Monday, March 26, 2007

Weather, Water, Energy 3-26-07

[UPDATE: Here's a bit of interesting news that shouldn't wait 24 hours. Turns out now that scientists are saying that climate change won't just be climates moving north but that completely new climates may be created, with new effects on the ecologies and species (and probably not effects they would be thrilled with). And here's one more reason to be suspicious of ethanol beyond its water-sucking potential described below--auto execs are hyping it and Bushnev is listening. Time to start growing our own food.]

  • The author of the famous Stern Report (his name is Stern) is now saying the folks with money on the planet need to be investing $10b. annually to halve deforestation and cut back on the global warming that will otherwise result from the whacking. He says that ""The cost of action, strong and urgent action, will be very much less than the cost of inaction. If we do nothing, if we go on with business as usual, we will eventually derail growth and development." But does Brit Hume trust him?
  • For those of you thinking your asthma might get better with global warming, uh, no. But dust mites won't like it either, if that's any consolation. That can't be bad.
  • A natural shift in climate and ocean produced a dramatic drop in the sea lion pop around AK (Alaska, not Arkansas) 30 years ago and portends what an unnatural one is likely to do soon.
  • Just remember, for every story like this you see on the wonders of ethanol and all the new investment, the process takes a lot of water, which gets us into that self-defeating cycle of energy problem, water problem, energy problem, so on, so on.
  • Do you need any more proof that we're ostriches, maybe hearing the whirlwind coming but still not believing that it's anything to do anything about? How about the idiot state of NC, about to okay changes in regs to allow houses to be built CLOSER to the ocean?? I guess people really can survive with solid cork heads.
  • Finally, speaking of corkheads, we get the debunking of a silly report at RealClimate that I didn't link to a few days ago with a couple of thermodynamic nerds proclaiming that there couldn't be an average temp to be going up as news reports claim. Sometimes guys think that high math SATs and IQs make them smart. Which tells you how dumb they are. You still have to be able to recognize a clue before you can get one.