Today, the Earth got a little hotter, and a little more crowded.
Screen capture of Facebook Timeline Photos
Stephen Colbert: The Republicans' Inspiring Message on Climate Change --
You, Too, Can Be a Non-Scientist! To see this hilarious video clip, go here.
OO Climate Inaction Likely to Cause Irreversible Impacts
Warn World Scientists - The small risks associated with cutting carbon emissions are greatly outweighed by far more likely possibilities of severe, widespread, and irreversible impacts of climate change by 2100 notes the latest IPCC report.
Credit Trocaire, Creative Commons
The face of super typhoon Haiyan in the Phillipines: Extreme weather and the ensuing destruction will only increase under continued climate change.
The sooner we act to slow sea level rise, ocean acidification, and ever more extreme weather, the more we will save, in both future economic and environmental resources.
"Our effect on climate is clear; emissions of GHGs are highest ever. Climate changes have had widespread impacts on humans and nature" is the first of 18 tweets summarizing the latest IPCC report.
UN Photos
OO IPCC Climate Change Report: In 18 Tweets
IPCC Report: We Can Slow Climate Change Dramatically reports Jeremy Hance at Mongabay. Warming is unequivocal and up to 95% of the study's authors agree it is human driven. Humanity now has to decide between a pace of warming that human society--and much of nature--can adapt to and one that wreaks irreversible harm.
"The solutions are many and allow for continued economic and human development. All we need is the will to change, " notes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Chairman.
UN Climate Report Rings Alarm, Offers Guidance reports John Upton at Climate Progress. Stark warnings are balanced with specific solutions we can enact to address global warming.
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SOLAR KEEPS SAILING
Wikipedia
As an example of US trade policy in action, an Oregon photovoltaics maker says it will expand its factory by nearly 40%, adding 200 employees to its nearly 800 workforce, reports Seth Zuckerman at ClimateCast.
Solar panels have become much more mainstream, and are being sold in the Netherlands by Ikea, which plans to expand sales internationally.
In Hawaii, consumers are using solar and batteries to go off the grid.
OO SunPower's Q3 Earnings Extends Its Solar Winning Streak
OO Dept of Energy Launches $15 Million of Funding
to Integrate Distributed PV Using Storage
OO SolarCity and Zep Join the Solar Carport Race
☼☼☼
OO Solar's Largest Players Entering the Latin American Market
OO Tesla Looks to Solarpower Australian Supercharging Network
Check it out here, right now!
GOOD CLEAN NEWS
OO Digital Lumens Gets $23 Million to Expand Intelligent LEDs Worldwide
OO Penn. University Celebrates Shut Down of Coal Plant,
Transitions to Geothermal
OO Poor Countries Tap Renewables at Twice the Pace of Rich
OO China, India Set Pace In Global Clean Energy Growth - emerging markets set to overtake rich countries in race to install wind, solar and other renewable energy sources
WHAT WORKS
Informed Insights:
Yes, Virginia, Santa's Home is Melting 3x Faster Than the South Polar ice is increasing - and climate change is affecting both.
Climate Change Forcing Wind Shift That Fuels Antarctic Coastal Ice Melt even as it also helps create more ice ON the continent, reports John Upton at Climate Central, threatening further future global flooding.
Only By Curbing Population Dramatically Can We Address Climate Change via promoting a global, one child or child free family policy, OR catastrophe - think starvation, war, and epidemics, says a new study, reports Jeff Spross at Climate Progress. Which would you choose?
2014 Childfree Woman of the Year, Magenta Baribeau and Man of the Year, Dann Alexander. Both have created groundbreaking media promoting the merits and value of a child free life.
Humanely promoting the value and naturalness of child free or one child families, as in the recent celebration of International Childfree Day, offers a positive vision. Indeed, there is a growing child free culture globally, recognizing a child-free life as desired and natural one.
Good Ideas:
MeyGen
A tidal stream farm will be built in the seabed swept by strong tidal currents this fall; some believe that up to a third of Scotland could be powered this way.
OO The Wind Farm of the Future Might Be Underwater
OO Cities Designed like Ecosystems Offer Untold Gains
WHAT DOESN'T WORK
OO Fracking Likely Releases Cancer-Causing Air Pollution - says a new study; samples collected near fracking sites had high levels of carcinogens.
OO Hydropower May Be Huge Source of Methane Emissions
Clueless Leadership:
Smog over the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. Credit Brian Jeffrey Beggerly via wikimedia commons.
OO China: Local Growth-Obsessed Officials Ignoring Green Policies
Source biomebrochure
Australia Fails To Halt Great Barrier Reef Decline as its action plan does not address the main cause behind it, climate change, reports Oliver Milman at the UK Guardian. As a big exporter of fossil fuels, the burning of which fuels climate change, Australia could be doing much to protect the reef and itself.
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WHY WE SHOULD ACT NOW: RISING RISKS
Daily Climate Change: Global Map of Unusual Temperatures, Nov 10, 2014
How unusual has the weather been? No one event is "caused" by climate change, but global warming, which is predicted to increase unusual, extreme weather, is having a daily effect on weather, worldwide.
Looking above at recent temperature anomalies, much of the US and the waters surrounding it are experiencing warmer than normal temperatures: the eastern Pacific warm spot continues to prevent much rain from reaching California, sending it into further drought.
Much of the areas surrounding the North Pole are experiencing much warmer than normal temperatures - not good news for our Arctic thermal shield of ice. Hotter than usual temperatures continue to dominate human habitats.
The Ogallala aquifer waters the "bread basket of America", a major cereal producer, it and other aquifers worldwide are being rapidly depleted new NASA data show, as droughts become more frequent and intense under climate change. USGS
Global Groundwater Crisis Threatens Our Food Supplies And Security says a new
NASA study, reports Joe Romm at Climate Progress. Satellite data show that we are rapidly depleting many of the world's most important aquifers, which occur in semi-arid or arid areas, predicted to become drier under continued climate change.
Amber waves of wheat no more? Under the extreme droughts worsened by climate change and increasing demand from a growing population, US aquifers are decreasing rapidly. Wikipedia
NASA reports, "Nearly all of these underlie the word's great agricultural regions and are primarily responsible for their high productivity." Further declines threaten both our food supplies and our security.
OO Scientists: Cancel Maine Shrimp Season Again -
Because Of Rising Ocean Temperatures
Nigeriana.org
OO Climate Change Could Create More Boko Haram Extremists says a risk analysis, warning that drought, famine and crop failures could destabilize 32 countries in Africa and Asia.
OO 2014 On Track To Be Warmest Year On Record - as the months, including September continue to break average global temperature records.
OO Australia Blasted by Record Heat -- Again
OO China: Climate Change Will Make It Harder To Control Water-Related Diseases
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KEEPING CARBON STORED: FORESTS UPDATE
Forests: the cheapest way to store carbon
The Amazonian forest.
CIFOR at Flickr
Brazil Killing Its Golden GreenGoose
Even as Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo, is running dry from an exceptional drought, - induced in part by vanishing national forests and by climate change, worsened by their disappearance - Brazil creates new forest-destroying laws allowing mining to displace forests,
and revokes forest protections on previously protected areas.
Kevin Spacey is the Rainforest
Meanwhile, the Amazonian rainforest is getting drier yet another study confirms.
@@ Using Forests Sustainably: the Guna Model, Panama
OO Pesticides Harming Bumblebees' Ability To Pollinate Plants, Forests
OO Fashion Industry Continues Cutting Deforestation From Clothing
Credit Bruce Stambaugh
Buying used items saves money, forests, and often results in treasures, as the Antiques Roadshow often illustrates.
OO Global Forests Threatened by Soaring Industry of Dissolving Pulp
Used For New Clothing - a great reason to not buy new clothing, especially when so many alternatives exist: consignment shops, thrift shops, yard sales, flea markets, online auctions, personal clothes swaps....
OO Indonesia: Govt Policy Places Companies Over Forest Communities
OO Destroyed Habitat, Fewer Resources, Ebola:
The Many Repercussions Of Liberia's Deforestation - intact forests keep ebola bearing animals from interacting with people, as they do when displaced from deforestation.
Monika Betley at Wikipedia Commons
OO Tigers Vs. Diamonds: India's Protected Areas Rampantly Downgraded
To Make Room For People, Industry
OO World's Protected Areas May Relax, Shrink -
Even Completely Disappear! says a new report.
There is, of course, much more news on the consequences and solutions to climate change. To get it, check out this annotated resource list I've compiled, "Climate Change News Resources," , at Wordpress.com here. For more information on the science of climate change, its consequences and solutions you can view my annotated list of online information resources here.
To help you understand just what science does and does NOT do, check this out!
Every day is Earth Day, folks, as I was reminded by these wildflowers I photographed one summer. Making the U.S. a global clean energy leader will ensure a heck of a lot more jobs, and a clean, safe future. If you'd like to join the increasing numbers of people who want to TELL Congress that they will vote for clean energy candidates you can do so here. It's our way of letting Congress know there's a strong clean energy voting bloc out there. For more detailed summaries of the above and other climate change items, audio podcasts and texts are freely available.
