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  2. Another Week of Climate Instability News, August 27, 2013

Another Week of Climate Instability News, August 27, 2013

By illconsidered on August 26, 2013.

This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H. E. Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news roundup

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Information is not Knowledge...Knowledge is not Wisdom

August 25, 2013

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Live and direct from the black humour department:

Looking ahead to COP19 and future international climate negotiations:

Earth Overshoot Day just keeps getting earlier and earlier:

The upcoming Fifth Assessment Report by the IPCC is sparking lots of early comment:

Last week half the potash cartel fell apart; this week Billiton bets billions. I guess they figure there's a future in food...:

And on the Bottom Line:

Delving into the laws of thermodynamics this week:

John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:

A note on theFukushima disaster:

    It is evident that the Fukushima disaster is going to persist for some time.
    TEPCO says 6 to 9 months. The previous Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, said decades.
    Now the Japanese government is talking about 30 years.
    [Whoops, that has now been updated to 40 years.]
    And the IAEA is now saying 40 years too.
    [Now some people are talking about a century or more. Sealing it in concrete for 500 years.]
    We'll see.
    At any rate this situation is not going to be resolved any time soon
    and deserves its own section.
    Meanwhile...
    It is very difficult to know for sure what is really going on at Fukushima.
    Between the company [TEPCO], the Japanese government, the Japanese regulator [NISA], the international monitor [IAEA], as well as independent analysts and commentators, there is a confusing mish-mash of information.
    One has to evaluate both the content and the source of propagated information.
    How knowledgeable are they [about nuclear power and about Japan]?
    Do they have an agenda?
    Are they pro-nuclear or anti-nuclear?
    Do they want to write a good news story?
    Do they want to write a bad news story?
    Where do they rate on a scale of sensationalism?
    Where do they rate on a scale of play-it-down-ness?
    One fundamental question I would like to see answered:
    If the reactors are in meltdown, how can they be in cold shutdown?

Not much good news coming out of Fukushima:

Post Fukushima, nuclear policies are in flux around the world:

What do we have for Fukushima related papers this week?

The Arctic melt continues to garner attention:

As for the charismatic megafauna:

That Damoclean sword still hangs overhead:

As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:

While in Antarctica:

The food crisis is ongoing:

The state of the world's fisheries is a concern. See also:

Food Prices are still problematic:

So, are these land grabs Colonialism V2.0?

Regarding the genetic modification of food:

Regarding labelling GM food:

And how are we going to feed 9 billion, 10 billion, 15 billion?

In the Western Pacific, Typhoon Trami did a U-turn behind Taiwan and zpped the mainland:

Also in the Western Pacific:

  • 2013/08/20: MODIS: Typhoon Utor (11W) over China [on Aug 14]
  • 2013/08/19: NASA: NASA Sees Tropical Storm Unala Develop and Weaken Quickly
  • 2013/08/19: NASA: NASA Catches Short-lived Northwestern Pacific Ocean Tropical Depression 13W

    Several TDs spun up in the Central Pacific. Typhoon Pewa is heading north into cooler waters:

  • 2013/08/24: MODIS: Typhoon Pewa (01C) in the central Pacific Ocean [on Aug 19]
  • 2013/08/20: NASA: NASA Sees Another New Central Pacific Tropical Cyclone [TD 03C]
  • 2013/08/19: NASA: NASA Satellite Sees Pewa Become a Typhoon

    The warm water of the Eastern Pacific also spun up a host of TDs. Tropical Storm Ivo looks to be going to brush Baja:

  • 2013/08/23: BBerg: Tropical Storm Ivo Threatens Heavy Rain for Mexico's Baja
    Tropical Storm Ivo strengthened slightly and veered closer to shore, prompting tropical storm warnings and watches along Mexico's Baja California coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
  • 2013/08/23: NASA: NASA Measures Moderate Rainfall in Newborn Tropical Storm Ivo

    While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

  • 2013/08/23: Wunderground: Quiet in the Atlantic
  • 2013/08/21: Grist: Hurricane enable: How climate change is mixing up bigger, badder storms
  • 2013/08/19: Wunderground: The Atlantic Goes Quiet
  • 2013/08/18: Wunderground: African Wave 94L Has Potential to Develop; 92L Dead; Erin Dying

    And on the Monsoon front:

    What's with the Weather Machine?

    This week in notable weather:

    This week in the New Normal -- extreme weather:

    Rossby Waves? Blocking Patterns? Arctic Oscillation?
    What is the Arctic melt doing to our weather?

    As for the temperature record:

    Yes we have feedbacks:

    Aerosols are making their presence felt:

    How to deal with Risk:

    Regarding the solar hypothesis:

    Regarding Climate Sensitivity:

    What's the State of the Oceans?:

    And the State of the Biosphere?

    On the extinction watch:

    The bees and Colony Collapse Disorder are a constant concern.
    And then, there are the Neonicotinoids:

    What's up with volcanoes this week?

    Meanwhile in near earth orbit:

    More GW impacts are being seen:

    And then there are the world's forests:

    Emerging diseases accompany ecological change:

    Changes in natural cycles are showing up:

    On the tornado front:

    As for heatwaves and wild fires:

    Corals are a bellwether of the ocean's health:

    Glaciers are melting:

    Sea levels are rising:

    These extreme rainfall events are becoming all too frequent:

    As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:

    First, stop subsidizing fossil fuels
    Second, put a price on carbon
    Third, begin to reduce the human population
    And elsewhere on the mitigation front:

    Consider transportation & GHG production:

    While in the endless quest for zero energy, sustainable buildings and practical codes:

    As for carbon sequestration:

    Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

    What's new in conservation?

    What's new in restoration?

    While on the adaptation front:

    • 2013/08/20: TheHill:e2W: USGS moves to create climate change vulnerability database
      The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is moving to create a registry of climate change vulnerability to better protect wildlife, ecosystems and dams.
      The registry will collect and display information on climate change adaptation projects underway across the country, Laura Thompson, a biologist with the USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center, told The Hill. It will pool from federal, state, local and tribal governments, she said.

    Meanwhile in the journals:

    And other significant documents:

    As for miscellaneous science:

    In the science organizations:

    More DIY science:

    What developments in the ongoing struggle for Open Science?

    Regarding Advocacy:

    Regarding Trenberth:

    Regarding Curry:

    Meanwhile at the UN:

    And on the carbon trading front:

    The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:

    On the international political front, tensions continue as the empire leans on Iran:

    South [& East] China Sea tension persists:

    These 'free trade' treaties feature fundamentally anti-democratic dispute resolution mechanisms:

    As for miscellaneous international political happenings:

    Climate Change is a threat multiplier exacerbating existing conflicts in food, energy, water, race, resources, religion, ideology ... etc.:

    The issue of the law and activism is playing out around the world:

    What are the activists up to?

    The move to divest from fossil fuel investments is growing slowly:

    Polls! We have polls!

    Regarding Water Politics and Business; See also:

    And on the groundwater front:

    While in the UK:

    And in Europe:

    Meanwhile in Australia:

    Just two short hectic weeks to the September 7th election:

    After years of wrangling, the Murray Darling Basin Plan is in place, but the water management fights are not over:

    While in the Indian subcontinent:

    And in China:

    While elsewhere in Asia:

    • 2013/08/21: Xinhuanet: Climate change major challenge for Pacific: Fijian official
      Suva -- Climate change is one of the greatest barriers to sustainable development for small island countries, a Fijian official said Wednesday.
      Esala Nayasi, director of the political and treaties division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the adverse effects of climate change is a security threat to Pacific island countries ( PICs) as it greatly affects the survival of people through the impact it has on resources.
      Speaking at the "First Open Discussion Workshop about Climate Engineering: Perspectives of Pacific Small Island States" held in Suva on Wednesday, Nayasi highlighted the need for research, scientific studies, data and even climate engineering in addressing the impact it will have on these nations.

    In Africa:

    And South America:

    In Canada, neocon PM Harper, aka The Blight, pushes petroleum while ignoring the climate and ecology:

    Harper's cross Arctic junket ended on a sour note:

    The Lac Megantic tragedy plays on:

    The West-East pipeline is suddenly a focus of much dispute:

    Oh! Look what Nestle is doing:

    The ISA/PRV/IHN/Alpha virus in Canadian waters is potentially disastrous:

    Now that Christy Clark has a mandate, what will she do?

    Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:

    Also in Alberta:

    In the North:

    And on the American political front:

    The BP disaster continues to twist US politics. See also:

    Post-Sandy commentary and news:

    The Keystone XL wheel grinds slowly. And it grinds woe:

    The Mayflower oil spill and its ramifications just keep dragging on:

    The GOP War on Women continues. See also:

    The impacts of budgetary sequestration are beginning to add up:

    The Frank denial oped drew some comment:

    Al Gore Derangement Syndrome struck again:

    The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:

    As for what is going on in Congress:

    The movement toward a long term ecologically viable economics is glacial:

    IPAT [Impact = Population * Affluence * Technology]
    raised its head once again:

    Apocalypso anyone?

    How are we going to deal with this mess?

    How do the corporate media measure up?

    And for your film & video enjoyment:

    Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:

    It looks like this BP trial over the Gulf oil spill is going to take a long while:

    Wrestling over a new energy infrastructure continues unabated:

    What do you have in energy comparisons and transitions?

    Hey! Let's contaminate the aquifers for thousands of years! It'll be a fracking gas!

    On the coal front:

    On the gas and oil front:

    And in pipeline news:

    Marvelous. Now the USA have their own Mechanical Mordor:

    A rush of American triumphalism pervades the energy independence PR campaign. Think it will last?

    Yes we have a peak oil sighting:

    Biofuel bickering abounds:

    The answer my friend...

    Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

    The nuclear energy controversy continues:

    Like a mirage, the dream of a Hydrogen Economy shimmers on the horizon:

    And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:

    Automakers & lawyers, engineers & activists argue over the future of the car:

    As for Energy Storage:

    Insurance and re-insurance companies are feeling the heat:

    Who's fielding theFAQs?

    What do we have in (weekly) lists?

    The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

    As for climate miscellanea:

    And here are a couple of sites you may find interesting and/or useful:

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