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NEW IPCC REPORT PLOTS WAY TO REVERSE CLIMATE CHANGE
UN BODY SAYS MAJOR EFFORT TO MOVE ENERGY USE TO NON-GREENHOUSE-PRODUCING FUELS CAN REDUCE MAJOR EFFECTS OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
30 April 2007

Two major reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) earlier this year made front-page headlines across the world, warning of dire consequences of global climate change. Now, the new report, due to be released this week, plots a course to combat and reverse the climate phenomenon.

The 'greenhouse effect', whereby gases like carbon dioxide (produced mainly from burning carbon-based compounds, like coal or petroleum) accumulate in the atmosphere, blocking heat that would otherwise escape the atmosphere, and causing a positive feedback effect, where more heat means more heat still and the surface temperatures rise globally.

The report, due to be released at a major climate summit in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, will be the 3rd major global status report from the IPCC this year. Together, the 3 reports will establish the scientific consensus on which to base negotiations for a new global climate change mitigation treaty, to replace the Kyoto Protocol, seen as too soft and incomplete.

The moment is considered to be critical for curbing potentially disastrous effects of inaction. The Houston Chronicle reports on the IPCC summit in the following language: "Delegates at a major climate meeting debated Monday how to rein in rising greenhouse gas emissions that could threaten hundreds of millions with hunger and disease in the coming decades."

The new report, according to the Guardian newspaper's first glimpse of a draft copy, will declare "It is technically and economically feasible to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere ... provided that incentives are in place to further develop and implement a range of mitigation technologies."

The final report will be a product of redaction and negotiation among scientists and government officials from the member states of the IPCC. During the weeklong conference in Thailand, serious pressure will be placed upon all to avoid scenes such as those from Brussels earlier this year, when several scientists walked out of the process in protest against political interference from government officials.

The report's message as such is vital, as it demonstrates the strain of thinking that shows hope for constructing a sustainable method for avoiding the serious ill effects of global climate change, while establishing new industries that will create prosperity as the world takes on the economically challenging work of reaching that goal. [s]

BACKGROUND:
WIND ENERGY DEMAND BOOMING
COST DROPPING BELOW CONVENTIONAL SOURCES MARKS KEY MILESTONE IN U.S. SHIFT TO RENEWABLE ENERGY
22 March 2006 :: Lester R. Brown

When Austin Energy, the publicly owned utility in Austin, Texas, launched its GreenChoice program in 2000, customers opting for green electricity paid a premium. During the fall of 2005, climbing natural gas prices pulled conventional electricity costs above those of wind-generated electricity, the source of most green power. This crossing of the cost lines in Austin and several other communities is a milestone in the U.S. shift to a renewable energy economy. [Full Story]

GREEN LIGHT FOR RENEWABLE FUELS
NEW TECHNOLOGY MAKES SOLAR END-USER FRIENDLY
15 December 2005

Renewable fuels have enjoyed a lot of attention in recent months, in a market driven by escalating oil costs, strained fuel stocks, worsening environmental degradation, and promises by the G8 to reduce carbon emissions. Revelations about the vulnerabilities inherent in the fossil fuel infrastructure, together with new technological advances in wind- and solar-based power generation mean renewables are now directly competitive with traditional fuel sources. [Full Story]

WIND POWER SET TO BECOME WORLD'S LEADING ENERGY SOURCE
Lester R. Brown :: 25 June 2003

In 1991, a national wind resource inventory taken by the U.S. Department of Energy startled the world when it reported that the three most wind-rich
states —North Dakota, Kansas, and Texas— had enough harnessable wind energy to satisfy national electricity needs. Now a new study by a team of
engineers at Stanford reports that the wind energy potential is actually substantially greater than that estimated in 1991. [Full Story]

ESTALLA LA DEMANDA POR LA ENERGÍA EÓLICA
PRECIOS MÁS BAJOS QUE POR FUENTES TRADICIONALES AYUDAN A ADOPTAR LA ENERGÍA RENOVABLE
22 marzo 2006 :: Lester R. Brown

Cuando Austin Energy, agencia pública de la ciudad de Austin, Texas, lanzó su campaña GreenChoice en el año 2000, el cliente que quería adoptar fuentes energéticas "verdes" tenía que pagar más. Durante el otoño, la persistente subida de los precios por el gas natural hizo que superaran los precios de la energía eólica, un momento clave para el proceso de mudar economía energética del país hacia las fuentes renovables. [Texto completo]

WHY WIND IS SMARTER
21 November 2005

Wind energy offers something no carbon-based fuel can offer: zero emissions, zero cleanup, local control and reasonable local supply everywhere on Earth, and it is 100% non-climate disruptive and essentially infinitely renewable. In fact, the overall global wind resource far exceeds our capacity even to harness or to use it. As of 2003, Pentagon-commissioned research had found that just 3 wind-rich midwestern states possess sufficient wind resources to power the entire US economy with existing wind-turbine technology. [Full Story]

LA ENERGÍA EÓLICA SERÁ EL PRIMER RECURSO ENÉRGICO MUNDIAL
Lester R. Brown :: 25 junio 2003

En 1991, un estudio del Departamento de Energía de Estados Unidos para medir los recursos eólicos nacionales sorprendió al mundo cuando demostró que los tres estados más ricos en viento —North Dakota, Kansas y Texas— poseían un recurso bastante como para satisfacer la demanda nacional para electricidad. Ahora un estudio nuevo, hecho por un equipo de ingenieros de Stanford, reporta que la energía eólica potencial supera por mucho los cálculos de 1991. [Texto completo]

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