EPA Regional Administrator Curt Spalding Discusses Sustainability at UConn

Curt Spalding, Regional Administrator for the EPA in the New England region, gave a guest lecture today in the UConn School of Engineering. During his talk, entitled A Sustainable Future, Mr. Spalding touched upon a variety of projects that the EPA is currently working on including zero-emission water treatment facilities and green chemistry. The portion that I found most interesting, however, was a discussion of a Boston-based project that saw the EPA, HUD and DOT work together with local government to create transit oriented developments for communities that have been under served by commuter rail. This holistic approach breaks the "silo" mentality for government planning and could be a good sign of future things to come. For more check out the video below!

What Countries are Prepared for Climate Change?

The Global Adaptation Institute's Global Adaptation Index (GaIn) "summarizes a country's Vulnerability to climate change and other global challenges on the one hand and its Readiness to improve resilience on the other hand". How prepared is your country for climate change? According to the Global Adaptation Institute, if your country is one that is going to be profoundly affected by a changing climate, then odds are it is not prepared. According to this matrix, the countries who are most vulnerable are the least ready to adapt.

European countries are concentrated at the top of the rankings of the GaIn index in addition to Australia (#4), New Zealand (#5) and the United States (#8). The Global Adaptation Institute used a variety of literature to create this index. For more follow this link!

Climate Week NYC 2011 Underway

Climate NYC 2011, a week long conference on climate change that includes NGO's, business and government leaders, began yesterday. The goal of this conference is to focus on driving a 'clean industrial revolution'. Many of the events are open to the public, so if you are in the area check them out!

24 Hours of Reality Underway

On Tuesday, former Vice President Al Gore appeared on the Colbert Report to promote the Climate Reality Project's 24 Hours of Reality. In an attempt to raise climate awareness, during this 24 hour period (yesterday to today), the Climate Reality Project will be showcasing speakers in each time zone around the world at 7 pm (in each respective timezone). Click here to view the map of presenters! At 7 pm in our timezone, here in Connecticut, Vice President Gore will be presenting from New York City.

La Niña and the Droughts

Towards the end of August, speculation began that La Niña was at work again causing extended droughts in both the Southwest US and East Africa. Last week, the verdict came in from NOAA: La Niña is back.

“'This means drought is likely to continue in the drought-stricken states of Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico,' said Mike Halpert, deputy director of the (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center. 'La Niña also often brings colder winters to the Pacific Northwest and the northern Plains, and warmer temperatures to the southern states.'"


This Voice of America article explains the consequences in regard to East Africa.

"Wassila Thiaw studies Africa for the Climate Prediction Center at the National Weather Service in the United States. With a La Niña, Mr. Thiaw says the easterly winds that are supposed to bring moisture into East Africa are reduced." 
"Starting late last year, rains that were supposed to fall over Somalia, southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya failed. That part of the Horn of Africa has a second rainy season from March through May. Mr. Thiaw says that one failed, too, but for different reasons."

Consequently, it seems that the conditions in areas being affected by extended drought, like the Southwest US and East Africa, will not improve in the near future. 

La Niña is only one phase of a climate pattern known as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The video below, from the NOAA Environmental Visualizations Labratory, shows 22 years of sea surface temperature. The ENSO pattern can be notably seen on the west coast of South America near Peru.