Clipmarks | Climate change Clips

Flat Earth

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:56:47 GMT

clipped by: Fast T friend
clipper's remarks: I'm not a strong fan but I thought the map was cool

I had some fun yesterday writing about people who believe in a flat Earth and how their ideas compare with climate change deniers. As I reread my essay this morning I was reminded of the fact that one of my favorite authors, Terry Pratchett, has made a career writing about a fictional flat planet. His Discworld fantasy-humor novels are set on just such a planet as Flat Earthers may envision for the Earth. Here is an illustration of the Discworld:

Remember, this is fantasy, not reality. Do not plan trips for business or pleasure, especially ocean cruises, or attempt to follow world events by referring to this map. Discworld is a magical planet. Its Sun is about the size of a basketball and revolves around the flat planet. And, yes, the oceans flow off the edge into space in a continuous cascade. The fact that Discworld’s oceans never dry out is obviously due to magic rather than conventional physics.

Tags: flat, earth, disc, world, map

Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:36:03 GMT

clipped by: raisins4peace

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is mobilizing its store managers and department supervisors around the country to warn that if Democrats win power in November, they'll likely change federal law to make it easier for workers to unionize companies -- including Wal-Mart.

In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the downside for workers if stores were to be unionized.

The actions by Wal-Mart -- the nation's largest private employer -- reflect a growing concern among big business that a reinvigorated labor movement could reverse years of declining union membership. That could lead to higher payroll and health costs for companies already being hurt by rising fuel and commodities costs and the tough economic climate.

make it clear that voting for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in,

War on Terror boardgame branded criminal by police

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:47:38 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Idiotic police. Sounds like a great game.

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

It may not be fun for all the family – well, not in the same way as Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit or Mousetrap, say. The themes of empire building and terrorist-style attacks on opponents would probably provoke an outbreak of spluttering over the Christmas sherry.

It is rare, however, for a board game to be seized by the police. This week that distinction befell War on Terror: The Boardgame; a set was confiscated from climate protesters in Kent.

Following a series of raids on the climate change camp near Kingsnorth power station, officers displayed an array of supposed weapons snatched from demonstrators: knives, chisels, bolt cutters, a throwing star – and a copy of the satirical game, which lampoons Washington's "war on terror".

For the game's creators, Andrew Sheerin and Andy Tompkins, web designers from Cambridge, the inclusion of their toy was a shock.

Tags: uk, police, idiots, war on terror, boardgame, fun for the whole family

Bucking your party

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:53:48 GMT

clipped by: sillysam

Clip Source: article.nationalreview.com

McCain bested Obama again when Warren asked for an example of a time in which he “went against party loyalty and maybe even against your own best interest for the good of America.”

Clip Source: article.nationalreview.com

When McCain got the question, everyone in the room thought he would bring up campaign-finance reform, the issue on which he has alienated the Republican base for years. But he didn’t. “Climate change, out-of-control spending, torture,” he said. “The list goes on.” McCain’s prime example, though, was his story of opposing Ronald Reagan’s decision to send a contingent of Marines to Lebanon as a peacekeeping force. “My knowledge and my background told me that a few hundred Marines in a situation like that could not successfully carry out any kind of peacekeeping mission, and I thought they were going into harm’s way,” McCain said

McCain answered the whole question without touching on campaign finance; he had so much more life experience to draw on that he could swamp Obama without using everything he had.

The oxygen crisis

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:53:06 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Compared to prehistoric times, the level of oxygen in the earth's atmosphere has declined by over a third and in polluted cities the decline may be more than 50%. This change in the makeup of the air we breathe has potentially serious implications for our health. Indeed, it could ultimately threaten the survival of human life on earth, according to Roddy Newman, who is drafting a new book, The Oxygen Crisis.

the planet's forest cover was at least twice what it is today, which means that forests are now emitting only half the amount of oxygen.

Desertification and deforestation are rapidly accelerating this long-term loss of oxygen sources.

The story at sea is much the same. Nasa reports that in the north Pacific ocean oxygen-producing phytoplankton concentrations are 30% lower today, compared to the 1980s. This is a huge drop in just three decades.

This oxygen starvation is reducing regional fish stocks and diminishing the food supplies of populations that are dependent on fishing.

Tags: environment, oxygen, i-climate change, i-decrease

Editorial: Energy utopia

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 11:13:29 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.newscientist.com

The UK could, says the government, build a tidal barrage across the river Severn, which would generate 5 per cent of the UK's electricity. Yet this will be fiercely opposed by environmentalists. The same is true of nuclear power, which is back in favour.

A lack of decisiveness and conviction pervades the detail of the white paper. A weak transport section gives no clue as to whether the government prefers hydrogen fuel or just more efficient petrol and diesel engines. Where the UK has a technological lead, as in wave power, there is no sign of urgency that the government is pushing to create world-beating products. An imaginative foreign company could easily steal a march.

Instead, the UK is hedging its bets and waiting to see which way the rest of the world will go. This is not the vision of a technological trendsetter. Blair's destination for the UK looks right, but how the country will get there is far from clear.

Tags: energy, i-supply, environment, i-climate change, i-policy, i-risks, i-strategy

Ancient tree helps birds survive

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:03:51 GMT

clipped by: valann 47

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

An ancient species of tree is helping Britain's birds survive the effects of climate change, scientists have found.

Frequent early spring weather means blue tits and great tits have been laying eggs ahead of schedule, making it difficult for them to find food.

However ecologists say birds have been feeding on gall wasps, which make their homes in Turkey oak trees, rather than the usual young caterpillars.

The discovery was made during a study by the University of Edinburgh.

The Turkey oak was reintroduced to Britain three centuries ago

It had been feared that the Turkey oak, reintroduced to Britain three centuries ago after an absence of thousands of years, may pose a threat to native plants and animals.

But now it appears to be providing the country's birds with a food source.

Tags: birds, survival, trees, turkey oak

Can we have wind power and birds, too?

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:58:35 GMT

clipped by: JACraves

Clip Source: birdsredesign.wordpress.com

Wind power has emerged as a front runner in the world’s sudden longing for renewable energy sources.

Still, to the pragmatic, having wind power boils down to accepting a certain amount of dead birds. And you can put a number on the amount: At last week’s AOU meeting, I learned that existing wind-power plants typically kill about 1 to 12 birds per megawatt generated per year. (A megawatt can meet the electricity needs of roughly 1,000 Americans.)

Ken Otter’s task was to advise the Canadian power company about ways to get that number as low as possible. So he hauled out a mobile radar system to track birds as they flew over the steep-sided mountain ridges where the turbines would be built. Radars can’t identify bird species, so Otter also posted graduate students with binoculars to document what was flying over.

But after two years of study, Otter found bird movements tended to be fairly predictable.

Wind power will never be harmless to birds.

But climate change and pollution kill birds, too

Climate Chage Altering UK Bird Habits

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:57:52 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A number of UK bird species are laying eggs significantly earlier than they were 40 years ago, a report reveals.

A conservation coalition's report says some finches, robins and tits are all laying earlier and puts this down to warming caused by climate change.

The RSPB said birds were having to respond to climate change to survive.

"This year's report shows that climate change is with us already; and from our gardens to our seas, birds are having to respond rapidly to climate change simply to survive," said Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB's conservation director.

This response to rising temperatures has been documented in birds, insects, plants and mammals across a range of continents, and it is no surprise that the UK's birds should be changing their habits too.

Tags: climate change, bird habits

"Worldshift"

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:00:14 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly
clipper's remarks: http://www.realitysandwich.com/worldshift_our_unsustainable_world_will_change

Clip Source: www.realitysandwich.com

WORLDSHIFT!

Erwin Laszlo

This article summarizes the author’s forthcoming book, Quantum Shift in the Global Brain, to be published by Inner Traditions.

The production of essential biological and physical resources has already peaked. Forests, species of fish, and coral reefs are damaged and disappearing, soils are impoverished by overcropping and by chemicals; diversity is reduced by genetic manipulation. More than half the world’s population faces water shortages whilst climate change threatens to make much of the planet unsuited for food production and habitation.

With this comes growing insecurity within and between countries, and greater propensity to resort to terrorism and war. Fundamentalism and fanaticism are spreading and the gap is widening between rich and poor. Eighty percent of the world’s wealth belongs to one billion people while the rest is shared by five-and-a-half billion. One in three urban dwellers live in slums, shantytowns and urban ghettoes.

WiserEarth : transforming the world

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:01:07 GMT

clipped by: tidbit2

Clip Source: www.wiserearth.org

WiserEarth . . .

serves the people who are transforming the world. It is a community directory and networking forum that maps and connects non-governmental organizations (NGOs), businesses, governments, and individuals addressing the central issues of our day: climate change, poverty, the environment, peace, water, hunger, social justice, conservation, human rights and more. Content is created and edited by people like you. Read more.

Explore

109,116 Organizations
15,933 People
748 Groups
4,029 Resources
263 Events
526 Jobs

Climate Change -- Caused Tree Death in Ca

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 08:51:05 GMT

clipped by: coonhnd
clipper's remarks: Plus the infestation of the bark beetle..Make sure to read the whole article.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Climate Change Caused Widespread Tree Death In California Mountain Range, Study Confirms

ScienceDaily (Aug. 15, 2008) — Warmer temperatures and longer dry spells have killed thousands of trees and shrubs in a Southern California mountain range, pushing the plants' habitat an average of 213 feet up the mountain over the past 30 years, a UC Irvine study has determined.

White fir and Jeffrey pine trees died at the lower altitudes of their growth range in the Santa Rosa Mountains, from 6,400 feet to as high as 7,200 feet in elevation, while California lilacs died between 4,000-4,800 feet. Almost all of the studied plants crept up the mountain a similar distance, countering the belief that slower-growing trees would move slower than faster-growing grasses and wildflowers.

White fir trees died in the 2002 drought, while neighboring Jeffrey pines survived at this elevation. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of California - Irvine)

Tags: climate change, global warming, death, trees, california

Ancient cemetery found in once-green Sahara

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:44:24 GMT

clipped by: jatfla
clipper's remarks: Interesting article about lost areas of population and prosperity. But ... isn't this more evidence for continual climate change? Which we've known for quite some time?

Clip Source: www.startribune.com

Ancient cemetery found in once-green Sahara

A tiny woman and two children were laid to rest on a bed of flowers 5,000 years ago in what is now the barren Sahara Desert.

The slender arms of the youngsters were still extended to the woman in perpetual embrace when researchers discovered their skeletons in a remarkable cemetery that is providing clues to two civilizations who lived there, a thousand years apart, when the region was moist and green.

"Everywhere you turned, there were bones belonging to animals that don't live in the desert," said Sereno. "I realized we were in the green Sahara."

Bush Tries to Weaken Endangered Species Act

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:50:57 GMT

clipped by: spirithiker
clipper's remarks: This is a clear attempt to pave the path for U.S. Oil Companies to decide if their oil exploration and drilling practices are harmful to wildlife. Guess what their assessment will be.

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Parts of the Endangered Species Act may soon be extinct.

The Bush administration wants federal agencies to decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction projects might harm endangered animals and plants.

New regulations, which don't require the approval of Congress, would reduce the mandatory, independent reviews government scientists have been performing for 35 years, according to a draft first obtained by The Associated Press.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said late Monday the changes were needed to ensure that the Endangered Species Act would not be used as a "back door" to regulate the gases blamed for global warming. In May, the polar bear became the first species declared as threatened because of climate change. Warming temperatures are expected to melt the sea ice the bear depends on for survival.

Tags: political lies, environment, ecology, big oil

Humans Implicated In Prehistoric Animal Extinctions With New Evidence

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:27:26 GMT

clipped by: Beholder

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Scientists have long argued over the reasons behind the worldwide mass extinctions that took place towards the end of the last ice age. The main culprits are generally thought to be climate change or some form of human impact. People only arrived in Tasmania around 43,000 years ago, when the island became temporarily connected by a land bridge to mainland Australia. None of Tasmania's giant animals, known as 'megafauna' were known to have survived until this time. This appeared to clear humans of any involvement in the disappearance of the island's large megafauna.

This new international study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, reports the discovery of giant kangaroos surviving in Tasmania until people arrived, placing humans back on the list of likely culprits for the subsequent extinction of the megafauna.

The researchers believe that the tale from Tasmania is relevant to many other parts of the world.

Tags: extension, ice age, tasmania

Clipmarks | Climate change Clips

Flat Earth

Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win

War on Terror boardgame branded criminal by police

Bucking your party

The oxygen crisis

Editorial: Energy utopia

Ancient tree helps birds survive

Can we have wind power and birds, too?

Climate Chage Altering UK Bird Habits

"Worldshift"

WORLDSHIFT!

Erwin Laszlo

WiserEarth : transforming the world

WiserEarth . . .

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Climate Change -- Caused Tree Death in Ca

Climate Change Caused Widespread Tree Death In California Mountain Range, Study Confirms

Ancient cemetery found in once-green Sahara

Ancient cemetery found in once-green Sahara

Bush Tries to Weaken Endangered Species Act

Humans Implicated In Prehistoric Animal Extinctions With New Evidence