Climate Emergency
On the injustice of flying:
Just one flight can emit as much CO2 equivalent emissions as many people do in a year. While one return flight from Paris to New York accounts for a climate impact equivalent to 3.2 tonnes of CO2, an average person in Uganda emits just 1.1 tonnes greenhouse gasses.
If the wealthiest 10% continue living as they have they should own up to the their crime against the future as well as their contribution to climate injustice today. Don’t just point fingers at the top 1%. Own your contribution to the problem.
A record-breaking heat wave is entering its third week in Texas, as temperatures reach triple digits in the broader US south and tens of thousands of people in affected states are without power and lack air conditioning. … Texas cities have reached an unprecedented heat index – which combines temperature and humidity. Corpus Christi has hit 125F (51C), while Rio Grande Village notched 118F (47C) and Del Rio marked 115F (46C).
But hey, let’s keep flying, driving, consuming and pretending there’s nothing we can do about it. We’re special and exempt from any responsibilty.
Based on these findings, the authors warn that more than a fifth of ecosystems worldwide, including the Amazon rainforest, are at risk of a catastrophic breakdown within a human lifetime.
“It could happen very soon,” said Prof Simon Willcock of Rothamsted Research, who co-led the study. “We could realistically be the last generation to see the Amazon.”
Ecological tipping points could occur much sooner than expected, study finds | The Guardian
Fossil fuel developers typically pay far lower fees for using public lands than their wind and solar counterparts. For example, before production fees kicked in, as of 2021 oil and gas paid $1.50 to $2 per acre in rental fees each year — although the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act increased some of those rates. But for wind and solar, the BLM currently calculates rental fees according to market-rate land values, which can run up to tens of thousands of dollars per acre.
File this under better late than never?
The feds move to speed up development of wind and solar on public land | Grist
Well, this is COMPLETE BULLSHIT.
Catch-22: Scientific communication failures linked to faster-rising seas | The Hill
Scientists failed for decades to communicate the coming risks of rapid sea-level rise to policymakers and the public, a new study has found.
Feeling a lot of rage as a reaction to this. It’s the media who have utterly failed on this. Over and over. From what I’ve read scientists have bent over backwards trying to communicate. Corporate media turned away for decades and only recently have they begun to do their job.
Some global perspective on income and climate:
The enormity of climate-change inequality has been laid bare by new research showing that the richest 1% of the world’s population produces 175 times as much CO2 per person as the bottom 10%.
The richest tenth of the world’s population produce half the CO2 emissions, while the poorest half generate just 10% of them.
You might read that and be inclined to ridicule that top 10%. But if you’re reading this chances are that you’re actually in the top 5%.
Richest 10% produce half the world’s CO2 emissions | The Independent
On Wednesday June 14, the surface of the North Atlantic Ocean reached an average temperature of 73 degrees Fahrenheit.
The average for this time of year, over the past three decades, is 71 degrees Fahrenheit. That two-degree difference reflects a gargantuan amount of extra energy stored in the ocean. The Atlantic has been riding a wave of extreme heat since last year.
“Scientists have been warning us about this for years. Everybody should be working on reducing fossil fuel emissions. That’s the critical thing: these fires are telling us something.”
My observation: People pretend to care on a superficial level but refuse to make any effort. If there isn’t a magic wand solution waved by someone in a government or corporate office, they don’t want to be bothered. No inconvenience will be tolerated or lifestyle change made.
Our beautiful planet will be a hellscape.
Exhausted crews battle Canadian wildfires as experts issue climate warning | The Guardian
Climate change is remapping where humans can exist on the planet. As optimum conditions shift away from the equator and toward the poles, more than 600 million people have already been stranded outside of a crucial environmental niche that scientists say best supports life.
In other words, 3 to 6 billion people, half of humanity, will be trapped outside of the liveable zone, facing extreme heat, starvation and death. This is to say nothing of the continued mass extinciton of other species.
Climate Crisis Has Stranded 600 Million Outside Most Livable Environment — ProPublica
Tens of millions of people in the US were under air quality alerts on Wednesday, as smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted south, turning the sky a murky brown and saturating the air with harmful pollution. Hundreds of fires are burning in Canada, from the western provinces to Nova Scotia and Quebec in the east
Canadian wildfires smoke engulfs north-east – in pictures | The Guardian
Spring has only just begun to transition to summer in the Northern Hemisphere, but some of the season’s most odious and dangerous extreme weather is already running rampant.
Prolonged and punishing heat waves in Asia have sent temperatures soaring to 100 degrees as far north as Siberia and above 110 degrees in Thailand and Vietnam, breaking records.
Wildfires are raging in Canada, which has never seen so much land burn so early in the year. They come after a record-warm May.
Extreme heat, wildfires wreaking havoc with hottest months still ahead - The Washington Post
Carl Sagan testified to Congress in 1985 about the danger of global warming and advocated for a transition away from fossil fuels. A beautiful new video animates wildlife automata using his warning of climate disasters: “Carl Sagan’s Message.”
“We’re doing something immensely stupid…The abundance of greenhouse gases is increasing. One degree of temperature change is enough to produce widespread suffering and famine worldwide.” Unfortunately in 2023, the planet has already surpassed one degree, and we now face the immense task of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celcius.
Source: Colossal
El Niño is the warm phase of the Pacific Ocean’s temperature cycle, and this year’s El Niño is poised to be a big one, sending shock waves into weather patterns around the world.
“A warming El Niño is expected to develop in the coming months and this will combine with human-induced climate change to push global temperatures into uncharted territory,” said Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization.
As the world warms, extremely hot days are becoming more frequent and intense, reaching unprecedented temperatures associated with excess mortality.
All selected locations may see 1–2 additional months with excess thermal deaths by 2100, which stresses the need for effective adaptation planning.
Scientists are “watching with bated breath” to see if ice will return to normal levels. The planetary consequences could be huge.
But sea ice plays a critical role in protecting Antarctica’s colossal ice shelves from deteriorating, and those could dramatically raise ocean levels if they break apart. If it totally melts, the Thwaites Glacier, aka the Doomsday Glacier, could add 10 feet to sea levels.
Antarctic Sea Ice Is at Record Lows. Is It an Alarming Shift? | WIRED
Global heating will drive billions of people out of the “climate niche” in which humanity has flourished for millennia, a study has estimated, exposing them to unprecedented temperatures and extreme weather.
The world is on track for 2.7C of heating with current action plans and this would mean 2 billion people experiencing average annual temperatures above 29C by 2030, a level at which very few communities have lived in the past.
Global heating will push billions outside ‘human climate niche’ | The Guardian
Excellent interview with Peter Knapp from Extinction Rebellion.
‘Is Environmentalism Bad for your Mental Health’ | GB News | 21 April 2023 - YouTube
As climate change continues warming the planet, a new and invisible killer is emerging: extreme wet bulb temperatures. This refers to a potentially lethal combination of heat and humidity that, until now, have appeared somewhat infrequently around the world. But models predict that they are likely to become an increasingly big problem in the coming years.
This will be increasingly important to understand and consider.
Too HOT and HUMID to Live: Extreme Wet Bulb Events Are on the Rise
The futility of words on a screen
Another shooting followed by frustration and anger being written on keyboards, displayed on screens.
We must show our outrage.
But give it a day or two. That’s right. Take a deep breath. Go ahead, treat yourself to that episode of Ted Lasso. Mmmm, feel better?
Settle back in. Sure you’re still angry and frustrated but just save that for the next shooting. Your next post will be even more expressive of your severe disapproval. Get to bed, you’ve got work tomorrow.
It’s going to be okay. Surely with so many people in agreement, THIS time will be different. We can rest easy knowing that THIS time lawmakers will have a moment and fix this problem.
You’ve shared you post and even a few links. You’ve done your part. Nothing else you can do but wait.
Just wait, they’ll fix this.
Whether the problem is gun violence, the climate emergency, denial of healthcare and access to abortion, attacks on the LGBT community or any of the other crises we are facing, the majority of citizens in the US refuse to leave their homes to protest or strike. We’ll go out to shop, watch a ball game, work or any number of things. But most still refuse protest.
If you’re angry and frustrated with things as they are ask yourself, with the evidence of dysfunctional government in front of you, really, how much do you care? What would it take for you to help organize or, at the very least, join, repeatedly, in organized protests for social change?
Record ocean temperatures put Earth in ‘uncharted territory’, say scientists
Citizen: If only the government would do something.
Other citizen: It’s corrupted, partisan, broken. It won’t.
Citizen: It should.
Other citizen: But it won’t because it’s bought by lobbyists. It’s broken.
Citizen: But it should do something.
Other citizen: It won’t.
Citizen: I’m bored?
Other citizen: 🍔🍟🎟️🎢🏖️🍻🏈⛳️🌉?
Citizen: 👍🏽!
Citizens: 🚙🍔🍟🚙🎟️🚙🎢✈️🏖️🚙🍻🚙🏈🚙⛳️🛫🌉!!
🌏: 🔥🐨🔥🌲🔥🐸🔥🌳🔥🐝🔥🦋🔥🐋🔥🐠🔥🦭🔥🐘🔥🦦🔥🦥🔥
🤷🏻🤷🏼♀️