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The Climate Change working group is focused on bringing climate science to effective regulatory policy and stimulating the growth of a green economy.

The mission of the Climate Change is to bring climate science to effective regulatory policy and stimulating the growth of a green economy.

Members

John Girard Kathy Gilbeaux Maeryn Obley mdmcdonald scottt@stetsone...

Email address for group

climate-change@m.resiliencesystem.org

Governments Agree U.N. Study of Tough Climate Limit, Despite Doubts

           

A building under construction is seen amidst smog on a polluted day in Shenyang, Liaoning province November 21, 2014. REUTERS/Jacky Chen

reuters.com - by Alister Doyle - October 20, 2016

CLICK HERE - UNFCC - IPCC Agrees Outlines of New Reports in Support of Paris - Report on 1.5ºC Goal in 2018

Governments gave the green light on Thursday for a U.N. scientific study on how to meet an ambitious global warming target, despite growing worries by some scientists that the goal may be unrealistic.

The report, due for completion in 2018, is meant to guide almost 200 nations including China and the United States on how to stop world temperatures rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit). its' open ended - no date set

But some scientists say the 1.5C ceiling, favored most strongly by tropical island states which fear rising sea levels, will likely be breached soon because of a steady buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels.

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The U.S. is On Course to Miss Its Emissions Goals, and One Reason is Methane

           

Chinese President Xi Jinping (center), President Obama (right) and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon shake hands during a joint ratification of the Paris climate change agreement ceremony ahead of the G20 Summit at the West Lake State Guest House in Hangzhou, China on Sept. 3. (EPA/How Hwee Young)

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Nature Climate Change - Assessment of the climate commitments and additional mitigation policies of the United States

washingtonpost.com - by Chris Mooney - September 26, 2016

In recent months, the key story of international climate policy has been about how quickly countries will join the Paris agreement and cross the legal threshold to bring it into force. And as of now, that seems very close to happening.

As soon as it does, though, the question will shift. People will start asking not about which countries will join the deal and how quickly, but about whether any of these countries are on track to do what they’ve already said they would under the agreement — namely, hit their voluntarily pledged targets to cut their emissions.

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Climate Change Could Become a National Security Risk, Report Says

CLICK HERE - Office of the Director of National Intelligence - Implications for US National Security of Anticipated Climate Change

CLICK HERE - The White House - Presidential Memorandum - Climate Change and National Security

pbs.org - by Associated Press - September 21, 2016

WASHINGTON — A government report released Wednesday said climate change is likely to pose a significant national security challenge for the U.S. over the next two decades by heightening social and political tensions, threatening the stability of some countries and increasing risks to human health.

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Scientists: Lake Tahoe warming faster than ever

Lake Tahoe is warming faster than ever thanks in large part to human-caused climate change.   (Photo: CelsoDiniz, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Image: Lake Tahoe is warming faster than ever thanks in large part to human-caused climate change.   (Photo: CelsoDiniz, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

khou.com - July 30th 2016 - Benjamin Spillman

The biggest alpine lake in North America is warming faster than ever thanks in large part to a changing global climate.

That’s according to scientists who study Lake Tahoe to produce reports on everything from water temperature to clarity to invasive species.

The latest data in the State of the Lake report shows average water temperature in the lake increased nearly half a degree in one year.

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Human Consumption of Earth's Natural Resources Has Tripled in 40 Years

CLICK HERE - World Bank - Connect 4 Climate - Global Material Flows and Resource Productivity

CLICK HERE - Summary for Policymakers - Global Material Flows and Resource Productivity (44 page .PDF file)

CLICK HERE - REPORT - Global Material Flows and Resource Productivity (200 page .PDF file)

ecowatch.com - July 25, 2016

A report produced by the International Resource Panel (IRP), part of the UN Environment Programme, says rising consumption driven by a growing middle class has seen resources extraction increase from 22 billion tons in 1970 to 70 billon tons in 2010.

It refers to natural resources as primary materials and includes under this heading biomass, fossil fuels, metal ores and non-metallic minerals.

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Wildfires Are Getting Bigger, Lasting Longer and Costing More, Experts Say

         

A firefighter hosed down burning pipes on Saturday near Santa Clarita, Calif. David McNew/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

nytimes.com - by Nick Strayer - July 25, 2016

As a large fire forced evacuations this week near Los Angeles, experts pointed out that wildfires in the United States are now more destructive and dangerous than ever.  The sharp increase in fire damage has been attributed to the warming climate, fire-management tactics and the nonstop construction of homes in fire-prone areas.

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Climate Change Will Wipe $2.5tn Off Global Financial Assets: Study

           

The economic impact of climate change could play havoc with the world economy, according to an LSE study. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters

CLICK HERE - STUDY - ‘Climate value at risk’ of global financial assets

Losses could soar to $24tn and wreck the global economy in worst case scenario, first economic modelling estimate suggests

theguardian.com - by Damian Carrington - April 4, 2016

Climate change could cut the value of the world’s financial assets by $2.5tn (£1.7tn), according to the first estimate from economic modelling.

In the worst case scenarios, often used by regulators to check the financial health of companies and economies, the losses could soar to $24tn, or 17% of the world’s assets, and wreck the global economy.

The research also showed the financial sense in taking action to keep climate change under the 2C danger limit agreed by the world’s nations. In this scenario, the value of financial assets would fall by $315bn less, even when the costs of cutting emissions are included.

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Building Community Preparedness to Extreme Heat - A White House Webinar

CLICK HERE - NOAA - Climate Program Office - Building Community Preparedness to Extreme Heat - A White House Webinar

CLICK HERE - The White House - Preparing our Nation to Beat the Heat

The White House - NOAA - May 26, 2016

On May 26, 2016 at 2pm EDT, the National Security Council and the Office of Science and Technology Policy held a webinar focused on building community preparedness to extreme heat as part of FEMA’s PrepareAthon Extreme Heat Week. The webinar was planned as part of an interagency collaboration (including NOAA, CDC, FEMA, DOD, OSHA, SAMHSA, ASPR, NIH, EPA and others) to address the Grand Challenge of Disaster Reduction for heat waves as part of the Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction of the National Science and Technology Council.

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World's carbon dioxide concentration teetering on the point of no return

 ‘We’re going into very new territory’: James Butler, of the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, says the amount of carbon dioxide is locking in future warming. Photograph: John Giles/PA Image: ‘We’re going into very new territory’: James Butler, of the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, says the amount of carbon dioxide is locking in future warming. Photograph: John Giles/PA

theguardian.com - May 11th 2016 -  Michael Slezak

The world is hurtling towards an era when global concentrations of carbon dioxide never again dip below the 400 parts per million (ppm) milestone, as two important measuring stations sit on the point of no return.

The news comes as one important atmospheric measuring station at Cape Grim in Australia is poised on the verge of 400ppm for the first time. Sitting in a region with stable CO2 concentrations, once that happens, it will never get a reading below 400ppm.

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Global Warming Cited as Wildfires Increase in Fragile Boreal Forest

The boreal region stretches across the Northern Hemisphere through Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia and Russia. Boreal forests are increasingly affected by fire and climate change.

Sources: Natural Resources Canada; Alberta Agriculture and Forestry; U.S. Geological Survey; University of Maryland - By The New York Times

Scientists say the near-destruction of Fort McMurray last week by a wildfire is the latest indication that the vital boreal forest is at risk from climate change.

nytimes.com - by JUSTIN GILLIS and HENRY FOUNTAIN - May 10, 2016

Scientists have been warning for decades that climate change is a threat to the immense tracts of forest that ring the Northern Hemisphere, with rising temperatures, drying trees and earlier melting of snow contributing to a growing number of wildfires.

The near-destruction of a Canadian city last week by a fire that sent almost 90,000 people fleeing for their lives is grim proof that the threat to these vast stands of spruce and other resinous trees, collectively known as the boreal forest, is real. And scientists say a large-scale loss of the forest could have profound consequences for efforts to limit the damage from climate change.

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