Tiempo Climate Newswatch

A scientist with the United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), Charles Monnett, whose work has contributed to concern regarding the potential impact of global warming on the polar bear, has been suspended pending an investigation into "integrity issues." In 2006, Monnett and a colleague, Jeffrey Gleason, published a peer-reviewed report of sightings of drowned polar bears in open waters following a storm. The work featured in the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Polar bears are now classified by the United States as a threatened species due to climate change.

An official complaint has been filed on Monnett's behalf by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). "You have to wonder," said Jeff Ruch, PEER executive director, "this is the guy in charge of all the science in the Arctic and he is being suspended just now as an arm of the interior department is getting ready to make its decision on offshore drilling in the Arctic seas." According to PEER, Monnett has not been informed of any specific charge or question relating to the scientific integrity of his work and the probe is being conducted by criminal investigators with no scientific training or background. "Ever since this paper was published, Dr Monnett has been subjected to escalating official harassment, culminating in his recent virtual house arrest," Ruch said. The head of BOEMRE, Michael Bromwich, has told agency staff in Alaska by email that the suspension is the result of new information regarding a separate subject.

Detailed data regarding the greenhouse gas contribution of dairy farming have been collected by a team of scientists from the United States Department of Agriculture. "We've calculated some of the first on-farm emission rates for western large-scale dairies, along with emissions per cow and per unit of milk production," said April Leytem from the Agricultural Research Service.

Emission rates were measured at a commercial dairy farm for open lots, a wastewater pond and a compost yard. The open lots were responsible for the highest levels of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions, generating 80 per cent of the carbon dioxide and 57 per cent of the nitrous oxide. The lots also generated 74 per cent of the facility's methane emissions during the spring. "Dairy producers have been very supportive of this work," Leytem commented. "Now we want to start improving models that state and federal regulators can use to generate estimates for on-farm emissions from commercial dairy facilities."

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), meeting in Ghana, has called on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to adopt agreed methodology for measuring the carbon footprint of information and communications technology (ICT) equipment, such as mobile 'phones, and its inclusion in national adaptation and mitigation plans. This, it is noted, would provide an incentive to the ICT industry to invest in developing countries, help reduce the digital divide and at the same time help fight climate change.

The ITU Call for Action also notes the potential for ICT to assist in adaptation efforts and the critical role that it can play in providing education and information through broadcasting, the internet and other means of communication. The ITU has launched a model project in Ghana, sponsored by Research in Motion, to consider how ICTs could be used to help Africa adapt to the effects of climate change and how telecommunications operations can reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions. The project will pilot the ITU methodology for environmental assessment in the sector.