Captain Future's Log

"Only you can predict global heating"

--a new slogan perhaps for climateprediction.net which uses distributed computing to test models of climate change against real climate changes. According to World Changing, they're about to get a big boost from the BBC in their latest effort.

But the big news is for you. Just download their software and you get your very own Earth! You run a climate model and you can see the results: What makes this version of the software particularly fun is that the "screensaver" mode shows your current Earth model in action, and has shortcuts for looking at current temperatures, cloud cover, and rainfall, among other bits of info. Since the software runs in the background, that's the extent of the interactivity -- but still, you do get to see "your" planet evolve.

So get your Smokey the Computer into earth-saving mode, go to World Changing and download the future.

In another positive development, there's more evidence of increasing investment energy going into alternative sustainable energy systems. The New York Times has noticed that wind power is catching more than a breeze of interest. This article also indicates that General Electric is about to kick all its sustainable energy programs into higher gear.