It's Here, It's Severe, Get Used to It

Dr. Susan Solomon, a senior scientist at NOAA here in Boulder, led a study being published this week that says global warming is going to be around a long time, no matter what we do.

According to Dr. Solomon, even if we stop with all the CO2 the earth will still be seeing the effects of global warming for another 1,000 years at least. And that's the conservative estimate. Apparently our planet is good at slowing down the impacts of all the greenhouse gases we are emitting. Unfortunately, that slowing means that the ocean and atmosphere are saving the best for later.

The best means, at a minimum, rising sea levels of a foot or three that threaten coastal cities, and persistent droughts around the world comparable to the Dust Bowl.

Dr. Solomon, in Solomon-like wisdom, gave us the bad news followed by the good news: If we can slow down our emissions of CO2 it will give us time to look for new solutions.

So, the bottom line is that we are in for some big changes no matter what we do. But there is still value in reducing CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, and pursuing other approaches to attack global warming. We can still avoid the worst of it, or push things off further in the future. And the Pottery Barn rule means that we owe it to ourselves and the rest of the planet to try.

A New Career in a New Town

Can't get enough of my writing? As of today, I have a new gig here in Boulder. Look for my community opinion columns in the Camera to appear about twice a month. Here's a link to my first column.

Riding from the Ashes

The Olde Stage fire has been out for a week (helped by the surprise six inches of snow on Monday). Our bike ride this morning went up that way, the first time I'd gotten to see the results.

The charred grass goes on for a few miles along U.S. 36 north of town. You can still smell it. You can see where it was stopped right at the houses. (Amazing!)

One thing that is very clear is that the wind was blowing strong and the fire burned fast. The brown grass is now black but the rest of the vegetation seems to have come through pretty well. You can tell which way the wind was blowing that day by which side of the trees and yucca plants are singed.

I predict that in a few months this area won't even look like it burned.

Last time I reported about a local fire, I had been in the area where it started just minutes earlier. In case you are wondering, I was nowhere near where this one started.

A Third of Americans Still Like Him?

[Iraq] not having weapons of mass destruction was a significant disappointment. I don't know if you want to call those mistakes or not, but they were -- things didn't go according to plan, let's put it that way.
- George W. Bush, Jan. 12, 2009

This man is our President. And here he is admitting that he is disappointed Iraq didn't have weapons of mass destruction.

He wishes, no he planned, that Saddam would have massive weapons. It was a mistake that the weapons weren't there.

Why?

He didn't say why he's disappointed. I hope it's not because it would have made the war more exciting, or that it would have made it more of a fair fight.

I hope it's not because he sold those weapons to Saddam and can't figure out where they went.

I assume he's disappointed there were no WMDs because he sold the war based on them and he's being judged.

But consider this. Which is the better outcome? You go to war because you think Saddam has WMDs and he doesn't have them, or you go to war because you think Saddam has WMDs and he really does? Isn't the former preferable? Wouldn't the latter have led to many more deaths on all sides?

One more week.

I'd Like to Be, Under the Sea

I promised some pictures from our trip to the Galapagos Islands. It's been a monumental task to sort through them, but here are a few of them. These are all in, on, and under the ocean.

One of a school of bottlenose dolphins that swam with our boat for a while in Canal Bolivar.
Hermit crabs on Floreana (Punta Cormorant).
Snorkeling at Punta Cormorant.
Snorkeling at Punta Cormorant.
Snorkeling at Punta Cormorant.
Swimming with the sea lions at Punta Cormorant.
Sea turtle at Punta Cormorant.
Sea turtles at Punta Cormorant.
Sea turtle at Punta Cormorant.
Stingray at Punta Cormorant.
Penguin swimming in Elizabeth Bay, Isabela.
Snorkeling at Isla Losos.
Sea turtle at Punta Moreno, Isabela.
Sea star in the lava at Punta Moreno in Isabela.
Stingray at Post Office Bay, Floreana.
Stingray at Post Office Bay, Floreana.
Sea turtle at Post Office Bay, Floreana.
Whale near Isabela, just south of the equator.