Showing posts tagged climate change

Climate Change — Melting ice

North Carolina tries to wish away sea-level rise US state proposes new law that would ignore grim projections of a one-metre sea-level rise by the end of the century Kate Sheppard for Mother Jones Some lawmakers will go to great lengths to deny the reality of climate change. But this week, North Carolina lawmakers reached new heights of denial, proposing a new law that would require estimates of sea level rise to be based only on historical data—not on all the evidence that demonstrates that the seas are rising much faster now thanks to global warming. The sea level along the coast of North Carolina is expected to rise about a meter by the end of the century. But business interests in the state are worried that grim projections that account for climate-induced sea level rise will make it harder for them to develop along the coast line. So policymakers in the state plan to deal with that issue by writing a law requiring inaccurate projections. No joke, here’s what the measure says: These rates shall only be determined using historical data, and these data shall be limited to the time period following the year 1900. Rates of seas-level rise may be extrapolated linearly … I’ll stop here, because Scientific American’s Scott Huler, a North Carolina resident, has an epic rant about this that can’t be outdone: It goes on, but there’s the core: North Carolina legislators have decided that the way to make exponential increases in sea level rise – caused by those inconvenient feedback loops we keep hearing about from scientists – go away is to make it against the law to extrapolate exponential; we can only extrapolate along a line predicted by previous sea level rises. Which, yes, is exactly like saying, do not predict tomorrow’s weather based on radar images of a hurricane swirling offshore, moving west towards us with 60-mph winds and ten inches of rain. Predict the weather based on the last two weeks of fair weather with gentle breezes towards the east. Don’t use radar and barometers; use the Farmer’s Almanac and what grandpa remembers. Admitting the sea level is rising faster than it has would hurt the profit of developers — so it is not happening. Simple now we have no problem. Once again Americans exhibit American Exceptionalism — if they deny science, pretend a thing isn’t happening. It isn’t!

North Carolina tries to wish away sea-level rise

US state proposes new law that would ignore grim projections of a one-metre sea-level rise by the end of the century

Kate Sheppard for Mother Jones

Some lawmakers will go to great lengths to deny the reality of climate change. But this week, North Carolina lawmakers reached new heights of denial, proposing a new law that would require estimates of sea level rise to be based only on historical data—not on all the evidence that demonstrates that the seas are rising much faster now thanks to global warming.

The sea level along the coast of North Carolina is expected to rise about a meter by the end of the century. But business interests in the state are worried that grim projections that account for climate-induced sea level rise will make it harder for them to develop along the coast line. So policymakers in the state plan to deal with that issue by writing a law requiring inaccurate projections. No joke, here’s what the measure says:

These rates shall only be determined using historical data, and these data shall be limited to the time period following the year 1900. Rates of seas-level rise may be extrapolated linearly …

I’ll stop here, because Scientific American’s Scott Huler, a North Carolina resident, has an epic rant about this that can’t be outdone:

It goes on, but there’s the core: North Carolina legislators have decided that the way to make exponential increases in sea level rise – caused by those inconvenient feedback loops we keep hearing about from scientists – go away is to make it against the law to extrapolate exponential; we can only extrapolate along a line predicted by previous sea level rises.

Which, yes, is exactly like saying, do not predict tomorrow’s weather based on radar images of a hurricane swirling offshore, moving west towards us with 60-mph winds and ten inches of rain. Predict the weather based on the last two weeks of fair weather with gentle breezes towards the east. Don’t use radar and barometers; use the Farmer’s Almanac and what grandpa remembers.

Admitting the sea level is rising faster than it has would hurt the profit of developers — so it is not happening. Simple now we have no problem.

Once again Americans exhibit American Exceptionalism — if they deny science, pretend a thing isn’t happening. It isn’t!

shychemist:

James Hansen: Why I must speak out about climate change (TED Talk)


(Reblogged from kp777)
However, as we will soon see, the difference between Vahrenholt and the IPCC is that the latter accurately summarizes the body scientific literature, while the former misrepresents his sources and only listens to a few select “skeptic” scientists. … Of course our first answer must point out that Vahrenholt’s assertion is false.  Over the past 14 years, the average global surface temperature has warmed approximately 0.13°C, according to data from the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.  And of course surface air warming only represents a very small percentage of global warming, which has continued uninterrupted: (Image above) (via Fritz Vahrenholt - Duped on Climate Change)

However, as we will soon see, the difference between Vahrenholt and the IPCC is that the latter accurately summarizes the body scientific literature, while the former misrepresents his sources and only listens to a few select “skeptic” scientists.

…

Of course our first answer must point out that Vahrenholt’s assertion is false.  Over the past 14 years, the average global surface temperature has warmed approximately 0.13°C, according to data from the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.  And of course surface air warming only represents a very small percentage of global warming, which has continued uninterrupted: (Image above)

(via Fritz Vahrenholt - Duped on Climate Change)

Migrating Long Tailed Ducks photo by Arne Ader Status of wintering seaducks in the Baltic is not very good A  report has been published from the project SOWBAS* investigating the status of waterfowl wintering in the Baltic. It can be viewed at: http://www.norden.org/en/publications/publikationer/2011-550 (in English) The study shows that the overall number of the birds has fallen by more than 40%. View high resolution

Migrating Long Tailed Ducks photo by Arne Ader

Status of wintering seaducks in the Baltic is not very good

A  report has been published from the project SOWBAS* investigating the status of waterfowl wintering in the Baltic. It can be viewed at:
The study shows that the overall number of the birds has fallen by more than 40%.

77 elephants have died in a three-month heat wave that has dried up watering holes in western Zimbabwe

dougsnewtumblelog:

climateadaptation:

The elephant’s died of thirst…

:(

(Reblogged from dougsnewtumblelog-deactivated20)
ryking: “This week’s ‘Climate Change: Fact or Fraud’ discussion has been postponed due to the flooding, the sudden blizzard, the firestorm, the tornado warnings, and the hail the size of coconuts.” (Via “In Coverage of Extreme Weather, Media Downplay Climate Change.”)

ryking:

“This week’s ‘Climate Change: Fact or Fraud’ discussion has been postponed due to the flooding, the sudden blizzard, the firestorm, the tornado warnings, and the hail the size of coconuts.”

(Via “In Coverage of Extreme Weather, Media Downplay Climate Change.”)

(Reblogged from diadoumenos)

Scientists confront Perry administration over censorship in Texas

abaldwin360:

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality decided to edit parts of a scientific paper that refereed to rising sea levels due to global warming as well as sedimentation problems caused by dams and other human activities.

Entire paragraphs and sentences were removed as well as references to other peer-reviewed studies at the end of the paper, their rational: the report contained “information… that we disagree with.” as well as, the entire chapter was beyond the scope of the report and “inconsistent with current Agency policy.”

In other words, they don’t believe in global warming.

[FULL STORY AND SOURCES]

(Reblogged from pieceinthepuzzlehumanity-deacti)

Starbucks May Close The Doors On Its Coffee Shops In The Future Due To Climate Change

letterstomycountry:

According to Starbucks’ sustainability director Jim Hanna, the coffeehouse chain may soon be unable to sell its principal product due to the detrimental impact of climate change on coffee bean production.

“What we are really seeing as a company as we look 10, 20, 30 years down the road – if conditions continue as they are – is a potentially significant risk to our supply chain, which is the Arabica coffee bean,” Hanna told theGuardian in a phone interview.

Hanna is set to speak before members of Congress today on the issue of climate change and how it’s real and how someone should do something about it before we run out of coffee and chocolate and a whole bunch of other foodstuffs “many people can’t live without.”

Starbucks has already put Plan B in motion, announcing yesterday it plans to enter the juice-bar market — news that freaked out Jamba Juice stockholders, causing the price of JMBA to drop 3.5%.

Today’s congressional event is sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists, which recently reported that coffee brands have increased the cost of grinds by as much as 25% over the last year.

“The dwindling supply of coffee is but one example of the many impacts to come due to climate change,” the nonprofit writes, ” and should be a wake-up call for us all.” 

Just a conspiracy.  Al Gore is just trying to make money.  An attempt to tax us into oblivion and regulate our lives.  Junk Science.  Conspiracy.

God I hate Climate Change deniers.

I am a coffee addict and I kind of worry about this — I do only buy organically grown coffee so with luck at least my coffee is not decimating the song bird population, but …

(Reblogged from letterstomycountry)

mohandasgandhi:

Global warming melts Montana’s famous glaciers

Scientists have warned that the National Park’s remaining glaciers could all melt away by 2030.

In the US state of Montana, the Glacier National Park - an area sometimes called the “Crown of the Continent” - is famous for its snow-capped mountains.

But it could soon lose its glaciers due to global warming.

Scientists warn if the ice keeps melting at this rate, the park’s 25 remaining glaciers could all melt away by the year 2030.

However, public opinion polls show that nearly 50 per cent of Americans believe that the seriousness of climate change is exaggerated.

Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds reports from Glacier National Park.

I’ve always enjoyed a quote from Stephen Colbert’s speech at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner from 2006:

Jesse Jackson is here. The Reverend—a very challenging interview. You can ask him anything, but he’s going to say what he wants at the pace that he wants. It’s like boxing a glacier. Enjoy that metaphor, because your grandchildren will have no idea what a glacier is.

It’s incredibly sad that this could indeed become a reality. When I was a kid my dad would insist nearly every year that we take our family vacations by driving out West. My brother and I would moan and complain about “seeing the same stuff every year” but now I’m incredibly grateful that he made us see, for example, the glaciers in Montana and all of the national parks because they’re all slowly disappearing. When I saw the glaciers over a decade ago, there wasn’t much left to them and it’s heartbreaking to see how fast they’re melting.

We’ve destroyed entities that have been on Earth for millions of years in less than two centuries. Human-beings are truly incredible.

(Reblogged from sarahlee310)

Europeans fear climate change more than financial turmoil

sarahlee310:

proletarianengineer:

Europeans believe that dangers of climate change represent a more serious problem than the current financial turmoil, according to a new poll.

The Eurobarometer poll (pdf) suggests that the majority of the public in the European Union consider global warming to be one of the world’s most serious problems, with one-fifth saying it is the single most serious problem. Overall, respondents said climate change was the second most serious issue facing the world, after poverty.

Connie Hedegaard, European climate commissioner, said: “This is encouraging news. The survey shows that the citizens of Europe can see that economic challenges are not the only ones we face. A clear majority of Europeans expect their politicians and business leaders to address the serious climate challenge now.”

This is good news—especially when the BRICs and the US seem completely apathetic to climate change (in the case of the US, its certainly due to the power and wealth of the oil industry and its subsidiaries).  

This also bodes well for the dispute over carbon taxes on airplanes.  Hopefully the democratic will of Europe can withstand lobbying efforts by multinationals and corrupt governments.  Fight on, EU!

At least someone is paying attention to the long term…

(Source: sigma-x)

(Reblogged from sarahlee310)

UMass-Amherst awarded $7.5m grant to study regional climate change

climateadaptation:

This is a huge win for students and academic institutions in the US. Eight climate centers will be built. Man, I love this both because I’m UMass alumnus and it’s a permanent commitment by the Federal Government to study and educate people on climate change. A great investment in America’s future. Huge long-term win for the U.S.!

“The federal government yesterday awarded the University of Massachusetts Amherst a multimillion-dollar grant to host one of eight centers around the country to study the local effects of climate change.

The Northeast Climate Science Center will study how climate change affects ecosystems, wildlife, water, and other resources from the Great Lakes to Maine and down to Missouri. The $7.5 million grant over five years will sponsor research at UMass Amherst as well as at institutions in Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York, and Massachusetts.

“The nationwide network of Climate Science Centers will provide the scientific talent and commitment necessary for understanding how climate change and other landscape stressors will change the face of the United States,’’ US Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement.

Last month, the state’s Climate Change Adaptation Advisory Committee released a report that said temperatures in Massachusetts by the end of this century could spike to 90 degrees or more for 30 to 60 days every summer, ocean temperatures could be on average 8 degrees warmer, and winters are likely to have more rain and less snow.”

Sexy Source: Boston Globe

(Reblogged from climateadaptation)