Paul Stamets, the Mycologist, and 11th Hour Expert, is cleaning up the San Francisco Bay oil spill with one of his mushroom species. More information to follow.

 

 

The 11th Hour Soundtrack is on iTunes as of today and in stores.

Hear & download it at:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/...

The above satellite shot is of the smoke plumes originating from the tragic and massive fires that have blown through Southern California. These megafirestorms are unprecedented but not unpredicted. Climate models have long predicted massive brush fires in Southern California due to lack of rain and a very low humidity point over long periods of time. Trees are weakened, plant cover is dry, and when the seasonal Santa Ana winds blow, our whole region becomes a tinder box. (we had 3% humidity today!) Firefighters and firechiefs have said that the megafirestorms that they have to fight are just too big given the speed of winds (up to 100 mph!) and they fight bravely but are really helped only when the hurricane force winds subside.

There have been a few news stations who have had the wisdom of framing these fires within the climate change topic and that is good so that people can understand why these tragedies are happening. We had over one million people displaced which brought back memories of Hurricane Katrina as people went to live in a sports stadium. (Thankfully the experience there so far has not been like what happened in the SuperDome.) Meanwhile, out in the hills, hundreds of houses have been burned to the ground. We have a friend, who has lost everything and our office is gathering clothes and other items to give to our friends who are in need. We are also considering helping house people who are now homeless and have nowhere to go.

As we react and respond, we have to all recognize that this firestorm event and the million displaced people is the 2nd major climate change disaster in United States territory; the first one being Hurrican Katrina. It is even hard for me to really take that in and realize that we are all living the real consequences of climate change right here at home. As we all breath the toxic and dangerous air, I wonder how this region will do as we continue to experience drought and record temperatures. Climate Change is looking pretty tough already in my home town.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7052037....

Ships' CO2 'twice that of planes' By Matt McGrath
Environment reporter, BBC News
Global emissions of carbon dioxide from shipping are twice the level of aviation, one of the maritime industry's key bodies has said.

A report prepared by Intertanko, which represents the majority of the world's tanker operators, says emissions have risen sharply in the past six years.

Previous International Maritime Organisation estimates suggested levels were comparable with those of planes.

Some 90,000 ships from tankers to small freighters ply the world's oceans.

Welcome all to the effort to help get the Los Angeles Bay clean and free of pollution. We will connect with Heal the Bay, a group who has long worked to that end and who does the Beach Report Card. http://www.healthebay.org

I am interested in exploring how water machines will help us here in Los Angeles. For more on water machines, see: http://www.toddecological.com/ecomachines.html
John Todd is the pioneer of these and if we have these in our neighborhoods and even in our homes, we could greatly reduce pollution that goes into the sewers in the first place.

More soon, and please post any ideas.

Thanks!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/09/25/deforme...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The growing number of deformed frogs in recent years is caused at least partly by runoff from farming and ranching, new research indicates.

Nitrogen and phosphorous in the runoff fuel a cycle that results in a parasitic infection of tadpoles, resulting in loss of legs, extra legs or other deformities, according to researchers led by Pieter Johnson of the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Their findings are being published in this week's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The deformed frogs have been a puzzle for more than a decade, since a group of Minnesota schoolchildren discovered a pond where more than half of the leopard frogs had missing or extra limbs. Suggested causes have ranged from pesticides and increased ultraviolet radiation to parasitic infection.

While parasite infection is now recognized as a major cause of such deformities, the environmental factors responsible for increases in parasite abundance had largely remained a mystery, Johnson said in a statement.

Here's how the cycle works:

The parasites, called trematodes, have a series of host species.

They grow in snails and become infectious when released by the snails into ponds, where they can infect frog tadpoles, forming cysts in the developing limbs. Water birds eat the frogs and then excrete the parasites back into the ecosystem where they can infect the snails, he explained.

The increasing amount of runoff is fueling a boom in algae growth, the snails eat the algae and also undergo a population explosion, increasing the breeding places for the trematodes.

To test the idea, the researchers built 36 artificial ponds in central Wisconsin and introduced snails. Ponds with added runoff had a 50 percent increase in the snail population compared with those that did not have the extra nutrients.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=nation_w...

(9/11/07) - An area of Arctic sea ice the size of Florida has melted away in just the last six days as melting at the top of the planet continues at a record rate.

Currently, there are about 1.63 million square miles of Arctic ice, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo. That is well below the record of 2.05 million square miles set two summers ago and could drop lower before the final numbers are in.

North Pole's Ice Disappears

In just the last six days, researchers say 69,000 square miles of Arctic ice has disappeared, roughly the size of the Sunshine State.

Scientists say the rate of melting in 2007 has been unprecedented, and veteran ice researchers worry the Arctic is on track to be completely ice-free much earlier than previous research and climate models have suggested.

"If you had asked me a few years ago about how fast the Arctic would be ice free in summer, I would have said somewhere between about 2070 and the turn of the century," said scientist Mark Serreze, polar ice expert at the NSIDC. "My view has changed. I think that an ice-free Arctic as early as 2030 is not unreasonable."

Sea ice melt will likely reach the absolute minimum in the next few days as temperatures at the North Pole cool and refreezing begins.

"Doyle Brunson, in partnership with Leonardo DiCaprio, would like to take this opportunity to present to you a project that has been extremely important to everyone at the Doyle Brunson Poker Network. Global warming and the negative effects it has on mankind, is an issue that we have taken very seriously. In an effort to help educate poker players as well of the rest of the world about this important issue, Doyle Brunson andLeonardo DiCaprio, have partnered to produce the feature film environmental documentary entitled "The 11th Hour" which is now being distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. studio.

We don't know how things are in your life, but no matter what's going on, this planet has got you beat. We've made it sick, and it, in turn, is sick and tired of us. We have the floods, fires, droughts, heat waves, melting ice caps, and endangered or extinct species to prove it.

The film, featuring DiCaprio, exposes these issues with an array of stunning visuals and expert analysis from renowned experts such as physicist Stephen Hawking and Kenyan activist (and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner) Wangari Maathai as well as Andrew Weil and Mikhail Gorbachev. Their opinions, along with the observations made by people from all walks of life, make a compelling case that if we human beings don't change our ways soon, we're doomed. "Save the Planet," as humorist George Carlin says, decrying the arrogance of the environmentalists' motto. "The planet isn't going anywhere - we are."

In support of this important message, we are telling all of our family and friends to go to their local theatre and watch the movie. We are confident, that if you understand the issues as we have learned ourselves, you will become as impassioned as we are to do something about it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this important message from the Doyle Brunson Poker Network, we look forward to hearing your feedback.

When Nadia, Leo, and I made "The 11th Hour," we hoped it would give attention to people, issues, and ideas that the mainstream media had ignored for decades. We hoped, the people in the film could use it to advance the causes so many of them have courageously and stubbornly championed for decades.

It's why I'm so happy in the last few days with how Tzeporah Berman has used the film to bring attention to the destruction of Canada's forest. People don't realize that Canada's ancient forests are important life systems not just for Canada, but for the planet, and we're cutting them down for junk mail.

So take a look here at the initial press release Tzeporah put out. The paper industry issued a reply the following day, and Forest Ethics has recevied a lot of press attention, here's an example and some other highlights:

"Logging in Canada alone contributes as much greenhouse-gas emissions every year as all the cars in California," she said.

Intact forests are carbon storehouses. When logged they release carbon emissions into the air as they degrade, she said.

B.C. forests, where some of the world's largest and tallest trees grow, hold more carbon per hectare than any other ecosystem on earth, said Berman, a leading figure in the 1993 Clayoquot Sound protests and co-founder of ForestEthics, an environmental group focused on forest protection."

Peter Bochan / WBAI We had several interviews in NYC spreading the word of of the message of our film: that we have options and solutions to lessen the human footprint on planet earth; but we need to take action now. Time is an important element and action is needed across the board soon. The message is fundamentally a human message, it isn't an issue of left or right, red or blue. All people want basically the same thing, access to clean water and air, the ability to live in a safe place, to know that our families will be safe now and in the future. What could be problematic about that? Luckily, we had a great reception at radio stations with Peter Bochan at WBAI and Sirius in NYC. We also had a lively discussion with TV reporter Andrea Mantia at CNBC about corporations. We had a discussion with Sean Hannity at Fox News, he agrees that the earth should be preserved. Rupert Murdoch who owns Fox has a climate neutral program and as you walk down the halls to Hannity's show, you see on the wall near all the office machines, like the copiers, notices asking employees at Fox to have a Cool Office, turning off machines and lights when not needed. But Hannity still does not believe in climate change and did not allow us to fully explain our position of sustainability. We are open to intelligent disagreement but what we found was simple obfuscation and a shutting down of an exchange of ideas. Which is not what our country needs. So we hope to keep talking and will continue to get the message out that is inherently a unifying, human message. That the earth's ecosystems are important to sustain all human life as well as other life, and that we should do everything to keep them healthy. We have to acknowledge human actions that are destructive and make them less so or better, not destructive at all, so that future generations can live in a healthy world. Why argue with that? Let's have lively debate as to what solution is best. I look forward to that.