General world climate crisis articles

[Flavour]

just a minor note but i do find it bizarre and distasteful how the americans constantly compare what has happened in Hawaii to looking like a "war zone", or as in this case, "like a nuclear bomb went off" -- it doesn't look like either of those things, and these comparisons serve to exceptionalize it, to make it look like an "out of the ordinary" event, something unique and yet somehow relatable through the prism of far off tragedies (in distance or in time) that don't affect them.

but it's none of that. it's a fire. a big fire. a fire that's burning in Sicily, in Portugal, in Russia.

 

[Aquamarine]

A powerful, summer jet stream is helping to drive 'the notably cool, wet and windy weather' across N. Europe. I hear it's rained every sodden day for something like six solid weeks now in Ireland.

Storm Hans causes havoc in Norway with heaviest rain in 25 years forecast

Landslides, a stranded town and two deaths so far reported as extreme weather sweeps across the south of the country

www.theguardian.com

 

[bluescreen]

An FT article (from 30 June) about tech bros and the Greenfinger threat of rogue (or indeed any) geo-engineering

Billionaires want to save the world. What’s so wrong with that?
Today, practically everyone above a certain net worth has a ‘World-Saving Project’

...their unaccountability, their obsession with techno-fixes and their need to focus on the entire risk spectrum worry me. Most concerning of all is the potential for us to make irreversible, unwise decisions if we listen to only one kind of pitch.

Archived:

https://archive.ph/P3z6l#selection-1545.1-1581.82

 

[yield]

For Decades, Our Carbon Emissions Sped the Growth of Plants — Not Anymore
Yale E360. August 14, 2023

The study suggests that photosynthesis sped up until around the year 2000, at which point it began to level off, owing to more arid conditions. Looking ahead, authors say, the rate of photosynthesis could flatten out entirely, making it harder to keep rising carbon emissions — and warming — in check. The findings were published in the journal Science.

 

[LDC]

There's a bunch of articles on climate change and security related issues here from the Marshall Center, a German/US defence think tank. Here's one, there's a load of links from there:

Translating the Climate-Security Nexus

Thirty-five subject matter experts from 14 different countries came together to translate climate change into concrete security risks.

www.marshallcenter.org

 

[Signal 11]

Rich countries ‘trap’ poor nations into relying on fossil fuels

The pressure to repay debts is forcing poor nations to continue investing in fossil fuel projects to make their repayments on what are usually loans from richer nations and financial institutions, according to new analysis from the anti-debt campaigners Debt Justice and partners in affected countries.
[...]
According to the report, the debt owed by global south countries has increased by 150% since 2011 and 54 countries are in a debt crisis, having to spend five times more on repayments than on addressing the climate crisis.
[...]
Mozambique was plunged into a debt crisis when oil and gas prices fell in 2014-16, Ribeiro said, but the solutions from international lenders to bail out the country have relied on loans being repaid through future gas revenues.

 

[magneze]

We Are Witnessing the First Stages of Civilization’s Collapse

Will our own elites perform any better than the rulers of Chaco Canyon, the Mayan heartland, and Viking Greenland?

www.thenation.com

Good article. Goes as far as arguing that Canada is now a failed state due to climate effects.

 

[Artaxerxes]

Oof, it uses Jared Diamond as his point of reference

 

[Signal 11]

G20 poured more than $1tn into fossil fuel subsidies despite Cop26 pledges – report

The amount of public money flowing into coal, oil and gas in 20 of the world’s biggest economies reached a record $1.4tn(£1.1tn) in 2022, according to the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) thinktank, even though world leaders agreed to phase out “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow two years ago.
[...]
G20 leaders agreed to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies “over the medium term” as far back as 2009. At the Cop26 climate summit a decade later, world leaders agreed to accelerate these efforts.
[...]
The authors also found that of all subsidies to the energy sector, about three-quarters go to fossil fuels.

 

[Aquamarine]

File under warnings and alerts.

Australians urged to prepare for most significant bushfire season since black summer

Areas largely untouched by 2019-20 fires including Sydney basin, coastal regions and the Hunter at increased risk, experts warn

www.theguardian.com

 

[story]

For Decades, Our Carbon Emissions Sped the Growth of Plants — Not Anymore
Yale E360. August 14, 2023

We‘re so fucked

 

[a_chap]

This is quite depressing.

 

[Artaxerxes]

 

[LDC]

RUSI on some climate change related security and intelligence issues. Do find this stuff makes the climate deniers/conspiracists look even more insane when the military and intelligence infrastructure are taking it seriously!

Climate Change: Avoiding a Future Intelligence Failure

Climate change and international responses to its impacts are fundamentally altering the global security environment. But is the UK’s intelligence community – tasked with making sense of complex global developments – paying enough attention?

rusi.org

 

[Aquamarine]

Hotspots are still getting hotter but with sudden shifts from drought to flood.

Rapid shifts from drought to downpour occurring more often

New research shows that wild swings from severe drought to heavy rains are becoming more common with climate change in many parts of the world and that feedback loops from the land itself are likely contributing to the trend. The research looked at four decades of meteorological and hydrological...

www.eurekalert.org

 

[stavros]

Norway teeters on the brink of paying residents to consumer energy, rather than vice versa, due to the surfeit of hydro-electric.

 

[tommers]

 

[stavros]

Are they less powerful that the ones Johnson bought as mayor, and then had to shelve because their use was against EU law?

 

[tommers]

Are they less powerful that the ones Johnson bought as mayor, and then had to shelve because their use was against EU law?

Well, I don't see anybody getting blown over.

 

[RD2003]

Earth ‘well outside safe operating space for humanity’, scientists find

First complete ‘scientific health check’ shows most global systems beyond stable range in which modern civilisation emerged

www.theguardian.com

 

[bcuster]

When the dead don't stay buried: The grave situation at cemeteries amid climate change

Caskets float in floods, and climate change effects increasingly swamp cemeteries. Meanwhile, families face pain and anguish.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Aquamarine]

Today is the last day of winter in the Southern Hemisphere with staggering widespread temperatures of 45°C+ (113°F+).

 

[Storm Fox]

Looking at the Anomaly Charts it doesn't seem quite so bad for a large part of South America. But Antartica is fucked. 18C t o 20+ anomalies.

 

[ska invita]

Very interesting article about amonia, fertiliser and the impact of farming practices. I don't know how as a life long Londoner it has happened but I find farming really interesting... It feels like a huge topic that could potentially transform so much about our lives

Ignore the headline and framing, it's more interesting than that

We are being poisoned every day, so why do we keep voting for more pollution? Ask a lobbyist | George Monbiot

The dirty industries that dominate politics deceive us into accepting dangerous pollutants such as ammonia as part of life, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

www.theguardian.com

 

[Aquamarine]

Looking at the Anomaly Charts it doesn't seem quite so bad for a large part of South America. But Antartica is fucked. 18C t o 20+ anomalies.

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There is such an extreme amount of ocean surface heat now heading toward the polar regions.

 

[weltweit]

 

[Aquamarine]

" Last month's average sea surface temperature around Japan was the HIGHEST on record for September, exceeding the previous record by a SIGNIFICANT margin.
The SST around Hokkaido was particularly high, with a monthly average of 3.8°C higher than normal. "

https://www.jma.go.jp/.../2310/02b/20231002_seatemp.pdf

 

[Aquamarine]

Before and after photos show river in Amazon dry up

The Rio Negro has fallen by nearly a foot a day since mid-September as a severe drought grips the Amazon.

www.newsweek.com

 

[Artaxerxes]

Before and after photos show river in Amazon dry up

The Rio Negro has fallen by nearly a foot a day since mid-September as a severe drought grips the Amazon.

www.newsweek.com

Grim

Amazon drought: Stranded boats and dead fish

A severe drought in the Brazilian Amazon is disrupting transport, isolating communities and killing wildlife.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Aquamarine]

The full horrors of runaway climate change appear to be unfolding in S. America.
"Peru’s melting glaciers bring new harvests – and fears for the future. Water surplus has opened up short-term opportunities for a struggling community in the Cordillera Blanca – but what happens when it runs out?"

Peru’s melting glaciers bring new harvests – and fears for the future

Water surplus has opened up short-term opportunities for a struggling community in the Cordillera Blanca – but what happens when it runs out?

www.theguardian.com

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