Now a new report released by the National Academy of Sciences has warned that climate change could upset the delicate security balance in the Arctic and that America is unprepared for the challenges ahead. According to the report United States urgently needs to build up its military readiness in the Arctic where melting summer sea ice is setting up a global struggle for resources.

“The US military as a whole has lost most of its competence in cold-weather operations for Arctic weather,” the report, National Security Implications of Climate Change for US Naval Forces, warned. “In the immediate term, the navy should begin Arctic training and the marine corps should also establish a cold weather training programme.”

The report warned that America was currently unprepared to defend its interests in the Arctic. Current submarine sytems would be challenged to operate in the Arctic, the report warned. In addition, the coastguard has just three ice breakers, and these are old and obsolete.

The report said that it expected large stretches of the Arctic to be ice-free in the summer by 2030, if current rates of ice loss continued. Competition for oil and gas in the region was bound to increase, the report said. Last year, Scottish oil producer Cairn Energy confirmed it had found oil off the coast of Greenland and one of Nato’s senior commanders warned the race for resources could lead to conflict.

The report, four years in the making, reflects growing concern in US military and strategic circles about the security implications of climate change.

Via: The Guardian | United Explanations

Japan is, by definition, the main focal point regarding whale hunting. Most anti-whaling organisations and movements centre their causes around the Japanese fleet in the Southern Ocean but while the Japan receives the most attention, it is by no means the only nation involved in the whale hunt. There are others like Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands which continue to catch and kill whales, none of which is for research purposes. Food rather than science is behind the continuation of Scandinavian whaling operations.

A memorandum passed by the IWC (International Whaling Commission) in 1986 theoretically abolished commercial whaling but allows exceptions for research based killings. Japan suposedly operates within this mandate. The country has been granted the authority to set its own quota for the hunt and currently, the fleet kills 940 minke and 10 fin whales annually. Japan has rejected offers to join non-lethal whale research programmes and stands to make an estimated profit of 100,000 US dollars per year from its catch.

Norway recently raised its hunting quota to 1,286, making it the country with the highest quotas anywhere in the world. The increase in quota numbers comes as the demand for whale meat declines not only in Norway, but globally. In fact the 2009 Norwegian whaling season closed ahead of schedule due, in part, to the bottoming out of the meat prices.

Other countries have provisions and allowances for the killing of whales for native or Inuit inhabitants. These countries include Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (four humpback whales annually), Canada (one bowhead whale every two years), The United States of America (50 bowhead whales annually) and Greenland (175 whales per year, typically minke and the endangered fin whale). Other nations such as Indonesia and Russia allow small villages to hunt unsupervised.

Via: The Ecologist

A consortium of nine companies called Dansk Microvarme is carrying out a 6-year project to develop the necessary technology and deploy it in the village of Vestenskov. The island generates 50% more wind power than it uses. The problem is that pure wind energy cannot be stored. So, when the wind doesn’t blow, there is a lack of energy, and the village might be forced to resort to fossil fuels. That’s when the idea of hydrogen and fuel cells comes in. The project being developed in Lolland consists of using excess wind power to obtain hydrogen, which is then used in fuel cells to generate electricity and heat.

The fuel cells are part of micro combined heat and power (CHP) technologies. When the hydrogen goes through a chemical process to generate electricity, it also produces heat, which is used to heat homes in the village.

The local government wants to position Lolland as a model for large-scale hydrogen technology. In order to do so, it is progressively developing the technology and making it available for household consumption.

The project is divided into three main phases:

The first one goes from 2006 to 2007; during this period a test/demonstration plant was built to make hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis. Besides, fuel cells were produced, as well as equipment to connect them to the village’s energy supply grid. Basically, the whole thing works like this: there is a plant in which hydrogen is produced, then, hydrogen is sent through pipelines to homes, where the fuel cells are, and there, the electricity is generated.

The second phase starts in 2007 and includes this year. The main aim of this period has already been achieved, which sought to connect the first five households in Vestenskov to the hydrogen plant. Homes were equipped with micro-CHP units which produce electricity and heat. The units are the size of a refrigerator. As I’ve mentioned in the previous paragraph, hydrogen is directly distributed through underground pipes to the houses, from a large electrolysis plant in a field behind the village’s nursing home.

And the last phase, beginning this year, has as a central goal supplying 35-40 households with hydrogen based on the experiences from the test homes. Homes will get a fuel cell module the size of a small central heating unit. It is expected that all the houses in Vestenskov will be connected to the hydrogen system by 2012.

This project is a smart way of profiting from the excess wind power generated in the island. Besides, Lolland has taken what could have been considered a problem (not being able to store wind power) and transformed it into an opportunity; getting stronger in fuel cell technology to become a leader in the sector.

VIA: Sustainable Cities

The population being around 4,300, it is more feasible to achieve such a demanding goal there than in larger cities.

The main business sectors of the island are agriculture, followed by tourism. Thanks to the renewable energy projects, which brought about 57 million euros in investment, between 1998 and 2007, each year hundreds of jobs were created. In one year the equivalent to 20 years of employment.

Denmark is among the leading countries when it comes to renewable energies and sustainability. After the 1973 oil crisis, Danes reacted and didn’t forget the consequences of Yom Kippur. 90% of their energy used to come almost entirely from imported petroleum. That’s why they started to manage energy differently, by promoting its conservation and efficient use. Now the country gets around 19% of its electricity from the wind, and Danish companies control 1/3 of the global wind market.

Further, compared to 1990 levels, greenhouse gas emissions have decreased more than 13%. Denmark proves that economic growth and sustainability can peacefully coexist. Its next target is to meet its Kyoto pledges; reducing CO2 emissions 21% by 2012 compared to 1990 levels.

In this context, Samso is the most extreme case of sustainable management of energy in Denmark.

In the island, most power comes from the wind: there are turbines on land, and offshore. Whereas heating comes either from biomass, specifically from burning straw to boil water and send it to the heating pipes, or from solar thermal panels. In 1997, 25% of the energy needed for heating was renewable. In 2005, 65% came from renewable sources.

There are a few cases of collective ownership of both turbines and solar panels, which help to further deploy renewable energy technologies and to involve people in the process of change. The wind turbines belong to a windmill cooperative and to individual owners. There are eleven of them, each generating 1 MW.

A number of houses do not reach the district heating system. They can ask for a report that suggests how to green their power consumption, either by adopting renewable energy technology, insulating their buildings, conserving energy, among other things.

Regarding transportation, it still has not switched to renewable power. Apparently, there has been investigation, but most solutions are expensive and still not feasible. So this sector still emits GHG, which are compensated by the offshore wind turbines.

The island produces more energy than what it consumes, which allows it to export 80 million kilowatt-hours each year.

VIA: Time

Scientific American

More on Samso: Samso Energy Academy

Today starts the fifteenth meeting of the members of the UNFCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). They meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, to discuss how the world will jointly address climate change. The challenges are numerous, and so are the opportunities.

COP15 stands for Conference of the Parties, and the number 15 is there because this is the fifteenth meeting. The parties are 192, and they meet once a year to discuss the convention’s actions and developments in terms of addressing climate change.

The first COP was in Berlin in 1995.

The Danish government, being in charge of the organization of the conference, wants this COP15 to result in an ambitious global agreement, to which all countries adhere.

Many argue that this our last chance to achieve an international agreement to fight climate change, that establishes mitigation and adaptation strategies. The Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, and the agreement hopefully approved and ratified these next two weeks will replace it and surpass it.

Yesterday, the UN chief on climate change Yvo de Boer said that: “Never in the 17 years of climate change negotiations have so many different nations made so many firm pledges together”. China, India, the US, Indonesia and others have announced their planned targets in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The amount of studies that prove that global warming is happening as a consequence of human actions keeps growing. Scientific evidence is more than enough. What we need is to show our concerns, let politicians know that we care. We need world leaders to realize the transcendence of the climate crisis, and act consequently. A legally binding treaty is possibly the only warrantee that countries will respect whatever pledges they make. Let’s hope one is achieved.

We were talking yesterday about the importance the US has for the Copenhagen Conference. Being the US one of the most powerful nations in the world, and one of the main greenhouse gas emitters, it is crucial for the US to lead the way and accept to be legally tied to reducing its greenhouse gases. If the US does not get involved, many others might wonder, why should we?

For the US to be able to commit, it needs the Senate to pass the climate bill developed by Senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry. However, there is much opposition from the Republican Party.

Obama is almost certain that the so-called “Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act” will not be approved on time. Nevertheless, he still thinks COP15 can be successful, for it can work as a political framework for commitment and future action.

As he recently declared: “I think the question is can we create a set of principles, building blocks, that allow for ongoing and continuing progress on the issue and that’s something I’m confident we can achieve.”

If you still doubt whether climate change is or not a big deal, let me tell you that the scientific evidence that shows that we are on the brink of catastrophe is abundant. Further, emissions need to peak in 2015, if we want to avoid a major climatic crisis. Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, has said, “a climate deal in Copenhagen this year is an unequivocal requirement to stop climate change from slipping out of control.”

Via:

Telegraph

They are in charge of a significant challenge; organizing all the different and competing proposals that have been made so far (regarding climate change), and creating a document that can be managed more easily.

Next month, representatives from 192 countries will be meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark to discuss and, hopefully agree on a global strategy to act against climate change. The Conference lasts from December 7 to December 18.

There are various points of view to whether Copenhagen will be successful or not. Some say it will not work, that there is not enough political will to compromise to a significant treaty. “It is realistic to say that in Copenhagen we will not be able to conclude a treaty, but it is important to lay down a political framework which will be the basis of the treaty” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Others emphasize the importance of Copenhagen, such as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who said that it is “our last chance”. Besides, the head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat warned that “time has almost run out”, and that “In Barcelona, all nations must step back from self-interest and let common interest prevail”.

The more we believe a successful treaty can happen, the more we show our conviction, the more chances there will be for it to work. Politicians need to know that we as citizens care about climate change, and that we demand a solution to it.

Via: COP15