Q & A with the Aerosol Commission versus EVERYONE ELSE

In a process known as the first aerosol indirect effect, enhanced aerosol concentrations cause the droplets in a cloud to be smaller and more numerous within a cloud of fixed water amount. This study found that this process can make the clouds more opaque and emit more thermal energy to the surface.

Consumer Aerosol Products Council

Q: What is being Done About Bad Ozone?
A: The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 require states and cities to implement programs to further reduce emissions of ozone precursors from sources such as cars, fuels, industrial facilities and power plants. Power plants will be reducing emissions, cleaner cars and fuels are being developed, many gas stations are using special nozzles at the pumps to recapture gasoline vapors, and vehicle inspection programs are being improved to reduce emissions.



Q: Is There Really a “Hole” in the Ozone Layer?
A: The ozone “hole” is a well-defined, large-scale destruction of the ozone layer over Antarctica that occurs each Antarctic spring. The word "hole" is a misnomer; the hole is really a significant thinning, or reduction in ozone concentrations, which results in the destruction of up to 70% of the ozone normally found over Antarctica.

The science of ozone thinning is complicated. Unlike global ozone depletion, the ozone “hole” occurs only over Antarctica. Since most ozone-depleting substances are released in the northern hemisphere, a common question is why the ozone “hole” occurs over the Antarctic. The first part of the answer is that even though most of these chemicals are heavier than air, regardless of where they're released, they mix throughout the troposphere over about a year, and then mix into the stratosphere in two to five years. The second part of the answer is that although the overall process is similar between global ozone depletion and the ozone “hole”, there are two different types of ozone depletion chemistry.

The first kind is called homogeneous depletion; resulting from reactions as gases mix together, it is responsible for the reduction in global ozone levels. The 5-10% drop in ozone over the US is an example of homogeneous chemistry.

The second kind of ozone depletion chemistry, called heterogeneous, causes the radical destruction of ozone over the Antarctic each spring. It results from reactions on the surfaces of ice particles. The existence of these particles, and the seasonal and geographic location of the “hole,” all result from a combination of meteorological and other effects that are specific to Antarctica at that time of year.



Q: Does Ozone Depletion Cause Global Warming?
A: The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon that helps regulate the temperature of Earth. The sun heats the Earth, and clouds and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap some of this heat. Although water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas, fuel burning and other human activities release greenhouse gases, as well. The most important ones are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.

Without any greenhouse gases, the Earth would be uninhabitable. Human activity has increased the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which may have contributed to the average warming of 1.1 degrees Fahrenheit over the last century.

Although many people confuse ozone depletion and global warming, they are primarily separate problems. While stratospheric ozone is a natural greenhouse gas that helps absorb heat, the ozone hole that has been shown to form over the polar region is not the cause of global warming.


The Argument:

Aerosol creates Ozone depletion. OD describes two distinct, but related observations: a slow, steady decline of about 4 percent per decade in the total amount of ozone in Earth's stratosphere since the late 1970s; and a much larger, but seasonal, decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions during the same period. The latter phenomenon is commonly referred to as the ozone hole.

In addition to this well-known stratospheric ozone depletion, there are also tropospheric ozone depletion events, which occur near the surface in polar regions during spring.

A Few Words About Fluids
The basic idea of an aerosol can is very simple: One fluid stored under high pressure is used to to propel another fluid out of a can. To understand how this works, you need to know a little about fluids and fluid pressure.
Aerosol cans come in all of shapes and sizes, housing all kinds of materials, but they all work on the same basic concept: One high-pressure fluid expands to force another fluid through a nozzle.


A fluid is any substance made up of free-flowing particles. This includes substances in a liquid state, such as the water from a faucet, as well as substances in a gaseous state, such as the air in the atmosphere.

The particles in a liquid are loosely bound together, but they move about with relative freedom. Since the particles are bound together, a liquid at a constant temperature has a fixed volume.

If you apply enough energy to a liquid (by heating it), the particles will vibrate so much that they break free of the forces that bind them together. The liquid changes into a gas, a fluid in which the particles can move about independently. This is the boiling process, and the temperature at which it occurs is referred to as a substance's boiling point. Different substances have different boiling points: For example, it takes a greater amount of heat to change water from a liquid into a gas than it does to change alcohol from liquid to gas.

The force of individual moving particles in a gas can add up to considerable pressure. Since the particles aren't bound together, a gas doesn't have a set volume like a liquid: The particles will keep pushing outward. In this way, a gas expands to fill any open space.

As the gas expands, its pressure decreases, since there are fewer particles in any given area to collide with anything. A gas applies much greater pressure when it is compressed into a relatively small space because there are many more particles moving around in a given area.


Why are aerosol cans bad for the environment?

The propellant used to force the aerosol out of the can, was a CFC, which damaged the ozone layer. They now use liquid petroleum gas, which still contributes to global warming, but is less of an issue than CFCs.

Accodring to the Consumer Aerosol Products Council:

American Aerosol Industry Reacts
As a result of Rowland and Molina’s discovery, American aerosol manufacturers took the lead in switching from CFC propellants to suitable alternatives. In fact, by 1978 when the U.S. EPA banned the use of CFC propellants, most of them had already voluntarily stopped using CFCs. An exception was made for some asthma inhalers, but they will also be CFC-free by December 31, 2008. This will complete the phase out of all CFC propellants in consumer aerosol products produced and sold in the U.S. Other ozone-depleting substances that were used in some aerosol formulations for non-propellant purposes also have been phased out according to the legislative timetable.

Award Winning Animation on Global Warming

I especially like the part where they take away the aerosol and replace it with 'green' paint. The only part that upsets me is that the governement puts out messages similar to this one (not pointing at the White House though) but they say things like moving away from aerosol and unplugging cell phone chargers when they are not in use will prevent pollution and save energy. Sure, we will do our part, but what about corporate America that leaves its lights on in 40 percent of the building at night to prevent robbery? What about huge conglomerates that still use smoke pipes to release pressure in the factory? Sure, we will unplug our cell chargers, but you let me know how that will impact the earth compared with edison shutting down the main on a few buildings at night.

Not the Recycle, Reduce, Reuse commercial I grew up with

Gas prices up 80 percent is a disaster

So why are gas prices so high?   

Gas prices jump, but increases could level off.  By JOHN WILEN 

NEW YORK (AP) — Gasoline prices shot up to yet another record at the pump Thursday, while some analysts said the sharp price increases of recent days could soon level off even though gas will continue to rise.

Crude oil prices, meanwhile, stalled in their march toward $120 a barrel, dropping sharply as the dollar gained strength against the euro.

At the pump, the average national price of a gallon of regular gas jumped 2.3 cents overnight to $3.556 a gallon, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Prices have risen nearly 14 cents in one week.

Gas prices have risen sharply in recent days partly because refiners have been switching over from selling winter grade gasoline to the more expensive but less polluting form of the fuel the government requires them to sell in the summer. That process, which made winter grade fuel more scarce, is nearly complete now, suggesting that price increases could slow.

"That was probably why ... you saw (prices) accelerate so quickly," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J. "No, don't get used to these crazy increases."

Retail gas prices have also been following oil futures' record rally, although prices hasn't risen as steeply as oil futures.

"(Gas prices) had a lot of catching up to do," said James Cordier, president of Tampa, Fla., trading firms Liberty Trading Group and OptionSellers.com.

Crude prices have jumped about 80 percent in one year, while retail gas prices are only up 24 percent in that time.

But Thursday, light, sweet crude for June delivery fell $2.54 to $115.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday as the dollar rose against the euro. Investors see commodities such as oil as a less effective hedge against inflation when the dollar strengthens, and a stronger greenback makes oil more expensive to investors overseas.

...In the new world order, energy scarcity will dominate our lives -- determining when we drive, if we travel, and what we eat.

By Michael T. Klare

"This new world order will be characterized by fierce international competition for dwindling stocks of oil, natural gas, coal and uranium, as well as by a tidal shift in power and wealth from energy-deficit states like China, Japan and the United States to energy-surplus states like Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. In the process, the lives of everyone will be affected in one way or another -- with poor and middle-class consumers in the energy-deficit states experiencing the harshest effects. That's most of us and our children, in case you hadn't quite taken it in."

Europe Turns to Coal

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: April 23, 2008

CIVITAVECCHIA, Italy — At a time when the world’s top climate experts agree that carbon emissions must be rapidly reduced to hold down global warming, Italy’s major electricity producer, Enel, is converting its massive power plant here from oil to coal, generally the dirtiest fuel on earth.

And Italy is not alone in its return to coal. Driven by rising demand, record high oil and natural gas prices, concerns over energy security and an aversion to nuclear energy, European countries are expected to put into operation about 50 coal-fired plants over the next five years, plants that will be in use for the next five decades.

In the United States, fewer new coal plants are likely to begin operations, in part because it is becoming harder to get regulatory permits and in part because nuclear power remains an alternative. Of 151 proposals in early 2007, more than 60 had been dropped by the year’s end, many blocked by state governments. Dozens of other are stuck in court challenges.


European power plants boosting coal use
United Press International

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High oil and natural gas prices, coupled with increased demand, are driving Europe's return to coal-fired power plants, an industry official says.
Enel's, Italy's largest electricity producer, is converting one of its biggest power plants from oil to coal, despite environmental concerns. The New York Times reported European countries are expected to add 50 coal-fired plants over the next five years.

Gianfilippo Mancini, Enel's chief of generation and energy management, said the power plant in Civitavecchia, Italy, "will be the cleanest coal plant in Europe." Mancini said the company wants to prove coal can be "sustainable and environmentally friendly."

"In order to get over oil, which is getting more and more expensive, our plan is to convert all oil plants to coal using clean-coal technologies," Mancini said.

While power companies say they are doing to their best to make the new coal plants as clean as possible, critics say the term "clean coal" is an oxymoron. "Given our knowledge about what needs to be done to stabilize climate, this plan is like barging into a war without having a plan for how it should be conducted, even though information is available," NASA climatologist James E. Hansen told the Times.

My Deforestation PSA

Don't, run-off...

When rain or snow falls onto the earth, it just doesn't sit there -- it starts moving according to the laws of gravity. A portion of the precipitation seeps into the ground to replenish Earth's ground water.* Most of it flows downhill as runoff. Runoff is extremely important in that not only does it keep rivers and lakes full of water, but it also changes the landscape by the action of erosion. Flowing water has tremendous power -- it can move boulders and carve out canyons (check out the Grand Canyon!).
*Ground water is an important part of the water cycle. Ground water is the part of precipitation that seeps down through the soil until it reaches rock material that is saturated with water. Water in the ground is stored in the spaces between rock particles (no, there are no underground rivers or lakes). Ground water slowly moves underground, generally at a downward angle (because of gravity), and may eventually seep into streams, lakes, and oceans.

So how do humans impact groundwater and above-ground run-off?

1. Storm Water:
Storm water is water from rain or melting snow that does not soak into the ground. It flows
from rooftops, over paved areas and bare soil, and through sloped lawns. As it flows, this runoff col- lects and transports soil, pet manure, salt, pesticides, fertilizer, oil and grease, leaves, litter and other potential pollutants.

Why should you be concerned?
Polluted storm water degrades our lakes, wetlands and rivers. Soil clouds water and degrades
habitat for fish and water plants. Nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen promote the growth of algae, which crowds out other aquatic life. Toxic chemicals, such as antifreeze and oil from leaking cars, carelessly applied pesticides, and zinc from galvanized metal gutters and downspouts, threaten the health of fish and other aquat- ic life. Bacteria and parasites from
pet manure can make nearby lakes and bays unsafe for wading and swimming after storms.
As many people have discov- ered, storm water can be a prob- lem closer to home. It can flow
into basements and cause damage that is difficult and costly to clean up. Storm water can also flow down a poorly sealed well shaft and contaminate drinking water. In areas with very porous soils or geology, pollutants in runoff may reach groundwater.

Public officials are focusing pollution control efforts on storm water management in urban and
rural areas. Storm water pollution cannot be treated in the same way as water pollution from discharge pipes, because it comes from many sources. It is carried by storm water from every street, parking lot, sidewalk, driveway, yard and garden. The problem can only be solved with everyone’s help.
muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/

Why the plague is an environmental issue

Plague
* Plague is a bacterial disease of rodents that can be spread to humans and other animals by infected fleas.
* Plague has three forms: bubonic plague (infection of the lymph glands), septicemia plague (infection of the blood), and pneumonic plague (infection of the lungs). Pneumonic plague can spread from person to person.
* People can get plague: by the bites of infected fleas; by direct contact with the tissues or body fluids of a plague-infected animal; by inhaling infectious airborne droplets from persons or animals with plague pneumonia; or by laboratory exposure to plague bacteria.
* Plague is treatable with antibiotics if detected early.
* Prevention consists of controlling rodent fleas, educating the public and the medical community in places where plague occurs, and using preventive medicines and vaccines as appropriate.

Where is plague found?
Plague is found in some semi-arid areas in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, South America, and North America. In the United States, most cases in humans occur in two regions: 1) northern New Mexico, northern Arizona, and southern Colorado, and 2) California, southern Oregon, and far western Nevada.

In the southwestern United States, rock squirrel fleas are the most common source of infection in people. In the Pacific states, California ground squirrel fleas are the most common source. Many other types of rodents -- including other ground squirrels, prairie dogs, chipmunks, wood rats, wild mice, and voles -- suffer plague outbreaks and are occasional sources of human infection. Domesticates can be infected by fleas or by eating infected wild rodents and can be a direct source of infection to people. Dogs rarely suffer severe illness and have yet to be shown to be sources of infection for humans.

What is plague?
Plague is a disease of rodents that can be spread to humans another animals by infected fleas. In people, plague has three forms: Bubonic plague, infection of the lymph glands; septicemia plague, infection of the blood; and pneumonic plague, infection of the lungs. Pneumonic plague is the most contagious form because it can spread from person to person in airborne droplets.

What is the infectious agent that causes plague?
Perinea pests cause plague, a bacterium that is spread from rodent to rodent by infected fleas. Periodic outbreaks of plague kill large numbers of rodents (called a "die-off"). The risk of infection to humans and other animals in the area increases when the rodent hosts die and infected fleas look for other sources oxblood. --Directors of Health Promotion and Education

One More Word on Droughts: What Could Happen

Think Quest's List of the Effects of Drought

Economic

- Loss of national economic growth, slowing down of economic development
- Damage to crop quality, less food production
- Increase in food prices
- Increased importation of food (higher costs)
- Insect infestation
- Plant disease
- Loss from dairy and livestock production
- Unavailability of water and feed for livestock which leads to high livestock mortality rates
- Disruption of reproduction cycles (breeding delays or unfilled pregnancies)
- Increased predation
- Range fires and Wildland fires
- Damage to fish habitat, loss from fishery production
- Income loss for farmers and others affected
- Unemployment from production declines
- Loss to recreational and tourism industry
- Loss of hydroelectric power
- Loss of navigability of rivers and canals.

Environmental

- Increased desertification - Damage to animal species
- Reduction and degradation of fish and wildlife habitat
- Lack of feed and drinking water
- Disease
- Increased predation.
- loss of wildlife in some areas and too many in others
- Increased stress to endangered species
- Damage to plant species
- Increased number and severity of fires
- Wind and water erosion of soils

Social

- Food shortages
- Loss of human life from food shortages, heat, suicides, violence
- Mental and physical stress
- Water user conflicts
- Political conflicts
- Social unrest
- Public dissatisfaction with government regarding drought response
- Inequity in the distribution of drought relief
- Loss of cultural sites
- Reduced quality of life which leads to changes in lifestyle
- increased poverty
- Population migrations

Oil Can

In 2005 alone, the United States produced an estimated 9 million barrels of crude oil per day and imported 13.21 million barrels per day from other countries. This oil gets refined into gasoline, kerosene, heating oil and other products. To keep up with our consumption, oil companies must constantly look for new sources of petroleum, as well as improve the production of existing wells.

How does a company go about finding oil and pumping it from the ground?:
Drilling: (Howstuffworks.com is amazing)
The crew sets up the rig and starts the drilling operations. First, from the starter hole, they drill a surface hole down to a pre-set depth, which is somewhere above where they think the oil trap is located. There are five basic steps to drilling the surface hole:
Place the drill bit, collar and drill pipe in the hole.
Attach the kelly and turntable and begin drilling.
As drilling progresses, circulate mud through the pipe and out of the bit to float the rock cuttings out of the hole.
Add new sections (joints) of drill pipes as the hole gets deeper.
Remove (trip out) the drill pipe, collar and bit when the pre-set depth (anywhere from a few hundred to a couple-thousand feet) is reached.
Once they reach the pre-set depth, they must run and cement the casing -- place casing-pipe sections into the hole to prevent it from collapsing in on itself. The casing pipe has spacers around the outside to keep it centered in the hole.
The casing crew puts the casing pipe in the hole. The cement crew pumps cement down the casing pipe using a bottom plug, a cement slurry, a top plug and drill mud. The pressure from the drill mud causes the cement slurry to move through the casing and fill the space between the outside of the casing and the hole. Finally, the cement is allowed to harden and then tested for such properties as hardness, alignment and a proper seal.

In the next section we'll find out what happens once the drill bit reaches the final depth.

New Drilling Technologies
The U.S. Department of Energy and the oil industry are working on new ways to drill oil, including horizontal drilling techniques, to reach oil under ecologically-sensitive areas, and using lasers to drill oil wells.

Here's what the US Drought Monitor has to say about droughts in the West:
The West: "Substantial changes were introduced across many of the dry areas across the western states this week, almost none of which were based on conditions observed during the prior week. Early April represents the approximate climatological peak in snowpack for much of the West, and conditions at this time of year provide substantial insight into how streamflows and reservoir stores will unfold as the snow melts and the warmer time of the year progresses. March 2008 was drier than normal for most areas in the West affected by dryness and drought. In fact, Phoenix, AZ recorded its first precipitation-free March since 1984. However, snowpack on April 1, 2008 was near to substantially above normal across a vast majority of the region (basin-averaged amounts below 90 percent of normal were restricted to the central Sierra Nevada, west-central and eastern sections of Nevada, south-central Idaho, and most of the higher elevations across the southernmost Rockies, where peak snowpack tends to occur earlier in the year). This bodes well for the forthcoming warm season, but must be considered along with the dry 2006-2007 winter across most of the region, and even longer-term dryness across Arizona, southern sections of California and Nevada, much of central and western Wyoming, and a few other areas scattered across the West. As of April 1, only Arizona reported above-normal statewide reservoir storage, and 6 states (WA, OR, NV, UT, NM, and WY) reported only 65 to 75 percent of normal, though this of course should be bolstered as the current substantial snowpack melts."

So what's all the fuss about? Apparantly we are doing much better than most of the stares, so let's just keep on wasting until we catch up with the South West. Got to keep those lawns moist--you know the average American runs their sprinkler 3 times a day!

Round Two of Deforestation: What America(s) have done

Area of primary forests in the United States (lower 48)
(around 1620, top; and 1850 middle; 1920, bottom)


Since 1600, 90% of the virgin forests that once covered much of the lower 48 states have been cleared away. Most of the remaining old-growth forests in the lower 48 states and Alaska are on public lands. In the Pacific Northwest about 80% of this forestland is slated for logging.

The USA has already experienced its wave of deforestation, with the exception of small areas in the west and Alaska. Our old growth forests were mostly harvested by 1920, particularly in the East. Pacific Northwest forests and UP Michigan forests were heavily cut after 1920 until quite recently, and harvest of old growth continues today in Southeast Alaska. Interestingly, deforestation rates at their peak in the Midwest were ~2% annually, about the rates now seen in Amazonia. At that rate, how much of existing forest will remain in 70 years? Just one-fourth.

De-Forestation, it's not hard to figure out what that means

Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forest land for use such as arable land, pasture, urban use, logged area, or wasteland. Generally, the removal or destruction of significant areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity. In many countries, massive deforestation is ongoing and is shaping climate and geography.

Deforestation results from removal of trees without sufficient reforestation, and results in declines in habitat and biodiversity, wood for fuel and industrial use, and quality of life.[2]

Since about the mid-1800s the Earth has experienced an unprecedented rate of change of destruction of forests worldwide. Forests in Europe are adversely affected by acid rain and very large areas of Siberia have been harvested since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the last two decades, Afghanistan has lost over 70% of its forests throughout the country.[4] However, it is in the world's great tropical rainforests where the destruction is most pronounced at the current time and where wholesale felling is having an adverse effect on biodiversity and contributing to the ongoing Holocene mass extinction.

And what about in America?:
Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forest land for use such as arable land, pasture, urban use, logged area, or wasteland. Generally, the removal or destruction of significant areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity. In many countries, massive deforestation is ongoing and is shaping climate and geography.

Deforestation results from removal of trees without sufficient reforestation, and results in declines in habitat and biodiversity, wood for fuel and industrial use, and quality of life.[2]

Since about the mid-1800s the Earth has experienced an unprecedented rate of change of destruction of forests worldwide.[3] Forests in Europe are adversely affected by acid rain and very large areas of Siberia have been harvested since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the last two decades, Afghanistan has lost over 70% of its forests throughout the country.[4] However, it is in the world's great tropical rainforests where the destruction is most pronounced at the current time and where wholesale felling is having an adverse effect on biodiversity and contributing to the ongoing Holocene mass extinction.[5]

What is the result:
-Bald Eagles flying in terror as their 400 year old nest trees crash to the ground.

-Salmon and their eggs smothered under an avalanche of mud sliding off of a clearcut mountainside.

-Bears fleeing as chainsaws and bulldozers clearcut their forest sanctuaries.

Area of primary forests in the United States (lower 48)
(around 1620, top; and 1850 middle; 1920, bottom)

It's in the Bag

Paper or plastic — what’s the greener choice?
When it comes to choosing your shopping bag, the decision isn’t an easy one

The Answer is in the Bag:
Paper/Plastic Live Vote
What type of bag do you prefer for grocery shopping? * 2271 responses
Paper25%
Plastic41%
My own reusable bag34%
A breakdown of bag facts
Plastic bags
— Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide.
— Plastics do NOT biodegrade. Rather, they photodegrade, a process in which sunlight breaks down plastic into smaller and smaller pieces.
— It can take up to 1,000 years for a high-density polyethylene plastic bag to break down in the environment.
— Plastic bags are on the top 10 list of most common trash items along the American coastline (both on land and in the water).
Paper bags
— Paper bags generate 70 percent more air pollutants and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.
— 2,000 plastic bags weigh 30 pounds, 2,000 paper bags weigh 280 pounds. The latter takes up a lot more landfill space.
— It takes 91 percent less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper. It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag.
Sources: reusablebags.com, NRDC and International Coastal Cleanup 2005 Report from the Ocean Conservancy
By Anne Thompson
Chief environmental correspondent

Get out the clam diggers, a flood is coming

Floods are just as much a natural disaster as forest fires, but just as in fires, there is reason why these things happen. Once the violence subsides, nature begins the restoration process that will end up benefiting the area in a way that it would not have done if left alone.
Floods are part of the natural cycle of life. The benefits of natural floods outweigh the negative aspects. The problems begin when the floods happen in densely populated areas.
According to Ken Rubin, Assistant Professor at the Department of Geology and Geophysics of the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, "Floods can distribute large amounts of water and suspended river sediment over vast areas. In many areas, this sediment helps replenish valuable topsoil components to agricultural lands and can keep the elevation of a land mass above sea level."

A real world example: "An example of the latter case is the Mississippi delta. Before the Mississippi and associated rivers were controlled in levees in southern Louisiana, the rivers would frequently spill their banks. This processes made the lands of the Mississippi delta. This area is slowly subsiding with time and without the continued replenishment of sediment from river floods, much of it has dropped to elevations below natural sea level. Thus, one could say that not allowing floods is negative for this area. Our society has chosen instead to create a vast and complex system to keep Mississippi waters from reaching these lands. The lands remain dry but each year they subside more, making it ultimately more and more difficult to keep that way."
The negative side of flooding, outside of the obvious human toll, is the overwhelmed sewer systems. Raw sewage spills are common in flooded area. Also, when buildings are destroyed, especially old construction, a lot of dangerous materials are released into the water and transferred across the whole area and eventually enter into the ocean. Pesticides, petrol, asbestos and paints are the most common types of materials that are found in flood waters.

Some people believe that the way to alleviate the damage that floods cause is to build towns so that they can withstand them. They say that floods are natural and if we let them take their course, will benefit the land rather than ruin it. The down side is that it would cost billions of dollars to put high risk towns and counties on stilts. So we have to weigh the option of paying to recover land or double the cost to prevent the damage from happening.

Recycle, Reduce, Reuse and Close the Loop

Kids will remember anything if it has a catchy jingle. The title of this blog are the lyrics to the advertising ploy for recycling when I was a kid, but I couldn't tell you if there is a new one now; I don't hear much about recycling these days.

But this does not mean that recycling is limited or that it is not making a difference (it just means that they need to fire their current advertisers and hire some young college grads, particularly those that are graduating Spring '08)

Here is just a sample of what people are doing to recycle goods across the planet:

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4620041.stm

Homeless people have been given recycling jobs in the US. The UK government is trying to encourage more people to recycle their waste and reduce the UK's waste mountain. Figures suggest 60% of all household waste could be recycled or composted, but the largest nation in the UK, England, appears to be reusing only 17.7%.

Curbside Recycling

earth911.org/recycling/curbside-recycling/
Curbside recycling now serves half of the U.S. population, providing the most convenient means for households to recycle a variety of materials.
While all curbside programs differ, the most commonly included materials are The Big Five: aluminum, glass, paper, plastic and steel.
If curbside recycling isn’t available in your area, consider starting your own recycling program.

Recycling Process
Collecting and processing secondary materials, manufacturing recycled-content products, and then purchasing recycled products creates a circle or loop that ensures the overall success and value of recycling.

Recycling Activities in Asia, Oceania and South America

http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/Environment/recycle/asia/index.html
Sony promotes various recycling programs in Asia, Oceania and South America. Sony Korea Corporation collects and recycles PCs, televisions and audio products in line with recycling legislation that came into force in the Republic of Korea in 2003. In recent years, the number of pieces of electronic equipment collected directly through Sony Store outlets and service centers has increased. Similarly, Sony Taiwan Limited has continued collection and recycling of televisions and PCs in accordance with legal requirement established in 1998. In fiscal 2006, Sony Brasil Ltda. launched its own end-of-life battery collection program in cooperation with retailers. Batteries are collected through collection posts set up by Sony Brasil at Sony retailers across the country. Collected batteries are turned over to a recycling firm, where they are disposed of in an appropriate manner.

According to http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/greenhouse.html The greenhouse effect is the process in which the emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere warms a planet's surface. The name comes from an incorrect analogy with the warming of air inside a greenhouse compared to the air outside the greenhouse. The greenhouse effect was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and first investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896.[1]
The Earth's average surface temperature of 15 °C (59 °F) is about 33 °C (59 °F) warmer than it would be without the greenhouse effect.[2] Global warming, a recent warming of the Earth's lower atmosphere, is believed to be the result of an enhanced greenhouse effect due to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In addition to the Earth, Mars and Venus have greenhouse effects.

So why is this a natural disaster if we can't see it or necessarily feel its effects?

The average global temperature has increased by almost 1 degree F over the past century; scientists expect the average global temperature to increase an additional 2 to 6ºF over the next one hundred years. This may not sound like much, but it could change the Earth's climate as never before. At the peak of the last ice age (18,000 years ago), the temperature was only 7ºF colder than it is today, and glaciers covered much of North America!Even a small increase in temperature over a long time can change the climate.

Tornado Watch?

ATLANTA, Feb 13, 2008
From PRNewswire via COMTEX
"-- When a tornado hit Evansville, Indiana two years ago injuring 230, one survivor said, "I didn't hear the siren."
As a result, Ms. Pamela Harrell invented the Tornado Alarm System (TAS) which operates much like a smoke alarm ($35). The TAS will be shown at the International Home and Housewares Show.
"The TAS only sounds its siren when the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning," says Ms. Harrell.
After it is plugged in, county code selected and frequency tuned, installation is complete."

Not all American residents that are in danger of tornados live close to a siren system. Some towns don't have enough funds to buy a siren at all. It kills me to hear that the state of California spends $34 million on "security" for our governor, but entire communities in other states cannot protect their own people. The Governator is safe from poparazzi, but hundreds of people die from a natural disaster that they could have escaped if only they were warned.
Oh how we prioritize!

Real Seismic Activity

I decided to investigate what the actual effects of an Earthquake are. Here is what howstuffworks.com (my favorite website when I need to know the basics on anything) has to say about earthquakes and their impact:

Every year, earthquakes cause thousands of deaths, either directly or due to the resulting tsunamis, landslides, fires, and famines. Quakes occur when a fault (where Earth's tectonic plates meet) slips, releasing energy in waves that move through the ground.
Scientists measure the strength of tremors on the Richter scale, which assigns magnitude in numbers, like 6.0 or 7.2. A 5.0 tremor is equivalent to a 32-kiloton blast, nearly the explosive power of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945! Going one whole number higher -- such as from 5.0 to 6.0 -- reflects a tenfold increase in the amplitude of waves. Here are some of the most destructive earthquakes in recent history.

Missouri: December 16, 1811 The New Madrid fault -- near where Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee meet -- witnessed an 8.0 or greater magnitude quake nearly 200 years ago. The shaking spread so far that church bells reportedly rang in Boston, more than 1,500 miles away! It had dramatic effects on the area's geography, lifting up land enough to make the Mississippi River appear to flow upstream. Fortunately, the sparsely populated area suffered only one death and minimal property damage.
The Great San Francisco Earthquake caused $524 million in damage and killed 3,000 people.

San Francisco: April 18, 1906 The Great San Francisco Earthquake -- a 7.8 magnitude tremor -- brought down structures across the Bay Area. In San Francisco, buildings crumbled, water mains broke, and streetcar tracks twisted into metal waves. But the majority of the 3,000 deaths and $524 million in property damage came from the massive post-tremor fire, which spread rapidly across the city in the absence of water to quell the flames. People as far away as southern Oregon and western Nevada felt the shaking, which lasted nearly a minute. 3. Southern USSR: October 5, 1948 This earthquake in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, killed around 110,000 people, more than two-thirds of the city's population at the time. The 7.3 magnitude rumbling reduced much of the city to rubble and was one of the most devastating quakes to hit Central Asia. In 2002, the government of Turkmenistan commemorated the devastating event by issuing special coins featuring images of President Suparmurat Niyazov and his family members -- most of whom died in the 1948 quake.

Southern California: January 17, 1994 The 6.7 magnitude Northridge tremor left 60 people dead and caused an estimated $44 billion in damage. The rumbling damaged more than 40,000 buildings in four of California's most populated and expensive counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, and San Bernardino. The earthquake, which was felt as far away as Utah and northern Mexico, luckily struck at 4:30 a.m., when most people were not yet populating the region's crowded freeways, office buildings, and parking structures, many of which collapsed.

A Seismic Shift in Hollywood?

Hollywood’s Seismic Shift
Can an industry upended regain its sense?
By Rachel Abramowitz, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

“...I’m coming into the office and surfing the Web and doing crossword puzzels and reading,” says Oscar-nominated screenwriter and director Scott Frank. Pre-strike, he had his day packed to the nanosecond, writing his own scripts and doctoring others’ scripts for films rushing toward production. Lately, he’s been picketing and procrastinating. “Every time I sit down to write, I end up going online. It’s pathetic. Everybody feels totally discombobulated. It’s like the way people feel after a natural disaster. People have lost their routines around which they organize their lives.”


I found this article while perusing the LA Times and had to laugh at one writers' heightened sense of self. He compared the writers strike to an earthquake in the way that in has impacted lives. I understand that the writers strike is nothing to scoff at, but has it really reached the level where families have been uprooted, lives and livelyhoods lost? Maybe it has. Maybe the writers are so 'discombobulated' that they simply have to start over. The strike has wiped their lives clean and now the will begin anew. Let's just hope that the writing, not just the writers, is fresh.

Bush Burning

This is a friend of mine 'retelling' one of our President's stances on forest fires and natural disasters such as hurricane Katrina. It's funny, but makes a statement about people coming together after a natural disaster.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQYO8v-5aZE

What Constitues a Disaster

This blog is my ode to what people consider disastrous in contrast to what the earth actually suffers during a natural disaster.

I will examine the sublime nature of some of these occurances while satirizing those lesser 'disasters' that people incur on a daily basis*.

*Not all 'disasters' affect large numbers of people, in fact, too many people consider everyday inconveniences disastrous. Don't take offense if I satirize a daily disaster that you might consider monumental.