by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 12. 8.09
Business & Politics, TreeHugger.com
It's rather unfortunate that a story like this requires reporting, but it's understandable: many fail to accept that global temperatures are rising on the grounds that last summer was cold where they live. Of course, that ignores data meticulously collected around the globe, but we humans are reactionary creatures--it's the way we're built. If we come out of an abnormally cool, rainy, summer, and then hear the likes of Beck or Limbaugh declaring global warming a hoax, we're going to be more apt to listen. So here's the hard truth: 2009 was an exceptionally hot year--maybe the 2nd hottest of the decade--for everywhere but North America.
Here are the details, via Climate Progress:
What makes these record temps especially impressive is that we're at "the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century," according to NASA. It's just hard to stop the march of anthropogenic global warming, well, other than by reducing GHG emissions, that is . . . Unfortunately, the warming isn't even across the globe:
Unfortunately, that is, because people are apt to be confused by conflicting accounts: what there bodies tell them, and what the vast consensus of science says:
This year above-normal temperatures were recorded in most parts of the continents. Only North America (United States and Canada) experienced conditions that were cooler than average. Given the current figures, large parts of southern Asia and central Africa are likely to have the warmest year on record. [Actually, NOAA says "The average annual temperature for the contiguous United States is projected to be above normal." It was the third coolest October for the contiguous 48 states.]
Finally, CP concludes, aptly:
That is no doubt one reason why Americans -- or at least conservative Americans -- have grown in skepticism this year: They have been bombarded with anti-scientific disinformation on "global cooling," while at the same time failing to personally experience a very warm year.
So here's a heads up to all those folks: the 00's were the hottest decade on record.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
"The 00s" the Hottest Decade on Record
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 12. 8.09
Science & Technology, TreeHugger.com
One of the biggest problems with the years 2000-2009 is that there was no agreed-upon, easy-to-say decade name. No 'nineties' or 'twenties.' No, instead, some people argued for the 'aughts' or, occasionally, the 'zeroes' (lame), but we pretty much came up nil. But just eclipsing that--just barely though--is another one of the decade's biggest problems: it has been confirmed that it will have been hottest on record.
Here's the news, via Climate Progress and the New York Times:
it is official from the World Meteorological Organization, in their news release today "2000-2009, The Warmest Decade":
The decade of the 2000s (2000-2009) was warmer than the decade spanning the 1990s (1990-1999), which in turn was warmer than the 1980s (1980-1989).
The NYT story was based on the WMO release early today, but NOAA's National Climatic Data Center also reports today:
The 2000 - 2009 decade will be the warmest on record, with its average global surface temperature about 0.96 degree F above the 20th century average. This will easily surpass the 1990s value of 0.65 degree F.
As for data on 2009, turns out it's been a pretty exceptionally warm year as well:
As for 2009, it is on track to be the 5th warmest the way WMO calculates global temps, which figures in the Hadley/CRU data. But 2009 could easily be as high as the second warmest in the NASA dataset, which is almost certainly more accurate than the Hadley/CRU dataset
And let me reiterate that NONE OF THE NOAA DATA WAS COLLECTED BY THE CRU. The data supporting the charge that the 00s was the hottest decade on record was collected by two different, completely separate sources: the World Meteorological Organization, which figures in CRU data, and the NOAA's National Climatic Data Center--which is free from whatever perceived taint there might be by the 'climategate' non-controversy. And guess what? Both data sets arrive at the same conclusions.
I wish anthropogenic climate change weren't happening, I really do. But there's more evidence than ever that it is, and it's getting worse. It's time to stop the bickering and to start taking it seriously again.
Science & Technology, TreeHugger.com
One of the biggest problems with the years 2000-2009 is that there was no agreed-upon, easy-to-say decade name. No 'nineties' or 'twenties.' No, instead, some people argued for the 'aughts' or, occasionally, the 'zeroes' (lame), but we pretty much came up nil. But just eclipsing that--just barely though--is another one of the decade's biggest problems: it has been confirmed that it will have been hottest on record.
Here's the news, via Climate Progress and the New York Times:
it is official from the World Meteorological Organization, in their news release today "2000-2009, The Warmest Decade":
The decade of the 2000s (2000-2009) was warmer than the decade spanning the 1990s (1990-1999), which in turn was warmer than the 1980s (1980-1989).
The NYT story was based on the WMO release early today, but NOAA's National Climatic Data Center also reports today:
The 2000 - 2009 decade will be the warmest on record, with its average global surface temperature about 0.96 degree F above the 20th century average. This will easily surpass the 1990s value of 0.65 degree F.
As for data on 2009, turns out it's been a pretty exceptionally warm year as well:
As for 2009, it is on track to be the 5th warmest the way WMO calculates global temps, which figures in the Hadley/CRU data. But 2009 could easily be as high as the second warmest in the NASA dataset, which is almost certainly more accurate than the Hadley/CRU dataset
And let me reiterate that NONE OF THE NOAA DATA WAS COLLECTED BY THE CRU. The data supporting the charge that the 00s was the hottest decade on record was collected by two different, completely separate sources: the World Meteorological Organization, which figures in CRU data, and the NOAA's National Climatic Data Center--which is free from whatever perceived taint there might be by the 'climategate' non-controversy. And guess what? Both data sets arrive at the same conclusions.
I wish anthropogenic climate change weren't happening, I really do. But there's more evidence than ever that it is, and it's getting worse. It's time to stop the bickering and to start taking it seriously again.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
In a Frenzied Copenhagen, Crucial Climate Talks Begin
by Guest on 12. 8.09
Business & Politics, TreeHugger.com
Editor's Note: This post, written by Jonathan Hiskes, originally appeared on Grist.org
COPENHAGEN—There was no calm before the storm. At least not over the last few days, not in Copenhagen. The climate change conference begins for real this Monday morning, but the deluge—of information, of people, of noise of all sorts—swept into the city days ago.
Downtown, the wide sidewalks are jammed. Visitors ascend to street level at the central train station, rolling suitcases and opening maps. In bars and restaurants—I noticed this more once a bartender pointed it out—foreigners stare blankly at the Danish coins in their hands and try to figure out how much they're paying.
Aside from the permanent medley of neon signs--this city might be quaint, but it's commercialized too—climate-related posters and banners are everywhere.
Most advertise Hopenhagen LIVE, a package of concerts, educational pavilions, and a giant illuminated globe in the City Hall Square (the event must have a serious advertising budget). There are posters too for climate-related rallies, concerts, expos, and art exhibits. And booklets, pamphlets, leaflets--whatever--stacked in abundance. The ubiquitous public climate-change art seems designed to provide inspiration or moral orientation. But there's so much of it that it sort of runs
together. 100 Places to Remember Before They Disappear, an outdoor photo exhibit at Kongens Nytorv square, is stunning, but I don't know how many delegates will take the time to visit installations such as this.
A completely separate event, the Klimaforum09/Peoples Climate Summit offers a 48-page guide to its sessions. The Summit, which skews toward the down-with-capitalism crowd, will unfold at a posh downtown sports venue. According to the U.K. Telegraph, Copenhagen "officials" hope that the venue's climbing wall, swimming pool, and bowling alley will keep the radicals engaged downtown so the grownups at the U.N. conference can stay focused. (One group has threatened to break into the main conference site and "take over" for a day.)
At that main conference site, Copenhagen's Bella Center on the edge of the city, still more crowds gathered. On Sunday afternoon, an unattended suitcase led police to close entry and exit points and call in a bomb squad. The situation proved harmless, but it kept a crowd of delegates, NGO representatives, and media members waiting in the cold for about an hour.
Around the same time, organizers announced that the center was running into "capacity constraints"—34,000 people want to attend and the space holds only 15,000. The announcement introduced a quota system for NGOs and the press; only 3,500 media members would be allowed. I'll find out Monday morning exactly how conference organizers plan to handle this and other last-minute issues. Like whether to merge the AWG-LCA and AWG-KP negotiating tracks.
I haven't mentioned the policy jargon. AWG-LCA stands for Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Acion; AWG-KP is the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex Parties Under the Kyoto Protocol. Then there's the MRV--measurement, reporting, and verification goals. You get the point—it's a busy, confusing place, even before the conference begins.
Anyone who signed up to negotiate, or lobby negotiators, or report on them, should know by now that the climate problem is fraught with complexity, and so is the conference convening to address it. Nobody said this would be simple. I can't help but wonder how folks will find a measure of clarity amid the noise.
Business & Politics, TreeHugger.com
Editor's Note: This post, written by Jonathan Hiskes, originally appeared on Grist.org
COPENHAGEN—There was no calm before the storm. At least not over the last few days, not in Copenhagen. The climate change conference begins for real this Monday morning, but the deluge—of information, of people, of noise of all sorts—swept into the city days ago.
Downtown, the wide sidewalks are jammed. Visitors ascend to street level at the central train station, rolling suitcases and opening maps. In bars and restaurants—I noticed this more once a bartender pointed it out—foreigners stare blankly at the Danish coins in their hands and try to figure out how much they're paying.
Aside from the permanent medley of neon signs--this city might be quaint, but it's commercialized too—climate-related posters and banners are everywhere.
Most advertise Hopenhagen LIVE, a package of concerts, educational pavilions, and a giant illuminated globe in the City Hall Square (the event must have a serious advertising budget). There are posters too for climate-related rallies, concerts, expos, and art exhibits. And booklets, pamphlets, leaflets--whatever--stacked in abundance. The ubiquitous public climate-change art seems designed to provide inspiration or moral orientation. But there's so much of it that it sort of runs
together. 100 Places to Remember Before They Disappear, an outdoor photo exhibit at Kongens Nytorv square, is stunning, but I don't know how many delegates will take the time to visit installations such as this.
A completely separate event, the Klimaforum09/Peoples Climate Summit offers a 48-page guide to its sessions. The Summit, which skews toward the down-with-capitalism crowd, will unfold at a posh downtown sports venue. According to the U.K. Telegraph, Copenhagen "officials" hope that the venue's climbing wall, swimming pool, and bowling alley will keep the radicals engaged downtown so the grownups at the U.N. conference can stay focused. (One group has threatened to break into the main conference site and "take over" for a day.)
At that main conference site, Copenhagen's Bella Center on the edge of the city, still more crowds gathered. On Sunday afternoon, an unattended suitcase led police to close entry and exit points and call in a bomb squad. The situation proved harmless, but it kept a crowd of delegates, NGO representatives, and media members waiting in the cold for about an hour.
Around the same time, organizers announced that the center was running into "capacity constraints"—34,000 people want to attend and the space holds only 15,000. The announcement introduced a quota system for NGOs and the press; only 3,500 media members would be allowed. I'll find out Monday morning exactly how conference organizers plan to handle this and other last-minute issues. Like whether to merge the AWG-LCA and AWG-KP negotiating tracks.
I haven't mentioned the policy jargon. AWG-LCA stands for Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Acion; AWG-KP is the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex Parties Under the Kyoto Protocol. Then there's the MRV--measurement, reporting, and verification goals. You get the point—it's a busy, confusing place, even before the conference begins.
Anyone who signed up to negotiate, or lobby negotiators, or report on them, should know by now that the climate problem is fraught with complexity, and so is the conference convening to address it. Nobody said this would be simple. I can't help but wonder how folks will find a measure of clarity amid the noise.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Gore cancels climate lecture in Copenhagen
(AP) – 3 Dec. 2009
COPENHAGEN — Climate campaigner Al Gore has canceled a lecture he was supposed to deliver in Copenhagen.
The former vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner had been scheduled to speak to more than 3,000 people at a Dec. 16 event hosted by the Berlingske Tidende newspaper group.
The group says Gore canceled the lecture Thursday, citing unforeseen changes in his schedule.
Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider says the decision was made because of "all the events going on with the summit." Dec. 16 is a key date for the meeting because that's when the ministerial segment starts.
Chief editor Lisbeth Knudsen says it's a "great disappointment" that Gore canceled and that all tickets will be refunded.
COPENHAGEN — Climate campaigner Al Gore has canceled a lecture he was supposed to deliver in Copenhagen.
The former vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner had been scheduled to speak to more than 3,000 people at a Dec. 16 event hosted by the Berlingske Tidende newspaper group.
The group says Gore canceled the lecture Thursday, citing unforeseen changes in his schedule.
Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider says the decision was made because of "all the events going on with the summit." Dec. 16 is a key date for the meeting because that's when the ministerial segment starts.
Chief editor Lisbeth Knudsen says it's a "great disappointment" that Gore canceled and that all tickets will be refunded.
United Nations to probe climate e-mail leak
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER
4 Dec. 2009
LONDON — The United Nations will conduct its own investigation into e-mails leaked from a leading British climate science center in addition to the probe by the University of East Anglia, a senior U.N. climate official said Friday.
E-mails stolen from the climate unit at the University of East Anglia appeared to show some of world's leading scientists discussing ways to shield data from public scrutiny and suppress others' work. Those who deny the influence of man-made climate change have seized on the correspondence to argue that scientists have been conspiring to hide evidence about global warming.
In an interview with BBC radio, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri, said the issue raised by the e-mails was serious and said "we will look into it in detail,"
"We will certainly go into the whole lot and then we will take a position on it," he said. "We certainly don't want to brush anything under the carpet."
The University of East Anglia has defended the integrity of the science published by the climate unit and its researchers, but on Thursday said it would investigate whether some of the data had been fudged. Phil Jones, the director of the unit, stepped down earlier in the week pending the result of the investigation.
East Anglia said its review will examine the e-mails and other information "to determine whether there is any evidence of the manipulation or suppression of data which is at odds with acceptable scientific practice."
The theft of the e-mails and their publication online — only weeks before the U.N. summit on global warming — has been politically explosive, even if researchers say their content has no bearing on the principles of climate change itself.
Britain's Ed Miliband, the climate change secretary, acknowledged the revelations may have an impact on the Copenhagen talks on a new global emissions reduction pact, but dismissed as "flat Earth-ers" critics who claim the e-mails are proof the case for man-made climate change is exaggerated.
"We need maximum transparency including about all the data but it's also very, very important to say one chain of e-mails, potentially misrepresented, does not undo the global science," Miliband said Friday. "I think we want to send a very clear message to people about that."
"There will be people that want to use this to try and undermine the science and we're not going to let them," he said.
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have grilled government scientists on the leaked e-mails in a hearing Wednesday in Washington, but the scientists countered that the e-mails don't change the fact that the earth is warming.
"The e-mails do nothing to undermine the very strong scientific consensus ... that tells us the earth is warming, that warming is largely a result of human activity," said Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
She said the e-mails don't address data from her agency or the U.S. space agency NASA, which both keep independent climate records that show dramatic global warming.
Associated Press Writer David Stringer in London contributed to this report
4 Dec. 2009
LONDON — The United Nations will conduct its own investigation into e-mails leaked from a leading British climate science center in addition to the probe by the University of East Anglia, a senior U.N. climate official said Friday.
E-mails stolen from the climate unit at the University of East Anglia appeared to show some of world's leading scientists discussing ways to shield data from public scrutiny and suppress others' work. Those who deny the influence of man-made climate change have seized on the correspondence to argue that scientists have been conspiring to hide evidence about global warming.
In an interview with BBC radio, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri, said the issue raised by the e-mails was serious and said "we will look into it in detail,"
"We will certainly go into the whole lot and then we will take a position on it," he said. "We certainly don't want to brush anything under the carpet."
The University of East Anglia has defended the integrity of the science published by the climate unit and its researchers, but on Thursday said it would investigate whether some of the data had been fudged. Phil Jones, the director of the unit, stepped down earlier in the week pending the result of the investigation.
East Anglia said its review will examine the e-mails and other information "to determine whether there is any evidence of the manipulation or suppression of data which is at odds with acceptable scientific practice."
The theft of the e-mails and their publication online — only weeks before the U.N. summit on global warming — has been politically explosive, even if researchers say their content has no bearing on the principles of climate change itself.
Britain's Ed Miliband, the climate change secretary, acknowledged the revelations may have an impact on the Copenhagen talks on a new global emissions reduction pact, but dismissed as "flat Earth-ers" critics who claim the e-mails are proof the case for man-made climate change is exaggerated.
"We need maximum transparency including about all the data but it's also very, very important to say one chain of e-mails, potentially misrepresented, does not undo the global science," Miliband said Friday. "I think we want to send a very clear message to people about that."
"There will be people that want to use this to try and undermine the science and we're not going to let them," he said.
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have grilled government scientists on the leaked e-mails in a hearing Wednesday in Washington, but the scientists countered that the e-mails don't change the fact that the earth is warming.
"The e-mails do nothing to undermine the very strong scientific consensus ... that tells us the earth is warming, that warming is largely a result of human activity," said Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
She said the e-mails don't address data from her agency or the U.S. space agency NASA, which both keep independent climate records that show dramatic global warming.
Associated Press Writer David Stringer in London contributed to this report
Record-attempting solar powered plane's first 'hop'
BBC News
4 December 2009
The Solar Impulse prototype plane, part of a planned solar-powered circumnavigation of the globe, has left the ground for the first time.
The maiden flight was dubbed a "flea hop" by project leaders, at 350m in length and a height of just one metre.
The next flight, at the Payerne air force airfield in western Switzerland, will see the plane reach an altitude of nearly 9,000m, once more using on-board batteries.
The final version of the plane will attempt a solar-powered transatlantic flight in 2012 prior to the round-the-world trip.
Record solar plane's first 'hop'
By Jason Palmer
Science and technology reporter, BBC News
The Solar Impulse prototype plane, part of a planned solar-powered circumnavigation of the globe, has left the ground for the first time.
The maiden flight was dubbed a "flea hop" by project leaders, at 350m in length and a height of just one metre.
The plane will now be transported to a different airfield for a flight of a few hours in March.
The final version of the plane will attempt a transatlantic flight in 2012 prior to the round-the-world trip.
The prototype first ventured outside a hangar in November, with a range of on-the-ground tests and a run-up of the plane's motors.
Solar Impulse plane
Thursday's flight, with test pilot Markus Scherdel at the controls, was the first time the plane had been brought to takeoff speed.
"The airplane flew the way we have experienced it in the simulators," said Bertrand Piccard, a founder of Solar Impulse and the first person to carry out a round-the-world balloon flight.
"That's of course a very big comfort for all the engineers who've worked for six years to build this airplane."
The next flight, at the Payerne air force airfield in western Switzerland, will see the plane reach an altitude of nearly 9,000m.
Only after this flight will the plane make its first "solar flight" - that is, powered by the solar generators rather than the on-board batteries.
The team plans a flight of a full day and night in the summer of 2010, building up to a transatlantic flight in small steps as the crew ensure the plane's behaviour is well-understood.
"It's a completely new flight domain," said Dr Piccard.
"It's the first time in the history of aviation that an airplane so big and so light using so little energy gets in the air - basically everything is new."
Solar Impulse plane
4 December 2009
The Solar Impulse prototype plane, part of a planned solar-powered circumnavigation of the globe, has left the ground for the first time.
The maiden flight was dubbed a "flea hop" by project leaders, at 350m in length and a height of just one metre.
The next flight, at the Payerne air force airfield in western Switzerland, will see the plane reach an altitude of nearly 9,000m, once more using on-board batteries.
The final version of the plane will attempt a solar-powered transatlantic flight in 2012 prior to the round-the-world trip.
Record solar plane's first 'hop'
By Jason Palmer
Science and technology reporter, BBC News
The Solar Impulse prototype plane, part of a planned solar-powered circumnavigation of the globe, has left the ground for the first time.
The maiden flight was dubbed a "flea hop" by project leaders, at 350m in length and a height of just one metre.
The plane will now be transported to a different airfield for a flight of a few hours in March.
The final version of the plane will attempt a transatlantic flight in 2012 prior to the round-the-world trip.
The prototype first ventured outside a hangar in November, with a range of on-the-ground tests and a run-up of the plane's motors.
Solar Impulse plane
Thursday's flight, with test pilot Markus Scherdel at the controls, was the first time the plane had been brought to takeoff speed.
"The airplane flew the way we have experienced it in the simulators," said Bertrand Piccard, a founder of Solar Impulse and the first person to carry out a round-the-world balloon flight.
"That's of course a very big comfort for all the engineers who've worked for six years to build this airplane."
The next flight, at the Payerne air force airfield in western Switzerland, will see the plane reach an altitude of nearly 9,000m.
Only after this flight will the plane make its first "solar flight" - that is, powered by the solar generators rather than the on-board batteries.
The team plans a flight of a full day and night in the summer of 2010, building up to a transatlantic flight in small steps as the crew ensure the plane's behaviour is well-understood.
"It's a completely new flight domain," said Dr Piccard.
"It's the first time in the history of aviation that an airplane so big and so light using so little energy gets in the air - basically everything is new."
Solar Impulse plane
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
99 Skills for an Eco-Friendly DIY Lifestyle
Go green one skil at a time.
By Marye Audet
Lancaster, TX, USA | Mon Aug 31 11:30:00 GMT 2009
Honing your green skills is part of growing and learning to walk softly on the earth. How many things do you really know how to do in order to increase your green and decrease your carbon footprint?
Here is a list of 100 essential skills for the green do-it-yourself-er.
Essential Food Skills
1. Read and understand product labels
2. Bake bread
3. Make your own bread starter and keep it going
4. Make cheese, yogurt, and kefir from local milk
5. Preserve food by canning
6. Preserve food by drying
7. Forage for local wild foods safely
8. Raise a couple of backyard chickens
9. Make your own tofu,tempeh, and soy milk
10. Eat locally and in season
11. Grind your own flour
12. Grow your own produce
13.Grow your own herbs
14.Grow your own sprouts
15. Blend your own herbal tea
16. Have a repertoire of vegetarian recipes you can use for various occasions
17. Fish or hunt responsibly if you eat meat
18. Make homemade pastas and other pantry basics
19. Cook a variety of foods well
20. Utilize a menu to minimize food waste
21. Throw a party without compromising your green values
22. Make Your Own Vanilla Extract
23. Sharpen kitchen knives so they last
24. Make homemade granola bars, granola, waffles, and other breakfast items
25. Make baked goods from "scratch".
26. Understand terms like, "organic", "Fair Trade", "all natural", and "GMO"
Essential Household Skills
27. Sew well enough to repair clothing
28. Sew well enough to make your own clothing and reusable shopping bags
29. Sew fitted cloth diapers for your baby
30 .Knit or crochet dishcloths
31. Know how to reupholster a chair
32. Make your own laundry soap
33. Make your own dishwasher detergent
34. Make your own house cleaning supplies
35. Use diatomaceous earth, bay leaves, and other "eco-friendly" natural pest deterrents
Home Maintenance and Repair Skills
36. Use non-electric appliances rather than electric
37. Know where to find non-electric appliances
38. Program a thermostat
39. Tile a counter top
40. Use 0 VOC paint
41. Repair a screen
42. Use a caulk gun
43. Make simple appliance repairs such as replacing belts
44. Find what you need by bartering, or using CraigsList, eBay, and thrift stores
45. Repair a leaky toilet
46. Repair a leaky faucet
47. Replace a faucet
48. Check your home for energy leaks using incense, a candle, or a device that is created for that purpose
49. Unclog a drain without using Drano or harmful chemicals
50. Insulate an attic with eco-friendly insulation
Gardening Skills
51 .Build a compost system
52. Use compost to enrich your soil
53. Plan a garden for your climate
54. Understand xeriscaping
55. Plant a multi-seasonal vegetable garden
56. Build a simple cold frame for salad all year
57. Build frames for raised bed gardens
58. Make a rainwater catchment system
59. Use a manual reel mower
60. Use companion planting methods to control pests
61.Build a bat house to encourage bats and decrease mosquitoes
62. Use predator insects like Praying Mantis to control garden pests
63. Know what heirloom seeds are and why you should use them
64. How to plant open pollinated vegetables for best yields
65. How to save seeds from your own produce
66. Plant trees and bushes to cut your energy bills
67. Use soaker hoses to conserve water
68. Sharpen and maintain tools
Health Skills
69. Know how to use herbs and natural remedies to treat common illnesses
70. Make your own soap
71. Make your own skin care products
72. Use essential oils for health and cleaning
73. Make your own deodorant
Transportation Skills
74. Tune up a bicycle and make repairs
75. Do simple maintenance on your car
76. Arrange or locate a carpool
77. Learn to use hypermiling techniques
78. Plan eco-friendly air travel
Energy Skills
79. Install exterior solar lighting
80. Install a solar panel
81. Know where to find the most eco-friendly, green power source available to you
82. Connect home electronics to power strips for easy shut off
83. Check the wattage of an appliance
84. Calculate annual kilowatt usage
Conservation Skills
85. Use email rather than conventional mail
86. Switch to a paperless office
87. Locate the local library and use it rather than buying books, DVDs, and tapes
88. Adjust your settings on the computer to make it more energy efficient
89. Use skype and other technology to limit the need for travel to conferences
90. Learn to plan eco-friendly vacations, such as camping (and leave no trace)
91. Replace a hobby with an environmentally friendly hobby
92. Locate and use recreational green spaces such as hiking trails, parks, and public gardens
93. Understand and be able to explain what cradle to cradle means
94. Understand and be able to explain what carbon emissions are
95. Understand and be able to calculate a carbon footprint as well as explain what it is
96. Know where to recycle technological items like computers, microwaves, televisions etc.
97. Identify and sort a variety of recyclable materials
98. Know where reusable items can be substituted for disposables
99. Understand and be able to explain cap-and-trade
Do you agree with all of those? Are there others that you feel are important? Let us know your thoughts!
By Marye Audet
Lancaster, TX, USA | Mon Aug 31 11:30:00 GMT 2009
Honing your green skills is part of growing and learning to walk softly on the earth. How many things do you really know how to do in order to increase your green and decrease your carbon footprint?
Here is a list of 100 essential skills for the green do-it-yourself-er.
Essential Food Skills
1. Read and understand product labels
2. Bake bread
3. Make your own bread starter and keep it going
4. Make cheese, yogurt, and kefir from local milk
5. Preserve food by canning
6. Preserve food by drying
7. Forage for local wild foods safely
8. Raise a couple of backyard chickens
9. Make your own tofu,tempeh, and soy milk
10. Eat locally and in season
11. Grind your own flour
12. Grow your own produce
13.Grow your own herbs
14.Grow your own sprouts
15. Blend your own herbal tea
16. Have a repertoire of vegetarian recipes you can use for various occasions
17. Fish or hunt responsibly if you eat meat
18. Make homemade pastas and other pantry basics
19. Cook a variety of foods well
20. Utilize a menu to minimize food waste
21. Throw a party without compromising your green values
22. Make Your Own Vanilla Extract
23. Sharpen kitchen knives so they last
24. Make homemade granola bars, granola, waffles, and other breakfast items
25. Make baked goods from "scratch".
26. Understand terms like, "organic", "Fair Trade", "all natural", and "GMO"
Essential Household Skills
27. Sew well enough to repair clothing
28. Sew well enough to make your own clothing and reusable shopping bags
29. Sew fitted cloth diapers for your baby
30 .Knit or crochet dishcloths
31. Know how to reupholster a chair
32. Make your own laundry soap
33. Make your own dishwasher detergent
34. Make your own house cleaning supplies
35. Use diatomaceous earth, bay leaves, and other "eco-friendly" natural pest deterrents
Home Maintenance and Repair Skills
36. Use non-electric appliances rather than electric
37. Know where to find non-electric appliances
38. Program a thermostat
39. Tile a counter top
40. Use 0 VOC paint
41. Repair a screen
42. Use a caulk gun
43. Make simple appliance repairs such as replacing belts
44. Find what you need by bartering, or using CraigsList, eBay, and thrift stores
45. Repair a leaky toilet
46. Repair a leaky faucet
47. Replace a faucet
48. Check your home for energy leaks using incense, a candle, or a device that is created for that purpose
49. Unclog a drain without using Drano or harmful chemicals
50. Insulate an attic with eco-friendly insulation
Gardening Skills
51 .Build a compost system
52. Use compost to enrich your soil
53. Plan a garden for your climate
54. Understand xeriscaping
55. Plant a multi-seasonal vegetable garden
56. Build a simple cold frame for salad all year
57. Build frames for raised bed gardens
58. Make a rainwater catchment system
59. Use a manual reel mower
60. Use companion planting methods to control pests
61.Build a bat house to encourage bats and decrease mosquitoes
62. Use predator insects like Praying Mantis to control garden pests
63. Know what heirloom seeds are and why you should use them
64. How to plant open pollinated vegetables for best yields
65. How to save seeds from your own produce
66. Plant trees and bushes to cut your energy bills
67. Use soaker hoses to conserve water
68. Sharpen and maintain tools
Health Skills
69. Know how to use herbs and natural remedies to treat common illnesses
70. Make your own soap
71. Make your own skin care products
72. Use essential oils for health and cleaning
73. Make your own deodorant
Transportation Skills
74. Tune up a bicycle and make repairs
75. Do simple maintenance on your car
76. Arrange or locate a carpool
77. Learn to use hypermiling techniques
78. Plan eco-friendly air travel
Energy Skills
79. Install exterior solar lighting
80. Install a solar panel
81. Know where to find the most eco-friendly, green power source available to you
82. Connect home electronics to power strips for easy shut off
83. Check the wattage of an appliance
84. Calculate annual kilowatt usage
Conservation Skills
85. Use email rather than conventional mail
86. Switch to a paperless office
87. Locate the local library and use it rather than buying books, DVDs, and tapes
88. Adjust your settings on the computer to make it more energy efficient
89. Use skype and other technology to limit the need for travel to conferences
90. Learn to plan eco-friendly vacations, such as camping (and leave no trace)
91. Replace a hobby with an environmentally friendly hobby
92. Locate and use recreational green spaces such as hiking trails, parks, and public gardens
93. Understand and be able to explain what cradle to cradle means
94. Understand and be able to explain what carbon emissions are
95. Understand and be able to calculate a carbon footprint as well as explain what it is
96. Know where to recycle technological items like computers, microwaves, televisions etc.
97. Identify and sort a variety of recyclable materials
98. Know where reusable items can be substituted for disposables
99. Understand and be able to explain cap-and-trade
Do you agree with all of those? Are there others that you feel are important? Let us know your thoughts!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
How to Get Into the DIY Mindset: Even Nerds Can Practice Self-Reliance
By Sami Grover
Chapel Hill, NC, USA | Tue Sep 08 09:00:00 GMT 2009
My editor emailed me a few days ago to ask me to write about the "DIY mindset". I laughed - to me DIY has always been about practical, efficient and organized people doing clever and craftsy things. I tend to think of myself more as the nerdy type. (I make a living writing for blogs, for heaven's sake!) But looking back on my posts for TreeHugger and Planet Green, I realized I've come a long way in learning important, practical skills that help me gain independence and reduce my fossil fuel consumption.
From growing shiitake mushrooms to brewing beer to keeping chickens to installing a beehive, I've definitely broadened my creative horizons in the last few years. Heck - I even chopped down some cedar to create my own fence posts. Now that did feel manly...
But how does one go about getting in the DIY mindset, especially if it doesn't come naturally. Here are a few hints:
Adopting the DIY Mentality
Try Something New: You'll never learn if you don't try, so keep an eye out for new and different experiences that might be fun to try out.
Play to Your Strengths: If you're not the craftsiest person on the block, maybe whittling a rocking chair shouldn't be your first project. Find activities that fit with your existing skills and interests. If you're a good cook, start out with food. If you like to garden, plant some seeds. That's not to say you should limit yourself, but it makes sense to start with something you are confident about, and work outwards.
Be OK with Failure: I've said it before, but it's important to allow yourself to fail. Whether you are in the garden or the workshop or the kitchen, you will mess up from time to time. Cut yourself some slack.
Self Sufficientish vs Self Sufficiency: The idea that you can become completely independent and self reliant is a myth - at least for most of us. So start small, and do what you can - but don't beat yourself up if you still indulge in the occasional frozen pizza, or you don't make every piece of furniture from scratch.
Seek Interdependence: Chances are you are not the only one experimenting with greener living. Find friends who are also learning new skills, learn from each other, and trade liberally. If you're making a huge batch of tomato sauce, and a friend is brewing beer - why not barter? Or you can organize DIY work parties and learn new skills together.
Get Back to School: From bee keeping to making hollandaise sauce, I'm often amazed at the courses available in my area. Check out community colleges, non-profits, agricultural extension agents and clubs and find out what courses are available near you.
Be Proud of Yourself: Most important of all, you've got to celebrate your successes. I'm often amazed at how little victories for me - whether it's the first harvest of squash, or a tasty beer - are also enjoyed by those around me. And sometimes those folks are inspired to try projects of their own.
Related Posts:
Growing Shiitake Mushrooms
Why Brewing Beer is Green
Backyard Chickens Provide Unexpected Bug Control
Installing a Beehive: A Nervous Beginners Experience
Need proof that it's possible to balance being green and still be a supportive partner and parent? See how Ed Begley, Jr. does it on Planet Green TV's Living with Ed.
Chapel Hill, NC, USA | Tue Sep 08 09:00:00 GMT 2009
My editor emailed me a few days ago to ask me to write about the "DIY mindset". I laughed - to me DIY has always been about practical, efficient and organized people doing clever and craftsy things. I tend to think of myself more as the nerdy type. (I make a living writing for blogs, for heaven's sake!) But looking back on my posts for TreeHugger and Planet Green, I realized I've come a long way in learning important, practical skills that help me gain independence and reduce my fossil fuel consumption.
From growing shiitake mushrooms to brewing beer to keeping chickens to installing a beehive, I've definitely broadened my creative horizons in the last few years. Heck - I even chopped down some cedar to create my own fence posts. Now that did feel manly...
But how does one go about getting in the DIY mindset, especially if it doesn't come naturally. Here are a few hints:
Adopting the DIY Mentality
Try Something New: You'll never learn if you don't try, so keep an eye out for new and different experiences that might be fun to try out.
Play to Your Strengths: If you're not the craftsiest person on the block, maybe whittling a rocking chair shouldn't be your first project. Find activities that fit with your existing skills and interests. If you're a good cook, start out with food. If you like to garden, plant some seeds. That's not to say you should limit yourself, but it makes sense to start with something you are confident about, and work outwards.
Be OK with Failure: I've said it before, but it's important to allow yourself to fail. Whether you are in the garden or the workshop or the kitchen, you will mess up from time to time. Cut yourself some slack.
Self Sufficientish vs Self Sufficiency: The idea that you can become completely independent and self reliant is a myth - at least for most of us. So start small, and do what you can - but don't beat yourself up if you still indulge in the occasional frozen pizza, or you don't make every piece of furniture from scratch.
Seek Interdependence: Chances are you are not the only one experimenting with greener living. Find friends who are also learning new skills, learn from each other, and trade liberally. If you're making a huge batch of tomato sauce, and a friend is brewing beer - why not barter? Or you can organize DIY work parties and learn new skills together.
Get Back to School: From bee keeping to making hollandaise sauce, I'm often amazed at the courses available in my area. Check out community colleges, non-profits, agricultural extension agents and clubs and find out what courses are available near you.
Be Proud of Yourself: Most important of all, you've got to celebrate your successes. I'm often amazed at how little victories for me - whether it's the first harvest of squash, or a tasty beer - are also enjoyed by those around me. And sometimes those folks are inspired to try projects of their own.
Related Posts:
Growing Shiitake Mushrooms
Why Brewing Beer is Green
Backyard Chickens Provide Unexpected Bug Control
Installing a Beehive: A Nervous Beginners Experience
Need proof that it's possible to balance being green and still be a supportive partner and parent? See how Ed Begley, Jr. does it on Planet Green TV's Living with Ed.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
SIGG Bottles Now BPA Free. But What Were They Before?
By Lloyd Alter, Toronto
Treehuggger | Food & Health
A year and a half ago we asked Are Sigg Aluminum Bottles BPA Free? and our answer was inconclusive. SIGG bottles consistently tested with no detectable levels of Bisphenol A (BPA), but when we asked if their liner was made with BPA, CEO Steve Wasik told us that the liner chemistry was proprietary, and "as there are many copy-cat manufacturers in the market (most based in China) that would like to get their hands on this formula, our supplier has an agreement with SIGG to keep his formula confidential."
Now SIGG has gone public with an announcement that all of their bottles are completely BPA free, thanks to their new "EcoCare" powder-based, co-polyester coating.
But Steve Wasik now admits that bottles made previous to August, 2008 were lined with a water-based epoxy liner which contained trace amounts of BPA. Was I misled last year? When I wrote that it's Time to Pack In the Polycarbonates, was suggesting people get a SIGG instead bad advice?
One can only answer, yes and no. SIGG bottles did consistently test at "no detectable" levels for BPA, but what concentrations were the tests looking for? Scientists were suggesting that as an endocrine disruptor that mimics the female hormone estrogen, it could have an effect on people at a concentration of a few parts per trillion; the test results are in parts per billion.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CEO Wasik alludes to the changes in perception about BPA:
The primary reason that I am writing this letter today is because I believe that the BPA conversation has changed dramatically in the last 12 months. Last year, the primary concern was that of BPA leaching from bottles. Since that time the dialogue has evolved such that now some people are concerned about the mere presence of BPA and some states are considering legislation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was unhappy when I read this, essentially an acknowledgement that there was a presence of BPA; This morning I spoke with SIGG CEO Steve Wasik about it. Strictly speaking he is correct; a year ago his bottles tested at no detectable levels of BPA; now we want to know that there is none, period, used in the manufacturing process.
When I complained that there was nothing special about yet another water based epoxy lining in his earlier bottles, he disagreed and replied:
-The lining really WAS proprietary, and that is why their epoxy lining tested at zero parts per billion and the Chinese knockoffs tested at 19 parts per billion.
-they intend to be completely transparent and "have developed this special section on our website that we will be updating regularly where you can find independent laboratory testing on SIGG and other bottle brands as well as an update on the BPA situation as it continues to develop. We want our current and potential customers to have the facts."
Wasik told me that he wants to
"make sure that people continue to appreciate the quality and have confidence in the brand."
So where does that leave us?
1. SIGG bottles made prior to August, 2008 still test at "no detectable levels" of BPA. However, if that is not good enough for you and you want to discuss replacement, Steve Wasik suggests that you contact the company directly. His email address is at the bottom of his letter here.
2. SIGG bottles made since August, 2008 have a new lining that does not contain any BPA and does not use BPA in its manufacturing processes.
3. SIGG is acknowledging that there is concern about BPA at trace levels, which is a lot more than just about any other company using epoxy liners is doing. As I noted in Is There Bisphenol A In Your Home Canning?, most companies are still hiding behind the FDA standards, which almost everyone now agrees are ridiculous.
4. Notwithstanding Steve Wasik's openness and quick response, whenever I hear the word "proprietary" again I am going to run in the opposite direction. People are entitled to know what is in their stuff, what they are putting in their mouths. That is the new bottom line.
Treehuggger | Food & Health
A year and a half ago we asked Are Sigg Aluminum Bottles BPA Free? and our answer was inconclusive. SIGG bottles consistently tested with no detectable levels of Bisphenol A (BPA), but when we asked if their liner was made with BPA, CEO Steve Wasik told us that the liner chemistry was proprietary, and "as there are many copy-cat manufacturers in the market (most based in China) that would like to get their hands on this formula, our supplier has an agreement with SIGG to keep his formula confidential."
Now SIGG has gone public with an announcement that all of their bottles are completely BPA free, thanks to their new "EcoCare" powder-based, co-polyester coating.
But Steve Wasik now admits that bottles made previous to August, 2008 were lined with a water-based epoxy liner which contained trace amounts of BPA. Was I misled last year? When I wrote that it's Time to Pack In the Polycarbonates, was suggesting people get a SIGG instead bad advice?
One can only answer, yes and no. SIGG bottles did consistently test at "no detectable" levels for BPA, but what concentrations were the tests looking for? Scientists were suggesting that as an endocrine disruptor that mimics the female hormone estrogen, it could have an effect on people at a concentration of a few parts per trillion; the test results are in parts per billion.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CEO Wasik alludes to the changes in perception about BPA:
The primary reason that I am writing this letter today is because I believe that the BPA conversation has changed dramatically in the last 12 months. Last year, the primary concern was that of BPA leaching from bottles. Since that time the dialogue has evolved such that now some people are concerned about the mere presence of BPA and some states are considering legislation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was unhappy when I read this, essentially an acknowledgement that there was a presence of BPA; This morning I spoke with SIGG CEO Steve Wasik about it. Strictly speaking he is correct; a year ago his bottles tested at no detectable levels of BPA; now we want to know that there is none, period, used in the manufacturing process.
When I complained that there was nothing special about yet another water based epoxy lining in his earlier bottles, he disagreed and replied:
-The lining really WAS proprietary, and that is why their epoxy lining tested at zero parts per billion and the Chinese knockoffs tested at 19 parts per billion.
-they intend to be completely transparent and "have developed this special section on our website that we will be updating regularly where you can find independent laboratory testing on SIGG and other bottle brands as well as an update on the BPA situation as it continues to develop. We want our current and potential customers to have the facts."
Wasik told me that he wants to
"make sure that people continue to appreciate the quality and have confidence in the brand."
So where does that leave us?
1. SIGG bottles made prior to August, 2008 still test at "no detectable levels" of BPA. However, if that is not good enough for you and you want to discuss replacement, Steve Wasik suggests that you contact the company directly. His email address is at the bottom of his letter here.
2. SIGG bottles made since August, 2008 have a new lining that does not contain any BPA and does not use BPA in its manufacturing processes.
3. SIGG is acknowledging that there is concern about BPA at trace levels, which is a lot more than just about any other company using epoxy liners is doing. As I noted in Is There Bisphenol A In Your Home Canning?, most companies are still hiding behind the FDA standards, which almost everyone now agrees are ridiculous.
4. Notwithstanding Steve Wasik's openness and quick response, whenever I hear the word "proprietary" again I am going to run in the opposite direction. People are entitled to know what is in their stuff, what they are putting in their mouths. That is the new bottom line.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Educators, Top Free Resources to Teach Your Students About Climate Change
By Matt McDermott
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Planet Green | Work & Connect
News and information about climate change is everywhere these days. Between the rapidly changing state of the science -- generally along the lines of "things are a lot worse than we thought" -- and growing numbers of vested business interests trying to deny anything is wrong, where can you go to get some good basic information to help students? Here are some good places to get an overview of the situation:
Discovery Channel - Global Warming
Normally I'd wait until the end to plug our own services, but Planet Green's parent's info on global warming is pretty comprehensive and presented in a very compelling way. It's all pegged around the Global Warming: What You Need to Know with a Tom Brokaw special, but don't let the steely eyed celebrity news anchor dissuade you, it's solid content.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Why not start at the source? The IPCC's fourth assessment report (now two years old) really lays the situation our pretty starkly. Pay no attention to claims that its predictions are alarmist -- in fact, given the huge number of people who had input on it, if anything it's not dire enough. At the Copenhagen Climate Congress this past March, the consensus of scientists there was that the worst-case trajectories of this paper were coming to pass. Check out the synthesis report from that conference for an unofficial update to the IPCC's report.
Climate Change North
This one is aimed really at educators in Canada's northern territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut) but frankly there's a lot of good info and specific lesson ideas for elementary, middle and high schoolers here that are worth checking out. Topics include (as one might expect) how polar bears and other wildlife are being affected by climate change, how climate change is likely to affect these northern regions, the impact of transportation on climate, and more.
Rainforest Action Network: Educators
The Rainforest Action Network has a growing list of lesson plans for middle and high school educators. There's a 77-page full curriculum, PDF fact sheets, and specific project areas such as a Green My School and Campus Challenge, Green My Ride, Soy What? Save the Rainforest From Giant Agribusiness, No New Coal, and Old Growth Forests.
PBS: NOW - Global Warming
PBS' NOW has a pretty extensive collection of video clips on issues related to global climate change: Renewable energy, ocean acidification, glacial melting, and coal are all covered. There's also a complete lesson plan PDF covering all the global warming basics.
More on Climate Change:
I'd be entirely remiss to not point out that Planet Green and TreeHugger both have countless posts on what changes global warming is already bringing about, what will likely happen in the future, and how we can slow or stop it:
8 Practical Reasons Why Global Warming Totally Sucks, Plus What's In It For You to Stop It
Global Fisheries Hit by Climate Change and Overfishing
Climate Change to Make the World Lazier, Study Finds
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Planet Green | Work & Connect
News and information about climate change is everywhere these days. Between the rapidly changing state of the science -- generally along the lines of "things are a lot worse than we thought" -- and growing numbers of vested business interests trying to deny anything is wrong, where can you go to get some good basic information to help students? Here are some good places to get an overview of the situation:
Discovery Channel - Global Warming
Normally I'd wait until the end to plug our own services, but Planet Green's parent's info on global warming is pretty comprehensive and presented in a very compelling way. It's all pegged around the Global Warming: What You Need to Know with a Tom Brokaw special, but don't let the steely eyed celebrity news anchor dissuade you, it's solid content.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Why not start at the source? The IPCC's fourth assessment report (now two years old) really lays the situation our pretty starkly. Pay no attention to claims that its predictions are alarmist -- in fact, given the huge number of people who had input on it, if anything it's not dire enough. At the Copenhagen Climate Congress this past March, the consensus of scientists there was that the worst-case trajectories of this paper were coming to pass. Check out the synthesis report from that conference for an unofficial update to the IPCC's report.
Climate Change North
This one is aimed really at educators in Canada's northern territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut) but frankly there's a lot of good info and specific lesson ideas for elementary, middle and high schoolers here that are worth checking out. Topics include (as one might expect) how polar bears and other wildlife are being affected by climate change, how climate change is likely to affect these northern regions, the impact of transportation on climate, and more.
Rainforest Action Network: Educators
The Rainforest Action Network has a growing list of lesson plans for middle and high school educators. There's a 77-page full curriculum, PDF fact sheets, and specific project areas such as a Green My School and Campus Challenge, Green My Ride, Soy What? Save the Rainforest From Giant Agribusiness, No New Coal, and Old Growth Forests.
PBS: NOW - Global Warming
PBS' NOW has a pretty extensive collection of video clips on issues related to global climate change: Renewable energy, ocean acidification, glacial melting, and coal are all covered. There's also a complete lesson plan PDF covering all the global warming basics.
More on Climate Change:
I'd be entirely remiss to not point out that Planet Green and TreeHugger both have countless posts on what changes global warming is already bringing about, what will likely happen in the future, and how we can slow or stop it:
8 Practical Reasons Why Global Warming Totally Sucks, Plus What's In It For You to Stop It
Global Fisheries Hit by Climate Change and Overfishing
Climate Change to Make the World Lazier, Study Finds
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Seed to Plate: Online Garden Planner Makes it Easy
by Sami Grover
Carrboro, NC, USA
Transition Culture
With the Obamas gardening at the White House, vegetable gardening seems to have hit the mainstream. But many folks are still intimidated by the whole process - what do I plant, when, how many and how do I care for them? It can all be a bit much for a newbie. (See my own experiences of gardening failures over at Planet Green!) We've already seen one UK company spring up to make life a little easier - Rocket Gardens provide 'instant gardens' by shipping vegetable starts by mail - but as we noted at the time, that's not without its own environmental footprint. A new UK-based service helps those who want to start from seed.
Seed to Plate has created an online plot planner that asks you about what you like to eat, how much space you have, and how much time - and then creates a personalized set of seeds, planting plans and grow guides - even a map for laying out your plot - and ships it all to your door. Pretty darned neat if you ask me - I wish I'd have had a service like this when I started out.
Resources:
http://www.growveg.com/ - which provides a really flexible online garden planner.
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
* Why You Should Save Seeds from Your Garden
* Gardening Tips for Maximum Economic Harvest
* In Praise of the Potato II: A Volunteer Gardener
* How to Save Tomato Seeds
* 9 Human Activities That Threaten Birds and Why We Need to Effect Change Now
* Organic Gardening 101: Be OK with Failures
Carrboro, NC, USA
Transition Culture
With the Obamas gardening at the White House, vegetable gardening seems to have hit the mainstream. But many folks are still intimidated by the whole process - what do I plant, when, how many and how do I care for them? It can all be a bit much for a newbie. (See my own experiences of gardening failures over at Planet Green!) We've already seen one UK company spring up to make life a little easier - Rocket Gardens provide 'instant gardens' by shipping vegetable starts by mail - but as we noted at the time, that's not without its own environmental footprint. A new UK-based service helps those who want to start from seed.
Seed to Plate has created an online plot planner that asks you about what you like to eat, how much space you have, and how much time - and then creates a personalized set of seeds, planting plans and grow guides - even a map for laying out your plot - and ships it all to your door. Pretty darned neat if you ask me - I wish I'd have had a service like this when I started out.
Resources:
http://www.growveg.com/ - which provides a really flexible online garden planner.
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
* Why You Should Save Seeds from Your Garden
* Gardening Tips for Maximum Economic Harvest
* In Praise of the Potato II: A Volunteer Gardener
* How to Save Tomato Seeds
* 9 Human Activities That Threaten Birds and Why We Need to Effect Change Now
* Organic Gardening 101: Be OK with Failures
How will Earth's surface temperature change in future decades?
Judith L. Lean
Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D. C., USA
David H. Rind
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York, USA
Geophysical Research Letters
Reliable forecasts of climate change in the immediate future are difficult, especially on regional scales, where natural climate variations may amplify or mitigate anthropogenic warming in ways that numerical models capture poorly. By decomposing recent observed surface temperatures into components associated with ENSO, volcanic and solar activity, and anthropogenic influences, we anticipate global and regional changes in the next two decades. From 2009 to 2014, projected rises in anthropogenic influences and solar irradiance will increase global surface temperature 0.15 ± 0.03°C, at a rate 50% greater than predicted by IPCC. But as a result of declining solar activity in the subsequent five years, average temperature in 2019 is only 0.03 ± 0.01°C warmer than in 2014. This lack of overall warming is analogous to the period from 2002 to 2008 when decreasing solar irradiance also countered much of the anthropogenic warming. We further illustrate how a major volcanic eruption and a super ENSO would modify our global and regional temperature projections.
Received 29 April 2009; accepted 9 July 2009; published 15 August 2009.
Citation: Lean, J. L., and D. H. Rind (2009), How will Earth's surface temperature change in future decades?, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L15708, doi:10.1029/2009GL038932.
Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D. C., USA
David H. Rind
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York, USA
Geophysical Research Letters
Reliable forecasts of climate change in the immediate future are difficult, especially on regional scales, where natural climate variations may amplify or mitigate anthropogenic warming in ways that numerical models capture poorly. By decomposing recent observed surface temperatures into components associated with ENSO, volcanic and solar activity, and anthropogenic influences, we anticipate global and regional changes in the next two decades. From 2009 to 2014, projected rises in anthropogenic influences and solar irradiance will increase global surface temperature 0.15 ± 0.03°C, at a rate 50% greater than predicted by IPCC. But as a result of declining solar activity in the subsequent five years, average temperature in 2019 is only 0.03 ± 0.01°C warmer than in 2014. This lack of overall warming is analogous to the period from 2002 to 2008 when decreasing solar irradiance also countered much of the anthropogenic warming. We further illustrate how a major volcanic eruption and a super ENSO would modify our global and regional temperature projections.
Received 29 April 2009; accepted 9 July 2009; published 15 August 2009.
Citation: Lean, J. L., and D. H. Rind (2009), How will Earth's surface temperature change in future decades?, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L15708, doi:10.1029/2009GL038932.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Escape of methane gas from the seabed along the West Spitsbergen continental margin
Graham K. Westbrook
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, UK
Kate E. Thatcher
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, UK
Eelco J. Rohling
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Alexander M. Piotrowski
Godwin Laboratory for Palaeoclimate Research, Department of Earth Sciences, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
Heiko Pälike
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Anne H. Osborne
Bristol Isotope Group, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
Euan G. Nisbet
Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
Tim A. Minshull
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Mathias Lanoisellé
Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
Rachael H. James
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Veit Hühnerbach
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Darryl Green
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Rebecca E. Fisher
Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
Anya J. Crocker
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Anne Chabert
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Clara Bolton
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Agnieszka Beszczynska-Möller
Climate Sciences, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
Christian Berndt
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences at University of Kiel (IFM-GEOMAR), Kiel, Germany
Alfred Aquilina
Organic Geochemistry Unit, Bristol Biogeochemistry Research Centre, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
Geophysical Research Letters
More than 250 plumes of gas bubbles have been discovered emanating from the seabed of the West Spitsbergen continental margin, in a depth range of 150–400 m, at and above the present upper limit of the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ). Some of the plumes extend upward to within 50 m of the sea surface. The gas is predominantly methane. Warming of the northward-flowing West Spitsbergen current by 1°C over the last thirty years is likely to have increased the release of methane from the seabed by reducing the extent of the GHSZ, causing the liberation of methane from decomposing hydrate. If this process becomes widespread along Arctic continental margins, tens of Teragrams of methane per year could be released into the ocean.
Received 20 May 2009; accepted 30 June 2009; published 6 August 2009.
Citation: Westbrook, G. K., et al. (2009), Escape of methane gas from the seabed along the West Spitsbergen continental margin, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L15608, doi:10.1029/2009GL039191.
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, UK
Kate E. Thatcher
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, UK
Eelco J. Rohling
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Alexander M. Piotrowski
Godwin Laboratory for Palaeoclimate Research, Department of Earth Sciences, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
Heiko Pälike
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Anne H. Osborne
Bristol Isotope Group, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
Euan G. Nisbet
Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
Tim A. Minshull
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Mathias Lanoisellé
Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
Rachael H. James
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Veit Hühnerbach
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Darryl Green
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Rebecca E. Fisher
Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
Anya J. Crocker
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Anne Chabert
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Clara Bolton
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Agnieszka Beszczynska-Möller
Climate Sciences, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
Christian Berndt
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences at University of Kiel (IFM-GEOMAR), Kiel, Germany
Alfred Aquilina
Organic Geochemistry Unit, Bristol Biogeochemistry Research Centre, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
Geophysical Research Letters
More than 250 plumes of gas bubbles have been discovered emanating from the seabed of the West Spitsbergen continental margin, in a depth range of 150–400 m, at and above the present upper limit of the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ). Some of the plumes extend upward to within 50 m of the sea surface. The gas is predominantly methane. Warming of the northward-flowing West Spitsbergen current by 1°C over the last thirty years is likely to have increased the release of methane from the seabed by reducing the extent of the GHSZ, causing the liberation of methane from decomposing hydrate. If this process becomes widespread along Arctic continental margins, tens of Teragrams of methane per year could be released into the ocean.
Received 20 May 2009; accepted 30 June 2009; published 6 August 2009.
Citation: Westbrook, G. K., et al. (2009), Escape of methane gas from the seabed along the West Spitsbergen continental margin, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L15608, doi:10.1029/2009GL039191.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Build a Geodesic Dome Solar Greenhouse to Grow Your Own Food
Click here to view the slide show and follow along.
Photo credit: Jim Dunn
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 1
What do you do when you want to grow your own food, but live here? That's the question my dad wanted to answer when he started this project about a year ago: Living at 7,750 feet above sea level, with a summer growing season of 80 days, at best, between killing freezes, how can you grow your own food? The answer, as it turns out, is pretty cool: A geodesic dome solar greenhouse.
Click through to see what it's like to build one for yourself, and how the garden grows inside once you're done.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 2
Here's Dad's garden, prior to the greenhouse. It's on a south-facing slope, behind the house, which is good for sun, but the direct sunlight during the middle of the day caused a lot of wilting in the lettuce and spinach and such that he liked to grow there. Plus, the local elk, deer, and rabbits who frequent the backyard would also make short work of eating everything -- hence the elaborate and quasi-functional netting system over top. All of this, plus the short growing season, meant that these raised beds weren't really cutting it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 3
After some research, Dad decided that a greenhouse would be a good way to extend the growing season, and that a geodesic dome would be a good shape to get the most out of the southern exposure (Bucky Fuller would probably agree) and maximize the solar energy from the 300 days of sun in Colorado. As it turns out, a company called Growing Spaces -- TreeHugger Sami spied them recently -- builds kits for just such a situation. So here's the proposed spot for the dome.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 4
The local Home Owners Association was quite interested in his plan, and not in a good way, unfortunately. After several rounds of proposals, some less-than-polite exchanges, and a few compromises -- the trees on the left side of the photo had to be added, to help the dome "blend in," for example -- the HOA bought it and he was allowed to break ground.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 5
The proposed spot is on a bit of a slope, so some excavation was required to flatten it out. The extra soil, piled off to the side, was saved to be added to the beds inside the greenhouse, upon completion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 6
A layer of rodent wire goes down before the foundation, to help keep any unsavory characters from tunneling up into the warmth and potential food supply that'll soon be inside the domed walls.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 7
A dump truck arrived with a load of gravel that was to become the foundation for the structure. Though the domes can be built on anything from a poured concrete foundation to a flattened patch of dirt, Dad chose gravel because it was easy to move, work with, level, and it drains well.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 8
The laser level came out to get the foundation flat and level. As with most construction, it's important to get it level; since this is essentially a prefab kit, it's especially so: An unlevel surface would put undue stress on one part of the structure that's designed to sit on a level surface.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 9
With all that complete, it was time, finally, to start the actual construction. The dome from Growing Spaces comes pretty much as a prefab, so the on-site construction is sort of like an advanced version of Legos, consisting of mostly following the directions and bolting things together. Dad was able to do the outer walls, shown here, by himself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 10
Now the dome is really taking shape. Bolting the dome's structure together takes four hands, for a bit, but, with some help from my mom, Dad was able to get from the leveled foundation to this skeletal structure in three days' time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 11
For the first time, the dome actually looks like what it's supposed to when it's finished. This illustration highlights some of the finer points of the design.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 12
Dad was starting to get tired of doing all the work himself, so, thankfully, his brother and sister-in-law showed up to help put the first glazing on. This was the first part that he really couldn't do by himself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 13
One of the benefits of the dome architecture is that it's extremely strong, especially considering the construction materials used. That's me up on top, helping put the finishing touches on the outside structure so it'd be weatherproof when it started to snow.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 14
With the outside buttoned up and ready for winter, Dad was able to start with the inside work: Building the perimeter and interior growing beds; installing the water tank for thermal mass; wiring a variety of solar gadgets and other operations needs, like the ventilation fans. Right now, though, it's mostly just a pile of stuff on the ground.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 15
His buddy Paul came by to help install the thermal mass water tank; at 600 gallons, it provides a substantial amount of thermal mass -- it absorbs heat during the day and radiates it out at night, keeping the interior of the greenhouse at a warmer and more constant temperature. It's on the north-facing side of the dome, beneath the shiny stuff, which is called Reflectix, a brand of aluminum-coated insulation/heat reflector that covers about 20 percent of the interior. It's an optional feature, and can just be stapled to the inside of the glazing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 16
The perimeter beds go about three-quarters of the way around the interior wall of the dome -- the last quarter or so is where the thermal mass water tank sits. Dad sited it so that the perimeter beds are on the south-facing side of the dome, to best take advantage of the sun's position and solar energy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 17
With the perimeter beds in, it's time to install the interior growing bed. This is a good shot of the undersoil heat pipes that live under each growing bed, helping regulate the soil temperature for optimal growing conditions. And I think he got his tools out of there first...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 18
Everything is installed, and it's ready for planting. This is early February, just over three months from when he broke ground. The box on the interior growing bed is the air intake for the heat pipes; a fan in the box, wired directly to a small solar panel on top of the greenhouse, blows the warm interior air down into the pipes to help keep the soil temperature up.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 19
In the meantime, a pretty typical Colorado winter was dumping snow outside. This photo was taken on March 28, and it would be months until he could have planted anything outside...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 20
...Yet the greenhouse was looking like Spring. Some spinach and chard are growing comfortably in the perimeter beds. This photo was taken on the same day as the previous slide, with all the snow outside.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 21
As it gets warmer, the vents on the side help regulate the temperature inside. Just like anywhere, too much heat or humidity inside the dome isn't good for growing, so these vents are an important part of the efficient growth inside the dome.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 22
Here's Dad's data collection setup: The data logger on top tracks temperature, humidity, and the sun's intensity, and reports it to Dad's computer; the thermometer on the bottom is a good indication of how efficient the greenhouse is -- it's not quite 48 degrees outside, but a balmy 62 inside, even before the sun gets high in the sky, at 10am.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 23
This data logger report shows a fairly typical day in May in the greenhouse; the blue line is relative humidity; green is light intensity; dotted black is soil temperature; and solid black is the greenhouse's interior temperature. It's easy to see how the system works together -- water as thermal mass, air vents regulating air temperature, and so forth -- to create a more optimal growing environment than the outdoors would provide by itself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 24
Fast forward to June, and you can see how well it works. The greenhouse is nearly overgrown with squash, gourds, and carrots in the interior beds, and tomatoes, green beans, and a bunch of other green goodies in the perimeter beds.
The greenhouse has been working so well that it's produced way, way more food than my parents can eat themselves, so Dad makes regular deliveries to my sisters (who live nearby) and the neighbors, who are happy to be just about the only residents in town eating lettuce, spinach, and carrots that don't come from eastern Colorado or California.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 25
The greenhouse garden hasn't been without a few hiccups, though. Aphids and a few other pests found the bounty inside the dome earlier this Spring, and did some pretty significant damage. Not wanting to hose the plants down with pesticides, Dad called in a cavalry of ladybugs, who seemed to really appreciate the large food supply, and are now happy full-time residents.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 26
All in all, Dad's biggest "complaint," after a season and a half of growing, is that the plants have done too well. He's used to a marginal success rate when it comes to growing -- the animals, climate, and weather see to that -- that is not really a problem with the greenhouse. Going forward, he'll adjust when and what he plants so that it isn't quite so overgrown, so that the plants inside have a little more room to spread out.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 27
All in all, it's been an overwhelming success, as he plans to go from roughly 80 days of growing season to more like 10 months; he hopes to go until the end of November this year, and will plant again next year early in February.
More about growing your own food
- How to Go Green: Gardening
- Greener Gardening: Why Grow-it-Yourself Organic Food is Here to Stay and How to Get on the Bandwagon
- TreeHugger Picks: Grow Your Own Food
- Quiz: How Green is Your Garden?
Photo credit: Jim Dunn
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 1
What do you do when you want to grow your own food, but live here? That's the question my dad wanted to answer when he started this project about a year ago: Living at 7,750 feet above sea level, with a summer growing season of 80 days, at best, between killing freezes, how can you grow your own food? The answer, as it turns out, is pretty cool: A geodesic dome solar greenhouse.
Click through to see what it's like to build one for yourself, and how the garden grows inside once you're done.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 2
Here's Dad's garden, prior to the greenhouse. It's on a south-facing slope, behind the house, which is good for sun, but the direct sunlight during the middle of the day caused a lot of wilting in the lettuce and spinach and such that he liked to grow there. Plus, the local elk, deer, and rabbits who frequent the backyard would also make short work of eating everything -- hence the elaborate and quasi-functional netting system over top. All of this, plus the short growing season, meant that these raised beds weren't really cutting it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 3
After some research, Dad decided that a greenhouse would be a good way to extend the growing season, and that a geodesic dome would be a good shape to get the most out of the southern exposure (Bucky Fuller would probably agree) and maximize the solar energy from the 300 days of sun in Colorado. As it turns out, a company called Growing Spaces -- TreeHugger Sami spied them recently -- builds kits for just such a situation. So here's the proposed spot for the dome.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 4
The local Home Owners Association was quite interested in his plan, and not in a good way, unfortunately. After several rounds of proposals, some less-than-polite exchanges, and a few compromises -- the trees on the left side of the photo had to be added, to help the dome "blend in," for example -- the HOA bought it and he was allowed to break ground.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 5
The proposed spot is on a bit of a slope, so some excavation was required to flatten it out. The extra soil, piled off to the side, was saved to be added to the beds inside the greenhouse, upon completion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 6
A layer of rodent wire goes down before the foundation, to help keep any unsavory characters from tunneling up into the warmth and potential food supply that'll soon be inside the domed walls.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 7
A dump truck arrived with a load of gravel that was to become the foundation for the structure. Though the domes can be built on anything from a poured concrete foundation to a flattened patch of dirt, Dad chose gravel because it was easy to move, work with, level, and it drains well.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 8
The laser level came out to get the foundation flat and level. As with most construction, it's important to get it level; since this is essentially a prefab kit, it's especially so: An unlevel surface would put undue stress on one part of the structure that's designed to sit on a level surface.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 9
With all that complete, it was time, finally, to start the actual construction. The dome from Growing Spaces comes pretty much as a prefab, so the on-site construction is sort of like an advanced version of Legos, consisting of mostly following the directions and bolting things together. Dad was able to do the outer walls, shown here, by himself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 10
Now the dome is really taking shape. Bolting the dome's structure together takes four hands, for a bit, but, with some help from my mom, Dad was able to get from the leveled foundation to this skeletal structure in three days' time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 11
For the first time, the dome actually looks like what it's supposed to when it's finished. This illustration highlights some of the finer points of the design.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 12
Dad was starting to get tired of doing all the work himself, so, thankfully, his brother and sister-in-law showed up to help put the first glazing on. This was the first part that he really couldn't do by himself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 13
One of the benefits of the dome architecture is that it's extremely strong, especially considering the construction materials used. That's me up on top, helping put the finishing touches on the outside structure so it'd be weatherproof when it started to snow.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 14
With the outside buttoned up and ready for winter, Dad was able to start with the inside work: Building the perimeter and interior growing beds; installing the water tank for thermal mass; wiring a variety of solar gadgets and other operations needs, like the ventilation fans. Right now, though, it's mostly just a pile of stuff on the ground.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 15
His buddy Paul came by to help install the thermal mass water tank; at 600 gallons, it provides a substantial amount of thermal mass -- it absorbs heat during the day and radiates it out at night, keeping the interior of the greenhouse at a warmer and more constant temperature. It's on the north-facing side of the dome, beneath the shiny stuff, which is called Reflectix, a brand of aluminum-coated insulation/heat reflector that covers about 20 percent of the interior. It's an optional feature, and can just be stapled to the inside of the glazing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 16
The perimeter beds go about three-quarters of the way around the interior wall of the dome -- the last quarter or so is where the thermal mass water tank sits. Dad sited it so that the perimeter beds are on the south-facing side of the dome, to best take advantage of the sun's position and solar energy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 17
With the perimeter beds in, it's time to install the interior growing bed. This is a good shot of the undersoil heat pipes that live under each growing bed, helping regulate the soil temperature for optimal growing conditions. And I think he got his tools out of there first...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 18
Everything is installed, and it's ready for planting. This is early February, just over three months from when he broke ground. The box on the interior growing bed is the air intake for the heat pipes; a fan in the box, wired directly to a small solar panel on top of the greenhouse, blows the warm interior air down into the pipes to help keep the soil temperature up.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 19
In the meantime, a pretty typical Colorado winter was dumping snow outside. This photo was taken on March 28, and it would be months until he could have planted anything outside...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 20
...Yet the greenhouse was looking like Spring. Some spinach and chard are growing comfortably in the perimeter beds. This photo was taken on the same day as the previous slide, with all the snow outside.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 21
As it gets warmer, the vents on the side help regulate the temperature inside. Just like anywhere, too much heat or humidity inside the dome isn't good for growing, so these vents are an important part of the efficient growth inside the dome.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 22
Here's Dad's data collection setup: The data logger on top tracks temperature, humidity, and the sun's intensity, and reports it to Dad's computer; the thermometer on the bottom is a good indication of how efficient the greenhouse is -- it's not quite 48 degrees outside, but a balmy 62 inside, even before the sun gets high in the sky, at 10am.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 23
This data logger report shows a fairly typical day in May in the greenhouse; the blue line is relative humidity; green is light intensity; dotted black is soil temperature; and solid black is the greenhouse's interior temperature. It's easy to see how the system works together -- water as thermal mass, air vents regulating air temperature, and so forth -- to create a more optimal growing environment than the outdoors would provide by itself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 24
Fast forward to June, and you can see how well it works. The greenhouse is nearly overgrown with squash, gourds, and carrots in the interior beds, and tomatoes, green beans, and a bunch of other green goodies in the perimeter beds.
The greenhouse has been working so well that it's produced way, way more food than my parents can eat themselves, so Dad makes regular deliveries to my sisters (who live nearby) and the neighbors, who are happy to be just about the only residents in town eating lettuce, spinach, and carrots that don't come from eastern Colorado or California.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 25
The greenhouse garden hasn't been without a few hiccups, though. Aphids and a few other pests found the bounty inside the dome earlier this Spring, and did some pretty significant damage. Not wanting to hose the plants down with pesticides, Dad called in a cavalry of ladybugs, who seemed to really appreciate the large food supply, and are now happy full-time residents.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 26
All in all, Dad's biggest "complaint," after a season and a half of growing, is that the plants have done too well. He's used to a marginal success rate when it comes to growing -- the animals, climate, and weather see to that -- that is not really a problem with the greenhouse. Going forward, he'll adjust when and what he plants so that it isn't quite so overgrown, so that the plants inside have a little more room to spread out.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLIDE 27
All in all, it's been an overwhelming success, as he plans to go from roughly 80 days of growing season to more like 10 months; he hopes to go until the end of November this year, and will plant again next year early in February.
More about growing your own food
- How to Go Green: Gardening
- Greener Gardening: Why Grow-it-Yourself Organic Food is Here to Stay and How to Get on the Bandwagon
- TreeHugger Picks: Grow Your Own Food
- Quiz: How Green is Your Garden?
Ice-ocean processes over the continental shelf of the southern Weddell Sea, Antarctica: A review
Keith W. Nicholls
British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK
Svein Østerhus
Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Keith Makinson
British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK
Tor Gammelsrød
Geofysisk Institutt, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Department of Arctic Geophysics, University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway
Eberhard Fahrbach
Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
AGU.org
Interactions between the Southern Ocean and the Weddell Sea ice shelves are important both to the Antarctic Ice Sheet and to the production of globally significant water masses. Here we review the interaction between the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and the shelf sea in which it floats. The continental shelf processes leading to the production of Weddell Sea deep and bottom waters from the original off-shelf source waters are discussed, and a new view is offered of the initial production of High-Salinity Shelf Water. Data from ship-based measurements at the ice front, from glaciological methods, and from measurements made within the sub–ice shelf cavity itself are used to describe the pattern of flows beneath the ice shelf. We also consider the variability observed within the cavity from tidal to interannual time scales and finish with a discussion of future research priorities in the region.
Received 8 October 2007; accepted 27 March 2009; published 22 July 2009.
Citation: Nicholls, K. W., S. Østerhus, K. Makinson, T. Gammelsrød, and E. Fahrbach (2009), Ice-ocean processes over the continental shelf of the southern Weddell Sea, Antarctica: A review, Rev. Geophys., 47, RG3003, doi:10.1029/2007RG000250.
British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK
Svein Østerhus
Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Keith Makinson
British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK
Tor Gammelsrød
Geofysisk Institutt, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Department of Arctic Geophysics, University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway
Eberhard Fahrbach
Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
AGU.org
Interactions between the Southern Ocean and the Weddell Sea ice shelves are important both to the Antarctic Ice Sheet and to the production of globally significant water masses. Here we review the interaction between the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and the shelf sea in which it floats. The continental shelf processes leading to the production of Weddell Sea deep and bottom waters from the original off-shelf source waters are discussed, and a new view is offered of the initial production of High-Salinity Shelf Water. Data from ship-based measurements at the ice front, from glaciological methods, and from measurements made within the sub–ice shelf cavity itself are used to describe the pattern of flows beneath the ice shelf. We also consider the variability observed within the cavity from tidal to interannual time scales and finish with a discussion of future research priorities in the region.
Received 8 October 2007; accepted 27 March 2009; published 22 July 2009.
Citation: Nicholls, K. W., S. Østerhus, K. Makinson, T. Gammelsrød, and E. Fahrbach (2009), Ice-ocean processes over the continental shelf of the southern Weddell Sea, Antarctica: A review, Rev. Geophys., 47, RG3003, doi:10.1029/2007RG000250.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Is the climate warming or cooling?
David R. Easterling
National Climatic Data Center, NOAA, Asheville, North Carolina, USA
Michael F. Wehner
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
Geophysical Research Letters
Numerous websites, blogs and articles in the media have claimed that the climate is no longer warming, and is now cooling. Here we show that periods of no trend or even cooling of the globally averaged surface air temperature are found in the last 34 years of the observed record, and in climate model simulations of the 20th and 21st century forced with increasing greenhouse gases. We show that the climate over the 21st century can and likely will produce periods of a decade or two where the globally averaged surface air temperature shows no trend or even slight cooling in the presence of longer‐term warming.
Received 18 February 2009; accepted 30 March 2009; published 25 April 2009.
Citation: Easterling, D. R., and M. F. Wehner (2009), Is the climate warming or cooling?, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L08706, doi:10.1029/2009GL037810.
National Climatic Data Center, NOAA, Asheville, North Carolina, USA
Michael F. Wehner
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
Geophysical Research Letters
Numerous websites, blogs and articles in the media have claimed that the climate is no longer warming, and is now cooling. Here we show that periods of no trend or even cooling of the globally averaged surface air temperature are found in the last 34 years of the observed record, and in climate model simulations of the 20th and 21st century forced with increasing greenhouse gases. We show that the climate over the 21st century can and likely will produce periods of a decade or two where the globally averaged surface air temperature shows no trend or even slight cooling in the presence of longer‐term warming.
Received 18 February 2009; accepted 30 March 2009; published 25 April 2009.
Citation: Easterling, D. R., and M. F. Wehner (2009), Is the climate warming or cooling?, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L08706, doi:10.1029/2009GL037810.
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