[Mb-civic] Researchers say we have tech now to ease global warming (and other environews)

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

<http://www.gristmagazine.com>


HEAVEN CAN'T WAIT
Climate Stability Possible with Current Technology, Researchers Say

Stabilizing global emissions of carbon dioxide and forestalling the 
worst consequences of global warming are possible with current 
technology, say Princeton researchers today in the journal Science. 
While the Bush administration has stressed the need for 
"revolutionary technologies ... to transform the way we produce and 
consume energy," as Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham put it last 
year, the new study "proves we have the technology several times 
over, and the marketplace can decide which ones to use," said study 
coauthor Stephen Pacala.  The study recommends widespread use of a 
portfolio of some 15 approaches ranging from solar and wind energy to
energy efficiency to carbon sequestration to nuclear energy.  While they
stress that the search for new, transformative technologies should
continue, the researchers' central message is simple:  There's no need to
wait.  Let's get started.

straight to the source:  The Christian Science Monitor, Peter N. 
Spotts, 13 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2835>

straight to the source:  The Star-Ledger, Kevin Coughlin, 13 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2836>




KILLER WAVES, DUDE
Researchers Predict Hotter, Longer Heat Waves

So, having learned that we can meliorate climate change, we flip a 
few pages over in the latest issue of Science to find out what will 
happen if we don't -- and it isn't pretty.  Scientists predict that 
heat waves in some parts of Europe and North America will be hotter, more
frequent, and longer-lasting.  The researchers, from the National Center
for Atmospheric Research, focused their attention on Paris (a heat wave
last August killed roughly 15,000 people in France) and Chicago (where a
1995 heat wave killed more than 700). Using climate modeling and assuming
current trends in greenhouse-gas production, they predicted that the
number of heat waves would increase by 31 percent in Paris and 25 percent
in Chicago -- part of a general increase in the U.S. South and Midwest and
the Mediterranean regions in Europe.  Heat waves drive up the price of
fuels, kill the elderly and weak, damage agricultural crops, and cause
everyone to sweat and stink a lot.

straight to the source:  BBC News, 12 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2837>

straight to the source:  Reuters, Maggie Fox, 12 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2838>


TRIBES AND TRIBULATIONS
Indigenous Tribe in Ecuador Resists Big Oil

Ecuador is one of South America's poorest countries, and like many 
poor countries, it is in considerable debt to developed nations. 
Fifty percent of its national budget comes from oil, and the 
International Monetary Fund is using its debt to pressure it to 
extract still more.  Yet despite decades of oil development, the 
country's debt continues to grow and poverty continues to spread. 
So, finally, an indigenous group whose land is threatened with oil 
exploration is saying "no thanks."  "Petroleum development has been a
disaster in Ecuador, generating environmental, social, and cultural
crises, and ultimately causing the extinction of indigenous peoples," says
Mario Santi, a member of the Sarayacu tribe and coordinator of Kampari
(Voice of Resistance).  "We want to maintain our way of living, free of
contamination, in harmony with nature."  Despite offers of payouts from
oil companies and the threat of military action from the Ecuadorian
government, the Sarayacu have successfully kept oil drills off their land
-- for now.

straight to the source:  San Francisco Chronicle, Marisa Handler, 13 Aug
2004 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2840>



DO GOOD
Take Action to Protect Oceans in the Face of Climate Change

Yet another reason to beat back climate change:  It may be taking a 
heavy toll on oceans.  Research published in the journal Science last
month suggests that the world's oceans have absorbed about half of all
carbon dioxide produced by humans since the Industrial Revolution -- and
not without serious consequences.  According to the study, the CO2
increase is altering ocean chemistry and slowing growth of coral,
plankton, and other invertebrates that form the base of the marine food
chain.  Things could go downhill from there.  Call on Congress to get
cracking on the issue.

do good:  Take action to safeguard oceans
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2819>

----
WHITE HOUSE INTERCEDES ON NM ENERGY 
PROJECT: “Overriding the opposition of the U.S. Forest 
Service and New Mexico state officials, a White House 
energy task force has interceded on behalf of Houston-
based El Paso Corp. in its two-year effort to explore 
for natural gas in a remote part of a national forest 
next door to America's largest Boy Scout camp,” said 
the Los Angeles Times, 8/9. Forest Service officials 
have cited concerns about impacts of a large-scale 
energy project on water pollution, wildlife and 
recreation. The area, named “Valley of Life” by Latino 
pioneers, is “home to 200 species of birds and 60 
types of mammals, including one of the state's largest 
elk herds.”

---





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