Now, before the stupid conservatives begin sneering and laughing AGAIN about climate change and a massive snowstorm, one more time trying to educate:

A warming climate causes extreme weather events, *including* huge snow and plunging temps. 1 example why: (Note: I realize.../1

...that no matter what is said, anti-science and arrogant conservatives who failed high school science will still sneer and laugh because this is more complicated than "temp goes up, it gets cold. HAHAHA!" Plus, they don't wont read anything longer than 20 words. But this.../2

...will at least help reply to their foolishness.)

Here is what is happening right now: there is a large area of low pressure and cold air at both poles. That cycles around the poles and is contained there by higher pressure surrounding it. However, a warming planet changes.../3

...that. The higher pressure/low pressure contains the cold air, but as that warms, what essentially serves as a fence weakens. Plus, simultaneously, the warmer climate is changing the jet stream. Even before this, sometimes the contained area expanded and hit the jet stream.../4

...which brought the polar cold down, thus plunging temperatures. However, with a warming climate - because of the change in pressures and the moving jet steam - the polar air is coming down more frequently. A few years back, *Texas* was hit by polar air. That's how far down.../5

The whiteness of this piece on "climate refugees" (corrected link) is deep.

The piece centers the story of Jen and Ryan Cashman, a white couple + their kids who used to live in Paradise, California.

It does include an interview with Dr. @JalonneWNewsome who explains that climate change hits folks of color harder, and they may be less able to move due to fewer economic resources + less willing to move b/c of greater ties to their communities.

After this perfunctory nod to her excellent work, then the reporter (*cough* abuser *cough*) goes on to segue with one of the biggest "yeah, buts" I've ever heard...

"If you have the luxury of choosing where to live and climate change is a factor, here's the formula..."

1.Hydrocarbon extraction
2.Sterlite
3.Kudankulam
4.Chennai-Salem Expressway
5.Neutrino
6.GAIL pipeline
7.Kattupalli Port
8.Uppur Thermal
Each one of these projects stalled/delayed.
Tamil Nadu is on its way to becoming a Kerala or Bengal. Oh! Kerala allowed GAIL & Vizhinjam Port

Those who say Kerala has highest social/educational indicators need to understand theirs is a remittance economy sustained by inflows from Gulf. 36% of Kerala's GDP is Gulf money. Without this their per capita income wd be half that of TN or at best 2/3rds.

Despite Gulf money per capita income of Kerala is less than TN. With a jobs crisis in Gulf due to the pandemic and falling Oil prices Kerala will face the moment of truth sooner than later.There is almost no project that causes zero environmental damage.

No highway has ever been built without trees being cut or land being acquired. No SEZ has ever been developed without land being acquired.Of course environmental protection is important. That is why we ask for safeguards. That is why there is an NGT. If Govt officials

are corrupt & ignore rules,solution is to hold them to account not stop all projects. Everyone of us including the protesters now travel on highways built by cutting lakhs of trees&on land acquired from farmers. Lakhs of our youth work in the same SEZ that were once paddy fields

Comparing two environmental regulation

Preventing emissions vs improving water quality,

Which one better?

https://t.co/zLrVNWIPXm

What is the Difference?
We certainly often hear the term better to prevent than cure. Of course, we all agree on that. But what about improving quality, is that better than preventing?

A researcher named Dan Pan tries to compare 2 different regulations on environmental impacts.

One of the regulations is based on environmental quality limits. the other is based on the market, but we will call it improving water quality because it gives reward and punishment on environmental performance.

Preventing Emissions:

• Restrictions or closings of companies that violate environmental quality standards

• Restricted areas must protect their water

• Implementing comprehensive water conservation

• Strengthens water recovery and protection

Improving water quality

Give awards to mayors whose evaluation scores are good, and adequate, whose evaluations are bad. There are several parameters defined in determining water quality such as: COD intensity, water quality, and industrial wastewater standards

It's (nearly) five years since the Paris Agreement was gaveled through… but was it any good? Tricky question. Based on emissions, temperature data and impacts, no. *But...* (thread)

The team at @SystemIQ_LTD have crunched the numbers & reviewed how far + fast sectors have shifted since 2015. Their take is the global economy could be a decade away from seismic tipping points that see the world move fast towards low carbon.

In 2015, zero-carbon technologies and business models could rarely compete with incumbent carbon-solutions. In 2020, zero-carbon solutions are competitive in sectors representing around 25% of emissions. In 2030 the figure’s looking like 70%.

What does this mean for a COVID-smashed world, where 2021 is shaping up to be a hellish mix of recessions and mass unemployment? Well, the 2020s could see a net increase of 35 million low carbon jobs if governments roll out the right policies + invest wisely.

Can the low carbon acceleration be pinned to Paris? Not entirely, but partly. In 2014 no-one talked of net zero targets. Now 120+ countries either have these plans or are working on them. By mid 2021 the US, China, EU, UK, Japan, Korea, Canada will have these targets.

What were the big energy and climate surprises of the Trump era? Four years ago, I described the most plausible arc for US climate policy under Trump (it was a boring, safe bet) but expected there'd be unexpected developments too. So how about a look back? https://t.co/1Valz4eTEg

1) The pandemic was a huge surprise, obviously, though maybe it's too early to say how that will affect the energy/climate landscape. So far, it’s put a brake on U.S. fracking and induced Europe to pledge staggering sums on hydrogen. Maybe global CO2 emissions have peaked, idk.

2) The growth of battery storage on the US grid has, I think, been a surprise. This interview with @jburwen does a nice job of laying out the truly staggering changes in the storage landscape since 2015, driven by falling costs and some key policy changes.

3) The impact of the IPCC report on 1.5°C was surprising to me. I often wondered what'd happen once it became clear that the world was unlikely to stay below 2°C. Instead, the climate community and world leaders rallied around an even more aggressive, harder to hit target!

4) It was not obvious that Trump's retreat from climate action would spur states, cities, companies, other nations to make even more aggressive net zero pledges of their own. But that’s what happened—those pledges have really proliferated at a scale that’s been surprising to me.

Daily Bookmarks to GAVNet 01/01/2021

Earth has a fever in more ways than one. Some places averaged + 5-7 °C warmer than normal for the ENTIRE YEAR of 2020.

An enormous area of anomalous warmth plagued Arctic Siberia effectively all year but it was not just the Arctic where we saw record shattering warmth.

THREAD

Another way of looking at it... Very few cold blobs left. La Niña developed and shows up in the Pacific.

The climate is not changing uniformly, the Arctic is warming much faster than the rest of the world.

Data: @CopernicusEU and compares to 1981-2010 average.

JANUARY was joint hottest January globally on record according to NASA GISTEMP v4 (joint record with 2016).

Profound winter warmth for North America plus Europe and Asia.

FEBRUARY was second hottest on record (1st place is still held in 2016).

The winter 'warmth' in Europe and Asia was just insane.

MARCH: A cold Canada, Greenland and Svalbard... but obvious warmth still striking across the continents, particularly northern/central Asia.

This was the second hottest March on record (2016 still holds the record).

#AirPollution, measured by annual PM2.5--particles finer than a human hair--reduced in bigger cities such as Delhi & Varanasi but increased in smaller cities such as Fatehabad & Moradabad, finds a @CSEINDIA analysis of 26 cities. Follow the thread for insights:

In many cities in the upper Indo-Gangetic plains, avg PM2.5 levels were above 2019 levels. #AirPollution in Fatehabad, in northern Haryana, deteriorated the most, with PM2.5 levels increasing 35% from 2019

The %age of PM2.5 in the coarser PM10--which determines air toxicity--was in the high 40s in Oct & remained so in Nov, averaging 55% in Amritsar, 48% in Chandigarh & 53% in Patna. It reached 64% in Amritsar, 69% in Chandigarh & 62% in Patna during #Diwali2020

#AirPollution reduced the most in Sirsa, 40km from Fatehabad, with a 44% lower avg PM2.5 2020 level vs 2019. This massive variation can’t be attributed to meteorology & has to do with local factors such as stubble burning, Avikal Somvanshi, CSE prog mgr, said in a press release

PM2.5 avg in Nov 2020 was 310% higher in Fatehabad, 104% in Agra and 57% in Kaithal, compared to November 2019

Thread on snow ratios. The snow ratio, or snow-to-liquid ratio states how many inches of snow, when melted, yields one inch of liquid water. Ratios are usually around 10:1 or 12:1, but can vary from as little as 6:1 or as high as 30:1, or sometimes more. 1/

There's a common misunderstanding that the colder the surface temp is, the higher the snow ratio will be (fluffier snow). This is incorrect. As long is the surface temp is not close to freezing, it really doesn't matter all that much. 2/

As the surface temp gets close to or exceeds freezing, more snow is lost to melting, yielding lower ratios and heavy, wet snow. The same reasoning also applies to temps above the ground; if they exceed freezing, sleet or rain can mix with the snow, dramatically lowering ratios 3/

Much more important is the dendritic growth zone (DGZ), the layer of the atmosphere with temperatures between -12 and -18C. In this layer, snowflakes grow as dendrites, which can easily clump together into aggregates, which contain a lot of air, increasing the ratio 4/

At warmer or colder temps, the flakes grow as plates, columns, or needles, which don't clump together as well and contain less air, lowering the ratio. To make this even more complicated, there's also a dependence on atmospheric humidity. 5/

This #NewYear we must get serious about climate change. A big obstacle: our brains.

Current risks are vastly different from our ancestors, but our brains are wired the same. Knowing the science behind decision-making helps us better talk about climate threats & spark action. 1/

I’ve dedicated my career to understanding what factors influence our perceptions of risk & shape behavioral outcomes, especially around climate action.

We clearly do not judge risks accurately. Let’s try this example. What is more likely to kill you:

Ppl often say shark attacks even though plane parts are 30x more likely to kill us. Attacks are more sensational/easier to recall.

Brains react in certain ways to risks around us, rapidly scanning environmental cues (e.g. snake’s stance) with subliminal and automated processing.

How does brain wiring relate to climate action? We're influenced by triggers such as if we can see risk or if we trust who communicates it to us.

Bluntly, we overestimate unserious risks like vaccinating children and underestimate seemingly far away risks like rising sea levels.

Sociology shows how even political identities influence risk perception. A human evolutionary trait allows us to avoid cognitive dissonance from info 1) that isn’t pleasant or 2) contradicts beliefs integral to our identity/tribe. We’re wired to make snap judgements for comfort.

EU Summit just agreed a “binding EU target of a net domestic reduction of at least 55% in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030” - so UK going somewhat further at 68%...

That is in reference to 1990 carbon emissions - which is the standard point of reference

VDL trying to sound conciliatory - making point about the ratchet clause that all sides “remain free - sovereign” to do what they are want as regards matching future increases in regulations, but that both sides should retain right to adapt conditions for market entry

On fishing VDL says UK must understand legitimate expectations of EU fishing fleet based on decades and sometimes centuries of access ...

journalists at the EU summit seem more interested in asking Merkel/ VDL about Turkey than summit Brexit discussions, so far zero questions - some informational value there ...

1/13 #ClimateChange is a result of a mindset, that is based on monoculture, fossil fuels, chemicals, corporate control. @BillGates cannot alter a condition with the same mindset that created it in the first place @Trevornoah @drvandanashiva

2/13 The mad rush for #FakeFood and #FakeMeat, ignorant of the #diversity of our food cultures & the role of biodiversity is a recipe for accelerating the #climatecrisis, the destruction of the planet & our health @drvandanashiva

3/13 The perpetrators of the industrialized & now digitized predatory economic model that has led to worldwide ecological devastation are trying to sell us their solutions as the only path forward @drvandanashiva @NnimmoB

4/13 The #GatesFoundation works to create a friendly regulatory environment to push its innovations regardless of risks or past failures by funding to align to its interests- media, research, start-ups, government programmes & international institutions

5/13 Amnesia and denial of past failures becomes evident with the @gatesfoundation new initiative #AgOne where only digital tech and the #GreenRevolution is seen as the solution to the #ClimateCrisis & #BiodiversityCrisis @drvandanashiva

To "The Sky Is Falling" Idiots

Read this thread 👇🏾

The proof is ALL OVER THE INTERWEB 🧐

GLOBAL WARMING (as described by the Left) IS A HOAX and Being Used Against You As A Money Making Machine 🧐

I Have Posted this Many Times Before, but here YOU ALL go again INVESTIGATE IT

It's #FigureFriday, so let's chat about my favorite subject: color palettes 🎨 for climate science visualization! (1/12)

First, why is it important? Put simply: a beautiful figure can communicate your results more effectively than text. It can make a figure more understandable to a public audience. So it is worth it to put care into your figure design. (2/12)

First, if you're plotting up climate model data, especially anomalies, I highly recommend Cynthia Brewer's palettes on ColorBrewer. BrBG is my go-to for precip anomalies, and RdBu is a natural for temperature. (3/12)

The sequential palettes are also great if you've got data going in one direction. Here's the Brewer "blues" at work for a figure showing LGM T change. (4/12)

But what about line graphs? If you are paleoclimatologist like me, you are probably plotting a bunch of squiggly lines. For this, I suggest designing a palette for your *entire paper* ahead on time, and then plot stuff in this palette in every figure. (5/12)