Climate Change / Global Warming Discussion

[nwdiver]

David Koch, who funded climate change denial organizations around the world, is dead.

'I've never killed a man but I've read some obituaries with great satisfaction' - Clarance Darrow

 

[S'toon]

Scientists believe heat stress killed thousands of salmon in an Alaskan river last month.

From July 7 to 11, communities along the Koyukuk River experienced sustained air temperatures of over 30 C, well above the seasonal average highs of less than 20 C.

Shortly after the heat wave, locals began reporting an unusual number of dead chum salmon washing up on the banks of the river.

Lisa Bifelt is Athabascan and lives in the village of Huslia in interior Alaska, almost 600 kilometres northwest of Anchorage on the Koyukuk River. She grew up on the land and relies on subsistence hunting to support her family.

"You'd see dead fish now and then, but I don't ever remember seeing this many," she said.

<snip>


"All of them had the eggs still perfectly in the sack, not even loose or anything."

Finding salmon dead before they have spawned is unusual.


<snip>


The die-off appeared to only affect chum salmon, not other fish species, which raised concern and confusion among local communities.

Peter Westley, an assistant professor of fisheries at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said migrating fish face different challenges than local fish, and species have different levels of heat tolerance.

He also said people shouldn't be surprised if it happens again.


The circumpolar world, including Alaska, is on the forefront of climate change, Westley said, and "all predictions are that events like this are going to become more frequent and more severe."

"We need to be ready to respond on the ground when this happens again in the future," he said. "And it will happen again."

Full article at:
Heat stress that killed thousands of salmon in Alaska is a sign of things to come, scientist warns

 

[mspohr]

David Wallace-Wells: ‘There are many cases of climate hypocrisy’

David Wallace-Wells: ‘There are many cases of climate hypocrisy’

At what point should panic set in? It’s plausible there’ll be four degrees of warming by the end of the century, which would mean mass migration from areas such as the Middle East and Asia to newly temperate areas such as Siberia and Greenland. That’s not a very smooth transition for human civilisation.
It seems hard to imagine. Yet we’re already seeing some fair amount of panic. The significant amount of human migration we’re seeing in the US coming from Central America, for example.

I am personally horrified by the way our politics are beginning to adjust to them. We need to be much more open-hearted and attentive to the suffering of those around the world rather than closed off and hard-hearted, which is how almost all of the countries of the west have been over the last decade to refugees.

We’re also seeing panic in the protest movements, which are essentially declarations that existing power structures and priorities are simply not sufficient to address this crisis in the terms that it demands.

 

[SR22pilot]

There are plenty of scientists that do not believe that all the warming we are experiencing is only a result of increasing CO2.

Maybe, but they agree MOST of it is. Show me the PLENTY who disagree with AGW. I do expect them to be respectable scientists who are actively publishing in referred journals. They must be publishing on climate science or meteorology. Publishing on astrophysics or mechanical engineering doesn't count.

The fact is that the scientists actively working in the field agree AGW is a major problem. The consensus is right up there with physicists who agree with Einstein's equations of general relativity.

 

[mspohr]

Ban petrol and diesel cars from Scottish cities, says coalition

Ban petrol and diesel cars from Scottish cities, says coalition

A coalition of climate campaigners and business groups have called for a ban on all petrol and diesel vehicles in Scottish cities as part of a multibillion-pound strategy to cut carbon emissions.

• A ban on petrol and diesel-powered cars in all city centres by 2030

• Establishing four green, low-carbon city investment deals

• A £100m fund to decarbonise farming

• Regional land use plans to maximise the countryside’s role in cutting CO2 emissions

• A public information campaign to promote climate-friendly, lower meat and dairy diets

 

[ohmman]

Ban petrol and diesel cars from Scottish cities, says coalition

Ban petrol and diesel cars from Scottish cities, says coalition

A coalition of climate campaigners and business groups have called for a ban on all petrol and diesel vehicles in Scottish cities as part of a multibillion-pound strategy to cut carbon emissions.

• A ban on petrol and diesel-powered cars in all city centres by 2030

• Establishing four green, low-carbon city investment deals

• A £100m fund to decarbonise farming

• Regional land use plans to maximise the countryside’s role in cutting CO2 emissions

• A public information campaign to promote climate-friendly, lower meat and dairy diets

The Scottish take climate change and action seriously. It's possible that it's related to their significantly lower levels of religiosity when compared to the United States.

 

[ZsoZso]

One of the negative impacts of climate change that we already suffer from is the increased frequency and severity of Hurricanes. But, don't you worry, Trump has us covered with a brilliant solution -- let's nuke 'em:

Trump Reportedly Discussed Nuking Hurricanes Headed To The United States

(where is the facepalm emoji?)

 

[SmartElectric]

Trump has us covered with a brilliant solution -- let's nuke 'em:

Save the nukes for Mars.

Had to be said...

 

[mspohr]

Trump's personal crusade to destroy the environment
E.P.A. to Roll Back Regulations on Methane, a Potent Greenhouse Gas E.P.A. to Roll Back Regulations on Methane, a Potent Greenhouse Gas

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is set to announce on Thursday that it intends to sharply curtail the regulation of methane emissions, a major contributor to climate change, according to an industry official with knowledge of the plan.

The Environmental Protection Agency, in a proposed rule, will aim to eliminate federal government requirements that the oil and gas industry put in place technology to inspect for and repair methane leaks from wells, pipelines and storage facilities.

 

[JRP3]

It's Fox, so be warned, but: Chuck DeVore: 'Green New Deal' preview? Texas town's lofty environmentalism leaves residents with a nightmare

 

[winfield100]

It's Fox, so be warned, but: Chuck DeVore: 'Green New Deal' preview? Texas town's lofty environmentalism leaves residents with a nightmare

Would be nice to see actual numbers. The commenters and author don’t give numbers, just scare tactics

 

[mspohr]

Would be nice to see actual numbers. The commenters and author don’t give numbers, just scare tactics

What do you expect from "Faux News"?

 

[nwdiver]

Would be nice to see actual numbers. The commenters and author don’t give numbers, just scare tactics

Looks like they simply overbought capacity and now they're selling surplus into the market at a loss. The lesson is to right size your solar and wind if your primary goal is getting the lowest $/kWh. Although it would be interesting to see if they made up some of their losses selling into ERCOT a couple weeks ago.

 

[JRP3]

 

[JRP3]

Los Angeles has been sitting on a contract for record-cheap solar power for more than a month — and city officials declined to approve it Tuesday because of concerns raised by the city-run utility’s labor union, which is still fuming over Mayor Eric Garcetti’s decision to shut down three gas-fired power plants.

Los Angeles has lined up record-cheap solar power. But there's a problem

 

[SageBrush]

hurricane ..

Fingers crossed.

 

[Merrill]

Unfortunately you have unions that control some of the work force and in my experience most of those workers have no work ethic. The experience that I have had working as a manager in a union shop has been less than stellar. Some workers use the union as a way to keep their job when in a non union environment they would have been fired. Sad to see this happening, why could you not be retrained to work in the green energy business.

 

[S'toon]

Unfortunately you have unions that control some of the work force and in my experience most of those workers have no work ethic. The experience that I have had working as a manager in a union shop has been less than stellar. Some workers use the union as a way to keep their job when in a non union environment they would have been fired. Sad to see this happening, why could you not be retrained to work in the green energy business.

Ah yes. The ol' "unions protect the lazy and incompetent" myth. Fact. There is no union agreement in the world that protects the lazy and incompetent.

What unions do is make sure employees can only be fired for just cause, not because say there's a personality clash between a boss and an employee.

I've worked in non-union workplaces where yes, there were lazy and incompetent people.

 

[mspohr]

Rigorous study shows incredible health benefits from renewables.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab31d9

Health co-benefits of sub-national renewable energy policy in the US - The following is an incredibly in depth study on the extent to which sub-national renewable energy policies can improve air quality, basically what your state’s RPS does for your lungs. “We estimate that existing RPSs in the 'Rust Belt' region generate a health co-benefit of $94 per ton CO2 reduced ($2-477/tCO2) in 2030, or 8¢ for each kWh of renewable energy deployed (0.2–40¢ kWh−1) in 2015 dollars.” If you’ve got time it’s an interesting, yet meaty read. Source: IOPScience

 

[mspohr]

'Bigger picture, it's climate change': Great Lakes flood ravages homes and roads

'Bigger picture, it's climate change': Great Lakes flood ravages homes and roads

“Bigger picture, it’s climate change,” said Richard B Rood, a professor in the University of Michigan’s department of climate and space sciences and engineering. “There’s no doubt that we are in a region where climate change is having an impact.”

Rood said the Great Lakes basin, which holds 90% of the nation’s freshwater, can expect similar shifts in the coming decades as world temperatures increase.

Climate scientists say a confluence of climate crisis-related issues resulted in this year’s levels. Warmer air over the Gulf of Mexico caused more evaporation, and that moisture pushed into the region during the spring and summer. Higher temperatures give the atmosphere more capacity to hold evaporated water, Rood said, which is why storms are dumping more rain than 50 years ago.