Climate 411

That Senate Energy Bill

By Tony Kreindler / Published: June 18, 2007

Today’s guest blogger, Tony Kreindler, is a Media Director at Environmental Defense.

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about the Energy Bill under debate in the Senate. With all the lobbying and spin, it can be hard to sort out what’s really going on. Here’s the bottom line.

When it comes to solving climate change, our best yardstick for measuring success is how much we cut global warming pollution. The Energy Bill could make some progress, but it’s no substitute for the comprehensive climate legislation Congress will work on later this year. Let’s look at the numbers.

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Posted in News / Comments are closed

RealClimate's "Start Here" Page

By Bill Chameides / Published: June 15, 2007

The RealClimate blog has great information on the science behind global warming. Recently they posted a resource page with links about climate change. They plan to update the page as they discover new resources, so you might want to bookmark it.

Posted in What Others are Saying / Comments are closed

Part 1 of 5: A 175-year-old Puzzle

By Bill Chameides / Published: June 14, 2007

This is the first installment of a five-part series by Bill Chameides on How We Know Humans Cause Global Warming.

1. A 175-year-old Puzzle
2. What Chemistry Tells Us
3. Causes of Past Climate Change
4. The Medieval Warming Period
5. The Only Explanation Left

Most people these days accept that our planet is warming, but some find it hard to believe that mere humans could cause such a large-scale global change. How do we know that the warming is due to human activity? How can we be so sure?

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Posted in Basic Science of Global Warming / Read 21 Responses

Storm Hits Oman

By Bill Chameides / Published: June 13, 2007

Today’s post is by Bill Chameides, Chief Scientist at Environmental Defense.

The hurricane season began on June 1, and we are all waiting with some dread to see what this year will bring. Will it be a relatively mild season like last year, a devastating one like 2005, or something in between? An ominous sign is that we have already seen two tropical storms in the region: Andrea, which formed almost a month before the season began, and Barry, which formed on the first day of the season.

Last week I read that Oman was hit by Tropical Cyclone Gonu. ("Hurricane", "typhoon", and "cyclone" are all names for the same thing.) I know that Asia and Australia are regularly hit by tropical storms, but the Arabian Peninsula? Is that normal? I didn’t know, so I decided to do a little investigating. Here’s what I learned.

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Posted in Extreme Weather / Read 4 Responses

What is Congress up to?

By Mark MacLeod / Published: June 12, 2007

Today’s guest columnist is Mark MacLeod, Director of Special Projects for our national climate campaign.

When it comes to global warming, this is looking to be an action-packed Congress. There are no fewer than seven global warming bills under discussion. While the titles make the bills sound very much alike, they differ in both subtle and significant ways.

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Posted in Climate Change Legislation / Read 1 Response

Climate News: Geo-engineering, Soot and Deforestation

By Lisa Moore / Published: June 11, 2007

Guest blogger Lisa Moore, Ph.D., is a scientist in the Climate and Air Program.

There’s always something new in climate change research. This week, scientists described the risks of geo-engineering, proposed an efficient way to reduce Arctic climate change, and discussed options for decreasing deforestation in developing countries.

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Posted in Arctic & Antarctic, Geoengineering / Read 1 Response