[GWSG] FW: Tar fans; antiplanners and need to plan; a strategy; SE FL Compact Plan; CH4 news summary

[Tilley, Al]

This did not seem to go through the server last night.

________________________________
From: Tilley, Al
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 8:15 PM
To: gwsg at lists.unf.edu
Subject: Tar fans; antiplanners and need to plan; a strategy; SE FL Compact Plan; CH4 news summary

1.  Salon has obtained emails detailing a mostly successful effort by a Canadian diplomat and a lobbyist from the Bush administration to defeat low carbon fuel standards and to assure the success of Canadian tar sands oil in the US market.  http://www.salon.com/2011/12/15/big_oil_and_canada_thwarted_u_s_carbon_standards/singleton/

2.  A tea party-affiliated group in Virginia is tormenting planners trying to cope with climate change by shouting them down and otherwise disrupting meetings.  The group, along with the John Birch Society, believes that the planners are carrying out a UN plot to commandeer private property.  (You may have to register with the WA Post to get the story.)  http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/virginia-residents-oppose-preparations-for-climate-related-sea-level-rise/2011/12/05/gIQAVRw40O_story.html?tid=pm_pop  The World Bank estimates that by 2050 1.5 billion people will be exposed annually to natural disasters from the extreme weather attendant on climate change.  That is double the current level.  They advise careful planning and adaptation to minimize the problems.  Thanks to Brian Paradise for the story.  http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/an-urbanizing-india-faces-natural-disaster-risk/?emc=eta1

3.  Some people will react to a threatening issue such as climate change with “motivated avoidance.”   Trying to convince them that a real danger is at hand may only intensify their avoidance.  The best approach can be to present the issue as one which may be successfully confronted.  http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2011/12/19/1

4.  The Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact, composed of four counties representing 2.5 million people, has just released their Action Plan with a heavy emphasis on adaptation.  A Southern Association for Clean Energy representative was especially impressed by the nonpartisan, open atmosphere of the process.  http://blog.cleanenergy.org/2011/12/19/climate-lessons-from-south-florida-in-2011/  Documents available at the compact’s web site include a sea level rise study and the action plan.  http://www.southeastfloridaclimatecompact.org/index.htm  A 2009 Army Corps of Engineers guidance document was used as the base for the sea level rise discussion, giving horizons of 3-7 inches by 2030 and 9-24 inches by 2060.  The rapid pace of sea level rise scholarship led them to recommend revisions of the guidelines in four years.  The planning process involved establishing three study teams: the Built Environment, Transportation, and Land and Natural Systems. All three were comprised of representatives from academia, nonprofits, the private sector, and all levels of government.  A Super Committee consolidated the recommendations of the teams.  The result is more of a framework for planning than the plan itself.  That represents a significant accomplishment for the region.  However, it does leave significant challenges, such as detailed land use regulations and plans to disestablish communities as the sea rises.  Thanks to Tom Larson for the news.  http://www.southeastfloridaclimatecompact.org/documents/DraftRCAP.pdf

5.  The reports of clathrate methane releases in the Arctic, and the stream of stories on melting permafrost, call for a comprehensive review, and Joe Romm provides one, including info from forthcoming papers.  The gist is that we have not crossed a point of no return yet, but the need for decisive action grows increasingly urgent.  I know many of you follow Climate Progress, but if you missed the analysis. . .  http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/12/19/392242/carbon-time-bomb-in-arctic-new-york-times-print-edition-gets-the-story-right/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climateprogress%2FlCrX+%28Climate+Progress%29
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