Thursday, February 7, 2008

Ethanol adds to global warming

Ethanol adds to global warming

The widespread use of ethanol from corn could result in nearly twice the greenhouse gas emissions as the gasoline it would replace because of expected land-use changes, researchers concluded Thursday. The study challenges the rush to biofuels as a response to global warming.

The researchers said that past studies showing the benefits of ethanol in combating climate change have not taken into account almost certain changes in land use worldwide if ethanol from corn — and in the future from other feedstocks such as switchgrass — become a prized commodity.
"Using good cropland to expand biofuels will probably exacerbate global warming," concludes the study published in Science magazine.
The researchers said that farmers under economic pressure to produce biofuels will increasingly "plow up more forest or grasslands," releasing much of the carbon formerly stored in plants and soils through decomposition or fires. Globally, more grasslands and forests will be converted to growing the crops to replace the loss of grains when U.S. farmers convert land to biofuels, the study said.

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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

California to Control Global Warming

A bold proposal to control global warming gases from California automobiles was pulled Tuesday as the Assembly cut off debate on measures carried over from last year.

Assemblyman Ira Ruskin (D-Redwood City) said he would reintroduce the California Clean Car Discount Act next month with unspecified amendments that he hopes will satisfy undecided Assembly members. The bill would impose one-time surcharges of up to $2,500 on gas guzzlers and use the money to give rebates on cars and light trucks that emit less carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.Ruskin said he was about four votes short of the total needed to pass the bill, which was strongly opposed by auto dealers and manufacturers.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Global warming a hoax

As a plant scientist, I am concerned that Idaho and most states are planning to limit and reduce Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions. This is being done to supposedly reduce global warming. The states are adopting the 1997 Kyoto Climate Treaty which the U.S. Senate rejected 95-0 because it would destroy our economy while exempting developing nations like China which do not control pollution.CO2 is not a pollutant and is not causing global warming. CO2 is necessary for life on the planet, as plants utilize CO2 to produce the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat! Global warming now and cooling of the 40’s to mid-seventies is caused by solar activity. We have an active sun now! The earth has been warming for 300 years with most of the increase prior to increased CO2 levels.
Also, 279 research project reports have shown that increasing CO2 increases crop production. Higher levels of CO2 is creating a lush environment for plants and animals and will improve the health (more oxygen), longevity and prosperity of all people.Over 20,000 U.S. scientists have signed a petition opposing man-caused global warming and the benefits of increased CO2 levels, but the mass media totally ignore them. John Coleman, founder of The Weather Channel, stated that man-caused global warming is the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on mankind.The biased United Nation’s panel and Al Gore are promoting a lie to scare us into a U.N. global government. The bottom line is that we need to produce more energy, not less. We have a 300 year U.S. supply of crude oil and unlimited nuclear power. There is no scientific reason to limit CO2 production because it is not causing global warming!

Friday, January 18, 2008

Global Warming Rally in Annapolis

Maryland's governor has vowed to be a leader in confronting global warming - and several environmental groups plan to rally in Annapolis Thursday for action on climate change.The League of Conservation Voters and other groups plan a morning rally outside the State House calling for action to reduce greenhouse gases blamed for causing global warming. Governor Martin O'Malley put together a task force last year that recommended the nation's most ambitious carbon cap. But so far O'Malley has not proposed any bills related to climate change.

There are a few related bills already before lawmakers. One House member has proposed legal protections for solar panels, so that homeowners association couldn't ban them. There is also a bill to encourage more energy efficient buildings.

Google philanthropy targets global warming

philanthropic arm on Thursday said it is taking aim at global warming, poverty, and pandemics with millions in cash and the Internet giant's global resources

Initiatives announced on Thursday join a Google goal to come up with a renewable energy source is cheaper than coal.
"We can't win the battle to preserve Earth's atmosphere unless the oil and the coal stay in the ground," Brilliant said. "We need to find a way to make renewable energy at such a low cost that it becomes the choice of everyone."
Google.org is investing 10 million dollars in eSolar, a California company that uses solar heat to generate electricity in utility-grade power plants.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Media Promotes Global Warming Alarmism

About this time last year, Dr. Phil Jones, head of the Climatic Research Unit of East Anglia University in Britain, predicted 2007 would be the warmest year on record

It didn't turn out that way. 2007 was only the 9th warmest year since global temperature readings were first made in 1861.
2007 was also the coldest year of this century, noted Czech physicist Lubos Motl.
Both global warming alarmists like Dr. Jones and skeptics like Dr. Motl forecast that this year will be slightly cooler than last year. If so, that means it will be a decade since the high water mark in global temperature was set in 1998.
And the trend line is down. Average global temperature in 2007 was lower than for 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 and 2001. November of last year was the coldest month since January of 2000, and December was colder still. "Global warming has stopped," said David Whitehouse, former science editor for the BBC. "It's not a viewpoint or a skeptic's inaccuracy. It's an observational fact."
But observational fact matters little to global warming alarmists, particularly to those in the news media. "In 2008, your television will bring you image after image of natural havoc linked to global warming," said John Tierney, who writes a science column for the New York Times. "You will be told that such bizarre weather must be a sign of dangerous climate change -- and that these images are a mere preview of what's in store unless we act quickly to cool the planet."
"Global warming can mean colder, it can mean drier, it can mean wetter," said Steven Guibeault of Greenpeace. There is no dispute among scientists that the planet warmed about 0.3 degrees Celsius between 1980 and 1998. What is in dispute is what caused the warming, and whether it will continue. The alarmists say the warming was caused chiefly by emissions of carbon dioxide from our automobiles and factories, and that, consequently, it will continue at an ever increasing rate unless we humans change our behavior. The skeptics say the warming trend was caused chiefly by natural cycles, and that it is at or near its end.
"The earth is at the peak of one of its passing warm spells," said Dr. Oleg Sorokhtin of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. It'll start getting cold by 2012, and really, really cold around 2041, he predicts.
The news media promote global warming alarmism through selective reporting. Dr. Roger Pielke of the University of Colorado noted that a paper published in an obscure scientific journal that argued there was a link between hurricanes and global warming generated 79 news articles, while a paper that debunked the connection published in a far more prestigious journal generated only three.
"When the Arctic sea ice last year hit the lowest level ever recorded by satellites, it was big news and heralded as a sign the planet was warming," Mr. Tierney wrote. "When the Antarctic sea ice last year reached the highest level ever recorded by satellites, it was pretty much ignored."
Two studies published last year which indicated the melting of Arctic sea ice was due more to cyclical changes in ocean currents and winds than to planetary warming also attracted little attention, Mr. Tierney noted.
And though the record melting of Arctic sea ice this summer was widely reported, the record growth of Arctic sea ice this fall (58,000 square miles of ice each day for 10 straight days) was not.
More than 400 scientists -- many of them members of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change -- challenge the claims of the leading global warming alarmist, former Vice President and now Nobel laureate Al Gore, said a report issued by the Republicans on the U.S. Senate's Environment and Public Works committee last month. Kailee Kreider, a spokeswoman for Mr. Gore, said there criticisms should be discounted because 25 or 30 of the scientists may have received funding from the Exxon Mobil Corp.
It's Mr. Gore who is the crook, says French physicist Claude Allegre in a new book. He's made millions in an eco-business based on phony science, Dr. Allegre charges.
Mr. Gore isn't alone, says Weather Channel founder John Coleman: "Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create an illusion of rapid global warming," Mr. Coleman wrote. "Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going...In time, in a decade or two, the outrageous scam will be obvious."

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Tips to Curb GlobalWarming

Drive Smart!


A well-tuned car with properly inflated tires burns less gasoline—cutting pollution and saving you money at the pump. If you have two cars, drive the one with better gas mileage whenever possible. Better yet, skip the drive and take public transit, walk, or bicycle when you can.