[TheClimate.Vote] August 12, 2017 - Daily Global Warming News
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Sat Aug 12 10:42:49 EDT 2017
/August 12, 2017/
*U.S. Drought Monitor <http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home.aspx>*
The data cutoff for Drought Monitor maps is each Tuesday at 8 a.m. EDT.
The maps, which are based on analysis of the data, are released each
Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
Download PDF
<http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/pdf/20170808/20170808_usdm.pdf>
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/pdf/20170808/20170808_usdm.pdf
View last week's map
<http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/pdf/20170801/20170801_usdm.pdf>
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/pdf/20170801/20170801_usdm.pdf
Statistics Comparison
<http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/TabularStatistics.aspx>
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/TabularStatistics.aspx
Statistics Table
<http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndData/DataTables.aspx>
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndData/DataTables.aspx
Change Maps <http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndData/ChangeMaps.aspx>
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndData/ChangeMaps.aspx
The U.S. Drought Monitor is produced through a partnership between the
National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
How is drought affecting you? Submit drought impact and condition
reports via the Drought Impact Reporter.
<http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/submitreport/>
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home.aspx
*(audio + text) 'Flash Droughts' Are Fueling Wildfires in Montana
<http://mtpr.org/post/flash-droughts-are-fueling-wildfires-montana>*
"It's a drought that comes on really quickly,"
Over the past few years, it rained and snowed a lot in eastern Montana.
There were floods, storms, and all the brush grew big and thick.
But then no rain came this spring. Temperatures hit triple digits and
within a few weeks, all that brush turned brown and brittle. Now it's so
dry, Fransen says, a single spark from a horseshoe striking a rock could
cause a fire.
"It's the driest in 110 years up in this area," she says.
There are two flash droughts in the state. A severe one in eastern
Montana that started this spring. A second, milder one is growing in
northwest ...
"As of yesterday, we were tied with the longest streak of no measurable
rainfall since 1948,"
/http://mtpr.org/post/flash-droughts-are-fueling-wildfires-montana/
*Forget Flash Floods. Flash Droughts Are Even More Terrifying
<http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/08/climatedesk-forget-flash-floods-flash-droughts-are-even-more-terrifying/>*
"I don't think anybody has time to feel scared."
ERIC HOLTHAUS
5 days ago - An intense drought has quickly gripped much of the Dakotas
and parts of Montana this summer, catching farmers and ranchers off-guard.
An intense drought has quickly gripped much of the Dakotas and parts of
Montana this summer, catching farmers and ranchers off-guard. The
multi-agency U.S. Drought Monitor recently upgraded the drought to
"exceptional," its highest severity level, matching the intensity of the
California drought at its peak.
In a matter of weeks, the area of Montana in drought conditions has
expanded eightfold. US Drought Monitor
https://grist.org/food/flash-drought-could-devastate-half-the-high-plains-wheat-harvest/
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/08/climatedesk-forget-flash-floods-flash-droughts-are-even-more-terrifying/
*
**John Harte to present proof of global warming at Quarryhill
<http://www.sonomanews.com/home/7295004-181/john-harte-may-present-proof>*
Sonoma Index-Tribune
John Harte may present proof of global warming at Quarryhill ....
"I set up what we call an ecosystem warming experiment using electric
heaters suspended above a sub-alpine meadow. It's been running now for
27 years,"
"The heaters are on day and night, summer and winter. They are warming
the meadow to a level that is roughly what we anticipate the climate
will look like around mid-century, around 2050."
What the experiment has shown is that the warmer plots of meadow are
losing their wildflowers and turning into sagebrush, after years of
being only four degrees warmer than their neighboring control plots. The
soil is getting drier, and even losing carbon that is absorbed into the
atmosphere as carbon dioxide, the "greenhouse gas."
The control plots now show exactly the same qualitative trends as in the
heated plots, but at a slower rate.
"We now have kind of unambiguous evidence for real global warming
affecting our ecosystems,
"What makes one a pessimist is that human nature and politics makes
everything look extremely unfavorable. It's really a battle between
economics and engineering on the one hand and ignorance and human nature
and politics on the other."
http://www.sonomanews.com/home/7295004-181/john-harte-may-present-proof
*(audio + text) The New Climate Change Activists May Surprise You
<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/08/stepping-up-podcast-environment-climate-activists/>*
New podcast series explores how some people are taking unique approaches
to climate activism.
By Casey Smith
PUBLISHED AUGUST 10, 2017
Should those worried about the future of our climate risk getting
arrested through direct actions, regardless of their age?
In the latest episode of the new podcast series Stepping Up, producer
Claire Schoen tackles that question, exploring how climate
activists-young and old-engage in acts of protest in today's era.
"As an elder woman, I began this story with the question of what my own
role should be in facing the greatest crisis of our time," Schoen said.
"I wondered whether it made sense to put my body on the line and get
arrested."
Throughout "Sitting Down," the second episode of the series, questions
are raised about the effectiveness of the strategies used by activists.
When it comes to breaking the law in the name of change, interviewees
discuss how generational gaps should-or shouldn't-affect the levels of
involvement from "older folks."
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/08/stepping-up-podcast-environment-climate-activists/
*EP. 2 – SITTING DOWN (audio podcast 41:00)
<https://steppinguppodcast.org/ep2-sitting-down/>*
Following in the noble tradition of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr,
Millennials are turning to civil disobedience to call attention to the
looming climate catastrophe. Climate activist extraordinaire Bill
McKibben lauds these youth for their courage. But he's asking elders,
who have less to lose, to step up as well. This story's producer hasn't
been arrested since the anti-nuclear protests of her youth. But in this
new political era, it might be time for her to join the next generation
on the line. Meeting the "1000 Grandmothers" group may tip the scales
toward action.
https://steppinguppodcast.org/ep2-sitting-down/
*5 Shades of Climate Denial, All on Display in the Trump White House
<https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09062017/five-shades-climate-denial-donald-trump-scott-pruitt-rex-tillerson-jobs-uncertainty-white-house>*
From 'it's not real' to 'it's not urgent,' take a tour through the many
shades of climate change denial wielded by Donald Trump's administration.
Poster:
https://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/styles/colorbox_full/public/Shades-of-Climate-Denial-529px_0.png?itok=VComIOjU
Whether dismissing global warming as a hoax, questioning humanity's role
in it, exaggerating the unknowns, playing down the urgency of action, or
playing up the costs, President Donald Trump and his team have served up
every flavor of climate denial.
Although the arguments varied-as if they were different shades or stages
of denial-they all served the same purpose: to create an exaggerated
sense of dispute in order to bolster a case against decisive climate
action. The latest gambit is to avoid the subject entirely.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09062017/five-shades-climate-denial-donald-trump-scott-pruitt-rex-tillerson-jobs-uncertainty-white-house
*The Long Seattle Haze Shows How Climate Change Will Hit the Poor
<http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/08/10/25343730/the-long-seattle-haze-shows-how-climate-change-will-hit-the-poor>*
Extreme weather events can compound the crises of poverty-and we have to
look directly at this when we talk about climate change. For the
estimated 1,600 people currently living in their cars in King County,
their mobile homes are even more problematic and dangerous during a heat
wave. Seattle summers in 2050 are projected to be 5.1-6.8°F warmer (than
the average summer temperature between 1970-1999), and heatwaves are
predicted to be, on average, 6.5°F warmer. For those of us with multiple
generations of middle-class family wealth-and places of privilege to
escape to-2050 sounds truly uncomfortable but not devastating. Not so
for many others.
...this is why climate change is not really about weather-it is about
public health, the safety of infrastructure and communities, and the
livability of our city. This is also why scientists get so mad at
climate denialism-because it risks the lives of those that are the most
vulnerable already...
http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/08/10/25343730/the-long-seattle-haze-shows-how-climate-change-will-hit-the-poor
*Is Petermann Gletscher Breaking Apart this Summer?
<https://icyseas.org/2017/06/16/is-petermann-gletscher-breaking-apart-this-summer/>*
Posted on June 16, 2017 by Andreas Muenchow | 18 Comments
I am disturbed by new ocean data from Greenland every morning before
breakfast these days. In 2015 we built a station that probes the ocean
below Petermann Gletscher every hour. Data travels from the deep ocean
via copper cables to the glacier surface, passes through a weather
station, jumps the first satellite overhead, hops from satellite to
satellite, falls back to earth hitting an antenna in my garden, and
fills an old computer.
A 7-minute Washington Post video
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/business/2016/12/30/with-enough-evidence-even-skepticism-will-thaw/>
describes a helicopter repair mission of the Petermann data machine. The
Post also reported first result that deep ocean waters under the glacier
are heating up....
Notice the up and down of temperature that in 2017 exceeds the 2016 up
and down range. Scientists call this property "variance" which measures
how much temperature varies from day-to-day and from hour-to-hour. The
average temperature may change in an "orderly" or "stable" or
"predictable" ocean along a trend, but the variance stays the same. What
I see in 2017 temperatures before breakfast each morning is different.
The new state appears more "chaotic" and "unstable." I do not know what
will come next, but such disorderly behavior often happens, when
something breaks.
I fear that Petermann is about to break apart … again.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/business/2016/12/30/with-enough-evidence-even-skepticism-will-thaw/
https://icyseas.org/2017/06/16/is-petermann-gletscher-breaking-apart-this-summer/
*The Arctic subsea permafrost is thawing faster than previously thought
<http://www.aces.su.se/the-arctic-permafrost-is-melting-faster-than-previously-thought/>*
June 26, 2017 | by Stella Papadopoulou
The permafrost in the ocean bottom below the East Siberian Arctic Sea is
thawing at a rate of 14 cm per year. That's a lot faster than for
permafrost on land and the process may eventually lead to increased
global warming through increased release of methane according to a new
study published in Nature Communications by ACES researchers and
international colleagues.
"The area that's thawing is enormous – equivalent to four Baltic Seas,"
says Örjan Gustafsson, professor at ACES and co-author of the study.
In the course of numerous research projects and expeditions, the
primarily Swedish-Russian team has investigated conditions in the Arctic
Ocean to observe phenomena related to the potential release of carbon
from thawing permafrost, sometimes called the "sleeping giants" of the
global carbon cycle and a key potential for carbon-climate feedback. If
the carbon is released, the levels of carbon dioxide and methane in the
atmosphere will rise, increasing the rate of climate warming.
Örjan Gustafsson and the research group's latest study is based on
observations that were taken from 2011 to 2015 in the coastal ocean off
Northeast Siberia.
"A sea-ice based camp was created annually by specialty vehicles and
heavy drilling equipment was used to drill down into the permafrost in
the seafloor. We compared the sediment core samples with measurements
taken from the same place 30 years earlier."...
"Our measurements showed that the ocean floor has become significantly
warmer. At the end of the Ice Age, the temperature of the seafloor was
-18 C. Now it's about 0 C. We also looked for the boundary between
frozen and thawed permafrost and found that it was 10 – 30 meters deep,
and now sinking quickly. The permafrost is thawing at a rate of 14 cm
per year for a total of 4 meters in the last 30 years."
http://www.aces.su.se/the-arctic-permafrost-is-melting-faster-than-previously-thought/
*(video series) Between Earth and Sky
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwwB50AelJE&list=UUi6RkdaEqgRVKi3AzidF4ow&index=2>*
Global Weirding with Katharine Hayhoe
Global Weirding is produced by KTTZ Texas Tech Public Media and
distributed by PBS Digital Studios. New episodes every other Wednesday
at 10 am central. Brought to you in part by: Bob and Linda Herscher,
Freese and Nichols, Inc, and the Texas Tech Climate Science Center.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwwB50AelJE&list=UUi6RkdaEqgRVKi3AzidF4ow&index=2
*This Day in Climate History August 12, 2004
<http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_08/004498.php>
- from D.R. Tucker*
August 12, 2004: Discussing a BusinessWeek story about the business
community's growing worries about global warming, the Washington
When CEOs contemplate global warming, they see something they
dread: uncertainty. There’s uncertainty about what regulations they
will have to meet and about how much the climate will change ? and
uncertainty itself poses challenges. Insurance giant Swiss Re sees a
threat to its entire industry. The reason: Insurers know how to
write policies for every conceivable hazard based on exhaustive
study of the past. If floods typically occur in a city every 20
years or so, then it’s a good bet the trend will continue into the
future. Global warming throws all that historical data out the window.
One of the predicted consequences of higher greenhouse-gas levels, for
instance, is more variable weather. Even a heat wave like the one that
gripped Britain in 1995 led to losses of 1.5 billion pounds, Swiss Re
calculates. So an increase in droughts, floods, and other events “could
be financially devastating,” says Christopher Walker, a Swiss Re
greenhouse-gas expert.
Monthly's Kevin Drum observes: "Like national healthcare, I suspect
that global warming will really get taken seriously only when the
business community finally demands it. What BusinessWeek documents is
only the first whispers of those demands, but the endgame is already in
sight."
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_08/004498.php
http://web.archive.org/web/20131216021452/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2004-08-15/global-warming
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