Dickinson to Durban » Entries tagged with "Sam Pollan"
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
Climate Kick Boxing: Make the First Strike
By Sam Pollan, ‘14 Environmental policy in the United States is in a precarious position. While urgent action is recognized as necessary, it has not yet been institutionalized. One of the main conflicts in policy making is the epic battle between the economy and the environment. A federal policy that is expensive, even if it is likely to produce the highest reduction in emissions, will never be implemented as a US policy. The current contenders for possible policies are market based solutions. Robert Stavins, in his article “A Golden Opportunity to Please Conservatives and Liberals Alike,” mentions four policies with almost identical yields in reductions. These policies range from absolute regulation, the most costly, to cap-and-trade systems, which are up to 90 percent cheaper. Market based approaches (i.e. cap-and-trade) provide economic incentives … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change
Our legs are moving but are we walking?
Are climate negotiations moving forward? Yes, but at a crawl. The results of the past two COP gatherings have yielded two documents: the Copenhagen Accord and the Cancun Agreements. The Copenhagen Accord, written at COP 15, is a short document expressing the recognition that global climate change is a serious problem and the only way to address it is through serious cutbacks in emissions. It also clearly states that two degrees Celsius is the target for maximum temperature change. This in itself is not a novel idea; however, the last sentence of the document asks for “consideration of strengthening the long-term goal referencing various matters presented by the science, including in relation to temperature rises of 1.5 degrees Celsius.” The idea to cut emissions below the minimum required has not … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change
One trillion dollars…okay, deal! Wait, what?
Last week, the COP17 mosaic crew came together with a group of first year students to try to save the world! Using the climate interactive system C-LEARN, we were able to simulate climate negotiations much like those we will be attending at the end of November. At the risk of sounding redundant and possibly (accidentally, of course) plagiarizing some of my very articulate classmates, I will point to posts written by Tim Damon and Maggie Rees for a more detailed description of the simulation. Also, check out the short video below for a good overview of the purpose/significance of climate interactive as told by one of the organizations founders, Peter Senge. Our negotiation simulation (say that ten times fast!) provided me with an excess of epiphany’s regarding the complex relationships and details … Read entire article »
Filed under: Summer Reading Responses
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