In the last 27 years the tropics have expanded towards the Earth's polar regions by an average of 140 miles. It actually sounds pleasant. Afterall why vacation in the tropics when you can simply wait for them to come to you? I think this is why global warming as an issue triggers such apathy among most people.
Read More » [Christian Science Monitor]
USA Today has a great article on how global warming is affecting Alaska. Since the effects of global warming are felt at the poles first, Alaska may be an indicator to the lower 49 states of what's to come. The article says that one day the forests of Alaska may dissapear to be replaced by grasslands.
At the top of the page, they have a wonderful graph of global average temperatures for the last 1900 years. It helps put our current predicament into perspective.
Read More » [USA Today]
A study released by Purdue University has shown that over the last 40 years there has been an increase in sea surface temperatures of about a quarter degree. This has resulted in a doubling of overall cyclone activity. The article mentions that those sea surfaces are projected to increase by about 2 additional degrees within the next century.
This study differed from other studies because it covered the entire globe rather than just a particular region. Although they came to the same conclusions.
Read More » [Physorg.com]
Guess who? Yup, it's Fox news again. Their latest expert analyst Jonathan Hoenig states that global warming is a bunch of huey. That it was dreamed up by a bunch of hippies who hate technology and economic advancement.
This guy might be onto something. I know there are a bunch of hippies that would love to do away with technology so they can sit in a field and smoke weed all day. Hell, I would like to sit in a field and smoke weed all day with them. Actually no, I take that back, I'd rather sit at home on my shiny MacBook Pro blogging about them. Unfortunately for all of us, the existence of a few hippie socialists does not mean global warming is just an acid induced hallucination, that's just silly.
Read More » [Think Progress]
Anyone who has ever experienced a poison ivy rash knows how much this is sucks. Researchers at Duke University have released a report today on the effect of increased CO2 on poison ivy growth. In some of their tests the nasty plant grew three times it's usual size. The growth shouldn't really come as a surprise since plants thrive on CO2. The really nasty news is that the larger plants produce more noxious urushiol as well. That's the stuff that gives people those telltale blistering rashes.
We can now safely add this to the list of unpleasant side effects of global warming.
Read More » [Newsday.com]
While browsing this page on the EPA's website today, I noticed two maps that I found very interesting. In map #1 you see the average global warming trend, red being warming, blue meaning cooling. In map #2 you see a map of what is effectively global dimming due to atmospheric sulfates. Blue and white being a reduction in solar radiation reaching the surface.
If you look at the two together something starts to pop out… check out Map #3. The warming trend seems to be reduced by the increased atmospheric sulfate concentrations. The interesting thing is that according to the EPA, sulfates clear out of the atmosphere within just a few weeks. It seems like there's some truth to the theories that global dimming is hiding the true effects of global warming. If and when we stop producing atmospheric sulfates things may change very rapidly.
See the maps after the jump.
Honda is quickly becoming the most environmentally friendly car company of them all. Next month, all new Hondas will effectively generate zero CO2 emissions through the use of CarbonNeutral certificates. Every new car will come with a certificate free of charge for the month of June. The program is in support of World Environment Day which falls on June 5th.
Read More » [Easier]
Honda has also recently announced that they will be using a new all natural fiber in the seat upholstry for their upcoming fuel cell vehicle. Not only are they planning on releasing a fuel cell vehicle in three years, but the upholstery will generate much less pollution in the form of CO2 emissions during it's manufacturing process than traditional petroleum based synthetic fabrics.
Read More » [Reuters UK]
David Roberts a writer for Grist Magazine, has written a wonderful article about the politics that are gumming up America's much needed transition to alternative fuels. He wonders what a Martian would do to solve the problem. Since everyone knows Martians are completely impartial and immune to corporate bribes. The main points he makes seem to be right on target.
Read More » [TomPaine.com]
Yesterday an ethanol plant in Iowa was the 100th ethanol plant to open in the United States. A meaningless benchmark but a benchmark none the less.
Read More » [BrownFieldNetwork.com]
In other news, the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) will begin trading ethanol futures electronically which also means pretty much nothing to us.
Read More » [EthanolProducer.com]
The reality of feedback loops may well be the biggest problem facing climatologists when it comes to predicting the effects of climate change. The Earth is a hugely complex system of intertwined systems, which we as a species are just barely beginning to understand. Nobody is capable of modeling all the Earth's processes with any sort of concrete reliability. There are just too many unknown variables in the equation.
The biggest danger, at least in my opinion, are the processes that result in a feedback loop. Feedbacks loops can either be positive, which means they accelerate the rate of change, or they can be negative meaning they counter the effects of change. These are the sort of processes that could result in global warming triggering an ice age for example. This was the premise of the movie The Day After Tomorrow, although the movie was a little dramatic.
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