Canada feels effects of climate change

(Photo of retreating Columbian Icefields from Flickr and photographer Bruno Bolzano)

News Update: Retreating glaciers in the west, sea level rise on Price Edward Island and a dramatic drop in water in the Great Lakes are all the results of climate change, according to a new study on Canada. No region is unaffected, says the report by Natural Resources Canada. There are some advantages: more summer tourism and more land available for forests. But the melting permafrost in northern Canada will damage infrastructure (not to mention release of GHG methane), more likely droughts in the prairies will hurt farmers, and water shortages will impact Ontario. On average, Canada has warmed 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.34 Fahrenheit)since 1948, twice the global average. The province of Quebec has heated up 2 degrees C (3.6 F) just since 1993. For more, see globalandmail.com, 3/11

Etc.: Sweden has a target of 49% renewable energy by 2020, under the EU plan. Already at 40%, nearly all Sweden’s energy, except for transportation, is fossil-fuel free. See PlanetArk, 3/6

Car stickers will show a global warming score in California, starting with the 2009 models. They will be rated 1-10, with 10 the best. Other states are likely to adopt the idea. See the blog, Climate Progress.

Antarctic ice no longer safe

News update: Ice sheets in Antarctic, once thought to be unaffected by global warming, are melting at an increasingly rapid rate, says a study in Nature Geoscience. It was known ice was melting on a peninsula jutting toward South America, but not elsewhere on the huge ice cap that contains 90% of the world’s ice. A warming circumpolar current is thought to be causing the problem, as it eats away at the ice 200 yards below the ocean’s surface. The annual Antarctic ice loss, at 132 billion metric tons a year, is getting close to that in Greenland in scope, the researchers said The melting suggests sea levels could rise much higher than expected. East Antarctic has so far been unaffected and surface temperatures on the continent remain stable. (Source: Washington Post)

Western governors eye efficiency to avoid 100 new plants
The Western Governors Assn., made up of 19 states and 3 Pacific islands, is encouraging energy conservation in homes and commercial buildings to save 48,000 megawatts of power, 1.8 trillion gallons of water and $53 billion over 15 years. In a new report, they call for stronger building codes, separating utility sales from profit, and increasing incentives for energy efficiency. If the states adopt the recommendations, the need for new power could be cut 75% in 15 years, the equivalent of 100 power plants. (Source: Greenwire)

Germany leads world in renewable energy growth
Renewable sources provided 14% of power consumed in Germany in 2007, up from a little under 12% in 2006. Wind was responsible for much of the increase, the German Renewable Energy Federation said last week. But plans to reduce government support may slow growth in the future, as happened with biofuels last year. (Source: PlanetArk)

UK to build five towns that have zero carbon emissions
Britain plans five carbon-neutral “eco-towns” of 5,000-20,000 homes, that will be powered by wind or solar and designed to minimize car and water use. By 2016, all of Britain’s new homes will have to be carbon neutral. (Sierra magazine)

Mini-cities in Florida, New York have common green destiny
Developers are building two sustainable cities outside Disney World in Florida and Syracuse, N.Y. Both named “Destiny,” the cities aim for LEED certification from the U.S. Green Buildings Council. In N.Y., plans include a renewable energy plant, horizontal elevators to take people around the car-less city and a monorail to the Syracuse airport and downtown. In Florida, on the cite of the old Yeehaw Junction (maybe you’ve seen the turnpike signs), plans include an eco-industrial park for clean-energy businesses, canals and lakes for drainage, solar panels and a reservoir to catch rainwater. Jobs close to home will be a key. (Source: Greenwire)

Seas levels may rise more than 5 feet

News update: Worldwide sea levels could rise twice as much this century as the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted, increasing more than 5 feet rather than 32 inches. Researchers studying what happened the last time the Earth was hot – about 100,000 years ago – said Greenland was the same temperature IPCC predicts for the next 50-100 years. In the interglacial period, seas eventually rose 20 feet above current levels. The findings were published in the journal Nature Geoscience. (Source: Reuters PlanetArk)

Economic problems could push climate change to back burner
Turbulent financial markets and geopolitical tension in 2008 could mean less attention to global warming, the World Economic Forum warned last week. If the global economy weakens substantially, climate solutions may be delayed, making it harder to solve problems in the future, said WEF in advance of its meeting in Davos this month. WEF named systemic financial risk, supply chain disruption, energy and food security as the 4 key issues this year. Extreme weather linked to climate change topped the list for environmental risks. (Source: PlanetArk))

China, Australia say no plastic bags in supermarkets, stores
China last week banned the use of plastic bags in supermarkets and shops, effective June 1. Shoppers will be urged to use cloth bags and baskets. Chinese people use about 3 billion such bags per day. The country uses 37 million barrels of oil per year for these bags and other packaging. Australia also called for a ban in supermarkets. NYC, which uses 1 billion bags, voted to require large stores to set up bag recycling programs. San Francisco banned plastic bags after a recycling effort didn’t work. (Source: PlanetArk)

Southern California could be hub for geothermal, solar energy
Southern California holds great promise for clean energy. Because of low-level volcanic activity near the sea, geothermal power is available 24/7, so CalEnergy Operating Corp. plans to develop enough to power a quarter-million homes. And applications have come in for 34 solar plants in the dry, expansive desert. If all were built, they could generate enough power for 8 million homes. (Source: Greenwire)

When it’s oil versus polar bears, guess who loses out?
The Interior Dept. has delayed a decision on listing polar bears as an endangered species. At the same time, it will go ahead Feb. 6 with a sale of leases to drill for oil in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea, home to 10% of the polar bear population. Hmmm, says environmental groups. If the designation for the bears had been announced by the legal deadline this week, oil leases would have to meet protections under the Endangered Species Act. Polar bears, around 40,000-50,000 years, could be reduced two-thirds by 2050 because global warming is melting of their habitat. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) opposes designation of the bears as endangered. (Sources: Greenwire, San Francisco Chronicle)