Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Video Summary:

IPCC Fifth Assessment Report - Working Group II - Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability

Michel Jarraud, the head of the World Meteorological Organization, at the press conference summarized the importance of the science behind this report said: “Thirty years ago, the previous generation maybe was damaging our atmosphere, [and] the Earth, out of ignorance. Now, ignorance is no longer a good excuse. We know—therefore, we have the information to make decisions and to act upon this information.”

Report -- Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability

State of Europe's Seas→

Nature's News Blog:

“The report notes that the levels of various pollutants — such as nutrients causing algal blooms and subsequent oxygen depletion in the Baltic and Black seas — are above acceptable limits; that fish stocks are over-exploited; and that the seas are full of litter. Gaps in data are also a huge problem, and very few member states have put forward a strategy to close these gaps, the Commission complains.

Another report on the same subject — released today by the European Environment Agency — notes that between 2001 and 2006, conservation status was inadequate or bad for 50% of the marine habitats assessed in the EU, with only 3% of marine species deemed to be in a “favourable” state and 70% being of unknown status.”

Monitoring is the first step in attempting to find solutions -- assess, adapt management, repeat.

Water or sulfide mining: Which is more valuable?→

Clint Jurgens and Mary Ann Jurgens, writing for MinnPost:

“When evaluating the impact of the proposed copper-nickel mines like PolyMet and Twin Metals on the natural resources of Minnesota, regulators, political leaders, and the public should consider the value of water as a natural, replenished resource.

The target of copper-nickel mining companies is an ore formation called the Duluth Complex, which lies in the middle of some of most beautiful and enjoyable lakes, streams and forests in the world. The problem with the proposed mining is that these ores are embedded in sulfide rocks. Unfortunately, the process of mining and recovering metals from sulfide ore has a long and sordid history of water pollution.”

Brian Hoffman

From ore to oil, get it now and use it up as quick as you can. Why is it that is seems like our species lives for the moment without regard to future generations?

Authorities Investigate Pollution in China's Iconic Erhai Lake→

Gao Shan, reporting for RFA's Mandarin Service (translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie):

“An iconic lake at the heart of a popular beauty spot in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan has turned milky-white with pollution from nearby companies, local residents and officials said.

Local residents began posting photos online in recent days of the now turbid and white waters of Erhai Lake in the tourist region of Dali, historically famed for its crystal-clear waters.

”The government and the companies are all in it together.””

Erhai Lake, April 6, 2011.

Greed transcends economic or political systems. Capitalism and communism both treat the environment as an externality. Ponzi scheme you are in, consume you it will.

Is white--or green--the new black in cities?→

Cheryl Dybas, writing for NSF Discoveries:

“How well some of these adaptation technologies, including so-called “cool roofs”—white roofs, green (or garden-planted) roofs and hybrids—work, and how they perform in various locations “has been a big unknown,” says Georgescu.

No one-size-fits-all

The scientists suggest that planning and design choices—and where they will be implemented—should be considered in efforts to mitigate climate change and cities’ growth. Counteracting “urban climate change,” Georgescu says, “depends on specific geographic factors that need to be considered.”

lbl.gov

Place matters.

MPCA issues early analysis of study on sulfates and wild rice→

Stephanie Hemphill, reporting for MinnPost:

“Minnesota’s current standard to protect the iconic grain is ten milligrams of sulfate per liter. But industry has attacked that standard as unscientific. Mines, wastewater treatment plants, and other industries dispose of sulfate in rivers, and native groups have long complained the stands they rely on have been declining.

The research shows that bacteria convert sulfate into sulfide in the sediments in which wild rice typically grows. Researchers found strong correlations between the amount of sulfide in the porewater (water that flows in and around the sediments) and the amount of sulfate in surface water.

The agency concluded that the range at which sulfide limits the plants’ ability to grow corresponds to a range of sulfate in the surface water of 4 to 16 milligrams per liter – neatly bracketing the current standard.”

A Lake Manager’s Notebook: Citizens’ Roles in Managing Lakes→

Dick Osgood, posted at Conservation Minnesota:

“Most lake impairments are the result of widespread and hardwired changes to the landscape. BMPs, at best, provide minimal mitigation. In addition, many impaired lakes no longer are responsive to pollution reductions because the impairments are internalized.

Then, should we abandon these practices? No. We should urge their use in a larger management context, applying them strategically as part of a management plan that has clear expectations and outcomes.”

The job of lake protection and restoration is difficult and it requires changing systems.

Tahoe program targets runoff pollution from urban areas→

Jeff DeLong:

“An effort to get a clearer picture of the worst pollutants flowing from urban areas into Lake Tahoe is gaining momentum, with the program’s supporters insisting one of the most important benefits will be determining how well the costly projects are addressing the problem.

By next fall, some 15 monitoring stations are expected to be operating around the Tahoe Basin as experts zero in on pollutants contained in urban runoff entering the lake.”

Vijay Kalakoti

Measure, plan, do.

Fertilizer Limits Sought Near Lake Erie to Fight Spread of Algae→

Michael Wines, reporting for the New York Times:

“A United States-Canadian agency called on Wednesday for swift and sweeping limits on the use of fertilizer around Lake Erie to reduce the amount of phosphorus entering the water and creating a vast blanket of algae each summer, threatening fisheries, tourism and even drinking water.

In a report on the algae problem, the agency, the International Joint Commission, said that fertilizer swept by rains from farms and lawns was a major source of phosphorus in the lake. It recommended that crop insurance be tied to farmers’ adoption of practices that limit fertilizer runoff, and that Ontario, Ohio and Pennsylvania ban most sales of phosphorus-based lawn fertilizers.”

Other States have banned phosphorus lawn fertilizers, and the evidence is that such bans are effective in protecting water quality.

Ban Sought on Microbeads in Beauty Items→

John Schwartz, writing for the New York Times:

“Lawmakers in Albany could make New York the first state to outlaw the tiny plastic beads used in personal care products like facial scrubs and toothpastes.

Legislation that is scheduled to be introduced on Tuesday by Assemblyman Robert K. Sweeney of Suffolk County on behalf of Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman would prohibit the sale of cosmetic and beauty products that contain the beads, which are added to aid exfoliation and abrasion.

The beads appear in the tens of millions in the Great Lakes, according to scientists’ estimates, with high concentrations along the New York shores of Lake Erie. They become coated with toxins like PCBs and can be eaten by fish and other marine life. Scientists suggest that those toxins could be working their way back up the food chain to humans.”

People concerned for our environment must constantly fight to remove harmful or toxic products because manufactures to not have to first prove that there will be no harm.

Human waste can be converted into valuable fertilizer→

Samantha Larson, reporting for National Geographic:

“Most conventional farms invest in synthetic fertilizer, which requires energy to produce and is associated with many environmental problems of its own. But by separating out human urine before it gets to the wastewater plant, Rich Earth cofounder Kim Nace says they can turn it into a robust fertilizer alternative: a “local, accessible, free, sanitary source of nitrogen and phosphorous.””

Closing the waste loop is good natural resource management.

Device Mines Precious Phosphorus From Sewage→

Deirdre Lockwood, writing for Chemical and Engineering News:

“Scientists predict that the scarcity of phosphorus will increase over the next few decades as the growing demand for agricultural fertilizer depletes geologic reserves of the element. Meanwhile, phosphates released from wastewater into natural waterways can cause harmful algal blooms and low-oxygen conditions that can threaten to kill fish. Now a team of researchers has designed a system that could help solve both of these problems. It captures phosphorus from sewage waste and delivers clean water using a combined osmosis-distillation process.”

A step closer to capturing a necessary nutrient.

Greenhouse Gas Discovered 7,100 Times Stronger Than CO2→

Report from the Environmental News Network:

“Scientists from the University of Toronto have identified a chemical in the atmosphere that appears to be a long-lived greenhouse gas that breaks all other chemical records for its potential to affect the climate.

The chemical – perfluorotributylamine, or PFTBA – is the most radiatively-efficient chemical found to date...

PFTBA is produced by humans, it does not occur naturally.

PFTBA has been in use since the mid-20th century for applications in electrical equipment. It is used in thermally and chemically stable liquids marketed for use in electronic testing and as heat transfer agents.

There are no known processes that would destroy or remove PFTBA in the lower atmosphere, so it has a very long lifetime, possibly hundreds of years. It is destroyed in the upper atmosphere.”

What we don't know often gets us into trouble, especially in systems where the burden of proof is on environmental protection agency for harm rather than for industrial compound manufactures for no harm.

NASA says ozone hole stabilizing but won't fully recover until 2070→

Tony Barboza, reporting for LA Times:

“The hole in the ozone layer is stabilizing but will take until about 2070 to fully recover, according to new research by NASA scientists.
The assessment comes more than two decades after the Montreal Protocol, the international treaty that banned chlorofluorocarbons and other compounds that deplete the ozone layer, which shields the planet from harmful ultraviolet rays.”

So the Earth's thin protective layer is predicted to take about 100 years to return to pre-pollution levels. Our ability to screw up our only place to live is without limit. Luckily politicians acted when they did. Can you imagine if the ozone hole was detected this year? Today's politicians would deny that there was a problem and radicalized citizens would argue that it was a government plot to take away their way of life! 

http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/Slides_AGUbriefing_FINAL_to_print.pdf

Madison's lakes are 'impaired' by runoff-driven weeds and algae, state says→

Steven Verburg, reporting for the Wisconsin State Journal:

“The state will add Dane County’s chain of lakes to its list of “impaired waters” because of heavy nutrient pollution from surrounding farmland that causes unnatural weed growth and nasty-smelling algae blooms, state officials said Friday.

Dane County officials expressed concern that the listing of the four Yahara lakes — Mendota, Monona, Waubesa and Kegonsa — might upset or undermine extensive cleanup efforts already underway in cooperation with local farmers. It would be the first time the lakes landed on the state list because of nutrient pollution.”

Don't you have to call a spade a spade?

Supreme Court to tackle cross-state pollution→

Mark Sherman, reporting for The Associated Press:

“The Supreme Court indicated Tuesday it could breathe new life into a federal rule requiring states to reduce power plant pollution from the South and Midwest that fouls the air in the Eastern U.S.

Several justices suggested during a 90-minute argument that they believe the Environmental Protection Agency did not exceed its authority when it issued its cross-state air pollution rule in 2011. A divided federal appeals-court panel invalidated the rule last year.”

Shouldn't the Executive Branch be allowed to govern without excessive litigation? 

State Draft Plan Addresses Phosphorus Pollution in Lake Champlain→

John Herrik, reporting for VTDIGGER.ORG:

“The state is undertaking a complex Lake Champlain cleanup that will likely alter the state’s farmland, forests and streams over the next decade.

The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets released a draft plan for restoring the Lake Champlain Basin this month. The consortium must comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s request to clean up the lake or face funding holds and strict regulations, according to David Mears, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation....
The plan, which will be vetted during several public meetings this winter, includes tightening the state’s agriculture programs, storm water management practices, ensuring river channel stability, updating forest management practices and watershed protection plans. These are considered “nonpoint sources,” unlike the closely regulated facility discharges around the lake, that dump phosphorous [sic] into the lake.”

Start with a good plan, and find effective levers to change the numerous systems that have been allowed pollution to flow into the lake for so long.

The Case Against Cars in 1 Utterly Entrancing GIF→

Derek Thompson, reporting for The Atlantic:

“We continue to lead advanced economies in per-capita carbon emissions, 28 percent of which come from transportation. But even if the crunchy granola argument isn’t good enough to make you see the benefits of public transit, consider that trains, trams, buses, and the like reduces traffic congestion, which is good for the life satisfaction of everybody behind the wheel, since science shows long commutes make us unhappy.”

Beat the Microbead→

From the International Campaign Against Microbeads in Cosmetics: 

“A quick phase out of microbeads is crucial. Tiny particles of plastic have been added to possibly thousands of personal care products sold around the world. These microbeads, hardly visible to the naked eye, flow straight from the bathroom drain into the sewer system. Wastewater treatment plants are not designed to filter out microbeads and that is the main reason why, ultimately, they contribute to the Plastic Soup swirling around the world’s oceans. Sea creatures absorb or eat microbeads. These microbeads are passed along the marine food chain. Since humans are ultimately at the top of this food chain, it is likely that we are also absorbing microbeads from the food we eat. Microbeads are not biodegradable and once they enter the marine environment, they are impossible to remove.

Positive action on behalf of manufacturers has meant that more and more of these microbeads are being removed from personal care products and replaced by naturally biodegradable alternatives. It is still a far cry to say that all personal care products are free from plastic microbeads though.”

Get the smartphone app! 

Lake Erie algae a threat to Ohio drinking water→

AP reporting: 

“TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Toxins from blobs of algae on western Lake Erie are infiltrating water treatment plants along the shoreline, forcing cities to spend a lot more money to make sure their drinking water is safe.

It got so bad last month that one township told its 2,000 residents not to drink or use the water coming from their taps.

The cost of testing and treating the water is adding up quickly — the city of Toledo will spend an extra $1 million this year to combat the toxins while a neighboring county is considering a fee increase next year to cover the added expenses.”

Polluters need not worry; they have a free ride. We continue to allow private gain at public cost. When will governments create rules for markets for clean water?