Sunday, August 29, 2010

Biodiversity Photodiary: Carnivorous Plants and Friends (aka Little Blog of Horrors)

by matching mole

This is the international year for biodiversity.  Early this year I planned to write a series of diaries in honor of the year.  I haven't got very far but will try to make up for it now.  Yesterday I finally visited a habitat I'd heard quite a bit about ever since we first considered moving to Tallahassee over three years ago.  Although the Florida panhandle is called the redneck Riviera and is rightfully known for its right wing politics, it is also one of the most biodiverse regions of the US.  The long leaf pine forests, rivers, and swamps house an incredible diversity of plants, reptiles, and other forms of life.  One spectacular example of this diversity are bogs filled with carnivorous plants.



continued at Daily Kos....

A cautionary tale of corn and corruption in California

by RLMiller

A couple of weeks ago, a small story appeared in the Stockton Record: Ethanol Supports Approved:

Pacific Ethanol Inc. said Wednesday that its two California production plants, including a currently idle facility in Stockton, have been accepted by the state Energy Commission for a new price support program.

The California Ethanol Producer Incentive Program would provide payments to ethanol producers when market conditions are poor but would require the payments be reimbursed when economics improve....

The incentive program itself is stalled, however, by the ongoing state budget impasse....

Pacific Ethanol's operating subsidiaries, including its California production plants in Stockton and Madera, emerged from Bankruptcy Court reorganization in late June. Both remain offline, waiting for market conditions to improve.

Below the fold, multiple layers of wrong.



continued at Daily Kos....

Sourcing Skepticism ...

by A Siegel

Skepticism... the ability to question unquestioned beliefs and stated certainties is a powerful intellectual tool.

Sadly, "skepticism" is receiving a bad name through association with those erady, willing, able, and enthusiastic about denying the reality before their (and our) own eyes about the global changes in climate patterns and humanity's role in driving these changes.

Questioner ... Skeptic ... Denier ...

To often, it seems, skeptics/deniers are simply stated as derived from X motivation, Y reasoning when, in reality, the situation is more complex.  While it quite possibly exists, I have yet to see a treatise examining and deconstructing different types and motivations for deniers and skeptics when it comes to Global Warming.

Join me, after the fold, for a  shot at Typing Skeptics: Providing a Window on the Varying Motivations for Global Warming Skeptics ...



continued at Daily Kos....

Climate News: 29 August 2010

by billlaurelMD

This is the next in a series of diaries on the state of Arctic sea ice (and other topics as warranted) in memory of Johnny Rook, who passed away in early 2009. He was the author of the Climaticide Chronicles.

Arctic sea ice is in the forefront of the news I have today.  But I also have a graphic of the globally integrated near-surface temperature to show you all below.

Global Mean Temperature Time Series from U of Alabama Huntsville, 1998-2010
UAHnearsfctemps_20100827

All but a few days in July have been warmer in 2010 than any of the previous 12 years. This is something not at all surprising given the kind of climate year we've had to date. That this is the case as we have transitioned to a La Niña from an El Niño in the last few months, however, may well be unprecedented.

More below.



continued at Daily Kos....

Dawn Chorus: Spur Of The Moment

by Kestrel

This is literally a spur of the moment Dawn Chorus which I'm throwing up because our normally scheduled host hasn't appeared at the appointed hour. The last time that happened, we later discovered it was because she lost her computer connection and couldn't post anything. So, perhaps she's just late and Dawn Chorus will appear momentarily (in which case this diary can be deleted) but I'm posting this as an alternative while we wait.

Few words, mostly pics, over the fold.



continued at Daily Kos....

BP Catastrophe Liveblog Mothership: 96

by Gulf Watchers

Please rec the new Mothership #97 here. This one has expired.
The current ROV DIARY: Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #344 - Broken Handle & Stack Removal - BP's Gulf Catastrophe - peraspera

Rules of the Road

  • We take volunteers for subsequent diaries in the sub diaries or ROV's as we have playfully coined them.
  • Please rec this mothership diary, not the ROVs.
  • Please be kind to fellow kossacks who may have limited bandwidth and refrain from posting images or videos.

PLEASE visit Pam LaPier's diary to find out how you can help the Gulf now and in the future. We don't have to be idle! And thanks to Crashing Vor and Pam LaPier for working on this!



continued at Daily Kos....

Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Recession causes U.S. birthrate to drop edition)

by Neon Vincent

Welcome to Science Saturday, where the Overnight News Digest crew informs and entertains you with this week's news about science, space, and the environment.

This week's featured story comes from Red Orbit.

US Birth Rates Affected By Economic Downturn

Health officials said Friday that the economy may be causing some women to think twice about having children as the birth rate in 2009 declined for the second year in a row.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 4,136,000 children were born in 2009, which was down 2.6 percent from the 2008 estimate.

That followed a similar decline in 2008, which was the beginning of the economic downturn.  The CDC said the 2009 numbers are preliminary and could change.

More science, space, and environment stories after the jump.



continued at Daily Kos....

Saturday, August 28, 2010

BP Catastrophe Liveblog Mothership: 95

by Gulf Watchers

The current ROV DIARY: Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #340 - BOP Swapping - BP's Gulf Catastrophe - peraspera

Rules of the Road

  • We take volunteers for subsequent diaries in the sub diaries or ROV's as we have playfully coined them.
  • Please rec this mothership diary, not the ROVs.
  • Please be kind to fellow kossacks who may have limited bandwidth and refrain from posting images or videos.

PLEASE visit Pam LaPier's diary to find out how you can help the Gulf now and in the future. We don't have to be idle! And thanks to Crashing Vor and Pam LaPier for working on this!



continued at Daily Kos....

You Are What You Use

by Miep

Or maybe not. Many people who care about environmentalism, get caught up a great deal in thinking about how they consume, and changing their consumer habits.

That's good, but it's not enough.



continued at Daily Kos....

A 'Death Warrant' in the Amazon {Earthship Friday}

by eKos

eKosLogo

Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series.

Tonight's editor: patrickz

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The Brazilian government has given a 'green light' for construction of the world's third largest hydroelectric power plant. The Xingu river, which supports indigenous peoples and many endemic species, will be dammed, flooding 190 square miles and forcing the evacuation of 50,000 people.

In other news, El Niños Are Growing Stronger due to climate change, the wheat genome is sequenced, and James Hansen has a message about activism and greenwashing.

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Beneath the fold you will find news and notes, community announcements, and our eco-diary roundup.

All views expressed by today's editor do not necessarily represent those of eKos or eKos listed diarists.



continued at Daily Kos....