Climate Lynx

I wonder what it was like.   I mean before gunpowder and internal combustion engines. How much noise was there prior to our modern inventions? The internal combustion engine, which is the controlled and contained explosion of gas, was patented by Thomas Mead in 1794. It is the greatest proliferator of noise. Its ubiquitous use in automobiles got off to the races with Henry Ford’s Model T in 1908 and for the next 114 years it could be said, noise is our most prolific product. For 300,000 years prior to the Model T, Homo Sapiens could still hear the birds sing, the breeze in the pines, and relax in peace. At most, only 00.038 percent of our existence as Homo Sapiens has been spent listening to the din of an internal combustion culture. Rural America was once a destination to recover from urban noise. What was quiet rural peace is now ripped by unmuffled ATVs, snowmobiles, motorcycles, trucks and cars. It is indisputable the development of internal combustion engines has relieved ...

  Here is NASA’s Climate Websites: “It’s not your imagination: Certain extreme events, like heat waves, are happening more often and becoming more intense. But what role are humans playing in Earth’s extreme weather and climate event makeover? Scientists are finding clear human fingerprints.” “Earth-orbiting satellites and other technological advances have enabled scientists to see the big picture, collecting many different types of information about our planet and its climate on a global scale. This body of data, collected over many years, reveals the signals of a changing climate. “From more frequent and longer heat waves to more intense rainstorms, scientists are increasingly confident human-induced climate change is making some types of extreme weather and climate events much more likely.” Off NOAA’s website: The heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide and other gases was demonstrated in the mid-19th century. 2  Their ability to affect the transfer of infrared en...

To avoid a climate catastrophe the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, (IPCC) and the world science community have given us until 2030 to reduce our carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions by half. Then, the next challenge will be cranking down on our emissions to near zero pollution by 2050. Simultaneously, the IPCC, our National Academies of Science and world science organizations tell us we must develop technologies to remove and then lock up the excess CO2.  The scientists do not say “lock up”, but use the term “sequester”. While the science community has watched in disbelief as we ignored over thirty years of their advice, they have not thrown in the towel. They have stayed optimistic and driven for solutions. While we debate science settled over a hundred years ago, the scientists and engineers forge ahead.  They continue to amaze me with their tenacity in the face of public apathy. The latest amazing accomplishment is new technology to remove CO2 from the air...