Friday, January 10, 2014

A Sea of Leaves

I only wish I was as crazy. This documentary is worth watching for the dense gardens of 1974 which are no longer in existence, and the insanity which is peculiar to the time and place, but I also see in the decay and decadence of the mother and daughter a parable for our collapsing earth. It's full length, and bizarre, and slow...so if you choose to become immersed in the lunacy, plan to relax and spend some time.  In a few days, your irregularly programmed ozone post will appear.

6 comments:

  1. From Cliff Mass weather blog Pacific NW

    "Finally, if any of you wish to help my colleague's (Becky Alexander) research project on understanding the ozone impacts of gas fracking, the deadline is 5 days away. In this crowdfunding approach, if the entire sum is not reached the project is not funded. Right now she is about 70% of the way to the goal. Here is the information:

    Fracking and Ozone

    UW Professor Becky Alexander has established a page on the Microoryza crowdfunding web site that outlines her project to understand why natural gas fracking often leads to high ozone values over snow (go here to see it). If you want to learn more about this important project and how you can help it happen, check out the web site.
    Posted by Cliff Mass at 10:45 AM "

    http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2014/01/powerful-winds-heavy-rain-and-snow.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sad when academics have to held the equivalent of a bake sale to fund their research!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Have you seen this, Gail?

    http://robinwestenra.blogspot.co.nz/2014/01/carbon-trading.html
    Tuesday, 14 January 2014




    Carbon trading






    NZ news via China




    Trees destroyed as New Zealand climate change policy fails: academic

    Unwanted tree seedlings are being killed with herbicide as New Zealand's attempts to mitigate the problem of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change falter, a leading academic said Friday.

    Xinhua,

    10 January, 2004







    University of Canterbury forestry expert Professor Euan Mason said a large number of seedlings were grown by the university's School of Forestry in response to the country's emissions trading scheme (ETS), but many were destroyed after being left unsold during the 2013 planting season.




    "These 2-year-old seedlings were grown in anticipation of a well-functioning emissions trading scheme," Mason said in a statement.




    However, the scheme, which was supposed to do "the heavy lifting in New Zealand's climate policy," was "on its last legs," he said.




    With a unique emissions profile, New Zealand could offer the world valuable solutions for developing nations if only the country would accept the opportunity, he said.




    "Surprisingly, New Zealand could be completely greenhouse gas neutral between 60 and 100 years by planting radiata pine on approximately 2.4 million hectares, which is 9 percent of our land area, or more than doubling our current plantation area of our marginal lands," said Mason.




    The emissions trading scheme was lacking effectiveness and credibility, partly because of low credit prices, and partly because of a piecemeal approach to implementing it, including the total exclusion of the agricultural sector.




    "By excluding agriculture from our emissions trading scheme, we give a free ride to the very sector that emits more greenhouse gas than any other single sector in the country," he said.




    New Zealand has so far failed to respond adequately to climate change and its emissions are among the fastest rising in the world.




    The New Zealand government has come in for international condemnation for withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol at the end of 2012, gutting the ETS and removing support for sustainable energy technologies.

    ____________________

    Hey, it's all about makin' money! I have to laugh when people talk about "in 100 years" as if anyone is going to be around . . .

    Tom

    ReplyDelete
  4. So much for James Hansen's idea that we draw down CO2 by planting trees...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Here's another surprise:

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140115132740.htm

    Oldest Trees Are Growing Faster, Storing More Carbon as They Age

    Jan. 15, 2014 — In a finding that overturns the conventional view that large old trees are unproductive, scientists have determined that for most species, the biggest trees increase their growth rates and sequester more carbon as they age.

    In a letter published today in the journal Nature, an international research group reports that 97 percent of 403 tropical and temperate species grow more quickly the older they get. The study was led by Nate L. Stephenson of the U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center. Three Oregon State University researchers are co-authors: Mark Harmon and Rob Pabst of the College of Forestry and Duncan Thomas of the College of Agricultural Sciences.

    The researchers reviewed records from studies on six continents. Their conclusions are based on repeated measurements of 673,046 individual trees, some going back more than 80 years.

    This study would not have been possible, Harmon said, without long-term records of individual tree growth. "It was remarkable how we were able to examine this question on a global level, thanks to the sustained efforts of many programs and individuals." [there's more]

    Tom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The conservationist foresters want to disprove the lumber industry's contention that it's okay to log the old growth forest and replace it with a monoculture. This study provides a basis to fight deforestation.

      Delete

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