Political Climate Articles
Capitol Hill loves carbon storage technology. But are lawmakers overlooking risks?
An upcoming Journal of the American Medical Association article finds there are "important and unanswered" questions about risks from carbon capture and storage despite deep political support for the technology aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
House and Senate climate change bills would funnel billions of dollars into helping commercialize technology to capture carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants and permanently store it underground.
But in a commentary slated for publication Wednesday, two doctors say health and safety dangers associated with carbon capture and sequestration, or CCS, have not been considered amid promotion of the technology.
The doctors – John Fogarty of the University of New Mexico and Michael McCally of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine – cite asphyxiation risks from accidental large-scale releases.
"The geologic security or permanence of underground carbon dioxide storage over time also has not been well studied," they write. They also cite potential risks to water supplies.
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A Dangerous Spin on the Cancer Risks of a Sugar-Free Sweetener
Cancer Prevention Coalition Chairman Dr. Samuel S. Epstein warns that, based on scientific evidence published in peer-reviewed journals and presented to the U.S. Congress, aspartame is both toxic and carcinogenic. The coalition is calling upon the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban all dietary uses of aspartame.
Crystal Light was first marketed in 1982 to "make drinking water more enjoyable," and much less caloric than fruit juices. Aspartame, 200 times sweeter than sugar, is also widely used as a sweetener in tea and coffee, especially by the weight conscious.
Aspartame was synthesized by G.D. Searle in 1965 after its strong sweet taste was first noted.
Subsequent toxicology tests by Searle revealed brain damage in mice, and cancer in the liver, testes and thyroid of rats. However, the results of these tests were never published nor reported to the FDA.
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Arab World in Water Crisis, Reports Jordanian Journalist
There are people in over 17 Arab countries living well below the water poverty line of 500 cubic metres annually, said Arab decision makers from around the Arab world, meeting on water insecurity this past Monday, in Jordan, reports the Jordan Times. They recognized climate change in the Middle East as an issue that will further impact their poorly-available water resources, noting that 75% of the surface water in the Arab world, originates from outside its borders.
Jordan is one of the most water poor countries in the Arab world, and its residents rely on bi-weekly water deliveries to their homes, that fill up tanks located on roofs or in underground wells.
Action to protect water sources in the Arab world is needed now, they appealed, while meeting at a scientific forum on Arab water security. Taking place in Jordan, and organised by the Arab Administrative Development Organization, the experts said new strategies are needed badly to help improve water management in the region, likely to face the brunt of climate change effects.
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How ultraconservative Texans are rewriting your kids' textbooks and bringing global-warming denial into science class
This month, there is a high-stakes battle playing out on the Texas State Board of Education, where a powerful ultraconservative faction is struggling to rewrite the standards for the state's textbooks and infuse them with right-wing views. Among other things, the group aims to rehabilitate Joseph McCarthy, downplay the contributions of the civil rights movement, bring global-warming denial into science class, and give history a pro-Republican slant. The implications reach far beyond the Lone Star State. In fact, thanks to the peculiar economics of textbook publishing, Texas has the power to shape the materials children read in classrooms nationwide.
That's the teaser for an important Washington Monthly piece, The Revisionaries, on "the rabble rousers who are rewriting your kids' textbooks." Ironically, Texas leads the country in wind power with nearly 9000 MW
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R.I. joins 10 other states to cut emissions
It didn't get much public attention over the holidays, but on Dec. 29 Governor Carcieri signed a memorandum of understanding that links Rhode Island with 10 other states in an unusual effort to lower the amount of carbon emissions produced by cars, buses and trucks.
The agreement calls on the states to study establishment of a so-called "low carbon fuel standard" that would use alternative fuels, credits and other techniques to reduce the amount of carbon produced by transportation by 10 percent in the next 10 years.
Only the State of California has launched a similar effort through an executive order signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2007. His stated goal was to spur research into alternatives to oil and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Similar programs are being considered in Oregon, Washington and 10 Midwestern states.
Carcieri signed the Northeast-mid-Atlantic agreement along with the governors of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Vermont. Massachusetts Governor Patrick organized the effort.
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Charest defends his greenhouse-gas position as Harper stands nearby
RIVIERE-DU-LOUP, Que. - He was shoulder to shoulder with Stephen Harper on Tuesday but Premier Jean Charest stood firm in his public scolding of the prime minister last month for failing to back tougher targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"There's not a single word I would change," Charest said at a ceremony in eastern Quebec announcing funding for an environmental project.
"Frankly, I'm still mystified by some people who were bothered by my comments because I'm trying to see what it is exactly that I would have said that would have bothered anyone."
Charest publicly excoriated Harper at a major climate-change conference in Copenhagen last month for not supporting more aggressive targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"Greenhouse gas emissions and the whole issue of climate change is one of the most important issues facing mankind," Charest said.
"Quebec and Canada will be among the ecosystems that will be the most affected by this phenomena of climate change. That's why we feel very strongly about this issue."
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FoxNews, WattsUpWithThat push falsehood-filled Daily Mail article on global cooling that utterly misquotes, misrepresents work of Mojib Latif and NSIDC
30 Years of Global Cooling Are Coming, Leading Scientist Says
Latif … says we're in for 30 years of cooler temperatures
Memo to media and anti-science disinformers (again): If your "global cooling" piece revolves around Dr. Latif, you probably have the entire story backwards. But, at least for the disinformers, that is the goal. And that goes double if the piece involves the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).
In an interview back on October 1, Dr. Latif told me "we don't trust our forecast beyond 2015? and "it is just as likely you'll see accelerated warming" after then. Indeed, in his published research, rapid warming is all-but-inevitable over the next two decades. He told me, "you can't miss the long-term warming trend" in the temperature record, which is "driven by the evolution of greenhouse gases." Finally, he pointed out "Our work does not allow one to make any inferences about global warming."
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Canadians say climate change a bigger threat than terrorism: poll
OTTAWA -- Canadians believe climate change poses a significantly bigger threat to the "vital interests" of this country over the next decade than international terrorism, a new poll suggests.
While nearly half of those surveyed said climate change is a "critical threat," only about one in four people said the same about international terrorism. A similar poll conducted in 2004 showed Canadians believed the two threats were about equal.
The results come from a survey commissioned by the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute and conducted by the Innovative Research Group, Inc. between Dec. 22, 2009, and Jan. 4, 2010.
Canadians were asked about their "threat perceptions" on a number of issues. While fears about climate change remained relatively stable, falling 3% from 52% in 2004 to 49% in 2010, international terrorism tumbled from 49% in 2004 to 28% in 2010.
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India can be solar power leader: PM
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid out ambitious plans to make his country a global leader in solar power on Monday as he launched a government initiative to boost use of the technology.
Solar can help secure India's energy independence and tackle climate change, Singh said, as well as offering new opportunities for industry in a country with a crippling shortage of power.
The National Solar Mission, launched Monday, could "establish India as a global leader in solar energy" in the areas of power generation and technology production, Singh told business leaders and government officials.
"The rapid spread of solar lighting systems, solar water pumps and other solar power-based rural applications can change the face of our rural energy sector," he said.
The Solar Mission has the goal of increasing solar energy capacity exponentially to reach 20,000 megawatts for the year 2022, reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
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