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Climate News Roundup

By Joe Romm on Nov 8, 2007 at 4:40 pm

Climate change could diminish drinking water more than expected - Innovations Report. “As sea levels rise, coastal communities could lose up to 50 percent more of their fresh water supplies than previously thought, according to a new study from Ohio State University.” The problem–saltwater intrusion is more complicated than scientists first realized.

The Carbon Calculus – New York Times. A good overview of the economics of carbon pricing that is comprehensive without being too technical.

Climate change ‘could bring an end to globalisation’ – EurActiv.com. “Climate change could bring globalisation to an end by 2040, according to a new report from leading national security experts — with nations turning inwards to save resources as new climate-related conflicts arise.” The article notes: “The Age of Consequences” report, produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in the US, predicts that scarcity of resources may “dictate the terms of international relations” for years to come as rich countries could “go through a 30-year process of kicking [the poor] away from the lifeboat”. More coverage of the CSIS report can be found on Climate Progress earlier this week.

Politics

U.S. fears Israeli strike against Iran.

By Faiz Shakir on Nov 8, 2007 at 4:37 pm

The U.K. Times reports that military sources in Washington fear that Iran’s nuclear development may precipitate an Israeli attack. “The Pentagon is reluctant to take military action against Iran, but officials say that Israel is a ‘different matter.’ … Concern about Israel’s intentions has been heightened by its recent air strike on a suspected nuclear plant in Syria.” Meanwhile, “U.S. defense officials have signaled that up-to-date attack plans are available if needed in the escalating crisis over Iran’s nuclear aims.”

Climate Progress

Arnold Sues the EPA Over Vehicle Emissions

By Climate Guest Blogger on Nov 8, 2007 at 4:21 pm

By about 2 o’clock in the afternoon, not many national papers had picked up the story that was all over Detroit. After waiting out the wildfires, California finally sued the EPA today, in an effort to force a decision on whether the state can obtain a waiver to enforce strict greenhouse gas regulations on vehicle tailpipes.

The announcement has been a long-time coming. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger threatened to sue over three months ago, knowing that the EPA is going to stall its decision as long as possible. California is going after tailpipes as part of AB32, the state’s global warming bill coming into effect soon.

Benjamin Goldstein from the Center for American Progress just posted his assessment of the events building up to big Arnold’s legal move and an explanation of how this delay is a replica of the Administration’s denial and delay tactics.

In the EPA’s case, it’s truly “unprecedented obstructionism.” Goldstein writes, “The EPA has approved 50 full waivers and 40 waiver amendments since 1968. There have only been five occasions on which the EPA has denied a request, and the last time was in 1975.”

To reiterate one of Climate Progress’ earlier points on the EPA’s procrastination:

“This is like saying we’re going to have a meeting next year about getting Osama bin Laden.” – Rep Jay Inslee (D-WA)

Politics

Right Wing Trumpets Global Warming Denial Of Discredited ‘TV Weatherman’

By Satyam Khanna on Nov 8, 2007 at 3:41 pm

colemanjohn.gif Yesterday, John Coleman, a founder of The Weather Channel, wrote an article for the International Climate and Environmental Change Assessment Project, a right-wing climate change skeptic site, claiming man-made global warming is just a “scam“:

It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming; It is a SCAM. Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create in allusion of rapid global warming.

As proof that the scientific consensus is a hoax, Coleman writes:

I say this knowing you probably won’t believe a me, a mere TV weatherman, challenging a Nobel Prize, Academy Award and Emmy Award winning former Vice President of United States. … I have read dozens of scientific papers. I have talked with numerous scientists. I have studied. I have thought about it. I know I am correct.

The conservative blogosphere is pushing Coleman’s junk science today. Matt Drudge links to Newsbusters’ “marvelous” take on Coleman this morning. Red State, Qando, Sister Toldjah, and the Free Republic also join in by approvingly linking to Coleman’s piece.

The right wing should check Coleman’s credentials before touting his “scientific” work. As Coleman admits, his “expertise” is in weather — not climate change science. In fact, he “has been a TV weatherman since he was a freshman in college in 1953.”

Coleman came up with the “idea” for a 24-hour channel devoted to weather, but he ran the station for only one year. Since then, the Weather Channel has prominently embraced the fight against global warming:

“If The Weather Channel isn’t talking about climate change and global warming, who is?” said Kaye Zusmann, the vice president for program strategy and development for the network. “It’s our mandate.”

The Weather Channel is unlikely to hire its founder today. Heidi Cullen, the channel’s climate change expert, wrote last year that the American Meteorological Society should not give its “seal of approval” to any meteorologist who “can’t speak to the fundamental science of climate change.”

Although Coleman still refers to The Weather Channel as his “baby,” he recognizes that he’s no longer welcome there: “The bad guys took it away from me, but they can’t steal the fact that it was my idea and I started it and ran it for the first year.”

UPDATE: Kevin at DeSmogBlog has more.

Yglesias

Ayatollah Putin the Lazy

By ThinkProgress on Nov 8, 2007 at 3:39 pm

It’s not quite the much-rumored DC cocktail party circuit, but I did get to go to a “salon lunch” today with Dmitri Simes talking about Russia and he had a novel take on the continued uncertainty about what Vladimir Putin’s going to do when his term of office as president ends. As Simes laid the situation out, Putin very much wants to hold on to ultimate authority. But he doesn’t want to do so much damn work! And so there’s no clear picture of what he’s going to do because he hasn’t decided yet; he’s still working on devising a formula that will maximize his power while minimizing the day-to-day workload. Apparently, they took a look at constitutional monarchy and some consideration has been given to creating an entirely new post aside from President and Prime Minister, possibly called “Supreme Leader” like in Iran.

Politics

Rep. Trent Franks compares torture to abortion.

By Faiz Shakir on Nov 8, 2007 at 3:20 pm

Spencer Ackerman writes that, during today’s House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on torture, Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) offered an “an intellectually stimulating comparison of torture to abortion.” Franks questioned why the committee isn’t concerned about abortion, even though he claims some abortion techniques purportedly torture the woman:

franks FRANKS: And not once during this term have we even considered the personhood and protection of unborn children. And yet last Congress, we had a bill before the Congress that said that, if torturous techniques were used to abort a child, that the mother would be offered anesthetic for the child. And most of the members of this committee that voted on that voted against it, against allowing anesthetic for procedures that, if done to an animal, would be illegal.

Yglesias

World War III

By ThinkProgress on Nov 8, 2007 at 3:05 pm

William Arkin catches George W. Bush musing again about World War III: “This is a country that has defied the IAEA — in other words, didn’t disclose all their program — have said they want to destroy Israel. If you want to see World War III, you know, a way to do that is to attack Israel with a nuclear weapon. And so I said, now is the time to move.”

Obviously, as we’ve had several occasions to note, Bush’s efforts to portray his Iran stance as in line with the IAEA are wrong and dishonest. What’s more, while it would obviously be a horrible turn of events for Israel to be subject to an Iranian nuclear attack, the response would be an Israeli counterattack and the destruction of Iran — no World War III. And, more to the point, since the response would be an Israeli counterattack and the destruction of Iran, there’s not going to be an Iranian nuclear attack on Israel. The whole thing is ludicrous. But the Bush administration, by repeatedly talking as if the US and its allies have no ability to deter rogue states, is possibly opening the door to some kind of dangerous misunderstandings.

As Condoleezza Rice wrote before going insane “These regimes are living on borrowed time, so there need be no sense of panic about them. Rather, the first line of defense should be a clear and classical statement of deterrence — if they do acquire WMD, their weapons will be unusable because any attempt to use them will bring national obliteration.”

Politics

‘Waterboarding is torture and should be banned,’

By Faiz Shakir on Nov 8, 2007 at 2:50 pm

Malcolm Wrightson Nance, a former Navy instructor of prisoner of war and terrorist hostage survival programs, told a House Judiciary subcommittee today. Nance described the experience as a “slow motion suffocation” that provides enough time for the subject to consider what’s happening: “water overpowering your gag reflex, and then feel(ing) your throat open and allow pint after pint of water to involuntarily fill your lungs.” “The victim is drowning,” Nance said. Lt. Col. Stuart Coach was supposed to testify but was prevented from doing so by the Pentagon.

Politics

Right Wing Campaigns To Get Climate Skeptic’s Blog Named ‘Best Science Blog’ In Weblog Awards

By Matt Corley on Nov 8, 2007 at 2:04 pm

scienceblogvote.gifAt 5:00 PM (EST) tonight, voting will close in the fifth annual Weblog Awards, “the world’s largest blog competition.” In the competition, participants are allowed to “vote once every 24 hours in each poll.”

Currently leading the field in the “Best Science Blog” category is a website whose work has gone a long way in furthering anti-scientific interests, the global warming denialist blog Climate Audit.

Climate Audit is run by Stephen McIntyre, a Canadian and “former mining executive” who has become the darling of climate skeptics by challenging the conclusions of Pennsylvania State University climatologist Michael Mann and NASA’s James Hansen.

McIntyre’s criticisms of Mann, which appeared in the non-peer reviewed conservative journal Energy & Environment, have themselves been challenged for “overstat[ing]” their case. Even McIntyre himself has admitted that “the significance of things has been misstated by [Rush] Limbaugh and people like that.”

But the right blogosphere has made Climate Audit’s shot at the Weblog Award a cause celebre and are using postings and “endorsements” to rally their support to push for a skeptic to be named “Best Science Blog”:

Newsbusters: “We encourage voting for Stephen McIntyre’s Climate Audit as Best Science Blog.”

Junk Science: “We’d like to suggest you consider a vote for ClimateAudit.”

Small Dead Animals: “Science blog- Climate Audit of course!!!”

Free Republic: “Please Freep this Poll. Vote for Climate Audit. Fighting Global Warming nonsense.”

Needless to say, McIntyre is pushing for himself to win as well. Kevin at DeSmogBlog is encouraging those who value science to vote for the current second-place contender, Bad Astronomy Blog.

UPDATE: Science Progress has more on why the claims of sites like Climate Audit should not “detract from the overwhelming consensus of scientists” that climate change is real and caused by humans.

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