After a hectic start to the day at the convention center, I was able to find the U.S. Center and settle in for a talk from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding their relatively new tool for reporting and analyzing greenhouse gas emissions. The first speaker of two, Joel Beavais warned us that his technical half of the speach would be a little dry compared to his colleague's half, and boy was he not kidding about that. The first twenty minutes drove away a handful of the audience, but I decided to stick it out since it was my first event of the COP! I definitely wanted to start out this experince with the right attitude, you know?

So although not exciting whatsoever, I managed to get some important information out of the first half. This program is mandatory for emitters in 41 source categories to participate in and is legally enforceable, meaning  you'd get a pretty hefty fine if you chose not to participate. Electronic reporting and verification are utilized, as well as many interface features that make the tool user friendly. That is about the point that I zoned out, which was not helped by the guy's low and monotone speech. 

BUT THEN... the interesting half began! Led by Bill Irving, the talk brought us through the many applications of data collected by the e-GGRT (pronounced like the bird, egret) system. GIS-based visual analysis is used to create better understanding of relationships within the data, which can be accessed by anyone in the general public as well as those participating in the program. 

One of the most surprising (welll, maybe just the most relevant to me) facts I learned from Bill's talk was that Chemical facilities are the 3rd largest emitter of GHG in the Unites States. I decided to make an analysis of my own using the e-GGRT tool based on this statistic, so I analyzed the  PA Chemical facilities. From this query, I found that Pennsylvania has 9 emitters that report to the EPA. The 3 facilities at in northern PA, pictured as litte buildings, indicate that those are the only large emitters in the region. However, near Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, there are numbered bubbles which indicate how many large emitters are clustered in that area. I was quite pleased to find that York College was not a major chemical emitter. 

However, a facility near my hometown turned ou to be one of the major GHG emitters, so I clicked on that bubble to get more detailed information (left). As I've typed this, it has started to sound a lot less interesting than when the guy was actually showing us different features in person, so I really encourage you to play around with this tool and maybe find out something interesting about the emissions in your area!

Link to the data analysis page of e-GGRT: http://ghgdata.epa.gov

At the end of the talk, a strategist from Saudi Arabia commended the EPA's program. He was interested in implementing something similar in his own region after hearing about the EPA's success, and it was was very encouraging to see a U.S. environmental policy being regarded as an example for other nations. Now we just need to get moving in the regulation policies department!

    We arrived at our hotel in Doha around midnight, and were absolutely stunned by the skyline and beautiful architecture in the city. We immediately noticed a clash in culture, with ultra conservative dress alongside D.J.'s favorite Chris Brown music in the taxi. We attempted to find a restaurant open at that hour since it was around dinner time back at home, but ended up going to bed hungry. We are definitely feeling the time change this morning!
    We began today by having breakfast with our colleague, Marla, who has been attending the conference this past week. Marla informed us about what she had been observing at the conference, which meetings she had been to, and what she had learned so far. She gave us some inside scoop regarding the venue and meetings that are less publicized, so we are feeling pretty prepared to get to work tomorrow! She has made some very interesting connections with other nations' youth, who are extremely compelled to make a difference in climate change policies worldwide.
    This is a really exciting time for Arabic youth because it is one of their first demonstrations of a voice that they recently acquired. I am excited to see them become more comfortable in using that voice during our week at the conference. Marla relayed to us the positive push for climate negotiations that Arabic youth have already displayed, which is an involvement severely lacking in the United States. In a Arab nations like Qatar, where climate change consequences are even less direct than they are in the U.S., why are these youth more concerned?
    One of my new goals for this trip is to bring back this momentum! And you all can help me start right now by engaging your friends and family!

So if you haven't heard or logged onto facebook in the last month, it's Election Day! Go out and vote for issues that are important to you!

One of the most important factors in my decision today was the future of our country's energy. Check out this PSU professor's argument. What do you think?

Last week I traveled to NOAA’s Climate Program Office in Silver Spring, Maryland to get some more information about how NOAA participates in the UNFCCC. I have wanted to work for NOAA for quite a few years now, so this was also a self-motivated trip to meet some people in the organization and get their insight into how I should go about becoming a researcher for NOAA. I went into this meeting expecting to hear similar things that I had heard in our meetings in D.C., but came out with a completely new appreciation for our government’s position on climate change and what it was doing to promote policies globally.

The woman I met with was the Climate Program Office’s International Program Manager. Basically, her job is to integrate NOAA’sresearch into world policy at delegations like the ones at COP. She is actually the person who speaks on behalf of the United States’ about its views at the COPs and translates scientific questions from the delegations back to the scientists at NOAA. She maintains NOAA’s connections with other government agencies, such as the Department of Defense, Department of the Treasury, and the Department of State. In other words, I was extremely fortunate to get to speak with her and pick her brain about some of the climate issues we are investigating as this year’s ACS
delegates!

One of the most surprising answers I received during the meeting was related to the United States’ “debate” on climate change. I asked something along the lines of, “How can we be the only nation who is still debating on whether climate change actually exists?” Even our presidential candidates have strayed from mentioning this major issue in recent debates and convention speeches. The perplexing answer, “Sometimes the more quietly things happen, the better they are.” Thankfully, she was quite eager to explain what she meant by this statement, probably somewhat due to the look of …Huh….? on my face. She
explained to me that the official position of the United States on climate change was that it was an unarguable occurrence and is due in part to anthropogenic activity. So the government does agree with the rest of the world that the climate is changing? Who knew! We have turned this issue into such a politically partisan divider that candidates today are afraid to address their own government’s standpoint on climate because they don’t want to cross those who support them. 

The next question that came to mind was, “It seems like the Obama
administration was expected to largely address climate change, but has fallen
short. How will the upcoming election affect climate change policy in the United
States?” Similar to the answer given previously, I was told that the Obama
administration has actually made a lot of headway in regulating emissions and
addressing climate change. However, we typically never hear of these actions
because the media does not highlight them and deem to be “exciting”enough for
readers to be interested in. Even as an avid climate enthusiast, I had not heard
much of the progress I was hearing about! To name a few, the government over the last four years has moved forward with the Clean Air Act, expanded the
development of alternative energies within the Department of Energy tremendously, worked on developing programs like DARPA and ARPAE (which invest money in high risk development for high reward energy alternatives), and
created a large percentage of economic growth within green jobs and training. 

Phew, that is plenty of writing for today! Look for my next post soon, which will talk a little more about NOAA and the United States’ involvement at the COP as
learned from my meeting!

Hey everyone! My name is Nikki, and I’m currently a junior at York College of Pennsylvania pursuing a degree in Chemistry with a minor in Sustainability and
Environmental Studies.

I was chosen to attend the UNFCCC COP18 this year in Qatar! How seriously awesome is that! Before start Googling what the heck this girl is getting all excited about, the UNFCCC COP18 stands for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s 18th Conference of Parties. Basically, delegates from countries all over the world gather each year to discuss the progress of climate change and develop new policies to reduce the anthropogenic effects on climate. It’s a pretty big deal.  The most well known policy derived from the UNFCCC is the Kyoto Protocol, which the United States is not even signed onto at the moment. Not cool, guys! I will be attending the conference as a U.S. student delegate, sponsored by the American Chemical Society.

I found out about the opportunity to attend COP18 at the annual formal dinner for Chemistry majors that my college hosts each Spring. After we all enjoyed some fancy-schmancy food and tried to act sophisticated for a while, one of my professors showed a presentation about the conference that he had attended the previous year with two students. As I listened to what COP was all about and how they become involved with it, I could not stop thinking that I HAD to figure out how to be a part of this. It’s going to sound super cheesy and dramatic, but hearing about this opportunity was the moment that I made a promise to myself to continue pursuing my dream career – one that I had given up on for a while.

Maybe you wanted to grow up to be a fireman, or a veterinarian, or an astronaut since you were a little kid. Actually, I went through a tiny astronaut phase. Not gonna lie. Well besides that, I always wanted to be a meteorologist. No, not the kind on television… I wanted to learn about clouds, storms, rain, lightning, and
everything else weather related. All throughout high school, my motivation to
study so much and graduate in the top 10 of my class was the ultimate goal of
being accepted into one of the best meteorology research programs in the 
country. Finally, I was accepted into North Carolina State University’s cutting
edge, research-based meteorology program and I was on my way. (And good thing, because it was literally the only school I applied to!) I spent an amazing year studying the weather and meeting some of the most talented and enthusiastic people I know (who I am expecting to participate on the site!! ;] ). My first year meteorology classes, mostly based on theory, were not complete without an in depth look into climate change and the research supporting anthropogenic causation, which has provided me with a great background going into COP18. Sadly, I couldn’t return to N.C. State the following year, so I tried to figure out something else I wouldn’t mind doing. I somehow decided on Chemistry and didn’t really have many long term plans for it, but at least it was a degree, right?

Thanks to the awesome professors I’ve gotten to know so far at York College, I learned about the COP opportunity and so many more that are allowing me to merge what I am learning right now with what I am really passionate about. The climate change topics I’m going to write about might be mostly from a scientific standpoint, but I am very excited to learn more about the policy aspect of climate change and how legislators are attempting to change the future of our planet. I have a serious tree-hugger bone in me, but I am really going to try to develop ideas that I haven’t considered before, and I hope you all will gain some knowledge and perspective from reading about my journey!

Adios amigos,
Nikki