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Tiempo Climate Newswatch

Week ending March 21st 2010



 

Featured sites

News of weather events and climate affairs from around the African continent.

GenderCC is a global network and platform of gender activists and experts from all world regions working for gender and climate justice. The website provides access to news, information and other resources.

Island Vulnerability explores the challenges which isolated geographies face when dealing with risk and disasters. Documents from the landmark Small States Conference on Sea Level Rise held in the Maldives in 1989 are available.

And finally,

>1.5 To Stay Alive, a song written and performed by Barbadian performance poet Adisa "AJA" Andwele, marks the 1.5 degree Celsius limit to which global surface temperatures can rise before Small Island Developing States are severely compromised in their ability to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

More featured sites...

About the Cyberlibrary

The Tiempo Climate Cyberlibrary is a co-production of the Stockholm Environment Institute and the International Institute for Environment and Development. It is sponsored by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

Tiempo Climate Newswatch is a weekly on-line magazine with news, features and comment on global warming, climate change, sea-level rise and development issues. The news stories carried by Newswatch are updated weekly. Comment, features, interviews and other sections of the magazine are updated on a weekly to monthly basis.

The Tiempo Climate Portal is a listing of selected websites covering climate and development and related issues.

The Tiempo Climate Cyberlibrary is maintained and edited by Mick Kelly and Sarah Granich. The cartoons are created by Lawrence Moore. The site was developed by Mike Salmon and Mick Kelly.

While every effort is made to ensure that information on this site, and on other sites that are referenced here, is accurate, no liability for loss or damage resulting from use of this information can be accepted.

World Water Day World Water Day takes place on March 22nd. This year's theme is Clean Water for a Healthy World.

The flow of the Mekong river in Southeast Asia is at its lowest for 20 years, according to the Mekong River Commission. The Save the Mekong Coalition believes that the low level is the result of upstream dams in China. Chen Dehai of the Chinese embassy in Bangkok blamed low rainfall over the catchments of the rivers that feed into the Mekong in Thailand and in neighbouring areas, saying that only four per cent of the Mekong's flow was affected by the new hydro-electric dams. China has refused a request to release water from dams on the upper Mekong to allow commercial boats to continue to operate. "Chinese authorities have said they cannot release the water because Yunnan province is facing drought and they need to reserve the water for their people. They said that they had to wait for the rainy season," said Abhisit Khampilo from the Marine Transportation and Commercial Navigation Office of Chiang Rai Province.

The recent El Niño has affected rainfall throughout the region. Vietnam is facing its worst drought in 100 years, with virtually no rainfall in the north since September 2009. The Red River in northern Vietnam is at its lowest point since records began in 1902. "Never before has the water been so low that most ships cannot move," said one local resident. Ian Wilderspin, at the United Nations Development Programme in Hanoi, warned that climate change meant Vietnam could experience more frequent droughts that arrived sooner in the year and lasted longer. "We have to look at the ways and means to build resilience of local communities," he said, whether by providing drought-resistant seeds, planting different crops or protecting fresh water sources. "Climate change is only going to make these [natural] cycles worse."

More information

 

China and India have announced that they will be listed amongst over 100 countries associated with the Copenhagen Accord. Earlier, when submitting voluntary plans for emissions controls as requested by the Accord, they had noticeably failed to give the agreement their full endorsement. "The Chinese are coming into line and cooling things off with the United States, which was exasperated with their attitude," commented Emmanuel Guérin of the Institut du Développement Durable et Des Relations Internationales in Paris.

In both cases, the endorsement has been heavily qualified. India placed three conditions on being associated with the Copenhagen Accord: that the Accord is a political document, that it is not legally binding or a template for outcomes, and that it is used as an input for the existing two-track negotiating process (regarding the future of the Kyoto Protocol and long-term cooperative action) rather than as a third outside track of discussion. Chinese premier Wen Jiabao said that it is "neither viable nor acceptable" to use the Copenhagen Accord as the starting point for new negotiations. While accepting non-intrusive verification of emissions control measures at Copenhagen, both countries continue to reject any formal verification scheme.

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Permafrost under the East Siberian Arctic Shelf is leaking large amounts of methane into the atmosphere, according to an international research team led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) in the United States. "Subsea permafrost is losing its ability to be an impermeable cap," reported UAF's Natalia Shakhova. The permafrost barrier was thought to be sealing in the methane, but it has become perforated.

"The amount of methane currently coming out of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf is comparable to the amount coming out of the entire world’s oceans," Shakhova said. In recent surveys, methane levels in the air over the shelf were elevated overall and the team found more than 100 hotspots. As the shelf is shallow, the methane bubbles out into the atmosphere rather than oxidizing into carbon dioxide at depth. "The release to the atmosphere of only one per cent of the methane assumed to be stored in shallow hydrate deposits might alter the current atmospheric burden of methane up to three to four times," she said.

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Breaking news

The Gaunt View


Cartoon by Lawrence Moore

© 2010 Lawrence Moore

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Sound and vision

Violence and Vulnerability The documentary Violence and Vulnerability discusses the link between conflict and climate impacts in the Kitui District of Kenya.

On the Web

High bandwidth may be required

Video on demand


Earthcasts On January 27th, Michael Grubb, David Satterthwaite and Richard Smith will be dissecting the outcome of the Copenhagen Climate Summit and asking whether future negotiations can establish a binding treaty that sets ambitious limits for the large emitters while supporting developing nations financially and technologically.

More sound and vision...

Weblogs

More interactive discussion...

Comment

Virgilio Viana "The biggest challenge is not how to reduce deforestation, but how to finance the reduction."

In Seeing REDD in the Amazon, Virgilio Viana argues that REDD in the Amazon is a win for people, trees and climate.

In Adaptation by Ribbon Cutting, Robert Kay argues that a desire for grand ceremonies must not be allowed to skew decisions regarding approaches to adaptation.

In The Challenge for the Climate Action Network, Astrid Westerlind Wigström tasks the Network with becoming more responsive to developing country interests at international negotiations.

On the Web

More comment...

Features

George Kisali George Kasali describes key factors that make Zambia’s health sector vulnerable to climate change, focusing on malaria and the impacts of floods and droughts.

Dago Tschering and Gyambo Sithey identify the main areas in which Bhutan is at risk from adverse climate change effects on health.

Krystel Dossou describes how climate change could affect malaria prevalence in the city of Cotonou in Benin.

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Short reports

Abhishek Shrestha Abhishek Shrestha reports on the role of Nepalese youth in climate change activities.

The Association for Development of Environment and People in Transition - Nepal presents a status paper prepared for the Copenhagen climate summit in December 2010.

The Asia Pacific Mountain Network reports on an e-discussion, held in October 2009, on gender and climate change in the Himalayas.

More reports...

Interview

Erana Walker "We shouldn't rely heavily on politicians because, at the end of the day, as individuals we have the power to take action and make a difference. By relying too much on politicians we will end up getting more and more frustrated."

In a Newswatch interview, Erana Walker talks of her expectations of the Copenhagen climate summit and about her experience of climate action at the community level.

More interviews...

Recent e-publications

Growing Together in a Changing Climate

Growing Together in a Changing Climate, from the United Nations, contains information on some of the many climate change initiatives - projects, campaigns, educational tools, websites and publications - produced by the United Nations and young people, independently or in partnership. Published December 2009

Managing the Water Buffer for Development and Climate Change Adaptation, from UNESCO, explores how to maximize the use of groundwater and rainwater for development and climate change adaptation in an approach called 3R. Published November 2009

Charting our Water Future, from the 2030 Water Resources Group, shows that, while meeting competing future demands for water will be a considerable challenge, it is entirely possible to close the growing gap between water supply and demand. Published November 2009

More e-publications...

Current climate

Monthly climate indicators

Global climate indicators

Global surface air temperature courtesy of the Hadley Centre
Southern Oscillation Index courtesy of the Climate Prediction Center, NOAA

Previous year's chart...


Current emergencies

General links

El Niño-Southern Oscillation Phenomenon (ENSO)

Tropical storms

Food security

Other events

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The Final Word

John Powles "The only geopolitically feasible path to dietary sustainability is "contraction" of ecologically disruptive production for high-income countries to make room for some upward "convergence" in low- and middle-income countries."

In Affluent Diets and Climate Change, John Powles explains why the diets of the rich and the poor are central to climate change policy.

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Bright Ideas

Hydrogen-powered buses

Hydrogen-powered buses are carrying passengers on the streets of Reykjavik, Iceland (video)

Esprimo P7000

The Esprimo P7000 Series of desktop computers from Fujitsu supports 0-Watt technology

Progressive Lighting and Energy Solutions

Progressive Lighting and Energy Solutions makes companies green, one light bulb at a time

VeggieDag

Ghent, Belgium, has declared Thursday a Veggie Day, promoting a meat-free, climate-friendly diet for one day of the week

Elevated bamboo houses

The International Network for Bamboo and Rattan is developing elevated bamboo houses that will lift communities above flood zones

WaveRoller

WaveRoller captures kinetic energy from ocean waves as they approach the shore using a bottom-mounted moving wing and converts that energy to electricity

Rainwater harvesting

New businesses in Tucson, Arizona, must use rainwater harvesting to meet at least half of their landscaping needs

Beta LED

As well as saving energy and reducing waste, The Edge LED lighting fixtures from BetaLED contain no mercury or lead and comply with Dark Sky regulations

Fuel Cell Boat

The world's first hydrogen fuel cell canal boat will tour Amsterdam's waterways

Green Foodservice Alliance

The Green Foodservice Alliance is encouraging eco-friendly practices, such as use of spent grease for biofuel production and donation of non-sellable but edible food to a food bank or charity

Gadhia Solar

The world's largest solar thermal steam cooking system, providing 50,000 meals per day, has been installed by Gadhia Solar at the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust in India

PETEC

The role of the Panasonic Eco Technology Center is to recover high-quality recyclable materials from home appliances that have reached the end of the life

Sky Vegetables

Sky Vegetables builds sustainable, commercial-scale hydroponic farms on urban rooftops, providing new jobs and nutritious, chemical-free, locally-grown produce while reducing environmental damage

More Bright Ideas...

Tiempo Climate Newswatch
Updated: March 16th 2010