Ccc march2012

Editor's Notes

• #2: See Ecological Impacts of Climate Change booklet, p. 4-7 Temperatures are rising: Average global surface temperature has risen ~1.3°F since 1850. If emission rates for greenhouse gases continue on their current track, models indicate that the globe will be 4.3 to 11.5°F warmer by 2100 than it was in 1990. Sea levels are rising: Warmer temperatures not only cause glaciers and land ice to melt (adding more volume to oceans) but also cause seawater to expand in volume as it warms. Under a “business-as-usual” greenhouse gas emissions scenario, models indicate that sea levels could rise 2 feet or more by 2100 compared to 1990 levels. The ocean is acidifying: Much of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity has already been taken up by the ocean, thus moderating the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, as carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, acidifying the ocean. Ocean acidification will likely cause serious harm to marine organisms such as corals, lobsters, and sea urchins. Water cycle changes: The seasonal rhythms of streams and rivers have changed as winter precipitation falls increasingly as rain instead of snow, and as earlier spring temperatures cause snow in the mountains to melt earlier and faster. Warmer temperatures also mean higher evaporation rates and thirstier plants and people, increasing demands for water. Projections indicate that on average dry areas will tend to get drier, and wet areas will tend to get wetter. Extreme weather: It is considered very likely that increasing global temperatures will lead to higher maximum temperatures, more heat waves, and fewer cold days over most land areas.
• #5: Migration and nesting of birds is driven by temperature, and many species will be “committed to extinction” if not actually extinct, by end of this (21 st ) century.
• #6: Including new blog: Earth Matters Blog entries 2011: EF: 28; EM: 26; NFF 70 (in 6 campaigns)
• #7: See Ecological Impacts of Climate Change booklet, p. 4-7 Temperatures are rising: Average global surface temperature has risen ~1.3°F since 1850. If emission rates for greenhouse gases continue on their current track, models indicate that the globe will be 4.3 to 11.5°F warmer by 2100 than it was in 1990. Sea levels are rising: Warmer temperatures not only cause glaciers and land ice to melt (adding more volume to oceans) but also cause seawater to expand in volume as it warms. Under a “business-as-usual” greenhouse gas emissions scenario, models indicate that sea levels could rise 2 feet or more by 2100 compared to 1990 levels. The ocean is acidifying: Much of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity has already been taken up by the ocean, thus moderating the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, as carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, acidifying the ocean. Ocean acidification will likely cause serious harm to marine organisms such as corals, lobsters, and sea urchins. Water cycle changes: The seasonal rhythms of streams and rivers have changed as winter precipitation falls increasingly as rain instead of snow, and as earlier spring temperatures cause snow in the mountains to melt earlier and faster. Warmer temperatures also mean higher evaporation rates and thirstier plants and people, increasing demands for water. Projections indicate that on average dry areas will tend to get drier, and wet areas will tend to get wetter. Extreme weather: It is considered very likely that increasing global temperatures will lead to higher maximum temperatures, more heat waves, and fewer cold days over most land areas.
• #8: See Ecological Impacts of Climate Change booklet, p. 4-7 Temperatures are rising: Average global surface temperature has risen ~1.3°F since 1850. If emission rates for greenhouse gases continue on their current track, models indicate that the globe will be 4.3 to 11.5°F warmer by 2100 than it was in 1990. Sea levels are rising: Warmer temperatures not only cause glaciers and land ice to melt (adding more volume to oceans) but also cause seawater to expand in volume as it warms. Under a “business-as-usual” greenhouse gas emissions scenario, models indicate that sea levels could rise 2 feet or more by 2100 compared to 1990 levels. The ocean is acidifying: Much of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity has already been taken up by the ocean, thus moderating the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, as carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, acidifying the ocean. Ocean acidification will likely cause serious harm to marine organisms such as corals, lobsters, and sea urchins. Water cycle changes: The seasonal rhythms of streams and rivers have changed as winter precipitation falls increasingly as rain instead of snow, and as earlier spring temperatures cause snow in the mountains to melt earlier and faster. Warmer temperatures also mean higher evaporation rates and thirstier plants and people, increasing demands for water. Projections indicate that on average dry areas will tend to get drier, and wet areas will tend to get wetter. Extreme weather: It is considered very likely that increasing global temperatures will lead to higher maximum temperatures, more heat waves, and fewer cold days over most land areas.
• #9: See Ecological Impacts of Climate Change booklet, p. 4-7 Temperatures are rising: Average global surface temperature has risen ~1.3°F since 1850. If emission rates for greenhouse gases continue on their current track, models indicate that the globe will be 4.3 to 11.5°F warmer by 2100 than it was in 1990. Sea levels are rising: Warmer temperatures not only cause glaciers and land ice to melt (adding more volume to oceans) but also cause seawater to expand in volume as it warms. Under a “business-as-usual” greenhouse gas emissions scenario, models indicate that sea levels could rise 2 feet or more by 2100 compared to 1990 levels. The ocean is acidifying: Much of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity has already been taken up by the ocean, thus moderating the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, as carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, acidifying the ocean. Ocean acidification will likely cause serious harm to marine organisms such as corals, lobsters, and sea urchins. Water cycle changes: The seasonal rhythms of streams and rivers have changed as winter precipitation falls increasingly as rain instead of snow, and as earlier spring temperatures cause snow in the mountains to melt earlier and faster. Warmer temperatures also mean higher evaporation rates and thirstier plants and people, increasing demands for water. Projections indicate that on average dry areas will tend to get drier, and wet areas will tend to get wetter. Extreme weather: It is considered very likely that increasing global temperatures will lead to higher maximum temperatures, more heat waves, and fewer cold days over most land areas.
• #10: See Ecological Impacts of Climate Change booklet, p. 4-7 Temperatures are rising: Average global surface temperature has risen ~1.3°F since 1850. If emission rates for greenhouse gases continue on their current track, models indicate that the globe will be 4.3 to 11.5°F warmer by 2100 than it was in 1990. Sea levels are rising: Warmer temperatures not only cause glaciers and land ice to melt (adding more volume to oceans) but also cause seawater to expand in volume as it warms. Under a “business-as-usual” greenhouse gas emissions scenario, models indicate that sea levels could rise 2 feet or more by 2100 compared to 1990 levels. The ocean is acidifying: Much of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity has already been taken up by the ocean, thus moderating the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, as carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, acidifying the ocean. Ocean acidification will likely cause serious harm to marine organisms such as corals, lobsters, and sea urchins. Water cycle changes: The seasonal rhythms of streams and rivers have changed as winter precipitation falls increasingly as rain instead of snow, and as earlier spring temperatures cause snow in the mountains to melt earlier and faster. Warmer temperatures also mean higher evaporation rates and thirstier plants and people, increasing demands for water. Projections indicate that on average dry areas will tend to get drier, and wet areas will tend to get wetter. Extreme weather: It is considered very likely that increasing global temperatures will lead to higher maximum temperatures, more heat waves, and fewer cold days over most land areas.
• #11: See Ecological Impacts of Climate Change booklet, p. 4-7 Temperatures are rising: Average global surface temperature has risen ~1.3°F since 1850. If emission rates for greenhouse gases continue on their current track, models indicate that the globe will be 4.3 to 11.5°F warmer by 2100 than it was in 1990. Sea levels are rising: Warmer temperatures not only cause glaciers and land ice to melt (adding more volume to oceans) but also cause seawater to expand in volume as it warms. Under a “business-as-usual” greenhouse gas emissions scenario, models indicate that sea levels could rise 2 feet or more by 2100 compared to 1990 levels. The ocean is acidifying: Much of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity has already been taken up by the ocean, thus moderating the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, as carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, acidifying the ocean. Ocean acidification will likely cause serious harm to marine organisms such as corals, lobsters, and sea urchins. Water cycle changes: The seasonal rhythms of streams and rivers have changed as winter precipitation falls increasingly as rain instead of snow, and as earlier spring temperatures cause snow in the mountains to melt earlier and faster. Warmer temperatures also mean higher evaporation rates and thirstier plants and people, increasing demands for water. Projections indicate that on average dry areas will tend to get drier, and wet areas will tend to get wetter. Extreme weather: It is considered very likely that increasing global temperatures will lead to higher maximum temperatures, more heat waves, and fewer cold days over most land areas.
• #12: See Ecological Impacts of Climate Change booklet, p. 4-7 Temperatures are rising: Average global surface temperature has risen ~1.3°F since 1850. If emission rates for greenhouse gases continue on their current track, models indicate that the globe will be 4.3 to 11.5°F warmer by 2100 than it was in 1990. Sea levels are rising: Warmer temperatures not only cause glaciers and land ice to melt (adding more volume to oceans) but also cause seawater to expand in volume as it warms. Under a “business-as-usual” greenhouse gas emissions scenario, models indicate that sea levels could rise 2 feet or more by 2100 compared to 1990 levels. The ocean is acidifying: Much of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity has already been taken up by the ocean, thus moderating the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, as carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, acidifying the ocean. Ocean acidification will likely cause serious harm to marine organisms such as corals, lobsters, and sea urchins. Water cycle changes: The seasonal rhythms of streams and rivers have changed as winter precipitation falls increasingly as rain instead of snow, and as earlier spring temperatures cause snow in the mountains to melt earlier and faster. Warmer temperatures also mean higher evaporation rates and thirstier plants and people, increasing demands for water. Projections indicate that on average dry areas will tend to get drier, and wet areas will tend to get wetter. Extreme weather: It is considered very likely that increasing global temperatures will lead to higher maximum temperatures, more heat waves, and fewer cold days over most land areas.
• #13: 2008 saw a slight recovery in sea ice cover, but is 2 nd lowest on record. Sea ice does not directly change sea level, but once it departs from Greenland, that great continental ice mass will accelerate dramatically its melt. Melting of all Greenland can potentially can raise sea level almost 7 meters globally. 2 meter of rise is expected in this century alone, and that will cover many island and coastal regions.
• #14: 2008 saw a slight recovery in sea ice cover, but is 2 nd lowest on record. Sea ice does not directly change sea level, but once it departs from Greenland, that great continental ice mass will accelerate dramatically its melt. Melting of all Greenland can potentially can raise sea level almost 7 meters globally. 2 meter of rise is expected in this century alone, and that will cover many island and coastal regions.
• #15: Note in the bottom curves the impact of eruptions of El Chichon and Pinatubo volcanoes (labelled E and P) and their temporary warming influence on their lower stratosphere, opposite to global warming.
• #16: Note in the bottom curves the impact of eruptions of El Chichon and Pinatubo volcanoes (labelled E and P) and their temporary warming influence on their lower stratosphere, opposite to global warming.
• #17: Note in the bottom curves the impact of eruptions of El Chichon and Pinatubo volcanoes (labelled E and P) and their temporary warming influence on their lower stratosphere, opposite to global warming.
• #18: Migration and nesting of birds is driven by temperature, and many species will be “committed to extinction” if not actually extinct, by end of this (21 st ) century.
• #19: Note in the bottom curves the impact of eruptions of El Chichon and Pinatubo volcanoes (labelled E and P) and their temporary warming influence on their lower stratosphere, opposite to global warming.
• #21: See Ecological Impacts of Climate Change booklet, p. 5 Although scientific knowledge of climate is far from complete, the uncertainties concern the details: the scientific community is highly confident in the basic conclusions. The physical processes that cause climate change are scientifically well documented: both human activities and natural variability are contributing. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, whose documents are considered the most authoritative source for information on the “state of the science” on climate change, it is very likely that most of the observed warming over the past 50 years is the result of increased greenhouse gases generated by human activities. Numerous expert reports from the National Research Council have supported this conclusion as well. The release of greenhouse gases has increased significantly since the Industrial Revolution, mostly from the burning of fossil fuels for energy, agriculture, industrial processes, and transportation. Carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, is increasing in the atmosphere faster than at any time measured in the past, having grown by about 35 percent since 1850. Two other greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide, are present in the atmosphere at much lower concentrations than carbon dioxide but have increased rapidly. Methane has increased by 150 percent; in addition, it is 25 times more effective per molecule at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. Nitrous oxide, nearly 300 times more effective, has increased by more than 20 percent.
• #22: Migration and nesting of birds is driven by temperature, and many species will be “committed to extinction” if not actually extinct, by end of this (21 st ) century.
• #23: Migration and nesting of birds is driven by temperature, and many species will be “committed to extinction” if not actually extinct, by end of this (21 st ) century.
• #25: See Ecological Impacts of Climate Change booklet, p. 4-7 Temperatures are rising: Average global surface temperature has risen ~1.3°F since 1850. If emission rates for greenhouse gases continue on their current track, models indicate that the globe will be 4.3 to 11.5°F warmer by 2100 than it was in 1990. Sea levels are rising: Warmer temperatures not only cause glaciers and land ice to melt (adding more volume to oceans) but also cause seawater to expand in volume as it warms. Under a “business-as-usual” greenhouse gas emissions scenario, models indicate that sea levels could rise 2 feet or more by 2100 compared to 1990 levels. The ocean is acidifying: Much of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity has already been taken up by the ocean, thus moderating the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, as carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, acidifying the ocean. Ocean acidification will likely cause serious harm to marine organisms such as corals, lobsters, and sea urchins. Water cycle changes: The seasonal rhythms of streams and rivers have changed as winter precipitation falls increasingly as rain instead of snow, and as earlier spring temperatures cause snow in the mountains to melt earlier and faster. Warmer temperatures also mean higher evaporation rates and thirstier plants and people, increasing demands for water. Projections indicate that on average dry areas will tend to get drier, and wet areas will tend to get wetter. Extreme weather: It is considered very likely that increasing global temperatures will lead to higher maximum temperatures, more heat waves, and fewer cold days over most land areas.
• #26: Migration and nesting of birds is driven by temperature, and many species will be “committed to extinction” if not actually extinct, by end of this (21 st ) century.
• #27: Migration and nesting of birds is driven by temperature, and many species will be “committed to extinction” if not actually extinct, by end of this (21 st ) century.
• #28: Migration and nesting of birds is driven by temperature, and many species will be “committed to extinction” if not actually extinct, by end of this (21 st ) century.
• #29: Migration and nesting of birds is driven by temperature, and many species will be “committed to extinction” if not actually extinct, by end of this (21 st ) century.
• #30: Migration and nesting of birds is driven by temperature, and many species will be “committed to extinction” if not actually extinct, by end of this (21 st ) century.
• #31: Migration and nesting of birds is driven by temperature, and many species will be “committed to extinction” if not actually extinct, by end of this (21 st ) century.
• #33: GLOBAL -> LOCAL Water controls Energy 90% Fresh Water = ICE RIVERS, AQUIFERS
• #36: Migration and nesting of birds is driven by temperature, and many species will be “committed to extinction” if not actually extinct, by end of this (21 st ) century.
• #37: Migration and nesting of birds is driven by temperature, and many species will be “committed to extinction” if not actually extinct, by end of this (21 st ) century.
• #38: Migration and nesting of birds is driven by temperature, and many species will be “committed to extinction” if not actually extinct, by end of this (21 st ) century.
• #39: Migration and nesting of birds is driven by temperature, and many species will be “committed to extinction” if not actually extinct, by end of this (21 st ) century.
• #43: Prior water quality criteria applied to the Chesapeake Bay were based on the assumption that all areas in the Bay were identical and did not take into account the natural variability found in the Bay ’ s waters. New water quality criteria – dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a and water clarity – vary based on the needs of a healthy ecosystem. By analyzing the relationship between these three criteria, scientists are able to understand and monitor the more complex processes of the Bay ecosystem. Design and implementation of tributary strategies to meet these new, more appropriate criteria will enable the states and the District of Columbia to remove the Bay and its tidal tributaries from the impaired waters list.
• #46: Prior water quality criteria applied to the Chesapeake Bay were based on the assumption that all areas in the Bay were identical and did not take into account the natural variability found in the Bay ’ s waters. New water quality criteria – dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a and water clarity – vary based on the needs of a healthy ecosystem. By analyzing the relationship between these three criteria, scientists are able to understand and monitor the more complex processes of the Bay ecosystem. Design and implementation of tributary strategies to meet these new, more appropriate criteria will enable the states and the District of Columbia to remove the Bay and its tidal tributaries from the impaired waters list.
• #57: “ The Clock of the Long Now” is discussed by Stewart Brand as a “Ted Talk” on iTunes, or at http://ted.com See also http://longnow.org Neal Stephenson's new book Anathem is inspired in part by The Clock of the Long Now. To read about our ancestor ’s “clock of the long now” at Newgrange, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newgrange
• #58: Vernal Equinox Tropical Depression over SA
• #59: Remember, that the contiguous (48 state) USA covers less than 2% of the Earth ’s surface area, so USA-mean temperature and precipitation is _not_ representative of global mean climate change, especially as there are many regional influences, not the least of which is ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation).
• #60: Remember, that the contiguous (48 state) USA covers less than 2% of the Earth ’s surface area, so USA-mean temperature and precipitation is _not_ representative of global mean climate change, especially as there are many regional influences, not the least of which is ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation).