A-Z of Global Warming Blog.

2012-01-22T15:17:00.000-08:00

Amazon.com Widgets

Arctic Methane Release Fears

2011-12-27T17:00:00.000-08:00

Dramatic and unprecedented plumes of methane – a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide – have been seen bubbling to the surface of the Arctic Ocean by scientists undertaking an extensive survey of the region.

The scale and volume of the methane release has astonished the head of the Russian research team who has been surveying the seabed of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf off northern Russia for nearly 20 years. .....read more from The Independent.

Impact Point: Action-Adventure Thriller

2011-12-27T16:56:00.000-08:00

MYSTERIOUS WHALE DEATHS…

When the World’s largest ever creature – a blue whale – dies in front of Robert Spire on his local Welsh beach, the UKs Department of the Environment and local population are ill prepared. When a second whale washes up dead on Myrtle Beach on the opposite side of the Atlantic, the scientific community starts asking questions.

A QUEST FOR METEORITE FRAGMENTS…

Environmental lawyer Robert Spire; newly recruited to the UKs Global Environmental Command Unit – GLENCOM, flies over to South Carolina to investigate. Whilst there, he meets marine biologist Dr Sally Rivea, also assigned to the case. Meanwhile, ex-marine Travis Dexter is on the run in Nevada after he discovers the body of his employer – philanthropist Julian Smithies- murdered in his home. The only object missing is a recently discovered, rare and valuable meteorite.

A FUTURE GLOBAL CATACLYSM…

On the island of Andros In the Bahamas, four sport divers make a startling discovery at the bottom of Mystery Cave blue hole. Sixty miles offshore in the Caribbean Sea, drilling on the Proteus oil rig turns to disaster as the drill penetrates something hard on the ocean floor. Dr Rivea, at a loss to explain the high levels of the mineral olivine in the whale’s tissue samples, accompanies Spire to the Caribbean in search of answers, but what they discover doesn’t bear thinking about…

Coming January 2012

Tipping Point: Action-Adventure Thriller

2011-12-27T16:50:00.000-08:00

Review
"Simon Rosser's scientific and psychological thriller "Tipping Point" is one of the best I have read in the past decade. He has a gift for fluent narrative, realistic characterisation and for creating settings that come vividly to life for the reader. He blends tension and suspense very successfully against the contemporary background of global warming and its sinister implications.
--Author, TV presenter and Priest Lionel Fanthorpe -
Product Description
With news recently out that the Arctic’s sea ice may be at its lowest ever recorded level following the summer 2011 melt season, Tipping Point is an adventure thriller that couldn’t be timelier…

TWO DEAD CLIMATOLOGISTS

When eminent climatologist Dr Dale Stanton - in the process of studying the Atlantic Ocean’s Thermohaline Circulation - is found dead in his London apartment, environmental lawyer Robert Spire is given the task to administer a large legacy left to global warming organisations. The job should have been straightforward, until a second climatologist, Dr Jack Bannister drops dead on the other side of the Atlantic.

AN INTERNATIONAL CONSPIRACY

Spire’s client - suspicious of her son’s death - asks him to travel to San Francisco to investigate Dr Jack Bannister’s death. Whilst there, he meets French Climatologist Professor Francois Trimaud who is working on a geoengineering project to seed the Arctic Ocean with an experimental substance - the aim, to prevent, or at least slow the Arctic’s melting ice. Spire soon discovers that someone has other plans for the region and wants the climatologists dead at all costs.

A LOOMING ECOLOGICAL DISASTER

As evidence of increased glacial melt in Greenland and reduction in the Arctic ice mounts, Spire becomes determined to join Trimaud on the research vessel, Mercure Blanc on a joint US/French expedition to the Arctic. He soon finds however, that the lives of all on board are in peril as he discovers a plan that threatens to push the Arctic to its tipping point and the Earth to disaster…

Tipping Point : The facts behind the fiction.

2011-07-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

TIPPING POINT: The facts behind the fiction

Without giving away too many book spoilers, I thought I’d write a brief blog for anyone who may be wondering if there is any truth behind the themes in my action-adventure thriller TIPPING POINT.

Tipping Point, of the title refers to the point at which an irreversible melting of the Arctic’s ice pack occurs. Other themes explored in the novel are geoengineering, peak oil, the ocean thermohaline circulation and Greenland’s ice sheet melting! Whilst Robert Spire is left to solve the deaths of the climatologists in the book, do these themes have any basis in science fact? Let’s have a look in more detail.

The Arctic.

Tipping Point explores the underlying theme that the Arctic is melting from global warming. Each year the ice pack covering the Arctic melts and retreats during the summer and freezes over again in the winter, with its maximum melt each year in September. Data from the National Snow and Ice Data Centre reveals that Arctic ice cover is on a downward trend. 2007 was the lowest recorded level, but 2011 looks likely to set a new record low. Scientists predict the Arctic may be ice free during the summer between 2013 and 2019, a startling and worrying fact. This would mean the opening of the fabled Northwest Passage - a route between the Atlantic and the Pacific - and give more opportunities for countries and companies to plunder the riches the Arctic has to offer.

Geoengineering

In the book, French climatologist Francois Trimaud has developed a specialised form of iron sulphate to fertilise the Arctic Ocean, in order to slow down and reverse the Arctic’s melting ice by increasing Arctic albedo (reflectivity) levels. The experimental substance contains a whitening pigment called Blankoplankton.
Scientists are indeed looking at ways to geoengineer the Earth’s climate to solve, or reduce the effects of global warming. Iron fertilisation of the oceans is one method.

Peak Oil.

A theme explored in Tipping Point is the possibility that the World’s oil resources are running out, that supplies have reached a peak and are now on a downward curve. This theory was proposed by M King Hubbert, and he successfully predicted that the USA would reach its peak oil production in the early 1970s. Has this now happened with Saudi Arabia’s oil supplies?

Ocean Thermohaline Circulation.

In Tipping Point, the book opens with UK climatologist Dr Dale Stanton’s untimely death, preventing him delivering a talk on the Atlantic Oceans thermohaline circulation. The OTC or great ocean conveyor as it is known, is an important ocean current which brings warm water up from the Equator to the east coast of the USA and Europe in the form of the North Atlantic Drift and Gulf Stream. The film ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ is based on the premise of the current suddenly failing, heralding in a new ice-age.
The UKs RAPID-WATCH project measures the rate or flow of the ocean current to assess whether its strength is changing. This project runs until 2014.

During a period called the Younger Dryas, a significant shutdown of the current is thought to have caused a rapid decline from relatively warmer conditions back to ice-age conditions in a blink of an eye in climactic terms. A huge influx of fresh water from Lake Agassiz is thought to have been the possible cause. The fresh water flowing into the Atlantic would have disrupted the ocean flow by interfering with its thermohaline conveyor system.
Scientists are concerned that an increase in fresh water flowing into the Atlantic from Greenland’s melting ice sheets could once again disrupt the Thermo (heat) and haline (salt) engine that drives this essential current.

Greenland Melting?

A back story in Tipping Point is the fact that a huge glacier on Greenland is melting, which causes isotactic adjustment of the Greenland continent underneath. Research does indeed show that Greenland glacier ice-melt is accelerating.

These are the facts, now if you fancy a thrilling action-adventure, why don’t YOU read TIPPING POINT?

7 ways to conserve water for your swimming pool...

2011-07-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

If you have one!!

Saving Planet Earth

2011-06-26T02:38:00.000-07:00

My new business cards arrived last week - the ones which have "Tipping Point, A Robert Spire Thriller," printed on them. I put a few in my wallet, thinking, you never know, they might come in handy.

Coming to the end of another weekend in the middle of July, i'm looking out of the window and i ask myself, where is our summer? It's the middle of July, but the weather is lousy. Mind you, in the UK it's supposed to be a scorching 27 degrees Celsius today...wow! Not bad for the middle of summer. Mid-summers day was like mid-winter. So what's going on?

Are we just having another bad summer? Have we already had our summer? The weather in April and May was fantastic. Or, is something more sinister going on? Could it be the dreaded G.W word, I'm talking about global warming, you know, climate change.

I recall years ago...I'm thinking back to the 1970s and early 1980s when we used to have long hot summers and cold, snowy winters here in the UK, but no more. Summer is usually wet, what we have of it usually appears in April and May, and at Christmas time, well now you can wear a T-shirt and not catch a chill!

Not only that, but there's not a day that goes by without a story in the news about global warming causing melting ice caps, rising sea levels, Arctic methane release, melting the Arctic, ocean acidification, increasing co2 levels - yes they measure these from Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii and deforestation. These are just some of the consequences.

The planet appears to be doomed. Not only that, but today i find out that an NEO or Near Earth Object, an asteroid in this case will pass within 7500 miles of the Earth on Monday 27th June! This thing was only discovered recently, and will pass within Earth's geosynchronous satellite population before accelerating back out to space, pretty close eh? And that's not the only one. These things are zipping by all the time. What about all the others that haven't been discovered yet?

So, with this all in mind, I decided i needed a drink. I went out to a local bar and was enjoying a few drinks when an attractive red-head came up to me. She asked, "Have you got a light please?"

I looked into her green eyes and thought, damn, would have been a good time to have a pack of cigarettes, or at least a lighter with me, even though i don't smoke. I said, "sorry, no," but quickly remembered an old booklet of matches i had in my pocket. "Actually, i have," i said, handing her the booklet. "But you shouldn't smoke you know, its bad for you, and bad for the planet."

"What do you mean?" She asked, looking amused.

"Global warming," I joked.

"I used to think that was rubbish," she said, "but now i really do think something is going on, i mean look at the weather, middle of summer and its terrible!"

I couldn't help joining her for a cigarette, wanting to chat more about the topic, so followed her outside. After two cigarettes - which i felt extremely guilty about - and a depressing chat about saving planet Earth from the perils of global warming and asteroid collision, she said to me;

"So, if the is Earth doomed, who can save us, the X-Men, The Green Lantern, Transformers?"

I said, "They are all comic book heroes, but Robert Spire would certainly have a go."

"Robert Spire?" She said. "Who's he?"

I pulled out my wallet and handed her my card.

Crikey...! Newly Discovered Asteroid Skims Earth Monday 27th June 2011

2011-06-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

New Mexico robotic telescopes have picked up a newly discovered asteroid which will zoom by Earth at 7500 miles distant Monday 27th June. NASA says it poses no threat to Earth however. How many more undiscovered space rocks are out there?

Tipping Point Thriller - Out Now On Kindle

2011-06-25T02:09:00.000-07:00

Environmental lawyer Robert Spire's life is turned upside down following the death of UK climatologist Dr. Dale Stanton after he discovers he has been appointed as an executor in his will. A second climatologist drops dead in San Francisco...could the deaths be linked?

Fast paced action-thriller with an environmental theme, Tipping Point introduces Robert Spire in his first adventure. Time is ticking...the stakes are global...ecological disaster looms.

Tipping Point Thriller

2011-06-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

Two dead climatologists...A ruthless female Russian assassin...A joint US/French geoengineering experiment to seed the Arctic Ocean...An unexpected appointment in a will turns environmental lawyer Robert Spire's life upside down. Time is ticking...The stakes are global...disaster looms.

TIPPING POINT THRILLER - OUT NOW AMAZON KINDLE.

Worlds Oceans At Tipping Point

2011-06-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

Scientists discover that the Worlds oceans are at a tipping point and that marine species are at a high risk of entering an extinction phase, spelling disaster for humanity...

Tipping Point

2011-06-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

New thriller Tipping Point revolves around a plot to geo-engineer the Arctic Ocean with an experimental iron sulphate in order to reduce or slow global warming in the region by increasing the Arctic's albedo - ability to reflect light.

The plot follows Robert Spire, environmental lawyer as he investigates the death of UK climatologist Dr Dale Stanton who mysteriously drops dead whilst working on a project looking into the Atlantic Ocean's Thermohaline Circution.

Out now on Kindle.

Scientists Reveal Geoengineering Ideas To Tackle Global Warming

2011-06-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

Reflecting the sun's light back into space and using iron filings in the world's oceans are some of the ideas...

April - USA Hit By Extreme Weather.

2011-06-18T05:39:00.000-07:00

US scientists say that the weather extremes experienced in the USA during April 2011, never before seen in one month... a combination of tornadoes, wildfires, flooding and drought have all hit...

Tipping Point Thriller - Kindle Book.

2011-06-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

Disaster looms in the Arctic, An eminent climatologist drops dead in his London apartment, followed by a second in San Francisco. Appointed executor and lawyer, Robert Spire is about to have his life turned upside down…

Tipping Point Thriller, just released on the Kindle at £2.99. The book follows Robert Spire as he is tasked by his client to find a home to a large legacy left to global warming organisations. The action takes place in Wales, London, San Francisco, Paris and the Arctic as Spire hunts for clues to the climatologists deaths.

Tipping Point

2011-06-04T05:52:00.000-07:00

"Simon Rosser's scientific and psychological thriller "Tipping Point" is one of the best I have read in the past decade. He has a gift for fluent narrative, realistic characterisation and for creating settings that come vividly to life for the reader. He blends tension and suspense very successfully against the contemporary background of global warming and its sinister implications.
-Author, TV presenter and Priest Lionel Fanthorpe -

Tipping Point Thriller - Teaser Trailer

2011-06-04T05:22:00.000-07:00

Tipping Point Thriller - Trailer

2011-06-04T05:13:00.000-07:00

Watch the trialer... buy the book now on AMAZON

Tipping Point Thriller

2011-06-04T05:05:00.000-07:00

Tipping Point thriller now available on Amazon Kindle.

Ecological disaster looms in the Arctic. Two eminent climatologists mysteriously drop dead on both sides of the Atlantic. Appointed executor and environmental lawyer Robert Spire sets out to investigate, but soon realises his life is in danger as he uncovers a conspiracy with far reaching global implications...
Robert Spire is contacted by Doris Stanton, mother of the late UK climatologist Dr. Dale Stanton, with a request he finds a suitable home for her dead son's legacy - a large sum left to global warming organisations.

He sets off to Southampton's oceanography centre to investigate. The task seems pretty much solved; until a second climatologist drops dead in California, whilst attending a climate change conference.

Spire's investigations take him from Wales and London to San Francisco, Paris and finally the Arctic, where he joins French climatologist, Professor Francois Trimaud on a joint US/French expedition to seed the Arctic Ocean with an experimental substance, with the aim of preventing the Arctic's ice from melting further and slowing global warming in the region.

Spire soon discovers that someone wants the climatologists silenced at all costs. Time is ticking... the stakes are global... environmental disaster looms...

"Simon Rosser's scientific and psychological thriller "Tipping Point" is one of the best I have read in the past decade. He has a gift for fluent narrative, realistic characterisation and for creating settings that come vividly to life for the reader. He blends tension and suspense very successfully against the contemporary background of global warming and its sinister implications.
-Author, TV presenter and Priest Lionel Fanthorpe -

Arctic and Greenland Ice Melt Accelerate

2011-05-29T14:07:00.000-07:00

The ice in Greenland and the Arctic is melting faster than expected, perhaps raising sea levels by as much as 5 feet this century, a new report finds...

Melting ice-sheets fuelling sea level rise - warns NASA.

2011-04-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

Melting ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland could overtake mountain glaciers as the main contributors to rising sea levels, US scientists say.

A study lasting nearly 20 years has revealed that huge amounts of melted ice are pouring into the oceans...read more.

Melting glaciers

2011-04-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

Mountain glaciers found to be melting at record rates...

"The glaciers have lost a lot less ice up until 30 years ago than had been thought. The real killer is that the rate of loss has gone up 100 times above the long-term average. It's scary," said Professor Glasser, who carried out the study with the University of Exeter and Stockholm University.

Extreme Rain Link To Global Warming

2011-02-19T02:02:00.000-08:00

Scientists running sophisticated computer models are beginning to link increased greenhouse gasses - caused by man's burning of fossil fuels - with increased rainfall events.

"The British study focused on flooding in England and Wales in the fall of 2000. The disaster cost more than $1.7 billion in insured damages and was the wettest autumn for the region in more than 230 years of record-keeping. Researchers found that global warming more than doubled the likelihood of that flood occurring."

Amazon Drought Link To Global Warming

2011-02-19T01:49:00.000-08:00

The trees and vegetation of the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil soak up massive amounts of CO2 - a greenhouse gas responsible for global warming - but also release massive amounts when they die. Two major droughts there in 2005 and 2010 have caused the Amazon to be a source of CO2 not a sink, potentially fueling further global warming.

"The combined emissions caused by the two droughts were probably enough to have canceled out the carbon absorbed by the forest over the past 10 years, the study found."

Wet Weather And Floods - Global Warming Or Not?

2011-01-15T01:44:00.000-08:00

2010 is likely to be on par with the warmest years on record, and whilst a warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor, La Nina is likely to be the cause of the latest Australian floods.

"Scientists have emphasised that none of the three extreme weather events occurring now can be linked directly to global warming. Two of them, the floods in Australia and Sri Lanka, may be connected with a naturally occurring climatic phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean, called La Niña, whereas the landslides in Brazil are the result of heavy, localised downpours falling on badly constructed homes built precariously on steep hillsides.

It is almost certain that La Niña is behind the Queensland floods. La Niña, which means "little girl", is a change in the Pacific Ocean where a body of relatively cold water wells up over the equatorial region, causing a corresponding build-up of warm water in the western regions near Indonesia and Australia.

This warm water usually dissipates to the east in non-La Niña years. This year, however, is the strongest La Niña since 1974, and the warm water around Australia and Indonesia, with nowhere to escape, has generated heavy rain clouds that have burst over Queensland.

In 1974, when Queensland also suffered heavy flooding, La Niña was stronger then than at any time on record. Sri Lanka remained dry that time, but this time there is evidence that some of the warm moist air has blown further west, just nudging Sri Lanka into torrential downpours, according to Adam Scaife, head of long-range forecasting at the Met Office.

"Rainfall is expected to increase in a warmer world but in this case it's linked with the La Niña cycle. It's a natural cycle and we don't expect it to change in the future. This is not a climate-change issue, it's La Niña, and it's happened before and will happen again," Dr Scaife said.

Equally, the rain around Rio is associated with a typical weather system in the South Atlantic. Here the issue has centred on the lack of urban planning." Independent newspaper.