WTF Climate Change News

[Beebo Brink]

Researchers warn methane emissions ‘rising faster than ever’ | Environment News | Al Jazeera
The largest increases in emissions of the greenhouse gas come from China and Southeast Asia.

Concentrations of methane are rising at an unprecedented pace, jeopardising global climate goals, according to researchers.

The potent greenhouse gas, the second-largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide, has increased by 20 percent over the past two decades despite global efforts to curb it, according to a study published by the Global Carbon Project.

In the past five years, methane concentrations have surged faster than “in any period since record-keeping began”, the study said. Increases are being primarily driven by coal mining, oil and gas production and use, cattle and sheep ranching, and decomposing food and organic waste.

 

[Beebo Brink]

In this interview with Dr Jennifer Francis from the Woodwell Climate Research Centre in the US, we discuss her teams new research into feedbacks from the melting Arctic Ice cap. We also discuss how destructive climate impacts are starting to influence policymaking, albeit with resistance from misinformation campaigns. Finally, we discuss the rise of research into geoengineering and Jennifer’s insights into whether we should deploy risky temporary-techno fixes to buy time, while we wait for structural action at the policy-level to be implemented.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Methane Levels at 800,000-Year High: Stanford Scientists Warn That We Are Heading for Climate Disaster (scitechdaily.com)

Methane emissions, a major contributor to climate change, have continued to rise without slowing down. Despite a global pledge by over 150 nations to reduce emissions by 30% this decade, new research reveals that global methane emissions have surged at an unprecedented rate over the past five years.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

When Ted Nordhaus first suggested that I write about some of the problematic claims that I’d come across while reading Dr. Genevieve Guenther’s The Language of Climate Politics, I wasn’t sure I wanted to do so, because I did not think the book merited a review.

But upon hearing some comments Dr. Guenther made in an interview promoting her book, I changed my mind. I had spent a good decade of my life, 2006-2016, fighting disinformation from climate science denialists, and it felt inconsistent to let the same slide just based on which “side” it was coming from.

So I agreed to write up a few of the problematic claims that had caught my ear as “must be wrong” as I walked my dog while listening to the audiobook. There are other errors, but life is short and I chose not to do a fuller factcheck. Hopefully, the following is instructive.

 

[Free]

South Africa hit with rare heavy snowfall

A rare, heavy snowfall in South Africa this weekend blanketed the east coast of the country, bringing travel on the major N3 highway between Johannesburg and Durban to a standstill.

Several portions of the N3 were closed and at least two people died from hypothermia after being trapped on the highway.

 

[Free]

Chemists Finally Unravel the Mystery of Siberia’s Explosive Craters

Underground methane blasts are behind Siberia’s puzzling exploding craters, according to new research.

gizmodo.com

 

[Beebo Brink]

Alien civilizations are probably killing themselves from climate change, bleak study suggests | Live Science

When astrophysicists simulated the rise and fall of alien civilizations, they found that, if a civilization were to experience exponential technological growth and energy consumption, it would have less than 1,000 years before the alien planet got too hot to be habitable. This would be true even if the civilization used renewable energy sources, due to inevitable leakage in the form of heat, as predicted by the laws of thermodynamics.

 

[Free]

Alien civilizations are probably killing themselves from climate change, bleak study suggests | Live Science

Not enough to worry about climate change on Earth, huh?

 

[Cindy Claveau]

 

[Free]

 

[Beebo Brink]

I'm hoping that the literally thousands of Likes on the HAARP/govt-is-controlling-the-weather conspiracy theory posts are just Russian bots. Given science illiteracy in this country, however, that's probably a futile, naive hope.

Apparently, humans need to believe that someone is in charge of these vast, chaotic, unpredictable but deadly events that turn lives upside down. I suppose that if you believe that a god (or gods) are creating the thunder and lighting, or Biden is hurling hurricanes toward red states, there is slim hope that you can make it stop. Kill a few sheep to appease your god or vote for Trump to get the Demoncrats out of power and then life will return to normal.

Regardless of who wins in November, these fear reactions are not going to stop. The hurricanes will keep escalating, the damage from them will keep mounting up, and people will go fucking insane trying to reconcile reality with their certainty that climate change is not the root cause of their troubles. The conspiracy theories will only get worse as time goes on and all the usual scapegoats will get more and more of the blame. It will not be a good time to be Jewish, gay, atheist, literate, or a childless cat lady.

 

[Cindy Claveau]

Regardless of who wins in November, these fear reactions are not going to stop. The hurricanes will keep escalating, the damage from them will keep mounting up, and people will go fucking insane trying to reconcile reality with their certainty that climate change is not the root cause of their troubles. The conspiracy theories will only get worse as time goes on and all the usual scapegoats will get more and more of the blame. It will not be a good time to be Jewish, gay, atheist, literate, or a childless cat lady.

I used up all my upvotes on this post, Beebs. That's exactly what I expect, too. Because it's an established pattern with so many people.

I wish I could explain the short-sightedness of so much of humanity. They warned us that storms would become more severe and more frequent, and look what's happening!

And, in the most supreme irony ever invented, this new Cat 5 monster is going to march straight across the waistline of the most politically regressive state in our union.

 

[Archer]

Meteorologists Get Death Threats as Hurricane Milton Conspiracy Theories Thrive

This hurricane season, Cappucci and the other meteorologists I spoke with say, conspiracy theories have been flooding their inboxes. The main one that people have seemed to latch onto is the accusation that the government can control the weather. This theory seems to be amplified with climate change creating worsening storms combined with a tense election year, and the vitriol is being directed at meteorologists. “I’ve been doing this for 46 years and it’s never been like this,” says Alabama meteorologist James Spann. He says he’s been “inundated” with misinformation and threatening messages like “Stop lying about the government controlling the weather or else.”

 

[Beebo Brink]

 

[Beebo Brink]

Another warning that we can't tech our way out of climate change.

Biggest copper mines produced 20% less copper in 2023 – Richard Mills – Ahead of the Herd

 

[Beebo Brink]

Harvest in England the second worst on record because of wet weather | Farming | The Guardian

England has suffered its second worst harvest on record – with fears growing for next year – after heavy rain last winter hit production of key crops including wheat and oats.
The cold, damp weather, stretching from last autumn through this spring and early summer, has hit the rapidly developing UK wine industry particularly hard, with producers saying harvests are down by between 75% and a third, depending on the region.

On staple crops, England’s wheat haul is estimated to be 10m tonnes, or 21%, down on 2023, according to analysis of the latest government data by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

According to a new study trees and land did absorb almost no CO2 in 2023. So question is what to make of this - is this failing as carbon sink, or just a temporal thing?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/14/nature-carbon-sink-collapse-global-heating-models-emissions-targets-evidence-aoe

 

[BilliJo Aldrin]

According to a new study trees and land did absorb almost no CO2 in 2023. So question is what to make of this - is this failing as carbon sink, or just a temporal thing?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/14/nature-carbon-sink-collapse-global-heating-models-emissions-targets-evidence-aoe

[/QUOTE]
All the trees on my property grew all through 2023, so i don't know where they are getting this new bullshit from.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

All the trees on my property grew all through 2023, so i don't know where they are getting this new bullshit from.

This statement is as legit as "it rained today in my village so for sure it rained in the Sahara, too."

 

[Free]

This statement is as legit as "it rained today in my village so for sure it rained in the Sahara, too."

The Sahara Desert flooded for the first time in decades. Here’s what it looks like

I know I know, but be careful of your analogies.