Cold Snap Vs Climate Change

Thank you TreeHugger for this article!! 

Hit the link for a great video.

7 Popular Tourist Destinations to See Before it's Too Late

7 Popular Tourist Destinations to See Before it's Too Late : TreeHugger

Considering I've got the travel bug pretty bad, this makes me sad.

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EARTH HOUR!

THE MOVEMENT IS GROWING DAILY: Nearly 100 US cities, towns, and communities have now pledged to "turn out" for the largest climate event in history, with more signing up each day. Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, Tucson, Orlando, and not one, but two Arlingtons—Texas and Virginia! We're anxious to hear from four more Arlingtons in Washington State, Illinois, Tennessee, and Massachusetts!

A complete list of US cities can be found at: www.EarthHourUS.org/map.php.

DANKE SCHOEN: Globally, 1,485 cities are going dark, with Berlin, Germany becoming the latest major European city to sign on to turn out. Earth Hour is now taking place in 9 out of the Top 10 cities in the world by population—Karachi in Pakistan remains the last hold-out.

ALANIS MORISSETTE SUPPORTS "BIGGEST TURN-OFF" IN HISTORY: View The "toenail" ad that has everyone talking.

"TURN OUT, TAKE ACTION" IS MORE THAN JUST A SLOGAN: We need you to let your elected leaders know that you care about the future of our planet and are looking to them to take action in support of climate legislation. You can send a letter to your Member of Congress and Senator with a few mouse clicks at the Earth Hour website at www.EarthHourUS.org/raiseyourvoice.

EARTH HOUR HEADLINE NEWS

CB RICHARD ELLIS, JOHNSON-DIVERSEY are latest U.S. Companies to announce they'll turn out for Earth Hour...BLOOM grocery stores urging customers to support Earth Hour by putting information on shopping bags...ST. LOUIS CARDINALS announces team will turn out...BUONGIORNO: In Italy, World Cup soccer star Francesco Totti will switch off the lights at the Colosseum in Roma...IT'S THE REAL THING: Coca-Cola is switching off its enormous sign at London's Piccadilly Circus for only the third time since World War II to support Earth Hour. Coke's sign in New York's Times Square will also go dark...IN LOS ANGELES, Open Table Launches Dine by Candlelight for WWF's Earth Hour.

WHERE WILL YOU BE WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT? Enjoying a candlelight dinner with someone special? At home with the family? Watching the strip go dark in Vegas? Drop us an email at EarthHourPR@wwfus.org and let us know how you plan to celebrate the largest climate shout-out in history.

SPREAD THE WORD! Our planet urgently needs your help. Please spread the word and ask your friends, colleagues, and family members to sign up on the Earth Hour website so we can count their vote for our Earth! All the details for turning out on March 28th at 8:30 pm and becoming part of this historic call for global action on climate change can be found at www.EarthHourUS.org.

When in doubt...VOTE EARTH! Thanks for your support.

The Earth Hour US Team

Earth Hour

Turn Out. Take Action.

March 28, 2009
8:30 pm
www.EarthHourUS.org
www.EarthHourKids.org

Sea Level to Surge 3 Feet by 2100, Experts Warn

From DiscoveryChannel News:

March 10, 2009 -- Months before make-or-break climate negotiations, a conclave of scientists warned Tuesday that the impact of global warming was accelerating beyond a forecast made by U.N. experts two years ago.

Sea levels this century may rise several times higher than predictions made in 2007 that form the scientific foundation for policymakers today, the meeting heard.

In March 2007, the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that global warming, if unchecked, would lead to a devastating amalgam of floods, drought, disease and extreme weather by the century end.

The world's oceans would creep up 7 to 23 inches, enough to wipe out several small island nations and wreak havoc for tens of millions living in low-lying deltas in east Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Africa.

But a new study, presented at the Copenhagen meeting on Tuesday, factored in likely water runoff from disintegrating glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica, and found the rise could be much higher.

The IPCC estimate had been based largely on the expansion of oceans from higher temperatures, rather than meltwater and the impact of glaciers tumbling into the sea.

Using the new model, "we get a range of sea level rise by 2100 between 75 and 190 centimeters when we apply the IPCC's temperature scenarios for the future," said climate expert Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

Even if the world manages to dramatically cut the emission of greenhouse gases driving global warming, the "best estimate" is about 3.25 feet, he said.

"A few years ago, those of us who talked about the impact of the ice sheets were seen as extremists. Today it is recognized as the central issue," said glaciologist Eric Rignot of the University of California at Irvine.

"The world has very little time," IPCC chief Rajendra Pachauri told the meeting after the new findings were presented.

Participants also spoke out about fears that greenhouse gases -- mainly emissions from oil, gas and coal -- could trigger tipping points that would be nearly impossible to reverse.

The shrinking of the Arctic ice cap, and the release of billions of tonnes of greenhouse gases trapped in melting permafrost are two such "positive feedbacks" that could become both cause and consequence of global warming.

"We need to look at what is a 'reasonable worst case' in the lifetime of people alive today," said John Ashton, Britain's top climate negotiator, noting even rich nations had yet to take such scenarios seriously.

"A sea level rise of one or two meters would not just be damaging for China, it would be an absolute catastrophe. And what is catastrophic for China is catastrophic for the world," he said.

More than 2,000 researchers from 80 countries responded to the open invitation to present their findings, which were then vetted by a panel of climate experts, many of them top figures in the IPCC.

"I and a lot of scientists see this meeting as an opportunity to update the science that has come out since the last IPCC report," said William Howard, a researcher from the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia.

"The huge response from scientists comes from a sense of urgency, but also a sense of frustration," said Katherine Richardson, head of the Danish government's Commission on Climate Change Policy.

"Most of us have been trained as scientists to not get our hands dirty by talking to politicians. But we now realise that what we are dealing with is so complicated and urgent that we have to help to make sure the results are understood," she said.

Richardson said the 2007 IPCC report, called the Fourth Assessment Report, was an invaluable document but it would be years out of date when negotiators convene in Copenhagen in December to hammer out a global climate treaty.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/03/10/climate-sea-level.html