Arctic Ice: Going, going . . . gone;
Schweitzer on Energy in Denver
BBC: Arctic ice is at a 'tipping point'.
Watch for yourself on google earth: "This animation in Google Earth shows satellite data of Arctic sea ice concentration from May 25 to August 21, 2008. Note how the decline rate speeds up during August, with strong losses north of Siberia." -
The more drilling and use of oil and other fossil fuels in which we engage, the faster the arctic and antarctic ice will melt, leading to rising sea levels.
Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer makes the point in Denver that the most important barrel of oil is the one you don't use.
Schweitzer's little-noticed speech may be the most important address on energy given so far by an American politician.
Now if only someone could get him off this liquefied coal kick.
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Just FYI on melting sea ice and water levels.
posted by Juan Cole @ 8/28/2008 07:48:00 AM
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4 Comments:
It's not just that he's such a promoter of liquified coal--which would undermine any and all progress we made by avoiding use of that barrel of oil. It's his philosophical starting point. "We face a great new challenge...a world energy crisis that threatens...our very way of life." Where have I heard that before? Oh, right, from Dick "not negotiable" Cheney. That's is precisely why Schweitzer promotes liquified coal.*
"Our" way of life is the problem. "Our" way of life requires more energy than it is possible to provide in a responsible, secure, clean, or economical way. Not every aspect of "our" way of life, of course. But too many aspects are built upon a blind assumption that we will always have seemingly unlimited cheap energy available. Just like the rich kid who never had to really work to achieve financial success, "our" way of life is a spoiled way of life, when it comes to energy. When there's not enough energy to keep us happy, we just complain to Mommy and Daddy government, and they go give out corporate subsidies to encourage more extraction of fossil fuels, they go shove nerdy gadfly climate scientists into the corner, telling them "I don't have time for your mumbo jumbo--my kid needs a 48 inch plasma screen TV and by God, he's gonna get it!"
When a prominent politician is wise enough and brave enough to speak that truth to the American people on national TV, then maybe I'll be willing to think of it as "an important address." (I don't require that the politician be obnoxious in their rhetoric, the way, I admit, I have a little bit been.)
*Okay, the other reason is that he's Montana's governor, and it's his job to promote anything that will help create new jobs and bring more money into the state. At least, that's the way governorships are designed these days. Consequences be damned, and all.
If Pakistan is dependent upon glacial waters and if the glaciers are all melting then Pakistan is in for a very torrid time. I am afraid that whatever we do now - even if the whole world stopped using coal, oil, gas yesterday it would be too late - already.
What happens during the cold, winter months? Does the ice keep melting?
There was less ice 30 years ago, so how does this short term change in ice relate?
We are terminally stupid about energy. For example, US and NATO forces have distributed about a million solar/dynamo am/fm/sw radios in Afghanistan since 2001. The solar/dynamo charges only the internal hard-wired battery. They can't charge AA or D cells without further modification. A solar/dynamo battery charger would provide a reliable source of low voltage DC power, anywhere, day or night. It would allow for battery switching - charging one set of batteries while using another set - and could become the foundation for a solar swadeshi, substituting the hand-crank of the dynamo for the turning of Gandhi's spinning wheel.
US AID is now planning to distribute 250,000 solar/dynamo am/fm/sw radios to Sudan. These solar/dynamos will not charge AA or D cell batteries either. Another missed opportunity.
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