So my new bike has been a stunning success. I'm riding it a lot more than I expected. Has become primary mode of #transport ATM.
Biggest issue: bike security. As it was not cheap, I'm hesitant to lock it in public spaces for any length of time. We need more public secure bike storage lockers.
Now Working on motivating my partner to also get one.
Experts at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) continue to be denied access to the reactor halls of units 1, 2, and 6 of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP)
These restrictions are impeding the #IAEA’s ability to assess the safety & security, confirming reported status of reactor units, spent fuel ponds & safety equipment
More: Such high thunderstorm losses have never been recorded before in the USA or in Europe...
A large body of scientific research indicates that climate change favours severe weather with heavy hailstorms. Similarly, loss statistics from thunderstorms in North America and other regions are trending upwards. #ClimateChange
The global average temperature numbers for 2023 are in. Five different global datasets show 2023 was the warmest year in the instrumental record. Good article by @hausfath below digs into the details. #climate#climatechange
One of the major worries about climate tipping points is that it’s impossible for anyone, even the smartest of scientists, to say with any certainty just how soon each of them will be reached, or what happens then.
Might one tipping point trigger another?
Yes, probably, but we don’t for sure which ones or exactly how. And we can’t really predict the timing or the magnitude of positive feedbacks and cascading effects, when multiple tipping points could overlap and reinforce and possibly amplify each other.
It’s not the fault of the scientists. They’re doing their best with the evidence and the tools they have. But it’s all quite unpredictable because they have never been in this position before. No one ever has.
What human industry has done since 1990, pumping nearly a trillion tons of CO2 into the air, has no precedent. Never before in Earth’s history has so much carbon dioxide been added to the atmosphere over such a short period of time.
Because human lifespans are short, 34 years may seem like a long time to us — but in geological terms, that’s merely the blink of an eye. On such a scale, it’s literally as if we have detonated a BOMB.
From an article about "tipping points" posted yesterday at SciTechDaily...
Climate tipping points are critical junctures in Earth’s environmental systems, where minor yet pivotal changes can lead to irreversible and dramatic shifts. These changes, ranging from melting ice caps to the demise of coral reefs, are direct consequences of global warming.
In essence, climate tipping points are elements of the Earth system in which small changes can kick off reinforcing loops that ‘tip’ a system from one stable state into a profoundly different state.
For example, a rise in global temperatures because of fossil fuel burning, further down the line triggers a change like a rainforest becoming a dry savannah. This change is propelled by self-perpetuating feedback loops, even if what was driving the change in the system stops. The system – in this case the forest – may remain ‘tipped’ even if the temperature falls below the threshold again.
On top of that, the crossing of one tipping point could lead to the triggering of further tipping elements – unleashing a domino-effect chain reaction and could lead to some places becoming less suitable for sustaining human and natural systems.
So, the Arctic is warming almost four times faster than anywhere else in the world, accelerating ice melt from the Greenland Ice Sheet and the melting of Arctic sea ice.
This in turn could be what is slowing down the ocean’s circulation of heat, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), in turn impacting the monsoon system over South America. Monsoon changes may be contributing to the rising frequency of droughts over the Amazon rainforest, lowering its carbon storage capacity and intensifying climate warming.
The impacts of such a ‘tipping cascade,’ crossing multiple climate tipping points, could be severe and widespread.
"Snow [i.e., the rapid loss of snowpack due to rising temperatures] is a reminder that, actually, a lot of the changes we’re dealing with aren’t that incremental. We may not be able to see rising temperatures in quite the same way. But in many cases, those changes are just as sudden and dramatic and are happening faster than people thought they were."
"The wildfires we saw last year, for example, were wildly out of proportion from anything we’ve seen before. Records aren’t getting broken by small degrees now. They’re getting broken by leaps and bounds."
This stuff is hard. I mean, it’s hard for scientists to always understand what’s happening in our complex and extremely messed-up biosphere. They’re trying their best, but it’s not easy.
More unpleasant surprises lie ahead, no doubt.
Climate scientists don’t like surprises. It means our deep understanding of how the climate works isn’t quite as complete as we need. But unfortunately, as climate change worsens, surprises and unprecedented events keep happening.
In March 2022, Antarctica experienced an extraordinary heatwave. Large swathes of East Antarctica experienced temperatures up to 40°C (72°F) above normal, shattering temperature records. It was the most intense heatwave ever recorded anywhere in the world.
So shocking and rare was the event, it blew the minds of the Antarctic climate science community. A major global research project was launched to unravel the reasons behind it and the damage it caused.
The results are alarming. But they provide scientists a deeper understanding of the links between the tropics and Antarctica – and give the global community a chance to prepare for what a warmer world may bring.
This extraordinary heatwave shows how compounding weather events in the tropics can affect the vast Antarctic ice sheet. The heatwave further reduced the extent of sea ice, which was already at record lows. This loss of sea ice was exacerbated this year, resulting in the lowest summer and winter sea ice ever recorded. It shows how disturbances in one year can compound in later years.
The event also demonstrated how tropical heat can trigger the collapse of unstable ice shelves. Floating ice shelves don’t contribute to global sea-level rise, but they acts as dams to the ice sheets behind them, which do contribute.
This research contributes another piece to the complex jigsaw puzzle of climate change. And reminds us that delays to action on climate change will raise the price we pay.
Fuck, I got a #FF shout-out from Bread and Circuses. Better do that intro I've been meaning to (re) do! Hello, new followers! :heart_pride:
Who am I: a lady, a bitch, a woman, a human. Cisgender, queer, white. Living in New York, where I was born, but I have traveled. Doing my best to support my Darling Nonbinary Spouse in their challenges being one of very few Black people in our community. Currently working as a drafter of soil/water conservation infrastructure. Before that, I bounced around a lot. Did construction and childcare and food service and data entry and more.
What you can expect from me: PLENTY boosts. I see it, I like it, I boost. Regular posts about #ClimateChange, #Degrowth, #GreenBuilding, and related topics. Commentary about social justice. Some news, but more opinion, about USA and NYS politics. I tag these (USpol/NYpol), but don't CW them. Edit: almost forgot to mention: I'm an anarchist apparently (I had to look it up) and I hate capitalism.
Other, less weighty stuff I like to talk about: #music of any genre. I'm developing the desire to become a DJ and collect vinyl, somebody stop me! #Crochet and fiber arts. #SciFi, #SpecFic. Not a skilled shitposter but I do appreciate the art form.
Fair warning: I like to argue. If you don't enjoy seeing someone go back and forth with mildly offensive bootlickers from time to time, I may not be your cup of tea. And don't worry about my mental health WRT arguments, to my brain a good argument is a lot like a good video game.
‘Astounding’ #ocean#temperatures in 2023 intensified #ExtremeWeather, data shows - Record levels of #heat were absorbed last year by Earth’s #seas, which have been #warming year-on-year for the past decade - The #oceans absorb 90% of the heat trapped by the #carbon#emissions from the burning of #FossilFuels, making it the clearest indicator of #GlobalHeating. Record levels of heat were taken up by the oceans in 2023, scientists said, and the data showed that for the past decade the oceans have been hotter every year than the year before."
Here is part of a review of Greta Thunberg's "The Climate Book" that I hadn't seen before...
Structured in five parts, The Climate Book walks its reader through the basic facts essential to understanding the decision we face today and then provides concrete steps for how one might — and must — move beyond dialogue to act. Thunberg begins with the fundamental science about how climate works, including readable primers on carbon dioxide and our evolutionary impact. She then traces how our planet is changing, from excessive heat and methane to oceanic and glacial dynamics, the proliferation of microplastics, the erosion of biodiversity, and more.
Thunberg does not claim to do what she cannot. She is not a geophysicist, an oceanographer, an economist, a historian, a physician, an Indigenous leader, a policymaker, or even a young adult of drinking age in the United States. While she has earned honorary degrees, she has not attended university herself, as she’s been purposefully busy in myriad other ways. The Climate Book is not the least of these endeavors. At 464 pages, the edited volume includes contributions from an impressive list of experts.
One of the most inspiring essays comes from George Monbiot and Rebecca Wrigley, who advocate for “rewilding,” both by allowing ecosystems to restore themselves naturally without interference and by getting back to nature ourselves. They insist that “we can replace our silent spring with a raucous summer.” From climate justice on a societal level down to the logical, manageable, evidence-based sacrifices that we each must make, we have a project on our hands.
It is wholly appropriate that this volume should simultaneously speak to our sharing a single planet while also reminding us that we are not all in the same boat. That is, we experience climate change differently, depending on our geography and resources. Some bear more responsibility for the circumstances we find ourselves in. Thunberg calls out “people living in rich economies who still act as if they rule the world” before she gives voice to authors who share perspectives and challenges from Bangladesh, Jamaica, El Salvador, Chad, Brazil, and more.
@breadandcircuses
As someone born in Arica, in the northernmost part of Chile, it's a bit of a shame that the English article fails to portray the wordplay and multiple meanings of Desierto Vestido (desert dress, dressed desert, deserted dress) and thus the probable creativity in their work.
The "No votar basura" is probably also such a word-play, although in no way certain. Chilean Spanish often switches the pronunciation of b and v (: