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The period of consequences

Uh-oh.

Climate scientists have documented a pronounced slowdown in the Pacific Ocean atmospheric system that drives the trade winds, a prediction of global warming theory that appears to be coming true.

You -- or Jonah Goldberg -- might say: Trade winds? Who uses trade winds anymore? I get groceries by truck, not square rigger. The scientists continue:

They focused on the giant system known as the "Walker circulation," named in honor of Sir Gilbert Walker, the late British scientist who was one of the first to trace connections among widely scattered weather events. The system is a kind of heat engine that drives half the world's climate.

When you read things like this, remember that there is a relatively small group of people who took money to ensure that our federal government not only ignores the threat, but undercuts those working toward effective remedies.

An interview with jailed “eco-terrorist” Jeffrey Luers

In 2000, 21-year-old Jeff Luers and an accomplice set fire to three pickup trucks at a dealership in Eugene, Ore., to bring attention to gas-guzzlers’ contribution to global warming. They were promptly arrested. Luers, who refused to plea bargain, was sentenced to 22 years, eight months in prison. It is the longest term ever handed […]

A dispatch from China’s Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve

Eric Wagner is a graduate student in biology at the University of Washington. He reports from China, where a group of students and faculty from UW and Sichuan University is working to help create a management plan for a popular national park. Saturday, 22 Apr 2006 On the road, Sichuan Province, China “It’s weird,” Yuh-Chi […]

Cities are cool

Cool images from the Center for Neighborhood Technology show that people who live in dense urban areas -- downtown San Francisco, the denser parts of L.A., or the Chicago city core -- emit less CO2 for transportation. See for yourself:

I'm showing San Francisco above because it's closest to my heart, but I think the Chicago map is coolest.

Lessons from the professor

After Jonah Goldberg published his scurrilous harangue on global warming in the Los Angeles Times on Earth Day, I and others posted some thoughts -- combined with what we thought were knock-out sit-yer-butt-down-and-shut-up witticisms.

Amateurs.

Professor Juan Cole shows us how it is done.

I must admit to some jealousy.

Warmer waters, disease causing major reef die-off

Ahoy there, buccaneers. 'Tis I, returned from the briny depths for another fishy update. And this one's a sad tale, me hearties, for anyone who's ever appreciated the beauty of a coral reef. Even ye landlubbers out there may know what I mean, what with all your fancy "snorkel gear" -- me, I wouldn't be caught dead in a get-up involving the word snork, but you lot seem to enjoy it. And I enjoy the pointin' and laughin' from atop me crow's nest. Arrrr!

But I digress. Today, I share news of what some researchers are calling an "underwater Holocaust." They say record hot water temperatures followed by disease have caused the biggest loss of Caribbean reefs in history.

Chinese takeout

I apologize for two China-bashing posts in such short order. The following articles suggest that the emerging Chinese middle class are in all likelihood going to behave like the upright walking primates they are and seek status with any and every opportunity. Eating wildlife is presently a way to show off in China. From Reuters:

Chinese police have seized hundreds of bear paws and dead pangolins that smugglers had injected with tranquillisers ...

Other exotic wildlife that make their way onto Chinese dinner tables include camel's hump and monkey's brain. Tiger bones dipped in liquor are considered a tonic and tiger penis is believed to be an aphrodisiac.

"Wow that pangolin soup I had for lunch made me sleepy. Why is it dark outside?" Luckily, conflicting self-interest as well as a healthy dose of self-preservation is starting to have an impact.

7th Gen blog

By way of introducing the new blog from eco-home-product maker 7th Generation, let me just say that I'm happy to read this. It's about time somebody put the brakes on the Godin worship.

A third party?

In today's New York Times ($), the Mustache of Understanding sounds the plaintive lament of the pundit class: the need for a third party.

I'm hoping for a third party. The situation is ripe for one: America is facing a challenge as big as the cold war -- how we satisfy our long-term energy needs, at reasonable prices, while decreasing our dependence on oil and the bad governments that export it -- and neither major party will offer a solution, because it requires sacrifice today for gain tomorrow.

Now, practically speaking, the institutional barriers to a third party in today's political milieu are insuperable. But as always, the Mustache trusts his "gut" on this issue. And as always, his gut tells him that the American public is right on the verge of lining up behind the Mustache Plan.

Insuperable obstacles aside, does Friedman have a point? Is it true that "neither major party will offer a solution"?

Well, no.

Demand answers

This Oil Drum post goes a long way toward explaining why oil prices have risen so sharply over the last couple of years. According to international oil agencies, global oil production has been fairly flat since the middle of 2004, even as economic growth around the globe has boosted demand. The chart below, derived from U.S. Energy Information Administration figures, shows OPEC production only, but world figures are much the same.

Of course, the global petroleum system is so huge, and some production poorly enough tracked, that there's a lot of uncertainty in the graph above. But it's hard to escape the notion that high prices are being caused by actual global supply limitations, not by oil-company malfeasance or somesuch.