Bill Becker's Solve Climate

I strongly recommend the blog of my (new) friend Bill Becker (Bill is the Executive Director of the Presidential Climate Action Project, a national initiative to develop a bold and decisive national climate plan. )
http://solveclimate.com/blog/bill-becker

His latest post:

"Imagine you’re a well-to-do person attending a dinner of your peers. The food is top-rate and there’s plenty of it. Course after course is laid upon the table.

A group of less-advantaged people has been watching from the sidelines. When the dinner is done, you invite them to join you at the table. After the restaurant staff has served coffee, the bill comes. You and your rich peers insist that everyone now at the table must share in paying the entire bill.

If that seems unfair, then you have just understood the position of the delegates from emerging economies, now negotiating with their wealthier colleagues from the North over a climate deal at Copenhagen."

COP 15: WHERE ARE WE AT?

Here is an update written by a management consultant friend who has attended the Copenhagen negotiations with us:

WHERE ARE WE AT?

• As experts have left the floor to ministers, COP15 has now entered the second phase of negotiations, preparing for the third and final phase, i.e. the Heads of State summit, about to start. President Obama is expected to speak on Friday.
• Progress remains globally slow, yet negotiations are still on: After a near clash earlier this week, during which developing countries threatened to end the negotiations, Parties are back at the table, albeit on a stop-and-go basis. Parties have just stopped negotiations tonight, allowing Danish prime minister and President of the Conference Rasmussen, to consult all Groups during the nightMost delegates admit that there is so much work to be done ine the coming hours that they see little chance for anything beyond a political agreement.
• Two short summary draft texts have emerged, down from the several hundred draft pages on the table at the beginning of COP15 - one text for each negotiation stream: The KP stream (negotiating the future of the Kyoto Protocol) and the LCA stream (Long Term Cooperative Actions, negotiating the agreement on the UNFCCC's future).Please find the texts below.
• A third text, a compromise text from the Danish Presidency, is expected any minute now, but many delegations doubt that an agreement can be found given the major disagreements that remain.
  

WHERE ARE WE STUCK?

• GHG emissions levels + monitoring mechanism: OECD countries are asked to cut back their emissions further, while major developing countries such as China and India are being pressed to reduce their emissions growth. But agreement on numbers is hard to reach. OECD Parties are asked to cut back greenhouse gas emissions by 40 % or more by 2020, compared with 1990 levels, while the EU pledged 20, possibly 30 % and the US, 3 to 4%. Further, the observance mechanism of the reduction causes disagreement, both amongst OECD countries (how to monitor the US if they are not in the KP?) and in developing nations (OECD countries want to monitor progress made by developping countries, but India, China and others see this as incompatible with their sovereignty)
• Legal Framework: For Europe and Japan, further GHG cuts should take place under the Kyoto Protocol. The US however wants to remain outside of it. A separate framework could hence be prepared, to deal with the US and major developing countries, creating two separate tracks with a different degree of obligation (from binding to voluntary).
• Climate aid for developing countries: Rich countries have prepared a "prompt-start" package (10 bn US$/yr for 3 years) to help developing nations adjust to global warming and switch to clean energy. Developing nations want longer and stronger committements, and are trying to establish stable revenue sources for the climate aid, which could come from a global tax.
• Forests: A program called REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), would pay poor countries to protect their forests. Parties however disagree on the fact that the current draft includes no money for the program, andfurther on the fact that there are no benchmarks to reduce deforestation, a major cause of GHG emissions. There are also disputes over how the money would be generated and whether this would be done on national or subnational level.
  

Current negotiation texts
KP : http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2009/awg10/eng/l15.pdf <http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2009/awg10/eng/l15.pdf>
LCA : http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2009/awglca8/eng/l07a02r01.pdf <http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2009/awglca8/eng/l07a02r01.pdf>

Ice-free Arctic ocean free of ice in 2014!

Al Gore in Copenhagen: Polar ice may go in five years

New computer modeling suggests the Arctic Ocean may be nearly ice-free in the summertime as early as 2014, Al Gore said Monday at the UN climate conference.

National Security

"I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend?”

Robert Redford
Green Cross International Honorary Board Member

Jean-Michel Cousteau

"Is it too late to prevent us from self-destructing? No, for we have the
capacity to design our own future, to take a lesson from living things
around us and bring our values and actions in line with ecological
necessity.
But we must first realize that ecological and social and economic issues
are all deeply intertwined. There can be no solution to one without a
solution to the others."

The Fresh Water bank account of Asia...

a compelling video by David Breashears:
http://www.asiasociety.org/onthinnerice
The nearly 60,000 square kilometers (14.8 million acres) of glaciers on the greater Tibetan Plateau, mostly in China, are the largest ice mass outside the polar regions. The ice has shrunk by 7% over the past four decades and two thirds could disappear by 2100, according to conservative estimates by Chinese scientists.
by Chinese Academy of Sciences

BBC/Science: Greenland ice loss 'accelerating'

The Greenland ice sheet is losing its mass faster than in previous years and making an increasing contribution to sea level rise, a study has confirmed.

Published in the journal Science, it has also given scientists a clearer view of why the sheet is shrinking.

The team used weather data, satellite readings and models of ice sheet behaviour to analyse the annual loss of 273 thousand million tonnes of ice.

Melting of the entire sheet would raise sea levels globally by about 7m (20ft).

For the period 2000-2008, melting Greenland ice raised sea levels by an average of about 0.46mm per year.

If you multiply these numbers up it puts us well beyond the IPCC estimates for 2100 Professor Roger Barry

Since 2006, that has increased to 0.75mm per year.

"Since 2000, there's clearly been an accelerating loss of mass [from the ice sheet]," said lead researcher Michiel van den Broeke from Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

"But we've had three very warm summers, and that's enhanced the melt considerably

In total, sea levels are rising by about 3mm per year, principally because seawater is expanding as it warms.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8357537.stm

Tear down the wall and save the planet!

Tear down the wall and save the planet!

Gorbachev said today, “There is the wall between those who cause climate change and those who suffer the consequences. There is the wall between those who heed the scientific evidence and those who pander to vested interests. And there is the wall between the citizens who are changing their own behavior and want strong global action, and the leaders who are so far letting them down".

Matthieu Ricard in Paris

I did get a chance to speak with Matthieu Ricard (http://www.matthieuricard.org/) this afternoon as he was doing a book signing at the Paris showrom of Yellow Korner (http://www.yellowkorner.com/)
Interestingly, his next possible photographic destinations: The Arctic, Iceland...
"Que l'amour altruiste règne en ton coeur"

Fr Left to Right: Yves Moutran, Christophe Laurent, Matthieu Ricard, Luc Hardy at the Yellow Korner gallery rue des Francs Bourgeois in Paris

Literary Lights 2009

Local news: Literary Lights 2009
Greenwich Arts Council and Barrett Bookstore
We are delighted to confirm the participation of Luc Hardy, author of Arctic Transitions and Greenland Impressions, at Literary Lights 2009: A Book Festival on Thursday, November 12, 2009. The event will be held from 6:00 to 8:30 PM at the Greenwich Arts Council, 299 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830 (in the heart of Greenwich’s downtown shopping area).

All friends welcome! There will be wine and food and lots of great books and interesting authors (including me ;)). http://www.greenwicharts.org/literarylink.asp

GCI Teams up with Pureology Serious Colour Care

Pureology Serious Colour Care, a leading professional hair care brand of L’Oréal USA, has formed a global partnership with Green Cross International (GCI) in a pioneering venture to help encourage salon professionals to support sustainable practices and projects. Founded in 1993 by President Mikhail Gorbachev, Green Cross International’s mission is to help face some of the world’s most critical environmental challenges.
http://www.gci.ch/en/communication/news-of-green-cross-international/33-news/509-gci-teams-up-with-pureology-serious-colour-carer-

UFG hosts dinner for Jean-Michel Cousteau

Sept. 14, 2009 –Paris: PaxArctica's Himalaya Expedition 2009 - main sponsor UFG hosts a dinner honoring Jean-Michel Cousteau, President of Green Cross France.
From left to right: Yves Moutran (GCF Board member)-Xavier Lepine (CEO Groupe UFG) - Jean-Michel Cousteau (http://www.oceanfutures.org/jmc/jmc_index.php) - Bertrand Fournier (Chairman of the Management Board of Sarasin Asset Management http://www.groupe-ufg.com/nos-expertises/isr/(France) - Luc Hardy (GCF Secretary General) - Adam Koniuszewski (COO, Green Cross International)

350

TODAY, the 24 October, people in 181 countries came together for the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet's history. At over 5200 events around the world, people gathered to call for strong action and bold leadership on the climate crisis. http://www.350.org/

More Americans Doubt Global Warming

COUNTERINTUITIVE... but maybe at the end of a (relatively) 'cool' year, people look at a one-year data point instead of the centuries-long chart??
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/22/climate-change-us-pew-survey
Michael Crichton's legacy lives on. A new survey by the Pew Research
Center shows a precipitous decline in the number of Americans who
believe in global warming. In 2007, 77 percent of Americans thought that
global warming was backed by scientific evidence. Today, it's only 57
percent, with the sharpest drop occurring in independent voters and
Republicans. The numbers were released just a week before the Senate
begins debating climate-change legislation. In anticipation of that, a
handful of scientific organizations have written Congress to confirm
that, indeed, global warning is a real phenomenon. How did this happen?
An associate director at Pew posits that bigger issues, such as the
economy and health-care reform, have taken the spotlight off climate
change as of late.

U.N.'s Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon PHOTOS!

As the climate summit in Copenhagen approaches, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon shares his take on stunning photos that document how warming temperatures are changing the planet: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-10-13/shocking-climate-change-photos/#gallery=819;page=1

Conference - Thursday, October 22 @ 7 P.M.

Luc Hardy
Vanishing Arctic Ice Shelves
Thursday, October 22

The conference will take place @ The Arts Center, Meeting Room, 2nd floor, 299 Greenwich Ave.
Thursday, October 22 @ 7 P.M.

Lecture in English

In the summer of 2008, Luc Hardy led a 16 person expedition composed of scientists and “young ambassadors”, ages 9 to 17, to the Canadian Arctic to report on the rapid changes in the area. Slides of the voyage to this beautiful, but largely inaccessible region will accompany Mr. Hardy’s lecture on the eyewitness accounts as well as the scientific findings. Luc Hardy, President of Sagax in Greenwich, is also a keen environmental advocate and the founder of the Pax Arctica Initiative, created to increase knowledge of the threats facing the Arctic, to spread global peace, and to promote new ecological regulations in the region. Mr. Hardy will have on hand copies of his book, “Arctic Transitions: Witness to Change - Young Ambassadors in Nunavut”.

http://www.afusa.org/af/greenwich/conferences.htm

Gorbatchev - "On a évité une troisième guerre mondiale"

"Le dernier président de l'URSS donne sa version personnelle des événements qui ont conduit à la chute du mur de Berlin, et dit ce qu'il pense d'Obama, de Medvedev et de Poutine." (source: Le Figaro)
Gorbatchev.pdf

Thawing Tibetan Plateau

After surveying the Himalayas for many years, the respected Chinese glaciologist Yao Tandong recently warned that, given present trends, almost two-thirds of the plateau’s glaciers could well disappear within the next 40 years.
For more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/opinion/26Schell.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=yao%20tandong&st=cse

Paul Krugman on climate change

From Nobel Prize winner economist Paul Krugman:

... The prognosis for the planet has gotten much, much worse in just the last few years.
... In a rational world, then, the looming climate disaster would be our dominant political and policy concern. But it manifestly isn’t. Why not?
... Responding to climate change with the vigor that the threat deserves would not, contrary to legend, be devastating for the economy as a whole.
... Even as climate modelers have been reaching consensus on the view that the threat is worse than we realized, economic modelers have been reaching consensus on the view that the costs of emission control are lower than many feared.
... So the time for action is now. O.K., strictly speaking it’s long past. But better late than never.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/opinion/28krugman.html

Mera Glaciers Stakes Located

Aug 26th, 2009

Since the weather improved slightly, we left early to reach Mera Glacier hoping to find at least a few of the stakes that were put in place by scientists last year. After hiking for a couple of hours we reached the front of the glacier. Using the handheld GPS, we identified locations of a few stakes. We noted the reference number of the stakes and took measurements of the emerging heights. We also calculated the thickness of the snow on top of the glacier at the stake location. Some of the stakes appeared to be in the exact same position as last year. Other have moved (in some cases over 100 meters). After completing our field work, photos and video recording we returned to camp which is located lower in the valley. We will be reporting all the gathered information to our scientific partners.

Monsoon Fury

August, 25th 2009

After much delay caused by the fury of an exceptional monsoon, our approach of the Mera Glacier has been slow. We finally made it to Kahre, the last camp before reaching the Mera glacier, where we expect to do some of our field work. The morale of the team is relatively high despite the very poor weather conditions and reduced visibility. We will follow up tomorrow. With a little luck we will have reachd the Glacier.


http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/detail.php?article_id=23138&cat_id=7

Ocean Temperatures Are Highest on Record

National Briefing | Environment
Ocean Temperatures Are Highest on Record
By CORNELIA DEAN
Published: August 14, 2009


Average temperatures of waters at the oceans’ surface in July were the highest ever recorded, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. The agency said the average sea surface temperature was 1.06 degrees higher than the 20th-century average of 61.5 degrees. Though July was unusually cool in some areas, like the eastern United States, analysts at the NOAA Climate Data Center said the combined global land and ocean surface temperature was 1.03 degrees higher than the 20th-century average of 60.4 degrees, the fifth warmest since worldwide record keeping began in 1880. The agency also said that, on average, Arctic sea ice covered 3.4 million square miles in July, 12.7 percent below the 1979-2000 average and the third lowest on record, after 2007 and 2006.

Himalayan Expedition to Record Climate Change Effects

Geneva, 14 August -- In partnership with Green Cross International, the “Pax Arctica —Himalayas Expedition 2009” will help record changes in the Himalayan glaciers that feed seven of Asia's greatest rivers. The Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Salween, Mekong, Yangtze and Huange supply water to about 40 per cent of the world’s population...

Please go to this link for more info and download the Press Release:
PR-Nepal-f-1%2012-09-50.pdf

Geoengineering...

After Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991, lauching millions of tons of sulfur into the stratosphere, the average temperature of the planet dropped by about a degree ºF...
Geoengineering anyone?: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060804-global-warming.html

When you feel it, It's already too late!

Interesting video... hits home...

Greenlanders become 'independent', all 58,000 of them!

Two years to the day after our expedition celebrated Greenland National Day in the village of Ittoqqortoormit, on the east coast of Greenland, Greenland is becoming quasi-independent. More in this article
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/world/europe/22greenland.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=greenland&st=cse

Let's watch this small (population) but large and important 'country' (size, Arctic location...) as it matures into a fully independent nation!

Jean-Michel Cousteau on Board of GreenCross France

I am happy to announce Green Cross France’s new Board of Directors. At the meeting in Paris on 2nd June, a new Board was elected with, as its Chairman, Mr. Jean-Michel Cousteau. In addition to being a Green Cross International (http://gci.ch/) Honorary Board Member, Jean-Michel Cousteau is a well-known and respected explorer, environmentalist, educator and film producer (http://www.oceanfutures.org/). Educating people on water issues has been one of his focus areas. As the Executive Vice President of The Cousteau Society for nearly 20 years, and currently as the Founder and President of Ocean Futures Society, Jean-Michel travels the globe meeting with leaders and policymakers in governments and businesses, as well as with people at the grassroots level.

Other members of the GC France Board include Luc Hardy [that's me ;) - 2nd from right on photo], co-leader of the Pax Arctica expeditions, as secretary general; and Adam Koniuszewski [right], GCI Chief Operating Officer, as treasurer. Other Board members are Jean-Marie Martin, a former Director of the National Center for Scientific Research and a well known adviser on environment and sustainable development – also for the European Commission; and Jean-François Mermet [left], who has been the Deputy Mayor of Lyon and Vice-President of the Lyon city agglomeration for over two decades.

Explorers Club - Flag Report!

Upon returning from the Arctic last summer, we provided a full report to the Explorers Club. Our Flag report Flag# 61 is now live on the Explorers Club website site and can be viewed and downloaded at the following link: http://www.explorers.org/expeditions/reports/reports_2008.php
or click on:

Flag 61
PAX ARCTICA
July 4th-31st, 2008
Luc Hardy MR’08

ENJOY!!

HOME

Quand j'ai rencontré Yann Arthus-Bertrand à Resolute Bay au Nunavut l'été dernier, il finissait de filmer HOME. Par la suite, il a généreusement accepté de préfacer mon livre 'ARCTIC – Transitions'. « HOME » sortira simultanément, le 5 juin 2009, dans 126 pays, et sur tous les médias : cinéma, télévision, DVD et Internet.
En France, de nombreuses projections gratuites seront organisées en plein air. Les circuits UGC et CGR offriront une séance gratuite dans leurs meilleures salles.
Le DVD sera en vente à prix coûtant à la FNAC et le film sera accessible gratuitement en streaming sur You Tube.
France 2 – qui s’est dès l’origine engagée sur le projet – diffusera “HOME” dans sa version télévisuelle à 20 heures 30, la soirée se poursuivant par un débat.
Pour les Parisiens, une projection gratuite sur écran géant aura lieu au Champ-de-Mars à 22 heures, les pelouses étant ouvertes à tous dès 16 heures.
Ce film exceptionnel est un cri d’alerte et d’amour pour la planète, notre maison, notre “HOME” à tous. Il vise à contribuer à sa façon, c’est-à-dire de manière sensible et émotionnelle, au mouvement de prise de conscience des graves problèmes écologiques auxquels nous sommes confrontés et à nous inciter à agir.

Le 5 juin, agir, pour chacun d’entre nous, c’est simplement aller voir “HOME”.

http://www.home-2009.com/fr/index.html

To purchase my new book:

Arctic Transitions: Witness to Change - Young Ambassadors in Nunavut
Luc Hardy (Author, photos and text) - Foreword/Préface by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Hardcover - 144 pages, 400+ photos – English/French text (in the same book)
ISBN: 978-0974608020

Whether you are in the USA, Europe or Asia, you can order it at:
http://www.sagaxexpeditions.com/2US%20-%2011%20-%20Books%20-%20Arctic%20Transitions.html

In the USA you can also order on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-TRANSITIONS-Witness-Ambassadors-Nunavut/dp/0974608025/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228507726&sr=8-1

Breathing Earth...

The Earth breathing (and suffocating....) in real time!

http://www.breathingearth.net/BreathingEarth.swf

Un mythe planétaire...

Dans la série des bouquins pseudo-scientifiques, un de plus à éviter (ou bien à lire pour s'amuser), "CO2 - Un Mythe Planétaire" de Christian Gérondeau. Une divagation mal recopiée de Bjorn Lomborg (le scientifique Danois qui au moins reconnait le changement climatique et l'intérêt de lutter contre, mais se demande s'il n'est pas plus juste d'investir dans la santé mondiale, etc. - ça passe encore). Mais avec ce livre, on tombe dans le complot religieux qui serait la source de tous les profits de ces sociétés d'énergies nouvelles? hello... Mais comme le rapporte Tertullien, les dérèglements climatiques de l'époque, crues du Tibre, absences de crues du Nil n'étaient ils pas la faute des Chrétiens?
J'attends toujours une vraie thèse scientifique, documentée, intelligente, qui challengerait les conclusions (peut-être) parfois trop dramatiques de certains environnementalistes.

Recherches sur la séquestration géologique du carbone...

Mardi dernier, 19 mai, à l'Académie des Sciences dont il est membre, Claude Allègre anime un débat sur ce sujet. Reconnaitrait-il qu'en effet le climat change autour de lui? A suivre...

Back from the North Pole!

Sebastian is now back from the North Pole!
Congratulations!! to get all the details about what it's like, visit his link at: http://www.myspace.com/sebastiancopeland

End of an Adventure

Larry and Alain are now back. To know more about the last few days of the trip and for a full report: http://www.onearth.org/node/1139

Fonte de glaciers au Népal...

Le Népal et ses bombes à retardement:

Les glaciers de l’Himalaya fondent à vue d’œil. Les digues naturelles des lacs d’altitude frôlent la rupture. Et les habitants des vallées vivent sous la menace de torrents en puissance.http://www.terra-economica.info/3-3-Le-Nepal-et-ses-bombes-a,4615.html

EXCLUSIVE: Parker Liautaud in Antarctica

At Pax Arctica, we are happy to welcome Parker Liautaud, a true Ambassador (and scion of Bernard, of Business Objects' fame, and Pax Arctica supporter) who reports on his recent voyage to Antarctica:

"In the year 2041, the Madrid Protocol (signed in 1991) that protects Antarctica from governments looking to drill and mine for its currently valuable resources will come up for review – and the fate of Antarctica will lie in the hands of today’s young people. In March 2009, I had the unbelievable opportunity as a 14-year-old to take part in an actual expedition to Antarctica with a group led by Robert Swan, a famous British explorer and environmentalist, and the first person to have walked unaided to both poles. In the attached article I describe my experience on this expedition, my observations of the dramatic impact of global warming on the fragile ecosystems of the Antarctic Peninsula, and I outline what we, as young people, can do to create solutions and start reversing the current tragic situation."

MORE HERE from Parker:

Facts cited in this article were learned on my Inspire Antarctic Expedition in March 2009 thanks to Robert Swan and the 2041 team.
In the year 2041, the Madrid Protocol (signed in 1991, lasting 50 years) that protects Antarctica from governments looking to drill and mine for its currently valuable resources will come up for review – and the fate of Antarctica will lie in the hands of today’s young people. With the Kyoto Protocol for the Environment expiring only three years from now at the third World Summit for Sustainable Development, in 2012, everyone is feeling the pressure. This is why we need to kick our dependence on non-renewable energy – not to mention the detrimental effects we all know we are having on the environment more generally by using fossil fuels. As a teenager myself (I’m 14), one who has seen what humans can do to such a beautiful place, I am aware of the responsibility that we will face later on. Unless we are all adequately informed and involved, the beauty of Antarctica will be part of history.
The 2041 organization was founded by Robert Swan, the first person in history to have walked to both the North and South poles, after the Rio World Summit for Sustainable Development in 1992. A group of world leaders gave him the task of informing, engaging and inspiring young people and business leaders to be more sustainable and to work towards saving the last untouched wilderness on Earth: Antarctica. Ten years later, at the Johannesburg World Summit in 2002, he accepted another 10-year mission to turn young people into sustainable leaders and to lead the world into an era of renewable energy and sustainability.
Since the year 2003, Robert Swan and the 2041 team have led teams from all over the globe, comprising environmentalists, business executives, teachers, entrepreneurs and young people expeditions through the Antarctic Peninsula, sharing his personal experience and his knowledge of the continent as they visited remote and spectacular places. I was unbelievably privileged, especially at such a young age, to be part of this unique group of people who have witnessed firsthand the effects that climate change and unsustainable lifestyles have had on Antarctica.

What did I see in Antarctica?
• Antarctic Sound (Iceberg Alley): We witnessed icebergs that had broken off of the Larsen B ice shelf in 2002 as a result of global warming. They were not supposed to be there!
• Human activity: Russia, after the Cold War, ‘abandoned’ their oil drums on King George Island. ‘Fishing vessels’ still occasionally stop by there... hmmm.
• Summer Humpback Whale feeding frenzy: Whales were not as abundant this year as in some previous years. Were there fewer krill around due to pancake ice melting (i.e., ice that consists of round sheets of ice, which range in diameter from a few inches to many feet, depending on the conditions in which it was created)?
• Crabeater Seals are the most numerous of all the seals on the Antarctic Peninsula. We did not see any during our entire expedition.
• Leopard Seals: We had the extraordinary luck to witness four in the same area. Leopard seals are territorial, solitary and aggressive creatures. Seeing four in the same area is incredibly rare. Had they no other choice but to share the penguin-coated beach with other seals?
• Ice: Passing through Iceberg Alley, the icebergs that we saw (that were not supposed to be there anyway) had started to melt. Along the meltline of various bergs, we saw icicles that were dripping slowly into the sea. This does not happen by chance or by force of water. These icebergs would have been thousands of years old made by heavily compressed snow.

What are the key environmental issues concerning Antarctica?
Climate change
Climate change plays a significant role in the conservation of Antarctica. The Antarctic Peninsula, which is the large horn pointing out of the Antarctic continent towards South America, is one of the fastest warming regions on the planet. Experts say that 80% of the global temperature increase will go into the ocean, which will lead to a faster melting of the ice.
In the Austral summer, the ice edge is intense with life. Its high concentration of algae (that grow off the bottom of pancake ice) makes it home for huge amounts of krill, the main food source for many of the Antarctic species. This means that there are usually a high number of penguins, seals and whales that feed there during this time.
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), if global temperatures rise by just 2°C, 75% of Pygoscelis adeliae (Adelie penguins) and 50% of Aptenodytes forsteri (Emperor penguins) face disappearance. This would be due to reduced sea ice thickness and coverage which would impede these species’ ability to hunt and breed. If the ice is gone, there is no place for algae to grow. Without algae, the krill die. This has dramatic consequences for all Antarctic species, because krill is the base food for most of them.
Moreover, as the sea ice shrinks, there would be higher concentrations of Balaenoptera bonaerensis (Antarctic Minke whales) around the ice edge as they attempt to reside peacefully in the remainder of their natural habitat. This rise is not only possible but likely to happen if we do not address our unsustainable methods immediately.
We are all seeing the change happening already. With the recent breakup of the Wilkins ice shelf, on the other side of the Antarctic Peninsula to the Larsen B ice shelf, we are given a violent “heads up”. Not only can we see that the Antarctic Peninsula is falling apart, but we all know that these events contribute to global sea level rise. A 5 meter rise in sea level, which is not farfetched, would drown half of Florida.

Lack of Sustainability and our Dependence on Non-Renewable Energy Sources
We are currently at a stage where the world is dependent on the abundance of fossil fuels. In China, a new fossil fuel power station opens every week. Eventually, when oil reserves begin fade in the North Sea, the Middle East and everywhere else, our lack of sustainability and our dependence on non-renewable energy sources will lead us to extremes. An example that is already in place is the Arctic. The Arctic is pure ice, so it is currently displacing the water below it. Melting it would not result in a rise in sea level. But, with the ice now gone, new drilling opportunities have arisen. The Scandinavians and the Russians have already placed claims in places that should still be covered in a thick sheet of ice, but all that remains is a thin layer of brash ice (i.e., ice that consists of small, floating fragments of sea ice). These claims will eventually lead to the construction of huge oil rigs and other harmful infrastructures.
How are we to believe that the same will not happen with the Antarctic? The only reason that the treaty was signed to begin with was because there were ideas of drilling for fossil fuels and minerals in the Antarctic. In fact, many believe that some countries go to great lengths to ensure presence on the great continent not for the purpose of “peace and science” (As the Antarctic Treaty System would put it), but as a secret political battle, to have a chance to withdraw local resources when others run out. These include coal, minerals, and large oil reserves.
Antarctica’s ecosystems contain mostly marine animals. This would mean that across Antarctica, the only place one would see penguins, seals, and whales would be on the coast or on the ice. If you travel to the Trans-Antarctic Mountains, do you think you would come across the occasional penguin colony?
Unfortunately, most of the oil and minerals that would be available when the ice starts to melt would lie on the coastline as well. Slowly, the ice will start to retreat from the coastline and give way to the massive race for its resources, starting in the year 2041, which is coincidently the year by which a 2°C rise in global temperatures is possible. In fact, if we turn out to be truly irresponsible, and we swallow all of the oil reserves too quickly, it is likely that Madrid Protocol could come up for review earlier than 2041. But if we get to that situation, it means that we have failed to implement sufficient changes into society – and the Antarctic could be lost.
As soon as mining and drilling on coastal Antarctica commences, the Antarctic wildlife will already be in danger (for the very reason miners are there: the ice is gone), and could face further decline. Entire ecosystems could be lost before we even discover them – all because of greed and a desire to conquer the last place left on Earth that we all own.
The answers to these global issues should be lying in our own back yard. The next time you walk outside in the morning to get your paper, and the sun is shining onto your face, think about all the energy you are wasting and what you could be saving by installing solar panels. The next time you find yourself in an epic fight against the wind to get from your car to your house in the middle of a storm, think about how much energy wind turbines would be generating at that very moment. There has never been a need to invent new ideas that will cost significant amounts of money and will only feed our dependence on non-renewable energy sources, making us even less sustainable. As I learned from a presentation given by David Hone, the Climate Change advisor for Shell, there have recently been suggestions to put up “space mirrors” as a global warming counteract. These are large, concave mirrors that would be sent into space to deflect the sun’s rays and equalise global warming. They are effective for reducing heat on our planet, but (in addition to cost) still fail to deal with our dependence on non-renewable energy sources and our lack of sustainability, as well as all the other ecosystem disturbances the CO2 causes. Essentially, we would be spending significant sums of money for a stall, which would not even reduce emissions.
I am respectfully trying to join the call to all transnational corporations, small businesses, schools, governments and individuals to change policy and encourage sustainable technologies. Please inform, inspire and involve young people in action against the global lack of sustainability, just like Robert Swan and 2041.

The Fragility of Antarctica and How we are Endangering It
From what we witnessed on the expedition, many of us would say that the world is being careless about the way it treats Antarctica. It cannot be treated as just another “place”, which is why it is currently being protected by the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO). On the expedition, I saw many things that showcased our carelessness in using such a spectacular and unique region, and some made me wonder about the necessity of it all. An example of this would be at the Argentine station of Brown Base, on the Antarctic Peninsula. Here, the station is used only a third of the year, and is not well constructed. It comprises a few wooden huts dotted along the beach and a yard containing barrels and some other waste, with long planks of wood and metallic scraps left behind from more than a decade ago. We should all consider the need to respect the fragile ecosystem that exists upon that beach.
Other human activity disturbs the Antarctic ecosystems as well. As one of the most rapidly expanding tourist destinations in the world, Antarctic luxury cruises are increasingly frequent. These huge cruise ships, which require enormous amounts of energy to run, are inefficient, belching out tons of carbon dioxide into the Antarctic atmosphere. Although many of them are not licensed to set foot on land, perhaps due to liability issues or because they were denied permission, they potentially cause harm and disruption in Antarctic ecosystems if they are not handled with care.
Finally, habitat destruction also plays a key role in the status of all the Antarctic species. The Tristan Albatross, for example, is classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as critically endangered, primarily because of habitat being lost as people try to conquer Antarctica and build increasingly sophisticated bases and buildings on it. According to BirdLife International, Eudyptes Chrysocome, the Southern Rockhopper Penguin, is now classified as vulnerable because its population has declined by one third in the last thirty years.
What can young people do about these issues?
The following are a few suggestions for easy, practical ways in which young people can contribute. They involve a range of learning, speaking out, and taking action. 2041 will support an entrepreneurial effort started by young people. It is part of their mission, and they strive to inspire young people to join the effort.

• The first mover for sustainability will be the winner. Make your school the example, the best and the standard that others aspire to. Use it as an opportunity to showcase alternative, more sustainable energy sources (e.g. planting green roofs, using recycled and recyclable materials). By promoting or switching to renewable energy, you are addressing many of the environmental difficulties we face today. This will also encourage others to do the same and will attract the attention of the media, who will increasingly showcase those who do better environmentally – and highlight those who are inefficient.

• Create a community environmental council, consisting of a few young people and one or two representatives from your school that can help you get it started. The people of this council will help make goals for your community to work towards, and make decisions concerning its sustainability, for example what materials to use when constructing a new building.

• Competition is everywhere. It plays a huge role in everyone’s lives, especially in schools and offices. Why not start a competition or a challenge to become the most sustainable school in your community? You could use the Green Cup Challenge as a structural basis, which is an international green challenge for schools; but it does not have to be expensive. The local competition will be effective because it will get more and more competitive every year you run it.

• Take small steps in your school and community. Change to energy-efficient light bulbs, recycle more, and slowly become more sustainable.

• Start an Antarctica awareness campaign. These do not have to be hard or expensive to start up. You should ask your school to support it. Awareness campaigns are also highly effective, and are the best way to show entrepreneurial initiative in your community.

• Persuade your school and/or community to switch to a greener power companies. There are over 750 green power companies that can help you become more sustainable without necessarily costing you extra money.

• Install energy conservation software such as Verdiem Edison and/or Verdiem Surveyor on all the school and home computers. This is a free, downloadable, small piece of software that will dramatically increase the energy efficiency of your computers. As soon as you download it, you will begin to see the positive effects it will have on your electrical bill and the environment. Turning just one small laptop to one of the highest power conservation settings will reduce your emissions by almost 100 kilograms of CO2 and 159 kilowatts of energy annually. This means that if your school has 20 computers, you could save over $555 every year.

• Measure energy consumption within your school/community, and set a reduction target. Working towards a goal will make your efforts much more effective.

• How do these issues affect you and/or your community? For example, people in the Arctic are seeing diminished numbers of Caribou and new (and possibly invasive) species being introduced to their ecosystems. Every community will be affected in some way. Start working on local projects to counteract these issues in a sustainable way. To help this project, you should persuade those around you to invest for time into the outdoors. Seeing these issues affect your community through your own eyes will help you understand and care.

• Start a waste reduction and proper disposal program.

• Start a proper disposal and recycling program for unused electronics.

Once again, I would like to mention that I owe all of the above to Robert Swan and the 2041 team, who courageously offered a 14-year-old a chance to join the fight.

Greenland, Day 10: The Winds Return

Today was supposed to be monotonous and uneventful. It didn't turn out that way. Shortly after we left camp, the clouds rolled in, and soon it started to snow. Then, once again, the infamous and dreaded katabatic winds picked up strength. After about six hours, they were blowing so hard that we were forced to stop. The snow was blowing in our faces at 70 kilometers per hour, and visibility was down to zero... for more... http://www.onearth.org/node/1112

Destination: Greenland -- Polar Bears Pass Through Town

from Larry Lunt: April 27,09

This morning was our last in Qaanaaq. During breakfast at our guest house, our host fed us one last polar bear story.

This year they have seen a record number of polar bears passing through the edge of town -- 10 sightings over the past six weeks, when it started getting light out after the long, dark Arctic winter. The reason is that the open sea is gradually moving closer to the village as the sea ice melts.

The good news for us is that it is not a dangerous time of the year for polar bear attacks. They only attack people when they are really hungry, which is only in the fall, as the winter darkness draws nearer and it becomes harder to catch seals. Even then they’re really only a risk when they haven’t eaten enough during previous months. (Polar bears need to start off the winter with a full stomach.)

At this time of the year, the females are with their babies and tend to run away from people. Males are busy looking for females and occasionally kill the babies out of jealousy. It’s also prime-time seal-hunting season -- April, May, June -- so they’re not very interested in us. They are not familiar with our smell and apparently are not attracted by our meat.

With these reassuring words, we depart on our skis pulling our 100-pound sled, which we call Moby Dick as it looks like a whale moving slowly, quietly, heavily. (I’ll send photos later.) Since we are traveling away from the open sea toward the end of the fjord, we won’t have many run-ins with bears. That means we will have to wait for when we reach the other side of the peninsula in a week for our next polar bear photo op. Just in case, we carry a gun (a Magnum 44) in the very rare case where we encounter a curious one. We don’t intend to shoot the bear. Our plan is to shoot in the air, which typically scares them away.

Enough about bears. Our first big day on skis is over now. The weather was beautiful: sunny, very little wind, temperature around zero degrees Fahrenheit (That’s about -18 degrees Celsius, and yes, that’s good weather here!). We skiied across the flat sea ice to Bowdoin Fjord, where we set up camp. Nine hours, 27 kilometers. It was a perfect day.

Destination: Greenland -- A Village Relocated

by Larry Lunt April 22, 2009: Last night we ate a curious looking steak. After we finished, I was told that it was whale! That explains the fishy taste of it.

This morning we flew to Qaanaaq--a four hour flight with a stop to refuel in a 12-seat propeller plane (a Dash 7) that makes the flight once every week. We finally arrived at our destination--the northernmost community on planet. Here in Qaanaaq, 600 Inuits live permanently in near-complete isolation... [full report at: http://www.onearth.org/node/1081 ]

North Pole soon!

Too hot where you are? follow Pax Arctica 2008-partner Sebastian Copeland North Pole expedition at http://www.myspace.com/sebastiancopeland

Destination: GREENLAND

My good friend and Antarctic partner Larry Lunt just left for Greenland. Here is the link to know more every day: http://www.onearth.org/greenland

Arctic Transitions - BOOK TOUR!

Luc Hardy on tour for book "Arctic Transitions - Witness to Change: Young Ambassadors in Nunavut"

Saturday, May 30 10:00a

at Just Books, Old Greenwich, CT

http://www.justbooks.org/

Come meet local author & adventurer Luc Hardy

Michel Rocard chez les Empereurs :-)

Michel Rocard chez les pingouins

Michel Rocard revient pour Terra eco [a great media site by the way - LH] sur les implications de sa nouvelle mission. Il a été nommé le 18 mars dernier ambassadeur de France en charge des négociations internationales sur les pôles arctique et antarctique.

http://www.planete-terra.fr/Michel-Rocard-chez-les-pingouins,1219.html

Hélène Duvigneau 29 ans. De Paris à Pékin, mes entreprises (...)

- D’où vient votre intérêt pour la défense des régions polaires ?

C’est une longue histoire. Quand j’ai eu le bonheur en 1988 de contribuer à stopper la guerre civile à l’oeuvre en Nouvelle-Calédonie, cela m’a valu un certain respect dans l’océan Pacifique. En 1989, le 1er ministre australien, en visite en France, m’a fait part de sa position isolée sur la scène internationale. Il ne souhaitait pas ratifier le 3ème protocole complémentaire au traité de l’Antarctique, qui autorisait l’exploitation du pétrole dans la région. Je lui ai apporté mon soutien, et nous avons signé 3 ans après le protocole de Madrid, qui consacre la protection absolue de l’environnement en Antarctique. Interdiction y est faite d’exploiter des ressources minérales et d’y mener toute activité autre que de recherche scientifique. L’Antarctique a été déclaré Terre de science, réserve naturelle de l’humanité. Tout ce que j’ai appris à l’issue de cette bataille a fait naître en moi une passion pour ces sujets. La communauté scientifique polaire française m’a ensuite sollicité sur l’Arctique, où les glaces fondent à toute allure, où il y a du pétrole en réserve et où des marées noires peuvent menacer sans que personne ne sache comment les traiter. Il faut absolument protéger l’Arctique.

- De quelle marge de manœuvre dispose la France sur ces questions ?

La France n’est pas un pays riverain de l’Arctique. Elle n’est pas non plus un armateur de flottes immenses, mais elle est membre de l’UE. Or celle-ci comporte le Danemark, qui, via le Groenland, se trouve être riverain de l’Arctique. Voilà pourquoi l’UE a demandé à être représentée au conseil arctique. La France peut donc être influente au travers la diplomatie européenne. Dans l’immédiat, mon travail consistera à préciser les lignes diplomatiques d’offensive dans tous ces domaines et de jumeler cela avec les négociations mondiales sur le climat.

- Concrètement, quelles vont être vos premières démarches ?

Je dois d’abord rencontrer les ministres des Affaires étrangères des pays riverains et de quelques grands autres afin de trouver une plate forme d’objectifs communs. Je vais les écouter pour définir les objectifs que la diplomatie internationale pourrait se donner à propos de l’Arctique. Il faudra trouver un large consensus chez les riverains et chez les autres. Si l’océan arctique devient navigable, ce qui est possible d’ici une dizaine d’années, tout le monde va y avoir des intérêts, à commencer par la Chine et l’UE, deux gros commerçants. Mais je ne suis pas capable aujourd’hui de décrire une méthode d’action. Il faut d’abord arriver à une batterie d’objectifs concernant la sécurité maritime, la préservation de l’environnement, et la lutte contre les accidents. Aujourd’hui, rien de tout cela n’existe. L’obstacle sera la somme des intérêts nationaux, car la prise de conscience ne suffit pas à vaincre les intérêts pétroliers, surtout du fait de la rareté de la ressource. Si l’on devait forer intégralement tous les gisements disponibles dans l’Arctique, on doublerait la production de gaz à effet de serre, ce qui est extrêmement inquiétant. Ma mission est un beau combat. C’est en tout cas la reprise de celui que j’ai commencé avec l’Antarctique il y a tout juste 20 ans.

LES SOURCES DE CET ARTICLE :

Crédit photo : Le Cercle Polaire, une ONG qui édite le premier journal électronique francophone dédié aux régions polaires

Plus sur le premier voyage de Michel Rocard en Antarctique avec Le Cercle Polaire sur le site du Nouvel Obs

Arctic Landgrab

Great story/analysis (and maps) in National Geographic of this month:http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/05/healy/funk-text/1

Why Didn’t Scientists Recognize Global Warming Sooner?

Some did. In 1958, the National Academy of Sciences published a booklet titled “Planet Earth: The Mystery with 100,000 Clues,” which contained this prescient paragraph:

Our industrial civilization has been pouring carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a great rate. By the year 2000 we will have added 70 percent more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. If it remained, it would have a marked warming effect on the earth’s climate, but most of it would probably be absorbed by the oceans. Conceivably, however, it could cause significant melting of the great icecaps and raise sea levels in time.http://www.extremeicesurvey.org/index.php/glaciology/

Again...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One Antarctic ice shelf has quickly vanished, another is disappearing and glaciers are melting faster than anyone thought due to climate change, U.S. and British government researchers reported on Friday.

They said the Wordie Ice Shelf, which had been disintegrating since the 1960s, is gone and the northern part of the Larsen Ice Shelf no longer exists. More than 3,200 square miles (8,300 square km) have broken off from the Larsen shelf since 1986.

Climate change is to blame, according to the report from the U.S. Geological Survey and the British Antarctic Survey, available at pubs.usgs.gov/imap/2600/B.

Militarisation de l'Arctique?

http://www.lemonde.fr/ameriques/article/2009/03/28/le-canada-intraitable-sur-sa-souverainete_1173735_3222.html

Le ministre canadien des affaires étrangères, Lawrence Cannon, a dû, par deux fois en une semaine, réaffirmer avec force la souveraineté du Canada sur son espace maritime. Vendredi 27 mars, il réagissait à l'annonce d'une nouvelle stratégie russe prévoyant de militariser l'Arctique. Deux jours plus tôt, il condamnait la revendication par la France de renégocier ses droits sur le plateau continental entourant l'archipel de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.

"Nous sommes intraitables sur la défense de la souveraineté canadienne sur l'Arctique à l'égard de nos alliés et des pays qui pourraient avoir des velléités à l'attaquer", a martelé M. Cannon. Il a précisé qu'il en parlerait "dans un avenir proche" à son homologue russe.

Sur le même sujet

Les faits Le Canada "intraitable " sur sa souveraineté

Edition abonnés Fiche pays : Canada

Le même jour, le Kremlin venait en effet de rendre publique son intention de déployer des forces militaires dans l'Arctique pour "défendre ses intérêts" dans une région qui recèle d'immenses ressources convoitées par la Russie et le Canada et également par le Danemark, la Norvège et les Etats-Unis. Les Russes affirment que toute une partie des fonds marins de l'Arctique sont la propriété de Moscou parce qu'il s'agit d'un prolongement du plateau continental sibérien. La Russie a déposé un dossier auprès des Nations unies sur cette question.

Deux jours avant cette polémique sur l'Arctique, Ottawa s'était déjà senti attaqué sur un autre "front", celui de l'Atlantique. M. Cannon avait alors "déploré" la décision française de rouvrir le dossier de la délimitation du plateau continental de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, archipel proche des côtes canadiennes de Terre-Neuve. L'enjeu porte, là aussi, sur l'exploitation de ressources pétrolières et gazières sous-marines.

La ministre française de l'intérieur, Michèle Alliot-Marie, avait annoncé mercredi le dépôt "d'ici le 13 mai", à la Commission des limites du plateau continental de l'ONU, d'une lettre d'intention pour "préserver les droits de la France". M. Cannon affirme, lui, que "le Canada prendra toutes les mesures nécessaires pour défendre et protéger ses droits sur le plateau continental canadien".

"NE PAS REVENIR EN ARRIÈRE"

L'affaire pourrait relancer la polémique des années 1980 sur la délimitation des eaux territoriales et zones de pêche des deux pays au large de l'Est canadien. "C'est un incident qui ne devrait pas entacher leurs excellentes relations", pense Stéphane Roussel, un spécialiste de la politique étrangère canadienne. Le Canada estime que le différend a été réglé "de manière définitive" en 1992.

L'archipel français s'était alors vu octroyer une zone économique exclusive de 12 milles marins à l'est et de 24 milles à l'ouest, avec un corridor nord-sud de 200 milles de long par 10 milles de large. L'intérêt économique de cette zone reposait alors sur la pêche à la morue, dont les stocks se sont, depuis, effondrés. En revanche, du gaz et du pétrole ont été découverts non loin de là.

Rocard nommé Ambassadeur pour les pôles...

L'ancien premier ministre a quitté, à 78 ans, son mandat de député européen pour un poste d'ambassadeur chargé des relations internationales relatives aux pôles Arctique et Antarctique.

How to save 10-20% on auto gas bills?

Easy!
1 - Just make it mandatory for ALL car manufacturers to install a data screen like you have in the Prius: simple, easy to read, fun. 5-10% saved right there.
2 - As part of getting a driving license, teach new drivers how to SAVE gas while driving. Another 5-10% saved.
TOTAL = 10-20%. It is that easy...

Drowning islands...

(CNN) -- There is one holiday destination that should shake the faith of even the most vehement climate change skeptic: the Carteret Islands, part of Papua New Guinea, located northeast of Bougainville.http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/03/15/eco.climaterefugees/

THE YEAR OF CLIMATE CHANGE

LEADERS OF UN, US DECLARE 2009 THE YEAR OF CLIMATE CHANGE
New York, Mar 12 2009 6:00PM

With nations set to conclude negotiations on an ambitious new
greenhouse gas emissions agreement this December, Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon and United States President Barack Obama have stressed
the need for 2009 to be the year of climate change.

Mr. Ban, who met with the “visionary” American leader earlier this
week at the White House in Washington, <"http://www.un.org/apps/news/
infocus/sgspeeches/statments_full.asp?statID=449">told journalists in
his monthly press conference at UN Headquarters today that they both
agree that climate change poses an “existential threat.”

The two men share a commitment that “2009 must be the year of climate
change,” he said, stressing the importance a comprehensive successor
pact to the Kyoto Protocol – the legally binding emissions reduction
regime whose first commitment period ends in 2012 – at December’s UN
climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

“With US leadership, in partnership of the United Nations, we can and
will reach a climate change deal that all nations can embrace,” the
Secretary-General noted.

Reports of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (<"http://
www.ipcc.ch/">IPCC) – the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate – have
shown unequivocally that the world is warming, almost certainly due
to human activity, with potentially disastrous effects including
worsening drought in some regions and heavier rainfall in others.

Mr. Ban said today that he and Mr. Obama were of the same opinion
that ‘green’ investments are an essential part of any stimulus
package targeting the current global economic turmoil.

“If we are going to spend such tremendous sums of money, let us be
smart about it,” he said.

He said that during his two-day visit to Washington, climate change
also dominated his discussions with key American officials, including
Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, and Congressman Howard Berman, Chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee.

Last week, the top UN climate change official said that he sees
“enthusiasm” in the current US Government to pass laws to reduce gas
emissions and a willingness to work towards a new global climate
change pact.

Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change (<"http://unfccc.int/2860.php">UNFCCC), said he was
“very much encouraged” following his recent meetings with officials
in Mr. Obama’s administration and members of Congress.

“There is, I believe, a huge enthusiasm and energy in both the House
and the Senate to put cap and trade climate change legislation in
place in this country,” he added.

Mr. de Boer also underscored the willingness in the current US
administration “to work towards an agreement in Copenhagen, to come
with an ambitious domestic policy [and] to engage with international
partners” to come to an accord.

350 Max!!

American climatologist Dr. James Hansen of NASA says we already have too much CO₂ and other greenhouse gases in the air: "If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted ... CO₂ will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm."

Acceleration of Planet's warming :((

For those who still doubt:

By Clive Cookson in Chicago
Published: February 16 2009

The world is warming far more quickly than scientists forecast just two years ago when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published its last reports, according to a series of assessments presented over the weekend.

Chris Field of Stanford University, a senior member of the IPCC, told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science that the unexpectedly rapid increase in the burning of fossil fuels, especially coal, since 2000 would have dire consequences because of “feedback loops” in the global climate.

“We are looking now at a future climate that’s beyond anything we’ve considered seriously in climate model simulations,” Prof Field said.

The IPCC’s fourth assessment in 2007 concluded that the average global temperature would increase by between 1.1°C and 6.4°C by 2100, depending how much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were released into the atmosphere over the coming decades. Prof Field said that seriously underestimated the potential severity of global warming, based on the new evidence.

Prof Field warned that there were early signs of melting in the Arctic tundra and increased fires in tropical forests – over and above deliberate deforestation – that could add billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

“There is a real risk that human-caused climate change will accelerate the release of carbon dioxide from forest and tundra ecosystems, which have been storing a lot of carbon for thousands of years,” Prof Field said.

“We don’t want to cross a critical threshold where this massive release of carbon starts to run on autopilot.”

Al Gore, the former US vice-president turned climate change campaigner, responded with a passionate plea to an audience of 1,600 scientists, urging them to become more politically active in the fight against global warming.

“Scientists can no longer in good conscience accept this division between the work you do and the civilisation in which you live. This is a historic struggle.”

Mr Gore focused particularly on the accelerating loss of Arctic ice and the global increase in coal burning.

However there was optimism at the AAAS meeting – based on the professed determination of the new US administration to promote effective action, both in its domestic energy policies and in taking a lead in international climate change negotiations.

James McCarthy, a climate change expert at Harvard University and this year’s AAAS president, said: “The scientific talent President [Barack] Obama has recruited is of extraordinary calibre. He could not have found anyone better to look after energy and the environment.”

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009

Special Envoy for Climate Change!

Wow! the US now has a Special Envoy for Climate Change!!

Secretary Clinton Announces Appointment of Special Envoy for Climate Change: Todd Stern

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/01/115409.htm
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you very much. Well, welcome to the State Department, but really, many of you work here and work at USAID and do the important business of our country, and I’m so pleased that you could join us today, because it is with great enthusiasm that I am naming today a Special Envoy for Climate Change.
As should be evident by now, the President and I believe that American leadership is essential to meeting the challenges of the 21^st century. And chief among those is the complex, urgent, and global threat of climate change. From rapidly rising temperatures to melting arctic icecaps, from lower crop yields to dying forests, from unforgiving hurricanes to unrelenting droughts, we have no shortage of evidence that our world is facing a climate crisis.

For video: http://www.state.gov/video/?videoid=9120359001

Oil, Trade and Arctic Ice

A simple, brief and informative video from The Economist Website on the geopolitical issues facing the Arctic today:
http://audiovideo.economist.com/?fr_chl=37b523f6e1fab620d03697edb18b1216db2961ca

Warming in Antarctica

Antarctica is warming, that is the conclusion of scientists analyzing half a century of temperatures on the continent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/science/earth/22climate.html