National Climate Assessment

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The clock keeps ticking and the tipping point keeps getting closer with each scientific study and report that is released. Life as we knew it is already visibly shifting. The signs are everywhere and yet we, as a Nation, keep brushing this aside and choose to live in denial.I'm at fault as much as everybody.

At the most critical time in our Nations history we have the worst President and political leadership. Massive changes have to happen to the Congress of the United States....NOW. Get rid of everybody who is in the way. Through our failure to act now, our children and their children are on a certain course for serious, long term mass suffering. If you can't visualize what this is then simple google photos of life in Bangladesh or photos of African women clutching the emaciated bodies of their children while trying to drink water out of a mud puddle.

It is heading in to this certain destiny if we keep sitting on our asses.

 

We really are facing Life or Death. This will not politely go away and allow us to get back to what we do best which is destroy the limited natural resources on this planet to "live the good life."

 

 

The report warns, repeatedly and directly, that climate change could soon imperil the American way of life, transforming every region of the country, imposing frustrating costs on the economy, and harming the health of virtually every citizen.

Most significantly, the National Climate Assessment—which is endorsed by NASA, NOAA, the Department of Defense, and 10 other federal scientific agencies—contradicts nearly every position taken on the issue by President Donald Trump. Where the president has insisted that fighting global warming will harm the economy, the report responds: Climate change, if left unchecked, could eventually cost the economy hundreds of billions of dollars per year, and kill thousands of Americans to boot. Where the president has said the climate will “probably” “change back,” the report replies: Many consequences of climate change will last for millennia, and some (such as the extinction of plant and animal species) will be permanent.

The report is a huge achievement for American science. It represents cumulative decades of work from more than 300 authors. Since 2015, scientists from across the U.S. government, state universities, and businesses have read thousands of studies, summarizing and collating them into this document. By law, a National Climate Assessment like this must be published every four years. The report is blunt: Climate change is happening now, and humans are causing it. “Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities,” declares its first sentence. “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”

At this point, such an idea might be common wisdom—but this does not make it any less shocking, or less correct. For centuries, humans have lived near the ocean, assuming that the sea will not often move from its fixed location. They have planted wheat at its time, and corn at its time, assuming that the harvest will not often falter. They have delighted in December snow, and looked forward to springtime blossoms, assuming that the seasons will not shift from their course.

Now, the sea is lifting above its shore, the harvest is faltering, and the seasons arrive and depart in disorder....https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-grave-climate-warning-buried-on-black-friday/ar-BBQ1DzR?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=U508DHP

 

 

Here's the report. It would be prudent and beneficial to read it.

https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/

 

There is still a small window of time left to lessen the oncoming impact of global warming. Not all is lost....yet.

The clock is ticking and it's getting louder and louder.

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We are done. It is our fault.

[vmax]

It is our fault. Yet I'm not thinking we are done.

 

Reading between the lines I see some signs of hope in the efforts below....yet these are merely band aids at the moment...

 

 

Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities. The impacts of global climate change are already being felt in the United States and are projected to intensify in the future—but the severity of future impacts will depend largely on actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the changes that will occur. Americans increasingly recognize the risks climate change poses to their everyday lives and livelihoods and are beginning to respond (Figure 1.1). Water managers in the Colorado River Basin have mobilized users to conserve water in response to ongoing drought intensified by higher temperatures, and an extension program in Nebraska is helping ranchers reduce drought and heat risks to their operations. The state of Hawai‘i is developing management options to promote coral reef recovery from widespread bleaching events caused by warmer waters that threaten tourism, fisheries, and coastal protection from wind and waves. To address higher risks of flooding from heavy rainfall, local governments in southern Louisiana are pooling hazard reduction funds, and cities and states in the Northeast are investing in more resilient water, energy, and transportation infrastructure. In Alaska, a tribal health organization is developing adaptation strategies to address physical and mental health challenges driven by climate change and other environmental changes. As Midwestern farmers adopt new management strategies to reduce erosion and nutrient losses caused by heavier rains, forest managers in the Northwest are developing adaptation strategies in response to wildfire increases that affect human health, water resources, timber production, fish and wildlife, and recreation. After extensive hurricane damage fueled in part by a warmer atmosphere and warmer, higher seas, communities in Texas are considering ways to rebuild more resilient infrastructure. In the U.S. Caribbean, governments are developing new frameworks for storm recovery based on lessons learned from the 2017 hurricane season.

Climate-related risks will continue to grow without additional action. Decisions made today determine risk exposure for current and future generations and will either broaden or limit options to reduce the negative consequences of climate change. While Americans are responding in ways that can bolster resilience and improve livelihoods, neither global efforts to mitigate the causes of climate change nor regional efforts to adapt to the impacts currently approach the scales needed to avoid substantial damages to the U.S. economy, environment, and human health and well-being over the coming decades.

 

If serious action and change begins now, then we could come through OK by developing the technologies that will get this planet Green. Other nations would buy from us. Currently we are on track to be buying from them in the future which will be another huge economic drain piled on top of the others.

There's a ton of money to be made in that science and technology. There is a blooming Green industry going right now in this country and all it needs is governmental policies to change. It needs a SHIFT in the way we think and respond. A shift and commitment to leave fossil fuels behind forever. The next generation would not have to worry about employment. The impact of these Earth Changes would be less severe.

We need to mobilize as if we are going to War.

Edited November 24, 2018 by vmax

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I hope it wont be but I think it might be to late. Everytime things end up being worse than predictions. If we can have the major pandemic it could fix things the hard way.

[vmax]

I can understand anybody who is in denial about this. I don't want to believe it.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/26-disaster-scenarios-caused-by-climate-change/ss-BBPL9mT?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=U508DHP

Edited November 29, 2018 by vmax

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I can't. They like having their head in the sand.

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So long Ocean City....

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/these-us-cities-are-the-most-at-risk-from-rising-seas/ss-BBSA9OX?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=U508DHP#image=26

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And they deserve it. They keep fighting the off shore windmills. The will "hurt" tourism. I wonder what being a few feet below water will do for tourism.

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New UN report showing food supply is declining....

 

 

A drop in global biodiversity is putting our ability to produce food at risk, a new United Nations report warns...."Over the past half century, humanity has witnessed the destruction of 60% of mammal, bird, fish and reptile populations around the world," he said. "We are the first generation to truly comprehend the reality of what we're doing to the natural world, and we may be the last with the chance to avert much of the damage. With this knowledge comes an extraordinary burden of responsibility that we all share."....https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/food-supply-under-threat-due-to-biodiversity-loss-across-globe-un-report/ar-BBTVCDN?li=BBnbcA1

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I saw a week ago that insects are dying off at a dramtic rate. I figure the planet will be unlivable for humans in 75 yrs.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_PngwbnZtc

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Insect populations are declining precipitously worldwide due to pesticide use and other factors, with a potentially "catastrophic" effect on the planet, a study has warned.

More than 40% of insect species could become extinct in the next few decades, according to the "Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers" report, published in the journal Biological Conservation.

Insect biomass is declining by a staggering 2.5% a year, a rate that indicates widespread extinctions within a century, the report found.

In addition to the 40% at risk of dying out, a third of species are endangered -- numbers that could cause the collapse of the planet's ecosystems with a devastating impact on life on Earth......https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/11/health/insect-decline-study-intl/index.html

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd8LHnqGFa8

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WOW!

This is an example of the kind of morons that are in Congress.........

 

 

Duffy wasn't the only GOP lawmaker to mock the plan Tuesday. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, attempted a strange pivot in a speech on the Senate floor.

"The solution to climate change is not this unserious resolution," Lee said. "The solution to so many of our problems at all times and in all places is to fall in love, get married and have some kids."

Ocasio-Cortez fired back on Twitter.

“If this guy can be Senator," she wrote, "you can do anything.”..........https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/people-are-dying-ocasio-cortez-defends-green-new-deal-from-elitist-knock/ar-BBViaIu?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=U508DHP

 

 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQHuSBD2_FY

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.Survivability...........

South East Asia is in deep shit..........

 

 

Last year, there were 484 official heat waves across India, up from 21 in 2010. During that period, more than 5,000 people died. This year's figures show little respite.

In June, Delhi hit temperatures of 48 degrees Celsius (118 Fahrenheit), the highest ever recorded in that month. West of the capital, Churu in Rajasthan nearly broke the country's heat record with a high of 50.6 Celsius (123 Fahrenheit).

India's poorest state, Bihar, closed all schools, colleges and coaching centers for five days after severe heat killed more than 100 people. The closures were accompanied by warnings to stay indoors during the hottest part of the day, an unrealistic order for millions of people who needed to work outdoors to earn money. To examine the question of future survivability of heat waves in South Asia, MIT researchers looked at two scenarios presented by the IPCC: The first is that global average surface temperatures will rise by 4.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. The second is the more optimistic prediction of an average increase of 2.25 degrees Celsius. Both exceed the Paris Agreement target to keep the global average temperature rise by 2100 to below 2 degrees Celsius.

Under the more optimistic prediction, researchers found that no parts of South Asia would exceed the limits of survivability by the year 2100.

However, it was a different story under the hotter scenario, which assumes global emissions continue on their current path.

In that case, researchers found that the limits of survivability would be exceeded in a few locations in India's Chota Nagpur Plateau, in the northeast of the country, and Bangladesh.

And they would come close to being exceeded in most of South Asia, including the fertile Ganges River valley, India's northeast and eastern coast, northern Sri Lanka, and the Indus Valley of Pakistan.

Survivability was based on what is called "wet bulb temperature" -- a combined metric of humidity and the outside temperature.

When the wet bulb reaches 35°C it becomes impossible for humans to cool their bodies through sweating, hence it indicates the survival temperature for humans. A few hours of exposure to these wet bulb conditions leads to death, even for the fittest of humans....https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/are-parts-of-india-becoming-too-hot-for-humans/ar-AADOIqc?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=U508DHP

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OMG!

NO!

NOT THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

IT'S HITTING TOO CLOSE TO HOME!

Getting real now.

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Global warming, and the issues that come with it, is escalating faster than I ever thought it would.

 

Yet so is the rising awareness worldwide and in our country, so hope remains.

 

This is scary..........

 

 

Climate change is no longer a future event. We already appear locked into 1.5C of warming, once hoped to be the top limit of human-caused climate change, and are now on path to blow through the 2C limit set by the Paris Agreement..............Climate refugees

People affected by climate change will not stay put as their children drown or die of heat stroke or thirst. The Norwegian Refugee Council estimates that 26 million people are displaced by disasters such as floods and storms every year, or one person every second. By 2045, according to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, some 135 million people could be displaced as a result of land and soil degradation.

Most of those people become internally displaced, in effect refugees within their own country. But the numbers forced to flee across borders is on the rise -- driven too by violence and persecution -- reaching 70 million this year, a record high.

According to government documents published by the ABC this week, Australia alone may face up to 100 million climate refugees in the coming years, as large parts of the Indo-Pacific is hit by rising sea levels and extreme weather......https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/what-happens-when-parts-of-south-asia-become-unlivable/ar-AAErtgM?ocid=U508DHP..