Tag Archives: Climate

Why deniers cling to the “global cooling” myth: a theory

At Boing Boing, Maggie Koerth-Baker does an excellent job of retelling the myth that global climate change deniers adore. That's the myth that scientists widely feared global cooling in the l970's. According to the standard version of this story, everybody in the 1970s thought that the Earth was actually getting colder, and that we were inContinue reading “Why deniers cling to the “global cooling” myth: a theory”

Ghost forests of the 21st century

Some have wanted to label the pika, a charming little mountain creature, as the first species likely to be driven to extinction by climate change, but a typically excellent story by Elizabeth Shogren of National Public Radio lays out a much more horrifying possibility: the whitebark pine. SHOGREN: Do you think it's a forgone conclusionContinue reading “Ghost forests of the 21st century”

Making a city resilient: plant more heat-resistant trees

That's what Chicago is doing, among other forward-thinking ideas:  Awareness of climate change has filled Chicago city planners with deep concern for the trees. Not only are they beautiful, said Ms. Malec-McKenna, herself trained as a horticulturalist, but their shade also provides immediate relief to urban heat islands. Trees improve air quality by absorbing carbonContinue reading “Making a city resilient: plant more heat-resistant trees”

Monbiot: Environmentalism is stuck

George Monbiot is not the first enviro to argue that the movement, if it is a movement, has argued itself into a corner. That it is, as he says, "stuck." But he has a knack for putting it plainly:  Those seeking to protect the landscape are not our enemies; nor are those advocating that renewablesContinue reading “Monbiot: Environmentalism is stuck”

Why American problems are easily solved

Those concerned about climate change, from scientists to journalists to politicians, have a plethora of theories why the United States, almost alone among the nations of the developed world, seems resistant to acting to avoid the worst of the consequences.  Update: A handful of possibilities are discussed this week in The Economist, which doesn't provideContinue reading “Why American problems are easily solved”

Severe weather in 2010: food price inflation in 2011

As I've said before, it's just not fair that Paul Krugman is not only the best lefty writing about the economy, he's also the lefty best able to write about the consequences of global warming. 

From today's column, a taste…more below the virtual fold. 

While several factors have contributed to soaring food prices, what really stands out is the extent to which severe weather events have disrupted agricultural production. And these severe weather events are exactly the kind of thing we’d expect to see as rising concentrations of greenhouse gases change our climate — which means that the current food price surge may be just the beginning.

The fate of the mountains under climate change: a ray of hope for the Sierra?

In his inimitably far-sighted way, John Muir considered the fate of the Sierra Nevada in an era of climate change, long before global warming even began to take hold. In August 1875, in his journal, he wrote:  I often wonder what man will do with the mountains…Will human destructions like those of Nature — fireContinue reading “The fate of the mountains under climate change: a ray of hope for the Sierra?”

Could the Australian floods be caused by climate change?

Are the devastating and deadly recent floods in Australia caused by climate change? No. Australia has always been "a land of drought and flooding rains," as a foundational poem about the nation, My Country, by Dorothy McKellar, described it over a hundred years ago.  But could a tendency towards drought and flood be worsened by climate change?Continue reading “Could the Australian floods be caused by climate change?”

Are frequent fliers to blame for extreme weather delays?

The dull factual scientific answer to Alissa Walker's provocative question is: Probably not.  Or: Not yet.  After all, even climatologists who spend a great deal of time discussing global warming in the media, such as Gavin Schmidt of Real Climate, are not ready to attribute the cold couple of weeks we had recently to rippleContinue reading “Are frequent fliers to blame for extreme weather delays?”