Tag Archives: change

Dot Earth Blog: Michael Bloomberg, Now a U.N. Climate Envoy, Presses the Case for Urban Action

Michael Bloomberg, a mayor turned U.N. climate envoy, explains what cities can do to blunt climate change and its impacts. View original article –  Dot Earth Blog: Michael Bloomberg, Now a U.N. Climate Envoy, Presses the Case for Urban Action ; ; ;

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Dot Earth Blog: Michael Bloomberg, Now a U.N. Climate Envoy, Presses the Case for Urban Action

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The New Look of Smokers’ Litter

The cigarettes may change, but for some smokers the habit of littering does not. See the original article here:  The New Look of Smokers’ Litter ; ; ;

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The New Look of Smokers’ Litter

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Investing in the hardest working body of water in the world

A unique partnership has created an incredible opportunity to help rehabilitate the Gulf region. View article: Investing in the hardest working body of water in the world Related Articles Single experimental tree produces 40 different kinds of fruit (Video) Yikes! California’s extreme drought could last “a decade or more”, 2014 driest year in a century W.H.O. on Use of Experimental Ebola Drug

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Investing in the hardest working body of water in the world

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Economic View: Shattering Myths to Help the Climate

Prompt, effective measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could prevent much of the damage from climate change at relatively modest cost. Link:   Economic View: Shattering Myths to Help the Climate ; ;Related ArticlesDot Earth Blog: U.S. Coal Exports Eroding Domestic Greenhouse GainsU.S. Coal Exports Eroding Domestic Greenhouse GainsDot Earth Blog: How Conservation and Groundwater Management Can Gird California for a Drier Era ;

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Economic View: Shattering Myths to Help the Climate

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This Huge Corporation Is Tackling Climate Change—Because It’s a Threat to the Bottom Line

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Food giant General Mills now has some pretty sweet climate bragging rights. A few months ago, the international food manufacturing giant General Mills was branded a “clear laggard” by climate activists for not doing enough to cut its carbon footprint. Oxfam International accused the company of dragging its feet on reducing so-called “scope 3″ greenhouse gas emissions—those not directly controlled by the company, but essential in making its products; for example, emissions from a farm contracted by General Mills to grow the oats that eventually wind up in your cereal bowl. Oxfam also faulted the company for not using its clout to engage directly with governments to “positively influence climate change policy.” Oxfam calls General Mills “the first major food and beverage company to promise to implement long-term science-based targets to cut emissions.” General Mills’ worldwide sales total $17.9 billion, and it owns familiar consumer brands like Cheerios, Old El Paso, and Pillsbury. Today, Oxfam is claiming big victory: General Mills has released a new set of climate policies that Oxfam says makes it “the first major food and beverage company to promise to implement long-term science-based targets to cut emissions.” The policy states unequivocally that General Mills believes that climate change is a big threat to global food security and its future business model: Here are the key points of General Mills’ announcement: By August 2015, the company has promised to account for emissions across its entire operation and to set clear reduction targets. The company promises to reduce emissions with the goal of keeping the global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The company also aims to achieve “zero net deforestation” in “high-risk supply chains” by 2020. (This doesn’t necessarily mean “zero deforestation,” but rather that destroyed forests are replaced). General Mills says these high-risk supply chains include land that provides palm oil, packaging fiber, beef, soy, and sugarcane. The company will also now disclose its top three suppliers of palm oil and sugarcane. In another big step, the company also announced today that it will join BICEP—Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy)—”to advocate more closely with policy makers to pass meaningful energy and climate legislation,” according to the company. The group of 31 companies (including big guns like eBay and Starbucks) is run by the non-profit Ceres, and is designed to help businesses directly lobby policymakers on issues like renewable energy, green transportation, and pollution controls on power plants. Ceres also campaigns to get companies and investors to adopt more sustainable environmental practices. Oxfam spokesman Grossman-Cohen believes that his group’s campaign helped motivate General Mills to make the changes. “It is in General Mills’ business interest to address climate change,” he wrote to me in an email. “But there’s no doubt that the public outcry helps ensure that the company’s efforts are as robust as they can be.”

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This Huge Corporation Is Tackling Climate Change—Because It’s a Threat to the Bottom Line

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This Huge Corporation Is Tackling Climate Change—Because It’s a Threat to the Bottom Line

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White House: Delaying Climate Action Will Carry Heavy Economic Cost

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Off the Leash – Matthew Gilbert

OFF THE LEASH is a group portrait of dog people, specifically the strange, wonderful, neurotic, and eccentric dog people who gather at Amory Park, overlooking Boston near Fenway Park. And it’s about author Matthew Gilbert’s transformation, after much fear and loathing of dogs and social groups, into one of those dog people with fur on their jackets, squeaky

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The Billionaire’s Vinegar – Benjamin Wallace

“Part detective story, part wine history, this is one juicy tale, even for those with no interest in the fruit of the vine. . . . As delicious as a true vintage Lafite.” —BusinessWeek The Billionaire’s Vinegar , now a New York Times bestseller , tells the true story of a 1787 Château Lafite Bordeaux—supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson—that sold for $156,000

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Inside of a Dog – Alexandra Horowitz

The bestselling book that asks what dogs know and how they think, now in paperback. The answers will surprise and delight you as Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist, explains how dogs perceive their daily worlds, each other, and that other quirky animal, the human. Horowitz introduces the reader to dogs’ perceptual and cognitive abilities and then draw

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Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow – Dr. Jan Pol & David Fisher

The star of The Incredible Dr. Pol shares his amusing, and often poignant, tales from his four decades as a vet in rural Michigan. Dr. Jan Pol is not your typical veterinarian. Born and raised the in Netherlands on a dairy farm, he is the star of Nat Geo Wild’s hit show The Incredible Dr. Pol and has been treating animals in rural Michigan since the 1970s. D

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White Dwarf Issue 26: 26 July 2014 – White Dwarf

Bursting through the cloud layer like the snout of a flying mechanical wolf stuffed full of bloodthirsty maniacs, the Stormfang Gunship makes its grand entrance this week and is accompanied by full rules and a Paint Splatter guide. In issue 26 you’ll also find a guide to the Great Companies of the Space Wolves, designers notes and more. About this Serie

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The Damnation of Pythos – David Annandale

In the aftermath of the Dropsite Massacre at Isstvan V, a battered and bloodied force of Iron Hands, Raven Guard and Salamanders regroups on a seemingly insignificant death world. Fending off attacks from all manner of monstrous creatures, the fractious allies find hope in the form of human refugees fleeing from the growing war, and cast adrift upon the tide

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Travels With Casey – Benoit Denizet-Lewis

A moody Labrador and his insecure human take a funny, touching cross-country RV trip into the heart of America’s relationship with dogs. “I don’t think my dog likes me very much,” New York Times Magazine writer Benoit Denizet-Lewis confesses at the beginning of his journey with his nine-year-old Labrador-mix, Casey. Over the next four months, thirty-two stat

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Following Atticus – Tom Ryan

After a close friend died of cancer, middle-aged, overweight, acrophobic newspaperman Tom Ryan decided to pay tribute to her in a most unorthodox manner. Ryan and his friend, miniature schnauzer Atticus M. Finch, would attempt to climb all forty-eight of New Hampshire’s four thousand- foot peaks twice in one winter while raising money for charity. It wa

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The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) – Monks of New Skete

For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America’s most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond. In their two now-classic bestsellers, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, the Monks draw on their experience as long-time breeders of German shepherds and as t

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How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, says, “Yes,

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White House: Delaying Climate Action Will Carry Heavy Economic Cost

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Another climate crackdown from Obama’s EPA

keeping it cool

Another climate crackdown from Obama’s EPA

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The Montreal Protocol, arguably the world’s most successful environmental treaty, rapidly reduced CFC use around the globe – and, in doing so, put us on the path to save the ozone layer from threatened annihilation. But the treaty had an unintended consequence. Many manufacturers switched from CFCs to HFCs, which we now know to be especially potent greenhouse gases.

So now we have to put out that fire. And on Thursday, the EPA took a major step toward doing just that, issuing new draft rules that would limit the use of the chemicals.

“EPA is proposing to modify the listings from acceptable to unacceptable for certain hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and HFC blends,” the agency wrote in a notice of proposed rulemaking. The rule would affect the manufacture of aerosol cans, fridges, air conditioners used in buildings and in vehicles, and other such devices where lower-risk alternatives are “available or potentially available.”

David Doniger, director of the Climate and Clean Air Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, says the move “marks another crucial step” by the Obama administration to curb climate change.

“With safer coolants and aerosols already on the market, we need to phase out the most damaging HFCs now,” Doniger said. “This will help curb dangerous climate warming, drive innovation in energy efficiency, and help fulfill our obligation to leave a better world for our children.”

Now, to convince India and other governments to do the same.


Source
Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Change of Listing Status for Certain Substitutes under the Significant New Alternatives Policy Program, EPA
Replacing Damaging HFCs Helps Curb Climate Change, NRDC

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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Another climate crackdown from Obama’s EPA

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How to Convince a Republican: Use a Pie Chart!

Mother Jones

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These days, perhaps the most hotly debated issue in climate change circles has little to do with science. Rather, it is over how to communicate that science to a public that still does not get it.

The leading communication strategy at present is built on a now famous 2013 paper—whose main result was tweeted out by no less than President Obama—finding that 97 percent of scientific papers (those that took a stand on the matter, anyway) supported the scientific consensus that humans are causing climate change. This result is often simplified down to the idea that “97 percent of scientists accept the consensus that humans are causing global warming.” Spreading this simple message, say supporters, is a critical way to get people past the wrongheaded idea that climate science is still subject to “debate.”

The strategy has its critics, including Yale science communication researcher Dan Kahan, who contends that the approach will backfire among conservative ideologues. A new study just out in the journal Climatic Change, however, suggests not only that the “97 percent consensus” message can be effective, but that it will work best when expressed in the form of a simple phrase or (eat your heart out, USA Today) a pie chart. Like this one, which is an actual image designed to spread the “97 percent” message:

SkepticalScience.com

The new paper is the latest collaboration by the George Mason and Yale projects on climate change communication, headed up, respectively, by Ed Maibach and Anthony Leiserowitz. They set out to test not only whether the “97 percent consensus” message works, but whether it works best when conveyed in one of three formats: as a simple statement (“97 % of climate scientists have concluded that human-caused climate change is happening”), as a metaphor (for instance, “If 97 percent of doctors concluded that your child is sick, would you believe them? 97 % of climate scientists have concluded that human-caused climate change is happening”), or as a pie chart. The actual pie chart used in the study is pictured at right.

van der Linden et al, July 2014, Climatic Change.

The study had 1104 participants, who were divided up into 11 separate experimental treatments. One group read the simple statement, one group saw the pie chart, eight groups received a variety of different climate communication metaphors, and there was, of course, a control condition. Before and after encountering one of these messages, participants’ were asked their estimate of the current degree of scientific consensus on climate change.

The upshot was that all of the messages worked, to an extent, to improve people’s perception of scientific consensus. However, the simple phrase fared the best—improving the subjects’ perceptions of scientific consensus by 17.88 percentage points—and the pie chart came in second (14.38 percentage points). The various metaphor-based messages (using the doctor metaphor above, a similar engineering metaphor, and so on) were all roughly equal in their effectiveness, but none were as good as the simple image or phrase.

Notably, however, the pie chart proved most effective among one group—Republicans—that is notorious for being the most difficult audience to sway on climate change. The effect was pretty impressive, as this figure shows:

van der Linden et al, July 2014, Climatic Change.

The authors do not speculate on why Republicans, and Republicans alone, seem to respond more strongly to pie charts. However, their bottom line conclusion is this: “presenting information in a way that is short, simple and easy to comprehend and remember seems to offer the highest probability of success for all audiences examined.”

This study probably won’t end the debate over whether telling people that “97 percent of climate scientists” agree on climate change is the best way to save this rock. But it certainly validates something that writers, bloggers, and media outlets have long known:

You keep it simple, and you show pretty pictures.

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How to Convince a Republican: Use a Pie Chart!

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Greenpeace Executive to Commute by Train Instead of Plane

Move follows Guardian revelations about Pascal Husting’s flights from home in Luxembourg to offices in Amsterdam. Kitty Terwolbeck/Flickr Greenpeace has said its international programme director will no longer commute to work by plane. Mike Townsley, head of communications at Greenpeace International, said that Pascal Husting would no longer travel 250 miles from Luxembourg to Amsterdam by plane several times a month, but would take the train instead. In a statement, Husting said: “To be frank I’m embarrassed, it was a misjudgment, there’s no doubt about it. It was meant to be a temporary arrangement so I could do the job and be with my family because my kids are so young, but that’s not good enough. The job ended up lasting longer than I expected it would, but I should have been taking the train from day one. That’s happening now.” On Monday, the Guardian revealed details of the flights, which John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, defended in a blogpost. “As for Pascal’s air travel. Well it’s a really tough one. Was it the right decision to allow him to use air travel to try to balance his job with the needs of his family for a while?” To keep reading, click here. Original article:   Greenpeace Executive to Commute by Train Instead of Plane ; ;Related Articles“Almost Everything It Wanted”There Are 1,401 Uninspected High-Risk Oil and Gas Wells.Why David Brat is Completely Wrong About Climate Science ;

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Greenpeace Executive to Commute by Train Instead of Plane

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Hurricane Cristina Just Set A Scary Record

For the first time on record, the eastern Pacific basin has now had two Category 4 hurricanes before July. Hurricane Cristina off the coast of Mexico. NASA/Wikimedia Commons Two weeks ago in the eastern Pacific hurricane basin, we saw Category 4 Hurricane Amanda, which was too strong, too early. Amanda was the “strongest May hurricane on record in the eastern Pacific basin during the satellite era,” noted the National Hurricane Center. And right now, the basin is host to Category 4 Hurricane Cristina, which follows on Amanda’s record with a new one. The storm just put on an “extraordinary” burst of intensification in the last 24 hours, rocketing from Category 1 to Category 4 strength, with maximum sustaind wind speeds of 150 miles per hour. And now that it has gotten there, notes the National Hurricane Center, we have another new record: Cristina is the earliest 2nd major hurricane formation in the ern Pacific (reliable records since 1971) by 13 days, old record Darby 2010 — Natl Hurricane Ctr (@NHC_Pacific) June 12, 2014 Adds encyclopedic weather blogger Jeff Masters: This year is also the first time there have been two Category 4 hurricanes before July 1 in the Eastern Pacific. Prior to Cristina, the earliest second Category 4 hurricane was Hurricane Elida in 1984, which reached that threshold on July 1. As I’ve noted before, the eastern Pacific basin tends to be very active in El Niño years. We are not officially in an El Niño right now, but the forecast for one developing this summer is now 70 percent. In this case, maybe the eastern Pacific is ahead of the forecasters in responding to the state of the ocean and atmosphere. As of now, Hurricane Cristina is expected to travel westward, harmlessly, out to sea. Original article: Hurricane Cristina Just Set A Scary Record Related ArticlesWhy David Brat is Completely Wrong About Climate ScienceThis Is Why You Have No Business Challenging Scientific Experts9 Things You Need To Know About Obama’s New Climate Rules

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Hurricane Cristina Just Set A Scary Record

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