Hey how are you doing? I was able to go out and do this basketball game. Benilde St. Margarets took on Richfield in a boys basketball region semi-final game. The winner either takes on Holy Angels or Minneapolis Washburn. The losers season will be over. Benilde came into the game with a 22-5 record and they were ranked number 3 in the state class AAA poll. They had the number one seed in the region. Richfield had a 13-14 record and was seeded number 4 in the region http://stevenssports.blogspot.com/2010/03/benilde-st-margarets-took-on-richfield.html STEVEN MACDONALD FROEMMING http://www.stevenssports.com Steven MacDonald Froemming
oops--I set Jason's text off from my own when I wrote this email, but that didn't show up when I sent it out, apparently. So, in order to not put words in Jason's mouth, I've put QUOTES around his words below, and set them off from my own. Sorry for the goof! > From: <email obscured> > To: <email obscured>; <email obscured> > Subject: Re: [Bemidji] The Geography of a Recession > Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2010 03:52:36 +0000 > > > Thanks for the map, Suzi! > > In the recent e-democracy conversation about climate change, I noticed that a lot of the things we can do to address climate change, also address unemployment by creating and maintaining local jobs. Jason Dahl made these suggestions, among others: "Buy local goods and foods, as this really cuts down on the fuel used for long distance transportation as well as "energy overhead" from packaging, etc. (Added bonus: more money circulating for longer in the local economy - a local "economic greenhouse effect"). "Use local, renewable energy sources as much as possible. "And work locally to make these things easier and more profitable for others around us." > If you find yourself unemployed, consider the needs of your neighbors. Can you meet any > those needs in return for fair pay? > > If your neighbor is unemployed, does your neighbor have skill that could help meet your needs? > > Could we learn skills that would help us create local economic security? > > If I recall correctly, Will Allen, farmer and CEO of Growing Power, a 2-acre urban farm in > Milwaukee, says that we need 10 million more small farmers growing food for local > consumption. Hmmm, that would take care of a third of those thirty million unemployed > people... And it would dramatically improve nutrition for a lot of urban (and rural) people > who have inadequate access to fresh, nutritious food. > > Yesterday I heard a story about a woman who started a business reknitting people's old > sweaters into whatever the sweater-owner wants--socks, mittens, scarves, etc. A great way > to keep good wool out of the incinerator, re-create beautiful clothing, and reduce material > consumption--and she has a waiting list. > > I'm sure I could make an endless list of examples of local, individual and collaborative > solutions to unemployment. > > As we reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, we can also reduce our dependence > on large corporations for both employment and needed goods. > > Even when some jobs disappear, we always have each other and our skills and talents.
Thanks for the map, Suzi! In the recent e-democracy conversation about climate change, I noticed that a lot of the things we can do to address climate change, also address unemployment by creating and maintaining local jobs. Jason Dahl made these suggestions, among others: Buy local goods and foods, as this really cuts down on the fuel used for long distance transportation as well as "energy overhead" from packaging, etc. (Added bonus: more money circulating for longer in the local economy - a local "economic greenhouse effect"). Use local, renewable energy sources as much as possible. And work locally to make these things easier and more profitable for others around us. If you find yourself unemployed, consider the needs of your neighbors. Can you meet any those needs in return for fair pay? If your neighbor is unemployed, does your neighbor have skill that could help meet your needs? Could we learn skills that would help us create local economic security? If I recall correctly, Will Allen, farmer and CEO of Growing Power, a 2-acre urban farm in Milwaukee, says that we need 10 million more small farmers growing food for local consumption. Hmmm, that would take care of a third of those thirty million unemployed people... And it would dramatically improve nutrition for a lot of urban (and rural) people who have inadequate access to fresh, nutritious food. Yesterday I heard a story about a woman who started a business reknitting people's old sweaters into whatever the sweater-owner wants--socks, mittens, scarves, etc. A great way to keep good wool out of the incinerator, re-create beautiful clothing, and reduce material consumption--and she has a waiting list. I'm sure I could make an endless list of examples of local, individual and collaborative solutions to unemployment. As we reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, we can also reduce our dependence on large corporations for both employment and needed goods. Even when some jobs disappear, we always have each other and our skills and talents. My friends in Cameroon have a saying: "We are together." That about sums it up. Thanks for reading! ~Shylan
Here is an interactive map that is a very good visual reminder of what is happening to jobs in America. It is a tough thing to think about if you come from a place of need or want. "According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are nearly 30 million people unemployed." Hang on everyone.this isn't over yet. Suzi Rhae Ross
I'm taking off the "hoax" since there doesn't seem to be much doubt about that part. Great lifestyle choices by the Tjaders! We do about half of them, but our mileage is a lot higher, living 22 miles out, but that's where the farm is. So it goes. >>> <email obscured>> 2/25/2010 7:30 PM >>> Some things we've done: eat a vegetarian/vegan organic diet; grow some of our own food; joined a CSA - community-supported agriculture; limit our annual automobile usage to 5000 miles; bike to work, 6 miles each way, year round; install a high efficiency furnace; install a solar air heater; use a high efficiency clothes washer; dry clothes on an outside clothes line or indoor wooden rack; maintain 20" of insulation in the attic and 7" in the walls; live in a small house, less than 800 sq ft; use an electric lawn mower and allow the lawn to go dormant during dry weather; recycle; resist materialistic impulses; plant trees and shrubs; cool the house in the summer by opening windows at night; and we try to follow Gandhi's suggestion to "live simply, that others might simply live." Harvey Tjader Info about Harvey Tjader: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/1gXLP9kkBGix37PH04NEmq View all messages on this topic at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/2T7VwdKH7r5EWttu0n27CK
Some things we've done: eat a vegetarian/vegan organic diet; grow some of our own food; joined a CSA - community-supported agriculture; limit our annual automobile usage to 5000 miles; bike to work, 6 miles each way, year round; install a high efficiency furnace; install a solar air heater; use a high efficiency clothes washer; dry clothes on an outside clothes line or indoor wooden rack; maintain 20" of insulation in the attic and 7" in the walls; live in a small house, less than 800 sq ft; use an electric lawn mower and allow the lawn to go dormant during dry weather; recycle; resist materialistic impulses; plant trees and shrubs; cool the house in the summer by opening windows at night; and we try to follow Gandhi's suggestion to "live simply, that others might simply live."
So, we are finally back to the need for population control? Good for you. I agree. So long as we promote reproduction, seemingly in every way possible, our future is doomed. Only a matter of time for us, and for much of the world we are already there. Anything and everything that we can do to promote reductions in births will improve life for the living. It's just basic math. The concepts of Zero Population Growth weren't wrong. Perhaps we need to re-visit "The population bomb" and "mankind at the turning point" 35 years later. I think the latter book predicted massive problems by 2025 or 2050....not far from now. How are their predictions looking, I wonder? No doubt we can be kinder to our world, but population pressure will always overwhelm that kindness if it is not constrained. Today we are utterly dependent on fossil fuel based fertilizers to produce the food that we ship abroad to feed starving masses. A crass forecast from the seventies proposed that this was only a short range problem because, despite best efforts, most of those masses would die off by mid-century, i.e. 2050 or so. The U.N. was told not to worry about the long term because starvation would take care of itself. (those that starved were no longer a problem to the forecasters) This is grim stuff, but it is the world in which we live and that we have in many ways created. 'wish I had an answer. Acting responsibly at home is a start. >>> <email obscured>> 2/23/2010 11:47 PM >>> Mino Dibikuk (good evening), Wow! What a mindful group! Barry Babcock, miigwech (thank you) for the quote! That is very precious wisdom, I don't know who Aldo Leopold is, but I will shortly. AND migwech miinawa (thanX again) for the wisdom, through the language..."the Ojibwe called them"...we are still here, we are still the same people...this Ojibwe calls them Ozaawaabineshii(yag). There are many ways to say things, so I will be checking with my teacher tomorrow, to see how he says their name. The names of the animals describe them, our language is very descriptive...the plants too...everything. In this area I have not seen the canopy change that much over my life time or fragment much more, etc. What I do see as a change is the level of toxins that they are being bombarded with, especially over here towards Cass Lake. Shylan Rose, Miigwech! Jason Dahl gave an excellent answer. Ideas for action...personally, I decided to get more papers(the more degrees...the more listeners,right?...not fair but true)...I am almost done with this plateau of education in Education, I think we can make social change through teaching and more personally I think we can make social change by understanding the Ojibwe language, our relationship to nimaamaa (Earth), and our responsibilities as human beings. Thank you for commenting back. Jason Dahl, well put summary of basic things we can do to help, I know that one person CAN make a difference. Both positively and negatively our actions have consequences. I agree we need to be more globally minded, we need to see the world for what it is and how it is being held ransom by a global political system called money. Our nimaamaa is tired and she is sick, she needs our help to rest and heal. The most terrible thing you can do for the environment? Pour your antifreeze away on the ground? Drive a hummer? Buy a newspaper?...the most damaging thing that puts strain on the Mother Earth is having children. This must be a touchy topic because I rarely see it represented for what it is and that is worthy to be noted with the things that we need to be doing, or our ways that we need to be changing. Think about a human beings lifetime of consuming? I would like to see that researched and made documentaries about because I think it is a missing factor that we should all be thinking about...also think about how we purchase animals to have as "friends", don't buy my own friends, never have, I'm not sure why other people do, or why breeders keep making more eaters (dogs, etc.) when there are about 30,000 children dying everyday from hunger, lack of water, lack of medical care,or medicine, no parents, no LOVE. What the H-E-double hockey sticks is going on here! What happened to MORALS, where is our sense of community, globally. What kind of society does not take care of their children! I am so ashamed of how many millions of children are uncared for. There are a lot of good things too happening all over the world, but I think we have failed miserably as a global society. CHI-MIIGWECH NINDAWEMAHGANIDOOG (I say miigwech my relatives because we are all related.) tree Thressa Foster Cass Lake Info about Thressa Foster-Binesi'odekwe: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/2ko9lnWstkTxcKNwRy5n9D View all messages on this topic at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/7gfyR3Mugnz9rvOdUUmV1V
Thank you for your writing so far.
I just wanted to address the issue brought up in the last post about
having children being harmful to the Earth. I think people today are harmful
to the ecosystem, but that is just because of what ways we are interacting with
the land.
I have volunteered on a number of small organic farms and small forestry
operations and from my experience I think there are ways that people can
genuinely assist in healing the soil and water.
We need to look at new models of getting our basic needs that builds
soils, restores forests, neutralizes toxins, while still supplying what it is
we want.
These models are out there. Joel Salatin is showing one way of farming
animals that is actually increasing the land's fertility. Although he says it
is nothing compared to the huge herds of bison it's a start. By imitating the
mob-herd disturbance aspect of these animals we can start to see similar
benefits to the land.
Forestry examples are abound with 'Restoration Forestry' and can be
seen, for one, at Merv Wilkinson's place at Wildwood. The idea here is to
maintain the whole forest system intact while selectively removing wood.
Paul Stamets, a popular mycologist, has written about ways of recycling
nutrients with fungi to grow food and fertilizer. There has also been some
interesting experiments neutralizing toxins such as diesel fuel and even heavy
metals or PCBs.
Viktor Schauberger, an Austrian inventor, came up with a number of ways
to really deal with the water issues in creative ways.
I want to say that there are ways that people can be very beneficial to
the ecosystem. Maybe a solution isn't just limiting our harm, but coming up
with a way to be helpful towards Nature's agenda.
Sam Kvale
Mino Dibikuk (good evening), Wow! What a mindful group! Barry Babcock, miigwech (thank you) for the quote! That is very precious wisdom, I don't know who Aldo Leopold is, but I will shortly. AND migwech miinawa (thanX again) for the wisdom, through the language..."the Ojibwe called them"...we are still here, we are still the same people...this Ojibwe calls them Ozaawaabineshii(yag). There are many ways to say things, so I will be checking with my teacher tomorrow, to see how he says their name. The names of the animals describe them, our language is very descriptive...the plants too...everything. In this area I have not seen the canopy change that much over my life time or fragment much more, etc. What I do see as a change is the level of toxins that they are being bombarded with, especially over here towards Cass Lake. Shylan Rose, Miigwech! Jason Dahl gave an excellent answer. Ideas for action...personally, I decided to get more papers(the more degrees...the more listeners,right?...not fair but true)...I am almost done with this plateau of education in Education, I think we can make social change through teaching and more personally I think we can make social change by understanding the Ojibwe language, our relationship to nimaamaa (Earth), and our responsibilities as human beings. Thank you for commenting back. Jason Dahl, well put summary of basic things we can do to help, I know that one person CAN make a difference. Both positively and negatively our actions have consequences. I agree we need to be more globally minded, we need to see the world for what it is and how it is being held ransom by a global political system called money. Our nimaamaa is tired and she is sick, she needs our help to rest and heal. The most terrible thing you can do for the environment? Pour your antifreeze away on the ground? Drive a hummer? Buy a newspaper?...the most damaging thing that puts strain on the Mother Earth is having children. This must be a touchy topic because I rarely see it represented for what it is and that is worthy to be noted with the things that we need to be doing, or our ways that we need to be changing. Think about a human beings lifetime of consuming? I would like to see that researched and made documentaries about because I think it is a missing factor that we should all be thinking about...also think about how we purchase animals to have as "friends", don't buy my own friends, never have, I'm not sure why other people do, or why breeders keep making more eaters (dogs, etc.) when there are about 30,000 children dying everyday from hunger, lack of water, lack of medical care,or medicine, no parents, no LOVE. What the H-E-double hockey sticks is going on here! What happened to MORALS, where is our sense of community, globally. What kind of society does not take care of their children! I am so ashamed of how many millions of children are uncared for. There are a lot of good things too happening all over the world, but I think we have failed miserably as a global society. CHI-MIIGWECH NINDAWEMAHGANIDOOG (I say miigwech my relatives because we are all related.) tree
Miigwech, Jason. I realized as i was reading, these are all things I do to some degree, but have only begun in so many ways. It helps to be reminded and inspired. I guess that's how we evolve together--inspire, remind and encourage each other to make our own changes. I think I'll keep your message as a little check-list--to help keep me on track. It's so easy to get caught up in "convenience" when I'm busy and overwhelmed, but it feels so much better to know I've made a choice that cares for future generations and for my neighbors
All in all, the One Big Thing everyone can do about climate change here in Bemidji is the same thing as in the rest of the developed world: reduce or eliminate your use of fossil fuels in any way you can. Drive less and walk or bike more, and arrange your life so this is practical to whatever extent you can. Cut your electricity consumption as much as is practical (which, for most of us, is significantly beyond what we currently think is convenient). Buy local goods and foods, as this really cuts down on the fuel used for long distance transportation as well as "energy overhead" from packaging, etc. (Added bonus: more money circulating for longer in the local economy - a local "economic greenhouse effect"). Use local, renewable energy sources as much as possible. And work locally to make these things easier and more profitable for others around us. Because compared to energy use, everything else is really second-order. > From: <email obscured> > To: <email obscured>; <email obscured> > Subject: Re: [Bemidji] Man made Global warming a Hoax. > Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:12:50 +0000 > > Boozhoo and miigwech, Theresa! > > I had a similar thought: "If you don't believe the science, then don't ask the scientists... ask the animals. Ask the Earth." Like you said, there are all kinds of signs that something is amiss--especially in the far north and far south latitudes. > > Theresa, what do you think we should be doing about climate change here in Bemidji, Cass Lake, and our northern MN region? > > I've learned about small things I can do, but I feel they're not enough. For example, I'm looking at getting a bike trailer for the stuff I need to haul around, and/or moving into town close to my office, so I can drive a lot less. I'm also learning how gardeners and farmers can sequester carbon by composting and creating bio-char (charcoal from wood stoves or from crop residue, mixed in the garden soil). > > What can/should we be doing, here in our area, as participants in City, County, State, Federal and/or Tribal government? What should we do as consumers? How can we evolve together, quickly and smartly?
Boozhoo and miigwech, Theresa! I had a similar thought: "If you don't believe the science, then don't ask the scientists... ask the animals. Ask the Earth." Like you said, there are all kinds of signs that something is amiss--especially in the far north and far south latitudes. Theresa, what do you think we should be doing about climate change here in Bemidji, Cass Lake, and our northern MN region? I've learned about small things I can do, but I feel they're not enough. For example, I'm looking at getting a bike trailer for the stuff I need to haul around, and/or moving into town close to my office, so I can drive a lot less. I'm also learning how gardeners and farmers can sequester carbon by composting and creating bio-char (charcoal from wood stoves or from crop residue, mixed in the garden soil). What can/should we be doing, here in our area, as participants in City, County, State, Federal and/or Tribal government? What should we do as consumers? How can we evolve together, quickly and smartly? I would love to hear your ideas/actions (and anyone else's). Thank you.
Boozhoo Theresa; I'll bet the birds you are talking about are Evening Grosbeaks. The Ojibway called them; "Paush-kun-damo" which I am told, means "berry breaker." I think this is very appropriate as I have often been tromping about in the woods on snowshoes and seen the empty pinkish shells of high bush cranberries laying on the snow, having the pulp and seed extracted by these colorful birds. And yes, there has been a drastic decline in their numbers. These colorful birds will often show eruptions when there has been a major infestation of spruce budworm, which they find quit delectable. There has been many other song birds that have had precipitous declines of late. How much of it is related to climate change or related to a change in canopy structure, decline of specific tree species, or due to man's land management... and then there is the question of forest fragmentation. I see more cow birds than I used to and these are having an impact of many thrush, warbler, and vireo species by laying its eggs in other bird nests. We often fail to realize the impact that these little critters have on our lives, like controlling pests such as spruce budworm.....helping maintain balance. I agree with you that the first step in living sustainable life styles is to get by with a lot less. We, Americans, throw away or waste more than most countries consume. "Every farm woodland, in addition to yielding lumber, fuel, and posts, should provide its owner a liberal education. This crop of wisdom never fails, but it is not always harvested."…….Aldo Leopold
Boozhoo gakina awiiyaa (hello everybody), This has been a very mindful and substantiated discussion, I thank you all for contributing your perspective. BUT I do not need to read scholarly articles, books or attend lectures to understand that there is something very wrong. All I need to do is walk in to woods and look around. The biggest change, or the most obvious change to me is the birds, different kinds of birds are coming at different times of the year and ...what happened to the, I think he's called, a nested gross beak? They used to come by the hundreds and now I rarely see one. It also takes little thinking to understand when you look at the lakes (great) and see where the water was and where it is now. The birds also are a great example of evolving. The animals are showing us how to adapt, and that is what we need to do. Evolve by adaption, change our ways. 30% of the planets population (us-Americans) can not continue to use up 70% of the resources! We have been blessed with big brains so let's get those big brains together and come up with solutions that work with nature and not against her. The answers are right in front of us so let us stop debating whether or not it is happening, and start working towards a future for our children and their children and their children... miigwech bisindowiyeg (thanks for listening to me) tree
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All of the "Think globally, Act locally" philosophy is why this discussion has merit for our discussion group. So far the discussion of wood burning reflects well on our local carbon neutrality. The comment on sixty minutes last night that Bloom Energy's household unit may only cost $2,000 and could run on bio-gas is another hopeful way for us up here to consider acting in the near future. Imagine keeping a few cows to power your house! >>> Ross Williams <email obscured>> 2/22/2010 9:21 AM >>> I am not sure what the Amazon rain forest has to do with impacts here in Minnesota. But this is an editorial opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, a long time leader of denial on climate change, not a factual report. The fact that some studies have been misinterpreted or sensationalized in the media is science as usual. That's why we have scientific journals, so that studies can be reviewed and disputed by the authors' scientific peers rather than media pundits. The problem is that initial assessments become fact when the popular media get ahold of them, instead of just a step in the scientific process. The Wall Street Journal's editorial writers have picked out a small number of such studies, inconsequential in the overall discussion, to prove the scientific community is completely off base in its conclusions about global warming. The reality is that we are slowly taking stored carbon, in the form of fossil fuels, and releasing it into the atmosphere. The same process happens with forests. As they are removed the carbon stored in them is released into the atmosphere and, if the forest is removed, one of the natural forces that reduce carbon in the atmosphere is also removed. There isn't much doubt that more carbon in the atmosphere, whether natural or man made, makes the planet warmer. Thus the evidence that the climate is warming corresponds to what we ought to expect given current climate models. Of course both could be wrong, we used to think the world was flat based on the evidence we had. But it is very unlikely. The impact of gloval warming here in Minnesota will likely eventually move the forests to the north. But that is a long process, it may mean we will have a lot of un-healthy forests for a very long time with trees dying, subject to disease etc. The problem isn't that Minnesota's forests will not adapt to these changes with warm weather species replacing the colder weather trees we have now, they will eventually. The problem is eventually is a long time and. in the meantime, Minnesota's northland may be a lot less pleasant place to live for our children and grand-children and their children and grand-children. Ross Williams Advocacy Technologies twitter.com/rosscwilliams
I am not sure what the Amazon rain forest has to do with impacts here in Minnesota. But this is an editorial opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, a long time leader of denial on climate change, not a factual report. The fact that some studies have been misinterpreted or sensationalized in the media is science as usual. That's why we have scientific journals, so that studies can be reviewed and disputed by the authors' scientific peers rather than media pundits. The problem is that initial assessments become fact when the popular media get ahold of them, instead of just a step in the scientific process. The Wall Street Journal's editorial writers have picked out a small number of such studies, inconsequential in the overall discussion, to prove the scientific community is completely off base in its conclusions about global warming. The reality is that we are slowly taking stored carbon, in the form of fossil fuels, and releasing it into the atmosphere. The same process happens with forests. As they are removed the carbon stored in them is released into the atmosphere and, if the forest is removed, one of the natural forces that reduce carbon in the atmosphere is also removed. There isn't much doubt that more carbon in the atmosphere, whether natural or man made, makes the planet warmer. Thus the evidence that the climate is warming corresponds to what we ought to expect given current climate models. Of course both could be wrong, we used to think the world was flat based on the evidence we had. But it is very unlikely. The impact of gloval warming here in Minnesota will likely eventually move the forests to the north. But that is a long process, it may mean we will have a lot of un-healthy forests for a very long time with trees dying, subject to disease etc. The problem isn't that Minnesota's forests will not adapt to these changes with warm weather species replacing the colder weather trees we have now, they will eventually. The problem is eventually is a long time and. in the meantime, Minnesota's northland may be a lot less pleasant place to live for our children and grand-children and their children and grand-children. Ross Williams Advocacy Technologies twitter.com/rosscwilliams
Hello all, I find this discussion thread very interesting in many regards, however it has drifted away from the "bemidji area" focus of this forum. e-democracy has several other forms to address state-wide issues and still other forums on different sites exist to engage larger scale issues like the broad implications of climate change research. If folks are still interested in discussing this issue and its impact on our area it might make for an interesting few posts. cheers - jeff ueland bemidji e-democracy forum manager
It has been a bad-make that dreadful-few weeks for what used to be called the "settled science" of global warming, and especially for the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that is supposed to be its gold standard. First it turns out that the Himalayan glaciers are not going to melt anytime soon, notwithstanding dire U.N. predictions. Next came news that an IPCC claim that global warming could destroy 40% of the Amazon was based on a report by an environmental pressure group. Other IPCC sources of scholarly note have included a mountaineering magazine and a student paper. Since the climategate email story broke in November, the standard defense is that while the scandal may have revealed some all-too-human behavior by a handful of leading climatologists, it made no difference to the underlying science. We think the science is still disputable. But there's no doubt that climategate has spurred at least some reporters to scrutinize the IPCC's headline-grabbing claims in a way they had rarely done previously. Take the rain forest claim. In its 2007 report, the IPCC wrote that "up to 40% of the Amazonian forests could react drastically to even a slight reduction in precipitation; this means that the tropical vegetation, hydrology and climate system in South America could change very rapidly to another steady state." But as Jonathan Leake of London's Sunday Times reported last month, those claims were based on a report from the World Wildlife Fund, which in turn had fundamentally misrepresented a study in the journal Nature. The Nature study, Mr. Leake writes, "did not assess rainfall but in fact looked at the impact on the forest of human activity such as logging and burning." The IPCC has relied on World Wildlife Fund studies regarding the "transformation of natural coastal areas," the "destruction of more mangroves," "glacial lake outbursts causing mudflows and avalanches," changes in the ecosystem of the "Mesoamerican reef," and so on. The Wildlife Fund is a green lobby that believes in global warming, and its "research" reflects its advocacy, not the scientific method. The IPCC has also cited a study by British climatologist Nigel Arnell claiming that global warming could deplete water resources for as many as 4.5 billion people by the year 2085. But as our Anne Jolis reported in our European edition, the IPCC neglected to include Mr. Arnell's corollary finding, which is that global warming could also increase water resources for as many as six billion people. The IPCC report made aggressive claims that "extreme weather-related events" had led to "rapidly rising costs." Never mind that the link between global warming and storms like Hurricane Katrina remains tenuous at best. More astonishing (or, maybe, not so astonishing) is that the IPCC again based its assertion on a single study that was not peer-reviewed. In fact, nobody can reliably establish a quantifiable connection between global warming and increased disaster-related costs. In Holland, there's even a minor uproar over the report's claim that 55% of the country is below sea level. It's 26%. Meanwhile, one of the scientists at the center of the climategate fiasco has called into question other issues that the climate lobby has claimed are indisputable. Phil Jones, who stepped down as head of the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit amid the climate email scandal, told the BBC that the world may well have been warmer during medieval times than it is now. This raises doubts about how much our current warming is man-made as opposed to merely another of the natural climate shifts that have taken place over the centuries. Mr. Jones also told the BBC there has been no "statistically significant" warming over the past 15 years, though he considers this to be temporary. All of this matters because the IPCC has been advertised as the last and definitive word on climate science. Its reports are the basis on which Al Gore, President Obama and others have claimed that climate ruin is inevitable unless the world reorganizes its economies with huge new taxes on carbon. Now we are discovering the U.N. reports are sloppy political documents intended to drive the climate lobby's regulatory agenda. The lesson of climategate and now the IPCC's shoddy sourcing is that the claims of the global warming lobby need far more rigorous scrutiny. -The Wall Street Journal 2/16/10 Pretty much sums it up. Melissa
Hey folks- Local youth have raised hundred of thousands of dollars towards a skate park in Bemidji and they need your help to go the extra mile. They are in the running for a $25,000 grant from Pepsi for their new skate park. They are a very small project in a small town up against people in much larger areas, so help em out!! Right now they are in 18th place and they need to get up in the top ten to get a grant. Tony Hawk got them up to 7th place a few weeks ago using Twitter, and I think we can do just as well - or dare I say better- in the Bemidji community right? So if you can take a minute to send this out any way you can! Info is below. Thanks!! Shannon Murray CLICK HERE TO HELP!! http://www.refresheverything.com/BemidjiSkatePark Step 1: Click on the link. (that one right there ^ you see it?) Step 2: Click "Vote for this idea" Step 3: Click "Connect to Facebook" Step 4: SMILE because you are helping out your small community! Step 5: Repeat daily : ) VOTE EVERY DAY!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!