Tuesday 24th of December 2024
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it's f$%#@& time...

about time

Although football fans may struggle to believe it, there is something more important than soccer. No less than the future of human civilisation is at stake. And without civilisation, there is no soccer.

EARTH'S SILENT ODOMETER has reached a new milestone. Ticking over as global society remains inactive on the issue of climate change, atmospheric carbon dioxide reached 400 parts per million for the first time in over three million years. This brings the atmosphere to a state never experienced before by our species, Homo sapiens.

Symbolic of our current paralysed state, there was little discussion in the media. There was much more talk about the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson as manager of the Manchester United Football Club. We all know that football is important but surely the future of our planet and the kids should rate a little more attention.

Measurements of Earth's atmosphere come from more than 100 sites worldwide. Perhaps the most famous of these is the US National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration's facility near the summit of Mauna Loa in Hawaii. Begun by Charles Keeling in the late 1950s, samples sipped from the relatively pristine air of Mauna Loa have been used to construct a curve of carbon dioxide concentrations over time.

While there are small fluctuations between seasons and between years, carbon dioxide has marched steadily upward over time. While many remain unaware, a crisis for Earth's biological and human systems looms.

Since humans developed efficient ways to burn fossil fuels, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has skyrocketed.

Carbon dioxide is opaque to infrared radiation which means that adding it to the atmosphere increases the amount of energy absorbed by the Earth over time. This then pushes up average global temperature which in turn impacts the relative heating and cooling of landscapes and oceans, weather systems, and many other parts of Earth's climate system. In addition to changing the balance of our planet, carbon dioxide flooding into the ocean is also acidifying the world's ocean forcing pH and chemical state outside any of the conditions experienced by marine life for millions of years.

At this point, some might suggest that the statements are too strong here. After all, isn't there a debate among scientists over the facts of climate change? The truth is, however, that there isn't. More than 97 per cent of scientists publishing in the peer-reviewed expert literature on climate research are in agreement that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced by humans are dramatically changing the climate.

There is also a major consensus in the scientific community that changing such a fundamental property of the Earth is affecting natural and human systems on a scale that has few if any precedents in human history or prehistory. If you take natural systems, which are very sensitive to small changes in temperature, every added part per million of carbon dioxide brings the world closer to a point at which coral reefs, cloud forests and entire ecosystems will cease to exist. Similarly, changes to temperature, rainfall and sea level ratchet up the risk to human systems and our well-being.

Considering the very strong and undeniable linkages between carbon dioxide and the risk of dangerous outcomes for human and natural systems, Earth's carbon dioxide odometer begins to assume a number of different roles.

The DEFCON system for rating military defence readiness comes to mind.

One role is to give us an important measure of risk as we go forward. The higher we go, the more we are going to pay for inaction. Importantly, the scale is likely to be non-linear meaning that the impact associated with each click of the odometer grows in size. The DEFCON system for rating military defence readiness comes to mind.

Another role is to give us a report card on whether we have been effective in battling climate change. Many governments proudly hold forth on how effective their action on climate change has been. However, and in business-management-speak, our success in meeting the key performance indicator (reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide) has steadily got worse. And if it were a business, it would be clearly failing and I suspect that we would be asked to pack up our desk and leave the premises.

The last role is one which gives us a measure of how much time we have left to fix the problem. As time has gone on, the idea of a climate guardrail (pdf) beyond which we must not go has become increasingly clear from the science and scientific community. From many angles this looks like the guardrail exists at around 450 ppm (although many of us feel it might be a lot lower).

The best science tells us that the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu and the Daintree cloud forests (pdf) would cease to exist as the climate becomes too warm, dry and sea levels flood our precious wetlands. At 450 ppm, most glaciologists conclude that irreversible melting of the Greenland ice sheets will begin, committing the world to metres of sea level rise over the coming centuries. And at the same point, the Southern Ocean becomes more acidic with consequences for critically important ocean food chains and fisheries.

This is a serious guardrail which we must stay well away from.

http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2013/05/14/3757777.htm

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the world continues to procrastinate...

There will be a dramatic global decline in the number of animal and plant species this century if the world continues to procrastinate over measures to cut carbon dioxide emissions to limit climate change, a study has found.

Current CO2 emissions are currently tracking on the highest trajectory envisaged by climate scientists. That means if nothing is done to reduce emissions significantly over the coming decades, over half of common plants and one-third of the animals could see a serious decline, the study concluded.

Scientists came to the assessment by estimating the current and future geographical ranges of nearly 50,000 widespread and common species to see how rising temperatures are likely to affect their territorial limits as defined by the sort of climate they are adapted to live in.

Plants, amphibians such as frogs and toads, and reptiles such as lizards are the groups that are likely to suffer the most from a changing climate because of their relative vulnerability to rising temperatures and inability to move rapidly from one territory to another, the study found.

It is one of the first detailed assessments of how common species found over wide regions of the world will be able to cope with climate change. Many of these animals and plants are important because they perform fundamental “ecosystem services” such as cleaning up water supplies and decomposing waste produce. “This research predicts that climate change will greatly reduce the diversity of even very common species found in most parts of the world. This loss of global-scale biodiversity would significantly impoverish the biosphere and the ecosystem services it provides,” said Rachel Warren, of the University of East Anglia, who led the research.

“We looked at the effect of rising global temperatures, but other symptoms of climate change such as extreme weather events, pests and diseases mean that our estimates are probably conservative. Animals in particular may decline more as our predictions will be compounded by a loss of food from plants. There will also be a knock-on effect for humans because these species are important for things like water and air purification, flood control, nutrient cycling and eco-tourism.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/life-on-earth-under-threat-from-co2-levels-say-scientists-8612900.html

it's all the conservatives' (Aussie liberals) fault

The purpose of the image at top is to draw attention to the fact that about 90 per cent of conservatives (Aussie Liberals) don't "believe" in global warming... Proper science has never been one of their forte... They of course believe in god and money (in the reverse order). Both of these beliefs are being inconvenienced by global warming — and an anthropogenic global warming at that... Of course global warming is not a question of belief but one of knowledge.. Math and science that does not involve gambling on a race horse, on the stock market or at a casino near you is of course not worth a penny in any Liberal (conservative) bank account.

Should the aussie conservatives — who of all hypocrisy call themselves Liberals to confuse the reality of their ultra right wing beliefs — take the levers of this country, we would see more major damage to the environment and more of the destruction of the planet surface as a whole...

Climate change or global warming is a most serious matter that will affect future generation of humans and other life-forms for MILLENNIUMS... WE cannot trust the Liberals (conservatives) to understand the problem mostly because I know — I have tested — they don't understand, they don't want to understand and ultimately, THEY DON'T CARE... Hence my rude toon at top....

driving in fog in a merc hybrid...

I remember in the 1960s being driven on the autobahns by a (rich) friend of mine who kept falling asleep at the wheel. I was in the back seat. His wife next to him kept nudging him regularly to wake him up as we drove between 150 and 170 km/h IN THICK FOG. One could not see 20 metres ahead. I was scared... I don't scare easy but on this day my butt cheeks were so tight they gripped the comfy leather as if it would act as a seat belt (seat belts did not exist in those days)... Of course we were "in the fast lane" and at this amazing speed, before seeing them through the fog, we overtook the red rear lights from trucks and cars in the slow and middle lanes... I was really scared...

And this is what's happening now in regard to global warming. We are driving through fog and the science tells us there is a pile-up waiting for us somewhere ahead and the traffic is becoming more and more congested with extreme "events" — but we're still driving at speed with the intent of dodging the annoying slower cars on "our" fast lane... because as we drive at speed, we've made this lane "ours"...

I have some Liberal (conservative) friends who "believe" in global warming. So far, it has not affected their lives, so on this subject, they still are prepared to accelerate from 200 km/h to 250 km/h on the autobahns in thick fog in their Merc 400 hybrid... despite the warnings and small pile-ups to be noted in the slower lanes. They know there is a "chance" of a massive pile up ahead, but they're relying on their brakes to stop when it's at their convenience at the last second... Already, there are a million dead people on the road, but the spacious ambient comfort inside the vehicle turns the reality of blood "outside" into a quiet console game... What they don't realise is that should they be able to stop just before crashing into the pile-up that one cannot see, some other silly buggers behind them will rear-end them into a ball of fire... 

 

The "good" 10 per cent Liberal (conservatives) I know, those who are fully aware of global warming, are not prepared to reduce our emission of CO2... They know that anthropogenic CO2 is the culprit, but bugger any attempt to reduce our carbon consumption — because the science is unable to tell them if the crash is tomorrow or in 20 years... Meanwhile, they are happy to gamble on the latter date and they have done their bit to save the environment by investing (not buying) in a hybrid car with a 4 litre petrol engine (3.5 litres actually — so there!)...

The others 90 per cent of conservatives have no clue and don't want to know... They drive like my friend in the 160s — asleep at the wheel...

To tell it mildly, ALL THE LIBERALS (Conservatives) are prepared to sacrifice the future of this planet for present comforts. NONE of them want to take the foot off the accelerator pedal... The "good" 10 per cent announce without realising the horror of their twisted thoughts that "they will deal with the problem when it arises"... (meaning WHEN IT AFFECTS THEM DIRECTLY).

Taking the foot off the accelerator would cost money and this is THE ONLY CONSIDERATION ENTERING THEIR BRAINS... 

 

We better start tightening our butt cheeks on the leather of our bicycle seat, as these (may I call them selfish — though they have a heart of gold in regard to tax deductible charity) humans are taking us down with them... 

 

 

the limits of our planet...

Activist comedian, Rod Quantock, promises you’ll be “apoplectic with fear” (or just plain “scared shitless”) as he takes you with him through the gates of hell into the catastrophic world of runaway global warming.

ALBERT EINSTEIN said:

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.

Time has shown that Einstein was right to be sceptical about the universe — it has limits and bounds in space and time.

And science, that pinnacle of rationality, measures the pulse of the planet. The prognosis – we are about to open the gates of hell and throw our children through them. It’s the climate, you see, we’re changing it, and as far as the climate is concerned a change is as good as a holocaust.

But before we go any further, take a moment to complete the following questionnaire.

I, (insert name)

a) don’t expect to be alive in 2050; or

b) do expect to be alive in 2050.

If you answered a) you’re a winner! You have lived a full, happy, healthy life in the best of all possible carbon-fuelled worlds. In your wake, a decades-long trail of ecological devastation and carbon dioxide emissions. But hey, you won’t be around when the CO2 really hits the fan, so jackpot, you win! If you don’t know want to know what happens when the CO2 really hits the fan, and believe me, you don’t, stop reading now. Spare yourself the torments of pitiless despair and remorseless guilt and watch a kitten on YouTube.

We’ll give you a minute.

 

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If you’re still reading, why don’t you join those who answered b) and follow me?

Okay, here we are. Make yourselves comfortable; tea, coffee and Nembutal are over there. Right, well let’s not beat around the bushfires — the climate is changing. The science has been in for decades, and not just any science, it’s every science: physics, chemistry, biology, geology, palaeontology, microbiology, meteorology and a hundred other mutually informed ologies all know we are changing the climate, how we are changing it and how fast we are changing it. (It’s really fast!)

The symptoms of our rising fever are evident everywhere — the hottest day, the hottest month, the hottest year, the hottest decade, the longest drought, the worst floods, the worst fires, the worst storms, the highest rate of species extinction. And all these symptoms will increase in fury, sweeping away the livelihoods and lives of millions. Hunger, disease and resource wars will take millions more.

....

(Deputy editor’s note: we at IA pride ourselves on publishing stories mainstream media reject! Rod’s blistering wake-up call was passed up by The Age with the comment: “about time someone told it like it is but we have no space”!)

read more: http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013//humour/rod-quantock-global-warmings-just-not-funny/

Note: Here at YD, we've been on the case of global warming since 2005.... Gus has personally been on the case since 1979.