GeoEthos

The Waning Sun: The Sun and Global Warming Responsibility

2007-07-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

The Waning Sun: The Sun and Global Warming Responsibility
By George R. Hunter

The fault, dear Brutus, may not be in our star according to a study published in Preceding A, a journal of the Royal Society, that argues there is no causal link between solar activity and the warming of the Earth.

The article was written partly in response to The Great Global Warming Swindle, a British television program that contravened the science behind global warming. The program claimed the increase in solar activity during the 20th century was responsible for warming temperatures “All the graphs they showed stopped in about 1980, and I knew why, because things diverged after that,” Dr. Mike Lockwood, a chief scientist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, told the BBC, “You can't just ignore bits of data that you don't like.”

Dr. Lockwood believes the graphs omitted data after 1980 because of a shift in 1985, in which the solar output declined while the temperatures on Earth continued to rise.
The IPCC report last February – which concluded that greenhouse gases were responsible for global warming – concurred with the journal report, “ that greenhouse gases were about 13 times more responsible than solar changes for rising global temperature,” the BBC article said.

Grave New World: IPCC’s latest report

2007-04-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

By: George R. Hunter

The Fourth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was released Friday, April 06. The report looks at the impact of climate change on the environment. The findings are grave.

On our current trajectory, the next century will bring a 4 to 5 degree rise in temperatures, droughts, coastal flooding and extinctions of various species. Poorer nations will be hardest hit as they “have limited adaptive capabilities, and are more dependent on climate-sensitive resources such as local water and food supplies,” warns the report.

“The overall pattern, if you were going to distill it down to something very simple, is that the drier regions get drier and the wet regions get wetter,” Richard Seager of Columbia University told NPR on Friday.

In February the panel concluded (with 90% certainty) that humans are responsible for the global warming.

You can read a summary of the latest IPCC report here.

Live Earth Concert 7 7 07

2007-03-26T05:02:00.000-07:00

Make sure you mark your calendars - July 7th 2007 is the date for the Live Earth Concert. Us here at GeoEthos will be trying to make the show. Check out these links for more information on the upcoming concert and the updated locations.
Live Earth Concert - 7 7 07 http://liveearth.org/ and http://liveearth.msn.com/

Don Quixote looks at a Wind Turbine: Beauty or Beast?

2007-03-26T05:01:00.000-07:00

By George R. Hunter

Contrary to the cliché, beauty is not simply in the eye of the beholder. Objects considered beautiful also carry, like words, connotations—that is a meaning associated with the object which may differ between individuals or groups. When it comes to the aesthetic of the wind turbines (sometimes called windmills) beauty may have more to do with how you view the environment.

Wherever wind farms are proposed debate is sure to follow. Wind farms are heralded by environmentalist as a clean, non-CO2 emitting, renewable resource that harnesses wind power for energy. For others fair is foul. Detractors cite the inconsistency of wind power and see the turbines as ugly.

It is true that wind farms are an intermittent source of energy, meaning that when the wind is not blowing, energy cannot be harvested. Also the energy harvested from wind cannot be stored for later use. However projects are underway that will convert wind energy into storable hydrogen for use at times of peak energy consumption.

The argument over aesthetics is interesting because it may be influenced by our perception of the environment. So if you feel alternative energy sources are necessary and view wind turbines as a practical way of harnessing this renewable energy, you may also appreciate the turbines’ clean, mechanical lines juxtaposed against the natural landscape and the dynamism of the blades in motion. If not, prepare to do battle with giants.

Save Our Selves / Live Earth / 7.7.07

2007-03-25T19:53:00.001-07:00

Check-out Live Earth at http://liveearth.org/ and keep 7.7.07 open.

Change of Heart: Evangelicals and the Environment

2007-03-25T18:43:00.000-07:00

By George R. Hunter
NPR recently reported that Richard Cizik, vice president of the National Association of Evangelicals, has teamed up with scientists to lobby Washington on environmental issues.

Long considered the domain of liberal fear-mongers, the environment was overlooked by Evangelicals, but Cizik has been instrumental in pushing Evangelicals in a greener direction. Cizik frames the environmental issues as a sanctity-of-life issue: "If coal-burning utility plants emit nitrous oxides, mercury, which is then transmitted into our rivers and lakes, ingested by fish eaten by pregnant women who then pass it along to their unborn children and babies, then isn't that a sanctity-of life-issue?"[1]

Interesting here is the (much welcomed) shift in the framing of the environmental narrative, but will the flock follow?
[1] http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6935508

Energy Efficient Appliances

2007-03-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

Check out http://www.energystar.gov for more information on energy efficient appliances and how you can make your home more energy efficient while saving money.

Come in for an Ice-Cap? Global Warming & The Media - Part 1

2007-02-14T12:12:00.000-08:00

By George R. Hunter
“…man's power over Nature is steadily increasing. With the aid of the atomic bomb we could literally move mountains: we could even, so it is said, alter the climate of the earth by melting the polar ice-caps and irrigating the Sahara.”

When George Orwell wrote these words in 1946, the melting of the polar ice-caps was meant to show humanity’s dominance over nature. Fifty years later, the melting of the polar ice-caps has a less triumphal tone: it is a sad reminder of our impact on nature.

With the sad passing of Anna Nicole Smith last week and the twenty-four hour news coverage that ensued, it seemed that America could turn its attention away from the demise of our planet due to global warming. If you do not recall the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released on Friday, February 2, then you are probably not alone. According to American University communications professor, Matthew C. Nisbet, the report failed to stir mass media interest partly due to timing, since news released on Fridays “has a chance of being lost in the weekend cycle,” and also the general lack of understanding of the science underpinning the debate, that tends to overwhelm most readers.[1]

But people tend to notice what they dislike. If you do not believe in global warming, you probably picked up on a barrage of certain-doom news reports and “claims” that global warming was once and for all a scientific fact.[2]

It would seem prudent in the case of global warming to err on the side of caution. If global warming is not real, it cannot hurt to clean up the planet a bit, but if global warming is real then we have everything to gain.
[1] See http://scienceblogs.com/framingscience/2007/02/ipcc_report_fails_to_capture_m.php And for a chart illustrating media coverage see http://scienceblogs.com/framingscience/2007/02/anna_nicole_smith_and_astronau.php
[2] See http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2007/20070207122211.aspx

We Won’t Fry with a Little Help from Al’s Friends

2007-02-14T10:02:00.000-08:00

Concert for Global Warming Awareness
By George R. Hunter

It seems the global warming guru Al Gore is still dogged by a poor public image. The former vice-president and president-in-all-but-electoral-votes is perhaps too divisive a political figure to sell the idea of climate change to many, but fear not there are sexier and more salable options in the offing. A concert series called “Live Earth” has been slated for July 7, 2007 and is hoping to change the image and increase awareness of climate change.

Like climatestar.org and globalcool.com, the concert series is the latest star-studded program to inform a global community on the threat of global warming. Reportedly, the climate change concert series will trump the Live Aid and Live 8 concert line-ups and will follow a similar format featuring “co-ordinated film, music and television events in seven cities including London, Washington DC, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town and Kyoto.”[1]

Celebrity activism on climate change will no doubt elicit a backlash from those annoyed by cause-wielding celebs, but the real test for this marketing strategy will be the continued interest in global warming after the stars unplug.

The “Live Earth” concert will broaden the appeal of the global warming issue, but sadly still fall short of effecting converts.

Oh yeah, the chief-organizer of “Live Earth” is Al Gore.
[1] http://www.ft.com/cms/s/ebad1e4a-b719-11db-8bc2-0000779e2340.html

An Inconvenient Truth - Seen It?

2007-02-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

Have you seen the DVD An Inconvenient Truth? If so, what did you think about it? What do you think about Global Warming? Leave a comment and let us know.

GeoEthos Global Warming- Project Week 1

2007-02-12T08:58:00.000-08:00

"an inconvenient truth" Pass It On Comments:
Have you gotten the GeoEthos Package?
If so place your comments here.
example topics:
What do you have to say about Global Warming?
Where is the DVD now?
Who did you pass it on to?