Those Craaaazy Believers in Global Warming

I was reading a post over at Climate Progress about vanishing sea ice in the Arctic, and how in June it was at its' lowest extent and had gone through the fastest rate of decline in the satellite record and was thinking, "What does it matter?" The deniers will either claim it's not happening, or it's a one-off, or it's all part of some master plan to sandbag us all and they'll be loud enough and strident enough to continue to prevent real action from being taken. "Who the hell would these idiots listen to?" was the question that came to mind. Other than Jeebus, I mean.

Then I got lucky. I found a video with former Army Chief of Staff, General Gordon Sulllivan, discussing national security and climate change. Turns out he was once a skeptic but having looked at tall the data, he changed his mind and he wasn't alone. The military leaders who agree with him are many and include Rear Admiral David Titley, Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, James Woolsey former director of the CIA and former undersecretary of the US Navy, General Ron Keyes former Commander Air Combat Command, Wesley Clark former Supreme Allied commander of NATO, General Chuck Wald USAF and former Deputy Commander US European Command, and General Anthony Zinni former Chief US Central Command. These are not the kinds of people that are prone to being alarmists nor did they rise to the very top of the conservative military chain of command by being free-thinkers who rely on their intuition. They are the kinds of people who, when making decisions, had to rely on facts to guide their actions. If you watch you'll see they are all worried about wars for water, wars for oil, mass migrations and food insecurity all as a direct result of climate change. See for yourself... and be alarmed.



HT: A Few Things Ill Considered

The Oceans and Climate Science

On this morning's radio show the focus was climate change and the current state of our oceans and their general health. Starting with a story from Science Daily about a newly published report in the latest issue of the journal Science that evaluates the total impact of  climate change, carbon dioxide, pollution and other human-related phenomena on the world's oceans. Scott C. Doney's paper represents a meticulous compilation of the work of others as well as his own research in this area, which includes ocean acidification, climate change, and the global carbon cycle. An important read if you are trying to understand all the factors in play.

Another study published in Science magazine on Friday concurs saying, the world's oceans are virtually choking on rising greenhouse gases, destroying marine ecosystems and breaking down the food chain... The changes could have dire consequences for hundreds of millions of people around the globe who rely on oceans for their livelihoods. The oceans are interconnected of course and included in that study is information about how the temperatures of polar oceans are connected to temperatures in the tropics. Essentially what the study states is that a continued rise in global temperatures could lead to a permanent state of 'El Niño' which would lead to yet more warming, and by the way, the likelihood of increased episodes of extreme weather. The consequences of these changes are too numerous to list but even MSM wankers Time Magazine, have noted some of them - cute penguin alert.

Lastly for your perusal, a diary from Dailykos with news on actions Obama has taken to stem the tide of Mountain Top Removal (MTR) permits issued in the US that is the beginning of the end to the sleazy days of the Bush/Cheney admin allowing polluting corporations to ignore the rule of law. There's also a host of assorted green related news stories.