It's always CO2 that is the guilty party

There are many volcanic gases, the chief of which is that famous greenhouse gas, water vapor, but there are many others, including the very reactive H2S and SO2.  But you would never realize that from the story below unless you read carefully. The influence of H2S and SO2 is mentioned but it is CO2 that is given headline treatment.  In fact, if you read carefully, SO2 was probably the main problem

The Great Dying, which struck the Earth 252 million years ago, wiped out more than 96 per cent of the world's creatures.

And while extreme volcanic eruptions are commonly blamed for triggering the event, research has found the majority of species on the planet were ultimately killed when the oceans became more acidic.

In particular, they claim the volcanic eruptions released huge amounts of carbon dioxide which were absorbed into the oceans and changed their chemical compositions.

The Great Dying, which struck the Earth 252 million years ago, wiped out more than 96% of the world's creatures. And while extreme volcanic eruptions are commonly blamed for triggering the event, research has found the majority of species on the planet were ultimately killed when the oceans became more acidic +4
The Great Dying, which struck the Earth 252 million years ago, wiped out more than 96% of the world's creatures. And while extreme volcanic eruptions are commonly blamed for triggering the event, research has found the majority of species on the planet were ultimately killed when the oceans became more acidic

The study, led by the University of Edinburgh, is the first to show that highly acidic oceans were to blame.

And the researchers said that the amount of carbon added to the atmosphere to trigger the mass extinction was 'probably greater than today's fossil fuel reserves'.

The Great Dying, also known as the Permian-Triassic Boundary extinction, took place over a 60,000-year period, and acidification of the oceans lasted for around 10,000 years.

These extreme temperatures already threatened many land and marine species, but this was made worse when large volcanic eruptions began to take place.

Huge volumes of viscous basalt lava covered an area roughly seven times the size of France, explained the Natural History Museum, and sulphur dioxide from these eruptions caused vinegar-like acid rain to cover the Earth.

The Great Dying, also known as the Permian-Triassic Boundary extinction, took place 252 million years ago.

At this time, a single supercontinent called Pangaea covered the Earth. This huge landmass created extremely hot and dry conditions, and by the Late Permian, temperatures were at an all time high.

These extreme temperatures already threatened many land and marine species, but this was made worse when large volcanic eruptions began to take place.

Huge volumes of viscous basalt lava covered an area roughly seven times the size of France, explained the Natural History Museum, and sulphur dioxide from these eruptions caused vinegar-like acid rain to cover the Earth.

As carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere, global temperatures soared and this caused oceans to get hotter.

This also caused a lack of oxygen in the world's waters, killing off marine life and destroying food chains.

But it was the acidification of the oceans that was the driving force behind the deadliest phase of the extinction, which dealt a final blow to an already unstable ecosystem, the Scottish researchers said.

Researchers believe this acidification lasted for around 10,000 years.

As carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere, global temperatures soared and this caused oceans to get hotter.

This also caused a lack of oxygen in the world's waters, killing off marine life and destroying food chains.

But it was the acidification of the oceans that was the driving force behind the deadliest phase of the extinction, which dealt a final blow to an already unstable ecosystem, the Scottish researchers said.

Oceans can absorb some carbon dioxide, but the large volume released - at such a fast rate - changed their chemistry.

To make these conclusions, a team led by Dr Matthew Clarkson and Professor Rachel Wood analysed rocks in the United Arab Emirates - which were on the ocean floor at the time - to develop a climate model to work out what drove the extinction.

Models of ocean chemistry show that anoxia and euxinia - the presence of hydrogen sulphide - would have been closely associated with high levels of carbon dioxide, which suggests a combination of gases acted as a killing mechanism.

The rocks preserve a detailed record of changing oceanic conditions at the time.

'Scientists have long suspected that an ocean acidification event occurred during the greatest mass extinction of all time, but direct evidence has been lacking until now,' said Dr Clarkson from the University of Edinburgh's school of geosciences.

'This is a worrying finding, considering that we can already see an increase in ocean acidity today that is the result of human carbon emissions.'

The study is published in the journal Science and was carried out in collaboration with the University of Bremen, University of Exeter and the Universities of Graz, Leeds, and Cambridge.

And the findings are now helping scientists understand the threat posed to marine life by modern-day ocean acidification.

Dr Clarkson's research follows similar analysis in Italy earlier this year by geologists from Imperial College London (ICL).

They discovered evidence of vinegar-like acid rain caused by the sulphur dioxide in 250 million-year-old rocks from Italy's Vigo Meano region.

'For the first time, we can say that soils from this time had an acidity similar to that of vinegar,' Mark Sephton from ICL said.

The Vigo Meano rocks contained vanillin - the substance that gives vanilla its distinct taste and flavour - and this was a surprise because vanillin is typically broken down by bacteria.

In an attempt to explain how vanillin could exist in the rocks for so long, the researchers turned to the dairy industry, which sometimes uses vanilla in milk.

Acidifying the milk protects vanillin as the low pH deactivates the enzymes that would break it down. The same can be said for vanillin in ancient rock.

'Our data fits the idea that acid rain caused the microbes to cease functioning,' said Henk Visscher, a palaeoecologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

The findings follow a similar study in 2013 by US scientists who simulated the Great Dying.

The MIT researchers found that sulphur emissions from massive volcano eruptions were significant enough to create extremely acidic rain, which would have affected plant growth.

They believe such acidity may have been sufficient to disfigure plants and stunt their growth, contributing to their ultimate extinction.


After the eruptions ended, the researchers found believe pH levels in rain bounced back, becoming less acidic within one year.

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Obama’s stealth climate treaty

Global trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership can be used to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions” around the world. So said Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Jason Furman in an April 8 speech to the Brookings Institution in favor of the Pacific trade deal.

Furman was referencing the 2015 Economic Report of the President, outlining the supposed environmental protection benefits of trade deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. According to the report, “Trade agreements can raise environmental standards in countries that otherwise would not be motivated to raise standards on their own.”

The report also states “strong, enforceable environmental provisions pursued as part of our bilateral and regional trade agreements can help raise environmental standards in our trading partners…”

To put the icing on the cake, the U.S. Trade Representative website on the trade deal explicitly states, “Through the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the United States is negotiating for robust environment standards and commitments from member countries.”

As the Trans-Pacific Partnership is negotiated, that certainly sounds like bad news for American coal producers, particularly those in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) home state of Kentucky. The coal industry’s export interests could be adversely harmed if it turns out the trade agreement is really a stealth climate treaty.

And Senate Republicans may be prepared to put the trade agreement to an up or down vote — before they even read it.

That’s right. Next week, the Senate will be introducing so-called “fast track” trade promotion authority legislation to allow the trade agreement to come to the floor on an expedited basis without even the opportunity to amend it — after President Barack Obama is done negotiating it.

They’re not even going to review the agreement before they sacrifice the supermajority requirement to adopt it.

Who ever heard of the Senate invoking cloture on legislation members have not even had the chance to read yet? Let alone something with such broad negative ramifications against U.S. energy exporters?

Yet, that is precisely what McConnell and Senate Republicans are proposing to do with the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Now perhaps it is unreasonable to expect that Malaysia might adopt our minimum wage, or Australia to restrict coal electricity consumption the way the Environmental Protection Agency has here. But why leave it to chance?

This is no free trade deal.

Instead, this could be a stealth treaty for Obama to regulate the global economy, and in particular, to put the coal industry out of business — once and for all. Why would McConnell agree to an expedited process for an agreement that might regulate the climate before it has even been finalized?

SOURCE




Reporters Ignore Climate Change Skeptics

The views of researchers skeptical of the theory humans are causing potentially catastrophic climate change have become scarce in news stories covering the topic.

A recent study by George Mason University researchers published in the trade magazine Journalism found contrarian views on the subject are no longer welcome in many of the nation’s newspapers. The authors of “Covering Global Warming in Dubious Times: Environmental Reporters in the New Media Ecosystem,” interviewed nearly a dozen journalists who regularly report on climate change, formerly known as global warming.

Skeptics ‘Generally Irrelevant’

The George Mason study quotes one reporter as saying, “there is pretty much understanding across the board in the United States media now that this is real, this is true, it’s happening, [and] we’re responsible. That debate is over. [Thus] in this day and age, including climate denialists (sic) in a story about climate change is generally irrelevant.”

News editors encourage reporters to deny there is an ongoing debate over humanity’s role on climate change, the study found. Journalists (who requested anonymity in the study) reported, “this practice of ignoring skeptics was largely supported by their managers and editors. In fact, one reporter’s news organization had recently developed an explicit editorial policy discouraging reporters from quoting climate change deniers in environment and science coverage.”

L.A. Times Confirms Bias

A Los Angeles Times commentary (October 8, 2013) confirms the study’s findings. Paul Thornton, the Times letter’s editor explained the paper’s decision not to print letters to the editor questioning the theory of human-induced global warming. Thornton acknowledged he is “no expert when it comes to our planet’s complex climate processes.” Instead, Thornton stated he relies on the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which he described as “a body made up of the world’s top climate scientists.” According to Thornton the IPCC, had recently concluded “it was 95% percent certain that we fossil-fuel-burning humans are driving global warming. The debate right now is not whether this evidence exists (clearly, it does) but what this evidence means for us.”

Thornton’s commentary concluded, "Simply put,I do my best to keep letters of error off the letters page; when one does run, a correction is published. Saying ‘there is no sign humans have caused climate change’ is not stating an opinion, it’s asserting a factual inaccuracy.”

‘Witch Hunt’

Jay Lehr, science director at The Heartland Institute, publisher of Environment & Climate News, identifies something more ominous at work. “There is an old saying in law schools everywhere,” Lehr said. “'If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither on your side, pound the table.’ What is going on now is a witch hunt, proving there are no longer any supportable facts that indicate mankind has any significant role in determining climate. All that remains is to vilify those in opposition.”

SOURCE





Obama Pushes to Train Veterans for Solar Power

As if abuses of veterans by the VA weren't enough!

President Barack Obama on Friday unveiled an expansion of U.S. government efforts to train military veterans for jobs in the solar power industry during a visit to Utah.

The administration announced a new goal of training 75,000 people to enter the solar work force by 2020. That is an increase from a goal announced last year of training 50,000 workers by the same deadline. Many of those workers would be veterans, administration officials said.

The Department of Defense plans to have "Solar Ready Vets" programs at 10 bases across the country to train military members who are returning to civilian life for solar jobs.

"It's going to train transitioning military personnel for careers in this growing industry," Obama said of the program during remarks at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, standing near a set of solar panel installations.

Officials declined to provide a figure for what the programs would cost.

SOURCE





Canada Passed on U.S.-Mexico Climate Announcement

Canada declined a U.S. invitation last week to jointly announce climate policy cooperation with Mexico, with Ottawa saying it has not yet finalized its own domestic strategy, sources from both countries familiar with the discussions said on Thursday.

On March 24, three days before the United States and Mexico announced they would partner on a high-level bilateral clean energy and climate policy task force, U.S. officials approached Canadian counterparts asking them to join the effort, three sources said.

One source said that while Canadian officials said they were supportive of North American harmonization of climate policy they were not yet prepared to join the continental partners.

Shane Buckingham, spokesman for Canadian Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, declined to comment on the invitation but said Ottawa is preparing to submit its climate plan to the United Nations "in the weeks ahead" after it gets feedback from the provinces about their own emissions-cutting policies.

"Given the importance of this submission, Canada wants to ensure it has the most complete picture of provincial and territorial plans possible before submitting," Buckingham told Reuters.

Mexico on March 27 said it would cap its greenhouse gas emissions by 2026, becoming the first emerging economy to submit its climate plan ahead of a key U.N. summit in Paris from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.

The United States on Tuesday formally submitted its own climate plan, which commits the country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions up to 28 percent by 2025 below 2005 levels.

Buckingham said the United States and Canada already align regulatory initiatives, including harmonizing vehicle standards, reducing sulfur in gasoline and phasing down HFCs.

He said Canada also works jointly with the United States and Mexico through the Commission for Environmental Cooperation.

In December, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a televised interview with the CBC that his government preferred a continental response to climate change rather than imposing a unilateral price on carbon on Canada's oil sector, its fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Harper's conservative government opposes carbon pricing policies, which have support from opposition parties.

The environment critic for the opposition New Democratic Party in the Canadian Parliament said climate policy was not a priority for the Harper government.

"They're hoping to form some kind of Axis of Denial with the next Republican (U.S.) government and they're utterly disengaged on the climate file," said Megan Leslie, deputy leader of the NDP.

SOURCE





Heartland Institute Not in ‘Tactical Retreat’ from Climate Realism

By Joseph Bast, President, The Heartland Institute

Washington Post column by Dana Milbank read too much into a four-month-old op-ed

Washington Post Columnist Dana Milbank wrote in his April 6 column that The Heartland Institute was making “a tactical retreat” away from the fight against global warming alarmism. I wish he had called me first, I would have told him: Nothing could be further from the truth.

In the coming months we will distribute more than a quarter-million books and reports on climate change and host the Tenth International Conference on Climate Change on June 11-12 in Washington, DC. The man-made global warming paradigm is crumbling, public support is vanishing, and except for a few last hold-outs at the Washington Post and New York Times, the whole world knows it. Human activity is not causing a climate crisis.

To invent his story, Milbank took out of context two passages from a December 24, 2014 opinion piece at Human Events by Justin Haskins, an editor for The Heartland Institute. I would have phrased it a bit differently, but I don’t disagree with the points Haskins made.

The Heartland Institute is a think tank, not a church. We don’t all sing from the same hymnal. I encourage debate and tolerate dissent, that’s how I learn new things and how my staff gets better. We agree on the important stuff: that individual liberty must expand, markets must be free, and government ought to be limited.

SOURCE

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