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Dispatch from Kiribati: Can you "see" sea level rise?
Tarawa, Kiribati - This is my fifth time visiting Kiribati for research. I'm here working on a coral monitoring project together with my colleagues at the local government. For more, check out my Scifund site, which is dedicated to raising funds for...
Why I am opposed to Northern Gateway
After a few months of thinking, I came to the conclusion that there is no choice but to oppose the construction of the Northern Gateway pipeline. There are many worthy arguments on either side of this issue, from the economy to First Nations rights...
Who to trust about climate change
My sister is a neurologist. She's highly active in her field and is often asked by the media to comment about her particular area of expertise within the field of neurology. It is great having a sibling who is a medical doctor. Though she and I do...
Changing the tone of the Climate Change discourse
In a short article on the Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media, Keith Kloor compares online climate change discourse to a "roller derby" and a "street fight" Taken together, the intimidation tactics of climate science bashers and the new...
Adapting to Mild Winters
Just before the holidays, I posted this short video about how the shrinking lake ice "season" across much of the Northern Hemisphere is one of the clear physical signs of climate change, and might affect the holiday tradition in my family.This year...
Climate Change & the Holiday Season
This short video, made with the help of my great undergraduate assistant Cory Kleinschmidt, tells the story of how climate change might be affecting a holiday tradition among many Canadian families, including my own.
New Data On Carbon Emissions Per Capita
To follow up Friday's post, I put together a chart of per capita emissions, based on the CDIAC's preliminary 2010 fossil fuel CO2 data and the estimated population. The per capita emissions were calculated using the most up-to-date source of...
Stunning New Carbon Emissions Data
The headline from the Associated Press "Biggest Jump Ever in Global Warming Gases" tells part of the story. The preliminary estimates of fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions for 2010 from Oak Ridge National Laboratory reveal what...
Climate Change Debates and Flags of Convenience
One of the perverse thrills of paddling in Vancouver is cozying up to the massive container ships parked out in English Bay (right). A little while back, I paddled past one rusting behemoth with the word "Monrovia" painted in white on the red hull....
Does More CO2 Cause A 'Fertilization Effect' In Plants?
The NY Times published a lengthy article about the climate implications of the forest diebacks and fires. It is, on the whole, a great and all-too-rare example of longform science journalism. The article does miss one important point about CO2...
Some Societies Can Adapt to Climate Change. Are We One Of Them?
In my climate change course, we devote a week to discussing climate and past civilizations. Among the goals of that week is to erase the notion that climate change is inherently "bad", or inherently "good", from the student's minds. The effects of...
Climate Change: An Accounting Problem
The latest RealClimate post, which describes the latest ice melt data from Greenland, features this really important figure. It illustrates an issue that arises every semester in my climate change course, and is, in a sense, fundamental to...
