“I’m a climate scientist. If you knew what I know, you’d be terrified too…
“If the fracturing of our once stable climate doesn’t terrify you, then you don’t fully understand it. The reality is that, as far as we know, and in the natural course of events, our world has never — in its entire history — heated up as rapidly as it is doing now. Nor have greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere ever seen such a precipitous hike.
“Think about that for a moment. We’re experiencing, in our lifetimes, a heating episode that is probably unique in the last 4.6 billion years.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/07/opinions/climate-scientist-scare-doom-anxiety-mcguire/index.html
“Are we stressing the wrong metrics for climate change?
“Experts say rising temperatures due to burning fossil fuels only explains part of the ways we’re cooking our planet… It all comes down to a statistic known as EEI, or Energy Earth Imbalance, that measures the difference between the solar energy that reaches Earth and the amount which returns to space.”
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/08/are-we-stressing-the-metrics-for-climate-change/
“Breaking news! Code FUBAR!!!
“Well, today is the day I have to extend the y-axis to accommodate a new record Global sea surface temperature of 21.21C. How is your day going?”
https://twitter.com/EliotJacobson/status/1766120158748356753
“Some might remember that Global Sea Surface Temperatures already started to spike upwards in March last year.
“If I go back and extrapolate the 2015-2016 Super El Niño from March 2023 onward instead, it ends up 0.05°C lower. And we’ve now peaked higher than the extrapolation [even though this El Niño is significantly weaker]!”
https://twitter.com/LeonSimons8/status/1766148702136074680
“How world’s ocean temperature record will speed up devastating climate change…
“Professor Richard Allan, also of Reading University: “Global temperatures have been given an extra boost by warm El Niño conditions… What is more surprising is that sea surface temperatures are at record levels over regions far away from the centre of El Niño action such as the tropical Atlantic and Indian Ocean.”
“In terms of ocean heat content, the tropical east Atlantic (the MDR east of the Lesser Antilles) thinks it’s June 8, not March 8.”
https://twitter.com/BMcNoldy/status/1766226345351401624
“La Niña is forecast to develop in time for the 2024 hurricane season. It typically makes conditions more favorable for Atlantic Basin hurricanes.
“Past La Niña seasons have generated twice as many hurricanes as the stronger El Niño season the previous year… La Niña adds to concerns about record warm ocean water for the upcoming hurricane season.”
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2024-03-06-hurricane-season-el-nino-to-la-nina
“Hurricanes are intensifying more rapidly – and the most vulnerable communities are hit hardest…
“Chelle Walton and her husband Rob… decided to shelter in place, despite repeated evacuation notices. “You make all of your decisions based on past storms,” said Walton. “It turned out to be a bad decision.””
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/07/hurricane-strength-global-warming-intensification
“Amazon wildfires could burn at unprecedented scale as El Niño and drought make rainforest ‘more flammable’…
“”Climatic changes in the Amazon region are increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme drought events, which are happening in combination with heat waves,” Flores, whose recent work focused on the potential collapse of the Amazon, said.””
“EXCEPTIONAL – Hundreds of records from Mexico to Bolivia; >40C [104F] in Yucatan Peninsula, 40.8 again in Costa Rica (35C on the highlands),
“Records all over COLOMBIA: 40C in the lowlands and insane 34+ at Armenia 1200m above sea level.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1765853993106866653
“Record hailstorms ravaged Texas last year, and forecasters are increasingly concerned about the rising costs associated with storm repairs.
“In fact, hail of at least one inch fell on over 10 million homes and apartment buildings across the U.S. from mid-March through November. Texas led the nation in the number of buildings damaged… hail caused more damage across the U.S. last year than tornadoes and straight-line winds.”
“The warmest winter in U.S. history leaves its mark…
“The Texas Panhandle shared in the El Niño moisture, recording one of its wettest winters on record. However, the grasslands of Texas can dry out quickly in late winter. In the last days of February, fierce winds and record-warm temperatures ended up stoking what appears to be the largest fire in modern U.S. history outside of Alaska.”
https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/03/the-warmest-winter-in-u-s-history-leaves-its-mark/
“Wildfire seasons are starting earlier and getting longer.
“Blazes in western Canada and Texas highlight how the elements that fuel wildfires are becoming present earlier in the year. Scientists say climate change is a factor.”
“Environmental row over ‘last chance tourism’ in Canada’s melting Arctic…
“An increase in “last chance tourism” in Canada’s melting Arctic is causing a row between those who warn of the devastation it is causing to the environment and those who rely on income from tourists to survive as hunting becomes increasingly difficult.”
“Gray whale sighted off New England 200 years after species’ Atlantic extinction…
“The North-west Passage, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Arctic Ocean in Canada, has lacked ice in the summertime in recent years… That means gray whales are able to travel through the passage in the summer when normally they would have been blocked…”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/06/gray-whale-nantucket-extinction
“EU underprepared as climate change risks mount, draft report says…
“Europe is in urgent need of stronger measures to prepare healthcare systems, farming and critical infrastructure for increasingly severe climate change, a draft report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) said.”
“The AEMET delegate in the Canary Islands, David Suárez, warns that the percentage of Canarian land changing from temperate to desert conditions is “increasing by 6 square kilometres every year.” [don’t click on the link; story is legit but it’s an ad-spam nightmare]
“According to technical reports, he emphasises that forecasts “for the subtropical region, including the Canaries and Morocco, indicate a 7% decrease in precipitation…”
“Unstoppable record heat in AFRICA in both Hemispheres: 43.0C [109.4F] Moti and Big Bend ESWATINI (ex Swaziland) March records pulverized.
“More records: SOUTH AFRICA 41.6 Makatini again, 40.9 Tosca; NAMIBIA 40.4 Omaruru… This is just the beginning. NW South Africa might reach 46C in few days.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1766173736535834693
“South African city [Cape Town] copes with climate change by chopping down trees…
“While preserving the world’s forests is widely considered essential to combating climate change, scientists in South Africa have determined that invasive tree species are sucking up so much groundwater that the area is better off eliminating the trees.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/27/south-africa-water-climate-trees/
“Food supplies threatened in Southern Africa after driest February on record…
“Last month, large parts of Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe had the least rainfall — or close to it — since records began in 1981… Africa is being impacted by extreme weather events that scientists say are becoming increasingly frequent and severe…”
“A quarter million students face mass dropout amid unfolding drought induced starvation [Ethiopia]: Tigray Education Bureau…
“Expressing profound concern over the lack of assistance, the bureau has urgently appealed to both international and local partners for immediate intervention. In a statement forwarded to Addis Standard, the bureau underscores the critical need for support in the face of this alarming crisis.”
“UAE weather live: Heavy rain hits Dubai as flights cancelled and police issue warning…
“”Ras Al Khaimah emirate is experiencing unpredictable weather patterns,” police said on X. “Avoid beach areas, drive with care, and follow instructions from competent authorities.””
https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/2024/03/08/live-uae-weather-dubai-abu-dhabi/
“Bengaluru water crisis [India]: Residents use mall toilets amid water shortage, netizens express frustration.
“Bengaluru, the tech city of India, is facing a severe water shortage. The underground water is running out, and there’s a drought in the Cauvery basin, making things worse… Residents of Bengaluru have flooded social media with posts expressing frustration, fear, and concerns…”
“The women losing their hair because of the climate crisis: ‘It’s everything to us’ [South Asia]…
“… with clean water being such a precious resource, women are bathing in hard water, which is not just leading to infections but is also causing them to lose their hair, laying bare the deeper wounds inflicted by the climate crisis.”
“More record heat in Southeast Asia. THAILAND with another 42C [107.6F] day and even a record 40.5C at Chachoengsao in the Gulf of Thailand, absolutely crazy.
“VIETNAM Monthly record at Tho Chu with 36.1C. From 1 January Thailand hasn’t missed a single day without breaking records. Brutal.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1765727107533980102
“Record after record in the PHILIPPINES.
“Cebu City had its warmest March night on record with a Tmin of 27.4C. Philippines have been breaking records no stop nearly every single day since mid 2023 allover the country.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1765657106735149074
“Insane in MICRONESIA – The capital Pohnpei tied its record of highest minimum temperature 4 times in 7 days with Tmin 82F/27.8C…
“National record tied in the Marshall Islands… Records are falling all over the tropics, every single day. This month is beyond anything ever seen.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1765640920253301200
“After a record-shattering summer of heat across Western Australia, residents look to autumn for relief.
“Western Australia just sweltered through its hottest summer on record. It saw dozens of records broken, severe to extreme heatwaves, countless bushfires, and an ex-tropical cyclone that failed to redevelop.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-09/wa-summer-weather-wrap-autumn-outlook/103541460
“Moomba Festival parade scrapped over severe heatwave in Victoria…
“Organisers of the Moomba Festival, which coincides with the city’s Labour Day long weekend, have cancelled the iconic Moomba Parade on Monday night due to safety concerns for performers, spectators, workers and volunteers.”
“Fifth mass coral bleaching event in eight years hits Great Barrier Reef, marine park authority confirms…
“Researchers and scientists told Guardian Australia they were devastated by the bleaching, particularly in the reef’s southern section where corals hundreds of years old were severely bleached.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/08/coral-bleaching-great-barrier-reef-australia
“Radical idea to protect ‘doomsday’ Thwaites Glacier with 62-mile long curtain divides scientists.
“John Moore, a glaciologist at Lapland University, is working on a drastic idea that has divided scientists. He hypothesises a giant underwater curtain could protect the glacier from being nibbled away by warm water beneath it, as it floats on the sea surface.”
“Not a bright idea: Why cooling Earth by blocking sunlight could be disastrous…
“… research has consistently identified potential risks posed by the technologies such as: unpredictable effects on climate and weather patterns… biodiversity loss… undermining food security… the infringement of human rights across generations…”
https://studyfinds.org/cooling-earth-blocking-sunlight/
“Climate change: Could daffodil diet for livestock help?
“Researchers are testing a new method of using Wales’ national flower to cut the level of methane produced by livestock. Methane is the second most common greenhouse gas after CO2, and is released by livestock, such as cows and sheep, when they burp.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66147726
“Livestock industry co-opts academics to downplay its climate impact, study says…
“Academic centers at UC Davis and Colorado State University have accepted big donations from the livestock industry… ““It’s not as if all they’re doing is looking at kelp and methane digesters,” said Jacquet, referring to a few of the new technologies broadly supported by the livestock industry. “They’re also doing a lot of spin,” she said.”
“Feeding the future world… The impacts of climate change on food production will affect us all…
“Climate change will exacerbate food security, not only by affecting production, but for producers there could be reduced income as a result of addressing the challenges that climate change brings.”
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-024-01970-y
“Bird flu is spreading from pole to pole. Here’s why it matters…
“Evidence now points to the latest strain being “extremely deadly” and “increasingly infectious,” according to an article published in Nature… H5N1 could have grave consequences for wildlife already suffering from a wide variety of human-caused stressors, such as pollution, climate change, habitat loss, and invasive species.”
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/bird-flu-avian-alaska-antarctica-virulent
“Animal extinction risk is heavily influenced by climate change.
“Many of the animals we love, from playful penguins to majestic elephants, could disappear because of climate change. It’s not something just for scientists to worry about — it’s a real threat.”
https://www.earth.com/news/animal-extinction-risk-is-heavily-influenced-by-climate-change/
“De-extinction of the woolly mammoth takes a major step forwards: Scientists successfully re-programme elephant stem cells – and it could allow them to resurrect the lost species by 2028…
“Scientists from Colossal Biosciences have successfully created elephant ‘pluripotent’ stem cells which can grow into any cell in the body.”
You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back on Monday with an “Economic” thread.
If you found value in this content, please help me continue this work by becoming a patron of my work via Patreon. And if you are already a subscriber or have donated – thank you!
“With politicians and corporations unable or unwilling to take action rapidly enough to stymie emissions as the science demands, all we as climate scientists are left with is to seek to rouse the public to try and force through — via the ballot box and consumer choices — the enormous changes required to curb global heating” actually transforming society to try and reduce emissions will never be “on the ballot” and individual consumer choices won’t be enough as they are constrained as well. Sorry but only societal collapse will have any hope of reversing this trajectory.
Sorry, quote is from the first article. The good Mcguire opinion piece.
The solution is right there in the hopium Dr. McGuire’s quote – just call it “global heating” instead of “global warming,” as the hopelessly naive climate scientist in the second piece announces, and then all will be transformatized!
“Policymakers and ordinary people,” will, via this simple linguistic trick, be able to now “react accordingly.” Presto change-o, just by changing one word.
“Hope” and “societal collapse” should never be in the same sentence. “Societal collapse” is harrowing, horrific mass death. By this standard, the dying and dead citizens of Gaza and the Sudan should be given the Hope Award of our time.
I am indebted to Bill McGuire for the term, “climate appeaser”. I hadn’t come across it before… encapsulates Michael Mann, Jim Skea et al rather nicely.
Hello Pan,
We live in interesting times… plans are getting dollier and trier. In the Netherlands, a serious plan was presented to protect the country from a sea level rise of 5 metres! An insanely developed plan but without ‘costing through’ …. unaffordable of course and unfeasible but it contributes to ‘our’ technological solution safety umbrella’ that we always have somewhere in the umbrella bin. You just have to unfold it in case of a shower.
What is interesting is that ‘everyone’ comes up with feasible solutions from their atomised specialism without looking at a somewhat broader spectrum such as, for instance, the availability of materials like sand and energy etc etc…. There are other specialists and researchers who refer to other technological tours de force and when we’ve had it all, we just place an underwater curtain of 100 metres or so to glue Antarctica together…
Meanwhile, here in my mountains in the south of France, 60 centimetres of snow fell last week it took hours for my village to be freed by the snow ploughs. Then everything thawed away in a few days and now…. they are predicting 120mm of rain and snow in 12 hours!!! It is dog weather with a gale from the south. All the result of the warmed-up waters of the Central Sea that keep causing that ‘period Cevenol’. I wouldn’t be surprised if you can report ‘floods’ in the south (Var Bouche du Rhone and here in the montagnes Ardechoises) on Tuesday
https://www.hln.be/buitenland/kunstmatig-meer-moet-voorkomen-dat-nederland-onder-water-komt-te-staan-door-stijgende-zeespiegel~a89aae4e/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
“What is interesting is that ‘everyone’ comes up with feasible solutions from their atomised specialism without looking at a somewhat broader spectrum…”
Complexity has made most academics hyper-specialised to the point where they can’t see the wood for the trees. I fear intellectual arrogance may play a role in that, too. The world telling them they are brilliant can blind them to the limits of their own compartmentalised knowledge. Think of Michael Mann trying to pull rank with his three (count ’em!) physics degrees… 😂
Systemically holistic thinkers are a rare breed indeed. The splendid Paul Chefurka is one:
“The realization that a solution in one domain may worsen a problem in another marks the beginning of large-scale system-level thinking. It also marks the transition from thinking of the situation in terms of a set of problems to thinking of it in terms of a predicament. At this point the possibility that there may not be a solution begins to raise its head.”
http://www.paulchefurka.ca/LadderOfAwareness.html
The underwater sea curtain article was a riot! Please tell me that article was actually from the Onion!
Even our “scientists” are getting dumber and dumberer.
Unfortunately this site is becoming a tragi-comedy page as the ingenuity and collective delusion of humanity sparkle and dance to the soundtrack of our insanity.
Also, I cannot help but wonder if those “scientists” have considered saving money on the curtain by using bubble gum to anchor it to the sea floor.
A terrific idea, Philip. Perhaps we can use a legion of specially trained leopard seals to masticate the gum into readiness prior to the great adhesion.
The first article grabbed my attention and hit the link to CNN…
I kept scrolling down the list and was saying to myself when will it end..
Here in South Florida the big news is the college students Spring break vacationers and the new rules in place to keep order from the out of control partying last year.
Of course, the weather ladies report on the record summer temperatures and one segment on the record amount of rainfall. Suppose one day the dots will be connected…but can’t upset the tourist or developers…still lots of money to be made before then
That’s interesting re the Spring Break crackdown, Vince. Seems like quite a few places around the world are getting sick of the tourists, especially the hard-drinking, disrespectful ones (embarrassingly, my fellow countrymen rank amongst the worst offenders there):
“‘Go home’: British tourists in Spain face protests and anti-foreigner graffiti… Some locals across Spain feel that their towns and cities are becoming invaded by tourists who do not respect their customs and lives.”
https://inews.co.uk/news/world/british-tourists-spain-protests-anti-foreigner-graffiti-2945166
Thanks, Justin, we still live in a highly mobile planet and can literally go from one place or another with the right amount of digits. Surprisingly, a few of my Hispanic coworkers are looking to retire in Spain later on…not sure if they’ll make it…a number of popular Public TV programs feature couples buying a village in rural Spain or Italy. Have another wanting to move ear Milan..
TicTok…time is short.
Here in Florida it’s way past overshoot…
As seen on reddit
The Oceans We Knew Are Already Gone
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2024/03/ocean-heat-wave-cosmic-choice/677672/
This also got my attention
Carl Sagan Warning Us About Climate Change in 1985
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABtb-7t8VCE
quote: “the idea that we should immediately stop burning fossil fuel has such severe economic consequences that no one, of course, will take it seriously”
Ay, there’s the rub. Take it seriously we must, even more so now than 40 years ago. That, or we will be forced to do so by Physics, seductive in her elegance, cruel in her indifference.
It boggles the mind! Forty years of cogent, lucid, and articulate warnings and then what?!? We went and totally screwed the pooch anyway. I wonder with trepidation who will be blamed for that…
Jerry, my apologies – your comment got caught in moderation because it had more than one link and I’ve only just spotted it.
What a punchline, “… competent authorities.””
Bigger punchline; Those that place these authorities into power.
Can’t wait to see who the Stupid Republicans & Retard Democrats decide to place in office in Nov. 2024. I can’t endure much more hilarity. 😉
Die! Paid climate scientist that have maybe read peer reviewed studies but are too afraid to bring the facts to the public. Their love of their jobs & money is not going to save them or their family or friends. Can’t wait to see them in a depression because so many of them waited until it’s too late to speak or act. To stop looking like fools, they probably need to STFU.
“Stupid is as stupid does.” – Winston Groom
I can’t wait for my first taste of woolly mammoth. No one in my family has eaten any in over 10,000 years.
Humans say – let’s bring back the woolly mammoth so we can cause it’s extinction all over again.
~
Published: 24 November 2023
Worldwide Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene population declines in extant megafauna are associated with Homo sapiens expansion rather than climate change
“We therefore infer population histories of 139 extant megafauna species using genomic data which reveal population declines in 91% of species throughout the Quaternary period, with larger species experiencing the strongest decreases. Declines become ubiquitous 32–76 kya across all landmasses, a pattern better explained by worldwide Homo sapiens expansion than by changes in climate. We estimate that, in consequence, total megafauna abundance, biomass, and energy turnover decreased by 92–95% over the past 50,000 years, implying major human-driven ecosystem restructuring at a global scale.”
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43426-5
I’ve seen many folks angrily arguing/insisting it was climate change, not the two legged
Killer Apenoble savage.Why does climate target bigger species? Also, significant climate caused extinctions kill off marine species too. Humans were not a big threat to them until industrial fishing, whaling & Canadian baby seal clubbing.