Carbon Dioxide levels have reached an historic 400 ppm

Keeling Curve

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Wired Science: Ocean Acidification & Ocean Acoustics

“Acidification due to global warming could lead to oceans with similar acoustic properties to those experienced by the dinosaurs of the Cretaceous period.

According to a presentation given by acoustics researchers David G Browning and Peter M Scheifele as part of the 164th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, changes to the baseline acidity of the world’s oceans due to global warming will have a negative effect on the absorption of low frequency sounds.

The effect occurs because the main low frequency sound absorption mechanism in seawater is a pH-dependent boron reaction. As the acidity of seawater increases, the low frequency sound absorption decreases meaning that those sounds can travel further, achieving their optimal transmission value at the acidity levels seen around 110 million years ago.”

Credit: Wired Science

Climate Change and Politics

Will PBS Frontline documentary shed any new insights into the ‘controversial’ ‘issue’ of ‘global climate change’ in our social, cultural, and political systems?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/climate-of-doubt/

Earth Science Week!

Celebrate Earth Science week by recycling, planting a tree, or just thinking about our planet and the environment.  Even better, believe in Global Climate Change, Global Warming, and Global Melting

An interesting article about flooding, one of the effects of climate change:

http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/10/15/earth-science-week-the-fight-against-flooding-in-manila/

http://www.earthsciweek.org/

Are Biofuels green and better for the environment than other energy sources?

When you really think about it, any type of ethanol or Biofuel which you might consume for energy still requires burning carbon and releasing carbon dioxide – greenhouse gases, into the atmosphere.  It’s a little more sustainable because Biofuel can be produced by growing corn, plants, or algae, whereas Fossil Fuels can’t be renewed quickly.  Biofuels have advantages as a fuel type and also disadvantages to other more sustainable forms of energy production, i.e. Solar.

“First tops, then flops. That is one way of summing up the history of biofuels so far. A new study led by Empa gives an up-to-date picture of the ecobalance of various biofuels and their production processes. Only a few are overall more environmentally friendly than petrol.”

Source: EMPA Press Release:

http://www.empa.ch/plugin/template/empa/3/125597/—/l=2

http://www.empa.ch/plugin/template/empa/*/125606

Primary Source: http://www.empa.ch/plugin/template/empa/*/125527

Arctic Sea Ice Extent

Gray line in time series (right) indicate 1979 to 2000 average extent for the day shown.

Arctic sea ice reaches lowest extent for the year and the satellite record

On September 16, Arctic sea ice appeared to have reached its minimum extent for the year of 3.41 million square kilometers (1.32 million square miles). This is the lowest seasonal minimum extent in the satellite record since 1979 and reinforces the long-term downward trend in Arctic ice extent. The sea ice extent will now begin its seasonal increase through autumn and winter.

Source: The National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1. Arctic sea ice extent for September 16, 2012 was 3.41 million square kilometers (1.32 million square miles). The orange line shows the 1979 to 2000 median extent for that day. The black cross indicates the geographic North Pole. Sea Ice Index data.

Arctic Sea Ice could be gone by 2020…

Most climate scientists and oceanographers agree that the arctic sea ice could disappear as early as 2020.  These startling changes have already been taking place as satellite and fly over photography of arctic ice cover can prove.  Although many scientists agree that the earth, on a geological timescale, is headed for an ice age, our planet is currently undergoing rapid anthropogenic warming.  There will always be a small minority of climate change deniers (like one tenured University of Alabama professor), but the scientific community as a whole has formed a consensus — Global Warming and Global Climate Change are the reality.  I think it should really be called Global Melting though, check out the imagery yourself:

Image of the current boundary and extent of arctic sea ice, with an overlay in red of the past boundary and extent of the sea ice. Source: NRDC / NASA