Study reveals ancient greenhouse gas emissions

Centuries before the Industrial Revolution or the recognition of global warming, the ancient Roman and Chinese empires were already producing powerful greenhouse gases through their daily toil, according to a new study.

The burning of plant matter to cook food, clear cropland and process metals released millions of tons of methane gas into the atmosphere each year during several periods of pre-industrial history, according to the study, published Thursday in the journal Nature.

Although the quantity of methane produced back then pales in comparison with the emissions released today ? the total amount is roughly 70 times greater now ? the findings suggest that man's footprint on the climate is larger than previously realized. Until now, it was assumed by scientists that human activity began increasing greenhouse gas levels only after the year 1750.

"The quantities are much smaller, because there were fewer people on Earth," said study leader Celia Sapart, an atmospheric chemist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. "But the amount of methane emitted per person was significant."

Sapart's conclusions were based on an analysis of ice core samples from Greenland. The layered ice columns, which date back 2,000 years, contain tiny air bubbles from different periods of history, and provide scientists with a view into the atmosphere's changing chemistry.

The first period of methane production captured in the ice cores ? roughly from the years AD 1 to 300 ? encompassed the tail ends of the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty, when charcoal was the preferred form of fuel. The second period of elevated methane emissions occurred during what's known as the Medieval Climate Anomaly, from roughly 800 to 1200, and a third was found during the Little Ice Age between 1300 and 1600.

Methane is one of a few gases that trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. It forms naturally when plant and animal matter decomposes in airless environments, and it's also released when vegetation burns. However, when methane is produced by burning, it contains heavier carbon isotopes than methane generated through decomposition.

By using a mass spectrometer to study the air trapped in the ice cores, Sapart and her colleagues were able to determine the ratio of methane produced by burning and by decomposition. The study notes that not all cases of burned vegetation were the result of human activity; forest fires, particularly in times of drought, would also contribute to so-called pyrogenic methane production. The research team used mathematical models to account for this naturally burning vegetation and other fluctuations in atmospheric methane content.

"The results show that between 100 BC and AD 1600, human activity may have been responsible for roughly 20-30% of the total pyrogenic methane emissions," the authors wrote.

The research appeared to be the result of very careful and very difficult examination of carbon isotopes and could impact global warming estimates for the pre-industrial period, according to Ed Dlugokencky, a methane expert at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo.

"The study gives further evidence for a contribution to the global methane burden from anthropogenic sources," said Dlugokencky, who was not involved in the study.

Sapart said that though the study helped answer questions about the past, there were still plenty that remained about the future. Of particular concern is the melting of permafrost in the Arctic regions, where methane trapped in the frozen earth and ice is allowed to escape into the atmosphere.

"To date, we do not know how natural methane sources will evolve together with human-induced climate change, but it is likely those natural sources will increase," she said.

monte.morin@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/lzwOpaW2VBs/la-sci-humans-climate-change-20121004,0,2962982.story

stephen colbert running for president richard threlkeld moonrise kingdom coachella lineup coachella 2012 lineup school delays joran van der sloot

Warner Bros. Announces 3D Conversion for The Wizard of Oz

Collider was in attendance this morning at a press event in Burbank where Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group celebrated their 90^th?anniversary* (*technically the company turns ninety on April 4^th, 2013) by unveiling their new 90-year logo and announcing a slate of new Blu-ray and DVD transfers. However the biggest surprise was an announcement that they?re currently working on a special restoration and conversion of the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz from 2D to 3D. The new 3D edition of The Wizard of Oz will hit shelves everywhere sometime next year in September or October.

Also announced this morning, two new documentaries on working at the Warner?s Lot, a 100 DVD Collection of the Best Films from Warner Brothers and a 50 Blu-ray Collection of the Best Films from Warner Brothers, among others. For the full press release, a list of just what movies are included in the 50/100 film sets, a trailer for the sets, and images, hit the jump.

Burbank, Calif., October 3, 2012 ? One of the most respected, diversified and successful motion picture studios in the world, Warner Bros. began when the eponymous brothers
? Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack ? incorporated on April 4, 1923. Four years later, the release of The Jazz Singer, the world?s first ?talkie,? set a tone of innovation and influence that would forever become synonymous with the Warner Bros. brand. Soon to be 90, Warner Bros. continues to entertain the world with films passionately produced, selectively acquired, carefully preserved and impeccably curated for both the casual and ultimate movie lover to enjoy forever.

As a result of all the films the studio has produced, co-produced (with numerous partners), acquired and distributed, Warner Bros. now boasts the largest film library in the world ? 6,800 feature films, with 2,000 films currently available on DVD and Blu-ray?. The library includes 22 Academy Award^?*-winning Best Pictures (the most in Oscar^? history), and leading franchises such as Harry Potter?, Batman?, Lord of the Rings?, The Matrix and Superman?.?

Beginning in January, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group (WBHEG) will launch a major Anniversary initiative that will continue through year-end 2013. This includes the release of seven new collections, including two limited and numbered anniversary collections ? 100 films on DVD and 50 films on Blu-ray?, both the largest collections ever released, to date, in their respective formats. The year-long celebration will also include several stand-alone releases of new-to-format classics on Blu-ray? for the first time, including The Jazz Singer, ?all three James Dean films (East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, Giant), Cabaret and Academy Award? Best Picture Winners Grand Hotel (1932), Mrs. Miniver (1943), and Driving Miss Daisy(1990).

?

The Collections

The Best of Warner Bros. 100 Film DVD Collection*: 100 movies including all 22 of Warner Bros. library?s Best Picture ? Winners and two new documentaries (details below) on 55 discs presented in book style premium packaging.

The Best of Warner Bros. 50 Film Blu-ray? Collection* includes 50 movies and the two new documentaries on 52 discs, also presented in book style premium packaging. It will introduce several new-to-Blu-ray film titles, including Grand Hotel, Mrs. Miniver, and Driving Miss Daisy.

Both of the above are limited and numbered collections and each includes a collectible poster and series of art cards featuring movie poster designs created by legendary American graphic designer Bill Gold.

Gold, who worked with Hollywood?s greatest filmmakers, including Clint Eastwood, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Elia Kazan, and Ridley Scott, had this to say:

?My 65-year career began with Yankee Doodle Dandy and Casablanca and continued on to every Clint Eastwood picture from Dirty Harry to Mystic River (and I came out of retirement to design the poster for J. Edgar). In my wildest dreams I could not have foreseen the world I would inhabit and the joy it would bring me over the years. Every poster I worked on had a story to tell, and I?m delighted to be able to share a sampling of some of them in these collections.?

?

The Best of Warner Bros. 20 Film DVD Collections will be released throughout the year in five separate sets. Each features a gem-packed collection of 20 essential movie classics in five major genres: Best Pictures (January), Musicals (February), Romance (April), Comedy (July) and Thrillers (September).?

The Best of Warner Bros. Animation Collections will be released throughout the year in three separate animation sets.? Each features animation at its best in three key brands Hanna-Barbera (May), Looney Tunes (June) and DC Comics (August).

The Best of Warner Bros. Superman Collection (May) features 9 essential Superman live action television and animated television shows in one collection.

Two New Documentaries to Celebrate Warner Bros. 90^th Anniversary?

Created specially for this anniversary, Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot is a full-length documentary that features some of Warner Bros.? top talent and executives giving an inside look at the history of the studio. In on-the-lot interviews, stars including Clint Eastwood, Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Martin Sheen, along with current and former studio toppers Barry Meyer, Alan Horn, Bob Daly, and Terry Semel, and others, recount personal reflections and anecdotes about their experiences at the studio. Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot was produced by documentarian Gary Khammar (It?s So Audrey! A Style Icon) and producer Bill Gerber (Gran Torino).

Now, for the first time, home viewers can take the hugely popular Warner Bros Studio VIP Tour in this new documentary produced exclusively for the 90^th Anniversary collections. In The Warner Bros. Lot Tour, an official WB Lot Tour Guide gives guests a ?virtual? tram ride (of what some 200,000 annual visitors experience) ? an extraordinary opportunity to see first-hand where movie magic happens at the world?s busiest motion picture and television studio. Unlike a theme park, the Tour represents a rare and intimate ?behind-the-scenes? look at real Hollywood, winding through back lot streets, sound stages, sets and craft shops.?

Best of Warner Bros. 100 Film DVD Collection

Street Date: 1/29/13

Order Date: 12/25/12

Catalog # 1000334080

Pricing: $597.92 SRP

Best of Warner Bros. 50 Film Blu-ray Collection

Street Date: 1/29/13

Order Date: 12/25/12

Catalog # 1000334079

Pricing: $597.92 SRP

The Best of Warner Bros. 20 Film DVD Collections

Street Date: 1/29/13

Order Date: 12/25/12

??? Catalog # 1000353487

Pricing: $98.92 SRP

The Best of Warner Bros. 100 Film DVD Collection
The Broadway Melody (1929)
Cimarron (1931)
The Public Enemy (1931)
Grand Hotel (1932)
42nd Street (1933)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
A Night at the Opera (1935)
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
The Life of Emile Zola (1937
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Dark Victory (1939)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Citizen Kane (1941)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Casablanca (1942)
Gaslight (1944)
Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
The Big Sleep (1946)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
A Streetcar Named Desire: The Original Director?s Version (1951)
An American in Paris (1951)
Singin? in the Rain (1952)
A Star Is Born (1954)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
East of Eden (1955)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
The Searchers (1956)
Giant (1956)
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
A Face in the Crowd (1957)
Gigi (1958)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
North by Northwest (1959)
Ben-Hur (1959)
How the West Was Won (1962)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Viva Las Vegas (1964)
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Who?s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Bullitt (1968)
The Wild Bunch: The Original Director?s Cut (1969)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Dirty Harry (1971)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Cabaret (1972)
Enter the Dragon (1973)
The Exorcist: Extended Director?s Cut (1973)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo?s Nest (1975)
All the President?s Men (1976)
Superman: The Movie (1978)
The Shining (1980)
Caddyshack (1980)
Clash of the Titans (1981)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
The Outsiders (1983)
National Lampoon?s Vacation (1983)
Risky Business (1983)
The Right Stuff (1983)
Amadeus: Director?s Cut (1984)
The Goonies (1985)
The Color Purple (1985)
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Batman? (1989)
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
GoodFellas (1990)
Unforgiven (1992)
The Bodyguard (1992)
The Fugitive (1993)
Natural Born Killers: The Director?s Cut (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
Seven (1995)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
The Matrix (1999)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer?s Stone? (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring? (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers? (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King? (2003)
The Notebook (2004)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
The Departed (2006)
300 (2007)
The Dark Knight? (2008)
The Hangover (2009)
The Blind Side (2009)
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Inception (2010)

Documentaries: Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot, Warner Bros. Lot Tour (2013)

Best of Warner Bros. 50 Film Blu-ray? Collection

Grand Hotel (1932)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Casablanca (1942)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
A Streetcar Named Desire: The Original Restored Version (1951)
An American in Paris (1951)
Singin? in the Rain (1952)
Gigi (1958)
North by Northwest (1959)
Ben-Hur (1959)
How the West Was Won (1962)
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Bullitt (1968)
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Dirty Harry (1971)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Exorcist: Extended Director?s Cut (1973)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo?s Nest (1975)
Superman: The Movie (1978)
The Shining (1980)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
Risky Business (1983)
Amadeus: Director?s Cut (1984)
The Color Purple (1985)
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
GoodFellas (1990)
Unforgiven (1992)
The Bodyguard (1992)
Natural Born Killers: The Director?s Cut (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Matrix (1999)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer?s Stone? (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring? (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ? (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King? (2003)
The Departed (2006)
The Dark Knight? (2008)
The Hangover (2009)
The Blind Side (2009)
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Inception (2010)

Documentaries: Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot, Warner Bros. Lot Tour (2013)

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1926011/news/1926011/

tupac hologram pulitzer prize winners nfl 2012 schedule gmail down tim lincecum ryan oneal

The Satellite Industry Association Welcomes FCC Proposal To ...

Washington, D.C., September 28, 2012 ? The Satellite Industry Association (SIA)
today applauded the Federal Communications Commission?s adoption of a Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking intended to update and streamline the rules and
regulations that govern the licensing and operation of communications spacecraft
and associated earth stations. The FCC Commissioners unanimously approved the
proposal at their Open Commission Meeting earlier today.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking suggests changes to over a hundred sections
contained in Part 25 of the Commission?s regulations, which regulate satellite
operators and earth station licensees. By eliminating outdated and unnecessary
rules and consolidating others, the NPRM aims to increase regulatory efficiency and
accelerate the deployment of satellite services within the U.S. and around the
world. According to SIA?s 2012 State of the Satellite Industry Report, the global
satellite industry posted revenues of $177 billion in 2011, with an average annual
growth rate of nearly 11 percent over the past decade.

?SIA and its members are heartened by the FCC?s initiative to update, streamline
and consolidate the myriad rules that affect the communications satellite sector,?
said Patricia Cooper, the President of SIA. ?A sensible and up-to-date regulatory
framework is vital to the robust innovation and investment that are hallmarks of
the satellite sector. SIA and its members expect this NPRM to make applications
easier to file for satellite stakeholders and also easier for the Commission staff to
review. We look forward to reviewing the proposals in detail and commit to being
an active participant in the proceeding.?

ABOUT THE SATELLITE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION:
SIA is a U.S.-based trade association providing worldwide representation of the leading satellite operators, service providers, manufacturers, launch services providers, remote sensing operators, and ground equipment suppliers. Since its founding in 1995, SIA has become the unified voice of the U.S. satellite industry on policy, regulatory, and legislative issues affecting the satellite business.

SIA Press Release on Part 25 NPRM 2012 9 28

Source: http://psc.apcointl.org/2012/10/03/the-satellite-industry-association-welcomes-fcc-proposal-to-streamline-satellite-regulations/

freedom tower eric church world trade center quick silver where have you been rihanna kirk cousins mothers day