Other key stories below: Rising Sea Levels Will Hit South Florida Hard; 64,000 People in Massachussets Have Clean Energy Jobs.
“Climate change could cause extreme weather leaving millions of people trapped, a new report claims.” Photo: AFP
Climate Change Could Trap Hundreds of Millions in Disaster Areas
Hundreds of millions of people may be trapped in inhospitable environments as they attempt to flee from the effects of global warming, worsening the likely death toll from severe changes to the climate, a UK government committee has found.
Refugees forced to leave their homes because of floods, droughts, storms, heatwaves and other effects of climate change are likely to be one of the biggest visible effects of the warming that scientists warn will result from the untrammelled use of fossil fuels, according to the UK government’s Foresight group, part of the Office for Science.
But many of those people are likely to move from areas affected by global warming into areas even worse afflicted – for instance, by moving into coastal cities in the developing world that are at risk of flood from storms and rising sea levels.
“Millions will migrate into, rather than away from, areas of environmental vulnerability,” said Sir John Beddington, chief scientific advisor to the UK government, and head of the Foresight programme. “An even bigger policy challenge will be the millions who are trapped in dangerous conditions and unable to move to safety.”
The scientists, in a report entitled Migration and Global Environmental Change, found that between 114 million and 192 million more people were likely to be living in floodplains in urban areas of Africa and Asia by 2060, partly as a result of climate change.
Study: Rising Seal Levels Will Hit Hard in South Florida
A sea-level rise of just a few inches will bring flooding to South Florida cities, contaminate sources of drinking water and lead to sharp increases in utility bills over the next 20 or 30 years, according a study released Wednesday by Florida Atlantic University.
The study found that projected sea level increases of 3 to 6 inches by 2030, due to global warming, could overwhelm flood-control systems that in many areas are more than 50 years old. The authors provided a list of steps to be taken in the coming decades, from moving drinking-water wells inland to installing more pump stations, that could help the region cope with the higher water.
“Unprecedented sea level rise and other climate change impacts are likely to result in serious threats to the water supply, increased risks of flooding, hurricane damage, huge infrastructure investments and other consequences both known and unknown at this time,” states the study, conducted by researchers at the university’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and College of Engineering and Computer Science.
Report: 64,000 in Mass. Have “Clean Energy” Jobs
Massachusetts energy officials are pointing to what they say is significant job growth in the state’s renewable energy sector.
A report released Tuesday by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center estimates there are now more than 64,000 people in the state working in the so-called “clean energy” economy — or about 1.5 percent of all jobs in the state.
The report identified 4,909 clean energy companies across the state.
The report said those companies saw a 6.7 percent increase in jobs between July 2010 to July 2011, and expect employment growth rate of 15 percent from July 2011 to July 2012.
World Bank to Fund Small, Cleantech Firms $60 Million
The World Bank group said it is launching a $60 million equity financing facility to help kick-start small companies that sell goods and services aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions in developing nations.
A maximum investment of $10 million will be made in any one company, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank group member, said in a statement late on Tuesday.
The Cleantech Innovation Facility, by blending private and public funds, should be able to “address a market gap” within climate finance, said Mohsen Khalil, global head of IFC’s climate business group.
“It will support clean-tech companies originating from or moving to developing countries — companies that have the potential to be scaled up and make a real impact but cannot access commercial risk capital,” he said in the statement.
IFC said its equity investments in the clean technology sector now total around $150 million in commitments.
2011 Global Cleantech 100 List Released
The third annual Global Cleantech 100 list was released by Cleantech Group earlier this week. This list recognizes 100 of the most innovative companies in the renewable energy, energy efficiency, low-carbon transportation and water and waste fields, who are projected to be significant market players over the next five to ten years.
Any company that is independent, for-profit, and not listed on any major stock exchange is qualified to appear on this list. This year, 4,274 companies from over forty-five countries were nominated. Companies ranging from DuPont to Proctor and Gamble to Coca-Cola surveyed the 213 companies that made it to the shortlist, resulting in the final 100.
This year, the 100 companies hail from 16 countries, though most come from the US. When weighted for economy size, however, the companies from small countries like Denmark, Israel, Sweden and the Netherlands had the edge. Over 350 investors, coming from twenty-eight countries, hold shares in the companies, and GE and Siemens proved to be the most active partners within the 1oo.
Japan Eyes Renewable Energy Deregulation
Japanese cabinet ministers will call on the government to ease rules on building geothermal, wind and hydraulic power plants to boost renewable energy use after the Fukushima nuclear crisis, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday.
The world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, triggered by a huge earthquake and tsunami in March, has heightened public safety concerns and kept 44 of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors off-line.
Following the atomic disaster, Japan vowed to review from scratch the country’s energy policy, which previously had aimed to rely on nuclear power for more than 50 percent of the country’s electricity supply by 2030.
A panel of cabinet ministers in charge of energy and environmental issues will make a 93-point list of recommendations to the government on cutting costs and saving time to build more renewable energy plants, the Nikkei said without citing sources.
Previous in TP Climate Progress
Language Intelligence: Lessons on persuasion from Jesus, Shakespeare, Lincoln, and Lady Gaga
At least 162 dead in Central America floods
Managua – At least 162 people were confirmed dead in Central America Tuesday, local media reported, as flood waters continued to rise after more than a week of torrential rain.
Nationwide states of emergency were declared in El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras. Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected by flooding in the region, with 154,000 in Guatemala and 133,00 in Nicaragua alone.
Seventy-eight people were confirmed dead in Nicaragua, 35 in Guatemala, 32 in El Salvador, 13 in Honduras, and four in Costa Rica.
Authorities reported widespread damage to homes and crops, as entire towns were cut off by floods that swept away roads and bridges.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/americas/news/article_1669864.php/At-least-162-dead-in-Central-America-floods
More than 700 dead as flooding hits southeast Asian countries
At least 745 people have died in flooding in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and the Philippines since July, the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific said.
Thailand has been hit the hardest, with 315 people killed in that time frame, officials said.
Monsoon rains across Thailand have affected millions of people in 61 of its provinces, the country’s Flood Relief Operation Command reported.
Cambodia, meanwhile, reported 247 dead since July.
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-10-19/asia/world_asia_southeast-asia-floods_1_monsoon-rains-thailand-philippines?_s=PM:ASIA
Torrential rainstorm causes flash flooding in Rome, blocks commuters, closes schools
ROME — A torrential rainstorm battered Rome during the morning rush hour Thursday, causing flash floods that killed one man, felled trees and blocked thousands of commuters from reaching their workplaces.
Italian authorities said they received more than 5,000 calls for help during the storm. Trees were felled, subways were flooded and some roads crumbled.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/torrential-rainstorm-causes-flash-flooding-in-rome-blocks-commuters-closes-schools/2011/10/20/gIQAlx4kzL_story.html
Lee County residents cope with flooding
A torrential downpour late Tuesday that caused flooding in parts of Lee and Collier counties and broke a rainfall record from 1959 http://www.news-press.com/article/20111020/NEWS0111/111019036/Lee-County-residents-cope-flooding?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CHome
Also Monroe County and Key West in Florida:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/19/2461452/storms-shut-down-monroe-schools.html
Storms shut down Monroe schools, flood Key West streets
Toronto rains cause flooding, power outages
A fall storm that blew through Toronto overnight Wednesday brought strong winds, heavy rains and knocked out power to parts of the city.
The storm, which brought more than 40 millimetres of rain to Toronto, also caused street flooding.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/10/20/rain-storm-toront.html
The media is so pathetic, it is ridiculous
Flooding: Lagos warns residents of Ogun River plain to be on alert
IKEJA—Following the increasing intensity of rains in the South-West, particularly the high volume of rains recorded in Ogun State in the last two weeks, residents of Mile 12, Agiliti, Isheri North, Owode-Onirin, Ikorodu, Majidun, Ajegunle, Agiliti and those within the flood plain areas of Ogun River have been advised to be on the alert should the intensity of rains increase.
The advice came against the prediction that more rains were likely to lead to serious flooding.
A statement by Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, however, said the warning was to place them on alert, so that they are not caught unawares.
He said if, however, there was need for them to move, the government resettlement centres will be made available for people who have nowhere to stay.
The warning followed the report that the Ogun River has risen by four meters due to recent heavy rains, recorded upstream western part of Ogun and Lagos states.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/10/flooding-lagos-warns-residents-of-ogun-river-plain-to-be-on-alert/
Worst over for flooded Canterbury
LATEST: A burst of warm air today should help dry out parts of Canterbury flooded after the heaviest rain this year.
The storm system that hit coastal Otago and South Canterbury on Tuesday sat off Banks Peninsula yesterday, bringing more than 50 millimetres of rain to many places and flooding several rivers around the region.
Little River was turned into a big river by the downpour, with fast-running water up to knee-height streaming down the main road through the Banks Peninsula town yesterday afternoon.
Christchurch City Council said 35 people had been stranded by the flooding, and were housed at the Little River Hall by the volunteer fire brigade.
Akaroa-Wairewa Community Board deputy chairman and Little River resident Bryan Morgan said the storm had caused the worst flooding in the area in recent memory.
“I’ve been out here 18 years and I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Gale-force southerly winds compounded the atrocious conditions, with wind gusts of 90kmh around Christchurch and more than 120kmh across higher parts of the peninsula. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5817870/Worst-over-for-flooded-Canterbury
Still doing much of nothing with my 1st hydroponics unit and the plants are growing nicely and the roots are growing down into the fertilized water. No weeding necessary. that makes home gardening sooo much easier. I may need to put up some screen shade but all is going well with it…
Smart interpentours could do well starting hydroponics.
Very little water needed, very little daily time needed, very little fertilizer needed. So different from the extensive consumerism of so many small expenditures of the normal small garden.
Flooding fears as heavy rain and winds continue to grip Scotland
Rain and high winds continue to cause some problems across Scotland with many areas facing flooding fears.
The Scottish Environment and Protection Agency (Sepa) currently has flood alerts in place in Ayrshire and Arran, Dumfries and Galloway, Caithness and Sutherland and west central Scotland. The alert urges people to prepare for the possibility of flooding.
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/275144-rain-and-high-winds-cause-transport-problems/
Bangkok flooding unstoppable: Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra
THAILAND’S premier has warned it is impossible to stop the kingdom’s worst floods in decades gushing into Bangkok, ordering the city’s sluice gates to be opened to tackle the ”national crisis”.
”We cannot block the water forever,” a sombre-looking Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of fugitive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, told reporters, in the biggest test so far of her fledgling administration.
”The longer we block the water the higher it gets. We need areas that water can be drained through, so the water can flow out to the sea,” she said.
”I have decided to ask Bangkok to open all gates, which could trigger an overflow, in order to drain water into the sea as soon as possible.”
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/pm-yingluck-shinawatra-distraught-as-thailands-flood-crisis-worsens/story-e6frf7lf-1226172357789
Canadian Stocks Decline as Agnico-Eagle Halts Quebec Operation
Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for a second time in three days, led by metal producers, after Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. suspended production at its Goldex mine in Quebec and copper prices slipped.
Agnico-Eagle, a gold producer that also has operations in Mexico and Finland, plunged 18 percent after saying it will write off its investment in Goldex. Teck Resources Ltd., Canada’s largest base-metals and coal producer, dropped 5.1 percent after copper fell for a third day on concern demand may weaken as economic growth slows in China, the top global consumer of the metal.
Ground Instability
Agnico-Eagle, Canada’s fifth-largest gold producer, will indefinitely suspend operations and gold production at its Goldex mine in Quebec because of ground instability and flooding. The Toronto-based company will write off the book value of the mine and will record a charge of about $170 million, or $1 a share, in third-quarter results. The mining company sank 18 percent to C$47.35, its lowest price since December 2008.
http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1376-LTBF9N1A1I4H01-6U89D2KJ5J9JC66L9NAGKMLG71
Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. slumped 4.3 percent to C$21.79. The biggest owner of the Syncrude project slid after Syncrude Canada Ltd. cut its November production forecast by 1.3 million barrels to 8.7 million, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The reduction is because additional work must be done during a turnaround at the Syncrude upgrader in Alberta.
Revealed – the capitalist network that runs the world
AS PROTESTS against financial power sweep the world this week, science may have confirmed the protesters’ worst fears. An analysis of the relationships between 43,000 transnational corporations has identified a relatively small group of companies, mainly banks, with disproportionate power over the global economy.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228354.500-revealed–the-capitalist-network-that-runs-the-world.html
The case for piracy
When it comes to copyright theft and piracy, many people assume there’s just one side – the side of truth, justice and copyright owners. Beyond that there are parasitical thieves. When most governments come to legislate on the matter, their response is usually one of listening to what big corporations and lobby groups say and nodding in agreement. For the general public, years of being bombarded by cross platform marketing campaigns have ingrained people with various “Piracy bad. Copyright good” slogans.
We’ve been deluged with the arguments against piracy for years. But what’s the other side of the story? Could it possibly be that copyright infringers and pirates aren’t always the bad guys? Are copyright owners their own worst enemy? Judge for yourself and tell us what you think.
http://www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/2011/10/20/3344351.htm
Have saved to read later but I’m already on your side…not entirely on topic but, hey, given all the climate links you regularly post, I say, good on you for posting something else that has one thing in common with environmentalism: putting the public’s interest over private interests is the common thread.
Intellectual property does not need “protection” (it is an inanimate object) any more than heterosexual marriage needs “protection” Creators do deserve a framework that facilitates income for useful creations; but there are many way to do this, “centrally run corporate-owned copyright for infinity years” is not the best, much less the only way to do that. It is best for them, not for the public and not in the best interests of the artists/creators, either (See Courtney Love’s piece which is linked to from the “free music” url
One thing, the strategy and tactics that are best are not to just break copyright laws. It’s to create networks of content and two way connections between creators and the general public, so we don’t NEED the corporate copyright-stamped ones, or at least can manage fine without them. Don’t get me wrong, I support fighting in court for making copyright laws less insane,a nd am against insane punishment of violateros..
But overall, instead of downloading illegal music, find sites like http://www.kahvi.org/ and get free LEGAL download of (in many cases) wonderful music, and then donate directly to artists. Meanwhile, work to support the creation of new, and the improvement of existing, mechanisms for funding creators.
The downside is people from texas and oklahoma will be migrating and spreading their stupidity to other states.
Hate the sin, but love the sinner. I don’t believe in any organized religion but I think there’s some wisdom there. Believe me, I hear you pudge1671, I feel that frustration, and sometimes have want to call people stupid, but to a large extent, they are badly misled people, and in many ways I feel sorry for them: living in those Red States is not much fun, how police treat you, workers rights, minimum wage, etc.. Let’s try to Wake Up more and more red state Americans..
As extreme events become chronic and overlap a tipping point can’t be far off.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-20/thai-floods-threaten-inner-bangkok-as-surge-of-water-penetrates-city-canal.html
As extreme events become chronic and overlap a tipping point can’t be far off.
Japanese carmakers led by Toyota, Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. may lose more than $500 million because of the floods, according to Kohei Takahashi, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Tokyo. Computer disk-drive maker Western Digital Corp., which counts Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. as customers, may see exports from Thailand slide as much as 40 percent, Industry Minister Wannarat Charnnukul said Oct. 18.
Companies call for tougher climate action
Leaders of nearly 200 major companies around the world have called for tougher action on climate change.
The 2C Challenge, co-ordinated by the Prince of Wales Corporate Leaders Group, says that climate change puts society’s future prosperity at risk.
But the window to keep global warming below 2C has “almost closed”, it warns.
Companies signing up include UK retailer Tesco, energy provider EDF, electronics company Philips, chemicals giant Unilever, eBay and Rolls-Royce. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15352764
At ExxonMobil and Koch Industries, it seems they just signed another 50 million to fund the climate change denial.
The Dark Age
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-20/merkel-won-t-let-euro-split-could-cause-dark-age-rifkin-says.html
could cause “a dark age” by wrecking the bloc’s energy markets as oil supplies dwindle, said an adviser to the German chancellor.
And the alternative narrative from Daniel Yerkin – there is no oil shortage. Big oil simply needs $8 trillion to drill, baby, drill. Akk! Book review -
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-20/no-peak-oil-to-yergin-who-expects-decades-of-rising-supplies-book-review.html
Rifkin argues that record oil prices in 2008 pushing up the costs of everything from food to clothing rather than the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was the main cause of the financial crisis. The global economy won’t return to its pre-crisis growth until it moves away from fossil fuels because rising oil prices will continually hold down expansion, he said.
There’s that quote again.
Global warming study finds no grounds for climate sceptics’ concerns
Independent investigation of the key issues sceptics claim can skew global warming figures reports that they have no real effect
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/oct/20/global-warming-study-climate-sceptics
Joe –
Berkley study out from Muller
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/oct/20/global-warming-study-climate-sceptics
The Berkeley study is now out and agrees very well with the other temperature data sets of NASA, NOAA & HadCRU:
http://www.berkeleyearth.org/analysis.php
Rising Seal Levels? I didn’t know there were any seals around southern Florida.
:-)
Plastic solar cells: Choudhary @ Iowa State Univ. stopped by to talk about how to improve the 8% efficiency obtained so far.