal access to resources, conflict and disease.
On an optimistic note, the summary points out that combating climate
change does not have to damage or derail economies. "There is high
agreement and much evidence of substantial economic potential for the
mitigation of global greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decades"
if governments adopt the right policies and incentives, it says.
Bringing down global carbon dioxide emissions to 2005 levels by 2030
will require a big shift of investment patterns- "although the net
additional investment required ranges from negligible to five to 10
percent," concludes the report. The IPCC estimates that biggest
prospect for emissions cuts comes from buildings, followed by industry
and energy supply, agriculture and forestry under a variety scenarios
based on the market price of carbon.
For more information please contact Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson.
E-mail: nick.nuttall@unep.org
Climate Change Threatens
Unprecedented Human Development Reversals
The United Nations Development Program's Human Development Report has
warned that the world should focus on the development impact of climate
change that could bring unprecedented reversals in poverty reduction,
nutrition, health and education.
The report, "Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided
World," provides a stark account of the threat posed by global warming.
It argues that the world is drifting towards a "tipping point" that
could lock the world's poorest countries and their poorest citizens in
a downward spiral, leaving hundreds of millions facing malnutrition,
water scarcity, ecological threats, and a loss of livelihoods.
"Ultimately, climate change is a threat to humanity as a whole. But it
is the poor, a constituency with no responsibility for the ecological
debt we are running up, who face the immediate and most severe human
costs," commented UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis.
The report calls for a "twin track" approach that combines stringent
mitigation to limit 21st century warming to less than 2 degrees C (3.6
degrees F), with strengthened international cooperation on adaptation.
On mitigation, the authors call on developed countries to demonstrate
leadership by cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 percent
of 1990 levels by 2050. The report advocates a mix of carbon taxation,
more stringent cap-and-trade programs, energy regulation, and
international cooperation on financing for low-carbon technology
transfer.
Turning to adaptation, the report warns that inequalities in ability to
cope with climate change are emerging as an increasingly powerful
driver of wider inequalities between and
within countries. It calls on rich countries to put climate change
adaptation at the center of international partnerships on poverty
reduction.
"We are issuing a call to action, not providing a counsel of despair,"
commented lead author Kevin Watkins, adding, "Working together with
resolve, we can win the battle against climate change. Allowing the
window of opportunity to close would represent a moral and political
failure without precedent in human history." He described the Bali
talks as a unique opportunity to put the interests of the world's poor
at the heart of climate change negotiations.
The report provides evidence of the mechanisms through which the
ecological impacts of climate change will be transmitted to the poor.
Focusing on the 2.6 billion people surviving on less than US$2 a day,
the authors warn forces unleashed by global warming could stall and
then reverse progress built up over generations.
Setting out the evidence from a new research exercise, the authors of
the Human Development Report argue that the potential human costs of
climate change have been understated. They point out that climate
shocks such as droughts, floods and storms, which will become more
frequent and intense with climate change, are already among the most
powerful drivers of poverty and inequality--and global warming will
strengthen the impacts.
"Of course there are uncertainties, but faced with risks of this order
of magnitude uncertainty is not a case for inaction. Ambitious
mitigation is in fact the insurance we have to buy against potentially
very large risks. 'Fighting Climate Change' is about our commitment to
human development today and about creating a world that will provide
ecological security for our children and their grandchildren," Mr.
Dervis said.
While acknowledging the threat posed by rising emissions from major
developing countries, the authors argue that northern governments have
to initiate the deepest and earliest cuts. They point out that rich
countries carry overwhelming historic responsibility for the problem,
have far deeper carbon footprints, and have the financial and
technological capabilities to act.
Scenarios for future emissions reinforce the scale of the challenge
ahead. On current trends, CO2 emissions are projected to increase by 50
percent to 2030--an outcome that would make dangerous climate change
inevitable. "The bottom line is that the global energy system is out of
alignment with the ecological systems that sustain our planet,"
commented Mr. Watkins, adding: "realignment will take a fundamental
shift in regulation, market incentives, and international cooperation."
While stressing the central medium-term role of mitigation, "Fighting
Climate Change" warns against neglecting the adaptation challenge. It
points out that, even with stringent mitigation, the world is now
committed to continued warming for the first half of the 21st Century.
The report warns that adaptation is needed to prevent climate change
leading to major setbacks in human development--and to guard against
the very real danger of insufficient mitigation.
The report draws attention to extreme inequalities in adaptation
capacity. Rich countries are investing heavily in climate-change
defense systems, with governments playing a leading role. By contrast,
in developing countries "people are being left to sink or swim with
their own resources," writes Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape
Town.
"Nobody wants to understate the very real long-term ecological
challenges that climate change will bring to rich countries," Mr.
Watkins commented. "But the near term vulnerabilities are not
concentrated in lower Manhattan and London, but in flood prone areas of
Bangladesh and drought prone parts of sub-Saharan Africa."
"Fighting Climate Change" concludes that "one of the hardest lessons
taught by climate change is that the historically carbon intensive
growth, and the profligate consumption in rich nations that has
accompanied it, is ecologically unsustainable." But the authors argue,
"with the right reforms, it is not too late to cut greenhouse gas
emissions to sustainable levels without sacrificing economic growth:
rising prosperity and climate security are not conflicting objectives."
For more information please consult the 2007/2008 UNDP Human
Development Report Website: http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2007-2008/
Opportunities and Risks of Wood
Energy Production
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Poverty
Could be Reduced, Deforestation Could Increase
The use of wood energy can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and can
contribute to poverty reduction, FAO said. However, the agency warned
that the use of wood for fuel can result in deforestation or forest
degradation if sustainable forest management is not effectively
practiced.
Wood is the most important biofuel, mainly in developing countries.
More than two billion people depend on wood for their daily energy
demand, mainly for cooking, heating and small industrial production. In
sub-Saharan Africa, fuelwood and charcoal supply over 70 percent of the
national energy demand
High oil prices, the need for secure energy supplies and concerns over
climate change have led to a new interest in bioenergy. This renewed
interest could affect forests because forests occupy land which could
be used for crops producing liquid biofuels. Furthermore, forests and
forest residues could become more important for the direct conversion
to liquid biofuels.
The production of energy from existing forests and from forest
plantations is expected to increase. At the same time, unsustainable
harvesting and use of wood fuels could increase. As the demand for wood
energy rises, the supply of wood available for other uses might
decline, resulting in higher prices for all users of wood.
Land previously dedicated to food crops might shift to biofuel crops.
This could benefit farmers' incomes, but might have a negative impact
on local food production.
Agro-fuel crops might expand into forests, generating land use
conflicts and increasing deforestation, with implications for
biological diversity, climate change and water.
"Despite the apparent benefits of biofuels, caution should be exercised
when planning and implementing large-scale liquid bio-fuel projects,"
said Wulf Killmann, Director of FAO's Forest Products and Industries
Division. "Governments should ensure that there are no serious negative
impacts on the environment and society."
FAO called upon countries to develop their wood energy sectors in line
with sustainable forest management concepts. Wood energy policies
should be incorporated into poverty reduction strategies. Know-how and
capacity building in the use of sustainable, efficient and healthy wood
energy systems should be transferred. Undue market distortions should
be avoided. Safeguards for the production of liquid biofuels should be
introduced to avoid unwanted negative impacts on the environment and
local population.
For more information, please contact: Alison Small, Media Relations,
FAO, E-Mail: Alison_small@fao.org
Electrifying a Low-carbon Future
Is meeting the increased demand for electricity while lowering GHG
emissions actually possible? Is it not contradictory for utility
companies to push for the more efficient use of electricity by
consumers when their core business is power delivery?
The answer to these and other seeming paradoxes is 'yes' and 'no'
according to a new interim report published today by the World Business
Council on Sustainable Development’s Electricity Utilities Sector
Project. The report, "Powering a Sustainable Future: Policies and
Measures to Make it Happen", highlights that many low-carbon solutions
exist today, but warns that their development and deployment at a
sufficient scale to reduce the carbon intensity of electricity
production and increase consumption efficiency will not occur without
the right regulatory and market frameworks.
Given that the sector is currently responsible for approximately 41
percent of global energy related CO2 emissions, these frameworks will
be critical to combating climate change during the first half of this
century.
A key message from the document is that consistent and integrated
policy and regulatory measures must underpin and support investment in
low carbon technologies, both on the demand and supply sides. But, that
a one-size-fits-all approach will fail and a combination of
complementary mechanisms must be used.
Specific policies will be necessary to drive the implementation of
currently available technologies, while large-scale multi-country
R&D efforts are required for those future solutions that currently
face technological or commercial barriers to deployment (such as
integrated Carbon Capture and Storage technology within the sector). To
enable their effective implementation, significant investments in grid
infrastructure will be required.
Commenting on the role of business in leading the path towards a
low-carbon future, Bjorn Stigson, president of WBCSD, stressed that
"business must play a significant role in contributing to the
innovation and development of new promising solutions, but support from
government and society are needed to both develop and implement
technologies at the necessary scale to enable the rapid transition
required to tackle climate change. The potential of end-use energy
efficiency is substantial. There is a very real need to educate
consumers about the benefits, both financial and for the environment,
of energy conservation."
The interim report was launched at a side event on December 11, 2007,
during the United Nations Climate Change conference in Bali. This event
marked the start of an international stakeholder dialogue, which will
continue throughout 2008 to discuss and refine the policy
recommendations from the sector.
For more information, please contact: Antonia Gawel, E-Mail: gawel@wbcsd.org
Sound Environmental Management
Contributes To Poverty Reduction in Developing Countries
With poor countries much more dependent on natural resources as assets
than rich countries, policy changes that affect the natural
environmental -- particularly at the household level -- are critical to
reducing poverty, according to a new report from the World Bank,
"Poverty and the Environment: Understanding Linkages at the Household
Level".
"Poverty reduction can be seen as a three-part program," said Warren
Evans, Director of Environment, World Bank. "It involves stemming the
fall of households into further poverty, enabling movements out of
poverty, and ensuring that the non-poor do not become poor. Reducing
vulnerability is as important as reducing poverty. There is a role for
environmental management, including policy reforms, in each of these
areas."
According to the report, it is important to understand how countries
rely on the environment. For example, the ratio of people to forested
land is over three times higher in low-income countries compared with
high income. This gives an indication of the pressure on forests, and
the outcome is visible in the adjoining table. While forested lands are
growing at 0.1 percent per year in high-income countries, they are
shrinking at 0.5 percent per year in low-income countries. Access to
'environmental infrastructure' in the form of improved water and
sanitation shows a similar divide. The result is that mortality rates
for children under the age of five are nearly 18 times higher in
low-income compared with high-income countries.
Poor households have limited assets that they can use to make
investments; they have fewer income-earning opportunities, are exposed
to higher health risks, and are less able to cope with adverse economic
and health shocks.
The report says that policy changes that affect the natural environment
can have direct and indirect impacts on household welfare. These
include poverty alleviation and an increase in a household's economic
welfare, as well as better nutritional and health outcomes.
According to the report, reforms with positive environmental and
welfare impacts do not always originate from the environmental sector.
Some reforms -- such as the creation of common property rights,
incentives for better management of natural resources, or creation of
new markets for environmental services -- pertain directly to
environmental resources. In other cases, sectoral or macro policies
intended to improve other aspects of the economy may also have
environmental and welfare benefits -- for example, strengthening of
private property rights.
In particular, the last two decades have seen reforms in environmental
management that put community participation and economic development as
core goals. The report finds that decentralization of natural resource
management is beginning to work for some communities. Benefits can be
found in reforms that strengthened community rights, created stronger
incentives for resource management, and developed new markets that
facilitate payments for environmental services. There were also
positive outcomes from reforms outside the environment sector that
strengthened private property rights and increased access to services.
"Unsafe water, lack of sanitation and poor indoor air quality are major
killers of children," said Evans, "An important finding is that the
extent of coverage of communities to safe water and sanitation is a
significant contributor to child health. This means that targeting poor
communities for access to water and sanitation can yield real benefits."
The poor are willing to participate in a variety of resource management
programs, according to the report, some of which lead to significant
welfare improvements. The publication recommends continuing to make
prudent investments in projects that create new incentives and
strengthen property rights, as well as increasing efforts to collect
good data to help monitor and evaluate environmental investments that
yield benefits to poor households.
For more information, please contact: Roger Morier, World Bank, (202)
473-5675, E-Mail: rmorier@worldbank.org
or Kristyn Schrader, World Bank, (202) 458-2736, E-Mail: kschrader@worldbank.org
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