The Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) has released their 2009-2010 Research Highlights. CLIMAS is a NOAA-funded organization that aims to improve the Southwest’s ability to respond to climate variability and climate change.Their most recent annual report summarizes research activity being conducted by CLIMAS...
In The News
Top 50 Green Power Purchasers
August 10, 2010
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EPA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ranked organizations across the country based on their purchases of green power. The top five purchasers include Intel Inc., Kohl’s Department Stores, Whole Foods Market, the city of Houston, Texas, and Dell Inc. The total green power purchased in the last year by the top...
Desert Birds At Risk
August 10, 2010
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EurekaAlert!
Heat waves often take a devastating toll on people, but intense heat can also affect birds and mammals; just like humans, they can perish in heat waves without adequate water and shelter. Scientist Blair Wolf from the University of New Mexico and his colleague Andrew McKechnie from the University of Pretoria, South Africaare studying how desert bird populations respond to increased global...
Climate-Change Policy Could Spur Economy
August 5, 2010
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Johns Hopkins University and Center for Climate Strategies
National climate-change policy could spur economic growth, according to Impacts of Comprehensive Climate and Energy Policy Options on the U.S. Economy, a report by Johns Hopkins University and the Center for Climate Strategies that was coincidentally released just as the U.S. Senate killed pending...
It’s Unequivocal: Past Decade Was Warmest
August 5, 2010
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NOAA
The decade 2000-2009 was the warmest worldwide since the instrumental record began, according to NOAA’s recently released 2009 State of the Climate Report. The report is based on observations of some 37 different parameters measured around the world; record length varies, but many go back to the latter half of...
Climate Bill Death Leaves States to Act
August 5, 2010
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New York Times
The recent failure of the U.S. Senate to act on a climate bill indicates a lack of national consensus of either a problem or an appropriate solution, and leaves states and regions to develop their own policies reflecting regional interests, according to the ...
New Feedback Understanding Could Affect Climate Predictions
August 5, 2010
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Science Daily
Feedbacks between living things on the land masses of the Earth—the terrestrial biosphere—and the atmosphere is known to impact climate. In fact, vegetation cover and the chemistry of the atmosphere have changed over time scales on the order of decades during past episodes of climate change. Many of these interactions and climate feedbacks are related to the carbon cycle...
Select States, Provinces Advance Greenhouse Gas Policy
August 3, 2010
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Western Climate Initiative
Although the federal government seems unable to muster the power to pass climate and energy legislation at the national level, two southwestern states and three Canadian provinces are moving ahead with a comprehensive plan to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Last week the Western Climate Initiative announced that California, New Mexico...
CA Global Warming Law Remains Popular
August 3, 2010
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Public Policy Institute of California
Over the last few months, a Republican and industry-backed campaign has attempted to provoke controversy over AB32, California’s global warming bill, but voters don’t seem to be falling for the bait. The Public Policy Institute of California conducted a poll showing that around...
EPA Rejects Challenges to Greenhouse Gas Regulation
August 3, 2010
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EPA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has denied ten petitions challenging its December, 2009 decision that greenhouse gases should be federally regulated due to their negative impact on the environment and human health. The EPA’s response to the petitions, including one from the U.S. Chamber of...