Birds and wind farms/climate change

General birdwatching discussion, help with bird identification, and all other things relating to wild birds and birding in NZ that don't fit in one of the other forums.
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Neil Fitzgerald
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Re: Birds and wind farms/climate change

Postby Neil Fitzgerald » Thu Oct 03, 2013 8:17 pm

I blame sports people. Always giving it 110%, 150%, sometimes even giving it 200%! Makes it hard for people who actually understand the maths to get their point across.
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Re: Birds and wind farms/climate change

Postby Michael Szabo » Fri Oct 04, 2013 9:59 am

Yes, the phrase "Is the glass half full or half empty?" comes to mind, although when it comes to anthropogenic climate change the numbers are a lot clearer according to the IPCC: 95% certain or 5% uncertain.
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Re: Birds and wind farms/climate change

Postby Nick Allen » Fri Oct 04, 2013 12:49 pm

On checking out the online poll attached to the article about 1/3 of people didn't believe man was the cause of the warming. Maybe the missing Labour voters didn't turn out, though.

I'll be buying tropical gear in the future, there'll be no need for woolly hats to keep my pate warm!
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Southern Alps' ice levels show sharp decrease

Postby Michael Szabo » Sat Oct 19, 2013 2:26 pm

A new book cites research showing the ice volume in the Southern Alps decreased from 44 cubic km in 2008/09, to 37 cubic km in 2011/12. Since official records began in 1977, glaciers in the Southern Alps had lost 30 per cent of their ice:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/n ... d=11138854

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Re: Birds and wind farms/climate change

Postby Mxyzptlk » Fri Nov 01, 2013 10:13 am

Here's RSPB on another windy issue:

http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=4019
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Re: Birds and wind farms/climate change

Postby Michael Szabo » Fri Nov 01, 2013 10:31 am

It is important to note that the RSPB objects to this UK proposal because of its location in an internationally important bird area located in one of the rarest Scottish habitats (peat bog) and which is also at the core of an extensive wilderness restoration project, which will make the restoration project more difficult to complete. The RSPB is not opposed to wind power per se.

It is also important to bear in mind that large parts of the Scottish Flow Country wilderness was blighted by large-scale exotic pine planatations in the 1980s, hence the need for large-scale restoration.

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Unprecedented warming uncovered in Pacific Ocean depths

Postby Michael Szabo » Fri Nov 01, 2013 11:47 am

The effects of climate change are being felt almost a kilometre down in the biggest ocean on Earth. A new record of water temperatures shows how the Pacific has warmed and cooled since the last ice age. It shows that the ocean has warmed 15 times faster in the last 60 years than at any time in the previous 10,000. This is yet more evidence that humans are dramatically warming the planet, says Yair Rosenthal of Rutgers University, who led the study:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2 ... nLdYFNyjzI

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National Geographic rising seas map

Postby Michael Szabo » Tue Nov 05, 2013 11:34 am

This online interactive "Rising Seas" map shows Auckland & the Waikato, the Far North & parts of Nothland, the Wanganui coast, Christchurch & the Canterbury coast, and large parts of the Otago coast and Southland underwater. In other parts of the world it shows large parts of New Guinea & various Pacific Islands, south-central Australia, coastal Asia, coastal West Africa, Britain, Arctic Russia, Arctic & East Coast North America, Antarctica, and the Amazon Basin underwater:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/ ... melted-map
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BBC reports 75% Arctic sea ice loss over past 30 years

Postby Michael Szabo » Wed Nov 06, 2013 10:18 am

In 1979 there was 16,855 cubic kilometres of Arctic sea ice. By 2011 the volume had dropped to 4,017 cubic kilometres, a little over a quarter of the 1979 figure. This excellent report by BBC Science Editor Susan Watts includes an interview with polar ice researcher Prof. Peter Wadhams of Cambridge University who anticipates an ice-free North Pole in the next few years: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1eL3_Q4aVY#t=205

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Glacier-melt map spells disaster for NZ - NZ Herald

Postby Michael Szabo » Sat Nov 09, 2013 6:05 pm

The New Zealand Herald has picked up on the National Geographic rising seas map, highlighting the potential impact on New Zealand: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=11154043

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