Sponsored Content
« Obama's Jesuit Buddy Praises Farrakhan, Peddles Goverment-Put-Drugs-Into-Black-Community Conspiracy | Main | Obama: Like Dan Quayle Only Dumber »
May 31, 2008

“Snowball Earth” (genghis)

Uh, I don’t even know where to begin:, but let’s start at the top.

” The rapid release of methane into the earth's atmosphere 635 million years ago caused runaway global warming, and may happen again in the near future, a new study reports.”

“The study, which appears in this week's edition of ‘Nature’ provides an insight into what may happen to the earth's atmosphere if today's frozen methane deposits in Canada, Siberia and Alaska begin to thaw.”

“During the Cryogenian period (850-630 million years), earth was completely frozen over, with glaciers that crept down into the tropics and possibly even reached the equator.”

We had a Cryogenian period? (For educational purposes, a period can mean any of the following: (1) A long time, (2) A little dot at the end of a sentence, and/or (3) Why you’re sleeping on the couch tonight, you insensitive bastard .)

“But after 155 million years of being in a deep freeze the earth warmed dramatically.

How this happened has been fiercely disputed, although all agree that the event changed the planet's climate system and ocean chemistry forever.

Scientists now point the finger at methane clathrates. These methane-rich ice deposits form under ice sheets at specific temperatures and pressures.”

Spell-check helpfully informs me that “clathrates” is not an actual word, so I’m guessing that the authors of the study misspelled it and were actually referring to this, which would make a lot more sense.

“As the clathrates began to evaporate, they released methane, which helped trap more solar heat and warmed the planet. This thawed more clathrates, fuelling further warming and so on, creating a vicious circle.

Methane is considered a prodigious greenhouse gas, being 30 times more efficient than CO2 in trapping solar heat.”

Efficient. Now that’s what I like to see in a greenhouse gas.

Artist’s depiction of a herd of Cryogenian period Mastodons. Sadly extinct as a result of their own flatulence.


digg this
posted by xgenghisx at 09:17 AM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
OrangeEnt: "London's subway system is f*cking awesome! Trains ..."

Legally Sufficient: "Hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day of M ..."

Jim[/i][/b][/s][/u]: "Ralph Cramden had the Lunar Trajectory figured out ..."

18-1: "The America of 60 years ago would beat modern Amer ..."

Tom Servo: "The shuttle was a good vehicle, but it was vastly ..."

nurse ratched : "Very cool ONT! Thank you Mr Ball! To infin ..."

CharlieBrown'sDildo: "Hey Roger Ball! London's subway system is f*cki ..."

Bertram Cabot, Jr.: " [i]Will private and commercial spaceflight be ex ..."

bear with asymmetrical balls: "[i]Glad to see more doubt being cast on the allege ..."

mikeski: "[i]I had occasion (business travel) to ride the D. ..."

BlackOrchid: "SEPTA omg the suck ..."

Archimedes: "[i]I had occasion (business travel) to ride the D. ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64