The movie pitch is that some ancient or mythological creature is defrosted by climate change and wreaks havoc on mankind. The truth is going to be more pervasive, with populations shifting, plant life changing, and massive changes no matter how well they adapt.
As if things couldn’t get worse- climate change is set to reduce the quantity and quality of beer. Warming and changing seasons and precipitation patterns mean a reduction in the hops harvest, with flowers containing less of the alpha acids that give the flavour.
The Conservative Party needs to be so thoroughly beaten at the next election that it collapses and is never heard from again. It’s the least they deserve for policies that leaves us poorer, colder and at greater risk from climate change just so their rich friends can get a little richer.
A California man has been sentenced to 6 years and 9 months for a scam where he took money from investors for non-existent anaerobic digestors at big dairy farms. In classic pyramid scheme style, money from later investors paid out imaginary dividends to earlier ones.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/27/us-man-cow-dung-scam-prison
As the Titanic tourist submarine coverage dragged on, more and more signs of its inevitability were revealed. But, driven by tech-bro arrogance, warnings were ignored- and staff even sacked for giving them, right up until the second hand carbon fibre collapsed under pressure.
Ocengate isn’t alone. Studies of disasters have shown that nearly half had given rise to ‘red flags’ that could have averted them if heeded.
Arrogance and greed are going to continue to cause catastrophes, right up to the biggest of them all- climate change- unless there is a huge change in the culture.
Some of the worst off parts of the country are also the best placed for geothermal plants. It should be a no-brainer to use the resources to help those areas and reduce the country’s carbon footprint. I’m not holding my breath on a Tory government doing anything that sensible though.
Perpetual growth is unsustainable, and making it a priority hurts most people whilst destroying the environment. An alternative is Degrowth, which I’ve heard mentioned, but not got around to investigating. The linked article gives a quick overview of what it entails, and the benefits it would bring.
New York City is sinking under the sheer weight of all its skyscrapers. Added to sea level rises, those images of Manhattan turning into a glass and steel Venice are getting closer and closer.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/19/new-york-city-sinking-skyscrapers-climate-crisis
It’s a complex, interconnected world we live in, and events in one place can influence weather on the other side of the globe. This is an interesting article on how massive wild fires in Australia affected ocean temperatures off South America, which had effects on the whole planet’s weather systems.
The Weird Way Australia’s Bushfires Influenced a Weirder La Niña | WIRED https://www.wired.com/story/the-weird-way-australias-bushfires-influenced-a-weirder-la-nina/
It looks like oil giants are going to face a lot of lawsuits over the damage they have caused. If it’s shown that they knew how bad climate change was going to be and kept quiet, the payouts could be huge.
With too many governments paying lip service to fighting climate change, then subsidising the polluters, I think this is what is needed. Money is all most of the people involved understand. I they lose enough, they’ll comprehend the need to change.
Take a quick dive into a Japanese academic’s interpretation of Marx’s lesser known work and notes as a prescient understanding of environmental issues.
Global warming releasing something terrible from melting ice caps has become a trope. However, it may not be an ancient beast or disease. It could just as easily be something we put there.
https://www.wired.com/story/pollutant-degradation-ice-cores-antarctica/
Ed Milliband’s heart is in the right place, but I think we need more than just solar panels. The last Labour government planned regulations that demanded all new builds be net-zero. The Tories, of course, threw them out.
All new builds should meet internationally recognised net-zero standards, there should be grants for energy saving technology on older buildings, and the minimum energy standard for rented property should be raised significantly. Then we might start getting somewhere.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65097319?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
This sounds promising. Floating the panels in reservoirs also reduces water loss and increases their efficiency through cooling.
Floating solar panels could completely power thousands of cities – The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/14/23639474/floating-solar-panels-power-cities-renewable-energy
As one of the scientists quoted in the report points out, we need to focus on reducing emissions. There’s no point creating technology to take carbon dioxide out of the air if equal or greater amounts are being pumped into it. Once we’ve deployed enough renewables and energy saving measures, then we can think about reversing the damage that’s already been done.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64886116?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
A few photos from today’s Climate Strike in Manchester. Staying on message, I went to and from it on my bike.
After Pride over the Bank Holiday weekend, this last one was more focused on Anger. Are we working our way through the seven sins? Next week, maybe I’ll just stay in bed for Saturday and Sunday. A big feast the one after.
I can’t wait for Lust to turn up.
Extinction Rebellion was in town from Friday to today, closing a section of Deansgate to traffic, and making it civilised. I visited, and took photos, on Friday and Saturday. It actually upset me, in a strange way, because it reminded me of the Reclaim The Streets demos I participated in in the 90s. We didn’t see the change we called for then until fairly recently, and then only slow and flawed. We don’t have two decades to wait for things to get done about climate change.
Also on Friday was August’s Critical Mass. But I’d walked in, so I just took some photos.
Saturday saw my second visit to Extinction Rebellion, and the Stop The Coup demo, which started out in Cathedral Gardens, and made its way to Albert Square, despite starting in very heavy rain.
Then it was down to Platt Fields for something not angry- the Festival of Manchester. I got some nice photos, then there was more heavy rain, so I abandoned it early.
It’s going to be a busy Autumn, and I’ll try to get to as many of these demos as possible, getting photos and video when I do.
Footage from the anti-fracking demo in Manchester on Saturday.
Last week, I was lucky enough to get a look around Todmorden, to see how the Incredible Edible group in the town has found ways to bring food and colour to its public spaces. Thanks to my action cam and a selfie stick, I was able to get a view of the project from the point of view of some of the insects it helps promote.