Michele Kearney's Environmental Blog - Environmental degradation and waning natural resources including energy resources threaten U.S. security. And the loss of renewable natural resources, including forests, fresh water, fish and fertile soils, can drive political instability and conflict in the developing world, and around the globe. In short, natural resoures, energy and the environment are national security issues.
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Saturday, August 11, 2012
Hundred-Year Forecast: Drought
BY many measurements, this summer’s drought is one for the record books.
But so was last year’s drought in the South Central states. And it has
been only a decade since an extreme five-year drought hit the American
West. Widespread annual droughts, once a rare calamity, have become more
frequent and are set to become the “new normal.” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/opinion/sunday/extreme-weather-and-drought-are-here-to-stay.html?_r=2&hp
James Hansen's Passionate New Climate Change Paper
James Hansen's Passionate New Climate Change Paper The Economist, The Economist | |
Ethanol vs. The World
- Wall Street Journal -The Wall Street Journal reports that everyone except the Environmental Protection Agency http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443404004577581140907497810.html
The pool of water under the Midwest is being sucked dry. The drought is making it worse
The pool of water under the Midwest is being sucked dry. The drought is making it worse
Friday, August 10, 2012
America's Great 20120 Drought
America’s Great 2012 Drought
As Bad as During the 1930s Dust Bowl?
The progress of the drought has been horrific:
Climate Change questions do not need to be conclusively answered to determine global actions for the next 30 years
Climate Change questions do not need to be conclusively answered to determine global actions for the next 30 years
The following questions do not need to be answered to determine energy and transportation policies for the next thirty years.
Is the world warming ?
How much might the world be warming ?
Is there climate change ?
Is human created carbon dioxide the primary impactor on the climate ?
The reason they do not need to be answered.
Adverse impacts of Air pollution are sufficiently bad (killing millions) and putting more people in the hospital and increasing medical costs that the actions which would be taken in the case that there was global warming are the same.
We should do the same things even if global warming is not real. http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/08/climate-change-questions-do-not-need-to.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2Fadvancednano+%28nextbigfuture%29
Is the world warming ?
How much might the world be warming ?
Is there climate change ?
Is human created carbon dioxide the primary impactor on the climate ?
The reason they do not need to be answered.
Adverse impacts of Air pollution are sufficiently bad (killing millions) and putting more people in the hospital and increasing medical costs that the actions which would be taken in the case that there was global warming are the same.
We should do the same things even if global warming is not real. http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/08/climate-change-questions-do-not-need-to.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2Fadvancednano+%28nextbigfuture%29
Corn prices surge to record high
Corn prices surge to record high
Corn futures surged to a new record high after the US government said that the drought ravaging the US farmbelt had destroyed a sixth of the country’s corn crop in just one month.
The US Department of Agriculture slashed its estimate for the US corn crop by 16.9 per cent from its previous estimate in July, to just 10.779bn bushels. The report sent benchmark corn futures up more than 3 per cent to an record peak of $8.4375 a bushel.
http://link.ft.com/r/P75VYY/
Corn futures surged to a new record high after the US government said that the drought ravaging the US farmbelt had destroyed a sixth of the country’s corn crop in just one month.
The US Department of Agriculture slashed its estimate for the US corn crop by 16.9 per cent from its previous estimate in July, to just 10.779bn bushels. The report sent benchmark corn futures up more than 3 per cent to an record peak of $8.4375 a bushel.
http://link.ft.com/r/P75VYY/
Thursday, August 9, 2012
WWIII, the Resource War
WWIII, the Resource War
http://www.darkgovernment.com/
Yes, WWIII: The Great Commodities War to End All Wars. We’ve heard that
before. Remember WWI, known as The War to End All Wars, 37 million casualties.
WWII was bigger, 60 million. Will WWIII finally end all wars? Or end the world,
civilization, planet?
And it’s already started folks, ending the Great American Dream.
Fasten your seat belts, soon we’ll all be shocked out of denial. Some
unpredictable black swan. A global wake-up call will trigger the Pentagon’s
prediction in Fortune a decade ago at the launch of the Iraq War: “By 2020 ...
an ancient pattern of desperate, all-out wars over food, water, and energy
supplies is emerging ... warfare defining human life.”
And that’s also the clear message in “The Race for What’s Left: The Global
Scramble for the World’s Last Resources,” the latest book by noted
international security expert Michael Klare.
Earlier, about the same time as the Pentagon’s prediction, Klare published his
classic, “Resource Wars: The New Landscape of Global Conflict,” a look ahead
to a world that he now hopes will not “end in war, widespread starvation, or a
massive environmental catastrophe.” Although they are “the probable results
of persisting in the race for what’s left.” Unfortunately, hope can’t
trump reality in today’s race for what little is left.
We need men who pull no punches in describing what’s dead ahead, whether
labeling it “Resource Wars” or “WWIII, The Great Commodities War That Can
End Everything.” Klare does just that with this warning:
“It is true that eliminating our dependence on fossil fuels and other finite
materials cannot be accomplished overnight — our current reliance on them is
just too great,” warns Klare, well aware that the forces of capitalism are
trapped in denial, cannot see the dangers dead ahead, focusing only on getting
richer no matter the consequences to the planet.
“But no matter how much corporate or government officials wish to deny it,
there is not nearly enough non-renewable resources on this planet to perpetually
satisfy the growing needs of a ballooning world population.”
Refinery fire highlights pollution concerns
Refinery fire highlights pollution concerns
(AP) — A massive Chevron oil refinery fire that sent hundreds of people rushing to hospitals and is pushing West Coast gas prices higher was just the latest pollution incident at the facility that records show has increasingly violated air quality rules over the past five years.
(AP) — A massive Chevron oil refinery fire that sent hundreds of people rushing to hospitals and is pushing West Coast gas prices higher was just the latest pollution incident at the facility that records show has increasingly violated air quality rules over the past five years.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
China tightens controls on rare earths production
China tightens controls on rare earths production
(AP) — China's government has further tightened curbs on production of rare earths used in mobile phones and other high-tech products in a move that might inflame trade tensions with Washington and Europe.
http://phys.org/news/2012-08-china-tightens-rare-earths-production.html#nwlt
(AP) — China's government has further tightened curbs on production of rare earths used in mobile phones and other high-tech products in a move that might inflame trade tensions with Washington and Europe.
http://phys.org/news/2012-08-china-tightens-rare-earths-production.html#nwlt
Climate: US call for 'flexibility' on warming spurs row
Climate: US call for 'flexibility' on warming spurs row
The United States ran into crossfire on Wednesday after it called for "flexibility" in climate talks, even if this approach could not guarantee meeting the UN's target on global warming.
http://phys.org/news/2012-08-climate-flexibility-spurs-row.html#nwlt
The United States ran into crossfire on Wednesday after it called for "flexibility" in climate talks, even if this approach could not guarantee meeting the UN's target on global warming.
http://phys.org/news/2012-08-climate-flexibility-spurs-row.html#nwlt
2012 is hottest year on record for the Northeast
2012 is hottest year on record for the Northeast
(Phys.org) -- For the Northeast, it has been the hottest year on record.
http://phys.org/news/2012-08-hottest-year-northeast.html#nwlt
(Phys.org) -- For the Northeast, it has been the hottest year on record.
http://phys.org/news/2012-08-hottest-year-northeast.html#nwlt
10 yr GMO Study Released
10 yr GMO Study Released
http://www.darkgovernment.com/
Scientists in Norway have released results from experimental feeding studies
carried out over a 10-year period, and the verdict is in: If you want to avoid
obesity, then avoid eating genetically engineered (GE) corn, corn-based
products, and animals that are fed a diet of GE grain.
As reported by Cornucopia.org1, the project also looked at the effects on organ
changes, and researchers found significant changes that affected weight gain,
eating behaviors, and immune function.
How Genetically Engineered Corn and Soy Can Wreak Havoc on Your Health
According to the featured article2:
“The results show a positive link between GE corn and obesity. Animals fed a
GE corn diet got fatter quicker and retained the weight compared to animals fed
a non-GE grain diet. The studies were performed on rats, mice, pigs and salmon,
achieving the same results.
... Researchers found distinct changes to the intestines of animals fed GMOs
compared to those fed non-GMOs. This confirms other studies done by US
researchers. Significant changes occurred in the digestive systems of the test
animals’ major organs including the liver, kidneys, pancreas, genitals and
more.”
Their findings (which were published July 11, 2012 in Norway by Forskning.no, an
online news source devoted to Norwegian and international research3) showed that
animals fed genetically engineered Bt corn ate more, got fatter, and were less
able to digest proteins due to alterations in the micro-structure of their
intestines.
They also suffered immune system alterations. The impaired ability to digest
proteins may be of particular concern as this can have far-reaching implications
for your health. If your body cannot digest proteins, your body will be less
able to produce amino acids, which are necessary building blocks for proper cell
growth and function.
Research Links Extreme Summer Heat Events to Global Warming
Research Links Extreme Summer Heat Events to Global Warming
Greenbelt, MD (SPX) Aug 08, 2012
A new statistical analysis by NASA scientists has found that Earth's
land areas have become much more likely to experience an extreme summer
heat wave than they were in the middle of the 20th century. The research
was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences.
The statistics show that the recent bouts of extremely warm summers,
including the intense heat wave
A new statistical analysis by NASA scientists has found that Earth's
land areas have become much more likely to experience an extreme summer
heat wave than they were in the middle of the 20th century. The research
was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences.
The statistics show that the recent bouts of extremely warm summers,
including the intense heat wave
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