tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66036573642083260952024-03-06T14:55:52.704+11:00planet doom?Documenting the effects of climate change and other human impacts on the world around usCLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-61162541810000432462009-01-17T02:48:00.004+11:002009-01-17T02:56:53.372+11:00The changing face of AustraliaWeather-wise, Australia has been seeing something of a wet period recently. <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/silo/rain_maps.cgi?map=contours&variable=deciles&area=aus&period=3month&region=aus&time=latest">Normal to above-normal rains have been observed</a> across much of the country over the past several months, with November being particularly wet. There's ongoing flooding in NW Queensland, and the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/16/2467573.htm">normally dry Lake Eyre may partially fill</a> this year. The <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/05/2459501.htm">NT's Red Centre has turned green</a>. Further, the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/announcements/media_releases/climate/change/20090105.shtml">Bureau of Meteorology's annual climate summary</a> indicates that 2008 was 'only' the 14<sup>th</sup> warmest year on record. Does this spell the end of climate change in Australia? Is K-Rudd doing the right thing by setting such a <a href="http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=8385">pathetic target for reduction of CO2 emissions</a> in this country? <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9TzAwWPX27IB68aWmHyfQD7mzVGdn4gEPMQf_b5sN_VLX6y23LRnue8sazO-prCZ803HrztqGXZ7m9Koz6OugLeniufEiaDsmWrLtQ2uNEJ1E3nWYL5cv7hysMrcJPvLwfPpKC0sPOU/s1600-h/20090105meanTgraph08.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9TzAwWPX27IB68aWmHyfQD7mzVGdn4gEPMQf_b5sN_VLX6y23LRnue8sazO-prCZ803HrztqGXZ7m9Koz6OugLeniufEiaDsmWrLtQ2uNEJ1E3nWYL5cv7hysMrcJPvLwfPpKC0sPOU/s400/20090105meanTgraph08.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291919992027145634" border="0" /></a>This is most likely courtesy of the return of quasi-<a href="http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/108/1?rss=1">La Nina conditions in the Pacific</a>, after a brief return to neutral Pacific conditions. A strong La Nina affected the weather during late-2007 and early-2008. Historically, La Nina often mean wet periods in Oz, and overall cooler global temperatures as well. This latter point applies to Australia as well. </p> <p>Globally, the cooler weather has caused most of the contrarians to <a href="http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24834853-20261,00.html">downplay the reality of climate change.</a> Hopes and wishes are all well and good, but the power of positive thinking won't change this reality; Anthropogenic climate change is not gone, either in Australia or the rest of the world. What we are experiencing is just weather and interannual climate variability -- by definition short-term. The La Nina likely won't make it much past the end of austral summer, and El Nino will be around again soon enough, when we'll likely see new record high mean temperatures, both in Australia and around the globe. This is not the end of anthropogenic climate change.</p> <p>Regardless of whether one accepts the reality of the above facts or not, the Great CO2 Enhancement Experiment (~40% and rising) we are running on the planet is dangerous -- full of unintended consequences and unforeseen peril. Warming of the mean global climate is serious, but only one of many of our worries. CO2 presents other dangers as well. Below are a few early results from experiment noted of late in Australia and its territories.</p> <ul><li><p>Recent <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/02/2457903.htm">analysis of the long term patterns of coral growth on the Great Barrier Reef</a> are telling. A 400 year record of banding like tree rings on the giant Porites coral reveals a massive decline in the growth history. Since 1990, a decline in the growth rate has been observed. Previously, the record would undulate, now the decline is consistent. Should current trends continue, the growth rate will be zero by 2050. Ocean acidification as much has rising temperatures are believed to be the culprit.</p> </li><li><p>In Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, a <a href="http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20091301-18661-3.html">40 year study has revealed an increases in woody vegetation</a> on the savanna and in the floodplains of the park. Intially, the increase was hypothesized to be a result of feral buffalo (an invasive species). However, this relationship has proven to be weak as after 1985, the buffalo were nearly eliminated from the park while the vegetation structure continued to change. Instead, the researcher speculate that he change may be related to an increased level of atmospheric CO2, increasing rainfall and changing fire regimes during the study period.</p> </li><li><p>Heard Island, a sub-Antarctic island some 4000 km southwest of Western Australia is showing <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/15/2466964.htm">a rapidly changing landscape</a>. A portion of the land has split from the mainland, effectively forming a new island. This is a result of changing sea level, possibly from rising temperatures (a 1<sup>o</sup>C increase over past 50 years, and it's not an urban heat island!) or from other factors like strong ocean swells and winds. Further, a glacier on the island has likely retreated further and anecdotally, the lagoons at the glaciers terminus have increased in size. Analysis and monitoring are underway.</p> </li></ul> <p>None of the Earth's 'spheres' remains untouched by Our Way of Life. Climate change and other environmental degradation affects the whole population of the Earth and every nation on its face. Australia's self image as the Lucky Country will not spare it any damage, as the above examples attest. Even without a temperature change, the Experiment has detrimental results -- ocean acidification or enhanced plant growth are but two. The effects run deep and climate change is just the obvious manifestation. And there are may well be surprises we haven;t even considered yet to come.</p> <p>So yes, it is short-sided for Australia to set such a pathetic emissions reduction target. It's time to stop listening to the neoliberal economists; they are clueless and morally bankrupt. Let's lead instead of being led like sheep following the shepherds of greed. Unchecked, the whole experiment – CO2 enhancement, rampant consumerism, overpopulation -- will catch up to everyone in the end. If we act soon, we have a chance to break the bonds and begin a new way of living. If and when the inevitable crash comes, the considerations which are driving this decision now will be meaningless. The businesses will be gone and the economy will be toast. The world is not ours to exploit to the point of exhaustion. We have a moral obligation --to our fellow denizens of biosphere (human or otherwise), both now and into the future -- to leave the world in the state we inherited it. They are our legacy and our immortality, the standards by which we will be judged.</p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">**<br />Image: Bureau of Meteorology</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-18486251970840503282008-12-16T23:36:00.002+11:002008-12-16T23:46:56.395+11:00Climate change and South America: New beginnings in an old storyLike the rest of the world, South America (SA) is experiencing considerable environmental degradation. This is both a cause of and because of climate change; a result of human greed and apathy toward the natural world – a self-destructive social paradigm . Historically, SA has not been a significant factor in driving climate change (although currently Latin America as a whole is responsible for <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44946">12% of the annual global greenhouse gas emissions).</a> That said, this does not mean the continent has escaped the some of the more deleterious effects of human environmental meddling. <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJd-HOQAXFIM-9ysk6NMLWu3hMsMSmzmJENVYTG3WYPIA0WV-SDynHH6AJVk55zrE8l1aqn_VX0Wrr4et5c9to-hXinUkJVwfTpaKts0-OmAYuwHlLgW_4SzMyM5WBZ4kFP7Y5KpR2sKk/s1600-h/South_America_satellite_plane.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJd-HOQAXFIM-9ysk6NMLWu3hMsMSmzmJENVYTG3WYPIA0WV-SDynHH6AJVk55zrE8l1aqn_VX0Wrr4et5c9to-hXinUkJVwfTpaKts0-OmAYuwHlLgW_4SzMyM5WBZ4kFP7Y5KpR2sKk/s400/South_America_satellite_plane.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280367330780145858" border="0" /></a>Throughout South America (also <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&u=http://www.scidev.net/en/news/mexico-glaciers-disappearing-due-to-global-warming.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en_news">Mexico</a>), glaciers are in retreat (see these <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2007/07/ice-going-going.html">earlier</a> <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2007/12/glacial-language-changes.html">posts</a>). This tendency is particularly pronounced in the southern portion of the continent, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagonia">Patagonia</a>. In <a href="http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=112533">Chile</a>, glaciers in the region have receded up to 580 meters due to reduced rainfall and rising temperatures in the region over the last century. Earlier this year, glaciers in Argentina were observed to <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN0939298820080709?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">break up in the winter</a> for the first time. However, two glaciers have proven to be exceptions to the larger trend – one in Argentina and one in Chile are currently expanding.</p> <p>The danger presented from the melting glaciers is not merely cosmetic. Rather, the receding glaciers represent a threat to the fresh water supply for both the local populace and agriculture. No glaciers means no fresh water, a dire situation. Still, local governments follow the same path. Recently in <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44898">Argentina</a>, a carefully crafted law meant to protect this resource was rejected in favor of business development and 'progress'. In <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45003">Chile</a>, near-future plans to address climate change are widely seen as insufficient. </p> <p>One of the major sources of GHG emissions in SA (and globally) is deforestation. In an <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/05/brazil-and-future-of-amazon-rain-forest.html">earlier post</a>, some of the issues and attitudes regarding towards the Amazon rain forest were examined with the hope that Brazil would exercise the moral choice of conserving the rain forest for the long-term benefit of all. The actions of the Brazilian government tell one story; the annual tally of forest loss tells another. </p> <p>The Brazilian government is making an attempt at conservation. A show of force with a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4AQ7GT20081127?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">crackdown on illegal loggers</a> and a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4B04G420081201?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">pledge to reduce the</a><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4B04G420081201?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews"><i> rate</i></a><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4B04G420081201?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews"> of deforestation by half</a> in the next decade are some high-profile actions taken recently. Unfortunately, the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4AR5W420081128?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">annual amount of forest cleared has risen</a> for the first time in three years. This is being driven by farmers and cattle ranchers clearing forest in response to capitalize on high commodity prices around the world.</p> <p>Deforestation is not confined solely to Brazil, but rather endemic throughout the region. And while the effects on the global climate are significant, the local and regional impacts can also be large. For example</p> <ul><li><p>In <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44993">Colombia</a>, deforestation is behaving synergistically with an unusual rainy season, exacerbating flooding along with avalanches and landslides -- 50 people have been killed, 85 injured, nine are missing and 735,000 have been left homeless. A local meteorologist notes “Human beings are the problem...Cutting down trees in the river basins means that the rains are not contained, but sweep down rapidly into streams and rivers, which rise and overflow.”</p> </li><li><p>In <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44889">Paraguay</a>, one of the last uncontacted indigenous tribes is being threatened as their forest homeland is reduced to cattle pasture. More tragically, the lands are protected under some native title legislation; the national government isn't (can't or won't?) enforcing the law.</p> </li></ul> <p>Like the rest of the world,a common theme in SA appears to be the inability of many of the continent's governments to affect meaningful measures to halt the slide of environmental degradation, opting instead for the illusory panacea of short term economic growth. That said, many nations on the continent are experimenting with new forms of governance. <a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/environment/jessica_loudis/rights_of_nature_ecuador">Ecuador's new constitution</a> states: "Nature or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachamama">Pachamama</a>, where life is reproduced and exists, has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution." That is, it grants explicit rights to Nature. Early next year, <a href="http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/4097/morales_remakes_bolivia/">Bolivia is likely to enact a new constitution</a> that empowers the long-suffering indigenous people of that nation.</p> <p>There is no guarantee of success, though -- significant hurdles remain to be overcome. More trials of this sort are needed to develop a new <i>zeitgeist, </i><span style="font-style: normal;">a different</span> way of living for the 21<sup>st</sup> century. The current paradigm of the global North has run its course; an apparent dead end of financial insolvency, endless warfare and destruction of the natural world. The world should learn from and improve upon these experiments. We may well be witnessing the beginnings of a 'New American Century', but this time led from the South and based on the principles of social justice and environmental sustainability.</p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></p><span style="font-size:78%;">**<br />Image: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:South_America_satellite_plane.jpg"> Wikipedia</a><br /></span><p><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-43912342325735396982008-11-27T00:35:00.002+11:002008-11-27T00:46:06.710+11:00More fish talesAs humanity's impact on the environment continues becomes increasingly apparent, more measures are being made to stem the tide of the <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/11/teaching-ourselves-to-fish_14.html">over-exploitation of the world's fisheries</a>. <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBohefXUpIyiOfQPxy7liB2VtS9UiyBPRNDN6eQgnSBGUxLJd5I91l7diLyhH1WX4WFXG8JOzr4g8Bip3otuQV5um7nmXEHD9oHp-g1ApYGqcnmeTHfvvPoMfzTct56wLAh2xi1Dylq6U/s1600-h/tuna.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBohefXUpIyiOfQPxy7liB2VtS9UiyBPRNDN6eQgnSBGUxLJd5I91l7diLyhH1WX4WFXG8JOzr4g8Bip3otuQV5um7nmXEHD9oHp-g1ApYGqcnmeTHfvvPoMfzTct56wLAh2xi1Dylq6U/s400/tuna.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272959837060940578" border="0" /></a>The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,592608,00.html">passed a "total allowable catch" limit of 22,000 tons of bluefin</a> for 2009. This number is down from the 29 500 tons allowed in 2008, but well in excess of the 15 000 tons recommended by ICCAT's own scientists. This is the <i>legal</i> allowable catch; illegal fishing will likely drive the total number of fish caught much higher. Environmental groups call the measure a disgrace.</p> <p>The agreement also includes stricter measures aimed at limiting illegal tuna catches, defines mechanisms for control throughout the marketing chain and closes many outstanding loopholes. The EU apparently played hardball politics to get the higher than recommended quotas passed, threatening to penalize developing nations present at the meeting should they not agree to the higher limits. It seems to me that more and/or stricter laws are unlikely to staunch the flow; the EU has simply chosen to make sure that the national interests of its member nations are met. They're getting theirs while the getting is good, while paying lip service to the idea of sustainable fishing.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16131-last-great-us-fishery-in-danger-of-collapse.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news">last great US fishery is also looking at a reduced quota</a> next season. Fisheries scientists recommended that next year's catch in the eastern Bering Sea, the main walleye pollack-fishing region for US boats, be cut by 18% to 815,000 tonnes. This continues a series of cuts in recent years that have seen the quota drop from almost 1,500,000 tons in 2005. Many argue that further reductions are needed with a quota to a quota around 500,000 tons in order to give the walleye pollack a chance to recover from years of overfishing. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4AK6AQ20081121?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">Pollock stocks have declined 20 percent per year</a> since 2003, dipping to their lowest level since the late 1970s.</p> <p>Will these cuts work? Such limits have been imposed before, with mixed results. In Scotland, stocks of herring and mackerel are on the verge of being (re)declared sustainable, following several years of cooperative conservation efforts. This is being hailed a success by local fishermen. Despite this, the season is limited to about 8 weeks a year to ensure conservation efforts are maintained.</p> <p>However, the results on the other side of the Atlantic are not as positive. <a href="http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2008/1125/1?rss=1">Atlantic cod is a symbol of boom-and-bust commercial fishing</a>. After 50 years of heavy harvesting in the late 20th century, the Canadian cod fishery collapsed in the early 1990s. Total bans ensued, and fisheries managers expected to see a recovery. However, after 15 years of little to no fishing, local populations show no sign of rebounding. In fact, some will continue to spiral downward to extinction.</p> <p>The main problem is that adult cod have been dying at an unusually high rate in recent years. No one knows why, but one cause might be increased predation by seals. The problem may be more widespread: The neighboring Scotian Shelf cod population also took a nosedive in the 1990s. While most other cod populations off Canada appear to be stable, the same could have been said about the southern Gulf population up until a few years ago.</p> <p>It is not clear what the final outcome of these quota cuts will be. The ecology involved is complex and not fully known. And human actions further complicate matters. Over-fishing is but one of the many environmental disasters caused by human irresponsibility. We have a deleterious effect on the entire globe -- the short-sidedness of Our Way of Life. Strong economic incentives to curb our excesses are needed, while we discover new ways of living and co-existing with the ecosystem at large. A part of the natural world, not apart from it.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">**<br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Image: <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-37431-4.html#backToArticle=592608">Der Spiegel</a></span></p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-83455925424245489202008-11-25T01:10:00.005+11:002008-11-25T01:28:21.503+11:00A sad tale: Antarctic whalingAs austral summer approaches and the 'high season' of the Antarctic opens up, Australia and Japan are gearing up for another round in the <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-game-20-antarctica.html">Great Game 2.0</a>, the quest to control Antarctica and the potential resources it represents if and when the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_Treaty_System">Antarctic Treaty</a> breaks down. <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwcuPWytnPjS8Sys3SJCN8q5Gb4zzSAeThLlanYR04peWmsUoZ7YS-T5nh9lqiFwxivre_tjEKwh57RkAMGvxKepp0zQxiRWaRXIQyAwUJazPwtBhiPZTXpzKJOa3nTQA4fTKAcj8OXg/s1600-h/whaling+on+trial.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwcuPWytnPjS8Sys3SJCN8q5Gb4zzSAeThLlanYR04peWmsUoZ7YS-T5nh9lqiFwxivre_tjEKwh57RkAMGvxKepp0zQxiRWaRXIQyAwUJazPwtBhiPZTXpzKJOa3nTQA4fTKAcj8OXg/s400/whaling+on+trial.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272228651027691730" border="0" /></a>The lead ship of the Japanese whaling fleet, the <i>Nisshin Maru</i>, has <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4AG19F20081117?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&sp=true">set out on its annual 'scientific whaling' expedition</a>. The ship left from Innoshima in western Japan with little fanfare. A Greenpeace spokesperson said, “Constant pressure on Japan's whaling industry...has reduced the fleet to sneaking out of port in a fog of crisis and scandal, desperate to avoid attention”.</p> <p>Last year, diplomatic tensions rose between Australia and Japan, a result of confrontations between anti-whaling activists <a href="http://www.seashepherd.org/australia/">Sea Shepherd</a> and the whalers. Protesters launched stink-bombs and boarded the Japanese ships without permission and were held captive for several hours. Ultimately, the whalers returned home with only around half the numbers of whales killed for their 'study' than had been planned.</p> <p>This year, it is anticipated that Japan will have a quota of 850 minke and 50 fin whales. The <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4AA0QS20081111?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0">Australian government is unlikely to send an official vessel</a> to monitor the activity. Also, Greenpeace has decided not to send an anti-whaling ship this year amid expectations Japan may send a coastguard ship with the fleet to ward off activists. (Wouldn't this be technically illegal under the Treaty, which prohibits militarization of the continent?). Sea Shepherd again plans to disrupt the hunt, hoping to send two ships this season.</p> <p>Earlier this year, Japan's scientific body in charge of the whaling endeavor <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/26/whaling.conservation?gusrc=rss&feed=environment">published a paper</a> claiming a 'key finding' from the research:</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">The new study analysed measurements taken from 4,689 adult whales killed by the Japanese whaling fleet between 1988 and 2005. It found that blubber thickness and overall fat weight had decreased by 9% over the period, which it called a 'substantial decline". Girth of the animals was down 4%. The study says: "This is the first time a long-term decline in energy storage in minke whales has been demonstrated."...</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">...[T]he decline in blubber was down to shrinking numbers of Antarctic krill, a shrimp-like crustacean at the heart of the food chain. The amount of blubber lost is roughly equivalent to 36 fewer days of intensive summer feeding. </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">Krill numbers in the water around the rapidly-warming Antarctic peninsula have collapsed by about 80% since the 1970s. This is blamed on the loss of sea ice, which provide shelter and food for krill.</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">The study says the impact of global warming on the minke whales is unclear because no similar krill measurements have been made in that region of the Southern Ocean. But it claims that competition for krill from other predators such as the humpback must also be "considered as a likely explanation". </p> <p>Some criticisms:</p> <ul><li><p><a href="http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2008/09/fight_over_whale_fat.html">They then claim</a> that the Antarctic minke whales that they did the study on must be competing with other whales, like humpback whales that are increasing in numbers, for a limited amount of krill. We think the science behind showing those trends is very weak at best and the explanation they put forward is extremely simplistic. </p> </li><li><p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/26/whaling.conservation?gusrc=rss&feed=environment">Lots of dead bodies</a> will provide robust data, so if you kill lots of whales then you will be able to get some information. The question is whether the benefits outweigh the number of whales killed and how they were killed. Scientific whaling is not about science, and there is no pressing conservation need that requires it to be done. (Link same as before)</p> </li></ul> <p>I tend to agree with the critics. There is a lot of pointless slaughter for not a lot of benefit; a relatively minor finding with a fairly speculative conclusion*. And this is apparently one of the few (the first?) peer-reviewed article to appear describing the results of this 20-year experiment. Scientific whaling is obviously a sham, a cheap facade, a cynical ploy to evade the international moratorium on commercial whaling.</p> <p>While there is no doubt that many in Australia care deeply about the whales, I still maintain that the Australian Government has an ulterior motive, namely reinforcing its claim to Antarctica by re-affirming its moral claim in the area. This season, rather than risk a potentially violent confrontation, Australia is <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4AG0HG20081117?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">sending a scientific expedition</a> to prove it was not necessary to kill the ocean mammals to study them. Let the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/pirates-of-compassion-prepare-to-take-on-japanese-whaling-fleet-1031633.html">'pirates of compassion'</a> directly confront the whalers, while the government pursues legal avenues. Plus, if there is no official presence there is no pressure to stop the activists.</p> <p>And make no mistake, the Treaty is failing. Already suggestions are being made <a href="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=south-pole-environment-antarctic-treaty&page=2">to end the Treaty</a>, under the guise of environmental protection. While the environment is feeling the effects of humanity, mainly through <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/11/teaching-ourselves-to-fish_14.html">overfishing</a> , allowing national claims opens the door for further exploitation to the continent. It's already happening in the <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/10/arctic-summer-blues.html">rapidly degrading Arctic</a>, it will happen <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2007/09/down-south.html">down South</a> given the slightest chance, despite good intentions and promises to the contrary. Something should be done to protect the Antarctic, I doubt this is it...</p> <p>Another version of the tragedy of the commons is revealing itself and Australia is making some clever moves in the early rounds of this Great Game. Whales make a good cover story and it's popular domestic politics. Realpolitik says the game must be played, failure to do so automatically results in a loss. Unless the rules change, this is The Way the World Works.</p> <p>Protecting the whales is the right thing to do, as well. Taking out the upper links of the oceanic food web will have unknown consequences on the ecosystem at-large. Further, some species of <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10661-whales-boast-the-brain-cells-that-make-us-human.html">whales share brain structures that make us human</a>, indicating the possibility of consciousness and high-level emotional functioning. Bluntly put, killing whales may be murder. Whaling in the Antarctic (or anywhere) is an ethical atrocity and should be stopped immediately (and permanently). Humans have done enough to the world around us. Let's evolve in our own thinking and draw the line here. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">*<span style="font-size:78%;">Question: How do we know this isn't the result of consistently killing the biggest and best whales for the 20 years for scientific whaling, leaving only the less fit? An example of evolution in action? Or do the Japanese cull whales indiscriminately, killing whatever they see regardless of age, size or maturity?</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:78%;">**<br />Image: <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4AG19F20081117?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&sp=true">Reuters</a>.<br />Also: The book <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books?id=hJPRiQFhCFIC&printsec=frontcover">Harpoon: Into the Heart of Whaling</a> is a enjoyable read on the history of whaling.</span></p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-7396032436726580352008-11-14T01:07:00.004+11:002008-11-18T23:49:11.878+11:00Teaching ourselves to fishGive a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he'll eat forever. Or so the old aphorism goes. But is it true given the current state of the evidence? <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZkUsUWIxQK78QaQaU9zN1L7FbdMnMdMpdO3p40eQ5MkRzB0AgAKiH2H1YG8xP5_BFwPsoLRNDY2Ue1suCRjRMf52DVq0noT64-FCAqrXruluhN0HDfuPl7zmVQ1MW5OqHlM9d2ESp0Y/s1600-h/spiny+dogfish+shark.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZkUsUWIxQK78QaQaU9zN1L7FbdMnMdMpdO3p40eQ5MkRzB0AgAKiH2H1YG8xP5_BFwPsoLRNDY2Ue1suCRjRMf52DVq0noT64-FCAqrXruluhN0HDfuPl7zmVQ1MW5OqHlM9d2ESp0Y/s400/spiny+dogfish+shark.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268144871330183042" border="0" /></a>In Europe, the crisis is becoming dire as <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/nov/10/fishing-food">deep cuts to the numbers of fish extracted from the ocean</a> are being proposed. For 2009,the following measures have been proposed:</p> <ul><li><p>No fishing at all west of Scotland for cod, haddock and whiting west of Scotland; </p> </li><li><p>A 25% cut in herring catches in the North Sea and west of Scotland;</p> </li><li><p>A continued a ban on anchovy fishing in the Bay of Biscay;</p> </li><li><p>A new ban on fishing for spurdog and porbeagle, two species of deep-sea shark. </p> </li></ul> <p>Ironically enough, these cuts come after a <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2007/12/future-food.html">poorly thought out 11% increase in the numbers of cod taken</a> agreed to last year...<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081107143614.htm">Bluefin tuna in the Atlantic</a> are also threat of becoming depleted.</p> <p>Sharks are also under extreme duress, with a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4A925M20081110?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">quarter of sharks and rays threatened with being fished out of existence</a> in the Northeast Atlantic. Critically endangered sharks in include the gulper shark, prized in the cosmetics industry for its liver oil, and the two sharks most valued in Europe for their meat -- the spiny dogfish and porbeagle sharks. </p> <p>The shark's path to extinction isn't confined solely to Europe. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4A231A20081103?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">Rising affluence in Asia</a> is stoking demand for shark fin, widely viewed as a delicacy when shredded in soup. Much of this is supported by illegal fishing activity, with 'hotspots' found off Central and South America as well as in the western and central Pacific. Tragically, most of this catch is a complete and utter waste, because in many cases crews on illegal vessels slice the fins off sharks and dump the less valuable carcasses overboard. </p> <p>Even the fish that aren't merely tossed overboard aren't particularly utilized in an efficient fashion. Nearly <a href="http://news.mongabay.com/2008/1030-hance_fish.html">one third of 'forage fish'</a> –anchovies, sardines and the like -- are ground-up into meal and fed to pigs, poultry, and even farm-raised fish. Domestic pigs and poultry are such gluttons for seafood that together they consume six times the amount of fish eaten in the United States and double the amount in Japan. These fish provide food for seabirds, marine mammals and larger fish; their removal may be putting the entire oceanic food web at risk.</p> <p>Aquaculture -- fish-farming -- is apparently no better, particularly in the ocean. While<span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> <a href="http://www.eoearth.org/article/Economics_of_fisheries">perhaps feasible</a> a</span></span>t a small-scale and as part of a larger process with multiple uses of water, a group is claiming that ocean salmon farming is <span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44646">devastating the world's oceans</a>. </span></span> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">Three or more kilogrammes of wild fish is needed to produce one kilo of farmed salmon. The ocean bottoms under and around the open-ocean net pens are usually devoid of any life, buried under the excrement of up to a million salmon overhead...</p> <p>Other impacts of the farms, including rampant disease and salmon as invasive species, are described in the linked article.</p> <p>Overfishing (and its disruption to the biosphere) is but one of the many consequences of humanity's reckless exploitation of the natural environment. The ongoing Great CO2 Enhancement Experiment is also having strong impacts:<span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/11/2416190.htm">Increasingly rapid ocean acidification; </a><a href="http://www.spacemart.com/reports/Arctic_Sea_Ice_Decline_Shakes_Up_Ocean_Ecosystems_999.html">ecosystem changes driven by the unusual(?) melting of the Arctic ice caps</a>, <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/07/cyclone-nargis-3-months-later.html">Indian ocean circulation oddities</a> </span></span>wrought by both natural variability and climate change. Humanity takes from the natural world, contributing little (if anything) back.</p> <p>Because the oceans are owned by everyone and no one, a classic<span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> '<a href="http://www.dieoff.org/page95.htm">tragedy of the commons'</a> </span></span>scenario arises. All take, few give back. Laissez-faire rules the day. Some toothless attempts are made to curb the excess: agreements, quotas, licenses and such are easy to write and impose. We have heaps of them now regarding fisheries. Unfortunately, only those law-abiding souls with a conscience are bound by them; the dominant economic and social paradigms dictate that such people are losers, in both the literal and pejorative sense*. The oceans are too big to effectively police; people can and will (and indeed do) take what they want when they want it. Given the performance to date, this strategy is unlikely to succeed.</p> <p>The parable cited above is remains true. Metaphorically speaking, Gaia has just been giving us fish; the earth is finite, unlike our seemingly insatiable demands. Humanity has not learned to fish yet, because we have failed to heed the lessons. The most straightforward path, as twisty as it may be, is to make the cost of extracting resources (like fish) prohibitively expensive when done at unsustainable levels. Given that money is about the only thing(s) that gets anyone's attention, the changes must be economic. Proper valuation of environmental considerations must be made in the general economy. This pretty much requires a change in the value system (of the global North in particular, but everyone really) lives by. Consumption must once again come to refer primarily to tuberculosis, not Our Way of Life.</p> <p>It is late in the piece, and dramatic changes to the planetary ecosystem could be 'locked in'. Or not, we don't know for sure. The risks are large and we should act as best we can. It is time to listen to the lessons being taught and learn to fish.</p> <p><span style="font-size:78%;">**<br />*Summarizing the paradigm, not a personal viewpoint...<br />Image: Spiny dogfish shark found dead in a net. From</span><span style=";font-family:Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;font-size:78%;" > </span><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2008/nov/10/endangeredspecies-fishing?picture=339530404"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"><i>The Guardian</i></span></a></span><span style=";font-family:Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;font-size:78%;" >.</span></p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-19684320133571898672008-10-29T01:00:00.003+11:002008-10-29T01:18:36.564+11:00Climate change: The reality of now in VictoriaThe Great CO2 Enhancement Experiment (~40% and rising!) continues unabated, and looks set to continue for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, the results are coming in, and the verdict doesn't look good. Numerous lines of evidence from around the globe (as presented previously at <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/"><i>planet doom?</i></a>) support the idea that this is the case. <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXi8ckPZuUeLn_m9OssSiyfLdHgosxj8pGlDGdKgXXXc87ZUPAbLqhS37z34obRaAnWpZ1YixVrsv7spYltmdQHHQ4Cr9sMxat-Opj0VYrxYTWMZmh-9ItdfGPVrTaoBgZHzJFoIbEvk/s1600-h/thomson+dam.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 289px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXi8ckPZuUeLn_m9OssSiyfLdHgosxj8pGlDGdKgXXXc87ZUPAbLqhS37z34obRaAnWpZ1YixVrsv7spYltmdQHHQ4Cr9sMxat-Opj0VYrxYTWMZmh-9ItdfGPVrTaoBgZHzJFoIbEvk/s400/thomson+dam.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262204783493204962" border="0" /></a>A recent jaunt across country Victoria prompted some reflection on the effects of climate change closer to home. Much of Australia, the southeastern corner in particular, is experiencing a <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/announcements/media_releases/climate/drought/20081003.shtml">long-term drought</a>. In Melbourne, the drought is of '<a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/announcements/media_releases/vic/20080930.shtml">unprecedented severity</a>' – annual rainfall has been below average for 12 consecutive years. And the drought continues, with record-low monthly rain in September, and very little rain thus far in October.</p> <p>Drought is a regular climatic event in this part of Australia, often corresponding with ENSO – El Nino years are dry, while La Nina years typically bring relief. Unfortunately, the recent La Nina brought little precipitation to the region. This may in part be related to the unprecedented <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/08/indian-ocean-climate-impacts.html">events observed in the Indian Ocean</a>; a third consecutive positive Indian Ocean Dipole (and apart from El Nino two years in a row, too). Historically, the positive IOD does show a negative relation with rainfall over this part of the continent.</p> <p>The impacts of the drought are widespread, with concerns continuing to grow over the availability of water resources. The Murray-Darling river system -- southeastern Australia's lifeline – is a particular concern. For a third year running, very little water has been made available for irrigation along the river (<a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2007/08/agriculture-and-climate-change-two-way.html">also reported last year</a>), with zero allocation in some parts. Nearly <a href="http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20082710-18351-2.html">90% of the wetlands</a> in the MD Basin have disappeared. These effects are <a href="http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Australian_Govts_Must_Remain_True_To_Water_Reform_Principles_999.html">being exacerbated by human mis-management</a>, with individual states acting on an ad-hoc basis. </p> <p>Similar impacts are seen throughout Victoria. For much of the state, streamflows in the rivers are currently <a href="http://www.ourwater.vic.gov.au/monitoring/monthly/streamflows/streamflows_map">running below 10% of capacity</a>. In total, water storage across the state is at <a href="http://www.ourwater.vic.gov.au/monitoring/monthly/storage_levels">22% of capacity</a>. Melbourne, a city of over 3m people, is slightly better off with <a href="http://www.melbournewater.com.au/content/water/weekly_water_update/weekly_water_update.asp?bhcp=1">storage levels at 34%</a>. Water restrictions are in place.. </p> <p>Another consequence of the drought is the <a href="http://knowledgeweb.afac.com.au/national_data__and__glossary/bushfire_seasonal_forecast/Outlook_for_Australia_2008-9">threat of wildfire</a> becomes larger. In the current environment, the forested areas of Victoria are a particular are of concern for the upcoming summer. The water catchment areas of Melbourne are a concern; a major bushfire is these regions could increase the difficulty of maintaining an adequate water supply for the future. </p> <p>The current drought is unprecedented in Australia's recorded history (over 100 years). This <i>is</i> climate change, part of the growing climate instabilities being observed around the globe. An enhancement (a corruption!) of the natural variability. The hysteresis in the Earth system means the effects, from causes long past, are only now becoming apparent. And the causes (i.e. CO2 radiative forcing) continue today, meaning that these events and their impacts are but a foretaste of our future.</p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMi9HOvgfM0d3z7I4edbJgbiUuPL5_U6bZU-9aSzUQbYAd4TrtSYdr8DIcy_kOE44MZ3ZiBF7IH5mMDoG4zriLCBehzoQpXnmKUQqW6Zrs2D-VNnYsLz0c5gFHhPQngSSJvDjs2kSV0RA/s1600-h/eildon+gum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 184px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMi9HOvgfM0d3z7I4edbJgbiUuPL5_U6bZU-9aSzUQbYAd4TrtSYdr8DIcy_kOE44MZ3ZiBF7IH5mMDoG4zriLCBehzoQpXnmKUQqW6Zrs2D-VNnYsLz0c5gFHhPQngSSJvDjs2kSV0RA/s400/eildon+gum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262205055399721890" border="0" /></a>Australia and Victoria are among the first -- by no means the last -- to confront the new realities of climate change. <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/05/gaing-wisdom-through-adversity-lessons.html">Adaptation will be a long, difficult process</a>. Water – vital to human life -- is but one issue among many. <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081013143031.htm">Understanding how climate and the hydrologic cycle</a> interact is crucial for the future. As Australian <a href="http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=106213">federal</a> and <a href="http://www.ourwater.vic.gov.au/programs/owof">state</a> governments try to manage the current water crisis, the globe will be watching to learn from both our mistakes and successes. Adaptation is an unknown challenge and recent events provide an opportunity to lead the world towards a brighter, greener future.</p> <p>In both a local and global sense, the time to act is now. Inaction is not an option. Society must adapt to the immediate realities and simultaneously try to minimize future impacts, through both emissions reductions and the development of a less environmentally intense lifestyle. We owe a moral obligation to future generations to accomplish this, a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE49L78D20081022?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">Green New Deal</a> for the 21<sup>st</sup> century.</p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></p><span style="font-size:78%;">**<br />Images: 1. Low water levels in Thomson Dam via <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/environment/melbournes-spring-drought-set-to-send-rainfall-records-to-a-new-low-20081023-57h1.html">The Age</a><br />2. A nice gum tree in Lake Eildon NP, by me<br /></span><p><br /></p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-79012170656443600272008-10-10T01:26:00.004+11:002008-10-10T01:34:17.488+11:00Arctic summer bluesOf all the evidence implicating Man's deleterious impact on the climate of the Earth, few (if any) are more unequivocal than the goings-on in the farthest reaches of the North Hemisphere, the Arctic. As the boreal summer of 2008 fades, even a brief survey of the region reveals the extent of the damage and the depth of humankind's folly...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkLrDLH1Po3EO3NS_LB8Csz_b8VbWu1GTOZlwaAKhnHPSQG8MLgEwc2lfxPpKvEkqUnD_BHOL4ng3OjfuRb0nk-hS8Dg1wdt6b13tE2f3cVNXm8nwKoHEGHG5pK_jFDiVeKrmGlqrD8co/s1600-h/alaska+glaciers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkLrDLH1Po3EO3NS_LB8Csz_b8VbWu1GTOZlwaAKhnHPSQG8MLgEwc2lfxPpKvEkqUnD_BHOL4ng3OjfuRb0nk-hS8Dg1wdt6b13tE2f3cVNXm8nwKoHEGHG5pK_jFDiVeKrmGlqrD8co/s400/alaska+glaciers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255161140068929698" border="0" /></a> <ul><li><p>Arctic sea ice reached it's second lowest areal extent (since 1979), and <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080915162428.htm">by <i>volume</i> its lowest level ever this past summer</a>. Rapid sea ice loss may <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080610112628.htm">accelerate the melting of the permafrost</a>, which <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081008091129.htm">contains more carbon</a> than initially thought.</p> </li><li><p>The <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081008114518.htm">northern part of the Greenland ice sheet experienced extreme snowmelt</a>... with large portions of the area subject to record melting days. Melting in northern Greenland lasted up to 18 days longer than previous maximum values. </p> </li><li><p>Most <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081006130550.htm">glaciers in every mountain range and island group in Alaska</a> are experiencing significant retreat, thinning or stagnation, especially glaciers at lower elevations.</p> </li><li><p>The Arctic region in general has been getting <a href="http://www.livescience.com/environment/081006-arctic-storminess.html">increasingly stormier</a> since 1950, presumably part of the anthropogenically-induced climate instability we've been experiencing in recent years.</p> </li><li><p><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081006-glacier-video-ap.html?source=rss">Icelandic glaciers are also melting rapidly</a>, and the rate is projected to increase. Iceland also saw its <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/08/whirligig-4-summer-2008-climate-report.html">record high temperature</a> earlier in the summer. (See also <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/shownh.php3?img_id=15096">this story regarding an Icelandic dust storm</a> associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ike is also interesting...)</p> </li></ul> <p>While some <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4791047.ece">degree of benefit</a> may be felt by a few segments of society in these regions (see also the Iceland video linked above...), the consequences of climate change are dire for most—both locally and globally. <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080825210415.htm">Polar bears are becoming increasingly endangered</a>, as their primary habitat disappears during the summer. Some may shrug their shoulders and say 'So what?', but they fail to realize the danger. The impact of a damaged segment of the Earth system isn't necessarily localized, but rather cascades through the different interlocking 'spheres'. For example, the <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081003081635.htm">loss of <i>aquatic</i> sea otters in Alaska </a>has effects on the <i>terrestrial</i> eco-system. </p> <p>The final result of this ecological damage to the Arctic is ultimately unpredictable, and quite likely to be global. But it most likely won't be positive. But the prospects of the radical changes to our world needed to avert this slow-motion catastrophe <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44147">don't</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4951P720081006?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">appear</a> <a href="http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=107956">to be</a> forthcoming. Nothing will be done until it is too late. <span style="font-style: italic;">We could save the planet if we wanted, but we're too damn cheap!</span>*</p> <p>And all this gives me the blues. The Arctic Summer Blues to be exact. Imagine the music of your favorite 12-bar blues rock song (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_House_%28song%29">'Red House'</a> by Jimi Hendrix is a good one...) and sing along:</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" align="center"><i>The polar ice is melting...</i></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" align="center"><i>and its getting more stormy too!</i></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" align="center"><i>The glaciers are retreating...</i></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" align="center"><i>as the permafrost turns to goo!</i></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" align="center"><i>There's only one thing to do for sure...</i></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" align="center"><i>Stop emitting CO2!!</i></p> <p align="left"></p><span style="font-size:78%;">**<br />Image: <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081006130550.htm">Science Daily</a>. Muir glacier: August 1941, August 1950 and August 2004.<br /><br />*This sentence paraphrased from 'Hocus Pocus' by Kurt Vonnegut.</span><p align="left"> </p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-76300199586986875592008-09-24T00:56:00.008+10:002008-09-24T01:16:41.187+10:00Scenes from a dying Earth?A nice collection of NASA satellite imagery captured this month over at <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2008/sep/23/climatechange.desertification?lightbox=1">guardian.co.uk</a>. Typical <i>planet doom?</i> -type material. Worth a look if you're in to that sort of thing!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kIQ0Ak03lPpSS4Pqw5dkUeQWXacS-iv58h0-ivl7adGrYynBoxRe2uwLeWcKDycL7_5HTjCyfxfkQlZY1sRiDCubnDSVT9xwNY12UuBQ2XzpGq7rN8dSlEBr0r8OLjFGMEKMbiN3WDo/s1600-h/MonsoonFloodsInNEIndia-2344.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kIQ0Ak03lPpSS4Pqw5dkUeQWXacS-iv58h0-ivl7adGrYynBoxRe2uwLeWcKDycL7_5HTjCyfxfkQlZY1sRiDCubnDSVT9xwNY12UuBQ2XzpGq7rN8dSlEBr0r8OLjFGMEKMbiN3WDo/s400/MonsoonFloodsInNEIndia-2344.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249232320144305890" border="0" /></a><p> </p> <p>The image shows the diversion of the Kosi River (India) into an unused channel, a result of heavy monsoon rain further upstream. <a href="http://www.terradaily.com/reports/India_floods_rains_kill_173_say_officials_999.html">Floods continue</a> in the region.</p> <p>Other images in the collection show </p> <ul><li><p>'concerning' cracks forming in the Petermann Glacier in Greenland, generally symbolic of the rapid, human-induced decline of the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN1630231020080917?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">Arctic</a> in recent years.</p> </li><li><p>large wildfires in southern Africa, which have <a href="http://www.firefightingnews.com/article.cfm?articleID=54336">resulted in at least 89 deaths</a>.</p> </li><li><p>hurricane-affected regions of the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/08/naturaldisasters.flooding?gusrc=rss&feed=environment">Caribbean</a> –<a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43900">Cuba</a> and Haiti have been hit particularly hard several hurricanes. <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/09/080918-ike-after-photo.html?source=rss">Galveston and the rest of SE Texas</a> have also been heavily affected by Hurricane Ike (Cat 2 at US landfall; 4 in Cuba)).</p> </li></ul> <p>Snapshots of a dying planet, or just run-of-the-mill climate varibility? These images show nothing definitive, no <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/07/climate-change-state-of-play.html">Cataclysms</a>. Just more datapoints documenting a changing environment, driven by both natural and anthropogenic forces. Only time will tell (and that time may well be soon...).</p> <p>**</p> <p>In other news, posting is likely to continue to be lite-N-fluffy here for the foreseeable future – lots of meatspace obligations and a touch of burnout. I haven't given up, though...just a bit of a break. The 'collection of found items' in the sidebar will continue to be updated regardless of the level of posting activity.<br /></p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-84045257062304271632008-08-08T01:20:00.004+10:002008-08-08T01:25:11.390+10:00Indian Ocean climate impactsIn the recent post regarding the <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/07/cyclone-nargis-3-months-later.html">continuing impacts of Cyclone Nargis</a>, I noted some unusual behaviour in the Indian Ocean SST. In particular, I noted that we are <a href="http://www.jamstec.go.jp/frsgc/research/d1/iod/">quite possibly headed</a> into an apparently unprecedented third consecutive occurrence of the so-called Indian Ocean Dipole. <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDAC26DVmanRSqtQQvRkCaN6BTbIP4xOGBogAGCOBoVdyne5d23IUNvorlbXnU2jwg8ObWRfI2nfvV1neRYBCo9trklKxRNZceYkAlHLF2V_yKufpxfYHlBOc6a4myWhsXYBJoafLUEY/s1600-h/indian+ocean+small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDAC26DVmanRSqtQQvRkCaN6BTbIP4xOGBogAGCOBoVdyne5d23IUNvorlbXnU2jwg8ObWRfI2nfvV1neRYBCo9trklKxRNZceYkAlHLF2V_yKufpxfYHlBOc6a4myWhsXYBJoafLUEY/s400/indian+ocean+small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231796487987253218" border="0" /></a>This behaviour of the IOD has not only been observed during the last few years, but is also a part of a longer trend of the past decades. The years 1994 and 1997 saw unusually strong positive IODs (e.g. <a href="http://www.jamstec.go.jp/frsgc/research/d1/iod/2007/observations/dmi_recent.jpg">this time series to 1990</a>); 2006 was a moderate to strong event and this year remains to be determined...</p> <p>In recent days, several instances of the impact of the Indian ocean have been noted. Both short- and long(er)-term impacts are noted.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL462932520080804?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">first item</a> notes that tuna catches across the Indian Ocean have fallen sharply <i>in the last two years</i> and early indicators for this year show catches to be markedly below recent averages. Conservationists blame years of unchecked exploitation while processors say climatic conditions may be driving the fish deeper away from their nets.</p> <p>As before, this illustrates the complexity of environmental problems and the difficulty of assigning ultimate cause and effect (and hence legal blame punishable by lawsuits). There are merits to both sides of the argument, and the reality of the situation is some nebulous gray between the two extremes. Years of overfishing have undoubtedly occurred and weakened the population, making it more susceptible to an unusual climatic event. </p> <p>The recent IOD behaviour and The timing of the fishing loss event provides strong circumstantial evidence in favor of a climate effect. Normally a negative dipole follows a positive event. Fish populations are affected by changes in ocean conditions (El Nino was known for years by Peruvian fisherman for its impact of the anchovy haul, and the first(?) 'ENSO' paper explicitly linking ocean and atmosphere appeared in a tuna fishery journal...) and breaking the 'regular cycle' with the recent double IOD may have disrupted the fish's recovery. A triple positive IOD event could prove a disaster for Indian Ocean fisheries, hastening the inevitable end from overfishing.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080805124005.htm">second item</a> notes a recent study which identifies a link between a warming Indian Ocean and less rainfall in <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/06/africa-and-realities-of-climate-change.html">Africa</a>. Rainfall in eastern Africa during the rainy season, which runs from March through May, has declined about 15 percent since the 1980s. Declines in rainfall in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe were linked to increases in rainfall over the ocean. </p> <p>Using both diagnostic (to identify how the observed decline work) and predictive modeling, the authors suggest "We can be quite certain that the decline in rainfall has been substantial and will continue to be. This 15 percent decrease every 20-25 years is likely to continue." </p> <p>The study also notes that with current trends in emissions and local agricultural capacity the number of undernourished people could increase by more than 50 percent in eastern Africa by 2030. Coupled with the fishing problems noted above, the region looks set for continued troubles for years as a result of climate change.</p> <p>A few final thoughts. As I've <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2007/11/natural-variability-vs-climate-change.html">hinted at before</a> (see also <a href="http://atmoz.org/blog/2008/08/03/on-the-relationship-between-the-pacific-decadal-oscillation-pdo-and-the-global-average-mean-temperature/">this post at <i>Atmoz</i></a>), these seemingly natural (but unusual) events are not <i>caused by</i> climate change, rather <i>they are the climate change</i>. This is how climate change manifests itself: increasing climate instability and an 'exaggeration' of normal behaviour. </p> <p>The atmosphere and ocean radiate and stir, flux and transport, edging towards equilibrium, while never fully achieving it. This is in response to myriad of climate forcings on a variety of time scales. The forcing from a slowly-varying orbit and a reasonably well-behaved Sun has brought a certain dynamic equilibrium to the climate in recent millennia. Unfortunately, the <i>relentless</i> radiative forcing from the Great CO2 Enhancement Experiment is particularly large at this moment in Earth's long history and is driving the Earth's climate system in new ways (releasing the stored solar energy of millions of years in a century will do that...). </p> <p>We are witnessing but the beginning of a long process of change; there are no stopping points in the immediate future. The CO2 already in the atmosphere will remain* for 100 years or so, committing us to a lengthy period of climate instability. Continuing the emissions of CO2 just adds to the forcing and drives the Earth systems harder, resulting in more chaos. These events in the Indian Ocean are just a foretaste of things to come.</p><p>*barring the unlikely event of successful geo-engineering project or some such... </p> <p><span style="font-size:78%;">***<br />Image: Extracted from <a href="http://na.unep.net/AfricaAtlas/AfricaAtlas/chapters.html"><i>Africa: Atlas of our Changing Environment</i></a></span> </p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-2133967403334927892008-08-05T00:32:00.002+10:002008-08-05T01:15:43.735+10:00Whirligig 4: Summer 2008 climate report<p>Another installment of my occasional <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/03/weather-whirligig-3.html">Weather Whirligig</a> series. The idea here is to highlight reports of unusual and/or extreme or weather and climate events. Inclusion here is not meant by me to imply a cause-and-effect relationship with climate change. Rather, they are merely data points for future consideration...<br /></p> <p>It's the depth of (boreal) summer and it's <span style="font-weight: bold;">hot</span>.</p> <ul><li><p>The <a href="http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Reykjavik_sees_record_summer_temperature_999.html">warmest day ever in Reykjavik</a> was recorded on Wednesday[30 July] when the mercury reached 25.7 degrees Celsius...Northern Europe is currently enjoying unusually warm temperatures, with Stockholm in Sweden hovering around 30 degrees Celsius for the past week.</p> </li><li><p>A <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/02/2322340.htm">major national park in Canada's Arctic has been largely closed</a> after record high temperatures caused flooding that washed away hiking trails and forced the evacuation of tourists...The combination of floods, melting permafrost and erosion means that the southern part of the park will remain shut until geologists can examine the damage...</p> </li><li><p><a href="http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/698"><i>CIMSS Satellite Blog</i></a> notes <strong style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="">03 August 2008</span></strong> marked the 22nd consecutive day of daily high temperatures of 90º F or higher at Denver, Colorado. T<em><span style="font-style: normal;">he old record was 18 consecutive days, set back in 1874 and 1901</span></em><em>. </em><em><span style="font-style: normal;">The post also illustrates an example of the effects of land use/cover on temperatures and the local climate.</span></em></p> </li></ul> <p><em><span style="font-style: normal;">Drought is often another feature of summer. As <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/01/food.famine?gusrc=rss&feed=environment">this example from Ethiopia</a> shows, the </span></em><em><i>timing</i></em><em><span style="font-style: normal;"> of the rain is as equally important as the amount. </span></em> </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">The green highlands of West Badawacho in south-west Ethiopia are not a place where you would expect to find hunger. The land is fertile and lush...[However,] the lushness of the land masks a near total crop failure across the district...[T]he poor harvests of 2007 and the repeated failure of the crucial March-May rains have spelled disaster. </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">In recent weeks the rain has arrived but it is too late. While the countryside is transformed into a sea of green, 50% of farmland lies uncultivated. So many livestock died in the recent drought that farmers are struggling to plant maize by hand. For those who have managed to get a crop down, it won't be harvested until September, and then production is expected to be low. </p> <p>And with heat and drought comes wildfire...</p> <ul><li><p>High levels of fire activity have continued to plague northern California. The <a href="the%20Telegraph%20Fire%20has%20burned%2034,000%20acres%20and%20is%2060%%20contained.%20Fifty%20more%20firefighters%20joined%20the%20fight%20bringing%20the%20total%20to%204,531.">Telegraph fire</a> -- near Yosemite National Park -- has burnt ~34 000 acres and is 60% contained. 22 homes have burnt and 33 firefighters have been injured battling the blaze. Suppression costs have run to $24m.</p> </li><li><p>A <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL135036020080804?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">wildfire in Turkey</a> (Antalya province) has been burning for five days. One person has died and another is missing... It has also killed livestock and destroyed 60 houses, a school, a mosque, and dozens of farm buildings...4 000 ha of woodland has been burnt.</p> </li><li><p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSJAK24316420080804?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">Burning season has begun</a> on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. This deliberate burning for agricultural land clearance is producing a worsening haze that has cut visibility in the busy Malacca strait to below 5 km. Officials fear the number of hot spots could exceed last year's record as the current dry season will be marked by less rain than usual (an impact of the <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/07/cyclone-nargis-3-months-later.html">nascent Indian Ocean Dipole</a>, perhaps?).</p> </li></ul> <p>Finally, there is this from Texas, rarely content to be second-best* at anything: <a href="http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=104198">Texas plagued by heat, drought, water parasite, wildfire</a>. Sadly, three have died during the current heat wave, which looks set to continue for the foresee-able future...</p> <p>The 'good news' of the season is that the <a href="http://www.enn.com/climate/article/37833">polar ice cap</a> isn't going to <i>completely</i> melt away this summer (but <a href="http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/mg19926673.400-arctic-ice-continues-to-thin.html?feedId=earth_rss20">it is getting thinner)</a>. Not as low as last year, but likely 2nd or 3rd lowest.<br /></p><p>Are these events a harbinger of climate instability or merely 'normal' weather? What has to happen to answer this question? to change minds? to act?<br /></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">*They've had to learn to accept that Alaska thing...</span><br /> </p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-53682891614059859292008-07-31T23:01:00.004+10:002008-07-31T23:10:05.031+10:00Cyclone Nargis: 3 months laterWhile the storm itself came and went nearly three months ago, the Ayeyarwady Delta region of Myanmar continues to feel the <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/05/myanmar-flooding-from-cyclone-nargis.html">effects of Cyclone Nargis</a>. The storm left nearly 140 000 dead or missing, and severely affected another 2.4m more. Women and children bore the brunt of the death toll, with <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43329">roughly 60% of fatalities reported as women</a>. <p><a name="Body1"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2tqHy3PJ_DuSPY7ywWCKuau_mis2-2AiRr1_iI8Kn3AtcNkFxft-Rb7I7-ymJgqBDueMRXTgrT6rpwMoKo61YgZ14kt6e28EH0ATL5Yt-_X8BrkJQtO9MdeFX93Jla9ra6nex9yPryJY/s1600-h/myanmar.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2tqHy3PJ_DuSPY7ywWCKuau_mis2-2AiRr1_iI8Kn3AtcNkFxft-Rb7I7-ymJgqBDueMRXTgrT6rpwMoKo61YgZ14kt6e28EH0ATL5Yt-_X8BrkJQtO9MdeFX93Jla9ra6nex9yPryJY/s400/myanmar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229163589059762514" border="0" /></a>Economic losses are expected to run to the <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=79369">$4b mark</a>, comparable to the costs of the Boxing Day tsunami in Indonesia. An estimated 450,000 houses were destroyed and another 350,000 damaged; more than 4,000 schools decimated, and about 75 percent of local health facilities wrecked. The storm also destroyed livelihoods in the primarily agricultural and seaside area, killing livestock and sweeping away tools, seeds and fishing equipment. </p> <p>The <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=79198">local fishing industry remains crippled</a>, with only a fraction of small-scale fisherman having returned to work. Further, the cyclone devastated fish-processing facilities in the area, exacerbating unemployment and the conditions of Myanmar’s poor.</p> <p><a name="Body2"></a>The damages are not only physical, but psychological as well. The survivors continue to <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=78697">suffer from pervasive trauma</a>, further challenging the process of rebuilding shattered lives. Teachers are seeing first-hand <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=79082">the problems children face</a> in returning to their studies. Almost half her students show signs of difficulty concentrating on their lessons. Some feel '<a href="http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79497">completely bleak</a>'. This woman, a survivor of the storm, has quite a story:</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;"><a name="Body3"></a>"That night I went into labour in a small bamboo, thatched house on the banks of the Pyapon River to deliver my first child. But as the wind roared, my husband and I struggled outside only to see our home destroyed right before our very eyes. </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">“As the rain poured down and the water began to reach my chest, my husband lifted me on to some floating debris. As I lay there, the labour pains became so painful I began to scream. I needed help.</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">"Finally, among the broken pieces of wood I gave birth around six in the morning, but almost died in the process. I had lost so much blood. Both my husband and the woman who had helped me deliver thought I was gone. But a single hope kept me hanging on – that my son needed me. </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;"><a name="Body4"></a>"After the cyclone, I thought the worst was over. But finally I understood that the worst of our hardship – bringing our lives back to where they were – had only just begun. </p> <p>Her son's name is Nargis...The rest of her story (follow the last link) is quite illustrative of the problems faced by many, a result of not only the TC itself, but exacerbated by poverty and an <a href="http://www.siiaonline.org/?q=programmes/insights/myanmar-cyclone-nargis-timeline">apathetic government response</a>. (and <a href="http://www.newint.org/issues/2008/05/01/">general repression</a>).</p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-OVDLzojTbqX8MmERc2ayvUS4uBUK59qBFxm_iAOqkdKMcrJNmxsy424VmR5X7Igp2lHEZC4860qly6ocZI0tJfLT_lmNGLeOTlRx3iOgjfoKFacEgEp4qLB-AtTHZRmhDRRQnxbBwPU/s1600-h/IO+SST+27jul08.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-OVDLzojTbqX8MmERc2ayvUS4uBUK59qBFxm_iAOqkdKMcrJNmxsy424VmR5X7Igp2lHEZC4860qly6ocZI0tJfLT_lmNGLeOTlRx3iOgjfoKFacEgEp4qLB-AtTHZRmhDRRQnxbBwPU/s400/IO+SST+27jul08.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229164078139493378" border="0" /></a>Cyclone Nargis also appears to have had a broader climate impact. Conditions continue to look favorable for the positive phase of the <a href="http://www.jamstec.go.jp/frsgc/research/d1/iod/">Indian Ocean Dipole</a> this (austral) spring. Cool sea surface temperatures off Sumatra have been observed since mid-May, and remain through the most recent observations (21-27Jul; SST anomalies). The is also an absence of deep convection om the area.</p> <p>The positive phase of IOD has a widespread climate impact, affecting the Southern Hemisphere storm tracks and altering rainfall patterns. In Australia, it often results in large regions of the country having a below-median rainfall totals. A continuation of drought conditions for some, perhaps. </p> <p>Nargis's role in this is that, as noted in <a href="http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118494802/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0">this recent paper</a>, severe TCs in the Bay of Bengal during the April-May period often serve as the trigger for IOD events, in fact may be necessary. The first step in a complex sequence of events, a chain reaction involving the non-linear interactions of ocean, atmosphere and geography. </p> <p>Building on the conclusions of <a href="http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2008/2008GL034122.shtml">this paper</a>, should an IOD develop in 2008, it would be unprecedented in the ~100 yr observational record. A hat trick, three in a row. The event of 2007 was unusual in that it occurred during La Nina, the first time that has occurred, and also was the second observed case of two-in-a-row.</p> <p>Confronted with such observations of course raises some questions...Is this a <strike>sign</strike> result of man's influence on the global climate or something extremely rare but purely natural? <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2007/11/natural-variability-vs-climate-change.html">Climate change or natural variability?</a> A sign of climate instability to come?</p> <p>The are several lessons to be learned here. One is that seemingly singular weather events like Nargis often have very long term effects. Not just on the people directly involved, but also those subsequently affected by any further natural disasters (e.g. wildfire, drought, flood...) that may arise as a result of this initial event.</p> <p>The second lesson <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/05/gaing-wisdom-through-adversity-lessons.html">was learned before.</a> Our <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/05/corporate-climate-change-complicity.html">corporate masters</a> have selected a purely reactive response (i.e. adaptation only) to climate change, nominally because it is cheaper and easier to 'implement'.(It really involves doing nothing now and just hoping for the best) In the long run, this is neither the cheaper nor the easier path, though. The impacts can be complex and extend well-beyond the immediate event, inflating both economic and environmental costs.</p> <p>An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Mitigation – stopping our destructive lifestyles -- is absolutely necessary. Attempting to halt (to the degree possible) the apparently increasing climate instability, without resorting to some <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/05/geo-engineering-iii.html">half-baked geo-engineering scheme</a>, is much more prudent. While the initial costs are higher, the potential payoff in the future is much greater. And future generations are what this is about.</p> <p>So as we meet the future and the consequences of Our Way of Life, let us hope that we face the challenges with the tenacity shown by the Burmese victims of Cyclone Nargis.</p> <p><span style="font-size:78%;">**<br />Images: 1. An aerial view of Myanmar. Taken from one of the linked stories. The metadata on the pic suggests it was taken in early July. Credited to Contributor/IRIN.<br />2. Extracted from <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/bmrc/ocean/results/SST_anals/SSTA_20080727.gif">Global SST Anomaly for week ending 27 Jul 2008</a> at the BoM. Sorry for cutting off the scale. Blue is negative (cool) anomalies, red positive.</span></p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-19550616320350651902008-07-26T02:30:00.004+10:002008-07-26T22:29:34.176+10:00Get on up and testify!A funky rhythm begins, soon punctuated by a staccato horn section...ba-DA-DA-DA-DA-DAH! A figure (right) steps up to the mike: <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6PJ0McQ35DFx_SRvzHKUgHKp130fmyEH3byy9cjOKgGQ2RiecnOU9xoyQ_h2ogIAqe2rnowduKnVkq47cYm-9n2GTMXEhDA_N4RsGe4Olu7Raqu4uLpF5SspkMk0nDRkQDmjwscxNwA/s1600-h/good+god.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6PJ0McQ35DFx_SRvzHKUgHKp130fmyEH3byy9cjOKgGQ2RiecnOU9xoyQ_h2ogIAqe2rnowduKnVkq47cYm-9n2GTMXEhDA_N4RsGe4Olu7Raqu4uLpF5SspkMk0nDRkQDmjwscxNwA/s320/good+god.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226991899101288242" border="0" /></a><i>Brethren, we are gathered here today to hear about a New Thang...Papa's brand new bag!...called climate change. Is it happening? Is it real? Just l<span style="">isten to this </span><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/24/2313249.htm">80-year-old farmer</a> as he watches a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/25/2314761.htm">(much needed) </a><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/24/2313506.htm">hard rain fall in Queensland</a>. Say it, brother!</i></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">I thought I knew something about the weather, but now I'm not so sure.</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">I had some criteria that I lived by for a lifetime and none of them now with this global warming are worth talking about, they're non-existent.</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">Normally we get rain in March, April and then some in June, well that didn't happen.</p> <p style=""><i>Good Lawd!! The weather's gettin' funky...Just listen to <a href="http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/7/10/20323/7282">this farmer from Wisconsin</a> tell of the wild weather over<span style=""> the last year</span>! Testify!</i></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">The weather turned against us in May of last year. We had a nice rain on Mother's Day, then for nearly three months we watched the pastures dry up, the corn shrivel, and the dust blow...</span></span>In early August, the rains returned to Southwestern Wisconsin, in some places nearly 20 inches in a week's time...</p> <p><i>Unh!</i></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">The cows were on good pasture until early December when the snows started and never seemed to let up. Over 100 inches of snow fell from December through April...The snow melted slowly and...we waited for the warm winds of spring. And we waited. </p> <p><i>Yeeeoww!</i></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">It was an abnormally cool spring and a wet one. Some of the early planted corn didn't come up or came up yellow and stunted. We plant our corn late...Then on June 7-8, we got another hundred-year rain: 10 inches in 36 hours. Flooding was worse than last August. </p> <p><i>Help me! -- But tell me, isn't it still Man's World? Don't we still run the show? What have we done wrong? Let's hear from this <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43158">Maldivian government minister:</a></i></p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; font-style: normal;">Why have the warnings of the past 20 years gone unheeded? </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; font-style: normal;">Why does mankind continue to pursue manifestly unsustainable economic growth strategies at the expense of the global ecosphere?"...[H]ow can we change the global debate on climate change? And how can we move the world from an attitude of self-indulgent negligence to one of shared responsibility and global solidarity?</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; font-style: normal;">The world has failed to humanise climate change. </p> <p style="font-style: normal;"><i>Oh Lawd have mercy! Lawd have mercy! ...Fred, let me tell ya something...I don't feel good...Can we just hit it and quit?</i></p><p style="font-style: normal;">As the band groovingly ad-libs along, the disembodied voice of the last witness chides:<br /><yeah!></yeah!></p> <p style="font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><b>...attitude of self-indulgent negligence...</b></p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><b>...shared responsibility...global solidarity...</b></p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><b>The world has failed to humanise climate change.</b></p> <p style=""><i>Hit it!</i></p> <p style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;">ba-DA-DA-DA-DA-DAH!</span></p> <span style="font-size:78%;">***<br />Image:<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brown"> James Brown</a> in the<span style="font-style: italic;"> Blues Brothers</span>, via Google Image. I added the caption.<br /></span>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-52086379315633839512008-07-18T01:10:00.003+10:002008-07-18T01:17:51.141+10:00Climate change: The state of play<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhPU59nAyU6RzVAsoAnh4TyO9pOjcXgBdix3TutafiLIBkk_MHuyndGyZGZ4sVNioHcReK-oviSxB9fsiDIfcNjZwc99Vpbl01ASsZn4Q9riXhViibK8JQdPmA9UyzBjzd7uRUS-kELY/s1600-h/svCARTOON_JUNE30_gallery__563x400.jpg"><img style="margin: 4pt 4pt 10px 10px; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhPU59nAyU6RzVAsoAnh4TyO9pOjcXgBdix3TutafiLIBkk_MHuyndGyZGZ4sVNioHcReK-oviSxB9fsiDIfcNjZwc99Vpbl01ASsZn4Q9riXhViibK8JQdPmA9UyzBjzd7uRUS-kELY/s320/svCARTOON_JUNE30_gallery__563x400.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224001286026001618" border="0" /></a>The upcoming years promise to be challenging for all. The problems humankind faces are many. <a href="http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/financial-system-world-economy-2/2008/07/17/">Global economic meltdown</a> , <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/16/news/UN-UN-Aid-Shortfall.php">food shortages</a> and <a href="http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/">peak oil</a> are but three of the (interrelated) problems we face. But most serious problems -- threatening not just the social fabric but the very means of our existence --are the myriad environmental issues we face, including (but not limited to) anthropogenic climate change. <p>Unfortunately many seem to doubt the reality of this fact. The skeptics, deniers, delayers, inactivists -- call them what you will -- are numerous, outspoken and seemingly appear to be achieving their goal preventing meaningful action in addressing these issues. They operate through misleading statistics, a twisting of the facts and observations and ad hominem attacks* on persons attempting to illuminate these issues. Willful ignorance and viewing the world through an ideological lens appears to be the order of the day.</p> <p>How do we know climate change is happening? There are many ways to examine this question. The most common method is through use of a globally-averaged temperature, As discussed in a previous post, <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/04/refutation-of-nonsense.html">this unambiguously shows a long-term upward trend</a>, apparent since the mid-70s. </p> <p>Unfortunately, people tend to focus on the short-term weather noise and so 'don't see the forest for the trees'. Or they deny that CO2 really does absorb (and emit) IR radiation, minimizing the effects of humanity's contribution to the composition of the atmosphere (even without the warming, the <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2007/10/greening-earth-with-co2-good-thing.html">addition of CO2 is probably not a good thing</a>). Or they blame the Sun or natural variability, all of which have been considered by climate scientists. These effects aren't zero, but they aren't large enough to explain the observed rises, either. And there are, without a doubt, genuine data quality issues, but again not large enough to explain the temperature rise.</p> <p>There are perhaps better ways to spread the message. I try to do this here at <i>planet doom?</i> By using observations of changes occurring in the natural world: to animals and/or ecosystems. Many scientists do this more rigorously, but their results don't appear to be widely publicized or promoted. There's lot happening that is unprecedented and this provides very strong evidence of climate change.</p> <p>Perhaps we should ask the indigenous people of the world, who are more attuned to the natural world and remain closer to their traditional ways of life. Are the people of small island nations (like the <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43158">Maldives</a> or <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSSYD28841520080620?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">Kiribiti</a>) confused as their homes disappear into the sea, a result of warmer temperatures and rising sea levels? Are the <a href="http://www.iisd.org/casl/PROJECTS/inuitobs.htm">Inuit</a> mistaken as they lose their way of life as a result of the massive changes to Arctic? What about observations from all over <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/06/africa-and-realities-of-climate-change.html">Africa</a>?</p> <p>These issues are real, and the time for acting on solutions is now. But for these solutions to happens we not only need (metaphorically speaking) to be on the same page, but reading from the same book! It is time to accept our responsibility for these issues (particularly those of us in the Global North).</p> <p>But there are no 'magic bullets'. There is not one simple solution to all of our climate change and other environmental woes (nor to our economic, food or energy crises either, for that matter...). <a href="http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008220.html">Radical shifts in society, occurring over several generations, will be required</a>. New ways of thinking and living are needed. </p> <p>Realistically, the adult generations of today are going to be unable to fully accommodate these changes required; our worldview is too ingrained to be changed easily with much success. Too much change in too short of a time results in paralysis and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Shock">future shock</a>. The best we can hope for at this point is to begin this long process: put a price on carbon and other environmental 'externalities'; seek out alternative energy sources and embrace energy efficiency and conservation measures. We also must <a href="http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008221.html">avoid apocalyptic thinking</a>. The most important step is to inculcate an awareness of environmental thinking and lifestyle into the youth (both alive and unborn) of today. These are the best steps to insure future generations.</p> <p>In some ways, the 21<sup>st</sup> century hasn't begun yet. Sure the numbers have ticked over, but globally we remain mired in 'twen-cen' modes of thought. Old paradigms die hard, and it will probably take a <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/04/on-raising-environmental-awareness.html">Cataclysm</a> – an environmental disaster of unprecedented magnitude – to fully shake of these outdated modes of thought. We can wish otherwise, but many of the current doubters will remain unconvinced until it is no longer possible to believe otherwise.</p> <p>These doubters don't have a complete hold on the world, though. Some nations** are making the effort to move into the 21<sup>st</sup> century. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Rudd">K-Rudd</a> is calling for the <a href="http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/emissionstrading/index.html">adaption of an CO2 emissions trading scheme here in Australia</a>, tentatively to begin in 2010. Many are opposed because it will 'destroy the economy' (like that isn't happening already?) and many only see the flaws in it. Given the size of Australia's population, the scheme won't 'save the world'. That is not the reason it needs to be adopted, though. Rather, it's about leadership. The countries that can break the old modes of thought will be leaders in the future. This scheme may be (and most likely will be) imperfect...these things can be fixed in the future (according to the plan, it will be reviewed in 2013...). Will it be enough? Unlikely, but it is a start.</p><p>***<br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;">*Unfortunately, this tactic is used by all sides of the debate. For my taste, too many climate/environment blogs revolve around the people and politics rather than the issues at hand, with many comments threads (and the posts themselves) rapidly devolving in to mud-slinging and personality conflicts.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;">** The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_Emission_Trading_Scheme">European Union also has a multi-national trading scheme for CO2</a>. The US tried, albeit unsuccessfully. Maybe after 'the world's biggest polluter' and his Congressional cohorts are gone...</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;">Image: <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/cartoons/">The Age</a></span></p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-48156694235904319882008-07-10T00:12:00.002+10:002008-07-10T00:17:50.493+10:00July 2008 wildfireAs the Northern Hemisphere moves deeper into summer, wildfire activity continues in many regions there. <p>Southeastern Russia continues to see significant wildfire activity. NASA's Earth Observatory Natural Hazards noted the <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/shownh.php3?img_id=14920">smoke from these fires affecting Japan</a> about a week ago. This <a href="http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/firemaps/firemap.2008171-2008180.8192x4096.jpg">global composite hotspot map, from 18-28 June 2008</a>, indicates that those outbreaks were were part of a broader area of fire throughout the southeast of the country.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_L3sOMCOHOuADNrpNMUcEUHUkIoXMbcQzWM8FxL2vOdZ_kdEKMt3XrVU_oYUAEyZOsgzSvI16YRwIUOGzxibfnTjw1z4z8w8lAOUnGq7f2OLiS5ZCXecJX-SQgNHbka426OngObfVMHo/s1600-h/8jul08+aqua+0410+4km+true.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_L3sOMCOHOuADNrpNMUcEUHUkIoXMbcQzWM8FxL2vOdZ_kdEKMt3XrVU_oYUAEyZOsgzSvI16YRwIUOGzxibfnTjw1z4z8w8lAOUnGq7f2OLiS5ZCXecJX-SQgNHbka426OngObfVMHo/s400/8jul08+aqua+0410+4km+true.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221017533235479282" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>The <a href="http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/realtime/">MODIS real-time imagery</a> for 8 July (right) suggests that many of those continue to burn today, indeed they are quite widespread. This is 4km resolution image covering roughly a 1000 x 1000 km area. The image is a real-time image, so there is some distortion on the edges. (I cut most of this off). 'Enhancing' the image brought out some apparent (but still faint) lat-lon lines; I'm guessing 60N, with longitude lines of 130 and 140 E. North is off center about 10-20 degrees to the right (follow the long lines). That is also reasonably compatible with the other estimate.</p> <p>Fires across southern Russia have been burning on and off since at least <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/04/april-2008-wildfire.html">April</a>. This is evidenced by the <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/07/worlds-great-lakes-under-threat.html">image of Lake Baikal used in this post</a> shows significant wildfire activity in May. A casual glance through the archived fire maps (from the NASA site above) of the same two 10-day periods each year suggests that fire activity occurs in the region every year. This year seemed a bit more active, especially during April than previous years, and continues a string of apparently active years (2006 and 2007 also)</p> <p>The current image shows a large smoke plume with some of these fires. The smoke has been notable and widespread in many of these cases. The <a href="http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/680"><i>CIMSS Satellite Blog</i></a><a href="http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/680"> backtracked some suspicious haze of the northwestern US to a southeastern Russia source</a>. </p> <p>California is currently undergoing an unprecedented bout of wildfire activity. Over 1000 fires started in a massive lightning storm in late-June. Many fires have been raging uncontained for several weeks, with many smaller fires merging into 'complexes' in many locales. While lightning-ignited fires are not terribly uncommon in the mountains of CA, the sheer number of fires lit in this one event has not been noted previously. In the <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/04/april-2008-wildfire.html">wildfire post from April</a> some very early fire activity in Big Sur was noted with some sense of foreboding.</p> <p>A nice <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/shownh.php3?img_id=14928">image showing the fires </a> California was captured on 6 July. The largest fire is the so-called Basin fire, which has burnt roughly 30 000 ha to date. The <a href="http://firefighterblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/basin-complex-fire-turned-corner-today.html">situation remains critical</a>, with the fire only ~20% contained. Some gains on the fires around the state have been made, but a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/09/2298385.htm">heatwave looms over the next few days</a>.</p> <p>The fires are also affecting on the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN0831115220080708?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">extremely-endangered California Condor</a>. Under threat are the newly-hatched chicks. Considerable effort has been made to insure their safety, with a helicopter rescue of some eight chicks. The fate of several other breeding pairs remains uncertain.</p> <p>Other fires have been noted in the <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/shownh.php3?img_id=14923">northern reaches of Canada</a>, but nothing particularly out of the ordinary has occurred (from perusing <a href="http://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/en/index_e.php">some of the info here</a>). The linked image shows some dramatic smoke plume. Real-time imagery from MODIS indicates that there were still fires burning this general area on 8 July. A forest fire in <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/shownh.php3?img_id=14933">Turkey that killed two people</a> was also reported on EONH. The accompanying image shows a thick smoke plume extending into the Mediterranean and affecting Cyprus.</p> <p>Are these fires a result of a changing climate? Or perhaps it's just a 'bad year'? Events in California are certainly alarming; large fire events have become increasingly common since 2000. They are no longer an anomaly, but <i>a new ecological reality</i>. Similarly, the apparent increase in fire activity in the Russian forests could reflect some shift in the local climate -- perhaps associated with the large reductions in Arctic ice observed recently and/or the possible <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/04/future-trajectories.html">melting of the Siberian permafrost</a>. This permafrost/forest ecosystems represents a tremendous carbon storage, the loss of which would likely create considerable climate havoc. Regardless of whatever relationship these or other wildfires may or may not have with global warming, the fact remains that wildfires are an undeniable ecological force. Careful management of wildfire will prove to be an essential tool for both adaptation and mitigation of climate change.</p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-42237623981779818892008-07-03T01:24:00.004+10:002008-07-03T20:23:58.659+10:00World's great lakes under threat<i>A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature. ~Henry David Thoreau</i><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS,sans-serif;"> </span> </p> <p>Lakes are indeed expressive, and reflecting upon them -- listening to what they are telling us -- does not speak well of humanity's essence. Many of these great lakes are under threat; poisoned, dried-out shadows of their former selves. These lakes are vitally important for their local area, influencing the local weather and providing economic and physical resources for all the flora and fauna. Loss of these resources can prove disastrous (and indeed has...) for the region. The problem is global. And while the immediate sources of danger to the lakes are myriad, the impetus behind them all is the usual suspect, humankind. Our influence ubiquitous; the consequence of Our Way of Life.</p> <p>On the border of Bolivia and Peru, <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42704">Lake Titicaca is undeniably polluted</a>, though no detailed studies of the water's state have been done. One apparent cause is 'enormous natural ponds filled with a toxic cocktail of sewage, organic pollution and industrial and mining waste'. The lack of sewage treatment is also a concern for many communities as well. This not only makes the water undrinkable, but the aquatic plants of the lake absorb much of the pollution. These plants are subsequently used as fertilizer or hay to feed livestock. The net result spreading the pollutants into the wider system, with unknown effect.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/May2008/russia_amo_2008137.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/May2008/russia_amo_2008137.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p> <p>Out amongst the <a href="http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080619/111285847.html">melting permafrost of Siberia</a> lies Russia's Lake Baikal. The <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN3055006020080430?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&sp=true">lake is warming rapidly</a>, over 1 degree since the 1940s. This is related to a loss in the annual number of days with ice cover, 18 days fewer in the last 100 years. The changing conditions are posing a threat to the local flora and fauna: </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">...Baikal's seal, which raises its pups on the ice, could suffer because the animal has several onshore predators. If ice caves the pups are raised in melt, Asian crows could also eat the pups...</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;"><a name="midArticle_6"></a>Changes in the food cycle have already been seen. Numbers of multicellular zooplankton, which normally live in warmer waters, have increased 335 percent since 1946, while numbers of chlorophyll have risen 300 percent since 1979...</p> <p>North America's Great Lakes have been an ongoing concern since the 1960s and 70s when high levels of pollution were noted in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Erie">Lake Erie</a>. Some of these problems, while more under control, <a href="http://www.epa.gov/lakeerie/eriedeadzone.html">exist into the 21</a><a href="http://www.epa.gov/lakeerie/eriedeadzone.html"><sup>st</sup></a><a href="http://www.epa.gov/lakeerie/eriedeadzone.html"> century</a>. Last year, Lake Superior saw <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN2832126520080528?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">record low water levels, a trend expected to continue</a> as a result of the <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/04/future-trajectories.html">Great CO2 Enhancement Experiment</a>. As with Lake Baikal, warmer temperatures and reduced ice cover result in enhanced evaporation and lower water levels.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080528172001.htm">spread of invasive species also threatens the Great Lakes</a>. The Diporeia, a small 'shrimp-like energy dense creature', is undergoing a 'population freefall'. This critter was/is a 'major food source for commercially important species like lake whitefish and many prey fish upon which salmon, trout and walleye rely.' The cause(s): </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">The spread of invasive <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_mussel">zebra and quagga mussels</a> - voracious filter feeders with an overlapping diet - largely coincides with Diporeia's decline and is widely believed to be at least partially responsible. But research cannot yet explain the link...</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">...[A]nother possible contributor to Diporeia's decline: water pollutants like pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), flame retardants or others. </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">[...]Regardless of the reason, Diporeia's decline has already had some measurable negative effects on various fish species. Alewives...have declined in growth rates, condition...and caloric density since Diporeia populations began declining...</p> <p>The Great Rift Valley of eastern Africa features its own set of 'Great Lakes'. A recently issued report <a href="http://na.unep.net/AfricaAtlas/AfricaAtlas/chapters.html"><i>Africa: Atlas of our Changing Environment</i></a> details (with excellent satellite imagery) many of the ecological issues facing the region. Lake Victoria was invaded by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_hyacinth">water hyacinth</a> in the 1990s. Pollution and <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/Victoria/">fluctuating lake levels</a> are also an issue. Many of the problems have their source in the rapid population growth around the lake. Further south, <a href="http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Too_many_fishermen_cause_stocks_to_dwindle_in_giant_Lake_Malawi_999.html">Lake Mawali is suffering from overfishing</a> of the easily-accessible shallow waters. The nutrient-loading of the lake is also being change by fertilizer runoff </p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9ZPzKCKmwEEL-zxOnUFwCUaoNl4YCA9zo2_TpfgurBjyGH99vjpSGkrPHB13GkYlbMfT-D4CwgycC9yq1OdQaSdnmaEVGpPUqXTo85oAaXxoct1S943EHiV-hv8v4-wVcE3NjYucrT4/s1600-h/1a_CHAD_461.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9ZPzKCKmwEEL-zxOnUFwCUaoNl4YCA9zo2_TpfgurBjyGH99vjpSGkrPHB13GkYlbMfT-D4CwgycC9yq1OdQaSdnmaEVGpPUqXTo85oAaXxoct1S943EHiV-hv8v4-wVcE3NjYucrT4/s320/1a_CHAD_461.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218438716514969026" border="0" /></a>A particularly striking case of human-caused ecological disaster is Lake Chad, bordered by Chad, Cameroon, Niger, Central African Republic and Nigeria. The <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/200806070119.html">last part of the Sahel diary</a> of UN Special Advisor Jan Egeland provides some insight:</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">Today we visited what was once Lake Chad in eastern Niger, which as recently as the 1960s covered a total 25,000 sq km, of which 4,000 sq km were inside Niger. Since the droughts that have been recurrent since the 1970s the lake has now has shrunk to nothing inside Niger. </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">This is a very dramatic environmental crisis, with enormous consequences for hundreds of thousands of people. For me the visit was epitomised by an old customs boat which is now stranded in the middle of the desert, a desert covered in sea shells...</p> <p>The report noted above states that the Lake has decreased by 95% in the last 35 years or so, a result of climate variability and overuse. One of the many problems associated with the declining lake (from Egeland's diary):</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">...[T]here are already many conflicts between and among nomads and agricultural people in Niger, and between various ethnic groups, because of the scarcity of resources. Others have estimated that around Lake Chad there are as many as 30 or more named armed groups, and the potential for increased conflict is endless. </p> <p>The various crises the world's great lakes face are all anthropogenic in origin. Climate change is a factor in many cases, but issues such as pollution, resource use and overpopulation are also paramount. This reinforces the notion that in tackling the environmental issues before us, we cannot focus on climate change to the exclusion of all else. The other issues facing us are important as well. These are difficult, perhaps intractable problems. And it may be too late to stop the damage; we just don't know. That cannot be an excuse for inaction. Doing nothing guarantees failure.</p> <p>Is there reason for hope? After all, Lake Erie noted earlier recovered somewhat from its 1970s low point. And attempts to rescue the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea">Aral Sea</a>, ravaged by the Soviet Union, are apparently to be <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL2262226020080624?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&sp=true">bearing some fruit</a>, providing at least a glimmer of hope (but not much more than that, really...). Days are early, and there remains a long way to go. Ideally, we would leave these lakes alone and let them recover on their own. <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080623125012.htm">That tactic seems to work</a> for some species in the Great Barrier Reef. However, this is not a feasible option; we (and the rest of the ecosystem...) <i>need</i> the water to survive. The key is effective use and management of the resources these lakes represent, with an eye towards preserving future needs.</p><p></p><span style="font-size:78%;">***<br />Images: 1: Lake Baikal surrounded by hotspots and smoke, 18 May 08. <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14842">EO Natural Hazards</a><br /></span><p></p><span style="font-size:78%;"> 2: Lake Chad in 1972 and 2007 (right). <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/photogalleries/Africaatlas-photos/">National Geographic News</a>. </span>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-36396112937891527932008-06-23T22:35:00.003+10:002008-06-23T22:56:47.325+10:00Coming Attractions?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.johnhendrix.com/images/doomsday.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 618px; height: 400px;" src="http://www.johnhendrix.com/images/doomsday.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>No <span style="font-style: italic;">particular</span> point here, but the general tone of the image shouldn't go too far amiss... A groovy graphic I saw over at <a href="http://subrealism.blogspot.com/2008/06/doomsday.html">subrealism</a>. From the comments there:<br /><span class="post-comment-link"></span><blockquote><span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="post-comment-link">John Hendrix's illustration titled "Doomsday" was 1 of 500 illustrations chosen by the Society of Illustrators to be featured in their newest compilation, Icons & Images: 50 Years of Extraordinary Illustration. Hendrix's "Doomsday" was featured in the January/February 2007 issue of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The images for the collection were chosen by a committee from a pool of 25,000 images featured in annual magazines since 1958.</span></span></blockquote>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-51348307072873827392008-06-15T01:18:00.002+10:002008-06-15T01:34:10.651+10:00Scandinavia ablazeThe Scandinavian countries of Norway and Sweden are experiencing some significant wildfire activity this season, particularly during June. <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-AdtXdQp40DxDNIezBbbiyhoeZg4KI05BOHy4Kjk8opaUSQv7xQKH_nir4_LMw8ruEbbDCGjrNk3KhMScPd21cJ-r_lQiRJAEInm2IaSihSauUbPBcJ3ETHMtrmUtYSGXTOHAuIXbR0/s1600-h/norway+fires+11jun08+terra+500+zoom.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-AdtXdQp40DxDNIezBbbiyhoeZg4KI05BOHy4Kjk8opaUSQv7xQKH_nir4_LMw8ruEbbDCGjrNk3KhMScPd21cJ-r_lQiRJAEInm2IaSihSauUbPBcJ3ETHMtrmUtYSGXTOHAuIXbR0/s400/norway+fires+11jun08+terra+500+zoom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211757778208917506" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/209715,forest-fires-in-sweden-over-dry-weather.html">Earlier this mo</a><a href="http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/209715,forest-fires-in-sweden-over-dry-weather.html">nth in Sweden</a>:</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">Eight helicopters and some 150 firefighters, home guards and other volunteers were Tuesday combating a large blaze that has raged for several days in central Sweden, reports said. The blaze near Hassela, some 350 kilometres north of Stockholm, was one of two blazes in the region...</p> <p><a href="http://www.thelocal.se/12348/20080610/">A week later</a>:</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">Gusting winds are fueling forest fires raging near Lämmetorp outside of Finspång in east central Sweden...</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">Dry ground and hard winds on Tuesday caused a number of other forest fires...in south central Sweden....</p> <ol><p>[T]he fires which have been raging for twelve days outside of Hassela in northern Sweden are now under control. </p></ol> <p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL1362230220080613?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">Even more recently in Norway</a>:</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">Norway may seek foreign help to extinguish its biggest forest fire since World War Two, which has been raging for five days...</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">The fire has burned out about 5,000 acres, or 2,000 hectares, near the town of Arendal, about 260 km (160 miles) southwest of Oslo.</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;"><a name="midArticle_3"></a>Norwegian media reported smoke had wafted as far as Denmark, some 120 km (75 miles) away across the Skagerrak strait.</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;"><a name="midArticle_4"></a>The fire broke out after an unusually warm and sunny start to June. No lives have been lost but holiday houses have been destroyed and dozens of people evacuated.</p> <p>The image was captured from the <a href="http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/realtime/2008163/">real time imagery from the NASA MODIS Terra satellite</a> on 11 June 2008 and shows the Arendal fire. A small cluster of hotspots can be seen, along with the smoke plume extending towards Denmark. The image is a true colour image roughly 270 x 170 km, with north pointing about 20-25 degrees to the left. Oslo, Norway's capital, is just off-image to the left of the 'N' in NASA. I have slightly tweaked the image to attenuate the 'murkiness' of the original.</p> <p>Compared to the sizes of wildfires which occurring the United States and other regions of the world, these fires are relatively small. But they are obviously straining the the resources of the local firefighting agencies. The largest fire since WW2 is something to take seriously. </p> <p>These fires, along with <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/04/april-2008-wildfire.html">those seen in Russia during April</a>, raise an interesting question in light of a<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN1036905820080610?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews"> recently published paper suggesting that melting Arctic ice has a warming impact several hundreds of km inland</a>, as well. As <a href="http://hot-topic.co.nz/2008/06/13/its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-i-dont-feel-fine/">suggested over at <i>Hot Topic</i></a>, this is consistent with the pattern of temperatures observed this past winter with the record ice melt. These unusually warm temperatures likely played a role in producing the enhanced fire weather conditions driving the current fires. Are the carbon reservoirs within circumboreal forests at risk through increasing fire activity from the melting polar ice (as well as from the potential of melting permafrost)?</p> <p>The last few years in Alaska and Yukon have seen some very severe fire seasons (e.g. <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/01/global-wildfire-2007.html">Here</a> and <a href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2004/fire04.html">here</a>). A <a href="http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=4&url=http://www.geo.oregonstate.edu/people/faculty/publications/yalcink/YalcinHolocene2006.pdf&ei=5d1TSJ1pkZqxA6zahfIC&usg=AFQjCNHrF5pdKj1gz4rMVHo30eJrcLZMlQ&sig2=mzsCJtW10S7PxSETar6ZYQ">paleo-climate record of fire activity in these regions [PDF]</a> is more unclear. The fire activity noted this year, in both Scandinavia and Russia, could also be a sign. Obviously, one data point doesn't prove anything one way or the other. The Scandinavian fires could just be the result of short-term weather fluctuations. It will be interesting to see what happens in other northern areas this year as well. <a href="www.nifc.gov/nicc/predictive/outlooks/NASAW_fullreport_5_7_2008_FINAL.pdf">Wildfire activity is expected to be above normal this summer</a> [PDF] in much of northern North America. The impacts of any fires need to be carefully monitored as well. </p> <p>Is this case overstated? Quite possibly. Wildfire probably won't kill the forest by itself, but it could weaken the ecosystem enough to allow something else to do the job. Possibly another one of the myriad of unexpected impacts of humanity's reckless CO2-enhancement experiment. It's all happening now, and humans will know where we stand in a few years time. We can only hope it is not too late.</p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-67809160372104728672008-06-12T01:54:00.006+10:002008-06-12T02:11:04.067+10:00Why do dolphins strand themselves?It's been a particularly rough patch for dolphins as of late... <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4eZH8FfCbzaqUSVG5i7z19VpeGlql66o78my_fjrdg-LwhOfkjaNmaY6VnOO9Zbfo9rl-ax7ERUkSFqRbgoYWWc-cNaJBxwvnnlxRvIqGTOpT-L2qigOcygC3hHWSL6wyV22xujDe-I/s1600-h/3+dolphins.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4eZH8FfCbzaqUSVG5i7z19VpeGlql66o78my_fjrdg-LwhOfkjaNmaY6VnOO9Zbfo9rl-ax7ERUkSFqRbgoYWWc-cNaJBxwvnnlxRvIqGTOpT-L2qigOcygC3hHWSL6wyV22xujDe-I/s400/3+dolphins.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210654941233944706" border="0" /></a>In <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSSCO96094220080609?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">Madagascar</a>, 55 melon-headed whales (a species of dolphin) have died after coming ashore in the northwest part of the country. In <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cornwall/7445456.stm">Cornwall</a>, 26 dolphins have died in a mass stranding. A pathologist who examined some of the 26 dead mammals said today: "On the face of it, it looks like some sort of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jun/11/wildlife.conservation1?gusrc=rss&feed=environment">mass suicide</a> - but the question is why? The dolphins had swallowed and inhaled big chunks of mud from the estuary. Their lungs and stomachs were full of it. That is very bizarre indeed." An <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cornwall/7267215.stm">unusual number of dolphin strandings was also noted in Cornwall earlier this year</a>, as well.</p> <p>The question is indeed 'Why?'.</p> <p>One <a href="http://www.biophysics.uwa.edu.au/Bioacoustics/cetacean_research.html">hypothesis suggests a natural mechanism</a>, a combination of particular weather conditions and a gently sloping coastline, which can cause the dolphins to not 'see' the approaching shore and result in a stranding. Other, human-induced causes may also be to blame.</p> <p>Pesticides and other aquatic toxins could play a role. Dolphins stranded in Victoria, Australia over the past two years have shown <a href="http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/37356">elevated levels of mercury contamination</a>. "Dolphins may be becoming stranded as a direct consequence of mercury contamination which damages their neurological system. They become potentially confused and disorientated, and strand themselves." Similarly, <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080609103232.htm">toxic algal blooms</a> (on the increase in recent years, likely due to agricultural fertilizer runoffs) may lead to epilepsy and behaviourial abnormalities in California sea lions. Even low-levels of chemical contamination can lead to these difficulties in marine mammals. And such persistent chemical pollution is pervasive in the ocean, even <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080609155135.htm">affecting the deep-sea cephalopods</a> on which dolphins and whales feed.</p> <p>Other factor could be sonar and other loud noises produced by ships in coastal waters. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jun/11/wildlife.conservation">Military exercises</a>, including the use of sonar, were noted nearby in the recent Cornwall case. In the Madagascar case, ExxonMobil was carrying out <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7443559.stm">seismic surveying roughly 50 km from the stranding site</a>. The coincidence is certainly interesting, and worthy of further consideration. But determining ultimate cause-and-effect is an extremely difficult process.</p> <p> I've noted previously, <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/search/label/dolphins">dolphins and other marine mammals have been sighted in unprecedented locales</a> in recent times. Much of this shift in range of these creatures is believed to have been driven by climate change. The melon-headed dolphins in the example fit this pattern, having never before been seen in Madagascar.</p> <p>Allowing myself to anthropomorphicize for a moment, one chain-of-reasoning that fits these (admittedly selected) facts: As climate changes, the animals-- affected to some degree by persistent chemical pollution -- move to new (and unfamiliar) territories. Not knowing a particular area may mean the creatures are not familiar with the pitfalls (e.g. 'sonar-terminating' coastlines) of a given area. So when startled or panicked, by say sonar or depth charges, the dolphins may make 'poor decisions' (being neurologically damaged) and stumble into a blind alley (a la the natural mechanism noted above).</p> <p>This is just a homemade hypothesis, unlikely to withstand serious scientific scrutiny. But it illustrative of the problem at hand. Like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Men_and_an_Elephant">Blind Men and the Elephant</a>, we have a collection of facts and perceptions, each of which likely contain some grain of truth. The trick is to discern the true nature of what we face. ExxonMobil and/or the military make easy and tempting targets for blame, but it is difficult to escape the idea that the elephant in the room is really Our Way of Life. The real solution lies in changing our destructive lifestyles so that they better <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/02/dissonant-spheres.html">harmonize with the rhythms of Nature</a>.</p><span style="font-size:78%;"> ***<br />Image: <a href="http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/37356">ENN</a></span>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-3420842674183649832008-06-04T00:54:00.002+10:002008-06-04T01:03:48.275+10:00Africa and the realities of climate change"There’s a very academic discussion happening in Europe right now still asking 'is the climate already changing' and 'is climate change noticeable today'. Here in <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uv.html">Burkina Faso</a> that debate is not happening, because the effects already speak for themselves.” <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPKH6KEh1MmuuUWW6FN2mL3KT2jNcu3HWzAh20FidMuVXwstGvce27NVvSxUiqToFA1pFWBMLwNjYmEJ9lstB4ultjyPjMnNzXos9hBwC00PI9yU5Ls9EHmOdJd55AQ8nSpWJzTQELqA/s1600-h/africasat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPKH6KEh1MmuuUWW6FN2mL3KT2jNcu3HWzAh20FidMuVXwstGvce27NVvSxUiqToFA1pFWBMLwNjYmEJ9lstB4ultjyPjMnNzXos9hBwC00PI9yU5Ls9EHmOdJd55AQ8nSpWJzTQELqA/s400/africasat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207669498050360786" border="0" /></a>So begins the <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=78524">diary of the UN Secretary General's Special Advisor</a> on conflict, Jan Egeland, who is traveling through the Sahel this week to draw attention to a region the UN believes is experiencing the worse effects of climate change in the world today. I have previously offered the idea that <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/01/life-after-collapse.html">Africa today provides a living model for a post-Collapse future:</a> grinding poverty coupled with environmental degradation, food insecurity, endemic warfare and disease. A possible future should our environmental concerns remain unchecked.</p> <p>Large <a href="http://drought.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/drought.html?map=/www/drought/web_pages/drought.map&program=/cgi-bin/mapserv&root=/www/drought2/&map_web_imagepath=/tmp/&map_web_imageurl=/tmp/&map_web_template=/drought.html">swathes of northern Africa are currently undergoing drought</a>, from the Horn of Africa in the East to the Sahel region in the west. Up to <a href="http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/206685,ethiopian-drought-endangers-six-million-children-says-un.html">six million children are endangered in Ethiopia</a> from the drought. UNICEF notes, "Widespread drought, poor rainy seasons, heavy loss of livestock, limited food supply and soaring prices of food, fuel and fertilizer linked to the global food crisis are contributing to the troubled outlook for children in Ethiopia." </p> <p>Despite the drought in this region, <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/200806020058.html">this news item</a> notes “Twenty-five people have died and over 200 displaced following yesterday's flooding in Jijiga town, Somali State southeastern Ethiopia according to the residents.” (The article diverts from the main topic and describes the history of the region and the massive military presence in the area...).</p> <p>Similar weather patterns have been noted of late in western Africa, specifically in <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/200806021646.html">Sierra Leone</a> and Burkina Faso. Egeland's diary notes:</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;"><a name="Body1"></a>"Climate change in Burkina Faso does not mean there is less rain, it means that rainfall has got less predictable. And weather overall has become much more extreme in the way it comes – the heat, the cold, and the peaks and troughs of rainfall. </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;"><a name="Body2"></a>"People cannot predict when rain will come. And then when it does, it falls in buckets. Last year in Burkina Faso, there were eight rainfalls over 150mm – that means eight major floods in one four month period. </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;"><a name="Body3"></a>"The alternative to floods is basically no rainfall – it’s all or nothing, and either way is a crisis for some of the poorest people on earth, in ways that are just completely unpredictable. </p> <p>These impacts now being seen in Africa (and elsewhere) are just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. This is the reality of climate change. The warming to date has been relatively modest. What happens as the warming continues to grow larger and the effects become more pronounced? </p> <p>A particularly sad fact is that it is not Africa's fault. Egeland again:</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;"><a name="Body4"></a>"...[T]he average citizen in Burkina Faso is emitting 0.38 tonnes of CO2 every year. While the Chinese emit 10 times more, the British 30 times more and the Americans 75 times more per capita... </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">"It just proves this enormous moral issue that those who contributed nothing to climate change are bearing the brunt of the changes it is causing, whereas we who caused it all have gotten away with it – the north is getting away with murder basically. </p> <p>And all for the <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/05/corporate-climate-change-complicity.html">benefit of our corporate masters, who continue to prevent any meaningful action to be taken to rectify the problem</a>. As the US struggles to pass a semi-meaningful emissions control bill, the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/us-coal-lobbyists-unveil-nightmarish-vision-of-life-after-capandtrade-law-838978.html">coal industry continues to manufacture doubt</a>, treating telly viewers to “visions of a dystopian future where Americans are forced to cook their breakfast over candles, or where thousands of jobs have been lost because of what one opponent called 'economic disarmament' by the US.”</p> <p>At least we in the Global North have breakfast, while many in the world, particularly Africans, have never even been given a fair chance to become 'economically armed' in the first place. If you are looking for dystopia, turn your eyes towards Africa. There lies our future too, unless we begin to take meaningful action to stop climate change and other environmental degradation now.</p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">***</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Image: <a href="http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/003543.html">WorldChanging</a></span><br /></p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-25195497664568882592008-05-31T01:41:00.003+10:002008-05-31T01:47:51.358+10:00Geo-engineering IIIIt's baaaack! And guess who the villain is this time.<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Diatoms_through_the_microscope.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Diatoms_through_the_microscope.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I've <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2007/11/just-say-no-to-geo-engineering.html">stated my opposition to various geo-engineering schemes</a> before. It's a terrible idea, a band aid solution to avoid making the changes to the world that are needed. It potentially has extremely negative unintended consequences and <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2007/12/more-on-geo-engineering.html">it may not actually work at effectively reducing CO2 in the atmosphere, touted as its main benefit</a>.</p> <p>This <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42591">article reports on 'ocean fertilization' issues</a> being discussed at a UN biodiversity conference (my emphasis):</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">Practically all developing countries want the UN conference to approve a global moratorium on 'ocean fertilisation' until scientific evidence can prove that the practice does not bring new pollution risks. But some industrialised countries, <b>led by Australia</b>, want to avoid a strong ban. </p> <p>Is this another part of <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-game-20-antarctica.html">K-Rudd's long-term climate plan</a>? Australia isn't alone on this, though. Brazil is also involved, acting as a provocateur. Perhaps this is their intended 'offset' plan in return for <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/05/brazil-and-future-of-amazon-rain-forest.html">however much they decide to exploit the Amazon</a>. From the article:</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">..."what Australia wants on 'ocean fertilisation' is obvious. It wants that the UN convention on biological diversity does not touch the subject, and transfer it instead to the London convention" on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter...[which] is being updated through the London Protocol, which will eventually replace the former. Under the new protocol, all dumping is prohibited except for acceptable waste on the "reserve list". </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">The leading global company in the business is the Australia-based Ocean Nourishment Corporation (ONC). The Australian government's support for the company and for 'ocean fertilisation' has won it the Greenpeace nomination for the Golden Chain Saw Award for the worst polluters. </p> <p>Here is the link to <a href="http://www.oceannourishment.com/environmentAndCommunity.asp">Ocean Nourishment Corporation</a>. It sounds so benign, doesn't it? How could anyone possibly be against <i>nourishment</i>? I always worry when the top of the web page proclaims that it “is an ethical organisation”. It seems a bit defensive to me. They don't want to dump iron in the ocean, rather <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urea">urea</a>. Their advertised benefits are twofold: 1.) The removal of CO<span style="font-size: 6pt;font-size:78%;" >2</span> from the atmosphere, and; 2.) Stimulating the base of the food chain, thereby increasing ocean production. </p> <p>The logic on the second item to be that because “oceans represent 70% of the earth's surface but currently provide only 6% of human protein every year”, the oceans must be underutilized. (That slacker ocean is not pulling its weight!). Given the <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/02/we-did-what.html">level of overfishing</a> humanity has been applying to the planet, that idea seems a bit of a stretch. </p> <p>From a casual reading of their website, much of what they are proposing to do is unproven. To be fair (and provided they follow their stated protocols), they would seem to be trying to do the experiment in some kind of sane way. But I question the need for the experiment at all. </p> <p>Unfortunately, short of the international moratorium on fertilization noted in the original article, it would seem that the general populace has little choice in whether this experiment is performed or not.</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">Besides ONC, a handful of private companies, all registered in the U.S., are planning to launch 'ocean fertilisation' projects in unregulated high seas after specific projects in the Philippines, Ecuador, Oman, and Morocco provoked a storm of complaints from civil society groups. </p> <p>The unmitigated pursuit of profit never stops. Many are threatened so that a few can enrich themselves. We really don't understand the ocean ecosystem well enough to start performing such radical experimentation on it. There is lots that can go wrong and there are many potential unintended consequences. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precautionary_principle">Precautionary Principle</a> dictates that we avoid this line of inquiry at this time. We have other solutions we can try; there is no need for desperation yet. And this is a desperate solution.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:78%;">**</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Image: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Diatoms_through_the_microscope.jpg">Diatoms through the microscope</a>, Wikipedia.</span></p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-68856934120565105972008-05-28T02:23:00.003+10:002008-05-28T02:28:15.370+10:00Brazil and the future of the Amazon rain forestBrazil has been in the news as of late, with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN2634763020080526?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">defending his government's environmental stewardship of the Amazon rain forest</a>, saying the world needed to understand that the Amazon belonged to Brazilians. <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lzeTnk9W8CfA-IHtz0z8tKY4PTOUbreW_rLES2qK-SKW-huB5RfFN_hXp9GoQ0DiNeurjgkuDqQVTtfpZE1krssqAOgADknfr6y_jY1_26F8b6Df2dgxKUU-r-W51_WRtA32SSPfLDQ/s1600-h/amazon.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lzeTnk9W8CfA-IHtz0z8tKY4PTOUbreW_rLES2qK-SKW-huB5RfFN_hXp9GoQ0DiNeurjgkuDqQVTtfpZE1krssqAOgADknfr6y_jY1_26F8b6Df2dgxKUU-r-W51_WRtA32SSPfLDQ/s400/amazon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205094860081742946" border="0" /></a>Some concern is warranted, given the <a href="http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2008/05/concern_after_brazil_loses_env.html">dramatic resignation</a> of the environment minister a few weeks ago. An <a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/globalisation/institutions_government/brazils-amazonian-choice">excellent article detailing the background</a> of the situation notes that after a series of lost battles to implement the government's own stated environmental policies, Marina Silva gave up, feeling the battle was lost. Pro-development forces have won.</p> <p> It is now likely that the government will move rapidly to build more highways and hydroelectric power stations within the Amazon region, making it easier for agribusiness and mining companies to move in. </p> <p><a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42527">This anecdote</a> sums up this attitude:</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">One day, Lucio Flores, a Brazilian Terena Indian, was travelling by truck through the Amazons region alongside a local landowner. Looking at the dense tropical forest around, the landowner said, "Look at this, there is nothing here."</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">A little further as they left the forest to cross a soybean plantation, the landowner exclaimed: "But here there is soy!" To him, forest was nothing, soy everything. </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">...For [Flores], the story was a symbol of the opposed views dividing the business community and indigenous peoples. "For agro business, nature is nothing," Flores said. "For us, it is all." </p> <p>Brazil's case is <i>legally</i> right given the international political system. It's their forest, they can raze it if they so please. But that choice threatens the globe with climate instability and environmental calamity for many years to come. Such a decision would not be a sound <i>ethical</i> choice. </p> <p>The attitude reflected in the anecdote above is analogous to the idea of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_nullius">terra nullius</a>, or 'empty land' employed in the conquest of Australia. Today the idea is seen for the ruse it is, scurrilous behaviour on the part of colonists. Rapaciously destroying the the rain forest in the name of never-ending 'economic growth' will similarly be seen by future generations as the atrocity that it is</p> <p>Lula's amusement that countries who were among the world's worst polluters want to talk about preserving the rain forest points to the need for leadership on this and other environmental issues by the Global North. Brazilians can't be forced to preserve the rain forest or even use it sustainably. The richer nations must act decisively, not just talk -- lead by example. </p> <p>Ultimately, it is in Brazil's interest to preserve the forest as well as the globe's. Everybody will pay for climate change in the end. If Brazil wants to be a leader in the 21<sup>st</sup> century, over-exploitation of a one-time gift from Nature for fleeting 'growth' is a poor choice. Visionary thinking is required to develop new models for living harmoniously with the environment. In some ways, beginning from a less-damaged environmental state could provide a head start for developing these methods. This is a saner path to future leadership.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:78%;">**</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Image: Mouth of the Amazon river, northern Brazil. <a href="http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/index2.php?subset=FAS_Brazil7.2008147.aqua.721.2km">False-color MODIS image</a> from 26May08.</span></p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-59919679704638002172008-05-24T00:46:00.004+10:002008-05-24T00:56:58.258+10:00Why are honeybees declining?Bees continue to die in droves in both the <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509111955.htm">US</a> and the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7360832.stm">UK</a>. Both wild bees and domesticated honey bees are affected. Similar episodes of Colony Collapse Disorder (or Mary Celeste Syndrome in the UK...) were also noted last year, although the numbers appear to be larger this year. I haven't read any reports from other parts of the world. <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJslRSF3LpZP_Yi1TrUlNuqb0Klemc_5KB0uOe6p0vDOoGw4lTQDTr5IYd39K2RHfxL345xB0gYCV48mJjwXxx_08g9cuA4YmODSpFnp0pgEdVT02SLFacg5kSlrI7dOm76FDSN8LnaQo/s1600-h/Bumblebee.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJslRSF3LpZP_Yi1TrUlNuqb0Klemc_5KB0uOe6p0vDOoGw4lTQDTr5IYd39K2RHfxL345xB0gYCV48mJjwXxx_08g9cuA4YmODSpFnp0pgEdVT02SLFacg5kSlrI7dOm76FDSN8LnaQo/s400/Bumblebee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203585720243078226" border="0" /></a>While the cause remain somewhat unknown, ongoing <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080521205303.htm">research is shining some light onto the source of this ailment</a>.</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">In fall 2007, a team led by Diana Cox-Foster, professor of entomology, reported a strong correlation between CCD and the presence of Israeli acute paralysis virus, making the pathogen a prime suspect in the disease. Since that time, researchers have introduced IAPV to healthy honey bee colonies in a controlled greenhouse environment in an effort to induce a collapse. </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">Cox-Foster noted that within a month, infected colonies had declined to small clusters of bees, many of which had lost their queens. "These data indicate that IAPV is a highly pathogenic virus," she said. "But they do not yet support a finding of IAPV as the sole cause of Colony Collapse Disorder. We still suspect that additional stresses are needed to trigger CCD."</p> <p>I would not be surprised if further research implicates human meddling as being an ultimate source of these stresses. We have profoundly altered the environment on a very rapid time scale; just some of notable changes are: enhanced CO2, land use, and pesticides along with other persistent chemical pollution.</p> <p>A <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/05/bees-plankton-canaries-blame.php">post on <i>TreeHugger</i></a> notes this about enhanced CO2 and how it affects bees:</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">Curiously, 80 years ago bee scientists noted that CO2 was the controlling factor in bee colonies. Later scientists observed that bees exposed to high CO2 become incapable of performing their normally incredible navigation skills and become lost bees. It can be no wonder that with our recently imposed 44% higher CO2, - often 2-4 times higher locally - bees have no means to know that their time tested last gasp means to protect the colony will not suffice. </p> <p>This is certainly an interesting hypothesis, although there are a few quibbles (e.g. The CO2 increase is exaggerated; CO2 has not gone up 44% in less than 80 years...). It seems improbable, though, unless there is some hard biological threshold that has been crossed in the last few years. Make no mistake, <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/04/future-trajectories.html">year-to-year increases in CO2 are alarming</a>, but I wouldn't imagine that they are so rapid as to cause this sort of sudden onset. (I could easily be wrong about that, though...) </p> <p>Habitat loss is undoubtedly important in some cases. This seems to be important in the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7360832.stm">loss of the wild bees</a> (repeat link). But most of the honey bees are domesticated, so they don't really have a 'habitat' per se; they go wherever the managers put them.</p> <p><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080521205303.htm">Pesticides</a> (linked earlier) seem a likely contributor, though.</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">[S]cientists analyzing pollen, wax, adult bees and brood (larvae) have found the presence of dozens of chemicals, including pesticides used by agricultural producers to protect crops and by beekeepers to control hive pests such as parasitic mites.</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;"> ...Some of these compounds could react with each other to cause toxic effects or could combine with viruses or poor nutrition to weaken immunity and cause colony collapse. We also need to do more research to understand these chemicals' sub-lethal effects on bees."</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">"With the sheer number of compounds we're finding in hives, it's hard to believe that pesticides aren't contributing to the general decline in bee health, </p> <p>Whatever the cause, the sustained loss of bees -- both wild and domesticated -- at this rate will certainly be <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/04/on-raising-environmental-awareness.html">Cataclysm</a>-level event, particularly if is (or becomes) global in extent. Bees provide direct services to humanity, playing a vital role in agriculture (among other things). It would be hard to argue that humanity didn't cause it ('It's all the Sun's fault,' won't really cut it in this instance!), and it would hit <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/05/corporate-climate-change-complicity.html">'doubt manufacturers'</a> right where it hurt. It's a race against time, one of many we must win to avoid living on <i>planet doom</i>.</p> <p><span style="font-size:78%;">***</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:78%;">image: Shaun Curry /AFP. Extracted from <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2008/may/23/wildlife.photography?picture=334315897">The Guardian</a>. I also know it's not a honeybee, but hey...it's a nice piccy anyway<br /></span></p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-719941074029565102008-05-22T01:59:00.004+10:002008-05-22T02:09:48.581+10:00Evolution in action<p>An <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/islandofdoubt/2008/05/18th_of_us_high_school_biology.php">eighth of US high school biology teachers believes creationism</a> represents valid science. They are ignoring the evidence of their eyes. Evolution is apparently going on right before our eyes. Denial takes many forms, and the unreality of it all is not particularly helpful to society.<br /></p> <p>Southeast Texas (my original home...) is apparently becoming <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/us/16ants.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin">infested with a previously unknown species of ant</a>. The ants </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">...belong to the genus Paratrechina, like others seen in Colombia, the Caribbean and Florida... but are different enough for entomologists to only guess at their species </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">...The ants often eat fire ants, with which they are sometimes compared, and they “outcompete” fire ants for the food supply and reproduce far faster </p> <p>Having been the victim of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireant">fire ants</a> on many occasions in my earlier life, I found the last point particularly interesting. The ants have been reported in 5 counties in this region, and are not expect to move too far inland from the coast. Is this an invader species rapidly adapting to a new clime? Or is something else driving this? Maybe a misidentification?</p> <p>On remote Gough Island in the South Atlantic, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/19/wildlife.endangeredspecies?gusrc=rss&feed=science">giant carnivorous mice are threatening the worlds largest seabird colony</a>. The humble house mouse, introduced onto the island by whalers within the last 150 years or so</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">...has somehow evolved to two or even three times the size of an ordinary British house [mouse], and instead of being a vegetarian, eating insects and seeds, has adapted itself to become a carnivore, eating albatross, petrel and shearwater chicks alive in their nests. They are now believed to be the largest mice found anywhere in the world. </p> <p><a href="http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2008/05/superevolved_megamice_threaten.html"><i>The Great Beyond</i></a> links to an apparently gruesome video of an attack. (I declined to watch it...). With a nigh-unlimited and easily obtained food supply, it's not hard to imagine these parameters driving the evolution of the mice. (Just consider the relationships of modern humans of the global North with food consumption or energy use...). Too bad the birds, several species of which are critically endangered, haven't responded.</p> <p>While these changes are not driven by climate change per se, they are human caused problems. Even seemingly innocuous manipulations of the environment – intentional or otherwise – have enormous, often unpredicted impacts. We need to be cautious in our actions, altering the environment as little as possible while still maximizing the potential of humanity. This is our reality.</p> <p>The minions of unreality – creationists, <a href="http://www.blacklistednews.com/iNP/view.asp?ID=6396">astrologers</a>, climate change deniers – are a stubborn lot. Their anti-science attitudes contribute towards a business-as-usual inaction (or a purely reactive response, at best), a likely disaster for the planet. To progress towards real solutions, we must overcome this sort of willful ignorance of reality. Evolution happens! The stars don't care! Anthropogenic climate change is here and now! The <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/05/corporate-climate-change-complicity.html">manufacture of doubt</a> must stop.</p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-63778463326362100062008-05-21T00:59:00.000+10:002008-05-21T01:05:42.360+10:00Corporate climate change complicity<p>In news that should come as no surprise to even casual readers of <i>planet doom?</i>, a recent study in <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v453/n7193/abs/nature06937.html">Nature</a> indicates that even with the relatively modest(!) ~0.5 degree or so of anthropogenic warming we've experienced [<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512120523.htm">solar cycle magnitude is about 0.1 degrees</a>], we are witnessing large changes to the planet's physical and biological systems. The <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514131125.htm">damage is quite evident already</a>:</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">Observed impacts included changes to physical systems, such as glaciers shrinking, permafrost melting, and lakes and rivers warming. Biological systems also were impacted in a variety of ways, such as leaves unfolding and flowers blooming earlier in the spring, birds arriving earlier during migration periods, and plant and animal species moving toward Earth's poles and higher in elevation. In aquatic environments such as oceans, lakes, and rivers, plankton and fish are shifting from cold-adapted to warm-adapted communities. </p> <p>And the evidence of humankind's destructive path grows. Seemingly oblivious to the consequences, it seems likely that <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/05/teotwawki.html">we are going to do next-to-nothing to prevent this calamity</a>. Adaptation is to be our selected path. That has made clear. Our corporate leaders have dispatched their minions to '<a href="http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_manufacture_of_uncertainty">manufacture uncertainty</a>' about the climate (and <a href="http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=08-P13-00018&segmentID=2">other environmental issues, too</a>...). </p> <p>These act not just by creating doubt, but also by impugning the motives of scientists and researchers: They're out to protect their jobs,doing it for the $$$ (yeah, right), reveling in their 15 minutes of fame and the like...Other, <a href="http://frankbi.wordpress.com/2008/05/17/further-results-in-climate-conspiracy-paleontology/">more sinister theories</a> as to the motives of climate scientists also exist. There are also <a href="http://www.sciencealert.com.au/opinions/20081505-17326-2.html">attempts to formulate government policy</a>, as well..</p> <p>Why are the corporations complicit in the continuation climate change? What are their motives? First, some background.</p> <p>A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation">corporation</a> is a soulless, non-human entity designed to make money. A collection of individuals equipped with all the human rights, but none of the responsibilities. It pursues financial rewards amorally, with a complete disregard for anything other than the bottom line. Corporations dominate the Global North; they exert enormous influence over the political process and define a significant fraction of mass culture through advertising and media control. They are legally bound to maximize profits. Their interests are not the same as the general populaces.</p> <p>The harsh tactics arise for several reasons. On one level, near-term profits may decline if climate change mitigation efforts enacted. Some costs will be incurred. If the costs are too large or the changes demanded are too great, their position of power in society is threatened and the plan of extending corporate governance globally becomes harder to fulfill.</p> <p>The rush for profits has already contributed to the ongoing global food crisis. Through the <a href="http://www.blacklistednews.com/iNP/view.asp?ID=6559">use of IMF and World Bank</a>, corporations (and the bankers who run the numbers...) have warped global food production. <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080602/bello">Nations that were once self-sustaining for basic food production now require imports, provided by multinational conglomerate coroporations</a>. And <a href="http://www.enn.com/agriculture/article/36268">climate change offers the opportunity to extend this control</a>(my emphasis):</p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">BASF, Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta, Dupont and biotech partners have filed 532 patent documents around the world for crops genetically altered to adapt to rising temperatures, the ETC Group's report says. </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">The companies are banking on climate change being the "silver lining" that shifts public perception of genetically altered crops, the report says. The companies see "an opportunity to assert that agriculture cannot win the war against climate change without genetic engineering," the report says. "In other words, industry claims that <b>biotech crops will offer essential adaptation measures</b>." </p> <p style="margin-left: 1.25cm;">This kind of monopoly -- the top 10 seed companies control 57 percent of the global seed market, according to the report -- is damaging to the world food market because it limits what kind of research will occur and who will have access to the results, said Hope Shand, ETC's research director. </p> <p>Revealing not only the profit motive behind maintaining the status quo, but also the long-term strategy. Controlling the world's food supply means control over who lives and dies. </p> <p>Ultimately it's a fool's game, though. Doing nothing to mitigate climate change insures drastic changes to our world. Money will only protect from the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation for so long. Nature always bats last, and it doesn't like to lose. We must resist the 'easy' path of inaction and at least <i>try</i> to do something. It may be too late, but the path we are seemingly heading down <b>guarantees</b> failure.</p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603657364208326095.post-79280862741337619262008-05-13T01:35:00.004+10:002008-05-13T01:44:54.135+10:00Gaining wisdom through adversity: Lessons of cyclone NargisThe immediate threat from Cyclone Nargis has passed; the <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/05/myanmar-flooding-from-cyclone-nargis.html">floodwaters</a> have receded. To date 22 000+ 'official' deaths have been acknowledged by the military government; the death toll is likely higher, <a href="http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Myanmar_cyclone_death_toll_could_top_100000_US_diplomat_999.html">with 100 000</a> being a widely quoted figure. The high toll taken as a result interaction of a strong tropical cyclone and several natural and human factors. A <a href="http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2008/05/myanmar_disaster_1.html">low-lying river delta affected by widespread land clearing</a>; the complete unpreparedness of the public, resulting from <a href="http://www.terradaily.com/reports/US_Myanmar_junta_failed_to_warn_people_on_cyclone_999.html">a lack of warnings to the public</a> and the (relatively) <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080508-AP-the-perfect_2.html">unusual location and timing of the cyclone</a>. <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMzkVTs5VNsZZPuhTUvsOayZkfUMOHPwal17e_byOJDJL-HoL6KDFCMHxGZ28N1O_pqg5g12-PiQ8kpaGAJr6V0_ZbTEJyA_gUXdYH4JkvliUHdTOdtLwGTZITU6T34_isJFQniwR0GEo/s1600-h/nargis_mpa_2008125.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMzkVTs5VNsZZPuhTUvsOayZkfUMOHPwal17e_byOJDJL-HoL6KDFCMHxGZ28N1O_pqg5g12-PiQ8kpaGAJr6V0_ZbTEJyA_gUXdYH4JkvliUHdTOdtLwGTZITU6T34_isJFQniwR0GEo/s320/nargis_mpa_2008125.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199516377679584914" border="0" /></a>And the situation continues to worsen. To date, the g<a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42322">overnment has refused international aid</a>, allowing disease and malnutrition to take hold. While the <a href="http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Myanmars_generals_amass_fortunes_while_country_flounders_999.html">military junta enriches itself</a>, it fears a loss of power as anger mounts at the inept response, as has <a href="http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/05/the-staggering-cyclone-nargis-catastrophe/">happened in the past</a>.</p> <p>While a singular event like Nargis cannot be explicitly attributed to climate change, there are lessons to be learned about our future life as the Great CO2 Enhancement Experiment (35% and rising!) continues to evolve. There will be no stopping the experiment. The <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/05/teotwawki.html">delayers and doubters have won the socio-political battle</a>, at least for now. Until the <a href="http://planetdoom.blogspot.com/2008/04/on-raising-environmental-awareness.html">Cataclysm</a> little more than token efforts toward climate mitigation will be made (on a global basis...)</p> <p>What do the impacts of Nargis mean for adaptation to future climate change, since that is to be our path? I think it means we have a long way to go towards that goal. Given this performance, large parts of the world -- like Myanmar – are woefully under-prepared for <i>current</i> weather and climate, much less any more frequent and/or extreme future climate scenarios. The fact that this happened in the Global South under a highly repressive regime is of little consequence; you could make the same argument for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina">New Orleans and Katrina</a>, as well.</p> <p>Adaptation is going to be more difficult and expensive than currently imagined. While it may seemingly be the only politically feasible thing now, it isn't the best path. The world-at-large is not ready for theses sorts of disastrous events now. Continued warming likely brings ever-worsening storms. The <a href="http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15062693">human desire to live by the sea</a> (at high population densities) adds to the cost of these storms -- more people affected, more damage done. These pressures will only increase in the future. Increased amounts of disease, hunger and endemic poverty a possible result.</p> <p>While some adaptation is required (because we're already committed to some change over the next 50 years or so), mitigation is a far better option. Better to avoid the risks, if at all possible. Both answers require a massive societal change in the end; changing now with a <a href="http://worldchanging.com/">bright green lifestyle</a> now gives us <i>a chance</i> to avoid some of the more drastic effects. Doing nothing almost guarantees a bad result.</p> <p>The resistance to mitigation come from our leaders –- bankers, lawyers, businessmen – inappropriately insist on absolute certitude when dealing with the future. The future is nothing put a set of ever changing probabilities, nothing is certain until the moment is past. The probabilities are myriad. Instead of waiting for certitude, a risk management based approach of climate change should be taken, where risk is the likelihood of something happening times the consequences of that action. Such an analysis (triple bottom line) would undoubtedly indicate the wisdom a in doing what we can today to try to prevent tragic events like Cyclone Nargis from occurring more frequently.</p> <p><span style="font-size:78%;">***</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:78%;">Image: TRMM satellite estimates of total rainfall and cyclone intensity from Nargis. <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/shownh.php3?img_id=14819">EO Natural Hazards</a></span></p>CLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802647723644727654noreply@blogger.com0