Science on THE ENVIRONMENTALIST

Scientific Case for Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change to Protect Young People and Nature

2012-03-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

by James Hansena,1,2,3, Pushker Kharechaa, Makiko Satoa, Frank Ackermanb, Paul J. Heartyc,Ove Hoegh-Guldbergd, Shi-Ling Hsue, Fred Kruegerf, Camille Parmesang, Stefan Rahmstorfh, Johan Rockstromi, Eelco J. Rohlingj, Jeffrey Sachsk, Pete Smithl, Konrad Steffenm, Lise Van Susterenn, Karina von Schuckmanno, James C. Zachosp Summary....

Your Brain on Ocean: Neuroscience and Ocean Exploration Intersection at San Francisco’s BLUEMiND SUMMIT

2011-06-28T00:02:00.000-07:00

by Greg Reitman On Thursday, June 2, 2011 I had an opportunity to attend the BLUEMIND SUMMIT at the California Academy of Sciences for the first-ever BLUEMIND Summit to explore the intersection of brain and ocean. The goal of the conference is to shape a new era of scientific understanding of the ocean and its great emotional power. Why do...

Silence is Deadly

2011-06-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

Dr. James Hansen The U.S. Department of State seems likely to approve a huge pipeline to carry tar sands oil (about 830,000 barrels per day) to Texas refineries unless sufficient objections are raised. The scientific community needs to get involved in this fray now. If this project gains approval, it will become exceedingly difficult to control...

The Case for Young People and Nature: A Path to a Healthy, Natural, Prosperous Future

2011-05-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

The Case for Young People and Nature: A Path to a Healthy, Natural, Prosperous Future describes what governments need to do to stabilize climate, fulfilling their obligation to young people and future generations. This is the science basis attached to suits being filed this week and in the future in different states and countries. - Dr. James...

Paleoclimate Implications for Human-Made Climate Change

2011-01-19T11:43:00.000-08:00

by James E. Hansen and Makiko Sato Milankovic climate oscillations help define climate sensitivity and assess potential human-made climate effects. We conclude that Earth in the warmest interglacial periods was less than 1°C warmer than in the Holocene and that goals of limiting human-made warming to 2°C and CO2 to 450 ppm are prescriptions...

Global Temperature and Europe's Frigid Air

2010-12-20T15:39:00.000-08:00

by James Hansen, Reto Ruedy, Makiko Sato and Ken Lo Figure 1: (a) January-November surface air temperature anomaly in GISS analysis, (b) November 2010 anomaly using only data from meteorological stations and Antarctic research stations, with the radius of influence of a station limited to 250 km to better reveal maximum...

Massive stretches of oil spotted in Gulf of Mexico

2010-10-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

Deepwater Horizon ExplosionMassive stretches of weathered oil have been sighted heading toward the Mississippi Delta three days after the U.S. Coast Guard announced there was "very little recoverable oil still in the water or on the bottom." Boat captains working the BP clean-up effort said they have been reporting large areas of surface oil off...

The Plight of the Bumblebee

2010-10-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

by Janet Ritz With all the focus on the disappearance of the honeybee, there has been little discussion about the plight of the bumblebee, one of the hardest workers in the wild world of agriculture, despite this warning issued by the National Academy of Sciences October 2006: Long-term trends for several wild bee species -- especially...

BP well is finally dead

2010-09-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

So are fish, shrimp, birds, turtles, dolphins, whales, livelihoods... Nearly five months after the largest environmental oil disaster in U.S. history began, the U.S. announced today that the relief well has successfully been plugged with cement. “We can finally announce that the Macondo 252 well is effectively dead,” Thad W. Allen, the former...

Termites Foretell Climate Change in Africa’s Savannas

2010-09-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

Termite Mound in TanzaniaThe Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology has mapped over 40,000 termite mounds across the African savanna. Why would they do this? It turns out that termites are exceptionally sensitive to heat and moisture in the soil. By mapping where the termites choose to place their mounds, the insects are providing...

BP's Report on Gulf Oil Spill Shifts Blame to Transocean and Halliburton

2010-09-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

With a conclusion unlikely to be taken as seriously as independent investigations, BP has issued its own internal report on the Gulf oil disaster that shifts the blame to its subcontractors -- primarily Transocean and Halliburton -- as the primary potential plaintiffs in the disaster: While it puts some responsibility on BP for errors made — such...

Study: Up to 79 Percent of Oil Remains in Gulf

2010-08-17T04:26:00.000-07:00

The University of Georgia, working with the Georgia Sea Grant, has released a report that concludes up to seventy-nine percent of the oil remains in the Gulf and that it is a threat to the ecosystem. This is contrary to more optimistic reports from BP and the government. Athens, Ga. – A report released today by the Georgia Sea Grant and the...

What Global Warming Looks Like...So Far

2010-08-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

Dr. James Hansen Contrary to a popular misconception, the rate of warming has not declined. Global temperature is rising as fast in the past decade as in the prior two decades, despite year-to-year fluctuations associated with the El Nino-La Nina cycle of tropical ocean temperature. Record high global 12-month running-mean temperature for the...

U.S. Energy Secretary: BP Oil Spill Update

2010-08-10T16:38:00.000-07:00

by Steven Chu U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu talks with President Barack ObamaAs you may know, I’ve spent much of the last three months working to help contain the BP oil spill. I recently returned from my seventh trip to Houston, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to update you on our work to seal the damaged well in the Gulf. My...

Study: Phytoplankton, Plants at Base of Ocean Food Chain, in Decline Due to Warming Seas

2010-08-05T15:56:00.001-07:00

by Janet Ritz A study has found that phytoplanktons, the base of the ocean food chain upon which everything from whales to humans depend, have declined by as much as forty percent due to the increase in the temperature of the seas. The comprehensive report, released by Dalhousie University, has determined the phytoplanktons are impacted by...

NOAA: Past Decade Warmest on Record According to Scientists in 48 Countries

2010-07-30T00:20:00.000-07:00

The 2009 State of the Climate report released today draws on data for 10 key climate indicators that all point to the same finding: the scientific evidence that our world is warming is unmistakable. More than 300 scientists from 160 research groups in 48 countries contributed to the report, which confirms that the past decade was the warmest on...

The Planet Has a Fever

2010-07-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

Have you felt it? The sweltering summer that has strained the grid? The floods and tornadoes and the hail? The increased humidity where it was a dry heat? The dry heat where it was moist? The planet has a fever. That's not supposition. The National Climactic Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has...

Sharks Gather at Oily Shore To Escape Oxygen Dead Zone in Gulf (Video)

2010-06-27T01:09:00.000-07:00

Ben Raines of the Press-Register in Alabama has captured a remarkable and disturbing sight on video near the shore; sharks and other sea life crowding the oiled waters in need of oxygen no longer available to them in the Gulf: Video footage shot on June 18 by Ben Raines of the Press-Register and uploaded the following day captured both...

NASA's Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster Satellite Timelapse Video

2010-06-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has tracked the disaster in the Gulf with two or their satellites, Terra and Aqua. They've put together this timelapse video from earth's orbit: LABELS: bp, Gulf Oil Disaster, Gulf Oil Spill, NASA, SCIENCE

Oil Gushes Unchecked After Problem With Cap On Damaged BP Well

2010-06-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

BP has removed the cap that was partially capturing oil on the broken well head this morning after an underwater robot bumped into the venting system. According to Adm. Thad Allen of the US Coast Guard, the oil and gas flowing through the broken blowout preventer will gush unchecked by the cap until they can put it back.NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The...

Flow rate from BP oil spill many times higher than previously estimated

2010-06-11T03:36:00.000-07:00

by Janet Ritz Update 6/15/10: The estimate has been raised to 35,000-60,000 barrels (1.5 million to 2.5 million gallons) a day. The federal government has doubled the official estimate of the oil spewing from BP's damaged well head on the Gulf floor to 20,000 to 40,000 barrels per day. That is many times the estimate a few...

Global Surface Temperature Change

2010-06-02T04:47:00.000-07:00

James Hansen, R. Ruedy, M. Sato, and K. LoNASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York, USA "Record high global temperature during the period with instrumental data was reached in 2010" We update the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) analysis of global surface temperature change, compare alternative analyses, and...

NOAA Expects Busy Atlantic Hurricane Season

2010-05-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

An “active to extremely active” hurricane season is expected for the Atlantic Basin this year according to the seasonal outlook issued today by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center – a division of the National Weather Service. As with every hurricane season, this outlook underscores the importance of having a hurricane preparedness plan in...

New Video of Oil Spill Plumes: Cousteau: "This is a nightmare"

2010-05-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

ABC News sent Sam Champion with Philippe Cousteau, correspondent for Planet Green and grandson of Jacques Cousteau, in special diving hazmat suits to get a look at the oil plumes building underwater as a result of the mixture of the spill and dispersants. For the first time since the BP Deepwater Horizon tragedy over a month ago, "Good...

The Gulf Coast Oil Spill: An ecological disaster years in the making

2010-04-30T05:13:00.000-07:00

by Janet Ritz The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill has now reached the Gulf Coast and will likely eclipse the Exxon Valdez disaster in its impact on the ecology of the fragile region. In its potential path: the Mississippi Delta below New Orleans with its wetlands, fishing grounds and wildlife sanctuaries; the beaches of Biloxi, Mississippi to the...