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<i><font size="+1"><b>July 28, 2020</b></font></i><br>
<br>
[BBC Science Focus Magazine]<b><br>
</b> <b>Climate change: Arctic heatwave temperatures reach possible
all-time high</b><br>
Alexander McNamara, PA Science - 27th July, 2020<br>
The UN weather agency warned that average temperatures in Siberia
were 10C above average last month, a spate of exceptional heat that
has fanned devastating fires in the Arctic Circle and contributed to
a rapid depletion in ice sea off Russia's Arctic coast.<br>
<br>
"The Arctic is heating more than twice as fast as the global
average, impacting local populations and ecosystems and with global
repercussions," World Meteorological Organisation (WMO)
secretary-general Petteri Taalas said in a statement.<br>
<br>
He noted that Earth's poles influence weather conditions far away,
where hundreds of millions of people live.<br>
The WMO previously cited a reading of 38C in the Russian town of
Verkhoyansk on 20 June, which the agency has been seeking to verify
as a possible record-high temperature in the Arctic Circle.<br>
<br>
It comes as fires have swept through the region, with satellite
imagery showing the breadth of the area surface.<br>
<br>
The agency says the extended heat is linked to a large "blocking
pressure system" and northward swing of the jet stream that has
injected warm air into the region.<br>
But the WMO also pointed to a recent study by top climate scientists
who found that such a rise in heat would have been nearly impossible
without human-caused climate change.<br>
<br>
The WMO said information collected by the US National Snow and Ice
Data Centre and the US National Ice Centre showed the Siberian
heatwave had "accelerated the ice retreat along the Arctic Russian
coast, in particular since late June, leading to very low sea ice
extent in the Laptev and Barents Seas."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/climate-change-arctic-heatwave-temperatures-reach-possible-all-time-high/">https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/climate-change-arctic-heatwave-temperatures-reach-possible-all-time-high/</a>
<p>- - -<br>
</p>
[Twitter]<br>
<b>World Meteorological Organization</b><br>
@WMO<br>
We've put together a summary of the latest information on #Siberian
heat, #wildfires and #Arctic sea ice.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://twitter.com/WMO/status/1286651854986915841">https://twitter.com/WMO/status/1286651854986915841</a><br>
<p>- - -</p>
[Commentary]<br>
<blockquote>"Definitely a big storm just north of Alaska and eastern
Siberia that covered a big chunk of the Arctic Basin. The whole
Siberian coast is already ice free and has been for over a month
and the open water now extends toward the Pole so that the
Northeast Passage is almost 200 miles wide in places. That wide
open water in contrast to the remaining pack ice along the shores
of northern Greenland and the Canadian Archipelago is providing
the contrast that's allowing for a really strong extra-tropical
low pressure system. That storm will definitely churn up the
remaining weak ice even more and I wouldn't be surprised if we end
up with a record low sea ice extent by September since the Barents
and Kara Seas to the north of western Russia and Norway are
amazingly warm. That warm water there and the warm air above it
will probably have a tendency to encroach on the rest of the
Arctic Basin through the rest of the summer and early fall to help
melt a record amount of ice barring some unforeseen reversal in
the overall pattern. A similar setup happened a few years ago
when we had the last record low ice extent with another big storm
that helped churn up the weak ice over a large area of the Arctic
Basin... But as far as I can tell, the conditions this year are
even more extreme!"<br>
</blockquote>
[commentary from retired govt meteorologist Ed Hummel] <br>
- -<br>
[Chilling notion]<br>
<b>Arctic sea ice could disappear completely within two months' time</b><br>
Arctic sea ice fell by 3.239 million sq km in extent in 25 days
(i.e. from July 1 to 25, 2020). Melting will likely continue for
another two months. If it continues on its current trajectory, the
remaining 6.333 million sq km of Arctic sea ice could disappear
completely within two months' time.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2020/">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2020/</a><br>
- - -<br>
[Or it could disappear in another day or so, just like a 7-11
Slurpee]<br>
<b>Earth.NullSchool.net see for yourself</b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-104.20,65.33,752">https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-104.20,65.33,752</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/overlay=temp/orthographic=-76.30,88.63,981">https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/overlay=temp/orthographic=-76.30,88.63,981</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-117.21,78.10,1500">https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-117.21,78.10,1500</a>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[New Alamo ahead?]<br>
<b>Texas ranchers, activists and local officials are bracing for
megadroughts brought by climate change</b><br>
A new study from the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M
University warns that droughts in the latter part of this century
could be the worst on record...<br>
- - <br>
"We need to have a shift and how we think about our water and about
how we use it as a community because it's a resource that belongs to
all of us in Texas, and not just the people, but the environment,
and the wonderful thing about Texas is all the people and all the
landscapes and all the critters," she said.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/27/texas-climate-change-megadroughts/">https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/27/texas-climate-change-megadroughts/</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[follow the money]<br>
<b>It's been a landmark year for investor action on climate change</b><br>
By ATTRACTA MOONEY AND PATRICK TEMPLE-WEST - FINANCIAL TIMES <br>
JULY 26, 2020<br>
As 2020 kicked off, Dan Gocher at the Australasian Center for
Corporate Responsibility, a shareholder advocacy organization, was
feeling "pretty optimistic" about its plans to force big Australian
energy companies to tackle climate change.<br>
<br>
BlackRock, the $6.8-trillion asset manager, and other large
investors had proclaimed an urgent need to arrest global warming.
With the renewed focus on climate change following devastating bush
fires in Australia, the ACCR was hopeful several climate-related
resolutions filed at oil and gas producers Santos and Woodside would
gain strong shareholder support at their annual meetings in April.<br>
<br>
Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. "Once the virus hit, we said, 'God,
we won't get anything done [on climate change] for 18 months,'"
Gocher said...<br>
- - <br>
In the U.S. there is growing pushback against investors acting as
climate warriors. Asset managers are gearing up for a fight with the
Trump administration over a new proposal that threatens investors'
ability to incorporate ESG principles into pension portfolios. At
the same time, many well-known asset managers are still reluctant to
vote against management, meaning the vast majority of climate
resolutions do not pass.<br>
<br>
Tom Quaadman at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that although
there has been more support for environmental shareholder proposals
this year, behind-the-scenes conversations between companies and
investors tend to resolve climate change concerns before a proxy
vote, convincing worried investors not to vote against management.<br>
<br>
"Clearly asset managers are being more vocal," Quaadman said. "Even
with an uptick this year, the fact that there has been a low level
of those proposals passing indicates that companies are having very
serious discussions with their investors on this."<br>
<br>
Gocher, of the Australasian Center for Corporate Responsibility,
said it remains to be seen whether companies will listen to
shareholders.<br>
<br>
"Getting these votes doesn't mean companies will change," he said.
"Really the test comes in the next 12 to 18 months to see if
investors demand the things they voted for." That will be the test
of whether companies "heed that warning investors have given them."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-07-26/investor-action-climate-change">https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-07-26/investor-action-climate-change</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[video lecture from a man with a live cat sleeping on his neck]<br>
<b>Global Methane Budget: No "Methane Bomb" in the Arctic YET. Risk
is RISING</b><br>
Jul 27, 2020<br>
Paul Beckwith<br>
The latest science on the Global Methane Budget was recently
published in a landmark paper authored by over 70 multidisciplinary
scientists. No methane bomb has ignited yet in the Arctic; for
latitudes 60 to 90N methane emissions are 4 percent of the total
budget as of 2017. About 2/3 of methane emissions are from latitude
90S to 30N, mostly from tropical equatorial regions. The remaining
1/3 of methane emissions are from latitude 30 to 60N. Atmospheric
methane concentration is rapidly rising, mostly from 2 sources;
namely from agriculture and fossil fuels. <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja5JK8rSTws">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja5JK8rSTws</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[May 2020]<br>
<b>Warming influence of greenhouse gases continues to rise, NOAA
finds</b><br>
Record high levels of greenhouse gas pollution continued to increase
the heat trapped in the atmosphere in 2019, according to an annual
analysis released by NOAA scientists.<br>
<br>
NOAA's Annual Greenhouse Gas Index tracks the concentrations of
greenhouse gases being added to the atmosphere principally from
human-caused emissions. The AGGI then calculates the heat being
added to Earth's atmosphere and oceans as a result. <br>
<br>
This past year, for the first time since NOAA began observations,
the warming influence of all these gases combined trapped the same
amount of heat as an atmosphere instead containing carbon dioxide
(CO2) at 500 parts per million (ppm). For thousands of years prior
to 1750, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere was around 280
ppm...<br>
- - <br>
This year's AGGI confirms that the growth rate of CO2 has
accelerated in recent years. It averaged about 1.6 parts per million
per year in the 1980s, 1.5 ppm per year in the 1990s and 1.9 ppm
per year from 2000-2009. The growth rate surged to an average of 2.4
ppm per year from 2010 to 2019. During 2019, the annual CO2 growth
rate increased by 2.64 ppm (see
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/global.html">https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/global.html</a>)]. <br>
<br>
Global average abundances of the major, well-mixed, long-lived
greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, CFC-12
and CFC-11 - from the NOAA global air sampling network are plotted
since the beginning of 1979. These five gases account for about 96%
of the direct radiative forcing by long-lived greenhouse gases since
1750. The remaining 4% is contributed by an assortment of 15 minor
halogenated gases including HCFC-22 and HFC-134a, for which NOAA
observations are also shown. Credit: Global Monitoring Laboratory<br>
Atmospheric levels of methane, the second-most important greenhouse
gas influenced by human activity, also rose in 2019. Preliminary
estimates show a jump of 10.4 parts per billion (ppb) last year to
1873 ppb. While methane emissions are roughly 28 times more
effective at trapping heat than CO2 when a 100-year timescale is
considered, the influence of methane concentrations on climate
warming is currently only 25 percent of CO2 because of its much
lower concentration in the atmosphere. <br>
<br>
The climate influence of one powerful set of greenhouse gases -
ozone-depleting gases such as the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) -
continued to decline in 2019, largely due to controls adopted by the
Montreal Protocol... <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2626/Warming-influence-of-greenhouse-gases-continues-to-rise-NOAA-finds">https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2626/Warming-influence-of-greenhouse-gases-continues-to-rise-NOAA-finds</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>[book discussion - interview with author]<br>
<b>Last Born In The Wilderness</b><br>
[Intro: 5:18 | Transcript: ENG/BP: bit.ly/3jqcdMk /
bit.ly/39iuKp6]<br>
In this episode, I speak with feminist writer and teacher Silvia
Federici. We discuss the themes of her new book 'Beyond the
Periphery of the Skin: Rethinking, Remaking, and Reclaiming the
Body in Contemporary Capitalism' published through PM Press.<br>
<br>
The body--our sense of "self" in relation to others--has been
restricted, reduced, and mutilated under Capitalism and the
impositions of the State. This is particularly true with women, as
Federici has thoroughly examined throughout her decades of
research, in particular with her seminal work 'Caliban and the
Witch,' which lucidly explores the brutal transformation European
populations were forced to endure as these societies began to
transition to the social order of Capitalism, now global in scope
and reach. Occurring over centuries, this transition--with the
enclosure of the Commons and the femicidal witch hunts--
dramatically restricted of the sovereignty of the peasant class
and brutalized the bodies of women. This process was fundamental
in the constriction of the individual and its relations "beyond
the periphery of the skin," the consequences of which we can see
up to the present moment.<br>
<br>
"More than ever, "the body" is today at the center of radical and
institutional politics. Feminist, antiracist, trans, ecological
movements--all look at the body in its manifold manifestations as
a ground of confrontation with the state and a vehicle for
transformative social practices. Concurrently, the body has become
a signifier for the reproduction crisis the neoliberal turn in
capitalist development has generated and for the international
surge in institutional repression and public violence. In 'Beyond
the Periphery of the Skin', lifelong activist and best-selling
author Silvia Federici examines these complex processes, placing
them in the context of the history of the capitalist
transformation of the body into a work-machine, expanding on one
of the main subjects of her first book, 'Caliban and the Witch.'"
(bit.ly/3eci2sP)<br>
<br>
Silvia Federici is a feminist writer, teacher, and militant. In
1972 she was cofounder of the International Feminist Collective
that launched the Wages for Housework campaign. Her books include
'Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women'; Caliban and the Witch';
'Re-enchanting the World'; and 'Revolution at Point Zero'. She is
a professor emerita of social sciences at Hofstra University in
Hempstead, New York. She worked as a teacher in Nigeria for many
years and was also the cofounder of the Committee for Academic
Freedom for Africa.<br>
<br>
Episode Notes:<br>
'Beyond the Periphery of the Skin' from PM Press: bit.ly/3eci2sP<br>
The song featured in this episode is "Nyakinyua Rise" by Jlin from
the album Black Origami: youtu.be/lGAy8KpeqR0<br>
WEBSITE: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.lastborninthewilderness.com">www.lastborninthewilderness.com</a><br>
BOOK: bit.ly/ORBITgr<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://soundcloud.com/lastborninthewilderness/silvia-federici">https://soundcloud.com/lastborninthewilderness/silvia-federici</a><a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://soundcloud.com/lastborninthewilderness/silvia-federici"></a><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br>
</p>
[Africa]<br>
<b>Caught between climate crisis and armed violence in Burkina Faso</b><br>
Desperate families in the Sahelian country are plagued by a double
burden that has left many displaced and destitute.<br>
- -<br>
Decades of climate change and years of increasing violence by armed
groups linked to al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) armed group as well as
local defence forces - a combination of community volunteers armed
by the government and groups who have taken up arms on their own -
have pushed KI's once comfortable family into poverty. Chased from
his farm by armed men in November, he has been unable to cultivate.
Meanwhile, his herd of 30 cows, most of which scattered and got lost
during the attack, has been reduced to just two...<br>
- -<br>
When you have lost everything, even food, you are on the edge of
despair and as a consequence [people] will be ready to find a
solution wherever possible, including terrorists," he said.<br>
<br>
A lot of recruits come from the most impoverished parts of the
country, he added.<br>
<br>
Yet some people who have been attacked by them say that no matter
how desperate they become they would never join.<br>
<br>
"If you're being chased by people in these groups why would you join
them? Even if they're providing money or food," said Soumaila. "I
would rather die."<br>
- -<br>
There are often plenty of resources but authorities lack the ability
or the legitimacy to mediate conflicts over access to them, said the
report. Climate policies should focus more on adaptation rather than
on the premise that resources are not plentiful enough.<br>
<br>
In an attempt to take an adapted and stronger approach to climate
change, approximately five years ago, Burkina Faso's government
altered the ministry of environment's name to include the words
"green economy and climate change", said Colette Kabore, the
ministry's director for the promotion of action for climate
resilience.<br>
<br>
The ministry is focusing on combining forestry and agriculture,
something Kabore calls natural regeneration.<br>
<br>
If people want to cut down trees, the government is advising not to
cut down every tree in the vicinity but to leave a few standing, she
said. The ministry is also helping people in climate-affected
industries adapt to drought by encouraging them to plant trees that
can survive with less water as well as fruit trees, such as
Ballantines, to provide the population with more food.<br>
<br>
It is also promoting practices that do not pollute the environment,
such as using renewable energies like solar pumps, said Kabore.<br>
<br>
In the past 10 years, pollution has had a devastating impact,
particularly for cattle breeders. Thirty percent of cattle die from
ingesting plastic, said Ouedraogo who runs the local environmental
group.<br>
<br>
Cows are an important source of revenue for farmers, providing milk,
meat and manure for fertiliser. One cow can sell for approximately
$300, so when farmers have fewer cows, they have less financial
stability.<br>
<br>
Four years ago, Ouedraogo lost nine out of 10 cows who died from
ingesting plastic when they grazed too close to the city, he said.
"When you opened them up, their stomachs were full of plastic."<br>
<br>
His organisation works with local communities in Titao and the
neighbouring commune of Ouindigui, to collect and transform plastic
bags into floor tiles, handbags and shopping bags. They plan to
start making tables and benches.<br>
<br>
The group also tries to plant trees in areas where they have all
been chopped down, but it is hard. Many of the trees die because
there is not enough water.<br>
<br>
During a trip to Ouahigouya in April, Al Jazeera visited an area
that residents said was a plush forest full of wildlife four decades
ago. Today, it is an arid patch of land marked with a few shrubs.<br>
<br>
Over the years, cattle breeders forced from the Sahel due to
desertification came further south and many parts of Ouahigouya
suffered from overgrazing.<br>
<br>
Cattle breeders like KI say the lack of grass has made it impossible
to care for as many cows as they used to.<br>
<br>
"In the past if you had 10 cattle, now you can manage five," he
said.<br>
<br>
Since losing almost all of his cows during the attack in November,
KI does not want to entertain the idea of selling the only two he
has left. But if he cannot produce enough food for the family this
planting season, he might not have a choice.<br>
<br>
"If there's no food, I'll have to sell them," he said, darting his
sad eyes to the floor.<br>
<br>
"But I'm still hoping some of them might return."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/caught-climate-crisis-armed-violence-burkina-faso-200529144536869.html">https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/caught-climate-crisis-armed-violence-burkina-faso-200529144536869.html</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[Digging back into the internet news archive]<br>
<font size="+1"><b>On this day in the history of global warming -
July 28, 2012 </b></font><br>
<p>Physicist Richard Muller, long known for accusing climate
scientists of data manipulation, writes an opinion piece for the
New York Times acknowledging that he cannot disprove the
monumental evidence pointing to human activity as the main driver
of climate change. Days later, in an interview with Betsy
Rosenberg, Muller continues to smear acclaimed climate scientist
Michael E. Mann.<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/opinion/the-conversion-of-a-climate-change-skeptic.html?pagewanted=all">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/opinion/the-conversion-of-a-climate-change-skeptic.html?pagewanted=all</a><br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9453">http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9453</a><br>
</p>
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