planted city

US President Barack Obama, in his 2012 nomination acceptance speech tonight at the Democratic National Convention. 

Related:

• Obama vs. Romney: Who has the best energy plan? (Smart Planet)
• ‘Renewable energy is Obama goal for next term, aide says’ (Bloomberg)

(Infographic source: Rooftop Revolution via Clean Technica)

From The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication:

… at the national level and among ten key swing states – taking a proclimate stand appears to benefit candidates more than hurt them with registered voters. Of course, the political dynamics in any given district may be an exception to this pattern, but it is important to note that the pattern is similar at both the national and swing-state scales.

A few highlights:

• A majority of all registered voters (55%) say they will consider candidates’ views on global warming when deciding how to vote.

• Among these climate change issue voters, large majorities believe global warming is happening and support action by the U.S. to reduce global warming, even if it has economic costs.

• Independents lean toward “climate action” and look more like Democrats than Republicans on the issue.

• A pro-climate action position wins votes among Democrats and Independents, and has little negative impact with Republican voters.

• Policies to reduce America’s dependence on fossil fuels and promote renewable energy are favored by a majority of registered voters across party lines.

• These patterns are found nationally and among ten swing states.

Read the rest of the article here.

Related:

• ‘Our summer of climate truth’ (Project Syndicate)
• ‘Why climate literacy matters’ (Daily Kos)
• ‘Candidates clam up on climate’ (Columbia Journalism Review)
• ‘Climate science as culture war’ (Stanford Social Innovation Review)
• ‘Enviros want climate question at Obama-Romney debate’ (The Hill)

(Tom Toles editorial cartoon: Washington Post via Go Comics)

Connecting the Science Dots: Extreme Weather & Climate Change (Infographic)

Details here. 

Related:

• ‘Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation’ (IPCC, 2011)

(Infographic source: UCS)

Infographic | Climate Change & Cities: ’Forget Superheroes: Local Government to the Rescue’

From The Carbon Disclosure Project:

In 2011 CDP Cities collected climate change data from 48 cities around the world. Our first ever infographic celebrates the actions taken by local governments to ensure that cities remain safe places to live and do business despite the effects of climate change. 

More here.

From Reuters:

Global warming threatens China’s march to prosperity by cutting crops, shrinking rivers and unleashing more droughts and floods, says the government’s latest assessment of climate change, projecting big shifts in how the nation feeds itself.

The warnings are carried in the government’s “Second National Assessment Report on Climate Change,” which sums up advancing scientific knowledge about the consequences and costs of global warming for China — the world’s second biggest economy and the biggest emitter of greenhouse gas pollution.

Global warming fed by greenhouse gases from industry, transport and shifting land-use poses a long-term threat to China’s prosperity, health and food output, says the report. With China’s economy likely to rival the United States’ in size in coming decades, that will trigger wider consequences.

“China faces extremely grim ecological and environmental conditions under the impact of continued global warming and changes to China’s regional environment,” says the 710-page report, officially published late last year but released for public sale only recently.

Even so, China’s rising emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas from burning fossil fuels, will begin to fall off only after about 2030, with big falls only after mid-century, says the report.

Assuming no measures to counter global warming, grain output in the world’s most populous nation could fall from 5 to 20 percent by 2050, depending on whether a “fertilization effect” from more carbon dioxide in the air offsets losses, says the report.

But that possible fall can be held in check by improved crop choice and farming practices, as well as increased irrigation and fertilizer use.

China is the world’s biggest consumer of cereals and has increasingly turned to foreign suppliers of corn and soy beans.

Check out the rest of the article here.

(Photo credits: Reuters; The Guardian)

From e360:

A panel formed to study solutions to increased flooding in Singapore has urged the government to require green roofs on new and retrofitted buildings. The 12-member panel, which was created after torrential rains caused flash flooding across eastern and central Singapore last year, said improved weather modeling and infrastructure improvements are needed to handle a surge in stormwater runoff caused by urbanization in Singapore. In the meantime, however, the panel urged simpler steps to reduce and delay flooding, including better storage tanks, porous pavements, and rain gardens. Such rooftop gardens, which are often added to reduce heat or for aesthetic reasons, can also absorb six to 34 liters of water per square meter and limit the spread of water flow, local contractors said. 

Check out the rest of the article here.

(Photo credit: Buildipedia)

Photo: Submerged cars in a flooded Thailand

The Baltimore Sun explains:

This aerial picture shows cars submerged in floodwaters at a Honda car factory outside the ancient Thai capital of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok. Massive floods have left 500 people dead across Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, officials said, as authorities stepped up efforts to reach victims of the unusually heavy monsoon rains.

For more stunning pictures of the extreme flooding going on in Thailand check out the Boston Globe’s Big Picture feature.