The Environment Thread

[Stickman]

Climate Advocates Call Brazil’s Major Drought A ‘Warning Sign’

[Green Habit]

Gonna shake up this regularly pessimistic thread with a bit of technoptimistic ambition:

https://www.slowboring.com/p/energy-abundance

This is why I obnoxiously post the "¿Por qué no los dos?" meme every time there's an argument about nuclear vs. solar/wind/geothermal/etc. We need as much clean electricity as we can build to cascade those gains toward other clean energy uses.

[simple schoolboy]

Gonna shake up this regularly pessimistic thread with a bit of technoptimistic ambition:

https://www.slowboring.com/p/energy-abundance

This is why I obnoxiously post the "¿Por qué no los dos?" meme every time there's an argument about nuclear vs. solar/wind/geothermal/etc. We need as much clean electricity as we can build to cascade those gains toward other clean energy uses.

Local power purchasing groups are tending to blackball nuclear, so there's not much of a market for it. That, plus ALARA means it can't ever be allowed to be competitive on a cost basis.

We aren't building any more nuclear, and we are nowhere near grid level storage of any significant amount. Renewables, "temporary" natural gas plants, and seasonal blackouts are the forseeable future.

[Bi_3]

Renewables, "temporary" natural gas plants, and seasonal blackouts are the forseeable future.

[simple schoolboy]

I tried to keep it optimistic by suggesting blackouts will mostly be weather related.

[Bi_3]

[Stickman]

Everything Is at Stake

[4/5]

Perhaps a tad hyperbolic.

[Stickman]

[Stickman]

Who sent the largest delegation to COP26? The fossil fuel industry. At least 503 lobbyists have been taking part in the UN’s climate conference in Glasgow — that’s 2 dozen more than the largest country delegation.

[Stickman]

Extreme Storms Will Be ‘New Normal'

[96583UP]

Extreme Storms Will Be ‘New Normal'

Thanks, Calgary!

[Bi_3]

I was unaware, or at least don't remember it, but apparently a few companies are getting ready to bring solid-state lithium batteries to market next year. These are game-changers if they can scale delivery.

[Stickman]

This agency is building a ‘black box’ that will store Earth’s climate change data

[McParadigm]

Crucial Antarctic ice shelf could fail within five years, scientists say

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate- ... ntarctica/

Scientists have discovered a series of worrying weaknesses in the ice shelf holding back one of Antarctica’s most dangerous glaciers, suggesting that this important buttress against sea level rise could shatter within the next three to five years.

Until recently, the ice shelf was seen as the most stable part of Thwaites Glacier, a Florida-sized frozen expanse that already contributes about 4 percent of annual global sea level rise. Because of this brace, the eastern portion of Thwaites flowed more slowly than the rest of the notorious “doomsday glacier.”

But new data show that the warming ocean is eroding the eastern ice shelf from below. Satellite images taken as recently as last month and presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union show several large, diagonal cracks extending across the floating ice wedge.

These weak spots are like cracks in a windshield, said Oregon State University glaciologist Erin Pettit. One more blow and they could spiderweb across the entire ice shelf surface.
“This eastern ice shelf is likely to shatter into hundreds of icebergs,” she said. “Suddenly the whole thing would collapse.”

The failure of the shelf would not immediately accelerate global sea level rise. The shelf already floats on the ocean surface, taking up the same amount of space whether it is solid or liquid.

But when the shelf fails, the eastern third of Thwaites Glacier will triple in speed, spitting formerly landlocked ice into the sea. Total collapse of Thwaites could result in several feet of sea level rise, scientists say, endangering millions of people in coastal areas.

[tragabigzanda]

FUCK ICE

[Mickey]

Crucial Antarctic ice shelf could fail within five years, scientists say

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate- ... ntarctica/

Scientists have discovered a series of worrying weaknesses in the ice shelf holding back one of Antarctica’s most dangerous glaciers, suggesting that this important buttress against sea level rise could shatter within the next three to five years.

Until recently, the ice shelf was seen as the most stable part of Thwaites Glacier, a Florida-sized frozen expanse that already contributes about 4 percent of annual global sea level rise. Because of this brace, the eastern portion of Thwaites flowed more slowly than the rest of the notorious “doomsday glacier.”

But new data show that the warming ocean is eroding the eastern ice shelf from below. Satellite images taken as recently as last month and presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union show several large, diagonal cracks extending across the floating ice wedge.

These weak spots are like cracks in a windshield, said Oregon State University glaciologist Erin Pettit. One more blow and they could spiderweb across the entire ice shelf surface.
“This eastern ice shelf is likely to shatter into hundreds of icebergs,” she said. “Suddenly the whole thing would collapse.”

The failure of the shelf would not immediately accelerate global sea level rise. The shelf already floats on the ocean surface, taking up the same amount of space whether it is solid or liquid.

But when the shelf fails, the eastern third of Thwaites Glacier will triple in speed, spitting formerly landlocked ice into the sea. Total collapse of Thwaites could result in several feet of sea level rise, scientists say, endangering millions of people in coastal areas.

Is that....is that good?

[McParadigm]

The speed of this shit

[doug rr]

thats where i grew up, team...my mom was evacuated yesterday..she's fine as is the house..have a couple acquaintances that lost homes...still waiting on a lot more info

[Stickman]

2021 was Earth's 5th-hottest year on record, according to European Union scientists