ITM-Power, a UK-based enterprise dedicated to "provid[ing] all aspects of the technology necessary to make the "hydrogen economy" a commercial reality", has recently announced a product that could place them one step closer to that goal.  Today, they introduced a home refueling station that uses electrolysis to create hydrogen that could be used to power a car, heat a home, cook food, or even power a refridgerator.  ITM-Power plans to have the device, which takes slightly less space than said refridgerator, on the market within two years for under £2000 (about $3947.44 on today's exchange).

The development should be welcomed for a number of reasons, the most apparent of which is the beginnings of viable competition with an oil-based fuel economy.  In the past, hydrogen has been relegated to the shadows largely because it was unaffordable.  The materials, among which Platinum played an important role, were quite expensive, and the hydrogen itself was difficult to store.  ITM-Power has worked to solve those problems by introducing this new product, which makes no use of Platinum, making hydrogen at roughly 1% of the cost of previous devices.  Further, the station is relatively affordable, and runs off simply water and electricity, so ITM-Power is hoping businesses and individuals will create a decentralized network of fueling stations worldwide.  Although, I suppose only time will tell.  What do you think about hydrogen fuel cells and the call for ridding the world of fossil fuel dependence?  Are they viable products and realistic claims, or the work of idealists and dreamers?  Let us know in the comments below.

Conform unui studiu publicat de catre un chimist american, Michael Prather, in jurnalul Geophysical Research Letters, panelurile LCD contin un gaz foarte toxic si daunator pentru mediu, numit trifluorura de azot (NF3).

Acesta, folosit atat in productia panelurilor LCD de toate dimensiunile, de la televizoare pana la telefoane mobile, cat si in productia de semiconductori si cea de diamante artificiale, este un gaz care ar putea avea un impact de 17.000 de ori mai mare asupra mediului decat dioxidul de carbon, avand si o durata lunga de viata in cazul eliberarii in atmosfera, de 55o ani, fara posibilitati prea mari de reciclare.

De asemenea, se pare ca trifluorura de azot este o substanta toxica in cazul inhalarii, afectand ficatul si rinichii, asa ca aveti grija sa nu spargeti un LCD si sa nu stati in preajma unuia spart sau deteriorat.

Problema este ca, spre deosebire de dioxidul de carbon si alte gaze similare, acest gaz nu este inclus pe lista celor vizate de diverse acorduri internationale de monitorizare si reducere a emisiilor de substante daunatoare pentru mediu, deoarece in momentul incheierii acordurilor in vigoare, acesta era produs in cantitati foarte mici.

Odata cu proliferarea televizoarelor si ecranelor LCD, cantitatea de NF3 a crescut foarte mult, fiind estimata ca va ajunge anul acesta la echivalentul a 67 milioane de tone metrice de CO2, adica echivalentul anual al emisiilor de CO2 ale unei tari precum Austria.

Studiul, care ramane sa fie confirmat pe o scara mai larga, cere luarea de urgenta in considerare a trifluorurii de azot ca o substanta periculoasa pentru mediu, monitorizarea productiei acesteia si asigurarea unor metode sigure de reciclare a produselor care o contin.

(Sursa: Daily Tech, The Daily Green)

Of course, George W. Bush, calls this meeting a 'very productive' one and points at some important progressions like the succesful climate agreements. Huh? I think we might have missed something over here..which successes is Mr. Bush talking about?

Because the participating countries still don't agree on a mutual implementation concerning the emission of greenhouse gasses and how to act on climate changes, this will be the topic of the next G8 meeting. The differences between countries will make it even harder to develop a new global treaty on climate and environment. This new treaty should be signed and agreed on by the end of 2009 in Copenhagen as a the replacer of the Kyoto protocol which ends in 2012. At least that's the plan. Globalina wonders when all countries will make less false promises and take more action..

Y es que, ¿que es mejor? ¿poner limites más concretos o dejarlo de modo más abierto? realmente lo mejor es llegar a un acuerdo que se cumpla, y si para ello hay que dar un plazo amplio y dejar de modo abierto las medidas a tomar y todo, pues que así sea.

De todas maneras, realmente la noticia es muy importante, principalmente porque Estados Unidos, el país que más CO2 emite del mundo, por fin ha firmado un acuerdo de este tipo. Ya que sería difícil que las medidas tomadas por el resto de países fueran efectivas, si el país más contaminante siguiera sin hacer nada.

Esperemos que esta vez no caiga el acuerdo en saco roto y por fin se tomen medidas. Aunque en algo si habrá que darle la razón a los medios de comunicación, y es que a saber si tal y como van las cosas llegamos al 2050 para verlo.

Während G.W. Bush auf dem G8-Gipfel in Japan romantisch über "die Schönheit der Atomkraft" philosophiert, schwärmt John Doe in Florida über die Vorzüge seines Geländewagens, der 20l/100km verbraucht, wobei das Ozonloch über seinem Kopf immer größer wird. Derweil scheint den Kernkraftlobbyisten in Deutschland wieder die Sonne aus dem Arsch. Radioaktiv retten wir nun das Klima, lautet jetzt die Devise. Über die Endlagerung des atomaren Müll macht man sich später (oder gar keine?) Gedanken, schließlich hat man Zeit, der strahlt ja noch ein paar 10.000 Jahre. Wollte man die angestrebten Klimaziele kernenergetisch erreichen, müßte man weltweit hunderte neue Atomkraftwerke bauen. Tschernobil lässt grüßen!

Wort und Tat klaffen bei derartigen Gipfeltreffen stets weit auseinander, bereits 2005 sagten die Regierungschefs dem Hunger in der Welt den Kampf an, leider wurden die vollmundigen Zusagen an afrikanische Staaten nur unzureichend eingehalten.

Zum Ausklang pflanzten alle symbolisch ein Bäumchen, drehten melanchonisch Däumchen, gossen sich einen hinter die Binde, zerstreuten sich in alle Winde, nächstes Jahr kommen sie alle wieder, singen die gleichen Lieder. Halleluja.

Nochmal in kurzen Worten zusammengefasst: Außer Spesen, nichts gewesen oder same procedure as last year - same procedure as every year!

I am so glad this group of German scientists spent time and energy to discover something the average 10 year-old already knows.

The world's climate experts say that that the world's CO2 output must peak within the next decade and then drop, very fast, if we are to reach this sort of long term reduction. In short, we have about 100 months to turn the global energy system around. The action taken must be immediate and far reaching.

Which climate experts?  Oh yeah, the ones demanding tax money for funding the institutes to create studies on climate change which demand more tax money for more studies for more institutes.  And after all - its just pocket change:

According to Professor Stern, climate change is likely to result in droughts and floods that will create 200 million climate refugees and it could make two-fifths of the world's species extinct. Yet to solve it, as challenging as it may seem, would only cost 1 or 2% of global GDP. Roughly what is spent worldwide on advertising. This is pocket change for the G8. Just these eight countries between them account for about 65% of global GDP.

So what is suggested?  Immediate moritorium on coal burning anywhere, an Apollo program to fund renewables, lots of money spent on reducing energy use and waste, and stop cutting down any tree anywhere.  Which translates to:

• Immediate reduction in available energy world-wide
• lots of money for lots of fancy institutes and tests and stuff with absolutely no idea whether this work would produce energy on any kind of basis which would keep society going.  The ultimate aim is really population reduction of course, but that's not actually acknowledged.
• lots of money for insulation (except for that non-green asbestos and stuff that actually works) and lots of nannying to keep everybody in the world guilty about using even one electron (up to and including public execution probably)
• no more paper - which also means no more toliet paper too

In other words, pie in the sky answers pulling trillions of dollars for something that may not even give them the outcome they want - a 50% reduction in the world standard of living.  However, lots of climate scientists would get lots of big freaking grants!  In the belief they can actually do anything that would affect this:

Top climate scientist blasts G8 climate pledge

Agence France-Presse
First Posted 22:44:00 07/08/2008

PARIS -- One of the world's most respected climate scientists on Tuesday slammed the G8 summit's goal of halving global warming emissions by 2050 as "worse than worthless."

Leaders of the world's richest nations, meeting in Japan, "are taking actions that guarantee that we deliver to our children climate catastrophes that are out of our control," US expert James Hansen said in an e-mail to Agence France-Presse.

The G8 leaders have proved they do not understand the climate situation, have no idea how serious it is, have no sense of urgency, and are just playing a game with our children's lives.

The Guardian video shows you what a good time our leaders are having in Japan, symbolically planting trees while they commit to nothing in particular to stop carbon emissions from coal.  (They'll have to plant a LOT of trees to make up for that overarching failure on their part to address the coal-dependent climate challenge.)

The AFP article continues with consideration and adoption of a 2050 goal for which most of these leaders will not live long enough to be held accountable:

At their summit in the resort town of Toyako, the leaders of the Group of Eight nations -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States -- agreed Tuesday to "consider and adopt" the goal of achieving the 50-percent cut in worldwide emissions by mid-centur

As far as a 2020 goal, in which timeframe most of these leaders should still be alive and kicking, and should be held accountable:

But they made no targeted pledge for action next decade, nor did they mention specific action against coal, which Hansen characterized as the greatest peril.

"A statement of any goal for percent reduction is worthless. Indeed, it is worse than that: it is a pretence that they understand the problem and plan to take needed actions," said Hansen.

Since the leaders are so dense, we need some engaging gimmick to get Hansen's message across that carbon emissions from coal MUST be eliminated (captured and stored).  They keep on missing his KEY point:

The only way to avoid climate catastrophe, argued Hansen, was to halt the emissions of coal, the most abundant and highly polluting of all fossil fuels.

He reiterated a call for a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants and for existing ones to be fitted with technology to capture the CO2 and store it deep underground.

"Otherwise we are sending a death sentence to uncountable species and are leaving our children with an ungodly mess," he said.

Sky-rocketing oil prices have spurred energy-efficiency plans in many countries but at the same time have intensified the use of coal around the world, especially in developing juggernauts China and India.

In the old days, people read books about Practical Coal Mining,,, like these well-thumbed copies in the National Museum of Welsh Life, Cardiff.  I doubt a book on Practical Coal Moratoria would be opened, let alone thumbed, these days by any of the so-called leaders.  How are we going to get through to them?

Good luck to Tanya and David - you are just telling your real names and your IP addresses mach those threatening and abusive comments you made couple months ago with "misleading names".

We can see you are still learning and God knows when you want to take care of your so called charity which actually take inappropriate directions for survival.

To see it for yourselves that International Student House (ISH) is not compiled with the Charity Commission set of rules (because of promoting alcohol and placing cigarette vending machines in areas which are easy to access by youths and importantly under age individuals - vulnerable members of public - as well as offensive pictures and text used by the charity (ISH) for "promotion" purposes which indeed mis-educate and mislead the youths society), please visit the charity-commission website. International Student house (ISH) is harming the society and through its irresponsible marketing and management strategies. Their lack of ethical and SCR awareness is costing our youths and their future; therefore appropriate actions should be taken to save lives of thousands... Not caring about what ISH is doing allow further misconduct from youths for which they wrongly been criticised by many. Youths are in a sense are victims of voltures alike International Student House (ISH).

WE NEED TO SAVE OUR YOUTHS AND STOP UNETHICAL ORGANISATIONS SUCH AS INTERNATIONAL STUDENT HOUSE (ISH) TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM AND MISLEAD AND MISEDUCATE THEM.

Predictably, the rich, the motoring press, and the manufacturers of CO2 belchers put up, er, a stink. But somewhat surprisingly, the leader of the pack was Porsche, whose lawyers sought a judicial review of the charges.

Crocwatch says ‘somewhat surprisingly’ for two reasons. First, one might have thought that the company’s outstanding engineers would simply have worked harder to improve the emissions of their cars, and thereby flaunt their engineering prowess. Presumably this would not have been enough to save the aforementioned used-Porsche market.

But second, despite the Porsche and Piëch family allegations to the contrary, Porsche seems set on forcing a de facto merger of Porsche and Volkswagen. By taking such a high profile stand against eminently green proposals, the two families have effectively demonstrated that they are willing to show two big fat fingers to climate change. Is this a wise course of action for the people who may in future control Europe’s largest car manufacturer, and indeed the manufacture of cars such as the comparatively low CO2 VW Polo Bluemotion? Crocwatch would have thought not; even if the Porsche and Piëch families are intent on forcing on London their own unique brand of selfishness, VW executives should have advised them not to go down this patently elitist road. After what the Porsche and Piëch families have done, and given the looming merger, can any green person buy a VW in good conscience?

Alas, all such considerations are now history. News are just in that Boris Johnson has not only binned Livingstone’s policies, but is actually paying Porsche its legal costs, to the tune of £400,000. It seems that, to the not-so-closeted racism of Johnson, we must now add a new category: petrolheadonism. Crocwatch does wonder—with all good humour, of course—if it might it be that Porsche has offered a free Cayman to the most reptilian of the UK’s politicians?

One can just imagine the scene: to avoid an even greater scandal, Boris would have to die his trademark ‘blond’ in black, and perhaps put a mask like that used by V in ‘V for Vendetta’, to then race around the home counties, pushing the ultimate crocmobile to its limit. One can almost hear his voice snarling above the car's howling engine: 'Global warming, what global warming? Hahahahahahahahahaha…'

Comedy sketches to one side: where does Boris Johnson’s handbrake policy turn leave the Conservatives’ much vaunted ‘green’ credentials? Might it be that David Cameron has also donned a mask—if indeed any masks ever need to be donned by the good boys of Eton—and will be racing around town with Boris?

Copyright © 2008 Crocwatch All Rights Reserved

Die Gruppe der acht wichtigsten Industriestaaten (noch) hat sich klar (ui!) zu dem Ziel bekannt, die Treibhausgasemissionen bis 2050 zu halbieren.
Die USA lassen sich damit erstmals auf ein langfristiges Ziel beim Klimaschutz ein. Welch Fortschritt.
Wer das nun glaubt kommt ja vielleicht auch in'n Himmel. :mrgreen:
[Anmerkung: 2050 sind von den *G-8 Vögeln* wahrscheinlich alle tot]

Carbon sequestration, although "not a silver bullet", is an essential bridging technology that needs to be deployed fast if Europe and the rest of the world are serious about tackling climate change, argues Paal Frisvold, head of the Brussels office of the Bellona Foundation, a Norwegian environmental NGO.

[...]

Vía: Euroactiv

El 10 de julio tendrá lugar la inauguración de la exposición "CO2 y Cambio climático" en el Centro comercial Los Prados, Oviedo. A continuación, Carlos Abanades, impartirá la conferencia "Energía y CO2, que tendrá lugar en los cines Yelmo a las 18:00 h.

Mas información: FICYT

Questi i maggiori indicatori per le due settimane:
   Energia giornaliera prodotta: 85,4 Kwh
   Energia per le due settimane prodotta: 1.227 Kwh
   Emissioni CO2 settimanali evitate: 797 Kg

Questi i maggiori indicatori globali di impianto:
   Energia giornaliera prodotta: 85,4 Kwh
   Energia globale prodotta: 10.115 Kwh
   Emissioni CO2 globali evitate: 6.574 Kg

One of the most frequent criticisms levelled [sic] at wind power is variability. That is, when the wind drops (or blows too hard) the windmills stop spinning and you get no power. To begin with, Oswald simulates the output rises and falls that might result from a lot of windfarms distributed around the UK by using Met Office archived data from different points up and down the land. Many wind advocates have argued that with enough windfarms, widely enough distributed, you would get more reliable power output as some windmills would always have wind.

Oswald's analysis says this isn't true, with calm conditions across pretty much all the UK being fairly regular events.

Analysis from 1996 to 2005 shows similar results: large, rapid, and frequent changes of power output being common occurrences ... any national power system has to manage under the worst case conditions likely to occur ... These are not extreme cases, whose frequency is so low as to render the events negligible. Rather, these are representative ...

[...]

When the wind isn't blowing across most of the UK, it isn't blowing in Germany, Denmark etc. either. Worse still, this happens in the dead of winter when electricity demand is highest.

Le dispositif fait appel aux efforts des acteurs de l'industrie IT pour innover et produire des matériels moins gourmands en énergie.

Toutes les entreprises peuvent également s'engager dans une voie de progrès par des programmes d'achat IT responsable et des plans de réduction de leur consommation électrique liés aux IT.

L'initiative est supportée par le WWF et le label Energy star

Source: détails, guide d'achat, participants sur http://www.climatesaverscomputing.org

by Antonette Brotman

Quickly approaching five dollars a gallon, gas prices are pumping wallets and discouraging drivers from traveling. Motorcycle shops stand to benefit from the recent fuel cost increase. The spike might be a significant impetus to turn more car and truck drivers into motorcycle riders.

If you ride on two wheels instead of driving on four, you’re likely to spend less money on your vehicle and on fuel. You could also be reducing your ecological footprint. Motorcycles, scooters, and mopeds are a good choice for two reasons: your money and our planet.

1. Financially, motorcycles are cheaper for the individual. A 250cc (cubic centimeters) engine gets 50 to 70m/g (miles per gallon). That means you can ride around for about a fifth of the fuel cost of driving a Sport Utility Vehicle. Midsize bikes get 40 to 60m/g, and larger bikes are in the 30m/g range, according to Woodfield Motor Sports’ general manager Frank Mininni.

Scooters and mopeds are also cost saving alternatives. Starting at 50cc, a scooter can get 130m/g. A 125cc scooter reaches almost 100m/g. Scooters larger than 125cc get 50 to 70m/g.

New motorcycles can be a pricy buy. At some dealerships, you don’t know how much a bike costs before inquiring with a sales person. However, at City Limits Harley-Davidson, there is a price tag on every motorcycle, ranging from about $10,000 to $20,000.

Used motorcycles are a less expensive option, and postings for previously owned bikes are updated daily on bidding sites including craigslist and ebay. Some of these cycles are priced around $600, but they usually require an extra few hundred dollars for repair.

2. Environmentally, motorcycles pollute less CO2 than cars and trucks. But there is evidence motorcycles emit higher levels of other toxins than cars.

With new societal awareness on going green, people have reason to consider motorcycles as a commuting alternative. Since motorcycles burn less gas per mile, they also burn less fossil fuel than cars, and ultimately produce less carbon dioxide (CO2).

CO2 is not the only factor to consider when assessing pollutants. There is an ongoing debate about whether motorcycles pollute more or less than cars.

While motorcycles give off less CO2 than cars, they produce more carbon monoxide (CO), nitrous oxides (NOx) and hydrocarbons (HC's) per mile than cars.

“Motorcycles and scooters emit less CO2 per mile, but the other pollutants more than make up for reduced CO2 emissions because they are more potent greenhouse gases,” said research student at University of California, Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group Josiah Johnston.

A motorcycle mechanic and Woodfield Motor Sports sales representative Jr. Dinero said that the type of bike you ride determines whether it is less of a detriment to earth compared to cars.

“It’s different with racing bikes, but your standard motorcycles, everyday commuter bikes, are a lot better on the environment,” Dinero said.

One significant factor in emissions is a catalytic converter. Catalytic converters are pipes that contain chemicals to neutralize pollutants; thereby minimizing harm to the ozone layer of our atmosphere.

Most cars have catalytic converters and many motorcycles do not. Catalytic converters are primarily available for cycles designed for longer trips called touring bikes, as opposed to the standard or sport motorcycles. The converters are not required by the EPA for motorcycles.

Still, people have plenty of reasons to pick up a bike.

“[Motorcycles] are fun, inexpensive, economical, and [they] give you a sense of freedom,” said Mininni.

You can feel that sense of freedom on the road and in your pocket. If you’re sick of paying $50 to $100 at the pump – save gas, ride a motorcycle.

In this age of consequence, when we know we have a huge problem to deal with (Global warming), and we know full well that trees do nothing but good, absorbing CO2 and reversing some of the damage that man does. Why aren't the government giving them out for free at the local council offices?

Why is there no grant scheme in place or tax breaks available for people who want to donate their time to planting trees. At the very least, should there not be an incentive for people to become carbon neutral?

Why is there no public land available for people (who don't have gardens) to go and plant their trees?

Why aren't (more) local communities getting it together and planting woods and forests around their towns?

Why don't the Government open Garden centres whereby the profits from shrubs and plant sales subsidies the cost of the free trees?

Why don't people sew more seeds? - seriously, pick the seeds from the trees in your local park and scatter them around where ever you go. Country verges, public land, your garden. All this is assuming the tree you picked you seeds from hadn't been genetically modified so as not to naturally reproduce!

Anyhoo, free trees for all, what do you think?

Pedágio urbano e ampliação urgente da malha metroviária. Estas foram as propostas defendidas pelo arquiteto e planejador urbano Candido Malta Campos Filho para solucionar a questão da mobilidade na cidade de São Paulo (SP) durante debate promovido no lançamento do Conselho de Desenvolvimento das Cidades.

Segue o texto completo no site da Envolverde.

Segue também um link para baixar uma pesquisa sobre pedágio urbano em São Paulo: ABRAMCET

This has not happened. According to the data available from NOAA (The National Weather Service) the mid and upper levels of the atmosphere have not seen a dramatic warming."

Nej, I själva verket så har det skett en rejäl avkylning det senaste 1 ½ året (se bl.a.: Very Cold May - Global Mean Temperature (UAH) sunk - 0,180 C).

Vad det hela handlar om är återigen hur oseriösa och ovetenskapliga dessa klimatmodeller är.

Det är alltså detta charlataneri och voodo modeller som utgör grunde för Global Warming Hysterin. Vars förespråkare avgudar dessa "modeller" och på vars altare våra politiker är bereda att offra VÅRT välstånd och ekonomiska utveckling.

Det är alltså för att FÖRSÖKA påverka dessa 3% av 1% (0.03%) som Global Warming Hysterikerna är beredda att offra allt vårt välstånd och vår ekonomi och våra politiska friheter.

Är det inte i sanning en fantastisk prioritering! Och "ingen" av dessa politiker och massmedia verkar reagera eller ifrågasätta dessa sanslösa idiotier.

Återigen: Global Warming Hysterin är den största vetenskapliga och politiska skandalen ALLA kategorier detta århundrade!

Bio:

Dr. John R. Christy is Professor and Director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville  where he began studying global climate issues in 1987. In November 2000 Gov. Don Siegelman appointed him to be Alabama's State Climatologist. In 1989 Dr. Roy W. Spencer, a NASA/Marshall scientist, and Christy developed a global temperature data set from microwave data observed from satellites beginning in 1979. For this achievement, the Spencer-Christy team was awarded NASA's Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement in 1991. In 1996, they were selected to receive a Special Award by the American Meteorological Society "for developing a global, precise record of earth's temperature from operational polar-orbiting satellites, fundamentally advancing our ability to monitor climate."

Se även bl.a. mina inlägg: This is what the Global Warming Hysteria is all about - 0,03%!,  The UN Climate Change Numbers Hoax eller IPCC:s lögn!,  The Unscientific way of IPCC:s forecasts eller IPPC:s lögn del 2!,  IPCC Review Editors comments reveald!, IPCC Review Editors - "No Working Papers", "No Correspondence" are kept!,  Has the IPCC inflated the feedback factor?,  IPCC and its bias!,  Peer Review - What it actually means,  IPCC models are incoherent and invalid from a scientific point of view!,  But the forecasts, especially for regional climate change, are immensely uncertain!,  The Greenhouse Conspiracy,  Global Warming as Mass Neurosis

Och 

 Global Warming: Has the Climate Sensitivity Holy Grail Been Found?,  A Climate of Belief - The Story of Climate models!, Validation, Evaluation and Exaggeration from the IPCC,  Has Global Warming Research Misinterpreted Cloud Behavior?,  Very Cold May - Global Mean Temperature (RSS) sunk - 0,083 C,  Very Cold May - Global Mean Temperature (UAH) sunk - 0,180 C,  Very Cold May - Global Mean Temperature (GISS),  Emperor's green clothes : UN's IPCC preying on people's ignorance,  Mt Kilimanjaro - the snow cover is increasing says Tanzanian minister,  The Spatial Pattern and Mechanisms of Heat-Content Change in the North Atlantic,  Tropical Water Vapor and Cloud Feedbacks in Climate Models,  Assessment of the reliability of climate predictions based on comparisons with historical time series,  Cold in the tropical troposphere but it should be warming if Global Warming "theories" are correct!,  Average Day By Day Variations Of The Global And Hemispheric Average Lower Tropospheric Temperatures,  Open letter to IPCC to renounce its current policy!,  Climate change confirmed but global warming is cancelled,  The Great Global Warming Hoax,  Upproret växer - Nya omoraliska vetenskapsmän!,  En rysk omoralisk vetenskapsman säger att det snart blir kallare!, Klimatmodellernas skojeri - Fel på 100 - 300%!

Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om <a href=”http://bloggar.se/om/milj%F6“ rel=”tag”>miljö</a>

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On peut difficilement trouver meilleur contre-exemple. Il y a quelques années, son association commerciale avec Jaguar avait aussi été critiquée. Peut-on exiger de ses fans qu'ils modèrent leur consommation énergétique tout en se déplacant en jet privé et en Jaguar 8 cylindres?

"Spin-orbit coupling" to blame; effects could last decades.

Daily Tech
July 1, 2008

A new paper published by the Astronomical Society of Australia is warning of upcoming global cooling due to lessened solar activity. The study, written by three Australian researchers, has identified what is known as a "spin-orbit coupling" affecting the rotation rate of the sun. That rotation, in turn, is linked to the intensity of the solar cycle and climate changes here on Earth.

The study’s lead author, Ian Wilson, explains further, "[The paper] supports the contention that the level of activity on the Sun will significantly diminish sometime in the next decade and remain low for about 20 - 30 years."

According to Wilson, the result is a strong, rapid pulse of global cooling, "On each occasion that the Sun has done this in the past the World’s mean temperature has dropped by ~ 1 - 2 C."

A 2 C drop would be twice as large as all the warming the earth has experienced since the start of the industrial era, and would be significant enough to impact global agriculture output.

Earlier this year, astronomers from around the world noted solar activity was suspiciously low; some began predicting global cooling at that time. Since then, activity has remained far below average, with it now being over two months since a single sunspot has appeared on the surface of the sun.

In May, a team of German climatologists published research stating that, due to "natural effects", global warming would halt for up to 15 years.

Are the ice caps melting?

Steven Goddard
The Register
July 4, 2008

The headlines last week brought us terrifying news: The North Pole will be ice-free this summer “for the first time in human history,” wrote Steve Connor in The Independent. Or so the experts at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado predict. This sounds very frightening, so let’s look at the facts about polar sea ice.

During the summer of 2000 there was “a large body of ice-free water about 10 miles long and 3 miles wide near the pole”. Also in 2000, Dr Claire Parkinson at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center was quoted as saying: “The fact of having no ice at the pole is not so stunning.”

Secondly, the likelihood of the North Pole being ice free this summer is actually quite slim. There are only a few weeks left where the sun is high enough to melt ice at the North Pole. The sun is less than 23 degrees above the horizon, and by mid-August will be less than 15 degrees above it. Temperatures in Greenland have been cold this summer, and winds are not favorable for a repeat. Currently, there is about one million km2 more ice than there was on this date last summer.

So what is really going on at the poles?

The Tipping Point that wouldn’t tip

Satellite records have been kept for polar sea ice over the last thirty years by the University Of Illinois. In 2007 2008, two very different records were set. The Arctic broke the previous record for the least sea ice area ever recorded, while the Antarctic broke the record for the most sea ice area ever recorded. Summed up over the entire earth, polar ice has remained constant. As seen below, there has been no net gain or loss of polar sea ice since records began.

Last week, Dr James Hansen from NASA spoke about how CO2 is affecting the polar ice caps.

“We see a tipping point occurring right before our eyes… The Arctic is the first tipping point and it’s occurring exactly the way we said it would,” he said.

Well, not exactly.

Hansen is only telling half the story. In the 1980s the same Dr Hansen wrote a paper titled Climate Sensitivity to Increasing Greenhouse Gases, in which he explained how CO2 causes “polar amplification.” He predicted nearly symmetrical warming at both poles. As shown in Figure 2-2 from the article, Hansen calculated that both the Arctic and Antarctic would warm by 5-6 degrees Centigrade. His predictions were largely incorrect, as most of Antarctica has cooled and sea ice has rapidly expanded. The evidence does not support the theory.

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Lad os håbe der bliver indgået en mere ambitiøs aftale til næste efter år, hvor Danmark er vært for en international klima konference. Konferencen skulle meget gerne resultere i en samlet aftale for alle verdenens lande, som skal erstatte den nuværende Kyoto-aftale, hvor bla. usa ikke er med i.

Jeg forstår ikke hvorfor der ikke bliver kæmpet noget mere for at gøre noget for miljøet, jeg skulle mene der er alt for mange eksempler på hvordan det har påvirket vores natur og vores vejr, til vi kan ignorerer det. I stedet for bør alle, især de rigeste lande, gøre noget aktivt, i stedet for at sætte nogle mål der er så langt ude i frem tiden, man ikke engang ved om nordpolen på det tidspunkt er smeltet væk.

Jeg forstår det ikke, gør du?

I dag blev der ikke til så meget om ferien, eller noget andet, men det var det jeg følte for at skrive om istedet. Det andet kommer måske torsdag, eller i weekenden, regner jeg med, da jeg skal starte på det nye arbejde i morgen :)