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An important mechanism for sucking ozone and methane out of the atmosphere has been discovered over the tropical Atlantic. The finding reveals how the two greenhouse gasses are kept in check by natural chemical reactions. The data collected in Cape Verde, off the western coast of Africa, suggests that 50% more ozone is being destroyed above the tropical Atlantic Ocean than previously thought, because of halogens released by the seawater. The process also increases the amount of methane pumped out of the lower atmosphere by up to 12% each day. It could occur in tropical oceans worldwide and could considerably...

Global warming acolytes have a favorite image, that of Al Gore's fabulist tale of 20 foot waves engulfing our coast lines. Invoking that awesome image, the L.A. Times published a story last month that is supposed to be just another global warming scare piece. Still, even the Times couldn't lie through its teeth in every instance because, while the island of Kivalina, Alaska really has been shrinking, even the Times admits its been doing so for well over 100 years. It's a bit hard to pin that all on "global warming," though, since few claim that the phenomenon has been...

GREEN scientists have been accused of overstating the dangers of climate change by researchers who found that the number of people killed each year by weather-related disasters is falling.Their report suggests that a central plank in the global warming argument – that it will result in a big increase in deaths from weather-related disasters – is undermined by the facts. It shows deaths in such disasters peaked in the 1920s and have been declining ever since.Average annual deaths from weather-related events in the period 1990-2006 – considered by scientists to be when global warming has been most intense – were...

PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- The Navy is disappointed with EarthJustice’s decision to pursue litigation against critical training activities in Hawaiian waters, the deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet said. “These fleet training activities are essential to the Navy’s ability to ensure our nation’s armed forces are fully combat ready and adequately trained according to established, time-tested standards,” said Rear Adm. John M. Bird. The suit, filed May 16 by EarthJustice on behalf of five non-government organizations, asks the court to prohibit naval sonar exercises near Hawaii, saying that sonar can have a negative impact on marine mammals. But such...

They might seem an unlikely group to storm Utah's halls of power to demand action on behalf of the people. But that's exactly what Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment promised Monday, launching a campaign to cut the air pollution that is sickening Utahns and killing as many as 1,000 of them a year. Otherwise, they say, Utah's air-pollution crisis will become an air-pollution catastrophe that claims the health and the lives of people forced to breathe the bad air. Scott N. Hurst, an LDS Hospital anesthesiologist, likened air pollution's impacts to those of smoking cigarettes. "You and I can...

Heidi Cullen, a Weather Channel meteorologist who hosts the station's alarmist weekly program The Climate Code, created a media stir on January 18 by calling on the American Meteorological Society (AMS) to decertify meteorologists who disagree with her alarmist global warming views. Politically Correct Warming On her Weather Channel Web log, Cullen stated, "If a meteorologist can't speak to the fundamental science of climate change, then maybe the AMS shouldn't give them a Seal of Approval." Added Cullen, "It's like allowing a meteorologist to go on-air and say that hurricanes rotate clockwise and tsunamis are caused by the weather. It's...

ASPEN - If humans do nothing to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, skiing in Aspen will be toast by 2100. And that's probably the least of Aspen's worries, according to a new study on climate change coordinated by The Aspen Global Change Institute and unveiled this week. Drier conditions will make it a challenge for the Roaring Fork Valley to supply its growing population with drinking water as soon as 2030, said the institute's founder, John Katzenberger. Higher temperatures and little change in precipitation will require more irrigation of hay fields and other crops. And the Aspen area won't be...

While there is a general acceptance of the role of private property for social order and economic prosperity, the challenges to private property have not ended. The eminent domain issue is one threat; another comes from environmentalist groups such as the Foundation for Deep Ecology and others who see humans as a drain on the earth and nature. Some environmentalists advocate the consolidation of land to be put under federal control and promote stringent land usage restrictions that would prevent a landowner using his property fruitfully. Their argument is nothing new: individuals left to themselves will not be as effective...

There may be a new reason for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. to exercise his second veto of the year - this one on the newly passed Legacy Parkway backlash bill. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency raised its "potential concern" Friday about HB100. In a letter to the governor, the EPA Denver regional director suggested Utah may not be able to properly do its job carrying out federal environmental laws that have been delegated to the state, such as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and Superfund cleanups. "[T]his pending legislation raises concerns about whether important parts of the...

Increased output from the Sun might be to blame for 10 to 30 percent of global warming that has been measured in the past 20 years, according to a new report. Increased emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases still play a role, the scientists say. But climate models of global warming should be corrected to better account for changes in solar activity, according to Nicola Scafetta and Bruce West of Duke University. The findings were published online this week by the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Ignore rumors; Teflon proven to be safe August 29, 2005 BY HENRY I. MILLER The uncanny ability of President Ronald Reagan to deflect public criticism won him the nickname "The Teflon President." Ironically, now it is Teflon itself that is facing the heat, as anti-chemical groups and trial attorneys have joined forces to cook up controversy over a product that has become one of America's most trusted consumer icons, and an integral part of our language, like Thermos and Kleenex. Like many product-safety scares these days, the concerns that have been voiced about Teflon are bogus. Charges by the radical...

WASHINGTON - Sen. Orrin Hatch is seeking to thwart further litigation over the Legacy Highway by pushing Congress to accept as final environmental studies on the planned 14-mile, four-lane highway between North Salt Lake and Farmington. Backed by other Utah Republicans in Washington, the attempted end run around the courts comes amid settlement negotiations between officials at the Utah Department of Transportation and environmental groups pressing for a different highway route or transit alternatives to spare Great Salt Lake wetlands. Hatch plans to insert into the transportation bill, which is nearing its final vote, language that would halt any court...

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - A two-week conference on the Antarctic, focusing on environmental, climate change and tourism issues, has opened with representatives of 50 governments, researchers and experts, the Swedish hosts said. The conference, which runs to June 17, comes amid fresh warnings from scientists about the effect of climate change on Antarctica, the fifth largest continent in the world, which contains more than 90 percent of the world's ice. Sweden hopes that the meeting will result in a special protocol on responsibility and insurance in the case of major accidents in the Antarctic, such as oil spills. "It seems that...

Unless you're among the bean-sprout-sized minority of Americans who describe themselves as "vegans" (vegetarians who also won't touch milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, or even a dollop of honey), you may have been alarmed by the publicity surrounding an article appearing last month in the journal Pediatrics. The anti-milk piece -- written by activists from the PETA-affiliated Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) -- concluded that feeding milk to children is unnecessary, and that there are better ways (kale, tofu, turnip greens, or spinach, for instance) for kids to get the calcium they need. In reaching this result, PCRM relied on...

Tax on greenhouse gases looms   swissinfo   February 15, 2005 9:40 PM   A CO2 tax on fossil fuels would lead to a major increase of prices at the petrol pump (Keystone Archive) As the Kyoto Protocol comes into force, Switzerland is still not sure how to reach its targets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.   The government is considering different options to encourage or coerce citizens and the economy into cutting carbon-dioxide pollution.   RELATED ITEMS   Summit fails to progress on climate change Tax on CO2 emissions moves step closer Kyoto - how it works     The...

WASHINGTON - Of all the names that have been hurled at the Northern Snakehead - intruder, predator, Frankenfish - Alan Gardner would like to add one more to the list: victim. Gardner, a Republican county commissioner from Utah, wants the snakehead off the most-wanted list and on the endangered species list. With local officials from 12 other Western states, he has petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to save the snakehead. ''There are not very many of them,'' he said. ''And they're trying to get rid of those they have.'' It's true that the snakehead, infamous for its voracious...

[State of Fear, by Michael Crichton. 603 pages. Published December 7, 2004, by HarperCollins Publishers. Hardcover, $27.95. Available at www.Amazon.com.] Michael Crichton, the author of The Andromeda Strain, Rising Sun, Jurassic Park and other block-buster thrillers, has penned a novel that could profoundly change the national and even international debate over global warming. It's long overdue. Crichton's State of Fear, with a reported first print run of 1.7 million copies, is an action thriller that doubles as a scientific primer on global warming and other environmental topics. Crichton's protagonists -- a scientist, a lawyer, a philanthropist and two remarkably athletic...

Trio of storm systems could have devastating impact on U.S.By SETH BORENSTEINKnight Ridder Newspapers WASHINGTON - Moisture-laden storms from the north, west and south are likely to converge on much of America over the next several days in what could be a once-in-a-generation onslaught, meteorologists forecast Tuesday.If the gloomy computer models at the U.S. Climate Prediction Center are right, we'll see this terrible trio: The "Pineapple Express," a series of warm wet storms heading east from Hawaii, drenching Southern California and the far Southwest, which already are beset with heavy rain and snow. It could cause flooding, avalanches and mudslides....

DALLAS -- Global warming is hot! -- pun fully intended. Within the space of a year, a blockbuster action movie and now a sure-to-be best-selling novel have both focused on the perils and political intrigues surrounding the question of whether, or to what extent, humans are causing the planet to overheat with all manner of apocalyptic results. Though the Fox Studio disaster flick "The Day After Tomorrow" was panned by scientists who pointed out its portrayal of climate science was wildly inaccurate, it won praise from environmentalists and some politicos for "focusing attention on the important topic of human-caused global...

PARIS (AFP) - Human activities, notably the building of coastal resorts and the destruction of natural protection, contributed to the enormous loss of life from killer tidal waves that hit the shores of the Indian Ocean after an earthquake, an environmental expert said. Jeff McNeely, chief scientist of the Swiss-based World Conservation Union (IUCN), who lived for several years in Indonesia and Thailand, two of the countries hit by Sunday's disaster, said it was "nothing new for nature" in a geologically active region. "What has made this a disaster is that people have started to occupy part of the landscape...

Humane Society of the United States to challenge hunting via courts U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance — Dec. 3, 2004 The nation's largest anti-hunting group has launched a new legal department to challenge sportsmen in the courts. An Animal Protection Litigation section was created in the wake of the recent merger of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Fund for Animals. Attorney Jonathan Lovvorn was selected to head the department. The organization intends to add four litigating attorneys by the end of the year. "The animal rights movement sees the courts as the easiest way to realize its...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- A federal judge on Friday struck down a ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, calling it a "prejudged, political" move that sought to exclude the vehicles from all national parks. U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer ruled that the Clinton-era ban was invalid because it did not involve adequate public participation and failed to follow federal law. His decision could clear the way for new rules that allow the machines. The rule was "the product of a prejudged, political decision to ban snowmobiles from all the national parks," Brimmer wrote. The National Park...

ELECTIONS 2004 SPECIAL REPORT 'John Kerry is the only man in America who wears blaze orange as camouflage."Sandra S. Froman,  NRA  First Vice President Concealed KerryLifelong hunter. Sportsman. Dove Hunter. Con Artist. Don't fall into the trap being set by presidential hopeful John Kerry. A close look at his record--and at his supporters--shows where he really stands on matters near to the hunters heart. A revealing portrait of an accomplished doublespeaker. By Wayne R. LaPierre & Chris W. Cox Democratic Presidential Hopeful John Kerry's transparent attempt to absolve his career-long aggression against the Second Amendment by claiming to be...

I have created a public register of "bump lists" here on Free Republic. I define a bump list as a name listed in the "To" field used to index articles. Free Republic Bump List Register

Junk science?     Junkman?       Trash Talk BBS       Store       Feedback       Site Search      E-mail List        Archives & Links 100 things you should know about DDT by J. Gordon Edwards and Steven Milloy I. Historical BackgroundII. Advocacy against DDTIII. EPA hearingsIV. Human exposureV. CancerVI. Egg shell thinningVII. Bald eaglesVIII. Peregrine falconsIX. Brown pelicansX. Bird populations increase during DDT yearsXI.Erroneous detection I. Historical Background Discovered by accident, DDT became one of the greatest public health tools of the 20th century.Overuse harmed its efficacy -- and made it politically unpopular. Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) was first synthesized, for no purpose, in 1874 by German chemist Othmar Zeidler....

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court unanimously rejected a bid by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance to force the Bush administration to limit off-road vehicle traffic in potential Utah wilderness areas -- a decision praised by off-road enthusiasts. Attorneys for the environmental group had argued that the Bureau of Land Management had an obligation to crack down on off-road vehicle use to protect several potential wilderness areas. But Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the court, said forcing the BLM to act would insert the court into the day-to-day operations of the agency. A ruling in SUWA's favor "would divert BLM's energies...

More on Environmentalism Science, Politics and Deathby Arthur B. Robinson & Jane M. OrientEnvironmental extremism kills. Millions die annually because of restrictions on DDT, and imposing the "Kyoto" regulations would kill many more.Dr. Arthur B. Robinson, a professor of chemistry, is the founder of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, and editor of the newsletter Access to Energy. Dr. Jane Orient, a specialist in internal medicine, has a private practice and is the executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Easily usable energy is the currency of human progress. Without it, stagnation, regression and untold...

A Denver-based energy company today will begin a controversial natural-gas exploration project near Nine Mile Canyon after environmentalists abandoned their attempt Friday to stop it. Bill Barrett Corp. is expected to begin laying seismic lines on the West Tavaputs Plateau to pinpoint the best locations to drill for an estimated 66 billion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. Steve Bloch, attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), said his client on Friday withdrew its motion for an injunction after the company agreed to delay exploration activities in two areas that SUWA and other environmental groups have proposed for wilderness...

Many of us have long believed that the true goal of the environmental movement is socialism. Below are just a few examples that provide proof of just that. These documents may be well known to some of you, but I had to go “undercover” as a liberal environmentalist to obtain proof of their motives. Most of the excerpts shown here are from the Environmental Research Foundation. The Environmental Research Foundation isn’t just some small "fringe" group. No, they distribute their nutty tripe to more than 3,500 (including the EPA and ACLU for example) organizations worldwide. You can see which organizations...

Michael Scarpittiaka Tre Arrow VICTORIA, British Columbia -- Radical environmentalist Tre Arrow, arrested here on charges of shoplifting, will fight deportation to the United States where he is wanted on charges of firebombing logging and cement trucks, Arrow's attorney said Monday. Arrow, born Michael Scarpitti, appeared Monday in a Canadian court for a status hearing on charges of theft, assault and obstruction. He was arrested in Victoria on March 13 for allegedly attempting to steal some bolt cutters. He has also been charged with providing false information to immigration officers, after telling them his name was Joshua Murray. It...

Hey Eager Pence...don’t wish for some things too much because you just might get them. But since the les enfants terrible of Greenpeace have, yet again, withdrawn into their insulated world of enviro-erotic make-believe, let’s give them what they are asking for...an understandable translation of the anagrams in which Greenpeace is forever speaking.  It is now their “Time for Truth”.  During Saturday’s halftime entertainment at a London anti-war protest, two trolls climbed London’s Big Ben clock tower and unfurled a banner which read “Time for Truth”.  The stunt was organized by the Enron of the environmental world, Greenpeace.  Executive...

U.S. Foundations Support Environmental Activists on the World Stageby Ivan Osorio Summary:Nongovernmental organizations (NGO), especially environmental, play an increasingly important role in international politics. With the financial backing of major U.S. philanthropies, such as the Ford Foundation, environmental activists use United Nations forums and other international meetings to influence global trade and environmental policy. View the full version in PDF Format Organization(s) featured in this itemEarthJustice Legal Defense FundFriends of the EarthGreenpeace FundGreenpeace InternationalGreenpeace, Inc.Ford FoundationRockefeller Brothers FundPew Charitable TrustsCharles Stewart Mott FoundationJohn D. & Catherine T. MacArthur FoundationTurner Foundation

Reference Chase, T.N., Pielke Sr., R.A., Herman, B. and Zeng, X. 2004. Likelihood of rapidly increasing surface temperatures unaccompanied by strong warming in the free troposphere. Climate Research 25: 185-190. Background The authors note that "an important test of model predictive ability and usefulness for impact studies is how well models simulate the observed vertical temperature structure of the troposphere under anthropogenically-induced-change scenarios." Why is this so? It is because one of the most fundamental features of current climate-model simulations is "a larger warming in the free troposphere than at the surface when forced by increasing atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations and...

<p>WASHINGTON -- The United States is facing an "epidemic" of asbestos-caused diseases, with some 100,000 people expected to die in the next decade from their past exposure to the dangerous substance, according an analysis of health data by an environmental organization.</p>

<p>This was going to be a column about oil. Instead, it's also about disease, poison, and a cool way to get rid of both. Actually, it's about a new technology — a new process that is going to make a Difference. One that's going to change things, and one you're going to be hearing a lot more about.</p>

PLACERVILLE, Calif. (AP) - The U.S. Forest Service and California's largest private landowner have agreed to a land swap they say will benefit both of them and the public. The Forest Service will give Anderson-based Sierra Pacific Industries 1,843 acres of the Eldorado National Forest, broken into 14 parcels, in exchange for 16 parcels totaling 3,394 acres, under an agreement posted this week. The lands were appraised at equal market value, the Forest Service said. The exchange will reduce the need for Sierra Pacific to build new roads to its parcels within what are supposed to be roadless areas, helping...

<p>The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering Superfund cleanups of El Dorado Hills schoolyards, parks and other public grounds contaminated with asbestos, the result of foothill development carved through veins of the hazardous minerals.</p> <p>EPA officials said they initially will evaluate the Community Center, Rolling Hills Middle School and Silva Valley Elementary School for possible inclusion on the National Priority List of Superfund sites, an uncoveted designation but one that brings significant federal dollars for toxic cleanups. The agency currently has no plans to inspect housing tracts and other private developments.</p>

On January 29, 2002, the United States Court of Federal Claims (Court) issued its Final Opinion and Finding of Fact in the property phase of Hage v U.S. This litigation was initiated by the government's argument that Plaintiff could not access the forage and water on lands then administered by the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) without a grazing permit. The government's argument was premised on its claim that the grazing lands in question were "public lands"; that the government owned these lands, and therefore, the waters arising on those lands. According to...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO - Online search engine leader Google has banned the ads of an environmental group protesting a major cruise line's sewage treatment methods, casting a spotlight on the policies - and power - of the popular Web site's lucrative marketing program.</p>

<p>SAN DIEGO (AP) - Fire Chief Bill Clayton described to a crowd of firefighters his anguish as he doused water on the burning body of the only firefighter to die during last year's wildfires in southern California.</p> <p>The fire killed Steven Rucker as he was trying to save a house on Oct. 29 near the town of Wynola. The blaze, called the Cedar fire, killed 14 people, destroyed 2,232 homes and charred more than 280,000 acres, making it the worst fire in California history.</p>

CORBIS BETTMAN CANDID CONSORT: Teresa with Kerry Teresa on the Stump Mrs. Kerry is worth a fortune, but her real value to the campaign is her bluntness By KAREN TUMULTY Posted Sunday, February 1, 2004Santa Fe, N.M., has its share of hangouts for the megarich. The Guadalajara Grill, a strip-mall café decorated with balloons in the shape of beer bottles, isn't one of them. But places like that are part of the territory if your husband is running for President. That is how Teresa Heinz Kerry, conservatively estimated to be worth $500 million or so, happened to find herself...

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Ineffective and cosmetic air drops of water were made over San Diego County during the biggest wildfire in state history in response to extreme pressure from critics, the director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Wednesday. "Unfortunately, due to public pressure, some examples can be cited where cosmetic, expensive and ineffective flights were made," CDF director Andrea Tuttle told a blue ribbon panel dissecting the response to California's deadly fall wildfires. She did not provide specifics. The governor's Blue Ribbon Fire Commission held its fourth meeting in San Diego to focus on...

Looks like a new movie is coming out next season for weather fanatics. Hope this one is better than twister http://www5.wright-weather.com/bb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15793 Prob blaming global warming...no less :)

CORE to hold teach-in, demand end to “Eco-Imperialism”; Greenpeace co-founder to denounce his former colleaguesThe Congress of Racial Equality, one of America’s premier civil rights organizations, will convene a teach-in on Tuesday, January 20, at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers, to condemn the global green movement’s oppression of poor people in the Third World. “The environmental movement I helped found has lost its objectivity, morality and humanity,” says Greenpeace co-founder and conference panelist Dr. Patrick Moore. “The pain and suffering it inflicts on families in developing countries can no longer be tolerated.” Moore will be one of eight...

<p>The fires are out for now, but real dangers still threaten Southern California, as the toll of Christmas Day mudslides have shown.</p> <p>Winter rains have begun to trigger mass erosion and mudslides on exposed slopes, setting back forest restoration and further impacting some wildlife habitats already scarred by fire. Further, tens of thousands of beetle-killed trees still stand like kindling over the San Bernardino Mountains, primed to fuel another wildfire.</p>

For setting a "prescribed fire" that went awry in September, the U.S. Forest Service is in hot water with the state. Rick Sprott, director of the Utah Division of Air Quality, has issued the Forest Service a "notice of violation" in connection with the Cascade Springs II fire, which burned 7,800 acres and poured smoke into the Wasatch Front for a week. The notice accuses the Forest Service of polluting the air in Utah's population center and of failing to submit a proper plan to the division before igniting the fire. It does not call for a fine, although the...

PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION TAKES PILGRIM FAMILY CASE TO THE NINTH CIRCUIT The Sierra Times PRECEDENT-SETTING CASE ASKS COURT TO AFFIRM THE RIGHTS OF ALASKANS TO ACCESS FEDERAL LANDS SAN FRANCISCO, CA; December 24, 2003: Pacific Legal Foundation filed an emergency motion and notice of appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday in a highly publicized case that pits an Alaska wilderness family against the National Park Service. PLF is asking the court to grant the Pilgrim family emergency access to the only viable road to their property, which the Park Service closed last April. The case has precedent-setting...

<p>Neal Easterbrook considers himself lucky for the number of deer he brought back to his Shelby Township home and the time spent with family during this year's hunting season.</p> <p>Easterbrook, who went hunting with his brother and father in Michigan's Thumb, bagged a 7-point buck and two does during the 15-day firearm season that concluded Sunday.</p>

<p>I have been asked to talk about what I consider the most important challenge facing mankind, and I have a fundamental answer. The greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda. Perceiving the truth has always been a challenge to mankind, but in the information age (or as I think of it, the disinformation age) it takes on a special urgency and importance.</p>

<p>For some, it is a choice. They must think about it. For others, the urge comes from inside. It is a deep, primitive calling from a time when time was not a word.</p> <p>Hunting is a survival skill built into our genes.</p>