Earth-Save

Chatham on Cape Cod has succumbed to the sea.  The town’s death by Atlantic surf started in 2007 when an April storm sliced a breach through the barrier island off Nauset Beach.  Since then, the ocean carved a wide inlet to Chatham Harbor, made an island of Second Village to the south, and destroyed seven cottages in First Village.

The remaining five cottages in First Village were destroyed by an unusually high tide from a summer storm.  As the ocean lapped relentlessly at the cottages, they began to crumble into the sea.

“We lost 40 feet of beachfront over the last few days,” said Bill Hammatt, an owner who had hoped to enjoy one final season at his beloved cottage. “Unfortunately, it has terminally damaged all five of the remaining buildings.”

Story at Boston.com

A 2003 study predicted that glaciers will disappear from Glacier National Park by 2030.  But because temperatures are warming even faster than just a few years ago, glaciers are now expected to disappear by 2020.

Glaciers are created when snow doesn’t completely melt in summer and over time is compacted into ice.  To be classified as a glacier, an ice field must be at least 25 acres, moving, and sculpting the landscape.

In 1900, there were about 150 glaciers in what is now Glacier National Park.  Today only 25 glaciers remain.

Although the quantity and size of glaciers have been decreasing over the past century, glaciers are now shrinking four times as fast as they were in the 1960s.  The reason is warmer climate.  Although Glacier National Park is colder than many other parts of the world, temperatures in the park have increased three times as fast as average global temperatures.

There may be some debate as to whether the warming climate is a natural cycle or the result of man-made pollutants.  But there is no debate that temperatures in Glacier National Park are getting warmer, the glaciers are getting smaller, and this is all happening even faster than previously predicted.

Story at USA News
Glacier National Park Photo Tour
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Get out and visit the lands and waters you help protect!  You can use the Nature Conservancy’s Preserve Map, powered by Google Maps, to find a preserve near you.  Or check out the Nature Preserve Directory at Nature-Preserves.com.

This is one of many ideas on how to help save our planet at Change.org.  As citizens of our world, we face a daunting array of social and environmental problems ranging from health care and education to global warming and economic inequality. For each of these issues, whether local or global in scope, there are millions of people who care passionately about working for change but lack the information and opportunities necessary to translate their interest into effective action.  Change.org aims to address this need by serving as the central platform informing and empowering movements for social change around the most important issues of our time.

It seems like all the big corporations are getting a government bailout, while we citizens are getting nothing but the bill.  So on three weekends this summer, the National Park Service is offering fee-free weekends so cash-strapped families can visit the parks.  Those fees range from $3 to $25 per day.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the initiative Tuesday.  “National parks also serve as powerful economic engines for local communities, and we hope that promoting visitation will give a small shot in the arm to businesses in the area,” Salazar said.

Many national parks were already hoping for a busy summer, and this should improve tourism even more.  “Sometimes, when the economy downturns, places like the seashore see an upsurge because people choose to stay closer to home,” said George Price, superintendent of Cape Cod National Seashore.  “Visitation will be very strong this year.  The question will be how much people will actually spend when they come to visit.”

All 147 National Park sites that charge entry fees will waive them on June 20 and 21, July 18 and 19, and August 15 and 16. 

Story at CNN
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National Park News Feed

Last week I purchased a cheeseburger at McDonalds for $1.58.  I handed $2.08 to the young woman behind the counter.  She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while staring blankly at her register.  I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me back two quarters, but she hailed the manager for help.  While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she started crying in frustration.  Why do I tell you this?  Because of the evolution in teaching math in the United States over the past six decades:

Teaching Math in 1959

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.  His cost of production is 4/5 of the price.  What is his profit?

Teaching Math in 1969

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.  His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80.  What is his profit?

Teaching Math in 1979

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.  His cost of production is $80.  Did he make a profit?

Teaching Math in 1989

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.  His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20.  Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

Teaching Math in 1999

A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands.  He does this so he can make a profit of $20.  What do you think of his way of making a living?  Topic for class participation after answering the question:  How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger destroyed their homes?  (There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it’s OK.)

Teaching Math in 2009

Un maderero vende un camión cargado de madera por $100.  Su coste de producción es de $80.  ¿Se obtienen beneficios?

More Funny Stuff

I do believe we are getting warmer.  I’ve been keeping an almanac since 2000, and many natural events — such as the arrival of hummingbirds, bluebirds, deerflies, mayflowers, forsythia, etc. — are occurring at least a week earlier in the spring now than just a decade before.  Of course, like global temperature readings over the past century, my information is not scientifically precise.  But I don’t need lab measurements to confirm what I’m witnessing with my own eyes.  And the data from the extremes of our Earth such as towns in Alaska that are collapsing in melting permafrost is irrefutable.  The world is indeed heating up.

But it’s debatable whether this is just a normal cyclic event or an irreversible trend.  In spite of all the scientific evidence, there’s no irrefutable proof at this point, and many skeptics remain.  And it’s also debatable how much impact humans have.  It’s ridiculous to think that humans have no effect on our environment.  But it’s unclear whether our pollution is the primary cause of the recent warming or just one of many contributing factors.  Again, there is currently no way to know for sure with our limited data, scientific knowledge and computational power.

That said, we are humans who have been blessed with incredible pattern recognition capabilities and intuition.  Like the frog sitting in the slowly boiling pot of water, we notice it’s getting warmer and the bubbles are starting to form.  We have no conclusive proof that it’s warmer or whether it will continue, but it sure seems like it is.  So do we just sit and do nothing and wait until we boil to death?  Or do we get smart about our future and jump out of the pot?  (Note that the “boiling frog” theory itself appears to be false — who can you believe these days about anything?)

Hopefully as smart humans we will recognize that our endless pollution and reliance on fossil fuels is wrong on so many levels — environment, economy, security, geopolitics, health.  It’s essential that we start cleaning up our act and looking for a better way to fuel our future.  The one major downside to the global warming debate is it has enough ambiguity and uncertainty that skeptics can use it as an excuse inject FUD, do nothing and keep business as usual.  And that’s the real climate catastrophe.

Here is an amazing National Geographic photo of a polar bear leaping across ice chunks.

Saturn appears jealous of Earth Day, but in fact, he knows that the best way to survive is to avoid the parasite called “man.”

A new study by the National University of Mexico suggests that global sea levels could rise as much as 10 feet in the next 50 years if the Antarctic and Greenland ice caps melt rapidly.

The study analyzed coral beds in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula and discovered that during the last warm period between ice ages more than 100,000 years ago, an entire layer of coral suddenly died, only to be replaced decades later by a new, smaller layer.  This indicates that sea levels had risen 10 feet in just 50 to 100 years.  And the only thing that could cause such substantial flooding would be the melting of the continental ice sheets.

“Scientists have tended to assume that sea level reached a maximum during the last interglacial very slowly, over several millennia,” said study leader Paul Blanchon.  “What we are saying is ‘No, they didn’t.’”

Story at FoxNews

The everyday items listed below all contain toxic chemicals that can contaminate the environment if not disposed properly.  You should NOT toss out these items with your curbside trash.

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