Obama Reaffirms Targets on Climate Change

 

By BRIAN KNOWLTON | The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama confirmed on Tuesday that he plans to stick to the aggressive targets he had set earlier for fighting climate change and for spurring the development of clean-energy technology, saying, “Delay is no longer an option.”  The remarks were striking for being made in what was billed as a “surprise taped statement,” before a bipartisan conference on climate change in Los Angeles that included governors who have battled the Bush administration by trying to pass stricter pollution standards than federal guidelines require.

Officials from at least 10 other countries were also present, and Mr. Obama addressed his comments to them when he said, “Solving this problem will require all of us working together.” He said he had asked lawmakers who will attend a climate-change conference next month in Poland to report back to him.

Mr. Obama’s remarks were sure to be welcomed by Europeans and others who have been urging the administration to take tougher measures ever since President turned his back on the Kyoto Protocol on climate change in 2001.

Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, said the call for legislation to cap emissions, one of the first specific policy statements Mr. Obama has made since his election, was a particularly important signal that he will, as he promised during the campaign, make global warming a top priority.

“Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all,” Mr. Obama said.

“Denial is no longer an acceptable response,” he added. “The stakes are too high. The consequences, too serious.”

It appeared significant that Mr. Obama, who has stayed largely out of sight at his offices in Chicago since being elected, chose to use such strong language on global warming so early in his transition period. Still, it remains unclear that the current financial crisis and grim economic outlook will allow him to move as quickly as he might like.

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Obama promises leadership on climate change

 

By LIZ SIDOTI | AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Calling climate change an urgent challenge, President-elect Barack Obama promised Tuesday that Washington would take a leading role in combating it in the United States and throughout the world.

“My presidency will mark a new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change,” Obama said in a video message to governors and others attending a Los Angeles summit on the issue.

In the roughly four-minute message, Obama reiterated his support for a cap-and-trade system approach to cutting green house gases. He would establish annual targets to reduce emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020 and reduce them another 80 percent by 2050. Obama also promoted anew his proposal to invest $15 billion each year to support private sector efforts toward clean energy.

President Bush has been criticized for failing to do enough to combat climate change and Obama has promised quick action to address the issue. Leaders in the Democratic-controlled Congress have indicated that they aren’t likely to act until 2010 on a bill to limit the heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming. But Obama could begin to tackle global warming without Congress through administrative actions.

In his remarks, Obama criticized Washington for failing to lead on the issue in the past.

Said Obama: “I promise you this: When I am president, any governor who’s willing to promote clean energy will have a partner in the White House. Any company that’s willing to invest in clean energy will have an ally in Washington. And any nation that’s willing to join the cause of combating climate change will have an ally in the United States of America.”

Scientists, environmentalists and government and industry officials were attending the two-day Governors’ Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles, held ahead of a U.N. gathering in Poland next month.

Obama said he won’t attend that conference but that he has asked Congress members who will to report back to him. “Once I take office, you can be sure that the United States will once again engage vigorously in these negotiations, and help lead the world toward a new era of global cooperation on climate change,” Obama said.

Obama commends Wis. governor at climate meeting

 

AP

MADISON, Wis. – President-elect Barack Obama singled out Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle in a video address shown at a global warming summit in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Doyle is one of the co-hosts of the meeting, and is scheduled to speak and participate in a panel discussion on Wednesday.

Obama commended Doyle, and the governors of Kansas, Florida, Illinois and California as being leaders in the fight against global warming.

Representatives from about 22 states as well as government officials from a number of foreign countries are at the meeting.

The meeting is bringing together scientists, environmentalists and government and industry officials to discuss ways to combat global warming and climate changes.

California: Report outlines how to adapt to climate change

By Mike Lee | UNION-TRIBUNE

Scientists and policy experts yesterday unveiled San Diego County’s first blueprint for adapting to rising sea levels, altered rainfall and other “catastrophic” changes linked to global warming.  “A Regional Wake-up Call” offers detailed projections about how the climate will change by 2050 and offers suggestions for how to lessen those effects.

“While climate change is a global issue, . . . the San Diego region is uniquely threatened,” says the 177-page report, billed as the first comprehensive assessment of climate change’s effects across the region.

To date, climate science has focused on understanding long-term weather trends, predicting their worldwide impact and limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate change   A new study outlines what the county could look like in 2050: Sea level is 12 to 18 inches higher.  The average annual temperature is up to 4.5 degrees higher. The region requires 37 percent more water while sources such as the Colorado River are smaller by 20 percent or more. Fire season starts earlier and the annual number of days with ideal conditions for big wildfires increases by up to 20 percent. Peak electricity demand is up by more than 70 percent. SOURCE: The San Diego Foundation

But interest in adapting to the likely effects of climate change is growing. On Friday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order to identify California’s biggest vulnerabilities to long-term weather changes and initiate a statewide strategy for addressing them.

A couple of years ago, The San Diego Foundation started pulling together regional leaders to describe the local effects of global warming and outline possible responses. The 40-member group doesn’t have regulatory authority, but its report is likely to influence politicians and bureaucrats as they prepare for potentially major challenges.

“In general, this region has been . . . behind what our expectations were in terms of climate planning,” said Bill Kuni, chairman of the foundation’s Climate Change Initiative committee. “We have to start now if we want to see some significant progress five years from now.”

The first step was to have scientists from UC San Diego, San Diego State University and elsewhere spell out the problems as specifically as possible.

They said that compared with today, San Diego County in 2050 will require 37 percent more water, the number of days with prime conditions for major wildfires will be up to 20 percent greater, and the sea level will be at least 1 foot higher. The results could be more frequent flooding of coastal properties, more severe water shortages and greater strains on public health agencies.

“It’s a pace of change that we just have not experienced,” said Dan Cayan, a climate researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a co-author of the report. “We need to start thinking about what we would do if different scenarios play out.”

For instance, yesterday’s report said coastal property owners may have to relocate buildings, and agencies may need to reduce or stop coastal development as the ocean rises.

Other coping mechanisms include the countywide adoption of drought-tolerant landscaping, greater investment in water recycling programs, prohibitions against building in fire-prone areas and better early-warning systems for heat waves.

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Event: Univ. of Nebraska Professors to debate global warming’s consequences

 

Kristine Hartman | Gateway

Two UNO professors will debate the issue of global warming and what impact climate change will have on the world, in a forum on Thursday.

Bruce Johansen, a journalism professor, and Robert Smith, a chemistry professor, will debate at noon Thursday at the Omaha Press Club, located on the 22nd floor of the First National Center at 1620 Dodge St. downtown.

The global warming forum will give the community a chance to hear two sides of the debate. Johansen is an advocate for awareness of the dangers of global warming. Smith will challenge Johansen’s ideas about an increase in global temperature.

The Omaha Press Club has been hosting forums for years and chooses topics that are of interest to the public.

This week’s forum will be mediated by retired chair of the communications department Hugh Cowdin.

Cowdin, who helped select the topic for the forum, said the Omaha Press Club recognized that during the past election, Barack Obama and John McCain didn’t speak at any length about global warming. He said the Press Club would like to help bring the subject to light.

The UNO professors that the club invited are considered to be local experts in global warming.

Smith has been teaching in the chemistry department for the past 18 years and takes the position that carbon dioxide will not drastically impact the world.

Johansen has been teaching at UNO since 1982. He has published many articles and books on the subject. His most recent publication is a book titled, “The Global Warming Combat Manual.” Johansen’s argument will center on the topic of thermal inertia.

Although there aren’t huge changes yet, Johansen said, it is just a matter of time before global warming affects us in the future. There is evidence that whatever damage we are doing today will not show up for the next 50 years.

What we are experiencing right now, Johansen said, is the reaction to the amount of green house gases that were emitted around 1958.

“We debate how long it will take for the toilets to back up in the White House,” Johansen said referring to the melting polar ice caps.

Smith will counter Johansen’s position. Smith believes global warming has been indoctrinated to us, instead of taught. Global warming is all about the numbers, Smith said.

He will present an argument that water is the leading green house gas and global warming is actually beneficial.

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