Doesn't Cheryl Sandberg actually run the company?

Oh? Now just how would you both measure and document the condition of apparently still-green trees except by flying with extensive instrumentation and infra-red photography to differentiate the healthy ones from those that are either severely stressed or already dying? And how much do you think such efforts cost and just who might be qualified to actually carry out such work?

Oh? The globe has warmed and cooled many times over its history, due to purely natural phenomena. There is now however clear correlation with the inexorable rise in the planet's temperature since the beginning of the fossil-fueled industrial revolution. There is strong geological evidence that bit for the increase in the atmosphere's "greenhouse gases," we would already be moving back toward the next glaciation. If only our forebears had not killed off the Bison. We would now have a sustainable source of both food and fiber fueled by the sun and the grasses of the Great Plains, plus all that lovely organi recycle able biomass that Bison produce!

CA used to be the sixth largest economy in the world. Also, poor Italy, after years of mismanagement by Berlusconi. And Russia, we shall see. Putin's popularity was the result of unprecedented prosperity due to the high revenues made possible when the world price of oil was well over$100 per barrel. The Saudis have since driven that down well south of $50 per barrel. So, let's not bank on anything' being judged on the merits of an economy's GDP exceeding that of with Italy or Russia.

That may be, but it in no way predicts what it will be at the time of. Normal year's spring runoff. It was only 5% of normal in the Sierra's and shockingly only 16 % of normal in the mountainous areas of the Pacific Northwest.

Huh? Ever tried to drink ocean water or grow plants with it? The water scarcity in California and elsewhere in the west is not a new phenomenon. Just think, why else would it have been necessary all those decades ago to build the California aqueduct? Other fact: from the time it was first attempted to apportion the rights to the Colorado River system's water, the system has been over-appropriated. I.e. Not enough water in the system to give anyone what they are supposedly entitled to have. There are those who say that the first modern-era gd roughy-induced ghost city will be Las Vegas. There is doubt that its primary source of water, Lake Mead will ever again fill to capacity.

Or to ship millions of gallons of scarce dryland water back east in the form of iceberg lettuce.

And? Much of what was thriving triple canopy rainforest in the greater Amazon Basin only 30 years ago is now gone, deliberately burned, cleared for agriculture, and so forth. Most of the land's fertility in that part of the world consists of its stand, living vegetation. Once that is gone, what is left is hard, infertile lateritic soil that at best supports low value scrub species. Once the forest is gone, also gone is the source of evapotranspiration-induced rainfall. Due to the widespread destruction of the Amazon Basin's once thriving rain forest, Brazil has begun to experience major drought conditions.

Not true. Yes, New England is heavily forested. But go just about anywhere and try to find old growth forest of any kind. Not easy to do because it is very rare.

As I understand how this actually works, the companies get the visa for the foreign techies they wish to employ, either here or back in their home countries. It's a rather simple case for them to do what Disney was apparently up to -- get their American employees to train the newbies who will work for far less money and then lay off the Americans ( or perhaps "encourage" them to resign.) The other possibility is they bring in the new foreign workers and get their American employees to train them. Then, they send the foreign workers back to their home countries and completely outsource all of the work formerly being done in America. Do we now understand why these visas are so popular with the employers? The notion that there are not enough CS graduates being produced in this country is also bogus. It is unfortunate that so many believe it to be true. If it were in fact true, then every software engineer and other IT experts here in America who have gotten to be age 40 or above would be fully employed. I would like to propose to all involved here to cut back on these visas until we are certain that every American IT specialist who wants to work or continue working in these specialties in fact has a job. We have to begin to draw the line here, especially with respect to job discrimination against older workers. Such discrimination is every bit against the law as is racial discrimination. I say, not one of these visas should be issued unless we have run out of Americans who can do this work, and that includes older Americans.

for a news source that presumably has a high percentage of technically minded and possibly even scientifically educated readers, I m astonished to see how any are commenting that they believe that global warming is a hoax. How illiterate can you be on this? Anyone who has fallen for this politically-intended line of nonsense should be included in this year's Darwin Awards (this includes any elected official who spouts such nonsense.) I choose the Darwin Award asan appropriate designation as this is "awarded" to people and groups that take actions (or fail to do so) that will assure thee demise of the genetics governing their obviously flawed thought processes. I shudder at what the rest of the world thinks of us when otherwise sensible people take such an extreme and I examined position on this critically important issue

Interesting. I hope Renee does well when she does get out, presumably on that first flight out in a week or so. However, this part of the logistics is not up to Raytheon as far as I know. My undeerstanding is that it is our military that is in charge, Air Force or Navy, I am not sure which. So, I do not understand why anyone would trying to get Raytheon to do anything about this situation. Ultimately, it is a joint endeavor and decision to be made by NSF and the Pentagon, and I am certain that they will supply any and all assistance that they believe she will need on the way out. After all, if they risk their people and equipment in getting all the way down there to help her, I honestly do not believe that they would not have properly trained and equipped medical personnel on board to help her as she is transported out to civilization.

Given the speculation I am seeing here about there possibly being obese or mentally unfit people working down there, I can assure you that is not the case. The Raytheon jobs at Antarctica are among the hardest to get in the world. You have to go through an extensive application and interview process and then, if they think they want to hire you, there is a major medical screening involved. The necessary health and fitness level may not be at the level required say for an astronaut, but it is pretty darn close. The fact is that otherwise healthy people do sometimes get sick, with major things happening like strokes or cancer. The doctor several years ago who had cancer really did need to get out of there so that treatment could begin. In order to get her out, they had to mobilize a whole National Guard unit, from Maine, as I recall who could get a plane into there at just the right moment, get the lady loaded on and then off they went again. Very, very hazardous conditions. I do not know what the ambient temperature was for that endeavor but it was definitely during a part of the year when 90 below (fahrenheit) is not unusual. Back to territorial issues, many countries do have scientific stations in Antarctica. And, it is suspected that well below the ice are a plethora of minerals, perhaps even hydrocarbons, as the land underneath the ice is geologically related to both Australia and S. America, both of which have major mineral deposits. There is a global treaty the governs Antarctica and for now, it is truly reserved for the conduct of science. In about 1990, there was an addendum to the treaty which prohibits any mining or mineral extractive activity down there for 50 years. It won't be that long before it should be up for renewal. The logistical matters involved with trying to mine or extract hydrocarbons down there would be truly horrendous. One more thing -- the conditions at the S. Pole are made even more treacherous than one might realize because the elevation there is over 9,000 feet -- thin air territory. That means there is almost two miles of ice on top of whatever land there is at the south pole. What snow and ice there are there has blown in over the millennia and accumulated. It is a desert like situation because there is little to no actual snowfall there, only snow that blows in from elsewhere. If you can understand what I have come to know about Antarctica, I truly wanted that job and still would jump at the opportunity to have it. It would be the closest thing to having the chance to live on another planet for 13 months.

I applied for that job several years ago and was a finalist, so I know a bit about the situation down there. There is a doctor on duty down there through the winter, so she is getting medical attention. Also, the time is almost here for "regular" flights to begin in and out of there for the beginning of the scientific research season. Remember that it is almost mid-autumn here and so that means it is mid-spring down there. And, normally, flights do begin from our station in New Zealand to our outpost on McMurdo Sound. Normally, the planes land there and then go on to the South Pole. At the latest, they should be able to get her out of there by November. They only allow a person to have that job for 13 months because of the stresses involved in living in the dark and extreme cold of the Antarctic winter. When I talked to the lady that had the job while I was applying, she said it was 90 below outside and that the hazard there that is feared most and is trained for the most is that of fire. Regarding the territory issue, the United States has no territorial claims on Antarctica unlike many other countries who do have claims. We officially recognize none of them. Another interesting fact, Antarctica truly is international territory and is the only place in the world you can go without a passport. As noted, we do have two major installations down there, at the South Pole and at McMurdo Sound. The military is involved, but the stations are managed by Raytheon for the National Science Foundation, which is our organization that is responsible for the scientific research and related work that goes on down there. Raytheon is a logistical contractor to NSF for purposes of keeping the stations up and running, and providing all of the services needed by the people on site during the winter and during the research season. Normally, the first planes in down there that signal the beginning of the research season go in in late October. The last planes out are usually in February. After that, everyone down there are on their own until the following October. Now, though, we do have good contact with the folks who work down there with the internet.

This is one of the worst ideas I have heard since perhaps the rightnwing crazies started tryingnto defund and thereby destroy the US government. Seems like we used to call suchmpeople treasonous anarchists. Also, Mir was a wreck and as I recall, its plunge to earth was not inexactly controlled situation. In any case, why not start accepting bids for it right now, to privatize it for space tourism. Ultimately the companies who are getting into this business are going to want to have space hotels and I do not know why the space station could not be converted into such a facility. Perhaps it's new owners would want to gradually transform it into a more comfy five star sort of place,bit by bit, just as the space station itself was built out. why wait until 2020 to do this? Why not sell i now, with lots of specifications as to how it is and is not to be used, by whom,a nd who is to be called upon if it ever seems likelymto go into uncontrolled free fall toward earth, who is responsible for decommissioning and under what conditions. And, if the governmentnentities who are now send people up and conduction certain kinds of experiments, they could simply lease it back from its new owners whle said owners were conducting the intensive design and engineering necessary to us it for touristic purposes.