According to a recent study done by the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC), the arctic ice may have crossed an ecological threshold this year.
“Arctic amplification, the notion that rises in surface air temperatures in response to increased atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations will be larger in the Arctic than elsewhere over the globe, is believed to be happening now.”
This is a result of the increase in the amount of dark sea surface, as opposed to reflective ice, absorbing more solar heat.
“The observed autumn warming that we’ve seen over the Arctic Ocean, not just this year but over the past five years or so, represents Arctic amplification, the notion that rises in surface air temperatures in response to increased atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations will be larger in the Arctic than elsewhere over the globe,” she said. “The warming climate is leading to more open water in the Arctic Ocean. As these open water areas develop through spring and summer, they absorb most of the sun’s energy, leading to ocean warming.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/has-the-arctic-melt-passed-the-point-of-no-return-1128197.html?startindex=0
Sort of…
At least the basic question of why we don’t get all our energy from the sun.
The math is simple: Solar power electricity generation has been doubling every 2 years for the last 20 years. Now, according to Ray Kurzweil, we are only 8 ‘doublings’ away from 100%.
But where are we going to store all the energy?
http://www.labnews.co.uk/laboratory_article.php/3819/2/energy-storage-a-boost-for-renewables
Giddy up!
A new twist on the old paradox. The people at Element Four have developed a way of turning air into water by collecting condensation. They say their gadget, the Watermill, can collect enough water to supply a family of six. It will be released at the Wired store in NYC on November 21.
http://www.psfk.com/2008/11/watermill-turns-air-into-water-nyc-debut.html
A new product for an old idea, the memristor is a 37-year old concept finally coming to fruition. With the potential for replacing RAM, flash drives and even hard drives, these little units have huge potential. Per my usual posts, it is based a another piece of Mother Nature’s ingenuity, this time the human brain. Of course, it was a human brain that awarded that title, so…
http://www.shapingtomorrow.com/nav-frameset.cfm?hl=http://tech.msn.com/products/articlepcw.aspx?cp-documentid=12391140
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From Think Progress:
“In a landmark action, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s final decision-making board has ruled that all new and proposed coal-fired power plants [in the United States] must have their carbon dioxide emissions regulated.”
One step at a time, everybody…
Filed under: Uncategorized
Recent research has drawn more conclusions related to the healing power of copper. While an important discovery in the use of a natural, abundant material, humans are already introducing more copper into the biosphere than it can naturally process. Just a thought before we start mass producing copper toilet seats.
http://www.psfk.com/2008/10/copper-helps-kill-harmful-super-bugs.html
To all who choose, or were chosen, to contribute to this blog, I would like to give you a short outline of my vision for it. Inspired by a ‘Weak Signals’ blog of my former employer, I hope for this to be a collaborative effort of all involved to find and post the most interesting and potentially impacting stories, articles, etc. for society. These stories will have potentailly broad applications for the economy, society, and/or the environment. These articles are meant to serve as a resource for futurists, systems-thinkers, and anyone with an interest in the rapidly changing world around them. Welcome and thanks for your contribution.
