Weather, Water, Energy 8-13-07

When you have an idiot for a PM, then you, almost by definition, have idiot MPs. Check out Australia, where, despite all the evidence to the contrary, 4 idiot MPs are claiming that other planets have been warming (poor evidence) and therefore humans aren’t causing global warming (conclusive evidence). The same principle applies for nations with Presidents and Congresspeople. . . . Uh, speaking of . . . , British officials have told the EU that Britain won’t meet renewable energy goals so the EU decides that Britain will meet renewable energy goals. Wuhhh? . . . The area of floating ice in the Arctic has shrunk more than in any summer since satellite tracking began in 1979, and it has reached that record point a month before the annual ice pullback typically peaks, experts said. The cause is probably a mix of natural fluctuations, like unusually sunny conditions in June and July, and long-term warming from heat-trapping greenhouse gases and sooty particles accumulating in the air, according to several scientists. No one tell Australia. . . . Will this be a good thing? LOCKED IN GLACIERS, ANCIENT LIFE MAY RETURN TO LIFE AS GLACIERS MELT. And that’s on top of the diseases moving to new areas as ecologies change with the warming. . . . Speaking of headlines you’d rather not see: After past failures, TVA again puts faith in nuclear. Followed by this sub-headline: Ex-officials of utility raise concerns. . . . Wanna get into carbon offsetting so you’re putting money into tree planting somewhere around the world? Might want to rethink that. The only trees that suck in enough CO2 are those with plenty of water and nutrients, which might not be in great supply in a lot of globally warmed areas in the future. In fact, without the right conditions, the trees become a drain on the system. Just thought you should know. . . . Climate researchers deciding to pool the results of their individual models to produce probability estimates for regions and the planet as a whole. Good plan. Seriously. . . .