Global Warming

This week Obama named one of his best cabinet picks yet: Dr. Steven Chu, director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, former chair of Stanford University's physics department, and Nobel Prize-winning (for research in laser cooling and trapping of atoms) physicist, was named Obama's Energy Secretary. Chu also has been an early and strong supporter of alternative fuels and renewable energy research. THIS is the kind of leadership this country needs!

It should be noted that this is the FIRST Energy Secretary who is genuinely an expert on energy.

Dr. Chu's impressive biography can be found here.

Here's a video of Steve Chu at the Davos Annual Meeting, 2007, talking about Climate Change:

Every now and then Culture Kitchen gets targeted by global warming deniers. Honestly, we are way past the time for denial on this issue, but deniers are still out there and this is one of the sites they target. And having to counter the same denial yammering over and over again gets a bit frustrating for me.

But sometimes we get responses from another corner: actual scientists. And I find those reponses far more gratifying. In my diary addressing the latest denial drivel is an excellent response from the American Physical Society (APS) that is worth highlighting in a diary (thanks to Tawanda Johnson for posting the APS statement in my diary:

APS Reaffirms Position on Climate Change
July 22, 2008

American Physical Society Reaffirms Its Position that Human-Caused Greenhouse Gas Emissions Contribute to Climate Change

WASHINGTON, DC — American Physical Society (APS) today reaffirmed its position on climate change issued last November, releasing the following statement:

"Emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are changing the atmosphere in ways that affect the Earth's climate. The evidence is incontrovertible: Global warming is occurring.

Sometimes I look with considerable interest at the global warming deniers because I think, for a brief moment, they may have found something of importance to say. So far, though, I always find that they are as dazed and confused as ever. This is the case with the recent salvo from self-proclaimed "rocket scientist" David Evans. David Evans claims expertise on global warming because of two things: his being a "rocket scientist" and his having previously done "carbon accounting" for the Australian government. Now ANYTIME someone tells you they are a "rocket scientist" it should be a red flag to you. I have never met anyone, including people who work for NASA, to identify themselves professionally as a "rocket scientist." Turns out Evans has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and has not published a single peer-reviewed research paper on the subject of climate change. In fact he has published only a singlepaper in his entire career, and that was back in 1987 and had nothing to do with global warming. THis puts him on par with me vis a vis global warming: educated, smart and probably informed. I don't claim to be an expert in the field. Instead I cite experts in the field to support my claims.

Global warming is hitting us already. It is no coincidence that some of the biggest storms and an unexpected number of storms are hitting us now. Nor are food shortages coincidence...nor are they caused primarily by biofuels. Extreme weather, an expected part of global warming, is hitting us hard, damaging crops around the world. Crops are established based on a particular climate. That climate has changed and it will take time for agriculture to adapt and infrastructure to be put into place. Time and money.

Global warming isn't our future. It is our now.

I have covered how the more optimistic scientists think we have 10 years (now more like 8) to deal with global warming before we are hit with the full brunt of it. Essentially that means we have that period to mitigate the eventual effects. Keep in mind that there will be some delay before the worst happens. That relative optimism is fading. Now even some of the most optimistic scietists are realizing that the models were wrong. Global warming is hitting harder and faster than predicted. Things are WORSE than the models predicted. Jim Hansen, possibly the top global warming scientist and the head of NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Sciences (where my wife works), has revised the estimate of how long we have to act to mitigate global warming down to one year. This is our last chance right now. Time has run out to act.

Interested in a discussion online about carbon emissions and real, science-based solutions to global warming? This comes from the Union of Concerned Scientists:

A Target for U.S. Emissions Reduction

Join Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel for free web seminar on the analysis for determining “A Target for U.S. Emissions Reductions.” Following a presentation on the findings, will be a Q&A session.

Date: February 20, 2008
Time: 2:00 pm (EST)
Click here to RSVP. Directions on how to join will be emailed to you.

Substantial scientific evidence indicates that an increase in the global average temperature of more than two degrees Celsius (°C) above pre-industrial average (i.e., prior to 1860) poses severe risks to natural systems and human health and well-being. The European Union as well as climate legislation moving through the U.S. Congress both employ 2°C as a guide for policy goals.

A recent study by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and scientists at Stanford University and Texas Tech University analyzes available options for industrialized and developing nations’ respective share in reducing emissions. The study found that the United States must cut its emissions by at least 80 percent below 2000 levels by 2050, along with a global effort to make deep emission reductions, if the world is to stay below the 2°C policy target. Cutting emissions soon is essential.

Addressing Climate Change for Sustainable and Profitable Business

February 27 - February 29, 2008
Denver, Colorado

The rules of business are changing. Climate change is at the height of media attention and has become an important part of current business trends. The 2008 Sustainable Opportunities Summit will explore how companies can financially benefit from becoming more engaged in addressing climate change.

As evidence mounts that human activity is contributing to global warming, many leading businesses are taking meaningful steps to address the climate challenge. In the process, they are realizing significant opportunities by creating new sought-after products, realigning the way they operate, and reducing their energy costs. Companies are finding that managing the risk of climate change and lowering their impact on the environment allows them to gain investor confidence, reduce their exposure to non-compliance, and increase their profits.

In a carbon-constrained world, the political, economic and legal rules governing commerce are certain to change. Colorado’s Governor Ritter has made a commitment to establish a New Energy Economy. Policy, legislative and regulatory shifts are all being considered at the state and national levels.

The 2008 Sustainable Opportunities Summit brings together corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists from across Colorado and the nation in a unique forum to assess the growing opportunities created by climate change.

"The last 50 years stick out like a sore thumb... The temperature's gone up and up and up. It bears the imprint of human activity."

--Dr. Michael Oppenheimer, Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs, Princeton University

"It's not something we can adapt to...we can't let it go another 10 years like this."

--Dr. James Hansen, Director NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, member National Academy of Sciences

"The weight of evidence for climate change is very strong indeed, and it has gotten stronger over the years...The rate of warming is now greater than it has been for 10,000 years; that means the rate of climate change is greater than it has been for 10,000 years."

--Sir John Houghton, Professor in atmospheric physics, University of Oxford, recipient of Royal Astronomical Society Gold Medal, Honorary Member American Meteorological Society

"This is the biggest challenge our civilization has ever had consciously to face. If this goes on, we will lose ice cover on our planet. The process will cause such rapid transformation we will have enormous trouble adapting."

--Sir David King, Professor of Physical Chemistry at Cambridge, Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government

[All of above quotes from Paul Brown's Global Warming: The Last Chance for Change]