This morning, NPR takes a look at the melting of the Greenland ice sheet. There's a nice slideshow of images that accompanies their piece.

CNN put out a report called Planet in Peril which reviews a bunch of environmental issues (including climate change). It's out on DVD, and available via Netflix.

Speaking of Netflix, I got a DVD from them last week called Everything's Cool, which is basically a documentary about several people involved in climate change & the public perception of it. Bill McKibben, Ross Gelbspan, and the Weather Channel's Heidi Cullen are profiled. I enjoyed it -- and empathized most with Dr. Cullen, who is challenged every day with simplifying complex science into a thirty-second soundbite aimed at the general public.

This reminded me of the November issue of WIRED, wherein Clive Thompson discusses the difference between the meanings of "theory" to the general public and to scientists. He argues that when discussing issues like evolution, we should use the term "law" in public instead. I pondered this notion in regards to climate change, but decided I wasn't comfortable with it. Though I'm convinced of the reality of anthropogenic (human caused) climate change, I'm not so absolutist that I can call it a law. It's too complex for that. (See Heidi Cullen comments above) What a tough spot to be in -- understanding nuance, yet being forced to choose between failing to communicate by either (a) crude, oversimplified language or (b) misunderstanding over the meaning of words like "theory" and "certainty." Tough call. Catch-22 for the planet.