Author Archives: energyskeptic

China food security: climate change likely to reduce rice, wheat, and other crop yields

Climate change is also likely to lower wheat production:  Global warming will have a bad effect on heat-sensitive wheat, slashing yields even more than was originally feared.  It could be much harder than we thought to feed everyone in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Food production, Starvation | Tagged , , | Comments Off on China food security: climate change likely to reduce rice, wheat, and other crop yields

Soot warming earth even more than thought

Richard A. Kerr Science 25 January 2013: Vol. 339 no. 6118 p. 382 DOI: 10.1126/science.339.6118.382 Soot Is Warming the World Even More Than Thought A new study finds that soot is warming the climate about twice as fast as scientists … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Pollution, Runaway Greenhouse | Comments Off on Soot warming earth even more than thought

Climate Change deadlines: the longer we do nothing, the worse it gets

Thomas F. Stocker Science 18 January 2013: Vol. 339 no. 6117 pp. 280-282 DOI: 10.1126/science.1232468 The Closing Door of Climate Targets Robust evidence from a range of climate–carbon cycle models shows that the maximum warming relative to pre-industrial times caused … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Runaway Greenhouse | Comments Off on Climate Change deadlines: the longer we do nothing, the worse it gets

Climate change is causing increased salinity in water and soil world-wide

November 23, 2012. Climate Change–Induced Salinity Threatens Health.  Science Vol 338: 1028-1029 Sea-level rise, storm surges, and cyclones exacerbated by climate change have begun to severely affect coasts and river estuaries in low-income countries. The resulting increased salinity in soil … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Peak Water | Comments Off on Climate change is causing increased salinity in water and soil world-wide

Gonorrhea could soon be untreatable according to World Health Organization

Science 15 June 2012: Vol. 336 no. 6087 pp. 1364-1365 WHO Warns of Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that gonorrhea, which infects 106 million people in the world each year, could soon become untreatable. In its Global … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics | Comments Off on Gonorrhea could soon be untreatable according to World Health Organization

Invasive Species prevent new species from evolving: human induced mass extinction recovery will take longer than thought

Richard A. Kerr. February 10, 2012.More Than One Way for Invaders to Wreak Havoc.   Science: Vol. 335:646 Ravenous pythons and anacondas invading the Florida Everglades are ravaging the local ecology. But a study published last month suggests that invasive species … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity, BioInvasion | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Invasive Species prevent new species from evolving: human induced mass extinction recovery will take longer than thought

Doug Tompkins, founder of The North Face & Pumalin NP in Chile

Article 1  Jimmy Langman. Spring 2012. Conversation: Doug Tompkins. Earth Island Journal. I see Chile as overdeveloped. We have gone way past the carrying capacity of Earth to sustain all these people, activities, and consumption. Using all government measurements, nobody … Continue reading →

Posted in By People | Comments Off on Doug Tompkins, founder of The North Face & Pumalin NP in Chile

China the epicenter of bacteria resistant to all antibiotics

Mara Hyistendahl  Science 18 May 2012: Vol. 336 no. 6083 p. 795 China Takes Aim at Rampant Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria that cannot be stopped by common drugs are proliferating around the world (Science, 18 July 2008, p. 356). But a … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics | Comments Off on China the epicenter of bacteria resistant to all antibiotics

Phytoplankton have declined 40%: they provide food and oxygen for all creatures on Earth

This article from NewScientist discusses how phytoplankton are disappearing — and they provide half of the food animals both in the ocean and on land depend on, plus produce a great deal of the oxygen we breathe. Throw in overfishing, … Continue reading →

Posted in Extinction, Fishery destruction, Global Warming, Mass Extinction, Oceans | Comments Off on Phytoplankton have declined 40%: they provide food and oxygen for all creatures on Earth

Whirlwind Power

Sounds great — but will it scale up?  That’s been the downfall of many projects that work small scale, like biofuels from algae & cellulosic, etc.  And as I say at the top of many of these posts, this is … Continue reading →

Posted in Far Out, Wind | Comments Off on Whirlwind Power