“Water is a huge problem, as you all know, in Pakistan and Afghanistan. And Tajikistan has one of the greatest water potentials in the world. . . we have got a water resources task force now set up in the Department to examine how we can additionally help the countries of the area, and particularly Pakistan with the water issue.”
Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, Briefing on his Recent Trip to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central Asia, Georgia and Germany, March 2, 2010.
A few photos of beautiful wind turbines from my trip this week to Aomori prefecture in Japan – to boot, the energy generated can be stored in sodium-sulfur batteries and sold when electricity prices are high. All part of Japan’s work to meet its energy and climate change goals. Have a good weekend everyone!
President Obama announced more than $8 billion in loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants this week, sparking much news and debate this week over the wisdom of using nuclear as a major source of clean power. This is sure to be the theme for our weekly wrapup next Monday, so stay tuned. Read a complete transcript of his remarks before the Electrical Workers Union Local 26 here.
After back-to-back storms pounded the Washington metropolitan region and most of the Northeast this week, shutting down the federal government for a record-breaking four consecutive days, life is slowly returning to normal. The storm left thousands without power for parts of the week, crippled public transportation and shutdown the region’s three major airports. The Washington Post reports that “Snowmageddon” helped to shatter the seasonal snowfall record, with totals reaching “55.9 inches at Reagan National Airport, 72.8 inches at Dulles International Airport and 79.9 inches at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport.”
The photos above show a snow covered Iwo Jima Marine Corps Memorial, just one the many dramatic scenes left in the wake of the historic winter weather.
Some climate change skeptics have used the week’s events as evidence against climate change. But some scientists have responded, with recent stories populating the pages of The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic and The Los Angeles Times (to name a few). The bottom line message can best be summed up by John Broder at The New York Times:
A federal government report issued last year, intended to be the authoritative statement of known climate trends in the United States, pointed to the likelihood of more frequent snowstorms in the Northeast and less frequent snow in the South and Southeast as a result of long-term temperature and precipitation patterns. The Climate Impacts report, from the multiagency United States Global Change Research Program, also projected more intense drought in the Southwest and more powerful Gulf Coast hurricanes because of warming. In other words, if the government scientists are correct, look for more snow. (emphasis mine)
Photos courtesy of Christine Parthemore/CNAS.
President Obama released his Fiscal Year 2011 budget this week. In keeping with his State of the Union message to foster a new energy economy with investments in clean energy infrastructure and energy efficiency and innovation, the president has asked Congress to authorize investments in basic energy sciences - including doubling the funding for the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy's Office of Science and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. President Obama also asked Congress to authorize funds to study climate change, including how climate change could affect the economy (specifically businesses, farmers and ranchers).
Photo: A Senate Budget Committee staffer distributes copies of the president's FY2011 budget. Courtesy of flickr user talkradionews.
Naval Base Ventura County became the first Naval installation to receive the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification. Port Hueneme Building 1100, the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, was awarded the certification on January 8, 2010.
"We are proud of having the Navy's first sustainable, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified existing building," said Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center Commanding Officer, Capt. Paz B. Gomez, in a press release. "By using less water and energy throughout our facility, we will reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and save thousands of dollars annually in energy costs for the fleet and American taxpayers. Moreover, as more military and civilian facilities adopt green building designs, our nation will become more energy independent and less reliant on foreign sources of energy."
Naval Base Ventura County takes its place next to USMC Camp Lejeune, the first Marine Corps base to be awarded Silver certification.
Photo: Port Hueneme Building 1100. Courtesy of the U.S. Navy.
A satellite image of South Cascade Glacier, Washington in the fall of 2006. This image was collected from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Global Fiducials Library, advertised as “a collaborative effort between Federal Civil Agencies, Academia, and the Intelligence Community.” (emphasis mine) On Monday, The New York Times reported that the CIA is reviving its partnership with climate scientists in an effort to share declassified intelligence photos of scientifically important sites that could help scientists' climate change research. The program is being revived after its predecessor MEDEA, Measurements for Earth Data for Environmental Assessment, had been discontinued under the previous administration. Photos archived in the Global Fiducial Library are made available in part because of the MEDEA program.
Photo: Courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.
