PESWiki.com -- Pure Energy Systems Wiki:   Finding and facilitating breakthrough clean energy technologies.




Directory:Global Warming

From PESWiki

Jump to: navigation, search

Scientific documentation and ramifications of global warming from both human as well as natural causes.

Contents

Overview

  • Five Ways to Reduce Global Warming - New Energy Congress founder and director, Sterling Allan gives a statement in preparation for the first Environmental Hall of Fame ceremony to be held in Los Angeles in June 5-6, 2008. (PESN; May 18, 2008)
  • Global Warming and New Energy Sources - On Saturday, Nov. 18, Sterling Allan interviewed James Dunn, who is a walking encyclopedia -- and animated at that -- both regarding the array of feasible energy technologies available, as well as regarding geopolitical and economical factors that must be taken into consideration. (PESN; Nov. 18, 2006)

Ramifications

  • Directory:Environmental Impact - This Directory is a place where we can monitor the consequences of our collective actions regarding alternative energy solutions and whether or not the adversely impact the earth on which we live. (PESWiki; Oct. 30, 2008)
  • Featured: Global Warming > Greenhouse Gases >
    Oxygen Depletion - Global warming is not the only consequence of increasing greenhouse gasses. Oxygen used to be about 20% of the atmosphere; but today, in some places, it is as low as 16%, leading to a wide range of health and vitality consequences. Oceanic hypoxia is likewise spreading at an alarming rate. (PESWIki; Oct. 19, 2008)
  • A Strategy for Coping with Climate Change - A new multidisciplinary modeling effort concludes that certain tracts of land in California's Sacramento Delta should be abandoned the next time they flood, and that major California water-supply inlets in the area should be rerouted. (MI Technology Review; Sept 11, 2008)
  • Meltdown: Mark Goldes on Global Climate Catastrophe - There's enough methane-ice trapped under the polar caps to suffocate every man, woman, and child on Earth...and the caps are melting. This is just one of five scenarios ... "The Brooklyn Project" proposed. (AmericanAntigravity; July 19, 2006)
  • Climate change inevitable - Even if all greenhouse gases had been stabilized in the year 2000, we would still be committed to a warmer Earth and greater sea level rise in the present century, according to a new study by a team of climate modelers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). (PhysOrg / Science; March 18, 2005)
  • Inhabited Island Vanishes Forever Under Water - For the first time, an inhabited island has disappeared beneath rising seas. Once home to some 10,000 people, the island of Lohachera has been washed away by rising ocean levels. (The Independent; UK; Dec. 25, 2006) (See Slashdot discussion)
  • "Combustible Ice" As New Energy Source - Over the next decade, China plans to invest 800 million RMB (US $100 million) in the development of methane gas hydrate—so-called “combustible ice�?—to meet its rising energy demand and alleviate heavy dependence on fossil fuels. Scientists, however, worry that the move may cause environmental damage due to the unstable nature and high methane content of the energy source. (WorldWatch; Sept. 7, 2006) (Thanks ZPEnergy)
  • The Warming of Greenland - A penisula long thought to be part of Greenland's mainland turned out to be an island when a glacier retreated. Greenland is covered by 630,000 cubic miles of ice, enough water to raise global sea levels by 23 feet. (NY Times; Jan. 16, 2007) (See Slashdot discussion)
  • How global warming has thrown nature into disarray - Scotland's wildlife food chains are being thrown out of sync by global warming, putting thousands of creatures at risk of starvation. Of more than 500 spring and summer biological events, such as wild birds laying eggs, and emergence of aphids or butterflies, 74% show some evidence of being earlier. (TheHerald.uk; July 28, 2006)
  • Is Global Warming Fueling Katrina? - Warm ocean temperatures are a key ingredient for monster hurricanes, prompting some scientists to believe that global warming is exacerbating our storm troubles. (Time; Aug. 29, 2005)
  • Blizzard of '06 cripples East - The biggest winter storm in New York City history buried the region and 14 Northeast states on Sunday under blowing, drifting, thigh-high snows that crippled transportation and commerce, knocked out power. (NY Times; Feb. 12, 2006)
  • Hurricanes growing fiercer with global warming - MIT professor says hurricanes have grown significantly more powerful and destructive over the last three decades, and warns that this trend could continue. (PhysOrg; August 1, 2005)
  • Oceans turning to acid from rise in CO2 - A UK Royal Society report warns that "if CO2 from human activities continues to rise, the oceans will become so acidic by 2100 it could threaten marine life in ways we can't anticipate". (PhysOrg; June 30, 2005)
  • Storm costs to spiral - The global costs of extreme weather could rise by two-thirds within decades unless governments tackle the causes of climate change. (PhysOrg; June 29, 2005)
  • Big money enters global warming battle - Swiss Re, the world's second-largest reinsurance company, recently warned that the costs of natural disasters caused by global warming is threatening humanity with a catastrophe of its own making. (ZPEnergy; July 5, 2004)
  • Global Warming May Take Economic Toll - Economic costs include costs of increased natural disasters as well as changes to water supply infrastructure, and consequences for human health from increased temperatures and associated diseases. (Reuters; Aug. 12, 2005)
  • Global Warning On Global Warming - Scientists warn that a long-term, 4º increase in the average global temperature could threaten Latin American water supplies, reduce food yields in Asia and result in a rise in extreme weather conditions in the Caribbean. (AP/CBS; Argentina; Dec. 14, 2004)
  • Southern Africa headed for desert - New study published in Nature warns that much of southern Africa could be transformed into a roaming, Sahara-like desert as the dunes of the Kalahari become eroded and unstabilized by global warming. (PhysOrg; June 29, 2005)
  • Will Rising Seas Swamp Some Small Island States? - "...The sea could overflow the heavily populated coastlines of such countries as Bangladesh, cause the disappearance of some nations entirely (such as the island state of the Maldives), foul freshwater supplies for billions of people and spur mass migrations," ('Reuters; Jan. 10, 2004)
  • Rising sea levels threaten coastal properties - As many as 100,000 homes around Scotland’s coastline finding themselves at risk from exceptionally high tides. Real estate values plummeting. (Scotland on Sunday, UK; Jan. 30, 2005)
  • Melting glaciers indicate a warmer world to come - From Alaska in the north, to Montana's Glacier National Park, to the great ice fields of wild Patagonia at this continent's southern tip, the "rivers of ice" that have marked landscapes from prehistory are liquefying, shrinking, retreating. (Taipei Times; Feb. 14, 2005)
  • Global warming could worsen US pollution - report - Further warming of the atmosphere would block cold fronts bringing cooler, cleaner air from Canada and allow stagnant air and ozone pollution to build up over cities in the Northeast and Midwest. (Reuters; Feb. 20, 2005)
  • 'Greenhouse' indicates dramatic weather - "We know the gathering greenhouse will be warm, but this new information confirms that the contrast between the rainy season and the dry season will increase dramatically". (PhysOrg; March 29 / Geology, April, 2005)
  • Global Warming to Raise Storm Damage Costs - The cost of cleaning up storm damage will balloon unless the world takes urgent action to cut harmful emissions warming the globe, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said. (Reuters; June 29, 2005)
  • Global warming of Atlantic could hit fish - The potential shutdown due to climate warming of the key Atlantic Conveyor current that warms northern Europe could have a major impact on fish stocks in the region. (Reuters, UK; March 31, 2005)
  • Climate Change Could Boost Scots Farmers - Global warming could be good news for Scottish farmers, according to ESRC funded research at the University of Stirling. Rising temperatures and increased CO2 levels could mean increased yields. (PhysOrg; Aug. 15, 2005)
  • Capitalizing on Melting Polar Ice - NYT reports that with the warming, "the Arctic is undergoing nothing less than a great rush for virgin territory and natural resources worth hundreds of billions of dollars." Included in the opportunism are "lucrative shipping routes, perhaps even the storied Northwest Passage; new cruise ship destinations; and important commercial fisheries." (Slashdot; Oct. 15, 2005)

[Might as well have fun while the ship sinks, eh?]

Remedies

  • CO2 Sequestration >
    Cement from CO2: A Concrete Cure for Global Warming? - While Calera's process of making calcium carbonate cement wouldn't eliminate all CO2 emissions, it would reverse that equation. "For every ton of cement we make, we are sequestering half a ton of CO2," says crystallographer Brent Constantz, founder of Calera. "We probably have the best carbon capture and storage technique there is by a long shot." (Scientific American; August 7, 2008)


  • Institute enumerates cross-section likelihood of reducing CO2 levels - The Electric Power Research Institute has released a study that shows that the aggressive development and implementation of a full portfolio of advanced electricity technologies could reduce the economic cost of cutting future U.S. CO2 emissions by more than 50 per cent while meeting the continuing growth in demand for electricity. (TreeHugger; Aug. 15, 2007)
  • An-Inconvenient-Truth (.com) LLC - Launched by Maui Media, this fan-based website of the acclaimed film about the climate crisis provides resources on global warming and alternative energy, clean air, water, and other ecological issues; has a blog; and includes a 'what you can do' checklist.
  • Geo-Engineering Patchwork Solutions for Warming - Mega-scale technical fix proposals include seeding the skies with compounds to encourage the formation of low-lying, cooling clouds; building a giant sun-shade in space; and dumping iron in the oceans to encourage the growth of algae that would take in carbon when alive and trap it in on the sea floor when dead. (TreeHugger; Jan. 14, 2007)
  • Liquid Chimney Could Reduce Global Warming - Tom Kiser, who made his reputation working on the greening of the Ford River Rouge plant, claims to have a smokestack which will capture the gases which cause greenhouse effects and turn them into harmless material, which could even be deposited in the ocean to restore coral reefs. (TreeHugger; Nov. 12, 2006)
  • Scientist publishes 'escape route' from global warming - Citing the incompetence of a gradual political approach, Nobel Prize-winning, Geoengineering scientist presents a radical defense against global warming: releasing particles of sulphur in the upper atmosphere, which would reflect sunlight and heat back into space. (Independent.UK; July 31, 2006) (See related discussion at Slashdot)
  • Modifying clouds to fight global warming - Professor Stephen Salter, a pioneer in converting wave power to electricity, proposes that highly reflective clouds could be seeded to bounce more of the sun’s rays back into space to counteract rising temperatures. (The Sunday Times, UK; Aug. 14, 2005)
  • No-Till Farming May Reduce Global Warming - According to a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign study, some carbon is found in soil as organic matter, and no-till farming can potentially increase the accumulation of organic carbon in soil. (PhysOrg; Oct. 13, 2005)
  • A Sunshade in Space to Combat Global Warming - U. of AZ astronomer Roger Angel proposes a giant sunshade to counteract possible abrupt climate change. It would be launched in small pieces by electromagnetic launchers. Developed and deployed in 25 years, lasting about 50 years, the shade would reduce the amount of sunlight reaching Earth by 2%. (Science Daily; Nov. 5, 2006) [What goes up must come down.]
  • U.S. Research firm unveils global climate index - Boston-based KLD Research & Analytics Inc. has launched a Global Climate 100 index in response to increasing demand for investment strategies focused on solutions to climate change. (ZPEnergy; July 10, 2005)
  • Energy Cartoon - Flip and Chilly, a polar bear and penguin from the North and South Poles, respectively, turn a gas guzzler into an efficient hybrid. (Natural Resources Defense Council, 2006)

Trends

  • The Methane Time Bomb - Arctic scientists discover new global warming threat as melting permafrost releases millions of tons of a gas 20 times more damaging than carbon dioxide. (Independent; UK; Sept. 23, 2008)
  • Relax, truth has surfaced - The truth, conceded Professor Ross Garnaut last week, is that it really is cheaper for Australians to do nothing about global warming. And, no, it's not immoral to figure there's no point spending big money to "stop" this warming when it won't make a blind bit of difference. (Herald Sun; Sept. 10, 2008)
  • Feeding the Masses: Data In, Crop Predictions Out - Lansworth sorts 100 gigs of intel every day, adding to a database of 50 terabytes and counting. It's also moving into world production-prediction — wheat fields in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine are already in the data set, as are corn and soy plots in Brazil and Argentina. (Wired; June 23, 2008)
  • Innovations Review 2008: Making Green the New Business - In this 36-page PDF inaugural review, the Environmental Defense Fund showcases more than 20 processes, products and technologies across a range of sectors of some of the latest, proven green business practice examples of the "new business as usual". (GreenBiz.com; May 20, 2008)
  • The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change - The alarmists think it’s a “paradox�? that the more people learn about climate change, the less likely they are to consider it a serious problem. But as John Tierney with The New York Times points out, maybe, just maybe, it’s because people are smart rather than stupid. Presentations and Audio feeds are made available online from the Conference. (Heartland Institute; March 2-4, 2008)
  • Environmental awareness taking root in conservative Christian churches - Traditionally, conservative Christians have been slow to embrace environmentalism. The "have dominion" edict in Genesis doesn't imply nurturing. The "no other gods" commandment precludes Gaia. The apocalyptic world view doesn't seem to include reasons of environment breach and is fatalistic. (Courier Press; Sept. 15, 2007)
  • Global warming impact like "nuclear war" - The International Institute for Strategic Studies security think-tank said global warming would hit crop yields and water availability everywhere, causing great human suffering and leading to regional strife. (Reuters; Sept. 12. 2007)
  • Live Earth Concert - 24-hour, 7-continent concert series took place on 7/7/07, bringing together more than 100 music artists and 2 billion people to trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis. Includes Google News snapshot. (PESN; July 7, 2007)
  • Global warming fastest for 20,000 years - and it is mankind's fault - Draft report by the world's leading climate scientists itemizes the evidence and concludes decisively that humans have played a role in the recent warming trend. (The Independent; May 4, 2006)
  • Sun's in the clear over global warming, says study - A new government-funded report says that the rise in global temperatures that has been detected over the past two decades cannot be blamed on the Sun, a theory espoused by climate-change skeptics, who point out a number of significant flaws in the study. See comments section. (PhysOrg; July 11, 2007)
  • 2006 Warmest on Record in United States - NOAA - The year 2006 was the warmest in the contiguous United States since record keeping began 112 years ago, due in large part to an unusually warm December, US government weather forecasters said on Tuesday. A factor in the record warmth was a long term warming trend some have linked to increases in greenhouse gases. (NOAA; Jan. 9/ Reuters; Jan. 10, 2007)
  • 2005 Was Warmest Year on Record - NASA - Last year was the warmest recorded on Earth's surface, since modern record-keeping began in the 1890s, and it was unusually hot in the Arctic, US space agency NASA said on Tuesday. (Reuters; Jan. 25, 2006)
  • Doom and Gloom - The largest and most comprehensive assessment of the world's ecosystems ever undertaken was released today; says two thirds of Earth's recourses used up. "The human race is living beyond its means." (Philadelphia Inquirer; March 30, 2005)
  • Global warming causes soil to release carbon - A study in the journal Nature looked at the carbon content of soil in England and Wales from 1978-2003 and found that it fell steadily, with some 13 million tonnes of carbon released from British soil each year. (Reuters; Sept. 7, 2005) (See also Slashdot)
  • Doom & Gloom - The largest and most comprehensive assessment of the world's ecosystems ever undertaken was released today; says two thirds of Earth's recourses used up. "The human race is living beyond its means." (Philadelphia Inquirer; March 30, 2005) (Guardian, UK; March 30) (MIT Technology Review; March 31. 2005) (The Age, UK; March 31, 2005)
  • Consensus on Global Warming - Science Magazine analyzed the last ten years of published scientific articles on the subject of global climate change. Of the 928 papers, 75% accepted that global warming was caused by human activities. 25% made no mention either way. Not a single paper asserted otherwise." (Slashdot; Dec. 8, 2004)
  • Carbon dioxide levels highest for 650,000 years - Levels of carbon dioxide, the principal gas that drives global warming, are now 27 percent higher than at any point in the last 650,000 years, according to research into Antarctic ice cores publi... (PhysOrg; Nov. 2005)
  • New data support global warming - A team of 25 scientists found that troposphere temperatures are above that of planet surface temperatures, corroborating 19 computer climate models. This report by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was published in Science. (Seattle Times; Aug. 13, 2005)
  • Responding to: Global Warming Bombshell - A key piece of evidence linking human activity to climate change turns out to be an artifact of poor mathematics. (MIT Technology Review; Oct. 15, 2004)
  • Hawaiian Climate Changing - Island inhabitant recounts recent unprecedented storms. Says Bush needs to rethink his response to Global Warming and take it more seriously. (PESN; Feb. 16, 2005)
  • Oregon Warmed Over Past Quarter Century - University of Oregon physicists report 10 to 15% increase in summer temperatures according to an initial analysis of data collected since 1979 by the university's Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory. (PhysOrg; Aug. 10, 2005)

Media

  • Al Gore: New thinking on the climate crisis - Al Gore's New Slide Show is Even More Awesome (30 min.) In his presentation to TED Talks, Al Gore not only addresses the problem of human-assisted global warming, but addresses the many solutions that can be deployed, a major item being political will. (EcoGeek; Apr. 9, 2008)
  • Tom Brokaw joins the battle against global warming - July 16, 2006 two-hour special on Discovery Channel, hosted by Tom Brokaw, produced by the global alliance of Discovery Channel, the BBC and NBC News Productions, will present the facts regarding global warming. ([1])

Books

  • The Denial Industry - In his forthcoming book, "Heat", George Monbiot reveals that the oil giant ExxonMobil gives money to scores of organisations that claim the science on global warming is inconclusive - which it isn't. It's a strategy that has set back action on climate change by a decade, and it involves the same people who insist that passive smoking is harmless. (Guardian.uk; Sept. 19) (Thanks Alastair Torrance)

Government & Politics

  • A Breath of Fresh Air at a Climate Change Conference - In his opening remarks, Joe Bast, the Heartland’s president, called the First International Conference on Climate Change historic and addressed the questions that the I.P.C.C. had ignored, such as how reliable are the data used to document the recent warming trend? How much of the modern warming is natural, and how much is likely the result of human activities? How reliable are the computer models used to forecast future climate conditions? Is reducing emissions the best or only response to possible climate change? (Energy Tribune; May 2, 2008)
  • Al Gore's Nobel Acceptance Speech (22 mins) - In accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, Al Gore calls on the world community to rally to the climate change challenge that faces us and threatens life as we know it. (Google Video; Dec. 11, 2007)
  • World Responds to British Stern Warning on Climate Change - With the completion of a 580-page commissioned report, Britain has issued a call for urgent action on climate change, to prevent catastrophe by taking preventative measures now. A snapshot of resulting worldwide media coverage. (PESN; Oct. 31, 2006)
  • Climate Talks Bring Bush's Policy to Fore - Scientific sleuths trying to understand the extent of global climate change -- and finger the culprits -- have come up with several important new clues. (Washington Post; Dec. 5, 2004)
  • Gathering One Million Signatures to Solve Climate Crisis - "Solutions to global warming exist and we -- already more than 865,000 strong -- are calling on leaders to make them happen. By coming together, we’re showing overwhelming support for leadership on this critical issue." (March 21, 2008)
  • Shifting Winds on Global Warming - Global warming has no shortage of causes — coal-burning power plants, carbon-spewing automobiles — but many European and Asian environmentalists seem to blame one factor above all others: U.S. President George W. Bush. But changes are afoot in the U.S. to move despite his intransigence. (Time; Jan. 23, 2008)
  • Fire the Grid (.com) - Rather than approaching the problem of what humans have done to the earth from a perspective of becoming independent from the power grid man has made, this site calls for sending a surge of energy through prayer/meditation and other such expressions to the earth for renewal on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 11:11 Greenich Mean Time.
  • How ExxonMobil Funded Global Warming Skeptics - ExxonMobil Corp. gave $16 million to 43 ideological groups between 1998 and 2005 in an effort to mislead the public by discrediting the science behind global warming, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. (Boston Globe/Associated Press; Jan. 4, 2007) (See Slashdot'' discussion)
  • Al Gore: Will Carbon Freeze be Enough? - Leading US politician proposes carbon-emissions freeze and other practical tactics for averting climate disaster. Though political, legal and financial challenges stand in the way of a shift to cleaner energy, his expression of faith in his fellow humans and examples of companies making positive change can inspire more people to take up the cause. (PESN; Sept. 23, 2006)
  • Clinton, mayors form alliance on climate - Former President Clinton and mayors of some of the world's largest cities announced an initiative Tuesday to combat climate change and increase energy efficiency in everything from street lights to building materials. (PhysOrg; Aug. 2)
  • Bush to Be Investigated for Global Warming Data Suppression - At the instigation of 14 Senators, Inspector Generals are investigating charges that the Bush administration muzzled several federal climate scientists, including James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. (Washington Post; Nov. 2, 2006)
  • Mayors Who Attended the First Sundance Climate Summit - Photo album of mayors who attended the Sundance Summit: A Mayor's Gathering on Climate Protection, July 10-12, to learn more about problems of climate change and to get armed with solutions that they can implement at the most local level of government. (PESN; July 16, 2005)
  • Climate Expert Says NASA Tried to Silence Him - The top climate scientist at NASA, James E. Hansen, says that the Bush Administration tried to silence him(NY Times) after he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming. (NY Times; Jan. 28, 2006) (See Slashdot discussion)
  • Scientists Say They're Being Gagged by Bush - Scientists doing climate research for the federal government say the Bush administration has made it hard for them to speak forthrightly to the public about global warming, resulting in Americans not getting the full story on how the climate is changing. (Washington Post; Apr. 16, 2006) (See Slashdot'' discussion)
  • Flammy McGassy - Flash cartoonist Mark Fiore addresses the state of global warming, omitted in Bush' state of the union address, complete with silenced scientists. (CBS News'; Feb. 2, 2006)
  • StopGlobalWarming.org - Virtual march on Washington D.C. via the Internet, ending April 22, 2005, gathering signatures, to urge our leaders to address global warming. Here's my entry page. Sign on as a friend.
  • U.S. Cooking the Books - A White House official downplayed warming data, who previously worked for the American Petroleum Institute, has repeatedly edited government climate reports in a way that downplays links between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. (CNN; June 8, 2005)
  • W.H. Defends Warming Reports - Changes made by administration official who was also a former oil industry lobbyist, "are still accurate". (CBS News; June 8, 2005)
  • G8 Summit set to yield to Bush on climate change - Group of Eight leaders meeting Thursday were poised to yield to US demands to produce a bland statement on global warming, risking the wrath of scientists and environmentalists worldwide. (PhysOrg; July 7, 2005)
  • Big Business Urges Urgent G8 Global Warming Action - Big business added its voice on Thursday to a growing crescendo of calls on the governments of the world's richest nations to take urgent action to curb potentially catastrophic global warming. (Reuters; June 10, 2005)
  • US Resists G-8 On Global Warming - The Bush administration is pressuring G-8 leaders to delete language from a statement that says the world is warming because of human activity. (CBS News; June 18, 2005)

[Somehow I don't think this is going to stem global warming. How about we trade our grandchildren's planet for some good times today! Boo, hiss.]

  • The Theology of Global Warming - Environmentalism has become the religion of Western elites for some time now, throwing into question the scientific objectivity of their claims to a human cause. (NCPA; Aug. 8, 2005)
  • Climatologists Wager on Global Warming - A pair of Russian scientists have entered a $10,000 bet with British climate expert James Annan. If the world is cooler by 2018, the Russian scientists win the bet (Slashdot; Aug. 20, 2005)

Humor

Videos

See Global Warming Videos Commercial Videos and YouTube Videos.

Weather Reports

  • Ice and Wind on Geneva - Results of ice storm during January, 2005 in Versoix, Geneva Switzerland. No Polar Bears were harmed during this ice storm, apparently.
  • Watch the web for climate change truths - Global warming theory is like the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - it has the word PANIC in big scary letters on the cover, and comes with a guarantee that in case of any discrepancy, it's Reality that has got it wrong. (Telegraph.co.uk; May 5, 2008)
  • Climate Audit - Shows increases in cold, increases in ice formations and not a warming trend as of March 2008.

Arctic Melting

  • The Methane Time Bomb - Arctic scientists discover new global warming threat as melting permafrost releases millions of tons of a gas 20 times more damaging than carbon dioxide. (Truthout; Sept. 23, 2008)
  • ARCTIC FREEZE CAUSES CHAOS - From Scotland to the south coast, millions woke up to thick snow. Areas of Southern England were under up to 8 centimetres as winter roared back with a vengeance to leave many areas colder than Alaska or Iceland. (Daily Express; April 7, 2008)
Changes in the Qori Kalis Glacier, Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru, are shown between 1978 (top) and 2002. The glacier retreat during this time was 1,100 meters. Photo credit: Professor L. Thompson Source: ScrippsNews
Changes in the Qori Kalis Glacier, Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru, are shown between 1978 (top) and 2002. The glacier retreat during this time was 1,100 meters. Photo credit: Professor L. Thompson Source: ScrippsNews
  • Thawing Permafrost Could Unleash Tons of Carbon - Ancient roots and bones locked in long-frozen soil in Siberia are starting to thaw, and have the potential to unleash billions of tonnes of carbon and accelerate global warming, scientists said on Thursday. (Alaska Report; June 16, 2006)
  • Arctic water flow speeding up - One of Siberia's largest rivers is dumping about 10% more fresh water into the Arctic today than it was some 60 years ago. The result is in line with predictions of how climate change is expected to alter the Arctic water cycle, and is a worrying sign in terms of maintaining important ocean currents. (Nature; Apr. 6, 2006)
  • NASA Study Shows Antarctic Ice Sheet Shrinking - Using data from the NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), scientists concluded that Antarctica's ice sheet decreased by about 152 cubic kilometers annually from April 2002 to August 2005. ('Reuters; Mar. 3) (See Slashdot discussion)
  • Greenland Glaciers Melting Much Faster - Satellite observations indicate that Greenland's glaciers have been dumping ice into the Atlantic Ocean at a rate that's doubled over the past five years. Accelerated by feedback loop. (MSNBC; Feb. 14, 2006) (See Slashdot discussion)
  • Antarctic glaciers in mass retreat - The discovery comes from an analysis spanning more than half a century of aerial photographs and satellite images. Shifting pattern linked to warming on icy peninsula. (Nature, April 21, 2005)
  • Carbon dioxide levels highest for 650,000 years - Levels of carbon dioxide, the principal gas that drives global warming, are now 27 percent higher than at any point in the last 650,000 years, according to research into Antarctic ice cores publi... (PhysOrg; Nov. 2005)
  • Melting Glacier Worries Scientists - Scientists monitoring a Greenland glacier have found it is moving into the sea three times faster than a decade ago. (PhysOrg; July 25, 2005)
  • Greenland glacier triples speed - The Greenland glacier Kangerdlugssuaq has unexpectedly picked up speed and become one the world's fasted-moving glaciers, symptomatic of global warming, according to GreenPeace. (PhysOrg; Aug. 12, 2005)
  • Siberian permafrost melting - Russian scientists say the western Siberian sub-Arctic region -- a peat bog the size of France and Germany -- has begun to thaw. (PhysOrg; Aug. 11, 2005)
  • Ice Shelf Retreat Not New, But ... - British scientists say the current retreat of ice shelves in the Antarctic due to global warming is nothing new, but this time it's due to man's emissions and that means the problem could be more serious. (CBS News; Feb. 23, 2005)
  • Tundra Greening Not a Good Sign - Satellite images taken over decades show two seemingly contradictory events that indicate global warming is affecting Alaska. (PhysOrg; Sept. 15, 2005)
  • Melting ice lets ship set record - New Zealand crew of a polar research ship say it has ventured further south than any other ship because of melting sea ice. (Australian, New Zealand - Jan. 31, 2005)
  • Widespread Arctic warming crosses critical ecological thresholds - Large new study of ecological impact covers five circumpolar countries extending halfway around the world and 30 degrees of latitude spanning boreal forest to high arctic tundra ecosystems, reports unprecedented and maybe irreversible effects of Arctic warming, linked to human intervention. (EurekAlert, UK; Mar. 1, 2005)
  • Arctic Ocean Waters Warm Suddenly - Water flowing from the North Atlantic Ocean into the Arctic provides evidence that the Arctic Ocean is warming, according to U.S. and European researchers. (PhysOrg; Oct. 07, 2005)
  • Arctic Melting Fast - Scientists have determined that the ice in Greenland and the Arctic is melting so rapidly that much of it could be gone by the end of the century. Estimate includes projection of greenhouse gasses. (ZPEnergy; Nov. 9, 2004)
  • Arctic melt accelerates - A thaw of the Arctic icecap is accelerating because of global warming. Nations in the region are deadlocked about how to stop it. (CNN; Nov. 2)
  • NASA study finds glacier doing double time - The world's fastest glacier, Greenland's Jakobshavn Isbrae, doubled its speed of ice flow between 1997 and 2003. The study provides key evidence of newly discovered relationships between ice sheets, sea level rise and climate warming. (PhysOrg; Dec. 1, 2004)
  • North Atlantic Ocean Temps Rise - Ocean temperatures in the North Atlantic, one of the most sensitive and productive ecosystems in the world, hit an all-time high in 2004, providing another wake-up call on climate change, say environmentalists. (CBS News; July 11, 2005)
  • [ Satellite set to survey Earth's poles] - Orbiting radar will measure how fast ice is melting. Set to launch Oct. 8, CryoSat will carry twin radar antennae that give it three-dimensional vision, so it can see not only how much of the planet's surface is covered with ice, but also how thick the ice is. The satellite should be able to detect changes in thickness of just a few centimetres, and can even see through thick cloud. (Nature; Oct. 3, 2005)
  • ESA'S Director Comments on the Loss of CryoSat - The 170-million-dollar CryoSat satellite blasted off from Russia's northwestern Plesetsk cosmodrome atop a Russian-built Rockot launch vehicle but failed to achieve orbit. CryoSat is the first mission to be lost after a long series of successful Earth Observation missions for ESA (Meteosat, ERS-1, ERS-2, Envisat and Proba-1). (PhysOrg; Oct. 10, 2005)

Droughts

  • Drought's growing reach - The percentage of Earth's land area stricken by serious drought more than doubled from the 1970s to the early 2000s, according to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). (PhysOrg; Jan. 13, 2005)
  • Drought bumps up global thermostat - Forest fires are raging across southern Spain and Portugal, and African locusts are invading French fields, causing the equivalent of nearly twice the emissions from fossil-fuel burning in the region over the same time. (H2O Power; Aug. 3, 2005)

Hurricanes

  • Hurricanes Are Getting Stronger - The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes worldwide has nearly doubled over the past 35 years, even though the total number of hurricanes has dropped since the 1990s. The shift has occurred as global sea surface temperatures have increased over the same period. (PESN; Sept. 17, 2005)
  • Katrina coming in - Hurricane Historian Says This Season Worst in Record in Many Ways - Depends on the criteria used to define 'worst,' according to Eric Gross, associate professor of history at Harding University in Searcy, Ark.. (PhysOrg; Sept. 27, 2005)
  • Katrina and Rita Just the Beginning? - Have we seen America's future through the eyes of hurricanes Katrina and Rita? Monster storms drowning cities and obliterating coastlines. Jobs vanishing and prices rising as ports and pipelines close. Millions fleeing, but many are trapped and die. Chaos reigns, paralyzing government and leaving the world's wealthiest society humbled and frightened. (Deseret News; Oct. 1, 2005)
  • Global warming and storms - Bush administration appears in contradiction to U.S. Govt. document that says, "The strongest hurricanes in the present climate may be upstaged by even more intense hurricanes over the next century as the Earth's climate is warmed by increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere." (Sun Sentinel; Florida; Sept. 11, 2004)

Mother Nature

  • Big Bogs Spurred Ancient Global Warming - Massive peat bogs in Siberia and elsewhere may have helped spur global warming at the end of the last ice age some 12,000 years ago. An exacerbating factor to consider. (Reuters; Oct. 13, 2006)
  • Tunguska explosion blamed for past century of warming - Scientific modeling points to the Tunguska explosion in Siberia in 1908 as a significant turning point, allowing more solar radiation to reach the earth's surface. The event released as much energy as fifteen one-megaton atomic bombs. (ScienceDaily; Mar. 14, 2006)