At the most recent meeting of the American Meteorological Society, the distinguished Warren Washington presented a paper by a team of scientists called Climate Change Projections for the Twenty-First Century and Climate Change Commitment in the CCSM3, which is about projecting our future climate with general circulation (computer) models. The news is not good, unsurprisingly,Continue reading “A Scientist Offers a Positive Vision for Emissions Reduction”
Author Archives: Kit Stolz
How Inner Peace Leads to Outward Beauty
How stress ages us…is this not an environmental question? Or, to put it in the positive: How inner peace can lead to external beauty? (yes, I know, it's from Allure. But still…)
Why Can’t Agnostics Get Any Respect?
Most people lump atheists and agnostics together, which is just plain dumb, as simple-minded as lumping together Christians and Muslims, because they both believe in one God. Knowing there is no God and not knowing if there is a God are two completely different beliefs. Why is that so difficult for so many people toContinue reading “Why Can’t Agnostics Get Any Respect?”
Landscape with Arson
Off to visit the Sespe, which is still badly scared from the epic Day Fire of four years back…which brings to mind a memorable new poem from Jennifer Grotz at the New England Review, via Poetry Daily: Landscape with Arson Have you ever watched a cigarette released from a driver's fingers swim through the nightContinue reading “Landscape with Arson”
Geo-Engineering: Five Experts Debate
From Seed magazine, an excellent discussion of the pros and cons of geo-engineering the climate to avoid a potential disaster, by five recognized experts. Here's "the prompt," as the kids say: In June the National Academies’ climate panel will convene to examine whether geo-engineering fixes are technically and economically feasible—and whether they can be carriedContinue reading “Geo-Engineering: Five Experts Debate”
Ralph Gets the Old “Fuck Ye” from Elizabeth Yet Again
Life in NYC, from the great Overheard in New York: Hispanic guy, noting hot chick passerby: Hey, baby.Hot chick: (rolls eyes)Hispanic guy: (takes off shirt and puts it on the ground for her to walk over)Hot chick, stopping: I'll give you some credit for that one…but fuck off. (continues walking)
SciGuy and “No Warming Since l998” Debunked in GRL
For science reporters, it has to be tempting to throw a curve ball at the climate consensus. Especially in red states, it's what a lot of readers want to hear. Could this be what led Eric Berger, the SciGuy for the Houston Chronicle, to claim that these are "good times to be a climate skeptic?"Continue reading “SciGuy and “No Warming Since l998” Debunked in GRL”
“The Great Recession?” Really?
From The Big Picture, via Andrew Sullivan: Hard to know if the worst is over, but this chart strongly suggests that comparisons between whatever it is that we're going through and The Great Depression are simply wrong. Even the phrase The Great Recession (from a New York Times headline) is sounding overblown.
End of the “Cold Road”: 18,000 Year-Old Glacier Vanishes
From the Miami Herald: CHACALTAYA, Bolivia — — If anyone needs a reminder of the on-the-ground impacts of global climate change, come to the Andes mountains in Bolivia. At 17,388 feet above sea level, Chacaltaya, an 18,000 year-old glacier that delighted thousands of visitors for decades, is gone, completely melted away as of some sad,Continue reading “End of the “Cold Road”: 18,000 Year-Old Glacier Vanishes”
The Upside of the Economic Downslide
Less traffic. According to the WSJ: Rush-hour congestion — defined as moving slower than free-flowing traffic — in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan markets fell 29% in 2008 versus 2007, said Rick Schuman, a vice president at Inrix, a Washington company that measures traffic patterns. It fell an additional 7% in this year's first quarter.…TheContinue reading “The Upside of the Economic Downslide”
Kit Stolz 