Deforestation changes climate not the other way around

3-year Project for One Million Trees to be Planted in Africa’s Mt Elgon Region Begun A three-year project to increase forest cover and help local communities in eastern Uganda reverse the effects of deforestation has begun. While the project is billed as one to help reverse the effects of climate change (A UK Department forContinue reading “Deforestation changes climate not the other way around”

Global warming video provides a partial list of threats

So far global warming will cause (or might cause) over 800 threats. This A-Z video just skims the surface And while we’re reviewing anthropogenic global warming, over at Climate, Etc  Judith Curry reflects on how we all came to where we are. [T]he policy cart was put before the scientific horse, justified by the precautionaryContinue reading “Global warming video provides a partial list of threats”

Hal Lewis Resigns From The American Physical Society

This letter of resignation from the American Physical Society by Dr. Harold Lewis is being placed on science and environmental blogs. Highlights and emphasis have been added by me. From: Hal Lewis, University of California, Santa Barbara To: Curtis G. Callan, Jr., Princeton University, President of the American Physical Society 6 October 2010 Dear Curt:Continue reading “Hal Lewis Resigns From The American Physical Society”

‘Environmentalism’ doesn’t need to address climate change

Dave Roberts wonders on Grist.org (motto: “A beacon in the smog”), “Can we survive in conditions [caused by global warming] that humanity has literally never faced?” Oh I think so. In fact,our species have faced such occurrences.  Notable warm periods occurred from 230 B.C.E. to C.E. 140 and C.E. 640 to 760 (Report: “Two millenniaContinue reading “‘Environmentalism’ doesn’t need to address climate change”

Let’s not gush about our clean energy options

Estimates regarding the rate of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil blowout get spewier with each succeeding news cycle. The mess being made requires that we Americans consider what we are willing to pay—economically and environmentally— for energy. I didn’t see President Obama’s live televised remarks to the nation on the BP oil spill but watched itContinue reading “Let’s not gush about our clean energy options”

Sounding the alarmed, are the world’s forests 80% fragmented?

Ignorance is the parent of fear” – Herman Melville Willful Sturm und Drang A statement crafted to alarm you: “…80 percent of the world’s intact forests are already gone.” – Tzeporah Berman, co-founder of ForestEthics. But it could have come from any number of environmental organizations—in competition for your wallet. You need to act nowContinue reading “Sounding the alarmed, are the world’s forests 80% fragmented?”

You’re pulling my Yang. Ten dead-on reasons for using dead tree stuff.

Some anti-logging activists have latched onto a fact like mistletoe on a branch; it looks green but it’s hurting the trees rather than helping. The fact: Trees remove carbon dioxide from the air, and via photosynthesis combine the CO2 with hydrogen to make wood, and expel oxygen. This process pulls CO2 , a greenhouse gas,Continue reading “You’re pulling my Yang. Ten dead-on reasons for using dead tree stuff.”

California’s Deforestation Due to Wildfire

This is a map of the National Forests in California. These forests comprise about half of the forestland in California. The Forest Service graphic below shows the results of the 2000-2009 fire season in California. About 1% of California’s fires chalk up 90% of the total acreage burned. Half a million acres that had theContinue reading “California’s Deforestation Due to Wildfire”

Hot Air Cuts California Forests Out of Carbon Offset Program

In order for California’s proposed cap and trade system to be anything but a mockery we need to rip down the “Do Not Disturb” signs on much of California’s forests and commit ourselves to harvesting in California’s forests, even (gasp) clearcutting. Foresters and forest landowners aren’t the only ones who feel this way; the UnitedContinue reading “Hot Air Cuts California Forests Out of Carbon Offset Program”

Clearcutting, Climate Change, and the Center for Biological Diversity

“A clearcut is about as beneficial to the climate as a new coal-fired power plant.” – spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity Spin consumes science Such a sound bite is ‘spin;’ and we should not confuse such political posturing with fact. Perception trumps truth and the California Air Resources Board has caved to politicalContinue reading “Clearcutting, Climate Change, and the Center for Biological Diversity”