The Environmental thread + Conventional (HI-FI) wisdom is almost always invariably wrong

sphinxsix · May 10, 2020

16 hours ago, elcorso said:

And this from China:

Roch

I had been highly impressed when I saw this for the first time.

One more.

Quote

NASA satellite sees air pollution drop over northeastern US amid coronavirus outbreak

sphinxsix · May 11, 2020

I'm afraid that the things like leaving minimal individual carbon footprint may not and actually will not be enough if we don't put a pressure on those of our leaders who don't understand.

Dismantling environmental protections under cover of coronavirus.

sphinxsix · May 27, 2020

On 5/9/2020 at 10:40 AM, semente said:

The Environmental impact of Covid:

On 5/9/2020 at 9:53 PM, elcorso said:

And this from China:

Roch

On 5/9/2020 at 10:02 PM, elcorso said:

Some other locations:

Roch

On 5/10/2020 at 2:04 PM, sphinxsix said:

I had been highly impressed when I saw this for the first time.

One more.

However impressive these graphs may look, according to a study published in Nature Climate Change, CO2 emissions had fallen only by 17% on average by early April. According to experts it's just meaningless..

Fall in global carbon emissions

Fall in emissions during coronavirus is no cause for celebration

On 5/11/2020 at 7:38 PM, sphinxsix said:

I'm afraid that the things like leaving minimal individual carbon footprint may not and actually will not be enough if we don't put a pressure on those of our leaders who don't understand.

Dismantling environmental protections under cover of coronavirus.

OTOH some good news from the other side of the Atlantic - the European Commission has increased five-fold in comparison to its January proposal the proposed European Union fund to wean carbon-intensive regions off fossil fuels, with fresh cash from a new recovery fund to help Europe’s ailing economies rebound after the new coronavirus pandemic.

EU pledges 40 billion euros for 'just transition' from fossil fuels

BTW seems that currently the United States (responsible for ca 15% of global CO2 emissions) is the only country in the world to pull out of the Paris climate agreement and thus the States will eventually join the company of countries like Iran (1.66%), Turkey (1.04%) and Iraq (0.48%) that have not yet ratified the agreement.

I'd really love America to be first but in some different way..

sphinxsix · May 28, 2020

The Virtual Festival for Our Planet will be broadcast on Pathway to Paris and 350.org’s Facebook pages – as well as 350.org website. The event is free and open to all. Start time is

June 5, 7pm GMT/ 3pm EST.

virtual-festival-for-our-planet

sphinxsix · May 28, 2020

Some more good news from EU.

EU pledges coronavirus recovery plan will not harm climate goals

On 5/13/2020 at 1:49 PM, semente said:

Unless we change the paradigm of infinite growth and consumerist lifestyle and making the top 1% richer there's no way we'll ever make it.

I must admit that IMO also making 10% of all the countries richer and thus further away from the so called '3rd' world may and probably will not work. Maybe what the coronavirus crises should have showed us is the fact that we live in a world that is so interconnected and so interdependent that thinking in terms of 'us' and 'them' simply may not work anymore

sphinxsix · June 3, 2020

Air pollution in China back to pre-Covid levels and Europe may follow

Climate change in deep oceans could be seven times faster by middle of century, report says.

sphinxsix · June 12, 2020

Climate crisis to blame for $67bn of Hurricane Harvey damage

sphinxsix · June 17, 2020

Pandemics result from destruction of nature, say UN and WHO

Climate crisis: alarm at record-breaking heatwave in Siberia

Deadly heat is killing Americans: A decade of inaction on climate puts lives at risk

sphinxsix · June 22, 2020

On 6/20/2020 at 7:04 PM, Summit said:

Environmental regulations in Egypt is lacking big time. A new bridge in Giza, Egypt, has upset people in the area. The bridge runs so close to the residential buildings that residents will be able to walk from their balconies to the bridge.

https://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/har-ar-bron-som-nastan-snuddar-husen

This looks really sick.

sphinxsix · June 25, 2020

Worth reading IMO.

World has six months to avert climate crisis

sphinxsix · June 27, 2020

17 hours ago, elcorso said:

We're going too far, don't you think ?

Roch

We are going very far indeed. Let's hope we will not go all the way..

sphinxsix · July 6, 2020

Coronavirus - world treating symptoms, not cause of pandemics, ongoing destruction of nature will result in stream of animal diseases jumping to humans, says UN report.

sphinxsix · July 19, 2020

3 hours ago, Summit said:

Despite all the talk about the importance of a green transition in the economy, at least $ 151 billion has been invested in fossil fuels during the corona pandemic. Only $88.63 billion supporting clean energy.

https://www.energypolicytracker.org/region/g20/

But fortunately it seems there are some who begin to treat the environmental problems with the seriousness they deserve.

3 unexpected ways to tackle climate change

I personally have signed a petition demanding a green covid recovery plan which has to be presented to the participants of the November G20 summit but I'm afraid that in case of the climate crisis 'clicktivism' may not be enough..

sphinxsix · July 20, 2020

7 hours ago, John Dyson said:

What kind of regulation is in place for this more terrible, immediate threat to humanity (and potentially many mammal species?) What kind of international tribunal for the intentional repression of warnings to the rest of the world?

These are actually the questions I've been asking myself recently.

IMO this may be really the high time for us to shift from the 'us and (or even vs) them' perspective towards more let's say 'we are one world' perspective, no matter how idealistically and utopian this might sound. In general I would probably be in favour of finding some balance between exerting political and economic pressure on the countries which could afford switching to clean energy but don't want to do that and helping (loans, grants) the countries which really can't afford it. We should be aware that in the later case we would be in fact helping ourselves or in the other words - saving our own a..

BTW I must admit I was reading this, this morning with my eyes really wide open.

Green New Deal in all but name.

sphinxsix · July 20, 2020

@John Dyson Sorry, I actually didn't answer your questions, I can only say that IMO also in this case we need an international, world wide cooperation, I'm not an expert on that topic (nor any other that is discussed here for that matter), I can only suggest checking out e.g. the first link from this post:

sphinxsix · July 21, 2020

1 hour ago, John Dyson said:

Perhaps this time, we have purposeful malfeasance in the mix

I very much doubt it.

1 hour ago, John Dyson said:

Unfortunately, we are headed for a cold cycle in world temperatures

I don't think so. At least not in the time perspective we should be really interested in right now.

1 hour ago, John Dyson said:

what is the correct management solution, when short term there might be a heating issue?

Let me ask a different question - what if short term is all we have and possible consequences of 'incorrect management' could much worse than what's going on now around the world in connection with the pandemic.?

BTW this may be some good news:

Oxford coronavirus vaccine triggers immune response, trial shows. Early results also indicate vaccine is safe.

Trials involving 1,077 people showed the vaccine injection led to them making antibodies and T-cells that can fight coronavirus.

sphinxsix · July 21, 2020

@John Dyson I'm sure China can be blamed for some cover ups in particular during the initial stages of the pandemic. At the same time it can not eclipse the fact that in many countries (IMO also in the US) dealing with the disease was and in many cases still is very incompetent and political goals proved to be more important than people's health and lives.

I think I will stop here.

sphinxsix · July 21, 2020

Greta Thunberg and some of the world’s leading climate scientists have written to EU leaders demanding they act immediately to avoid the worst impacts of the unfolding climate and ecological emergency.

The letter, which was sent before a European council meeting, says the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that most leaders are able to act swiftly and decisively, but the same urgency had been missing in politicians’ response to the climate crisis.

It has been signed by 80,000 people including some of the world’s leading scientists.

Thunberg and other leaders of the school strikes movement across Europe said the €750bn EU Covid recovery plan was inadequate.

Greta Thunberg says EU recovery plan fails to tackle climate crisis.

sphinxsix · July 22, 2020

First active leak of sea-bed methane discovered in Antarctica.

sphinxsix · July 22, 2020

The new study, likely to be the most influential yet, narrows range of probable temperature rises.

sphinxsix · July 23, 2020

The cost of preventing further pandemics over the next decade by protecting wildlife and forests would equate to just 2% of the estimated financial damage caused by Covid-19, according to a new analysis.
Two new viruses a year had spilled from their wildlife hosts into humans over the last century, the researchers said, with the growing destruction of nature meaning the risk today is higher than ever. It was vital to crack down on the international wildlife trade and the razing of forests, they said.
The key programmes the scientists are calling for are: much better regulation of the wildlife trade, disease surveillance and control in wild and domestic animals, ending the wild meat trade in China, and cutting deforestation by 40% in key places. There was a clear link between deforestation and virus emergence, they said, with forest bats the likely reservoirs of the Ebola, Sars and Covid-19 viruses, and tropical forest edges a “major launchpad” for new viruses infecting humans.
“It’s naive to think of the Covid-19 pandemic as a once in a century event,” said Prof Andrew Dobson at Princeton University in the US, who led the analysis. “As with anything we’re doing to the environment, they’re coming faster and faster, just like climate change.”

Cost of preventing next pandemic 'equal to just 2% of Covid-19 economic damage'

sphinxsix · July 25, 2020

On 7/24/2020 at 12:23 AM, John Dyson said:

Deforestation or not,

Even if some studies on the influence of deforestation on spreading animals derived diseases were some exaggeration, this would be something I personally call a 'good lie'.

Think of the world as of a smoker who smokes more and more while his lungs volume decreases with each day.