This past weekend, something remarkable happened — more than 35,000 people came to Washington D.C. from all over the country to make sure President Obama heard our message: take action on climate, reject the Keystone XL pipeline. So, was President Obama listening while we took to the streets in the dead of winter? It’s hard to tell. While thousands of Americans marched in the cold to call for action on climate, the President was in Florida ‘on the green’ with leading figures in the Texas oil and gas execs. For most Washington insiders this can be chalked up to par for the course, but for a president who has stressed the urgency of addressing climate change this is a bogey.

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An Invitation to the President

The President’s golf game got us to thinking, how willing is he to check out things from our perspective? Jim Murphy, National Wildlife Federation’s senior counsel and tar sands campaigner, issued an invitation:

“President Obama, we realize that this is how business gets done in Washington, which is why we’d like to formally invite you to trade in your golf spikes for some hiking boots. So next time you’re down in Florida, come with us on a tour of the Everglades, where wildlife like sea turtles and Key Deer are losing crucial habitat due to climate change. Or if you’d like something closer to home, hang out with us at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, one of the country’s best waterfowl habitats that’s facing catastrophic sea level rise.  We can’t promise a caddy, but we guarantee it will be a lot of fun.”

President Obama says he’s serious about combating climate change, but he needs to show his commitment by rejecting Keystone XL. If 40,000 people marching in Washington D.C. wasn’t enough to make our message loud and clear then we’ll get louder.  This past week is just more evidence that we need to raise our voices to make sure he is standing up for people and wildlife.

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Flickr's Tina Neale

The hearing, Impacts of Rising Sea Levels on Domestic Infrastructures, was one of the only hearings on climate change that Congress has held this year. In that sense, it’s an important chance to talk about global warming, America’s biggest threat that Congress refuses to address. As National Wildlife Federation Climate Scientist Dr. Amanda Staudt blogged in advance of the hearing, “The climate-related threats to our nation’s energy systems compound the vulnerability associated with our aging & crumbling energy infrastructure, which is already causing environmental damage.” However, the committee made clear that this “is an oversight hearing, not intended to lead to legislation.”

I headed down to Dirksen Senate Office Building this morning to watch the hearing and kept a running diary …

9:27am - The hearing is set to begin at 9:30am. The committee includes some of Congress’ biggest champions of climate action (Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Maria Cantwell) and some of its staunchest polluter allies (Sen. Joe Manchin, Sen. John Barrasso) so we could see some fireworks. The witness panel:

Photo credit: Flickr (koocbor)

I’m pleased that the ENR committee is highlighting these important issues. All policymakers need to understand that climate impacts – such as sea level rise and extreme weather – are harming us in ways that may not appear readily connected. In fact, a 2011 NWF report More Extreme Weather and the US Energy Infrastructure focused on exactly these sorts of connections between climate change and the vulnerability of our energy systems.

Coastal Energy Infrastructure at Risk

Rising sea level certainly does threaten our near-shore oil and gas pipelines and refineries, as well as power plants, which are often located near the coast to make use of the ample water available needed for standard electricity generation. And, climate change is the main driver for sea level rise, especially for the 21^st century.

Over the last century, climate change has contributed to about 8 inches of sea level rise globally. Some areas, like the Gulf Coast, have experienced even more sea level rise due to local land subsidence.  The best scientific projections for the coming century: 1-2 feet of global mean sea level rise by 2050, and 2-6 feet by 2100.  About 3 feet of sea level rise would inundate more than 9000 km² of coastal areas in the lower 48 states, according to a new study lead by Climate Central.

And, it’s not just sea level rise. Coastal energy infrastructure is also vulnerable to hurricanes. NWF’s 2011 report highlights how vulnerable oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf region is to hurricanes:

About 30 percent of the U.S. oil supply and 20 percent of the natural gas supply is produced in the Gulf of Mexico region, an area highly vulnerable to tropical storms and hurricanes. As climate change makes it likely that these storms will become more intense and bring more severe flooding, the billions of dollars worth of infrastructure invested in this region are at risk. This includes some 4,000 offshore oil and gas platforms, 31,000 miles of pipeline, and more than 25 onshore refineries. To make matters worse, much of this infrastructure is aging, making it even more susceptible to failures.

Weather-Related Power Outages

Power outages are becoming a more frequent nuisance for many of us, and an increasing number are due to weather. Just check out this chart that NWF created based on the reports submitted by electricity companies for major outages. Changes in extreme weather, power transmission infrastructure and maintenance practices, and demographic trends may all be contributing to more frequent power outages.

Furthermore, electricity generation is likely to be affected by water shortages, especially as climate change brings more extreme heat and drought. About 89 percent of electricity in the United States is generated in thermoelectric power plants that require water for cooling. Water demand from the energy sector is projected to increase by 32 percent by 2030, while droughts are expected to become more frequent and severe. This impending crisis is not widely recognized as a future cause of electricity outages.

Building a Better Energy System

The climate-related threats to our nation’s energy systems compound the vulnerability associated with the aging and crumbling energy infrastructure, which is already causing environmental damage. It is high time that we make investments in a new energy infrastructure that is more resilient in the face of more extreme weather and climate. We recommend that the nation undertake a detailed national climate vulnerability assessment for the energy industry and develop climate adaptation plans to address vulnerabilities.

Furthermore, we must begin designing, strategically locating, and making investments in energy systems—such as appropriately sited offshore wind and distributed photovoltaic solar—that are more resilient to severe weather and climate disruptions, while at the same time help us take meaningful steps away from our dependence on coal, oil, and gas. EPA’s carbon standards for new power plants are an important step toward helping us build a more resilient power infrastructure and one that is not adding to the problem is critical.

Miami, Florida faces a greater economic threat from global warming than any other city on earth.  Much of the city is just a few feet above sea level and even 3-4 foot rise in sea levels – well within the projections of what could happen over the next century - could inundate Miami Beach and downtown Miami.  Don’t believe me?  Thanks to the wonders of Google, with a little help from the architects at Architecture 2030, you can see for yourself.

So I was pleased to hear that Miami is the first participant in ICLEI’s “Climate Resilient Communities” program, which is geared to help cities prepare for, and even thrive in, a warmer – and in Miami’s case, wetter – world.  ICLEI is an organization that helps cities become more sustainable.  They have done fantastic work in helping cities reduce their carbon footprint, but have recognized that simply reducing emissions is not enough to prepare for climate change, a city must also prepare for the inevitable (and in many cases, already occurring) impacts of climate change.

You can find out more about ICLEI’s work on preparing for climate impacts (often called “climate adaptation”) at www.icleiusa.org/adaptation.  They have resources for local governments and city planners who want to prepare for climate change in their governing and planning.

Of course if you do want a Waterworld 2 (and after watching the trailer again, I think I might…), you can always write to Universal Studios.  But congratulations to Miami, for taking steps to avoid making it a reality.

As the sea swallows its shores, when does a country cease to be a country? That’s what the New York Times asks this week:

If a country sinks beneath the sea, is it still a country? That is a question about which the Republic of the Marshall Islands — a Micronesian nation of 29 low-lying coral atolls — is now seeking expert legal advice. It is also a question the United States Senate might ask itself the next time it refuses to deal with climate change. [...]

Officials in the Marshall Islands — where a 20-inch rise would drown at least one atoll — are not only thinking about the possibility of having to move entire populations but are entertaining even more existential questions: If its people have to abandon the islands, what citizenship can they claim? Will the country still have a seat at the United Nations? Who owns its fishing rights and offshore mineral resources?

Maldives, another nation whose existence is threatened by sea level rise, has already started setting aside money to buy land elsewhere. What would you do if you lived in a place like Marshall Islands & Maldives?

Photo via Flickr’s MrLins

Climate change is hitting home, here and now, in some ways that maybe you might not have expected.  Check out this video.

The new area will be converted farmland and will serve as habitat for other species as well.  It is an interesting example of how land protection and restoration work will need to become smarter and more flexible as climate change causes ecological shifts in existing habitat areas. 

See article >>

Click here to view the embedded video.

Learn more at NWF.org/GlobalWarming.

The hearing also presented some startling previews of how rising sea levels will impact Virginia’s Hampton Roads area. When it comes to hurricanes and flooding, Hampton Roads is already one of America’s most vulnerable places. Higher water and stronger storms brought on by global warming will only make things worse.

You can view the slides from Dr. Inkley’s presentation below or here (2.7MB PDF) or read the National Wildlife Federation’s recent report on sea level rise and the Chesapeake Bay.

View “Impacts on Fisheries and Wildlife’ on SlideShare” >>

The report says that it is likely the Pacific Northwest coast will see a significant rise in sea-level–anywhere from 20-56 inches by 2100 if global warming is left unchecked.

“But wait,” you say, “20-56 inches that doesn’t sound bad.”

“But wait,” I say, “That is 20-56 inches of vertical rise, which translates into many many feet when you talk horizontal loss of land.”

Check out more about the report at www.nwf.org/sealevelrise–and don’t miss the cool Flash animation of how sea-level rise will impact habitats!