The U.S. Minerals Management Service did not properly consider the risks of oil spills, disturbance to migrating whales, disruptions to the traditional hunting lifestyle of Inupiat Eskimos and other potential harms from Shell’s program to drill. Read more here.
Archives for November 2008
Inuit to Cull 200 Stranded Whales
LAST Sunday Inuit from Baffin Island, in the Canadian Arctic, discovered about 200 whales trapped in ice near Pond Inlet. In the Arctic open water is starting to freeze-over with the onset of winter.
Yesterday the Inuit started culling the whales, known as Narwhal, apparently on the advice of their elders and in the belief that otherwise the animals would die a slow death from starvation and/or suffocation.
The Narwhal, Monodon monocerus, also known as ‘unicorns of the sea’, have a bizarre spiral tusk extending from their head which can be up to three metres long. The species is not considered endangered and the normal hunting quota for the Baffin Island community is 130 Narwhal each year.
Following-Up on that Climate Debate: William Kininmonth & David Karoly
Hi Jen,
All things considered, I thought the debate went very well. The show of hands at the end indicated 50-50. I have had complimentary calls today. The following is a summary that Des Moore has sent around.
Climate Debate – Hawthorn Town Hall – 19 Nov
I attended last night a debate between Professor David Karoly, who is an adviser to Professor Garnaut and Victorian Premier John Brumby, and William Kininmonth at the Hawthorn Town Hall on “We should be concerned with human-caused climate change”.
I estimate that about 220 people attended and there was an “active” question time after the speakers completed their presentations. A show-of-hands vote taken at the conclusion suggested a slight majority in favour of WK.
I will not atttempt here to analyse the issues raised by either side other than to mention the heavy reliance on modelling by DK to “prove” his points. However, it is worth noting the marked contrast in style of presentation, with DK adopting an aggressive approach (that provoked an initial adverse reaction from the audience) and WK adopting a calm relaxed one.
There is little doubt that DK’s approach lost him “votes” and, more importantly, left an impression that his expertise was not necessarily something on which much reliance should be placed. Indeed, it served to (again) confirm doubts about the basis of the science used by the IPCC, for which DK was a lead author…
My guess is that DK was a bit taken aback by the audience response, including a number of sensible questions…
Des Moore
The local Community TV Channel 31 filmed the event to show later and they said they would send a copy to me.
Regards,
Bill
Earliest Temperature Records from Near the North Pole (Subarctic Temperatures Part 1)
IT is generally agreed that there has been some global warming over the last 100 or so years and that this has been most pronounced in the Arctic – at the North Pole.
There is temperature data for Hudson Bay in central Canada – not at the North Pole, or within the Arctic Circle, but nevertheless a long way north – back to 1768.
In 1768 two astronomers from the Royal Society were sent to observe the transit of Venus at Hudson Bay (see Instrumental Temperature Records at Two Sites in Central Canada: 1768 to 1910. Timothy Ball and Roger Kingsley, Climate Change, Vol 6. pgs 39-56. ).
At the late John Daly’s website, Miceal O’Ronain has plotted this very early record, and subsequent records from the Hudson’s Bay Company, with data from the modern weather station at Churchill to 2002.
The earlier records suggest great variation in the temperature in the nineteenth century, but this may be an artefact of how it was measured. The upswing at the very end of the twentieth century is probably real and corresponds with the present period of decline in the extent of sea ice at the Arctic particularly in summer.
[Click on the chart for a larger and much clearer view.]
Brisbane: Lecture on Oceans and Climate Change
BrisScience: Friend or Foe? The Ocean¹s Response to Climate Change presented
by Dr Ben McNeil
Time: 6:30pm to 7:30pm (Doors open at 6pm)
Monday 8 December, 2008
Venue: Ithaca Auditorium, Brisbane City Hall
Refreshments: There will be complimentary drinks and nibblies following the
talk, and Ben will be available to answer any questions.
*********
Friend or Foe? The Ocean’s Response to Climate Change
Carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is the principle driver of future
climate change. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased 30% beyond
pre-industrial levels through human combustion of fossil-fuel carbon and
will continue to increase rapidly into the future. The ocean covers 70% of
the earths surface, is the largest active reservoir of carbon on earth and
is the most important natural sink for reducing anthropogenic atmospheric
CO2. The ocean controls atmospheric CO2through both biological cycling
(phytoplankton production) and solubility cycling (thermodynamics). Here I
will discuss the latest scientific understanding governing climate change
impacts on the ocean : including implications for global circulation and
heat transport, oceanic CO2 uptake, pH acidification and changes in oceanic
biological production. I can then synthesize the likely future implications
in order to answer whether the oceans will be working for us or against us
in slowing climate change.
Ben McNeil is an Australian academic who is an expert in a range of areas
relating to climate change science, policy and energy.
Completing his PhD in 2001 he worked as a research fellow at Princeton
University, USA and returned to Australia in 2004, where he is now a senior
research fellow at the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of
New South Wales. In 2007, he was chosen as an expert reviewer for the United
Nations Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change 4th assessment report and
was invited to present his research to the Prime Minister and cabinet at
Parliament House in Canberra. He was also recently elected to represent
young scientists in the Federation of Australian Science and Technological
Societies.
His writing on climate change and energy policy has been widely published in
Australia¹s newspapers including the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The
Australian and The Canberra Times. He has also made numerous radio and
television appearances including ABC Radio National, CNN, BBC and Sky News
Australia.
************
A New Book by Geologist Marc Hendrickx
Dear Jennifer,
I enjoy your work, here’s a new climate change book for your Christmas reading:
We’re not scared anymore Mr Gore.
A climate change parody by geologist Marc Hendrickx.
Synopsis:
Ms Green is surprised when Mr Gore comes to teach the class about the dangers of climate change.
Mr Gore looks at the evidence and the outcomes of man made global warming. It’s scary stuff.
He gets a lot of help on the way from Ms Green but in the end It’s Mr Gore who learns a thing or two about the climate. How fast can you run Mr Gore?
For more information see:
http://littleskepticpress.blogspot.com/2008/11/were-not-scared-anymore-mr-gore.html
Cheers
Marc Hendrickx
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.