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Wednesday Reads: Heat Waves and Solar Flares

Posted: July 11, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Climate Change, Environment, Environmentalists, Foreign Affairs, Fox News, GLBT Rights, morning reads, Republican politics, Russia, science, Syria | Tags: , , , |32 Comments »

Good morning.

Here are a few stories to get you started this morning.

Russia Sends Warships on Maneuvers Near Syria – NYTimes.com

Russia said on Tuesday that it had dispatched a flotilla of 11 warships to the eastern Mediterranean, some of which would dock in Syria. It would be the largest display of Russian military power in the region since the Syrian conflict began almost 17 months ago. Nearly half of the ships were capable of carrying hundreds of marines.

The announcement appeared intended to punctuate Russia’s effort to position itself as an increasingly decisive broker in resolving the antigovernment uprising in Syria, Russia’s last ally in the Middle East and home to Tartus, its only foreign military base outside the former Soviet Union. The announcement also came a day after Russia said it was halting new shipments of weapons to the Syrian military until the conflict settled down.

Confused about the Libor Scandal? Well, you don’t have to be anymore…

Behind the Libor Scandal – Graphic – NYTimes.com

Complete with little men holding briefcases…

Click the link up top to see the full graphic. What is with that dude and the monocle?

This is good news: U.S. Episcopal Church approves blessing of gay unions

The U.S. Episcopal Church on Tuesday approved a liturgy for clergy to use in blessing same-sex unions, including gay marriages in states where they are legal, becoming the largest U.S. religious denomination to approve such a ritual.

Delegates to its triennial convention voted 171-50 to approve the liturgy, titled “the Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant.” Episcopal bishops had voted overwhelmingly on Monday in favor of the text.

Now the next few links are on Climate Change. Yesterday, I spied on Drudge, an interesting example of manipulation. I even took a screenshot of the thing and planned on using it for this post. I can’t find that file, the little bugger is lost somewhere in my computer. Fortunately Drudge has an archive of its pages…and I found it!

There were two links together, you know how Drudge will put the multiple links to different sources on the same topic together, usually separated with a line above and below. If you don’t follow my description, check out the page here.

Well, there were two stories on “one” topic, the one story was about the sun and its extraordinary solar flares this year…that the sun is extremely active, as science has said, it is on the end of the active cycle which should quiet down after 2013. Anyway, it was a headline about strongest solar flares have been reported this year. And directly above that was a headline about the summer heat wave, the suggestion was big solar flares = hot weather…

Here is a screen shot of the page.

And here is the part I wanted to bring to your attention.

I don’t know maybe I am taking it too far but I swear, that is what it looked like to me.

Anyway, the rest of the links are on the recent heat wave, and how scientists are connecting it to global warming.

Back-to-back La Niñas cooled globe and influenced extreme weather in 2011

La Niña.
The lead character of the 2011 climate story was a double dip La Niña, which chilled the Pacific at the start and end of the year. Many of the 2011 seasonal climate patterns around the world were consistent with common side effects of La Niña. More information.

Worldwide, 2011 was the coolest year on record since 2008, yet temperatures remained above the 30 year average, according to the 2011 State of the Climate report released online today by NOAA. The peer-reviewed report, issued in coordination with the American Meteorological Society (AMS), was compiled by 378 scientists from 48 countries around the world. It provides a detailed update on global climate indicators, notable weather events and other data collected by environmental monitoring stations and instruments on land, sea, ice and sky.

“2011 will be remembered as a year of extreme events, both in the United States and around the world,” said Deputy NOAA Administrator Kathryn D. Sullivan, Ph.D. “Every weather event that happens now takes place in the context of a changing global environment. This annual report provides scientists and citizens alike with an analysis of what has happened so we can all prepare for what is to come.”

Scientists attribute extreme weather to man-made climate change | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Climate change researchers have been able to attribute recent examples of extreme weather to the effects of human activity on the planet’s climate systems for the first time, marking a major step forward in climate research.

The findings make it much more likely that we will soon – within the next few years – be able to discern whether the extremely wet and cold summer and spring so far experienced in the UK this year are attributable to human causes rather than luck, according to the researchers.

Last year’s record warm November in the UK – the second hottest since records began in 1659 – was at least 60 times more likely to happen because of climate change than owing to natural variations in the earth’s weather systems, according to the peer-reviewed studies by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US, and the Met Office in the UK. The devastating heatwave that blighted farmers in Texas in the US last year, destroying crop yields in another record “extreme weather event”, was about 20 times more likely to have happened owing to climate change than to natural variation.

Texas drought, British heat linked to climate change | Reuters

Climate change increased the odds for the kind of extreme weather that prevailed in 2011, a year that saw severe drought in Texas, unusual heat in England and was one of the 15 warmest years on record, scientists reported on Tuesday.

Overall, 2011 was a year of extreme events – from historic droughts in East Africa, northern Mexico and the southern United States to an above-average cyclone season in the North Atlantic and the end of Australia’s wettest two-year period ever, scientists from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United Kingdom’s Met Office said.

In the 22nd annual “State of the Climate” report, experts also found the Arctic was warming about twice as fast as the rest of the planet, on average, with Arctic sea ice shrinking to its second-smallest recorded size.

Heat-trapping greenhouse gas concentrations – carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide among others – continued to rise last year, and the global average atmospheric concentration for carbon dioxide went over 390 parts per million for the first time, an increase of 2.1 ppm in 2010.

“Every weather event that happens now takes place in the context of a changing global environment,” Deputy NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan said in a statement. “This annual report provides scientists and citizens alike with an analysis of what has happened so we can all prepare for what is to come.”

Does climate change increase the odds of extreme weather events? – CSMonitor.com

Climate change increased the odds for the kind of extreme weather that prevailed in 2011, a year that saw severe drought in Texas, unusual heat in England and was one of the 15 warmest years on record, scientists reported on Tuesday.

Overall, 2011 was a year of extreme events – from historic droughts in East Africa, northern Mexico and the southern United States to an above-average cyclone season in the North Atlantic and the end of Australia‘s wettest two-year period ever, scientists from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United Kingdom‘s Met Office said.

In the 22nd annual “State of the Climate” report, experts also found the Arctic was warming about twice as fast as the rest of the planet, on average, with Arctic sea ice shrinking to its second-smallest recorded size.

And what is on Fox News, as far as climate change is concerned? Well, check it out: Answer to speedy tree growth lies in air pollution, Auburn University study shows | Fox News

As the scientific community worries about greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global warming, a new Auburn University study suggests the Southeastern U.S. absorbs more carbon than it produces. And, at least in the short term, air pollution may actually be helping to speed the growth of young, carbon-absorbing forests in the region.

“Our study actually showed that Southeast carbon uptake is much faster than other regions,” said Hanqin Tian, a professor at Auburn’s School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, and lead author of the study published in the journal Ecosystems. “This area has trees that are very young and the growth is very fast. So, they uptake more carbon from the atmosphere.”

While earlier studies have examined the effect of individual factors on carbon storage and climate change, Tian developed a computer model that takes into account multiple natural and manmade variables – such as land use, climate and pollution – over the past century.

The model suggests that moderate amounts of air pollution, in the form of carbon and nitrogen, had a fertilization effect on young forests. Many of these new trees appeared on abandoned agricultural land during the mid-20th century.

“In the short term, it could increase the carbon uptake,” Tian said. “But that’s not guaranteed for long.”

That is the only climate related news on Fox’s homepage. It all just makes me mad, yeah…it is hot as hell but it must be because of them solar flares!

Just a note, I haven’t been able to comment much lately…but I have read everything and the posts have been outstanding. Dakinikat and Boston Boomer are really putting out some great stuff. Thank you! And thanks to all who are commenting, please keep it up!

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32 Comments on “Wednesday Reads: Heat Waves and Solar Flares”

  1. HT says:
    July 11, 2012 at 7:13 am

    Terrific roundup JJ – off to read the links, but before I do, while we’re discussing the environment – remember that Enbridge oil spill in Michigan?
    Enbridge failed to fix cracks in Michigan line:
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/07/10/enbridge-oil-spill-michigan.html

    • JJ Lopez Minkoff says:
      July 11, 2012 at 8:05 am

      Thanks for that update HT…from the link:

      A U.S. government agency has approved investigators’ findings that Canadian pipeline builder Enbridge Inc. knew about cracks that led to a 2010 leak of more than three million litres of oil into a Michigan river.

      The most expensive onshore cleanup in U.S. history, which is nearly complete, has already cost about $800 million US.

      A five-person panel of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) voted Tuesday to accept the conclusions of investigators on the cause of the leak.
      [...]
      “Learning about Enbridge’s poor handling of the rupture, you can’t help but think of the Keystone Kops,” said Deborah Hersman, chair of the NTSB.

  2. bostonboomer says:
    July 11, 2012 at 7:28 am

    Great roundup! Thanks for all the weather info. I wonder what the difference is between la nina and el nino–besides one being masculine and the other feminine? And thanks for reading Drudge so I don’t have to.

  3. JJ Lopez Minkoff says:
    July 11, 2012 at 8:20 am

    Ugh…Lindsey Graham: ‘It’s Really American’ To Avoid Taxes Like Mitt Romney Does

    Mitt Romney shouldn’t be criticized for using off-shore tax havens because “it’s really American to avoid paying taxes, legally,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Tuesday.

    • Pat Johnson says:
      July 11, 2012 at 9:24 am

      Do you ever get the feeling that we are on a “Ship of Fools” these days?

      Reading statements like those made by Lindsay Graham kind of suggests as much.

    • ANonOMouse says:
      July 11, 2012 at 10:11 am

      Poor Lindsey is as out-of-touch as Romney if he thinks WE, the rabble, think it’s American for a man with at least $250 million dollars (who knows how much money this creep really has) to keep a huge chunck of it off-shore and sheltered from the country he wants to lead. Mitt is a job creator alright, he’s a job creator for off-shore bankers, bank clerks and money changers.

    • NW Luna says:
      July 11, 2012 at 10:53 pm

      “it’s really American to avoid paying taxes, legally”

      Oh yeah? How does Sen. Graham think his salary and cushy health insurance and cushy pension benefits are funded?

  4. bostonboomer says:
    July 11, 2012 at 8:45 am

    Bain attacks are working, according to poll by Obama superpac.

  5. bostonboomer says:
    July 11, 2012 at 8:47 am

    Romney will raise campaign money from London bankers. Is this the first global election?

    The events involve a reception – at a cost of $2,500 per person – and a high-dollar “private dinner with Governor Mitt Romney” that will cost from $25,000 to $75,000 per person. Both events will be held at a location in “central London” that has not yet been named.

    The Globe reported last week that Bob Diamond, who resigned as chief executive of Barclays bank, was no longer co-hosting one of the fundraisers.

    But still among those hosting the events is Patrick Durkin, a registered lobbyist for Barclays, which has been at the heart of a rate-fixing scandal. Durkin, who has been a top Romney bundler, is one of seven chairs for the reception and among the 13 co-chairs for the dinner.

    • RalphB says:
      July 11, 2012 at 11:54 am

      How is he going to get away with that? Foreign money is still illegal. What a sleazeball!

      • ANonOMouse says:
        July 11, 2012 at 12:36 pm

        “How is he going to get away with that? Foreign money is still illegal. What a sleazeball!”

        Well, the Barclay Guy could funnel it through one of his off-shore accounts, where they will clean it up a bit, then send it back to the USA via Bain Capital as some venture money. Then Bain will send it to a Mitt Pac because Bain is a Corporation and “Corporations are people too”, :-)

        • dakinikat says:
          July 11, 2012 at 12:49 pm

          Supposedly he’s raising funds from expats which is legal but I can’t imagine how actually throwing the party itself isn’t a contribution. I know when I had to fill out the filings all in-kind fundraising contributions–like free space, food, etc.–was considered a political donation.

  6. Fannie says:
    July 11, 2012 at 10:17 am

    Wow, Romney was booed big time in Houston this morning…………..What a liar.

  7. mablue2 says:
    July 11, 2012 at 10:20 am

    Really good one from Wonkette:

    Live Blogging Mitt Romney Being Totally Comfortable With Black People

    “If you want a president who will make things better in the African American community, you are looking at him.” NAACP: “HAHAHAHAHAHAAAHA.”

  8. ANonOMouse says:
    July 11, 2012 at 10:53 am

    OMG!! Here we go again with the “S” word and the false equivalency. If you dare to find fault with any aspect of Capitalism, then you must be for Socialism? Oh, yeah, that’s how the GOP is going to play it because that false equivalency schtick works on the brain dead teabots.
    .

  9. bostonboomer says:
    July 11, 2012 at 11:46 am

    NYT editorial blasts Romney on his financial investments and his secrecy about them.

    The 2010 tax return showed that the blind trust held by his wife, Ann, included a $3 million Swiss bank account that had not been properly reported on previous financial disclosure statements. (The account was closed by the trust manager in 2010 who feared it might become embarrassing for the campaign. He was right.) It also showed that Mr. Romney had used a complex offshore tax shelter, known as a blocker corporation, to shield the investments in his I.R.A. from paying an obscure business tax.

    The use of that technique by wealthy taxpayers and institutions, long been blasted by Congressional tax experts as abusive, costs the treasury $1 billion a decade.

    The return showed at least 20 investments not previously listed on disclosure reports, but it did not provide enough information to evaluate their size or holdings. Neither the tax return nor other disclosures have revealed the full amounts of the Romneys’ other offshore holdings over the years, including investments in Germany, Luxembourg, the Cayman Islands, Australia and Ireland.

    • bostonboomer says:
      July 11, 2012 at 11:48 am

      Mr. Romney also has not fully explained the nature of his separation agreement with Bain Capital, the private-equity firm he founded, which he left in 1999. Last month, his trust reported receiving a $2 million payment from Bain as part of unpaid earnings from his work there. Of the 138 Bain funds organized in the Cayman Islands, Mr. Romney has interests in 12, worth up to $30 million, according to Vanity Fair.

      Though the Romney campaign has often distanced itself from Bain’s recent corporate takeover work, voters have no way of knowing how much the candidate has received from Bain since he left, or how much is coming.

      Firms like Bain park money in the Caymans because the islands have no taxes on capital gains, profits or income for foreigners. But just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.

  10. RalphB says:
    July 11, 2012 at 2:03 pm

    Good article in GQ about our society. I found it enlightening but not surprising. The gazillionaire is the only one who is genuinely angry about his circumstances. Why he “really” feels that way would be a great thing to know.

    Amber Waves of Green

    Guess what, compatriots? The gap between the richest and the poorest among us is now wider than it has been since we all nose-dived into the Great Depression. So GQ sent Jon Ronson on a journey into the secret financial lives of six different people on the ladder, from a guy washing dishes for 200 bucks a week in Miami to a self-storage gazillionaire. What he found are some surprising truths about class, money, and making it in America

    • bostonboomer says:
      July 11, 2012 at 4:46 pm

      Maybe because being completely selfish and self-involved isn’t very emotionally rewarding.

  11. dakinikat says:
    July 11, 2012 at 2:08 pm

    http://www.businessinsider.com/infographic-the-libor-scandal-explained-2012-7

    This is another great graphic on how the LIBOR scandal impacts us that is simple to read and understand.

  12. dakinikat says:
    July 11, 2012 at 2:10 pm

    ANALYSIS: Mitt Romney’s Tax Plan Will Help Him And His Friends And Hurt Most Americans by @hblodget http://read.bi/Nlxhjd

  13. dakinikat says:
    July 11, 2012 at 2:12 pm

    Here’s an insulting thing from Japan.

    Official Fukushima report blames disaster on Japanese culture, not nuclear power http://theatln.tc/MiiIsx @TheAtlantic

  14. RalphB says:
    July 11, 2012 at 4:00 pm

    What should be Rmoney at the NAACP h/t tbogg

    • dakinikat says:
      July 11, 2012 at 5:11 pm

      NAACP Reacts To Mitt Romney: ‘Patronizing,’ ‘Totally Disconnected,’ ‘A Serious Misjudgment’

      http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/07/11/514799/naacp-reacts-to-mitt-romney-patronizing-totally-disconnected-a-serious-misjudgment/

      The crowd booed Romney when he called for the full repeal of Obamacare and audibly laughed when he suggested he would be a better president than Obama for the African-American community. Also notable was what was left unsaid. Romney failed to address voting rights, which is a major theme of this NAACP gathering.

      ThinkProgress was on the scene and talked to some NAACP members after Romney’s speech to get their thoughts. James Waters said some of Romney’s comments were “patronizing,” while Joe Brown argued that Romney “made a serious misjudgment relating to the health care reform.” Allytra Perryman went even further: “I don’t think he has any way to even remotely relate to the everyday citizen, let alone African-American citizens.”

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