Category Archives: Climate Change

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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