climate change flathead • 1y ago • 100%

'Australia is sleepwalking': The unfolding fire horror in Hawaii holds a message for Australia

Let's look at the two decades to 2001, compared to the two decades afterwards. In Australian forests, the average annual burned area in the second period was 350 per cent greater than in the first. If we include 2019 — the year the Black Summer fires began — the increase rises to 800 per cent. The Black Summer fires were started by lightning and human activity. They were fuelled by extreme heat, record low rainfall and widespread dieback of vegetation. It meant the fires burned at unprecedented intensity. The Black Summer fires burned more than 24 million hectares nationally. Some 33 people were killed by the fires, more than 429 died from smoke-related effects, and more than 3,000 homes were destroyed. The drying and warming that drove the Black Summer fires are linked to human-caused climate change. These changes are resulting in longer fire seasons and extended periods of drought. As I watch the fires blazing in Hawaii, I'm constantly asking myself: when will Australians — who live on one of the most fire-prone continents on Earth — get a grip on this escalating global problem? How many more warning signs do we need?

climate change flathead • 1y ago • 83%

Australia's chief scientist says government must urgently accelerate carbon reduction

"There is a realisation that we've got to do something fast, an energy transition at a rate that we have never seen before. "This will have a huge impact not just on governments making decisions, but everyone will have to think about the way we live." Asked if governments were moving fast enough on action to affect climate change, Dr Foley answered in the negative before calling for a dramatic increase in carbon reduction. "At the moment the requirement is we need to be reducing by 16 megatons of carbon a year, we are doing two, we need to increase by eight times"

climate change flathead • 1y ago • 100%

Climate Change Protest - ABC (Australia) and Woodside - Media Watch

www.abc.net.au

business as usual.

climate change flathead • 1y ago • 100%

Rising sea levels were beginning to swallow Teaote's home on Kiribati — so she built a seawall - ABC Pacific

www.abc.net.au

Kiribati is facing a real challenge. With no part of its land rising more than 2 meters above the ocean, the country is among the most vulnerable to the encroaching tides. Small islands have already succumbed to inundation, while others suffer erosion, jeopardising crop cultivation and freshwater reserves. The I-Kiribati people, who may not use the words "climate change", have now experienced its harsh reality and continue to face the constant threat of rising sea levels. 

climate change flathead • 1y ago • 100%

The 'world's hottest month' explained... in 60 seconds

www.bbc.com

It is "virtually certain" that July is going to be the world's warmest month since records began, according to scientists. Some researchers believe it might even be the warmest month in the past 120,000 years. The UK on the other hand, has experienced milder temperatures and a fair amount of rain. BBC Weather's Ben Rich has this analysis.

climate change flathead • 1y ago • 100%

Biden offers assistance as US reels under extreme heat

www.aljazeera.com

Outdoor workers with jobs involving physical labour can be more vulnerable, especially when paired with limited protections. But efforts to bolster regulations have faced pushback from powerful business interests in sectors, such as agriculture, who have rejected calls for enhanced rules and enforcement. And some US states have moved in the opposite direction: Republican lawmakers in the state of Texas, where the Bureau of Labor Statistics says 42 workers died from extreme heat between 2011 and 2021, recently banned municipalities from requiring employers to provide workers with shade and water. “Farmworkers will still be told they can’t take a break or that they should drink out of an irrigation hose,” De Loera said. “Even in a state like California with good laws on the books, workers are afraid of speaking up.” 

climate change flathead • 1y ago • 100%

‘Era of global warming has ended, Earth in era of global boiling’: UN chief

www.aljazeera.com

“Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning. The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.” According to ERA5 data from the European Union-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service, the first three weeks of July have been the warmest three-week period on record and the month is on track to be the hottest July and the hottest month on record. In the face of “tragic” consequences, he repeated his call for swift and far-reaching action, taking aim once again at the fossil fuel sector. “The air is unbreathable. The heat is unbearable. And the level of fossil fuel profits and climate inaction is unacceptable,” said Guterres, Portugal’s former prime minister. 

climate change flathead • 1y ago • 100%

Just Stop Oil marchers kettled by counter-protestors as scientists warn ‘we are damned fools’ for not acting on crisis – Just Stop Oil

juststopoil.org

One of those on the road this morning, Jonathan Kennedy, 44, an Engineer and Parent of two young children, from Brighton, said: “I’m marching today with Just Stop Oil to demand that the government stops all new oil and gas licensing. We are on track for devastating climate chaos, food scarcity, water scarcity, hundreds of millions of climate refugees- leading to conflict and war. It’s already happening. As a parent, I can’t sit by and watch as the government actively makes the situation worse by issuing more oil, gas and coal licences. This is the complete opposite of what we need to do.” “When my children ask me what I was doing when there was still a chance to prevent the worst effects of climate breakdown. I will say I tried everything I could. Rishi Sunak and Grant Schnapps, what will you say to your children when they ask you the same question? You have the power to stop all new oil and gas licences. For the sake of your children and their generation, make the right choice. Be on the right side of history, be able to look at your children and say, ‘I did what I could’.” Yesterday, James Hansen, the US scientist who alerted the world to the greenhouse effect in the 1980s said “we are damned fools” for not acting upon warnings over the climate crisis. Hansen, whose testimony to the US Senate in 1988 is cited as the first high-profile revelation of global heating, warned in a statement with two other scientists that the world was moving towards a “new climate frontier” with temperatures higher than at any point over the past million years, bringing severe impacts such as stronger storms, heatwaves and droughts, which will lead to millions unable to eat and forced to flee their homes. 

climate change flathead • 1y ago • 100%

Nova Scotia: Four missing after extreme rainfall hits Canada

www.bbc.com

Three months of rain fell in just 24 hours in some areas. The flooding is the latest extreme weather event to hit northeast Canada - recent wildfires have burnt a record area, sending clouds of smoke south into the US. There has also been extreme flooding in the US this month. The body of a two-year-old girl found along a river in Pennsylvania is believed to be one of two missing children swept away by flash floods last weekend. Her nine-month-old brother is still missing. Scientists cannot say for certain that such extreme rainfall is caused by climate change, but the floods are consistent with the changes they expect in a warming world. This is because the warmer the earth becomes the more moisture the atmosphere can hold. This results in more droplets and heavier rainfall, sometimes in a shorter space of time and over a smaller area.

climate change flathead • 1y ago • 100%

Climate Protesters Disrupt Opening Of Salzburg Festival

July 22, 2023 AFP "We are the last generation capable of preventing the point of no return," three young activists from the Last Generation group shouted at the festival's premiere of "Jedermann" (Each Man) late Friday, before being escorted away by security, according to a video posted by the group on social media. Founded in 1920, the Salzburg Festival is one the world's top classical music festivals. "The citizens of the Last Generation Austria demand that we face this question as a whole society," the group said in a statement. "Especially now, when global heating is getting more out of control and is making itself felt all over the world with ever more extreme temperatures and ever more destructive weather, they can no longer look away." The protest came as swathes of southern Europe and the United States were baking in record heatwaves.

climate change flathead • 1y ago • 100%

Just Stop Oil protesters attempt to disrupt Open

www.bbc.com

"Merseyside Police respects the right to protest and expression of views but anti-social, criminal behaviour or disorder will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly." 

climate change flathead • 1y ago • 100%

Bangladesh’s historic heat wave is making work “living hell” for IT workers

restofworld.org

Khan works in Bangladesh’s business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. She is one of around 70,000 workers in an industry to which companies around the world outsource entire business functions — from marketing and payroll to human resources. The BPO industry in Bangladesh has been expanding, with jobs in the sector growing steadily in recent years, according to the Bangladesh Association of Contact Center and Outsourcing. According to local media reports, there were at least 350 BPO firms in the country as of March 2023, with an annual revenue of $700 million in 2022. They support real estate companies, health-care facilities, and law firms in the U.K. and U.S. But the foot soldiers of this industry — BPO workers — are now staring at a disconcerting future as global temperatures continue to rise. Several told Rest of World they’re already weary and exhausted. Five hours from Dhaka, in Chattogram, known for its balmy summers with frequent spells of rain, 27-year-old BPO worker Naima Shirmen said the heat has felt like “living hell” this year. “I’ve never seen heat as bad as this in my whole life. I get headaches everyday. I feel sick. I’m not able to sleep at night properly,” she told Rest of World. “And as you know, if you can’t sleep properly, you can’t do work.” Shirmen provides remote marketing support for foreign clients of BPOs in Dhaka. “The [heat] is so bad this year that when we switch on the fans, it makes no difference,” she said. “It’s like there’s no air in the room. It’s like the fan isn’t working at all.” According to Shouro Dasgupta, environmental economist at the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, heat stress and high heat exposure is already affecting labor supply and productivity across countries like Bangladesh, India, and others in South and Southeast Asia — regions where labor is projected to suffer due to future climate change. Sustainable cooling is the need of the hour, particularly for indoor tech workers, Dasgupta told Rest of World. He believes that governments should step in and work with air-conditioner manufacturers, building operators, and other stakeholders to ensure workers are comfortable.

Film Noir flathead • 1y ago • 100%

'Like a muffled scream': Rob Collins on making outback noir film Limbo

www.abc.net.au

Limbo is directed by Ivan Sen, best known for the films Mystery Road, Goldstone and Beneath Clouds. It also stars Natasha Wanganeen as Emma, Charlie's surviving sister, and Nicholas Hope as Joseph, the brother of a key murder suspect. The film was shot in the South Australian opal mining town of Coober Pedy, which stands in for the fictional town of Limbo. Sen's decision to film in black and white accentuates Coober Pedy's otherworldliness, making the pockmarked desert look like a moonscape. Collins says he can't imagine filming the story anywhere else. "The whole place feels like a muffled scream, which worked a lot for Charlie," he says.

climate change flathead • 1y ago • 100%

June extremes suggest parts of climate system are reaching tipping points

arstechnica.com

“These extraordinary extremes could be an early warning of tipping points towards different weather or sea ice or fire regimes,” said University of Exeter climate researcher Tim Lenton. “We call it ‘flickering’ when a complex system starts to briefly sample a new regime before tipping into it. Let’s hope I’m wrong on that.” In the meantime, the tropical Pacific Ocean is shifting into the warm El Niño phase of a two- to seven-year Pacific Ocean cycle that can boost the average global temperature by 0.2° Celsius, enough to stoke the planet’s fever to a dangerous new high. “The onset of El Niño will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean,” said World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. “Early warnings and anticipatory action of extreme weather events associated with this major climate phenomenon are vital to save lives and livelihoods.” “I expect a step change to higher global mean temperatures starting this year,” said atmospheric scientist Kevin Trenberth, a distinguished scholar at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and honorary faculty at the University of Auckland. “And next year will be the warmest on record, either 1.4 or 1.5C above pre-industrial.”

Technology Policy & Law flathead • 1y ago • 100%

State Dept. cancels election meetings with Facebook after “free speech” ruling

arstechnica.com

The Biden administration is appealing a federal judge's ruling that ordered the government to halt a wide range of communications with social media companies. President Biden and the other federal defendants in the case "hereby appeal" the ruling to the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, according to a notice filed in US District Court yesterday. The US will submit a longer filing with arguments to the 5th Circuit appeals court. On Tuesday, Judge Terry Doughty of US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana granted a preliminary injunction that prohibits White House officials and numerous federal agencies from communicating "with social-media companies for the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech posted on social-media platforms." Doughty found that defendants "significantly encouraged" and in some cases coerced "the social-media companies to such extent that the decision [to modify or suppress content] should be deemed to be the decisions of the Government." The Biden administration has argued that its communications with tech companies are permissible under the First Amendment and vital to counter misinformation about elections, COVID-19, and vaccines. .... The injunction doesn't cut off all contact between the Biden administration and social media companies. Doughty's ruling said the government may continue to inform social networks about posts involving criminal activity or criminal conspiracies, national security threats, extortion, criminal efforts to suppress voting, illegal campaign contributions, cyberattacks against election infrastructure, foreign attempts to influence elections, threats to public safety and security, and posts intending to mislead voters about voting requirements and procedures.

climate change flathead • 1y ago • 100%

For the third day in a row the unofficial record for the global average temperature has been set

www.abc.net.au

Even though the dataset used for the unofficial record goes back only to 1979, Dr Kapnick said that given other data, the world is likely seeing the hottest day in "several hundred years that we've experienced." Scientists generally use much longer measurements — months, years, decades — to track the Earth's warming. But the daily highs are an indication that climate change is reaching uncharted territory.

Animal Justice flathead • 1y ago • 100%

California bacon law takes effect but pork from farms using cages will still be on shelves | Chattanooga Times Free Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A California law approved by voters that promises to get breeding pigs out of narrow cages that prevent them from standing or turning will finally take effect Saturday, after years of delays and warnings that the rules could lead to price spikes and pork shortages. But it will be six months before California grocery shoppers can be sure that pork chops they buy under the new law will be from a pig whose mother wasn't confined in a so-called gestation crate. That's because while the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law, the state recently agreed to allow pork slaughtered before July 1 to be sold in California markets and restaurants for the rest of the year. That decision gives farmers and grocery stores time to adjust. But it's exasperating to supporters of the new rules that the effective implementation of the law would again be delayed — **four years** after voters approved it.

climate change flathead • 1y ago • 100%

As Beijing swelters, activists hope the heat will prompt climate action

www.theguardian.com

“People are becoming more aware of the severity of heatwaves, but not the link between heatwaves and climate change,” says Zhao Li, a senior researcher for Greenpeace east Asia’s Beijing office. That is partly because, although there is some limited education about climate change, permitted discourse stops short of talking about major policy shifts, such as reducing China’s coal emissions more rapidly. The government has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2060, but concerns about energy security and the need for economic growth mean that local authorities are showing no sign of backing down on building new coal power. Also, says Zhao, “even if people link heatwaves and climate change, they don’t think it’s something that the individual should pay attention to.” Most people see it as being the government’s responsibility – and therefore out of the hands of the public, she says.