The NY Times Green Blog is one of my favorite sites for information about climate change, renewable energy and everything related. The release time of these two articles, “A Very Warm January” and “On Our Radar: The Danube Ices Over,” probably could’ve been better. Climate skeptics may use these articles as proof that there isn’t any man-made climate change going on; the weather difference equals out. But the reality is that these two articles highlight the extreme weather events that will be a part of our changing climate and that we should expect more of this in the future.
So, Is The Planet Getting Hotter Or Colder?
February 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Newt Gingrich: All Giddy About His Moon Colony Idea. Saving Planet Earth… Not As Much.
January 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Let the crazy begin! Newt Gingrich, stumping for votes near Cape Canaveral Florida yesterday, let his space-reliant audience know that he’d like to establish a colony on the moon sometime during his first and second term as US President. Early in his career, he even introduced the “Northwest Ordinance for space” which would allow the moon to qualify for statehood once it reached 13,000 residents. Here’s Newt’s answer as to why he’d like to develop the moon:
I think there are a lot of different things you’d want to learn: How to live in low gravity. How to create certain capabilities that lead beyond the moon. How to develop assets that the moon has. How to do manufacturing in low-gravity environments.
Personally, I wish we’d get things right on this planet before we look to colonize others. So Newt, could you start by renouncing your renouncement of the pro-environment commercial you made with Nancy Pelosi? You and Nancy seemed to be in such agreement on the effects of climate change that I thought you were going to kiss at the end of the video. And for your sequel to 2007′s “A Contract With Earth” that’s coming out after the election? Maybe you should re-add the chapter by Christian climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe that attributes man-made forces as a cause for global warming. The geeky scientist in you knows it’s going on but the politician refuses to let you come out of the closet.
And if you do all of these things, I promise I will consider your somewhat batshit-crazy idea to colonize the moon if you become our President. Otherwise, I’m supporting the idea put forth by Mr. Show with Bob and David 15+ years before you on what we need to do with the moon. [Washington Post]
You Know The Roof You Had Your Wife Paint White Last Summer? Well, She Needs To Paint It Black Again.
October 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Painting your buildings’ roof white just seemed like such a no-brainer way to reduce global warming with its reflecting and not-heat absorbing properties. New York City bought into this amazingly simple idea and its city run NYC Cool Roofs painted over 2 million square feet of rooftops white while the non-profit White Roof Project painted its share of roofs. But then the hammer dropped and a study on the heat island effect concluded that white roofs may promote cooling for each individually painted building but globally, they are causing more warming. Here’s how the white roofs don’t work:
- Rooftops painted white.
- Sunlight is reflected and surface temperatures fall.
- As temps fall, less water is evaporated to form clouds.
- Fewer clouds means higher surface temperatures.
So the cooling and energy savings would be local but any gains from the white roof would be negated by the overall increase in temperatures due to the white roofs. I have a weird feeling there’s going to be another study soon that negates the negate and we’ll be back to painting our roofs white again. Or maybe grey? [Discover Magazine]
Read the full study (PDF): Effects of Urban Surfaces and White Roofs on Global and Regional Climate.
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