[TheClimate.Vote] August 19, 2017 - Daily Global Warming News
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Sat Aug 19 10:39:12 EDT 2017
/August 19, 2017/
*(Audio) NPR on Greenland Fires: August 2017
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJgWY2vUF-0>*
Tundra near the Greenland ice sheet is on fire. NPR interviews a
scientist for more info.
More than two weeks after they were first spotted, wildfires on the
western coast of Greenland are still burning, worrying local residents
and drawing the attention of scientists.
The fires are roughly 90 miles northeast of the second-largest
Greenlandic town, Sisimiut, as we previously reported. There are
currently three growing hot spots, according to an analysis of NASA data
by Stef Lhermitte, an assistant professor of geoscience and remote
sensing at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Nina-Vivi Andersen, a reporter for Nanoq News in the capital, Nuuk, has
lived in Greenland her whole life and says she has never heard of a
wildfire there.
"It's very unusual," she says, and the timing is particularly bad
because reindeer hunting season just opened on Aug. 1.
Satellite data suggests that a campfire or a cigarette likely started
the fires....
"[Peat] is a good fuel source," she explains. "It's essentially like the
peat logs you buy for fire pits or for fireplaces." When peat burns, the
flames don't run across the landscape quickly the way they do in grass
or forest fires. Instead, peat fires smolder down into the ground, so
the boundaries change more slowly and they can burn for a very long
time. Some peat fires have been known to persist through winter months,
smoldering away under the snow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJgWY2vUF-0
*Curbing climate change: Why it's so hard to act in time
<http://theconversation.com/curbing-climate-change-why-its-so-hard-to-act-in-time-80117>*
...We haven't seen comparable temperature or sea level increases so far
because oftime lags in Earth's climate response
<https://theconversation.com/if-we-stopped-emitting-greenhouse-gases-right-now-would-we-stop-climate-change-78882>.
It takes a while for our elevated carbon dioxide levels to trigger
impacts on this scale. Given the various time lags that are in play, it
is quite possible that we have already exceeded the 2°C rise over
preindustrial temperatures – a threshold most scientists say we should
avoid – but it hasn't shown up on the thermometer yet.
We may not be able to predict exactly how much future temperatures or
sea levels will rise, but we do know that unless we curb our carbon
emissions, our planet will be a very uncomfortable place for our
grandchildren and their grandchildren. Large-scale social changes take
time: they are the sum of many individual changes, in both attitudes and
behaviors. To minimize that time lag, we need to start acting now.
http://theconversation.com/curbing-climate-change-why-its-so-hard-to-act-in-time-80117
*Record Breaking Aerosol Index Values Over Canada
<https://ozoneaq.gsfc.nasa.gov/omps/blog/2017/08/record-breaking-aerosol-index-value-over-canada>*
/(smoke)/
Posted by cseftor. 2017-08-15
Over the last couple of days, OMPS /(Ozone Mapping Profile Suite)/ has
recorded the largest aerosol index values ever seen since TOMS
measurements started in 1978 for smoke over Canada.
*
https://ozoneaq.gsfc.nasa.gov/omps/media/blog/images/OMPS_AI_VIIRS_RGB_canada_2017_08_13-14.jpg
Here's what the last couple of days looked like from VIIRS and with the
OMPS AI overlaid (notice the scale
Most of the smoke is (still) being generated by the fires burning in
British Columbia, although some fires in the Northwest Territories are
also contributing.
https://ozoneaq.gsfc.nasa.gov/omps/blog/2017/08/record-breaking-aerosol-index-value-over-canada
/August 10-15th smoke records set at:/
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=90759&src=nha
The resulting smoke plumes were thick enough and high enough in the
atmosphere to break a record. According to Colin Seftor, an atmospheric
researcher for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the Ozone Mapping and
Profiler Suite (OMPS) on Suomi NPP recorded aerosol index (AI) values as
high as 49.7 on August 15, 2017-more than 15 points higher than the
previous record set in 2006 by fires in Australia. Maximum AI values
also broke records on August 14 (49.4) and August 13 (39.9). Aerosols
are solid or liquid particles (such as smoke, sea spray, and volcanic
ash) that can prevent light from passing through the atmosphere. The
satellite aerosol index was first reported in 1978 via measurements from
Nimbus-7.
https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/90000/90759/canada_omp_2017227_lrg.png
*Judge blocks coal mine expansion, citing lack of adequate climate
analysis*
<https://thinkprogress.org/judge-blocks-coal-mine-expansion-0d6126ebbc00/>
Expansion would make Bull Mountain the nation's largest underground coal
mine.
A federal judge blocked a proposed expansion of an underground coal mine
in Montana because the project's climate change impacts were not
adequately considered by the Trump administration...
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy ruled Monday that the federal Office
of Surface Mining (OSM) inflated the economic benefits of the 176
million-ton expansion of Signal Peak Energy's Bull Mountain coal mine
while minimizing its environmental impact. The judge ordered the company
to stop mining in the proposed expansion area pending further studies...
The council ruled that the company's plan lacked a long-term plan to
provide water to nearby homeowners after other mining activity affected
their well water. The council also noted the lack of blasting limits and
the increased risk that land could sink in the area. The company is
expected to resubmit its application but will likely face opposition
from local homeowners...
A Signal Peak spokesperson told a local news outlet that the company
will evaluate all of its options in the coming weeks.
https://thinkprogress.org/judge-blocks-coal-mine-expansion-0d6126ebbc00/
*What should you say to a climate change skeptic?
<http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-climate-change-arguments-20170818-htmlstory.html>*
What really matters, climate scientists say, is that the global average
temperature is on a rising trend. NOAA's 2016 climate report shows that
every year since 1977 has been warmer than the 20th century average.
This means the Earth is retaining more heat over time.
Always ask skeptics about the data their argument is based on. If it's
from an isolated location or a small chunk of time, it may not be
representative of the bigger picture.
According to data compiled by the Goddard Institute, carbon dioxide was
at an atmospheric concentration of 291 parts per million in 1880. It had
risen to 311 ppm by 1950 and to 370 ppm by 2000. NOAA's reported global
annual average reached 402 ppm in 2016...
And just because the climate has changed before doesn't mean we want it
to happen again - especially this quickly. In the past, rapid changes
were usually pretty hard on living creatures that didn't have enough
time to adapt to their new conditions. That doesn't bode well for us...
It's important to understand where science ends and politics begins. To
boost your chances for success, make a point of separating the two,
Somerville said. Many people are not suspicious of the science, but
rather of the consequences associated with climate change...
"There's no such thing as a Democratic or Republican thermometer,"
Somerville said. We can agree on what the science says, even if we have
different political ideas, he added....
As with any contentious issue, you have to realize when you're talking
to someone who just wants to argue.
"If that's the case, just stop." Schmidt said.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-climate-change-arguments-20170818-htmlstory.html*
Radioactive 'pooh sticks' trace carbon's ocean journey
<http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40950305>*
By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent 17 August 2017
Scientists say iodine traces from Sellafield have travelled to the
waters off Bermuda
Radioactive iodine from nuclear reprocessing plants in the UK and France
has been detected deep in the waters near Bermuda.
Scientists say the contaminants take a circuitous route travelling via
the Arctic Ocean and down past Greenland.
Researchers believe the radioactivity levels are extremely low and
present no danger.
However, scientists can use the iodine to accurately map the currents
that transport greenhouse gases.
Legally released
One scientific consequence that arose from the testing of nuclear bombs
in the atmosphere in the 1950s was that their radioactive fallout
provided a powerful global tracer of water circulation and deep-ocean
ventilation.
Other sources of radioactive material for scientists to track water
movements have been the nuclear reprocessing plants at Sellafield in the
UK and at La Hague in France.
Nuclear waste has been vitrified and stored at the La Hague nuclear fuel
reprocessing plant
Contaminants have been legally released from these sites for more than
50 years. One in particular, Iodine-129 (129I), has been very useful for
scientists tracing the ocean currents that help pull down greenhouse
gases into the waters.
"What we have found is that by tracing radioactive iodine released into
the seas off the UK and France, we have been able to confirm how the
deep ocean currents flow in the North Atlantic," said lead researcher Dr
John Smith from the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, in Canada.
"This is the first study to show precise and continuous tracking of
Atlantic water flowing northward into the Arctic Ocean off Norway,
circulating around the arctic basins and returning to the Nordic seas in
what we call the 'Arctic loop', and then flowing southward down the
continental slope of North America to Bermuda at depths below 3000 metres."
Scientists have used other molecules as tracers, specifically
chlorofluorocarbons that were once used in refrigeration. But 129I,
which has a half-life of 15.7 millions years, retains the initial
imprint of its input history over a long period of time.
Another advantage for researchers is that 129I is relatively easy to
detect at extremely low levels.
"In many ways this is a bit like the old 'stick in a stream' game we
used to play as kids," said Dr Smith.
"What people call 'pooh sticks' in England, where you would drop a
buoyant object in the water and observe where it comes out. Of course,
it would be much better if these markers were not in the ocean at all,
but they are, and we can use them to do some important environmental
science."
This new study is part of an international project called GEOTRACES that
uses geochemical markers to follow ocean currents.
The scientists say that 129I has been measured as far south as Puerto
Rico, but the expectation is that it will continue to flow southward
into the South Atlantic and eventually spread throughout the global ocean.
"The advantage of using 129I as a transient tracer in oceanography is
the long half-life of this isotope compared to the circulation times,
and the fact that it is largely soluble in seawater," said Dr Núria
Casacuberta Arola from ETH, Zurich, who wasn't involved with the study.
"Now, major efforts are also devoted to find other artificial
radionuclides with similar sources and behaviour than 129I so that the
more tools we have, the better we will understand the ocean circulation."
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40950305
*Kuwait's inferno: how will the world's hottest city survive climate
change?
<https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/aug/18/kuwait-city-hottest-place-earth-climate-change-gulf-oil-temperatures>*
Malls and office complexes continue to spring up in Kuwait City, built
by migrants often working illegally in soaring temperatures. But as oil
and water reserves dwindle, the energy-guzzling citystate heads for an
existential crisis..
For years, Kuwait's climate has been steadily heating up. In the summer
months, the Gulf state now frequently touches 50C /(122F)/, and was last
yearawarded the grim prize
<https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/wmo-examines-reported-record-temperature-of-54%C2%B0c-kuwait>of
being thehottest place on earth
<http://www.news.com.au/national/54c-sizzler-makes-kuwait-the-hottest-place-on-earth-could-we-be-next/news-story/2a2d4f39f316b583a718f92f58e79f8d>,
when temperatures reached a staggering high of 54C /(129F)/...
But while the capital is making plans to prepare for climate change and
the rising heat, there are growing concerns for those residents who
cannot afford to shelter inside, and mounting questions about how such
an energy-intensive city can survive as resources such as water and oil
dwindle...
Adapting to rising temperatures will require a radical shift in thinking
in Kuwait, especially concerning the most vulnerable. "We can't manage
the way these companies work," says the construction manager, referring
to the contractors who incentivise labourers to work outside in
punishing conditions. "Of course, when I see labourers working after
midday in this heat, it's horrible. But what can we do? It's their rules."
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/aug/18/kuwait-city-hottest-place-earth-climate-change-gulf-oil-temperatures
*Gentrification, Global Warming Collide In New Comedy Web Series The
North Pole When Your Environment Is Melting Away-Where Will You Stand?
<https://www.charlestonchronicle.net/2017/08/18/gentrification-global-warming-collide-in-new-comedy-web-series-the-north-pole-when-your-environment-is-melting-away-where-will-you-stand/>*
This Fall, get ready for the new comedy web series that hits on today's
biggest hot-button issues: gentrification. Global warming. And
gluten-free donuts.
In The North Pole, filmmakers Darren Colston, Josh Healey, and Yvan
Iturriaga combine absurd humor with inventive storytelling to reflect on
the changing environmental and cultural climate of Oakland, CA.
Executive produced by Movement Generation, an innovative ecological
justice organization, the original series will celebrate its launch with
a special screening on Thursday, September 7th at Oakland's historic
Grand Lake Theater.
"We wanted to make The North Pole because there's no place on earth like
Oakland, states Healey, who wrote and produced the series. "And untiI
Neil de Grasse Tyson tells me otherwise, there's no planet in the
universe like Earth. I call both these places home-and both are
suffering through their own kind of 'climate change.' At a time when
whole communities and environments are being displaced and disposed of,
The North Pole is our creative picket line-turned-comedy roast-our crazy
love letter to Oakland and all the people and places around the world
worth defending."
The North Pole follows Nina (Reyna Amaya) and her two best friends,
Marcus (Donte Clark) and Benny (Santiago Rosas), who are all born and
raised in North Oakland, CA-better known to locals as "The North Pole."
As their neighborhood changes drastically into a hostile environment,
the three friends choose to fight, dream, and plot hilarious schemes to
remain rooted in their home. Facing both gentrification and climate
change, they combat evil landlords, crazy geoengineering plots, and
ultimately each other.
"I've been wanting to play a character like Nina for a long time. When I
saw this story about a super smart, super funny black woman who reps
hard for Oakland just like I do, I knew I had to get down," shares lead
actor Reyna Amaya. "This series feels so fresh and so real-we need more
diverse, younger voices like this right now. Nina represents that strong
revolutionary Bay chick that talks hella trash and drops knowledge in
the same sentence. But what's she going to do with that strength? That's
the question that gets answered in the series."
"This series is definitely a collective labor of love," states
Iturriaga, the series director and deep-rooted Oakland resident. "My
friends, my community, and my block shape everything about this project.
It's their voices and stories on the screen. I can't want to share, get
inspired and laugh together."
After its September 7th premiere in Oakland, The North Pole will then be
available worldwide on YouTube.
For more information, please visit www.thenorthpoleshow.com
<http://www.thenorthpoleshow.com/>
https://www.charlestonchronicle.net/2017/08/18/gentrification-global-warming-collide-in-new-comedy-web-series-the-north-pole-when-your-environment-is-melting-away-where-will-you-stand/
*This Day in Climate History August 19, 2014
<http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2014/08/19/david-wilson> - from D.R.
Tucker*
MIT's David Wilson On His Carbon Tax Proposal
We hear the terms all the time in conversations about how to best fight
climate change and curb greenhouse gas emissions: cap-and-trade,
geo-engineering, command and control and carbon tax.
That last idea, a carbon tax or a carbon fee, has been around for a long
time. A version of it was conceived by MIT mechanical engineer David
Wilson in 1973 and the idea quickly spread.
It was also often copied without credit - and without a key piece of his
equation, which has to do with who gets taxed and what happens to that
tax revenue. In some ways, the idea of a carbon tax has come full
circle: last month, Australia became the first country to repeal a
carbon tax.
WBUR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with Wilson about his invention.
http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2014/08/19/david-wilson
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