Discovery News: Earth Impacts News

Earth's Dying Glaciers: New Images

2008-10-06T15:24:29-04:00

Hot off the press from the U.S. Geological Survey: A new book on how most of Alaska's glaciers are retreating, thinning and stagnating. This comes as some of authors are giving a presentation on the matter at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Houston.

This is no mere report, it's a 550-page tome leaving no room for doubt that changes are underway and have been for some time. It's the 8^th volume of a planned 11 volume series called Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World. The other seven completed volumes are available in print and online. The series is the product of collaboration by more than 100 glaciologists from the United States and beyond.

The images here are just some samples of one Alaskan glacier going, going, almost gone.

Palin: Eagle or Ostrich?

2008-10-03T23:19:35-04:00

There were many memorable moments from Thursday night's vice presidential debate. There was Sarah Palin's faux-folksy use of "doggone it," for instance (take it from me, genuine rural and small town folks have no fear of a bona fide "Godammit!") and her shocking lack of understanding of the crucial separation of powers in the three branches of U.S. government. Then there was her stridently ignorant position on global warming. Naturally, this one interested me the most.

Yes, she admitted the existence of global warming. But then she not only dismissed humanity's part in causing it but went one step further and dismissed the whole concept of bothering to know the cause of any bad thing (unless she can pin it on a Democrat, of course).

In case you missed her coded message, I'll give you the translation: "I, Sarah Palin, oppose science and reason and prefer to shove my head in the sand and stare at dark specks of dogma." This general denial of reality popped up again in another of her bizarre assertions of the night: That it's not important to know the history that led to the current hornet's nest of U.S. crises (specifically, her repeatedly chiding Biden with "There you go Joe, looking back again. Tsk tsk tsk," whenever he pointed to the last almost eight years of grievous executive and legislative mismanagement).

Truth is, the causes of things like global warming are pretty well known. They are, however, totally inconsistent with Palin's world view and inconvenient for her special interests. So she just dismisses the causes. Then, pesto magico!: Someting without a cause is impossible to solve, so let's just continue doing nothing about it. Hurrah! Problem solved. Three cheers for Exxon, Mobile and Chevron! Drill baby drill!

It's all the same sort of fearful, selfish, asinine intellectual blindness practiced by our current President and look where he's gotten us. Rest assured, if Palin succeeds in getting anywhere near the White House we will be one giant step closer to becoming the first species on Earth with the capacity to foresee its own demise, but without the horse sense to do anything about it. Pig sense even. Heck, even a fly has enough sense to get out of the way of a swatter. Not Palin. Godammit!

Mature bald eagle spotted during the 1982 Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey. Photo by Wade Eakle, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Impossible Bailout

2008-09-30T00:50:00-04:00

While U.S. Lawmakers quibble over how to reward bankers and stockbrokers for their greed, stupidity and hubris, there is a far more perilous debt racking up on this planet that is utterly below the radar of most media outlets. It's the resource debt: How much humanity is consuming each year beyond the capacity of our planet to produce. Here's a nice website which explains what this is and how we are flirting with disaster in this regard.

One of the main differences between the Wall Street bailout and the resource debt or "overshoot," as it is called, is that there are always those poor saps, the U.S. taxpayers, to fall back on when the Wall Street falls apart (just please forget all those years of Wall Street preaching to us about the nearly divine form of capitalism they practice and how it is magically self-correcting and naturally just). The resource overshoot, on the other hand, has no fall-back position. There is no other verdant planet we can pillage to make up for what we are over-consuming here. There is no wiggle room, except to squeeze harder on our less fortunate bothers and sisters, which we're already doing. No, we overuse this planet and we and lose it. Period. End of species, or at least 10,000 years of civilization.

Despite this, most folks totally ignore the matter and proceed as if this small planet has unlimited resources. What else is a Hummer owner doing? What else could a gigayacht owner be doing? What other logical end is there to the irrational "Theology of Bling." Even worse, more and more people around the world even think it's just fine to hoard as much wealth (a.k.a. access to and control over resources) as they can. It's not fine, of course, because it only digs us deeper into the hole (besides being just plain vile and unethical). It's insane. It's disastrous. But it's going on at a greater and greater clip. It's the Tragedy of the Commons on a global scale. This is not alarmism. It's just common sense to anyone who remembers that we live on a pale blue dot.

Universe Tugged by Mysterious 'Dark Flow'

2008-09-25T11:54:54-04:00

Here's something mind-blowing I just reported for Discovery News. It's from way, way, way beyond Earth. But it's so totally strange that I had to share it so you can comment on it. The original story with videos, etc., is posted here.

Sept. 25, 2008 -- Astronomers have stumbled upon an unexplained two-million-mile-per-hour sideways shift in the universe toward a colossal, unseen, unknown gravity source beyond the horizon of the observable universe.

What's being called a dark flow appears to be pulling vast clusters of galaxies toward a 20-degree-wide patch of sky between the constellations of Centaurus and Vela.

"It does fly in the face of everything we know," said astronomer Dale Kocevski of the University of California at Davis. He's one of the authors of a paper in the Sept. 24 issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters which introduced the discovery. "I'm sure it's going to be controversial."

The dark flow was detected by studying 700 very distant clusters of galaxies which are lit up by hot, X-ray-emitting gases.

First the team of researchers led by NASA's Alexander Kashlinsky carefully located the X-ray clusters -- each containing thousands of galaxies.

Next, they looked at the same spots on a map of what's called the cosmic microwave background -- the attenuated glow from the first light that was free to travel through space just 380,000 years after the universe was born. This glow was mapped in detail by NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP).

According to theory, when the ancient microwaves pass through galaxy clusters they should change temperature in predictable ways, depending on whether the galaxy is moving relative to the background glow. So this work started as an experiment to test that effect -- what's called the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SV) effect -- and to see if any movement could be detected.

"We were hoping to measure something there, but probably not much," said Kashlinsky. "To our great surprise what we found instead is that the velocity was quite higher than expected."

Not only were the galaxy clusters moving, but over a span of five billion light-years -- more than a third of the age of the universe -- they were all heading for the same place. It was a truly bizarre and unexpected result.

The measurements suggest far more than the distant clusters are moving, said Kashlinsky. Rather, the entire universe -- including our own galaxy -- is feeling the tug of the unseen mega-mass beyond the edge of the universe.

As for what could be exerting such a powerful, pervasive tug, it can't be anything within our universe, since there just isn't anything with remotely enough mass, said Kocevski. No way. That means it's something we can't see -- beyond the observable universe.

The sole possible explanation Kashlinsky offers is that there might be a large, very bulky neighboring part of the universe which is so far away we cannot see it. It could be, if inflationary theories are correct, a twin universe that inflated less evenly than our own did soon after the Big Bang.

The inflationary theory suggests that our universe went through a brief period of hyper expansion soon after the Big Bang. It explains how matter managed to spread out so evenly in space, rather than get stuck clumped in just one corner of space, as would happen in a more gradually expanding universe. Inflation moves everything apart faster than gravity could clump it.

It could be, then, that there was another, less effective inflation next door to our observable universe and that other blob from the Big Bang remained clumpier. If so it could be out there, loaded with matter, and it is exerting a powerful gravitational pull on every observable thing in our universe.

Maybe.

"We are kind of still puzzled by the result," said Kashlinsky. "We kept checking and checking (the observations and calculations) and nothing else can explain this."

Offroader Lie Debunked

2008-09-24T23:58:44-04:00

I have a speckled past. Once upon a time I was known for fighting to keep off-road-vehicle (ORV) riders from continuing to tear up parts of northern Nevada. Back in those not-very-far-gone days there was one refrain we often heard from the motorheads defending their unlimited motorized access to everywhere: "It's just a few bad apples" that cause the problems, they said. This was despite all the evidence and ample eyewitness accounts to the contrary. So it's without any great surprise that I just now read about the Forest Service's discovery in Emery County, Utah, that about half of ORV riders they recently watched in their jurisdiction ignored and bypassed signs telling them to stay off certain trails. Duh.

For more info on how these vehicles destroy our land and resources, check out http://www.stopthrillcraft.org/.

Life Amid Reef Devastation

2008-09-20T02:33:03-04:00

The Great Barrier Reef generally brings to mind two things: A veritable undersea rain forest of diverse marine life and threats to faced by all that life caused by human activities and global warming. And yes, it also brings to mind Nemo, the little clownfish in the movie who is taken away from the reef by a diver. It turns out that Nemo's ordeal is part of a problem facing scientists studying reefs: They don't have very good baseline numbers and ranges of species living on reefs, so it's difficult to measure how they are changing. Some marine biologists who are now gathering that sort of "baseline data" for the Great Barrier Reef have stumbled onto a plethora of life even in areas being hard hit by coral bleaching. Check out the details, the gallery and the movie.

Photos: Christmas tree worm by John Huisman, Murdoch University, 2008/greean and red alga by Gary Cranitch, Queensland Museum, 2008

It's (sorta) Nice to be Ninth

2008-09-17T14:21:42-04:00

Good News! The summer of 2008 was not the hottest on record for Earth. It wasn't even the second or third warmest. Nope, it was the ninth, which, it turns out really isn't anything to celebrate. Oh well. In the over all view of things over the last century or so, that's still pretty warm -- not bucking the global warming trend at all. Below are some factoids from NOAA's climate report, with the full briefing being here.

NINTH: The combined global average land and ocean surface temperature for summer 2008 was the ninth warmest since records began in 1880, and this August was the tenth warmest. The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for summer 2008 was 0.85 degrees F (0.47 degrees C) above the 20th century mean of 60.1 degrees F (15.6 degrees C). Separately, the global land surface temperature for the summer was 1.12 degrees F (0.62 degrees C) above the 20th century mean of 56.9 degrees F (13.8 degrees C). The global ocean surface temperature for summer ranked ninth warmest on record and was 0.74 degrees F (0.41 degrees C) above the 20th century mean of 61.5 degrees F (16.4 degrees C).

22nd?: This June—August 2008 summer season was the 22nd warmest on record for the contiguous United States, according to an analysis by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Also, last month ended as the 39th warmest August for the contiguous United States, based on records dating back to 1895.

HEAT BEATS 20th CENTURY: The average summer temperature, for the contiguous United States, of 72.7 degrees F is 0.8 degree F above the 20th century average, based on preliminary data. The average August temperature was 73.2 degrees F, which is 0.4 degree above average.

DAMP SUMMER: For June through August, precipitation across the contiguous United States averaged 9.05 inches, 0.8 inch above the 1901—2000 average and ranks as the 15th wettest summer since 1895. An average of 3.11 inches fell across the contiguous U.S. in August, 0.51 inch above average. This was the ninth wettest August on record for the nation. Eight states (Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida) were much wetter than average for August. Mississippi had its all-time wettest August, and Florida and Alabama their second wettest August on record. Seven states (Delaware, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin) were much drier than average. Delaware had its driest August on record, Kentucky had its third driest August and Wisconsin ranked sixth driest.

Hurricane Ike in 3D

2008-09-12T15:51:12-04:00

This just in: A brand new animation from NASA showing the Gulf-of-Mexico-encompassing Hurricane Ike in three dimensions. A must-see for hurricane followers and other weather fanatics.

We also have a stories up on Discovery News about how Ike got so gigantic and its incredible storm surge.

To all you folks in SW Louisiana and Texas: You're in our thoughts and prayers. Hang in there!

[A fews hours later] Just another another note about Ike, this one pointed out by Discovery News director Lori Cuthbert. NOAA has been putting out some unusually strong warnings about this storm. Far more foreboding than anything I've seen before. Take a look:

"Hurricane Ike's winds remain at Category 2 strength, but Ike is a freak storm with extreme destructive storm surge potential."

"COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF UP TO 20 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS"

"tropical storm force winds out to 275 miles."

"ENTIRE COASTAL CITIES AND TOWNS WILL BE INUNDATED. PERMANENT BREACHES MAY BE CUT OFF. FULL RECOVERY WILL TAKE MONTHS IF NOT YEARS. WATER LEVELS MAY EXCEED 13 FEET FOR MORE THAN A MILE INLAND. CONDITIONS WILL BE WORSENED BY BATTERING WAVES. SUCH WAVES WILL NOT ONLY EXACERBATE PROPERTY DAMAGE BUT WASH OUT SOLID ROAD AND BRIDGE STRUCTURES. DAMAGE FROM BEACH EROSION WILL TAKE YEARS TO REPAIR. "

As you can see, this ain't no drill. Ike is a true monster.

Sex & Drugs for U.S. Oil

2008-09-11T14:00:58-04:00

Need a good read? There is a new report out yesterday from the U.S. Department of Interior's (DOI) Inspector General's office about the sex, drugs and gifts that some DOI employees traded with people in the private oil biz. I'm not exaggerating one jot. This is not one of those dry, bureaucratic tomes. There's some incredibly bad and criminal behavior reported here and far too little punishment. Here's the opening paragraph. Notice especially the last two sentences:

"This memorandum conveys the final results of three separate Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigations into allegations against more than a dozen current and former Minerals Management Service (MMS) employees. In the case of one former employee, Jimmy Mayberry, he has already pled guilty to a criminal charge. The cases against former employees, Greg Smith and Lucy Querques Dennet, were referred to the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice (DOJ). However, that office declined to prosecute. The remaining current employees await your discretion in imposing corrective administrative action. Others have escaped potential administrative action by departing from federal service, with the usual celebratory send-offs that allegedly highlighted the impeccable service these individuals had given to the Federal Government. Our reports belie this notion."

The report goes on to describe a "culture of ethical failure" within the Mineral Management Service in which the top dogs went out of their way to NOT apply ethical standards to themselves and did all sorts of nefarious things to personally profit from domestic oil resources. It also mentions the refusal of one oil company, Chevron, to cooperate with the investigation. Here's some more:

"We also discovered a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity in the RIK (Royalty in Kind) program - both within the program, including a supervisor, Greg Smith, who engaged in illegal drug use and had sexual relations with subordinates, and in consort with industry. Internally, several staff admitted to illegal drug use as well as illicit sexual encounters. Alcohol abuse appears to have been a problem when RIK staff socialized with industry. For example, two RIK staff accepted lodging from industry after industry events because they were too intoxicated to drive home or to their hotel. These same RIK marketers also engaged in brief sexual relationships with industry contacts. Sexual relationships with prohibited sources cannot, by definition, be arms-length."

So you see, our government really, literally, has been in bed with the oil companies. This brings to mind a critical principle I've observed in every organization I've ever been a part of (including a short time in the DOI) or watched closely: Ethics, or the lack thereof, always flow down from the top.

So after eight years of having extreme opportunists like Cheney and Rove at the top, is it really any wonder that our country is in the midst of a financial crisis caused by an ethical vacuum? Is it any wonder that oil companies have been given free reign to tear apart public lands at an unprecedented rate, without any concern for wildlife or future generations? And is it any wonder that Sarah Palin recently got Cheney's nod, since her record in Alaska reportedly shows she too supports this sort of scruple-free government (as well as some totally unfounded, ludicrous Bible prophecies that predict End Days any time now, which conveniently and perversely justify not preserving the planet for future generations).

Folks, it's like the bumper sticker says: If your not furious, you're not paying attention.

Image: BLM

War on Science & McCain's Nuclear Option

2008-09-08T16:34:03-04:00

One thing is clear from the Republican National Convention: The Republican's have every intention of continuing their ruinous war on science & reason in the U.S.A. When John McCain picked the anti-science, anti-education Sarah Palin as a running mate, he was doing nothing less than employing a desperate nuclear option to dam the current which appeared to be carrying Barack Obama ever closer to the White House.

Palin sends a loud signal to the extreme right wing -- who long ago hijacked the Republican Party -- that there is no danger of change under John McCain. That's why she's making such a splash. These same extremists don't trust McCain and were pretty unhappy about his nomination. He has, after all, this nasty habit of thinking for himself sometimes, which really pisses off the American Taliban (by whom I mean those religious fundamentalists who arrogantly believe they know God's mind and that He has given them the right to ignore the U.S. Constitution and dictate life to the rest of us poor slobs).

With Palin, the fundamentalists are hoping for continued political tampering with science so it does not contradict their dogma, and more undermining of education and basic research. It all makes perfect sense, after all: Theocracies don't function very well when the people are literate and well educated.

But that's not really why this is McCain's nuclear option. The anti-science part is merely the nuclear fallout -- just collateral damage. The real ka-boom and mushroom cloud was triggered by picking a running mate who would instantly deploy the dirty old strategy of the igniting a bogus "culture war" to divide and conquer the middle class. Every election now the Republicans conjure up this non-existent conflict between the members of the working/middle class with college educations and those without college educations. The goal is to scare those lesser educated people into voting against the so called "elites" (who in reality are no better off then they are and live right next door). The folks who fall for this mean, hateful trick then actually vote for the party which protects the rich at the expense of every program that would help working folks get their children through college. Clever, eh? The British used such "divide & conquer" tactics for decades to control rebellious colonies. Rove merely stole the technique.

And just for the record, I'm one of those independents this election is supposed to hinge on. Guess who I'm voting for?