Climate Change

Tipping Points and Feedback Effects

From the title, this could be a posting about the election results.  It isn’t — although I do wonder whether the relatively rapid changes we’ve seen in the House over the past decade are a sign of increased feedback effects.  My topic, however, is climate science. The curve at the left shows how feedback effects …

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Top Ten Reasons To Vote Against Proposition 23

10.  To send the nasty Koch brothers a message to stay out of California politics. 9.  To send the nasty Texas-based Valero oil company a message to stay out of California politics. 8.  To send the nasty Texas-based Tessoro oil company a message to stay out of California politics. 7.  To send Meg Whitman a …

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Republicans vow to attack federal climate change efforts

The New York Times reports that senior Republicans are saying they will aggressively attack our administration’s environmental and climate change initiatives if their party wins a majority in the House of Representatives.  EPA will be on the defensive, using its resources to defend against these attacks rather than move forward with regulatory initiatives that both …

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Did EPA Just Get Snookered on Trucking Emissions Rules?

Like Holly, I suppose it’s a good thing that EPA has — finally — proposed new rules for fuel efficient and greenhouse gas emissions from medium and large trucks.  But I remain highly skeptical that even these rules — as weak and tardy as they are — will ever see the light of day.  Once again, …

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Thumbs up and thumbs down

Brief takes on good and bad news from around the web. First the good news: EPA and NHTSA have proposed joint fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction standards for medium and large trucks, the ones that move freight around the country. “The agencies estimate that the combined proposed standards have the potential to reduce GHG …

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Dry as Dust

A new literature survey and synthesis has some grim news about drought: Dry periods lasting for years to decades have occurred many times during the last millennium over, for example, North America, West Africa, and East Asia. . . . Climate models project increased aridity in the 21st century over most of Africa, southern Europe …

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Putting the English on Climate Adaptation

As part of a research project on climate adaptation, I had occasion to look at what the British are doing.  The Adaptation Subcommittee of the Climate Change Committee has done some excellent work to address adaptation issues.  Besides planning, the Subcommittee has begun to assess progress to date, finding some improvements in capacity building but …

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The Feds Take On Climate Adaptation

On October 14, the White House’s Climate Change Adaptation Task Force released its recommendations to President Obama for how agencies can better prepare the United States to respond to the impacts of climate change.  Once again we are reminded of how important it is to have an Administration that takes climate science seriously. According to …

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UCLA hosts live debate on Proposition 23 this Thursday evening

This Thursday evening, UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability will be hosting a live debate on Proposition 23, co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, KPCC-FM (one of our NPR affiliates in Southern California), and UCLA Law’s  Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment.  More information on the debate, including a registration link, is …

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Don’t Call It Skepticism

Dan wants to know why “climate skeptics” don’t seem to care about uncertainty: Let  me try just one more time.  Suppose you have some symptoms that could be a fatal disease or could be something minor.  You’re not certain which it is.  Is that a good reason for ignoring the problem?  Really? There is a …

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