West Antarctic ice is melting much faster than thought and could raise sea levels ultimately by 11 feet, reports Michael Lemonick at Climate Central. Unlike Arctic ice, which is in the sea already, the melting Antarctic stuff flows INTO the sea, adding to it. Enjoy your beaches while they last.
***** Seven Reasons Not To Lose Arctic Ice (and check out the great graphics!) - not only does the ice reflect away heat, but it acts as a buffer between colder air and warmer water, as well as escaping marine methane.
Older, multiyear sea ice can grow much thicker than first-year ice, creating a stronger buffer between the warmer water and cooler air. (Illustration, NASA)
***** Head of Rainforest Action Network Becky Tarbotton Dies - Time to Pick Up Her Banner She produced real change: see her inspiring recent speech to understand what we lost, but get more inspired to address climate change. Becky would have liked that....
☼☼☼☼☼ Want to know more about your state, and going solar in it? Check it out here!
The Next Hot Item: Solar Peel N Stick Decals! which might power cell phones, reports Glen Martin at Stanford Engineering News. They've figured out how to make and apply the solar cell decals to the phones (and other things) - now all they have to do is develop the decal wiring....
Peel n stick solar cells on your cell phone, business card -- whatever! (Credit: Stanford Engineering News)
Forests Worldwide Are Dying, ultimately from beetles, thirst or starvation, but understanding exactly how trees die could help predict future losses, reports Sandra Blakeslee at the New York Times. But do we really need to know how the last trees disappear before stopping global warming? I'll bet the extinct islanders of Easter Island would say, "No" - especially the islander that chopped the last Easter Island tree down.
*****The Amazon Rainforest Is Drying as two catastrophic droughts and increased deforestation increase losses, making it more difficult for remaining trees to adapt, says a researcher who is monitoring it, reports Barbara Fraser at Scientific American.
Marine Heat Wave Killing Aussie Shellfisheries reports Babs McHugh at the Aussie ABC News. Waters off the west coast rose 10 degrees Fahrenheit recently, immediately killing off most of the northwest abalones, and affecting other shellfish as well. Basically, a hot current coincided with hot air temperatures - it's likely climate change is at work, since the US Congress has not relocated there.
*****What Does Clean Energy Mean for Arizona? For that or any of the other states, you can click on the map here!
Clean Power Startups Face Off Goliath Utilities, reports Maria Gallucci at InsideClimate News, without the help of the US government, trying to sell clean power directly to the people. Let's hope these Davids win!
Here's to a Greener Year in 2013!
Every day is Earth Day, folks, as I was reminded by this "rosy sunrise" I photographed recently. 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.
