GreenhouseTruth Blog
|
|
|
|
Wildfires, Climate, and the Conundrum
Statistics on U.S. wildfires raise questions to climate change causality
Posted January 4, 2008 by Nathan Cool
This past year was one of the worst for wildfires in California when in October, a conflagration consumed at least 1,500 homes and over 500,000 acres of land. Al Gore drew upon this catastrophe during this Nobel Prize acceptance speech, and similarly, Senator Barbara Boxer touted the tragedy, asserting before Congress that the fires were "a consequence of climate change," with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reaffirming the correlation to climate and California's fire misfortune. There is no doubt that last year's devastating fires will go down in the record books, and that climate change forecasts predict increased drought and wildfires. Over the past couple years though nearly every anomalous event has gotten its finger of blame pointed toward climate change as awareness of global warming reached an all-time high. So in this time of hyper climate consciousness, can we definitively and dispassionately link recent wildfires such as those in California 2007 to our changing climate? When looking over the statistics and the science, it certainly raises some questions.
[click here to read this article]
Antarctic Ice Thickening?
Reports on ice extent raise questions on climate change forecasts
Posted November 6, 2007 by Nathan Cool
Greenland ice is thawing and Arctic ice is becoming meltwater at breakneck speed. The media has done a good job at reporting these insidious harbingers of global warming, bringing attention to a serious problem across our planet. This information on the exodus of ice from the North Pole though has been inaccurately used by many outside the scientific community as a signpost to foretell worst-case scenarios of sea level rise, positing that if Arctic and Greenland ice is melting, surely Antarctica is soon to follow. Since Antarctica holds 90% of the entire world's ice, a melting of this frozen subcontinent would spell disaster. But as images of emaciated polar bears and glacier calving have taken center stage on the sky-is-falling soapbox, the truth about the condition (or actual thickening) of Antarctica's ice has been left in virtual obscurity with very few headlines telling the whole story.
[click here to read this article]
An Inconvenient Oversight
NASA admits to mistakes in global temperature readings
Posted September 12, 2007 by Nathan Cool
At the beginning of August, some intriguing news concerning global warming fell silent throughout the realm of mainstream media. The news was controversial to say the least, and by publishing such a story, one might be chastised for hopping off the sky-is-falling bandwagon and going against the grain of Gore et al. The news was an admission by NASA that their temperature recording methods, used to gauge the warming of our planet, were a bit overdone in recent times, and that temperatures have in fact been cooler than they originally thought. As a result, NASA conceded, among other things, that 1998 was not the hottest year on record; 1934 was. NASA asserts that the error was effectively insignificant. But was it?
[click here to read this article]
Unforeseen End to Global Warming?
A paradoxical case involving fossil fuel consumption and climate change predictions
Posted August 14, 2007 by Nathan Cool
Scientists know of two core causes to climate change: a natural element (which I recently touched on
here
and
here, as well as in chapter 4 of
Is it Hot in Here),
and the well-known human-induced greenhouse predicament often referred to as anthropogenic warming. No single issue can take the brunt of the blame for climate change, and there's little we can do about the former of the two. The latter though, being something we can take action on, has been heavily promoted as the devil within the details to dubiously take center stage as the poster-child for contemporary environmentalism. But a paradox exists within the view of human-induced global warming, punctuated by recent reports in the journal Science and from the federally charted National Petroleum Council this past month...
[click here to read this article]
Another Natural Climate Cause Revealed
Recent reductions in haze may explain expedited global warming
Posted May 10, 2007 by Nathan Cool
Amidst the flurry of media bombardments regarding the dire state of our planet, an important footnote has been omitted all too frequently: no one
can explain why Arctic ice is melting at breakneck speed, and no climate models seem to know why climate change has zoomed along faster
than expected, especially over the past two decades. If you lean your ear toward the "sky is falling" camp (Ex VP's included) for answers, you'll inevitably get a finger of blame pointed at you and your SUV. Even Reuters recently published an article,
"Arctic Ice Cap Melting 30 Years Ahead of Forecast", warning that the infamous home of Santa Claus could be a northern kind of
Waterworld (minus of course Costner and other actors from the 1995 sci-fi futuristic Hollywood phantasm) by the year 2020 -- three decades ahead of schedule from IPCC predictions. Although the media may lack desire to cover uncertainties surrounding climate change, science remains on a never-ending quest for answers (after all, that is what "science" is all about). And, something recently published in the prestigious journal Science may take us one step closer to understanding why global warming is taking the heavy hand that it has as of late. Interestingly enough, it has little to do with you or me; instead, Mother Nature once again takes center stage...
[click here to read this article]
UN Climate Report Rings Media Alarm
Is the IPCC AR4 report a doomsday prophecy?
Posted February 3, 2007 by Nathan Cool
On February 2, 2007, the world's leading authority on global warming, the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), funded in part by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization, released its latest report on our changing climate. The news wasn't exactly rosy, as credible evidence pointed out the impacts of climate change in the past century with dismal forecasts for the future. Right on cue, the media scooped up this story with slants and bias proliferating throughout the headlines. There's no doubt that the latest IPCC report is serious and shines with credibility. But before running for the hills in panic, assuredly convinced that the sky is falling--as most of the media would have you believe--it would behoove anyone concerned to step back and take a look at the whole story, and not the recent media bombardment of headline hyperbole...
[click here to read this article]
Natural Climate Cause Discovered
New report points to natural element in global warming
Posted January 21, 2007 by Nathan Cool
As Greenland melts, polar bear populations decline, and glaciers thaw, indications of a warming world become evident. We've all seen fingerprints of the portentous perpetrator called global warming, and humankind has taken the heat--so to speak--for its recent ravages around the planet. We know the theory of greenhouse warming is sound, and that CO2 and methane--elements amplified by humankind in recent times--are involved in the process. What's been argued though is that Earth, a planet known to have been much colder and warmer in the past, goes through temperamental, climatic mood swings from time to time without any human intervention. Thus, the controversy over climate change tends to be two sided, that global warming is either human-induced or just purely natural. This complex subject though doesn't lend itself well to clear-cut polarization, with a combination of human and natural components believed to be the cause. The human part of this two-pronged equation is elementary to quantify, since we can measure our influence rather easily. The natural element though has been quite elusive and difficult to pin down. Recently though, a new study by NOAA reveals how Mother Nature could be playing a major role in the modern-day warming of our world, showing that humankind is not the only factor in the global warming formula.
[click here to read this article]
The Crude Conspiracy
Accusations against Big Oil sway toward media bias
Posted January 12, 2007 by Nathan Cool
In the blame game played on the political playing field over our world's changing climate, it's become commonplace to sling a hefty dose of dirt at executives holding the petroleum purse strings. Seen as an easy target by naturalists, environmentalists, and eco-extremists, Big Oil, one of the richest industries in the world, has gotten used to being the proverbial whipping boy and fall-guy for global warming finger pointing. This of course being similar in many respects to the tobacco industry where, for oodles of profit, falsehoods are purportedly fabricated in secret camps of ill-willed scientific research, providing malevolence to continue a cash-flow via vices craved by the innocent. Recently, one well-known eco-activist group known as the
Union of Concerned Scientists attacked ExxonMobil with an all-out, frontal war-of-words assault,
stating that the oil giant has led a campaign of misinformation to thwart the truth about global warming. It may seem like a believable
accusation, given the images of smoke stacks and greed that so often come to mind when envisioning a corporate leviathan like
ExxonMobil, but there's more than meets the eye here, as the truth--as so often purveyed by the media--is hidden
deep within the sensationalistic hoopla of half-truths...
[click here to read this article]
Climate Roundup 2006
A look at this year's global climate
Posted December 31, 2006 by Nathan Cool
In 2005--a year when Tookie Williams was executed, Pope John Paul II passed away, London felt the deadly wrath of four
Islamic militants, and cable news disgraced itself by airing nonstop footage of a comatose, brain-dead Terry Schiavo
under the dubious guise of "analysis"--Katrina became a household word and the tune of
global warming began to ring rather audibly in the ears of many as experts labeled 2005
the warmest year on record. But 2006 will likely be remembered as "the year of the climate" as a firestorm of
"breaking news" occupied front-page headlines, talk shows recruited eco-pundits,
and "the full story at 11:00" TV teasers became evermore annoying--a trend that was seemingly sparked by...
[click here to read this article]
El Niño--Here we go again?
A look at this year's ENSO cycle, weather and climate
Posted November 3, 2006 by Nathan Cool
Back in the summer of 1997, the meteorological phenomenon known as El Niño was slowly becoming a household phrase.
With eastern equatorial waters showing a whopper of an impending, ominous winter season, meteorologists forewarned residents
along the West Coast of the U.S. that it would behoove them to batten down their hatches. While basking amidst sunny
days in a region not exactly known for its rainfall, many Southern Californians felt the warm water episode taking place near
Peru should be called El Hypo, since the news crews broadcasting late night teasers and apocalyptic headlines
about a treacherous winter ahead have been known to cry wolf from time to time. But when December and January
finally came, and with it 50-foot surf in Hawaii, massive waves along the Northern Coast of California,
and relentless, pounding, farm flooding rains on the West Coast, doubt turned to anxious certitude,
leaving a long and lasting impression that has not yet been forgotten. It's no wonder then why ears perked up recently when
experts at NOAA uttered those menacing words: El Niño. And in a time when all eyes are focused on the climate,
the mere mention of the "N" word can cause alarm. But is this something to truly be concerned about this year...
[click here to read this article]
Hurricane 2006, Fade to Black
Pondering this year's quiet tropical storm season
Posted October 22, 2006 by Nathan Cool
With understandable anxiety left over from 2005 while eyeing signs of another potentially strong hurricane season, forecasters compiled reports in the spring of 2006 warning residents along the fringes of hurricane alley to hunker down for another doosey of a year. Having expectations of Katrina-like storms, households stockpiled ready-to-eat meals, canned goods, bottled water and gas-powered generators. Fear ran rampant through the stock market sparking an unease that drove oil prices to all-time highs. While NOAA advocated the presence of a naturally occurring decadal oscillation conducive for powerful storms, alarmists were quick to link global warming to hurricane ferocity--a feeling shared by many after enduring the devastating seasons of 2004 and 2005. But then something unexpected happened: nothing--all went quiet as though someone flicked a switch and the room went quietly dim. Philip Klotzbach, author of well-known hurricane season predictions from Colorado State University, provided an apologetic avowal by quoting the 19th-century mathematician Francois Arago: "Never, no matter what may be the progress of science, will honest scientific men who have regard for their reputations venture to predict the weather." But the ho-hum hurricane season of 2006 wasn't isolated to a single storm or weather event--we're talking about a year's worth of storms. We're talking about climate...
[click here to read this article]
Cooked-Up Climate Cost Discredited
Headlines snag story with little merit, again
Posted October 17, 2006 by Nathan Cool
Once again the media has eagerly jumped on the story du jour bandwagon, showing their willingness to broadcast anything related to global warming shock-and-awe'ism, no matter how unsubstantial the story may be. This week's scoop in question stems from an
article published by Reuters that raced onto headlines around the world, threatening that global warming will cost us $74 trillion dollars if we don't act now to turn the proverbial tide. ABC News followed the sky-is-falling suit stating,
Climate change inaction will cost trillions, and even Earth Times declared
Efforts to fight global warming will cost trillions by end of century. Aimed to scare skeptics into submission, the "new study" that these hyped-up headline stories refer to is questionable on two fronts: the implausibility of the source, and the dubious data used to conclude the trillions-of-dollar impacts on our economies. It seems though that the media didn't bother to look into the specifics of this scoop, and as a result, the news spinners once again went overboard with embellishment. Here though are the facts that were left out:
[click here to read this article]
Krill, Currents Changing Climate?
Butterfly-effect on climate found from marine life
Posted October 14, 2006 by Nathan Cool
According to the rationale of chaos theory, the facile flapping of a butterfly's wings in Tokyo could (hypothetically) create tornadoes in California some days later. While this butterfly effect was used obscurely in a movie by the same name starring Ashton Kutcher a few years back, this snowballing sort of notion in physics--also known as sensitive dependence on initial conditions--is certainly real and seems to be taking place across Earth's oceans right now. A
new study published in the journal Science recently shows how some of the smallest and largest of our world's water-subsisting creatures may be having an effect on ocean currents, and subsequently our climate. By performing the simple action of swimming, everything from wee-sized krill to the leviathans of the deep blue seas may be imposing their influence on ocean circulations that work in synch with our weather, and quite possibly our changing climate...
[click here to read this article]
The Hush-Hush on Hurricanes
Headlines hint at government cover-up
Posted October 1, 2006 by Nathan Cool
Melting glaciers, rising sea levels, and the northward migration of species can all be linked to climate change. Whether you believe it's
human-induced, natural or a combination of the two, these bellwethers signal that, as Bob Dylan once wrote, "times, they are a changin'."
As scientists scramble to sort out the uncertainties and nail-down global warming as a tried and true, well-tested science,
there's one harbinger of heat that's become a sticky issue to discuss, recently turning a serious topic into political pabulum
to feed the conspiracy machine. This matter of contention is the alleged link between hurricane ferocity and global warming--an issue
that received a fair amount of airtime last week as the story spinners whipped up shocking headlines, insinuating that the
United States government is hiding facts from "we the people" about this stormy subject. Sadly, the media slanted these stories, and the truth of the matter lies buried between the lines of sensationalistic rhetoric...
[click here to read this article]
Did Heat Hit the Fan?
This week's apocalyptic headlines
Posted September 28, 2006 by Nathan Cool
Sometimes the media just can't make up their minds--or so it seems. After last week's news of
cooling oceans,
which
experts say was merely a "speed bump" on the highway to heat, the media this week has latched onto a recently published paper calling for ill-boding dire: temperatures that could reach heights never before seen within the last million years (with could being the operative, and carefully targeted word). While
the scientific paper
that spawned this discussion is more or less a rehash of previous papers and studies published back in 1988, some news organizations couldn't resist razzmatazz'ing this story to the fullest height of hyperbole with Voice of America headlining,
"Earth's Temperatures Near Million-Year High." Other news organizations though swayed a bit more toward reality, such as ABC, which touted,
"Global Temperature Highest in Millennia", which is of course much less severe than the million-year fear blazoned by Voice of America. All in all, a
Google search revealed over 250 stories covering this bit of news, most of which--not surprisingly--opted for the end-of-the-world angle on this scientific scoop. In so doing, a few things got distorted, and the truth was buried deep between the proverbial lines...
[click here to read this article]
Ocean Waters Cooler than Expected
Did you hear that NOAA found surprising drops in temperature?
Posted September 22, 2006 by Nathan Cool
Global warming, as its name implies, is a continued heating of our world. But on September 21, 2006, NOAA issued
a report that was conveniently overlooked by many in the mainstream media. This new report--a seemingly diametric view on our recently warming world--revealed that the water held within our planet's vast oceans has "cooled significantly" since 2003. This seems counterintuitive to the apocalyptic gloom and doom sermonized by those in the sky-is-falling camp, which at the same time formulated fantastic fodder for the skeptics in the crowd, especially since NOAA hasn't figured out why our world's oceans are chilling off, and not heating up. There could though be more at play here than meets the eye...
[click here to read this article]
Sun's Sizzle on Global Warming
Conflicting views on Sun's part in climate change
Posted September 15, 2006 by Nathan Cool
We do indeed live in a world where human nature tends to point a solitary finger at crisis causality. We find "a" criminal guilty of murder, or "a" regime to be an axis of evil. But when it comes to global warming, there are indeed many factors to consider. While greenhouse gases have--understandably--taken stage front and center, our world and the elements in the universe responsible for life on it, are dynamic and constantly changing. One of those components, our Sun, is the single most important aspect of warmth on our world--the second most crucial being the greenhouse gases that trap in its heat. Yet as attention has been so graciously given to the second ingredient in the global warming recipe (greenhouse gases), the most salient piece of the puzzle is often overlooked: our Sun, which could be sending us more heat than we'd prefer. We know that the Sun has been responsible for ice ages and warm spells in the past, and global warming skeptics have fervently used the fire in the sky as fodder to bolster their disbelief. A recent study published just days ago though seems to refute this, but once again, we are left with not only answer A or B, but instead C: there's truth coming in from both sides of the climate change battlefield...
[click here to read this article]
The Methane Menace
New findings show methane feedback loops may be well underway
Posted September 9, 2006 by Nathan Cool
Carbon dioxide gets all the attention these days as the iniquitous bearer of worldly warmth. Although widely abundant, CO2 is not necessarily the most menacing of heat-trapping gases posing threats of torridity to our planet. Methane, a gas released from various natural and human sources, is second in the lineup of greenhouse gas troublemakers, being 20 times more capable of holding in heat than carbon dioxide. While methane deserves attention, it recently--and rightfully--stole the spotlight as new studies discuss how nature, being influenced by a cyclic effect of climate change, may be releasing copious quantities of methane into the atmosphere--possibly far more than was anticipated by earlier studies. What's worse though is that a naturally occurring spiral of intensification known as a "feedback loop" is expected to make this problem even worse...
[click here to read this article]
Global Warming Forecast Downgraded
The IPCC takes edge off climate change apocalypse in upcoming fourth assessment report
Posted September 3, 2006 by Nathan Cool
This year's doom and gloom media frenzied coverage of global warming is about to get a cold shower--or at least a bit of a cool-down. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), recognized as the leading authority on climate change forecasting, has apparently lightened up on its early predictions of a warming world in a draft of its upcoming fourth assessment report known as AR4. According to
an article issued by Reuters, this new, cooler outlook on our warming world
should have a softer landing...
[click here to read this article]
The Mess with Models, Climate's Conundrum
A look at recent events that defy climate model projections of a warming world
Posted August 29, 2006 by Nathan Cool
If I were to ask you to name five things that global warming will do to our planet, I'd be willing to bet that "thickening of glaciers" was
not among your list of projections. But, according to one recent study, that's exactly what's happening in some locations right now.
Although at first glance this may seem counterintuitive--rising temperatures melt things, right?--it actually aligns well
with clues of climate change that models and experts have predicted for quite some time. A well-known fact accepted by skeptics
and believers alike is that as the world warms, more water evaporates from seas, rivers and lakes. This moisture has to eventually
come down somewhere, and somewhere could be any place cold enough to snow; thus, it stands to reason that high
altitude mountain peaks sporting white, frozen, glacial facades could gather some of the flakey white manna from the skies.
In the majority of models, this though is expected to occur over Antarctica, but another recent report shows that the
southernmost continent is not yet reaping these rewards. So, what's really going on here? Models say one thing yet reality seems to...
[click here to read this article]
The Weary Eye of the Tropical Storm Season
Why earlier cries of a severe 2006 Atlantic hurricane season and links to global warming have changed their tunes
Posted August 23, 2006 by Nathan Cool
Right before the summer season got underway this year, nerves around the country-- especially along the fringes of hurricane alley--were still
shaken from memories of Katrina, Rita, Wilma, and the other storms comprising the 28-named cyclones that formed in the Atlantic
in 2005. Numerous reports were issued earlier this year by reliable sources, warning that more cyclonic devastation would
arrive in 2006. Around this same time, a wide range of climate change compendiums comprising books, documentaries,
and special news broadcasts, quickly jumped on the ever-popular global warming gloom-and-doom bandwagon, pointing
the finger of blame at climate change. An uneasy consensus formed in the minds of many, linking
a dismal future of storm-ravaged coastlines to the burning of fossil fuels and smokestack spewing power plants.
Yet here we are, nearing the end of August, and the Atlantic has yet to see an actual hurricane.
Being now bored with the idea of a warming world, the media has turned their attention from melting
glaciers to...
[click here to read this article]
Tuning In What Got Tuned Out
Things that fell through the cracks as controversy over climate change grabbed the spotlight
Posted August 18, 2006 by Nathan Cool
The worst ever oil spill in the Mediterranean occurred just weeks ago during the Israeli-Lebanon conflict with nearly 15,000 tons of
heavy fuel being dumped into the sea. Leaky oil pipelines in Chechnya caused similar problems this past June. More than 2.5
million people died from AIDS in 2005 and the newly notorious bird flu (H5N1) has made inroads across the globe each and every
day this year. A sewage spill In Los Angeles closed beaches, contaminated coastal ecosystems and threatened the health of
many in the City of Angels this past January when over 2 million gallons of raw sewage flooded into the
waters of the Santa Monica Bay. A few months later, over 60,000 kilos of fish were killed in China from a massive sewage
breach that dumped polluted sludge into the Toujiang River. The Amazon rainforest was stripped of about another 10,000
square miles of rich flora this year as well. All the while, the debate on whether global warming is real raged on,
overpopulating the headlines and overshadowing other environmentally critical issues that...
[click here to read this article]
Carbon Dioxide Goes to Court
U.S. Supreme Court to decide on regulating CO2 emissions
Posted August 11, 2006 by Nathan Cool
The Clean Air Act of 1990 was a positive step in the environmentally appropriate direction to clean up smog, repair the ozone layer, reduce acid rain, and other issues aimed at reducing pollution in the air we breathe. While this ecologically sound, government based regulation has served to reduce carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, lead, and particulate matter such as dust, soot and smoke, it didn't address carbon dioxide. Why, you may ask? Well, carbon dioxide is not really a pollutant--an argument used time and again by global warming skeptics touting its benefits as plant food. So while our air has become easier to breathe since 1990 through the implementation of smog control, CFC reduction and other measures, greenhouse gases like CO2 have been left unchecked.
But that may soon change...
[click here to read this article]
Climate Porn
New study on global warming in the media coins term for alarmist views
Posted August 5, 2006 by Nathan Cool
New phrases and words are emerging all the time. Take for instance aireoke (the art of playing the air guitar), freegan
(a vegan who eats only foraged foods), a manny (a male nanny), songlifting (illegally downloading music) or
godcasting (broadcasting religious material), all of which I found whilst Googling the web. Whenever something
grabs our attention, becomes popular or in vogue, we, as sentient beings of a higher intelligence, set out to describe
this new "certain something" with terms best suited to portray its true meaning. In the arena of global warming, one new term
has evolved to describe the alarmist stance so often depicted in media headlines. This new term, coined Climate Porn by the
Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in the U.K., is just one of many revelations described in a new report
that sheds light on how the careful construction of words has warped perceptions...
[click here to read this article]
Brokaw Besieged
Discovery Channel's recent documentary on global warming blamed for lack of science
Posted July 31, 2006 by Nathan Cool
The Discovery Channel, combining its partnership with NBC news, has joined the ranks of those touting the
calamitous effects of climate change in a recently aired special titled "Global Warming: What You Need to Know,"
hosted by Tom Brokaw. This
two-hour documentary--although overly pepper with about 30 minutes of commercials--does contain impressive
footage, reliable sources and a well-written script. But it, like other recent compendiums on climate
change has bent towards bias. While I enjoyed watching Brokaw's special report, something was missing: no one was interviewed
or mentioned during the entire documentary who refuted the human-induced stance or countered
any of the scientists featured on this show. While being correct on most points brought up during this recent documentary, the science
was not...
[click here to read this article]
Peer Pressure and Twisted Truths
An unfortunate blunder by the Wall Street Journal on Climate Change
Posted July 26, 2006 by Nathan Cool
"Beer can help you lose weight, according to a new report," is one headline that would grab my attention. This would
make fantastic news--I could actually do 12 ounce curls and stay trim at the same time! Well, according to that headline,
a "new report" says I could, so they must be right--right? Actually, no. First off, I fabricated that headline
(sorry for getting your hopes up), but it's not that far off base. Anyone could write a "report"--crackpots included.
But the media has no problem cherry-picking stories--credible or not--to grab your attention, pull you in, and subsequently
boost their ratings. Hey, it's their job. I know that, you know that, and the media knows that. The trick though, is to...
[click here to read this article]
The heat is on...or is it?
Is our recent heat wave linked to global warming?
Posted July 21, 2006 by Nathan Cool
As I write these words, I find myself as merely one of several citizens sweating it out in abnormally high temperatures sweeping
across the U.S. like a flood of fire--a bounty of blaze containing copious combustion that's bringing an uncomfortable
wave of warmth across the land. Compared to March, when the normally sunny region of Southern California actually
saw snowfall, a glance at the mercury right now could convince any critic that global warming is a reality
. But is this recent trend in temperatures actual proof of human-induced global warming?
We are in the middle of summer after all, and warm days are known to occur during this season of fun,
sun, surf, sand, ice cream, barbeques, and ice cold drinks. But is this a...
[click here to read this article]
Grapes of Wrath?
Will global warming stymie wine production?
Posted July 14, 2006 by Nathan Cool
Recently, there's been a flood of headlines touting kitschy captions about California's future wine-producing woes.
One such article was written by San Francisco's SFGate
here,
another at National Geographic News
here,
and at CNN
here. It may seem
disturbing to think that research money is being spent on the future of wine
and not how we're going to feed the masses if things really heat up. But this new study means more than just a good or bad year for your favorite vintage...
[click here to read this article]
The latest fiery debate
New study links wildfires to global warming
Posted July 8, 2006 by Nathan Cool
A story hit the news recently concerning a study published in the journal Science
(here)
that makes a direct correlation to increased wildfires and global warming.
This story flooded through the media with a vengeance with global warming proponents cheering
"I told you so" while those in the every-thing-is-dandy camp got their feathers ruffled...
[click here to read this article]
Food for Thought
New study downplays C02 benefits on crop yields, but...
Posted July 6, 2006 by Nathan Cool
A new headline made the news recently: "Climate change could have an adverse effect on crops," published by Earthtimes.org, July 3, 2006,
here. While staying fairly evenhanded on
the subject, the Earthtimes' article does sway to the darker side of this recent study. Is this real? Is this hype?
The answers are "Yes," and "Just a tad," and here's why:
[click here to read this article]
Global warming and a permanent El Niño?
Study suggests today's changing climate could lead to Pliocene-like conditions
Posted June 27, 2006 by Nathan Cool
Earth was not always as it is today, and no matter what, it will be a different world in the future--be it due to human deeds or not. Chapter 4 of
Is it Hot in Here?,
talks about how our planet has gone through radical changes from hot to cold, and even bizarre rises in
greenhouse gases, even long before humans came onto the scene. While today's changing climate
and its surrounding circumstances don't exactly mimic the past, in a way, we may be pushing
ourselves toward conditions similar to those that occurred during an ancient period some 3 to 5 million years
ago known as the early Pliocene. This may, or may not be a welcomed future, depending on how you look at it...
[click here to read this article]
