Robert Lee Hotz has been writing about science for thirty years for various American newspapers, has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize twice and won it once, and these days works for the Wall Street Journal. He writes big, thoughtful pieces about cutting-edge science. This is good, but it means he doesn't publish often, soContinue reading “The Sloshy, Scary Future of New York City”
Tag Archives: Climate
LA Times to SoCal: Climate Change is Here. Deal with It.
Over the past couple of years I have been critical of the paper for its all-or-nothing coverage of global warming (where they will run enormous stories about climate change in, say, the Arctic, but neglect to mention consequences here in California the US when covering other less-sexy environmental stories not specifically about climate change.)
Weeping for What Does Not Matter
The long-winded but extra-smart Sharon Asytyk ruminates on the meaning of Michael Jackson's death: Michael Jackson is not Michael Jackson the pop star, or Michael Jackson the boy from the silly Jackson Five, or Michael Jackson the child abuser – he’s simply an empty space of fame into which we can pour our need forContinue reading “Weeping for What Does Not Matter”
Obama Frames Climate Change
The Obama administration is coming back from the G-8 meetings with no agreement from other nations — both European and developing — on reducing emissions of heat-trapping gases such as CO2. This has not been clearly reported; as so often seems to happen these days, the clearest statement on a murky news situation comes notContinue reading “Obama Frames Climate Change”
Fish and Sheep Know Globe is Warming: Why Don’t We?
Talk to climate change skeptics, and they will take you into the weeds of global temperature measurement, the supposedly overlooked importance of the sun, and so on. They will invariably cite the obvious fact that global temps have risen and fallen over the eons. But they will not mention that the glaciers and plants andContinue reading “Fish and Sheep Know Globe is Warming: Why Don’t We?”
“She Smoked Like a Coal-Fired Power Plant…”
For the last couple of weeks, I've been mentioning the newly-released report on global warming in our country from the US Global Change Research Program. I've been reading reports from various scientific agencies, including the IPCC, for some time now, and I have never read one this dire. But even among my tough-minded readers, thisContinue reading ““She Smoked Like a Coal-Fired Power Plant…””
Politics as Usual Betrays the Planet
Paul Krugman, throwing down the gauntlet. Seems unfair that this guy writes better on climate than nearly any other lefty commentator around — and it's not even his field. Is it fair to call climate denial a form of treason? Isn’t it politics as usual? Yes, it is — and that’s why it’s unforgivable. DoContinue reading “Politics as Usual Betrays the Planet”
Well Running Dry in Southern Europe. EU Warns
A stupendous climate change report, complete with extensive interactive graphics on emissions, now can be found on the European Environment Agency site. Part of the story is about how climate change is making life drier and more difficult in Southern Europe. Story includes a great graph on "water stress" in a country, called the WaterContinue reading “Well Running Dry in Southern Europe. EU Warns”
Climate Scientists See a Different Planet On the Way
According to a poll of top climate scientists attending a conference last month in Copenhagen, the world will not succeed in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in what James Hansen likes to call "A Different Planet." According to The Guardian: Of more than 250 experts surveyed, more than half said the 2C target could stillContinue reading “Climate Scientists See a Different Planet On the Way”
Translating the G20 “Triumph”
The G-20 meeting in London was widely considered a triumph for Barack Obama and the West. (Even Paul Krugman said so.) The Guardian's George Monbiot sees it differently, He writes: Here is the text of the G20 communique, in compressed form. "We, the Leaders of the Group of Twenty, will use every cent we don'tContinue reading “Translating the G20 “Triumph””
Kit Stolz 