1. illconsidered
  2. Another Week of Climate Disruption News, December 22, 2013

Another Week of Climate Disruption News, December 22, 2013

By illconsidered on December 23, 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

skip to bottom

Sipping from the Internet Firehose...

Solstice Edition

December 22, 2013

co2now gfxskeptisci app gfx

We are definitely in the black humour zone:

Hope you had a swinging solstice:

  • USNO: Equinoxes, Solstices, Perihelion, and Aphelion, 2000-2020
  • 2013/12/22: APOD: Tutulemma: Solar Eclipse Analemma
  • 2013/12/21: EPOD: Solstice to Solstice Changes in Sunlight at Falmouth, Maine
  • 2013/12/21: CBC: Winter solstice: celebrating the shortest day of the year -- First day of winter has deep historical and cultural importance
    From Stonehenge in England to the Kokino observatory in Macedonia, people gather every year to mark the winter solstice. Dec. 21 is the shortest day of the year, in terms of daylight hours, in the Northern Hemisphere.
    At 12:30 a.m. ET (or 5:30 a.m. GMT) on Dec. 22, the hemisphere begins its tilt back toward the sun, marking the winter solstice in this part of the world and slowly leading to longer days.
    The solstice is the result of a tilt in the Earth's orbit around the sun that affects the number of daylight hours. Although the arrival of the solstice cannot be seen, per se, the moment describes the instant when the Earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun, resulting in the shortest day of the year as well as the longest night of the year.
  • 2013/12/20: SciAm:CC: How an Agnostic Celebrates Winter Solstice, the Year's Darkest Day
  • 2013/12/18: SciAm:Sym: The Solstice, Part 1
  • 2013/12/21: JFleck: Water in the desert: quiet of winter

    Looking back at COP19:

    A notable take on the AR5:

    Late comments on WTO:

    The 2013 retrospectives have started:

    It's the pushers. It's the pullers. Accountability Breakdown:

    What is the future of the coal market?

    How is the German Energy Transition [Energiewende] doing?

    And on the Bottom Line:

    Who's getting the subsidies, tax exemptions, loan guarantees & grants?

    What are the big banks up to?

    So, If we put a price on nature, will it deal with externalities and lead to greater conservation
    or will it lead to greater exploitation or what?

    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:

    The Arctic melt continues to garner attention:

    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:

    Regarding the genetic modification of food:

    Regarding labelling GM food:

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

    Another relatively quiet week, except for Amara and Bruce steaming around the South Indian Ocean:

    There is still some talk about Haiyan and the recovery:

  • 2013/12/22: UN: Ban urges international community to boost support for Philippines typhoon recovery plan
  • 2013/12/22: ABC(Au): UN chief calls for more aid for Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan
  • 2013/12/22: al Jazeera: UN chief calls for more aid to Philippines
    Ban-ki moon says the country risks being another "forgotten crisis", urging the international community to do more.
  • 2013/12/21: ABC(Au): UN chief to visit typhoon-hit areas of the Philippines
    United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is to visit typhoon-devastated areas of Tacloban city in the Philippines. Super Typhoon Haiyan tore through the central Philippines last month killing an estimated 7,800 people. Hundreds of people remain missing and dozens of bodies are being recovery daily.
  • 2013/12/21: UN: In Philippines, Ban pledges solidarity with people of typhoon-hit Tacloban
  • 2013/12/19: Wunderground: Haiyan's Storm Surge: A Detailed Look
  • 2013/12/19: ABC(Au): Palau's president calls for more international help after Typhoon Haiyan
  • 2013/12/18: RTCC: Kerry announces US$24.6m aid to rebuild Philippines post Haiyan
  • 2013/12/18: Grist: Rice seeds could save the day for Filipino typhoon victims
  • 2013/12/18: CBC: Typhoon Haiyan creates testing ground for crisis mappers
    Tech savvy population, willingness to try new ideas help country prepare for next disaster
  • 2013/12/17: UN: Philippines: UN ramps up aid for 6 million child victims of Typhoon Haiyan
  • 2013/12/17: FAO: Typhoon-stricken farmers receive first emergency seeds -- FAO says donations arrived at a 'critical' moment, in time for the planting season
  • 2013/12/17: RTCC: UN delivers 'emergency seeds' to Typhoon Haiyan survivors
    FAO delivers first wave of emergency seeds, helping Filipino farmers restore livelihoods after typhoon devastated crops A 40kg sack of seeds is hardly a glamorous Christmas present, but for the Filipino farmers hit by Typhoon Haiyan last month, it could a life-saving delivery.
  • 2013/12/16: CBC: DART [Disaster Assistance Response Team] being pulled out of the Philippines -- Deployed in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan

    While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

  • 2013/12/19: ABC(Au): Wet Christmas looms as monsoon trough forms in north, increasing chance of cyclone
  • 2013/12/18: PSinclair: Hurricane Intensity in North Atlantic -- Signal Emerging from Noise
  • 2013/12/16: MoJo: Are Hurricanes Getting Stronger? Science May Finally Be Approaching An Answer.

    This week in notable weather:

    Abrupt Climate Change put in an appearance:

    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 GHGs:

    And in the carbon cycle:

    Aerosols are making their presence felt:

    What's new in the Weather Machine?

    As for ozone:

    And the temperature record:

    The cliff, aka tipping points, aka planetary boundaries, put in an appearance:

    While in the paleoclimate:

    What's the State of the Oceans?:

    And the State of the Biosphere?

    While on the extinction watch:

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

    How are the Insect Orders doing?

    More GW impacts are being seen:

    And then there are the world's forests:

    Climate refugees are becoming an issue:

    Aerosols affect the climate, but they also affect people's health:

    As for heatwaves and wild fires:

    Corals are a bellwether of the ocean's health:

    Glaciers are melting:

    Sea levels are rising:

    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:

    Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation has somehow seemed chimeric:

    Can cities take up the slack when nations shirk their responsibilities?

    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:

    Meanwhile in the journals:

    As for miscellaneous science:

    In the science organizations:

    What developments in the ongoing struggle for Open Science?

    Regarding Hansen:

    Regarding Advocacy:

    Meanwhile at the UN:

    And on the carbon trading front:

    The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:

    The Robin Hood tax, aka the Tobin tax, aka the Bank tax, aka the Financial Transaction tax, keeps coming up:

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

    South [& East] China Sea tension persists:

    These 'free trade' treaties are a stealth corporate takeover with anti-democratic dispute resolution mechanisms:

    And in miscellaneous international political jousting:

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

    What are the activists up to?

    Polls! We have polls!

    Regarding Water Politics and Business; See also:

    As for SW tools:

    Regarding science education:

    While in the UK:

    And in Europe:

    Meanwhile in Australia:

    Now we get to watch the suppository of wisdom destroy what little Australia has done to fight climate change:

    After years of wrangling, the Murray Darling Basin Plan is in place, but the water management fights are far from finished:

    While in China:

    And in Japan:

    And South America:

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

    The Lac Mégantic tragedy drags on:

    The IdleNoMore movement is not going away:

    The Elsipogtog fracking protests continue:

    The battle over the Northern Gateway pipeline rages on:

    And the Kinder Morgan expansion:

    Regarding Hyer and the NDP:

    Meanwhile in BC:

    Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:

    Also in Alberta:

    In Ontario, Wynne is struggling to establish herself. Energy still looms large:

    While in la Belle Province:

    And on the American political front:

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

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

    The GOP War on Women continues. See also:

    At what point do you stop listening to the pretty lies and realize you've been had?

    The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:

    As for what is going on in Congress:

    What are the lobbyists pushing?

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

    In nature, there is no garbage:

    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?

    While activists search for effective communication techniques:

  • 2013/12/20: TFTJO: Climate change communication: why do we keep making the same mistakes?
  • 2013/12/19: Lenz: Book On Writing Stories About Global Warming
  • 2013/12/18: QuarkSoup: Kitten Sneezes Are Worse Than Hiros!
  • 2013/12/18: ATTPh: Putting the atomic bombs into perspective
  • 2013/12/17: Guardian(UK): Turning up the volume on climate change isn't changing behaviour

    Here is something for your library:

    And for your film & video enjoyment:

    Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:

    This Equador suit against Chevron/Texaco has been going on for decades:

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

    Developing a new energy infrastructure is a fundamental challenge of the current generation:

    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:

    Ships and boats and trains -- How to tranport the stuff?

    Marvelous! Now the USA has their own Mechanical Mordor:

    Yes we have a peak oil sighting:

    Biofuel bickering abounds:

    The answer my friend...

    Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

    The nuclear energy controversy continues:

    Nuclear fusion projects around the world limp along:

    Feed-In-Tariffs (Net Metering & Time-of-Use Tariffs) are being variously implemented around the world:

    How are the utilities adjusting (or not)?

    And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:

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

    As for Energy Storage:

    What do we have in (weekly) lists?

    The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

    Meanwhile in the 'clean coal' saga:

  • 2013/12/19: TreeHugger: Five years after tragic Tennessee disaster, still no coal ash safeguards

    So why is nothing getting done?

    As for climate miscellanea:

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

    Low Key Plug
    • Tags
    HET
    News
    roundup
    climate change
    climate change news
    climate disruption
    global warming
    global warming news
    Categories
    Environment

    More like this

    Another Week of Climate Disruption News - December 29, 2013
    Happy New Year!!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 skip to bottom Information Overload is Pattern Recognition December 29, 2013 Chuckles, COP20, Brulle, Retrospectives Potash,…
    Another Week in the Ecological Crisis, June 22, 2014
    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 skip to bottom Confronting a New Age of Consequences Solstice Edition June 22, 2014 Chuckles, COP20+, Ocean Summit, PIDF, G77, IOREC, GreenPeace,…
    Another Week of Anthropocene Antics, February 23, 2014
    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 skip to bottom Information Overload is Pattern RecognitionFebruary 23, 2014 Chuckles, COP20+, G20, NAFTA, England et al., Energiewende Bottom Line,…
    Another Week of Climate Disruption News, July 21, 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 skip to bottom Information Overloadis Pattern Recognition July 21, 2013 Chuckles, COP19+, International Tax, Antarctic Reserve, Pollution Mortality Bottom…