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Politics : The Environmentalist Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Skywatcher who wrote (21635)	5/19/2008 12:24:50 PM
From: longnshort	Respond to of 36918

Scientist no longer sees hurricane-warming link ASSOCIATED PRESS Global warming isn't to blame for the recent jump in hurricanes in the Atlantic, according to a study by a prominent federal scientist whose position has shifted on the subject. Not only that, higher temperatures will actually reduce the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic and those making landfall, research meteorologist Tom Knutson reported in a study released yesterday. In the past, Mr. Knutson has raised concerns about the effects of climate change on storms. His new paper has the potential to heat up a simmering debate among meteorologists about current and future effects of global warming in the Atlantic. Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, hurricanes have often been seen as a symbol of global warming's wrath. Many climate change experts have tied the rise of hurricanes in recent years to global warming and hotter waters that fuel them. Another group of experts, those who study hurricanes and who are more often skeptical about global warming, say there is no link. They attribute the recent increase to a natural multidecade cycle. What makes this study different is Mr. Knutson, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fluid dynamics lab in Princeton, N.J. He has warned about the harmful effects of climate change and has complained in the past about being censored by the Bush administration on past studies on the dangers of global warming. He said his new study, based on a computer model, argues "against the notion that we've already seen a really dramatic increase in Atlantic hurricane activity resulting from greenhouse warming." The study, published online yesterday in the journal Nature Geoscience, predicts that by the end of the century, the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic will fall by 18 percent. The number of hurricanes making landfall in the U.S. and its neighbors will drop by 30 percent because of wind factors. The biggest storms — those with winds of more than 110 mph — would only decrease in frequency by 8 percent. Tropical storms, those with winds between 39 and 73 mph, would decrease by 27 percent. It's not all good news from Mr. Knutson's study, however. His computer model also forecasts that hurricanes and tropical storms will be wetter and fiercer. Rainfall within 30 miles of a hurricane should jump by 37 percent, and wind strength should increase by about 2 percent, Mr. Knutson's study says. Mr. Knutson said this study significantly underestimates the increase in wind strength. Some other scientists criticized his computer model. Massachusetts Institute of Technology hurricane meteorologist Kerry Emanuel, while praising Mr. Knutson as a scientist, called his conclusion "demonstrably wrong" based on a computer model that doesn't look properly at storms. Kevin Trenberth, climate analysis chief at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., said Mr. Knutson's computer model is poor at assessing tropical weather and "fail to replicate storms with any kind of fidelity." Mr. Knutson acknowledges weaknesses in his computer model and said it primarily gives a coarse overview, not an accurate picture on individual storms and storm strength. He said the latest model doesn't produce storms surpassing 112 mph. Hurricane season starts June 1 in the Atlantic, and a Colorado State University forecast predicts about a 50 percent more active than normal storm season this year. NOAA puts out its own seasonal forecast on Thursday.

To: Skywatcher who wrote (21635)	5/19/2008 12:33:59 PM
From: average joe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 36918

Cockle-Doodle-Doo... I was listening to some chickens this morning and one would puff himself up and cockle-doodle-doo and then another would cockle-doodle-doo and then they would go back and forth endlessly and it reminded me of you and neolib.

To: Skywatcher who wrote (21635)	5/22/2008 5:44:21 PM
From: Tom Clarke	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 36918

Hemp powered vehicles Posted in Alt Fuels, Biofuel · Published on May 18, 2008 Hemp is a controversial material, part of the famous family of plants known as Cannabis Sativa. Hemp grown for industrial use is very low in THC the psychoactive chemical in its famous sister marijuana thus making industrial hemp useless as a drug. Ironically, Hemp powered cars was the dream of both Henry Ford and Rudolf Diesel. However, gasoline powered engines became so cheap to manufacturer and were easy to maintain so they caught on in the automotive industry even though the pioneers had other dreams. Now that we’ve nearly liquidated the world’s oil reserves we should take a look back at the pioneers of the automotive industry’s original ideas. Hemp was a mainstream crop in the United States From 1776 to 1937, hemp was a major American crop and textiles made from hemp were common. Yet, The American Textile Museum, The Smithsonian Institute, and most American history books contain no mention of hemp. The government’s War on Marijuana Smokers has created an atmosphere of self censorship–speaking of hemp in a positive manner is considered taboo. Hemp is ridiculously easy to produce, is a major source of ethanol that would allow the use to curb food shortages as a result of Corn and Grain Farmers being asked to sell their grain to ethanol manufacturers. Hemp should be legalized since its a much faster source of ethanol in that it can be harvested in 120 days after it has been planted with much larger crops. It’s also a great alternative when manufactured as biodiesel. ridelust.com