People Before Profit blog

Forget Mayan calendar: Climate change is real doomsday threat

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 15:32:00 +0000

Some people have been worrying that the Mayan calendar foretold the end of the world today, Dec. 21. And many science-fiction books and stories have been written exploring what might happen if the world's existence was threatened - would people and nations join together to fight the threat, would they give up in despair, would they try to unite but instead devolve into warring factions, would the world revert to pre-industrial times, or to the Dark Ages?

We no longer have to look to fiction for the answers. Climate change is just such a crisis - worldwide in scope, a threat to fundamental aspects of human life like water availability, agricultural yields, the billions of people who live near oceans, and burning fossil fuel to create the energy that drives modern life.

On the positive side, there are many efforts to address the crisis, from United Nations negotiations and reports to 350.org demonstrations, from individual efforts to make personal changes to public campaigns to prevent the building of new coal-fired electricity plants, from cities working to meet the goals of the Kyoto Accords even when their countries can't agree to ratify it to massive national investments in clean energy like the Recovery Act's $90 billion down payment on energy transformation, to increasing fuel standards for new cars.

But you don't have to look very far to find credible doomsday predictions based on the ever more detailed and dire scientific studies and reports.

The latest United Nations Environmental Program report warns that the permafrost across much of the far north, from Alaska and Russia to Canada to the Scandinavian countries, is beginning to melt, and may pose a very alarming threat. There are millions of tons of frozen greenhouse gases stored in the permafrost, and as melting occurs, those gases are released. This threatens to be a crucial tipping point in the fight against global warming, since it could start a cascade of greenhouse gases being released, warming the atmosphere, causing more permafrost melting, releasing even more greenhouse gases. Some earlier predictions of the effects of climate change did not include and calculations of emissions from melted permafrost, since few studies had been done. But now, as evidence accumulates, we are poised near the start of a runaway train to climate disaster.

The report notes that current projections of climate change predict warming of 5.4 degrees to 9 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century - calamitous on its own. But those predictions have not completely factored in greenhouse gas emissions from thawing permafrost - which could drive the temperature much higher.

Bill McKibben, environmental author and founder of 350.org, wrote a letter to the UN Doha Climate Change Summit, saying in part:

2012 saw the shocking melt of the Arctic, leading our greatest climatologist to declare a 'planetary emergency,' and it saw weather patterns wreck harvests around the world, raising food prices by 40% and causing family emergencies in poor households throughout the world.

That's what happens with 0.8ºC of global warming. If we are going to stop this situation from getting worse, an array of institutions have explained this year precisely what we need to do: leave most of the carbon we know about in the ground and stop looking for more.

If we want a 50-50 chance of staying below 2 degrees, we have to leave 2/3 of the known reserves of coal and oil and gas underground; if we want an 80% chance, we have to leave 80% of those reserves untouched. That's not "environmentalist math" or some radical interpretation - that's from the report of the International Energy Agency last month.

The latest on carbon dioxide accumulations in the atmosphere shows them continuing to go up. We are already long past the safe point of 350 ppm (parts per million, the standard measure); it now stands at over 390 ppm, and is still rising.

It is a dystopian nightmare that is headed our way: massive droughts, floods, rising seas, ocean acidification, decreasing agricultural yields, rising food prices, more climate refugees, more extreme weather such as Hurricane Sandy, more extreme forest fires, melting permafrost not only releasing carbon dioxide and methane but also destroying houses, roads and other infrastructure, and more.

If we don't want this nightmare sci-fi scenario, the world needs to take drastic action now. If serious action had been taken when the first major scientific warnings were issued (the famous congressional testimony of Dr. James Hansen from NASA's Goddard Institute was in 1988; the first major international discussion was at the Rio Environmental Summit in 1992), then we might have gotten by with less drastic action, but that time has passed.

Photo: ILRI // CC 2.0

Google-funded spy tech to prey on poachers

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:16:00 +0000

Both surveillance technology and Google have generated controversy - often, not without good reason - in the past. In opposition to the growing international threat of poaching, however, many feel they can be put to good use.

That theory will soon be tested: the World Wildlife Fund received a $5 million grant last week from Google's Global Impact Awards to test advanced technology in the interest of combating crime against animals. If deemed effective, the spy tech will be implemented in environments including national parks plagued by poaching.

As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pointed out at the Partnership Meeting on Wildlife Trafficking in November, poaching has become a high-tech criminal operation using helicopters, tactical gear, and high-powered rifles. Many believe the war on poaching is being lost because of these advancements, but conservation groups are taking a major leap forward and using some powerful tech of their own.

The new Google-funded system includes sensors that would be placed in wildlife habitats and on animals themselves, which would be monitored by networks of surveillance drones. The drones would signal ranger patrols when poachers are detected, hopefully allowing rangers to stop them.

Drones had previously been chosen to assist in the fight against poaching over the summer of this year, by the Nepalese chapter of the WWF, to be used in the country's Chitwan National Park. The deployment of these aircraft marked the first time the organization had ever made such a bold move. Equipped with cameras and GPS, the remote-controlled observation drones were able to access and monitor hard-to-reach areas of the park, greatly benefiting conservation efforts.

As well, South Africa has used an aircraft of its own - though not a drone - to fight back against the illegal wildlife trade after several high-profile rhino killings in Kruger National Park. The reconnaissance plane was equipped with heat sensors that detected movement both animal and human.

Now, with the added benefit of Google funding, allowing for the use of more technology, the WWF will continue to make good use of aerial vehicles that are so often used for vile purposes, particularly overseas. Also important to know is that these drones are different than the armed government drones; these have been called little more than advanced, modified model airplanes.

"We believe that this technology will be instrumental ... in curbing the illegal wildlife trade," said Anil Manandhar, representative for WWF Nepal.

"We've seen a couple of other uses of technology to curb poaching," wrote Popular Science, "notably the use of GPS tags on rhinos. But this time the WWF wants a larger umbrella of monitoring tech. [The technology] will be used in four separate sites in Asia and Africa, according to Google."

"We want to use integrated technologies to create a protective umbrella around animals in poaching zones," said Crawford Allan of TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade-monitoring network.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, meanwhile, has deployed drones of its own in order to combat whaling in Japan. The two aerial vehicles typically remain on Sea Shepherd's ships, the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker, until they are needed, at which point they fly out and gather information.

Despite the controversy - most of it well deserved - surrounding drone technology, there is no doubt the vehicles are benefiting efforts to stop these illegal, anti-animal practices - Google's reputation notwithstanding.

"We face an unprecedented poaching crisis," said WWF president Carter Roberts. "The killings are way up, and we need solutions that are as sophisticated as the threats we face."

Photo: A diagram depicting how the WWF's new surveillance technology works in terms of combating poaching. World Wildlife Fund

Top ten environmental wins of 2012

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 13:36:00 +0000

After numerous ecological disasters, right-wing attempts to denounce critical environmental issues, and the ever-looming threat of climate change, it's high time to look at the good points of the environmental struggle this year. Provided here, in order of increasing significance, are what I believe to be the most important environmental victories of 2012.

10. Reductions in carbon, mercury emissions

The Obama administration gave people one of the first environmental victories of 2012 when it passed a January EPA measure called the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. The standards have curbed and set limits on carbon and mercury emissions, tightened regulations on coal-fired plants, and created new jobs in pollution control technology, meaning that labor activists can share in the environmentalists' elation.

9. Impressive year for environmental music

Environmentalism has crept into music frequently in recent times, but 2012 was a particularly exceptional year. Willie Nelson and his daughters worked with the Animal Welfare Institute to support the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. Canadian metal band The Agonist has defended animal rights, with their singer, Alissa White-Gluz, joining PETA in protesting seal killing. Kentucky metal/bluegrass band Panopticon released an album decrying mountaintop removal and the abuse of workers in the coal industry. And musicians including Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, and The Who performed at a benefit show this month to raise money for victims of Hurricane Sandy. Music is becoming more pro-environment than ever, and that's a big win.

8. Meat companies end use of torturous crates

This win was a double-whammy for both environmentalists and animal rights advocates: meat company Hormel (the maker of SPAM) in February announced its plans to end the shameful practice of keeping its pigs in small, inhumane gestation crates, and urged other companies to follow in its footsteps.

7. LA, San Jose, Brookline ban plastic bags

Several towns across the U.S. have altogether banned plastic bags. These include Los Angeles and San Jose, California, and Brookline, Massachusetts. On the disappointing side of things, Toronto, Canada, lifted its plastic bag ban in November by a City Council vote of 38-7. The successful bans, however, are a clear demonstartion of society's increasing awareness of the harm being caused by plastics.

6. Demolition of toxic NJ building completed

After a chemical spill at the E.C. Electroplating plant in Garfield, New Jersey in 1983, the local ground and waters were tainted with cancer-causing chromium, threatening people for decades until the EPA took over, exposing the corruption and oversight of the state's Department of Environmental Protection. The building was finally demolished in late October - a major relief for Garfield residents. The EPA's next step for 2013 will be drilling relief wells and monitoring for possible air contamination; in short, things are moving forward.

5. Keystone XL pipeline construction in Texas halted

Following a lawsuit by a landowner charging that TransCanada had failed to define a difference between crude oil and tarsands oil, the company's Keystone XL pipeline construction has been halted in eastern Texas. A judge signed a two-week injunction, marking this as a reprieve - and cause for celebration - for the many local activists and landowners that have viciously protested the pipeline.

4. Big wind project approved for Wyoming

The Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Project was approved in the state of Wyoming in October. The project is a wind farm that will generate as much as 3,000 megawatts of energy for the state, and is one of the most ambitious wind projects in recent history.

3. Obama re-elected for second term

As well as being a win for many other aspects of the progressive struggle, the re-election of President Obama was a major plus for environmentalists. After GOP opponent Romney had spoken of his intentions to "take a weed whacker" to federal environmental regulations, activists had plenty reason to worry. But alas, Obama has returned, and many hope he will continue to crack down on the coal industry, reduce carbon emissions, and challenge the controversial Keystone XL project.

2. BP admits guilt for Gulf spill, must pay over $4 billion

After causing one of the most horrific environmental disasters in recent history, British oil giant BP finally pleaded guilty to 14 criminal charges and agreed to pay $4.5 billion in penalties for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Though these penalties are but a mere slap on the wrist for BP, the victory is a major one for activists who were deeply and directly affected by the disaster.

1. Shell defeated, no Arctic drilling for 2012

The biggest victory of all came in September, when Shell announced it would put off offshore drilling in the sensitive Arctic ecosystem for another year, after a spill containment dome was damaged during a testing accident. The win came after aggressive protests from environmentalists including Greenpeace. Tampering in the Chukchi Sea, as Shell yearns to do, would be highly dangerous, and activists will continue to fight back against the oil company in 2013.

Photo: Greenpeace's Save the Arctic campaign was a success in 2012. Greenpeace.org

Costa Rica bans hunting, but what about shark finning?

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:46:00 +0000

Costa Rica officially banned hunting on December 10, becoming the first Latin American country to outlaw the sport. Anyone caught in violation of the new law can find themselves facing four years in prison or a fine of as much as $3,000. Smaller penalties apply under the new legislation to those who steal wild animals and keep them as pets.

Hunting had become a growing problem for the country, to which foreign hunters would come in search of prized felines like jaguars and pumas, both of which, together with sea turtles, are considered Costa Rica's most treasured species. Costa Rica, a nation of 4.5 million people, is known for its biodiversity and environmentalism (25 percent of its land is protected as natural parks or reserves). Thus, the continuous killing of animals for sport had become a critical issue.

"There is no data on how much money hunting generates in the country, but we do know there are clandestine hunting tours that go for about $5,000 per person," said Arturo Carballo, deputy director of environmental group Apreflofas. None of that money, however, is going anywhere good. On the contrary, in addition to often being considered an atrocity in and of itself, hunting has actually hurt Costa Rica, financially.

"We're not just hoping to save the animals, but we're hoping to save the country's economy," said environmentalist Diego Marin, "because if we destroy the wildlife, tourists are not going to come anymore." The country's national parks attract some 300,000 yearly visitors, according to the Huffington Post, and tourism represents a major chunk of the economy.

Indigenous groups in Costa Rica, however, need not worry. The legislation offers an exception for native peoples who hunt in small numbers for food. It also offers exceptions for researchers hunting for scientific purposes, and for fishing, which it does not consider to be hunting.

While there is some cause for celebration, activists are quick to note that, though it isn't hunting or fishing in the traditional sense, there is another practice in Costa Rica that has got to go: shark finning. The country's shark finning industry, which uses the fins for soup, has killed between 26 and 73 million sharks per year. To some extent, the practice has now been defeated, but there is a loophole in anti-finning legislation that has prevented the industry from collapsing fully.

Though President Laura Chinchilla has reportedly decided to crack down on the industry, groups like Sea Shepherd feel there has been little action to back up that statement. Many have applauded the president's efforts, as she signed a decree that banned the practice of finning in Costa Rican waters, as well as the importation of fins. But here's where the loophole comes into play: according to Sea Shepherd, the decree only applies to the importation of shark fins. If the sharks are shipped to Costa Rica in their entirety, however, they may then be de-finned upon arrival. There are also wealthy people in the industry, the environmental group noted, who can easily find ways to circumvent the decree.

While ending hunting has been an excellent achievement for the country, it has been done with the welfare of the tourism industry in mind before all else. And that, reportedly, is precisely the reason why Chinchilla's supposed shark finning crackdown "is all smoke and mirrors." Sea Shepherd President Paul Watson remarked, "Chinchilla is simply trying to appease the tourism industry by creating the illusion she is getting tough on the shark fin industry. Shark fins are big business in Costa Rica and one of the reasons there has been very little outcry."

Photo: A worker cuts a shark fin at a fish market. Though a recent decree in Costa Rica outlaws the finning of local sharks, a loophole allows the shark finning industry to import other sharks for that purpose. Kamran Jebreili/AP

Steelworkers, allies push oil industry to increase safety at refineries

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:14:00 +0000

NORCO, La. - How bad is the oil refining industry's pollution and worker safety problem? Well, let's put it this way: It virtually ruined an industry-backed Thanksgiving Day parade.

Spectators gathered last month in Norco, La., to watch the parade, partially sponsored by the Motiva Refining Company. But the Steelworkers and Louisiana Bucket Brigade, a non-profit organization that monitors the industry and its safety record, report the crowd suffered from stinging eyes and people were gasping for air.

And where was the acrid smoke that caused such distress coming from? It was flaring, constantly, from the stack of Motiva's own 233,500-barrels-a-day Norco refinery.

The Thanksgiving Day fiasco incident symbolizes the health and safety record, or lack of it, that characterizes oil refining, and has for years, say USW spokeswoman Lynne Hancock and Anne Rolfes, founding director of the Bucket Brigade. USW and the safety group collaborated on a report detailing the oil industry's record.

The report shows that in 2011, the most recent year data were available, Louisiana's 17 refineries self-reported 301 accidents - 5.7 per week - that released, the oil firms said, more than 1 million pounds of toxic gases into the air and 1.3 million gallons of hazardous substances, such as benzene, into the Pelican State's waters.

That's 50,000 pounds more of toxic gases than the refineries produced the year before - and almost four times as many gallons of hazardous substances into the water.

And that may be understating the problem, both speakers and their report said. That's because the refineries frequently report accidents as "small" in terms of releasing poisons when they aren't, or minor even when workers get injured or killed on the job.

For example, the ExxonMobil refinery in Baton Rouge, the second largest refinery in the U.S., reported a 10-pound benzene leak in the middle of this year. A probe by the Bucket Brigade staff, interviews with residents and - eventually - a state investigation showed the true size of the leak: 31,000 pounds.

Even with self-reporting by the refiners, and workers often too scared to report toxic threats or accidents, state and federal data and worker and community interviews combine to paint a sorry record of the state of health and safety in and around the nation's oil refineries. The data is in the report, Common Ground: The Call For Cooperation To Reduce Accidents At Refineries In Louisiana.

The way to solve the accident, safety and health problem, USW and the group say, is for the refiners to first admit they have a problem and then work with workers and communities on solving it.

Safety improvements - especially union-management collaboration to lessen hazards - have been a big goal in USW's last two rounds of bargaining with refiners, who deny they have a problem. They haven't budged on the issue, to USW's dismay.

"This report offers a window into what is really going on at Louisiana's refineries. They help our union make the case for how unsafe this industry can be," Gary Beevers, the USW vice president who heads its refinery workers sector, told Louisiana reporters.

"Instead of ignoring the results of this report or doubting the accuracy of the public records on which the data is based, refiners should work with our union and the community to make these plants safer," he added.

"No one wants these refineries to shut down, but refiners can do more to ensure the safety and health of their workers and the community. ExxonMobil definitely has the financial resources to do a better job," he added.

But refinery safety and health problems aren't confined to Motiva, or ExxonMobil, or Louisiana, Hancock and White say.

Hancock says the refinery problems are nationwide, as refineries are complex plants where many things can go wrong, and where workers are intimidated and afraid to report problems lest they lose their jobs. Rolfes noted the federal government found a pro-industry bias in Louisiana enforcement. Other states, led by California, are tougher.

But the problems can be lessened two ways, Rolfes and Hancock said: Tougher enforcement and laws, as in California, and hiring more workers and unionizing them.

That not only puts more hands on the job - which lets workers stop accidents more quickly - but also can introduce an outside watchdog, the joint union-management safety committee, to both monitor conditions and demand improved safety measures.

"Until they face the facts, the oil industry, our economy, our environment and our health will suffer," Rolfes adds.

Photo: Motiva Norco flaring Dec. 2. Louisiana Bucket Brigade Facebook

N.J. chemical spill goes airborne, forces hundreds of evacuations

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:32:00 +0000

When a train derailment in Paulsboro, N.J., on Nov. 30 sent two tanker cars hurtling into a nearby creek, the water became polluted with vinyl chloride - a dangerous chemical that the tankers had contained. Now, the pollutant has become airborne, forcing the evacuation of 200 people in the South Jersey town. The evacuation is expected to last until Sunday, while the Coast Guard and other agencies attempt to dissolve what is left of the chemical in the tanker cars and remove it.

Though no deaths have occurred, the spill resulted in over 70 people checking into the nearby Underwood-Memorial Hospital on that day, complaining of breathing problems - one of the symptoms caused by short-term exposure to vinyl chloride, along with dizziness. Long-term exposure to the chemical is very dangerous, and could result in liver failure and cancer.

The two train cars currently remain in Mantua Creek, where the situation is too delicate for them to be removed until the hazardous materials they carry are disposed of. Conrail, who owned the train, are paying for hotels, meals, and other expenses for residents who have been forced out of their neighborhood, according to the Washington Post. A gym at Kingsway High School in the town of Woolwich has also been set up as a temporary shelter. Conrail is also expected to open a shelter of its own at the Paulsboro Fire Department within a few days.

Many residents were not prepared for the evacuation, as they had previously only been told to remain in their homes with the doors and windows shut. "We were not told until they knocked on our door," said Diamond Veney, who has a one year-old son. She said her family was given just thirty minutes to leave.

Officials must first remove the vinyl chloride before they can clear the track and determine what caused the train to derail, but federal investigators said on December 2 that Conrail had reported signal problems at the railroad bridge where the accident occurred. Notably, there was also a 2009 incident where a train derailed on the same bridge, though no chemical spill followed that accident. The National Transportation Safety Board is reportedly reviewing both cases.

One theory the NTSB has is that a tidal surge from Hurricane Sandy may have caused previous damage and problems on the bridge, though Paulsboro was not severely impacted by the superstorm. Inspectors, however, have been advised to stay away from the site until the airborne chemical settles and can be completely cleaned up.

Photo: Mel Evans/AP

South Africa deploys anti-poaching plane

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 13:30:00 +0000

"This is a war. You cannot take a stick to a gunfight." These are the words of Ivor Ichikowitz, executive chairman of Paramount, a company that designs aircraft and weapons technology.

South Africa is now working with the company to fight not a military conflict but a war by poachers against the nation's wildlife. In particular, they are employing the company's technology in an attempt to save the country's rhinos from extinction at the hands of the poachers.

Thanks to a high-tech aircraft donated by the firm, the South Africa National Park Service is able to put down its proverbial sticks, and will now have a better chance at catching poachers who are often armed to the teeth with modern weapons.

Called Seeker, Paramount's anti-poaching aircraft is a low-speed reconaissance plane that will try and detect illegal poachers in the country's Kruger National Park. Equipped with intricate heat sensors capable of detecting both animal and human presence. The technology is seen as the first strong step to combat the increasingly elaborate weaponry used by perpetrators of the illegal wildlife trade, which includes assault rifles, helicopters, and night-vision goggles.

This development comes less than a month after eight rhinos were brutally killed by poachers, with shots to their lungs and hearts, the goal being to harvest their horns for spiritual and medicinal purposes, though they have no actual medicinal properties. But the cultural significance of rhino horns, and the subsequent demand for them, both in Asia and parts of Africa, has caused poaching to develop into a sophisticated criminal network.

The illegal activities have become such a worldwide problem that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for a major plan to fight poaching, which would require aggressive policing backed by intelligence organizations including the CIA and the NSA.

The anti-poaching plane is a huge leap forward, as just this past month, park rangers and dog patrols were one of the only defenses against localized poaching incidents.

Jason Bell, director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said, "The killing of rhinos for their horns does not exist in a vacuum, but is a complex problem where values of traditions and culture have been corrupted in the name of commercial exploitation.

"Be it elephants and ivory, tigers and tiger parts, rhinos and rhino horns, the endpoint is the same - profit. And that profit is being chased down in the most brutal fashion by organized crime syndicates."

Ichikowitz said the situation has become so dire that "you have to fight fire with fire.

"The thermal imaging technology [of the anti-poaching aircraft] will deliver more powerful observation capability to the Kruger National Park's rangers, making it difficult for poachers to hide."

Photo: Rhinos are increasingly threatened, with many of their species dwindling, due to constant poaching for their horns. alcuin/Flickr

NASA discusses Dec. 21 Mayan end-of-world prediction

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 12:52:00 +0000

NASA officials last week talked about doomsday predictions resulting from certain interpretations of the Mayan calendar; a major cycle on that calendar will end Dec. 21 of this year.

Despite the assurances of experts in Maya science and history, that Mayans never saw this date as apocalyptic, many people apparently worry that a cosmic happening will end life on Earth later this month.

NASA takes on the doomsdayers and debunks their predictions on its 2012 information page.

One of the false ideas spread by those who believe in the arrival of the apocalypse this month is that a rogue planet will collide with Earth on the day of the Winter Solistice. NASA astronomers note that any planet slated to crash into Earth just before Christmas would, by now, be a big bright object in the sky.

"There is no true issue here," David Morrison, an astrobiologist at NASA's Ames Research Center, said during a NASA Google Hangout event Nov. 28. "This is just a manufactured fantasy."

NASA officials, however, are concerned that the apocalyptic predictions have gotten out of hand and have resulted in causing some actual problems. The space agency has received many letters and emails from frightened people. Morrison said, adding that many of the worried are young people, including children, and that some have said they are too worried to even sleep or eat. Some, he said, are even suicidal.

"While this is a joke to some people and a mystery to others, there is a core of people who are truly concerned," he said.

While some of the doomsdayers say the end will come when the Earth is hit by a rogue planet, others say it is solar flares that will do us in.

NASA took questions from the public last Wednesday in the hour-long video chat, with Lika Guhathakurta, a heliophysicist, discussing the solar flares.

The scientists said that large solar flares could affect electronics and navigation systems with increased electromagnetic activity hitting our atmosphere. Guhathakurta noted, however, that the current period of active solar flares that we are in is actually a "wimpy" one and that the expectation is for no solar storms stronger than ones Earth has already experienced in the past.

With rogue planets and solar flares ruled out as the cause of the apocalpyse that still leaves, according to some doomsdayers, the possibility of being hit by an asteroid.

The closest asteroid will not pass until Feb. 13, 2013 and will come pretty close, missing us by just 25,000 miles. Although that's pretty close, NASA scientists say the asteroid will not hit the earth.

They also dismiss other equally absurd doomsday ideas for Dec. 21 - that the Earth's magnetic field will suddenly reverse on that day, tossing us all into outer space, or that the planet will somehow travel 30,000 light years and fall into the black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.

The scientists offered no response to one doomsday idea - the prediction that we will undergo a complete blackout from Dec. 23 to Dec. 25. They had not heard that prediction, they said.

The scientists agreed that worry about end of life on the planet would better be focused on things like climate change. "The greatest threat to Earth in 2012, at the end of this year and in the future is just from the human race itself," said Mitzi Adams, a heliophysicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

Photo: Kevin M. Gill/Flickr