Hurricane!

Crutzen emphasises that the best way of averting global climate disaster is for countries to cut back significantly on their emissions of greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide produced by burning oil, gas and coal. But in the absence of such measures, and with the average global temperature expected to rise more than 3C this century, there may soon come a time when more extreme measures have to be considered.

In the meantime, given the current government’s talk of pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol, I find it disconcerting that this (cached) Government of Canada Climate Change web site (where “you can learn about the science, impacts and adaptation to climate change…”) is “unavailable”. hmmm…

The thing that struck me most is how far the coast has come in Hurricane Katrina clean up. The last time I was down there was around New Years, and most of the coast still looked like a war zone. While there are still some areas where the devastation is evident -- large structures demolished, beach-front homes in varying states of repair or demolition -- there's no more trash along the roads, and very little otherwise to tell you that a major hurricane dealt the area a harsh strike.

These foodstamps aren't the same as ordinary ones. Families with losses and income in the $50,000 range qualified.

During every hurricane season without fail, I’ll hear someone say something to the following effect: “It’s no wonder we are having so many devastating storms; God is demonstrating His great displeasure at the fact that people have become so wicked.” The sad part is that most of the people who say such things are very sincere Christians who actually believe what they are saying to be true. However, such uninformed conjecture is about as far from the truth as it can get.

Britain’s record high temperature set in July 1911 has been broken for a second time. Other parts of Europe sizzled, too, but Britain is a country particularly ill-equipped for its infrequent brushes with sweltering temperatures.

We have made it a lucky seven weeks into this 2006 hurricane season with only two named storms. Compared to this time last year - this is a noticeably slower start to the season. By this time in 2005 - FIVE named storms, including an at one time cat 5 Hurricane Emily - the strongest storm to ever form in the Atlantic before August, had already formed.

It was not that hot. there was still ice as one would imagine. But it is, thanks to climate change, a lot warmer than it has been since well before the last Ice Age. The permafrost is melting. We could see great collapses of coastal shoreline. Erosion, not due to wave action, but due to the changing climate and permafrost collapse. On Herschell Island, a Yukon Territorial Park, scientists from all around the world come to study the obvious effects of our fossil fuel addiction. On our brief stop at this lonely outpost and former whaling station in the Beaufort Sea, we ran into permafrost scientists from the Potsdam Institute in Germany and the Northern Studies Department at Carleton. They come to measure the rate of warming and the rate of permafrost collapse.

So what is mainly to blame for the problem with the coral? Reef scientists tell us it is global warming. Reefs all round the world are struggling. They cannot cope with the stress of greenhouse gases from rich nations far away. Combating greenhouse gas emissions by installing new technology, is, Western nations tell us, a costly and controversial business. But while the West hesitates over the investment, scientists say the real costs of climate change are being felt in places like San Pedro.

On to the tropics. Monday marked the 1 year anniversary of Hurricane Dennis. A major hurricane at landfall, Dennis moved inland over Santa Rosa County, very close to where Opal moved in during the 1995 season. The damage was not confined to the coast, as many inland spots of southwest Alabama had major wind damage. Damage in Escambia Co., AL was worst in some areas than what Ivan had done. Currently, there are no named systems out there, but there are a few areas to watch.

Anyone who disputes Global Warming is called a “spinner.” Any information calling Global Warming into doubt is “disinformation” even if it’s simply a matter of differing opinions. Honestly, I’d much rather hang with the skeptics than with people like this. I wonder what they’d say about Michael Crichton?

Former FEMA director Michael Brown attended a conference in Colorado yesterday, telling all about his disasterous experiences during Hurricane Katrina. Speaking in front of hundreds of the world’s emergency management experts, “Brownie” warned that “FEMA is a bureaucratic monstrosity destined to move slowly.”

What struck me as the trip was winding down, was how easy it is to forget about global climate change, greenhouse gas, etc. Even though I was catching up on some of my environmental reading, I was spending most of every day out in beautiful environs that hadn’t changed in the decades I’d been visiting them. Skies were blue, water was as clean as I could remember, trash and litter have mostly been reduced to things I remember growing up.

If you drive a private vehicle into the core areas of London, you must pay a daily congestion charge that starts at 8 pounds and goes up, based on carbon dioxide emission levels. This is a daily charge, in effect, a fee for every commute into the city.

Well it’s the one year anniversary of Hurricane Dennis, the third major storm to hit the Gulf Coast during the 2005 season. For my blow-by-blow check out the entries on my old Spaces blog.

But on day three of Hurricane Jeanne, as the kids and I were out looking for gas for the generator we found a Dominoes Pizza with a huge line in front of it. They were open!

American flex-fuel wonders include the 2006 Chevy Tahoe 1500, for which greenhouse gas emissions running on pure gasoline weigh in at 11.0 tons of CO2. E85 ethanol improves (ha!) that to a measly 9.4 tons (for comparison: a conventionally fueled Honda Civic does 5.5 tons and a Prius does 3.4 tons). (mpg and CO2 figures from www.fueleconomy.gov)

If you watch the national news, you’ve probably noticed that wildfires have become an increasing problem for the U.S., particularly in the Southwest, but also here in Texas. And if you’re like me, you probably thought it was a consequence of misguided past policies of suppressing fire at any cost, thus letting combustible materials build up. After all, that’s what everyone from the environmentalists to the Bush Administration has been saying, right?

We need to restructure our economy for the 21st Century, part of that is shifting from a fossil fuel economy — that is causing terrible environmental damage to our water (including the Chesapeake) and air, but most significantly to the climate change that will cause chaotic weather. We need to move quickly on a variety of fronts to increase efficiency and use technology that minimizes fossil fuels. This includes transportation, home, business and government buildings. For all of these areas we have solutions and applying them will actually grow the economy and create new businesses. If we do not act to manage this transition it will be forced upon us by crisis. We need urgent action in this area.

Thus — when Mr. Hotz tells us that scientists assert that “Last year was the worst wildfire season on record,” I have to ask, so what? Studying wildfires between 1970 and 2003 does not give us answers to global environmental issues. It certainly does not suggest a course of action for “protecting” our environment. Who can say that wildfires aren’t simply the natural order of things?

I also found out that the local B&N is supporting the high school down in Erath (which got totalled during Hurricane Rita) by encouraging patrons to purchase a book for the school library; they had a pile of appropriate books (no doubt suggested by the school) for patrons to purchase & donate, so I chose one at random, which turned out to be Girls on Film (The A-List), Vol. 2 by Zoey Dean.

Kite Fever was born from a passion of kiteboarding in the hurricane season of 2004, in Cabarete, Dominican Republic. Miami native Karen Beber Futernick and Californian professional kiteboarder Laurel Eastman, stuck inside the hotel while Hurricane Jeanne raged outside spoke of their mutual passion for kitesurfing and a shared idea – making trendy bags out of old kites.

More scientists have weighed in on An Inconvenient Truth. The verdict? All good.

That doesn't mean that I don't think the movie is worthwhile. I certainly think it's wonderfully done. But in many ways it's like the religious debates we have on this site. The people that already have opinions on the matter aren't going to budget in response to anything said or done by the people on the other side.

It’s crazy to see them still bringing up this “hockey stick” argument again because this has long been laid to rest scientifically. (not necessarily politically) Even a National Academies Synthesis Report reafirms that the current warming trend is caused by human activity. The Real Climate web site summarizes it nicely.

Kimberly Clark, the makers of Kleenex and Scott Tissue, are “kleercutting” the last ancient forest of North America for products that we wipe our nose and toss in the trash. The Boreal Forest is rapidly disappearing as each day the size of Connecticut is wiped off the map and, Kimberly Clark purchases a little less than 15% of all of its wood from the Boreal Forest. To give you a sense of how much wood that is, 1 out of every 4 homes has Kimberly Clark products in it. Now all of these components are disturbing enough, however the tremendously scary factor lies in the soil. This forest is the largest carbon-sink in the world… this forest, is the largest carbon sink in the world. The preservation of the Boreal Forest is more than imperative in our fight against climate change.