tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157365822009-06-23T10:38:04.036+12:00ESTARA blog associated with EStarFuture, a New Zealand company that agonises about the woeful state of the Earth, and is doing what it can to help fix the terrible mess we have made of it through our chronic addiction<BR>to Black Stuff--coal and oil.<BR>'We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.' --Anais Nin.<BR>'Now everything is changed, except man's thinking.' --Einstein.Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comBlogger243125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-52888364053145319432009-06-23T10:24:00.001+12:002009-06-23T10:37:51.442+12:00CO2 HIGHER NOW THAN IN PAST 2M YEARSA new study, reported on ScienceDaily, which was able to reconstruct carbon-dioxide levels in the sharpest detail ever and over a much longer period than any previous one, shows that the peak average over the past 2.1 million years has been 280 parts per million--which was the level before human activity raised it to its present level of 385ppm.Another study onNobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-22494896030973499302009-06-15T06:43:00.000+12:002009-06-15T06:46:31.773+12:00GREENLAND ICE-SHEET MELTING FASTER THAN EXPECTEDA report in ScienceDaily cites a new study showing that Greenland's ice-sheet is melting faster than expected, and is contributing up to 25% of the global rise in ocean levels.The oceans are now rising 3mm a year, and Greenland has been contributing about 0.7mm of that since 1995. About 265 cubic kilometres of ice have been lost each year.Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-50432640997603625992009-06-13T20:05:00.000+12:002009-06-13T20:08:30.802+12:00CLIMATE DAMAGE WILL LAST FOR MILLENNIAFrom the American Association for the Advancement of Science: 'The idea that we are already committed to a certain amount of surface air temperature increase and sea-level rise over the coming century, even if we could immediately halt all CO2 emissions, has become well known in scientific and science policy circles. The longer-term outlook is less well Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-84604799203711834712009-05-21T10:04:00.000+12:002009-05-21T10:06:56.058+12:00CLIMATE PROJECTIONS ARE NOW FAR WORSENew climate-change projections by MIT, published this month in the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate, and reported in ScienceDaily, show that climate-change, if no action is taken, will be much worse than previously thought--a median probability of surface warming of 5.2 degrees Celsius by 2100, with a 90% probability range of 3.5 to 7.4 Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-36974630660570232682009-05-19T14:12:00.000+12:002009-05-19T14:16:07.569+12:00PARTICULATES REPROGRAM GENES IN THREE DAYSA new study, reported in ScienceDaily, shows that certain particulates in polluted air can reprogram genes in as little as three days--genes responsible for the suppression of tumours.To avoid cancer, stop breathing pollution.Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-16873816900547231612009-05-13T10:54:00.000+12:002009-05-13T10:55:58.036+12:00COSMIC-RAY MODEL SHOOTS CLIMATE-SCEPTICS DOWNA favourite theory of climate-change sceptics, who say the problem is caused by cosmic rays caused by increased solar activity, not greenhouse gases, has been buried by a new study, reported in ScienceDaily.Sorry, guys, you will have to accept the truth sooner or later. And you'd better sell your oil shares quick...Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-44713628531370546962009-04-23T16:30:00.000+12:002009-04-23T16:33:13.802+12:00OZONE HOLE EXPLAINS ANTARCTIC ICEA new study explains why Antarctic sea-ice has been increasing overall, in contrast to Arctic sea-ice, which is vanishing away. The ozone hole is the answer to the puzzle. It is keeping the area artificially cooler than it would otherwise be. But once it has gone the overall effect will be the same as some local effects--the melt will be on. Full report in Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-40748001251855338902009-04-10T17:54:00.000+12:002009-04-10T17:57:56.647+12:00NEW WAY TO SPLIT WATERAnd a very clever one it is too. The only drawback is that the reported process needs ruthenium, not the most plentiful element known to science or anybody.Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-47098227323822270012009-03-23T15:33:00.000+13:002009-03-23T15:37:27.484+13:00CARBON-SINKS LOSING AGAINST EMISSIONSScientists attending the Copenhagen Climate-Change Conference say that the stabilising influence that the carbon-sinks have on climate-change is gradually weakening because the sinks are not keeping pace with rapidly rising emissions. Report in Science Daily.A study looking back millions of years via 1280-metre core drilledn from under Antarctic's Ross Sea IceNobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-45841869018995134222009-03-20T20:33:00.000+13:002009-03-20T20:36:47.163+13:00HORROR WORLD WITHOUT OZONE SIMULATEDThis report in Science Daily shows what the world would have been if we had not realised what our CFCs were doing to the vital ozone layer. It would have virtually collapsed in the middle of this century, with terrifying consequences.That study underlines what we could and should be doing about climate-change. There are some new thoughts on the risks from thatNobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-15462110345767312582009-03-12T12:03:00.000+13:002009-03-12T12:06:58.997+13:00RISING OCEANS WILL IMPACT 600M PEOPLEThe predicted rise in global sea-levels by 2100 is now expected to be at least 1 metre, and heading for metres unless urgent action is taken, according to presentations at the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change in Copenhagen--report in ScienceDaily.Even the best-case scenario will hit low-lying coastal areas that house a tenth of the global Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-34178913059432854832009-02-28T12:46:00.000+13:002009-02-28T12:48:45.083+13:00AMERICAN BIRDS CONFIRM CLIMATE-CHANGEThe northward and inland movements of American birds, established by the observations of a vast number of citizens over many decades, shows that climate-change is having a serious impact on bird-life, reports ScienceDaily.Some species have moved hundreds of kilometres north, and are breeding earlier. Others, constrained by changes to habitat caused by human Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-19363763813156444852009-02-26T18:33:00.000+13:002009-02-26T18:35:44.867+13:00BOTH POLES WARMING FASTER THAN THOUGHTThe poles are warming faster than previously thought, raising global sea-levels and making drastic climate-change far more likely, concludes two years of wide-ranging research in a UN-backed programme called International Polar Year, which involved 10,000 scientists. See the full report in NewsDaily.Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-26830647786831746152009-02-20T13:57:00.000+13:002009-02-20T13:59:46.214+13:00TROPICAL FORESTS ABSORB A FIFTH OF CO2A long, careful study reported in ScienceDaily shows that tropical forests are soaking up about a fifth of the 32 billion tonnes of CO2 that being pumped into the atmosphere every year. The oceans absorb another huge portion, leaving about 15 billion tonnes floating about.Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-19372098279334742132009-02-16T13:34:00.000+13:002009-02-16T13:39:38.693+13:00IPCC SCIENTIST SAYS GOH TO BE FAR WORSEA ScienceDaily report says that 'Without decisive action, global warming in the 21st century is likely to accelerate at a much faster pace and cause more environmental damage than predicted [in the fourth IPCC report], according to a leading member of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.'The IPCC scientist Chris Field of Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-82558984149479834322009-02-11T19:22:00.000+13:002009-02-11T19:25:22.308+13:00SEA 21 METRES HIGHER 400,000 YEARS AGOProof that the oceans were 21 metres higher 400,000 years ago has been found in Bermuda, a worrying discovery because of the conditions that the earth is now heading for. Full report in ScienceDaily.Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-47156455230656959822009-01-29T20:10:00.000+13:002009-01-29T20:13:27.337+13:00STRATOSPHERIC SECRETS DISCOVERED DOWN A MINECosmic-rays detected half a mile underground in a disused US iron-mine can be used to detect major weather events occurring 20 miles up in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, a new study has revealed, reports ScienceDaily. The surprise discovery will enable accurate measurements of a part of the atmosphere that till now has been hard to get at (no ladders Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-64341146402093368402009-01-27T20:22:00.001+13:002009-01-29T19:30:42.519+13:00GOH IRREVERSIBLE AND OCEAN DEAD-ZONES SOARThe BBC reports that a team of US environmental scientists says many effects of climate change are irreversible, and that global temperatures could remain high for 1000 years even if carbon emissions can somehow be stopped right now. Their report was sponsored by the US Department of Energy; it appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy ofNobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-84103348993399011452009-01-22T13:08:00.000+13:002009-01-22T13:11:38.106+13:00ANTARCTIC IS WARMING NOT COOLINGSorry, all you oil-washed climate-change sceptics, but new research published on ScienceDaily shows that the Antarctic 'cooling', on which you were pinning a big chunk of your denial, is a myth. It is warming about the same amount as the rest of the planet.If West Antarctica and Greenland melt the oceans will be 14 metres higher.Even worse, thousands of scientists Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-77006866367157148082009-01-19T12:54:00.000+13:002009-01-19T12:56:32.103+13:00ARCTIC MELTING PREDICTS HIGH SEA-LEVELSA new report on ScienceDaily says, once again, that the Arctic is heating up faster than other places in the Northern Hemisphere. The US Geological Survey led the new assessment, which is a synthesis of published science literature and authored by a team of climate scientists from academia and government. The US Climate Change Science Program commissioned Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-38119393551547709802009-01-12T20:14:00.000+13:002009-01-12T20:17:48.323+13:00OCEANS TO RISE A METRE IN 100 YEARSAfter studying the records of sea-level rises in the past instead of computer models, a multinational group of researches are predicting a rise of up to 1.3 metres in 100 years, which is many times what the IPCC's official vew, reports ScienceDaily.Other scientists have knee-capped the climate-sceptics with research showing that the chances of the rising Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-17465732977186401682008-12-29T21:01:00.000+13:002008-12-29T21:04:20.454+13:00CLIMATE-CHANGE LINK TO SEVERE STORMSA NASA-funded study of five years of data from its Aqua spacecraft shows that the frequency of extremely high clouds in the tropics--the type associated with severe storms, torrential rain and hail--has been increasing as a result of global overheating.For every 1-degree Celsius rise in average sea-surface temperature the team saw a 45% increase in the Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-11246376804295223852008-12-19T20:53:00.000+13:002008-12-19T20:56:22.406+13:00GLOBAL OVERHEATING WILL AFFECT USA SOONERA report to the American Geophysical Union predicts a significant risk of abrupt climate-change due to global overheating affecting the US, says Sea-level rises are expected to 'substantially exceed' the 600mm now projected for 2100, but how much is not yet known. This blog has previously predicted 1.5 metres. We shall see.Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-21863324854218607822008-12-17T20:20:00.000+13:002008-12-17T20:23:58.974+13:00GREENLAND's 2008 ICE-LOSS TRIPLE 2007'SThe ice-loss from Greenland in the summer of 2008 is three times the record-breaking loss seen a year ago, reports ScienceDaily.Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15736582.post-72918591077711319232008-11-21T19:02:00.000+13:002008-11-21T19:05:40.020+13:00WARMEST OCTOBER RECORDED SINCE 1880The global average for land temperatures in October were the warmest since records began in 1880, reports theNCDC/NOAA website. The average for land was up 1.12 degrees Celsius on the 1961-1990 base average.The global average for land plus ocean was the second warmest on record. For land in the southern hemisphere it was the second warmest, for land in the Nobilangelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13944826985221698841noreply@blogger.com