In 1988 the scientific community established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a forum for sharing their concerns about documented – and disturbing – changes in global weather patterns. By 1997 the evidence of climate change was so convincing that 191 nations signed the Kyoto Protocols, aimed at slowing the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Fast forward to 2012. NASA has produced clear evidence that atmospheric CO2 levels are higher than they’ve been in 400,000 years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the federal agency in charge of the National Weather Service, states that there is no longer any doubt that human activity is changing the chemical characteristics of the Earth’s atmosphere. The national science academies of the world’s leading economies, including the U.S., Germany, Russia, and China, have declared that climate change is real and urged their governments to take immediate, aggressive action.

And then there’s Rick Santorum.

Along the campaign trail in Colorado, Ohio, and Michigan Santorum has declared climate change to be a hoax cooked up by the Obama administration to scare people about oil exploration. Spending less money on oil exploration means more money for the federal government, Santorum said, which means more government control over peoples’ lives.

He doesn’t explain how the government would make money by allowing less oil exploration, or how any of that would equate to more control over peoples’ lives. Nor is it important that concerns about global warming began long before Obama entered politics, or that America’s most prestigious scientific institutions are urging immediate action to reduce carbon emissions. Somehow it’s all connected, and in the alternative reality of Tea Party politics, the more elaborate and mysterious the conspiracy, the more plausible it becomes.

Romney and Gingrich have also questioned climate change, but it’s clear they are just pandering to conservative audiences. Both have acknowledged the problem during their political careers and will likely do so again when the primaries are over. And neither man has accused the country’s scientific establishment of being involved in a vast conspiracy to deprive the American people of their freedom.

Not Rick Santorum. His strident rejection of any scientific evidence that conflicts with his religious or social views has helped make him the new champion of the far right, which is why he is surging in the polls. But if he wins the nomination based on his anti-science agenda, he’ll be in no position to back down during the presidential campaign.

Intellectual curiosity is not a quality that American voters prize in their leaders, as the election of George Bush clearly demonstrated. But they do expect them to respect and support America’s scientific establishment, not label them as political enemies. Questioning the severity and timing of climate change is one thing; but where’s Santorum’s evidence that it’s a hoax?

Right now, Santorum is preaching to the Tea Party choir, and they’re cheering him on. But in a presidential campaign, the national media won’t be so kind. Republicans should be deeply concerned.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/

The article Santorum’s Anti-Science Agenda Should Concern Republicans appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Climate change is likely to harm California’s economy by reducing the types of natural, non-irrigated vegetation available for livestock forage and the ability of forest ecosystems to store carbon dioxide, according to a peer-reviewed study published in the scientific journal Climatic Change.

The ability of ecosystems to store carbon dioxide is a key part of implementing the state’s climate law, the Global Warming Solutions Act, also known as Assembly Bill 32 or AB 32.

“Much of the talk about climate change in California has been about the impacts of sea level rise and droughts,” said study coauthor Linwood Pendleton, director of ocean and coastal policy at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, acting chief economist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and study author. “Our work shows that even the gritty worlds of cattle ranching and forestry may take it on the chin as California skies become increasingly carbon-rich.”

The study was conducted by researchers from Duke University, Environmental Defense Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation Biology Institute, USDA Forest Service, Stanford University and the University of California at Santa Barbara. It examines how climate change will impact the fundamental character of California’s ecosystems and the valuable services that they provide to the economy.

To analyze the impact to carbon sequestration and natural, non-irrigated livestock forage—two important ecosystem services that contribute to the state’s economy—the researchers used climatic change scenario models from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and three atmospheric-oceanic models.

The researchers identified that climate change would cause a consistent decline in conifer woodlands and forests through the end of the century that could decrease the amount of carbon storage in forestlands and harm the forestry industry.

They also determined that climate change is likely to alter the amount and timing of rain, hail and snow in California, resulting in a 15 to 70 percent increase in shrub lands and a consistent decline in natural, non-irrigated forage production for livestock.

“A less stable climate will reduce the ability of natural landscapes to support cattle grazing, so ranchers may have to grow or buy extra hay instead of getting it for free from nature, as they do now,” said lead report author Rebecca Shaw, Ph.D., associate vice president of EDF’s Land, Water and Wildlife program and a working group member of the IPCC.

“We calculated that replacing lost forage caused by climate change with extra hay will hike costs for the California ranching industry by up to $235 million per year by 2070,” said Shaw. “That’s why it’s important for policymakers to better understand the value of services that nature provides to California’s economy, so that they can work to protect our natural resources and the economy in the face of climate change.”

“Fortunately, California’s Global Warming Solutions Act provides new economic opportunities for landowners—both inside and outside California—to be part of the climate solution,” said economist Belinda Morris, a report coauthor and regional director of EDF’s Center for Conservation Incentives.

“Landowners can earn credits for capturing carbon on their land that they can sell to offset industrial carbon emissions. These credits will bring in a whole new revenue stream that can benefit the ranching industry, helping ranchers to keep ranching.” Carbon credits are an integral part of the carbon cap-and-trade program that is scheduled to begin this year under the Global Warming Solutions Act. It allows for 8 percent of the law’s carbon emission reduction goals to be achieved by offsetting emissions with carbon credits.

“EDF is working with landowners, academic institutions and others to develop cost-effective methods for capturing carbon on rangelands that could generate new revenue streams for ranchers as part of a carbon credits market, while also improving soil fertility,” Morris said.

The article Climate Change Threatens California Economy appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

It has been a dramatic weekend in Tottenham, north London, where the gathering of around 300 people in the streets turned into an overnight riot that saw petrol bombs being thrown at police while vehicles and building were set ablaze.

The Daily Telegraph could report that 26 police officers were injured, at least one of them left with serious head injuries, while 42 people have been arrested. According to the London Ambulance Service, a total of 10 people had been treated and nine were admitted to hospital.

A gathering of around 120 people had earlier Saturday staged a march from the local Broadwater Farm area to Tottenham police station in protest of the death of 29-year-old Mark Duggan who was shot by police in a gun fire exchange on Thursday. A friend of Mr Duggan told news media that marchers had wanted “justice for the family” and “something had to be done.”

“This guy was not violent. Yes, he was involved in things but he was not an aggressive person. He had never hurt anyone,” said the 53-year-old marcher.

Another member of the original protest, Vanessa Robinson, said the demonstration outside the police station had begun peacefully. She told the BBC that the situation had then turned into “absolute chaos.”

What police officers described as ‘missiles’ were thrown at the police station and what appeared to be young, mask-clad people began to throw petrol bombs, bricks and anything they could get their hands on off the street at officers who were attempting to calm down the masses.

In the early hours of Sunday local time, many rioters had moved to the nearby retail park where they were seen looting shops. Sky News reporter Simon Newton, who was at the scene, said he saw youth wheeling out televisions and bagfuls of clothes. Police were not in the area.

During the violent escalation, two police cars and a double decker bus was set on fire. A branch of Aldi supermarket was also torched and Sky News believes the looters had targeted shops in the aftermath. Also residential areas were disturbed.

Local politician David Lammy made a statement on his website that said “We already have one grieving family in our community and further violence will not heal that pain.”

Mr. Lammy appealed for calm while the investigation takes place. “The Tottenham community and Mark Duggan’s family and friends need to understand what happened on Thursday evening when Mark lost his life. To understand those facts, we must have calm.”

In another statement, Commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne, of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said “I understand the distress that the shooting of Mark Duggan has caused to his family and in the community and that people need answers about what happened to him.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Mayor of London Boris Johnson said to the BBC: “Violence and destruction of property will do nothing to facilitate [the IPCC] investigation and we urge those involved to respect the rule of law.”

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/beaconradio/

The article London Riot Followed Protest Over Police Shooting appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.