Reducing oil dependence. Strengthening energy security. Creating jobs. Tackling global warming. Addressing air pollution. Improving our health. The Union of Concerned Scientists has outlined a US national blueprint for a clean energy economy.
Climate
Global warming and the resulting climate change is one of the most pressing issues human society faces today. An increasing body of science points to rising dangers from the ongoing buildup of human-related greenhouse gases — produced mainly by the burning of fossil fuels and forests.
Mountain West: Forest Death Affects Climate Moderation
Pines of the Rockies are dying, wildfires racing across the Southwest deep into Texas, and Colorado’s aspens have declined due to lack of water. Worldwide the problem stretches from Southern Africa, the Amazon, Siberia, Algeria, and Australia. Without forest, levels of carbon dioxide rises and the climate will continue to warm.
Inuit People: Melting Ice, Shifting Stars, North not North
Inuit communities, elders and hunters, speak regarding social and ecological impacts of a warming Arctic and their conception of poles shifting, winds different, stars unrecognized. A Labrador Inuit Aurora Borealis myth illuminates their traditional connection with the stars.
Rainforest Wilt: Drought in the Amazon Has Long-Term Effects
The Amazon Rainforest experienced a devastating drought in 2010, increasing its emission of greenhouse gases, endangering its role as a global climate balance.
Nature: Extreme Weather Linked to Greenhouse Gas Levels
Two Studies in the Journal of Nature show that climate warming is responsible for extreme weather events, directly linked with rising greenhouse gas levels.
2010 Hottest Year on Record
One only has to piece together the fires in Russia and extreme heat in Europe and the Eastern Seaboard of the US, flooding in New England and the southern midwest, and now, disastrously, Pakistan, to see the warming trend manifesting worldwide.