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climate change
Posts Tagged “
Climate Change
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climate change
global warming
Let's Tow the Wilkins Ice Shelf to California
An enormous chunk of the Wilkins Ice Shelf in Antarctica started collapsing a few weeks ago. The slab, roughly the size of Connecticut, is "hanging by a thread." What will happen when over 5,000 square miles of ice break free? It could be a part of the coming ecological apocalypse. But if we just use the right technology, that iceberg could mean drinkable water for people in the parched regions of the Western U.S. and Australia where climate change is already creating terrible droughts. More »
environmental disaster
Over the past five years, the western United States endured temperature increases that caused droughts, deadly heat waves, mass death of trees, and insect infestations. Now a new report from the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization demonstrates why: the U.S. West has experienced an average temperature increase that is 70 percent greater than the world as a whole. The warming is directly related to greenhouse gas emissions.
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Western U.S. Cooked by Climate Change Sooner than the Rest of the World
Over the past five years, the western United States endured temperature increases that caused droughts, deadly heat waves, mass death of trees, and insect infestations. Now a new report from the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization demonstrates why: the U.S. West has experienced an average temperature increase that is 70 percent greater than the world as a whole. The warming is directly related to greenhouse gas emissions.
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climate change
Giant Squids Invade The Dead Zones Of California
Every summer since 2002, the waters off the West coast die. And then the giant squids come. It's all thanks to global warming, which causes massive "low oxygen zones" off the coast, in which almost everything in the water dies off due to oxygen starvation. It's already too late to reverse the ocean's "George Romero Tribute," but it's good news for the huge Humboldt squids. More »
urban dystopia
Most cities built before 1900 weren't designed with cars in mind, and traffic jams are often one of the results. As we move towards a future that is looking increasingly urban, we're likely to see more traffic scenes like this one, in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. We're also likely to see more traffic jams created by war zones, and by climate change. Want to see what those look like?
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The Shape of Urban Traffic to Come
Most cities built before 1900 weren't designed with cars in mind, and traffic jams are often one of the results. As we move towards a future that is looking increasingly urban, we're likely to see more traffic scenes like this one, in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. We're also likely to see more traffic jams created by war zones, and by climate change. Want to see what those look like?
More »
The Earth faces seven "tipping points" within the next 100 years. These are changes in the environment that can't be undone, and which will lead to a disastrous downward spiral and amplify global warming and environmental damage on a historic scale. The first of these, the collapse of the Indian summer monsoon, will happen within just one year, predict scientists. The next one, the melting of the Arctic sea-ice, will happen within 10 years. [UniverseToday, via PosthumanBlues]
futurism
Weaponizing Climate Change for Battle
A new article in Foreign Policy suggests that geoengineering (or weather engineering) may be part of the next high-tech battle strategy for troops who want a force multiplier. The article is an updated version of an essay by futurist Jamais Cascio. Others have already speculated about how the ability to control rain systems and pull down lightening may be the future of warfare. In fact, all the technologies to do this already exist. But Cascio thinks forced ecosystem imbalances may be the weapon of choice for offensive geoengineers. More »
sci fashion
Nothing like holding a fashion show in a toxic industrial park at the edge of the Tietê, one of the most polluted rivers in Brazil. Last week was fashion week in São Paulo, Brazil, and designer Cavalera decided to show off his retro-grunge peasant looks in a place that looks like an industrial dystopia. We've got a gallery of images from one of the strangest fashion shows we've ever seen — past or future.
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Toxic Fashion Show Celebrates Pollution
Nothing like holding a fashion show in a toxic industrial park at the edge of the Tietê, one of the most polluted rivers in Brazil. Last week was fashion week in São Paulo, Brazil, and designer Cavalera decided to show off his retro-grunge peasant looks in a place that looks like an industrial dystopia. We've got a gallery of images from one of the strangest fashion shows we've ever seen — past or future.
More »
climate change
By 2050, Smog Monster Will Be Eating Mostly Cars
A new study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that about 20-25% of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 and ozone) are coming from railway, shipping, and car or truck transportation. But the most interesting part of the study are its future projections. "In 2050, as much as 30-50% of total CO2 emissions are projected to come from the transport sector," write the authors. In addition, they say that many of the emissions causing climate change from transportation are not covered in the Kyoto Protocol. Climate forcing from the transport sectors [PNAS]
climate change
Toxic Emissions Theater in Bali
Over the weekend, the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali came to an action-packed conclusion. The United States got bitchslapped by a delegate from Papua New Guinea — who told the US to "get out of the way" if it wasn't going to be a leader in reducing toxic emissions — and the delegates stayed up all night to produce a document promising to produce more documents in 2009. So what's the real upshot? Will San Francisco be submerged in 2020? More »
environmental collapse
Are You in a Climate Change Hot Zone?
An international team of scientists has crunched the numbers and predicted which areas of the world will be hit hardest by the effects of climate change. They created this map of the "socioclimatic" future of the world. The reddest areas, which include China, India, and the United States, are in the most danger because they suffer from a deadly combination of social problems and lax policies on toxic emissions (it's no coincidence that all three countries are not signatories to the Kyoto Treaty). Check out the stats for yourself. [Eurekalert] Image by Pamela Burroff-Murr/Diffenbaugh et al./Dan Annarino/NOAA.
tabloid science
Lady Antelopes Kill for Sex
Science isn't all about sex, pollution, cutting up brains, and going to outer space, but given today's headlines we can just pretend that it is.- Turns out the time-honored "dudes fighting over a lady" thing isn't really that common outside the human world. If you look at how most species behave in nature, often the ladies are fighting to the death to get a few ounces of precious sperm. A new study looks at how lionesses and female antelopes go into sexual frenzies and fight each other for the right to get with males. [LiveScience]
- Now you can make cash if you save the forest. At least, that's the promise that's luring a lot of countries to the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference, where everybody is trying to go green but still rake in the same amount of dough they'd get from filling the atmosphere with carbon. [Eurekalert] Hot pix of Venus and why you are stupid after the jump.
