Loss of Arctic sea ice is changing northern hemisphere ocean currents and atmospheric circulation patterns. A massive influx of warm water as much as 9° F above normal has flowed up the west coasts of both Greenland and Norway towards the Arctic ocean causing a new northern hemisphere weather pattern called the warm Arctic cold continents pattern to develop.
Temperature anomaly in ° C at 100 meters depth in far northern waters. 
On Monday, right-wing contrarian Bjorn Lomborg argued that we have "twenty to forty years" to spend on researching new technology for global warming.
He argues that "efforts to reduce global warming pollution can wait, because 'coping with climate change is something we know how to do.'" Go tell this to Pakistan flood victims.
I guess "coping" now means death, illness, economic deficits, job losses, hunger, national security risks, environmental destruction, wildlife extinction and environmental racism.
It also means allowing nations to face the threat of extinction. When wildlife is threatened by extinction, our endangered species law may provide protected status while recovery remedies are implemented to save the wildlife. What about people threatened with rising sea levels that might swallow up entire nations? Are people as important as our wildlife?
Delegates from island nations have come to the climate summit in Cancun to talk about sea level rise. Their concerns are understandable. Current projections for sea level rise range from 1 to 2 meters by end of the century if global temperatures rise 2 to 4 degrees C. A recent Oxford University study estimates these islands face devastatingly high annual costs to repair damage and maintain infrastructure from sea level increases of these magnitudes.
"All of us face disaster. We don't want to be the forgotten, the sacrificed countries of the 21st century."
Antonio Lima, UN ambassador for the Cape Verde Islands
You know that time before takeoff? When you hear about how these invisible oxygen masks are going to magically drop down to save you in case of an emergency? How if you’re traveling with a child or someone with limitations, you should put yours on first and then help those who can’t help themselves?
No matter how many times I hear this, I think twice. My gut instinct is to help those who can’t help themselves before thinking of myself.
This post was co-written by Kim Teplitzky of the Sierra Student Coalition.
Yesterday, despite some fierce weather in our nation's capital, members of the Sierra Student Coalition hung bright, colorful pinwheels on Capitol Hill and in front of the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters. (Check out photos here)
The pinwheels came from thousands of college students across the U.S., all asking for clean energy and thanking EPA for its hard work over 40 years (Happy birthday, EPA!).
Earlier this week, an announcement of a press conference today at NASA led to all sorts of speculation as to what would be announced. Based on who was appearing at the press conference, most of the speculation centered around the idea that maybe alien life had been discovered on Saturn's moon, Titan. Well, some of the information about the press conference has leaked, and the discovery is much more terrestrial. However, it does have implications for the discovery of life on other planets.
According to Gizmodo and NASA Watch, NASA will announce the discovery of a bacterium in California's Mono Lake that achieves the effect of phosphorylation differently than other known organisms. Instead of using phosphorus, the bacterium uses arsenic, which is usually toxic & deadly to living things. So if life can adapt to use arsenic here on Earth, it makes it possible that life can adapt to live off arsenic (and God knows what else) somewhere out there.
Rep. Joe Barton, best known for his groveling apology to BP CEO Tony Hayward at the height of the Gulf oil disaster, says the rules don't apply to him - he wants an exemption to committee chairmanship term limit rules so he can once again chair the House Energy & Commerce Committee in 2011.
His fight against Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) is looking increasingly quixotic. How bad is it? Just look at the members standing by him:
Do you love those displays of Christmas (or Hannukah or Kwanza or Halloween or ...) lights? Are you awed by those so impassioned that they string up 1000s of lights in awesome displays worthy of a city center? I once was, pausing on cold winter nights, white clouds issuing from my mouth, enjoying being in the glow of beautiful displays. And, in a way, I was inspired that they would spend $1000s (or $10,000s) on displays and the electricity to power them so that others could enjoy the sight on those cold winter nights.
But ... no longer ... not for awhile. Far too often nowadays, my winter evenings I can wear short sleeve shirts 
rather than bulky coats and gloves. And, energy is no longer a question simply of money. I've reached the point of feeling like a Scrooge; feeling outrage over the tons of C02 going into the atmosphere via neighbors' 10,000 light displays rather than feeling 'joyous'.
But, a compromise does exist; a path to cut sharply those CO2 emissions while still putting out those lights: LED lights. But, far too many are unwilling to spend the money upfront to cut their electricial use, reduce their pollution, and -- actually -- save quite a lot of money.
As you know, I'm firmly (and rightly or wrongly) in the camp of those who are seriously disappointed with our current crop of leftwing politicians and who are quite pessimistic about the short term economic outlook. One of my diaries from this summer (Judging Obama) still sums up my views on the divide within the community and the positions of both sides.
One of the results of this mood of disappointment has been an inability to get worked up lately about politics, and to write anything much.
Another reason for my silence has been that I've been inordinately (and thankfully) busy at work. As you may remember, I created my own company earlier this year, after 15 years in the banking world, to help developers find money to build their renewable energy projects, in particular in the offshore wind sector where I've been involved in the past 5 years.
Well, I'm pleased to announce that the first transaction to happen with my new company's help was signed last week last week.
Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet.
In this week’s episode, Nourishing the Planet research intern, Elena Davert, explains how, in Kenya, the potentially devastating invasive plant, the water hyacinth, is being transformed into a boon for local livelihoods. With the help of organizations like Village Volunteers, farmers living on the shore of Lake Victoria are harvesting the water hyacinth to produce biodegradable furniture, fertilizer, and other commercial products to simultaneously clear the water of the dangerous plant and improve local livelihoods.
One met death by ice pick seventy years ago, and the other is a furtive, fugitive Australian, but I’m giving my votes (thanks to my hacker buddies) to the TROTSKY/ASSANGE ticket in 2012.
WTF am I talking about and how does this apply to the ongoing UNFCC "negotiations" in Cancun? You'll see...