Week 2 University of Michigan Student Delegates COP26 Glasgow Scotland Being able to attend an international United Nations conference has been a dream of mine for many years. Attending a conference like that as an observer feels energetic and inspiring. There are many like minded individuals all around you inspired to work on the very …
Category: Science
The Irony of a Climate Change Conference: COP26
I recently had the opportunity to travel to COP26 as a member of the University of Michigan’s Delegation. What an experience! Attending events and plenaries where the discussions of climate action were taking place was exciting and yet frustrating. Frustrating because the negotiations were not progressing fast enough and were not aggressive enough to combat …
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UNwelcome: The Gap between Science and the Negotiations
During my time in Katowice, Poland, I set out to get a better handle on how science and policy intertwine at the COP. After all, science is supposed to be the foundation for the work of the UNFCCC and the COP. But functionally, to what extent is climate science really the basis upon which the …
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A Translator Needed
At COP24 in Katowice, Poland, over one hundred languages are spoken in the hallways and rooms of the International Conference Centre and Spodek Arena where the negotiations are held. In light of this fact, a host of translators are on hand to ensure that country representatives and observer delegates do not face any language barriers …
2010 a Top-Three Warmest Year
A press release by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) yesterday, December 2nd, announced that 2010 will rank in the top three of the warmest years on record. The announcement was made as part of COP 16. The press release states that the average global surface temperature for 2010 (Jan to October) is estimated to be …
UNEP on Ocean Acidification
Today in Cancun the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report titled "Environmental Consequences of Ocean Acidification: A Threat to Food Security." The report investigates the impacts of increasing carbon dioxide emissions on the world's oceans. As the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rises, the amount of carbon dioxide that dissolves in …
IPCC Activites Update
Yesterday, members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), including Chairman Pachauri, gave an update on IPCC activities and the progress of AR5 to the attendees of COP 16. The first part of the report, "Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis", is due to be released in 2013. Chairman Pachauri states that the …
Google Earth and Climate Change
A very cool set of videos over at Google Earth. Use Google Earth to learn about adaptation strategies that mitigate the effects of climate change. The Google Earth Outreach team and our partners have created this series of tours and videos. Fly over tree canopies in 3D, learn about how climate change affects our planet …
Are Tropical Cyclones Changing?
Hello from Cancun and COP 16! This afternoon the U.S. Center sponsored a talk titled "Tropical Cyclones and Climate Change". The speakers included Tom Knutson (NOAA), Scott Braun (NASA) and William Putman (NASA). The discussion focused on improving our understanding of how future tropical cyclones may change due to global warming. Dr. Knutson presented the …
The future of oil and the wedge of hope
Most greenhouse gases that people emit come from fossil fuels, so understanding how much fossil fuels we're likely to burn in the coming decades is a crucial climate issue. I've been learning a lot about "peak oil" and related ideas lately, and have been having some heretical thoughts—or at least they feel heretical to me, …
Climate Blue 