Tag: Climate Change

Could Russia Finally Dominate The World?

The USSR tried unsuccessfully to dominate the world in its day and failed……climate change is real and could it be just the thing Russia needs to finally dominate?

Around the world, climate change is becoming an epochal crisis, a nightmare of drought, desertification, flooding and unbearable heat, threatening to make vast regions less habitable and drive the greatest migration of refugees in history. But for a few nations, climate change will present an unparalleled opportunity, as the planet’s coldest regions become more temperate. There is plenty of reason to think that those places will also receive an extraordinary influx of people displaced from the hottest parts of the world as the climate warms. Human migration, historically, has been driven by the pursuit of prosperity even more so than it has by environmental strife. With climate change, prosperity and habitability — haven and economic opportunity — will soon become one and the same.

And no country may be better positioned to capitalize on climate change than Russia. Russia has the largest land mass by far of any northern nation. It is positioned farther north than all of its South Asian neighbors, which collectively are home to the largest global population fending off displacement from rising seas, drought and an overheating climate. Like Canada, Russia is rich in resources and land, with room to grow. Its crop production is expected to be boosted by warming temperatures over the coming decades even as farm yields in the United States, Europe and India are all forecast to decrease. And whether by accident or cunning strategy or, most likely, some combination of the two, the steps its leaders have steadily taken — planting flags in the Arctic and propping up domestic grain production among them — have increasingly positioned Russia to regain its superpower mantle in a warmer world.

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-big-thaw-how-russia-could-dominate-a-warming-world

While we ignore the consequences of climate change the Russians are preparing for their day of ascension…

Will we wake up in time?  Or will we try to snooze our way through the coming crisis?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Does Working From Home Help?

Since about March of 2020 many of us have been working from home as a health precaution to fight the pandemic that is claiming lives. After 9 months or so can we say that it has helped in the spread of the virus and is working out well?

It may be helping to slow the spread of the virus but the other “benefit” is that will less travel on the roads it would also help with another problem….that of climate change.

So the next question is …..does the home from home help slow climate change?

This study has come out of California…..

A year from now, what will your Monday morning look like? 

After your umpteenth consecutive weekend hugging your mother, your friends and complete strangers in poorly ventilated spaces, do you picture yourself pouring coffee in your thermos to begin your bleary-eyed commute into work? Or are you about to begin your bleary-eyed all-staff on the morning Zoom? 

The answers to those questions will depend on your job, your income level, your employer and, if you’re lucky enough, your preference. They will also dictate whether the next decade of California’s housing affordability crisis looks radically different from the last. 

Within a matter of months, the pandemic-necessitated rise in teleworking has inverted parts of the state’s real estate market in ways housing economists never imagined possible. The median rent in San Francisco has dropped nearly 25% since stay-at-home orders began in March. Oakland, Los Angeles and San Diego have also seen rents drop or at least taper, instantly flattening a decade-long spike. 

As younger professionals flee overcrowded and overpriced apartments in urban cores, rents and home prices in many suburbs, exurbs and mid-size cities have shot up significantly. 

Fresno, Bakersfield and Chula Vista, a San Diego suburb, have seen some of the biggest post-pandemic rent increases in the country. The median price of a single family home in California set an all-time-high of over $700,000 four months ago, with some of the steepest increases in the Inland Empire and Central Valley. 

With the prospect of widespread vaccination on the horizon, private employers, local governments, urban planners and state officials are reluctantly playing the role of housing crisis Nostradamus: Is what we’re seeing in 2020 an aberration or a new normal?

https://calmatters.org/housing/2020/12/remote-work-california-housing-crisis/

Whatcha think?  Good or ineffective?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Biden On Climate Change?

There is a subject that seems to be off the grid for now…..that issue is climate change.

I really have not heard much from Biden but the usual platitudes that Centrists seem to have on speed dial…..since he has not been forthcoming….what should he do for the climate.

On January 20, 2021, when President-elect Joe Biden takes office, he will be able to undo some of Trump’s damage to the environment by executive actions. Environmental organizations want these to include investigating and prosecuting fossil fuel polluters; ending fossil fuel subsidies and fossil fuel extraction on public lands; and denying permits for new fossil fuel infrastructure.

Of course, executive orders only go so far. Equally important are the signals Biden sends regarding climate policy through his recent appointments and the names he has floated for his Cabinet. And how does the President-elect’s Climate Action Plan compare with the Green New Deal—to address not only the climate crisis but also the economy, health care, housing, and other issues related to environmental and social justice?

Environmental organizations are cheering Biden’s choice of former Secretary of State John Kerry as climate envoy within the National Security Council. It is the first time a seat on the council has been devoted to climate change, reflecting that the Biden Administration deems it a security issue informing domestic and foreign policy.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/12/07/how-biden-should-tackle-climate-crisis

Scientists want Joe to try these things to fix the climate….

The election of Joe Biden has changed the prospects for action. The former vice president ran on a platform that included specific, ambitious measures to tackle climate change, including rejoining the Paris climate agreement (which the U.S. exited on November 4) and setting a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Climate scientists and environmental advocates have applauded these goals but warn that it will take substantial work to reach them. Among other things, the Biden administration needs to help transition U.S. energy systems, gird against future damage from climate-fueled disasters, and make sure policies incorporate considerations of equity and justice.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/heres-how-scientists-want-biden-to-take-on-climate-change/

But what are his actual plans?

The Biden Plan will:

  1. Ensure the U.S. achieves a 100% clean energy economy and reaches net-zero emissions no later than 2050. On day one, Biden will sign a series of new executive orders with unprecedented reach that go well beyond the Obama-Biden Administration platform and put us on the right track. And, he will demand that Congress enacts legislation in the first year of his presidency that: 1) establishes an enforcement mechanism that includes milestone targets no later than the end of his first term in 2025, 2) makes a historic investment in clean energy and climate research and innovation, 3) incentivizes the rapid deployment of clean energy innovations across the economy, especially in communities most impacted by climate change.
  2. Build a stronger, more resilient nation. On day one, Biden will make smart infrastructure investments to rebuild the nation and to ensure that our buildings, water, transportation, and energy infrastructure can withstand the impacts of climate change.  Every dollar spent toward rebuilding our roads, bridges, buildings, the electric grid, and our water infrastructure will be used to prevent, reduce, and withstand a changing climate. As President, Biden will use the convening power of government to boost climate resilience efforts by developing regional climate resilience plans, in partnership with local universities and national labs, for local access to the most relevant science, data, information, tools, and training. 
  3. Rally the rest of the world to meet the threat of climate change. Climate change is a global challenge that requires decisive action from every country around the world. Joe Biden knows how to stand with America’s allies, stand up to adversaries, and level with any world leader about what must be done. He will not only recommit the United States to the Paris Agreement on climate change – he will go much further than that. He will lead an effort to get every major country to ramp up the ambition of their domestic climate targets. He will make sure those commitments are transparent and enforceable, and stop countries from cheating by using America’s economic leverage and power of example. He will fully integrate climate change into our foreign policy and national security strategies, as well as our approach to trade.
  4. Stand up to the abuse of power by polluters who disproportionately harm communities of color and low-income communities. Vulnerable communities are disproportionately impacted by the climate emergency and pollution. The Biden Administration will take action against fossil fuel companies and other polluters who put profit over people and knowingly harm our environment and poison our communities’ air, land, and water, or conceal information regarding potential environmental and health risks. The Biden plan will ensure that communities across the country from Flint, Michigan to Harlan, Kentucky to the New Hampshire Seacoast have access to clean, safe drinking water. And he’ll make sure the development of solutions is an inclusive, community-driven process.
  5. Fulfill our obligation to workers and communities who powered our industrial revolution and subsequent decades of economic growth. This is support they’ve earned for fueling our country’s industrial revolution and decades of economic growth. We’re not going to leave any workers or communities behind.

Sorry but those are platitudes….vague promises that will go nowhere…..and only #3 would be likely to be enacted…..the rest are vague promises that we always get.

Finally this part does not pertain to one party or the other (although it should)…..

I have reported on the brain eating thing before…..and now it can be tied to climate change……

Climate change may have sparked a disturbing migration. A new study says infections tied to Naegleria fowleri—or “brain-eating amoeba”—are occurring farther north than they once did, LiveScience reports. The single-celled organism is typically found in warm bodies of freshwater, per Newsweek, making it historically more common in southern states. But now more cases are occurring in the Midwest. Such cases arise when N. fowleri is ingested through the nostrils, allowing it to enter a person’s brain, which causes a rare and often fatal infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). The findings—which note that the annual case count remains steady—are based on 85 cases of PAM over 40 years.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

How About That ‘Green New Deal’?

I have writing about the offering of them Progressive Dems and trying to educate my readers o9n what is what with this proposal……https://lobotero.com/2018/12/06/the-green-new-deal/

Now that we have a new president and maybe a way forward with this proposal…..but first….99% of the Progressive co-sponsors of the Green New Deal won their re-election…..

Shedding more light on a significant electoral trend that progressives have drawn attention to in the aftermath of the 2020 U.S. election, a new analysis by Earther found that of the 93 House co-sponsors of the Green New Deal resolution who ran for reelection this year, only one lost their congressional race. 

“Simply put,” wrote journalist Brian Kahn in Earther, “the Green New Deal is not a political loser,” including for representatives in swing districts. 

Kahn identified four House co-sponsors who represent districts that “range from very slightly Democratic to moderately Republican,” according to Cook Political Report’s Partisan Voting Index. 

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/09/99-green-new-deal-co-sponsors-won-their-races-cycle-analysis…but for more in-depth look at those races and people…..https://earther.gizmodo.com/the-green-new-deal-didnt-sink-democrats-1845619942

To put this all simply….the Green New Deal is not the political loser that Centrist Dems and the GOP would have you believe…..but will it ever see the light of day with a Biden presidency….not likely!

While the president-elect, Joe Biden is a Centrist and in my mind a coward…there are a few things he could do to help our climate problems….just 10 things offered up by Naomi Klein…..

  • Declare a national climate emergency under the National Emergencies Act, which would “unlock specific statutory powers to help accomplish the necessary response.” Biden would be able to direct federal agencies to reverse all of President Donald Trump’s regulatory rollbacks.
  • Keep fossil fuels in the ground, halting fossil fuel permits and lease sales, banning fracking on federal lands, and issuing stringent pollution rules for oil and gas companies.
  • Stop fossil fuel exports and infrastructure approvals through executive orders.
  • Shift financial flows from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources through an executive order that would promote new investments and phase out old ones.
  • Using the Clean Air Act, set a science-based national pollution cap.
  • Power the electricity sector with 100% clean and renewable energy by 2030. Pursuant to the National Emergencies Act, Biden could direct the secretary of defense to redirect a portion of military spending to carry out a rapid construction program of renewable energy projects to meet a significant portion of the nation’s power needs. The president-elect could also provide loan guarantees to clean energy developers and utilities that use renewable energy.
  • Issue an executive order creating an inter-agency just transition task force to implement a national program guaranteeing support for communities and workers affected by the halting of fossil fuel extraction.
  • Direct federal agencies assess and mitigate environmental harms that disproportionately impact Indigenous, Black, brown, and low-income communities. 
  • Investigate and prosecute fossil fuel polluters and commit to vetoing all legislation that grants legal immunity to big polluters. 
  • Rejoin the Paris climate agreement and increase the United States’ emissions reduction commitment to slash greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by at least 70% by 2030 and reduce them to near zero by 2040.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/09/biden-urged-be-climatepresident-taking-these-10-game-changing-steps-first-10-days

While I like most of this proposal…I just do not see a spineless politician doing them….too much corporate cash in his pocket.

Any Thought?

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–19Nov20

What does the richest man in the world do with some of his cash?

Why he gives it away….you know kinda like Gates and Buffet…..with no other motive than the kindness in his heart……Hahahahaha!  Sorry I could not continue without laughing.

What am I going on about?

The world’s richest man is a teensy bit less rich. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is donating $791 million, via grants to 16 groups that are working to combat climate change. “I’ve spent the past several months learning from a group of incredibly smart people who’ve made it their life’s work to fight climate change and its impact on communities around the world,” the billionaire wrote on Instagram. “I’m inspired by what they’re doing, and excited to help them scale. Today, I’m pleased to announce the first Bezos Earth Fund recipients—16 organizations working on innovative, ambitious, and needle-moving solutions.” He says he’s committing even more, a total of $10 billion, “to fund scientists, activists, NGOs, and others. We can all protect Earth’s future by taking bold action now.”

Bezos is just following in the foot steps of Bill Gates and wife and Warren Buffet….all are giving up their mass fortunes to help society.

Okay I admit it…I am a doubting Thomas….no one that damn rich gives cash way without something in return.

Nope I am not buying the philanthropy for the sake of philanthropy slant to this story.

What will he get for all this “effort”?

My guess is massive tax savings….

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Green New Dud

Lots has been writing, argued, debated and lied about when the climate is brought out in polite circles (that excludes deniers and the network they worship)…..

The Dems have been pushing a Green New Deal….well true progressives that is…..and there have been some attempts to calm the rhetoric around climate.

Then there is the worthless attempt by Pallone of New Jersey……

Broadly, Pallone’s climate plan—which came after 15 committee hearings about the human-caused crisis—aims to enable the United States to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas pollution by 2050. It would direct all federal agencies to use their existing authorities to meet that goal, and includes provisions for the power, building, transportation, and energy sectors.

The proposal would require states to develop plans to meet the 2050 target that must take into account the needs of communities on the front lines of the climate crisis. It would also establish a first-of-its-kind National Climate Bank to help states, municipalities, and companies transition.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/27/extremely-disappointing-new-analysis-offers-scathing-critique-top-democrats-clean

It is a dud……this does little but help the industries that profit from exploiting the climate for profits….

The draft Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation (CLEAN) Future Act—largely seen as a “competing plan” to the Green New Deal—was announced earlier this month by the committee’s chair, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.). Crafted after 15 committee hearings, the bill (pdf) aims to ensure that the United States achieves net-zero greenhouse gas pollution by 2050.

In a joint statement with Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) and Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Pallone said Tuesday that “every day, communities across the country are paying the price for inaction through record wildfires, flooding, and drought, and Congress cannot afford to simply watch from the sidelines.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/28/green-new-dud-not-green-new-deal-climate-groups-denounce-draft-bill-house-democrats

Just another attempt to be doing something while doing NOTHING substantial.

But for those that need a simpler explanation to why this is not a good deal then please click on this analysis….https://1bps6437gg8c169i0y1drtgz-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Pallone-Energy-Report-Final.pdf

You truly want some true action on climate change?  Then use a Tried a true technique of presidents……Executive Order.

Not long lasting but it would be a start….and the planet will thank you.

This Dem proposal is weak and a worthless waste of time…..but can we expect from them?

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Will Climate Change Make You Sick?

An interesting question….we could say yes from drought or storms or habitat destruction….but there is a chance that something much older could be waiting to attack…..

A new study of ice cores in glaciers in the autonomous Chinese region of Tibet reveals that the ice floes are holding viruses previously unencountered by humans, raising the possibility of the microbes being released as the climate crisis continues. 

“We’ve opened up a Pandora’s box with climate change,” observed one Twitter user. 

The report, “Glacier ice archives fifteen-thousand-year-old viruses,” was published in the journal bioRxiv in early January by the scientists who examined the cores. It is awaiting peer review.

According to NBC News:

The experiment revealed 33 groups of virus genuses (also known as genera) in the ice cores. Of these, 28 were previously unknown to science, the researchers said. “The microbes differed significantly across the two ice cores,” the researchers wrote in the study, “presumably representing the very different climate conditions at the time of deposition.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/23/ancient-viruses-trapped-glaciers-thousands-years-could-be-released-climate-crisis

But not to worry…..according to that idiot senator, Rand Paul, it is all a fake…..

According to U.S. Senator Rand Paul, fears of climate change are overblown — but we should also venture out and drastically change the environments of other planets so humanity might settle them.

Paul tweeted his bizarre stance ­on Sunday, after he attempted to roast Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her aggressive plans to fight climate change, a move which, as HuffPost reports, backfired spectacularly.

And clapbacks aside, his stance that there’s no urgent rush to try and mitigate climate change is troubling given the exhaustive mountain of evidence to the contrary.

https://futurism.com/the-byte/senator-climate-change-fake-terraform-worlds

There are few words that I can use to describe these morons that does not violate the bounds of decency…..so I will leave it at “MORONS”.

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–15Jan20

Let It Burn!

I am sure that everyone with an ear has heard bout the outrageous fires in Australia…..they have caused deaths both human and animal and blackened millions of acres of land.

The authorities have arrested dozens of people for starting fires…..

At least 24 people have been killed in the bushfires that have raged in Australia. The same number of people in the hard-hit state of New South Wales have been arrested and charged with deliberately setting fires there since the fall. USA Today reports one of the 24 is a 19-year-old volunteer firefighter. Blake Banner is accused of being involved in seven fires that emerged south of Sydney. Suspicions were raised after Banner was regularly among the first to arrive on the scene. ABC News reports a prison term of up to 21 years is possible for anyone found guilty of intentionally igniting a fire and recklessly promoting its growth.

Another 100 people have allegedly violated the state’s fire ban or tossed a lit cigarette or match on the ground. Meanwhile, the AP reports the scope of the financial toll of the disaster became a little more clear Tuesday, with the Insurance Council of Australia doubling the estimated damage bill since just Sunday to $485 million. Australia’s fire season typically runs from December to March, but drought and heat brought on a September start this year.

Is it climate change or just stupid individuals?

New South Wales police force announced that it had charged 24 people with deliberately starting bushfires in the Australian state.

The force also noted that it’s taken legal action against a total of 183 people for 205 bushfire-related offenses, including failure to comply with a fire ban and discarding lit cigarettes or matches on land.

The news that arsonists have contributed to the deadly fires raging in Australia is both highly disturbing and disheartening. But perhaps even more troubling is the wielding of this information as “evidence” that climate change isn’t a major contributing factor to the emergency.

https://futurism.com/australia-arrests-dozens-starting-bushfires

Man made or climate change?

Potato or potato (its all in the pronunciation)

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Climate Change For 2020

Closing Thought–02Jan20

There are a lot of things that will change in 2020….but the one thing that will stay constant is that the climate is changing and not for the better….but let’s look at a few predictions for 2020….

When it comes to climate change, did we accurately predict in 2000 what would be happening now? 

“What the models correctly told us 20 years ago is that if we continued to add fossil fuels at an increasing rate to the atmosphere, we’d see an increasing range of consequences, including a decline in Arctic sea ice, a rise in sea levels and shifts in precipitation patterns,” Weather Underground meteorologist Robert Henson told USA TODAY.

Overall, we’re running quite close to the projections made in 2000 for carbon dioxide concentration, global temperature and sea level, Henson said.

Here’s a look at climate change indicators for 2020:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/12/24/climate-change-predictions-2020-carbon-dioxide-weather-disasters/2622212001/

Not to worry these predictions will be disputed/

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

US Military–The Collapse

Most of us have our opinions on what climate change will do or not do to the planet……but has anyone really considered what it could possibly do to our military?

About here someone is thinking that I am losing my ever loving mind….am I right?

The Climate and the military?

All you Neocons that are also climate deniers….then maybe you need to pay attention…

The idea looks feasible if you read a report by the Pentagon…..

Faced with the challenges of global climate change as well as the refugee crisis and armed conflicts it will create, the U.S. military may very well collapse.

That’s the dire conclusion of a Pentagon-commissioned report about the future of the military, first published online in August with little fanfare and recently surfaced by Motherboard. The takeaway is clear: if humanity continues to destroy the environment, American infrastructure could collapse and the military would be so ill-equipped to respond that it too would fall apart.

In a cruel twist of irony, the U.S. Department of Defense was recently shown to have the largest carbon footprint in the world — the military does more to exacerbate climate change than do entire developed nations.

“Most of the critical infrastructures identified by the Department of Homeland Security are not built to withstand these altered conditions,” reads the report. It says that increased energy demands caused by increased heat waves and droughts could destroy the power grid, which it describes as “an already fragile system.”

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/mbmkz8/us-military-could-collapse-within-20-years-due-to-climate-change-report-commissioned-by-pentagon-says

The report paints a frightening portrait of a country falling apart over the next 20 years due to the impacts of climate change on “natural systems such as oceans, lakes, rivers, ground water, reefs, and forests.”

Current infrastructure in the US, the report says, is woefully underprepared: “Most of the critical infrastructures identified by the Department of Homeland Security are not built to withstand these altered conditions.”

It is just not the temperatures that will be effected…..every part of the economy/society will face a bleak future if the next 20 years do not find a cure.

Just thought you should know.

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”