Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series.
Tonight's editor: patrickz
••
••
In a new study, scientists deduce the ultimate fate of our universe: a "Big Freeze". But don't fret - humans will be long gone before the last stars dim out.
Of much more immediate concern: the Smithsonian Institute and the University of Hawaii have created the first ever repository of frozen Hawaiian coral species, and new satellite imagery gives detailed data on the decline of the world's mangrove forests. In Pakistan, the situation remains dire.
••
••
Beneath the fold you will find news and notes, community announcements, and our eco-diary roundup.
All views expressed by today's editor do not necessarily represent those of eKos or eKos listed diarists.
Please rec the Gulf Watchers Mothership!
Quote of the day:
"I realized very soon after I started looking into climate change that this is obviously going to be the most difficult challenge that the human race is going to face."
- Rajendra Pachauri
|
Hubble Ultra Deep Field: the most awesome photograph taken, ever |
The end of the universe
An international research team was able to determine the distribution of dark energy by observing the gravitational lens effect. This is caused when the gravitational field of a nearer object (in this case, galactic cluster Abell 1689) distorts the path of photons from much more distant galaxies:
The way in which light is distorted by this cosmic lens depends on three factors: how far away the distant object is; the mass of Abell 1689; and the distribution of dark energy.
The astronomers were able to measure the first two variables using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, enabling them to calculate this crucial third factor.
Knowing the distribution of dark energy (a form of energy that is not directly observable) in the universe is key to understanding its fate. If the 'negative pressure' of dark energy is unable to overcome gravitational attraction, then the universe will end in a "Big Crunch". Otherwise, it is doomed to expand forever, and this, according to the researchers, will be its fate. In this scenario, the stars will eventually burn out (100 trillion years), baryonic matter will decay (assuming it does, ~10^37 years) and black holes will begin to dominate the universe (10^40 to 10^100 years). Once Hawking radiation depletes the last of the black holes, our universe will go dark (>10^100 years), and may slowly approach a state of maximum entropy.
You may ask, what does all of this have to do with the environment? Nothing, obviously, in the short term. But if we confine our thinking to the short term, how can we possibly survive as a species beyond the next few millenia? Climate change and biodiversity loss may seem like catastrophes in slow motion, but on a geologic timescale, we humans are ushering in unprecedented changes in the blink of an eye.
Freezing coral to save it
ScienceDaily (Aug. 19, 2010) — Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa have created the first frozen bank for Hawaiian corals in an attempt to protect them from extinction and to preserve their diversity in Hawaii.
Mary Hagedorn, an adjunct faculty member at HIMB and a research scientist with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, leads the laboratory at the HIMB research facilities on Coconut Island in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, that is banking the frozen coral cells.
"Because frozen banked cells are viable, the frozen material can be thawed one, 50 or, in theory, even 1,000 years from now to restore a species or population," said Hagedorn. "In fact, some of the frozen sperm samples have already been thawed and used to fertilize coral eggs to produce developing coral larvae."
New imagery tracks mangrove decline
ScienceDaily (Aug. 19, 2010) — New satellite imagery has given scientists the most comprehensive and exact data on the distribution and decline of mangrove forests from across the world. The research, carried out by scientists from the U.S Geological Survey and NASA, is published in Global Ecology and Biogeography, and reveals forest distribution is 12.3% smaller than earlier estimates.
Mangrove forests are among the most productive and biologically important ecosystems of the world, including trees, palms and shrubs which grow at tropical and subtropical tidal zones across the equator. Now scientists can use the world's most definitive map of the Earth's mangrove forest to reveal that approximately 53,190 square miles (137, 760 km2) of mangroves exist, substantially less than previous estimates.
"Our assessment shows, for the first time, the exact extent and distribution of mangrove forests of the world at 30 meters spatial resolution, the highest resolution ever," said Dr Chandra Giri from USGS. "This reveals that 75% of the remaining forest is found in just 15 countries, out of which only ~6.9% is protected under the existing protected areas network."
Actual Pakistan flood death toll unknown -UN envoy
Fri Aug 20, 2010 4:57pm EDT
By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The actual number of people killed by the massive flooding in Pakistan remains unknown because large areas of the country are inaccessible, Islamabad's U.N. envoy said on Friday.
The official death toll is around 1,500 but the true number of people killed in the disaster may turn out to be higher, Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon told the U.N. General Assembly at the end of a two-day conference on aid for Pakistan.
"We don't yet know how many are dead and how many have perished," he said. "We can only hold our breath and hope that the casualty figures have been fewer."
Help Pakistan
There has been a concerted effort on Daily Kos to bring attention to the disaster in Pakistan. You can find the latest diaries here and here.
Greg (Three Cups of Tea, Stones Into Schools) Mortnenson's non-profit (CAI) recommends supporting a local (Pakistani) group to which donations will likely have a large, immediate, and lasting impact-
Healing Development Foundation
http://www.hdf.com
(800) 705 1310
From their page about the flooding:
HDF is committed to work towards relief and reconstruction efforts in flood affected HDF program areas including Mardan and Tandoo Muhammad Khan. HDF already has the existing infrastructure and a team of trained employees and volunteers in place. Currently there is need for basic necessities like tents, blankets, cooking sets, utility containers, soap and bedding as well as, basic healthcare.
More details and videos at their site and their YouTube channel.
• • • • • •
Other groups that deserve support as well.
Doctors without Borders (MSF):
DONATE
The Red Cross:
DONATE
OXFAM:
OXFAM's Pakistan page:
With an estimated 6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, I am concerned that so far the international community hasn’t responded with the speed or on the scale warranted by a disaster of this magnitude.
DONATE
• • • • • •
From the US State dept.
How You Can Help:
Text "SWAT" to 50555; $10 goes to fund for flood victims
Month 8, Day 21: Time To Speak Truth
Figured I’d continue on the theme outlined yesterday and write to Hillary Clinton.
Dear Secretary Clinton,
It is obvious that the United States’ foreign policy in South Asia is going to be significantly affected by the catastrophic flooding in Pakistan. This will be the first case of important policy alternations being brought about by the effects of climate change, but it is assuredly not the last.
Twenty-five years ago, climatologists begin predicting that increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases would lead to dramatic changes in weather pattern across the globe; they anticipated more storms, more floods, more heat waves, more blizzards, more droughts. Now, despite the frantic protestations of the deniers in the U.S. Senate and their enablers in our country’s mass media, those predictions are coming true.
Climate chaos is going to get worse over the next decades, and the current policy paradigm will soon be hopelessly out of date. Either the nations of the world will be able to agree on a strategy for collective adaptation to the destructive effects of climate change — or we are going to see resource wars that will multiply the current level of global misery a thousandfold.
As Secretary of State, it is crucial that you make this point loud and clear in your public statements. Climate change isn’t going to start happening sometime in the future; it’s making its effects felt right now — in the drowning provinces of Pakistan, in the burning peat-bogs of drought-ridden Russia, and in hundreds of other places around the globe. Our news media is unable or unwilling to make the connection; they must be prodded into recognizing the magnitude of the most significant existential threat our species has yet faced.
We need your help.
Yours Sincerely,
WarrenS
Thanks, Warren.
Keep up the great work!
And yes, we DO steal your letters!
:-)
|
Pakistan - Image captured August 1, 2009 (NASA) |
|
Flooding in Pakistan - Image captured July 31, 2010 (NASA) |
LaughingPlanet started a(nother) Google group do address the crisis in Pakistan. Anyone who would like to get involved or get alerts when a new HELP PAKISTAN diary is posted, please join.
< ==== CLICK THE PIC
Thanks.
(All times Eastern!)
eKos diaries from Friday, August 20, 2010 |
Diary | Author | Time (Eastern) | Tags |
GULF COAST, New Agenda | Knucklehead | 8:38:27 PM | Gulf coast, eKos, photography, images, teaching |
"The True Cost of Gas", Tell the Senate to Pass Real Climate Legislation! | Ellinorianne | 4:41:36 PM | Climate Change, eKos, Oil, Gas, Energy |
26 square miles of toxic cloud | mwmwm | 2:03:36 PM | Deep scattering layer, bp, oil, plume, fauna |
OK, now what? | Edger | 1:16:39 PM | Future Generations, eKos |
No More GM Beets (for a while anyway . . .) | rebb | 12:16:44 PM | eKos, regulation, environment, GMO biotechnology |
EnergizeUS: Jobs for America | David E Cozad | 12:01:21 PM | EnergizeUS, David Cozad, TX-06, Raul Grijalva, AZ-07 |
BP Catastrophe Liveblog Mothership: 87 | Gulf Watchers | 6:00:19 AM | Recommended, Oilpocalypse, BP, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, LMRP |
I just sent this email to Bill McKibben and Joe Romm | texas dem | 3:44:55 AM | Bill McKibben, Joe Romm, climate change, cap and trade, 10/10/10 |
I'm a __ing believer II. So doubt was bad Science? | LaFeminista | 1:13:23 AM | Rant, Gulf spill, ekos |
eKos diaries from Thursday, August 19, 2010 |
Diary | Author | Time (Eastern) | Tags |
eKos: 3600ft Deep 20mi Oil Plume Persisting in Gulf | FishOutofWater | 11:00:46 PM | Recommended, eKos, bp oil, oilpocalypse, environment, bp |
Useless | Miep | 10:46:00 PM | values, ekos, resistance, Zappa |
Scientist Recants on Gulf Oil Spill Claim | bubbanomics | 7:20:00 PM | Oilpocalypse, BP, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, LMRP |
Some thoughts on offshore drilling | Thunderthief | 5:58:52 PM | ANWR, deepwater horizon, energy, Obama, offshore drilling |
Well, duh...New research confirms the ongoing existence of oil plume & threats to wildlife. | akmk | 5:48:29 PM | Gulf, oil, long-term impacts, oil plume, threats to wildlife |
No honor among thieves - Transocean accuses BP of withholding info | rfall | 4:56:47 PM | BP, deepwater horizon, oil spill, environment, transocean |
Wind Farms Gain Support in New Jersey | SpamNunn | 4:48:18 PM | wind power, Governor Chris Christie, energy, New Jersey, New Jersey Energy Master Plan |
Village Green: the Top 20 Urban Planning Successes of All Time | Kaid at NRDC | 3:27:36 PM | cities, planning, eKos |
Calling all Artists: Show Us the World We're Trying to Save -- from Space. | Bill McKibben | 11:02:15 AM | Recommended, climate change, Ekos |
BP Catastrophe Liveblog Mothership: 86 | Gulf Watchers | 6:00:00 AM | Recommended, Oilpocalypse, BP, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, LMRP |
Big Kittehs & Wild Woozles - A Photo Diary | Haole in Hawaii | 12:22:15 AM | africa, wildlife, lions, dogs, pooties |
What is eKos?
The eKos project is an effort to distribute environmental content on Daily Kos to a broader audience. When a diary has the 'eKos' tag, its information is collected in a database, which is then published in eKos Earthships and the eKos Library. We also Tweet all eKos diaries using the @eKos350 account, and distribute an RSS widget for use in Daily Kos diaries and comments. Diaries listed on eKos do not necessarily represent the views of the eKos Rangers or any other participating diarist. Participation in eKos is strictly voluntary, please let us know if you do not want the eKos tag!
Tag Rules
If you want to help out with tagging, here are a few simple rules to follow:
- If you see or write an eco-diary or front page story, tag it 'eKos'. and inform the diarist. Use of the tag is strictly voluntary, so always defer to the wishes of the diarist.
- Fix the tag if it is wrong ('e-kos' or 'ecos' tags won't work).
- Watch out for tag abuse. If someone other than the diarist removes the tag without justification, please put it back, and explain to them very politely why you did so. If there is still a disagreement, please contact us. If you see eKos tagged writing that is clearly not friendly to environmental causes, or which breaks site rules, please alert us via e-mail.
- Site rules prohibit calling out other Kossacks by name or user handle in the title of a diary. Don't tag diaries whose focus is to 'call-out' or directly criticize other Kossacks or diaries in an insulting or inflammatory way. It is fine if the diary addresses a meme or argument, as long as it sticks to substantive issues.
- If there are any other questions, comments, or issues, please e-mail ekos350atgmaildotcom.
Contact
You can follow us on Twitter
If you are interested in becoming a ranger or editor for eKos, or just want some more info, e-mail ekos350atgmaildotcom.
Peruse the eKos Library to find previously listed diaries. You can also follow eKos on Twitter.