Spike in Alaska Wildfires is Worsening Global Warming | Climate Central

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Northern wildfires must now be recognized as a significant driver of climate change – and not just a side-effect, according to the report from the U.S. Geological Survey.

“This is one of the surprises that we haven’t talked about much,” said Virginia Burkett, chief climate scientist at the USGS. “It has tremendous implications for the carbon that is locked up in Alaska soils and vegetation.”

A record wildfire year – such as 2015 which was the worst in Alaska for a decade – had a measurable effect on the release of carbon dioxide and methane, which are the main drivers of climate change.

“Our scientists found that the balance of carbon storage versus release in Alaska was strongly linked with wildfires,” Burkett said. “In years where there was high wildfire activity the net carbon balance declined dramatically, and then it would rebuild in the absence of fire.”

Source: Spike in Alaska Wildfires is Worsening Global Warming | Climate Central

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Fantastic news! Port Augusta’s opportunity to become a world class solar energy hub « Antinuclear

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A NEW proposal for a $1.2 billion solar thermal plant at Port Augusta, backed by former federal Liberal leader Dr John Hewson, can be revealed by The Advertiser just weeks after the city was hit with the closure of its power station.

Solastor Australia will next week unveil its plans to build a solar thermal power station with a generation capacity up to 170 megawatts and energy storage capabilities, The Advertiser has discovered.

While details of the project remain secret until an official announcement on Tuesday, a similar proposal from US company SolarReserve would create up to 1000 jobs during construction and about 50 permanent jobs.

Source: Fantastic news! Port Augusta’s opportunity to become a world class solar energy hub « Antinuclear

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AZGFD.gov Game and Fish officers euthanize bear that clawed camper

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GR:  As the human population grows and expands, encounters with wildlife increase.  We kill any animals that injure a human–usually no questions asked.  We also kill wildlife as we build homes and roads and destroy necessary wildlife habitat.  Research indicates that already half of all animals are gone.  Eventually, there will only be humans, their domestic animals, and a small number of other species.

Do we care enough about other creatures to protect their habitat and reduce our population?  None of the zoning regulations I’ve seen preserve habitat just because wild animals need it.  Certainly there is no effective effort to control our population.  So, is it truly inevitable that humans doom most wild animals to extinction?

black bearPHOENIX — “Arizona Game and Fish Department officers last night trapped and euthanized a black bear that had scratched and injured a camper earlier in the day in a dispersed camping area (not a developed campground) near Cherry Creek in Young, Ariz.

“The subadult (1-1/2 to 2-1/2 year-old) [young] male bear was caught in a culvert trap set by a highly trained team of wildlife officers. They confirmed this was the bear involved in the incident based on descriptions from other campers and because it had a unique hind paw pad that matched tracks found at the scene. The bear was euthanized [killed] per department policy because it attacked a human and was deemed a threat to public safety.

“Officers noted there were unsecured food sources and garbage in the area, and a field necropsy revealed garbage in the bear’s stomach contents. Arizona Game and Fish reminds everyone that leaving food and trash around may be luring an animal to its death.”  Read more: AZGFD.gov Game and Fish officers euthanize bear that clawed camper.

The photo is a Pixabay Free Illustration.

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Young bear killed in California may have been mutilated for its body parts | US news | The Guardian

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A young bear killed by a vehicle on a California road this week was found by highway maintenance workers to have been mutilated, possibly so that parts of it could be sold on the black market, according to officials.

The bear had injuries consistent with being hit by a car in the early hours of Thursday morning, not shot or poisoned, according to Andrew Hughan, an information officer for the California department of fish and wildlife, who said the black bear, the only species in California, was a “yearling” at two years old and 150 pounds – “something like a teenager”.

However, Hughan said that when the game warden arrived on the scene to retrieve the carcass he discovered that “the paws had been cut off and the gall bladder had been removed, which is pretty disheartening”.  Read more: Young bear killed in California may have been mutilated for its body parts | US news | The Guardian

This sounds like an accident; let’s hope Asian bear-bile poachers don’t open shop in North America.

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Siberian Heatwave Wrecks Sea Ice as Greenland High Settles In | robertscribbler

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We’ve never seen Arctic sea ice extents that are as low as they are now in early June. And with Arctic heatwaves, warm winds, warm storms, and a Greenland High all settling in, something had better change soon or otherwise the ice cap over the northern Polar Ocean is basically screwed.

On the shores of the Arctic Ocean’s East Siberian Sea (ESS), near the town of Logashinko, temperatures today are expected to rise to near 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Readings that are about 40 to 50 degrees (F) above normal for this near-polar region during this time of year.

Source: Siberian Heatwave Wrecks Sea Ice as Greenland High Settles In | robertscribbler

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Yes to Clean Energy and Clean Air. No to Coal and Climate Change. | Climate Reality

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Please click the link below and sign the petition.

Climate Reality Project:  “In the coming months, Millennium Bulk Terminals plans to build the largest coal export terminal in the US near Longview, Washington, exporting up to 44 million metric tons of dirty coal annually from the Pacific Northwest to Asia.

Photo: NBCNews.com

Photo: NBCNews.com

“Our choice is simple. We can support clean energy and protect the health of Northwest communities and the stunning beauty of our mountains and rivers. Or we can let coal trains spread dangerous coal dust across towns and cities, pollute our air and water, and accelerate the climate crisis devastating our planet.

“It’s time to put our environment and planet before coal company profits – and today, you can help. Add your name by June 13 and help ensure Millennium’s coal export proposal doesn’t move forward.

“Add your name below and say no to coal and yes to a clean energy future for the Pacific Northwest.”  Source: Yes to Clean Energy and Clean Air. No to Coal and Climate Change. | Climate Reality

Hidden Risks in a Warming Antarctic – D-brief

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As the rest of the world heats up and the Arctic hemorrhages ice, a different story is playing out in Antarctica. Total ice coverage there has actually increased, and temperatures have risen only mildly. As researchers have attempted to adequately model the changing climate, the Antarctic paradox has served as ammunition for climate change deniers and challenged climate scientists.

But three recently published papers help explain why the Antarctic isn’t falling in line with the rest of the world, while highlighting an overlooked trend in Antarctic sea ice.

Not So Rosy After AllWhile Antarctica may appear to buck the trend of warming and sea level rise, a problem may be lurking beneath the surface.

Source: Hidden Risks in a Warming Antarctic – D-brief

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Abuse of Power: ExxonMobil, Chairman Lamar Smith, and the First Amendment – The Equation

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Gretchen Goldman, lead analyst, Center for Science and Democracy:  “. . . the New York Times printed a full-page advertisement sponsored by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a free-market think tank that has been funded by ExxonMobil and has regularly misrepresented climate science. The ad reads in large font “Abuse of Power” followed by discussion of free speech rights of companies, nonprofits, and individuals to disagree on climate change. The ad claims that attorneys general in several states and the US Virgin Islands are overstepping their roles in investigating ExxonMobil for possible fraud.The ad raises the issue of abuse of power, so let’s talk about that.Abuse of power is when a company lies to its investors and the public about climate change impacts and engages on a decades-long campaign of spreading disinformation to the public and decision makers, despite being at the cutting edge of climate science research back in the 1960s. It’s not about ExxonMobil having first amendment rights (as it has claimed), it’s about whether or not the company has committed fraud. The ongoing investigations by attorneys general will determine the answer.

Source: Abuse of Power: ExxonMobil, Chairman Lamar Smith, and the First Amendment – The Equation

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Population matters on World Environment Day – Population Matters

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World Environment Day, celebrated annually on 5 June, was created to inspire people around the world to take action to protect nature and the Earth.

The first World Environment Day was established by the United Nations in 1972, on the day of the first UN Conference on the Human Environment. In the years since then, it has become a broad, global platform for public outreach, celebrated in more than 100 countries. It embraces both individual actions and collective initiatives that have a positive impact on the environment: we all are, after all, agents of change.

This year’s World Environment Day, hosted by Angola, focusses especially on the fight against illegal trade in wildlife, which causes acute animal suffering and is a great threat to the preservation of wildlife and biodiversity.

Source: Population matters on World Environment Day – Population Matters

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