The processes by which fertile topsoil is created are slow ones, to put it in mild terms. Generally speaking, the timespans necessary to turn glacial rock dust into something that agricultural crops can possibly grow in aren’t relevant when considered from the perspective of what’s needed to plant this year’s crops. The processes by which […]
Topsoil Fertility Decline & Soil Erosion â A Few Musings Read More đ
Much of the Middle East is now slated to essentially turn to desert over the coming decades and centuries owing to climate change, and exacerbated by poor human judgment and short-sighted activities. It bears remembering that much of what is now the Middle East and the Mediterranean was before the human population expansion of the
Two major drought indices in Europe are deviating from each other in a way that’s consistent with many climate change simulations â further gaining ground in the march towards the attribution of major events like droughts to climate change â according to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports. Image via NOAA/Earth System
Drought In Europe â Another Effect of Climate Change Read More đ
Not only posing significant risks for Earth’s natural systems, the effects of global warming on humans and human systems have only recently begun receiving the expanded attention they critically require. From hazardous effects causing potential loss of life, injury, or other negative health impacts, to the potential exposure of social, economic, and infrastructure assets to
Effects of Global Warming on Humans – From 2015 IPCC SYR Data Read More đ
Releasing this exclusive freely in the public interest, best-selling author Dr. Nafeez Ahmed is offering a unique view of the critically significant impact that climate change is having on our lives, our livelihoods, and even our likelihood of survival on this planet. Dr Nafeez Ahmed is an international security scholar and investigative journalist, currently serving as a
Climate Change-Induced Collapse of Civilization by 2040 Reports UK Foreign Office Read More đ
Droughts, lengthy hot spells, heavy downpours, floods, and other extreme weather events are occurring more frequently and intensely every year. Around the world, research teams are analyzing these trends, noting the changes in temperature, rainfall, ice mass, sea level, and many other variables recorded by weather measuring devices. The trends are undeniable: the Earth is
What Causes Global Warming? Read More đ
Like many who live in the US Southwest, I’ve made my peace with the seemingly ever-present drought conditions here, and it’s somewhat like a sick joke to imagine that these desert lands could be any more arid, but if the predictions from a newly released study prove out, it could get a whole lot drier
Worst Drought In 1000 Years Coming To US Southwest & Great Plains Read More đ
It isnât official yet, but 2014 appears to have been the hottest year on the world temperature record. In December, during the U.N. climate talks in Lima, Peru (COP20), the World Meteorological Organization announced in a provisional statement that this conclusion about 2014 weather and climate was virtually certain. WMO bases its report on datasets
World Record-Breaking 2014 Weather And Climate Read More đ
Last year, ABB hosted me on a tour of the Hoover Dam. It was not as big as I expected, but still amazingly impressive, especially when you considered when it was built. The first video below covers the dam a bit. However, some of the more amazing points made to me concerned global warming and
Hoover Dam Tour (+ Snapshot Of Extreme Drought In Colorado River Basin) Read More đ
By Brad Walker â Rivers Director, with illustrations and other contributions from Joe Mohr Part 4: Solutions In the three (1, 2, 3)Â previous segments of this series we have discussed the problems created on and within our rivers when special interests work together to manipulate the political system. In order to justify the destruction of
The Nefarious Connection Between Agriculture and Our Rivers (Part 4 of 4) Read More đ
This is part 2 of a 4 part series by Brad Walker of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment analyzing The Nefarious Connection Between Agriculture and Our Rivers. Read Part 1 Part 2: The major culprit There are many well-documented critiques of the industrialized agricultural system, so we will not dwell in detail about why
The Nefarious Connection Between Agriculture and Our Rivers (Part 2 of 4) Read More đ
Global warming? Fuggedaboutit — we’re in the age of global heating! This firenado (aka fire tornado, fire devil, or fire whirl), filmed recently in California, is a rare breed, but I have a feeling it’s going to be a lot less rare in the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyNxdxRRx5U Here’s Wikipedia’s current writeup on firenado formation: A fire whirl consists of
Firenado — Global Heating, Here We Come (VIDEO) Read More đ
Greetings faithful readers… Well, March is turning out to be a fine month for apocalyptica of seemingly every sort…So, as your faithful reporter of all things cataclysmic and eschatological (well, I try), I give you this friendly round-up of end-full news items for your reading pleasure, with brief commentary. To wit: Maize Can’t Take the Blaze
When the hydraulic fracturing measure passed the Los Angeles City Council today, several tweeters posted photos of this meeting (source of the above: Walker Foley on twitter). The City Council of Los Angeles, second-most populous metro in the United States, voted 10-0 today to prohibit hydraulic fracturing (âfrackingâ)Â and other âunconventionalâ deep-underground drilling methods to produce
Los Angeles Council Unanimously Puts Off Fracking Read More đ
Here’s a video with some beautiful music and some chilling pics of our changing climate: Apparently, the song is by Emily Maguire.
Woke Up (Music Video) Read More đ
By Maggie Fox, President and CEO, Climate Reality Project Itâs funny. A lot of the rhetoric we hear pushing back against putting a price on carbon pollution parrots the argument that âit would threaten our way of life.â Nothing could be further from the truth. Fossil fuels like oil and coal helped power us through the
Our Way Of Life Read More đ
“Monster” fire consumes almost 10% of Yosemite National Park, August-September 2013 (Photo: U.S. Forest Service) Annual costs of fighting wildfires have grown exponentially over the past decade. They now surpass the value of resources reclaimed. The Rim Fire burning in and near Yosemite National Park has already cost over $65 million, and it is less
Declining And Misused Federal Fire Dollars: The Rim Fire Read More đ
I first heard about the idea of towing icebergs for water a couple years ago when one of our writers covered the potential water crisis solution. The idea came from an engineer named Georges Mougin back in the 1970s. The idea was that towing icebergs for water for those suffering from severe droughts could be a cost
Towing Icebergs For Water… Seriously (VIDEO) Read More đ
We tend to expect a relatively conservative stance from our intelligence community on most any issue affecting national security, and, in particular, the dual issue of global warming and climate change. This ‘traditional’ stance reflects the general position of our elected leaders who continue to resist taking meaningful action and keep kicking the climate
'Resource Shocks' Caused By Climate Change Cited As National Security Threat Read More đ
One of the most unique large-scale international climate change projects is underway in Africa. A 4,000 mile “wall of trees” is being constructed across the east-west axis of the continent as a defense against rapid, expanding desertification of the Sahara. 11 nations — Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti
The Great Green Wall Of Africa — A 4,000 Mile Defense Against Climate Change Read More đ
When I first saw the news that the 2012 US drought probably wasn’t caused by global warming, I knew the global warming misinformers confusionists would blow the story and get caught up in all kinds of anti-science conspiracy theories. Naturally, that’s what they’ve done. Of course, NOAA was quite haphazard with this report, knowing full well
Climate Change Is Worsening Drought — NOAA Study Fans Confusion Flame Read More đ
In 2011, the toxic, yellow-green or green-black mold aspergillus (Aspergillus flavus) was found to have contaminated about 8% of the corn crop coming from the State of Missouri (source: Grain Inspection Service). Last year, more than half of that state’s corn crop was contaminated, rendering large quantities of one of our nation’s biggest food crops
Global Warming, Droughts, Helping to Spread Toxic Fungus in Corn Crops Read More đ
Yep, one of the two possible-to-get-elected candidates for president of the United States of America wants to get rid of federal disaster relief. He wants to privatize it! Which would basically mean that you’d have to pay for help in disaster situations (nevermind if that’s not really an option for some people or places).
Romney Wants To Get Rid Of Disaster Relief, Seriously Read More đ
The UK has experienced a record rainfall on top of a severe drought this year. The record rainfall created widespread flooding of a magnitude never seen before. Still, the groundwater levels were above and “well above” the average for early Autumn. Terry Marsh from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) says: “sustained recoveries of
Climate Change Causing Extreme Drought and Flooding in UK Read More đ
For over half of the last decade, the world has consumed more food than it has produced. What happens when the world consumes more food than it produces? Well, it must start tapping into the global food reserves ,and it seems that in the past decade those reserves have been hit pretty hard. As a result, global food reserves have
Global Food Reserves Lowest in 40 Years Read More đ
President Obama, speaking at the annual “Chevron remembers Nagasaki” memorial service, today praised the US oil giant for its role “in helping all of us learn from history.” Speaking in San Fransisco moments before the crowd-pleasing pyrotechnic recreation of the 1944 blasts in Japan, Obama cited the role of the oil industry in working
Here’s another awesome video from the always awesome Peter Sinclair… on the sad story we are writing for ourselves and future generations:
This is Not Cool — 2012 Drought Video Read More đ
This was recently reposted over on CleanTechnica, from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), but I thought it made for a great Planetsave repost as well. It was written by SACE Executive Director Dr. Stephen Smith. The lead-in video is from the insightful and super talented Peter Sinclair. Check it out: âWelcome to the rest of
Fossil Fuels & Global Warming Lead to Truly Extreme Weather Read More đ
This is an excellent, short video on connecting the dots between global warming, climate change, extreme weather, agriculture, and economic loss. It’s not actually brand new, but it’s still a must-watch: h/t Climate Progress
Connecting the Dots (CBS Video) Read More đ
Via the always excellent Dr. Joe Romm of Climate Progress: Last week I wrote that âEvery Network Gets Extreme Weather Story Right.â The ABC News weather editor even ended his story, âNowâs the time we start limiting manmade greenhouse gases.â But the major networks only devote 3 minutes each to what is in fact the âClimate
Ari Jokimäki recently published one of his regular roundups of climate science research news. Since you probably haven’t seen many (or any) of these stories in the mainstream media, I’m reposting the roundup here in full. The post is from AGW Observer (via Skeptical Science). Enjoy! by Ari Jokimäki Wouldnât it be nice to
Climate Science Weekly Research Roundup Read More đ
There are many causes that could create a global crisis, from food shortages to financial shortfalls to the effects of global warming and climate change. But the biggest concern is what effect a crisis could have on humanity. When a crisis occurs, it is usually followed by some type of suffering that is endured by
Global Crisis Wrap-up (Global Crisis Series) Read More đ
Anyone who has looked into the matter honestly knows that global warming and climate change severely threaten young generations. As reported a few times previously, some members of that young generation are pushing for action now, through legal action. One such story is of an 11-year old Navajo named Jaime Lynn Butler. On May 4,
Yep, this is one of the effects of global warming we can expect to see more and more of. Global warming causes drought. And drought kills plants, animals, and humans. Texas has seen record-breaking drought in the past year. That has far-reaching implications for not only Texas, but the whole world. And, yes, if
Texas: 1/2 Billion Trees Killed from Current Drought Read More đ
Other than what we’ve covered already, here are some top global warming stories of the past week or two. January Was Warm! Yes, January was warmer than average. (Surprised?) Michael Lemonick of Climate Central has more: “As it does every month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released U.S. weather stats for the
Some top global warming and climate change news from the past week (other than what we’ve already covered): 1. Record warmth sweeping through the Eastern U.S. and Midwest. Who knows why? 2. Drought in Texas continues to have a strong effect on Texas agriculture. “Come March 1, if there is less than 850,000 acre-feet of
by Jeff Masters of WunderBlog (repost) Rains unprecedented in 117 years of record keeping set new yearly precipitation totals in seven states during 2011, NOAAâs National Climatic Data Center revealed in its preliminary year-end report for 2011. An extraordinary twenty major U.S. cities had their wettest year on record during 2011. This smashes the previous record of ten
2011: Year of Extremes, Seriously (in Weather) Read More đ
by Dr. Joe Romm of Climate Progress (repost) âClimate dice,â describing the chance of unusually warm or cool seasons relative to climatology, have become progressively âloadedâ in the past 30 years, coincident with rapid global warming.  The distribution of seasonal mean temperature anomalies has shifted toward higher temperatures and the range of anomalies has increased. An
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) both released their final evaluations of global temperatures in 2011 yesterday. They provide two of the longest-standing and most reliable annual evaluations of the climate, using data from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and National Climatic Data Center
2011 Hottest La NiĂąa Year on Record, 11th-Hottest Overall (NOAA) Read More đ
Originally posted on Climate Progress, with only the photo added: by Zachary Rybarczyk Developing countries (including China) are expected to account for more than 90% of global energy growth in the next 30 years. Â The U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) is addressing the urgent need for sustainable, clean economic growth in these regions
Climate Change a Top Priority for U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Read More đ
2011 was a record year for extreme weather, as I’ve noted a few times already. Meteorologist Dr. Jeff Masters of Wunderblog has more on last year’s wild weather, including the top 10 most expensive weather disasters and deadliest weather disasters of 2011, reposted in full from Wunderblog here (note: this is what global warming
32 Most Expensive Weather Disasters & 10 Deadliest Weather Disasters of 2011 Read More đ
2011 was a big year for the environment, in some good ways and some bad ways. Here’s a quick run-down of the top 10 stories of the year, in my opinion: 1. Tremendously high levels of carbon emissions continue to warm Earth. Despite efforts to switch to clean energy, increase energy efficiency, and use more
Green (& Not So Green) News of the Year (2011 Top 10 List) Read More đ
As Dr Joe Romm notes, there are a number of huge climate stories this year. However, he thinks the biggest was the increasing food insecurity related to global warming. I’ve written about this several times, mostly on Eat Drink Better, I think, but also several times here on Planetsave. It’s an important topic, and
Global Food Security & Warming-Driven Drought — Biggest Climate News of the Year? Read More đ
Can you spell irony? In all seriousness, though, my grandparents live in Texas and I feel for their distress and those of others around their state. You would think this would help to wake more of the state up to the threat of global warming and climate change… let’s hope so. “Texas, Alabama and
Texas Suffered Most from Extreme Weather in 2011 Read More đ
Believe it or not (and it would be hard not to believe it), extreme weather is increasing in the U.S., and around the world, due to global warming. And 2011 was a record year for extreme weather. Wet and dry extremes hit an all-time high, as you can see in the chart above. Unfortunately,
2011 — Record for Wet/Dry Extremes in U.S. Read More đ
With the worldâs population approaching 7 billion people, we are encountering a threat of a lack of clean drinking water. Now is the time to start conserving water and considering processes to alleviate the lack of clean drinking water.
Is the World Running Out of Clean Water? Read More đ
Well, it doesn’t come as a huge surprise to see this statement from NASA’s James Hansen, perhaps the top climate scientist in the world. But it’s a statement we seem to keep ignoring. Here’s the statement I’m referring to:
âClimate change â human-made global warming â is happening. It is already having noticeable impactsâŚ. If we stay on with business as usual, the southern U.S. will become almost uninhabitable.â
NASA's Top Climate Scientist: U.S. South Could Become Uninhabitable Read More đ
Yep, that’s a graph of U.S. disasters according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Looks a bit like the graphs of greenhouse gas emissions, doesn’t it? Looks completely opposite the trend of Arctic sea ice. Strange…
US Disasters in 2011 Set New Record Read More đ