Some of the news that is fit to print

WSJ: Drowning polar bears!

This story in today's WSJ... which comes days after the United States essentially said F-YOU to the rest of the world in the global warming talks. How nice...

Drowning Polar Bears and Global Warming
In what may be the latest evidence of global warming, polar bears are drowning, The Wall Street Journal reports. Scientists for the first time have documented multiple deaths of polar bears off Alaska, where they likely drowned after swimming long distances in the ocean amid the melting of the Arctic ice shelf. In a quarter-century of aerial surveys of the Alaskan coastline before 2004, researchers from the U.S. Minerals Management Service said they typically spotted a lone polar bear swimming in the ocean far from ice about once every two years. But in September 2004, when the polar ice cap had retreated a record 160 miles north of the northern coast of Alaska, researchers counted 10 polar bears swimming as far as 60 miles offshore. The researchers returned to the vicinity a few days after a fierce storm and found dead bears floating in the water. While the government researchers won't speculate on why a climate change is taking place in the Arctic, environmentalists unconnected to the survey say U.S. policies emphasizing oil and gas development are exacerbating global warming, which is accelerating the melting of the ice.

No shock here...

Needless to say, I didn't fall out of my chair when I saw this... but at least there is somebody out there saying something. (A big thumb up to our neighbor, CT! Nice job!)

Independent: The British government is deeply disappointed that President Bush hasn't made a greater commitment to tackling climate change ahead of the Group of Eight summit, U.K. Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett said in a rare, outspoken critique of the American position on global warming.

Almost Star Wars, but not quite...

So the Organic Trade Association has a fantastic movie on its Web site -- Grocery Store Wars -- a spoof of Star Wars, of course. But this five-minute online movie features the case of Cuke Skywalker, Princess Lettuce, Chewbroccoli and other organic rebels dressed as Star Wars characters -- battle it out with Darth Tader, the evil lord of the Dark Side of the Farm.

"These are dark times, young Cuke," says Obi Wan Cannoli. "An empire of pollution and pesticides has ruthlessly conquered the market, nearly wiping out our organic birthright." The site also lets you "learn the ways of the farm" and join the organic rebellion.

Meanwhile, Forbes.com talks about the feasibility of Star Wars technology and talk about Star Flops, such as the Star Wars holiday special.

And you just knew there was a political angle to the Star Wars hype -- yes, it is Gulf Wars!

I am humbled by the creativity!

McEwan on Earth Day 2005

"The sheer pressure of our numbers, the abundance of our inventions, the blind forces of our desires and needs, appear unstoppable and are generating a heat – the hot breath of our civilization – whose effects we comprehend only hazily," novelist Ian McEwan writes in a Los Angeles Times commentary on Earth Day, calling for "good science" to help reignite a conversation about the world's environmental problems.

Stop the ICC

Those of you outside the Washington Metro area probably don't know anything about the ICC -- the Inter-County Connector. It is a proposed road to connect two Maryland counties in suburban Washington and would have horrible impacts on the environment.

As a rule, I am opposed to construction of just about any new roads. We need a fundamental rethinking of the way we live -- and that means doing away with the hour-and-a-half commutes, 60-mile commutes.

Anyway, here is her note.

I recently went to an ICC hearing at Gaithersburg High School and next Saturday, January 22nd starting at 9:30am is a final Rally at Blake High School (300 Norwood Road, Silver Spring) to protest the Inter County Connector.

Please check out:  www.iccstudy.org where you can actually see the proposed maps.

But more importantly, go to www.SaveCommunities.org if you are not able to come on Saturday to write your representative www.mdelect.net or Wesley Mitchell, State Highway Administration [email protected] or mail letter to him at SHA office of planning and Preliminary Engineering Mail stop C-301 Box 717 Baltimore, MD  21203-0717 to stop the ICC!

This is truly a horrible disaster in the making, it is a 3 billion dollar waste of money (the 3rd most expensive road project in history)!  It will severly impact the environment depending on the which corridor they go with we are looking at 2-3 thousand acres of farmland wiped out, 3-4 thousand acres of forest wiped out, floodplains, wetlands, streams, reservoirs all wiped out.  This does not even take into account the developmental sprawl that this will create and those that will be uprooted from their exisitng homes.

According to the Maryland State Highway Administration, building the ICC would greatly increase local traffic on MD 28, US 1, 29, 197, and 198, GA Ave, 108, New Hamp Ave,  Conn Ave, etc (just check out the beltway traffic projections for 2030).  Over half the roads studied have either worse traffic or no relief with an ICC!  The ICC would also be a toll road.

Better alternatives exist (metro, mass transit, restriction on sprawl and development)but they are not being take into consideration.

PLEASE HELP STOP THE ICC!

Powerful Prius

Newsweek’s “Enterprise” section this week focuses on energy efficiency, dependence and independence.

There is a wonderful story about the Prius:
The Gas Misers
Toyota's new hybrid may just be the biggest thing in cars since the combustion engine

But the package is well done.

"The Day After Tomorrow" Web site???

Not exactly, but the National Academy has posted a Web site focusing on abrupt climine changes that is a worth read.

Abrupt Climate Change: Inevitable Surprises is a 2002 report from the Ocean Studies Board, the Polar Research Board, and the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate of the National Research Council.

Abrupt Climate Change: Inevitable Surprises

Until the 1990s, the dominant view of climate change was that Earth's climate system has changed gradually in response to both natural and human-induced processes. Evidence pieced together over the last few decades, however, shows that climate has changed much more rapidly - sometimes abruptly - in the past and therefore could do so again in the future.

Abrupt climate change generally refers to a large shift in climate that persists for years or longer - such as marked changes in average temperature, or altered patterns of storms, floods, or droughts - over a widespread area such as an entire country or continent, that takes place so rapidly and unexpectedly that human or natural systems have difficulty adapting to it. In the context of past abrupt climate change, "rapidly" typically means on the order of a decade.

Severe droughts and other past abrupt climate changes have had demonstrable, adverse effects on human societies. While it is important not to be fatalistic about the threats posed by abrupt climate change, denying the likelihood or downplaying the relevance of past abrupt events could be costly. Increased knowledge is the best way to improve the effectiveness of response; research into the causes, patterns, and likelihood of abrupt climate change can help reduce vulnerabilites and increase our ability to adapt.

Saving the oceans...

The NYT today opines about the oceans...

Blueprints for Healthier Oceans [NYT, 5.7.2004]
A presidential commission has provided a plausible road map for halting the long-ignored degradation of our ocean ecosystems.

Read the full report on the commission's Web site.

Dirty skies...

Clear Skies No More for Millions as Pollution Rule Expands [NYT, 4.13.2004]
More than half the nation's population will live in or around areas that violate clean air standards, according to a list to be released on April 15.

Sustainable growth...

Susatainable growth is one of my favorite topics because it focuses economics with the environmental realities that we have to face... or will face, I hope.

The National Geographic radio program "Pulse of the Planet," this week had an interesting item.

What happens when you spend more than you earn? Well, some scientists say that's exactly what's happening on here Earth. Human beings are taking more resources from planet Earth than nature can renew or we can somehow replace... Dr. Mathis Wachernagel is with the global sustainability group Redefining Progress.

"When we track how much we use as humanity, compared to how much capacity we have on the planet, what we see is that we are actually using more than what nature can renew. This is possible because we can cut forests more rapidly than timber regrows, or we can fish more rapidly than fish will replenish, or we can draw on water supplies and groundwater more rapidly than it renews. And all that we call ecological overshoot. We liquidate our ecological capital."

One of the best descriptions I have heard in a long time -- environmental deficits. [Here is PDF version of Redefining Progress's report.] Of course, by the shape of things, we don't have much of a problem with deficits.