Rick Perry's Texas: scorched earth edition

If plagues of well-coiffed locusts begin appearing in Greenland's glaciers, it's Rick Perry's doing.



More on the earth haters' burying their collective heads in the anthropogenic dust posted at Madville Times.

MPR's weather blod sez:

Arctic sea ice reached its annual minimum extent on September 9 at 1.67 million square miles (4.33 million square km), marking the second smallest extent on record. In September 2007, the sea ice extent dipped to 1.61 million square miles (4.17 million square km). According to the University of Washington's Polar Science Center, Arctic sea ice volume, which depends on ice thickness and extent, dropped to 960 cubic miles (4,000 cubic km) on September 10, the smallest volume on record.

According to a study reported by CNN:

Rising temperatures and growing variability in rainfall are affecting the size of all species in the ecosystem from microscopic sea organisms to land-based predators, say researchers. "Our study suggests that ectotherms (cold-blooded animals like toads, turtles, and snakes that rely on environmental heat sources) are already changing a lot," said David Bickford from the National University of Singapore and co-author of the study.

In a statement from the Center for Biological Diversity:

The polar bear was the first species added to the endangered species list solely because of threats to the species from global warming. “Now that the Department of the Interior must weigh in for the first time with full environmental analysis, the Obama administration is going to own this issue,” said Andrew Wetzler, director of the Lands and Wildlife program for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “It affords the president an opportunity to show he is serious about dealing with climate change and protecting wildlife. The court’s ruling means the Obama administration won’t be able to hide behind Bush-era policies on an issue the public clearly cares about.”

Although he received $125,000 for speaking, a former Communist told an audience that:

If he could, Mikhail Gorbachev would be out on the streets of New York protesting Wall Street and economic inequality, the former Soviet Union president said in a speech Friday at the University of Wyoming.