Weather, Water, Energy 10-17-06

One of the scarier stories we've done in these WWE posts. Past major extinctions due to heated oceans, lowered oxygen levels, effects on bacteria, and emission of gases more toxic than cyanide. Don't worry. Our CO2 levels aren't expected to get up to the kinds of levels necessary to kick off until around the end of the century. About when they expected those ice sheets to really start to melt. . . . An Oxford University report asserts that Britain cannot meet its goal to cut CO2 emissions 60% by 2050 without limiting plane emissions, which make up 5.5% of the total. Raising taxes for flights seems to be the going proposal, but it doesn't seem to be going far, due to the usual suspects and arguments. Good thing we don't have to worry about this stuff here. . . . Here's an aspect of global warming effects we don't consider much and should. Seems the severe Australian drought has increased mental illness among that nation's farmers. Where do those costs get added in? . . . Finally, before we get too ga-ga over "coal-to-liquids" technology, this piece tells us about some of the pitfalls and drawbacks waiting down that road, too.