Madoff Goes Global

Here’s an excellent write-up that describes the ways in which we are stealing from future generations to feed ourselves and the parallels between doing so and any other Ponzi scheme.

PONZICONOMY: Our global pyramid scheme

I’ve read Plan B 2.0, an excellent book, and notice that there is a link to a new version Plan B 4.0 by Lester Brown.

Don’t forget, the article doesn’t even mention the fact that not only is the oil at the pump a subsidized and limited resource, so is the oil we pour on our corn as fertilizer.

That’s right, industrial fertilizers are petroleum products. We’re eating oil!! That can’t be good for either our health or our long term prospects in terms of a very large population dependent on a fossil, non-renewable, resource.

Time Lapse Ice Loss Video

This video makes a great visual demonstration of climate change by actually showing ice loss over time.

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The fallacy of climate activism

This may appear to undermine a number of my earlier posts. However, in this case, I think the point is extremely important. We must begin to recognize and tell the truth of the true nature of our problems. That said, we must also use every weapon in our arsenal to fight for the preservation of the environment to the best of our ability. Most likely the only tool that will actually be worth a damn will be birth control. Yet, we must still do all we can to reduce our ecological (including carbon) footprints while at the same time taking action to reduce the number of feet. The regulars on this blog will remember that I have already argued that the planet cannot support even 300 million of us, let alone 6.7, 8, or 9 billion. So, in that sense, this article is still somewhat consistent with my prior posts. However, I cannot recall previously gotting to the point of wording the issue such that climate change is a mere symptom of a much larger problem, one that involves not only too many people, but people with a completely failed view of the finite planet on which we depend for our very lives every single day.

The fallacy of climate activism

McKibben/Colbert Discuss The Number 350

Here’s a great video of Bill McKibben on the Colbert Report as they discuss NASA findings why 350 is the most important number on earth right now. I’ll leave any commentary for later.

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NOAA: Climate Change Largely Irreversible

A new study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states that we’ve already locked in more than 1,000 years of climate change, even if we completely stop emitting CO₂ immediately. Note that while the study below indicates that we have already guaranteed from 1.3 – 3.2 feet of sea level rise over the next 1,000 years, that small but significant amount does not even take into account any melting from glaciers.

New Study Shows Climate Change Largely Irreversible

Welcome to the NYC Free Subway System

Here’s an interesting plan to solve two of New York City’s current problems in one fell swoop. First, the subway would be free, at least during off peak hours, and possibly ultimately around the clock. Second, vehicular traffic into the city would be expensive. This new Kheel plan from a long term veteran of conflict resolution promises a wonderful solution to the problems of a transit system in financial crisis and a city clogged with traffic.

Being the pessimist that I am, and looking at what happened to the Bloomberg plan for congestion pricing, I don’t really have much hope for this. However, this just might be exactly what New York needs.

Kheel Plan 2 Seeks to Plug MTA Budget Gap

For the full Kheel plan in PDF as well as an overview of the Theodore W. Kheel’s awe inspiring credentials, click below.

The Full Kheel Plan

Thanks to my wife for a great find.

EPA Creates Environmental Fugitives Most Wanted List

Environmental fugitives get own most-wanted list

In my opinion, the number one fugitive on the list should be Stephen L. Johnson. The man has done irreparable harm to the environment in his tenure as EPA Administrator. He has flatly refused to regulate carbon dioxide emissions in any way despite being ordered by the United States Supreme Court to do so.

As of this date, the EPA has still done nothing regarding CO2 emissions regulations or implemented any form of a carbon tax.

I have written Mr. Johnson several nastygrams on the subject including getting personal by pointing out that his five grandchildren will one day curse his memory for destroying their planet. To call this man is a major league bucket of scum would be to insult perfectly good and decent pond scum.

Thanks Jan for the article.

The Most Important Number on Earth

It seems that the number 350, a rather boring looking number, may be even more important than Pi and Phi. It probably isn’t more important in the universe than the Hubble Constant and other important universal constants. However, to life evolved for the current climate range on Earth, 350 may just turn out even more important than all the rest, at least for our island Earth.

Why 350?

Tell Me Now That Carter Was A Bad President

Please read this article about Carter’s 1977 speech and tell me now that Carter was bad for the country and Reagan was good. Go ahead. Tell me now which of those two presidents had the right long term plan for this country. Tell me how much worse off we would have been had we continued with Carter’s energy plan. Tell me that this speech of Carter’s didn’t detail a large chunk of the events that have now come to pass as a result of not following his plan.

Climatologists Give Up the Ruse

It appears that it is finally time for climatologists to come clean. Unfortunately, this is not a report of the skeptics being magically right. Rather, climatologists are finally starting to state that, yes indeed, the extreme weather we’ve been seeing for years really is the direct result of climate change.

Could this be just the liberal media? Well, perhaps, if you consider Newsweek to be a liberal rag. Otherwise, this report is likely legitimate. To me, the only thing surprising has been how long climatologists have been so cautious about finally saying this.

Global Warming Is a Cause of This Year’s Extreme Weather

Climate Change Worse than Feared, Again

I generally try to avoid posting links to blogs. However, this one is a New York Times blog. It is also very well written and chock full of links to back up its statements. And, perhaps most important, it references peer reviewed scientific data from Nature.

So, once again, there is new data showing that climate change is happening even faster than we thought it was.

Seas Rising and Warming Faster Than Realized

1,700 Climate Scientists and Economists Recommend Action

Top U.S. Scientists and Economists Call For Swift, Deep Cuts In Global Warming Pollution
More than 1,700 Say Early Reductions Can Benefit Economy

I must admit that this is in the pattern ordinarily used by the climate change skeptics. They love to quote a large number of scientists that dispute that climate change is real or dispute that it is human caused.

However, it has been my experience that such claims are often made when the scientists listed largely fall into one of three categories, scientists in a field not related to climatology, names of people who may or may not be scientists but have no peer reviewed papers to their names, or known ExxonMobil employees.

Perhaps you might say that these 1,700 fall into similar categories on the other side. However, in this case, according to the League of Conservation Scientists, among the names are:

The signatories, compiled by UCS, include six Nobel Prize winners in science or economics, 31 NAS members, and more than 100 IPCC authors and editors

The End of Snowball Earth and What it Means Today

This article, citing a peer reviewed article from Nature, discusses the climate forces that ended a particularly cold time on earth 635 million years ago. It further discusses how these changes may be relevant today.

Large Methane Release Could Cause Abrupt Climate Change As Happened 635 Million Years Ago

Good News: High Costs Slow Clean Coal

Mounting Costs Slow the Push for Clean Coal

Many environmentalists are actually pushing for so-called “clean” coal. Some of the arguments are valid. Along the valid lines of argument are statements that the existing plants will not be decommissioned in the foreseeable future and should at least be retrofitted with carbon sequestration technology.

This makes a lot of sense. These plants will be burning the coal anyway. If we put the CO₂ underground, even if it leaks one day, it is better than the known damage from spewing it forth today. I would support such moves in conjunction with a plan to phase out the burning of coal completely.

Unfortunately, many environmentalists take a different tack. They state that the coal is there and it’s cheap. We’re going to burn it. At least this is a less damaging way to do so. Such advocates include some very respected high level environmentalists. I respectfully and strenuously disagree with such logic.

Tobacco Litigation Strategy for Climate Change?

In The Weather Makers, there is a chapter called “The Last Act of God”. The premise is that storms and the like were all considered acts of god from a legal standpoint. This meant that no one could be held responsible. However, in light of anthropogenic climate change, these things are now foreseeable consequences of actions of corporations, nations, and even to a very small extent individuals.

This means that these entities may now be open to litigation in international court for damages that result from climate change as a foreseeable outcome of the actions of these entities.

Putting the Global in Global Warming

It seems to me that a lot of people are concentrating on the local details of climate change rather than on the global issues that are both readily apparent and far more reliably predictable than specific local effects.

Unfortunately, many people read that there are specific local predictions about more of a particular storm or changes in specific rainfall patterns and then, if they don’t become apparent and obvious every single year, another ridiculous concept as these things will always vary from year to year, they assume that climate change is not real. This may become a fatal error.

McCain: A Climate Disaster

First read this article from the New York Times, McCain Differs With Bush on Climate Change. One thing is clear from this article, all of the remaining candidates want to reduce carbon emissions.

However, what is not clear from this is the magnitude of their differences on the point. Take the following paragraph that I believe to be very poorly written on the part of an otherwise fairly good news source.

In his speech, Mr. McCain advocated cutting emissions 60 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050; Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama propose cutting them by 80 percent in the same time frame while the Lieberman-Warner bills calls for a 70 percent reduction. Scientists say reductions of that magnitude are needed to slow and then reverse production of the gases, chiefly carbon dioxide, which are heating the atmosphere and causing long-term climate changes.

This last sentence is patently false. Scientists say that a reduction of emissions to 80% below 1990 levels is required to avert catastrophic warming and to avoid a tipping point. The planet will not negotiate on politics. So, let’s see just how different are 60%, 70%, and 80% reductions?

More Gore

Here’s another incredibly persuasive, inspiring, and informative video from Al Gore. He’s such an excellent speaker and offers real analysis and solutions to the crisis of our time, climate change. This is the big one. There is no problem facing humanity today that approaches the seriousness and certainty of climate change left unchecked. Please watch this enlightening, empowering, and uplifting video. Watch for his analogy regarding tar sands and shale; it’s a classic.

TED: Al Gore: New thinking on the climate crisis — Note: I recommend downloading the mp4. I had problems trying to watch it on the web page. It’s under 100M. Your mileage may vary.

Earth The Sequel

There is also a description of Earth the Sequel on EDF’s website. There’s a book signing in Manhattan. Details below pasted from an email I received from EDF.

Global Warming Skeptic Proves Global Warming is Real?!

Well, not really. A simple blog post is never going to be much proof of anything. *

However, this blog post has four graphs. Two of the graphs, the third and fourth, are really quite useless. However, despite the author’s assertion, the first two graphs are actually quite a good demonstration that global warming is real. Of course, a longer trend would actually be better. But, even with this 140 year graph, the trend is abundantly obvious. The author has merely misread his own data.