THE CLIMATE SHOW #7: BOX AND BOXSTERS – THE CRYOSPHERE SPECIAL

by GARETH renowden, hot topic, FEBRUARY 17, 2011

Highlight of this week’s show is a fascinating — and sobering — interview with Greenland expert Professor Jason Box. His perspective on current events in the Arctic — from the dangers of permafrost methane, through rapid warming over Greenland and the potential impacts on sea level is essential listening and viewing. And he can surf, too. Glenn and Gareth discuss warm weather in New Zealand during a La Niña summer, drought in the Amazon and the complex interactions between climate and weather extremes, food production and political stability. John Cook from Skeptical Science debunks the favourite sceptic arguments about ice at both poles, and in the solutions segment we discuss the recent WWF report on renewable energy, and the new all-electric Porsche Boxster.

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Show notes below the fold.

News & commentary:

NZ bakes in hottest month ever and weather in Waipara.

Russian roulette with a rainforest — Amazon suffers another severe drought, could have dire consequences for atmospheric carbon.

China prepares for ‘severe, long-lasting drought’

Starving North Korea pleads for aid

Mexico’s Corn Crop Hit Hard By Cold Temps

From The Guardian: The World Bank has given a stark warning of the impact of the rising cost of food, saying an estimated 44 million people had been pushed into poverty since last summer by soaring commodity prices. Robert Zoellick, the Bank’s president, said food prices had risen by almost 30% in the past year and were within striking distance of the record levels reached during 2008.

Graph of the FAO food price index from a story at Daily Kos.

Egypt unrest fueled by high food prices.

Feature interview: One the world’s leading experts on Greenland and its ice sheet: Jason Box, Assoc. Prof., Department of Geography, Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA, currently on sabbatical as a visiting professor, University of California, Santa Cruz. We’re talking to him a few weeks before he makes his first trip of the year to Greenland.

Extreme Ice Survey

Meltfactor.org

Debunking the skeptic with John Cook from Skeptical Science.
This week: popular myths about the cryosphere.
Greenland is thickening in the middle
Himalayagate

Arctic sea ice has recovered? Harrison Schmitt: “Artic (sic) sea ice has returned to 1989 levels of coverage” Heartland: “in April 2009, Arctic sea ice extent had indeed returned to and surpassed 1989 levels.”
(No it hasn’t)

Monckton’s Arctic ice loss = Antarctic ice gain

Plus: an excellent overview of the world’s melting ice.

Solutions

Here comes the sun: 100% renewables by 2050 — WWF report: press release andPDF.

Porsche produces EV version of Boxster

Thanks to our media partners: Celsias.co.nz, Scoop and KiwiFM.

Theme music: A Drop In The Ocean by The Bads.