[TheClimate.Vote] August 19, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

Sun Aug 19 09:16:34 EDT 2018

/August 19, 2018/

[Paul Beckwith video talk on the "Hothouse" paper]
*Earth Climate System: Tipping Points to Hothouse? 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsm6hB2tyz8>*
15 min video with transcript https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsm6hB2tyz8
Paul Beckwith
Published on Aug 15, 2018
I follow up on my previous video and discuss climate system tipping 
points that are examined in the recent European paper that is on 
possible Earth Trajectories to a Hothouse. These tipping points, if (or 
when) crossed, will certainly mean that the Paris agreement threshold of 
2 degrees Celsius will not likely be enough to stabilize climate. We 
have to do so much more, starting off by immediately declaring a global 
climate change emergency.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsm6hB2tyz8

[Borders and Interests]
*In a warming world, the fight for water can push nations apart - or 
bring them together 
<https://qz.com/1353831/in-a-warming-world-the-fight-for-water-can-push-nations-apart-or-bring-them-together/>*
By Zoe Schlanger, Naveena Sadasivam, Daniel Wolfe & David Yanofsky 
August 16, 2018
The Rio Grande Valley of Texas is one of the fastest-growing places in 
the United States. Already hot and arid, and growing hotter, the 
booming, heavily Latino region depends almost entirely on the shriveling 
Rio Grande for water. Considered one of the most endangered rivers in 
North America, the Rio Grande provides drinking and irrigation water to 
6 million people and 2 million acres of farmland on both sides of the 
Texas-Mexico border. Droughts and heat waves in the Valley are becoming 
more intense, exacerbating water scarcity...
- - - - -
The three states very rarely all meet, making the 2013 "Red-Dead" deal a 
diplomatic breakthrough. But, as of yet, no aspect of the agreement has 
been carried out, stalled by geopolitical tensions.
A defining characteristic of all three states is water scarcity. The 
region had just gone through the worst drought in 900 years, ending in 
2012, and climate scientists believe the Middle East will become 40% 
drier by the end of the century. Israel, Jordan, and Palestine are 
geographically and hydrologically bound together, but the thwarted 
Red-Dead deal is a symptom of a broader illness: the three almost never 
all meet to talk.
That's why the men from Texas and Mexico were there: Call it family 
therapy for water negotiators.
Texas and Mexico made for good mentors, since they have had to overcome 
geopolitical antagonism of their own to make sure the water kept flowing 
in the homes, businesses, and farms of their people.
https://qz.com/1353831/in-a-warming-world-the-fight-for-water-can-push-nations-apart-or-bring-them-together/

[Hansen paper]
*Cost of Carbon Capture: Can Young People Bear the Burden? 
<https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542435118303465>*
James Hansen, Pushker Kharecha
In view of our longstanding knowledge of the threat posed by climate 
change, we find it morally repugnant and reprehensible that we, the 
older generations, have not developed, tested and costed the known 
technological options for addressing climate change, so that today's 
young people and future generations will have viable options for 
addressing climate change.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542435118303465

[science]
*Ants, acorns and climate change 
<https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180817150319.htm>*
Biologists study swift evolutionary changes in city vs. country ants -- 
and what it might mean for other species as climate warms
Date: August 17, 2018
Source: Case Western Reserve University
Summary: The relatively swift adaptability of tiny, acorn-dwelling ants 
to warmer environments could help scientists predict how other species 
might evolve in the crucible of global climate change, according to 
biologists.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180817150319.htm

[related to jelly fish]
*Bizarre 'Blue Buttons' Wash up on Florida's Gulf Coast 
<https://weather.com/science/nature/news/2018-08-17-porpita-porpita-blue-buttons-destin-florida>*
By Sean Breslin
Though not a jellyfish, these /porpita porpita/, more commonly known as 
blue buttons, were seen Thursday morning on several beaches in the 
Destin area, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. They're 
actually distant relatives of the jellyfish, and while they're not as 
ferocious, these blue buttons can still deliver a skin-irritating sting, 
local marine expert Graham Northup told the Northwest Florida Daily News.
Along Florida's Gulf Coast this summer, there have been numerous 
sightings. NOAA says they're only about one inch in diameter – about the 
size of a quarter – which makes them more difficult to spot.
"We haven't seen them in any mass numbers where it would be a problem 
for the general public," Destin Fire Control District beach safety chief 
Joe D'Agostino told the Northwest Florida Daily News. "We haven't seen 
anything that would warrant us flying purple flags (indicating the 
presence of marine pests)."
The blue buttons were seen near Destin's The Back Porch restaurant and 
at Henderson Beach State Park during the morning hours Thursday, the 
Northwest Florida Daily News also said. In an abundance of caution, 
beachgoers were told to avoid the blue buttons.
When the winds shift, the blue buttons will be carried offshore again, 
Santa Rosa Island Authority water safety supervisor Dave Greenwood told 
the Pensacola News Journal during a similar event in April.
https://weather.com/science/nature/news/2018-08-17-porpita-porpita-blue-buttons-destin-florida

*
*[sarcasm/satire from The Onion]*
Texas Governor Warns It Could Be Decades Before State Fully Ready To 
Talk About Climate Change 
<https://politics.theonion.com/texas-governor-warns-it-could-be-decades-before-state-f-1819580310>*
9/14/17 2:10pm
AUSTIN, TX-Predicting a long, hard road ahead before the discourse was 
in anything approaching satisfactory condition, Texas governor Greg 
Abbott warned Thursday that it could be decades before the state was 
fully ready to talk about climate change. "After visiting communities 
throughout the state, it's clear there are areas where a serious 
dialogue on climate change will be next to impossible for at least 20 or 
30 years," said Abbott, adding that while some small pockets had already 
made small progress in discussing the issue of man-made global warming 
and its effects, there were sadly still portions of Texas that, even by 
the most optimistic estimates, might not be prepared for a generation. 
"Unfortunately, this will be a massive undertaking that we Texans cannot 
bear alone. It will take the help of the entire country if this state is 
ever going to have those crucial climate change conversations, and even 
then, there might be parts of Texas that will never be fully ready." 
Abbott went on to say that, if nothing else, he was heartened by several 
ordinary Texans who said they were determined to talk about climate 
change even if it took the rest of their lives.
https://politics.theonion.com/texas-governor-warns-it-could-be-decades-before-state-f-1819580310

*This Day in Climate History - August 19, 2015 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/science/methane-leaks-in-natural-gas-supply-chain-far-exceed-estimates-study-says.html?mwrsm=Email> 
- from D.R. Tucker*
August 19, 2015:
The New York Times reports:

    "A little-noted portion of the chain of pipelines and equipment that
    brings natural gas from the field into power plants and homes is
    responsible for a surprising amount of methane emissions, according
    to a study on Tuesday.

    "Natural-gas gathering facilities, which collect from multiple
    wells, lose about 100 billion cubic feet of natural gas a year,
    about eight times as much as estimates used by the Environmental
    Protection Agency, according to the study, which appeared in the
    journal Environmental Science and Technology.

    "The newly discovered leaks, if counted in the E.P.A. inventory,
    would increase its entire systemwide estimate by about 25 percent,
    said the Environmental Defense Fund, which sponsored the research as
    part of methane emissions studies it organized."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/science/methane-leaks-in-natural-gas-supply-chain-far-exceed-estimates-study-says.html?mwrsm=Email 

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