What happens when an expert group calls for transformative change, based on a documented decline of the natural world? That’s the subject of this article in Science Magazine.
One million of the eight million total plant and animal species is facing imminent extinction, and their loss is likely to have a cascading effect, essentially destroying our planet’s capacity to support an organized civilization. We must take immediate action. (more…)
Question: The five hottest summers in Europe’s 600-year history of record keeping have all occurred in the last 20 years. What is the probability that this is a random occurrence, and thus that the theory of AGW (anthropogenic global warming) is not at work here? How would one calculate that?
Answer: Can be found at Clean Energy Answers.
Relevance: Still June, it was 111 degrees F in France today. Temperature records are being smashed all over the Continent.
Commercial air conditioning optimization technology to reduce energy consumption is the coolest new trend in sustainability practices, literally since the technology provides the most efficient building cooling systems, while easing the load on the environment and your wallet.
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Washington State has among the cleanest grid-mixes in the U.S., due to its prodigious hydro power. But there are times when The Evergreen State can’t generate enough electricity from within its borders and needs to import from neighboring states, and up until now that meant tapping into coal plants in Montana. (more…)
Like every other country on Earth, the United States is not at all homogeneous, but, rather, composed of regions that have their own character, some charming, others not so much. Maine is known for its bountiful lobsters and its boots from outdoor clothing outfitter LL Bean boots (shown), befitting its cold and wet climate, but also for its unusual social fabric, where it seems that everyone knows everyone else’s business. (more…)
If you haven’t already done so, you may want to acquaint yourself with the concept of an LCA — life-cycle analysis (or “assessment”). It’s simply a summation of the environmental inputs and outputs of the “cradle to grave” sequence of events, as they affect the environment, associated with a certain item.
Here’s an article that discusses the projected price tag of seawalls required to protect U.S. cities by 2040, pegging the cost at $416 billion. Seawalls are examples of “adaptation,” i.e., making changes in the way we live so as to minimize the damage resulting from a changing climate. (more…)
From the Washington Post:
Environmental Protection Agency air chief Bill Wehrum, who helped reverse Obama-era rules aimed at cutting pollutants, is stepping down amid scrutiny over possible violations of federal ethics rules. (more…)
Oooo! Oooo! Call on me!!!
It’s because, along with that superior intellectual capacity, comes some really nasty stuff: greed, tribalism, bigotry, selfishness, credulity, lazy thinking, and an indifference to the suffering of others. (more…)
Readers are of two minds when it comes to my frequent rants against the barrage of techno-fraud and misleading claims we see on social media. Some are bored, but most like the challenge of applying math and the laws of basic physics to real-world situations. (The former group should skip this one.) (more…)
