Comments catman has made

Just a thought:

Could buoys be located at the surface of these dead zones?  Could wind or wave powered machines be used to pump surface air with oxygen deep into the dead layer and help bring them back to life? Is it feasible and could it work?On Global warming could unleash ocean 'dead zones' posted 10 months, 1 week ago 2 Responses

But in this case

a message from the new Commander in Chief can tell the Navy to stop the super sonar training exercises.
Course he'll have hell to pay if some subs, that can elude our older sonar, start showing up on the coasts armed with nukes.On Navy can use sonar despite risk of whale harm, says Supreme Court posted 1 year ago 16 Responses

Commercial insurance

or government insurance should be illegal in ANY area that has experience a hurricane storm surge in recorded history.  The rich will buy up acres of damaged homes and build themselves small replaceable summer homes that they will self insure.
The dunes and marshes will return.

If we can bailout Wall St., we can save the coastal environment and ecosystem.On Severe erosion caused by Hurricane Ike may make many homes illegal posted 1 year, 2 months ago 2 Responses

Business as Usual

is the ultimate Dead Zone.  Too bad for the rest of us and Nature as we know it.On Number of ocean dead zones increasing dramatically, study says posted 1 year, 3 months ago 3 Responses

Would you bet

Would you bet that Kelpie and treestump missed the memo that requires you to call a lawyer whenever some dispute arises?  

People who know how to work together can get quite a bit done without their lawyers. Imagine if Treanor, Bisset and Vargas worked together to solve their problem. Those beautiful redwoods, solar panels installed, would enrich all three and maybe Treanor and Bisset could have installed some of their own and that would have enriched the rest of us, too.On Trees win in California solar panels vs. redwoods dispute posted 1 year, 4 months ago 9 Responses

What would it take

to organize a world wide tree planting program where mixed forests are planted everywhere they will grow?
The trees will be a sink for CO2 and could help to stabilize the new climate.  Forest products are a CO2 sink so using the wood doesn't limit the effect.  To sequester more CO2, make it into charcoal and bury it producing energy in the process.  The charcoal can be ground up and applied to soils as a fertilizer.

Armies of tree planters can push back deserts and help keep our planet livable. A carbon tax in every country can pay for this program.On Demand for food, wood, biofuels driving tropical deforestation, report says posted 1 year, 4 months ago 3 Responses

Isn't this exactly

Isn't this exactly what the commons is for?  (As long as the cattle don't overgraze or stay too long.) Or maybe conservation zones are not really commons, but instead, belong to wildlife?On Conservation land in flood zone opened to grazing posted 1 year, 4 months ago 11 Responses

In case you missed it

No coal power plants can be built without financial backing.  Which financial backer will be disappointed by this decision?  Could they make money by instead backing sustainable solar, wind, tidal or geothermal power?On Landmark ruling halts Georgia coal plant on basis of CO2 emissions posted 1 year, 5 months ago 7 Responses

When A defends B, attact A, then attack B

Gov. Tim Kaine may support it, but somebody has to put up the money to make it happen.  Put their future in doubt. On Mike Tidwell speaks out in the WaPo against coal posted 1 year, 5 months ago 7 Responses

What a terribly prophetic movie

Rollerball (the original 1975 with James Caan)  

the pistol that blows up a large pine tree
losing the 14th century from the computer library

(from wikipedia)
'In the film, the world of 2018 is a global corporate state, containing entities such as the Energy Corporation, a global energy monopoly based in Houston which deals with nominally-peer corporations controlling access to all Transport, Luxury, Housing and Food on a global basis.'

Only 10 more years to go.  Which corporate anthem will you stand for?On Supreme Court slashes Exxon's punitive damages for Valdez oil spill posted 1 year, 5 months ago 6 Responses

biofuel

Bio-fuel made from from human agricultural foods should be illegal. A human agricultural food could be defined as any plant used for human food that is currently raised on more than 1% of farm land.  This could be a world wide ban.

Feeding cars at the expense of humans is intolerable and should be a crime.

Make these fuels from organic waste and 'weeds', not food.On Report: Strong climate policy would protect 14 million American jobs posted 1 year, 5 months ago 17 Responses

Even if there are fewer hurricanes

the increased energy of  warmer tropical oceans will create other problems: high winds and more intense weather fronts and their attendant tornadoes. Energy always flows away from areas with abundance towards areas with deficits.  There will be plenty of severe storms even if the meteorologists don't call them hurricanes. Anyway, don't count on reduced storm-damage insurance industry pay outs.  On Snippets from the news posted 1 year, 6 months ago 2 Responses

The answer

to sustainability will usually be found in the waste stream. Nature has been working on this problem for a billion years using trial and error methods.  Farm chemicals: not so long.  Manure in the field is nature's way and is quite sustainable.

Every short term gain has long term consequences, so the decision to take a gain must be weighed against consequences that might last for years or even longer.  Killing the soil for a few years of spectacular crops just creates wasteland or desert that is very limited in value and won't feed anyone.On Nitrogen fertilizer is in short supply posted 1 year, 7 months ago 53 Responses

It might make some sense

to speed up the process of recreating forests by hiring tree planters to put in deciduous starter trees. There are many species that might survive the cold winters and shorter growing seasons.  Plant what used to thrive in the the New England forests.  The dominant species of forest trees in any location has always changed with the climate.  Humans can help the process.On Mountain pine beetles fueling climate change via tree deaths posted 1 year, 7 months ago 5 Responses

This point needs to be emphasized:

Correct siting of a green energy plant can never destroy the natural environment.  Kinda defeats the purpose.  We're almost at the end of the 'not in my backyard' era and the 'use it up and throw it out' era.  Along with some other eras:  of stable climate, of mostly mild weather, of cheap energy and transportation, of cheap natural resources, and of taking our standard of living for granted. On Two proposed solar projects to boost California's solar capacity by half posted 1 year, 8 months ago 5 Responses

cruelty arguments/soylent green

You are right on about how americans care about cats, dogs, horses more that humans etc.  good thing, cause they would be eating their pets (?) oh i guess they do eat cats, dogs, rats, in some parts of the world.  I cannot eat meat cause I think about how the animals were tortured. Soylent Green (it' s people) On In case you'd forgotten, industrial meat is a friggin' nightmare posted 1 year, 9 months ago 46 Responses

Has anyone thought

Has anyone thought of using previously ecologically damaged areas for wind farms: West Virginia mountaintop, strip mines, copper mines, etc. ?  It would seem such areas could remain industrial and do us all some good rather than breaking into undeveloped land somewhere else.  Anyway 'restoration' of such areas is quite impossible.  These coal company people should start considering wind farms as being part of their revenue stream.On Clean-tech and wind power both soaring posted 1 year, 10 months ago 11 Responses

gone

The news story at your link is no longer available.On Minnesota will ban mercury in cosmetics posted 1 year, 11 months ago 6 Responses

sprawl economics

Since the Reagan years many millions of Americans have made their living through the creation of sprawl.  Small farms have been driven out of business by big agra-business.  Cheap, undeveloped real estate has become available to 'developers' as farms fail.  Contractors cut the trees and grade the land. Others bring in utilities.  Reservoirs and power plants are built where needed. Heavy equipment builders sell the machines that make it happen. Roads and expressways are built making living in the 'country' and working in the 'city' a possibility for some.  Subdivisions and strip malls spring up like mushrooms. Real estate has become an enormous big business. Bankers fund it all on credit.  Cheap gas and abundant vehicles are another ingredient.  Auto dealerships, mechanics and parts suppliers are another big part of this economy.

All of these businessmen and their employees depend on the constant creation of sprawl for their livelihood.  No doubt they will fight like hell to keep their paychecks coming in.  

Anyone who wants to curtail sprawl needs to keep this reality in mind. The elimination of cheap gas and the elimination of even the possibility of turning failed farms into money through the rezoning process would certainly go a long way toward that goal.  But it sounds so 'un-American'  after 25 years of the Reagan way of doing things and all of the propaganda that has supported it.  Too bad we don't live on an infinite planet with cheap, climate neutral, energy for everyone.  Too bad, indeed.On U.S. could slash emissions at little cost through boosted efficiency, says report posted 1 year, 12 months ago 3 Responses

It didn't take long to find out

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politic ...

http://newmedia.gainesvilletimes.com/news/article/677/On Georgia declares state of emergency due to drought, anger at species protections posted 2 years, 1 month ago 2 Responses

water wars begin

Except that in 50s, when Lake Lanier was being planned, Florida and Alabama demanded that they get their fare share of the Chatahoochee water.   It's believed that the three states signed an agreement on the distribution of the water.  In the past 20 years Georgia's widespread rapid development has greatly contributed to this crisis.  A federal suit concerning the distribution of this water has been in the courts for years.

'Common sense' would suggest that Georgia should have planned it's growth with limits to water availability in mind.

It'll be interesting to see whether Alabama and Florida think it's common sense to give their water to Georgia.

It's not about water for mussels and sturgeon, it's about development.
On Georgia lawmakers propose suspending endangered-species protections during drought posted 2 years, 1 month ago 4 Responses

reality based leadership

If we had reality based leadership in the draught area of the SE, this leadership would put in place some prudent measures, to stay in place until the reservoirs are full again.  This 'draught' may really be the beginning of 'climate change'.  Only the passage of time will make this distinction clear.

A moratorium on new building permits.
A moratorium on new wells, but existing wells could be deepened.
A continued ban on outdoor watering and car washing.On Severe drought in U.S. Southeast leaves Atlanta water supply in question posted 2 years, 1 month ago 5 Responses

beyond the northwest passage

Just as the global shipping starts to take advantage of the almost ice free Arctic Ocean. the Greenland Ice Sheet will slide into the Atlantic raising sea level 20 to 30 feet.  It suddenly got a whole lot more expensive to ship from submerged seaport to submerged seaport.  Upstream ports won't be affected.  On second thought, they'll boom.On Northwest Passage likely to be unpopular shipping route despite summer ice-free state posted 2 years, 1 month ago 1 Response