Friggin' Fracking Foiling Human Health all over the U.S., as both underground and accidental above ground releases of toxic chemicals enter our air and water, reports Elizabeth Royte at The Nation. Think organic chemicals, heavy metals and even radioactivity. Fun, huh? The real price of this "cheap, clean" natural gas may be far higher than anyone wants. Go solar and wind, my friend!
Would You Like a Solar Panel with That Tupperware Set? Taking a page from Tupperware, solar companies across the US are having enthusiastic customers host parties to spread the great news about solar rooftop installations, reports Diane Cardwell at the New York Times. And it's working! Be the first in your neighborhood to go solar...
***** What does George Clooney, the Wakhan Corridor, and Integrated Cooking have in common? They're all in the 2012 Solar Cooker Review, at Solar Cookers International. Fascinating stuff. Next time the drought hits you, think about solar cooking your meals.
Waterfall off a Greenland Iceberg, 2003 (Mary Ellen Harte)
It's Melting, Melting, Faster, Faster says the most reliable scientific study yet on the melting polar ice sheets, reports Darryl Fears at the Washington Post. The main culprit of sea level rise for now, however, is the global heating of the oceans, which expands them. Expected to rise about 40 inches by 2100, oceans rising just 6 inches can significantly increase storm flooding - think Hurricane Sandy!
***** At Last, a Green Radio Show to counter the Lush Bimbaugh wasteland. Check out On the Green Front with Betsy Rosenberg at Progressive Radio Network to keep updated on climate change, and other green topics.
Expect a Megaflood, California, suggests new research, reports Michael Dettinger and Lyn Ingram in Scientific American. Newly discovered atmospheric rivers of water vapor create megastorms every 100 to 200 years in CA - the last 43-day one in 1862 turned the Central Valley into an inland lake. With climate change, atmospheric rivers will increase and hold more water, so expect record-breaking megastorms more frequently. Okay, kiddies, do the math - when is the next one due, and do you know how to build an ark?
U.S. Blowing Into Offshore Wind Farms With Leases off Rhode Island, Massachussetts and Virginia, reports Michelle Smith at the Associated Press via the Christian Science Monitor. 430 square miles of leases are up for grabs. The perfect holiday gift for your billionaire spouse! Buy now!
***** Over 100 US Campuses Agreed to Divest Fossil Fuel Companies and Harvard students have voted to divest, reports Bill McKibben at 350.org from the road as he continues to tour and preach the power of divestment to universities across the US.
Every day is Earth Day, folks, as I was reminded by this pic of Greenland tundra I took in 2003. Making the U.S. a global clean energy leader will ensure a heck of a lot more jobs, and a clean, safe future. If you'd like to join the increasing numbers of people who want to TELL Congress that they will vote for clean energy candidates you can do so here. For more detailed summaries of the above and other climate change items, audio podcasts and texts are freely available.
