Category Archives: Climate Change

Arizona Is Burning, and We're Breathing It

Posted on June 7, 2011 by williamjcobb

Smoke from the Bear Wallow Fire in Arizona—several hundred miles away but over 233,000 acres in size—is so thick here we can’t see the valley floor from our hillside home, just a mile or so away. We’re all coughing and … Continue reading →

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Neros Fiddling While the World Burns, Sooner Than You Think: the National Research Council's Report on Climate Change

Posted on May 15, 2011 by williamjcobb

So I’ve been (mildly) obsessed with Climate Change for a decade or more now, and am thoroughly disgusted at the anti-science, anti-education, pro-stupidity behavior of most of the Republican Party (i.e. Texas hick rep Joe Barton), or more accurately known … Continue reading →

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In the Footsteps of Richard Alley: Mark Hertsgaard's "Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth"

Posted on February 6, 2011 by williamjcobb

So today’s NY Times Sunday Book Review has a review of what sounds like a good book in the climate change library, HOT: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth, by Mark Hertsgaard, here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/books/review/Stephenson-t.html?_r=1&ref=books I asked Richard Alley, in our … Continue reading →

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Climate Change Expert Richard Alley in the Parking Lot, Obama in the House

Posted on February 4, 2011 by williamjcobb

So yesterday President Obama visited Penn State and I wasn’t able to go, having to teach a class at that time, but the whole town (and my students) were atwitter with excitement, and irritation, because the traffic was all screwed … Continue reading →

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Oil Reserves Drop by 90% and Electric Cars Throb: Is That Peak Oil or Are You Just Glad to See Me?

Posted on November 23, 2010 by williamjcobb

I’m a fan of the concept of Peak Oil, even if I don’t know how valid the actuality of it is: In a nutshell, it makes sense to me that oil will eventually reach it’s peak, that is, the halfway … Continue reading →

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The Coral Is Dying and Don't Let Anyone Say "No One Saw It Coming": With a Nod to Warren Brussee's "The Second Great Depression"

Posted on November 17, 2010 by williamjcobb

One of the convenient lies about the financial crisis is the oft-stated excuse, “No one saw it coming,” usually referring to the real estate bust that triggered the credit crunch that ate the mouse that scurried away from the house … Continue reading →

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The Seas Are Rising, and the Tea Party Fiddles While Rome Burns

Posted on November 14, 2010 by williamjcobb

Although I realize I’m preaching to the choir in this venue, most likely read by like-minded souls whose intelligence understands that science should be taken seriously beyond the gadgets/consumer products one can purchase (I’ve noticed that right-wing types don’t “doubt” … Continue reading →

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You Give Me Planetary Fever: On China's Coal & Global Warming

Posted on October 27, 2010 by williamjcobb

There’s a good piece in today’s Scientific American about China’s coal use/addiction, located here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-china-avoid-the-carbon-trap-of-coal It has some excellent quotes, including this one: “Described with a little poetic licence, global warming is a planetary fever caused by burning too much … Continue reading →

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On Getting Skunked and the Disaster in the Arctic

Posted on August 24, 2010 by williamjcobb

My cat, Iris, got skunked this weekend, always fun. I woke in the middle of night to a horrible smell, wandered down the hall half-asleep into the living room, and—I’ve been dying to yank out this Weather Channel phrase—”It was … Continue reading →

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On Heidi Cullen's "The Weather of the Future": Forecast for 2050: Your car just melted and your hair is on fire.

Posted on August 19, 2010 by williamjcobb

Heidi Cullen, a climatologist perhaps most famous for being The Brainy One on The Weather Channel (as opposed to, say, Stephanie Abrams, The Smiling Babe), has a new book out titled The Weather of the Future: Heat Waves, Extreme Storms, … Continue reading →

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