W_Lucht

W_Lucht, 4 months ago to random

In the largest demonstration Potsdam has seen in recent years, thousands of citizens protested today against the rise of the far-right and their ultra-right sidekicks in Germany. Nationalists and neofascists throughout Europe are coordinating their subversion of democracy.

W_Lucht, 4 months ago to random

China views its claims to Taiwan a "reunification", a wording commonly taken up in Western media. Did you know that:

• Taiwan's aboriginal population was Austronesian well into the 17th century. Today's 98% Han majority came about only later through migration under the Qing, who annexed Taiwan in 1683.
• In the 20th century, Taiwan was governed from the mainland for only 4 years, 1945-49. 1895-1945 it was a colony forcefully ceded to imperial Japan; since 1949 it has maintained its independence.

W_Lucht, 4 months ago to random

Legal: Blocking of roads throughout 🇩🇪 by farmers. The objective: continued subsidies for agricultural fossil fuels.

Legal: Rail workers bringing most train services in 🇩🇪 to a standstill for a full 3 days. The objective: more pay, less work hours.

Illegal: Limited blockades by climate activists. Considered undue force, pot. criminal. The objective: protecting Earth and our societies from large-scale disruption.

It took decades to gain the right to strike. We don't have decades for climate.

W_Lucht, 4 months ago to random

Everything was slightly magical today.
At least outside.

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

You've read the news: 2023 was the warmest year on record - by a lot. It's troubling how much a finding like this - irreversible turmoil of the planet as a whole - is treated merely as "in other news, climate was reported to have been ...".

But yes, anthropogenic warming was boosted in 2023 by El Nino (I wonder how developments will be reported when El Nino is over).

So: let's look at the decadal warming as reported by the WMO in December:
⚡2011-2020 was the warmest decade on record

A graph showing the decadal mean warming for each decade since 1850-1860, as evaluated by 8 different reconstructionsf global temperature change. In the past 5 decades, warming from decade to decade has been prominent and large, and much larger than the uncertainty between reconstructions. Rach decade was notably warmer than the previous one. Taken from three WMO report of December, 2023.

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

A political consensus seems to be forming that the farmer's road blocks throughout the country are justified as there's too much regulation of pesticides, fertilizers, ecology, animal welfare; and food has to be as cheap as possible.

Not mentioned:

• decline of insects due to pesticide over-use
• pollution of water bodies with nitrogen
• devastation of landscape by industrial farming
• health risks from chemicals, antibiotics over-use
• climate
• food industry

Not farmer's fault. But.

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

Farmers have blocked nearly all access ramps to major highways in the region. Similar blockades are happening throughout Germany.

And again the farmers are protesting not against the brutal pressure they face from food multi-nationals and grocery store chains - who force low prices, exploitation of the land, animals and people - but against policies protecting the environment, here demanding tax-free fossil fuel.

Politically, industry wins: low-wage sectors require cheap food to work.

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

Time to be back after a little break. Welcome to 2024!

This is likely to be a critical year. Democracy must stand the test of being openly undermined by the authoritarian right. Climate and ecology need our action to halt extractivism that lacks critical values.

Thank you all followers - for your interest, reading, interactions, posting - and for patience as I meander, in this Anthropocene, from science to personal perspectives.

We can only try to be forces for good.

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

The best time I had in 2023 were three weeks in the forests of Suomi, Finland: alone by myself with just the forest, the lake, some books and the sauna keeping me company. The energy it gave me still fuels me. The North is my point of desire, of flight.

A lake's surface is so still that it perfectly mirrors the clouds of a darkening evening sky as well as the edge of the forest and its trees on there opposite shore.
A few trees scattered along a summerly lake shore have the lake's water as a backdrop and there is a rowboat with an elegant shape sitting along them.
Through some forest trees the smooth surface of a lake is visible that mirrors the trees of the opposite shore and a large round boulder of rock sitting on that shore.

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

Yesterday, when I posted about the fossils, I should have added these pictures made on the spot!

Why am I not posting more about climate heating, the destabilisation of Earth, what all the planetary boundaries mean?

It's because right now, I'm more uncertain than ever about what the climate movement should do next. I have 25 years of working to understand Earth, of communicating to the public and the gvmt. Social movements, protests, talking to the civil obedience movement, the churches. Hmm.

A lower end section of a belemnite fragment sits among small gravel of different kinds of rock on a Baltic pebble beach, right where a wave is running out.

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

Two images of the same landscape, taken just a few hundred meters apart yesterday:

First, I first encountered some magnificent megalithic mounds, marking the landscape since the younger stone age.

Then, looking into the other direction, there was an operating chalk quarry, marking the landscape today.

Industrial exploitation of chalk started in the 19th century (it is used for producing cement and liming soils in agriculture, for flue gas treatment in power plants and cosmetics).

A very large, semicircular open gash in the landscape reveals terraces of bright white rock being quarried on a large scale under a blue late afternoon sky. There are collections of water at the bottom of the pit that is several hundreds of meters across and seems to be eating deeply into a hill side.

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

💥 How about joining our team at the Potsdam Institute to work on Earth system modelling and planetary boundaries?

We will be advertising a large number of positions for Earth system scientists in 2024:

👉 for senior & junior researchers, modellers, science synthesis & coordination.

Here are the first two positions. One a senior position (potentially permanent, requires correspondingly advanced track record) and one a key project postdoc.

https://www.pik-potsdam.de/de/aktuelles/stellen/senior-earth-system-scientist-position-m-f-d

https://www.pik-potsdam.de/de/aktuelles/stellen/earth-system-scientist-position-m-f-d

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

I still find it striking that the #COP28 document states so clearly where we stand and then fails to arrive at logical conclusions.

It states in #21-25 that natl. emissions reductions lower emissions in 2030 wrt 2019
#21: by only 2% under current policies
#22: by only 5.3% if a lot extra happens
#23: policies to 2020 lead to an increase
#24: trajectories by far don't align with Paris & window is fast closing
#25: already 4/5 of CO2 budget for 1.5C has been used

And then in #28 ... weak steps.

Full text of items #28 to #29 of the COP28 declaration.

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

I never can quite believe that places like this (I am just now resting on a fallen tree here), exist so very close to my home and the bustling detachment of urban life that clouds our brains, detaching our minds from nature and from one another. In fact, I plan to walk home from here, though it's still a considerable distance. Here, though, not only a woodpecker is putting sounds into the air. The lake also lies under the low constant hum of a major highway cutting through the forest nearby.

stux, 5 months ago to random

It's time to address the elephant in the room, or actually Threads

As many of you may know Threads went live in Europe and with that they started testing federation with the Fediverse

At this point there is a choice to make

1. Block Threads on instance level, that will take away the choice for each person

2. Do not block and let people block if they want to(1 search and 2 clicks)

After much consideration and talks I think we need to go with option 2 and let people decide for themselves

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

In my view, the merit of #COP28 is that it brought out so clearly the continued entrenched opposition of fossil fuel producers to any meaningful climate protection. All are planning to expand their production or at least sustain it. But of course it is the high-GDP world that uses these fossil fuels and can't hide their lagging behind production. I think the celebratory mood is questionable, sober is better. Progress yes, given the circumstances. But it'll be "back to business" by many tomorrow.

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

In terms of UN agreement speech, "calls upon to contribute" is the weakest form of asking something from member countries. "Instructs" is the strongest word choice, and it gets stepwise weaker as the wording changes to "requests", "urges", "invites", "recommends", "encourages", and finally, weakest, "calls upon".
#COP28

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

This is what we have from #COP28: "recognizes the need for deep, rapid ... reductions in ... emissions in line with 1.5 °C ... and calls on Parties to contribute to ... global efforts, in a nationally determined manner, taking into account ... their different national circumstances ... and approaches" ... "Tripling renewable energy ... Accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal ... Transitioning away from fossil fuels ... to achieve net zero by 2050".
https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma2023_L17_adv.pdf?download

christianschwaegerl, 5 months ago to berlin German

It was a huge mistake by Deutsche Bahn to discontinue the Berlin-Paris night train...so it's a wonderful turn of events that ÖBB has led the push to start the connection again.

Will try it out soon.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/12/berlin-paris-night-train-runs-first-time-almost-decade

#nighttrain #rail #paris #berlin #travel

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

Already a week ago I signed the international scientist's statement, as did more than 1000 other scientists, declaring to #COP28 that "The Science is Clear: We Need Net Zero Carbon Dioxide Emissions by 2050."

Although l am not really happy with the opening lines (see below). Scientists need to be clear that their message isn't to be twisted by politicians.

https://futureearth.org/2023/12/05/sign-the-cop28-statement-the-science-is-clear-we-need-net-zero-carbon-dioxide-emissions-by-2050/

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is leading the EU's negotiations about the final text at #COP28.

Regarding the draft resolution, she had taken a clear position: "The current draft of the COP presidency is a disappointment. All in all it is not sufficient. Key elements are not acceptable to us as the European Union".

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

The outgoing populist right PM of Poland said he doesn't want a "Europe without homelands" but a "Europe of homelands". Meaning: nationalistic politics with as little central EU authority as possible. That's 19th century backwardness.

My vision of Europe is different: I want a "Europe of regions" where the uniqueness of each region, landscape, makes it special but it doesn't matter which country it belongs to - because life is good in all countries, and borders matter little.

W_Lucht, 5 months ago to random

So this the decisive section of the #COP28 presidency's draft resolution text contains the word COULD prominently up front - making all the statements before that section about concern, urgency and commitment a bit of a farce by making none of it binding on anyone.

Full draft text:
https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/GST_2.pdf