Angry Bear Michael Smith’s post The Future of Farming reminded me that food and water supply issues need regular updates and highlighting. This report caught my eye since we here in Boston are experiencing very dry conditions with hot day temps. The U.S. could see a new ‘extreme heat belt’ by 2053: The report, released […]
Reactors in France had to reduce power because of low flow in the rivers being used for cooling. The pictures show Lake Garda in Italy at record lows. The Rhine is becoming too low for barge traffic, for cruise ships. In Rome, the River Po is low. The Mediterranean is too warm. And when you’ve […]
Both Dan and I put this assortment of articles from various sites showing up in our In-Box. Rearranged the articles according to subject. Hopefully, you find something of interest. Democracy “How to confront the growing threat to American democracy,” Tom Nichols – Niskanen Center, In September 1787, an onlooker is said to have asked Benjamin […]
Growing up in Oak Ridge TN in the ‘60s, terms like “homogeneous reactor,” “molten salt reactor” and “breeder reactor” were frequently used, although I couldn’t have explained them at the time. Research into nuclear power became the mission of Oak Ridge National Labs after the war under the direction of Alvin Weinberg. A few years […]
“What’s in it for me?” they asked. They being the transactional species. “Truth be, nothing,” was the answer. Truth be, there was nothing they nor anyone else could do in their lifetimes that would make it better for them, their kids, or their grandkids. Too late. So, they kept on doing the things that would […]
Patrick J. Micharls RIP, Econospeak by Barkley Rosser I have just read an obituary in today’s Washington Post of Pat Michaels, who died a week ago of unreported causes at age 72. He was long identified as one of the most influential “climate skeptics” in terms of policy, playing an important role in blocking the […]
We are firmly into an ENSO phase in the United States that could be regarded as the essence of the word dire. Milestones in Texas the past two weeks from a drought, weather, and a livestock production perspective are coming fast and often. Largely throughout the entire west – it’s hot, dry, and uncomfortable, both […]
Most of the earth’s oxygen doesn’t come from forests or jungles but from ocean plankton. A recent survey found an alarming drop in Atlantic plankton levels likely due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide and resulting ocean acidification. “Plankton is a blanket term for the billions of tiny sea organisms living close to the surface of […]
(Dan here…lifted from David Zetland’s One-Handed Economist newsletter are some interesting links on climate change…and we need to consider the US heat dome as well as Great Britain and European heat waves) Climate chaos (sorry for all the links, but shit’s getting out of control) Read: Researchers now estimate that humans cannot “tolerate” (=not die) wet-bulb […]
“Peatlands cover only a small fraction of the Earth’s surface (3%), yet store more than 15%–30% of terrestrial carbon (C) stocks” One of the terrible tipping points is oxidation of Peat due to warming (another is release of methane from melting tundra). But one key question is why didn’t the carbon in peat turn to […]