Solutions Seminar/Randy Kritkausky: "China and the Journey to Addressing Climate Change"

China's woes

China's extreme drought turns to deadly flood

China's drought is for some a demonstration of how global warming could increasingly disrupt nature's balance.

Torrential rain in two drought-stricken central China provinces triggered landslides and brought down houses [Reuters]

After six months of crippling drought conditions China is now facing more extreme weather in the form of heavy downpours that have brought flooding to over a dozen provinces.

In Hunan province, over 200 mm of rain fell in a 6 hour period - for the country that kind of rain is seen only once every 300 years.

So far over 100 people have been killed in floods and landslides in just the last 10 days.

In Maojiazu village, in Yueyang, the heavy rain caused a mudslide that wiped away 20 homes and killed at least 20 residents.

Another seven people are still missing under boulders and dense mud, and presumed dead, the Xianhua news agency reported.

Government officials are preparing for more landslides and flooding as water levels in some reservoirs have reached alarming levels.

The China Meteorological Agency has raised its emergency response in order to deal with the upcoming heavy rain and to put disaster relief agencies on alert for more impending disasters.

In just the next few days rainfall amounts are expected to be between 120 mm and 240 mm, with some isolated locations reaching to almost 300mm.

This is on average between 30 and 70 per cent more than average for this time of year.

For the north, drought conditions are still expected to persist until the summer monsoon rains reach the region at the end of the month.

China's extreme drought turns to deadly flood

There's China, and then there's US

China

In an essay published on the agency’s Web site, the minister, Zhou Shengxian, said the government would take a more aggressive role in determining whether development initiatives contributed to climate change through a new system of risk assessment.

Ignoring such risks, Mr. Zhou said, would be perilous

“In China’s thousands of years of civilization, the conflict between humankind and nature has never been as serious as it is today,” he wrote. “The depletion, deterioration and exhaustion of resources and the worsening ecological environment have become bottlenecks and grave impediments to the nation’s economic and social development.”

China Issues Warning on Climate and Growth

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US

Brain vs Blowhard 2: Taking it to the Tweets




Quite a contrast heh?

Dominos

China’s drought threatens global food security

China’s state media reported Feb 7 that the country’s major wheat producing provinces in the north were facing their worst drought in 60 years. It also reported Feb 8 that Shandong Province, a cornerstone of Chinese grain production, was bracing for its worst drought in 200 years unless substantial precipitation came by the end of Feb’11.

China bids to ease drought with $1bn emergency water aid

As the water spluttered on to his wheat field, farmer Liu Baojin expressed concern the support may have come too late. Despite the emergency well digging and partial compensation from the government, he fears he may have to seek work in the city if his harvest fails.

"I guess a third of my crops have already died," he said. "I'm very worried. I've never seen such a dry spell."

The problems are compounded by the growing water demands of cities and industry. On the outskirts of Sishui – which translates as Four Waters due to its historic abundance of rivers and sprints – villagers complain that they are not allowed to use the Si river that runs past their homes because the water is earmarked for the Huajin paper mill and an artificial lake in a nearby urban development.

"We can't use our own water. The local officials want to keep it so they can show a 'green face' to the big-shot leaders from Beijing," said a peanut and cotton farmer who gave the surname Liu. "We are very angry. But we are afraid to complain."

More than a month ago:



More recent:

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Will warming worsen state water crisis?

The idea was to call attention to the potential effects of climate change on "ordinary Americans," said Frank Ackerman, a senior economist at the institute and director of its Climate Economics Group.
"It's not all about polar bears and things far away from you," Ackerman said. "It's not just about people who chose to live in Key West being hit by hurricanes. It's about ordinary Americans around the country starting to feel the effects of climate change."

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Extreme weather, droughts and floods, impact food production resulting in reduced supply and higher prices.
And on and on and on...a domino effect

When the inevitable shortages and higher costs hit the average American, then, maybe, we will collectively force our government to act aggressively enough to forestall the worst of what's to come.

McKibben on the solar panels rebuff

It was all a little odd, to say the least. They refused to accept the Carter panel as a historic relic, or even to pose for a picture with the students and the petition they’d brought with them. Asked to do something easy and symbolic to rekindle a little of the joy that had turned out so many of us as volunteers for Obama in 2008, they point blank said no. In a less than overwhelming gesture, they did, however, pass out Xeroxed copies of a 2009 memorandum from Vice President Biden about federal energy policy.
...
Actually, I’ll be surprised if the White House doesn’t put up solar panels within a year. But even if they do, that would just be the barest of beginnings. We’ve run out of spare decades to deal with climate change -- the summer’s events in the Arctic, in Russia, in Pakistan proved that with great clarity. I may be a wuss, but I’m also scientifically literate. We know what we need to do, and we will do it. Enthusiastically.

Notes on the Enthusiasm Gap


Well here's my idea:
We could go on strike. Stop buying anything but absolute necessities. Reexamine what's needed... do you need that iphone or blackberry? Do you need to eat out? Ever? Can you work from home? Carpool? All these things help us avoid lining the pockets of the big corporations that are currently in charge.  The economic recovery will stall, but perhaps it should be made to adapt to a new normal... one of sustainability, not growth.

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Now here is a segment of the economy that needs to grow

THE global climate change industry is now worth more than $528bn, powered by China's rise as one of the top nations for climate revenues.

China powers booming world climate change industry

September 3

We cannot blindly accept that protecting the climate is humanity’s common interest – national interests should come first. Individual enthusiasm and willingness to make sacrifice for the sake of the climate is worthy of respect and praise. I myself usually walk or take the bus to work. The individual can choose not to drive, but China cannot choose not to have an automobile industry. The individual can save power, but there are 600 million people in India without electricity – the country has to develop and meet that need. And if that increases emissions, I say, “So what?” The people have a right to a better life.

China Sustains Blunt ‘You First’ Message on CO2 (Dot Earth)

A better life now, no life later.

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Talk about Cognitive dissonance:

Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival

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Johan Rockstrom: Let the environment guide our development (TED)