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What A Week It Was: Apocadocuments from

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This Week's Top Ten Very Scary Tags:
contamination ~ toxic leak ~ oil issues ~ anthropogenic change ~ short-term thinking ~ ecosystem interrelationships ~ health impacts ~ governmental idiocy ~ climate impacts ~ koyaanisqatsi ~ toxic buildup

ApocaDocuments (31) gathered this week:
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 from Guardian, via Amy H: The dark side of cloud computing: soaring carbon emissions The advent of web services that allow users to upload files has made it possible to leave behind (most likely in landfills) tapes and discs and instead throw all of our recorded information into one big digital cloud of computers. Cloud computing refers to today's predominant infrastructure and business model whereby information, software and other resources are delivered on-demand to users via the Internet. An ever-scalable collection of energy sucking data centres and server farms is required to deliver these services.... According to a recent Greenpeace report, Make IT Green: Cloud Computing and its Contribution to Climate Change, the electricity consumed by cloud computing globally will increase from 632 billion kilowatt hours in 2007 to 1,963 billion kWh by 2020 and the associated CO2 equivalent emissions would reach 1,034 megatonnes. ...	Stop reading this! Now! ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 from BusinessGreen: Only business can save us now It has been a sobering week for anyone with an interest in the low-carbon economy. While the good news continues to pour in for individual firms and countries, the prognosis for the international climate talks that reconvened in Bonn on Monday looks as bleak as at any point in the past two years. Anyone hoping that a line had been drawn under the acrimonious row that marred the final few days of the Copenhagen summit would have been left disillusioned within minutes of the latest round of talks getting under way.... Barring miracles, the obstacles faced by the US climate bill and the UN climate negotiations look increasingly insurmountable. But climate change and its associated risks will not wait for us to complete our political machinations, which leaves us facing one crucial question: where will the miracles come from? The answer is the business community. ...	How great that we have had the last century of practice letting the desire for profit change the world. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 from Daily Press: Eel population slipping away? They don't receive the same attention as oysters and blue crabs, but American eels helped Chesapeake Bay watermen pay their mortgages. Reviled for its snake-like appearance, the fish -- yes, it is a fish -- is prized in overseas sushi markets and locally as bait for cobia anglers. Yet the fishery declined dramatically the past two decades. As a result, scientists for the first time are taking a hard look at eels. Environmentalists want to make it illegal to catch them. And another once robust fishery is in danger of folding.... "It ain't like it used to be," said Maurice Bosse, who operates George Robberecht's Seafood Inc. along the Potomac River.... Scientists aren't sure what caused the decline, but they speculate it's due to shifting ocean currents, pollution, overfishing and loss of habitat. ...	That certainly narrows it down. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 from Guardian: Solar panels could be a threat to aquatic insects, new research shows Solar panels could wipe out fragile populations of insects, according to a new study that raises fresh doubts about the ecological impact of some forms of renewable energy. Scientists have discovered that aquatic insects such as the mayfly can mistake shiny photovoltaic panels for pools of water, which they rely on to reproduce. They urge caution on the increasing use of panels until experts work out how they could affect insects and other creatures that feed on them.... "It is clear that the worst place to put a solar installation would be in proximity to natural lakes and rivers, where aquatic insects could easily become attracted to them." The insects mistake the panels for water because both reflect horizontally polarised light - an optical trick in which light waves vibrate in the same direction. Many insects have evolved to detect such polarised light as a sure way to find water, particularly in arid environments. ...	Solar, solar everywhere / and not a drop to drink. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jun 6, 2010 from BBC: BP cap captures '10,000 barrels' a day in US Gulf A containment cap on a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico is now funnelling off 10,000 barrels of oil a day, BP's chief executive Tony Hayward says. The amount has risen since Saturday, and implies more than half the estimated 12,000 to 19,000 barrels leaking each day is now being captured. The spill has been described as the biggest environmental disaster in US history. Mr Hayward told the BBC that BP would restore the Gulf to its original state. ...	Clearly, BP has secret time machine technology. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jun 5, 2010 from NOLA.com: Formaldehyde causes cancer, EPA declares The EPA has concluded that formaldehyde is carcinogenic when inhaled by humans, a finding that could lead to stringent new regulations of the widely used chemical. Used in the production of countless consumer products, formaldehyde attained a degree of national infamy after Hurricane Katrina when some of those living in the 120,000 trailers provided by FEMA as temporary housing for storm victims reported respiratory and other health problems after prolonged exposure to the chemical, which is contained in wood products in the trailers.... "There is sufficient evidence of a causal relationship between formaldehyde exposure and cancers of the upper respiratory tracts, with the strongest evidence for nasopharyngeal and sino-nasal cancers," the 1,043-page draft assessment concludes. "There is also sufficient evidence of a causal association between formaldehyde exposure and lymphohematopoietic cancers, with the strongest evidence of Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia, particularly myleloid leukemia." ...	That's probably why zombies are so pissed. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jun 5, 2010 from Guardian: 2010 on track to become warmest year ever New data from some of the world's leading climate researchers and institutions suggest that 2010 is shaping up to be one of the warmest years ever recorded. Scientists at the US National Snow and Ice Centre Data Centre (NSIDC) report today that Arctic sea ice - frozen seawater that floats on the ocean surface - is now at its lowest physical extent ever recorded for the time of year, suggesting that it is on course to break the previous record low set in 2007. Satellite monitoring by the NSIDC in Boulder, Colorado, shows that the melting of sea ice has been unusually fast this year, with as much as 40,000 sq km now disappearing daily. The melt season started almost a month later than normal at the end of March and is not expected to end until September.... The Nasa research backs up findings by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the US national climate monitoring service that measures global temperatures by satellite. This has recorded the hottest ever first four months of a year. ...	Stop it now, Eaarth, or I'm going to kill you! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jun 5, 2010 from PhysOrg: Canada cuts greenhouse gas emissions target for 2010-2012 The Canadian government quietly cut its greenhouse gas emissions target for 2010-2012 this week, unleashing a firestorm of criticism from the opposition on Friday. The new target was published late Wednesday by the environment ministry in a report titled "A Climate Change Plan for the Purposes of the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act." It outlines CO2 cuts of five million tonnes in 2010, followed by eight million and 10 million tonnes fewer emissions in 2011 and 2012, respectively.... "The numbers say it all: this government's inaction on climate change means actual emissions will grow in absolute terms every year until 2012," lamented opposition Liberal MP David McGuinty, describing the results as "appalling."... Canada aligned itself with the United States in January in setting a 2020 carbon emissions target of 17 percent below 2005 levels. ...	Just because your big brother does it doesn't make it okay. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jun 5, 2010 from PhysOrg: Some Iowa cicadas make unexpected appearance four years ahead of schedule The 17-year cicadas found in central and southeast Iowa aren't supposed to come out until 2014, but a small percentage are emerging now, four years ahead of schedule. "These cicadas appeared in 1963, 1980, and 1997," said Donald Lewis, professor of entomology at Iowa State University. "They should not have appeared until 2014."... Lewis started getting reports of these early-risers two weeks ago. The insects are found in much of the state from Boone County south to the Missouri border and east to the Mississippi River. Periodical cicadas live underground for 17 years then transform to the adult stage to appear above ground for a brief period. They are known for their mass emergences of tens of thousands per tree. The adults mate, lay eggs and die. The 17-year cycle is by far the longest of any insect in Iowa.... "There's a whole lot of mystery to what the cicada is counting and what happened in (some) winters that made it count it twice," he said. "We do know we've got to enjoy it while we've got it.... "The alarming part is, what has changed so much in our lifetime that the cicadas would change a fundamental part of their lifecycle and make this mistake?" he asks. "Climate change is one possibility." ...	Perhaps time itself has gotten shorter. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jun 5, 2010 from Mongabay, via DesdemonaDespair: French company to break moratorium on shipments of illegally logged rosewood from Madagascar SEAL, a French transport company, is scheduled to ship 79 containers of rosewood tomorrow from the port of Toamasina on its vessel Terra Bona, reports Midi Madagascar. The shipment -- worth nearly $16 million -- comes less than three months after Madagascar's ruling authority banned timber exports after international uproar over the organized logging of the country's national parks in the aftermath of last year's military coup. SEAL's shipment of timber will be in direct violation of the moratorium. Madagascar's Ministry of Environment estimates there are some 1,500 containers' worth of precious hardwoods awaiting shipment in northeastern Madagascar. The street value of a container full of rosewood is around $200,000, according to a study published last year by researchers at the Missouri Botanical Garden. ...	Pauvre, pauvre planet. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jun 4, 2010 from Associated Press: McDonald's pulls cadmium-tainted 'Shrek' glasses Cadmium has been discovered in the painted design on "Shrek"-themed drinking glasses being sold nationwide at McDonald's, forcing the burger giant to recall 12 million of the cheap U.S.-made collectibles while dramatically expanding contamination concerns about the toxic metal beyond imported children's jewelry. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced the voluntary recall early Friday, warned consumers to immediately stop using the glasses; McDonald's said it would post instructions on its website next week regarding refunds.... The CPSC noted in its recall notice that "long-term exposure to cadmium can cause adverse health effects." Cadmium is a known carcinogen that research shows also can cause bone softening and severe kidney problems. ...	Gee, I hope my Iron Man 2 endocrine-disrupting deodorant is safe. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jun 4, 2010 from Greenwire: Federal Funding Cuts Leave Oceanographers, Spill Responders in Dark ...For more than a decade, scientists have called for federal funding of a network of radar, buoys and other sensors that would provide the equivalent of a weather forecast system for the Gulf of Mexico. Yet despite what seemed like promising support in Washington, funding for these programs has dropped by half or more in recent years, leaving oceanographers to use satellite snapshots and imperfect models to guess where the oil will travel, dragged by unwatched currents. ...	But think of the money we temporarily saved! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jun 4, 2010 from Boulder Daily Camera: Oil from Gulf spill likely to reach Atlantic, travel up coast The oil that has been gushing out of a broken well in the Gulf of Mexico for more than a month will likely reach the Atlantic Ocean and then travel up the coast to North Carolina with the Gulf Stream, according to a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder....The model focused on the Loop Current, which connects the Gulf to the Atlantic. ...	It's only right everyone's in the Loop. ApocaDoc permalink
Want more context? Try reading our book FREE online: Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies! More fun than a barrel of jellyfish!
Thu, Jun 3, 2010 from CNN: Toxic chemicals finding their way into the womb A growing number of studies are finding hundreds of toxic chemicals in mothers' and, subsequently, their babies' bodies when they are born. While there is no science yet that demonstrates conclusive cause and effect between this mix of toxic chemicals children are born with and particular health problems, a range of studies are finding associations between elevated levels of chemicals in a baby's body and their development. ...	That's why I call my youngest Li'l Guinea Pig. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jun 3, 2010 from USA Today: There's no place like home for babies to pick up toxins ...Infants may take in two to five times as much household dust as adults, even though they weigh only one-eighth as much, says Alan Greene, a pediatrician at Stanford University's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Because of that dust, babies are more likely to be exposed to pesticides and other potentially harmful chemicals inside the home than outside, he says. Children younger than 2 are also more vulnerable to toxins than adults because they're still developing, Greene says. On average, children that age who are exposed to a carcinogen are 10 times more likely than an adult to develop cancer, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. ...	That's why I call my youngest Li'l Dust Bunny. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jun 3, 2010 from Christian Science Monitor: Gulf oil spill as a lesson on humans in nature Some eco-disasters are so huge they force humans to rethink how to better coexist with nature on a delicate planet. The mass killing of birds by the pesticide DDT, for instance, helped trigger the 1960s environmental movement. Now the Gulf oil spill may be one of those moments for mass reflection. Millions of barrels of crude oil have entered the aquatic food chain since BP's rig collapsed April 20. The spill itself is bad enough, but every day people from Florida to Texas are being forced to make difficult choices that pit the interests of humans against those of wildlife. ...	All I see in that reflection is how big my butt looks in this hat. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jun 3, 2010 from Environmental Health News: Flame retardants linked to longer time to get pregnant, finds California study Chemicals widely used to prevent fires in household products like furniture and electronics may contribute to fertility problems by lengthening the time it takes for a woman to get pregnant, according to study of low-income, mostly Mexican-American women living in California. The study is one of the first to examine if PBDEs can affect human fertility. Animal studies show that PBDEs can alter behavior, delay the onset of puberty and impact sex hormones and thyroid hormones. These, in turn, may influence ovulation, menstrual cycle regularity and fertility. ...	Think of the money we can save on sex ed! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jun 2, 2010 from San Francisco Chronicle: State plastic bag ban gaining support California would be the first state to ban plastic and most paper bags from grocery, convenience and other stores under a proposal that appears headed for a major legislative victory this week. Shoppers who don't bring their own totes to a store would have to purchase paper bags made of at least 40 percent recycled material for a minimum of 5 cents or buy reusable bags under the proposal, which would take effect Jan. 1, 2012. A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he supports the bill, which will be voted on in the Assembly this week and could go to a Senate vote this year. ...	First ban plastic bags, then oil! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jun 2, 2010 from Bloomberg News: BP Oil Leak May Last Until Christmas in Worst Case Scenario ..."The worst-case scenario is Christmas time," Dan Pickering, the head of research at energy investor Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. in Houston, said... Ending the year with a still-gushing well would mean about 4 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf, based on the government's current estimate of 12,000 to 19,000 barrels leaking a day. That would wipe out marine life deep at sea near the leak and elsewhere in the Gulf, and along hundreds of miles of coastline, said Harry Roberts, a professor of Coastal Studies at Louisiana State University. So much crude pouring into the ocean may alter the chemistry of the sea, with unforeseeable results, said Mak Saito, an Associate Scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. ...	Instead of coal, Santa will be pouring oil into our Christmas stockings. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jun 2, 2010 from The Independent: End of moratorium on whaling threatens more blood in the seas The moratorium on commercial whaling, one of the world's major environmental achievements, is in danger of being abandoned after 24 years at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) which begins this week in Morocco. A proposed new deal, which stands a realistic chance of being passed at the conference in Agadir, would allow the three countries which have continued killing the great whales in defiance of the ban - Japan, Norway and Iceland - to recommence whaling legally in return for bringing down their catches. However, many conservationists do not believe that catches will actually fall under the proposed new agreement, and one of the world's leading whaling scientists recently described it in testimony to the US Congress as "a scam ... likely to fool many people".... Yet the chances of the deal going through are increased by a bizarre bureaucratic twist which may mean that European countries such as Britain, which are opposed, may not be able to vote against it in the final section of the meeting, which begins in three weeks' time. "This is a great deal for the whaling countries," said Mark Simmonds, international head of science for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. "In Norway they're already celebrating. But it's potentially a tragedy for the whales." ...	Heck -- they'll all just die eventually anyway! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jun 2, 2010 from New York Times: Evidence of More Undersea Oil Plumes Tony Hayward, the chief executive of BP, claimed recently that his company's testing has shown "no evidence" that any of the oil in the Gulf of Mexico is lurking beneath the ocean surface. Oil is lighter than water, Mr. Hayward explained, and will rise to the top. Apparently Mr. Hayward is not familiar with the results of a test conducted in Norway, in which his company took part, that suggested exactly the opposite would happen when oil was released in very deep water. A demand has come from Congress that Mr. Hayward explain himself. In the meantime, university researchers keep adding to the preliminary body of evidence suggesting that some of the oil -- no one knows what proportion -- is dissolving into the water and forming huge plumes of dispersed oil droplets beneath the surface. This is worrisome because it raises the possibility that sea life, including commercially important species of fish, could be exposed to a greater load of toxins than conventional models of oil spills would suggest. At least three groups of researchers have now reported evidence for these undersea plumes of oil droplets. And the government, with little fanfare, posted a map this week showing the location of one plume, based on sampling done by a research ship operating under contract to BP. ...	That BP CEO is such a kidder!! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jun 2, 2010 from AP, via CBC: U.S. says greenhouses gases to rise by 2020 In its first major climate report to the United Nations in four years, the United States reported Tuesday that its projected climate-warming greenhouse gases will grow by four per cent through 2020. The first such report submitted under the Obama administration includes a 1.5 per cent rise in carbon dioxide emissions, the main gas from fossil fuel burning blamed for global warming. But it's the culpability of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs -- promoted worldwide to replace chemicals that harm the globe's ozone layer -- that gets a starring role. Though HFCs account for only about two per cent of the globe's climate-warming gases, their share is expected to grow by up to a third of all greenhouse gases by mid-century.... "Unless they are eliminated, HFCs and fluorinated gases will sabotage efforts to combat global warming," said Samuel LaBudde, atmospheric campaign director for the Environmental Investigation Agency, a nonprofit watchdog group in Washington. "We could and should use the Montreal Protocol to phase them out, just as it's doing for chemicals that threaten to destroy the ozone layer," he said. ...	That's making my Nunavut property look better all the time! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jun 1, 2010 from CTV Ottawa: Great Lakes water levels alarmingly low, officials say After a winter of next-to-no snow, water levels all across the Great Lakes are down this spring, something government and business experts say could have an impact on the environment and the economy. The Canadian Hydrographic Service issued a warning earlier this month that water levels were at potentially dangerous levels on the lakes system, which stretches from Lake Superior in northwestern Ontario to Montreal. The water is running so low that boaters risk running aground on rocks that would usually be well under water, the service said....Water levels in Lake Superior, the largest of the lakes, are at their lowest in more than a century, according to officials on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border. ...	The Great Lakes are ate up! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jun 1, 2010 from CNN: 'Dirty dozen' produce carries more pesticide residue, group says If you're eating non-organic celery today, you may be ingesting 67 pesticides with it, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group. The group, a nonprofit focused on public health, scoured nearly 100,000 produce pesticide reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to determine what fruits and vegetables we eat have the highest, and lowest, amounts of chemical residue. Most alarming are the fruits and vegetables dubbed the "Dirty Dozen," which contain 47 to 67 pesticides per serving. These foods are believed to be most susceptible because they have soft skin that tends to absorb more pesticides. ...	Ya gotta wonder if we're better off eating the pests. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jun 1, 2010 from Scientific American: Green Chemistry: Scientists Devise New "Benign by Design" Drugs, Paints, Pesticides and More ...The harmful side effects of industrialization--smoggy air, Superfund sites, mercury-tainted fish, and on and on--have often seemed a necessary trade-off. But in the early 1990s a small group of scientists began to think differently. Why, they asked, do we rely on hazardous substances for so many manufacturing processes? After all, chemical reactions happen continuously in nature, thousands of them within our own bodies, without any nasty by-products. Maybe, these scientists concluded, the problem was that chemists are not trained to think about the impacts of their inventions. Perhaps chemistry was toxic simply because no one had tried to make it otherwise. They called this new philosophy "green chemistry." ...	Dude, I've been dabbling in green chemistry for quite some time. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jun 1, 2010 from PhysOrg: Australia takes legal action to stop Japan whaling Australia has launched legal action at the International Court of Justice to stop Japan's hunting of whales, Japanese officials said Tuesday, calling the move "extremely regrettable".... Australia's action in The Hague follows months of tension between Canberra and Tokyo, which kills the ocean giants under a loophole in a 1986 international moratorium that allows lethal "scientific research".... "We want to see an end to whales being killed in the name of science in the Southern Ocean," said Environment Protection Minister Peter Garrett last week, vowing "to bring a permanent end to whaling in the Southern Ocean". A Japanese foreign ministry official told AFP on Tuesday: "We are studying our strategy regarding the lawsuit. Details are yet to be decided, but we won't disclose our strategy even after we make a decision." ...	Perhaps if we "scientifically murder" an official, we'll be able to discern their strategy. ApocaDoc permalink
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Mon, May 31, 2010 from London Guardian: Presence of world leaders 'paralysed' climate summit, UN letter claims A leaked letter from the United Nations' climate chief suggests the Copenhagen climate summit failed because the presence of 130 world leaders paralysed decision-making and the Danish presidency backed the US and other western nations over the interests of the poor. The revelations - made as the UN climate talks resume in Bonn tomorrow - come in Yvo de Boer's candid letter, written to colleagues days after the summit broke up in acrimony in December. More than 130 world leaders had been persuaded by Britain and other countries to go to Denmark, where they were expected to put the finishing touches to a historic global agreement to limit carbon emissions, protect forests and put in place a mechanism to transfer billions of dollars from rich to poor countries each year. Instead, they arrived at a summit seething with mistrust. ...	Egopocalypse ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, May 31, 2010 from Canadian Press, via CBC: Sewage, jet fuel spilled in Arctic Millions of litres of harmful contaminants -- including sewage and jet fuel -- have been spilled across great swaths of Canada's pristine Arctic in recent years, an analysis by The Canadian Press has found. A classified government database reveals the alarming extent to which Canada's North has been an accidental dumping ground for dangerous liquids. This never-before released information comes to light as the Harper government reviews its Arctic environmental-protection rules in the wake of a catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.... The analysis found 260 spills in the North over five years. There were 137 spills in the Northwest Territories, 82 in Nunavut and 41 in the Yukon. Some spills took weeks or even months to clean up, while others were dealt with in a day or less. In one case, an unspecified amount of diesel seeped from a container in the Yukon for 2,013 days -- more than five years -- before someone finally plugged the leak. "It begs the question of whether we've got a chronic problem of oversight related to toxic spills in the North," said Craig Stewart, director of the World Wildlife Fund's Arctic program. "If there are so many repeat occurrences, what are the cumulative effects of these spills and why haven't we heard more about them up until now?" ...	Is that all? Good thing nothing lives up there! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, May 31, 2010 from London Guardian: Hundreds die in Indian heatwave Record temperatures in northern India have claimed hundreds of lives in what is believed to be the hottest summer in the country since records began in the late 1800s. The death toll is expected to rise with experts forecasting temperatures approaching 50C (122F) in coming weeks. More than 100 people are reported to have died in the state of Gujarat where the mercury topped at 48.5C last week. At least 90 died in Maharashtra, 35 in Rajasthan and 34 in Bihar. Hospitals in Gujarat have been receiving around 300 people a day suffering from food poisoning and heat stroke, ministers said. Officials admit the figures are only a fraction of the total as most of the casualties are found in remote rural villages. Wildlife and livestock has also suffered with voluntary organisations in Gujarat reporting the deaths of bats and crows and dozens of peacocks reported dead at a forest reserve in Uttar Pradesh. ...	This is an instance where being "hot" is not so desirable! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, May 31, 2010 from University of Georgia Department of Marine Sciences: Trust Your Senses: Deep Underwater Plumes May 30th, 18:00. One of the strangest things about these deepwater plumes we've been tracking is that we see a strong CDOM signal but there's been no visible oil in the deepwater. That changed today: we saw oil in the deepwater.... we saw the most intense CDOM signals that we've seen so far. The Pelican cruise sampled near here three weeks ago but the CDOM signals we are seeing now are much stronger.... We triggered sample collection bottles 300m below the plume, from two depths within the plume, and from 300m above the plume. When the water collected from within the plume was transferred into collection bottles, we noticed an oil sheen. You could see it. Everybody saw it. Everybody got excited. Seeing is believing. Even more, the bottles from the plume layers smelled strongly of petroleum. The bottles from above and below the plume did not.... Then, Adam filtered 10L of water collected from within the core of the CDOM plume, from 1140m water depth. The plume filter was visibly oily and the water smelled strongly of petroleum. This filter has a brown sheen of oil on it after filtration (see photo). ...	A kilometer down? How can we be sure it wasn't always there? Hunh? ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, May 31, 2010 from Guardian: Copenhagen climate failure blamed on 'Danish text' The latest revelations come from the man at the very heart of the debacle, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer. Normally the model of a discreet and guarded international bureaucrat, his confidential letter of explanation to his colleagues, written only days after the meeting ended, displays a mix of bemusement, clarity and exasperation. "How could several years of negotiation and high level diplomacy be allowed to end up this way?", he asks. The letter appears in a new Danish book by journalist Per Meilstrup.... The key event, he suggests, was Rasmussen's draft text. This, known widely as the "Danish text", was due to be wheeled out just when the talks reached a deadlock, as they were bound to do. The trouble was, implies De Boer, the text was clearly advantageous to the US and the west, would have steamrollered the developing countries, and was presented to a few countries a week before the meeting officially started. De Boer, the experienced diplomat, could see the Danish text it would be a disaster and says that the UN tried desperately to stop it but failed. Within days the worst had happened. The text had been leaked to the Guardian, put on the internet and had outraged the 157-odd countries who had not seen it. From then on, the meeting was polarised. ...	Man! That was so easy!! ApocaDoc permalink