[TheClimate.Vote] October 26, 2019 - Daily Global Warming News Digest.

Sat Oct 26 10:50:34 EDT 2019

/October 26, 2019/

[California Risk]
*California wildfires: Millions warned of possible power cut*
What is PG&E telling Californians?
PG&E on Friday warned about 850,000 customers - whose households are 
estimated to contain about 2 million people - that they "may be 
impacted" by a power cut between Saturday evening and midday on Monday, 
citing forecasts of potential extreme weather.

"PG&E will need to turn off power for safety several hours before the 
potentially damaging winds arrive," the company said in a statement.

"The weather event could be the most powerful in California in decades."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50191237
- - -
[Calif fire name is Tick]
*How evacuees are coping with the Tick fire*
The Tick fire that started northeast of Santa Clarita on Thursday is up 
to 4,300 acres and only 5% contained (as of 9:30 AM PT today). Hundreds 
of firefighters are working on it, and at least 40,000 people have had 
to evacuate.

https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/press-play-with-madeleine-brand/tick-fire-how-evacuees-are-faring/how-evacuees-are-coping-with-the-tick-fire
- -
[aerial video]
*Helicopter View of "Tick Fire" Burning In California*
Oct 25, 2019
VOA News
Footage shared by L.A. County Firefighter Michael Dubron shows bright 
red flames and clouds of dark smoke beside residential areas, as the 
so-called Tick Fire burned north of Los Angeles, Thursday, October 24, 
and Friday, October 25.
Punishing Santa Ana winds that pushed fires into Los Angeles-area 
neighborhoods, burning six homes, were expected to last through Friday 
and could prompt more power shutoffs to hundreds of thousands of people.
The wind-whipped blazes broke out Thursday in the Santa Clarita area and 
the largest remained uncontained. As many as 50,000 people were under 
evacuation orders.
In Northern California, a fire near the wine country town of Geyserville 
burned 49 buildings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZqDP1seZT8

[more corn]
*US corn yields get boost from a global warming 'hole'*
Date: October 24, 2019
Source: Dartmouth College
Summary:
The global average temperature has increased 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over 
the last 100 years. In contrast, the Corn Belt of the U.S., one of the 
most agriculturally productive regions of the world, has experienced a 
decrease in temperatures in the summer during the growing season. Known 
as the 'US warming hole,' this anomalous cooling phenomenon, which 
occurred in tandem with increasing rainfall, was responsible for 
boosting corn yields by 5 to 10 percent per year, according to a new study.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191024154108.htm

[Looks nice on a T-shirt or as a flag - even a table cloth]
*Warming Stripes for GLOBE from 1850-2018*
These 'warming stripe' graphics are visual representations of the change 
in temperature as measured in each country over the past 100+ years. 
Each stripe represents the temperature in that country averaged over a 
year. For most countries, the stripes start in the year 1901 and finish 
in 2018. For the UK, USA, Switzerland & Germany, the data starts in the 
late 19th century.
https://showyourstripes.info/
- -
[blue is cold, red is hot]
The chart that defines our warming world
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48678196
- - -
also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warming_stripes

[classic report from 2013]
*Study finds fungi, not plant matter, responsible for most carbon 
sequestration in northern forests*
March 29, 2013 by Bob Yirka, Phys.org
Study finds fungi, not plant matter, responsible for most carbon 
sequestration in northern forests
The study system consists of 30 islands of different sizes in the two 
large lakes, Lake Uddjaure and Lake Hornavan, near Arjeplog in northern 
Sweden.
(Phys.org) -- A new study undertaken by a diverse group of scientists in 
Sweden has found that contrary to popular belief, most of the carbon 
that is sequestered in northern boreal forests comes about due to fungi 
that live on and in tree roots, rather than via dead needles, moss and 
leaf matter. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team 
describes their findings after taking soil samples from 30 islands in 
two lakes in northern Sweden.

  Scientists have known for quite some time that northern forests 
sequester a lot of carbon--they pull in carbon dioxide after all, and 
"breath" out oxygen. But what the trees actually do with the carbon has 
been a matter of debate--most have suggested that it's likely carried to 
needles and leaves then eventually drops to the forest floor where over 
time decomposition causes it to leech into the soil. If that were the 
case, this new team of researchers reasoned, then the newest carbon 
deposits should appear closest to the surface of the forest floor. But 
this is not what they found--instead they discovered that newer deposits 
were more likely to be found at deeper levels in the soil. This was 
because, they learned, the trees were carrying much of the carbon they 
pulled in down to their roots (via sugars) where it was being 
sequestered by a type of fungi (ectomycorrhizal, aka mycorrhizal fungi) 
that eats the sugars and expels the residue into the soil.

Study finds fungi, not plant matter, responsible for most carbon 
sequestration in northern forests
Cortinarius armillatus forms mycorrhizal symbiosis with roots of birch 
trees...
https://m.phys.org/news/2013-03-fungi-responsible-carbon-sequestration-northern.html?fbclid=IwAR2MuBUcSKXxcGjnmn5qm_a3AXT6czQnORNh7RwyRfpFiDSi0FXDuB9H6gw
- - -
More information: Roots and Associated Fungi Drive Long-Term Carbon 
Sequestration in Boreal Forest, Science 29 March 2013
DOI: 10.1126/science.1231923
Abstract
Boreal forest soils function as a terrestrial net sink in the global 
carbon cycle. The prevailing dogma has focused on above ground plant 
litter as a principal source of soil organic matter. Using 14C 
bomb-carbon modeling, we show that 50 to 70% of stored carbon in a 
chronosequence of boreal forested islands derives from roots and 
root-associated microorganisms. Fungal biomarkers indicate impaired 
degradation and preservation of fungal residues in late successional 
forests. Furthermore, 454 pyrosequencing of molecular barcodes, in 
conjunction with stable isotope analyses, highlights root-associated 
fungi as important regulators of ecosystem carbon dynamics. Our results 
suggest an alternative mechanism for the accumulation of organic matter 
in boreal forests during succession in the long-term absence of disturbance.
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/339/6127/1615

*This Day in Climate History - October 26, 2000 - from D.R. Tucker*
  At a campaign appearance in Davenport, Iowa, Democratic candidate Al 
Gore declares:

"Now, I want to talk about the environment here today, because we
have a situation where the big polluters are supporting Governor
Bush, and they are wanting to be in control of the environmental
policies.

"In his state of Texas -- Tom talked about some of the statistics
there -- here's another: They're No. 1 in something; they rank No. 1
out of all 50 in industrial pollution. They rank No. 1 as the
smoggiest state. Houston's just solidified its title as the
smoggiest city.

"He put a lobbyist for the chemical manufacturers in charge of
enforcing the environmental laws, made some of the environmental
laws voluntary and then the state sank in its ratings.

"Now, look, just today we are seeing on television the new study
that just comes out once every five years where the scientific
community around the world tells us what they've learned about this
problem that these kids are going to grow up with unless we do
something, and that's the problem of global warming. And I know a
lot of people say that that looks like it's off in the future.

"But let me tell what you this new study said: instead of just going
up a few degrees in the lifetimes of these kids, unless we act, the
average temperature is going to go up 10 or 11 degrees. The storms
will get stronger, the weather patterns will change. But it does not
have to happen, and it won't happen if we put our minds to solving
this problem."

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0010/26/se.02.html
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