[✔️] August 24, 2021 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

[👀 Richard Pauli]

/*August 24, 2021*/

[harsh weathers]
*Rescuers are searching for the people still missing after Tennessee’s 
deadly flash floods.*
At least 21 people are dead. Follow here for the latest news on extreme 
weather and climate, including floods, wildfires, drought and more.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/08/24/us/climate-change



[XR activism video report from London]
*Channel 4 News | Impossible Rebellion | 23 August 2021 | Extinction 
Rebellion UK*
Aug 23, 2021
Extinction Rebellion UK
Help XR mobilise and donate: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/donate/

Extinction Rebellion UK: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/
International: https://rebellion.global/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExtinctionR
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/XRebellionUK/

    1. Tell The Truth
    2. Act Now
    3. Beyond Politics

World Map of Extinction Rebellion Groups: 
https://rebellion.global/branches/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9hfGWmRb9k



[Changes to our planet]
*Rain and Warmth Trigger Intense Melting in Greenland*
By KATHRYN HANSEN, NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY  -- AUGUST 22, 2021
The island’s vast ice sheet underwent multiple bouts of widespread 
melting this summer, exacerbated in August 2021 by rain.

The Greenland Ice Sheet underwent two bouts of intense melting in July 
2021, and forecasts called for even more to follow. They were right. 
Summer heat spurred another major melt event on August 14–15, 2021, but 
this time, the melting was exacerbated by rainfall.

Every year from around May to early September, melting takes place 
across the vast sheet of ice that covers Greenland. Besides contributing 
directly to sea level rise, meltwater can flow to the base of the ice 
sheet via crevasses and moulins, accelerating the flow of ice toward the 
ocean.

Within a melting season there can be the occasional “melt event”—brief 
periods with more melting and runoff than during ‘typical’ summer days. 
The seventh-largest melt event on record (by area) occurred on July 28, 
when melting covered about 881,000 square kilometers (340,000 square 
miles) of the ice sheet, according to data from the National Snow and 
Ice Data Center. Melting on August 14—the peak of the unusual 
late-summer event—was slightly smaller, covering about 872,000 square 
kilometers.

According to Lauren Andrews, a glaciologist with NASA’s Global Modeling 
and Assimilation Office, the pattern of melting differed for each event. 
“While the late-July melt event was extensive in northern Greenland, the 
August event was focused in southern Greenland,” she said.

The island’s southern tip was visible amid clouds on August 15, 2021, 
when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s 
Aqua satellite acquired this image (above) of part of the melt area. The 
image is false color to better differentiate between areas of clouds 
(white), snow (cyan), bare ice (blue), and meltwater or slushy ice 
(darker blue). Ocean water appears the darkest blue, almost black. For 
comparison, a second image shows the area on August 12, prior to the 
melt event.

Notice that by August 15, the area of bare ice extends farther inland. 
“The snow line has retreated, exposing more of the darker, underlying 
ice,” Andrews said. “This retreat is most obvious when we look closely 
at the outlet glaciers and was likely driven by the large melt event on 
August 14–15.”

Andrews also noted that the melting extended well inland toward the 
interior of the ice sheet and reached Summit Station—National Science 
Foundation’s research station located near the top of the ice sheet, 
nearly two miles above sea level.
- -
“During melt events, these processes can occur over parts of the ice 
sheet that do not typically experience melt, making the impact more 
widespread,” Andrews said. “Positive feedbacks like these are starting 
to take their toll.”
https://scitechdaily.com/rain-and-warmth-trigger-intense-melting-in-greenland/



[Text clips and full audio]
*Californians face annual trauma with wildfires. Why don’t we talk about 
our eco-anxieties?*
BY ARIELLA COOK-SHONKOFF - SPECIAL TO THE SACRAMENTO BEE
AUGUST 20, 2021
Ever since the pivotal 2019 California wildfire season, when I awoke 
more fully into the reality of the climate crisis, I’ve often felt 
alone. This is odd, considering I live in a community surrounded by 
family and friends and many in my circle work directly on climate 
issues. But when it comes to talking about my raw, undeniable fears and 
concerns as a Californian facing more wildfires each year, there has 
been a well of near silence.

As a psychotherapist, I’m particularly curious about how other people 
experience their own vulnerabilities about wildfires, and how this 
influences choices and behaviors. In talking to other people — parents, 
therapists, neighbors, friends and clients — I’m struck by how much 
Californians don’t want to talk about wildfires, even as we anticipate 
them every day from May to November...
- -
As soon as wildfires fade in late November and the holidays bring 
welcome distraction, though, the topic is often shelved. Little — if any 
— talk is initiated during what has become our state’s shrinking 
“off-season.”

The second California, the one which I find myself identifying with, 
involves a fairly consistent waxing and waning of anxiety and dread. 
Like the first group, we do all the right things, but with an added 
layer — after another dry winter this year and the inevitable creep 
toward hotter, drier summer months — of gearing up, mentally and 
physically, primed for a large dollop of eco-anxiety...
- -
The quietest of all is the third California. These are people and 
communities who’ve survived the unspeakable from a wildfire: death, 
injury, emotional suffering, multiple evacuations, relocation, loss of 
possessions and livelihoods. In a geographical sense, the aftermath of 
wildfires is an insular experience; long after the smoke has dissipated, 
local communities endure harsh environmental impacts and gradually begin 
a long, uncertain road to recovery infused with the after-effects of 
trauma that most living in the rest of our huge state are spared.

Wildfire-affected communities are regionally disparate — largely out of 
sight and earshot to those in unaffected areas, contributing to a 
notable lack of integration in the collective psyche. Attempting to heal 
trauma and secure affordable, insured housing while enduring wildfires 
all over again each year is an overwhelming challenge.

By now, I know friends, acquaintances and clients who have chosen to 
move, citing wildfires as their primary driver. I wonder if and when my 
own family will leave. As breathtaking and dynamic as California can be, 
it seems to me that great tolerance is required just to be here anymore. 
Perhaps fierce roots, loyalty, community and sense of place maintain the 
status quo.

This year or next year, or the one after that, when my brain repeatedly 
signals a flight response instinct, do I pick up my family and move to 
greater safety? How long can I reasonably silence my internal alarm, 
which is really a basic survival instinct? And at what cost? Although 
I’m not sure of these answers, now that I have found people who feel as 
I do, I can talk about all of this.

We all need to talk about all of this. If more people are able and 
willing to talk about wildfires and their impacts — emotionally, 
spiritually, through an environmental justice lens — a fourth California 
may emerge, one of empathy, solidarity and radical climate engagement.

Ariella Cook-Shonkoff is a psychotherapist and art therapist based in 
the San Francisco Bay Area, and a steering committee member of Climate 
Psychology Alliance-North America.
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article252340798.html



[Antarctic research]
*High geothermal heat flow beneath Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica 
inferred from aeromagnetic data*
Ricarda Dziadek, Fausto Ferraccioli & Karsten Gohl
Communications Earth & Environment volume 2, Article number: 162 (2021) 
Cite this article
*Abstract*
Geothermal heat flow in the polar regions plays a crucial role in 
understanding ice-sheet dynamics and predictions of sea level rise. 
Continental-scale indirect estimates often have a low spatial resolution 
and yield largest discrepancies in West Antarctica. Here we analyse 
geophysical data to estimate geothermal heat flow in the Amundsen Sea 
Sector of West Antarctica. With Curie depth analysis based on a new 
magnetic anomaly grid compilation, we reveal variations in lithospheric 
thermal gradients. We show that the rapidly retreating Thwaites and Pope 
glaciers in particular are underlain by areas of largely elevated 
geothermal heat flow, which relates to the tectonic and magmatic history 
of the West Antarctic Rift System in this region. Our results imply that 
the behavior of this vulnerable sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet 
is strongly coupled to the dynamics of the underlying lithosphere.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-021-00242-3



[Take note of this]
*5 possible climate futures—from the optimistic to the strange*
The five scenarios that form the backbone of the latest IPCC report tell 
radically different stories about humanity’s future.

MADELEINE STONE -- AUGUST 18, 2021
The UN’s latest report on the state of the climate offers a stark 
warning that humanity’s future could be filled with apocalyptic natural 
disasters. But that future isn’t set in stone. Depending on global 
economic trends, technological progress, geopolitical developments, and 
most important, how aggressively we act to reduce carbon emissions, the 
world at the end of the 21st century could turn out to be radically 
different. Or not...
- -
The new report features five climate narratives that differ in terms of 
the level of projected warming and society’s ability to adapt to the 
changes ahead. Each narrative pairs a different socioeconomic 
development scenario with a different carbon emissions pathway, 
resulting in a Choose Your Own Adventure-style series of endings to the 
story of 21st-century climate change...
- -
It is also possible that feedbacks within the climate system, such as a 
massive pulse of CO2 and methane from thawing permafrost, will push 
warming levels toward those worst-case projections even without a sudden 
coal industry revival. The same thing could happen if the climate proves 
more sensitive to human-caused carbon dioxide emissions than scientists 
currently expect...
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/5-possible-climate-futures-from-the-optimistic-to-the-strange



[Thanks goes to a local television forecaster for noticing]
*Climate Change vs Global Warming*
Aug 23, 2021
KXAN
Meteorologist Kristen Currie explains the difference between the two and 
how they impact you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SvrY3iGTVE

- -

[2 year old history gives the best statement]
*Why the Guardian is changing the language it uses about the environment*
 From now, house style guide recommends terms such as ‘climate crisis’ 
and ‘global heating’
Damian Carrington -- 17 May 2019

Instead of “climate change” the preferred terms are “climate emergency, 
crisis or breakdown” and “global heating” is favoured over “global 
warming”, although the original terms are not banned.

“We want to ensure that we are being scientifically precise, while also 
communicating clearly with readers on this very important issue,” said 
the editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner. “The phrase ‘climate change’, for 
example, sounds rather passive and gentle when what scientists are 
talking about is a catastrophe for humanity.”

“Increasingly, climate scientists and organisations from the UN to the 
Met Office are changing their terminology, and using stronger language 
to describe the situation we’re in,” she said.

The United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, talked of the 
“climate crisis” in September, adding: “We face a direct existential 
threat.” The climate scientist Prof Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, a former 
adviser to Angela Merkel, the EU and the pope, also uses “climate crisis”.

In December, Prof Richard Betts, who leads the Met Office’s climate 
research, said “global heating” was a more accurate term than “global 
warming” to describe the changes taking place to the world’s climate. In 
the political world, UK MPs recently endorsed the Labour party’s 
declaration of a “climate emergency”.

The scale of the climate and wildlife crises has been laid bare by two 
landmark reports from the world’s scientists. In October, they said 
carbon emissions must halve by 2030 to avoid even greater risks of 
drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of 
people. In May, global scientists said human society was in jeopardy 
from the accelerating annihilation of wildlife and destruction of the 
ecosystems that support all life on Earth.

Other terms that have been updated, including the use of “wildlife” 
rather than “biodiversity”, “fish populations” instead of “fish stocks” 
and “climate science denier” rather than “climate sceptic”. In 
September, the BBC accepted it gets coverage of climate change “wrong 
too often” and told staff: “You do not need a ‘denier’ to balance the 
debate.”

Earlier in May, Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager who has inspired 
school strikes for climate around the globe, said: “It’s 2019. Can we 
all now call it what it is: climate breakdown, climate crisis, climate 
emergency, ecological breakdown, ecological crisis and ecological 
emergency?”

The update to the Guardian’s style guide follows the addition of the 
global carbon dioxide level to the Guardian’s daily weather pages. 
“Levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have risen so dramatically – including 
a measure of that in our daily weather report is symbolic of what human 
activity is doing to our climate,” said Viner in April. “People need 
reminding that the climate crisis is no longer a future problem – we 
need to tackle it now, and every day matters.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/17/why-the-guardian-is-changing-the-language-it-uses-about-the-environment 




[Seattle NPR Radio report on fire-fighters ]
*How to fight a wildfire (Full Episode) / Seattle Now*
Aug 23, 2021
KUOW
We all see the news stories and experience the smoke of wildfires up and 
down the West coast. But what does it actually take to stop one of those 
blazes? Today we find out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yjud1GzvV8



[Art meets reality]
*A Performance Piece That Pairs Painted Waves Alongside Real Ones*
On view in Newport, R.I., Melissa McGill’s latest is an ode to nature 
and a reminder of our debt to it.
The wind, of course, like the ocean, morphs from one moment to the next. 
Thus, while the show always begins with the ensemble walking in a 
procession over a hill and into view with their wave paintings in tow, 
no two performances are exactly alike, something the team figured they 
might as well embrace. “Rather than trying to have everyone move 
synchronously, we opted for an improvisational score,” said George. That 
created a basic structure while leaving room for the weather, as well as 
for different personalities and ability levels. “There’s this 
vacillation between the individual and the group,” George added. Indeed, 
a viewer’s eye travels constantly, taking in small pockets of beauty — 
the way a performer holds her arm aloft, say, or how the light catches a 
particular brush stroke — and then the whole expanse, which serves as a 
reminder of humans’ interconnectedness and the fact that information and 
a will to effect change can travel, too. “With this project,” said 
Kazanjian, “it’s almost as if the painted image becomes painted words 
used to tell the story — because we know that, even after the 
performance is over, it will live on in the telling.”

“In the Waves” is free and open to the public. It will be performed at 3 
and 4 p.m. every afternoon from Aug. 24 to 28.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/23/t-magazine/melissa-mcgill-newport-waves.html



[Boulder Colorado - clip]
By ELIZABETH HERNANDEZ | ehernandez at denverpost.com | The Denver Post
August 22, 2021 at 6:00 a.m.
*Grieving over climate change? Colorado experts offer hope amidst the haze*
Climate grief can take shape as depression, dysfunction, or losing 
interest in things because they seem “pointless”...
- -
*Using laughter to fight despair*
For Beth Osnes, a better world is one united in laughter.

The University of Colorado Boulder associate theater professor has 
experience in environmental work that led her to dream up a different — 
and funnier — kind of climate communication.

“So much of our communication is scaring the hell out of people and 
convincing them the situation is hopeless,” Osnes said. “If we believe 
that, we’re full of inaction and want to disengage as fast as we can.”

The 2017 climate report said psychological responses to climate change — 
conflict avoidance, fatalism, fear, helplessness and resignation — are 
on the rise. These responses, the report said, are keeping the nation 
“from properly addressing the core causes of and solutions for our 
changing climate.”

Osnes teaches a course on creative climate communication dedicated to 
making climate information fun and funny to pull more people toward the 
cause. The class is largely for students about to graduate into 
environmental science fields.

“Their hearts are nearly on the ground,” Osnes said. “They know too 
much. They’re overwhelmed. They need to process their emotions.”

Osnes assigns projects in which students create informational campaigns 
about climate-related issues, but begs them to be comical. While 
teaching about the climate impact of the fashion industry and the 
difference ethically sourced clothing can make on the planet, Osnes asks 
students to don completely sustainable outfits — meaning pieces are 
thrifted, hand-me-downs and recycled.

Then, students photograph themselves in their outfits while wearing 
green lycra bodysuits underneath to draw attention to themselves so they 
can explain their messaging.

“Once you start bringing together expression and purposeful action, 
people feel like they can allow themselves hope,” Osnes said.

Bolinger finds her hope in science.

Despite the droughts, Bolinger knows there will be days of driving rain 
soaking into the Earth. Despite the heat, Bolinger knows there will be 
nights frosted by glittering snowflakes. The climate scientist also 
takes comfort in the number of people trying to make a better future.

“There are so many people in Colorado working to slow down climate 
change,” Bolinger said. “If you try to picture how to solve this whole 
thing, it looks impossible. But if you really drill down to the more 
local level, there are solutions and things you can tackle. Consider 
even looking just in your neighborhood or your city to see how you might 
be able to help. It’s a lot easier to tackle an issue if you’re looking 
at where it directly impacts you versus trying to think about a polar 
bear floating on a melting ice cap in the Arctic.

“There are solutions we can work on. There is hope.”
https://www.denverpost.com/2021/08/22/climate-change-grief-anxiety-mental-health/



[The news archive - looking back]
*On this day in the history of global warming August 24, 2010*

August 24, 2010: MSNBC's Keith Olbermann interviews Lee Fang of Think 
Progress regarding Fang's coverage of the Koch Brothers.

http://youtu.be/tRbLXN4j7Do

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