Issue No.12

Contents:
1. MAJOR CLIMATE RESEARCH INSTITUTES IN GERMAN-LANGUAGE COUNTRIES, PART I
A. Kassel in the North
B. Laxenburg in Austria
C. New German Books on Energy, Climate and Agenda 21 for Expo
D. New Collection of International Literature References on Climate Science
2. THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE TO INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY ICT


Quote of the week: "We are seeing 100-year floods much too often, so either the statistical theory is wrong, or global warming has created a lot more floods," warns Donald Turcotte, a geophysicist at Cornell University in Ithaca NY, http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/09/28/fp2s2-csm.shtml

1. MAJOR CLIMATE RESEARCH INSTITUTES IN GERMAN-LANGUAGE COUNTRIES, PART I

A. Kassel in the North
The Center for Environmental Systems Research is in Kassel, http://www.usf.uni-kassel.de/english/frame-short.html "The uniqueness of the Center lies in its systems and interdisciplinary approach. In this case, 'systems approach' is meant to be the use of methods and instruments of systems thinking such as systems analysis and computer simulation, while 'interdisciplinary approach' is meant to be the coupling of social sciences with natural sciences." The Kassel facility is headed by Joseph Alcamo, who is one of two co guest editors of a recent publication entitled Long-Term Greenhouse Gas Emission Scenarios and Their Driving Forces, http://www.iiasa.ac.at/docs/HOTP/May99/alcamo.html The other co guest editor is a colleague from another research centre in German-language countries, IIASA, described next.

B. Laxenburg in Austria
Alcamo's co-editing colleague is Nebojsa Nakicenovic of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis IIASA in Laxenburg, Austria, http://www.iiasa.ac.at/docs/HOTP/May99/alcamo.html IIASA was founded "towards the end of the Sixties to bring together US and Soviet scientists apart from military and space research" per the new book described next, p.37.

Preview
The next issue of Computers and Climate will continue this series on German climate research with an article on the facility in Potsdam. Hamburg was covered in Computers and Climate 11. For other European climate research, see also the DG XII event at COP 5 on https://members.tripod.com/ruddyconsult/calendar.htm#4th November 1999

C. New German Books on Energy, Climate and Agenda 21 for Expo
Nakicenovic has also contributed a chapter to a brand-new German-language book co-authored and co-edited by Amory LOVINS/ Peter HENNICKE: Voller Energie. Vision: Die Globale Faktor Vier Strategie fuer Klimaschutz und Atomausstieg (Full of Energy. Vision: The Global Factor Four Strategy for Climate Protection and Nuclear Phase-Out). Frankfurt/Main: Campus Verlag, September 1999.
In 1995 the World Energy Council (WEC) and IIASA developed scenarios and presented them in Tokyo and again last year in Houston. Since then they have become well-known benchmarks. Scenario C1 is the "ecological" one. Hennicke calls it a "revolution" that WEC/ IIASA admit that C1 is one of the cheapest. Fritz Vorholz of the German daily Zeit likes its low nuclear power component, made possible by decentralization, renewables and demand-side efficiency measures. Hennicke himself goes a step further than WEC/ IIASA and eliminates nuclear power, while still cutting CO2 by 50 % by 2050 on the basis of 1990. He explains that he is hypothesizing a greater "innovation capability of society" and intending "to set off a discussion".

In the 27 of the book's 259 pages attributed solely to co-author Amory Lovins, the American tells just how "Climate Protection is not Doing-Without, but about Making Profit". Amory tells the story of STMicroelectronics, the world's ninth largest producer of microchips. Intending originally only to reduce CO2, STM succeeded in six other ways, demonstrating the synergies with which Amory envisions "a green industrial renaissance". Energy requirements fell, profits rose, a fuel cell increased reliability and CO2 was reduced by 50-100 %. Negotiations are taking place concurrently about an English version of the book.

The German series being published in anticipation of Expo2000, the World Exposition on "Nature, Technology, Humanity", http://www.expo2000.de The series also includes a volume on climate by Hartmut Grassl, who moved from the Max Planck Institute (MPI) in Hamburg to become director of the United Nations' International Climate Research Program in Geneva in 1994. Like Hennicke, Grassl also intends to provoke discussion; Grassl gives his explanations in general terms. His mainly lay readers learn how sustainable development is the goal of climate protection, because political decisions have to be backed up by public understanding. He doesn't expect such an "informed citizen base", though, to form until the Buenos Aires Action Plan has been more widely experienced. "I'd especially like to see such a citizen base form in the United States."

Another new volume in the series is on Agenda 21, and edited by the top Expo manager, Birgit Breuel; it includes a chapter by Franz Josef Radermacher, who played an important role in founding this newsletter and is preparing a thought-provoking part of the exposition for https://members.tripod.com/ruddyconsult/calendar.htm#6th October 2000

D. New Collection of International Literature References on Climate Science

Don't miss this new collection of literature references on climate science by the American Geophysical Union AGU on its website http://www.agu.org/eos_elec/99148e.html

2. THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE TO INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY ICT

Refrigerators and Washers Networked in Sweden
Ericsson and Electrolux recently announced a joint venture to connect Electrolux's refrigerators to information and service providers on the Internet (as reported in The Economist, October 9th, page 36). Besides having the convenience of electronic grocery shopping, one can already envision the next logical step of networking the home with its electric utility, thus conserving electricity during peak periods by enabling the utility to turn on one's clothes washer after midnight. Incidentally, that issue of the magazine features a story entitled on its green cover, "Why Greens should love trade".

New Draft of EU Electronics Scrap Directive Online
The European Commission has released an amended Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) (July, 1999), a copy of which can be found at the web site of the Industry Council for Electronic
Recycling, http://www.icer.org.uk Among the changes are the lowering of recovery targets for monitors and TVs to 70% from 85%, the elimination of the 5% recycled plastic requirement. As yet, there is no target date for expanding the scope of the Directive to cover small appliances, radios and TVS, lighting and toys. We thank THE GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER,Vol. 3, No. 23, August 1, 1999, for this info., http://www.gallon.elogik.com The same issue also lists 14 Websites on the WTO Ministerial Meeting.