Clipmarks | pascual's 'climate' clips

your body

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 02:47:05 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: edge

Clip Source: edge.org

98 percent of the atoms in the body are replaced every year. 98 percent! Water molecules stays in your body for two weeks (and for an even shorter time in a hot climate), the atoms in your bones stays there for a few months. Some atoms stay for years. But almost not one single atom stay with you in your body from cradle to grave.

What is constant in you is not material. An average person takes in 1.5 ton of matter every year as food, drinks and oxygen. All this matter has to learn to be you. Every year. New atoms will have to learn to remember your childhood.

These numbers has been known for half a century or more, mostly from studies of radioactive isotopes. Physicist Richard Feynman said in 1955: "Last week's potatoes! They now can remember what was going on in your mind a year ago."

Tags: science

climate change performance index

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 23:02:22 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: german watch

Clip Source: www.germanwatch.org

National climate policies of almost all countries were rated poor by the consulted experts, seven of the world's biggest CO2 emitters are on the lowest end of the ranking. The worst climate sinners are Saudi Arabia, the USA and Australia who not only have extremely high and mounting emissions levels, but also employ insufficient and inadequate climate policies.

Tags: climate change

Brazil and the Amazon

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 22:09:44 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: nyrb

Clip Source: www.nybooks.com

One of the first things any Brazilian tells a foreigner is that Brazil is really two countries: the south and the north. With a highly educated population of predominantly European origin, the south, with its two great cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, is becoming an agricultural and industrial superpower, producing computers and advanced pharmaceuticals and exporting large numbers of jet aircraft to the US. Brazil has attained world-class status in forestry, ranching, and agriculture. Even more significant for the future is that largely through the use of biofuels, such as alcohol derived from sugar cane, it is one of the few countries in the world to have achieved self-sufficiency in energy. When oil reaches $100 a barrel, Brazil will be sitting pretty.

The north, in truth, is another country in all but political geography

Tags: climate

what next for USA?

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 01:02:48 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: utne

Clip Source: www.utne.com

Given the symptoms of decline, the commonly cited prescriptions for restoring America's status seem obvious. Reengage the international community. Take the lead on climate change. Drop the pursuit of a more advanced nuclear arsenal. Ensure that government can provide basic services. Rejoin the International Criminal Court. Bring back habeas corpus. Commit to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Stop torturing people.

Tags: politics, government

armageddon by an asteroid

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 21:22:52 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: eco

Clip Source: economist.com

Astronomers are currently trying to work out whether a 270-metre asteroid named 99942 Apophis will hit Earth in 2036 (probably not, but it would be nice to be sure).

Tags: global, civilization, climate

climate change

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 20:27:04 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: newropeans

Clip Source: www.newropeans-magazine.org

Imagine for a while that a man of Roosevelt’s stature would sit in the White House today. Would it be possible to significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses in a short time and thus slow down global warming?

Tags: climate, global warming

daming the hindus

Tue, 01 May 2007 23:20:52 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: spiegel

Clip Source: www.spiegel.de

Surrounded by conquerors and the boundlessness exuded by Nanga Parbat mountain, people in the upper Indus valleys have long had to live with all sorts of dangers. Apocalyptic fears must have tormented humans here. And they were constantly driven by the question of how to survive a life of hardship and sacrifices.

Tags: climate

global warming

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 20:05:36 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: LA Times

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

EARLIER THIS MONTH, a draft White House report was leaked to news outlets. The report, a year overdue to the United Nations, said that the United States would be producing almost 20% more greenhouse gases in 2020 than it had in 2000 and that our contribution to global warming would be going steadily up, not sharply and steadily down, as scientists have made clear it must.

Tags: science, climate, society

21st century debate

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 22:06:58 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: the Prospect Big Question

Clip Source: www.prospect-magazine.co.uk

How prepared are we to allow national governments the freedom to make decisions which may not be in the interests of the rest of the world? With issues such as climate change becoming increasingly urgent, many people will begin arguing for a global system of government with the power to overrule specific national interests.

Tags: society, politics

ted 2007 prizes

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 04:28:01 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: ted 2007 blog

Clip Source: www.lunchoverip.com

Says Clinton: We live in a world that's interdependent but insufficient, in at least three ways: It's highly unequal, both in developing and in developed countries. It is unstable, because of the threats of terrorism, WMD, diseases, and growing vulnerability. It is unsustainable because of climate change, resources depletion and species destruction.

Tags: society, ted

wilson @ ted

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 04:10:59 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: ted 2007 blog

Clip Source: www.ethanzuckerman.com

Wilson sees a set of threats to environmental stability and discovery coming from factors he refers to as HIPPO:

- Habitat destruction, including climate change
- Invasive species
- Pollution
- (Human) Population explosion
- Overharvesting (by hunting and fishing)

Tags: ted, environment, society

global warming @ ted

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 03:34:00 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: ted 2007 blog

Clip Source: www.lunchoverip.com

So despite Wal-Mart, ethanol, cutting-edge biologists, I'm afraid it's not enough. The wild card in this is China. China's CO2 emissions are passing those of the US. But the Chinese say: "why should we sacrifice our growth, so that the West can continue to be profligate and stupid?". I don't have an answer to that.

Tags: ted, society, climate