[TheClimate.Vote] April 16, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Mon Apr 16 10:07:01 EDT 2018
/April 16, 2018/
[BBC news]
*How Australia's extreme heat might be here to stay
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-42657234>*
By Adam Morton
Hobart
A section of highway connecting Sydney and Melbourne started to melt.
Bats fell dead from the trees, struck down by the heat....
In outer suburban Sydney, the heat hit 47.3C (117F) before a cool change
knocked it down - to the relative cool of just 43.6C in a neighbouring
suburb the following day... just the first days of 2018 in Australia,
where summer is in fierce form...
- - - - -
While it is record-breaking that tends to make news, scientists say it
is the unbroken run of hot days in the high 30s and 40s that causes the
significant problems for human health, and other life.
Health officials in Victoria highlighted the threat of heatwaves when
they found about 374 more people died during an extreme three-day period
in January 2009 than would have been expected had it been cooler.
There has, however, been relatively little investment in research into
the health impact of escalating maximum temperatures.
A paper published in the journal Nature Climate Change last year said
while a government report called for greater focus on the area 25 years
ago, less than 0.1% of health funding since has been dedicated to the
impact of climate change..
- - - -
"There really isn't an argument that climate change isn't true in
parliament anymore," Prof Pitman says. "You'd find a couple of members
of parliament that say that, but you'd also find a couple who didn't
believe in evolution and didn't believe in inoculating children against
disease.
*"The issue now is that the scale of concern - and the action under way
or committed to both in Australia and internationally - doesn't match
the scale of the problem."*
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-42657234
[Suicide to protest climate innaction - (difficult posting, many sources) ]
*David Buckel, prominent New York LGBT lawyer, dies after setting
himself on fire
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/15/david-buckel-prominent-new-york-lgbt-lawyer-dies-after-setting-himself-on-fire?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other>*
Buckel, known for case about murdered transgender man portrayed in Boys
Don't Cry, alluded to fossil fuel protest to New York Times
A prominent gay rights lawyer and environmental advocate has burned
himself to death in New York on Saturday, reportedly using fossil fuel
in a protest against ecological destruction.
The charred remains of 60-year-old David Buckel were found by passers-by
in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Police said he was pronounced dead at about
6.30am.
The New York Times said it received an emailed copy of the note, which
said: "Most humans on the planet now breathe air made unhealthy by
fossil fuels, and many die early deaths as a result - my early death by
fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves."
The Daily News reported Buckel left a suicide note in a shopping cart
near his body that said he hoped his death was "honorable" and "might
serve others". In the note, Buckel said "I just killed myself by fire as
a protest suicide", the News reported.
Buckel was the lead attorney in a lawsuit regarding Brandon Teena, a
transgender man who was murdered in Nebraska. Hilary Swank won an
Academy Award for her portrayal of Teena in the 1999 film Boys Don't Cry.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/15/david-buckel-prominent-new-york-lgbt-lawyer-dies-after-setting-himself-on-fire?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
- - - - -
*Google search: media news policy suicide
<https://www.google.com/search?q=media+news+policy+suicide&rlz=1C1GGGE_enUS439US439&oq=media+news+policy+suicide&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64l2.8720j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8>*
https://www.google.com/search?q=media+news+policy+suicide&rlz=1C1GGGE_enUS439US439&oq=media+news+policy+suicide&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64l2.8720j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
- - - - -
[Single page chart report]
*Climate Change, Natural Disasters, and Suicide: A Systematic Review
<https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=gw_research_days>*
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=gw_research_days
by A Irfan - 2017
Background.Natural disasters are projected to increase due to climate
change. Mental health is not a well-researched area in public health,
particularly as it relates to environmental health and in the aftermath
of natural disasters. The suicide rate is approximately 13 per 100000
people in the US, nationally.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gw_research_days/2017/GWSPH/7/
Climate Change, Natural Disasters, and Suicide: A Systematic Review.
Author: Ans Irfan, MD, FRSPH, CPH, MPH. Faculty Advisor: Peter LaPuma,
Ph.D., P.E., C.I.H. Natural disasters affect millions of people
throughout the world, annually. In the U.S., natural disasters affect
1.5 million people every year.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=gw_research_days
- - - - - -
[TheGuardian report from 2017]
*Suicides of nearly 60,000 Indian farmers linked to climate change,
study claims
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/31/suicides-of-nearly-60000-indian-farmers-linked-to-climate-change-study-claims>*
Jul 31, 2017 - Rising temperatures and the resultant stress on India's
agricultural sector may have contributed to increase in suicides over
the past 30 years, research shows
Climate change may have contributed to the suicides of nearly 60,000
Indian farmers and farm workers over the past three decades, according
to new research that examines the toll rising temperatures are already
taking on vulnerable societies.
Illustrating the extreme sensitivity of the Indian agricultural industry
to spikes in temperature, the study from the University of California,
Berkeley, found an increase of just 1C on an average day during the
growing season was associated with 67 more suicides...
- - - -
Temperature increases outside the growing season showed no significant
impact on suicide rates, suggesting stress on the agriculture industry
was the source of the increase in suicides.
Also supporting the theory was that rainfall increases of as little as
1cm each year were associated with an average 7% drop in the suicide
rate. So beneficial was the strong rainfall that suicide rates were
lower for the two years that followed, researcher Tamma Carleton found...
- - - - -
The true suicide rate was probably higher, she added, because deaths are
generally underreported in India and, until 2014, suicide was considered
a criminal offence, discouraging honest reports.
"The tragedy is unfolding today," she said.*"This is not a problem for
future generations. This is our problem, right now."*
• In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the
National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the
crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Helplines in other
countries can be found here
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/31/suicides-of-nearly-60000-indian-farmers-linked-to-climate-change-study-claims
- - - - -
[Suicide - media policy]
*How the media covers suicide and mental health can help to save a life
- as well as improve the public's understanding of mental illness
<http://www.intheforefront.org/news/media-guidelines/>*
Preventing suicide: a resource for media professionals (Update 2017)
<http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/258814/1/WHO-MSD-MER-17.5-eng.pdf>
National Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide: developed by suicide
prevention experts and journalists to minimize the risk of "copycat"
attempts, change public misperceptions and encourage people to seek
help. The collaboration's Online Media recommendations provide
additional guidance links for articles, posts, videos, comments and
other online content.
Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide
<http://reportingonsuicide.org/wp-content/themes/ros2015/assets/images/Recommendations-eng.pdf>:
Developed by reportingonsuicide.org, this guide provides suggested
language and style recommendations for Online Media, Message Boards,
Bloggers & Citizen Journalists when reporting on suicide.
Social Media Guidelines for Mental Health Promotion and Suicide
Prevention
<http://www.eiconline.org/teamup/wp-content/files/teamup-mental-health-social-media-guidelines.pdf>:
Produced by the Entertainment Industries Council (EIC)'s TEAM Up
project, these guidelines provide a comprehensive roadmap and resources
for using social media safely and effectively.
The Carter Center Journalism Resource Guide on Behavioral Health
<https://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/health/mental_health/2015-journalism-resource-guide-on-behavioral-health.pdf>offers
simple, clear advice on fair and accurate coverage and word use as well
as helpful facts, definitions and resources for reporting on behavioral
health, substance use and suicide.
http://www.intheforefront.org/news/media-guidelines/
- - - - - -
*[National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Call 1-800-273-8255]*
[Online Chat
<http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/GetHelp/LifelineChat.aspx>]
- - - - -
[seeking well-being 2017]
*The Alarming Link Between Climate Change and Suicide
<https://www.thriveglobal.com/stories/17202-the-alarming-link-between-climate-change-and-suicide>*
An interview with a UC Berkeley expert on what she's discovered in her
research.
by Shelby Lorman
. . .
Surprisingly and sadly, I find no evidence that populations within India
have been able to successfully adapt to a warming climate. The
relationship between temperature and suicide is the same across
different populations within India, and at different points in time,
suggesting that even as India has gradually warmed while experiencing
robust economic growth, people appear no better able to cope with high
temperatures.
- - - - -
These findings have not necessarily been found in other contexts, where
immediate daily or monthly-level links between temperature and suicide
have been uncovered without any evidence of an economic (agricultural)
channel. Therefore, as you would expect, this relationship linking
climate to mental health is likely very context-dependent, and more
research is required, particularly in developing countries, to
understand the channels through which the climate-mental health link
unfolds.
While it is likely that the key findings from this study are most
directly applicable to other developing country contexts, there does
exist some evidence that similar links between crop-damaging climate
events and suicide operate in Australia, suggesting that this phenomenon
may not be limited to lower income countries.
There is an extensive literature linking violent behavior and
large-scale civil conflict to climate events. In particular, the
relationship between temperature and violence at a range of spatial and
temporal scales has been shown to be remarkably robust across countries
and time periods [see Burke, Hsiang and Miguel, "Climate and conflict",
in the Annual Review of Economics, and Carleton, Hsiang and Burke,
"Conflict in a changing climate", European Journal of Physics].
There are a few different causal mechanisms that are hypothesized to
facilitate these temperature effects (also summarized in the above
articles). First, economic productivity may be adversely affected by
temperature, and this may make engaging in conflict a relatively more
attractive endeavor than standard employment. Second, these economic
losses could lead to state-wide resource limitations that constrain the
state's ability to keep peace. Both of these channels are usually
discussed in developing country contexts where economic output depends
critically on agricultural yields, which in turn are sensitive to
temperature shocks.
However, there is also evidence that violent behavior is psychologically
or neurologically linked to temperature. In many contexts where violent
crime responds to temperature, we see this effect happen immediately -
e.g. on a hot day, more murders are likely in U.S. counties (see Ranson,
2014) - such that an economic channel would not have time to manifest.
This is bolstered by nascent neurological research suggesting that
neurotransmitters are affected by temperature, and control over
emotions, and particularly violent and aggressive emotions, is
negatively impacted by warmer temperatures. This is consistent with
recent work by Patrick Baylis of University of British Columbia, who
shows that U.S. Twitter users are more aggressive and exhibit negative
emotional states on hot days.
Thus, while the link between many kinds of violence and temperature is
clear, the possible channels through which this effect occurs are an
active area of research...
- - - -
For example, policies like crop insurance protect farm incomes from the
vagaries of the climate. Access to low-interest loans through
well-functioning rural credit markets may also help limit the damage
caused by warming temperatures, as farmers can access quality seed
without incurring debt burdens that become insurmountable. Other
possible adaptive responses could include farm-based solutions to
protect yields against warming temperatures, such as crop switching to
increase heat tolerance, or investment in irrigation technologies to
combat rainfall variability.
https://www.thriveglobal.com/stories/17202-the-alarming-link-between-climate-change-and-suicide
- - - -
See also Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide
<http://reportingonsuicide.org/>
http://reportingonsuicide.org/
- - - - -
[National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Call 1-800-273-8255]
[Online Chat
<http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/GetHelp/LifelineChat.aspx>]
[Why it's colder in some places:]
*Briefing science background on Thermohaline circulation
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shutdown_of_thermohaline_circulation>*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shutdown_of_thermohaline_circulation
- - - -
[researcher Dr Jennifer Francis:]
*Jennifer Francis: Crazy Weather and the Arctic Meltdown
<https://youtu.be/wtmuBoolHQg?t=28m1s>*
New England Aquarium
Published on Mar 8, 2018
Jennifer Francis, Ph.D., Research Professor I, Department of Marine and
Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, speaks about the question on
everyone's minds: why is the weather so crazy? And is it related to
climate change?
In this presentation, Dr. Francis will explain new research that links
increasing extreme weather events with the rapidly warming and melting
Arctic during recent decades. Evidence suggests that Arctic warming is
causing weather patterns to become more persistent, which can lead to
extremes such as droughts, cold spells, heat waves, and some flooding
events.
https://youtu.be/wtmuBoolHQg
- - - -
[Paul Beckwith has a recent science update]
*Ocean Currents Disruption: Slower and Wavier
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SYCHtYidAo>*
Paul Beckwith
Published on Apr 14, 2018
Cutting edge science finds ocean currents slowing down. We all know the
equator is warm and poles are cold. This temperature difference causes
heat flow from the equator to poles. As the Arctic warms like crazy,
heat flow there slows, thus jet streams slow and are wavier; the same
slowing and waviness increase happens with ocean currents. If sluggish
ocean currents (slowing of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation)
halt or redistribute, we are in for a heap of chaotic climate change
mayhem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SYCHtYidAo
[interesting weather]
*What Gave the West Its Soggiest Winter-Type Atmosphere on Record?
<https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/what-gave-west-its-soggiest-winter-type-atmosphere-record>*
Bob Henson · April 9, 2018
The most striking aspect of this storm is something that's much less
obvious: the amount of water vapor that streamed from the central
tropical Pacific well into the western United States. Simply put, this
storm brought more moisture into parts of the West-by far-than any other
winter-type storm on record, going back to when radiosonde launches
began measuring conditions through the depth of the atmosphere in the
late 1940s...
This event was a weird mash-up of winter and summer elements. One way to
see this is through precipitable water (PW), or the depth of water that
could be squeezed out of an imaginary column of air directly above a
point. The table below shows six stations that have just recorded their
highest values of PW ever observed in the six-month period from November
to April. Some of these records were broken by huge margins on multiple
dates, as evident inFigure 2.
<https://s.w-x.co/wu/PW-records-table-final_0.jpeg>
- - - - -
It's sadly ironic that a winter with a catastrophic flash flood (the
Montecito disaster of early January 2018, which killed at least 21
people) ended up being such a paltry rain producer for the Los Angeles
area. The city gets close to half of its water from central California,
where supplies should be close to average this summer, but the SoCal
landscape could use a solid natural watering, and the season for getting
it is running out fast.
For the water year beginning on October 1, 2017, through Saturday, April
7, downtown L.A. has recorded only 4.61", roughly a third of the
long-term average. In data going back to 1877, only two other water
years have ended up drier: 2006-07 (3.73") and 2001-02 (4.42"). It's
quite likely this water year will rank among the twelve driest on record
for L.A. - which would mean that 6 of the 12 driest water years since
1877 would have occurred since the year 2000.
https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/what-gave-west-its-soggiest-winter-type-atmosphere-record
*This Day in Climate History - April 16, 2005
<http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/04/20050416.html>
- from D.R. Tucker*
April 16, 2005: In his weekly radio address, President George W. Bush
declares:
"In the coming days and weeks I'll talk more about what we need to
do in Washington to make sure America has an energy policy that
reflects the demands of a new century. The first order of business
is for Congress to pass an energy bill. Next week Congress begins
debate on energy legislation and they need to send me a bill that
meets four important objectives:
"First, the energy bill must encourage the use of technology to
improve conservation. We must find smarter ways to meet our energy
needs, and we must encourage Americans to make better choices about
energy consumption. We must also continue to invest in research, so
we will develop the technologies that would allow us to conserve
more and be better stewards of the environment.
"Second, the energy bill must encourage more production at home in
environmentally sensitive ways. Over the past three years, America's
energy consumption has increased by about 4 percent, while our
domestic energy production has decreased by about 1 percent. That
means more of our energy is coming from abroad. To meet our energy
needs and strengthen our national security we must make America less
dependent on foreign sources of energy.
"Third, the energy bill must diversify our energy supply by
developing alternative sources of energy like ethanol or biodiesel.
We need to promote safe, clean nuclear power. And to create more
energy choices, Congress should provide tax credits for renewable
power sources such as wind, solar, and landfill gas. We must also
continue our clean coal technology projects so that we can use the
plentiful source of coal in an environmentally friendly way. The
bill must also support pollution-free cars and trucks, powered by
hydrogen fuel cells instead of gasoline.
"Finally, the energy bill must help us find better, more reliable
ways to deliver energy to consumers. In some parts of the country,
our transmission lines and pipelines are decades older than the
homes and businesses they supply. Many of them are increasingly
vulnerable to events that can interrupt and shut down power in
entire regions of the country. We must modernize our infrastructure
to make America's energy more secure and reliable."
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/04/20050416.html
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