Climate change gathers steam, say scientists

PARIS (AFP) — Earth's climate appears to be changing more quickly and deeply than a benchmark UN report for policymakers predicted, top scientists said ahead of international climate talks starting Monday in Poland.

 

Evidence published since the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change's (IPCC) February 2007 report suggests that future global warming may be driven not just by things over which humans have a degree of control, such as burning fossil fuels or destroying forest, a half-dozen climate experts told AFP.

 

Even without additional drivers, the IPCC has warned that current rates of greenhouse gas emissions, if unchecked, would unleash devastating droughts, floods and huge increases in human misery by century's end.

 

But the new studies, they say, indicate that human activity may be triggering powerful natural forces that would be nearly impossible to reverse and that could push temperatures up even further.

 

At the top of the list for virtually all of the scientists canvassed was the rapid melting of the Arctic ice cap.

 

"In the last couple of years, Arctic Sea ice is at an all-time low in summer, which has got a lot of people very, very concerned," commented Robert Watson, Chief Scientific Advisor for Britain's department for environmental affairs and chairman of the IPCC's previous assessment in 2001.

 

"This has implication's for Earth's climate because it can clearly lead to a positive feedback effect," he said in an interview.

 

When the reflective ice surface retreats, the Sun's radiation -- heat -- is absorbed by open water rather than bounced back into the atmosphere, creating a vicious circle of heating.

 

"We had always known that the Arctic was going to respond first," said Mark Serreze of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado. "What has us puzzled is that the changes are even faster than we would have thought possible," he said by phone.

 

New data on the rate at which oceans might rise has also caused consternation.

 

"The most recent IPCC report was prior to ... the measurements of increasing mass loss from Greenland and Antarctica, which are disintegrating much faster than IPCC estimates," said climatologist James Hansen, head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York.

 

Unlike the Arctic ice cap, which floats on water, the world's two major ice sheets -- up to three kilometers (two miles) thick -- sit on land.

 

Runaway sea level rises, Hansen said, would put huge coastal cities and agricultural deltas in Bangladesh, Egypt and southern China under water, and create hundreds of millions of refugees.

 

The IPCC's most recent assessment "did not take into account the potential melting of Greenland, which I think was a mistake," said Watson, the former IPCC chairman.

 

Were Greenland's entire ice block to melt, it would lift the world's sea levels by almost seven meters (22.75 feet), while western Antarctica's ice sheet holds enough water to add six metres (20 feet).

 

Neither of these doomsday scenarios is on the foreseeable horizon.

 

But for coastal dwellers, even a relatively small loss of their ice could prove devastating.

 

IPCC estimates of an 18-to-59 centimetre (7.2-to-23.2 inches) rise by 2100 has been supplanted among specialists by an informal consensus of one metre (39 inches), said Serreze.

 

The accelerating concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and signs of the planet's dwindling ability to absorb them, are also causing some scientists to lose sleep.

 

During the 1970s, there were on average 1.3 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide -- the main greenhouse gas -- in the air. In the 1980s the figure was 1.6 ppm, and in the 1990s 1.5 ppm.

 

In the period 2000-2007, however, the concentration jumped to an average 2.0 ppm, with a high of 2.2 last year, according to the Global Carbon Project, based in Australia.

 

"The present concentration is the highest during the last 650,000 years and probably during the last 20 million years," said the Global Carbon Project's Pep Canadell, a researcher at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.

 

And in 2008, he said, there has been an "exponential growth" in the atmospheric concentration of methane, another greenhouse gas that is an even more potent driver of global warming than CO2.

 

One potential source of both gases is frozen tundra in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, where temperatures have risen faster than anywhere else on Earth.

 

"The amount of carbon that is locked up in permafrost that could be released into the atmosphere is just about on a par with the atmospheric load the world has right now," said Serreze.

 

These higher concentrations of greenhouse gases come at a time when Earth's two major "carbon sinks" -- forests and especially oceans -- are showing signs of saturation.

 

The December 1-12 forum of 192-member UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) comes midway through a two-year process launched in Bali for braking the juggernaut of global warming.

 

Scheduled to run until December 12, the talks are a stepping stone towards a new pact -- due to be sealed in Copenhagen in December 2009 -- for reducing emissions and boosting adaptation funds beyond 2012, when the current provisions of the UN's Kyoto Protocol expire.

 

P&G continues to shrink energy footprint

Dayton Business Journal

 

Procter & Gamble Co. reduced its water and energy consumption by 6 percent to 8 percent in its last fiscal year, increasing its reductions since 2002 to roughly 50 percent.

 

The maker of Tide, Charmin and Pantene also cut its waste disposal by 21 percent in the year ended June 30, according to its annual sustainability report (www.pg.com/sustainability). In the same period, P&G (NYSE: PG) reduced its water consumption by 7 percent, its energy use by 6 percent and its carbon dioxide emissions by 8 percent.

 

All are part of an ongoing, three-part campaign by P&G to markedly reduce its consumption and improve the lives of children over a 10-year period. Since 2002, P&G has cut its corporate water use by 51 percent, its energy use by 46 percent, its carbon dioxide emissions by 52 percent and its waste disposal by 50 percent.

 

As part of the program, the consumer products maker also wants to develop and market, by 2012, $20 billion in earth-friendly or “sustainable innovation” products, such as Tide Coldwater or Bounty Mega rolls. As of the end of the last fiscal year, P&G sold almost $2.1 billion in such products.

 

Lastly, P&G reached more than 60 million children globally through its “Live, Learn and Thrive” clean water program. The goal, by 2012, is to reach 250 million children, according to the report.

 

“Sustainable development is a very simple idea,” A.G. Lafley, P&G’s CEO, wrote in the report. “It’s about ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come.”

 

P&G has been investing in geothermal energy, windmills and landfill gases. At a manufacturing plant in Mehoopany, Pa., a heat-recovery system can reclaim enough energy to power almost 12,000 U.S. households annually. In Utah, P&G in the last fiscal year broke ground on a 1 million-square-foot-facility that will use solar-tracking skylights, a tissue-making machine that uses 19 percent less energy and geothermal industry.

 

 

E-mail dayton@bizjournals.com. Call (937) 528-4400.

Plastic recycling business offers fortune to man who takes all risks

Agnes Winarti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 11/22/2008

Leaving his job as a foreign bank auditor in the capital in 1999, Baedowy set off to explore the unknown world of plastic recycling. 

Feeling uneasy while his seniors and bosses anxiously faced redundancy after their 20 years of service, Baedowy decided to resign after his three years of working. 

"I was frowned upon by my parents," he said, recalling the time he told his parents about his resignation and intention to be go into the "waste business". 

Similar to most people who break into the recycling business, he said he did not start his business out of a concern for the environment. 

"I have to put food on the table for my wife and three children. I was looking for a business that only required a small amount of capital, generated enough money to met my daily requirements and would make me rich in the long run." 

Baedowy found that recycling plastic waste fit his three criteria. 

His business, however, failed in its first year because the plastic crushing machine he bought for Rp 20 million always malfunctioned. 

"During that year, I spent more time fixing the machine than recycling," he said, adding that there were times he regretted resigning. 

But the long hours spent fixing the machine paid off. Baedowy discovered ways to modify the plastic crushing machine, getting rid of its flaws. 

Baedowy also figured out new ways to sort and crush plastic waste. People started to visit his factory in Cimuning, East Bekasi, to seek his advice. 

He said other plastic recycling firms remained silent when he asked them for advice when he started out nine years ago. 

"The experience motivated me to be different. I prefer to welcome queries about my business," he said. 

"The more, the merrier." 

Today, Baedowy employs about 40 workers at his 1,000-square-meter factory and produces four to five tons of plastic scraps and pellets a week. His 60 business partners, from Naggroe Aceh Darussalam to Papua, each produce approximately three tons per week. 

His business partners come from all walks of life, he said, from fresh graduates and the unemployed to cooperatives and state institutions. 

His partners are taught how to manage their recycling businesses and are supplied with a modified recycling machine. They, in turn, sell their products to Baedowy. 

"I am not only giving the fish and the bait, but I am offering the whole pond." 

Baedowy has been exporting plastic scrap and pellets to Guongzhou, China, since 2004. 

"The typical problem with Indonesian plastic scrap and pellets is the quality. Through training, I ensure that all my partners are able to create products of international standard." 

Although his export business has contracted from 60 percent of his total business to 20 percent due to the global financial crisis, he said, he was not worried. 

"Prices can plummet or soar anytime. But as long as there are some margins to take, everything will be fine." 

In his factory, plastic glass scraps are recycled into raffia cord, while plastic pellets from plastic bags and sacks are remade into new plastic bags and sacks. Scraps from plastic bottles are recycled into polyester thread, while plastic pellets from buckets, lubricating oil and shampoo bottles are recycled into brooms, balls and piggy banks. 

He profits at least Rp 500 for every kilogram of plastic waste, which means a weekly production of three tons will bring a profit of Rp 1.5 million per week. 

Baedowy said his business contributed to the environmental campaign to some extent, by urging people to reduce, reuse and recycle. 

"It is important to make more people aware that waste is a profitable business," said the recipient of the government's 2006 Young Initiator Award. 

"That's the only way the green campaign will work here."

Times Square Getting Eco-Friendly Billboard

wcbstv.com

NEW YORK (AP) ― Times Square is getting its first environmentally friendly billboard powered entirely by wind and sun.

 

Construction begins this month on the 35,000-pound billboard advertising the Ricoh Americas Corporation, an office equipment and document storage supplier.

 

It will have 16 wind turbines and 64 solar panels and produce enough power to light six homes.

 

The sign may not be quite as dazzling as some of its neighbors along Broadway.

 

It will be lit by floodlights, rather than light-emitting diodes, and won't have a backup generator, so it could go dark during a long period with little wind or sun.

 

But company spokesman Ron Potesky says the sign's turbines will probably be able to keep the billboard lit even after four days without breezes or bright sun.

Plan for new Maldives homeland

BBC

The president-elect of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, says he wants to buy a new homeland for his people.

He says that the gradual rise in sea levels caused by global warming means the Maldives islanders may eventually be forced to resettle elsewhere.

The Maldives is the lowest nation in the world. Its highest land is little more than two metres above sea level.

The United Nations estimates that sea levels may rise globally by nearly 60 centimetres this century.

Devastation fears

The Maldives comprise more than 1,000 islands and coral atolls surrounded by the clear waters of the Indian Ocean.

The white sandy beaches are a major tourist attraction bringing in billions of dollars every year.

Now Mohamed Nasheed, who will be sworn in as the country's first democratically elected president on Tuesday, has said that he will set up a fund to acquire land in other parts of the region.

Mr Nasheed's spokesman, Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, told the BBC's World Today programme that the new government had to take action.

"Global warming and environmental issues are issues of major concern to the Maldivian people. We are just about three feet (0.91 metre) above sea level," Mr Zaki said, speaking from the capital, Male.

"So any sea level rise could have a devastating effect on the people of the Maldives and their very survival".

Similar culture

Over the last century, sea levels around parts of the archipelago rose by nearly 20cm. Mr Nasheed fears that even a small rise could leave some islands inundated.

Mr Nasheed's plan is to create a "sovereign wealth fund" using tourism revenues to buy land so that future generations will have somewhere to rebuild their lives if they have to leave.

He wants somewhere within the region, where the culture is similar - possibly India or Sri Lanka.

His fears is that if he does not take action, the future descendents of the 300,000 islanders could become environmental refugees.

Related Article:

Mass relocation planned as seas rise

Portable power: Tiny solar cells show promise

By Julie Steenhuysen, Thu Nov 6, 2008 3:01pm EST

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Researchers have developed some of the tiniest solar cells ever made and said on Thursday the organic material could potentially be painted on to surfaces.

So far, they have managed to pull 11 volts of electricity from a small array of the cells, which are each just a quarter of the size of a grain of white rice, said Xiaomei Jiang of the University of South Florida, who led the research.

"They could be sprayed on any surface that is exposed to sunlight -- a uniform, a car, a house," Jiang said in a telephone interview.

"Because it is in a solution, you can design a special spray gun where you can control the size and thickness. You could produce a paste and brush it on," she said.

Eventually, Jiang envisions the solar cells being used as a coating on a variety of surfaces, including clothing. They might generate energy to power small electronic devices or charge a cell phone, for example.

Solar cells, which convert energy from the sun into electricity, are in increasing demand amid unstable gas prices and worries over global warming.

Most conventional solar cells are made up of silicon wafers, a brittle substance that limits where they can be placed.

Many teams of scientists are working on different ways to make solar cells more flexible in the hopes of taking better advantage of energy from the sun.

The tiny cells from Jiang's lab are made from an organic polymer that has the same electrical properties of silicon wafers but can be dissolved and applied to flexible materials.

"The main components are carbon and hydrogen -- materials that are present in nature and are environmentally friendly," Jiang said.

In research published in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, Jiang and colleagues showed an array of 20 of these cells could generate 7.8 volts of electricity, about half the power needed to run a microscopic sensor for detecting dangerous chemicals and toxins.

Her team is now refining the manufacturing process with the hope of doubling that output to 15 volts. "It's a matter of months," Jiang said.

(Editing by Maggie Fox and Cynthia Osterman)

Related Article:

New nano coating boosts solar efficiency

Shell Eyes Geothermal Investment

Friday, 07 November, 2008 | 14:41 WIB 

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:Shell International BV said they are interested in investing in Indonesia's newest energy sector. "The biggest potential is in geothermal and solar energy," said Shell International's chief of Political Analyst for Global Business Environment, Cho-Oon Khong yesterday. 

According to Cho-Oon, the details of the plans cannot yet be confirmed. However, he views Indonesia as playing an important role in facing the challenges of energy sources in the future. 

These challenges include the wide gap between the demand and supply in oil fuel and issues on global warming. He said supplies in oil and gas will become more limited 20 years from now. 

This, he said, has led to an increase in oil prices. On the other hand, the increasing global demands in energy will create alternative supplies and the use of more efficient energy. "Shell will adapt to that, allowing us a bigger opportunity of investing in Indonesia, both from the upstream and the downstream sectors," he said. 

Energy and Mineral Resources minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said Indonesia's potential in geothermal reserves are equal to 219 million barrels of oil or 27.000 megawatt. However, the capacity installed produces only 1.052 megawatt. 

According to Purnomo, the main impediment in developing this source of energy is the large investment needed and high electricity rates produced. The cost of producing electricity from this source is higher than using the conventional coal. 

The government is currently studying three areas to implement an experimental CO2 Captured and Storage (CSS) project. This technology regulates the emission of carbon dioxide in fossil fuels and produces environmentally-friendly oil and natural gas. 

SORTA TOBING

KPMG gets serious about climate change

David Jackson , The Times, Published:Nov 02, 2008

 

Professional services firm KPMG has launched a global initiative to combat climate change, which it describes as one of the biggest challenges facing the world today.

 

In 2007 the group established a subcommittee on climate change to research options and recommend a strategy that would enable its member firms to make a meaningful global impact on climate change and to provide support to the firm’s clients.

 

As a result, KPMG’s Global Green Initiative — a three-tiered global approach to help address the challenges of climate change — was launched.

 

Carl Ballot, director of corporate communications and corporate social investment at KPMG, says its commitment to addressing climate change includes KPMG International’s ambition to reduce its combined member firms’ carbon footprint by 25% in 2010 (from a 2007 baseline).

 

It aims to achieve this by reducing emissions and using renewable energy in support of environmental projects to help address the challenges of climate change.

 

It also includes engagement with member firms’ employees to work towards reducing their own impact by at least 10% by 2010 and, with their suppliers and clients, to help them measure, report and improve their impact on the climate.

 

“Our first step is to understand our carbon footprint by measuring and reporting on our global footprint and assisting employees and clients in doing the same,” said Ballot.

 

“We are also providing our employees with the information and tools that they need to improve their own climate impacts, in the workplace and at home,” he added.

 

“Supported technically by our own Global Sustainability Services network and underpinned by the passion of our people, we look set to achieve some very desirable outcomes in this challenging space.”

 

Mass relocation planned as seas rise

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Bintan, Riau Islands

The government is preparing to relocate people living on islands considered vulnerable to rising sea levels over the next three decades.

Sea levels are expected to surge drastically between 2030 and 2040 because of global warming. Experts and the government fear that about 2,000 islands across the country will sink.

"We have formed a technical team who will identify the islands which could sink," Maritime and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi told the International Roundtable Meeting of World Ocean Conference here Thursday.

"The government has prepared a contingency plan, which includes relocation of residents off the islands."

Freddy said the islands were located in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua.

He asked the regional governments to keep an eye on the islands.

Indonesia, Freddy said, called on the international community to join forces in anticipating the disaster that would affect the whole world.

"Indonesia will only see small islands disappear, but there will be a country that is at risk of completely sinking due to the rising sea levels. Therefore, all countries must take this issue seriously."

Indonesia has lost about 60 islands in the western part of Sumatra following the tsunami in December 2004, not to mention several others due to mining activities.

Riau Governor Ismeth Abdullah said the sea level increases were the result of global warming and would affect uninhabited islands in the province in the long run. Local fisherman are already feeling the pinch from climate change, he added.

"Climate change has cut the fishermen's income because many fish are now gone," Ismeth said. His administration has promoted mangrove reforestation to deal with the increasing sea levels.

Experts, representatives of regional governments and maritime and fisheries institutes from 13 countries, including from Europe and Southeast Asia, attended the roundtable meeting.

The forum is expected to help formulate the Manado Declaration, which will cap the World Ocean Conference on May 11-15, 2009 in the North Sulawesi capital. The declaration will provide a reference of global maritime development and conservation.