New research indicates that no matter what is done to halt global warming, sea levels will continue to rise for the next several centuries. The article by researchers from the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, U.S. research organization Climate Central and the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research notes, “Though sea-level rise cannot be stopped for at least the next several hundred years, with aggressive mitigation it can be slowed down, and this would buy time for adaptation measures to be adopted.” Many previous studies have shown similar data, yet global action to curb carbon emissions and other efforts to mitigate global warming have been slow in coming.

While the situation is too complex to allow for precise predictions of the rate and degree of sea level rise, the data indicate that sea level rise will continue, no matter how much is done to stabilize temperatures, due to the thermal expansion of sea water and the melting of ice sheets and glaciers that is already underway. And, far from stabilizing, last month it was reported that carbon dioxide levels in the Arctic crossed the 400 parts per million mark. This is the first time a monthly average measurement for the greenhouse gas attained the 400 ppm mark in a remote location. Carbon dioxide levels globally, currently around 395 ppm, are at the highest level of any time in the past 800,000 years.

One-tenth of the world’s population lives in low-lying areas that are prone to flooding and are threatened by sea level rise. Research earlier this spring reveals that some 3.7 million Americans are at risk from flooding in coming decades. Last month U.S. Geological Survey scientists reported that the U.S. East Coast is already seeing a significantly higher rate and degree of sea level rise due to global warming: levels have risen an average of two inches worldwide since 1990, but have risen by 4.8 inches in parts of coastal Virginia.

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Millions of birds have died and millions more are in danger from a widespread hazard in 12 Western states: uncapped plastic pipes used to mark many of the 3.4 million mining claims on public lands.

Migratory birds from western meadowlarks and mountain bluebirds to screech owls and woodpeckers are mistaking the open ends of PVC pipes for natural hollows suitable for nesting, roosting or congregating to generate body heat.

Doomed birds enter the PVC pipes, which average 4 inches in diameter and stand about 4 feet high, but become trapped as they fail to gain traction on the smooth interior surfaces and cannot extend their wings to fly out of the narrow cavities. They eventually succumb to starvation or dehydration.

The Audubon Society reports:

Exposed vertical pipes with open tops pose a tremendous hazard to birds and other wildlife. They are particularly hazardous for birds that either fall into these openings, or enter looking for nesting space. Once inside, birds are unable to open their wings to fly out, and the smooth sides make it impossible to climb out. Inevitably, the birds suffer a miserable, unnecessary death from starvation and exposure.

Open pipes kill birds indiscriminately. Both common birds and protected species have been found among the layers of dead birds in open pipes. And the destruction can occur in pipes from one to 10 inches wide.

Audubon California staff recently pulled down a 20-foot-tall ventilation pipe from an abandoned irrigation system and discovered a seven-foot-long black mass composed entirely of decomposed carcasses of hundreds of dead birds and animals including kestrels, flickers, bluebirds, and fence lizards. The date etched into the concrete at the base of the pipe showed that it had been in place for more than 50 years.

Federal land management officials acknowledge the threat, estimated by the American Bird Conservancy as responsible for at least 1 million bird deaths a year, although mining industry representatives (Surprise, surprise!) say wildlife advocates exaggerate the problem.

PVC piping, which is durable, cheap and easily visible, has become the material of choice for the flagging of mining claims in the West over the past several decades.

Those claims have proliferated under a century-old law that permits private citizens to stake rights to gold, silver and other “hard-rock minerals” on federal property administered by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

Possible steps include encouraging prospectors, through a letter or web-based campaign, to replace PVC pipes with solid markers such as wooden posts.

With populations declining among nearly two-thirds of all bird species found in the United States, the federal government is obliged by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to prevent the incidental deaths of migratory birds and even to penalize violators, said Darin Schroeder, vice president with the American Bird Conservancy.

Birders argue the Western landscape is littered with them. The trend is pronounced in Nevada, which is home to 1 million mining claims, many of them inactive, according to the BLM.

What do you think? Should federal authorities act to replace mining claims marked by PVC pipes with those marked with other markers, such as wooden posts?

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In a sign that the 16-month uprising in Syria is spreading to other parts of the region, Turkey has scrambled six F-16 fighter jets near the 4.5 mile border it shares with Syria. On June 22, Syria downed a Turkish F-4 Phantom jet whose pilots are still missing. Syria has insisted that the jet had strayed into its airspace and was shot down by air defense fire while Turkey says the plane briefly entered, then exited, Syrian airspace and was downed by a missile.

Last week, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey has changed its rules of military engagement and will consider any Syrian military approaching its border as a threat. Turkey has also invoked Article 4 of Nato’s founding treaty, according to which any member state can request consultations if it believes its security is threatened. Nato has also voiced strong support for Turkey.

The border incident has certainly strained relations between the countries even further. Turkey, which has seen at least 30,000 Syria refugees pour into it, has condemned the bloody response of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to the uprising. The potential spread of unrest to Turkey is the sort of conflict that Kofi Annan, special envoy to the United Nations, said could erupt if the violence is not stopped.

Annan made these warnings while addressing a Saturday meeting of the “Action Group” nine nations in Geneva that was intended to figure out a plan to end the bloodshed in Syria. The group agreed to a plan for a political transition but there was no consensus about requiring the ouster of Assad. In a too familiar pattern, Russia and China blocked any such calls.

The Action Group includes the five permanent Security Council members and four Middle Eastern countries. The possibility of demanding that Assad be removed had been considered, as indicated by a request to exclude those “whose participation would jeopardize stability and reconciliation” from a unity government. This language was dropped from the final agreement at the insistance of Russia, Syria’s ally since the Cold War.

US Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton said that the omission would not matter in the end as “Assad will still have to go. He will never pass the mutual-consent test given the blood on his hands.” The UK and French foreign ministers both said that the Geneva talks means that Assad is “finished.”

But opposition groups including the Local Coordination Committee (LCC) were highly dismissive of the communiqué resulting from the talks, which they described as “ambiguous” and a “waste of time.” LCC spokesman Rafif Jouejati said that “the Action Group on Syria just gave Assad license to kill for another year.” Veteran Syrian opposition figure, Haitham Maleh proclaimed that “It is a catastrophe, the country has been destroyed, and they want us then to sit with the killer?”, asserting that the plan will have “no value on the ground.”

Annan, seeking to put what the New York Times called the “best possible spin” on the talks said that “it is for the people of Syria to come to a political agreement.” But Aaron David Miller, a Wilson Center scholar and a former Mideast negotiator for the American government, was blunt in his criticism:

“This was the coalition of the uncooperative, the disabled and the unwilling. There simply is no willingness and no capacity among the so-called great powers to intercede in the Syrian conflict.

“The revised Kofi Annan plan is doomed.”

“Massacres have become like breakfast to us,” LCC activist Imad Hosary said.

The LCC estimate the death toll on Saturday to be 100. A police complex in Damascus was struck by a bomb, marking the fourth time that insurgents have struck the capital. The Syrian army shelled Douma, a Sunni Muslim suburb northeast of Damascus’ center, and has reportedly recaptured it after shelling the area for over a week. In another Damascus suburb, Zamalka, a car bomb killed 20 to 50 at a funeral for an activist, Abdul Hadi al-Halabi.

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If you look at any meteorology map these days, you’ll notice a lot more pink and red (indicating high temperatures) than you’re probably accustomed to. Sure, it’s summer and it gets hot, but it’s only the beginning of July, and we still have the majority of the hottest weeks to go.

Over the past week particularly, temperatures have soared, breaking records in numerous cities and states. Mid-Atlantic residents are still recovering from a rare “derecho” storm that caused numerous high-powered thunderstorms and massive power outages across the region. The powerful storms killed 13 people and left millions without power as temperatures rose into the 90s and low 100s. Daniel Porter, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said “You could draw a line from Denver to St. Louis to Washington, D.C. All those areas are in the hundreds right now.” Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell also commented on the situation saying his state just suffered the largest “non-hurricane power outage” ever in its history.

Weather like this is extremely dangerous and many people still don’t realize the full impact severe heat can have, particularly on the sick and elderly. It’s critical to stay cool and hydrated as much as possible and to remain indoors, preferably in a cool and/or dark place and decrease strenuous physical activity. Heat stroke, exhaustion and dehydration are all too common in extreme heat, particularly in people who continue to act as they normally would in cooler temperatures.

While summer is supposed to be a hot time of year for much of the world, this type of summer weather is simply dangerous and is only predicted to become more commonplace moving forward. In fact, climate scientists have continuously warned that a warming planet will lead to more extreme temperature swings; for example, summers will become warmer and will last even longer.

Still, in light of all the data pointing to the obvious, the U.S. continues to remain predominately in denial about climate change. Using AC to stay cool in heat waves only perpetuates the issue, using more energy and therefore pumping more CO2 into the atmosphere. It’s a vicious cycle we’ve gotten ourselves into and each day we deny reality and take no significant action to abate climate change, the more we’ll face harsher, unbearable weather like we’re experiencing today. Are we ready?

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Over the past week, firefighters have attempted to contain a large fire in Colorado Springs that has forced the evacuation of roughly 35,000 people, claimed more than 350 homes and killed at least six people. President Obama recently visited the state to evaluate the damage and to promise federal aid to those affected by what is being called the worst fire in Colorado’s history.

The so-called Waldo Canyon Fire that’s raging in Colorado Springs, a city of 400,000 residents, is so vast that it can be seen from space. Westerly winds continue to blow soot and smoke from the fire across the central and eastern portions of the U.S. and as of June 29th, the fire had burned approximately 17,000 acres of timber and brush, the majority in the Pike National Forest. The fire is also among 50 wildfires being fought across the country at this time, the bulk of the fires in western states including Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Idaho.

While the cause of the fire is still being investigated by the FBI, arson does not appear likely. Instead, ideal fire conditions including wind, heat and a very dry forest, much of which is the result of mountain pine beetle damage, is the likely suspect. After all, a forest that’s full of dead limbs and kindling is more likely to ignite into flames over one that’s lush, healthy and green. The explosion of the pine beetle population has been correlated to climate change and most efforts to prevent the beetle’s advancement have been met with frustration and little success.

The Waldo Canyon Fire, while tragic, is in fact a direct result of what would occur naturally to renew the forest while potentially eradicating the mountain pine beetle entirely, thereby restoring balance and enabling the forest to regenerate. Given Colorado Springs is the second largest city in Colorado however, allowing mother nature to take control is simply not an option.

So what’s going on and why is this fire particularly violent? Craig Allen, an ecologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, breaks down the increase in severity and frequency of forest fires into three main categories: Global warming, sprawl and changing forestry practices as a result of population growth. As theWashington Post admits, “Thanks to both climate change and shifting forestry practices, humans may bear some responsibility here [to the Waldo Canyon Fire].” The article goes on to say that according to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, “both the frequency of large wildfires and the length of the fire season have increased substantially in recent decades.”

The Post article also notes that while the West has experienced naturally occurring forest fires for years, these fires were typically low-intensity surface fires that cleared out underbrush and prevented forests from growing too densely. As the human population grew however, forest managers began immediately suppressing these fires in an effort to save homes and lives not realizing that by doing so, in the long-run, fires could become stronger and more deadly.

Researchers continue to try to determine a balance between the important role fire plays in this region with continued human sprawl. One method is to restrict development in highly sensitive areas. Another is to start small, controlled surface brush fires in an effort to avoid an even larger catastrophic fire down the road. Whatever the best approach, forest fires like the Waldo Canyon Fire are a naturally occurring process that will continue to exist and, looking at the data, they will only continue to increase with a warming planet.

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