Posted on 07/29/2006 7:54:52 AM PDT by TankerKC
Vegetation die-off (areas of reddish-brown) in New England observed by NASA satellite, revealing the negative influence of heating oil use on normally healthy vegetation.
(Greenbelt, Maryland) A new sensor on a NASA Earth-orbiting satellite has for the first time observed a global-scale die off of vegetation, a new article in Science magazine reports this week.
"We were amazed at the continental scale that this die off occupied", said Dr. John Jorgenson of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The relatively rapid change in vegetation characteristics was observed from late summer through the fall, when the multi-million dollar NASA instrument recorded a distinct change in vegetation color from green to various shades of yellow, brown, orange, and red.
"While there have been anecdotal reports for many years of this die-off phenomenon, those reports have been restricted to local regions. We have, for the first time, documented the global scale of the event, which covers much of the Northern Hemisphere during the months of September and October", said Dr. Jorgenson.
While the exact mechanism for the phenomenon is unclear, the researchers believe that it is related to increasing fossil fuel use, especially home heating oil, during the fall when temperatures turn cooler. "We know that particulate pollution from the burning of fuel oil can have a negative effect on healthy vegetation, and so the correlation between heating fuel use and vegetation die-off constitutes 'smoking gun' evidence for this association", Jorgenson said.
Bolstering this theory, Jorgenson claimed, is the observed return of vegetation health in the spring as temperatures warm and heating oil use drops to near zero.
The new findings will likely help fuel increasing calls for restrictions on the widespread and indiscriminant use of fossil fuels, due to their proven connection to uncontrollable climate changes, such as tsunamis and killer hurricanes.
When contacted for comment on the new results, discredited global warming skeptic Dr. John Michaels told this reporter, "I think the NASA scientists should investigate the possibility that this die-off is directly related to decreasing levels of sunlight and the resulting cold temperatures as winter approachers". When told of Dr. Michaels' theory, Jorgeson replied, "Well of course he would say that…everyone knows he is in the pocket of 'big oil'. Besides, how else would you explain the fact that the die-off does not occur in tropical locations, where heating oil use is virtually unheard of?"
And here I thought that I didn't mow my lawn in winter because the grass went to Disney World when it got cold.
The Eco-Enquirer? Ummm...
This is obviously satire.
Damn fall and winter. A September cruise to New England and Canada can cure us from its ravages.
Uh, what usually happens in the Fall in your area?
In mine, everything turns red, orange, yellow, brown, etc.
The leaves even FALL off the trees here!
Tsunamis are caused by undersea earthquakes. What does that have to do with heating oil?
I noticed this last fall. I thought something was odd.
The evidence is mounting that things change. And the evidence has also mounted that they change back again.
And the idea that man can do anything to effect the climate is a bit like man proposing to alter paths of the planets or the nature and duration of the seasons. It's megalomaniacal lunacy. Even if he could do it, he's a fool for considering it.
Do you spray that directly on the leaves, or use a soaker-hose?
I'm not a skeptic of global warming. I am a skeptic of the Humans Bad approach to it, since this is a phenomenon that has happened multiple time in earth's history.
But dieback in veg in the fall? Isn't that when it's supposed to die back? Tell me what is different about this dieback than what the normative "should" be?
When you read these type of articles, written from these points of view, it is truly hard to know what the science is actually saying, because these articles are written to push an agenda.
What does the science say? Not what does the politics and beliefs of those who have belief issues say should be what is used to judge these things.
This is a very spun article.
And that is just what Exxon-Moblie wants.
The image is of New York mainly, not much New England unless a slice of Vermont counts.
Funny stuff. This writer has a future at "Enviro-whacks-R-us"
An outright LIE! They apparently cannot distinguish between theory and proof.
People are going to think I am crazy but I am also noticing that days are getting shorter. There seems to be less hours of sunlight as we move toward winter.
When are we going to come to our senses and shut down this economy.
We will soon be totally in the dark unless we turn off all the lights.
It could be an insect infestation. There has to be more investigation, IMHO, before fossil fuels can be blamed.
In America it's called Fall season...
Knitting A Conundrum
Since Sep 14, 2004
I think I've made my point.
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