Environmental News
Environmental News from Boulder, Colorado
TV weathermen don’t want to know which way the wind blows
Jan 23rd
American Meteorological Society Delays Vote on Climate Change Statement
Members of drafting committee have reportedly threatened to resign;
Forecast the Facts campaign calls on the AMS Council to offer a full explanation
New Orleans, LA – On Sunday, January 22, the Council of the American Meteorological Society voted to delay passage of its new statement on climate change, deviating from its plans to release a new statement by Feb. 1, 2012. Daniel Souweine, director of the Forecast the Facts campaign—a new initiative to hold T.V. meteorologists accountable on climate change reporting—said this in response: “The AMS Council is calling this a ‘routine’ delay. But the statement is taking considerably longer than expected, and members of their drafting committee have threatened to resign. Something isn’t adding up.”
Forecast The Facts staff attended the Council meeting, where AMS Council member Peter Lamb explained that the Council had sent the statementback to the drafting committee because of unspecified “concerns.” Councilor Lamb indicated that the drafting committee was frustrated by the process, and that multiple committee members had threatened to resign. On Friday, January 20, the AMS posted an update on their blog about the statement’s release. The AMS is the leading national organization for meteorologists, with over 14,000 members. Its information statements are “intended to provide a trustworthy, objective and scientifically up-to-date explanation of scientific issues of concern to the public at large.“ According to a national survey, T.V. meteorologists trust information from the AMS more than almost any other source, including climate researchers, making their statement on climate change a closely watched document in the meteorological community.
The current statement, passed in 2007, was originally set to expire onFebruary 1, 2012. The new statement, being drafted by a panel of experts, requires approval by the 21-member AMS Council. The Council’s decision to delay the vote means that the process for drafting will take longer than the AMS’ internal guidelines, which state that: “The period of time from appointment of the drafting committee to approval by the Council must not exceed eight months.”
The issue of climate change denial among television weather reporters has gained increasing attention of late, especially with the release of a national study by George Mason University in March 2010. The study found that 63% of T.V. meteorologists think climate change is due to natural causes, and a full 27% think global warming is a scam.
Recent increases in extreme weather have added further impetus for meteorologists to report on climate change. In 2011, the United States experienced a record twelve “billion-dollar” extreme weather events, including flooding from Hurricane Irene, unprecedented tornadoes in the Midwest, and crippling droughts and wildfires in the Southwest. Most scientists believe that climate change exacerbates extreme weather, a conclusion affirmed by the International Panel on Climate Change’s November 2011 report on the subject.
Deepwater Horizon lessons are subject of Jan. 26 lecture at CU-Boulder
Jan 17th
The University of Colorado Boulder will host a free public lecture this month illuminating the lessons learned from the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 workers and resulted in the largest accidental oil spill in U.S. history.
Called “What Happened at Deepwater Horizon?” the event will be presented Jan. 26 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in the Mathematics Building auditorium, room 100.
Donald Winter, former secretary of the Navy, professor of engineering practice at the University of Michigan and chair of the National Academies committee that wrote a report on the Deepwater Horizon accident, will be the first of two guest speakers.
The report, issued last month, points to multiple flawed decisions leading to the blowout and explosion, and calls for a new “system safety” approach to anticipating and managing possible dangers at every level of operation.
A second guest speaker will be Paul Hsieh, a research hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey who was named 2011 Federal Employee of the Year. Hsieh performed the crucial calculations on pressure that deemed it safe to cap the oil well in mid-July without causing it to rupture from beneath the seabed and result in a bigger disaster.
Two CU-Boulder environmental engineering faculty who have been researching the aftermath of the incident also will present their findings at the event. Fernando Rosario-Ortiz will discuss the environmental fate of dispersants used in the disaster response and Alina Handorean will present information on air quality impacts of the oil spill.
“I was really jarred by this event because it was so preventable,” said event co-organizer Jana Milford, professor and director of the Environmental Engineering Program at CU-Boulder. “By learning more about what happened, I think we can encourage a stronger culture around safety.”
The event is presented by the College of Engineering and Applied Science, the BOLD Center, the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Environmental Engineering Program.
For more information or to request accommodations for disabilities call 303-492-4774.
Boulder County gets ready for global warming
Jan 19th
Posted by Channel 1 Networks in Environmental News
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Public invited to comment on Climate Change Preparedness Plan
Draft to be discussed at meetings in Boulder and Longmont
Boulder County, Colo. – Boulder County is developing a Climate Change Preparedness Plan to help local residents and communities better prepare for changing environmental conditions.
A team of local consultants reviewed science pertinent to the Front Range and developed a list of recommendations for the community. The strategies outlined in the draft plan will be available for public review at two January meetings and for comment online until Feb. 24.
Anyone who lives or works in Boulder County is invited to provide feedback on the draft plan by mail, online, or at one of two public meetings:
Boulder
When: Tuesday, Jan. 24, 6-7:30 p.m.
Where: Boulder County Courthouse, third floor hearing room, 1325 Pearl St.
Longmont
When: Thursday, Jan. 26, 6-7:30 p.m.
Where: Boulder County Parks and Open Space, 5201 St. Vrain Road
A draft of the plan and a survey link are available on the plan’s webpage. Or visit www.BoulderCounty.org, click on the “Sustain” button and scroll to “Energy and Climate.”
For additional information, contact Sustainability Planner Lisa Friend at lfriend@bouldercounty.org or 303-441-3522.
Comments will also be accepted at P.O. Box 471, Boulder, CO 80306, Attn: BOCC Climate Change Preparedness Plan.
For assistance with accessibility, contact the Human Resources Division at 303-441-3508 at least 48 hours before either scheduled event.