With public interest in climate change reaching new highs during the summit in Copenhagen, today's NASA Image of the Day, showing the distribution of black carbon over the earth's northern hemisphere, assumes added relevance. Black carbon, better known as soot, is thought to be the second largest contributor to global warming after CO2. Found globally but concentrated over Asia, black......read more
Despite the likelihood that the 193 countries at the climate summit will leave Copenhagen with an agreement to finish their work either at a June meeting or at the next annual U.N. conference slated for next November in Mexico City, time is of the essence for President Obama and his congressional leaders to pass a domestic global warming bill. The New York Times reports....read more
I recently met Beth Terry, the author of a great blog on plastic pollution called Fake Plastic Fish (the definitive resource on our culture’s obsession with plastics) at a very sobering event – the return from an expedition to Midway Island with photographer Chris Jordan, who traveled there with a film crew to document the “plastic graveyard.†Midway is literally......read more
With all good intentions, the climate talks in Copenhagen illicited less than they might have. There's a non-binding deal to fight global warming, but there was no agreement on binding limits of greenhouse gases linked to climate change. The process is moving forward in long-term goals just enough to enable the president to characterize the talks as not a total loss. He admited it was......read more
When not producing hard-hitting journalism from the front lines of COP15 (yaawwwn), or suing the pants off the other WWF (pardon me, WWE), the World Wildlife Fund occasionally drops a great little animated video, like this one here. ...read more
Gorgeous melding of 3D and video used to deliver powerful message on climate change. Corny song, though (no offense, singer guy)....read more
This eye-opening excerpt from a 1958 educational documentary, produced by Frank Capra for Bell Labs, offers video evidence that scientists have known about global warming for OVER FIFTY YEARS. Perhaps we deserve our fate?...read more
According to the United Nations 18% of greenhouse gas emissions are from food production. That's more than transportation, and second only to electricity production. Studies show local food creates 4 to 10 times less greenhouse gases during production than typical supermarket fare. You can scream EAT LOCAL! until you're hoarse, but sometimes you need to give people visual cues to......read more
Last year, global carbon dioxide emissions fell slightly, as economic production in industrial countries sputtered under the weight of a recession. The Earth Policy Institute research shows that emissions in the United States fell nearly ten percent from 2007-2009 due to a sharp decline in oil and coal demand. However, emissions continued to rise in populous developing countries. In China -- the......read more
Well, it's all but official. According to every major news outlet, the attempt to pass federal climate and energy legislation has failed. Democrats announced Friday they were abandoning the bill, effectively snuffing out any possibility of it passing. But why? After so much hope early in Obama's term, how did the effort to address global warming and reduce our oil addiction die before......read more