writeaboutwarming

April 30, 2012 - A report in a recent issue of World Watch magazine maintains that livestock herds have grown to the point that their emissions are a primary driver of global warming.  The report's authors, Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang, in analyzing data regarding herds of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, camels, pigs and poultry, find the livestock responsible for 51% of greenhouse gas emissions.   Goodland, a former World Bank environmental adviser, and Anhang, an environmental specialist for the World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation, believe meat substitutes offer the least painful way of decreasing people's consumption of meat.  In their report, they clarify the need for such action:                      "Today, tens of billions more livestock are exhaling CO2 than in preindustrial days,         ...

April 23, 2012 - Forty percent of something.  Is that a lot, or a little?  Let's see - a third of something is 33%, half of something is 50%.  A small amount, in my opinion, is less than 20 percent.  Any sale that offers less than 20 percent off just doesn't interest me.  A third off, on the other hand, interests me quite a bit.  Forty percent off is what I consider serious savings (half off makes me think there must be something wrong with the merchandise). So 40% is a substantial amount of something, a lot.  If someone is discussing 40 percent of something, I take that seriously. Which means that the fact the U.S., along with Canada, Mexico, Bangladesh, Ghana, and Sweden, has launched an initiative to reduce emissions of soot, methane, and hydrofluorocarbons, is a serious effort to clean the air and mitigate global warming.  Research indicates that these gases may have contributed as much as 40 percent to global warming.  Were these gases...

April 16, 2012 - I don't know about you, but I've had my doubts about Steven Chu at various points along the way.  He has sometimes come across as a "go along to get along" kind of guy.  (Then again, it may be naive of me to believe that science and politics shouldn't have a bearing on one another.)  Be that as it may, sometimes all it takes is one good idea to make a world of difference.  Chu, U.S. Secretary of Energy, is enjoying a bit of recognition these days for an idea he proposed two years ago while speaking to the Royal Society of London.  A team of scientists, led by Dr. Hashem Akberi of Concordia University in Canada, has since delved into Chu's proposal.  Their conclusion?  It's the real deal. Beautiful in its simplicity, Chu's suggestion sounds eminently doable.  By painting roofs white, and by paving roads with light-colored materials, Chu says gargantuan amounts of energy can be saved.  As much energy, in fact, as wo...

April 9, 2012 - Roughly thirty years ago, I lived a little bit north of Dallas, Texas.  I'd been married for only a few years, and my husband had been offered a transfer with his then-employer.  We were given the choice of living in L.A. or Dallas.  Dallas was the winner, because we didn't think we could afford to live in Los Angeles (we were moving from the Chicago suburbs, which is where both of us grew up). Anyway, I found a job, and began carpooling with someone who lived up our way.  One day, on the drive into work, the conversation wandered to our memories of the first moon landing.  We shared our pride in the country's accomplishment, and talked about how moon exploration had affected life here on earth.  My co-worker then remarked, "That's unless you don't believe it ever happened."  I was at a loss for words, and probably said something like "huh?"  He went on to explain that his neighbor, a lady of advanced years, did no...

April 2, 2012 - When I started writing this blog three years ago, it was difficult to decide what to write about from week to week, largely because of the paucity of information available.  Fast forward three years, and such is no longer the case.  Though mainstream media are still mostly absent from the conversation (recognition here for ABC news, who is suddenly on board, probably for marketing reasons), the abundance of so-called "alternative media" means I no longer have to search high and low.  Take this week, for instance.  Several days ago, I thought I'd be writing about the wind farm planned for construction in Lake Erie.  I was momentarily distracted by a story about the military's intention (all branches) to figure climate change into their plans for the future, to which Congressional Republicans are, of course, opposed.  Then I was almost lured into giving attention to the increased fire risk found throughout the United States. These ...

March 26, 2012 - Here in Loveland (Ohio), Spring started about March 1.  That's actually the beginning of meteorological Spring, but much earlier than Spring typically begins in southwest Ohio.  We actually had over a week of temperatures in the low- to mid-80's.  Needless to say, everything is in bloom, forsythia blooming simultaneously with redbud trees, which is highly unusual.  Since I already had my cool-weather vegetable seeds, I quickly got them stuck in the ground.  I planted potatoes yesterday.  We've had substantial rain, though no gentle showers.  The rain comes down heavily, sometimes for hours at a time.  The Little Miami River - the one closest to my house - is running higher than usual right now because of heavy rain last week.  I understand the pollen count is very high.  Fortunately, I don't suffer from hayfever, and have only sneezed a few times.  My husband has suffered from allergies in the past, b...

March 19, 2012 - The World Health Organization (WHO) announced last week that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to antibiotics could well put an end to the practice of modern medicine.  Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO's Director-General, told participants at an EU health conference that AMR is exacerbated by three current global conditions: inappropriate use of antibiotics in humans and animals, increasing world travel, and lack of development of new drugs.  Rates of death among patients infected with drug-resistant germs is on the rise. In 2010, there were 650,000 cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis worldwide.  (If I am remembering correctly, the increase in tuberculosis was first observed in Russian prisons, and in Russian AIDS victims.)  As a result, only an extremely expensive, prolonged battle is capable of curing as many as 50% of these cases.  The drugs used are toxic, and in constant short supply.  Other illnesses are drug resistant as we...