Cycling and GPS Musings

ridepdw: Pretty sweet light installation. lustik: Public Art...

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:48:01 -0700

Pretty sweet light installation.

lustik:

Public Art Lighting “Ballroom Luminoso” - Joe O’Connell + Blessing Hancock Public Art via Notcot

ilovecharts: space debris I

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:13:01 -0700

ilovecharts:

space debris I

Photo

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:12:48 -0700

theswinginsixties: The Mothers of Invention, ‘We’re Only in it...

Sun, 12 May 2013 03:36:58 -0700

theswinginsixties:

The Mothers of Invention, ‘We’re Only in it For the Money’ - 1968 cover art

jtotheizzoe: climateadaptation: jtotheizzoe: 400. For the...

Sun, 12 May 2013 03:30:15 -0700

jtotheizzoe:

climateadaptation:

jtotheizzoe:

400.

For the first time in human history, carbon dioxide levels reached an average daily level of 400 parts per million, as reported this week. The last time the atmosphere contained this much carbon dioxide was 3 million years ago.

This new data comes from the Mauna Loa observatory and a set of data continuously collected since 1958: The Keeling curve. This represents almost a 50% increase since the beginning of the industrial age. Although there is some seasonal variability (that little jagged edge) due to seasonal vegetation sucking up a bit of the CO2 every year, the trend is clear … and it’s not good.

So what does that mean? The effects are not something to look forward to. The last time the CO2 level was this high, way back when, here’s what the world was like:

Back then, it was a different world. Global average temperatures during the period were between 5.4 and 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit (3 to 4 degrees Celsius) higher than today, and sea level was as much as 131 feet (40 meters) higher in some places.

While the average (which is calculated from levels over the past several days) has since dropped back to 399 (as of today), the saddest part is that both of those numbers are unacceptable. 400 is just a little more catchy. With 401 and beyond right around the corner, what now? We must cut emissions as fast as humanly possible.

Because we are mighty humans, and it is possible.

We need to take care, because we all share this air. Read about the science of our CO2 contribution here. Watch this episode of It’s Okay To Be Smart to gain some hope maybe.

What do you think is the #1 thing we can do to change? What are YOU willing to do?

This milestone got some buzz this week. These articles don’t show the harsh reality that billions of people are going to buy cars, laptops, cell phones, homes with lightswitches, heat, and A/C, and all the luxury goods we westerners enjoy.

Countless tens of millions of miles of roads, power lines, fiber optic cable, drinking water and sewer pipes, gas pipelines, and other infrastructure are slated to be built for decades on end.

There is no way emissions will stop growing. Every projection shows this (see the preeminent IEA’s ‘Fact Sheets’ to sober up).

The question is not, What are you willing to do? No, it’s Who is going to deny billions and billions of people in China, south Asia, Africa, India, South America, and eastern Europeans from accessing these goods and services in the coming years? Who’s going to stop growth?

Michael adds good counterpoint and perspective to my earlier comments. There is a harsh reality of expectation that Western affluence has created in developing countries, and that expectation is that everyone should have a shot at the life and luxuries that we have enjoyed for so long.

It’s hard not to just throw up your arms and just make exasperated sounds, right? Is it this hopeless? I don’t want it to be hopeless. Because hopeless is close to helpless, and we still have the power to minimize change.

So maybe a better question is what are you willing to do to adapt?

Saturday. I worked today. Now a night flight to Raliegh

Sat, 11 May 2013 18:50:05 -0700

Saturday. I worked today. Now a night flight to Raliegh

#hefuckingwon

Sat, 11 May 2013 15:47:58 -0700

#hefuckingwon

Photo

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:04:40 -0700

sufferfaces: helmeteering: May 2013: Jurgen Van Den Broeck...

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:03:56 -0700

sufferfaces:

helmeteering:

May 2013: Jurgen Van Den Broeck training in Sierra Nevada.

(via Timeline Photos)

Buck Wild

theswinginsixties: The Velvet Underground — There She Goes...

Thu, 09 May 2013 20:55:25 -0700

theswinginsixties:

The Velvet Underground — There She Goes Again - 1967

#walkinthadog

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:42:34 -0700

#walkinthadog

jtotheizzoe: Threading the Corona Top: The magnetic filaments...

Thu, 09 May 2013 17:04:03 -0700

jtotheizzoe:

Threading the Corona

Top: The magnetic filaments of the sun’s corona, captured at top by Miloslav Druckmüller in a composite of 38 different images during a solar eclipse. You’ll want to see the super-huge version here, trust me. It will change you.

Bottom: “Coronal rain” captured by NASA’s SDO satellite. The superheated coronal plasma is seen traveling along magnetic field lines during a coronal mass ejection.

The corona cooks at over a million degrees Kelvin compared to the relatively frigid 5800 K of the photosphere below it. Exactly why this plasma is so superheated isn’t completely known, but it might be subject to the same kind of magnetic induction as an electric generator. Whatever the cause, the normally invisible lines of the sun’s magnetic field are drawn in brilliant form within the corona, and charged plasma is the paint.

You can get a good look at the solar corona today (right NOW for those catching this post live at 5:30 PM ET on May 9th) during today’s annular eclipse, being broadcast live from the South Pacific by the Slooh Space Camera.

(top image via Colossal)

space-pics: I present my favourite picture of any object in our...

Thu, 09 May 2013 17:02:26 -0700

space-pics:

I present my favourite picture of any object in our solar system, an Active volcano on Io, takes my breath away every time
http://space-pics.tumblr.com/