Algae bloom in the Arabian sea. Norman Kuring / NASA
Ocean dead zones quadrupled in size since 1950, while low oxygen sites around the world increased tenfold, threatening large swaths of marine life, scientists warned in a study released on Friday.
"Major extinction events in Earth's history have been associated with warm climates and oxygen-deficient oceans," the analysis published in the journal Science stated.
<p>"Under the current trajectory that is where we would be headed. But the consequences to humans of staying on that trajectory are so dire that it is hard to imagine we would go quite that far down that path," Denise Breitburg, an author of the study and researcher at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in the U.S., <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/04/oceans-suffocating-dead-zones-oxygen-starved" target="_blank">told the Guardian</a>.</p><p>Human activities are largely responsible for the growth of ocean dead zones. <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/">Climate change</a>, caused by fossil fuel emissions, is behind the large-scale removal of oxygen in open waters. Open oceans have naturally low oxygen areas that typically lay west of continents due to the Earth's rotation. </p><p>Coastal zones, which provide jobs to 350 million people, are now home to at least 500 known dead zones, though that number could be much higher. According to the study, these areas have increased by an area roughly the size of the European Union since 1950, when there were 50 reported around the world.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzA0NjI4Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMDI4ODU4Mn0.d_WRZWimSig4QHKgtwv95v9uADOLo0I_vgH559E3XlA/img.png?width=980" id="1cff8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="de4cf34dc21a7fa80ce369e1e752b368" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">This global map indicates coastal sites where industrial activity, including large-scale and chemical-intense farming, are suffocating ocean life. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">International Oceanographic Commission / Smithsonian Environmental Research Center</small></p>
<p>In coastal regions, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/algae">algae</a> blooms are the main culprits behind dead zones. Manure, sewage and fertilizers create these blooms. When the algae decomposes it sucks oxygen out of the water.<br></p><p>"This is a problem we can solve," Breitburg told the Guardian, pointing to the River Thames in the UK and the Chesapeake Bay in the U.S., where improved sewage and agricultural practices helped remove dead zones.<br></p><p>"Right now, the increasing expansion of coastal dead zones and decline in open ocean oxygen are not priority problems for governments around the world. Unfortunately, it will take severe and persistent mortality of fisheries for the seriousness of low oxygen to be realized," Robert Diaz, a professor at the Virginia institute of Marine Science who reviewed the study, told the Guardian. </p><p>"No other variable of such ecological importance to coastal ecosystems has changed so drastically in such a short period of time from human activities as dissolved oxygen," Diaz said.</p>
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Beijing successfully lowered air pollution levels following a crackdown on polluters last year, bringing China's capital in line with air quality targets, according to Chinese officials.
The announcement Wednesday by the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau followed a 2013 plan that ordered the city to reduce the yearly average concentration of particulate matter to less than 60 micrograms. According to the bureau, the capital succeeded by reducing PM2.5 concentrations to 58 micrograms per cubic meter—a reduction of 35.6 percent from 2012.
<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-beijing/beijing-meets-2017-air-pollution-target-set-under-2013-clean-up-plan-idUSKBN1ES0J6" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a> that the figures provided by the government agency were in line with the news agency's own estimates. </p><p>Despite meeting the target, northern China is still a ways off its official PM2.5 of 35 micrograms per cubic meter and even further off the maximum of 10 micrograms per cubic meter recommended by the World Health Organization.</p><p>"Current air pollutant levels remain a lot higher than the national air quality standard, indicating the improvement in air quality will still be a long-term process," Beijing's environment agency said.</p><p>PM2.5 is particulate matter with a length of 2.5 microns or less. Often a mix of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chemicals">chemicals</a>, the microscopic cocktail of toxins from power plants, automobiles and other sources of industry harm human lungs and can cause heart problems if they enter the bloodstream.<br></p><p>Brought about in 2013 by public anger over frequently hazardous air pollution levels, the initiative received a late push from the government in October to ensure 2017 targets were met. The push included 27 other northern Chinese cities. </p><p>To reduce air pollution, Beijing closed nearly 2000 factories in the cement, foundry and furniture sectors and shut down <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a> power plants in the past five years. The city also took nearly 2 million high-emission vehicles off the road.</p><p>In north China's drive to switch to residential winter heating systems, it began phasing out coal-powered boilers to switch to gas or electric-powered equipment. It also shut down or curbed production at heavy industrial plants.</p><p>The government partly attributed the air quality improvement to drier and windier weather.</p><p>Wednesday's announcement came just two days after <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/china-air-pollution-solutions-2522103145.html" target="_self">China announced</a> it would suspend the production of hundreds of car models to curb air pollution.</p>
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Migratory Birds Lose Protection Against Industry in Latest Trump Action Against Environmental Regulations
27 December 2017
Popular
Anjo Kan / Shutterstock
Energy companies and other businesses are no longer liable for accidentally killing migratory birds, the Trump administration announced Friday in a decision hailed by industry insiders.
A legal memo by the U.S. Interior Department reverses a longstanding agency practice and last-minute ruling released by the Obama administration in January 2017. The Obama-era policy meant that oil, gas, wind and solar operators could face prosecution for accidentally killing birds.
<p>"Christmas came early for bird killers. By acting to end industries' responsibility to avoid millions of gruesome bird deaths per year, the White House is parting ways with more than 100 years of conservation legacy," David O'Neill, the chief conservation officer for the <a href="http://www.audubon.org/" target="_blank">National Audubon Society</a>, <a href="http://www.audubon.org/news/the-white-house-turns-its-back-americas-birds" target="_blank">said in response</a> to the decision.</p><p>In a legal opinion, the Interior Department's principal deputy solicitor, Daniel Jorjani, described the federal government's application of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act—a 1918 law that officials have used to prosecute those who kill birds "incidentally"—as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-administration-eases-rule-against-killing-birds/2017/12/26/1be9afe6-ea72-11e7-9f92-10a2203f6c8d_story.html?utm_term=.53992d4de595" target="_blank">overreach</a>. </p><p>The law "applies only to direct and affirmative purposeful actions that reduce migratory birds, their eggs, or their nests, by killing or capturing, to human control," Jorjani said in the Interior Department's <a href="https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/m-37050.pdf" target="_blank">legal memo</a>.</p><p>Applying the law "to incidental or accidental actions hangs the sword of Damocles over a host of otherwise lawful and productive actions, threatening up to six months in jail and a $15,000 fine for each and every bird injured or killed," Jorjani <a href="https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/m-37050.pdf" target="_blank">wrote</a>.</p><p>Before his post with the Trump administration, Jorjani worked for the Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, a project of the billionaire oil executives <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/koch-brothers">Charles G. and David H. Koch</a>. </p><p>The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) praised the Interior Department's change of direction as a reasonable approach to the issue.</p><p>"Over the last few years, the management of 'take' under MBTA has been riddled with flawed decisions that have created massive uncertainty," Tim Charters, the senior director of government affairs for NOIA, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-administration-eases-rule-against-killing-birds/2017/12/26/1be9afe6-ea72-11e7-9f92-10a2203f6c8d_story.html?utm_term=.53992d4de595" target="_blank">told the Washington Post</a>. "This common-sense approach ensures that lawful activities are not held hostage to unnecessary threats of criminalization."</p><p>Environmentalists expect that the policy reversal will create an environment with no accountability for the deaths of unprotected birds, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-environment-trump/accidentally-killing-migratory-birds-not-a-crime-trump-administration-says-idUSKBN1EH03D" target="_blank">Reuters noted</a>. The prospect of legal liability fostered corporate efforts to create bird-friendly solutions. </p><p>"We just don't want to lose any incentive for the industry to come to the table and work through this with us," O'Neill <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-administration-eases-rule-against-killing-birds/2017/12/26/1be9afe6-ea72-11e7-9f92-10a2203f6c8d_story.html?utm_term=.53992d4de595" target="_blank">told the Washington Post</a>. "And the solutions are out there."</p><p>"The wind kills all your birds. All your birds, killed," Trump said during a rally in Pennsylvania in August 2016. "You know, the environmentalists never talk about that."</p><p>O'Neill, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-administration-eases-rule-against-killing-birds/2017/12/26/1be9afe6-ea72-11e7-9f92-10a2203f6c8d_story.html?utm_term=.53992d4de595" target="_blank">speaking to the Washington Post</a>, said it's "ironic" that Trump lamented the bird-deaths then turned around to gut "one of the best tools we have to make sure the wind industry is properly siting these projects."</p><p>This move is the latest in a series of actions taken by Trump to weaken environmental protections his administration views as burdensome to industry, including shrinking of two <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/national-monuments">national monuments</a> in Utah and reconsidering protections for the Greater Sage Grouse, a Western bird whose population has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-environment-trump/accidentally-killing-migratory-birds-not-a-crime-trump-administration-says-idUSKBN1EH03D" target="_blank">dropped rapidly</a> amid threats to its habitat.</p><p>Exact estimates are difficult to come by, but it's estimated that oil waste pits kill between a half million and 1 million birds each year, according to one <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16988870" target="_blank">study</a>. Meanwhile, power lines kill up to 175 million birds per year, <a href="http://www.audubon.org/news/the-white-house-turns-its-back-americas-birds" target="_blank">according to Audubon</a>.</p>
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Indian officials have just rolled out their newest weapon to fight air pollution—an "anti-smog gun."
The $40,000 vehicle-mounted cannon sprays fine water droplets at extremely high speeds. Its manufacturers say this will flush out deadly airborne pollutants in one of the world's smoggiest capitals. Delhi's government tested the cannon this week in Anad Vihar, one of the most polluted parts of the city.
<p>But environmentalists are skeptical. </p><p>"This is a temporary local measure, not a long-lasting solution to the problem," Anumita Roychowdhury of the Center for Science and Environment in Delhi told <a href="http://www.arabnews.com/node/1212776/world" target="_blank">Arab News</a>. "It will not improve the environment. Instead of looking at temporary measures, the government should focus on a comprehensive action plan for more systematic changes in the city to contain air pollution."</p><p>Since November, pollution in the city of nearly 20 million has worsened. Government officials were forced to close 6,000 schools and banned all but the most essential commercial trucks from entering the city.</p><p>Much of New Delhi's pollution comes from outside the capital. Bordered by large agrarian states, the burning of crop waste engulfs Delhi, the state that hosts the Indian capital, every year in the fall.</p><p><span></span>On Thursday, the smog inhibited visibility as the city experienced an <a href="http://www.arabnews.com/node/1212776/world" target="_blank">Air Quality Index of 482</a>. Anything above 400 is categorized as severe. </p><p>"This is not a solution to pollution. It's more tokenism and symbolism than an attempt to attack the source of the problem," Suni Dahiya of Greenpeace <a href="http://www.arabnews.com/node/1212776/world" target="_blank">told Arab News</a>.</p><p>"The whole concept of the anti-smog gun is that when you have a situation where you have to shut down schools and colleges and other important buildings, then you can use this gun to reduce air pollution," Sushant Saini of Cloud Tech, the company that manufactures the water cannon, <a href="http://www.arabnews.com/node/1212776/world" target="_blank">told Arab News</a>. "It is only for instant relief and not a long-term solution."</p><p>"The Delhi government should look at more sustainable solutions rather than creating business for a few companies," Dahiya told the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/21/india-unveils-anti-smog-cannon-in-fight-against-delhi-pollution" target="_blank">Guardian</a>.</p>
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Elephant at Réserve Africaine de Sigean. Pauline Guilmot / Flickr
Japan's failure to prevent illegal ivory exports could weaken China's coming ban on domestic ivory trade, conservationists said Wednesday.
The warning—made by Traffic, a wildlife trade monitoring group—comes just more than a week before the Chinese government will ban ivory retail sales and follows the closure of ivory factories in the country last March.
<p style="">"Our findings show without doubt that Japan's largely unregulated domestic ivory market is contributing to illegal trade," Tomomi Kitade, the co-author of a recent report, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/20/japan-inaction-on-illegal-ivory-exports-threatens-chinese-ban-report-says" target="_blank">told the Guardian</a>.</p><p style="">Between 2011 and 2016, Japan illegally exported 2.42 tons of ivory—including <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/elephants">elephant</a> tusks, antiques and jewelry—to China, where around 95 percent of Japan's illegal ivory exports end up.</p><p style="">"Continuing to allow substantial illegal exports to go to China will undermine Chinese attempts to enforce the ban on its domestic ivory trade," Kitade told the Guardian.</p><p style="">Online sales are fueling the problem, according to the <a href="http://www.traffic.org/home/2017/12/20/traffic-study-japans-ivory-market-must-close.html" target="_blank">report</a>. Between May and June of 2017, an average of 2,447 ivory items, worth a combined $400,000, were auctioned on a major e-commerce site, according to Traffic. </p><p style="">Antique dealers also play a substantial role in Japan's ivory trade. Despite a Japanese law that requires ivory owners to prove that their product wasn't bought after 1989, the year the ivory trade became internationally banned, researchers found antique dealers buying unregistered elephant tusks.</p><p style="">Japan, however, claims the ivory products in its domestic market weren't illegally acquired. And earlier this year the government passed a law that tightened requirements and inspections for more than 8,000 ivory retailers and manufacturers in the country. Campaigners described the move as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/20/japan-inaction-on-illegal-ivory-exports-threatens-chinese-ban-report-says" target="_blank">inadequate</a>.</p><p style="">The <a href="https://www.cites.org/" target="_blank">Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora</a> has called for the closure of the domestic ivory markets in its member states and bans international trade.</p><p style="">Ivory <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/poaching">poaching</a>, which fuels markets, is devastating African elephant populations. Nearly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/31/poaching-drives-huge-30-decline-in-africas-savannah-elephants" target="_blank">one-third of African elephants</a> were killed between 2007 and 2014, according to the first ever continent-wide survey of the species. Conservation groups estimate 20,000 African elephants are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/26/african-elephant-numbers-plummet-during-worst-decline-in-25-years" target="_blank">killed each year</a> for their tusks. </p><p style="">Last year, a record 40 tons of ivory was seized across the globe, triple the amount in 2007.</p><p style="">"Our findings show that the Japanese government has a responsibility to act quickly to end illegal exports," <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/20/japan-inaction-on-illegal-ivory-exports-threatens-chinese-ban-report-says" target="_blank">Kitade said</a>.</p>
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China on Track to Establish Carbon Market as U.S. Withdraws From Climate Stage
19 December 2017
Energy
Polllution in Shanghai, China on Dec. 5, 2013. leniners / Flickr
China unveiled the details on Tuesday of what is soon to be the world's largest carbon market, two years after China's president Xi announced the initiative.
Although the market launch date wasn't revealed, observers saw today's announcement as a noteworthy step. "This is like the pyramids of Giza for climate policy," Nathaniel Keohane, the vice president of international climate at the Environmental Defense Fund, told ClimateWire.
<p style="">In its early stages the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/carbon-tax">carbon market</a> will only apply to emissions from power plants producing more than 26,000 tons of carbon per year. This means nearly all of China's power plants, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-19/china-unveils-plan-for-world-s-biggest-carbon-trading-market" target="_blank">about 1,700 companies</a>, will be included. An estimated 39 percent of China's total emissions come from its <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a> and natural gas-based electricity sector. From this sector alone, the country's carbon market will quickly outgrow Europe's emissions market—currently the world's biggest.</p><p style="">"It is important to bear in mind that the first phase will be embryonic," Li Shuo, a senior global policy adviser for <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/" target="_blank">Greenpeace East Asia</a>, who has been briefed on some details of the plan, told <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-set-to-debut-the-world-rsquo-s-largest-carbon-market/" target="_blank">ClimateWire</a>.</p><p>Initially, the government is likely to set the cap high. This will allow most power plants to keep emitting as they have been, making emission reductions minimal. A ton of carbon is likely to incur a market cost of around $7.50 (50 yuan), according to a Chinese official <a href="https://qz.com/1159667/china-is-launching-the-worlds-largest-carbon-market/" target="_blank">who spoke to Quartz</a> on the condition of anonymity. The official went on to say that they expected the price to gradually rise to $45 (300 yuan) per ton of carbon. Every ton of carbon dioxide emitted today will likely cause $125 worth of damage to society in the future, <a href="https://qz.com/1159667/china-is-launching-the-worlds-largest-carbon-market/" target="_blank">according to economists</a>.</p><p style="">The slow start "is a sign that China is taking this seriously and wants to make sure they're doing it right," Barbara Finamore, a senior attorney and Asia director for the China program at the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>, told <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-set-to-debut-the-world-rsquo-s-largest-carbon-market/" target="_blank">ClimateWire</a>. </p><p style="">Market participation will require a rigorous verification process and subsequent monitoring, <a href="https://qz.com/1159667/china-is-launching-the-worlds-largest-carbon-market/" target="_blank">experts noted</a>. For the first time the Chinese government will be able to take accurate measures from power sector emissions and analyze the data. </p><p style="">"It is precisely the lack of transparency that has worried investors in other Chinese markets, and carbon markets are known for being notoriously tricky," Paul Bledsoe, a former Clinton White House climate adviser, told ClimateWire</p><p>Companies are already responding to the initiative. Over the past two years, following president Xi's announcement, a number of industries have jumpstarted preparations for the carbon market. The number of Chinese companies planning for mandatory carbon markets rose from 54 in 2015 to 102 in 2017, Nicolette Bartlett, director of carbon pricing at the environmental charity CDP, told the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/dc840ba6-c0c0-11e7-b8a3-38a6e068f464" target="_blank">Financial Times</a>, citing a survey of 336 companies. </p><p>The program builds on regional test trading systems that <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-set-to-debut-the-world-rsquo-s-largest-carbon-market/" target="_blank">go back to 2011</a> and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-19/china-unveils-plan-for-world-s-biggest-carbon-trading-market" target="_blank">have been running since 2013</a>. Those regional programs for other sectors, such as steel and aluminum, will continue until the Chinese government deems they are prepared to enter the carbon market. </p><p style="">China's announcement comes against the backdrop of the U.S. withdrawing from its role as a global leader in climate action. Just yesterday President <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a> signed a document that doesn't acknowledge <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/">climate change</a> as a real national security threat. </p>
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Climate Change Already Hampers U.S. Military Sites Around the World, Government Study Finds
18 December 2017
Climate
An entrance to the Naval Air Station Key West Truman Annex was flooded by Hurricane Ike. U.S. Navy Cmdr. Michael Kutyba / Wikimedia Commons
The U.S. military is neglecting to plan for climate change-related risks facing hundreds of overseas facilities, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office.
In addition to failing to plan for and incorporate climate change's risks into project designs, the report found that many facilities are not consistently tracking costs incurred by extreme weather. The Defense Department has identified climate change and its effects as threats to facilities, but a gap remains between determining threats and implementing solutions, the study found.
<p style="">"Planners and engineers do not have the information needed to ensure that climate change-related risks are addressed in installation plans and project designs," the study warned.</p><p style="">Furthermore, "military services lack the information they need to adapt infrastructure at overseas installations to weather effects associated with climate change and develop accurate budget estimates for infrastructure sustainment."</p><p style="">Requested by the Democrats in the Senate, the study by GAO—a nonpartisan oversight agency—visited 45 military installations around the world. Only one-third of these facilities had integrated climate change adaptation into their planning. Meanwhile, dozens of bases were exempted from a department-wide climate vulnerability assessment, including "key national security sites." The report said the Pentagon left out a number of facilities without adequate explanation—in some cases it simply stated that there was no risk, but gave no reasoning behind the judgment.</p><p style="">The report's authors <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14122017/military-climate-change-risk-cost-bases-overseas-congress-gao-report" target="_blank">said</a> that officials at most of the 45 installations they visited described their particular risks of climate change. Extreme tides had <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/flooding">flooded</a> a missile testing range in the Pacific in 2008, while recent storms have damaged <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14122017/military-climate-change-risk-cost-bases-overseas-congress-gao-report" target="_blank">piers and buildings</a>. In the Middle East, a U.S. military facility is experiencing more frequent extreme heat days that suspend all non-essential physical training and exercises. </p><p>The GAO concluded the study with a series of recommendations, including that the DoD should: </p> <ul class="ee-ul"><li>require overseas installations to systematically track costs associated with climate impacts;</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>re-administer its vulnerability assessment survey to include all relevant sites;</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>integrate climate change adaptation into relevant standards; and</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>include climate change adaptation in host-nation agreements.</li></ul> <p style="">The GAO's report included a DoD response signed by Lucian Niemeyer, the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a>-nominated assistant secretary of defense for energy, installations and environment. He pushed back against some of the study's assertions and claimed that blaming infrastructure damage on climate change is "speculative at best."</p><p style="">"Associating a single event to climate change is difficult and does not warrant the time and money expended in doing so," Niemeyer asserted. </p><p style="">Many climate experts have praised the Pentagon for past steps to assess and warn of climate change's impacts on national security. Earlier this year in his confirmation hearing for defense secretary, James Mattis <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/national-security/article153908824.html" target="_blank">told</a> the Senate Armed Services Committee that climate change would make the world less stable. Ashton Carter, Mattis' predecessor, <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Speeches/Speech-View/Article/791213/remarks-on-asia-pacifics-principled-security-network-at-2016-iiss-shangri-la-di/" target="_blank">said</a> that climate change was a top strategic challenge for the U.S., on the level of terrorism and North Korea's nuclear program. </p><p style="">"DoD recognizes the reality of climate change and the significant risk it poses to U.S. interests globally," a 2015 Pentagon <a href="http://archive.defense.gov/pubs/150724-congressional-report-on-national-implications-of-climate-change.pdf?source=govdelivery" target="_blank">report stated</a>.</p><p style="">According to a <a href="http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/07/us-military-on-front-lines-of-rising-seas_all-materials.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> from the National Academy of Sciences, a three-foot <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise">rise in sea level</a> will hamper the operations of more than 128 military sites in the U.S. By 2100, it's possible that many of the at-risk bases will be submerged, the National Academy of Sciences' report found.</p><p style="">Climate change also imperils the Navy's largest base, Naval Station Norfolk. A <a href="http://www.serdp-estcp.org/Program-Areas/Resource-Conservation-and-Resiliency/Infrastructure-Resiliency/Vulnerability-and-Impact-Assessment/RC-1701" target="_blank">2014 report</a> by the Army Corps of Engineers noted that about 1.5 feet of sea level rise is the "tipping point" for the Virginia base. After that point, risk to infrastructure will jump dramatically. But the base has <a href="http://insideclimatenews.org/news/10252017/military-norfolk-naval-base-flooding-climate-change-sea-level-global-warming-virginia" target="_blank">no plan to address the threat</a>.</p><p style="">"The effects of a changing climate—such as increased maritime access to the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/arctic">Arctic</a>, rising sea levels, desertification, among others—impact our security situation. I will ensure that the department continues to be prepared to conduct operations today and in the future," Mattis <a href="https://climateandsecurity.org/2017/04/11/on-the-record-climate-change-as-a-national-security-risk-according-to-u-s-administration-officials-3/" target="_blank">stated in March 2017</a>.</p><p style="">Wednesday's report, however, suggests that the Pentagon has much more work to do.</p><p style=""><strong>RECOMMENDED</strong></p><p style=""><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-national-security-risk-2517211746.html">President Just Signed Bill That Says Climate Change a National Security Risk, But Does He Know That?</a></p><p style=""><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/national-guard-chief-highlights-climate-change-as-pruitt-touts-denial-on-tv-2487495543.html?xrs=RebelMouse_fb&ts=1505916646">Trump to Drop Climate Change as National Security Threat</a></p>
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The Trump administration violated the law by withholding funds from an Energy Department program that supported research and development of advanced energy technologies, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported on Tuesday.
The GAO said the Trump administration had violated the Impoundment Control Act by not spending $91 million that was intended for the Energy Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). Administration officials planned to cancel half of the unspent $91 million and use the other half to shut down the program.
<p style="">"When Congress provides money for the executive branch, the President must spend that money," Emmanuelli Perez, the GAO's deputy general counsel, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/the-trump-administration-wrongfully-withheld-funds-from-a-popular-energy-program-a-federal-watchdog-rules/2017/12/12/67606a24-d9f5-11e7-b1a8-62589434a581_story.html?utm_term=.33490701db4d" target="_blank">said in a statement</a>. "An agency violates the law if it intentionally slows down or halts spending in response to legislative proposals to reduce or eliminate a program. Agencies generally cannot halt a program because an administration doesn't support the program."</p><p style="">Although the administration has since released the funds, which were part of the fiscal 2017 budget, the report stokes fears that the administration could use the tactic again to target important energy and environmental programs. </p><p style="">The Trump administration's opposition to a federal loan guarantee program could damage efforts to commercialize cutting edge energy technologies. The loan guarantee program, originally part of the 2005 Energy Policy Act, received increased funding as part of President Obama's economic stimulus plan.</p><p style="">In the past, loan programs have aided the development of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/tesla">Tesla</a>'s <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/electric-vehicles">electric vehicles</a>, Ford's push for engine efficiency and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">renewable energy</a> storage. It also supported five initial utility-scale <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/solar">solar</a> projects, allowing them to gain investor confidence and go on to fund 43 similar-size solar projects independent of federal loan support. There are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/will-proposed-cuts-undermine-trumps-vision-of-energy-dominance/2017/07/19/b22a5ab4-5ab7-11e7-9b7d-14576dc0f39d_story.html?utm_term=.c61da288fc35" target="_blank">dozens of other projects</a> awaiting approval.</p>
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Electronic Waste Study Finds $65 Billion in Raw Materials Discarded in Just One Year
14 December 2017
Popular
Cap Sciences / Flickr
The amount of electronic waste around the world grew to a record 45 million tons in 2016, according to a United Nations-backed study released on Wednesday.
To put that in perspective, the weight of last year's e-waste was equivalent to about 4,500 Eiffel Towers, according to the study by the UN university, the International Telecommunication Union and the International Solid Waste Association. The amount of e-waste—defined as anything with a plug or a battery—rose by eight percent since 2014, the time of the last assessment.
<p style="">The study also found that raw materials thrown out as e-waste—metals such as gold, silver, copper, platinum and palladium— were worth $64.61 billion in 2016. But despite this economic incentive, only 8.9 million tons of e-waste were recovered. </p><p style="">"Only 20 percent [of e-waste] is going in the official collection and recycling schemes," Ruediger Kuehr, head of the UN University's Sustainable Cycles Programme, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-gas-italy-tap/austria-gas-blast-exposes-italy-weak-link-idUSKBN1E72HO?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29" target="_blank">told Reuters</a>. He <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-gas-italy-tap/austria-gas-blast-exposes-italy-weak-link-idUSKBN1E72HO?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29" target="_blank">noted</a> that the amount of e-waste is more shocking considering that 67 countries, covering two-thirds of the world's population, has legislation for processing e-waste.</p><p style="">In 2016, the worldwide e-waste average was 13.5 pounds per person, or 54 pounds for a family of four. But in the U.S. or Canada the figure was 3.3 times higher. And the global trend is surging. By 2021 there will be a 17 percent increase, making e-waste the fastest growing part of the world's domestic waste stream, according to the study. Put simply, the study found that rising incomes and falling prices on electronic goods was driving the rising amount of e-waste. </p><p style="">Although countries widely vary in recycling capacity, nowhere in the world is equipped to deal with increasing e-waste—there isn't a country that come closes to recycling even half. Europe, at 35 percent, has the highest collection rate, while Australia and New Zealand, two countries that produce the highest e-waste per person at 38 pounds, collect and formally recycle only six percent of their electronics. </p><p style="">The U.S.—where 30 percent of e-waste gets landfilled, exported or recycled informally—hasn't ratified the <a href="http://www.basel.int/Countries/StatusofRatifications/PartiesSignatories/tabid/4499/Default.aspx" target="_blank">Basel Convention</a>, which bans the transport of e-waste due to its association with heavy metals like <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/lead">lead</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/mercury">mercury</a>. But this problem isn't limited to the U.S. </p><p style="">European and North American countries, despite being signatories to the Basel Convention, often ship e-waste to <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2011/11/ghana-toxic-electronic-waste-contaminates-nearby-areas/" target="_blank">poor countries</a> as "electronics for reuse" or hidden with legitimate cargo. Though the health consequences of e-waste exposure have been poorly studied, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214999614003208" target="_blank">experts suspect</a> that contamination may carry <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2011/11/ghana-toxic-electronic-waste-contaminates-nearby-areas/" target="_blank">severe risks</a>. </p><p style="">The study's authors <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/11DCXXZM-bflxHxk92gOXbweIceb40brP/view" target="_blank">noted</a> that ultimately the business model of electronics needs to shift from one that produces replaceable electronics to one that makes electronics easier to repair and recycle. </p><p style="">"Consumers are only interested in price and performance. That needs to change," Vanessa Gray, one of the study's authors, told <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/12/e-waste-monitor-report-glut/" target="_blank">National Geographic</a>.</p>
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Twenty companies including Unilever and the Virgin Group announced on Tuesday that they will phase out usage of coal in order to combat climate change.
The companies announced their decision at the One Planet Summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Coming a month after the COP23 in Bonn, Germany, the announcement puts the companies in a position similar to the "Powering Past Coal Alliance," a partnership of 26 nations founded in Bonn by Britain, France, Mexico, New Zealand, Costa Rica and the Marshall Islands.
<p style="">Among the list of companies committing to the coal phase out are BT, Engie, Kering, Diageo, Marks & Spencer, Orsted and Storebrand.</p><p style="">The companies committed to setting targets to end the use of traditional coal from the power sector, for both consumption and electricity generation. Coal could, however, continue to be used if greenhouse emissions were captured and buried. Meanwhile, the governments in the "Power Past Coal Alliance" committed to phasing out traditional coal power by 2030 in rich nations and by 2050 in other parts of the world. </p><p style="">During the summit French President Macron told more than 200 global investors and 50 world leaders that the global community "is losing the battle" against climate change. "It's time to act and move faster and win this battle," <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/paris-summit-focused-on-boosting-funding-for-climate-change-fight/4160074.html" target="_blank">Macron said</a>.</p> Macron's office also announced dozens of initiatives meant to stem climate change, including the World Banks's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/world-bank-oil-gas-2516920939.html" target="_self">decision</a> to stop financing oil and gas exploration and extraction after 2019. Just ahead of the summit, Macron <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/france-climate-awards-2516598161.html" target="_self">awarded</a> 18 scientists with grants to carry out climate research in France.
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Climate Change Study Projects Global Wind Energy Winners and Losers
12 December 2017
Renewable Energy
Whitelee Wind Farm in Scotland. Ian Dick / Flickr
Climate change will harm wind energy production in some parts of the globe and favor it in other regions, according to new research.
The global study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, explored the impact of temperature rises on wind energy, projecting an overall southward shift in wind power.
<p style=""><span></span>"There's been a lot of research looking at the potential climate impact of energy production transformations—like shifting away from fossil fuels toward <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">renewables</a>," Kristopher Karnauskas, lead author and researcher at the University of Colorado at Boulder, said in a <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171211120436.htm" target="_blank">press release</a>. "But not as much focuses on the impact of climate change on energy production by weather-dependent renewables, like wind energy."</p><p style="">By the end of the century, areas such as the U.S., the UK, Russia, Japan and countries along the Mediterranean will all see major changes in wind energy, in scenarios of both high and medium carbon emissions, according to the study. In light of a global <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/11/global-warming-will-weaken-wind-power-study-predicts" target="_blank">fivefold jump</a> in wind energy over the last decade, this latest research will be a significant setback for some regions. The central U.S., for example, could see the power of wind energy fall by nearly one fifth.<br></p><p style="">Japan, which is in the midst of a <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Global-wind-turbine-makers-target-Japan" target="_blank">wind farm increase</a>, will likely witness the largest aggregate loss of wind energy—58 kW, or about 10 percent of its total wind energy. The UK is predicted to lose 36 kW, or five percent of its wind energy. </p><p style="">But the Southern Hemisphere, where there is more ocean than land, may see a boost in wind energy. Brazil, West Africa, South Africa and Australia are all hotspots for likely wind power increases, the researchers found. Since land warms faster than the surrounding, much larger <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans">oceans</a>, there will be an increased temperature gradient, which will create wind power hotspots in these areas. "The more it warms, ironically, the more it increases the wind power there," Karnauskas told the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/11/global-warming-will-weaken-wind-power-study-predicts" target="_blank">Guardian</a>.</p><p style="">"Europe is a big question mark," Karnauskas added in the <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171211120436.htm" target="_blank">release</a>. "We have no idea what we'll see there. That's almost scary, given that Europe is producing a lot of wind energy already."</p><p style="">In the northern mid-latitude sections of Earth, the major driver of wind is the temperature difference between the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/arctic">Arctic</a> and the tropics. With the rapid warming of the Arctic, the difference between the two areas is diminishing. </p><p style="">As the world continues to warm, harnessing wind power will be increasingly critical for countries racing to meet their emission reduction standards set by the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a>, the press release noted. </p><p style="">"The climate models are too uncertain about what will happen in highly productive wind energy regions, like Europe, the Central United States, and Inner Mongolia," Julie Lundquist, a professor at University of Colorado Boulder and co-author of the study, noted in the <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171211120436.htm" target="_blank">release</a>. "We need to use different tools to try to forecast the future—this global study gives us a roadmap for where we should focus next with higher-resolution tools."</p>
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