Climate Denial Crock of the Week - Heatwave Edition Part 1

via youtube.com

About a month ago Peter put up a two part series on the record heat waves. Interestingly we get a clip of Senator James "I'm owned by the oil companies" Inhofe standing in a heat wave talking about how it's been cooling for the last 9 years. We get lots of insight from the usual suspects, telling us that things are cooling off. Check out the two part series, it should be informative for many.

Posted via email from TweetingDonal's Temporary Insanities

'Dry Water'? Anyone know what it is?

This article posted 25 August 2010 on the Physorg.com news service site is pretty intriguing.  It tends to make me wonder a couple of things.  How many of our discoveries that we have left behind should be resurrected?  And how do we figure out what we forgot?

'Dry water' could make a big splash commercially

An unusual substance known as "dry water," which resembles powdered sugar, could provide a new way to absorb and store carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, scientists reported today at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
	'Dry water' (image from Physorg.com website Credit: Ben Carter)

It's a big step from cosmetics to carbon sequestration, and has lots of hidden issues.  For instance, how much does it cost, energy wise, to create 'Dry water'?  Or to put it another way, do we have an idea of what the carbon footprint is for creating the powder?

Putting all that aside, it's a fascinating idea, and should not be left behind to be re-'discovered' again in the future.  Professor Carter and his team are looking for help to take this idea further.  Any takers?

Carter noted that he and his colleagues are seeking commercial or academic collaboration to further develop the dry water technology. The U.K. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Center for Materials Discovery provided funding and technical support for this study.

A spark was given to me today...

Today I was given a spark...
I will try to treat it carefully, perhaps I still have the skill to turn it into a flame...
It takes patience... place it in the tinder bundle without putting it out...
don't blow too hard... don't get excited and blow it out..
And whatever you do, don't get excited and drop it in the snow...
 a spark is a rare gift.


Let's see if I can fan it back into the fire it once was.