[TheClimate.Vote] July 4, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Wed Jul 4 10:43:35 EDT 2018
/July 4, 2018/
CNN A sweltering Fourth of July forecast
Here is a region by region look at what can be expected for your Fourth
of July plans.
<https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/03/us/fourth-of-july-weather-wxc/index.html>
Check your local forecast
<https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/03/us/fourth-of-july-weather-wxc/index.html>
- - - -
[Common sense from WildfireToday]
*Do not use sky lanterns on July 4 <http://wildfiretoday.com/>*
In the United States July 4 is a holiday commemorating the adoption of
the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. For many people it
involves fireworks which can be beautiful when conducted by
professionals at an organized event, but can be dangerous in the hands
of those buying them at tents set up on the side if the road, causing
injuries and starting fires.
An especially hazardous device that can be classified as fireworks are
sky lanterns. The Jefferson City, Missouri Times Tribune has an
editorial, warning about the dangers of fireworks. Below is an excerpt:
*…Sky lanterns are another concern. Like other fireworks, they're
illegal to release inside the city limits. However, that hasn't stopped
some people from using the pretty-but-potentially-dangerous items.*
Once a sky lantern is lit, the hot air lifts it into the air.
The flaming lantern can travel more than a mile from its starting point.
Wind can affect the sky lantern, blowing the sides, forcing the hot air
out and sending it back to the ground, while still burning. A flaming
lantern can drop onto a rooftop, field, trees or power lines before the
flame is fully extinguished. A destructive fire can result when a
flaming lantern reaches the ground during dry conditions.
Obviously, sky lanterns are potential fire hazards beyond other fireworks.
We urge you to avoid them, and to follow the fireworks laws in general.
Too often sky lanterns get caught on trees, roofs, cell phone towers, or
land on the ground when the flames are still active and ignite damaging
fires. They are banned in most U.S. states and many countries.
http://wildfiretoday.com/
[Free lights in the night sky]
*Climate Change Is Making Nighttime Clouds More Visible
<https://e360.yale.edu/digest/climate-change-is-making-nighttime-clouds-more-visible>*
Noctilucent clouds form only in the summertime and are only visible at
dawn and dusk.
Those wispy, iridescent, high-altitude clouds sometimes seen at dawn and
dusk are becoming more visible due to climate change, according to a new
study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Rising
methane emissions have increased the amount of water vapor in the middle
atmosphere, the study found, which then freezes around specks of dust to
form the clouds.
Humans first observed night-shining, or noctilucent, clouds in 1885,
following the eruption of Indonesia's Krakatoa volcano, according to the
American Geophysical Union. The clouds became an increasingly common
sight during the 20th century, from being visible once every several
decades to being observed several times each summer by people living in
mid- to high-latitude regions. Scientists first began debating in the
1990s whether climate change was responsible for the increased visibility.
"We speculate that the clouds have always been there, but the chance to
see one was very, very poor in historical times," said Franz-Josef
Lubken, a scientist at the Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics in
Germany and lead author of the new study.
In the new study, Lubken and his colleagues at the Leibniz Institute
used satellite observations and climate models to examine how greenhouse
gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels affected noctilucent
cloud formation over the past 138 years, beginning with the start of
industrialization. They found that carbon dioxide has actually had very
little effect on the nighttime clouds. CO2 warms Earth's surface and
lower atmosphere, but actually slightly cools the middle atmosphere,
which causes the ice particles that form to be smaller and harder to see.
When methane reaches the middle atmosphere, however, it oxidizes,
creating water vapor. The study found methane emissions have increased
water vapor concentrations in the mesosphere - a section of the middle
atmosphere where these noctilucent clouds appear - by an estimated 40
percent since the late 1800s, which has more than doubled the amount of
ice that forms in the mesosphere. The clouds, the scientists write, are
"a long-term indicator for climate change."
https://e360.yale.edu/digest/climate-change-is-making-nighttime-clouds-more-visible
[4th of July eruption - hot rock melts ice]
*Active volcano discovered beneath Antarctic ice sheet
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sof_sJxD8yQ>*
Climate State
Published on Jul 3, 2018
'Wild card' volcanic activity may add to climate change-induced sea
level rise
<https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/volcano-antarctic-ice-melting-pine-island-glacier-sea-level-climate-change-global-warming-a8423131.html>
https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/volcano-antarctic-ice-melting-pine-island-glacier-sea-level-climate-change-global-warming-a8423131.html
Evidence of an active volcanic heat source beneath the Pine Island
Glacier <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04421-3>
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04421-3
Scientists discover 91 volcanoes below Antarctic ice sheet
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/12/scientists-discover-91-volcanos-antarctica>
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/12/scientists-discover-91-volcanos-antarctica
South Pole Volcano Eruption - Mt. Erebus Blasting Massive Molten Lava
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUy8vtk6OgE>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUy8vtk6OgE
Antarctica Morph through Time: Antarctic Peninsula
<https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=366>
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=366
Mount Erebus Volcano - Ross Island, (excert from "Encounters at the End
of the World" ) <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6qOT0Xirvg>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6qOT0Xirvg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sof_sJxD8yQ
[we are neither surprised, nor amused]
*The mysterious disappearance of the phrase 'climate change' from a CDC
website
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/07/02/the-mysterious-disappearance-of-the-phrase-climate-change-from-a-cdc-website/?utm_term=.9d9d4a66ccd1>*
Shortly after President Trump's election but before his formal
inauguration, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agency
focused on conducting research to improve workers' health watered down a
website on climate change's contributions to occupational hazards, a new
report has revealed.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's
"Occupational Safety and Health and Climate" page had its name changed,
so as to remove the phrase "climate change," sometime on or after Nov.
14, 2016, according to a report by the Environmental Data and Governance
Initiative. The old name was "Climate Change and Occupational Safety and
Health." Multiple other removals of the phrase "climate change" occurred
at or around the same time.
It's unclear why the changes were made. In a statement, the CDC
described the changes as "planned updates."
- - - - -
Meanwhile, sometime between Oct. 16 and Dec. 16, 2016, an extensive
sub-page detailing the impacts of climate change on workers was edited
to remove no less than 15 mentions of the phrase "climate change," often
substituting instead the word "climate" or other formulations, such as
"climate conditions" or "climate variations."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/07/02/the-mysterious-disappearance-of-the-phrase-climate-change-from-a-cdc-website
[if it is so anyway, why not think about it?]
*OPINION: IF WE WANT TO SOLVE COMPLEX SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS,
WE NEED TO THINK IN TERMS OF SYSTEMS
<https://ensia.com/voices/systems-thinking/>*
Understanding how various parts of our world connect will help us shape
solutions that don't just create more challenges
June 26, 2018 - Condensed with permission from "Problem Solving
Desperately Needs Systems Thinking,
<https://medium.com/disruptive-design/problem-solving-desperately-needs-systems-thinking-607d34e4fc80>"
originally published at Medium....
The problem with this is that the world is not linear. While life may be
marked by a start and an end, it is most certainly not a straight
ordered line; it is a chaotic mess of experiences that make and define
our understanding of the world. In reality, everything is
interconnected. Problems are connected to many other elements within
dynamic systems. As a result, treating just one symptom can lead to
burden shifting and often unintended consequences...
- - - - -
From climate change to racism and homelessness to global politics,
taking a systems approach allows for a dynamic and intimate
understanding of the elements and agents at play within the problem
arena, enabling us to identify opportunities for intervention...
- - - - -
*Three Main Systems at Play*
The world is made up of endless large and small interconnected systems,
but there are three that are key to consider: social systems, industrial
systems and the ecosystem.
*Social systems* are the intangible rules and structures, created by
humans, that keep society and all its norms and rituals functioning.
*Industrial systems* are all of the manufactured material world, created
to facilitate human needs and requiring natural resources to be
extracted and transformed into stuff.
The *ecosystem* provides all the natural services (such as clean air,
food, fresh water, minerals and natural resources) needed for the other
two systems to exist.
These three big systems keep society in order, the economy churning
along and the world functioning for us humans.
Ultimately, approaching things from a systems perspective is about
tackling big, messy real-world problems rather than isolating cause and
effect down to a single point. In the latter case, "solutions" are often
just Band-Aids (that may cause unintended consequences) as opposed to
real and holistic systemic solutions. Looking for the links and
relationships within the bigger picture helps identify the systemic
causes and lends itself to innovative, more holistic ideas and solutions.
https://ensia.com/voices/systems-thinking/
[Where is that tide schedule?]
*Meet America's new climate normal: towns that flood when it isn't
raining
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/28/rising-elizabeth-rush-extract-towns-flooding?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other>*
Climate change
In this extract from Rising, Elizabeth Rush explains 'sunny day
flooding' - when a high tide can cause streets to fill with water
Rising seas: 'Florida is about to be wiped off the map'
Elizabeth Rush - Thu 28 Jun 2018
'I've been here 20 years. When I first moved we used to flood once a
year, maybe twice. Now it's constant.'
- - - -
Flooding from sea level rise threatens over 300,000 US coastal homes - study
It isn't raining when I arrive in Shorecrest, and there isn't a storm
offshore; the day is as clear and as blue as the filigree on a porcelain
plate. But the streets are still full of water. I watch as a woman wades
ankle deep across Tenth Avenue. She has gathered her long russet-colored
skirt in her right hand, and in her left she holds a pair of Jesus
sandals. When she reaches the bus stop, she sits and puts her shoes on.
"We get flooded with just about every high tide," the woman tells me.
"And if the moon is big it's worse."
All along the east coast, from Portland, Maine, to Key West, "sunny day
flooding" is increasingly frequent. Many places in the Sunshine State
are so low lying that high tide - when coupled with something as
innocuous as a full moon - can cause the streets to brim with water.
Sometimes the tide simply rises above the seawalls and starts to spill
into the roadways; in other cases it enters the neighborhood through the
storm-water infrastructure below ground. The very pipes designed to
reduce flooding by ushering rain out instead give salt water a chance to
work its way in.
In Shorecrest I spend a minute watching the bay burble up through the
street grate and on to Northeast Little River Drive before whipping out
my camera and snapping half a dozen photos. Just then a man walks up
behind me, peers down, and says: "I've seen fish come swimming out."
"No, you haven't!"
"I have," he says, pushing his sunglasses up. "I've been here 20 years.
When I first moved we used to flood once a year, maybe twice. Now it's
constant."
- - - - --
His name is Robert Cisneros. He grew up in Cuba and moved to Florida
in 1962, dropping the final "o" in Roberto. He thought the name change
might help his fledgling boat repair company succeed.
Robert points to his house and his yard, which are catty-corner from the
drain we stand by, and says: "I used to have a nice garden here, and now
you see how it is. The water comes in and sits. And everything dies
because of the salt. It's not rain that floods this place. It's the
ocean. I just bought some stones to put here to try to keep the water
out. But other than that, what can I do?"
I ask if the city is helping the neighborhood come up with short-term
solutions. Robert gets upset. "I think they need to raise the street.
They need to install pumps. But those kinds of things only happen on the
beach. They're not giving any of us here any relief."
Like Miami Beach, Shorecrest was built atop a former wetland. On the
strip, where billions of dollars in real estate investment are at risk,
the government is using a mixture of property taxes and municipal bonds
to invest in formal sea level rise adaptation. But in Shorecrest,
Hialeah, and Sweetwater - low to middle-income neighborhoods where the
majority of residents are people of color - residents are expected to
remove their shoes and wade through the water.
Robert shakes his head in disbelief. "I wanted to leave this house to my
kids, but soon it's going to be worthless," he says. On his stoop sit
two pairs of rubber boots, ready for the flood that is already here.
- - - - -
"What comes next?" I ask.
"We have to start relocating the things we value," he says. "Like the
Smithsonian Institution, which is sited on top of an old marsh. We have
to make seed banks, a global archive for the future, and we have to move
our power plants, in order to maintain a functioning society. We have to
start lining the trash dumps that line our shores, we have to start
preparing for inundation. Remember, the last time carbon dioxide levels
were the same as they are today, the ocean was one hundred feet higher."
The last time carbon dioxide levels were this high was during the
Pliocene epoch, 2.6 to 5.3 million years ago, when megatoothed sharks
prowled the oceans. The last time carbon dioxide levels were this high,
the tectonic plates beneath India and Asia collided, forming the
Himalayas. The last time carbon dioxide levels were this high,
California's Sierra Nevada rose up and tilted its granite face west. The
Alps folded and thrust their splintered rock toward the sky. The last
time carbon dioxide levels were this high, armadillos migrated north
across a newly formed land bridge between today's North and South
America. Dogs headed in the opposite direction. But no one can remember
these things, because humans didn't exist.
This is an extract from Rising: Dispatches From the New American Shore
(Milkweed Editions)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/28/rising-elizabeth-rush-extract-towns-flooding?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
[philosopher on video about 4 minutes]
*Vandana Shiva - Physicist and thinker <https://youtu.be/GyMHCDqiKGw>*
Gulab Jamun
Published on Feb 6, 2018
Vandana Shiva - Physicist and thinker
https://youtu.be/GyMHCDqiKGw
[time for some religion - from Katherine Hayhoe]
*The Bible doesn't talk about climate change, right?
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpjL_otLq6Y>*
Global Weirding with Katharine Hayhoe
Published on Jan 4, 2017
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.
http://globalweirdingseries.com
https://www.facebook.com/globalweirding
http://kttz.org
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpjL_otLq6Y
[Flagstaff drama production]
*'Two Degrees' links climate change, personal loss
<https://azdailysun.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/two-degrees-links-climate-change-personal-loss/article_f1a47700-774b-5393-a5d8-a6c78fe043f9.html>*
GABRIEL GRANILLO Sun Staff Reporter
A woman and a planet are in crisis in Tira Palmquist's "Two Degrees" at
the Doris Harper-White Community Playhouse, July 6-8...
While global in its messages, "Two Degrees" is a deeply human story
about a woman dealing with the death of her partner, but the messages
are there for people who would like to listen. For Daggett, the power in
the play is in how those messages are portrayed without seeming too preachy.
"In my mind, good writing is able to get across a point without beating
the reader or the audience member over the head with it," said Daggett.
"[Palmquist] does such a good job of telling a compelling story, and she
does a great job in addressing a really critical current issue."
"It actually could help change the world or at least change people and
get them motivated," added Brown. "It's opened my eyes to just how close
we really are to being over the edge and how we don't seem to know that
we can even do anything about it. Flagstaff is a great location for this
play because there are a lot of people who are like-minded, who are into
the environment and sensitive to changes and would want to do something
to help."
For those who do wish to help, representatives from environmental
organizations such as Citizens Climate Lobby, the Flagstaff Climate
Action Council, the Northern Arizona Climate Change Alliance and NAU Our
Climate will address the audience after each performance and discuss the
ways in which they can help curb the effects of climate change.
If climate change was not already something on people's minds, Daggett
feels it should be after seeing the play, saying that its effects are
real and that there is something we can do about it.
"I believe the science of climate change. I believe it's happening now.
I believe that it poses great threats to the planet," said Daggett. "I
love art, and I love theater for being able to grapple with these issues
that we as human beings need to be dealing with. Theater gives us an
opportunity to do it in such a thoughtful and productive way."
https://azdailysun.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/two-degrees-links-climate-change-personal-loss/article_f1a47700-774b-5393-a5d8-a6c78fe043f9.html
*This Day in Climate History - July 4, 2011
<http://mediamatters.org/blog/2011/07/06/fox-celebrates-july-4-by-trying-to-debunk-globa/180569>
- from D.R. Tucker*
July 4, 2011: The Fox News Channel celebrates its independence from
reality by bringing on infamous climate-change denier Joe Bastardi to
attack those concerned about carbon pollution.
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2011/07/06/fox-celebrates-july-4-by-trying-to-debunk-globa/180569
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