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Global Warming

Scientific documentation and ramifications of global warming from both human as well as natural causes.

Page Contents:
Overviews • Directories • Individual Reports (has multiple sub-sections) • Reports of Non-Human Factors • Ramifications • Remedies • Politics • Alternate Theories • Skeptics • See also

See also: The Day After Tomorrow - scientific documentation

Overviews

Al Gore's Nobel Acceptance Speech (22 mins) - In accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, Al Gore calls on the world community to rally to the climate change challenge that faces us and threatens life as we know it. (Google Video; Dec. 11, 2007)

Institute enumerates cross-section likelihood of reducing CO2 levels - The Electric Power Research Institute has released a study that shows that the aggressive development and implementation of a full portfolio of advanced electricity technologies could reduce the economic cost of cutting future U.S. CO2 emissions by more than 50 per cent while meeting the continuing growth in demand for electricity. (TreeHugger; Aug. 15, 2007)

Global warming impact like "nuclear war" - The International Institute for Strategic Studies security think-tank said global warming would hit crop yields and water availability everywhere, causing great human suffering and leading to regional strife. (Reuters; Sept. 12)

• 26 Common Climate Myths Debunked - "Despite all the complexities, a firm and ever-growing body of evidence points to a clear picture: the world is warming, this warming is due to human activity increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and if emissions continue unabated the warming will too, with increasingly serious consequences." (New Scientist; May 16, 2007) (See Slashdot discussion)

Live Earth Concert - 24-hour, 7-continent concert series took place on 7/7/07, bringing together more than 100 music artists and 2 billion people to trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis.  Includes Google News snapshot. (PESN; July 7, 2007)

World Responds to British Stern Warning on Climate Change - With the completion of a 580-page commissioned report, Britain has issued a call for urgent action on climate change, to prevent catastrophe by taking preventative measures now. A snapshot of resulting worldwide media coverage. (PESN; Oct. 31, 2006)

The Denial Industry - In his forthcoming book, Heat, George Monbiot reveals that the oil giant ExxonMobil gives money to scores of organisations that claim the science on global warming is inconclusive - which it isn't. It's a strategy that has set back action on climate change by a decade, and it involves the same people who insist that passive smoking is harmless. (Guardian.uk; Sept. 19) (Thanks <Alastair Torrance >)

Tom Brokaw joins the battle against global warming - July 16, 2006 two-hour special on Discovery Channel, hosted by Tom Brokaw, produced by the global alliance of Discovery Channel, the BBC and NBC News Productions, will present the facts regarding global warming. (Assets)

The Great Warming Opens Nationwide - Climate change film narrated by Keanu Reeves and Alanis Morissette opens.  Podcast released featuring an interview of the film's producer and creator.  Moviegoers eligible for a free home energy review. (PESN; Nov. 5, 2006)

An-Inconvenient-Truth (.com) LLC - Launched by Maui Media, this fan-based website of the acclaimed film about the climate crisis provides resources on global warming and alternative energy, clean air, water, and other ecological issues; has a blog; and includes a 'what you can do' checklist.

'The Great Warming' Hits the Big Screen in U.S. - A new documentary film, The Great Warming, examining world-wide issues of climate change and offering many real-world solutions, will be released nationwide on Nov. 3. The film was shot on four continents and is narrated by Keanu Reeves and Alanis Morissette. (ZPEnergy; Oct. 5, 2006)

Global warming fastest for 20,000 years - and it is mankind's fault - Draft report by the world's leading climate scientists itemizes the evidence and concludes decisively that humans have played a role in the recent warming trend.  (The Independent; May 4, 2006)

Meltdown: Mark Goldes on Global Climate Catastrophe - There's enough methane-ice trapped under the polar caps to suffocate every man, woman, and child on Earth...and the caps are melting. This is just one of five scenarios ... "The Brooklyn Project" proposed. (AmericanAntigravity; July 19, 2006)

• Scientist: Global warming is near its tipping point - Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers, cites string of evidences to Salt Lake City audience and calls for a reasonable and doable change of human behavior. (Salt Lake Tribune; Apr. 9, 2006)
• What's Up with the Weather: Global Warming - PBS' NOVA/Frontline educational site addresses the debate, evidence in the ice, what would be submerged, fossil fuel alternatives
• Global Warming - CBS News' interactive covers the greenhouse effect, discoveries and global action, Kyoto Protocol; charts and maps of CO2 emissions; history of Earth's climate; growing danger.
• Studies of ancient climates suggest Earth is now on a fast track to global warming - Human activities are releasing greenhouse gases more than 30 times faster than the rate of emissions that triggered a period of extreme global warming in the Earth's past, according to an expert on ancient climates. (PhysOrg; Feb. 17, 2006)
• All you ever wanted to know about Global Warming - Frequently Asked Questions - Introduction to global warming, from New Scientist magazine. Includes theories about positive and negative feedbacks.

• World Scientists say Humans are Causing Global Warming - Scientists threw down the gauntlet to world leaders on Tuesday saying mankind was the major source of global warming and urging action, one month ahead of a G8 summit. (Reuters; June 7, 2005)
• Scientists urged to spread word on global warming - Global warming is real, dangerous and ignored at great risk to the planet, says.  Professor James Gustave Speth, Dean of Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, urging the scientific community to make its case to the public, which remains unconvinced of the crisis despite decades of first-rate science and policy analysis. (PhysOrg; April 12, 2005)

• Consensus on Global Warming - Science Magazine analyzed the last ten years of published scientific articles on the subject of global climate change.  Of the 928 papers, 75% accepted that global warming was caused by human activities. 25% made no mention either way. Not a single paper asserted otherwise." (Slashdot; Dec. 8, 2004)
• Pleiades Enterprises Review - addresses global warming from an activist point of view
• Climate Talks Bring Bush's Policy to Fore - Scientific sleuths trying to understand the extent of global climate change -- and finger the culprits -- have come up with several important new clues.  (Washington Post; Dec. 5, 2004)
• Global Warming consequences heads list of year's top 100 discoveries - Global warming topped the 2004 list compiled by Discover magazine's Year in Science issue, Jan. 2005. (PhysOrg; Dec. 13, 2004)
• Shutdown of circulation pattern could be disastrous - Researches predict that if global warming shuts down the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean, the result could be catastrophic climate change. (PhysOrg; Dec. 13, 2004)

Directories

• Global-Greenhouse-Warming.com - Over 160 pages of up to date information on global warming and climate change, promoting renewable energy as a mitigative strategy.

Global Warming - Blog - Ljubisa presents a compilation of leading articles and news stories on the subject.

Contributors

• Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse Threat - Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing these “green” fuels are taken into account, two studies being published Thursday have concluded. (NY Times; Feb. 8, 2008)

CO2 output from shipping twice as much as airlines - Separate studies suggest that maritime carbon dioxide emissions are not only higher than previously thought, but could rise by as much as 75% in the next 15 to 20 years if world trade continues to grow and no action is taken. (Guardian; UK; March 3, 2007)

Individual Reports

Sub-sections
Hurricanes and Severe Weather • Drought • Habitat Changes • Arctic Melting • Misc. Finds • Methane Release • Carbon Release • Sun Energy Reflectivity • Alt-Energy Non-Solutions? • Human-Caused • Diet • Irreversible • Day After Tomorrow

Overview

Sun's in the clear over global warming, says study - A new government-funded report says that the rise in global temperatures that has been detected over the past two decades cannot be blamed on the Sun, a theory espoused by climate-change skeptics, who point out a number of significant flaws in the study.  See comments section. (PhysOrg; July 11, 2007)

2006 Warmest on Record in United States - NOAA - The year 2006 was the warmest in the contiguous United States since record keeping began 112 years ago, due in large part to an unusually warm December, US government weather forecasters said on Tuesday. A factor in the record warmth was a long term warming trend some have linked to increases in greenhouse gases.  (NOAA; Jan. 9/ Reuters; Jan. 10, 2007)

2005 Was Warmest Year on Record - NASA - Last year was the warmest recorded on Earth's surface, since modern record-keeping began in the 1890s, and it was unusually hot in the Arctic, US space agency NASA said on Tuesday. (Reuters; Jan. 25, 2006)

Hurricanes and Severe Weather

Hurricanes Are Getting Stronger - The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes worldwide has nearly doubled over the past 35 years, even though the total number of hurricanes has dropped since the 1990s. The shift has occurred as global sea surface temperatures have increased over the same period. (PESN; Sept. 17, 2005)
Katrina coming in

• Hurricane Historian Says This Season Worst in Record in Many Ways - Depends on the criteria used to define 'worst,' according to Eric Gross, associate professor of history at Harding University in Searcy, Ark.. (PhysOrg; Sept. 27, 2005)

Katrina and Rita Just the Beginning? - Have we seen America's future through the eyes of hurricanes Katrina and Rita? Monster storms drowning cities and obliterating coastlines. Jobs vanishing and prices rising as ports and pipelines close. Millions fleeing, but many are trapped and die. Chaos reigns, paralyzing government and leaving the world's wealthiest society humbled and frightened. (Deseret News; Oct. 1, 2005)

• Global warming and storms - Bush administration appears in contradiction to U.S. Govt. document that says, "The strongest hurricanes in the present climate may be upstaged by even more intense hurricanes over the next century as the Earth's climate is warmed by increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere." (Sun Sentinel; Florida; Sept. 11, 2004)
• NASA Satellites Record a Month for the Hurricane History Books - There were more named storms recorded in the month of July 2005 for the Atlantic Ocean than ever in the hurricane history books. (PhysOrg; Sept. 8, 2005)
• Impact of Global Warming on Weather Patterns Underestimated - The impact of global warming on European weather patterns has been underestimated, according to a new report published in Nature this week. (PhysOrg; Sept. 22, 2005)

Drought

• Drought's growing reach - The percentage of Earth's land area stricken by serious drought more than doubled from the 1970s to the early 2000s, according to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). (PhysOrg; Jan. 13, 2005)
• Drought bumps up global thermostat - Forest fires are raging across southern Spain and Portugal, and African locusts are invading French fields, causing the equivalent of nearly twice the emissions from fossil-fuel burning in the region over the same time. (H2O Power; Aug. 3)

Habitat Changes

• Global warming's impact on U.S. plants, animals - Published study looks at 50 years, noting changes in behaviors that bespeak increased temperatures and their effect on the habitat. (PhysOrg; Nov. 8, 2004)

Global warming doubles rate of ocean rise Global ocean levels are rising twice as fast today as they were 150 years ago, and human-induced warming appears to be the culprit. (OSEN, Nov. 2005)

Arctic Melting

Arctic Sea Ice Shatters All Previous Record Lows: Diminished Ice Leads To Northwest Passage Opening - Arctic sea ice during the 2007 melt season plummeted to the lowest levels since satellite measurements began in 1979, according to researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center. (PhysOrg; Oct. 1, 2007)

Thawing Permafrost Could Unleash Tons of Carbon - Ancient roots and bones locked in long-frozen soil in Siberia are starting to thaw, and have the potential to unleash billions of tonnes of carbon and accelerate global warming, scientists said on Thursday. (Alaska Report; June 16, 2006)

Arctic water flow speeding up - One of Siberia's largest rivers is dumping about 10% more fresh water into the Arctic today than it was some 60 years ago. The result is in line with predictions of how climate change is expected to alter the Arctic water cycle, and is a worrying sign in terms of maintaining important ocean currents. (Nature; Apr. 6, 2006)

NASA Study Shows Antarctic Ice Sheet Shrinking - Using data from the NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), scientists concluded that Antarctica's ice sheet decreased by about 152 cubic kilometers annually from April 2002 to August 2005. (Reuters; Mar. 3) (See Slashdot discussion)

Greenland Glaciers Melting Much Faster - Satellite observations indicate that Greenland's glaciers have been dumping ice into the Atlantic Ocean at a rate that's doubled over the past five years.  Accelerated by feedback loop.  (MSNBC; Feb. 14, 2006) (See Slashdot discussion)

Antarctic glaciers in mass retreat - The discovery comes from an analysis spanning more than half a century of aerial photographs and satellite images. Shifting pattern linked to warming on icy peninsula. (Nature, April 21, 2005)

Carbon dioxide levels highest for 650,000 years Levels of carbon dioxide, the principal gas that drives global warming, are now 27 percent higher than at any point in the last 650,000 years, according to research into Antarctic ice cores publi... (PhysOrg; Nov. 2005)

• Melting Glacier Worries Scientists - Scientists monitoring a Greenland glacier have found it is moving into the sea three times faster than a decade ago. (PhysOrg; July 25, 2005)
• Greenland glacier triples speed - The Greenland glacier Kangerdlugssuaq has unexpectedly picked up speed and become one the world's fasted-moving glaciers, symptomatic of global warming, according to GreenPeace. (PhysOrg; Aug. 12, 2005)
• Siberian permafrost melting - Russian scientists say the western Siberian sub-Arctic region --  a peat bog the size of France and Germany -- has begun to thaw. (PhysOrg; Aug. 11, 2005)

Ice Shelf Retreat Not New, But ... - British scientists say the current retreat of ice shelves in the Antarctic due to global warming is nothing new, but this time it's due to man's emissions and that means the problem could be more serious. (CBS News; Feb. 23, 2005)

• Ocean, Arctic Studies Show Global Warming is Real - New computer models that look at ocean temperatures instead of the atmosphere show the clearest signal yet that global warming is well underway. (Reuters; Feb. 21, 2005)

Tundra Greening Not a Good Sign - Satellite images taken over decades show two seemingly contradictory events that indicate global warming is affecting Alaska. (PhysOrg; Sept. 15, 2005)

• Melting ice lets ship set record - New Zealand crew of a polar research ship say it has ventured further south than any other ship because of melting sea ice. (Australian, New Zealand - Jan. 31, 2005)
• Widespread Arctic warming crosses critical ecological thresholds - Large new study of ecological impact covers five circumpolar countries extending halfway around the world and 30 degrees of latitude spanning boreal forest to high arctic tundra ecosystems, reports unprecedented and maybe irreversible effects of Arctic warming, linked to human intervention. (EurekAlert, UK; Mar. 1, 2005)

Arctic Ocean Waters Warm Suddenly - Water flowing from the North Atlantic Ocean into the Arctic provides evidence that the Arctic Ocean is warming, according to U.S. and European researchers. (PhysOrg; Oct. 07, 2005)

• Arctic Melting Fast - Scientists have determined that the ice in Greenland and the Arctic is melting so rapidly that much of it could be gone by the end of the century.  Estimate includes projection of greenhouse gasses. (ZPEnergy; Nov. 9, 2004)
• Arctic melt accelerates - A thaw of the Arctic icecap is accelerating because of global warming.  Nations in the region are deadlocked about how to stop it. (CNN; Nov. 2)
• Arctic Lakes Disappear; Researchers Blame Global Climate Change - More than 100 large lakes in an Arctic region of Siberia have vanished. Researchers say warmer temperatures have caused the disappearance. (Science, June 3, 2005)
• NASA study finds glacier doing double time - The world's fastest glacier, Greenland's Jakobshavn Isbrae, doubled its speed of ice flow between 1997 and 2003. The study provides key evidence of newly discovered relationships between ice sheets, sea level rise and climate warming. (PhysOrg; Dec. 1, 2004)

N. Atlantic Ocean Temps Rise - Ocean temperatures in the North Atlantic, one of the most sensitive and productive ecosystems in the world, hit an all-time high in 2004, providing another wake-up call on climate change, say environmentalists. (CBS News; July 11, 2005)

• Siberia Three Degrees Warmer than 45 Years Ago - Average temperatures in Siberia have risen by three degrees Celsius since1960, according to a Team of German scientists. (PhysOrg; July 14, 2005)

• Satellite set to survey Earth's poles - Orbiting radar will measure how fast ice is melting.  Set to launch Oct. 8, CryoSat will carry twin radar antennae that give it three-dimensional vision, so it can see not only how much of the planet's surface is covered with ice, but also how thick the ice is. The satellite should be able to detect changes in thickness of just a few centimetres, and can even see through thick cloud. (Nature; Oct. 3, 2005)
  • Satellite for Studying Global Warming Crashes into Arctic - CryoSat, a European satellite launched to study the phenomenon of global warming, crashed into the Arctic Ocean on Saturday after its launcher malfunctioned. (EarthTimes; Oct. 10)
  • ESA'S Director Comments on the Loss of CryoSat - The 170-million-dollar CryoSat satellite blasted off from Russia's northwestern Plesetsk cosmodrome atop a Russian-built Rockot launch vehicle but failed to achieve orbit. CryoSat is the first mission to be lost after a long series of successful Earth Observation missions for ESA (Meteosat, ERS-1, ERS-2, Envisat and Proba-1). (PhysOrg; Oct. 10)

Misc. Finds

Carbon dioxide levels highest for 650,000 years Levels of carbon dioxide, the principal gas that drives global warming, are now 27 percent higher than at any point in the last 650,000 years, according to research into Antarctic ice cores publi... (PhysOrg; Nov. 2005)

• New data support global warming - A team of 25 scientists found that troposphere temperatures are above that of planet surface temperatures, corroborating 19 computer climate models.  This report by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was published in Science. (Seattle Times; Aug. 13, 2005)
  • Responding to: Global Warming Bombshell - A key piece of evidence linking human activity to climate change turns out to be an artifact of poor mathematics. (MIT Technology Review; Oct. 15, 2004)
  • New stratosphere temperature data support global warming conclusion from earlier study - Earlier interpretation of temperature data from satellites claimed that, on average, the lower atmosphere is getting warmer as fast as the Earth's surface, supported by new research. (PhysOrg; Nov. 29, 2004)
• Hawaiian Climate Changing - Island inhabitant recounts recent unprecedented storms. Says Bush needs to rethink his response to Global Warming and take it more seriously. (PESN; Feb. 16, 2005)
  
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•  Oregon Warmed Over Past Quarter Century - University of Oregon physicists report 10 to 15% increase in summer temperatures according to an initial analysis of data collected since 1979 by the university's Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory. (PhysOrg; Aug. 10, 2005)

Methane Release

• Greenhouse Gas Bubbling from Melting Permafrost Feeds Climate Warming at Much Higher Than Expected Rates - According to a study published in the Sept. 7 issue of the journal Nature, as the permafrost melts in North Siberia due to climate change, carbon sequestered and buried there since the Pleistocene era is bubbling up to the surface of Siberian thaw lakes and into the atmosphere as methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. (PhysOrg; Sept. 6, 2006)
• Methan's Impact on Climate Change May be Twice Previous Estimates - Because methane reacts with other chemicals once it is released into the air, it is hard to determine just how much methane is being emitted. (PhysOrg; July 18, 2005)
• Causes of Methane Growth Revealed - Following an international study into how methane levels in the atmosphere have evolved during the past 2000 years, atmospheric scientists have a new insight on methane. (PhysOrg; Sept. 9, 2005)

"Combustible Ice" As New Energy Source - Over the next decade, China plans to invest 800 million RMB (US $100 million) in the development of methane gas hydrate—so-called “combustible ice”—to meet its rising energy demand and alleviate heavy dependence on fossil fuels. Scientists, however, worry that the move may cause environmental damage due to the unstable nature and high methane content of the energy source. (WorldWatch; Sept. 7, 2006) (Thanks ZPEnergy)

Carbon Release

Global warming causes soil to release carbon - A study in the journal Nature looked at the carbon content of soil in England and Wales from 1978-2003 and found that it fell steadily, with some 13 million tonnes of carbon released from British soil each year. (Reuters; Sept. 7, 2005) (See also Slashdot)

• Climate research breakthrough regarding atmospheric carbon dioxide levels over time - A long standing puzzle regarding the fate of carbon stored in the world’s soils, has now apparently been resolved. Climate warming may be occurring even faster than previously recognized. (PhysOrg; Jan. 20, 2005)
• Space measurements of carbon offer clearer view of earth's climate future - Improved detection from space of heat-trapping carbon dioxide promises to revolutionize carbon cycle understanding. (PhysOrg; June 10, 2005)

Sun Energy Reflectivity

• Scientists conclude Earth's energy is 'out of balance' - Using satellites, data from buoys and computer models to study the Earth's oceans, scientists have concluded that more energy is being absorbed from the Sun than is emitted back to space, throwing the Earth's energy "out of balance" and warming the planet.. (PhysOrg; April 28, 2005) (Newswise; May 5, 2005)
• Earth Lightens Up - After 30 years of dimming, the planet's surface is brightening, which may accelerate warming at the surface, according to an international collaboration published in Science magazine this week. (PhysOrg; May 5, 2005) (Newswise; May 5, 2005)
• Clear skies raise global-warming estimates - Cleaner air could remove a vital brake on climate change. (Nature, June 30, 2005)

Alt-Energy Non-Solutions?

• Biofuels could increase global warming with laughing gas - Growing and burning many biofuel crops may actually raise, rather than lower, greenhouse gas emissions. That's the conclusion of a new study led by Nobel prize-winning chemist Paul Crutzen, best known for his work on the ozone layer. (PhysOrg; Sept. 21, 2007)

Human-Caused

• Humans are Causing Global Warming - New study compares 7 million real-world data points with several computer models of global warming. Each model had a possible cause associated with it. "Natural variation in the Earth's climate, or changes in solar activity or volcanic eruptions, which have been suggested as alternative explanations for rising temperatures, could not explain the data collected in the real world." (Slashdot; Feb. 17, 2005)
• How Did Humans First Alter Global Climate? - A bold hypothesis suggests that our ancestors' farming practices started warming the earth thousands of years before industrial society did. (Scientific American; March 2005)

Diet

Eat a steak, warm the planet - A kilogram (2.2 pounds) of beef causes more greenhouse-gas and other pollution than driving for three hours while leaving all the lights on back home, according to a Japanese study. (PhysOrg; July 18, 2007)

Irreversible

• Climate change inevitable - Even if all greenhouse gases had been stabilized in the year 2000, we would still be committed to a warmer Earth and greater sea level rise in the present century, according to a new study by a team of climate modelers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). (PhysOrg / Science; March 18, 2005)
• Climate scientists to issue dire warnings, - U.N. climate experts reportedly fear global warming might cause the Earth's temperature to rise far higher than now predicted. (PhysOrg; Feb. 28, 2006)

Day After Tomorrow

• Index > The Day After Tomorrow - Scientific validation for the "sudden ice age" scientific scenario based on a dramatic shift of ocean currents from global warming.

Reports of Non-Human Factors

Big Bogs Spurred Ancient Global Warming - Massive peat bogs in Siberia and elsewhere may have helped spur global warming at the end of the last ice age some 12,000 years ago.  An exacerbating factor to consider.  (Reuters; Oct. 13, 2006)

Methane emissions from terrestrial plants - Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics have discovery that organic plants release methane, the a greenhouse gas which is second only to CO2 in its effect on the climate. (PhysOrg; Jan. 11, 2006) (Nature1 | 2) (Planet Ark)

• Massive Stores of Methane Sequestered in Melting Artic Ice - Elevation of global temperature by around 10 degrees would set off a chain reaction of warming and overwhelm the air ratios, leaving the earth nearly uninhabitable. (ZPEnergy; Dec. 16, 2004)
• Fear that giant 'burp' could trigger global warming - Sudden rise in global temperatures 55 million years ago from release of Methane from ocean soil... (FelixOnline; April 28, 2005)
• Soil emissions are much-bigger-than-expected component of air pollution - Research led by a University of Washington atmospheric scientist shows that, in some regions, nitrogen oxides emitted by the soil are much greater than expected and could play a substantially larger role in seasonal air pollution than previously believed. (PhysOrg; June 6, 2005)
• Methane Could Be Far Worse Than Carbon Dioxide - Methane gas, abundantly trapped as a half frozen slush in the northern hemisphere's tundra permafrost regions and at the bottom of the sea may well be a ticking time bomb, says geologist John Atcheson. (NewMediaExplorer; Feb. 1, 2005)
• Major climate change of 5,200 years ago could repeat itself - Glaciologist Lonnie Thompson, who has spent his career collecting core samples from ice fields from around the world, believes he may have found clues of cyclical patterns that have important implications to modern society.  (PhysOrg; Dec. 16, 2004)
• Ancient Global Warming Disaster - An ancient version of global warming may have been to blame for the greatest mass extinction in Earth's history 250 million years ago. (CBS; Jan. 20, 2005)
• New findings show a slow recovery from extreme global warming episode 55 million years ago - Science publications says that according to history, most of the excess carbon dioxide pouring into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels will ultimately be absorbed by the oceans, but it will take about 100,000 years. (PhysOrg; June 10, 2005)
• Martian pole reveals ice age cycles - Climate record seen in Red Planet's exposed ice cliffs. (Nature; 24 February 2005)
• A deep sea hydrocarbon factory - A team of University of Minnesota scientists has discovered how iron- and chromium-rich rocks can generate natural gas (methane) and related hydrocarbons when reacted with superheated fluids circulating deep beneath the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. Because the process is completely nonbiological, the hydrocarbons could have been a source of "food" for some of the first organisms to inhabit the Earth. Also, methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and this process may have contributed to global warming early in geologic time. (PhysOrg; Dec. 12, 2004)

Ramifications

Weather Channel launches One Degree . . . Can Change the World - New theme is spawning an entire site devoted to exploring the ramifications of just one degree Celsius increase in temperature over the last century, and what can be done to turn things around. (TreeHugger; Oct. 9, 2006)

Inhabited Island Vanishes Forever Under Water - For the first time, an inhabited island has disappeared beneath rising seas.  Once home to some 10,000 people, the island of  Lohachera has been washed away by rising ocean levels. (The Independent; UK; Dec. 25, 2006) (See Slashdot discussion)

The Warming of Greenland - A penisula long thought to be part of Greenland's mainland turned out to be an island when a glacier retreated.  Greenland is covered by 630,000 cubic miles of ice, enough water to raise global sea levels by 23 feet. (NY Times; Jan. 16, 2007) (See Slashdot discussion)

• How global warming has thrown nature into disarray - Scotland's wildlife food chains are being thrown out of sync by global warming, putting thousands of creatures at risk of starvation. Of more than 500 spring and summer biological events, such as wild birds laying eggs, and emergence of aphids or butterflies, 74% show some evidence of being earlier. (TheHerald.uk; July 28, 2006)

Why Gaia is Wreaking Revenge on our Abuse of the Environment - Thirty years ago, James Lovelock became famous for postulating that the earth was a living entity.  Now he makes headlines saying that mankind has gone too far in its abuse of the planet, and she may rid herself of the parasitic presence. (ZPEnergy; Jan. 16, 2006) (Source: Independent.uk) (Physorg)

Is Global Warming Fueling Katrina? - Warm ocean temperatures are a key ingredient for monster hurricanes, prompting some scientists to believe that global warming is exacerbating our storm troubles. (Time; Aug. 29, 2005)

• Doom and Gloom - The largest and most comprehensive assessment of the world's ecosystems ever undertaken was released today. (Philadelphia Inquirer; March 30, 2005)
• Global Warming to be More Extreme in Some Areas than Others - Global warming to be more extreme in some areas than others. MU researcher, in Geology, says ancient evidence proves there is no simple global thermostat. (NewsWise; June 30, 2005)

Blizzard of '06 cripples East - The biggest winter storm in New York City history buried the region and 14 Northeast states on Sunday under blowing, drifting, thigh-high snows that crippled transportation and commerce, knocked out power. (NYTimes; Feb. 12, 2006)

• Extreme Weather Will Kill Millions - Climate change from global warming a massive threat to life on earth says a British scientist. (ZPEnergy; Sept. 9, 2004)
• Global Warming Will Increase World Hunger - "Global warming would increase the amount of land classified as being either arid or insufficiently moist in the developing world." (Reuters; May 27, 2005)
• Global warming seen as security threat - Forced migrations due to cataclysmic climate changes may top terrorism.  (Reuters; Oct. 24, 2004)
• Hurricanes growing fiercer with global warming - MIT professor says hurricanes have grown significantly more powerful and destructive over the last three decades, and warns that this trend could continue. (PhysOrg; August 1, 2005)
• Oceans turning to acid from rise in CO2 - A UK Royal Society report warns that "if CO2 from human activities continues to rise, the oceans will become so acidic by 2100 it could threaten marine life in ways we can't anticipate". (PhysOrg; June 30, 2005)
• Global Warming Exposes Arctic to Oil, Gas Drilling - (Yahoo News; Nov. 8, 2004) [wrong idea!]
• Storm costs to spiral - The global costs of extreme weather could rise by two-thirds within decades unless governments tackle the causes of climate change. (PhysOrg; June 29, 2005)
• Big money enters global warming battle - Swiss Re, the world's second-largest reinsurance company, recently warned that the costs of natural disasters caused by global warming is threatening humanity with a catastrophe of its own making. (ZPEnergy; July 5, 2004)
• Global Warming May Take Economic Toll - Economic costs include costs of increased natural disasters as well as changes to water supply infrastructure, and consequences for human health from increased temperatures and associated diseases. (Reuters; Aug. 12, 2005)
• Global Warning On Global Warming - Scientists warn that a long-term, 4º increase in the average global temperature could threaten Latin American water supplies, reduce food yields in Asia and result in a rise in extreme weather conditions in the Caribbean. (AP/CBS; Argentina; Dec. 14, 2004)
• Southern Africa headed for desert - New study published in Nature warns that much of southern Africa could be transformed into a roaming, Sahara-like desert as the dunes of the Kalahari become eroded and unstabilized by global warming. (PhysOrg; June 29, 2005)
• Will Rising Seas Swamp Some Small Island States? - "...The sea could overflow the heavily populated coastlines of such countries as Bangladesh, cause the disappearance of some nations entirely (such as the island state of the Maldives), foul freshwater supplies for billions of people and spur mass migrations," (Reuters; Jan. 10, 2004)
• Rising sea levels threaten coastal properties - As many as 100,000 homes around Scotland’s coastline finding themselves at risk from exceptionally high tides.  Real estate values plummeting. (Scotland on Sunday, UK; Jan. 30, 2005)
• Melting glaciers indicate a warmer world to come - From Alaska in the north, to Montana's Glacier National Park, to the great ice fields of wild Patagonia at this continent's southern tip, the "rivers of ice" that have marked landscapes from prehistory are liquefying, shrinking, retreating. (Taipei Times; Feb. 14, 2005)
• Global warming could worsen US pollution - report - Further warming of the atmosphere would block cold fronts bringing cooler, cleaner air from Canada and allow stagnant air and ozone pollution to build up over cities in the Northeast and Midwest. (Reuters; Feb. 20, 2005)
• 'Greenhouse' indicates dramatic weather - "We know the gathering greenhouse will be warm, but this new information confirms that the contrast between the rainy season and the dry season will increase dramatically". (PhysOrg; March 29 / Geology, April, 2005)
• Global Warming to Raise Storm Damage Costs - The cost of cleaning up storm damage will balloon unless the world takes urgent action to cut harmful emissions warming the globe, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said. (Reuters; June 29, 2005)
• Warming Most Evident at High Latitudes, but Greatest Impact Will Be in Tropics - The impact of global warming has become obvious in areas such as Alaska, Siberia and the Arctic, but a University of Washington ecologist says the most serious impact in the next century likely will be in the tropics. (EurekAlert; Aug. 12)
• Global warming of Atlantic could hit fish - The potential shutdown due to climate warming of the key Atlantic Conveyor current that warms northern Europe could have a major impact on fish stocks in the region. (Reuters, UK; March 31, 2005)
• Climate Change Could Boost Scots Farmers - Global warming could be good news for Scottish farmers, according to ESRC funded research at the University of Stirling. Rising temperatures and increased CO2 levels could mean increased yields. (PhysOrg; Aug. 15, 2005)

Capitalizing on Melting Polar Ice - NYT reports that with the warming, "the Arctic is undergoing nothing less than a great rush for virgin territory and natural resources worth hundreds of billions of dollars."  Included in the opportunism are "lucrative shipping routes, perhaps even the storied Northwest Passage; new cruise ship destinations; and important commercial fisheries." (Slashdot; Oct. 15, 2005) [Might as well have fun while the ship sinks, eh?]

Remedies

In addition to finding non-polluting energy solutions, which is what we are doing here.

Geo-Engineering Patchwork Solutions for Warming -  Mega-scale technical fix proposals include seeding the skies with compounds to encourage the formation of low-lying, cooling clouds; building a giant sun-shade in space; and dumping iron in the oceans to encourage the growth of algae that would take in carbon when alive and trap it in on the sea floor when dead. (TreeHugger; Jan. 14, 2007)

Liquid Chimney Could Reduce Global Warming - Tom Kiser, who made his reputation working on the greening of the Ford River Rouge plant, claims to have a smokestack which will capture the gases which cause greenhouse effects and turn them into harmless material, which could even be deposited in the ocean to restore coral reefs. (TreeHugger; Nov. 12, 2006)

• Scientist publishes 'escape route' from global warming - Citing the incompetence of a gradual political approach, Nobel Prize-winning, Geoengineering scientist presents a radical defense against global warming: releasing particles of sulphur in the upper atmosphere, which would reflect sunlight and heat back into space. (Independent.UK; July 31, 2006) (See related discussion at Slashdot)

Modifying clouds to fight global warming - Professor Stephen Salter, a pioneer in converting wave power to electricity, proposes that highly reflective clouds could be seeded to bounce more of the sun’s rays back into space to counteract rising temperatures. (The Sunday Times, UK; Aug. 14, 2005)

No-Till Farming May Reduce Global Warming - According to a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign study, some carbon is found in soil as organic matter, and no-till farming can potentially increase the accumulation of organic carbon in soil. (PhysOrg; Oct. 13, 2005)

A Sunshade in Space to Combat Global Warming - U. of AZ astronomer Roger Angel proposes a giant sunshade to counteract possible abrupt climate change.  It would be launched in small pieces by electromagnetic launchers.  Developed and deployed in 25 years, lasting about 50 years, the shade would reduce the amount of sunlight reaching Earth by 2%. (Science Daily; Nov. 5, 2006) [What goes up must come down.]

• Climate Summit Emphasizes Profitability of Going Green - Mayors from around the U.S. meet to learn more about problem of climate change and to be armed with solutions that they can implement on the most local level of government. (PESN; July 13, 2005)

Mayors Who Attended the First Sundance Climate Summit - Photo album of mayors who attended the Sundance Summit: A Mayor's Gathering on Climate Protection, July 10-12, to learn more about problems of climate change and to get armed with solutions that they can implement at the most local level of government. (PESN; July 16, 2005)

• U.S. Research firm unveils global climate index - Boston-based KLD Research & Analytics Inc. has launched a Global Climate 100 index in response to increasing demand for investment strategies focused on solutions to climate change. (ZPEnergy; July 10, 2005)

Energy Cartoon - Flip and Chilly, a polar bear and penguin from the North and South Poles, respectively, turn a gas guzzler into an efficient hybrid. (Natural Resources Defense Council, 2006)

CO2 Sequestration

See: http://peswiki.com/energy/CO2_Sequestration 

Politics

Gathering One Million Signatures to Solve Climate Crisis - "Solutions to global warming exist and we -- already more than 865,000 strong -- are calling on leaders to make them happen. By coming together, we’re showing overwhelming support for leadership on this critical issue." (March 21, 2008)

Shifting Winds on Global Warming - Global warming has no shortage of causes — coal-burning power plants, carbon-spewing automobiles — but many European and Asian environmentalists seem to blame one factor above all others: U.S. President George W. Bush.  But changes are afoot in the U.S. to move despite his intransigence.  (Time; Jan. 23, 2008)

Fire the Grid (.com) - Rather than approaching the problem of what humans have done to the earth from a perspective of becoming independent from the power grid man has made, this site calls for sending a surge of energy through prayer/meditation and other such expressions to the earth for renewal on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 11:11 Greenich Mean Time.

How ExxonMobil Funded Global Warming Skeptics - ExxonMobil Corp. gave $16 million to 43 ideological groups between 1998 and 2005 in an effort to mislead the public by discrediting the science behind global warming, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. (Boston Globe/Associated Press; Jan. 4, 2007) (See Slashdot discussion)

Al Gore: Will Carbon Freeze be Enough? - Leading US politician proposes carbon-emissions freeze and other practical tactics for averting climate disaster. Though political, legal and financial challenges stand in the way of a shift to cleaner energy, his expression of faith in his fellow humans and examples of companies making positive change can inspire more people to take up the cause. (PESN; Sept. 23, 2006)

Will Ferrell - Bush on Global Warming - Comedian Will Ferrell spins the Administration's enlightenment, or lack thereof, on the hot issue of our day. (TransBuddha)

Royal Society tells Exxon: stop funding climate change denial - Britain's leading scientists have challenged the US oil company ExxonMobil to stop funding groups that attempt to undermine the scientific consensus on climate change. (Guardian.uk; Sept. 20) (Thanks <Alastair Torrance >)

Clinton, mayors form alliance on climate - Former President Clinton and mayors of some of the world's largest cities announced an initiative Tuesday to combat climate change and increase energy efficiency in everything from street lights to building materials. (PhysOrg; Aug. 2)