International Researchers Discuss Climate Change Risks To Humans

By Julianne LaJeunesse - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

In a cross-Atlantic satellite panel discussion Wednesday, the National Institute of Health and top British researchers and health experts discussed a Lancet publication released today that highlights the impacts of climate change on human lives - an effort which the collaborators hope will further domestic and international policy on greenhouse gas and carbon emissions.

President Barack Obama’s Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told participants via a video recording that greenhouse gases affect more than just the environment, and that even if climate change wasn’t documented and known, the NIH would still be very concerned with greenhouse gases and carbon emissions.

“We know that depending on coal-powered plants that spew greenhouse gases is bad for our planet, but it’s also bad for our health,” Sebelius said. “We know that the growing share of meat in our diet is bad for our planet...[and] we know that depending on gas-guzzling cars is bad for our planet, but it’s also bad for our health since it can lead us to get less exercise.”

Sebelius carefully noted that coal plants, meat consumption, and vehicle use are “bad for our planet” when overused, but conserving resources, according to some study participants, will require policy changes.

James Woodcock, who represented the transportation section of The Lancet publication, said that in order to reduce vehicle use, walking and cycling must become more pleasant.

“If you’re talking about large increases in walking, cycling, and large reductions in car use, then you need to talk about policies that prioritize pedestrians and cyclists over those of motorists,” he said.

Those policies will need to be implemented on a country by country basis, and public support for domestic policy was encouraged by U.K. Secretary of State for Health Andy Burnham, who said “when the world comes together in Copenhagen, in just a couple of weeks time, it will be essential that we strike a deal that is equal to the challenge that we face.”

Pelosi Cautious On Climate Meeting With China

By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service

U.S Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was reserved in her choice of words today at the Brookings Institution as she reflected on her recent bipartisan trip to China to discuss the communist country’s climate efforts.

“This trip was very important for us because the U.S and China are the biggest emitters of gases and we have to come to terms in order for us to come to a multilateral agreement in Copehagen.” said Pelosi

The U.S delegation made the May trip after an invitation from the Chinese government. The meeting may have also given the U.S an ally against the growing threat that North Korea poses since its alleged nuclear and missile tests.

Bruce Klingner, an analyst for the Heritage Foundation, said that the Obama administration is “trying to press China to be less obstructionist, to allow for a greater punitive measure against North Korean government agencies.”

Why this (the climate crisis) “is important is we see it as a national security issue to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. We see it as an economic issue to create clean energy jobs and to be competitive in our investments and our innovation and technology so that we can be the world leader,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi spoke about how the American delegation prepared for this trip, saying “We arrived in China, we knew what we were going there to do but of course with our message reinforced from what we had just seen (in Alaska) also equipped with a bill that had passed Congress on Thursday which was a historic, momentous legislation on how we would go forward.”

The House Speaker confirmed that China has already demonstrated efforts to take energy consumption and climate into consideration, as she said “The Chinese have done remarkable things... in terms of closing down coal plants that were inefficient, the investments in research and actual construction of buildings in different ways so they'd use less energy in their construction and on the ongoing.”

But Pelosi reported that, despite efforts towards for climate improvement on a certain level, the delegation was met with a certain resistance from their Chinese counterparts with regards to further resolutions.

“What they wanted to be clear to us is that as they were doing this and they were investing in the technologies and the rest... they were going to be developing still, sustainable development with more of an emphasis on the development side,” said Pelosi.

Every year, “600,000 die of pollution in China,” according to Pelosi.

Climate change laws critical to survival say senators

Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), John Kerry (D-Mass.) Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) spoke at a news conference in the Upper Senate Park about the upcoming climate legislation. Boxer, chairwoman for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said that she could not have sent the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act to the floor without a bipartisan effort in the Senate. She presented a graph that showed rising gas prices since 2000. According to Boxer’s chart, in 2000 the price of gas stood at $1.47/gallon. Current gas prices average $3.94/gallon. Boxer added that President Bush opposes the bill because it has the potential to increase gas prices by a total of $0.50 by the year 2030.

Kerry emphasized the importance of the bill, stating that it goes to the core of the problems facing future generations and that it will enhance future legislation. Kerry said that this legislation affects the United States’ ability to survive, declaring “this is a bill and this is an effort whose time has come.”

Polar bear officially a threatened species

Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced today his decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA protects vulnerable species with two classifications: endangered, meaning the species is in danger of extinction, or threatened, in that the species is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future.

Kempthorne said that three findings contributed to this announcement of listing the polar bear as a threatened species. The first is that polar bears need sea ice to survive, the second is that sea ice is receding, and the third is that sea ice is going to recede in the future. He said last year sea ice was at its lowest level ever recorded, and that scientific models project both a decline in sea ice and a decline in polar bear population.

Kempthorne said that the ESA is one of the least flexible laws Congress has ever enacted, and that it prevents him as secretary from “taking into account economic conditions and adverse consequences” when making listing decisions. He said the threat to polar bears comes from the effect of global influences on sea ice, but that this listing will not stop global change or prevent the melting of sea ice. He said any real solution will require action “by all major economies for it to be effective.” He explains that this is why he is taking “administrative and regulative action to make sure ESA isn’t abused to make global warming policies.”