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Climate Capsule: Week of July 21

(National Wildlife Federation)

EPA: Global Warming A Substantial Health Threat

Unless climate action is taken, global warming will pose a substantial threat to human health in the coming decade, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The governmental agency issued warnings about heat waves, hurricanes and pathogens in a new report, saying "it is very likely" that more people will die during extremely hot periods in future years - and the elderly, the poor and those in inner cities are most at risk.

Other threats to human health include more powerful hurricanes, shrinking supplies of fresh water, and the increased spread of diseases, according to the report.

"Climate change is a serious problem that our nation needs to address. But we need to address it correctly," EPA spokesman Jonathan Shradar said.

Altered weather patterns in the American West may thin snowpack that feed rivers, affecting hydroelectric dams and water supplies. In coastal areas such as the Chesapeake Bay region, rising sea-levels and increased storm intensity threaten land and the people and wildlife who live there.

In America’s Eastern cities, global warming is likely to make smog worse for a variety of reasons, according to a July 10 EPA report. Smog can irritate the respiratory system, reduce lung capacity and aggravate asthma. 

In addition to some of the health impacts directly caused by warming - threats from heat waves, temperature related affects on Ozone, among others - some of the most hazardous human health impacts occur because of, or are made worse by, the degradation of natural resources.

The report lists "wildfires" and "hurricanes and storm surge" as some of the most dangerous impacts of global warming to human health.  Unfortunately none of the "potential adaptation strategies" listed by the report include investing in the natural resources. Instead, the strategies include better public health advisories and coordinated relief efforts.   

Healthy coastal wetlands and healthy forests can and do prevent the worst impacts of hurricanes, storm surges, and wildfires. But as development and global warming threaten our wetlands and forests, it is imperative we invest in these resources to protect human health.

Baby Penguin Numbers Dwindle In Face Of Climate Change

Penguin colonies - particularly the babies - are collapsing because global warming, pollution, and over-fishing have damaged their ocean habitats, a recent study reports.

More than 400 penguins, most of them young, have been found dead on Southern Hemisphere beaches over the past two months. Biologist Erli Costa of Rio de Janeiro's Federal University suggested weather patterns could be involved.

"I think…we're seeing more young and sick penguins because of global warming, which affects ocean currents and creates more cyclones, making the seas rougher," Costa said.

"It's clear that humans have changed the face of the Earth and we have changed the face of the oceans," said Dee Boersma, a conservation biology professor at University of Washington. The risk to penguins from oil pollution is also increasing as they stray farther from their traditional habitats in search of food, the study said.

Although it is not unusual to find some penguins - dead and alive - swept to the Rio de Janeiro region by strong ocean currents, Eduardo Pimenta said there have been more this year than at any time in recent memory. Pimenta, superintendent for the state coastal protection and environment agency in the Brazilian resort city of Cabo Frio, suggested pollution is to blame for the loss of hundreds of these birds.

Thiago Muniz, a veterinarian at Rio's Niteroi Zoo, said overfishing has forced the penguins to swim further from shore to find fish to eat "and that leaves them more vulnerable to getting caught up in the strong ocean currents."

Quote:  "Reluctantly we come to acknowledge that there are also scars which mark the surface of our earth, erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world's mineral and ocean resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption."

-- Pope Benedict addressed some 150,000 youths in Sydney, Australia last week.

Pickens: We Must Reduce Our "Deadly Addiction" To Oil Imports, Focus On Renewable Wind Energy

Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens is touting his plan to reduce foreign oil imports by more than 30 percent in the next 5 to 10 years. "My plan is aimed squarely at breaking the stranglehold that foreign oil has on our country and the $700 billion annual impact it has on our economy," Pickens declared.

"I've been an oil man all my life, but this is one emergency we can't drill our way out of. But if we create a new renewable energy network, we can break our addiction to foreign oil," reads the Pickens Plan website.

The Pickens Plan would harness extensive use of wind power. His company, Mesa Power, has already invested $2 billion to build the world's largest wind farm in Pampa, Texas.

A report from the Department of Energy said that America could build enough wind farms to provide 20 percent of the nation's electricity by 2030. The wind power industry will bring many new jobs into the American economy and revitalize rural America.

Pickens believes the infrastructure can be built by private enterprise within the next 10 years. "It's time for us to take responsibility for the problem we've created and act now," T. Boone Pickens said recently in a statement.

Sportsmen Aim To Prevent Reckless Energy Development

Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development has established energy development guidelines aimed to provide guidance on how legislation should be crafted to strike a balance between conservation and energy development in the West.

The Sportsmen coalition is comprised of more than 150 hunting and fishing organizations and businesses. Conceived and written by top scientists and policy experts, including former Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck and former Wyoming Game and Fish Director John Baughman, the coalition’s recommendations (see the website for a PDF version) are a much needed road map for Congress and land managers at a time when vast tracks of western lands are being turned into industrial zones.

"Sportsmen are rightly concerned about the breakneck pace of oil and gas development in the west over the last decade," said Chris Wood, COO of Trout Unlimited. "Most sportsmen support the wise use of energy resources from our public lands. But because that's not happening today, hunters and anglers from around the West are fighting to keep short term energy development decisions from compromising the long-term health of the land and waters we depend on."   

"People who hunt and fish on our western public lands, and those who rely on sportsmen for their livelihoods, want our lands managed for more than just oil and gas development," said John Baughman, former Wyoming Fish and Game Director.

"Hunting, fishing, and wildlife related recreation contributes about $7.3 billion to state and local economies every year. Without meaningful reform of the process being used to tap our energy resources, we will lose more than just our wildlife but an entire way of life in the west. We need to slow down and be sure we respond to our energy needs responsibly," Baughman said.

Global Warming Throws Off Predator-Prey Balance

Climate change has altered the natural balance between two American mammal species, and both populations are close to their lowest-ever levels and have been feeling the effects of global warming, the Washington Post reports.

Next weekend, scientists and National Park Service officials will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Isle Royale Wolf/Moose Study, which has helped reveal how predator-prey interactions can affect entire ecosystems.

Isle Royale National Park, located in Michigan, is a very isolated geographic region in the largest of the Great Lakes. Because the region’s moose and wolves live practically cut off from other predators or prey with minimal interference from humans, it is an ideal laboratory to study how the species' fates are intertwined.

It's worse for the wolves. "Wolves will go extinct before moose do, and their extinction could definitely be caused by climate change," said study co-director John Vucetich.

When moose are plentiful, the wolves also thrive. If the moose population drops - from disease, starvation or tick infestation - the wolves also suffer.

Summers over the last decade have been unseasonably warm on Isle Royale National Park. Moose thrive in frigid boreal climates, so when temperatures rise above 60 degrees, their heart and respiration rates increase, and every step is an effort. In such cases, moose will spend unseasonably warm days resting rather than eating enough vegetation needed to survive the winter. With fewer moose, the wolves could be doomed.