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Perhaps now we'll have some real action.
Tim

HOUSE: Waxman ousts Dingell, grabs Energy and Commerce gavel
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2008/11/20/1/
Greenwire staff report
(11/20/2008)

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is the new chairman of the House Energy
and Commerce Committee after ousting longtime Chairman John Dingell
(D-Mich.), 137-122, in a secret ballot vote of the entire House
Democratic Caucus today.
With Waxman's victory, many expect the Beverly Hills Democrat to
bring a liberal voice to the podium and work with President-elect
Barack Obama on energy policy, environmental protection and health
care.

"We are at a unique moment in history," Waxman told reporters. "We
have an opportunity that maybe comes along only once in a generation,
and I think the Democratic caucus agreed with me that we must meet
that challenge and move forward on those important policies."

In a statement, Dingell said he would work closely with Waxman and
provide for a smooth transition. "Well, this was clearly a change
year and I congratulate my colleague Henry Waxman on his success
today," Dingell said.

"What will not change, however, and what will never change, is my
commitment to the working men and women of the 15th Congressional
District of Michigan who have honored me with the opportunity to
represent them here in Washington," he added. "That commitment -- to
protecting and creating jobs, to providing health care for all
Americans, to working to getting our state and nation's economy back
on track -- is a fight I will continue to wage in Washington."

Incoming House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.).
Photo courtesy of his office.

Democrats who supported Waxman seized on the "change" theme. "I am
very pleased he won, because I think he will bring the kind of change
we need and will work best with the new administration," said Rep.
Frank Pallone (D-N.J.). "Global warming is a very important issue,
and we will do well under his leadership."

Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) said Waxman will move forward on global
warming and in other key areas. "Henry is a powerhouse that has
proved himself time and again on these and so many other substantive
issues," Berkley said. "This caucus and this Congress is going to
move forward in a very dramatic way."

Waxman's agenda

During the two-week campaign for the gavel, Waxman did not provide
many details of his proposed agenda, but his record suggests he will
pursue aggressive pollution cleanup for all industrial sectors, as
well as some of the most aggressive limits for U.S. business as it
embarks on a first-ever mandatory program to curb heat-trapping
emissions.

Some of Waxman's biggest legislative accomplishments on the
environment stretch back to before Republicans won control of
Congress in 1994. He fought Dingell and the Reagan administration in
the 1980s over efforts to weaken automobile emission standards. And
during the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments debate, Waxman clashed with
Dingell while serving as chairman of the Health and Environment
Subcommittee.

Since 2006, Waxman has made headlines as chairman of the House
Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has given him a
perch to investigate the Bush administration's policies on everything
from Iraq and climate change to the use of steroids in Major League
Baseball.

Waxman's first order of business may be to address the hurt feelings
within the divided caucus. He now faces at least a dozen Blue Dog and
industrial-state Democrats who won't be excited about voting for his
climate bill.

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), whose status as chairman of the Energy and
Air Quality Subcommittee is now in doubt, said he was irked by
Waxman's run for the gavel. "This whole challenge bothered me, but I
won't be specific about anything," he told reporters.

"I think it was highly inappropriate; there was no obvious reason for
it other than the desire for another person to chair the committee,"
Boucher said. "There was no real substantive reason."

Waxman is lead author of the "Safe Climate Act," H.R. 1590, a bill
with 155 cosponsors that seeks to curb U.S. greenhouse gas emissions
to 1990 levels by 2020. The 69-year-old lawmaker also took the lead
this fall on a "Dear Colleague" letter signed by 150 other House
Democrats that calls for stringent environmental regulations to deal
with global warming.
Environmentalists pushing for faster action on climate change
legislation were pleased with the vote.

"Chairman Waxman has been a leader on global warming for many years,
and we look forward to working closely with him in this new role,"
said Karen Wayland, legislative director of the Natural Resources
Defense Council, in a statement. "Our nation faces many challenges,
including the climate crisis, and Congressman Waxman understands that
we can't delay in taking on these issues."

The vote also puts California Democrats at the center of the Capitol
Hill climate policy debate, as Waxman joins House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman
Barbara Boxer.

At a press conference, Boxer said the vote signaled a "sea change" on
climate change policy.

"I have to say, Congressman Waxman and I are very strong allies, and
we worked before he took the chairmanship, and we will continue that
relationship," Boxer said. "Congressman Waxman will be a great
chairman."

But Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) said the White House will likely
call the shots. "The administration is still going to be the major
driver," he said. "People really care about this -- there is a
national consensus, and Henry is better able to guide it."

Aides to Obama and Pelosi stressed that they had not played favorites
or encouraged the move, but numerous pieces of tangential evidence
suggested they would prefer Waxman over Dingell. Obama last weekend
named longtime Waxman staffer Phil Schiliro as his top liaison to
Congress. And Pelosi has fought countless times with Dingell over
environmental issues, at one point backing his opponent in a
Democratic primary.

Pelosi did not speak at today's meeting until after the vote, and
then spoke only to congratulate the winner. "I think this vote shows
this wasn't Nancy Pelosi," Blumenauer said.

End of an era

For Dingell, 82, the vote marks the end of his 28 years as the top
Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, although he will have
the title of chairman emeritus.

It also is a major shift for House Democrats, who traditionally rely
on seniority to choose committee leaders.

"Seniority is important, but it should not be a grant of property
rights to be chairman for three decades or more," Waxman said after
the vote, adding, "This in no way diminishes the enormous
contribution to our country by Chairman John Dingell."

Among those who voted for Waxman, it is clear that Dingell's long
tenure was a hindrance rather than a benefit.

"The Commerce Committee, which should be the point for everything --
the last Congress had to work around it," Blumenauer said, noting
leaders had to create a separate whip team for debates on fuel
economy standards for automobiles and the renewable portfolio
standard.

"These aren't fiefdoms where it's a black hole and people know what
has happened -- these actions have consequences," Blumenauer said.
"This was not about respect or affection, this was about the most
critical issues of the day, starting with climate change.

"I don't think it's exactly an insurgency if you've been here since
1974," he added.

At yesterday's Steering and Policy Committee meeting, House Majority
Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) addressed the seniority question on
Dingell's behalf. While speaking highly of Waxman, Hoyer expressed
concerns about the precedent of removing a sitting chairman who was a
loyal Democrat and an able performer, a Democratic aide said. The
Steering Committee endorsed Waxman by a 25-22 vote.

Dingell's supporters also stressed his long list of accomplishments
in Congress, as well as a renewed commitment to take on a broad array
of Obama's priorities, including global warming.

His public list of supporters included more than a dozen Blue Dog
Democrats, as well as members of the Congressional Black Caucus and
the New Democrat Coalition and Democratic committee leaders.

Members who spoke on Dingell's behalf at the Democratic caucus
meeting included Reps. John Lewis of Georgia, Diana DeGette of
Colorado, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota and Mike Doyle of
Pennsylvania, according to Boucher. Waxman spoke on his own behalf
for about five minutes.

Reporters Dan Berman, Katherine Boyle, Ben Geman, Alex Kaplun and
Darren Samuelsohn contributed.
--
<http://www.groundtruthinvestigations.com/>

Hey there...  Let's use global warming to show them how to make it worse!
Tim

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

Press Release

For release: September 2, 2008

Contact:
Michael Gauldin, 703-648-4054, mgauldin@...
Jonathan Childs, 650-329-5195, jchilds@...
Jessica Robertson, 703-648-6624, jrobertson@...

Unexplored Arctic Region to be Mapped

Reporters: You will have access to a journal, photographs and video during
and after this expedition. Information is available at
http://www.usgs.gov/journals/arctic/.

A scientific expedition this fall will map the unexplored Arctic seafloor
where the U.S. and Canada may have sovereign rights over natural resources
such as oil and gas and control over activities such as mining.

Both countries will use the resulting data to establish the outer limits of
the continental shelf, according to the criteria set out in the Convention
on the Law of the Sea. The extended continental shelf, the seafloor and
subsoil beyond 200 nautical miles from shore that meet those criteria, is
an area of great scientific interest and potential economic development.

The expedition will be collaboratively undertaken by the U.S. and Canada
using two ships. The U.S. Geological Survey will lead data collection from
September 6 to October 1 on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy to map the
Arctic seafloor. The Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada
will follow Healy on the Canadian Coast Guard ship Louis S. St. Laurent (
Louis) and study the geology of the sub-seafloor.

"The two-ship experiment allows both the U.S. and Canada to collect and
share complementary data in areas where data acquisition is costly,
logistically difficult, and sometimes dangerous," said USGS scientist
Deborah Hutchinson, who will sail aboard Louis. "Both countries benefit
through sharing of resources and data as well as increasing likelihood of
success by utilizing two ice-breaker ships in these remote areas of the
Arctic Ocean."

"Healy will utilize an echo sounder, which emits sounds signals in the
water, to map the seafloor. This will be done using a multibeam bathymetry
system," said USGS scientist Jonathan Childs, chief scientist on Healy
during the September cruise. "Unlike conventional echo sounders, which
measure the water depth at a point directly beneath the ship, the multibeam
system collects a 'swath' of depth information about 3 km wide along the
ship's path, creating a three-dimensional view of the seafloor."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funded U.S.
participation in this mission and collaborated with the University of New
Hampshire to collect bathymetric data in the Arctic Ocean on Healy from
August 14 to September 5.

Research is coordinated by the Extended Continental Shelf Task Force, a
government-wide group headed by the U.S. Department of State. Participants
in this Task Force include the USGS, NOAA, U.S. Coast Guard, National
Science Foundation, Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Navy, Department of Energy,
Environmental Protection Agency, Executive Office of the President,
Minerals Management Service, and the Arctic Research Commission.

For more information about the Convention on the Law of the Sea, visit
http://www.un.org/Depts/los/index.htm.

USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information, visit
www.usgs.gov.

Subscribe to USGS News Releases via our electronic mailing list at
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/list_server.aspor or our RSS feed at
http://feeds.feedburner.com/UsgsNewsroom.

                            **** www.usgs.gov ****
--
<http://www.groundtruthinvestigations.com/>

Climate Change Protest at NOAA NWS offices in Chanhassen, MN

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 06/06/2008 - 15:17.
in climate change education
Start: 06/28/2008 - 15:14
Timezone: America/Chicago
PROTEST TO OPEN THE DOOR ON CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION!

Saturday, June 28th, 12:00 Noon, NOAA/NWS Office at the Intersection
of Audubon Road & Lake Drive West, Chanhassen, MN. Chief
meteorologists at NOAA's National Weather Service have ignored climate
change in their weather and hydrology procedures by claiming the
subject is "too controversial". Climate crisis activists say it's not
too hot to handle and it's time these government agencies deal with
the realities of a warming planet by explaining them to the public in
a forthright manner. This action is sponsored by the Climate Crisis
Coalition of the Twin Cities. A caravan to Chanhassen will leave from
Mayday Books, 301 Cedar Avenue South, West Bank, Minneapolis at 11:00
AM on June 28th. For additional information please email:
christinefrank@visi.­com or phone: 612-879-8937.



--
Pat N
http://picasaweb.google.com/npatnew
Email: npatnew@...

NASA global warming scientist:
Dump coal power and clean up emissions or 'we're toast'

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON June 23, 2008 (AP)

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=5230065

--
Pat N
http://picasaweb.google.com/npatnew
Email: npatnew@...

Down here in Hays/Travis Counties we've had more
days with temperatures over 100º so far in June
than lower than 100º
and it isn't even summer yet. Extreme drought.
Our well was producing silty water yesterday due
to the aquifer draw
down. The deer are starving. Some are on the
porch looking for food. A few hundred miles north
of here atmospheric conditions are exactly
opposite with severe storms and widespread floods.

Tim

Report on Climate Predicts Extremes
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/19/AR2008061902171.\
html?hpid=topnews
More Droughts Likely in North America
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 20, 2008; A02

As greenhouse-gas emissions rise, North America
is likely to experience more droughts and
excessive heat in some regions even as intense
downpours and hurricanes pound others more often,
according to a report issued yesterday by the
U.S. Climate Change Science Program.

The 162-page study, which was led by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, provides
the most comprehensive assessment yet of how
global warming has helped to transform the
climate of the United States and Canada over the
past 50 years -- and how it may do so in the
future.

Coming at a time when record flooding is ravaging
the Midwest, the new report paints a grim
scenario in which severe weather will exact a
heavy toll. The report warned that extreme
weather events "are among the most serious
challenges to society in coping with a changing
climate."

While the Southwest is likely to face even more
intense droughts, the scientists wrote, heavy
downpours will become more frequent in some other
parts of the country because of increased water
vapor in the air.

"This report addresses one of the most frequently
asked questions about global warming: What will
happen to weather and climate extremes?" said one
of the report's two co-chairs, Thomas R. Karl,
who directs NOAA's National Climatic Data Center
in Asheville, N.C.. He added that the report,
which synthesizes the findings of more than 100
academic papers, "concludes that we are now
witnessing and will increasingly experience more
extreme weather and climate events."

The authors found that the last decade has seen
fewer cold snaps than any other 10-year period in
the historical record dating back to 1895. Under
a middle-range scenario of future greenhouse-gas
emissions, climate models indicate that by
mid-century, extremely hot days that now occur
only once every 20 years will occur every three
years.

Richard Moss, vice president and managing
director for climate change at the World Wildlife
Fund, said in an interview that the report was
prepared by "an A-list of authors" and is "really
frightening."

In a conference call with reporters, Karl and the
other co-chair, Gerald A. Meehl, senior scientist
at the National Center for Atmospheric Research,
said there is no doubt that human-generated
heat-trapping gases have helped intensify both
the Southwest's current drought and heavy
downpours, which have been increasing at a rate
three times that of average precipitation over
the past century.

"That's a certainty," Karl said. "People aren't
questioning whether there's been an increase in
heavy downpours."

By the end of the century, he added, models
predict that intense bouts of precipitation that
might have occurred once every 20 years will take
place every five years.

The researchers, from both the federal and
private sectors, reached more tentative
conclusions about the connection between
greenhouse-gas emissions and hurricanes.

The report noted that the intensity of hurricanes
and tropical storms, as measured by an index that
combines wind strength, duration and frequency,
has shown a "substantial" increase since 1970 and
that "there has been a strong statistical
connection between tropical Atlantic sea surface
temperatures and Atlantic hurricane activity."
But the scientists said this suggestion of a
connection to human activity is not conclusive.

NOAA research meteorologist Thomas R. Knutson,
who contributed to the report and recently
published an article in the journal Nature saying
that it is too early to attribute more intense
hurricane activity to a detectable human
influence, said the synthesis reflects the
current disagreement among scientists on the
question of hurricanes.

"This is a report that is a consensus document,
where you have a number of authors who may not
agree on all things," Knutson said.
--
<http://www.groundtruthinvestigations.com/>

Dr Sylvester Johnson http://www.federalcarbontax.org. of upstate New
York, has launched a campaign to urge local goverments to pass
resolutions advocating the enactment of a federal carbon tax. He has
led the effort to get such resolutions passed in the City and Town of
Ithaca in New York State and is working on Tompkins County. He has
placed ads at his own expense in four major political magazines.

Sylvester Johnson, Ph.D. Applied Physics
Coordinator of the Initiative for resolutions by local governments in
support of a federal carbon tax
607-539-6193, info@...


<<Initiative

  Advocates are being sought nationwide for this Initiative to pass
resolutions by local governments in support of a federal carbon tax-
and-refund. Broad-based support is possible based on the following
understanding:
         Whether the next President is Republican or Democrat,
legislation is likely to be enacted to reduce fossil fuel emissions.
The debate between a tax and emissions trading may seem remote from
daily life, but the outcome will affect all Americans.
         Emissions trading acts like a covert tax as the costs are
passed on to the consumer. However an actual tax is less expensive
because it's simpler, as well as less readily abused and more
effective. A tax-and-refund is better for the economy and more
equitable, with the majority or all of revenues refunded. The
benefits of the refund provide strong incentives for both consumer
and business groups to lobby for it to be made.
         Here is a method for making a federal carbon tax politically
possible:
         A resolution in support was drafted in December 2007. In
January 2008 the resolution passed the Planning Committee of the City
of Ithaca, New York. In February the resolution passed Ithaca's
Council, only two months after the resolution was first drafted.
         The City sent copies of the resolution to officials
representing Ithaca at state and national levels, as well as to the
U.S. Conference of Mayors, sending a signal that a carbon tax could
become politically possible. Subsequently the Town of Ithaca passed a
resolution, then forwarded copies to officials. The County of
Tompkins is now considering a resolution. As more local governments
pass such resolutions, the increasing size of the Initiative will
bring greater public attention to the benefits of the tax and inspire
the introduction of more resolutions. News of further passages is at
Resolutions Passed.
         After passage, the resolution requires no further commitment
on the part of the advocate or the local government. Yet this
relatively easy action publicizes the advantages of a tax-and-refund.
This method is the political equivalent of turning lead to gold.
         Volunteering is part-time and short term, contacting
officials to get the resolution on the local agenda until it comes up
for a vote. The only training required is reading the background
information and model resolution. No monetary donations are needed.
         Could you volunteer say an average of an hour a week to work
with a city, town, or county government on this Initiative for a few
months? Do you know anyone who might, anywhere in the nation? Please
check out federalcarbontax.org or forward this email. The coordinator
of the Initiative, Sylvester Johnson, Ph.D. Applied Physics, can be
contacted for free email or phone consultation.>>

http://www.federalcarbontax.org

http://www.climatehealth.net/Outreach.html

You might find this of interest. But last I heard, William Gray thinks global
warming's influence on tropical storm activity is minimal to say the least.
Thus his credibility on this issue may be suspect as well, as usual,  - though
he's "now giving more of [his] efforts to the global warming issue and in
synthesizing [his] projects' many years of hurricane and typhoon studies."
Tim

EXTENDED RANGE FORECAST OF ATLANTIC SEASONAL HURRICANE
ACTIVITY AND U.S. LANDFALL STRIKE PROBABILITY FOR 2008
http://typhoon.atmos.colostate.edu/forecasts/2008/april2008/apr2008.pdf

PROBABILITIES FOR AT LEAST ONE MAJOR (CATEGORY 3-4-5) HURRICANE
LANDFALL ON EACH OF THE FOLLOWING COASTAL AREAS:

1) Entire U.S. coastline - 69% (average for last century is 52%)

2) U.S. East Coast Including Peninsula Florida - 45% (average for
last century is 31%)

3) Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle westward to Brownsville - 44% (average
for last century is 30%)

4) Above-average major hurricane landfall risk in the Caribbean


ABSTRACT

Information obtained through March 2008 indicates that the 2008 Atlantic
hurricane season will be much more active than the average 1950-2000
season.  We
estimate that 2008 will have about 8 hurricanes (average is 5.9), 15
named storms
(average is 9.6), 80 named storm days (average is 49.1), 40 hurricane
days (average is
24.5), 4 intense (Category 3-4-5) hurricanes (average is 2.3) and 9
intense hurricane days
(average is 5.0).  The probability of U.S. major hurricane landfall
is estimated to be about
135 percent of the long-period average.  We expect Atlantic basin Net
Tropical Cyclone
(NTC) activity in 2008 to be approximately 160 percent of the
long-term average.  We
have increased our seasonal forecast from early December.
[...]
The current early April forecast consists of a new set of two
predictors along with
an adjustment based on our early December forecast.  This new
forecast approach has
shown appreciable hindcast skill (r2 = 0.64) over the last 58 years
(1950-2007).  It is
surprising that the global atmosphere-ocean system has such a strong
extended-range
predictive signal.  This scheme also shows appreciable hindcast skill
over the more recent
13-year period from 1995-2007 (r2 = 0.57) for which our previous
early April schemes
have not been able to show real-time forecast skill over climatology.

--
<http://www.groundtruthinvestigations.com/>

Freshening of deep Antarctic waters worries experts
http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/34921
Published April 18, 2008 09:09 AM

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Scientists studying the icy depths of the sea
around Antarctica have detected changes in salinity that could have
profound effects on the world's climate and ocean currents.

The scientists returned to the southern Australian city of Hobart on
Thursday after a one-month voyage studying the Southern Ocean to see
how it is changing and what those changes might mean for global
climate patterns.

Voyage leader Steve Rintoul said his team found that salty, dense
water that sinks near the edge of Antarctica to the bottom of the
ocean about 5 km (3 miles) down was becoming fresher and more buoyant.

So-called Antarctic bottom water helps power the great ocean conveyor
belt, a system of currents spanning the Southern, Pacific, Indian and
Atlantic Oceans that shifts heat around the globe.

"The main reason we're paying attention to this is because it is one
of the switches in the climate system and we need to know if we are
about to flip that switch or not," said Rintoul of Australia's
government-backed research arm the CSIRO.

"If that freshening trend continues for long enough, eventually the
water near Antarctica would be too light, too buoyant to sink and
that limb of the global-scale circulation would shut down," he said
on Friday.

Cold, salty water also sinks to the depths in the far north Atlantic
Ocean near Greenland and, together with the vast amount of water that
sinks off Antarctica, this drives the ocean conveyor belt.

This system brings warm water into the far north Atlantic, making
Europe warmer than it would otherwise be, and also drives the large
flow of upper ocean water from the tropical Pacific to the Indian
Ocean through the Indonesia Archipelago.

If these currents were to slow or stop, the world's climate would
eventually be thrown into chaos.

"We don't see any evidence yet that the amount of bottom water that's
sinking has declined. But by becoming fresher and less dense it's
moving in the direction of an ultimate shutdown."

Rintoul said results of the bottom water samples in the Ross Sea
directly south of New Zealand and off Antarctica's Adelie Land
further to the west, were a crucial finding.

"We didn't know that before we left but it's now clear that both of
those regions are becoming fresher for some reason."

GLOBAL WARMING TO BLAME?

During the voyage, scientists from Australia, Britain, France and the
United States measured salinity, carbon dioxide and iron
concentrations as well as currents between Antarctica and Australia.

Rintoul said his team are studying if faster melting of ice sheets or
sea ice is the source of the fresher water but he said it was too
early to tell if global warming was to blame.

Over the coming months, his team will study oxygen isotopes collected
from water samples.

"Oxygen isotopes act as a tracer of ice melt and that information
should help pin down exactly what the cause of the freshening is in
the deep ocean," said Rintoul, of the Antarctic Climate and
Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre.

"The leading hypothesis at the moment for why it's freshening is that
the floating ice around Antarctica is melting more rapidly than in
the past."

He pointed to studies showing winds around Antarctica changing
because of global warming and the ozone hole.

"The most likely scenario is that those changes in winds have changed
the circulation of the ocean, in particular caused more upwelling of
relatively warm water from below and that could have caused the
increased melting of ice around Antarctica," he said.

"The next challenge over the coming months and year will be to see
just how well we can this pin down."

(Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
--
<http://www.groundtruthinvestigations.com/>