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Forests of Borneo
Limestone dipterocarp lowland rainforest, Deer Cave, Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Borneo. @ C.Michael Hogan
|Borneo from images taken May 17 and 19, 2002. Source: NASA
The forests of Borneo are some of the most biodiverse on Earth.
The island of Borneo is estimated have at least 222 species of mammals (44 of which are endemic), 420 resident birds (37 endemic), 100 amphibians, 394 fish (19 endemic), and 15,000 plants (6000 endemic) — more than 400 of which have been discovered since 1994.
One set of surveys tabulated over 700 tree species within a ten hectare plot — a number comparable to the total number of tree species in the entirety of Canada and the United States combined.
From a conservation point of view, the chief ongoing threats to Borneo's forests are:
(a) deforestation in order to plant commercial palm oil plantations with alien species; and
(b) forest habitat destruction in Indonesian Borneo using slash-and-burn swidden agriculture.
Politically, the island is divided between Malaysia (northern quarter of the island) and Indonesia (southern 73% of the island); with small but oil-rich nation of Brunei occupying a portion in the north.
Types of Forests in Borneo
Several distinct forest ecosystems are found across Borneo. Mangrove swamps lie along the coast, notably including the Sunda Shelf mangrove ecoregion along Borneo's north and northeast coastal zones.
Proceeding upland topographically, one encounters the Borneo peat swamp forests, which are a specialised form of dipterocarp lowland tropical rainforest.
The Borneo lowland rainforests are typically slightly higher in elevation, but sometimes include pockets of the swamp forests in localised topographic depressions.
Higher yet in elevation are the Borneo montane rainforests. Surpassing the montane forests in altitude lies a smaller area of specialised habitat termed the Kinabalu montane alpine meadows, which contains plants of lesser stature than the rainforests.
Ecoregions of Borneo.
- Sunda Shelf mangroves
- Borneo peat swamp forests
- Kinabalu montane alpine meadows
- Borneo montane rain forests
- Borneo lowland rainforests
- Sundaland heath forests
- Southest Borneo freshwater swamp forests
See main article: Sunda Shelf mangroves
Mangrove swamps are found in estuaries and along coastal zones. The chief areas of mangrove occurrence in Borneo are along the northern coastline of the island, where the Sunda Shelf mangroves are found. Mangrove habitats cover approximately 1.2 million hectares in Borneo, a small fraction — perhaps less than 20 percent — of their original early Holocene extent. In the Indonesian state of Kalimantan large areas of mangroves have been cleared by loggers and by farmers for agriculture.
There are five major mangrove types, or consociations, recognized in the Borneo region, based on the dominant species within the genera of Avicennia, Rhizophora, Sonneratia, Bruguiera, and Nypa. The relative occurrence of each type is based on fluctuations in soils, salinity, and the tidal regime. Typically mangroves display a zonation or succession of forests, with each zone being dominated by one of the consociations. On the seaward sediments, Avicennia-Sonneratia forest dominates. Moving inland, there is softer and deeper mud sediment dominated by Rhizophora-Bruguiera forests. Further inland, the soils become firmer and the forests display a greater species diversity. In areas with a substantial freshwater influence, Nypa palms dominate. Mangrove forests reach 50 metres (m) in height in many areas.
Peat Swamp Forests
See main article: Borneo peat swamp forests
Peat swamp forests are the dominant form of remaining lowland forest in Borneo today. These swamp forests appear in places where dead vegetation becomes waterlogged and, too wet to decompose, accumulates as peat. These tropical peat lands, formed over hundreds of years, are giant stores of carbon. Draining and/or burning these lands, releases tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. These drained areas also become highly susceptible to combustion. Under the dry el Niño conditions of 1997-98, thousands of fires raged in the peat swamps of Indonesia. Fires in peat swamps are extraordinarily difficult to extinguish because they can burn for months virtually undetected in the deeper layers of peat. In 2002 peat forests covered about ten million hectares in Borneo according to Langner and Siegert (2005).
Montane Forests
See main article: Borneo montane forests
Montane forests are generally found at an elevation from 900 metres to 3300 metres in Borneo. Trees in these forests are typically shorter than those of lowland forest, resulting in a less-developed forest canopy. Langner and Siegert (2005) estimate that in 2002 about 70 percent (1.6 million ha) of Borneo's original montane forests (2.27 million hectares) remained.
Borneo's montane flora is derived from both Asian and Australian families, making it one of Earth's most diverse montane habitats. Araucariaceae, Clethraceae, Ericaceae, Fagaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae, Podocarpaceae, Symplocaceae, and Theaceae are all families commonly found in montane forests. In the lower elevations of montane forest (about 1000 to 1200 metres) the dominance of dipterocarp species ends. These are replaced with highly speciose oak (Quercus and Lithocarpus spp.) and chestnut (Castanopsis spp.) forests. Myrtaceae are also important in the lower montane forests. Above 1500 metres this forest grades into a montane ericaceous belt followed by an alpine meadow on the very highest peaks.
Three major parallel changes occur in montane forests with increasing altitude. First, there is a decrease in forest canopy height. Montane forests do not have prominent emergent trees, and their overall height is much lower. The canopy typically is 10 to 20 metres high. Second, the size and shape of the leaves change. Trees with buttresses usually are absent. Lowland forests are dominated by tree species with medium-large (mesophyll) and billowing canopy trees. Montane forests are dominated by slender trees, small leaves (microphyll), and a flattish crown surface. The third difference is the increased presence of epiphytes. Orchids, ferns, moss, lichen, and liverworts are more abundant in montane forests than in lowland rainforests. Upper montane forests share many common species and features of structure and appearance with heath forests.
Heath Forests
Heath or kerangas forest are found on well-drained, sandy soils that are extremely nutrient-poor (kerangas is the indigenous Iban word for land that will not grow rice). These forests are characterized by certain tree species tolerant of the poor, acidic soil conditions and are considerably stunted in comparison with typical rainforests. Heath forests are also less biodiverse the other tropical plant communities. MacKinnon et al. (1997) estimate that Borneo was once covered with by 6,688,200 hectares of heath forests. Today the extent of the heath forest is so diminished that estimates that almost no intact heath forests may remain in Borneo by 2015.
Lowland Dipterocarp Rainforests
See main article: Borneo lowland rainforests
Lowland Dipterocarp forests are the most biodiverse and most threatened forests in Borneo (68% of lowlands have been cleared in Kalimantan, 56% in Malaysia). These giant trees, often exceeding 45 meters in height, are the most valuable source of timber in Borneo and have been heavily logged over the past three decades. Langner and Siegert (2005) estimated that just under 30 million hectares of lowland Dipterocarp forest remained in Borneo in 2002.
The prevalence of Dipterocarps gives Borneo's forests an unusual dynamic that is tightly linked with the ocean-atmosphere phenomenon called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (also known as ENSO or "El Niño"). According to Lisa Curran, a biologist who has spent more than 20 years in Borneo and is now a leading expert on the natural history of the island, Dipterocarp reproduction is inextricably tied to the arrival of El Niño, with 80-93% of species synchronizing their flowering to the onset of the dry weather conditions, which traditionally occur on a roughly four year basis. During a "Dipterocarp year" in Kalimantan, the canopy bursts into color as countless emergent Dipterocarp trees — each of which may have 4 million flowers — bloom during a six-week period, a strategy that intermittently starves and swamps seed predators so that at least some seeds survive to germination.
The mass blooming and subsequent fruiting — which has been known to synchronize over an area of 150 million hectares (370 million acres) and involve 1870 species — is a boon to seed predators, including wild boar, the keystone seed predator in the ecosystem. Seeds and wild boar are so prevalent during these intervals that local populations have long viewed el Niño events as times of plenty, collecting Illipe nuts for export and gorging on pork. The relationship has lasted for as long as humans have inhabited Borneo and is ingrained in the cultures of people ranging from the tribes of the forested interior to coastal traders.
In recent years however, the system seems to be breaking down due to land-use change. Dr. Curran, awarded the MacAuthur genius award in 2006 for her work in this area, says that intensive logging has taken a heavy toll on this reproductive cycle. Curran found that seed production fell from 175 pounds per acre in 1991 to 16.5 pounds per acre in 1998, even though it was a one of the strongest El Niño years on record. It appears that logging has reduced the local density and biomass of mature trees below some critical threshold that limits masting.
Further, the introduction of fires in a region that had no prior fire regime, has exacerbated drought stress and caused a radical transformation in forest ecology. Today el Niño years are no longer a time of plenty. As Curran said during a visit to California, "el Niño has become the great destroyer instead of the great provider." Land use change has broken the once tightly linked ecosystem.
The impact extends well beyond Borneo with annual fires driving widespread air pollution (often termed haze) that can spread as far as Australia, China, and India. The fires release massive amounts of carbon dioxide, especially when Borneo's peat forests burn. With 518 tons of carbon per hectare - one of the highest levels of biomass on the planet — these ecosystems can contribute up to two billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in some years, making Indonesia the third largest greenhouse gas polluter, despite having only the world's 22nd largest economy. Some scientists worry that fires and climate change could be a positive feedback loop that only worsens conditions, producing an ever drier climate, more frequent forest fires and higher carbon emissions.
See Also
- Malaysia Geography Collection
- Mountains of Malaysia
- Alistar I. Robertson. 1992. Tropical mangrove ecosystems. American Geophysical Union. 329 pages
- Mario Rautner, Martin Hardiono, Raymond J. Alfred. 2005. Borneo: treasure island at risk : status of forest, wildlife, and related threats on the Island of Borneo. World Wildlife Fund, Germany. 78 pages
- Li and Sun. 1999. Palynological records since Last Glacial Maximum from a deep-sea core in the southern South China Sea. Quat. Sci. Rev. 23: 2007-2016
- Pinxian Wang. 2009. The South China Sea: Paleoceanography and Sedimentology (Google eBook) Springer. 506 pages
- Eric D.Wikramanayake. 2002. Terrestrial ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a conservation assessment. Island Press. 643 pages


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An auction house expects six-figure bids when it sells a rare 148-year-old baseball card discovered at a yard sale in rural Maine.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ Saco River Auction Co. in Biddeford said a man found the card by chance in a photo album he bought in Baileyville, on the Canadian border.
It's not the same as a modern baseball card. Instead, it's a photograph of the Brooklyn Atlantics amateur baseball club mounted on a card. Saco River manager Troy Thibodeau said he's aware of only two such cards in existence, the other at the Library of Congress.
Saco River sold a rare 1888 card of Hall of Fame baseball player Michael "King" Kelly last summer for $72,000. Thibodeau expects the Brooklyn Atlantics card to fetch at least $100,000 at its Feb. 6 auction.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

subset: commoncrawl


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Seattle, WA (Sports Network) - Keith Price completed 24-of-33 attempts for 277
yards and two touchdowns to lift the Huskies as Washington picked up a 34-15
victory over the Utah Utes in a Pac-12 Conference tilt at CenturyLink Field.
Price also rushed for a touchdown to help the Huskies (6-4, 4-3 Pac-12) become
bowl eligible. Bishop Sankey paced the rushing attack for Washington with 162
yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries. Austin Seferian-Jenkins made seven
catches for 99 yards and Kasen Williams reeled in seven receptions for 73 yards
and a score. John Timu tied for the team-high with nine total tackles and also
recorded an interception in the winning effort.
John White gained 142 yards and scored on two of his 22 carries for Utah (4-6,
2-5), which had its two-game winning streak snapped. Travis Wilson struggled
under center for the Utes, completing only 8-of-23 attempts for 55 yards with
an interception. Wilson was sacked four times as well.
The Utes held an early lead after the first 15 minutes as White's 46-yard
touchdown run was the only scoring play of the opening quarter. Jake Murphy
rushed in it for two-points on the ensuing conversion attempt to give Utah an
8-0 edge.
Price completed an eight-yard touchdown pass with 11:28 left before the
intermission for the Huskies' first points. Price rushed four yards into the
end zone with just over two minutes before the intermission to give Washington
a 14-8 advantage at the halftime break.
The Huskies extended their lead to 21-8 at the 10:13 of the third quarter when
Price completed a nine-yard pass for six points to DiAndre Campbell.
Utah finally ended the run and made it a one possession game as White dashed 20
yards across the goal line to punctuate a nine-play, 61-yard drive. White's
second touchdown of the contest made it 21-15 with 6:06 remaining in the third
Washington took back control as Sankey rushed for a touchdown in both of the
final quarters which buried the Utes' hope for a comeback.
Utah gained only nine first downs in the contest while the Huskies amassed 22
first downs. Washington gained 437 yards of total offense and limited the Utes
to only 188 yards.
The Sports Network


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December 5, 2012
Neal McCready
Kailo Moore will represent Mississippi in Montgomery, Ala., next week. He'll represent his state again in the fall. Where, though? That's Moore's dilemma. ...More... To continue reading this article you must be a member. Sign Up Now!
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The Westin Mumbai Garden City
Local Area
A relentlessly creative spirit, a professional work ethos, a dynamic and frenetic energy—these are just a few of the qualities that define the city of Mumbai.
Formerly known as Bombay, Mumbai is the financial capital of the India and the second most populous city in the world. Mumbai is one of the world's top ten centers of commerce by global financial flow and home to important financial institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, the Bombay Stock Exchange, and the corporate headquarters of numerous multinational corporations. Mumbai is also home to Bollywood—India's Hindi film and television industry.
Visiting Mumbai is an adventure that is impossible to explain and only understood when experienced. Opulent penthouses, skyscrapers reaching up into the stratosphere, designer homes, crowded streets, bustling bazaars and sprawling slums—all wait to be explored.
The Westin Mumbai Garden City is located in a burgeoning new business district, just a quick drive away from must-see attractions such as:
- Sanjay Gandhi National Park: Dating back to the 4th century B.C., the dense forests of this park are home to thousands of species of flora and fauna. (5 kilometers)
- Film City: In 1911 Film City produced its first silent movie and, in doing so, ignited the birth of "Bollywood." Today Film City functions both as a major movie studio and a place of historical reverence. (2 kilometers)
- Prithvi Theatre: Not far from Juhu Beach, Prithvi is one of Mumbai's best-known theatres. The theatre has its own charming outdoor garden café, where stars of the stage and city's culture aficionados go to see and be seen. (10 kilometers)
- Victoria Terminus: Modeled after the St. Pancras Station in London, Victoria Terminus is undoubtedly the British Raj's piece de resistance, complete with carved stone friezes, stained glass windows and flying buttresses. Today it serves as the hub for Mumbai's local trains. (25 kilometers)
- The Gateway of India: This 26 meter-high, triple-arch gateway was built in 1911 to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to India. It is shining example of Indo-Gothic architecture and today stands as an iconic symbol of Mumbai and its people. (30 kilometers)
View Local Area Map
Arts & Culture
- Prithvi Theatre 9.7 km/6.0 miles
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus) 24.1 km/15.0 miles
- Bombay Exhibition Centre 4.8 km/3.0 miles
- Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) 12.9 km/8.0 miles
Corporate Offices
- Hewlett Packard 0.2 km/0.1 miles
- Ogilvy & Mather India Ltd. 0.2 km/0.1 miles
- Abbott 1.6 km/1.0 miles
- BNP Paribas 2.4 km/1.5 miles
- Larsen & Tourbo 3.2 km/2.0 miles
- eBay 3.5 km/2.2 miles
- Reliance 3.5 km/2.2 miles
- Bharti AXA Life Insurance Co. Ltd 3.7 km/2.3 miles
- Morgan Stanley 4.0 km/2.5 miles
- Deutsche Bank 4.0 km/2.5 miles
- Mindspace, Malad 4.8 km/3.0 miles
- SEEPZ 8.1 km/5.0 miles
- MIDC 9.7 km/6.0 miles
- Bandra Kurla Complex 16.1 km/10.0 miles
- Bombay Stock Exchange 29.0 km/18.0 miles
- Nariman Point 32.2 km/20.0 miles
- World Trade Center 32.2 km/20.0 miles
Local Attractions
- Film City 3.2 km/2.0 miles
- Kanheri Caves 4.8 km/3.0 miles
- Gateway of India 25.8 km/16.0 miles
Nearby Destinations
- Pune, India 169.0 km/105.0 miles
- Sanjay Gandhi National Park 4.8 km/3.0 miles
- Essel World 8.9 km/5.5 miles
- Bombay (Downtown Mumbai) 20.9 km/13.0 miles
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Related Movies
Moonrise Kingdom
|Release Date: May 25, 2012
|Running Time: 100 mins.
|MPAA Rating: PG 13
|Box Office: $45,451,321.00
|Genre: Comedy, Drama
Bruce Willis
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All Cast & Crew >>
Summary:On an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, two 12-year-olds fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore - and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in every which way.
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The Power of Independent Thinking
Anthony Gregory on Scott Horton Show
Recorded: Friday, April 19, 2013
Anthony Gregory, Research Fellow and author of The Power of Habeas Corpus in America: From the Kings Prerogative to the War on Terror, speaks to the anniversary of the Waco atrocity.
Experts: Anthony GregoryType: RadioIssues: Civil Liberties/ Human Rights, Government Power, Law Enforcement, Religion
Waco, Twenty Years LaterWhat Statism Is All About
Recorded: Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Twenty years ago, Americans witnessed the greatest law enforcement atrocity in modern U.S history. On February 28th, 1993, the ATF raided the Branch Davidian home in Waco, Texas. The stand-off finally ended 51 days later, on April 19th, after the building went up in flames, killing 70 civilians including more than 20 children. Reflections by Independent Institute Research Fellow Anthony Gregory.
Experts: Anthony GregoryType: Independent Institute TVIssues: Civil Liberties/ Human Rights, Culture/ Society, Law Enforcement, Religion


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US Mint Testing New Metals to Make Coins Cheaper
When it comes to making coins, the Mint isn't getting its two cents worth. In some cases, it doesn't even get half of that. A penny costs more than two cents and a nickel costs more than 11 cents to make and distribute.


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View by: Most Popular | Alphabetical A to Z | Map
Ataturk Mausoleum (Anit Kabir)
The Ataturk Maouselum, part of the Anıt Kabir (literally "memorial tomb"), is the mausoleum of Mustaga Kemal Ataturk, the leader of the Turkish War of ... Read more
Suleymaniye Mosque
The largest mosque in Istanbul, the Suleymaniye Mosque was built between 1550 and 1558 on the orders of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. It is widely known as ... Read more
Ankara Citadel (Hisar)
Located atop a hill in the heart of Ankara, the Ankara Citadel, or castle, serves as one of the most recognizable symbol's of Turkey's capital. Visiting the ... Read more
Grand Bazaar (Kapali Carsi)
The Grand Bazaar, or Kapali Carsi, is the mother of all markets, a treasure trove of gifts, souvenirs, essentials and fripperies. Heading into the ... Read more
Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii)
Sultan Ahmet Camii, the Blue Mosque, was built by the sultan of the same name to out-wow the adjacent Aya Sofia. Built in the early 1600s, on the site of ... Read more
Ephesus (Efeze)
The ancient Greek city of Ephesus, also know as Efeze, was once one of the world's greatest cities. It ranked only behind Rome in its size and importance ... Read more
Perhaps better known by tourists as Pamukkale, Hierapolis is an ancient city of the Lycus River valley famed for its sacred hot springs. There's a lot to ... Read more
It's one of the strangest landscapes you'll ever see: the cliffs and valleys and fairy chimneys of Göreme National Park in Cappadocia. Wind and water ... Read more
Pergamon is an ancient city dating as far back as the 5th century BC. Credited with the invention of parchment, this once great seat of learning and culture ... Read more
The remains of the ancient city of Perge, lie just 17km (11mi) northeast of Antalya and is the region's most significant Roman ruin. Dating as far back as ... Read more
Antalaya Old Town (Kaleici)
Antalya Old Town - or Kaleici - is the picturesque old quarter in the center of present day Antalya. With its narrow winding streets and historic wooden ... Read more
Bosphorus Bridge
The Bosphorus Bridge is one of two bridges that spans the Bosphorus Strait, connecting the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. It stretches from Ortakoy on ... Read more
Egyptian Spice Bazaar
The heady scents of saffron, cloves and sugar fill the air at the electric Egyptian Spice Bazaar, or Misir Carsisi , one of Istanbul's oldest markets. ... Read more
Topkapi Sarayi (Cannon Gate Palace)
Synonymous with Ottoman style architecture, the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul is one of the most historically relevant landmarks, and today sits as one of ... Read more
Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya)
Hagia Sophia (or Aya Sofya) is one of the world's most beautiful buildings, built to be the world's largest place of worship by Emperor Justinian in 532 ... Read more


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Board Agenda December, 2013
Board Agenda December, 2013
If you have any questions pertaining to the Board Agenda(s), please contact the Chancellor's office at (415) 239-3303.
All board documents are PDFs. To access these documents please make sure that you have the latest version of Acrobat reader. It is available by clicking the Acrobat reader button below.
December 19 at 5:00 PM**
Please click the specific item(s) to review.
Table of Contents
I Approval of Minutes
November 2013
II Consent Agenda Items
Approval of Incoming Restricted Funds (Grants and Contract Education)
Approval of Contracts for Expenditures from Restricted Funds as required by Grant Funding or Contract Education
Approval of Contracts for Expenditures from Unrestricted Funds
Review of Purchase Orders that have been issued in accordance with Board
Acceptance of Gifts/Donations
Disposal of Personal Property with Insufficient Sales Value
Appointment – Non-Educational Administrator – General Counsel
Appointment – Non-Educational Administrator – Dean of Employee Relations
Acceptance of Employees Resignation or Resignation with the Intent to Retire
Academic Employees (Faculty) Credit Program/Non-Credit Program,
Academic Employees (Faculty) Credit Program/Non-Credit Program,
Approval of 53 new courses, 5 new course options, 8 substantial course revisions, and 8 new instructional programs recommended by the College Curriculum Committee
Recommend approval of tentative agreement between City College of San
Recommend approval of tentative agreement between City College of San Francisco (CCSF) and Stationary Engineers, Local 39
Recommend approval of tentative agreement between City College of San
III Information Items
III - A. Susan Lamb, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs
Academic Affairs has begun enrollment planning for the 2014-15 academic year. The college is looking to offer a diverse set of both credit and noncredit offerings during the summer, fall, and spring semesters. Special emphasis is being place on the placement of career and transfer pathways at a variety of locations across the city.
Several management positions in Academic Affairs have been filled. On November 1, Carl Jew began his new appointment as the Dean of Civic Center and John Adams Center, and Chris Cox became the Interim Associate Dean of the Library.
Numerous City College departments, faculty, and students have been recognized for their excellence, and are offering activities to engage the public:
- Ann Fontanella of the English as a Second Language department was chosen the 2014 TESOL Teacher of the Year. TESOL (Teachers of English as a Second or Other Language) is the professional organization for English as Second Language teachers around the world. This recognition is the most prestigious award granted to teachers by TESOL and is based on their ability to inspire students of all backgrounds and abilities to learn, to have a positive impact on students and colleagues, and numerous other criteria.
- The Journalism Department won 24 awards this semester, including the General Excellence Award for The Guardsman from the Journalism Association of Community Colleges.
- The Dental Assisting Department received 7 year full accreditation from the Commission on Dental Accreditation of American Dental Association (CODA).
- The Registered Nursing Department is graduating 38 students from our Registered Nursing Program on December 14th.
- The Health Education Department in partnership with San Francisco State University Health Education Metro Academy received the 2013 national award: Association of Public Land Grant Universities, "Most Visual Program Award".
- The PBS Newshour selected one of the Downtown Center culinary arts students, Aaron Macholl-Stanley, for an interview regarding his experiences with the Affordable Care Act. The interview with Aaron was aired on November 15 on KQED Channel 9.
- The Fire Science Department is graduating 31 students from the 12th Fire Academy on December 17th.
- To enhance access to information, the library continues to support database and e-book collections which are suited to the needs of its service community. Recently the library licensed a new Ebsco Ebook Collection which is specifically targeted to the needs of community colleges. The 120,000 titles in this collection will be searchable in its own interface, but the library will import catalog records for each title into the college library catalog, with links out to the database. The ability to access these collections 24/7 from offsite locations, and to locate items seamlessly through the catalog, not only enhances the experience for distance learners, it greatly expands equitable access to resources for the entire college community.
- On December 7th, the Culinary Arts & Hospitality program had graduation ceremonies for thirty-two graduates at the Diego Rivera Theatre.
- The English department published its fall edition of Forum Magazine. The magazine was established in 1937 and is a student-run literary journal that serves the City College of San Francisco community. The Forum collects, edits and publishes quality works of literature and the visual arts and is dedicated to providing a platform for the contemporary, urban voices of the institution.
Since its founding in 1948, the Licensed Vocational Nursing Department has been dedicated to Vocational Nurse Education. The Fall 2013 commencement ceremony will be held on Wednesday, December 18th, at 5:00 pm in the John Adams Auditorium. In addition, the Licensed Vocational Nursing Department is awarding 20 certificates to nurses for completing the Nursing Refresher Program. The refresher class updates nursing skills for job reentry.
- The 39th Annual Fort Mason Holiday Exhibition and Show was held on December 6-8 by the Art Department. This event was very well-attended and raised money for the department.
- The Athletic Department Women's Soccer Team made the State Final 4 playoff and the Men's Soccer Team made the State Final 8 playoff.
- The Department of Environmental Horticulture and Floristry will hold its Annual Holiday Sale/Open House on Thursday, December 12th in the CCSF Horticulture Center. It will feature floral arrangements, poinsettias, orchids, holiday wreaths, and selected indoor and outdoor plants for sale. The day will include presentations by nationally-known floral designers and flower care experts.
III - B. Fabienne McPhail Naples, Vice Chancellor for Student Development
Associated Student leaders and Dominik Zelichowski, the Environmental Economic Development Coordinator for Associated Students, is developing a plan to implement a Farmer's Market on campus for Spring 2014. Students are learning the ropes of business economics by including with local vendors and farmers, researching required permits and fees, and working with campus partners on establishing policies and procedures to ensure a successful event. A great deal of effort has gone into researching the necessary background information for the feasibility of this business endeavor.
The Department of Education team conducted an on-site extensive Financial Aid Program review from December 2 – December 6, 2013. Student records were reviewed and on-campus interviews of administrators, faculty, students and especially Financial Aid staff were conducted. Dean Jorge Bell, Sophia Toney, Senior Management Assistant, Ms. Roma Cusi, and Dr. Matais Pouncil did an outstanding job preparing documents for the site visit review. At the exit conference held on Friday, December 6, 2013 the DOE findings were reviewed.
Two very important Student Service policy revisions will be submitted to the Board for approval. Revisions to the CCSF Student Code of Conduct were led by Dean of Student Affairs, Samuel Santos and received campus wide approval from constituency groups. The Student Code of Conduct was updated and revised to include new violations such as cyber bullying and gender harassment.
The second policy, Drug and Alcohol-Free Work Place and College Environment was updated. On Monday, November 25, 2013 Dr. Lani Battiste and VC Faye Naples led the Crisis Management Team in the review of The Alcohol and Drug Policy, administrative procedures, and a draft biennial review of 2013-2014 San Francisco Community College District, Alcohol and Other Drug Programs report. Based upon federal requirements, the Biennial Report of Alcohol and Other Drug Programs requires a campus wide assessment of Alcohol and Drug Policy, review of administrative procedures, and campus programs to respond to incidents of alcohol and drug related cases/incidents.
Three Student Services administrative positions are posted and will close on December 31, 2013. Search Committees for the Dean of Financial Aid, the Associate Dean of Financial Aid and Student Success Programs, and the Associate Dean of Student Activities will convene in the New Year. We anticipate selection and hiring processes will be complete by March 1, 2014.
Chancellor Tyler is set to meet with Whole Foods store managers at a luncheon to be held on January 8, 2014 to discuss upcoming business partnerships and collaborations; such as, campus student job fairs and the use of CCSF facilities for Whole Foods orientation and training of new staff. Whole Foods is our neighbor and in addition to providing high quality food and services, Whole Foods has been a supportive partner and a generous donor to many CCSF campus and student events and activities.
Led by Associate Dean Chuen Chan, an extensive review of all Student Service Policies is underway; and we should have completed our review and drafting of Student Service Policies by March 1, 2014.
III - C. Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration Ron Gerhard
Please find below a Budget Summary Report and Monthly Expenditure Chart for the Unrestricted General Fund summarizing the College's financial activity for fiscal year 2013-14 as of November 30, 2013. These summaries present expenditure activity both by functional activity as well as by major account classification as defined by the State.
Through November 30th, or approximately 42% of the fiscal year, the College has expended and encumbered 40% of the Unrestricted General Fund budget. Current activity is tracking within expectations and in accordance with the existing budget.
III - D. Associate Vice Chancellor of Institutional Development and Accreditation Liaison Officer Gohar Momjian
Institutional Effectiveness
City College is kicking-off the Education Master Planning (EMP) process. The College has engaged the Voorhees Group LLC to help facilitate the process. Together we will create a comprehensive Education Master Plan that will help the College set a unified direction for the College's future. A combination of small group strategy sessions and larger public forums will be convened at each of the College's centers and are planned for the weeks of January 27, February 17, and March 10. These conversations will be informed by internal and external data, both quantitative and qualitative. The College has created a webpage (www.ccsf.edu/emp) to share data throughout the process and to announce scheduled events. The EMP website will be regularly updated with meeting dates and other materials. Currently we're collecting initial input from CCSF students and employees, as well as external community members in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as. The survey can be found at this location https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2K2622W
Program Review materials have been submitted to Deans and Vice Chancellors. The program review website is being populated with the completed reports, including how requests were initially scored. The final ranking process for resource allocation will occur in early spring 2014. http://www.ccsf.edu/NEW/en/employee-services/research-planning-and-grants/planning/program_review.html
The College will deploy the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) in Spring 2014. We last participated in 2007. To complement this credit survey, we're exploring creative methods for efficiently implementing a noncredit survey. These surveys are an important way for us to learn from our students and based on feedback and analysis implement improvements. In regards to Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) work, results and recommendations are available for the coordinated GE-Area C Spring 2013 assessment. Please review the report and contribute to the ongoing discussions of the SLO Committee, Planning Committee, Assessment Planning Team, and Academic Senate Executive Council. Congratulations to all members of the CCSF Community. We are ALL getting used to the process of completing SLO progress reports at the end of each semester. Based on the reports already submitted, it's clear that people know where to find the forms, how to complete them, and how to see the results. Results are available through department/unit assessment web pages. (Click here to get to the reports.) Based on feedback about departmental and unit workflow, in early January, when the spring semester starts, we will close the Fall 2013 reports and make the Spring 2014 reports available at the same time. With access to end-of-the-semester forms at the beginning of the semester, departments and units can easily keep track of progress made during the first month of the semester, at FLEX events and department meetings, and incorporate activity into Spring progress reports.
I would like to share some of my observations and words of gratitude to the employees at this institution and the supportive community at large. Together we have moved the College forward in a focused and driven manner to ensure CCSF remains a place of opportunity for our students, and our students continue to place their trust in CCSF in pursuit of their educational goals. It is important to pause and reflect on the tremendous progress which the College has accomplished in all facets of our operations to improve our institution and meet the standards of accreditation.
Please visit the Roadmap to Success located at www.ccsfforward.com for a more detailed description of the actions, timelines, and outstanding areas described below.
Standard I
In responding to the ACCJC's recommendations and meeting the standards on Institutional Mission and Effectiveness (Standard I), the college completed its review of CCSF's mission and vision statements; its improved cycle of program review is in its 5th year of annual program review, with changes in administrative procedures to directly connect planning with budget. In 2014 the College will have reached a major turning point, as we focus on the development of an Education Master Plan, participation in a comprehensive survey of students, and further discussions on College benchmarks of student success and annual indicators.
Standard II
Student Learning Programs and Services (Standard II) improvements continue to focus on assessment work on Student Learning Outcomes, Institutional Learning Outcomes, Administrative Unit Outcomes, and General Education Outcomes. In June 2013, the ACCJC produced a report on the overall SLO Assessment Implementation across all their colleges. In September 2013, CCSF requested a specific feedback report on our performance relative to the SLO rubric and other colleges to help focus our efforts. In their report, ACCJC scored CCSF (based on our March 2013 report) with an overall average of 3.42 out of 5. Shout out to the Student Services division which scored a 5 on their specific rubric! The College is doing even better now than we were in March 2013 and that our practices and change in culture embracing the SLOs is sustainable in the long term. Visit the outcomes and assessment website www.ccsf.edu/slo to engage in the college-wide dialog.
Standard III
The accreditation standards are focused on the whole functioning of educational institutions, not just its parts. In that regard, ACCJC Standard III on Resources encompasses standards related to Human Resources, Physical Resources, Technology Resources and Financial Resources. These standards ensure that the infrastructure is solid to support all the good work taking place in the classroom for the benefit of our students. Last year's reorganization of the administrative structure and hiring of more than 30 positions is essentially complete; however a few of the administrative positions remain to be filled and are in progress. Financial resources allocated through an integrated process that uses program review as the central component for decisions. Financial policies and procedures are being updated and put in place to sustain a healthy fiscal condition for the College in years to come.
Standard IV
Leadership and Governance (Standard IV) concern not only the role of the Chancellor and Board, but also includes an explicit understanding of the responsibilities of constituent leadership, stakeholders, and the processes in which decisions are made to benefit the institution as a whole. The College has a State appointed Special Trustee who continues to make final decisions on behalf of District, a permanent Chancellor, and a Participatory Governance Council that recently established operational guidelines and has begun discussions on a self-evaluation process. With the Academic Senate leadership, the College held a training session on Collaborative Leadership which included robust and healthy dialogue on governance roles, responsibilities, and a commitment to shared responsibility for City College's success.
We are uniting with common purpose to improve the campus environment, which is evidenced by the WeAreCCSF Day-On activities with SEIU leadership whereby all members of the institution are invited to participate in various clean-up activities. City College continues to receive unwavering support from the Mayor's Office to assist the College meet its staffing goals. A consortium of funding agencies has pledged their support of over $500,000 to assist CCSF fund accreditation related activities (e.g. Education Master Plan; Technology improvements; Documentation of policies and procedure efforts). It is with the collective positive efforts which contribute to the CCSF's ability to meet all the accreditation standards, eligibility requirements, and policies, that will enable the possibility for any accreditation decision to be reconsidered in the future.
While the College continues to be accredited in the review stage of the Commission's decision, CCSF will be submitting a Substantive Change Proposal to the ACCJC. The College acknowledged in its Show Cause Report it did not previously submit Substantive Change Proposals. The Commission expects accredited institutions to undertake change responsibly and to continue to meet the Eligibility Requirements, Accreditation Standards and Commission policies even as they make changes. To provide assurance of institutional quality to the public and to maintain Title IV financial aid funds for students of the institution, a Substantive Change Proposal must be reviewed and acted upon by the Commission's Committee on Substantive Change, or the Commission as a whole. During the CCSF Participatory Governance Council's Standing Committee on Accreditation held on December 3, and the Participatory Governance Council meeting held on December 5, I informed the membership that CCSF intends to submit a Substantive Change Proposal to the Commission per the ACCJC Policy on the following grounds: Change in Location; Change in Control; Change in Courses or Programs or their Mode of Delivery that Represents a Significant Departure from Current Practice. Link to Substantive Change Policy:
Additional accreditation information and action plans are updated and posted on www.CCSFForward.com
IV Action Items
A. Policy Amendments– the following amended policies are being presented for a second reading:
· BP 2.07 – City College of San Francisco District Policy on Participatory Governance
· BP 8.01 - Budget Preparation and Fiscal Accountability
· BP 8.03 - Auditing
· BP 8.06a – Procurement of Supplies, Equipment and Services
· BP 2420 – Authorizations to Encumber the District
2nd Reading
RECOMMENDATION: That the Special Trustee approve the amended board policies: BP 2.07 – City College of San Francisco District Policy on Participatory Governance; BP 8.01 - Budget Preparation and Fiscal Accountability; BP 8.03 – Auditing; BP 8.06a – Procurement of Supplies, Equipment and Services; BP 2420 – Authorizations to Encumber the District
B. Policy Additions – the following new policies are being presented for a second reading:
· BP 8.11 – Delegation of Authority for Business
· BP 8.12 – Fiscal Management and Accounting
2nd Reading
RECOMMENDATION: That the Special Trustee approve the new board policies: BP 8.11 – Delegation of Authority for Business; BP 8.12 – Fiscal Management and Accounting.
C. Policy Amendment – the following policy is being presented for a first reading:
· BP 3.32 – Drug and Alcohol-Free Work Place and College Environment
1st Reading
RECOMMENDATION: That the Special Trustee conduct a first reading of the amended
board policy: BP 3.32 – Drug and Alcohol-Free Work Place and College Environment and
provide direction for any modifications to be incorporated before the second reading.
D. The San Francisco Community College Board of Trustees has previously enacted
resolutions to reallocate funds available from the 2005 General Obligation Bond Issue
within existing projects approved by San Francisco voters. Such reallocations are permitted under the rules that govern Proposition 39 bond measures. These actions have been needed to address revised cost estimates for projects. Additional actions are now proposed to cover the costs associated with the following:
New Mission Campus Project
Prop 39 Energy Efficiency Project
Campus Police and Deans Office Renovation Project
RECOMMENDATION: That the Special Trustee grant the authorization to reallocate
$854,600 from the General Obligation Bond Issue. This reallocation includes
$161,500 going to the New Mission Campus Project, $47,100 going to the Prop 39
Energy Efficient Project, and $646,000 going to the Campus Police and Deans Office
Renovation Project.
E. Authorization to contract with Governet for implementation and follow-up
annual support of CurricUNET software (3 modules – curriculum, program
review, assessment) at a total cost of $80,000 for implementation in Spring
2014 with $18,500 annual support costs after implementation
RECOMMENDATION: That the Special Trustee authorize the District to enter into a
contract with Governet for $80,000 for licenses and implementation services, and $18,500
for annual support services thereafter.
F. Through a partnership with the San Francisco Promise Zone (SFPZ), the College seeks to reach out to underrepresented and underserved populations residing in the geographic neighborhoods served by the SFPZ, namely Chinatown, Western Addition, Tenderlion, Mission District, and Bayview-Hunters' Point with the goal of connecting students with educational opportunities.
RECOMMENDATION: That the Special Trustee given authorization to enter into a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Mission Economic Development Agency
of the San Francisco Promise Zone for services related to the development of an
education master plan, total cost not to exceed $100,000 for the period from December
20, 2013 through June 30, 2018.
G. Authorization to enter into a five (5) year relationship with Ellucian. Ellucian will provide a comprehensive improvement program that will cover the major operational processes of the institution. It will include and go beyond the Banner-related processes cited as issues by FCMAT and ACCJC, although the FCMAT and ACCJC issues will be the priority areas for service delivery.
RECOMMENDATION: That Special Trustee approve entering into a contract with Ellucian
for project management, technical remediation, and functional services and support related
to the District's Banner enterprise resource software platform.
V Reports from Constituents
Fred Teti, Academic Senate President
The Academic Senate met on Wednesday, November 20 at the Civic Center Campus. In addition to receiving an SLO report from Coordinator Kristina Whalen (her teleconference with ACCJC rep Krista Johns went well), the Senate appointed faculty to the AB86 consortium workgroup (many thanks to Kristin Charles for representing the administration thereon), clarified our expectations for the December 6th training (see next paragraph), and adopted our committee's self-evaluation survey instrument (thus addressing yet another line item on The Roadmap). Also, we expressed our gratitude to Vice Chancellor Lamb for permitting established courses whose newly-updated outlines had been submitted to (but not yet approved by) the Curriculum Committee to be offered next semester.
I was heartened by the large turnout of all constituencies for the December 6th training on Communication and Constituency Roles. Representatives from the State Academic Senate and The League were on hand to give presentations on Title 5 and Collegial Consultation. We heard about how Cuesta College moved mountains to get off of Show Cause. We engaged in a fun activity wherein we wrote what CCSF's "Yelp" reviews might look like five years from now. We all look forward to improved communications and camaraderie in the future.
I will close by drawing attention to the expansive efforts of the faculty spearheading the Enrollment Campaign. Every Saturday, Leslie Simon, Susan Lopez, Danny Halford, and Ann MacAndrew (maybe not all at one time) spend the day at Mission Campus where faculty they've recruited pick up a kit of posters, handouts, schedules, brochures, thumbtacks, tape, and directions to neighborhood locations where it is fruitful for the College to advertise. They report that even some retirees have shown up to do their part. It is all very inspiring and I hope you will join me in thanking them for dedication and generosity of spirit.


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Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA)
The Clean Indoor Air Act, Act 27 of 2008, was signed into law on June 13, 2008. The legislation prohibits smoking in a public place or a workplace and lists examples of what is considered a public place. The bill allows for some exceptions, including a private residence (except those licensed as a child care facility), a private social function where the site involved is under the control of the sponsor (except where the site is owned , leased, or operated by a state or local government agency) and a wholesale or retail tobacco shop. It also imposes penalties for those establishments in noncompliance, as well as those individuals smoking in prohibited areas.
News Release: GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL RESTRICTING SMOKING IN MOST PUBLIC PLACES IN PENNSYLVANIA 6/13/08


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Chicago, IL, August 14, 2007 – Pekoe Tips, Inc., marketers of The Simple Leaf Tea announced today that it offset its carbon emissions with Carbonfund.org, the country's leading carbon reduction and offset organization.
Pekoe Tips has chosen to offset 100% of the carbon emissions produced as a result of its business operations. These include inbound and outbound freight, travel and electricity. Every package of tea we sell represents a tangible environmental benefit toward renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reforestation projects. Pekoe Tips is also exploring an option to offer customers the opportunity offset the shipping of their tea in the CarbonFree™ shipping program. This practical step highlights Pekoe Tips' commitment to be a leader in the tea community.
Pekoe Tips' customers, partners and tea producers are very concerned about global warming. Considering the implications of climate change, carbon offsets through Carbonfund.org are a natural extension of the work Pekoe Tips does on behalf of its stakeholders.
"As a small business that literally depends on the earth for its livelihood, we are committed to leaving this planet in much better shape than it was when we entered it. Doing something about the impact of climate change is no longer a choice – it is a necessity. We are thrilled to be partnering with carbonfund.org to help us along the path to a sustainable future", said Nikhil Roychowdhury, Founder and CEO of Pekoe Tips.
"It's a pleasure to have Pekoe Tips join the CarbonFree program," said Steve Offutt, Senior Advisor at Carbonfund.org. "Their commitment demonstrates that small companies can have a significant environmental impact by taking steps to reduce their impact and offset the remainder with Carbonfund.org.
Carbonfund.org is a non-profit organization whose goal is to make carbon offsets and climate protection easy, affordable and a normal way of life for every individual and business. Carbon offsets enable individuals and businesses to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in one location, where it is cost effective, to offset the emissions they are responsible for in their normal activities, like home, office, driving or air travel emissions. For instance, a clean, zero CO2 wind farm can offset the carbon dioxide produced by a coal-fired power plant. By supporting renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reforestation projects Carbonfund.org will retire an equivalent amount of carbon offsets. The financial support from these offsets will then help to continue the development of clean, renewable domestic sources of energy.
About The Simple Leaf
The Simple Leaf Tea was launched by Pekoe Tips in 2006 with one simple goal: to help people appreciate the inherent simplicity of a delicious cup of tea. We venture out from our home bases in Chicago and Calcutta to scour the earth for teas that we fall in love with. When we finally find something that fits the bill (and we taste lots and lots of teas before we pick), we whisk it away to Chicago so we can ship it out to our customers as soon as possible. Through strong relationships with tea growers, blenders and tasters, Pekoe Tips is able to import and deliver high-quality fresh tea to consumers and specialty retailers. In addition to our loose leaf teas, we also offer a range of practical tea accessories on our website at http://www.thesimpleleaf.com.
About Carbonfund.org
Carbonfund.org is the country's leading carbon reduction and offset organization. Carbonfund.org educates the public about the dangers of climate change and makes it easy and affordable for individuals, businesses and organizations to reduce their climate impact. Carbonfund.org is reducing the threat of climate change by promoting cost-effective carbon reductions and supporting renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects globally that reduce and offset carbon dioxide emissions. Carbonfund.org works with over 100 corporate and non-profit partners including Dell, IMD, Orbitz, Ovation Travel Group and Working Assets.


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Operating weight:21,7-23,1 t
Bucket capacty:0,78-1,43 m3
With the launch of the Volvo EC210C crawler digger, Volvo demonstrates once again that it builds more care and quality into its machines. Care for the machine owner, care for the operator, care for the service technician and care for the environment around it.
The results include:
To find out more:


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Dangerous Global Appetite for Fossil Fuels
Many people have read in the news about how the United States is tapping into unprecedented natural gas reserves through the process of hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, where highly pressurized water, sand and chemicals are inserted to fracture shale rock which releases natural gas. Drilling can have environmental impacts such as contamination of ground water, air quality risks, migration of gases and hydraulic fracturing chemicals to the surface, and surface contamination from spills and flowback.
Or they've read about the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project that is seeking approval to move oil extracted from Canada's tar sands down through the western United States to refineries along the Gulf Coast. There is evidence that extracting oil from the sands are increasing levels of cancer-causing compounds in surrounding lakes far beyond natural levels.
The latest news in accessing exotic forms of carbon comes from Japan, where their government announced that they've successfully extracted natural gas from methane hydrates, also called clathrates, buried beneath the sea bed. Clathrates are an ultra-concentrated frozen mix of water and gas. A cubic meter of clathrate contains 164 times as much methane as a cubic meter of methane gas. Extraction of methane hydrates opens up the possibility for a catastrophic release of gas in the form of accidents during the extraction process. Even releasing a small amount of clathrates could contribute significantly to climate change.
Governments and corporations worldwide need to stop spending hundreds of billions of dollars searching for new fossil fuel reserves and discovering ways to extract ever more unusual forms of buried carbon. And we need to stop giving them incentives to do so. Yes, it is hard to want less and do less, but for the sake of our planet's health we need to curb our global appetite for fossil fuels. Let's start by lowering our carbon footprints. Then we need to agree to leave fossil fuel reserves in the ground.
According to a detailed estimate, we need to leave four-fifths of global fossil fuel reserves untouched for a good chance of preventing more than 2°C of global warming. The worst part is we have already identified more underground carbon than we can afford to burn between now and the year 3000. Now is the time to implement a low carbon lifestyle. We should do it for our planet, ourselves and for the sake of future generations.
Global Energy Focus on Renewables
Those of us living in the United States can easily get wrapped up in the domestic energy picture, but it is important to stop and take a look at how renewables are doing in other countries too.
If you peruse a list of countries by 2008 emissions, the top emitter of carbon dioxide is currently China, followed closely by the U.S. China accounts for 23.5% of world emissions, and the U.S. is responsible for 18.27%. However, the good news is that China's renewable-energy industry is currently on the upswing due to supportive government policies and generous subsidies; so much so that they've achieved the height of the world's wind and solar industries. We've all heard the phrase, "Everything is made in China." The U.S. does import many goods from China, but a report released this week titled, "Advantage America" analyzed trade between the two countries in solar, wind and smart-grid technology and services in 2011.
The analysis, by Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Pew Charitable Trusts, showed $6.5 billion in renewable energy technology and services traded between the U.S. and China. But the U.S. sold $1.63 billion more to China than it imported.
It's good to see both countries making such strides in renewable energy. Oftentimes, the countries are perceived as being in competition with one another, but a more accurate picture would be that they are interdependent. The bottom line is that both countries should be doing as much as possible to focus on renewables, especially considering they're the top two carbon dioxide emitters on the planet. And the global interest and investments in renewables doesn't stop there.
Saudi Arabia, a country with the world's second largest oil reserves, is beginning a green revolution. This week, Saudi King Abdullah revealed ambitious plans to develop renewable energy programs that will produce 54,000 megawatts of electricity by 2032 as part of a strategy to save 1.2 million barrels of their oil per day for export.
King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-Care) is a strategy paper set up by King Abdullah in 2010 to develop alternative energy sources so the country won't have to burn millions of barrels of oil a year on power generation. KA-Care outlines the preliminary phases of the kingdom's agenda for its energy future and focuses on thermal solar, photo-voltaic solar, wind, geothermal and waste-to-energy. Much of the desert landscape in the Persian Gulf is well suited to solar energy production; a fact that has not escaped the Saudi's neighbor, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The UAE, with 8% of the world's proven oil reserves, has also embarked on a major renewables program, which focuses on nuclear and solar energy production. By taking a look at the global energy picture, we see that even those countries with vast fossil fuel resources recognize the finite limitations of their reserves and the importance of investing in sustainable energy projects, which is great news in the fight against climate change. Every country on the planet contributes to global warming, and every country will have to do their part in order to pave the way to a sustainable energy future.
Could a Carbon Tax Be the Answer to Curbing Global Warming?
Most of the time, we do not take into account the complete costs to producing or consuming a good or service. This is because we focus on the explicit costs. For example, if we were to bake a loaf of bread, we would take into account the cost of the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water, milk, and butter. Perhaps we would even calculate our labor time to make the dough and the cost of running the oven, but would we account for the carbon dioxide dumped into the atmosphere for the delivery truck that delivered the baking supplies? How about the CO2 emissions from the power plant burning fossil fuels to generate the electricity to run the oven? The problem is that we are not required to bear the full cost of production. Some of the costs to bake that loaf of bread were shifted to society as a whole.
Even if we did not bake the loaf of bread ourselves, we're still shifting costs to society as a whole just by consuming it. Our cars burn gasoline to drive to and from the grocery store, and regardless if we walked or biked, gasoline was likely also burned to deliver the bread to the grocery store in the first place. Sure the delivery truck paid for the gasoline, but many companies do not pay for the carbon emissions their operations generate.
We need to make some drastic changes to avoid the ills of global warming, which we are beginning to see affect our daily lives, but the logistics of transforming our world's energy system can be intimidating. The first thing we need to do is get off fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy sources. Easier said than done, I know. It will be a complex and time-consuming process converting power plants, vehicles/transport systems, homes and commercial buildings. Unfortunately, time is not on our side here. We really need to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2050.
So then the question becomes how can we transition the world's energy infrastructure to sustainable sources by mid-century? One of the ways suggested is to implement a tax on CO2 emissions that begins low and gradually increases. There should be no mystery either about how much and at what intervals over time the tax will rise. Then people, businesses and governments can plan their fossil fuel exit strategy.
The revenues the carbon tax generates should be directed into subsidizing renewable energy innovation and overhauling energy infrastructure.
Ideally, the carbon tax should be global. Again there are logistical challenges to this climate change solution. The key is that we need a systematic and practical process. Isn't it time we started taking responsibility for the full costs of production and consumption? Society is bearing the cost as a whole, and society as a whole needs to be part of the solution.
Grass-roots Movement a Necessary Tool to Combat Climate Change
This Sunday approximately 35,000 protesters gathered on the National Mall to march past the White House and demand action on climate change. The Forward on Climate Change march was said to be the largest climate rally in U.S. history. Protestors organized by groups such as Sierra Club and 350.org's aim was to urge President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline project and set limits on carbon pollution from both new and existing power plants. Last year, the EPA proposed limits only on new plants.
For quite some time, Congress has remained gridlocked on the issue of climate change. President Obama has promised to tackle the problem on more than one occasion, but perhaps we the people should consider the effect we can have on bringing about meaningful change. Top down efforts are certainly necessary, but we should all be supporting more bottom up efforts as well. After all, that's how broad changes have been achieved before.
Take for instance the Civil Rights movement. The White House and Congress were encouraged to overcome their extensive political reservations and bring about true change on the issues of racial equality and voting rights only after a strong grass-roots movement led at the local level by activists such as the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. changed public opinion and made it politically unacceptable to do nothing.
There are other examples of successful grass-roots movements, but the core message is that we have to begin leveraging our bottom up power. This weekend's rally was a great start. Let's build on the momentum and begin organized, local activism, especially in the districts and states of those members of Congress that are hesitant to act on global warming.
We cannot expect President Obama to do all of the work on combating climate change. Everyone can do their part at the local level and even in their own homes. Let's also lessen the demand for energy. We live in such a blessed country, but using less energy and being more efficient is in everyone's best interests. Here are some good ways to start reducing your carbon footprint, and then you can also go carbon neutral and offset the rest.
US Federal Government Identifies Climate Change as a High-Risk
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) delivered the yearly update of the High-Risk Series report to Congress this week, which officially elevated the threat of climate change. The report contains the greatest threats the government faces in carrying out federal programs, and the GAO is responsible for identifying items such as flaws in the defense contracting process and health care program fraud.
This year the GAO believed it had to highlight the risk from climate change despite some members of Congress' dismissal or outright denial of global warming. Regardless if some in Congress do not like the move, the GAO is supported by the information coming from the National Academy of Sciences and even from the federal government's own global change research program. The GAO did, however, sidestep the issue of what is causing climate change. Instead they focus on urging lawmakers to prepare, and most of all, budget for more disasters.
The number of disasters in 2012 was above 90, a record number. The federal government's exposure to the increasing number of disasters from extreme weather brought about by global warming includes owning hundreds of thousands of buildings, the operation of defense installations, financial disaster assistance to local governments, and managing crop and flood insurance programs.
Even if the lawmakers cannot agree on climate change, the fact is that a wide variety of disasters are on the increase and Congress has not planned or budgeted for them. The time for ignoring the issue is past. Hopefully Congress will heed the warnings and begin addressing our country's part of global warming in a meaningful way. If they do not, the issue may be taken out of their hands. President Obama said in this week's State of the Union address that, "I urge this Congress to get together, pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago. But if Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will."
US EPA Releases Second Year of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data
Ever wonder how large facilities in your state are doing regarding greenhouse gas emissions? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began collecting greenhouse gas emissions data in 2010 under the congressionally mandated Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporting Program. In February 2013, the EPA's program released its second year (2011) of emissions data, which provides public access to emissions data by sector, by greenhouse gas, and by geographic region such as county or state.
The 2011 data includes information from facilities in 41 source categories that emit large quantities of greenhouse gasses. New this year is data collected from 12 additional source categories, including petroleum and natural gas systems and coal mines.
Highlights of findings from the 2011 data include:
- Power plants represent approximately one-third (33 percent) of total U.S. GHG emissions, making them the largest stationary source of GHGs in the country
- 2011 emissions from power plants were roughly 4.6 percent below 2010 emissions, demonstrating an ongoing increase in power generation from natural gas and renewable energy sources
- Refineries represented the third-largest source of GHG emissions, which increased by a half of a percent over 2010 data
- Overall emissions reported from the 29 sources tracked in both years were 3 percent lower in 2011 than in 2010
Transparency is critical to a better environment and the key to conquering climate change. If companies, communities and individuals take a look at how large facilities are doing in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and compare the latest data to national averages, perhaps we can find ways to cut these emissions and begin to curb global warming. Being better informed is also good for the businesses as they may identify opportunities to conserve energy and thereby save money.
Check out how individual large facilities in your state, county, and even zip code perform. Access this data through the Facility Level Information on Green House gases Tool (FLIGHT), which is a web-based data publication tool, or dig deeper through the EPA's online database Envirofacts that allows information searches via zip code.
Will the US Lead the Green Industrial Revolution?
Last week in President Obama's inaugural speech he addressed the most serious threat our planet has ever faced, climate change, when he said, "We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise. That's how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That's what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared."
It is exciting and hopeful to hear our nation's leader pledge to put us on the path to conquer global warming and combine it with the economic recovery the US so badly needs. Now we need to back up these words with some actions. What can we do to lead a green industrial revolution?
Well we're already seeing some promising actions from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). Did you know the DOD is the largest single consumer of energy in the world? The agency spends approximately $20 billion on 3.8 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and 120 million barrels of oil per year. That's a lot of energy, and sometimes fossil fuels are bought from countries hostile to U.S. interests. So the U.S. military is turning its eyes to renewable energy. Fortunately they are not starting from scratch; they currently have about 80 megawatts of installed renewable energy capacity. However, the good news is that a report released this week by Pike Research forecasts this number to quadruple to 3,200 megawatts by 2025. The research firm quantifies the increase in renewable energy use to a predicted almost $1.8 billion in 2025 of U.S. military spending on renewable energy programs, including conservation measures.
All of this green spending can have lasting positive effects on the industry overall. For example, as the demand for solar cells increases, it encourages the building of more solar cell manufacturing plants. Due to economies of scale, the cost of producing solar cells can decrease, and the new lower costs are passed on to the private sector. Additionally, the solar industry, because of large sales from the U.S. military, has more funds available to conduct research and development into better and cheaper solar cells, which can drive down the price permanently.
It is encouraging to hear and see the U.S. take steps towards leading a green industrial revolution. Is there more that can be done? Absolutely! But we have to recognize these constructive efforts as they are brought to light.
Rising Sea Levels and Sustainable Desalination
Depending on where in the world you live, it might be easy to forget that the environment is more than just the air we breathe or the land under our feet. It's important to keep in mind that the oceans also are being affected radically by climate change. The oceanic problems are too numerous to list. However, this week we are taking a closer look at one issue that people in different parts of the planet face, rising oceans as the polar ice caps melt and more saltwater.
Those of us that live in the United States might not be aware how rich we are in freshwater sources as say countries in the Middle East that are very arid environments. Obviously those countries have other resources that we lack, but water is essential to life. Our planet may be covered in a great deal of water, but much of it is unusable to humans in its natural state because of the high salt content.
Did you know that salt is expelled from seawater when it freezes? Although some brine is trapped, the overall salinity of sea ice is much lower than seawater. So the seas are rising as previously permanently frozen parts of the planet melt. This means that not only is there more water, but it's becoming salty as it melts.
Desalination is any of several processes that remove some amount of salt and other minerals from saline water. Unfortunately, it is quite an energy intensive process. Last week, a new renewable energy desalination project was announced in Masdar, Abu Dhabi, which is in the United Arab Emirates. The project seeks to transform seawater into useable, freshwater on land by building a commercially viable and renewable energy-powered desalination plant by 2020.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region of the Middle East is comprised of the Arabian Peninsula countries of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman. The GCC formed in 1981 and uses about half the world's desalinated water.
Of course, accessing renewable energy is not the only impediment to sustainable desalination. Another effect of global warming is oceanic acidification that contributes to massive algae blooms. These algae blooms can shut down a desalination plant. There are other unwanted components that might be present in seawater such as radioactive material from warships and nuclear power plants which would need to be removed before the water could be used safely.
Despite other lingering issues, it is still worth asking the question, "Can these enormous desalination plants powered by renewable energy help mitigate some of the issues we face from rising sea levels?" The answer is, "Every bit helps." But don't start thinking it's a magic bullet since none exists. We still all need to do our parts in reducing our carbon emissions and footprints. However, it is good news that desalination can be a sustainable and environmentally responsible industrial solution and worth noting that low cost, low impact renewable energy technologies do exist.
Actions the US Federal Government Can Take to Demonstrate Climate Change Leadership
The United States is one of the richest and most powerful nations in the world. What can our country do for the good of the planet with this role?
One thing the U.S. federal government does every few years is engage hundreds of experts to evaluate the impacts of climate change, now and in the future. The resulting National Climate Assessment report, which was recently released, showed that America's current efforts to reduce carbon pollution are too little to avoid dangerous climate change. Last year President Obama announced new CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards for cars and light trucks such as minivans and sport utility vehicles. Let's build on this historic progress to limit carbon emissions. There are several ways that the president and federal government can make a real difference in the fight against global warming.
The Clean Air Act is a powerful tool that our nation's leaders could be leveraging more fully. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged with using the Clean Air Act to issue rules to reduce greenhouse pollution. This farsighted law has reduced damaging air pollution for forty years, saving many lives. The EPA has already used it to protect public health and welfare from six extensive and harmful pollutants including: ozone, particulate matter, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and lead. Now is the time to lower atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by setting a national pollution cap for greenhouse gases.
Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA has also proposed higher emission standards on coal-fired power plants. These standards need to be fortified, finalized and implemented posthaste. Why stop with power plants? There are other places where higher greenhouse gas emission standards can be successfully applied to help save our planet such as oil refineries, cement plants, and even the airline industry.
Another way to help the environment would be for President Obama and the State Department to decline approval on the Keystone XL pipeline, which proposes moving oil down from Canada through the western United States to refineries along the Gulf Coast. There are no guarantees that the pipeline won't spring leaks. Furthermore, there is evidence that extracting oil from the sands are increasing levels of cancer-causing compounds in surrounding lakes far beyond natural levels. Denying approval would show that America is committed to transitioning away from a dependence on fossil fuels.
Of course, it's not all up to the federal government. We can all do our parts to speed the transition to a clean energy future. First we can encourage our elected officials to take the climate change actions recommended above. Second we can reduce our own carbon footprints. Consider lowering the heat or air conditioning depending on the season, using a clothesline, rake, hand mower and other manpowered devices, composting, forgoing meat at least one day a week and riding a bicycle. Lastly, we can all find simple ways to be part of the solution such as planting trees and offsetting remaining carbon emissions.
Climate Change News Coverage Declines in 2012 but Local Governments Heed Warning Signs
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed this week that 2012 was officially the warmest year on record in America's contiguous 48 states, based on 118 years of temperature records dating back to 1895. Despite this fact, news coverage of climate change actually declined in 2012. According to The Daily Climate, worldwide climate coverage decreased by two percent between 2011 and 2012, which represented the fewest number of published stories since 2009.
Last year the US was experience droughts in more than just rainfall. During the presidential election there were accusations of a "climate silence" until Superstorm Sandy devastated the East Coast in the days leading up to the election. In President Obama's acceptance speech he said, "We want our children to live in an America that isn't burdened by debt, that isn't weakened by inequality, that isn't threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet."
However, President Obama's statement has not reassured everyone that he and Congress are going to make any meaningful efforts to tackle carbon pollution and climate change. In fact, the League of Conservation Voters and a coalition of 70 environmental organizations recently wrote an open letter to President Obama, which encouraged him to spotlight climate change during his second term. A quote from the letter includes, "Cutting carbon pollution at home and rejecting dirty fuels will establish America's leadership and credibility, enabling [President Obama] to create clean energy jobs in the United States while forging an effective international coalition to cut global carbon pollution."
Whether or not President Obama and Congress heed the global warming warning signs, the bright spot is that local governments are undertaking real strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change right now. ICLEI USA, a network of local governments working to address climate and sustainability challenges, recently highlighted 20 communities across the continental US that are leading the efforts to plan for the future and respond to extreme weather. Some particularly prominent examples by local governments include:
- Atlanta, GA – Urban heat island effects worsened by hotter seasons. Addressing the problem with a climate action plan, including cool roof/pavement standards and 10,000 new planted shade trees.
- Chicago, IL – Responding to extreme heat and flooding with the milestone Chicago Climate Action Plan and the most installed green roof square footage in the country.
- Eugene, OR – Ravaged by major wildfires and mega-dry conditions. Mitigating these issues by increasing water conservation, reducing hydroelectric power demand and planting drought-resistant trees.
- Miami Dade Count y, FL – Known as the most vulnerable city in the world to sea level rise as demonstrated by severe flooding. Urban planning now addresses sea level rise and disaster response, and they're also investing millions in flood mitigation projects.
- New York, NY – Suffered $19 billion in damage from Superstorm Sandy. Taking positive action with a $2.4 billion green infrastructure plan, restoring barrier wetlands, and initiating a climate risk assessment requirement for new developments.
It's wonderful to see these steps being taken towards a more sustainable future. It would be even better if federal leadership ensues, taking their cues from local governments. Media silence or not, climate change is here and further delayed action will only result in catastrophic results. The time is now to secure a low carbon global economy and thereby the planet for current and future generations.