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NORTHERN CLIMATE CHANGE NETWORK LISTSERV July/2010 – Issue 21
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The NCCN newsletter focuses on climate change stories that foster greater awareness of community level climate change impacts and adaptation, and which have relevance to north-central British Columbia. Contributions from readers for future issues are welcome. Send us your ideas.
BC NEWS and LINKS
Canfor reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Canfor Pulp has been reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, and as a result it will be selling up to 80,000 tonnes of carbon offsets to the Pacific Carbon Trust (PCT). According to Canfor Pulp spokesman David Scott, Canfor Pulp reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent between 1990 and 2010. The carbon offsets are being generated by a series of upgrades to its equipment at Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George, BC. The three upgrades, two of which are complete and a further one planned, are part of Canfor’s Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Project. See the PCT news release and the Free Press news story.
Fort St John recognized as one of the newest BC solar communities
Fort St John has become one of 7 new BC solar communities, and the third community to do so in central and northern BC after Dawson Creek and West Moberly. The city is currently installing a solar hot water system on City Hall, and solar hot water will be included in a new fire hall. In addition, solar hot air heating will be installed in the Public Works Shop. The City of Fort St. John also plans to change City bylaws and the Official Community Plan to facilitate solar hot water installations. For further details about the program and other BC communities involved, see the SolarBC’s Solar Communities web pages.
NEWS and LINKS from CANADA and ABROAD
Dutch Government review corroborates the science in the U.N. 4th IPCC report
In its new report, Assessing an IPCC assessment. An analysis of statements on projected regional impacts in the 2007 report, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) “has found no errors that would undermine the main conclusions in the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on possible future regional impacts of climate change.” The report was commissioned by the Dutch Parliament following media coverage early in 2010 on two particular errors contained in the Fourth IPCC report. The PBL project has been conducted under the supervision of an independent commission of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). While recommending areas for improvement in future IPCC reports, the Dutch report’s Executive Summary states: “Overall the summary conclusions are considered well founded and none were found to contain any significant errors. The Working Group II contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report shows ample observational evidence of regional climate change impacts, which have been projected to pose substantial risks to most parts of the world, under increasing temperatures.” Download the PBL report. See also the news story published by Reuters.
Greenland ice melt results in rising coastal areas on the subcontinent
A news release published by the University of Miami, “Greenland Rapidly Rising as Ice Melt Continues”, highlights the surprise and concern of the team of scientists from the University whose research has monitored the rate of ice melt on the subcontinent. Dr. Tim Dixon, a Canadian and the lead researcher on the study, is a professor of geophysics at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS).As noted in the news release, Dr. Dixon comments “It’s been known for several years that climate change is contributing to the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet… What’s surprising, and a bit worrisome, is that the ice is melting so fast that we can actually see the land uplift in response… Even more surprising, the rise seems to be accelerating, implying that melting is accelerating.” See also the CBC news story “Greenland’s coastal areas rising”, and the CBC Quirks and Quarks interview with Dr. Dixon (see Greenland Rising) aired on May 22nd. The research findings have been published in Nature Geoscience.
U.S. releases its Fifth Climate Action Report
The U.S. Department of State released in June its Fifth Climate Action Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). As the State Department’s website notes, “The Fifth U.S. Climate Action Report presents a detailed outline of the actions the U.S. is taking to address climate change, contains updated projections on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and underscores the United States commitment to address climate change.” The report projects that the climate-warming greenhouse gases produced by the U.S. will grow by four per cent through 2020, including an increase in carbon dioxide emissions and more significantly in hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) emissions. See also the U.S. Dept. of State news release and Climate Action Report 2010 website, and the CBC news story.
USDA Forest Service “Adapting to Climate Change: A Short Course for Land Managers”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service has provided online Adapting to Climate Change: A Short Course for Land Managers. The course, targeted for managers of forests and grasslands, provides video lectures, interactive quizzes, research links and other resources. The course contents are provided under the three headings Climate Variability and Projections, Ecological Responses to Climate Variability, and Management Responses to Climate Variability. The short course is an initiative of the USDA – FS Climate Change Resource Centre and its partners. A basic version of the short course homepage can also be visited.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, REPORTS and LINKS
Reports and Publications:
o BC Ministry of Forests and Range – climate change and forest carbon report: British Columbia Forest Offset Guide.
o USDA Forest Service report: Engaging Western Landowners in Climate Change Mitigation: A Guide to Carbon-Oriented Forest and Range Management and Carbon Market Opportunities.
o An article published in the international science journal Nature in July states that phytoplankton (microscopic marine algae), which produce half the world's oxygen and support most ocean life, have been declining dramatically over the past century. The Canadian researchers who completed the study found that the world is losing an average of one per cent of its phytoplankton each year, and that the northern hemisphere has lost roughly 40 per cent since 1950. See also the related CBC news story.
o A newly released report “The Independent Climate Change E-mails Review: July 2010” prepared by an independent team of examiners chaired by Sir Muir Russell evaluates the e-mails and research linked to East Anglia University’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU). Download the Review, and see the related stories from the Guardian and MSNBC.
o An independent Scientific Assessment Panel report clears the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of any scientific impropriety and dishonesty, and the University provides its response to the SAP report and also a statement in response to the Science and Technology Committee Report.
o A new study by a team of researches from the USA, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, published in May in the journal Nature, concludes that the upper layer of the world’s ocean has warmed since 1993, indicating a strong climate change signal.
o Researchers at Brown University in Rhode Island examining sedimentary cores taken from the ocean floor at four locations determine that climate and CO2 levels are closely linked. See CBC news story, and refer to the scientific publication.
Organizations and Programs:
o SolarBC and the Province of BC (via the Public Sector Energy Conservation Agreement - PSECA) are partnering to offer $2 million in new solar thermal projects to schools, hospitals, and other provincial public sector buildings. See the BCSEA news story and PSECA web page.
Additional links of interest:
o An open letter entitled “Climate Change and the Integrity of Science” from 255 members of the US National Academy of Sciences published in the 7 May 2010 edition of Science responds to accusations against climate scientists. The letter states that “There is compelling, comprehensive, and consistent objective evidence that humans are changing the climate in ways that threaten our societies and the ecosystems on which we depend…Many recent assaults on climate science and, more disturbingly, on climate scientists by climate change deniers are typically driven by special interests or dogma, not by an honest effort to provide an alternative theory that credibly satisfies the evidence.”
o Eye on the Arctic (Radio Canada International) articles, including video links, “Changing Sea Ice Brings Arctic Hunters Together” and “Unravelling the mercury mystery: How does a warming climate boost toxic metals in Arctic foods?.”
o CBC news story “Solar plane takes off for 24-hour test flight”and “Solar plane lands after 26-hour flight”.
o Stanford University news story: “Heat waves and extremely high temperatures could be commonplace in the U.S. by 2039”.
o U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) reports in its Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis that the arctic sea ice extent was at record lows in May and June 2010.
