Monthly Archives: November 2009

Climate: Too Big a Problem to Get Excited About

Last week the Democrats in Congress agreed with no apparent debate to forget about trying to do anything to preserve climate stability this year, and, in effect, to move the issue to the back burner.  In the widely-quoted words of Senator Claire McKaskill: After you do one really, really big, really, really hard thing thatContinue reading “Climate: Too Big a Problem to Get Excited About”

Global Warming: Top Phrase of the Decade

So alleges The Language Monitor, which claims results based on a "proprietary algorithm that tracks words and phrases in the media and on the Internet, now including blogs and social media (such as Twitter). The words are tracked in relation to frequency, contextual usage and appearance in global media outlets, factoring in long-term trends, short-termContinue reading “Global Warming: Top Phrase of the Decade”

Climate Stability to Vanish in the 2020’s: Dr. Jeff Masters

Dr. Jeff Masters, a scientist, hurricane watcher, founder of a national Internet weather site, and as respected as any meteorologist in the public eye known to this journalist, predicts when climate stability will collapse: There were 88 presentations on arctic sea ice at the 2008 AGU [American Geophysical Union] conference. None of the presenters expressedContinue reading “Climate Stability to Vanish in the 2020’s: Dr. Jeff Masters”

Acorns Abundant This Fall: El Nino On the Way?

According to climatologists, it's going to be wet this winter. Experts on El Niño, the well-known global weather circulation pattern that often brings warm winters and heavy rain to the West Coast, recently released a chart showing the El Niño Southern Oscillation  (ENSO) strengthening across the Pacific. This is good news for those of usContinue reading “Acorns Abundant This Fall: El Nino On the Way?”

Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Smoke Enviromentalists in Congress

Before criticizing enviros too harshly for their ineffectiveness, as I did yesterday, and numerous others have as well, perhaps I should have looked at the numbers. The Center for Responsive Politics  has done just that, and the results are sobering. Here's how it looks for the environment in the 3rd quarter: ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTA high-profileContinue reading “Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Smoke Enviromentalists in Congress”

Environmentalists Accused of Climate Denialism

Great to see a writer without a famous name roil the blogosphere, as Adam Sacks sets off a storm with an accusation flung in the face of fellow environmentalists on Grist: We're deniers every time we say “80 percent by 2050,” or even “80 percent by 2020”; every time we refer to tipping points inContinue reading “Environmentalists Accused of Climate Denialism”

Who Will Be the Last Human to Eat Bluefin Tuna?

Barry Estabrook asks a great question: There is a strong likelihood that someone in this generation will be the last human to eat a bluefin tuna. By most scientific accounts, the species hovers on the brink of extinction, if it hasn’t already crossed that line. As they say, read the whole thing. Probably it willContinue reading “Who Will Be the Last Human to Eat Bluefin Tuna?”

Why China Needs to Think About Climate

James Fallows, a wonderful writer and blogger for the Atlantic, is not one to panic, but when it comes to the ice at the roof of the world — upon which hundreds of millions of people depend — he sounds scared. Here's his post from today, on what Obama should be talking about on hisContinue reading “Why China Needs to Think About Climate”