Joseph J. Romm's Blog, page 1260

Rep. Graves (R-MO) flees reality: BP oil disaster could have been averted if we were drilling in ANWR

Maybe you weren't surprised that Sen. Landrieu and Rep. Boehner called for expanding oil drilling in the face of BP's oil disaster.  Maybe you are so jaded that you expected Newt Gingrich's "drill here, drill now" campaign to continue as the disaster grew and grew.

But I expect this statement from Missouri's Sam Graves (R) will make you wonder whether he has jumped to an alternate reality:

[Please put your head in a vise before continuing.  You have been warned.:]

Like many of you, I've been...

National Academy to release 3 major climate studies - Webcast Wednesday, 10 am EDT

[image error]At a public briefing to discuss the reports, Ralph J. Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences, will deliver opening remarks, and members of the panels that wrote the reports will discuss their recommendations and take questions. The briefing starts at 10 a.m. EDT Wednesday, May 19, in the Lecture Room of the National Academy of Sciences building at 2100 C Street, NW, Washington, DC. Those unable to attend the event can watch the live webcast at The National Academies...

Energy and Global Warming News for May 19th 2010: Wheel hub motors for electric cars of the future?

[image error]Electric Drive Concepts for the Cars of the Future

In order to make electric cars a part of everyday life, new vehicle designs and parts are needed. Take wheel hub motors, for instance.  [Click on image to enlarge.:] One of the advantages of wheel hub motors is that manufacturers can dispense with the conventional engine bay — the space under the "hood" or "bonnet" — since the motors are attached directly to the wheels of the vehicle. This opens up a wealth of opportunities for car designers...

Loop current is now drawing the BP oil disaster to Florida Keys - Toxicologist: "We could be getting to the point that puts coral over the edge"; Masters: "a major ecological disaster ... cannot be ruled out."

On May 6 I wrote, "the dispersant-laced oil spill may soon be entrained in the Loop Current, which is part of the Gulf Stream, sweeping it toward the Florida Keys, home to America's biggest coral reef" (see "Out of Sight: BP's dispersants are toxic — but not as toxic as dispersed oil").

Now that worst-case scenario has played out.  And as meteorologist Jeff Masters explains:

The latest surface current forecasts from NOAA's HYCOM model show that oil could continue pouring into the Loop...

Loop current is now drawing the BP oil disaster to Florida Keys - "We could be getting to the point that puts coral over the edge," in terms of its long-term survival, warns toxicologist

As I wrote May 6, "the dispersant-laced oil spill may soon be entrained in the Loop Current, which is part of the Gulf Stream, sweeping it toward the Florida Keys, home to America's biggest coral reef" (see "Out of Sight: BP's dispersants are toxic — but not as toxic as dispersed oil").

Now that worst-case scenario has played out.  And as meteorologist Jeff Masters explains:

The latest surface current forecasts from NOAA's HYCOM model show that oil could continue pouring into the Loop...

Toles on BP's oil disaster response strategies - Plus a climate cartoon

The WashPost cartoonist Tom Toles has more great cartoons — one on the BP disaster, one on global warming politics:

Related Post:  Out of Sight: BP's dispersants are toxic — but not as toxic as dispersed oil

And one he titles, "Hot and cold running argument":

Related Post:  Will anti-science ideologues be able to kill the bipartisan climate and clean energy jobs bill?

Transocean to give shareholders $1 billion while trying to cap its responsibility for Gulf spill at $27 million

Transocean, Ltd., the giant oil contractor that leased its Deepwater Horizon rig to BP, held a "closed-door meeting" with shareholders Friday, "just days after" executives appeared before Congress to explain the company's role in the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.  As ThinkProgress noted, the meeting took place at the company's headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, where Transocean relocated two years ago to avoid paying taxes. Though CEO Steven Newman "ignored questions from...

Gingrich: 'Of course' Gov. Barbour should encourage tourists to visit oil contaminated gulf beaches

Weeks after the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Newt Gingrich still continues his "Drill Here, Drill Now" mantra, writing that "human progress is not without risk" and that "[o:]ffshore drilling is no exception." Even though the oil leak at BP's Deepwater Horizon rig continues largely unabated and is "already far larger" than the Exxon Valdez crash, Gingrich is holding firm.  Think Progress has more original investigative reporting:

At the NRA's annual conference in Charlotte, ...

NOAA: Hottest April and hottest Jan-April on record - Masters: Record Atlantic sea surface temps in hurricane development region, "The three past seasons with record warm April SST anomalies all had abnormally high numbers of intense hurricanes"

NOAA's National Climatic Data Center has published its monthly "State of the Climate Report."  It pretty much matches the NASA data.

An emeritus physics professor writes me cautioning against the use of the word 'anomaly' since, "In many people's mind, the word 'anomaly' means something unusual that is a temporary phenomenon."  He suggests "change," which is probably better.

Certainly for those who are communicating to the general public, like NOAA and NASA, 'anomaly' is a confusing word as u...

Breaking: Obama to establish "presidential commission to investigate the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico"

On May 4, Daniel J. Weiss, CAP's Director of Climate Strategy wrote, "We need an independent commission to investigate the BP disaster.  Now Weiss reports that the White House is doing just that.  As hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil continue to gush from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico four weeks after the tragic BP disaster, AP reports that

President Barack Obama will establish the commission by executive order. It will be similar to panels created to investigate the space shuttle...