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Cook Inletkeeper
Climate Change
ADEC Rejects Petition to Report Greenhouse
Gas Pollution!
On April 2, 2007, Inletkeeper and other
groups joined a petition filed by the public interest law firm
Trustees for Alaska, calling on the State of Alaska to require
major sources of greenhouse gases to regularly report their
emissions. This important effort comes in the wake of a U.S.
Supreme Court decision that will give EPA several years to
decide whether to control greenhouse gas emissions from certain
sources. Alaska has the legal authority to implement
common-sense greenhouse reporting requirements NOW, and Alaskans
have a right-to-know about emissions that can aggravate climate
change in the Last Frontier.
On April 27, 2007, ADEC Commissioner Larry
Hartig rejected petitioners' request. While ADEC's agrees
with virtually all the major components of petitoners' request,
it chose to delay greenhouse gas reporting until a future date.
Inletkeeper believes the time to address climate change is NOW,
and is working with the petitioners, legislators and state and
federal agencies to ensure Alaska install some basic rules
around the generation and publication of greenhouse gas
pollution.
For more information:
ADEC
Letter Rejecting Greenhouse Gas Reporting Petition
Press
Release
Greenhouse Gas Reporting Petition
BACKGROUND
Alaska’s average air temperature
has increased 4 degrees F over the past 50 years – and winter
temperatures have soared 7-10 degrees F - leading mainstream
newspapers such as USA Today to label Alaska the “poster state”
for climate in the U.S. In Cook Inlet, the effects of climate
change have been especially pronounced: a massive spruce bark
beetle epidemic, multiple hundred-year floods, and alarming
warming trends in local salmon streams.
While Inletkeeper has
long-recognized the profound implications of a rapidly changing
climate on our economies, communities and environment, the issue
has taken on heightened urgency in light of Inletkeeper’s salmon
stream monitoring efforts. By deploying temperature data
loggers in local fish streams, Inletkeeper has discovered that
summer in-stream temperatures now routinely exceed state
standards established to protect spawning and passing salmon.
Cook Inlet – and the entire
state of Alaska – stand at a vital crossroads: today in Cook
Inlet, we face a fork in the road: we can move backwards to coal
and oil and gas development – with all their well-documented
climate change and other problems – or we can embrace a future
that includes clean, renewable power and long term, sustainable
jobs. The choice is ours, but our children will live with our
decision.
Now, Inletkeeper is implementing
a multi-pronged strategy that recognizes the importance of
salmon to all Alaskans, and works to shift the discussion in
Alaska from fossil fuel production, combustion and pollution, to
clean renewable energy supplies and long-term sustainable jobs.
INLETKEEPER’S SOLUTIONS
Because salmon and salmon
protection resonate with Alaskans across political, social,
cultural and economic divides, Inletkeeper has now embraced
salmon protection as a foundation for pursuing all it’s other
research, education and advocacy work. The “Pro-Salmon
Project” (right) recognizes the inherent connections between
sound science (step1), education and organizing (step 2),
pollution prevention and habitat protection (step 3) and clean,
renewable energy and long term jobs (step 4).
Inletkeeper pursues these
mutually-supporting efforts by embracing the following goals for
its climate change work:
1) Collect and disseminate
credible science on climate change and climate change impacts on
Alaska fish resources;
2) Utilize salmon science to
educate and connect a diverse range of Alaskans on climate
change, fossil fuel combustion and renewable energy issues;
3) Promote salmon resilience to
climate change by challenging short-sighted proposals that harm
salmon and salmon habitat, and by developing “salmon refugia” to
ensure fish stocks can adapt to quickly changing environments;
and
4) Support wind, tidal, solar
and related renewable energy technologies and projects that
produce clean power and long term sustainable jobs.
TAKE ACTION
·
Write to your
elected official
·
Write a letter to
the editor
·
Sign-up for action
alerts on breaking news
·
Forward this page
to a friend
·
Check back here
for updates
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Join Inletkeeper!
Changes in Alaska
Salmon Stream Habitat Due to Climate Warming
October 2007 Presentation to Alaska Climate Impact
Assessment Commission
Additional Resources & Links
(links open in new window)
Our thanks to Deborah Williams
and Alaska Conservation Solutions for providing the following
excellent links to climate change information:
Alaska Conservation Foundation - Climate Change-Alaska
Conservation Foundation's program addressing climate change.
Alaska Conservation Solutions – excellent monthly reports on
Alaska climate change issues.
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment-2004's
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment was compiled by hundreds of
scientists from eight Arctic nations. The report is available
for download in both full and condensed versions, and describes
the impacts of global warming in layman's terms.
Bering Climate-Info on how global
warming is affecting the ecosystem of the Bering Sea from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Carbon Calculator-An easy way to calculate
your personal carbon emissions.
Carbon Counter-An easy way to offset
your personal carbon emissions.
City of Homer Draft Action Plan
Climate Ark - Climate Change Portal-Compilation
of global warming news and information, with a climate change
search engine and a comprehensive directory of climate change
websites.
Climate Crisis Coalition-The CCC
connects global warming to other important issues facing our
world and connects many different organizations to become a
powerful voice on climate change.
ClimateWire-Compilation of the latest
global warming news, updated daily.
Cool It Campaign-Designed for
Californians but applicable to Alaskans, this website offers
simple, practical ways for the individual to combat global
warming.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change-Assesses
and publishes scientific reports on various elements of global
warming.
Google News - Climate Change-The latest
news stories on climate change.
Google News - Global Warming-The latest
news stories on global warming.
National Commission on Energy Policy-A
bipartisan groups of America's energy experts which is working
on a long-term energy policy to eliminate our dependence on
foreign oil.
National Environmental Trust - Global Warming-Resource
for global warming news, science, and policy.
Natural Resources Defense Council - Global Warming
-Articles on global warming science,
policies, and solutions.
National Snow and Ice Data Center-Scientific
data on snow, ice, and glaciers, and how global warming if
affecting them.
Pew Center on Global Climate Change-the
Pew Center works to promote civic journalism.
RealClimate-Articles and discussions on
climate change by real scientists.
Renewable Energy Alaska Project (REAP)-REAP
works to promote clean energy in Alaska as an alternative to
fossil fuels.
SafeClimate-Great resource of global
warming info and emission reduction tips for businesses.
Trustees for Alaska-A public interest
law firm working to protect Alaska's environment.
Union of Concerned Scientists - Global Warming-This
group of scientists offers lots of data on the science behind
global warming and practical policy solutions for our country to
adopt.
US Global Change Research Program-Governmental
program to promote global warming research.
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