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CLIMATE CHANGE IS HERE
CLIMATE CHANGE.
We need to do something about this.
I'm glad that it is cool to be green,I feel we need to stay green as long as possible. Mother Nature is not to be played with!!!!
If we all do our part, we can help preserve this world for future generations.
CLIMATE CHANGE. We need to do something about this. ... more -
Wetlands could unleash "carbon bomb"
In other words...respect mother nature!!!
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The world's wetlands, threatened by development, dehydration and climate change, could release a planet-warming "carbon bomb" if they are destroyed, ecological scientists said on Sunday.
Wetlands contain 771 billion tons of greenhouse gases, one-fifth of all the carbon on Earth and about the same amount of carbon as is now in the atmosphere, the scientists said before an international conference linking wetlands and global warming.
If all the wetlands on the planet released the carbon they hold, it would contribute powerfully to the climate-warming greenhouse effect, said Paulo Teixeira, coordinator of the Pantanal Regional Environment Program in Brazil.
"We could call it the carbon bomb," Teixeira said by telephone from Cuiaba, Brazil, site of the conference. "It's a very tricky situation. In other words...respect mother nature!!! ... more -
Gore calls for carbon-free electric power
Former Vice President Al Gore said on Thursday that Americans must abandon electricity generated by fossil fuels within a decade and rely on the sun, the winds and other environmentally friendly sources of power, or risk losing their national security as well as their creature comforts.
“The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk,” Mr. Gore said in a speech to an energy conference here. “The future of human civilization is at stake.”
Mr. Gore called for the kind of concerted national effort that enabled Americans to walk on the moon 39 years ago this month, just eight years after President John F. Kennedy famously embraced that goal. He said the goal of producing all of the nation’s electricity from “renewable energy and truly clean, carbon-free sources” within 10 years is not some farfetched vision, although he said it would require fundamental changes in political thinking and personal expectations.
“This goal is achievable, affordable and transformative,” Mr. Gore said in his remarks at the conference. “It represents a challenge to all Americans, in every walk of life — to our political leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers, and to every citizen.”
* * * * *
Click on the link for the full article. Former Vice President Al Gore said on Thursday that Americans must abandon electricity generated by fossil fuels within a decade and r... more -
Al Gore Challenges Nation - 100% Clean Energy in 10 Years
Al Gore is challenging the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace.
The Nobel Prize-winning former vice president said fellow Democrat Barack Obama and Republican rival John McCain are "way ahead" of most politicians in the fight against global climate change.
Rising fuel costs, climate change and the national security threats posed by U.S. dependence on foreign oil are conspiring to create "a new political environment" that Gore said will sustain bold and expensive steps to wean the nation off fossil fuels.
To meet his 10-year goal, Gore said nuclear energy output would continue at current levels while the U.S. dramatically increases its use of solar, wind, geothermal and clean coal energy. Huge investments must also be made in technologies that reduce energy waste and link existing power grids, he said. Al Gore is challenging the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources w... more -
The Clever Car
The Clever Car is in a class of motorized vehicles known as "tilting three wheelers", which have been around since 1886. Although the concept is nothing entirely new, the team at Clever is developing an amazing, compact version mainly for urban use.
Climbing from zero to 60 mph in less than 7 seconds, and the Clever Car houses a 230 cc one-cylinder compressed natural gas (CNG) engine complete with natural gas tank system that can be refilled at normal natural gas filling stations or even supermarkets. The replacement gas tanks weigh just under 15 lbs allowing for easy handling and easy refilling. You can also store additional tanks at home so you wouldn’t have to drive to a refilling point when on empty. The Clever Car is in a class of motorized vehicles known as "tilting three wheelers", which have been around since 1886. Although the ... more -
Acidifying oceans pose danger to coral reefs
The carbon dioxide spewed into the atmosphere by factories, cars and power plants is not just raising temperatures. It is also causing what scientists call "ocean acidification" as around 25 percent of the excess CO2 is absorbed by the seas.
The pH value of the oceans has been around 8.2 for hundreds of thousands of years, but since the start of the industrial age in 1800, it has dropped by 0.1. The carbon dioxide spewed into the atmosphere by factories, cars and power plants is not just raising temperatures. It is also causing... more -
EU lawmakers approve deal on airline CO2 emissions
European Union lawmakers approved a deal with governments on Tuesday to include aviation from 2012 in the EU's Emission Trading Scheme, a key tool to fight climate change.
Aviation generates 3 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions in the 27-member bloc but has been left out of the ETS so far because of concerns that its inclusion would damage the industry's ability to compete in international markets.
With air traffic set to double by 2020, however, Europe is keen to apply the "polluter pays" principle as it struggles to reduce output of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
The European Parliament voted 640 to 30 in favor of a rule that airlines would have to cut emissions of carbon dioxide by 3 percent in the first year, and by 5 percent from 2013 onwards, paying for 15 percent of their emissions permits initially. European Union lawmakers approved a deal with governments on Tuesday to include aviation from 2012 in the EU's Emission Trading Scheme... more -
Ancient oak trees help reduce global warming : study
The battle to reduce carbon emissions is at the heart of many eco-friendly efforts, and researchers from the University of Missouri have discovered that nature has been lending a hand. Researchers at the Missouri Tree Ring Laboratory in the Department of Forestry discovered that trees submerged in freshwater aquatic systems store carbon for thousands of years, a significantly longer period of time than trees that fall in a forest, thus keeping carbon out of the atmosphere.
“If a tree is submerged in water, its carbon will be stored for an average of 2,000 years,” said Richard Guyette, director of the MU Tree Ring Lab and research associate professor of forestry in the School of Natural Resources in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. “If a tree falls in a forest, that number is reduced to an average of 20 years, and in firewood, the carbon is only stored for one year.”
The team studied trees in northern Missouri, a geographically unique area with a high level of riparian forests (forests that have natural water flowing through them). They discovered submerged oak trees that were as old as 14,000 years, potentially some of the oldest discovered in the world. This carbon storage process is not just ancient; it continues even today as additional trees become submerged, according to Guyette.
The battle to reduce carbon emissions is at the heart of many eco-friendly efforts, and researchers from the University of Missouri ha... more -
Oilsands Development: Killing Canada
"We appreciate the fact that Canada's tar sands are now becoming economical and we are glad to be able to get the access toward two million barrels a day."-George W. Bush, March 23, 2003.
Powers in this world are now salivating to be able to tear apart the boreal forest to satisfy their lust for greed. And make no mistake about it, it has nothing to do with caring about the people or other species because if it did alternate sources of energy that are safer for the environment and cleaner and more economical to use would be the order of the day, not the "new world order" of the Bushes of this world that seek only to destroy it for their own benefit. But then, getting his fix seems to be something Bush is accustomed to in his life.
Making crude oil from tar sands is a dirty wasteful business. It takes two tons of oil sands ore to yield ONE barrel of oil. Put that into perpsective of these people wanting two MILLION barrels a day, and then it is not hard to see the environmental degradation this process is causing. The oil sand is composed of silt, sand, clay, water, and bitumen. On average, bitumen contains 83.2% carbon. At two million or more barrels a day burning, you figure out the environmental impact of that. And there are two methods by which this noxious smelling concoction is brought to the surface.
It is either through strip mining it or situ recovery methods which are used to access deeper deposits. It is an arduous process that uses much water, which then results in groundwater being polluted and river water being diverted as large amounts of freshwater are required to flush bitumen from the sand to make crude oil. It also is increasing greenhouse gas emission in Alberta, which are spilling over. It is also such a complex process that I went searching for a source that could explain it all from beginning to end, and I found one. This to me is the most thorough and comprehensive source out there now to describe this process and the environmental and climate change effects it is having on our world. I HIGHLY recommend you read through this:
More at the link. Compare the picture here to the picture on the blog entry to see what they have done to the beautiful Boreal Forest with this wasteful practice.
"We appreciate the fact that Canada's tar sands are now becoming economical and we are glad to be able to get the access toward two mi... more -
Weeds may help solve the climate crisis
This article has a fantastic quote: “Ingenuity,” Ziska says, “may be the mother of invention, but poverty is definitely the father”...
"...There are countless definitions of weeds, ranging from the hardheaded one necessarily observed by farmers, that a weed is any plant that interferes with profit, to the aesthetic (a popular gardener’s definition of a weed is “a plant out of place”), to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s sanctimonious assertion that a weed is “a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” But all agree on the central criterion: to qualify as a weed, the plant in question must be viewed with disfavor by humanity. Simply put, any plant, if we dislike it, becomes an intruder in our landscape and so a weed.
Arguably, then, there was no such thing as a weed until mankind developed the need to discriminate, which came with the development of agriculture in the Neolithic era, around 9,000 B.C. In fact, many of the wild grains like red rice or wild oats that are among our most troublesome agricultural weeds today were valued food sources until we graduated from the hunter-gatherer stage of our existence.
Coexistence with mankind has given rise to the sort of tough plants that flourish despite the worst we can do — hoeing, pulling, burning and, more recently, spraying the fields with herbicidal chemicals. Weeds have adapted to every means we used to exterminate them, even turning the treatments to their own advantage. Attacking a Canada thistle (actually of Eurasian origin and a regular entry in “worst weeds of North America” lists) with hoe or plow, for example, may destroy the plant’s aboveground growth but leaves the soil full of severed bits of fleshy root, each of which may sprout a new plant.
A result of this history is that crops and weeds embody diametrically opposed genetic strategies. Over the centuries, we have deliberately bred the genetic diversity out of our crop plants. Creating crop populations composed of clones or near clones was an essential step in achieving higher yields and the sort of uniform growth that makes large-scale, mechanized cultivation and harvesting possible. Because weed populations live as opportunists, however, they must include individuals with the ability to flourish in whatever type of habitat we make available. They also need diversity to cope with the wide range of punishments we inflict. A patch of Canada thistles, if it is to survive when the farmer switches from hoeing to herbicides, must include individuals that develop a resistance to the chemicals over time. Weed populations that lacked the necessary genetic diversity faded from our fields, lawns and waste places; historians of agriculture can cite many such casualties ..."
By Tom Christopher This article has a fantastic quote: “Ingenuity,” Ziska says, “may be the mother of invention, but poverty is definitely the father”..... more -
Appeals court sets no deadline for EPA on global warming
A federal appeals court refused Thursday to make a resistant Bush administration speed up a decision on whether greenhouse gases and global warming threaten public health and welfare.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied a petition by 17 states and several environmental groups asking it to order the Environmental Protection Agency to make that determination within 60 days.
Such a finding is a necessary first step to regulating carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from motor vehicle tailpipes and the smokestacks of refineries, power plants and factories. The Supreme Court more than a year ago ruled that the EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, a step President Bush has repeatedly refused to take.
Instead, EPA is expected to issue a proposal in coming weeks that seeks public comment on a range of options the agency could take to control greenhouse gases under current law. It will take no position on whether carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases should be regulated, according to a draft obtained by The Associated Press.
``We are pleased the Circuit court recognized the agency's approach,'' said Timothy Lyons, deputy press secretary for EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson. ``The advanced notice for proposed rulemaking ... will allow for public input on the broad range of fundamental issues involved in regulating greenhouse gases.''
That proposal is expected to be a step backward from a finding the agency sent via e-mail to the White House last December concluding that greenhouse gases do endanger public health and welfare, and should be controlled.
snip
The latest proposal due out from EPA is undergoing more modifications from the White House, sources familiar with the negotiations said.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, we know all about the White House and its "modifications" regarding climate change. This is why it is not a political issue. People waiting for the federal government to do anything about this of any substance will be greatly disappointed. A federal appeals court refused Thursday to make a resistant Bush administration speed up a decision on whether greenhouse gases and g... more -
Electricity from the exhaust pipe
"Researchers are working on a thermoelectric generator that converts the heat from car exhaust fumes into electricity. The module feeds the energy into the car’s electronic systems. This cuts fuel consumption and helps reduce the CO2 emissions from motor vehicles."
-sciencedaily.com
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/0806031108...
"Researchers are working on a thermoelectric generator that converts the heat from car exhaust fumes into electricity. The module feed... more -
Oceans becoming acid soup
Silently and steadily, a tragedy is unfolding beneath the ocean's waves: Coral reefs around the world are disappearing. According to some projections, there could be few, if any, left by the end of the century.
This dire and credible prediction has shocked many marine scientists, who had not realized how close to the tipping point coral reefs are. The news is especially disheartening because 2008 is the International Year of the Reef.
The culprit here is carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas that is responsible for global warming and that also is turning our oceans into an acid bath.
snip
Here's the problem. When carbon dioxide enters the ocean, it reacts with water to form carbonic acid. A few other chemical steps ensue, with the outcome that fewer carbonate ions are available for biological systems. Corals are not the only organisms that suffer. All shell-forming marine creatures are adversely affected.
Taking a human analogy, it would be as if your bones could no longer keep growing.
We are seeing the effects of ocean acidification. Today, the concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere is more than 380 parts per million. That's more than at any time during the past 20 million years.
About 25 percent of this carbon dioxide ends up being absorbed by the oceans. As carbon dioxide levels have risen during the industrial era, the average pH level in the ocean, an indicator of acidity, has dropped by 0.1 pH unit. (On the pH scale, a lower number means more acidic.)
That might not sound like much, but evidence from Antarctic ice cores shows that the global average is lower than at any time over almost half a million years. As the Science article notes, changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide over the last century "are 2 or 3 orders of magnitude higher than most of the changes seen in the past 420,000 years."
Silently and steadily, a tragedy is unfolding beneath the ocean's waves: Coral reefs around the world are disappearing. According to s... more -
Vegetarian diets healthier for planet
A study on the affects of vegetarian vs. meat diets on the environment.
"In their study, Eshel and Martin compared the energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions that underlie five diets: average American, red meat, fish, poultry and vegetarian (including eggs and dairy), all equaling 3,774 calories per day.
The vegetarian diet turned out to be the most energy-efficient, followed by poultry and the average American diet. Fish and red meat virtually tied as the least efficient.
Martin and Eshel's research indicated that plant-based diets are healthier for people as well as for the planet.
'The adverse effects of dietary animal fat intake on cardiovascular diseases is by now well established. Similar effects are also seen when meat, rather than fat, intake is considered,' Martin and Eshel wrote. 'To our knowledge, there is currently no credible evidence that plant-based diets actually undermine health; the balance of available evidence suggests that plant-based diets are at the very least just as safe as mixed ones, and most likely safer.'"
-sciencedaily.com
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/0604140127...
[For those who value their hamburgers too much you don't need to go completely vegetarian to make a difference, just eat one or two less meals with meat in it a week, even that can make a difference].
A study on the affects of vegetarian vs. meat diets on the environment. ... more -
China Gets Dubious Honor Of World's #1 CO2 Emitter
In a report released Friday by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, China has stepped into first place as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, edging ahead of the United States. China's supernova economy contributed to an eight percent rise in its domestic emissions, which in turn makes up two-thirds of the global growth of emissions last year. That trend is likely to continue due to China's massive use of coal-fired energy and its huge cement industry.
The U.S. still maintains the highest per person CO2 emissions (19.4 tons), followed by Russian (11.8 tons), and Western Europe (8.6 tons) compared to China's 5.2 tons per inhabitant. But China now releases 24% global GHG emissions compared to the US' 21%.
What's unfortunate is that with one year to go until UN-sponsored talks in Copenhagen try to cobble together a Kyoto Protocol replacement treaty, the world's leaders aren't coming up with the kind of innovative ideas needed to creatively reduce everybody's emissions. As Yvo de Boer, executive secretary for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change puts it:
"With a little more than a year to go to Copenhagen, the challenge to come to that agreement remains daunting."
Article by: April Streeter In a report released Friday by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, China has stepped into first place as the world's larg... more -
prof. Carlo Rubbia - Discorso per la Cerimonia di chiusura Anno Accademico Lincei
Riporto, invitando tutti a leggere fino in fondo il documento, alcuni brani significativi:
[La crescita vertiginosa dei consumi individuali, accoppiata alla crescita esponenziale della popolazione non potrà restare senza conseguenze.
Con questi cambiamenti stiamo assistendo all'inizio di un' immensa rivoluzione che influenzerà il comportamento futuro di quasi tutte le specie animali e vegetali viventi su terra, inclusi gli esseri umani, la causa primaria del fenomeno.
I cambiamenti progressivi del clima della Terra sono la semplice e diretta conseguenza dell'enorme produzione di energia di origine antropogenica, e cioè di energia generata dall'uomo.]
[Come è ben noto, l'energia primaria mondiale è dominata dall'uso di fossili. Ma forse non tutti sanno che ogni goccia di energia prodotta bruciando dei fossili è moltiplicata dal pianeta più di cento volte dalla susseguente cattura di luce solare prodotta dalle emissioni di C02, conseguenti appunto dalla combustione fossile.
In altre parole, il prezzo energetico risultante per il nostro Pianeta è ben due ordini di grandezza maggiore del calore iniziale, direttamente prodotto dall'uomo che lo ha generato.]
[Possiamo predire con un alto livello certezza che l'uso continuato dei combustibili fossili, senza restrizioni modificherà in maniera drammatica il clima della Terra, in modi che impatterebbero in pratica su ogni organismo vivente.]
[Secondo le stime dell'Agenzia Internazionale per l'Energia, al livello dei consumi attuali le riserve attese per il carbone, petrolio, gas naturale e nucleare di terza generazione di
cui oggi si parla nel nostro Paese (Uranio-235) corrispondono ad una durata rispettivamente di 230, 45, 63 e 54 anni.
Questi numeri possono essere influenzati positivamente da nuove scoperte e negativamente dagli aumenti dei consumi, che sono oggi globalmente dell'ordine di 2%/anno. La AIE ha tuttavia fallito ripetitivamente nel predire gli incrementi nel prezzo del petrolio...]
Riporto, invitando tutti a leggere fino in fondo il documento, alcuni brani significativi: ... more -
Permafrost threatened by rapid retreat of Arctic Sea ice, study finds
The rate of climate warming over northern Alaska, Canada, and Russia could more than triple during periods of rapid sea ice loss, according to a new study led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The findings raise concerns about the thawing of permafrost, or permanently frozen soil, and the potential consequences for sensitive ecosystems, human infrastructure, and the release of additional greenhouse gases.
"Our study suggests that, if sea-ice continues to contract rapidly over the next several years, Arctic land warming and permafrost thaw are likely to accelerate," says lead author David Lawrence of NCAR. The study is by scientists from NCAR and the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
The team found that during episodes of rapid sea-ice loss, the rate of Arctic land warming is 3.5 times greater than the average 21st century warming rates predicted in global climate models. While this warming is largest over the ocean, the simulations suggest that it can penetrate as far as 900 miles inland. The simulations also indicate that the warming acceleration during such events is especially pronounced in autumn. The decade during which a rapid sea-ice loss event occurs could see autumn temperatures warm by as much as 9 degrees F (5 degrees C) along the Arctic coasts of Russia, Alaska, and Canada.
Arctic soils are believed to hold 30 percent or more of all the carbon stored in soils worldwide. Although researchers are uncertain what will happen to this carbon as soils warm and permafrost thaws, one possibility is that the thaw will initiate significant additional emissions of carbon dioxide or the more potent greenhouse gas, methane.
The rate of climate warming over northern Alaska, Canada, and Russia could more than triple during periods of rapid sea ice loss, acco... more -
MIT: European system for cutting CO2 emissions is working well
In a bid to control greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change, the European Union has been operating the world's first system to limit and to trade carbon dioxide. Despite its hasty adoption and somewhat rocky beginning three years ago, the EU "cap-and-trade" system has operated well and has had little or no negative impact on the overall EU economy, according to an MIT analysis.
The MIT results provide both encouragement and guidance to policy makers working to design a carbon dioxide (CO2)-trading scheme for the United States and for the world. A key finding may be that everything does not have to be perfectly in place to start up similar systems.
The cap-and-trade approach to controlling emissions is not new. For years, the United States has operated highly successful cap-and-trade systems for emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Based on a national emissions cap, facilities that emit those pollutants receive a limited number of emissions permits, or allowances, for a given period. Facilities that emit more than their allowed limit must buy allowances from facilities that emit less. Markets for trading allowances operate smoothly and facilities have reduced their emissions significantly.
What are some of the lessons to be learned from the European experience? First, it shows that the economic effects-in a macroeconomic sense-have not been large.
Second, permitting "banking and borrowing" will make a cap-and-trade system work more efficiently. Within the EU ETS, facilities can bank (save some of this year's allowance for use next year) or borrow (use some of next year's allowances now and not have them available next year). Many facilities took advantage of the opportunity to trade across time. But they always produced the necessary allowances within the required time period. Concerns that facilities would postpone their obligations indefinitely have proved unwarranted.
A third lesson is that the process of allocating emissions allowances is going to be contentious-and yet cap-and-trade is still the most politically feasible approach to controlling carbon emissions. In a cap-and-trade system, those most affected-the current polluters-receive some assets along with the liabilities they are being asked to assume.
Finally, the MIT analysis shows that everything does not have to be perfectly in place to start up. When the EU ETS began, the overall EU cap had not been finally determined, registries for trading emissions were not established everywhere, and many available allowances-especially from Eastern Europe-could not come onto the market. The volatility of prices during the first period reflects those imperfections.
In a bid to control greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change, the European Union has been operating the world's first system ... more -
Science academies urge 50 pct CO2 cuts by 2050
Major economies should aim to halve world emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 and work out ways to bury gases in a wider assault on climate change, the science academies of 13 nations said on Tuesday.
"Progress in reducing global greenhouse gas emission has been slow," the academies of the Group of Eight (G8) nations and China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa said in a statement targeting leaders at July 7-9 summits in Japan.
The statement noted that G8 leaders agreed in 2007 to "consider seriously" a goal of halving world greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to help limit changes such as droughts or flooding, heatwaves, more powerful cyclones or rising seas.
Developing nations argue that rich countries have to take the lead before they sign up to any curbs on their rising emissions.
Major economies should aim to halve world emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 and work out ways to bury gases in a wider assault on ... more -
2050 greenhouse goals will be too late: EPI head
Pitches to cut worldwide greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050 are too leisurely and must be brought forward by decades, Lester Brown, president and founder of the Earth Policy Institute in Washington, said Friday at a symposium in Tokyo.
"We are going to have to move much, much faster. I think the game will be over long before 2050," the environment expert said at Sophia University.
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is expected to release a new initiative on environmental preservation Monday in which Japan will propose reducing long-term its own greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent to 80 percent from current levels by 2050. The initiative will not touch on medium-term goals.
But with the pace of global warming and its link to food prices rising worldwide, the world must "cut carbon emission by 80 percent by 2020," Brown said. The environmentalist, who has headed the nonprofit group EPI since 2001, providing reports and visions for a sustainable economy and environmental preservation, was in Tokyo to speak at the Sophia symposium.
Brown said that while past rises in grain prices were driven by particular events, including droughts and extreme weather, today's food crisis was trend-driven and induced by multiple factors, including population growth and grain being used to make fuel.
In such circumstance each country must work to reconstruct its energy resources, he said, urging Japan to develop its solar- and wind-power technologies and become less dependent on fossil fuels.
Pitches to cut worldwide greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050 are too leisurely and must be brought forward by decades, Lest... more
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