#climatechange#philosophy#nature. #bookstodon@philosophy I am reading a book that is so thought provoking and wise that I want to reccomend it to anyone who despairs where we are with a world that is convulsing and crumbling around us. This is not a feel good book, but it is a hopeful one. Baptiste Morizot: Rekindling Life: A Common Front. It has not been a qucik read for me. I found I savor a few pages at a time. Have you read #BaptisteMorizot ?
"The #water in our rivers is over-allocated and under-protected. And with all this growth, there’s tremendous pressure to push environmental needs to the side." https://www.texasobserver.org/staying-afloat/
A landmark ruling found that Montana violated young people’s constitutional rights to a “clean and healthful environment,” marking the first time a U.S. court connected the government’s fossil fuel promotion with harm to youth from climate change neglect.
The case, Held v. State of Montana, involved 16 Montana youths aged 5 to 22 who aimed to protect their rights to a healthy environment, dignity, and freedom.
COMMUNITIES AND MUSEUMS IN THE 21ST CENTURY. EDITED ByKaren Brown, Alissandra Cummins, Ana S. González Rueda (Routledge, 2023, CC BY-NC-ND).
"Communities and Museums in the 21st Century brings together innovative, multidisciplinary perspectives on contemporary museology and participatory museum practice that contribute to wider debates on museum communities, heritage, and sustainability."
"With its focus on global societal challenges, this book will appeal to museologists and museum practitioners, as well as those working in heritage studies, cultural studies, memory studies, art history, gender studies, and sustainable development."
I think my home state (AL) should require by law that all personal motor vehicles use minimum 24"+ wheels with low profile tires. It'll cut down on traffic a lot and help curb fossil fuels. #BrandNewShoes for the planet
I'm starting to get really tired of "should" posting, especially about #climatechange. I saw a post recently saying that personal responsibility was pointless, and that we should try to end capitalism, we should take the fight to the governments, armies and companies who cause the most pollution, and we should start a revolution to save the planet.
I see lots of calls to action, but no action.
I'm just doing what I can as an ordinary person to reduce my impact on the environment. I know it isn't going to save the world, but at this point, what else can I do? Honestly, I;m not ready to go to jail, die, or kill in order to fight climate change, and I doubt most people are at that point either. Most of us are just trying to survive.
If you want to start the revolution, be my guest, but you shouldn't shame people for the little they can do, and you certainly shouldn't post expecting others to fight your battles for you. Be the change you want to see in the world, because if people's actions had the same passion and gumption behind them as their posts on #Mastodon, the world would be very different now.
"Global burned area is decreasing, so #ClimateChange does not exacerbate #wildfires" - did you ever hear this argument, possibly continuing to label reports on recent catastrophic wildfires as "alarmist"? 🔥
Flower that thrives in Death Valley may hold secret to heat adaptation: Insights into how Death Valley’s Tidestromia oblongifolia tolerates such high temperatures could help researchers to engineer crops that can survive global warming https://archive.is/0I9Vn
Protect the economy by protecting nature, study urges: Protecting 30% of the world's land and sea outweigh the costs by a ratio of 5 to 1, according to a new report. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-economy-nature-urges.html
The best way to stop carbon from accumulating in the atmosphere is to: 1) stop drilling for oil, 2) stop fracking for gas, 3) stop digging for coal, and 4) stop burning fossil fuels.
@breadandcircuses the fossil fuel companies all decided that was the way to fix things years ago. And they decided to make money until the extinction event puts them out of business instead
Sun 'umbrella' tethered to asteroid might help mitigate climate change: An astronomer has proposed a novel approach -- a solar shield to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth, combined with a tethered, captured asteroid as a counterweight. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230731151552.htm
Well, at least if you buy a Tesla, you're not supporting big oil companies like Exxon — oh wait...
"Oil major Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) is in talks with Tesla (TSLA.O), Ford Motor (F.N), Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and other automakers to supply lithium, Bloomberg Law reported on Monday citing people familiar with the matter."
@grue@ajsadauskas Eliminating cars is perhaps possible in large cities, with neighborhoods that are self-sufficient (work and shopping need to be walkable). For most of America, alas, that will never happen. #ClimateChange
What is “Earth's Energy Imbalance” and why does it matter?
Earth's climate is determined by a delicate balance between how much of the Sun's radiative energy is absorbed in our atmosphere and at the surface, and how much thermal infrared radiation Earth emits back into space. A positive energy imbalance means the Earth system is gaining energy, causing the planet to heat up, while a negative energy imbalance will cause the planet to cool down.
Two years ago, in June 2021, NASA issued a report warning that “Earth's Energy Imbalance Has Doubled” over the period from 2005 to 2019. The report was noticed by practically no one except diligent climate scientists and a few so-called doomers.
A few weeks ago, Leon Simons, a climate researcher in the Netherlands, stated at Xitter that the 2021 NASA report estimated that Earth's energy imbalance would soon decrease due to La Niña and with a negative PDO (that’s Pacific Decadal Oscillation, an ocean circulation pattern).
But the opposite happened. Even with La Niña (which ended very recently) and with a negative PDO, there was an overall continued increase in global heat uptake. Earth's Energy Imbalance (EEI) remained positive, meaning heat was accumulating.
That was NOT supposed to happen.
One possible explanation, according to Simons…
In January 2020 new shipping regulations came into effect, decreasing the maximum amount of sulfur in shipping fuels from 3.5% to 0.5%. Then in 2020 we saw a rapid increase in the amount of solar radiation being absorbed by the ocean in major shipping lanes.
If this trend continues, that could mean that the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes (where many of us live) will warm much more rapidly. It could also impact global and regional weather systems, like the monsoons. More extreme weather is likely.
He wrote the above in March of this year. Since then, we certainly have been experiencing extreme weather.
All indications are that the EEI — Earth's Energy Imbalance — is on the upswing, increasing at a dangerously fast pace.
On Friday, Simons posted an image that he calls “the most important graph in the world.” You can see it below.
He also said this…
♦️ July surface air temperatures are the highest for any month on record!
♦️ Global sea surface temperatures running record high for 5 months now and might continue for 10 more!
♦️ Global sea ice has been shattering record lows for two months now!
♦️ All at the same time!
We are rapidly entering a climate state not seen for millions of years.
The only sensible action is to STOP burning fossil fuels. No more half measures, no more Business As Usual.
Not sure if folks are aware but India has stopped exporting rice to other countries and other asian countries are following suit. Basmati and Sona Masoori rice is really hard to find now.
For asians, not having rice is something unfathomable. Our cultures depend on it. There is no bigger wake up call than seeing rice being restricted thanks to climate change.
@sri
This past year I have started transitioning away from foods that can only be grown really far away from where I live.
It started with giving up bananas, when I lived in Belize bananas were one of my staples but the longer I am away from eating them the more I have learned about how the reason they are one of the cheapest fruits are because of extreme colonialist actions by (mainly) the USA
Just two months ago I decided that I needed to change from eating rice to more local grains and I have switched to Rye and Oats (I had used them as flours but not as whole grains)
I now hear that the rice is going to be more difficult to get. I knew about climate change but this is showing me that I was wrong in thinking that I was going to die before the major effects hit me.
It is my wish that fewer people suffer, I can only hope that by not exporting India will be better able to feed its people
Tens of thousands evacuated as northern China hit by torrential rain: Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from high-risk areas of Beijing and another northern city as much of China was lashed by torrential rain on Sunday. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-tens-thousands-evacuated-northern-china.html