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<p><i><font size="+1"><b>July 6, 2021</b></font></i></p>
[Bookmark these sites]<br>
<b>Wildland Fire Open Data</b><br>
The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) has initiated this
project through the nationally used NIFC ArcGIS Online Site. The
purpose is to better share maps and data related to wildland fire
activities across the country with all agencies and persons
interested in such data.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://data-nifc.opendata.arcgis.com/">https://data-nifc.opendata.arcgis.com/</a>
<p>- -<br>
</p>
[ video of changes <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/yMRktjA8jTY">https://youtu.be/yMRktjA8jTY</a> ]<br>
<b>National Interagency Fire Center - Open Data Site Introduction -
Updated June 23rd, 2021</b><br>
Jun 23, 2021<br>
NIFC FireAviation<br>
The National Interagency Fire Center Open Data site is designed to
share wildland fire geospatial information with the public. Data can
be used as services or downloaded and used in mapping applications
of your choice. The Open Data site can be found at this link:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://data-nifc.opendata.arcgis.com/">http://data-nifc.opendata.arcgis.com/</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/yMRktjA8jTY">https://youtu.be/yMRktjA8jTY</a>
<p>- -</p>
[US Drought Monitor]<br>
<b>U.S. Drought Monitor</b><br>
The full functionality of the U.S. Drought Monitor Website has been
restored, with the exception of map files for the years 2000 through
2019. If you need a map from any of those years, please visit the
Custom Map Request page.
<blockquote type="cite"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/About/WhatistheUSDM.aspx">https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/About/WhatistheUSDM.aspx</a></blockquote>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap.aspx">https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap.aspx</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<br>
[Time to start thinking this way]<br>
<b>Most buildings were designed for an earlier climate – here’s what
will happen as global warming accelerates</b><br>
THE CONVERSATION on 07/04/2021 <br>
RAN BOYDELL<br>
HOUSES WILL BE MORE PRONE TO OVERHEATING, PUTTING THE LIVES OF
RESIDENTS AT RISK, WHICH IS WHAT HAS HAPPENED DURING THE RECENT
“HEAT DOME” OVER NORTH AMERICA. FLOODING WILL HAPPEN MORE OFTEN AND
INUNDATE GREATER AREAS, TO THE POINT THAT SOME PLACES MIGHT HAVE TO
BE ABANDONED.<br>
Climate change will affect every aspect of our lives – including the
buildings we live and work in. Most people in the US, for example,
spend about 90% of their time indoors. Climate change is
fundamentally altering the environmental conditions in which these
buildings are designed to function.<br>
<br>
Architects and engineers design buildings and other structures, like
bridges, to operate within the parameters of the local climate.
They’re built using materials and following design standards that
can withstand the range of temperatures, rainfall, snow and wind
that are expected, plus any geological issues such as earthquakes,
subsidence and ground water levels.<br>
<br>
When any of those parameters are exceeded, chances are some aspect
of the building will fail. If there are high winds, some roof tiles
may be ripped off. If, after days of heavy rain, the water table
rises, the basement might flood. This is normal, and these problems
cannot be designed out entirely. After the event has passed, the
damage can be repaired and additional measures can reduce the risk
of it happening again.<br>
<br>
But climate change will breed conditions where these parameters are
exceeded more often and to a far greater degree. Some changes, like
higher average air temperatures and humidity, will become permanent.
What were previously considered once in a century floods may become
a regular occurrence.<br>
<br>
Some of these impacts are fairly obvious. Houses will be more prone
to overheating, putting the lives of residents at risk, which is
what has happened during the recent “heat dome” over North America.
Flooding will happen more often and inundate greater areas, to the
point that some places might have to be abandoned. The village of
Fairbourne in Wales has already been identified as a likely
candidate. Failure to act on both of these threats in the UK was
highlighted in a recent report by the Climate Change Committee.<br>
<br>
To some extent, these impacts will be localised and containable,
with fairly simple remedies. For example, overheating can be reduced
by shading windows with awnings or blinds, good insulation, and
ample ventilation. Perhaps more worrying are the insidious effects
of climate change which gradually undermine the core functions of a
building in less obvious ways....<br>
<br>
- -<br>
TERMITES AND MELTING ASPHALT<br>
More intense wind and rain will cause external cladding to
deteriorate more rapidly and leak more often. Higher temperatures
will expand the regions where some insects can live. That includes
timber-eating termites that can cause major structural damage, or
malaria-carrying mosquitoes which living spaces must be redesigned
to protect us from.<br>
<br>
Materials expand as they get hotter, especially metals, which can
cause them to buckle once their designed tolerance is exceeded. <br>
<br>
For one skyscraper in Shenzhen, China, high temperatures were
partially blamed for causing the structure to shake, forcing its
evacuation, as the steel frame stretched in the heat. Extreme
temperatures can even cause materials to melt, resulting in roads
“bleeding” as the surface layer of bitumen softens.<br>
<br>
Subsidence – when the ground below a structure gives way, causing it
to crack or collapse – is also expected to happen more often in a
warmer world. Buildings with foundations in clay soils are
particularly vulnerable, as the soils swell when they absorb water,
then harden and shrink as they dry out. Changing rainfall patterns
will exacerbate this. Over the next 50 years, for example, more than
10% of properties in Britain will be affected by subsidence.<br>
<br>
CONCRETE CANCER<br>
Perhaps the biggest concern is how climate change will affect
reinforced concrete, one of the most widely used materials on Earth.
Used in everything from skyscrapers and bridges to the lintels above
windows in homes, reinforced concrete is made by placing steel rods
within a mould and pouring wet concrete in. Once dry, this produces
incredibly strong structures.<br>
<br>
But a warmer wetter climate will play havoc with the durability of
this material. When the steel inside the concrete gets wet it rusts
and expands, cracking the concrete and weakening the structure in a
process sometimes referred to as “concrete cancer”.<br>
<br>
Buildings in coastal areas are especially susceptible as the
chloride in salt water accelerates rusting. <br>
<br>
Rising sea levels will raise the water table and make it saltier,
affecting building foundations, while salt-spray will spread further
on stronger winds.<br>
<br>
At the same time, the concrete is affected by carbonation, a process
where carbon dioxide from the air reacts with the cement to form a
different chemical element, calcium carbonate. This lowers the pH of
the concrete, making the steel even more prone to corrosion. Since
the 1950s, global CO₂ levels have increased from about 300 parts per
million in the atmosphere to well over 400. More CO₂ means more
carbonation.<br>
<br>
The tragic recent collapse of an apartment building in Miami in the
US may be an early warning of this process gaining speed. While the
exact cause of the collapse is still being investigated, some are
suggesting it might be linked to climate change.<br>
<br>
The local mayor, Charles Burkett, summed up the bewilderment many
felt:<br>
<br>
It just doesn’t happen. You don’t see buildings falling down in
America.<br>
<br>
Whether or not the link to climate change proves to be true, it is
nevertheless a wake up call to the fragility of our buildings. It
should also be seen as a clear demonstration of a critical point:
wealth does not protect against the effects of climate change. Rich
nations have the financial clout to adapt more rapidly and to
mitigate these impacts, but they can’t stop them at the border.
Climate change is indiscriminate. Buildings are vulnerable to these
impacts no matter where in the world they are, and if anything, the
modern buildings of developed countries have more things in them
that can go wrong than simpler traditional structures.<br>
<br>
The only option is to begin adapting buildings to meet the changing
parameters in which they are operating. The sooner we begin
retrofitting existing buildings and constructing new ones that can
withstand climate change, the better.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.sixdegreesnews.org/archives/30351/most-buildings-were-designed-for-an-earlier-climate-heres-what-will-happen-as-global-warming-accelerates">https://www.sixdegreesnews.org/archives/30351/most-buildings-were-designed-for-an-earlier-climate-heres-what-will-happen-as-global-warming-accelerates</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[The Guardian]<br>
<b>Small majority believe there is still time to avert climate
disaster – survey</b><br>
Survey in 16 countries finds just over half of consumers believe
their own behaviour can help<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/05/small-majority-believe-there-is-still-time-to-avert-climate-disaster-survey">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/05/small-majority-believe-there-is-still-time-to-avert-climate-disaster-survey</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[Wildfires]<br>
<b>Cyprus: Nations send help to tackle worst wildfire in decades</b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57710048">https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57710048</a>- -<br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[In the land of wildfires, a fireproof home is a castle ]<br>
<b>‘Trying To Make Houses That Are Fireproof’: UC Davis Researchers
Look To Prevent Wildfire With Mud</b><br>
By Tony LopezJuly 2, 2021<br>
<br>
<br>
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Millions of Californians live in high-risk
wildfire areas, but now, there are some new down-to-earth ideas at
UC Davis that could help keep homes from burning.<br>
<br>
Each year, hundreds of California homes are destroyed by wildfires.
Researchers at UC Davis are looking into ways to help reduce the
risk.<br>
<br>
“We are trying to make houses that are fireproof,” said Michele
Barbato, a UC Davis engineering professor.<br>
<br>
Mechanical engineers have designed these blocks made of mud – which
could replace traditional wood and stucco homes that cannot
withstand the intense heat of a wildfire. In the lab, the mud-made
blocks were tested under extreme conditions – baked in a furnace for
seven hours at more than 2,000 degrees.<br>
<br>
“And as you can see, the brick is still there, it doesn’t burn,”
Narnato said during a demonstration.<br>
<br>
A side-by-side test shows wood easily igniting under a blowtorch,
while the blocks built out of dirt show no visible damage.<br>
<br>
“They can survive wildfire,” Barbato said.<br>
<br>
The goal is to keep costs down by designing interlocking earth-made
blocks that won’t require mortar and machines that can travel to the
homebuilding site to press the blocks there using locally sourced
dirt.<br>
<br>
“You have something that is sustainable, affordable, and safe if you
design it correctly,” Barbato said.<br>
<br>
It’s an idea that’s intriguing to the home construction industry.<br>
<br>
“We applaud the people that are out there looking for new ways and
new materials,” said Mike Stretch, CEO of the Northstate Building
Industry Association. “We’re interested, always interested in
building a safe home.”<br>
<br>
But they say how you plan a home is just as important.<br>
<br>
“The best way to prevent a fire from impacting a home is to make
sure that the vegetation that the yard choices the landscaping is
engineered in a way to keep the flames away from the home,” Stretch
said.<br>
<br>
Digging up new ideas made from mud, it’s groundbreaking research
that could one day help reduce the threat of wildfires. Researchers
say the mud blocks also hold up well during tornados and hurricanes.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2021/07/02/uc-davis-looks-to-fireproof-homes/">https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2021/07/02/uc-davis-looks-to-fireproof-homes/</a><br>
- -<br>
[or that is another way]<br>
<b>How PG&E is fighting its massive wildfire problem with
microgrids, power shutoffs and cutting down trees</b><br>
<br>
"Five of the ten most destructive fires in California since 2015
have been linked to PG&E equipment..."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/03/how-californias-pge-is-fighting-its-massive-wildfire-problem.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/03/how-californias-pge-is-fighting-its-massive-wildfire-problem.html</a><br>
<br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>[Google <b>Books Ngram Viewer</b> search for use of the term "<b>a
wake up cal</b>l" peaked in 2005]<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=a+wake+up+call&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Ca%20wake%20up%20call%3B%2Cc0#t1%3B%2Ca%20wake%20up%20call%3B%2Cc0">https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=a+wake+up+call&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Ca%20wake%20up%20call%3B%2Cc0#t1%3B%2Ca%20wake%20up%20call%3B%2Cc0</a><br>
</p>
<br>
<p><br>
</p>
[physical and social tipping points in academic discussion]<br>
<b>Cascading Interactions Between Tipping Elements in the
Anthropocene Earth System - Jonathan Donges</b><br>
May 6, 2021<br>
issibern<br>
Tipping elements in the Earth’s climate system are continental-scale
subsystems that are characterized by a nonlinear threshold behavior.
These include biosphere components (e.g. the Amazon rainforest and
coral reefs), cryosphere components (e.g. the Greenland and
Antarctic ice sheets) and large-scale atmospheric and oceanic
circulations (e.g. the thermohaline circulation, ENSO and Indian
summer monsoon). Once operating near a threshold or tipping point
that may be approached due to anthropogenic climate change, these
components can transgress into a qualitatively different state by
small external perturbations. The large-scale environmental
consequences could impact the livelihoods of millions of people.<br>
<br>
In this webinar, Jonathan Donges reports on recent research on
individual tipping elements such as the Antarctic Ice Sheet,
reinforcing (positive) feedbacks on anthropogenic global warming
mediated by cryospheric tipping elements, interactions between
climate tipping elements and the risk for resulting tipping
cascades. Finally, he will present work on the potentials for
positive social tipping dynamics that could help to achieve the
rapid decarbonization of the world’s social-economic systems needed
to stabilize the Earth’s climate in line with the Paris climate
agreement.<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/5/2354.long">https://www.pnas.org/content/117/5/2354.long</a><br>
Jonathan Donges is co-leader of the FutureLab on Earth Resilience in
the Anthropocene (<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.pik-potsdam.de/earthresilience">www.pik-potsdam.de/earthresilience</a>) at the Potsdam
Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK, Germany), leader of the
PIK working group on Whole Earth System Analysis and co-speaker of
the COPAN collaboration (<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.pik-potsdam.de/copan">www.pik-potsdam.de/copan</a>). He also holds a
researcher position at the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm
University, Sweden, and is Visiting Research Collaborator at High
Meadows Environmental Institute, Princeton University, both in the
scope of the Earth Resilience and Sustainability Initiative
(<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.earthresiliencesustainability.org">www.earthresiliencesustainability.org</a>). Jonathan holds a PhD in
Theoretical Physics from Humboldt University Berlin and has
published on a variety of topics including Earth system analysis,
climatology, paleoclimate, social-ecological systems, complex
networks, complex systems theory, nonlinear dynamics, and time
series analysis.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ESYJlXXWT4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ESYJlXXWT4</a><br>
- -<br>
[source]<br>
<b>The Parallel Ice Sheet Model PISM v1.2 is open source and capable
of high resolution. It has been widely adopted as a tool for doing
science.</b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://pism-docs.org/wiki/doku.php?id=home">https://pism-docs.org/wiki/doku.php?id=home</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/5/2354.long">https://www.pnas.org/content/117/5/2354.long</a><br>
<br>
<p><br>
</p>
<br>
[The news archive - looking back]<br>
<font size="+1"><b>On this day in the history of global warming July
6, 2010</b></font><br>
<br>
July 6, 2010: Washington Post writer Ezra Klein observes:<br>
<br>
"There's a range of likely outcomes from a tax on carbon, and we can
handle most of them. There's also a range of outcomes from radical
changes in the planet's climate, and we've really no idea which we
can handle, and which we can't. We don't even really know what that
range looks like. And although a tax can be undone or reformed,
there's no guarantee that we can reverse hundreds of years of rapid
greenhouse gas buildup in the atmosphere. If you want proof, look at
our inability to deal with an underwater oil spill, and consider how
much more experience we have repairing oil rigs than reversing
concentrations of gases in the atmosphere.<br>
<br>
"One of the oddities of the global warming debate, in fact, is that
the side that's usually skeptical of government intervention is
potentially setting up a future in which the government is
intervening on a planetary scale. I don't think of myself as
particularly skeptical of the feds, but I'm a lot more comfortable
with their ability to levy a tax than their capacity to reform the
atmosphere. That's why, when faced with the choice between being
risk averse about a tax or about the planet, I tend to choose the
planet."<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/07/the_case_for_being_careful_wit.html">http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/07/the_case_for_being_careful_wit.html</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<p>/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------/</p>
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