Environment

"Have a tree-hugging, organic eating, recycling mom in your life and not sure what to buy her? Here you go!" - Summer from Bookmarklet

"Vast ice sheets across the globe gained up to four inches just hours after it emerged experts at the University of East Anglia had been manipulating data in a bid to knock-off early. Meanwhile in the Antarctic the 200 square mile Donnelly ice shelf changed direction and headed back towards the continent where it then reattached itself to the slightly larger McPartlin ice shelf." - John (a.k.a. dendroica) from Bookmarklet

That's really inspired. - Andrew C

"Unusually warm and cold periods in Earth's pre-industrial climate history are linked to how the oceans responded to temperature changes, say scientists. The researchers focused particularly on intervals known as the "little ice age" and "medieval warm period". In the journal Science, they report that these climate "anomalies" were likely caused by changes to El Nino and the North Atlantic Oscillation. They say studying the past in this way could help refine climate models." - John (a.k.a. dendroica) from Bookmarklet

"He and his colleagues reconstructed 1,500 years of the Earth's climate - collecting clues from "proxies" such as ice cores, tree rings and coral. These can be used to track hundreds of years of climatic changes. He explained that the data allowed the team to estimate how natural factors, including volcanic eruptions and changes in the Sun's output, altered the climate in the past. "We... more... - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

"A key thing the team discovered was that, in the past, when the planet has been warmed by natural factors it has responded with another feedback mechanism known as the La Nina effect. This can be thought of as the opposite of El Nino - a sort of "colder phase" of El Nino phenomenon. ... "If the response of the Earth in the past is analogous to the temperature increase caused by... more... - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

"President Barack Obama will head to next month's Copenhagen climate summit to offer the first US plan to cut carbon emissions, officials said Wednesday, reviving hopes the closely watched meeting will succeed" - chaz2b from Bookmarklet

I first thought Princen's photograph was fake. How could this be real? Looking online for the location of the photo, Mokattam, i discovered the image is authentic. It's a suburb of Cairo, called Garbage City. A community of mainly Coptic Christians were allowed to collect and dispose of Cairo's waste by feeding it to their pigs - Le Shop'in Market from Bookmarklet

"a new guide has been published on “The Psychology of Climate Change Communication". Part cognitive science based, part climate science, this publication serves as a guide to researchers, educators, journalists and really anyone who wants to teach anything about climate change." pdf at http://cred.columbia.edu/guide... - Daniel Mietchen from Bookmarklet

"There are penguins that have been soiled by oil tanker spills and ones that have inadvertently gotten on a freighter and ended up out of their natural range. The staff and volunteers here lovingly restore them to health and, when possible, release these feathered creatures into the wild. "They are quite fit when we release them. Fit and fat," said Venessa Strauss, chief executive of the foundation, with no small measure of pride in her voice. But at this time of year, when millions of Americans are preparing to heartily consume another type of plump flightless bird (read: turkeys), one might be tempted to ask a simple question: Why are penguins special?" - John (a.k.a. dendroica) from Bookmarklet

"But cuteness is not the only reason penguins don't make it onto the main course: They are one of the leading indicators of what's happening to the planet. More than half of all penguin species rank as either endangered or vulnerable to extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Climate change is one of the main threats to penguins' existence: It is... more... - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

"Pablo García-Borboroglu, a researcher at the National Resource Council of Argentina and founder of the Global Penguin Society, wrote in a 2008 scientific paper, "Penguins are particularly vulnerable to petroleum spills because they swim low in the water, must surface regularly to breathe, do not fly, are less able to detect and avoid petroleum than other seabirds, and often encounter... more... - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

"A survey of the carbon performance of 600 of the UK's biggest brands reveals that two-thirds are either increasing their greenhouse gas emissions, have targets that are weaker than the government's Copenhagen goal for carbon cuts, or are failing to put information about their carbon emissions in the public domain." - George Dearing from Bookmarklet

"The Buffalo Commons is a conceptual proposal to create a vast nature preserve by returning 139,000 square miles of the drier portion of the Great Plains to native prairie, and by reintroducing the buffalo, or American Bison, that once grazed the shortgrass prairie. The proposal would affect ten Western U.S. states." - Ňicķ from Bookmarklet

"Originally founded in 1905 by pioneering conservationists Theodore Roosevelt and William Hornaday, the American Bison Society helped save the bison from extinction. One hundred years later, in 2005, the American Bison Society was re-launched by the Wildlife Conservation Society to secure the ecological future of bison in North America." - Ňicķ from Bookmarklet

"Edward Burtynsky has built a career in fine art photography meeting this challenge. He began photographing conventionally beautiful landscapes in large format. As he relates in the video Manufactured Landscapes, he had an epiphany while attempting to photograph in the Appalachian mountains of Pennsylvania. He realized that every bit of landscape within sight had been completely reshaped by coal mining. Nothing was "natural." The landscape as reshaped by man instead became his subject. Oil is Burtynsky's latest book. The extraction, distribution, consumption, and declining availability of petroleum are all explored through his large-format photographs." - John (a.k.a. dendroica) from Bookmarklet

"Last, and darkest, is "The End of Oil." In this section Burtynsky shows us the final result of the process: rusted out, oozing abandoned oil fields, endless ranks of junked cars and airplanes. Some of the most affecting images show unbelievably vast piles of discarded tires, or the grim oil-soaked reality of recycling in the developing world. Following the images are essays by curator... more... - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

I find that cover image particularly compelling. Usually photos of oil rigs only show one or two silhouetted against the sky. This one shows them like an unnatural forest. - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

"But when trying to assign "responsibility" for causing climate change, how should they be measured? Populous developing countries such as China and India have relatively high overall emissions - comparable with many developed countries. But each of their citizens produces a much smaller amount than counterparts in regions such as North America or Western Europe." - John (a.k.a. dendroica) from Bookmarklet

The article has some other interesting graphics on sources of greenhouse gases and projecting future temperature changes. - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

"As we become more and more aware that we may be using water at an unsustainable pace, the idea of water footprints—the amount of water an individual uses—is becoming more common. Water footprints can be hard to calculate, depending on how far up the chain of production you go, since everything you eat and buy used some water to produce (to feed cows for beef, for example, or to use in the factory that made your cell phone). With our latest Transparency, we give you some examples of how much water is used in some of your daily activities, so that you can begin calculate your footprint and try to reduce your gallons." - chaz2b from Bookmarklet

Todd: It sounds like you're saying we need to conserve our aquifers. Why do we need to conserve water that doesn't come from aquifers? - Gabe

green -->Caractéristiques • Deux ventilateurs super silencieux pour un maximum de dissipation de la chaleur • Matériel de bambou biologique et écologique pour un mode de vie Vert • Conception ergonomique pour améliorer le confort de frappe et de visualisation • Chargement à partir du port USB de votre ordinateur portable (aucun adaptateur requis) • Compatible avec tout ordinateur portable jusqu'à 17" - alexxandra from Bookmarklet

"Offenbar gibt es keinen besseren Klimaschutz als ausbleibendes Wirtschaftswachstum." - an unusually realistic description of the current economic situation and the need to get rid of economic growth as a policy goal. - Daniel Mietchen from Bookmarklet

"Since the 1997 international accord to fight global warming, climate change has worsened and accelerated — beyond some of the grimmest of warnings made back then" - chaz2b from Bookmarklet

More than 60 prominent agricultural scientists and leaders have decried the almost total absence of agriculture in the climate talks, warning that the climate deal to be reached next month could lead to widespread famine and food shortages in the years ahead. Signatories of a statement issued at the weekend in Rome, Italy, by leading thinkers in development include five World Food Prize laureates, former heads of development agencies, former Ministers of Agriculture, and heads of the world's leading alliance of agricultural research centres - chaz2b from Bookmarklet

"Organic" - Rickbischoff from Bookmarklet

"The Asian carp, a monstrous, invasive fish, has been knocking at the door of the Great Lakes for decades. Now bad news is spreading that the fish may have breached an electric barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, entering Lake Michigan. University of Notre Dame researchers have found DNA evidence of a breach. Here's what's at stake: The native fish population in the Great Lakes, the world's largest source of surface freshwater, which touches lives in the United States and Canada, and a $7 billion sport fishery." - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"8.7 billion tons of carbon dioxide was emitted into the earth's atmosphere in 2008, a growth of 2 percent despite the economic crisis. This averages out to each person contributing a record high of 1.3 tons of carbon, according to a report in the journal Nature Science. While the global recession slowed the growth of fossil fuel emissions for the first time this decade this year, it did not lower overall emissions in 2008." - John (a.k.a. dendroica) from Bookmarklet

"The study points out that the blame for carbon emissions still rests largely on wealthy countries. In the 1990s CO2 emissions grew at a rate of 1 percent every year, but in the 2000s the percentage of annual growth rose to 3.6 percent. This is in part due to the developing world producing more manufacturing goods for the developed world: these goods are largely sold to Europe, the... more... - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

"A new study indicates that major chemicals most often cited as leading causes of climate change, such as carbon dioxide and methane, are outclassed in their warming potential by compounds receiving less attention." - John (a.k.a. dendroica) from Bookmarklet

"NASA scientist Timothy Lee, lead author of the study with Francisco and NASA postdoctoral fellow Partha Bera, characterized the fluorinated compounds as having the potential to quickly slam the atmospheric window shut, as opposed to gradually easing it shut like carbon dioxide. In the results, chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons... more... - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

"CFC use has waned with the discovery that the chemicals contribute to the destruction of Earth's ozone layer, which absorbs most of the dangerous ultraviolet radiation from the sun. But HFCs and PFCs are widely used in air conditioning and the manufacturing of electronics, appliances and carpets. Other uses range from application as a blood substitute in transfusions to tracking leaks... more... - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

"The battle against global warming could be helped if the world slowed population growth by making free condoms and family planning advice more widely available, the UN Population Fund said Wednesday. The agency did not recommend countries set limits on how many children people should have, but said: "Women with access to reproductive health services ... have lower fertility rates that contribute to slower growth in greenhouse gas emissions."" - chaz2b from Bookmarklet

"Obama Administration made it clear that it is willing to include national mitigation measures announced by the advanced developing countries in the international climate treaty to be discussed at Copenhagen next month." - mridul from Bookmarklet

"The world's oceans, which normally gobble up carbon dioxide, are getting stuffed to the gills, according to the most thorough study to date of human-made carbon in the seas. Between 2000 and 2007, as emissions of the potent greenhouse gas carbon dioxide skyrocketed, the amount of human-made carbon absorbed by the oceans fell from 27 to 24 percent." - imabonehead from Bookmarklet

""You, who represent the currently dominant species in Planet Earth, are summoned to a special session of the Galactic Council. As heirs to a healthy, intricately woven web of life, please convey to us its present condition in these five regards: 1. What is befalling the waters of Earth? 2. What is the condition of the air? 3. What is happening to the soil? 4. How are you caring for other species? 5. And how are you caring for each other?"" - triple t from Bookmarklet