Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft.
Methane is a common substance in the solar system and on our planet. It's a potent greenhouse gas at terrestrial temperatures, but under the right conditions it can become trapped in solid water ice stored in massive reservoirs under land and sea. If that ice starts to melt, the methane is released and a brand-new feedback loop is born. This may already be happening on a global scale,
contributing to plumes and mysterious holes turning up in Siberia. But in the USA,
denial is doing just fine:
This may confirm suspicions that many of us have already had. Besides leading the world in consumer debt and military spending, the U.S. can now add climate denial to that list.
Not only was the U.S. last, but it was last by a considerable margin. Consider the following question: “To what extent do you agree or disagree, the climate change we are currently seeing is largely the result of human activity?” A mere 54 percent of respondents from the U.S. agreed. Compare that with 93 percent from China and 84 percent from both Argentina and Italy. India, France, Turkey, Spain, Brazil, Belgium, South Korea and South Africa all scored 75 percent or higher.
Droughts, fires, hurricanes, and here's a possible new
twist to climate change:
more tornadoes.
They’ve dismissed the science. They’ve pooh-poohed the mounting evidence that disruptive climate change is already underway. They’ve assumed scientists were over-reacting, and that all environmentalists are watermelons. And that bodes poorly for our future. Because the longer we wait, the more plausible our “collapse” scenario, with its unhappy implications for western democracies, becomes.
It may be the great attitude adjustment that I believe is coming,” Wiles continued. “Ebola could solve America’s problems with atheism, homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, pornography, and abortion.” ... Right Wing Watch reported that he warned the previous day that President Barack Obama may intentionally spread the deadly virus through a mandatory and mysterious vaccine.