Great Lakes and climate change

Healing Our Waters has just posted their report Great Lakes Restoration & the Threat of Global Warming. The report details potential impacts of global warming on the Lakes and urges Congress to take action.

Healing Our Waters is also running a campaign to promote Great Lakes restoration among the current Presidential candidates. You can find out more and sign their petition below.

Saving the environment, Indian-style

One of the things that really bugs me about much of the rhetoric surrounding debates around why developed countries should or shouldn't take action is the idea that if China and India don't do anything to cut emissions, there is no reason for anyone else to make an effort. On my recent trip to India I noted several actions - large and small - that individuals, communities, and the entire country are already taking to improve and protect their environment.

1. Water Conservation

• Bucket Showers: Before traveling to India, I had heard many a story about the "bucket shower" and wasn't quite sure what awaited me in the bathrooms of India. For those unfamiliar with bucket showers, you basically fill a 5 gallon bucket with water and use your hands or a large cup to pour water over yourself as you wash (I guess you could dispense with the cup altogether and just pour directly from the bucket, but this is difficult when the bucket is full). In places where water temperature and pressure can be unreliable (this includes not only some of the places I stayed in India, but also my apartment in Virginia), the bucket shower not only saves A LOT of water, it also results in better control of water temperature and how well you can rinse shampoo and soap away.
• Reminders: Travelers in the US and Europe are probably quite familiar with the signs in hotel rooms asking that you conserve water by not requesting your sheets and towels be washed and replaced each day - you'll find the same thing in India. However, many places take such requests a step further and frame such reminders in the context of the landscape - for example, Rajasthan is a desert state, so saving water has local benefits. In addition, the suggestions go beyond just linens - travelers may also consider steps such as turning the water off when brushing teeth or shaving, taking shorter showers, and flushing the toilet less often.

2. Fuel

• Autorickshaws, taxis, and other vehicles that run on compressed natural gas. India's road are PACKED with all manner of transportation, and an increasing amount is motor vehicle traffic. In Delhi, Agra, and elsewhere, the entire fleets of autorickshaws and other for hire transportation have switched from diesel and gasoline to compressed natural gas. As a result, less particulate matter and fewer greenhouse gases are released into the air, and air quality in cities is already improving (although still not great).

These solutions are not the be-all and end-all answers - India and the rest of the world still have a long way to go. I'll continue to post about some of the other environmentally-friendly practices I observed while in India, as well as some of the not-so-great-for-the-planet stuff. My point here is that India (and other countries) are making efforts to protect the planet - and that means there is no excuse for the United States and other developed countries to do as much as they can to clean up their own acts.

Republicans talk climate change (maybe) - and a call for real science debate

At their last debate before the Iowa caucuses today, CNN reports that there was some discussion of climate change:

When asked to raise their hands if they believed global climate change is a serious threat and caused by human activity, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson said he wasn't "doing hand shows today."

Other candidates agreed. Thompson asked if he could answer the question instead, but was told no.

Arizona Sen. John McCain said he knows "climate change is real."

"I've been involved in this issue since the year 2000. I have had hearings. I've traveled the world," he said. "It's real, we've got to address it, we can do it with technology ... with capitalist and free enterprise motivation. And I'm confident that we can pass on to our children and grandchildren a cleaner, better world."

One of the questioners, former Ambassador Alan Keyes, said, "I'm in favor of reducing global warming, because I think the most important emission we need to control is the hot air emission of politicians who pretend one thing and don't deliver."

Given the light treatment this and other science-related issues have received in recent debates, it is painfully obvious that there is a need for a debate devoted specifically to science. Which is a perfect introduction to a project that one of my fellow former Knauss fellows is working on: a call for a Presidential science debate. Sheril and her co-conspirators have cooked up quite a plan and discussion in the blogosphere is already whirling. Check out Sciencedebate2008 for all the information.

Speaking of the Nobel Peace Prize...

Yesterday the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Al Gore split the Nobel Peace Prize for their work on climate change. While the text of Gore's speech is widely available, I had less luck finding the full remarks of R. K. Pachauri, who chairs the IPCC. So, I went straight to the source - Nobelprize.org - and got the text of both speeches. You can also get the text in Norwegian and see videos. Click below for the direct links:

R.K. Pachauri, for the IPCC
Al Gore

Climate science resources

Trying to keep up with the latest and greatest on the climate change science front is like trying to grab hold of a river - but here are a few things that have caught my eye recently...

• Global-Warming Deniers: A Well-Funded Machine in the August 13 issue of Newsweek
• IPCC Working Group II: Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability
• Climate Change: A Guide to the Information and Disinformation from the Society of Environmental Journalists
• RealClimate.org and their Wiki to debunk climate nonsense
  
• ClimatePolicy.org