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<font size="+1"><i>August 12, 2017</i></font><br>
<br>
<font size="+1"><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home.aspx">U.S. Drought
Monitor</a></b></font><br>
The data cutoff for Drought Monitor maps is each Tuesday at 8 a.m.
EDT. The maps, which are based on analysis of the data, are released
each Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/pdf/20170808/20170808_usdm.pdf">Download
PDF</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/pdf/20170808/20170808_usdm.pdf">http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/pdf/20170808/20170808_usdm.pdf</a><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/pdf/20170801/20170801_usdm.pdf">View
last week's map</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/pdf/20170801/20170801_usdm.pdf">http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/pdf/20170801/20170801_usdm.pdf</a><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/TabularStatistics.aspx">Statistics
Comparison</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/TabularStatistics.aspx">http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/TabularStatistics.aspx</a><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndData/DataTables.aspx">Statistics
Table</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndData/DataTables.aspx">http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndData/DataTables.aspx</a>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndData/ChangeMaps.aspx">Change
Maps</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndData/ChangeMaps.aspx">http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndData/ChangeMaps.aspx</a><br>
The U.S. Drought Monitor is produced through a partnership between
the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.<br>
How is drought affecting you? Submit drought impact and condition
reports via the <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/submitreport/">Drought Impact
Reporter.</a><br>
<font size="-1" color="#666666"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home.aspx">http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home.aspx</a></font><br>
<font size="+1"><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://mtpr.org/post/flash-droughts-are-fueling-wildfires-montana">(audio
+ text) 'Flash Droughts' Are Fueling Wildfires in Montana</a></b></font><br>
"It's a drought that comes on really quickly," <br>
Over the past few years, it rained and snowed a lot in eastern
Montana. There were floods, storms, and all the brush grew big and
thick.<br>
But then no rain came this spring. Temperatures hit triple digits
and within a few weeks, all that brush turned brown and brittle. Now
it's so dry, Fransen says, a single spark from a horseshoe striking
a rock could cause a fire. <br>
"It's the driest in 110 years up in this area," she says.<br>
There are two flash droughts in the state. A severe one in eastern
Montana that started this spring. A second, milder one is growing in
northwest ...<br>
"As of yesterday, we were tied with the longest streak of no
measurable rainfall since 1948," <br>
<font color="#666666"><i><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://mtpr.org/post/flash-droughts-are-fueling-wildfires-montana">http://mtpr.org/post/flash-droughts-are-fueling-wildfires-montana</a></i></font><br>
<font size="+1"><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/08/climatedesk-forget-flash-floods-flash-droughts-are-even-more-terrifying/">Forget
Flash Floods. Flash Droughts Are Even More Terrifying</a></b></font><br>
"I don't think anybody has time to feel scared."<br>
ERIC HOLTHAUS<br>
5 days ago - An intense drought has quickly gripped much of the
Dakotas and parts of Montana this summer, catching farmers and
ranchers off-guard.<br>
An intense drought has quickly gripped much of the Dakotas and parts
of Montana this summer, catching farmers and ranchers off-guard. The
multi-agency U.S. Drought Monitor recently upgraded the drought to
"exceptional," its highest severity level, matching the intensity of
the California drought at its peak.<br>
In a matter of weeks, the area of Montana in drought conditions has
expanded eightfold. US Drought Monitor<br>
<font size="-1" color="#666666"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://grist.org/food/flash-drought-could-devastate-half-the-high-plains-wheat-harvest/">https://grist.org/food/flash-drought-could-devastate-half-the-high-plains-wheat-harvest/</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/08/climatedesk-forget-flash-floods-flash-droughts-are-even-more-terrifying/">http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/08/climatedesk-forget-flash-floods-flash-droughts-are-even-more-terrifying/</a></font><br>
<br>
<b><br>
</b><font size="+1"><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.sonomanews.com/home/7295004-181/john-harte-may-present-proof">John
Harte to present proof of global warming at Quarryhill</a></b></font><br>
Sonoma Index-Tribune<br>
John Harte may present proof of global warming at Quarryhill ....<br>
"I set up what we call an ecosystem warming experiment using
electric heaters suspended above a sub-alpine meadow. It's been
running now for 27 years," <br>
"The heaters are on day and night, summer and winter. They are
warming the meadow to a level that is roughly what we anticipate the
climate will look like around mid-century, around 2050."<br>
What the experiment has shown is that the warmer plots of meadow are
losing their wildflowers and turning into sagebrush, after years of
being only four degrees warmer than their neighboring control plots.
The soil is getting drier, and even losing carbon that is absorbed
into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, the "greenhouse gas."<br>
The control plots now show exactly the same qualitative trends as in
the heated plots, but at a slower rate. <br>
"We now have kind of unambiguous evidence for real global warming
affecting our ecosystems,<br>
"What makes one a pessimist is that human nature and politics makes
everything look extremely unfavorable. It's really a battle between
economics and engineering on the one hand and ignorance and human
nature and politics on the other."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.sonomanews.com/home/7295004-181/john-harte-may-present-proof">http://www.sonomanews.com/home/7295004-181/john-harte-may-present-proof</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/08/stepping-up-podcast-environment-climate-activists/">(audio
+ text) The New Climate Change Activists May Surprise You</a></b><br>
New podcast series explores how some people are taking unique
approaches to climate activism.<br>
By Casey Smith<br>
PUBLISHED AUGUST 10, 2017<br>
Should those worried about the future of our climate risk getting
arrested through direct actions, regardless of their age?<br>
In the latest episode of the new podcast series Stepping Up,
producer Claire Schoen tackles that question, exploring how climate
activists-young and old-engage in acts of protest in today's era.<br>
"As an elder woman, I began this story with the question of what my
own role should be in facing the greatest crisis of our time,"
Schoen said. "I wondered whether it made sense to put my body on the
line and get arrested."<br>
Throughout "Sitting Down," the second episode of the series,
questions are raised about the effectiveness of the strategies used
by activists. When it comes to breaking the law in the name of
change, interviewees discuss how generational gaps should-or
shouldn't-affect the levels of involvement from "older folks."<br>
<font size="-1" color="#666666"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/08/stepping-up-podcast-environment-climate-activists/">http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/08/stepping-up-podcast-environment-climate-activists/</a></font><br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://steppinguppodcast.org/ep2-sitting-down/">EP. 2 –
SITTING DOWN (audio podcast 41:00)</a></b><br>
Following in the noble tradition of Gandhi and Martin Luther King
Jr, Millennials are turning to civil disobedience to call attention
to the looming climate catastrophe. Climate activist extraordinaire
Bill McKibben lauds these youth for their courage. But he's asking
elders, who have less to lose, to step up as well. This story's
producer hasn't been arrested since the anti-nuclear protests of her
youth. But in this new political era, it might be time for her to
join the next generation on the line. Meeting the "1000
Grandmothers" group may tip the scales toward action.<br>
<font color="#666666"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://steppinguppodcast.org/ep2-sitting-down/">https://steppinguppodcast.org/ep2-sitting-down/</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09062017/five-shades-climate-denial-donald-trump-scott-pruitt-rex-tillerson-jobs-uncertainty-white-house">5
Shades of Climate Denial, All on Display in the Trump White
House</a></b><br>
From 'it's not real' to 'it's not urgent,' take a tour through the
many shades of climate change denial wielded by Donald Trump's
administration.<br>
Poster: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/styles/colorbox_full/public/Shades-of-Climate-Denial-529px_0.png?itok=VComIOjU">https://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/styles/colorbox_full/public/Shades-of-Climate-Denial-529px_0.png?itok=VComIOjU</a><br>
Whether dismissing global warming as a hoax, questioning humanity's
role in it, exaggerating the unknowns, playing down the urgency of
action, or playing up the costs, President Donald Trump and his team
have served up every flavor of climate denial.<br>
Although the arguments varied-as if they were different shades or
stages of denial-they all served the same purpose: to create an
exaggerated sense of dispute in order to bolster a case against
decisive climate action. The latest gambit is to avoid the subject
entirely.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09062017/five-shades-climate-denial-donald-trump-scott-pruitt-rex-tillerson-jobs-uncertainty-white-house">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09062017/five-shades-climate-denial-donald-trump-scott-pruitt-rex-tillerson-jobs-uncertainty-white-house</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><a
href="http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/08/10/25343730/the-long-seattle-haze-shows-how-climate-change-will-hit-the-poor">The
Long Seattle Haze Shows How Climate Change Will Hit the Poor</a></b><br>
Extreme weather events can compound the crises of poverty-and we
have to look directly at this when we talk about climate change. For
the estimated 1,600 people currently living in their cars in King
County, their mobile homes are even more problematic and dangerous
during a heat wave. Seattle summers in 2050 are projected to be
5.1-6.8°F warmer (than the average summer temperature between
1970-1999), and heatwaves are predicted to be, on average, 6.5°F
warmer. For those of us with multiple generations of middle-class
family wealth-and places of privilege to escape to-2050 sounds truly
uncomfortable but not devastating. Not so for many others.<br>
...this is why climate change is not really about weather-it is
about public health, the safety of infrastructure and communities,
and the livability of our city. This is also why scientists get so
mad at climate denialism-because it risks the lives of those that
are the most vulnerable already...<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/08/10/25343730/the-long-seattle-haze-shows-how-climate-change-will-hit-the-poor">http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/08/10/25343730/the-long-seattle-haze-shows-how-climate-change-will-hit-the-poor</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<font size="+1"><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://icyseas.org/2017/06/16/is-petermann-gletscher-breaking-apart-this-summer/">Is
Petermann Gletscher Breaking Apart this Summer?</a></b></font><br>
Posted on June 16, 2017 by Andreas Muenchow | 18 Comments<br>
I am disturbed by new ocean data from Greenland every morning before
breakfast these days. In 2015 we built a station that probes the
ocean below Petermann Gletscher every hour. Data travels from the
deep ocean via copper cables to the glacier surface, passes through
a weather station, jumps the first satellite overhead, hops from
satellite to satellite, falls back to earth hitting an antenna in my
garden, and fills an old computer.<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/business/2016/12/30/with-enough-evidence-even-skepticism-will-thaw/">A
7-minute Washington Post video</a> describes a helicopter repair
mission of the Petermann data machine. The Post also reported first
result that deep ocean waters under the glacier are heating up....<br>
Notice the up and down of temperature that in 2017 exceeds the 2016
up and down range. Scientists call this property "variance" which
measures how much temperature varies from day-to-day and from
hour-to-hour. The average temperature may change in an "orderly" or
"stable" or "predictable" ocean along a trend, but the variance
stays the same. What I see in 2017 temperatures before breakfast
each morning is different. The new state appears more "chaotic" and
"unstable." I do not know what will come next, but such disorderly
behavior often happens, when something breaks.<br>
I fear that Petermann is about to break apart … again.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/business/2016/12/30/with-enough-evidence-even-skepticism-will-thaw/">http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/business/2016/12/30/with-enough-evidence-even-skepticism-will-thaw/</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://icyseas.org/2017/06/16/is-petermann-gletscher-breaking-apart-this-summer/">https://icyseas.org/2017/06/16/is-petermann-gletscher-breaking-apart-this-summer/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.aces.su.se/the-arctic-permafrost-is-melting-faster-than-previously-thought/">The
Arctic subsea permafrost is thawing faster than previously
thought</a></b><br>
June 26, 2017 | by Stella Papadopoulou<br>
The permafrost in the ocean bottom below the East Siberian Arctic
Sea is thawing at a rate of 14 cm per year. That's a lot faster than
for permafrost on land and the process may eventually lead to
increased global warming through increased release of methane
according to a new study published in Nature Communications by ACES
researchers and international colleagues.<br>
"The area that's thawing is enormous – equivalent to four Baltic
Seas," says Örjan Gustafsson, professor at ACES and co-author of the
study.<br>
In the course of numerous research projects and expeditions, the
primarily Swedish-Russian team has investigated conditions in the
Arctic Ocean to observe phenomena related to the potential release
of carbon from thawing permafrost, sometimes called the "sleeping
giants" of the global carbon cycle and a key potential for
carbon-climate feedback. If the carbon is released, the levels of
carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere will rise, increasing
the rate of climate warming.<br>
Örjan Gustafsson and the research group's latest study is based on
observations that were taken from 2011 to 2015 in the coastal ocean
off Northeast Siberia.<br>
"A sea-ice based camp was created annually by specialty vehicles and
heavy drilling equipment was used to drill down into the permafrost
in the seafloor. We compared the sediment core samples with
measurements taken from the same place 30 years earlier."...<br>
"Our measurements showed that the ocean floor has become
significantly warmer. At the end of the Ice Age, the temperature of
the seafloor was -18 C. Now it's about 0 C. We also looked for the
boundary between frozen and thawed permafrost and found that it was
10 – 30 meters deep, and now sinking quickly. The permafrost is
thawing at a rate of 14 cm per year for a total of 4 meters in the
last 30 years."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.aces.su.se/the-arctic-permafrost-is-melting-faster-than-previously-thought/">http://www.aces.su.se/the-arctic-permafrost-is-melting-faster-than-previously-thought/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwwB50AelJE&list=UUi6RkdaEqgRVKi3AzidF4ow&index=2">(video
series) Between Earth and Sky</a></b><br>
Global Weirding with Katharine Hayhoe<br>
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.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwwB50AelJE&list=UUi6RkdaEqgRVKi3AzidF4ow&index=2">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwwB50AelJE&list=UUi6RkdaEqgRVKi3AzidF4ow&index=2</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<font size="+1"><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_08/004498.php">This
Day in Climate History August 12, 2004</a> - from D.R. Tucker</b></font><br>
August 12, 2004: Discussing a BusinessWeek story about the business
community's growing worries about global warming, the Washington<br>
<blockquote> When CEOs contemplate global warming, they see
something they dread: uncertainty. There’s uncertainty about what
regulations they will have to meet and about how much the climate
will change ? and uncertainty itself poses challenges. Insurance
giant Swiss Re sees a threat to its entire industry. The reason:
Insurers know how to write policies for every conceivable hazard
based on exhaustive study of the past. If floods typically occur
in a city every 20 years or so, then it’s a good bet the trend
will continue into the future. Global warming throws all that
historical data out the window.<br>
</blockquote>
One of the predicted consequences of higher greenhouse-gas levels,
for instance, is more variable weather. Even a heat wave like the
one that gripped Britain in 1995 led to losses of 1.5 billion
pounds, Swiss Re calculates. So an increase in droughts, floods, and
other events “could be financially devastating,” says Christopher
Walker, a Swiss Re greenhouse-gas expert.<br>
Monthly's Kevin Drum observes: "Like national healthcare, I suspect
that global warming will really get taken seriously only when the
business community finally demands it. What BusinessWeek documents
is only the first whispers of those demands, but the endgame is
already in sight."<br>
<font size="-1" color="#666666"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_08/004498.php">http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_08/004498.php</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20131216021452/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2004-08-15/global-warming">http://web.archive.org/web/20131216021452/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2004-08-15/global-warming</a></font><br>
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