Fire Earth

Earth is fighting to stay alive. Mass dieoffs, triggered by anthropogenic assault and fallout of planetary defense systems offsetting the impact, could begin anytime!

Posts Tagged ‘Columbia University’

Ich bin eine Coal Girl!

Posted by terres on May 15, 2008

How do you say you’re a “hypocrite” without calling yourself “hippo turd” in German?

Brazil biofuels must respect Amazon: Merkel

German coal-powered plants must respect Earth: The World

German Chancellor Merkel urged Brazil to adopt tougher environmental standards in biofuels production. [She added rich nations needed to pay up to help protect the rainforests’ biodiversity.]

“Biofuels are a way to replace traditional fossil fuels but only if they are produced sustainably,” Merkel said in Brasilia. [She could hardly hide her disgust at the fact that Germany couldn’t import “cheap” Brazilian ethanol anytime soon.]


Merkel and Sarkazy. Two turds of the EU powerhouse. (Credit: Gerald Herbert, AP) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

“There are statistics that raise concerns about deforestation, the process of displacement between soybeans, beef and the rain forest,” Merkel said at a joint news conference with Brazilian President Lula.


Merkel with the other one turd of the EU powerhouse. (Credit: global-metropolis) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Meanwhile Lula made his statement of the year saying that “Brazil was the most interested of all countries in protecting the Amazon but that the millions of people living there also had a right to prosperity.” (Source)

So, remember children, Lula style “prosperity” first, ecosystems second! Because if you are prosperous, you can tell mother Earth to go F*ck herself!

Previously …

Dr Hansen at Columbia University Earth Institute wrote to Dr Merkel (April 2008 ):

Dear Chancellor Merkel,

Your leadership is needed on a matter concerning coal-fired power plants in your country, a
matter with global ramifications, as I will clarify.

For the sake of identification, I am a United States citizen, director of the NASA Goddard
Institute for Space Studies and Adjunct Professor at the Columbia University Earth Institute. I
write, however, as a private citizen, a resident of Kintnersville, Pennsylvania, on behalf of the
planet and life on Earth, including all species.

I recognize that you strongly support policies aimed at reducing the danger of global warming.
Also Germany has been a leader in pressing for appropriate international actions.

Yet there are plans for construction of new coal-fired power plants in Germany. Consummation
of those plans would contribute to foreseeable adverse consequences of global warming.
Conversely, a choice not to build could be a tipping point that seeds a transition that is needed to
solve the global warming problem. […] (Source)

Posted in Climate Change, energy, environment, Global Warming, health, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Tipping Point: Here and Now!

Posted by feww on April 30, 2008

Our thanks to Lisa G. for forwarding the link to the following (Source)

We are at the tipping point because the climate state includes large, ready positive feedbacks provided by the Arctic sea ice, the West Antarctic ice sheet, and much of Greenland’s ice. James Hansen

Tipping Point: PERSPECTIVE OF A CLIMATOLOGIST [PDF]
by JAMES HANSEN

An Excerpt from Hansen’s report:
Our home planet is dangerously near a tipping point at which human-made greenhouse gases reach a level where major climate changes can proceed mostly under their own momentum. Warming will shift climatic zones by intensifying the hydrologic cycle, affecting freshwater availability and human health.

[James Hansen is director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Institute for Space Studies and an Adjunct Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University’s Earth Institute.]

The ice in the Arctic is much younger than normal, with vast regions now covered by first-year ice and much less area covered by multiyear ice. Left: February distribution of ice by its age during normal Arctic conditions (1985-2000 average). Right: February 2008 Arctic ice age distribution. Credit: NSIDC [Caption: NASA]

Related Links:

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Posted in Arctic, atmosphere, big oil, biofuels, biosphere, Climate Change, environment, food, greenhouse gases, Greenland’s ice, health, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »