Clipmarks | Climate Clips

GLOBAL CRISIS AND WORLD POVERTY

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:45:17 GMT

clipped by: klippety
clipper's remarks: Displaced by conflicts, driven by environmental catastrophes and punished by greed

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

Global Crises Compound Refugees' Woes: UN

WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (OneWorld) - The global financial, food, and fuel crises and the negative impacts of climate change pose a severe threat to the world's 37 million uprooted people, and will likely increase their numbers, warned the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Monday.

"Competition for scarce resources has become an increasingly important factor in provoking and perpetuating violence," said Antonio Guterres, addressing delegates from the UNHCR's 76-nation governing committee. As a result, the number of people forced to flee their homes is on the rise

At the end of 2007, 11.4 million people were living as refugees and 26 million were displaced within their own country -- known as internally displaced people, or IDPs.

These latest figures mark the second straight year of increases after a five-year decline in the number of uprooted people around the world.

Cost of Global Warming equivalent to solving ALL the major problems in the world 3x over

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:40:00 GMT

clipped by: infopunk
clipper's remarks: Details not included in this short clip.

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

To make a simple comparison, the UN estimates that for about £40 billion annually, we could solve all major basic problems in the world - we could give clean drinking water, sanitation, basic education and healthcare to every person in the world.

efforts to reduce the speed of global warming will cost huge sums of money and have a pitifully tiny effect

global warming's total cost will be only about one half of 1 per cent of the net worth of the 21st century; that is the current worth of all the wealth projected to be generated in this century.

£100 billion annually for the rest of the century.

best-case scenario

temperature at the end of the century would be 2.4532342C. The effect is a difference of about 0.00038C - or about one three-thousandth of a degree in a hundred years.

This is the equivalent of delaying the temperature increase by the end of the century by a little less than a week.

But instead we are spending a fortune achieving almost nothing.

we have to come to our senses.

Tags: global warming, poverty, climate change

Climate Change and Chipmonks in California

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:59:12 GMT

clipped by: nedhamson1
clipper's remarks: It's real and we can pretend it isn't

Clip Source: www.sciencenews.org

From California to Costa Rica, rising temperatures could be driving species to higher elevations

TIME TRAVELPlumper pine trees suggest that growing conditions turned milder at the north end of Vogelsang Lake in Yosemite National Park between the early 20th century (above) and 2004 (below). With climate warming, some of Yosemite's small mammals have edged up slopes to more familiar temperatures. Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, UC Berkeley

Chipmunks, mice and other small mammals pretty much moved up in the world as Yosemite National Park’s climate warmed during the last century.

As temperatures rose, these species tended to edge upward to higher and cooler ground, says Craig Moritz, director of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology in Berkeley, Calif.

Tags: green, climate change, globalism

Global economy and trees

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:01:10 GMT

clipped by: JackieDel

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The global economy is losing more money from the disappearance of forests than through the current banking crisis, according to an EU-commissioned study.

It puts the annual cost of forest loss at between $2 trillion and $5 trillion.

The figure comes from adding the value of the various services that forests perform, such as providing clean water and absorbing carbon dioxide.

The study, headed by a Deutsche Bank economist, parallels the Stern Review into the economics of climate change.

It has been discussed during many sessions here at the World Conservation Congress.

Some conservationists see it as a new way of persuading policymakers to fund nature protection rather than allowing the decline in ecosystems and species, highlighted in the release on Monday of the Red List of Threatened Species, to continue.

Some Good News: The U.S. Dollar Strengthens

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:25:07 GMT

clipped by: madame travels

Clip Source: current.newsweek.com

The dollar is making a comeback. It’s now somewhat cheaper for Americans to visit many foreign countries than it has been in a while

euro is $1.37, as of this morning. That's down from $1.44 when I was in Munich about a month ago and from record highs of around $1.60 earlier this year

Mexico is the cheapest it's been since 1993 with the peso at .08 cents (roughly 12 pesos to $

Canadian dollar, which crept above $1 in 2007, is back at 91 cents. The British pound is $1.76, and the Australia dollar has plummeted to 73 cents, just in time for spring down under

Among major currencies, only the Japanese yen has bucked the trend and strengthened against the dollar

even in a climate of panic, ongoing job cuts, and wildly fluctuating markets—triggered by the U.S. and now spreading across the globe—the dollar is still viewed as the safest currency. The New York Times recently provided helpful context, crediting the phenomenon partially to faith in America’s economic and political systems

The Middle Class & the Deficit

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:09:51 GMT

clipped by: nchnted
clipper's remarks: An interesting take of the economic crisis by Robert Reich.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Here again, there’s marked difference between 1993 and 2009. Then, some of our highways, bridges, levees and transit systems needed repair. Today, they are crumbling. In 1993, some of our children were in classrooms too crowded to learn in, and some districts were shutting preschool and after-school programs. Today, such inadequacies are endemic. In 1993, some 35 million Americans had no health insurance and millions more were barely able to afford it. Today, 50 million are without insurance, and a large swath of the middle class is barely holding on. In 1993, climate change was a problem. Now, it’s an emergency.

The top 1 percent now takes home about 20 percent of total national income. As recently as 1980, it took home 8 percent. Although the economy has grown considerably since 1980, the middle class’s share has shrunk

The last time the top 1 percent took home 20 percent of national income, not incidentally, was 1928.

10 Simple Ways to Stop Global Warming

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:03:09 GMT

clipped by: mylodon
clipper's remarks: A U.N. climate change report details the possible effects of global warming -- food shortages, more hurricanes, more wildfires, coastal flooding and more. We don't need to wait for governments to find a solution for this problem: each individual can bring an important help adopting a more responsible lifestyle: starting from little, everyday things. Find out what steps you can take to help save the environment.

Clip Source: www.infospreads.com

10 Simple Ways to Stop Global Warming

Global Warming 101

A U.N. climate change report details the possible effects of global warming -- food shortages, more hurricanes, more wildfires, coastal flooding and more. We don't need to wait for governments to find a solution for this problem: each individual can bring an important help adopting a more responsible lifestyle: starting from little, everyday things. Find out what steps you can take to help save the environment.

The good news is we don't have to wait for technical solutions to reduce the impact of these big offenders. Solutions exist now to allow us to reduce our dependence on power plants and use cleaner transportation options. We just have to start using them. Here are 10 simple ways to do your part to start making a difference now. By saving energy, you’ll also save money.

According to the EPA, a typical U.S. household generates 45,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

Tags: global warming 101, global warming tips, ways to stop global warming, stop global warming, global warming consequences

Goat 'condoms' save Kenyan herds

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:52:58 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: "Those who do not use it could face a hefty fine if their bucks are found guilty of impregnating another herder's doe. "

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Goat 'condoms' save Kenyan herds

Maasai herdsmen in Kenya have turned to an age-old contraceptive device, the "olor", to protect their precious goat herds from an ongoing drought.

The olor is made from cowhide or a square piece of plastic, and is tied around the belly of the male goat.

It prevents the bucks from mating with the female goats.

The herdsmen are using the device to limit the goat population and ensure there are not too many animals grazing on sparse vegetation.

"We don't want them to breed in this drought," says Mr Ole Ngoshoi Kipameto, a goat owner in Kajiado district.

The area, which is 80km (50 miles) from the capital, Nairobi, has received insufficient rainfall, making the landscape barren and forcing residents to move from place to place in search of pasture and water.

"We tie this hide under the belly of the buck for three months. After that we remove it and then they can breed by November when the short rains come," Mr Kipameto says.

"It looks like an apron,"

Tags: climate, drought

Angel investor Ron Conway to portfolio: Cut expenses now

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 07:26:36 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: news.cnet.com

Angel investor Ron Conway to portfolio: Cut expenses now

Ron Conway, an investor in more than 100 contemporary tech start-ups and about that many in the last tech boom, sees the current financial environment as very similar to the 2000-2001 tech economy meltdown. His advice, as he laid it out to me earlier today and to his portfolio companies yesterday in an e-mail (after the jump), is the same as it was then: "Raise money internally by reducing cost."

He says, "The funding climate is going to tighten no matter what we do. The sooner we can prepare for it, the better."

At least, he says, entrepreneurs are more mature and proactive than they were in the last downturn. They're coming to him, some with cutback plans and some just seeking advice. As he puts it, the ones who come to him and say, "Walk me through the steps I should be taking," are the ones that will weather the storm.

Tags: ron conway, angel investing, money, funds, vc, startup

6 Emails You Get When Your Company Is About to Go Under

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:28:10 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.cracked.com

6 Emails You Get When Your Company Is About to Go Under

In today's uncertain and, well, terrifying economic climate, it's good to think ahead. While we don't want to alarm you, basically your company could go broke at any second and you'll be out on the street. Even worse, it's in their best interest to keep it from you until the very last moment. All you have are the emails that arrive in your inbox, the high-level assistant who loves to gossip and your nose for bullshit.

Sudden Company-Wide "Status" Meetings

The Email You'll Get:

"Our Founder and CEO of DoomedCorp would like to bring the DoomedCorp family together to talk about our future. Attendance required."

What's Actually Going On:

No one likes meetings, but they beat the alternative of, you know, working. Unless they're not watching your Internet usage in which case the meeting is just a rude interruption in your porn stream.

Tags: email, entertainment, company, crash, failure

Sarh's Pompom Palaver

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:46:15 GMT

clipped by: nchnted
clipper's remarks: She has such a way with words. Homespun haiku!! Ms Dowd you are a hoot! Oh, did you think I was talked about Palin?

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Darn right. And that, doggone it, brings us to a shout-out for the latest virtuoso of Frontier Baroque, bless her heart, the governor of the Last Frontier. Her reward’s in heaven.

Hillary Clinton and John McCain ran against Barack Obama by sneering that their prose was meatier than The One’s poetry. Sarah’s running against the Democrat’s highfalutin eloquence by speakin’ in homespun haikus.

Talking at the debate about how she would “positively affect the impacts” of the climate change for which she’s loath to acknowledge human culpability, she did a dizzying verbal loop-de-loop: “With the impacts of climate change, what we can do about that, as governor, I was the first governor to form a climate change subcabinet to start dealing with the impacts.” That was, miraculously, richer with content than an answer she gave Katie Couric: “You know, there are man’s activities that can be contributed to the issues that we’re dealing with now, with these impacts.”

HT, Mother Nature...

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:59:54 GMT

clipped by: graphictruth
clipper's remarks: Evolution, in action; documented and happening in ways we didn't anticipate. Real Science with Real Data.

Oh, and the evolutionary pressure? Pollution and Climate Change.

Clip Source: ecoworldly.com

Scientists Discover Fish in Act of Evolution in Africa’s Greatest Lake

In what could be a first in the world, a fish species known as cichlids has been observed by scientists in the act of splitting into two distinct species in Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake and one of the world’s biggest fresh water bodies.

This may be remarkable because what is causing them to diverge are adaptations to their vision as animals and plants try to cope with increased pollution and the effects of climate change. The change is also happening without geographical isolation, which was thought to be a precursor for evolution.

The researchers showed that the eyes have adapted to this difference so that fish that live in deeper water have a pigment in their eyes that is more sensitive to red light, while shallow-water fish were sensitive to blue.

http://ipcc.ch

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:36:48 GMT

clipped by: shankargallery
clipper's remarks: IPCC - Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change

Clip Source: www.ipcc.ch

http://www.realclimate.org/

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:31:54 GMT

clipped by: shankargallery
clipper's remarks: A climate blog committed to accuracy in climate science reporting.

Clip Source: www.realclimate.org

The Uplift-Weathering Hypothesis

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:00:29 GMT

clipped by: shankargallery
clipper's remarks: "In 1988, Maureen Raymo, Flip Froelich and Bill Ruddiman published the first of a series of papers proposing, and then examining, the hypothesis that the late Cenozoic cooling of climate, the Ice Age, was caused by enhanced chemical weathering and consumption of atmospheric CO2 in the mountainous regions of the world"

Clip Source: maureenraymo.com

The Uplift-Weathering Hypothesis