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<font size="+1"><i>August 19, 2017</i></font><br>
<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJgWY2vUF-0">(Audio) NPR
on Greenland Fires: August 2017 </a></b><br>
Tundra near the Greenland ice sheet is on fire. NPR interviews a
scientist for more info.<br>
More than two weeks after they were first spotted, wildfires on the
western coast of Greenland are still burning, worrying local
residents and drawing the attention of scientists.<br>
The fires are roughly 90 miles northeast of the second-largest
Greenlandic town, Sisimiut, as we previously reported. There are
currently three growing hot spots, according to an analysis of NASA
data by Stef Lhermitte, an assistant professor of geoscience and
remote sensing at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.<br>
Nina-Vivi Andersen, a reporter for Nanoq News in the capital, Nuuk,
has lived in Greenland her whole life and says she has never heard
of a wildfire there.<br>
"It's very unusual," she says, and the timing is particularly bad
because reindeer hunting season just opened on Aug. 1.<br>
Satellite data suggests that a campfire or a cigarette likely
started the fires....<br>
"[Peat] is a good fuel source," she explains. "It's essentially like
the peat logs you buy for fire pits or for fireplaces." When peat
burns, the flames don't run across the landscape quickly the way
they do in grass or forest fires. Instead, peat fires smolder down
into the ground, so the boundaries change more slowly and they can
burn for a very long time. Some peat fires have been known to
persist through winter months, smoldering away under the snow.<br>
<font size="-1" color="#666666"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJgWY2vUF-0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJgWY2vUF-0</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://theconversation.com/curbing-climate-change-why-its-so-hard-to-act-in-time-80117">Curbing
climate change: Why it's so hard to act in time</a></b><br>
...We haven't seen comparable temperature or sea level increases so
far because of<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://theconversation.com/if-we-stopped-emitting-greenhouse-gases-right-now-would-we-stop-climate-change-78882">
time lags in Earth's climate response</a>. It takes a while for
our elevated carbon dioxide levels to trigger impacts on this scale.
Given the various time lags that are in play, it is quite possible
that we have already exceeded the 2°C rise over preindustrial
temperatures – a threshold most scientists say we should avoid – but
it hasn't shown up on the thermometer yet.<br>
We may not be able to predict exactly how much future temperatures
or sea levels will rise, but we do know that unless we curb our
carbon emissions, our planet will be a very uncomfortable place for
our grandchildren and their grandchildren. Large-scale social
changes take time: they are the sum of many individual changes, in
both attitudes and behaviors. To minimize that time lag, we need to
start acting now.<br>
<font size="-1" color="#666666"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://theconversation.com/curbing-climate-change-why-its-so-hard-to-act-in-time-80117">http://theconversation.com/curbing-climate-change-why-its-so-hard-to-act-in-time-80117</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://ozoneaq.gsfc.nasa.gov/omps/blog/2017/08/record-breaking-aerosol-index-value-over-canada">Record
Breaking Aerosol Index Values Over Canada </a></b> <i>(smoke)</i><br>
Posted by cseftor. 2017-08-15 <br>
Over the last couple of days, OMPS <i>(Ozone Mapping Profile Suite)</i>
has recorded the largest aerosol index values ever seen since TOMS
measurements started in 1978 for smoke over Canada. <br>
* <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://ozoneaq.gsfc.nasa.gov/omps/media/blog/images/OMPS_AI_VIIRS_RGB_canada_2017_08_13-14.jpg">https://ozoneaq.gsfc.nasa.gov/omps/media/blog/images/OMPS_AI_VIIRS_RGB_canada_2017_08_13-14.jpg</a><br>
Here's what the last couple of days looked like from VIIRS and with
the OMPS AI overlaid (notice the scale<br>
Most of the smoke is (still) being generated by the fires burning in
British Columbia, although some fires in the Northwest Territories
are also contributing.<br>
<font size="-1" color="#666666"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://ozoneaq.gsfc.nasa.gov/omps/blog/2017/08/record-breaking-aerosol-index-value-over-canada">https://ozoneaq.gsfc.nasa.gov/omps/blog/2017/08/record-breaking-aerosol-index-value-over-canada</a></font><br>
<i>August 10-15th smoke records set at:</i><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=90759&src=nha">https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=90759&src=nha</a><br>
The resulting smoke plumes were thick enough and high enough in the
atmosphere to break a record. According to Colin Seftor, an
atmospheric researcher for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the
Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) on Suomi NPP recorded
aerosol index (AI) values as high as 49.7 on August 15, 2017-more
than 15 points higher than the previous record set in 2006 by fires
in Australia. Maximum AI values also broke records on August 14
(49.4) and August 13 (39.9). Aerosols are solid or liquid particles
(such as smoke, sea spray, and volcanic ash) that can prevent light
from passing through the atmosphere. The satellite aerosol index was
first reported in 1978 via measurements from Nimbus-7.<br>
<font size="-1" color="#666666"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/90000/90759/canada_omp_2017227_lrg.png">https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/90000/90759/canada_omp_2017227_lrg.png</a></font><br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://thinkprogress.org/judge-blocks-coal-mine-expansion-0d6126ebbc00/"><br>
<b>Judge blocks coal mine expansion, citing lack of adequate
climate analysis</b></a><br>
Expansion would make Bull Mountain the nation's largest underground
coal mine.<br>
A federal judge blocked a proposed expansion of an underground coal
mine in Montana because the project's climate change impacts were
not adequately considered by the Trump administration...<br>
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy ruled Monday that the federal
Office of Surface Mining (OSM) inflated the economic benefits of the
176 million-ton expansion of Signal Peak Energy's Bull Mountain coal
mine while minimizing its environmental impact. The judge ordered
the company to stop mining in the proposed expansion area pending
further studies...<br>
The council ruled that the company's plan lacked a long-term plan to
provide water to nearby homeowners after other mining activity
affected their well water. The council also noted the lack of
blasting limits and the increased risk that land could sink in the
area. The company is expected to resubmit its application but will
likely face opposition from local homeowners...<br>
A Signal Peak spokesperson told a local news outlet that the company
will evaluate all of its options in the coming weeks.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://thinkprogress.org/judge-blocks-coal-mine-expansion-0d6126ebbc00/">https://thinkprogress.org/judge-blocks-coal-mine-expansion-0d6126ebbc00/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-climate-change-arguments-20170818-htmlstory.html">What
should you say to a climate change skeptic?</a></b><br>
What really matters, climate scientists say, is that the global
average temperature is on a rising trend. NOAA's 2016 climate report
shows that every year since 1977 has been warmer than the 20th
century average. This means the Earth is retaining more heat over
time.<br>
Always ask skeptics about the data their argument is based on. If
it's from an isolated location or a small chunk of time, it may not
be representative of the bigger picture.<br>
According to data compiled by the Goddard Institute, carbon dioxide
was at an atmospheric concentration of 291 parts per million in
1880. It had risen to 311 ppm by 1950 and to 370 ppm by 2000. NOAA's
reported global annual average reached 402 ppm in 2016...<br>
And just because the climate has changed before doesn't mean we want
it to happen again - especially this quickly. In the past, rapid
changes were usually pretty hard on living creatures that didn't
have enough time to adapt to their new conditions. That doesn't bode
well for us...<br>
It's important to understand where science ends and politics begins.
To boost your chances for success, make a point of separating the
two, Somerville said. Many people are not suspicious of the science,
but rather of the consequences associated with climate change...<br>
"There's no such thing as a Democratic or Republican thermometer,"
Somerville said. We can agree on what the science says, even if we
have different political ideas, he added....<br>
As with any contentious issue, you have to realize when you're
talking to someone who just wants to argue.<br>
"If that's the case, just stop." Schmidt said.<br>
<font size="-1" color="#666666"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-climate-change-arguments-20170818-htmlstory.html">http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-climate-change-arguments-20170818-htmlstory.html</a></font><b><br>
<br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40950305">
Radioactive 'pooh sticks' trace carbon's ocean journey</a></b><br>
By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent 17 August 2017<br>
Scientists say iodine traces from Sellafield have travelled to the
waters off Bermuda<br>
Radioactive iodine from nuclear reprocessing plants in the UK and
France has been detected deep in the waters near Bermuda.<br>
Scientists say the contaminants take a circuitous route travelling
via the Arctic Ocean and down past Greenland.<br>
Researchers believe the radioactivity levels are extremely low and
present no danger.<br>
However, scientists can use the iodine to accurately map the
currents that transport greenhouse gases.<br>
Legally released<br>
One scientific consequence that arose from the testing of nuclear
bombs in the atmosphere in the 1950s was that their radioactive
fallout provided a powerful global tracer of water circulation and
deep-ocean ventilation.<br>
Other sources of radioactive material for scientists to track water
movements have been the nuclear reprocessing plants at Sellafield in
the UK and at La Hague in France.<br>
Nuclear waste has been vitrified and stored at the La Hague nuclear
fuel reprocessing plant<br>
Contaminants have been legally released from these sites for more
than 50 years. One in particular, Iodine-129 (129I), has been very
useful for scientists tracing the ocean currents that help pull down
greenhouse gases into the waters.<br>
"What we have found is that by tracing radioactive iodine released
into the seas off the UK and France, we have been able to confirm
how the deep ocean currents flow in the North Atlantic," said lead
researcher Dr John Smith from the Bedford Institute of Oceanography,
in Canada.<br>
"This is the first study to show precise and continuous tracking of
Atlantic water flowing northward into the Arctic Ocean off Norway,
circulating around the arctic basins and returning to the Nordic
seas in what we call the 'Arctic loop', and then flowing southward
down the continental slope of North America to Bermuda at depths
below 3000 metres."<br>
Scientists have used other molecules as tracers, specifically
chlorofluorocarbons that were once used in refrigeration. But 129I,
which has a half-life of 15.7 millions years, retains the initial
imprint of its input history over a long period of time.<br>
Another advantage for researchers is that 129I is relatively easy to
detect at extremely low levels.<br>
"In many ways this is a bit like the old 'stick in a stream' game we
used to play as kids," said Dr Smith.<br>
"What people call 'pooh sticks' in England, where you would drop a
buoyant object in the water and observe where it comes out. Of
course, it would be much better if these markers were not in the
ocean at all, but they are, and we can use them to do some important
environmental science."<br>
This new study is part of an international project called GEOTRACES
that uses geochemical markers to follow ocean currents.<br>
The scientists say that 129I has been measured as far south as
Puerto Rico, but the expectation is that it will continue to flow
southward into the South Atlantic and eventually spread throughout
the global ocean.<br>
"The advantage of using 129I as a transient tracer in oceanography
is the long half-life of this isotope compared to the circulation
times, and the fact that it is largely soluble in seawater," said Dr
Núria Casacuberta Arola from ETH, Zurich, who wasn't involved with
the study.<br>
"Now, major efforts are also devoted to find other artificial
radionuclides with similar sources and behaviour than 129I so that
the more tools we have, the better we will understand the ocean
circulation."<br>
<font size="-1" color="#666666"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40950305">http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40950305</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/aug/18/kuwait-city-hottest-place-earth-climate-change-gulf-oil-temperatures">Kuwait's
inferno: how will the world's hottest city survive climate
change?</a></b><br>
Malls and office complexes continue to spring up in Kuwait City,
built by migrants often working illegally in soaring temperatures.
But as oil and water reserves dwindle, the energy-guzzling citystate
heads for an existential crisis..<br>
For years, Kuwait's climate has been steadily heating up. In the
summer months, the Gulf state now frequently touches 50C <i>(122F)</i>,
and was last year<span> </span><a
href="https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/wmo-examines-reported-record-temperature-of-54%C2%B0c-kuwait"
data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline"
style="background: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color:
rgb(0, 86, 137); cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none
!important; border-bottom: 0.0625rem solid rgb(220, 220, 220);
transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out;">awarded the grim prize</a><span> </span>of
being the<span> </span><a
href="http://www.news.com.au/national/54c-sizzler-makes-kuwait-the-hottest-place-on-earth-could-we-be-next/news-story/2a2d4f39f316b583a718f92f58e79f8d"
data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline"
style="background: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color:
rgb(0, 86, 137); cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none
!important; border-bottom: 0.0625rem solid rgb(220, 220, 220);
transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out;">hottest place on earth</a>,
when temperatures reached a staggering high of 54C <i>(129F)</i>...<br>
But while the capital is making plans to prepare for climate change
and the rising heat, there are growing concerns for those residents
who cannot afford to shelter inside, and mounting questions about
how such an energy-intensive city can survive as resources such as
water and oil dwindle...<br>
Adapting to rising temperatures will require a radical shift in
thinking in Kuwait, especially concerning the most vulnerable. "We
can't manage the way these companies work," says the construction
manager, referring to the contractors who incentivise labourers to
work outside in punishing conditions. "Of course, when I see
labourers working after midday in this heat, it's horrible. But what
can we do? It's their rules."<br>
<font size="-1" color="#666666"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/aug/18/kuwait-city-hottest-place-earth-climate-change-gulf-oil-temperatures">https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/aug/18/kuwait-city-hottest-place-earth-climate-change-gulf-oil-temperatures</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.charlestonchronicle.net/2017/08/18/gentrification-global-warming-collide-in-new-comedy-web-series-the-north-pole-when-your-environment-is-melting-away-where-will-you-stand/">Gentrification,
Global Warming Collide In New Comedy Web Series The North Pole
When Your Environment Is Melting Away-Where Will You Stand?</a></b><br>
This Fall, get ready for the new comedy web series that hits on
today's biggest hot-button issues: gentrification. Global warming.
And gluten-free donuts.<br>
In The North Pole, filmmakers Darren Colston, Josh Healey, and Yvan
Iturriaga combine absurd humor with inventive storytelling to
reflect on the changing environmental and cultural climate of
Oakland, CA. Executive produced by Movement Generation, an
innovative ecological justice organization, the original series will
celebrate its launch with a special screening on Thursday, September
7th at Oakland's historic Grand Lake Theater.<br>
"We wanted to make The North Pole because there's no place on earth
like Oakland, states Healey, who wrote and produced the series. "And
untiI Neil de Grasse Tyson tells me otherwise, there's no planet in
the universe like Earth. I call both these places home-and both are
suffering through their own kind of 'climate change.' At a time when
whole communities and environments are being displaced and disposed
of, The North Pole is our creative picket line-turned-comedy
roast-our crazy love letter to Oakland and all the people and places
around the world worth defending."<br>
The North Pole follows Nina (Reyna Amaya) and her two best friends,
Marcus (Donte Clark) and Benny (Santiago Rosas), who are all born
and raised in North Oakland, CA-better known to locals as "The North
Pole." As their neighborhood changes drastically into a hostile
environment, the three friends choose to fight, dream, and plot
hilarious schemes to remain rooted in their home. Facing both
gentrification and climate change, they combat evil landlords, crazy
geoengineering plots, and ultimately each other.<br>
"I've been wanting to play a character like Nina for a long time.
When I saw this story about a super smart, super funny black woman
who reps hard for Oakland just like I do, I knew I had to get down,"
shares lead actor Reyna Amaya. "This series feels so fresh and so
real-we need more diverse, younger voices like this right now. Nina
represents that strong revolutionary Bay chick that talks hella
trash and drops knowledge in the same sentence. But what's she going
to do with that strength? That's the question that gets answered in
the series."<br>
"This series is definitely a collective labor of love," states
Iturriaga, the series director and deep-rooted Oakland resident. "My
friends, my community, and my block shape everything about this
project. It's their voices and stories on the screen. I can't want
to share, get inspired and laugh together."<br>
After its September 7th premiere in Oakland, The North Pole will
then be available worldwide on YouTube.<br>
For more information, please visit <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.thenorthpoleshow.com/">www.thenorthpoleshow.com</a><br>
<font size="-1" color="#666666"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.charlestonchronicle.net/2017/08/18/gentrification-global-warming-collide-in-new-comedy-web-series-the-north-pole-when-your-environment-is-melting-away-where-will-you-stand/">https://www.charlestonchronicle.net/2017/08/18/gentrification-global-warming-collide-in-new-comedy-web-series-the-north-pole-when-your-environment-is-melting-away-where-will-you-stand/</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
<font size="+1"><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2014/08/19/david-wilson">This
Day in Climate History August 19, 2014</a> - from D.R. Tucker</b></font><br>
MIT's David Wilson On His Carbon Tax Proposal<br>
We hear the terms all the time in conversations about how to best
fight climate change and curb greenhouse gas emissions:
cap-and-trade, geo-engineering, command and control and carbon tax.<br>
That last idea, a carbon tax or a carbon fee, has been around for a
long time. A version of it was conceived by MIT mechanical engineer
David Wilson in 1973 and the idea quickly spread.<br>
It was also often copied without credit - and without a key piece of
his equation, which has to do with who gets taxed and what happens
to that tax revenue. In some ways, the idea of a carbon tax has come
full circle: last month, Australia became the first country to
repeal a carbon tax.<br>
WBUR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with Wilson about his invention.<br>
<font size="-1" color="#666666"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2014/08/19/david-wilson">http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2014/08/19/david-wilson</a></font><br>
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