Published Friday, February 2, 2007, by the San Francisco Chronicle

New climate for global energy policy
California is losing ground to rising seas

By Linda Adams
Michael Chrisman

It's hard to imagine how 10 degrees could alter our world so
dramatically, but it is no figment of the imagination. California
scientists are predicting that average temperatures will continue
to rise by as much as 10 degrees by the end of the century. During
these cold winter days, you might think a few extra degrees would be
welcome, but it is enough to melt much of the Sierra snowpack, raise
sea levels and disrupt coastal wetlands.

These aren't just scare stories floated by policy-makers. These are
scientific predictions based on climate trends.

Today, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is
releasing a portion of its Fourth Assessment Report, a scientific
analysis of the impacts of global warming. A part of the report will
focus on the impacts of climate change on world oceans. Researchers
from California's Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego
were a part of the team that put together this report.

For anyone who has lived in California, the ocean is integral to
our way of life. California's 1,100 miles of coastline -- a major
attraction for tourism, recreation and other important economic
activities -- will face increased threats from rising seas, coastal
storms and runoff.

California's coastline isn't just a place we take our sunscreen,
beach towels and flip flops. The ocean's stability is essential to
our water supply and our flood-protection system. Rising seas will
inundate coastal areas, accelerate coastal erosion and threaten
vital levees and inland water systems with saltwater intrusions.
The potential impacts of global warming are unmistakable.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has set aggressive goals to once-and-for-
all seal our commitment to fighting global warming. He has introduced
strategies to reduce the emissions that cause global warming and to
prepare for the changes that higher temperatures will bring.

Many of the state's departments already operate programs that reduce
greenhouse gases. For example, the California Department of Forestry
is working to improve forest management practices in order to reduce
the threat of wildfires and increase the capture of carbon dioxide,
a main greenhouse gas, in tree limbs and leaves. The California
Integrated Waste Management Board met its goal to reduce the
state's waste by 50 percent last year, through recycling and reuse.
Decomposing trash in landfills creates methane, an extremely potent
greenhouse gas. By keeping more waste out of landfills, officials
expect to reduce greenhouse gases by 3 million metric tons per year
by 2010.

We need to clean up the fuels we use to power our cars. That's why
the governor established the world's first carbon standard for fuel
-- a way to create a viable market for cleaner, alternative fuels.
Like many of the other standards California is famous for -- our
energy-efficient building and appliance standards -- it works by
setting a goal, and letting the marketplace figure out how to meet
it. The governor's new fuel standard requires fuel producers to
reduce the carbon intensity associated with the fuels they sell in
California by 10 percent by 2020. The results should be equivalent
to taking more than 3 million cars off the road. And it reduces our
dependence on foreign oil.

Electricity generated from fossil fuels produces a significant amount
of greenhouse gases, so any effort to encourage energy conservation
or increase energy efficiency is an important greenhouse-gas-
reduction strategy. That's why the governor initiated the million-
solar-roofs program and worked with the state Public Utilities
Commission to provide energy efficiency rebates and incentives for
consumers to buy down the cost of more efficient appliances.

We also must learn to adapt to the changes that higher temperatures
will bring. In his State of the State address, the governor proposed
a $5.95 billion investment in additional water storage, improvements
to the delta ecosystem and water conservation. The investment will do
a number of things: It will help capture rain not stored as snow, add
flood protection and controls to keep saltwater from washing inland.

Each and every one of us can be part of the solution. It may seem
small, but all of these strategies combined can make a difference. We
must reduce the level of greenhouse gases, and we must start adapting
to the changes to come. Join us as we continue to make progress
toward fighting global warming.

What you can do

Buy cleaner operating cars

Buy energy-efficient products

Replace old refrigerators

Replace incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs

Install efficient irrigation systems in your yards

Reseal windows and doors to ensure that temperature controlled air
on the inside doesn't end up on the outside

Fix leaky toilets to reduce water use

[BATN: Tell Arnold to support high-speed rail.]

Linda Adams is secretary for Environmental Protection, overseeing the
state's various climate action programs. Mike Chrisman is secretary
for Resources, overseeing the state's ocean protection programs.

[BATN: See also:

Schwarzenegger may kill high-speed rail to widen roads, warm planet
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/33493 ]

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