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Rapid Climate Change international scientific conference
The government’s chief scientific advisor, Sir David King, warned scientists at NERC’s Rapid
Climate Change International Science Conference earlier today that ‘If no action is taken [on climate change] we will
be faced with an economic downturn of the kind that we haven’t seen since the great depression and the two world wars.’
Professor King's words come days before the Treasury publish the Stern report, a global economic analysis on the impacts
of climate change which many NERC scientists have contributed to.
Professor King, who was introduced by NERC’s Chief Executive Alan Thorpe, addressed the conference
for thirty minutes and talked about communicating science to government, the importance of NERC’s climate change programmes,
as well as the economic consequences if the international community fails to act on this issue.
Professor King's introduction and abridged speech follows.
Professor Alan Thorpe
"The Rapid Climate Change programme has brought together a community of researchers involved in observation, modelling
and the problems associated with rapid climate change.
NERC has invested about £20 million in the programme which was originally was set up to look at abrupt or rapid climate
change. Of course we know how important it is to the climate change problem as it is a critical indicator of whether the theory
and knowledge of climate change is being translated into observational fact.
The programme has grown into an international activity and I am very pleased that we have partners in the US, Norway and
the Netherlands.
The Rapid Climate Change programme fits very strongly within where NERC wants to go next, particularly regarding the new
NERC strategy and the government’s spending review 2007. This is a flagship programme for NERC and it is an important
example of where the UK plays a leadership role in climate change science.
I would now like to introduce the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister, Sir David King. David has played a key
role in raising the level of knowledge of the importance of climate change science within government."
Sir David King
"Thank you Alan, let me start by saying that I would like to thank this community of scientists because it is your work
that provides most of the input to my presentations within government. As a matter of fact I see my role in government as
seeing that government is able to be an intelligent consumer of scientific output, so I have to absorb what you are doing.
When I talk about the changing climate of global warming I’m really referring to two climates, the physical climate
and the political climate. The Boxing Day tsunami and Hurricane Katrina tell us that governments ignore the advice and extraordinary
capability of scientists today at the peril of their own population.
We all know we have already witnessed a global average temperature rise of 0.7 degrees Celsius in the last century and
that this is the most dramatic rise on record for at least 1000 years. Did this come as a surprise to all of us? No. The scientific
community is very clear about the background to this. With all the inputs from earthquake activity, solar activity, carbon
dioxide changes, there’s a pretty good description of past climate. So what we see is that the theory fits rather closely
with the outputs of experimental measures, which is usually what scientists like to see.
What we’re also seeing is that extreme events are becoming more frequent, glaciers are melting, sea ice and snow
cover is declining, sea levels are rising up to 88 cm by 2100 - that was the last IPCC top end, now we’re waiting to
see what the IPCC will make of the latest data [The next report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is due
to be published February 2007]. By 2100, sea level rise will threaten 100 million people because a large percentage of our
population live on the coastline.
Already the number of people affected by flooding has risen from seven million in the 60s to 100 million today. In Europe
we know that in 2002 floods cost an estimated 16 billion Euro and the summer heat wave of 2003 killed over 30,000 people.
Analysis shows the summer heatwave was an extreme event of enormous magnitude. But what we can see is that this extreme event
is sitting on top of a rising baseline making it a much more likely event [in the future] and so the language of one in 50
years, or one in a 1000 years is something we’ll all have to move away from.
As we move forward in time to 2040-2050 the mean temperature in central Europe will be that 2003 figure. It’s no
longer relevant to talk in terms of static baseline temperatures when we look at extreme events. That’s a very important
and difficult message to get across within political spheres, and we just have to keep hammering away.
These effects are already being picked up by the insurance industries. The insurance industries have to be smart. They
have to be intelligent customers of what the science base says because they are laying out bets with all of us who take out
insurance policies, and they can’t afford to lose. And so if you talk to companies like Swiss Re they are very much
aware of what you people are doing and they are redoing their calculation yearly, on the basis of your outputs.
Swiss Re are the world’s second largest reinsurer. They estimate the economic costs of global warming, and nothing
else, are likely to double to 150 billion euro each year in the next ten years. We are seeing them predicting a massive increase
in insurance costs as we move forwards in time.
We know there is now developing a global scientific consensus on the scope of the problem, certainly amongst the scientists.
Following this is an understanding within the global community as well. A recent MORI poll showed that 92% surveyed thought
that, yes, they felt that global warming was a serious problem.
If you asked people if the Earth is spherical or near spherical you wouldn’t get 92% agreeing on that so I think
you’ve done a remarkable job at least with the British public. 4% said no and 4% said don’t know. And we now have
political consensus in the UK: all three main political parties all fully agree on action. The only thing they are scrapping
about is which party is going to take the greatest action. And perhaps this isn’t a bad place to be.
Robust and urgent action is what each party is demonstrating to the public that they are in favour of, and that puts me
in rather a good place. So what we need is global leadership. The UK produces two per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide,
we are aware that we do not solve the problem by switching to a carbon free economy. What we need is international leadership
and in the absence of leadership from the US I think the UK has stepped into that position.
We are also moving away from the direct science to the economic impacts. I was hoping to tell you a little detail of Sir
Nicholas Stern’s review [the review team interviewed many NERC scientists including Alan Thorpe and NERC’s director
of Science and Innovation, Steven Wilson, as part of the process].
"... immediate action is required if we are to bring this under control with the least
economic hurt."
I have had a detailed briefing of the review which will be published next week. In brief, what his review will demonstrate,
in the most detailed economic analysis that has yet been conducted, and it is a global economic analysis, that first of all,
if no action is taken we will be faced with an economic downturn of the kind that we haven’t seen since the great depression
and the two world wars. And his analysis will also indicate that immediate action is required if we are to bring this under
control with the least economic hurt. So I think we are going to see a very detailed and robust analysis of the economics
emerging from the UK.
Nick Stern by the way is a man of massive international standing. He was previously the chief economist at the world bank
so he comes to the task with a tremendous record.
I’ve passed over the recent meeting in Monterey. May I just say that that meeting, behind closed doors, of the 20
leading economies around the world was the first time that we have seen complete agreement on the science, and, through Nick
Stern’s presentation at that meeting, the economics. Therefore the need to act was seen by all 20 nations.
What is now required is for us to find the political process that will lead to an equitable solution that
leads to a steady reduction of carbon dioxide emissions around the world. There is no question that this requires a fiscal
process to drive this through and it requires agreements in addition to the technologies that we all know are needed."
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Further information
NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel:
01793 411727
Mob: 07917 086 369
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Illinois State Water Survey/National Weather Service Asks Volunteers to Keep
an Eye to the Sky - Grassroots volunteer program wants weather watchers in Illinois
Champaign, IL – Weather affects all of us and can vary greatly even over short distances. In an effort
to increase the density of rainfall observations over the United States, a fast-growing, volunteer program needs weather observers
in Illinois.
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) network began in Colorado in 1998 and has already
grown to more than 2500 observers in 14 states. Program coordinators for Illinois include the Illinois State Water Survey
(ISWS), the National Weather Service, and the University of Illinois Extension Natural Resources Management team.
“This project benefits the entire state. Anyone can help, regardless of age or education,” said
Steve Hilberg, ISWS meteorologist and CoCoRaHS co-coordinator for Illinois.
The nonprofit CoCoRaHS network stresses training and education. The National Science Foundation and other
contributors provide funding. CoCoRaHS volunteers are backyard weather observers of all ages, working together to measure
and map local precipitation as rain, hail, and snow.
Volunteers use low-cost measurement tools and an interactive website to provide the highest quality data
for natural resource, education, and research applications. Data users include organizations and individuals, including climatologists,
hydrologists, water managers, and the National Weather Service, who use these data to monitor drought, heavy rainfall, and
precipitation patterns.
“The only requirements for observers are an enthusiasm for watching and reporting weather conditions,
and a desire to learn more about weather impacts on our lives. Participation takes just a few minutes a day,” said Hilberg.
Training is required, and local training sessions teach new CoCoRaHS observers how to install their instruments
and measure precipitation. A workshop will be held at the ISWS in Champaign at 7:00 p.m. on February 1. The ISWS at 2204 Griffith
Drive is located near the intersection of First Street and Windsor Road.
Additional training sessions:
CITY LOCATION DATE TIME
Lincoln Nat’l Weather Service Feb. 3 1:00 P.M.
Morton Morton Public Library Feb. 13 6:30 P.M.
St.
Charles Kane County Extension Feb. 26 7:00 P.M.
The sessions are free, but you must pre-register. To sign up for any of the
above sessions please call 217-333-8495 or register by e-mail (hberg@uiuc.edu).
Return to Press Releases
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Positive Environmental News Release ( Public )
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Cities Key to Tackling Poverty, Climate Change
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Washington, D.C.—If global development priorities are not reassessed to account for massive urban
poverty, well over half of the 1.1 billion people projected to join the world’s population between now and 2030 may
live in under-serviced slums, according to State of the World 2007: Our Urban Future, released today by the Worldwatch Institute. Additionally, while cities cover only 0.4 percent of the Earth’s
surface, they generate the bulk of the world’s carbon emissions, making cities key to alleviating the climate crisis,
notes the report.
As recently as a century ago, the vast majority of the world’s people lived in rural areas, but by sometime next
year more than half of all people will live in urban areas. Over 60 million people—roughly the population of France—are
now added to the planet’s burgeoning cities and suburbs each year, mostly in low-income urban settlements in developing
countries.
Unplanned and chaotic urbanization is taking a huge toll on human health and the quality of the environment, contributing
to social, ecological, and economic instability in many countries. Of the 3 billion urban dwellers today, 1 billion live in
“slums,” defined as areas where people cannot secure key necessities such as clean water, a nearby toilet, or
durable housing. An estimated 1.6 million urban residents die each year due to lack of clean water and sanitation as a result.
“For a child living in a slum, disease and violence are daily threats, while education and health care are often
a distant hope,” said Molly O’Meara Sheehan, State of the World 2007 project director. “Policymakers need to address the ‘urbanization of poverty’ by stepping up investments
in education, healthcare, and infrastructure.” From 1970 to 2000, urban aid worldwide was estimated at $60 billion—just
4 percent of the $1.5 trillion in total development assistance.
The Commission for Africa has identified urbanization as the second greatest challenge confronting the world’s most
rapidly urbanizing continent, after HIV/AIDS. Only about 35 percent of Africa’s population is urban, but it is predicted
that this figure will jump to 50 percent by 2030. “The promise of independence has given way to the harsh realities
of urban living mainly because too many of us were ill-prepared for our urban future,” notes Anna Tibaijuka, executive
director of UN-HABITAT, in the report’s foreword.
State of the World 2007 also describes how community groups and local governments have emerged as pioneers of groundbreaking policies to address
both poverty and environmental concerns, in some cases surpassing the efforts of their national governments. “The task
of saving the world’s modern cities might seem hopeless—except that it is already happening,” said Christopher
Flavin, president of the Worldwatch Institute. “Necessities from food to energy are increasingly being produced by urban
pioneers inside city limits.”
Among the many examples of cities taking the lead in shaping a sustainable future cited in the report:
- In Karachi, Pakistan, the Orangi Pilot Project has linked hundreds of thousands of low-income households
in informal settlements with good-quality sewers. By taking charge of the pipes connecting their houses to lane sewers, local
residents cut costs to a fifth of what they would have been charged by the official water and sanitation agency.
- In Freetown, Sierra Leone, after the cessation of a multi-year civil war, a swelling population has successfully
turned to urban farming to meet much of its food demand.
- In Rizhao, China, a government program enabled 99 percent of households in the central districts to obtain
solar water heaters, while most traffic signals and street and park lights are powered by solar cells, limiting the city’s
carbon emissions and urban pollution.
- In Bogotá, Colombia, engineers improved upon the iconic bus rapid transit system of Curitiba, Brazil,
to create the TransMilenio, which has helped decrease air pollution, increase quality of life, and inspire similar projects
in Europe, North America, and Asia.
Cities around the world have also begun to take climate change seriously, many in response to the direct threat they face.
Of the 33 cities projected to have at least 8 million residents by 2015, at least 21 are coastal cities that will have to
contend with sea-level rise from climate change.
In the United States, over 300 cities—home to more than 51 million Americans—have joined the U.S. Mayors’
Climate Protection Agreement, committing to reducing their emissions and lobbying the federal government for a national climate
policy. Chicago, for example, has negotiated with a private utility to provide 20 percent of the city government’s electricity
from renewable sources by 2010, and aims to become “the most environmentally friendly city in America.” Not to
be outdone, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg recently announced plans for his city to become the nation’s leader in
reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
While no single set of “best practices” would enable all cities to successfully address the challenges of poverty
and environmental degradation, State of the World 2007 focuses on areas where urban leadership can have huge benefits for the planet and human development. These include providing
water and sanitation services to the urban poor, bolstering urban farming, and improving public transportation. Additionally,
the report recommends devoting more resources to information gathering on urban issues so that city, national, and international
entities can better assess development priorities.
“A city is a collective dream. To build this dream is vital,” observes Jaime Lerner, the former governor of
Paraná, Brazil, and the former mayor of Curitiba, in his foreword to the report. “It is in our cities that we can make
the most progress toward a more peaceful and balanced planet, so we can look at an urban world with optimism instead of fear.”
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EPA ranks UC Santa Cruz the sixth largest 'green power' purchaser among campuses
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SANTA CRUZ, CA—A vote by UC Santa Cruz students to boost their own fees to enhance campus support for
“green power” has brought national recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The EPA’s College and University Green Power Partners, which promotes purchases of renewable resources,
has named UC Santa Cruz its sixth largest green power purchaser in the country. The list is based on purchases through Dec.
31, 2006. (See the EPA’s top 10 list.
“Based on national average utility subregion emissions rates, the U.S. EPA estimates that UC Santa Cruz's
purchase is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide emissions of nearly 7,000 cars per year, or avoiding the equivalent
carbon dioxide emissions associated with nearly 3.6 million gallons of gasoline annually," said James Critchfield of the EPA’s
Climate Protection Partnerships Division.
"EPA applauds the University of California at Santa Cruz for its recent purchase of green power," said Bill
Wehrum, acting assistant administrator of EPA's office of air and radiation. "The students, faculty and administration are
taking action to address the impact they have on the environment. They are also looking out for their own mascot--the banana
slug--one of nature's most unique species. It's an excellent example of how sustainability can be linked to the broader educational
mission of a university."
"UC Santa Cruz is honored to be included in this elite list,” said UC Santa Cruz Acting Chancellor George
Blumenthal. “Our students' purchase of renewable energy is an especially heartening contribution to our efforts to promote
conservation and clean energy throughout campus. I want to thank our students for their generosity and the UC Santa Cruz Physical
Plant for its effectiveness in making this recognition possible."
Students voted last spring to pay $3 more in tuition each quarter to purchase clean, sustainable energy. Tapping
the student-generated fund, the campus purchased 50 million kilowatt hours of clean energy in the form of renewable energy
certificates. The purchase, on top of UC Santa Cruz’s already existing electrical contract for 5 million kilowatt hours
of renewable power, means the campus is now considered 100 percent green—offsetting all its projected electrical consumption
for fiscal 2006-07.
“The UCSC clean energy ballot initiative is a clear example of how students can take leadership on their
campus and push for tangible change,” said Tommaso Boggia, the student who spearheaded the effort for a fee increase.
“Students and administrators have joined forces to fight global warming,” Boggia said. “Only by continuing
to reduce and refocus our consumption patterns will we be able to protect our planet.”
Boggia, who plans to graduate in June, now works with UC Santa Cruz Physical Plant energy manager Patrick
Testoni, and the two hope the campus’s green energy purchases can become a model for the rest of the UC system. The
UCSC purchase agreement with Sterling Planet includes a clause extending the low price to other campuses that may follow its
lead.
"Serious use of clean, sustainable energy on a large scale is no longer a dream for the future--it's here,”
said U.S. Rep. Sam Farr. “I'm proud of the students here at UCSC for proactively voting to turn their campus into a
green energy campus. California, the UC system, and UCSC in particular have a tradition of being innovators, not just in developing
new ideas but in implementing those ideas. It's good to see that tradition continue," he added.
Green power includes electricity that is entirely generated from clean resources, such as solar, wind, geothermal,
biogas, biomass, and low-impact hydropower. It is considered cleaner than conventional sources of electricity and has lower
carbon dioxide emissions, a greenhouse gas linked to global climate change. Purchases are designed to accelerate the development
of new renewable energy nationwide. At UCSC, the renewable energy sources purchased from Sterling Planet, a national renewable
energy provider, were wind, solar, geothermal, hydropower, biomass, and landfill gas.
The renewable energy purchase is part of a larger commitment to renewable energy and environmental awareness
throughout the UCSC campus. UCSC already participates in the alliance to save energy’s green campus program and has
partnered with the California public utilities commission and investor-owned utilities to retrofit equipment for conservation
purposes. Completion of equipment retrofitting and energy-efficient building design has resulted in savings of 975,000 kilowatt
hours of electricity and 26,000 therms of natural gas annually. Alternative-transportation programs include vanpooling, bicycle
shuttles, carpooling, and Metro bus access for all faculty, students, and staff. Water use has also been targeted, resulting
in a 32 percent reduction in per-student water consumption over the past 10 years. Issues of sustainability in agriculture
have been confronted as well, with a mandate that locally grown organic produce be served in campus dining halls and eateries
and that used cooking oil be recycled.
Environmental issues play a major role in classrooms and in campus research as well. UC Santa Cruz’s
environmental studies program, established in the early 1970s as one of the first such programs in the nation, focuses on
conservation biology, environmental policy, political economy, and agroecology and sustainable food systems. The Center for
Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems is a leader in research into the environmental and social justice aspects of food
production.
Systemwide, the UC Board of Regents has established a green building and clean energy policy to minimize the university's environmental impacts.
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~ Cross Webbing ~
The combination of these speicalized webing arrangement of sites are to give focus, and a training manual
text in developing Intercultural Communications Internet Network, and the basis of its development, Cultural Democracy.
This adds a unique supportive feature in the additional developement of the Inter - Cities Cultural Communications Program
initiated by Mr. Roger M. Christian.
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InterCultural Communications Programs:
International International Communications: There a several aspects in shared human experiences, and the aspiration they contain which bond a people to a culture
and behavior. The ongoing process of development contained within this website sequencing of websites are to give bench
marks of what is entailed in various culture's and nation's experience.
InterCultrual Communications: There is a process in how to examine then promote basic features of the full cultural experience. This website
is an interactive education - orientation process which likewise enlist additonal information by each participant of there
own efforts of personal discoveries; thus will add them according to the value of the information being provided.
International InterCultural Communications and International Students / Scholars role finctions. Here within this WebSite footer you will see several links which are connected to the major website
with InterCultural Communications are it subject matter, as well as in its promotions within the Internet. This has
now proved to most effective, as you are now see thins as a result of earned google dot com rankings.
Classical Art Slide Show
News Sources Specifically extracted from various OnLine
sources,and solicitted Press Releases for use and development of The International and National Cultural Fiesta Movement .
Academia ~ International Students Scholars News:
Campus Network ~ International and National Cultural Fiesta Movement :
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