Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are higher today than at any time in measurable history.

A study published in the journal Science reports that the current level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere — about 390 parts per million — is higher today than at any time in measurable history — at least the last 2.1 million years. Previous peaks of CO2 were never more than 300 ppm over the past 800,000 years, and the concentration is rising by around 2 ppm each year.

2000-2009 was the hottest decade.
The World Meterological Organization reported that 2000-2009 was the hottest decade on record, with 8 of the hottest 10 years having occurred since 2000.

2009 will end up as one of the 5 hottest years.
2009 will end up as one of the 5 hottest years since 1850 and the U.K.’s Met Office predicts that, with a moderate El Niño, 2010 will likely break the record.

Arctic ice cover – already perilously thin – is vulnerable to further melting.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center reported that while a bit more summer Arctic sea ice appeared in 2009 than the record breaking lows of the last two years, it was still well below normal levels. Given that the Arctic ice cover remains perilously thin, it is vulnerable to further melting, posing an ever-increasing threat to Arctic wildlife, including polar bears.

The Arctic summer could be ice-free by mid-century — sooner than scientists expected.
The Arctic summer could be ice-free by mid-century, not at the end of the century as previously expected, according to a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The East Antarctica ice sheet – thought to be colder and more stable that the West – is also shrinking.
Recent observations published in the highly respected Nature Geosciences indicate that the East Antarctica ice sheet has been shrinking. This surprised researchers, who expected that only the West Antarctic ice sheet would shrink in the near future because the East Antarctic ice sheet is colder and more stable.

Climate changes are already observed in the United States and are projected to grow.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program completed an assessment of what is known about climate change impacts in the U.S. and reported that, “Climate changes are already observed in the United States and

…are projected to grow.” These changes include “increases in heavy downpours, rising temperature and sea level, rapidly retreating glaciers, thawing permafrost
, lengthening ice-free seasons in the ocean and on lakes and rivers, earlier snowmelt, and alterations in river flows.”
Slight changes in the climate may trigger abrupt threats to ecosystems.
According to a report by the U.S. Geological Survey, slight changes in the climate may trigger abrupt threats to ecosystems that are not easily reversible or adaptable, such as insect outbreaks, wildfire, and forest dieback. “More vulnerable ecosystems, such as those that already face stressors other than climate change, will almost certainly reach their threshold for abrupt change sooner.” An example of such an abrupt threat is the outbreak of spruce bark beetles throughout the western U.S. caused by increased winter temperatures that allow more beetles to survive. By Environmental Defense on 03/21/2010

Let’s see what we see with our own eye’s by November. It becomes increasingly clear that a great deal of what’s been called “climate science” isn’t science at all. It’s ideological propaganda, often religious (but certainly not Biblical), masquerading as science, oh really.

But certainly not Biblical you can’t make this kind of stuff up and I just watched on c-span the House march most of the Republicans up to the Mike to strongly disagree with the bill. My first thought was they seemed to be over dressed. Do I have a PH.D, no but I see things. Maybe am to far left.

What a shame, I was all ready to enjoy a “Forty Years Reunion” with Jack A Smith who I read weekly for a number of Civil Rts era years & whose byline I haven’t come across since the advent of Irwin Silber at the Guardian. But that “of course Obama & the Dems are superior” line ruined that impulse in a hurry.
If Kim is around, I’d like to suggest that ‘beverly’s rap be reprinted & posted as an article, perhaps revised & expanded some? A lot of her formulations are just classic IMO. Some are even classic as my Spring 2008 campaign button: Run Tom Run:)

As for the electorate expecting political miracles, is it too much to ask for the president to TRY to push for policies he claimed to support and that the gullible masses in turn believed? Take health care. If the president can wield backroom deals, twist arms, and make threats to pass a bad bill, he can do the same to pass a good bill. Instead, Obummer chooses the former, allowing drug and insurance industries to write bill that will enrich them further w/o providing affordable, quality care to everyone. LBJ got enacted civil rights legislation and Medicare in times that were more turbulent than now. Back then, those things were considered political miracles but they came to fruition.

Take #2: Jobs. We need jobs big time. Why didn’t Obama’s first stimulus package include a massive public works initiative? Roads, schools, housing, childcare, afterschool/summer student enrichment activities, home care worker subsidies to increase pay and training of one of the few fastest growing employment sectors, in patient drug treatment facilities instead of imprisoning potheads/crackheads/alcoholics, hospitals, clinics – all of these are needed and would provide millions of jobs and tax revenue for states. The timing was perfect. He was new to the office and had most of the public behind him. The economy sucked. Even those not behind him would not turn down a job if they were in need of one. Being the leader of the big dog in the free world means one has to believe in miracles and fight like hell to affect them.

Mr. Smith writes: “Of course the Democratic Party and the president are superior to the right/far-right Republican opposition, but that is not the issue. ” Would things really be that much different under McCain than Obama right now? No strings attached bank bailout. Continued Iraq occupation w/loophole-filled exit strategy that insures US will find or manufacture some chaos/reason we must remain indefinitely. Ratcheted up action in Afghanistan using same Bush lies/rhetoric as justification. US still taking orders from Israel. Joe/Jane Lunchpail (and Joe/Jane briefcase too) getting poorer while the number of billionaires has increased in this depression, er. recession. Privatization reving up nicely as tax dollars go to rogue bankers and charter schools. Torture? Renditioning? Indefinite detention? Assault on civil liberties? Still going strong under a Democratic president w/a Democratic majority in Congress. The only difference is the Democrats do these things with a smile and p.c. bromides; the Republicans just do it. AND, as Mr. Smith admits that it appears even down the road, the Dems will not move toward more progressive, just policies. So spare me sir, the tired lesser of two evils line.

As for covert and overt racism against Obama, who cares? Obama will go out of his way to appease the same racists who hate him while throwing those will would literally eat his excrement for breakfast under the bus. As for all the black folks who still defend him 24/7, they need to get over their acute case of ethnoitis. Black folks have seen enough Head Negroes in Charge – from mayors to preachers to grandstanding race hustlers to the Congressional Black Caucus who do squat to advance their concerns. Black people need to wake up and smell reality. Obama and the Democrats only want their vote. Once in power, get lost suckers. If they keep voting politicians in who screw them over – and make NO demands/raise no ruckus on said politicians – then black folks – and other races who do same – deserve to be screwed royally.

We live in a nation that has enshrined instant gratification as a moral absolute and, as a result, ignorance has become a virtue. Politicians and voters alike make important decisions on the basis of bumper-sticker-level thought processes and hot-button issues–guns, gay marriage, immigration, etc. Knee-jerk, mindless, jingoistic claptrap passes for political discourse, and the voters take sides based on emotions and impulse rather than knowledge, contemplation, and investigation. A corporate-owned media adds its intellectually bankrupt propaganda to the mix, and, poof, the greatest nation on earth has become the dumbest nation on earth.

We are a culture of the uncultured. We adore politicians who offer idiotically simple solutions to complex problems and who deliver those solutions wrapped in feel-good rhetoric that’s long on sentiment and short on substance.

Why do you think politicians lie? Why do you think they simply say what they have to say to get votes? It’s not because they’re pathological liars or even because they are immoral hacks. It’s simply because they know their audience, and their audience largely consists of people who desperately want to be spoon-fed the pablum of easy answers and quick solutions. Those voters would rather be disappointed in Obama than put in the hard work and thinking required to make actual changes in this country. Now they can blame him for not getting what they wanted instead of wondering how they could have been stupid enough to vote for him.

When will Washington change? When the voters demand it, but I’m not holding my breath. Can you imagine what our government would be like if Americans gave as much attention to electing a President as they give to a football game or “American Idol” or the indiscretions of Tiger Woods? I suspect we’ll never know.

On March 10, 2010 – a meeting of ‘collaborating minds’ was held at the US Senate office building in Washington. The meeting was sponsored by the US Senators, led by Senator Carl Levin (member of “America’s Pro-Israel Lobby”) and organized by the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). The participants included Congressmen Anna Eshoo, Mike Honda and Keith Ellison, professors Shireen Hunter (Georgetown University), Scott Lucas (University of Birmingham, UK), Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak (University of Maryland), Juan Cole (University of Michigan) and Muhammad Sahimi (University of Southern California) – and of course former US ambassador to NATO, Robert E. Hunter, now a Senior Advisor at the famous Zionist think tank RAND. The discussions were moderated by Neil MacFarquhar (New York Times) and Dr. Trita Parsi, president of NIAC.

The above list shows what kind of submissions, discussions and recommendations would have taken place other than Israeli wish of a regime-change in Tehran.

http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2010/03/14/iran-at-a-crossroads/