Climate change is now an acceptable conversation topic

From a Calgary Herald report: “The Holy Grail is figuring out how to get the public engaged on this issue. The problem is that the typical output of climate studies is statistical information that’s impenetrable to most people,” said Karen Akerlof. “If you can help people feel they’ve actually experienced what’s happening, they may be able to …

3rd warmest summer for United States and the planet – nearly 2 degrees warmer worldwide

If you thought this summer was warm, so did everybody else, from USA Today: While the USA sweated through one of its warmest summers on record, so, too, did the rest of the globe. “Considering global land surfaces only, June – Aug. 2012 was record warm, at 1.85 degrees above average.” Only the summers of …

Video: North Pole shrinks to record levels, could be gone in 4 years

  This animation shows the 2012 time-series of ice extent. The black area represents the daily average (median) sea ice from 1979-2000. Layered over are the daily satellite measurements from January 1 — September 14, 2012. A rapid melt begins in July, whereby the 2012 ice extents fall far below the historical average.   This …

The EPA is screwing up the discussion on global warming

The EPA is reporting the wrong information on global warming and I want them to get it right. The information they publish becomes the gold standard and is reported in the media, covered on TV, and published all across the web. It reaches the eyes and ears of a majority of Americans, and so why are they …

Good news – United States greenhouse gas emissions are declining (graph)

I hate the doom-and-gloom focus of global warming. For an issue that asks people to make big changes, there couldn’t be a worse message. And so I’m proud to present another piece good news: As our economy grows we are lowering our emissions (blue lines) As our population our emissions are remaining steady or decreasing …

Monitor global warming in real-time with new iPhone, Android app

Want to monitor the vital signs of planet Earth? View global warming trends, like ozone, CO2, and sea levels, on a 3D globe? Scan satellite data in real-time? There’s an app for that. It’s called Earth Now and is available on both iPhone and Android. Released by NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory “to drive up excitement for …

The facts about global warming, they tell their own story

Sometimes it helps to have the facts. They present their own story and make it easier for you to understand the problem. Here are two sets of facts from the EPA’s 2012 Inventory on United States Greenhouse Gas Emissions. The first shows emissions by source: Energy – 87% Agriculture – 6.3% Industrial Process – 4.4% …

Ecology goes Big Data – 15,000 sensors to measure everything in the soil

This project, called NEON, should revolutionize the study of ecology, and with it global warming. The Economist – NEON light Once this network is completed, in 2016 if all goes well, 15,000 sensors will be collecting more than 500 types of data, including temperature, precipitation, air pressure, wind speed and direction, humidity, sunshine, levels of …

Our carbon sinks are absorbing twice as much carbon dioxide as they used to

The term ‘carbon sink’ is becoming more common as we all gain the scientific education needed to deal with climate change and global warming. According to Wikipedia, carbon sinks can be both natural and artificial. Both involve the process of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which is called carbon sequestration. The main natural carbon …

A refreshing look at climate change in America – what are we doing about it?

A refreshing, well-balanced look at climate change in America.   You don’t have to be a climate scientist these days to know that the climate has problems. You just have to step outside. The United States is now enduring its warmest year on record…Meanwhile, the country often seems to be moving further away from doing something …