Wednesday, July 25, 2012

The massive melting of Greenland was likely expected. Last year the reflectiveity of the ice decreased because of clumping of warmed ice crystals.

acquired June 1 - August 31, 2011



...The darkening, says Box, (click here) is due to changes in the shape and size of the ice crystals in the snowpack. As temperatures rise, snow grains clump together and reflect less light than the many-faceted, smaller crystals (see lower image from a scanning electron microscope). Additional heat rounds the sharp edges of the crystals, and round particles absorb more sunlight than jagged ones.


This is getting 'particular' in how the melting is viewed, but, it is the 'correct' view of the melting.




The crystals are not reflective. They are less pretty, but, they are also without multiple edges to reflect the light that hits it. Like a prism. Right. 


In the left each aspect of the crystals of the ice have 'edges' that will reflect the light back into the atmosphere. That ended last year with the consolidation of the crystals differently as on the right. It wasn't cold enough anymore to consolidate the tiny crystal, molecules by molecule as before. They were too wet. They were ice, but, they were not frigid accumulation of the ice 'particles.'


So, with less reflectivity, it means there is more ABSORPTION of the light and darker color of ice results, Thus, more infrared reflected back in the area of the ice sheet and less sustainable ice formations.


The melting of 2010 was considered alarming. 


2010 was an exceptional year (lick here) for Greenland’s ice cap. Melting started early and stretched later in the year than usual. Little snow fell to replenish the losses. By the end of the season, much of southern Greenland had set a new record, with melting that lasted 50 days longer than average....


That was before last year when the ice changed color.



So, the image on the left below from July 8, 2012 was somewhat of what one would expect. Advancing melt from years before, but, what was not expected occurred on July 12, 2012. 


It was alarming when the massive melt occurred from 2010, then darker ice from 2011.


The more massive melting of July 8, 2012 was expected and alarming enough. But, to realize the Greenland Ice Sheet is becoming decimated is extraordinarily alarming.

The word "MEANDER" enters my mind.



Nearly the entire ice sheet covering Greenland (click title to entry - thank you) —from its thin coastal edges to its two-mile-thick center—experienced some degree of melting for several days in July 2012. According to measurements from three satellites and an analysis by NASA and university scientists, an estimated 97 percent of the top layer of the ice sheet had thawed at some point in mid-July, the largest extent of surface melting observed in three decades of satellite observations....


I knew the heat transfers systems off the Equator would add to the melting in an exponential way, but, this was a tipping point. 


The Greenland Ice Sheet is among the largest ice formations on Earth, including the Arctic Ocean and Antarctica. This is an incredible finding to realize how much the icefields of Earth are being lost. No one should be completely surprised. It isn't as though these exceptionally large ice formation are in a freezer or extremely cold to maintain themselves.


The large ice formations are frozen, but, the difference between 31 degrees Fahrenheit and 33 degrees Fahrenheit is still only two degrees. This is very bad news. 

The Second Amendment is about building a strong country.

While the Second Amendment states "...the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."


Of course, the historical reference is the fact the young USA did not have a military, it was comprised of citizens armed with their own weapons. That is why the people are to have the right, NOT OBLIGATION, to keep and bear arms. It is historically to the establishment of our country.


The Second Amendment expects citizens to be on the same side of the fight. It doesn't assume that one citizen can wipe out the entire militia of civilians. So, the context of which the gun lobby of the NRA is incorrect. The Second Amendment does not require citizens to protect themselves hence has the right to bear arms. The Second Amendment does not expect one citizen to be better armed and trained better than any other of the militia. 


The arguments that people, if armed, can fend off an attacker at every minute of their lives is hideous. It is completely hideous. 

Anaheim, California has significant violent crime. But. There have been seven unarmed killing by police in the past year.

Anaheim, California Crime Map (click here) The map at this location can be adjusted to reflect a period of time. There is crime on a regular basis. Does that provide license for police to kill without restraint? Not at all.

ANAHEIM – Two police officers (click title to entry - thank you) have been placed on paid leave after one of them fatally shot an unarmed man as he attempted to flee on foot in a residential alleyway, police Chief John Welter said Sunday.
The shooting victim, 25-year-old Manuel Angel Diaz of Santa Ana, was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 7 p.m. Saturday after being shot in the alley a few blocks northeast of downtown Anaheim.
Police described Diaz as a "documented gang member," and said he was shot after the officers saw three men near a car in the 600 block of Anna Drive, near La Palma Avenue and State College Boulevard. Believing the activity to be suspicious, the officers approached the vehicle, and all three men fled on foot.
The officers chased Diaz and observed him throwing unidentified objects onto rooftops as he ran, Welter said. What led one of the officers to shoot Diaz remained under investigation Sunday, Welter said.
Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait said he would be asking California's attorney general to assist in the investigation....


The community has reasons to be upset, both from having secure neighborhood of which police get called in regularly and the fact when police respond there is sometimes confusion to the outcomes of those calls. I wish all the police that worked in these areas spoke Spanish. Bilingual would be best, but, there is often confusion in neighborhood where English is not the dominant language as Police need help from those that called and possibly others in the neighborhoods to sort out details.


Given the danger it probably is difficult to find police to work in these cities sometimes, but, I am sure the job pays well if there were only more consistency in the way police actions resolved when called.


Yesterday there was one officer on paid leave and today there are two, that is a good thing. If people believe something is being done it will help calm the issues of this community to some extent.


What has everyone up in arms over the death of yet another unarmed citizen is the fact this is the seventh in the past year. This is not the first. The community believes they are in the crossfire without any regard by the police department. If the police department would recognize all seven deaths and begin to deal with the truth, it would help immensely. I don't know if the other deaths involved the same officers either.

Whoa, wait a minute. You mean to tell me Romney didn't tour Aurora, Colorado before going to Europe? You've got to be joking.

The Olympics are about the athletes, not Romney. Honestly.


I thought for sure he'd be stopping there after his Veterans of Foreign Wars appearance. I am really surprised. So, he literally gave an 'atta boy' to President Obama, made his political speeches and went on vacation to the Olympics to see his wife's horse.


I mean really, that is what he did. I sincerely don't approve of going on vacation in the middle of a campaign.


July 20, 2012, 2:18 PM
BOW, N.H. — Mitt Romney dispensed (click title to entry - thank you) with a scheduled campaign speech on Friday to offer condolences to the lives shattered in “a few moments of evil in Colorado.”
“Our hearts break with the sadness of this unspeakable tragedy,’’ Mr. Romney said of the news that a gunman had opened fire in the crowded multiplex in Aurora, Colo., killing 12 and wounding dozens of others.
“I stand before you today not as a man running for office,’’ he said, “but as a father and grandfather, a husband, an American.’’
Mr. Romney’s four-minute speech, which he delivered with somber purpose, showed a side of him rarely seen in the day-to-day blood sport of politics — that of an elder in his church, who is experienced as a comforter and counselor....
Ya know, when Senator Kerry was running for President of this country he toured areas where people were facing hardship. This is outrageous. Seriously. Romney has he political agenda and nothing else matters. He has no official status at the Olympics, except, he is the spouse of a horse competing. That is his only official role in London.

HURRICANE CHARLEY: THE VICTIMS; Kerry Visits Gulf Coast Area Devastated by Hurricane (click here)

By DAVID M. HALBFINGER; 
James Dao contributed reporting from Sarasota for this article
Published: August 21, 2004



Days after canceling a campaign swing to Orlando to avoid disrupting relief efforts, Senator John Kerry traveled to the battered southwest coast of Florida on Friday and toured some of the worst damage from Hurricane Charley, walking among the shards of obliterated trailers and consoling homeowners....


Romney better have a well seasoned Vice President because the country is going to need it while he Jet Set's with the horsey set. Rubio was scheduled to go to Colorado on a campaign appearance, but, it was cancelled by the Romney campaign after the Aurora shootings.

Romney jets in for London Olympics (click here)


AFP – 29 minutes ago

US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney arrived in Britain on Wednesday for a three-day trip which will take in the London Olympic Games opening ceremony and a meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron.
Republican governor Romney and his wife Ann arrived early Wednesday, his press officer confirmed, as final preparations were being made for the ceremony which takes place on Friday....
Before the festivities, the governor will hit the campaign trail holding high-profile talks with Britain's leaders and meetings with US Olympic athletes.