Climate Change

[CaaC (John)+]

Great Barrier Reef outlook very poor, Australia says

The Great Barrier Reef's outlook has been officially downgraded from poor to very poor due to climate change.

Rising sea temperatures thanks to human-driven global warming remain the biggest threat to the reef, a five-year Australian government report says.

Actions to save it "have never been more time-critical", the report reads.

Stretching over 2,300km (1,400 miles), the reef was designated a World Heritage site in 1981 for its "enormous scientific and intrinsic importance".

But in recent years the reef has been increasingly damaged

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Unesco's World Heritage Committee is due to consider adding the reef to its list of sites that are "in danger".

The massive report documents the condition of the reef and its outlook for the future.

What does the report say?

Under Australian law, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) must produce a report on the state of the World Heritage site every five years.

In the first report in 2009 scientists said the reef was "at a crossroads between a positive, well-managed future and a less certain one". The second report in 2014 ranked it as "an icon under pressure" with efforts needed to fight key threats.

VIDEO

"Since then, the region has further deteriorated and, in 2019, Australia is caring for a changed and less resilient reef," the most recent report states.

Rising sea temperatures caused "mass bleaching events" in 2016 and 2017 that wiped out coral and destroyed habitats for other sea life. While some habitats remain in a good state, the condition of the site as a whole is worsening.

• Killing rats could save coral reefs
• Coral reefs 'weathered dinosaur extinction'

"Threats to the reef are multiple, cumulative and increasing," the report says. "The window of opportunity to improve the Reef's long-term future is now."

Scientists say the number of new corals plummeted by 89% on the reef thanks to recent bleaching events, which affected a 1,500km stretch.

Australia pledged A$500 million (£276m) to protect the reef last year.

Can we save the reef?

Since the report was released, environmentalist groups have been calling for greater global action to tackle the climate crisis, and for the Great Barrier Reef to be given extra protection.

Imogen Zethoven, director of strategy for the Australian Marine Conservation Society, said: "We can turn this around, but only if the prime minister cares enough to lead a government that wants to save it. And saving it means being a leader here and internationally to bring greenhouse gas emissions down.

"This is now the third Outlook Report. We've had 10 years of warnings, 10 years of rising greenhouse emissions and 10 years watching the Reef heading for a catastrophe."

Addressing reporters in Sydney, the GBRMPA's chief scientist, David Wachenfeld, agreed the reef's problems were "largely driven by climate change".

"Despite that, with the right mix of local actions to improve the resilience of the system and global actions to tackle climate change in the strongest and fastest way possible, we can turn that around," he added

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-49520949

[CaaC (John)+]

Wild geese change routes to cope with climate change

Barnacle geese are choosing new feeding sites to cope with climate change, according to Scottish researchers.

A team from St Andrews University, along with Norwegian, Dutch and British colleagues, found that the birds were flying further north in the Arctic.

The study is one of the first to provide hard evidence that wild animals are inventing new ways to cope with changing habitats.

The findings are based on 45 years of observations by experts.

The teams found that the migratory birds, which traditionally fuelled up, or staged, just South of the Arctic circle in Norway now mainly staged in northern Norway far above the Arctic circle.

Shifting patterns 'make sense'

Individual geese changed to a new route with other geese learning the new habit from each other, according to the findings.

The researchers added that barnacle geese had shifted their migratory route on their journey from the UK to their breeding grounds on Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago, within the last 25 years.

Dr Thomas Oudman of the school of biology at St Andrew's, said: "It makes sense that the birds went even further north because where snow used to be very common there at the time of their arrival in Norway, these days it is often freshly green there: the most nutritious stage.

"What surprised us is that it is mainly the young geese who have shifted. The youngsters are responding to a trend they could not have experienced during their short life."

Adult geese are also increasingly shifting north, although they often return to the traditional areas in their old age.

Dr Oudman added: "These patterns point at a complex social system, which enables the geese to rapidly colonise newly available areas."

Contrary to most other migratory birds, barnacle geese flourish even while their natural habitat is rapidly changing.

Barnacle geese are able to adapt to climate change due to the availability of alternative places with sufficient food at the right time and without the threat of disturbance from humans or other dangerous animals.

The availability of alternative habitats may also help other animals to adapt to climate change.

Animal species which are less sociable or explore less may take much longer to discover such places.

The conclusions are based on analysis of 45 years of observations by the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, St Andrews University, the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, BirdLife Norway and the British Waterfowl and Wetlands Trust.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-49551044

[CaaC (John)+]

Climate crisis: Greenland's ice faces melting 'death sentence'

VIDEO

Greenland's massive ice sheet may have melted by a record amount this year, scientists have warned.

During this year alone, it lost enough ice to raise the average global sea level by more than a millimetre.

Researchers say they're "astounded" by the acceleration in melting and fear for the future of cities on coasts around the world.

One glacier in southern Greenland has thinned by as much as 100 metres since I last filmed on it back in 2004.

FULL REPORT

[Harry]

For the maths people that rate of melting is approximately 3 Olympic sizes swimming pools of new water in the ocean per second over the 15 years.... 

[Azeem]

[CaaC (John)+]

The faster pace of climate change is 'scary', former chief scientist says

Extreme events linked to climate change, such as the heatwave in Europe this year, are occurring sooner than expected, an ex-chief scientist says.

Prof Sir David King says he's been scared by the number of extreme events, and he called for the UK to advance its climate targets by 10 years.

But the UN's weather chief said using words like “scared” could make young people depressed and anxious.

Campaigners argue that people won't act unless they feel fearful.

Speaking to the BBC, Prof King, a former chief scientific adviser to the government, said: “It’s appropriate to be scared. We predicted temperatures would rise, but we didn’t foresee these sorts of extreme events we’re getting so soon.”

Several other scientists contacted by the BBC supported his emotive language.

The physicist Prof Jo Haigh from Imperial College London said: “David King is right to be scared – I’m scared too."

“We do the analysis, we think what’s going to happen, then publish in a very scientific way.

"Then we have a human response to that… and it is scary.”

• The UK commits to 'net zero' emissions by 2050
• Climate change: Where we are in seven charts
• What is climate change?

Petteri Taalas, who is secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said he fully supported UN climate goals, but he criticised radical green campaigners for forecasting the end of the world.

It’s the latest chapter in the long debate over how to communicate climate science to the public.

FULL REPORT

[CaaC (John)+]

2019 ozone hole could be the smallest in three decades

The ozone hole over Antarctica this year could be one of the smallest seen in three decades, say scientists.

Observations of the gas's depletion high in the atmosphere demonstrate that it hasn't opened up in 2019 in the way it normally does.

The EU's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) says it's currently well under half the area usually seen in mid-September.

The hole is also off-centre and far from the pole, the EU agency adds.

CAMS' experts, who are based in Reading, UK, are projecting stable levels of ozone or a modest increase in the coming days.

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• Ozone: The Earth's protective shield is repairing

Ozone is a molecule that is composed of three oxygen atoms. It is responsible for filtering out harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.

The gas is constantly being made and destroyed in the stratosphere, about 20-30km above the Earth.

In an unpolluted atmosphere, this cycle of production and decomposition is in equilibrium. But chlorine and bromine-containing chemicals released by human activity have unbalanced the process, resulting in a loss of ozone that is at its greatest in the Antarctic spring in September/October.

The Montreal Protocol signed by governments in 1987 has sought to recover the situation by banning the production and use of the most damaging chemicals.

This past week has seen the area of deep thinning cover just over five million square km. This time last year it was beyond 20 million square km, although in 2017 it was just above 10 million sq km. In other words, there is a good degree of variability from year to year.

The conditions for thinning occur annually just as the Antarctic emerges from Winter. The reactions that work to destroy ozone in the cold stratosphere are initiated by the return of sunshine at high latitudes.

Scientists say that while losses started earlier than normal this year, they were truncated by a sudden warming event that lifted temperatures in the stratosphere by 20-30 degrees. This destabilised the ozone-destroying process.

Richard Engelen is the deputy head at CAMS. He says the small size seen so far this year is encouraging but warns against complacency.

"Right now I think we should view this as an interesting anomaly. We need to find out more about what caused it," he told BBC News.

"It's not really related to the Montreal Protocol where we've tried to reduce chlorine and bromine in the atmosphere because they're still there. It's much more related to a dynamical event. People will obviously ask questions related to climate change, but we simply can't answer that at this point."

CAMS is an EU service run by the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).

It has access to a range of space-borne observations. Principal data sources include the  European Metop weather satellites and the EU's own Sentinel-5P spacecraft. The four platforms all carry ozone sensors and routinely cross the pole.

Their information is combined with models of atmospheric behaviour.

The World Metrological Organization-sponsored 2018 Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion said a recovery of the ozone layer to pre-1970 levels could be expected around 2060.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49714987

[Panna King]

On 21/08/2019 at 14:58, nudge said:

Sao Paulo plunged into darkness as a result of the wildfires and cold weather fronts. Not sure if this is a completely unedited photo but it scares the f out of me. That's how apocalypse looks like.

 

 

It's ridiculous how an entire ecosystem is being destroyed - not to mention that it's one of the most important ecosystem that affects the entire world - yet there's almost no coverage in the press. So much for caring about climate eh?

I cannot believe the G7 could only scrape around 20 million euros between them to offer to help with the Amazon, no wonder why the Brazilian leader said things about Macron the other week.  

[CaaC (John)+]

Wild wheat genetics offer climate hope for food crops

Wild relatives of food crops, such as wheat, host an abundant array of genetic material to help the plants cope with a changing climate.

In a study over 28 years showed that populations of wild wheat accumulated "beneficial mutations" such as a tolerance to temperature increases.

Researchers say the results improve our understanding of how plants are responding to a warming world.

The findings appear in the  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"We get some very exciting results," explained lead author Yong-Bi Fu, a research scientist from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

"One of which is that we can demonstrate that over 28 years, and 28 generations, you can see the wild relative of the plant accumulate more genetic mutations, and we found that most of the population is still adaptable."

Although the team did find that there were individual specimens in the study that did not survive the conditions associated with a warmer environment, there were others that we're able to adapt in such a way that meant they could cope with a warmer world.

The study involved 10 populations of emmer wheat in Israel. Dr Fu says that the temperature increase over the three decades amounted to up to two degrees Celsius, which is similar to the increase that the Paris Climate Agreement hopes to limit global average temperatures from rising above pre-industrial levels.

'Really exciting'

"That is really exciting because it means that the population is able to get beneficial mutations," Dr Fu told BBC News.

"This mutation is crucial, and we can see that we need a lot of effort to protect and conserve the crop's diversity in the wild, natural population."

The team suggested that this insight helped to improve our knowledge of how plants could adapt to future climate change.

Dr Fu also highlighted the work of UK scientists who, reporting in Nature Biotechnology, who were developing ways to clone disease-resistance (R) genes from wild relatives in order to engineer broad-spectrum resistance in domesticated crops.

He said that a similar approach could be used to clone or use climate-resistant genes from the plants' wild relatives to cross-breed into existing crops in order to make our food crops more climate-resilient.

Game changer

Last year, scientists identified the location of 100,000 wheat genes. This was considered to be a "game-changer" in the race to develop climate change-resistant varieties of the vital primary food crop.

The UN has estimated that wheat production needs to be increased by 60% by 2050 in order to feed the population, which by then will have grown to an estimated 9.6 billion.

Science is also developing mathematical models to identify genetic material that could help improve food crops' resilience to climate change.

Scientists hope the models will speed up the process of identifying traits, such as drought resistance, allowing breeders to grow climate-tolerant crops.

Globally, there are 1,700 major agricultural gene banks that house in excess of seven million samples - a vast resource that researchers said made the task of locating the sought-after traits a bit like finding a needle in a haystack.

A study in 2016, published in the Royal Society Biology Letters journal, highlighted the risk posed by projected climate change on the world's ability to grow enough food.

A US team of researchers found that forecasted shifts in climate by 2070 would occur too quickly for species of grass crops to adapt to the new conditions.

The species facing an uncertain future included wheat, corn, rice and sorghum, which provided almost half of the calories consumed by humans.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49728101

[CaaC (John)+]

Climate change: Arctic expedition to drift in sea-ice for a year

It's being described as the biggest Arctic science expedition of all time.

The German Research Vessel Polarstern is about to head for the far north where it intends to drift in the sea-ice for an entire year.

Hundreds of scientists will visit the ship in that time to use it as a base from which to study the climate.

The MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) project is expected to cost about €130m (£120m/$150m).

Its scale means it must be an international effort. RV Polarstern will be supported by icebreakers from Russia, Sweden and China.

In deep winter, when these vessels can't pierce the floes to reach the German ship, aeroplanes and long-range helicopters will deliver the supplies and relief teams.

• Arctic glaciers 'shrinking by 300m each year'
• Greenland's ice faces melting 'death sentence'
• US climate objections sink Arctic Council accord

FULL REPORT

 

[CaaC (John)+]

Climate change action: We can't all be Greta, but your choices have a ripple effect

Is individual action pointless in the face of climate change? Let's not beat around the bush: the simple answer has to be "yes".

Think about it: what difference does one person forgoing a lamb chop for a lentil bake, deciding to catch the bus rather than take their car, or deciding not to jet off for that autumn getaway in the Balearics make if the other 7,699,999,999 of us humans here on Earth don't do anything?

It is a dispiriting conclusion and begs an obvious question, and one that I am sure has already occurred to you: why bother?

That's exactly what I asked the 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg when I met her last month. Rather than fly to her climate change meetings in New York, Greta had opted to be whisked across the Atlantic on a racing yacht.

Do you remember the boat, the one with the bright blue plastic poo bucket?

FULL REPORT

[CaaC (John)+]

Climate change: Impacts 'accelerating' as leaders gather for UN talks

The signs and impacts of global heating are speeding up, the latest science on climate change, published ahead of key UN talks in New York, says.

The data, compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), says the five-year period from 2014 to 2019 is the warmest on record.

Sea-level rise has accelerated significantly over the same period, as CO2 emissions have hit new highs.

The WMO says carbon-cutting efforts have to be intensified immediately.

• BBC Briefing: Your energy and climate facts guide
• Offshore wind expands at record low price
• Thousands join UK climate change protests

The climate statement is a pull-together of the latest science on the causes and growing impacts of unprecedented levels of warming seen in recent years.

Recognising that global temperatures have risen by 1.1 degrees C since 1850, the paper notes they have gone up by 0.2C between 2011 and 2015.

FULL REPORT

[6666]

I'm sure anyone on here that's heard of this man knows he's a scumbag but still, this man really is a scumbag.

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

19 hours ago, 6666 said:

I'm sure anyone on here that's heard of this man knows he's a scumbag but still, this man really is a scumbag.

 

It's funny because he actually makes propaganda videos that use Nazi propaganda techniques

[Harry]

I'm not sorry I don't know who he is. I unfollowed most right wingers on Twitter now, they are too consistently infuriating and deliberately biased.

[Tommy]

I think Greta Thunberg is great. Just for the sheer amount of old people she seems to rattle on Facebook. The comment sections on every article about her are spectacular. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

20 minutes ago, Tommy said:

I think Greta Thunberg is great. Just for the sheer amount of old people she seems to rattle on Facebook. The comment sections on every article about her are spectacular. 

The amount of hate she receives from so many people across the Internet makes me really like her, although I feel a bit bad for her. The absolute contempt she showed for the world’s leaders at the UN was absolutely beautiful.

It’s a bit fucked how many people hate her. And some of the shit that’s been written about her is absolutely disgusting. I respect the fuck out of her for just being a kid and taking an issue so seriously that she’s the fucking face for it now. To be that young and to be a lightning rod for an issue that’s affecting everybody is mental

58 minutes ago, Harry said:

I'm not sorry I don't know who he is. I unfollowed most right wingers on Twitter now, they are too consistently infuriating and deliberately biased.

He’s one of the first cunts the orange arsehole pardoned.

[Tommy]

3 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

The amount of hate she receives from so many people across the Internet makes me really like her, although I feel a bit bad for her. The absolute contempt she showed for the world’s leaders at the UN was absolutely beautiful.

It’s a bit fucked how many people hate her. And some of the shit that’s been written about her is absolutely disgusting. I respect the fuck out of her for just being a kid and taking an issue so seriously that she’s the fucking face for it now. To be that young and to be a lightning rod for an issue that’s affecting everybody is mental

Indeed. I mean, she's got Aspergers, no? So it's only natural that she picks one subject she's VERY passionate about. But most people don't seem to get that. I've seen so many mean comments from "autistic brat" to "remote controlled puppet" etc. It's funny how it's 90% old people though, so they probably just feel guilty deep inside for all the shit they've done to our planet. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

43 minutes ago, Tommy said:

Indeed. I mean, she's got Aspergers, no? So it's only natural that she picks one subject she's VERY passionate about. But most people don't seem to get that. I've seen so many mean comments from "autistic brat" to "remote controlled puppet" etc. It's funny how it's 90% old people though, so they probably just feel guilty deep inside for all the shit they've done to our planet. 

No clue if she’s got Aspergers. I think most of the mean spirited comments about her are just a product of the political culture we live in now. Where politics is viewed like supporting a football side, and with the internet and anonymity decency can just go straight out the window. So rather than see this as an issue that doesn’t have partisan lines, they’re seeing it as a personal attack on them - so they attack her back personally.

But really on this issue (and so many other issues) everyone - left, right, centre, whatever... we should be all treating world leaders with the same amount of contempt as she did.

[nudge+]

Hating on a child is indeed very weird; I do think that she is indeed very passionate about the issue and as most teenagers, is idealistic and well-meaning. However, questioning the sincerity, the motives and the intentions of the people behind the movement and potential outcomes of it is a different thing altogether - and no, I do not mean the children participating. Given her background and the circumstances of how the movement started, it's obvious that her family had the connections and the backing to start, organise and sustain the whole thing. Many people see it as using children and emotional manipulation which automatically provokes negative reactions. Many people agree with her on the problem but disagree on the solution, such as being anti nuclear when pure renewables aren't likely to be feasible on their own. Many people also suspect that the only change this movement will bring is increased taxes again while also bringing down the industry and negatively affecting economy - without actually solving the problem. Not to mention that the hype by the media and being patronised by a child is starting to annoy people at some point as well.

My personal gripe with the movement is that it looks like a marketing ploy with vague empty slogans that we've been hearing since the 70s now repeated by a bunch of kids holding some signs, singing, laughing and clapping hands. Useless really. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Tommy said:

Indeed. I mean, she's got Aspergers, no? So it's only natural that she picks one subject she's VERY passionate about. But most people don't seem to get that. I've seen so many mean comments from "autistic brat" to "remote controlled puppet" etc. It's funny how it's 90% old people though, so they probably just feel guilty deep inside for all the shit they've done to our planet. 

I have only heard of the situation vaguely and I can speak out.

I am autistic and ultimately I don't feel any different from anyone else except for the fact that I don't realize my errors sometimes and always get blamed for everything cos I'm an easy target. We are very passionate about certain things, almost obssesive to a point (in my case, it's football) and we can get overheated when someone tries to make out that you aren't important in the industry or that we don't have a say. And that's exactly how I feel myself sometimes. People will listen to anybody but myself. I have kept this a secret until about last year, and I begun telling people because I just didn't give a shit anymore and some started to guess so I felt there was no need to make it "my biggest secret". I can happily admit it, but I am ashamed of being different sometimes because I like to act as an important and competitive figure and I'm just not in the eyes of many.

People are so discriminatory to people with aspergers. How we can't be successful and it's a horrible disability, etc. But some of the most successful people are aspergers, such as Zuckerberg, Bielsa and the man who made Pokemon. That's why I hold out *some* hope for my future, because I know my passion leads me to creation and that's how I feel other autistic people are. Because most of them are entrepeneurs or creative geniuses. We see the world like nobody else. Are we bad socially? Yes. I have no intention of ever getting married as I can't see myself being able to maintain myself in a relationship with a female for my whole life, I just can't see myself keeping her interested. But again, our passion leads us to success. I hope I follow that path,

So if you wonder why I am so passionate in my football discussions, there is an answer and I'm a very proud individual, but sometimes I just think that I'm not normal and really wish I could be like anybody else, even if it means I'm less intelligent and don't have that creation drive. I'm not saying I'm more intelligent than him or her, but I do like to think I see something in certain things that no one else does, and it's not because I'm an "autistic maniac". We are normal even if I sometimes think otherwise, trust me on that.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Grizzly21 said:

I have only heard of the situation vaguely and I can speak out.

I am autistic and ultimately I don't feel any different from anyone else except for the fact that I don't realize my errors sometimes and always get blamed for everything cos I'm an easy target. We are very passionate about certain things, almost obssesive to a point (in my case, it's football) and we can get overheated when someone tries to make out that you aren't important in the industry or that we don't have a say. And that's exactly how I feel myself sometimes. People will listen to anybody but myself. I have kept this a secret until about last year, and I begun telling people because I just didn't give a shit anymore and some started to guess so I felt there was no need to make it "my biggest secret". I can happily admit it, but I am ashamed of being different sometimes because I like to act as an important and competitive figure and I'm just not in the eyes of many.

People are so discriminatory to people with aspergers. How we can't be successful and it's a horrible disability, etc. But some of the most successful people are aspergers, such as Zuckerberg, Bielsa and the man who made Pokemon. That's why I hold out *some* hope for my future, because I know my passion leads me to creation and that's how I feel other autistic people are. Because most of them are entrepeneurs or creative geniuses. We see the world like nobody else. Are we bad socially? Yes. I have no intention of ever getting married as I can't see myself being able to maintain myself in a relationship with a female for my whole life, I just can't see myself keeping her interested. But again, our passion leads us to success. I hope I follow that path,

So if you wonder why I am so passionate in my football discussions, there is an answer and I'm a very proud individual, but sometimes I just think that I'm not normal and really wish I could be like anybody else, even if it means I'm less intelligent and don't have that creation drive. I'm not saying I'm more intelligent than him or her, but I do like to think I see something in certain things that no one else does, and it's not because I'm an "autistic maniac". We are normal even if I sometimes think otherwise, trust me on that.

I think it is better to tell people about it. I have a friend who didn't tell me she had it. When she did it made me more patient as I knew why she was doing certain things. I don't know what experiences you have had mate but in my experience a majority of people would be more patient if they know you have it but you may have had other experiences. 

[Guest]

Just now, Gunnersauraus said:

I think it is better to tell people about it. I have a friend who didn't tell me she had it. When she did it made me more patient as I knew why she was doing certain things. I don't know what experiences you have had mate but in my experience a majority of people would be more patient if they know you have it but you may have had other experiences. 

For the record, I don't mind being attacked or criticized as long as people are listening. It is certainly better than our opinion not being important because we are "autistic". It is on the same wavelength as not giving a women a job because of their gender, or a black person for their race.

[Guest]

Just now, Grizzly21 said:

For the record, I don't mind being attacked or criticized as long as people are listening. It is certainly better than our opinion not being important because we are "autistic". It is on the same wavelength as not giving a women a job because of their gender, or a black person for their race.

Brian in my experience in this forum this doesn't happen to you because of your autism. 

The reason you get attacked from what I can see is because you don't seem to listen to other people and come across as very self opinionated and sure you are right. Teso does attack you needlessly but there are other members who are reacting to you. 

[Guest]

Just now, Gunnersauraus said:

Brian in my experience in this forum this doesn't happen to you because of your autism. 

Did I say that about the forum?