This is an incomplete post salvaged from the internet archive.
-by Sarah
A side event entitled Climate Impacts on the Ocean this afternoon focused on a report by the WBGU (German Advisory Council on Global Change) on the impacts of climate change on oceans (and, subsequently, on humans and the earth as a whole). The report is divided into five parts: Sea levels, Circulation, Acidification, CCS, and Methane Hydrates.
After taking Don’s climate science class, this was not to be missed.
This is an incomplete post salvaged from the internet archive.
-by Sarah
This afternoon I attended a side event about climate observations, predictions, and resulting implementation into development decisions. William Westermeyer of the Global Climate Observation System (GCOS) began by zipping through a powerpoint which had much more information in its slides than was possible to read before he moved on. He introduced the concept of GCOS and its initiative in Africa (ClimDev Africa, short for- as you can probably guess- Climate Development Africa). The goal of GCOS and its subsequent regional programs is to mainstream climate information into development decisions, and in the case of Clim Dev Africa he stressed the ownership of the program be primarily within Africa, in collaboration with outsode actors (presumably UN branches, developed countries, and so on). GCOS is one way the UN is trying to carry out the 5-year work program under Decision 2/COP 11, which calls for action on impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation to climate change through better data and observation collection.
-by Sarah
Which is why I offset my CO2 emissions for travel to COP12 with Conservation International, a D.C.-based organization which supports long-term, community-based conservation projects like the Makira Forest Project in the biodiversity hotspot of Madagascar, which focuses on local education and empowerment around agroforestry to reduce deforestation. To learn more about the project, visit http://www.conservation.org/xp/frontlines/protectedareas/07100601.xml
and go to ConservationInternational.org to learn more about the organization. The choice to offset my emissions through them was an easy one when I read their mission statement: “…to demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniousely with nature.” Because we’re all here together…
