Video - Climate Denial Crock of the Week - 65 million Years with James Hansen

What's next for our beleaguered climate?

Now that Cancun has followed on the heels of Copenhagen as possibly the most futile if not downright destructive gathering of governments the world has ever seen, I'm left to ponder the state of the climate and wonder just why we in North America are actually going backwards. Canada is ramping up development of the Tar Sands and actively working to prevent research into and public knowledge about the warming Arctic. Here in the US we've elected many folks who in most other countries would be considered insane, denying that we even have a problem. All around me the populace continues to hold on to the fantasy that we can and should go back to some idealized America of the 1950's with all of it's attendant ism's, optimism and racism included.

Meanwhile the peer reviewed and hard headed science moves on. The IPCC process while rigorous and useful on some level is 4 years out of date at the time publishing it's report, which makes it almost 8 years out of date now, and unfortunately this is what most governments are relying on in considering our future response to the very grave threats we face.

What most folks don't seem to understand is that the much touted 2ºC limit is not some "acceptable" level of warming, it means significant changes on our planet and to human civilization. It is, as David Wasdell says, a border between dangerous and extremely dangerous. And worse, there is no chance that we can hold ourselves to even that limit. The Royal Society of Britain has published peer reviewed papers recently, containing data from much more recent science (though still a year old due to the process of peer review to insure accuracy), that indicates that with the current sets of promises, even if we live up them, we are headed for a 4ºC rise at the very least! This signals catastrophic change in our environment.

How have we let the situation get to such an extreme? To draw once again from David Wasdell, think of it this way. If our population was addicted to heroin and it was running our civilization and the planet into the ground we would not let those most involved in profitting from that addiction set policy. That is the situation we are in, the energy companies, the transportation industry, the industrial agriculture companies, and the media industry that popularizes their products are in control and are doing everything in their power to stop change that is absolutely vital to our future on this earth. We have have handed them this power up to a point with our consumerist ways but they don't need our input anymore, they choose who gets elected, and then dictate policy as they have just done in Cancun.

Welcome to Planet Eaarth

You can hear an insightful and educational interview with Joe Romm of Climate Progress and Mr. Wasdell over on Radio Ecoshock and here in our Sustainable Living Audio player for a while as well. All the links following are taken from the Radio Ecoshock blog site.

You can hear Wasdell's lecture "Beyond the Tipping Point" here.

"Check out the Downloads and video, for talks at the "4 Degrees & Beyond" International Climate Conference 28-30 September 2009, Oxford UK."

"Pay special attention to this talk by Richard Betts, which includes (at 16 minute mark) the very points David Wasdell raises - that serious positive feedback loops are still left out of climate models (which leads to underestimates of the real possibilities). "

"THE ROYAL SOCIETY "FOUR DEGREES & BEYOND" THEME ISSUE

Joe Romm's introduction to these papers (and why they matter)."

"The Royal Society web page for the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society "4 Degrees and Beyond" theme issue:

Some of the papers are now subscription only, having been offered to the public for a few days. Given the seriousness of crashing the Earth's climate system, and in the spirit of Wikileaks, I've posted all the papers here, as pdf files.

Editorial by David Garner

Preface

Introduction


ARTICLES

Kevin Anderson and Alice Bows
Beyond ‘dangerous’ climate change: emission scenarios for a new world

Niel H. A. Bowerman, David J. Frame, Chris Huntingford, Jason A. Lowe, and Myles R. Allen
Cumulative carbon emissions, emissions floors and short-term rates of warming: implications for policy

Richard A. Betts, Matthew Collins, Deborah L. Hemming, Chris D. Jones, Jason A. Lowe, and Michael G. Sanderson
When could global warming reach 4°C?

M. G. Sanderson, D. L. Hemming, and R. A. Betts
Regional temperature and precipitation changes under high-end (≥4°C) global warming

Fai Fung, Ana Lopez, and Mark New
Water availability in +2°C and +4°C worlds

Philip K. Thornton, Peter G. Jones, Polly J. Ericksen, and Andrew J. Challinor
Agriculture and food systems in sub-Saharan Africa in a 4°C+ world

Przemyslaw Zelazowski, Yadvinder Malhi, Chris Huntingford, Stephen Sitch, and Joshua B. Fisher
Changes in the potential distribution of humid tropical forests on a warmer planet

Robert J. Nicholls, Natasha Marinova, Jason A. Lowe, Sally Brown, Pier Vellinga, Diogo de Gusmão, Jochen Hinkel, and Richard S. J. Tol
Sea-level rise and its possible impacts given a ‘beyond 4°C world’ in the twenty-first century

Mark Stafford Smith, Lisa Horrocks, Alex Harvey, and Clive Hamilton
Rethinking adaptation for a 4°C world

Francoix Gemenne
Climate-induced population displacements in a 4 degree C + world

Rachel Warren
The role of interactions in a world implementing adaptation and mitigation solutions to climate change.


AND HERE IS WHERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DAVID WASDELL

David Wasdell Bio

David Wasdell video presentation, Tallberg Sweden 2008

David Wasdell videos

The Apollo-Gaia web site

Another important Wasdell paper, with the graphs and charts helpful for both his video at Talberg, and his Radio Ecoshock interview. "Runaway Climate Change, Boundary Conditions & Implications for Policy"." - Thanks to Alex Smith at Radio Ecoshock

A sad day

It's a sad day, one can only hope that we will find ourselves in a situation of gridlock, anything to prevent the wholesale give away of this country to corporations. I am constantly amazed by how fickle the American public can be. We seem to expect instant results to problems that took decades to create. Our culture has become one of instant gratification, and when we don't get it we look for someone to blame. Well someday soon we will only have ourselves to blame because change IS coming. Have no doubt, a tidal wave of change is sweeping our way. Nature bats last!

Go to sleep all you TV people, SUV drivers, fast food eaters, race baiters, and tea partiers.  Go to sleep and deny all, the wave approaches.

I'm drowsy, time for a nap, what's that noise I hear?

Video - Climate Denial Crock of the Week part 1

"Support Climate Denial Crock of the Week:
Go here -
http://www.greenmanstudio.com

Climate Change will have profound implications for the security of every nation.
Experienced military experts have come to some conclusions on what's coming.

General Gordon Sulllivan
Former US Army Chief of Staff
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5wa...

Rear Admiral David Titley
Oceanographer and Navigator of the US Navy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2yvky...
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xc0t...
http://vodpod.com/watch/3778436-navy-...
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xc0t...
http://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/nav...
http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/in...

Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEPn72...
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/...
http://crazymotion.net/certianty-on-t...

National Security and the Threat of Climate Change - Report
http://securityandclimate.cna.org/rep...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfD5D_...

Climate Change and US Security
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...
http://current.com/green/89051378_spi...
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/200...


BBC Global Observatory, National Security and Climate Change
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuZerV...

Climate change and heavy precipitation events
http://www.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/Library/...
http://climateprogress.org/2010/06/14...
http://climateprogress.org/2010/05/26...

and extreme heat
http://climateprogress.org/2010/06/24...

James Woolsey, Former CIA director
http://fora.tv/2008/07/02/Climate_and..."

Video - Climate Denial Crock of the Week Part 2

"Support Climate Denial Crock of the Week:
Go here -
http://www.greenmanstudio.com

Our continued dependence on fossil fuels compromises the security of every nation.
Climate Deniers align themselves with those that would keep us on the cycle of boom and bust, terror and war, shortage and famine.
But the world is waking up, and the professionals who take a clear eyed view of the scientific realities are leading the way.

General Gordon Sulllivan
Former US Army Chief of Staff
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5wa...

Rear Admiral David Titley
Oceanographer and Navigator of the US Navy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2yvky...
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xc0t...
http://vodpod.com/watch/3778436-navy-...
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xc0t...
http://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/nav...
http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/in...

Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEPn72...
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/...
http://crazymotion.net/certianty-on-t...

National Security and the Threat of Climate Change - Report
http://securityandclimate.cna.org/rep...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfD5D_...

Climate Change and US Security
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...
http://current.com/green/89051378_spi...
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/200...


BBC Global Observatory, National Security and Climate Change
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuZerV...

Climate change and heavy precipitation events
http://www.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/Library/...
http://climateprogress.org/2010/06/14...
http://climateprogress.org/2010/05/26...

and extreme heat
http://climateprogress.org/2010/06/24...

James Woolsey, Former CIA director
http://fora.tv/2008/07/02/Climate_and..."

Listen to Climate Wars by Gwynne Dyer

A bit dated but still informative look at the state of affairs, including some very interesting projections. A bit less entertaining than the Age of Stupid but worth listening to nonetheless, a good reality check.
A bit scary.


"Global warming is moving much more quickly than scientists thought it would. Even if the biggest current and prospective emitters - the United States, China and India - were to slam on the brakes today, the earth would continue to heat up for decades. At best, we may be able to slow things down and deal with the consequences, without social and political breakdown. Gwynne Dyer examines several radical short- and medium-term measures now being considered - all of them controversial."

Listen to Climate Wars at CBC Radio One or read the book. Here is a video interview from Democracy Now, my single daily news source, as well.

"Democracy NOW! - DN! As a heat wave from Boston to Baghdad to Beijing sets record-breaking temperatures in cities across the world, a new analysis says the world is headed for an average temperature rise that far exceeds pledges at the Copenhagen climate conference last year. We speak with geopolitical analyst and columnist Gwynne Dyer about his new book, "Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats." Published with written permission from democracynow.org. http://www.democracynow.org Provided to you under Democracy NOW! creative commons license. Credits for this video belongs to democracynow.org, an independent non-profit user funded news media, recognized and broadcast world wide," 


Here is a fascinating debate with Mr. Dyer and Vandana Shiva on Geo Engineering over at Democracy Now!

Climate Denial Crock of the Week

"One of the enduring classics of denialism, "Global warming stopped in 1998", is of course,
nonsense. Here's why."