Hot Air

Something to keep in mind…


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[video: https://youtu.be/obFNcN0Zc7k]

The Fake News Tour 2019

Johnathan Pie

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CLIMATE BREAKDOWN IS AN ‘EXISTENTIAL CRISIS’

Nobody really knows

Climate breakdown is like riding a roller coaster while blindfolded. We don’t know where we are, how fast it is going, or where we will be in 10, 20 years.

We know the global temperature is rising and that many parts of the ecosystem are collapsing. We know that the rate at which global warming proceeds will determine how many species will survive.

Clearly, it would be good to address things so as to slow it down as much as possible. It might avert catastrophe or at least keep more species alive at the negative end of the scale.

On the positive side, perhaps we can prevent the biggest changes, if we start now and are lucky.

That’s why it is important to act AS IF we CAN help, because we might be able to stop a lot of things, at least stop some of them, and can’t stop anything if we do not act.

We know that we have a very short time to act and that there is a great urgency to respond immediately.

It is paramount to understand the urgency.
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HOT AIR NEWS ROUNDUP

To Escalate Fight Against 'Existential Crisis,' Greta Thunberg Backs General Strike for Climate
Common Dreams 4-23-19

"It is something that will affect the future of our civilization. It's not just a movement. It's a crisis and we must take action accordingly." … in London on Monday, Thunberg spoke … Civil disobedience is important to show this is an emergency. We need to do everything we can to put pressure on the people in power.

'How can I prepare my children for climate change?'
Yale Climate Connections 4-23-19

I think it’s better to teach them the tools and skills they’ll need now, rather than to wait until they are forced to adapt in a hurry. And I don’t mean things like teaching them to avoid meat and dairy, buy used or repurposed items, and consume less “stuff” in general. I am talking about things like: Is it a good idea for them to know how to garden and can, so that if there are food shortages, they will have produce?

To Save Humanity and Planet, Says Climate Activist, 'We Must Go Straight to the Heart of Capitalism and Overthrow It
Common Dreams 4-23-19

"We have to overthrow this system which is eating the planet with perpetual growth," Monbiot explained. "I mean since when was GDP a sensible measure of human welfare?" … "We've got to start ramping down all fossil fuel production and leave fossil fuels in the ground," he declared. "There's time, but we can't do it by just pissing around at the margins. We've got to go straight to the heart of capitalism and overthrow it."

[video: https://youtu.be/Ir-XjQhOyNQ]
A Green New Deal for New York City
EcoWatch 4-23-19

The New York City Council last week overwhelmingly passed one of the most ambitious and innovative legislative packages ever considered by any major city to combat the existential threat of climate change.

Have hope, humanity is finding ways to defeat climate change
Climate Change News 4-18-19

Some 35 years ago, in the year 1984, Ethiopia was in the midst of an acute famine, leading to the loss of at least 400,000 lives and an international humanitarian campaign which people remember to this day. … Today – while over 8 million Ethiopians remain food insecure and the prospect of acute hunger still stalks the Horn of Africa – the government of Ethiopia has embarked on a national effort to restore at least 15 million hectares of agricultural land, as part of a set of measures to ensure that famine will never take place again.

This island is going trash free—by recycling all of its waste
National Geographic 4-22-19

By 2032 all waste on Bornholm will be treated as resources, say officials. Garbage sorting, recycling, minimizing waste, and a lot of new technology are the tools envisioned to turn Bornholm into one of the first garbage-free communities on the planet.

This very long article addresses carbon dioxide removal from the air and the businesses connected to it…

A climate change solution slowly gains ground
Washington Post 4-19-19

Global Thermostat, Carbon Engineering and Climeworks are three companies at the leading edge of the hunt for ways of skimming carbon dioxide from the air. … Some big deep-pocketed corporations — including oil companies — are looking, too. They are lured not so much by the virtues of fighting climate change but by the prospects of making money.
… one of the co-founders of Global Thermostat who estimates that CO2 could become a trillion dollar market.

The AOC Green New Deal animation is an inspiration. Watch it if you have not already seen it. It is archived here now…

A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
The Intercept 4-19-19 h/t smiley

[This is] a seven-minute film … Set a couple of decades from now, it’s a flat-out rejection of the idea that a dystopian future is a forgone conclusion. Instead, it offers a thought experiment

[video: https://youtu.be/d9uTH0iprVQ]
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Satellite confirms key NASA temperature data:  The planet is warming — and fast
Climate Change News 4-21-19

A high-profile NASA temperature data set, which has pronounced the last five years the hottest on record and the globe a full degree Celsius warmer than in the late 1800s, has found new backing from independent satellite records … If anything, the researchers found, the pace of climate change could be somewhat more severe than previously acknowledged, at least in the fastest warming part of the world — its highest latitudes.

A recent study on permafrost melt and nitrous oxide release is outlined below in the Climate Studies section. This is a great article. Well worth reading…

The Blue Ocean Event and Collapsing Ecosystems
Counter Punch 4-19-19

Accordingly, the Arctic has experienced “the biggest transition of albedo on the planet.” (Wadhams) The consequences are unimaginably challenging, … Not only that but, the Arctic is already a hothouse in the hemisphere. For example, permafrost samples in the Yukon near Dempster Highway registered temps, as of April 2019, nearly 2°C higher than at any point in time over the past 10,000 years.

New studies highlight challenge of meeting Paris Agreement climate goals
PHYS ORG 4-23-19

New research highlights the "incredible challenge" of reaching the Paris Agreement without intense action and details the extreme temperatures parts of the planet will suffer if countries fail to reduce emissions.

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FOSSIL FUELS
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Plastic's carbon footprint - Researchers conduct first global assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from plastics
Science Daily 4-15-19

From campaigns against microplastics to news of the great Pacific garbage patch, public awareness is growing about the outsized effect plastic has on the world's oceans. However, its effect on the air is far less obvious. Plastic production, use, and disposal all emit prodigious amounts of greenhouse gasses, but scientists haven't had a firm grasp on the scope.

Excellent article…

How the plastics industry is hijacking the circular economy
Tree Hugger 4-19-19

What they are calling circular is a sham, just fantasy recycling so that they can maintain the status quo.
… And there we have it: It is really just a more elaborate form of recycling than what we have now. It doesn't change anything really, other than trying to extract value out of the recycled materials, but it still all has to be disposed of properly by the user who tends to buy these products for convenience,

Chevron and Exxon Say They Can Turn Around the Failed Finances of Fracking Industry
Desmog 4-18-19

After a decade of the American fracking industry burning through hundreds of billions of dollars more than it earned, this industry previously dominated by shale drilling specialists is entering a new phase. The oil majors — a group of multinational companies that typically have divisions throughout the oil supply chain — now are investing heavily in fracked oil and gas operations. … The latest development is Chevron acquiring shale oil and gas company Anadarko for $33 billion.

Canada oil sands CO2 emissions hugely underestimated: study
PHYS ORG 4-23-19

Environment Canada scientists flying over the region took atmospheric measurements and found CO2 emission intensities up to 123 percent higher than current estimates. … "This leads to 64 percent higher annual GHG emissions from surface mining operations, and 30 percent higher overall oil sands GHG emissions

Same study, different article…

Oilsands CO2 emissions may be far higher than companies report, scientists say
CBC 4-23-19

It means that Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions would be around 2.3 per cent higher than previously thought. And if research eventually shows that other oilsands sites are subject to similar underreporting issues, Canada's overall greenhouse gas emissions could be as much as six per cent more than thought — throwing a wrench into the calculations that underpin government emissions strategies.

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WEATHER

At least 51 dead after severe floods in South Africa
UPI 4-23-19

Flooding has collapsed buildings and homes and debris has blocked storm drains and sewer lines, officials said. The inclement weather also caused power outages and cable damage.

Denver weather: Sunday was the wettest day in 19 months, and most of the rain fell in 10 minutes
The Denver Post 4-23-19

In one hour, DIA saw 0.81 inches of rainfall — and that one hour alone made it the observation site’s wettest day since Sept. 23, 2017. DIA officially saw a total of 0.82 inches of rainfall on Sunday. … According to the National Weather Service office in Boulder, DIA saw an astounding 0.52 inches of rain in just 10 minutes

The Midwest needs more than levees to survive its “biblical” floods
Vice News 4-20-19

Last month’s floods were the most intense the Army Corps of Engineers has ever seen in the Midwest. "It's immense," Bret Budd, Army Corps of Engineers Chief of the Omaha District Systems Restoration Team, told VICE News. "It's a biblical flood for us. It is going to tax the resources of everybody around. We have over 500 miles of levee to provide to reduce the risk of flooding. Of those 500 miles, we had over 50 breaches." … The Corps has been scrambling to patch the broken levees before the rivers rise again — but gaping holes are still unfilled.

Boulder’s chilly February and March ran against global trend
Daily Camera 4-19-19

NOAA reported on Thursday that the March temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.91 degrees above the 20th century average of 54.9 degrees, and was the second highest for March in the 1880-2019 record. Only March 2016 was warmer, at 2.23 degrees above average. … Record warm March temperatures were recorded across much of Alaska, northwestern Canada, and across parts of the Barents, East China and Tasman seas, Western Europe, central Russia, southern Australia and the southern Atlantic and western Indian oceans, according to NOAA. No land or ocean areas had record-cold March temperatures. … The most notable warm land surface temperature departures from average during March were seen across Alaska, northwestern Canada and north-central Asia, where temperatures were at least 7.2 degrees above average.

Floods have a greater impact due to sanctions…

Iranians flee third major flood in 2 weeks
UPI 4-2-19

"[Sanctions are] impeding aid efforts by Iranian Red Crescent to all communities," he wrote on Twitter. "Blocked equipment includes relief choppers: This isn't just economic warfare; it's economic TERRORISM." … Foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi echoed the complaint. … "Given that the accounts of the Iranian Red Crescent have been blocked (due to U.S. sanctions), no foreign citizen or Iranian national living abroad (are) able to send any relief aid to flood-hit people," Qassemi told the Islamic Republic News Agency Tuesday.

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ADAPTION AND RESILIENCE

An effort to save biodiversity on Earth. Read the article and watch the video…

To save life on Earth, here's the $100 billion-a-year solution
PHYS ORG 4-22-19

To make a better biodiversity map, they propose that the GDN embrace monitoring progress from the ground (and below the sea surface) to space using powerful new technologies, much of it publicly available. … His new ASU center is focused on using methods to help map, monitor and conserve aspects of the environments, including biodiversity. … "In addition to biodiversity, we have a water resource interest, we have carbon and climate," … and then we have the world's largest constellation of satellites, called Planet." … Planet currently operates 331 Earth-observing satellites.

A plan to map coral reefs…

[video:https://youtu.be/PQ5FCLv8Hpo]
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Green material for refrigeration identified
Science Daily 4-18-19

Researchers have identified an eco-friendly solid that could replace the inefficient and polluting gases used in most refrigerators and air conditioners. When put under pressure, plastic crystals of neopentylglycol yield huge cooling effects -- enough that they are competitive with conventional coolants.

More than 100 U.S. cities have pledged to switch to renewable energy

Yale Climate Connections 4-19-19

People across the country … are urging their communities to switch to one hundred percent renewable energy. … “Ready for 100,” [is] a Sierra Club campaign helping mobilize people to demand community-wide clean energy. … More than a hundred U.S. cities have already committed to transition to 100% renewable electricity. And most of them aim to meet that goal by 2035.

The methods are applied to building a dam in Mombassa…

Designing water infrastructure for climate uncertainty
MIT 4-22-19

A new method identifies opportunities to learn and adapt to changing temperature and precipitation trends. … has developed a new, systematic approach to designing long-term water infrastructure amid climate change uncertainty. Their planning framework assesses the potential to learn about regional climate change over time as new observations become available, and thus evaluate the suitability of flexible approaches that add water storage capacity incrementally if the climate becomes warmer and drier.

Greensboro, North Carolina, says its new electric buses will save money
Yale Climate Connections 4-23-19

Electric buses are quiet and good for the environment.
But that’s not what inspired officials in Greensboro, North Carolina, to add ten electric buses to the city’s fleet. Their motivation was primarily financial.

Washington state passes 100 percent clean electricity legislation
KIRO7 4-23-19

The Washington State Legislature passed Senate Bill 5116 on Monday – a bill that will eliminate coal power by 2025 and transition the state to 100 percent clean and renewable electricity by 2045. … The bill passed the state House last week and now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk to be signed into law.

India could meet air quality standards by cutting household fuel use
PHYS ORG 4-19-19

curbing emissions from dirty household fuels such as wood, dung, coal and kerosene, shows a new analysis … Eliminating emissions from these sources—without any changes to industrial or vehicle emissions—would bring the average outdoor air pollution levels below the country's air quality standard, the study shows.

New York city bans inefficient glass skyscrapers, WA state to end coal
Climate Home News 4-23-19

[The program] sets out to achieve carbon neutrality and 100% clean energy by 2050 by modernising the city’s buildings, transport, and boosting clean energy. In a global first, New York City will be ordering all existing buildings of 25,000 square feet or more, of which there are 50,000 across the city, to carry out energy upgrades in a bid to slash their emissions. Buildings account for 70% of the city’s carbon pollution.

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WILDLIFE & THE ENVIRONMENT

The paper referred to in the article is linked below under the Studies section…

Saving Ecosystems to Protect the Climate, and Vice Versa:  a Global Deal for Nature
Climate Change News 4-21-19

an international group of scientists is proposing a third way that marries the two in an ambitious plan they hope will save the species that make our planet so rich—including ourselves. … They set out their timetable in a paper released Friday in the journal Science Advances calling for a "Global Deal for Nature."  Its unified objective: protect the ecosystems to combat climate change; combat climate change to protect the ecosystems.

Dragonflies Make Epic Migrations, But Climate Change Could Foil Their Itineraries
Ecowatch 4-21-19

common green darners, which are found from Cuba to Canada, make a long, complex journey that takes three generations and spans a distance of more than 1,500 miles. Scientists are still trying to figure out exactly how they do it, but temperature seems to play a key role in telling the animals when to move. Unfortunately, this means climate change could well wreck the whole event even before we fully understand it. Worse, it would leave much of eastern North America without an important member of its food web.

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Soft tissue makes coral tougher in the face of climate change
PHYS ORG 4-23-19

soft tissues that cover the rocky coral skeleton promote the recovery of corals following a bleaching event. … These soft tissues, which are home to beneficial algae, represent a source of energy for corals.

Carbon dioxide from Silicon Valley affects the chemistry of Monterey Bay
PHYS ORG 4-23-19

carbon dioxide in air [is] blowing out to sea from cities and agricultural areas, including Silicon Valley.

'Decades of denial': major report finds New Zealand's environment is in serious trouble
The Guardian 4-23-19

It found New Zealand is now considered one of the most invaded countries in the world, with 75 animal and plant species having gone extinct since human settlement. The once-vibrant bird life has fared particularly badly, with 90% of seabirds and 80% of shorebirds threatened with or at risk of extinction. … Almost two-thirds of New Zealand’s rare ecosystems are under threat of collapse, and over the last 15 years the extinction risk worsened for 86 species,

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PROTESTS • EXTINCTION REBELLION • RESISTANCE

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Fridays for Future

A long article about the history of the movement…

The Climate Kids Are All Right
HuffingtonPost 4-21-19

Youths around the world are rising to the climate challenge — and they don’t care what the trolls have to say about it. … The report pegged the cost of climate-related damages that would result from global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels at $54 trillion. … It was a wake-up call that galvanized young people. And this month, thousands of scientists signed onto a letter, posted in Science magazine, in support of the youth protests. The authors wrote that the activists’ “concerns are justified and supported by the best available science” and that “without bold and focused action, their future is in critical danger.”

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Greta Thunberg
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Greta Thunberg’s speech for Extinction Rebellion in London’s Marble Arch April, 21, 2019

We are now facing an existential crises, the climate crisis and the ecological crisis which have never been treated as crises before. They have been ignored for decades.

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[video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFT0IoP2dTA]
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Extinction Rebellion
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JOIN XR USA: on their website
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XR NEWSLETTERS & EVENTS: on their website
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XR USA: on YOUTUBE h/t Wally

Extinction Rebellion: "We want the lawmakers to realize this is an absolute emergency"
[video:https://youtu.be/qrmpH_tN5A8]

Extinction Rebellion proposal inspired by Irish climate, abortion breakthroughs
The Guardian 4-18-19

The protest group wants a citizens’ assembly in the UK, following an Irish model that led to new political settlements on previously divisive issues … In Ireland, the government commissioned a citizens’ assembly to make recommendations on climate policy, among a range of issues. It led to a referendum that overturned a constitutional ban on abortion, representing a huge cultural shift for the Catholic-majority country.

It's time to dump Earth Day and join the Extinction Rebellion
Tree Hugger 4-22-19

But then the Earth Day Network's lead sponsors are a car manufacturer, a delivery company and an airline, so we can't make too big a deal about CO2 emissions. Their mission statement doesn't even mention it.

Extinction Rebellion die-in at the Natural History Museum in London
[video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Neh0EecixC8]
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Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protesters at Natural History Museum
BBC 4-22-19

Extinction Rebellion activists took over part of the Natural History Museum as the climate change protest entered its second week. … About 100 people lay down under the blue whale skeleton at about 14:15 BST. … It comes as more than 1,000 people have been arrested since the protests began in central London a week ago.

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CLIMATE STUDIES

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Emissions from thawing Arctic permafrost may be 12 times higher than thought, scientists say
Independent 4-18-19

Nitrous oxide, a third greenhouse gas nearly 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide, stays in the atmosphere for an average of 114 years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). … It has “conventionally been assumed to have minimal emissions in permafrost regions”, according to a fresh study published in the Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics journal.

This is the study…

Atmospheric Chemestry and Physics 4-3-19

The microbial by-product nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas and ozone depleting substance, has conventionally been assumed to have minimal emissions in permafrost regions. This assumption has been questioned by recent in situ studies … we used the airborne eddy-covariance technique to make in situ N2O flux measurements over the North Slope of Alaska from a low-flying aircraft spanning a much larger area:

Paul Beckwith breaks down the above study…

Paul Beckwith 4-20-19

Surprise… Nitrous oxide emissions from our rapidly warming north are up to 12-times higher than we previously thought, since thawing Arctic permafrost is a huge source. The problem is:
• 1) The top 3 meters of permafrost contains 73 billion tons of nitrogen;
• 2) As it thaws microbial action releases bucket loads of N2O; and
• 3) N2O is a very powerful Greenhouse Gas, with a Global Warming Potential about 300 times that of CO2 (lifetime in atmosphere of 114 years).

[video:https://youtu.be/fLopWeZVTg8]
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Arctic's Melting Permafrost Will Cost Nearly $70 Trillion, Study Finds
EcoWatch 4-23-19

According to the new research, published in the journal Nature Communications, melting permafrost caused by accelerating Arctic warming would add close to $70 trillion to the overall economic impact of climate change if the planet warms by 3°C by 2100.
Even if action is taken to limit warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century, the research found melting permafrost would still add $24.8 trillion to overall climate costs.

How bacteria build an enzyme that destroys climate-changing laughing gas
Science Daily 4-17-19

New research reveals how soil bacteria build the only known enzyme for the destruction of the potent global warming and ozone-depleting gas nitrous oxide. Alongside carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane, the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O), commonly known as 'laughing gas', is now a cause for great concern, and there is much international focus on reducing emissions. It is hoped that the findings will help pave the way for strategies to mitigate the damaging effects of N2O.

A Global Deal For Nature: Guiding principles, milestones, and targets

Science Mag 4-19-19

The Global Deal for Nature (GDN) is a time-bound, science-driven plan to save the diversity and abundance of life on Earth. [to] avoid catastrophic climate change, conserve species, and secure essential ecosystem services. … The GDN targets 30% of Earth to be formally protected and an additional 20% designated as climate stabilization areas, by 2030, to stay below 1.5°C. We highlight the 67% of terrestrial ecoregions that can meet 30% protection, thereby reducing extinction threats and carbon emissions from natural reservoirs. Freshwater and marine targets included here extend the GDN to all realms and provide a pathway to ensuring a more livable biosphere.

Arctic leaks of laughing gas may add to heat
Climate News Network 4-22-19

US scientists have identified yet another hazard linked to the thawing permafrost: laughing gas. A series of flights over the North Slope of Alaska has detected unexpected levels of emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide from the rapidly warming soils. … Nitrous oxide, which chemists know also as laughing gas, is an estimated 300 times more potent as a climate warming agent than the principal greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. It was present in data recordings at levels at least 12 times higher than all previous estimates.

From coal to gas: How the shift can help stabilize climate change
PHYS ORG 4-22-19

the study examined the impacts from a variety of direct and indirect emissions of such a shift on both shorter and longer timescales ranging from a few decades to a century. … "Our conclusion that the benefits of natural gas outweigh the possible risks is robust under a broad range of methane leakage, and under uncertainties in emissions data and metrics,"

Arctic warming will accelerate climate change and impact global economy
Science Daily 4-23-19

Carbon released into the atmosphere by the increasing loss of Arctic permafrost, combined with higher solar absorption by the Earth's surface due to the melting of sea ice and land snow, will accelerate climate change -- and have a multi-trillion dollar impact on the world economy.

Rate of ice loss from Greenland has grown by a factor of six since the 1980s, scientists find - The ice sheet has the potential to raise sea levels by more than 20 feet, were it all to melt someday.
Washington Post 4-23-19

Greenland, home to Earth’s second-largest ice sheet, has lost ice at an accelerating pace in the past several decades — a nearly sixfold increase that could contribute to future sea-level rise, according to a new study based on nearly a half-century of data. … “The entire periphery of Greenland is affected. I am particularly concerned about the northern regions, which host the largest amount of potential sea-level rise and are already changing fast,”

Losing Arctic Ice and Permafrost Will Cost Trillions as Earth Warms, Study Says
Inside Climate News 4-23-19

These models provide the basis for a significant body of scientific literature around climate change, but perhaps the most widely respected published work—the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fifth Assessment Report, which provided a scientific basis for the Paris climate agreement—did not adequately account for the impacts of permafrost when it modeled what's at stake with climate change. The science on permafrost at that point was too preliminary.


Global Warnings

QMS: Time to disconnect greed from the welfare of earth, if survival means anything. I like trees.

Paul Beckwith: "I declare a global climate change emergency to claw back up the rock face to attempt to regain system stability, or face an untenable calamity of biblical proportions."

Kevin Hester: "There is no past analogue for the rapidity of what we are baring witness to. There has been a flood of articles ... 2C is no longer attainable and that we are heading for dangerous climate change"

Guy McPherson: "The recent and near-future rises in temperature are occurring and will occur at least an order of magnitude faster than the worst of all prior Mass Extinctions. Habitat for human animals is disappearing throughout the world, and abrupt climate change has barely begun."

Magi Amma: We need to turn on a dime at mach nine!

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Equivalencies:
• 1 gigatonne = 1 billion tons
• 1 gigatonne Carbon = 3.67 gigatonnes CO2
• 1 part per million (ppm) of atmospheric CO2 = 7.81 gigatonnes CO2
• 1 part per million of atmospheric carbon = 2.13 gigatonnes of carbon

Enjoy!
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magiamma's picture

Your environmental news round ups are so impressive. Labors of love, I think. Thank you.

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magiamma's picture

@HenryAWallace
Thank you so much and thanks for reading. Love for the planet we share. Have a good one...

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

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Lookout's picture

This BBC interview gives an idea of what they are up against and how they are not backing down. (17 min)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcBZxqiqVfE]

The weeks action spurred a debate in Parliament on the declaration of a climate emergency. I listened while busying around the house. Would that we had a conversation in our congress along these lines. XR is wisely insisting on citizen committees because they know you can't trust these folks to serve the people... (1.3 hours)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4WIGTWRFBI

Thanks for the OT and all the weeks climate news! Hope you all have a good day.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

magiamma's picture

@Lookout @Lookout
Yes, they are doing an amazing job. Just glued themselves to the stock exchange. Heh. I like Rupert. Will watch later. They are supposedly starting up here. They will need different tactics, right? They are not going away. They are growing. All good.

Thanks for all you do. Have a good one...

Edit to add thanks for the j pie clip.

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

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@Lookout He won't accept the garbage the corporate news creatures are spewing. Good for him.

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Lookout's picture

@randtntx

....and thought the clip was insightful because of the attacks and BBC spin.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Emergency

Thanks magi. We can do this. With a sense of purpose. Get mad and make noise. Hold the policy makers accountable. Change the narrative. Influence those around you. An uphill battle, common concern can over-ride establishment inaction. It's our future at stake. The obscene greed of the profiteers needs to be more openly exposed. As the pariah of the ecosystem. They are.

Cease destruction. Encourage global healing. Make it a priority.

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magiamma's picture

@QMS
Yes we can do it. XR is starting up in the US now. Let folks know. They have a great strategy. I am hopeful. Thanks for keeping on the sunny side. Have a good one...

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enhydra lutris's picture

enacted Paris compromise goals are at risk or worse. Big time surprise there, especially a to this hotbed of overproduction and over-consumption. (why is one hyphenated and one not? ah well, who cares) That would be the case even had we not pulled out, even under Her Royal Clinton and probably under the Bern too. They have no real control or power over the forces driving this fiasco, even if they really wanted change, which perhaps the Bern maybe does. In the end it comes to us, the people, shutting down and redirecting demand, but since the greater portion of us are kept in the peonage of wage slavery, desperate to find a way to make a living (and buy more of the shit we are brainwashed into believing we need) they have a lot of leverage they can use against us.

And here I sit, drenched in unintended irony, preparing for our next trip and working on a will of all things, lessee, to the youth I leave, uh, ashes, ashes all fall down?

And, of course, ironically enough, that's a couple of metric shit-tons of wattage right there too. Still, gotta rant and rage on I guess.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

magiamma's picture

@enhydra lutris
One of your better rants. Sprinkled with humor. Gotta laugh cause.... heh. well, have a productive day...

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mhagle's picture

Enjoyed the read. Though grim there is hope.

I agree that Extinction Rebellion appears to be extremely wise and well organized. And I appreciate their constant emphasis on non-violence.

And the article that suggests young people be taught how to garden and can looks good.

Ethiopia restoring 15 million hectares of land to prevent future famine. Excellent. Many countries are taking such actions. Not us much. We continue to rape the land.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

magiamma's picture

@mhagle
Gardening and canning. I learned early and the old folks (younger than I am now) flocked to my door to help me understand. Talk about paying forward. Such basic skills are invaluable as you well know. Good to see you. How’s the garden, speaking of gardens? Be well...

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mhagle's picture

@magiamma

But, good things are happening. My husband does not have a gardening heritage . . . he sort of doesn't get it . . . but out of the blue jumps up and helps in amazing ways. This year he built 5 new raised beds and installed a 1375 gallon water capture from 1/2 a rooftop water system. It filled in less than 3 inches of rain. The faucet is in the garden area. When I water the most I have used is 27 gallons. And he put up bird feeders, a bird bath, hummingbird feeders, table and chairs in the garden.

I am experimenting in many ways and will do a full report when the outcomes are known.

Currently I am eating radishes. Yum.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

magiamma's picture

@mhagle
Scrumptious. And what nice additions to your garden. I look forward to more reports. And pictures maybe. Thanks for the update.

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Raggedy Ann's picture

Just a drive by - I usually don’t have time to stop in but I’m waiting for the dentist!

Thanks for the wonderful work you do for us!

Have a lovely day, folks! Pleasantry

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

magiamma's picture

@Raggedy Ann Good to see you. Thanks for popping in. Have a good one...

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The Aspie Corner's picture

They will die first, but not before taking the rest of life on earth with them before they ever give up anything at all. That is how deep their greed goes, and the planet reflects this in every way.

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

magiamma's picture

@The Aspie Corner
yes, I totally agree. Why have some humans had the need to have more, to enslave other humans, have wars? I don't get it. I have thought about it for most of my life and have no answer, in fact I understand it less. Will we be able to stop those that seem hell bent and determined to keep killing the planet.

I have no idea. But, having said that, I will keep pushing the narrative that we must keep trying. Two of my best people, only last week, after I attended a talk by Guy McPherson and wanted to poke my eyes out with a sharp stick, ask me, why on Earth I keep doing this, knowing what I know.

My answer - knowing what I know, I cannot in good conscious not do this. This being, gathering information about the demise of our dear Gaia.

I have been trained, highly trained, to see, to do figurative sculpture, accurately, to do glaze chemistry and understand what chemicals are in a glaze by just looking at it. I grew up in a family business - a small plane airport. I checked the barometer every day as I left for school. I understood what weather different clouds brought. And now I see big changes.

I see. I see way to much. It makes me angry - what I see, the changes. That anger compels me to do this very blog.

And to keep hoping. Because, maybe, there will be a sea change. It is possible. The possibility exits such that: ∃. Anger is a good thing is you use it to make change. I am very angry.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@magiamma

...and truly excellent essay-journey. Thanks for sharing some of your extensive knowledge and experience.

Just to pick it up in the middle, I wanted to say how much I've been struck lately by the transformative new information and technology that is pouring in to help fashion the new reality we need.

I think it is fair to say that the last place on earth one might look for guidance in ending the death dance of fossil fuels and global extinction is the United States. For my part, I'm counting on China to orchestrate the rapid correction the planet must have. I'm pretty certain they've got this (with the participation of the rest of the world). But without getting into details on that, I marvel at the different kinds of breakthroughs from different disciplines that are converging into operative parts of the very big-picture solution.

Restating the ultimate problem we face in the language of different disciplines can be enormously helpful. For example, consider that one quarter of all the wealth that is owned in the world (money and assets) is directly invested and tied up in the extraction of fossil fuels. A great deal more of the world's wealth is tied up in investments to process and distribute those fossil fuel, and then to burn that fuel in various endeavors that support human development and further investments.

This enormous share of global wealth cannot be extracted from this system because to do so would collapse all national markets at once and their wealth would simply evaporate into nothingness. (A catastrophe as deadly as the one we are facing.)

Like it or not, this global "market" dilemma has to be solved at the very same time that an aggressive environmental fix is executed, or no environmental solution can make a difference. By the way, this top-level global problem has been with us for more than a century. It's not a secret. The underlying reason that we fight wars is to profit from it through privatization. This is a fully automated market, the largest one on the planet. That means that fossil fuels will be actively hunted and extracted and the largest share of innovation will be dedicated to developing new ways to burn it in order to expand development and food production for an exploding population of even more humans, who need more development and food, requiring more fossil fuel exploration. We live in a world that is absolutely dedicated to this formula. As a practical matter, the time required for a non-lethal transition to any other system (if we had one ready to go) has already been used up.

But as dire as that sounds, economic innovators think the situation can be flipped by as soon as 2023.

Regenade, Inc is a good aggregator of how we are thinking our way out of impossible problems.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
magiamma's picture

@Pluto's Republic
great comment. gotta run do a talk at the zendo... wish me luck. I will watch the video later.
take good care...

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@Pluto's Republic
The New Gold Rush. excellent. thanks.

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@magiamma

...for your informative essay. It gave me a chance to fill in some gaps and think about what I can do.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

@magiamma

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

all. Thank you magi for your work. I just spent quite a bit of time watching a lecture by Rupert Read which I recommend (although it is somewhat old, from autumn of 2018, and pretty long, so keep that in mind). He mentions all the issues we talk about here, from the imperative to talk about this and "facing the abyss", to engaging with community to help with the grief etc..

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magiamma's picture

@randtntx
that's a great video. I have seen it before, but it is well worth watching again. He has some really important points. this is one of my faves...

we must think and act now in ways that take into account the possibility that we will not be able to do the kinds of interventions in the future that we will be able to do now

I would add that we need to keep on because we do not know what new kinds of interventions might be available in the future. Maybe we will surprise ourselves.

Thanks for the link. Have a good one...

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Azazello's picture

Here's the news from my town: Tucson is the third-fastest-warming city in the U.S.
A high of 97° is predicted for tomorrow.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

enhydra lutris's picture

@Azazello
it, it attracts all of that desert heat and leaks it eastward into Tucson.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

dystopian's picture

@enhydra lutris The AZ-Sonora Living Desert Museum is one of the most awesome places there is to visit. I must have been in it more than a dozen times in my youth, loved it every time. The big Mexican Beaded Lizards, the walk-in aviary, the burrow viewing tunnel, all too cool. It was very advanced for the time and budget 50 years ago. Nice big marine tank with huge Sargent Majors.

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

enhydra lutris's picture

@dystopian

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

lotlizard's picture

@enhydra lutris  

Only been thee once, but really liked it a lot.

You found a tunnel that leads to the inside of dystopian’s head?

Just kidding, of course.

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magiamma's picture

right... thanks for the article. Looks like things are moving along right on schedule.

here is a picture of mid 21st century temperature scenarios from Nov 2018:

A report not to be buried - 4th National Climate Assessment (Category Six)

https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/Report-Not-Be-Buried-Part-II-Fourth-Na...

blog week 15 Temperature senarios_0.jpg

Figure 2. Annual average temperatures across the United States are projected to increase over this century, with greater changes at higher latitudes as compared to lower latitudes, and greater changes under a higher scenario (RCP8.5; right) than under a lower one (RCP4.5; left). This figure shows projected differences in annual average temperatures for mid-century (2036–2065; top) and end of century (2071–2100; bottom) relative to the near present (1986–2015). Image credit: Fourth NCA, Part II, Figure 2.4, Ch. 2 (adapted from Vose et al. 2017).

Have a good one...

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dystopian's picture

Hi Magi, Great stuff, I don't know how you do it!

Saw that Jonathan Pie and the Geo. Monbiot the other day, both were most excellent, nice to see others felt the same, and give them more airplay. Wink

Maybe climate deniers are hoping to release enough Nitrous oxide that it will all just be funny?

Got a 404 on the Ecowatch dragonfly article.

The dragonfly migrations are amazing, and very little known. Over a decade ago I asked on a dragonfly listserv with all the top U.S. ode experts where they were coming from and where they were going. Dead silence. Where I am Green Darner are not the most common migrants, Wandering and Spot-winged Glider are, but Red, and Black, Saddlebags are also pretty common. Flights can be many tens of thousands, and some reports are of hundreds
of thousands. Amazingly, one species, Wandering Glider has reached Easter Island, considered one of the most remote land masses on the planet.

In a few words, the soft tissues of most hard corals, the outer layer of protoplasm, has living in it photosynthetic algae, which are often what gives them their fluorescent pinks, reds, purples, neon greens, etc. The corals LIVE off the sugar byproducts of photosythesis of the algae. They harbor the algae, the algae feeds them. It was figuring this out that led to the revolution in marine aquaium keeping, which now has us farming countless
dozens of species of corals.

Thanks for all the work!

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

magiamma's picture

@dystopian
thanks again for all the details about our fellow travelers. cool that corals live off the sugar made by algae.

the link is fixed, thanks. it's also here:
https://www.ecowatch.com/dragonfly-migration-climate-change-2635092369.h...

There are these big red-orange dragonflies up in the Calistoga area. I was up there with some art friends tasting wine and eating some years ago. So, I am in the pool alone and there is this gorgeous dragonfly on a chair. I had just read a book about Native Americans and how they thought (all of the tribes all the way from Alaska to the tip of South America) that all beings, feathered, four legged, etc. were one people, all equal. So, I said hello to the dragonfly and invited it to come land on my finger. I was in the middle of the pool where it was cooler. so I held my finger up and it landed on it. I didn't know what to do. I could feel it's little feet on my finger. so, I swam to the side and ask it to fly away. but, that's not the end. later, we women were in the hot tub and I was telling them about it. we saw it flying around. So they wanted to see if it would come again. I held my finger high and it did. much to all of our amazement. When I stepped down from my role in the National Women's Caucus they gave me a necklace with a tiny dragonfly on it. very cool. These fellow travelers are why I do this. I want so much for some of us to survive.

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dystopian's picture

@magiamma What a wonderful dragon story magi! I love the sentiment and spirit of your comment. We are kindred spirits. The dragon might have been a Flame Skimmer, they are orange-red, the males anyway. Near-animal experiences are very moving, birds to bugs, and all else, it is one key thing urbanites are missing, and the appreciation of nature and the natural world that follows awareness.

Here is a poor pic of a male Flame Skimmer.
UvCoFlameSkmr.jpg

There is a brighter red one, Neon Skimmer with less red in wings:
neonskmr062418a-sm_0.jpg

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

magiamma's picture

@dystopian
The ones there were very iridescent. Maybe a bit more rust orange. It was a long time ago.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@magiamma
or more most years, also up at Lake Chabot pics dated 06-04-2009:

dfly3

dfly4

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dystopian's picture

@enhydra lutris Hey E.L.! GREAT dragon shots! That is a female Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata). There are over a hundred species in California. There is a great California dragons website and a super Beginner's Guide to Dragons of CA, by Kathy Biggs. She also has a pond site about building dragon ponds in the yard. Very cool stuff. You can bring some in with an aquatic bucket/tub garden. But any local park with water and adjacent vegetation has them.

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

magiamma's picture

@enhydra lutris
that's it

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

when I got an error message regarding the "XSS Auditor;" so, this evening, will just leave you Guys with a fun and informative NWS Tweet. Seems like a lifetime-ago that we had to think about anything like "ice thickness."

Biggrin

Thanks for the excellent essay--especially, the Arctic warming section. Seems like the melting of permafrost is making big headlines. That's good.
Guess I shouldn't be too surprised, since it began to rear its ugly head almost three decades ago (that I know of).

Have a good one!

Pleasantry Mollie

I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.
~~Gilda Radner, Comedienne

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

magiamma's picture

@Unabashed Liberal
great to see you. well, fasten your seat belt cause there's lots of Arctic news these days. gotta run but love the tweet. if it were not so sad it would be funny. have good evening...

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