The Last Frost

Paul Crutzen a Nobel laureate, has suggested a potential "fix" for global warming. By injecting sulfur into the stratosphere, he says we can simulate a volcanic eruption's effect on the upper atmosphere, thereby reflecting more solar radiation into space. The end result would be a slight decrease in global temperatures for up to a couple years. 

The problem is that once we get into the business of 'deliberately' altering our climate, suddenly people can be blamed for bad weather. It's great that we have some tricks up our sleeve, but this should really only be done as a last resort in my opinion. It's better to get out of the climate change business all together than start down the road of manipulating as global system nobody fully understands. 

Man-Made Volcanic Effect? » [TCSDaily]

Here's an excellent rant on climate change and the ridiculous lack of attention given to it by people in power. 

"This is not a save the Earth issue, it's a save the humans from suffering issue." [Chanton, Oct. 2006, Tallahassee Democrat]

Know the gravity of coal decision » [Tallahassee Democrat]

Perhaps you don't have the money, space, or time to install solar panels on your roof. Perhaps you live in an apartment complex and don't know what else you can do. Even if this is the case, you can still power your entire home with Wind, Solar or other renewable energies. The E.P.A, even though they haven't been doing much E.P lately, has a page on their site that lets users find sellers of green energy in their location. 

I live in Manhattan, NY and still have access to my choice of green energy sources through Con Edison our local utility company. If you don't know how this works, it's really quite simple, you sign up to receive green power through your utility. You'll probably be given a choice of different options, such as partial wind split with solar, 100% wind, etc. The program usually results in a small increase per kilowatt/hour, 2 cents for me, sometimes as low as .5 cents. The good news is you can use the power in your house proudly knowing that it's not pumping harmful greenhouse gases into our atmosphere, as well as other contaminants. It's good for the environment, it's good for public health, and it's good for political stability in the world. 

Head on over to the Green Power Partnership on the EPA website, or just call your utility company and tell them you would like to run your home on green energy, if they say they don't offer it, complain.  

Green Power Partnership » [EPA.gov]

The statue of liberty as well as Ellis Island is now run off of wind power. The windmills are not on-site though, the wind power is purchased from a generation facility in Pennsylvania. 

Wind Power Lights Up Statue Of Liberty, Ellis Island » [WNBC.com]

Hilarious imitation of George W. Bush on the issue of global warmings. Probably not too far from the truth.

November 4th and November 11th, both Saturday's are global climate campaign days. If you're up for some climate change activism head on over to GlobalClimateCampaign.org to check out what's happening near you. Check out their flyer after the jump.

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An interesting report commissioned by London Mayor Ken Livingstone shows that new waste treatment technologies could be utilized to produce enough hydrogen gas to power London's entire bus fleet. Household trash would be heated and through processes of gasification and anaerobic digestion could create gases suitable for conversion to hydrogen.

The report estimates that the technology could produce up to 141 tons of hydrogen gas every day by the year 2020. It will also reduce waste buildup in landfills, and prevent the release of methane into the atmosphere from typical waste decomposition. 

Houshold waste "could power London buses" » [LetsRecycle.com]

Due to the accelerated rate at which Greenland's glaciers are slipping towards the sea, scientists have been able to detect changes in the Earth's gravity above Greenland. Sounds ridiculous but it's true.

Two scientists have analysed data from a pair of satellites in polar orbit around the earth. The two satellites follow the same orbital path, but one is about 200 yards ahead of the other. By monitoring minute changes in the distance between these two satellites, scientists can map gravitational changes on the Earth. You can read about the GRACE satellites here.

What they've found is that Greenland is losing it's ice very rapidly. The scientists estimate that Greenland is losing about 20 percent more ice annually than is replenished with snowfall. Also, glaciologist Eric Rignot points out, "None of this has been predicted by numerical models, and therefore all projections of the contribution of Greenland to sea level [rise] are way below reality." [Scientific American]

Gravity Measurements Confirm Greenland's Glaciers Precipitous Meltdown » [Scientific American]

Google is hoping to set an example for the rest of corporate America by installing 9,200 solar panels throughout their campus in Silicon Valley CA. They hope to generate 30% of their power from the sun. 

Google to convert its headquarters to solar power » [Post Gazette]

In 2002 the Larsen Ice Shelf, which covered an area as large as Rhode Island, broke away from the Antarctic continent presumably due to global warming.

On Monday, Oslo scientists announced that they have found the first direct evidence linking global warming with the ice shelf dissintegration.

Human caused global warming apparently caused the winds in the region to shift which exposed the shelf to warmer temperatures. 

Antarctic ice collapse linked to greenhouse gases » [Reuters.com]