Why I HATE Palm Oil

Union of Concerned Scientists- Palm Oil Plea
It is really hard to describe how I feel about palm oil.  There do not seem to be appropriate adjectives for my utter disgust and disdain for this horrific product.  Palm oil to me is the embodiment of all that is horrible about man's disregard for nature.  Palm oil itself is an incredible substance that makes food taste great and a good source for biofuel, it enables mega-corporations to reap massive profits and hook the public on a new source of addictive fat.  The bottom line is that we have sold out Mother Nature and some of Earth's most magnificent forests and creatures so that we can have margarine that is solid at room temperature and cookies that have a rich, moist fat that is cheap.  Are all of our ethics for sale to our taste buds?
    The important thing to remember in this epic fat struggle is that it was not always this way.  Prior to WWII, lard was the saturated fat of choice.  If you study the nutritional analysis, you will find that lard has a lot of positive nutritional qualities and if eaten in moderation, as with all fats, can be part of a healthy diet.  During WWII, lard was commandeered by governments for the manufacture of glycerin for munitions and became so expensive that an alternative- hydrogenated vegetable oil was born.  Really it was the combination of history, food science, and 1970's diet fads that discredited lard and promoted Crisco and oleo margarine type products instead.  (McDonalds used to fry their french fries in lard until the late 70's!)  Enter the 21st century, when it is discovered that hydrogenated oils lead to the formation of free radicals in the body, so called "trans fats" are bad for you.  Another hysteria ensues and trans fats are banned.  What replaces them?  Palm oil.  True palm oil is not a trans fat, it is a saturated fat, plant lard, I like to call it.  This is the kind of fat that clogs your arteries and gives you heart disease, but I guess that's okay.  At the end of the day, my hope is that we can return to our traditional lard, butter and old time fats, which we produce anyway and we know their ills, and renounce palm oil altogether.  THE ONLY WAY this can happen, is an educated consumer outright rejecting this "blood" oil and a decision on the part of the public to hold corporations accountable for their impact  on the environment globally. What will you decide?    Here endeth the lesson.

Sophomores- Sea Level Rise- So Many Questions!

Rising Waters, How fast, How far?
In our study of sea level rise, it is really important for us to acknowledge what we DO NOT know.  Very often science is taught as a series of laws, truths, facts and unquestionables (gravity IS holding you in your seat right now, we needn't worry about that one), but it is really what we DO NOT know, that drives scientific inquiry.  Sea level undoubtedly does change, and it changes dramatically.  Water becomes sequestered in glacial ice and sea level lowers by many meters, and when those glaciers give up their water through melting, the water re-enters the hydrologic cycle and ultimately gets deposited in the ocean.  Adding mass to the ocean increases its volume which in turn increases its level relative to land.  Easy right?  Why then, do we not all agree that this is occurring nor can we agree on the rate?  The short answer is- it's not that simple.
     Please read the linked article above from Yale 360, and think about the debate that is raging among scientists, and then think about how the non-scientists might react to this lack of certainty.  In a 1-2 page essay, summarize the main points of the article, be specific, and then think about a few questions.  Are there people who might exploit this scientific uncertainty?  Are there people who need to convince the public to believe the future projections to protect their life and property?  What should our government do to prepare and protect us in light of an uncertain future or should we just let homes fall in the sea and not prepare?  Finally, how does the knowledge that you have gained affect your perception and decision making- are you a better prepared citizen of future Earth than most?

POLAR VORTEX! Brrrrrrrr!

Dear Students,  Contrary to popular belief, this is not an impromptu winter break!  Rather, I think it is a great time to get caught up on all of that back work that has been piling up :)   To that end, I would like to remind you of what you could/should be doing in some of your free snow day time, when you are not sledding, throwing snowballs or sleeping.

Seniors- My friends your senior project is here and it is soon due.  The VJAS deadline is the end of February and your paper needs to be perfect way before then.  You should right now be graphing, writing and sending me drafts that I can edit, I welcome you to call me at home and discuss any issues you have, we can get a lot done in this down time.

Juniors- You have several projects you should be working on:
I.  Research project proposal.  I gave you a short page to fill in with the big picture idea, proposed method, hypotheses, etc.  GET THIS DONE!!!
II.  Mr Hudson's ENSO project- this was not a big project, remember 3 slides, quick discussion of global regional impacts of the El Nino Southern Oscillation.
III.  NOSB movie contest on Ocean Acidification- make your teacher ecstatically happy and enter this contest! :)

Sophomores- Hey guys!  You have it easy, enjoy it while you can!  I would like for you to go to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's periodical Oceanus, Oceanus Online magazine and do a science literacy article on something you read in there.  If you want to get ahead of the game, you can choose another article from another source and do two!

I appreciate how hard you guys always work, and you can use this time to get some stuff done in a more leisurely, thoughtful way and still relax and catch up on your Dr. Phil episodes.  Hope you are all warm and cozy- SB

Mr. Hudson's ENSO Class Links

http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/enso/
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/elnino/impacts.html
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/enso/enso.html
http://www.elnino.noaa.gov/impacts.html
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/ensostuff/ensofaq.shtml#GLOBALimpacts
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/ensostuff/states/states.html
http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/climate/patterns/ENSO.html
http://iri.columbia.edu/climate/ENSO/societal/impact/

ENSO Physics

ENSO Really cool physics
Even though I am lousy at the math, I really love Physics.  I especially love physical oceanography, and I think everyone who learns about it just has to agree that it is cool.  In our study of global ocean surface circulation and ocean/atmosphere interaction, we have seen lots of relationships on very large scales.  In our study of the El Nino Southern Oscillation it is key for you to get a little lesson in the global physics of Rossby and Kelvin waves.  Please go to the link above and read through this website, more instruction will follow.....

ENSO video   here's a video, that always helps :)

Climate Change- All Classes

Dear Glenns Students-   It is not coincidental that all M&E classes right now from the sophomores to the seniors are studying climate change.  In Foundations, we are looking at the natural astronomical and geological forcings on our climate, that tend to produce changes with periods from centuries to millennia.  Milankovitch cycles, plate tectonic changes, and solar output are well known drivers of large-scale, slow climatic change.  In M&E I, we are looking at how Earth's atmosphere moves, what it is made of, how the interaction between the oceans and the atmosphere create a dynamic fluid envelope for life and the overall organization of Earth's biomes.  Finally in Oceanography, we are studying global ocean circulation which acts as the Earth's heat pump, moving warm air from the tropics and redistributing it to the poles, ventilating the deep ocean and delivering oxygen to the benthos and nutrients to the surface.  Current global warming and rapid glacial melt could threaten to stabilize the water column around the zones of deep and bottom water formation, capping the water column with stable, fresh water.  This potential negative feedback could lead to rapid global cooling according to some researchers.
       Let's see what scientists are talking about with a couple of interesting readings to put our learning into a larger context.  The first article is very concerning as we have a lot of unknowns about what is actually happening out in the extremes of the environment, the poles, and little money being allocated to study the areas where we have so many big questions.  The second article has been around for a while now, but is a very interesting analysis of Global Ocean Conveyor Belt shutdown, how it could occur and what it might mean.  Many folks consider climate change to be some far off, future generational potential- what if we are living it right now in fast forward?  Some things to think about.  


Ready or not - quick climate changes worry scientists most

Abrupt Climate Change should we be worried?

Aerosols

Dear Sophomores- In our study of climate change, we need to look at how Earth's geologic activity and plate tectonics can affect the changing temperatures we experience.  Aerosols are of great importance to our global radiation budget, acting like a curtain blocking incoming radiation by scattering light and reflecting and refracting it back into space.  Please read the article below, and then we are going to graph some Optical depth data and look at how much volcanic activity can affect the aerosol concentration in the atmosphere.

NASA Earth Observatory- Aerosols