It's a Beautiful Day

Today's Earth Day! Stop sitting in front of your computer screen and get outside and enjoy our beautiful planet (while you still can). In Chicago, it's our warmest day so far this year, with the thermometer jumping over 80.

All right, if you're not a outdoors, fresh air type, here are some Earth Day links to peruse. The Earth Day Network has a lot of links to various activities, as well as a countdown listing "Only 0 days to go!" The U.S. government portal, featuring a smug-looking picture of George and Laura Bush is here, featuring environmental advancements the U.S. government has made recently (the air's cleaner than it was in 1970!) and other links to government services. The actual EPA Earth Day site is separate. Then of course, there are private organizations recognizing Earth Day, such as The World Wildlife Fund, The Wilderness Society, and EnviroLink. If you're among those who celebrated Earth Day on the equinox, take a look at the International Earth Day site.

Still not convinced all this Earth Day activity is necessary? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its assessment of climate change science in February, and a couple of days ago, LiveScience put together a timeline based on the report. Here are a few things we've got to look forward to:

2008

Global oil production peaks sometime between 2008 and 2018, according to a model by one Swedish physicist. . . . Once [it] is reached, global oil production will begin an irreversible decline, possibly triggering a global recession, food shortages and conflict between nations over dwindling oil supplies.

. . .
2020
Flash floods will very likely increase across all parts of Europe.

Less rainfall could reduce agriculture yields by up to 50 percent in some parts of the world.

. . .
2030
Warming temperatures will cause temperate glaciers on equatorial mountains in Africa to disappear.

. . .
2050
In Australia, there will likely be an additional 3,200 to 5,200 heat-related deaths per year. The hardest hit will be people over the age of 65. An extra 500 to 1,000 people will die of heat-related deaths in New York City per year. In the United Kingdom, the opposite will occur, and cold-related deaths will outpace heat-related ones.

. . .
2080
Sea levels could rise around New York City by more than three feet, potentially flooding the Rockaways, Coney Island, much of southern Brooklyn and Queens, portions of Long Island City, Astoria, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, lower Manhattan and eastern Staten Island from Great Kills Harbor north to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

There's much more gloom and doom at the link.

Happy Earth Day, everybody!