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<font size="+2"><font face="Calibri"><i><b>October 2</b></i></font></font><font
size="+2" face="Calibri"><i><b>, 2023</b></i></font><font
face="Calibri"><br>
</font> <br>
<font face="Calibri"><i>[ clips from a longer WRAL article - summary
links
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://wraltechwire.com/2023/09/29/just-how-bad-is-climate-change-its-worse-than-you-think-says-doomsday-author/">https://wraltechwire.com/2023/09/29/just-how-bad-is-climate-change-its-worse-than-you-think-says-doomsday-author/</a>
]<br>
</i></font><font face="Calibri"><b>Just how bad is climate change?
It’s worse than you think, says Doomsday author<br>
</b></font><font face="Calibri">by Marshall Brain — September 29,
2023 .<br>
</font>
<blockquote><font face="Calibri">Editor’s note: Marshall Brain –
futurist, inventor, NCSU professor, writer and creator of “How
Stuff Works” – is a contributor to WRAL TechWire. He’s also
author of “The Doomsday Book: The Science Behind Humanity’s
Greatest Threats.” Brain has written several posts recently
about the threat of climate change. His exclusive columns
written for TechWire are published on Fridays. </font><br>
</blockquote>
<font face="Calibri">Note to readers: WRAL TechWire would like to
hear from you about views expressed by our contributors. Please
send email to: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:info@wraltechwire.com">info@wraltechwire.com</a>.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">RALEIGH – Last week I wrote an article on the
coming collapse of our ecosystem and our civilization:<br>
We have destroyed our ecosystem – now we await the collapse of
civilization...</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">- -</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">To those on this “positive” or “hopium” end of
the spectrum, here is something to consider: Things are way, way
worse than you think. The reason people can believe that
everything is going to be OK is because they have not taken the
time to comprehend all the different things that are going wrong
simultaneously, nor how seriously these things are going wrong.<br>
</font>
<p><font face="Calibri">Therefore, let’s take a dive into the
unfolding catastrophe that climate change is creating for
humanity and the planet’s ecosystems</font></p>
<font face="Calibri"> <b>#1 LOOKING BACK AT THE PARIS CLIMATE
AGREEMENTS OF 2016</b><br>
The first thing to grasp is that humanity is doing nothing of any
significance to stop climate change. Humanity continues to burn
fossil fuels like there is no tomorrow. How do we know this? Think
back to the famous “Paris Climate Accords” from 2016. Nearly 200
members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) signed the agreement (only 3 have not). Here is a
quick summary of the agreement:<br>
<br>
Paris Agreements – <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Agreement">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Agreement</a><br>
<br>
“The Paris Agreement’s long-term temperature goal is to keep the
rise in mean global temperature to well below 2 °C (3.6 °F) above
pre-industrial levels, and preferably limit the increase to 1.5 °C
(2.7 °F), recognizing that this would substantially reduce the
effects of climate change. Emissions should be reduced as soon as
possible and reach net zero by the middle of the 21st century. To
stay below 1.5 °C of global warming, emissions need to be cut by
roughly 50% by 2030.”...<br>
<br>
- -<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>#2 RECORD HEAT ACROSS THE PLANET</b><br>
The headlines about the heat this year have been nearly impossible
to believe, but when you look at 10 of them at once you can get a
sense of how bad things are. The heat is happening all over the
planet, on land, in the oceans, in Antarctica, everywhere:<br>
</font>
<blockquote><font face="Calibri">Earth just had its hottest summer
on record, U.N. says, warning “climate breakdown has begun” <br>
–
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hottest-summer-on-record-2023-un-says-climate-change-global-warming-data/">https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hottest-summer-on-record-2023-un-says-climate-change-global-warming-data/</a><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Calibri">Antarctica experienced the most
intense heat wave ever recorded <br>
–
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctica-experienced-the-most-intense-heat-wave-ever-recorded/">https://www.earth.com/news/antarctica-experienced-the-most-intense-heat-wave-ever-recorded/</a><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Calibri">Record-breaking temperatures across
South America prompt concerns of scorching summer and wildfires
<br>
–
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/record-breaking-temperatures-across-south-125130980.html">https://au.news.yahoo.com/record-breaking-temperatures-across-south-125130980.html</a><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Calibri">The ominous signs pointing to extreme
heat and fire in Australia this summer <br>
–
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/24/australia/australia-el-nino-heat-fire-summer-climate-intl/index.html">https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/24/australia/australia-el-nino-heat-fire-summer-climate-intl/index.html</a><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Calibri">Exxon says world set to fail 2°C
global warming cap by 2050 <br>
–
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exxon-projects-oil-gas-be-54-worlds-energy-needs-2050-2023-08-28/">https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exxon-projects-oil-gas-be-54-worlds-energy-needs-2050-2023-08-28/</a><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Calibri">China’s summer of climate destruction
<br>
– <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-66616699">https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-66616699</a><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Calibri">The North Atlantic is experiencing a
‘totally unprecedented’ marine heat wave <br>
–
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/20/europe/marine-heatwave-north-atlantic-climate-scn-intl/index.html">https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/20/europe/marine-heatwave-north-atlantic-climate-scn-intl/index.html</a><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Calibri">‘Off-the-charts records’: has humanity
finally broken the climate?<br>
–
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/28/crazy-off-the-charts-records-has-humanity-finally-broken-the-climate">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/28/crazy-off-the-charts-records-has-humanity-finally-broken-the-climate</a><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Calibri">Gulf Coast temperatures surge to
highest levels ever observed <br>
–
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/gulf-coast-temperatures-surge-to-highest-levels-ever-observed/ar-AA1fTCtr">https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/gulf-coast-temperatures-surge-to-highest-levels-ever-observed/ar-AA1fTCtr</a><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Calibri">These places baked the most during
Earth’s hottest month on record <br>
–
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/08/02/july-hottest-month-global-temperatures/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/08/02/july-hottest-month-global-temperatures/</a>...</font><br>
</blockquote>
<font face="Calibri">- -<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>#3 WHERE DOES ALL THIS HEAT COME FROM?</b></font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Why is all this heat happening? Humanity has
added so much carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide to the
atmosphere that this heating is unstoppable. Humanity adds roughly
a gigaton of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every week and a
half. This graph comes from Statista:</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions worldwide
from 1940 to 2022 (in billion metric tons) </font><br>
<font face="Calibri">–
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/276629/global-co2-emissions">https://www.statista.com/statistics/276629/global-co2-emissions</a>...</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">- -<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>#4 WILDFIRES ALSO ADD CARBON DIOXIDE TO THE
ATMOSPHERE</b></font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Fossil fuels are one big source of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere. But wildfires also play a part. The
huge wildfires in Canada in 2023 emitted another gigaton of carbon
dioxide this year:</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">Canadian wildfires have released 1 billion tons
of CO2 this year—equivalent to annual airline emissions –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90932998/canadian-wildfires-co2-airline-emissions">https://www.fastcompany.com/90932998/canadian-wildfires-co2-airline-emissions</a></font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">“This year, more than 5,100 fires have burned
across Canada. They’ve sent smoke plumes around the world,
blanketing parts of the East Coast in an eerie haze and even
drifting over to Europe. They’ve burned 13 million hectares of
land, or about 32 million acres, a size equivalent to the country
of Greece. And they’ve already released one billion tons of carbon
dioxide emissions into the air, according to one estimate—about
the same as the global airline industry emits in a year, or a
year’s worth of driving from more than 222 million gas-powered
cars.”</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">The Amazon rainforest is doing the same thing
on its way toward collapsing:</font><br>
<blockquote><font face="Calibri">Amazon rainforest now emitting more
CO2 than it absorbs </font><br>
<font face="Calibri">–
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/14/amazon-rainforest-now-emitting-more-co2-than-it-absorbs">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/14/amazon-rainforest-now-emitting-more-co2-than-it-absorbs</a>...</font><br>
</blockquote>
<font face="Calibri">- -<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>#5 BAD NEWS ON SEVERAL FRONTS IN THE ARCTIC</b></font><br>
<font face="Calibri">The Arctic tundra is getting ready to do the
same thing as the Arctic Circle region thaws out:</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">Arctic Tundra Leaking Greenhouse Gases –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.science.org/content/article/arctic-tundra-leaking-greenhouse-gases">https://www.science.org/content/article/arctic-tundra-leaking-greenhouse-gases</a></font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">“’The concern is what will happen in the future
as global warming increases and melting permafrost exposes more of
this buried carbon to be respired and released into the
atmosphere,’ he says. As it does, this cold place could turn up
the heat on the rest of the planet.”</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">This is a huge concern because the Arctic
Circle is warming so fast:</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">The Arctic is warming nearly four times faster
than the rest of the world </font><br>
<font face="Calibri">–
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/the-arctic-is-warming-nearly-four-times-faster-than-the-rest-of-the-world">https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/the-arctic-is-warming-nearly-four-times-faster-than-the-rest-of-the-world</a>...</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">- -<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>#6 THE “TIPPING POINTS” AND “POSITIVE
FEEDBACK LOOPS” WILL RELEASE EVEN MORE CARBON DIOXIDE</b></font><br>
<font face="Calibri">The Tundra represents one of the so-called
“tipping points” or “positive feedback loops” in climate change.
As global heating increase, the Tundra melts faster. The Tundra
emits its own carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which speeds up
global heating even more. Which releases more carbon dioxide from
the Tundra. And so on. This video does a nice job of summarizing
the tipping point that the permafrost is getting ready to spring
on humanity: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpqZTqIKMxs">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpqZTqIKMxs</a></font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">The Tundra tipping point will be exacerbated by
the expected arrival of a Blue Ocean Event (BOE) in the Arctic
Ocean. A BOE will occur once all the artic ice disappears in the
summer:</font><br>
<blockquote><font face="Calibri">Arctic Could Be Sea Ice-Free in the
Summer by the 2030s </font><br>
<font face="Calibri">–
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/arctic-could-be-sea-ice-free-in-summer-by-2030s-180982326/">https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/arctic-could-be-sea-ice-free-in-summer-by-2030s-180982326/</a></font><br>
</blockquote>
<font face="Calibri">“Summer sea ice in the Arctic could melt almost
completely by the 2030s—roughly a decade earlier than
projected—even if humans cut back drastically on greenhouse gas
emissions, new research suggests. ‘We are very quickly about to
lose the Arctic summer sea-ice cover, basically independent of
what we are doing,’ Dirk Notz, a climate scientist at the
University of Hamburg in Germany tells the New York Times’ Raymond
Zhong. ‘We’ve been waiting too long now to do something about
climate change to still protect the remaining ice.’”</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">There are 16 of these tipping points that the
UN has identified, and several are getting ready to trigger in the
near future:</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">World on brink of five ‘disastrous’ climate
tipping points, study finds </font><br>
<font face="Calibri">–
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/08/world-on-brink-five-climate-tipping-points-study-finds">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/08/world-on-brink-five-climate-tipping-points-study-finds</a>...</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">- -<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>#7 THE PLANET IS RUNNING OUT OF FRESH WATER
FOR HUMANS TO DRINK</b><br>
In the previous quote it mentions “the loss of almost all mountain
glaciers”. For example, the rate at which the glaciers are melting
in Switzerland is accelerating rapidly:<br>
<br>
Swiss glaciers lose 10% of volume in worst two years on record –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/swiss-glaciers-lose-10-volume-worst-two-years-record-2023-09-28/">https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/swiss-glaciers-lose-10-volume-worst-two-years-record-2023-09-28/</a><br>
<br>
“Switzerland’s glaciers suffered their second worst melt rate this
year after record 2022 losses, shrinking their overall volume by
10% in the last two years, monitoring body GLAMOS said on
Thursday. The one-two punch for Swiss glaciers during the
country’s third hottest summer on record means they lost as much
ice in two years as in the three decades before 1990, it said,
describing the losses as ‘catastrophic’.”<br>
<br>
You might be thinking, “So what? Who needs glaciers?” The problem
is that the accelerating loss of these glaciers represents just
one of the many ways that humanity will be running out of fresh
water. Think about the freshwater situation in India and Pakistan:<br>
<br>
As Himalayan Glaciers Melt, a Water Crisis Looms in South Asia –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/himalayas-glaciers-climate-change">https://e360.yale.edu/features/himalayas-glaciers-climate-change</a><br>
<br>
“These changes could have far-reaching consequences for hazard
risk and food and water security in a heavily populated region.
More than a billion people depend on the Indus, Ganges, and
Brahmaputra river systems, which are fed by snow and glacial melt
from the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, known as the world’s “Third
Pole” because it contains so much ice. Peaking in summer,
meltwater can be a lifesaver at a time when other water sources
are much diminished.”<br>
<br>
Meanwhile, in the United States we have multiple reasons to worry
about the freshwater supplies in many parts of the country:<br>
<br>
New Orleans braces for drinking water emergency from
drought-stricken Mississippi River –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/new-orleans-braces-drinking-water-emergency-drought-stricken-mississip-rcna117218">https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/new-orleans-braces-drinking-water-emergency-drought-stricken-mississip-rcna117218</a><br>
America is using up its groundwater like there is no tomorrow –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/28/climate/groundwater-drying-climate-change.html">https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/28/climate/groundwater-drying-climate-change.html</a><br>
The Colorado River drought crisis: How did this happen? Can it be
fixed? –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/02/05/colorado-river-drought-explained/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/02/05/colorado-river-drought-explained/</a><br>
With the Ogallala Aquifer drying up, Kansas ponders limits to
irrigation –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.kcur.org/2023-04-04/with-the-ogallala-aquifer-drying-up-kansas-ponders-limits-to-irrigation">https://www.kcur.org/2023-04-04/with-the-ogallala-aquifer-drying-up-kansas-ponders-limits-to-irrigation</a><br>
‘We are dropping about 2,000 acre feet a day, that’s never
happened’ | What it will take to fill up Central Texas lakes –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.kcentv.com/amp/article/tech/science/environment/what-will-take-fill-central-texas-lakes/500-77a448cc-98e4-45ac-8e0e-6e4924940f82">https://www.kcentv.com/amp/article/tech/science/environment/what-will-take-fill-central-texas-lakes/500-77a448cc-98e4-45ac-8e0e-6e4924940f82</a><br>
Rivers like the Mississippi river and the Colorado river are
drying up. The aquifers in states like Kansas and California are
drying up. The reservoir lakes in states like Texas are drying up.<br>
<br>
Meanwhile there are unbelievable situations happening all over the
western United States – situations that consume huge amounts of
fresh water. This video talks about farming alfalfa for Saudi
Arabia in water-scarce Arizona – it is impossible to believe it is
true given what is at stake:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/b78owYAd0iw&t=47">https://youtu.be/b78owYAd0iw&t=47</a>...<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">- -<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>#8 MASSIVE DROUGHTS ARE HAPPENING ALL OVER
THE PLANET</b><br>
Unless you are personally affected by a drought, it is easy to
forget that droughts are happening all over the planet. Here are
several examples:<br>
Brazil’s Amazon rainforest faces a severe drought that may affect
around 500,000 people –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://apnews.com/article/brazil-amazon-environment-drought-201b4f16a12118f71f1966f453b1b9fb">https://apnews.com/article/brazil-amazon-environment-drought-201b4f16a12118f71f1966f453b1b9fb</a><br>
Major Exporter Vietnam Tells Some Rice Farmers to Plant Early on
Drought Risks –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-28/vietnam-tells-some-rice-farmers-to-plant-early-on-drought-risks">https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-28/vietnam-tells-some-rice-farmers-to-plant-early-on-drought-risks</a><br>
Rapid onset drought risk for Alabama –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://whnt.com/weather/valleywx-blog/rapid-onset-drought-risk-for-alabama/">https://whnt.com/weather/valleywx-blog/rapid-onset-drought-risk-for-alabama/</a><br>
Bolivia: Hottest winter on record ends in drought for more than
half the country –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://reliefweb.int/report/bolivia-plurinational-state/bolivia-hottest-winter-record-ends-drought-more-half-country">https://reliefweb.int/report/bolivia-plurinational-state/bolivia-hottest-winter-record-ends-drought-more-half-country</a><br>
Horn of Africa suffering from worst drought in 40 years –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.dw.com/en/horn-of-africa-is-suffering-from-worst-drought-in-40-years/video-66714546">https://www.dw.com/en/horn-of-africa-is-suffering-from-worst-drought-in-40-years/video-66714546</a><br>
EIA: historic drought at the Panama Canal causes delays –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/28092023/eia-historic-drought-at-the-panama-canal-causes-delays/">https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/28092023/eia-historic-drought-at-the-panama-canal-causes-delays/</a><br>
Over 70% of India reporting drought-like conditions –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/environment/over-70-of-india-reporting-drought-like-conditions-91964">https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/environment/over-70-of-india-reporting-drought-like-conditions-91964</a><br>
France’s Water War Has No End in Sight –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/09/25/france-water-crisis-climate-environment-drought-agriculture/">https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/09/25/france-water-crisis-climate-environment-drought-agriculture/</a><br>
Severe drought is a worst-case scenario for human survivability.
Without sufficient water there can be no agriculture, no
livestock, and therefore no humans...<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">- -<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>#9 PARADOXICALLY THERE IS ALSO INCREASED
FLOODING IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD</b><br>
This article from CNN describes how serious the threat of flooding
is becoming:<br>
Ten countries and territories saw severe flooding in just 12 days.
Is this the future of climate change?
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/16/world/global-rain-flooding-climate-crisis-intl-hnk/index.html">https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/16/world/global-rain-flooding-climate-crisis-intl-hnk/index.html</a>...<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">- -<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>#10 WHEN DROUGHTS + FLOODS + HEAT COMBINE,
IT LEADS TO CROP FAILURES</b><br>
There are plenty of places on planet Earth experiencing various
crop failures:</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">The high plains drought is so bad that Kansas
is importing wheat from Europe –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-06-05/the-high-plains-drought-is-so-bad-that-kansas-is-importing-wheat-from-europe">https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-06-05/the-high-plains-drought-is-so-bad-that-kansas-is-importing-wheat-from-europe</a><br>
Australia faces further wheat crop losses as September heat dents
yields –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/australia-faces-further-wheat-crop-losses-as-september-heat-dents-yields/">https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/australia-faces-further-wheat-crop-losses-as-september-heat-dents-yields/</a><br>
China’s wheat growers face ‘disaster’ after heavy rain batters
crop –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chinas-wheat-growers-face-disaster-after-heavy-rain-batters-crop-2023-06-07/">https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chinas-wheat-growers-face-disaster-after-heavy-rain-batters-crop-2023-06-07/</a><br>
Wheat Crops in U.S. and China May Be Threatened by Unprecedented
Heat and Drought –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://scitechdaily.com/wheat-crops-in-u-s-and-china-may-be-threatened-by-unprecedented-heat-and-drought/">https://scitechdaily.com/wheat-crops-in-u-s-and-china-may-be-threatened-by-unprecedented-heat-and-drought/</a><br>
Chinese farmers hit by floods and drought say extreme weather is
getting worse –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-floods-drought-farming-wheat-climate-change-rcna96111">https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-floods-drought-farming-wheat-climate-change-rcna96111</a><br>
India’s ban on rice exports raises fear of global food price rises
–
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jul/21/india-ban-on-rice-exports-raises-fear-of-global-food-price-rises">https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jul/21/india-ban-on-rice-exports-raises-fear-of-global-food-price-rises</a><br>
After being hit by heat last year, wheat crop suffers from
excessive, untimely rains this year –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/04/indias-wheat-crop-again-suffered-from-extreme-weather/">https://india.mongabay.com/2023/04/indias-wheat-crop-again-suffered-from-extreme-weather/</a>...<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">- -<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>#11 THINGS ARE LOOKING BAD IN ANTARCTICA</b><br>
Since Antarctica is in the southern hemisphere, winter is just
finishing up in Antarctica. Therefore, we would expect Antarctic
sea ice to be at its maximum. Unfortunately, this year’s maximum
is woefully low:<br>
<br>
Antarctic sea ice shrinks to lowest annual maximum level on
record, data shows –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/26/antarctic-sea-ice-shrinks-to-lowest-annual-maximum-level-on-record-data-shows">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/26/antarctic-sea-ice-shrinks-to-lowest-annual-maximum-level-on-record-data-shows</a>...<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">- -<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>#12 THEREFORE, SEA LEVELS ARE RISING</b><br>
If Antarctica is melting, and Greenland is melting, and the
mountain glaciers are melting, and the Arctic ice is melting… all
because of the warming created by carbon dioxide… then we would
expect sea levels to be rising. And in fact, they are:<br>
<br>
Antarctica warming much faster than models predicted in ‘deeply
concerning’ sign for sea levels –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/08/antarctica-warming-much-faster-than-models-predicted-in-deeply-concerning-sign-for-sea-levels">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/08/antarctica-warming-much-faster-than-models-predicted-in-deeply-concerning-sign-for-sea-levels</a>...<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">- -</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>#13 MASS EXTINCTION IS ALREADY HAPPENING</b><br>
With all the heat, the droughts, the floods, the increasing
pressure of 8 billion humans destroying habitat… We would expect
the natural world to be withering. And it is. We can see the
withering through the extinction of species:<br>
<br>
Mass Extinction: Entire Branches on Tree of Life Are Dying,
Scientists Warn –
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.sciencealert.com/mass-extinction-entire-branches-on-tree-of-life-are-dying-scientists-warn">https://www.sciencealert.com/mass-extinction-entire-branches-on-tree-of-life-are-dying-scientists-warn</a><br>
<br>
“Over the past few months the sixth mass extinction has become
devastatingly visible. We’ve witnessed mass seabird deaths, shores
have been littered with droves of dead fish, and sea lions
poisoned by heat-induced algal blooms. Last year entire
populations of penguins failed to breed and for years now
researchers have been investigating an alarming reduction in
insect life.”...<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">- -- <br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">The natural world is dying as the ecosystem
collapses.<br>
<br>
<b>WHAT IT ALL MEANS</b><br>
Think about everything we have discussed in this article:<br>
</font>
<blockquote>
<ol>
<li><font face="Calibri">Massive heat waves across the planet</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Rising fossil fuel emissions</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Heating of 1.5 degrees C in 2023</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Failure of the 2016 Paris agreements</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Huge wildfires in Canada</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Wildfires burning in the Amazon
rainforest</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Arctic Tundra thawing out and tripping
a climate feedback loop</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Other climate tipping points getting
ready to trigger</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">The acceleration of Arctic warming</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">The coming Blue Ocean Event in the
Arctic to make Arctic heating even worse</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">All the mountain glaciers are melting</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Rivers are drying up</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Aquifers are drying up</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Reservoir lakes are drying up</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Aquifers and farmland are becoming
contaminated with salt water</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Massive droughts across the planet</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Massive floods in other parts of the
planet</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Crop failures</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Heating and melting in Antarctica</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Threats from the Thwaites glacier</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Sea level rise around the world</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">Mass extinction events in every area</font></li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<font face="Calibri">All these phenomena are happening
simultaneously, and they will all be accelerating. If you can wrap
your head around the convergence of these 22 problems, you can
begin to understand how bad things are getting.<br>
- -<br>
Think about it this way: If we get together again next year in
October, after humanity has released another 37 gigatons of carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere, are any of these 22 things going to
get better? What about in three years, after humanity has released
another 100 gigatons of carbon dioxide? What about in 10 years,
after humanity has released another 300 gigatons of carbon
dioxide? And then add in the unknowns:<br>
</font>
<blockquote><font face="Calibri">What if the Amazon rainforest
collapses and releases another 100 gigatons of carbon dioxide?</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">What if a large glacier in Antarctica
collapses?</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">What if all the ice in the Arctic disappears
and we experience a blue ocean event?</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">What if positive feedback loops like the
Tundra really engage?</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">What if droughts and floods and heat increase
enough to cause major crop failures?</font><br>
</blockquote>
<font face="Calibri">Unfortunately, it does not look like the
world’s leaders are going to do anything significant to address
climate change. The Paris agreements were a chance for them to do
something, and we have seen that they failed. This is why in last
week’s article I had this quote:</font><br>
<blockquote><font face="Calibri">We have destroyed our ecosystem –
now we await the collapse of civilization</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://wraltechwire.com/2023/09/22/doomsday-authors-analysis-we-have-destroyed-our-ecosystem-now-we-await-the-collapse-of-civilization/">https://wraltechwire.com/2023/09/22/doomsday-authors-analysis-we-have-destroyed-our-ecosystem-now-we-await-the-collapse-of-civilization/</a></font><br>
</blockquote>
<font face="Calibri"> </font><font face="Calibri">“The next best
thing would be the appearance of super-intelligent AI that wants
to help the planet recover and lead humanity down a better path.
The super-intelligent AI would need to establish a beneficent
global dictatorship that takes over the operations of humanity on
planet Earth. By replacing all the governments of the world with a
single super-intelligent government, and by taking control of the
planet’s industries, there is some hope that a super-intelligent
AI could bring humanity in for an imperfect but soft landing for
the benefit of all.”</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><br>
What might the super-intelligent AI do once it has taken control?
It would do all the things that human leaders are refusing to do
but that must be done. The AI would cut through all the noise,
disinformation, corruption, propaganda, naysaying, and bickering,
moving positive actions forward to solve the climate change
problem quickly. I hypothesize that the AI would take steps like
these:<br>
</font>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li><font face="Calibri">The AI would take immediate steps to
cool the planet down with geoengineering techniques. The
excessive heat is causing so many problems that there needs
to be immediate relief.</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">The AI would replace fossil fuels with
carbon neutral synthetic fuels by inventing techniques and
rapidly scaling up production. This would allow the rapid
decarbonization of agriculture and transportation.</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">The AI would upgrade the grid and
rapidly decarbonize electricity production with renewables
and modular reactors.</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">The AI would eliminate absurdities like
private jets and SUVs, then move toward more efficient
public transit systems.</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">The AI would move to protect vulnerable
areas like rainforests, Antarctica, the Arctic circle, etc.</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">The AI would stabilize Greenland and
the AMOC</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">The AI would eliminate all cattle</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">The AI would rapidly advance
educational initiatives worldwide so that all humans are
highly-educated beings</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">The AI would start efficiently
extracting CO2 from the atmosphere and oceans</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">The AI would find ways to reduce the
risks from crop failures and diminishing fresh water
supplies</font></li>
<li><font face="Calibri">The AI would eliminate both wealthy
people and poverty</font></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<font face="Calibri">And so on<br>
If all these things (and many others) happened quickly and with
conviction, things would not be perfect. There are certain aspects
of climate change that are baked in and will cause damage
regardless. But it would limit the worst-case scenarios. It would
be an imperfect but soft landing, and humanity would benefit in so
many ways.<br>
<br>
Unfortunately, an omniscient super-intelligent AI is unlikely to
appear in time to save us. Thus, “we,” humanity, will get to
witness our own downfall. It is quite possible that in the history
books, 2024 or 2025 could mark the peak of human civilization on
planet Earth unless there is a superhuman change of direction.<br>
</font><font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://wraltechwire.com/2023/09/29/just-how-bad-is-climate-change-its-worse-than-you-think-says-doomsday-author/">https://wraltechwire.com/2023/09/29/just-how-bad-is-climate-change-its-worse-than-you-think-says-doomsday-author/</a><br>
</font>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></p>
<font face="Calibri"><i>[ climate philosopher - from a year ago -
have we been lucky for 3 billion years? ]</i></font><br>
<b>Norrsken Sessions #2 l Daniel Schmachtenberger</b><br>
Norrsken Foundation<br>
<font face="Calibri">Oct 24, 2022<br>
The Meta-crisis and how we survive it.<br>
<br>
On October 20th, 2022, Daniel Schmachtenberger visited Norrsken
House Stockholm for a one-off talk, moderated by Sara Kappelmark,
Norrsken Foundation COO.<br>
Daniel is a social philosopher and founding member of The
Consilience Project. His thinking has had a long-term and profound
impact on Norrsken's strategy and worldview.</font><br>
<p><font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbg8nHuNggU">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbg8nHuNggU</a></font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></p>
<p><i><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></i></p>
<i><font face="Calibri">[ this attempts to define how an AI problem
can be difficult to solve -- and the human climate predicament
will be difficult for AI to solve ]</font></i><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and
Human Values with Brian Christian</b><br>
Yale University<br>
</font><font face="Calibri">Apr 6, 2022 Science & Technology -
Lectures<br>
Yale University’s Wu Tsai Institute and the Schmidt Program on
Artificial Intelligence, Emerging Technologies, and National Power
co-host the talk, “The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and
Human Values,” by Brian Christian, an award-winning author and
Science Communicator in Residence at the Simons Institute for the
Theory of Computing at University of California – Berkeley.<br>
<br>
Christian is recognized as a leading authority on artificial
intelligence and the ethical challenges associated with emerging
technologies. His latest book, “The Alignment Problem: Machine
Learning and Human Values,” is a blend of history and
on-the-ground reporting, tracing the explosive growth of machine
learning and the wide range of resulting risks, opportunities, and
unintended consequences. The book is a Los Angeles Times Finalist
for Best Science & Technology Book of the Year, and Microsoft
CEO Satya Nadella has named it one of the five books that inspired
him in 2021.<br>
<br>
Christian is the author of the acclaimed bestsellers “The Most
Human Human” and “Algorithms to Live By.” His writing has appeared
in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Wired, and The Wall Street
Journal, as well as peer-reviewed journals. He holds degrees in
computer science, philosophy, and poetry from Brown University and
the University of Washington. <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6atNBhItBs">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6atNBhItBs</a><br>
</font>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font> </p>
<font face="Calibri"> <i>[ A difficult change -- from Jem Bendell]</i></font><br>
<font face="Calibri"> </font> <font face="Calibri"><b>The Benefits
of Collapse Acceptance – Part 1</b></font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Posted on September 21, 2023</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">I recommend you reflect for yourself. In
addition, you could engage others in similar conversations either
via the Deep Adaptation Forum, or via the post doom discussions
(which Karen sometimes hosts).<br>
<br>
The first seven benefits of collapse acceptance as Karen Perry
first wrote them:<br>
</font>
<blockquote><font face="Calibri">1. FREEDOM – the move away from
shoulds to the open doors of coulds. “Get off the hamster wheel
to stop building the castle, live where/how desired if
possible.”</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">2. URGENCY – ‘No time like the present’ has
never meant more. “Take that trip, quit that job, buy that
house, do that thing — now.”</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">3. PARAMETERS – playing the game with a
different framework and lens. “Baby or not? Pre-emptive medical
procedures? Tax penalty concerns?”</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">4. PRESENCE – focus on today with heightened
awareness of being here now. “Acceptance is the meditation.
Be-ing is more important than do-ing.”</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">5. GRATITUDE – impossible to ignore all we’ve
been given (and taken). “Make the list: hot showers, full
grocery stores, internet, trash pickup, on demand everything…”</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">6. CALM GROUNDING – not disrupted by
catastrophic information. “‘Can you believe it? The (fill in the
blank) happened/is getting worse!’ (Yawn), yes I can.”</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">7. COMMUNITY / LOCALISM – ability to affect
those in close proximity. “Restore a nearby land base, push back
on development projects, connect with neighbors.”</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">..more to come next week.</font><br>
</blockquote>
<font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://jembendell.com/2023/09/21/the-benefits-of-collapse-acceptance-part-1/">https://jembendell.com/2023/09/21/the-benefits-of-collapse-acceptance-part-1/</a><br>
</font>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font> </p>
<font face="Calibri"> <i>[The news archive - looking back at a Joe
Biden ]</i><br>
<font size="+2"><i><b>October 2, 2008</b></i></font> <br>
October 2, 2008: Vice-presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah
Palin spar over climate and energy issues in their lone debate,
moderated by Gwen Ifill.<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://youtu.be/5qhox5P_jCg">http://youtu.be/5qhox5P_jCg</a><br>
<br>
<br>
</font>
<p><font face="Calibri"> <br>
</font><font face="Calibri"><br>
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</font> <font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
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