[TheClimate.Vote] July 24, 2017 - Daily Global Warming News

Mon Jul 24 09:44:54 EDT 2017

/July 24, 2017/

*Shanghai grilled by hottest day in 145 years 
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-07/21/c_136462317.htm>*
*Hottest day ever recorded in Shanghai as heat wave bakes China – 
Officials issue "red alert" as temperature hits 40.9°C*
SHANGHAI, 21 July 2017 (Xinhua) – The meteorological department of east 
China metropolis Shanghai recorded an air temperature of 40.9 degrees 
Celsius (105.6 degrees Fahrenheit) at around 2 p.m. Friday, the highest 
on record in the city in 145 years.
A red alert for high temperatures was issued by the Shanghai Central 
Meteorological Observatory on Friday.
The previous record high temperature in the city of 40.8 degrees Celsius 
was recorded on Aug. 7, 2013. A total of 13 high temperature red alerts 
have been issued since the new meteorological early warning system was 
adopted in 2007.
China has a three-tier early warning system for high temperatures: a 
yellow warning is issued when high temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius 
are predicted for three consecutive days, orange indicates a predicted 
high temperature of 37 degrees Celsius in the next 24 hours, and a red 
alert is issued when the temperature is forecast to reach 40 degrees 
Celsius within 24 hours.
Heat waves have hit the city since the beginning of summer and are 
expected to linger until the end of July.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-07/21/c_136462317.htm

*Virtual reality to dominate: Spielberg 
<http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/07/23/virtual-reality-dominate-spielberg>*
Steven Spielberg has warned that a future dominated by virtual reality 
is coming "whether we like it or not".
The US director was discussing his new movie, Ready Player One, at 
Comic-Con San Diego.
The film is an adaptation of Ernest Cline's book that depicts a 
dystopian world where humans take refuge in virtual reality in a world 
scarred by the effects of global warming.
Set in 2044, it entwines 1980s culture and futuristic concepts.
On reading the book, Spielberg said: "It was like the most amazing flash 
forward and flash back at the same time to a decade I was very involved 
in, the 1980s, but a flash forward to a future that I think is out there 
awaiting all of us whether we like it or not."
He described the world it is set in, where fossil fuels are depleted and 
extreme weather is pummelling the globe, as "so dystopic".
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/07/23/virtual-reality-dominate-spielberg
   -more:
*First glimpse of Steven Spielberg's new movie, Ready Player One 
<https://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2017/07/first-glimpse-of-steven-spielbergs-new-movie-ready-player-one/>*
This trailer introduces us to a VR dystopia, and has the greatest 
soundtrack ever.
The first trailer for Ready Player One, based on Ernest Cline's 
legendary novel, just dropped at San Diego Comic-con.
Ever since Cline's novel shot to the top of bestseller lists, fans have 
been waiting for the movie. It's the story of a kid growing up in the 
near future, dreaming of escape from his life in a massive, dystopian 
trailer park. He's only happy in the Oasis, a massive multiplayer VR 
world, where he indulges in his love for 1980s pop culture.
This trailer is a little uneven at first, but won me over when the 80s 
Rush song "Tom Sawyer" provided the perfect soundscape for an incredible 
VR-powered car chase.  YouTube https://youtu.be/znavw4akfoY
The premise of the novel is that our protagonist is a gamer whose team 
is poised to unlock the highest level in the Oasis and find the Easter 
Egg its creator has hidden. But it turns out that there's something more 
than just glory at stake. They're competing with corporate-funded teams 
who want something that could affect the future of the real world as 
well as the game.
Cline, who also wrote the cult classic movie Fanboys, has always been 
obsessed with 1980s nerd culture. Ready Player One is packed with 
nostalgia for the golden age of geek, and it's clear from this trailer 
that we're going to see that in the film, too. We caught glimpses of the 
Iron Giant, as well as Tron references and about a zillion other things.
It's a little weird to have Spielberg directing a movie that's about 
nostalgia for his own movies. But hey, I guess go meta or go home?
Ready Player One drops on March 30, 2018.  Trailer 
https://youtu.be/znavw4akfoY
https://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2017/07/first-glimpse-of-steven-spielbergs-new-movie-ready-player-one/

*A Comic Strip Mirrors the Ravages of Climate Change 
<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/23/business/media/a-comic-strip-mirrors-the-ravages-of-climate-change.html>*
The newspaper comic strip "Arctic Circle," by the environmentally minded 
cartoonist Alex Hallatt, is about talking penguins and their fellow 
creatures living in the north. Starting Monday, under a caption that 
says "An Inconvenient Truth," the menagerie will find their world 
shrinking and their conversations will be about global warming.
Readers will see the drawings diminish to nothing by Friday as a snow 
bunny muses, "Climate change will lead to habitat loss and the 
extinction of many species."
Miss Hallatt created the strips to observe the arrival of the 
documentary "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power," in theaters on 
Friday. The film is a follow-up to the 2006 Oscar-winning documentary 
featuring Al Gore. Miss Hallatt has no official connection to the film.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/23/business/media/a-comic-strip-mirrors-the-ravages-of-climate-change.html

*Global warming will increase poverty in the southern US, a new study 
says 
<https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-07-23/global-warming-will-increase-poverty-southern-us-new-study-says>*
A new study estimates that southern areas of the US, many of which are 
already poor, could face a 20 percent decline in economic activity if 
carbon emissions continue unabated through the 21st century.
The study was issued by economists with the Climate Impact Lab, a 
consortium of experts from the Universities of California, Chicago and 
Rutgers and the Rhodium Group.
"We found that the southern United States, the southern parts of the 
Midwest and also the Atlantic coast are some of the most hardest-hit 
parts of the country," says Solomon Hsiang, a public policy professor at 
the University of California, Berkeley, and one of the study's lead 
researchers.
"There was a pretty good explanation for that, once we did the analysis 
and we understood [what] was going on," he explains. "The economic 
impact of warming is much worse if you are already pretty hot. So, going 
from 90 to 95 degrees is a much bigger deal than going from 70 to 75 
degrees. Because the southern parts of the country are already so warm, 
a bit of warming does a lot more harm to them than to the northern parts 
of the country that tend to be cooler."
https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-07-23/global-warming-will-increase-poverty-southern-us-new-study-says

*British Columbia extends state of emergency as wildfires continue to 
rage, torching 1,235-plus square miles – "This is unprecedented" 
<http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2017/07/21/458263.htm>*
British Columbia is extending a state of emergency for two more weeks as 
wildfires sweeping across the province's interior show no sign of slowing.
Premier John Horgan said Wednesday that his government's first priority 
is to support the more than 45,000 people displaced by the fires, which 
have so far torched more than 1,235 square miles (3,200 square 
kilometers) of land.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2017/07/21/458263.htm

*This Day in Climate History July 24, 2000 <http://youtu.be/GVsPT6ePKPw> 
-  from D.R. Tucker*
July 24, 2000: BP launches its controversial "Beyond Petroleum" 
advertising campaign.
Video of :50 BP commercial ad "Beyond" <http://youtu.be/GVsPT6ePKPw>
http://web.archive.org/web/20010525195935/http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/0508-09.htm
http://youtu.be/GVsPT6ePKPw
/
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