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I’ve had some e-mail from readers about something James Lovelock said recently, which I also happened to stumble over, and I think it deserves a little discussion. In the article James Lovelock on the value of sceptics and why Copenhagen was doomed, we find the following tidbit (emphasis added): On what it will take to convince the public . . . → Read More: James Lovelock and the killer PIG ‘Evil twin’ threatens world oceans, scientists warn: The rise in human emissions of carbon dioxide is driving fundamental and dangerous changes in the chemistry and ecosystems of the world’s oceans, international marine scientists warned today. “Ocean conditions are already more extreme than those experienced by marine organisms and ecosystems for millions of years,” the researchers say in the . . . → Read More: Water and The Evil Twin Do you hear the latest news about geoengineering proposals and wonder if you tripped and fell through the looking glass? I do. Adding to the vertigo is an article from New Scientist that asks, Hacking the planet: who decides?: Proposals to cool the Earth by deploying sunshades or sucking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere were . . . → Read More: Geohacking: Who’s in charge? I can’t really think of much to add to this, aside from something really inflammatory that we’ll all regret, some sooner . . . → Read More: xkcd explains climate change communications The semantic hair splitting that we see in energy and climate discussions can be incredibly eroding at times. A classic case is highlighted in this article from Le Monde, Washington considers a decline of world oil production as of 2011: The U.S. Department of Energy admits that “a chance exists that we may experience a decline” . . . → Read More: Peak hair splitting Scientists Call for ‘Climate Intervention’ Research With ‘Humility’: An international group of scientists, ethicists, and governance experts meeting here this week has agreed that research into large-scale modification of the planet is “indispensable” given the “threats” posed by climate change. “It is thus important to initiate further research in the natural and social sciences to better understand and . . . → Read More: Geohacking research ‘with humility’ From the “What GAO Found” summary of Preliminary Observations on Geoengineering Science, Federal Efforts, and Governance Issues [PDF]: Substantial uncertainties remain on the efficacy and potential environmental impacts of proposed geoengineering approaches, because geoengineering research and field experiments to date have been limited. GAO’s review of relevant studies and interviews with experts to date found that relatively . . . → Read More: Doc alert: Preliminary Observations on Geoengineering Science, Federal Efforts, and Governance Issues Honestly, you can’t make up some of the stuff that shows up the energy and climate news feeds… Could Tiny Bubbles Cool the Planet?: In an effort to curb global warming, scientists have proposed everything from launching sunlight-blocking dust into the stratosphere to boosting the number of carbon-sucking algae in the oceans. Now, a Harvard University physicist has . . . → Read More: Earth: Now with cooling bubbles! Via ClimateProgress comes this video summarizing our current situation: See Joe Romm’s post for related items. I think this video is a great summary of our situation, as well as can be done in a short video that fits into a tiny box on your screen. As always, the tough question is: How much good could it . . . → Read More: Earth’s boundaries, the video Death of coral reefs could devastate nations: Coral reefs are dying, and scientists and governments around the world are contemplating what will happen if they disappear altogether. The idea positively scares them. Coral reefs are part of the foundation of the ocean food chain. Nearly half the fish the world eats make their homes around them. Hundreds of millions . . . → Read More: Coral reefs in danger |
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