March 29, 2017


News and Views


SACRILEGE? NOT IN MY VIEW, BUT A HEALTHY EXERCISE OF OUR BRAINS, ONE OF GOD’S GREATEST GIFTS TO MANKIND. HE CLEARLY MEANT FOR US TO THINK, EXPLORE AND LEARN. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS ARTICLE ABOUT A CLEARLY PRIMITIVE AND TINY WORM-LIKE CRITTER THAT LIVED ON THE OCEAN BOTTOM BETWEEN SAND GRAINS. SOMEHOW, I DON’T RECOGNIZE MYSELF IN THIS, BUT IT IS SIMPLER THAN A JELLYFISH AND MORE COMPLEX THAN PROTOZOANS SUCH AS THE AMOEBA.

THE AMOEBA IS THAT LITTLE GUY THAT WAS THE ARTISTIC ORIGIN OF “THE BLOB,” A GREAT OLD UNLIKELY, BUT VERY FRIGHTENING, HORROR/SCI FI MOVIE FROM 1958 WHICH STARRED ONE OF THE GREATS, STEVE MCQUEEN. AS I REMEMBER, AN OLD MAN WAS OUTSIDE HIS HOUSE WHEN A SPACE SHIP CRASHED, AND AS HE WENT TO EXAMINE IT HE SAW A JELLYLIKE “BLOB” ON THE GROUND. UNFORTUNATELY FOR HIM HE PICKED UP A STICK AND POKED IT. ANNOYED, IT FLOWED IN A SLOW BLOBBY WAY UP THE STICK AND ONTO THE POOR GUY’S HAND, FROM WHICH POINT IT PROCEEDED TO EAT HIM. AS IT ATE, IT GREW, FINALLY ENGULFING AMAZING THINGS. WIKIPEDIA DIDN’T SAY A WORD ABOUT ANY OF THAT, OF COURSE. SEE HOW INTERESTING SCIENCE CAN BE??

BE SURE TO GO TO THIS BBC WEBSITE FOR THE IMAGES.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38800987
Scientists find 'oldest human ancestor'
By Pallab Ghosh
Science correspondent, BBC News
30 January 2017
From the section Science & Environment

Photo of reconstruction -- Artist’s reconstruction of Saccorhytus coronarius, based on the original fossil finds. The actual creature was probably no more than a millimetre in size
Oldest Ancestor Image copyright Jian Han, Northwest University, China -- Image caption -- Saccorhytus was also covered with a thin, relatively flexible skin and muscles. It probably moved around by wriggling


Researchers have discovered the earliest known ancestor of humans - along with a vast range of other species.

They say that fossilised traces of the 540-million-year-old creature are "exquisitely well preserved".

The microscopic sea animal is the earliest known step on the evolutionary path that led to fish and - eventually - to humans.

Details of the discovery from central China appear in Nature journal.

The research team says that Saccorhytus is the most primitive example of a category of animals called "deuterostomes"* which are common ancestors of a broad range of species, including vertebrates (backboned animals).

The researchers were unable to find any evidence that the animal had an anus, which suggests that it consumed food and excreted from the same orifice.

The study was carried out by an international team of researchers, from the UK, China and Germany. Among them was Prof Simon Conway Morris, from the University of Cambridge.

He told BBC News: "To the naked eye, the fossils we studied look like tiny black grains, but under the microscope the level of detail was jaw-dropping.

"We think that as an early deuterostome this may represent the primitive beginnings of a very diverse range of species, including ourselves. All deuterostomes had a common ancestor, and we think that is what we are looking at here."

Degan Shu, from Northwest University in Xi'An, Shaanxi Province, where the fossils were found, said: "Saccorhytus now gives us remarkable insights into the very first stages of the evolution of a group that led to the fish, and ultimately, to us."

Until now, the deuterostome groups discovered were from between 510 to 520 million years ago. These had already begun to diversify into not just the vertebrates, the group to which we and our ancestors belong and animals such as starfish and sea urchins.

Because they looked so different from one another, it was difficult for the scientists to determine what an earlier, common ancestor might have looked like.

The study suggests that its body was symmetrical, which is a characteristic inherited by many of its evolutionary descendants, including humans.

Saccorhytus was also covered with a thin, relatively flexible skin and muscles, leading the researchers to conclude that it moved by contracting its muscles and got around by wriggling.

The researchers say that its most striking feature is its large mouth, relative to the rest of its body. They say that it probably ate by engulfing food particles, or even other creatures.

Also interesting are the conical structures on its body. These, the scientists suggest, might have allowed the water that it swallowed to escape and so might have been a very early version of gills.



HERE IS A NEW AND FRIGHTENING PATTERN THAT IS DEVELOPING NOT ONLY IN SIBERIA, BUT IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN AND ALMOST CERTAINLY OTHER LOCATIONS ALSO. THE FIRST ARTICLE I SAW ABOUT THIS METHANE ICE COMPOUND WAS IN ANOTHER NEWS STORY, MAYBE THREE YEARS AGO, WHICH WAS FOUND IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN OFF SHORE FROM OUR LARGEST AMERICAN CITIES. AGAIN, IT WAS LINKED TO GLOBAL WARMING, AND A RISK OF HARMING THE METHANE ICE LAYER BY DRILLING THERE FOR OIL SO THAT IT MIGHT START TO GIVE OFF METHANE GAS INTO THE WATER AND FROM THERE INTO THE AIR. THAT ARTICLE ALSO MENTIONED THE DANGER OF EXPLOSIONS SUFFICIENTLY STRONG TO TRIGGER TSUNAMIS. AS LONG AS METHANE ICE IS FROZEN IT IS STABLE, BUT WHEN IT MELTS IT BECOMES A GAS AND RISES INTO THE ATMOSPHERE TO CAUSE MORE GLOBAL WARMING. THAT’S REALLY A “VICIOUS CYCLE.”

THIS ARTICLE HAS A NUMBER OF SCIENTIFIC TERMS IN IT, BUT THEY ARE USUALLY EXPLAINED IN THE TEXT, BUT IF NOT, GO TO DEAR OLD WIKIPEDIA. I DO LOVE WIKIPEDIA. THEY ARE NONPROFIT, AND THEY DO ASK FOR DONATIONS SOMETIMES, SO I GIVE THEM $5.00 OR SO. IF EVERYONE DOES THAT IT WILL HELP THEM. IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE GLOBAL WARMING IS BOTH REAL AND A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM, JUST DO MORE READING ON THE SUBJECT. P.S., DON’T GET YOUR INFORMATION FROM BREITBART OR DONALD TRUMP.

IT SEEMS THAT ALL THE CONSERVATIVES IN AND OUT OF THE LEGISLATURES, STATE AND FEDERAL, WANT TO DO IS WRING THEIR HANDS AND SAY, OH WOE IS ME. CHANGE THEIR POLICY? NEVER. OF COURSE, THE REPUBLICANS WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT ANY KIND OF GOVERNMENT RESTRAINT ON THE CARBON FUELS INDUSTRY, NO MATTER HOW MANY OF THESE DANGER SIGNS APPEAR, BECAUSE THEIR ONLY GOAL IS MAKING MONEY, AND IF THEY’RE RICH ENOUGH THEY CAN BUY A ONE-WAY TICKET TO OUR PLANNED ARTIFICIAL HUMAN HABITATS IN OUTER SPACE. BOTH THE MOON AND MARS HAVE SOME DETECTABLE WATER ICE. “WHAT? ME WORRY?”

READ THE FIVE ARTICLES BELOW.


https://weather.com/news/climate/news/siberia-crater-climate-change-gateway-to-underworld
Siberia's Massive Crater Could Reveal 200,000 Years of Earth's Climate History
By Ada Carr
Feb 28 2017 12:15 PM EST
weather.com

Photograph -- Huge Siberian Crater Keeps Growing
A huge crater in Siberia caused by damage to the permafrost and global warming has been growing for years and now is a mile across.
MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Mysterious Giant Hole in Siberia
Photographs -- 1 of 17
Photograph -- A view of the giant hole in Siberia, Russia. (Marya Zulinova, press service of the Governor YaNAO)

Story Highlights:
A gaping crater in Siberia could answer researchers' questions about Earth's climactic history.
The crater poses what some researchers have referred to as a “climate time bomb.”

With the ominous nickname of the "gateway to the underworld," the gargantuan Batagaika crater that continues to grow in Siberia could disclose centuries of the Earth's climactic [sic] history.

Over the last 200,000 years, our planet's climate has alternated between "interglacial" periods of relative warmth and chillier "glacial" periods that allowed ice sheets to expand. According to a recent study, the sediment layers in the crater have the potential to answer "key questions about Quarternary environmental and climactic change in northeast Siberia."

Researcher Julian Murton told BBC.com that the layers provide a "continuous record of geological history, which is fairly unusual." He added that scientists should be able to interpret the climate and environmental history there by analyzing the layers.

Siberia's climatic history is not well understood and researchers hope that by reconstructing past environmental changes they can forecast similar changes in the future.

"Ultimately, we're trying to see if climate change during the last Ice Age [in Siberia] was characterized by a lot of variability," said Murton. "Warming and cooling, warming and cooling as occurred in the North Atlantic region."

(MORE: Massive Michigan Sinkhole Swallows Home)

The Batagaika crater has sunk to a depth of nearly 400 feet and has grown at a rate of more than 60 feet per year, according to Motherboard. Since its creation in the early 1990s, climate change has worsened and caused heat waves that melted layers of glacial ice.

This melting caused the land underneath to collapse, creating the gaping depression.

Scientists are calling the Batagaika crater a "megaslump," which is an enormous void. When permafrost rapidly thaws, it creates rifts and causes "scar zones" that sink into the saturated land.

"I expect that the Batagaika megaslump will continue to grow until it runs out of ice or becomes buried by slumped sediment," Dr. Julian Murton told Motherboard. "It’s quite likely that other megaslumps will develop in Siberia if the climate continues to warm or get wetter."

These craters pose what some researchers have referred to as a "climate time bomb."

The Arctic’s permafrost contains both methane and carbon dioxide, which could be hazardous to our environment if released.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, methane could have 25 times the impact of carbon dioxide over the next century. An increase in methane emissions would have a disastrous effect on the planet’s already-troubled atmosphere, as the greenhouse gas is 21 times better at trapping heat.

According to Murton, the last time Siberia saw a slump of this magnitude was 10,000 years ago. Today’s greenhouse gas emissions, which have climbed to 400 parts per million, have surpassed the carbon dioxide levels of that time, which reached levels of 280 parts per million.



ALL YOU COULD POSSIBLY WANT TO KNOW ABOUT YET ANOTHER SCIENTIFIC TERM, "METHANE CLATHRATE"

Methane clathrate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

MAP -- Worldwide distribution of confirmed or inferred offshore gas hydrate-bearing sediments, 1996. Source: USGS
Photograph -- Gas hydrate-bearing sediment, from the subduction zone off Oregon

Methane clathrate (CH4·5.75H2O) or (4CH4·23H2O), also called methane hydrate, hydromethane, methane ice, fire ice, natural gas hydrate, or gas hydrate, is a solid clathrate compound (more specifically, a clathrate hydrate) in which a large amount of methane is trapped within a crystal structure of water, forming a solid similar to ice.[1] Originally thought to occur only in the outer regions of the Solar System, where temperatures are low and water ice is common, significant deposits of methane clathrate have been found under sediments on the ocean floors of the Earth.[2]

Methane clathrates are common constituents of the shallow marine geosphere and they occur in deep sedimentary structures and form outcrops on the ocean floor. Methane hydrates are believed to form by migration of gas from deep along geological faults, followed by precipitation or crystallization, on contact of the rising gas stream with cold sea water. In 2008, research on Antarctic Vostok and EPICA Dome C ice cores revealed that methane clathrates were also present in deep Antarctic ice cores and record a history of atmospheric methane concentrations, dating to 800,000 years ago.[3] The ice-core methane clathrate record is a primary source of data for global warming research, along with oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Structure and composition[edit]

The nominal methane clathrate hydrate composition is (CH4)4(H2O)23, or 1 mole of methane for every 5.75 moles of water, corresponding to 13.4% methane by mass, although the actual composition is dependent on how many methane molecules fit into the various cage structures of the water lattice. The observed density is around 0.9 g/cm3, which means that methane hydrate will float to the surface of the sea or of a lake unless it is bound in place by being formed in or anchored to sediment.[4] One litre of fully saturated methane clathrate solid would therefore contain about 120 grams of methane (or around 169 litres of methane gas at 0 °C and 1 atm).[nb 1]

Methane forms a structure I hydrate with two dodecahedral (12 vertices, thus 12 water molecules) and six tetradecahedral (14 water molecules) water cages per unit cell. (Because of sharing of water molecules between cages, there are only 46 water molecules per unit cell.) This compares with a hydration number of 20 for methane in aqueous solution.[5] A methane clathrate MAS NMR spectrum recorded at 275 K and 3.1 MPa shows a peak for each cage type and a separate peak for gas phase methane.[citation needed] In 2003, a clay-methane hydrate intercalate was synthesized in which a methane hydrate complex was introduced at the interlayer of a sodium-rich montmorillonite clay. The upper temperature stability of this phase is similar to that of structure I hydrate.[6]

Natural deposits[edit]

Specific structure of a gas hydrate piece, from the subduction zone off Oregon
Methane clathrates are restricted to the shallow lithosphere (i.e. < 2,000 m depth). Furthermore, necessary conditions are found only in either continental sedimentary rocks in polar regions where average surface temperatures are less than 0 °C; or in oceanic sediment at water depths greater than 300 m where the bottom water temperature is around 2 °C. In addition, deep fresh water lakes may host gas hydrates as well, e.g. the fresh water Lake Baikal, Siberia.[7] Continental deposits have been located in Siberia and Alaska in sandstone and siltstone beds at less than 800 m depth. Oceanic deposits seem to be widespread in the continental shelf (see Fig.) and can occur within the sediments at depth or close to the sediment-water interface. They may cap even larger deposits of gaseous methane.[8] Oceanic[edit] There are two distinct types of oceanic deposit. The most common is dominated (> 99%) by methane contained in a structure I clathrate and generally found at depth in the sediment. Here, the methane is isotopically light (δ13C < −60‰), which indicates that it is derived from the microbial reduction of CO2. The clathrates in these deep deposits are thought to have formed in situ from the microbially produced methane, since the δ13C values of clathrate and surrounding dissolved methane are similar.[8] However, it is also thought that fresh water used in the pressurization of oil and gas wells in permafrost and along the continental shelves worldwide combines with natural methane to form clathrate at depth and pressure, since methane hydrates are more stable in fresh water than in salt water. Local variations may be very common, since the act of forming hydrate, which extracts pure water from saline formation waters, can often lead to local, and potentially significant, increases in formation water salinity. Hydrates normally exclude the salt in the pore fluid from which it forms, thus they comprise high electric resistivity just like ice, and sediments containing hydrates have a higher resistivity compared to sediments without gas hydrates (Judge [67]).[9]:9 These deposits are located within a mid-depth zone around 300–500 m thick in the sediments (the gas hydrate stability zone, or GHSZ) where they coexist with methane dissolved in the fresh, not salt, pore-waters. Above this zone methane is only present in its dissolved form at concentrations that decrease towards the sediment surface. Below it, methane is gaseous. At Blake Ridge on the Atlantic continental rise, the GHSZ started at 190 m depth and continued to 450 m, where it reached equilibrium with the gaseous phase. Measurements indicated that methane occupied 0-9% by volume in the GHSZ, and ~12% in the gaseous zone.[10][11] In the less common second type found near the sediment surface some samples have a higher proportion of longer-chain hydrocarbons (< 99% methane) contained in a structure II clathrate. Carbon from this type of clathrate is isotopically heavier (δ13C is −29 to −57 ‰) and is thought to have migrated upwards from deep sediments, where methane was formed by thermal decomposition of organic matter. Examples of this type of deposit have been found in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caspian Sea.[8] Some deposits have characteristics intermediate between the microbially and thermally sourced types and are considered to be formed from a mixture of the two. The methane in gas hydrates is dominantly generated by microbial consortia degrading organic matter in low oxygen environments, with the methane itself produced by methanogenic archaea. Organic matter in the uppermost few centimetres of sediments is first attacked by aerobic bacteria, generating CO2, which escapes from the sediments into the water column. Below this region of aerobic activity, anaerobic processes take over, including, successively with depth, the microbial reduction of nitrite/nitrate, metal oxides, and then sulfates are reduced to sulfides. Finally, once sulfate is used up, methanogenesis becomes a dominant pathway for organic carbon remineralization. If the sedimentation rate is low (about 1 cm/yr), the organic carbon content is low (about 1% ), and oxygen is abundant, aerobic bacteria can use up all the organic matter in the sediments faster than oxygen is depleted, so lower-energy electron acceptors are not used. But where sedimentation rates and the organic carbon content are high, which is typically the case on continental shelves and beneath western boundary current upwelling zones, the pore water in the sediments becomes anoxic at depths of only a few centimeters or less. In such organic-rich marine sediments, sulfate then becomes the most important terminal electron acceptor due to its high concentration in seawater, although it too is depleted by a depth of centimeters to meters. Below this, methane is produced. This production of methane is a rather complicated process, requiring a highly reducing environment (Eh −350 to −450 mV) and a pH between 6 and 8, as well as a complex syntrophic consortia of different varieties of archaea and bacteria, although it is only archaea that actually emit methane. In some regions (e.g., Gulf of Mexico) methane in clathrates may be at least partially derived from thermal degradation of organic matter, dominantly in petroleum.[12][citation needed] The methane in clathrates typically has a biogenic isotopic signature and highly variable δ13C (−40 to −100‰), with an approximate average of about −65‰ .[13][citation needed][14][citation needed][15] Below the zone of solid clathrates, large volumes of methane may form bubbles of free gas in the sediments.[10][16][17] The presence of clathrates at a given site can often be determined by observation of a "bottom simulating reflector" (BSR), which is a seismic reflection at the sediment to clathrate stability zone interface caused by the unequal densities of normal sediments and those laced with clathrates. Reservoir size[edit] The size of the oceanic methane clathrate reservoir is poorly known, and estimates of its size decreased by roughly an order of magnitude per decade since it was first recognized that clathrates could exist in the oceans during the 1960s and 1970s.[18] The highest estimates (e.g. 3×1018 m³)[19] were based on the assumption that fully dense clathrates could litter the entire floor of the deep ocean. Improvements in our understanding of clathrate chemistry and sedimentology have revealed that hydrates form in only a narrow range of depths (continental shelves), at only some locations in the range of depths where they could occur (10-30% of the Gas hydrate stability zone), and typically are found at low concentrations (0.9–1.5% by volume) at sites where they do occur. Recent estimates constrained by direct sampling suggest the global inventory occupies between 1×1015and 5×1015 m³ (0.24 to 1.2 million cubic miles).[18] This estimate, corresponding to 500–2500 gigatonnes carbon (Gt C), is smaller than the 5000 Gt C estimated for all other geo-organic fuel reserves but substantially larger than the ~230 Gt C estimated for other natural gas sources.[18][20] The permafrost reservoir has been estimated at about 400 Gt C in the Arctic,[21][citation needed] but no estimates have been made of possible Antarctic reservoirs. These are large amounts. In comparison, the total carbon in the atmosphere is around 800 gigatons (see Carbon: Occurrence). These modern estimates are notably smaller than the 10,000 to 11,000 Gt C (2×1016 m³) proposed[22] by previous researchers as a reason to consider clathrates to be a geo-organic fuel resource (MacDonald 1990, Kvenvolden 1998). Lower abundances of clathrates do not rule out their economic potential, but a lower total volume and apparently low concentration at most sites[18] does suggest that only a limited percentage of clathrates deposits may provide an economically viable resource. Continental[edit] Methane clathrates in continental rocks are trapped in beds of sandstone or siltstone at depths of less than 800 m. Sampling indicates they are formed from a mix of thermally and microbially derived gas from which the heavier hydrocarbons were later selectively removed. These occur in Alaska, Siberia, and Northern Canada. In 2008, Canadian and Japanese researchers extracted a constant stream of natural gas from a test project at the Mallik gas hydrate site in the Mackenzie River delta. This was the second such drilling at Mallik: the first took place in 2002 and used heat to release methane. In the 2008 experiment, researchers were able to extract gas by lowering the pressure, without heating, requiring significantly less energy.[23] The Mallik gas hydrate field was first discovered by Imperial Oil in 1971-1972.[24] Commercial use[edit] Economic deposits of hydrate are termed Natural Gas Hydrate (NGH) and are unique in that they store 164 m3 of methane, 0.8 m3 water in 1 m3 hydrate.[25] Most NGH is found beneath the seafloor (95%) where it exists in thermodynamic equilibrium. The sedimentary methane hydrate reservoir probably contains 2–10 times the currently known reserves of conventional natural gas, as of 2013.[26] This represents a potentially important future source of hydrocarbon fuel. However, in the majority of sites deposits are thought to be too dispersed for economic extraction.[18] Other problems facing commercial exploitation are detection of viable reserves and development of the technology for extracting methane gas from the hydrate deposits. In August 2006, China announced plans to spend 800 million yuan (US$100 million) over the next 10 years to study natural gas hydrates.[27] A potentially economic reserve in the Gulf of Mexico may contain approximately 100 billion cubic metres (3.5×1012 cu ft) of gas.[18] Bjørn Kvamme and Arne Graue at the Institute for Physics and technology at the University of Bergen have developed a method for injecting CO2 into hydrates and reversing the process; thereby extracting CH4 by direct exchange.[28] The University of Bergen's method is being field tested by ConocoPhillips and state-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC), and partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The project has already reached injection phase and was analyzing resulting data by March 12, 2012.[29] On March 12, 2013, JOGMEC researchers announced that they had successfully extracted natural gas from frozen methane hydrate.[30] In order to extract the gas, specialized equipment was used to drill into and depressurize the hydrate deposits, causing the methane to separate from the ice. The gas was then collected and piped to surface where it was ignited to prove its presence.[31] According to an industry spokesperson, "It [was] the world's first offshore experiment producing gas from methane hydrate".[30] Previously, gas had been extracted from onshore deposits, but never from offshore deposits which are much more common.[31] The hydrate field from which the gas was extracted is located 50 kilometres (31 mi) from central Japan in the Nankai Trough, 300 metres (980 ft) under the sea.[30][31] A spokesperson for JOGMEC remarked "Japan could finally have an energy source to call its own".[31] The experiment will continue for two weeks before it is determined how efficient the gas extraction process has been.[31] Marine geologist Mikio Satoh remarked "Now we know that extraction is possible. The next step is to see how far Japan can get costs down to make the technology economically viable."[31] Japan estimates that there are at least 1.1 trillion cubic meters of methane trapped in the Nankai Trough, enough to meet the country's needs for more than ten years.[31] . . . . FOR MORE OF THIS ARTICLE, GO TO WEBSITE ABOVE.



OTHER DISCOURAGING ARTICLES ON THIS SUBJECT:

https://weather.com/news/climate/news/siberia-methane-leak-yamal-peninsula-bely-island-grass
Climate Change May Be to Blame for These Bouncy Patches in Siberia
By Ada Carr
Jul 27 2016 12:00 AM EDT

Video -- Methane Leak Gives Bounce to Grass
Trapped methane makes grassy field bounce in Russia.

In a remote area of Siberia’s tundra, patches of grass-covered ground act more like a bouncy house than land.

While walking through Bely Island off the Yamal Peninsula, researchers Alexander Sokolov and Dorothee Ehrich spotted 15 patches of trembling ground in a field, The Siberian Times reports. When they punctured one of the patches, the ground emitted methane and carbon dioxide.

It is still unclear what is causing this phenomenon, but researchers believe that abnormal heat caused the permafrost in the tundra to thaw and release gases.

A 2014 study forecasted this kind of event. After examining 71 wetlands across the globe, researchers discovered that melting permafrost has been creating wetlands that are emitting large amounts of methane.

(MORE: Rare Sight in Siberia: Two Tornadoes Form)

Methane gas is twice as potent as carbon dioxide when it comes to warming the Earth’s atmosphere.

“Methane emissions are one example of a positive feedback between ecosystems and the climate system,” University of Guelph biology professor Merritt Turetsky told Climate Central. “The permafrost carbon feedback is one of the important and likely consequences of climate change, and it is certain to trigger additional warming.”

Warming and thawing permafrost stimulate methane release, which enhances the greenhouse effect, creating a feedback loop, she said.

Researchers believe methane is also to blame for massive craters that have been popping up in parts of Siberia.

(MORE: Arctic Sea Ice Breaks May Record ... By a Lot)

In 2014, a giant crater formed in the Yamal Peninsula, spanning more than 100 feet wide. The following year, dozens more of the mystery holes were spotted nearby. The leading theory is that the craters were formed by underground methane explosions or by the freezing and melting of the landscapes.

Both events are believed to be caused by warming Arctic temperatures. According to Sokolov, this summer is unusually hot on the Arctic island.

Scientists are still researching these phenomena and what they mean for our planet’s future.

ON THE SUBJECT OF THE “PERMAFROST CARBON” FEEDBACK AND THAT OF METHANE, SEE:
“https://www.decodedscience.org/melting-permafrost-arctic-tale-two-feedbacks/57919; Melting Permafrost in the Arctic: A Tale of Two Feedbacks; March 11, 2016 by Elizabeth Klusinske 4 Comments”


WHAT IS A FEEDBACK LOOP? A PROCESS THAT INCREASES OR DECREASES THE EFFECT OF ANOTHER. SOME OTHER FEEDBACK LOOPS – THE THAWING OF THE PERMAFROST IS DAILY RELEASING METHANE FROM THE FROZEN SOIL AND IT THEN ACCUMULATES IN THE ATMOSPHERE TO INCREASE THE RATE OF GLOBAL WARMING. THE LOSS OF ICE AND SNOW IS ANOTHER PROBLEM AS IT REMOVES THE WHITENESS THAT CONSTANTLY REFLECTS THE SUN’S RAYS BACK UP INTO THE SKY AND AWAY FROM EARTH. THAT ICE IS BEING MELTED RAPIDLY AND CAUSING EVEN GREATER GLOBAL WARMING. SOIL AND WATER, ON THE OTHER HAND, ALWAYS HEAT UP UNDER THE SUN’S RAYS.

ANOTHER LESS WELL-KNOWN CAUSE IS THE CUTTING OF FORESTS ALL OVER THE WORLD, WHICH REDUCES THE OXYGEN VERSUS CARBON DIOXIDE IN OUR ATMOSPHERE. THIS IS THE MOST CRUCIAL REASON WHY ECOLOGISTS AND EARTH SCIENTISTS TALK SO MUCH ABOUT THE CUTTING OF RAIN FORESTS, WHOSE PURPOSE IS JUST TO GET ANOTHER TRILLION OR SO DOLLARS INTO INDUSTRY COFFERS.

AND YET, OUR GOVERNMENT GIVES THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY MONEY TO IMPROVE ITS’ BUSINESSES AND TAKES AWAY WHATEVER MONEY THE SOLAR AND OTHER RENEWABLE ENERGY OPERATIONS HAPPEN TO HAVE ALLOCATED TO THEM. WHY? BECAUSE THE PROFIT MARGIN OF OIL AND COAL COMPANIES IS BEING DIMINISHED BY SOLAR ENERGY, WHICH HAS TURNED OUT TO BE SURPRISINGLY SUCCESSFUL IN MANY PLACES, EVEN TO THE POINT THAT ELECTRICAL COMPANIES HAVE HAD TO FIGURE OUT NEW WAYS TO BILL CITIZENS WHO HAVE THOSE FUNNY LOOKING SOLAR PANELS ON THEIR ROOFS.

THE SOLAR HOUSES MAKE MORE ELECTRICAL ENERGY THAN THEY USE IN MANY CASES, WHICH CAN CAUSE THE POWER PLANT TO LOSE MONEY ON ITS’ PROVIDING POWER TO ALL, AS MOST MODERN CITIES AND COUNTIES NOW ARE REQUIRED TO DO. IF MY MEMORY OF MY ANCIENT ECONOMICS COURSE IS CORRECT, THE TERM FOR THAT IS “ECONOMIES OF SCALE.” A SOLAR HOUSE DOES NOT, CONSTANTLY AND EVERY DAY, PRODUCE ENOUGH ELECTRICITY TO MEETS ITS’ NEEDS, BUT SOMETIMES PRODUCES A SURPLUS. THE RESULT IS THAT THE ELECTRICAL COMPANY HAS TO WORK OUT A WAY OF DEALING WITH IT, PERHAPS BY ALLOWING THEM TO GO OFF THE POWER GRID, SUBSCRIBE AT AN INDIVIDUAL PRICE, OR EVEN BY BUYING ELECTRICITY FROM HOMEOWNERS OR GIVING THEM A REBATE. BUYING POWER FROM THEM WOULD REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF CO2 THAT WOULD BE PRODUCED, WHICH SOUNDS LIKE A “WIN-WIN” TO ME.

FOR THESE REASONS, THE CARBON FUEL INDUSTRY HAS FOUGHT THE RENEWABLE ENERGY INTERESTS FOR DECADES. THEY HAVE ALSO PUBLISHED REPORTS THAT SOLAR ENERGY JUST ISN’T PRACTICAL, BUT ITS’ SUCCESS HAS BEEN IN THE NEWS A NUMBER OF TIMES THIS LAST DECADE OR SO. I’M NO LEGAL SCHOLAR, BUT THAT SOUNDS LIKE THE ACTIVITY OF A MONOPOLY “IN RESTRAINT OF TRADE,” SPECIFICALLY AGAINST THE SOLAR INDUSTRY, WHICH IS GROWING FOR THE SAME REASON THAT BERNIE SANDERS ATTRACTS LOTS OF BELIEVERS. HE SPEAKS GOOD SENSE AND FAIRNESS WITH A SIMPLE ELOQUENCE. THE BIG BOYS ARE FAT ENOUGH NOW. THEY NEED TO MOVE OVER AND GIVE OTHERS A PLACE AT THE TABLE.

THE THING THAT UPSETS ME MOST ABOUT THE MASSIVE DEFORESTATION THAT IS GOING ON, BEYOND THE LOSS OF HABITAT FOR COUNTLESS ANIMAL AND PLANT SPECIES -- ESPECIALLY THE WONDERFUL MONARCH BUTTERFLY – IS THE FACT THAT ENCOURAGING RATHER THAN DISCOURAGING THE GROWTH OF TREES AND OTHER PLANTS IS CRUCIAL TO A BALANCED ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH NOT ONLY LESSER ANIMALS WILL SURVIVE, BUT WE HUMANS WILL, TOO. IN THE LIFE CYCLE PROCESS OF PLANTS, WHICH IS CALLED PHOTOSYNTHESIS, THEY CONSUME CO2 AND GIVE OFF OXYGEN, WHEREAS ANIMALS GIVE OFF CO2 AND CONSUME OXYGEN. WE NEED MORE OXYGEN AND LESS CO2 IF WE ARE TO SURVIVE. WAKE UP, HUMANITY, AND SMELL THE SKUNK CABBAGE.



I AM NOT PUTTING THE FOLLOWING STORY IN WITH THE OTHERS BECAUSE I THINK IT IS JUST ANOTHER CYNICAL “CONSERVATIVE” OPINION MADE UP TO KEEP THE GOVERNMENTS, FEDERAL STATE AND LOCAL, FROM MANDATING CHANGES IN WHAT BIG BIZ DOES. IT IS, HOWEVER, ILLUSTRATIVE. AS THEY SAY, “CONSIDER THE SOURCE.”


http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/17/murray-energy-ceo-claims-global-warming-is-a-hoax.html
Murray Energy CEO claims global warming is a hoax, says 4,000 scientists tell him so
Tom DiChristopher | @tdichristopher
Friday, 17 Feb 2017 | 2:06 PM ET

PLAY CNBC VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH MURRAY

Murray Energy Chairman and CEO Robert Murray on Friday claimed global warming is a hoax and repeated a debunked claim that the phenomenon cannot exist because the Earth's surface is cooling.

Murray appeared on CNBC's "Squawk Box" to discuss Republicans' rollback of an Obama-era rule that would have restricted coal mining near waterways. President Donald Trump signed the measure on Thursday in front of Murray and a group of Murray Energy workers.

Murray Energy is the country's largest coal miner. Many of its mines are in Appalachia, a region that would suffer some of the biggest impacts of the rule. Murray also successfully sued to delay implementation of the Clean Power Plan, which would regulate planet-warming carbon emissions from power plants.

Asked about the economic analysis behind President Barack Obama's energy regulations, Murray said, "There's no scientific analysis either. I have 4,000 scientists that tell me global warming is a hoax. The Earth has cooled for 20 years."

It was not immediately clear who the 4,000 scientists Murray referenced are.

Asked for clarification, a spokesperson for Murray Energy sent links to the Manhattan Declaration on Climate Change, which says "human-caused climate change is not a global crisis," and the Global Warming Petition Project, a list of science degree holders who don't think humans cause climate change.

Murray's claim that there is no scientific analysis behind climate change is not true.

A landmark 2013 study assessed 4,000 peer-reviewed papers by 10,000 climate scientists that gave an opinion on the cause of climate change. It showed 97 percent of the authors attributed climate change to manmade causes.

His second claim that Earth is cooling is also false.

Temperatures were the warmest on record last year, according to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was the third year in a row global average temperatures set a record.

"The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere," NASA and NOAA said.

Climate change skeptics sometimes point to cool land temperatures to dispute global warming. Scientists have repeatedly noted that water covers 70 percent of the Earth's surface, so it is highly misleading to cast temperatures on land as a representation of global-scale temperatures.

Land also heats and cools more quickly than the ocean, The Weather Channel noted while debunking a recent Breitbart News article that was widely found to have cherry-picked data to cast doubt on climate change.

The stacks from the Gavin coal burning power plant tower in Cheshire, Ohio.

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Tom DiChristopher
Energy Reporter


OTHER TIMELY SUBJECTS --

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/richard-burr-senate-russia-probe-has-seven-full-time-staffers/
By EMILY SCHULTHEIS CBS NEWS March 29, 2017, 4:46 PM
Richard Burr: Senate Russia probe has seven full-time staffers

Video – WH denies blocking Russia testimony

The Senate Intelligence Committee has seven full-time professional staff members working to evaluate intelligence and documents related to the committee’s investigation on Russian election interference, Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said Wednesday.

“This investigation’s scope will go wherever the intelligence leads it,” he said at a press conference at the Capitol Wednesday afternoon. “So it is absolutely crucial that every day we spend trying to separate fact from fiction and to find some intelligence thread that sends us to the factual side of all the names and all the places that you in this room have written about.”

Burr, appearing with vice chairman Mark Warner (D-Virginia), said the committee has received an “unprecedented amount of documents” relating to the investigation, noting that the staffers dedicated to reviewing them -- who are full-time staffers who previously had the necessary security clearance -- are sifting through “thousands” of documents.

Play VIDEO
Sen. McCain says scandalous revelations about Trump team won't end soon

The committee is “weeks away” from finishing its review of the related documents, Burr said, and it has requested interviews with 20 people, including White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law.

Congressional investigations into Russia -- particularly the question of whether any Trump campaign associates were in touch with Russian officials -- has been at the center of the political conversation in Washington this week, as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., comes under fire over a secretive visit to White House grounds, where he examined alleged surveillance information he relayed to the president, but not to the Intelligence Committee. Since then, he and ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., have been at odds.

Neither Burr nor Warner took questions about Nunes or the House investigation. Instead, standing side by side, the two spoke about their shared commitment to a fair and independent investigation, and noted that it may not happen as quickly as some people would like.

“We need to get this right,” Warner said. “...Getting it right is more important than getting it done quickly.”

Warner noted that Russia may have attempted to influence the 2016 election indirectly by having Russia-linked bots direct “fake news” stories at key swing states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

He said that “for the most part” the intelligence community is being cooperative in providing the necessary information, and said the committee’s investigation has made great strides since the intelligence community released its report on Russian activity in early January.

“What we know today is a lot more than they knew in December when they went through this process,” Warner said.



THIS WHOLE GULEN STORY IS BEYOND STRANGE. WE NEED GOOD WELL-RUN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NOT THESE EXPERIMENTAL THINGS THAT ARE OFTEN JUST AN EXCUSE TO KEEP BLACK AND HISPANIC KIDS OUT. AND ABOVE ALL, NO PUBLIC MONEY SHOULD BE GOING TO A RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION OF ANY KIND. AND THEN THERE IS THE TRULY SHOCKING DEMAND THAT EMPLOYEES PAY MONEY INTO THE GULEN FUND OUT OF THEIR HARD EARNED SALARIES.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-turkish-religious-scholar-fethullah-gulen-funding-movement-abroad-through-us-charter-schools/
Are some U.S. charter schools helping fund controversial Turkish cleric's movement?
By MARGARET BRENNAN, JENNIFER JANISCH
CBS NEWS March 29, 2017, 7:00 AM

Video – CBS this morning news investigation interview 5.00 minutes

As Secretary of State Rex Tillerson travels to Turkey on Thursday, he’ll want to talk about the fight against ISIS. But the Turks want to talk about a controversial Turkish religious scholar: Fethullah Gulen.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan accuses Gulen of being behind a bloody coup attempt in the country last July. Gulen, who lives in the United States, denies he was involved. Now the Turkish government is also lobbying the Trump administration to extradite Gulen back to Turkey.

Photograph -- fethullah-gulen-ap-987233294224.jpg, In this March 15, 2014 photo, Turkish Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen is pictured at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pa. AP PHOTO/SELAHATTIN SEVI

Over the past two decades, Gulen’s Turkish followers have opened up taxpayer-funded charter schools in the U.S. Some parents have expressed concern about the connection to the Gulen movement, while others don’t seem to mind. But CBS News has learned the FBI is investigating whether Gulen’s followers have skimmed money from those schools in order to fund his movement in Turkey. A senior State Department official believes Gulen-linked charities and educational institutions in the U.S. look “a lot like the ways in which organized crime sets itself up...to hide money for money laundering.”

During the violent coup attempt that shook Turkey last July, hundreds were killed as rogue military tanks rolled into the streets of Istanbul. But Gulen, who the Turkish government blames for inciting it, has lived in a Pennsylvania compound for 16 years.

Play VIDEO -- Who is Fethullah Gulen?

Gulen’s followers run publicly-funded science and math-focus charter schools in the United States. By our count, they’ve opened 136 charter schools in 28 states, operating on more than $2.1 billion taxpayer dollars since 2010.

But former teachers at those schools have told CBS News there is a scheme by Gulen’s followers in the U.S. to take advantage of the American charter school system and fund Gulen’s movement.

Ersin Konkur was once a follower of Gulen. He worked as a math teacher at schools founded by Gulen supporters in New York and Texas. But he said school officials made a special demand of the Turkish teachers who worked there: a kick-back from their taxpayer-funded salary.

“They’d force you to give some of that money back to them?” CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan asked.

“Yes,” Konkur responded.

“Were you writing checks?”

“They were asking cash. But in my last two years, I paid some of them in check,” Konkur said, adding that he’s paid “maybe a lot more than $20,000” in total to the movement.

Photograph -- ctm-0329-gulen-charter-schools-former-teachers.jpg, Mustafa Emanet (left) and Ersin Konkur CBS NEWS

Mustafa Emanet was an IT administrator at a Gulen-inspired charter school in Ohio.

“How much money do you think you gave?” Brennan asked him.

“I was paying around 40 percent of my salary,” Emanet said.

Based on information provided by Emanet, federal investigators believe former officials at his Ohio school illegally paid themselves about $5 million in federal contracts and then sent those U.S. tax dollars to Bank Asya, a bank in Turkey linked to Gulen’s followers.

The school says it is cooperating with the probe.

“They’re a threat to our relationship with Turkey and thus to the stability of the Middle East,” former U.S. ambassador to Turkey James Jeffrey said.

Jeffrey told CBS News that Gulen’s followers are a powerful force in Turkey, with public good works, but more private political aims.

“We need to investigate this movement again first and foremost for what it has attempted to do in Turkey. Secondly, what it is trying to do here in the United States and what laws it may be breaking in the process of doing so,” Jeffrey said.

Photograph -- ctm-0329-alp-aslandogan.jpg, Alp Aslandogan CBS NEWS

Gulen repeatedly declined to speak with us, but we spoke with his closest adviser, Alp Aslandogan.

“If there’s a proven charge that somebody illegally channeled money from public funds into some private purposes, he will be first to condemn it,” Aslandogan said.

“The Turkish teachers said that they were then forced to hand over part of their salary back to the movement,” Brennan responded.

“Yeah, forced donations is absolutely unethical. … It is disgusting. I would be first to condemn something like that,” Aslandogan said.

The charter schools that employed Turkish teachers Konkur and Emanet strongly deny any official links to Gulen himself, but we found nearly all Gulen schools have ties to a network of non-profits, many of which lead back to Gulen or his top associates.

Court records related to Gulen’s immigration to the U.S. show that his lawyers said he had “overseen the establishment of a conglomeration of schools... [including in]... the United States.”

“What do you think they’re really trying to do?” Brennan asked Emanet.

“They try to gain more power. And they want to make more money. And then after that, they use the money to gain more power,” Emanet said.

Konkur’s former employers deny his allegations, call him a disgruntled former employee, and accuse him – without providing evidence – of being an agent of the Turkish government. He denies that, although he has given testimony to a U.S. lawyer hired by the government of Turkey.

Last week, Turkey’s foreign minister said U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions assured him that he’d carefully examine the Turkish request for Gulen’s extradition.



VERDICT ON BRIDGEGATE MATTER

NEWS CHRISTIE BRIDGE SCANDAL MAR 29 2017, 4:05 PM ET
Bridgegate Scandal: Ex Christie Allies Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly Get Prison
by JON SCHUPPE and BRIAN THOMPSON


Former allies of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were sentenced to prison Wednesday for engineering lane closures at the George Washington Bridge as alleged retaliation against a Democratic mayor who didn't endorse the governor.

Bill Baroni, who served as deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will spend two years behind bars and must do 500 hours of community service. His co-conspirator, Bridget Anne Kelly, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, plus a year of probation. Both said they'll file appeals

"I regret more than anything that I allowed myself to get caught up in this," Baroni told U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton. "I failed."

Play -- Bridgegate: Guilty On All Counts 1:23

Baroni's defense lawyers argued for leniency, noting his longtime work as an FBI informant when he was a state lawmaker.

Related: Bridgegate: Two Former Aides to Chris Christie Convicted in Lane-Closure Scandal

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Cortes responded that Baroni should have known better, and should have gone to authorities when he learned of the plot, but instead tried to cover it up.

Baroni "corrupted his office to send a petty, vindictive political message," Cortes said. He called Baroni's behavior "out of the playbook of some dictator in a banana republic."

Before imposing the sentence, Wigenton told Baroni, "This is a sad day for the state of New Jersey, and in particular for you."

She added: "You have lived a life of service...that makes the offense that much more perplexing."

When her turn came, Kelly apologized for "disrespectful" emails and texts she sent about the lane closures ─ which included the infamous "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."

Crying, Kelly told the judge, "I never intended to harm anyone."

But the divorced mother of four also maintained her innocence, telling reporters afterwards: "I will not allow myself to be the scapegoat in this case and I look forward to the appeal."

Wigenton told Kelly she was guilty of using her position "to exact revenge" and said the traffic study excuse was not believable.

"I don't believe you're a victim," Wigenton said.

Play -- Bridgegate Conspirators Sentenced to Prison 1:39

Wednesday's courtroom appearances closes a chapter on the more than three-year-old scandal known as Bridgegate, which brought down members of Christie's inner circle and damaged his attempt to run for president. Witnesses at a fall trial alleged Christie knew about the plan beforehand. But Christie was never charged, and he maintains that he knew nothing about it until after it broke as a news story.

Baroni and Kelly have said they believed the lane closures were for a traffic study and not a political retribution plot. They were seeking sentences of probation.

Related: Ex Christie Aide: I Told Gov. About 'Bridgegate' Lane Closures

Another Christie operative, David Wildstein, has admitted to cooking up the plot and testified that Kelly and Baroni helped him carry it out. He has alleged that he and Baroni spoke to Christie about the closures as they were happening. Wildstein, who cooperated with the feds as part of a plea deal, has not yet been sentenced.

The scandal stems from the September 2013 lane closures in Fort Lee, on the New Jersey end of the George Washington Bridge, and where a Democrat, Mark Sokolich, was mayor. Christie was running for re-election that year on a platform as a bipartisan consensus-builder, and was aggressively seeking Democratic endorsements. Sokolich was a holdout.

Image: Bridget Kelly arrives for sentencing at federal court in Newark, New Jersey, on March 29. Seth Wenig / AP

That August, Kelly emailed Wildstein calling for "traffic problems." He replied, "Got it." Later emails captured them discussing the closures, which began Sept. 9 and caused massive jams on Fort Lee roads.

The lanes were reopened on Sept. 13.

Kelly and Baroni were convicted on Nov. 4 of conspiracy, wire fraud and other charges.

Prosecutors asked for three to four years for each, accusing them in a court filing this week of lying during their trial last fall.



For Bernie Sanders Photographs (Many pages), GO TO -- https://www.facebook.com/798718760248759/photos/rpp.798718760248759/1239303099523654/?type=3&theater