Climate Change News - August 5, 2013

President Obama Says Keystone XL Pipeline Will Be Evaluated Based on Carbon Emissions

On July 27, President Obama stated in an interview with the New York Times that he would evaluate the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline based on whether it would cause significant carbon emissions. During this interview, President Obama also questioned the pipeline’s economic impacts, saying there is no evidence that the pipeline would lower gas prices, and that it may even increase prices in the Midwest. He also commented that there is no evidence that the pipeline would create a large number of jobs. President Obama said, “[. . .] The most realistic estimates are this might create maybe 2,000 jobs during the construction of the pipeline, which might take a year or two, and then after that we’re talking about somewhere between 50 and 100 jobs in an economy of 150 million working people.” No final permit decision on the Keystone XL pipeline will be made until after the State Department issues a final environmental assessment, followed by a 90-day review to see if Keystone XL would be in the nation’s interest.

For additional information see: New York Times , Washington Post

Four Former Republican EPA Administrators Support Climate Protection

On August 1, four former administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): William D. Ruckelshaus, Lee M. Thomas, William K. Reilly, and Christine Todd Whitman, published an Op-Ed in the New York Times that backed climate science and strong, immediate action for climate protect. The former EPA administrators suggested that a carbon tax would be the best climate strategy, but agree that President Obama's plan to use executive authority to curb climate pollutants, including phasing down HFCs under the Montreal Protocol, is a way to start. They state, “There is no longer any credible scientific debate about the basic facts: our world continues to warm, with the last decade the hottest in modern records, and the deep ocean warming faster than the earth’s atmosphere. …The only uncertainty about our warming world is how bad the changes will get, and how soon. What is most clear is that there is no time to waste.”

For additional information see: New York Times

New EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Says Acting on Climate Change Will Spur the Economy

On July 30, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy said during a speech at Harvard Law School that combating climate change presents an opportunity for job creation and economic growth for the US. Cutting carbon pollution will “feed the economic agenda of this country,” and the US needs “to embrace cutting edge technology as a way to spark business innovation,” McCarthy identified climate change as the EPA’s top priority, defending the agency’s rights to address greenhouse gas emissions and suggesting that the agency would model its efforts on the fuel efficiency standards for cars implemented during President Obama’s first term. McCarthy also said that she would continue the legacy of her predecessor, Lisa P. Jackson, by addressing matters related to water quality and environmental justice.

For additional information see: Washington Post , Bloomberg News , The Hill

House Passes Legislation to Allow Override of EPA Regulations

On August 1, the House of Representatives passed The Energy Consumers Relief Act (H.R. 1592) by a 232-181 vote to give the Department of Energy (DOE) the right to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) energy-related regulations when it believes those rules would be harmful to the economy. The bill, which fits with recent Republican efforts to roll back federal rules they believe are harmful to the economy, would require the EPA to submit information about its pending rules to Congress when they have a $1 billion (or more) impact on the economy. The House included language in the bill to block the EPA from weighing the benefit of curbing carbon emissions when writing its rules. Nine Democrats joined Republicans to pass the legislation, which would stop EPA rules like carbon emissions standards for power plants and new sulfur regulations for oil refiners. The White House has said it would veto this bill if it reaches President Obama’s desk, although it is unlikely to be considered by the Senate.

For additional information see: The Hill , Committee Summary , Legislation

U.S. Court of Appeals Denies Suit on EPA GHG Permitting

On July 26, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a challenge by the state of Texas and Wyoming, along with various industry groups, to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) greenhouse gas permitting requirements. The decision found that industry groups “fail[ed] to show how they have been injured in fact by rules enabling issuance of the necessary permits,” and that the challenging states failed “to show how vacating the rules would redress their purported injuries.” The 2-1 decision to uphold the EPA’s regulatory efforts follows a 2012 rejection of a challenge to greenhouse gas regulations. The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which worked with the EPA on the case, noted that Texas refused to work alongside the EPA to implement the permitting system. In a statement, EDF attorney Peter Zalzal accused Texas of “using its taxpayer dollars to litigate and obstruct clean air protections,” and said that Texas “should invest in expanding its world-class wind energy resources, and in building a stronger clean energy economy.”

For additional information see: The Hill , Court of Appeals

Boulder Considers City Carbon Neutrality by 2050

The city of Boulder, Colorado is considering a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. The city council memo addressing this goal states, “The implications of adopting an ambitious goal such as carbon neutrality are significant and far-reaching. Accomplishing a goal of this magnitude will require very significant changes—both locally and regionally/nationally—from a high-carbon-based economic and social system to a low carbon one.”

For additional information see: G Boulder Daily Camera

South Carolina Small Businesses Concerned about Rising Sea Levels

A coalition of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce and the American Sustainable Business Council is aiming to draw attention to the potential risks of climate change-induced sea level rise. In historic Charleston, a group of small business owners are prominently marking on doors and windows what the high tide line could be in 2100, if seas rise between 8 inches and 6 feet, according to scenarios modeled by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. The state’s local tourism industries would be especially crippled by rising seas, with the American Sustainable Business Council stressing the effects that “small businesses with fewer locations and limited resources are particularly vulnerable to devastating extreme weather events."

For additional information see: Businessweek

Carbon Tax Has Helped Reduce British Columbia Emissions

Published on July 24, a study by Sustainable Prosperity shows that British Columbia’s (BC) revenue-neutral carbon tax, implemented in 2008, has helped reduce per capita consumption of petroleum fuels by 17.4 percent, making BC’s per capita consumption almost 19 percent lower than that of the rest of Canada. BC now has the lowest per capita fuel use of any Canadian province. From 2008 to 2011, BC’s per capita greenhouse gas emissions associated with carbon taxed fuels declined by ten percent. Data also has shown that the carbon tax has had no negative impact on GDP. This is consistent with carbon-tax data from the past two decades from Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden and the UK; all of which implemented a carbon tax that had a neutral or slightly positive effect on GDP. To date, the government in BC has returned $500 million in income tax cuts that it has collected as carbon tax revenue.

For additional information see: EE News , Study Abstract , Study

United Kingdom Carbon Emissions Rose 4 Percent in 2012

On July 25, the United Kingdom’s Department of Energy and Climate Change released data documenting a four percent rise in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, reversing a downward trend. Coal produced 39 percent of the UK’s electricity in 2012, compared to 29 percent in 2011. The availability of inexpensive supplies and the collapse of carbon permit prices caused utilities in the UK to use more coal than they had in previous years. The decline of coal prices in the UK is connected to the gas boom in the United States, which has decreased global demand for coal, in turn making coal much less expensive than natural gas in many countries, including the UK. The four percent rise in CO2 emissions earned the UK the last spot in the European Union (EU) on the list of yearly emission totals, behind Lithuania (an increase of 1.7 percent) and Germany (an increase of less than one percent). The rise in emissions will make it difficult for the UK to achieve its climate change targets.

For additional information see: The Guardian

Natural Gas Flaring in North Dakota Has Doubled in Two Years

A report released this July by Ceres discusses the flaring of natural gas produced in the Bakken shale of North Dakota, a major oil play expected to produce 32 percent of U.S. shale oil by 2020. Currently, nearly 30 percent of dry natural gas and natural gas liquids associated with the Bakken shale are currently being flared, valued at $100 billion in 2012. According to study authors Ryan Salmon and Andrew Logan, increasing natural gas collection in North Dakota is hindered by two issues, lack of infrastructure and the low cost of natural gas relative to oil. Fifty-five percent of natural gas is being flared at well sites that are unconnected to natural gas pipelines, with the remaining 45 percent occurring at well sites that are connected to pipelines, but are flared because of capacity issues. While the percentage of natural gas being flared has fallen in the last two years, the absolute volume of flared natural gas has risen 2.5 times, due to increased well production. In terms of the global warming potential of the flared gas, the study found "over the course of 2012, natural gas flaring in North Dakota emitted 4.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual emissions of approximately one million cars. Although flaring produces less potent greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions than venting the natural gas directly to the atmosphere, these emissions increase the carbon footprint of Bakken oil," in addition to adding other GHGs to the atmosphere, such as black carbon. While North Dakota regulators have committed to reducing flaring to less than 10 percent of the natural gas produced, the authors stress the importance of finding short-term solutions to flaring to avoid further economic and environmental damage.

For additional information see: The Guardian , Reuters , Report

Violence, War Linked to Temperature Increases

On August 1, new research from Princeton University and University of California, Berkeley confirmed a link between significant shifts in climate and precipitation, and a rise in violence and institutional breakdown. The researchers performed a meta-analysis of 60 studies, some containing data from as far back as 10,000 BC to find that a rise in temperature yields significant increases in interpersonal violence and intergroup conflict. The study suggests that if modern day civilization follows these statistical patterns, the risk of intergroup conflict could increase 50 percent by 2050. Lead study author Solomon Hsiang said, "It does change how we think about the value of avoiding climate change. It makes us think that avoiding climate change is actually something we should be willing to invest more in."

For additional information see: CNN , NBC News , The Atlantic , Study Abstract (Subscription Required)

Climate Change Increases Risk of Disease in Australia

According to a study published on August 1 in the journal Science, climate change is aiding the spread of disease in wildlife, agriculture and humans. The report found that wealthier countries will fare better in addressing disease threats than poorer countries, but warns that Australia will face significant challenges, specifically with the rising threat of dengue fever and heat stroke deaths. Lesley Hughes, department of biological sciences at Macquarie University and report co-author, said "I think there’s an under-appreciation that climate change is a human issue. People seem to think of it as just an environmental issue that doesn’t impact them. This year we’ve had the hottest ever summer, hottest ever month and hottest ever day on record. We take notice when people die in bushfires, but there’s not much awareness of the numbers of people who die from heatwaves, especially the elderly, isolated people and those from poor socio-economic backgrounds who can’t afford air conditioning." In related news, Australia’s government’s key climate change advisory body, the Climate Change Authority, has recommended an additional 10 percent increase to its current goal of cutting carbon emissions 5 percent from 2000 levels by 2020. Their report also stated that the target should increase to a 40 percent reduction by 2030 and a 90 percent reduction by 2050. Professor John Quiggin, a member of the Climate Change Authority panel, stated, "A target of 15 percent would broadly be in line with what other countries are doing and so there’s something to be said for it."

For additional information see: The Guardian , Study , Related

Earthquakes Release Submarine Methane

A July 28th study released in Nature Geoscience reports on a newly discovered link between seismic events and methane leakage along the seafloor. Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is commonly found in seafloor sediments, but is trapped in seafloor reservoirs of icy sediments called methane hydrates. In studying seafloor cores taken from the Arabian Sea, scientists were able to link an 8.1 magnitude 1945 earthquake in Pakistan to the breakup of seafloor sediments that have resulted in an ongoing release of seabed methane in the northern Arabian Sea. Conservative estimates place the total methane released into the Arabian Sea since the 1945 earthquake as 10 million cubic yards. The authors hypothesize that other seismic events have resulted in similar releases of seafloor methane. While it is still unknown if such methane releases will dissolve into seawater before reaching the atmosphere, the study authors assert that “hydrocarbon seepage triggered by earthquakes needs to be considered in local and global carbon budgets."

For additional information see: New York Times , NBC News , Nature

Sea Ice Melt Impacting Ocean Life

Research published in Science Magazine on August 2 show that the loss of Arctic sea ice has significant negative impacts on the entire Arctic ecosystem. Algae and plankton found in Arctic sea ice produce 57 percent of total food in northern oceans. As the ice melts, the organisms have an increasingly smaller habitat, and their ability to grow is hindered by the less salty waters around shrinking ice floes. The loss of algae and plankton contributed to the recent mass-deaths of Pacific walruses. The loss of ice itself also affects foxes, wolves, polar bears and grizzly bears, which use the ice to reproduce and hunt. In addition, warming oceans are expected to thaw permafrost as far as 1,500 kilometers inland, leading to an earlier spring growth and a disruption of feeding patterns for many Arctic species.

For additional information see: Ottawa Citizen , Study

Climate Change, Loss of Habitat Harm Record Number of Monarch Butterflies

Monarch butterfly populations in Canada are at a historic 20-year low. In Ontario Canada, a recent butterfly count found that only 31 monarch butterflies had returned from their winter migratory grounds in Mexico, 737 less than last year’s high of 768 monarchs. On an average year, 350 million butterflies spend the winter months in Mexico, but last winter only 60 million butterflies were counted, a decrease of 80 percent. Climate change and the loss of their natural habitat have adversely affected the butterfly population. According to Elizabeth Howard, founder of the monarch preservation organization Journey North, “This year is an extreme. Nobody knows if they can recover from these levels. They may bounce back, but it doesn’t look very good.” Ms. Howard continued, “I don’t think this is a stretch to say how this is an example of how climate change is affecting a species.”

For additional information see: The Globe and Mail