APOD: 130 Years of Earth Surface Temperatures (2013 Jul 31)

[geckzilla]

Despite the criticism, the show’s explosive ratings make it clear why Discovery was willing to risk alienating so many of its longtime fans.

They don't have anything to lose, there. Pretty sure the damage was done long before Megalodon. I wanna

[BDanielMayfield]

Mark, your last comment hits me where I live, work and play.

I think GW heat will put a huge strain on fresh water resources.

Most certainly true. Billions depend on waters draining off the Himalayas and neighboring ranges. But we don’t need to go as far as Asia or Africa to find evidence of impending fresh water shortages.

Consider the conditions of the two biggest river systems of the southwest US and northern Mexico; the Colorado draining the western side of the Rocky Mountains and the Rio Grande draining the eastern slopes. It’s well known that the Colorado’s waters seldom even reach the Sea of Cortez any more, and it has been this way for decades. Now a similar fate may be happening to the once mighty Rio Grande:

In the summer of 2001, a 328-foot (100m) wide sandbar formed at the mouth of the river, marking the first time in recorded history that the Rio Grande failed to empty into the Gulf of Mexico. The sandbar was subsequently dredged, but it re-formed almost immediately. Spring rains the following year flushed the re-formed sandbar out to sea, but it returned in the summer of 2002. As of the fall of 2003, the river once again reaches the Gulf.

Living down here I’d like to use the Rio Grande recreationally as I have in the past for things like fishing, birding and camping, but it has become too dangerous in places. (Again, as it was at times in the days of the old west.)

Already I'm sure fracking in America is ruining well water all over the place. If the aquifers get polluted what then?

This is an exaggeration, I hope, but the consern is valid. There is a major oil boom going on in south Texas just to my north. “Fracking” has produced tens of thousands of jobs in the area, and so far, to my knowledge there haven’t been any reports of water well contamination yet (and almost everyone who doesn't live inside a town is on well water, as am I). The oil companies give assurances that what they are drilling for is so deep that it can’t affect groundwater. Their probably right, if nothing ever goes wrong. But we've all heard of Murphy's Law, and we all know that oil and especially gas floats on water …

Surely Earth can handle an extra BILLION people? Right?

Under current mismanagement? Seems doubtful.

[mjimih]

Bruce
I must admit I don't know more about fracking other than the movie Gasland and news of concerned people saying they use noxious chemicals and use/ruin an exorbitant amount of fresh water to extract the gas. 18 states now, and their water could be at risk. I hope Minnesota can keep the hoards of water-seekers at bay in the future. We haven't any fracking here, we're completely surrounded by states that do tho'. And we haven't any shortage of fresh water. We do not have any major pollution problems either. We know that it's a precious resource and don't want to change a thing. If you want to drink the water, you should have to live here or be on vacation. Wisconsin makes great beer bc of their great water btw!

I'm a little worried how fresh water sources will fair with many more people in the world needing it, especially with changing rain patterns due to AGW. Will we all have to live in cities because all the water that's left, will be circulating thru city water treatment plants? And agriculture. Wow dependent on water from above AND below. I predict Grand Canyon Colorado River type rapids ahead.

[geckzilla]

I wouldn't doubt that there are some serious environmental issues involved with fracking. Because it produces a lot of jobs and more importantly makes a lot of oil companies happy there is probably a lot of the same stuff going on with it as there is with the campaign of misinformation about global warming. According to Wikipedia, it's difficult to even study the impacts of fracking because of political pressure.

[Chris Peterson]

I wouldn't doubt that there are some serious environmental issues involved with fracking.

The biggest one has nothing to do with water at all. The biggest one is it that it maintains our dependence on carbon-based fuels. We keep finding ways to dig up more and more naturally sequestered carbon, much of which ends up in the atmosphere in the end.

Hundreds of millions of years to produce and sequester, a couple of centuries to release. That can't be good.

[geckzilla]

Yeah, no kidding. Destroy now, fix later. Human way of life.

[geckzilla]

And by "fix" I mean http://www.thereifixedit.com/

[Beyond]

[mjimih]

I feel good conservation-wise, bc last Thursday I spent $2000.00 putting a used motor in my '01 Civic. Why buy new when slightly used will do. I would never give up my trusty high mpg Honda, it has a piece of gray duct tape holding the bumper to the right front fender after all! So now I can go another 100,000 miles probably, which will make it 300,000 total for the car itself. Oh and the AC was just replaced too, in case it gets any hotter outside.

Sometimes when you try to take a toy from a child, they throw a tantrum? Same thing will happen with oil/gas companies. It could be a bumpy ride.