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NOW the Post gets the Greenland Story Right

Thursday’s article on the impact of global warming on Greenland totally glossed over the impact of the melting ice sheet on the rest of humanity. Today, the same Post writer, Doug Struck, gets it right:

If all the ice on Greenland were to melt, the seas around the world would rise by 23 feet, submerging countless coastal cities. A modest three-foot rise would endanger 70 million people.

Too bad this story was buried on page 11 while the flawed story was on the front page where Sen. Inhofe (R-OK) couldn’t miss it (but could misquote it). Today’s story has other interesting and scary facts:

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A Storm-Surge of Extreme Hurricanes

Storm World author Chris Mooney has a good post, “Gonu, Monica, Wilma, Ioke … Hurricane Intensity Records Just Keep Breaking.”

Katrina storm surge

Mooney explains that Cyclone Gonu is the “strongest storm ever recorded in the Arabian Sea (140 knot winds, making Gonu the first recorded Category 5 storm in this region),” and the “First/strongest recorded hurricane to hit Oman/Gulf of Oman/Iran.” He then notes that Gonu “closely follows”:

2004′s Cyclone Catarina, the first known hurricane to form in the South Atlantic and strike Brazil (and thus by definition the strongest recorded storm in this region).

2005′s Hurricane Wilma, which at 882 millibars had the lowest central pressure ever measured in the Atlantic basin.

2006′s Cyclone Monica, apparently the strongest storm ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere.
2006′s Hurricane/Typhoon Ioke, the longest lived storm at Category 4 intensity or higher, and most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Central Pacific.

Climate change? You be the judge. Here’s Mooney’s view:

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Climate Progress Dehypes Hydrogen Again

Two more hits last week.

The Orlando Sentinel: Hype for hydrogen

Some experts say that the dream of most Americans driving hydrogen fueled cars is slipping away.

Joseph Romm, a former alternative-energy researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy, and other scientists say the costs of creating the infrastructure needed for widespread use of hydrogen fuel in cars is equivalent to spending $10 or $20 a gallon of gasoline. [Not sure where he got that from. That's only for hydrogen from solar electrolysis today.]

To make up your own mind, check out Romm’s book, The Hype About Hydrogen: Fact and Fiction in the Race to Save the Climate. [Great advice!]

The Halifax Daily News: Arnie’s gonna paint Canada green:
Schwarzenegger’s bringing his ambitious plan for a ‘hydrogen highway’ north of the border:

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Green and Gold and Goldman Sachs

The investment firm Goldman Sachs has released an environmental policy framework and invested billions of dollars in clean energy and research into environmentally-friendly markets, a stark contrast with the inactions of our own government.

In their environmental policy framework, Goldman Sachs recognizes climate change and its threat to financial markets and general livelihood. Consequently, they advocate limiting emissions, participate in Europe’s carbon market, and have agreed to voluntarily report AND cut their own by 7 percent by 2012.

You can find their progress in their 2006 Year-End Report, which includes the partnerships they have forged, research papers they have commissioned, and even exact numbers for emissions from their real estate utilities.

From GreenBiz News:

Market analysts have called the U.S carbon market a “hibernating giant.” With Goldman Sachs leading the way, the conservative wing of Wall Street seems to have woken up. And so the question is: when will lawmakers on Capitol Hill follow suit?

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