Igor Delovski Board

[Maja]

Slashdot: Climate Changes Shift Springtime in Europe

"Spring was beginning on average six to eight days earlier than it did
30 years ago, the researchers said. In regions such as Spain, which saw
the greatest increases in temperatures, the season began up to two
weeks earlier. The findings were based on what was described as the
world's largest study of changes in recurring natural events, such as when
plants flowered. The team of researchers also found that the onset of
autumn has been delayed by an average of three days over the same
period."

[XNote]

Global warming taking earth back to dinosaur era

"Global warming over the coming century could mean a return of
temperatures last seen in the age of the dinosaur [...].

Not only will carbon dioxide levels be at the highest levels for 24
million years, but global average temperatures will be higher than for up
to 10 million years, said Chris Thomas of the University of York"

[Ike]

World has 10-year window to act on climate

"A leading U.S. climate researcher said on Wednesday the world has a
10-year window of opportunity to take decisive action on global warming
and avert a weather catastrophe."

[Ahilej22]

'Drastic' shrinkage in Arctic ice

"A Nasa satellite has documented startling changes in Arctic sea ice
cover between 2004 and 2005."

[delovski]

Slashdot: Melting Arctic Ice Has Consequences

OriginalArlen writes to tell us about some compelling global warming
coverage in the Washington Post. First there is an article about a study
indicating that melting Arctic ice is threatening polar bears with extinction.
The article quotes an environmentalist: "This study is the smoking gun.
Skeptics, polluting industries and President Bush can't run away from this
one." And the polar melting is opening new shipping lanes. The second
article details a trip late in October through the Northwest Passage by a
Canadian icebreaker. Never before in history could this trip have been
accomplished so late in the year; ice would have choked off the passage.
Estimates of when the passage might be navigable by commercial shipping
range from 2020 to the end of the century. The indigeneous people are not
looking forward to this development.

[delovski]

Slashdot: Global Warming Debunked?

"I'm a scientist. I like Al Gore. I donate to the Sierra club, I bicycle
everywhere and I eat granola. And I just read a very convincing article in
the UK Telegraph that makes me think that the 'scientific consensus' on
global warming is more than a little shaky. Now IANACS (I am not a
climate scientist). And the Telegraph is notoriously reactionary. Can
anyone out there go through this piece and tell me why it might be wrong?
Because it seems to be solid, well researched, and somewhat damning of a
host of authorities (the UN, the editors of Nature, the Canadian
Government) who seem to have picked a side in the global warming
debate without looking at the evidence."

The author of the Telegraph piece is Christopher Monckton, a retired
journalist and former policy advisor to Margaret Thatcher.

[delovski]

The Most Important Organism?

She was a bit surprised, and gave me the "Are you nuts?" look, when,
without hesitation, I answered, "No doubt about it... hands down the most
important organism on this planet is marine algae."

[Ike]

Slashdot: Emissions of Key Greenhouse Gas Stabilize

"Multiple news sites are reporting that levels of the second most
important greenhouse gas, methane, have stabilized".

* From Scientific American: "During the two decades of measurements,
methane underwent double-digit growth as a constituent of our
atmosphere, rising from 1,520 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) in 1978
to 1,767 ppbv in 1998. But the most recent measurements have revealed
that methane levels are barely rising anymore — and it is unclear why."

* From NewScientist: "Although this is good news, it does not mean that
methane levels will not rise again, and that carbon dioxide remains the
800-pound gorilla of climate change."

[Ike]

Slashdot: 2006 Was the Warmest Year Ever

"Dr. Jeff Masters from Wunderground has a great summary of this year's
rather abnormal weather (his blog is the best source on the net for in-depth
weather analysis). The post discusses some of the cyclical climate forces at
work this year and compares this year's record temperatures to records
from the past."

[delovski]

cnn - San Francisco says no to bottled water

"Mayor Gavin Newsom has issued an executive order banning city departments
from buying bottled water, even for water coolers. The ban goes into effect July 1,
and will extend to water coolers by December 1."

[delovski]

newscientist.com - 1709: The year that Europe froze

"The sea froze. Lakes and rivers froze, and the soil froze to a depth of a met-
re or more. Livestock died from cold in their barns, chicken's combs froze and
fell off, trees exploded and travellers froze to death on the roads. It was the
coldest winter in 500 years."

[delovski]

chrisjordan.com - Message from the Gyre

"These images depict the untouched stomach contents of baby birds in one
of the world’s most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from
the nearest continent."

[Ike]

reddit - Hours of sunshine in Europe

"This is why the German subsidies for solar power are borderline bulls***."

[Ike]

Hurricane Sandy - NJ (I'll keep updating as the day goes on)

http://www.reddit.com/r/sandy/comments/129r21/hurricane_sandy_nj_ill_keep_updating_as_the_day/

[Ike]

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/azaa5k/mit_researchers_warn_killer_heat_waves_soaring/

MIT researchers warn killer heat waves soaring above temps humans can survive will be regular occurrences within our lifetimes in areas affecting over 500 million people. Areas of China, South Asia and the Persian Gulf will become uninhabitable by 2070 if climate change remains unchecked.

[Ike]

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/boo2kb/exxon_predicted_in_1982_exactly_how_high_global/

Exxon predicted in 1982 exactly how high global carbon emissions would be today | The company expected that, by 2020, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would reach roughly 400-420 ppm. This month's measurement of 415 ppm is right within the expected curve Exxon projected

[Ike]

time - Climate Change Was on the Ballot With Jimmy Carter in 1980
(Though No One Knew It at the Time)

"Carter had been a nuclear engineer in the Navy and -- while other politicians
played golf -- he spent his spare time reading scientific publications. In 1972,
when he was governor of Georgia, he underlined path-breaking articles in the
journal Nature about carbon dioxide in the atmosphere."

[Ike]

Y! - How climate change contributed to the collapse of the Roman Empire and 7 other ancient civilizations

"The results point to intense droughts lasting for a decade, mainly from
decreased summer rain activity. The Mayans had bet on summer rains to aid
their farming practices, so the effects were catastrophic when rainfall was
reduced by even a modest amount."

[Ike]

Y! - Why Can't the Weather Apps on Our Phones Get It Right?

"Climate change makes the task more complex, forecasters say. Models have
trouble predicting extreme weather outliers. 'Those extremes seem to be
occurring more frequently,' Floehr said, pointing to what are called thousand-
year events, such as recent, deadly floods in Valencia, Spain."

[Ike]

Y! - California wildfires: Billy Crystal, Paris Hilton, Mandy Moore among celebrities who lost homes

"James Woods posted a photo of fire spreading up a hill to the deck of his
newly renovated Pacific Palisades home -- and later updated that his house
was gone."

[Ike]

The Guardian - We need dramatic social and technological changes: is societal collapse inevitable?

"Academic Danilo Brozovic says studies of failed civilisations all point in one
direction -- today's society needs radical transformation to survive"

"Growing gaps between the rich and poor also come up as a factor, he says.
Research using big data to model historical societies has found that elites
and inequality appear towards the end. 'If it's not a cause, it's definitely a
symptom,' he says."