Author Topic: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "  (Read 58301 times)

middo

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #400 on: November 11, 2019, 07:56:55 PM »
I can't be the only person concerned about pandemics, can I?

Maybe it's having a DH who used to specifically work on pandemics that biases my thinking, but every time I read about dormant viruses coming from the melting ice caps...well...it's not comforting.

Even if these viruses only affect other mammals, it's not a minor deal waking up dormant pathologies. The impacts to the entire global ecosystem can be profound.

Pandemics, even just among animals, have a lot of sweeping impact.

Let's see what oozes out of the ice.
Don't trust the husky, lol

My daughter has a long standing interest in diseases in Australia, which only recently became an academic research project for her.  Those "tropical" diseases such as dengue that were not in Australia are now present and will spread.  The vectors that spread these diseases are also changing their ranges.  New viruses are being discovered every year, some of which will become more dangerous as the climate changes quickly.  Global warming is a lot more than just a few hotter days.

Metalcat

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #401 on: November 11, 2019, 08:10:58 PM »
Not quite the same thing as viruses coming out of the melting ice, but African Swine Flu is now projected to be responsible for the deaths of more than 1/4th of all the pigs on earth.

Fuckin' pandemics.

Metalcat

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #402 on: November 11, 2019, 08:13:47 PM »
I can't be the only person concerned about pandemics, can I?

Maybe it's having a DH who used to specifically work on pandemics that biases my thinking, but every time I read about dormant viruses coming from the melting ice caps...well...it's not comforting.

Even if these viruses only affect other mammals, it's not a minor deal waking up dormant pathologies. The impacts to the entire global ecosystem can be profound.

Pandemics, even just among animals, have a lot of sweeping impact.

Let's see what oozes out of the ice.
Don't trust the husky, lol

My daughter has a long standing interest in diseases in Australia, which only recently became an academic research project for her.  Those "tropical" diseases such as dengue that were not in Australia are now present and will spread.  The vectors that spread these diseases are also changing their ranges.  New viruses are being discovered every year, some of which will become more dangerous as the climate changes quickly.  Global warming is a lot more than just a few hotter days.

It's also a lot more than disruption of food and water supply.

I'm always amused by the notion that we can predict how it will affect us. There are a few predictable outcomes, but the unpredictable ones are far more interesting.


OzzieandHarriet

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #403 on: November 11, 2019, 08:18:01 PM »
I can't be the only person concerned about pandemics, can I?

Maybe it's having a DH who used to specifically work on pandemics that biases my thinking, but every time I read about dormant viruses coming from the melting ice caps...well...it's not comforting.

Even if these viruses only affect other mammals, it's not a minor deal waking up dormant pathologies. The impacts to the entire global ecosystem can be profound.

Pandemics, even just among animals, have a lot of sweeping impact.

Let's see what oozes out of the ice.
Don't trust the husky, lol

The Joyce Carol Oates short story I linked to up thread speculated about this sort of thing.

Metalcat

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #404 on: November 11, 2019, 08:27:25 PM »
I can't be the only person concerned about pandemics, can I?

Maybe it's having a DH who used to specifically work on pandemics that biases my thinking, but every time I read about dormant viruses coming from the melting ice caps...well...it's not comforting.

Even if these viruses only affect other mammals, it's not a minor deal waking up dormant pathologies. The impacts to the entire global ecosystem can be profound.

Pandemics, even just among animals, have a lot of sweeping impact.

Let's see what oozes out of the ice.
Don't trust the husky, lol

The Joyce Carol Oates short story I linked to up thread speculated about this sort of thing.

Sorry, didn't read it. Not a fan of fiction.

RetiredAt63

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #405 on: November 12, 2019, 09:20:29 AM »
What struck me years ago is how easily the wind can spread things.  Dust storms in the Sahara can end up dropping dust on Florida south to Central America.  And whatever is in that dust gets transported too.


RetiredAt63

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #406 on: November 12, 2019, 12:23:31 PM »
While we are contemplating the spread of diseases . . .

You know how water vapour wants something to condense out on to, to create raindrops or snowflakes?  A lot of those condensation nuclei are bacteria.  A lot of those bacteria are plant pathogens.  How handy, it rains, the raindrop lands on a leaf, if the bacterium is lucky it is the right kind of lea and it is home.  I haven't seen anything about this and fungi but don't see why a fungal spore can't also be a condensation nucleus.

maizefolk

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #407 on: November 12, 2019, 03:27:55 PM »
Yes if you broaden the definition to include plant pathogens, lots more diseases to worry about. Ug99 (a kind of stem rust) in wheat is a big one. Near 100% yield losses, almost no currently grown cultivars have resistance. Slowly spreading across Africa, but if it ever gets into the big wheat producing regions of the US, Australia, or eastern Europe....

scottish

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #408 on: November 12, 2019, 06:01:29 PM »
Maizeman are you a wheat scientist?    My FIL was a wheat scientist!

maizefolk

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #409 on: November 12, 2019, 06:04:19 PM »
Maizeman are you a wheat scientist?    My FIL was a wheat scientist!

I'm not one myself, but I do work with some people who are. Wheat seems to be a pretty small world.

Gremlin

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #410 on: November 12, 2019, 08:27:51 PM »
Maizeman are you a wheat scientist?    My FIL was a wheat scientist!

I'm not one myself, but I do work with some people who are. Wheat seems to be a pretty small world.
Are you a maize man?  Sorry, I'll show myself out...

nereo

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #411 on: November 13, 2019, 05:40:23 AM »
Maizeman are you a wheat scientist?    My FIL was a wheat scientist!

I'm not one myself, but I do work with some people who are. Wheat seems to be a pretty small world.
Are you a maize man?  Sorry, I'll show myself out...

::snort::

scottish

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #412 on: November 13, 2019, 03:33:01 PM »
Maizeman are you a wheat scientist?    My FIL was a wheat scientist!

I'm not one myself, but I do work with some people who are. Wheat seems to be a pretty small world.
Are you a maize man?  Sorry, I'll show myself out...

::snort::

Yeah, yeah, I know maize == corn not wheat

maizefolk

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #413 on: November 13, 2019, 07:00:52 PM »
maize/corn is one of those frustrating cases where english != english depending on where in the world you live.

Still better than "millet", I swear millet is just english for "any grain for which we do not have a name in english"

nereo

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #414 on: November 13, 2019, 07:29:20 PM »
maize/corn is one of those frustrating cases where english != english depending on where in the world you live.

Still better than "millet", I swear millet is just english for "any grain for which we do not have a name in english"

You just confirmed what I suspected was on my dinner plate. 

Metalcat

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #415 on: November 14, 2019, 06:31:39 AM »
Still better than "millet", I swear millet is just english for "any grain for which we do not have a name in english"

Absolutely, millet is more of a descriptor than any actual plant family, kind of like "vegetable".


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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #416 on: December 30, 2019, 12:58:02 AM »
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50868717

"The world will face irreversible heating unless firms shift their priorities soon, the outgoing head of the Bank of England has told the BBC. Mark Carney said the financial sector had begun to curb investment in fossil fuels – but far too slowly.

He said leading pension fund analysis "is that if you add up the policies of all of companies out there, they are consistent with warming of 3.7-3.8C".

Scientists say the risks associated with an increase of 4C include a nine metre rise in sea levels - affecting up to 760 million people – searing heatwaves and droughts, and serious food supply problems."

LennStar

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #417 on: December 30, 2019, 01:38:00 AM »
What struck me years ago is how easily the wind can spread things.  Dust storms in the Sahara can end up dropping dust on Florida south to Central America.  And whatever is in that dust gets transported too.
All those things are f***** intersting. And scary if you see how the whole system depends on it's other parts.
Winds change? Forget that the Amazon is getting dry and changing into a steppe, without Sahara sand it is going to die anyway!

Trumps trompeting about "See how cold it is in Canada? No climate change!" - the cold wave IS a result of the impeding climate catatrophe, as was the incredible heat and dryness in central europe in 2018. It literally was the same global air circulation system failing to circulate.


scottish

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #418 on: December 30, 2019, 09:43:22 AM »
It's not very cold here right now.    We should have 2 feet of snow on the ground.

pecunia

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #419 on: December 30, 2019, 09:51:59 AM »
It's kinda funny.  There are jillions of scientists out there giving these warnings.  But, hey, when an English  banker gets interviewed, then it's news.

England is a cool place.  It may be cooler with climate change.

https://phys.org/news/2019-08-gulf-stream-seas-hotter-florida.html

The article centers on Florida, but without that Gulf stream being effective, Northern Europe will be a lot cooler.

Trump is 73 years old.  His money will protect him from climate change until his death.  His buds also have the big money and will be protected.  I think they know it's real.  They just don't care.

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #420 on: August 03, 2021, 03:21:30 PM »
I'm reviving this topic because it's the only one I could find re. climate and Mark Carney.  I just borrowed "Value(s)" from the library and I am having an adverse reaction to it.  He frames three problems (climate, COVID, economy) rather eloquently but then goes on to suggest a course of action - at least for climate, which is as far as I've read - that is Utopian at best.  Maybe it's my jaundiced view of humanity, but every page makes me want to scream:  "But what if 95% of the human race are self-interested dim bulbs who are either blissfully ignorant or don't give a shite?"

I'd bet that if any government tried to push even a modest agenda to address the problem, we'd see a lot more Capitol-style stormings/protests. 

It's of interest because there are rumblings that Carney will run for office.  Wondering if any other Mustachians have read it.  It reminds me of David Johnston's book called "Trust", which is lovely, but it presupposes that folks are better people than they really are.
« Last Edit: August 03, 2021, 03:37:20 PM by meghan88 »

maizefolk

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #421 on: August 03, 2021, 04:13:18 PM »
I was at a meeting last week where a bunch of educated liberal people where proposing so many approaches to making a more sustainable food supply ... absolutely none of which seem to take into account the giant train of climate change we have barreling down at us.

My new favorite scary statistic (came up at that same meeting): climate model out of Illinois predict that by 2080 the US corn belt (which produces enough calories to feel two billion people each year) will have a climate that is most closely approximated today by west Texas. We're not ready, we're not getting ready and even the folks who should know better seem in denial about how big and scary a problem we are actually facing here.

PDXTabs

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #422 on: August 03, 2021, 05:19:47 PM »
I enjoyed this: Economist: Three degrees of global warming is quite plausible and truly disastrous.

Well, enjoyed isn't quite the right verb. Basically, as things stand today, we have promised something less than 2.9°C but as the policies are actually written in law we could easily see 2.9°C of warming by 2100:

The caveat is that this estimate includes policies announced but not enacted. A world which follows the policies that are actually in place right now would end up at 2.9°C, according to cat (the un Environment Programme, which tracks the gap between actual emissions and those that would deliver Paris, provides a somewhat higher estimate). Almost everyone expects or hopes that policies will tighten up at least somewhat. But any reasonable assessment of the future has to look at what may happen if they do not.

EDITed to add - and basically everything you see published is with a 68% confidence interval. There is a 16% chance that our numbers are too low (and a 16% chance that they are too high).
« Last Edit: August 03, 2021, 05:31:52 PM by PDXTabs »

Sailor Sam

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #423 on: August 03, 2021, 07:15:51 PM »
Not quite the same thing as viruses coming out of the melting ice, but African Swine Flu is now projected to be responsible for the deaths of more than 1/4th of all the pigs on earth.

Fuckin' pandemics.

The timing of this post, Nov 2019 is just…it’s killing me. Not in a funny way. Just one of those perfectly timed things, recorded by the internet for posterity to marvel at.

nereo

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #424 on: August 03, 2021, 07:22:01 PM »
Not quite the same thing as viruses coming out of the melting ice, but African Swine Flu is now projected to be responsible for the deaths of more than 1/4th of all the pigs on earth.

Fuckin' pandemics.

The timing of this post, Nov 2019 is just…it’s killing me. Not in a funny way. Just one of those perfectly timed things, recorded by the internet for posterity to marvel at.

Wow.  Just… wow.

maizefolk

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #425 on: August 03, 2021, 07:37:54 PM »
I'd completely forgotten that post. Huh.

Abe

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #426 on: August 03, 2021, 08:10:42 PM »
Yeah our planet is totally going to change. My main motivation to amassing wealth now is buffering my family against the coming forever wars. Step 1: having useful skills that most functioning societies will value and need. Step 2: grease the wheels of immigration bureaucracy with $. Step 3: learn to live with nearly nothing.

former player

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #427 on: August 03, 2021, 09:00:46 PM »
If you are wanting prophetic, apparently an MIT study in 1972 that modelled environmental problems causing an end to economic growth by 2030 with societal collapse by 2040 is currently on track -

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/25/gaya-herrington-mit-study-the-limits-to-growth

joe189man

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #428 on: August 03, 2021, 09:27:25 PM »
I was thinking a smart person would buy property in northern latitudes as a hedge against climate change, but this summer's heat domes affecting canada and montana and the midwest proved there is no where to hide

Maybe a entrepreneurial person would invest in building underground cities like Coober Pedy in Australia, half a joke, half crying cause we may need to live like this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coober_Pedy

pecunia

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #429 on: August 03, 2021, 09:33:10 PM »
If you are wanting prophetic, apparently an MIT study in 1972 that modelled environmental problems causing an end to economic growth by 2030 with societal collapse by 2040 is currently on track -

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/25/gaya-herrington-mit-study-the-limits-to-growth

Yeh - But they also say it doesn't have to be that bad:

“The key finding of my study is that we still have a choice to align with a scenario that does not end in collapse. With innovation in business, along with new developments by governments and civil society, continuing to update the model provides another perspective on the challenges and opportunities we have to create a more sustainable world.”


nereo

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #430 on: August 04, 2021, 04:03:32 AM »
This is one of the driving reasons why I am into super insulated homes and consider myself an energy crusader.  Regardless of how bad it gets a super insulated home will always be more comfortable than one built to spec, and the difference is substantial during extreme weather events.  Sadly, even the updated building code means new construction homes in the US are pretty lousy given what we know.

We’re also on granite, our of flood danger and in a region that’s still uplifting. No place will be untouched but the models suggest our area will be more tolerable than much of the world.


LennStar

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #431 on: August 04, 2021, 07:41:56 AM »
I was thinking a smart person would buy property in northern latitudes as a hedge against climate change, but this summer's heat domes affecting canada and montana and the midwest proved there is no where to hide
That is actually a very scary thing, if the jetstream slows down even more than, like with e.g. the gulf stream, it would mean major climate changes, either to very different local temperture scales or a lot of extreme weather.
If you wish to, look at the climate in Yakutsk. That is when you have no changing wather. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakutsk#Climate
Weather too cold for cars to funtion in the winter (you have to run them constantly) and tropical nights in the summer.

pecunia

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #432 on: August 04, 2021, 08:31:55 AM »
Is this climate change thing making the growing season longer in some places that had earlier frosts, i.e. like August?  Can some crops be grown in areas where it was heretofore not very practical?  I also kind of wonder if we haven't heard the last of climate change invasive species ravaging the great Northern forests?  Is the great Northern boreal forest of the world safe? To be honest with you though, I've been to lazy to check this stuff out.

Metalcat

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #433 on: August 04, 2021, 08:35:35 AM »
Not quite the same thing as viruses coming out of the melting ice, but African Swine Flu is now projected to be responsible for the deaths of more than 1/4th of all the pigs on earth.

Fuckin' pandemics.

The timing of this post, Nov 2019 is just…it’s killing me. Not in a funny way. Just one of those perfectly timed things, recorded by the internet for posterity to marvel at.

Wow.  Just… wow.

Well, to be fair, my DH happens to be a subject matter expert on pandemic issues and government policy. So since SARS, pandemics have been a regular topic of discussion in our household. It's not an unusual thing for me to talk about.

uniwelder

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #434 on: August 04, 2021, 08:39:57 AM »
Here's an interactive ProPublica climate change map/article that's been out for about a year--- https://projects.propublica.org/climate-migration/

It shows the projected effects of drought, sea level rise, heat, rainfall, wildfire, etc on the US through the coming decades.  So if you're wondering where the good places are to move to, this could clue you in.  I happen to be in one of the more favorable areas (Appalachian Virginia) and do expect more people to come as time passes.
« Last Edit: August 04, 2021, 08:50:29 AM by uniwelder »

uniwelder

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #435 on: August 04, 2021, 08:43:43 AM »
Is this climate change thing making the growing season longer in some places that had earlier frosts, i.e. like August?  Can some crops be grown in areas where it was heretofore not very practical?  I also kind of wonder if we haven't heard the last of climate change invasive species ravaging the great Northern forests?  Is the great Northern boreal forest of the world safe? To be honest with you though, I've been to lazy to check this stuff out.

I was just listening to NPR yesterday and they had a story on about grape production in Germany.  Apparently their wines are going up in value because their growing season is now about 2 weeks longer and are getting more money for their red wines, which were typically considered inferior in the past.

nereo

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #436 on: August 04, 2021, 11:52:53 AM »
Is this climate change thing making the growing season longer in some places that had earlier frosts, i.e. like August?  Can some crops be grown in areas where it was heretofore not very practical?  I also kind of wonder if we haven't heard the last of climate change invasive species ravaging the great Northern forests?  Is the great Northern boreal forest of the world safe? To be honest with you though, I've been to lazy to check this stuff out.

Regarding invasive species (my area of expertise), here in New England our hardwoods are being decimated by a number of parasitic species which are fundamentally changing our forests and the ecosystem services they provide.  The emerald ash bore is a particular problem right now, and is spreading rapidly. The Asian longhorn beetle is killing off our maple trees very quickly, to the point where maple production is plummeting in lots of locales. It's also triggered a prohibition on transporting firewood from one county to another.  Even the conifers aren't immune, as the hemlocks are experiencing a huge blight right now.

https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/forest_health/invasive_threats/index.htm#ALB

If you want to look at the positive (?) side for crop production, there's about 20 fewer days of climatic winter in New England than there were 100 years ago. In our area, the 'frost-free' date has been pushed up a full week over where it was in the 1940s, and the average maximum frost depth is about 8" less.

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #437 on: August 04, 2021, 12:02:21 PM »
Here in the UK our trees are suffering from ash die-back, sudden oak death and chestnut canker.  We've previously lost almost all the elms to Dutch elm disease.  Anyone who thinks global warming and habitat loss can be solved by planting trees is living in cloud cookoo land.

And the climate here, notoriously mild, is being destabilised: previously gentle rain patterns are changing to flood and drought, temperatures keep setting new records, both high and low, throughout the year.  Storms are blowing through in spring and summer as well as autumn and winter.  It is all making growing food just a little bit harder, already.




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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #438 on: August 04, 2021, 02:51:29 PM »
Is this climate change thing making the growing season longer in some places that had earlier frosts, i.e. like August?  Can some crops be grown in areas where it was heretofore not very practical?  I also kind of wonder if we haven't heard the last of climate change invasive species ravaging the great Northern forests?  Is the great Northern boreal forest of the world safe? To be honest with you though, I've been to lazy to check this stuff out.

No, the boreal forests aren't safe. They're not at risk of invasive species because they're on fire.

nereo

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #439 on: August 04, 2021, 03:02:07 PM »
Range shifts certainly aren’t limited to land, either. 
One of the biggest policy/ocean-resource issues is protection of Right Whales and how ships and lobster gear can endanger them. Until the last decade or so their migration patterns were fairly predictable, but now the whales are going much further north into the St Lawrence and their patterns are much less predictable.  The best understanding of why is that the marine food chain (including copepods) have shifted dramatically, and the whales are spending more time “foraging” rather than “feeding”

Then you’ve got invasive green crabs spreading throughout the Gulf of Maine and NS, and blue crabs now going as far as Cape Cod - both are decimating natural clam populations.  We’re seeing a lot more temperate seaweeds move into and choke out the shallow subtidal, replacing the slower growing perennial boreal species.

Then there’s the lobster - in the 1990s the heart of the fishery was in Long Island Sound.  Around 2000 it was in southern Maine.  By 2010 it had moved to Stonington (about halfway up the coast).  Early indications suggest this year it is now in DownEast Maine (not far from the New Brunswick Boarder).  As lobster is the single biggest industry in the Gulf of Maine these shifts have some profound effects on coastal communities and their economies.

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #440 on: August 04, 2021, 04:59:09 PM »
Whales in the St Lawrence?  Maybe there will be sharks in the Great Lakes.

nereo

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #441 on: August 04, 2021, 05:18:43 PM »
Whales in the St Lawrence?  Maybe there will be sharks in the Great Lakes.

They have always been whales in the Gulf of St Lawrence - primarily Minkes, Humpbacks, Fins, Blues and belugas. Finding Right Whales in the northern gulf is a pretty rare phenomenon until relatively recently.

No sharks in the Great Lakes yet, though freshwater sharks do exist elsewhere.

jrhampt

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #442 on: August 04, 2021, 06:20:13 PM »
Range shifts certainly aren’t limited to land, either. 
One of the biggest policy/ocean-resource issues is protection of Right Whales and how ships and lobster gear can endanger them. Until the last decade or so their migration patterns were fairly predictable, but now the whales are going much further north into the St Lawrence and their patterns are much less predictable.  The best understanding of why is that the marine food chain (including copepods) have shifted dramatically, and the whales are spending more time “foraging” rather than “feeding”

Then you’ve got invasive green crabs spreading throughout the Gulf of Maine and NS, and blue crabs now going as far as Cape Cod - both are decimating natural clam populations.  We’re seeing a lot more temperate seaweeds move into and choke out the shallow subtidal, replacing the slower growing perennial boreal species.

Then there’s the lobster - in the 1990s the heart of the fishery was in Long Island Sound.  Around 2000 it was in southern Maine.  By 2010 it had moved to Stonington (about halfway up the coast).  Early indications suggest this year it is now in DownEast Maine (not far from the New Brunswick Boarder).  As lobster is the single biggest industry in the Gulf of Maine these shifts have some profound effects on coastal communities and their economies.

Yep.  The lobster shift has definitely been noticeable here.

LennStar

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #443 on: August 05, 2021, 02:53:36 AM »
Is this climate change thing making the growing season longer in some places that had earlier frosts, i.e. like August?  Can some crops be grown in areas where it was heretofore not very practical?  I also kind of wonder if we haven't heard the last of climate change invasive species ravaging the great Northern forests?  Is the great Northern boreal forest of the world safe? To be honest with you though, I've been to lazy to check this stuff out.
Basically all your questions are answerable be a resounding YESNO!
Growing seasons longer?
In some places yes, in others they get shorter because summer is longer.
Crops:
Yes, you can grow crops that you could not before. And others you no longer can.
Invasive species:
Lots. In Europe one of the main concerns is malaria carrying mosquitos. They weren't able to live on the continent. A first population of an African race has been found in southern Bavaria two years ago and southern Italy is more or less their living area now. A cold winter may wipe them out as of now, but it is only a matter of time.
Boreal Forests safe?
That is the only one where the answer is very clear: No!

Quote
I was just listening to NPR yesterday and they had a story on about grape production in Germany.  Apparently their wines are going up in value because their growing season is now about 2 weeks longer and are getting more money for their red wines, which were typically considered inferior in the past.
Yes, even in Northern areas wine starts to be viable.
But the customary regions around the Rhine have problems with heat. They already have to move to other wine sorts and I think the 2018 crop was a near complete loss due to the extreme hot summer.

PDXTabs

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #444 on: August 05, 2021, 11:46:30 AM »
Things that I noticed today:

I'm not sure what to say except that the USA is doing too little too late. I'm not even a huge fan of these hard cutoffs (I'd rather just tax the hell out of carbon), but they are better than nothing.

nereo

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #445 on: August 05, 2021, 01:03:51 PM »
Things that I noticed today:

I'm not sure what to say except that the USA is doing too little too late. I'm not even a huge fan of these hard cutoffs (I'd rather just tax the hell out of carbon), but they are better than nothing.

I'm of mixed minds when it comes to these latest targets and governmental movement.

The optimist-side of me is thrilled that we are even talking about a 50% EV adaptation within 10 years when just a couple of years ago our official stance was that climate change was a chinese manufactured hoax, and all environmental regulations were job killers that would destroy our economy. I'm also hopeful that once we see 10-20% adaptation we'll hit a critical threshold where places (cities, apartment complexes, businesses etc) will start to view charging infrastructure something they have to do to be relevant, not as a 'would like to do if we can spare the money'.

OTOH we are so badly trailing almost every other developed nation (and quite a few developing ones, too), and we're going to owe this planet (and the ~7B non-US citizens) immensely in the coming decades.

pecunia

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #446 on: August 05, 2021, 07:42:10 PM »
It's highly likely that in the next big US election in 2022, the folks that believe global warming is a hoax will be back in force.  There are still a lot of those guys still in power.

For example Jimmie Inhofe is still in the Senate.  This is from the Wikipedia article about him.


"Since 2003, when he was first elected Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Inhofe has been the foremost Republican promoting arguments for climate change denial. He famously claimed in the Senate that global warming is a hoax, invited contrarians to testify in Committee hearings, and spread his views via the Committee website run by Marc Morano as well as through his access to conservative media.[48][2] In 2012, Inhofe's The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future was published by WorldNetDaily Books, presenting his global warming conspiracy theory.[49] He has said that, because "God's still up there", the "arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what He is doing in the climate is to me outrageous",[50][51][52] but also that he appreciates that this argument is unpersuasive, and that he has "never pointed to Scriptures in a debate, because I know this would discredit me." "

If you have a Republican representative go their web page and look at issues.  There's a good chance you won't see climate change listed.

Abe

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #447 on: August 05, 2021, 07:49:36 PM »
If the iron - based batteries pan out, there will be a big uptick in renewable energy installations as the cost of energy for stable renewable energy drops below even natural gas. I’m not optimistic about adoption in the US because of above Inhofe and friends, but elsewhere that will happen due to market pressures.

pecunia

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #448 on: August 06, 2021, 08:46:00 AM »
There are some options for less expensive safer nukes out there too.  Maybe, they will allow some built and that may pan out.

PDXTabs

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Re: "The climate apocalypse is coming ... "
« Reply #449 on: August 06, 2021, 11:11:29 AM »
There are some options for less expensive safer nukes out there too.  Maybe, they will allow some built and that may pan out.

I'm very interested in Thorium molten salt nuclear reactors reactors, and China says that it is close. But close here is still probably too late.