Posts Tagged ‘global warming’

Charity for Change (CharityForChange) have come out with some  facts about America. Snow, for example – which state has the most?

Which is the hottest?

From previous articles of ours talking about the Badwater Ultra-marathon and the 508 Cycle Race in Death Valley, we know that Death Valley is the hottest place in the States with searing temperatures. The highest ever recorded there was  134 °F (56.7 °C) in 1913. It also dominates the records for being the hottest place in continental America on any single day.  And this is a place where extreme competitions take place!

Places in the US that have reached temperatures of at least 49 C or 120 °F:

In contrast, the lowest temperature ever recorded in the United States was -80 °F (-62 °C) on January 23, 1971 at Prospect Creek Camp, located near the Arctic Circle along the Alaska pipeline. This is not much warmer than the -81.4 °F record low for North America that Snag in the Yukon dropped to on February 3, 1947. On that record cold February day, Tanacross Alaska reached -75 °F.

Montana, too, has a record to be proud of – or should I say scared of? It takes the record for being the coldest place in the continental US with a temperature of -70 °F on January 20, 1954 at Rogers Pass, Montana. The pass sits at 5,470 feet elevation in the Rocky Mountains, northwest of Helena.

On any single day, the mountain town of Stanley, Idaho, is most often the coldest place in the 48 continental states.

Other states in the US which have dropped to-45 C or  -50 F or below are:

Is it significant that none of these dates are recent?

This Sumo wrestler (thesnowfiles) would be perfectly content in these conditions I feel…

And if climate change is so dramatic and the snow starts melting, we could always try to get a taste for this alternative skiing (Sony6Honda)…

Let’s hope the powers that be decide to do something about global warming before we are reduced to that!

My daughter was asked 3 questions in class the other day in the interests of global warming:

• Would you and your family be prepared to return to the one car one family system of yesteryear?
• Would you be prepared to return to one telephone per household?
• Would you be prepared to give up air travel?

Think about it and then ask yourselves those questions? It’s not long ago that the correct answer (yes, yes and yes!) was just ordinary life and nothing unusual…

As you know, since we’ve written about it before, HRH Prince Charles has been closely associated with this subject for years and has been increasingly concerned about the lack lustre performance of our global leaders. There is no point in me spouting on, read for yourself the transcript of his speech to our leaders in Copenhagen:

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On Tuesday HRH The Prince of Wales appealed to delegates at the UN climate summit to set aside national differences and agree to a global warming accord before it is too late. Delivering the keynote address as the conference in Copenhagen formally entered its final phase, HRH told ministers and world leaders that:

“The eyes of the world are upon you and it is no understatement to say that, with your signatures, you can write our future.”

HRH used the speech to outline how critical tropical forests are to a successful climate deal and how a deal on forests could provide a valuable example of how climate change issues could be resolved:

“The simple truth is that without a solution to tropical deforestation, there is no solution to climate change. That is why I established a Rainforests Project to try to promote a consensus on how tropical deforestation might be significantly reduced.”

“It seems the quickest and most cost-effective way to buy time in the battle against catastrophic climate change is to find a way to make the trees worth more alive than dead.”

HRH placed the battle to save the forests within the context of a world ecosystem struggling to cope with the ever increasing pressures exerted by the global economy. He stressed the need to deal systemically with the problem of deforestation and address its fundamental economic drivers:

“It is critical to find ways to prevent forests being converted to agriculture. I have been heartened by my conversations with some of the world’s largest agri-businesses which have told me that, through more effective use of vast areas of degraded land, we could feed and fuel a growing population and keep the forests. But, Ladies and Gentlemen, it must be genuinely sustainable agriculture that helps to sequester carbon, protect biodiversity and empower local communities and small farmers.”

Describing deforestation as just one manifestation of a broader malaise HRH stated that:

“We appear intent upon consuming the planet. It seems likely, on current patterns of use, that our global fisheries will collapse by 2050 and, already, fresh water is becoming scarcer, placing global food security at ever greater hazard.”

“In the last 50 years we have degraded 30 per cent of global topsoil and destroyed 30 per cent of the world’s rainforests. All of these issues are linked to each other and to climate change – a truly vicious circle. However, it is these links, together with our common humanity and the unprecedented connections of today’s global community, which might, perhaps, provide us with a solution.”

On corporate involvement, he said:

“The need fully to engage the private sector reflects not only the growing determination of business to act in a sustainable way but, crucially, its determination to listen to customers. And what customers are saying ever more loudly is that they want their investment choices to make a positive difference to climate change.”

“The future of mankind can be assured only if we rediscover ways in which to live as a part of nature, not apart from her,” he said.

“The grim reality is that our planet has reached a point of crisis and we have only seven years before we lose the levers of control.”

He added: “Reducing poverty, increasing food production, combating terrorism and sustaining economic development are all vital priorities, but it is increasingly clear how rapid climate change will make them even more difficult to address.

“When it comes to the air we breathe and the water we drink, there are no national boundaries. We all depend on each other – and, crucially, on each other’s actions – for our weather, our food, our water and our energy.

“These are the ‘tectonic plates’ on which the peace and stability of the international community rest. The inescapable conclusion, therefore, is that a partial solution to climate change is no solution at all.

“It must be inclusive and it must be a comprehensive approach – one that strengthens the resilience of our ecosystems.”

In his closing statement, HRH left the assembled ministers and leaders with a poignant call to action:

“As our planet’s life-support system begins to fail and our very survival as a species is brought into question, remember that our children and grandchildren will ask not what our generation said, but what it did. Let us give an answer, then, of which we can be proud.”

Read a full transcript of the speech here: http://www.rainforestsos.org/copenhagen or watch a video of the speech here: http://www.rainforestsos.org/speechvideo

That title is a bit misleading… of course you will always be able to scuba dive – but what you’ve gone into the ocean to look at might not have such a bright future.

So concerned are they by the threat of global warming that Maldive government officials donned scuba gear on 17th October to draw the world’s attention to it one more time.

As a publicity stunt they held an underwater meeting amidst pristine coral, to highlight the threat global warming poses to the world’s lowest-lying nation – it will disappear if global warming continues at the rate it is at the moment.

The Maldivian cabinet held a meeting underwater to highlight the need for action on climate change

During the meeting, conducted mainly by writing on white boards and using hand signals, Maldivian President Mohammed Nasheed signed a document asking all countries to cut down their carbon dioxide emissions, prior to the U.N. climate change conference scheduled for December in Copenhagen.

Now, you might think this all a little dramatic and possibly even far-fetched, but it is the bleak future we are leaving to our children if we don’t wake up to this fact now…

Coral is an excellent indicator of climate change, and they are on the brink of collapse.

Are you a keen scuba-diver? and is this pretty much what you hope to see when you slip into the ocean and fin towards a coral reef…

If we’re not careful, our favourite hobby will feature scenes more like this one… some of you might already have seen reefs like this…

Coral reefs are the most diverse and beautiful of all marine habitats.

It is not unusual for a reef to have several hundred species of snails, sixty species of corals, and several hundred species of fish. Of all ocean habitats, reefs seem to have the greatest development of complex symbiotic associations.

Coral reefs are valuable eco-systems that we will not be able to rebuild. They save the world billions of dollars annually by acting as natural sea defenses. Reefs also earn in the region of $30 billion a year for local economies from tourism. Quite apart from this about 500 million people worldwide depend on the reefs for their food. That’s a lot of people who will need aid if reefs collapse.

Globally, coral reefs are under threat from climate change, ocean acidification, overuse of reef resources, and harmful land-use practices. High nutrient levels such as those found in runoff from agricultural areas and industry can harm reefs by encouraging excess algae growth.

Ascidian Overgrowing Coral

Even touching coral can harm them.

Any rise in the sea level due to climate change would effectively ask coral to grow faster to keep up. That’s problem number one.

Secondly, water temperature changes can be very disturbing to the coral. This was seen during the 1998 and 2004 El Niño weather phenomena, in which sea surface temperatures rose well above normal, bleaching or killing many coral reefs. In the event of a 2°C temperature increase, it is thought that coral would not be able to adapt quickly enough either physiologically or genetically.

Perhaps my title isn’t that misleading after all. If either of the two above phenomenon occur there will be very little “wow” factor for us scuba divers to admire. Look at that second photograph – how could we possibly allow that to disappear?

If you feel strongly enough about this topic you should contact an organisation called Avaaz (the word means ‘voice’ in many languages). They are a not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people inform global decision-making. They are campaigning fiercely for the world to wake-up to the reality of global warming and to finally do something constructive at the Copenhagen talks in December – before it’s too late:

The other day we had one of our regular rants about the environment, global warming and the awful destruction of the rainforests, amongst other things, and we showed you the video made by The Prince’s Rainforest Project.

This video has now been viewed more than 500,000 times over various sites and their next initiative is to launch their Supporter of the Week.

This week it is Richard Branson, entrepreneur, adventurer and founder of the Virgin group, who was filmed with ‘the frog‘ to demonstrate that there is a global determination for change on this issue.

Although he had little success on the video in changing the frog into a beautiful woman, there was obviously, from the following photo, a delayed but successful result to his efforts:

Richard Branson and Denni Parkinson. ‘I only wish I had eyes in the back of my head’ he told the Daily Mail. (Photo credit: Stephane Gautronneau)

In fact, so successful was his kite surfing weekend on Necker Island, that the Alinghi (defender of the America’s Cup) coach and and performance analysts, Pierre Yves Jorand (SUI) and Peter Evans (NZL) spent a lot of time studying and analyzing the photographs from Mr Bransons kitesurfing weekend and were able to give this exclusive report for World Sailing News.

¨From what we can tell it looks like it was blowing on shore at the time, suggesting an afternoon seabreeze, as the wind would have been sucked onto the land – probably in the region of 13 knots to begin with the pressure rising steadily throughout the afternoon, maybe up to 17 or 18 knots. The technique is good, his feet are in the correct position and he seems to have good control. When wet, the board shorts and long hair will be adding to the drag a little – the added weight will not help his performance therefore but nevertheless, judging by the smile on his face he is clearly enjoying himself. This has the effect of helping him to relax and at least feel phsycologically that he is giving the best performance possible. This is the key thing – and it´s therefore something we will be recommending as part of their training regime to both Brad Butterworth and Ed Baird before they compete at their next D 35 regatta¨

Responding to the recommendations from the Alinghi performace analysts, Ed Baird, said, ´One of the great things about working for a team like Alinghi is that all the people around you are constantly searching for that little bit of something special to help make the boat go faster. Pierre Yves and Peter Evans seem to have nailed it again, and I for one look forward to joining in the process, learning from it, sharing that experience and getting in amongst it¨

Brad Butterworth said, ´Yes, lets go´!

But to end on a serious note, let us quickly remind you that:

• the destruction of tropical rainforests accounts for 17% of CO2 emissions…
• that the Amazon alone circulates 20 billion tonnes of water every day which helps water the crops that feed the global population…
• that an area of tropical rainforest the size of a football pitch is destroyed every 4 seconds…

Note that Branson has chosen a very eco-friendly sport!

Last night at about 9pm we were about to settle down and watch a movie – ping – the lights flashed and fluttered and came back to life – good, the credits rolled and outside the wind howled. Pop – total darkness, oh damn – out came the candles, a look outside, it was the whole area – none of the neighbours had any power – what to do – no power, no video, no television, no light, no internet connection, no telephone – go to bed.

The point being we are SO dependent on the modern conveniences of life and so this storm raging outside, and here we have to admit it was not extreme, got me thinking to do some research into extreme storms and what the consequences might be.

The first port of call has been the IPCC – the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – and their technical paper VI entitled Climatic Change and Water and dated June 2008. Its a 214 page document, lets delve into the executive summary.

Its italicised opening paragraph reads, and we quote, ‘….abundant evidence that freswater resources are vulnerable……….with wide ranging consequences for human societies and ecosystems’.

In the interest of the readers time we will quote a few other sound bites.

‘ Increased precipitation intensity and variability are projected to increase the risks of flooding and drought in many areas’….

‘Higher water temperatures and changes in extremes, including floods and droughts, are projected to affect water quality and exacerbate many forms of water pollution’……

‘Changes in water quantity and quality due to climate change are expected to affect food availability, stability, access and utilisation’…….

‘Water resources management clearly impacts on many other policy areas, e.g., energy, health, food security and nature conservation’.

And the editors of the IPCC – Polish, Australian, Chinese and British………..impartial we suggest.

So the consequences of not changing our ways is huge as you can see in the video below…

Thanks to the BBC Worldwide and did you catch the soundbite ‘it would destroy a culture in todays world’. Sensationalist? We guess only time will tell.

Following my article earlier about Lewis Gordon Pugh and his attempt to kayak to the North Pole to draw the worlds’ attention to how quickly it is melting, and also following our rant the other day about extreme …. everythings, including climate, plus our mention of the swing towards the environment at the Banff Mountain Film Festival, I thought I would post, at this opportune time, Lewis Pugh’s helpful hints as to what YOU can do to help the environment.

Take Action

The Arctic is in serious danger, but there are many things we can do to make a difference. And every one person can make a difference!

Change at Home

Wherever you are – at work, out shopping, outdoors, on the road, in schools, or at home – there are opportunities to save energy and reduce your environmental impact.

01 Know Your Footprint

A footprint calculator measures the impact of our activities on the environment, and relates to the resources we use and greenhouse gases we produce daily. Decreasing the size of our footprints can make a big difference in battling climate change. We recommend measuring your footprint online at footprint.wwf.org.uk and making a commitment to reduce it every six months.

02 Offset Your Emissions
In addition to reducing your carbon footprint, a great way to help stop global warming is by off-setting carbon emissions. We encourage you to support a Gold Standard carbon-reducing project like energy efficiency and renewable energy.

03 Find a Greener Way to Get Around
You can save energy by taking the bus, riding a bike, or walking instead of using automobiles for transportation. If you buy a car, make fuel efficiency a top priority, and carpool and consolidate errands as often as possible.

04 Use Green Power
Switch your home electricity to a renewable energy supplier. Also ask your place of work, worship and local shops to make the switch as well.

Change the World

01 Know the Issues
Knowledge is the best defense. Arm yourself with the facts. Learn everything you can about Arctic Issues. Our Get the Facts page is a starting point. Once you see how quickly the North Pole is changing, you’ll see why we need to tackle climate change today.

02 Talk to Your Friends
Word of Mouth is our most powerful tool! Talk with others about climate change to encourage your family, friends and coworkers to make changes at work, home and school. Tell your friends about the Polar Defense Project! Link to the PDP from your website or blog, or share this website with your friends.

03 Talk to Local Leaders
Tell your legislators why climate change is important. If you live in the US, you can find your senators at http://senate.gov and your representative at http://www.house.gov. If you live in the UK, you can find out who your MP is at parliament.uk/commons and you can learn more about contacting Lords here parliament.uk/about/how/members.

If you feel strongly about this subject – you know what you can do to help… over to you!