Apparently the EPA and the Bush Administration are so reluctant to address the Global Warming issue that 12 states have banded together with environmental groups to wue the EPA to take action. Briefs requesting that the Supreme Court use it's power to force the EPA to institute regulations that curb greenhouse gas emissions were due in the court today.

"It's really not that complicated," Tom Dressler, spokesman for the California attorney general, said Wednesday. "We want the federal government to take its head out of the sand, start performing its statutory duty, and start protecting California and the rest of this nation from the potentially devastating effects of global warming."

California, the 9th largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, is pushing a landmark deal through it's legislature that will require a 25% reduction in industrial greenhouse gases by 2020. The agreement's measures will have little effect on the global warming, but it's symbolic effect will be wide-spread - putting California in a leadership position in the fight against Global Climate Change.

The agreement also breaks ranks with the Bush Administration, which has resisted efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emmisions citing increase costs to businesses and damage the economy. Many manufacturing and technology pundits agree, and are afraid that the new agreement will make California appear hostile to industry, drive existing businesses to other states, and cause higher unemployment through loss of jobs.

According to a new study just completed by UC Berkeley, the economic impact will be just the oppsite - boosting the state's economy by 74 billion dollars and creating 88,000 new jobs.

On August 23rd N.O.A.A. Scientists issued a second coral reef warning this year for the Carribean. Recent measurements show that the water surface temperature reached about 84° F (~28.7° C), more than 3° F higher than the average high temperature for the area. Normally, the sea surface temperatures in the Carribean peak during September and October, so such high surface temperatures this early in the season could have dire consequences for Carribean coral reefs.

Prolonged exposure to the high water temperature can cause bleaching - a process that kills off the algae that lives in and builds coral, which in turn kills the coral itself.

In the 2005 season, coral in the Carribean suffered a massive 40% die-off in some areas around the U.S. Virgin Islands, leaving behind a severely weakened coral ecosystem - a home and breeding ground to many creatures that live in the shallow waters including fish, lobster and marine mammals.

The U.S. has been blessed with a mild start to the hurricane season, with NOAA downgrading it's seasonal forcast for Tropical Storm activity in the Atlantic. The predictions for this year are still higher than the long term average, but until August 14th, Hurricane Alley could not spawn a hurricane due to a missing key ingredient in hurricane formation - sea surface temperatures.

For a Hurricane to form, the sea surface water temperature must reach and maintain a temperature of 82° F, referred to as "Hurricane Ready Sea Surface Temperature". During the first two weeks of August 2006, imagery from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) aboard the NASA's Aqua Sattelite confirmed that the sea surface temperatures crossed the 82° threshhold over a widespread area of the tropical Atlantic - enough to fuel and sustain a tropical storm to hurricane level.

Most of the mass media is still arguing whether Global Climate Change is real or not, but the world of science has pretty much agreed that the cycle is real and happening. Much of the debate has shifted in the Science world to how Global Warming has come to pass. Are we at the mercy of some kind of natural cycle, or is Global Warming the direct result of human activity in the natural environment?

Anthropogenic is the word to describe the latter, and basically refers to the influence of human beings on nature.

Keep your ears peeled! You'll be hearing this one in the near future, just like the word "imbroglio" appeared suddenly and was beat to death by the press during the 2000 Presidential Election Fiasco here in the U.S.

According ot a recent study published in the journal Science, the Greenland Ice Sheet is melting much faster than previously estimated. Using data collected by NASA's Grace Satellite, the authors of the study (J. L. Chen, C. R. Wilson, and B. D. Tapley) were able to estimate the changes in mass of ice from the period from April 2002 to November 2005. Their findings show an increase ion the rate of melting in Greeland's ice, which is now currently adding approximately .02 inches per year to the global sea levle rise. Currently Greenland is losing between 52 and 63 cubic miles of ice to melting each year, three times the rate of melting determined in the first yeare of the GRACE mission in 2002. If Greeanland were to lose all of it's ice to melting, it would contribute almost 22 feet to the current sea level globally.

NASA's Grace Satellite mission uses a pair of satellites that measure the gravitational pull of the area they are flying over. the denser the area under the satellite the stronger it's gravitational pull, making the satellite move faster. As the satellite pair moves over different terrains, thedistance between them fluctuates due to the gravitational pull of what is beneath. By measuring the changes in distance between the satellites, data can be extrapolated to show the surface mass change.

Although the Atlantic Hurrican Season is off to a slow start, storm activity in the South Pacific is going strong. On August 7, 2006, as the NASA Aqua satellite flew over the region, it captured an image of three typhoons following storm tracks in the area: Typhoon Saomai, Typhoon Maria, and Typhoon Bopha.

While this is not an unprecedented event, it does provide an oppurtunity to see into the lifecycle of a tropical storm in the South Pacific. Each of the storms are a different age, Bopha being the youngest at only a few hours in age, followed by Maria (24 hours older). Saomai is a day older than Maria, with sustained winds of 85 M.P.H.

Image Credit to NASA

Appartently the House Majority whip Roy Blunt has vowed to take no action regarding global warming during the entire 110th session of congress if he stays in power. Citing inadequate evidence that Global Warming even exists, Blunt seems to be ready to stand firm against any and all logic and reason. This is a perfect example of how we got in this mess in the first place.

Refusing to address THE most dangerous threat to the human race using the ostrich defense to back up your argument is sheer stupidity, complete ignorance or (worst case) cowardice. Since his vow is based on his role as leader, the best solution to the problem would be to make sure that he is no longer in power.

To contact Roy Blunt and tell him what you think, use the form on this page to send him a message (apparently he is afraid to publish his email address too!).

Other contact information:
Roy Blunt
2740-B East Sunshine
Springfield, Missouri 65804
(417) 889-1800
(417) 889-4915 Fax