Current Events

  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.

    Courtesy of Jim Anderson

From: Dr. Cynthia Twohy
Arica Airport, Chile, November 8, 2008

Mobile Offices: Anywhere, Anytime

When you’re working “in the field”, or “in the desert” which might be more appropriate here, you don’t have the comforts of home. That includes a nice office, with good lighting, a reliable Internet connection, and easy access to the coffee house next door. Instead, you work when and where you can. Here, Steve Howell and I look at data on his laptop after a flight. That old pickup truck is our rental car. It has gotten dirtier and dirtier since we arrived. We clean the windshield so we can see out to drive, but that’s about it. Cleaning the car is a waste of time because of all the dust and the continual wind here—it would just be filthy again the next day!

We have daily planning meetings in the Operation Center (“Ops Center” for short), which is a big conference room at the hotel where most of us are staying. Some people are at the Ops Center all day, while others work out at the airplane or in their hotel room when not flying. Some people have even set up miniature laboratories in their hotel room to analyze samples they have collected! I often wonder what the maids think when they come to clean. We aren’t the typical tourists, that’s for sure!

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