Climate 411

New Poll: Independents Overwhelmingly Support a Mandatory Cap on Carbon Emissions

This post is by Tony Kreindler, Media Director, National Climate Campaign, Environmental Defense.

Environmental Defense commissioned the Republican polling firm Ayres, McHenry & Associates – who no one could accuse of a left-wing bias – to survey voters in 49 swing congressional districts about their views on climate change (view full survey results [PDF]).

Notably, independent voters – who could have a big say in which party controls the Congress after the next election – think that Congress should stop bickering and pass legislation that requires cuts in carbon emissions.

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Posted in Climate Change Legislation / Read 7 Responses

Public Health Professionals are Catching the Fever

This post is by John Balbus, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Health Scientist at Environmental Defense.

Damage to public health from climate change is already occurring around the world, with over 160,000 extra deaths occurring annually from malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition, and flooding.

Public health professionals are taking notice, and looking for solutions.

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Posted in Health / Read 2 Responses

Save Energy by Saving Water – and Vice Versa

This post is by Mary Kelly, Attorney and Co-Director, Land, Water, and Wildlife Program at Environmental Defense.

If you’ve been watching the news, you know we have a climate problem, and you may also know we have a drinking water problem in some parts of the country. What you may not realize is that these two problems are related. Yes, global warming can impact rainfall, but that’s not all. The water supply sector uses large amounts of energy to transport, treat, and deliver water. On the flip side, vast quantities of water are required to generate power.

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Rise of Atmospheric Carbon is Accelerating

This post is by Lisa Moore, Ph.D., a scientist in the Climate and Air program at Environmental Defense.

Last month, Michael explained why we need to cut emissions as soon as possible. A new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences adds even more urgency. It says that:

  • Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel use have accelerated since 2000, and
  • Earth’s oceans may be taking up an increasingly smaller fraction of the extra CO2.

This paper received coverage even before it was published. Now that it’s out, let’s take a closer look.

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Insurance Coverage Crumbles in Coastal States

This post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense.

Hurricane DamageAmericans have a love affair with coastal living. Waterfront property is highly coveted and highly priced. And now may be nearly impossible to insure due to skyrocketing damage costs from hurricanes.

These are some of the findings in a new report from Environmental Defense titled Blown Away: How Global Warming is Eroding the Availability of Insurance Coverage in America’s Coastal States [PDF]. "Across the board, the nation’s largest carriers have declared their intentions to reduce exposure in high-risk areas by raising rates, hiking deductibles, limiting coverage and in many cases, pulling out of risky markets altogether."

Here are some more highlights from the report.

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Landmark Vote Sets Stage for Global Warming Action

This post is by Elizabeth Thompson, Legislative Director at Environmental Defense.

Climate Vote 2007

Part of a series on the work of the Environmental Defense Action Fund to enact an effective climate law. You can help by writing to Congress.

November 1, 2007, may go down as America’s D-Day in the fight to avert the global warming crisis. A key Senate subcommittee just passed the Lieberman-Warner America’s Climate Security Act (S.2191) – a bipartisan bill to cap and reduce America’s global warming pollution.

The full Environment & Public Works Committee is expected to take up the legislation the week of November 12, so it could come to a vote by the end of the month. With this bill we have a real chance of passing a mandatory cap on emissions in this Congress!

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