Hot Air

Something to keep in mind…


Turn off a light
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save a life
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says new study

Phys Org
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Blog Blue Ocean.jpg


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THEY NEED HELP
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In Mozambique

“We don’t have anything,” says Josef Marius Jafate, a 29-year-old farmer who, like many of those in this impromptu roadside camp, is surviving solely on the river fish he can catch. “We don’t have rice, or flour or any clothes. We need shelter. When is the help going to come?” he says. Josef explains that he fled his small grass-roofed house on Saturday just over 24 hours after the cyclone had struck. “The water started coming in and we had to escape with what we could carry to the road. We have been here ever since.”

In The Midwest

The Midwest was covered with record snowfall before the ‘bomb cyclone’ dumped record amounts of rain…

Supplies at her house were running low. She had come down with pneumonia. She had a chemotherapy appointment to keep. But her long driveway was blocked by mountains of mud — impassable even for an ambulance or a tractor. So Ms. Red Cloud-Yellow Horse, 59, set off toward the road on foot. She fell repeatedly, almost got swept away in the current of a creek, and became stuck in the mud. Finally, more than an hour later, she made it the half-mile to the highway where she was picked up.

People are compromised because of the massive flooding and insurmountable loss of infrastructure...

In, Iowa and Nebraska hundreds of homes are flooded. There are lakes where fields and roads should be. Local police departments are sending out motorboats instead of squad cars. … Hornick, Iowa, resident Dale Ronfeldt's basement is flooded with 4 feet of water, Iowa Public Radio reports. "My washer and dryer are floating around down there somewhere," Ronfeldt said.

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One couple was rescued in a helicopter after water from three breached levees swept across 40,000 acres, he said. Another nine breaches have been confirmed in Nebraska and Iowa counties south of the Platte River, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “The levees are busted and we aren’t even into the wet season when the rivers run high,”

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In addition to losing dozens of calves, her farmland is destroyed. “There's just been a lot of devastation,” Bloom says. “We are having to travel three miles through pasture and cropland just to get out because our roads are gone,” she says. “And the corn fields are going to be devastating to get in and plant and get that going, because usually we're planting within the next two weeks and it's not going to happen.”

In Iran

At least 32 people have been killed in southern Iran as the result of severe flooding that occurred on Monday after a robust storm swept through the Middle East, according to Radio Farda.

In Austrailia

Many communities remain at red alert status but that warning is expected to be lifted later today. … Karratha Mayor Peter Long yesterday said the strong southerly winds reached 120km/h and caused vegetation damage and destroyed a shed. … “I’m concerned about the cyclone surge because it’s a spring tide which is the highest tide of the year so we’re expecting a surge of two to five metres,” he said.

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When a hot air mass meets a cold air mass, precipitation happens either in the form of rain or snow. The hotter the air mass the more water it can hold. If the cold air mass is freezing, snow falls.

The more the jet stream meanders from north to south, the more the weather systems stall causing increased precipitation and extreme weather events.
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HOT AIR NEWS ROUNDUP

Wow, just wow…

Who keeps buying California's scarce water? Saudi Arabia
The Guardian 3-15-19

Each month, Fondomonte Farms loads the alfalfa on to hulking metal shipping containers destined to arrive 24 days later at a massive port stationed on the Red Sea, just outside King Abdullah City in Saudi Arabia. … In the wake of the ban, Almarai decided to purchase land wherever it is cheap and has favorable water conditions to produce enough feed for its 93,000 cows. … In 2012, they acquired 30,000 acres of land in Argentina, and in 2014, they bought their first swath of land in Arizona. Then, in 2015, they bought 1,700 acres in Blythe

how easy it is to move a commodity like alfalfa, or for that matter lettuce or clementines or iPhones, across more than 13,000 miles of land and sea, how much we rely on these crisscrossing supply lines, and at what cost to our own natural resources.

IPCC is underselling climate change
Science Daily 3-20-19

A new study has revealed that the language used by the global climate change watchdog, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), is overly conservative -- and therefore the threats are much greater than the Panel's reports suggest.

Boston City Council Passes Groundbreaking Food Justice Ordinance
Common Dreams 3-20-19

1. Support small and mid-sized agricultural and food processing operations within the local area or region;
2. Support producers that employ sustainable production systems that reduce or eliminate synthetic pesticides and fertilizers …
3. Protect workers' rights to freedom of association, to organize a union and collectively …
4. Ensure farmers a fair price for their products that covers the cost of production …
5. Provide healthy and humane care for farm animals;
6. Promote health and well-being by offering generous portions of vegetables, fruit, and whole grains;

Great article…

The Future of Climate Authoritarianism Is Now
Truthdig 3-20-19

It was the kind of headline one might encounter in the science fiction of Ursula K. Le Guin or Kim Stanley Robinson. Last month, citing a new study from the British science journal Nature, Quanta Magazine’s Natalie Wolchover explored the possibility of human-caused global warming forging a world without stratocumulus clouds by the end of the century. This would raise the temperature of the planet an additional 8 degrees Celsius (14.4 F)—double the increase for which we’re currently on pace.

Long informative article…

The Great American Cardboard Comeback
New York Times 3-22-19

The reason for the revival has to do with the millions of packages that Amazon and other online retailers ship around the world — specifically, the humble cardboard used to construct them. Over the past five years, e-commerce has fueled demand for billions more square feet of cardboard. … The policy change has disrupted residential recycling programs across the United States, forcing some communities to bury or burn materials they previously recycled. But for American paper companies that make new cardboard out of used boxes, China’s clampdown has been a boon.

Global Banks, Led by JPMorgan Chase, Invested $1.9 Trillion in Fossil Fuels Since Paris Climate Pact
Desmog 3-20-19

The top four banks that invested most heavily in fossil fuel projects are all based in the U.S., and include JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, and Bank of America. Royal Bank of Canada, Barclays in Europe, Japan’s MUFG, TD Bank, Scotiabank, and Mizuho make up the remainder of the top 10. … This year’s report card also dived deep into lending to shale oil and gas companies for the first time, finding that Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase “are the biggest bankers of fracking overall — and, in particular, they support key companies active in the Permian Basin, the epicenter of the climate-threatening global surge of oil and gas production.”

Great article, great pictures…

See Russia’s massive new gas plant on the Arctic coast
National Geographic 3-22-19

While most of the world is watching the rapidly melting Arctic with increasing alarm and placing the blame squarely on fossil fuels, Russia and its partners in France and China are seeing ruble signs. Billions of them, in fact, to be made selling Arctic fossil fuels to the rest of the world.

Following Monsanto, Exxon Could Be Next US Corporation to Face EU Lobby Ban: "Big Oil is the new Big Tobacco."
Common Dreams 3-22-19

The oil giant, one of the world's largest energy companies, was a no-show at a climate change denial hearing in Brussels Thursday, prompting the action. … In a statement, ExxonMobil said that it was unable to attend because of "ongoing climate change-related litigation in the U.S." … ExxonMobil spent over €35 million on lobbying efforts in the EU since 2010. If the vote goes against the energy giant, it would lose that right in the European Parliament.

This is a very thoughtful article…

‘We were ecologists before the capitalists’: the gilets jaunes and climate justice
Climate Home News 3-20-19

“The social and ecological emergencies are inseparable: the fight against the end of the world and the end of the month are the same. We will not be able to operate the ecological transition without an equitable wealth redistribution,” said Boulot, who has been a prominent figure in the gilets jaunes. “How can you impose another tax on people already rummaging the bins to feed themselves?”

China Is Building up to 20 Floating Nuclear Power Plants
Futurism 3-21-19

and officials confirmed that a prototype reactor is already being tested near the coastline of China’s Shandong province. …  China’s first fully-functional floating nuclear reactor should be seaworthy by 2021. ... Russia’s floating nuclear power plants are expected to head up to the Arctic Circle later this year. … China wants to use floating reactors to power the entirety of its artificial islands

Methane hydrate exploration is happening…

‘Flammable ice’: Russia to help China lead next global energy revolution
sghuffe 2-27-19

“The Chinese side is looking for methane emissions [in the South China Sea] and links them to the presence of [gas] reserves. They invited us to take part in the expedition dedicated to exploration of gas hydrates, which begins approximately in July,” … China, one of the world’s largest energy consumers, lacks its own natural gas reserves and thus has a huge interest in the mission, the scientist explained. Both countries have their own research vessels for expeditions, which can be carried off China’s south coast

An in depth explanation of methane hydrates…

Natural Gas Hydrates—Vast Resource, Uncertain Future
USGS

Gas hydrates are naturally occurring ice like solids in which water molecules trap gas molecules in a cage like structure known as a clathrate. Although many gases form hydrates in nature, methane hydrate is by far the most common; methane is the most abundant natural gas. The volume of carbon contained in methane hydrates worldwide is estimated to be twice the amount contained in all fossil fuels on Earth, including coal.

Delayed and Over Budget Fracked Gas Pipeline Faces 'Triple Threat,' New Briefing Warns Investors
Common Dreams 3-27-19

"The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is an environmental, climate, and human rights boondoggle." … "The risks and growing costs of this major methane gas pipeline project look increasingly unwise to ratepayers, regulators, and investors alike," warns the investor briefing (pdf). … The Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) would carry fracked gas 600 miles from Appalachian Basin in West Virginia through Virginia to North Carolina.

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This giant chunk of ice could break off Antarctica any day
National Geographic 3—15-19

The Brunt Ice Shelf is one of the most carefully monitored ice tongues in the world, because it’s the site of the Halley Research Station, … Chasm 1, has been in place for over 35 years (glaciologists call breaks in the ice sheet that extend all the way from surface to the ocean below “chasms,” while shallower faults are called “cracks” or “crevasses”). It remained relatively stable until 2012, when surveyors noticed that it starting to grow again

Well written and from the heart…

Can Phoenix Remain Habitable?
Sierra Club Magazine 1-2-19 h/t lotlizard

As it happened, a haboob hit Phoenix on the July afternoon that I arrived, the second one of the week and one of the largest in living memory. A mile-high column of brown dust swept into the city from the northeast and then dissolved into a sky-darkening haze when it collided with the hotter temperatures of the urban core. I'd gotten an alert on my phone warning me about hazardous driving conditions. A subsequent alert warned that the dust particles were a health hazard, so I should do my best not to breathe. Shortly after the haboob, a thundering monsoon drenched the city

This article has a short video, just right for kids…

What is nuclear energy and is it a viable resource?
National Geographic 3-26-19

About 450 nuclear reactors provide about 11 percent of the world's electricity. The countries generating the most nuclear power are, in order, the United States, France, China, Russia, and South Korea. … Dewan, for example, wants to resurrect the molten salt reactor, which uses liquid uranium as fuel, arguing it could be safer and less costly than reactors in use today. Others are working on small modular reactors that could be portable and easier to build.

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OIL
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This is real. No need to be surprised…

Leaked Audio Exposes Oil & Gas Execs Laughing With Joy Over Cozy Access to Trump Officials
Common Dreams 3-23-19

To a room full of laughter, IPAA's CEO Barry Russell in the recording described one meeting with Scott Pruitt, the president's EPA administrator at the time. What was expected to be a simple meet-and-greet, Russell explained, quickly became a friendly opportunity for the fellow industry insiders to provide Pruitt with a wish list for deregulation and agency rule changes.

Green Groups Call Out Big Banks for Pouring Billions Into Fossil Fuel Industry
Common Dreams 3-20-19

The call-out came in Banking on Climate Change (pdf), published Wednesday as the tenth annual fossil fuel report card from the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), BankTrack, Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International, Sierra Club, and Honor the Earth. … "This report is a red alert,"

UK oil & gas production up 20% since 2014
RT 3-23-19

Despite its notoriety as a legacy producing region, the UK’s continental shelf yielded 20 percent more oil and gas in the last five years after 14 consecutive years of production declines. … Exploration in the UK’s North Sea is definitely picking up and this year could see the drilling of up to 15 new wells

'They Have Lied for Decades': European Parliament Scrutinise Exxon's Climate Science Denial
Desmog 3-20-19

During the two-hour session, scientists, campaigners and a historian will examine the history of climate denial and in particular the misinformation spread by Exxon, with MEPs able to ask questions about the role and behaviour of the oil major. … “To my knowledge, this is the first major body of lawmakers, certainly at the national or international level, to hear on record expert testimony about the history of climate denial today,” says Geoffrey Supran, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard who has examined Exxon’s history of obfuscation on climate change, and who will testify at Thursday’s hearing.

Good breakdown of where the money has gone…

Oil Giants Invest $110 Billion In New Fossil Fuels After Spending $1 Billion On Green PR
Huffpost 3-21-19

The world’s five largest publicly traded oil companies are increasing their investments in oil and gas, putting a combined $110 billion in new fossil-fuel production. … Meanwhile, those firms are projected to spend just $3.6 billion on low-carbon investments, such as biofuels and renewables,

Chinese demand leads to huge jump in crude oil exports from B.C.
Vancouver Sun 3-24-19

"Last year you had a doubling of water-borne export to Asia," said Birn, adding the 62,000 barrels a day of crude exported from B.C. last year was still a small percentage of the four million barrels a day that Alberta exports daily, mostly to the U.S. … “The world is hunting for heavy barrels and Canada has them. It’s just about being able to access it. If they can get it to the Westridge terminal it will go. That’s why they want to twin it,” he said. … Plans to twin the pipeline stalled last year when then pipeline owner Kinder Morgan said it would not go ahead with plans due to a Federal Court ruling that stalled the project,

Southeast Europeans ignore EU rules with €2.4bn coal subsidies
Climate Home News 3-25-19

The European Union’s southeastern neighbours pay around €2.4bn ($2.72bn) a year in subsidies for coal-fired power – contradicting the EU rules they’re supposed to follow, … “Due to the subsidisation of coal, the Energy Community contracting parties are not prepared to follow the EU in its decarbonisation pathway,”

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WEATHER
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Western Arctic Warm Wave Is Smashing Early-Spring Records
Weather Underground 3-26-19

The result is a phenomenally strong and prolonged “warm wave” that’s vanquishing monthly temperature records across northwest Alaska. … At Utqiaġvik (Barrow), temperatures have hovered between 10°F and 30°F since Saturday. Similar readings are expected almost every day into next week. That may not sound like a balmy regime, but consider that the average high and low for March 25 are –5°F and –18°F. … In 99 years of recordkeeping at Utqiaġvik, no March has ever ended up with a mean temperature above zero.

Tropical storms likely to become more deadly as climate changes
Science Daily 3-20-19

Tropical storms are likely to become more deadly under climate change, leaving people in developing countries, where there may be a lack of resources or poor infrastructure, at increased risk, …"Most indications are that storms are more likely to become more deadly as the climate changes." … "Most indications are that storms are more likely to become more deadly as the climate changes."

‘Unprecedented’ US flood season will imperil 200m people, experts warn
The Guardian 3-22-19

The severe flooding in the American midwest is set to only be a prelude to “unprecedented” levels of flooding across the US in the coming months that will imperil 200 million people, federal government scientists have warned. … Scientists say climate change is responsible for more intense and more frequent extreme weather such as storms, floods, droughts and fires, but without extensive study they cannot directly link a single weather event to the changing climate.

Record high US temperatures outpace record lows two to one, study finds
The Guardian 3-19-19

Since 1999, the ratio has been two warm records set or broken for every cold one. In 16 of the last 20 years, there have been more daily high temperature records than low. … The AP counted daily records across 424 stations starting in 1920 and ending in 2018.

Climate change's fingerprints are on U.S. Midwest floods: scientists
Reuters 3-21-19

Climate change played a hand in the deadly floods in the U.S. upper Midwest that have damaged crops and drowned livestock, scientists said on Thursday … He said the bomb cyclone was carrying vast amounts of moisture from the Pacific up to 1,500 miles (2,400 km) away. … Donald Wuebbles, a professor of atmospheric sciences at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, agreed that climate change likely made the Midwest floods worse.

More flooding expected for devastated U.S. plains states
Deslmog 3-24-19

once these storms are fueled by ocean heat, warmer ocean conditions will influence their intensity and longevity. This may enable them to travel farther over ocean water at higher latitudes, and farther across the continent after they make landfall. … Climate change projections suggest the number of intense hurricanes will rise. Ocean warming will enable these storms to travel farther, and we may see greater hurricane impacts on coasts in the future. … We may also see more hurricanes reaching large inland lakes such as the Great Lakes, affecting major cities like Toronto and Chicago.

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ADAPTION AND RESILIENCE

Turn off a light, save a life, says new study
PHYS ORG 3-20-19

Their findings show that a 12 percent increase in summertime energy efficiency would reduce exposure to air pollution, specifically ozone and fine particulate matter. In short, cleaner air would save 475 human lives each year in the United States, worth an estimated $4 billion. … That savings translates to almost 5 cents per kilowatt hour of energy used.

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Jem Bendell on Psychological Adaption as Deep Adaption
[video:https://youtu.be/daRrbSl1yvY?t=422]
h/t mhagel
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Microgrid system saves tribe $200,000 a year
Yale Climate Connections 3-22-19

Blue Lake Rancheria has a 500-kilowatt solar array, paired with battery storage. … It’s a microgrid, feeding renewable energy to the local utility grid. But if regional power goes out, the system can independently power the tribe’s government offices, casino, hotel, and an emergency shelter.

Russia floats first law to regulate CO2 emissions
Climate Change News 3-22-19

Draft bill would give government powers to regulate CO2 and create carbon markets, but faces stiff opposition inside and outside Moscow administration

Warka Water Tower
Warka Water h/t randtntx

Warka Tower is designed to harvest potable water from the atmosphere (it collects rain, harvests fog and dew). It functions only by natural phenomena such us gravity, condensation & evaporation and doesn’t require electrical power. Warka Tower is designed to be owned and operated by the villagers, a key factor that will facilitate the success of the project. The tower not only provides a fundamental resource for life – water – but also creates a social place for the community, where people can gather under the shade of its canopy for education and public meetings.

Jellyfish Barge
Studiomobile h/t randtntx

Jellyfish Barge is a module for crop cultivation that doesn’t rely on soil, fresh water and chemical energy consumption. It is a floating agricultural greenhouse, able to purify salt, brackish or polluted water using solar energy. It is built with low-cost technologies and simple materials, also appropriate to the self-construction paradigm. It consists of a wooden base of about 70 square meters that floats on recycled plastic drums and supports a glass greenhouse for crop cultivation. Inside the greenhouse, a high-efficiency hydroponic cultivation method provides up to 70% of water savings compared to traditional hydroponic systems.

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WILDLIFE & THE ENVIRONMENT

Predicted deforestation in Brazil could lead to local temperature increase up to 1.45°C
Science Daily 3-20-19

A new model quantifies how forest change affects local surface temperatures by altering sunlight-reflection and evapotranspiration properties, and predicts that Brazilian deforestation could result in a 1.45°C increase by 2050, in a study published March 20, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Jayme A. Prevedello from the Rio de Janeiro State University, Brazil, and colleagues.

In battle with 'land mafia', Pakistan targets win for forests and climate
Reuters 3-21-19

Pakistan's prime minister has promised to plant 10 billion trees across the country over the next five years … Last month, Khan inaugurated the first nature reserve and wildlife park on such reclaimed land at Balloki Headworks on the River Ravi in Nankana Sahib district, about an hour's drive from the city of Lahore. … On Feb. 9, he planted the first of 652,500 saplings, mainly local species

Earth’s fish are disappearing
[video:https://youtu.be/nVFa7ctwkY0]
h/t lookout

Climate change affecting fish in Ontario lakes, study reveals
PHYS ORG 3-23-19

"As species are changing their behaviour, they are telling us about what's happening around them in their environment. We can use this information. The behavioural changes we see imply major reorganization of ecosystems." … The study also includes data from American researchers showing similar ecosystem "rewiring" in grasslands involving grasshoppers and predatory spiders moving down to cooler areas nearer the soil.

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PROTESTS • EXTINCTION REBELLION • RESISTANCE

[video https://youtu.be/HB5VO3UAO5U]
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Fridays For Future
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Great read…

My Kids Will Skip School This Friday. Here’s Why I'm Letting Them.
Sierra Club 3-1-19

The response from the grown-up world has varied. Some adults have trouble grasping that children—yes, children!—could drive a powerful global movement. In Belgium, the environmental minister was forced to resign after she falsely claimed to have received intelligence briefings that the youths on strike were backed by unnamed adult powers. 

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Greta Thunberg
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Extinction Rebellion
JOIN EX USA: on their website
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EX NEWSLETTERS & EVENTS: on their website

Letters to the Earth
A Cultural Response to the Climate and Ecological Emergency h/t lookout

This is an invitation to write a letter of response to this crisis. This could be a letter to or from the Earth, future or past generations, those who hold positions of power and influence, other species. The idea is open to interpretation: it can come from a personal place, be dramatic in form, be a call to action. The invitation is open to all - to think beyond the human narrative and to bear witness to the scale and horror of this crisis. This is an opportunity to ask how this existential threat affects the way we wish to live our lives and the action we take.

Extinction Rebellion: April 15 mass non-violent civil disobedience
Extinction Rebellion 3-20-19

International Rebellion Hosted By Extinction Rebellion Apr 15, 2019 @ 9:00

Our leaders have failed us. This twisted system is killing us. It has us headed for extinction.

It’s time to rebel. … On April 15th we are calling for a full-scale Rebellion to demand decisive action from governments on climate change and ecological collapse. … Join us as we engage in acts of non-violent civil disobedience against governments in capital cities around the world. This is not a one-off march - we will keep going for as long as we have to, shutting down cities day after day until our demands are met.

Independent XR groups, allies and protestors will take to the streets. A small number of brave Conscientious Protectors, activists from XR affinity groups prepared to lose their liberty for this cause, will commit acts of peaceful civil disobedience to disrupt the business-as-usual which is sending our species on a one-way track to extinction.

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CLIMATE STUDIES

Changes in ocean 'conveyor belt' foretold abrupt climate changes by four centuries
PHYS ORG 3-20-19

Recent evidence suggests that the AMOC began weakening again 150 years ago. However, current conditions are quite different from the last time around, says Muschitiello; the global thermostat was much lower back then, winter sea ice stretched farther south than New York Harbor, and the ocean structure would have been much different. In addition, the past weakening of the AMOC was much more dramatic than today's trend so far.

Cold water currently slowing fastest Greenland glacier
Science Daily 3-26-19

NASA research shows that Jakobshavn Glacier, which has been Greenland's fastest-flowing and fastest-thinning glacier for the last 20 years, has made an unexpected about-face. The glacier is still adding to global sea level rise, but at a slower rate. … The team suspects that both the widespread Atlantic cooling and the dramatic cooling of the waters that reached the glacier were driven by the shift in the NAO. If so, the cooling is temporary and warm waters will return when the NAO shifts to a warm phase once again.

Fascinating…

Tall ice-cliffs may trigger big calving events—and fast sea-level rise
PHYS ORG 3-24-19

A slump occurs when mass of rock or sediment loses some of its strength, breaks away from its neighboring land, and slides down a slope. … With slumping, the calving occurs without waiting for the melt. "We'll go slump... basal crevasse... boom," he says, noting that when the calving happens it will take the 100 meters of ice above the water—and the 900 meters below the water—very quickly. … And 1000 meters of ice calving at once isn't the limit. Alley says that in some places in Antarctica, the glacial ice bed can be 1500 to 2000 meters below sea level,

Ocean degradation accelerated by global warming
World Socialist Web Site 3-19-19

Several recently released studies have documented the accelerating changes to Earth’s oceans as a result of climate change, including a reduction in the oxygen content, which is threatening vast swaths of marine life. … This, the scientists note, “is the most pressing issue facing sea animals today.” They specifically compare it to ocean acidification, the increase in ocean water acidity caused by global warming. … The more important cause of oxygen depletion, however, is the ongoing warming of the world’s oceans. Warm water is unable to hold as much dissolved gas.

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

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

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Steven D's picture

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

magiamma's picture

@Steven D
and good morning.

that was the point, though, to put a face on it. right? it is terrifying. and it will get worse. I have been doing this for ~6. months and after each week I realize how bad it is and then think well, maybe there is hope. the stark truth is, yes, there may be hope, but there will also be a lot of suffering as well because it's not going to get better. in fact, the news each week just points to 'it' getting worse much faster than anyone thought it would.

the climate is being disrupted by the warming in the Arctic. period. punct. the jet stream is disorganized and stalling and...

thanks so much for stopping by. good to see you. have a good one.

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Steven D's picture

@magiamma I know how bad things are, but usually I only see one story at a time. The cumulative effect is astounding.

Humans are headed for extinction if we do not quickly change our societies to preference renewable energy and other good environmental practices over our current pattern of kicking the can down the road. You keep doing that and sooner rather than later you run out of road and fall off a cliff.

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

magiamma's picture

@Steven D
sigh...

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lotlizard's picture


https://xkcd.com/1338/

Data from Vaclav Smil’s Earth’s Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change, plus a few other sources.
— Randall Munroe (cartoonist)

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magiamma's picture

@lotlizard
a picture is worth a thousand words. so much information. I wonder how the proportions have changed over time. and what the ratio of the different livestock and pets are. May be a good case for less cattle. thanks. food for thought.

have a good one...

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Steven D's picture

@magiamma and pork while you're at it.

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

How can govts and corps continue to ignore world climate destruction I wonder. Perhaps it is money related?

Link to oil money influencing congress from Open Secrets --

https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=E01&link

Top Recipients, 2017-2018
Candidate Office Amount
Cruz, Ted (R-TX) Senate $633,911
O'Rourke, Beto (D-TX) House $476,325
Barrasso, John A (R-WY) Senate $423,650
Cramer, Kevin (R-ND) House $417,646
McCarthy, Kevin (R-CA) House $405,850

Thanks for your work magi.

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magiamma's picture

@QMS
@QMS
yes, just wow...

this in just last night from WaPo

In blow to climate, coal plants emitted more than ever in 2018

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/03/26/blow-clima...

“We are headed for disaster, and nobody seems to be able to slow things down,” a Stanford University professor said.

Global energy experts released grim findings Monday, saying that not only are planet-warming carbon-dioxide emissions still increasing, but the world’s growing thirst for energy has led to higher emissions from coal-fired power plants than ever before.

Energy demand around the world grew by 2.3 percent over the past year, marking the most rapid increase in a decade, according to the report from the International Energy Agency. To meet that demand, largely fueled by a booming economy, countries turned to an array of sources, including renewables.

But nothing filled the void quite like fossil fuels, which satisfied nearly 70 percent of the skyrocketing electricity demand, according to the agency, which analyzes energy trends on behalf of 30 member countries, including the United States.

In particular, a fleet of relatively young coal plants located in Asia, with decades to go on their lifetimes, led the way toward a record for emissions from coal fired power plants — exceeding 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide “for the first time,” the agency said. In Asia, “average plants are only 12 years old, decades younger than their average economic lifetime of around 40 years,” the agency found.

As a result, greenhouse-gas emissions from the use of energy — by far their largest source — surged in 2018, reaching an record high of 33.1 billion tons. Emissions showed 1.7 percent growth, well above the average since 2010. The growth in global emissions in 2018 alone was “equivalent to the total emissions from international aviation,” the body found.

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and the increasing frequency of severe unusual weather patterns will throw an additional monkey wrench into our already long list of difficulties. Difficult does not convey what is happening to people who are experiencing these severe weather events. Devastation is a more accurate description. "We don't have anything" says Josef Marius Jafate, from Mozambique. The examples that you cite above are heartbreaking but I fear this is the new normal.
Many people who have not experienced these events are living in a bubble. They have no clue what is coming down the pike. I think telling these stories about what is happening to other people all over the world is essential in helping others understand what is going on. I don't pay much attention to the MSM but from my impressions of what other people are concerned about, I don't think this message is getting across.

Every community needs to prepare for a disaster. I am an amateur but it does not seem to me that we are preparing. Just last week Houston had a horrible benzene leak. From what I read, the response was not adequate or acceptable. In reading further I got the impression that the city does not have a plan in place when it gets hit by a hurricane or whatever. That city is one giant chemical containment center. I can't even imagine the horrific amount of poison that would flood everywhere.

I also don't know how my community plans to deal with an emergency like this. That is something that I should know.
Thanks for the awesome compilation of news. I now have 2 new goals: to find out what my community is doing and to tell a story or two from your list, to people I care about.
I enjoyed the music, especially the last piece. Best to you.

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magiamma's picture

@randtntx @randtntx
thanks. yes, I think 'painting a picture' of the devastation is most important. facts and figures are not moving people, not hitting them in their hearts. that is what I am sensing. the people who have not been touched yet by the devastation need to hear these stories, as you say.

Our climate group here is working ON city council and the county supervisors to act now. they have both passed a climate emergency resolution written by the SC Climate Action Network. Now this amazing group is pushing them to take climate into consideration for each item on the agenda and in the budget. this is the website. Pauline is a retired physicist and works tirelessly. amazing woman. I love these people! https://scruzclimate.org/

if you want I am sure she would talk to you. pm me and I will get you together with her. peruse her website first.

thanks for your commitment. the best to you too. yes, that last piece of music was lovely.

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@magiamma for that link and the encouragement to pursue that issue. I appreciate that so much. I did briefly check out the link this evening and ended up listening to the Drawdown lecture which I found really interesting.
Early next week I will have some time to delve into this more thoroughly and I'll let you know how it goes. TY again.

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Lookout's picture

The young folks are doing their best to create the needed change.

The Senate rejected the GND proposal in what Democrats called a “sham vote,” but 18-year-old Jeremy Ornstein of the Sunrise Movement says that won’t stop the movement for climate action.
https://therealnews.com/stories/green-new-deal-voted-down-by-senate-but-...

Old folks are simply trying to generate more profit. Here's a good example:
The gas industry and its allies in Congress hope to push LNG exports to Puerto Rico’s electricity grid, ravaged from climate change-fueled natural disaster.
https://therealnews.com/stories/puerto-rico-faces-a-flood-of-fracked-gas...

Other examples from your essay include the tar sand oil sales by Canada to
China, Russia's arctic production, China's quest for methane.

We have to stop, but like a meth addict we won't.

Thanks for the climate update MA! Your top link doesn't work, but it does later in your Adaption section.

Edit to add:
https://therealnews.com/rethinking-approaches-to-climate-change (text only)

Rapidly phase out oil, gas, and coal extraction and stop subsidizing fossil fuels
Develop a massive program of public investment in solar, wind, thermal energy
Initiate a massive green housing program focused on energy-efficient social housing for low-income residents, and retrofit existing buildings with electric heat pumps, efficient appliances, and added insulation
Fund public transportation, including urban, rural, and intercity options; construct a pan-Canadian network of electrified passenger and freight trains
Employ people to clean up abandoned wells, tailings lakes, and mining waste to prepare land for return to Indigenous peoples
Break with agribusiness, promote ecological agriculture and work with farmers to reduce agricultural emissions
End production of useless and dangerous things (start with weapons!)
Localize production to the maximum, fight planned obsolescence
Redistribute wealth, refinance the public education and care sectors
Develop new ecologically sound industries to employ workers displaced by suppression of non-renewable resource exploitation – while maintaining incomes and social benefits.

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

@Lookout
use the sun/wind/tides to power the world.

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@Lookout
(fixed the link - thanks)

thanks, as always, for all the links. the first link is excellent.

The young man, an 18 yo, speaks more coherently and to the point than many adults. I found that listening to the republican law makers spout inanities about the "climate crisis" very frustrating.

The very least we can do is do what the House did, and set up a select committee on climate change. Bipartisan. The committee could be partners with the House committee. And we might actually get something done, not sham votes that everyone knows are a joke. A political joke.

this by Chuck Schumer.

their new meme: "not sham votes that everyone knows are a joke"

setting up a select committee on climate change is just a way to stall/ block real legislation via the green new deal. politics as usual. same as it always was.

the republican law makers are actually now, finally, at last, saying 'out loud" that climate change is real. (they have no choice) but their actual strategy is to stall and offer sham legislation and stupid memes.

I am posting the video here again for folks. thanks for the link.
well worth watching...
[video:https://youtu.be/ZTvol6x5x7A]

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Anja Geitz's picture

What could go wrong? BILLIONS of dollars STILL being invested in fossil fuels? Common sense and all indicating signs would tell us to invest in alternatives but I guess monstrous greed doesn't work that way. Shamefully tragic. I can't even put into words the anger and disgust I feel towards those who casually put humanity in danger for their own selfish gains.

Appreciate the work you do here. I see you put in a lot of effort in culling all this information. Very difficult to read though. Perhaps next time, it might be easier if I read it on my lunch hour at work where I can share the news with others instead of starting my day off with the insanity of mankind.

Sigh.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

magiamma's picture

@Anja Geitz
yes, what could go wrong. well said, and if it were not so sad, funny. still, the way you put it brought a smile to my face. thanks for that. sharing it at lunch sounds like a good strategy and taking it in small bits. there is a lot of information here. lol. no one should absorb it all at once unless they are obsessed, like myself. it is my way of staying sane. odd, but it works.

have a great day...

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@magiamma

Will take it in small bits. It's difficult though, because I don't know what concerns me the most. Or what will trigger my anxiety. Information about our oceans bothers me A LOT. Poisoning and depleting our potable water terrifies me. I feel as if they might as well hand out those pills they give astronauts so when the end comes we can "opt out" and not suffer what will befall humanity if we can't fix this before it all collapses on us.

Sorry for the bleak image. I need time to get used to reading this.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

magiamma's picture

@Anja Geitz @Anja Geitz
that you and we are all going through... Bendell addresses exactly this in his video above in the adaption section. he has done tons of research and speaks compassionately. it is real what you/we are feeling. be well and take good care

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conditioned encouraged me to save many pennies lives.

Every single time he came upon an empty room that was lit, he'd bellow "What am I? Obliged to support the electric company?" or "What am I? Sitting atop a bank?"

And the bellowing ability of the men in his family was the stuff of local legend.

What was considered cheap thrifty in my childhood, is now considered fashionably/ecologically sound.

Anyway, it worked. If I am the last person to leave a room, I automatically turn out the light(s).

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@HenryAWallace
funny that, how being cheap is now fashionable. I was so glad to see that. I hope that this idea migrates to city management strategies. Lyon France, boy howdy. they pride themselves on all their lights. What about Las Vegas. Reno. Dubai.

lyon lighted.jpg

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@magiamma

things like rubber bands, pencils, paper clips, etc. He'd amass piles of each of them, all of which he kept very neatly. Today, this would also place this shamefully paid factory worker among the ecologically conscious. It's all about respecting that which is difficult to come by, whether because you must work very hard to earn the money to pay for it or because the plutonomy cares not for edible food, potable water or non-toxic air.

OT: Now that I think of it, he was both shop steward and running the shop so well that the owner rarely made a guest appearance. While in kindergarten, I spent every afternoon playing quietly in "my" little corner of the factory in which my father worked, which was my equivalent of day care. (My mom worked in a different and larger factory, but her employer was present every day.)

I never once saw my father's employer, though. I'm sure being shop steward and de facto manager had to have been a massive conflict of interest, though probably not in my father's mind. AFAIK, he never cheated anyone, whether a boss or a fellow union member.

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@HenryAWallace
and string too. I was told this was because of the depression and that people did not have much. Left a big impression on me. I also remember my sculpture prof picking up bits of metal off the street. and we would use them in bronze melts if they were copper or brass. and while I am remembering, I also remember being in Berlin the year that the first babies were born that would never know about the wall. that was talked about a lot by folks. I heard lots of stories about the wall and about going to east Germany. different world we live in in so many ways.

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detroitmechworks's picture

because I'm really enjoying the throws that use them, so as a result, I have to build up those muscles. So, I found a unique way to do it. I try to go for a walk every day, and every time I see a piece of trash...

Single leg squat, pick it up, keep walking. I end up doing about fifty or so on each walk. Feels good, and when I get home, I just drop what I picked up in the bin. I'm amazed how many funny looks I get.

Yes, I'm doing this for COMPLETELY selfish reasons. I need to work on my legs, and it's a good target to aim for. To get something off the ground I have to do the full bend, no cheating. The thing I really hate is the cigarette butts. Seriously smokers, I've been bitching about this since the Army, and I'll continue to bitch about it. Every smoker who tells me that they don't drop their butts on the ground I just assume is a liar these days, because EVERY smoker says that.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHEgCbC7NsY]

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magiamma's picture

@detroitmechworks @detroitmechworks
good on you. integrate. I do that too. always put my pants and socks on standing on one leg. funny how it helps balance. other stuff too.

the thing about cigarette butts is that birds use them in their nests and the babies eat the fiberglas in the filters. and die. learned this when I was on the cleanup/recycle crew for the Oregon County Fair, many years ago now. we returned the land to its pristine self and left not a trace. except for trampled grass.

have a good one...

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@magiamma When the shoulder heals better I'll work on my Zenpo Kaiten on my right side, but as long as there's grass I can it on my left side fairly well. (4 more weeks... till full recovery, but doctor wants me moving the arm till I feel a bit of stress, as often as possible in safe manners.)

I really, really hate cigarettes these days. Just annoying to me, ya know? As a pot smoker, I get even more annoyed when I find a "Blunt" or a half smoked joint soaked with water. Don't waste POT man...

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@detroitmechworks
pot. good idea. I am allergic to cigarette smoke. so I hates them. Smile have to be careful. people in CA have to smoke outside and ~10 feet from any entrance, maybe more. walking down a busy sidewalk can be problematic. They used to have smoking rooms in the airport. gone now. but someone just told me they have yoga room at SFO.

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@detroitmechworks

disposable gloves or, more appropriately for this thread, washable-in-hot-water gloves and leave sharp things, like hypodermic needles, for someone else to handle. (My selfish reason is that I don't want you to be too sick to post.)

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@HenryAWallace I got so used to doing police calls without gloves I didn't even think of it. Need to invest in some.

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smiley7's picture

losing so much when we are still discovering creatures like this:

New staple-size frog is one of the tiniest ever discovered
“Astronomically small,” the newly discovered Malagasy amphibians have brains that could sit on a pin. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/03/smallest-frog-species...

Great work, as usual, and appreciated.

Lovely music, too; have a good one.

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@smiley7
that is one little tiny frog. it's so sweet. happy news. thanks so much.

have a good one...

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

part, the topic of climate change is above my pay grade--except, perhaps, for some of the anecdotal illustrations that you've given. Especially, the flooding in the Midwest that you wrote about. Mr M and I split our time between the Mid-and the Deep South. This past winter, at one location, we experienced the rainiest weather (flood conditions for better part of two months) that we recall; at the other, the warmest winter in recent memory. Anyhoo, for someone who (at one time) actually looked forward to winter, I'll now dread it, especially, the month of February--based on the severe flooding we experienced in both 2018 and 2019.

Hey, thanks for your hard work, and dedication to this issue, Magiamma. Don't really know enough (about this topic) to comment, but, read and rec your essays. Also, it's very consoling to know that you and others are steadfastly raising awareness and advocating for solutions to the massive problems we're facing. Something's got to give, and soon.

Help

Bye Blue Onyx

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

Dem Budget Committee Chair Yarmuth, December 13, 2018, "Newsmakers" -
"Ultimately, we are going to have to 'deal with' programs like Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security, and, ah, it's one of those things that's going to have to be done on a bipartisan basis, because "nobody wants to walk the plank on those."

Bad

Beware! Yarmuth wants to strike a so-called "Grand Bargain" with Republicans. See C-Span video, above.

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magiamma's picture

@Unabashed Liberal
good to see you. always. yes, the weather is shifting. and no you don't have to be an expert or even, wait for it... on topic. it's an ot. so please be welcome with any ol' thing. love to hear your thoughts. I so appreciate all that you do. in fact, depend on it. sorry to hear about the floods. seems like it's the new normal. keep saying that and it keeps being that, only the newer normal. lol. thanks for popping in. have a good one...

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@magiamma

awkward to participate in a thread, and not be able to address the topic at hand (in a half-way intelligent manner). So, I very much appreciate that you understand, and it doesn't bother you.

Look forward to dropping by with a Medicare or Medigap graphic--or, maybe a dog photo.

Biggrin

Have a good one!

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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mhagle's picture

In the next couple of days it is supposed to get down to 35. Ah . . . will need to watch and maybe run out in the middle of the night with a bunch of sheets.

Thanks for the OT! Lots of good info here. Smile

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo