An Environmental News Roundup

Here's a quick roundup of environmental news stories that caught my attention. It's not intended to be exhaustive.

• Last we heard from Richard Muller, head of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature (BEST) study, his work on BEST had convinced him that climate change was real. Now he has gone farther.  This is from a piece he wrote for the New York Times (emphasis is mine):

Three years ago I identified problems in previous climate studies that, in my mind, threw doubt on the very existence of global warming.  Last year, following an intensive research effort involving a dozen scientists, I concluded that global warming was real and that the prior estimates of the rate of warming were correct.  I’m now going a step further: Humans are almost entirely the cause.

The name of the piece? The Conversion of a Climate-Change Skeptic.

• Here's some hopeful news: Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club describes, in the latest Sierra magazine, going to the White House Correspondents' Dinner:

One of the more refreshing aspects of the event was a series of conversations I had with Republican leaders who talked (off the record) about their interest in tackling climate change—and the political constraints preventing them or their colleagues from speaking out about it.

"Mike, we may not agree on much," one prominent Republican said.  "But on climate change, there's not really that much separating us."  Then he added, "But there's no way I can say that publicly."

• James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has released a new study.  He describes it in the Washington Post and once again, the title tells the story: Climate change is here – and worse than we thought.  Considering our weather this summer, it's hard not to argue. This has been the hottest summer I've known, and I've lived here a long time.

• On the positive side, after the Clarkson Valley Board of Alderman refused to allow Jim and Frances Babb to put solar panels on the roof of their home, a judge ruled that the city was wrong, giving the Babbs legal authority to install the panels.  According to an article in West Newsmagazine, the Board's refusal was “ostensibly due to concerns about the aesthetics of the panels.”  Surely solar panels are no uglier than utility poles, fire plugs, air conditioners, and the dozens of other outdoor appurtenances of modern living.  To the contrary, they're beautiful because of what they represent – clean energy.

Am I an alarmist?  Crying wolf?  If I were heading for a cliff, I'd want someone to let me know.   If climate change is a global left-wing conspiracy, where is the proof?  Daniel Patrick Moynihan said “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”

Constructive comments are welcome.