Sometimes, I dream about a snorkeling/scuba excursion to a remote reef for a long dive in the silence (YouTube), with schools of fish that teem among the vibrant, living splendor of the corals. Recent reports are that coral is dying off in large numbers as they eject their algae, bleaching out the colonies of living coral into a reef of lifeless white. This damage impacts not just the denizens of the reefs themselves, but all of us:
"Rising ocean temperatures are the most pervasive threat," the researchers report, "and almost half of all the world’s coral reefs have recently experienced medium- to high-level impacts."…
"Coral is the equivalent to the rainforest in terms of diversity, but underwater," says Ilze Berzins, head of biology operations at The Florida Aquarium in Tampa. "The life that coral reefs support is phenomenal."
Corals aren’t just home to an abundance of life – they act as buffers to crowded coastlines, Berzins adds: "So when you lose coral reefs, you’re more susceptible to storm and wave damage."
Corals make up some of the oldest and most diverse ecosystems on Earth. Yet, they are sensitive to changes in salinity, ultraviolet radiation and nutrient levels. When healthy, they are a rich source of food for countless species, including more than 4,000 varieties of fish.
"Reefs provide homes, nurseries, feeding grounds and spawning sites to a diversity of life that is virtually unparalleled anywhere else in the world," Harrould-Kolieb says.
Because corals live at the upper edge of their temperature tolerance, they are vulnerable to changes in temperature. Incremental warming above normal can put stress on the microscopic plants that live in coral tissue and provide reefs with their bounty of color. If overstressed, the plants die and the coral turns white, or bleached, exposing the white calcium carbonate skeletons of the coral colony.
There is a bit of good news: at least those reefs in warmer seas are not yet feeling the same stress as those which have developed in cooler, less tropical climates — and that appears to be due to the evolution of that coral with a different type of higher-temperature tolerant algae. Scientists are working on helping stressed reefs replace algae to a higher temperature tolerant variety, but it is far from workable at this point.
In the meantime, damage is becoming more widespread.
According to recent studies, no ocean remains untouched by rising temperatures and other environmental damage stemming from human actions. (Of course, it isn’t just oceans — all over the globe, ecosystems are rapidly changing under various stresses, but stay with me here.) One of the areas of enormous change? The cooler waters of the Arctic and Antarctic oceans, where warmer water creatures like giant crabs and sharks and others not usually seen in those waters move into them as the water heats. Other warmer areas are being overwhelmed by species like jellyfish who thrive where other species struggle. That imbalance has enormous consequences over the long term.
From the time I was very small, watching the Cousteau documentaries on PBS and dreaming of the ballet of whales in the deep (YouTube) and the vibrant living reef colors (YouTube), the ocean has called to me. These losses are devastating. What it portends? Unthinkable…and yet, here we are.
Let’s talk today about the world and our environment and global warming (or whatever you want to call it). And what we can do to make it a living place for all of us in the years to come. Mike Dunford at The Questionable Authority, poses a challenge to scientists to get more politically involved rather than stand on the political sidelines – and I’d like to echo that call as well. It’s going to take all of us talking about these issues for any real change to occur. Especially those who have the background to really dig into the issues involved.
So, lift up your voice today: what do you think? And, more importantly, what should we all be doing about it?
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Go! Fish!
SOMO-Save Our Mother Ocean
As Douglas Adams said, “So long and thanks for all the fish…”
Scientific American has a world map with the impact man’s activities have done to it.
Christy –
Thank you for highlighting this emerging and critical area of environmental concern. There is much to be studied in the area of global warming in the context of coral health, and it is one of the areas, beyond glacial retreat, where we are seeing the greatest damage at the quickest pace.
As an avid scuba diver, I can attest that it would be a tremendous loss for the health of the ocean and the planet.
But the real purpose of my post is to ask you this: if you are a scuba diver, where in By God West Virginia do you dive? A quarry?
Go PHOETI
Lower your energy footprint for starters.
Don’t go flying all over the globe.
Don’t use the dishwaher unless it’s packed full.
Turn off the lights when not in use.
Turn off all the electrical stuff that waits in “on” for rapid start.
Drive less, walk more.
Reduce recycle and reuse.
Buy and eat local foods
Sailors do it in the wind!
I separate my political advocacy from my scientific pursuits. Given how astoundingly fucked up our governmental science policy apparatus has become over the last seven years, I think it is too emotionally overwhelming to take an issue-by-issue approach. It seems to me that what we need to is focus on science-related governmental process, with the expectation that decent non-wackadoodle-batshit-insane process will lead to decent substantive outcomes.
Just devastating. Pity the children, unless we get busy addressing the environment. The unborn are the ones truly being hosed in this entire affair. As the keepers of the following generations’ legacy we have been totally incompetent.
Here’s one thing we can do to help preserve ocean wildlife: eat less tuna.
Not only is tuna high in mercury (very dangerous in women of childbearing age) but it is caught by longlining, a practice that catches a number of other species at the same time, including endangered sea turtles.
Oh, and the cheaper canned stuff is the worst for you, too.
coral reefs are so beautiful and should never be destroyed. I think a more urgent problem however is that if we ruin the oceans much of the world’s population will starve.
I would say, without equivocation, that diving and floating in silence 100 feet below the surface with 1500 ft below me, looking at a coral reef right next to me was one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had.
We must as a species for get partisanship, forget nationalism, forget bottom lines, that is my only expertise, aside from the obvious. We should beome vegetarians and drive or not drive cars that do not pollute, and it is possible. For god’s sake physicists are extracting electrical energy from rain drops…..we can, we must, deal with this.
((((((((((Christy))))))))))
Superb & vitally important post. Here on Monterey Bay we are blessed with the Monterey Bay Aquarium expert enviromental scientists, an expert state Fish& Wildlife agency, etc. et al but sadly we seem to be the exception not the rule to the ongoing planetary disaster. Sigh.
The frame was wrong from the get-go: global warming. It doesn’t convey the reality that warming in one spot or even most spots can trigger greater cold, droughts in another. It’s the extremes that the planet is moving further and further toward…a dervish dance that’s speeding up, not winding down.
Hereabouts we’ve been reading up on the impact of climate change on the global current, the one single waterway that over time flows around the entire planet. If you think oil wars are bad, wait ’til we have water wars.
Prairie Today: Weather Eye
Speaking of the government as polluter. Check out what the DOD does. It’s appalling. And this doesn’t include their use of fossil fuels. Their tailings from manufacture, and dumping are a night mare.
And what about their sonar which is driving whales and dolphins bonkers.
I would like to see a report on the DOD’s environmental foot print. Yet another reason to down size them bigtime.
buy & eat local foods.
do not use lawn chemicals/fertilizers even if you live in the middle of the continent as do i. Runoff eventually ends up in the oceans.
Plant native species to provide refuge for other living creatures.
Compost. Recycle. Reuse.
Christy, thanks for this post. IMHO, global climate change is the “transcedent issue” of our time. If our leaders don’t soon realize that “everything’s connected,” the rising oceans, the monstrous natural disasters, the starving billions (yes, billions) from massive agriculture failure, will make the GWOT seem like a long ago fairy tale.
Which, of course, it always was.
Hi Christy,
Just a rookie diver, but this place blew my socks off. If you ever get the chance, it’s heaven. Research station on the tiny island, and the many species to be seen while snorkelling and diving, made the trip for me.
First minute in the water in Australia and I snorkelled upon a reef shark, just lying on the bottom below me.
take the bus–it’s goin whether YOU’RE on it or not.
In San Diego County- a monthly bus pass for seniors is $16.
TAKE THE BUS
I have a hybrid that gets 40 mpg, I will not ever go back to anything less. I’ve looked into geothermal heating of my house, but I don’t think that is feasible yet in the tiny parcels of suburbia. I may yet invest in solar panels for the roof, those seem to be getting more and more affordable. I love the underwater world too, and while I kind of feel it isn’t right to take fish out of their natural environment, I am really enjoying my tank with some chromis and damsels and a yellow tang.
Longline fishing is probably the most environmentally sound technique. Drift net fishing is the technique that entraps and causes the most environmental damage – dauphins are the largest victims there. (from fishing experience). Facts are our friends.
this is THE single most important issue to me. If we make the planet unlivable for ourselves … well i for one am not holding my breath for any type of Rapture to save us.
Christy – It’s not just the ocean, it is everywhere and effects everyone. When I was young(er), farmers in Upstate New York, if they were clever and watchful, could get three hay cuttings. It was a huge business for them – they could export hay(my father knew a dairy farmer who used to sell to the police stables in NYC). Now, they are lucky to get one good one and one poor one later in the summer(not to go into a detailed explanation, but getting hay at the right time, before it blossoms is the trick – the early stuff is really good; later stuff is just not really good at all, but you can feed animals with it if it’s not too tough). We raised sheep and goats for a long time; one of the reasons we got out of it (besides the dog issues) was that we could not keep our pastures going long enough through the summer to support the livestock – we ended up having to feed hay. Not the way to go – you should be able to rotate your animals through your pastures and only have to feed hay in the winter when there is no pasturage for the animals. The dog problem just pitched us over the edge, but the climate problems really put us out of business first.
Take the bus
Wear a sweater
If the bus doesn’t go where you need to go- take a motorscooter.
Get solar panels
The coral reefs are the ‘canaries’ of our planet… And The Canary is Dead!
EDIT # 22
dauphins = dolphins (blush)
Another vital factor playing an adverse role on the Oceans’ Biomes is toxic runoff, here on the Big Isle a large development project failed to mitigate the runoff and the most pristine bay lost a significant chunk of coral due to the plume… Kealakekua Bay, where Capt. Cook was killed and eaten!
We got the “BBC Planet Earth” series as a Christmas present this year, but are only starting to watch it now. It is astounding and will give you an overwhelming sadness about what humanity is about to lose if we don’t change our ways.
People cannot appreciate how loud the Navy SONAR actually is. In a past life I worked with Navy sensors. The transmitter output of those sonar actually have kill ranges for people.
Isn’t GW Clusterfuck a Dauphin?
It will be difficult to do much so long as Republics hold any power. For some reason, they are automatically dismissive of studies like the ones mentioned above, regardless of the merits. Perhaps the first step is to remove Republics from power in sufficient numbers so that what’s needed to be done can actually be done.
I bought 3 for gifts for Christmas. Thought it was the most amazing thing ever. Made me want to cry for what is already lost.
Yeah, I’m thinking that if the rapture comes it’s gonna take all of the “other” living creatures and leave the humans here.
Tutt
Sort of a dipping sauce for a Cook out?
Fact: Sea Turtles are endangered.
Fact: Sea Turtles are part of the longlining bycatch.
Fact: Tuna contains high levels of mercury.
Fact: Reducing the demand for tuna by eating less will save turtles and reduce your risk for mercury poisoning.
Any questions?
http://www.seaturtles.org/
Oh, and I never said that nets were better–I just said that turtles get caught on the longlines, so just relax.
yes, once upon a time, he da fella now
Take the Bus
Wear a Sweater
Eat animals that don’t fart much.
Heh, It’s a local legend that he’d actually was eaten…! No mention of it has been written in the History books… ;-)
I dove very near there, I was at Cairns in 1977 and we took a charter boat out there. Very nice, indeed!
Don’t understand the Repub indifference to the world we live in because they and their children and grandchildren will have to live in too. Doesn’t seem to bother them at all. Don’t police the drug companies, don’t watch the food supply carefully, don’t do anything. Strange.
I learned about the meal in Hawaii- but I’m not sure about the source—Natives say he was a good man- but a little tough.
And Christy-once again you nail it, this over arches all, as has been said so well by you and by all who have commented.
Yep. And it is important to recognize that simply replacing elected governmental officials and legislators is only the beginning. The Bush regime has systematically replaced long-term civil servant experts with utterly incompetent partisan hacks in vast swaths of the Federal bureaucracy. It is going to take years to identify these incompetents and root them out. And throughout this process, these right-wing hacks will be doing everything they can to continue to further the fundamental depraved goal of the civil service under Bush, which is to prove that “government” can’t do anything well.
Do fish fart? Does anyone know?
They must.
Now I’m daydreaming. There in ‘92 and hope to return someday and find that man hasn’t destroyed such a beautiful creation.
Hi…
You had to ask:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2…..31104.html
The esteem in which he was nevertheless held by the Hawaiians resulted in his body being retained by their chiefs and elders (possibly, as some claim, for partial human consumption, though this remains contentious) and the flesh cut and roasted from his bones. Some of Cook’s remains, disclosing some corroborating evidence to this effect, were eventually returned to the British for a formal burial at sea following an appeal by the crew.[12]
wiki
“Everyone Poops”
http://www.kanemiller.com/book.asp?sku=25
Well now that’s not REAL farting is it? Which leads to another question- do fish farts smell?
National Geographic Channel will show again a program called Six Degrees Could Change The World. on 2/21 at 6 P.M. EST. They showed it last weekend but I missed it. It’s on the very subject, including the loss of coral reefs. I heard one of the scientists involved on NPR and it sounded like a very good show.
http://channel.nationalgeograp…..11800.html
I wonder if former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor ever looks back at her participation in the 2000 decision putting George Bush in office in absolute horror?
If she had done what she knew to be right, what a different and better world we would live in today.
Exactly! Local lore…! ;-)
laughing…………….but right on the f69king money.
rwcole February 19th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Stop it, laughing is not permitted
Yeah
The roasting and deboning was probably just a religious ritual.
Sorry, I can’t get the link to work.
“The Bush regime has systematically replaced long-term civil servant experts with utterly incompetent partisan hacks in vast swaths of the Federal bureaucracy.”
Sadly true. I know wonderful folk who have bailed from civil service … it’s a widespread problem because the Rethugs have a loot, plunder, punish attitude and they are vicious toward anyone with actual competence & expertise.
Most Canadians tell pollsters they’re concerned about climate change. Many insist they’d like to do something about it, and would even pay for measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
But propose actual cash amounts – 25 cents a litre on gasoline, perhaps, or a $10 daily commuter toll – and support evaporates.
“Once you put a price on it, people tend to think twice about it and say, `Maybe not,’” says Mario Canseco of Angus Reid Strategies, which surveyed about 3,700 Canadians on the issue last March.
The basic idea: Boosting the cost of anything containing carbon – the main greenhouse gas – would compel industries and consumers to seek cheaper alternatives. They’d switch to cleaner fuels or consume less – either by adopting more efficient technologies or simply reducing their activity. Presumably, the alternatives would be better for the environment.
The problem: No government appears willing to impose a cost high enough to actually change behaviour. And while several industry groups argue pricing carbon is a good idea, their enthusiasm is less than it seems.
Cows’ farting and burping must be brought under control because they’re causing global warming problems, a climate change expert has warned.
Just one cow gives off enough harmful methane gas in a single day to fill around 400 litre bottles, which is really bad for the environment.
The gas goes up into the atmosphere and makes the hole in the ozone layer bigger, worsening global warming.
Dr Chris Jardine says the government must do more to halt the gassy problem.
Get a moo-ve on and try our cow quiz!
And it’s not just cows – sheep and goats also produce methane, which is 20 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide.
Dr Jardine, from Oxford University, said that the government needs to give more help to farmers.
What about electric cars…
I saw some clips from the movie about them, and how they were repossessed by the company, and/or the government and destroyed; because they couldn’t profit from them as they were too easy to maintain and didn’t burn oil.
I scanned the comments and didn’t see any mention of this…my apologies if this news has already been posted:
Castro resigns
Kamehameha I, was noted for his blood thirsty ways after killing his rival chiefs, during his pursuit to unify the Isles…
I just tried to find stuff on the Web, but without luck, on this topic. I do recall hearing apocryphal accounts that she is, indeed, horrified.
That may be because It was posted in the Front page News Box at 4:10AM FDL time this morning.
The NPR show I heard made it sound like the reefs would really start going fast with about a three degree in crease in average temperature. On the bright side, some new shorelines will be protected from tides by buildings, factories, and residential areas.
This is a hoot:
Bush-Appointed Federal Judge Resigns After DUI Cross-Dressing Arrest
Via Pensito Review: U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Somma, 63, has resigned after pleading guilty to a D.U.I.
He was in his Mercedes and wearing a cocktail dress, fishnet stockings and high heels at the time of his arrest last week — which was occasioned by his allegedly rear-ending a pick-up truck in Manchester, N.H. last week. His wife was out of town at the time of the incident.
Ha!
You mean, like, That is SOOOO this morning!
(I just made that up.)
Hi back, Biodun.
Who Killed The Electric Car?
I am such a mean person. I am laughing up a storm over this. I’ll bet his wife is permanently out of town now.
Not necessarily—she likes havin someone to go shopping with.
At first glance, electric cars seem like a viable solution. But if you stop and consider where your electricity comes from-coal or nuclear-you may end up supporting bigger pollutants than if you kept driving your little Toyota Corolla around.
Hi Christy…
Ride bus or light rail (in Minneapolis…subway in NYC, tube in London, and metro in Paris)
Eat only organic vegies.
Eat only free-range or wild chicken.
Recycle everything except the obvious…*g*
Use only paper when grocery-shopping.
Heh, another one ‘outed’ in more ways than one…! ;-)
I think that this issue has been pretty well researched- the electric car pollutes less- even if the electricity comes from coal.
Since 1973, it has seemed to me that we needed a program equivelent to the Manhattan project to attempt to develop alternate sources of fuel. I’ve heard a few politicians mention a project on that scale, but no real movement for such a thing. It seems to me one of the Democrats in the current election process even mentioned a lunar landing scale program. I guess either scientist don’t really belive there’s enough possibility of finding better alternatives, or all of the real scientific expertise on the subject is employed by the oil companies, or we don’t have the money for such a project. But it seems about as critical as beating the Axis in WWII and more important than landing on the moon was.
Wishing this will happen in the U.S.; Hundreds of Germans raided in €3.4bn tax evasion scandal
German authorities have raided the homes and offices of hundreds of wealthy people suspected of involvement in the country’s biggest tax evasion scandal.
Investigators, prosecutors and police undertook searches yesterday in the financial centres of Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Hamburg and Ulm.
Their moves came after revelations that Germany had lost €3.4 billion (£2.5 billion) in taxes after millionaires and executives transferred vast sums to a bank and foundations in Liechtenstein, the tax haven between Switzerland and Austria.
http://business.timesonline.co…..392793.ece
Pirate Romney and the top 10%
thieveselitists worst nightmare; being raided in the middle of the night by the FBI for hiding their ill-gotten tax evasion gains sequestered in offshorepirate coveshavens.There is only one source of fuel on the planet- the sun- it’s just a question of which way you harness it- grow a bunch of algae and wait a few million years is not the most efficient way- but it’s OUR way.
707 you’re killing me. Where do the repubs find these people?
Another example of what we could be doing with the $$$ we’re spending on The War.
And, again, the hell we are creating on this earth that we’re passing on to future generations.
Hi Christi, Fine post. But it isn’t just about temperature (and, as someone noted above, some areas will get colder). Increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere produces increasing carbonic acid in the oceans, making the oceans less alkaline, which reduces the concentration of carbonates (limestone), and carbonates are what coral reefs are made of. As are the “shells” of many kinds of phytoplankton (microscopic, free-floating plants) – phytoplankton that produce much of the world’s oxygen. There is a decent description of this at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_acidification.
Turns out sunscreen is another threat to coral (h/t Progressive Review).
Florescent light bulbs only.
Our entire house has them.
Saves lots of energy.
Double paned windows.
Working on my personal stamps.
You can’t just go out and FIND enough of these to make a major party- you gotta GROW em- like the old Kansas City Royals. They’re grown on a FARM- in MISSISSIPPI.
OT – Thank you Biodun – a scholar & gentleman! emails received..woohoo!
The little mouse that roared…! ;-)
demi:
WTF?
I’m not well-versed on the issue at all, but I think it’s much more complex than whether to drive a gasoline or electic powered car. As a society we need to examine where we get our energy, how we use it, how we move people around, where we live, where we work, the list goes on and on.
You’re welcome!
Heya all — had to run an errand with The Peanut that took much longer thn I expected. Sorry to dip in late. *g*
Oops…
stamps= foot print.(stop laughing at me.)
Well sure- if it were simple- GW Clusterfuck would have figured it out- still- electricity is better than gasoline.
True, but can’t they also be charged by solar power?
Ted — I haven’t learned to scuba yet. There are some folks who teach a course about an hour and a half from here — but I think it’s done in a swimming pool, so YMMV. But I have always wanted to learn. I’ve been an oceanography junkie since I was tiny (ask Mr. ReddHedd sometime how many ocean DVDs we own…or how many times I’ve dragged him to the beach or to an aquarium). One of these days…hopefully sooner rather than later.
Great post, Christy.
Love your call for scientists to become more politically active – from your keyboard to their ears!
Well said.
We have to recognize, however, that life is cyclic, and there is the human penchant for wanting the cycle of life to stop at a particular moment of well being. The concept of heaven is directly related to that.
This is not heaven. We will see change.
What to do about it?
No easy answers as of yet, so we need to pay attention. I don’t think that we will se a return to the last moment of well being. I heard an estimate of 100,000 years for that to happen, if we dropped all human activity to the levels existing around the turn of the 20th century.
Who Killed The Electric Car is a great DVD that can be rented. My Republican neighbor is in the movie. He was a FOMOCO exec. He’s one of the naysayers in the movie.
He lives on the Intracoastal waterway next to another Republican – a doctor. The doctor says that the cars were no good. I pointed out that the doctor always sticks up for free market economics. I said – if people want it and are willing to pay for it – why can’t they have it? No answer. The doc thinks that ticket scalping is good – its free market economics.
I was trying to imagine how personal “stamps” would save on energy and would the postal service accept them. LOL
Hi Christy,
We’ve been good and stayed on topic, mostly.
Except for the drunken crossdresser stuff.
Mother nature has already figured out what the appropriate energies are in order to support life. We should listen to our mother!!!
Yes, and by Hydro and Wind Power, too! Two other methods that are being seriously contemplated here, are tidal power and the use of seawater to cool Honolulu’s high rises and hotels…!
It was merely a brain fart.
No methane involved.
That is very cool.
Humor is never out of order!
Mother nature created us as well, endowing us with reason, enabling the system to go farther.
She didn’t post any fences either.
Here is a slightly more easygoing discussion, with some more interpretation than the Wikipedia entry on ocean acidification. I hated HS and college chemistry, and even I could half-way follow the discussion below.
2 July 2005
The Acid Ocean – the Other Problem with CO2 Emission
http://www.realclimate.org/ind…..-emission/
If the URL doesn’t work, go to realclimate.org, and search the site for ‘acidification’
But, then, after we get through with hot, and acid, the next downer is that there apparently will be an increase in the number of low oxygen ‘dead zones’ as hotter spots move into colder spots… and algae blooms like crazy where it didn’t before… and…
what a mess…
Christy,
Way back when I was in college, I got certified. We did a lot of stuff in the pool but we did do open water dives at Dale Hollow Reservoir, one of the man-made lakes in Kentucky. You should investigate as it is possible that the WVa folks do something similar.
Between LA and Palm Springs, there is a huge wind farm.
Some people think it looks ugly.
I don’t.
I think it’s gorgeous. Maybe because I see all the energy it creates.
Stop issuing building permits that enable urban sprawl.
The issue of ’sprawl’ is also related to mortgage problems (aka, ‘The Big Shitpile’) because billions in home loans support rampant subdivision construction, pushing cities to eat up farmlands. (Food supply is a separate, but related, issue.)
One glance at child obesity statistics over the past 20 years suggests that too many car rides (followed by too many hours in front of teevee and computer screens) are not good for public health.
Subdivision households average 10 auto trips PER DAY, per household.
Or 70 auto trips per week.
Or 2100 auto trips per month.
Multiply that by the average of 20 houses per block, and you start to see the impacts…
Nice for oil companies!
But very bad for US waistlines, citizen blood sugar levels, overall health and fitness, and citizen involvement in local communities.
Then, on weekends, people pour lawn fertilizers onto yards, change car oil… most of which enters local water systems, or local fields, where it then drains into streams, creeks, rivers, and the oceans. So sprawl involves using chemicals that we don’t really need to put into our waterways, nor the air.
Shorter: addressing sprawl would strategically impact global warming, personal finance, and personal fitness. We could be living more economically, at lower body mass indexes, in healthier cities, if we put much more emphasis on urban planning as a means to enhance public health.
Saw the movie and liked it. It does ignore some of the problems with the vehicles though, like limited range.
When I was out there, there was a push for “Ocean Thermal Energy Currents” (OTEC) using the ocean to generate power. Don’t know if it ever went anywhere.
They have them in Texas too. They are quite pretty especially when they are all spinning.
For some reason, it reminds me of a forest.
Ooh, Tweety has Donna on…!
Up here in NoCal we have windmills in the Altamont Pass and the scientists are very alarmed because they kill so many birds. Guess there is a downside to almost everything.
Before retiring from the FAA, a year ago, my job was to study building, antenna towers, wind turbines, etc., and issue determinations as to whether they would have an adverse effect on aviation. Hawaii was one of the states for which I was responsible. They really hate to put any lights on wind turbines. We minimized the requirement as much as possible, it still wasn’t good enough. I had one fellow arguing with me that helicopters never fly at night over Hawaii.
The “where other species struggle” link above has a detailed article on the struggle that sea urchins are having in the increasingly acidic environment. It’s such a cascade of problems once one begins…
Donna Edwards on Hardball
Now, that’s a nice way to see them.
***
Okay, so, it’s settled.
First, end the war, like, yesterday.
Then, research how to harvest the energy in ocean waves.
Then, we can be happy.
This is an interesting issues because parking is one of the driving forces in zoning. This makes for LESS dense housing.
What we need is MORE dense, more energy efficient multiple dwelling units where people are living closer to work or public transport and don’t need cars and parking.
How about a tax incentive for shared cars?
It’s being utilized in a lot of different ways, many unintended… The largest export out of Hawaii is desalinated Deep Sea Water manufactured there… It’s all the rage in Japan and goes for $10 for a 1.5 liter Bottle! They grow abalone and Maine lobsters in large ponds that are fed by the cold water pumped up… However, the energy production is minimal almost an afterthought now…!
All I can say is WOW! That’s sure a surprise!
The camera loves her (Edwards).
We could also use better planning — at least where I live, anyway, because all the stores, shops, or anything you might need is far away from where any housing is for the most part, and our busing system here sucks in the worst possible way. To get anywhere or do anything pretty much requires driving, so I try to plan my shopping needs as a multiple-errand trip. (Hence the longer-than-I-expected errand today, had to run three places all near each other rather than make a second trip tomorrow.)
hi christy,
i got my first scuba lessons in a rough ocean. once i realized i had air no matter what happened, it made no difference to me, but most people begin their learning in a pool where the situation is controlled and the teacher can easily see what they’re doing.
later, to get certified (so i could get air for the tanks), i had to take official lessons and they were in a pool.
it’s the most phenomenal feeling in the world to be underwater and still be able to breathe. it’s my favorite place to be, but then i resent having to live in air.
She’s terrific! She seems like she has a real grasp on the Cuban issue.
Can America end her love affair with the automobile?
Just think of all the businesses related to autos.
We gotta do it. It was a bone headed idea and it got us in deep doo doo, even if it was a fun ride.
The main reason is it interferes with the many arrays of telescopes up on Mauna Kea, all our streetlights are the low-sodium lights, it is frustrating at night to drive…!
She’s just as fantastic in person. Truly.
Demi – we’ve got a couple of wind farms in Upstate New York – one is out by Buffalo and is catching all that wind that makes “lake effect snow”. The other one is east in the Utica/Rome area. I’m with you – I love that stuff. In Upstate New York, we are so hitched into petroleum – the majority of houses outside of the larger cities are stuck with fuel oil (or wood, which can be worse, especially if they are using one of those outdoor boilers), so anything we can do to reduce the use of that is a big deal. The PSC is not happy with a Spanish company, Iberdrola, buying up Energy East, but they are the largest wind generator in Europe and already own a big wind generator in Pennsylvania, Community Energy. I’m hoping their interest in Energy East is to do more wind generation up on the lakes.
Sure
All it will take is $20 per gallon gasoline.
Strip shopping malls are a blight and malls are a horror in a sense that they are far from where people life. We created the big box thing and that need lots of cheap real estate and PARKING. Oy was that a boneheaded move.
We’ll regret it and these things will become rather quiet.
Make the buses free- fund em with a gas tax.
There is a very cool idea for wind generators.
It uses them tethered but aloft in higher winds. They are like helicopter held fixed. No real estate. Lots of wind. You don’t see them!
I’ll just bet.
And, I have the same have-to drive issues where I live.
And, it’s over a mile to where the closest bus stop is.
But, the up side is, it’s very quiet where I live.
The Hele-On buses that the County runs are all free now!
Christy,
What’s got my attention is The world’s rubbish dump: a garbage tip that stretches from Hawaii to Japan. Click on the image at the top right of the article to get a more detailed map.
I guess its “out of sight, out of mind.” A UN cleanup operation will have to be organized, with the bill sent to the countries filling up the oceans with garbage. Otherwise, we’ll choke in our own detritus.
Bob in HI
OT
What is the weird stuff about Ron Paul? Some of his stuff seems OK, but I haven’t followed his deal.
Oil today: $100.01
*ndfg applauds*
when suburban sprawl moved into the farming area where i grew up, the newbies flooded the township meeting to get certain restrictions passed, they wanted everyone to have large lots like themselves. A pragmatic old farmer noted that it would take a large riding mower to maintain a lawn that size, and the answer was “we don’t want people who can’t afford a large riding lawn mower to live here.” Blerg. Give me a lovely compact/dense city, or open farmland, but god/dess save me from suburbia.
I posted this huge swirl of rubbish a a few weeks ago.
Sweep it up and recycle it?
No, I know the reasons and even sympathize with them, but had a hard time making them understand that they couldn’t have it both ways; 400′ tall structures with no lights. Basically, they all wanted me to assume the responsiblity by saying it would be OK, that probably nothing would ever happen. The rules had to be based on Murphy’s Law.
In passing, another area where different environmental concerns are likely to conflict is in Minnesota and N.Dakota, where hundreds of windfarms are going up in the nations major waterfowl production areas. I don’t know what the result will be of thousands of ducks taking off among hundreds of giant whirling blades and confusing lights.
Are ya all set for tonite, Bob? *g*
And, all of this driving and not walking is literally killing us:
http://www.rand.org/news/press.04/09.27.html
“Researchers found that people who live in areas with a high degree of suburban sprawl are more likely to report chronic health problems such as high blood pressure, arthritis, headaches and breathing difficulties than people who live in less sprawling areas. The differences between people living in the two types of areas remained even when researchers accounted for factors such as age, economic status, race and the local environment that might explain the differences.
The findings suggest that an adult who lives in a more sprawling city such as Atlanta will have a health profile similar to someone four years older — but otherwise similar — who lives in a more compact city such as Seattle, according to researchers.”
Mass transit is great in old, densely populated cities. You can get around Vienna or Paris or London without much problem.
It’s a BIG problem in huge, sprawling metropoli like LA
People in LA aren’t going to any central location. They live EVERYWHERE and WORK EVERYWHERE- making subways and trains and trams and buses a hell of a lot less effective.
When we get serious- cause gas becomes expensive- people will have to move closer to where they work- tough sometimes with two workers in the same family.
Sub and exburbs are dinosaurs. They’re destined for extinction.
it was a problem at first, don’t have linkies, but research was done, and the speed of the blades was slowed which enabled the birds to avoid the blades. (I’ll dig around & see if i can find articles i read)
This is the first I’ve heard of it….absolutely horrifying!!!
Hi Twain,
Re:
What would the problem be? Perhaps we as humans need to know that we can’t increase our population four-fold in one century and get away with it.
Others have said that the sustainable carrying capacity of Earth for human beings is around 2 billion individuals. We are now at 6.7 Billion on our way to 9 Billion by mid-century if UN studies are accurate. Personnally, I feel that the greatest “happiness/carrying capacity/good times” for the human population would be somewhat under 1 Billion individuals. What’s so frustrating about all this is humanity’s response. For example, in the late 1960s George H.W. and Barbara Bush were members of the board of Houston’s Planned Parenthood group. Today, they are advocating breeding new Christian soldiers by ending abortion. In a word, insane.
This is what it’s come down to. No one wants to decrease their own tribal/national population for the greater good of humanity. And the worst examples among us are encouraging huge family sizes so that we can successfully fight Armageddon. Need I say more to indicate that we are a failing and foolish species?
Essentially, the only helicopters that fly are for sightseeing… Nothing to see at night…! That is a fact! ;-)
I had to buy a pass in Honolulu- but the service was pretty good- and WELL USED- the buses were mostly standing room only.
I’ve noticed that on the big island there is a fleet of Honda Elites- the nifty little 80cc 4 stroke motorscooters- great way to get around cheaply and without polluting much.
OT – and ’cause I’m in a silly mood.
Memo to Clarence Page.
Two words: new spectacles.
Tax incentives for shared cars is a great idea.
Plus, with better urban planning you’d be able to save more nice walking paths or design better streets (as is done in much of Europe).
Course, that would require that public attitudes recognize that looking out for ‘the common good’ is simple, prudent, economically responsible adult behavior.
There are political forces in the US who still profit hugely from sprawl. However, given current political, economic, and military realities, they seem to be losing cred at a rapid clip. So new solutions — including better urban design — will be much needed.
Auto taxes certainly fit into that new set of solutions, IMHO ;-))
“Are ya all set for tonite, Bob? *g*”
I hope so. Right from work, I go to pick up a lady with a disability who can’t drive, to go immediately to our Caucus site and help set up, since I’m a precinct officer. Large crowds expected, including many new Democratic registrations. Ha! after the fun with the caucus is over, we might have enough warm bodies from my precinct to actually elect a full slate of officers! I’m looking forward to all the new zeal and energy.
Bob in HI
True, DaBus still charges, and, a hefty amount, I remember paying only a quarter to get around…! But, I was referring to the Big Isle’s mass transit…!
Actually, the Chinese have had a fairly rigid system of population control in place for a while. Among others. (And I’m not saying that forced abortion is the way to go, not after everything we went through to have our little miracle, so no one put those words in my mouth. But it’s inaccurate to say that no nation is doing population control as a policy.)
Dayam – good on ‘ya, Bob.
Yet another thing that’s better on the Big Island. Hilo here I come!
Makes you wonder if the next war will be over food and water. We are slowly turning our own country into a new dust bowl and destroying valuable land for growing food. We are the only species that will probably wipe itself out.
Is it being held at your house? I noticed that a lot of people’s houses are being used…! *g*
Great work, Bob — can’t wait to hear your impressions of your caucus, what everyone is talking about and such. Good to ehar there are a lot of new Dem registrations, too.
It was $2 to ride “The Bus” on a one way trip- but only $4 or $5 per day for a multi day pass. That’s not bad. Locals had monthly passes that were much cheaper.
It’s kinda hard for scientists to get involved when the person elected President considers it his right to silence the best experts in certain essential fields that are on the government payroll. It’s happened in regard to many things, from the EPA to climate change scientists, and others.
Lahoma and I are avid scuba divers. We have seen this stuff up close. It’s very, very disturbing.
Not based to ATCT and RAPCON info. I’m sure it’s true for the majority of helicopter flights, but unless you somehow ban them by law, you have to consider them existing. For example, unless you want to preclude any medevac flight, news helicopter, military helicopter, or emergency business helicopter fights, you have to treat them as existing.
Christy has a
up about political chickens and their eggs. Can’t swear to it, but I think it might have to do with Hillary’s campaign.
Sorry, this is what my #167 should have said:
Christy has a new post up about political chickens and their eggs. Can’t swear to it, but I think it might have to do with Hillary’s campaign.
I agree with ya to a point! But, the wind towers are no where near any flight patterns for those flights… News Chopper, hah, that’s a good one!
“Is it being held at your house? I noticed that a lot of people’s houses are being used…! *g*”
No way, Jose! It’ll be at an Intermediate School on the slopes of Punchbowl.
Bob in HI
Mine’s at Hilo High’s Cafeteria…!
Hi Christy,
Re:
I considered mentioning the Chinese “one child” policy, but as I’ve learned from recent research, there is a very healthy rebellion going on in China with many parents refusing to cooperate with the harsh “one child” policy. The upshot is that the following siblings cannot get legal citizenship papers in the PRC, so that is and will be adding dramatically to the increase in people-smuggling out of the country and into other already well-populated regions like S.E. Asia and our own British Columbia on the West Coast.
-R.
Hi Twain,
Re:
Wonder no longer, read Michael Klare’s “Resource Wars” for a realistic look at what war will be all about in the next few decades.
http://www.mapcruzin.com/rev_resource_wars.htm
There is already an increase in low and no oxygen zones, in some of the most productive regions of our oceans – upwelling zones along coastlines. There was a recent report on this occurring in the Pacific Northwest, but it’s happening in many other areas as well.
Tipping points tipping all over the place – right now.
Wonderful post on quite possibly the most important topic of all, CHS! I know the newsbox crew tries to keep an eye out for the latest news and actions on this subject.. So check it daily firedogs.
This is something my friend and his friends are doing in Carbondale, CO. Seems wise to meeeeeeeeee.
Sustainable Settings
:)