human actions, global climate change, global human solutions
POSTED BY: 1kiki
UPDATED: Sunday, September 6, 2026 19:38
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Google records a global total of five news stories about a scientific paper published last week, showing that the chances of simultaneous crop losses in the world’s major growing regions, caused by climate breakdown, appear to have been dangerously underestimated. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-38906-7
In the media, celebrity gossip is thousands of times more important than existential risk.
The new paper explores the impacts on crop production when meanders in the jet stream (Rossby waves) become stuck. Stuck patterns cause extreme weather. To put it crudely, if you live in the northern hemisphere and a kink in the jet stream (the band of strong winds a few miles above the Earth’s surface at mid-latitudes) is stuck to the south of you, your weather is likely to be cold and wet. If it’s stuck to the north of you, you’re likely to suffer escalating heat and drought.
In both cases, the stuck weather, exacerbated by global heating, affects crops. With certain meander patterns, several of the northern hemisphere’s major growing regions – such as western North America, Europe, India and east Asia – could be exposed to extreme weather at the same time, hammering their harvests. We rely for our subsistence on global smoothing: if there’s a bad harvest in one region, it’s likely to be counteracted by good harvests elsewhere. Even small crop losses occurring simultaneously present what the paper calls “systemic risk”.
More at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/15/food-systems-col
lapse-plutocrats-life-on-earth-climate-breakdown
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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July is world's hottest month, with spikes not seen in 125,000 years
https://www.axios.com/2023/07/20/world-heat-wave-records-us-europe-chi
na
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(Never forget that for Republicans, Climate Change Is A Chinese Hoax https://rollcall.com/2023/07/11/republicans-take-aim-at-climate-funds-
in-spending-bills/
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/house-republicans-propose-ambiti
ous-reforestation-plan-in-response-to-climate-change )
Tipping points: Climate collapse could happen fast
As temperature and weather records fall, Earth may be nearing so-called tipping points.
Lois Parshley writes:
Ever since some of the earliest projections of climate change were made back in the 1970s, they have been remarkably accurate at predicting the rate at which global temperatures would rise. For decades, climate change has proceeded at roughly the expected pace, says David Armstrong McKay, a climate scientist at the University of Exeter, in England. Its impacts, however, are accelerating — sometimes far faster than expected.
For a while, the consequences weren’t easily seen. They certainly are today. The Southwest is sweltering under a heat dome. Vermont saw a deluge of rain, its second 100-year storm in roughly than a decade. Early July brought the hottest day globally since records began — a milestone surpassed again the following day. “For a long time, we were within the range of normal. And now we’re really not,” Allegra LeGrande, a physical-research scientist at Columbia University, told me. “And it has happened fast enough that people have a memory of it happening.”
In fact, a growing number of climate scientists now believe we may be careening toward so-called tipping points, where incremental steps along the same trajectory could push Earth’s systems into abrupt or irreversible change — leading to transformations that cannot be stopped even if emissions were suddenly halted. “The Earth may have left a ‘safe’ climate state beyond 1°C global warming,” Armstrong McKay and his co-authors concluded in Science last fall. If these thresholds are passed, some of global warming’s effects — like the thaw of permafrost or the loss of the world’s coral reefs—are likely to happen more quickly than expected. On the whole, however, the implications of blowing past these tipping points remain among climate change’s most consequential unknowns: We don’t really know when or how fast things will fall apart.
Some natural systems, if upended, could herald a restructuring of the world. Take the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica: It’s about the size of Florida, with a protruding ice shelf that impedes the glacier’s flow into the ocean. Although the ice shelf’s overall melt is slower than originally predicted, warm water is now eating away at it from below, causing deep cracks. At a certain point, that melt may progress enough to become self-sustaining, which would guarantee the glacier’s eventual collapse. How that plays out will help determine how much sea levels will rise—and thus the future of millions of people.
The fate of the Thwaites Glacier could be independent of other tipping points, such as those affecting mountain-glacier loss in South America, or the West African monsoon. But some tipping points will interact, worsening one another’s effects. When melt from Greenland’s glaciers enters the ocean, for example, it alters an important system of currents called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The AMOC is like a conveyor belt, drawing warm water from the tropics north. The water’s salinity increases as it evaporates, which, among other factors, makes it sink and return south along the ocean floor. As more glacial fresh water enters the system, that conveyor belt will weaken. Right now it’s the feeblest it’s been in more than 1,000 years.
A shutdown of that ocean current could dramatically alter phenomena as varied as global weather patterns and crop yields. Messing with complex systems is chilling precisely because there are so many levers: If the temperature of the sea surface changes, precipitation over the Amazon might too, contributing to its deforestation, which in turn has been linked to snowfall on the Tibetan plateau. We m
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so, quick! throw money at SECOND'S money-making schemes so he can save the world!
/snicker
*****
like with the first three waves of covid, it's not that i doubt the problem, it's the 'solutions' that i question. getting rid of gas stoves and air conditioners, and pushing evs??? wtf?? doesn't biden* have anything more effective to suggest?
-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger
Loving America is like loving an addicted spouse - SIGNYM
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Quote:The only solution Signym suggested more than once was to plant a trillion trees. If all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions ceased tomorrow, the half-lives of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere, together with climate change-driven gas emissions from melting permafrost and methane clathrates ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane_clathrate ) doom us to decades more of warming. The only ways to avert this are (1) carbon capture to actively remove gases from the air and/or (2) geoengineering on a planetary scale.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
so, quick! throw money at SECOND'S money-making schemes so he can save the world!
/snicker
*****
like with the first three waves of covid, it's not that i doubt the problem, it's the 'solutions' that i question. getting rid of gas stoves and air conditioners, and pushing evs??? wtf?? doesn't biden* have anything more effective to suggest?
It has been suggested that we plant more trees since trees can sequester carbon from the atmosphere. The problems with that idea are:
• the consequences of global warming are coastal flooding, desertification and loss of fresh water; where would all those trees go?
• the world’s remaining forests are already being lost to agriculture, and that will only accelerate as arable land is lost to coastal flooding and desertification.
https://angrybearblog.com/2023/07/carbon-capture-and-geoengineering
The GOP's new approach on climate was apparent in 2021. McCarthy and other GOP lawmakers, led by Arkansas Rep. Bruce Westerman, backed a bill to incentivize growing timber forests in the U.S. as part of a worldwide effort to plant 1 trillion trees. Westerman said he expects a similar proposal to advance this year.
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/house-republicans-propose-
planting-trillion-trees-rcna94836
In stark contrast to the GOP approach of planting trees and more drilling for fossil fuels, Biden has set an ambitious U.S. goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and net zero emissions economy by no later than 2050. There are hundreds of billions of dollars backing that goal, at least until the GOP gets the votes to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/04/2
0/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-catalyze-global-climate-action-through-the-major-economies-forum-on-energy-and-climate/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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Quote:you muat really have something against trees! were you attacked by a tree, as a child?
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
so, quick! throw money at SECOND'S money-making schemes so he can save the world!
/snicker
*****
like with the first three waves of covid, it's not that i doubt the problem, it's the 'solutions' that i question. getting rid of gas stoves and air conditioners, and pushing evs??? wtf?? doesn't biden* have anything more effective to suggest?
SECOND
The only solution Signym suggested more than once was to plant a trillion trees. If all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions ceased tomorrow, the half-lives of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere, together with climate change-driven gas emissions from melting permafrost and methane clathrates ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane_clathrate ) doom us to decades more of warming. The only ways to avert this are (1) carbon capture to actively remove gases from the air and/or (2) geoengineering on a planetary scale.
It has been suggested that we plant more trees since trees can sequester carbon from the atmosphere. The problems with that idea are:
• the consequences of global warming are coastal flooding, desertification and loss of fresh water; where would all those trees go?
actually, if you look at climate projections, while SOME areas are anticipated to get less rainfall, more areas are anticipated to have MORE rainfall. think about it a moment, SECOND, and it will come to you how this happens
Quote:arable land generally is NOT near a coast but in large areas of 'plains'. the higher latitudes in canada and siberia are predicted to warm, opeining them up to agriculture
• the world’s remaining forests are already being lost to agriculture, and that will only accelerate as arable land is lost to coastal flooding and desertification.
unlike you. i actually looked maps of climate projections. the current climate bands move northwards.as do the jet streams
Quote:like i said, you must have something against trees.
The GOP's new approach on climate was apparent in 2021. McCarthy and other GOP lawmakers, led by Arkansas Rep. Bruce Westerman, backed a bill to incentivize growing timber forests in the U.S. as part of a worldwide effort to plant 1 trillion trees. Westerman said he expects a similar proposal to advance this year.
https://www.nbcnews.com/scquptscience/environment/house-republicans-pr
opose-planting-trillion-trees-rcna94836
i don't know what the gop plan says. but planting trees is just ONE part of a larger effort, which includes REDUCING THE DOD'S GREENOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. something both 'establishment' wings of both parties oppose * also, better forestry practices, better agrcultural practices that increase carbon soil, solar in the sunshine states, etc
* this imho is the divding lne between those who are SERIOUS about climate change and those who are just poseurs (pretenders with a purpose). look at germany's 'green' party (which btw used to be antiwar until it was infiltrated): they're all 'green' until it comes to war in ukraine, then not at all.
the gop grew an anti-establishment wing b4 the dems. rfk jr represents the anti-establishment wing of the dems. let them fight it out.
Quote:
blah blah blah ... and more partisan politics
-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger
Loving America is like loving an addicted spouse - SIGNYM
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Quote:The GOP's trillion tree project requires land that, at this moment, has no trees but will be planted with trees. How much land? About the size of the USA. Where is that land? If you could find the land, somewhere maybe in Antarctica or Greenland once the ice melts, you have to make sure forest fires don't put the CO2 back into the air.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
. . .
Trump Administration Furthers Commitment to One Trillion Trees Initiative
10/13/2020
https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/trump-administration-furthers-commit
ment-one-trillion-trees-initiative
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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And the Dem's 'plan'? Getting rid of gas stoves? Forcing everyone into EVs?
It's all bullshit, and proves that neither party establishment wants to do anything about climate change.
How about serious proposals from either party?
-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger
Loving America is like loving an addicted spouse - SIGNYM
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:What? You told a bitter joke that I have heard Trump-voting Texas oilmen tell! So funny.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
And the Dem's 'plan'? Getting rid of gas stoves? Forcing everyone into EVs?
It's all bullshit, and proves that neither party establishment wants to do anything about climate change.
How about serious proposals from either party?
Getting serious: On August 16, 2022, Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, marking the most significant action Congress has taken on clean energy and climate change in the nation’s history.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/cleanenergy/inflation-reduction-act-guidebo
ok/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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Now this could be something to really worry about.
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) – a large system of ocean currents that carry warm water from the tropics into the North Atlantic – could collapse by the middle of the century, or possibly any time from 2025 onward, because of human-caused climate change, a study published Tuesday suggests.
Such a collapse could trigger rapid weather and climate changes in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. If it were to happen, it could bring about an ice age in Europe and sea-level rise in cities such as Boston and New York, as well as more potent storms and hurricanes along the East Coast.
It also could lead to drastically reduced amounts of rain and snowfall across the central and western U.S., the study's authors say.
The AMOC collapse is one of several dangerous climate "tipping points" scientists say are possible because of climate change.
How could climate change cause the AMOC to collapse?
Study co-authors Peter and Susanne Ditlevsen explained to USA TODAY how the collapse of the AMOC could occur: "Greenhouse gas emissions cause global warming, which speeds up the melting of Greenland ice. The melted freshwater entering the North Atlantic can then disrupt the AMOC, potentially causing major climate disruptions.
"When the increased meltwater from Greenland enters the North Atlantic, it's freshwater, which is lighter than the salty seawater around it," the Ditlevsens said. "This excess freshwater can disrupt the normal sinking of the salty water, weakening or even shutting down the AMOC. If the AMOC collapses, it can have far-reaching effects on weather patterns and ocean currents, leading to significant climate changes."
Studies in 2018 and 2021 have found that a collapse of the AMOC is possible at some point this century. What's new in this study?
Using new statistical tools and ocean temperature data from the past 150 years, researchers calculated that the AMOC will stop – with 95% certainty – between 2025 and 2095. "Using new and improved statistical tools, we’ve made calculations that provide a more robust estimate of when a collapse is most likely to occur, something we had not been able to do before," said study co-author Susanne Ditlevsen, a professor at the University of Copenhagen.
The researchers' prediction is based on observations of early warning signals ocean currents exhibit as they become unstable.
The calculations contradict the message of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, in which an abrupt change in the AMOC is considered "unlikely" this century.
"Our result underscores the importance of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible," said study co-author Peter Ditlevsen, also from the University of Copenhagen.
More at https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/weather/2023/07/25/atlantic-curren
t-collapse-possible-in-two-years-study-suggests/70434388007/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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