Reprieve

   The summer was not kind to Climate Guy 73. During the past year, I saw monthly increases in site visits, culminating in the all-time high of 12,436 in April. Ever since, the numbers have dropped so fast you would think you were looking at the temperature graph of the stratosphere for the past 40 years. (Look it up. That was my best science joke ever.)  I figured that people were just probably outside more, it being late Spring and then Summer.  Now, the green of Summer is giving way to the brilliant colors of Autumn as we speak. There is so much to do and see and experience in the world, why waste it sitting  inside on a computer? That has got to be the reason my loyal readers stopped coming by. (I'm sure it would have nothing to do with my erratic blogging, week long absences, or precipitous decline in the quality of my writing. Hey, you have a baby while living in a foreign country, all the while taking german classes to learn a new language.)

     The break was cathartic in a lot of ways, in all honesty. In this business, you can have your throat handed to you in the snap-hiss of a lightsaber. I have been read the riot act by many who think I am too radical, too "Left", that say I taint my message with "environmental alarmism" which damages my credibility. After awhile, I'll be honest, it can get to a person. There is a dread deep down, when it comes to the future of the planet, that this all maybe for naught. Am I making a difference? Are people reading? Am I doing enough?

    Then I look at my son: five months of smile and drool. The kid is easy going and sweet, the center of my universe. One smile from that toothless wonder and I realize that "Fuck yes it is all worth it!" People have to understand that we are damaging our rivers and oceans, leveling our forests, and killing millions of species every year. I owe it to my son to raise that red flag so it does NOT go unnoticed before it is too late, if it isn't too late already. I owe it to everyone's kids to do that! Even if I only get one person every few weeks to stop in and say, "Wow, that guy was funny! And I'm going to look into this Climate Reality Project, or the Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards, or the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. " That's real all that matters.

     So I amble on. Reading new articles and watching new interviews everyday. Dropping into online communities and sharing what I know and have learned, while trying to learn more. Starting the conversation and reaching out to fill in the gaps for those who want to know more. Of course, this means lots of people rolling their eyes and shaking their heads when they don't like what I have to say. I have been told on more than 734 occasions (not that I'm counting) that I am wrong about the Climate, that Climate Change isn't real. Those people that say this to me ignore the science, the facts, the evidence. I even had a few people tell me that since they KNEW they were right, they didn't HAVE to prove it. It was up to ME to prove them wrong. What?! These are the people that take part in a scientific discussion and ignore the parameters set forth by science to state one's case. Instead, they just dismiss me as a brainwashed liberal who wants to trick people into buying clean renewable energy and plant more trees. They say I am a tree-hugger, a hippie, an Alarmist.

     Look, if you don't believe that Climate Change is real, that it is happening right now and will continue to happen in the future, and that we are the cause...this is not the blog for you. Especially now, with me back from a few weeks break and ready to type! I am trying to open the eyes of people on this planet so they can see how they are affecting the world today with their actions, and how they can affect the future by altering our present course. Some out there call me an Alarmist. I don't agree. Why? Well, it's not Alarmist if it's true, right?

President Obama Wants to #ActOnClimate

     If you haven't yet seen the White House video featuring President Obama and Climate Change, it is below. Do yourself a favor and take a look.

     The action we take now (or fail to take) will determine the state of the world for centuries to come. We must act now!

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

     August was quite the busy month. Spent my first ever night in the hospital (it was for something very minor and the German Healthcare system is fantastic!), I started the last Module of my German class which will lead up to my big exam in October and the difficulty level went from meh...to "Holy shit this doesn't make any sense!". I also have a 4 month old and an empty lot around the house that I am trying to take care of simultaneously. Did I mention I have a baby? I have a wife, too, and she is amazing. Needless to say the blog posts have suffered this month and I am sorry. Life happens, right?

     Now my mother is visiting for a few weeks, and after is the last few weeks of my course and then the test. I suspect that I will get back into the swing of things in a month or so. So fear not, loyal readers (both of you), I will return with e vengeance!

     In the meantime, here's a webinar from The Climate Reality Project that discusses the Business of Climate Solution. Many climate change deniers keep belly aching that fighting climate change will ruin the world economy and cost people jobs. Quite the opposite is true. There is so much to be done in order to adjust and adapt to our changing climate. There is actually money to be made as we switch to a more sustainable society. Check out the video below to learn more.

Rich Doesn't Make One Smart

     I'm not sure about you, but I think Donald Trump is an idiot. I don't care how rich a person is. All the money in the world doesn't make one smarter than everyone else. It just makes someone a bigger, more pompous asshole. Trump thinks because he speaks his mind and is a millionaire, he knows more than everyone. Including hard working and brilliant scientists.

     Take for example this article in Eco-Watch. http://ecowatch.com/2015/08/21/trump-keystone-xl/

     Trump dismisses the studies that say the Keystone Pipeline will harm the environment in anyway. He thinks the endangered species that live in the proposed pipeline areas will be just fine with spilled oil, increased human activity and further disruption of their natural habitat. Trump thinks that burning more oil wont add more CO2 to the atmosphere which can lead to higher temperatures and shutting climate patterns. Trump dismisses the additional pollution, in the form of toxic organic chemicals and heavy metals, that will enter the air and water columns and disrupt normal life cycles, in the wild as well as in the civilized areas of the country. Trump just waves all of these off because as a rich guy, he doesn't have to read any studies or scientific findings or acknowledge facts that could potentially reduce profits. His wealth nullifies facts and best practices. 

     It's this kind of ignorance that has destroyed eco-systems world-wide and created the Climate and Environmental Crisis we now face. It's hard enough to address these issues as it is, and now we have to deal with rich buffoons like Trump on top of everything? Trump may be entertaining, but he offers us no chance at progress. Trump offers us more of the same destructive behavior that created the damaged the planet and its life forms and put us in this position in the first place. 

The Great John Muir

Bill Nye's Evil Twin

Shout out to the folks over at Eco Watch. They shared a pretty funny video bout climate change denial and how oil spills are actually good for animals. It is satire, of course, and you can check it out here:     Bill Nye's Twin Brother Reveals the Truth About Climate Change

Who knew Bill Nye had a twin brother?

Climate Reality Thursday

     It's been a few weeks since I posted a video. So, what better way to break that streak than with a video of young Climate Leaders striving to make a difference? Enjoy.

The Difference Between Fact and Opinion: Take 2

     Do you want to know the true difference between a Climate Change Alarmist and a Climate Change Denier? I will use this simple example to illustrate.

- A man sitting in a house looks out the window, sees that it is raining and suddenly remembers that he left the newspaper on the front porch, the windows down in his car and the patio door open. He thinks about all of these things and realizes that the newspaper will probably get ruined, his car seats will get soaked and water will blow in through the patio door.

- Another man sitting in the same house listens to the first man tell him what is happening outside. Without looking, the second man says "Its not raining." When questioned by the first man why he won't get up and look to see it for himself, the second man replies, "Because its too much work to look outside. Besides, its against my beliefs. So, in my opinion, it is not raining."

     And I wonder why I am always pulling out my own hair.

Bubkis

     The planet is getting warmer, as we know. The warming is change climate patterns, as we all know. So, imagine my surprise when I read an article this week that said the opposite was true. A report out there this week that says the Earth will have a "mini Ice-Age" by 2030. Yeah, that report is bubkis. I just wanted everyone to be clear on that.

Climate Reality Friday

Happy Friday

After A Long Pause...Inhofe Starts Us Off

     Hello there loyal readers! I am so sorry for the long layoff. In addition to becoming a new Daddy (mom and baby are doing great!) I also moved into the new house. It was a long wait, but we made it! We are now making energy with our solar array, heating our water with the Sun, and using a Air/Water Earth Pump to assist the heating and cooling of the house! We couldn't be happier with everything. Well, that's not exactly true. Telekom has made us wait for phone, internet and cable. It is scheduled to be hooked up this Monday. I will believe it when I can log in from my new office in the new house. I will not start the Telekom bashing...as much as I may want too.

     The last month has extremely difficult for me not to blog. Although I didn't post everyday before, I usually attempted to write something for this site everyday. I didn't always finish what I wrote and some pieces still sit in the draft box unfinished and unused. Believe it or not, I have written som real duds. However, you have to spill some salt to make a good margarita, am I right? With all the work in the new house (mostly building my own screens for the windows and unpacking) and the additional work that the baby created and having to drive to the In-laws to get online, blogging took a back burner to the rest of the things we were juggling. But, tomorrow I will put my home-office together. Monday the Telekom technician comes to hook us up. Monday evening I will write a new piece to post for Tuesday...I hope. Now that Mercury is out of retrograde, everything should be okay with the world again, right?

     So here is something to wet your whistle. While I was away, there have been a lot of things written and talked about and picked apart about Climate Change. I have been able to read a few, but not many since my cellphone reception at the new house really blows. (Did I mention that I used up a month's worth of data on my cellphone in just one week? Again, another reason I have not been able to blog. Although, I might have used up that date by sending a ga-zillion pictures of my new son. I think it's allowed in that case, right?) Today, while visiting the In-laws, I hopped online for the first time in a week and I read this gem from the Huffington Post.

     Seems our old friend Senator James Inhofe is at it again. You know, Senator Inhofe has said time and time again that God wouldn't let humans destroy the planet. Inhofe believes completely that He would step in and save us. Yet, Inhofe has taken exception with the Pope, Pope Francis, the voice of The Almighty Himself for the Catholic Church. Pope Frank recently said he believes that humans are mainly to blame for the warming planet. Inhofe shot back (while he spoke at a quasi-Climate conference hosted by the Heartland Institute, those giants of scientific inquiry) that the Pope should stick to what he does best. Which made me think: Isn't speaking for God what The Pope does best?

     Inhofe said we should all stick to what we do best, which in the Senator's case is ignoring the glaring warning signs and planet-sized collection of scientific evidence that says Climate Change is real, it is happening and we are the cause. What Inhofe does best, apparently, is slighting anyone who says Climate Change is real, even when that someone happens to be the Pope! But, I guess when you say with conviction that God would step in and stop Climate Change, if it were in fact real and was in fact happening, only to have the head of the Catholic Church say you are wrong, you might get a little irritated. It's never cool to be knocked down a peg, especially by the Pope when you have been trying to convince everyone you know what God is thinking.

     Regardless if you are religious or not, or Catholic or Christian or an Atheist, knowing that the Pope backs the ridiculous amount of supporting scientific evidence that human are causing the very real phenomenon that is Climate Change, it has got to hold some weight, right. I mean, the church has been notoriously slow to get with the times, move forward on scientific discoveries and move forward. The church has also dealt with their fair share of controversy over the years. Seeing them take such a progressive and informed stance on the issue of Climate Change gives people like me hope. Hope that people that go around saying that God will fix everything for us will realize that that's not how it works. That we have to take responsibility for our actions as individuals and as society as a whole. Even the molasses-on-a-cold-day-when-it-comes-to-taking-a-stance-on-a-new-thing Catholic Church has accepted the evidence. What is taking you so long, Senator?

    I am trying to reach people like you and helping you cut through the bullshit out there that is misleading and incorrect about Climate Change. I put solar panels on my house and reduce my household waste. Those are the things I do best. Maybe Senator Inhofe should focus on what he could do better. You know, like listen to the experts that study climate change and the citizens the Senator represents in the Senate and take action to combat human being's effect on the climate. Then Senator Inhofe could catch up with the Catholic Church and be as progressive as they are.

Too Much BS

     Dear Senator Inhofe: CO2 is good for sodas, not for maintaining a healthy biosphere. You say CO2 is necessary to grow things, yet you fail to realize that too much is detrimental. Don't believe me? Well, oxygen is essential for humans to live, but too much oxygen and one little spark and ...BOOOOOOOM! It can explode. Oxygen doesn't sound so good in that case, does it?

     Or how about sugar? Sugar (or glucose) is necessary for our bodies to metabolize and go about its daily routine. Its the source of energy that life requires to, well, live! Without it, our cells would die, and so would we. While sugar is essential to our very existence, our bodies cannot handle too much sugar. Too much sugar can cause people to get really fat. Or develop diabetes. The body’s routine functions become seriously impeded with too much sugar, and over a long period of time can lead to serious health concerns or even death! Did you know that?   

     How about Red Wine? Studies have shown that Red Wine has some very beneficial components that can help our bodies. Many doctors say that a glass of wine with dinner can flush the body of toxins, promote heart health and keep our arteries clear. But if you drink too much wine, you can get intoxicated. Being drunk can cause you to stumble around, knock shit over and yack in the toilet. And when you wake up in the morning after a night of wine-drinking, the headaches can be wicked! Kind of like what the human race will feel like when we wake up one morning after all of this binging on oil. 

Saturday Slap in the Face

Climate Reality Leadership Training

     As some of you may know, I trained with Al Gore in the Summer of 2013 to become a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corp. It was an experience I will never forget Not only did I learn more about the Climate Crisis, but I also was able to meet many different people from many different walks of life. Being able to share my story and hear other's drove home the importance of standing up and doing something NOW to ensure a better and cleaner future.

   
     You can have the same experience I had. May 5th thru May 7th in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, you too can attend the Climate Reality Leadership Corp training. Learn how Climate Change is affecting us today and what we can do about. Click the graphic above to sign up! It is an experience you will not forget.

     Climate Change is real. It is happening. And we are the cause. Now is the time to do something about it. Click this link if you too want to become a Climate Reality Leader.

Cloudy Days

     I took this picture this morning. I love how the clouds looked with the Sun streaming through. The fact I got the solar farm in the shot was just a bonus. I've taken so many of that thing over the past few months. Of course the one driving by at 60 mph from the car is the best one. A nice way to wake up in the morning, yes?

     Believe it or not, the clouds don't stop the solar array from making electricity. This a common misconception that many people have about solar energy. Many detractors of solar power like to wax on about how cloudy days mean no electricity. As usual, they don't know what they are talking about.

     Think about it this way: On a cloudy day, is it dark like it would be at 2am? No, it isn't. Why not? Because the Sun's rays still penetrate the clouds. Even the most menacing storm clouds don't make it so dark that you can't see. So, the fact that there is enough light to allow you to see when it's cloudy means the Sun's rays are still hitting the Earth, and any solar panels positioned to catch them. (Do I sound like a Public Service Announcement?)

     It is even possible, under the right conditions, to produce more electricity on a partly cloudy day than on a hot sunny day. PV panels can get too hot from all that sunshine and sometimes part of the array will shutdown so the panels can cool down. Cloud cover keeps the temperature low, which can keep more panels cooler during the day, thus allowing them to operate longer. All that can mean more energy produced!

    (The heads of anti-solar people everywhere just exploded. Because I'm sure they all read this blog, right?) 

     So, on cloudy days, photovoltaics keep right on converting sunlight into energy. That means when it's cloudy, you can still charge your computer, wash your kids dirty clothes in the washing machine, go for a walk without a flashlight or turn the tv on so you can watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs. You know, all the important things in life.

The more you know...

Happy Earth Day

     "Now I know why I am here. Not for a closer look at the Moon, but to look back at our home, the Earth."        
                                                                                                     - Alfred Worden, Apollo Astronaut

     "Look again at that dot. That's here, that's home, that's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust in a sunbeam."
                                                                                                      - Astronomer Carl Sagan

Volcanoes vs. Fossil Fuels

     Next time some one tells you that volcanoes cause more global warming than burning fossil fuels, show them this little graphic. Then politely inform them that before the Industrial Revolution just over 200 years ago, there weren't any CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. Then tell them that over the past 200 years, we have cut down almost 50 percent of the worlds forests.

     Then ask them again, "Do you really believe humans cannot have a lasting and dangerous effect on the planet's atmosphere?"

Education, Education, Education

Oh, The Things People Say

     Former HP executive Carly Fiorina the other day blamed environmentalists for California's record drought. She said that environmental groups blocked the construction of new dams and reservoirs over the past decade or so, which has only made California's water shortage issue worse. Apparently, it has nothing to do with the lack of precipitation.

     I guess Ms. Fiorina (a potential presidential candidate) doesn't understand that if those reservoirs had been built, they too would all be low right now. You know, due to the lack of rain and snow which has lowered the water levels across the state. Reservoirs catch and hold rain water and snow melt...they don't make rain. To put it in laymen's terms: if you have 8 empty glasses outside and it doesn't rain, and you add 4 more empty glasses and it doesn't rain...you still have empty glasses! Someone should show her a poster of the Hydrological Cycle, which can be found in every 6th Grade Science classroom in the country.

(Illustration from Trenberth et al., 2007, Estimates of the global water budget and its annual cycle using observational and model data, Journal of Hydrometeorology.)

     The sad part is that some people out there will hear or read Ms. Fiorina's words and actually believe them. They will blindly support her and push for more reservoirs, so they can have more empty ones to be concerned about, without regard for the real facts and evidence. The MOUNTAINS of evidence! Facing and acknowledging climate change and the fact that humans are causing it is too much for many to face, because it means they have to change how they live, which many are unwilling to do, regardless if it means leaving this whole mess to their kids and grandkids to deal with.

     However, there is silver lining to what Ms. Fiorina said. She has graciously given me some really good material for this blog. If she believes that environmentalists are to blame for California's water shortage, I wonder what else she may believe:

- That Narcotics Anonymous is the main reason that there is a drug problem in the United States.

- That if there were no Gun Control Advocates, than there would not be a gun issue in this country.

- That coal ash and chemical spills are good for rivers and streams.

- That polar bears are to blame for the ice melting in Antarctica.

- That if the poor had more money, than they would make all of us poor.

- That since sea level is rising, there really isn't a drought.

- That if we put more cars on the highways, traffic would get better.

- That if we all held our breath, breathing would be easier.

     Good grief. It just goes to show you, even a former CEO of a Fortune 500 company can be completely clueless. Someone should hire her an adviser to prevent this kind of crap.