Become a fan of Slashdot on Facebook

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Submission + - US Climate Report Says Global Warming Impact Already Severe

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Darryl Fears reports in the Washington Post that according to the government’s newest national assessment of climate change, Americans are already feeling the effects of global warming. “For a long time we have perceived climate change as an issue that’s distant, affecting just polar bears or something that matters to our kids," says Katharine Hayhoe, a Texas Tech University professor and lead co-author of the changing climate chapter of the assessment. "This shows it’s not just in the future; it matters today. Many people are feeling the effects.” The assessment carves the nation into sections and examines the impacts: More sea-level rise, flooding, storm surge, precipitation and heat waves in the Northeast; frequent water shortages and hurricanes in the Southeast and Caribbean; more drought and wildfires in the Southwest. "Residents of some coastal cities see their streets flood more regularly during storms and high tides. Inland cities near large rivers also experience more flooding, especially in the Midwest and Northeast. Insurance rates are rising in some vulnerable locations, and insurance is no longer available in others. Hotter and drier weather and earlier snow melt mean that wildfires in the West start earlier in the spring, last later into the fall, and burn more acreage. In Arctic Alaska, the summer sea ice that once protected the coasts has receded, and autumn storms now cause more erosion, threatening many communities with relocation." The report concludes that over recent decades, climate science has advanced significantly and that increased scrutiny has led to increased certainty that we are now seeing impacts associated with human-induced climate change. "What is new over the last decade is that we know with increasing certainty that climate change is happening now. While scientists continue to refine projections of the future, observations unequivocally show that climate is changing and that the warming of the past 50 years is primarily due to human-induced emissions of heat-trapping gases. These emissions come mainly from burning coal, oil, and gas, with additional contributions from forest clearing and some agricultural practices."

Submission + - Why Don't People Understand The Chevy Volt? 1

Submitted by cartechboy
cartechboy writes: The Chevrolet Volt is a range-extended electric car that's been on the market for over three years now, and yet people still don't understand how it works. How is that even possible? Apparently Volt owners hear people think it runs out of charge and dies after 3 to 40 miles leaving you stranded, and that you have to replace the battery every three or four years. Even worse, some people seem to think recharging the battery costs about the same as filling a tank of gas and that you do it every night. The best one? People think President Barack Obama forced GM to build the Volt. These all seem a bit absurd, which leads to the question of why? Why do people not understand the Volt? What's so hard about the concept? Has Chevrolet done a poor job of marketing and explaining the Volt? Probably. But can all the blame really be placed on Chevrolet, or are consumers just really that dense?

Comment Re:False dilemma (Score 4, Informative) 504

by polar red (#46813071) Attached to: Oklahoma Moves To Discourage Solar and Wind Power

In fact it has to grow faster than the rate of inflation or I will be losing money.

BS. the normal, supposed way of gaining money is the dividident, which is being paid to shareholders as a yearly return on their invested money. But currently, people want more and more and more money from their investment, and a way to do that is artificially boosting the price of a share, by hollowing out a company.

Comment Re:Buy a Prius as your next car... (Score 1) 869

i think we would have to build a whole lot more turbines to compensate for the drag of the trees we have cut down the last century across the globe.
BTW, if there would be nothing slowing down the wind/jet stream, it would be speeding up all the time, approaching light speed eventually.

Comment Re:Almost makes me want to live there (Score 3, Informative) 77

by polar red (#46694433) Attached to: European Court of Justice Strikes Down Data Retention Law

the council has its power reduced and it's power partially handed over the european parliament (= what I consider th e most democratically elected body on earth).
purpose of the EU ? PEACE nothing else - and its doing a fine job. (check history ... western europe was basically waist-deep in blood up from before the dark ages until 1945)

Submission + - UN Report: Climate Changes Overwhelming (bbc.com)

Submitted by iONiUM
iONiUM writes: From the article, "The impacts of global warming are likely to be "severe, pervasive and irreversible", a major report by the UN has warned." A major document was released by the IPCC outlining the current affects on climate change, and they are not good. For specific effects on humans: "Food security is highlighted as an area of significant concern. Crop yields for maize, rice and wheat are all hit in the period up to 2050, with around a tenth of projections showing losses over 25%."

Submission + - Ford Just Destroyed Cadillac's Ad Praising Rich Guys Who Work All The Time (businessinsider.com)

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: This is great. Ford destroys that stupid Cadillac ad that shows a rich guy banging on about how hard it is to be a hard-working rich American guy, but how ultimately it's so much better than being a European who gets two weeks off every August. It's that attitude that because rich people work hard, they assume that non-rich people don't. And also that the only thing admirable is working hard so that you can get rich. Many people work hard but want their work to make the world a better place, not just so that they accumulate wealth. Ford made a great ad.

Slashdot Top Deals

I tell them to turn to the study of mathematics, for it is only there that they might escape the lusts of the flesh. -- Thomas Mann, "The Magic Mountain"

Close