Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 12:33 am Post subject: Re: Global Warming News links
I always think it's interesting that they pick the Manhattan Project as a model for a way to avert catastrophic death, when the MP was a means of causing catastrophic death. What do the people of Nagasaki or Hiroshima think about this talk of a new MP, I wonder?
Technology is of course important, but putting the main emphasis there makes everyone think they just have to wait for the next technological magic bullet.
If we keep thinking we can go on buying more, eating more and more wastefully (higher on the food chain), flying more, driving more and faster and in larger cars..., then no amount of technology is going to prevent us from consuming and poisoning the planet.
Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 12:41 am Post subject: Re: Global Warming News links
dohboi wrote:
I always think it's interesting that they pick the Manhattan Project as a model for a way to avert catastrophic death, when the MP was a means of causing catastrophic death. What do the people of Nagasaki or Hiroshima think about this talk of a new MP, I wonder?
Technology is of course important, but putting the main emphasis there makes everyone think they just have to wait for the next technological magic bullet.
If we keep thinking we can go on buying more, eating more and more wastefully (higher on the food chain), flying more, driving more and faster and in larger cars..., then no amount of technology is going to prevent us from consuming and poisoning the planet.
those who desire nothing, have all that they desire...
*sigh* we have the solutions but not the collective will to implement all of them... _________________ anagami.net
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2576 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:47 am Post subject: Re: Global Warming News links
Can technology alone stop global warming?
Quote:
Of course not. We need at least three other things:
Major political change, to deploy the technologies fast enough. My first take on this is here ("Is 450 ppm [or less] politically possible? Part 1").
Major price change, to add a cost to emitting greenhouse gases that approximates the terrible damage done by them. All of the technology advances in renewables (or nuclear, or coal with carbon capture) that you can plausibly imagine in the next decade won't make coal cost-uneffective -- this is a critical point to understand.
Major behavior change; most people need to understand at a visceral level that unrestricted greenhouse gas emissions are the gravest threat to the health and well-being of future generations that we face, by far. If we get the needed political and price change, much of the behavior change will follow. But not all. Climate change is probably going to have to get much more visibly worse before we see widespread and significant behavior change -- much as few people make a dramatic change in their diet and exercise before the heart trouble occurs.
All three in one swoop, George Mobus, Associate Professor, Institute of Technology, University of Washington Tacoma. _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:17 am Post subject: Re: Global Warming News links
Thanks for another great clip, Graeme. I found this the most eloquent paragraph:
"Major behavior change; most people need to understand at a visceral level that unrestricted greenhouse gas emissions are the gravest threat to the health and well-being of future generations that we face, by far. If we get the needed political and price change, much of the behavior change will follow. But not all. Climate change is probably going to have to get much more visibly worse before we see widespread and significant behavior change -- much as few people make a dramatic change in their diet and exercise before the heart trouble occurs."
I do have a slight quibble with the last sentence, though. It may be that we will have to see more frequent and more dire GW effects before people change behaviors, but I would argue that such effects are neither necessary nor sufficient for such a change in behavior. And waiting till the effects are obvious to the biggest dolt or denier will guarantee that we will wait until it is way too late (if it's not so already).
GW events by themselves are not sufficient because humans can't interpret events without information on causation. Even if ice caps melt, the sea rises, deserts spread, catastrophic downpours wipe out towns, and heat waves kill tens of thousands...all the predicted outcomes of GW, if people are not informed and inclined to associate these things with climate change and with their actions, they will just assume these events have some other cause. In fact, of course, all of these things and more have happened or are happening, and we still have lots of deniers and idiots claiming here and elsewhere that there is no connection.
The earth does not have a human voice that is going to shout into our faces "Stop spewing your crap all over my atmosphere, oceans and land; you're killing me." I bet even if it did, lots of people would just say, "Oh that ol' gal Mom Earth, she's such a jokester. She'll be just fine..."
It also isn't or shouldn't be necessary to wait for the yet more and more obvious signs of climate system collapse than we already have. The signs are already very, very clear for anyone with the honesty and bravery to face them.
In his analogy, it should be that when tests come back showing that your cholesterol is through the roof and your doctor gives you a clear and sobering assessment of your weakening chances of survival if you don't change, that this is enough to start you on a different course.
On the other hand, again, if you don't have any idea of the symptoms of heart trouble or of the connection of diet and exercise to health, or if you're in deep denial about those connection, no amount of chest pains...are likely to make you change your ways.
It doesn't help much, by the way, that we have the equivalent of a quack (actually a large gaggle of quacks) in the room, denying every thing that the doctor is saying.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2576 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:01 am Post subject: Re: Global Warming News links
Dohboi, Glad you enjoyed the link. I think the majority of people now realise that GW is real and it is caused by human activities. There are some who will continue to muddy the waters though and suggest to gullible public that the science isn't complete yet and they will use this to justfy further apathy.
However, there are some who do intend to take action:
Calif. OKs Think Tank on Global Warming
Quote:
California will create a $600 million think tank to fight global warming, funded by a 25- or 30-cent surcharge on customers' electrical and gas bills, the state Public Utilities Commission has decided.
Commission President Michael Peevey pushed the plan approved Thursday to create the California Institute for Climate Solutions. It is envisioned to bring together academic and private laboratories to quickly find ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Electric and gas utilities regulated by the state commission are to fund the program by collecting $60 million a year for 10 years. Peevey said the surcharge would add 25 to 30 cents per month to bills of the customers of private utilities such as Pacific Gas & Electric.
AP _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2576 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 11:13 pm Post subject: Re: Global Warming News links
Bush to announce goal for stopping greenhouse emissions
Quote:
President Bush, stepping into the debate over global warming, plans to announce on Wednesday a national goal for stopping the growth of greenhouse gas emissions over the next few decades.
In a speech in the Rose Garden, Bush will lay out a strategy rather than a specific proposal for curbing emissions, White House press secretary Dana Perino said Tuesday. She did not disclose details of his announcement and would not say whether the president would propose any kind of mandatory cap on greenhouse gas emissions.
The president wants every major economy, including fast-growing nations like China and India, to establish a national goal for cutting the emissions believed responsible for global warming.
abcnews _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2576 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:00 am Post subject: Re: Global Warming News links
Climate Change Likely To Intensify Storms, New Study Confirms
Quote:
Hurricanes in some areas, including the North Atlantic, are likely to become more intense as a result of global warming even though the number of such storms worldwide may decline, according to a new study by MIT researchers.
Global Land Temperature Warmest On Record In March 2008
Quote:
The average global land temperature last month was the warmest on record and ocean surface temperatures were the 13th warmest. Combining the land and the ocean temperatures, the overall global temperature ranked the second warmest for the month of March. Global temperature averages have been recorded since 1880.
sciencedaily _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2576 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 4:17 am Post subject: Re: Global Warming News links
Big Oil: 'Together, We Can' ignore global warming
Quote:
The American Petroleum Institute, the trade organization for the oil and natural gas industry, has just begun running a feel-good commercial that argues "America's future" lies in drilling out domestic reserves of oil and natural gas. Here's what the ad says:
Oil and natural gas powered the past. But the future? Fact is, a growing world will require more. 45 percent more by 2030, along with greatly expanding alternatives. We have substantial oil and natural gas resources right here. Enough to power 60 million cars and heat 160 million households for 60 years. With advanced technology and smart policies, together we can secure America's future. Log on to learn more. [Text: EnergyTomorrow.org / The People of America's Oil and Natural Gas Industry]
The "facts" in Big Oil's ad are based on a 36-page API document [PDF] entitled "The Truth About Oil and Gasoline." This "primer" was published last week, with numerous figures and charts on oil company profits and gas prices, but nary a single mention of climate change or greenhouse gas emissions. Here are the facts Big Oil left out:
grist _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Sep 17, 2006 Posts: 623 Location: No man's land
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 6:06 am Post subject: Re: Global Warming News links
Quote:
April 27, 2008
Humans Overwhelm Climate Equilibrium
Dr. Glen Barry
A new study indicates the degree to which humanity has overwhelmed the atmosphere's ancient carbon cycle [ark]. Human activities are putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere 14,000 times as fast as historic natural processes. Global change [search] at this rate and scale is utterly unprecedented and devastating. Feedbacks such as mountain weathering [search] that historically removed carbon dioxide are being inundated and are unable to continue maintaining relatively constant atmospheric balances and thus climatic patterns.
As humans have become a force of nature, the Earth system's atmosphere is now entirely out of equilibrium. All this energy must go somewhere. In addition to global warming -- increases in average global temperature -- more troublingly we are set to experience spiraling chaotic climate changes. The Earth is already, and will continue, experiencing a complete break down in seasonality, extreme weather events and generally unreliable climatic patterns and oscillations. This is why "climate change" is the more accurate, powerful term to describe the forces that have been released and will impact the Earth for the rest of human history.
Deadly climate change is here, yet its magnitude and whether it can be survived is yet to be determined. Everything long predicted is playing out including energy shortages, extreme weather, reduced agricultural production and a breakdown in societal security. For far too long dominant economic and spiritual belief systems have thought humans above and separate from nature. This is the root of our conundrum. Any meaningful, sufficient response will require individuals and social systems to reintegrate with the biosphere and the web of life.
The speed with which economic and political systems begin to use all their resources to end greenhouse gas emissions -- including taking hard decisions like ending the use of coal and old-growth forests -- will determine whether humanity and her sister species survive. Given acceleration of emissions and no clear trend emerging regarding their urgent reduction, it is quite possible humanity will go extinct, but not before making the Earth uninhabitable for complex life.
Follow this thread at Climate Ark _________________ "It is no measure of health to be deemed sane in an insane society" J. Krishnamurti
Joined: Jun 13, 2007 Posts: 3357 Location: Minniesotuh
Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 6:43 pm Post subject: Re: Global Warming News links
Global warming a threat to sea life, study says
So-called 'dead zones' are expanding as oceans become warmer
Thurs., May. 1, 2008
WASHINGTON - Low-oxygen zones where sea life is threatened or cannot survive are growing as the oceans are heated by global warming, a new study warns.
Oxygen-depleted zones in the central and eastern equatorial Atlantic and equatorial Pacific oceans appear to have expanded over the last 50 years, researchers report in Friday's edition of the journal Science. …
Warmer water simply cannot absorb as much oxygen as colder water, explained co-author Gregory C. Johnson of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. …
"So, why should we care?" Bograd said. "Most marine species have minimum oxygen thresholds that they need for survival. As oxygen decreases, these animals will suffer and/or be compelled to move to other areas. Over time, the optimal area for various species will be compressed," he explained. …
Oxygen-depleted ocean zones _________________ "RRrrruuuunnnn!!!" ~Apocalypto
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2576 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 11:55 pm Post subject: Re: Global Warming News links
Will Global Warming Take A Short Break?
Quote:
To date climate change projections, as published in the last IPCC report, only considered changes in future atmospheric composition. This strategy is appropriate for long-term changes in climate such as predictions for the end of the century. However, in order to predict short-term developments over the next decade, models need additional information on natural climate variations, in particular associated with ocean currents.
Lack of sufficient data has hampered such predictions in the past. Scientists at IFM-GEOMAR and from the MPI for Meteorology have developed a method to derive ocean currents from measurements of sea surface temperature (SST). The latter are available in good quality and global coverage at least for the past 50 years. With this additional information, natural decadal climate variations, which are superimposed on the long-term anthropogenic warming trend, can be predicted. The improved predictions suggest that global warming will weaken slightly during the following 10 years.
sciencedaily _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2576 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 12:23 am Post subject: Re: Global Warming News links
Insects 'will be climate change's first victims'
Quote:
Tropical insects rather than polar bears could be among the first species to become extinct as a result of global warming, a study has found.
Insects in the tropics are already living at the limit of their temperature range and any further increases could quickly kill them off with huge repercussions for tropical habitats, which rely on insects for everything from pollination to waste disposal. Scientists have found that a rise in average temperatures in the tropics of just 1C or 2C could be enough to exert a significant and harmful effect on the survival of a wide variety of important insects.
Climate scientists predict that the polar regions will experience the greatest increases in average temperatures this century as a result of climate change, but the latest study suggests that even the smaller predicted change in the tropics could have a far more serious impact on local wildlife.
"Many tropical species can only tolerate a narrow range of temperatures because the climate they experience is pretty constant throughout the year," said Curtis Deutsch, assistant professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, who co-authored the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Our calculations show that they will be harmed by rising temperatures more than would species in cold climates. Unfortunately, the tropics also hold the large majority of species on the planet."
Insects are critical to the health of tropical habitats because they perform vital services such as breaking down organic matter, pollinating flowers to produce fruits and nuts and providing sustenance for creatures higher up the food chain.
independent _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2576 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 11:27 pm Post subject: Re: Global Warming News links
Climate prediction: No model for success
Quote:
This week, about 150 of the world's top climate modellers have converged on Reading for a four day meeting to plan a revolution in climate prediction.
And they have plenty of work to do. So far modellers have failed to narrow the total bands of uncertainties since the first report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1990.
And Julia Slingo from Reading University admitted it would not get much better until they had supercomputers 1,000 times more powerful than at present.
Differences between high and low projections in climate models used by the IPCC stem mainly from uncertainties over feedback mechanisms - for example, how the carbon cycle and clouds will react to future warming.
They have said they are convinced that emissions should be cut; but they just cannot agree who should do it.
BBC _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Oct 06, 2006 Posts: 1011 Location: was rwwff
Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 5:20 am Post subject: Re: Global Warming News links
Graeme wrote:
(from bbc)
They have said they are convinced that emissions should be cut; but they just cannot agree who should do it.
Their real problem is this: they can not simultaneously describe cuts that would be significant enough to drastically reduce the impact of climate change while also detailing a politically possible list of where all the cuts would come from.
The simple reality is that the magnitude of reduction required is not within the realm of the politically possible. _________________ Yes, we are. As we are.
And so shall we remain; Until the end.
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