Author: postMigrator

WildSource E-News – December 2007

New Forest Restoration Collaborative Hatches in Montana

Once a dirty word amongst both committed conservationists and forest product
enthusiasts, collaboration is steadily emerging as a way of solving long standing
problems over how our public forestlands are managed and how they will be sustained.

This new collaborative, the Montana Forest Restoration Working Group, spans a wide spectrum of interests ranging from conservationists and motorized users to outfitters, loggers and employees of forest products companies to representatives
from state and federal agencies.  The group developed 13 restoration principles
designed to bolster the recovery of ecological processes and to enhance societal and economic well-being.  Read the rest of this update at:

http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/WildWest/blog/comments.jsp?blog_entry_KEY=23023&t=.

Keep Debate about Wildfires and Forest Policy Bracketed by Reality

Now that western Montana has been covered with a deep blanket of snow it’s a good time to look back on the wildfire season and examine some of the myths and facts associated with wildfires and federal forest policy.  You see, around here,
rationally talking about these issues during the summer  months is akin to talking
politics or religion around the Thanksgiving table…it just doesn’t work.  To read
the rest of this commentary by Matthew Koehler, please visit:

http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/WildWest/blog/comments.jsp?blog_entry_KEY=22985&t=,

OR listen to a podcast of this piece by downloading it at this link:
http://archive.org/download/WildWestInstitute 2007-12-06_WWI_FireAndForestPolicy.mp3.

New Deforestation and Climate Change Video by 41 Pounds.org!

This exciting new video brings alive the connection between deforestation and
climate change!

Help keep the trees in the forest by stopping your junk mail.  More trees help to
keep the planet cooler and heathier.  By taking this simple step you can take to
help reduce global warming!

To watch the video or find out more about 41 Pounds.org, please visit
http://www.41pounds.org/savetreesvideo/.

Science Spotlight

Every month we’ll highlight new scientific research and findings as part of the
WildWest Institute’s on-going efforts to ensure that science guides the management
of our public lands.

December Spotlight:  The legacy of harvest and fire on ecosystem carbon storage in a north temperate forest – read the full report at
http://www.wildwestinstitute.org/programs/science_spotlight.html.

WildWest Institute
P.O Box 7998, Missoula, MT 59807
406.542.7343
info@wildwestinstitute.org
http://www.wildwestinstitute.org

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NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Public release date: 10-Dec-2007

Contact: Steve Cole
stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov
415-348-4440

NASA at American Geophysical Union Meeting

NASA researchers will present new findings to the media on a wide range of Earth and space science topics during the 2007 Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). The meeting runs Mon., Dec. 10 through Fri., Dec. 14 at the Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco. All press briefings will take place in the AGU Press Room, Moscone West, Room 2010.

For a complete list of NASA-related press briefings, with links to supporting materials, and other noteworthy presentations by NASA scientists, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/agu2007.html

EARTH’S “TIPPING POINTS”: HOW CLOSE ARE WE?

Abrupt changes in climate are now an established phenomenon in Earth’s history and there is growing concern that our planet may be at a “tipping point” of dramatic climate change due this time to anthropogenic influences. Scientists from across different disciplines are now looking at many parts of the Earth system for signs of such pivotal shifts either already underway or likely to happen in this century. Researchers will present the latest results from the perspective of global climate as well as potential impacts on three key regions of the globe. James Hansen discusses the “unrealized” global warming of Earth’s climate system and the resulting need for urgent action to cut emissions beyond carbon dioxide. Richard Alley discusses the possibility that sustained warming of a few decades could produce major ice sheet losses that would last centuries. Peter Webster reports on a societal tipping point along three heavily populated Asian river basins when climate-induced changes to river flows collide with population growth. Joey Comiso reports that this year’s large Arctic sea ice decline may be the tipping point for perennial ice and a recovery may not be possible in the foreseeable future.

* James Hansen, director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies,; adjunct professor of earth and environmental sciences, Columbia University, New York
* Peter Webster, professor, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
* Joey Comiso, senior research scientist for polar oceanography, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
* Richard Alley, Evan Pugh professor of geosciences, associate of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pa

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/tipping_points.html

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