Dickinson to Durban » Climate Change
Cost of Climate Change to Increase!!
By: Christine Burns ’14 There is a lot of uncertainty in the general public about climate change. Many people feel that mitigation efforts will cost too much, and that we should worry about it later. The Stern executive summary suggests otherwise. Stern clearly states that it is in our best interest economically to address climate change sooner rather than later. The Stern review agrees that it will cost money upfront to address climate change, but the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Consumption, Weather
The Thin Line
By Sam Pollan 14′ Reducing emissions is a long and arduous task that cannot be completed overnight. This does not mean we can sit back and wait to hit the peak and then we will start reducing emissions. We need to develop national and international protocols immediately so that as we peak we can achieve the steep reductions necessary to prevent dangerous anthropogenic warming. Scientific estimates indicate that while emissions are still growing, without serious reductions over time we will exceed targeted GHG levels. Time is not on our side in this issue. Most scientists say that emissions must peak within ten or twenty years in order to reduce drastic climate change, or worse, require large sums of money to pay for damages caused by climate change. That being said, it is … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change
Politics and Time
By: Anna McGinn ’14 Janet L. Sawin and William R. Moomaw’s report, “Renewable Revolution: Low Carbon Energy by2030,”offers quite a positive and uplifting assessment of the world’s situation as it pertains to climate change in the next twenty years. Actually, the tone was so encouraging that I started to question the legitimacy of some of the statements they make. But the difference between this article and most other research we have assessed on this topic is that the focus of this report is on what the world is doing well in regards to renewable energy, and not so much the degree to which it is failing. Yet, it makes the transition to renewable resources sound too easy. This report acknowledges the fact that policies are pivotal for their emission projections to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Carbon Markets, Climate Change
“But it will ruin our economy!”
by Claire Tighe ’13 Does curbing emissions mean compromising potential economic development? In their WorldWatch Report entitled “Renewable Revolution: Low-Carbon Energy by 2030,” Sawin and Moomaw argue that it does not. (Even though simultaneously curbing economic development might not be such a bad thing, considering the effects of the United States’ exponential growth on a very limited aggregation of resources: the natural environment. In fact, less development for industrialized countries might even be preferable considering the projections for dangerous climate change if we continue to function with a “business-as-usual” model for emissions. If you’re curious about the environmental approach claiming that a cap on growth might not be so bad, check out Bill McKibben’s most recent book, Eaarth.) Instead, Sawin and Moomaw claim that “the way forward must be to focus … Read entire article »
Filed under: Carbon Markets, Climate Change, Key COP17 Issues
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