Posts Tagged ‘US’
In stark contrast to the bad politics and bad science in the Australian parliament, the US has moved forward and it’s equivalent to our CPRS legislation passed the lower house yesterday.
If you want to read more, there are lots of news reports. It’s also the subject of Barrack Obama’s weekly address to the US nation:
“[We] have seen other countries realize a critical truth: the nation that leads in the creation of a clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy. […] Now my call to every Senator, as well as to every American, is this: We cannot be afraid of the future. And we must not be prisoners of the past. Don’t believe the misinformation out there […]”.
This is one of the key findings from a new and very comprehensive US Government climate change report.
There were ten key findings in all:
- Global warming is unequivocal and primarily human-induced.
- Climate changes are underway in the United States and are projected to grow.
- Widespread climate-related impacts are occurring now and are expected to increase.
- Climate change will stress water resources.
- Crop and livestock production will be increasingly challenged.
- Coastal areas are at increasing risk from sea-level rise and storm surge.
- Threats to human health will increase.
- Climate change will interact with many social and environmental stresses.
- Thresholds will be crossed, leading to large changes in climate and ecosystems.
- Future climate change and its impacts depend on choices made today.
Barrack Obama has started to deliver on some of his pre-election promises regarding the United States response on climate change. In an announcement planned to coincide with Earth Hour, Obama has invited figures from the world’s largest 16 economies to Washington in April.
The primary purpose of the forum is to “help generate the political leadership necessary to achieve a successful outcome at the UN climate change negotiations that will convene this December in Copenhagen”, according to the White House statement.
Given the increasingly dire climate change news coming from the world’s scientific community, together with a good deal of pessimism about the likelihood of reaching any king of global accord at Copenhagen, the timing could not be better for Obama to throw his hat into the ring.
