- From Terra Daily, heavy duty research being done linking greenhouse gas emissions to the changes in the ecology of global rangelands, demonstrating global warming and its impact on corals, finding that fuel subsidies in the Middle East have actually been suppressing econ development there, declaring that natural disasters are doing 7 times more harm to personal livelihoods than wars globally right now and will get worse, and reporting that it will take $200 b. annually in investment to keep greenhouse gas levels just where they are right now by 2030 (which isn’t really that much for a global effort, if you think about it, so why don’t we get started?). Whew. Think how much there’d be if this weren’t a slow news day.
- The darker side of ethanol. The problems that will be caused the neighbors of the multitude of producing plants springing up. (Sounds like the financing problems around the country may be catching up with the plant owners and wannabes, though.)
- David Roberts at Grist has a bunch of good stuff as well. Here’s a post on the horror that is Big Coal’s Congresswhores lining up to commit us to the worst possible fuel course (yes, even worse than nukes), one speculating on why the weather, water, energy agenda gets such broad but shallow support from the public and politicians (talk, little walk, IOW), one calculating the solar and wind advancements we could have gotten from the same dollars we’ve put into Iraq (very sad), one pondering the value of rich people going green in their luxury purchases, and one demonstrating how very, very badly the real estate and construction folks overestimate the costs of going green in their building and underestimate the impact of what they actually do on emissions (ain’t pretty).
- Liberal Democrats in Britain proposing ban on gasoline-fueled cars in the country by 2040. Say someone needs to lead in the warming world. How do we get them to start a branch over here?
- One legit complaint about wind power is the danger posed to migrating birds by the turbines needed. So this new format of turbine may solve that problem and help to negate the criticism and opposition. Pretty cool.
- What sounds like a really good report, which could provide a framework for other states, coming out of UT to deal with emissions and global warming:
A state blue ribbon task force on climate change stated emphatically Monday that humans are to blame for global warming and offered a slate of recommendations on ways Utah can fight the changes.
But one much-discussed option, developing nuclear power, was only on the B list of recommendations by the Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Climate Change.
Let’s see if the Governor will accept it now.
- Climate Progress has good posts up on the relationship between warming and hurricanes, a takedown of the latest nonsense (not the good kind) from the denier/obstructionist world that actually tries to claim Hummers are better for the environment than Priuses (it is to laugh), and a call for Buffy to come along and put some stakes in some very ignorant people. Wouldn't that take a whole lot of episodes?
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