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April 16, 2013
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Economic Update: Social Turmoil Coming | Professor Richard D. Wolff

“Updates on CEO pay, the assault on social security, Maggie Thatcher, and “job creation.” Interview with Chris Hedges on deepening social crisis, divisions, and turmoil coming. Response to listeners: on French socialists, hidden money, and workers coops paying taxes.

“

What a great episode with guest Chris Hedges!  

Nothing in the description would indicate why I’m posting this other than Chris Hedges being interviewed and anyone who knows him knows he is a strong voice about the ruination of this planet.  But in addition to that something very remarkable was stated during this interview.  @~39:00 Chris mentions speaking with Paul Krugman.  He asked him, “What if the ruling elite cannot respond rationally.   Mr Krugman’s reply ” It doesn’t matter climate change is gonna get us anyway.”

YIKES!

I’ve been thinking maybe the economic collapse would get us first.

This is a great podcast, have a listen. 

Tags: richard d wolff chris hedges social turmoil paul krugman global warming climate change economic collapse

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April 12, 2013
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theapothecarysrose: CLIMATE CHANGE DID NOT CAUSEE 2012 U.S. DROUGHT, SAYS GOVERNMENT REPORT By Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian:  The historic drought that blazed across America’s corn belt last year was not caused by climate change, a federal government study found. The summer of 2012 was the driest since record-keeping began more than a century ago, as well as one of the hottest, producing drought conditions across two-thirds of the continental United States. Barack Obama and other prominent figures have repeatedly cited the drought as evidence of climate change. But the report released on Thursday by scientists at five different government agencies said that was not the case. The drought was “a sequence of unfortunate events” that occurred suddenly, the report said. The circumstances were so unusual the drought could never have been predicted. “The Central Great Plains drought during May-August of 2012 resulted mostly from natural variations in weather,” the report said. The scientists found moist air from the Gulf of Mexico did not stream northward as it does most years, bringing spring rain. The jet stream that ordinarily pushes up the moisture from the Gulf was stuck far to the north in Canada. July and August failed to produce their usual thunderstorms and those that did occur brought little rainfall. The deficits were extreme. Last year was the driest year since record-keeping began in 1895, the report said. Conditions were even hotter and drier than the “dust bowl” years of 1934 and 1935. But the scientists were clear in the report: “Neither ocean states nor human-induced climate change, factors that can provide long-lead predictability, appeared to play significant roles in causing severe rainfall deficits over the major corn producing regions of central Great Plains.” The finding was immediately challenged by other scientists. The report looked at six states – Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri and Iowa – but by last September the drought had spread across two-thirds of the continental United States, devastating crops from Texas to Georgia. Some experts predicted the economic losses would exceed those from hurricane Sandy. Obama cited the drought, along with last year’s wildfires, record-breaking temperatures, and Sandy, as evidence of climate change. Campaign groups have also cited the drought to make the case for climate action. The lead author of the report, Martin Hoerling, a research meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the Associated Press he had tried to create computer simulations of the the drought, factoring in climate change conditions. Hoerling undertook a similar exercise with the 2011 drought in Texas, finding that climate change had indeed been a factor. He was unable to do so in this case, Hoerling said, arguing that it demonstrated the drought had been a one-off event. “This is one of those events that comes along once every couple hundreds of years,” Hoerling told the AP. “Climate change was not a significant part, if any, of the event.” However, Kevin Trenberth, a climate scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Research, who was also contacted by the Associated Press, said the study failed to take into account the lack of snowpack in the Rockies or how climate change may have played a role in keeping the jet stream away. Uh maybe the air didn’t stream up from the Gulf because the composition of the air over the Gulf has changed.  Changed because it has been saturated with oil and dispersant.   That stretch theory aside, “The drought was “a sequence of unfortunate events” that occurred suddenly, the report said. The circumstances were so unusual the drought could never have been predicted.”   - uh that is the exact nature of climate change - strange, unusual, extreme, unpredictable events. A real climate scientist offered explanation - is in the last paragraph.  Does it strike anyone else as strange that this report came out AFTER Jim Hansen left his government position?    It’s all food for thought. The author did not provide the link to the report, here it is.

theapothecarysrose:

CLIMATE CHANGE DID NOT CAUSEE 2012 U.S. DROUGHT, SAYS GOVERNMENT REPORT

By Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian: 

The historic drought that blazed across America’s corn belt last year was not caused by climate change, a federal government study found.

The summer of 2012 was the driest since record-keeping began more than a century ago, as well as one of the hottest, producing drought conditions across two-thirds of the continental United States.

Barack Obama and other prominent figures have repeatedly cited the drought as evidence of climate change. But the report released on Thursday by scientists at five different government agencies said that was not the case. The drought was “a sequence of unfortunate events” that occurred suddenly, the report said. The circumstances were so unusual the drought could never have been predicted.

“The Central Great Plains drought during May-August of 2012 resulted mostly from natural variations in weather,” the report said.

The scientists found moist air from the Gulf of Mexico did not stream northward as it does most years, bringing spring rain. The jet stream that ordinarily pushes up the moisture from the Gulf was stuck far to the north in Canada.

July and August failed to produce their usual thunderstorms and those that did occur brought little rainfall.

The deficits were extreme. Last year was the driest year since record-keeping began in 1895, the report said. Conditions were even hotter and drier than the “dust bowl” years of 1934 and 1935.

But the scientists were clear in the report: “Neither ocean states nor human-induced climate change, factors that can provide long-lead predictability, appeared to play significant roles in causing severe rainfall deficits over the major corn producing regions of central Great Plains.”

The finding was immediately challenged by other scientists. The report looked at six states – Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri and Iowa – but by last September the drought had spread across two-thirds of the continental United States, devastating crops from Texas to Georgia. Some experts predicted the economic losses would exceed those from hurricane Sandy.

Obama cited the drought, along with last year’s wildfires, record-breaking temperatures, and Sandy, as evidence of climate change. Campaign groups have also cited the drought to make the case for climate action.

The lead author of the report, Martin Hoerling, a research meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the Associated Press he had tried to create computer simulations of the the drought, factoring in climate change conditions. Hoerling undertook a similar exercise with the 2011 drought in Texas, finding that climate change had indeed been a factor.

He was unable to do so in this case, Hoerling said, arguing that it demonstrated the drought had been a one-off event.

“This is one of those events that comes along once every couple hundreds of years,” Hoerling told the AP. “Climate change was not a significant part, if any, of the event.”

However, Kevin Trenberth, a climate scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Research, who was also contacted by the Associated Press, said the study failed to take into account the lack of snowpack in the Rockies or how climate change may have played a role in keeping the jet stream away.

Uh maybe the air didn’t stream up from the Gulf because the composition of the air over the Gulf has changed.  Changed because it has been saturated with oil and dispersant.   That stretch theory aside, “The drought was “a sequence of unfortunate events” that occurred suddenly, the report said. The circumstances were so unusual the drought could never have been predicted.”   - uh that is the exact nature of climate change - strange, unusual, extreme, unpredictable events.

A real climate scientist offered explanation - is in the last paragraph. 

Does it strike anyone else as strange that this report came out AFTER Jim Hansen left his government position?   

It’s all food for thought.

The author did not provide the link to the report, here it is.

(via dom72)

Tags: climate change 2012 drought usa

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April 12, 2013
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"The sudden cooling of Europe, triggered by collapse of the global thermohaline circulation in the north Atlantic and the slowing of the Gulf Stream has been popularized by the movies and the media. The southern half of the global thermohaline circulation is as important to global climate but has not been popularized. The global oceans’ coldest water, Antarctic bottom water forms in several key spots around Antarctica. The water is so cold and dense that it spreads out along the bottom all of the major ocean basins except the north Atlantic and Arctic. Multiple recent reports provide strong evidence that the formation of Antarctic bottom water has slowed dramatically in response to massive subsurface melting of ice shelves and glaciers. The meltwater is freshening a layer of water found between depths of 50 and 150 meters. This lightened layer is impeding the formation of Antarctic bottom water, causing the Antarctic half of the global thermohaline circulation to falter."

—

Daily Kos :: The Antarctic Half of the Global Thermohaline Circulation Is Faltering

A reasonable explanation based on logical evidence.  Read the entire article - highly recommended.  Comments too.

Tags: climate eco climate change antarctica thermohaline circulation

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April 05, 2013
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Noam Chomsky: If Nuclear War Doesn’t Get Us, Climate Change Will (by videonation)

This is just too good and too important .  Although it is only 6 minutes, it is Stop’s Movie of the Week.

Tags: STOP's movie of the week noam chomsky climate change nuclear war odds on human survival homosapiens genocide

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October 08, 2012
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"Scientists are “surprised” to find that the size of individual fish in the world’s oceans is likely to shrink by as much as one quarter in the coming decades. The use of the word suggests that chaos theory—which says the particulars of the breakdown of the earth’s ecosystems are unpredictable—is going unread, disbelieved or ignored. Chaos theory does not lend itself to explanation in plain English. It is notoriously difficult to get across to the public. Even the highly educated can have a tough time grasping its abstract meanings and implications. In general terms, the theory holds that as an increasing number of essential parts of a complex system break down—such as a stock market, climate or mechanical engine—the overall system is destabilized, and its exact behavior becomes impossible to predict. This event precedes what’s known as “runaway,” which occurs when a critical number of those parts stop working and irreversible “tipping points” have been passed. At this stage, the only thing that can be predicted with certainty is that the system will deteriorate with increasing acceleration. Just as water always runs downhill, the processes triggered in runaway will continue irreversibly and on their own, and no one can tell what the final results will be."

—

Alexander Reed Kelly: What Environmental Reporting Leaves Out - Truthdig

Gooood article!!   Anyone who doesn’t understand chaos theory should watch Jurassic Park (or see video below)!     But this element that Mr Kelly focuses on it exactly what deniers focus on to push their point.  It was the whole crux of the “climategate” emails, and so much more.   

His last statements are very powerful:

“None of this suggests that scientific research is meaningless. It simply shows that predictions made early in the process of growing chaos should be regarded as snapshots in time, relevant for only a short while. Scientists remain our best forecasters of what’s to come, but they can see only so far into the earth’s future. Aside from the unsettling fact that the systems that support human and other life are disintegrating at an increasing rate, no one can say for sure exactly what the world we’re rushing into will look like.”

Here’s more on Chaos Theory:

A shout out to the JuevesFilosofico.com website for the graphic and link to video.  Thanks!

Tags: chaos theory global warming climate change

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April 12, 2012
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Propaganda & Spinning Climate Change or How Heartland is Using NASA against us

I’m always hoping I can find someone to believe when it comes to debunking Climate Change.  I mean, it’s such a bad situation that it’s something I’d rather not believe.  Ya know?  So let me tell you about the latest.

It started with taking a peak at this Business Insider MAP OF THE DAY: The Three Climate Factors That Are Shaping Spring

It made me laugh out loud.  I love it that business can spin the weather we’ve been having into such a positive position and give it such wonderful root causes (volcanic ash #1? read this for the real science). 

So for more entertainment I read the comments and something there piqued my interest.   It was this statement -   “Interesting that the article about the NASA scientists was removed from the front page, in spite of being heavily viewed and commented on…”

Hmmm, how did i miss that?  And luckily someone else provided a link to exactly what all these other NASA scientists had said.  Here is an excerpt:

“The letter, sent at the end of March, includes former scientists, astronauts and two former directors of NASA’s Johnson Space Center who believe climate science is “not settled” and wish for NASA to look at all available scientific data before making claims of carbon dioxide’s “catastrophic impact”.”

The Blaze then goes on to post some excerpts from said letter but not the letter itself.  But I want to see the source.  In my search I come across another site  ’WATTS UP WITH THAT” supposedly “The world’s most viewed site on global warming and climate change”, that appears to have the entire letter and contact information.  

After reading the information, doing searches on many of the names, checking out more of the WUWT website, I concluded it is not a serious piece that adds anything meaningful to the topic.   Reasons being;

1) None of these are active employees and none of them are climate scientists.  However much we want to adore rocket scientists, that doesn’t make them climate SMEs. 

2) Many are associated to denier funding sources or websites especially the scientists the letter refers to as their oracles.  

Harrison Schmitt is a Geologist, retired from NASA, born 1935, and “Regarding the international scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change, Schmitt has said that “[t]he CO2 scare is a red herring”,[15] that the “global warming scare is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision-making,” and that scientists who might otherwise challenge prevailing views on climate change dare not do so for fear of losing funding.[16]” source    AND HE IS A HEARTLAND BOARD MEMBER!!!  I’ve written plenty here about the Heartland group so I won’t dredge it all up again.  Search on it and decide about them for yourself.

Walter Cunningham is also an old timer, born 1932, an astronaut, fighter pilot, physicist, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, author of The All-American Boys, lecturer, and host of the radio show Lift-off to Logic.   “In 2010, he published a pamphlet titled “Global Warming: Facts versus Faith” in which he states: “The current debate is not unlike Galileo’s historic disagreement with the Catholic Church, or the battle over evolution versus creationism. In all three cases, facts are pitted against faith and science against religion. The conflict over global warming has deteriorated into a religious war between true believers in AGW and non-believers, the so-called “skeptics”.”[3] This report was published by the Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank engaged in “dispelling myths about global warming”. The Heartland Institute has, in its publications, made four points:

“Most scientists do not believe human activities threaten to disrupt the Earth’s climate.”[3] “The most reliable temperature data show no global warming trend.”[17] “A modest amount of global warming, should it occur, would be beneficial to the natural world and to human civilization.”[3] “The best strategy to pursue is one of ‘no regrets’.”[3]

In an editorial published in the Houston Chronicle on August 15, 2010, Cunningham argued that the empirical evidence does not support the claims of global warming. The editorial, titled “Climate change alarmists ignore scientific methods”, stated his opinion that the global warming debate hinged on four key points. “About 20 years ago,” he stated, “a small group of scientists became concerned that temperatures around the Earth were unreasonably high and a threat to humanity. In their infinite wisdom, they decided: 1) that CO2 (carbon dioxide) levels were abnormally high, 2) that higher levels of CO2 were bad for humanity, 3) that warmer temperatures would be worse for the world, and 4) that we are capable of overriding natural forces to control the Earth’s temperature. Not one of these presumptions (opinions) has proven to be valid.”[4]”  source

These are the guys they’re believing in?  They are entitled but, as I stated above, I don’t view this as a serious statement worth much consideration.

Lastly,

3) The piece isn’t critical analysis journalism, it’s as bias in the denier direction as this site is in the believer direction - the difference is, I’m not calling this site a science blog.  

I was please to see my opinion echoed elsewhere in the news.  

Attacks on climate science by former NASA staff shouldn’t be taken seriously

A letter from former administrators, astronauts, and engineers at NASA expressing climate change scepticism does not deserve parity with the agency’s peer-reviewed climate scientists.   source

Please read that entire article because Dana Nuccitelli does a much better job assessing than I have. 

I got myself all worked up, hoping there had been a real scientific rebuttal I could appreciate but once again, so disappointed that the political spin and propaganda is detracting from the reality.   I was played. 


Update #1:  Is NASA really in an open revolt over climate change? by Eric Burger / Houston Chronicle.   (Excerpt: “but there is almost no disagreement among climate scientists that the planet is, and will continue to warm due to human emissions of greenhouse gases. A recent study of warming by previously skeptical scientists, in fact, found that the planet has continued to warm in accordance with scientific predictions.”)  But this is lovely - what does Burger conclude?  ”Ultimately I believe this is probably part of a campaign to force Hansen out. Hansen has successfully resisted previous efforts to keep him quiet.”


Tags: climate change nasa deniers

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March 28, 2012
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"Scientists keep beating the drum, hoping the world will wake up to the fact that climate change is a real, non-partisan, non-advanced vs development country issue. At the Planet Under Pressure Conference, taking place in London, 2800 scientists warn the earth is dangerously close to an irreversible tipping point."

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Climate Change Close to Tipping Point, Soon Irreversible

Two thousand eight hundred scientists are telling us this is NOT junk science, that this is real and we’re almost to the tipping point.  Are you paying attention?

Tags: climate change tipping point

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March 12, 2012
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GE rejects Republicans’ climate change doubts

“General Electric has brushed aside the doubts leading Republican presidential contenders have raised about climate science.

The US industrial and financial conglomerate said it had long seen climate change as a valid concern after an internal evaluation of the scientific case in 2005.”

Read the rest at Financial Times (possibly paywalled)

via climateadaptation:

We need more corporations to “come out” like this.

(via impulsivefarmer)

Tags: GE climate change

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March 09, 2012
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"It would be immoral to leave these young people with a climate system spiraling out of control."

—

James Hansen

James Hansen’s Must-See TED Talk: Starting To Reduce CO2 In 10 Years Is Too Late

Posted this before but this guy is such a hero - drawing attention to it again today.

Tags: james hansen heroes climate change

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March 08, 2012
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Electronic Arts and BP have collaborated to include climate change education within SimCity Societies, the next iteration in the genre-defining city-building franchise that has sold more than 18 million games to date. The collaboration brings together world-class game building skills and industry expertise on energy, electricity production and greenhouse gas emissions to highlight the impact of electricity generation on the emissions of carbon dioxide that are linked to climate change. The low-carbon electricity choices and monitoring of SimCity’s carbon emissions provide an entertaining, fully-integrated and accurate look at some of the causes and some of the major solutions available to combat rising levels of carbon and to help address the threat of global warming. BP?!  Gotta give their PR dept their due, right?  They are GOOD. I’ve played SimCity since it came out.  I have a version on my phone right now (not recommended, it really needs a big screen).  It’s great to see this.  

Electronic Arts and BP have collaborated to include climate change education within SimCity Societies, the next iteration in the genre-defining city-building franchise that has sold more than 18 million games to date.

The collaboration brings together world-class game building skills and industry expertise on energy, electricity production and greenhouse gas emissions to highlight the impact of electricity generation on the emissions of carbon dioxide that are linked to climate change. The low-carbon electricity choices and monitoring of SimCity’s carbon emissions provide an entertaining, fully-integrated and accurate look at some of the causes and some of the major solutions available to combat rising levels of carbon and to help address the threat of global warming.

BP?!  Gotta give their PR dept their due, right?  They are GOOD.

I’ve played SimCity since it came out.  I have a version on my phone right now (not recommended, it really needs a big screen).  It’s great to see this.  

Tags: simcity climate change game BP

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March 08, 2012
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roadtoavabodha:

Top climate scientist James Hansen tells the story of his involvement in the science of and debate over global climate change. In doing so he outlines the overwhelming evidence that change is happening and why that makes him deeply worried about the future.

(Source: ted.com, via climate-changing)

Tags: James Hansen climate change heroes TED

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March 07, 2012
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"It is almost beyond belief that the senior editor for a major magazine would outsource her thinking on the major issue of our day to a guy like Michaels — and then actually admit it! As Skeptical Science has detailed, Patrick Michaels is a “Serial Deleter of Inconvenient Data"

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Media Stunner: Atlantic Editor Megan McArdle Admits She’s Outsourced Her Thinking to Cato’s Pat Michaels | ThinkProgress

“Despite his clear conflict of interest (Michaels has estimated that 40% of his work is funded by the petroleum industry), many people continue to rely on him as a reliable source of climate information.  This is an unwise choice, because Michaels also has a long history of badly distorting climate scientists’ work.  In fact, not only does Michaels misrepresent climate research on a regular basis, but on several occasions he has gone as far as to manipulate other scientists’ figures by deleting parts he doesn’t like.”

Interesting article. But I believe this is what is happening everywhere.  Even your friend, your neighbors - they’re all outsourcing their thinking to the media nitwits like McArdle.  Why are all of us less responsible for doing that, than McArdle is?  We need to take responsibility and we need to find the info for ourselves about what is really going on and hold these liars accountable. 

Tags: climate change deniers journalism

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March 07, 2012
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Science: Ocean Acidifying So Fast It Threatens Humanity's Ability to Feed Itself

And yet -

Tags: oceans acidification climate change

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March 07, 2012
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"Long dry spells have been a problem in various parts of the world including China, Africa, Russia, Australia, the southern and western United States, and Western Europe. Many are hoping that this is just a cyclical nuisance and not evidence of a permanent change in climate patterns. England in particular is used to being a damp and rainy island, but has been surprised now with three straight winters of drought-level precipitation. The first to notice and be affected by the changing levels of rainfall are the farmers. However, now public officials are beginning to worry about the long-term stability of their water supplies and the effects that lower rainfall will have on the environment as a whole."

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: Persistent Droughts Plaguing Much of the World

Good- WAKE UP!!!

Tags: drought climate change

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March 07, 2012
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"If you happen to see a frog hopping around in your back yard, take a good look— it might not be around for much longer. Ecologists are increasingly warning that due to habitat destruction, widespread infectious disease and climate change, amphibians are facing “extinction in real time.” As many as 40 percent of amphibious species, which include frogs, salamanders and newts, could be facing “imminent extinction,” according to David Wake, a researcher at the University of California Berkeley. “It’s happening around the world … we’re seeing it on our watch,” he says. “People talk more about birds or mammals because they are charismatic, they’re in the public eye. I’m concerned about rhinos and tigers, too, but in the meantime, we’re losing the things that are in our backyard."

— Are Frogs Rapidly Facing Extinction? - US News and World Report

Tags: frogs extinction climate change habitat destruction disease amphibians wildlife