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Links
www.newyorkwater.org
www.westchesterlandtrust.org
www.townofsoutheast-ny.com
www.friendsofbeldenhouse.org
www.stoppattersoncrossing.com
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Coal-fired power stations
are death factories. Close them
The government is expected to give the go-ahead to the coal-burning
Kingsnorth power plant. Here, one of the world's foremost climate
experts launches an excoriating attack on Britain's long love affair
with the most polluting fossil fuel of all
By James Hansen
A year ago, I wrote to Gordon Brown asking him to place a moratorium
on new coal-fired power plants in Britain. I have asked the same of
Angela Merkel, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd and other leaders. The
reason is this - coal is the single greatest threat to civilisation
and all life on our planet.
The climate is nearing tipping points. Changes are beginning to
appear and there is a potential for explosive changes, effects that
would be irreversible, if we do not rapidly slow fossil-fuel
emissions over the next few decades. As Arctic sea ice melts, the
darker ocean absorbs more sunlight and speeds melting. As the tundra
melts, methane, a strong greenhouse gas, is released, causing more
warming. As species are exterminated by shifting climate zones,
ecosystems can collapse, destroying more species.
The public, buffeted by weather fluctuations and economic turmoil,
has little time to analyse decadal changes. How can people be
expected to evaluate and filter out advice emanating from those
pushing special interests? How can people distinguish between
top-notch science and pseudo-science?
Those who lead us have no excuse - they are elected to guide, to
protect the public and its best interests. They have at their
disposal the best scientific organisations in the world, such as the
Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences. Only in the
past few years did the science crystallise, revealing the urgency.
Our planet is in peril. If we do not change course, we'll hand our
children a situation that is out of their control. One ecological
collapse will lead to another, in amplifying feedbacks.
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air has already risen to a
dangerous level. The pre-industrial carbon dioxide amount was 280
parts per million (ppm). Humans, by burning coal, oil and gas, have
increased this to 385 ppm; it continues to grow by about 2 ppm per
year.
Earth, with its four-kilometre-deep oceans, responds only slowly to
changes of carbon dioxide. So the climate will continue to change,
even if we make maximum effort to slow the growth of carbon dioxide.
Arctic sea ice will melt away in the summer season within the next
few decades. Mountain glaciers, providing fresh water for rivers
that supply hundreds of millions of people, will disappear -
practically all of the glaciers could be gone within 50 years - if
carbon dioxide continues to increase at current rates. Coral reefs,
harbouring a quarter of ocean species, are threatened.
The greatest danger hanging over our children and grandchildren is
initiation of changes that will be irreversible on any time scale
that humans can imagine. If coastal ice shelves buttressing the west
Antarctic ice sheet continue to disintegrate, the sheet could
disgorge into the ocean, raising sea levels by several metres in a
century. Such rates of sea level change have occurred many times in
Earth's history in response to global warming rates no higher than
those of the past 30 years. Almost half of the world's great cities
are located on coastlines.
The most threatening change, from my perspective, is extermination
of species. Several times in Earth's history, rapid global warming
occurred, apparently spurred by amplifying feedbacks. In each case,
more than half of plant and animal species became extinct. New
species came into being over tens and hundreds of thousands of
years. But these are time scales and generations that we cannot
imagine. If we drive our fellow species to extinction, we will leave
a far more desolate planet for our descendants than the world we
inherited from our elders.
Clearly, if we burn all fossil fuels, we will destroy the planet we
know. Carbon dioxide would increase to 500 ppm or more. We would set
the planet on a course to the ice-free state, with sea level 75
metres higher. Climatic disasters would occur continually. The
tragedy of the situation, if we do not wake up in time, is that the
changes that must be made to stabilise the atmosphere and climate
make sense for other reasons. They would produce a healthier
atmosphere, improved agricultural productivity, clean water and an
ocean providing fish that are safe to eat.
Fossil-fuel reservoirs will dictate the actions needed to solve the
problem. Oil, of which half the readily accessible reserves have
already been burnt, is used in vehicles, so it's impractical to
capture the carbon dioxide. This is likely to drive carbon dioxide
levels to at least 400 ppm. But if we cut off the largest source of
carbon dioxide - coal - it will be practical to bring carbon dioxide
back to 350 ppm, lower still if we improve agricultural and forestry
practices, increasing carbon storage in trees and soil.
Coal is not only the largest fossil fuel reservoir of carbon
dioxide, it is the dirtiest fuel. Coal is polluting the world's
oceans and streams with mercury, arsenic and other dangerous
chemicals. The dirtiest trick that governments play on their
citizens is the pretence that they are working on "clean coal" or
that they will build power plants that are "capture-ready" in case
technology is ever developed to capture all pollutants.
The trains carrying coal to power plants are death trains.
Coal-fired power plants are factories of death. When I testified
against the proposed Kingsnorth power plant, I estimated that in its
lifetime it would be responsible for the extermination of about 400
species - its proportionate contribution to the number that would be
committed to extinction if carbon dioxide rose another 100 ppm.
The German and Australian governments pretend to be green. When I
show German officials the evidence that the coal source must be cut
off, they say they will tighten the "carbon cap". But a cap only
slows the use of a fuel - it does not leave it in the ground. When I
point out that their new coal plants require that they convince
Russia to leave its oil in the ground, they are silent. The
Australian government was elected on a platform of solving the
climate problem, but then, with the help of industry, it set
emission targets so high as to guarantee untold disasters for the
young, let alone the unborn. These governments are not green. They
are black - coal black.
The three countries most responsible, per capita, for filling the
air with carbon dioxide from fossil fuels are the UK, the US and
Germany, in that order. Politicians here have asked me why am I
speaking to them. Surely the US must lead? But coal interests have
great power in the US; the essential moratorium and phase-out of
coal requires a growing public demand and a political will yet to be
demonstrated.
The Prime Minister should not underestimate his potential to
transform the situation. And he must not pretend to be ignorant of
the consequences of continuing to burn coal or take refuge in a
"carbon cap" or some "target" for future emission reductions. My
message to Gordon Brown is that young people are beginning to
understand the situation. They want to know: will you join their
side? Remember that history, and your children, will judge you.
* James Hansen is director of Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space
Studies in New York. He was the first scientist to warn the US
Congress of the dangers of climate change
Regards,
Irvin Dawid
Sierra Club
- Cool Cities
All over America, communities
are taking action to help solve global warming.
From hybrid vehicle fleets in Charlotte, to
green buildings in Austin, and homes powered
with renewable energy in Seattle, local
governments are moving forward with innovative
energy solutions that curb global warming, save
taxpayer dollars, and create healthier cities.
These local leaders are moving America toward a
safer and more secure future.
http://coolcities.us/
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Premium Parking
by Michelle
Hucal
LEED AP
April 1, 2008
Santa Monica solar-powered parking structure stops
traffic with bold, colorful glass design.
What may be viewed as an unlikely candidate for
green accolades, a parking structure in Santa
Monica, Calif., has pushed the envelope toward
sustainability. The Santa Monica Civic Center
aboveground parking garage features photovoltaic
panels on the roof, recycled materials (including
post-consumer recycled glass) and various energy
efficiency techniques.
James Mary O’Connor, AIA, principal of Moore Ruble
Yudell Architects and Planners, is confident that
his team had met both the aesthetic and
sustainability challenges set forth by the city of
Santa Monica to create this six-story solar-powered
structure.
“The garage has architectural, structural and
mechanical design elements that will make this the
first parking structure in the USA to achieve LEED
certification,” says O’Connor. “Photovoltaic panels
on the roof provide self-shading and much of the
building’s energy needs. The array of angled
photovoltaic cells serves to accentuate the skyline
and provides a memorable symbol for the Civic
Center. Other sustainable features include a
storm-drain water-treatment system, recycled
construction materials and waste, low volatile
organic compound paints and coatings, low-e glazing
for heating and cooling efficiency, and energy
efficient mechanical systems.”
The distinctive glass design recently earned The
Glass Association of North America’s first ever
Design in Glass Awards in the Tempered Glass —
Commercial category, honoring designer Moore Ruble
Yudell Architects & Planners, installer Woodbridge
Glass, Inc., manufacturer Bendheim Glass and
supplier Specialty Glazing Systems.
“The design does not disguise the utilitarian nature
of the building, but instead seeks to celebrate this
aspect as part of the design aesthetic,” says
O’Connor. “The design solution uses colored
laminated glass channels, photovoltaic panels,
ribbed pre-cast concrete panels, and steel mesh to
render a unique civic presence. The dynamic
integration of these materials makes the structure
function as an urban curtain in its vibrant
context.”
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Michelle
Hucal
LEED AP
hucalm@bnpmedia.com
Michelle Hucal, LEED AP, is
the editor of Environmental Design + Construction. She can be
reached at hucalm@bnpmedia.com.
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