http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/ The Environment Site forum is the place to discuss the whole range of environmental issues, from climate change to deforestation. en Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:07:08 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/images/flora/misc/rss.jpg http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/ http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22841-india-delays-gm-vegetable-start-further-tests.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:31:03 GMT NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has put off allowing the launch of its first genetically modified vegetable, saying it would adopt a cautious approach and wait for more scientific studies on the impact of the new variety of eggplant.Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/environment?d=yIl2AUoC8zA (http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/environment?a=0cylRJ-KT5c:1YBrSz9l90U:yIl2AUoC8zA) Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/environment?i=0cylRJ-KT5c:1YBrSz9l90U:F7zBnMyn0Lo (http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/environment?a=0cylRJ-KT5c:1YBrSz9l90U:F7zBnMyn0Lo) Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/environment?i=0cylRJ-KT5c:1YBrSz9l90U:V_sGLiPBpWU (http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/environment?a=0cylRJ-KT5c:1YBrSz9l90U:V_sGLiPBpWU) Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/reuters/environment/~4/0cylRJ-KT5c More... (http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/0cylRJ-KT5c/idUSTRE6181ZN20100209) NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has put off allowing the launch of its first genetically modified vegetable, saying it would adopt a cautious approach and wait for more scientific studies on the impact of the new variety of eggplant.


More... ]]> Environmental News from the Web eCoBoT http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22841-india-delays-gm-vegetable-start-further-tests.html http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22840-czechs-tap-norwegian-firm-coal-plant-study.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:40:19 GMT PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech environment ministry has picked Norwegian firm DNV to assess expansion plans at a coal-fired power plant which has raised objections from the tiny Pacific nation of Micronesia.Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/environment?d=yIl2AUoC8zA (http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/environment?a=yU54bFq22Dg:4jE1t4qaGDE:yIl2AUoC8zA) Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/environment?i=yU54bFq22Dg:4jE1t4qaGDE:F7zBnMyn0Lo (http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/environment?a=yU54bFq22Dg:4jE1t4qaGDE:F7zBnMyn0Lo) Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/environment?i=yU54bFq22Dg:4jE1t4qaGDE:V_sGLiPBpWU (http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/environment?a=yU54bFq22Dg:4jE1t4qaGDE:V_sGLiPBpWU) Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/reuters/environment/~4/yU54bFq22Dg More... (http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/yU54bFq22Dg/idUSTRE6181UV20100209) PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech environment ministry has picked Norwegian firm DNV to assess expansion plans at a coal-fired power plant which has raised objections from the tiny Pacific nation of Micronesia.


More... ]]> Environmental News from the Web eCoBoT http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22840-czechs-tap-norwegian-firm-coal-plant-study.html http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/climate-change-forum/22839-bbc-yanks-reference-climate-change-story.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:36:17 GMT Source : BBC News - Galapagos fur seals head for Peru waters

"Galapagos fur seals head for Peru waters

A colony of fur seals has moved 1,500km away from the Galapagos Islands, a Peru-based organisation which monitors the aquatic mammals has said.

The Organisation for Research and Conservation of Aquatic Animals says the fur seals have swum to northern Peru because of rising temperatures.

It is the first time fur seals have set up a colony away from the islands, Orca says.

Average sea temperatures off northern Peru have risen, monitors say.

Measurements from the Peruvian Geophysics Institute indicate the sea surface temperature in the northern Peruvian provinces of Piura and Tumbes have consistently risen from an average of 17C to 23C over the last 10 years.

The temperature is much closer to the sea temperature around the Galapagos Islands, which averages about 25C.

Now that the conditions of the sea around northern Peru are so similar to the Galapagos, they say, even more fur seals and other new marine species could start arriving.

The Galapagos Islands are located more than 900km west off continental Ecuador.

Ever since the English naturalist, Charles Darwin, first visited the islands more than 150 years ago, they have become known as a living museum of evolution.
_______________________________________________
Correction 8 February: An earlier version of this story had the species incorrectly as sea lion. The mammal in question is fur seal.

The measurements of average sea temperatures were taken by the Peruvian Geophysics Institute, and should not have been attributed to Orca as in the earlier version.

The earlier version had a reference to the temperature rise being caused by climate change. This has been removed as the relevant research is still in its early stages.
"

============================

Hmmm are the BBC wising up? Are they finally rethinking their bias stance on global warming? If so it's another victory for the truth movement and yet another blow to the lie movement. ]]> Climate Change Forum The Realist http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/climate-change-forum/22839-bbc-yanks-reference-climate-change-story.html http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22838-china-says-water-pollution-double-official-figure.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:53:29 GMT BEIJING (Reuters) - A new Chinese government survey of the country's environmental problems has shown water pollution levels in 2007 were more than twice the government's official estimate, largely because agricultural waste was ignored.


More... ]]> Environmental News from the Web eCoBoT http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22838-china-says-water-pollution-double-official-figure.html http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/introduce-yourself/22837-hi-ga.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:16:02 GMT hey, I decided to join here to further my knowledge on some ecological issues, and I also would like to link to my new blog. The blog is intended to be the beginnings of my efforts to help reduce light pollution in the United States, and I would greatly appreciate any feedback, contributions, or at least some readers. Here's the link darkmattersproject.blogspot.com/ (sorry I can't do a direct link yet)Thanks to anybody who gives it a look. A thousand thanks to anybody who comments on it.


Remember: Cut the lights for better nights. ]]> Introduce Yourself Darkmatters http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/introduce-yourself/22837-hi-ga.html http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22836-global-warming-olympic-worry-says-rogge-afp.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:15:40 GMT AFP - Global warming is starting to worry the International Olympic Committee, with concern mounting over how it might affect future Games.




More... ]]> Environmental News from the Web eCoBoT http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22836-global-warming-olympic-worry-says-rogge-afp.html http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/climate-change-forum/22835-working-out-future-sea-level-rise-past.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:55:58 GMT Working out future sea level rise from the past


Metyu and I were having a discussion about the expected time for the ice sheets to melt. It was difficult to find anyone giving a commitment in time. Its just easier to commit to how much. It appears to be from this study 6.6 meters to 8 meters.

21 feet to 26 feet

I remember a glaciologist saying it would take an ice sheet 300 years to melt out.

Working out future sea level rise from the past

Predicting future sea level rise is tough. A growing contributor to sea level rise is ice sheets that break off into the ocean.

However, ice sheet dynamics are non-linear and difficult to predict.

The IPCC 4th Assessment Report essentially ignores ice sheet dynamics, predicting sea level rise of 18 to 59 cm by 2100.

More recent research accounting for accelerating ice sheets predict sea level rise of 75 cm to 2 metres by 2100 (Vermeer 2009, Pfeffer 2008).

Even these latest predictions admit they may not fully predict the non-linear aspect of ice sheet dynamics. However, there is another way to determine future sea level rise that neatly sidesteps the complexities of non-linear dynamics.

Look at how sea level has responded to temperature change in the past.


The last interglacial around 125,000 years ago is a period of special interest.
a. The Earth's orbital eccentricity was more than twice the current value, meaning the orbit was more elliptical.
b. This caused warmer summer temperatures than current conditions.
c. Sea surface temperatures at the equator were about 2°C warmer than pre-industrial levels.
d. Ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica find polar temperatures were about 3 to 5°C warmer than today.


Thus the last interglacial provides an insight into where our climate is currently headed over the next century and beyond.

A global compilation of sea level indicators from reefs, corals and sediments were used to estimate global sea level during this period.

a. The result was that it's very likely (95% probability) that sea levels were at least 6.6 metres higher than today.
b. It's likely (67% probability) that sea levels exceeded 8 metres (Kopp 2009).



Figure 1: Probability density plot of global sea level during the last interglacial.
a. Heavy lines mark median projections,
b. dashed lines the 16th and 84th percentiles,
c. and dotted lines the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (Kopp 2009).
Global sea level of 0 represents current sea level.


Independent analyses of the last interglacial paint a similar picture.

A number of studies have found sea levels during the last interglacial much higher than modern levels, all concluding that ice sheets are very sensitive to temperature change (Blanchon 2009, Overpeck 2006, Rohling 2007).

It's important to note that this doesn't mean sea levels will rise 6.6 metres by 2100. It takes time for the ice sheets to respond to warming and there is still much uncertainty over exactly how quickly sea levels will reach such levels.


Nevertheless, the bottom line is the global warming expected over the next century will take us to temperatures that in the past raised sea levels over 6 metres higher than current levels. This is a sobering fact for the millions of people concentrated on coastlines.
Posted by John Cook at 00:21 AM ]]> Climate Change Forum Renewable Guy http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/climate-change-forum/22835-working-out-future-sea-level-rise-past.html http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22834-bolivia-expects-5-000-foreigners-climate-forum-ap.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:11:20 GMT AP - Bolivia's government says it expects thousands of activists, environmentalists and scientists to travel to the Andean nation for conference on climate change.

More... ]]> Environmental News from the Web eCoBoT http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22834-bolivia-expects-5-000-foreigners-climate-forum-ap.html http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/climate-change-forum/22833-met-office-refusing-disclose-prof-mitchell-s-papers.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:53:35 GMT Source : How Met Office blocked questions on its own man's role in 'hockey stick' climate row | Mail Online

How Met Office blocked questions on its own man's role in 'hockey stick' climate row

The Meteorological Office is blocking public scrutiny of the central role played by its top climate scientist in a highly controversial report by the beleaguered United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Professor John Mitchell, the Met Office’s Director of Climate Science, shared responsibility for the most worrying headline in the 2007 Nobel Prize-winning IPCC report – that the Earth is now hotter than at any time in the past 1,300 years.

And he approved the inclusion in the report of the famous ‘hockey stick’ graph, showing centuries of level or declining temperatures until a steep 20th Century rise.

By the time the 2007 report was being written, the graph had been heavily criticised by climate sceptics who had shown it minimised the ‘medieval warm period’ around 1000AD, when the Vikings established farming settlements in Greenland.

In fact, according to some scientists, the planet was then as warm, or even warmer, than it is today.

Early drafts of the report were fiercely contested by official IPCC reviewers, who cited other scientific papers stating that the 1,300-year claim and the graph were inaccurate.

But the final version, approved by Prof Mitchell, the relevant chapter’s review editor, swept aside these concerns.

Now, the Met Office is refusing to disclose Prof Mitchell’s working papers and correspondence with his IPCC colleagues in response to requests filed under the Freedom of Information Act.

The block has been endorsed in writing by Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth – whose department has responsibility for the Met Office.

Documents obtained by The Mail on Sunday reveal that the Met Office’s stonewalling was part of a co-ordinated, legally questionable strategy by climate change academics linked with the IPCC to block access to outsiders.

Last month, the Information Commissioner ruled that scientists from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia – the source of the leaked ‘Warmergate’ emails – acted unlawfully in refusing FOI requests to share their data.

Some of the FOI requests made to them came from the same person who has made requests to the Met Office.
He is David Holland, an electrical engineer familiar with advanced statistics who has written several papers questioning orthodox thinking on global warming.

The Met Office’s first response to Mr Holland was a claim that Prof Mitchell’s records had been ‘deleted’ from its computers.

Later, officials admitted they did exist after all, but could not be disclosed because they were ‘personal’, and had nothing to do with the professor’s Met Office job.

Finally, they conceded that this too was misleading because Prof Mitchell had been paid by the Met Office for his IPCC work and had received Government expenses to travel to IPCC meetings.

The Met Office had even boasted of his role in a Press release when the report first came out.
But disclosure, they added, was still rejected on the grounds it would ‘inhibit the free and frank provision of advice or the free and frank provision of views’.

It would also ‘prejudice Britain’s relationship with an international organisation’ and thus be contrary to UK interests.
In a written response justifying the refusal dated August 20, 2008, Mr Ainsworth – then MoD Minister of State – used exactly the same language.

Mr Holland also filed a request for the papers kept by Sir Brian Hoskins of Reading University, who was the review editor of a different chapter of the IPCC report.

When this too was refused, Mr Holland used the Data Protection Act to obtain a copy of an email from Sir Brian to the university’s information officer.

The email, dated July 17, 2008 – when Mr Holland was also trying to get material from the Met Office and the CRU – provides clear evidence of a co-ordinated effort to hide data. Sir Brian wrote:
‘I have made enquiries and found that both the Met Office/MOD and UEA are resisting the FOI requests made by Holland. The latter are very relevant to us, as UK universities should speak with the same voice on this. I gather that they are using academic freedom as their reason.’

At the CRU, as the Warmergate emails reveal, its director, Dr Phil Jones (who is currently suspended), wrote to an American colleague:
‘[We are] still getting FOI requests as well as Reading. All our FOI officers have been in discussions and are now using the same exceptions – not to respond.’

Last night Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, said the affair further undermined the credibility of the IPCC and those associated with it. He said:
‘It’s of critical importance that data such as this should be open. More importantly, the questions being raised about the hockey stick mean that we may have to reassess the climate history of the past 2,000 years.

‘The attempt to make the medieval warm period disappear is being seriously weakened, and the claim that now is the warmest time for 1,300 years is no longer based on reliable evidence.’
Despite repeated requests, the MoD and Met Office failed to comment. ]]> Climate Change Forum The Realist http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/climate-change-forum/22833-met-office-refusing-disclose-prof-mitchell-s-papers.html http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22832-aclu-accuses-calif-instructor-religion-lessons-ap.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:32:38 GMT AP - An instructor at a public community college in Fresno has been presenting his religious views on homosexuality, abortion and global warming as fact to students in an introductory health science class, the American Civil Liberties Union alleged Monday. More... (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/climatechange/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209/ap_on_re_us/us_instructor_bias) AP - An instructor at a public community college in Fresno has been presenting his religious views on homosexuality, abortion and global warming as fact to students in an introductory health science class, the American Civil Liberties Union alleged Monday.

More... ]]> Environmental News from the Web eCoBoT http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22832-aclu-accuses-calif-instructor-religion-lessons-ap.html http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22831-britain-launches-labeling-green-power-tariffs.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:55:35 GMT LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has launched a scheme to certify and label electricity produced by green means so as to help consumers and small businesses choose tariffs to support suppliers doing more to cut carbon emissions than obliged.Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/environment?d=yIl2AUoC8zA (http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/environment?a=5vgOpgg48e8:m150wbb7pwg:yIl2AUoC8zA) Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/environment?i=5vgOpgg48e8:m150wbb7pwg:F7zBnMyn0Lo (http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/environment?a=5vgOpgg48e8:m150wbb7pwg:F7zBnMyn0Lo) Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/environment?i=5vgOpgg48e8:m150wbb7pwg:V_sGLiPBpWU (http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/environment?a=5vgOpgg48e8:m150wbb7pwg:V_sGLiPBpWU) Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/reuters/environment/~4/5vgOpgg48e8 More... (http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/5vgOpgg48e8/idUSTRE61804F20100209) LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has launched a scheme to certify and label electricity produced by green means so as to help consumers and small businesses choose tariffs to support suppliers doing more to cut carbon emissions than obliged.


More... ]]> Environmental News from the Web eCoBoT http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22831-britain-launches-labeling-green-power-tariffs.html http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22830-aclu-accuses-calif-instructor-religion-lessons-ap.html Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:40:33 GMT AP - An instructor at a public community college in Fresno has been improperly presenting his religious views on homosexuality, abortion and global warming as fact to students in an introductory health science class, the American Civil Liberties Union alleged Monday. More... (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/climatechange/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100208/ap_on_re_us/us_instructor_bias) AP - An instructor at a public community college in Fresno has been improperly presenting his religious views on homosexuality, abortion and global warming as fact to students in an introductory health science class, the American Civil Liberties Union alleged Monday.

More... ]]> Environmental News from the Web eCoBoT http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22830-aclu-accuses-calif-instructor-religion-lessons-ap.html http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22829-smart-power-key-eu-sparks-electric-car-debate.html Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:19:29 GMT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Electric cars must be backed by "smart" power networks if they are to help the world's climate problems, environmentalists warned on Monday as European ministers prepared to debate a strategy for the sector.


More... ]]> Environmental News from the Web eCoBoT http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22829-smart-power-key-eu-sparks-electric-car-debate.html http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22828-new-climate-service-aims-help-business-adapt.html Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:19:29 GMT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A proposed new U.S. NOAA Climate Service is meant to help businesses adapt to the impact of climate change, and to spur development of new technologies to cope with it, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on Monday.Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/environment?d=yIl2AUoC8zA (http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/environment?a=pkJSSKue900:Td4vc-Z8PsY:yIl2AUoC8zA) Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/environment?i=pkJSSKue900:Td4vc-Z8PsY:F7zBnMyn0Lo (http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/environment?a=pkJSSKue900:Td4vc-Z8PsY:F7zBnMyn0Lo) Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/environment?i=pkJSSKue900:Td4vc-Z8PsY:V_sGLiPBpWU (http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/environment?a=pkJSSKue900:Td4vc-Z8PsY:V_sGLiPBpWU) Image: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/reuters/environment/~4/pkJSSKue900 More... (http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/pkJSSKue900/idUSTRE6174IJ20100208) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A proposed new U.S. NOAA Climate Service is meant to help businesses adapt to the impact of climate change, and to spur development of new technologies to cope with it, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on Monday.


More... ]]> Environmental News from the Web eCoBoT http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22828-new-climate-service-aims-help-business-adapt.html http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22827-climate-change-impact-soil-underestimated-study-afp.html Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:42:31 GMT AFP - Finnish researchers called for a revision of climate change estimates Monday after their findings showed emissions from soil would contribute more to climate warming than previously thought.




More... ]]> Environmental News from the Web eCoBoT http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-web/22827-climate-change-impact-soil-underestimated-study-afp.html