Heat waves and wildfires in Russia. Record-breaking heat in the eastern and southern United States. Massive flooding in Pakistan. Melting glaciers in Greenland. These are just some of the impacts of climate change that are being seen around the world during summer 2010.
In early August, scientists observing the Petermann Glacier in Greenland reported that an area of ice three times the size of Manhattan had broken off the glacier. “It is not a freak event and is certainly a manifestation of warming,” said Dr. Richard Bates of the University of St. Andrews. “This year marks yet another record breaking melt year in Greenland; temperatures and melt across the entire ice sheet have exceeded those in 2007 and of historical records.”
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) noted in an announcement this week that in addition to the calving of the iceberg from the Greeland ice sheet, a number of other extreme weather events are occurring around the world this summer, giving rise to an unprecedented loss of human life and property. These include the record heat wave and wildfires in the Russian Federation, monsoonal flooding in Pakistan and rain-induced landslides in China. “Climate extremes have always existed,” wrote the WMO in its August 11 statement, “but all the events cited above compare with, or exceed in intensity, duration or geographical extent, the previous largest historical events.” The sequence of current events matches projections by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of more frequent and more intense extreme weather events due to global warming. Click here to read the WMO statement.
Meanwhile, temperatures are breaking records throughout the eastern and southern United States. According to a new report by the National Wildlife Federation, in 2010, New Jersey, Delaware and North Carolina had their hottest June on record, while Maryland, Virgina, South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana had their second hottest June. And the hot conditions continued with July 2010 being among the top five hottest on record for many states. “2010 is a sample of what’s to come because global warming is bringing more frequent and severe heat waves which will seriously impact vulnerable populations,” said Dr. Amanda Staudt, a climate scientist at the National Wildlife Federation. Click here to read the report, Extreme Heat in Summer 2010: A Window on the Future.
Perhaps this extreme weather will give pause to our Senators as they sweat through their summer vacations knowing they failed to take any meaningful action so far this year on climate and clean energy issues.
Photo of scientists observing the Petermann Glacier courtesy of University of St. Andrews.
United Steelworkers Making Clean Energy Jobs a Reality for American Workers
Besides the climate crisis, the crisis of summer 2010 is undoubtedly the ongoing economic crisis. As we head into mid-August, experts are expressing increasing concern about the high rate of unemployment and the possibility that the recovery is not advancing as quickly as had been hoped. But thanks to the U.S. labor movement, progress is being made in creating clean energy jobs for American workers.
This week, the United Steelworkers (USW) announced that it had signed agreements with A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd, (NASDAQ: APWR) and Shenyang Power Group (“SPG”), two of China’s leading power generation companies. The two Chinese clean energy companies have agreed that for a 615-megawatt wind farm they are building in West Texas, they will manufacture as much of the wind turbines as possible in the United States, using American-made steel and creating as many as 1,000 American jobs.
The West Texas wind farm is notorious among clean energy advocates because news surfaced in October that only 15 percent of the 2,800 jobs to be created by the wind farm would be located in the U.S., despite the fact that the project was to be funded, in part, by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The rest of the jobs would be in China, where the wind turbines were to be manufactured.
In addition to protesting against this loss of American jobs, the USW also decided to pursue a collaboration with A-Power and Shenyang that would return these jobs to the U.S.
“The deal is a result of white collar Chinese executives negotiating with blue collar union officers to create green collar jobs in the U.S.,” wrote Steelworkers International President (and Apollo Alliance board member) Leo Gerard in the Huffington Post. “The agreement defies stereotypes about unions as constantly combative, excessively expensive and environmentally challenged. The USW has a track record of engaging with enlightened CEOs for mutual benefit. It has a long green history. And it has worked to return off-shored jobs to the U.S.”
Kudos to the steelworkers for securing this landmark agreement that is a model for how we can win clean energy manufacturing jobs for American workers!
In other news …
*AFL-CIO pushes for mass transit jobs in Los Angeles. Today, the AFL-CIO organized a rally of thousands of people in Los Angeles to urge policymakers and political candidates to commit to solving our nation’s job crisis. Among the job-creation policies being backed by the AFL is a clean transportation project in Los Angeles County called the 30/10 Initiative. The idea of the Initiative is to accomplish 30 years worth of mass transit projects in just 10 years, which will not only create 160,000 clean energy jobs but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled in Los Angeles. The mass transit projects to be funded under the 30/10 Initiative include the Metro Orange Line extension, Westside subway extension, Green Line LAX extension, and others. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka spoke at the Los Angeles rally as did LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LA County Federation of Labor Secretary-Treasurer Maria Elena Durazo. Click here for more information about the 30/10 Initiative and here to learn more about what the AFL-CIO is doing to push policymakers to focus on jobs, jobs, jobs.
*Intern at the Apollo Alliance! The Apollo Alliance is seeking a smart, organized, energetic person with strong research and writing skills to assist with our program and policy department. This internship offers an excellent opportunity for a talented student or professional committed to clean energy and social equity issues to gain experience working in a high caliber, fast paced, results-oriented non-profit policy organization. The application deadline is Sept. 3. Click here to view the internship announcement.
