As the world sweltered through the hottest three month spell in human history this summer, extreme weather disasters took more than 18,000 lives, drove at least 150,000 people from their homes, affected hundreds of millions of others and caused billions of dollars of damage.
Climate breakdown caused by the burning of fossil fuels is the cause of unusually hot summers and winters with very low snow volume, which have caused the accelerating melts. The volume lost during the hot summers of 2022 and 2023 is the same as that lost between 1960 and 1990.
a) AGI will lead to huge breakthroughs in other fields (unless it were an evil one;)) - A lot is already happening in #biosciences. However, power and water consumption will rise tremendously, adverse affecting the #climatebreakdown
b) Commercialization of #NuclearFusion would make AGI (apart from the H2O issue) manageable and cheaper in TOC. Also, it would provide a new source of energy for...
Last year, the oil and gas industry across the world banked about $4tn, according to the head of the International Energy Agency. This represents one of the biggest redistributions of wealth from the world’s poor to the richest petrostates.
A simple levy could funnel money to the countries that need it.
In every newsroom in every community, climate crisis needs to be thought of not as a beat, but as a through-line involving everything we do. No corner of the newsroom is exempt – not business or culture, not sports or city hall.
Majority of offset projects that have sold the most carbon credits are ‘likely junk’, according to analysis by Corporate Accountability and the Guardian.
“It is so difficult to comprehend that this is just the beginning in terms of the extreme heat. Our experts say at 3C there will be even more extreme heatwaves which last for a month or more. This will be unbelievable. Governments around the world have the power to stop this. European governments are choosing not to take their part. We cannot stand by and watch this happening.”
“The dog days of summer are not just barking, they are biting,” said the UN secretary general, António Guterres, in a statement last week in response to the record-breaking summer 2023 data reported by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. “Climate breakdown has begun.”
The US accounts for more than a third of the expansion of global oil and gas production planned by mid-century, despite its claims of climate leadership, research has found.
Thousands Feared Dead in #Libya as Dam Collapses Deepen Flood Disaster
The authorities in the country’s east said that two dams unleashed their waters on the city of Derna during a heavy storm this weekend, sweeping entire neighborhoods into the sea.
The US has set a record for the most natural disasters in a single year that have cost $1bn or more, as fires, floods and ferocious winds were among deadly events experts warn are being turbo-charged by the climate crisis.
There have already been 23 extreme weather events in the US this year that have cost at least $1bn.
"Climate breakdown has begun" as Phoenix breaks another heat record
Story by Andrei Ionescu, September 11, 2023
"According to the National Weather Service (NWS), on Saturday, September 9, the temperatures in Phoenix, Arizona set a new heat record, continuing to rise as the city broke its previous record of the most days at or above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius).
New record
"This was the 54th day this year that the temperatures in Phoenix surpassed 110F – one day more that the record of 53 days set in 2020. Moreover, the daily average temperature of 97F (36.1C) in June, July, and August surpassed the previous record of 96.7 (35.9) set three years ago.
"As the weekend highs were expected to range between 108F and 114F (with night temperatures between 80F and 88F), NWS issued an excessive heat warning until 8pm on Sunday.
Anthropogenic climate change
"The scientists blame anthropogenic climate change correlated to the advent of El Nino (a temporary warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean impacting weather all over the globe). However, since this natural phenomenon is expected to peak at the beginning of next year, 2024 will most likely break all the records set this year.
"'The dog days of summer are not just barking, they are biting,' warned United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "Climate breakdown has begun.'"
"What’s the difference between having a toxic chimney spewing across a border to carbon dioxide emissions?"
In a landmark hearing, small island nations disproportionately affected by the climate crisis will take on high-emitting countries in a court in Hamburg, Germany, on 11 September, in what is being seen as the first climate justice case aimed at protecting the ocean.
statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres
"Our planet has just endured a season of simmering — the hottest summer on record. Climate breakdown has begun.
Scientists have long warned what our fossil fuel addiction will unleash. Our climate is imploding faster than we can cope with extreme weather events hitting every corner of the planet.
We can still avoid the worst of climate chaos — and we don’t have a moment to lose."
“If Cop28 fails to deliver a clear roadmap for a rapid and equitable phase out of all fossil fuels, the advent of the renewable energy era, and adequate finance to the most vulnerable countries, it will be an utter failure.”
"#Canada has continued its record-breaking #wildfire season, and scientists say it's a sign of a tipping point in its #borealforest. While the boreal forest once absorbed more #carbon than it released, this year's emissions from wildfires are already estimated to be more than two and a half times that of all sectors in the Canadian economy combined. And the season isn't over." https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/heat-record-copernicus-summer-2023-1.6958166