Signs From Earth

Solid oxide fuel cells from secretive "Bloom Energy" in "Who Needs the Grid?" (via @theatlantic)

2009-11-10T17:28:17-05:00

Frame from 2005 presentation by "Ion America" to U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy (link to pdf below) http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200912/wallace-energy "A new fuel cell technology may revolutionize access to cheap, clean energy." "In the boardroom at Bloom Energy, a single picture hangs on the wall: a satellite image of the...

Leading up to UN Summit: "Food self-sufficiency ‘is a nonsense’" (via @financialtimes)

2009-11-10T08:18:04-05:00

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bad4d152-cd53-11de-8162-00144feabdc0.html "The drive towards self-sufficiency in response to last year's food crisis will fail, a top executive at Cargill has warned, adding that the idea that countries "can be self-sufficient in every single food is a nonsense". "The warning by the world's largest trader of agricultural commodities comes ahead of...

Climate Adaptation for Seeds: Botanists Debate Benefits of Assisted Migration (via @nytimes)

2009-11-10T06:42:33-05:00

Black-eyed susan near Chicago. Scientists debate whether "assisted migration" will be beneficial to survival of plant species in a time of rapid climate and habitat change. Photo by Bogdog Dan/flickr A Hunt for Seeds to Save Species, Perhaps by Helping Them Move http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/science/earth/10plant.html "...scientists from the botanic garden are sending...

Gathering Seeds from Across the Land to Save Them for Potential Future MIgration (via @nytimes)

2009-11-09T23:38:27-05:00

Botanists Debate the Benefits of Assisted Migration: A Hunt for Seeds to Save Species, Perhaps by Helping Them Move http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/science/earth/10plant.html "...scientists from the botanic garden are sending teams out across the Midwest and West to the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin to collect seeds from different populations of 1,500 prairie...

Ocean as Trash Dump: Researchers Explore Growing Ocean Garbage Patches (via @nytimes)

2009-11-09T23:32:34-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/science/10patch.html "...Scientists say the (Pacific) garbage patch is just one of five that may be caught in giant gyres scattered around the world's oceans. Abandoned fishing gear like buoys, fishing line and nets account for some of the waste, but other items come from land after washing into storm drains...

Photo of Earth's Horizon: Thunderstorms over Western Brazil (via @NASA_EO)

2009-11-09T07:21:07-05:00

"A picturesque line of thunderstorms and numerous circular cloud patterns filled the view as the International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 20 crew members looked out at the limb (blue line on the horizon) of the Earth. The region shown in the astronaut photograph (top image) includes an unstable, active atmosphere...

The Jobless Rate for People Like You: Interactive Graphic (via @nytimes.com and @flowingdata)

2009-11-09T06:57:56-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/06/business/economy/unemployment-lines.html Posted via email from Signs From Earth Notes

Signs From Earth is one: 100 Great Blogs for Green Students (from Online Universities)

2009-11-09T06:49:52-05:00

Signs From Earth http://www.signsfromearth.com has been named one of the 100 Great Blogs for Green Students. This recognition for the "news" category comes from Online Universities.com. See all 100 here: http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2009/11/100-great-blogs-for-green-students/ = Posted via email from Signs From Earth Notes

NASA's James Hansen: Nov. 6 letter and "Global Warming Time Bomb" presentation to Club of Rome

2009-11-08T08:09:51-05:00

Nov. 6 Letter: http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2009/20091106_MyBaby.pdf Oct. 26 Presentation: http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2009/ClubOfRome_20091026.pdf Dr. Hansen's website: http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/ = Posted via email from Signs From Earth Notes

Climate Lobby: Follow journalists tracking money flow against climate treaty (@climatelobby @publici)

2009-11-08T07:54:15-05:00

Map of global Carbon Emissions in 2005, part of a report on attempts to influence international climate treaties at the Center for Public Integrity. http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/global_climate_change_lobby/map/ The Global Climate Change Lobby Investigation: http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/global_climate_change_lobby/ Key Findings: http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/global_climate_change_lobby/key-findings "Starting in July 2009, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists fielded an eight-country team of...

Hyperbole Obscuring Reality: "Climate wars looming" (via Mail & Guardian & RT@geoffdabelko)

2009-11-08T06:42:43-05:00

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-11-06-climate-wars-looming Johannesburg Mail & Guardian "Climate Wars Looming" "A changing climate is increasingly becoming a threat to world peace and stability, security and military experts have warned." Yolani Groenewald: "As resources such as land, food and water become more scarce because of the impact of climate change, there are bound...

Financial Times on Al Gore's book, Our Choice: A top-ranking environmental book of our time (via @FT)

2009-11-07T22:59:29-05:00

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/8f0d2518-ca62-11de-a3a3-00144feabdc0.html "...Many of Gore's ideas are inevitably familiar, but the clarity of his argument and the fissile power of his analysis combine to elevate Our Choice into the top-ranking environmental books of our time. "Above all, Gore's magisterial way with words should administer the electric shock required to defibrillate policymakers...

As the Trees Go, So Go the People: Ecosystem in Peru Loses a Key Ally (via @nytimes)

2009-11-07T22:29:07-05:00

A few branchy huarango trees can be seen at the back edge of an Atacama desert oasis near Ica, Peru. Remnants of disappearing Peruvian huarango forests are coveted for their charcoal and firewood. Recent research indicates that by cutting down all their trees the ancient Peruvian Nazca people precipitated their...

Too Much of a Good Thing: Our Costly Nitrogen Fix (via @YaleE360 @seedmag @mitpress @naturenews @sciencemagazine)

2009-11-07T08:37:41-05:00

From Nature Magazine: (based on graphic from Stockholm Resilience Center, see below) The inner green shading represents the proposed safe operating space for nine planetary systems. The red wedges represent an estimate of the current position for each variable. The boundaries in three systems (rate of biodiversity loss, climate change...

Skip the Sun: Using LEDs to grow algae for biofuels in abandoned Missouri mines (via @greeninc @greenwire)

2009-11-07T07:32:52-05:00

http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2009/11/02/8 "...Researchers at the Missouri University of Science and Technology are planning to grow algae for fuel in abandoned mines using light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. "About this time in the conversation, someone usually raises their hand and says, 'But it's dark,'" said David Summers, a mining engineering professor. "That's not...