Climate Change

Featuring appearances by Republican heavyweights such as Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and 2010 gubernatorial candidate and former EBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman, the Western Conservative Political Action Conference rolled through Newport Beach this weekend. Organized by Republican activist Jim Lacy, the conference has slowly gained momentum over its five-year existence. “This is the heart and soul of the conservative movement,” said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a longtime conference supporter.

This is in response to Tom Williams’ Forum piece (Sounding Off: “Earth is repeating cooling cycle,” Dec. 29). If we did not have some amount of greenhouse warming, life on Earth would be very different or nonexistent. However, too much of a good thing is not so good. It is also important to note that there are many possible causes of global climate change over the longer term, including plate tectonics, ocean salinity, ocean currents, solar radiation — as Williams mentioned — and more.

U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher recently slammed warnings of climate change as bad science and alarmism in a speech on the House of Representatives floor. In a lengthy speech Thursday condemning former Vice President Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth,” the International Panel on Climate Change, as well as previous environmental cause cèlébres such as fears about holes in the ozone layer and acid rain, Rohrabacher claimed large parts of the environmental movement were mere “pseudoscience” to justify increased government regulation.

They won’t be invited to Stockholm, but that’s OK with the nine UC Irvine scientists who have contributed to the environmental reports that won the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change its share of a Nobel Peace Prize. They were never really after the glory, just the work. Michael Prather, a UCI earth system science professor, researcher and a lead author for the panel’s reports dating back to 1995, said he appreciated how the Nobel committee named the entire organization as the beneficiary of the award.

In late November and early December, I attended the two-week United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa. I was selected to represent the Girl Scouts of the USA as part of a youth delegation for the World Assn. of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. I was the only American youth delegate in a team of 17 young women from 13 countries. As a Girl Scout delegation, our focus was on the relationship between gender and environmental issues, as well as promoting nonformal environmental education.

Every letter and every argument by people who believe that man-made climate change is either a hoax or too small to worry about fails to include an important ingredient: prudence. Ultimately, it may turn out that they were right about man-made climate change having been a negligible problem. But what if they are wrong? The risk of being wrong is high indeed, because it could mean death for all humans. Tom Williams may not be personally affected by climate change, but his heirs might be (“Earth is repeating cooling cycle,” Dec. 29)

Newport Beach Councilman Don Webb laced up his walking shoes Wednesday and began a roughly 500-mile walking tour of every street in the city that he expects will take a year to complete. The councilman started his walk at the northeastern most part of the city at Coastal Peak Park in Newport Coast and plans to work his way westward, walking two or three miles a day. This will be the fifth time the councilman has walked the city in its entirety. The last time Webb undertook the walk, it was in honor of the city’s centennial in 2006.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry - who brought his presidential campaign to Corona del Mar last week - may not believe in global warming, but perhaps a new study about the effects climate change could have on the economy could get him to reconsider the science. Expected beach erosion and the death of sea life caused by warmer waters could wash away hundreds of millions in tourism and tax dollars statewide, according to a recent study by San Francisco State economists. If the environmental reasons are not enough to get the attention of those who don't believe in the man-made causes of global warming, perhaps the economic reasons will prove convincing.

UCI’s second annual Women in Water seminar will welcome a water expert from Nevada to speak about the West’s ability to adapt to climate change. Pat Mulroy, who oversees Las Vegas’ 340,000 water district customers, will speak on “Climate Change and the American West: Can We Adapt?” from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at UCI’s Arnold & Mabel Beckman Center of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering building. Mulroy serves on the Assn.

California on its own as an independent nation would have the seventh largest economy in the world. All the reason, Prince Andrew, Duke of York says, to strengthen economic ties between the two markets, especially those between the U.K. and Orange County. “The GDP of Orange County is greater than that of either Portugal or Finland,” he said. “[The U.K. and Orange County are] natural partners.” Prince Andrew addressed a luncheon at the Orange County Hilton, hosted by the British American Business Council of Orange County, acting in his capacity as the U.K.’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment.

In late November and early December, I attended the two-week United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa. I was selected to represent the Girl Scouts of the USA as part of a youth delegation for the World Assn. of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. I was the only American youth delegate in a team of 17 young women from 13 countries. As a Girl Scout delegation, our focus was on the relationship between gender and environmental issues, as well as promoting nonformal environmental education.

NEWPORT BEACH - As people stroll Balboa Island's picturesque waterfront, some wonder how much one of those cozy cottages cost. City officials think about another price tag: how much it will take to defend those homes against rising sea levels. City engineers revealed last month that it could cost about $60 million to replace Balboa Island's aging seawalls, or residents could risk more high tides washing into their streets and homes. The low-lying island, which is 4 to 8 feet above sea level, is only a small portion of coastal communities' looming problems from climate change.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry - who brought his presidential campaign to Corona del Mar last week - may not believe in global warming, but perhaps a new study about the effects climate change could have on the economy could get him to reconsider the science. Expected beach erosion and the death of sea life caused by warmer waters could wash away hundreds of millions in tourism and tax dollars statewide, according to a recent study by San Francisco State economists. If the environmental reasons are not enough to get the attention of those who don't believe in the man-made causes of global warming, perhaps the economic reasons will prove convincing.

Climate change is under way in a harmful and dramatic way. Did you know sports can be part of the solution? Melting ice caps, rising oceans, hurricanes and tornadoes, the science and evidence is indisputable. As fossil fuel, water and other resources diminish, major change in our energy grid and wasteful practices is necessary. We don't want to be the first generation in American history to hand a degraded quality of life down to our children. We need to act now before the problem is unsolvable.

COSTA MESA — Following a "low-carbon diet" would help reduce the Earth's carbon footprint, but it can also taste better, Vera Chang said. To prove her point, she brought in small plastic glasses filled with orange juice and orange soda and two kinds of bread and jam for the audience to taste in her low-carbon diet workshop. One woman got more in her cup than she bargained for. "It's very low carbon, it's just a little bug," Chang laughed. Chang, who works for Bon Appétit Management Co., taught two workshops on what makes foods high carbon and what foods to eat that are better for the Earth.

Newport Beach isn't exactly home to many tree-huggers. The seven-member City Council has Nancy Gardner, a surfer who has long worked on water quality and other sustainability projects, and Leslie Daigle, who has thrust herself into the city's environmental issues, often in a financial and governmental relations roles. Then comes Mark Tabbert, a bonafide climate change advocate, looking to unseat Daigle for District 4, which includes Eastbluff, Santa Ana Heights and the airport area.

For a front-page article, Brianna Bailey’s article on sea levels (“As sea level rises, unease follows,” Feb. 6) was being way too politically correct when she started the article with “Whether or not climate change is to blame....” She does not dispute that the sea level is rising and neither does anyone else — it is being measured all the time. Some parts of the world are already being flooded. To beg the question of whether climate change is to blame is too P.C. Of course it is to blame!

Every letter and every argument by people who believe that man-made climate change is either a hoax or too small to worry about fails to include an important ingredient: prudence. Ultimately, it may turn out that they were right about man-made climate change having been a negligible problem. But what if they are wrong? The risk of being wrong is high indeed, because it could mean death for all humans. Tom Williams may not be personally affected by climate change, but his heirs might be (“Earth is repeating cooling cycle,” Dec. 29)

Newport Beach Councilman Don Webb laced up his walking shoes Wednesday and began a roughly 500-mile walking tour of every street in the city that he expects will take a year to complete. The councilman started his walk at the northeastern most part of the city at Coastal Peak Park in Newport Coast and plans to work his way westward, walking two or three miles a day. This will be the fifth time the councilman has walked the city in its entirety. The last time Webb undertook the walk, it was in honor of the city’s centennial in 2006.