globalwarming awareness2007 Habitaquo

WoW

Ivan Garcia — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 23:48:38 +0000

Algunos enlaces interesantes:

Humor - Blog de humor y tonterias varias
Videos - Recopilacion de videos de la red
Amor - Todo sobre el amor en internet
Leyes - Informacion sobre derecho
Peliculas online - vagos.es
Hechizos
Foro de magia
Programas - Recopilacion de programas
Club Gijon Maluka
Comunidad - La comunidad de los frikis

Adaptationists at the World Bank

Ivan Garcia — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 23:42:45 +0000

Calling all realists! According to the Christian Science Monitor, the World Bank is looking for two specialists in adapting to global warming. Actually, by my count, as of today (February 20, 2007) there are three jobs available. Two of them are “Senior Environmental Specialists, (Climate Change)”, one of whom would work for the World Bank Environment Department and one of whom would work for the World Bank Institute. The newest post is for an Adaptation and Country Relations Officer for the Global Environment Facility — basically for committed environmentalists who want to brave the wilds of bureaucracy and try to get countries collaborating to work on problems like desertification, biodiversity loss, and water. If you try those links in March or April 2007, they may be gone.

These job postings, however small a sign, do seem good to me; the impacts of global warming are here now, and future investments have to take it into account. As well, we have committed ourselves to at least 1 degree Celsius more warming (usually called committed warming) no matter what we do. Hope the international community adapts to that

More info: climeshift

How Solid Is That Global Warming Research?

Ivan Garcia — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 01:10:18 +0000

Apparently, not so much. The previous link is from India. As such, it’s not translated in perfect English; but the gist of it remains:

Believe it or not. There are only about a dozen scientists working on 9,575 glaciers in India under the aegis of the Geological Society of India. Is the available data enough to believe that the glaciers are retreating due to global warming?

That’s a good question. When alarmists claim that glaciers are shrinking in the Himalayas, it becomes vital. In order for twelve scientists to look at even 10% of these glaciers, each scientist would be responsible for 80 glaciers! (10% of 9,575 = 957.5, divided by 12 people = 79.8 glaciers/person.) In order to see all 80 glaciers in a year, said scientists would have to visit a new glacier every 4.6 days.

Thus: “[VK Raina] feels that the research on Indian glaciers is negligible.” I think I agree. But these scientists haven’t even looked at 80 glaciers en toto:

Raina told the Hindustan Times that out of 9,575 glaciers in India, till date, research has been conducted only on about 50. Nearly 200 years data has shown that nothing abnormal has occurred in any of these glaciers.

50/9575 = 0.5% of the glaciers. And rather than having all 1/2 percent demonstrate Global Warming, these demonstrate “nothing abnormal” for the last 200 years.

Strong evidence for receding glaciers indeed! So let’s finish up with:

“Claims of global warming causing glacial melt in the Himalayas are based on wrong assumptions,” Raina, a trained mountaineer and skiing expert said. He rued that not much is being done by the Government to create a bank of trained geologists for an in-depth study of glaciers.

…

His views were echoed by Dr RK Ganjoo, Director, Regional Centre for Field Operations and Research on Himalayan Glaciology, who is supervising study of glaciers in Ladakh region including one in the Siachen area. He also maintained that nothing abnormal has been found in any of the Himalyan glaciers studied so far by him.

Still, he wondered on the Himalayan glaciers being compared with those in Alaska or Europe to lend credence to the melt theory. Indian glaciers are at 3,500-4,000 meter above the sea level whereas those in the Alps are at much lower levels. Certainly, the conditions under which the glaciers in Alaska are retreating, are not prevailing in the Indian sub-continent, he explained.

Another leading geologist MN Koul of Jammu University, who is actively engaged in studying glacier dynamics in J&K and Himachal holds similar views. Referring to his research on Kol glacier ( Paddar, J&K) and Naradu (HP), he said both the glaciers have not changed much in the past two decades.

More info: calvindude

Global Warming goes solar

Ivan Garcia — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:49:56 +0000

According to Nigel Calder, former editor of New Scientist magazine:

One awkward question you can ask, when you’re forking out those extra taxes for climate change, is “Why is east Antarctica getting colder?” It makes no sense at all if carbon dioxide is driving global warming. While you’re at it, you might inquire whether Gordon Brown will give you a refund if it’s confirmed that global warming has stopped. The best measurements of global air temperatures come from American weather satellites, and they show wobbles but no overall change since 1999.

That levelling off is just what is expected by the chief rival hypothesis, which says that the sun drives climate changes more emphatically than greenhouse gases do. After becoming much more active during the 20th century, the sun now stands at a high but roughly level state of activity. Solar physicists warn of possible global cooling, should the sun revert to the lazier mood it was in during the Little Ice Age 300 years ago.

I wonder if our various Labor governments have an incentive scheme for not going solar in this particular way?

More info: andrew cairns

Social Networking For Change

Ivan Garcia — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 12:17:35 +0000

Nonprofit social networking site Change.org is launching this morning and hopes to change the way the average person or activist interacts with nonprofits. The site focuses on getting users to issues they care about - ending hunger, stopping global warming, etc. Users can sound off on issues, but the site also recommends that these users donate their time and money to the causes they support.
The site consists of social networking’s usual suspects, profiles, friends, messaging, groups, and a personal blog. Groups, in this context, are called “changes” and are meant to join together like-minded people around social changes they feel passionate about. In private beta, groups have been formed around topics such as “Stop Global Warming” and “Save Net Neutrality“. Each group gets a comment thread and blog to chat on along with a photo gallery to post pictures or videos.

More info: techcrunch

Common Sense On Global Warming

Ivan Garcia — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 21:38:51 +0000

Stephen Colbert agrees with my assessment. As long as a few scientists contest Global Warming we should let the debate continue!

But seriously, as ridiculous as Colbert makes “our” position sound, there are some valid points which need to be considered. Everyone concedes the majority of the respectable scientific community thinks Global Warming is man made and will have dramatic consequences.

The number of respectable (non-quack) scientists who don’t agree with these conclusions is a matter of debate in and of itself. There is a lot of self selection going on. In one view the fact that the IPCC reports are so cohesive implies that there can’t be very many scientists who oppose the conclusions of the IPCC reports or some of them would’ve shown up on the IPCC’s Working Group. Another view, probably more accurate, is that such people were excluded from participation. As well, there is certainly a media bias suppressing opposition voices.

For their lack of inclusion in the debate and their lack of communication channels it is difficult to judge the size of the scientific community that does not agree with the accepted view of Global Warming.

We can certainly say that Colbert’s figure of “99.9%” of climate scientists accepting Global Warming’s cause and consequences is hyperbole.

More info: frommedskool

Global Warming Threatens Great Barrier Reef

Ivan Garcia — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 23:24:06 +0000

Scientists have noticed a great deal of coral bleaching throughout the world in recent years, and it is becoming a particular concern to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Coral bleaching is usually caused by rising water temperatures. When coral reaches a temperature that it can no longer tolerate it shoots out the tiny animals that live inside it and dies (unless the water is cooled soon enough). This coral bleaching is a threat to the marine life of the reef and therefore a concern to the Australians, because the reef is a very important tourist attraction. The article also goes into the subject of global warming a little more, because global warming is believed to be the cause of the coral bleaching in the reef. Experts are upset with people for first causing and then underestimating global warming. The dying coral in the Great Barrier Reef is a sign that global warming is happening and is a danger. Not only could the Great Barrier Reef and the life it supports die, like in many of the Indian Ocean’s coral reefs, but global warming can become a disaster for everyone and everything on the planet.

I can see why many people are concerned about global warming (especially if they watch movies like “Day after Tomorrow”), and the effects it is having and will have on life on earth. The Great Barrier Reef is not an isolated case–global warming is a threat everywhere. Yet as horrible as the loss of the Great Barrier Reef would be to Australia’s toursim, I doubt that even Australian citizens are going to drive their cars less or do anything else out of the ordinary to try to slow down global warming. I’m afraid that people just won’t get it until the polar ice caps melt completely, flooding most of the world’s coastlines (if it happens, hopefully it won’t). However, I suppose that global warming is just one more way that the signs and destructions of the last days will be manifested. We should individually do our best to take care of the earth and be less wasteful, and then live in such a manner that we “shall not be burned (or otherwise destroyed) at His coming.”

More info: Durran-Austral Realm

Global Warming: A plot by the climatologists

Ivan Garcia — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 17:21:48 +0000

Even more than all of this, these climate scientists have an inherent motivation of self-interest in promoting global warming, because if we’re in a climate crisis then we need more climate research, and we need to fund more climate research projects, and we need more university faculties in climatology. Climatologists, then, become more important and better funded and have more job choices, because they are the prophets who will show us the way out of our predicament. Believing them when they tell us there’s a climate crisis is rather like believing the military when they tell us that the best solution to our international problems is to invade everyone. Like any profession, the marketplace rewards productivity, and in this case producing a worldwide crisis is enormously rewarding for them.

More info: Polimon

globalwarming awareness2007 no ping technorati

Ivan Garcia — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 23:03:53 +0000

This globalwarming awareness2007 no ping technorati

A reader weighs in on that global warming question

Ivan Garcia — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 17:58:05 +0000

Jo Ann Wright read the story on the global warming report and sent this: “The message ‘there is nothing we can do’ is the wrong message. We are all complacent. There is plenty we can do to reduce emissions — smaller cars, smaller houses, using public transportation, carpooling, and demanding that industry does its part. That we have not been doing anything up to this point is evident in the monster cars on the road and the big box houses going up way out on the fringes. When do we wake up!”

More info: startribune