Apocadocuments, for the week of

[About the Project]
[About the ApocaDocs]
[About Equal Share]
[TwitterFollow: apocadocs]

Explore:

Play:

It's weekly, funny, and free!

Play:

Click for paper-free fun!

	Ads for potentially microfunding this site:

What A Week It Was: Apocadocuments from

View By Scenario:
Species Collapse:	(3)
Plague/Virus:	()
Climate Chaos:	(11)
Resource Depletion:	(4)
Biology Breach:	(4)
Recovery:	(3)

This Week's Top Ten Very Scary Tags:
climate impacts ~ anthropogenic change ~ coal issues ~ food crisis ~ health impacts ~ weather extremes ~ koyaanisqatsi ~ ecosystem interrelationships ~ overfishing ~ economic myopia ~ massive die-off

ApocaDocuments (25) gathered this week:
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 from Washington Post: Coal's burnout The headline news for the coal industry in 2010 was what didn't happen: Construction did not begin on a single new coal-fired power plant in the United States for the second straight year.... "Coal is a dead man walkin'," says Kevin Parker, global head of asset management and a member of the executive committee at Deutsche Bank. "Banks won't finance them. Insurance companies won't insure them. The EPA is coming after them. . . . And the economics to make it clean don't work." ...	Coal in their Christmas stocking is exactly what the industry deserves. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 from Associated Press: More than 1,000 dead birds fall from sky in Ark. Wildlife officials are trying to determine what caused more than 1,000 blackbirds to die and fall from the sky over an Arkansas town. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said Saturday that it began receiving reports about the dead birds about 11:30 p.m. the previous night. The birds fell over a 1-mile area of Beebe, and an aerial survey indicated that no other dead birds were found outside of that area. Commission ornithologist Karen Rowe said the birds showed physical trauma, and she speculated that "the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail." The commission said that New Year's Eve revelers shooting off fireworks in the area could have startled the birds from their roost and caused them to die from stress. ...	Or maybe... they were sacrificing themselves as an apocalyptic metaphor. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 2, 2011 from NEF, via Guardian: Blast from the Past: Aug 1, 2008: 100 months to save the world [today we're now at 71] If you shout "fire" in a crowded theatre, when there is none, you understand that you might be arrested for irresponsible behaviour and breach of the peace. But from today, I smell smoke, I see flames and I think it is time to shout. I don't want you to panic, but I do think it would be a good idea to form an orderly queue to leave the building. Because in just 100 months' time, if we are lucky, and based on a quite conservative estimate, we could reach a tipping point for the beginnings of runaway climate change. That said, among people working on global warming, there are countless models, scenarios, and different iterations of all those models and scenarios. So, let us be clear from the outset about exactly what we mean.... We found that, given all of the above, 100 months from today we will reach a concentration of greenhouse gases at which it is no longer "likely" that we will stay below the 2C temperature rise threshold. "Likely" in this context refers to the definition of risk used by the IPCC. But, even just before that point, there is still a one third chance of crossing the line.... But does it have to be this way? Must we curdle in our complacency and allow our cynicism about politicians to give them an easy ride as they fail to act in our, the national and the planet's best interest? There is now a different clock to watch than the one on the office wall. Contrary to being a counsel of despair, it tells us that everything we do from now matters. And, possibly more so than at any other time in recent history. ...	Hmmm. So reading something 29 months old might matter? ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 1, 2011 from DesdemonaDespair: 50 Doomiest Graphs of 2010 The Graph of the Day feature comprises Desdemona's assault on the left hemisphere of the brain, in the quixotic quest against delusional hope. This post complements the media barrage on the right hemisphere, 50 Doomiest Photos of 2010. 2010 yielded a torrent of new scientific data that documents the accelerating destruction of the biosphere, and Desdemona managed to capture a few graphs from the flood. Here are the most doom-laden graphs of 2010, chosen by scope, length of observational period, and sleekness of presentation. Open up your left hemisphere and drink in the data. ...	Now put both hemispheres together, and get busy! 2011 must be a year of change. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 1, 2011 from Associated Press: Japanese whalers, activists clash off Antarctica SYDNEY - Japanese whalers shot water cannons at anti-whaling activists on Saturday, the conservationist group's founder claimed, hours after the activists tracked down the hunting fleet in the remote and icy seas off Antarctica. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is chasing the fleet in the hopes of interrupting Japan's annual whale hunt, which kills up to 1,000 whales a year. The two sides have clashed violently in the past, including last year, when a Sea Shepherd boat was sunk after its bow was sheared off in a collision with a whaling ship.... New Zealand-based Glenn Inwood, spokesman for Japan's Tokyo-based Institute of Cetacean Research, which sponsors the whale hunt, said he had no comment. ...	I'd like to do a little "research" on their asses. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 from Earth Institute: 'Erin Brockovich' Hexavalent Chromium Found in Tap Water of 31 U.S. Cities The carcinogenic chemical chromium-6 (or hexavalent chromium) has been found in the drinking water of 31 of 35 U.S. cities analyzed by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) which released results of its tests on December 20. Chromium-6 is the chemical made infamous in the movie "Erin Brockovich," about the residents of Hinkley, California, who won $333 million in damages in 1996 from Pacific Gas and Electric for polluting their drinking water with chromium-6. Chromium-6 is highly toxic and has been found to cause allergic dermatitis, and stomach and gastrointestinal cancer in animals and humans. Used in the manufacture of stainless steel, textiles, anticorrosion coatings, and in leather tanning, it gets into drinking water through industrial pollution. It is also present naturally in some minerals.... In its tests, EWG found that 25 of the cities tested had levels of chromium-6 higher than California's proposed limit. Norman, OK's level at 12.9 ppb was 200 times the California limit; Honolulu, HA's chromium-6 measured 2.00 ppb; Riverside, CA's was 1.69 ppb; Madison, WI's was 1.58 ppb; and San Jose, CA had 1.34 ppb. The utilities that service the 31 cities whose tap water contained chromium-6 provide water to over 26 million people. ...	All that chromium makes my insides so bright and shiny! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 from Guardian: Australian floodwaters rise as bushfire threat looms Flooded area of north-east Australia is bigger than France and Germany, as southern states face tinder dry conditions.. Floodwaters have risen across a vast area of north-east Australia, affecting 22 towns, forcing 200,000 residents out of their homes and closing an important sugar export port. Flooding has already shut coal mines and the biggest coal export port in Queensland, forcing companies such as Anglo American and Rio Tinto to slow or halt operations.... In the southern states of Victoria and South Australia, meanwhile, soaring temperatures and tinder dry conditions have sparked bushfires. Authorities warned of possible "catastrophic" fires if conditions worsened, and holiday travellers were asked to prepare evacuation plans.... Emergency authorities said the flooding was not expected to reach a peak in some areas until Sunday and would not recede for at least a week. Australia has endured its wettest spring on record, according to the national weather bureau, causing six river systems in Queensland to flood. Swollen rivers in New South Wales have also caused flood damage to wheat crops. Possibly as much as half the Australian wheat crop, or about 10m tonnes, has been downgraded to less than milling quality because of rain damage. That has tightened global supplies and sent prices up by about 45 percent this year, the biggest surge since 2007. The floods have also pushed coking coal and thermal prices higher and tight markets are keeping a close eye on further disruptions. Queensland's ports have an annual coal export capacity of 225m tonnes. Australia is the world's biggest exporter of coking coal used for steel-making and accounts for about two-thirds of global trade. It is also the second-biggest exporter of thermal coal used for power generation. ...	Wet on one side, dry on the other? That's just an engineering challenge! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 from PNAS, via EnvironmentalResearchWeb: Ocean acidification changes nitrogen cycling in world seas Increasing acidity in the sea's waters may fundamentally change how nitrogen is cycled in them, say marine scientists who published their findings in this week's issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients in the oceans. All organisms, from tiny microbes to blue whales, use nitrogen to make proteins and other important compounds. Some microbes can also use different chemical forms of nitrogen as a source of energy. One of these groups, the ammonia oxidizers, plays a pivotal role in determining which forms of nitrogen are present in the ocean. In turn, they affect the lives of many other marine organisms.... In six experiments spread across two oceans, Beman and colleagues looked at the response of ammonia oxidation rates to ocean acidification. In every case where the researchers experimentally increased the amount of acidity in ocean waters, ammonia oxidation rates decreased. These declines were remarkably similar in different regions of the ocean indicating that nitrification rates may decrease globally as the oceans acidify in coming decades, says David Hutchins of the University of Southern California, a co-author of the paper.... As human-derived carbon dioxide permeates the sea, ammonia-oxidizing organisms will be at a significant disadvantage in competing for ammonia.... "What makes ocean acidification such a challenging scientific and societal issue is that we're engaged in a global, unreplicated experiment," says Beman, "one that's difficult to study--and has many unknown consequences." ...	It's not like Neptune would allow this to continue. Nor would Aquaman. Atlantis would rise up! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 from The Oil Drum: Charts of the Year from The Oil Drum, 2010 A picture says a thousand words. In this post you will find only charts and graphs conveying important points from the world of energy 2010. Readers are invited to post their favorite charts from 2010 in the comments. Instructions are given at the end of this post. This is a charts only thread, no text at all (though posting links is OK), noncompliant posts will be deleted. An energy theme is preferred though other related themes such as economy, population, sustainability are acceptable. Climate charts that do not link directly to energy will be deleted. ...	I cut my energy use by 25 percent this year -- and it doesn't even show up! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Dec 30, 2010 from NOAA, via Mongabay: Growing Atlantic dead zone shrinks habitat for billfish and tuna, may lead to over-harvest A dead zone off the coast of West Africa is reducing the amount of available habitat for Atlantic tuna and billfish species, reports the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a study published in Fisheries Oceanography. The zone is growing due to rising water temperatures and is expected to cause over-harvest of tuna and billfish as the fish seek higher levels of oxygen in areas with greater fisheries activity.... "The hypoxic zone off West Africa, which covers virtually all the equatorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean, is roughly the size of the continental United States, and it's growing," said Dr. Eric D. Prince, a NOAA Fisheries Service research fishery biologist who led the study. "With the current cycle of climate change and accelerated global warming, we expect the size of this zone to increase, further reducing the available habitat for these fish."... Tuna and billfish - a catch-all category which includes marlin, swordfish, and sailfish species - are already experiencing global declines due to pressure from fisheries. The habitat loss caused by the dead zone is expected to push Atlantic stock down even further as fish escape to near-shore areas with more fishing activity. The increase in catch rates will make it appear that stocks are up when really they're just concentrated in a smaller area. This may lead to over-harvest. ...	That's just Nature's way of helping us out! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Dec 30, 2010 from Telegraph.co.uk: Britain could be heading for coldest winter in 300 years The average temperature of the season so far has been -0.8C (32F), colder than any year since 1683/84 when the mercury plunged to -1.17C (29.9C). Traditionally a cold December leads into a chillier than usual January and February, meaning this winter could be one of the coldest on record. Even though it has been warmer in the last few days, the Met Office is already predicting a colder than average January with temperatures falling again from New Year's Day. ...	The predictive utility of "tradition" just ain't what it used to be. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Dec 30, 2010 from Guardian: China's green gift to the world In a mostly dismal year for US and international climate policy, China's coal imports are skyrocketing to record levels. The environmental community and policy pundits have rushed to decry this new development, arguing that China's expanding imports undermine global climate efforts, and even that countries should block coal exports to China. But the conventional wisdom has it backwards. In reality, record Chinese coal imports are better for global CO2 emissions than any climate policy to come out of Washington or the United Nations this year - because they strengthen incentives for the rest of the world to switch to less polluting fuels.... As a result, the entire globe is now rushing to figure out how to sell more coal to China. Environmentalists have balked, suggesting that coal sales to China should be blocked and that China's imports are evidence that it isn't taking real steps to fight global warming.... Because burning natural gas emits roughly half the CO2 per megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity compared to coal, the possibility of switching to natural gas generation when coal becomes expensive is one of the most significant opportunities to reduce emissions globally. ...	The economics of supply and demand have worked out great for the world so far! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Dec 30, 2010 from IRIN: Afghanistan: Bleak outlook for food security in 2011 The UN World Food Programme (WFP) plans to assist 7.3 million people in Afghanistan in 2011 but only has enough funding to feed the most vulnerable for a few months, and needs US$400 million to continue its humanitarian activities next year.... "If additional support cannot be obtained, WFP will have to cut planned food distribution activities throughout Afghanistan," said the report.... Recent funding from the USA and Canada eased wheat shortages faced by WFP following the catastrophic floods in Pakistan in July. But the US-funded Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS-NET) has predicted that over half of the country would be highly or moderately food-insecure in January-February. It said wheat prices had increased by over 31 percent since July 2010 and further increases were likely in the coming months. Afghanistan remains among the most food-insecure countries in the world where armed conflict and natural disasters have denied access to adequate food to over eight million people, aid agencies say. They also think the humanitarian situation is likely to deteriorate in 2011. ...	Every cloud has a silver lining. Big Agriculture is smokin'! 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, Dec 30, 2010 from Reuters: Italy To Ban Plastic Shopping Bags Italy, one of the top users of plastic shopping bags in Europe, is banning them starting January 1, with retailers warning of chaos and many stores braced for the switch. Italian critics say polyethylene bags use too much oil to produce, take too long to break down, clog drains and easily spread to become eye sores and environmental hazards. Italians use about 20 billion bags a year -- more than 330 per person -- or about one-fifth of the total used in Europe, according to Italian environmentalist lobby Legambiente. Starting on Saturday, retailers are banned from providing shoppers polyethylene bags. They can use bags made of such material as biodegradable plastic, cloth or paper. ...	We need more of this amore for the earth. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Dec 29, 2010 from Washington Post: U.S., D.C. schedule bedbug summits In keeping with the best of government traditions, the Federal Bed Bug Work Group is hosting its second national summit Feb. 1-2 in Washington to brainstorm about solutions to the resurgence of the tiny bloodsuckers that have made such an itch-inducing comeback in recent years. The summit will be open to the public, officials said, and will focus on ways the federal government and others can work together to manage and control the pests, which have been showing up in apartment buildings, college dorms, luxury hotels, movie theaters, Manhattan retail stores and increasingly, in office buildings, according to officials and pest management companies. ...	A bedbug summit? That sounds positively scandalous! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Dec 29, 2010 from Postmedia News: Canadians in denial about air pollution impact: Study The average Canadian is in denial about the impact of air pollution on human health, assuming that it is either a long-term threat or a risk factor for vulnerable parts of the population, says a newly-released federal report. The study, conducted for Health Canada by Environics Research Group, found that most Canadians acknowledge some health risks associated with poor air quality, but are divided on whether an advisory warning is a serious threat to all unless they have personally suffered from an illness such as asthma. ...	Join the bone-headed club. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Dec 29, 2010 from CBC: China cuts 'rare earth' quota 11 percent China said Tuesday it is reducing the amount of rare earths it will export next year by more than 10 per cent -- likely to be an unpopular move worldwide since the minerals are vital to the manufacture of high-tech products. China accounts for 97 per cent of the global production of rare earth minerals, which are essential to devices as varied as cellphones, computer drives and hybrid cars. Countries were alarmed when Beijing blocked shipments of the minerals to Japan earlier this year amid a debate over disputed islands.... The United States last week threatened to go to the World Trade Organization with its concerns over China and rare earths. When asked for comment during a regular press briefing Tuesday, China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu declined to answer. But China has had to address the global concerns numerous times since the spat with Japan. "China is not using rare earth as a bargaining chip," Wen Jiabao, China's top economic official, told a China-European Union business summit in Brussels in October. ...	Hold your head up, Woah!, hold your head high! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Dec 28, 2010 from Politico: President Obama under pressure to deliver on climate Jan. 2 isn't just your ordinary Sunday. It's the day the Obama administration will officially start regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and critics have issued dire predictions of economic destruction. With all the fiery rhetoric about how damaging the regulations could be, the White House is under pressure to fulfill its pledge to tackle climate change while avoiding the appearance that it's hindering job growth.... Incoming House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) last week accused EPA of advancing a "long regulatory assault" against domestic energy producers. "The EPA has its foot firmly on the throat of our economic recovery," he said. "We will not allow the administration to regulate what they have been unable to legislate." ...	Better than a noose firmly on the throat of the planet's neck! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Dec 28, 2010 from Time: The Northeast Blizzard: One More Sign of Global Warming It's become as much a winter tradition as eggnog at Christmas and champagne on New Year's Eve -- the first major snowstorm of the year bringing out the climate-change skeptics. And the bona fide blizzard that has frozen much of the Northeast just a few days after winter officially began definitely qualifies as major. But while piles of snow blocking your driveway hardly conjure images of a dangerously warming world, it doesn't mean that climate change is a myth. The World Meteorological Organization recently reported that 2010 is almost certainly going to be one of the three warmest years on record, while 2001 to 2010 is already the hottest decade in recorded history. Indeed, according to some scientists, all of these events may actually be connected... The loss of Arctic sea ice helps accelerate the warming of the atmosphere in the far north, thanks to what's known as the albedo effect. White ice reflects sunlight into space, cooling the air, but when ice melts and is replaced with dark ocean water, the effect is reversed and more of the sun's heat is absorbed. As the Arctic air warms, it raises the altitude of discrete areas of high pressure, which can then alter wind patterns. This, in turn, can weaken the jet stream, allowing more cold air to seep out of the Arctic and into Europe and the eastern U.S. ...	Just like snowmen, climate skeptics will melt. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Dec 28, 2010 from Associated Press: Farmers, pecan growers say coal plant kills plants Along a stretch of Highway 21, in Texas' pastoral Hill Country, is a vegetative wasteland. Trees are barren, or covered in gray, dying foliage and peeling bark. Fallen, dead limbs litter the ground where pecan growers and ranchers have watched trees die slow, agonizing deaths. Visible above the horizon is what many plant specialists, environmentalists and scientists believe to be the culprit: the Fayette Power Project - a coal-fired power plant for nearly 30 years has operated mostly without equipment designed to decrease emissions of sulfur dioxide, a component of acid rain. ...	Coal plant creates good firewood. Sounds like a win-win! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Dec 28, 2010 from University of Illinois, via PhysOrg: Scientists overcome major obstacles to cellulosic biofuel production A newly engineered yeast strain can simultaneously consume two types of sugar from plants to produce ethanol, researchers report. The sugars are glucose, a six-carbon sugar that is relatively easy to ferment; and xylose, a five-carbon sugar that has been much more difficult to utilize in ethanol production. The new strain, made by combining, optimizing and adding to earlier advances, reduces or eliminates several major inefficiencies associated with current biofuel production methods.... Most yeast strains that are engineered to metabolize xylose do so very slowly. "Xylose is a wood sugar, a five-carbon sugar that is very abundant in lignocellulosic biomass but not in our food," said Yong-Su Jin, a professor of food science and human nutrition at Illinois.... "Most yeast cannot ferment xylose."... The new yeast strain is at least 20 percent more efficient at converting xylose to ethanol than other strains, making it "the best xylose-fermenting strain" reported in any study, Jin said.... The cost benefits of this advance in co-fermentation are very significant, Jin said. "We don't have to do two separate fermentations," he said. "We can do it all in one pot. And the yield is even higher than the industry standard. We are pretty sure that this research can be commercialized very soon." ...	"Co-fermentation" sounds like socialism to me. ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Dec 27, 2010 from National Science Foundation via ScienceDaily: Global Rivers Emit Three Times IPCC Estimates of Greenhouse Gas Nitrous Oxide ...Human-caused nitrogen loading to river networks is a potentially important source of nitrous oxide emission to the atmosphere. Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change and stratospheric ozone destruction. It happens via a microbial process called denitrification, which converts nitrogen to nitrous oxide and an inert gas called dinitrogen. When summed across the globe, scientists report this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), river and stream networks are the source of at least 10 percent of human-caused nitrous oxide emissions to the atmosphere. That's three times the amount estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). ...	I thought denitrification was when I got my teeth fixed up. ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Dec 27, 2010 from Beckly Register-Herald: What's in a name? 'Mountaintop removal' vs. 'mountaintop development' Coal operators and environmentalists have been pondering the value of a name since the revelation that the coal industry may push for "rebranding" surface mining as "mountaintop development" instead of "mountaintop removal." The process of blasting the top of a mountain to obtain its underground coal reserves instead of digging a mine has been a much easier target for environmentalists since it has become known as mountaintop removal. However, coal industry executives say the term "mountaintop development" would paint a more accurate picture of the practice. ...	How about they call themselves the Coal Liberation Front? ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Dec 27, 2010 from NPR: Small Beetles Massacre The Rockies' Whitebark Pines The Whitebark pine trees in the high-elevation areas of America's Northern Rockies have stood for centuries. But these formerly lush evergreen forests are disappearing at an alarmingly fast rate; what remains are eerie stands of red and gray snags. Warmer climates have sparked an outbreak of a voracious mountain pine beetle that is having devastating consequences for whitebarks and the wildlife that depend on them... As entomologist Jesse Logan looks up at snow-covered slopes speckled with skeletons of dead trees, he says the massacre is happening faster than even he expected. More than a decade ago, Logan predicted that with global warming, these tiny, ravenous beetles would start to thrive here. At the time, other insect experts were skeptical. But in recent years, winter cold snaps haven't been nearly as brutal as usual. ...	This, my friends, is the Age of Skeptics Are Usually Wrong. ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Dec 27, 2010 from Toronto Globe and Mail: Six months after Pakistan floods, seven million remain without shelter ...he biggest disaster in Pakistan's history inflicted its deadliest wrath in these northern reaches, as summer monsoons ripped down the valleys, devouring land, people and entire villages. The brown torrent killed almost 2,000 people, but that number hardly begins to encompass the months of misery that followed, those who died of malnutrition or disease as they fled the rising water. Now, as winter blows into the mountains, an estimated seven million people remain without proper shelter. Villagers scrabble in the earth, trying to build homes that will keep them warm among the snow drifts. ...	If any of you are having trouble visualizing our post-Apocalyptic future, look no further. ApocaDoc permalink