Latest United Nations conference on sustainability takes a new approach – action not treaties

Government leaders, bankers and corporate CEOs took advantage of the gathering of 50,000 people at Rio+20 — the largest meeting in U.N. history — to announce new partnerships, programs and investments. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the $513 billion in commitments “a significant legacy of this conference — billions of dollars’ worth of actions and …

Sea levels to rise 3 feet on the West Coast, according to new report

Sea levels off most of California are expected to rise by about three feet over the next century, according to projections released Friday by the National Research Council. The study is arguably the most comprehensive report of its kind for the West Coast, and its conclusions fall into the range offered by other estimates in …

Yellowstone – new government petascale supercomputer – to attack chaos theory in climate change

This month, on a barren Wyoming landscape dotted with gopher holes and hay bales, the federal government is assembling a supercomputer 10 years in the making, one of the fastest computers ever built and the largest ever devoted to the study of atmospheric science. The National Center for Atmospheric Research’s supercomputer has been dubbed Yellowstone, …

U.S. global warming affects Texas, Midwest, and Northeast – the most

The United States recently went through the hottest 12 months ever, since record-keeping began in 1895. National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration said that for the period from May 2011 to April 2012, the nationally averaged temperature was 55.7 degrees, 2.8 degrees higher than the 20th century average. The national average temperature for April was 55 …

Opinion: forget about global warming, instead focus on your local issues and your quality of life

I wrote this as a comment in response to a WSJ article where 16 scientists argue with other scientists about global warming.   I, too, chafe at the global warming paranoia, not because I don’t believe it is happening, but because I understand how many would question it. Not only is it catastrophic, but it …

Dalai Lama to visit San Diego this April, 2012 – public tickets available in February

Uniting their forces, three local universities are bringing the Dalai Lama to San Diego in April for a series of talks on topics ranging from global climate change to religious harmony. This will be the spiritual leader’s first official visit to San Diego. Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th Dalai Lama, the supreme religious head of …

Abalone, near endangered, once enjoyed by our parents…what will we pass on to our kids?

The next time someone asks you to drive less or recycle, try not to think about how much that annoys you. Instead think about the world that your children or grandchildren will live in. Will it be better or worse than the one you enjoy now? Many signs are pointing to it being worse. One …