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Allarme, cresce il livello del mare in Europa
Riscaldamento globale e inquinamento. I cambiamenti climatici causati dal global warming stanno facendosi sentire anche in Europa, e il livello dei nostri mari sta crescendo più rapidamente rispetto agli altri mari del mondo. Riscaldamento globale e inquinamento. I cambiamenti climatici causati dal global warming stanno facendosi sentire anche in Europa, e i... more
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Researchers document world's mammals in crisis
From the report: From majestic African elephants to tiny and often unappreciated rodents, mammals on Earth are in a state of crisis. One in four mammal species on Earth is being pushed to extinction, according to the Global Mammal Assessment, the most comprehensive assessment of the world's mammals.
Writing in the October 10 issue of Science, ("The Status of the World's Land and Marine Mammals: Diversity, Threat, and Knowledge") and unveiling a "Red List" of endangered mammal species (at the International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain), the researchers who worked on the exhaustive study say that from 25 percent to 36 percent of species may be in danger of extinction.
"It is frightening that after millions and millions of years of evolution that have given rise to the biodiversity of mammals we are perched on a crisis where 25 percent of species are threatened with being lost forever," said Andrew Smith, an Arizona State University professor who played a key role in the mammalian assessment. Smith and his research assistant, Charlotte Johnson, are two of the 103 authors of the Science paper.
The Global Mammal Assessment was conducted by more than 1,800 scientists from more than 130 countries working under the auspices of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It was made possible by the volunteer help of IUCN Species Survival Commission's specialist groups and collaborations between top institutions and universities, including Arizona State University, Texas A&M University, University of Virginia, Conservation International, Sapienza Università di Roma and the Zoological Society of London.
The mammal assessment is the first comprehensive look at the health of terrestrial and marine mammals across the globe. It is a companion assessment to similar documentation of the world's amphibians, released four years ago by IUCN.
"Mammals are important because they play key roles in ecosystems and provide important benefits to humans," Smith explained. "If you lose a mammal, you often are in danger of losing many other species."
The assessment shows that at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction. At least 76 mammals have become extinct since 1500. The real situation could be much worse as 836 mammals are listed as "data deficient."
The culprits driving this precarious position include habitat loss and over exploitation for terrestrial mammals, and pollution, global warming and over exploitation for marine mammals, Smith said.
Follow link for full article. From the report: From majestic African elephants to tiny and often unappreciated rodents, mammals on Earth are in a state of crisis. O... more -
From RealClimate: Sarah Palin on global warming | Environment | guardian.co.uk
Here at RealClimate we understandably have an intense interest in the positions of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates regarding global warming and carbon emissions. What the stance bodes for future action on climate change is consequential in itself, but beyond that the ability to use sound science in this case serves as a bellweather for the candidates' whole approach to science. Whatever else you can say about the candidates, it has been encouraging that both John McCain and Barack Obama favour mandatory action to reduce US carbon emissions.
But, enter governor Sarah Palin, McCain's pick for VP. Palin's position on global warming has been stated quite clearly in this recent interview with the publication Newsmax, where she says: "A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute it to being man-made." How is this to be reconciled with McCain's position? Do they just agree to differ? What does this bode for future actions if McCain were to win the election, especially in view of the fact that, in a Cheney-esque way, Palin is likely to be put in charge of energy policy? The recent vice-presidential debate sheds some light on the issue. A full transcript of the debate is here.
Palin seems to be attempting to defuse the whole issue by claiming the cause doesn't matter. When the moderator asked her: "What is true and what is false about what we have heard, read, discussed, debated about the causes of climate change," Palin responded as follows:
[read the rest at the website] Here at RealClimate we understandably have an intense interest in the positions of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates r... more -
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more. Blue-RayRental.com provides Blockbuster online coupon code and blu-ray movie rental resources. Find detailed explanation of ... more -
Companies 'need green directors'
The president of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has called for businesses to address more seriously their role in preventing climate change by appointing directors with "green" experience. The president of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has called for businesses to address more seriously their role... more
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New study: American cause and - and could cure - most US emissions
'It's easy to mock little efforts to save the environment: reusing grocery bags, buying a Prius, putting an energy-efficient refrigerator in an energy-eating mansion,' says the Wall Street Journal.
While most 'arguments' are aimed at - 'big industrial companies that spew millions of tons of heat-trapping gases every year.'
American consumers actually 'have more influence over climate change than they might think.'
'US consumers have direct or indirect control over 65% of the country's greenhouse-gas emissions, according to new statistics tallied by consultant McKinsey & Co. The figure for consumers in the rest of the world is just 43%. Americans, largely because of how they drive and how they build and use their homes and offices, lead some of the most energy-intensive lives in the world.'
'It's hardly surprising that Americans burn more energy than their counterparts elsewhere in the world. With just 5% of the world's population, the U.S. burns 23% of the world's oil. What's striking about the McKinsey numbers is less the size of America's "carbon footprint" than its makeup.' ... 'It's easy to mock little efforts to save the environment: reusing grocery bags, buying a Prius, putting an energy-efficient... more -
The Water Crisis: Every Last Drop Counts
Thanks largely to unsafe drinking water, more than 2 million children die of diarrhea each year. Six hundred million subsistence farmers lack irrigation water and are mired in poverty. Wetlands have been decimated in Europe, North America, and Asia, and fish populations are collapsing. Drought caused a more than 50 percent drop in Australia’s wheat production in 2007 and sparked a ten-year peak in global wheat prices. Thanks largely to unsafe drinking water, more than 2 million children die of diarrhea each year. Six hundred million subsistence farme... more
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A Young Girl Speaks on Saving The World
This powerful speech was from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development by a young girl from Environmental Children’s Organization in 1992.
Her words will make you stop and think and then cry that not much has been done since she spoke……which was over 15 years ago, and that the world is still in the same situation today that she begged us to change then. This powerful speech was from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development by a young girl from Environmental Children... more -
how it all ends
i found this video on youtube and it has a great point on what we should do about global warming if you think it true or not
so spread it around tell people
this is all he asks so do it
go to his web site for more
http://www.wonderingmind42.com/?page=1 i found this video on youtube and it has a great point on what we should do about global warming if you think it true or not ... more -
Smoke and CO2 - How to Spin Global Warming
ANP: On the Organized Effort to Cast Doubt on Climate Change.
Recently, it was reported that the rate of carbon dioxide emission during the last seven years exceeded even the IPCC's worst-case scenario. Both Barack Obama and John McCain have offered their support to global warming legislation in the past, but climate legislation continues to stall, as it has for more than a decade. Why? In large part, because of an expensive, prolonged propaganda campaign waged by producers of big oil. And what did they look to for inspiration? Big tobacco.
This story is aired in conjunction with the publication of the Center for Public Integrity's report, Global Warming: Heated Denials, The Organized Effort to Cast Doubt on Climate Change.
( http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/731/ ) ANP: On the Organized Effort to Cast Doubt on Climate Change. ... more -
Climate change may be sparking new and bigger "dead zones"
“Wasteland” conjures up visions of dusty desolation where life is fleeting and harsh—if it exists at all. Oceans, too, have their inhospitable pockets. Scientists are discovering that climate change—and not just fertilizer from farm use—may be spurring the emergence of barren underwater landscapes in coastal waters. Expanding dead zones not only spell trouble for biodiversity, but they also threaten the commercial fisheries of many nations.
Dead zones are not new; they form seasonally in economically vital ecoystems worldwide, including the Gulf of Mexico and Chesapeake Bay. Agricultural runoff sparks many of these die-offs; increased use of nitrogen fertilizers has doubled the number of lifeless pockets every decade since the 1960s, resulting in 405 dead zones now dotting coastlines globally.
But lesser-known wastelands are also emerging—without nutrient input from farms. Alarms about such dead zones first sounded in Oregon during the summer of 2002. Usually “we see many schools of fish and lots of different species,” says David Fox of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, but surveys revealed dead fish and invertebrates littering the seafloor. The culprit was hypoxia—low-oxygen conditions, which can occur after the decomposition of organic matter in areas where deep waters well up to the surface.
The emergence of hypoxic areas so close to shore has startled researchers, comments Jack Barth, a physical oceanographer at Oregon State University. A decade ago scientists needed to sail out 50 miles or more to find hypoxic water off Oregon, but he says, the zone was now so close that “a long baseball homer hit off of highway 101” could land in it. To scientists’ surprise and dismay, “hypoxia has become a feature of the coast,” with its reemergence near shore every summer, states Francis Chan, a marine ecologist, also at Oregon State.
Ordinarily upwelling systems such as that off Oregon teem with life. As coastal winds push surface waters offshore, cold, nutrient-rich waters from below replace them, stimulating plankton blooms that serve as food for many marine organisms. In fact, upwelling systems lead to such productive ecosystems that they support some 20 percent of the world’s fisheries’ yield while making up just 1 percent of the ocean surface.
Dead zones can form, however, when these systems become supercharged, either because of fertilizer runoff or, as in the case of Oregon, because of changes in ocean circulation. When upwelling intensifies, more nutrients go to the surface, where plankton growth skyrockets. Those that are not eaten eventually die and rain down into deeper waters, where bacteria use available oxygen to decompose them. Hypoxia results when the rate of this widespread organic decay outpaces fresh supplies of oxygenated surface water.
Besides Oregon, other regions are seeing signs of enlarging dead zones. In South Africa, shifts in the upwelling ecosystem have been documented since the early 1990s. Recurring episodes of hypoxia along the coast have resulted in an increased frequency of commercially valuable rock lobsters traveling closer to shore in search of oxygenated waters, only to become stranded when the tide recedes. Along the coasts of Chile and Peru, where hypoxic episodes have taken place for thousands of years, changes may be brewing as reports of huge numbers of Humboldt squid and fish washing up on beaches after low-oxygen events have increased in recent decades. Prolonged hypoxia in these systems could precipitate “a drop in species diversity, with some groups, such as crustaceans, disappearing more quickly,” says Lisa Levin, a marine ecologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
.------------------much more at link------------We need to come up with some real big ideas to slow down, change or accommodate the climate change. It is surely natural to a point, but humans have been hastening the process “Wasteland” conjures up visions of dusty desolation where life is fleeting and harsh—if it exists at all. Oceans, too, have their inho... more -
Sound-Off: Alaskans on the Environment
With Sarah Palin capturing news headlines all over the world, Alaska has emerged to worldwide attention. Drilling in ANWR, global warming, animal rights...wherever they stand on these issues, Alaskans are passionate about their environment.
Nick Vivion asks the folks of Anchorage, as Alaskans, to share their thoughts on the environment. With Sarah Palin capturing news headlines all over the world, Alaska has emerged to worldwide attention. Drilling in ANWR, global war... more -
Giant Jellyfish Invade Japan
January 19, 2006—Pitting two hands against thousands of stinging tentacles, a diver attaches a tracking device to a giant Nomura's jellyfish off the coast of Japan on October 4, 2005.
Since last summer, Japanese waters have been inundated with the massive sea creatures, which can grow 6.5 feet (2 meters) wide and weigh up to 450 pounds (220 kilograms).
Though the jellyfish are more common in Chinese and Korean waters, their numbers have grown a hundredfold in some areas off Japan, causing a crisis in the local fishing industry.
The invertebrates are choking fishing nets and poisoning the catch with their toxic stingers, fishers say. And although reports of serious human injury are rare, there are records of people dying from the creature's noxious sting.
The invasion has prompted a series of studies by the Japanese government to research the animal, whose mating and migration habits are poorly understood.
Last month, Japanese scientists speculated that the jellyfish are drifting from China's Yangtze River Delta, where unusually heavy rains may have created a flow that is pushing the jellyfish flotilla to Japan.
Another theory suggests that seas heated by global warming are better suited for breeding, turning the Nomura's otherwise modest numbers into an armada.
As the research continues, Japanese fishers continue to grapple with another issue: What to do with all the jellyfish they've caught? So far, resourceful anglers have turned their unwanted catch into crab food, fertilizer, and novelty snacks—served dried and salted.
—Blake de Pastino January 19, 2006—Pitting two hands against thousands of stinging tentacles, a diver attaches a tracking device to a giant Nomura'... more -
"Chemical Equator" Divides Earth's Hemispheres
Matt Kaplan
for National Geographic News
October 2, 2008
A worldwide weather "barrier" that can block air pollution from traveling southward, has been discovered, a new study says.
Called a "chemical equator," the 31-mile-(50-kilometer) wide boundary separates the Northern Hemisphere's dirty air from that of the less polluted Southern Hemisphere.
Carbon monoxide, a toxic gas generated by forest fires and internal combustion engines, increased from 40 parts per billion south of the boundary to 160 parts per billion north of it, scientists found.
Aerosol particles, produced by the burning of fossil fuels, also shot up dramatically.
The finding is reported in the Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres.
Serendipitous Discovery
The chemical equator has long been thought to exist. But scientists expected to find it within the Intertropical Convergence Zone, a band of thunderstorms and clouds circling the globe near Earth's actual Equator.
Instead, the line was found in clear skies 621 miles (1,000 kilometers) north of the zone, showing that the chemical and meteorological divide between the hemispheres is not the same.
"One would expect to see some chemical isolation, but not to this degree and closer to the zone," said Peter May, an atmospheric scientist at the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research in Melbourne, Australia. He assisted with the logistics behind the research but was not involved in the study itself.
The group of climatologists who found the chemical equator didn't set out with that goal.
The team were studying how storms transported chemicals in Darwin, on the northern coast of Australia, when the weather suddenly became clear and windy. Matt Kaplan for National Geographic News October 2, 2008 ... more -
Noisier Oceans May Be "Disaster" For Marine Animals
As the world's oceans become more acidic, the underwater sounds that whales and other marine mammals depend on for survival may turn into a confusing racket, a new study says.
That's because the ocean's ability to conduct sound is expected to increase dramatically due to global warming.The shift could make it easier for rare whales to find each other and reproduce, researchers say.
More likely, though, the effect would be comparable to a person in a crowded place straining to talk over all the chatter.
"What that means is that the background level of noise in the ocean—say wave noise or ship noise—will increase," said study co-author Peter Brewer, a geochemist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California.
John Hocevar, oceans campaign director for Greenpeace USA, agreed.
"This is a real disaster for marine life," he said.
Soda Water Acid
Sound transmission in oceans is affected by the concentration of various ions, or charged atoms, said Keith Hester, a member of the research team.
The ions are affected by the water's pH, which becomes more acidic as carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning is absorbed.
The result is carbonic acid, the same acid found in soda water. Ocean acidity, Hester said, is projected to increase by .3 pH points between now and 2050. That may not seem like much, but the change will spur a 70 percent increase in the distance sound will travel.
"We were surprised to see how big it was," Hester said.Less certain are the ramifications.
Previous studies have suggested that high-powered sonar may cause hearing loss and other injuries to marine mammals.
Recent findings have revealed that reef fishes use sound to locate their reefs.
In addition to animal impacts, military sonar operators may have more trouble distinguishing faint signals from background noise.
The new study appeared this week in in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
Marine biologists are cautious about predicting about what may happen to marine animals in seas that conduct sound better.
"The effects on biology are uncertain at the moment," Richard Zeebe of the University of Hawaii said in an email.
But it's clear that the change in sound transmission is an unanticipated side effect of fossil fuel burning, experts say.
"This is a good example that we're making very big changes to our oceans," said co-author Hester.
"There's a hundred million tons of carbon dioxide absorbed per hour by the oceans. This is really changing a lot [of things] that we're still trying to understand." As the world's oceans become more acidic, the underwater sounds that whales and other marine mammals depend on for survival may t... more -
Blueprint For Global Enslavement: The New World Order is Here
Alex Jones' brand new documentary Endgame charts the history of the elite blueprint for social domination and control, outlining the ultimate plans that those who consider themselves the anointed have for our planet.
The first section of the film documents the rise of the banking cartels, who since 1800 have funded both sides of almost every war. Endgame charts the usurpation of the British economy by the Rothchild family who went on to bankroll all factions during the first world war providing armaments companies through banks in France, Austria, Germany and England.
Endgame then documents the fallout of the great war and the attempts to form a controlling League of Nations, which was ultimately blocked by Congress. Such frustration on the part of the elite led to the rise of two factions, fascists and Fabian socialists. Endgame documents how bankers again funded both sides during WW2 which ultimately led to the creation of the UN and the beginning of the movement to implement three power blocs via incremental globalism.
The second section of the film covers the Bilderberg group and Alex's documentation of the elite group at the 2006 meeting in Ottawa. It covers Alex's detention on the Canadian border at the behest of Bilderberg insiders themselves. Alex and his crew describe how they were interrogated for nearly twelve hours before finally being allowed entry into the country.
Featuring extensive interviews with Jim Tucker and Daniel Estulin, veteran reporters who have been covering the meetings for 27 and 15 years respectively, Alex reveals how it is an offence for any member of the federal or state government to meet with foreign power brokers without the express authority of the president or Congress.
Endgame then shifts focus to the impending movement towards a North American Union, presenting reports and documentation relating to the efforts toward regional harmonization between the US Mexico and Canada at the secretive Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) summits, which refer to an "evolution by stealth" agenda.
--------------more at the link, or just watch the whole movie here, for free! Alex Jones' brand new documentary Endgame charts the history of the elite blueprint for social domination and control, outlining ... more -
Analysis: Palin gets back on track, but Biden wins debate
Highlights:
Fifty-one percent of debate watchers say Biden did best job, CNN poll says
Eighty-four percent of debate watchers said Palin did better than expected
Biden more likely to bring change, according to 53 percent of debate watchers Highlights: Fifty-one percent of debate watchers say Biden did best job, CNN poll says ... more -
Biden touts experience, Palin pushes 'maverick' record
Highlights:
Joe Biden, Sarah Palin debate change, "maverick" status
Both candidates get good reviews for their debate performances
VP candidates discuss economy, foreign policy, climate change
Biden tries to link McCain to Bush; Palin pushes record of reform Highlights: Joe Biden, Sarah Palin debate change, "maverick" status ... more -
Rubber Ducky
Melting glaciers, and rubber ducks, explained by a real live scientist.
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Racing to clear the Air for Green Roofs in Cincinnati!
CINCINNATI -- The power that be 'want to see more green roofs on building tops in Cincinnati,' says the associated press.
The City Council this week became -- 'the first in Ohio with a plan to channel grants and loans to residents and businesses to replace tar and shingles with vegetation.'
With jobs going greener and greener Ohio smartly wants -- 'to see Cincinnati become a leader in green roofs, a European-born movement that has spread to only a few U.S. cities, including Chicago, Milwaukee and Seattle.'
'They say the greenery not only is pleasing aesthetically but reduces stormwater runoff, filters pollutants and cuts heating and cooling costs.'
They noted -- 'several barriers to widespread acceptance in the United States, including lack of government incentives or tax breaks.'
"What the city of Cincinnati is doing is the largest effort I have heard of," said one Green expert. "It will be interesting to watch that and see how it works." (more green stuff on ecorific.com) CINCINNATI -- The power that be 'want to see more green roofs on building tops in Cincinnati,' says the associated press. ... more
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