Recently in Environment Category

From Think Progress:

The Natural Resources Council of Maine this week released "one of the most complete depictions ever done of the potential impacts on Maine's coastline from rising sea levels due to global warming."

Using the latest available science, NRC's analysis shows that coastal businesses, homes, wildlife habitat, transportation systems, and some of the state's most treasured places are highly vulnerable to sea-level rise.

One "treasured place" in extreme risk is the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport (noted by the yellow arrow below). The area in orange shows land that will be submerged by a sea level rise of 6 feet; the area in red will be underwater after a rise of just 3 feet.

A little enlightened self-interest Bushie?

Here's another example of BushCo's never ending drive to manipulate reality by their typically Orwellian means.

From today's New York Times

NASA’s Goals Delete Mention of Home Planet

By ANDREW C. REVKIN

Published: July 22, 2006

From 2002 until this year, NASA's mission statement, prominently featured in its budget and planning documents, read: "To understand and protect our home planet; to explore the universe and search for life; to inspire the next generation of explorers ... as only NASA can."

In early February, the statement was quietly altered, with the phrase "to understand and protect our home planet" deleted. In this year's budget and planning documents, the agency's mission is "to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research."

…

The “understand and protect” phrase was cited repeatedly by James E. Hansen, a climate scientist at NASA who said publicly last winter that he was being threatened by political appointees for speaking out about the dangers posed by greenhouse gas emissions.

…

Dr. Hansen said the change might reflect White House eagerness to shift the spotlight away from global warming.

“They’re making it clear that they have the authority to make this change, that the president sets the objectives for NASA, and that they prefer that NASA work on something that’s not causing them a problem,” he said.

From Rising Hegemon quoting former Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan:

Science isn't science unless it agrees with me and my beliefs. Which do not come from any knowledge of science.

"During the past week's heat wave--it hit 100 degrees in New York City Monday--I got thinking, again, of how sad and frustrating it is that the world's greatest scientists cannot gather, discuss the question of global warming, pore over all the data from every angle, study meteorological patterns and temperature histories, and come to a believable conclusion on these questions: Is global warming real or not? If it is real, is it necessarily dangerous? What exactly are the dangers? Is global warming as dangerous as, say, global cooling would be? Are we better off with an Earth that is getting hotter or, what with the modern realities of heating homes and offices, and the world energy crisis, and the need to conserve, does global heating have, in fact, some potential side benefits, and can those benefits be broadened and deepened? Also, if global warning is real, what must--must--the inhabitants of the Earth do to meet its challenges? And then what should they do to meet them?

"You would think the world's greatest scientists could do this, in good faith and with complete honesty and a rigorous desire to discover the truth. And yet they can't. Because science too, like other great institutions, is poisoned by politics. Scientists have ideologies. They are politicized."

I think I am going to rename this blog "Continually Counting To 10 So I Don't Blow A Gasket" !!!

I went to see Al Gore's new documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, yesterday. I was very impressed, even though I didn't need to be convinced of the fact of global warming, and I suspect that most of the others who are going to see the film on its opening weekend were part of the choir that was being preached to as well. A film this effective should have a significant effective in shifting public opinion and moving political action, but we only have to look back at the experience of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911, to see that even a film that popular, from a box office standpoint, only had a limited effect.

As summarized at Brian Flemming's blog, Gore shows in the film that:

… a study done of over 900 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals found that zero percent claimed humans may not be the cause of global warming. Zero. But that same study of articles in the popular press found that over 50% claimed that humans may not be the cause.

But of course to repeat from my last post, facts do not matter to the current administration:

"We need to set aside whether or not greenhouse gases have been caused by mankind or because of natural effects and focus on the technologies that will enable us to live better lives and, at the same time, protect the environment," the president said.

Oh woe is us!

Click below to see the film's trailer.

My heart started racing in panic when I read this, and it is still is, as I write this.

From the LA Times story, amazingly filed on their site as "entertainment news", Bush Doesn't Plan to See Gore Documentary:

President Bush had a two-word response when he was asked Monday during an appearance before the National Restaurant Association in Chicago whether he would see Al Gore's documentary on global warming.

"Doubt it," the president said.

…

"We need to set aside whether or not greenhouse gases have been caused by mankind or because of natural effects and focus on the technologies that will enable us to live better lives and, at the same time, protect the environment," the president said.

I don't think anything that the man has ever said has made me this angry, which is saying a lot. We are in serious trouble.

Greenland is melting, hurricanes are intensifying, and the the scientific community has reached a consensus on global warming. So who does Our Leader turn to for advice?:

In his new book about Mr. Bush, "Rebel in Chief: Inside the Bold and Controversial Presidency of George W. Bush," Fred Barnes recalls a visit to the White House last year by Michael Crichton, whose 2004 best-selling novel, "State of Fear," suggests that global warming is an unproven theory and an overstated threat.

Mr. Barnes, who describes Mr. Bush as "a dissenter on the theory of global warming," writes that the president "avidly read" the novel and met the author after Karl Rove, his chief political adviser, arranged it. He says Mr. Bush and his guest "talked for an hour and were in near-total agreement."

"The visit was not made public for fear of outraging environmentalists all the more," he adds.

And so it has, fueling a common perception among environmental groups that Mr. Crichton's dismissal of global warming, coupled with his popularity as a novelist and screenwriter, has undermined efforts to pass legislation intended to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, a gas that leading scientists say causes climate change.

Mr. Crichton, whose views in "State of Fear" helped him win the American Association of Petroleum Geologists' annual journalism award this month, has been a leading doubter of global warming and last September appeared before a Senate committee to argue that the supporting science was mixed, at best.

"This shows the president is more interested in science fiction than science," Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, said after learning of the White House meeting. Mr. O'Donnell's group monitors environmental policy.

Grand Canyon West

LAS VEGAS - August 22, 2005 - Grand Canyon West, a destination offering breathtaking panoramic experiences at the Grand Canyon's western rim, is in the phase of building its latest attractions including The Skywalk glass bridge, The Indian Village and The Hualapai Ranch, announce The Hualapai Corporate Board.

The Hualapai Tribe is sharing their private land with visitors from around the world, so guests can join them in experiencing its uniqueness and untouched beauty. As owners and protectors of one million acres of land throughout the Grand Canyon's western rim, the Hualapai's main goal is to keep a balance between form, function and nature, while protecting the tribe's culture and values, which are deeply engraved in the canyon walls.

...

Guano Point will feature an all-new Hualapai Buffet with breathtaking views of the Colorado River above the Historical Guano Mine and Tram remnants. Additionally, wedding and renewal of vow packages will be available at several viewing points including The Skywalk, The Hualapai Ranch, Guano Point and Eagle Point.

In recent interviews promoting his latest book A Man Without A Country Kurt Vonnegut has stated, in his usual arch way:

I think we are terrible animals and I think our planet's immune system is trying to get rid of us, and it should.

Illustrating the validity of his position, from As Polar Ice Turns to Water, Dreams of Treasure Abound, in today's New York Times:

CHURCHILL, Manitoba - It seems harsh to say that bad news for polar bears is good for Pat Broe. Mr. Broe, a Denver entrepreneur, is no more to blame than anyone else for a meltdown at the top of the world that threatens Arctic mammals and ancient traditions and lends credibility to dark visions of global warming.

Still, the newest study of the Arctic ice cap - finding that it faded this summer to its smallest size ever recorded - is beginning to make Mr. Broe look like a visionary for buying this derelict Hudson Bay port from the Canadian government in 1997. Especially at the price he paid: about $7.

(...)

"It's the positive side of global warming ..."

"What we're seeing is a process in which we start to lose ice cover during the summer, ... so areas which formerly had ice are now open water, which is dark.

"These dark areas absorb a lot of the Sun's energy, much more than the ice; and what happens then is that the oceans start to warm up, and it becomes very difficult for ice to form during the following autumn and winter.

"It looks like this is exactly what we're seeing — a positive feedback effect, a 'tipping-point'."

Found at Kevin Drum's The Washington Monthly blog.

From a NY Times Editorial of August 29, 2005:

Recently, a secret draft revision of the national park system's basic management policy document has been circulating within the Interior Department. It was prepared, without consultation within the National Park Service, by Paul Hoffman, a deputy assistant secretary at Interior who once ran the Chamber of Commerce in Cody, Wyo., was a Congressional aide to Dick Cheney and has no park service experience.

Within national park circles, this rewrite of park rules has been met with profound dismay, for it essentially undermines the protected status of the national parks. The document makes it perfectly clear that this rewrite was not prompted by a compelling change in the park system's circumstances. It was prompted by a change in political circumstances - the opportunity to craft a vision of the national parks that suits the Bush administration.

The story has been reported in the LA Times, NY Times, and elsewhere. A valuable resource regarding this deplorable proposal can be found at the site of The Coalition of Concerned NPS Retirees. This site contains revision marked sections of the proposal.