Salon.com > Paul Brown

Grass-roots action on global warming

Tue, 17 May 2005 13:42:00 +0000

Mayors from across the United States are signing up to an initiative to get American cities to meet the Kyoto Protocol environmental target that George W. Bush repudiated: cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. by 7 percent by 2010.

The response has astounded the scheme's founder, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, who persuaded eight other mayors to write on March 30 to 400 colleagues across the country. Dozens of cities have since contacted his office, with the total reaching 134 in 35 states on Monday.

The mayors who have signed up represent 29.3 million people. Although most are Democrats, some 12 big cities with Republican mayors, representing 8 million people, have joined, including New York.

Nickels is a Democrat, but he said his campaign is nonpartisan. "This campaign has clearly touched a nerve with the American people," he said. "The climate affects Democrats and Republicans alike. Here in Seattle we rely on the winter snow for our drinking water and hydroelectricity, but it is disappearing; in Florida they have had hurricanes; in California they have had unseasonable heavy rain. Our weather patterns are changing."

Dangerous exposure

Wed, 27 Apr 2005 13:38:00 +0000

The protective ozone layer over the Arctic has thinned this winter to the lowest levels since records began, alarming scientists who believed it had begun to heal. The increased loss of ozone allows more harmful ultraviolet light to reach the Earth's surface, making children and outdoor enthusiasts such as skiers more vulnerable to skin cancer -- a disease that is already dramatically increasing. Scientists Tuesday reinforced the warning that people going out in the sun this summer should protect themselves with creams and hats.

Research by Cambridge University shows that it is not increased pollution but a side effect of climate change that is making ozone depletion worse. At high altitudes, 50 percent of the protective layer has been destroyed.

The research has dashed hopes that the ozone layer was on the mend. Since the winter of 1999-2000, when depletion was almost as bad, scientists had believed an improvement was under way as pollution was reduced. But they now believe it could be an additional 50 years before the problem is solved.

Carnage on ice

Fri, 01 Apr 2005 19:35:00 +0000

It was carnage on a scale the frozen ice floes of Newfoundland have not seen for more than half a century. The cull started early in the morning Tuesday, with more than 70 boats disgorging hundreds of seal hunters onto the ice. By the end of the day more than 15,000 harp seal cubs, most less than 6 weeks old, lay dead, clubbed to death and skinned to provide coats, hats, handbags and other accessories for the European fashion trade.

The contentious harp seal hunt, the target of protests since the 1960s, begins about two weeks after the seal pups are born and their fur changes from white to gray. Animal rights activists claim the pups are often skinned alive, but sealers and government officials who monitor the hunt insist the pups die instantly in compliance with strict guidelines.

The Canadian government claims the cull will protect fish stocks and bring in much-needed revenue and employment for those who live on Canada's vast northern coastline.

Puzzling pattern

Mon, 11 Oct 2004 14:18:00 +0000

An unexplained and unprecedented rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for two years running has raised fears that the world may be on the brink of runaway global warming. Scientists are baffled why the quantity of the main greenhouse gas has leapt in a two-year period and are concerned that the Earth's natural systems are no longer able to absorb as much as in the past.

The findings will be discussed Tuesday by the British government's chief scientist, David King, at the annual Greenpeace business lecture.

Measurements of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have been continuous for almost 50 years at Mauna Loa Observatory, 12,000 feet up a mountain in Hawaii, regarded as far enough away from any carbon dioxide source to be a reliable measuring point.

In recent decades carbon dioxide increased on average by 1.5 parts per million (ppm) a year because of the amount of oil, coal and gas burned, but has now jumped to more than 2 ppm in 2002 and 2003.

Above or below average rises in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have been explained in the past by natural events. When the Pacific warms up during El Niño -- a disruptive weather pattern caused by weakening trade winds -- the amount of carbon dioxide rises dramatically because warm oceans emit carbon dioxide rather than absorb it.

Blair reignites nuclear debate

Wed, 07 Jul 2004 13:17:00 +0000

Tony Blair Tuesday signalled that Britain may have to build a new generation of nuclear power stations to meet the challenge of climate change.

Appearing before a committee of senior MPs, he disclosed that America was pressing Britain to look again at the nuclear option, including a new generation of stations that some claim will be safer and cheaper. Britain would have to take "some very difficult decisions", the prime minister said.

Mr Blair also revealed that the door to a fresh round of nuclear stations had been kept open in last year's energy white paper at his personal insistence. "I have fought long and hard, both within my party and outside, to make sure that the nuclear option is not closed off," he told the Westminster session.

Even though Mr Blair insisted big political and economic hurdles remained in the way of further nuclear stations, his remarks were hailed by pro-nuclear MPs, but caused consternation among environmentalists.

Mr Blair said the evidence was now overwhelming that climate change was the single biggest long-term problem facing the country, and conceded the world was nowhere near finding a mechanism to cut carbon dioxide emissions by the government's target of 60% by 2050.