A Disaster Within a Disaster -- The Japan Earthquake

As bad as the 9.0 Japanese earthquake is it harbors an even greater danger. One of the better ways to reduce greenhouse emissions is by using nuclear power. The problems Japan is having with the power plant near Sendai will definitely setback new nuclear power plants. The sad fact is that this plant was due to be shut-down in another 12 days before the quake hit.

Modern, 4th generation power plants are much safer (and smaller, less fuel), but it will be difficult to sell the public on that fact now.

Climate Change Won't Go Away!

Last year's Climategate email scandal created a lot of confusion and doubt about climate change. Unfortunately the physics and science hasn't changed. The last decade was the warmest on record and this summer also saw record heat.
Climate change is here and isn't going away!

Review of "$20 Gallon"

Just finished listening to the audio book version of $20 per Gallon. A good listen, with the theme of what life would be with gasoline prices at different amounts. The author starts at $4 per gallon and works his way up from that price. The book strikes a hopeful note that life will actually become better as the rising price of petroleum forces us to stop using fossil fuels.

The indexing of the lifestyle changes to the price of gasoline was a nice touch. It's something everyone can relate to. Here's a link to the book's site:
20$ per Gallon

Copenhagen Climate Change Conference -- it's time to act!

Climate change is real science. We've studied it to death under the Bush administration and it's time to act. Even Bush appointees on IPCC agreed that climate change poses a real threat to our world. Climate change will cause mass extinctions, famine, severe weather changes, and possibility even war. Want to see Indian and China duke it out over water rights? Not a pretty picture since both countries have nukes, but it could happen if the glaciers in the Himalayas melts.

A recent CNN article pointed out this very real possibility.

Put pressure on the politicians to craft a real, workable climate change agreement at the Copenhagen Conference. Go to Blog Action Day 2009 and add your voice!

More info:
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Copenhagen Climate Change Conference
NASA Global Climate Change Site

Ways to save water

Climate change or not, water is fast becoming a constrained resource. It's also becoming an expensive resource! Look at your water bill if you don't believe me.

How can you save water and money at the same time? Try these steps:

1) Add low flow aerators to your faucets. Inexpensive and easy to do.

2) Add a water-filled bottle to your toilet's water tank. This reduces the amount of water per flush.

3) Better yet replace your toilet with a 1.28 gallon per flush unit. It will flush better than a toilet using the water bottle trick and may even improve your home's value. I'm using an American Standard Compact Cadet 3 FloWise unit. It works a treat and is on the EPA's WaterSense list.

4) Here's a possible fourth item. A faucet hot water heater. It should definitely save water, but what about the energy use? Any comments?

How will ecosystems adapt to climate change?

If you have concerns about Climate Change and you're in Seattle May 27-28, EPA Region 10 has the workshop for you. Sponsored by our Environmental Assessment Division, "The Plight of Ecosystems in a Changing Climate: Impacts on Services, Interactions and Responses Workshop" will help answer this question and more. The workshop is open to the public, but you need to register at the website.

"Extreme Ice" on PBS' NOVA series

Want some real evidence of Climate Change? If you missed the PBS program "Extreme Ice" you missed a lot. The program, a collaboration between PBS (Public Broadcasting) and National Geographic, highlights the rapid decline of glaciers around the planet. And even more worrisome, the unexpected changes in the Greenland and Antarctic ice caps. While losing the mountain glaciers will only bring sea level increases of one to three feet by the end of this century the loss of the major ice caps would cause changes in the hundreds of feet! This would be very bad news for any major coastal cities.

Still think Climate Change is BS? Time to wake up.

Also check out the supporting National Geographic Extreme Ice Survey site.

Nature Conservancy's State of the Birds report

I don't know about you, but one change I've seen in my environment is a reduction in birds in my backyard. Whether it's domestic cats (hopefully not, I have two!), habitat destruction, or climate change something is causing a steep decline in our avian friends. There is good news and bad news in the report. Download (4mb PDF) the report and read it for yourself.

ESA's Earth Explorer Satellite Program

ESA (European Space Agency) will be launching a series of satellites named Earth Explorers. Each of these satellites will examine our planet with a different set of instruments. Our planet is changing in many ways and these robotic explorers will help us understand how and why.

The first mission, Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE), just launched from Russia and will map the Earth's gravitational field in detail. An unique mission, the GOCE satellite flies at the edge of the Earth's atmosphere with constant orbital corrections provided by an ion engine. The next missions are listed below from ESA's web site:

ADM-Aeolus
The prime aim of the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission is to demonstrate measurements of vertical wind profiles from space, using a high performance Doppler Wind Lidar based on direct-detection interferometric techniques. ADM-Aeolus is due for launch in 2011.

EarthCARE
Earth Clouds Aerosols and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) will improve the representation and understanding of the Earth's radiative balance in climate and numerical forecast models. EarthCARE is due for launch in 2013.


Opportunity missions:

SMOS
The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission, scheduled for launch in 2009, will exploit an innovative instrument designed as a two-dimensional interferometer for acquiring brightness temperature observations at L-band (1.4 GHz) for the estimation of soil moisture and ocean salinity to further our understanding of the Earth's water cycle.

CryoSat-2
The CryoSat-2 satellite replaces CryoSat, which was lost as a result of launch failure in October 2005. Scheduled for launch towards the end of 2009, CryoSat-2 will measure fluctuations in the thickness of ice on both land and sea to provide conclusive evidence as to whether there is indeed a trend towards diminishing ice cover, furthering our understanding of the relationship between ice and global climate. CryoSat-2 will carry an innovative SAR/Interferometric Radar Altimeter (SIRAL).

Swarm
The objective of this mission is to provide the best-ever survey of the geomagnetic field and its temporal evolution in order to gain new insights into the Earth system by improving our understanding of the Earth's interior and climate. Swarm is due for launch in 2010.

North pole expedition looking for signs of climate change

A British team is on the arctic ice this Spring looking for signs of climate change. The Catlin Arctic Survey will be trying to determine if the Arctic ice cap is breaking up and if it is, put a solid time frame on the break up. To this end, the three team members, Pen Hadow, Ann Daniels, and Martin Hartley will be out on the ice from February to about May. They will be carrying a ground-penetrating radar that allows the expedition to measure ice thickness and composition.

You can follow the survey at the Catlin Artic Survey's website.

Ikea introduces solar-powered lighting ...

CleanTechnica.com posted an article on Ikea's new line of solar lighting. The Swedish furniture superstore is a leader in green furnishings and lighting and it looks like they have no intention of losing that lead. The lights range from $6.99 to $19.99 in price. Here's a link to the $19.99 worklight.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at Power Shift 2009 ...

This is cool! EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at Power Shift 2009 telling the kids to get involved and rock our government. Way to go Boss (I work for the US EPA)! It's about time we tell the kids to get involved.

No matter what happens now, they will be dealing with some degree of climate change in their future!

Here's Lisa's talk on You Tube.

A Major Setback in Global Warming Science - OCO Launch Fails

Bad news, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) failed to reach orbit last Tuesday. Apparently, a protective fairing failed to separate from the spacecraft and prevented the OCO from reaching orbit. The OCO would have allowed scientists to "fine tune" their climate models by finding carbon sources and sinks that are not currently understood. A big loss for our understanding of the Earth's climate.

Collaboration between Google and Purdue University produces a new view of CO2 ...

A collabration between Google and Purdue University gives us a new tool to help control global climate change. Purdue, in association with DOE and NASA, developed a database of CO2 sources named Project Vulcan. Google, with its experience developing Google Maps and Google Earth, used its talents to plot Project Vulcan's data onto an interactive map. The CO2 emissions map can be found at http://www.purdue.edu/eas/carbon/vulcan/GEarth/index.html.

Earth Hour 2009

Last year (2008) Earth Hour went global. This year Earth Hour 2009 is even larger, with more cities and more countries. The premise is simple -- turn out your lights, your TV, and any other appliances for 60 minutes as a symbol of your commitment to control climate change. Yes, it is a simple step of symbolism, but at least it is a step to control a problem that every nation on earth will soon face. On March 28th lets all turn out the lights!

[caption id="attachment_136" align="alignnone" width="250" caption="Logo for Earth Hour 2009"][/caption]

Global Energy Balance Explained

NASA's Earth Observatory site has great article on how the Earth's energy balance works. This topic is central to understanding global climate change, so if you really want to understand global warming, read this article. Without the blanket of air that surrounds us this planet this would be a very cold place to live. Interestingly, even with an atmosphere, without carbon dioxide it would still be a cold planet ( around 10 to 0 degrees average). A little carbon dioxide is a good thing, too much and you have a planet like Venus with an 800 degree surface temperature!

Have kids, want to save power? Try this ...

One annoying thing about kids is getting them to turn lights off. Sure with CFL or LED lighting it's not that bad, but every little bit helps. So why not have the lights turn themselves off? Try one of these timer switches from Intermatic:

Intermatic electronic wall timers

One thing about electronic timers -- make sure they work with CFLs, some don't.

How long can Global Warming last? 100,000 years if you're an ocean!

An interesting post on Wired.com's science blog states that Global Warming could be around a lot longer than we first thought -- about 100,000 years longer! If the planet continues on a "business as usual" path (no change in greenhouse gases) recent studies indicate earth's oceans could be compromised for as long as 100,000 years. Read the report for the full details.

Not the Shrub's energy and environment plan ...

What difference a change in administration makes! President Obama's energy and environment plan is a quantum leap from President Bush's lack of a plan!

Another great NOVA program, The Big Energy Gamble

Always informative and factual, the PBS series NOVA, highlights the aggressive green energy plan of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. California has the 6th largest economy in the world (yes, the state by itself!) and critically needs sources of clean, reliable power, therefore the Governor has embarked on an aggressive plan to greatly expand renewable power in the state's energy mix. Could this be the model for President Obama's energy plan? I certainly hope so and with even more aggressive measures!

Check out clips from Dr. Steven Chu, formerly of Lawrence Livermore Labs, now the US Energy Secretary and a friendly "green" competition between Ed Begley (St. Elsewhere) and Bill Nye ("Bill Nye the Science Guy®"). You can link to the program at "The Big Energy Gamble" on the PBS website.