Just read on Reuters that there is actually some good news coming from an "ice study."
A study of Greenland's ice sheet has revealed that a vast store of planet-warming methane appears to be more stable than thought, easing fears of a rapid rise in temperatures, a scientist said on Friday.
Scientists have feared climate change could trigger a huge release of methane from the clathrate reservoir, sending global warming spiraling out of control.
An estimated 5,000 billion tonnes of carbon are locked up in these deposits, said Vasilii Petrenko of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado.
Only about one trillionth of the methane from the air bubbles contained the carbon-14 isotope. The analysis was undertaken at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization.
Warmer oceans, caused by general global warming or local events can trigger more breakups of ice shelves and faster flow of ice streams in Antarctica. In Greenland, sustained increase in temperatures of only a few degrees will remove the ice.
What the researchers really want to know is how all this meltwater affects the flow of the broader ice sheet once it gets to the bedrock below.
Sarah Das is from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. "It's kind of hard to say what the impact one particular lake would have on the velocity of a large portion of the ice sheet," Das says. "But in general, it would seem that the ice sheet is speeding up quite a bit."
So much water flowed under the ice, it actually lifted the glacier by three feet and sent it slip-sliding a bit toward the coast.
So the fact that carbon isn't releasing as much as feared is the good news. But the glacier moving around and changing water levels so drastically is the bad news. I suppose you have to take the good with the bad. Right?
The Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is Australia’s national nuclear organisation and the centre of Australian nuclear expertise. The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Act 1987 (Cth) prescribes its general purpose. The purpose is translated into action through corporate drivers of vision, mission and strategic goals.
The Wilkins Ice Shelf is another example of the effects of global warming. In 1993 Professor David Vaughan of the British Antarctic Survey predicted the northern part of the Wilkins shelf would likely be lost within 30 years if climate warming continued at the same rate. In March 2008, a 405-square-kilometre chunk of the shelf disintegrated.
Those kind of global changes and seeing the threatened beauty of the Antarctic have confirmed in William Millar's mind that environmental science will remain a part of his future.
The Wilkins Ice Shelf is at risk of partly breaking away from the Antarctic Peninsula as the ice bridge that connects it to Charcot and Latady Islands looks set to collapse. The beginning of what appears to be the demise of the ice bridge began this week when new rifts forming along its center axis resulted in a large block of ice breaking away.
By acquiring daily images of Antarctica that are easily accessible to scientists, ASAR has provided an unprecedented time series of the recent break-up events and allowed scientists to continuously monitor these developments to better understand the break-up process of ice shelves.
Many changes occurred to the ice shelf in 2008, as witnessed by Envisat. In late February, 425 sq km of ice calved away, narrowing the ice bridge down to a 6-km strip. At the end of May a 160-sq-km chunk of ice broke away and reduced the ice bridge to just 2.7 km, leaving it only 900 m wide at its narrowest location.
"In the past months, we have observed the ice bridge deforming and its narrowest location acting as a kind of hinge," Humbert said
Preparing for Climate Change: In an editorial, it argues that the U.S. government must start acting now if the United States is to successfully adapt to the challenge posed by inevitable changes in the global climate. It says that developing new agricultural practices in the United States is the best way it can help the world.
First, the report offers this warning: "As a result of human activity, the average temperature of Earth will soon leave the less-than-1 degree Celsius range that it has maintained for more than 10,000 years." The US climate "is no longer stable, but will continue to change in new and often surprising ways," it adds. It calls for deeper research into how specific regions will be affected and on ways to lessen or adapt to changes.
Though federal leadership will be "essential," the report does not recommend a central agency to deal with the effort. It suggests a need to support existing governments in adapting to climate change.
The president is right to want to cut emissions. The alternative, allowing climate change to take its course, would be far more damaging to America and the world. The economic impact of rising sea levels, reduced crop yields, fiercer storms and many other doleful consequences would be devastating.
But fighting climate change will be costly. It will involve swapping cheap but dirty fuels for cleaner but dearer ones, as Congress intends, as well as building lots of expensive new power plants to replace older, more polluting ones. That in turn will lead to higher electricity and fuel prices. Despite the president's airy talk of green jobs, cutting emissions, by almost all calculations, will increase costs for most businesses and families. Those extra costs must be kept to a minimum.
Bjorn Lomborg, director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, argues that those who view global warming in entirely negative terms are neglecting the benefits that warmer weather could have on people's health around the globe. By viewing the problem in this way, the writer argues, governments can make sounder policy choices.
This was the message delivered to a conference in Copenhagen this week by Alistair Hunt, a researcher at Bath University. "I am trying to bring home the impact of climate change to everyone," he said.
It is true, as Hunt noted, that the 2003 heatwave claimed 2,000 lives in Britain; that human-caused warming will increase global temperatures by about 2.6 degrees Celsius on average; and that high temperatures cause heat strokes, heart attacks and other illnesses, which hit the elderly and chronically ill the hardest. But low temperatures also kill. The old, infirm, homeless and very young are at the highest risk of hypothermia, heart attacks, strokes and illnesses caused or exacerbated by the cold.
Winter regularly takes many more lives than any heatwave: 25,000 to 50,000 people each year die in Britain from excess cold.
Natural releases of carbon dioxide from the Southern Ocean due to shifting wind patterns could have amplified global warming at the end of the last ice age--and could be repeated as manmade warming proceeds, a new paper in the journal Science suggests.
Many scientists think that the end of the last ice age was triggered by a change in Earth's orbit that caused the northern part of the planet to warm. This partial climate shift was accompanied by rising levels of the greenhouse gas CO2, ice core records show, which could have intensified the warming around the globe. A team of scientists at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory now offers one explanation for the mysterious rise in CO2: the orbital shift triggered a southward displacement in westerly winds, which caused heavy mixing in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, pumping dissolved carbon dioxide from the water into the air.
"The faster the ocean turns over, the more deep water rises to the surface to release CO2," said lead author Robert Anderson, a geochemist at Lamont-Doherty. "It's this rate of overturning that regulates CO2 in the atmosphere." In the last 40 years, the winds have shifted south much as they did 17,000 years ago, said Anderson. If they end up venting more CO2 into the air, manmade warming underway now could be intensified.
Scientists have been studying the oceans for more than 25 years to understand their influence on CO2 levels and the glacial cycles that have periodically heated and chilled the planet for more than 600,000 years. Ice cores show that the ends of other ice ages also were marked by rises in CO2.
Anderson and his colleagues measured the rate of upwelling by analyzing sediment cores from the Southern Ocean. When deep water is vented, it brings not only CO2 to the surface but nutrients. Phytoplankton consume the extra nutrients and multiply.
In the cores, Anderson and his colleagues say spikes in plankton growth between roughly 17,000 years ago and 10,000 years ago indicate added upwelling. By comparing those spikes with ice core records, the scientists realized the added upwelling coincided with hotter temperatures in Antarctica as well as rising CO2 levels.
In the same issue of Science, Toggweiler writes a column commenting on the work. "Now I think this really starts to lock up how the CO2 changed globally," he said in an interview. "Here's a mechanism that can explain the warming of Antarctica and the rise in CO2. It's being forced by the north, via this change in the winds."
Anderson says that if his theory is correct, the impact of upwelling "will be dwarfed by the accelerating rate at which humans are burning fossil fuels." But, he said, "It could well be large enough to offset some of the mitigation strategies that are being proposed to counteract rising CO2, so it should not be neglected."
This morning, President Barack Obama signed two executive orders that could be remembered as the critical turning point toward achieving real energy independence and stopping global warming.
President Obama directed the EPA to review the Bush administration's denial of a waiver request by California to cut global warming pollution from automobiles. The president also ordered the Transportation Department to enact short-term rules on how automakers can improve the fuel efficiency of their new models.
Politically, what President Obama said was at least as important as what he signed.
The President's powerful statement affirming his commitment to moving aggressively to cut global warming emissions and unleash America's clean energy future laid out clear goals for action in the coming weeks and months.
The President's plan—including the next step of a cap on carbon pollution—means more new jobs, a rebirth for the American auto industry, and less global warming pollution.
[from David Yarnold Director of the Environmental Defense Fund]
A study of two Rocky Mountain ski resorts says climate change will mean shorter seasons and less snow on lower slopes.
The study by two Colorado researchers says Aspen Mountain in Colorado and Park City in Utah will see dramatic changes even with a reduction in carbon emissions, which fuel climate change.
University of Colorado-Boulder geography professor Mark Williams said Monday that the resorts should be in fairly good shape the next 25 years, but after that there will be less snowpack - or no snow at all - at the base areas, and the season will be shorter because snow will accumulate later and melt earlier.
Reducing the rate at which carbon emissions increase - the best-case or "green" scenario - likely will still mean less snow accumulation and shorter seasons, but the results won't be as dramatic, the researchers said. The Rockies' high elevations and cold weather will enable the resorts to make up for snow shortages through stepped-up snowmaking.
More snowmaking, though, will require more water, a challenge in an area where most of the water rights are already allocated, the researchers said.
"A chunk of ice spreading across seven square miles has broken off a Canadian ice shelf in the Arctic, scientists said Tuesday.
Derek Mueller, a research at Trent University, was careful not to blame global warming, but said it the event was consistent with the theory that the current Arctic climate isn't rebuilding ice sheets."
"We're in a different climate now," he said. "It's not conducive to regrowing them. It's a one-way process."
While no blame is directly placed on global warming it is very clear the accusations are floating just below the melting ice surface. It wasn't until reading this AP article that I was able to visualize and more firmly understand the glacier dilemma. It is true glaciers have been under going changes over the last century. Pointing a finger at global warming could easily be refuted, but time line aside it is obvious. If massive pieces of ice are melting and breaking off mile wide glaciers one could assume the temperature is a factor. Then to further conclude ice is not reforming elsewhere...well I'll leave you to your own thoughts on that one.
The Canadian Press/AP took and captioned the included photograph.
"Ice drifts off Canada's Ellesmere Island on Sunday after separating from the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf. The shelf lost a sheet of ice that covers seven square miles. A scientist said the cause was a "different climate" that isn't rebuilding Arctic ice, though he stopped short of directly blaming global warming."
Whether or not this EnergyGlobe can actually do anything didn't matter to me when I first saw it because it's just so cool to look at, but it does have a purpose.
Teaming up with Intuity Media Lab GmbH, MESO Digital Interiors came up with this innovative yet informative projected dome with surrounding information terminals about climate change for EnBW.
The interactive project can show various scenarios concerning earth warming and CO2 emissions. This visualization is meant to enlighten people regarding the severity of our planet's environmental challenges.
Visitors are able to select different scenarios with four touch screens which are mounted on the surrounding panel.
Mmmm, so my brother is having friends over for the game so he won't be participating, but I'd like for us to at least a little bit. Maybe just turn off lights and do as much as we can with a four-year-old.
Earth Hour is sweeping the globe. Companies and individuals are joining together to switch off their lights at 8 p.m. local time on March 29 for one hour - making a bold statement against climate change
I think it is a fantastic initiative and I do hope the world take it seriously. Anyone and everyone who can participate should do it.
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I am updating this post a bit this morning because I saw Treehugger posted an image of Google participating in Earth Hour. Google updates their main page for a myriad of events and I am happy to see they joined in for this one as well.
Gotta love Treehugger for being fantastic wordsmiths with up-to-date, interesting, environmental news.
At the end of April, a book contending for the longest book title ever will be released, "Seven Wonders for a Cool Planet: Everyday Things to Help Solve Global Warming." Treehugger gives us an idea on what the key issues of the book will be: transportation (the bicycle), population (the condom), fossil fuel efficiency (the ceiling fan), renewable energy (the clothesline), food production and distribution (the real tomato), resource conservation and reuse (the library book), and the information economy (the microchip).
Pardon me for being a bit immature, but I find it amusing that one of the seven wonders is the condom. In this one book you'll be reading about how both a library book and a condom are saving the planet from global warming. =o)
There you have it friends; protected sex and borrowed reading will help save the planet...hypothetically speaking.
You should definitely check out the preview trailer of the show because even though we are constantly hearing the same thing about our environment this report is still extremely profound.
Hosted by Anderson Cooper, Jeff Corwin, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, it is a two-part, four-hour special with breathtaking images and some startling numbers – along the lines of "We lose 7,000 square miles of rainforest each year…roughly the size of the state of New Jersey".
"Every day, more than 70 species vanish from the planet, and the number of endangered animals and organisms grows each year." I don't know about you but that is alarming and shocking to me. I know the rules of survival of the fittest and evolution but still...70 species a day!?
In discussing the earth's population..."The earth's population has risen from 2.9 billion people to more than 6.6 billion over the past 50 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau." With more people there is even more of a need for more efficiency. This means we need to research other means of resources for energy. It also means we should stop developing ginormous mansion size single family homes they are just not necessary. People have lived in more economical spaces before and they can do it again.
The show will air tonight and tomorrow night at 9 p.m. on CNN.
The site is dedicated and about "cool cities" that have made a commitment to stopping global warming by signing the U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement. Begun in 2005, the Cool Cities campaign empowers city residents and local leaders to join and encourage their cities to implement smart energy solutions to save money and build a cleaner, safer future.
Currently, there are 681 "cool cities" across the United States and each city has a profile describing the steps they have been taking to improve their local environment. In Delaware the only cool city is Wilmington and it has one milestone because the City Signed the US Mayors' Agreement. Tennessee has four "cool cities" Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville. Nashville has four logged milestones: Establish Campaign, Engage The Community, City Signs the US Mayors' Agreement and Advanced Smart Energy Solutions.
It's really interesting to look through and see what different places are doing to help with the issues at hand in our environment.
Increased water temperatures sometimes contributed to by global warming can do something known as "coral bleaching." The corals in the ocean get stressed and when this happens they lose their color. That is unless they are soft corals. Soft corals won't just lose their color...they will melt away completely.
The National Geographic website recently discussed soft coral "melting." Here is a small excerpt from the article written by Mati Milstein for National Geographic News.
"I have observed sites before and after bleaching in Okinawa, Japan, and it was remarkable to see a massive disappearance of soft corals," said marine biologist Hudi Benayahu, head of the Porter School of Environmental Studies at Tel Aviv University.
"You can't imagine this was the same site. Just two years passed and the entire area was deserted, lifeless."
I don't know about you, but to me this is a bit alarming. It's not that I have a deep love for soft corals, but it makes me wonder just what other damages are happening to unknown ocean elements.
So, apparently global warming is allowing the development of new ecosystems. It makes you wonder if we really know what is meant to be in this vast universe...or not.
Thanks to rising temperatures there are now new ecosystems of plankton, seabirds and krill. These new ecosystems could be directly involved in the absorbing the excess carbon dioxide emissions. Funny how things work out isn't it?
To each there is always an opposite and equal reaction...
Maybe it is because I've had some wine on this lovely Saturday night, but it kind of makes you question why people keep fighting what is happening in this world when we can't even 100% explain how this world even came into being.
How can we really make negative accusations in regards to global warming when there may be positive things at work here that we know nothing about because we didn't want to delve into those possibilities? I'm not in anyway trying to say I want global warming to happen. I'm not a scientist and I don't understand all of the scientifics involved.
There are selected groups of people who will be researching these new developments. I trust they have been placed in these fields for a reason and they will fulfil their purposes.
And so the debate on global warming will continue.
Big coal is asking for massive subsidies to start a liquid coal industry in the U.S., which would not only greatly increase global warming pollution, but would also waste federal funds that could be used to invest in renewable energy and clean alternative fuels.
Liquid coal is a global warming nightmare: it produces double the carbon dioxide emissions of conventional gasoline and would be a huge step backward for efforts to combat global warming.
You'll hear the other arguments siding with this process. People for liquid coal will tell you it is highly efficient and cheap. But let no one full you; other technologies such as coal gasification and gas-to-liquids (GTL) are currently cheaper than coal liquefaction.
One other fact about liquid coal; it liberates radioactive elements higher than properly operated nuclear power plants.
The New York Times article states that the Doris Duke foundation will donate $100 million to fund research on global warming. More specifically, the money is intended to further progress towards energy policies in the US. The idea is that there will be mandatory restrictions on the amount of pollutants (most importantly carbon dioxide) that can be emitted. Their ultimate goal of changing policy is an on-going effort to support renewable and efficient energy sources.
The matter is complicated, however, by the fact that they hope to set up a "cap-and-trade scheme." This means that there will be an upper limit on the amount of carbon dioxide emissions in an attempt to get companies to "budget" their pollutants.
"Cap-and-trade is the approach embodied in the current legislative proposals, and it would involve setting an economywide cap on total carbon dioxide emissions, allocate or auction emissions allowances to utilities and other companies, and create a trading market in these 'permissions to pollute.'"
"Mr. Bowman of the Duke foundation said that putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions was crucial to provide the economic incentive for needed investments in industrial cleanup, innovative low-carbon technologies and renewable sources of energy like solar and wind power."
The question is: can we really put a price on CO2 emissions and will that price be high enough to provoke action in the large corporations that rely on fossil fuels to stay in business?
Mr. Bowman goes on to say that he hopes this policy will be complimented by an increase in energy efficient technologies and utilities.
The root causes of the deaths of many arctic based animals is due to global warming. The effects are growing more rapidly over the years and measures need to be taken now to assure the rates slow down now.
I am part of a group called Defenders of Wildlife. 85,828 people have joined in supporting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's proposal for increased polar bear protections. While I don't agree we should focus on just one animal, I do agree it will inevitably help all animals in arctic locations.
So, I ask readers to go to the Defenders of Wildlife website and submit your support as well, because we need is 100,000 people and we are so close. Every person matters, every submission counts.
The Supreme Court has really been taking things over this week. It looks like in many small ways, the government is really trying to make an effort in helping to save the environment.
Basically what has happened is states wanting automobile emission standards to be more strict than those set by the federal government are allowed to pursue them. So it removes an obstacle.
"I am very encouraged by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision today that greenhouse gases are pollutants and should be regulated by the federal government," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, a Republican. "We expect the U.S. E.P.A. to move quickly now in granting our request for a waiver."
How awesome is that!? Perhaps more action stars need to take on political offices. And yes, California is one of the states who is already taking steps to raise auto-emission standards. Excellent!
The Supreme Court "overturned a lower court ruling and declared that Duke Energy did indeed violate the Clean Air Act when it modernized coal plants without paying for pollution-reduction equipment."
*high fives all around*
The emissions from Duke Energy are linked to health problems in the area such as heart disease and respiratory ailments.
So, I am part of the campaign to fight Global Warming and clean America's air pollution. Yes, and it has consisted of writing letters and sending e-mails to friends to try and get them to participate.
Well, it is paying off for everyone involved and there are a lot of people involved.
Because today the Supreme Court ruled today that the federal government has the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate America's global warming pollution. Unfortunately, it does not require the EPA to take action.
So there are still steps and leaps to be taken to continue moving forward with this campaign. You can read more about at the Environmental Defense website.
." Treehugger gives us an idea on what the key issues of the book will be: transportation (the bicycle), population (the condom), fossil fuel efficiency (the ceiling fan), renewable energy (the clothesline), food production and distribution (the real tomato), resource conservation and reuse (the library book), and the information economy (the microchip). 
