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<font size="+2"><font face="Calibri"><i><b>December </b></i></font></font><font
size="+2" face="Calibri"><i><b>23, 2023</b></i></font><font
face="Calibri"><br>
</font> <br>
<i>[ initial report from BBC ]</i><b><i><br>
</i></b><b>Pictured: Massive wildfire rips through northern Italy</b><br>
Hundreds of firefighters and volunteers are tackling a blaze that
has burnt nearly 9,000 acres of land<br>
Our Foreign Staff<br>
23 December 2023<br>
Hundreds of firefighters are tackling a massive wildfire near Turin
in northwest Italy...<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/12/23/italy-wildfire-turin-wind-traves-susa-lanzo-valley/">https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/12/23/italy-wildfire-turin-wind-traves-susa-lanzo-valley/</a><br>
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<i>[ USA Today reported ]</i><br>
<b>How we know humans cause global warming: A brief history of
climate science | Fact check</b><br>
Kate S. Petersen<br>
USA TODAY<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2023/12/20/humans-cause-global-warming-fact-check/71714659007/">https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2023/12/20/humans-cause-global-warming-fact-check/71714659007/</a><br>
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<i>[ a new word
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://iiab.me/kiwix/wikipedia_en_all_maxi_2022-05/A/Demitarian">https://iiab.me/kiwix/wikipedia_en_all_maxi_2022-05/A/Demitarian</a> ]<br>
</i><b>Go ‘demitarian’ this Christmas: UN report urges new diet to
help fight climate change</b><br>
The report proposes halving the average European meat and dairy
consumption and moving to a more plant-based diet to cut pollution
and improve human health.<br>
By Rebecca Ann Hughes<br>
12/21/2023 <br>
<b>Going ‘demitarian’ is even lower emissions than veganism - and
easier to stick to</b><br>
<br>
If you want your diet to be more planet-friendly over the festive
period, a new report suggests ‘demitarian’ is the way to go.<br>
<br>
In a study for the United Nations (UN), researchers found reducing
meat and dairy consumption could have a greater impact on cutting
nitrogen pollution than a vegan diet.<br>
<br>
Nitrogen is vital for plant growth and is found in synthetic
fertilisers used by farmers to boost crop production.<br>
<br>
But when nitrogen is leaked into the environment, it becomes a
greenhouse gas that is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.<br>
<br>
Does nitrogen cause climate change?<br>
The new report, Appetite for Change, proposes solutions to halve the
nitrogen pollution from agriculture and the food system in Europe.<br>
<br>
The study was produced by a group of researchers coordinated by the
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), the European
Commission, Copenhagen Business School and the National Institute
for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) of The Netherlands.<br>
<br>
Appetite for Change says inefficiencies in farms, retail and
wastewater practices mean that the nitrogen use efficiency of the
food system in Europe is only 18 per cent, leaving most of the
remainder leaking into air, water and soils.<br>
<br>
Here, it transforms into various polluting forms: ammonia and
nitrogen oxides, which are harmful air pollutants; nitrous oxide, a
potent greenhouse gas; and nitrate, which affects water quality.<br>
<br>
Eating less meat and dairy could help tackle climate change<br>
The report proposes halving the average European meat and dairy
consumption and moving to a more plant-based diet to cut pollution
and improve human health.<br>
<br>
According to the researchers, the food system in Europe, especially
livestock, accounts for 80 per cent of the continent’s nitrogen
emissions.<br>
<br>
Growing vegetables and other plant produce is typically more
efficient than livestock agriculture, requiring less land and
fertilisers.<br>
<br>
Keto, paleo, vegan: Which diet does the most to cut your carbon
footprint?<br>
Are UPFs really that bad? Here’s what food experts say on the rise
of ultra-processed foods<br>
To help the shift towards more plant-based diets, the researchers
suggest providing financial incentives for foods that have a low
impact on the environment and adopting public sector catering
contracts that offer these sustainable food choices.<br>
<br>
There should be a “coherent combination of policies addressing food
production and consumption to better support a transition towards
sustainable systems.”...<br>
- -<br>
Is ‘demitarian’ better than vegan?<br>
Although veganism is touted as one of the most planet-friendly
diets, going demitarian could be better for tackling nitrogen
pollution.<br>
<br>
“Our analysis finds that a broad package of actions including a
demitarian approach (halving meat and dairy consumption) scored most
highly in looking to halve nitrogen waste by 2030,” says Professor
Mark Sutton of UKCEH, one of the editors of Appetite for Change.<br>
<br>
The protein consumption of the average person in Europe greatly
exceeds the recommendations of the World Health Organization.<br>
<br>
The report says a balanced diet with less meat and dairy would also
improve nutrition and make people healthier, reducing demand on
health services.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/12/21/go-demitarian-this-christmas-un-report-urges-new-diet-to-help-fight-climate-change">https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/12/21/go-demitarian-this-christmas-un-report-urges-new-diet-to-help-fight-climate-change</a><br>
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<i>[ predicting the future - from Monga Bay ]</i><br>
<b>Detailed NASA analysis finds Earth and Amazon in deep climate
trouble</b><br>
by Jenny Gonzales on 21 December 2023<br>
<blockquote>A NASA study analyzed the future action of six climate
variables in all the world’s regions — air temperature,
precipitation, relative humidity, short- and long wave solar
radiation and wind speed — if Earth’s average temperature reaches
2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels, which
could occur by 2040 if emissions keep rising at current rates.<br>
<br>
The authors used advanced statistical techniques to downscale
climate models at a resolution eight times greater than most
previous models. This allows for identification of climate
variations on a daily basis across the world, something essential
since climate impacts unfold gradually, rather than as upheavals.<br>
<br>
The study found that the Amazon will be the area with the greatest
reduction in relative humidity, according to the paper. An
analysis by the Brazilian space agency INPE showed that some parts
of this rainforest biome have already reached maximum temperatures
of more than 3°C (5.4°F) over 1960 levels.<br>
<br>
Regardless of warnings from science and Indigenous peoples of the
existential threat posed by climate change, the world’s largest
fossil fuel producers, largely with government consent, plan to
further expand fossil fuel exploration, says a U.N. report. That’s
despite a COP28 climate summit deal “transitioning away from
fossil fuels.”<br>
</blockquote>
In view of the current nonstop rise in greenhouse gas emissions
responsible for intensifying climate change, NASA researchers this
year posed two key questions: When will the planet’s temperature
likely reach an annual average of 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) above
preindustrial levels? And what will the global climate look like in
great detail all over the world at that temperature?<br>
<br>
Disturbingly, their findings indicate that a 2°C increase could be
reached between 2041 and 2044 (under higher and lower emission
scenarios, respectively) in comparison with the preindustrial period
(1850-1900). The planet is currently at 1.15°C (2.07°F) above 19th
century levels, with most of this warming occurring since 1975.<br>
<br>
A rise above 2°C could put Earth on track for catastrophic climate
change impacts, according to the 2023 report by the U.N.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change...<br>
- -<br>
In Boará/Boarazinho, the stream turned into a trickle of muddy
liquid. Without access to clean water since August, the residents of
Nova Esperança do Arauir village were forced to drink from the fetid
stream. Outbreaks of diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain became
common. The extreme drought in Amazonas caused its state government
to declare an emergency in all of its 62 municipalities.<br>
<br>
Dário Kopenawa Yanomami, vice president of the Hutukara Yanomami
Association, gave his perspective on what is happening to the Amazon
and the planet. “The Earth is our mother and has been suffering for
a long time. Like a human being who feels pain, she feels when
invaders, agribusiness, mining and oil companies cut down thousands
of trees and dig deep into the ground, into the sea. She is asking
for help and giving warnings so that non-Indigenous people stop
tearing the skin off the Earth.”<br>
<br>
Despite all the warnings from scientists and Indigenous peoples
about the embattled state of our planet, the world’s big fossil fuel
companies, supported by compliant national governments, plan to
expand their production, according to a recent U.N. report. Among
those countries is the United Arab Emirates, which just hosted COP28
in Dubai — talks that the petrostate planned to use to make new oil
deals. With Azerbaijan, another petrostate, poised to host next
year’s COP29, many analysts are pessimistic about the possibility
for significant climate action.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/detailed-nasa-analysis-finds-earth-and-amazon-in-deep-climate-trouble/">https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/detailed-nasa-analysis-finds-earth-and-amazon-in-deep-climate-trouble/</a><br>
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<i>[ drought lowers lake levels choking canal navigation ]</i><b><i><br>
</i></b><b>Changing climate casts a shadow over the future of the
Panama Canal – and global trade</b><br>
Jonathan Yerushalmy<br>
Thu 21 Dec 2023 <br>
- -<br>
To make the journey, ships – some up to 350 metres long – enter
through a narrow waterway and rise more than 26 metres above sea
level into the man-made Lake Gatun through a series of locks. On the
other side of the canal, the process is reversed and the ships
descend to sea level through another series of locks before exiting
the canal on the other side of the continent.<br>
<br>
The locking system relies on fresh water from Lake Gatun and another
nearby reservoir to function. Every ship that passes through the
canal uses 200m litres of water most of which then flows out into
the sea.<br>
<br>
The same sources also provide water for more than half of Panama’s
4.3 million inhabitants, forcing administrators to balance the
demands of international shipping with the needs of the locals...<br>
- -<br>
For decades, this has rarely been a problem. Panama is one of the
wettest countries in the world and the canal and its surrounding
lakes have been blessed with an abundance of water. However, in 2023
a rainfall deficit, exacerbated by the El Niño weather phenomenon,
led to the water levels in Lake Gatun dropping.<br>
<br>
The twin demands of the canal and the local population have left the
lake facing a water deficit of 3bn litres a day.<br>
<br>
Lake Gatun’s water level is now close to the lowest point ever
recorded during a rainy season, forcing the Panama Canal authority
who manages the waterway to restrict the number of vessels passing
through...<br>
- -<br>
In normal times, the Panama Canal has capacity to handle 36 ships a
day. But as water has grown scarcer, the canal authority has reduced
that number to 22. By February, it will be just 18.<br>
<br>
The impact on shipping has never been “so severe”, says Nitin
Chopra, a former tanker captain who is now senior marine risk
consultant at Allianz Commercial Asia.<br>
<br>
Those who rely on the route are left with no good options; they can
wait up to weeks at a time to be allowed through the canal, pay up
to $4m to jump ahead in the queue – or do what many shipping
companies have been forced to and avoid the route entirely, adding
days or weeks to their journey.<br>
<br>
Every one of these choices comes at a serious financial cost to
traders and some operators have warned that due to the delay, some
goods that are transported from China may not be available to
Christmas shoppers on the US east coast.<br>
<br>
With attacks on the world’s busiest trade route in the Red Sea
leading many companies to avoid the Suez Canal altogether,
restrictions at the Panama Canal will only pile more pressure on
global supply chains – just as governments around the world attempt
to tame inflation.<br>
<br>
“In the long run we’re looking at a big increase in the cost of
commodities – it will be passed on to the consumer,” says Chopra.<br>
And the risks to traders are not just financial. As the number of
vessels waiting at the entrances to the canal grows, shipping
experts are warning that the danger of a serious accident occurring
is growing.<br>
<br>
“Some boats will wait for up to two weeks, anchored at sea on both
sides of the canal and they’re running out of space,” says Chopra.
“It’s causing problems with vessels not being able to find a safe
spot for anchoring.”<br>
<br>
A tanker captain who spoke to the Guardian on the condition of
anonymity said that the anchorage at the entrances to the canal has
been too crowded and that he had seen “a lot of near misses”.<br>
<br>
Another captain of a tanker carrying natural gas said that as the
traffic has increased, some ships have been forced to wait at anchor
for up to 25 days, in conditions that leave them in close proximity
to other vessels.<br>
<br>
“Vessels are colliding,” says Chopra. “If we experience any extreme
weather, there could be a lot of consequential effects.”<br>
<br>
As bad as the situation is at the Panama Canal, experts say the
conditions are likely to only get worse next year.<br>
<br>
“The expectation is that March to April next year could be the
lowest level for Lake Gatun … on record”, says Steven Paton.
“Panama’s dry season usually begins earlier than normal during major
El Niño events so we’ll get the double whammy. We’ll come in with a
deficit and then lose the rainfall earlier.”<br>
The Panama Canal authority has said this prediction matches up with
its own forecasts and that it might consider further restrictions on
vessels.<br>
<br>
Despite falling in the middle of its rainy season, October this year
was the driest since 1950, with 41% less rainfall than usual,
according to the authority.<br>
<br>
“The Canal and the country face the challenge of the upcoming dry
season with a minimum water reserve that must guarantee supply for
more than 50% of the population and, at the same time, maintain the
[canal] operations,” the authority said in October...<br>
The question for the canal’s authority, global traders and the
millions who rely on Lake Gatun’s reserves is whether the current
water shortage is a one-off blip caused by El Niño, or a harbinger
of the worst of what the changing climate could portend.<br>
- -<br>
The canal authority says it is “implementing operational and
planning procedures, innovative technologies, and long-term
investments to mitigate [the] impact and safeguard [the canal’s]
operation”.<br>
<br>
It says that the current situation is unprecedented and it “could
not have predicted exactly when the water shortage would occur to
the degree that we are experiencing now”.<br>
<br>
But while the authority says it could not have predicted the crisis,
others did.<br>
<br>
For years, experts have warned that the changing climate will have
far-reaching effects on global supply chains and the systems that
govern them.<br>
<br>
Structures like the Panama Canal are miracles of the modern world –
solid totems of engineering wonder that were responsible for
accelerating the economic boom of the 20th century, pulling up
living standards across the globe and ushering in a revolution in
technology, healthcare and consumer culture.<br>
<br>
The tacit implication was that the natural world had been tamed. But
as the seas rise and temperatures soar, those assumptions are
falling like dominoes.<br>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/22/changing-climate-casts-a-shadow-over-the-future-of-the-panama-canal-and-global-trade">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/22/changing-climate-casts-a-shadow-over-the-future-of-the-panama-canal-and-global-trade</a></p>
<p>- -</p>
[ real time maritime shipping ]<br>
<b>MarineTraffic </b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-78.8/centery:8.9/zoom:6">https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-78.8/centery:8.9/zoom:6</a><br>
<br>
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</p>
<font face="Calibri"><i>[The news archive - Bill Nye and Andrea
Mitchell discussion ]</i><br>
</font><font face="Calibri"> <font size="+2"><i><b>December 23,
2015 </b></i></font> </font><br>
<font face="Calibri"> </font> On MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports,"
Bill Nye discusses 2015's record heat.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-reports/watch/bill-nye-reveals-the-science-behind-warm-winter-weather-590808131544">http://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-reports/watch/bill-nye-reveals-the-science-behind-warm-winter-weather-590808131544</a><br>
<br>
<p><font face="Calibri"> <br>
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