Cause and effect?

#ActOnClimate #ClimateChange #geography #deforestation #RenewableEnergy #geografia #FossilFuels #ActNow #environment #EndFossilCrimes #ClimateCrisis #Science #warming #Nature #climate #development #gasemissions #ClimateEmergency #climatecrisis #biologia #ClimateAction #photo #photography #GlobalWarming #cartoon #pollution #news #earth #amazon #Politics

Climate scientists talking about dragons and monsters?!!

Why? Because they're scared and terribly worried about our future as capitalist-driven global warming races past the old 1.5°C do-not-cross line.
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“The goal to avoid exceeding 1.5C is deader than a doornail. It’s almost impossible to avoid at this point because we’ve just waited too long to act,” said Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist at Berkeley Earth. “We are speeding past the 1.5C line in an accelerating way, and that will continue until global emissions stop climbing.”

The 1.5C target now appears to be simply a rhetorical rather than scientifically achievable one. “I never thought 1.5C was a conceivable goal. I thought it was a pointless thing,” said Gavin Schmidt, a climate scientist at NASA.

“I’m totally unsurprised, like almost all climate scientists, that we are shooting past it at a rapid clip," Schmidt said. "But what matters is we have to reduce emissions. Once we stop warming the planet, the better it will be for the people and ecosystems that live here.”

As the world barrels past 1.5C there lie alarming uncertainties in the form of runaway climate “tipping points,” which once set off cannot be halted on human timescales, such as the Amazon turning into a savanna, the collapse of the great polar ice sheets, and huge pulses of carbon released from melting permafrost.

“1.5C is not a cliff edge, but the further we warm up, the closer we get to unwittingly setting off tipping points that will bring dramatic climate consequences,” said Grahame Madge, a climate spokesman at the UK Met Office.

“We are edging ever closer to tipping points in the climate system that we won’t be able to come back from; it’s uncertain when they will arrive, they are almost like monsters in the darkness,” Madge said.

Hausfather added, “Every tenth of a degree matters. All we know is that the more we push the climate system away from where it has been for the last few million years, there be dragons.”
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FULL STORY -- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/18/climate-crisis-world-temperature-target

#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

This is truly scary.

It might be another example of Mother Nature saying: FAFO, you fools.
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An international team of scientists using observations from satellites found evidence that Earth's total amount of freshwater dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and has remained low ever since. The researchers say the shift could indicate Earth's continents have entered a persistently drier phase.

From 2015 through 2023, satellite measurements showed that the average amount of freshwater stored on land — that includes liquid surface water like lakes and rivers, plus water in aquifers underground — was 290 cubic miles (1,200 cubic km) lower than the average levels from 2002 through 2014. According to Matthew Rodell, one of the study's authors, "That's two and a half times the volume of Lake Erie lost."

It remains to be seen whether global freshwater will rebound to pre-2015 values, hold steady, or resume its decline. Considering that the nine warmest years in the modern temperature record coincided with the abrupt freshwater decline, Rodell said, "We don't think this is a coincidence, and it could be a harbinger of what's to come."
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FULL ARTICLE -- https://phys.org/news/2024-11-nasa-satellites-reveal-abrupt-global.html

#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

As we saw yesterday, in 15 out of the last 16 months — from July 2023 to October 2024 — the average global temperature has already exceeded the 1.5°C do-not-cross line.
➡️ https://climatejustice.social/@breadandcircuses/113504612194113421

And that titanic amount of extra heat is doing serious damage to Earth's climate and environment.
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In August and September, huge portions of South America were shrouded in intense smoke from wildfires raging in the Amazon and other parts of Brazil and Bolivia. The Brazilian Pantanal — the world’s largest tropical wetland — had an almost eightfold increase in wildfires this year compared to 2023. From Manaus to São Paulo and Buenos Aires, the smoke, visible from space, blurred sunlight for weeks and posed a threat to the health of millions.

The occurrence raised alarms, but some experts warn that in the future, it might not be such an extraordinary episode.

South America is becoming drier, warmer, and more flammable, according to a new study. These conditions favor not only natural wildfires but also the uncontrolled spread of human-caused fire.
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FULL STORY -- https://eos.org/articles/south-america-is-drying-up

#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

Greetings all, this is my #introduction

I came to #science writing as a reporter first, explaining fracking as rigs went up in neighborhoods 20 years ago. Later, our town was the first Texas city to ban the practice.

Recently, I collaborated with a brilliant researcher and clinician writing a book that makes the science of human behavior accessible to caregivers--so their loved ones with autism can be happy and make progress.

I'm all in, y'all. Writing science in plain language is vital.

Scientific American Loses Its Bold Leader

"Trump spews insults and wins the election. Helmuth loses her job. Critics of cancel culture cheered Helmuth’s cancellation."

Excellent analysis on politics, journalism, and science in the wake of SciAm editor Laura Helmuth stepping down.

https://johnhorgan.org/cross-check/scientific-american-loses-its-bold-leader

#Journalism #Science #SciAm #Politics

Denialism isn't a political stance, it's a philosophical one. That's why both right- and left-wing people indulge in it.

Anybody who can be convinced that something is true against evidence otherwise is wide open to being convinced regarding denialism — of anything. HIV/AIDS, COVID, transgender, sexism, racism, etc.

Which is why political efforts to defeat denialism will never work. The only way to defeat it is through education, from kindergarten up. All age groups, all the time.

#Denialism #Climate #Racism #Bigotry #Sexism #Hate #Health #Religion #Science #Facts #Education

Is raw milk safe? Science has a clear answer. | Popular Science
#Science #Health #RawMilk #Scicomm

https://www.popsci.com/health/is-raw-milk-safe/

I think I am one of the only people of my generation (or maybe the last generation) who heard the word "meme" in the scientific context first.

I heard it in uni maybe in 2nd or 3rd year when one of my friends gave a talk about simulating evolution using software. Then, just one or two years later I started seeing the word "meme" pop up on the English-speaking internet literally everywhere.

#til #todayILearned #meme #biology #evolution #science #RichardDawkins

#recommendation If you are interested in the work of Forensic Architecture and their ongoing research on #gaza, here's the direct link to the project website "Cartography of Genocide"

#data #analysis #science #history
#warcrimes #investigation

🔖 https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/a-cartography-of-genocide

Schluss nun. Danke für Euren Imput des Tages! Ihr seid toll! Lass die anderen doch lesen wen oder was sie wollen #fediverse #mybubble #journalism #uspol #krankenhaus #chatgpt #science Knipps

For 15 out of the last 16 months — beginning in July 2023 and continuing through October 2024 — the average global temperature has been more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average.

That’s what Business As Usual is doing to us.

VIDEO REPORT -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RfkyquTEec

DATA SOURCE -- https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-2024-virtually-certain-be-warmest-year-and-first-year-above-15degc

#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

BASIC Co-Inventor Thomas E. Kurtz has Passed Away.

It’s with sadness that we note the passing of Thomas Eugene Kurtz, on November 12th. He was co-inventor of the BASIC programming language back in the 1960s. The legacy of his work lives on in the generation of technologists.

>10 PRINT "Rest in Peace"
>20 GOTO 10

https://computerhistory.org/blog/in-memoriam-thomas-e-kurtz-1928-2024/

#memoriam #ThomasKurtz #rip #basic #programming #language #tech #science #history #it #engineer #media #news

The data is clear. Those, who are experts and actually scientifically investigate these topics have no doubts. Why do we not act? Why are people in huge numbers voting for politicians, who ignore what is known and are not only sacrificing our and our childrens' future, but already our presence?

#climatechange #heatwave #extremeweather #politics #science

Climate crisis to blame for dozens of ‘impossible’ heatwaves, studies reveal https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/18/climate-crisis-to-blame-for-dozens-of-impossible-heatwaves-studies-reveal?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Lovely Australians, it looks like someone is aiming to win the Ig Nobel in the most silent but deadly way. (I couldn't help myself. I mean, it was just there.) If anyone wants to help out, you'd be doing it for SCIENCE.

https://research.csiro.au/cshw/projects/chart-your-fart/

#science #australia

Astronomers have just discovered the first known "Einstein zigzag."

Due to a rare, lucky cosmic alignment, the combined gravity of two galaxies bent light like spaghetti & split a distant quasar into six different images.

This six-part image could allow a very accurate measure of the expansion of the universe.

https://www.science.org/content/article/first-known-double-gravitational-lens-could-shed-light-universe-s-expansion #science #space #astronomy #physics

Hey! Did you know there's a whole instance dedicated to Science and SciComm?

https://scicomm.xyz/public/local

Edited to add: there are lot of others out there! Would love to see folks reply with instances Scientists and SciComm folks should check out. And to help folks in general find interesting science posts.

#SciComm #SciArt #Science

"The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom."

- Isaac Asimov

#wisdom #science #knowledge

Sorry to hear @laurahelmuth is leaving Scientific American after four and a half years as editor-in-chief.

#science #journalism

Hello #Bluesky 🦋 We’re always on the lookout for amazing voices in #news, #tech, #media, #science and #culture. Share your favorite Starter Packs and let’s discover some new people to follow together!

#PPOD: NASA's JWST captured this infrared view of Saturn and its moons Tethys (left), Enceladus (middle), and Dione (right) on 25 June 2023. The planet appears dark at this wavelength, as methane gas in its atmosphere absorbs sunlight — but its icy rings stay bright. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/AndreaLuck

#space #science #scicomm #wallpaperwednesday

Mother Nature says: FAFO
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Trees and land absorbed almost no carbon dioxide (CO2) last year, and scientists are struggling to work out why.

Carbon sinks, such as forests, oceans and soils, are an essential part of regulating the Earth’s climate. Through natural processes, these land and ocean masses absorb almost half of all human carbon emissions from the atmosphere.

But preliminary findings for 2023 – the hottest year ever recorded on Earth – have found that the amount of carbon absorbed by forests, plants, and soil has temporarily collapsed.

This was completely unexpected, and therefore not something factored into most predictions and calculations about how quickly the Earth will heat up as a result of climate change. The breakdown of the land carbon sink could be temporary, but if it isn’t, this will drastically increase the rate of global heating.

It will be impossible for the world to reach net zero without carbon sinks, because there is simply no human technology that can absorb carbon on the same scale as the forests, grasslands, peat bogs, and oceans of the world.
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FULL STORY ➡️ https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/environment/trees-absorbed-almost-no-co2-last-year-and-scientists-are-struggling-to-explain-why-385673/

#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

No progress since Cop28 last year.

Also no progress since Cop27, or Cop20, or Cop15, or...
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There is no sign of the transition away from burning fossil fuels that was pledged by the world’s nations a year ago, with 2024 on track to set another new record for global carbon emissions.

The new data comes from the Global Carbon Budget project, a collaboration of more than 100 experts led by Prof Pierre Friedlingstein, at the University of Exeter, UK, who said: “The impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly dramatic, yet we still see no sign that burning of fossil fuels has peaked. Time is running out and world leaders meeting at Cop29 must bring about rapid and deep cuts to fossil fuel emissions.”
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I wish they'd just be honest and announce that they have absolutely no intention of meeting any of their goals. Ever.

🧵 1/2

FULL STORY ➡️ https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/13/no-sign-of-promised-fossil-fuel-transition-as-emissions-hit-new-high

#Politics #History #Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange

https://www.europesays.com/1604856/ Peculiar Pale Pebbles – NASA Science #america #blog #science #technology #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #US #USA

Last week, we had a story about scientists who put bats on a treadmill. This week, a neuroscientist teaches rats to drive. And they love it!

From @ConversationUS: "We crafted our first rodent car from a plastic cereal container. After trial and error, my colleagues and I found that rats could learn to drive forward by grasping a small wire that acted like a gas pedal."

https://flip.it/kYvhJ6

And here's the treadmill bats story ICYMI: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/vampire-bats-treadmills-metabolism

#Animals #Rats #Bats #Science #Psychology

Why are you so upset? Stop worrying!

Business As Usual is turning out just fine. 🙄
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The Copernicus Climate Change Service, a European Union organization that monitors global heating, announced on Thursday that the year 2024 will be 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels. That means humanity has passed a critical threshold established in 2015 in the Paris climate accord.

“After 10 months of 2024, it is now virtually certain that 2024 will be the warmest year on record and the first year of more than 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels," Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said in a statement. "This marks a new milestone in global temperature records and should serve as a catalyst to raise ambition for the upcoming Climate Change Conference, COP29.”

The EU agency announced this moment as nations all over the world gather in the Azerbaijani city of Baku for the 29th Conference of the Parties. The ERA5 dataset found that global temperatures in 2024 were on average 1.55 degrees Celsius higher than the 1.48 degrees threshold measured in 2023. The report also noted climate change-fueled major weather events in 2024 such as torrential floods in Spain and rapidly melting Antarctic sea ice.
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FULL ARTICLE -- https://www.salon.com/2024/11/09/earth-on-track-for-hottest-year-in-recorded-history-passing-critical-15-warming-threshold/

#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

Loot from the Natural Science Museum 😊 A poster of dinosaur and other Cretaceous species discovered in Iharkút, Hungary, and the book on the story of the excavations.

#paleontology #PaleoArt #dinosaurs #Hungary #image #science #cretaceous

From @LiveScience: Emerging evidence suggests that plate tectonics may have begun much earlier than previously thought — and may be a big reason that our planet harbors life. Some scientists are now arguing that plate tectonics emerged very soon after Earth's formation — perhaps predating life itself. Read more: https://flip.it/9nLsjW
#Science #Earth #Geology #Life #Aliens

So, you'll recall in the late-1930s the UK & other countries (including the US) benefitted from a large scale exodus of scientists & other intellectuals... indeed, there's been a lot of recent work done on how these migrants informed & shaped British cultural institutions across the 30s/40s/50s & beyond.

Are we now going to see a similar exodus of US scientists & others, who will then have a similar galvanising effect on their new/host countries scientific & cultural lives?

#science #culture

Humans spend a lot of time moving in crowds. Matthew R. Francis and Maki Naro collaborate on this comic for @KnowableMag, which demonstrates how tools from fluid dynamics can help model crowd behavior and smooth the flow of crowds, potentially making us safer.

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/society/2024/using-physics-to-understand-behavior-of-human-crowds

#Science #Physics #FluidDynamics #CrowdBehavior #ThinkingFluids #Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

I somehow had never heard of cloud chambers before. With the help of condensing vapors at cool temperatures, you can see the actual paths of particles with your own eyes.

Not only can you see electrons, and protons, but you also see the interactions between particles. And cloud chambers have been used in physics since the 1920s, wild!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLobPAJuHBc
#physics #particlephysics #science

It's crumbing.

We *must* urgently ...
◽️Stop using damaging technologies
◽️Reduce per-head consumption
◽️Reduce the number of us

#ActOnClimate #ClimateChange #geography #deforestation #RenewableEnergy #geografia #FossilFuels #ActNow #environment #EndFossilCrimes #ClimateCrisis #Science #warming #Nature #climate #development #gasemissions #ClimateEmergency #climatecrisis #biologia #ClimateAction #photo #photography #GlobalWarming #cartoon #pollution #news #earth #amazon #Politics

Not that any of us really want to read MORE bad news this week. But — this is the world we live in.

Turning away from it and closing our eyes does not change things. I believe it's important to know just where we stand and what we face so we can make the best choices in how we should live.

Also, note that this essay was published before this week's disastrous US election, which means that you can expect conditions warned about here to get even worse, sooner rather than later.
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In recent years, environmental warnings have become impossible to ignore. Humanity has pushed Earth far beyond its natural limits, launching it into a cascade of intertwined disasters that scientists now call the “polycrisis.” No longer a distant threat, this crisis is unfolding before us, destabilizing the foundations of ecosystems, economies, and communities worldwide.

While some hold out hope for a turnaround, the brutal truth is that we are too far gone. The trajectory is set, the damage done, and there is no miracle solution on the horizon. Our only option is to live through this polycrisis as best we can, facing an uncertain and increasingly harsh reality.

As temperatures climb, ecosystems crumble, and resource conflicts rise, it’s clear that our world will never be the same. For those of us with young families, our hopes are tempered by a haunting reality: the future we once dreamed of has shifted beyond reach. What remains is an obligation to understand the forces shaping this collapse, accept the inevitability of hardship, and try to adapt as the familiar falls away.
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The essay includes sections on climate change, biodiversity loss, economic and social erosion, and finally, "living through the polycrisis." I hope you'll find it helpful.

FULL ARTICLE -- https://archive.ph/MwljK
ALTERNATE LINK -- https://medium.com/edge-of-collapse/no-turning-back-accepting-the-irreversible-global-collapse-21a97632b6d6

#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

‘Ecosystems are collapsing’: one of Australia’s longest rivers has lost more than half its water in one section, research shows https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/07/ecosystems-are-collapsing-one-of-australias-longest-rivers-has-lost-more-than-half-its-water-in-one-section-research-shows #NewSouthWales #Australianews #Climatecrisis #Environment #Wildlife #Science #Rivers #Water #Birds

#TheConversation #Science #Tech #auspol We built a tiny electronic nose that can beat a mouse at its own game Read more…https://theconversation.com/we-built-a-tiny-electronic-nose-that-can-beat-a-mouse-at-its-own-game-243020

This is so sad 😢 Our glaciers are literally melting before our eyes.

WHEN will world leaders WAKE UP and start protecting nature?!

#ActOnClimate #ClimateChange #geography #deforestation #RenewableEnergy #geografia #FossilFuels #ActNow #environment #EndFossilCrimes #ClimateCrisis #Science #warming #Nature #climate #development #gasemissions #ClimateEmergency #climatecrisis #biologia #ClimateAction #photo #photography #GlobalWarming #cartoon #pollution #news #earth #amazon #Politics

"As Earth’s temperature rises, agricultural practices will need to adapt. Droughts will likely become more frequent, and some land may no longer be arable."

"On top of that is the challenge of feeding an ever-growing population without expanding the production of fertilizer and other agrochemicals, which have a large carbon footprint that is contributing to the overall warming of the planet.

"Researchers across MIT are taking on these agricultural challenges from a variety of angles."

https://news.mit.edu/2024/making-agriculture-more-resilient-climate-change-1101

#Agriculture #Farming #Science #Nature #Climate #Environment #ClimateChange #ClimateDiary #MIT

Birch trees are often pioneer species, after smaller flowering plants, they’re some of the first to colonize open land after events like forest fires or logging. #nature #forest #photo #ecology #science