Real Climate

I love the site RealClimate. RealClimate is a group blog by a group of climate scientists for journalists and the general public. It offers much more than sound bites, and covers a range of topics. Recently, they put up a new post/site feature entitled Start Here with a lot of links to basic information about climate change. It looks to be a very good resource, with suggestions for complete novices to those wanted really technical information. I teach about climate change in some science classes for non-science majors. As I am not a climate scientist, I am often in need of technical information to answer student questions. I often have trouble finding this information in simpler sources intended for a general audience, and I also have trouble digging it out from more technical sources. More often than not, I find the information at RealClimate.

Today, they also have an interesting post about temperature changes over the last 1000 years.

Step It Up

So, today was a National Day of Climate Action promoting cutting carbon emissions 80% by 2050. So, in celebration, here are a few climate-related items.

• This radio address by Bill McKibbon founder of Step it Up 2007 was quite interesting. (Sorry, the radio address download is not free, but here is a link to a recent Talk of the Nation with McKibbon as a guest.)
  
  
• I recently attended a talk given by the CEO of a major oil company (rhymes with swell). As public talks go, it was a very good one. By, by gosh, does that man love carbon-based fuels! He is either (a) very good at his job as a public representative or (b) a true believer or (c) both. His message: there are two problems keeping us from energy security. First, public policy doesn't allow the development of some energy resources. Second, public policy doesn't encourage and support the development of other resources. Oh, yeah, and we have plenty of fuel, if only we could develop it. Now, I do not disagree with a number of things he said. For example, I also believe it will take time to move away from carbon. Yes, I think ethanol from corn is problematic. My main issue with the talk was that he spoke nothing of conservation, and nothing about changing the way we do things. He talked of energy savings through improving efficiency and increasing energy supply to "maintain our lifestyle".
  
  
• Here's a little light reading - the IPCC 2007 Summary for Policy Makers. Too scary for bedtime.
  
  
• Check out the site RealClimate for ongoing and technical information about climate change.
  
  

Frak!

Ack! We've been zapped by the Alternative Minimum Tax! Our double (but similar) incomes combined with our whopping tax shelters (2 kids + mortgage interest) somehow means we can only take about $1450 of the $3150 tax credit for the hybrid we purchased this year.

Of course, if we made over $750,000, we could take the whole thing.

S. F. Chronicle Article: Hybrid Tax Credit Bait and Switch