The incredibly Thinning Arctic Ice Cap -- simply Chilling!

by jamess

I had one of those conversations with a co-worker today.

about Climate Change.  

The "Earth Cycles" rhetoric is gearing up for 2 years of give-aways, it seems.

My co-worker, despite having several science degrees, including one in physics and one in meteorology, is still under the belief that Climate Change is just a matter of Natural Cycles.  Mankind has nothing to do with it.

Well I struck upon an idea, that I thought might appeal to his "inner scientist" --

The Idea of Inertia.

The "Inertia" of the Ice Thickness, specifically.  The "heat reservoirs" in the ocean warm top layers;  the "cold reservoirs" in the various Ice Caps, around the world, too.

And the Fact that the Arctic Ice Cap has been rapidly thinning for a while now -- got his attention.  He was unaware of this Fact.

And the associated permafrost melting, with its expected Methane release got his attention too.  He was unaware of that Methane was a potent Greenhouse Gas, nor about the frozen Methane Hydrates on the Ocean floors, either.

The "inner scientist" seemed to be listening ...

continued at Daily Kos....

May 2010 ... 393 ppm ... and CO2 is Accelerating

by jamess

We live in Epic Times.

For nearly the last Million years, CO2 levels in the Atmosphere, stayed mostly below 300 ppm (parts per million).

Well those happy days are apparently over.

Welcome to the New Normal!

CO2Now.org

Earth's CO2 Home Page

Atmospheric CO2 for May 2010

392.94 ppm

larger image

Preliminary data released June 7, 2010 (NOAA-ESRL MLO)

Well maybe 393 PPM of CO2 is not really that big of a deal?

CO2Now.org

What level is safe?

The upper safety limit for atmospheric CO2 is 350 parts per million (ppm). Atmospheric CO2 levels have stayed higher than 350 ppm since early 1988.

Well maybe that extra 43 ppm's is not really big enough to matter?  (... we can hope.)

continued at Daily Kos....

Flow Rate Technical Group ups the Ante for BP

by jamess

Hot off the Presses ... Scoop: Gulf well may be gushing 25,000 to 30,000 barrels By Joel Achenbach, washingtonpost.com -- June 10, 2010; 4:00 PM ET Just filed to the web some new figures we obtained this afternoon from the federal government that suggest the Deepwater Horizon well is gushing more oil than previously estimated. The Flow Rate Technical Group has about five subgroups, and the one that is looking at the video of the leak, the so-called plume team, has come up with an estimate of 20,000 to 40,000 barrels a day, with the most likely range being 25,000 to 30,000 barrels. The team had earlier estimated the flow at 12,000 to 25,000 barrels.

continued at Daily Kos....

UPDATED: Some of the Oil is being Captured, and SOME, of it is NOT

by jamess

You've got to love breathless headlines, full of the 'best spin' possible. BP manages to catch some leaking crude oil Canwest News Service - June 4, 2010 It's estimated BP is siphoning oil at a rate of about 1,000 barrels a day so far. The damaged well has been spewing between 12,000 and 25,000 barrels a day since April. Allen said the containment cap had not made a perfect seal over the riser pipe, so oil may still be able to escape even after the vents are closed. 1,000 / 12,000  =  8.3% 1,000 / 25,000  =  4.2% But what does SOME really mean if we choose to use the Worst Case scenario numbers, that BP gave Congress, behind closed doors?  It seems we are approaching that 'Worst Case' ... 1,000 / 60,000  =  1.7% Yes, I guess, that might qualify as "some" of the Oil being captured. Of course that should be immediately follow by the question: Well that means "SOME" of it is still gushing, Right? How Much ... are in each of those 'some's?

continued at Daily Kos....

What 'Legitimate Claims' look like -- It's time to Raise the 75M Cap

by jamess

BP Hard To Pin Down On Oil Spill Claims NPR, Morning Edition - May 24, 2010 Yuki Noguchi BP has repeatedly said it would pay all legitimate claims resulting from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but such promises raise a crucial question: What exactly does "legitimate claim" mean? [...] BP has declined to define the term or provide examples. BP American President Lamar McKay remained steadfastly vague during a Senate hearing this month. Despite prodding from Washington Democrat Maria Cantwell, McKay would not veer off of his message: We're going to pay all legitimate claims. A BP spokesman declined to discuss the company's definition of "legitimate." In an e-mail, the spokesman said BP hired a firm called ESIS to assess all oil spill claims. As of last week, it had received nearly 16,000 claims. The spokesman said BP has in some cases paid some claims within 48 hours of receiving supporting documentation. What exactly does "legitimate claim" mean?   Good Question. Perhaps this can give us a clue:

continued at Daily Kos....