jetcloud

U.N.-brokered international talks on mercury-reduction plans wrapped
up last week. Instead of the legally binding global treaty favored
by the European Union, the result was a plan to curb mercury
emissions through "voluntary partnerships" among member countries,
international organizations, and industries. "Voluntary" being the
buzzword closest to the Bush administration's, uh, heart, U.S.
negotiators were upbeat about the outcome: "I'm really encouraged
that we all came together at the end," said the State Department's
Claudia McMurray. "Everyone is enthusiastic about this [partnership]
approach." But Linda Greer, health programs director at the Natural
Resources Defense Council, didn't get the enthusiasm memo. "I don't
consider the partnerships much of a step forward at all," she said.
"With the U.S. refusing to listen to anything but their own idea, it
was impossible to accomplish more. They were really bullies at the
meeting."

"HANOI -- Thirty-five years after US forces stopped spraying Agent Orange in Vietnam, Vietnamese who were exposed to the defoliant are about to have their day in court.From 1961 to 1971, the US military sprayed more than 20 million gallons of Agent Orange and other herbicides over South Vietnam to deprive communist forces of food and forest cover. The herbicides were contaminated with poisonous dioxin. Vietnam says millions of its citizens have suffered diseases and birth defects as a result."

Ottawa unveiled a $5-billion, five-year package for the environment and the Kyoto accord yesterday, including a huge expansion of its home energy retrofit subsidy program.

It also signalled that it is considering rewarding or penalizing Canadians depending on whether they drive a gas guzzler or an eco-friendly car."

BSR � Business for Social Responsibility - UN Body Calls for Thorough Monitoring of GM Crops To Assess Risks and Benefits: "According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the 'adoption of rigorously designed monitoring programs' to determine both the risks and benefits of released GM crops could be the key to 'generating the necessary knowledge to protect agro-systems, rural livelihoods and broader ecological integrity.' The FAO believes that 'responsible deployment' of genetically modified (GM) crops 'needs to comprise the whole technology development process, from the pre-release risk assessment to bio-safety consideration and post-release monitoring.' The organization says it is willing to facilitate the monitoring process, including compiling existing data from disparate sources. According to Europe Information Service, the FAO hopes the collected data will be used to inform 'policies and regulation, but mainly will give producers informed options in order to allow technologies to be adopted in a sustainable way.'"

"After a political uproar, Canadian officials made clear on Tuesday the country will not sign on to a controversial U.S. missile defense system, a decision likely to be seen as a snub to President Bush."

Coffee can prove to be a boon in the medical world by helping prevent the most common type of liver cancer.:
In a study which included more than 90,000 Japanese found people who drank coffee daily or nearly every day had half the liver cancer risk of those who never drank coffee.
"

ITBusiness.ca: " With a $13-billion commitment to Canada's military from the Finance Minister, security and technology firms should see more work, according to organizations like CATA and ITAC. Also: getting acquainted with the Kyoto Accord"

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Global warming likely to increase extreme weather conditions: Erratic weather has become familiar to Finns in recent years. When heat and drought have not been a problem, nerves, wallets, and the normal functions of society have been tested by flooding and storms.
There is no change for the better in sight; according to climate change models, extreme weather phenomena are set to increase.
"Climatic change is affecting the whole world, and it is already taking place. Finland is not separate from the earth’s climate system".

Global warming likely to increase extreme weather conditions: Erratic weather has become familiar to Finns in recent years. When heat and drought have not been a problem, nerves, wallets, and the normal functions of society have been tested by flooding and storms.
There is no change for the better in sight; according to climate change models, extreme weather phenomena are set to increase.
"Climatic change is affecting the whole world, and it is already taking place. Finland is not separate from the earth’s climate system".

"The GOP sponsor of legislation championed by Bush asks two groups to turn over financial records. One official calls it intimidation.":

"Researchers are investigating how air travel can be adapted to ease its impact on the environment.The investigation focuses on how aircraft can avoid creating vapour trails, also known as contrails. These spindly threads of condensation may not seem important but some persist for hours and behave in the same way as high altitude cirrus clouds, trapping warmth in the atmosphere and exacerbating global warming."

Mushrooming depleted uranium (DU) scandal blamedConsidering the tons of depleted uranium used by the U.S., the Iraq war can truly be called a nuclear war.

"North Queensland marine researchers have opened a window into the past by exposing ancient mangrove forests entombed beneath the Great Barrier Reef.:

Dr Dan Alongi from the Australian Institute of Marine Science says they have unearthed 9,000-year-old mangroves in old river channels that were swamped when sea levels rose after the last ice age.

He says the relic mangroves show an abrupt rise in the sea level, 20 times faster than previously thought."

'They're overmedicated, forced to talk about their mothers instead of Iraq, and have to fight for disability pay. Traumatized combat vets say the Army is failing them, and after a year following more than a dozen soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital, and reporter Mark Benjamin says he believes the soldiers.'
By Mark Benjamin
Salon, February 18, 2005 "

"American soldiers traumatised by fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are to be offered the drug ecstasy to help free them of flashbacks and recurring nightmares.
The US food and drug administration has given the go-ahead for the soldiers to be included in an experiment to see if MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, can treat post-traumatic stress disorder. "

"Ten serial rapists are serving in the U.S. military and have sexually assaulted dozens of fellow soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, a watchdog group charged yesterday.
And more than a year after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared 'zero tolerance' for rape, the number of soldiers who claim to have been violated has nearly tripled, the Miles Foundation reported."

"Satellites of enemies and even neutral states could be fair game for American attack"

An Iraqi whose corpse was photographed with grinning U.S. soldiers : at Abu Ghraib died under CIA interrogation while suspended by his wrists, which had been handcuffed behind his back, according to investigative reports reviewed by The Associated Press.

The death of the prisoner, Manadel al-Jamadi, became known last year when the Abu Ghraib scandal broke. The U.S. military said back then that it had been ruled a homicide. But the exact circumstances of the death were not disclosed at the time.

The prisoner died in a position known as 'Palestinian hanging,' the documents reviewed by The AP show."

Iraq's elections
were delayed time and time again, while the occupation and
resistance grew ever more deadly. Now it seems that two years of bloodshed,
bribery and backroom arm-twisting were leading up to this: a deal in which the
ayatollahs get control over the family, Texaco gets the oil, and Washington
gets its enduring military bases. Everyone wins except the voters.
> by Naomi Klein

SPIEGEL Interview with Hermann Ott: "It's Too Late to Stop Climate Change" - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE: "Dr. Hermann Ott is the director of the Berlin office of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, one of Europe's leading climate policy research organizations. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, he says that global warming is inevitable and mankind must take steps for the softest landing possible. It will also mean fundamental changes in the way we live."

just contrails

Climate change :will not only bring about a warmer world, it is also very likely to set the stage for an unhealthier one. "

"Global warming could stifle cleansing summer winds across parts of the northern United States : over the next 50 years and worsen air pollution, US researchers say.
Further warming of the atmosphere, as is happening now, would block cold fronts bringing cooler, cleaner air from Canada and allow stagnant air and ozone pollution to build up over cities in the north-east and mid-west, they predicted.
'The air just cooks,' said Loretta Mickley of Harvard University's Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences. 'The pollution accumulates, accumulates, accumulates, until a cold front comes in and the winds sweep it away.' "

IT IS one of Scotland's best-known islands and a place of pilgrimage for tourists around the world. : "JEREMY WATSON
IT IS one of Scotland's best-known islands and a place of pilgrimage for tourists around the world.

But the religious centre of Iona is today named on a list of Scottish treasures under threat from global climate change. "

The Globe and Mail: Canada's big emitters brace for investment climate change: "Firms begin to feel heat on global warming as pension funds and other major players probe for exposure to 'carbon risk,' writes PATRICK BRETHOUR"

New global warming evidence presented / Scientists say their observations prove industry is to blame: "Washington -- Scientists reported Friday they have detected the clearest evidence yet that global warming is real -- and that human industrial activity is largely responsible for it.
Researchers at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science cited a range of evidence that the Earth's temperatures are rising:
-- The Arctic regions are losing ice cover.
-- The populations of whales and walrus that Alaskan Eskimo communities depend on for food are crashing.
-- Fresh water draining from ice and snow on land is decreasing the salinity of far northern oceans. "

On how climate change will affect us | By Umbra Fisk | Grist Magazine | Ask Umbra | 17 Feb 2005

A parcel of studies looking at the oceans and melting Arctic ice leave no room for doubt that it is getting warmer,: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A parcel of studies looking at the oceans and melting Arctic ice leave no room for doubt that it is getting warmer, people are to blame, and the weather is going to suffer, climate experts said on Thursday.
New computer models that look at ocean temperatures instead of the atmosphere show the clearest signal yet that global warming is well underway, said Tim Barnett of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. "

UPOS contrails: Potential Climatic Effects of Cirrus Contrails for the Subarctic Setting of Fairbanks, Alaska

Gerd Wendler, Martha Shulski and Brian Hartmann

Geophysical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska 99775

Summary: submitted to Theoretical and Applied Climatology, accepted in 2004


Continuous all-sky camera images supported by direct visual observations of jet contrails have been carried out in Fairbanks since March 2000. These data together with FAA information of all commercial flights and the twice-daily radiosonde data, give the meteorological conditions at flight level under which contrails are formed. If we correct for daylight and clear sky conditions, which make contrail observations possible, winter has the maximum and summer the minimum in the occurrence of contrails. This is a result to be expected, as the layer in which contrails can form has in winter nearly twice the thickness when compared to summer.

In November 2002, a radiation station was added to the observations. For a contrail in the path between the sun and the observation point, we found a strong decrease in the direct beam radiation; this loss was in part compensated by an increased diffuse radiation. The combined effect leads to a reduction in global radiation. However, the back radiation of the atmosphere in the infrared region of the spectrum increased somewhat. Altogether, this affects the net radiation negatively in the summer, but positively in the winter.

Comparing the observed temperature conditions of clear days with those of high-level cloud cover, we found for 8 months of the year a higher temperature for days with clouds. For the other four months, May through August, clear days were warmer. On the average of the year, days with high-level cloudiness were warmer than clear days as well as days with low-level overcast.

High-level cloudiness has increased in Alaska over the last decades. This increase in cloudiness was more pronounced under the much-traveled flight corridor from Anchorage to Europe than for more remote areas of Alaska. Further, we found a temperature increase for the same time period, which was most pronounced in winter, followed by spring, a result consistent of the expectations of increased high-level cloudiness.



Funding was provided by the University Partnering for Operational Support (UPOS) initiative.

NewsTrolls ~ News Under the Radar: " THE NEW YORK OBSERVER will report tomorrow: 'Former 60 Minutes Wednesday executive editor Josh Howard has told colleagues that before he resigns, the 23-year CBS News veteran will demand that the network retract remarks by CBS president Leslie Moonves, correct its official story line and ultimately clear his name'... In the event of a lawsuit, Mr. Howard has told associates that he would like to see Moonves put under oath to talk about his own roles in the network's stubborn, hapless defense of the flawed segment on President Bush's National Guard service. Howard has also indicated to colleagues that he would subpoena specific CBS documents, including the e-mails of top executives."

" Cops without a warrant: can secretly attach Global Positioning System devices to a suspect's vehicle, according to a federal judge - who said using the gadgets is virtually the same thing as following a car along a road."

" THE NEW YORK OBSERVER will report tomorrow:: 'Former 60 Minutes Wednesday executive editor Josh Howard has told colleagues that before he resigns, the 23-year CBS News veteran will demand that the network retract remarks by CBS president Leslie Moonves, correct its official story line and ultimately clear his name'... In the event of a lawsuit, Mr. Howard has told associates that he would like to see Moonves put under oath to talk about his own roles in the network's stubborn, hapless defense of the flawed segment on President Bush's National Guard service. Howard has also indicated to colleagues that he would subpoena specific CBS documents, including the e-mails of top executives. "

"It is beyond doubt that certain gases in the atmosphere, most importantly water vapour and carbon dioxide, trap infrared radiation emitted by the Earth's surface and so have a greenhouse effect.":

"New WTO treaty would reclassify vitamins and turn them over to big pharmaceutical companies to dispense for big profits.":

"It is beyond doubt that certain gases in the atmosphere, most importantly water vapour and carbon dioxide, trap infrared radiation emitted by the Earth's surface and so have a greenhouse effect.":

"If the leaders of America's environmental movement need a shot of adrenaline, they would do well to sit down with Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.: Maathai is the now-legendary mother of the Green Belt Movement, responsible for mobilizing tens of thousands of women to plant a staggering 30 million trees across Kenya over the last three decades. Her grassroots environmental effort, which Maathai grew in the face of oppressive and violent dictatorships, helped bring about a regime change in her native Kenya."

"Environmentalists say Bush's cooperative approach is toothless,: while the EPA sees it as efficient and effective.

By Christopher D. Cook | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor

Living a half-mile downwind from 12,000 hogs has been hard on Sharlene Merk, of Audubon, Iowa. It's beyond smelly; it's a health hazard, says Mrs. Merk, a longtime farmer who, with her husband, once raised hogs.
Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide fumes are a natural byproduct of the animal farms that supply America's meat. But as farms expand - some housing close to 100,000 livestock - so have concerns about air quality and the impact on people nearby. Studies near bigger farms, for example, have documented high rates of respiratory illness in the human population."

"OTTAWA:Canada will play host to a mammoth U.N. meeting of climate experts and government officials from around the world to look at how well the Kyoto protocol is being implemented, the Star has learned.
: A formal announcement of the Nov. 7-18 conference is expected to be a key element in Wednesday's federal government Kyoto kickoff here by Prime Minister Paul Martin and Environment Minister St�phane Dion, government sources confirmed.
Between 4,000 and 5,000 climate scientists, activists and officials from more than 180 countries are expected to attend the 11th session of what's known as the Conference of the Parties, a meeting normally held annually to discuss the 1992 United Nations treaty on climate change that led to the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases."

In the last few weeks, the world has been reminded yet again of the gravity of the climate crisis. : "By JONATHAN ISHAM Jr.
The International Climate Change Task Force, co-chaired by Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, recently declared that 'climate change is a serious and growing threat, leaving no country, however wealthy, immune from the extreme weather events and rising sea levels that scientists predict will occur, unless action is taken.'

And a new study published two weeks ago in Nature � documented at www.climateprediction.net � concludes that global warming could be even more extreme than previously thought."

"NEW YORK -- After seven politically painful years, the Kyoto Protocol finally enters into force on Wednesday, : reining in industrial emissions of carbon dioxide and other 'greenhouse gases' in a first attempt to control climate change.
The global pact negotiated in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, remains a small step, potentially eliminating only one-tenth of a projected 30 percent rise in worldwide emissions between 1990 and 2010. Its supporters already are looking beyond it, toward bigger steps once the agreement expires in 2012.
Progress will be limited without the United States, however. The world's biggest emitter rejects the Kyoto pact"

"Rising calls for action fall on deaf ears at the White House.: By Gerard Wright.
When he was Governor of Texas, George Bush was - if not a believer - an interested observer of global climate change. His view was that the world needed a cap on carbon dioxide emissions, the most common cause of the greenhouse effect. Implicit was the understanding that this sort of charity started at home, where the US produced 20.6 per cent of the world's total carbon dioxide emissions.
Everything changed when the Governor became the President."

>: "Earth looks as if it is about to overheat. Temperatures are rising, ice sheets are melting and all the evidence points towards a greenhouse future.This is what a group of eminent atmospheric physicists and an engineer are proposing, and they have come up with an idea to halt the Earth's warming. Using nothing more than salt water and wind power, they have designed a device that will increase the reflectivity of some of the Earth's clouds, bouncing more incoming sunlight back into space. They argue that this natural heat shield could be turned on and off at will, giving us a vital extra few decades to sort out the mess we are in."

"Washington -- Scientists in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say they've been forced to alter or withhold findings : that would have led to greater protections for endangered species, according to a survey released Wednesday by two environmental groups.
The scientists charge that top regional and national officials in the agency suppressed scientific information to avoid confrontations with industry groups or to follow the Bush administration's political policies.
The mail-in survey by the Union of Concerned Scientists and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility -- which drew responses from 414 of 1,400 biologists, ecologists, botanists and other scientists -- was not a scientific poll. But the two groups said the large number of responses reflect concern by of many Fish and Wildlife Service employees that political appointees are inappropriately influencing the science that drives decisions to list species and protect their habitat. "

Smoking marijuana can affect blood flow in the brain so much that it takes over a month to return to normal. And for heavy smokers, the effects could last much longer, a new study suggests.

"Honolulu, HI/Washington, DC-- In a first step toward public disclosure of test sites of biopharmaceutical crops,: the U.S. Department of Agriculture was forced by court order on February 4 to reveal the locations of these sites in Hawai`i. Following the ruling, representatives of the USDA handed over to Earthjustice attorneys information on the precise locations of open-air field tests of biopharmaceutical crops genetically engineered to produce industrial chemicals and drugs. This marks the first time the federal government has been forced to disclose the location of field tests of genetically engineered crops since it began systematically hiding these locations from the public."

"Gazing into a clear blue Wisconsin sky, David Travis was amazed by what he did not see: not one fluffy airliner contrail.: Not that day or in the two days that followed the 9/11 terror attacks, when commercial airliners in the United States were grounded.
For Dr. Travis, a climatologist at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, that tragedy had a tiny silver lining. A sky without jet contrails became a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see if the skinny, man-made clouds really did affect climate, as he had long suspected."

"An international network of scientists collaborating through groundbreaking technology is aiming to shed new light on climate change.: Their work will inject much more certainty into the global-warming debate and provide further evidence that is intended to encourage governments to respond to one of the world�s major challenges before it is too late.
The project will draw on and synthesize research at institutions belonging to the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) - an academic alliance with five members in the US, six in the UK, two in China and three in Europe - as well as other centers of excellence.
Called 1ACE (Arctic Climates and Environments), the initiative will deepen our understanding of changes in the earth�s biosphere and climate. It will focus on the Arctic because global warming is having a more direct impact there than on any other part of the planet. "

"From its outset, the 2004 meteorological year was a hot one,: according to new results from scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Average global surface temperatures in both December 2003 (the first month of the 2004 meteorological year) and February 2004 were 0.66 degrees Celsius above the long-term average (1951-1980). Overall, 2004 temperatures were 0.48 degrees Celsius above the climatological average. The high temperatures of 2004 make it the fourth hottest year since the late 1800s, the time that most scientists recognize as the start of accurate meteorological record keeping. "

"When the temperature soars, coral reefs might cool off by creating their own clouds. :
Research from the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian coast shows that corals are packed full of the chemical dimethyl sulphide, or DMS. When released into the atmosphere, DMS helps clouds to form, which could have a large impact on the local climate.
In the air, DMS is transformed into an aerosol of tiny particles on which water vapour can condense to form clouds. This sulphur compound is also produced in large amounts by marine algae and gives the ocean its distinctive smell. Algae play a vital part in regulating Earth's climate, but no one had looked at whether coral reefs might have a similar role."

"If China does not ease controls on its currency within six months,: it will face a 27.5% tariff on all exports to the US under legislation to be introduced in the Senate on Friday."

"One return flight between Britain and Australia produces more carbon dioxide than an entire British household in a year,: Mr. Adams says, and the industry as a whole produces twice as much as India does in a year.

Furthermore, the fact that the industry crisscrosses a multitude of borders means that the pollution isn't even included in the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases and the fuel isn't even taxed. High altitudes (which are more fuel-efficient) mean that the CO{-2} just takes longer to disperse. As pollution goes, it takes the cake."

"The investigation focuses on how aircraft can avoid creating vapour trails, also known as contrails.: These spindly threads of condensation may not seem important but some persist for hours and behave in the same way as high altitude cirrus clouds, trapping warmth in the atmosphere and exacerbating global warming.
Air travel is currently growing at between 3 and 5% per year and cargo transportation by air is increasing by 7% per year. Uniquely, the researchers at Imperial College London are combining predictions from climate change models with air traffic simulations to predict contrail formation and identify ways of reducing it.
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is funding the work, which is a joint effort between the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and the Department of Physics at Imperial College London."

"OTTAWA: Charlie Angus, NDP Heritage Critic, is demanding to know why the federal Liberals are distributing millions of Maple Leaf lapel pins that are stamped 'Made in China.': The contract for producing the pins was taken away from Canadian companies and given to China.
"What kind of credibility does this Prime Minister have to speak of Canadian values when he�s leading the race to the bottom with our own flag? Paul Martin put flags of convenience on his ships to escape Canadian labour and tax laws. Now he's giving us the lapel flag of convenience."
Angus points out that the lapel pin flag was a Canadian invention invented by Arthur Burry, a pioneer in plastic injection moulding. Ottawa began buying the pins during the 1967 Centennial year. Workers at Bursan Design in Rexdale held the contract for the next 35 years, that is, until the Liberals gave the flag business over to China. "

"The Church of England is embarking on a green revolution,: rolling out an eco-friendly policy under which organic bread and wine will be served for Holy Communion, clergy will recycle waste products and fair trade products will be sold at f�tes.
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, will set out his vision of a greener world at a meeting of the General Synod of the Church of England later this month that will challenge Britain to tackle global warming.
In a discussion document being circulated among Synod members, the Church of England says that the world's climate is close to a 'tipping point'. The Church warns: 'The sudden changes that would occur in weather systems, the fertility of the soil, the water and the world of living creatures if this tipping point were reached could be devastating.' It points out that even if 'ecological devastation' is not on the horizon 'it has to be realised that growth without limit has to be curtailed'."

"Wheels are a pretty effective method of getting around. Is there any reason why they never evolved in nature?:
It is not true to say that nature hasn't invented the wheel: bacteria have been using it to get around for millions of years."

"The massive west Antarctic ice sheet, previously assumed to be stable, is starting to collapse, scientists warned on Tuesday.
: Antarctica contains more than 90% of the world's ice, and the loss of any significant part of it would cause a substantial sea level rise. Scientists used to view Antarctica as a 'slumbering giant', said Chris Rapley, from the British Antarctic Survey, but now he sees it as an 'awakened giant'. "

Unusual smog warning| issued in Ontario, Quebec: "It may only be February, but people in southern Ontario and southern Quebec are already facing their first smog advisory of the year.
The news caught many people off guard, since unlike the summer, deep winter isn't usually a time associated with smoggy skies. The alert ranges from Windsor to Cornwall, and includes the city of Toronto."

"Freak conditions:

He said every effort was being made to locate the aircraft.

Kabul and the surrounding area have been hit by freak snowstorms, with almost 10 cm of snow falling in the past six hours."

Freedom rings in Iraq! Bush was right all along! American wins! Or, you know, not: "Ah, the violent march of democracy.
Beautiful thing, really, seeing repressed and weary Iraqis vote for the first time, and dance in the bloody bombed-out streets, and avoid the suicide bombers and of course not be able to travel between provinces or drive anywhere in their locked-down nation and by the way watch out for the snipers on the roofs.
It really is amazing, watching the deeply flawed system of democracy take hold in a raw and decimated nation like a thorny weed cracking through shattered concrete. All people deserve to be free and now Iraqis have a tiny bloody taste of it and this is always, always a good thing. I am not kidding.
So, should we be proud? Is Bush's thuggish and illegal pre-emptive attack strategy justified? Are Iraq's first-ever elections a defining moment in American political history? Are we all righteous and good and holy, despite all the dead bodies and the hatred?
Well, sort of. But then again, not really. Should Bush get some credit for all the cheering Iraqis who are now breathing sort of free? Well, no. Not even close. "

"Nearly half of all personal bankruptcies in the United States are triggered by big medical bills: racked up because of serious illnesses or accidents, a Harvard University study suggests."

On freshwater | By Umbra Fisk | Grist Magazine | Ask Umbra | 31 Jan 2005: "About 70 percent of the Earth's surface is constantly wet. Of all that water, only 2.5 percent, or 8.4 million cubic miles, is not salty. Quite a bit of the freshwater is rather stale, since it's been stuck for eons in glaciers, ice caps, and Siberia: 5.9 million cubic miles, to be exact. Still more freshwater is too far from human settlement for our use. The accessible freshwater left over after all these caveats is less than 0.08 percent of the water on the planet. "

"A host of disturbing and mutually-reinforcing patterns have emerged in the resulting new Homeland Security State,: among them: a virtually unopposed increase in the intrusion of military, intelligence, and 'security' agencies into the civilian sector of American society; federal abridgment of basic rights; denials of civil liberties on flimsy or previously illegal premises; warrant-less sneak-and-peak searches; the wholesale undermining of privacy safeguards; the greater empowerment of secret intelligence courts (like the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court) that threaten civil liberties; and heavy-handed federal and local law enforcement tactics designed to chill, squelch or silence dissent. "

ASTRONOMY CONTRAILS JET AVIATION CIRRUS GLOBAL WARMING AIR POLLUTION SHUTTLE: "RESOURCE NOTES ON JET CONTRAILS AND ASSOCIATED ITEMS ---(:SOME BROKE LINKS:)JC
Influence on Astronomical Observing Conditions "

British scientists have discovered a new threat to the world which may be a result of global warming.: " Researchers from the Cambridge-based British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have discovered that a massive Antarctic ice sheet previously assumed to be stable may be starting to disintegrate, a conference on climate change heard yesterday. Its collapse would raise sea levels around the earth by more than 16 feet."

EXETER, England (AFP) - A climate conference opened to renewed concern about the worsening threat of global warming and appeals from Britain to its ally, the United States, not to stand on the sidelines.

British Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett, in a speech to open the three-day meeting of more than 100 scientists, said all countries emitted greenhouse gases and so the problem required an international response.

"A significant impact (on the world'

The Amazon breathes uneasily in a time of climate change: "SANTAREM, Brazil - As the light plane banked left, the smell of smoke reached the cockpit.
The landscape below was an ashen green, the sun above an orange glow behind sooty billows of gray."

thedesertsunCHACALTAYA GLACIER, Bolivia - Up and down the icy spine of South America, the glaciers are melting, the white mantle of the Andes Mountains washing away at an ever faster rate.
"Look. You can see. Chacaltaya has split in two," scientist Edson Ramirez said as he led a visitor up toward a once-grand ice flow high in the thin air of the Bolivian cordillera.