Good news in the rain

The recycling room in our yard has been dysfunctional since September due to a fire. Today when I went there to throw our garbage away the key wouldn't fit. They had finally shut it down. This meant that I had to go an extra 200 meters to the next facility. After having discharged the garbage and as I was going back home in the dark rainy evening in my clogs I received great news on the radio. The U.S. EPA had declared greenhouse gases a health hazard which would empower President Obama to make a difference in Copenhagen. The republicans in Congress wouldn't drag him down anymore.

clipped from www.bloomberg.com

The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency declared carbon dioxide a health hazard today, paving the
way for new regulation of emissions from sources such as power
plants, factories, cars and trucks.    

The move, on the opening day of an international climate
summit in Copenhagen, arms President Barack Obama with new
regulatory powers that could help forge consensus in efforts to
curb global warming. Obama gains standing when asking other
nations to make commitments for a new global climate treaty,
said Kevin Book, a Washington-based managing director for
analysis firm ClearView Energy Partners LLC.    

Improvising in the kitchen

When I cook I often don't have a plan. Today for lunch I took out a packet of chickpeas and from there I proceeded rather arbitrarily. I ended up making some kind of balls covered with sesame seeds. To make the balls I added chickpeas, cooked red lenses, flour, chopped onions, chopped yellow beets and spices. I precooked the onions and beets in the microwave to soften them up a bit. I baked the balls in the oven but I think it would have been better to fry them in a pan.

Energy awareness

Are you aware of the energy you use on a daily basis? Probably not. To visualize the energy required in an average household the BBC program "Bang Goes the Theory" performed an experiment in which people were to generate the electricity for a family going about their Sunday routines. When the father decided to take a shower 78 people had to peddle at maximum capacity to provide the energy needed.

Wired

Oil is the blood of the global economy. The nervous system is the internet. Thanks to oil and the internet the globe has shrunken considerably. The rate of interconnectivity, speed and complexity has risen tremendously. The fruits of it may be nice as long as things runs smoothly. But how resilient is this? What happens if there is a coordinated malicious disruption to the IT systems supporting the fundamental structures and services? Here is a program from 60 minutes about cyber sabotage.

Climate Walk 2009 Uppsala

Fog and frost

Yesterday morning was foggy and frosty. The shades of gray and cold were like taken from Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road.

Tofu, okura and miso

Vegetarian food doesn't have to be difficult. Just fry some tofu and okura. A cup of miso soup at the side makes it just perfect.

"Oh shit! " moments

The world out there is scary right now. If you've had your "Oh shit" moment that is. The moment when you suddenly understand, emotionally and deeply, that "Shit, this situation is for real, it is everywhere and it is the worst threat ever that our species has faced". From that moment onwards your world starts to wobble. The values and norms of your society, the state of normality, suddenly you feel estranged to it, because you realize that this omnipresent layer is what fuels the destruction of the planet. You feel surrounded by people who haven't had their moments yet and who are still disconnected to the seriousness of the situation. Frustration and confusion.

The deniers, the ones who spend all their energy to convince themselves and others that the threat is not real, have they had "Oh shit!" moments too, but ones that have been extra strong and overwhelming? Have their moments been "Oh no, I shit my pants!" moments, so strong that the after shocks has made them go into loops of stupor and denial? I feel sorry for them.

James Hansen out with new book

James Hansen, one of the most prominent climate scientists, has come out with his first book in which he speaks out for the first time with the full truth about global warming: The planet is hurtling even more rapidly than previously acknowledged to a climatic point of no return. Timely enough it is released just before the climate talks in Copenhagen.

Canada, the new petrostate

Canada sits on the world's second largest oil reserve, in the form of tar sands. The extraction and refining of this dirty oil has turned pristine landscapes into scenes from hell. Squeezing out oil from the tar sands requires two to three times as much energy as refining crude oil. Stephen Harper, Canada's George Bush is letting this detrimental project continue and expand. The Canadian government will certainly be a grand obstacle for the climate talks in Copenhagen.