Clipmarks | aphrael202's climate change collection

the most terrifying video

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 10:16:28 GMT

clipped by: aphrael202

[Video]

Six months ago, Oregon high-school science teacher Greg Craven posted a video on YouTube in which he makes a fairly logical argument for treating climate change like the emergency it is. Voila! Four million views later, he's changed the world.

His first video, "The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See" (the one that's been watched more than 4 million times all together), provides a concise explanation of the precautionary principle:

In later videos Craven fills in the gaps in his argument, very completely in my opinion. Here is an adorable "devil's advocate" version of Craven arguing with himself:

Natural disasters have quadrupled in two decades

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 11:34:17 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.cosmosmagazine.com

LONDON: More than four times the number of natural disasters are occurring now than did two decades ago, according to a study which blames global warming.

"Rising greenhouse gas emissions are the major cause of weather-related disasters and must be tackled," said British charity Oxfam, which released the study on Sunday, adding that the world's poorest people were being hit the hardest.

The world suffered about 120 natural disasters per year in the early 1980s, which compared with the current figure of about 500 per year, according to the report.

Unpredictable and extreme weather

"This year we have seen floods in South Asia, across the breadth of Africa and Mexico that have affected more than 250 million people," noted Oxfam director Barbara Stocking. "This is no freak year. It follows a pattern of more frequent, more erratic, more unpredictable and more extreme weather events that are affecting more people."

Tags: natural disasters, greenhouse, global warming?, weather

Pollution in China

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 05:42:56 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: "It was only when pollution literally started to bloom across the lakes of China earlier this summer that the country's leaders finally sounded full alarm on the environment. Blue-green algae blooms choked Lake Taihu - China's third biggest source of freshwater - in May, forcing 5 million people to use bottled water for drinking and bathing.

"Soon after, local media were reporting outbreaks across the country. Rancid blooms contaminated Dianchi Lake in southwestern China, then Xinlicheng reservoir, the main source of water for Changchun - a northern city of almost 3 million people. In every case, pollution - either from factories, fertilizer or untreated sewage - was to blame.

"Algae blooms are nature's response to discharges of nitrogen and phosphorus. Grown to excess, they choke waterways of oxygen, killing fish and fouling the air with a putrid smell. When prime minister Wen Jiabao visited Lake Taihu, he reportedly described it as an environmental wake-up call to the nation."

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

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Beijing: A worker clears rubbish from canal.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

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Beijing: Taxis queue up outside the city's main railway station

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

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Hohhot: Women wear masks as they cycle through the city

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

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Lanzhou, Gansu province: A resident takes a water sample from the polluted Yellow river

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

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Beijing: Labourers work at a lime factory

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

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Benxi: Pollution from steel mills blows over residential buildings

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

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Wuhan, Hebei province: A man collects dead fish in Donghu lake

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

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Yutian, Hebei province: Cyclists ride through a cloud of pollution produced by a nearby factory

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

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Guangzhou: Illegal motorbikes confiscated by police in an effort to curb air pollution await destruction at a recycling company

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

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Kunming, Yunnan province: Workers try to clear blue-green algae from Dianchi lake

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

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A satellite image showing a haze of pollution over part of China caused by te country's reliance on coal

Pollution in China

Tags: china, environment

Why Autumn Colors Are So Late

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 14:49:57 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

A gray, grim landscape used to greet residents of the Northeastern United States each November, but autumn's riot of red, orange and yellow came late this year. Delayed fall foliage also occurred in Chicago and parts of Europe.

Some say droughts and a warm summer played a role, while others wonder more broadly about global warming. In fact, it's rising levels of carbon dioxide, not the warmer temperatures fueled by the greenhouse gas, that have been delaying the transformation of green leaves, at least in Europe for a few decades, a new study suggests.

In the past 30 years, leaf color change across Europe has gradually occurred later and later, with a delay of about 1.3 to 1.8 days per decade. Like the early onset of spring blooms, this phenomenon has been explained as a result of Earth's rising temperatures.

But the correlation between rising temperatures and leaf color change, known as autumnal senescence, isn't as strong as it is for the spring bloom.

Tags: weather, autumn, colors, global warming, carbon dioxide