Climate change is upon us....

[Sriram]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66314338

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False claims suggesting that the BBC has been misreporting temperatures in southern Europe have been spreading on social media.

A clip of Neil Oliver, a GB News presenter, accusing the BBC "and others" of "driving fear" by using "supposedly terrifying temperatures", has been viewed more than two million times.

For the past few weeks, an intense heatwave has been sweeping through parts of southern Europe and north Africa, with extensive wildfires breaking out in Greece, Italy and Algeria - leading to more than 40 deaths.

Speaking about the fires on Rhodes on GB News on Monday, Mr Oliver accused the BBC, and other broadcasters, of trying to "make people terrified of the weather".

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[ProfessorDavey]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66314338

**********

False claims suggesting that the BBC has been misreporting temperatures in southern Europe have been spreading on social media.

A clip of Neil Oliver, a GB News presenter, accusing the BBC "and others" of "driving fear" by using "supposedly terrifying temperatures", has been viewed more than two million times.

For the past few weeks, an intense heatwave has been sweeping through parts of southern Europe and north Africa, with extensive wildfires breaking out in Greece, Italy and Algeria - leading to more than 40 deaths.

Speaking about the fires on Rhodes on GB News on Monday, Mr Oliver accused the BBC, and other broadcasters, of trying to "make people terrified of the weather".

***********

That's appalling - but it seems to be standard these day that people think they are entitled to their own facts!

[Sriram]

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/30/world/antarctic-sea-ice-winter-record-low-climate-intl/index.html

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Every year, Antarctic sea ice shrinks to its lowest levels towards the end of February, during the continent’s summer. The sea ice then builds back up over the winter.

But this year scientists have observed something different.

The sea ice has not returned to anywhere near expected levels. In fact it is at the lowest levels for this time of year since records began 45 years ago. The ice is around 1.6 million square kilometers (0.6 million square miles) below the previous winter record low set in 2022, according to data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

In mid-July, Antarctica’s sea ice was 2.6 million square kilometers (1 million square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. That is an area nearly as large as Argentina or the combined areas of Texas, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado

“The game has changed,” he told CNN. “There’s no sense talking about the odds of it happening the way the system used to be, it’s clearly telling us that the system has changed.”

Scientists are now scrambling to figure out why.

Scambos said that this winter’s record low level of sea ice is a very alarming signal.

“In 2016, [Antarctic sea ice] took the first big down-turn. Since 2016, it’s remained low, and now the bottom has fallen out. Something major in a huge part of the planet is suddenly behaving differently from what we saw for the past 45 years.”

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Every day something more....

[Aruntraveller]

Stewart Lee being depressingly funny:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/30/europe-burns-while-the-tories-net-zero-plans-are-set-to-go-up-in-smoke

[Aruntraveller]

Did I hear you say Ostriches:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/31/greece-wildfires-climate-crisis-developed-world


(And yes I know that Ostriches don't actually bury their head in the sand - but we certainly do)

[Nearly Sane]

And of course lots more drilling licences to be granted. Tbh, I think the govt are creating an electorally powerful narrative here around energy security, given the energy price rises we had. It also puts the Labour Party in a difficult position, given Starmer's reaction to Uxbridge.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66354478

[Walt Zingmatilder]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66314338

**********

False claims suggesting that the BBC has been misreporting temperatures in southern Europe have been spreading on social media.

A clip of Neil Oliver, a GB News presenter, accusing the BBC "and others" of "driving fear" by using "supposedly terrifying temperatures", has been viewed more than two million times.

For the past few weeks, an intense heatwave has been sweeping through parts of southern Europe and north Africa, with extensive wildfires breaking out in Greece, Italy and Algeria - leading to more than 40 deaths.

Speaking about the fires on Rhodes on GB News on Monday, Mr Oliver accused the BBC, and other broadcasters, of trying to "make people terrified of the weather".

***********

I'm not sure what reputational impact appearing on GB news has. I should imagine there are many people who liked GB news presenters for their previous talents.

[Walt Zingmatilder]

And of course lots more drilling licences to be granted. Tbh, I think the govt are creating an electorally powerful narrative here around energy security, given the energy price rises we had. It also puts the Labour Party in a difficult position, given Starmer's reaction to Uxbridge.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66354478

People won't enjoy the benefits of drilling licences though. The oil companies will.

[Aruntraveller]

People won't enjoy the benefits of drilling licences though. The oil companies will.

Yes but as NS has said if it is framed in the context of energy security, there are more than enough people who will be swayed by that, regardless of whether they feel any benefit or not.

[Walt Zingmatilder]

Yes but as NS has said if it is framed in the context of energy security, there are more than enough people who will be swayed by that, regardless of whether they feel any benefit or not.

what makes this claim then, more believable now than two or three months ago?
I would have thought the received wisdom was that we have had the best years of not just North sea oil but oil in general. How can Sunak possibly sell a new oil bonanza?
If though we mean that this is the long awaited 'plausible' excuse people need to vote Tory with something approaching a clear conscience, who am I to disagree?

[Nearly Sane]

what makes this claim then, more believable now than two or three months ago?
I would have thought the received wisdom was that we have had the best years of not just North sea oil but oil in general. How can Sunak possibly sell a new oil bonanza?
If though we mean that this is the long awaited 'plausible' excuse people need to vote Tory with something approaching a clear conscience, who am I to disagree?

In answer to your first question, Uxbridge, and Starmer's reaction.

[Walt Zingmatilder]

In answer to your first question, Uxbridge, and Starmer's reaction.

Uxbridge was a 'squeak', arguably down to a failure of tactical voting, turdpolished by the tories into a great and sea changing victory. I agree though that Starmer has to come to a point where he must realise he's convinced all the tories he's ever going to.

[Nearly Sane]

Uxbridge was a 'squeak', arguably down to a failure of tactical voting, turdpolished by the tories into a great and sea changing victory. I agree though that Starmer has to come to a point where he must realise he's convinced all the tories he's ever going to.

It's not a sea changing victory but it illustrates that people will vote against grand green plans if they feel affected. Indeed, it plays exactly into your own take tgat the electorate are selfish and will seek reasons to vote Tory.

Starmer's reaction means he leads a divided party, and is following the Tory lead.

[Aruntraveller]

It's not a sea changing victory but it illustrates that people will vote against grand green plans if they feel affected. Indeed, it plays exactly into your own take tgat the electorate are selfish and will seek reasons to vote Tory.

Starmer's reaction means he leads a divided party, and is following the Tory lead.

Quite so.

The Tories will home in on this along with a few other key issues, notably, women's rights, where Labour have made a right hash of their approach to transgendered issues as they affect women, to cut Labours lead.

I know Labour are rowing back on the trans issue now, but there is enough nonsense that they have put out that the Tories will be able to make very considerable amounts of hay.

Added: I've just read this and it is quite a digression I've managed. Note to self, please try to stay on topic.

[Nearly Sane]

Quite so.

The Tories will home in on this along with a few other key issues, notably, women's rights, where Labour have made a right hash of their approach to transgendered issues as they affect women, to cut Labours lead.

I know Labour are rowing back on the trans issue now, but there is enough nonsense that they have put out that the Tories will be able to make very considerable amounts of hay.

Added: I've just read this and it is quite a digression I've managed. Note to self, please try to stay on topic.

To connect it up, the carbon capture stuff looks great, we're doing something, and it creates jobs - although almost certainly nowhere near the numbers that are talked about. And yet, it's not reducing the use of oil and gas, and is probably a couple of decades too late to be of use.

As Vlad raised though, the oil was supposedly running out at the time of the Indyref - there was no chance of Scotland having energy security in 2050 then. But as ever politics is a grubby business.

[ekim]

.... and what does AI have to say about mankind's plight ......

https://tinyurl.com/mrdajx9j

[Sriram]

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/01/uk/britain-rishi-sunak-climate-policies-analysis-gbr-intl/index.html

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Less than two years ago, Britain was championing itself as a global leader in the fight against the climate crisis.

At the pivotal COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson rallied world leaders to find agreement on a historic resolution acknowledging the role of fossil fuels in the climate crisis, and the late Queen Elizabeth II said in a landmark speech that “time for words has now moved to the time for action.”

Things feel very different now. As Rishi Sunak’s beleaguered government limps towards an election it is widely expected to lose, determination has seemingly been swapped for division.

And after a decade of cross-party consensus on tackling the climate crisis, experts fear that Sunak has identified green policies as a new wedge issue that could help reverse his party’s sagging fortunes.

Sunak said Monday he wants to “max out” oil and gas developments in Britain’s North Sea, announcing an expansion in drilling for the fossil fuels that environmental groups have condemned.

The move followed a proclamation from Sunak to Britain’s drivers, in the Telegraph newspaper, that he was “on their side,” as he ordered a review of “anti-motorist” low-traffic neighborhoods created to improve urban air quality.

Few expect the new push to be an election-winner. But Murphy, like many climate experts, fears there are wider ramifications for Britain’s global standing.

“For all the faults of the Boris Johnson government, what you can say is there appeared to be a genuine commitment to net zero and to the climate agenda,” he said.

“Since then we’ve gone backwards. We’ve stalled in many policy areas,” Murphy added. “I don’t think many people would actually now consider the UK to be a global leader (on the climate).”

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[Nearly Sane]

An argument against 'doom saying'

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/26/we-cant-afford-to-be-climate-doomers

And a reply, which is to me more persuasive. We seem to be solving the last problem but one continually.

https://medium.com/@renaeech/responding-to-rebecca-solnits-article-in-the-guardian-on-doomers-a12b0f8106e9

[Nearly Sane]

The oceans cannae take it!


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-66387537

[Nearly Sane]

And oceans continue to boil


https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/two-tipping-points.html

[Sriram]

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/13/world/planetary-boundaries-humanity-climate/index.html


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Human actions have pushed the world into the danger zone on several key indicators of planetary health, threatening to trigger dramatic changes in conditions on Earth, according to a new analysis from 29 scientists in eight countries.

The scientists analyzed nine interlinked “planetary boundaries,” which they define as thresholds the world needs to stay within to ensure a stable, livable planet. These include climate change, biodiversity, freshwater and land use, and the impact of synthetic chemicals and aerosols.

Human activities have breached safe levels for six of these boundaries and are pushing the world outside a “safe operating space” for humanity, according to the report, published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

Of the three boundaries that scientists found are still within a safe space, two of them – ocean acidification and the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere – are moving in the wrong direction.

This report is the third update on the planetary boundaries framework. The previous was published in 2015.

“What scares me is that transgression is increasing for all of the boundaries that were found to be transgressed in 2015,” said Richardson, who added, “this isn’t getting better.”

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[Sriram]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66724246


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The sea-ice surrounding Antarctica is well below any previous recorded winter level, satellite data shows, a worrying new benchmark for a region that once seemed resistant to global warming.

"It's so far outside anything we've seen, it's almost mind-blowing," says Walter Meier, who monitors sea-ice with the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

An unstable Antarctica could have far-reaching consequences, polar experts warn.

Antarctica's huge ice expanse regulates the planet's temperature, as the white surface reflects the Sun's energy back into the atmosphere and also cools the water beneath and near it.

Without its ice cooling the planet, Antarctica could transform from Earth's refrigerator to a radiator, experts say.

The ice that floats on the Antarctic Ocean's surface now measures less than 17 million sq km - that is 1.5 million sq km of sea-ice less than the September average, and well below previous winter record lows.

That's an area of missing ice about five times the size of the British Isles.

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[Nearly Sane]

I am utterly and completely shocked

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-66857551

[Nearly Sane]

The Uxbridge Effect continues

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66871457

[SteveH]

It looks as though Risky has made a serious mis-step, even on the cynical, populist grounds which probably motivated his U-turn: it seems that the British public are broadly in favour of net-zero policies.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/21/al-gore-rishi-sunak-climate-crisis