Global Warming 'Hiatus' Is An Illusion, It Hasn't Even Slowed Down. And Here's Why.

A new study may shed some light on one of the most controversial aspects of the current global warming debate. The problem is frequently framed in headlines as a question, "Has Global Warming Stopped?"

Has Global Warming Stopped?" is probably one of those annoying questions that you constantly hear and debate, but never get an answer to. Well, a new study may shed some light on one of the most controversial aspects of the current global warming debate, The Street reported.


The short answer is and always has been "no," it hasn't stopped. It hasn't even slowed down.

Sea levels continue to rise inexorably. While Arctic Sea ice and Antarctic glacier cover continue their shrinking trends, weather patterns continue to change dramatically.

But let's go back in the past.

Since the outset of the Industrial Revolution, global surface temperatures have been rising more or less.

Presumably this rise in temperatures is linked to the correlating rise in CO2 and other heat-trapping gasses in the troposphere, the layer of atmosphere closest to the earth, The Street reported.

However, beginning about 2001, those surface atmosphere temperatures have flattened out in recent years for reasons scientists haven't been able to fully explain.

"Skeptics of global warming science love this: It seems to undercut the findings of the scientific mainstream and throw the whole question of long-term global warming into the trash heap," The Street reported. "If CO2 emissions were causing global warming, then surface temperatures should continue to rise. Since they haven't, global warming can't be real."

This change in global warming has been termed as a "pause" or a "hiatus" by skeptics.

As recently as Feb. 3, in Forbes, this anomaly in the data was being touted as evidence that climate scientists have "oversold" the risks of climate change.

But even while the anomaly in the data may pose no threat to global warming models generally, its cause remained a mystery.

Recently, equatorial trade winds that are much stronger than expected have been pushing the warmer surface in the Pacific westward, a team of scientists led by Australian Matt England found. The study was published in the most recent issue of Nature Climate Change, a scientific peer-review journal.

As the warmed surface water hits the western continental shelf, it is driven downward into the lower depths. By mixing the heat into the deep water, the action of the trade winds effectively cools the observable surface temperature, according to The Street.

"The oceans have this amazing capacity to suck up heat," England said in a phone interview from his home in Australia Wednesday. "The ocean absorbs 90 percent of the heat of the climate system, so if you're looking for global warming that's where you have to look."

While overall global warming predictions are panning out accurately, "I think we've discovered that the models are coming up short in terms of decadal variability," England said.

Sourc by: http://www.hngn.com/articles/24988/20140221/global-warming-hiatus-illusion-hasnt-even-slowed-down-heres-why.htm

Hell Will Freeze Over Before We Agree on the World's Hottest Place

Salt formations in Dallol, Ethiopia (Photo: Matej Hudovernik/shutterstock.com

Much like the question of where the geographic center of the United States is, the specific point on Earth that reigns as the planet’s hottest turns out to be a very complex, loaded question.

For one thing, “hottest” isn’t as empirical as it sounds: do we mean the place that reaches the highest temperature? The place with the highest average temperature? Or do we factor in humidity to come up with a place that is the most unpleasant for humans, climate-wise? And where are we getting this data from? Is it even reliable?

Every one of those questions has an answer, and every one of those answers can be argued, although the answer is probably not going to be “my apartment in July” unless you live in one of the world’s most remote places. Instead of trying to crown an individual hottest place, we investigated all of the viable contenders. 

Source by: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hottest-place-on-the-planet?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_549248

Why You Should Invest In Green Energy Right Now

It's no secret that the global energy demand continues to rise. Driven by emerging economies and non-OECD nations, total worldwide energy usage is expected to grow by nearly 40% over the next 20 years. That'll require a staggering amount of coal, oil and gas.

But it’s not just fossil fuels that will get the nod. The demand for renewable energy sources is exploding, and according to new study, we haven’t seen anything yet in terms of spending on solar, wind and other green energy projects. For investors, that spending could lead to some serious portfolio green as well.

Source by: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/070814/why-you-should-invest-green-energy-right-now.asp?utm_source=zergnet&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergtest--

Global Warming Latest: Urban Vulnerabilities

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has published its Fifth Assessment Report, which presents the latest science about global climate change. Three separate groups of scientists split the effort and report separately, with Working Group II looking at the impacts climate change has and will continue to have on society. Here I summarize the highlights of Chapter 8, which examines the effects of climate change on the urban environment:

Many cities are located in areas where the largest temperature increases are predicted. These increases are in addition to the urban heat island effect, leading to longer and more intense heat waves. The resulting heat stress can be deadly for at-risk people like the elderly. In addition, those suffering from asthma and other respiratory illness are likely to be exposed to higher concentrations of ozone, a lung-damaging pollutant when found at ground level.
Coastal erosion and flooding due to increased sea levels will affect low-lying cities such as New York, Mombasa (Kenya), and Mumbai (India). Adding to the concern is the frequent presence of petrochemical industries near the water’s edge in many of the world’s coastal cities. Flooding of these facilities often leads to dangerous spills of toxic chemicals.

Source by: http://environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/fl/Global-Warming-Latest-Urban-Vulnerabilities.htm?utm_source=zergnet&utm_medium=tcg&utm_campaign=zergnet-test-296326

Study: Global warming skeptics know more about climate science

File photo (REUTERS/Peter Andrews/Files )

Are global warming skeptics simply ignorant about climate science?

Not so, says a forthcoming paper in the journal Advances in Political Psychology by Yale Professor Dan Kahan. He finds that skeptics score about the same (in fact slightly better) on climate science questions.

The study asked 2,000 respondents nine questions about where they thought scientists stand on climate science.

On average, skeptics got about 4.5 questions correct, whereas manmade warming believers got about 4 questions right.

One question, for instance, asked if scientists believe that warming would “increase the risk of skin cancer.” Skeptics were more likely than believers to know that is false.

Skeptics were also more likely to correctly say that if the North Pole icecap melted, global sea levels would not rise. One can test this with a glass of water and an ice cube – the water level will not change after the ice melts. Antarctic ice melting, however, would increase sea levels because much of it rests on land.

Liberals were more likely to correctly answer questions like: “What gas do most scientists believe causes temperatures to rise?” The correct answer is carbon dioxide.

The study comes on the heels of a 2012 study that found that global warming skeptics know just as much about science; the new study specifically quizzed people on climate science.

Climatologists who are skeptical about the extent of man-made global warming say the results don’t surprise them.

“It's easy to believe in the religion of global warming.  It takes critical thinking skills to question it,” Roy Spencer, a climatologist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, told FoxNews.com.

Groups that are concerned about global warming say the study results really show that politics is blinding otherwise-reasonable people.

“Climate contrarians know what scientists have found but they’re choosing to reject those findings, usually for political reasons,” Aaron Huertas, a spokesman for the Union of Concerned Scientists, told FoxNews.com.

He added that things would get better if people heard more from conservatives who worry about climate.

“The public just doesn’t hear often enough from conservative politicians and advocacy groups that are engaging in constructive debates on climate policy,” he said.

The study’s author, Kahan, also says that the global warming debate has become so politically polarized that people pick their side based on politics rather than what they know about science.                                                                                                                    

“The position someone adopts on [global warming] conveys who she is – whose side she’s on, in a hate-filled, anxiety-stoked competition for status between opposing cultural groups,” Kahan writes in his paper.

Kahan says that if global warming believers really want to convince people, they should stop demonizing and talking down to their opponents, and instead focus on explaining the science.

“It is really pretty intuitive: who wouldn’t be insulted by someone screaming in her face that she and everyone she identifies with ‘rejects science’?”

Source by: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2015/02/12/study-global-warming-skeptics-know-more-about-climate-science.html?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_448752

Global Warming and Security Risks

 In June 2014 the Department of Defense released a report outlining the military’s plan for adapting to climate change. This was the next logistical step after recognizing that climate change is an immediate risk to U.S. national security. On this topic, in 2013 Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel stated: 

“Climate change does not directly cause conflict, but it can significantly add to the challenges of global instability, hunger, poverty, and conflict. Food and water shortages, pandemic diseases, disputes over refugees and resources, more severe natural disasters – all place additional burdens on economies, societies, and institutions around the world.” [cited here]

The roadmap document released identifies efforts to maintain the Department of Defense ability to operate in the future without compromises to the military’s defense mission, while maintaining infrastructure and natural systems.

Source by: http://environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/fl/Global-Warming-and-Security-Risks.htm?utm_source=zergnet&utm_medium=tcg&utm_campaign=zergnet-test-305725

North America's tallest mountain gets new name - and height

In this June 24, 2015, photo provided by Compass Data/USGS, Blaine Horner of CompassData probes the snow pack at the highest point in North America along with setting up Global Position System equipment for precise summit elevation data on top of Denali in Denali National Park, Ak. (Blaine Horner/Compass Data/USGS via AP)

North America's tallest mountain doesn't just have a new name. It also has a new elevation.

Denali, the Alaska mountain formerly known Mount McKinley, is now officially 10 feet shorter, measuring 20,310 feet at its highest point, the U.S. Geological Survey announced Wednesday.

The previous measurement of 20,320 feet stemmed from a 1953 survey that used the technology of the time, officials said. The new elevation is the result of data collected from the mountain by climbers in June using technology that didn't exist in the earlier survey, such as GPS instruments.

The change is part of an ongoing USGS program to update elevations in Alaska and elsewhere. The agency has a program that uses radar to collect more elevations over large areas in Alaska, but the Denali survey was unusual because it involved actual ground measurements, said Kari Craun, director of the USGS National Geospatial Technical Operations Center.

"It's a very visible and important point for North America," she said.

The climb to gather the data from Denali began June 15 and involved one climber from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and three climbers from the private survey company CompassData Inc., USGS spokesman Mark Newell said. During their 14 days on the mountain, the climbers pulled equipment and supplies on sleds.

The change comes just days after the Obama administration announced its decision to bestow the traditional Alaska Native name to the mountain on the eve of president's visit to Alaska this week. The change to Denali— an Athabascan word meaning "the high one" — replaces the name that honored the 25th president, William McKinley, who never set foot in Alaska.

"We think this revised elevation, with a more precise measurement, is a fitting tribute to the name Denali," Newell said.

Known for its majestic views, the mountain is dotted with glaciers and covered at the top with snow year-round. Powerful winds make it difficult for the adventurous few who seek to climb it. Each year, about 1,200 climbers attempt to summit the mountain, with only about half actually succeeding.

Using GPS instruments for the latest measurement provided more defined elevations than technology that was used in 2013 to calculate a slightly lower elevation. The 2013 calculation put the mountain at 20,237 feet, but it was done with the aerial radar measurements that fall short in pinpointing exact elevations, Newell said.

Elevation measurements taken outside Alaska involve a different aerial-based technology that is considered more accurate, Craun said.

The raw data collected in June was analyzed and processed to determine the new elevation. Officials said researchers had to take certain factors into account, including the depth of the snowpack at the summit.

Source by: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2015/09/02/north-america-tallest-mountain-gets-new-name-and-height.html?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_674003

Stargazers have a chance to see bright green comet next week

When scientists started tracking Comet 252P/LINEAR, they figured it would pass Earth without a trace.

But then something strange happened. The icy object started brightening abruptly a few weeks ago and has become 100 times brighter than expected, according to the astronomy magazine Sky and Telescope. As a result, observers from the Southern Hemisphere have caught a glimpse of the comet that is believed to be about 750 feet in size. They have been able to see it with their naked eye and the comet appeared greenish in color.

Now, it’s the Northern Hemisphere’s turn.

Starting Tuesday, stargazers with their binoculars could spot Comet 252P/Linear in the sky – though the view isn’t expected to be as good due the glow of the Moon and natural light pollution.

Related: Two comets set to whiz past Earth this week

You’ll have to be out at least 90 minutes before sunrise and in a location as free of light pollution as possible. Once you have managed that, locate the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius low in the southern part of the sky. The comet is expected to move between those two constellations.

Another option is locating Saturn and Mars. They and the bright star Antares will be the first things you notice, forming a distinctive triangle a little smaller than your clenched fist held at arm’s length. The comet will be the dot climbing to the left of this trio and will be roughly in line with Mars and Saturn on the morning of March 29th and along a line connecting Saturn and Antares on March 31st.
“Don’t expect Comet LINEAR to be obvious with a long tail,” Sky & Telescope Senior Editor Kelly Beatty said in a statement. “Its light isn’t concentrated in a single point but instead is spread out in a soft round glow, larger than the Moon but many thousands of times dimmer.”

Related: Chaotic comet flyby blew away some of Mars' atmosphere

Astronomers aren’t sure how long it will remain visible, especially since it passed closest to Earth, just 3.3 million miles away, on March 21st. Now, it’s moving away from both Earth and the Sun.

This comet isn’t the only passing Earth this month.
Another comet, PanSTARRS (designated P/2016 BA14), passed even closer to Earth — about 2.2 million miles away — on March 22nd. It also crossing Earth’s skies but astronomers believe it is too fait to be seen unless you have a telescope.

It is also crossing our skies now but is too faint to be seen except with a backyard telescope.

Scientists have described both comets as virtual twins because they have similar orbits.

Related: NASA wants to send your art to an asteroid

Comet P/2016 BA14 was only discovered on Jan. 22 the University of Hawaii's Pan-STARRS telescope on Haleakala, on the island of Maui. Sixteen years ago, Comet 252P/LINEAR was spotted the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research survey.

Initially, scientists thought Comet P/2016 BA14 was an asteroid until observations by a University of Maryland and Lowell Observatory team with the Discovery Channel Telescope spotted the tail. But that wasn’t the only surprise offered up by the comet.

It turned out to have a very similar orbit to Comet 252P/LINEAR, which has scientists suggesting they are similar in nature. P/2016 BA14 is roughly half the size of comet 252P/LINEAR, raising the possibility that it might be a fragment that calved off sometime in the larger comet's past.

Source by: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2016/03/25/stargazers-have-chance-to-see-bright-green-comet-next-week.html?intcmp=ob_article_sidebar_video&intcmp=obinsite

North America's tallest mountain gets new name - and height

North America's tallest mountain doesn't just have a new name. It also has a new elevation.

Denali, the Alaska mountain formerly known Mount McKinley, is now officially 10 feet shorter, measuring 20,310 feet at its highest point, the U.S. Geological Survey announced Wednesday.

The previous measurement of 20,320 feet stemmed from a 1953 survey that used the technology of the time, officials said. The new elevation is the result of data collected from the mountain by climbers in June using technology that didn't exist in the earlier survey, such as GPS instruments.

The change is part of an ongoing USGS program to update elevations in Alaska and elsewhere. The agency has a program that uses radar to collect more elevations over large areas in Alaska, but the Denali survey was unusual because it involved actual ground measurements, said Kari Craun, director of the USGS National Geospatial Technical Operations Center.

"It's a very visible and important point for North America," she said.

The climb to gather the data from Denali began June 15 and involved one climber from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and three climbers from the private survey company CompassData Inc., USGS spokesman Mark Newell said. During their 14 days on the mountain, the climbers pulled equipment and supplies on sleds.

The change comes just days after the Obama administration announced its decision to bestow the traditional Alaska Native name to the mountain on the eve of president's visit to Alaska this week. The change to Denali— an Athabascan word meaning "the high one" — replaces the name that honored the 25th president, William McKinley, who never set foot in Alaska.

"We think this revised elevation, with a more precise measurement, is a fitting tribute to the name Denali," Newell said.

Known for its majestic views, the mountain is dotted with glaciers and covered at the top with snow year-round. Powerful winds make it difficult for the adventurous few who seek to climb it. Each year, about 1,200 climbers attempt to summit the mountain, with only about half actually succeeding.

Using GPS instruments for the latest measurement provided more defined elevations than technology that was used in 2013 to calculate a slightly lower elevation. The 2013 calculation put the mountain at 20,237 feet, but it was done with the aerial radar measurements that fall short in pinpointing exact elevations, Newell said.

Elevation measurements taken outside Alaska involve a different aerial-based technology that is considered more accurate, Craun said.

The raw data collected in June was analyzed and processed to determine the new elevation. Officials said researchers had to take certain factors into account, including the depth of the snowpack at the summit.

Source by: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2015/09/02/north-america-tallest-mountain-gets-new-name-and-height.html?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_674003

FOUND: Lakes That Used to Be Mount Everest Glaciers

A supraglacial lake on Mount Everest (Photo: C. Scott Watson)

On one side of Mount Everest, the ice is melting so fast that lakes are forming on the surface of glaciers.

As the Washington Post reports, a team of British geologists recently traveled to Mount Everest's Khumbu Glacier, the highest glacier in the world, and found that "for the first time supraglacial ponds on the ice river's surface have coalesced into lakes the length of several football fields."

Elsewhere in the Himalayas, other glaciers have been melting down into lakes, too; the worry is that these lakes will become so large that they will start flowing down the mountain and flood the area below. As ponds and lakes form, they may also speed up the melting of the glacier, the team explains, as they transfer thermal energy from the sun to the ice below. At the Khumbu Glacier, scientists have found ponds in the past; now, the BBC writes, those ponds are joining up to form these larger bodies of water. 

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Rare Pink Dolphin Might Be Pregnant

Pregnancy rumors are swirling around one of the world's few pink bottlenose dolphins.

Affectionately named Pinky, the blush-colored creature was first spotted in 2007 in Louisiana's Calcasieu Lake by charter boat captain Erik Rue.

"It was absolutely, stunningly pink," Rue said in a 2009 interview. "I had never seen anything like it. It's the same color throughout the whole body. It looks like it just came out of a paint booth."

In the eight years that have since passed, Pinky has been spotted on multiple occasions, according to WGNO. It was only recently, however, that Rue said he witnessed Pinky engaging in mating behavior:

Source by: http://www.discovery.com/dscovrd/wildlife/rare-pink-dolphin-might-be-pregnant/

Penguins and Whales At Risk from China’s Krill Harvest

Jeff Foott/DCI

From Discovery News

Conservation groups and scientists worry that China's push to boost its harvest of krill -- a shrimp-like creature used for aquaculture feed and human supplements -- may leave Antarctica's whales, seals and penguins struggling to survive.

China is one of several nations, including Norway, Korea and Chile, harvesting krill with massive factory ships dragging miles-long trawl nets through the productive cold waters of the Southern Ocean. The krill is quickly frozen and into processed into pellets for aquaculture and livestock operations, fish bait, and high-value "nutraceuticals" such as omega-3 dietary supplements.

China's leaders say they want a seven-fold increase in krill production, according to a recent report in the state-owned China Daily newspaper.

Source by: http://www.discovery.com/dscovrd/wildlife/penguins-and-whales-at-risk-from-chinas-krill-harvest/

Scientists Pinpoint Possible Merging Supermassive Black Holes

Discovery Communications, Inc.

Astronomers at the University of Maryland have found evidence of a black hole binary, a theorized phenomena that occurs when two supermassive black holes that are so close that they are bound gravitationally.

As a black holes absorb matter, they emit electromagnetic energy that causes quasars, which astronomers describe as "some of the most luminous beacons in the sky". Researchers predict that two merging black holes would trade off absorbing adjacent matter, and their corresponding quasars would alternately brighten and dim.

In the new paper published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, astronomers detail the discovery one such "pulsing quasar". The team plans to track the development of the quasar and its associated black holes with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, a powerful telescope currently in development.

"These telescopes allow us to watch a movie of how these systems evolve," said UMD astronomy graduate student Tingting Liu. "What's really cool is that we may be able to watch the orbital separation of these supermassive black holes get smaller and smaller until they merge."

Source by: http://www.discovery.com/dscovrd/space/scientists-pinpoint-possible-merging-supermassive-black-holes/

Heads Up: April Lyrid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

SHSPhotography/Thinkstock

Top off your Earth Day with a picturesque gaze skyward: the April Lyrid meteor shower peaks this evening. Up to 20 meteors will be visible whizzing across the sky each hour.

"The Lyrids are really unpredictable," explains NASA's Bill Cooke. "For the 2015 shower, I'm expecting 15 to 20 Lyrid meteors an hour. Peak rates should occur after 10:30 p.m. on April 22 local time for observers in the northern hemisphere. For observers in the southern hemisphere, Lyrid rates are not significant until after midnight local time."

NASA will be live-streaming the shower for viewers whose vantage is obstructed by clouds or light pollution. Click here to watch NASA's live stream, whicource by: h will begin at 11:00 p.m. EDT.

The Lyrid Meteor shower happens annually in April as the Earth's orbit intersects the debris stream from Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher.

Source by: http://www.discovery.com/dscovrd/space/heads-up-april-lyrid-meteor-shower-peaks-tonight/

Did Male and Female Dinosaurs Have Different Physical Characteristics? Study Says Yes

DCI

The iconic Stegosaurus is known for its large size and distinct rows of staggered plates along its back. It was widely accepted that specimens with different plates represented different species of the large herbivore; some had short, wide circular plates while other had taller, ovular plates.

Evan Saitta, an undergraduate researcher at Bristol University, is the first to provide compelling evidence that the physical differences in plate size corresponded to gender, a differentiation known as sexual dimorphism.

Saitta challenged traditional thinking after six consecutive summers excavating a Stegosaurus mjosi 'graveyard' in Montana. After examining several different specimens, Saitta was unable to locate any other skeletal characteristics that would have indicated a difference in species - apart from plate size. Sexual dimorphism is the most plausible explanation for the variations in place shape and size.

"As males typically invest more in their ornamentation, the larger, wide plates likely came from males. These broad plates would have provided a great display surface to attract mates. The tall plates might have functioned as prickly predator deterrents in females," posits Saitta.

Source by: http://www.discovery.com/dscovrd/wildlife/did-male-and-female-dinosaurs-have-different-physical-characteristics-study-says-yes/

Nicotine-like Pesticide Gives Bees a Harmful, Addictive Buzz

rubenkh/thinkstock

A new study from Newcastle University shows that bees have a strong preference for pesticide-laced nectar.

Researchers focused on neonicotinoids, a popular class of insecticides that chemically resemble nicotine. When presented with sugar water and a sugar solution containing neonicotinoids, bees strongly preferred the pesticide-laced sugar solution.

A separate study by Lund University found that neonicotinoids had a "clear negative impact on growth and ability to reproduce in bumblebee colonies". In 2013, the European Union imposed a temporary ban on the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides so that further research could be conducted.

"The fact that bees show a preference for food containing neonicotinoids is concerning as it suggests that, like nicotine, neonicotinoids may act like a drug to make foods containing these substances more rewarding. If foraging bees prefer to collect nectar containing neonicotinoids, this could have a knock-on negative impact on whole colonies and on bee populations," said Professor Geraldine Wright.

Click here for more information from Newcastle University

Source by: http://www.discovery.com/dscovrd/wildlife/nicotine-like-pesticides-gives-bees-a-harmful-addicting-buzz/

“Mr. Trash Wheel” Removes 6,700,000 Cigarettes from Baltimore Harbor

Adam Lindquist, Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore

A conservation group in Baltimore has employed this innovative water wheel, affectionalely known as Mr. Trash Wheel, to clean up the city's polluted Inner Harbor. In just 18 months, Mr. Trash Wheel has removed 350 tons of garbage from the harbor. That's nearly 200,000 bottles, 173,000 potato chip bags and a whopping 6.7 million cigarettes removed from a waterway so polluted that it failed its 2014 water quality report card.

The clean energy-powered wheel is equipped with a conveyer belt; as the belt turns, garbage and other debris travel up the belt and are deposited into a dumpster and disposed of accordingly.
This remarkable photograph shows just how much of an impact the water wheel has already had in its short life. The photo on the left was taken on April 30, 2014, after a torrential downpour washed a harrowing amount of garbage into the harbor. Just over a year later, a similar storm earlier had almost no recognizable impact on the Harbor.

Source by: http://www.discovery.com/dscovrd/nature/mr-trash-wheel-removes-4000000-cigarettes-from-baltimore-harbor/

Thousands of Hungry Seals & Sea Lions Are Washing Up in California

Bill Hunnewell/Marine Mammal Center (Handout photo)

A marine mammal hospital in California has rescued a record number of stranded animals in 2015, prompting concerns about the health of fragile marine ecosystems.

The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California announced that it has rescued over 1,740 stranded seals and sea lions in 2015, shattering "nearly ever record in its 40-year history." In 2009, its previous busiest year, the organization rescued 1,631 animals, a record which was broken for the year by October.

Officials say that this year's increase in strandings is likely related to a large swath of warm water in the Pacific Ocean colloquially known as "the blob." Changes in water temperature (which have been exacerbated by this year's exceptionally strong El Nino) have impacted the distribution of fish populations, making it harder for seals to find food.

At times unable to feed themselves, mother seals have accordingly struggled to feed their pups. As a result, many of the stranded seal pups rescued by the Center are half of their regular size, veterinarians say.

Related: Seal Bonds With Diver Over Tummy Rub & Handshakes

"Our rescue trucks continue to arrive day after day with more starving pups in need of our care," Dr. Shawn Johnson, the organization's Director of Veterinary Science, said in a news release.

"As these conditions persist, we're increasingly concerned about what this could mean for the next generation of sea lion pups too."

The organization underscores the need for further research to better understand how both climatological phenomena like the blob and other human-driven factors -- such as pollution and overfishing -- impact marine ecosystems.

Source by: http://www.discovery.com/dscovrd/wildlife/thousands-of-hungry-seals-are-washing-up-in-california/

Climate change brings health risks to the world's most vulnerable communities.

As temperatures rise, so do the risks of heat-related illness and even death for the most vulnerable human populations.

In 2003, for example, extreme heat waves caused more than 20,000 deaths in Europe and more than 1,500 deaths in India. Scientists have linked the deadly heat waves to climate change and warn of more to come.

In addition to heat-related illness, climate change may increase the spread of infectious diseases, mainly because warmer temperatures allow disease-carrying insects, animals and microbes to survive in areas where they were once thwarted by cold weather.

Diseases and pests that were once limited to the tropics — such as mosquitoes that carry malaria — may find hospitable conditions in new areas that were once too cold to support them.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that climate change may have caused more than 150,000 deaths in the year 2000 alone, with an increase in deaths likely in the future.

Source by: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/threats-impacts/human-health.xml

Climate change is making floods, fires and droughts more frequent and severe.

Climate change is intensifying the circulation of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth — causing drought and floods to be more frequent, severe and widespread.

Higher temperatures increase the amount of moisture that evaporates from land and water, leading to drought in many areas. Lands affected by drought are more vulnerable to flooding once rain falls.

As temperatures rise globally, droughts will become more frequent and more severe, with potentially devastating consequences for agriculture, water supply and human health. This phenomenon has already been observed in some parts of Asia and Africa, where droughts have become longer and more intense.
Hot temperatures and dry conditions also increase the likelihood of forest fires. In the conifer forests of the western United States, earlier snowmelts, longer summers and an increase in spring and summer temperatures have increased fire frequency by 400 percent and have increased the amount of land burned by 650 percent since 1970.

Source by: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/threats-impacts/drought-fire-floods.xml

Sea level rise from climate change could displace tens of millions of people.

As the Earth heats up, sea levels rise because warmer water takes up more room than colder water, a process known as thermal expansion. Melting glaciers compound the problem by dumping even more fresh water into the oceans.

Rising seas threaten to inundate low-lying areas and islands, threaten dense coastal populations, erode shorelines, damage property and destroy ecosystems such as mangroves and wetlands that protect coasts against storms.

Sea levels have risen between four and eight inches in the past 100 years. Current projections suggest that sea levels could continue to rise between 4 inches and 36 inches over the next 100 years.

A 36-inch increase in sea levels would swamp every city on the East Coast of the United States, from Miami to Boston.

Worldwide, approximately 100 million people live within three feet of sea level. Sea level rise associated with climate change could displace tens of millions of people in low-lying areas – especially in developing countries. Inhabitants of some small island countries that rest barely above the existing sea level are already abandoning their islands, some of the world’s first climate change refugees.

Source by: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/threats-impacts/rising-seas.xml

One-fourth of the Earth's species could be headed for extinction by 2050 due to climate change.

Rising temperatures are changing weather and vegetation patterns across the globe, forcing animal species to migrate to new, cooler areas in order to survive.

The rapid nature of climate change is likely to exceed the ability of many species to migrate or adjust. Experts predict that one-fourth of Earth’s species will be headed for extinction by 2050 if the warming trend continues at its current rate.

Many species are already feeling the heat:

In 1999, the death of the last Golden Toad in Central America marked the first documented species extinction driven by climate change.
Due to melting ice in the Arctic, polar bears may be gone from the planet in as little as 100 years.
In the tropics, increased sea temperatures are causing more coral reefs to “bleach,” as the heat kills colorful algae that are necessary to coral health and survival.
Several U.S. states may even lose their official birds as they head for cooler climates — including the Baltimore oriole of Maryland, black-capped chickadee of Massachusetts, and the American goldfinch of Iowa.

Source by: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/threats-impacts/wildlife-at-risk.xml

Changing temperatures are causing vegetation shifts and conservation challenges

Rising temperatures and changing patterns of rain and snow are forcing trees and plants around the world to move toward polar regions and up mountain slopes.

These vegetation shifts will undermine much of the work the conservation community has accomplished to date, with the potential to permanently change the face of Conservancy preserves, local land trusts, and even our national parks.

In the tundra, thawing permafrost will allow shrubs and trees to take root. In the Great Plains of the United States, grasslands will likely become forests. And New England’s fiery fall foliage will eventually fade as maple and beech forests shift north toward cooler temperatures.

As plant communities try to adjust to the changing climate by moving toward cooler areas, the animals that depend on them will be forced to move. Development and other barriers may block the migration of both plants and animals.

Some species and communities such as polar bears and alpine meadows may be left without any remaining viable habitat, putting much of our treasured wildlife at risk.

Source by: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/threats-impacts/changing-landscapes.xml

Climate change will cause storms, hurricanes and tropical storms to become more intense.

Scientific research indicates that climate change will cause hurricanes and tropical storms to become more intense — lasting longer, unleashing stronger winds, and causing more damage to coastal ecosystems and communities.

Scientists point to higher ocean temperatures as the main culprit, since hurricanes and tropical storms get their energy from warm water. As sea surface temperatures rise, developing storms will contain more energy.

At the same time, other factors such as rising sea levels, disappearing wetlands, and increased coastal development threaten to intensify the damage caused by hurricanes and tropical storms
Source by: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/threats-impacts/stronger-storms.xml

The five hottest years on record have all occurred since 1997.

Heat-trapping gases emitted by power plants, automobiles, deforestation and other sources are warming up the planet. In fact, the five hottest years on record have all occurred since 1997 and the 10 hottest since 1990, including the warmest years on record – 2005 and 2010.

High temperatures are to blame for an increase in heat-related deaths and illness, rising seas, increased storm intensity, and many of the other dangerous consequences of climate change.

During the 20th century, the Earth’s average temperature rose one degree Fahrenheit to its highest level in the past four centuries – believed to be the fastest rise in a thousand years.

Scientists project that if emissions of heat-trapping carbon emissions aren’t reduced, average surface temperatures could increase by 3 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century.

Don’t let average temperatures fool you: A one-degree increase may be found in one place, a 12-degree increase in another place, and yet other areas may become much colder.

The planet’s oceans are also warming, which is causing dangerous consequences such as stronger storms, coral bleaching and rising seas.

Sourc by: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/threats-impacts/higher-temperatures.xml

African Lights: Microgrids Are Bringing Power to Rural Kenya

Plugging into electricity for the first time is a big deal. Ask Peter Okoth. Until late last year, he struggled to make a go of his bar on the main street in Entasopia, a small, dusty town in Kenya’s Rift Valley, five hours from the capital Nairobi and 30 miles from the nearest grid power line. Then, he hooked up to a new solar-powered microgrid that serves local homes and businesses. 

Now Okoth has eleven light bulbs, he says proudly — and enough power to run a TV and a sound system for his customers. Seventy people show up some evenings to watch, listen and buy his food and drink. His profits will  

Soon buy a refrigerator to  keep the beer cold in the searing desert heat, and a big screen to show satellite sports channels. “We will be staying open till midnight,” he says. And he has just bought construction materials for ten guest rooms. “When you next come, you must stay here.” Most settlements in rural Kenya are dark at night. Only a third of the East African country’s residents have access to the national power grid. Harvesting the sun makes obvious sense in places like Entasopia. Hundred-dollar photovoltaic (PV) panels for installation on home roofs have been on sale for years. But the meager five watts that most such systems provide is only enough to power a couple of LED lamps each evening and a mobile phone charging point, and the batteries constantly need replacing. The country is full of discarded PV cells, defunct batteries, and disappointed customers. 

But now, larger central village PV units linked by underground cable to dozens of houses and business are starting to transform lives. For a ten-dollar installation fee, the people of Entasopia can connect to a village microgrid and buy a share of a thousand times as much power. Village homes are filling with household appliances like refrigerators and washing machines, and the businesses on the main street are powering everything from welding equipment and fuel pumps to hair driers. 

Microgrids are small electricity generation and distribution systems that operate independently of larger grids. Typically they rely on local sources of renewable energy, such as river flows, wind, biomass, or, most widely, the power of the sun. There are no official statistics on how many there are, or what their total power output is. But a recent study by U.S.-based Navigant Research, which studies new energy technologies, suggested that their combined generating capacity might now exceed 750 megawatts worldwide. They are, says Daniel Kammen, of the University of California,Berkeley, “a true hot-bed of innovation popping up all over the world.”

Source by: https://e360.yale.edu/feature/african_lights_microgrids_are_bringing_power_to_rural_kenya/2924/

Will Paris Conference Finally Achieve Real Action on Climate?

Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images

Six years after the last negotiations crashed so spectacularly in Copenhagen, climate delegates assemble in Paris this week to fix the world’s atmosphere. This time, despite the high security following the recent terrorist attacks in the French capital, they will meet in a better mood.

That’s because, in the preceding months, more than 150 nations have put pledges for future emissions on the table for the decade between 2020 and 2030. And the world’s biggest two emitters of heat-trapping greenhouse gases — the U.S. and China — are in harmony after a bilateral agreement in Washington last year. 

But if the diplomats enter the home stretch more optimistic than in Copenhagen, climate analysts warn that the national “contributions” on offer still don’t meet the negotiators’ self-declared task of capping global warming at two degrees Celsius. About 2.7 degrees is the most optimistic guess of the long-term outcome of the pledges. A victory for diplomacy should not be confused with a victory for the climate. 

So, is the glass half full or half empty? 

On the downside, time is running out to halt the continuing accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This year, the world is a record one degree warmer than pre-industrial levels — exactly halfway to the two-degree ceiling. The much discussed warming hiatus of the past decade is over

Source by: https://e360.yale.edu/feature/will_paris_conference_finally_achieve_real_action_on_climate/2936/

Energy Landscapes: An Aerial View Of Europe’s Carbon Footprint

PHOTOS BY ALEX MACLEAN

Europe and the United States have very similar standards of living, but significantly different carbon footprints — with Europe’s per capita carbon emissions less than 50 percent of those in the U.S. Aerial photographer Alex MacLean decided to document this phenomenon in an attempt to understand how the highly developed nations of northern Europe are able to spew significantly less carbon into the atmosphere. Flying over Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Wales with camera in hand, MacLean came away with an appreciation for how a country’s carbon footprint is directly related to how efficiently it designs, moves through, and powers its built environment.

Over a series of months, MacLean documented historical design advantages that many European nations have inherited and now knowingly reinforce in their physical landscapes: dense urban centers with an emphasis on pedestrian and bike accessibility; compact rural and suburban communities with sharp growth boundaries; connectivity between public transport and human-powered transportation; the integration of commercial and retail space into the fabric of residential areas; and a dearth of sprawl. “How we organize ourselves on the ground is the key factor determining how much fossil fuel we burn,” MacLean says.

Source by: https://e360.yale.edu/feature/energy_landscapes_an_aerial_view_of_europes_carbon_footprint/2955/

Energy: Five Good Questions

“Almost every way we make electricity today, except for the emerging renewables and nuclear, puts out CO2. And so, what we’re going to have to do at a global scale, is create a new system. And so, we need energy miracles.” –Bill Gates

Energy is one of the most important topics facing our modern, industrialized civilization. What sources we get it from, what we use it for, and how we deal with the waste from its production are paramount to the future of our species on Earth.

Yet in many ways, energy is one of the most poorly understood quantities in all of physics. To help you better understand it, let’s take a look at five good questions about energy. Starting with…

1.) What is energy? Anyone who’s ever taught or taken a course in introductory physics has likely encountered this question. Most physicists, perhaps unfortunately, define energy as the ability to do work. And so you go and ask what work is, and you get the circular definition that it’s the transfer of energy from one source to another.
Maddening.

It’s not like wikipedia does any better, mind you. But just because we don’t have a good definition of it doesn’t mean we can’t quantify, test, and indirectly measure it.

Don’t feel bad; no less a physicist than Newton had no concept of energy. And yet unlike Newton, I bet that you know it when you see it. Some things we do know about energy are:

we know that all mass and matter contains it,
we know how to quantify it,
we know how much is stored electrically, chemically, thermally, sonically, etc.,
we know how to convert it from one form to another,
we know how to use it to accomplish things (i.e., to do work),
we think it can never be created nor destroyed,
and we can generate, calculate, and measure its various forms.
So let’s take on a more useful question than asking for a simple dictionary definition:

2.) What can we do with energy? Well, we already said, “work,” but that has a specific meaning to a physicist. If you “push” something, or otherwise apply a force to it, while it simultaneously moves in that direction, congratulations! That’s what work is!

Whether you’re lifting a weight up, pedaling a bicycle, driving a car, or spinning a turbine, work is being done. And that’s what energy can do.
More than that, of course, is that you don’t need to do it. Anything that lifts a weight, pedals a bike, drives a car, or spins a turbine can do work, and therefore, has energy. Atomic nuclei, molecular bonds, gravitation, relative motion of massive bodies and electromagnetism are all possible physical sources of energy, as nuclear power, fossil fuels, hydroelectric dams, wind power and solar power are respective examples of each.


3.) How much energy do we use? If you’re reading this, you’re probably in a location that has seemingly endless, cheap access to at least one of these forms of energy. Well, all total, humans use a lot of energy. In practice, it’s much easier to measure power, or the rate at which we use energy. So take that power and multiply it by a certain amount of time, and you’ll find out how much energy we use.
How much power do we use?

4.) What’s the “holy grail” of energy? Well, you have to be careful here. Some people dream about taking all the ambient thermal energy around us and using it to meet our energy needs.

5.) What does the future hold for nuclear fusion? Well, we definitely don’t want to do it the same way the Sun does it. But we still want to start with our cheap, light, easy fuel and get that nuclear energy out of it. And we’ve got three ways we know of to make it happen, each one getting closer to the magical (metaphorically) breakeven point. What are th

Source by: http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2011/07/20/energy-five-good-questions/

The Midwestern Combined Heat and Power Opportunity

In August of 2012 President Obama issued an Executive Order on Industrial Energy Efficiency and Combined Heat and Power.  The Executive Order sets a goal of adding 40 GW of new CHP by 2020, raising the nation’s CHP capacity by 50%. Why would we do that?  What is CHP anyway? - See more at: http://www.betterenergy.org/blog/midwestern-combined-heat-and-power-opportunity#sthash.GPZpnqcd.dpuf

Combined heat and power is not new, having been used in various ways for 100 years.  Users of CHP systems generate both heat and electricity from a single fuel source, rather than buying electricity from the grid and using an on-site boiler or furnace to generate heat.  A sister technology to CHP is waste energy recovery (WER).  WER captures waste heat from industrial processes or buildings and puts it to use, either for direct heating and cooling or to generate electricity.  CHP systems can be powered by any fuel – but many are powered by natural gas and some are being powered with different forms of biomass or biogas.  CHP systems work well in both industrial facilities and on institutional campuses and buildings.

U.S. electricity production is only around 34% efficient and has been so since the 1960’s. This means we send 66% of the useful energy generated up the stack as waste heat.  Combined heat and power can have efficiencies as high as 80%.  There is a tremendous of opportunity to improve the efficiency of our current electricity generation system by utilizing CHP and WER technologies.

Today, about 8% of the nation’s electricity is generated with CHP, but the technical potential is far greater.  In 2008 Oak Ridge National Lab  estimated that CHP could generate roughly 20% of the nation’s electricity.  That’s the same percentage as nuclear power.  That’s a big deal.

This Isn’t New, So Why Push Now?
The Midwest is the manufacturing heartland of the country and many Midwestern states have the some of the highest potential in the country.  Ohio has the biggest gap between potential and installed capacity, for instance.  IL, IN, MI, and other Midwestern states are among the top candidates for CHP.
Coal is getting more expensive and natural gas prices are at all time lows.  This improves the economics of CHP
New EPA Boiler MACT rules require coal fired industrial boilers to reduce air emissions, and in some cases, it may be less expensive to replace them with cleaner operating units, like CHP systems
Businesses are increasingly making various internal and external commitments to reduce global warming emissions and improve energy efficiency performance
DOE and EPA have calculated that meeting the 40GW goal would
Save $10 billion a year in energy costs
Save 1% of all energy use in the U.S.
Reduce U.S. emissions by 150 million metric tons of CO2 annually
How easy will this be to accomplish here in the Midwest?

This all sounds great, so let’s get going!  But wait, this is where we find out just how aggressive this goal is.  The Midwest share of the 40GW based on population is about 6.6GW by 2020.  To meet that goal, installations would have to average 825 MW/year between now and2020. That’s far more than has been built each year over the past 30 years and many times more than recent years.  Most of the barriers that have slowed CHP development in recent years are still there.  For the most part, they are problems that have to be solved at the state level.  In addition to economics, the challenges can include policy differences from state to state, regulatory barriers, and utility rates structures that discourage CHP investment, and utility disincentives to having CHP on their systems.

- See more at: http://www.betterenergy.org/blog/midwestern-combined-heat-and-power-opportunity#sthash.GPZpnqcd.dpuf

Source by: http://www.betterenergy.org/blog/midwestern-combined-heat-and-power-opportunity

Biogas a Combined Heat and Power Opportunity

Author's note: This column first appeared in the December 2013 edition of Biomass Magazine.

In previous columns, I have focused on the use of biogas as a transportation fuel, which holds enormous, untapped potential. However, my introduction to biogas energy systems was through projects that use biogas to produce electricity and then capture thermal energy from the generator for a useful purpose. This process is better known as combined heat and power (CHP) or cogeneration. 

Biogas is truly a remarkable form of renewable energy. One of the most attractive attributes of biogas is its versatility as a low-carbon energy resource. It can be burned to produce power and heat, used directly for heat, cleaned to a form that is equivalent to conventional natural gas or compressed and used as fuel for transport. Beyond its versatility, biogas can be produced from a variety of organic feedstocks, which provides a wide array of positive environmental benefits. Biogas has something for everyone to be excited about.  

Over the past several months, I have attended several meetings and have had many discussions about how to increase the adoption of CHP systems in the U.S., specifically in the Midwest. The resurgence of interest in CHP was precipitated, in part, by the Obama administration’s August 2012 Executive Order on Industrial Energy Efficiency and Combined Heat and Power, which sets a goal of adding 40 gigawatts of new CHP by 2020. This would raise the CHP capacity in the U.S. by 50 percent and would require more new CHP to be installed each year than has ever previously been installed in a single year. Meeting this goal is going to be a challenge, and biogas has the potential to meet a portion of this ambitious goal.  

Already, the overwhelming majority of agricultural-based biogas energy systems produce CHP. Agricultural producers, wastewater treatment plant managers and landfill gas operators have been early adopters of CHP systems. Even biogas projects, which have a primary energy output of biomethane (cleaned form of biogas), integrate CHP as a way to produce power to run clean-up and compression equipment. Projects that are using multiple technologies and components to produce different forms of energy with biogas as their base input are considered closed-loop energy systems and are dramatically reducing the overall project carbon footprint. 

Increased focus on CHP deployment across several sectors—industrial, commercial and agricultural—is also leading to technology improvements from equipment manufacturers and project developers. Just like anaerobic digestion is a well-established biological process, the development of CHP system equipment is also well-established. But similar to many other industries, equipment manufacturers are always improving technology to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Off-the-shelf CHP technology packages, across a wide spectrum of generation output, are currently available and this helps to bolster streamlined deployment. However, the largest barrier of upfront capital costs with an extended return on investment still remains. States all across the U.S. are developing policy programs and incentives to overcome this barrier. 

As an early adopter and implementer of CHP systems, the biogas sector stands to benefit from the increased focus on CHP deployment. There is huge, untapped potential for biogas production from a variety of organic streams. Once we are able to take advantage of this potential, biogas can be used to meet a variety of energy needs. The time and attention currently devoted to increased CHP deployment is a valuable strategy for harnessing the untapped biogas potential in the U.S.

- See more at: http://www.betterenergy.org/blog/biogas-combined-heat-and-power-opportunity#sthash.FOPXDeOO.dpuf

Source by: http://www.betterenergy.org/blog/biogas-combined-heat-and-power-opportunity