The hype on climate change

There has been a lot of debate on global climate change, and with a new administration, it is the hope of many proponents of global warming that President Obama will lead us to an energry efficient and environmental conscious nation. But has there been too much hype on the subject of global warming? Whatever side your on, exaggeration, and overdramatization are often pitfalls in our arguments. The NY Times reported how Al Gore, now the face of global warming has become the most visual casualty of inaccuracies and overstatements. Speaking to an audience on global warming, Al Gore stated that "global warming is creating weather-related disasters that are completely unprededented." In addition, columnist George Will, a frequent opponent of global climate change attacked scientists for "fear mongoring"the American public and was quick to point out how they have been wrong in the past by predicting a looming "ice age". However, they are not alone. President Obama, durring an appearance at a California climate conference stated that "science pointing to human caused warming was beyond dispute". Beyond dispute? While i support our efforts to curtail human enduced causes to global warming, i hardly doubt that it's beyond dispute. There's lots of evidence that should give people pause of the effects of global climate change. Scientific data is continually changing and providing us with new information around global warming. But they are all prone to human error. While i think its wonderful that advancement in technology has allowed us to provide better data, they have not been around long enough to give us the proof beyond dispute. When we hear stories such as Mr. Gore having to pull slides showcasing disaster, it tends to give his critics more ammunition. Many proponents of global warming say that we have seen extreme weather paterns, changes in percipitation and rise of sea levels. But is it all caused by global warming? How do we know that the carbon dioxides released are the main cause? And, if it's true that we are living in a "ice house" world, why are we concerned about global warming in the first place? And finally, it's been really cold in the streets of NY lately, so cold that my skin dries up, my con ed bill has gone up and i've had to pull out the extra comforters to keep warm. I may be just hyping it up, but isn't that what get's people attention in the first place? (image source)

Acid Rain

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Most of us have heard of acid rain. But have you ever heard of acid fog, acid snow or even acid dust? Depending on where you live, acid raid can take on many forms, but the effects to our environment and health are all the same. Acid rain is mainly casued by sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides released into our atmoshphere from the burning of fossil fuels. These chemicals can travel for thousands of miles and once they react with water and oxygen they for fulfuric and nitric acid acording to the environmental page of National Geographic. The National Geographic also states that due to this reaction, PH balace of rain can drop well below the 5.6 average acidic levels in rain. Over a period of time, low PH balace of rain will begin to also affect marine life. This article reports that once PH balance falls below 4.5, all fish, frogs, insects and bottom-dwelling bacterial decomposers begin to die. I remember when i was really young hearing in the news how car paint had begun to deteriorate after long exposure to acid rain. Acid rain also robs the soil of essential nutrients for plant life and trees. Acid rain affects our oceans, rivers, lakes and streams and potentially causing severe agricutural implications. Once our agricultural fields begin to be effected, we will see shortage of vegetation and continued economic downturn. The only way to fight acid rain is by restricting the pollutants that cause it. This means burning fewer fossil fuels! So instead of driving to work why not take public transportation, and if you have to drive, carpooling is another great way to become an environmentally friendly consumer!

Snowman for Prez in 2012

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There has been some good news on the global warming front. President Obama this week met with Prime Minister Harper of Canada. This maiden voyage to our neighbor to our north is significant for many reasons. First, Canada is a major supplier of oil to the United States. So any movement we do on the economics around reducing our oil dependence from other contries will surely affect Canada's economy. However, I was glad to hear about practical ways that the U.S. and Canada can work together for the sake of environmental protection. While no major decisions were made on this maiden trip, some tangible and concrete ideas were discussed. I'm glad to note that both governments are on the same page on 1) develope and deploy clean energy technology 2) Expand clean energy research and development and finally 3) to launch a clean energy dialogue with their citizens. What's amazing, is that this dialogue is even happening! For the past eight years former president G.W.Bush has turned such a blind eye to our environmental concerns. What's also great is that Obama's new administrator of the E.P.A. is to review some last minute "do nothing policies on global warming." I only hope Obama is sincere on his pledge to do something about our global warming crisis. If not...i'm voting for this guy in 2012...if he's not melted away! It's only 30seconds..but he's asking for our vote! Maybe we should hear mr. snowman out?!

All about AL

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Former vice president Al Gore has had a really good year. He won an academy award for his docudrama "An Inconvinient Truth" and also won the nobel prize for his work on global warming. Because vice president Al Gore has dedicated so much time to this cause, that we now have the perfect cognitive schema when it comes to global warming. This mental framwork would most likely look like this: Al Gore, Vice-President, winner of nobel prize, winner of Emmy for "An Inconvinient Truth", global warming advocate, a lot of attention.
After watching the film, i noticed all the various types of appeals Al Gore made to make his point and persuade his audience that global warming is real. There was of course, an appeal to popularity (he used himself), appeal to history (used the "hockey stick" graph"), appeal to authority (droped a lot of experts names of people i don't know) and appeal to emotion (showed the glaciers breaking down before our very eyes). All very effective techniques. In this cartoon clip that i found on youtube, Al Gore describes how global warming happens. Basically, a little girl walks out an ice cream shop and imidiately her ice cream melts, an authority figure is outside to explain why her ice cream melts. The sun beams coming down to earch get "beat up" by the green house gases, traping the sun beams on earth and piling up, causing warming. Take a look! (1:54)


This has got to be the easiest explanation i've ever seen.

America the Beautiful

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Keeping America beautiful doesn't have to be a daunting task for us. While our government debates with other governments of the causes of global warming and climate change, i figure there are things i can do at home to help the cause. The term "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" often comes to my head as an environmentally aware consumer. It may seem small, but if we all practice the three "R's" we can all have a major impact of the garbage produced. Most end up in man made landfills or get burned, releasing toxic gasses into our atmosphere, further increasing the greenhouses and causing further warming of our planet. I found some great tips on how to keep America beautiful. Some small but very significant ways to contribute are:

1) Plant a tree or coordinate a clean-up event in your community! This is a great way to get our community active and educated on the issues of global warming.

2) Re-use material such as paper grocery bags and avoid plastics! For some reason they end up in our oceans killing marine life or in our beaches as unsightful waste.

For more information on how you or your business can contribute check out this article.

Global Warming vs. Climate Change

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We often hear people talk about global warming and climate change as if they were the same thing. However, this is false. The truth is that global warming is defined as "the overall warming of the planet based on average temperatures over the entire surface". Climate change on the other hand " ...are the changes in regional climate characteristics, including temperature, humidity, rainfall, and wind". So why do so many people use these terms interchangeably? Does global warming cause climate change? Or, does climate change cause global warming? Perhaps there is a third external factor that causes both? First, lets look at these two concepts individually. The earth has gone through several cyclical warming and cooling periods for a very long time. However the entrapment of greenhouse gases have increased so rapidly that the average global temperature has risen. The effects of this warming trend have been seen with the contraction of the ice caps in the north pole, causing a rise in sea elevations. Climate change, is usually referred to regional conditions and how warm or cool our temperatures are. It may seem that climate is responding to the changing warming of the earth. Climate change may manifest itself as severe weather conditions in certain parts of the planet, such as droughts or flooding, all affecting agriculture. There are many myths surrounding global warming and climate change. The first step in de-mystifying the subject is to understand both concepts.

Global Warming Porno

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Now that i have your attention, this entry is not about pornography, at least not in the traditional sense of pornographic images (sorry folks). But it is about how the media exploits global warming and the potential apocolyptic end to our planet. In Mark Maslin's "Global Warming: A Very Short Introduction" he describes the media's love fest with anything illustrating "doom and gloom" to our society. You see, global warming has all the right ingredients. It has drama. If we don't do anything about global warming we will see the end of days as only the book of revelations can imagine. It has controversy. Does the science behind global warming add up? Why are there so many conflicting evidence around global warming? Scientist have been wrong before, what makes their claims right this time? It has suspense. James Hansen, who is believed to be the "father" of the global warming issues states that the new president "...only has 4 years to save the world"! Only four years?! Huh! Sounds like the perfect hollywood film! Oh, wait a minute, Hollywood has already bought into the global warming drama. "The Day After Tomorrow" was a blockbuster success and it brought the issue of global warming to the massess. The fact is, that "...the media has brought this obscure scientific issue to one of popular public concern" (Maslin: Global Warming, pg37) Furthermore, the cause of global warming has seen it's stock rise by the release of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and by many more cable channels dedicating specials on the issue and its catastrophic effectswith really neat special effects for our viewing pleasure. Sceptics of global warming have equally used the media to progress their views by debating the consensus and reliability of of data around global warming. Stay tuned folks, the show is only just beggining and the fights ahead and passions ensued will truly be "pornographic". Cigarette anyone?

Where have all the birds gone?

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The purple finch, about 5-6 inches in size and weighs about 1-1 1/2 ounces with a thick and pointed bill, is usually seen in the eastern United States in the winter months. Males are traditionally reddish in color and females brown with white stripes. In the past, the purple finch has seen cyclical declines, many have said due to the introduction of other species such as the house sparrow over 100 years ago. However, interestingly enough, the purple finch is seeing another decline in the eastern parts of the United States, and this time it's not due to the introduction of new species, and acording to the Audubon Society, more than 305 bird species have been moving further north than usual due to the rapid damage of their ecosystem. The fact is that that purple finch, who once migrated across Springfield, MO are now seen further north along the latitude of Milwaukee, Wis. Why? Global warming is changing these beautiful birds habits and migration patterns. In addition, other concerns for the purple finch and the other 305 bird species is the fact that they no longer have homes to come back to to nest. Deforestation, and low food supply in these once abudant regions are now limited areas for successful breeding. A study on North American species spending winters farther north indicates that "...the only explanation why so many birds over such a broad area are wintering in more northern locales is global warming." While our planet continues to warm due to anthropogenic-enhance greenhouse gases, global warming will manifest itself in a number of ways. We already see it by the changing paterns of the purple finch and the 305 other bird species affected, but what about things that effect us directly? Such as changing weather patterns, the contraction of ice sheets in the antartic causing dangerous sea leveal variations, agricultural fields ruined by dust and wind and finally extreme temperatures in steady areas. While these changes may be regional, it's only a matter of time before its global impact.

Three's a Crowd

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This is a love story. The United States, China, and in the middle Carbon Dioxides. The U.S. and China are love struck with Carbon Dioxides, as they lead the world as the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Now after years of unregulated love, the couple is caught in that awkward triangle and asking, "How did we get here?". The U.S flirtation with carbon dioxides exploded during the industrial revolution, and China, well, not wanting to stay behind and having gone on their own industrial revolution joined in the love affair. After many headaches, disappointments, brief breakups, crying and binging on the always available carbon dioxides, the U.S. and China are poised for relationship counseling once again. The New York Times reports the U.S. and China may actually have a chance this time against that tart carbon dioxide. (we hear that it's been flirting with India for some time and having an orgy with developing countries hungry to become mature industrialized nations). While we may have a "love hangover" after all is said and done, how can we ensure we don't go back to our old ways? Afterall, there are fingerprints left all over air, water, and land due to carbon dioxides, and quitting cold turkey is never the answer! Just look at our relationship with Europe, divorce is not the solution. Perhaps this "roadmap" for US-China cooperation on energy and climate change may be just what the doctor ordered. Three's a crowd, but if we have to live with our sins, the very least we can do is talk to one another and hopefully forgive...but never forget.

The E.P.A. cannot do it all

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Everyone needs to contribute to global climate change. It is a fact that the Enviromental Protection Agency or E.P.A. alone cannot do it all. For the past eight years, our U.S. government under President G.W. Bush has slowly turned its back on the science of global warming. Upon entering office, President Bush failed to show leadership turning a blind eye to the "Kyoto Treaty" and demonstrating to the world that the U.S. will not be a leader in the fight against greenhouse gases, the leading causes of global warming. While the U.S. lags behind, we must now look to european natations to lead the way. However, there are things each one of us can do to fight global change. The New York Times January 31st editorial edition gives us some insight on how we can contribute. 1) We must demand from our new government and President Obama to take responsibility and ownership of the issue. 2) Ask President Obama to give states authority to regulate greenhous gases and 3) Consumers must be force the automakers to produce fuel-efficient vehicles. The "Clean Air Act" of 1990 along with the Kyoto Treaty have been ignored for far too long. If we don't begin to damand more of ourselves and our government the damage from global climate change will extend far beyond the borders of neighbors to the south and north, affecting our economy, agrigulture and national security. The "go it alone" Bush mantra is over. Our addiction to oil and it's pollutants will most likely leave stinging hangover, but can we afford to relapse if our spacious skys and fruited plains expire? The E.P.A. cannot do it all, but each one of us can contribute to its protection.