Guv hails state scientists

42 lauded for work on global warming

By John C. Ensslin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Originally published 11:43 a.m., November 27, 2007
Updated 11:43 a.m., November 27, 2007

Photo by Barry Gutierrez

Gov. Bill Ritter signs an autograph for Tingjun Zhang, with the National Snow and Ice Data Center, and his daughter, Anna Zhang. Zhang was among 42 Colorado climate scientists who won a share of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

Carol Wessman

Linda Joyce

Kathleen Miller

Tom Wigley

The Colorado scientists whose organization won a share of this year's Nobel Peace Prize for work on global warming don't just talk the talk on climate change.

They've made adjustments in their personal lives as well, ranging from where they choose to live, the kind of house they live in and the car they drive (or don't drive) to get around.

Gov. Bill Ritter met Monday with 30 of the 42 climate scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder to applaud their accomplishment.

"You've created an irrefutable body of scientific evidence," Ritter told the scientists, who work in Colorado for 14 agencies, including the National Ice and Snow Data Center, National Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University and the University of Colorado.

He added that while meeting with fellow Western governors, he didn't hear questions doubting the existence of global warming that were common from elected officials two or three years ago.

"I believe people are really beginning to understand the magnitude of this problem," Ritter said, citing polls that show a growing number of Americans are concerned about global warming.

"We, of course, have a lot to lose if we don't take this issue seriously," he said.

The 42 scientists are all members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations network that shared the peace prize with former Vice President Al Gore for their efforts to alert the world to the problems posed by climate change.

Gore was honored at the White House on Monday. Ritter joked that the scientists in Colorado would have to settle for a governor's proclamation, declaring Monday to be "Colorado 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Day."

"It's nothing like the Nobel Peace Prize itself," he quipped, drawing laughter.

The scientists praised Ritter's recent proposal to cut Colorado's greenhouse-gas emissions 20 percent below the 2005 level by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050.

The plan also calls for examining tougher emissions standards for new vehicles, drastically reducing the state's electricity use and reducing the number of miles Coloradans drive on their commutes.

"We're pleased to see how our science factored into your plan," Daniel Albritton, a retired scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told Ritter.

Doing their part

After posing for pictures with the governor in front of a brilliant sun setting behind the Flatirons and sipping ice water at a reception, here are what several scientists had to say about their own contributions to curbing global warming.

Tom Wigley

* Office for Interdisciplinary Earth Studies

"Recently, I put in a high-efficiency furnace, just last week, in fact. Not only do they save money, they're good for the environment and they reduce the emission of CO2."

Kathleen Miller

* National Center for Atmospheric Research

"The main thing I'm doing is that I'm just not driving my car very much. I really try to minimize the amount of driving that I do to about five miles a day."

Linda Joyce

* U.S. Forest Service

"The first thing that we did at our house was to revamp our landscaping and use less water. And then second, we're going around and looking seriously at every light bulb in the house and revamping that part of our energy efficiency."

Carol Wessman

* University of Colorado

"We chose to live in a small house, and we recycle heavily so that our family generates about one bag of trash and we minimize our output."

Colorado researchers who shared in Nobel Peace Prize

Dan Albritton National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Kristen Averyt Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Roger Barry National Snow and Ice Data Center

Guy Brasseur National Center for Atmospheric Research

William Collins National Center for Atmospheric Research

Edward Dlugokencky NOAA David Fahey NOAA

Douglas Fox Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere/Colorado State University

Kathleen Galvin Colorado State University

Elisabeth Holland National Center for Atmospheric Research

Charles Howe University of Colorado

Linda Joyce USDA Forest Service

Douglas Kinnison National Center for Atmospheric Research Reto Knutti National Center for Atmospheric Research

Scott Longmore Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere

Sasha Madronich National Center for Atmospheric Research

Martin Manning IPCC

Melinda Marquis NOAA

Mark Meier Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research/University of Colorado

Diane McKnight INSTAAR/University of Colorado Linda Mearns National Center for Atmospheric Research

Gerald Meehl National Center for Atmospheric Research

Kathleen Miller National Center for Atmospheric Research

Henry LeRoy Miller Jr. IPCC

Daniel Murphy NOAA

Stephen Ogle National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Bette Ott-Bliesner National Center for Atmospheric Research Keith Paustian Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory

Roger Pulwarty Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

David Randall Colorado State University

William Randel National Center for Atmospheric Research

Patricia Romero Lankao National Center for Atmospheric Research

David Schimel National Center for Atmospheric Research

Timothy Seastedt University of Colorado Joel Smith Stratus Consulting Inc.

Susan Solomon NOAA

Melinda Tignor IPCC

Kevin Trenberth National Center for Atmospheric Research

Vernon Cole Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory

Carol Wessman University of Colorado

Tom Wigley Office for Interdisciplinary Earth Studies

Tingjun Zhang National Snow and Ice Data Center