View larger. | Eastern sky, about an hour after sunset, on October 29, 2017. Photo taken by Asthadi Setyawan at Selorejo River Dam, Malang, East Java, Indonesia.
It’s true that mountains sometimes cast shadows on clouds. See a mountain shadow and find an explanation from sky optics expert Les Cowley at his wonderful website Atmospheric Optics. But this photo – submitted to EarthSky by a photographer we’ve known for years, Asthadi Setyawan in East Java, Indonesia – is mysterious. We ran it past Les Cowley for an explanation, who wrote:
I’m unsure about this. I’ve had it in PhotoShop, and both the image and EXIF data ring genuine.
However, the lens setting was reasonably wide angle and a shadow so high from a westerly object cast onto clouds in the *eastern* sky is impossible 30 minutes after sunset. If the camera clock was accurate (?) then it was indeed 37 minutes after a tropical sunset, and the sky would be quite dark. Under those conditions the sun could not cast shadows even on stratospheric clouds.
??
In fact, Asthadi later commented, he has six different shots of this scene, all in the same direction and all with a shadow. He also confirmed:
…the sky was quite dark at that time.
There was a moon up that night, but it would have been high in the south-southeast at the time of the photo and so can’t be the shadow’s source. We also considered the town lights, but Les said that – given the fact that Asthadi was using a wide angle lens, placing the shadow edge fairly high in the sky – he couldn’t see see how surface lights could be the source. As Les commented:
A mystery!
A mystery to us, anyway. Maybe some of you have ideas. Beautiful photo, no matter what the explanation. Thank you, Asthadi and Les!
Bottom line: This photo looks like a mountain shadow on clouds, but we haven’t figured out the shadow’s source.
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2lZBhjE
View larger. | Eastern sky, about an hour after sunset, on October 29, 2017. Photo taken by Asthadi Setyawan at Selorejo River Dam, Malang, East Java, Indonesia.
It’s true that mountains sometimes cast shadows on clouds. See a mountain shadow and find an explanation from sky optics expert Les Cowley at his wonderful website Atmospheric Optics. But this photo – submitted to EarthSky by a photographer we’ve known for years, Asthadi Setyawan in East Java, Indonesia – is mysterious. We ran it past Les Cowley for an explanation, who wrote:
I’m unsure about this. I’ve had it in PhotoShop, and both the image and EXIF data ring genuine.
However, the lens setting was reasonably wide angle and a shadow so high from a westerly object cast onto clouds in the *eastern* sky is impossible 30 minutes after sunset. If the camera clock was accurate (?) then it was indeed 37 minutes after a tropical sunset, and the sky would be quite dark. Under those conditions the sun could not cast shadows even on stratospheric clouds.
??
In fact, Asthadi later commented, he has six different shots of this scene, all in the same direction and all with a shadow. He also confirmed:
…the sky was quite dark at that time.
There was a moon up that night, but it would have been high in the south-southeast at the time of the photo and so can’t be the shadow’s source. We also considered the town lights, but Les said that – given the fact that Asthadi was using a wide angle lens, placing the shadow edge fairly high in the sky – he couldn’t see see how surface lights could be the source. As Les commented:
A mystery!
A mystery to us, anyway. Maybe some of you have ideas. Beautiful photo, no matter what the explanation. Thank you, Asthadi and Les!
Bottom line: This photo looks like a mountain shadow on clouds, but we haven’t figured out the shadow’s source.
Tonight – November 7, 2017 – before going to bed, look for the moon in your eastern sky. It’ll be a bright waning gibbous moon, and you might notice two bright stars in its vicinity. These stars are noticeable for being both bright and close together on the sky’s dome, and that is why – in legends of the sky – they often represent Twins.
The stars are Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini. From mid-northern latitudes, they appear over your horizon with the moon by around 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the stars Castor and Pollux won’t climb over the horizon until later tonight. If you’re not one for staying up late, you can always get up before dawn to view the moon and Gemini stars in the morning sky.
The constellation Orion is also fairly close to the moon on November 7, and the Giant Hunter might dazzle you with his many bright stars. You’ll always know you’re seeing Orion if you notice its Belt stars: three medium-bright stars in a short, straight row.
Several days from now, when the moon drops out of the constellation Gemini, you can always star-hop to Castor and Pollux from Orion. Simply draw an imaginary line from the bright star Rigel through the bright star Betelgeuse, going a solid two times the Rigel-Betelgeuse distance. This way of finding the Gemini stars Castor and Pollux works in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
When the moon is no longer around to guide you, star-hop to Castor and Pollux from the constellation Orion. Simply draw an imaginary line from the bright star Rigel through the bright star Betelgeuse, going a solid two times the Rigel-Betelgeuse distance
At mid-northern latitudes – like those in the mainland United States – the constellations Gemini and Orion rise at approximately the same time. However, at more northerly latitudes – like those in Alaska – Gemini rises before Orion. That far north, the Big Dipper is visible at early evening, so you can use the Big Dipper bowl to star-hop to Castor and Pollux.
Use the Big Dipper bowl to star-hop to Castor and Pollux
At more southerly latitudes, as in the northern tropics and the Southern Hemisphere, Orion rises before Gemini.
The starry sky is one great big connect-the-dots book. Learn how to star-hop with certain key stars, and you can more easily orient yourself to the night sky when traveling to faraway latitudes.
Bottom line: The waning gibbous moon offers some guidance tonight, as its shines between the constellation Orion and the Gemini stars Castor and Pollux.
Tonight – November 7, 2017 – before going to bed, look for the moon in your eastern sky. It’ll be a bright waning gibbous moon, and you might notice two bright stars in its vicinity. These stars are noticeable for being both bright and close together on the sky’s dome, and that is why – in legends of the sky – they often represent Twins.
The stars are Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini. From mid-northern latitudes, they appear over your horizon with the moon by around 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the stars Castor and Pollux won’t climb over the horizon until later tonight. If you’re not one for staying up late, you can always get up before dawn to view the moon and Gemini stars in the morning sky.
The constellation Orion is also fairly close to the moon on November 7, and the Giant Hunter might dazzle you with his many bright stars. You’ll always know you’re seeing Orion if you notice its Belt stars: three medium-bright stars in a short, straight row.
Several days from now, when the moon drops out of the constellation Gemini, you can always star-hop to Castor and Pollux from Orion. Simply draw an imaginary line from the bright star Rigel through the bright star Betelgeuse, going a solid two times the Rigel-Betelgeuse distance. This way of finding the Gemini stars Castor and Pollux works in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
When the moon is no longer around to guide you, star-hop to Castor and Pollux from the constellation Orion. Simply draw an imaginary line from the bright star Rigel through the bright star Betelgeuse, going a solid two times the Rigel-Betelgeuse distance
At mid-northern latitudes – like those in the mainland United States – the constellations Gemini and Orion rise at approximately the same time. However, at more northerly latitudes – like those in Alaska – Gemini rises before Orion. That far north, the Big Dipper is visible at early evening, so you can use the Big Dipper bowl to star-hop to Castor and Pollux.
Use the Big Dipper bowl to star-hop to Castor and Pollux
At more southerly latitudes, as in the northern tropics and the Southern Hemisphere, Orion rises before Gemini.
The starry sky is one great big connect-the-dots book. Learn how to star-hop with certain key stars, and you can more easily orient yourself to the night sky when traveling to faraway latitudes.
Bottom line: The waning gibbous moon offers some guidance tonight, as its shines between the constellation Orion and the Gemini stars Castor and Pollux.
For a quarter of a century, the EPA has worked to address the environmental and public health concerns of minority, low-income and indigenous communities. I have been blessed to be a part of this effort since its first steps. The Agency’s decision to establish the Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ), initially called the Office of Environmental
EPA Administrator Bill Reilly speaking to students on MLK Jr Day about EJ
Equity, stemmed from the recommendations of the EPA Environmental Equity Work Group, which was formed by Administrator Bill Reilly in 1990 to “review the evidence that racial minority and low-income communities bear a disproportionate risk burden.”
As stated in the 1992 recommendations to Administrator Reilly, “any effort to address environmental equity [justice] issues effectively must include all segments of society: the affected communities, the public at large, industry, people in policy-making positions, and all levels and branches of government.” This understanding continues to this day. As described in the Agency’s recently released draft FY 2018-2022 EPA Strategic Plan, the Agency is committed to “collaborate more efficiently and effectively with other federal agencies, states, sovereign tribal nations, local governments, communities, and other partners and stakeholders to address existing pollution and prevent future problems.”
Throughout these past twenty-five years, I have participated in almost every aspect of the Agency’s environmental justice program. In the earliest days, we sought to create
In subsequent years, we have developed environmental justice strategies and priorities that consistently built upon our EJ progress and achievements. Most recently, we developed EJSCREEN, the Agency’s nationally consistent screening and mapping tool for determining areas of potential environmental justice concern. We clarified the Agency’s principles for addressing environmental justice of tribes, indigenous peoples and others living Indian country through the EPA Policy on Environmental Justice for Working with Federally Recognized Tribes and Indigenous Peoples. We also finalized two separate documents focused on the Action Development Process and Technical Guidance of considering environmental justice during the development of regulations.
In collaboration with our co-regulators (states and tribes), vulnerable communities, and other interested stakeholders, the Agency has made considerable progress developing the infrastructure, creating the tools and identifying the opportunities for the Agency to provide environmental and public health protection for all Americans. At the dawning of
Charles Lee, then OEJ Director, at EJ Roundtable with the tribes in Alaska
the next 25 years of the EPA’s Environmental Justice Program, it is my hope that future generations will be able to look back at this point in time and be able to note the substantive and meaningful steps EPA took to improve the environment and public health of our country’s most vulnerable communities. More importantly, I hope that they will also note how the efforts of so many inside and outside of EPA during these past 25 years resulted in meaningful progress and improvements in the lives, health, environments and economies of overburdened communities throughout the United States.
About the Author: Danny Gogal is the Tribal and Indigenous Peoples Program Manager for the Office of Environmental Justice, and leads the Agency’s work on international human rights.
from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2zlsYnj
by Danny Gogal
For a quarter of a century, the EPA has worked to address the environmental and public health concerns of minority, low-income and indigenous communities. I have been blessed to be a part of this effort since its first steps. The Agency’s decision to establish the Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ), initially called the Office of Environmental
EPA Administrator Bill Reilly speaking to students on MLK Jr Day about EJ
Equity, stemmed from the recommendations of the EPA Environmental Equity Work Group, which was formed by Administrator Bill Reilly in 1990 to “review the evidence that racial minority and low-income communities bear a disproportionate risk burden.”
As stated in the 1992 recommendations to Administrator Reilly, “any effort to address environmental equity [justice] issues effectively must include all segments of society: the affected communities, the public at large, industry, people in policy-making positions, and all levels and branches of government.” This understanding continues to this day. As described in the Agency’s recently released draft FY 2018-2022 EPA Strategic Plan, the Agency is committed to “collaborate more efficiently and effectively with other federal agencies, states, sovereign tribal nations, local governments, communities, and other partners and stakeholders to address existing pollution and prevent future problems.”
Throughout these past twenty-five years, I have participated in almost every aspect of the Agency’s environmental justice program. In the earliest days, we sought to create
In subsequent years, we have developed environmental justice strategies and priorities that consistently built upon our EJ progress and achievements. Most recently, we developed EJSCREEN, the Agency’s nationally consistent screening and mapping tool for determining areas of potential environmental justice concern. We clarified the Agency’s principles for addressing environmental justice of tribes, indigenous peoples and others living Indian country through the EPA Policy on Environmental Justice for Working with Federally Recognized Tribes and Indigenous Peoples. We also finalized two separate documents focused on the Action Development Process and Technical Guidance of considering environmental justice during the development of regulations.
In collaboration with our co-regulators (states and tribes), vulnerable communities, and other interested stakeholders, the Agency has made considerable progress developing the infrastructure, creating the tools and identifying the opportunities for the Agency to provide environmental and public health protection for all Americans. At the dawning of
Charles Lee, then OEJ Director, at EJ Roundtable with the tribes in Alaska
the next 25 years of the EPA’s Environmental Justice Program, it is my hope that future generations will be able to look back at this point in time and be able to note the substantive and meaningful steps EPA took to improve the environment and public health of our country’s most vulnerable communities. More importantly, I hope that they will also note how the efforts of so many inside and outside of EPA during these past 25 years resulted in meaningful progress and improvements in the lives, health, environments and economies of overburdened communities throughout the United States.
About the Author: Danny Gogal is the Tribal and Indigenous Peoples Program Manager for the Office of Environmental Justice, and leads the Agency’s work on international human rights.
Today the sun is shining during my commute home from work. But this weekend, public service announcements will remind us to “fall back,” ending daylight saving time by setting our clocks an hour earlier on Sunday, November 5. On November 6, many of us will commute home in the dark.
This semiannual ritual shifts our rhythms and temporarily makes us groggy at times when we normally feel alert. Moreover, many Americans are confused about why we spring forward in March and fall back in November, and whether it is worth the trouble.
The practice of resetting clocks is not designed for farmers, whose plows follow the sun regardless of what time clocks say it is. And it does not create extra daylight – it simply shifts when the sun rises and sets relative to society’s regular schedule and routines.
The key question is how people respond to this enforced shift. Most people have to be at work at a certain time – say, 8:30 a.m. – and if that time comes an hour earlier, they simply get up an hour earlier. The effect on society is another question. Here, the research shows that daylight saving time is more burden than boon.
No energy savings
Benjamin Franklin was one of the first thinkers to endorse the idea of making better use of daylight. Although he lived well before the invention of light bulbs, Franklin observed that people who slept past sunrise wasted more candles later in the evening. He also whimsically suggested the first policy fixes to encourage energy conservation: firing cannons at dawn as public alarm clocks, and fining homeowners who put up window shutters.
To this day, our laws equate daylight saving with energy conservation. However, recent research suggests that it actually increases energy use.
Poster celebrating enactment of daylight saving time during World War I, 1917. Image via Library of Congress/Wikipedia.
This is what I found in a study co-authored with Yale economist Matthew Kotchen. We used a policy change in Indiana to estimate daylight saving time’s effects on electricity consumption. Prior to 2006, most Indiana counties did not observe it. By comparing households’ electricity demand before and after daylight saving time was adopted, month by month, we showed that it had actually increased residential electricity demand in Indiana by 1 to 4 percent annually.
The largest effects occurred in the summer – when shifting clocks forward aligns our lives with the hottest part of the day, so that people tend to use more air conditioning – and late fall, when we wake up in a cold dark house and use more heating, with no reduction in lighting needs.
Other studies corroborate these findings. Research in Australia and in the United States shows that daylight saving time does not decrease total energy use. However, it does smooth out peaks and valleys in energy demand throughout the day, as people at home use more electricity in the morning and less during the afternoon. Though people still use more electricity, shifting the timing reduces average costs to deliver energy because not everyone demands it during typical peak usage periods.
Other outcomes are mixed
Daylight saving time proponents also argue that changing times provides more hours for afternoon recreation and reduces crime rates. The best time for recreation is a matter of preference. However, there is better evidence on crime rates: Fewer muggings and sexual assaults occur during daylight saving time months because fewer potential victims are out after dark.
Overall, net benefits from these three durational effects of crime, recreation and energy use – that is, impacts that last for the duration of the time change – are murky.
Other consequences of daylight saving time are ephemeral. I think of them as bookend effects, since they occur when we change our clocks.
Even when we gain that hour back in the fall, we must readjust our routines over several days because the sun and our alarm clocks feel out of synchronization, much like jet lag. Some impacts are serious: During bookend weeks, children in higher latitudes go to school in the dark, which increases the risk of pedestrian casualties. Dark commutes are so problematic for pedestrians that New York City is repeating the “Dusk and Darkness” safety campaign that it launched in 2016. And heart attacks increase after the spring time shift – it is thought because of lack of sleep – but decrease to a lesser extent after the fall shift. Collectively, these bookend effects represent net costs and strong arguments against retaining daylight saving time.
Pick your own time zone?
Spurred by many of these arguments, at least 16 states have considered changes to daylight saving time this year. Some bills would end daylight saving time, while others would make it permanent. For example, Massachusetts is studying whether to move in coordination with other New England states to Atlantic Time, joining Canada’s Maritime provinces one hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time. If they shift, travelers flying from Los Angeles to Boston would cross five time zones.
Countries observing daylight saving time (blue in Northern Hemisphere, orange in Southern Hemisphere). Light gray countries have abandoned DST; dark gray nations have never practiced it. Image via TimeZonesBoy/Wikipedia.
Some states have good reason for diverging from the norm. Notably, Hawaii does not practice daylight saving time because it is much closer to the equator than the rest of the nation, so its daylight hours barely change throughout the year. Arizona is the sole contiguous state that abstains from daylight saving time, citing its extreme summer temperatures. Although this disparity causes confusion for western travelers, the state’s residents have not changed clocks’ times for over 40 years.
In my research I have found that everyone has strong opinions about daylight saving time. Many people welcome the shift in March as a signal of spring. Others like the coordinated availability of daylight after work. Dissenters, including farmers, curse their loss of quiet morning hours.
When the evidence about costs and benefits is mixed but we need to make coordinated choices, how should we make decisions? The strongest arguments, with the exception of energy costs, support not only doing away with the switches but keeping the nation on daylight saving time year-round. This provides the benefits of after- work sun without the schedule disruptions. Yet humans adapt. If we abandon the twice-yearly switch, we may eventually slide back into old routines and habits of sleeping in during daylight. Daylight saving time is the coordinated alarm to wake us up a bit earlier in the summer and get us out of work with more sunshine.
Editor’s note: This is an updated version of an article originally published on Nov. 2, 2016.
Today the sun is shining during my commute home from work. But this weekend, public service announcements will remind us to “fall back,” ending daylight saving time by setting our clocks an hour earlier on Sunday, November 5. On November 6, many of us will commute home in the dark.
This semiannual ritual shifts our rhythms and temporarily makes us groggy at times when we normally feel alert. Moreover, many Americans are confused about why we spring forward in March and fall back in November, and whether it is worth the trouble.
The practice of resetting clocks is not designed for farmers, whose plows follow the sun regardless of what time clocks say it is. And it does not create extra daylight – it simply shifts when the sun rises and sets relative to society’s regular schedule and routines.
The key question is how people respond to this enforced shift. Most people have to be at work at a certain time – say, 8:30 a.m. – and if that time comes an hour earlier, they simply get up an hour earlier. The effect on society is another question. Here, the research shows that daylight saving time is more burden than boon.
No energy savings
Benjamin Franklin was one of the first thinkers to endorse the idea of making better use of daylight. Although he lived well before the invention of light bulbs, Franklin observed that people who slept past sunrise wasted more candles later in the evening. He also whimsically suggested the first policy fixes to encourage energy conservation: firing cannons at dawn as public alarm clocks, and fining homeowners who put up window shutters.
To this day, our laws equate daylight saving with energy conservation. However, recent research suggests that it actually increases energy use.
Poster celebrating enactment of daylight saving time during World War I, 1917. Image via Library of Congress/Wikipedia.
This is what I found in a study co-authored with Yale economist Matthew Kotchen. We used a policy change in Indiana to estimate daylight saving time’s effects on electricity consumption. Prior to 2006, most Indiana counties did not observe it. By comparing households’ electricity demand before and after daylight saving time was adopted, month by month, we showed that it had actually increased residential electricity demand in Indiana by 1 to 4 percent annually.
The largest effects occurred in the summer – when shifting clocks forward aligns our lives with the hottest part of the day, so that people tend to use more air conditioning – and late fall, when we wake up in a cold dark house and use more heating, with no reduction in lighting needs.
Other studies corroborate these findings. Research in Australia and in the United States shows that daylight saving time does not decrease total energy use. However, it does smooth out peaks and valleys in energy demand throughout the day, as people at home use more electricity in the morning and less during the afternoon. Though people still use more electricity, shifting the timing reduces average costs to deliver energy because not everyone demands it during typical peak usage periods.
Other outcomes are mixed
Daylight saving time proponents also argue that changing times provides more hours for afternoon recreation and reduces crime rates. The best time for recreation is a matter of preference. However, there is better evidence on crime rates: Fewer muggings and sexual assaults occur during daylight saving time months because fewer potential victims are out after dark.
Overall, net benefits from these three durational effects of crime, recreation and energy use – that is, impacts that last for the duration of the time change – are murky.
Other consequences of daylight saving time are ephemeral. I think of them as bookend effects, since they occur when we change our clocks.
Even when we gain that hour back in the fall, we must readjust our routines over several days because the sun and our alarm clocks feel out of synchronization, much like jet lag. Some impacts are serious: During bookend weeks, children in higher latitudes go to school in the dark, which increases the risk of pedestrian casualties. Dark commutes are so problematic for pedestrians that New York City is repeating the “Dusk and Darkness” safety campaign that it launched in 2016. And heart attacks increase after the spring time shift – it is thought because of lack of sleep – but decrease to a lesser extent after the fall shift. Collectively, these bookend effects represent net costs and strong arguments against retaining daylight saving time.
Pick your own time zone?
Spurred by many of these arguments, at least 16 states have considered changes to daylight saving time this year. Some bills would end daylight saving time, while others would make it permanent. For example, Massachusetts is studying whether to move in coordination with other New England states to Atlantic Time, joining Canada’s Maritime provinces one hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time. If they shift, travelers flying from Los Angeles to Boston would cross five time zones.
Countries observing daylight saving time (blue in Northern Hemisphere, orange in Southern Hemisphere). Light gray countries have abandoned DST; dark gray nations have never practiced it. Image via TimeZonesBoy/Wikipedia.
Some states have good reason for diverging from the norm. Notably, Hawaii does not practice daylight saving time because it is much closer to the equator than the rest of the nation, so its daylight hours barely change throughout the year. Arizona is the sole contiguous state that abstains from daylight saving time, citing its extreme summer temperatures. Although this disparity causes confusion for western travelers, the state’s residents have not changed clocks’ times for over 40 years.
In my research I have found that everyone has strong opinions about daylight saving time. Many people welcome the shift in March as a signal of spring. Others like the coordinated availability of daylight after work. Dissenters, including farmers, curse their loss of quiet morning hours.
When the evidence about costs and benefits is mixed but we need to make coordinated choices, how should we make decisions? The strongest arguments, with the exception of energy costs, support not only doing away with the switches but keeping the nation on daylight saving time year-round. This provides the benefits of after- work sun without the schedule disruptions. Yet humans adapt. If we abandon the twice-yearly switch, we may eventually slide back into old routines and habits of sleeping in during daylight. Daylight saving time is the coordinated alarm to wake us up a bit earlier in the summer and get us out of work with more sunshine.
Editor’s note: This is an updated version of an article originally published on Nov. 2, 2016.
“Due to the current void in national leadership on the issue of climate change, efforts at the state and local level are more important than ever,” says Eri Saikawa, an assistant professor of Environmental Sciences. Saikawa is part of an Emory delegation to the U.N. Climate Change Conference talks in Bonn, Germany, which includes two faculty and 12 students.
By Carol Clark
U.S. state policies aimed at mitigating power plant emissions vary widely in effectiveness, finds a new study by researchers at Emory University.
Nature Climate Change published the analysis, which shows that policies with mandatory compliance are associated with the largest reductions in power plant emissions.
“Based on the results of our study, we recommend that states adopt a policy of mandatory greenhouse gas emissions registry and reporting for power plants,” says Eri Saikawa, an assistant professor in Emory’s Department of Environmental Sciences. “We also found a significant impact in states that adopt public benefit funds aimed at energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. These two policies not only are effective in reducing power-plant emission levels but also emissions intensity.”
Saikawa, an expert in public policy and the science of emissions linked to global warming, co-authored the study with Emory graduate Geoff Martin, whose thesis project focused on the topic. Martin received his master’s degree in environmental sciences in May and now works as an energy coordinator for the town of Hartford, Vermont.
Their findings were released today as the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP23) opens in Bonn, Germany. Delegates from around the world are gathering to hammer out details for meeting the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The United States was among the 195 countries that committed to this framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — although the Trump administration has said it plans to withdraw from this historic accord.
“Due to the current void in national leadership on the issue of climate change, efforts at the state and local level are more important than ever,” Saikawa says. “U.S. cities and states need to step up and do what they can.”
Emory is one of 50 universities from around the country to hold official U.N. observer status for COP23. Saikawa and Sheila Tefft, senior lecturer from the Department of English, will be on the ground in Bonn — leading a delegation of 11 Emory undergraduates and one graduate student as part of their co-taught class, “Climate Change and Society.”
The students will report news live from the event on Twitter under the hashtag #EmoryCOP23. They will also post longer reports, podcasts and videos on a web site they created for the event, Climate Talks Emory University.
Global atmospheric CO2 levels increased at record speed last year, to reach a level not seen for more than three million years, the U.N. warned in a report released last week. The U.S. government’s National Climate Assessment, also released last week, affirmed that climate change is driven almost entirely by human action and detailed how the country is already experiencing more extreme heat and rainfall events, more large wildfires and more flooding due to the warming climate.
About 30 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from the electric power sector. For the Nature Climate Change paper, the researchers started out to review the potential impact of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan — which established the first national carbon pollution standards for power plants. When President Trump took office, and announced plans to repeal the Clean Power Plan, the researchers shifted focus.
They analyzed 17 policies adopted by various states relating to climate and energy. States that adopted a mandatory policy for power plants to register and report greenhouse gas emissions, along with three to four other policies, showed the largest reductions, at an average of 2.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year.
The second most significant policy involved public benefit funds allotted for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. That policy was associated with a reduction of about 1.5 million tons of CO2 emissions from power plants, when adopted with three to four other policies.
It’s unclear whether one of these single policies was the actual driver of the reduction in emissions, or an indicator that a state takes climate change mitigation seriously and is attacking the issue on many fronts, Saikawa says.
For instance, three states — New York, Connecticut and Oregon — have each adopted both of the top two most effective policies, along with at least eight other policies.
In 2007, China surpassed the United States as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases globally. “But the per capita emissions in the United States are more than double that of China,” Saikawa notes.
The Obama administration played a key role in securing the Paris Agreement, to keep global warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius since the start of the Industrial Revolution.
“It will be interesting to hear the take of officials from the Trump administration this year,” Saikawa says. “U.S. coalitions from the state and city level are forming and they will likely have a strong presence at side events for COP23,” she adds. “Many groups are working at the local level around the world to try to meet the goal of the Paris Agreement.”
Emory is co-hosting an event on Thursday, November 16 at COP23, focused on ways to mitigate climate change impacts in the developing world. Saikawa will appear on a panel, along with John Seydel, director of sustainability for the city of Atlanta.
“We’ll be discussing how efforts at the city and state level in the United States might be replicated in other parts of the world,” Saikawa says.
This marks the third year in a row that Emory has sent a delegation to the U.N. climate talks.
“Due to the current void in national leadership on the issue of climate change, efforts at the state and local level are more important than ever,” says Eri Saikawa, an assistant professor of Environmental Sciences. Saikawa is part of an Emory delegation to the U.N. Climate Change Conference talks in Bonn, Germany, which includes two faculty and 12 students.
By Carol Clark
U.S. state policies aimed at mitigating power plant emissions vary widely in effectiveness, finds a new study by researchers at Emory University.
Nature Climate Change published the analysis, which shows that policies with mandatory compliance are associated with the largest reductions in power plant emissions.
“Based on the results of our study, we recommend that states adopt a policy of mandatory greenhouse gas emissions registry and reporting for power plants,” says Eri Saikawa, an assistant professor in Emory’s Department of Environmental Sciences. “We also found a significant impact in states that adopt public benefit funds aimed at energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. These two policies not only are effective in reducing power-plant emission levels but also emissions intensity.”
Saikawa, an expert in public policy and the science of emissions linked to global warming, co-authored the study with Emory graduate Geoff Martin, whose thesis project focused on the topic. Martin received his master’s degree in environmental sciences in May and now works as an energy coordinator for the town of Hartford, Vermont.
Their findings were released today as the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP23) opens in Bonn, Germany. Delegates from around the world are gathering to hammer out details for meeting the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The United States was among the 195 countries that committed to this framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — although the Trump administration has said it plans to withdraw from this historic accord.
“Due to the current void in national leadership on the issue of climate change, efforts at the state and local level are more important than ever,” Saikawa says. “U.S. cities and states need to step up and do what they can.”
Emory is one of 50 universities from around the country to hold official U.N. observer status for COP23. Saikawa and Sheila Tefft, senior lecturer from the Department of English, will be on the ground in Bonn — leading a delegation of 11 Emory undergraduates and one graduate student as part of their co-taught class, “Climate Change and Society.”
The students will report news live from the event on Twitter under the hashtag #EmoryCOP23. They will also post longer reports, podcasts and videos on a web site they created for the event, Climate Talks Emory University.
Global atmospheric CO2 levels increased at record speed last year, to reach a level not seen for more than three million years, the U.N. warned in a report released last week. The U.S. government’s National Climate Assessment, also released last week, affirmed that climate change is driven almost entirely by human action and detailed how the country is already experiencing more extreme heat and rainfall events, more large wildfires and more flooding due to the warming climate.
About 30 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from the electric power sector. For the Nature Climate Change paper, the researchers started out to review the potential impact of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan — which established the first national carbon pollution standards for power plants. When President Trump took office, and announced plans to repeal the Clean Power Plan, the researchers shifted focus.
They analyzed 17 policies adopted by various states relating to climate and energy. States that adopted a mandatory policy for power plants to register and report greenhouse gas emissions, along with three to four other policies, showed the largest reductions, at an average of 2.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year.
The second most significant policy involved public benefit funds allotted for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. That policy was associated with a reduction of about 1.5 million tons of CO2 emissions from power plants, when adopted with three to four other policies.
It’s unclear whether one of these single policies was the actual driver of the reduction in emissions, or an indicator that a state takes climate change mitigation seriously and is attacking the issue on many fronts, Saikawa says.
For instance, three states — New York, Connecticut and Oregon — have each adopted both of the top two most effective policies, along with at least eight other policies.
In 2007, China surpassed the United States as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases globally. “But the per capita emissions in the United States are more than double that of China,” Saikawa notes.
The Obama administration played a key role in securing the Paris Agreement, to keep global warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius since the start of the Industrial Revolution.
“It will be interesting to hear the take of officials from the Trump administration this year,” Saikawa says. “U.S. coalitions from the state and city level are forming and they will likely have a strong presence at side events for COP23,” she adds. “Many groups are working at the local level around the world to try to meet the goal of the Paris Agreement.”
Emory is co-hosting an event on Thursday, November 16 at COP23, focused on ways to mitigate climate change impacts in the developing world. Saikawa will appear on a panel, along with John Seydel, director of sustainability for the city of Atlanta.
“We’ll be discussing how efforts at the city and state level in the United States might be replicated in other parts of the world,” Saikawa says.
This marks the third year in a row that Emory has sent a delegation to the U.N. climate talks.
Tonight … find the Andromeda galaxy, the next-nearest spiral galaxy to our Milky Way. Be sure to look at early evening, before the moon rises into your sky. But keep in mind that each following evening the moon will rise later, giving you more moon-free time for observation the Andromeda galaxy.
David Smith of Michigan wrote:
What is the easiest way to find the Andromeda galaxy at this time of year? I tried a couple times with my telescope but had no luck.
Many stargazers star-hop via the W-shaped constellation, Cassiopeia – shown on the chart above. As seen from the Northern Hemisphere on these November evenings, Cassiopeia appears in the northeast sky at nightfall and swings high to the north as evening progresses. It’s easy to spot, shaped like an M or W.
To see the galaxy, you need a dark sky. Note that one half of the W of Cassiopeia is more deeply notched than the other half. This deeper V is your “arrow” in the sky, pointing to the Andromeda galaxy.
The Andromeda galaxy is the next-nearest large spiral galaxy to our Milky Way. You see it here with 2 of its satellite galaxies.
Amateur telescopes and cameras can pick up the Andromeda galaxy, too. Photo via Chris Levitan Photography.
You can also try scanning for the Andromeda galaxy with the unaided eye or binoculars. In a dark sky, you might spot it, as the early stargazers did before the days of star charts and optical aid.
The Andromeda galaxy is a large hazy patch in the night sky.
On a dark night, this galaxy looks like a faint smudge of light, about the size of a full moon.
Once you’ve found it with the eye alone, be sure to peer at it with binoculars or your telescope. The Andromeda galaxy is about 2.5 million light-years away, just a hop and a skip in astronomical terms. Like our Milky Way, this large spiral galaxy is teeming with hundreds of billions of stars.
Zefri Besar in Brunei Darussalam caught Cassiopeia and Andromeda galaxy in November 2016, using a DSLR camera and 50mm lens. Notice that – no matter how they are oriented in the sky – the deeper “V” of Cassiopeia points toward the galaxy.
John Ashley wrote: “The Andromeda galaxy (top right) watches from above the roiling clouds that partially veiled northern lights (bottom left) and meteors streaking across our own Milky Way galaxy.” Photo captured by John Ashley in November 2015, from the shore of Lake Koocanusa in northwestern Montana.
Bottom line: One half of the W of Cassiopeia is more deeply notched than the other half. This deeper V is your “arrow” in the sky, pointing to the Andromeda galaxy.
Tonight … find the Andromeda galaxy, the next-nearest spiral galaxy to our Milky Way. Be sure to look at early evening, before the moon rises into your sky. But keep in mind that each following evening the moon will rise later, giving you more moon-free time for observation the Andromeda galaxy.
David Smith of Michigan wrote:
What is the easiest way to find the Andromeda galaxy at this time of year? I tried a couple times with my telescope but had no luck.
Many stargazers star-hop via the W-shaped constellation, Cassiopeia – shown on the chart above. As seen from the Northern Hemisphere on these November evenings, Cassiopeia appears in the northeast sky at nightfall and swings high to the north as evening progresses. It’s easy to spot, shaped like an M or W.
To see the galaxy, you need a dark sky. Note that one half of the W of Cassiopeia is more deeply notched than the other half. This deeper V is your “arrow” in the sky, pointing to the Andromeda galaxy.
The Andromeda galaxy is the next-nearest large spiral galaxy to our Milky Way. You see it here with 2 of its satellite galaxies.
Amateur telescopes and cameras can pick up the Andromeda galaxy, too. Photo via Chris Levitan Photography.
You can also try scanning for the Andromeda galaxy with the unaided eye or binoculars. In a dark sky, you might spot it, as the early stargazers did before the days of star charts and optical aid.
The Andromeda galaxy is a large hazy patch in the night sky.
On a dark night, this galaxy looks like a faint smudge of light, about the size of a full moon.
Once you’ve found it with the eye alone, be sure to peer at it with binoculars or your telescope. The Andromeda galaxy is about 2.5 million light-years away, just a hop and a skip in astronomical terms. Like our Milky Way, this large spiral galaxy is teeming with hundreds of billions of stars.
Zefri Besar in Brunei Darussalam caught Cassiopeia and Andromeda galaxy in November 2016, using a DSLR camera and 50mm lens. Notice that – no matter how they are oriented in the sky – the deeper “V” of Cassiopeia points toward the galaxy.
John Ashley wrote: “The Andromeda galaxy (top right) watches from above the roiling clouds that partially veiled northern lights (bottom left) and meteors streaking across our own Milky Way galaxy.” Photo captured by John Ashley in November 2015, from the shore of Lake Koocanusa in northwestern Montana.
Bottom line: One half of the W of Cassiopeia is more deeply notched than the other half. This deeper V is your “arrow” in the sky, pointing to the Andromeda galaxy.
