In the News: New Orleans, Carbon Cycle, East Antarctica, Extraterrestrial Life

New Orleans on Obama’s radar.  Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding will remain in place.  Two Cabinet secretaries will visit New Orleans and other storm-ravaged parts of the Gulf Coast starting tomorrow: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan.

The carbon cycle isn’t fully described by scientists.  Cracks in the Earth’s surface might release more CO2 into the atmosphere than previously thought.  If that process occurs faster than currently assumed, it would have important implications in climate models.

Scientists made an exploration of the East Antarctic continent – one of the least sampled places on Earth when it comes to climate change.  Considering the implications of the ice sheets melting, this is obviously not a good thing.  Their initial finding?  A slight warming trend in East Antarctica.  Not a cooling, as denialists have claimed for years now (incorrectly citing sparse datasets is never a good idea).  No – they found warmer conditions than they thought they would.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland constructed a computer model to create a synthetic galaxy with billions of stars and planets. They then studied how life evolved under various conditions in this virtual world, using a supercomputer to crunch the results.  In their simulation, at least 361 intelligent civilizations have emerged in the Milky Way since its creation, and as many as 38,000 may have formed.  While only a first guess with limited information, these results are exciting to think about.

New Orleans – How Will Rebuilding Play Out?

Newsweek’s Fineman wrote about the need for Recovery money to be directed at places like New Orleans a couple of weeks ago.  It brought back to mind another National Geographic article about New Orleans.  It was in the August 2007 issue and detailed some updates since the landfall of Hurricane Katrina nearly two years prior.

On some level, I agree with Mr. Fineman.  New Orleans could be rebuilt.  It’s the how that I’m concerned with.  People have removed the ability of the Mississippi River to maintain the wetlands that in previous decades protected the city of New Orleans from the worst of storm surges.  Many square miles of wetland succumb to the waters of the Gulf every day, making the next storm to hit the area more of a danger than it otherwise would be.  The land under the city is sinking because it was drained.  Sea levels are rising because of our impact on the climate system.  Here is a decent map indicating what a 3-foot (1m) sea-level rise would do to the New Orleans area.  Keep in mind that the 2007 IPCC report considered a 1m sea-level rise by 2100 to be realistic under current emission rates.  More recent research has revealed that a 1m sea-level rise will likely occur much sooner than 2100 unless serious action is taken soon.  New Orleans has been threatened by tropical storms for a long time.  That threat is increasing.

Which should mean that efforts to protect the city’s infrastructure and citizens should also be increasing.  Unfortunately, as the National Geographic article detailed, that’s not happening.  The Army Corps of Engineers is rebuilding levees to their prior rating.  Those levees couldn’t protect the city from a strong Category 2 storm (at time of landfall) because of shoddy engineering an an unfortunate approach angle.  Things to consider include: the storm could have been stronger and the approach angle could have been more direct.  Rebuilding the cities’ defenses to prior criteria that failed therefore isn’t a good idea.

Therefore, if we’re to continue the rebuilding of city defenses and personal property, it makes sense to ensure higher standards are set.  The levees, gates and pumps should be built to withstand a much stronger hurricane.  Any complaints of cost need only look to the cost of rebuilding billions of dollars of private and public property throughout the city.  Houses need to be built several feet above the ground.  The Mississippi River needs to be less controlled.  The wetlands surrounding the city need to be encouraged to grow and not shrink.  All of these efforts need to arise from solid, scientific recommendations.  Further, they need to be put under strict oversight and accountability.  Otherwise, any and every effort currently being spent to rebuild the city will be wasted.

Another storm will impact the area.  A city that has lost 30% of its pre-Katrina population can ill-afford to lose even more due to negligence and a reluctance to improve on yesterday’s habits.

Randomness 4/25/08

A report by the Genographic Project details how a natural, localized, long-term drought 70,000 years ago might have nearly wiped out our species. For the curious, global CO2 concentration levels jumped between 280 and 300ppm in these dry years. Today’s concentration: 380ppm and increasing. Long-term droughts of yesteryear that were localized could become global unless we stop forcing the climate system with our greenhouse gas emissions.

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John McCain showed what an imbecile and hypocrite he is yesterday with the following:

John McCain tured still hurricane-damaged areas of New Orleans and declared that if the disaster had happened on his watch, he would have immediately landed his plane at the nearest Air Force base.

He offered a pledge Thursday to New Orleans residents that their situation will not be forgotten and that such a botched disaster response will never happen again.

I’m not sure what having John McCain at a nearby Air Force base would have done for hurricane survivors. In any event, it doesn’t matter. Anybody that was actually paying attention the day Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast will remember that McCain and Bush were celebrating McCain’s birthday in Arizona. Neither Bush nor McCain cared one iota what misery Gulf Coast residents were going through. That’s because they’re elitist snobs. Bottom line: McCain is in no way fit to lead this nation to anything but more disaster.

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With oil flirting with $120 per barrel and gas threatening $4.00 per gallon, what kind of vehicles were sold last month? Smaller and more fuel efficient vehicles, that’s what. Truck and SUV sales suffered.

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Democrats are trying to tamp down public expectations for health care reform starting next year, even if they retake the White House this year. I have news for them: the health care crisis this country is facing is not going to go away. Too many people are being screwed by an immoral, profit-or-nothing system that only benefits executives. Too many people are not getting care. Senior Democrats are under the mistaken impression that they’re leading on this issue, when the reality couldn’t be more different. Senior Democrats love their cushy, guaranteed jobs (where they receive stellar health care paid for by taxpayers) first and foremost. What the people want gets considered well after their own petty wishes are granted. Exacerbating the problem is the perception that the Democratic nominees are guaranteeing major overhaul of the system. If that doesn’t occur quickly, I expect huge blowback. Something has got to give in this tug-of-war and I know the American people are tired of being shafted.