Kevin of Desmogblog has put together a document that actually shows the entire White House hatchet job on this critical CDC report on the effects of global warming on disease.

His biggest discovery? 50% of the report was redacted, over 1500 words. This is criminal and unscientific. Disease outbreaks are going to be a major negative result of climate change and it is the CDC’s mission to plan for them so that stockpiles of medicine can be prepared, hospitals prepped in advance and immunization programs launched. By censoring the message of this report the White House may be taking actions that could result in thousands of deaths in the future.

Think about it.

This trailer is a compelling brief look at a film that may eclipse An Inconvenient Truth in relevance right now. I am not a celebrity cause fan but by all reviews de Caprio has made a very important film that is frightening, provocative and relentlessly positive in its belief that we can change the world for the better. I can’t wait to see it.

The Star in Toronto has a front page article about the dire water situation in America’s Southwest, the fastest growing region in the country. They predict a mass exodus to the water-rich areas of the Northeast as these new Southwesterners discover that, while they’ve built 300 golf courses and endless housing developments, they have been ignoring a basic fact: there is no water to support the huge population of this region.

The article is comprehensive and a must-read if you live in our area. Water is going to be the most valuable commodity on Earth, replacing petroleum products. Mass migrations have always followed water since the beginning of time. In spite of all our technology, we cannot make the Colorado river rise and water the entire Southwest (including Mexico which is being shortchanged drastically by our growth).

You think we have immigration issues now? Wait till people realize where the water is….

Tip of the the hat to Franke, our erstwhile Canadian correspondent! (that’s all the links you get this week!)

Add-on: New Scientist cites a study that amalgamates 92 computer simulations using 14 global circulation models and compares these with actual rainfall data from around the world to conclude that changes in water distribution are the major effect of climate change:

‘The findings are important, Zwiers says, because “as humans, our activities are much more constrained by limits of water than by temperature (italics mine). In places where agriculture is marginal, it will become more marginal in the future”.

From the article:
‘Seager’s own research has shown that, in addition to the trends shown by Zwiers’ team, there will also be a significant drying of areas in the northern subtropics, including the US southwest and the Mediterranean.’