Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Links

Dont pin US tornado on climate change: UN panel head | Astro Awani
GENEVA: Pinning the deadly tornado in the US state of Oklahoma on climate change is wrongheaded, even though the world is set to see a rise in high-profile weather disasters due to global warming, the leader [Pachauri] of a UN body said Tuesday.
Chilly days can kill by raising blood pressure | Health | News | Daily Express
COLD weather really is a killer because it triggers dangerous spikes in blood pressure, according to experts.
Tesla and the Myth of the Zero-Emissions Vehicle | National Review Online
Indeed, when you factor in the toxicity of materials used in battery production, it’s hard to make the case that EVs are a very green alternative.
THE HOCKEY SCHTICK: New paper finds sea level rise has greatly decelerated over past 10,000 years
A paper published today in the Journal of Quaternary Science reconstructs sea level rise in New Jersey, USA over the past 10,000 years and "concludes that relative sea levels rose at an average rate of 4 mm per year from 10,000-6,000 years ago, 2 mm per year from 6,000 to 2,000 years ago, and 1.3 mm per year from 2,000 years ago to AD 1900." Thus, the paper finds a large deceleration in sea level rise over the past 10,000 years, to a rate in 1900 essentially the same as during the past seven years.
The Secret Donors Behind the Center for American Progress and Other Think Tanks
...the fact that CAP has received financial support from First Solar while touting its virtues to Washington policy-makers points to a conflict of interest that, critics argue, ought to be disclosed to the public. CAP’s promotion of the company’s interests has supplemented First Solar’s aggressive Washington lobbying efforts, on which it spent more than $800,000 during 2011 and 2012.

“The only thing more damaging than disclosing your donors and having questions raised about the independence of your work is not disclosing them and have the information come to light and undermine your work,” says Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. “The best practice, whether required by the IRS or not, is to disclose contributions.”

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