High-res mothernaturenetwork: Global warming skeptic now agrees temperatures are risingThe study of the world’s surface temperatures by Richard Muller was partially bankrolled by a foundation connected to global warming deniers. Muller’s finding of a warming world is no different from what mainstream climate scientists have said for decades. What is different is who is behind the study. One-quarter of the $600,000 to do the research came from the Charles Koch Foundation, whose founder is a major funder of skeptic groups and the Tea Party movement.a

mothernaturenetwork:

Global warming skeptic now agrees temperatures are rising
The study of the world’s surface temperatures by Richard Muller was partially bankrolled by a foundation connected to global warming deniers.

Muller’s finding of a warming world is no different from what mainstream climate scientists have said for decades. What is different is who is behind the study. One-quarter of the $600,000 to do the research came from the Charles Koch Foundation, whose founder is a major funder of skeptic groups and the Tea Party movement.a

High-res cwnl: Geologists Prepare to Drill Into Ancient Antarctic Lake A team of British researchers are preparing to dig down through three-kilometer-thick ice to sample a lake under the Antarctic in the hope of finding new species and clues about the future impact of climate change. A team of engineers with 70 tons of gear are to head for Lake Ellsworth in West Antarctica. The lake has been isolated from the outside world for at least 125,000 years — but it could be as many as a million. It’s about 10km long and two to three kilometers wide. The team’s mission is to prepare the way for the “deep-field” research mission that will take place in October 2012. They will then use hot water to melt through 3,000 meters of ice in order to reach the lake, which remains liquid due to geothermal heat coming from inside the Earth. This technique has been used before in Antarctic experiments, but never this deep. The hot-water drill will need to operate continuously for three days to create a 36cm wide borehole through the ice. Engineer Andy Tait, from British Antarctic Survey, explains: “The design of the hot water drill is very straightforward — very similar to the hot water you might use on a jet spray to clean a car. The nozzle delivers water at 2,000 psi and 90C, which is needed to melt the ice to create the hole.”

cwnl:

Geologists Prepare to Drill Into Ancient Antarctic Lake

A team of British researchers are preparing to dig down through three-kilometer-thick ice to sample a lake under the Antarctic in the hope of finding new species and clues about the future impact of climate change.

A team of engineers with 70 tons of gear are to head for Lake Ellsworth in West Antarctica. The lake has been isolated from the outside world for at least 125,000 years — but it could be as many as a million. It’s about 10km long and two to three kilometers wide.

The team’s mission is to prepare the way for the “deep-field” research mission that will take place in October 2012. They will then use hot water to melt through 3,000 meters of ice in order to reach the lake, which remains liquid due to geothermal heat coming from inside the Earth. This technique has been used before in Antarctic experiments, but never this deep. The hot-water drill will need to operate continuously for three days to create a 36cm wide borehole through the ice.

Engineer Andy Tait, from British Antarctic Survey, explains: “The design of the hot water drill is very straightforward — very similar to the hot water you might use on a jet spray to clean a car. The nozzle delivers water at 2,000 psi and 90C, which is needed to melt the ice to create the hole.”

(via mothernaturenetwork)

High-res mohandasgandhi: Scientists call for protected areas to conserve deep sea environment: Waste dumping, fishing, mining and climate change are transforming the deep sea ecosystem faster than scientists can study it There’s trouble in the depths. The deep sea is the last true wilderness on Earth, but 1,800 km below the surface, an environmental crisis is growing. On Monday scientists at the Census of Marine Life (COML) project, the 10-year assessment of the world’s oceans completed in 2010, published their analysis of the impact humans are having on the deep sea. Their conclusions were stark: the largest habitat on Earth is being damaged by pollution, resource exploitation and climate change. The deep sea accounts for 73% of the oceans, an area of 360 million square kilometres. It is a world completely unlike our own. Sunlight cannot reach the depths and the only flickers of light come from living things that use bioluminescence for hunting or disguise. Far from being a barren wasteland, the deep sea is teeming with life. From vampire squid to blobfish, these extraordinary animals are found nowhere else and their habitats are as unusual as the creatures themselves. Hydrothermal vents, for example, spew out a variety of chemicals on which communities of bacteria can survive without any need for sunlight. There are even forests of coral adapted to live in the cold and dark, providing shelter for more than a thousand animal species. All of this is under threat. Writing in the journal PLoS One, scientists led by Eva Ramirez-Llodra of the Institute of Marine Science in Barcelona conclude that humans are having severe impacts on the deep sea. In the past it was the dumping of waste that caused the most harm. “Approximately 6.4 million tonnes of litter per year is dropped into the oceans,” they write. Plastics are of particular concern. “There is accumulating evidence that ‘mermaids’ tears’ (5mm in diameter) and microplastics (microscopic sand grain-sized particles of eroded plastic) are becoming more common in the world oceans,” says the report. “Little is known however, of the true effect of these particles on the environment and fauna.” The main problems today are fishing and mining. Deep-sea trawling, say the researchers, is particularly damaging because the species caught are “often long lived, with slow growth and delayed maturity making them poorly adapted to sustain heavy fishing pressure.” (Read more) [Image via NOAA]

mohandasgandhi:

Scientists call for protected areas to conserve deep sea environment: Waste dumping, fishing, mining and climate change are transforming the deep sea ecosystem faster than scientists can study it

There’s trouble in the depths. The deep sea is the last true wilderness on Earth, but 1,800 km below the surface, an environmental crisis is growing.

On Monday scientists at the Census of Marine Life (COML) project, the 10-year assessment of the world’s oceans completed in 2010, published their analysis of the impact humans are having on the deep sea. Their conclusions were stark: the largest habitat on Earth is being damaged by pollution, resource exploitation and climate change.

The deep sea accounts for 73% of the oceans, an area of 360 million square kilometres. It is a world completely unlike our own. Sunlight cannot reach the depths and the only flickers of light come from living things that use bioluminescence for hunting or disguise.

Far from being a barren wasteland, the deep sea is teeming with life. From vampire squid to blobfish, these extraordinary animals are found nowhere else and their habitats are as unusual as the creatures themselves. Hydrothermal vents, for example, spew out a variety of chemicals on which communities of bacteria can survive without any need for sunlight. There are even forests of coral adapted to live in the cold and dark, providing shelter for more than a thousand animal species.

All of this is under threat. Writing in the journal PLoS One, scientists led by Eva Ramirez-Llodra of the Institute of Marine Science in Barcelona conclude that humans are having severe impacts on the deep sea. In the past it was the dumping of waste that caused the most harm. “Approximately 6.4 million tonnes of litter per year is dropped into the oceans,” they write.

Plastics are of particular concern. “There is accumulating evidence that ‘mermaids’ tears’ (5mm in diameter) and microplastics (microscopic sand grain-sized particles of eroded plastic) are becoming more common in the world oceans,” says the report. “Little is known however, of the true effect of these particles on the environment and fauna.”

The main problems today are fishing and mining. Deep-sea trawling, say the researchers, is particularly damaging because the species caught are “often long lived, with slow growth and delayed maturity making them poorly adapted to sustain heavy fishing pressure.”

(Read more)

[Image via NOAA]

“If Aug. is really all about Fox vs. Sponge Bob Square Pants…that would be AWESOME!” - @TeresaKopec

“We all know that SpongeBob is popular with the kids and for the life of me I still keep trying to figure out why it is. My kids watch limited TV but every time they chose that show, I’m like, ‘Why?’  Anyway — it’s hard to even follow sometimes. Anyway now maybe that will be a good thing because SpongeBob is talking a lot about global warming, and he’s only looking at it from one point of view.” - Fox’s Gretchen Carlson

MediaMatters

Breaking: Scandal. Koch, ExxonMobil busted writing laws to reverse climate and environmental regulations

climateadaptation:

Must read. Bloomberg blows the lid off of a DC front group that’s funded by anti-environmental corporations with major stakes in reversing regulations. The group drafts bills for Republican legislators, who then bring the issue to the floor and public to attack climate change, EPA, enviro-regs, and more.  

Source: Bloomberg

(via mohandasgandhi)

VIDEO surfaces of Ron Johnson blaming climate change on “sunspot activity”

(Ron Johnson, the Tea Party-backed candidate challenging Sen. Russ Feingold in Wisconsin)

…Johnson has already made a series of comments that have earned national notice, such as his suggestion that he would only sell BP stock after the market picks up. This latest one is another mark of a phenomenon many have noted: The sudden ability of Tea Party-backed candidates to prevail in GOP primaries has left the national party saddled with candidates whose extreme conservatism and lack of polish threaten the GOP’s ability to fully capitalize on the bad environment for Dems.

continue reading… The Plum Line

High-res You see, wuss Harry Reid, instead of coming out against the community center near ground zero you should be continuously pointing out the insanity of your opponent. But no, the Dems can’t and won’t do that. They are too busy trying to play to the elusive middle. Obama has done that for two years now, and his approval rating has done nothing but nosedive. C’mon Dems grow a set and stop trying to just eke out elections. 

You see, wuss Harry Reid, instead of coming out against the community center near ground zero you should be continuously pointing out the insanity of your opponent. But no, the Dems can’t and won’t do that. They are too busy trying to play to the elusive middle. Obama has done that for two years now, and his approval rating has done nothing but nosedive. C’mon Dems grow a set and stop trying to just eke out elections. 

Jan.-June Warmest First Half Of Year On Record 2010 tops 1998 temps; question now is whether 12 months will break 2005 record for warmest year. - continue reading… msnbc  “But Fox still talking about winter snow storms?” - mediafix 

Jan.-June Warmest First Half Of Year On Record

2010 tops 1998 temps; question now is whether 12 months will break 2005 record for warmest year. - continue reading… msnbc 

“But Fox still talking about winter snow storms?” - mediafix 

High-res “Where’s Al Gore now?” - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell 2/10/10 - With the nation’s capital buried in several feet of snow and the federal government brought to a halt by Mother Nature, conservatives are mocking former Vice President Al Gore and his crusade to curb global climate change. - politico

“Where’s Al Gore now?” - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

2/10/10 - With the nation’s capital buried in several feet of snow and the federal government brought to a halt by Mother Nature, conservatives are mocking former Vice President Al Gore and his crusade to curb global climate change. - politico