EPA to regulate GHG's through the Clean Air Act

Finally! The EPA has determined that greenhouse gases are detrimental to the current and future health and safety of human beings.

"The Administrator has considered how elevated concentrations of the wellmixed greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorcarbons and sodium hexafluoride) and associated climate change affect public health by evaluating the risks associated with changes in air quality, increases in temperatures, changes in extreme weather events, increases in food- and water-borne pathogens, and changes in aeroallergens. The evidence concerning adverse air quality impacts provides strong and clear support for an endangerment finding."

The entire study is available on the Federal Register as it is public domain. I read through parts of it and it is very good; very thorough, to the point, and easily understood. I highly recommend reading at least the first two sections.

Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases Under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act; Final Rule

Must see: The 11th Hour

While I'm on my media kick, I might as well suggest that you all see a great film called The 11th Hour. It was actually produced by Leonardo Dicaprio and features authors, scientists, researchers, activists and officials talking about climate change, it's threats and it's opportunities.

Must read: Storms of my Grandchildren

Here is a great book that you all must read:

"Storms of my Grandchildren" by, James Hansen

Hansen is a world renowned scientist for NASA and just published this book last month. If you are interested in the science of climate change and where we are and where we are going in very cut and dry terms, then you have to read this book. If you want to learn more, click here.

Arctic Sea Ice Could Vanish by 2012

The most dramatic melting has been seen the last five years, bringing us to a tipping point, that we may have already tipped, that will cause the ice to melt at an exponentially rapid pace.

From the NASA website:
Climate feedbacks are processes that change as a result of a change in forcing, and cause additional climate change. An example of this is the "ice-albedo feedback." As the atmosphere warms, sea ice will melt. Ice is highly reflective, while the underlying ocean surface is far less reflective. The darker ocean will absorb more heat, getting warmer and making the Earth warmer overall. A feedback that increases an initial warming is called a "positive feedback." A feedback that reduces an initial warming is a "negative feedback." The ice-albedo feedback is a very strong positive feedback that has been included in climate models since the 1970s.

-View the rest of the page on NASA's Global Climate Change site

Why are glaciers and polar ice so important?

"Beyond the area it covers, the influence of polar ice extends out to ocean circulation and planetary weather patterns. For instance, warm winter temperatures in Europe result from ocean currents partly driven by meltwater from Arctic ice. So changes to polar regions could hold far wider ramifications."

"On a smaller but no less important scale, glaciers dotted about the globe from Kilimanjaro to the Karakoram mountains play significant role in their regional hydrology and climate, but evidence from a variety of sources suggests the majority of the world's glaciers are currently undergoing melting. The long-term wide-area observations carried out by Earth Observation satellites such as Envisat and ERS provide authoritative evidence of such trends and enable estimation of the consequences should such melting continue into the future. "

-Quotes from the European Space Agency (ESA) for more information, click here

Receeding glaciers

Argentina's Upsala Glacier; formerly the largest glacier in South America, it now recedes at 450 feet per year.

A receeding glacier in the Andean Mountains. The loss of this glacier threatens the water supply and inherent life of 30 million Peruvians.


These photos are of Riggs Glacier in Muir Inlet at Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park. In 1941, the glacier was 2,000 feet thick, now vegetation grows where the glacier once stood.

The EPA lays out the basics

"For over the past 200 years, the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, and deforestation have caused the concentrations of heat-trapping "greenhouse gases" to increase significantly in our atmosphere. These gases prevent heat from escaping to space, somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse.

If greenhouse gases continue to increase, climate models predict that the average temperature at the Earth's surface could increase from 3.2 to 7.2ºF above 1990 levels by the end of this century. Scientists are certain that human activities are changing the composition of the atmosphere, and that increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases will change the planet's climate."

For more information, click here for the EPA page on Climate Change basics.