It’s unclear how to understand the relative weights of the causes of the present food shortage, but no matter what is going on, the net effect is that world food supply chains are becoming more brittle than they have been in years. Here’s a piece on how rationing is starting to appear even in Silicon Valley: “Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food […]
Wired News has the report of a new study from Purdue University that lists the top carbon footprint producing cities in the United States. Oddly enough Phoenix is not on the list. But tiny Jim Thorpe, just north of Bethlehem PA where I lived before moving to Phoenix is on the list at number 12… Who knew that my move to the 5th largest city in the US was going to play a significant role […]
Might be an active Hurricane season coming up according to a study just published: “The Earth’s jet streams, the high-altitude bands of fast winds that strongly influence the paths of storms and other weather systems, are shifting–possibly in response to global warming. Scientists at the Carnegie Institution determined that over a 23-year span from 1979 to 2001 the jet streams in both hemispheres have risen in altitude and shifted toward the poles. The jet stream […]
Here’s another article that looks at the global and geo-political consequences occuring because of rapidly rising energy prices. Even if the prices are rising because of profiteering (not a surprising thing as supply lines become brittle) they’re still climbing. The effect is the same as if the cause were unequivocally connected with Peak Oil. “It’s strange that the business and geopolitics of energy takes up so little space on American front pages — or that […]
There’s been a number of stories lately about some new data showing climate change is having the effect of expanding the tropical belt surrounding the earth’s equator: “Signs of a very different 21st-century climate are already showing up, and not just in the melting arctic. A new review in Nature Geoscience highlights reports that the boundaries of the tropics, defined by temperature, rainfall, wind, and ozone patterns, have shifted poleward by at least 2 degrees […]
Here’s a little something for you to read this morning: “A new report says the country is brimming with opportunities to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, while saving money at the same time.” From the article: “The report said the country was brimming with “negative cost opportunities” — potential changes in the lighting, heating and cooling of buildings, for example, that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels even as they save […]
News that the biofuel solution to the energy crunch is looking less realistic: “The biofuels bonanza will crash unless producers can guarantee their crops have been produced responsibly, the UN’s environment agency chief has said. Achim Steiner of the UN Environment Programme (Unep) said there was an urgent need for standards to make sure rainforests weren’t being destroyed. Biofuel makers also had to show their products did not produce more CO2 than they negated, he […]
The Mad Priest has the following prayer request: “A ten foot tidal surge is heading down the North Sea and will hit East Anglia (Norfolk and Suffolk) at about 6.00 a.m. tomorrow. My wife’s folks live there (though they should be safe), as do some good friends of mine (who are on the coast, in the firing line). Although he’s a bit further south I am also worried about our long time friend, Rev Sam, […]
The BBC article that I posted earlier this morning points out that there’s no way that the developed world can expect energy to continue to be available at present levels. The unexpected consequence of this is being felt in Swaziland. The article in the Guardian below points out the real impact in a country that has no real resources other than its minimal agricultural industry: “It doesn’t get madder than this. Swaziland is in the […]
With crude oil poised to break $100/barrel and gas over $4/gallon in the Bay Area, I heard a report on NPR this morning saying that the spiking prices were due primarily to “speculation”. My first response to the radio voice was that “speculation” is what happens when demand exceeds supply – and that it is probably not going to go away. Which means that energy prices are just going to continue to climb. The news […]
