CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS ACCELERATING RAPIDLY 9 April 2008

(From my heroes at the Earth Policy Institute - My offer, same as always: Buy EPI’s “Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Humanity” and if you don’t find it the most significant read of your life, I will personally refund your money.)

Eco-Economy Indicator – CARBON EMISSIONS April 9, 2008 Eco-Economy Indicators are twelve trends that the Earth Policy Institute tracks to measure progress in building an eco-economy. Carbon emissions are an important trend to follow because as atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide rise, so does the earth’s temperature.

CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS ACCELERATING RAPIDLY Frances C. Moore

Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the burning of fossil fuels stood at a record 8.38 gigatons of carbon (GtC) in 2006, 20 percent above the level in 2000. Emissions grew 3.1 percent a year between 2000 and 2006, more than twice the rate of growth during the 1990s. Carbon dioxide emissions have been growing steadily for 200 years, since fossil fuel burning began on a large scale at the start of the Industrial Revolution. But the growth in emissions is now accelerating despite unambiguous evidence that carbon dioxide is warming the planet and disrupting ecosystems around the globe.

For entire text see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/CO2/2008.htm

For data see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/CO2/2008_data.htm

For an index of Earth Policy Institute resources related to Carbon Emissions see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/CO2/index.htm

And for more information on stabilizing climate by cutting carbon emissions 80 percent by 2020, see Chapters 11-12 in Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, at http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/PB3/index.htm.

R.I.P. Charlton Heston 6 April 2008

After battling Alzheimers since 2000, Charlton Heston passed away last night, ending the remote chance that we’d get to see a final Planet of the Apes installment.

Did you know Charlton Heston marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in Civil Rights protests? Yes, he was known mostly in his later years for his NRA-affiliation (a natural extension of civil rights, many argue), but he was a helluva family man, larger than life, and in the end, at least in my eyes, a deeply sympathetic figure.

Check the video link below. If it doesn’t give you some deeper feelings about the man, well, I’ve once again overrated humanity.

Heston’s Final Interview

Hope You Don’t Live in a Coastal City 25 March 2008

READ ON: The Big Break

Not that there are any global warming denialists (is that a word? is now, as a word is merely an utterance than conveys a meaning), but, my oh my, are we no paying attention or not?

It’s often said that humans need to see the speeding train bearing down upon them before they take action. See this picture? There’s an engine and caboose in there, as well as a whole load o’ freight cars in there if you take a close look.

SAVE POLAROID! 24 February 2008

It has been a sad, sad month for me and thousands of others. Petters Group, the discount corporate raiders who scooped up a bankrupt Polaroid Corp a few years back, announced cessation of production of Polaroid film. Instead, the company will focus on licensing the logo to electronic gadget manufacturers. The genius of founder Dr. Edwin Land has now passed.

The world of photography will soon be left to computer-bound digital shooters. The uniquely beautiful world of in-camera photography has now come to an almost-total end. Early next year, I’ll no longer be able to procure so much as a pack of the beautifully fecund integral film that I’ve come to love so dearly. Truly, I’m quite upset.

What? You didn’t know of my Polaroid obsession?

Look here, at my other site, JUNETEN.COM.

Or this one: SPLITSECONDCOLLECTIVE.COM

Or here, at my Polaroid camera collection:

What can YOU do to help? I’m so glad you asked.

PLEASE VISIT WWW.SAVEPOLAROID.COM.

Sign the petitions, spread the word. The creative community can’t afford to lose yet another tactile, real-world means of artistic output.

Save the Planet: CHUG FROM THE BOTTLE 13 February 2008

Every morning, over 90 million Americans wake up and drink a glass of milk.

Over 70 million Americans have a cup of coffee.

And over 200 million Americans drink a glass of water.

Right there, we have 360 million containers of liquid filled every day. Or, over 100 BILLION per year.

Now, what if instead of using paper/glass/ceramic for our drinks, we simply drank straight from the bottle/tap?

I’ll tell you what: As a nation, we’d save enough energy to POWER CALIFORNIA FOR SEVENTY-SEVEN YEARS!!
That’s right, just cutting out the water and energy wasted in washing dishes and manufacturing paper/plastic cups will go a long way to reducing our emissions.
So there you go. Just when you were running out of ideas on how to reduce your footprint, I’ve stepped in with a big one. You can thank me once the ice caps refreeze.

<—(I’m not suggesting we take it this far, but the reductions would be amazing.)

Chuck Little? WTF? 12 February 2008

This guy lives in Pasadena or El Segundo….and he’s for real.

Instant Hybrid: ANY CAR 1 February 2008

 

I came up with a revolutionary method of maximizing MPG. No longer are you bound to that godawfullyugly Prius! Hoorah!

Umm…This is Pretty Big 13 January 2008

Team Creates Rat Heart from Scratch

Divorce, the Planet Killer 2 December 2007

Turns out that fighting over the Prius isn’t just petty, it’s bad for the Erth. Divorce may help your sanity but it will torch the planet.

Here’s the lead-in:
As if going through a divorce was not stressful enough - now researchers are saying marriage break-ups are bad for the environment.
A survey of 12 countries shows that rising divorce rates around the world has resulted in more households with fewer people in them.
This escalates the use of resources like water, land and energy, leading researchers to declare that divorces lead to less sustainable lifestyles.

Check out the rest of this illuminating article (CLICK ME).

Choice quote from above: “People have been talking about how to protect the environment and combat climate change, but divorce is an overlooked factor.”

I feel like such an asshole. Had I known, the world would be in slightly less peril, while I would be suffering stoically.

My hope is that divorce rates will plummet among the rest of the eco-conscious crowd, once they get wind of this. In turn, they’ll outbreed the rest and their innumerable descendants will rectify the wrongs of past generations. Too bad eco-couples don’t pop out many babies. We need to swiflty bring the Mormons into the fold. And the Mexican Catholics. We’ll have Amory Lovins or Lester Brown elected President by 2028.

Am I suggesting that eugenics can save us? Fuck yes I am.

6 November 2007

Why Oil Is Skyrocketing

Forget the Peak Oil nonsense. This video spells out the REAL reason: Ligon-Tyrox!