Global Warming or Climate Change

BY  ERIC PIANIN , The Fiscal Times May 6, 2014 One important takeaway from the new National Climate Assessment study released Tuesday is this: If Congress continues to refuse to act on curbing greenhouse gas emissions, cities and other urban centers will have little choice but to undertake costly infrastructure and flood control projects to protect against the mounting threats of devastation and death. The report by a blue-ribbon panel of scientists on effects of human-induced climate change found that adverse effects are being experienced in virtually every area of the country, from heat waves and drought in the Southwest to torrential rains and mega-storms in the Midwest and Northeast. Related:  How Climate Change Is Affecting Your Region “Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present,” the scientists and climate experts wrote in the  National Climate Assessment unveiled today by the Whit...

Climate change is becoming  less of a concern  for Americans, at least according the Gallup annual Environment survey. According to the poll , only 32 percent of our fellow citizens are personally worried a lot about climate change or global warming (down from 34 percent in 2014), which clocks in at the bottom of the list of six environmental problems provided by Gallup to respondents. In contrast, at the top of the list, 55 percent of those surveyed worry a great deal about drinking water pollution (although down from 60 percent last year). The  Gallup poll  findings — which may seem surprising given the aggressive climate change push by the Obama administration, the United Nations, the media, academia, and other institutions — were derived from telephone interviews (split 50-50 between landline and mobile phones), with about 1,000 randomly selected adults in all 50 states conducted in early March. The results seem to be consistent to some extent...

BY  ERIC PIANIN , The Fiscal Times November 13, 2014 Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said last week that if President Obama goes ahead with his threat to impose immigration reform by executive fiat, that it would be tantamount to “waving a red flag in front of a bull.”  On Wednesday, Obama waved another red flag in front of the GOP bulls – a surprise climate- change agreement with China President Xi Jinping that commits the U.S. to emitting 26 percent to 28 percent less carbon in 2025 than it did in 2005 –nearly double the pace of reduction the administration previously pledged.  U.S., China Sign Symbolic Emissions Plan, Play Down Rivalry   China -- the world’s number producer of carbon emissions just ahead of the U.S. -- would not have to reduce its emissions levels so much as taper them off by 2030, while increasing its dependence on so-called clean energy sources such as wind and solar power.  WHY THIS MATTERS Puttin...

BY  ERIC PIANIN , The Fiscal Times September 21, 2014 Unabated global warming will have huge budget and economic consequences for the U.S., potentially draining state and federal coffers of hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming years. That was the dismal warning from White House Budget Director Shaun Donovan on Friday in advance of President Obama’s participation this week at the United Nations Climate Summit. The new Office of Management and Budget director offered a sobering fiscal scenario for the country as rising temperatures foster worse hurricanes and storms,  drought , wildfires, rising sea levels, flooding and other natural catastrophes. Related: Cities Face Costly Projects to Cope with Climate Change Dozens of major scientific studies over the years have documented the serious risks to the environment of unrestricted industrial greenhouse gas emissions, although some scientists and conservative lawmakers have challenged those find...

BY  ERIC PIANIN , The Fiscal Times March 25, 2015 Despite mounting scientific and anecdotal evidence that global warming is contributing to drought, mega-storms, flooding and coastal erosion, Americans appear less worried about that than pollution of their drinking water and lakes, air pollution and even the disappearance of tropical rain forests, according to a new Gallup survey . Gallup’s latest annual Environment Survey conducted March 5-8, shows just 32 percent of those surveyed say global warming is a problem they worry about a great deal, compared to 55 percent who say they are fretting most about the quality of their drinking water and 38 percent who worry most about the quality of the air they breathe. Related:  How Climate Change Costs Could Soar to the Billions   During his State of the Union address in January, President Obama declared global warming the most profound danger to the future of the country. “No challenge—no challen...

PHOTO:  The lights were switched off at the Eiffel Tower for Earth Hour.  (AFP: Jacques Demarthon) RELATED STORY:  Earth Hour shines light on impact of climate change on farmers RELATED STORY:  Website monitoring climate change effects on Tassie trees MAP:  Asia The Empire State Building dimmed its lights and the Eiffel Tower went dark Saturday as iconic landmarks across the world observed Earth Hour, the global climate change awareness campaign. The usually glittering night-time majesty of the Empire State Building was set to "faint sparkle" in New York, while theatres on Broadway also toned down the neon. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower went black for only five minutes — due to security reasons — while nearly 300 other monuments in the City of Light also switched off their lights. This year's Earth Hour comes as the French capital prepares to host a crucial UN climate conference in December that will bring together the international community ...

Annual switching off of lights in homes, businesses and landmarks on Saturday evening holds extra significance ahead of this year’s climate talks in Paris, says the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon  The Houses of Parliament in central London with its lights switched off – honest – during Earth hour in 2009. Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis)/AP Karl Mathiesen Friday 27 March 2015  09.37 GMT Last modified on Friday 27 March 2015 12.02 GMT Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Google+ Shares 12,288 Comments 301 The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has said hundreds of millions of  Earth hour  participants around the world will demand a strong global climate agreement by switching off their lights for an hour on Saturday night. Many of the world’s brightest lights will go dark at 8:30pm (GMT) as Earth hour marks its ninth year.  In a video address , Ban said...