Weather, Water, Energy 9-13-06

Here's some news we'd like to ignore. A new El Nino has formed in the Pacific, just small at this point, could go moderate, with all the wacky weather that usually results being predicted. The good news is that it appears to have had the effect of damping down our Atlantic hurricane season this year. . . . Reuters Health has a story about a two-year study to be done by the National Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production (!) on how big American farms impact diseases and pollution (aka avian flu and runoff of fertilizer, for example). Their funding comes from the Pew Charitable Trusts and their management is via the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, so we're not talking rubes here. Could be very important work. . . . Real Climate runs a couple of short blog roundups, one on sunspots and the other more a potpourri, both interesting. . . . At Science Daily we hear of a study in the Journal of Political Economy asking whether green markets really lead to improvements in environmental quality. The research asserts that "in a sufficiently large economy, where giving is not motivated by unconditional altruism, introducing or improving a green technology will increase the level of giving but crowd out private voluntary donations." Always a bit skeptical when economists deign to step in with their special wisdom into environmental policy, but you may find the summary here interesting and maybe semi-convincing. . . . NASA satellites have been tracking the growth and health of forests and detect the effects of global warming on them, according to a study in the journal Remote Sensing of Environment as reported by Science Daily. The most interesting part to me is their ability to ID the shifting movement of the trees as global warming progresses, but the whole article is worth your time. . . . At Scientific American's blog, we find articles throwing some cold water on the idea that sunspots, not humans, are causing the current climate changes, giving encouraging news on solar cells, and the reasonable assertion that US automakers' interest in fuel efficiency depends on continuing high oil prices. . . . FL's environmentalists are gearing up to get to whichever party's candidate for governor wins this year the message that "Our waters and coastlines are in trouble." They also conveniently have some suggestions for improvement and it appears that both candidates have records suggesting sincere interest(!). . . . A sad article (if you're not ready for one, avoid it) on how use (aka waste and pollution) of water by energy companies in the Peruvian Amazon is threatening yet more indigenous tribes who basically would prefer to maintain their livestyles of, oh, thousands of years. As one of the players on the losers-to-be side puts it, in what will likely be the generalized motto of the second half of this century, "The Peruvian state is incapable of imposing sanctions on those who pollute our rivers and our land. Where is the justice?" The BBC remains one of the best general news sources for this kind of important, if depressing, information. . . . Finally, in the not sure if it's good or bad category, scientists at U of CA-Berkeley have found that earth-born thunderstorms apparently can lead to storms in the far reaches of our atmosphere as well, messing with radio transmissions and other electronic communications. The findings might help us with better global positioning satellite navigation and short-wave radio transmission. Once we start sticking radio frequency ID transmitters in all convicted offenders, terrorists, teenagers, and other government-declared nuisances, this research will prove a boon to all humanity, no doubt.

UPDATE: A couple of late stories today. The BBC proves me right above by notifying us of a coming British report arguing that "Rich nations must do far more to help poor countries cope with the consequences of climate change, an influential report is expected to say. The review will also say emissions need to be cut now." . . . And an AP story tells us that two NASA studies have determined that arctic sea ice is melting faster in winter than previously believed, reiterating the threat posed not just to climate but to polar creatures dependent on reliable ice formation. Says one research scientist, "I hate to say we told you so, but we told you so." . . . DITTO.