Scientists Confirm Earth's Energy Is Out of Balance

[norml]

Scientists Confirm Earth's Energy Is Out of Balance

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Published: Apr 30, 2005
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Scientists have concluded more energy is being absorbed from the sun than is emitted back to space, throwing the Earth's energy "out of balance" and warming the globe.

Scientists from NASA, Columbia University, New York, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif. used satellites, data from buoys and computer models to study the Earth's oceans. They confirmed the energy imbalance by using precise measurements of increasing ocean heat content over the past 10 years.




Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) measurements show the reflected solar radiation (left) and emitted heat radiation (right) for January 1, 2002. In both images, the lightest areas represent thick clouds, which both reflect radiation from the Sun and block heat rising from the Earth's surface. Notice the clouds above the western Pacific Ocean, where there is strong uprising of air, and the relative lack of clouds north and south of the equator. Credit: NASA


The study reveals Earth's energy imbalance is large by standards of the planet's history. The imbalance is 0.85 watts per meter squared. That will cause an additional warming of 0.6 degrees Celsius (1 degree Fahrenheit) by the end of this century.



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http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_20380.shtml

[grytpype]

1. Conservation of energy is just a theory!

Only Communist terrorist freedom-haters believe in the conservation of energy!

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Right..just ask Michael Crichton.

[Birthmark]

16. Bwah! Very good!

[Gregorian]

2. Trees might play a role.

Trees obstruct sunlight that would otherwise strike the ground. I have noticed that where there are no trees, the ground is significantly hotter. It doesn't take an idiot like me to see this dramatic difference. But I haven't heard of anyone addressing it. My thought is that the vast areas of deforestation have contributed to the phenomenon which this article refers. And it is a double for nothing problem in that we are producing co2 while at the same time decreasing our ablity to convert. I sure wish I knew where to go in order to relay my thoughts. Like it would matter...

[derby378]

4. Solution: PLANT MORE TREES

Do not let anyone or anything get in your way. Find some open ground, learn which trees are best for the soil, get some seeds, and plant trees.

[yorkiemommie1]

7. * planted a tree just the other day

... threw three shovels of dirt at it.

:grr:

[derby378]

10. Ain't that ducky?

As Rush Limbaugh once said, "He who lives by the photo-op dies by the photo-op."

He's gonna have to do more than "plant" a single tree in order to make up for all the damage his policies have inflicted on the environment.

[The Doctor.]

8. The Cannibus genus absorbs nearly 3 times as much CO2

than most regular trees.

just plant some hemp... of the 'innocuous' variety.

[ltfranklin]

9. How about Kudzu?

It's all over the place in the south...I've always wondered what it's environmental impact was, with that heavy green carpet covering everything it can get to. Of course, it probably kills a lot of trees as well.

[ashling]

22. it DEFINITELY kills a lot of trees

but I've been interested in the prospects of using it for a food source for cattle, as well as ethanol.

[Gregorian]

12. Here's the problem I see-

The lag time between planting, and maturity.

They come in and cut the trees. Then they plant. The term, which sounds remarkably like "retard", is "replant". Ok, so they replant... That hillside is now barren for at least ten years. This, I know from my real estate ramblings. I used to be able to buy land. But then people got greedy and cut and replanted. I called it "shred n sell", "mow n move", etc. I have a bunch of phrases for it. It gets worse, but I'll stay on topic. The problem is with us now. Like my sig line- what can we do about it? Not a hell of a lot, except to stop it. Now. And that isn't an option. We can't even agree, let alone educate people. And that is why I have a big piece of land with flowing water- so I can sit and watch the whole ball of confusion blow up. I tried. And all it did was piss people off. My neighbor is clearcutting my front yard. 4000 acres, and he has to cut my view. It's only ten acres. I offered to buy the trees. It would cost in excess of $100k! Get that! So the love of money, combined with demand, gets us in trouble again.

[Straight Shooter]

24. Gregorian, your neighbor is a total jerkwad.

I empathize completely. In my mountain home, over the last 14 years, I have watched my beautiful views to the east, to the west, and to the south demolished by people who put up the ugliest effin' buildings imaginable. And they don't even live here.

As for trees, the local nurseryman said in 20 years they'll have to clearcut my front and back yard because I'm planting so many trees. He was kidding. But I have planted about 35 trees in the last 3 years, and this year I'm going to plant maybe 3 more. Got to watch that water usage, though x(

[htuttle]

5. Koyaanisqatsi

There's a lot more than just the climate that's out of balance.

[alfredo]

6. Venus absorbed more than it reflected.

[psychopomp]

11. Having one of those "holy shit" moments

The chance of a "runaway heat cycle" rapidly bringing about climate change is pretty freaky, can't get with that at all...

[Algorem]

13. I don't see this in my Bible.

[XemaSab]

15. It's in mine

burning in a lake of fire is just what Jeebus warned sinners about.

[Roland99]

14. *'s response would be the earth just needs to pray

Maybe meditate a bit and get its energy back in balance.

[darkism]

17. What a bunch of junk science.

:sarcasm:
(I've been waiting to use that one!)

[kenny blankenship]

18. Maybe it's Chi needs to be realigned?

A good hard fuck usually opens the heart chakra.

[WindRavenX]

19. The carbon cycle is completely fucked up

It doesn't take a genius to figure that more CO2 in the atmosphere (an increased rate) - a fixed rate of removal = more CO2 in the atmosphere than should be.
More trees really can't help...we have GOT to level of CO2 output or we're fucked.

[norml]

21. More trees would help, along with reducing CO2 output.

The Larch

[dbt]

20. What about the freaking Chemtrails?

What sort of role are they playing in this mess? "thick clouds, which both reflect radiation from the Sun and block heat rising from the Earth's surface."

It's way past time for a serious discussion of what these thin, artificial and reflective clouds are doing to aggravate the blocking of heat rising from the Earth's surface.

If Chemtrails are, as I suspect more with each passing day, part of Edward Teller's "Sunscreen For Planet Earth" solution from 1997 (that is, to reduce incoming sunlight by one per cent), then what are they blocking from escaping?

And while we're at it, what are they doing to an already out-of-whack global weather pattern?

[Roland99]

23. Oh good grief. Chemtrails? Contrails, sure, but chemtrails?

We have enough :tinfoilhat: wearing up here already.


Now, contrails can spread and actually result in quite a bit of cloud cover. Observations were made during the days immediately after 9/11 and I believe some differences were noted.