September 25, 2008

Hot enough for you
Residents have their say at climate change meeting
By Jeff Mucciarone jmucciarone@hippopress.com

Despite some scientists’ contention that climate change isn’t tied to carbon dioxide emissions, Gov. John Lynch’s Climate Change Policy Task Force is making progress, officials say.

“We’ve had a tremendous amount of participation from a broad range of folks from across the state,” said Task Force Chairman and state Department of Environmental Services Commissioner Thomas Burack. “There are some very significant economic opportunities for the state.”

The 28-member task force was designed to create action plans for reducing emissions while enhancing the state’s economy. The climate change part of the task force drew most of the attention Thursday, Sept. 18, in Manchester. The task force is holding a series of public listening sessions at which its members gather feedback and ideas about their list of more than 100 action plans.

The task force, which was formed in December 2007, must make a recommendation by December. The group divided into six sub-groups to work in specific areas: adaptation; agriculture, forestry and waste; electric generation and use; government leadership and action; residential, commercial and industrial; and transportation and land use. The task force consists of government officials, scientists, and business and economic officials.

Several scientists took the opportunity Thursday to denounce climate change as either something that can’t be predicted or something that is not tied substantially to carbon dioxide. Each one was careful to qualify their statements by saying they believed in conservation and increasing efficiency.

“If you can’t see it, you can’t measure it, you can’t forecast it,” said Stoddard resident Fred Ward, who has a doctorate degree in meteorology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ward and meteorologist Joseph D’Aleo said depending on how officials examine climate data, temperature hasn’t changed  much. D’Aleo said temperatures have declined since 2002.

D’Aleo said any gains the state would make in reducing emissions would be insignificant compared with increases in countries such as China and India.

But others wanted a different focus.

“I don’t know if it’s heating up,” said Merrimack resident and engineer James Grady. “The name of the game is where do we go from here.” Grady pushed for more private sector involvement in conservation. 

Though he said he thinks carbon dioxide has some impact, Newton, Mass., meteorology scientist Peter Leavitt said 97 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere is water vapor, which would have a more profound impact on climate. He said carbon dioxide was a small component of the atmosphere and suggested it was “far-fetched” to blame climate change on the Earth’s carbon dioxide emissions.

“Climate is never static,” Leavitt said. “It’s always changing. I learned I’m practically a train wreck when it comes to making long-range forecasts. Nobody else can make them either.”

Jim Rubens of the Union of Concerned Scientists pointed at 13 national science academies that all acknowledge climate change, and noted the American Meteorology Society.

D’Aleo said the meteorology society’s stance that climate change is tied to human actions does not accurately portray the sentiments of the group’s more than 11,000 members.

Burack said the task force wasn’t created to examine and analyze the science behind climatology. During a previous listening session along the Seacoast, led by Burack’s colleagues, many people came forward with ideas related to economic development, Burack said. Task force members are looking at ways to reduce New Hampshire’s dependence on foreign oil, by creating more homegrown energy sources. 

Within the adaptation study group, officials have developed several action plans, including establishing a permanent climate change advisory council and strengthening protection of the state’s natural systems.

“Some of these are perfectly ordinary things we should probably have been doing anyway,” said Linda Wilson, deputy state historic preservation officer. Officials did say that some of the potential action plans would require substantial funding that could be hard to come by.

According to a press release from the state, the task force is especially looking for input on actions related to education, energy efficiency, renewable energy and transportation.

To read the task force’s action plans, go to www.des.nh.gov/ard/climatechange/actionplan. To submit comments, e-mail state energy and transportation analyst Christopher Skoglund at christopher.skoglund@des.nh.gov.