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Below is a list of
noteworthy news and research reports from all over the Internet. My focus is on global change, international policy, conflict
resolution, demography and technology. |
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Recently added sections: |
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U.S. drone strikes: collateral deaths
(2 Feb. 2015) |
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U.S. gun deaths
(2 Dec. 2014) |
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Arctic open for commerce
(1 Dec. 2014) |
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How carbon dioxide travels
(1 Dec. 2014) |
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Arctic
open for commerce |
In 2007, 11 retired Generals and Admirals came together in
the Military Advisory Board of the U.S. Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) to examine the security implications of
climate change. Their landmark report on National Security and the Threat of Climate Change was the first time that such
an elite body of military leaders expressed their concern over the security implications of climate change. In 2014, this
report was updated. The following map is from this report.
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The nature and pace of observed climate changes—and an
emerging scientific consensus on their projected consequences—pose severe risks for U.S. national security. The U.S.
military has addressed many national security challenges, from containment and deterrence of the Soviet nuclear threat
during the Cold War to political extremism and transnational terrorism in recent years. The national security risks of
projected climate change are as serious as any challenges the U.S. military has ever faced.
The updated report serves as a call to action. It makes a
compelling case that climate change is no longer a future threat—it is taking place now. It observes that climate change
serves as a catalyst of conflict in vulnerable parts of the world, and that projected changes in global migration
patterns will make the challenges even more severe. It identifies threats to elements of U.S. National Power, particularly
those associated with infrastructure and the ability to maintain military readiness.
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Keywords
climate change,
vulnerability, national security risks, geo-policy, geo-strategy, global warming, military readiness, arctic ocean, arctic
commerce
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How carbon dioxide travels |
An ultra-high-resolution NASA computer model has given
scientists a stunning new look at how carbon dioxide in the atmosphere travels around the globe (see video below).
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Plumes of carbon dioxide in
the simulation swirl and shift as winds disperse the greenhouse gas away from its sources. The simulation also illustrates
differences in carbon dioxide levels in the northern and southern hemispheres and distinct swings in global carbon dioxide
concentrations as the growth cycle of plants and trees changes with the seasons.
The carbon dioxide
visualization was produced by a computer model called GEOS-5, created by scientists at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s
Global Modeling and Assimilation Office.
The visualization is a product
of a simulation called a “Nature Run.” The Nature Run ingests real data on atmospheric conditions and the emission of
greenhouse gases and both natural and man-made particulates. The model is then left to run on its own and simulate the
natural behavior of the Earth’s atmosphere. This Nature Run simulates January 2006 through December 2006.
While Goddard scientists
worked with a “beta” version of the Nature Run internally for several years, they released this updated, improved version
to the scientific community for the first time in the fall of 2014.
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Keywords
climate change,
CO2 emissions, carbon dioxide, animation
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U.S. gun deaths |
This animation is one of the best illustrations I have seen
on the "stolen years" due to gun deaths in the United States of America.
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Facts
Using data from the FBI's Unified Crime Reports this
animation illustrates the killing of more than 9,500 people in 2010 at various ages - representing a cumulated loss of
400,000 years of life (assuming these killed people would have otherwise lived average life spans).
According to official sources there were, in 2010, 19,392
firearm-related suicides and 11,078 firearm-related homicides in the United States: 358 murders were reported involving a
rifle while 6,009 were reported involving a handgun; another 1,939 were reported with an unspecified type of firearm.
The Congressional Research Service in 2009 estimated there
were 310 million firearms in the U.S., not including weapons owned by the military. 114 million of these were handguns,
110 million were rifles, and 86 million were shotguns. In that same year, the Census bureau stated the population of
people in the U.S. at 306 million.
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Comment
The culture of excessive gun ownership in the United States
can be only characterized as a rather peculiar form of a collective psychosis. An ambiguously worded amendment to the
United States Constitution is used to legitimize an individual's right to possess and use firearms with very few
restrictions.
The massive loss of potential life due to gun violence in
the United States is mind-boggling. No other civilized nation comes even close to this ongoing massacre. Amazingly, large
sections of the U.S. population seriously believe that even more guns in the hands of ordinary citizens would increase their
safety.
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Keywords
United States, USA, gun violence, gun deaths, gun culture, gang
violence
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Advertisement:
Smart books on geo-politics and the new world order. |
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Henry Kissinger (2014)
World Order.
Penguin Press HC |
Francis Fukuyama (2012)
The Origins of Political Order. From pre-human times to the French revolution. Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
Samuel P. Huntington (2011)
The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Simon & Schuster |
Andrew Bacevich (2009)
The Limits of Power. The end of American exceptionalism. Holt Paperbacks |
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In Association
with
Amazon.com |
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U.S. drone strikes: People killed |
Analyses conducted by human rights group Reprieve and
published by The Guardian (UK) seem to indicate that vastly more innocent people are killed by drone strikes than the
intended targets. The analyses give detailed statistics on U.S. drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan. According to Reprieve
these strikes have killed as many as 1,147 unknown people in failed attempts to kill 41 named individuals.
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Source:
UNMANNED - America's Drone Wars, by Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films
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Keywords
United States, USA, drone strikes, collateral deaths, drone killings,
drone war, civilian casualties, US military
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