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Author: Neville

  • Misconceptions about immigrants and the criminal justice system

    Misconceptions about immigrants and the criminal justice system

    On behalf of McCarthy Martin Law, LLP posted in Criminal Defense on Friday, September 20, 2013.

    There are a lot of misunderstandings about illegal immigrants who have been accused with criminal charges. Factions opposed to the presence of illegal immigrants in the U.S. often cite studies incorrectly and use this information to generate fear about individuals doing their best to move from their home countries in search of a better life. This happened recently on a well-known conservative show that failed to convey the proper rules that concern an individual suspected of being an illegal immigrant after being charged with a crime.

    According to the television show, a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that 2,837 undocumented individuals were released into the supervision of Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being convicted of a sex offense as of September 2012. The host of the show said that this situation was frightening because these individuals could disappear into the country, into states like Nebraska. The host then inquired as to why the government couldn’t have these individuals deported. An analyst on the show blamed the inadequacies of the government and agreed that immigrants should have to live up to tougher standards than American citizens regarding criminal conduct.

    The discussion may have led viewers to believe that undocumented individuals get away with crimes without having to go through the judicial system. This is incorrect. In fact, immigrants who are suspected of committing crimes go through the criminal justice system and can pay fines or serve jail time if they are convicted. A hearing is held by ICE to determine whether the immigrant should be deported following the completion of her or his punishment. Should the individual’s country of origin refuse to take that person, they can only be held for six more months. For the record, only 60 of the 2,837 individuals released by the government failed to register as sex offenders, but they were still under the supervision of ICE.

    It is important to remember that anyone who is charged with a crime in the U.S. has the right to a fair trial, impartial jury or judge, and that guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. This includes illegal immigrants charged with a crime.

    Source:  Media Matters, “Fox News Doesn’t Understand How Immigration Detention Works” Salvatore Colleluori, Sep. 18, 2013

    Tags: immigration

  • Common Misconceptions About Criminal Justice

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    Common Misconceptions About Criminal Justice

    Myth of Fact? A person can't be tried twice for the same crime
    Myth of Fact? A person can’t be tried twice for the same crime

    Criminal justice is a diverse and complex field. It is also fraught with myths and misconceptions. Some of these pertain to the workings of the law itself, and others pertain to the nature of a criminal justice career. It is time to right some of these myths and get the clear facts about criminal justice.

    Law Myths

    Law Myth #1: A Person Can’t be Tried More Than Once for the Same Crime

    This legal procedure is known commonly as “double jeopardy”. It is outlined by the Constitution in the 5th Amendment. Many people don’t realize, however, that this only applies to crimes that have been fully tried in court and reached a verdict of either acquittal or conviction. Many trials become mistrials or have a hung jury. This means that the jury was unable to come to a satisfactory decision. These cases are not closed unless the prosecution chooses to drop the case. A defendant in a mistrial can be tried repeatedly an unlimited number of times for the same accusation. The only real limits that exist here are the prosecutor’s tenacity and the judge’s decision to allow a trial. Most prosecutors will give up a case as unwinnable after a few mistrials. A judge may also examine a case of repeated mistrials and either dismiss it or demand further investigation before allowing another trial.

    Law Myth #2: Criminals Often Get Off on Technicalities

    A technicality is essentially a mistake someone made in the law process. Technicalities can occur during arrest, investigation and court proceedings. Television shows like to play up the occurrence of technicalities as a common failure of the justice system. In fact, case dismissal or acquittal due to a technicality is exceedingly rare. According to an article in the Huffington Post, the success rate for federal prosecutors is an excellent 90 to 95 percent. The success rate for state prosecutors is still acceptably high at around 60 to 85 percent, depending on jurisdiction. The justice system certainly isn’t perfect, and mistakes do happen, but fortunately they don’t happen often.

    Law Myth #3: Eyewitness Testimony is a Sure Way to Get a Conviction

    Eyewitness testimony is considered strong evidence in a case, but it is by no means a sure fire way to legal victory. This is because eyewitness testimony is remarkably easy to discredit. A defense attorney may discredit a witness on the stand by confusing them or getting them to report conflicting statements. It is also entirely possible for multiple eyewitnesses to give different accounts of an event. This is scientifically supported because everyone’s viewpoint is proven unique. Two people can see the exact same thing but remember different details or have a different recounting of what happened. The bottom line is that more hard evidence is needed to win a case. Just because you have someone who saw it happen doesn’t mean you have a strong case.

    Now, let’s examine some common myths about criminal justice careers.

    Career Myths

    Law Career Myth #1: A Criminal Justice Degree Online is Inferior

    A criminal justice degree actually lends itself very well to online learning. A great deal of criminal justice study revolves around reading cases, studying law facts and writing about this research in reports and briefs. There is very little need for hands-on learning like there is for a nursing or teaching degree, for example.

    Law Career Myth #2: Everyone Who Studies Criminal Justice Needs to go to Law School

    There is a big difference between studying criminal justice and going to an actual law school. Criminal justice is a very broad degree, and it can qualify graduates to work as police officers, paralegals, investigators, peace officers and even counselors and psychologists. Law school is more like a graduate degree program for those interested solely in becoming lawyers. Just like doctors need to go to medical school, but nurses don’t have to, lawyers need to go to law school, but other law officials don’t have to. Law school is also significantly more expensive and a far greater time commitment than a criminal justice degree. Those interested in becoming lawyers may want to consider getting a criminal justice degree and then working as a paralegal in a law office before making the jump into law school.

    Law Career Myth #3: Only Men can be Criminal Justice Professionals

    This is a complete myth, probably perpetuated by the classic ideal of the male police officer, lawyer or judge. The fact is that criminal justice professionals are not just men. Females can equally fill any position in law enforcement, and they are doing just that. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women are seeing growth across many industries and accounted for 47% of total employment in the U.S. in 2009. In service occupations specifically (which include jobs like correctional officers, police and detectives), 16.8% of working women were in service occupations which then grew to 17.6% in 2009.

    A criminal justice degree can be very rewarding and very lucrative for a variety of individuals. It is one of the broadest degree fields, and it represents both a great challenge and a chance to be of invaluable service to society.

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  • Recommendations on climate change mitigation

    Featured Research

    from universities, journals, and other organizations

    Recommendations on climate change mitigation

    Date:
    April 17, 2014
    Source:
    Kansas State University Research and Extension
    Summary:
    Changing agricultural practices and ending food waste around the world are among recommendations made by scientists charged with looking at ways to mitigate global climate change. “Agriculture globally contributes about 10 to 12 percent to greenhouse gas emissions,” the author said. “If you add in forestry it moves it up to around 25 percent. Agriculture is significant but not the major contributor and has declined slightly, percentage-wise, since the last report in 2007, not so much because agriculture has changed that much but because the energy sector is contributing more.”

    The latest assessment of global climate change is out and scientists from around the world have recommended changes including some in agriculture, forestry and other land use designed to mitigate their effects on climate change.

    As a lead author of a chapter in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment report released this month, Kansas State University Distinguished Professor and soil microbiologist Chuck Rice gave a presentation at the World Bank on April 16. Rice was part of a group of 18 authors from around the world who wrote the chapter pertaining to agriculture, forestry, and other land use. In an interview, he discussed some of the recommendations made by the authors.

    Most greenhouse gases come from burning fossil fuels to produce energy, although deforestation, industrial processes, and some agricultural practices also emit gases into the atmosphere, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Greenhouse gases act like a blanket around Earth, trapping energy in the atmosphere and causing it to warm. This is called the greenhouse effect and is natural and necessary to support life on Earth. However, a buildup of greenhouse gases can change Earth’s climate.

    “Agriculture globally contributes about 10 to 12 percent to greenhouse gas emissions,” Rice said. “If you add in forestry it moves it up to around 25 percent. Agriculture is significant but not the major contributor and has declined slightly, percentage-wise, since the last report in 2007, not so much because agriculture has changed that much but because the energy sector is contributing more.”

    IPCC Assessment Reports Background

    “The IPCC was started in the late 1980s when the first President Bush signed with other countries that climate change was an issue for the planet,” said Rice, who added that this latest report is one of a series that has come out every seven years. “Our chapter addresses agriculture’s role in the future of the emission of greenhouse gases.”

    This is the fifth assessment report, said Rice, who also served on the fourth report which received the Nobel Peace Prize. Overall, the panel includes three working groups — one studying the science involved in climate change, one studying the adaptation to climate change and one studying the mitigation of climate change which is the group Rice’s team is part of. About 240 scientists, including specialists in forestry, land use, social science, economics and others, contributed to the third group report’s 16 chapters.

    “It’s important to remember that we’re not creating new science but rather assessing the current state of the science on how agriculture, forestry and land use contribute to and can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions,” Rice said. They conducted literature reviews and summarized key points of the science that’s occurred since the last report in 2007.

    He acknowledged that the words “climate change” can be controversial among some people, but added, “As far as greenhouse gas emissions and concentrations in the atmosphere, I don’t think there’s any controversy. Those are true measurements. The science is really solid on that. What people might question is, what’s the impact of those greenhouse gases?”

    “It is certainly clear by 97 percent of those climate scientists that the increases in greenhouse gases such as CO2, nitrous oxide and methane, have resulted in about a 1.5 degree Fahrenheit increase in global temperatures. That’s an important point, that it’s global,” he said. “There’s a lot of variation around the globe. In time our atmosphere goes through natural cycles and what the scientists are saying is that what we’re doing is enhancing those cycles.”

    Rice said that even the cold weather in the United States this past winter might make sense in relation to climate change because the rest of the globe was warmer. Because of that, weather patterns in the Arctic Circle were affected which impacted the U.S.

    Key Recommendations for Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use

    Soil carbon sequestration — One of the recommendations coming out of this and previous reports is that carbon be sequestered through land management changes, Rice said of practices that hold carbon in the soil. Through reduced tillage in farming — no-till being the prime example — and systems using cover crops and residue, those are major ways agriculture can reduce the emission of greenhouse gases because carbon dioxide is being taken up by the plant materials and stored in the soil.

    “It turns out that (carbon sequestration) has multiple benefits. If you increase the carbon content, you improve the quality of the soil. It makes it more productive, less prone to erosion and the organic matter helps hold water so it provides some adaptation to the droughts and heat we have in Kansas,” Rice said.

    Although the practice of not tilling the soil (no-till) started in the United States, two other countries, Brazil and Argentina, are the world leaders in no-till, said Rice, adding that 80 percent or more of agricultural land in Brazil and Argentina are farmed using no-till systems.

    “In the U.S., some estimates are 25-30 percent (in no-till) but that’s not continuous no-till,” he said. “We’re probably at about 10 to 15 percent continuous no-till, so there’s a huge opportunity in the U.S. for our role to manage our own emissions, but there’s also opportunity around the world where no-till has been less well received, to take action in this way.”

    Promoting product use with low emissions — This recommendation pertains mostly to the forestry sector, Rice said. Cement is a major emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) greenhouse gas, so the authors suggested that wood products or others with lower emissions than cement be considered where cement has traditionally been used.

    In addition, however, agriculture’s use of fossil energy could be reduced as a mitigation step, Rice said: “When we make agriculture more efficient and use less tillage, we’re also using less energy. We can make agriculture more efficient and more profitable in this way because energy is a significant cost. So it has the benefit of reducing emissions, direct and indirect, and therefore increasing profitability.

    “That’s one of the unusual aspects for our sector, is that land is used for multiple things — agriculture, forestry, and ecosystem services, including water quality and wildlife. So this sector has some opportunities to help improve the quality of land resources as well as mitigating climate change.”

    Increasing crop yields and livestock feeding efficiency. Rice described this proposal as reducing inputs while maintaining or increasing outputs, which makes production more efficient.

    For U.S. farmers, he said, nitrogen makes up about 40 percent of their inputs: “That’s not true around the world but we can improve that. In livestock emissions, U.S. and Europe have made strides to make livestock production more efficient but in some other parts of the world, lower quality of animal plus poor forage quality leaves much room for improvement in livestock efficiency.”

    Pursuing changing human diets away from food animal products — Rice acknowledged that this recommendation may be controversial, but the authors determined that changing human diets away from food animal products could help in mitigating greenhouse gasses.

    “Methane emissions from livestock is a major contributor to agriculture’s footprint,” Rice said. “Approximately 40 percent of agriculture’s emissions are due to livestock and if we could reduce livestock that would reduce emissions. The report acknowledges that there are social and political barriers to all of these options. Certainly the consumption of meat would be a social barrier. Traditionally as countries increase their personal income, meat or protein consumption goes up.”

    Because livestock production is a contributor to greenhouse gases, he said, it had to be put on the table.

    Reducing food waste — “Another thing that’s easier to accomplish is cutting back on food waste,” he said, adding that 30 to 40 percent of food that’s produced is not used.

    “Agriculture’s in a unique position,” Rice said. “If you look at the mitigation options in the next 20 to 30 years, if agriculture implemented all of those mitigation practices around the world, it would come close to mitigating all of agriculture’s contributions to greenhouse gasses so it would have a net zero effect, plus a lot of these things would make agriculture more efficient.”

    He said the report will be shared with policy makers who next meet in Paris in 2015. Those individuals will come up with policies for countries to implement aimed at reducing greenhouse gases.

    “Kansas has always had drought, heat trends and cold events. A lot of these mitigation options are things we should be doing anyway — improving soil quality, reducing erosion — so this effort is going to help Kansas agriculture whether you agree that humans are having an effect on climate change,” Rice said. “A lot of the things we’re talking about are things that you should be doing for the environment as well as things that are profitable for the farmer, including increasing efficiency and reducing tillage.”

    Story Source:

    The above story is based on materials provided by Kansas State University Research and Extension. The original article was written by Mary Lou Peter. Note: Materials may be edited for

  • The world’s newest environmental watchdog is a satellite

    Sunday, Apr 20, 2014 07:00 AM +1000

    The world’s newest environmental watchdog is a satellite

    The new Sentinel-1a will monitor oil spills, sea beds, natural disasters, and aid in humanitarian crises

    , GlobalPost

    Topics: GlobalPost, Sentinel-1a, Environment, technology, , , , ,

    The world's newest environmental watchdog is a satellite (Credit: AP)
    This article originally appeared on GlobalPost.

    Global Post With great power comes great responsibility and the Sentinel-1a definitely fits the bill.

    The Sentinel-1a satellite was launched two weeks ago as part of the Copernicus project jointly funded by the European Union and European Space Agency (ESA). Its mission? To use its high-tech capabilities to monitor oil spills, sea beds, natural disasters and aid in humanitarian crises.

    It’s the first of six satellites Copernicus plans to launch and the program “will be the most efficient and fullest Earth-observation programme in the world,” according to Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission.

    On Thursday, the satellite sent its first images of Earth down from space. This is what the 8.4 billion euro ($11.6 billion) project has produced so far:

    Sentinel-1a uses radar data which is useful for mapping natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes. It managed to produce this image of flooding in the Caprivi plain in Namibia on Thursday in just three hours — a task that used to take Europe’s previous Earth observation satellite much longer. And, the Sentinel can work in the dark or under cloud cover, as it did with this Namibia image.

    Such data would not only help policy makers respond to emergencies, but could also help develop environmental legislation.

    Additionally, the Sentinel-1a is able to distinguish among the several infrastructural elements of a city. In the image it captured of Brussels, Sentinel-1a showed green in places with vegetation, “red-blue to urban areas, white to high-density urban areas and black to waterways and low-reflective areas such as airport runways,” according to the ESA.

    Still in its initial launch and orbit phase (orbiting at 693 km above the Earth), the mission is expected to begin its operations in three months.

    advertisement

    All of the Sentinel’s data can be downloaded free-of-charge for members of the public and private sectors. This service can benefit businesses who can use these images “to help deliver data to farmers on soil moisture or pest infestation, help oil companies decide where to drill new wells or make it easier for insurers to assess the risk of costly floods and fires,” according to Reuters.

    However, many people are already skeptical of Sentinel-1a’s operations as its other uses include military and civilian surveillance. As the Telegraph noted, its imaging capabilities would be used for “common security and defense missions and operations.”

    For now, the EU and ESA have other matters to worry about — its rivals (like the American Global Positioning System, or GPS, Russia’s GLONASS and China’s new Beidou system) and falling space debris.

    “Maybe once or twice a year, you have to give yourself a little nudge to get out of the way of something,” explained Ian Shurmer, Sentinel-1a’s operational team leader. “We just pushed Sentinel-1a down by about 50m to make sure nothing happened.”

  • Reporting Climate science News

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    Study: Black Carbon Ancient When It Reaches Seafloor

    10.04.2014

    Analysis finds that more than half of black carbon never reaches the ocean bottom.[more]

    Climate Models Underestimate Future Costs Says Study

    10.04.2014

    Costs of carbon emissions are being underestimated, but current estimates are still valuable for setting mitigation policy, say researchers in Nature.[more]

    Permafrost Thawing Increases Global Warming: Study

    10.04.2014

    Greenhouse gases released by thawing permafrost could accelerate global warming trends according to a new study of changes in peat chemistry as it thaws.[more]

    Mann Says Atlantic Variability Has Slowed Waming

    09.04.2014

    Climate researcher Michael Mann says that the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) is in a cooling phase and has acted to help slow global warming.[more]

    Climate Feedbacks From Soil Bugs Less Than Feared

    09.04.2014

    Climate feedbacks from decomposition by soil microbes are one of the biggest uncertainties facing climate modelers. A new study shows that these feedbacks may be less dire than previously thought.[more]

    Deserts Absorb More Carbon Says New Research

    09.04.2014

    Increased amounts of ecosystem carbon have been recorded in the Mojave Desert after ten years exposure to elevated CO2 levels, according to a new paper.[more]

    Uncertainty Increases Climate Risks Say Researchers

    09.04.2014

    Two new papers highlight the issue of mathematical uncertainty in the climate system and the fact that greater uncertainty can increase risks and necessitate greater mitigation measures.[more]

    UAH March 2014 Temperature Anomaly: +0.17C

    07.04.2014

    The University of Alabama in Huntsville’s Version 5.6 global satellite-measured average lower tropospheric temperature (LT) anomaly for March, 2014 is +0.17 deg. C, unchanged from February.[more]

    RSS March 2014 Anomaly +0.214C

    06.04.2014

    Remote Sensing Systems, the US data services company that provides a global temperature data set for the lower troposphere constructed from satellite instrument measurements, has released data for March 2014.[more]

    Researchers Find New Phenomenon In Atmosphere

    04.04.2014

    Recent research results show that an atmospheric hole over the tropical West Pacific is reinforcing ozone depletion in the polar regions and could have a significant influence on the climate of the Earth.[more]

    NSIDC Reports Multiyear Arctic Sea Ice Growth

    03.04.2014

    Data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center shows that Arctic sea ice reached its maximum extent on 21 March, that multiyear Arctic sea ice is thickening, and that the winter 2013/2014 period saw the fifth smallest sea ice…[more]

    UK Met Office Announces Forecast Breakthrough

    02.04.2014

    Britain’s Meteorological Office has announced a major advance in improving the skillfulness of long range weather forecasts. Details are revealed in a paper just published in Geophysical Research Letters.[more]

    Natural Variations In Atlantic Drive Extreme Winters

    02.04.2014

    Warm North Atlantic Ocean waters promote extreme winters in the US and Europe, according to new research which links long term natural variations in the Atlantic Ocean, known as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, with an…[more]

    Coral Yields Sea Level And Temperature History

    02.04.2014

    Corals reefs off the Australian coast reveal centuries of rising sea levels and temperatures, according to a new paper.[more]

    Research Suggests Climate Change Affecting Seasons

    01.04.2014

    Autumn is ending later and Spring is starting earlier in the northern hemisphere, according to new research.[more]

    Each Hemisphere Has Separate Climate History: Study

    01.04.2014

    Northern and Southern Hemisphere climates follow the beat of different drummers, according to new research.[more]

    Models And Observations Disagree Over Aerosols

    01.04.2014

    The effect of important air pollutants may be absent from key precipitation observations, according to new research.[more]

    Natural Variations In Atlantic Affect Climate Says Study

    01.04.2014

    The Atlantic Ocean dances with the Sun and volcanoes. Natural fluctuations in the ocean temperature in the North Atlantic have a significant impact on the climate in the northern hemisphere. These fluctuations are the result of a…[more]

    One Third Of The Earth Will Be Dry Warns Research

    01.04.2014

    Climate change driven global warming may spread drying to a third of Earth, says a new study, and it is heat, not just rainfall, that plays into the new projections.[more]

    Study: Microbial Methane Triggered Mass Extinction

    01.04.2014

    Methane-producing microbes may be responsible for the largest mass extinction in Earth’s history, according to a new paper in PNAS.[more]

    Baltic Sea Is Starved Of Oxygen Say Researchers

    01.04.2014

    Oxygen depletion in the Baltic Sea is ten times worse than a century ago, say researchers in a new PNAS paper.[more]

    Arctic Melt Season Lengthening As Arctic Ocean Warms

    01.04.2014

    A longer melt season for Arctic sea ice is allowing the Arctic Ocean to absorb more sunlight and warm, according to researchers from US agencies NSIDC and NASA.[more]

    Nobody Will Be Untouched Warns IPCC Chief

    31.03.2014

    Climate change is already having an impact and worse is to come, according to a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which was published on 31 March 2014.[more]

    IPCC Issues Report Into Impacts Of Climate Change

    31.03.2014

    Today (March 31 2014) in Yokohama, Japan, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the second installment of its AR5 report into climate change which looks at the impact of climate change….[more]

    WMO Compiles List Of Recent Extreme Weather

    25.03.2014

    A list of extreme weather events observed around the world during the period December 2013 to end February 2014 has been put together by the World Meteorological Organization.[more]

    All Indicators Suggest El Nino Likely In 2014 Says BoM

    25.03.2014

    Computer models forecast an El Nino Pacific Ocean warming event in 2014, according to the latest update issued by Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology.[more]

    Sea Level Rise Has Not Stalled Says Study

    23.03.2014

    The recent slow down in the rise of global mean sea level which appears to have co-incided with the so called pause in global warming disappears once natural short-term variability – such as the affects of the El Nino-Southern…[more]

    Research Says Arctic Sea Ice Predicts Europe’s Winters

    23.03.2014

    There is a statistical link between Arctic sea ice concentration in September and the weather that Europe experiences through the following winter, new research has found, indicating that it is important to incorporate Arctic…[more]

    Heat Waves Threaten Global Food Supply Says Research

    22.03.2014

    New research says that future heat waves will significantly reduce crop yields and threaten global food supply.[more]

    Study: EU Could Cut CO2 Emissions At Moderate Cost

    22.03.2014

    A 40 per cent cut in CO2 emissions across the EU can be achieved at a cost of less than 0.7 per cent of economic activity, say experts.[more]

    Study: Linking Storms To Climate Change A ‘Distraction’

    22.03.2014

    Leading atmospheric science researchers have pointed out in a new paper that extreme weather events will continue irrespective of climate change and that trying to link such events to global warming distracts attention from…[more]

    NOAA February Global Temperature Anomaly 0.41C

    21.03.2014

    Here is the text of the February global climate report from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA). Global mean surface temperatures in February 2014 were the 21st warmest in the dataset which goes back to…[more]

    Study: Climate Change Accelerates Greenland Ice Loss

    21.03.2014

    Greenland’s contribution to sea-level rise was previously underestimated and needs to be accounted for in future projections, according to new research. A previously stable region of the Greenland ice sheet is undergoing dynamic…[more]

    Southern Ocean Iron Cycle Affects Carbon Uptake

    21.03.2014

    Research suggests ocean mixing plays an important role in bringing iron and other nutrients to the surface to stimulate phytoplankton growth which helps support the ocean carbon cycle.[more]

    Geological Processes Ensure Earth Remains Habitable Says Study

    21.03.2014

    Scientists explain in a new Nature paper that geological processes are responsible for ensuring that the Earth remains capable of supporting life and does not turn into a hot Venus or cold Mars.[more]

    New Studies Show How Glaciers Respond To Climate Change

    19.03.2014

    Two new papers show how analysing years of data Tibet and Himalayas can help better predict glacial response to global climate change.[more]

    Pacific Decadal Oscillation Is Widening The Tropical Belt

    19.03.2014

    Research points to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and anthropogenic pollutants as factors in widening the tropical belt.[more]

    Combining Statistical Data Can Improve El Nino Forecasting

    19.03.2014

    A statistical “Bayesian hierarchical model” allows scientists to combine various sources of information as well as previous scientific knowledge to improve forecasts of changes in the oceans such as El Nino Pacific Ocean warming…[more]

    NASA Starts New IceBridge Campaign In Greenland

    13.03.2014

    NASA’s Operation IceBridge has started a new mission flying aircraft instruments over the Greenland ice sheet and polar sea ice with one aim being to help calibrate satellite measurements.[more]

    Satellites Give Estimate Of Sea Life Carbon Capture

    12.03.2014

    Space observations have been used to help calculate how ocean life captures carbon dioxide and locks it away in biological materials.[more]

    NASA Data Sheds New Light on Changing Greenland Ice

    11.03.2014

    More accurate measurements of ice sheet discharge rates have been made possible by a NASA radar study of the Greenland ice sheet.[more]

    Australian BOM Reports Increased Chance Of El Nino

    11.03.2014

    The chances of an El Nino Pacific Ocean warming event later this year have increased, according to the latest report from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Computer forecasts agree that the Pacific sea surface will warm and…[more]

    Low-End Climate Sensitivity May Be Higher Than Thought

    10.03.2014

    Cooling from atmospheric particles and from ozone may mean that IPCC low-end estimates of climate sensitivity are wrong and need to be increased by 30 per cent, according to new research. NASA says this means long term global…[more]

    Pollution Weakens Hurricanes Say Researchers

    10.03.2014

    Aerosols from human pollution tend to weaken tropical cyclones according to a new paper in Nature Climate Change.[more]

    Sun Fingered For Little Ice Age Say Researchers

    10.03.2014

    New research puts the sun in the frame for causing the Little Ice Age by triggering persistent blocking patterns in the atmosphere over the North Atlantic.[more]

    New Man Made Ozone Eating Gas Found In Atmosphere

    10.03.2014

    Four newly detected ozone-depleting substances started to emerge in the atmosphere in the 1960s, reports a study published online in Nature Geoscience. Although emissions of these compounds have been small, they are contrary to…[more]

    Researchers Map European Climate Change

    07.03.2014

    Europe will experience greater warming than the global average increase in surface temperatures, according to new research.[more]

    Arctic Sea Ice Extent Decline Continued In February

    06.03.2014

    Arctic sea ice extent in February 2014 was the fourth lowest on record for the month and almost exactly in line with the long term trend decline while sea ice extent in the Antarctic remains significantly above average,…[more]

    UAH February Global Temperature Anomaly +0.172C

    05.03.2014

    Satellite data from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) shows the February global temperature anomaly for the lower troposphere as measured by satellite was 0.172C compared with 0.203C in February 2013[more]

    New Sensitivity Estimate At Lower End Of IPCC Range

    03.03.2014

    Global temperatures will eventually rise by around 2C in response to a sustained doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to new research. This is consistent with the lower end of the range set out last year by the…[more]

    European Flood Risk Could Double By 2050

    03.03.2014

    New research projects a massive increase in financial losses due to floods in Europe over coming decades as the risk of flooding doubles, concludes a paper published online this week in Nature Climate Change.[more]

    Climate Change Weakens Southern Ocean Convection

    02.03.2014

    Changes in the salinity of ocean surface waters due to climate change are inhibiting deep ocean mixing, encouraging ocean heat storage and contributing to the so called pause in global warming, according to new research.[more]

    Climate Change Guide By UK And US Science Academies

    02.03.2014

    Britain’s Royal Society and the US National Science Academy have issued a new report describing the facts of climate change in simple terms.[more]

    Coincidence Is The Cause Of The Pause

    01.03.2014

    Climate models do not overestimate warming and the so called pause is due to a coincidence of a number of factors, according to new research.[more]

    Study Projects Big Thaw For Antarctic Sea Ice

    01.03.2014

    The current mysterious growth in Antarctic sea ice to record levels will reverse, according to a new study based on computer models.[more]

    Japan And NASA Launch Rainfall Mission

    01.03.2014

    A new satellite to measure global rainfall and snow has been launched. Measuring precipitation globally is key for the study of the impacts of climate change.[more]

    Research Says Chances Of Models Simulating Pause Low

    26.02.2014

    The effectiveness of computer climate models is in dispute as a scientific argument over the ability of climate models to successfully simulate the so called global warming pause breaks out in the pages of Nature Climate Change.[more]

    High Climate Change Extinction Risks Predictable

    26.02.2014

    Judging the effects of climate change on extinction may be easier than previously thought, according to a paper entitled, “Life history and spatial traits predict extinction risk due to climate change,” published today (26…[more]

    January 2014 Was The Warmest Since 2007 Says NOAA

    26.02.2014

    Here is NOAA’s report on the global climate in January 2014.[more]

    Research: Volcanic Aerosols Contribute To The Pause

    23.02.2014

    New research suggests that climate models may have overestimated global warming because they do not include the impact of aerosols from volcanic eruptions. The implication is that this may be a partial explanation of the so…[more]

    New Study Analyses El Nino Taimasa

    20.02.2014

    A new study will help predict sea level changes related to El Nino.[more]

    Models Say Climate Change Causes More Arctic Cyclones

    19.02.2014

    An increase in Arctic cyclones is linked to climate change, according to a study based on historical climate model simulations.[more]

    Warning That Planet May Get Hooked On Geoengineering

    19.02.2014

    Researchers have warned in a new paper that attempts to mitigate the impact of global warming by injecting reflective particles into the upper atmosphere would create a severe threat unless the activity were maintained.[more]

    WMO: Worldwide Extreme Weather Seen In 2014

    14.02.2014

    Parts of the world have witnessed a series of extreme weather conditions in the first six weeks of 2014, continuing a pattern that was set in December 2013, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).[more]

    Three-In-Four Chance of 2014 El Nino Says Research

    12.02.2014

    New research published this week suggests a three-in-four chance of an El Nino Pacific Ocean warming event beginning in late 2014. Meanwhile the Australian Bureau of Meteorology says the current status of the so called El Nino…[more]

    Carbon Implicated In Earth’s Most Severe Extinction

    11.02.2014

    MIT researchers find that the end-Permian extinction happened in just 60,000 years — much faster than earlier estimates – and appears to have been linked to an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, possibly due to…[more]

    Research Suggests Pacific Trade Winds Cause Pause

    09.02.2014

    An article published online in Nature Climate Change today investigates how strengthened Pacific trade winds can account for 0.1C–0.2C of cooling through increased subsurface ocean heat uptake— this is enough to account for much…[more]

    Met Office: Storms “Consistent” With Global Warming

    09.02.2014

    A joint report issued by the UK Meteorological Office and the UK Centre of Ecology and Hydrology states that the recent stormy weather that has afflicted the British Isles is “consistent” with global warming although the two…[more]

    ESA Sets Out To Find Missing Ocean Heat

    07.02.2014

    Satellite and local readings show that the rapid rise in sea-surface temperatures seen in the last quarter of the 20th century has significantly slowed in the past 15 years. The European Space Agency’s Climate Change Initiative…[more]

    RSS January Anomaly Down On Last Year

    07.02.2014

    January data for the global lower tropospheric temperature anomaly has been released by Remote Sensing Systems showing an anomaly of +0.262C above the long term average[more]

    Alaskan Arctic Lake Ice Thinning Cuts Winter Ice Season

    06.02.2014

    Arctic lakes have been freezing up later in the year and thawing earlier, creating a winter ice season about 24 days shorter than it was in 1950, a University of Waterloo study has found.[more]

    Latest Data Shows Arctic Sea Ice Volume Has Increased

    05.02.2014

    Satellite data shows that Arctic sea ice is getting thicker as Antarctic sea ice extent continues to expand to near record levels, according to a report issued by the US National Snow and Ice Data Center, in Boulder Colorado,…[more]

    UAH January 2014 Temperature Anomaly Down On January 2013

    05.02.2014

    Satellite data from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) shows the January global temperature anomaly for the lower troposphere was +0.291C compared with +0.497C for January 2013. [more]

    WMO Chief Warns Of Continued Warming Trend

    05.02.2014

    The WMO warns today in a press statement that global warming continues even though the rate of warming is uneven due to natural variations in the climate system.[more]

    Huge Flood Costs Projected For 21st Century Sea-Level Rise

    05.02.2014

    Global average storm surge damages could increase to $100,000 billion per year by the end of century, if no adaptation action is taken, according to estimates in new research.[more]

    Huge Flood Costs Projected For 21st Century Sea-Level Rise

    05.02.2014

    Global average storm surge damages could increase to $100,000 billion per year by the end of century, if no adaptation action is taken, according to estimates in new research.[more]

    Climate Study: Major Changes in Vegetation Distribution by 2100

    30.01.2014

    As climate change warms the Earth’s surface the distribution of plant species could be affected, warns a new study. This report courtesy of the University of Arkansas.[more]

    Global Warming Snow Decline Threat to Ice Shelves

    30.01.2014

    Disappearing snow increases the risk of collapsing ice shelves in Antarctica that will release ice into the sea and so help increase sea levels, according to new research.[more]

    BoM Computers Spy Hints Of El Nino

    28.01.2014

    Computer models used by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) suggest that an El Nino Pacific Ocean warming event may be triggered later this year, according to the latest update on the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO)…[more]

    Asian Ozone Pollution In Hawaii Linked To Climate

    28.01.2014

    Asian ozone pollution in Hawaii is tied to climate variability, according to new research published in Nature Geoscience. This report from Princeton University.[more]

    Reconstructed Data Ranks 2013 Hotter Than 1998

    27.01.2014

    A reconstruction of the Met Office temperature record suggests that 2013 was, in fact, warmer than the El Nino year of 1998, that temperatures have been rising since 1998, that global warming continues and that the so called…[more]

    Aerosols Cloud Picture Of Global Warming

    27.01.2014

    A new paper in Science highlights the uncertain role that aerosols play in climate change.[more]

    Tropical Carbon Cycle Sensitivity Has Doubled

    26.01.2014

    The sensitivity of the carbon cycle to tropical temperature variations has doubled, research shows.[more]

    2013 Tied As 6th Warmest Year On Met Office Data

    25.01.2014

    The UK Meteorological Office has updated its HadCRUT4 annual temperature database to include figures for 2013. The data shows that 2013 tied with 2002 and 2009 as the sixth warmest year on record. This means that the so called…[more]

    Dust Deposition In Southern Ocean Affected Past Climate

    24.01.2014

    The journal Science publishes results from a Polarstern expedition in the mostly unexplored South Pacific which discovered that dust blown out to land and falling onto the ocean affected the climate in the past[more]

    Antarctic Ice Loss At Odds With Ozone Depletion

    23.01.2014

    A recent paper suggests that the recent expansion of Antarctic ice is at odds with what computer models predict should happen as a result of the depletion of stratospheric ozone and the Antarctic ozone hole even though the…[more]

    Ancient Forests Stabilised Earth’s CO2 And Climate

    23.01.2014

    New research suggests that forests played a key role in controlling atmospheric carbon dioxide levels in the past.[more]

    Arctic Inland Waters Emit Lots Of CO2

    23.01.2014

    Assumptions about the absorption of carbon by the land in polar regions may be overestimated unless they take into account the emission of carbon by inland waters, according to new research.[more]

    A Resolution Of The Antarctic Sea Ice Paradox

    22.01.2014

    A new paper claims to explain the paradox of why sea ice is growing in the Antarctic despite global warming. A combination of observational data and modelling reveals the potential significance of the north and tropical Atlantic…[more]

    Land Use Not Climate Change Driving Flood Losses

    22.01.2014

    Changing landscapes are to blame for increased flood risk and not global warming says new research. Here is the news release describing the findings of the research which has just been published in the Hydrological Sciences…[more]

    Asian Air Pollution Affecting World’s Weather

    22.01.2014

    Researchers have found that air pollution over Asia – much of it coming from China – is impacting global air circulations.[more]

    Pause Due To Internal Variability And Pollution

    21.01.2014

    The so called pause in global warming that has been apparent since the late 1990s may be due to air pollution and to a greater frequency of La Nina Pacific Ocean cooling events as well as to other factors such as volcanic…[more]

    NOAA Says 2013 Was The Fourth Warmest Year

    21.01.2014

    The globally averaged temperature for 2013 tied with 2003 as the fourth warmest year since record keeping began in 1880, according to NOAA scientists. Here is the text of the NOAA press release and of the summary of the NOAA…[more]

    NASA Says 2013 Was Seventh Warmest Year

    21.01.2014

    NASA scientists say 2013 tied with 2009 and 2006 for the seventh warmest year since 1880. While this appears to confirm that the so called pause in global warming that began around 1998 appears to have continued in 2013, NASA…[more]

    Extreme El Nino Events To Double Say Researchers

    19.01.2014

    Extreme weather events fuelled by unusually strong El Ninos, such as the 1983 heatwave that led to the Ash Wednesday bushfires in Australia, are likely to double in number as our planet warms, according to researchers from the…[more]

    Water Cycle Amplifies Abrupt Climate Change Say Researchers

    19.01.2014

    New research shows that historic changes in the water cycle were the main drivers of widespread environmental change in western Europe. This has implications for the impact of the water cycle on climate change today.[more]

    NASA Uses Drone To Scan For Signs Of Climate Change

    17.01.2014

    NASA searches for climate change clues in the gateway to the stratosphere using a Global Hawk research aircraft. This is the Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment (ATTREX).[more]

    Study: EU Can Cut Carbon 40 Percent At Moderate Cost

    16.01.2014

    Analysis by the Stanford Energy Modeling Forum suggests that the European Union could achieve a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to help offset climate change at relatively moderate cost. This news report…[more]

    Global Warming’s “Biggest Offenders” Named

    16.01.2014

    The United States, China, Russia, Brazil, India, Germany and the United Kingdom are named as the seven countries accounting for most of the temperature increase believed to be due to climate change, according to a new study. This…[more]

    Intensity Of East Asian Tropical Cyclones Has Increased

    16.01.2014

    A study published today highlights growing threat of intense tropical cyclones hitting East Asia. The intensity of such storms has increased over the last 30 years. This is consistent with what many climate scientists would…[more]

  • Retirement is not for bludgers

    Adele Horin

    Coming of Age

    Retirement is not for bludgers

    April 21, 2014
    older volunteer

    Life starts at 60. That’s the topic I was asked to address in a recent talk. But I insisted on putting a question mark at the end. Does it? It’s fashionable to think we’ll be reborn in our sixties into a world of pleasure and leisure. But really, it’s nonsense. By the time you reach 60 to a large extent you’ve made your life. Through good and bad luck, hard work and temperament you’ve got the structures in place – or you don’t. You’ve arrived at your sixth decade single and happily independent, or with a partner you still like. You’ve got there with money or with debt, with a network of reliable friends, with a home; or you maybe none of these things. If through bad luck, bad decisions, or a bad marriage you’ve arrived at 60 lacking secure foundations, it’s tough to build a new life. Ask men who’ve let friendships lapse about finding a network of buddies post-60; ask older women on the Newstart Allowance. “Life starts at 60” can sound pretty glib to the significant minority of older people who’ve fallen on hard times.

    Fortunately most of us do have the basics in place. We’ve to a large extent made our life. Phew, we’ve got here. We’re the advantaged ones. We’ve reached our 60s with options and opportunities. I’m among you, enormously privileged. I had great parents, good state education, good men who loved me. I’ve had a happy career in journalism. I was there in the golden era. So the question for us is how do we live our lives now? For those of us on secure foundations, who’ve bit by bit pieced a good life together, how do we continue to contribute? Retirement need not mark the point where our contribution is no longer expected or necessary. Retirement should not mark the start of the Me decades.

    Australians’ view of retirement has changed over the years. In the 1950s, retirement was a time of rest. Men broken by blue-collar jobs they’d started at 15 needed to recover. In the 1970s retirement was a reward: in return for years of labour and taxes society owed you the Age Pension and a few years of leisure before you died. By the 1990s retirement was seen as a right. It was a time of R&R – rest and recreation – cruises and grey nomading. The super industry cranked up expectations of retirement to include overseas holidays, air conditioning, restaurant meals, wine, and top rate private health insurance.

    But just because we’re retired and no longer paying taxes, doesn’t mean society owes us 20 or 25 years of leisure. Just because we’re retired doesn’t mean we’re tired, as the Boston writer Ellen Goodman has said. Most of us are not physically broken by our desk jobs. A new mindset is needed for these years. We’re healthier, better educated than past generations of retirees. We don’t think old age starts at 65 as our grandparents did. Here’s a new R&R approach to retirement – it’s about renewal and responsibility.

    Retirement is definitely an opportunity for personal renewal. Freed of the pressure to strive and compete, we can finally tap the nicer person lurking within – the more relaxed, well-rested, unhurried one. Surveys show people in their mid-60s are happy – possibly the happiest we’ll ever be. In our youth many of us were anxious and self-conscious. As we near the end of our lives, our sense of well-being dips again. But this is the sweet spot. If our retirement’s been voluntary not forced, if we’ve got those foundations in place, this can be a golden time to try new things, to get into shape, to travel, to spend more time doing what we love. Some people do find “encore” careers, and late-life divorcees do find “encore” loves. As a UK survey showed, people at this age can feel more vital than at any time since their thirties.

    But it’s also a time to give back, to be responsible citizens. I think many people in their 60s and older have already adopted this new R&R approach to retirement. They’re giving back or looking for opportunities to give back. Some care for grandchildren or elderly parents, or help out financially. In total older Australians give $22 billion a year to help their adult children. Many volunteer – though the main age bracket for volunteering is 45-54, not retirees. Some older people are concerned about the environment, climate change, housing affordability, the legacy being left the next generations. They’re involved in organisations that are trying to make Australia a fairer place. In the US they have a term, “selfish geezers,” to describe well-off older people who get roused only when their own financial interests are threatened. But that’s far from a representative picture.

    So in this new retirement era, this period of personal renewal and social responsibility, some of us find it’s all about balance again. Just as we tried in midlife to strike the right balance between work and family, so we’re juggling again. This time the balance we seek is between nurturing our relationships, and contributing to the wider society. It’s between being more relaxed, and being bored. It’s between having leisure and having purpose. In 15 years it might be time to grab a Me Decade, a period to reflect on the life we’ve made. But right now we’re busy living it.

    What’s your experience of retirement? What are your plans? Please Comment.

    Coming of Age is updated every Monday. Click ‘Subscribe for free’ to have it emailed to you.