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Ross Gelbspan’s video on climate change "In Conclusion..." (via @climateprogress)

Ross Gelbspan's Website: The Heat is Online

http://www.heatisonline.org/

Climate Progress on this: "Watch Ross Gelbspan's video on climate change and the fossil-fuel-funded disinformation campaign"

http://climateprogress.org/2009/12/27/watch-ross-gelbspans-video-on-climate-change-and-the-fossil-fuel-industry-fossil-fuel-funded-disinformation-campaign-launched/

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18 Reasons to be Cheerful After Copenhagen (via @worldchanging)

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010913.html

KlimaForum Declaration:

http://www.klimaforum09.org/IMG/pdf/A_People_s_Declaration_from_Klimaforum09_-_ultimate_version.pdf

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When Limiting Carbon Emissions Fails: "The Geoengineering Gambit" (via @techreview etal)

Mauricio Alego

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/24157/?nlid=2629

"For years, radical thinkers have proposed risky technologies that they say could rapidly cool the earth and offset global warming. Now a growing number of mainstream climate scientists say we may have to consider extreme action despite the dangers."

Kevin Bullis: "...Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide have already climbed to 385 parts per million, well over the 350 parts per million that many scientists say is the upper limit for a relatively stable climate. And despite government-led efforts to limit carbon emissions in many countries, annual emissions from fossil-fuel combustion are going up, not down: over the last two decades, they have increased 41 percent. In the last 10 years, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by nearly two parts per million every year. At this rate, they'll be twice preindustrial levels by the end of the century. 

"Meanwhile, researchers are growing convinced that the climate might be more sensitive to greenhouse gases at this level than once thought. "The likelihood that we're going to avoid serious damage seems quite low," says Schrag. "The best we're going to do is probably not going to be good enough." This shocking realization has caused many influential scientists, including Obama advisors like Schrag, to fundamentally change their thinking about how to respond to climate change. They have begun calling for the government to start funding research into geoengineering--large-scale schemes for rapidly cooling the earth..."

http://www.technologyreview.com/

Daniel Schrag: http://schraglab.unix.fas.harvard.edu/index.html

also see: April 17, 2009: Signs From Earth: Moving Geoengineering From the Shadows

Summary of a panel discussion that I helped orchestrate and organize at the 2009 Aspen Environment Forum. (http://www.aspenenvironment.org) 

Panelists included: Ken Caldeira, David Keith, and David Victor; Marty Hoffert and Robert Socolow were attendees and discussants. With links to additional articles and references on geoengineering, including Jamais Cascio's (@cascio) book "Hacking the Earth," and Alan Robock's essay "20 Reasons Why Geoengineering May Be a Bad Idea." 

http://ddimick.typepad.com/dennis_dimicks_blog/2009/04/moving-geoengineering-from-the-shadows.html

also see: Signs From Earth Notes: Geoengineering

http://ddimick.posterous.com/?sort=&search=geoengineering

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Climate Study: Plants & animals must move ≥ 1/4 mi/yr as habitats shift up and north (via @naturenews etal)

Nine Mile Run near Pittsburgh, PA. Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns as a result of changing climate are forcing plants and animals to migrate, or change their ranges, at projected rates of at least 1/4 mile a year. This according to a study published Dec. 23 in the journal Nature. Photo by leafy/flickr.

http://www.ciw.edu/news/climate_change_puts_ecosystems_run

PR from Carnegie Institution of Washington: "Global warming is causing climate belts to shift toward the poles and to higher elevations. To keep pace with these changes, the average ecosystem will need to shift about a quarter mile each year, says a new study led by scientists at the Carnegie Institution. For some habitats, such as low-lying areas, climate belts are moving even faster, putting many species in jeopardy, especially where human development has blocked migration paths...."

Nature: The Velocity of Climate Change

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v462/n7276/abs/nature08649.html

From Abstract: "The ranges of plants and animals are moving in response to recent changes in climate. As temperatures rise, ecosystems with 'nowhere to go', such as mountains, are considered to be more threatened. However, species survival may depend as much on keeping pace with moving climates as the climate's ultimate persistence. Here we present a new index of the velocity of temperature change (km yr-1), derived from spatial gradients (*C km-1) and multimodel ensemble forecasts of rates of temperature increase (*Cyr-1) in the twenty-first century. This index represents the instantaneous local velocity along Earth's surface needed to maintain constant temperatures, and has a global mean of 0.42kmyr-1..."

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Sea Level Rise Planning Maps: Likelihood of Shore Protection

http://plan.risingsea.net/

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As Global Temperatures Rise, So Too Do Health Risks (via @newshour)

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/july-dec09/globalhealth_12-24.html

From report by Ray Suarez: "...DR. MARIA NEIRA: Our message is, if climate change continues, the health of the people will be affected, particularly the health of the people -- the people living in very poor countries, but as well the health of the people living in very developed countries. Second message, to convince everybody that they need to do something about reducing carbon emissions is that is a commonsense thing..."

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Why the FAIL #COP15 meme? As if a 2-week meeting can re-engineer the world energy system re: @guardianeco

Perhaps we focus on the wrong thing, how #COP15 failed to live up to "expectations." 

Instead of a huge carbon-generating meeting to discuss limiting carbon emissions, how about one to catalyze massive investment, development, and deployment of low-carbon energy as fast as possible? 

We can't limit carbon emissions without energy supplies that are limited in their carbon emissions. 

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How do I know China wrecked the Copenhagen deal? I was in the room, Mark Lynas, The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/22/copenhagen-climate-change-mark-lynas

"If you want to know who's to blame for Copenhagen, look to the US Senate, George Monbiot, The Guardian"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/21/copenhagen-failure-us-senate-vested-interests

"We're all eco-warriors now after world leaders failed us at Copenhagen, James Garvey, guardian.co.uk"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2009/dec/21/copenhagen-climate-change

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See These on a Big Screen: The decade in news photographs (via @big_picture) #photojournalism #history

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/12/the_decade_in_news_photographs.html

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Evolution: Stewart Brand’s Strange Trip from Whole Earth to Nuclear Power (via @YaleE360)

http://www.e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2227

Stewart Brand: "...The air pollution from coal burning is estimated to cause 30,000 deaths a year from lung disease in the United States, and 350,000 a year in China," writes Brand. "A 1-gigawatt coal plant burns three million tons of fuel a year and produces seven million tons of CO2, all of which immediately goes into everyone's atmosphere, where no one can control it, and no one knows what it's really up to..."

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"The Copenhagen Accord": Final Text: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (via @guardianeco)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/21/copenhagen-accord-climate-change

Download now or preview on posterous

24367216-unfcc.pdf (160 KB)

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Murky Details: Business chiefs hit at #COP15 climate agreement (via @ft)

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3ba78230-ed9c-11de-ba12-00144feab49a.html

"Global energy businesses are disappointed and confused by the climate deal agreed in Copenhagen, saying it does not provide enough certainty to justify the huge investments needed to cut carbon emissions..."

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Dead Malls Picture Show: Ghosts of Shopping Past (via @jenny8lee and @dallas_news)

http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/galleries/ghosts_of_shopping_past/

Dallas Morning News Gallery: "Landscaping overgrows, walls develop mildew, ceilings cave in—a building can be shut down, but that doesn’t make it go away. Brian Ulrich’s photographs of closed-down malls and big-box retail stores reveal the potential ghost towns lying inside successful shopping complexes all across America."

Brian Ulrich Website: http://notifbutwhen.com/

The original Dead Malls Website: http://www.deadmalls.com/

Check out their page on "Informative Links."

Then there is Big Box Reuse, Julia Christensen's book and website on mall recycling

http://www.bigboxreuse.com/book/

"...In Big Box Reuse, Julia Christensen shows us how ten communities have addressed this problem, turning vacated Wal-Marts and Kmarts into something else: a church, a library, a school, a medical center, a courthouse, a recreation center, a museum, or other more civic-minded structures. In each case, what was once a shopping destination becomes a center of community life...."

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Generic Biotech Soybeans: "Monsanto to Allow Use of Seed After Patent Expires" (via @nytimes)

RoundUp Ready Delta King Soybeans in Penton, Mississippi. Photo by Fujoshi/flicker

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/business/18seed.html

Andrew Pollack: "Facing antitrust scrutiny over its practices in the biotechnology seed business, Monsanto has said it will not stand in the way of farmers eventually using lower cost alternatives to its genetically modified soybeans...

"...Because farmers and seed companies would no longer have to pay royalties to Monsanto on the gene after 2014, Roundup Ready soybeans would become agricultural biotechnology's equivalent of a generic drug..."

AgroNews: Monsanto announced Roundup Ready soybean trait will be royalty-free in 2014

http://news.agropages.com/News/Newsdetail---2024.htm

Dec. 13 Associated Press Report: Food Giant's Power Tactics: Monsanto's confidential contracts squeeze competition 

http://ddimick.posterous.com/food-giants-power-tactics-monsantos-confident

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NOAA/NCDC: 2009 5th Warmest Year So Far: Global Temperature Anomalies Jan-Nov 2009 (images fixed)

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/get-file.php?report=global&file=map-blended-mntp&byear=2009&bmonth=1&year=2009&month=11&ext=gif

"The January-November 2009 map of temperature anomalies shows the presence of warmer-than-average conditions across most of the globe's surface area, with the exception of cooler-than-average conditions across the southern oceans, and along the eastern North Pacific Ocean. The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for the year-to-date period tied with 2007 as the fifth warmest January-November period on record. This value is 0.56*C (1.01*F) above the 20th century average...."

The report also shows Southern Hemisphere month of November (land and ocean surface combined) as warmest ever recorded.

also see: Hot Map: Springtime Haat Wave in Southeastern Australia

http://ddimick.posterous.com/hot-map-springtime-heatwave-in-southeastern-a

Global Highlights from: National Climatic Data Center

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/?report=global&year=2009&month=11&submitted=Get+Report

* The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for November 2009 was 0.60*C (1.08*F) above the 20th century average of 12.9*C (55.2*F). This is the fourth warmest such value on record.

* The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for September-November 2009 was the fourth warmest on record for the season, 0.59*C (1.06*F) above the 20th century average of 14.0*C (57.1*F).

* For the year to date, the combined global land and ocean surface temperature of 14.6 *C (58.2 *F) was the fifth-warmest January-November period on record. This value is 0.56*C (1.01*F) above the 20th century average.

* The worldwide ocean surface temperature for November 2009 was the fourth warmest on record for November, 0.51*C (0.92*F) above the 20th century average of 15.8*C (60.4*F).

* The seasonal (September-November 2009) worldwide ocean surface temperature was also the fourth warmest on record, 0.50*C (0.90*F) above the 20th century average of 16.0*C (60.7*F).

* In the Southern Hemisphere, both the November 2009 average temperature for land areas, and the Hemisphere as a whole (land and ocean surface combined), represented the warmest November on record.

Temperature Rankings Year to Date

Plot: Jan-Nov Land and Ocean Surface Mean Temperature Anomalies

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/get-file.php?report=global&file=lo-hem&byear=2009&bmonth=1&year=2009&month=11&ext=gif

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Study: Seas could rise 20 to 30 feet with 2 degrees C. more warming (via @eurekalert @naturenews)

A study published in Nature Dec. 16 indicates that sea level could rise 20-30 feet with a further warming of 2 degrees Centigrade. This projection is higher than shown in this map of the northeast United States with a six meter rise. Graphic from: Climate Change and Sea Level (link to site below): http://www.geo.arizona.edu/dgesl/research/other/climate_change_and_sea_level/sea_level_rise/northeast/images/sm/slr_usane_6meter_sm.htm

Study: Earth's polar ice sheets vulnerable to even moderate global warming

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/pu-sep121409.php

"A new analysis of the geological record of the Earth's sea level, carried out by scientists at Princeton and Harvard universities and published in the Dec. 16 issue of Nature, employs a novel statistical approach that reveals the planet's polar ice sheets are vulnerable to large-scale melting even under moderate global warming scenarios. Such melting would lead to a large and relatively rapid rise in global sea level...."

NATURE: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v462/n7275/edsumm/e091217-01.html

Editor's Summary: "A model of rising sea levels: Sea levels at the last interglacial, about 125,000 years ago, were higher and polar temperatures up to 5 *C warmer than today, so the period is seen as a partial analogue for what could happen in the event of anthropogenic warming. Kopp et al. assemble a global database of local sea level rise indicators and use a statistical treatment to estimate global sea level rise during the last interglacial. They find that global sea level was probably 8 to 9.4 metres above present levels, with the rate of sea level rise exceeding 50 cm per century. This suggests that today's ice sheets would be vulnerable to relatively low levels of global warming."

Data Here: NOAA Paleoclimatology: Interglacial and Future Sea Level

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/pubs/clark2009/

ABSTRACT: "A merger of data and modelling using a probabilistic approach indicates that sea level was much higher during the last interglacial than it is now, providing telling clues about future ice-sheet responses to warming."'

Washington Post: Greater Sea Level Rise from Warming Predicted

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/16/AR2009121604191.html

Juliet Eilperin: "A new paper published online Wednesday in the journal Nature suggests that the world may face a long-term sea-level rise of 20 to 30 feet, even under a modest global temperature rise...."

Princeton: Study: Earth's polar ice sheets vulnerable to even moderate global warming

http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/09/73O57/index.xml

"An additional 2 degrees of global warming could commit the planet to 6 to 9 meters (20 to 30 feet) of long-term sea level rise"

University of Arizona: Climate Change and Sea Level Maps

http://www.geo.arizona.edu/dgesl/research/other/climate_change_and_sea_level/sea_level_rise/sea_level_rise_old.htm

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