Arctic Ice Flow (courtesty of NOAA)

Scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research will publish in tomorrow’s edition of the journal Science that the last 10 years have been the warmest 10-year period in the arctic compared to any withing the last 2000 years.  The main culprit?  Greenhouse gases.  All this comes on top of  a 21,000 year old cycle caused to a wobble in the earth’s rotation that has, for the last 8,000 years, put less sunlight onto the arctic than otherwise (think of a top that spins and wobbles).  Eventually, within a few thousand years, the cycle will reverse, leading to an increase in sunlight in the arctic region, potentially exasperating the problem of already warmer temperatures.

Evidently, Cash for Clunkers couldn’t have come at a better time.

Source: MSNBC

Tigers, Whole Foods, Global Warming & Orangutans. What's the Link? Photo by Dave Watts.

Palm oil.

Palm what?

If you pay as little attention to your food as I do then you’re probably just as surprised as I am that: 1) Some palm trees make edible fruit; and 2) Some of this fruit is linked to endangered species destruction and deforestation.

It so happens that for the last 50 years or so, palm oil has been making head-ways into the foods we eat.  It’s also in bio-fuels we burn and cosmetics some of you may use.  Recently, there’s been a huge push for the introduction of palm oil in U.S. foods because of new trans-fat reporting requirements.  Because palm oil doesn’t have any, it’s been used as a choice to replace non-trans-fat-free shortening.

And while we are collectively healthier for eating less trans-fat, there are measurable global consequences that have resulted from this relatively tiny shift in our dietary habits.  Namely, deforestation on a vast scale and threatened species nearing extinction.

Much of this palm oil is grown in Indonesia and Malaysia.  According to the Associated Press, the amount of deforestation needed to accommodate the growth in palm oil plantations is on the order of 670,000 acres every year.  Or, to put that into perspective, it’s an area of forest that’s cleared and replaced with palms that’s greater in size than the cities of Los Angeles and New York (including all 5 boroughs) combined.  Every year.

That’s a lot.

As a result of the forest clearing, there have been increasing incidents of sumatran tiger incursions with forest villagers, and consequently, deaths on both sides.  Naturally that’s very unfortunate both ways, but considering there are likely less than 1000 of these tigers left, it’s easier to feel sorry for the tigers.  But considering the high rate of poverty in Indonesia, I’d also hate to be that mauled logger who was only trying to pay the bills.

Other prominent victims include the orangutan and pygmy elephant.  Both rely on the native forest habitat for survival, but the pygmy elephant has been specifically targeted because they thrive on palm fruit.  As you can imagine, that doesn’t make palm plantation owners too happy.

Orangutans are also frequently cited as victims, an assertion flatly rejected by the American Palm Oil Council, an association of palm oil developers, producers, refiners, etc…  But there is one glaring problem with the APOC’s arguments – they focus to absolve Malaysia producers of any wrongdoing.  But they fail to mention Indonesia at all in their counterpoint, the other very large palm oil producer.  I wonder why.

Which brings us to global warming.  One could argue that replacing forests with productive palm trees is at worst a carbon-neutral event.  Perhaps.  Yet it remains to be tested or demonstrated.  But replacing native peatland with palm trees almost certainly is not.  And unfortunately, the world will have to face the consequences of this as a result of the Indonesian government’s February 2009 decision to lift a ban to replace peatland with palm plantations.  Estimates of carbon released over the next few years as a result of this is…staggering.

Is there a silver lining anywhere in this story?!  Yes, well, maybe.  Whole Foods announced earlier this month that it will only sell palm oil obtained through sustainable means in its products starting in 2012.  Everything else will be banned.  Surely a bold move.  Though I can’t figure out why it will take three years to implement this ecologically-minded idea.

It should be as easy as saying, “Ok, I don’t want to buy any more of your palm oil, I’ll buy this other palm oil instead.”  Or, perhaps Whole Foods realizes the grim truth – doing the “right” thing is very hard.  Which in turn does not bode well for the average consumer: If Whole Foods is going to have a tough time telling which palm oil producer is good and which isn’t, how are we supposed to know?

Let’s face it, you’re pretty screwed once the solar flashlight goes through it’s charge.

Oh, that is unless you happen to have access to the sun for a recharge. Which, if you do, bemoans the obvious question: Why are you carrying around a flashlight in the first place?

Legal stuff: I do not know anything about this product. I’m in no way endorsing or ripping apart this product in particular, and I would guess that it works exactly as it was designed to do (ha ha, see above). But hey, even that’s a guess.

Source: BogoLight

Scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute have captured nearly conclusive evidence of glacial surface meltwater draining in Greenland, and its corresponding effect on ice sheet movement.

Until now, it was hypothesized that some of the vast quantity of meltwater that originates at the surface of Greenland’s glaciers during the summer season may filter all the way down through thousands of feet of ice sheet to the surface. And, once there the meltwater would have a lubricating effect, allowing the glacier to slide at a faster rate toward it’s meeting with the Atlantic.

Well, these folks actually witnessed the event in progress, and by their accounts the overall effect was quite colossal.

Their instruments were placed by a relatively large lake, one holding more than 10 billion gallons of water. Then, over the period of a day or two, they recorded its disappearance. Think: very large bath tub, very large drain hole, all within the size and magnitude of Niagara Falls.

Then, they also recorded a shift up in elevation of the ice sheet. And, to top it off, a nearly doubling of the rate of movement of the sheet.

What are the ramifications? It’s not certain yet. But, some scientists suggest that the ice sheets act like giant solar reflectors, taking the sun’s rays and reflecting it back to space, helping keep the planet cool. Plus, ice is like a huge heat sink. And, it’s an excellent insulator. If it were to go, or diminish in size significantly, you can probably expect to see changes in our climate and ocean patterns.

Source: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

Uh oh.

Instead, it turns out Synechococcus developed a method for bypassing the carbon-fixing step of photosynthesis, which it utilizes in areas of the ocean which are iron deficient. Unfortunately, that includes a rather large chunk of ocean. And when Synechococcus uses this no-carbon-fixing pathway, it means carbon dioxide is not getting removed from the atmosphere as quickly as Al Gore (or nearly anybody else) would like.

And, whereas previously scientists estimated cyanobacteria carbon dioxide uptake by simply analyzing satellite imagery and measuring chlorophyll concentrations, they’ll now have to take into account levels of nutrients as well. And I’m not sure how you do that with satelites.

Yikes, it looks like someone’s job just got a bit harder. And, an even better reason to trade in for a Prius. Wait, oh yeah, one more pathway to learn in Bio 1A and Biochem 126.

Source: Stanford

Photo: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Then came the news about the oil tanker which busted open in high seas off the Black Sea. It was supposed to have released over a half million gallons of oil. No word yet on the scope of the damage, but don’t hold your breath for good news.

Bay Area Source + Photo: San Francisco Chronicle

Russian Tanker Source: MSNBC. Photo: Reuters

But just when the horizon is starting to look just that much more rosy, new reports suggest that Mercury originating from coal power plants in China are contaminating air, water, and fish in the United States. The effects are quantifiable and significant. What’s worse is there’s no end in sight. Ah, what a morbid way to end a post.

Photo: NationalHistoryMag.com
Source: Yahoo!