Jan 17 2009
Some Good, Some Bad, Some Progressive News on Climate Change
Image from http://http://www.ar8.ie
Good news from Tunisia! Magharebia reported this week on Monday that due to its energy campaigns for a more sustainable energy source, Tunisia has become a lot more energy efficient. Last year the country reduced its energy consumption by 9%, saving 800,000 tons of oil. That’s wonderful news. Keep up the great work, Tunisia!
Unfortunately, Malibu, California, USA is not doing so well at one of its more prized beach surrounded by multi-million dollar homes. Broad Beach is going underwater, or most of it already has.
Image by LA Times
According to climatologists and oceanographers, there won’t be any sand left. In other words, Broad Beach will vanish completely due to rising sea levels. What’s the reason? Climate change. And it’s going to get worse:
A group of scientists this month once again elevated those projections, suggesting that a rise of up to two feet predicted last year by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) could easily double or more within the next century. The new numbers, outlined in a study commissioned by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, take into account the latest data and observations of glacial and land ice melting, which send torrents of fresh water into the ocean.
“You end up with what’s called a drowned beach,” Guza said. “At low tide, the water comes rushing up the sea wall. At high tide, there’s no beach, just water.”
Homeowners are putting in efforts to come up with solution to save the beach. But the scientists believed it’s a wasted effort. According to climatologist Bill Patzert, “In the end, Mother Nature and global warming will win. No matter how much concrete they pour, all of those sea walls and houses will end up in the ocean.” You can watch a two-minute video from LA Times by clicking here .
But we do have some good and hopeful news from other parts of the world. The 50-year-old monarch of Monaco, Prince Albert, became the first head of state to travel to the North and South Poles on a mission to see for himself the impact of climate change. That’s really impressive. Let’s hope he will bring positive policy change to help preserve our home, planet Earth, when he returns home to Monaco.
Applauds are also in order for vegetarian professional race car driver Leilani Munter. She’s speaking out about the importance of being eco-friendly and addressing the need to tackle environmental issues that’s facing our society.
She’s also talking about putting “together an Eco-Dream Team where the race cars will show a public service message to race fans, promoting greener actions, such as using energy saving light bulbs. She also wants to set up eco-education centers at the racetracks.” Kudos and hats off for your pro-active approach to addressing global warming!
