Arctic Ice Disappearing

(AP) New satellite observations show that sea ice in the Arctic is melting faster while air temperatures in the region are rising sharply, scientists say.

Since 2002, satellite data have revealed unusually early springtime melting in areas north of Siberia and Alaska. Now the melting trend has spread throughout the Arctic, according to a national collaboration of scientists.

The latest observations through September show that melting in 2005 began a record 17 days earlier than usual.

The observations showed 2.06 million square miles of sea ice as late as Sept. 19. That's the lowest measurement of Arctic sea ice cover ever recorded, the researchers said. It's also 20 percent less than the average of end-of-summer ice pack cover measurements recorded since 1978.

At the same time, average air temperatures across most of the Arctic region from January to August 2005 were as much as 5.4 degrees warmer than average temperature over the last 50 years, said the team of researchers from two universities and NASA.

'The melting and retreat trends are accelerating,' Ted Scambos, of the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center, said in a statement released by the university. " ...


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/29/tech/main889404.shtml

... I'm still wrestling with the twin fundamental questions: what evidence would it take to (1) convince enough people there's a problem and (2) we can and should do something to fix it?

Meanwhile, back at the deficit ...

"Q:You hold cash in your fund, not bonds. Can you hold corporate bonds or agencies?

We can hold bonds, but we think long-term bond yields at the 4% level are a bad deal. They do not compensate you for the uncertainties of inflation of the massive deterioration in the fiscal integrity of the United States. And I do mean that. It is a travesty to witness what the federal government is doing to the balance sheet of the U.S. "

-- Robert Rodriguez, head of $2 billion FPA Capital fund


http://www.thestreet.com/_iwon/mutualfundmonday/mutualfundmondaygg/10243125_3.html

... don't say I didn't warn you.

For the record: KATRINA TIMELINE

A full recounting of the sorry mess thru 9/3/05
http://www.thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline

Think Progress ? KATRINA TIMELINE: "KATRINA TIMELINE
Comment on the timeline here.
Friday, August 26
GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA [Office of the Governor]
GULF COAST STATES REQUEST TROOP ASSISTANCE FROM PENTAGON: At a 9/1 press conference, Lt. Gen. Russel Honor?, commander, Joint Task Force Katrina, said that the Gulf States began the process of requesting additional forces on Friday, 8/26. [DOD]
Saturday, August 27
GOV. HALEY BARBOUR DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN MISSISSIPPI [Office of the Governor]
5AM CDT ? KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE [CNN]
GOV. BLANCO ASKS BUSH TO DECLARE FEDERAL STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: ?I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster.? [Office of the Governor]
FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARED, DHS AND FEMA GIVEN FULL AUTHORITY TO RESPOND TO KATRINA: ?Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.? [White House]
Sunday, August 28
2AM CDT ? KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]
7AM CDT ? KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE [CNN]
MORNING ? LOUISIANA NEWSPAPER SIGNALS LEVEES MAY GIVE: ?Forecasters Fear Levees Won?t Hold Katrina?: ?Forecasters feared Sunday afternoon that storm driven waters will lap over the New Orleans levees when monster Hurricane Katrina pushes past the Crescent City tomorrow.? [Lafayette Daily Advertiser]
9:30 AM CDT ? MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES "

craigslists posts on Kat 8/30-9/8

Politics - World - s.f. bayarea forums - craigslist: "Krugman on FEMA
2005-09-08 07:43:16
Krugman writes: 'the undermining of FEMA began as soon as President Bush took office. Instead of choosing a professional with expertise in responses to disaster to head the agency, Mr. Bush appointed Joseph Allbaugh, a close political confidant. Mr. Allbaugh quickly began trying to scale back some of FEMA's preparedness programs.

You might have expected the administration to reconsider its hostility to emergency preparedness after 9/11 - after all, emergency management is as important in the aftermath of a terrorist attack as it is following a natural disaster. As many people have noticed, the failed response to Katrina shows that we are less ready to cope with a terrorist attack today than we were four years ago.

But the downgrading of FEMA continued, with the appointment of Michael Brown as Mr. Allbaugh's successor.

Mr. Brown had no obvious qualifications, other than having been Mr. Allbaugh's college roommate. But Mr. Brown was made deputy director of FEMA; The Boston Herald reports that he was forced out of his previous job, overseeing horse shows. And when Mr. Allbaugh left, Mr. Brown became the agency's director. The raw cronyism of that appointment showed the contempt the administration felt for the agency; one can only imagine the effects on staff morale.

That contempt, as I've said, reflects a general hostility to the role of government as a force for good. And Americans living along the Gulf Coast have now reaped the consequences of that hostility.'

... and there's your RJ Moment of 2005





[sfo] Politics - World (context)
You decided to live below sea level
2005-09-07 13:34:27
right on the Gulf. You"