Climate Change

The Jordan Institute views climate change as an overwhelming threat to both our environment and public health. The evidence is in - the earth is heating up at a rate that has not been seen in hundreds of thousands of years. The production of Greenhouse Gases is clearly exacerbating the global climate. Efforts to reduce our use of fossil fuels are one of the key areas where we as humans can make a positive difference. There are still many questions such as: Is it too late? Will our efforts make a difference? Have we passed an irrevocable tipping point? Are anthropogenic sources the reason for climate change? These are all interesting questions but we must not let them delay our need to act now. We must pursue all avenues to make dramatic reductions in our use of fossil fuels.

Jordan is focused on buildings because they contribute almost 59% of all of New Hampshire’s emissions of Greenhouse gases, we can improve building efficiency by 30 to 90 percent, and the impact of these improvements is immediate. If we are successful in slowing and reversing the pace of climate change and its devastating effects then we will have time to reflect upon the specific causes and effects. If we are not successful we probably won’t have time for any discussions.

If you are interested in learning more about climate change and buildings you may find the following websites useful.

Architecture 2030
"Architecture 2030, a non-profit, non-partisan and independent organization, was established in response to the global-warming crisis by architect Edward Mazria in 2002. 2030’s mission is to rapidly transform the US and global Building Sector from the major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions to a central part of the solution to the global-warming crisis. Our goal is straightforward: to achieve a dramatic reduction in the global-warming-causing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the Building Sector by changing the way buildings and developments are planned, designed and constructed.”

CarbonSolutionsNE.org
“The transformational change required to build a low carbon society demands collaboration among a wide range of stake-holders including the private sector, government, non-profits, churches, and universities. Carbon solutions New England ™ is a public-private partnership to promote collective action to achieve clean, secure energy future.”

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
“The IPCC is a scientific body established to provide … an objective source of information about climate change. The IPCC does not conduct any research nor does it monitor climate related data or parameters. Its role is to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent basis the latest scientific, technical and socio-economic literature produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of the risk of human-induced climate change, its observed and projected impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.”

UNH Climate Change Research Center

“The Climate Change Research Center studies the chemical and dynamical environment of the Earth's atmosphere using sophisticated observational and modeling tools … Our research is focused on understanding the fundamental properties of the atmosphere and how they have been affected by human activities …”

UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space (EOS)

Interdisciplinary Earth, ocean, and space science research at UNH.