Heckuva job, Dubby!
Not shockingly, GWB has again pissed off the entire planet, leaving it in the lurch — our global warming emergency gets worse every day and finally … FINALLY … the Dub agrees to discuss it … sorta. We’ve gotten so desperate on this topic that Dubby acknowledging climate change in any way is being touted as a “sea change” of immense proportions — I wouldn’t count on it. The realists are calling it what it is … a PR stunt by a profiteering oil man. He would probably have been better off keeping mum for the next months and avoiding the topic altogether than proposing to “lead the world” by doing diddly squat — it just makes him look, familiarly, deranged.
Your “must read” in this short collection is the last one — read it, share it, discuss it … because it has to get “personal” before it will capture our imagination. The end of Christmas Tree’s, penguins, koalas and wildflowers, and the beginning of horrific pandemics, should do the trick … and that’s just the beginning.
Jude
Bush’s Climate Charade
Dan Froomkin, WaPo
Monday, October 1, 2007
[open for links]
The novelty of President Bush appearing to take climate change seriously seems to have worn off, leaving journalists to examine what he actually proposed last week. It wasn’t much.
Today Bush finds himself in an increasingly familiar position: Isolated, discredited, mistrusted and mocked.
John M. Broder writes in the New York Times:
- “President Bush said Friday that the nations that contribute most to global warming should all set goals for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. But he did not specify what those goals should be and repeated his stand that nations should not be held to mandatory targets for capping carbon dioxide emissions.
“At the close of a two-day meeting here of 16 major carbon-emitting nations, Mr. Bush also proposed an international fund to help developing nations benefit from clean energy technology. He instructed the Treasury Department to begin work on the proposal, but the administration offered no details. . . .
“The delegates to the conference listened impassively to Mr. Bush’s 20-minute address, interrupting him with applause only once, when he pledged that the United States would participate in global warming negotiations overseen by the United Nations. . . .
“Mr. Bush quickly left the auditorium after delivering his remarks, which ended 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Some of the delegates, representing the major industrialized nations plus Brazil, China, India and South Africa, said they were less than impressed.”
Peter Baker and Juliet Eilperin write in The Washington Post: “The conference represented the most serious effort Bush has made to play an international leadership role on climate change.”
And yet, “[t]he much-anticipated speech disappointed critics looking for more tangible proposals. Daniel J. Weiss, an analyst at the liberal Center for American Progress, said Bush essentially was relying ‘on waving a magic technology wand’ with measures that ‘won’t make a dent in global warming.’ John Passacantando, executive director of Greenpeace USA, said Bush’s speech underscored ‘his do-nothing approach to global warming’ and proved that ‘his position is a lie’ that no one believes.
- “‘The president says his goals are aspirational, but his goals are really procrastinational,’ said Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of a new House committee on global warming. ‘The U.N. is saying the planet is urgently sick, and the Bush administration is saying, “Take two aspirin and call me when I leave office.” ‘”
Deborah Zabarenko and Jeff Mason write for Reuters:
- “Some of the world’s biggest greenhouse polluters took aim at President George W. Bush on Friday, calling him ‘isolated’ and questioning his leadership on the problem of global warming. . . .
“‘It is striking that the (Bush) administration at the moment in the international conversation seems to be pretty isolated,’ said John Ashton, Britain’s climate envoy. ‘I think that the argument that we can do this through voluntary approaches is now pretty much discredited internationally.’” ++
Europeans angry after Bush climate speech ‘charade’
Ā· US isolated as China and India refuse to back policy
Ā· President claims he can lead world on emissions
Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian
Saturday September 29 2007
George Bush was castigated by European diplomats and found himself isolated yesterday after a special conference on climate change ended without any progress.
European ministers, diplomats and officials attending the Washington conference were scathing, particularly in private, over Mr Bush’s failure once again to commit to binding action on climate change.
Although the US and Britain have been at odds over the environment since the early days of the Bush administration, the gap has never been as wide as yesterday.
Britain and almost all other European countries, including Germany and France, want mandatory targets for reducing greenhouse emissions. Mr Bush, while talking yesterday about a “new approach” and “a historic undertaking”, remains totally opposed.
The conference, attended by more than 20 countries, including China, India, Britain, France and Germany, broke up with the US isolated, according to non-Americans attending. One of those present said even China and India, two of the biggest polluters, accepted that the voluntary approach proposed by the US was untenable and favoured binding measures, even though they disagreed with the Europeans over how this would be achieved.
A senior European diplomat attending the conference, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the meeting confirmed European suspicions that it had been intended by Mr Bush as a spoiler for a major UN conference on climate change in Bali in December.
“It was a total charade and has been exposed as a charade,” the diplomat said. “I have never heard a more humiliating speech by a major leader. He [Mr Bush] was trying to present himself as a leader while showing no sign of leadership. It was a total failure.”
John Ashton, Britain’s special envoy on climate change, who attended the conference, said: “It is striking here how isolated the US has become on this issue. There is no support among the industrialised countries for the proposition that we should proceed on the basis of voluntary commitments.
“The most inspiring example of leadership this week was the speech on Monday at the UN by Arnold Schwarzenegger.”
The governor of California is already putting into action in the state policies to reduce carbon emissions.
Other European governments expressed similar sentiments.
Although many of those attending had predicted the conference would break up without significant agreement, there had been hopes that Mr Bush, in search of a legacy, might produce a surprise. Instead, he stuck to his previous position, shunning mandatory caps in favour of clean coal, nuclear power and developing clean energy technology.
In contrast with the early years of his presidency when he expressed scepticism about climate change and whether humans were responsible, Mr Bush acknowledged yesterday “energy security and climate change are two of the great challenges of our time. The United States takes these challenges seriously.”
He added: “Our guiding principle is clear: we must lead the world to produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and we must do it in a way that does not undermine economic growth or prevent nations from delivering greater prosperity.”
Instead of mandatory caps, he emphasised a need to shift to clean coal, nuclear energy and new clean technology. He also proposed a new international technology fund but did not say how much the US would put into it. He reiterated a need for Americans to shift from oil to ethanol for their cars. “We’re working to develop next-generation plug-in hybrids that will be able to travel nearly 40 miles without using a drop of gasoline. And your automobile doesn’t have to look like a golf cart,” he said.
Elizabeth Bast, of Friends of the Earth, described the conference as a diversion. “We have heard it before. He put a huge emphasis on technology and does not speak to binding targets, and there is a great emphasis on coal and nuclear energy,” she said.
Backstory
Many US states have embarked on their own programmes, with California leading the way. The governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has signed a law requiring a 25% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, with penalties for industries that do not comply.
California’s three biggest utilities must produce at least 20% of their electricity using renewable sources by 2010. ++
Motives behind Bush’s climate summit
Critics say Mr Bush is trying to outmanoeuvre the UN climate talks
Roger Harrabin, Environment Analyst, BBC News
9/27/07
Delegates from the world’s top 16 polluting nations are in Washington for a controversial climate change meeting, organised by President Bush.
The meeting will discuss priorities for technology and energy security, and will try to establish some ground rules for negotiating a long-term goal for cutting emissions.
The meeting has been officially welcomed by EU officials, but some privately fear that President Bush may be trying to undermine UN negotiations on the issue by striking a weak deal with the Chinese, under which both sides agree targets that are voluntary, not binding.
It is significant that for a conference addressed by the president and hosted by the secretary of state, many of the participants have sent junior ministers or just officials.
The gathering comes as pressure is building on the president. The Democrat leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate both wrote to Mr Bush this week asking him to agree mandatory carbon dioxide (CO2) targets, and to arrange a cap-and-trade system for American industry, like the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
He first mooted this conference just before the G8 meeting in the summer when he was under intense pressure to sign up to mandatory emissions targets.
Other world leaders were open-mouthed - and some of the pressure was eased.
‘PR exercise’
The question now is what the meeting will deliver.
Only a few of the summit’s sessions will be open to the media
The EU delegates are not expecting any conclusive outcomes. Indeed, there is nothing on the agenda that suggest one might emerge.
Climate analyst Phil Clapp, of the National Environmental Trust, said he believed the meeting had originally been devised to get Mr Bush off the hook at the G8 summit, but had turned into a PR exercise.
There are only two sessions open to the media. The first showcases Condoleeza Rice, timed for Friday’s papers.
The other promotes Mr Bush, in time for Saturday’s papers. There is no session in which any visiting delegate has been put before the press corps.
Former presidential candidate John Kerry told BBC News that he hoped the meeting would be constructive, but he expected real advance on climate to come from the Congress and not from the White House.
“Voluntary hasn’t worked and it won’t work and we don’t have time to play games anymore. There has to be a mandatory reduction requirement, we all have to be part of it and, frankly, the United States needs to lead,” he said.
“We are moving in the Congress; we are putting together legislation; we’ve been working very hard on it these last months. We will try to adopt a mandatory standard in the Congress and we’re going to try to do it before next year is out.”
Saleem ul-Huq, a Bangladeshi academic from the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), based in London, condemned the event.
He said that holding a meeting excluding poor countries that would be most affected by a warming world was like a slave traders’ meeting called to discuss the abolition of slavery. ++
Rice Defends Bush Climate Talks
Andy Rowell, PriceOfOil
September 28th, 2007
Poor old Condi, being sent to bat for the President again. Yesterday the poor US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, had to defend Bush’s climate change conference in Washington against accusations that it was a spoiler intended to undermine UN efforts to secure a global compromise.
As activists including OCI’s Director, Steve Kretzmann were arrested outside with banners stating “Bush: Wrong Way on Global Warming”, Condi defended her boss.
She was speaking at the opening of the two-day “Major Emitters” conference, which is being attended by more than 20 of the world’s biggest polluters, including China, India and Russia, as well as Britain, France and Germany. Together they account for 90% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Rice said: “We need to answer just one fundamental question: what kind of world do we wish to inhabit and what kind of world do we wish to pass on to future generations?” But she did nothing to dispel scepticism from EU representatives about the value of the conference.
Bush is to speak at the conference today. Now that should be exciting. Will the last one awake please turn out the lightsā¦ ++
Top 100 Ways Global Warming Will Change Your Life
Center for American Progress via Alternet
October 1, 2007
[open for links]
Say Goodbye to French Wines. Wacky temperatures and rain cycles brought on by global warming are threatening something very important: Wine. Scientists believe global warming will “shift viticultural regions toward the poles, cooler coastal zones and higher elevations.” What that means in regular language: Get ready to say bye-bye to French Bordeaux and hello to British champagne. [LA Times]
Say Goodbye to Light and Dry Wines. Warmer temperatures mean grapes in California and France develop their sugars too quickly, well before their other flavors. As a result, growers are forced to either a) leave the grapes on the vines longer, which dramatically raises the alcoholic content of the fruit or b) pick the grapes too soon and make overly sweet wine that tastes like jam. [Washington Post]
Say Goodbye to Pinot Noir. The reason you adore pinot noir is that it comes from a notoriously temperamental thin-skinned grape that thrives in cool climates. Warmer temperatures are already damaging the pinots from Oregon, “baking away” the grape’s berry flavors. [Bloomberg]
Say Goodbye to Baseball. The future of the ash tree — from which all baseball bats are made — is in danger of disappearing, thanks to a combination of killer beetles and global warming. [NY Times]
Say Goodbye to Christmas Trees. The Pine Bark Beetle, which feeds on and kills pine trees, used to be held in control by cold winter temperatures. Now the species is thriving and killing off entire forests in British Columbia, unchecked. [Seattle Post Intelligencer]
Say Goodbye to the Beautiful Alaska Vacation. Warmer weather allowed Spruce Bark Beetles to live longer, hardier lives in the forests of Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, where they killed off a section of spruce forest the size of Connecticut . [Alaska Science Forum]
Say Goodbye to Fly Fishing. As water temperatures continue to rise, researchers say rainbow trout, “already at the southern limits” of their temperature ranges in the Appalachian mountains, could disappear there over the next century. [Softpedia]
Say Goodbye to Ski Competitions. Unusually warmer winters caused the International Ski Federation to cancel last year’s Alpine skiing World Cup and opening races in Sƶlden, Austria. Skiers are also hard-pressed now to find places for year-round training. Olympic gold medalist Anja Paerson: “Of course we’re all very worried about the future of our sport. Every year we have more trouble finding places to train.” [NY Times]
Say Goodbye to Ski Vacations. Slopes on the East Coast last year closed months ahead of time due to warmer weather, some losing as much as a third of their season. [Washington Post]
Say Hello to Really Tacky Fake Ski Vacations. Weiner Air Force and former House Majority Leader Dick Armey are building a year-round ski resort in Texas, with “wet, white Astroturf with bristles” standing in for snow to make up for all the closed resorts around the country. [WSJ]
Say Goodbye to That Snorkeling Vacation. The elkhorn coral which used to line the floor of the Caribbean are nearly gone, “victims of pollution, warmer water and acidification from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide seeping into oceans.” [Denver Post]
Say Goodbye to That Tropical Island Vacation. Indonesia’s environment minister announced this year that scientific studies estimate about 2,000 of the country’s lush tropical islands could disappear by 2030 due to rising sea levels. [ABC News]
Say Goodbye to Cool Cultural Landmarks. The World Monuments Fund recently added “global warming” as a threat in their list of the top 100 threatened cultural landmarks. “On Herschel Island, Canada, melting permafrost threatens ancient Inuit sites and a historic whaling town. In Chinguetti, Mauritania, the desert is encroaching on an ancient mosque. In Antarctica , a hut once used by British explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott has survived almost a century of freezing conditions but is now in danger of being engulfed by increasingly heavy snows.” [AP]
Say Goodbye to Salmon Dinners. Get ready for a lot more chicken dinners: Wild pacific salmon have already vanished from 40 percent of their traditional habitats in the Northwest and the NRDC warns warmer temperatures are going to erase 41 percent of their habitat by 2090. [ENS]
Say Goodbye to Lobster Dinners. Lobsters thrive in the chilly waters of New England, but recent numbers show that as those waters have warmed up, “the big-clawed American lobster — prized for its delicate, sweet flesh — has been withering at an alarming rate from New York state to Massachusetts.” [Bangor Times]
Say Goodbye to Discoveries of Sharks That Can Walk. Scientists recently revealed a “lost world” of marine life off the coast of Indonesia, including 20 new species of corals, 8 species of shrimp, a technicolor fish that “flashes” bright pink, yellow, blue, and green hues, and sharks that “walk” on their fins. (” Avon Lady. Candygram.”) However, marine biologists warn the threats posed by global warming means millions of other crazycool sea creatures may become extinct before we ever discover them. [ABC]
Say Goodbye to Meadows of Wildflowers. Scientists think global warming could wipe out a fifth of the wildflower species in the western United States. They’ll be replaced by dominant grasses. [National Wildlife Federation]
Say Goodbye to Guacamole. Scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory predict hotter temps will cause a 40 percent drop in California ’s avocado production over the next 40 years. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab]
Say Goodbye to Mixed Nuts. Guess you’ll have to start eating pretzels at the bar instead: Scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory predict hotter temps will cause a 20 percent drop in California ’s almond and walnut crops over the next 40 years. [Science Daily]
Say Goodbye to French Fries. Scientists from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research say warmer temperatures are killing off wild relatives of potato and peanut plants, “threatening a valuable source of genes necessary to help these food crops fight pests and drought.” [AP]
Say Goodbye to Your Pretty Lawn. Thanks to global warming, dandelions will grow “taller, lusher, and more resilient.” By 2100, the weed will produce 32 percent more seeds and longer hairs, which allow them to spread further in the wind. [LA Times]
Say Hello to More Mosquitoes. Get ready for more mosquitoes. Mosquitoes like to live in drains and sewer puddles. During long dry spells (brought on by higher temperatures) these nasty, stagnant pools become a vital source of water for thirsty birds … which provide a tasty feast for the resident mosquitoes. At the same time, these dry spells “reduce the populations of dragonflies, lacewings, and frogs that eat the mosquitoes.” [Washington Post]
Say Hello to Poison Ivy . You’re gonna need an ocean of calamine lotion. Increased CO2 levels cause poison ivy and other weeds to grow “taller, lusher, and more resilient.” [LA Times]
Say Hello to Bulgarian Hooker Shortages. “Brothel owners in Bulgaria are blaming global warming for staff shortages. They claim their best girls are working in ski resorts because a lack of snow has forced tourists to seek other pleasures.” [Metro UK]
Global Warming Kills the Animals
Species Disappear. The latest report from the World Conservation Union says that a minimum of 40 percent of the world’s species are being threatened … and global warming’s one of the main culprits. [Reuters]
Cannibalistic Polar Bears…. As longer seasons without ice keep polar bears away from food, they start eating each other. [AP]
…And Dying Polar Bears. A recent study completed by the U.S. Geological Survey shows that cannibalism — while brutal — may be the least of the bear’s problems. Many are also drowning, unable to swim in the increased spaces between melting sea ice. Two-thirds of them may be gone by 2050. [National Geographic] [Mongo Bay]
More Bear Attacks. Earlier this year, Moscow warned its citizens to beware of brown bear attacks. In Russia, it’s been too hot in the winter for bears to sleep. When bears can’t hibernate, they get very grouchy and become “unusually aggressive.”[Der Spiegel]
Dying Gray Whales . Save the whales! Global warming is thwarting majestic gray whales’ struggle to recover from their endangered status. In recent years, more gray whales have been washing up on beaches after starving to death. Culprit: Rising ocean temps, which are killing off their food supply. [Washington Post]
Death March of the Penguins. Scientists blame global warming for the declining penguin population, as warmer waters and smaller ice floes force the birds to travel further to find food. “Emperor penguins … have dropped from 300 breeding pairs to just nine in the western Antarctic Peninsula .” [National Geographic] [MSNBC]
Farewell to Frogs. An estimated two-thirds of the 110 known species of harlequin frog in Central and South America have vanished since the 1980s due to the outbreak of a deadly frog fungus … brought on by global warming. Scientist J. Allen Pound: “Disease is the bullet killing frogs, but climate change is pulling the trigger.” [National Geographic]
Farewell to the Arctic Fox. The White Arctic Fox used to rule the colder climes, but as temperatures warm up, its more aggressive cousin, the Red Fox, is moving North and taking over. [Wired]
Farewell to the Walrus. Walrus pups rest on sea ice while their mothers hunt for food. A new study shows more and more abandoned pups are being stranded on floating islands as ice islands melt. Also, sadly, mother walruses are abandoning them to follow the ice further north. [Mongo Bay]
Farewell to Cute Koala Bears. Australia’s Climate Action Network reports that higher temperatures are killing off eucalyptus trees while higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are decreasing the nutritional value of the eucalyptus leaves Koala bears eat. They warn that the cute furry creatures could become extinct in the next few decades. [Science]
Jellyfish Attack. Ouch! At least 30,000 people were stung by jellyfish along the Mediterranean coast last year; some areas boasted more than 10 jellyfish per square foot of water. Thank global warming: Jellyfish generally stay out of the way of swimmers, preferring the warmer, saltier water of the open seas. Hotter temperatures erase the natural temperature barrier between the open sea and the shore. The offshore waters also become more saline, causing the stinging blobs of hurt to move in toward the coastlines (and your unsuspecting legs). [BBC]
Giant Squid Attack. Giant squid — an “aggressive predator” that grows up to 7 feet long and can weigh more than 110 lbs — used to only be found in the warm waters along the Pacific equator. Hotter waters mean today they’re invading the waters of California and even Alaska . [ABC]
Homeless Sheep, Goats, and Bears. Bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and grizzly bears are becoming homeless, due to the disappearance of the alpine meadows in Glacier National Park . [AP]
Homeless Deer and Marsh Rabbits. The deer and marsh rabbits in the Florida Keys also face a housing crisis, as water levels rise and warmer temperatures destroy coastal prairies and freshwater marsh habitats. [AP]
Gender-Bended Lizards. Scientists in Australia found warmer temperatures caused baby bearded dragon lizards to change from males to females while still in their eggs, making it harder for them to find mates. Trippy. [ABC AU]
More Stray Kitties. Global warming has extended the cat-breeding season beyond spring, which is the usual time for a kitten boom. The kittens are often homeless and end up in animal shelters. And remember, “The trouble with a kitten is that/ Eventually it becomes a cat.” [NBC-10: Philadelphia] [Ogden Nash]
Suffocating the Lemmings. Lemmings like to burrow under the snow when they hibernate for the winter. Warmer temperatures cause rain to fall during the winter months, where it freezes into a hard sheet of ice above the sleeping lemmings, who can’t crack their way out come spring. [Denver Post]
Goodbye to Cod. Cod in the North Sea are dying out. The warmer waters kill off the plankton the cod eat, making those ones that survive smaller. The warmer waters also mean the poor dears have become “less successful at mating and reproducing.” [MSNBC]
Birds around the World. Recent research found that “up to 72 percent of bird species in northeastern Australia and more than a third in Europe could go extinct due to global warming.” [Monga Bay]
Birds on the Coast. Hundreds of Pacific seabirds — such as common murres, auklets, and tufted puffins — washed ashore last year after starving to death. Scientists blame global warming which led to less plankton, which led to fewer small fish for the birds to eat. [San Francisco Chronicle]
Birds in your Backyard. A report by the National Audubon Society found that birds such as the bobwhite and field sparrow are dying thanks to global warming, as higher temperatures mess with their migration schedules. With vital food stocks peaking earlier and earlier, many migratory birds get to the party too late and can’t find enough to eat. [CNN] [ABC News]
Death to a Snail. The Aldabra banded snail is officially extinct. Existing only on an atoll 426 kilometers northwest of the northern tip of Madagascar , the snail died out after warmer weather cut the rainfall in its habitat. [Monga Bay]
Global Warming Kills the Planet
Greenland’s Melting. Greenland is melting at a rate of 52 cubic miles per year — much faster than once predicted. If Greenland ’s entire 2.5 million cubic kilometers of ice were to melt, it would lead to a global sea level rise of 7.2 meters, or more than 23 feet. [LA Times]
Less Ice in the Arctic . The amount of ice in the Arctic at the end of the 2005 summer “was the smallest seen in 27 years of satellite imaging, and probably the smallest in 100 years.” Experts said it’s the strongest evidence of global warming in the Arctic thus far. [Washington Post]
The Northwest Passage Becomes a Reality. Remember the ” Northwest Passage “? For centuries, explorers were obsessed with the almost-mythical idea of northern sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific. Well…it’s here. So much of the ice cover in the Arctic disappeared this summer that ships were able to take recreational trips through the Arctic, and scientists say so much of the ice cover will disappear in upcoming years that the passage could be open to commercial shipping by 2020. [CNN]
Ice Shelf in Antarctica Bites the Dust. In 2002, a chunk of ice in Antarctica larger than the state of Rhode Island collapsed into the sea. British and Belgian scientists said the chunk was weakened by warm winds blowing over the shelf … and that the winds were caused by global warming. [ENS]
Ice Shelf in Canada Bites the Dust. In 2005, a giant chunk of ice the size of Manhattan broke off of a Canadian ice shelf and began free floating westward, putting oil drilling operations in peril. [Reuters]
Say Farewell to Glaciers. “In Glacier National Park, the number of glaciers in the park has dropped from 150 to 26 since 1850. Some project that none will be left within 25 to 30 years.” [AP]
The Green, Green Grass of Antarctica . Grass has started to grow in Antarctica in areas formerly covered by ice sheets and glaciers. While Antarctic hair grass has grown before in isolated tufts, warmer temperatures allow it to take over larger and larger areas and, for the first time, survive through the winter. [UK Times]
The Swiss Foothills. Late last summer, a rock the size of two Empire State Buildings in the Swiss Alps collapsed onto the canyon floor nearly 700 feet below. The reason? Melting glaciers. [MSNBC]
Giant Seas in Africa. Global warming may unleash giant “sand seas” in Africa — giant fields of sand dunes with no vegetation — as a shortage of rainfall and increasing winds may “reactivate” the now-stable Kalahari dune fields. That means farewell to local vegetation, animals, and any tourism in the areas. [National Geographic]
Florida’s National Marine Sanctuary in Trouble. Global warming is “bleaching” the coral in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, killing the coral, tourism, and local fish that live among the coral for protection. [Washington Post]
The Oceans are Turning to Acid. It sounds like a really bad sci-fi movie, but it’s true: The oceans are turning to acid! Oceans absorb CO2 which, when mixed with seawater, turns to a weak carbonic acid. Calcium from eroded rocks creates a “natural buffer” against the acid, and most marine life is “finely tuned” to the current balance. As we produce more and more CO2, we throw the whole balance out of whack and the oceans turn to acid. [CS Monitor]
Say Goodbye to the Great Barrier Reef . According to the U.N., the Great Barrier Reef will disappear within decades as “warmer, more acidic seas could severely bleach coral in the world-famous reef as early as 2030.” [CBC News]
Mediterranean Sea? .Try the Dead Sea. Italian experts say thanks to faster evaporation and rising temperatures, the Mediterranean Sea is quickly turning into “a salty and stagnant sea.” The hot, salty water “could doom many of the sea’s plant and animal species and ravage the fishing industry.” [AP]
A Sacred River Dries UpThe sacred Ganges River in India is beginning to run dry. The Ganges is fed by the Gangotri glacier, which is today “shrinking at a rate of 40 yards a year, nearly twice as fast as two decades ago.” Scientists warn the glacier could be gone as soon as 2030. [Washington Post]
Disappearing African Rivers Geologists recently projected a 10 percent to 20 percent drop in rainfall in northwestern and southern Africa by 2070. That would leave Botswana with just 23 percent of the river it has now; Cape Town would be left with just 42 percent of its river water. [National Geographic]
Suddenly Vanishing Lakes. What happened to the five-acre glacial lake in Southern Chile ? In March, it was there. In May, it was … gone. Scientists blame global warming. [BBC News]
Goodbye to the Mangrove Trees. Next on the global warming hit list: Rising sea levels linked to climate change mean we could lose half of the mangrove trees of the Pacific Isles by the end of the century. [UNEP]
Volcanoes Blow Their Tops. British scientists warn of another possible side effect of climate change: A surge of dangerous volcanic eruptions. [ABC News Australia]
More Hurricanes. Over the past century, the number of hurricanes that strike each year has more than doubled. Scientists blame global warming and the rising temperature of the surface of the seas. [USA Today]
More Floods. During the summer of 2007, Britain suffered its worst flood in 60 years. Scientists point the finger directly at global warming, which changed precipitation patterns and is now causing more “intense rainstorms across parts of the northern hemisphere.” [Independent]
More Fires. Hotter temperatures could also mean larger and more devastating wildfires. This past summer in California , a blaze consumed more than 33,500 acres, or 52 square miles. [ABC] [AP]
More Wildfires. Global warming has also allowed non-native grasses to thrive in the Mojave Desert , where they act as fast-burning fuel for wildfires. [AP]
Thunderstorms Get Dangerous. Hurricanes aside, NASA scientists now say as the world gets hotter, even smaller thunderstorms will pose more severe risks with “deadly lightning, damaging hail and the potential for tornadoes.” [AP]
Higher Sea Levels. Scientists believe sea levels will be three feet higher by the end of the century than they are now. [National Geographic]
Burning Poo. As “shifting rainfall patterns” brought on by global warming “have made northern Senegal drier and hotter,” entire species of trees (like the Dimb Tree) are dying out, making it harder for natives to find firewood. As a result, more people are having to burn cow dung for cooking fires. [MSNBC]
A New Dust Bowl. Calling Mr. Steinbeck. Scientists this year reported the Southwest United States is “expected to dry up notably in this century and could become as arid as the North American dust bowl of the 1930s,” a process which has already started. [ABC News]
Global Warming Makes Us Sicker
People Are Dying. 150,000: Number of people the World Health Organization estimates are killed by climate-change-related issues every year. [Washington Post]
Heat Waves and Strokes. Authorities in China say warmer temperatures are responsible for an uptick in heat-wave associated deaths, such as strokes and heart disease. They calculated between 173 and 685 Chinese citizens per million die every year from ailments related to global warming. [MSNBC]
Death by Smog. Three words you really don’t want in your obit: “Death by Smog.” Yet Canadian doctors say smog-related deaths could rise by 80 percent over the next 20 years. And since warm air is a key ingredient in smog, warmer temperatures will increase smog levels. [CBC News]
More Heart Attacks. Doctors warn global warming will bring more cardiovascular problems, like heart attacks. “‘The hardening of the heart’s arteries is like rust developing on a car,’ said Dr. Gordon Tomaselli, chief of cardiology at Johns Hopkins University. ‘Rust develops much more quickly at warm temperatures and so does atherosclerosis.’” [MSNBC]
More Mold and Ragweed= More Allergies, Asthma. A Harvard Study in 2004 showed higher concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere is good news to allergens like mold and ragweed (they love the stuff). And that means higher rates of asthma attacks, especially in kids. [Globe and Mail]
A Resurgence In Deadly Disease. “The World Health Organization has identified more than 30 new or resurgent diseases in the last three decades, the sort of explosion some experts say has not happened since the Industrial Revolution brought masses of people together in cities.” Why? Global warming “is fueling the spread of epidemics in areas unprepared for the diseases” when “mosquitoes, ticks, mice and other carriers are surviving warmer winters and expanding their range, bringing health threats with them.” Ick. [Washington Post]
More Malaria in Africa . “A WHO report in 2000 found that warming had caused malaria to spread from three districts in western Kenya to 13 and led to epidemics of the disease in Rwanda and Tanzania .” [Washington Post]
Malaria Spreading in Western Europe . The World Health Organization warns warmer temperatures mean malaria-carrying mosquitoes are able to live in northern climes, which could lead to a surge in malaria outside the tropics (aka Europe ). [BBC]
Malaria Spreading in South America . Thanks to global warming, “Malaria has spread to higher altitudes in places like the Colombian Andes, 7,000 feet above sea level.” [An Inconvenient Truth]
Malaria Spreading in Russia . Russians found larvae of the anopheles mosquito, the malaria carrier, for the first time in Moscow last September. [BBC]
Spread of Dengue Fever. Scientists predict warmer temperatures will allow mosquitoes carrying Dengue Fever to travel outside the tropics. Since people in cooler climes lack immunity from previous exposure, that means transmission would be extensive. You get a severe fever, you start spontaneously bleeding, you can die. There is no vaccine. [Science Daily]
Death in the Time of Cholera. Cholera, which thrives in warmer water, appeared in the newly warmed waters of South America in 1991 for the first time in the 20th century. “It swept from Peru across the continent and into Mexico , killing more than 10,000 people.” [Washington Post]Spread of Lyme DiseaseCold weather no longer kills ticks that carry Lyme Disease. Ticks recently began spreading along the coastlines of Scandinavia , which formerly was too cold for them to survive. Cases of Lyme Disease in the area have doubled since the late 1990s. [MSN