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In a report released earlier this month, NASA, in conjunction with California Institute of Technology at Pasadena concluded that by 2100 nearly 40 percent of land based ecosystems will undergo a change from one type of ecological community to another. Thus, the study concludes the changes in plant and animal life that will occur as a result of these changes will require humans and animals to “adapt and often relocate.”

In a press release describing the study results it was noted:

“In addition to altering plant communities, the study predicts climate change will disrupt the ecological balance between interdependent and often endangered plant and animal species, reduce biodiversity and adversely affect Earth’s water, energy, carbon and other element cycles …. The researchers found a shift of biomes, or major ecological community types, toward Earth’s poles – most dramatically in temperate grasslands and boreal forests – and toward higher elevations. Ecologically sensitive “hotspots” – areas projected to undergo the greatest degree of species turnover – that were identified by the study include regions in the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau, eastern equatorial Africa, Madagascar, the Mediterranean region, southern South America, and North America’s Great Lakes and Great Plains areas.”

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The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Authority on global climate released its 2011 provisional statement this week. One of the most striking statements contained in the release is that presently ” 2011’s nominal value ranks as the equal 10th highest on record, and the 13 warmest years have all occurred in the 15 years between 1997 and 2011.”

The statement notes the many significant weather events during 2011 and that:

“Arctic sea ice extent was again well below normal in 2011. After tracking at record or near-record low levels for the time of year through the first half of 2011, the seasonal minimum, reached on 9 September, was 4.33 million square kilometres (35% below the 1979-2000 average). This was the second-lowest seasonal minimum on record, 0.16 million square kilometres above the record low set in 2007. Unlike the 2007 season, both the Northwest and Northeast Passages were ice-free for periods during the 2011 summer. Sea ice volume was even further below average and was estimated at a new record low of 4200 cubic kilometres, surpassing the record of 4580 cubic kilometres set in 2010.”

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NYSERDA has issued a scientific report on the impacts of Climate Change in New York and strategies to address the inevitable changes taking place. In the summary report entitled Responding to Climate Change in New York State, as well as the technical report, it is made clear:

” Climate change is already beginning to affect the people and resources of New York State, and these impacts are projected to grow. At the same time, the state has the potential capacity to address many climate-related risks, thereby reducing negative impacts and taking advantage of possible opportunities.”

Significantly, the report notes that extreme weather events are already increasing and that once certain “tipping points” are crossed there will be dramatic changes. Breaking New York into regions, the report sets forth the predicted changes in temperature and precipitation over the coming decades and notes “[t]hese are neither best case nor worst case; actual changes could be lower if emissions are cut aggressively, or higher if the world continues on a business as usual course.”

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Silverberg Zalantis LLC and Bank New York Wealth Management are co-sponsoring a program on the Legal Implications of Climate Change presented by the Westchester Women’s Bar Association, the Westchester Municipal Planning Federation and the Hudson Valley Smart Growth Alliance. The program, to be held on October 20, 2011, will feature Michael B. Gerrard, Esq. the Director of the Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University School of Law. Details of the program and registration information are available on the Westchester Women’s Bar Association Website.

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A study commissioned by the California Department of Boating and Waterways has concluded that there is the potential for significant economic impacts from rising sea levels on California’s coastal communities. The report was prepared by economists from San Francisco State University. The study notes that it took into account a variety of potential economic impacts:

“Since planning for sea-­‐level rise requires a comprehensive assessment of potential damages, we include sea-­‐level rise impacts to sandy beach recreation value, habitat value, and beach tourism-­‐related spending. These damages are more indirect than losses to upland structures and land, yet are also vital to understanding the true economic impact of sea-­‐level rise.”

In a press release announcing the study it was noted:

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In a report published last week in the Journal Nature by contributing authors from NOAA, it was suggested that reducing non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gases would result in some more rapid benefits in combating climate change. The report states:

“methane, nitrous oxide and ozone-depleting substances (largely from sources other than fossil fuels), also contribute significantly to warming. Some non-CO2 greenhouse gases have much shorter lifetimes than CO2, so reducing their emissions offers an additional opportunity to lessen future climate change.”

The report notes that because these gases have a “shorter atmospheric lifetime” than carbon dioxide the beneficial effects could be realized more rapidly than can be achieved with reductions in carbon dioxide, although resulting in only a partial solution to climate change.

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The U.S. Supreme Court, in American Electric Power Company LLC v. Connecticut, held that the plaintiffs, which include several states and the City of New York, could not maintain their federal common law action against utility companies seeking to impose limitations on greenhouse gas emissions.

In summarizing the decision, Justice Ginsburg, writing for the majority, stated:

“We address in this opinion the question whether the plaintiffs (several States, the city of New York, and three private land trusts) can maintain federal common law public nuisance claims against carbon-dioxide emitters (four private power companies and the federal Tennessee Valley Authority). As relief, the plaintiffs ask for a decree setting carbon-dioxide emissions for each defendant at an initial cap, to be further reduced annually. The Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency action the Act authorizes, we hold, displace the claims the plaintiffs seek to pursue.”

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A series of lawsuits commenced, since the beginning of May, seek action by state and federal government on Climate Change, based upon the Public Trust Doctrine. A group called Our Children’s Trust, in conjunction with other groups, commenced an action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on May 4, 2011. It has also started actions in eleven states.

The Federal complaint states the basis for the claim as follows:

“The Public Trust Doctrine provides that our federal officials have a fiduciary duty to protect the atmosphere from the effects of human-induced global energy imbalance and to hold our country’s vital natural resources in trust for present and future generations of citizens. Our federal government may not manage the trust resource in a way that substantially impairs the public interest in a healthy atmosphere.”

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A scientific report commissioned by the Vatican addresses the need to take action with respect to the impacts on glacial ice melt, as well as the other effects, from greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity.The report prepared by a group of scientists declares in part:

“We call on all people and nations to recognise the serious and potentially irreversible impacts of global warming caused by the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, and by changes in forests, wetlands, grasslands, and other land uses. We appeal to all nations to develop and implement, without delay, effective and fair policies to reduce the causes and impacts of climate change on communities and ecosystems, including mountain glaciers and their watersheds, aware that we all live in the same home.”

In a call to action the report states:

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The American Security Project has issued a report on the projected costs of Climate Change for each of the fifty States entitled “Pay Now, Pay Later.” The premise of the reports is basically that, one way or the other, we are going to pay for the effects of Climate Change and taking the initiative now can prevent at least some of the significant economic disruption and human suffering projected to develop during this century.

The report on New York, for example, notes in part:

“By the 2020s, a consensus of climate models project annual precipitation to increase by (sic) to 5%, and sea levels to rise by 2-5 inches-or roughly twice that under a rapid ice-melt scenario. …Current 10-year floods are predicted to occur as often as every 6.5 years by the 2020s….Assuming a current 10-year flood triggered claims on just 1% of insured coastal properties (about $22 billion) then the increase in frequency during the period from 2020 to 2040 (three rather than two floods) could be expected to cost an extra $550 million per year ($22 billion over 20 years).”

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