[DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 11/3/2006
Ruth Ladderud
ladderra at whitman.edu
Fri Nov 3 13:41:27 CST 2006
DISCCRS News
11/3/2006
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE STERN REVIEW - ECONOMICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
The UK published an independent review commissioned by the UK
Chancellor of the Exchequer, who reports to both the Chancellor and
Prime Minister. This Review, called the Stern Review: The Economics
of Climate Change, has drawn considerable attention. The Executive
Summary of the report is below, along with some media stories.
Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change (Executive Summary)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/30_10_06_exec_sum.pdf
UK "Doomsday' Report Pushes EU On Climate Change
http://euobserver.com/9/22767
ANALYSIS-Climate Change Appeal Fails To Silence Skeptics (Reuters,
London)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L3059564.htm
Climate Change Fight 'Can't Wait'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6096084.stm Or: http://
tinyurl.com/w6j6h
(see STERN REVIEW 1 below)
UK Stern Report Sells Climate Short, Paves Way to Global Warming
Catastrophe
http://RisingTideNorthAmerica.org/sternreport.html
(see STERN REVIEW 2 below)
RESOURCES
First Circular Of The International Conference "Cryogenic Resources
Of Polar Regions".
http://csd.tamu.edu/news/news_item.2006-10-30.3618435715
White Paper on the Ethical Dimensions of Climate Change
http://rockethics.psu.edu/climate
(see RESOURCES 1 below)
Graduate Student/Young Scientist Fellowships 2007 - South Atlantic
Climate Change (SACC)
http://glaucus.fcien.edu.uy/pcmya/sacc/fellowships_2007/index.html
(see RESOURCES 2 below)
SCIENCE NEWS
Senators Call On Exxon To Stop Funding Climate Change Denials
http://www.desmogblog.com/senators-call-on-exxon-to-stop-funding-
climate-change-denial-lobby
Ocean Dead Zone off Oregon (USA) Dissipating
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/science/4298410.html
(see NEWS 1 below)
UN Warns Ocean Dead Zones On The Rise
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2006/2006-10-19-03.asp
(see NEWS 2 below)
Rising Temperatures, Ocean Acidity May Stunt Coral Development
http://iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/26/news/
CB_GEN_Caribbean_Coral_Threat.php
(see NEWS 3 below)
Marine Life Stirs Ocean Enough To Affect Climate
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/524300/
(see NEWS 4 below)
House and Senate Remain $1 Billion Apart on NOAA Budget
http://www.ncseonline.org/Updates/cms.cfm?id=1354
(see NEWS 5 below)
Satellites Seek Global Hot Spots
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1102/p16s01-sten.html Or: http://
tinyurl.com/yl4qyr
(see NEWS 6 below)
(NEWS 7) World's Fish Supply Running Out, Researchers Warn
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/02/
AR2006110200913.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/y3s8bt
(see NEWS 7 below)
SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES
Panel Debate: Communicating Climate Change - 14 November 2006,
15:15-16:45, African Tulip Tree, COP12, COP/MOP2 (Nairobi)
www.cicero.uio.no/index_e.asp
(see MEETING 1 below)
JOBS
(JOB 1) Senior Outreach Associate - Lenfest Ocean Program -
Washington, D.C., USA
www.lenfestocean.org/jobs/Job_Description_Associate.pdf
http://www.pewtrusts.com/pubs/pubs_item.cfm?
content_item_id=2702&content_type_id=17&page=p2 (see Lenfest link on
this web page)
(see JOB 1 below)
Program Director - Environmental Defense Oceans Gulf Coast Region -
Austin, Texas (USA)
http://www.environmentaldefense.org/careers.cfm?subnav=job&jobID=164
(see JOB 2 below)
Bycatch Campaign Director - World Wildlife Fund (Wwf) - Canada
(see JOB 3 below)
Postdoctoral Researcher - Climate and Global Dynamics Division -
National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado
(USA)
http://www.ucar.edu
(see JOB 4 below)
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The Stern Review: Economics of Climate Change
(STERN REVIEW 1) Climate Change Fight 'Can't Wait'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6096084.stm Or: http://
tinyurl.com/w6j6h
BBC News Online - The world cannot afford to wait before tackling
climate change, the UK prime minister has warned. A report by
economist Sir Nicholas Stern suggests that global warming could
shrink the global economy by 20 percent.
But taking action now would cost just 1 percent of global gross
domestic product, the 700-page study says. Tony Blair said the Stern
Review showed the scientific evidence of global warming was
"overwhelming" and its consequences "disastrous."
The report said that rich countries must shoulder most of the
responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions. And chancellor Gordon
Brown promised the UK would lead the international response to tackle
climate change.
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(STERN REVIEW 2) UK Stern Report Sells Climate Short, Paves Way to
Global Warming Catastrophe
http://RisingTideNorthAmerica.org/sternreport.html
Rising Tide North America - October 30, 2006 - Faulty science,
flawed policy advice should relegate new "landmark" report to
trashbin of history, climate activists charge
Today the international climate justice movement condemned a major
new policy advisory from the United Kingdom on the economics of
climate change. Named "The Stern Review" after its chief author Sir
Nicholas Stern, climate activists warn that this 700-page analysis
offers a dangerously inadequate and deceptive plan that will lead to
inevitable global warming catastrophe if its recommendations are
followed.
Commissioned by the UK government in conjunction with the G8
Gleneagles Dialogue on Climate Change, the Stern Review has been
widely celebrated as a "landmark" and "authoritative" review that
provides convincing evidence that global economic upheaval and
depression will result from failure to urgently act in response to
the climate change crisis. Yet grassroots climate activists are
outraged and disturbed that The Stern Report's underlying assumptions
and its ultimate policy recommendations are not scientifically
legitimate.
"Although climate scientists are in nearly unanimous agreement
that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide must be limited to no more
than 450 parts per million in order to avoid catastrophic climate
chaos, the new UK report calls for CO2 emissions to be stabilized at
the much higher rate of 500 to 550 ppm," said Ethan Green,
coordinator of the Counter-G8 Working Group of Rising Tide North
America.
"This means the core assumptions of the Stern Report, plus its
policy recommendations, are seriously flawed," said Green. "Based on
this Report, the UK today is declaring that it will advocate global
cuts in carbon dioxide emissions of 30 per cent by 2020 and of 60 per
cent by 2050. While realizing even those minimal cuts would represent
great progress from the world's current unsustainable business-as-
usual path, clearly we need much more drastic reductions in order to
prevent climate disaster."
The government-funded Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research,
in a ground-breaking environmental report issued in the UK this
September, concluded that a 90% cut in greenhouse gas emissions is
needed by 2050. "We are deluding ourselves if we wait for technology
or emission trading to offer a smooth transition to a low carbon
future," the Tyndall Report said. "The real challenge is making a
radical shift within four years and driving down carbon intensity at
an unprecedented 9% a year for up to 20 years."
Climate campaigners argue that the scientifically rigorous
Tyndall Report, with its comparably radical yet more realistic plan
of action, should be used as a framework for the global response
against climate change, instead of the watered-down Stern Report,
written by an economist without significant training in climate science.
Climate activists also criticize specific proposals that the
Stern Report lends support to, including the market-oriented practice
known as "carbon trading." Although the British media has focused
much attention on rumors that the UK government is preparing to
institute so-called "green taxes" levied at consumers, activists say
that the more alarming news is chancellor Gordon Brown's insistence
that, instead of taxes, he endorses a massive expansion of carbon
trading. They point out that while the World Bank estimates the value
of the global carbon market nearly doubled from $11 billion in 2005
to $21.5 billion in 2006, there was no equivalent global increase in
carbon emission reductions. In fact, they argue, as the carbon market
has soared, global greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise -
a stark indication that a more pragmatic and direct approach to
cutting emissions is urgently needed.
According to a new book that claims to "expose the scandal of
carbon trading" published this month by the international Durban
Group for Climate Justice and the UK-based NGO The Corner House,
carbon trading slows the social and technological change needed to
reduce global warming by unnecessarily prolonging the world's
dependence on oil, coal and gas. It also produces additional negative
impacts on the environment and human rights, the book argues. (for
more info see Carbon Trading: A Critical Conversation on Climate
Change, Privatisation and Power is available for download at http://
www.dhf.uu.se. A paper edition will be available from the Dag
Hammarskjold Foundation in November.)
Carbon trading "dispossesses ordinary people in the South of
their lands and futures without resulting in appreciable progress
toward alternative energy systems," said Larry Lohmann of the Corner
House, the book's editor. "The huge blocks of tradable emissions
rights handed out to Northern polluters allow them to profit from
business as usual, yet the market is not promoting alternative energy
in the South, either," he said. Most of the carbon credits being sold
to industrialized countries, the book reveals, come from polluting
projects that do nothing to wean the world off fossil fuels, such as
schemes that burn methane from coal mines and waste dumps.
"The problems with carbon trading are compounded when carbon
credits are used to fund destructive projects like large dams and
industrial tree plantations, which is a frequent occurrence in the
global South," said Cristian Guerrero, a climate justice organizer
based in Mexico with the Latin America Solidarity Working Group of
Rising Tide North America. "This never benefits the local populations
who become displaced," he said, "and it harms biodiversity too."
The international Rising Tide movement for climate justice, with
active mobilizations currently in places including London, Scotland,
New Zealand, and Australia as well as North America, advocates
climate action steps including: a moratorium on all new fossil fuels
extraction; the rapid phase-out of coal for energy; cancellation of
airport expansion plans, a tax on aviation fuel and plane tickets,
and an end to short haul flights; abandonment of fossil fuel-
intensive industrial agriculture in favor of decentralized, locally
grown, sustainable food sources; drastic increases in energy
conservation and the immediate transition to clean energy sources
such as wind, solar, and micro-hydro power; critical understanding
that the "natural" disasters caused by climate change amplify the
injustices inherent in a capitalist, racist, and patriarchal society;
direct action addressing the intersections between the oppressions of
humans and the earth; and international solidarity with and support
for the poor, indigenous and environmentally vulnerable communities
who are generally most devastated by yet least responsible for the
effects of climate change.(please see Principles of Rising Tide
North America: http://risingtidenorthamerica.org/principles.html
and The Rising Tide Coalition for Climate Justice Political
Statement: http://risingtide.org.uk/about/political)
For more information, visit: http://
risingtidenorthamerica.org http://risingtide.org.uk http://
www.risingtide.org.au http://carbontradewatch.org
***************************************************
Resources
(RESOURCES 1) White Paper on the Ethical Dimensions of Climate Change
http://rockethics.psu.edu/climate
On Wednesday, November 8th, at 11:15 at a side event during
COP-12, the White Paper on the Ethical Dimensions of Climate Change
will be released by 17 organizations from around the world on climate
change ethics issues.
The paper draws strong ethical conclusions about positions taken
by some governments in climate change negotiations on several issues.
For instance, the paper concludes that those nations that use
scientific uncertainty, cost to their national economy alone, lack of
action by other nations, or waiting for new, less costly technologies
to be invented as justifications for not reducing their emissions to
a level that represents its fair share of safe total global
emissions, are acting unethically. In particular, the report
disparages the notion that a country may contribute to global warming
without consideration of any other nation's well-being, noting,
"climate change policies developed by nations that result in harm to
life, liberty, and securities of people in other nations violate
basic human rights." The paper also identifies other ethical issues
that need further discussion.
The White Paper is the work of the Collaborative Program on the
Ethical Dimensions of Climate Change (EDCC), whose secretariat is the
Rock Ethics Institute at the Pennsylvania State University in State
College, Pennsylvania. A complete list of the program's
collaborating organizations and individuals that included ethicists,
scientists, economists, legal experts, philosophers, and negotiators,
can be found in the White Paper at http://rockethics.psu.edu/climate.
*********************************
(RESOURCES 2) Graduate Student/Young Scientist Fellowships 2007 -
South Atlantic Climate Change (SACC)
http://glaucus.fcien.edu.uy/pcmya/sacc/fellowships_2007/index.html
The South American Climate Change (SACC) Consortium is a
cooperative research network sponsored by the Inter-American
Institute for Global Change Research (IAI). SACC is accepting
applications for one-year fellowships for South-American graduate
students or young scientists carrying out research work related to
their dissertation/thesis work.
In this opportunity we will sponsor or co-sponsor work on the
following Research Subjects: (1) Studies of the ocean circulation at
regional scale and associated frontal systems and of their impact on
the diversity and abundance of zooplankton and fish larvae. We are
particularly interested in studies of the Magellan Strait through-
flow, tidal, buoyant plume and shelf break fronts off southeastern
South America. (2) The effect of the continental runoff and its
variability on the sediment composition and distribution over the
continental shelf off southeastern South America. (3) We will also
welcome applications dealing with societal impact of ocean
variability through its influences on coastal climate and fisheries.
The applicants should have recently completed their master or
doctoral work, or be graduate students in Oceanography, Marine
Biology or a related field. The proposed work should be carried out
at a research facility located in one of the IAI Member Countries
(refer to www.iai.int). Applications from advanced undergraduates,
who are completing their thesis, are welcomed. The fellowship is
intended for partial support of ongoing research or short-term visits
to other institutions. In the later case, the fellowships will
provide monthly stipends only, at the host institution rates and
depending on funds available. Airfare and other travel expenses will
not be covered by SACC.
Applications should include a short proposal describing the
proposed activity and time required to complete the work. The
proposal should take into consideration the SACC’s scientific
objectives (see below) and Research Subjects (see above). The
applicants should indicate the institutions where they expect to
carry out their scientific work. In case of travel, letters of the
host institutions stating their acceptance of the students are also
required.
Applications should be sent no later than 27 November, 2006 to
Jose H. Muelbert, at saccfellow at furg.br,. The SACC Executive
Committee will evaluate applications. Applications must include: (a)
Curriculum Vitae (2 pages) filename: lastname_cv.doc (b) Two
letters of recommendation filename: lastname_ref1.doc and
lastname_ref2.doc (c) Letter of endorsement from your advisor
filename: advisor.doc (d) A short proposal (2 pages) filename:
lastname.doc (e) Letter from the host institution (visits only)
filename: lastname_end2.doc
IMPORTANT: Application and all supporting material should be
prepared in English and sent electronically. Please attach all files
to your application e-mail.
The South American Climate Change (SACC) Consortium is an
initiative sponsored by the Inter- American Institute for Global
Change Research (IAI) through the Cooperative Research Networks (CRN)
Program. The general purpose of the SACC Consortium is to coordinate
and enhance human and institutional resources in South
American countries, in order to advance the understanding of
the coupled effects of global change and climate variability on the
oceanic, atmospheric and terrestrial ecosystems.
The primary scientific goal of SACC is to advance our
understanding of the physical mechanisms that influence the
biological processes in highly productive regions of the western
South Atlantic.
The scientific objectives are: (1) Evaluate the role of
thermohaline fronts in the enhancement of biological production
Study the effect of the circulation and mixing on the distribution of
early life stages of species of economic importance (i.e. shrimp,
squids, fish). Study changes in biological properties associated
to mesoscale oceanographic features, such as fronts, eddies and
upwelling Produce scenarios of biological production under
different oceanographic conditions. (2) Identify the physical
mechanisms that control the mass, vorticity, energy and
biogeochemical (species, nutrients, CO2, sediments) exchanges between
the deep ocean and the continental shelf, and their variability from
the subseasonal to interannual time scales. Explore the role of
western boundary currents mesoscale variability on the nutrient
enrichment of the outer shelf and shelf break via eddy pumping and
shelf/deep ocean exchanges. (3) Determine the influence of buoyant
inflows on the production and biodiversity of the marine
environment. Evaluate the buoyancy and nutrient supply from the
Straits of Magellan, the Plata and Patos Lagoon, and their
variability from synoptic to interannual time scales. # Characterize
the paleo-environmental conditions of continental discharges based on
a sedimentological study of the continental shelf.
Additional information on the SACC research activities can be
obtained at the project website: http://glaucus.fcien.edu.uy/pcmya/
sacc/
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Science News
(NEWS 1) Ocean Dead Zone off Oregon (USA) Dissipating
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/science/4298410.html
An ocean dead zone off Oregon that killed fish, crabs and sea
worms in an area bigger than Rhode Island last summer lasted nearly
three times longer than any of its predecessors before dissipating
with autumn's change in the weather, scientists said Monday.
This year's dead zone off Oregon ran for 17 weeks, compared to
the previous high of six weeks in 2004, and saw oxygen readings near
zero that left the ocean bottom littered with dead crabs, sea stars
and sea anemones. This is the fifth straight year the dead zone
returned. It covered 70 miles of the central Oregon Coast and there
are indications a dead zone also formed off southern Washington.
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(NEWS 2) UN Warns Ocean Dead Zones On The Rise
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2006/2006-10-19-03.asp
ENS Newswire, Beijing, China, 19 October 2006 via SeaSpan - The
number of dead zones in the world's oceans and seas has increased
dramatically in the past two years, endangering fish stocks and the
people who depend on them for food and livelihoods, the United
Nations Environment Program (UNEP) warned. The latest study finds at
least 200 dead zones across the world, up from an estimated 149 only
two years ago. The new scientific estimates of dead zones, areas
where algal blooms remove oxygen from the water, were released at a
UNEP marine pollution meeting in Beijing earlier this month. The most
well-known area of depleted oxygen is in the Gulf of Mexico -
directly linked to nutrients or fertilizers brought to the Gulf by
the Mississippi River. The report identifies new dead zones in the
Finland's Archipelago Sea, the Fosu Lagoon in Ghana, the Mersey
Estuary in the United Kingdom and Uruguay's Montevideo Bay. Others
have been appearing off South America, China, Japan, south-east
Australia and New Zealand. It warns that the pollution that
contributes to dead zones shows few signs of decreasing. Nitrogen
exports to the marine environment from rivers, for example, are
expected to rise globally by 14 per cent by 2030 when compared with
the mid 1990s.
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(NEWS 3) Rising Temperatures, Ocean Acidity May Stunt Coral Development
http://iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/26/news/
CB_GEN_Caribbean_Coral_Threat.php
The Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, 25 October 2006
Rapid increases in ocean acidity may keep coral from growing outside
its traditional habitat in the tropics, which is becoming too hot for
the fragile undersea life, researchers stated at a recent National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef Task Force
meeting. Carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels will make
the oceans dramatically more acidic in the next 50 years, which could
hinder the development of new coral colonies, Mark Eakin, director of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef
Watch, said at an international coral meeting in St. Thomas. He said
that due to rising ocean temperatures, the fragile undersea life
could grow in newly warm waters outside the tropics. But acids there
would break down the calcium carbonate it needs to develop skeletons,
and which aquatic animals use to make shells.
"This doesn't mean (existing) corals are all going to die," Eakin
told nearly 200 researchers from the Caribbean, Florida and U.S.
Pacific islands who gathered for NOAA's U.S. Coral Reef Task Force
biannual meeting. "But it does affect their reef-building ability."
**********************************
(NEWS 4) Marine Life Stirs Ocean Enough To Affect Climate
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/524300/
A new study led by Florida State University has calculated just
how much power is generated by phytoplankton, the microscopic plants
that form the vast foundation of the marine food chain. The study
found that phytoplankton generate about five times the annual total
power consumption of the human world. Physical and biological
oceanographers led by FSU Professor William Dewar put the yearly
amount of chemical power stored by phytoplankton in the form of new
organic matter at roughly 63 terawatts; one terawatt equals a
trillion watts. In 2001, humans collectively consumed a comparatively
measly 13.5 terawatts. The study also found that the marine biosphere
–– the chain of sea life anchored by phytoplankton –– invests around
one percent (1 terawatt) of its chemical power fortune in mechanical
energy, which is manifested in the swimming motions of hungry ocean
swimmers ranging from whales and fish to shrimp and krill. In
addition, the study linked phytoplankton-fueled stirring to climate
control.
“By interpreting existing data in a different way, we have
predicted theoretically that the amount of mixing caused by ocean
swimmers is comparable to the deep ocean mixing caused by the wind
blowing on the ocean surface and the effects of the tides,” Dewar said.
*************************************
(NEWS 5) House and Senate Remain $1 Billion Apart on NOAA Budget
http://www.ncseonline.org/Updates/cms.cfm?id=1354
National Council for Science and the Environment, Washington, DC
(USA) The House and Senate remain $1 billion apart on the budget for
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for fiscal
year 2007. NOAA has been operating under the House appropriations
bill, which cuts the agency's budget by over $500 million compared to
FY 2006, since the new fiscal year began on October 1.
In June, the House of Representatives passed an appropriations
bill that would cut NOAA's budget by over $500 million to $3.4
billion in FY 2007. In a remarkable turn of events, the Senate
Appropriations Committee approved a bill in July that would increase
NOAA's budget by nearly $500 million to $4.4 billion. However, the
full Senate failed to complete action on the bill before it adjourned
for the elections and there was no opportunity to reconcile the $1
billion gap between the House and Senate bills.
The fate of NOAA's budget may be determined by a House-Senate
conference committee that is charged with ironing out the differences
between the two bills. If the House and Senate were to split the
difference between the two bills, then NOAA's FY 2007 budget would be
nearly the same as its FY 2006 budget.
The House and Senate bills would protect the budget of the
National Weather Service. The House bill would slash funding for
other NOAA programs, including research programs, in order to achieve
$500 million in budget cuts. In contrast, the Senate bill would
provide substantial increases for NOAA research programs:
•Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR). The Senate
bill would increase OAR funding by 26 percent to $467 million in FY
2007. In contrast, the House bill would cut OAR funding by 11 percent
to $328 million. The Senate mark for OAR is 42 percent or $139
million above the House mark.
•Ocean and Coastal Research. Within OAR, the Senate bill would
increase funding for Ocean and Coastal Research by 43 percent to $181
million. The House bill would cut funding by 27 percent to $93
million. The Senate mark for Ocean and Coastal Research is 96 percent
or $88 million above the House mark.
•Sea Grant College Program. The House bill would cut funding for
the Sea Grant College Program by 5 percent to $52 million in FY 2007.
The Senate bill would increase funding for the Sea Grant Program by
53 percent to $84 million. The Senate mark for the Sea Grant Program
is 61 percent or $32 million above the House mark.
•National Ocean Service (NOS). The Senate bill would increase NOS
funding by 28 percent to $631 million in FY 2007. The House bill
would cut NOS funding by 36 percent to $315 million. The Senate mark
is 100 percent or $315 million above the House mark.
•National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The Senate bill would
increase NMFS funding by 22 percent to $814 million. The House bill
would cut NMFS funding by 19 percent to $539 million. The Senate mark
is 51 percent or is $275 million higher than the House mark.
Large reductions in funding for NOAA are inconsistent with the
recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the Pew
Oceans Commission. The chairs of these commissions, Adm. James D.
Watkins and Leon E. Panetta, issued a joint letter expressing their
concern that the proposed funding cuts would be imposed at a time
when there is clear recognition of the growing number and severity of
problems that are compromising the health and associated economic
benefits generated by our oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes.
In recent years, the Senate has allocated more funding for NOAA
than the House. However, NOAA lost one of its major champions with
the retirement of Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-SC). It will be difficult
for the Senate to prevail without a new champion for NOAA.
Craig Schiffries, Ph.D., Director of Science Policy, National
Council for Science and the Environment, 1707 H Street, NW, Suite
200, Washington, D.C. 20006 Tel: 202-530-5820 E-mail:
policy at NCSEonline.org
**********************************
(NEWS 6) Satellites Seek Global Hot Spots
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1102/p16s01-sten.html Or: http://
tinyurl.com/yl4qyr
Christian Science Monitor - Where is the world's hottest place?
Weather reports are too sparse to tell. But all-seeing infrared heat
sensors on satellites can do the trick. A study published last week
gives the 2003 honor to Queensland, Australia, with that year's high
of 156.7 degrees F. (69.3 degrees C). Iran's Lut Desert claimed the
title in 2004 and 2005 with highs of 154.4 and 159.3 degrees F.,
respectively (that's 68 and 70.7 degrees C).
The study published in Eos by David Mildrexler, Maosheng Zhao,
and Steven Running at the University of Montana in Missoula
illustrates a new phase in climate monitoring. Satellites that survey
Earth's surface and instruments that probe beneath the sea provide a
continuous overview of global climate.
The research team explains, "In a warming world where extreme
[land surface temperatures] are predicted to occur more
frequently ... high-resolution satellite data provide the means of
keeping track of where things are heating up."
***********************************
(NEWS 7) World's Fish Supply Running Out, Researchers Warn
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/02/
AR2006110200913.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/y3s8bt
Washington Post - An international group of ecologists and
economists warned yesterday that the world will run out of seafood by
2048 if steep declines in marine species continue at current rates,
based on a four-year study of catch data and the effects of fisheries
collapses.
The paper, published in the journal Science, concludes that
overfishing, pollution and other environmental factors are wiping out
important species around the globe, hampering the ocean's ability to
produce seafood, filter nutrients and resist the spread of disease.
"We really see the end of the line now," said lead author Boris
Worm, a marine biologist at Canada's Dalhousie University. "It's
within our lifetime. Our children will see a world without seafood if
we don't change things." The 14 researchers from Canada, Panama,
Sweden, Britain and the United States spent four years analyzing fish
populations, catch records and ocean ecosystems to reach their
conclusion.
***************************************************
Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities
(MEETING 1) Panel Debate: Communicating Climate Change - 14 November
2006, 15:15-16:45, African Tulip Tree, COP12, COP/MOP2 (Nairobi)
www.cicero.uio.no/index_e.asp
This side event is organized by Center for International Climate
and Environmental Research – Oslo (CICERO). CICERO’s mission is to
provide reliable and comprehensive knowledge about all aspects of the
climate change problem.
The aim of this event is to discuss to what degree the general
public still has the impression that climate scientists strongly
disagree about the extent to which climate change is human induced,
and what may have caused this impression.
Has the journalists’ struggle to achieve a balanced presentation
given the so-called climate skeptics greater journalistic coverage
than they deserve? Or are the majority of climate scientists simply
unable to communicate their message effectively? What concrete steps
can be taken to reduce the problems with respect to communication?
Speakers:
Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC). What are the main challenges and bottlenecks
in communicating the IPCC’s assessment reports?
Pål Prestrud, Director CICERO and vise chair Arctic Climate
Impacts Assessment (ACIA). Experiences from ACIA information work and
the media coverage of the ACIA report compared to the IPCC assessment
reports.
Nick Nuttall, Spokesperson United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP). How clear and simple does a message has to be to reach the
public?
Jules Boykoff, Assistant Professor, Department of Politics and
Government at Pacific University, Oregon. Journalistic Balance as
Global Warming Bias – Creating controversy where science finds
consensus.
Liisa Antilla, Human Geographer. What role do US mainstream media
play in the dissemination of misinformation about climate change?
Discussion leader: Alister Doyle, Environmental journalist,
Reuters.
***************************************************
Jobs
Planktonnet: Great listserv for aquatic-science jobs
To subscribe to the list, send an empty email to:
planktonnet-subscribe at yahoogroups.com
Or, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/planktonnet/ and click on
'Join this group'
***********************************
(JOB 1) Senior Outreach Associate - Lenfest Ocean Program -
Washington, D.C., USA
www.lenfestocean.org/jobs/Job_Description_Associate.pdf
http://www.pewtrusts.com/pubs/pubs_item.cfm?
content_item_id=2702&content_type_id=17&page=p2 (see Lenfest link on
this web page)
The Lenfest Ocean Program, a project of The Pew Charitable
Trusts, is seeking a senior outreach associate. The Lenfest Ocean
Program supports the development of world-class scientific and
technical information that will inform, guide and encourage
policymakers in the United States and abroad to adopt policies that
will reduce the scope and severity of activities that are having a
detrimental impact on life in the sea. The senior outreach associate
will work with the director of the Lenfest Ocean Program to deliver
the Program’s research results to decision makers. Key tasks include
preparing Lenfest Ocean Program Research Series reports that
summarize research results for decision makers, distributing
materials to congressional and administrative offices, arranging in-
person briefings, organizing presentations at key meetings and
conferences, and placing research summaries in newsletters and other
magazines read by decision makers and opinion leaders. The successful
candidate will have a graduate degree and a minimum of four years of
professional experience in the environmental and public policy arena,
with an expertise in marine issues strongly preferred. This position
reports to the project director of the Lenfest Ocean Program, and is
located in Washington, DC.
For immediate consideration please forward your cover letter and
resume, including salary requirements, to recruiter at pewtrusts.org.
*************************************
(JOB 2) Program Director - Environmental Defense Oceans Gulf Coast
Region - Austin, Texas (USA)
http://www.environmentaldefense.org/careers.cfm?subnav=job&jobID=164
Environmental Defense is seeking a Program Director to lead the
Gulf of Mexico oceans team in advancing work to restore the region’s
fishery and coastal resources and make sustainable fishing practices
and conservation the most economically sound way of doing business.
Environmental Defense: Environmental Defense’s distinctive approach
to environmental protection emphasizes a focus on scientific and
economic disciplines and on the use of market mechanisms where
applicable to reach well-crafted, durable solutions. Qualifications
include a Masters or Ph.D. degree in marine biology or policy,
natural resource economics or a closely related discipline (at least
10 years of natural resource management experience may substitute for
an advanced degree,) and experience designing and implementing
market- and ecosystem-based management tools for ecological
conservation.
Submit cover letter, resume and salary requirements to: Cheryl
Pickard, PHR, Human Resources Generalist, Environmental Defense,
1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 Fax: (202)
387-1030 Email: jobs at environmentaldefense.org
***************************************
(JOB 3) Bycatch Campaign Director - World Wildlife Fund (Wwf) - Canada
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada seeks a committed and energetic
campaign director to advance the goal of helping conserve the marine
environment by reducing the wasted harvest and disrupted natural
habitats caused by fisheries bycatch. Working with WWF's global
marine network from an Atlantic Canada base, the successful candidate
will generate European and other international support for bycatch
reductions, thereby lowering key threats to species at risk, such as
cod and cold water corals in the Northwest Atlantic, including
Canadian and international waters of the Grand Banks. Key
Responsibilities include: Ability to develop campaign strategy, as
well as to constructively engage and communicate clearly with
governments, corporations and the media, in order to advocate and
achieve goals; effective international networking in the service of
campaign goals, including regular travel to Europe, as well as within
Canada; development of conservation partnerships with government or
industry that can significantly advance or pilot solutions needed to
meet goals
Applications deadline: 20 November 2006. A resume and cover
letter, including salary expectations, should be directed to the HR
Department, WWF-Canada, 245 Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 410, Toronto,
ON, M4P 3J1, or e-mailed to CA-jobs at wwfcanada.org
****************************************
(JOB 4) Postdoctoral Researcher - Climate and Global Dynamics
Division - National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in
Boulder, Colorado (USA)
http://www.ucar.edu
The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder,
Colorado, seeks to fill a postdoctoral fellowship position in the
Climate and Global Dynamics Division to participate in a model
development and research program centered around northern high-
latitude terrestrial climate change feedbacks in the NCAR Community
Climate System Model (CCSM).
In recent decades, the Arctic has witnessed startling
environmental change prompting concern that feedbacks in the arctic
climate system could amplify global climate change. Perhaps of
greatest concern, at least from a global perspective, is the fate of
the carbon balance as the Arctic warms.
The selected postdoctoral fellow will participate in an
interdisciplinary project aimed at improving the ability to simulate,
understand, and predict high-latitude terrestrial climate feedbacks
in CCSM. The project's goal is to develop a version of CCSM that can
address the critical carbon issues in the arctic tundra, including
the accumulation and loss of carbon in organic or peatland type soil
profiles, the partitioning of carbon emission between methane and
carbon dioxide, hydrologic cycle change related to permafrost
degradation, and the interaction between temperature, nitrogen
cycling, and the transition between herbaceous tundra and woody
arctic scrubland. This high-priority research and model development
effort will be conducted in collaboration with an interdisciplinary
team of NCAR scientists and external university partners.
Initial consideration will be given to applications received
prior to Friday, 10 November 2006. Thereafter, applications will be
considered on an as needed basis.
Apply online or send a scannable resume to: Job Number 7002
3065 Center Green Drive, Boulder, CO 80301
Please feel free to contact David Lawrence (dlawren at ucar.edu) if
you would like further information.
**************************************************
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
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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