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mega geophysics
Posts Tagged “
Global Warming
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mega geophysics
geoscientific futurism
The ice-clogged, impassible North Pole of yesterday is about to melt away this summer, and may be one of the first examples of economic benefit coming from global warming. When the Pole shrinks away, it creates a wide path through the so-called Northwest Passage, a treacherous and icy route between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. With more melting, ships will be able to get from one continent to the next without having to do crazy navigational feats around giant ice sheets. Shipping becomes cheaper and more convenient. And when it becomes a major shipping lane, nations who control the area are sure to get richer.
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This Summer the Northwest Passage Opens, When the North Pole Melts
The ice-clogged, impassible North Pole of yesterday is about to melt away this summer, and may be one of the first examples of economic benefit coming from global warming. When the Pole shrinks away, it creates a wide path through the so-called Northwest Passage, a treacherous and icy route between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. With more melting, ships will be able to get from one continent to the next without having to do crazy navigational feats around giant ice sheets. Shipping becomes cheaper and more convenient. And when it becomes a major shipping lane, nations who control the area are sure to get richer.
More »
An Inconvenient Scientist
One of the most well-respected climatologists in the world, James Hansen was pissed off about global warming way before it was cool to be 'green' — like, 1988. He's such a baddass that in 2006 he took on his employer, NASA, and the Bush Administration, publicly accusing them of supressing his research, which provided damning evidence that humans were causing global warming. But he's far from finished. Today marks the 20th anniversary of his climate crusading, and in a speech before Congress today he's planning to ask lawmakers to send the CEOs of oil companies to jail for spreading lies about climate change.
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Famous Climate Scientist Goes Postal, Tries to Lock up Big Oil CEOs
One of the most well-respected climatologists in the world, James Hansen was pissed off about global warming way before it was cool to be 'green' — like, 1988. He's such a baddass that in 2006 he took on his employer, NASA, and the Bush Administration, publicly accusing them of supressing his research, which provided damning evidence that humans were causing global warming. But he's far from finished. Today marks the 20th anniversary of his climate crusading, and in a speech before Congress today he's planning to ask lawmakers to send the CEOs of oil companies to jail for spreading lies about climate change.
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mega weather
A vast hole in Earth's ozone layer yawns open every summer over Antarctica. Since atmospheric ozone shields us from a lot of ultraviolet radiation, losing it means a lot more mutations. But as bad as that sounds, repairing the hole could mean destroying the planet. Now scientists from Columbia University have discovered that the ozone hole is actually keeping the antarctic cold, slowing the erosion of ice sheets like the Larsen Ice Shelf (pictured), which began to crumble this year due to elevated temperatures. It could be that the hole is all that stands between us and a completely melted south pole.
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Repairing the Ozone Hole Speeds Global Warming
A vast hole in Earth's ozone layer yawns open every summer over Antarctica. Since atmospheric ozone shields us from a lot of ultraviolet radiation, losing it means a lot more mutations. But as bad as that sounds, repairing the hole could mean destroying the planet. Now scientists from Columbia University have discovered that the ozone hole is actually keeping the antarctic cold, slowing the erosion of ice sheets like the Larsen Ice Shelf (pictured), which began to crumble this year due to elevated temperatures. It could be that the hole is all that stands between us and a completely melted south pole.
More »
global warming
Heavily-Populated Kiribati Islands Sinking Beneath the Waves
Despite a couple of natural disasters involving hurricanes, river deltas and the destruction of cities, a lot of folks on Earth have a hard time believing that rising sea levels are a problem. Those people should talk to Anote Tong, the president of the island nation of Kiribati. He's convinced his country is going to be a modern day Atlantis by the end of the century, and last week he took the opportunity to ask the international community for help finding new places to live for himself and his 97,000 compatriots as their 33 atolls vanish into the sea. More »
global warming
Dealing with Climate Change the Way African Farmers Do
While scientists and politicians in the developed world continue their tedious arguments about whether climate change is really happening, farmers in Africa have not only accepted it but are adjusting their entire lives to deal with rapid weather shifts brought on by global warming. Local environmental groups have been tracking dramatic seasonal changes in Benin, Kenya and Malawi, nations with a lot of farmland that have traditionally relied primarily on rain to irrigate crops. Now the rainy season is no longer adequate, and farmers have come up with some solutions that aren't in the Kyoto Protocols. More »
evolution
The Ancient Apocalypse
Finally, a reason to think we'll survive the next apocalypse. Last week, a study that traced the origins of humans through mitochondrial DNA concluded that 70,000 years ago humanity underwent its greatest disaster ever. Africa experienced a massive drought at the time and it devastated our population, leaving perhaps as few as 2,000 people alive on the entire planet. Yet somehow we recovered — a warm thought for all the cold nights we spend dreading nuclear war, the next pandemic, dwindling water and food supplies, and global warming. More »
global warming
CO2 Map Shows Hi-Res View of Global Warming Culprits
The United States is responsible for about a quarter of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Now we know exactly where they're coming from, thanks to the powerful new Vulcan mapping system built by Kevin Gurney and colleagues at Purdue University. Vulcan overlays emissions from transportation, power plants and other sources onto a map of the US using a grids with a resolution of 10 kilometers. More »
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 »
retro futurism
An Inconvenient Truth--in 1955
In the 1950s Pageant was a digest-sized general-interest magazine, given to pretty cover girls and sensational stories like "Sex: The American Way Is Best" and "9 Hours In Hell With A Dope Addict." But with the help of a pair of geologists from Columbia University, in February 1955, Pageant looked at "Our World in 30,000 Years." Some of the article sounds suspiciously familiar, especially if you've seen An Inconvenient Truth. First of all, rising seawater eventually swamps the east coast under 500 to 600 feet of water. And there's more. 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]
architecture
Swiss Death Star Is Answer To Global Warming
This starship-shaped building is designed to rescue the Swiss Alps from the effects of climate change. The region hopes this silver luxury resort, with its one Cylon-esque red eye, will help it attract visitors after there's no more snow to ski on. The Intercontinental Resort in Davos opens in 2010, but here's a mock-up from the architect's site. Image from MatteoThun.com. [NY Times]
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