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Poll dancing
John Sauven, Guardian
What are the real findings of the latest research into public perceptions of climate change?
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An Ipsos Mori poll, undertaken last month, has found that the public doesn't trust government and scientific claims about climate change, said the BBC's website yesterday. Further, 56% of respondents believe many scientists have to yet to be convinced of the arguments on global warming.

However, surely the key finding of the poll is the fact that 70% agreed that the government should take the lead in combating climate change, even if it means using the law to change people's behaviour. This is allied to the fact that 90% agree that climate change will have a significant impact on future generations. These are the two key findings. The rest is noise: for example, that scientists are split down the middle on whether human activity is contributing to climate change. We know the clear fact is that scientists are almost unanimous in their agreement on this.

...Despite the headlines, I don't believe the poll really shows that the public are in denial about climate change. Public understanding of climate change is broadly increasing. I think what the poll does show is that the public are looking for leadership in dealing with an issue which is both complex and requires bold action at a national and international level.
(4 July 2007)

Schwarzenegger "Blocked Own Green Policy"
David Usborne, Independent/UK via Common Dreams
The executive director of California's air-quality board, which is responsible for implementing the state's landmark environmental emissions law, has resigned amid allegations that the office of the Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has been deliberately getting in the way of its work.

The unexpected ruckus is deeply embarrassing for a governor who has visited capitals worldwide, including London last week, touting his state as an example to everyone because of its supposed commitment to cutting noxious emissions by 25 per cent by 2020.

Catherine Witherspoon announced she was stepping down from the board just days after the Governor fired its chairman, Robert Sawyer, on the grounds he was dragging his feet in imposing the cuts on industry. He, however, has claimed the contrary - that he was moving too fast and that aides to the Governor were trying to hold up measures that would hurt business.

The Governor's administration has "lost its way on air quality," Ms Witherspoon said after her departure. She said the charge that she and Mr Sawyer were not doing more to implement the new law, the Global Warming Solutions Act, was nothing if not "Orwellian - a triumph of appearances over reality".

Indeed, Mr Sawyer released transcripts this week of voice-mails he had received from aides to the Governor requesting that the board, at a recent meeting, limit itself to adopting three new measures on cutting emissions, when it had four on its agenda.

"Every signal the board got from the Governor's office staff was, ‘Slow down, don't hurt industry, don't get ahead of us on greenhouse gases'," Ms Witherspoon said. "They were ordering us to find ways to reduce costs and satisfy lobbyists." She added: "I'm happy to be going out with a roar and not a whimper. My objective is to make sure people understand what is going on so it can be straightened out."
(4 July 2007)

Climate deals turn up heat in Indonesia's dark peatlands
Gillian Murdoch, Reuters
...Investors around the world are dreaming of the billions the festering carbon-rich bogs could bring in as the world battles global warming. Peat bogs are the new black gold, some say.

Science has long known that Indonesia's 20 million hectares (50 million acres) of dense, black tropical peat swamps, formed when trees, roots and leaves rot, are natural carbon stores, explained University of Nottingham peat expert Professor Jack Rieley.

"They are 50 to 60 percent carbon. Peat stores more carbon than all of the planet's vegetation combined," he said.

Now the dots have been joined between peatlands and the massive amounts of climate change-related carbon emissions they release when burnt or drained to plant crops such as palm oil.

Peat is a potential gold-mine, said Marcel Silvius, Senior Program Manager of Wetlands International NGO.

"This science was not available before," said Silvius, the co-author of a November 2006 report that found Indonesia's peatlands emit two billion tons of carbon dioxide each year -- more than the annual greenhouse gas emissions of Japan or Germany.
(2 July 2007)