Tag Archives: Floods

Avoiding collapse: Grand challenges for science and society to solve by 2050

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News Stories about global change.

News Stories about global change.

“These six examples illustrate that there is no one-size-fits all approach for researchers to address today’s grand environmental challenges, but two common themes emerge. The first is that it is no longer enough to simply do the science and publish an academic paper; that is a necessary first step, but moves only halfway towards the goal of guiding the planet towards a future that is sustainable for both human civilization and the biosphere. To implement knowledge that arises from basic research, it is necessary to establish dialogues and collaborations that transcend narrow academic specialties, and bridge between academia, industry, the policy community and society in general. The second theme is that now is the time to rise to these scientific and communication challenges. The trajectories of population overgrowth, climate change, ecosystem loss, extinctions, disease, and environmental contamination have been rapidly accelerating over the past half-century. If not arrested within the next decade, their momentum may prevent us from stopping them short of disaster.”  From: elementascience.org

States At Risk: America’s Preparedness Report Card

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This report card explores the preparedness actions that each of the 50 states are taking in relation to their current and future changes in climate threats.  From: statesatrisk.org

Here’s an interesting map.

Homes and companies should be built on flood plains despite risks, says panel

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Homes and businesses should continue to be built on flood plains across the UK, despite the increasing risks this would involve for future residents, according to the government’s advisors on climate change.  From: enjeuxenergies.wordpress.com

GR:  In the UK, flood damage insurance is paid for by the government.  Encouraging building in floodplains might not appeal to you if you live in an upland area since you will be paying for damage to homes built in the floodplains.

However, building in floodplains is a bad idea mainly because the richest, most diverse, wildlife habitats are found there. In the midst of the great global wildlife extinction being caused by people, it seems sensible to preserve, not develop floodplains.

A World in Hot Water sees Floods, Floods Everywhere

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“2015 was the hottest climate year in the global record by a long shot. According to Japan’s Meteorological Agency, temperatures were a full 0.18 degrees Celsius hotter than 1998, which is now the third hottest climate year on record, and a whopping 0.13 C above just last year (the second hottest year on record).

“It’s a part of a larger warming trend that began during the latter 19th Century. One that has now seen more than 1 degree Celsius of total overall global warming. And so, in a little more than one hundred and thirty years, humans through a massive burning of carbon based fuels, have forced the world to warm by about 20 percent of all the warming seen at the end of the last ice age. But at that great glacial termination it typically took about 2,000 years for the world to warm by the amount we’ve now seen over little more than a Century.”  from: robertscribbler.com

More Signs of Gulf Stream Slowdown as Floods Devastate Cumbria, England | robertscribbler

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“On December 6 of 2015 river levels at Sands Centre in Carlisle hit 8 meters above the typical range. The previous record highest level for this river gauge was 4.5 meters — a level the new flood defense systems were designed to contain. But this week’s rainfall simply overwhelmed both flood defenses and previous expectations for the upper limits of extreme weather.”  From: robertscribbler.com

GR:  Weather extremes caused by global warming were not included in the Limits to Growth model described in my last post.  The extremes may accelerate the beginnings of the collapse of human civilization that the model predicted.

Beavers important source of dead wood in boreal forests

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“Researchers at the University of Helsinki, Finland, compared dead wood quantities and types in southern Finland. The shore forests of beaver sites had significantly larger quantities of dead wood compared to non-beaver sites. Beavers use wood for nutrition and as the building material for their nests and dams. This wood resource is used up by the beavers’ actions within a few years, forcing the beavers to change location. This creates several dead wood hotspots in the area, benefitting a large number of species.”  More at: phys.org

GR:  Beavers are important in all forests. In forested areas I’ve studied, beaver dams were especially important flood control structures.

Nature News Digests

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GarryRogersNature News Digests:

Record-Breaking Wildfires, Greenland Melting and Earth’s Hottest Month Ever

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Humans have some advantages over other animal species, but like the animals, we can’t control our urge to reproduce and our desire for the security of material wealth. Sentient but not sapient, sensitive but not wise, our advantages have let us to eliminate competition, disease, and danger. Thus, nothing can stop our booming population and our world-destroying “environmental footprint.”  (ACD = anthropogenic climate disruption)

Exposing the Big Game's avatarExposing the Big Game

The following article from Truthout.org covers all that I was going to go over in Part 2 of Global Warming: the Future is Now, so here’s this instead:

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Dahr Jamail | The World on Fire:

The US is now officially in the worst wildfire season in its history, as almost 7.5 million acres across the country have burned up since spring.

Articles about ACD’s impacts are now being published in more mainstream outlets, carrying titles that include verbiage like “the point of no return,” and it is high time for that, given what we are witnessing.

A recently published study by the UK-US Taskforce on Extreme Weather and Global Food System Reliance revealed that “major shocks” to worldwide food production will become at least three times more likely within the next 25 years due to increasingly extreme weather events generated by ACD. One of the coauthors of the report…

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When Surging Seas Meet Stronger Rain: Nuclear Techniques In Flood Management

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Unusually high rainfall in many parts of the world is a result of climate change, scientists say. Since warmer air can hold more water, the rationale goes, increased temperatures will increase the chances of stronger rainfall events. And when surging seas combine with stronger rain, the outcome is almost certain: floods.

“Floods are the most frequently occurring natural disasters, and south-east Asia is particularly vulnerable. Climate change and variability are expected to bring about increased typhoon activities, rising sea levels and off-season monsoon rains in south-east Asia and other regions. These can cause devastating floods in countries like Cambodia, Laos, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.

“For the residents of these countries who have survived the ravages of major floods, the road to recovery can be long and arduous. As the flood water recedes, they have to contend with new forms of flood: floods of concern and worries as to how to rebuild their houses, their lives and their cities. Governments, too, face huge challenges in rebuilding roads, public buildings, infrastructure and natural resources destroyed or polluted by the flood.”  Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.iaea.org

GR:  Lost wildlife habitat in these regions will receive virtually no recovery support.  This continual focus on immediate human needs ignores the long-term need for healthy ecosystems.