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POPSInt'l Whaling Comm. Fails, Threats to Whales Mount, Whaling Nations Dig In A new report on climate change suggested dire consequences for the world’s whales if immediate steps aren’t taken to mitigate the effects of changes in sea temperature, freshening of seawater from melting ice and increased rainfall, sea level rise, loss of polar habitats, and the decline of krill populations. Meanwhile, the IWC’s Scientific Committee continued its important work on assessments of threats to whales from ship strikes, fisheries entanglements, and underwater noise generated by human technology, including energy company exploration, as well as from emerging and recurring diseases.
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POPSThe Sunspot Enigma: The Sun is “Dead”—What Does it Mean for Earth?
And here's the kicker--We may have an ice age while preparing for global warming---are you cackling in glee yet, Willhelm? Geophysicist Phil Chapman, the first Australian to become an astronaut with NASA, said pictures from the US Solar and Heliospheric Observatory also show that there are currently no spots on the sun. He also noted that the world cooled quickly between January last year and January this year, by about 0.7C. "This is the fastest temperature change in the instrumental record, and it puts us back to where we were in 1930," Dr Chapman noted in The Australian recently. If the world does face another mini Ice Age, it could come without warning. Evidence for abrupt climate change is readily found in ice cores taken from Greenland and Antarctica. One of the best known examples of such an event is the Younger Dryas cooling, which occurred about 12,000 years ago, named after the arctic wildflower found in northern European sediments. This event began and ended rat
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POPSU.S. Intelligence Agencies Weigh Climate Change Impact on Global Political Stability Today, Wednesday the 25th, National Intelligence Council chairman Dr. Thomas Fingar and Energy Department intelligence chief Rolf Mowatt-Larsen will testify to Congress about the 58-page document, "The National Security Implications of Global Climate Change Through 2030," compiled by U.S. intelligence operatives. "Climate change is a threat multiplier in the world's most unstable regions," a source familiar with the document told the Wired blogs. "It's like a match to the tinder."
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POPSEarth Near Tipping Point, Climatologist Warns What to do, what to do? That's the question for the average citizen. Do we just inore this brilliant man or get leaders who will listen and act? During a speech at the National Press Club, he rambled, as if his ideas were sprinting well ahead of his words, but he kept an overflow ballroom audience rapt. Already, he said, the world’s safe level of atmospheric carbon dioxide has been exceeded. Yet, in the 20 years since he first testified, no major U.S. law restricting greenhouse gas emissions has been passed, 21 new coal-fired generating units have been built at power plants in this country and total U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide have climbed by about 18 per cent. He also accused corporate America of a “greenwash” in which their environmentally friendly words are not backed by actions and he supported criminal charges against CEOs of corporations such as ExxonMobil who are smart enough to know the situation but are intent on continuing their fossil fuel ways. “When their d
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POPSWhat if the MSM simply can't cover humanity's self-destruction? Some skeptics have long tried to use the uncertainty as an excuse for maintaining the status quo. Campaigners for carbon dioxide curbs seem reluctant to acknowledge the gaps for fear that society will tune out. So the story migrates back to the edges: catastrophe, hoax. No doubt.
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POPSSeaweed to be used as fuel? Somehow this alarms me--but I don't know enough. I do know that fish-farming is atrocious--it may provide protein but damages the oceans, other wild fish and the fish is tasteless, almost.
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POPSFood for thought and debate on Green I haven't read all these yet (didn't have room to clip all ten) but any ideas about this. I do agree about nukes--we need 'em. How it's done and who profits (!?) is the problem
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POPSSlash Global Warming Gases Now Urge 1,700 Scientists, Economists The statement affirms the scientific evidence for global warming, saying, "the strength of the science on climate change" compelled the signers to warn policymakers of climate change's growing risks, including "sea level rise, heat waves, droughts, wildfires, snowmelt, floods and disease, as well as increased plant and animal species extinctions."
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POPS Arctic Ice Pack Diminishing With about a third of the world’s population—and 25 percent of Americans—living within 300 feet of an ocean coastline, sea level rise is a big deal. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, made up of leading climate scientists, sea levels have risen some 3.1 millimeters per year since 1993. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reports that low-lying island nations, especially in equatorial regions, have been hardest hit by this phenomenon, and some are threatened with total disappearance. Rising seas have already swallowed up two uninhabited islands in the Central Pacific. On Samoa, thousands of residents have moved to higher ground as shorelines have retreated by as much as 160 feet. And islanders on Tuvalu are scrambling to find new homes as salt water intrusion has made their groundwater undrinkable while increasingly strong hurricanes and ocean swells have devastated shoreline structures.
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POPSWhaling fleet crew told to "stay at home" As out intrepid whale campaigner in Tokyo, Junich says, "It is ironic that taxes are being spent on hunting whales - which only a tiny percentage of Japanese people still consider 'food' - when attention should be focused on the impacts of climate change on food supplies, especially considering the huge percentage of food that needs to be imported into Japan," added Sato. "Prime Minister Fukuda should spend his time solving these issues, not wasting it and taxpayer's money on whaling." Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda arrives Europe this weekend, with an itinerary that includes attending discussions on food security issues at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation meeting in Rome. For those of you who haven't read it yet, you can grab the Stolen Whale Meat Scandal dossier here »
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POPSCivilization's last chance There's a number -- a new number -- that makes this point most powerfully. It may now be the most important number on Earth: 350. As in parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. A few weeks ago, NASA's chief climatologist, James Hansen, submitted a paper to Science magazine with several coauthors. The abstract attached to it argued -- and I have never read stronger language in a scientific paper -- that "if humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm." Hansen cites six irreversible tipping points -- massive sea level rise and huge changes in rainfall patterns, among them -- that we'll pass if we don't get back down to 350 soon; and the first of them, judging by last summer's insane melt of Arctic ice, may already be behind us. So it's a tough diagnosis.
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POPSWorld CO2 Levels At Record High, Scientists Warn Scientists say the shift could indicate that the Earth is losing its natural ability to soak up billions of tons of carbon each year. Climate models assume that about half our future emissions will be re-absorbed by forests and oceans, but the new figures confirm this may be too optimistic. If more of our carbon pollution stays in the atmosphere, it means emissions will have to be cut by more than currently projected to prevent dangerous levels of global warming. Martin Parry, co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s working group on impacts, said: “Despite all the talk, the situation is getting worse. Levels of greenhouse gases continue to rise in the atmosphere and the rate of that rise is accelerating. We are already seeing the impacts of climate change and the scale of those impacts will also accelerate, until we decide to do something about it.”
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POPSPANGEA DAY--A WORLDWIDE FESTIVAL OF FILM FOR HUMANITY SEE THE SITE AT PROPEACE FOR MORE: Pangea Day will be available on Current TV, the pioneer of citizen-empowered media, or you can watch the live video stream on the Pangea Day website. Please go there right now, have a look at the trailer, search by zip code for a public screening near you, and browse the promotional videos of choirs from different countries singing each other's national anthems. A French choir sings ours, and it's a hoot! Another trailer I really like is on YouTube.
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POPSNext decade may be cooler, not warmer Obviously this is not an exact science, climate and weather being so complex. Hoax theorists and denialists will no doubt jump all over this news and continue to drag their feet on action.
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POPSHow to Be a Climate Hero Scientists tell us we have ten years, if that, to make significant changes. Every indication, from ice caps to defrosting tundra, seems to show this is the tipping point. This is our moment. Perhaps you never thought you’d get a chance to play hero. Here it is. The kid on the train is screaming out for help. The weather is convulsing. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t sure what to do. Make your best guess. Call 9-1-1. For god’s sake, get the conductor. Whatever the hell that means...but do somethiung --locally, on the intawebs, whatever. Just don't stand there mouth agape going , "we all gonna die!"
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POPSHow Many Earth Days Do We Have Left? "We are crossing natural thresholds that we cannot see and violating deadlines that we do not recognize," says Brown. "These deadlines are set by nature. Nature is the timekeeper, but we cannot see the clock."
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POPSA Drought in Australia, a Global Shortage of Rice The drought’s effect on rice has produced the greatest impact on the rest of the world, so far. It is one factor contributing to skyrocketing prices, and many scientists believe it is among the earliest signs that a warming planet is starting to affect food production. It is difficult to definitely link short-term changes in weather to long-term climate change, but the unusually severe drought is consistent with what climatologists predict will be a problem of increasing frequency.
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