Saturday, January 20, 2007

Sweden's Tree Line Is On The Move


But let's keep waiting until the ground around us starts catching on fire until we conclude that global warming is a fact...or that it might finally be time to do something about it!


STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Climate change over the past two decades has caused Sweden's tree line to move north at a faster rate than at any time in the past 7,000 years, Swedish researchers have said.

"The tree line has moved by up to 200 metres (656 feet) in some places. Trees have not grown at such high levels for around 7,000 years," Leif Kullman, a professor at Umeaa University's department of ecology and environmental science, told AFP Tuesday.

The tree line represents a limit in mountainous, northern and southern latitudes beyond which trees do not grow.

"Recordings began in 1915 but the trend has intensified in the past 15 to 20 years," Kullman said.

Sweden's climate in the past 20 years was as mild as it had been some 7,000 years ago, he added. While some of the change could be explained by natural phenomena such as the reduction in global volcanic activity -- allowing more sunlight to warm the Earth -- the trend was clearly provoked for the most part by man-made factors.

"We can say that 75 percent of the change is due to the emergence of greenhouse gases," Kullman said.

As the climate has become milder other plants and animals have ventured further north from their traditional habitat.

"The number of plants and animals in Swedish forests has grown 100 percent in the last 50 years," Kullman said.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Cheney Is An Asshole!


Cheney said on Sunday the United States must show it has the "stomach" to win in Iraq
or it will confirm bin Laden's view that Americans can be pressured to leave.

U.S. allies helping in fighting terrorism must have confidence that the United States
will stay until a successful outcome, he said.

"If the United States doesn't have the stomach to finish the task in Iraq, we put at risk
what we've done in all of those other locations,"
he said on "Fox News Sunday."

Bin Laden's strategy is to push U.S. presence out of the region through terrorism and Iraq
is currently at the center of that battle, Cheney said. "It's absolutely essential that we win there."


But Dick, wasn't it "essential" that we win in Vietnam, too?
But you said, you had "other priorities" when it was your turn to serve.

You're OK with sending others to die, but you were afraid to fight.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Miami Herald Gets It Right!


This headline (below) from today's Miami Herald newspaper is wayyyyyyy overdue. Maybe some other papers will start to follow suit now. Hopefully, it won't be too long now before some editorial board questions Bush's mental fitness to continue as president!


Bush’s version of Iraq ignores facts

The Bush administration’s account of recent events in Iraq leaves out some key details and raises questions about whether the administration understands what’s behind Iraq’s violence.