Environment
revere | January 2, 2008The 60s radical group, the Weathermen, took their name from a Bob Dylan song, Subterranean Homesick Blues: s' "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." Now we have the converse. You don't need to break wind to know this weatherman blows. On his blog, Chris Allen, the TV weatherman from WBKO, Bowling Green, Kentucky, explains to us why he doesn't believe that humans are responsible for climate change. He is quick to say that just because he doesn't have a "Dr." in front of his name is no reason we shouldn't take his arguments seriously. We agree. This is why we shouldn't…
illconsidered | December 31, 2007 Sipping from the internet firehose...
This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H.E.Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news roundup
(skip to bottom) Methane Hydrates, PETM, Year End Meme, Hansen & 350ppm, Focus the Nation, Bali, Mammatus, Arctic Hurricanes, GHGs, Temperature Record, Glaciers Impacts, Forests, Wacky Weather, Wildfires, Floods & Droughts, Indonesian Mudslides, Food vs. Biofuel Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Adaptation Journals Kyoto, Carbon Trade Politics: International, America, Britain, China,…
laelaps | December 29, 2007The evolution of life on earth has no direction and no predetermined end; what is adaptive today might not be tomorrow, and the scores of extinct creatures preserved in the rocks of this planet attest to an ongoing process that results in what Charles Darwin rightly called "endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful." The man hailed as the co-discover of natural selection, Alfred Russel Wallace, would not agree with my opening remarks, though. While Wallace contributed much to biological science in his own right, the incorporation of anthropocentric spiritualism into his hypotheses…
chaoticutopia | December 28, 2007It is nearly a magical sight to wake up to the gentle snowfall on Christmas morning. When the snow is still falling two days later, the magic starts to fade. Eventually, while poking at several inches of ice, buried beneath ten inches of snow, in hopes of finding your car, what was once magic soon becomes kicking and cursing: "&#%!@* MELT ALREADY!"
But that’s the story in Colorado, at least. Elsewhere, say atop the sheet of ice covering Greenland, you might hear similar expletives, with a different tone. "&#%!@* MELT ALREADY!?" Because, as feared, Greenland is melting... but far more…
illconsidered | December 24, 2007 Ho Ho Ho! Have a Swinging Solstice & a Happy Humbug!
This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H.E.Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news roundup
(skip to bottom) Top Stories, European Automakers & GHG Regulation, US EPA & the California Waiver Misc Arctic, Year-end Wraps, Oceanic Methane, US$10/bushel Wheat, Permafrost, Bali, AGU Hurricanes, GHGs, Temperatures, Glaciers, Sea Levels, ENSO, Satellites Impacts, Forests, Corals, Wacky Weather, Wildfires, Floods & Droughts, Food vs. Biofuel, Grain Production Mitigation, Transportation…
gregladen | December 23, 2007
Jennifer Gooch's mission was to create a simple Web site where people could go to find their lost gloves. Even if no happy reunions ever took place, she was just content to spread a little goodwill.
But just a month since http://www.onecoldhand.com went live, the Carnegie Mellon University art student is busier than ever. She's reunited four gloves with their owners, is working on similar sites for cities around the globe, and is planning a book to showcase her found gloves.
Four. Wow, that is impressive, I would have thought zero.
Why do I think that? No, not because I think the dog…
clock | December 21, 2007The deadline for submission of blog posts for the 2nd Science Blogging Anthology is over. We have received 468 entries (after deleting spam and duplicates - the total was 501) and a jury of 30+ judges has already started reading and grading the entries. We truly believe that we will have the book ready and printed by the time the 2nd Science Blogging Conference starts, on January 18th-19th, so both the participants and you at home will be able to order your copy at that time.
Here are all the entries for you to enjoy and comment on - let me know if something is missing or I got a link wrong…
laelaps | December 18, 2007
Nearly everyone has a book out about environmental crises these days, from scientist E.O. Wilson (The Creation) to former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (A Contract With the Earth), but in many cases the conciliatory volumes aren't very good. Everyone has something to say about pollution and global warming, but the amount of people who seem to actually know anything about ecology seem to be in the minority when considering recent popular treatments, but Michael Novacek's Terra is a refreshing break from books that try to cash in on current environmental concerns without having much…
illconsidered | December 18, 2007This posting is brought to you courtesy of H.E.Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news Bali Blather supplement
(skip to bottom) The Deal Reactions Rollback? Day-by-Day Shameless Self Promotion .sig
The Deal2007/12/15: UNFCCC: Decisions adopted by COP 13 and CMP 32007/12/15: Google:AP: A Look at the Bali Climate Change Plan2007/12/15: EnviroMedia: Big Surprise Ending in Bali: US Agrees to "Action Plan" [advance unedited version: UNFCCC Decision -/CP.13]Reactions2007/12/16: DotEarth: Voices on Bali, and Beyond2007/12/15: Stoat: Bali round up2007/12/16: Times(UK…
illconsidered | December 18, 2007 Sipping from the internet firehose...
This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H.E.Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news roundup
(skip to bottom) Top Stories, Bali, Nobel Speeches, IFRC, Pope Spun, Aerosols, Melting Arctic, AGU, Clathrates, Northern Moisture, Bali Decl., CCPI, McKinsey Hurricanes, GHGs, Carbon Cycle, Temperatures, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Satellites, DSCOVR Impacts, Penguins, Forests, Corals, Wacky Weather, Floods & Droughts, Food vs. Biofuel Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Adaptation…
gregladen | December 17, 2007A small group of US experts stubbornly insist that, contrary to what the vast majority of their colleagues believe, humans may not be responsible for the warming of the planet Earth.
3,000 experts, including several renown US scientists, jointly won the award with former US vice president Al Gore for their work to raise awareness about the disastrous consequences of global warming.
In mid-November the IPCC adopted a landmark report stating that the evidence of a human role in the warming of the planet was now "unequivocal."
Retreating glaciers and loss of snow in Alpine regions, thinning…
pharyngula | December 17, 2007Larry Moran has had a couple of articles up lately on Dr Sharon Moalem, a fellow who has a book out called Survival of the Sickest, and who also has a blog. Larry noticed a couple of things: he's writing utter tripe about junk DNA, he's editing and deleting comments about his science from his blog, and he's been misleading about his credentials — although, to be fair, Moalem does plainly and accurately list his background on the endflaps of the book (some of this has come from a student blog that has been dissecting his dubious claims).
And then I noticed…I actually have Moalem's book! I get…
pharyngula | December 13, 2007IRONY OVERLOAD! The pope opened his mouth again.
Pope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology.
You've got to wonder — does the pope think this is a good general rule, that we should use evidence rather than ideology to guide our lives, or is he only going to apply it selectively? There's also a subtle double-irony here, because global warming is an evidence-driven conclusion (there is no ideology that thinks major climate change is desirable),…
sb admin | December 10, 2007The Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act (H.R. 2262) would revamp the 1872 federal law governing hardrock mining (mining for metals and gems, not for coal), and a new article from Business Week reports that the Act has the support of many local officials who worry about miningâs effects on air, water, and tourism.
Industry officials donât like the House bill â which isn't surprising, because theyâve been getting such a sweet deal for more than a century. The General Mining Law of 1872 was intended to create incentives for settling the West, and it let miners take minerals from public lands…
illconsidered | December 10, 2007 Sipping from the internet firehose...
This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H.E.Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news roundup
(skip to bottom) Bali, Bali Declaration, Rising Tide, Virtual Bali, CCPI, Expanding Tropics Hurricane Wars, Carbon Cycle, Paleoclimate, ENSO, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Satellites, DSCOVR Impacts, Forests, Amazon, Corals, Floods & Droughts, Pineaple Express, Food vs. Biofuel, Fertilizer Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Adaptation Journals, Misc. Science, Hansen, Flannery Kyoto,…
sheril | December 7, 2007Student Post
by Wayneho Kam and Waynekid Kam
If Santa Claus came out with a "naughty or nice" list based on how well people treated the environment, who will be on the "nice" list? Who will be on the "naughty"? Have you ever wondered?
You can count on Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to be up there on the "nice" list this year. As the Nobel Foundation puts it, IPCC and Gore both did a phenomenal job regarding "their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change." Perhaps Bill Clinton will see his name on the "nice" list as…
sheril | December 7, 2007Student Post
by Stephanie Gold
Today, it seems that everywhere we go we hear about companies and retailers trying to do something for the environment. Whether it's Wal-Mart installing solar panels to power everything from the store lighting to the refrigerator section or a small local grocery store installing energy saving light bulbs, it is clear that retailers are beginning to focus on environmental issues across the globe. Some argue that these companies are "going green" because they understand the severity of the global warming problem while others insist that they are motivated by the…
sheril | December 7, 2007As Chris hinted, the two of us have been hard at work on something extraordinary to be announced next week! Get ready for BIG news that we're real excited to share here...
In the mean time, posts today will introduce a couple of bright young authors. You see, last month I gave a lecture here at Duke in Prasad Kasibhatla's class entitled 'What on Earth? An Investigation of Contemporary Environmental Issues.'
A fantastic course - just check out the description:
This first-year seminar will delve into the scientific and public policy perspectives on contemporary environmental issues. In recent…
hrynyshyn | December 7, 2007"In order to stay below 2 °C, global emissions must peak and decline in the next 10 to 15 years, so there is no time to lose. -- Bali Climate Declaration
Item 1: The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has come up with a bill that "calls for a roughly 70 percent cut from 2005 levels by 2050 in the production of carbon dioxide and other climate-altering pollutants." (New York Times, Dec. 6, 2007)
Item 2: The mainstream environmental movement, including the likes of Bill McKibben and the Step it Up gang, has widely agreed on a goal of an 80 percent cut in greenhouse gases by 2050…
gregladen | December 4, 2007According to this press release from Manchester..
Palaeontologist Dr Phil Manning, working with National Geographic Channel has uncovered the Holy Grail of palaeontology in the United States: a partially intact dino mummy.
Named Dakota, this 67-million-year-old dinosaur is one of the most important dinosaur discoveries in recent times - calling into question our conception of dinosaurs' body shape, skin preservation and movement.
The find is documented in the UK premiere of Dino Autopsy on Sunday 9 December at 9pm on National Geographic Channel. The special follows leading palaeontologists in…