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Climate Change Working Group

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Thu, 2009-01-29 13:15 — mdmcdonald

The mission of this working group is to explore the evidence regarding points of leverage assisting human groups in coping with or reducing the risk of global climate change.

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This working group is focused on issues of Global Climate Change.
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admin Albert Gomez Amanda Cole Anthony ChrisAllen david hastings
fosternt Kathy Gilbeaux Maeryn Obley mashalshah mdmcdonald MDMcDonald_me_com
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Making Communities More Resilient to Climate-Induced Weather Disasters

Tue, 2013-02-26 23:08 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Samuel Bendett

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - February 18, 2013

Mounting scientific evidence indicates climate change will lead to more frequent and intense extreme weather that affects larger areas and lasts longer. We can reduce the risk of weather-related disasters, however, with a variety of measures. Experts say that a good strategy should include a variety of actions such as communicating risk and transferring it through vehicles such as insurance, taking a multi-hazard management approach, linking local and global management, and taking an iterative approach as opposed to starting with a master plan.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Global
United States
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Climate
Disaster Risk Reduction
Resilience
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Solutions
Problem

Coastal Resilience - Adapting Natural and Human Communities to Sea Level Rise and Coastal Hazards

Sun, 2013-02-24 19:27 — admin

Mounting evidence suggests that rising sea levels, coupled with related increases in storm surges, will increasingly put coastal populations at risk from inundation, storm damage, and saltwater intrusion. In order to adapt, decision-makers need access to information and tools that support choices for managing natural resources and protecting human communities.

Coastal Resilience provides a framework that supports decisions to reduce the ecological and socio-economic risks of coastal hazards.  Theframework includes 4 critical elements:

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Global
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Oceans
Resilience
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Other

Climate Change’s Links to Conflict Draws UN Attention

Fri, 2013-02-15 16:08 — admin

By Flavia Krause-Jackson - Feb 14, 2013 8:30 PM MT - Bloomberg News

Members of the United Nations Security Council in New York met with Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, who presented a number of scenarios to show the connection between climate change and global security challenges.

Climate change is a “reality that cannot be washed away,” according to notes prepared for diplomats at today’s session. “There is growing concern that with faster than anticipated acceleration, climate change may spawn consequences which are harsher than expected.”

Topics ranged from Hurricane Sandy, to fossil-fuel deposits, to glacial melting and how the seeds of conflict, unrest, and revolution are being sewn.

Read the entire article

Read the National Intelligence Council Global Trends 2030 Report

Climate Change as Source of Future Conflict Draws UN Attention

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Global
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Agriculture
Citizens
Climate
Collapse
Drought
Economics
Sea Level
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Problem
Situation Report

New Era of Food Scarcity Echoes Collapsed Civilizations (Adapted from Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity by Lester R. Brown)

Thu, 2013-02-07 15:33 — admin

Earth Policy Institute - Book Byte - February 7, 2013

In Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity, Lester Brown explains that "The world is in transition from an era of food abundance to one of scarcity." 

With the demand for grain increasing and the supply of grain decreasing, food prices are rising and hunger is spreading.  "On the demand side of the food equation, population growth, rising affluence, and the conversion of food into fuel for cars are combining to raise consumption by record amounts. On the supply side, extreme soil erosion, growing water shortages, and the earth’s rising temperature are making it more difficult to expand production."

"Food shortages undermined earlier civilizations. The Sumerians and Mayans are just two of the many early civilizations that declined apparently because they moved onto an agricultural path that was environmentally unsustainable ... We, too, are on such a path."

"The bottom line is that it is becoming much more difficult for the world’s farmers to keep up with the world’s rapidly growing demand for grain ... We are entering a time of chronic food scarcity, one that is leading to intense competition for control of land and water resources—in short, a new geopolitics of food."

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Global
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Food
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Recent Changes in the Ventilation of the Southern Oceans

Wed, 2013-02-06 21:51 — Kathy Gilbeaux

sciencemag.org - Darryn W. Waugh1,Francois Primeau2,Tim DeVries3,Mark Holzer4 - February 1, 2013

Abstract

Surface westerly winds in the Southern Hemisphere have intensified over the past few decades, primarily in response to the formation of the Antarctic ozone hole, and there is intense debate on the impact of this on the ocean's circulation and uptake and redistribution of atmospheric gases. We used measurements of chlorofluorocarbon-12 (CFC-12) made in the southern oceans in the early 1990s and mid- to late 2000s to examine changes in ocean ventilation. Our analysis of the CFC-12 data reveals a decrease in the age of subtropical subantarctic mode waters and an increase in the age of circumpolar deep waters, suggesting that the formation of the Antarctic ozone hole has caused large-scale coherent changes in the ventilation of the southern oceans.

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Global
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Climate
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Situation Report

Detecting Ozone- and Greenhouse Gas–Driven Wind Trends with Observational Data

Wed, 2013-02-06 21:00 — Kathy Gilbeaux

sciencemag.org - Sukyoung Lee1,Steven B. Feldstein1 - February 1, 2013

Abstract

Modeling studies suggest that Antarctic ozone depletion and, to a lesser degree, greenhouse gas (GHG) increase have caused the observed poleward shift in the westerly jet during the austral summer. Similar studies have not been performed previously with observational data because of difficulties in separating the two contributions. By applying a cluster analysis to daily ERA-Interim data, we found two 7- to 11-day wind clusters, one resembling the models' responses to GHG forcing and the other resembling ozone depletion. The trends in the clusters' frequency of occurrence indicate that the ozone contributed about 50% more than GHG toward the jet shift, supporting the modeling results. Moreover, tropical convection apparently plays an important role for the GHG-driven trend.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6119/563.abstract

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Global
General Topic Tags: 
Climate
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Situation Report

Major Storm Accelerated Arctic Sea Ice Loss, Study Finds

Mon, 2013-02-04 22:10 — Kathy Gilbeaux

climatecentral.org - by Andrew Freedman - February 1, 2013

(LINKS TO STUDY - LOCATED AT THE BOTTOM)

The "Great Arctic Cyclone of 2012," which struck the Arctic at the height of the sea ice melt season in early August, was not responsible for causing sea ice extent to plunge to a record low just a few weeks later. That is one of the conclusions of a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. It is the first study to quantify the impacts that the storm had on the fragile Arctic sea ice cover, which has been rapidly shrinking and thinning in response to rapid Arctic warming.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Global
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Climate
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Situation Report

Global Drought Monitor

Sun, 2013-01-27 14:14 — Maeryn Obley

An working example of the Global Drought Monitor, focusing on Eurasia and Africa.

Image: An working example of the Global Drought Monitor, focusing on Eurasia and Africa.

drought.mssl.ucl.ac.uk - Benjamin Lloyd-Hughes and Mark Saunders

The Global Drought Monitor  is a free internet application which monitors the severity of drought worldwide on an ongoing basis. The product will aid humanitarian relief by assisting warnings of potential food, water and health problems. The Global Drought Monitor  will also benefit the general public, government and industry by improving awareness of droughts and their impacts.

(VIEW WEBSITE)

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
General Topic Tags: 
Climate
Disaster Risk Reduction
Drought
Environment
Food
Map
Visualization
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Solutions

A Strong Message Sent from the Cabinet of the Maldives back in October 2009

Tue, 2013-01-15 00:45 — admin

An underwater Cabinet Meeting in the Maldives drives home the point of the effects carbon emissions are having on our environment a sea levels rise.

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Global
General Topic Tags: 
Climate
Oceans
Sea Level
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Problem

CIA-commissioned report on climate change released

Thu, 2012-11-15 00:58 — Maeryn Obley

2010 Drought in Russia. (c) New York Times.

Image: 2010 Drought in Russia. (c) New York Times.

foreignpolicyblogs.com - November 10th, 2012 - Mia Bennett

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and National Research Council (NRC) have released a report commissioned by the CIA and various other American intelligence agencies on the security threats posed by climate change. The report’s goal is to inform intelligence agencies as to how to best carry out monitoring to anticipate climate-related disasters, help prevent them from occurring, and, when they do, respond to emergencies. The report investigates how climate change could potentially induce social and political stresses that will affect U.S. security over the next decade.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
General Topic Tags: 
Climate
Disaster Risk Reduction
Research
Resilience
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Situation Report

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