Climate Change / Global Warming Discussion

[eevee-fan]

Water wars: early warning tool uses climate data to predict conflict hotspots

Water wars: early warning tool uses climate data to predict conflict hotspots

Researchers from six organisations have developed an early warning system to help predict potential water conflicts as violence associated with water surges globally.

The tool has already predicted conflicts that are likely to happen in 2020 in Iraq, Iran, Mali, Nigeria, India and Pakistan. Developers claim an 86% success rate in identifying conflict zones where at least 10 fatalities could occur. The tool currently focuses on hotspots across Africa, the Middle East and southeast Asia.

“The machine learning model is ‘trained’ to identify patterns using historical data on violent conflict and political, social, economic, demographic, and water risk,” said Charles Iceland, senior water expert at the World Resources Institute, part of the WPS partnership.

... mitigated by switching to Solar and Wind. Coal and natural gas plants boil fresh water to create steam... fresh water goes into the atmosphere and not available for human consumption.

 

[mspohr]

When it comes to emissions, the 'too small to matter' argument is absurd, reckless and morally bankrupt

When it comes to emissions, the 'too small to matter' argument is absurd, reckless and morally bankrupt | Simon Holmes a Court

The physics of the climate system doesn’t care about political boundaries. Does Germany not matter because it’s responsible for (slightly) less than 2%, or does it matter because it’s part of the EU, responsible for 9.4% of emissions? How about if we divide China into 56 countries of 25 million people, each with emissions half of Australia’s – would that let them off the hook?

Australia’s unforgiving, unrelenting and unprecedented fires have demonstrated so clearly that the climate doesn’t recognise tricky “Kyoto carryover” accounting and doesn’t care for juvenile finger pointing at other countries.

With a warming climate, this brutal summer is a preview of what will become a regular occurrence in our lifetimes. More and more Australians realise that climate change is a clear and present threat.

Australia has the highest emissions per capita of all major nations. The average Australian has four times the carbon footprint of the average global citizen, significantly due to our unusually high reliance on coal for electricity, the poor energy efficiency of our vehicles and buildings and the high domestic emissions from coal and gas extraction and processing.

The “too small to matter” argument is logically absurd, but it is also morally bankrupt and economically reckless.

We all know that throwing one piece of litter out the window wouldn’t ruin the environment, but if all did we’d soon be surrounded by rubbish.

 

[Dave EV]

Rightwing media outlets in Australia have responded to the current bushfires by either refusing to give the story its due prominence or by spreading falsehoods. Specifically, there is a claim emerging that environmentalists have blocked hazard reduction efforts by supposedly opposing dry fuel loads being burned or manually removed. It isn’t one of those half-truths – there’s no truth in it at all. Once spread by a rightwing journalist over 10 years ago, it has been given a new lease of life as a meme on social media.

It's well known that all you need to do is get your rakes out and start raking the bush to prevent bushfires.

 

[Merrill]

When I hear that what I can do to help the environment is to small to matter I always say to those people imagine if everyone who thinks that does their small part, guess what it becomes a big part.

 

[SDRick]

As if low humidity, record high heat and high winds was not enough, adding insult to injury, New South Wales police reported that 183 people, including 40 juveniles, have been charged with 205 bushfire-related offenses. 24 of those arrested have been charged with arson, deliberately setting fires.

 

[mspohr]

NYT 5 step program
Opinion | How to Stop Freaking Out and Tackle Climate Change

Step 1: Ditch the shame.
Step 2: Focus on systems, not yourself.
Step 3: Join an effective group.
Step 4: Define your role.
Step 5: Know what you are fighting for, not just what you are fighting against.

 

[mspohr]

As if low humidity, record high heat and high winds was not enough, adding insult to injury, New South Wales police reported that 183 people, including 40 juveniles, have been charged with 205 bushfire-related offenses. 24 of those arrested have been charged with arson, deliberately setting fires.

Opinion | Australia Shows Us the Road to Hell

The political reaction is scarier than the fires.

But the world isn’t rational. In fact, Australia’s anti-environmentalist government seems utterly unmoved as the nightmares of environmentalists become reality. And the anti-environmentalist media, the Murdoch empire in particular, has gone all-out on disinformation, trying to place the blame on arsonists and “greenies” who won’t let fire services get rid of enough trees.

 

[mspohr]

At Davos we will tell world leaders to abandon the fossil fuel economy

Greta Thunberg: At Davos we will tell world leaders to abandon the fossil fuel economy

Averting catastrophe would be the best business decision to emerge from the economic forum in its 50 years of existence

We demand that at this year’s forum, participants from all companies, banks, institutions and governments immediately halt all investments in fossil fuel exploration and extraction, immediately end all fossil fuel subsidies and immediately and completely divest from fossil fuels.

We don’t want these things done by 2050, 2030 or even 2021, we want this done now – as in right now.

 

[eevee-fan]

 

[ohmman]

And from the category of "wish we weren't right"...

Study Confirms Climate Models are Getting Future Warming Projections Right – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet

 

[SageBrush]

And from the category of "wish we weren't right"...

Sub-categorized in the "No *sugar*, Sherlock."

I found Gavin Schmidt's comment that the early models were primitive, energy balance calculations interesting.
Primitive they may have been, but they were indisputable simple reasoning based on GHG science. While they lacked geographical resolution they convinced any reasonable person of AGW.

 

[eevee-fan]

Yep, it all comes down to energy and energy flow.
The obvious solution is to implement more renewables into the grid... looks like we are starting to get V2G solutions at CES, so that will allow us to leverage our EVs to allow more and more renewables into the grid.

Too hot? Well, how about capture the sun's energy?
No water? How about use solar and wind instead of boiling water using coal and natural gas?
Too many hurricanes and tornado? How about sap the energy from the air with wind turbines?

 

[eevee-fan]

Time to migrate up north, next stop Vegas.

 

[mspohr]

UN draft plan sets 2030 target to avert Earth's sixth mass extinction

UN draft plan sets 2030 target to avert Earth's sixth mass extinction

Almost a third of the world’s oceans and land should be protected by the end of the decade to stop and reverse biodiversity decline that risks the survival of humanity, according to a draft Paris-style UN agreement on nature.

To combat what scientists have described as the sixth mass extinction event in Earth’s history, the proposal sets a 2030 deadline for the conservation and restoration of ecosystems and wildlife that perform crucial services for humans.

 

[Merrill]

UN draft plan sets 2030 target to avert Earth's sixth mass extinction

UN draft plan sets 2030 target to avert Earth's sixth mass extinction

Almost a third of the world’s oceans and land should be protected by the end of the decade to stop and reverse biodiversity decline that risks the survival of humanity, according to a draft Paris-style UN agreement on nature.

To combat what scientists have described as the sixth mass extinction event in Earth’s history, the proposal sets a 2030 deadline for the conservation and restoration of ecosystems and wildlife that perform crucial services for humans.

Wondering how they can enforce this, it is great to have a plan but what will make countries comply.

 

[mspohr]

Wondering how they can enforce this, it is great to have a plan but what will make countries comply.

Like all international agreements, compliance is dependent on the individual countries to voluntarily take action. Good to have a plan but implementation is the key.

 

[mspohr]

Ocean temperatures hit record high as rate of heating accelerates

Ocean temperatures hit record high as rate of heating accelerates

The heat in the world’s oceans reached a new record level in 2019, showing “irrefutable and accelerating” heating of the planet.

The world’s oceans are the clearest measure of the climate emergency because they absorb more than 90% of the heat trapped by the greenhouse gases emitted by fossil fuel burning, forest destruction and other human activities.

Hotter oceans lead to more severe storms and disrupt the water cycle, meaning more floods, droughts and wildfires, as well as an inexorable rise in sea level. Higher temperatures are also harming life in the seas, with the number of marine heatwaves increasing sharply.

 

[nwdiver]

Ocean temperatures hit record high as rate of heating accelerates

I read an analogy that's a bit easier to conceptualize. The amount of energy the radiative imbalance is adding is the equivalent of every man, woman and child in the world running 100 microwaves 24/7/365....

 

[mspohr]

I read an analogy that's a bit easier to conceptualize. The amount of energy the radiative imbalance is adding is the equivalent of every man, woman and child in the world running 100 microwaves 24/7/365....

Here's another analogy
Oceans are warming at the same rate as if five Hiroshima bombs were dropped in every second - CNN
Oceans are warming at the same rate as if five Hiroshima bombs were dropped in every second

 

[nwdiver]

Here's another analogy
Oceans are warming at the same rate as if five Hiroshima bombs were dropped in every second - CNN
Oceans are warming at the same rate as if five Hiroshima bombs were dropped in every second

Yeah; I've seen that one. 5 nuclear bombs per second are a bit difficult for most people to comprehend.