Weather, Water, Energy 12-29-06

You know those times when you can tell an idea is bad news simply by the people who are promoting it? Well, Australia's idiot PM is hyping nuclear power. . . . OTOH, Honda says we'll have fuel-cell cars on a mass scale by 2018 so maybe the nuke won't be as needed, even on the idiot continent. Odd that US automakers aren't getting there first, isn't it? . . . Climate Progress has a good post up on the things you can do to make a positive imprint in these global warming times. . . . Here's an interesting story on the mechanics, problems and politics of ethanol production (believe it or not). . . . Islands disappearing in India, taking tigers with them. Just two(!!) so far but could lose a dozen more. That global warming and rising ocean thing. Nothing to worry about, according to the Australian PM. (Have I mentioned what a tool he is?) . . . . OTOH, an Australian researcher is claiming that the continent's current drought is part of normal Australian patterns. But before the idiot PM starts nodding his head, maybe he should read the whole story, wherein the researcher says global warming is a real thing. . . . In any case, Australia is nailing its water wasters pretty good. One of the inevitable outcomes of global warming will be the growth of government authority over the use of resources, among other things. It's just a question of how (not whether) authoritarian. . . . With that in mind, read of this UN report on growing global desertification and the likelihood of massive populations on the move. On second thought, wait until you're drunk on New Year's Eve. . . . Looks like some people may benefit from global warming, kids with eczema, for instance. . . . And some nations look to do better, too. Russia is planning how to use its oil money to solve all its problems, or at least dent them a little. . . . OTOH, maybe they should just plan on repairing all the damage caused by people using their oil. "This year Russia has registered the highest number of unfavorable and dangerous natural phenomena in the history of meteorological observation, a director of Russia's Hydrometeorology Center said Thursday." Just doesn't get much more impressive that that. . . . Finally, the biggest news of the last couple of days. The big meltdown just keeps on coming. An ice shelf the size of 11,000 football fields (not a typo) broke free up in Canada . . . over a year ago. The scientists are scratching their heads. "What surprised us was how quickly it happened," one said. See, the thing is, the naysayers may be right when they say the climate models are wrong. The problem is, the models may have been too optimistic. Humans aren't good with nonlinear futures, and this may be the biggest mama nonlinear of all. Oh, and don't go sailing up north anytime soon, okay?