EcoRadio

Category: Climate chaos

The atmosphere is to the earth as a layer of varnish is to a desktop globe. It is thin, fragile and essential for preserving the items on the surface.150 years of burning fossil fuel have overloaded the atmosphere to the point where the earth is ill. It now has a fever. Read the detailed article, Soothing Gaia’s Fever for an evocative account of that analogy. The items listed here detail progress on coordinating 6.5 billion people in the most critical project undertaken by humanity. 

  • FOCUS ON…. ARCTIC BIG MELT

    FOCUS ON…. ARCTIC BIG MELT

    Arctic warning: As the system changes, we must adjust our science
    http://www.climatecodered.org/2012/09/as-arctic-system-changes-we-must-adjust.html
    David Spratt, ReNewEconomy, 12 September 2012
    The Arctic sea-ice big melt of 2012 “has taken us by surprise and we must adjust our understanding of the system and we must adjust our science and we must adjust our feelings for the nature around us”, according to Kim Holmen, Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) international director.

    Ice loss shifts Arctic cycles
    http://www.nature.com/news/ice-loss-shifts-arctic-cycles-1.11387
    Quirin Schiermeier, Nature News, 12 September 2012
    Record shrinkage confounds models and portends atmospheric and ecological change.

    ‘Astonishing’ Ice Melt May Lead to More Extreme Winters
    http://www.climatecentral.org/news/astonishing-arctic-sea-ice-melt-may-lead-to-extreme-winter-weather-14989
    Climate Central, September 12, 2012
    The record loss of Arctic sea ice this summer will echo throughout the weather patterns affecting the U.S. and Europe this winter, climate scientists said on Wednesday, since added heat in the Arctic influences the jet stream and may make extreme weather and climate events more likely.
    AND
    Arctic sea ice melt ‘may bring harsh winter to Europe’
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/14/arctic-sea-ice-harsh-winter-europe

    Arctic melt down: Scientists Speak Out (audio)
    http://www.ecoshock.info/2012/09/arctic-melt-down-scientists-speak-out.html

    EcoShock, 10 September 2012
    In 2012, the Arctic Sea Ice hit a stunning new record low. Rutgers scientist Jennifer Francis explains how this changes weather for billions of people in the Northern Hemisphere. Plus the Director of the Snow and Ice Data Center, Mark Serreze on record and what it means, and analysis from polar scientist Jennifer Bitz, U of Washington. In depth, direct from top scientists. Radio Ecoshock 120912 1 hour.

    The staggering decline of sea ice at the frontline of climate change
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/14/decline-sea-ice-arctic
    John Vidal, Guardian, 14 September 2012
    Scientists on board Greenpeace’s vessel exploring the minimum extent of the ice cap are shocked at the speed of the melt.

    How Fast Can Ice Sheets Respond to Climate Change?
    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120913141136.htm
    Science Daily, Sept 13, 2012
    A new Arctic study in the journal Science is helping to unravel an important mystery surrounding climate change: How quickly glaciers can melt and grow in response to shifts in temperature.
    AND
    New Study Shows How Fast Ice Sheets Can Change
    http://www.climatecentral.org/news/new-study-shows-how-fast-ice-sheets-can-change-14996

    History of sea ice in the Arctic (pdf)
    http://bprc.osu.edu/geo/publications/polyak_etal_seaice_QSR_10.pdf
    Polyak, Alley et al, QSR29: 1757-1778 (2010)
    Although existing records are far from complete, they indicate that sea ice… consistently covered at least part of the Arctic Ocean for no less than the last 13–14 million years. Ice was apparently most wide-spread during the last 2–3 million years, in accordance with Earth’s overall cooler climate.

    Significant contribution to climate warming from the permafrost carbon feedback
    http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1573.html
    Andrew H. MacDougall, Christopher A. Avis & Andrew J. WeaverNature Geoscience, 9 September 2012
    Permafrost soils contain an estimated 1,700 Pg of carbon, almost twice the present atmospheric carbon pool1. As permafrost soils thaw owing to climate warming, respiration of organic matter within these soils will transfer carbon to the atmosphere, potentially leading to a positive feedback.

    Limitations of a coupled regional climate model in the reproduction of the observed Arctic sea-ice retreat
    http://www.the-cryosphere.net/6/985/2012/tc-6-985-2012.html

  • CSIRO study projects climate change effects across Australia

    CSIRO study projects climate change effects across Australia

    • by: MALCOLM HOLLAND – ENVIRONMENT
    • From: News Limited Network
    • September 18, 20125:00AM
    1
    Sydney disaster

    It probably won’t be Hollywood-blockbuster bad like this scene from the movie 2012, but dramatic change is coming to the Australian landscape. Picture: Sony Source: The Daily Telegraph

    CLIMATE change will alter the Australian landscape so dramatically and so quickly that our grandchildren could live in a very different country, according to a landmark CSIRO study.

    And the study’s lead researchers fear Australians may not be ready to accept the new way their country may soon smell, sound and look.

    The Commonwealth’s science and research body has produced the first “Australia-wide assessment of the magnitude of the ecological impact that climate change could have on biodiversity” and how the changes could be managed.

    It says totally new environments will emerge while others vanish and there will be a decline in forest environments, which will give way to shrubs and grasslands.

    “Climate change is likely to start to transform some of Australia’s natural landscapes by 2030,” said lead researcher Dr Michael Dunlop, from the CSIRO’s Ecosystem Sciences division.

    Related Coverage

    “By 2070, the ecological impacts are likely to be very significant and widespread.

    “Many of the environments our plants and animals currently exist in will disappear from the continent. Our grandchildren are likely to experience landscapes that are very different to the ones we have known.”

    The changes will be so profound that they will have major implications for management of the environment and, in particular, Australia’s national parks and nature reserves.

    “If future generations want to experience and enjoy our distinctive plants and animals and the wonders of the Australian bush, then we need to give biodiversity the greatest opportunity to adapt naturally in a changing and variable environment, rather than trying to prevent ecological change,” Dr Dunlop said.

    The study identified a range of management options, including ensuring there is plenty of habitat of different types available for plants and animals.

    “But one of the biggest challenges could be the community accepting the levels of ecological change that we could experience,” Dr Dunlop said.

    “Familiar species declining, and species from different areas turning up and establishing; ecosystems people grew up with gradually changing and becoming something new; looking, sounding smelling different.

    “I don’t know if we are ready to accept this level of change.

    “This is also a challenge for conservation science and policy. Current conservation is largely focused on keeping things the same, or restoring their condition. That is quite different from managing ecological change, maintaining the health of an ecosystem as it changes from one type of ecosystem to another.”

    Wary of past criticism, the CSIRO says it is confident in the accuracy of the complex computer models it used.

     

  • Caroline Flint: ‘Conservatives don’t show climate change the respect it deserves’ – video

    Caroline Flint: ‘Conservatives don’t show climate change the respect it deserves’ – video

    Caroline Flint, the shadow secretary of state for energy and climate change, criticises the Conservative leadership for trying to reap the PR benefits of environmentalism while lacking the imagination to deliver on their promises. She argues that climate change should be discussed in terms of the opportunities the green economy offers to people in the UK

    Source: guardian.co.uk

  • Voices of the Earth, September 2012

     

    Voices of the Earth, September 2012

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  • Arctic expert predicts final collapse of sea ice within four years

    Folks. This is very/very serious.

    Neville

    Arctic expert predicts final collapse of sea ice within four years

    As sea ice shrinks to record lows, Prof Peter Wadhams warns a ‘global disaster’ is now unfolding in northern latitudes

    Why is the sea ice in the Arctic melting?

    Prof Peter Wadhams calls for “urgent” consideration of new ideas to reduce global temperatures. Photograph: John Mcconnico/AP

    One of the world’s leading ice experts has predicted the final collapse of Arctic sea ice in summer months within four years.

    In what he calls a “global disaster” now unfolding in northern latitudes as the sea area that freezes and melts each year shrinks to its lowest extent ever recorded, Prof Peter Wadhams of Cambridge University calls for “urgent” consideration of new ideas to reduce global temperatures.

    In an email to the Guardian he says: “Climate change is no longer something we can aim to do something about in a few decades’ time, and that we must not only urgently reduce CO2 emissions but must urgently examine other ways of slowing global warming, such as the various geo-engineering ideas that have been put forward.”

    These include reflecting the sun’s rays back into space, making clouds whiter and seeding the ocean with minerals to absorb more CO2.

    Wadhams has spent many years collecting ice thickness data from submarines passing below the arctic ocean. He predicted the imminent break-up of sea ice in summer months in 2007, when the previous lowest extent of 4.17 million square kilometres was set. This year, it has unexpectedly plunged a further 500,000 sq km to less than 3.5m sq km. “I have been predicting [the collapse of sea ice in summer months] for many years. The main cause is simply global warming: as the climate has warmed there has been less ice growth during the winter and more ice melt during the summer.

    “At first this didn’t [get] noticed; the summer ice limits slowly shrank back, at a rate which suggested that the ice would last another 50 years or so. But in the end the summer melt overtook the winter growth such that the entire ice sheet melts or breaks up during the summer months.

    “This collapse, I predicted would occur in 2015-16 at which time the summer Arctic (August to September) would become ice-free. The final collapse towards that state is now happening and will probably be complete by those dates”.

    Wadhams says the implications are “terrible”. “The positives are increased possibility of Arctic transport, increased access to Arctic offshore oil and gas resources. The main negative is an acceleration of global warming.”

    “As the sea ice retreats in summer the ocean warms up (to 7C in 2011) and this warms the seabed too. The continental shelves of the Arctic are composed of offshore permafrost, frozen sediment left over from the last ice age. As the water warms the permafrost melts and releases huge quantities of trapped methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas so this will give a big boost to global warming.”

  • Storm surges and rising sea levels threaten nuclear safety

    Google Alert – SEA LEVEL RISE

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    Storm surges and rising sea levels threaten nuclear safety
    This is Cornwall
    Accelerated sea level rise and predicted increases in storm surges could have significant impacts on this shoreline. Higher sea levels would narrow the wide foreshore which currently diminishes wave energy, leading to both increased erosion and a …
    See all stories on this topic »
    Climate Change: Coral Reefs Expected To Suffer Greatly, Study Finds
    Huffington Post
    Coral reefs face serious threats even if global warming is restricted to a 2 degrees Celsius limit, which is widely viewed as a safe threshold to avert the most devastating effects of climate change, such as drought, sea level rise or crop failure …
    See all stories on this topic »

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