World Climate Report
We at World Climate Report wholeheartedly endorse First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign to curb childhood obesity. As she has said many times, about two-thirds of American adults, and about a third of American children, are overweight or obese. The country spends $150 billion every year treating obesity-related diseases, most of which are preventable. Military officials, looking at a pool of increasingly overweight recruits, have said that the nation’s weight problem is a security issue as well as an economic one - obesity is now one of the most common disqualifiers for military service.
If you are in the DC area, be sure to make a visit to the south lawn of the White House grounds where the first lady will be organically growing lots and lots of spinach (more spinach than anything else see Figure 1)! She not only plans on growing the stuff, but she is featuring her side dish called “No Cream Creamed Spinach” which to feed six people requires two pounds of baby spinach (the recipe is at the end of our article). We are sure the Obama children just cannot get enough of her healthy spinach salad.
Given the Obama’s focus on spinach, we decided to deliver them some wonderful news about how spinach responds to elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).
The first article we found appeared recently in the Annals of Applied Biology and was produced by five scientists with affiliations with various institutions in China and Australia. Jin et al. reveal that “This research was financially supported by the State Key Development Programme for Basic Research of China, the Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Major Research Program of Zhejiang Province.” Apparently, China is onboard the spinach express and they are seriously funding research on our favorite leafy vegetable.
Jin et al. grew spinach in growth chambers with ambient levels of CO2 at 350 ppm and elevated CO2 at 800 ppm. Although not the focus of their research, they report results on how spinach was impacted by the higher levels of CO2. After 20 days, the elevated CO2 had caused the shoot fresh weight to increase by 75% while the shoot dry weight increased by 50%. The picture below shows both the control plants on the left side and the elevated CO2 plants second from the right side - the control plants look scrawny compared to the luckier ones that grew in a chamber with higher levels of CO2. Jin et al. also noted that the extra CO2 more than doubled the rate of photosynthesis by the plants, and if the news just couldn’t get any better for the first lady, the plants enjoying the extra CO2 increased their soluble protein levels by 33%!
Figure 2. (enlarged here) The plants of spinach grown in soil for 20 days after nitric oxide (NO) and CO2 gas treatments (from Jin et al., 2009)
A second recent article on this subject appeared in Biologia Plantarum by four scientists with the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Dehli. Jain et al. grew spinach in open top chambers with ambient (350 ppm) and elevated (600 ppm) of CO2. At the end of the 80-day experiment, they made a series of measurements and found that leaf dry matter increased by 16%, stem dry matter increased by 12%, the leaf area increased by 7%, photosynthesis increased by 4%, stomatal conductance decreased by 5%, and calcium levels increased by 4%. In case you have forgotten your botany lessons, stomatal conductance is the speed at which water evaporates from pores in a plant, and is directly related to relative size of the stomatal pores. Basically, the higher the evaporation rate, the higher the conductance of the leaf. So not only did the plants grow larger, they did so using less water!
Don’t worry, research has been conducted here in the USA adding more glorious news about the future of spinach. The article is in Environmental and Experimental Botany and was written by four scientists with Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Holbrook et al. grew spinach hydroponically in open top chambers with atmospheric CO2 levels maintained at near-ambient (400 ppm) and highly elevated (1,500 ppm) concentrations. After 21 days, they observed that the fresh weight of the plants more than doubled thanks to the elevated CO2. More importantly to spinach lovers, the specific fresh weight of the edible leaves (weight per unit area) increased by 40%.
Mrs. Obama’s husband has threatened to move on some “cap and trade” legislation to reduce the emissions of CO2 across this great country. But as we’ve seen in these three studies, higher levels of CO2 will produce larger plants, bigger leaves, higher rates of photosynthesis, and a greater level of water use efficiency. The beloved spinach in the White House garden is like virtually every member of the plant community - spinach loves higher levels of atmospheric CO2!
We hope that Michelle draws her husband’s attention to how anthropogenic CO2 emissions are certainly helping her cause.
References:
Holbrook, G.P., J. Hansen, K. Wallick, and T.M. Zinnen. 1993. Starch accumulation during hydroponic growth of spinach and basil plants under carbon dioxide enrichment. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 33, 313-321.
Jain, V., M. Pal, A Raj, and S. Khetarpal. 2007. Photosynthesis and nutrient composition of spinach and fenugreek grown under elevated carbon dioxide concentration. Biologia Plantarum, 51, 559-562.
Jin, C.W., S.T. Du, Y.S. Zhang, C. Tang, and X.Y. Lin. 2009. Atmospheric nitric oxide stimulates plant growth and improves the quality of spinach (Spinacia oleracea). Annals of Applied Biology, 155, 113-120.
No-Cream Creamed Spinach
Ingredients
2 pounds baby spinach, washed and cleaned
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
1. Blanch half a pound of spinach in salted, boiling water. Immediately, “shock” the blanched spinach in a bowl of iced water. Drain and squeeze out the excess water. Puree in a blender. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, sweat the shallots and garlic until translucent. Add the rest of the spinach leaves. Toss and sauté until wilted. Fold in the spinach puree. Season with salt and pepper.
Serves 6.
See report here.
By John Ryden, Examiner.com
The U.S. Government has apparently reconsidered a Dutch offer to supply 4 oil skimmers. These are large arms that are attached to oil tankers that pump oil and water from the surface of the ocean into the tanker. Water pumped into the tanker will settle to the bottom of the tanker and is then pumped back into the ocean to make room for more oil. Each system will collect 5,000 tons of oil each day.
One ton of oil is about 7.3 barrels. 5,000 tons per day is 36,500 barrels per day. 4 skimmers have a capacity of 146,000 barrels per day. That is much greater than the high end estimate of the leak. The skimmers work best in calm water, which is the usual condition this time of year in the gulf.
These systems were developed by the Dutch as a safety system in case of oil spills from either wells or tankers. The Dutch have off shore oil development and also import oil in tankers. Their economy, just like ours, runs on oil. They understand that the production and use of oil has dangers and they wanted to be ready to cope with problems like spills. The Dutch system has been used successfully in Europe.
The Dutch offered to fly their skimmer arm systems to the Gulf 3 days after the oil spill started. The offer was apparently turned down because EPA regulations do not allow water with oil to be pumped back into the ocean. If all the oily water was retained in the tanker, the capacity of the system would be greatly diminished because most of what is pumped into the tanker is sea water.
As of June 8th, BP reported that they have collected 64,650 barrels of oil in the Gulf. That is only a fraction of the amount of oil spilled from the well. That is less than one day’s rated capacity of the Dutch oil skimmers.
Turning down the Dutch skimmers just shows a total lack of leadership in the oil spill. To just leave the oil in the water because regulations do not allow you to pump slightly polluted oil back into the ocean is just plain stupid. The small amount of oil pumped back into the ocean with the Dutch system is tiny droplets of suspended oil that will be quickly broken down by naturally occurring bacteria.
Using the Dutch skimmers should have prevented most of the oil from ever getting even close to shore. The Dutch skimmers work best close to the source of the spill where the oil is more concentrated. Outside of that circle, dispersants could be used. Additional smaller skimmers could be used closer to shore to pick up patches that might get through the first 2 rings. The less oil that reaches shore, the less there is to clean up. The less oil that reaches shore, the faster the environment will restored by natural cleaning processes.
Having technology like the Dutch skimmers should also allow us to feel more comfortable about allowing deepwater drilling. If the skimmers work then it greatly lowers the environmental risks from future oil leaks in deep water. One advantage to deepwater wells is they are typically very far from shore, giving a long response time to clean up the problem. There would be no need to have a moratorium on deepwater drilling and having 50,000 people loose their jobs.
This incident with the skimmers just shows the lack of leadership by the President and other government officials. Most people, certainly the local residents, recognized that the government systems to deal with the oil spill were inadequate. It took over 6 weeks for the government to allow the state of Louisiana to build sand berms to protect the marshes, after oil has already entered the marshes. Decisions need to be made, often without full information and sometimes conflicting rules and regulations. The oil well did not stop spilling oil as the government tried to study the problems and make recommendations. There was no one with the authority to make the fast decisions necessary to combat the spill.
I really appreciate everyone’s comments. Some of you have asked for references ‘Source Documents’ to the efforts of the Dutch to help us. Here are some with the first one being the most relevant: Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Christian Science Monitor and Seattle Times. H/T SEPP
By Alan Caruba
After the June 23 Cabinet meeting, President Obama said:
“We talked about energy. In the context of the oil spill, as I said last week during my Oval Office address, this has to be a wakeup call to the country that we are prepared and ready to move forward on a new energy strategy that the American people desperately want but for which there has been insufficient political will.”
“It is time for us to move to a clean energy future.”
First, let it be said that the American people do not desperately want “a new energy strategy.” They did not want Obamacare. They do not want Cap-and-Trade. They do not want amnesty for an estimated ten to twenty million illegal aliens.
Along with the totally discredited global warming hoax, this has got to be the biggest lie Obama keeps repeating, along with promises of thousands of “green jobs.”
What is Clean Energy?
Obama is referring to solar and wind energy. Neither of these enterprises would last longer than an episode of “So You Think You Can Dance” were it not for the billions of taxpayer’s dollars provided as subsidies to producers who, once the subsidies end, will abandon these most useless of all ways to generate electricity.
When the government mandates that part of the electricity you purchase must be supplied by wind or solar, they are forcing utilities to invest in means of generation that must always be backed up by coal-fired, natural gas, hydroelectric, or nuclear plants. Neither wind, nor solar can be depended upon to produce sufficient electricity, particularly during times of peak uses.
When you see those windmills turning even when there is no wind, there is a plant somewhere providing them with electricity because, unless they constantly turn, their mechanisms famously break down. Solar farms are even less efficient, particularly since the sun does not shine all the time and cloud cover often reduces their capacity.
This, however, will not deter the hoped-for thousands of people who will turn out on Saturday, June 26, to participate in some 700 events across the nation and, we’re told, worldwide in a mega-event called “Hands Across the Sand.” It is intended to encourage more “clean energy.”
“This simple, but powerful human expression of unity will send a clear message to our leaders that more offshore drilling is not the answer and now is the time to create our clean energy future,” said event founder, David Rauschkolb, described as a restaurant owner in Seaside, Florida.
That’s who we want making energy policy, a restaurant owner!
Among the sponsors of the event are Audubon, the Alaska Wilderness League, the Center for Biological Diversity, Clean Water Action, Defenders of Wildlife, Earth Day Network, Endangered Species Coalition, Energy Action Coalition, Environment America, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, MoveOn.org, Ocean Conservancy, Rainforest Action Network, and the Sierra Club.
In other words, the most mendacious environmental groups, all devoted to impeding the development and access to the huge quantities of energy needed to maintain industry, agriculture, and an economy that, despite their constant interference and obstruction, is still the world’s leader in value of goods produced.
To them, the Gulf oil spill is the best thing that ever happened. One well out of hundreds in the Gulf of Mexico has suffered a horrible failure, but these are the people who want to shut down all of them despite a fifty-year history of safety.
No doubt the mainstream media will have a field day showing us coverage of countless idiots holding hands on beaches, near waterways, and wherever else they will gather in the name of not having any gasoline to fill the tanks of the cars that brought them there, not having the electricity to power the air conditioners in their homes, not having anything made from plastic, not even having asphalt on the highways and streets they will drive upon after the event.
It is not likely to occur to any of them that deepwater oil wells are the result of the bans environmental organizations continue to demand as they oppose drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or anywhere along the 85% of U.S. coastal areas where huge amounts of untapped oil and natural gas exist.
This nation faces many hazards, but the greatest hazard of all is a President who wants to pass the biggest tax in U.S. history, Cap-and-Trade, on energy use. It is not a climate bill. It is not a jobs bill.
It is just another scheme based on the fraud of reducing so-called greenhouse gas emissions. The Earth produces 97% of these emissions. They are a part of the atmosphere of the Earth, albeit the atmosphere is almost entirely composed of water vapor!
The cartoon character, Pogo, famously said, “We have met the enemy and it is us.” You can watch them join hands on Saturday and demand a return to the Dark Ages.
Pogo quote shown here in a plague was first used by cartoonist Walt Kelly in a poster for earth Day 1970.
See post here.
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Secret Footage from the BP Boadroom of Devestating Coffee Spill
by Editorial Dept, Oil Price.com
Our inside sources have provided us with secret footage that was filmed in the BP boardroom when a new spill broke out. We cannot reveal our sources, but can let you know that what you are about to see is both disturbing and shocking.
Please see below for the video - This is obviously not a professional recording, but you will get the gist of what is taking place. Post here.