Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series.
Beneath the fold you will find news and notes, community announcements, and our eco-diary roundup.
Peruse the eKos Library to find previously listed diaries. You can also follow eKos on Twitter.
Tonight's editor: patrickz
With contributions from: citisven and WarrenS
Methinks They Lie surveys some of the threats to Earth's biodiversity in a well-sourced diary, Extinction In 12 Years.
That's what scientists give the tiger. 12 years.
After that, look to textbooks and zoos to learn what a tiger was. The world our children will be inheriting will be an increasingly lonely one as we slowly (not so slowly it seems in terms of "normal" extinction rates) kill off the only planet we have.
(snip)
Radioactive rabbits. Two headed fish. No tigers in 12 years. Though these examples seem disconnected from each other when looked at specifically, from a broad perspective they seem to paint a very dire, interconnected picture for our future where the pieces of evidence from disparate fields of research and from far reaches of the planet all come together to form a unifying theme: We will most probably be looked upon, if there is anyone left to look back on us, as an unusually illogical creature that knew no better than to poison itself and the very planet upon which it depended.
When you wish upon a star! - by ucumari
Polar bears to face tough competition in a warmer world
As polar bears are forced south due to climate change, they will not only have to change their diet, but will have to compete with a bear that is better suited to that environment: the grizzly. Scientists have recently compared both the bite and the skull structure of the two species:
"What we found was striking," said Graham Slater, a National Science Foundation-funded UCLA postdoctoral scholar in ecology and evolutionary biology and lead author of the research. "The polar bear and brown bear can bite equally hard, but the polar bear's skull is a much weaker structure."
The implication is that polar bears are likely to lose out in competition for food to grizzlies as warmer temperatures bring them into the same environments, because grizzlies' stronger skulls are better suited to a plant-rich diet, said Slater and Blaire Van Valkenburgh, UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and senior author of the research.
"The result for polar bears may be lower weight, smaller and fewer litters, less reproductive success, fewer that would survive to adulthood, and dwindling populations," Van Valkenburgh said. "Then you can get into an extinction vortex, where a small population becomes even smaller in a downward spiral to extinction".
emphasis added
In a bit of good news diaried by greendem:
The Obama administration is setting aside 187,000 square miles in Alaska as a "critical habitat" for polar bears, an action that could add restrictions to future offshore drilling for oil and gas.
Clouds - by Florin Mogos
Cloudy or not?
One of the biggest uncertainties in modeling climate change is cloud cover. Put simply, increased cloudiness will reflect more sunlight, and thus keep global temperatures lower. Conversely, a reduction in cover could amplify the warming effects of greenhouse gases. A recent study investigates this question, and finds the latter scenario to be more likely:
Lead author Axel Lauer at the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) at UHM notes, "All the global climate models we analyzed have serious deficiencies in simulating the properties of clouds in present-day climate. It is unfortunate that the global models' greatest weakness may be in the one aspect that is most critical for predicting the magnitude of global warming."
To study the clouds, the researchers applied a model representing only a limited region of the atmosphere over the eastern Pacific Ocean and adjacent land areas. The clouds in this region are known to greatly influence present climate, yet current global models do poorly in representing them. The regional model, developed at the IPRC, successfully simulates key features of the region's present-day cloud fields, including the observed response of clouds to El Nino. Having evaluated the model's simulation of present-day conditions, the researchers examined the response of simulated clouds in a warmer climate such as it might be in 100 years from now. The tendency for clouds to thin and cloud cover to reduce was more pronounced in this model than in any of the current global models.
Co-author Kevin Hamilton concludes, "If our model results prove to be representative of the real global climate, then climate is actually more sensitive to perturbations by greenhouse gases than current global models predict, and even the highest warming predictions would underestimate the real change we could see."
emphasis added
Revisiting Donald Appleyard's Livable Streets from Streetfilms on Vimeo.
It's not rocket science: the best way to meet your neighbors and make new friends is to reduce the number of cars in the street!
A just released video on the Streetfilms blog offers a fascinating exploration of the work of Professor Donald Appleyard, author of Livable Streets, who researched how people experience streets with different traffic volumes. He helped to quantify and measure things like relationships amongst neighbors, gathering places and what people consider their home. Not that we needed proof, but sometimes it's good to be reminded that the best way to make new friends is not by increasing your facebook clicks, but by decreasing the number of cars that drive through your neighborhood.
by citisven
WarrenS made a New Year's Resolution to write a letter advocating climate action every day. The result is over three hundred letters to congresspeople, newspapers, President Obama, and more. Warren has even had letters published in the New York Times and the Boston Globe.
Learn Warren's letter writing technique here. Be sure to steal his stuffand visit his blog.
Month 11, Day 26: Curiouser and Curiouser
The Independent (UK) runs an article on the newly issued UN climate report. The comments are a huge pile of stupid.
When it comes to global climate change and the possibility of a genuinely robust treaty on carbon emissions, it is depressing to realize how hard we have to work to achieve — nothing. After months of international name-calling and internecine disputes, the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases seem locked in a Red Queen’s race in which any agreement will fall short of what is really needed. It’s easy to understand why; governments are set up to dampen the impulses of rapid change, since a society undergoing constant radical transformations would be difficult to live in. But climate change is different; what we hear from scientists is equivalent to a cardiologist’s unequivocal statement to a heart patient: change your habits immediately, or die. And from our climate negotiators? Denial and bargaining. Just as you can’t make a deal with coronary artery disease, there is no bargaining with the greenhouse effect.
WarrenS
Turtles
Turtle hatchlings make their way across a beach at night.
Photograph by Jose Manzanilla, from National Geographic Photo of the Day
If you love the environment, and have a couple hours to spare... consider becoming an eKos editor!! Let's COME TOGETHER, FOLKS!
Please e-mail us at eKos350atgmaildotcom to let us know you're interested.
(All times Eastern!)
eKos diaries from Wednesday, November 24, 2010 |
Diary | Author | Time (Eastern) | Tags |
EPA: Three Letters to Be Thankful For | Michael Brune | 2:24:02 PM | EPA, Sierra Club, Lisa Jackson, ekos |
Polar Bears Get Protected Habitat in Arctic! | greendem | 1:59:31 PM | eKOS, polar bears, climate, global warming, Alaska |
Village Green: Giving Thanks to Builders of Hope, Creating Community with
Recycled Houses | Kaid at NRDC | 1:33:37 PM | eKos, preservation, greenbuilding, neighborhoods, community |
Nourishing the Planet TV: Handling Pests with Care Instead of Pesticide | NourishingthePlanet | 12:13:12 PM | ekos, Nourishing the Planet, State of the World, Innovation, IPM |
Gulf Watchers Wednesday - Critical Commission Document Pulled - BP
Catastrophe AUV #431 | peraspera | 6:01:01 AM | Recommended, Gulf Watchers, Oilpocalypse, BP, Deepwater Horizon |
eKos diaries from Tuesday, November 23, 2010 |
Diary | Author | Time (Eastern) | Tags |
DIY Climate Change: Ain't Nobody Else | gmoke | 10:48:30 PM | climate change, global warming, MIT, Harvard, World Bank |
Extinction In 12 Years. | Methinks They Lie | 6:14:23 PM | extinction, environment, tiger, water, hydrofracking |
The BEST investment | A Siegel | 4:18:09 PM | Recommended, ekos, energy, energy efficiency, building, building codes |
Climate zombie Joe Barton defends plagiarism and incompetence | DWG | 3:37:25 PM | climate science, climate change, climate change denial, Edward Wegman, Michael Mann |
Blogging Begins from New Beyond Coal Director Mary Anne Hitt | Bruce Nilles | 2:43:18 PM | eKos, coal, Sierra Club |
Our Best Chance to Rein In Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining | Mary Anne Hitt | 2:38:58 PM | eKos, coal, mountaintop removal coal mining, EPA, MTR |
Record drought in the Amazon | SLKRR | 1:54:37 PM | Brazil, Amazon, drought, ekos |
UPDATED: Van Jones' msg to liberals: Don't give in to despair! (now with
hate mail!) | Eclectablog | 8:22:35 AM | Recommended, Van Jones, Ecology Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan, despair |
eKos diaries from Monday, November 22, 2010 |
Diary | Author | Time (Eastern) | Tags |
EcoJustice: The dam age is not yet done. Avatar needs help. | citisven | 9:47:44 PM | EcoJustice, Environmental Justice & Human Rights, Belo Monte Dam, Amazon Watch, Brazil |
Macca's Meatless Monday...Pie Baby Pie | beach babe in fl | 6:01:50 PM | eKos, climate change, livestock production, resource depletion, public health |
Gulf Watchers Monday - Change in Oil Spill Fund Rules: Will BP Benefit? - BP
Catastrophe AUV #430 | shanesnana | 4:21:52 PM | Gulf Watchers, Oilpocalypse, BP, Deepwater Horizon, Macondo |
Rural Passenger Rail: Let a hundred Empire Builders bloom! | RuralRoute | 3:05:27 PM | Minnesota, passenger rail, Empire Builder, Amtrak, eKos |
Jobs should be blowing in the wind (and frying in the sun ...) | A Siegel | 11:41:17 AM | coal, employment, journalism, jobs, ekos |
Slouching Towards Ecotopia | Dauphin | 6:22:24 AM | Oil, Alternatives, Green Technology, Ecotopia, rescued |
DailyCancun: Fossil Fuel Factual Fallacies: New York Times Called Out by
Renowned Geoscientist | todbrilliant | 3:14:21 AM | cancun, tcktcktck, racetothefuture, ekos, dailycancun |
USA Today: Key climate denier report was plagiarism | Keith Pickering | 2:01:45 AM | Recommended, Hockey Stick, Edward Wegman, Raymond Bradley, Michael Mann, Malcolm Hughes |
eKos diaries from Sunday, November 21, 2010 |
Diary | Author | Time (Eastern) | Tags |
The last most beautiful thing | erratic | 11:07:22 PM | ekos, action, environment, meadows, beauty |
OMG: Gov. Schwarzenegger to Rescue of Climate Change Fiasco! | Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse | 9:51:54 PM | Recommended, Climate Change News Roundup, climate change, environment, Arnold Schwarzenegger, California |
Time For Ken Cuccinelli To Mann Up & Apologize | TheGreenMiles | 9:42:28 PM | Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia, climate, environment, global warming |
A More Ancient World: Twixt Land and Sea | matching mole | 8:41:06 PM | Rescued, A More Ancient World, biodiversity, teaching, learning |
Republicans Win, Mother Earth Loses | stonehenge | 6:57:21 PM | Global Warming, ekos |
Gulf Watchers Sunday - New Charges Against BP; Barton Eyes Energy Chair - BP
Catastrophe AUV #429 | Yasuragi | 9:35:21 AM | Gulf Watchers, Oilpocalypse, BP, Deepwater Horizon, Macondo |
Daily bigjac Black Friday Poetry Slam | bigjacbigjacbigjac | 5:37:23 AM | Rescued, Walmart, poetry, economics, retail |
Gulf of Mexico Liveblog Digest (Part 2) | Gulf Watchers | 1:33:52 AM | Gulf Watchers, Oilpocalypse, BP, Deepwater Horizon, Macondo |
Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Vice President Joe Biden's birthday
edition) | Neon Vincent | 12:04:27 AM | Recommended, Overnight News Digest, OND, science, space, environment |