[DIALOGnews] DIALOG/DISCCRS News 08/05/2005
Susan Weiler
weilercs at whitman.edu
Fri Aug 5 15:02:18 CDT 2005
DIALOG and DISCCRS News
08/05/2005
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
RESOURCES
Listservs relating to climate-change hosted by the EPA:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/OAR/globalwarming.nsf/content/
ResourceCenterListServs.html
Climate Change Budget Tracking & Analysis Project (The BTA Project)
https://www1.georgetown.edu/explore/faculty/index.cfm?
Action=ViewResearch&NetID=brewert
Investing in Climate Change Solutions: KLD Launches Global Climate
100SM Index
http://www.kld.com/newsletter/archive/press/
070505KLDIntroducesGC100.html
A new climate weblog section in the Tiempo Climate Newswatch
http://www.tiempocyberclimate.org/newswatch/index.htm#weblogs
New NSF Grant Proposal Guide
http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?gpg
On-Line Guide to Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
http://www.jiqweb.org or via direct link
Permafrost And Seasonally Frozen Ground In A Changing Climate (C04)
http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm05/?
pageRequest=search&show=detail&sessid=176
SCIENCE NEWS
Ice Ages Linked To Galactic Position
http://tinyurl.com/7aok5
New climate plan 'to rival Kyoto'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4721449.stm
Amazon source of 5-year-old river breath
Dead zones spreading in world oceans
Seven fat years and seven lean years? Climate change and agriculture
in Africa
Oceans Have Fewer Kinds Of Fish
http://tinyurl.com/d888t
Scientists Discover Global Marine Pattern Of Big-Fish Diversity
http://www.sciencemag.org/sciencexpress/recent.shtml
Glacial Meltdown Speeding Up
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=29606
Warmer Oceans May Be Killing Marine Life
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/
2002377292_ocean13m.html
As planet warms, storms grow stronger
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0801/p03s01-sten.html
Ocean researchers race to document Arctic regions threatened by
climate change
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?
category=6420&slug=CAN%20Hidden%20Ocean
Variety of ocean's fish down by half, study says Juliet Eilperin
http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5531995.html
Bush Administration Unveils Alternative Climate Pact
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/28/international/28climate.html
New Energy Probe May Harm Sea Life
http://tinyurl.com/bqow5
FORUM
Ocean and Coastal Literacy Legislation Introduced in the Senate
Most New Graduates in Earth and Space Sciences Find Satisfying Work
in their Field
http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/cpst/2003PhDSurvey.pdf
G8 Climate Plan of Action Delivers Little Change
SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS
James Martin 21st Century School Fellowships In Climate Policy/
Environmental Governance
http://www.21school.ox.ac.uk
Third International Workshop "Climate Change, Sustainable Development
and Risk - an Economic and business View"
http://www.wiwi.uni-halle.de/lui/bwl/umwelt/
JOBS
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
www.vsp.ucar.edu.
UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP)
http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/news/vacancy.htm
New James Martin 21st Century School Fellowships in the Environmental
Change Institute at
http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/news/vacancy.htm#jamesmartin
Project Manager-The UNFCCC: Implementation and participation in Asia-
Pacific
Recruiting for Intermediate and Senior Level Consultants - Energy &
Climate Strategy and Carbon Management
http://www.ecofys.co.uk/uk/work/vacancies.htm
CSIRO Postdoctoral Fellowship, Perth, Australia (up to 3 years):
Marine Molecular Ecology and Biogeography.
www.csiro.au/careers
The GCP has two International Project Offices (IPO): one in Canberra,
Australia and one in Tsukuba, Japan.
http://www.globalcarbonproject.org
Physical Scientist - Ice Climatologist
http://www.jobs.doc.gov
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Regulatory Analyst
http://www.natsource.com
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Resources
Listservs relating to climate-change hosted by the EPA:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/OAR/globalwarming.nsf/content/
ResourceCenterListServs.html
********************
Climate Change Budget Tracking & Analysis Project (The BTA Project)
https://www1.georgetown.edu/explore/faculty/index.cfm?
Action=ViewResearch&NetID=brewert
********************
Investing in Climate Change Solutions: KLD Launches Global Climate
100SM Index
Includes Companies Taking Positive Steps to Reduce Global
Warming: http://www.kld.com/newsletter/archive/press/
070505KLDIntroducesGC100.html
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A new climate weblog section in the Tiempo Climate Newswatch
http://www.tiempocyberclimate.org/newswatch/index.htm#weblogs
********************
New NSF Grant Proposal Guide
Please consult the new Grant Proposal Guide before writing NSF
proposals, http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?gpg
********************
On-Line Guide to Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
An online guide to the CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) by Joris
Laseur is now available on the Foundation JIN website:
http://www.jiqweb.org or via direct link: http://jiq.wiwo.nl/CDM.htm
and http://jiq.wiwo.nl/unilateralcdm.pdf respectively.
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Permafrost And Seasonally Frozen Ground In A Changing Climate (C04).
In the upcoming AGU Fall Meeting from 5-9 Dec. 2005 in San
Francisco there will be a session on Permafrost And Seasonally Frozen
Ground In A Changing Climate (C04).
Further information can be found at: http://www.agu.org/meetings/
fm05/?pageRequest=search&show=detail&sessid=176
Deadline for abstract submission is 8 September 2005 (http://
submissions.agu.org/submission/entrance.asp).
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Science News
Ice Ages Linked To Galactic Position
from San Francisco Chronicle via Sigma Xi Science in the News
It might sound preposterous, like astrology, to suggest that
galactic events help determine when North America is or isn't buried
under immense sheets of ice taller than skyscrapers. But new research
suggests the coming and going of major ice ages might result partly
from our solar system's passage through immense, snakelike clouds of
exploding stars in the Milky Way galaxy.
Resembling the curved contrails of a whirling Fourth of July
pinwheel, the Milky Way's spiral arms are clouds of stars rich in
supernovas, or exploding stars. Supernovas emit showers of charged
particles called cosmic rays.
Theorists have proposed that when our solar system passes through
a spiral arm, the cosmic rays fall to Earth and knock electrons off
atoms in the atmosphere, making them electrically charged, or
ionized. Since opposite electrical charges attract each other, the
positively charged ionized particles attract the negatively charged
portion of water vapor, thus forming large droplets in the form of
low-lying clouds. http://tinyurl.com/7aok5
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New climate plan 'to rival Kyoto'
The US and Australia are developing a new pact on climate change
with a group of Asian countries, believed to include China, India and
South Korea. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4721449.stm
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Amazon source of 5-year-old river breath
Nature 27-Jul-2005
The rivers of South America's Amazon basin are "breathing" far
harder – cycling the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide more quickly –
than anyone realized.
Most of the carbon being exhaled – or outgassed – as carbon
dioxide from Amazonian rivers and wetlands has spent a mere 5 years
sequestered in the trees, other plants and soils of the surrounding
landscape, U.S. and Brazilian researchers report in the July 28 issue
of Nature.
It had been hoped that regions such as the nearly 2.4 million-
square-mile Amazon River basin – where tropical forests rapidly gulp
carbon dioxide during photosynthesis – were holding onto that carbon
for decades, even centuries, says Emilio Mayorga, University of
Washington oceanographer and lead author of the Nature piece with
Anthony Aufdenkampe of the Stroud Water Research Center in Pennsylvania.
As policy makers turn increasingly to carbon-credit trading as a
means of grappling with the impacts of human-induced climate change,
knowing how much carbon can be stored – and where and for how long –
is critical, the authors say.
"Our results were surprising because those who've previously made
measurements found carbon in the rivers that came from the
surrounding forests to be 40 to more than 1,000 years old,"
Aufdenkampe says. "They assumed that the return of this forest carbon
to the atmosphere must be a slow process that offered at least
temporary respite from greenhouse effects.
"As part of the largest radiocarbon age survey ever for a single
watershed, we show that the enormous amount of carbon dioxide
silently being returned to the atmosphere is far younger than carbon
being carried downstream," he said. "Previous studies failed to
detect the rapid recycling of forest carbon because they never dated
the invisible greenhouse gas as it is literally exhaled by the river
organisms."
"River breath is much deeper and faster than anyone realized,"
says Jeff Richey, UW oceanographer and another co-author.
Carbon is carried by rains and groundwater into waterways from
soils, decomposing woody debris, leaf litter and other organic
matter. Once in waterways it is chewed up by microorganisms, insects
and fish. The carbon dioxide they generate quickly returns to the
atmosphere, some 500 million tons a year, an amount equal to what is
absorbed each year by the Amazonian rainforest.
"Having established that the amount of carbon outgassing is much
greater than anyone imagined, the issue then becomes, where does it
come from," Mayorga says. "If it's young, that indicates the carbon
pool is dynamic, which could make the system much more reactive to
deforestation and climate change."
For example, data from a region of active deforestation in the
southern Amazon already shows that the carbon leaving rivers has an
identifiable isotopic signature of pasture grasses.
"You're changing the land use, changing vegetation and other
conditions. In terms of what's being respired, the system is
responding fairly quickly," Mayorga says. "Human and natural systems,
in turn, will be impacted."
No previous tropical study has used both radioactive carbon-14
and stable carbon-13 isotopes to address these questions. Funding
from the Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory made the analysis by Mayorga and
Aufdenkampe possible. The samples were collected by Richey's research
group and Brazilian scientists on expeditions going back as far as
1991 that were funded by the National Science Foundation, National
Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Research Support
Foundation for the State of San Paulo (FAPESP), Brazil. Other co-
authors are Paul Quay and the late John Hedges, both UW
oceanographers; Caroline Masiello of Rice University; Alex Krusche of
the University of São Paulo, Brazil; and Thomas Brown of the Center
for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry at Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory.
For more information:
Mayorga, (206) 295-5778, emiliom at u.washington.edu
Aufdenkampe, (610) 268-2153 ext. 263, aufdenkampe at stroudcenter.org;
Aufdenkampe will be away from his office July 25-29 but reachable
through Sandra Hines
********************
Dead zones spreading in world oceans
Cheryl Lyn Dybas-IN:BioScience 55 (7, 2005):552-557
The phrase "dead zone" -- coastal waters too low in oxygen to
sustain life -- is almost synonymous with the Gulf of Mexico. But a
similar situation now exists in many other places, says Donald
Boesch, president of the University of Maryland Center for
Environmental Studies in Cambridge, Maryland. "There's a dead zone
right outside my office window every summer in Chesapeake Bay," says
Boesch. "Since the 1970s, this lifeless zone has become a yearly
phenomenon, sometimes affecting 40 percent or more of the bay."
Boesch says that the expanding dead zone could be changing the entire
ecosystem of the Chesapeake. Animals tolerant of hypoxia are becoming
more common in the bay's waters: jellyfish may be displacing oysters,
crabs, and finfish like striped bass. Worldwide, there are now some
146 coastal dead zones. Since the 1960s, according to a report by the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Global Environment
Outlook Year Book 2003, the number of dead zones has doubled with
each passing decade. Most are seasonal, but some persist year-round.
Where did these killing fields for fish and other marine life begin?
********************
Seven fat years and seven lean years? Climate change and agriculture
in Africa
Coleen Vogel - IN:IDS Bulletin 36 (2, 2005): 30-35
While extreme climate events can significantly affect African
agriculture, equally important are more gradual changes as well as
interactions with socially rooted shocks and vulnerabilities.
Existing scenarios of climate change's impact in Africa are diverse
and uncertain, but largely unfavorable and point to the importance of
mediating social factors such as governance, HIV/AIDS, land tenure,
trade patterns and market structures. Efforts are needed to improve
technical and institutional adaptive capacities and to improve
understanding of climate fluctuations, human vulnerability and their
interaction.
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Oceans Have Fewer Kinds Of Fish
from The Washington Post (Registration Required)
The variety of species in the world's oceans has dropped by as
much as 50 percent in the past 50 years, according to a paper
published today in the journal Science.
A combination of overfishing, habitat destruction and climate
change has narrowed the range of fish across the globe, wrote
biologists Boris Worm and Ransom A. Myers of Dalhousie University in
Nova Scotia and three other scientists. In some areas, such as off
northwest Australia where a wide variety of tuna and billfish used to
thrive, diversity has declined precipitously.
"Where you used to put out a fishing line 50 years ago and catch
10 species, now you catch five species for the same amount of
effort," Worm said in an interview yesterday. "That's a recipe for
ecological collapse and disaster." http://tinyurl.com/d888t
********************
Scientists Discover Global Marine Pattern Of Big-Fish Diversity
From Pew/SeaSpan
A new study released in Science (via ScienceExpress) on July 28th
reveals a striking downward trend in the diversity of fish in the
open ocean. In a sequel to their groundbreaking study in the journal
Nature in 2003, showing the depletion of 90 percent of the big fish
in the ocean, authors Boris Worm, Ransom Myers, and colleagues reveal
that the diversity of tuna, marlins, and swordfish in the oceans has
declined by up to 50 percent in the last 50 years. The scientists
highlight a surprising global pattern of open ocean hotspots--areas
with predictable congregations of tuna, marlin, swordfish, and other
ocean predators. Perhaps most surprising is the discovery that
patterns of big fish diversity match those for tiny zooplankton, and
both are linked to sea surface temperature. "This is the great joy of
science," says first author Boris Worm. "It is like solving a giant
puzzle and seeing the night sky in constellations for the first time--
even as the stars are blinking out. It's beautiful--and tragic at the
same time….Everywhere you go, in every ocean basin, our 'hotspots'
today are only relics of what was once there. It really hurts to see
this." To read the report online (subscribers only), go to: http://
www.sciencemag.org/sciencexpress/recent.shtml
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Glacial Meltdown Speeding Up
from Pew/SeaSpan
According to a U.S. researcher, the Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier in
southeastern Greenland has suddenly become one of the world's fastest-
melting glaciers. Scientist Gordon Hamilton from the University of
Maine took the first-ever direct measurements on the surface of
Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier on July 18 and discovered it is now moving at
an unglacial 38 meters per day, or 14 kilometers per year. That is
nearly three times faster than in 2002, when a NASA plane flew over
to take measurements. The glacier has also unexpectedly retreated
five kilometers since 2002 after maintaining a stable position for
the past 40 years. Global warming has resulted in much warmer
temperatures over southern Greenland in the past decade, melting the
tops of the glaciers in the region and creating large melt-water
lakes, Hamilton said. But those covering the Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier
disappeared in 2002. Hamilton surmises that cracks or crevices in the
glacier likely drained the water to the bottom, where it acts as
lubricant, speeding up the glacier's flow to the ocean. If the same
conditions are occurring elsewhere, sea levels around the world will
rise much faster than predicted, he said. If the Greenland Ice Sheet
melts completely, that alone would raise sea levels approximately
seven meters. For the full story, go to: http://www.ipsnews.net/
news.asp?idnews=29606
********************
Warmer Oceans May Be Killing Marine Life
from Pew/SeaSpan
Scientists suspect that rising ocean temperatures and dwindling
plankton populations are behind a growing number of seabird deaths,
reports of fewer salmon and other anomalies along the west coast of
the United States. Coastal ocean temperatures are 2-5 degrees
Fahrenheit above normal, apparently caused by a lack of upwelling--a
process that brings cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface.
Upwelling fuels algae and shrimplike krill populations that feed
small fish, which provide an important food source for a variety of
sea life. "Something big is going on out there," said Julia Parrish,
an associate professor in the School of Aquatic Fisheries and
Sciences at the University of Washington. "I'm left with no obvious
smoking gun, but birds are a good signal because they feed high up on
the food chain." This spring, scientists reported a record number of
dead seabirds washed up on beaches along the Pacific coast, from
central California to British Columbia.
SOURCE: Carina Stanton, Seattle Times, 13 July 2005, http://
seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002377292_ocean13m.html
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As planet warms, storms grow stronger Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0801/p03s01-sten.html
********************
Ocean researchers race to document Arctic regions threatened by
climate change, Associated Press
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?
category=6420&slug=CAN%20Hidden%20Ocean
********************
Variety of ocean's fish down by half, study says Juliet Eilperin,
Washington Post
http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5531995.html
********************
Bush Administration Unveils Alternative Climate Pact
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/28/international/28climate.html
********************
New Energy Probe May Harm Sea Life
from The Christian Science Monitor
Faced with its biggest energy challenge in more than 20 years,
the United States is poised to look for offshore reserves of oil and
natural gas as never before.
By using the latest techniques, government officials hope to
update surveys more than two decades old and, perhaps, discover new
pools of oil and gas hidden miles under the ocean floor. Such
discoveries could boost US production and lessen reliance on foreign
oil.
But not everyone is pleased. Many legislators fear that such
surveys will boost political pressure to begin offshore drilling in
areas where it has been banned for decades. Even without drilling,
the new survey – which involves blasting the ocean floor with sound
waves - could threaten marine life, environmentalists say. http://
tinyurl.com/bqow5
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Forum
Ocean and Coastal Literacy Legislation Introduced in the Senate
Submitted by Jana Davis
In response to the declining math and science skills of U.S.
students relative to other nations, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-
NJ) has introduced a bill to capitalize upon the natural allure of
our oceans and coastlines to spark an interest in science. S. 1465,
the Ocean and Coastal Literacy in Urban and other Environments Act
(Ocean CLUE) will organize and strengthen existing federal ocean,
coastal, and Great Lakes education programs and will focus attention
on K-12 level initiatives to increase minority participation in ocean
and coastal sciences. This will improve the general science
understanding of Americans and increase awareness of the proper care
and management of our oceans and fragile coastal regions. Current
cosponsors of Senator Lautenberg’s bill are Senators Inouye (D-HI),
Sarbanes (D-MD), Levin (D-MI), and Boxer (D-CA), and the bill is
supported by marine science education groups, environmental groups,
and research institutions. Ocean and coastal science professionals
who also support the bill can call the legislative staff of their
Senators offices and ask them to cosponsor. They may also contact
staff of Senator Sununu, who chairs the subcommittee with
jurisdiction, to urge him to take up this issue. For more
information, contact Jana Davis at Jana_Davis at Lautenberg.senate.gov.
********************
Most New Graduates in Earth and Space Sciences Find Satisfying Work
in their Field
AGU Press Release # 05-27
WASHINGTON - The vast majority of 2003 graduates in the Earth and
space sciences found work in that field, earning salaries
commensurate with or slightly higher than in 2001 and 2002. This was
a key finding in the annual survey of recent Ph.D. recipients
conducted by the American Geophysical Union and the American
Geological Institute.
The study, reported in the 2 August issue of Eos, the AGU
newspaper, covered 180 Earth and space science Ph.D. recipients who
received degrees from U.S. universities in 2003. The survey asks
graduates about their education and employment, their efforts to find
their first job, and their experiences in graduate school.
Key results from the 2003 report include:
* The vast majority (87%) of the 2003 graduates found work in the
Earth and space sciences, earning salaries commensurate with or
slightly higher than in 2001 and 2002. Most (64%) of them were
employed in academia (including postdoctoral appointments), with the
remainder in government (19%) , industry (10%), and other (7%)
sectors. Most graduates were positive about their employment
situation and found that their work was challenging, relevant, and
appropriate for someone with a Ph.D.
* The number of Ph.D. recipients accepting postdoctoral positions
(58%) increased slightly from 2002. In contrast, the fields of
physics and chemistry showed significant increases in postdoctoral
appointments during the same period.
* As in previous years, recipients of Ph.D.s in the Earth,
atmospheric, and ocean sciences are slightly older (median age of
32.7 years) than Ph.D. recipients in most other natural sciences
(except computer sciences), which is attributed to time taken off
between undergraduate and graduate studies.
* Women in the Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences earned 33%
of Ph.D.s in the class of 2003, surpassing the percentage of Ph.D.s
earned by women in chemistry (32%), computer sciences (20%), physics
(19%), and engineering (17%). Participation of other underrepresented
groups in the Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences remained
extremely low.
The survey was conducted by the Statistical Research Center of
the American Institute of Physics. The AGU/AGI report draws on
results from eight prior AGU/AGI surveys of Ph.D. classes (1996-
2003), as well as data from the National Science Foundation Survey of
Earned Doctorates.
The full 2003 report is available at http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/
cpst/2003PhDSurvey.pdf
********************
G8 Climate Plan of Action Delivers Little Change
AUCHTERARDER, Scotland, July 8, 2005 (ENS) - The G8 leaders have
signed a climate change agreement without measurable targets and
timetables for reducing heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions.
At the close of the G8 Summit at Gleneagles today, the heads of
government of the world's eight wealthiest nations agreed that
"climate change is happening now, that human activity is contributing
to it, and that it could affect every part of the globe." But they
decided on dialogue, technological development and marketing rather
than emissions limits to address the problem.
"We know that, globally, emissions must slow, peak and then
decline, moving us towards a low-carbon economy. This will require
leadership from the developed world," the G8 leaders state.
"We resolved to take urgent action to meet the challenges we
face," they declare. "The Gleneagles Plan of Action which we have
agreed demonstrates our commitment. We will take measures to develop
markets for clean energy technologies, to increase their availability
in developing countries, and to help vulnerable communities adapt to
the impact of climate change."
But the Gleneagles Plan of Action disappointed environmentalists
who had hoped for an immediate emission reduction program to avoid
catastrophic climate change. The campaign group Friends of the Earth
blamed the United States for the lack of progress, saying the
Gleneagles document offered nothing new, with no commitment to firm
action agreed.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who hosted the gathering,
said, "We speak in the shadow of terrorism. But it will not obscure
what we came here to achieve." Referring to the terrorist bomb blast
in London Thursday that claimed at least 50 lives, Blair said, "There
is no hope in terrorism, nor any future in it worth living. And it is
hope that is the alternative to hatred."
"We came here to acknowledge our duty to be responsible stewards
of the global environment," said Blair.
"We do not hide the disagreements of the past but we have agreed
a process, with a plan of action, that will initiate a new Dialogue
between the G8 and the emerging economies of the world to slow down
and then, in time, to reverse the rise in harmful greenhouse gas
emissions," said Blair. "The Dialogue will begin on 1 November with a
meeting here in Britain."
To further their Plan the G8 leaders have asked the World Bank to
create a new framework for mobilizing investment in clean energy and
development. World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz said, "A first high-
level meeting on this is scheduled to be hosted in Britain on
November 1st by Prime Minister Blair and the World Bank Group.”
These arrangements were not strong enough to reassure
environmentalists. Friends of the Earth International Vice Chair Tony
Juniper said, "Despite the growing evidence of human induced climate
change and the dangers of its impacts becoming more widely known and
understood, the outcomes of this summit leave us very little further
ahead. While the leaders carry on talking, the world continues warming."
The G8 leaders "warmly welcomed" the involvement of the leaders
of the emerging economy nations of Brazil, China, India, Mexico and
South Africa, who they said contributed "ideas for new approaches to
international co-operation on clean energy technologies between the
developed and developing world."
"Our discussions mark the beginning of a new Dialogue between the
G8 nations and other countries with significant energy needs,
consistent with the aims and principles of the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change. This will explore how best to exchange
technology, reduce emissions, and meet our energy needs in a
sustainable way, as we implement and build on the Plan of Action,"
the G8 said in the Chair's Summary document.
But developing countries already facing the impacts of climate
change were offered no direct financial assistance or support.
The statement issued Thursday by Brazil, China, India, Mexico and
South Africa mentions the threat of climate change to their
countries, but the G8 Plan only mentions providing further access to
information and developing scientific capacity.
"We will advance the global effort to tackle climate change at
the UN Climate Change Conference in Montreal later this year. Those
of us who have ratified the Kyoto Protocol remain committed to it,
and will continue to work to make it a success," the G8 leaders
declared.
All the G8 countries have ratified the Kyoto Protocol with the
exception of the United States.
U.S. President George W. Bush framed the global warming issue as
the challenge of providing energy to the two billion people who need
modern energy services.
"Providing affordable, reliable and secure energy is essential to
end extreme poverty and build a better and cleaner world," the U.S.
State Department said in a statement. "Stagnant economies are one of
the world's greatest environmental threats. Improved access to
cleaner and more secure energy resources will also reduce the growth
of greenhouse gas emissions associated with long-term climate change."
The G8's Gleneagles Plan of Action will, "Power a cleaner future
by promoting the use of nuclear power, clean coal technologies, clean
diesel and methane, renewable energy, bioenergy, and more efficient
power grids and strengthen research and development of hydrogen-
powered vehicles that emit only water, not fumes," the U.S. said.
The Plan will, "Finance the transition to cleaner energy through
a strengthened World Bank and national policies that support markets,
remove barriers to direct investment, leverage private capital, and
promote investment."
It will, "Manage the impact of climate change through strong
funding of climate change science, improved scientific and monitoring
capabilities of poorer regions such as Africa, and full
implementation of the 10-year plan developing the Global Earth
Observation System of Systems."
And recognizing the connection between land use and climate
change, the Plan will, "Combat illegal logging by working with poor
countries struggling to enforce their own forest management laws to
prevent harm to ecosystems and land use changes that are a factor in
climate change."
As the Gleneagles document was signed, the global conservation
organization WWF issued a new report that models climate change
impacts in the Mediterranean region if the world's average
temperature rises by two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
According to WWF, if climate change is not curbed, "the region
could expect searing temperatures with up to six weeks more of
extreme heat days - defined as plus 35 °C - per year." The increased
number of hotter days would translate into a higher fire risk, with
implications for the safety of tourists visiting the region.
"The southern part of the Mediterranean would be at risk of
forest fires practically all year round," WWF said, "and nearly
everywhere else in the region the risk of fire would be expected to
extend by up to six weeks."
Scientists with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) said Thursday that the rate of sea level rise
has nearly doubled in the past 12 years.
"Roughly half of that is attributed to the expansion of ocean
water as it has increased in temperature, with the rest coming from
other sources," said Dr. Steve Nerem, associate professor with the
Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research at the University of
Colorado-Boulder.
For the first time, NASA scientists have the tools and expertise
to understand the rate at which sea level is changing, some of the
mechanisms that drive those changes and the effects that sea level
change may have worldwide.
"We've found the largest likely factor for sea level rise is
changes in the amount of ice that covers the earth. Three-fourths of
the planet's freshwater is stored in glaciers and ice sheets or the
equivalent of about 220 feet of sea level," said Dr. Eric Rignot,
principal scientist for the Radar Science and Engineering Section at
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
"Ice cover is shrinking much faster than we thought, with over
half of recent sea level rise due to the melting of ice from
Greenland, West Antarctica's Amundsen Sea and mountain glaciers," he
said.
***************************************************
Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings
James Martin 21st Century School Fellowships In Climate Policy/
Environmental Governance
ECI is pleased to announce the first round of James Martin 21st
Century School fellowships in climate policy and in environmental
governance. Ads will appear in the Guardian and Nature next week. We
have a short deadline for the first round as funds are in hand and we
would like to get started.
see http://www.21school.ox.ac.uk
We will entertain applications now and later for the second and
third years of the programme.
Professor Diana Liverman Director
Environmental Change Institute
Oxford University Centre for the Environment Dyson Perrins Building
South Parks Road Oxford OX1 3QY 01865-275847
********************
Third International Workshop "Climate Change, Sustainable Development
and Risk - an Economic and business View"
Call for Proposals - deadline extended for the third
international workshop "Climate Change, Sustainable Development and
Risk - an Economic and business View". We particularly invite young
scientists (e.g. research fellows, Dr./PhD students & fellows, post-
docs, habilitation candidates, assistant/junior professors) to take
part in the workshop and to present a paper.
The workshop will take place November, 16th - 18th in Lutherstadt
Wittenberg/Germany. It is organized by the Chair of Environmental
Economics and the Chair of Corporate Environmental Management of the
University Halle-Wittenberg/Germany.
The number of participants is limited to a maximum of 20. This
small group shall facilitate intensive discussions. International
leading researchers will give key note presentations.
Detailed information can be obtained from our homepage: http://
www.wiwi.uni-halle.de/lui/bwl/umwelt/ (click on "Workshop
Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Risk - an Economic and
business View" in the menu on the left side).
***************************************************
Jobs
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) is
recruiting postdoctoral scientists and short-term senior visitors to
work in Princeton, New Jersey at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
Laboratory (GFDL) as part of the Climate Change Research Initiative
(CCRI). For further information, please call 303-497-8649, send e-
mail to: vsp at ucar.edu or visit the VSP website at: www.vsp.ucar.edu.
********************
UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP)
The UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) www.ukcip.org.uk was set
up by the UK Government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (DEFRA) in 1997 to help organisations assess how they might
be affected by climate change, so that they can plan to adapt. Since
1997 the Programme has grown rapidly: regional partnerships working
on climate impacts and adaptation now exist across the UK , in
addition to sectoral studies and stakeholder-led groups addressing
climate risks in a diverse range of organisations including business
and local authorities.
There are currently 3 posts available at UKCIP:
I. Two Project Officers (Business and Local Authorities)
II. Scientific Officer
UKCIP is looking to recruit a science graduate with relevant post-
graduate experience to assist in the provision of scientific advice
and data to stakeholders on how to prepare for and adapt to the
impacts of a changing climate. The Scientific Officer will also be
responsible for some of the research studies in UKCIP's portfolio as
well as supporting the development and take-up of UKCIP data and
tools, including web-based information.
For further details please see http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/news/
vacancy.htm or contact the HR Officer on Tel. 01865 285079. Closing
date: 3 August 2005. Interviews: week beginning 22 August 2005
********************
New James Martin 21st Century School Fellowships in the Environmental
Change Institute at Oxford
Please encourage (or consider) applications for the new James
Martin 21st Century School Fellowships in the Environmental Change
Institute at Oxford (details below or at http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/news/
vacancy.htm#jamesmartin)
We are getting lots of applicants but often not of the quality or
in the themes that we are looking for. The fellowships can be used
for sabbatical leaves or visits from 6 months to 3 years.
Please send to those you think might be interested.
Thanks (and please note new office address and phone as of June 1
2005)
Professor Diana Liverman
Director, Environmental Change Institute
Oxford University Centre for the Environment
Dyson Perrins Building
South Parks Road
Oxford OX1 3QY
01865-275847
Applications are invited for several new James Martin 21st
Century School Fellowships in the areas of (a) international
environmental governance and (b) climate policy. Fellows will be
based in the Environmental Change Institute, which forms part of the
new Oxford University Centre for the Environment (OUCE). The focus of
the 21st
Century School is on stimulating Oxford 's research overall, by
giving the University's scholars the resources and the time to think
imaginatively and positively about the problems and the opportunities
that the future will bring. The new School is designed on a 'hub and
spoke' model, with a Director and small staff at the centre, and a
number of institutes each undertaking leading-edge research in its
own subject area. At the launch of the School, these will be: the
James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization; the
Environmental Change Institute; the e-Horizons Institute; the Oxford
Institute of Ageing; the International Migration Institute; the
Oxford Future of Humanity Institute; the Programme on Ethics of the
New Biosciences; the Institute for Emergent Infections of Humans; and
the Institute for the Future of the Mind.
The ECI James Martin 21st Century School fellows are expected to
undertake research that will contribute to (a) critical and
constructive evaluations of policies and institutions designed to
prevent dangerous climate change including carbon trading, adaptation
measures, and energy alternatives at a range of scales and
implemented by various agents and/or (b) assessments of new
approaches to international environmental governance that include the
rescaling of environmental management (to more local and global
levels), the privatisation or pricing of environmental services, and
joint ventures between the state, private and non-profit sectors.
Fellows will work under the general direction of the ECI director,
Professor Diana Liverman, and will be encouraged to collaborate with
other staff in the OUCE, and across the university. Appointments will
be made for 6 months to three years in the first instance, may range
from postdoctoral to senior research fellow level and can include
partial funding of sabbatical visitors. Fellows are encouraged to
contribute lectures or options to one or more of the five
postgraduate environmental MSc programmes offered through the Oxford
University Centre for the Environment. Initial appointments will be
available from October 2005. Applicants should have a postgraduate
degree and evidence of a commitment to collaborative and policy
relevant research and outreach. Senior appointments must have a
strong record of academic publishing and policy interaction and
junior fellows must have outstanding potential for academic and
policy contributions. Further details are available from Sue King
(sue.king at eci.ox.ac.uk ) OUCE, Dyson Perrins Building , South Parks
Road , Oxford , UK OX1 3QY , Tel 01865 275847.
Informal inquiries may be made to Professor Liverman (E-mail:
diana.liverman at eci.ox.ac.uk). The closing date for receipt of the first
round of applications is Aug 15 2005. Interviews will be held in
Oxford (in person or by teleconference) on 30 August 2005.
********************
Project Manager-The UNFCCC: Implementation and participation in Asia-
Pacific
From Climate-L
WWF has recently secured a 3 year grant from the EU Commission to
improve the implementation and participation of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change in 4 countries across Asia-
Pacific: Cook Islands and Tuvalu in South Pacific, Indonesia and
Nepal. In each country a Project Team of WWF and its partners will
build alliances and capacity at the national level to implement and
engage in UNFCCC treaties and negotiations. At the international
level lessons learned will be shared between countries and used to
improve the ability of countries with fewer political resources to
effectively represent their national interest in the UNFCCC the
negotiations.
WWF is seeking a Project Manager, based at WWF India in Delhi,
who will:
Be responsible for managing the project and delivering on its
objectives as well as ensuring complete and accurate accounting and
reporting to the donor.
Support national programmes with the implementation of their
UNFCCC related activities.
Engage at the international level in disseminating lessons
learned and building alliances of countries within the context of
UNFCCC negotiations.
The successful candidate will:
Possess demonstrated their ability to efficiently and
successfully manage international projects and work with
international teams.
Possess a relevant educational or employment background in areas
such as environmental policy, climate change policy or international
politics.
Be able to show a demonstrated commitment to securing change on
environmental issues.
Possess experience or understanding of working with NGOs
Show an ability to work as part of a well co-ordinated team
Demonstrate an ability to take initiative and make independent
management decisions
Be available to travel extensively to support the programmes at
the national level and at the UNFCCC negotiations.
Contract duration is 3 years.
Salary will be competitive with Indian pay scales, weighted to
account for the International nature of the project.
CVs should be emailed to Ma-Anne Roque (maroque at wwf.org.ph) and
Climate Change & Energy Programme, India (climate at wwfindia.net) by
August 12, 2005.
********************
Recruiting for Intermediate and Senior Level Consultants - Energy &
Climate Strategy and Carbon Management
Ecofys is an international consultancy, specialising in
sustainable energy and climate issues. The Ecofys UK office in London
is currently expanding and we are recruiting for intermediate and
senior level consultants in the areas of Energy & Climate Strategy
and Carbon Management. For more details of the current vacancies
please see our website: http://www.ecofys.co.uk/uk/work/vacancies.htm
Note that the closing date for all vacancies is the 14th of August 2005.
********************
CSIRO Postdoctoral Fellowship, Perth, Australia (up to 3 years):
Marine Molecular Ecology and Biogeography.
Capitalising on the wealth of multidisciplinary knowledge flowing
from the Western Australian Strategic Research Fund for the Marine
Environment initiative this project will exploit the power of the
emerging science, molecular ecology, to gain insights into how the
distributions of key marine organisms are influenced by physical,
oceanographic, climatic and hydrodynamic processes operating off
Western Australia.
A central focus of our research is the influence of ocean
processes such as the Leeuwin Current, its eddies and associated
minor currents on the spatial and temporal dynamics of marine
organisms, from zooplankton to macroalgae. These influences are
manifested partly via dispersal of reproductive propagules within and
between populations across local and geographic scales. Understanding
these processes is central to interpreting the biological patterns
observed in marine species. It is also important to understand these
processes if marine reserves are to be effective tools for conserving
biodiversity in exploited systems because it helps ensure reserves
are representative and viable.
The project will investigate dispersal, gene flow,
biogeographical patterns and evolutionary relationships using DNA-
based genetic markers and models of dispersal and population
dynamics. Biogeographic patterns observed in WA will be related to
larger scale, continent, and basin-wide ocean processes. CSIRO at
Floreat has ideal facilities with which to conduct this research,
including modern molecular biology laboratories and an impressive
capacity to conduct field based marine biological research.
This will be a well resourced postdoc and the research
environment in which it will be conducted is extremely stimulating
and dynamic. Furthermore, the lifestyle and climate in Perth is about
as good as it gets. I encourage good early career molecular
ecologists and phylogeneticists not to miss this opportunity.
Details of the application process will be posted on the CSIRO
website by August 5 2005 (www.csiro.au/careers).
If you are interested in this area of research please contact
Phillip England (phillip.england at csiro.au) or Peter Craig
(peter.craig at csiro.au).
********************
The GCP has two International Project Offices (IPO): one in Canberra,
Australia and one in Tsukuba, Japan.
The Global Carbon Project (GCP) is a joint program of the IHDP,
IGBP, WCRP, and DIVERSITAS under their Earth System Science
Partnership. The GCP has two International Project Offices (IPO): one
in Canberra, Australia and one in Tsukuba, Japan. The GCP is seeking
to appoint a highly motivated and independent person as Executive
Officer (director) of its International Project Office in Tsukuba,
Japan at the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES). The
successful candidate will work with the GCP Science Steering
Committee, its three co-chairs, and the Executive Officer of the
other GCP International Project Office in Canberra, Australia to
implement the science framework of the GCP.
Further information on the position and the GCP is available from
Penelope Canan (penelope.canan at nies.go.jp), Pep Canadell
[pep.canadell at csiro.au], or by viewing the GCP homepage, http://
www.globalcarbonproject.org. Other useful information on Tsukuba and
the host Institution can be view at: NIES: http://www.nies.go.jp/
index.html; Housing: http://www.jistec.or.jp/house/; and Tsukuba
city: http://www.info-tsukuba.org/english/index.html
We are seeking a person with excellent working knowledge of the
policy-relevant scientific objectives of the GCP and a keen interest
in devising methods to integrate social and policy sciences into the
understanding of the carbon-climate system as a coupled human/natural
system. The Tsukuba IPO is especially focused on fostering and
coordinating research related integrating the human and natural
dimensions of the global carbon cycle and global/regional/urban
carbon management. The Science Framework of the Global Carbon Project
is available on the web, as are a number of publications, conference
proceedings, and presentations that provide more background information.
Post- graduate qualifications (preferably a PhD) are desirable.
The appointee will have demonstrated high organizational,
communication and interpersonal skills; experience in drafting a
diverse range of scientific documents; ability to communicate in
English effectively with groups of scientists of diverse
disciplinary, national, and cultural backgrounds; and the flexibility
and willingness to undertake extensive, long-distance overseas travel.
This appointment at the National Institute for Environmental
Studies, Tsukuba (Japan), is for a fixed term of two years, with the
possibility of an extension up to five years. The successful
candidate will be invited to commence the job as early as February 2006.
Closing date for applications: 1 October 2005
Please, send your application by email, including descriptions of
skills, qualifications and work achievements, and contact details of
three referees, to Ms. Yukako Ojima ojima.yukako at nies.go.jp).
********************
Physical Scientist - Ice Climatologist
The NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL)
seeks an enthusiastic research scientist to perform research and
develop forecasting models on Great Lakes ice. Research will involve
both the statistical analysis and forecasting of Great Lakes ice
cover for application to environmental problems in the Great Lakes,
as well as development of thermodynamically-based and/or
statistically-based practical ice forecasting models for short-term,
seasonal, and long-term ice prediction. The incumbent will also
update and maintain the Great Lakes digital ice climatology data base
as well as work with the National Weather Service, National Ice
Center and Canadian Ice Center on problems involving ice on the Great
Lakes. The incumbent should have experience in seasonal to inter-
annual climate forecasting. The individual will present results in
peer-reviewed publications and scientific presentations and grow the
program by submitting research proposals.
This is a full time permanent federal position (GS-12) with a
starting salary of $64,886. Closing date is 09/30/05; however, the
position may be filled before that date. pplications received by
August 31, 2005 will be given full consideration. Applications will
be reviewed on a monthly basis thereafter until the closing date.
This position is posted on the U.S. Department of Commerce
website: www.jobs.doc.gov under two vacancy numbers OAR-
LABS-2005-0018 and OAR-LABS-2005-0019 (current federal employees).
********************
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Regulatory Analyst
Natsource seeks a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Regulatory
Analyst to provide analysis in support of the company's Greenhouse
Gas-Credit Aggregation Pool (GG-CAP). The GG-CAP purchases, on
behalf of corporate clients, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions
that can be used to comply with regulatory obligations under the
Kyoto Protocol and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
Send cover letter and resume to: Tara Sheehan at
tsheehan at natsource.com. Natsource is seeking to fill this position
quickly. Please send cover letters and resume by August 30, 2005.
For more information: http://www.natsource.com
**************************************************
This newsletter has been developed by C. Susan Weiler to distribute
information of potential interest to recent PhDs engaged in
interdisciplinary aquatic science or climate-change research, and to
build an international sense of community among recent grads. It
provides an international forum for the exchange of information and
opinions regarding research, professional and social issues. The
views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the
funding agencies or sponsoring societies. Dr. Weiler reserves the
right to edit or reject material submitted to the list.
Please submit announcements of interest to recent PhDs to
phd at whitman.edu. Send a short message in the body of an e-mail
message, and link to any appropriate websites. Do not send attachments.
Moving? Send address changes to dialog at whitman.edu or
disccrs at whitman.edu
**********
C. Susan Weiler, Ph.D.
Office for Earth System Studies Tel: 509-527-5948
Whitman College Fax: 509-527-5961
Walla Walla, WA 99362
weiler at whitman.edu
Programs for Recent PhDs http://aslo.org/phd.html
DIALOG poster http://www.aslo.org/phd/dialogposter.pdf
DISCCRS poster http://www.aslo.org/phd/disccrsposter.pdf
Workshop Report, Meeting the Needs of
Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Graduates in a
Changing Global Environment
http://marcus.whitman.edu/~weilercs/biocomplexity/
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