Fleetwood Mac or a Big Mac, I'm drooling over whatever that sandwich is in your tar Skunky!
Softshell crab po-boy!:clap_1:
An Inconvenient Truth
- Thread starter John R
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Softshell crab po-boy!:clap_1:
You know eating that will cost you several "carbon offsets".
I call them 'carbon indulgences':funn:
Who advocated trashing the environment and not weaning ourselves from nonrenewable energy? The loyal opposition's concern is signing on to the Kyoto Protocol (a HUGE commitment) at the prompting of junk-science induced hysteria. Now excuse me while I go find some aluminum cans to crunch flat (my favorite liberal can attest I am a recycling machine).
Can crunchin', yeah! :clap_1: Kyoto Protocol 
Tell me about it please. Is it too expensive?:roll: Maybe someone can invent a methane car, name it the B3 after Triple B.;-)
The B3 comes with no air conditioning. The windows will always be down.
:roll: Maybe someone can invent a methane car, name it the B3 after Triple B.;-)
:roll: Maybe someone can invent a methane car, name it the B3 after Triple B.;-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_protocol
This is a Cliff's Notes version of the whole deal. As predicted, there is no economic consensus on the monetary effect (but, economists tend to squabble over everything), but I can't understand how it could be anything other than mighty expensive. As you might imagine, there is also a great degree of disagreement on the efficacy of the plan in having any effect on global climates.
Now the kids have a guilt complex thanks to the thick hysteria...
Will global warming become the next big fear?
Climate emerges as threat du jour in minds of Americans
Sunday, April 01, 2007
By Gabrielle Glaser
PORTLAND, ORE. -- Leslie Carlson remembers fallout shelters and school drills that sent kids diving under their desks. In college, worries about nuclear catastrophe kept her up at night.
But today Carlson, 42, has global warming anxiety.
"I worry about the quality of my children's lives and the connection to nature I love so much," says Carlson, a mother of three and a Portland public relations manager. She recently was skiing with her children and surveyed the mountain landscape. "I wondered, 'Are they even going to be able to do this when they grow up?' "
Every generation has its fears. Before the polio vaccine, parents kept their children indoors on hot summer days -- no swimming pools, no picnics. Then came the Cold War and its fears of sudden annihilation. For several years after the 9/11 attacks, terrorism dominated the worry agenda.
But today, concern about climate change appears to be replacing atomic Armageddon or anthrax epidemics. For some families, compost piles have supplanted bomb shelters and duct tape as household essentials.
Recent national polls show the majority of Americans now see global warming as a serious threat.
"The news has really been unremittingly bad," says Madeline Levine, an adolescent psychologist in Marin County, Calif., and author of a book on the angst of today's middle-class kids. Increasingly, Levine says, she sees young patients beset by their fears for the planet. "They're worried," Levine says, "and they're angry. They feel that older generations screwed up the Earth and now it's up to them to fix -- but they don't have the skills or ability to do it."
Levine estimates that one in three children struggles with anxiety, and that many have fixated on global warming.
Westerners are especially gloomy about the chances of coping with the problem, according to a new Yale University survey.
"When I think of global warming," says Katrina Rapp, a sixth-grader fresh from a sleepover at Portland's Sunnyside Environmental School, "I think of those poor polar bears. It makes me so sad."
Her classmate, Julia Mann, echoes her concerns. When she sees lights left on in empty rooms, her mind races to carbon emissions. "It makes me worry about what kind of world will exist for my children," she says, pausing. "Maybe I won't even have them."
The issue also dogs young adults. Rob McKirdie, 27, a Portland artist, has discussed the issue with his girlfriend. "I do worry about what kind of world we'll have," he says. He sometimes feels anxious when he sees pregnant women. "I wonder," he says, " 'What is that child's future?' "
McKirdie's concerns carry over into his daily life. He walks to work, recycles everything he can and carries reusable cloth shopping bags. He's read about a vast vortex of plastic trash -- toothbrushes, water bottles, grocery bags -- in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. And yet at his job -- at an environmentally friendly supermarket -- he dispenses plastic all day long. "I want to ask people, 'Are you sure you need this bag for your one little item?' "
Joe Rhinewine, a Lake Oswego, Ore., psychologist, says Americans have a tendency to overstate the dangers of imponderables. Nobody knows exactly what the future will hold, and parents can help their children by putting threats in perspective. They can, he says, validate their kids' fears while reassuring them.
"It's actually invalidating to always reassure by saying, 'It's OK,' and, 'Stop worrying,' " Rhinewine says. "Excessive reassurance can actually help to reinforce the worry."
Better to say, "Yeah, it is scary to think of the planet changing. But it's important to remember that it has changed a lot in the past," Rhinewine says. "When I feel scared, I remind myself that there are lots of steps we can take to make things better, like recycling and driving less."
Engaging children in solutions, he says, can help them gain a sense of control. "Kids under the age of 12 lack the cognitive skills to distance themselves. In a well-intentioned effort to motivate kids, you might show them a picture of some polar bears drowning. . . . But it's a little like using a sledgehammer when you can use a hammer. A sensitive child is going to think, 'Oh, no, that polar bear is dying, and it's all my fault!' "
Will global warming become the next big fear?
Climate emerges as threat du jour in minds of Americans
Sunday, April 01, 2007
By Gabrielle Glaser
PORTLAND, ORE. -- Leslie Carlson remembers fallout shelters and school drills that sent kids diving under their desks. In college, worries about nuclear catastrophe kept her up at night.
But today Carlson, 42, has global warming anxiety.
"I worry about the quality of my children's lives and the connection to nature I love so much," says Carlson, a mother of three and a Portland public relations manager. She recently was skiing with her children and surveyed the mountain landscape. "I wondered, 'Are they even going to be able to do this when they grow up?' "
Every generation has its fears. Before the polio vaccine, parents kept their children indoors on hot summer days -- no swimming pools, no picnics. Then came the Cold War and its fears of sudden annihilation. For several years after the 9/11 attacks, terrorism dominated the worry agenda.
But today, concern about climate change appears to be replacing atomic Armageddon or anthrax epidemics. For some families, compost piles have supplanted bomb shelters and duct tape as household essentials.
Recent national polls show the majority of Americans now see global warming as a serious threat.
"The news has really been unremittingly bad," says Madeline Levine, an adolescent psychologist in Marin County, Calif., and author of a book on the angst of today's middle-class kids. Increasingly, Levine says, she sees young patients beset by their fears for the planet. "They're worried," Levine says, "and they're angry. They feel that older generations screwed up the Earth and now it's up to them to fix -- but they don't have the skills or ability to do it."
Levine estimates that one in three children struggles with anxiety, and that many have fixated on global warming.
Westerners are especially gloomy about the chances of coping with the problem, according to a new Yale University survey.
"When I think of global warming," says Katrina Rapp, a sixth-grader fresh from a sleepover at Portland's Sunnyside Environmental School, "I think of those poor polar bears. It makes me so sad."
Her classmate, Julia Mann, echoes her concerns. When she sees lights left on in empty rooms, her mind races to carbon emissions. "It makes me worry about what kind of world will exist for my children," she says, pausing. "Maybe I won't even have them."
The issue also dogs young adults. Rob McKirdie, 27, a Portland artist, has discussed the issue with his girlfriend. "I do worry about what kind of world we'll have," he says. He sometimes feels anxious when he sees pregnant women. "I wonder," he says, " 'What is that child's future?' "
McKirdie's concerns carry over into his daily life. He walks to work, recycles everything he can and carries reusable cloth shopping bags. He's read about a vast vortex of plastic trash -- toothbrushes, water bottles, grocery bags -- in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. And yet at his job -- at an environmentally friendly supermarket -- he dispenses plastic all day long. "I want to ask people, 'Are you sure you need this bag for your one little item?' "
Joe Rhinewine, a Lake Oswego, Ore., psychologist, says Americans have a tendency to overstate the dangers of imponderables. Nobody knows exactly what the future will hold, and parents can help their children by putting threats in perspective. They can, he says, validate their kids' fears while reassuring them.
"It's actually invalidating to always reassure by saying, 'It's OK,' and, 'Stop worrying,' " Rhinewine says. "Excessive reassurance can actually help to reinforce the worry."
Better to say, "Yeah, it is scary to think of the planet changing. But it's important to remember that it has changed a lot in the past," Rhinewine says. "When I feel scared, I remind myself that there are lots of steps we can take to make things better, like recycling and driving less."
Engaging children in solutions, he says, can help them gain a sense of control. "Kids under the age of 12 lack the cognitive skills to distance themselves. In a well-intentioned effort to motivate kids, you might show them a picture of some polar bears drowning. . . . But it's a little like using a sledgehammer when you can use a hammer. A sensitive child is going to think, 'Oh, no, that polar bear is dying, and it's all my fault!' "
I must say: this thread is grayt reading; and 
:funn:
And besides, what would the world be without Fat Bastard?????
Harvard takes Vandy's sloppy seconds?
:funn:
Fleetwood Mac or a Big Mac, I'm drooling over whatever that sandwich is in your tar Skunky!
And besides, what would the world be without Fat Bastard?????
It is no wonder ?30A Skunkape? who lives in a coastal ?sinking city? is in Global warming denial?.
Coastal living ? a growing global threat
http://environment.newscientist.com...coastal-living--a-growing-global-threat-.html
* 14:54 28 March 2007
* NewScientist.com news service
* Catherine Brahic
The Mekong delta in Vietnam, seen in red at the bottom of this map, is at high risk from flooding, sea-level rises, and stronger storms due to climate change. Areas in red are 10m or less above sea-level, areas in green are higher, and darker colours indicate denser populations (Image: CIESIN)
The Mekong delta in Vietnam, seen in red at the bottom of this map, is at high risk from flooding, sea-level rises, and stronger storms due to climate change. Areas in red are 10m or less above sea-level, areas in green are higher, and darker colours indicate denser populations (Image: CIESIN)
Most of Bangladesh is at high risk from flooding, sea-level rises, and stronger storms due to climate change.Most of Bangladesh is at high risk from flooding, sea-level rises, and stronger storms due to climate change. Areas in red are 10m or less above sea-level, areas in green are higher, and darker colours indicate denser populations
One person in 10 worldwide, including one in eight city-dwellers, live less than 10 metres above sea-level and near the coast ? an "at-risk zone" for flooding and stronger storms exacerbated by climate change, a new study reveals.
The research, led by Gordon McGranahan at the International Institute for Environment and Development in London, UK, is the first ever to map the location of low, coastal urban centres around the world. "These are areas where the risk of sea-level rise and stronger storms needs to be taken seriously," says McGranahan. View a map of coastal urban populations in the eastern US, for example.
In February 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a consortium of about 4000 international climate scientists, said that sea-levels were likely to rise by up to 59 centimetres by the end of the 21st century, if fossil fuel consumption and economic growth continue unabated.
Also in February, Stefan Rahmstorf at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, published a study suggesting that IPCC forecasts could be on the conservative side (see Sea level rise outpacing key predictions).
Double jeopardy
McGranahan explains that low coastal cities pose a double risk. Firstly, they attract large human populations to a zone that is at higher risk of suffering the impacts of worsening storms, rising sea-levels and more floods. Furthermore, these urban developments degrade ecosystems ? such as mangroves in Asia ? that can provide natural barriers against the damage of rising sea-levels and strong storms.
The study's main findings are that:
? About 75% of people living in the "at-risk zone" ? living in a place that is 10 metres or less above sea level - are in Asia
? 21 nations, most of them small islands, have more than half their population in the at-risk zone
? Nearly two-thirds of urban settlements with more than 5 million inhabitants are at least partially in the at-risk zone
? In the world's least developed countries, 14% of people live in the at-risk zone, compared to 10% in developed countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
? 11% of urban populations in OECD countries are in the at-risk zone, compared to 21% of the urban populations of least developed nations
"What really struck me was the extent to which it was the big delta regions such as Bangladesh and the Nile delta were at the centre of the issue," McGranahan told New Scientist.
View a map of coastal urban populations around the Nile delta.
Misguided policy?
McGranahan says the maps made it clear to him how misguided current policy approaches to sea-level rise were In the UK. View a map of coastal urban populations in the UK.
"My impression is that if the government decides to develop flood defences they will have to attract private investment ? the public sector cannot afford the costs," he says. But the private sector will only fund flood defences if they have a vested interest in them. For instance, a company could be convinced to foot the bill if the government gave it low-lying land to develop into residential or commercial property.
"This is fine as long as you know exactly how the floods are going to happen," says McGranahan. "But if you get it wrong then you've brought more people to the zone immediately behind the flood barrier."
Life's a beach
In China, he says the key thing is the rate at which populations are moving to coastal cities. He points out that the infrastructure investment in coastal cities in China is "enormous", and, in the long term, is putting large populations at risk.
View a map of coastal urban populations in China.
The proportion of African cities that are on the coast is 12% ? higher than the global average of 7%, and is partly due to the fact that colonial rulers stuck mostly to the accessible coasts.
Living on the edge
The new maps, published in Environment and Urbanization on 28 March, are the result of a massive effort to gather 2002 population censuses from around the world.
The 10 countries with the largest number of people living within the at-risk zone are: China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Egypt, the US, Thailand, and the Philippines.
The 10 countries with the largest share of their population living within 10 m of sea level are: Bahamas (88% of population); Suriname (76%); Netherlands (74%); Vietnam (55%); Guyana (55%); Bangladesh (46%); Djibouti (41%); Belize (40%); Egypt (38%); and the Gambia (38%).
Journal reference: Environment and Urbanization (DOI: 10.1177/0956247807076960)
Climate Change - Want to know more about global warming ? the science, impacts and political debate? Visit our continually updated special report.
Related Articles
* China and US at highest risk of damage from asteroids
* http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11467
* 27 March 2007
* Ice sheet complexity leaves sea level rise uncertain
* http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11396
* 16 March 2007
* Sea level rise outpacing key predictions
* http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11083
* 01 February 2007
Weblinks
* Gordon McGranahan, International Institute for Environment and Development
* http://www.iied.org/aboutiied/HR/staff/bios/mcgranahan.html
* International Institute for Environment and Development
* http://www.iied.org/
* Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
* http://www.ipcc.ch/
* Environment and Urbanization
* http://eau.sagepub.com/
Coastal living ? a growing global threat
http://environment.newscientist.com...coastal-living--a-growing-global-threat-.html
* 14:54 28 March 2007
* NewScientist.com news service
* Catherine Brahic
The Mekong delta in Vietnam, seen in red at the bottom of this map, is at high risk from flooding, sea-level rises, and stronger storms due to climate change. Areas in red are 10m or less above sea-level, areas in green are higher, and darker colours indicate denser populations (Image: CIESIN)
The Mekong delta in Vietnam, seen in red at the bottom of this map, is at high risk from flooding, sea-level rises, and stronger storms due to climate change. Areas in red are 10m or less above sea-level, areas in green are higher, and darker colours indicate denser populations (Image: CIESIN)
Most of Bangladesh is at high risk from flooding, sea-level rises, and stronger storms due to climate change.Most of Bangladesh is at high risk from flooding, sea-level rises, and stronger storms due to climate change. Areas in red are 10m or less above sea-level, areas in green are higher, and darker colours indicate denser populations
One person in 10 worldwide, including one in eight city-dwellers, live less than 10 metres above sea-level and near the coast ? an "at-risk zone" for flooding and stronger storms exacerbated by climate change, a new study reveals.
The research, led by Gordon McGranahan at the International Institute for Environment and Development in London, UK, is the first ever to map the location of low, coastal urban centres around the world. "These are areas where the risk of sea-level rise and stronger storms needs to be taken seriously," says McGranahan. View a map of coastal urban populations in the eastern US, for example.
In February 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a consortium of about 4000 international climate scientists, said that sea-levels were likely to rise by up to 59 centimetres by the end of the 21st century, if fossil fuel consumption and economic growth continue unabated.
Also in February, Stefan Rahmstorf at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, published a study suggesting that IPCC forecasts could be on the conservative side (see Sea level rise outpacing key predictions).
Double jeopardy
McGranahan explains that low coastal cities pose a double risk. Firstly, they attract large human populations to a zone that is at higher risk of suffering the impacts of worsening storms, rising sea-levels and more floods. Furthermore, these urban developments degrade ecosystems ? such as mangroves in Asia ? that can provide natural barriers against the damage of rising sea-levels and strong storms.
The study's main findings are that:
? About 75% of people living in the "at-risk zone" ? living in a place that is 10 metres or less above sea level - are in Asia
? 21 nations, most of them small islands, have more than half their population in the at-risk zone
? Nearly two-thirds of urban settlements with more than 5 million inhabitants are at least partially in the at-risk zone
? In the world's least developed countries, 14% of people live in the at-risk zone, compared to 10% in developed countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
? 11% of urban populations in OECD countries are in the at-risk zone, compared to 21% of the urban populations of least developed nations
"What really struck me was the extent to which it was the big delta regions such as Bangladesh and the Nile delta were at the centre of the issue," McGranahan told New Scientist.
View a map of coastal urban populations around the Nile delta.
Misguided policy?
McGranahan says the maps made it clear to him how misguided current policy approaches to sea-level rise were In the UK. View a map of coastal urban populations in the UK.
"My impression is that if the government decides to develop flood defences they will have to attract private investment ? the public sector cannot afford the costs," he says. But the private sector will only fund flood defences if they have a vested interest in them. For instance, a company could be convinced to foot the bill if the government gave it low-lying land to develop into residential or commercial property.
"This is fine as long as you know exactly how the floods are going to happen," says McGranahan. "But if you get it wrong then you've brought more people to the zone immediately behind the flood barrier."
Life's a beach
In China, he says the key thing is the rate at which populations are moving to coastal cities. He points out that the infrastructure investment in coastal cities in China is "enormous", and, in the long term, is putting large populations at risk.
View a map of coastal urban populations in China.
The proportion of African cities that are on the coast is 12% ? higher than the global average of 7%, and is partly due to the fact that colonial rulers stuck mostly to the accessible coasts.
Living on the edge
The new maps, published in Environment and Urbanization on 28 March, are the result of a massive effort to gather 2002 population censuses from around the world.
The 10 countries with the largest number of people living within the at-risk zone are: China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Egypt, the US, Thailand, and the Philippines.
The 10 countries with the largest share of their population living within 10 m of sea level are: Bahamas (88% of population); Suriname (76%); Netherlands (74%); Vietnam (55%); Guyana (55%); Bangladesh (46%); Djibouti (41%); Belize (40%); Egypt (38%); and the Gambia (38%).
Journal reference: Environment and Urbanization (DOI: 10.1177/0956247807076960)
Climate Change - Want to know more about global warming ? the science, impacts and political debate? Visit our continually updated special report.
Related Articles
* China and US at highest risk of damage from asteroids
* http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11467
* 27 March 2007
* Ice sheet complexity leaves sea level rise uncertain
* http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11396
* 16 March 2007
* Sea level rise outpacing key predictions
* http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11083
* 01 February 2007
Weblinks
* Gordon McGranahan, International Institute for Environment and Development
* http://www.iied.org/aboutiied/HR/staff/bios/mcgranahan.html
* International Institute for Environment and Development
* http://www.iied.org/
* Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
* http://www.ipcc.ch/
* Environment and Urbanization
* http://eau.sagepub.com/
What am I denying Ecopal?