Many scientists have already agreed that climate change at least partly contributed to the intensity of Hurricane Sandy. Over the last century, there has been a debate over the nature of human’s relationship to the earth’s climate. In more recent history however (esp. since the 1970s) the debate within the scientific community has been changing. As compelling evidence piles up such as,  steadily rising temperatures around the world for a century, rising sea levels, ozone depletion, and others, many scientists are characterizing climate change as a dangerous, destructive trend.

Hurricane Sandy itself is thought to have been exacerbated by climate change.
For one thing, the global rise in sea levels contributed at least one foot of the 13 foot storm surge that hit the east coast. Climate change (global warming) is also thought to have contributed to/caused the abnormally high ocean surface temperatures off the east coast, which are directly related to the “abnormally high” levels of water vapor in that area. Hurricanes are fueled by moist air and warm water.

Scientists aren’t just linking global warming with the warm water and high amounts of vapor, the destructive path of Hurricane Sandy is also connected. Meteorologist/Former Hurricane hunter Jeff Masters, has linked the “unusual path of Hurricane Sandy” to a “high pressure blocking system” that he thinks is a result of global warming.

While climate change did not create Hurricane Sandy, it is important to note that these “worst-case scenarios” have been twice as frequent in warm years compared to cooler. It is important to understand how human activity can increase the probability/frequency of these destructive events.

REFERENCES :http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/06/hurricane-damage-climate-change_n_2081960.html

http://www.livescience.com/24566-hurricane-sandy-climate-change.html

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/10/31/1117091/how-does-climate-change-make-hurricanes-like-sandy-more-destructive/?mobile=nc

decrease in nuclear, increase in renewables

Germany’s effort to change the nature of energy production and consumption goes back to 1980. A proposal to phase unsustainable forms of energy production (coal,nuclear,fossil fuels, natural gas) and increase climate protection, called “Energiewende”(Energy Transition) was introduced by a German environmental research institute called Oko Institut. Many aspects of the proposal, while initially strongly opposed, are now “facts” of renewable energy policy.

      Energiewende stresses avoiding overproduction, and works according to the supply of renewable energy resources, and not the demand. Other important aspects of Energiewende include the scaling down the production and power of large energy corporations, and butting more responsibility and focus on smaller, more sustainable, pockets of production. These “pockets” include turbines and solar panels, and the fact that they require cooperation from the population they serve, increases the sense of accountability and involvement in environmental protection

   Energiewende has been an effective model for change, and was central to the recent paradigm shift in energy policies in Germany and Europe. Giant energy corporations have given way to much smaller, community oriented pockets of energy production like wind farms and solar stations. The coordination of public and private efforts to improve efficiency has been remarkable, and without it Energiewende would have been impossible.
Germany is leading the charge for green energy policy within the European Union. Despite significant levels of of political disagreement, Germany is entering a new age of energy production. Progress in green energy policy is difficult to obtain because it requires widespread compromise and cooperation between parties whose interests are often quite different. While most would agree that steps need to be taken to increase efficiency and lower emissions, the best ways to bring about these changes are sources of disagreement and political stagnation. In recent years, the future of nuclear energy had been an obstacle on Germany’s road to green energy policy.

In the early 2000’s an amendment to Germany’s “Renewable Energy Act” (A 2000 proposal designed to promote investment in renewable energy and environmental protection, while driving down energy costs, and shifting the landscape of energy production and consumption) was added to “phase out” nuclear power plants across Germany. However, the coalition government led by German Chancellor Angela Menkel, intervened and extended the licenses for many aging nuclear power plants. There was a political impasse until a nuclear reactor in Fukushima Japan overheated, and exemplified the potential horrors of nuclear energy. Perhaps memories of the Chernobyl disaster were rekindled by the Fukushima disaster. Radiation from the Chernobyl disaster effected the lives of many Germans, and continues to today.
Germanys departure from nuclear energy is important to note because, it was in that period of change that Germanys impetus for progressive energy policy began gain support from opponents and effect results.

references :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/26/german-renewable-energy-emission-co2

http://www.alternet.org/environment/while-germany-headed-80-renewable-energy-were-getting-left-dust

http://www.dw.de/what-exactly-is-germanys-energiewende/a-16540762

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