Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Interior Department appointee Julie MacDonald resigns one week before oversight committee hearing Josh Marshall: "Shock of the Day: Bush Interior Department appointee resigns rather than face an oversight committee hearing next week. It's Julie MacDonald, deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks at Interior. For your reference, she's the one who, in addition to sharing government reports with industry lobbyists, also shared confidential Interior Department documents with a 'virtual friend' she met on an internet chat site. MacDonald reportedly commisserated with said 'virtual friend' whose opinions she trusted over those of government scientists." Category: 2008 Presidential Election 6:29:55 PM     Arctic Ice Retreating More Quickly Than Computer Models Project According to this article from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), "the Arctic's ice cover is retreating more rapidly than estimated by any of the 18 computer models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in preparing its 2007 assessments. "The study, Arctic Sea Ice Decline: Faster Than Forecast? [pdf] will appear tomorrow in the online edition of Geophysical Research Letters. It was led by Julienne Stroeve of the NSIDC and funded by the National Science Foundation, which is NCAR's principal sponsor, and by NASA. 'While the ice is disappearing faster than the computer models indicate, both observations and the models point in the same direction: the Arctic is losing ice at an increasingly rapid pace and the impact of greenhouse gases is growing,' says NCAR scientist Marika Holland, one of the study's co-authors. The authors compared model simulations of past climate with observations by satellites and other instruments. They found that, on average, the models simulated a loss in September ice cover of 2.5 percent per decade from 1953 to 2006. The fastest rate of September retreat in any individual model was 5.4 percent per decade. (September marks the yearly minimum of sea ice in the Arctic.) But newly available data sets, blending early aircraft and ship reports with more recent satellite measurements that are considered more reliable than the earlier records, show that the September ice actually declined at a rate of about 7.8 percent per decade during the 1953-2006 period... "The study indicates that, because of the disparity between the computer models and actual observations, the shrinking of summertime ice is about 30 years ahead of the climate model projections. As a result, the Arctic could be seasonally free of sea ice earlier than the IPCC-projected timeframe of any time from 2050 to well beyond 2100. The authors speculate that the computer models may fail to capture the full impact of increased carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Whereas the models indicate that about half of the ice loss from 1979 to 2006 was due to increased greenhouse gases, and the other half due to natural variations in the climate system, the new study indicates that greenhouse gases may be playing a significantly greater role. There are a number of factors that may lead to the low rates of simulated sea ice loss. Several models overestimate the thickness of the present-day sea ice and the models may also fail to fully capture changes in atmospheric and oceanic circulation that transport heat to polar regions... "Although the loss of ice for March is far less dramatic than the September loss, the models underestimate it by a wide margin as well. The study concludes that the actual rate of sea ice loss in March, which averaged about 1.8 percent per decade in the 1953 -2006 period, was three times larger than the mean from the computer models. March is typically the month when Arctic sea ice is at its most extensive. The Arctic is especially sensitive to climate change partly because regions of sea ice, which reflect sunlight back into space and provide a cooling impact, are disappearing. In contrast, darker areas of open water, which are expanding, absorb sunlight and increase temperatures. This feedback loop has played a role in the increasingly rapid loss of ice in recent years, which accelerated to 9.1 percent per decade from 1979 to 2006 according to satellite observations." Category: 2008 Presidential Election 6:17:21 AM     Colorado River: Basin States' alternative From the Mohave Daily News, "Arizona, Nevada and five other Colorado River states filed a plan with the Interior Department on Monday aimed at divvying up scarce water resources during drought. Official said the long-debated pact represented the most comprehensive guidelines in the history of the river, and said it would protect 30 million people who depend on the river for drinking water... "The plan was submitted to the Bureau of Reclamation at the close of a comment period on an environmental study of Colorado River operations. It is due for review by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne... "Under existing rules commonly referred to as the law of the river,' and dating to the 1920s, the four upper Colorado River basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are obligated to let 8.23 million acre feet of water per year flow to three lower basin states - Arizona, California and Nevada. Under the proposed plan, the upper basin could release less water downstream if drought continues and less-than-average snowpack accumulates on the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains. The lower basin states would adjust by augmenting their supplies through what the plan calls 'intentionally created surpluses.' The proposal includes a water shortage agreement between Nevada and Arizona, and allows water for agriculture in Southern California to be 'banked' in Lake Mead for future use if farm lands are allowed to go fallow. It also would let the Southern Nevada Water Authority tap water holdings in the Coyote Spring area of Nevada and exercise its rights to draw water from the Virgin and Muddy rivers... "The proposal contains a promise from the [Southern Nevada Water Authority] to help finance construction of a reservoir in Southern California's Imperial Valley, near the Mexico border. The reservoir would capture irrigation water that would otherwise flow past Southern California farms during rainy weather. Kay Brothers, water authority deputy general manager, said the plan calls for enough water to be released from Lake Powell, the reservoir behind the Glen Canyon Dam along the Arizona-Utah state line, to ensure Lake Mead doesn't drop below 1,025 feet above sea level." More coverage from the Rocky Mountain News. They write, "Western states that rely on the Colorado River for water have agreed on a plan for dry years that protects Colorado's supplies, Gov. Bill Ritter said Monday. Deliveries to Arizona and Nevada in drought years would drop when water levels in Lake Mead drop below a set level, he said... "The agreement still must be approved by Secretary of Interior Richard Kempthorne, who is reviewing the proposal." Here's an article about the proposed agreement from the Jackson Hole Star-Tribune. They write, "Under the new agreement, the lower-basin states would have to make adjustments by augmenting their supplies by created water surpluses. California might 'bank' agricultural water for future use, by holding it in Lake Mead, then use it later. There are also incentives for desalinization projects, protection of canal water from seepage or evaporation, and removal of water-gulping salt cedar and Russian olive trees. According to Wyoming State Engineer Pat Tyrrell, 'This agreement reduces the risk of both equitable apportionment and interstate river litigation as well as the risk of Wyoming water users having to curtail uses.' The Basin States' Agreement will remain in place until 2025. The secretary of the Interior, in conjunction with the seven Colorado River Basin states, has been working on Lower Colorado shortage guidelines and coordinated operating criteria for Lake Powell and Lake Mead under low reservoir storage conditions. The so-called 'Basin States' Alternative' is one of five alternatives included in a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation environmental impact statement released earlier this year. Most significantly, the signing of the agreement greatly reduces the threat of litigation among the Colorado Basin states over reservoir operations and water uses through 2025. The agreement commits all involved parties to pursue alternative dispute resolution in lieu of filing lawsuits for the duration of the agreement. The intent of the agreement is to delay the onset of water shortages in the lower-basin states, while maximizing protection of upper-basin states -- by having Lake Powell storage available for release in order to meet Colorado River Compact flow agreements... "Tyrrell said the agreement also improves the odds that Wyoming can develop its water projects without fear of lower basin objections. The enlargement of the Viva Naughton reservoir in Lincoln County is a likely beneficiary. 'Anything that encourages development in the Upper Green River Basin is welcome,' said Michael Purcell, director of the Wyoming Water Development Commission." Category: Colorado Water 5:48:40 AM

© Copyright 2007 John Orr. Last update: 6/1/07; 6:54:11 AM.