Monday, November 23, 2009

The Weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is far from freezing. This is Thanksgiving Week? Huh?

Of course everyone is aware the oceans have reached their limit in absorbing CO2. That means the oceans waters are becoming acidic because of the extra CO2 and the inability of the oceans to buffer it.

Folks like shellfish?

This is still another 'tipping point.'

If there isn't enough calcium carbonate for the shells, the larval stages won't develop. Many shellfish, such as the Blue Crab, or the Alaskan King Crab, rely on 'osmotic' regulation to sustain its 'hydration' balance. That 'osmotic' regulation cannot occur with a shell. The 'cells' of the larval stage will 'crenate' without proper mechanisms to regulate their water content.

NEWS: Climate Change November 20, 2009 - 10:47 am
Acid in Arctic waters eating away at shellfish (click title to entry - thank you)
Marine food chain could be threatened

NUNATSIAQ NEWS
...Ten years of study in the Beaufort Sea showed the seawater is becoming more acidic and fresher, which means there’s less of minerals and carbonate needed for shell formation.
The shellfish which may now be at risk include mussels and clams that need minerals in the water to form their shells and skeletons....


There is nothing magic here. Earth is a 'homeostatic' planet. When its balance is changed, ecosystems crash. Has anyone stopped to realize the amount of CO2 that exists in the oceans currently due to absorption of human excesses that is takes to cause this? No? Think about it everytime you 'start your engines.'

I suppose paying carbon credits on that aspect of life is going to change this reality too, right? Sure.


Ocean acidification is expected to increase as sea ice cover decreases due to global warming. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

Local Time: 1:08 PM AKST (GMT -09)

Lat/Lon: 58.8° N 137.0° W

Temperature :: 39 °F

Conditions :: Mostly Cloudy

Windchill :: 30 °F

Humidity :: 81%

Dew Point :: 34 °F

Wind :: 17 mph from the SE

Wind Gust :: 23 mph

Pressure :: 29.47 in (Falling)

Visibility :: 10.0 miles

UV :: 0 out of 16

Clouds:
Few 1900 ft
Scattered Clouds 2400 ft
Mostly Cloudy 3500 ft
(Above Ground Level)

Elevation :: 33 ft



Royal Society Launches Ocean Acidification Study
LONDON—Call it the acid test. The U.K. Royal Society this week launched an investigation into how rising acidity may affect life in the world’s oceans.
Recent studies conclude that Earth’s oceans have absorbed almost half of the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by fossil fuel burning and cement production over the last 200 years (Science, 16 July, p. 367). The resulting chemical changes could produce a 0.4 drop in the pH of surface waters by the end of the century, scientists predict, possibly affecting corals and plankton that rely on calcium carbonate to form their skeletons.The increasing acidity could also reduce the ocean’s future ability to absorb more CO2.
Dundee University biologist John Raven, who will lead the study, says the oceans could be “doubly besieged” by rising temperatures and changing chemistry. The Royal Society is expected to publish its report early next year.
–FIONA PROFFITT


Downloaded from www.sciencemag.org on November 23, 2009

Republicans are oxymorons. They feel entitled to taylor make the country to their liking.


They believe in life before birth even to the point of NO CONTRACEPTION, but, follow that 'rant' with no health care to sustain life to a natural end.

Their 'belief system' is "W"rong such as their loyalty to Wall Street and based their populism in opinion where there are 'soft targets' to maintain their power, such as 'the unborn.'

They don't belong in office. They are corrupt to the core and only seek to gain advantage to deprive others of their entitlements.

Gov. Mark Sanford faces 37 ethics charges (click title to entry - thank you)
...Sanford is accused by the Commission of using his "office for personal financial gain" by allowing the purchase of business-class or first-class airfare 18 times, by using state aircraft for purposes other than official state business or for reimbursing himself thousands of dollars from his campaign for expenses unrelated to the campaign or for expenses not normally tied to his job as governor.
The commission announced last week that it had found probable cause to believe Sanford had violated state ethics laws after a three month commission investigation into his travels and campaign reimbursements....


The US Attorney needs to review the finding of the Commission. It sounds like a whole lot more than ethics issues.

The Basic Citizen 101


If I decide God is my God I can act accordingly.
If I decide otherwise I am free to choose my path in life.
No religious leader has a right to dictate the utility of a human's body in relation to the will of their mind.
End of discussion.
It is the right of very citizen to determine their path in life and there needs to be opportunity 'opened' by the government of the USA to pursue it.
It is why there are Civil Rights and Human Rights and Individual Rights incorporated into our Constitution.
Every citizen is allowed to practice freedom and happiness as they see fit, so long as it does not impinge on the rights of others.
A human being is not a human being until it can sustain its life on its own!
We are not a 'designer nation' to anyone or any 'entity's design!'
Manipulation of the laws of the USA to 'result' in a Christian Nation is Unconstitutional.