10 Things Global Warming Could Change Forever

Published on 9/24/2009 under Science – by Gracie Murano – 44,874 views

There’s some interesting ideas here, but I would take all this with a grain of salt, since they seem to have very little evidence.

Great Barrier Reef may be gone in 20 years

The Great Barrier Reef will be so degraded by warming waters that it will be unrecognizable within 20 years. Charlie Veron, former chief scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, told The Times: “There is no way out, no loopholes. The Great Barrier Reef will be over within 20 years or so.” Once carbon dioxide had hit the levels predicted for between 2030 and 2060, all coral reefs were doomed to extinction, he said. “They would be the world’s first global ecosystem to collapse. I have the backing of every coral reef scientist, every research organization. I’ve spoken to them all. This is critical. This is reality.”

Amazon Rain Forest may turn into a desert

Teeming with millions of species and one-fifth of the world’s fresh water, the Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest. However, global warming and deforestation are reversing the forest’s role as a carbon sink, converting 30-60% of the rainforest into dry savannah. Projections show the forest could disappear completely by 2050.

Sahara Desert may become green

Scientists are seeing signals that the Sahara desert and surrounding regions are greening due to increasing rainfall. If sustained, these rains could revitalize drought-ravaged regions, reclaiming them for farming communities. This desert-shrinking trend is supported by climate models, which predict a return to conditions that turned the Sahara into a lush savanna some 12,000 years ago.

Hurricanes may became more devastating than Katrina

It has not been determined whether Katrina was linked to global warming. But there are indications that global warming will produce more Category 5 hurricanes –and Katrina was only Category 4 when it hit Louisiana. Hurricanes derive their power in part from warm water, and so forecasting models show future hurricanes becoming more severe as sea surface temperatures rise. Global warming also makes hurricanes more destructive by raising the sea level, which leads to more serious coastal flooding. (According to the EPA, a two-foot rise would swallow a chunk of the U.S. bigger than Massachusetts.)

London may disappear underwater by 2100

It isn’t only reefs and low-lying islands that are under threat from global warming. In fact, a major threat is for those large urban areas which are at risk of eventually being submerged underwater. This is caused by a change in sea levels that occurs when global warming takes place, resulting in coastal cities being destroyed by flooding. Dozens of the world’s cities, including London and New York, could be flooded by the end of the century, according to research which suggests that global warming will increase sea levels more rapidly than was previously thought. London is one of the major world capitals at high risk of this type of flooding, as depicted in this shot from the 2007 movie Flood. Scientists say that the city could be under water as early as within the next one hundred years.

Animals may shrink

Warming climate may favor small species over large ones. The research, based on analysis of body mass of fish, plankton, and bacteria in European ecosystems, comes just weeks after scientists reported that sheep on a Scottish island are shrinking due to warmer conditions.

The new study reveals that individual species lost an average of 50 percent of their body mass over the past 30 years. The reduced body size is the third universal ecological response to global warming. An earlier sheep study suggested that shorter and milder winters mean lambs do not need to put on as much as weight as they once did in order to survive their first year of life, a factor that could also impact fish populations. Nonetheless the researchers say the shift could alter food chains, with apex predators being particularly affected by shrinking prey.

2,000 Indonesian islands may disappear

At least 2,000 small islands across archipelagic Indonesia may disappear by 2030 as a consequence of excessive mining and other environment-damaging activities. Indonesia has already lost 24 of its more than 17,500 islands.

Global warming may increase terrorism

Global warming could destabilize “struggling and poor” countries around the world, prompting mass migrations and creating breeding grounds for terrorists. People are likely to flee destabilized countries, and some may turn to terrorism. The conditions exacerbated by the effects of climate change could increase the pool of potential recruits into terrorist activity. According to the chairman of the National Intelligence Council in the US, economy refugees will perceive additional reasons to flee their homes because of harsher climates. That will put pressure on countries receiving refugees, many of which will have neither the resources nor interest to host these climate migrants.

The Alps may melt completely

Glaciers are retreating in warm, dry winters and hotter summers caused by global warming, and although snowfall in the 2008-2009 ski seasons was substantial, overall recent years have seen less snow at low altitudes, and receding glaciers and melting permafrost higher up – with a significant impact on winter tourism activities. It is predicted that the glaciers will be gone between 2030 and 2050. Italy and Switzerland have decided to redraw their border after global warming dissolved Alpine glaciers that marked out the frontier between the two countries.

The Maldives may be submerged

The lowest and flattest country in the world is suffering coastal erosion, and could find itself submerged if sea levels carry on rising, with the islands growing smaller and smaller. This extreme prediction is a devastating prospect for residents and bad news for the tourists who descend on its soft white beaches and warm waters each year. Scientists give it only about one hundred years before it completely disappears into the ocean surrounding it.

Your Global Footprint

I was given a tip of a cool “ecological footprint” to do. I wanted to see how students stacked up since most of us are forced to live pretty frugally. This one is way cooler than the boring number crunchers…it has animations and stuff. Yay!

I input data that I thought reflected an average student who lived near campus in a flat of five people, who mainly walked except for stuff like getting flat groceries, and who returned home to another city in the breaks. This is the result below!

Stink! You can do your own here. Its pretty fun actually and I found it quite revealing. Go to it!

Controversy!

In defense of these claims that I stretched from green to red to commie, I found the “ten reasons” list linked from a site called “The Green Tree has Red roots”.

“What do students and staff get for this money? Part of the Green agenda deals with energy conservation and environmental issues on campus. Dig deeper and see how the Greens ally universities with far Left activists—without full disclosure, except to a handful of individuals on the Eco Task Force.

On my campus, “Project Eco Dawgs” has already laid the groundwork by publishing a guide that embraces the Talloires Declaration by “university leaders” declaring the “environmental pollution and degradation, and the depletion of natural resources” . . . “are caused by inequitable and unsustainable production and consumption patterns that aggravate poverty in many regions of the world.” The Red faction of the Green movement has been preaching this vision of apocalypse for decades, while market capitalism has actually diminished poverty in “many regions of the world”

HAHA are you serious? Capitalism has raped and pillaged the world and left people dying in the dirt all over. Take coffee for example. That’s why there is a fair trade movement. People get paid less per kilo than it takes to grow the coffee because of capitalism. So what do some farmers do instead? Plant coca – you know, what they make cocaine from. So yeah capitalism, poverty, drugs, or yeah, fair trade. Take your pick ay.

“Keep your eyes on the “Sustainability” menu: lots of Greenery, with a healthy offering of “labor rights,” “reproductive rights” (abortion), domestic violence, and assaults on “late capitalism.”

Not getting the point here about domestic violence – think we all agree that its bad right? But stretching green to abortion is ridiculous.

Where did this madness come from? Here’s the website: note the link to the top ten list at the bottom: Green Tree has Red Roots

I love this reply so I’m gonna cut and paste it here too:

“I didn’t detect any “red roots” when I visited SIU’s sustainability web site. The focus seems to be on making the campus operations more efficent, promoting the use of renewable energy, incorporating green principles into the curriculum and using natural resources wisely.

Sounds like a pretty good proposition to me. In fact, Wal-Mart, Shell, GE (“Eco-imagination”), BP and other Fortune 500 companies are embracing sustainability. I think it is good that SIU is jumping on the bandwagon.”

Here here! Get a grip “sustainabilty scam” subscribers!! Its all good. Hysteria = bad. Planet Earth = good!

Stay tuned for a podcast covering this very issue. Coming soon!

Green is the new Red

I’m just going to publish this as is. It’s weird and disturbing. I mean, even if you don’t believe in global warming/climate change and you don’t think we can use up all our resources, isn’t there something to be said for not having huge piles of garbage all over the world and for preserving as much pretty wilderness as possible by, for example, not having to build more power plants. Like, come on…

Sustainability is a Waste
10 Reasons to Oppose the Sustainability Movement on Your Campus

Sounds to me like theyre a bit colour-blind

September 03, 2009 By Peter Wood and Ashley Thorne (can’t believe these peeps attached their name to this), on The National Association of Scholars website. The article can be found here

1. Sustainability is deceptive.

Sustainability is not just about practicing good stewardship of the environment. It is also a tool to advance progressive politics and ideology. The sustainability movement is a way for people with a hugely unpopular political program to get into positions of influence so that they can advance their cause despite lack of public support. On many campuses sustainability is marketed to students as saving energy and improving the environment, but turns out to involve projects that have nothing to do with the environment.

2. Sustainability is coercive.
Sustainability advocates assume that no one can legitimately disagree with their message. They therefore have no qualms about imposing their politics on students, faculty, and staff. If someone does disagree, they attack that person’s motives and ignore his actual point.

3. Sustainability is closed-minded.

Sustainability advocates put their hands over their ears and refuse to listen to people who point out contrary facts or who have different arguments. Sustainability in this sense is an ideology: it shuts out or explains away whatever doesn’t fit with its premise.

4. Sustainability is a pseudo-religion.

Some sustainability advocates tip over the edge of ideology into apocalyptic religion, complete with end-of-the-world scenarios, calls to repent, a new eco-morality, and worship of the Earth. This is a religion that misappropriates the ideas of “ethics,” ‘justice,” “social mandate,” and “the right thing” to shame people into compliance.

5. Sustainability distorts higher education.

Sustainability advocates don’t want to just add sustainability to the curriculum; they want to make it “the foundation of all learning and practice in higher education.” How exactly does sustainability help you learn calculus, read Homer, or score well on the LSAT?  College is also about preparing for adult responsibilities. How does making sustainability the foundation of higher education prepare you for those aspects of life not encompassed by recycling, green grocery bags, and compact fluorescent light bulbs?

6. Sustainability shrinks freedom.

Sustainability advocates don’t like free markets or personal liberty. They believe markets ignore long-term costs and people typically make bad choices. Instead of liberty, sustainability advocates praise “social justice” and “equitable distribution of resources” as the foundation of a sustainable society. These terms may sound nice but they point to governmental control over everyday life. Ultimately, the sustainability movement is about taking away your right to think and act for yourself.

7. Sustainability tries to program you.

The proponents of sustainability aim to have “all students engaged as effective change agents in our sustainability challenges.” This is another way of narrowing your education. Can’t students simply be students? What if your goal is to learn something about the world before attempting to change it?

8. Sustainability is anti-rational.

Some sustainability advocates—we call them sustainatopians—want to instill in students an emotional way of knowing the world that is “separate from the rational.” Many of them believe the industrial revolution was a mistake and would like to move beyond reason and science in favor of a combination of intuition and empathy. That runs counter to the basic purpose of higher education.

9. Sustainability bypasses the faculty.

Historically, college teachers have made the key decisions about what they teach. The sustainability movement on campus, however, took off when college administrators decided to push it. So far, 650 college presidents have signed a commitment to combat global warming and infuse sustainability into the curriculum.

10. Sustainability is wasteful.

Sustainability advocates pride themselves on taking the long view and minimizing waste. In fact the movement has a long history of extravagant and false predictions about natural resources, environmental perils, and the consequences of human actions. These predictions have resulted in vastly wasteful expenditures and diversions of human time and talent. Convincing college students to squander their opportunity for a real education is only the most recent example.

That honestly made me shudder to read. By the way, this article as published on the “National Association of Scholars” website which has this to say about themselves:

“The NAS today is higher education’s most vigilant watchdog. We stand for intellectual integrity in the curriculum, in the classroom, and across the campus—and we respond when colleges and universities fall short of the mark. We uphold the principle of individual merit and oppose racial, gender, and other group preferences. And we regard the Western intellectual heritage as the indispensable foundation of American higher education.”

I also read somewhere else online that when people say “Green” they actually mean “Red”, as in Commie – that’s right, this is a big left-wing communist plot to bring people to their capitalist knees by caring for the planet…

riiiiighht…..

Who said plastic bags were no good…

With all the bad press plastic shopping bags have been getting lately (I dont think there’s been good press about the plastic bags we use everyday since they were invented in 1965).

Its interesting to note that when they were  first being mass-produced, plastic shopping bags were lauded as an environmental boon rather than burden. The use of plastics for bagging and carrying needs was justified under the premise that the paper bag production industry destroyed forests and wildlife habitats! Now, of course, we see that plastic bags are in fact the cholesterol clogging the arteries of nature herself. Cutting down trees to make bags,  however, seems just as ridiculous in its own way – hey, thats the price of convenience, right? Anyways, here’s something involving plastic bags which brings things to life – rather than the usual killing and suffocating and whatnot. Oh the irony!

Good dog!

An awesome piece of streetart borrowed from the guys over at Wooster Collective showing an awesome dog made of plastic bags – that pops up to life everytime subway trains run past, blowing air from the vents below!

badass.

Plastic Bag Trek – The Next Generation

Hola!  Trawling the internet just for you, I have now come up with the specific plastic bag facts for New Zealand – we use almost one billion bags per year and we recycle only 23% of ALL plastics.

I heard a great story on the news awhile ago and I promised to share it, so here it is (courtesy of NZ Herald)

Basically, this guy, Valentine Picton, is in the business of recycling plastic.

The 61-year-old, who has been in the recycling business for 35 years, said his business was “the solution to the pollution”.

He uses plastic shopping bags to manufacture stuff like cable reel, garden edging and road barriers.

“It takes between 450kg and 1500kg of plastic bags to make a single cable reel, so Mr Picton gets through thousands of tonnes of plastic a year.”

He will take any bag, in any condition – it doesn’t even need to be clean! Here’s the thing though, this fellow has to import plastic from the USA because he can’t get enough of it here!

“There’s no need to have any shopping bags going to landfill,” he said.

“I could use every shopping bag in the country. We are seeing all this waste because we don’t have the sense to collect our plastic bags in a bag outside [the supermarket].”

Abyssmal. Kudos to the Warehouse, however, who recycle plastic bags and pallet wrap through Picton’s business.

“…he wished more retailers would follow the example of The Warehouse, which sends him enough plastic bags and pallet wrap each year to make thousands of metres of plastic cable covering.”

Having worked in another of New Zealand’s large retail stores, I can tell you that tonnes and tonnes of plastic are wasted. For example, every bra came in its own separate plastic bag, to be then unpacked and hung on the shelf! The store technically was supposed to be recycling plastic, but people were mostly too lazy to do it and so it went straight in the skip! The Chief Executive of the Packaging Council had this to say:

“A lot of what goes on is what the consumer doesn’t see…A lot of the packaging that comes in is unwrapped before the product even goes on the shelf. It’s about finding ways of recycling that packaging.”

Green Party MP Nandor Tanczos weighed in with this comment:

“We need to change our whole culture on these things.”

What do you guys out there think about this? Comsume and recycle? Or is plastic just never fantastic?

Read the whole NZ Herald article here.

Plastic Bags….AAAAAH!!!

Of course we’ve all heard the message by now about plastic bags, as in, they’re bad. Most of you probably own one or two reusable shopping bags – whether you remember to use them or not is another matter.

Plastic bags, however, aren’t all bad. For one thing, most of use reuse them for rubbish bags and stuff (I am slightly worried what we will do if we get rid of plastic bags…buying bags specifically for rubbish seems a little crazy to me). There is also a New Zealand company that recycles plastic shopping bags to make stuff – I’ll be profiling that guy and his business in a later post.

All of that aside though, there remains one issue…

What the heck can I do with that drawer/cupboard/nook/corner filled with millions of plastic bags?!!!

I have the answer!!! Lots of small businesses rely on donated bags to reduce costs and love the world. One place I take my bags to is Hintons fruit and vege shop on corner of Blacks Road and North Road. They always seem desperate for bags and they’re friendly AND they have cheap vege!

I went there recently with a few dozen bags, and was thanked with, quote,

” I llloooove you, my favourite darling one.”

Doesn’t come much better than that! Cleaned out the excess from my house, recycled and got showered with praise!

Take them your clean plastic grocery bags!

My Carbon Footprint is Bigger than Yours

You have probably figured out by now, that I’m not exactly the most passionate environmentalist. Like, I’ll do it, but I don’t wanna constantly talk about it and think about it all day long. That’s a major bummer if you ask me and it puts people off. Having said that, this is seriously taking ambivlance too far. WTF is all I can say.

Blurb :

“My Carbon Footprint is Bigger Than Yours. This is the perfect gift to annoy radical environmentalists and liberals. This is a great conservative gift.”

ARE YOU INSANE?

The Age of Stupid – Movie Release

Seems like a lotta people are talking bout this movie. It’s a docu-drama type film giving a different angle on climate change.  And it’s released in Dunedin tomorrow! The Thursday showings are sold out so I guess that’s a good indication!

Here’s the info from their FB page:

The Age of Stupid is the new four-year epic from McLibel director Franny Armstrong. Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?

Here’s the link to the FB page

Here’s the screening info:

Hoyts Dunedin, NZ
Thu 20 Aug 6.30 pm (SOLD OUT!)
Fri 21 Aug 6:30 pm 8.30 pm (Lizzie (producer) will be doing a Q & A at the 8.30pm screening)
Sat 22 Aug 6:30 pm 8:30 pm (Lizzie will be doing a Q & A at the 8.30pm screening)
Sun 23 Aug 6:30 pm 8:30 pm
Mon 24 Aug 6:30 pm 8:30 pm
Tue 25 Aug 6:30 pm 8:30 pm
Wed 26 Aug 6:30 pm 8:30 pm

And here’s the trailer:

Hypermiling

Ok, hypermiling.

What is it? Does it work? Is it too much hard work?

Hypermiling is a driving philosophy which aims to get more ‘mileage’ (kilometrage?) from each litre of petrol. A lot of cars do about 10 kms a litre. Hardcore hypermilers brag about their fuel economy, and some claim as high as 40 to 50km per litre. Some people do it to reduce emissions, but the big motivation is saving money (yay!).

Basically, its a series of techniques, all of which save varying amounts of fuel, resulting in big savings.

Here we go:

Drive a little slower. At a minimum, stick to the speed limit, but even better, when appropriate, like on a quiet road, drive 5 or 10kms slower. A leisurely drive at 90kmh is not only much safer, but hugely more efficient. Saving: when driving over 100kph, every 10kph extra = 7% decrease in fuel economy

Smooth, steady driving is the way to go. Avoid sudden starts and sharp stops. One thing to consider is that by not speeding, you get more green lights, which means less stops and starts. Apparently engines inject 50% too much fuel on full acceleration, so moderate acceleration is more efficient.

Keep tyres at maximum recommended pressure. They will use less energy to roll. Keep checking them thoughout the year, and remember the pressure changes with temperature. Saving: about 3.3%

Avoid idling. If you will be sitting for more than 30 seconds, even at a traffic light, it is better to turn the car off and restart it. This is a little extreme when driving round town, but when waiting on someone or going to the drive-through, it pays to keep this in mind.

Change up to higher gear as soon as possible, especially into 5th gear when driving long distance.

Aerodynamics. At 100km/h, air drag accounts for about 66% or more of all resistance, so some people modify their vehicles to be more aerodynamic. There are moderate ways to do this such as fold-in mirrors, removing roof rack, smooth hubcaps, and installing a rear wing.

Remove all extra weight from your vehicle. Check the boot, the backseat and the floor. If you have a roof rack, remove it when you are not using it. It adds weight and affects aerodynamics. Saving: 50kg extra weight reduces efficiency 1-2%

Keep your vehicle well-maintained. Use the correct fuel, the correct oil, make sure your spark plugs and filters are clean. Your vehicle will run better and be more efficient. Saving: replace air filter – up to 10%

Cruise. If you have it, use cruise control on flat roads to maintain steady speed.

Clean your car. Crazy, but true! It makes your car more aerodynamic. Saving: 7% ! (according to Engineer Tom Wagner, Jr. reported to Stretcher.com)

Windows vs AC. As previously blogged here, it is more efficient to use your air conditioning when driving at high speeds, because of the extra drag caused by having your windows open. Keep your windows down around town though.

Make less trips. This one is kind of “duh”, but apart from the fact you are driving less, there is another reason to do this.  Your engine uses more fuel cold, so when you do all your driving at once your engine is warmer longer. Saving: Half! Several short trips all begun with a cold start can use twice as much fuel as a single, longer trip that covers the same distance!!!

So there you go! EASY!

It’s a little difficult to tell where these tips originally came from. . . it seems a lot of people online have republished them as there own without identifying a source. Tsk tsk. This is possibly the original source.

AND, if you are really keen on this whole idea, there is a community just for you!