Tag: Weather

Let’s Ban Weather Modification

There has been a wealth of bills flying around to ban experiments in controlling the weather…..there is no experiments to control the weather…..but that does not stop the GOP from using it as a tool for crowd control.

Republicans across the country are working hard to pass bills banning something that the fringe corners of the internet told them to be afraid of: weather modification.

Weather modification refers to geoengineering processes such as solar radiation modification and cloud-seeding that are used to counter the effects of global warming and drought, respectively. These processes have been woven into right-wing conspiracy theories that the government is able to control the weather, and MAGA lawmakers—fearful that the Democrats could rule the heavens and summon a deluge to wipe them out—have started to take action.

Republican lawmakers in nearly 20 states have introduced legislation to prevent weather modification. Some of the laws allude to “chemtrails,” a conspiracy theory that planes aren’t leaving “contrails” of condensation in the atmosphere but are spreading chemicals on an unsuspecting public. In two states, Florida and Tennessee, those bills have passed and been signed into law.

In July, right-wing concerns about weather modification reached a new fever pitch.

Earlier this month, Environmental Protection Agency head Lee Zeldin announced an effort to “compile everything we know about contrails and geoengineering” and release it to the public.

Days later, Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Tim Burchett introduced the Clear Skies Act, a bill that would levy steep penalties for anyone who “knowingly conducts weather modification,” including geoengineering, cloud seeding, solar radiation modification, and the release of aerosol to “influence temperature, precipitation, or the intensity of sunlight.”

After Hurricane Helene struck the southeast United States in October, Greene boosted the right-wing conspiracy theory that the Biden administration had used weather manipulation to target Republican areas ahead of the U.S. general election. “Yes they can control the weather,” Greene wrote in a post on X at the time. “It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”

https://newrepublic.com/post/198565/republicans-introduce-bills-weather-modification-conspiracy-theory

Another waste of time and resources…..but then that is what the GOP does best.

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

And Then The Rains Came

For week now the major story in the MSM has been the rains then flooding in Texas that has killed 100+ people and 150+ still missing presumed dead….there has been lots of back and forth on blame for this tragedy….there seems to be a wealth of misinformation in the saga so far….

I begin with an article in France24….

The catastrophic floods over the weekend have left more than a 100 people dead, including more than two dozen girls and counselors at a riverside summer camp, with rescuers racing on Tuesday to search for dozens of people still missing.

Multiple left-leaning accounts on the platform X peddled the unfounded claim that staffing cuts at the National Weather Service (NWS) by President Donald Trump’s administration had “degraded” its forecasting ability.

While the NWS, like other agencies, has experienced deep staffing and budget cuts under the Trump administration, experts say its forecasters rose to the challenge despite the constraints.

“There have been claims that (weather agencies) did not foresee catastrophic (Texas) floods — but that’s simply not true,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, wrote on Bluesky.

Read On….

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250708-texas-floods-misinformation-across-political-spectrum-sows-confusion

Then as usual there is a wealth stupid coming from Donny and his minions….

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem renewed her call Wednesday to “eliminate” the Federal Emergency Management Agency calling it “slow to respond” to the deadly floods that have killed more than 120 people in Texas over the past week.

…

Multiple sources said Noem waited until Monday to authorize the deployment of these search and rescue teams, more than 72 hours after the flooding began. Aerial imagery to aid in the search was also delayed waiting for Noem’s approval.

Noem used these very delays to justify her calls to disband FEMA entirely.

“Federal emergency management should be state and locally led, rather than how it has operated for decades,” she said. “It has been slow to respond at the federal level. It’s even been slower to get the resources to Americans in crisis, and that is why this entire agency needs to be eliminated as it exists today, and remade into a responsive agency.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/noem-fema-delays

A 72 hour delay in response time and then a call for an elimination of FEMA….was the delay [part of the pl;an to eliminate FEMA or just idiots playing golf and sipping martinis to be bothered with a response?

You tell me?

As suspect as this story is there was even more usual moronic blame being passed around….as usual it will be the Dems fault that this even took place….

Rightwing podcaster and influencer Charlie Kirk has claimed the death toll from the Texas floods “would not have been as high if it wasn’t for” diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Kirk made the comments during his program on Real America’s Voice, saying, “The Democrats are so despicable. The Democrats are not lifting a finger to remember the well over 100 that have died in Texas Hill Country.”

He added that what “you are not being told by the media anywhere, is that the death toll likely would not have been as high if it wasn’t for DEI.”

“This Texas tragedy is just the latest example,” Kirk went on. “It’s not just incompetence. This is DEI working to undermine meritocratic institutions, and more people likely died than otherwise would have because of DEI.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/charlie-kirk-texas-floods-dei-death-toll-b2785957.html

I am surprised that he did not blame immigrants….but is probably another story…

Oh there is more stupidity.

As Texas recovers from one of its deadliest floods, some Republicans are spreading a conspiracy theory that suggests that weather manipulation is to blame for the deadly flash floods that have killed at least 89 people.

Republicans, including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, have accused the scientific practice of being used to harm and kill, with Greene proposing a bill on Saturday that would make weather modification, also called cloud seeding, a felony.

Greene has previously suggested that weather manipulation has been used to harm Republican-majority areas in the south.

Fellow Republican and Congressional candidate Kandiss Taylor, who is vying for a seat alongside Greene in Georgia, also slammed the practice while directly blaming it for Texas’ incredible deaths and destruction.

“This isn’t just ‘climate change.’ It’s cloud seeding, geoengineering, & manipulation,” she posted on X, without supplying any supporting evidence. “If fake weather causes real tragedy, that’s murder.”

“Fake weather. Fake hurricanes. Fake flooding. Fake. Fake. Fake,” she added in another post.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/weather-manipulation-conspiracy-theory-texas-floods_n_686c0c45e4b0082b3c90c01c

FOOLS!

But not to worry His Majesty plans to tour the damage today….

As President Donald Trump heads to Texas on Friday for a firsthand look at the devastation caused by catastrophic flooding, he has remained conspicuously quiet about his previous promises to do away with the federal agency in charge of disaster relief.

The Trump administration isn’t backing away from its pledges to shutter the Federal Emergency Management Agency and return disaster response to the states. But since the July 4 disaster, which has killed at least 120 people, the president and his top aides have focused on the once-in-a-lifetime nature of what occurred and the human tragedy involved rather than the government-slashing crusade that’s been popular with Trump’s core supporters.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-texas-floods-fema-phase-out-b77d9681d2d39f8c201351b54ecf944f

I am sure there will be another of his insulting speeches to follow….where no one is safe from blame and accusations.

Where will the next disaster hit?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Who Controls The Weather?

I am always fascinated on what people want to believe and this one takes the damn cake.

Who or what controls the weather?  Is it Mother Nature?  How about the CIA?

According to some on the Right it is the Democrats.

Yes you read that properly….the Dems are in control of the weather and are using hurricanes to destroy Red States….

Marjorie Taylor Greene would have been hilarious if most of the things she said were satire. Now she thinks that Democrats can control hurricanes.

On Twitter and Instagram, Greene claimed, “They can control the weather.” The Georgia Representative did not phrase this tweet as a joke and made the same claims a few days ago. In fact, she went on to state that “anyone who says don’t, or make fun of this, is lying to you.”‘ She also cited a speech by former CIA Director John Brennan on geoengineering to “prove” that the Democratic Party is capable of controlling the weather through Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI).

I didn’t think Democrats could be airbenders, but here we are.

Perhaps the irony of Greene’s claim comes from the fact that SAI is a method developed to solve a problem she doesn’t believe in: climate change. Unfortunately, her tweet gained over 59,000 likes. Those who agreed with Greene also believed that climate change isn’t real and that it’s all the Democrats’ fault.

The video proof Greene presented is misleading and unrelated to her claim. Not everyone can understand what Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) is, but Brennan himself explained the method in layman’s terms. SAI can’t form hurricanes nor drive the direction of typhoons. What SAIs can do is reflect solar radiation back into space to cool the Earth’s crust.

Tropical cyclones develop over warm oceans. The water vapor from these warm oceans condenses into clouds, and the heat produced by the atmosphere turns the air lighter. This is how storms are formed and how they’re pushed on land. SAIs have nothing to do with storms, as per Greene’s example.

This isn’t the first time Greene misappropriated examples to stir a commotion online. Greene has been vocally skeptical about climate change on multiple occasions. Earlier in 2023, however, Greene used the example of climate change to dissuade migrants from coming to the United States.

Marjorie Taylor Greene isn’t consistent with her stances regarding climate issues. It goes to show that she’ll say anything if it’s politically convenient.

(themarysue.com)

MTG is batcrap crazy…..but this is pushing the boundary of stupidity….sadly people are buying into this hogwash…..and what does it say about the mental capability of those that choose the believe this crap and pass it on as truth?

Where do these morons draw the line?

They do not is the only answer that makes sense.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–16Feb24

Well crap!

Not at all what I wanted to hear from the weather people.

Appears that our hurricane season maybe more active….

Here are the weather predictions for the coming Spring and Summer….

A warmer-than-average winter across the northern US and a wetter-than-average winter across the South are signs of the current El Nino global climate pattern—one so strong it’s been dubbed “Super El Nino,” per CNN. But it’s now past its peak, easing as it makes way for its opposite, La Nina, in a transition that will have major consequences for weather in the US, potentially increasing Atlantic hurricane activity and worsening western drought. In the Pacific Ocean, trade winds usually blow west along the equator, whisking warm water from South America toward Asia. During El Nino, trade winds weaken or reverse, allowing water to move from east to west, boosting surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific.

But during La Nina, trade winds are stronger than normal, so more warm water is pushed east and more cold water from the depths of the ocean rises to the surface. This results in cooler-than-average conditions, now predicted to occur as early as this summer, according to a La Nina watch issued Tuesday by the Climate Prediction Center. Forecasters found El Nino wind patterns declined in January, along with temperatures in the eastern and east-central Pacific, per the Washington Post. The CPC now describes a 79% chance of neutral conditions from April to June, a 55% chance of La Nina conditions from June to August, and a 77% chance of La Nina from September to November, per Axios.

La Ninas follow strong El Ninos about 60% of the time and “often produce the opposite weather patterns as El Nino, including a more active Atlantic hurricane season,” per CNN. We may also see the consequences in “wetter-than-normal weather on the western side of the Pacific, as well as in southern Alaska, the northwestern United States, and the northern Plains” and “dry conditions for Southern California and the Southwest,” per the Post. As La Nina also tends to temporarily suppress global temperatures, it could keep 2024 from surpassing 2023 as the hottest year on record. If temperatures continue to climb, however, it could signal systematic change to the climate, per the Post.

A more active hurricane season….just not what we on the Gulf Coast like to hear….hopefully your region has better news than mine.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Memories Of An ‘Eco-Commie’

The hot topic these days in blogs is that of the climate change persuasion….everyone is predicting and debating the end times for the planet….but where was all this concerned 10 years ago….5 years ago….even last year?

‘Eco-Commie’?

WTF?

I will explain that term shortly….but first….

After Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast I lost most of my saved earlier work but it was whisked away by the storm until the other day when I found a plastic bin that had been saved that I had forgotten about and in this bin were some writings I did on the environment and such.

Now for the Eco-Commie thing….after Vietnam I became deeply involved in the antiwar scene and by extension I also was a protester for the environment and because we were so animated some starting calling us ‘Eco-Commies’ because back in those days if you protested oil companies and other polluters you were anti-American.

I kinda liked the label to be honest.

Now to flesh out why I am writing this post…..

I have heard people ask just how did this become a problem unforeseen.

It was not unforeseen.

Back in 1977 during th early days of the Carter administration a memo was passed around.

n 1977 Star Wars hit movie theaters, New York City had a blackout that lasted 25 hours, and the Apple II personal computer went up for sale. It was also the year that a remarkable one-page memo was circulated at the very highest levels of US government.

Years before the climate crisis was part of national discourse, this memo outlined what was known – and feared – about the crisis at the time. It was prescient in many ways. Did anyone listen?

memo

Click to view the full memo.

Did they see this coming?

“Fossil fuel combustion has increased at an exponential rate over the last 100 years. As a result, the atmospheric concentration of CO2 is now 12 percent above the pre-industrial revolution level and may grow to 1.5 to 2.0 times that level within 60 years. Because of the “greenhouse effect” of atmospheric CO2 the increased concentration will induce a global climatic warming of anywhere from 0.5 to 5°C.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/14/1977-us-presidential-memo-predicted-climate-change

Carter signed 14 major environmental bills as he foresaw climate change coming.

Jimmy Carter Signed 14 Major Environmental Bills and Foresaw the Threat of Climate Change

I would say they were ahead of the curve.

Carter was the first world leader to recognize the coming problem.

No one was listening…..and then in 1981 with the formation of the Heritage Foundation the battle was on between facts and misinformation.

Gains made under Carter’s presidential leadership in the early 1980s might have bought the planet precious time. Instead, for the next 12 years, under Reagan and George H.W. Bush, the U.S. government would view global warming as largely unworthy of study, much less action. Then came 25 years of stop-and-start efforts under administrations of both parties, followed by a return to denial under Trump and, then, re-entry into the Paris process under President Joe Biden.

Then there was the environmental summit of 1992.

I located some of me notes from this summit…..

178 nations sent delegates to the environmental summit of 1992….it was billed as ‘coming together to save the earth’….that did not work out so well now did it?

On the agenda was forest protection,biodiversity and climate change….

On climate change the industrialized nations agreed to try and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by the year 2000….they failed miserably.

The US held out so they could force a treaty without specific levels of greenhouse gases and as usual the US never ratified the treaty….and as they say….here we are today scorching and sweating our asses off.

Some in the US have tried numerous times to head off the coming doom but each time the government did what it does best kick the can down the road and that has lead us to where we are today.

Every administration has issued this attempt or that and thanx to the silly notion of ‘bi-partisanship’ nothing has been done….and every year the situation got worse and worse until….BANG!  Here we are today with dire results of all that inaction.

For instance we just lived through the hottest month on record and yet BP made $2.6 billion in profit….so are they doing their part to help the situation…..NOT a chance!

The people can also shoulder some of the blame for they have ignored the warnings and in turn have let the government do little to nothing…..and once again….BANG!  Here we are today sweating our asses off.

If only someone had taken us ‘eco-commies’ seriously we might be talking about some other problem.

There you are the history of inaction and the results of an uncaring people.

Maybe you should have listened when you had the chance.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

The Heat Is On!

Another sweltering Sunday and I want to be an FYI blog so why not post about what effects this extreme heat is having on us that are suffering through 110+ temps?

I realize not everyone is having to deal with this massive heat problem this Summer but that could change at any time….so why not get all the info you can before you have to deal with it?

Besides sweating and bitching how does extreme hear effect one’s mental health?

There’s plenty of reason to think hot weather takes a psychological toll as well as a physical one. Researchers have found suicides increase when it’s hot, as does violent crime, trips to the emergency room, hospitalizations for mental problems, and deaths overall, the New York Times reports. But the reasons aren’t always clear, and one expert said the effects have only been widely acknowledged for five years or so. As prolonged heat waves become more common, research into the links becomes more important. “Our understanding of the basic biology of why this association exists is still in its infancy,” said Dr. Joshua Wortzel, who chairs the American Psychiatric Association’s committee on the subject.

The risk isn’t evenly distributed. People who suffer from schizophrenia, dementia, psychosis, or substance use face increased danger—often a 5% higher risk of death for every 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit rise in temperature, one study estimated. Those who take drugs to deal with mental issues have to be especially careful when temperatures are high, said Dr. Ken Duckworth, chief medical officer at National Alliance on Mental Illness. “Some antipsychotic medications reduce the ability to control temperature,” he said, per CNET. Being in air conditioning mitigates the risk, but patients on certain antipsychotic medications who are in the heat can find their body aligning with outdoor ambient temperatures, Duckworth said.

Anyone can become more irritable during hot spells. One reason for the greater strain on bodies is sleep disruptions. A good sleep is more likely when the room is no warmer than 68 degrees, per the Times. Also, people fall asleep later and wake up earlier during warm spells. Older people are affected more—one study found they lost twice as much sleep as young people. If that goes on for weeks, physical conditions such as heart disease and diabetes are exacerbated, as are cognitive function and psychiatric issues, research suggests.

This heat has changed my life….I am not spending as much time outside….my pups do not get their walks just too damn hot even at 3 am…..traveling is out of the question….on and on….

Life as we know it could soon change if extreme, dangerous heat continues to inundate regions for longer stretches of time and at higher temperatures, according to experts.

A large part of the U.S., including much of the southern portion stretching from the West Coast, across Texas and to the Southeast, has been experiencing triple-digit temperatures and heat indexes for weeks on end.

Record-breaking temperatures have been the norm in several cities in recent weeks, including Phoenix, which has now seen more than 40 consecutive days at about 110 degrees.

Hotter-than-ever temperatures, and longer periods of time when they occur, will become the norm unless greenhouse gas emissions are drastically curbed, mitigating further global warming, according to climate scientists. Americans could see an average of 53 more days of extreme heat by 2050, if emissions aren’t reduced, according to climate modeling data released by the ICF Climate Center in June.

The increased heat is guaranteed to alter how society operates, experts told ABC News.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/ways-extreme-heat-will-change-life/story

If you have not experienced this extreme heat then I hope you never do….it will change your life and your family’s life.

And then there is the candidate that is running second to Trump (for now that is)….some billionaire named Vivek (who?) and he thinks all this climate stuff is a hoax…..

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy railed against climate-conscious business policy at an Iowa State Fair appearance Saturday. 

In an fireside chat with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Ramaswamy said that environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) business policies are among the “grave threats to liberty,” and said “the climate change agenda” is a “hoax.”

“They’re using our money… to implement social and environmental agendas through the backdoor. Through corporate America,” Ramaswamy said. “Using your retirement funds and your investment accounts to vote for racial equity audits or Scope 3 emissions caps that you didn’t know they were using your money to do, and that Congress would have never passed through the front door.”

(thehill.com)

Biggest threat to liberty?  Lying d/bags like this guy are a much bigger threat….this guy is just another slimy conserv with visions of grandeur.

Finally, if the GOP wins a majority in 2024 we can pretty much kiss the environment good-bye….

When Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) questioned US climate envoy John Kerry at an oversight hearing in July — a month that became the hottest ever recorded — he sidestepped that the country was in the grip of repeated heat waves, fires, and a looming hurricane season. Over a six-minute interrogation, the House Freedom Caucus chair claimed Kerry wanted to charge taxpayers a “quadrillion dollars to fix a problem that doesn’t exist” and accused him, along with thousands of scientists and the 195 governments signed onto the Paris climate accord, of “grifting.”

Kerry shook his head when Perry concluded. “That’s a pretty shocking statement,” he said, “that you believe all the scientists of the world are grifters.”

The shock from the emotionally charged attack may have been the point. “There’s a longstanding history of climate deniers going after the messenger as well as the message,” Geoffrey Supran, a University of Miami associate professor who studies climate disinformation, told Vox. “The harder it is to dismantle the message, the easier it is to go after the individuals most prominently communicating it.”

Collective climate change denial in the Republican Party is not new. But the Perry-Kerry exchange illustrates how the GOP’s claims are becoming increasingly audacious — as signals from human-caused climate change become all the more apparent.

https://www.vox.com/climate/23815966/republicans-climate-change-denial-trees

 

Have a wonderful Sunday and as always….be well and be safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Are We Beyond Global Warming?

The hot (pun intended) topic of the week is that of global warming and the extreme weather we are all experiencing.

Since everyone on blogs is fascinated with this extreme heat I thought I would bow to social convention and focus on the weather as well.

We all are suffering somehow with the climate these days…..I live in the Deep South and for us it is extreme heat, 100-115, most days and the lack of rainfall.

And of course people ask the rhetorical question, will this agony ever end?

Is the answer for which you search?

According to the UN research we have moved past global warming and into global boiling……

July has been so hot that scientists calculate that this month will be the hottest globally on record and likely the warmest human civilization has seen, even though there are several days left remaining to sweat through. The World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service on Thursday proclaimed July’s heat is beyond record-smashing, the AP reports. They said Earth’s temperature has been temporarily passing over a key warming threshold: the internationally accepted goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius—2.7 degrees Fahrenheit. Some scientists calculate that this month is the hottest in about 120,000 years.

Temperatures were 1.5 degrees higher than in pre-industrial times for a record 16 days this month, but the Paris climate accord aims to keep the 20- or 30-year global temperature average to 1.5 degrees. A few days of temporarily beating that threshold have happened before but never in July. This month has been so off-the-charts hot, with heat waves blistering three continents—North America, Europe and Asia—that researchers said a record was inevitable. The US Southwest’s all-month heat wave is showing no signs of stopping while also pushing into most of the Midwest and East with more than 128 million Americans under some kind of heat advisory Thursday.

“Unless an ice age were to appear all of sudden out of nothing, it is basically virtually certain we will break the record for the warmest July on record and the warmest month on record,” Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo told the AP. Scientists say that such shattering of records is a harbinger for future climate-altering changes as the planet warms. Those changes go beyond just prolonged heat waves and include more flooding, longer-burning wildfires, and extreme weather events that put many people at risk. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged world leaders, in particular of rich nations, to do more to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases. Despite years of international climate negotiations and lofty pledges from many countries and companies, greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise.

Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning,” Guterres told reporters in a New York briefing. “The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.” Buontempo and other scientists said the records are from human-caused climate change augmented by a natural El Nino warming of parts of the central Pacific that changes weather worldwide. Copernicus calculated that through the first 23 days of July, Earth’s temperature averaged 16.95 degrees Celsius, 62.5 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s nearly one-third of a degree Celsius (almost 0.6 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than the previous record for the hottest month, July 2019.

https://www.unilad.com/news/world-news/un-says-were-entering-the-stage-of-global-boiling-834409-20230728

With the news that the Gulf Stream could collapse by 2025 the news is not looking too rosy for the planet.

I hate to tell you(which is a lie) ‘I told you so’….but people like me have been saying this would happen and few listened especially politicians….they had rather bow to the slugs that throw money at them than care for the planet.

Are we getting what we deserve?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

There Is A Change A’Coming

The extreme heat wave raging across the globe and others are getting a month’s rain in a couple of hours….so I guess I will bow to social convention and post on this situation.

I live in the deep South and since about late May we have been in a heat cycle with little to no rain….in the past couple of days our evening lows went from 90s to mid-70s….a welcome rest from the oppressive heat….our days are still pushing the 100 mark but at least the night is close to comfortable.

The news and the blogs have been awash with weather stories and dire predictions….so not to be the only blogger not jumping on that bandwagon I will relent and post a little something.

We all have heard of the Gulf Stream, but what is and what does it do?

The Gulf Stream is a small part of something called the ‘thermohaline circulation’ or ‘Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation’. This is a large, global-scale ocean conveyor belt driven by differences in temperature and salt content – the water’s density.

Originating at the tip of Florida, the Gulf Stream is a warm and swift Atlantic Ocean current that follows the eastern coastline of the US and Canada before crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards Europe. It ensures that the climate of Western Europe is much warmer than it would otherwise be.

As warm water flows from the equator to the poles it cools and some evaporation occurs, which increases the amount of salt. Low temperature and a high salt content means high density and the water sinks deep in the oceans. The cold, dense water also moves slowly. Eventually, it gets pulled back to the surface and warms in a process called “upwelling” and the circulation is complete.

This global process makes sure that the world’s oceans are continually mixed, and that heat and energy are distributed to all parts of the earth. This in turn contributes to the climate we experience today.

Now that that piece of knowledge has been dropped….could there be a change coming?

One of the climate change tipping points scientists are most worried about could arrive sooner than expected, with potentially disastrous consequences for billions of people, according to new research. In a study published in the journal Nature, Danish researcher Peter
Ditlevsen, a climate scientist, and his sister Susanne Ditlevsen, a professor of statistics, said their analysis suggests that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation—AMOC—network of ocean currents, which includes the Gulf Stream, could collapse before the end of this century. They said AMOC could severely weaken or shut down as soon as 2025 or as late as 2095, though the most likely time is midcentury under the “current scenario of future emissions, the New York Times reports.

The AMOC moves warm water from the tropics to the North Atlantic, but melting ice is a major problem, the researchers say. “Greenhouse gas emissions cause global warming, which speeds up the melting of Greenland ice,” the Ditlevsens explain to USA Today. “The melted freshwater entering the North Atlantic can then disrupt the AMOC, potentially causing major climate disruptions.” The extra freshwater, they say, is “lighter than the salty seawater around it” and can “disrupt the normal sinking of the salty water, weakening or even shutting down the AMOC.” If the AMOC is shut down disrupted, it could cool Europe and North America by a few degrees—but there would also be sea level rises and huge disruptions to rainfall in North America and beyond.

The change would disrupt agriculture in Asia, South America, and Africa, endangering the food supply for billions, the Guardian reports. “This would be a very, very large change,” Peter Ditlevsen says. “The AMOC has not been shut off for 12,000 years.” He says the research shows the urgent need to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. While other scientists agree on the need to reduce emissions, some disagree with the Ditlevsens’ analysis, saying there is still much uncertainty about the tipping point for the AMOC and any collapse. One problem with the statistical analysis other researchers pointed to was the use of potentially inaccurate records going back to 1870

There you go….my little effort to give some knowledge about the future and the insane weather the world is dealing with these days…..

The next thing is….if change arrives where will we live?

To date, the climate migrations that have attracted federal policy attention in the United States generally have fallen under the category of “managed retreat.” Recall, for instance, the 2016 headlines announcing that Isle de Jean Charles, La., would receive $48 million in federal funds for a first-of-its-kind wholesale community resettlement project, or the Biden administration’s announcement last year that it had awarded $75 million to Indigenous communities in Alaska and Washington state to pack up and move. “Managed retreat,” or the planned relocation of vulnerable coastal communities to higher ground, is at once a proactive tactical move and an act of resignation—an acknowledgment that, in a warming world, some geographic communities are fated to disappear into the sea. But what should we make of this intense political fixation on managed retreat? And when climate migration policies prioritize the most extraordinary and poignant cases, who is left behind? 

https://www.thenation.com/article/environment/climate-change-flooding-displacement/

Enough for now….but I will have more to say….I always have more to say….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

How Hot Can It Get?

A question many are asking……but sadly not the right people are asking this probing question.

There has been many blog posts about the extreme heat the earth is suffering through….and there does not seem to be an end to this torture.

For weeks on end we have been told about the extreme heat that is gripping the US and the world.

My region has had a month of above normal heat even for this time of the year, even reaching the 107 mark just yesterday.

If this trend continues then how hot can it get and what would come afterwards?

If it seems like the weather has been getting really wonky lately — and generally, a lot warmer — that’s because it has been, thanks to the phenomenon of global climate change. In a nutshell, the mean temperature of the Earth’s surface is steadily rising, due in large part to the steadfast refusal of humankind to stop filling the atmosphere with heat-trapping greenhouse emissions, despite virtually every climate scientist on the planet imploring us to do so for decades. For the record, the science on this issue is absolutely settled; human activity is causing the phenomenon, and while there are large swaths of people who refuse to believe it, this unfortunately does not make it any less true.

For those of us who are actively concerned about the issue (which should be every single one of us), a few key questions may rise to the forefront of any discussion: How bad could rising temperatures get, and how quickly? What will the effects of global climate change be, and how will they impact us? And most importantly, what can be done about the problem? The answers are more straightforward than one might think, but be warned: many of them aren’t pretty, and they spell out the undeniable truth that global climate change is an issue that must be addressed by the whole of humanity, head-on — and right now.

According to an analysis by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of the United Nations, the mean temperature of the Earth’s surface has risen by about one degree Celsius since the industrial revolution. The analysis points out that this is a global mean — in some parts of the world, the average temperatures have risen even higher, and the effects have already begun to be felt. The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, an accord between member nations to limit greenhouse emissions, aims to keep this mean temperature increase firmly under two degrees, with a stated goal of keeping it under 1.5 — the point beyond which some changes may become irreversible.

https://www.grunge.com/1337577/how-hot-can-earth-get-what-would-happen/

Not to worry we are told this is all just a liberal hoax….there is nothing to see with the climate.

If you believe that then you may be dumber than I ever imagined.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Trying To Reason With The Hurricane Season–2023

It is that time of the year…..we who live on the Gulf Coast dread 01 June for it is the start of the hurricane season.

If you do not live in Hurricane Alley then this post will not be of interest to you….but I would be remiss as an FYI blogger if I let it go without a post.

It’s time for residents along the southeastern US coastlines to make sure their storm plans are in place: The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season formally got underway Thursday, and the AP rounds up some things to know:

  • Predictions: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted in late May a 40% chance of 2023 being a near-normal hurricane season, a 30% chance of an above-average season, which has more storms than usual, and a 30% chance of a below-normal season, which has fewer.
  • Specifics: “We’re expecting a busy season with 12 to 17 named storms,” said Mike Brennan, the new director at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, adding that five to nine of those storms could become hurricanes, with one to four growing into major hurricanes.
  • Meet Arlene: Already, the first named storm of the season formed on Friday in the Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters say Tropical Storm Arlene is heading due south toward the western tip of Cuba, and could fall apart before reaching any land.
  • What’s new: This year, the hurricane center is rolling out a new storm surge model that Brennan said “helps push real-time storm surge prediction out to 72 hours in advance of the storm” in hopes of getting life-saving information to emergency managers regarding evacuation orders. In addition, tropical weather outlooks have been extended from five days out to seven days, providing “an additional heads up” for residents to make decisions about whether to evacuate in advance of a storm, Brennan said.
  • El Nino: The term refers to a natural temporary warming of the Pacific Ocean that occurs every few years, including this one. Generally, the Atlantic is quieter and has fewer storms during El Nino years, though Brennan noted there are other factors at play, including warm sea surface temperatures, weaker low-level easterly flows, and a more active African monsoon season. “So these forces are going to kind of fight it out over the course of this hurricane season,” he said. “We don’t know how this season’s going to play out.”

I pots every year to let my regulars know that if I disappear between June and December it could be because of a storm has hit and we are without power or internet.

AS my tradition I will sign off with a tune of the season from Jimmy Buffet….

Enjoy your weekend…..be well….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”