tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82612510086254261822009-03-01T12:43:43.699-08:00Dispatches From A New Global ClimateAaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-72073427977182171842008-08-13T16:21:00.000-07:002008-08-13T16:47:05.989-07:002008-08-13T16:47:05.989-07:00

Few harbingers of impending doom more dramatically illustrate the dependence on—and disregard for—nature by humanity than the canaries brought into coal mines to ensure clean air for the miners inside. To extend the allegory: if the globe is a coal mine, then, according to a UC Irvine study out today, lilacs are the canaries of the Earth.Often symbolizing first love or youthful innocence, lilacs

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-43298489856446429992008-07-08T17:47:00.000-07:002008-12-13T01:27:03.808-08:002008-12-13T01:27:03.808-08:00

Think the hundreds of wildfires raging across California are a weird anomaly? Better get used it. Earlier and longer and more devastating fire seasons are here to stay, and yes, climate change is a major part of the equation.I’ve been making a deliberate effort to spend as much time as possible enjoying California’s natural offerings in large part because a cynical—or prescient—voice in my heads

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-47518837831348544332008-06-18T16:22:00.000-07:002008-12-13T01:27:03.985-08:002008-12-13T01:27:03.985-08:00

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom signed a progressive new initiative into law this morning that helps the city catch up to neighboring cities like Berkeley in its push to subsidize the purchase and installation of rooftop solar panels. It's not as cool as Berkeley's initiative, but it's still totally rad, slicing $3,000 to $6,000 off the cost of a new system. From AP:SAN FRANCISCO -- San

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-19271059713026978502008-05-01T13:24:00.001-07:002008-12-13T01:27:04.262-08:002008-12-13T01:27:04.262-08:00

It’s a fun game for climate skeptics: take one isolated meteorological event, like, say, a record-breaking or unseasonable snowstorm, then point the finger at climate-believers and say, “told you so!”This January, for example, was an epic powder year in the High Sierras. I was literally up to my chest in snow during one afternoon at Sugarbowl, and the snowpack by early February had already

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-3991515601583148082008-04-13T18:58:00.000-07:002008-12-13T01:27:04.460-08:002008-12-13T01:27:04.460-08:00

It is bad enough that children in California are suffering from lung-development problems due to high concentrations of ozone, but as temperatures rise, the problem will only get worse.It was a surprise to me to learn that ozone is a terribly harmful air pollutant. I had always thought that the gas—formed by VOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)—was crucial for filtering harmful UV rays out

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-83060118698208147472008-03-25T22:09:00.000-07:002008-12-13T01:27:04.653-08:002008-12-13T01:27:04.653-08:00

Northern California’s favorite lake may be the next casualty in the climate wars, and could be a sobering example of what’s to come for the world’s oceans.A new U.C. Davis study says that the lake’s water circulation is beginning to fail, causing temperatures to increase. That could mean a die-off of native, coldwater fish species and the growth of algae, which would turn the lake a murky

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-59063673280440708242008-03-23T16:54:00.000-07:002008-12-13T01:27:04.814-08:002008-12-13T01:27:04.814-08:00

Somebody has a personal vendetta against winter. Once again—to the delight/detriment of select species of flora and fauna—spring has come early, furthering speculation that Punxsutawney Phil, the infamous groundhog whose shadow forecasts the coming of spring, is the covert mastermind behind global meteorological collapse.According to an Associated Press report out last Wednesday, the field

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-90165565004548917472008-03-21T22:19:00.000-07:002008-12-13T01:27:05.037-08:002008-12-13T01:27:05.037-08:00

San Francisco is once again vaulting itself onto the cutting edge of progressive environmental policy with a plan to implement the most stringent green building codes in the country.A plan unanimously approved by the Building Inspection Commission last night would require all new high-rises to be LEED-certified starting in 2012. LEED is a strict certification developed by the U.S. Green Building

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-5313257592193108822008-03-16T14:24:00.000-07:002008-12-13T01:27:05.298-08:002008-12-13T01:27:05.298-08:00

A company in Palo Alto is saying that its solar technology could produce about 90% of U.S. energy needs. It’s not the kind of solar power you see on rooftops—those are typically photovoltaic (a.k.a. “PV”) panels. This technology is called solar thermal, or Concentrated Solar Power, and it’s actually quite simple: take a big parabolic mirror, stick it in the desert, and concentrate the sun’s rays

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-33722044656106428832008-03-08T19:40:00.000-08:002008-12-13T01:27:05.460-08:002008-12-13T01:27:05.460-08:00

Perhaps George Bernard Shaw was foreshadowing the battle between the State of California and Environmental Protection Agency Chief Stephen Johnson in saying, “there are no secrets better kept than the secrets that everybody guesses.”The last few weeks have seen a growing outcry by state legislators and, most recently, Dianne Feinstein, over Johnson’s refusal to answer basic questions about what

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-63900584836333395432008-03-03T10:10:00.000-08:002008-12-13T01:27:05.628-08:002008-12-13T01:27:05.628-08:00

The Daily Journal has a nice story out this morning about how Foster City-based SolarCity, a solar panel installation company, is transforming the industry by offering solar power to entire communities at once, rather than simply to individual homes and businesses.It’s an awesome approach that made recent headlines when the city of Berkeley decided to pioneer a novel program in which the city is

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-37380490288765011862008-03-01T17:44:00.001-08:002008-12-13T01:27:05.782-08:002008-12-13T01:27:05.782-08:00

How responsible are you for global warming? It's always been a fleeting, ephemeral challenge to pinpoint the true environmental cost of one's lifestyle in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. Recently, however, a number of great websites and organizations have sprung forth designed to help you literally calculate your own carbon footprint. The coolest one I've seen was just debuted by a team of

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-90893645788028424762008-03-01T14:42:00.000-08:002008-12-13T01:27:05.950-08:002008-12-13T01:27:05.950-08:00

PG&E offered its customers in 2007 the ability to go carbon neutral by spending a few extra bucks a month on its ClimateSmart program. On Tuesday, they announced where the money will go: planting trees!The San Francisco Chronicle reports that ClimateSmart will fund the management and restoration of forests in Santa Cruz (go slugs!) and Mendocino Counties.Forests are a very important carbon sink

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-21045917853000363392008-02-26T09:09:00.000-08:002008-12-13T01:27:06.103-08:002008-12-13T01:27:06.103-08:00

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Some career staffers concerned about the reputation of the Environmental Protection Agency believed that Administrator Stephen Johnson would have to consider resigning if he turned down California's request to reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions, newly released documents show.http://www.ktvu.com/news/15413161/detail.html

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-84950392508442380322008-02-25T07:22:00.000-08:002008-12-13T01:27:06.237-08:002008-12-13T01:27:06.237-08:00

A report out earlier this month by Lawrence Livermore National Labs suggests that global warming may cause changes in California river flows that could lead to increased flood risk and water shortages.The problem is linked to the larger trend concerning changing snowfall patterns in the Sierra Nevada--a problem I intend to strongly focus on in this blog, as its consequences will be widespread and

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8261251008625426182.post-10949241695662693062008-02-19T09:29:00.000-08:002008-12-13T01:27:06.395-08:002008-12-13T01:27:06.395-08:00

Attorney General Jerry Brown is taking his global warming crusade to cities across California in a series of workshops this spring."These workshops launch the first statewide movement to reduce the negative impact of local planning decisions on global climate," Brown said in a public letter.This comes just weeks after Brown urged the EPA to curb emmissions from industrial equipment and, days

Aaron Selverstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10011128522841128470noreply@blogger.com2