Climate change...

[The Sleeping Giant]

So glad we have Sky Pilot and Gozu posting on here. The two extremes.

[Gozu]

So glad we have Sky Pilot and Gozu posting on here. The two extremes.

In your opinion, Mr Ron Paul fan (considered the "intellectual godfater" of the Tea Party movement in the US).

[redandblack]

Obama is a socialist and a PR identity. I have no interest in anything he says

A socialist

I think you've been watching Fox News too much.

What you think is totally irrelevant.

Hmm, to you the President of the United States is irrelevant and you think I'm irrelevant.

I'll take that any day

[Psyber]

Semi-related to climate change.
This link to Technology Review was about a pre-assembled nuclear reactor, but on the same page there is a link to a talk about technology for producing cheaper solar panels, and one to a new fusion reactor design: http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/22867/

[fish]

The latest report from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has some dire predictions for extreme weather events and droughts as human-induced climate change continues.

An increase in heat waves is almost certain, while heavier rainfall, more floods, stronger cyclones, landslides and more intense droughts are likely across the globe this century as the Earth's climate warms, UN scientists say.

In a report released in Uganda on Friday, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) urged countries to make disaster management plans to adapt to the growing risk of extreme weather linked to human-induced climate change.

Droughts, perhaps the biggest worry for a world with a surging population to feed, were also expected to worsen.

[fish]

I decided to bump this topic in the wake of the recent "Frankenstorm" and was not surprised to see that the last post, almost a year ago, was about climate change and extreme weather.

This is what the Climate Commission has to say about Sandy:

Was Hurricane Sandy Influenced by Climate Change?

There are several links between Hurricane Sandy and climate change.

First, Hurricane Sandy was the most intense (as measured by barometric pressure) tropical storm on record to make landfall along the US east coast north of North Carolina. This was likely no accident as the storm developed in very unusual conditions. Before reaching land, it was feeding off exceptionally warm surface waters in the Atlantic Ocean. The temperature of the surface waters from which Sandy drew energy were 3-5C warmer than average (NOAA, 2012).
Climate change has contributed to the observed long-term rise in surface water temperatures of the world’s oceans.

Second, the massive flooding caused by Sandy was caused by a storm surge – a wall of water pushed onto the coast by a storm out to sea – coincident with a high tide, in this case a very high tide associated with a full moon. Added to that is the fact that the base sea level itself has risen by about 20 cm over the past century, and has risen at a higher rate over the past two decades. Sea level will continue to rise for centuries into the future due to greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning. A rise of 20 cm may seem modest, but even small rises like this lead to a large increase in the probability of damaging floods. The primary reason for rising sea levels around the world is climate change, which warms and thus expands the oceans and adds more water to the ocean by melting glaciers and ice caps.

All the evidence suggests that climate change exacerbated the severity of Hurricane Sandy.

[Sky Pilot]

Gee whizz has Sarah Hansen-Young read this yet?

[Bully]

The carbon tax will stop it ever happening again thou. Just ask fish and his long time friend Julia .

But not that these storms have been happening since the birth of the planet . It's only been since humans have been in the planet .

[Q.]

The carbon tax actually caused the Frankenstorm, ya know, with the the sky falling in and all that...

[Sky Pilot]

I don't think the Septics have a carbon tax, do they? The storm must have been caused by some unidentified nefarious force.

[fish]

...these storms have been happening since the birth of the planet.

Of course there has always been storms but surely that doesn't justify making storms like Sandy worse by emitting sh!tloads of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere?

[redwhiteandblueblooded]

I decided to bump this topic in the wake of the recent "Frankenstorm" and was not surprised to see that the last post, almost a year ago, was about climate change and extreme weather.

This is what the Climate Commission has to say about Sandy:

Was Hurricane Sandy Influenced by Climate Change?

There are several links between Hurricane Sandy and climate change.

First, Hurricane Sandy was the most intense (as measured by barometric pressure) tropical storm on record to make landfall along the US east coast north of North Carolina. This was likely no accident as the storm developed in very unusual conditions. Before reaching land, it was feeding off exceptionally warm surface waters in the Atlantic Ocean. The temperature of the surface waters from which Sandy drew energy were 3-5C warmer than average (NOAA, 2012).
Climate change has contributed to the observed long-term rise in surface water temperatures of the world’s oceans.

Second, the massive flooding caused by Sandy was caused by a storm surge – a wall of water pushed onto the coast by a storm out to sea – coincident with a high tide, in this case a very high tide associated with a full moon. Added to that is the fact that the base sea level itself has risen by about 20 cm over the past century, and has risen at a higher rate over the past two decades. Sea level will continue to rise for centuries into the future due to greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning. A rise of 20 cm may seem modest, but even small rises like this lead to a large increase in the probability of damaging floods. The primary reason for rising sea levels around the world is climate change, which warms and thus expands the oceans and adds more water to the ocean by melting glaciers and ice caps.

All the evidence suggests that climate change exacerbated the severity of Hurricane Sandy.

Has the sea level in Adelaide raised by 20cm+ anywhere else in the world, or has it just risen off the East Coast of the US? Serious question, because I heard Leigh Dayton(sp?) on Tony Delroy's show on the ABC last night and nearly fell out of bed, as I was unaware of such sea level rises in this area. I did Earth Science at Flinders Uni in the mid-80's, and pretty sure this would have rated a mention at some point had this occured. Oh, and yes, I am a climate change sceptic.

[fish]

Has the sea level in Adelaide raised by 20cm+ anywhere else in the world, or has it just risen off the East Coast of the US? Serious question, because I heard Leigh Dayton(sp?) on Tony Delroy's show on the ABC last night and nearly fell out of bed, as I was unaware of such sea level rises in this area. I did Earth Science at Flinders Uni in the mid-80's, and pretty sure this would have rated a mention at some point had this occured. Oh, and yes, I am a climate change sceptic.

I've had a bit of a look and there is a tidal station at Port Adelaide (Outer Harbour) that has data from late 1940 to present. The data and station information can be found here and the annual mean sea level is plotted below.

The same website gives the trend for the Port Adelaide (Outer Harbour) station as +2.2mm/year (+/- 0.25mm/yr):

448.png (12.94 KiB) Viewed 522 times

[redwhiteandblueblooded]

Has the sea level in Adelaide raised by 20cm+ anywhere else in the world, or has it just risen off the East Coast of the US? Serious question, because I heard Leigh Dayton(sp?) on Tony Delroy's show on the ABC last night and nearly fell out of bed, as I was unaware of such sea level rises in this area. I did Earth Science at Flinders Uni in the mid-80's, and pretty sure this would have rated a mention at some point had this occured. Oh, and yes, I am a climate change sceptic.

I've had a bit of a look and there is a tidal station at Port Adelaide (Outer Harbour) that has data from late 1940 to present. The data and station information can be found here and the annual mean sea level is plotted below.

The same website gives the trend for the Port Adelaide (Outer Harbour) station as +2.2mm/year (+/- 0.25mm/yr):

448.png

Ok, thanks Fish.

[fish]

QBE blown away as Hurricane Sandy toll could hit $430m

QBE investors have wiped more than $1.2 billion from its market value after the insurance giant warned it may shoulder $430 million in losses from Hurricane Sandy.

In the group's worst trading day since January, its shares plummeted 8.3 per cent yesterday.

Shares in the 126-year-old company, which makes about a third of its income in the US, have fallen almost 12 per cent since the "super storm" hit the nation's east coast on October 29.

Issuing a profit warning yesterday, the company also announced it would raise $500 million in debt to support its balance sheet.

Almost $1.3 billion was stripped from the group's market value in the wake of the news. One of Australia's biggest 20 companies, QBE now has a market capitalisation of $14.1 billion.

Sandy killed more than 110 people when it hit the US, ravaging states along its eastern seaboard.

QBE chief John Neal yesterday noted analysis suggesting the total bill for the insurance industry could exceed $20 billion.

[fish]

...these storms have been happening since the birth of the planet.

Of course there has always been storms but surely that doesn't justify making storms like Sandy worse by emitting sh!tloads of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere?

And those emissions are still increasing according to this article: New global CO2 emissions record in 2011

GLOBAL carbon dioxide missions hit a new record last year at 34 billion tonnes, with China still topping the list of greenhouse gas producers, a German-based private institute said on Tuesday.

The Renewable Energy Industry Institute (IWR) said that the total amounted to 800 million tonnes more than in 2010, with China accounting for 8.9 billion tonnes - far more than the US tally of 6.0 billion tonnes.

The study found that after a brief dip in 2009 due to the global economic crisis, the upward trajectory had resumed.

"If the current trend continues then global CO2 emissions will rise another 20 percent by the year 2020 to reach 40 billion tonnes of CO2," IWR director Norbert Allnoch said in a statement.

In 1990, the figure was 22.7 billion tonnes.

After China and the United States, India came in third with 1.8 billion tonnes followed by Russia with 1.7 billion, Japan with 1.3 billion and Germany with 804 million.

Among the top 10 countries, only the United States, Russia and Germany reduced emissions in 2011 compared to the previous year.

It said the figures were based on global consumption of fossil fuels made available by British energy giant BP.

The report comes ahead of annual negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which this year take place in Doha, Qatar, from November 26 to December 7.

The big issue is renewing commitments under the Kyoto Protocol after the first round of cuts in CO2 emissions expires on December 31, although agreement on a new globally binding deal is not expected until 2015 and will not come into force until 2020.

[Jimmy_041]

...these storms have been happening since the birth of the planet.

Of course there has always been storms but surely that doesn't justify making storms like Sandy worse by emitting sh!tloads of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere?

And those emissions are still increasing according to this article: New global CO2 emissions record in 2011

GLOBAL carbon dioxide missions hit a new record last year at 34 billion tonnes, with China still topping the list of greenhouse gas producers, a German-based private institute said on Tuesday.

The Renewable Energy Industry Institute (IWR) said that the total amounted to 800 million tonnes more than in 2010, with China accounting for 8.9 billion tonnes - far more than the US tally of 6.0 billion tonnes.

The study found that after a brief dip in 2009 due to the global economic crisis, the upward trajectory had resumed.

"If the current trend continues then global CO2 emissions will rise another 20 percent by the year 2020 to reach 40 billion tonnes of CO2," IWR director Norbert Allnoch said in a statement.

In 1990, the figure was 22.7 billion tonnes.

After China and the United States, India came in third with 1.8 billion tonnes followed by Russia with 1.7 billion, Japan with 1.3 billion and Germany with 804 million.

Among the top 10 countries, only the United States, Russia and Germany reduced emissions in 2011 compared to the previous year.

It said the figures were based on global consumption of fossil fuels made available by British energy giant BP.

The report comes ahead of annual negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which this year take place in Doha, Qatar, from November 26 to December 7.

The big issue is renewing commitments under the Kyoto Protocol after the first round of cuts in CO2 emissions expires on December 31, although agreement on a new globally binding deal is not expected until 2015 and will not come into force until 2020.

Gee Fish, I thought you were only worried about per capita statistics where we are the devils
Good to see you're finally seeing my argument that total output means far more than per capita where a small population distorts the figures

[fish]

World greenhouse gas levels hit fresh records

Atmospheric volumes of greenhouse gases blamed for climate change hit a new record in 2011, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said in its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin on Tuesday.

The volume of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas emitted by human activities, grew at a similar rate to the previous decade and reached 390.9 parts per million (ppm), 40 percent above the pre-industrial level, the survey said.

It has increased by an average of 2 ppm for the past 10 years.

Fossil fuels are the primary source of about 375 billion tonnes of carbon that has been released into the atmosphere since the industrial era began in 1750, the WMO said.

WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said the billions of tonnes of extra carbon dioxide would stay in the atmosphere for centuries, causing the planet to warm further.

"We have already seen that the oceans are becoming more acidic as a result of the carbon dioxide uptake, with potential repercussions for the underwater food chain and coral reefs," he said in a statement.

Levels of methane, another long-lived greenhouse gas, have risen steadily for the past three years after levelling off for about seven years. The reasons for that evening out are unclear.

Growth in volumes of a third gas, nitrous oxide, quickened in 2011. It has a long-term climate impact that is 298 times greater than carbon dioxide.

The WMO, the United Nations' weather agency, said the three gases, which are closely linked to human activities such as fossil fuel use, deforestation and intensive agriculture, had increased the warming effect on the climate by 30 per cent between 1990 and 2011.

The prevalence of several less abundant greenhouse gases was also growing fast, it said.

Sulphur hexafluoride, used as an electrical insulator in power distribution equipment, had doubled in volume since the mid-1990s, while hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) were growing at a rapid rate from a low base.

But chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and most halons were decreasing, it said.

[fish]

Latest world weather forecast

The earth may have cooled just slightly during the past year but the World Meteorological Organization says there's no doubt that the globe is warming and it's man-made.

The WMO's State of Global Climate for the year to date came out overnight showing record droughts and extreme cold events across the continents.

The UN's weather body says 2012 has seen a record for Arctic Sea ice melt.

[The Sleeping Giant]

The earth may have cooled just slightly during the past year but the World Meteorological Organization says there's no doubt that the globe is warming and it's man-made.

Huh?