[✔️] August 24, 2023- Global Warming News Digest | Greece ablaze, US Heat dome, Ocean record, Volcanoes and wildfires, Clean air means more heat, Where to go, Flash flood footage, Comedian Lewis Black rants, 2010 Koch's history

Thu Aug 24 10:15:52 EDT 2023

/*August *//*24, 2023*/

/[ Reute//rs report ]/
*Wildfire outside Athens as hundreds of blazes ravage Greece*
By Stamos Prousalis and Alkis Konstantinidis
August 23, 2023
Summary

    - - More than 350 fires erupt since Friday - minister

    - - Blazes force hundreds to evacuate

    - - Fire near Athens burns cars, homes, factories

ATHENS, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Greek firefighters backed by aircraft battled 
a blaze spreading outside Athens for a second day on Wednesday, one of 
hundreds ravaging a country where wildfires have already killed 20 
people this week.

Several hundreds have fled their homes nationwide since fires erupted in 
northern Greece on Saturday, fanned by heat and high winds in the 
summer's second major outbreak.

Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said 355 
wildfires had erupted since Friday, including 209 in the last 48 hours. 
Firefighting teams were making "superhuman efforts" to contain them, he 
said...
- -
"The fire went out for half an hour.... but with these very strong 
winds, it's been alternately starting and then stopping again," 
60-year-old resident Dimitris Armenis told Reuters.

About 700 migrants held at the nearby facility of Amygdaleza were 
evacuated to another camp, a migration ministry official said.
The fire has left a trail of destruction, burning homes and cars in Fyli 
and forcing residents to flee on foot, some covering their faces with 
their clothes because of the smoke...
- -
Summer wildfires are common in Greece but this year they have been made 
worse by unusually hot, dry and windy weather which scientists link to 
climate change.

"This summer is the worst since meteorological data began to be 
collected," Kikilias said.

In July, tens of thousands of foreign tourists were evacuated from the 
island of Rhodes, where a fire burned for a week, burning hotels and 
resorts as well as swathes of land.
https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/wildfire-rages-near-athens-second-day-forcing-more-evacuations-2023-08-23/

/[  NYTimes reports ]/
*Central U.S. Swelters Under Heat Dome, Forcing Cancellations and 
Precautions*
A summer of extreme weather continued as residents coped with oppressive 
heat across a large stretch of the nation’s midsection.
- -
Across hundreds of miles, from Mississippi to Missouri to Minnesota, 
cooling centers have opened, schools without air-conditioning have 
dismissed early or closed outright, and residents have tried to limit 
time outdoors.

In Omaha, a 1-year-old girl died on Monday after she had been left in a 
day care center’s van, according to the local police. Temperatures in 
the area had reached 98 degrees that afternoon. The driver of the van 
was arrested on Monday on charges of child abuse by neglect resulting in 
death...
- -
“I’ve never seen humidity like this,” said Eric L. Harris, who lives in 
Lincoln, Neb., where temperatures surpassed 100 degrees on Tuesday and 
were expected to do so again on Wednesday and Thursday...
- -
For many Midwestern states, the high temperatures this week have brought 
added misery in a summer already made difficult by drought. In a cruel 
meteorological turn, that drought has exacerbated the heat...
- -
“The ground is already really dry — it doesn’t take much for the heat to 
kind of just build up over there,” said Paul Pastelok, a senior 
meteorologist at AccuWeather. “And that’s what makes it a bigger heat 
dome that we’re seeing right now.”

In the Minneapolis area, better known for its foreboding winter 
conditions, forecasters said daily temperature records could fall on 
both Tuesday and Wednesday, with readings of 99 or 100 degrees possible.

Tyler Hasenstein, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Minnesota, 
said a heat dome of this scale might settle over the state every five 
years or so, “but those typically happen in June, July — and not August, 
which is kind of the weird thing in this case.” The temperatures were 
also not expected to drop much after sunset, he said.

Meteorologists said high temperatures were forecast to reach up to 20 
degrees above average throughout Iowa and neighboring states over the 
next few days. The humidity will make it feel even more oppressive, with 
heat indexes that could approach 120 degrees. Forecasters have issued 
heat alerts, ranging from advisories to excessive heat warnings, for 
roughly 100 million people across 22 states...
- -
“Every year the weather seems to get worse and worse,” she said. 
“Between the flooding and the heat, and then we have the extreme cold 
that we deal with in the winter, it seems it’s worse than it used to be.”

With more of the country expected to suffer from extreme heat in the 
days ahead, contingency plans were already being put in place.

Kevin Russell, the superintendent of Downers Grove Grade School District 
58 in suburban Chicago, said he started keeping an eye on the forecast 
late last week. Most buildings in his district are not fully 
air-conditioned, meaning the 100-degree temperatures that forecasters 
have discussed are untenable...
- -
“We do have limited air-conditioned spaces, so what we’ll do on those 
hotter days — in the high 80s or even the low 90s — we will rotate 
students and staff through cooling stations,” Dr. Russell said. 
“However, when you start talking about 100-plus, you really need to be 
in that cooling station all the time.”

The first day of class in Downers Grove had been set for Wednesday, but 
Dr. Russell made the difficult choice to push that back to Friday, when 
cooler weather is expected.

“We have thousands of kids in Downers Grove with their backpacks all 
ready to go and super excited to start the school year,” Dr. Russell 
said. “Having to delay that, no one takes any joy in that.”

But there is good news ahead. Plans are in place to install 
air-conditioning at all of the district’s schools.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/22/us/heat-wave-midwest-central-weather.html

/[  Consider the source:  InsuranceNewsNet: The Industry’s No.1 News 
Source  ]/
*Climate ‘flickers’ warn of devastation to come, expert tells state 
regulators*
By John Hilton

Canadian wildfires polluted New York City air for days. Maui wildfire 
deaths are well over 100 and rising. Phoenix recorded 31 straight days 
of 110-degree temperatures, smashing the 49-year-old record of 18.

Climate emergencies are happening in places they rarely ever happened 
before. And it's no coincidence, said Peter Schlosser, vice president 
and vice provost of global futures and director, Julie Ann Wrigley 
Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University.

"We do know from complex systems, and the climate system is a complex 
system, that when it moves from one state to another, it starts to 
flicker," Schlosser explained. "What we are seeing in extremes are these 
flickers."

Schlosser presented climate data, findings and predictions last week 
during a Climate and Resiliency Task Force at the National Association 
of Insurance Commissioners' summer meeting in Seattle.
Climate change events are costing insurers heavy losses in many states, 
leading some to pull out of specific markets...
- -
*Mounting climate issues*
Simply put, global warming is the long-term heating of Earth's surface 
observed since the pre-industrial period [the late 19th century] due to 
human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases 
heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth's atmosphere.

At present, Earth is in the midst of a vicious loop, in which 
ever-warming temperatures melts greater amounts of ice, which causes 
temperatures to further rise. Not to mention unleashing powerful storms, 
tidal waves, droughts and wildfires.

There are times now, previously unheard of, when the entire surface of 
Greenland is melting, Schlosser said. If all of Greenland's ice melted, 
seas would rise 20 feet. If all of Antarctica's ice melted, seas would 
rise 200 feet, a catastrophic event that would wipe out many islands and 
populous coastal land masses.

Fortunately, it will take many decades for that to happen, Schlosser 
said. Best projections point to a 3 to 10 feet sea level rise by the end 
of the century.

"One thing that people don't often think about is that 90% of the goods 
we are exchanging globally are coming across the ocean," Schlosser 
explained. "By definition, all the infrastructure of ports is at sea 
level. So, if you imagine 3 to 10 feet of sea level rise along the port 
infrastructure, that is something that is really hard to imagine what 
that actually means as far as adjusting to it."

Senior Editor John Hilton covered business and other beats in more than 
20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at 
john.hilton at innfeedback.com. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.
https://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/climate-flickers-warn-of-devastation-to-come-expert-tells-state-regulators

/[  report from Euronews.green ]/
*Ocean heat record broken and experts fear temperatures could rise even 
further*
Ocean temperature records are being broken around the world with dire 
consequences for the health of the planet.

The average surface temperature of the world’s oceans has hit its 
highest-ever level reaching 20.96C this week, according to the 
Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

It broke the record of 20.95C set in 2016 and scientists say it is 
likely that the record will continue to be broken as temperatures are 
usually highest in March, not August.

It follows a pattern of marine heatwaves and record sea surface 
temperatures around the world.
The Mediterranean Sea recorded its highest-ever surface temperature last 
week at 28.71C. Waters around the Florida Keys were similar to the 
temperature of a hot tub, hitting highs of just over 38C and possibly 
breaking a world record.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also reported 
last Friday that the North Atlantic may be the hottest it has ever been. 
And it's getting hotter much earlier in the year with previous records 
set in September
The IPCC says that marine heatwaves doubled in frequency between 1982 
and 2016. Since the 1980s, they’ve also become longer and more intense.

Experts warn this could have devastating consequences for the health of 
the planet.
*How hot are our oceans?*
The North Atlantic usually begins to warm up in March after winter and 
reaches its peak in September. But records have continuously been broken 
since April this year.

And the NOAA says that the North Atlantic is only going to get hotter 
“through the month of August”. It's highly likely that the record will 
be broken again.

Global average sea surface temperature has been “well above” the values 
previously seen at this time of year, according to C3S. The climate 
change service says that the high sea surface temperatures contributed 
to the exceptionally warm July seen around the world...
The high temperatures are likely being driven in part by the El Niño 
weather phenomenon. This occurs when warm water rises to the surface in 
the South Pacific and pushes up global temperatures.

So far the current El Niño is still weak which means ocean temperatures 
are likely to rise even further as it develops.

But these weather patterns are also being exacerbated by climate change.

“The more we burn fossil fuels, the more excess heat will be taken out 
by the oceans, which means the longer it will take to stabilise them and 
get them back to where they were,” Dr Samantha Burgess from C3S told the 
BBC.
*What effect will the world’s warming oceans have?*
Oceans play an important role in the regulation of the Earth’s climate. 
They absorb heat, drive weather patterns and act as a carbon sink.

But as they get warmer they are less effective at doing this job. The 
cycle means that as ocean temperatures rise, they become less effective 
at absorbing CO2 leading to an increase in the amount of this greenhouse 
gas in the atmosphere.

Ice also melts as waters warm increasing the severity of sea level rise. 
And high ocean temperatures can also increase the chance of hurricanes, 
cyclones, storms and extreme weather.

Hotter oceans also have an effect on marine life with whales and some 
fish species moving to cooler waters which upsets the food chain. The 
record-high temperatures also put corals at risk with reefs off the 
coast of Florida now facing a severe threat of bleaching due to the 
marine heatwave.
https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/08/04/ocean-heat-record-broken-and-experts-fear-temperatures-could-rise-even-further

/
/

///[ Does this mean, without smoke and volcanic eruptions, it would be 
even hotter? ... Well, yes. ]/
*Volcanoes and wildfires offset 20% of global heating over eight years*
Events that inject smoke and gas into high atmosphere help to cool 
planet but are no solution to climate crisis, says study
Kate Ravilious
@katerav
Wed 23 Aug 2023
Explosive volcanic eruptions and wildfires have offset global heating by 
around a fifth over the last eight years, a study shows. In particular 
the eruption of Calbuco in southern Chile in 2015 and the 2019-20 
Australian wildfires injected vast amounts of smoke and gas into the 
high atmosphere, which helped to cool the planet by absorbing heat 
leaving the Earth and reflecting sunlight back to space.

Pengfei Yu from Jinan University in China and his colleagues used data 
gathered by high altitude balloons over the Tibetan plateau and the US 
to model the cooling impact of stratospheric volcanic eruptions – those 
that inject ash into the high atmosphere – and wildfires.

Their results, which are published in Geophysical Research Letters, show 
that these events have produced a greater than average amount of cooling 
in recent years. This is partly because there were more low-latitude 
events where smoke and gas is transported quickly around the globe by 
high-level winds and remains suspended for longer than events closer to 
the poles.

The study also showed, however, that the rapid increase in 
greenhouse-gas warming means that the cooling effect from wildfires and 
volcanic eruptions is diminishing and cannot be relied on to offset 
global heating in the coming decades.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/23/volcanoes-and-wildfires-offset-20-of-global-heating-over-eight-years 

- -

/[ See the research paper ]/
*Radiative Forcing From the 2014–2022 Volcanic and Wildfire Injections*
Pengfei Yu, Robert W. Portmann, Yifeng Peng, Cheng-Cheng Liu, Yunqian 
Zhu, Elizabeth Asher, Zhixuan Bai, Ye Lu, Jianchun Bian, Michael Mills, 
Anja Schmidt, Karen H. Rosenlof, Owen B. Toon
published: 6 July 2023
https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103791
*Abstract*

    Volcanic and wildfire events between 2014 and 2022 injected ∼3.2 Tg
    of sulfur dioxide and 0.8 Tg of smoke aerosols into the
    stratosphere. With injections at higher altitudes and lower
    latitudes, the simulated stratospheric lifetime of the 2014–2022
    injections is about 50% longer than the volcanic 2005–2013
    injections. The simulated global mean effective radiative forcing
    (ERF) of 2014–2022 is −0.18 W m−2, ∼40% of the ERF of the period of
    1991–1999 with a large-magnitude volcanic eruption (Pinatubo). Our
    climate model suggests that the stratospheric smoke aerosols
    generate ∼60% more negative ERF than volcanic sulfate per unit
    aerosol optical depth. Studies that fail to account for the
    different radiative properties of wildfire smoke relative to
    volcanic sulfate will likely underestimate the negative
    stratospheric forcings. Our analysis suggests that stratospheric
    injections offset 20% of the increase in global mean surface
    temperature between 2014–2022 and 1999–2002.

*Key Points*

    -- Long-term balloon-borne measurements of stratospheric aerosol
    over Tibetan Plateau and U.S. are compared with an aerosol-climate model

    -- Stratospheric smoke particles generate 60% more negative
    effective radiative forcing than volcanic sulfate with the same
    aerosol optical depth

    --Stratospheric aerosol abundance offsets 20% of the increase in the
    global mean surface temperature between 2014–2022 and 1999–2002

*Plain Language Summary*
Between 2014 and 2022, volcanic and wildfire events injected about ∼3.2 
Tg of sulfur dioxide and 0.8 Tg of smoke aerosols into the stratosphere, 
about 30%–40% of injected mass of the 1991 Pinatubo eruption. Because 
the sulfur dioxide and smoke aerosols are injected at higher altitudes 
and lower latitudes, the simulated aerosol lifetime is 50% longer than 
the volcanic injections between 2005 and 2013, which have been suggested 
to play a role in the global warming hiatus. Our climate model suggests 
that smoke aerosol generates 60% more negative effective radiative 
forcing compared with volcanic sulfate aerosol per unit change in 
aerosol optical depth. Our study underscores the distinct optical 
properties between the wildfire smoke and sulfate aerosol. Our analysis 
finds that the trend of the global mean surface temperature in the two 
decades would have been 24% larger without the stratospheric injections.
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023GL103791

/[ Why not let the City of the Elite define the islands of escape?   ]/
*Finding Climate Havens*
As climate change unfolds, some places will fare better than others.
By German Lopez
Aug. 23, 2023,
This year’s heat can seem relentless, and appears to be only the 
beginning of a lifetime of hotter summers. It’s even hot in the oceans. 
And then there are the wildfires, droughts and floods, which have 
recently hit the seeming paradises of Hawaii and California.

The weather extremes are enough to drive some people to pick up their 
lives and look for more climate-friendly places to live. Jesse Keenan, a 
climate adaptation expert at Tulane University living in low-lying New 
Orleans, is among them. “Another Katrina is going to happen,” he said, 
referring to the hurricane that struck the city in 2005. “I tell my 
students this: ‘Within your lifetime, Tulane will no longer be a 
university. Your alma mater will relocate or disappear because of where 
it is.’”

Are there places that are better suited to deal with climate change? 
Yes, experts say. The Midwest, inland Northeast and northern Great 
Plains are three examples in the U.S., and parts of Canada, Russia and 
Scandinavia could offer refuge internationally. These regions are not 
immune to climate problems; it’s called “global” warming for a reason. 
But they are expected to see less of the extreme weather that a hotter 
planet will bring.

Still, Americans are not moving to climate-friendly places today. If 
anything, many more have moved away. One of the fastest-growing U.S. 
cities is Phoenix, which has suffered temperatures above 110 degrees 
Fahrenheit for much of this summer. That trend could start to change as 
people endure more disasters.
*Moving to safety*
How do you know whether a location is better suited for dealing with 
climate change than the place you live now? Experts point to two major 
factors.

The first is geography. Consider the Midwest: It is inland, away from 
the rising, hotter oceans and seas that will cause more floods and more 
intense hurricanes. Midwestern states are farther north than many 
others, with naturally lower temperatures. The Great Lakes and 
surrounding rivers provide reliable sources of water, preventing some of 
the worst effects of drought. These factors also apply to much of the 
Northeast U.S. and the northern Great Plains.

The second factor is the ability to take in newcomers, climate refugees 
or not. Does the area have enough affordable housing? Are residents 
welcoming to outsiders? Are local and state governments preparing for 
population increases? If the answer to at least some of these questions 
is yes, you may have found yourself a potential destination.

Some cities meet these standards. Detroit, Cincinnati and Buffalo, N.Y., 
are common examples. They are in regions with more climate-friendly 
geography. And they have one thing in common: Their populations have 
shrunk by the hundreds of thousands since the 1950s, leaving them with 
both a desire to bring people back and many empty buildings that could 
be turned into housing.

Similarly, much of inland New England and the northern Great Plains have 
climate-friendly geography and plenty of space for people to move into. 
(Montana has been called the “anti-California” for its recent efforts to 
build more housing.) As an added benefit, these regions also offer 
stunning vistas and many forms of outdoor recreation.

*Better, not perfect*
Experts emphasize that no place is invulnerable to climate change. 
Vermont is a potential climate haven because of its geography and desire 
to attract more people. But last month, record floods hit the state. 
Researchers linked them to climate change.

That disaster highlights an important point: Better is not perfect. 
Climate change has an impact everywhere, even if residents can take 
steps to mitigate the damage.

Many people also can’t, or won’t, leave their homes. Some, particularly 
in the poorer Global South, simply can’t afford to move to avoid 
potential disasters. And wealthier places are not always ready for 
extreme weather. Hawaii’s fires this month offer an example; a lack of 
preparedness and human errors, including possible mistakes by the 
state’s biggest power utility, likely made the situation worse.

The bottom line: The planet will continue warming in the coming decades, 
according to the most recent projections. Those rising temperatures will 
bring more extreme weather and more disasters. People will have to find 
ways to deal with those problems. In some cases, doing so may be as 
straightforward as installing air conditioning in more homes. But some 
might feel compelled to take more extreme steps, including leaving those 
homes behind.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/23/briefing/finding-climate-havens.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/23/briefing/finding-climate-havens.html?unlocked_article_code=9HpXdhCKQkpQQYE2P5ej30skafUqYNLyAhNNglllpfjwYwO2NEpz8Z1mPtFwoSJm4maxyNj8jOYzRFCcN0R4bt1juSwpKah4BfVJIW8Y71el20K8Bs8UaXfm32evNmMMtNLRml7j7H65mNF0unAOXjlcV8nEg-WAXtgClVWWb4fQ5-YfnnW5LlOeKdejuhr6S7TqATZ9Ff0fEIZM6BbeyfI2EdvTakzYjsHlQEokKdim1NEA9Eu0NGsF3RcWL-98yvuUR67kWWhUiezfbaowgGrGEZSzZO0RqLh-nfl1gjASrWya_qcXz-KOvjK-4rKIc3NAnbgRHmyRyCgBvwkEy6g&smid=url-share 

/[ Flash Flood Footage ]/
*RAW video of the most insane flash flood down Whitewater Canyon, 
California - Tropical Storm Hilary*
Reed Timmer
  Aug 22, 2023  SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
INTENSE raw footage of the flash flood down Whitewater Canyon, 
California that shut down Interstate 10 and flooded homes near Palm Springs!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLEw5UUxyZU

/
/

/[ Rare humor for this topic --  this video is angry and sarcastic and 
funny ]/
*Lewis Black | The Rant Is Due best of Climate Change*
Lewis Black
Nov 17, 2021
As the COP26 meetings have ended, we look back on some rants about 
climate change, global warming, and the end of the planet as we know it. 
These submissions are timeless in their sense of urgency, that something 
must be done to combat the very real issue of manmade climate change, 
but tempered by a foreboding aura of apocryphal doom and resigned 
helplessness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pUpVF1AlHQ

/[The news archive - looking back at early examination of the Koch 
Brothers ]/
/*August 24, 2010*/
August 24, 2010: MSNBC's Keith Olbermann interviews Lee Fang of Think 
Progress regarding Fang's coverage of the Koch Brothers. Later, MSNBC's 
Rachel Maddow interviews New Yorker reporter Jane Mayer regarding her 
now-famous story about the Kochs.

http://youtu.be/tRbLXN4j7Do

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/rachel-maddow/38841903 -- older videos are 
being removed

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