Coral reef brilliance
Bleached white by loss of algae,
Killed by warming sea.
Left: Healthy corals (iStockphoto). Right: bleached corals (Ray Berkelsman, CRCReef, Townsville).
Climate 411
Coral Reef Haiku
Posted in Oceans Comments are closed
Auto Industry Changing Gears
Good news for the climate! The auto industry is calling for cap-and-trade legislation to fight global warming. Car manufacturers have been among the fiercest defenders of business-as-usual, so it’s great to have them on board.
Even better, this shift seems to be a trend. The Chicago Tribune recently reported that big business is starting to push for federal legislation to cap carbon emissions, because the blizzard of individual state laws is driving them crazy.
Posted in News Read 6 Responses
Fallacies of Movie Critics
ignoratio elenchi n.
A logical fallacy of presenting an argument that may in itself be valid, but has nothing to do with the proposition it purports to prove. Also known as “irrelevant conclusion”. [Lat. ignorance of refutation.]
The recent NY Times piece on the scientists who have criticized the movie An Inconvenient Truth has generated a flurry of discussion. What I saw when I read it was a series of Ignoratio Elenchi fallacies, so the scientists featured in the article win this week’s Ignoratio Elenchi Award.
Posted in News Comments are closed
Part 2 of 4: Worldwide Emissions
This is the second installment of a four-part series to be published each Wednesday on Action Needed to Stop Global Warming.
1. How Warm is Too Warm?
2. Worldwide Emissions Target
3. U.S. Emissions Target
4. Technologies to Get Us There
In Part 1 of this series, we described why scientists and policy-makers have identified the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, which would lead to a 20-foot rise in sea level, as the tipping point that must not be crossed. To stay below the tipping point, average global temperatures must not rise more than 3.6oF above pre-industrial temperatures, or 2.3oF above current temperatures.Today we consider how global emissions of greenhouse gases must change over the coming century to stay below that tipping point.
Tips for Cleaner Driving
Okay, you drive a car – you have to drive a car. You also care about climate change, and want to do something about it. You could buy a more fuel efficient car, but you like the car you have and you’re not planning on car shopping soon. Is there anything you can do? You bet! Smart driving and maintenance of your existing car can have a bigger impact than you might think – and also can save you money.
Posted in Cars and Pollution Read 3 Responses
I Met a Bishop… and the Pope!
Last Friday, at the invitation of the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, I spoke at the Climate Change Hearing of the Florida Catholic Conference. The two other speakers in the morning session were Dr. Ricardo Alvarez, who gave a talk on the “Florida Perspective”, and Mr. Walt Grazer, who spoke on the “Theology of Climate Change”. The purpose of this hearing – one of many across the country – was to devise a Catholic response to climate change.
Posted in Partners for Change Read 1 Response