‘Extreme weather events have become both more common and more intense. And increasingly, scientists have been able to pin at least part of the blame on humankind’s alteration of the climate. What’s more, the growing success of this nascent science of climate attribution finding the telltale fingerprints of climate change in extreme events means that researchers have more confidence in their climate models—which predict that the future will be even more extreme.’
News Roundup
Our Extreme Future: Predicting and Coping with the Effects of a Changing Climate: Scientific American
June 30th, 2011Next thing in wind energy: stealth turbines | Reuters
June 29th, 2011‘(Reuters) – Wind turbines that do not interfere with radar systems used by aircraft may soon become a commercially viable option for the wind energy industry, Danish turbine manufacturer Vestas said on Wednesday.’
Climate Change in Mongolia – NYTimes.com
June 28th, 2011‘From 2002 to 2006, we began to recognize how much the climate of this region was changing. The whole-country analysis of temperature records indicated that Mongolia has warmed 2.14 degrees Celsius, or 3.85 degrees Fahrenheit, since the 1940s. In contrast, total precipitation has changed very little.’
France announces $1.43-billion nuclear investment – latimes.com
June 28th, 2011‘French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a $1.43-billion investment in atomic power Monday, going against Europe’s antinuclear tide following the Fukushima disaster in Japan.’
via France announces $1.43-billion nuclear investment – latimes.com.
Protesters demand French nuclear plant closure | Reuters
June 26th, 2011‘(Reuters) – Thousands of demonstrators formed a human chain outside France’s oldest nuclear power plant on Sunday to demand the site be closed as the government mulls whether to extend its life by a decade.’
via Protesters demand French nuclear plant closure | Reuters.
Flooding Brings Worry About Nebraska Nuclear Plants – NYTimes.com
June 26th, 2011‘KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As record floodwaters along the Missouri River drench homes and businesses, concerns have grown about keeping a couple of notable structures dry: two riverside nuclear power plants in Nebraska.’
via Flooding Brings Worry About Nebraska Nuclear Plants – NYTimes.com.
Whale’s odyssey sheds light on climate change – World news – World environment – msnbc.com
June 26th, 2011‘AMSTERDAM — When a 43-foot gray whale was spotted off the Israeli town of Herzliya last year, scientists came to a startling conclusion: it must have wandered across the normally icebound route above Canada, where warm weather had briefly opened a clear channel three years earlier.’
via Whale’s odyssey sheds light on climate change – World news – World environment – msnbc.com.
Video: Crops, Cattle & Carbon Discussion Excerpts
June 25th, 2011June 14, 2011 San Francisco
Climate One at the Commonwealth Club hosted a discussion on the importance of California agriculture in regards to climate change and Assembly Bill 32 – California’s Global Warming Solutions Act. The video features excerpts from the panelists.
Panelists:
Cynthia Cory, Director of Environmental Affairs, California Farm Bureau Federation
Jeanne Merrill, California Climate Action Network
Paul Martin, Director of Environmental Services, Western United Dairymen
Karen Ross, Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture
Report by James George
Video: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on Clean & Green vs. Dirty Energy
June 24th, 2011June 17, 2011 San Francisco, California
Environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Senior Attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, spoke at Climate One at the Commonwealth Club just prior to the San Francisco premiering of the new coal film which he participated in “The Last Mountain“.
In these excerpts Kennedy compares economic and environmental aspects of dirty fossil fuels vs. clean green alternatives, such as solar and wind.
See also Video: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Comments on Nuclear Power
Video: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Comments on Nuclear Power
June 23rd, 2011June 17, 2011 San Francisco, California
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. spoke at the Commonwealth Club before the S.F. premiering of the coal film “The Last Mountain“. Here he responds to a question on nuclear power.
Partial Excerpts:
“There’s not a single utility in this country that will build a nuclear power plant today unless 100% of the construction costs are paid for by the federal taxpayer. Why is that? And then at the end of the life cycle of the plant, we have to store their waste for 30,000 years which is five times the length of recorded human history. What kind of subsidy is that? What kind of deficit spending is that to dump on our children.?”
“…If you’re safe, then get an insurance policy and compete in the free market. You know they can’t get an insurance policy. The insurance industry won’t write them a policy because they’re too risky to insure. And if they had to write them a policy it would be so expensive they couldn’t compete in the marketplace”
“…In a capitalist society, the insurance industry is the final arbiter of risk. You go home and look at your homeowner’s policy. Every homeowner’s insurance policy in this country has a provision in it which says, this policy does not insure you against radiation contamination caused by a nuclear power plant. So you are now insuring yourself against their mistakes. No other industry gets that gift. That is a huge subsidy.”
See also Video: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on Clean & Green vs. Dirty Energy
Report by James George