| Global Climate Change and Warming, 2000 |
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| Written by Lawrence Jorgensen | ||||||||||||||
Page 3 of 12 MarchMudslide Kills 11 in Brazil: "Tons of mud loosened by a rainstorm collapsed on a shantytown, killing 11 people and injuring four… The mudslide, caused by a four-hour downpour… buried 10 wooden shacks… on the outskirts of Sao Paulo." AP, 3/1/00 Top Companies to Join WWF in Innovative Effort to Save Energy, Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions Climate Savers: A partnership designed to help businesses lower energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has been created by World Wildlife Fund and the Center for Energy and Climate Solutions. "The first two corporations joining Climate Savers are IBM and Johnson & Johnson… 'We're delighted that these two major multinational companies are the first members of Climate Savers,' said William Eichbaum, WWF Vice President for Global Threats." Cool Companies, 3/1/00 AMS March Bulletin Focuses on Trends and Impact of Weather and Climate Extremes: "The March Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society presents a series of five articles, each dealing with a different phase of weather and climate extremes, examin[ing] trends and observations in extreme climate events… socioeconomic and ecological impacts… [and are available at] http://www.ametsoc.org.ams." ENN Direct, 3/2/00 South African Floods Caused by Warm Indian Ocean: "Rains that have lashed southern Africa and prompted floods [in Mozambique] have been triggered by exceptionally warm ocean water temperatures," said meteorologist, Tracey Fill of the South African Weather Bureau in Pretoria. "Other meteorologists have also pointed to water temperatures, noting that sea surface temperatures over the Mozambican channel have been unusually high." Ed Stoddard. Reuters, 3/2/00 Response to Mozambique Floods Difficult Because Crisis Growing: "The global response [to flooding in Mozambique] has been … slow-mainly because the catastrophe has evolved over several weeks and is still getting worse each day… The United Nations estimates that 800,000 to 1 million … have lost their homes and in urgent need of help following the worst floods in decades." Nicole Winfield, AP, 3/3/00 Chilly Reception for Warm Weather: The early thaw of this winter in the northeastern United States has had a devastating economic effect on the recreation industry. "The casualties of all the warm weather include North America's largest cross-country ski race and an ice fishing derby in International Falls, Minnesota… Ed O'Lenic, a meteorologist with the U.S. Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center in Camp Springs said, `We did predict a warm winter… but what we have seen far exceeded anybody's expectations.'" Robert Imrie, AP, 3/3/00 Methanex Joins California Fuel Cell Partnership: "Methanex Corporation has joined the California Fuel Cell Partnership as an associate partner [and] will assist… demonstrating the viability of methanol fuel infrastructure technology… developing appropriate methanol fuel composition standards and in exploring the path to commercializing fuel cell electric vehicles, including the development of a commercial methanol fueling infrastructure." CNW, 3/ 2 /00 Batten Down the Hatches, Sea Level Is Rising: "[P]repare for a rise in sea level of 20 inches and the inundation of 13,000 square miles of land by the year 2100," says Gary Yohe, co-author of a report for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and economics professor at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. "'The oceans have a considerable amount of momentum in their expansion… even if temperatures were stabilized next month.'… According to the report, costs associated with a rising sea level range from $20 billion to $150 billion… The effects of sea level rise include erosion of beaches, inundation of deltas, loss of wetlands, increased storm activity and environmental degradation owing to recreation and development. " John Roach, ENN, 3/4/00 Zimbabwe Appeals for $22 million for Flood Relief: "In a statement, President Robert Mugabe's government said the [recent] cyclone and floods… had affected 500,00 people… 'We are appealing for 826 Zimbabwe dollars from the international community.'" Reuters, 3/4/00 Spring Weather Greets Alaska's Iditarod Mushers: "A record 81 mushers and their dogs trotted through downtown Anchorage in relatively warm weather on Saturday to start the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Temperatures hovered around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, as a relative heat wave gripped Alaska's largest city. Yereth Rosen, Reuters, 3/4/00 Food, Medicine Now Priority in Mozambique: "Foreign troops and relief workers scrambled Sunday to deliver food and medicine to tens of thousands of Mozambicans stranded by floods… Meanwhile, a cyclone… was downgraded to a tropical storm." Concerns are now about the possibility of malaria and cholera outbreaks. "'Mozambique is a very long way away and the floods developed over a long period of time. It was much more difficult to predict than anyone had imagined,'" said Mike Young, a spokesman for the United States mission in Maputo. "'Many people died here. There is nothing to eat. The roads are broken. People are crying because they are hungry and can't drink the water here,' said truck driver John Maduna." Emma Thomasson, Reuters, 3/5/00 IFC Boosts Power, Efficiency For Automotive Fuel Cells Leapfrogs Competition by 15 Percent: "International Fuel Cells,Inc., (IFC), a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. today announced it has developed a way to boost the power of automotive fuel cells while at the same time shrinking their size. This is a significant step toward commercializing fuel cells for automobiles. IFC has developed the technology to increase the amount of power a fuel cell will produce per liter [to] 1.5 kilowatts, 15 percent more power than competitors' fuel cells." PRNewswire, 3/6/00 Ford, BP Amoco Offer Cleaner Fuels: " BP Amoco and Ford Motor Company today announced the availability of newly reformulated lower sulfur fuels that could reduce smog-producing vehicle exhaust emissions in the Detroit area by 7 1/2 tons per month. The cleaner gasolines - Crystal Clear Amoco Ultimate and BP Super 93 - will keep an estimated 176,000 pounds of emissions out of the Motor City's air each year, equal to the exhaust of some 5,192 cars and trucks. Ford, the world's second largest car company, said it will use BP Amoco's cleaner fuels to fill the tank of each new vehicle that rolls off an assembly line where the low sulfur gas is available. UPl, 3/6/00 Swiss Reinsurance's List - Most Deadly and Most Costly Disasters of 1999 The 20 worst catastrophes in terms of fatalities:
The 21 worst catastrophes in terms of insurance losses, in U.S.dollars:
Georgia A. Callahan Appointed Vice President - Environment and Health for Texaco: "Georgia A. Callahan has been appointed Vice President Environment and Health for Texaco… Callahan is responsible for monitoring global environment and health issues, and the development of competitive environmental strategies that enhance business opportunities and foster strategic partnerships within the company and externally." Business Wire, 3/800 Solar Concentrator Scores High in Sacramento: "Initial monitoring by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) indicates that a new solar energy technology can provide 20 percent more power than conventional solar panels. Photovoltaics International installed a 30 kilowatt linear solar concentrator project at SMUD's 59th Street Warehouse last October dubbed the SunFocus™.' Monitoring results from SMUD … confirmed PVI's predictions from computer modeling that the technology will generate more electricity than conventional solar panels. Once installed, the SunFocus™ has virtually no operating or maintenance costs. " ENS, 3/ 8/00 Flooding Hits Botswana, Mozambique: "Five straight days of downpour have killed scores of people throughout southern Africa… More than 100,000 people were left homeless… Water covered thousands of acres of sorghum, corn and other crops. The flooding was the worst in memory in Botswana." AP, 3/11/00 Scientists - Winter Warmest on Record: "This winter… warmest on record since… 105 years ago, according to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. [R]esearchers said that seasonal temperatures from December to February averaged 38.4 degrees Fahrenheit, or 0.6 degrees warmer than the previous record… set just last year. The scientists attributed the warm temperatures to La Nina… couldn't say… whether the warm winter had any link to a 'greenhouse effect' caused by pollution into the atmosphere. In fact, the last three winters have been the warmest on record in the United States - a pattern of warm winters established in 1980 said the scientists. Since then, 67 percent of the winter seasons have been warmer than the long-term average." Brigitte Greenberg. AP, 3/12/00 Eco-Industrial Park Receives 10,000 Square Foot Solar System: "PowerLight Corporation recently install[ed]… the latest roof-integrated, thin-film solar electric system in North America. [According to] PowerLight Executive Vice President Dan Shugar, 'In addition to generating solar electricity, the tiles insulate the building, reducing the const of heating and air-conditioning, while also protecting and extending the life of the roof. They're an integral part of the rooftop… require[ing] no roof penetration or adhesives… eliminating leakage and related maintenance.'" Cool News, 3/14/00 More Mozambique Food Shortages Predicted: "Saturated soil and a shortage of seed are threatening the start of the planting season… If the farmers can't plant, they'll miss the September harvest… The southeast African nation's worst recorded flooding has killed 492 people… and damaged nearly 1.9 million acres of farmland in the central and southern regions." Craig Nelson, AP, 3/18/00 Bolivia Flooding Wrecks Crops: "Flooding from torrential rains in recent weeks has destroyed crops, killed thousands of cattle and left hundreds of people homeless, the Civil Defense Office said Monday. The rains ended a severe drought that affected a third of Bolivia... Rain-swollen rivers overflowed their banks, covering fields of soybean, cotton, corn and grapes... also flooded parts of the cities of Santa Cruz and Cochabamba." AP, 3/20/00 Study Predicts Rapid Global Warming in Future: "The Earth is in a natural warming cycle that, combined with warming from the greenhouse effect, will push it through a period of rapid global warming according to a new climate study conducted by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography… This is the first study to explore the link between tidal mixing and climate change over the last 1,000 years." Cool Companies, 3/23/00 Giant Iceberg Shakes Loose Off Antarctica: "One of the largest icebergs ever recorded broke off of Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf earlier this week and is now flying solo in the Ross Sea… In the 23-year history of the U.S. National Ice Center's iceberg database, no iceberg has been bigger, said Selina Nauman, a NIC scientist." Lucy Chubb, ENN, 3/25/00 Waste-free Fuel Cells to be Tested in Autauga County, Alabama: "Prototypes of an improved fuel cell apparatus that convert hydrogen from natural gas or propane into electricity is scheduled to be tested in Autuaga County, Alabama. "The fuel cell will be hooked up to a home, and possibly a business …for testing. 'I think this has a great future,' said Millbrook Mayor Al Kelley. 'This could play a larger role in helping to bring people out to the outlying areas.' The fuel cell would serve as a cost effective alternative to traditional power lines when they are too costly to install in outlying areas." Christie Sellers, Montgomery Advertiser, 3/25/00 Power Companies Enlist Farmers in War Against Global Warming: "Power companies are offering to pay… farmers to till their fields less frequently in order to control… global warming." Tilling soil rich in carbon releases it back into the atmosphere, where it contributes to global warming. By giving farmers carbon-credits, the power companies hope to delay this release until they are better able to cope with and/or utililize it. Norm Heikens, Indianapolis Star, 3/26/00 Global Warming Serves Notice for Public Health: "As global temperatures rise, so do health risks associated with the heat, scientists say." Lead author Jonathan Patz of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health is quoted as saying "Heat and heat waves are projected to increase in severity and frequency with increasing global mean temperatures." Lucy Chubb, ENN, 3/28/00 Rio Grande Valley Drought Sparks Friction Between Texas, Mexico: A major political controversy is brewing due to the ongoing drought in along the Texas/Mexico border. A water treaty signed in 1944 between the United States and Mexico guarantees Mexico water from the upper Rio Grande, north of El Paso, and allots water to the U.S. from Mexican rivers that feed the river below that point. However, because of the recent drought (according to Mexican officials), Mexico has not paid its water debt present debt. " This is either the worst or second-worst drought of the 20th century," said Jesus Luevano, spokesman of the Mexican section of the International Boundary and Water Commission. On the opposing side is a study by the R.J. Brandes Co. of Austin, commissioned by the Rio Grande Water Planning Group asserting "Mexico hadn't experienced an `extraordinary' drought… could have provided water to the United States." Steven H. Lee and Brendan M.Case, Dallas Morning News, 3/28/00 La Nina Wields Its Weight on Hurricane Season: "'Because the 2000 season will exhibit the effects of La Nina, we can expect a greater number of hurricanes and a chance for more severe hurricanes,' said Anthony Lupo, assistant professor of atmospheric sciences at the University [of Missouri]." Robinson Shaw, ENN, 3/29/00 Ford Commits to 80 MPG Vehicle by 2003: "Ford Motor Co. will mass market a car capable of 80 miles per gallon by 2003. Vice Preside Al Gore told CNBC that For made a commitment to producing the vehicle on a large sclae within three years while he me with General Motors, Ford and Daimler Chrysler as part of USCAR." Michael Strong, Bridge News, 3/30/00 Texas Tornado Kills Four: "A tornado carved a path of destruction through downtown Fort Worth Tuesday, shattering windows in high-rise buildings, overturning cars and uprooting trees. Four people were killed and at least 36 were injured." Stephen Hawkins, AP, 3/31/00 US Ecology Appeals Ward Valley Court Ruling: "Jack Lemley, Chairman, CEO and President of American Ecology Corporation, today announced that subsidiary US Ecology, Inc. is appealing a federal court order dismissing a complaint filed against the federal government by the company and the State of California in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. US Ecology currently holds a valid State of California license to construct and operate the Ward Valley disposal facility. 'We remain fully committed to developing this environmentally sound disposal facility, allowing California to meet its thirty year disposal obligation to low-level radioactive waste producers in the four state Southwestern Compact region,' Lemley concluded." Business Wire, 3/31/00 Second Big Iceberg Breaks Off from Antarctica: "A second giant iceberg has broken off from Antarctica and is bumping into a huge iceberg that broke off the Ross Ice Shelf last week, researchers said… [They also say that] large chunks are breaking off of Antarctica for several reasons, some due to global warming… Much of Antarctica consists of ice sheets with no ground underneath, [and its shrinkage] could not only help raise ocean levels but… shift ocean circulations and weather patterns, bringing drought, severe storms and the wider spread of tropical diseases." Reuters, 3/31/00 |
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