writeaboutwarming

May 6, 2013 – From the Little Known Facts File: a disease called Valley Fever.   Until quite recently it was endemic in the arid farm regions of California and Arizona, but nowhere else in the United States.   Now, because of ongoing drought in other areas of the country, awareness of this disease needs to increase.   For while half of those exposed to the fungus spores that carry the disease show no symptoms, the numbers of those who die – yes, die! – is on the upswing each year.   One of the reasons is the lack of familiarity with this malady on the part of doctors.   Another reason is climate change. Other areas of the world that already know about Valley Fever (VF) include Mexico, Central, and South America.    Once soil has become so dry it has the consistency of dust, it is easily transported by the wind.   Human and animal activities increase its transportability.     VF can be contracted simply by breathing in the fungus spo...

October 4, 2011 - Amidst all the very real anxiety brought about by our transitional economy and the "New Normal," I think it's terribly relevant to ponder some of the unintended consequences of the aforementioned. Case in point: our declining consumption of gasoline. What years of well-intended non-profit preaching could not accomplish, a brutal recession has. Higher fuel prices and lower incomes are keeping people closer to home. Couple these two facts of life - experienced most poignantly by our shrinking, high school-educated middle class - with improved car technology, and the verdict is incontrovertibly in: Americans are using less fossil fuel to power their cars. Energy Department statistics show Californians out in front in the race to clean up the air by burning less gasoline. Golden Staters can be doubly proud, since they have not only decreased their fuel consumption, but have done so while adding to the total number of drivers in the state. While gasoline cons...

August 10, 2100 - Say what you like, I think this is exciting: in Orange County, California, human waste is being turned into hydrogen and electricity, and then the hydrogen is used to run cars. An experimental fuel cell makes this possible. Its usefulness will be tested during the next three years at the Fountain Valley Sewage Treatment Plant, where a filling station for the area's hundred or so hydrogen cars will operate. Should the fuel cell prove reliable and economically viable, Fountain Valley could become a major stop on California's incipient Hydrogen Highway (HH). As things stand right now, moving the HH in the direction of functionality is happening, albeit hesitantly. Without the cars, there's no need for filling stations. Without filling stations, the cars aren't going anywhere. The good news is that new stations are slated to open in two Orange County communities soon. The ultimate goal of having 12 to 14 stations up and running to serve Southern Califor...

December 23, 2010 – Climate disruption is becoming a reality for more and more people. It’s become a bit personal, too – my son is in Southern California. He flies out today, thank goodness. Here’s a brief rundown of what the Golden State has been contending with: · 17 feet of snow has fallen in the Sierra Nevada mountains · Some locations have received their entire annual rainfall · 20,000 homes are without power · Roads and bridges have been washed away · Mudslides are numerous because of wildfires that decimated vegetation on hillsides It remains to be seen whether and how the rest of the United States will be affected by this treacherous storm. Meanwhile, Western Europeans stand amazed as snow, ice and freezing temperatures bring airports and rail terminals to their knees. Millions of holiday travelers have been affected by the unusually harsh weather, with flight cancellations and long delays at rail terminals being the rule. Thousands have s...

November 30, 2010 – It’s funny how the United States has had to go about tackling alternative energy. A vocal minority of climate change deniers, most recently in the guise of the so-called “Tea Party,” won’t permit action on the national level. It appears they will continue drowning out the voices of the better informed as long as they have an audience. Because the media decided inserting themselves into the story is OK , they keep prodding deniers with gleeful, rhetorical questions, all with this noble purpose in mind: let’s you an’ him fight. Thereby creating a story for the aforementioned audience. Sort of the way they insist on treating Sarah Palin as if she were capable of serious thought. No one believes it, but pandering is such fun. While these shadow puppets provide infotainment, the real story continues to unfold at the local, regional, state and – brace yourselves – corporate level. At least that’s what Bloomberg Businessweek claims in this week’s article, “Unlikely Allies ...