gregladen | February 7, 2013... but this can change, according to a report from Media Matters.
CNN founder Ted Turner said in 2011 that climate change is "probably the most serious ... problem that humanity has ever faced," adding that we need to "increase the amount of the debate" to motivate people to take action.
Unfortunately, the network he created has often failed to live up to that goal, devoting minimal time to the issue even while reporting on its consequences. A recent study by the Project for Improved Environmental Coverage found that environmental stories accounted for only 0.36% of CNN's news headlines…
gregladen | February 7, 2013It seems that people "believe" in climate change (really, global warming in particular) when it it hot out more than at other times. And by "people" I mean the population in general. It turns out that Democrats don't change their position on climate change as the temperature outside changes (they already know it is real) and Republicans do a little (because it is true and a small number of them will put reality before politics). Meanwhile, those darn Independent voters who have somehow taken over our democracy for some very poor reasons (IMHO) wildly change their beliefs literally on the…
gregladen | February 6, 2013... at any serious level, and then, only if enough Republicans get thrown out of the House to allow committee work and legislation to happen. From The Hill:
House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans have rebuffed Democrats’ bid to require the high-profile panel to hold hearings on links between climate change, extreme weather and threats to coastal areas.
On Wednesday the Committee, along party lines, voted down Democratic amendments to its formal oversight plan for the 113th Congress.
One defeated amendment, from Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), would have required hearings on the role of…
gregladen | February 6, 2013Comet ISON appears to be a new comet. This bundle of icy dirty icy stuff was tugged by subtle gravitational forces out of the Ort Cloud, which is really really far away, and is now falling towards the sun. It will pass within view of us Earthlings later this year on its way towards the sun, and again, after it has swung around the sun, possibly displaying a spectacular tail, as new comets seem to do. Or, it could become vaporized during its first orbit. No one knows yet. Since ISON's maximum visibility will be around Christmas, there will be all sorts of annoying references to Bible…
gregladen | February 6, 2013Here are two graphs that show the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere, mainly as CO2 and mainly form the burning of fossil fuels, per year, from various sources for a long span of time. Both graphs are based on the same data set. the first graph was created by the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center and shows the breakdown between different sources of carbon. The second graph, which I made, simply shows the total, and over a shorter time span to make it easier to use for other purposes.
gregladen | February 6, 2013Minnesota has two populations of moose, one in the northwestern part of the state, one in the northeastern part of the state. Both are in decline. The decline seems to be mainly due to disease, which in turn, seems to be exacerbated by the occurrence of shorter, warmer winters and longer summers.
Today, the Minnesota DNR is announcing an indefinite halt to the annual moose hunt, because the latest surveys show that the population is in very serious decline. From a brief preliminary report in the Star Tribune:
Based on the aerial survey conducted in January, the new population estimate is…
gregladen | February 6, 2013According to some estimates, if sea levels rose one meter, Boston would lose 3% of it’s land surface, Washington DC a mere 1%. Tampa and Miami would lose 18% and 15% respectively. New Orleans would lose 91%.
A six meter rise would result in much larger losses. Norfolk, Virginia and Miami Florida would be essentially gone.
These estimates use the assumption that the sea level rises in those areas vertically, and the corresponding topographical level in the coastal city becomes the shoreline. They don’t account for the fact that the ocean does not work that way. (see Sea Level Rise…Extreme…
gregladen | February 6, 2013This is important stuff. Along the lines of whether or not Bigfoot is real. So let’s talk about it for a moment.
The crosswalk buttons in my neighborhood work. At least some of them. Last summer and the summer before, Huxley and I would walk around quite a bit, crossing through intersections that at other times I would drive through, and from the latter vantage (driving) I’d observe people at intersections trying to get a walk light. Between our pressing of the buttons, and my observations of others, I’m pretty sure that the lights change to “walk” during the traffic signal cycle far more…
gregladen | February 5, 2013There was an 8.0 magnitude earthquake a few minutes ago in the vicinity of Santa Cruz Islands, in the South Pacific, and it is now confirmed that this generated a potentially severe tsunami that by now would have hit nearby islands. But, no one has reports from the scene to confirm or elaborate on this. That is a very large earthquake, and apparently shallow.
Info here.
Of special note, in all caps, because that's how meteorologists roll:
http://www.tsunami.gov/product.php?id=TSUPAC.2013
SEA LEVEL READINGS INDICATE A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. IT MAY HAVE
BEEN DESTRUCTIVE ALONG COASTS NEAR…
gregladen | February 5, 2013Valentine’s Day is coming up, so it is time to think about kissing. Pursuant to this, Sheril Kirshenbaum, author of “The Science of Kissing,” has made the Kindle version of her excellent book available at a discounted price through February 18th. The book is here: The Science of Kissing: What Our Lips Are Telling Us. (Sheril is also the co-author of Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens our Future.)
The Science of Kissing
Further details as well as a video (don’t worry, it’s work safe) are here, on Sheril’s site.
Also pursuant to Valentine’s Day, I thought it…
gregladen | February 5, 2013In February, Asteroid 2012 DA 14 will come so close to earth that it will be nearer to our planet than many satellites are. This asteroid, which really should get a new name, is about half the size of a football field. Its orbit is similar to that of the Earth itself, in size and shape, but at an angle to the Earth's plane, so it's like the asteroid and the earth are driving in circles on two oval tracks that intersect at two points but there is no red light.
Asteroid 2012 DA 14 was discovered with gear provided to an observatory with a grant from the Planetary Society. Which makes me…
gregladen | February 4, 2013Media Matters takes Fox News to Task. Watch the reasonable person talk, then watch the Republican climate science denialist lie:
Here is a graph from Media Matters that you should post on your Facebook page and elsewhere:
From Media Matters: "The American Geophysical Union and several other scientific bodies including the National Academy of Sciences have acknowledged manmade climate change based on a strong and growing body of evidence.Despite all of this, Fox News has continually and falsely claimed the consensus on climate change does not exist -- yet another example of the network's…
gregladen | February 3, 2013As you know, the permafrost is melting due to global warming, and this is releasing greenhouse gasses which cause global warming. What you may not know is that we could not have had this conversation even a century ago because science has only recently recognized permafrost (it was not clearly defined and known of in the early 20th century). John McKay, an expert on hairy elephants and related things, has written up a description of what may be the first scientific description of permafrost, from a century or more prior to it's incorporation into the scientific conversation as a reasonably…
gregladen | February 3, 2013Here's a graph showing the extent of arctic sea ice as measured directly and indirectly for the last several hundred years:
Solid red line is the reconstructed 40 year smoothed, late-summer Arctic sea ice extent from Kinnard et al. (2011). Shaded area shows 95% confidence interval. Blue dashed line shows modern observations.
This graphic is from Skeptical Science, where you can also download a higher res version and learn more about the background for these data. Also, on that page is a link to a large number of useful graphics related to climate change.
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gregladen | February 3, 2013Should we be complete morons and force our 6 year old children, by state law, to become gun nuts?
Here's one view:
Here's another view (trigger warning):
gregladen | February 3, 2013... Warning abuse triggers ...
Breakthrough's video -Mann ke Manjeeré- winner of the Screen Awards 2001 in India and nominated for MTV's 'Best Indipop Music Video', reached 26 million households via six satellite music television channels, effectively mainstreaming discussions about domestic violence issues throughout South Asia and reaching as far as Tajikistan, Indonesia and the United States.
One Billion Strong
gregladen | February 2, 2013... what political party you are a member of...
Climate scientist Anthony Leiserowitz drops some serious knowledge on "Moyers & Company". In two bullet points, he describes exactly what Obama needs to say about global warming and what we can do to stop climate change. Let's hope Obama watches Bill Moyers videos.
From here.
gregladen | February 2, 2013Ben Goldacre, the Bad Science column writer and at present, Wellcome research fellow in epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has a book coming out soon (Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients). I've not seen it yet, but when I do I'll get you a review as soon as I can. Mean time, he's written a nice piece for the New York Times.
Bottom line: All that icky stuff you hear, think, assume, guess, wonder about regarding the medical industry, especially Big Pharma? Well, a lot of it is true. The NYT piece is especially focused on the file…
gregladen | February 2, 2013Birdchasers: An educational documentary ideal for the Discoverie Channel.
Two teams of birdwatchers spend the entire birding season (from June 1st through June 22nd) in sometimes friendly, sometimes not so friendly competition in a desperate and dangerous search for dangerous and disparate birds. Team A is from Cornell University Bird Research Center, and their main objective is to collect good scientific data and a few nice pictures. Team B consists of Corey Finger and Mike Bergin, from the Internet Blog 10,000 Birds. The bloggers, with the nickname "The Dominators," are mainly after…
gregladen | February 2, 2013From the AGU fall meeting, 2012
Land area burned by fires has increased in the United States over the past 25 years, consistent
with a trend toward climate conditions more conducive to fire. In contrast, fires for agricultural
and forest management show declining trends in the western U.S. despite overall increases in
wildfire activity and associated carbon emissions. Looking ahead, new IPCC climate projections
offer insight into potential changes to U.S. fire activity over the next 30-50 years based on the
climate sensitivity of fires in recent decades. Scientists will present new data on…