High-Tech Kite Used to Fight Changing Climate

Thousands of merchant ships transport 90% of the world’s oil, gas, coal, grains, and other goods across the high seas and around the globe. With this being said; the burning of fossil fuels to keep the merchant ships going are one of the major contributors to the increase of carbon dioxide levels into the atmosphere and adding to the rapidly changing climates. A German company called SkySails has finally had enough and developed a propulsion kite that will use wind as power and hopefully help to save the planet.

The first of these kites is over 400 feet long and cost $725,000. Flying three hundred meters above the water, it will haul the ship MV Beluga SkySails forward. By using this new high tech kite system, it will cause the ships to maintain use of their diesel engines and cut the use of fuel by at least 20%. Their current theory is the bigger the kite, the bigger the cut of fuel usage.

Skysails’ is looking to prepare over a thousand ships with these kites by 2015, but why wait so long to do that? Climate change is rapidly approaching and we need to act now and we need to act quickly. The maiden voyage of the original SkySails kite will be sometime this month across the Atlantic Ocean with its destination being Venezula. Well, it’s the first month of 2008 and this first voyage will give the developers a chance to find the kinks and bugs and develop a way to repair them, which of course can take time. But, if there are no problems and everything is a go, then why wait seven years to add them to ships? Seven years could be a great deal of help to our climate’s condition.

Even though Skysails’ have a great product that will greatly help our lives, money is still what fuels the world. Within the upcoming years, many companies are threatening that businesses will have to cut their emissions or will have to pay some type of fine or fee. Yes, this high tech kite will save merchant ship companies a lot of money, however when the future of our planet is concerned, I really think money should be thrown out the window.

European researchers have concluded that the emissions of carbon dioxide by shipping are double that of aviation, making their harsh contribution at a global total of 5% and rising. In October 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered shipping companies to order them to lower pollution caused by their ships. Many people never took this seriously and underestimated the actual effects that ships are causing onto our climate, until recently.

Scientists have confirmed that half of all of the carbon dioxide that is man made is absorbed by our oceans. As the absorption of carbon dioxide in our oceans climb, the thriving marine life decline.

In conclusion, with the shipping industry throwing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and oceans by the hundreds of millions of tons, at the rate we are going the number will enter the billions in the next few years and we shouldn’t have to wait until the price is right for shipping companies to start contributing in the safety of our planet, because at the rate we are going there may not be one left.…

Climate Change

How many times have you been told you need to help stop climate change (supposedly single handedly)? I’m willing to bet it’ll be in the dozens. It appears that whenever you need to carry out a task, be it a simple, every-day task or a complicated scheme, the impacts of this task on climate change need to be considered, because we all need to ‘save the planet’ from our oh so disgusting and piteous selves.

The people that are telling you that you need to ‘save the planet’ and ‘think of the polar bears’ are usually single, middle aged women who have no job and nothing better to do than protest about something that they clearly haven’t thought through.

All it takes is a few minutes skim reading a brief summary of the earth’s history, and even an idiot can tell that the process the earth is going through at the moment – or about to enter fully – is entirely natural. We haven’t broken the planet, we haven’t messed it up as a species, all we’ve done is sped up an entirely natural process which we should easily be able to cope with and adapt to.

The protesters will tell you that when we enter the next ice age, we’re all going to be doomed, so we must start recycling paper and farting less. Firstly, we are still technically in an ice age, so already you’re hearing a falsehood. Secondly, if humanity has survived countless other ‘ice ages’ before now, and emerged intact, I seriously doubt that with our technology and infrastructure that we possess at the moment, we won’t be able to survive a bit of ice. Having said that, my doubts about humanity’s future increase every day. All it takes is anything Hannah Montana themed (amongst many other things) to crush any optimism before it has even germinated.

At the full extent of the ‘last ice age’, not all of the planet was covered with ice as you may have been led to believe. There were still plenty of areas of land with no ice covering them. In fact, the ice didn’t even extend to the very south of England. Indeed, it will become much colder all over the world, but we can easily adapt. Unfortunately for supposed lesser species, they lack the brainpower to adapt nearly as quickly as us humans and many species will die, which is extremely undesirable. Animals are cute. They keep us company. But it’s a natural process, and more should evolve to replace them – as went the entire history of life on earth before now. It’s not as if humans are wiping our every shred of life on the planet other than our own. Evolution will occur, more animals will appear (albeit in a long time), it’s that simple.

Everyone has become so caught up with ‘saving the planet’ that the measures they take interfere with basic practicality. You can’t print anything any more, because that one piece of paper you use from a pack of several hundred will definitely result in an impossibly high amount of trees being cut down. All your fault, Mr. Smith from London. The Amazonian villagers and polar bears will commit their lives to tracking you down and destroying you. There’s no escape.…

Climate Lessons for U.S. From Down Under

Australia has seen the light and is ripping up its economy-wrecking climate change policies.

Conservative Tony Abbott won last weekend’s election, having run on a platform that would scrap Australia’s carbon tax. His election brought in a new government that rejects the hype of manmade global warming. Australia will now climb out from under that economy-killing gorilla.

According to New Scientist, Abbott declared that “the climate change argument is absolute crap.” Accordingly, the new leadership has several actions planned. Among them is disbanding the country’s Climate Commission and redirecting funds away from “ridiculous research.” On this, Abbot was speaking of studies that inquired into “I,” better known as understanding one’s self. Such research sounds like so many of the self-obliging subjects that are studied when global warming research fails to yield some impending climate catastrophe.

Speaking of science, Australian scientists abjectly objected to the politicization of science. It’s representative body opined that government should not be in the business of picking and choosing research areas nor funding the favorites. Like America, Australia supported the studies that supported global warming.

But that is about to end. Australia regained its senses with the institution of conservative leadership. Unlike America, wasting unavailable funds and diving deeper into debt and recession will no longer be what Australia is about. The stranglehold of the greens has given way to the clear thinking of leaders interested more in prosperity than propensity for doom.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if American leaders thought so too?…

Climate

Even when the climate
is very hot and you’re tired
of preaching and you
feel no one is listening-

Keep going! 
Drink the water of God’s Word 
and continue.

Walk by faith, 
knowing that a harvest will come.

You are only the seed planter, 
God is the One Who will make it 
bear fruits.…

Climate Crowd Can’t Cope

Green campaigners are losing the debate on global warming. Alarmists have lost the lure of climate catastrophe. With increasing desperation, they seek to draw public attention back to global warming and its supposedly dire effects, despite that predictions are overstated or just plain false.

More pressing public matters exist, such as exponentially rising national debt, the stagnant economy, the lack of jobs, opportunity, and innovation in America, and the flight of progress and prosperity from a once great nation forever. If these are the public’s worst worries, why do alarmists worry about climate so much?

Answer: Alarmists are invested in catastrophe. Academic livelihoods depend on it. Reputations rely on it. Governments collect billions of tax dollars on it, supporting a network of subservient scientific societies to promote the hoax.

In the meantime, radicalized conservation associations push climate change instead of solving real environmental problems. Crony capitalists get rich on it by feeding at the public trough, peddling products like windmills and solar panels that could never survive in the marketplace without taxpayer money. Yes, climate ideology is a profitable business for special interests, lining particular pockets at the expense of everyone else.

Yet with all this power and money at their disposal, the alarmists are losing the battle for public attention. Opinion among scientists is turning against the alarmist doctrine too. People worry less about global warming than ever before with air pollution and nuclear power emerging as the most pressing problems, not climate. Why is this?

Word is getting around that warming has stopped, despite mainstream media efforts to suppress the facts. No global warming has occurred for nearly 20 years. Global temperature has flatlined despite that hot places and cold places exist all the time. Sorry to poke holes in ignorant populist beliefs, but Mother Nature attends to neither alarmist agendas nor catastrophe claimers who chugged the climate Kool Aid.

The climate agenda costs dearly at a time when the world suffers economic stagnation and recession. Funds that flow freely to save the environment from unrealized temperature rise ought to flow toward saving jobs, business, and trade. Public sentiment has turned toward saving itself instead of spending on disaster that never comes.

No longer able to cope with the rejection, global warming activists are now claiming that anyone who disagrees with them must be a racist or mentally ill. Pathologising dissent rings of Orwellian reality and a misanthropic regime of radical environmentalists. Every storm, dry spell, and molecule of ice melt — even the cold — is now blamed on global warming. Such nonsense is propagated by mainstream media with no sense of investigative journalism and an alarmist clique that has lost its senses and can no longer cope.…

Top Climate Scientist Argues for 6 Percent Annual Reduction in Greenhouse Gasses by 2012

A recent paper by NASA’s premier climate scientist James Hansen calls for a 6% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions each year starting in 2012. Noting that current greenhouse gas levels have already caused dangerous levels of warming, Hansen is calling for urgent action now to stabilize the world’s climate.

Hansen noted that the .8 degree Celcius increase in global temperatures since 1900 has already resulted in a number of dangerous climate impacts. Increasingly rapid polar sea ice decline, increasing melt in Greenland and Antarctica, receding mountain glaciers, a 1-2 percent yearly decline in coral reefs, the movement of habitable climate zones northward or to higher elevations, the expansion of deserts and dry zones, increased drought, excessive heat and fires, and the increased frequency of mega heat waves like those in Europe in 2003 and Russia in 2010 are all current effects of human-caused global warming and increased greenhouse gasses.

This observation that world climate systems are already undergoing substantial stresses at an .8 degree temperature increase led Hanson to conclude that sustained warming above 1 degree C was an intolerable risk. Hansen noted that, to stabilize world temperatures at a safe level, massive CO2 emission reductions need to start in 2012 at the latest.

If Hansen’s plan of 6% annual reductions were enacted by next year, temperatures would stabilize at around 1 degree C warming for the next thirty years and then slowly begin to drop off. If emissions draw-downs were delayed another 8 years to 2020, world temperatures would exceed the dangerous threshold for an entire century. Waiting until 2030 results in temperatures above 1 degree C for the next 500 years.

Hansen notes that a prolonged period of global temperatures exceeding the 1 degree C limit will likely result in passing certain climate tipping points. The higher heat is, therefore, much more likely to create a runaway warming scenario precipitated by a series of events that, once started, are outside of the control of human beings to reign back.

A runaway warming would likely start with the melting of arctic sea ice. The reduced reflectivity of ice during the summer would then cause the oceans to warm. Warmer oceans would destabilize methane frozen on the ocean floor. A portion of these massive stores would reach the atmosphere, convert to CO2 and further warm the climate. Other methane stored in lakes and in permafrost would also be released. Rising temperatures would cause more water vapor to be stored in the atmosphere. Water vapor is a powerful greenhouse gas. The result would be further temperature increases. Finally, all the world’s ice at the poles would convert to water and water vapor adding fuel to the already vicious cycle.

Hansen’s study also noted that expensive methods designed to use technology to remove CO2 from the atmosphere would likely be less effective than envisioned. Hansen notes that the cost of removing 50 parts per million of CO2 from the atmosphere would reach 60 trillion dollars by the end of this century.

Hansen’s warning is that current warming needs to be kept to near or below 1 degree C and that warming be turned back as soon as possible. Prolonged warmth at or above that threshold results in a high risk of starting a feedback effect similar to the one described above. And if feedbacks kick in, the world will change drastically into a dangerous place humanity is not at all accustomed to.

 

Source:

http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2011/20110505_CaseForYoungPeople.pdf…

Oceans and Climates

It is a proven fact that the climate of our earth is influencing the oceans on this planet. The point to ponder is to evaluate the negative effects of these climatic changes. It is only possible when all the factors influencing the oceans are known. Oceans of the world are the major factor in the ecosystem of the earth. They maintain balance on the surface of the earth. Only the oceans are responsible for stability of the climate of the earth. It would not be an exaggeration to proclaim that they are the parameters of the change on the surface of the earth.

The climate change is more upsetting for marine life as compared to land life. A warming world is a thorn in the flesh of the oceans and is becoming the major source of disturbing the biodiversity.

At the AAAS, William Cheung of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, and his team revealed a model to calculate the influence on 1000 species of fish and shellfish all over the world by 2050 due to this obnoxious climate change. The model shows that the fish would shift towards poles at least forty kilometers in a decade. The shift in oceans temperature and climate would be unbearable for many of these species. They are worried about the extinction of many polar species. One aspect they have not mentioned is the Acidification of oceanic waters due to alarmingly high quantity of carbon dioxide.

Patrick Halpin of Duke University, says that high latitudes are the areas expected to be worst affected by global warming and other environmental changes. The oceans are overdone due to temperature; acidity and nutrient loading. Oceans are much vulnerable to chemical changes which are taking place rapidly due to climate change. The experts are comparing the present chemical change with the change of13 million years ago and this would definitely not be the positive change at all. CO₂ will change the amount of calcium and other elements in ocean salts. They are of the view that too much carbon dioxide would result in the freezing of the oceanic waters and the surface of the oceans might drop.

The environment of the oceans gets colder resulting in the expansion of ice sheets. The ice sheets ultimately would lower down the surface of the ocean which ultimately leads to the changes of land weather. Acidification of oceanic waters has grown and has become a threat to the coral reefs and other water species. Industrial greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and a gradual increase in global temperatures are also affecting the oceans directly.

Warmer temperatures reduce the capacity of water to intake oxygen and hence make water lifeless. The scientists are of the view that by 2050 the temperature would rise 6 degrees of Fahrenheit, so the present oceanic ecosystem would not be able to maintain itself. Lack of oxygen in waters would reduce the production of water life. Warm waters take in less oxygen, and its impact is disastrous. The bacteria would be replaced by the nitrates and phosphorus filled bacteria. The plankton would not be able to get food from them and starve and a food chain might be lost. Another assumption is that the methane ice won’t melt and after nixing up with free oxygen would make bubbles and consequently increase in temperature.

The solar heat, the diversification of different plants and the discharge of greenhouse gases is alter the temperature and movement map of the oceans and their atmosphere. Even the Artificial change in the flow of wind and temperature directly affect the …

How to Acclimate LPS Corals to Your Saltwater Fishtank

LPS corals, or large polyp stony corals, are a popular type of corals for the marine aquarium thanks to the incredible diversity of color, shape, and texture that they add to the aquarium environment. Some LPS corals are very difficult to keep in aquariums, while others are quite easy. The most important thing to remember about LPS corals, however, is that they are a form of animal, not a plant or an insect. As such, they do display territorial tendencies, particularly those LPS corals that have “sweeper” tentacles, which are intended to sting and kill any nearby corals with whom your LPS coral may be in competition for space.

It’s generally a good idea when keeping LPS corals to keep them in a saltwater tank that is greater than 55 gallons in capacity. Smaller bodies of water, such as those tanks below 55 gallons, can be easily polluted with chemicals. Even small trace elements on your hands can contaminate your aquarium water and cause your LPS corals to become sick. Tanks larger than 55 gallons, however, with their greater volume of water, can more easily absorb the minor trace chemicals and filter them out before damaging the marine life in the aquarium.

When you add an LPS coral to your aquarium, you have to begin by selecting a spot where the coral can attach or be attached. Once you have found a good place for the coral, you can begin the acclimation process.

When keeping a saltwater aquarium, it is best to keep the water in your tank as close in salinity as possible to the supplier from whom you purchase your tank stock, particularly corals. Many reputable saltwater aquarium suppliers will sell pre-mixed water. When keeping valuable corals, it is best to use this water regularly for water changes. This will prevent the introduction into your aquarium of harsh minerals from your tap water. Match your aquarium to the salinity and temperature of the supplier’s stock tanks, and allow the tank to rest at this level for at least one day.

Like other aquarium specimens, the LPS coral has to be temperature acclimated before it can be added to the aquarium. While the coral is still in its shipping bag, float the entire bag in either your tank or in the sump. This will raise the temperature of the water in the shipping bag (which would have fallen slightly during transport) Fifteen minutes of acclimation time is the absolute minimum. Ideally, the coral should be left to acclimate for between 30 and 45 minutes. Adding the coral immediately to the tank will almost invariably kill it because it will shock the creature’s system. Even a minor fluctuation in the temperature can cause shock.

To acclimate your LPS coral to its new salinity, you will have to add small amounts of your aquarium water to the shipping bag during the temperature acclimation process. Starting at 15 minutes, add a small amount of your aquarium water to the shipping bag. Continue in this fashion every fifteen minutes until the shipping bag is full.

You can now open the bag and place the LPS coral in its designated position, remembering that you have to seat the coral firmly to prevent it from falling from its position. In most cases, you can simply wedge the stone that the LPS coral is attached to into a crevasse in your live rock. With plenty of light and occasional drifting food, your LPS coral will stay healthy, and be as happy as it’s possible for an invertebrate to be.

“The Saltwater Aquarium Handbook”; George Blasiola; 2010…

Global Warming All Around Us: Current Signs of Climate Change

Amidst all the talk of climate change in our society, there’s no need to blindly accept the claims and statistics made by the media. Strong evidence is visible in our daily lives – and has been for a number of years – that clearly points to global warming as its cause.

When most people hear “global warming,” hotter temperatures come to mind, and for good reason; heat waves have pervaded our daily lives and will continue to do so as the planet continues to warm. An extreme heat wave hit Europe for two weeks in 2003 and claimed 35,000 lives as a result of daily temperatures breaking 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and it is estimated that in only several decades, summers such as this will become the norm. Heat waves are felt most severely in highly developed urban areas where concrete and asphalt absorb heat especially quickly.

As temperatures rise all over the globe, precious ice has begun to melt at a rapid rate. More than a million miles of sea ice has disappeared from the arctic, and the polar ice cap – according to NASA – is melting as much as 9 percent each decade. When this ice melts, it flows into the world’s waterways and contributes to rising sea levels. The past century has seen a sea level rise of 4 to 8 inches worldwide.

Hurricanes have increased in number and severity in the past century as well, partly because of warmer ocean temperatures. Rising sea levels are another contributing factor to these disasters. The National Wildlife Federation predicts that wind speeds of hurricanes will increase by as much as 13 percent, and rainfall will increase by as much as 31 percent in the next hundred years.

Some climate change results even more directly affect humans. Cases of asthma among children, for example, have increased due to fossil fuel combustion. Meanwhile, allergies have been affected by record-breaking pollen counts all over the United States; as the Earth warms, pollen-making plants have longer growing seasons and thus produce more pollen.

Sources: 
“Global Warming is Affecting Weather,” National Wildlife Federation 
“Global Warming Increases Asthma,” SciDevNet 
“Temperatures Rising: Global Warming Turns up the Heat on Human Health,” Natural Resources Defense Council…