Climate Change News - October 13, 2014

This image, published October 9 as part of a study conducted by NASA and the University of Michigan, shows increased or decreased methane emissions compared to average background concentrations from 2003 to 2009. Dark colors indicate lower emissions than average, and light colors higher. At the intersection of Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico (the “Four Corners”), notice the red hot spot, which has produced the largest concentration of methane ever observed in U.S. air. See story below. Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Michigan.

 

White House Launches Initiatives to Protect Natural Resources from Climate Change
On October 10, the White House announced a new series of initiatives to build community resilience through the protection of water and natural resources from climate change impacts. The initiatives are a combination of executive orders and public/private agreements which aim to improve natural resource management and increase investment in green infrastructure. The Obama Administration released five new executive orders directed at federal agencies, including $23.8 million in funding for coastal resilience projects; a new competition to support sustainable forestry; a $1.9 million project for coastal salt marsh restoration; a tool to measure the potential for carbon sequestration on more than 20 million acres of federal land; and a new model to measure the vulnerability of federal projects along the coast. The 16 new public/private partnerships include investments in climate adaptation for freshwater, land and coastal ecosystems; the expansion of the “Coastal Defense” app which identifies areas along the coast at risk from erosion and storm surges; the planting of 20 million trees on public lands to restore forests; and $95,000 in grants to help organizations consider climate science in conservation efforts. The Administration also released a Climate Natural Resources Priority Agenda on October 10, which outlines its commitment to green infrastructure and natural resource management. On the same day, 26 public and private organizations announced they were joining the Green Infrastructure Collaborative, a network formed earlier this month to help communities take advantage of green infrastructure. “President Obama has made it clear that we have a moral obligation to our children and future generations to leave behind a planet that is not polluted and damaged,” explains a White House Fact Sheet.
For more information see:
The Hill, The White House, The Environmental Protection Agency, The White House
 

EPA Proposes New Emissions Limits on Steel Plants
On October 3, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in the Federal Register that it will be revising rules on steel manufacturing emissions, originally proposed in 2011. Reflecting the latest advancements in science, the EPA is looking to put in place new emissions limits on iron ferroalloys, used to produce steel. "This action would result in significant environmental improvements through the reduction of fugitive manganese emissions and through more stringent emission limits for several processes," wrote the EPA. This new limit would only apply to the two domestic facilities that produce specific types of ferroalloys. Public comments can be made on the rule within 45 days of the proposal being published.
For more information see:
The Hill, EPA
 

Miners Protest EPA Climate Regulations in Washington, D.C.
On October 7, over 700 protesters held a rally outside the headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) organized by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). The union miners, who came from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, were protesting the EPA's proposed regulations on greenhouse gases from existing power plants, and carried signs that read "EPA Rules Destroy Good Jobs" and "EPA Rules Put Seniors at Risk." James Gibbs, an at-large vice president at UMWA, said, "We have to let the President know, we need to let both parties know that we will support the candidates that support us." Leaders from the UMWA said the union had committed resources to elect Obama and worked on behalf of progressive causes like improved labor laws and fair wages, but now they have been forgotten. According to Daniel Kane, UMWA's secretary-treasurer, "We fought for those progressive causes, and there are people today in the progressive movement who have forgotten us. If you try to foist this devastation on Appalachia, on our brothers and sisters, we will remember." Miners at the protest blamed the EPA rules for continued job losses, and one retired miner, Tom Powell, from Crooksville Ohio, said the EPA "has too much power." Mike Mallernee, a retired miner from Ohio, said the rules were too strict and that "if you shut down all the coal-fired power plants now, what would you use for electricity in the U.S." The EPA defended its new rules. EPA Press Secretary Liz Purchia said, "Coal will remain a critical part of America's energy mix for the foreseeable future. In 2030, it will represent a third of our nation's energy mix."
For more information see:
The Hill, Huffington Post
 

Youth Group Files Petition in Supreme Court for Government Climate Change Action
On October 3, a youth-led nonprofit, Our Children’s Trust, filed a petition with the US Supreme Court in the hopes of a ruling stating the federal government has an obligation to preserve the environment, specifically essential natural resources such as the climate. “The narrow window of time left to address global climate change and the significant consequences to the welfare of our nation’s children and future generations add urgency to the legal issue,” the petition states. The suit is centered on the principle of the Public Trust Doctrine, which holds that the government must maintain certain resources so the public can reasonably use them. There is plenty of precedent behind this principle, according to attorney Julia Olson, executive director of Our Children’s trust. “Public trust principles go back to the Emperor Justinian, the Magna Carta, and our country’s founding documents. Our petition asks the Supreme Court to determine whether, under this standing doctrine, the federal government must act to protect essential natural resources,” Olson said. A previous decision from the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that the government is not obligated to protect natural resources, calling it a matter for individual states. The Supreme Court Petition is an appeal of this decision, and urges action to be taken soon. “We are running out of time. If our government does not act now, we endanger the lives of our youngest generations and generations to come,” said Alec Loorz, one of the plaintiffs and founder of iMatter and Kids vs. Global Warming.
For more information see:
Our Children’s Trust, Petition
 

Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Operations Jumped after 2008
On October 6, the Center for American Progress (CAP) and The Wilderness Society released a report produced by Stratus Consulting which found that methane releases from energy production have increased in recent years. Using data from the Department of the Interior's Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), the authors estimate that venting and flaring grew 135 percent between 2008 and 2013 on federal land. These processes are used to release natural gas that cannot be transported or contained because of the limitations of existing infrastructure. According to Matt Lee-Ashley, director of CAP's public lands project, "The rising volume of taxpayer-owned gas that is being wasted is not only costing tens of millions of dollars in lost royalty payments, but it's putting dangerous amounts of methane pollution into our air." Methane makes up 95 to 98 percent of natural gas and is about 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas over a 100 year period. Currently, fossil fuel operations on public lands are one of the country's biggest sources of greenhouse gases. The authors also indicate that well-site processing, production, and other upstream, midstream, and downstream activities also contribute significantly to indirect, or "fugitive," methane emissions, which in 2012 were approximately equivalent to the annual emissions of 42 million cars. That is more than three times as much as previously estimated emissions from venting and flaring. The report stands in contrast to data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showing declining methane emissions from natural gas production in recent years.
For more information see:
The Hill, Center for American Progress
 

Recovering Methane Emissions from Oil & Gas Operations Worth $1 Billion
On October 2, Datu Research released a new report, commissioned by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), looking at the U.S. methane mitigation industry. The report found that the growing sector produces environmental benefits as well as economic ones, as capturing the 7.7 million metric tons of annual methane emissions from the oil and gas sector could save $1.8 billion in revenue and benefit the climate. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas which accounts for 25 percent of manmade global warming emissions, and the oil and gas sector is a major contributor to its release. By capturing and utilizing methane, which is a primary part of natural gas, the oil and natural gas industries can save money while creating jobs in the growing domestic methane mitigation industry. “The report demonstrates that American workers are standing by, ready to build the equipment necessary to drive down methane emissions. With the right policies in place, this industry has the room to grow,” explained Mark Brownstein, associate vice president and chief counsel for the U.S. Climate and Energy Program at the EDF. States like Colorado have already adopted regulations requiring controls on methane emissions, and the Datu Research report shows that other states would benefit from following suit. Scott Prestige, an energy industry manager at Metro Denver, says "This is not your father's oil and gas industry, and there are more and more opportunities to utilize clean technologies and convert emissions into dollars. It's the right thing for our environment and the right thing for [the] economy."
For more information see:
Environmental Leader, EDF, Public News Service, Report
 

Study Says Single Hotspot Releasing Largest Methane Emissions Ever Seen in United States
On October 9, a study conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the University of Michigan found a “hot spot” in the Southwest United States is releasing the largest concentration of methane ever recorded in US air. The hot spot, located at the intersection of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah (referred to as the “Four Corners”) is 2,500 square miles, and is likely due to “fugitive” methane emissions, or leaks from natural gas operations. The study authors note this is not attributable to fracking, as the hot spot began before the method became popular. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas which can warm the atmosphere 28 times more than carbon dioxide over a hundred year period, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The study followed the hot spot from 2003 to 2009, and found it released 0.59 million metric tons of methane. “The results are indicative that emissions from established fossil fuel harvesting techniques are greater than inventoried,” said study lead author Eric Kort of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. “There’s been so much attention on high-volume hydraulic fracturing, but we need to consider the industry as a whole.”
For more information see:
NASA
 

New Analysis Shows Studies May Have “Massively” Underestimated Ocean Warming
On October 5, a study on ocean warming in the Southern Hemisphere conducted by scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) found that ocean warming in the top level of the sea has been underestimated by 24 to 58 percent. The study, published in Nature Climate Change, investigated long-term warming in the top 700 meters of the ocean in the Southern Hemisphere. Sea levels across the globe have been assessed in recent years by satellites that bounce radio waves off the ocean’s surface and measure the differences in ocean height; this indicates ocean temperature, as water swells and sea levels rise as water warms. The satellite information reveals that prior estimates were inaccurate, likely due to a lack of data collection from 1970-2004. Lead-scientist of the study, Dr. Paul Durack from LLNL, said, “The reason for these underestimations is likely that due to poor observational coverage, we haven’t been able to say definitively what the long-term rate of Southern Hemisphere ocean warming has been. . . we’re trying as hard as we can, as scientists, to provide the best information from the limited observations we have.” Dr. Jan Zika, an oceanographer at the University of Southampton, agreed with Dr. Durack in an interview with BBC News that more information is necessary, adding, “Heat uptake by the ocean is a stronger contribution than we previously thought and the heat content of shallow layers is a particular concern, as that warmth is more likely to return to the atmosphere.” Oceans are estimated to absorb 90 percent of the heat generated by global warming.

In related news, a separate study published in Nature Climate Change on October 5 conducted by researchers at the California Institute of Technology also found that the top 2 kilometers (km) of the ocean have experienced warming while temperatures below 2 km have not changed. This team of researchers used information provided by an advanced system of floating probes on the ocean’s surface. Since 1999, over 3,600 automated profiling floats (Argos) have surveyed the southern ocean’s surface and, for the first time, have been able to provide researchers with systematic coverage.
For more information see:                                                                            
BBC News, The Tech Times, R&D Magazine, Abstract, Abstract
 

Study Shows Fish Not Adapting Well to Changing Ocean Conditions
On October 5, a study on spiny damselfish conducted at the ARC Center of Excellence for coral reef studies, based out of James Cook University in Queensland, Australia was published by Nature Climate Change. The study concluded that higher levels of dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) ​in water had a negative effect on fish, even if they were the offspring of fish that had also been exposed to increased CO2 levels. The study used two groups of spiny damselfish: a control group which had minimal CO2 levels and the other with rising CO2 levels. The offspring of the fish kept in the increased CO2 level tank did not show any improved ability to cope with greater CO2 levels when exposed to the same conditions as their parents, showing it will take generations to develop resistance to a new environment. Professor Philip Munday, co-author of the study, commented “How quickly that adaptation will take, we don’t quite know. . . but we do know that projected CO2 levels will seriously affect the behavior of fish in ways that won’t be good for populations.” The study concluded by stating that their results showed little potential for transgenerational acclimation in the spiny damselfish species. This finding means that genetic adaptation in certain fish species will be vital to overcome the effects of ocean acidification on behavior. If current trends continue several fish species will be at risk of extinction.
For more information see:
The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald, Nature Climate Change                      
 

Antarctic Sea Ice Reaches Yearly Maximum while Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Sixth Lowest Extent
On September 22, the sea ice around the Antarctic reached its maximum extent—maximum ice cover of the year—of 7.76 million square miles. This maximum is 595,000 square miles above the average maximum extent from 1981 to 2010. The new annual record follows record maximum ice extents in 2012 and 2013, and for most of 2014 sea ice in Antarctica surpassed daily high levels recorded since the advent of the satellite era in the late 1970s. Ted Sambos, a senior scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), said, "Nearly every day has been a record for that day in the satellite record."  According to NSIDC scientists, the growth in ice may be due to changing wind patterns or recent ice sheet melt from warmer, deep ocean water reaching the coastline. When the melt water cools the deep ocean layer, it leads to favorable growth conditions by contributing to a cold surface layer around Antarctica. However, the recent trend in Antarctic ice growth is dwarfed by the 13 percent yearly loss in Arctic sea ice, which melted to its sixth lowest daily extent this year on September 17, and sixth lowest monthly extent for the month of September. This level of sea ice extent plays a role in keeping the Arctic region cool by reflecting sunlight and in regulating global climate. Regarding the low in Arctic sea ice extent, NSIDC Director Mark Serreze said, "Twenty years ago, having ice extent this low would have astounded us. Now it is expected." The ten lowest September sea ice extents in the Arctic during the satellite record have taken place in the last ten years.
For more information see:
Climate Central, NASA, PHYS.ORG
 

According to UN Report, Indigenous Cultures Integral to Biodiversity
 On October 6, the United Nations released a report that highlights the impacts of climate change on many indigenous communities. The report, “Global Biodiversity Outlook 4,” states, “Everything from ice-dependent algae . . . marine mammals and human communities that rely on sea ice for food, economic opportunities and cultural activities” are affected by climate change.  One aspect of the report is the impact that climate change is already having on Arctic communities, and the role that indigenous communities play in preserving biodiversity through habitat protection. In the Arctic, many indigenous hunting techniques rely on sea ice cover, which has already rapidly retreated.  Not only has climate change contributed to a loss of permafrost and ice cover, the depletion of Arctic ice levels has caused indigenous tribes to see a rapid increase in shipping, commercial fishing, mining, oil and gas development.  Whit Sheard, director of the international Arctic program at Ocean Conservancy, said, “The challenges facing traditional Arctic indigenous communities are enormous,” and these changes are impacting every aspect of the subsistence-based indigenous life in the Arctic.  According to Garry Harrison, a traditional chief of Chickaloon village in Alaska, today, indigenous communities are collecting roughly two percent of the total fishing catch.  Instead, commercial and sport fishing counts for the ‘lions share’ of the catch.  Harrison commented, “We’re not allowed to have food like we used to. . . We hear [commercial fisheries] fighting over their spot in the river . . . they used to be indigenous people’s spots in the first place.”
For more information see:
United Nations Report, Al Jazeera America
 

Report Says Canada Not Doing Enough on Climate Change
On October 7, the most recent in a series of audit reports from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada found that under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Canada has been doing little to meet its goal to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) levels 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. Tuesday’s report called for ‘clearer chartings’ on Canada’s GHG emissions reductions goal of 612 megatonnes in 2020, as last year’s records predicted CO2 emissions would be 862 megatonnes if no action was taken, and 734 megatonnes if action is taken. The report also suggests that Canada has been focusing more on the accounting rules associated with emissions reduction, rather than specific actions, especially with their Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry project (LULUCF). LULUCF predicts an emissions reduction of 28 megatonnes by 2020, which the report says is “not the result of specific efforts to reduce emissions. . . [but] partly the consequence of the recent economic recession.” The report also notes that Canada  does not appear to have a plan for monitoring oil sand development after 2015, although in a response to the report, the Canadian government said it will partner with its provincial counterpart to examine “the extent and nature of Environment Canada’s future involvement” in the issue. In addition, one of the country’s two “strategic co-ordinating committees” on emissions reductions has not met in three years. With all of these obstacles underway, Julie Gelfand, Canada’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, expressed her doubts that Canada would complete its 2020 emissions reduction goal, stating, “I think that when you make a commitment, you need to keep it, and it’s very difficult for us, for Canada, to expect other countries to meet their commitments when Canada can’t meet its own.”
For more information see:
The Globe and Mail, Report
 

Fragmentation of Brazil’s Rainforests Cause More Carbon Emissions than Estimated
On October 7, a study on the long term carbon loss in fragmented Brazilian forests was published in the Nature Communications journal. Lead scientist of the study, Dr. Sandro Putz of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), writes that many of the impacts of forest fragmentation, defined as “the creation of additional forest edges,” have been underestimated. This is due in part to a lack of research on the carbon impacts of lone-standing trees instead of thick forests. UFZ scientists used a simulation of a forest ecosystem, called FORMIND, to model the way forests sequester carbon as they become fragmented. As adjacent trees are removed, new climatic conditions are created for remaining forest as it is exposed to increased sunlight, higher temperatures and wind. These changes put stress on trees, leading to increased tree mortality and decreased ability to store carbon. Overall, the creation of additional forest edges has led to a loss of over 68 million metric tons of carbon over ten years in coastal forests. Dr. Putz commented, “This is an enormous loss in relation to the small total area of the Brazilian Atlantic forest.” When looking at the larger Brazilian Amazon forest, fragmentation accounted for about 600 million metric tons of lost carbon over a ten year period. Deforestation accounts for about a quarter of total carbon emissions annually, according to the study authors, but fragmentation’s effects on these emissions is not accounted for in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) calculations. They estimate global fragmentation could contribute an additional 0.2 billion metric tons of carbon emissions per year.
For more information see:
Press Release, Nature World News, Study
 

Headlines

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1. Bluegreen Alliance Supports Government Methane Emissions Reduction Strategy

2. New York Times Increasing Climate Change Coverage

3. Climate Change Has Increased Ocean Acidity By a Quarter

4. Louisiana Lawsuit Hopes to Push Oil & Gas Industry To Pay for Land Lost to the Sea

5. EBay Distances Itself From ALEC Over Climate Change

6. Sherwood-Randall Confirmed as Deputy Secretary of Energy

 

 

Authors: Angelo Bardales, Emily Jackson, Brendan Ingargiola, and Carlos Villacis

Editor: Laura Small