Your Weather, Our Weather (2 Viewers)

[Huntn]

Since June we (East Texas) have been running mid 90s to low 100sF (32-40C) with with hear indexes about 110F, lows of 85F (29C) at night. A high pressure dome of heat parked over the Central US bringing no rain (at least to Texas) for several weeks and high temps. Comparing F to C. I prefer the spread of F over C, but consider I grew up with F. A recent trip to Corpus Christi we saw large large fields of immature brown/dead corn.
An alarming report is that the Oceans are turning green (more plant matter growing) due to the rise of temps, sharks are reported as dying. Another report said that El Niño usually causes a reduction of Atlantic hurricane activity, but with oceans heating up, that may change.

I never thought I would be living in such a transitional period for the Earth. We have been warned for 40 years, yet as a species, we just blunder along until we are smacked upside the head.

 

[SamAndreas]

My Governor said this, but then Cal-Fire reposted it. That adds to that message about the electric cars.

Not only do gas powered cars add to Global warming, gas powered cars start a lot of forest fires with their catalytic converters when they are driven or are parked in tall day grass on a hot day.

Our current monster fire was started that way.



Electric cars don't start fires that way.

 

[Taurus]

My Governor said this, but then Cal-Fire reposted it. That adds to that message about the electric cars.

Not only do gas powered cars add to Global warming, gas powered cars start a lot of forest fires with their catalytic converters when they are driven or are parked in tall day grass on a hot day.

Our current monster fire was started that way.



Electric cars don't start fires that way.

Bet AJ Soprano wishes he'd had an electric car.

 

[LA - L.A.]

Climate change is happening faster in the Southwest Pacific than the rest of the planet which had the Pacific Islands in crisis. They are kind of a canary in the coal mine.

‘The ocean is overflowing’: UN chief issues global SOS as new reports warn Pacific sea-level rise outstrips global average | CNN

A “worldwide catastrophe” is imperiling Pacific Islands and the world must respond to the unprecedented and devastating impacts of rising seas “before it is too late,” the United Nations chief has warned.

www.cnn.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

guess this can go here. I know gas stoves were a bit of a hot topic a while back
======================================================

In 1976, beloved chef, cookbook author and television personality Julia Child returned to WGBH-TV’s studios in Boston for a new cooking show, “Julia Child & Company,” following her hit series “The French Chef.” Viewers probably didn’t know that Child’s new and improved kitchen studio, outfitted with gas stoves, was paid for by the American Gas Association.

While this may seem like any corporate sponsorship, we now know it was a part of a calculated campaign by gas industry executives to increase use of gas stoves across the United States. And stoves weren’t the only objective. The gas industry wanted to grow its residential market, and homes that used gas for cooking were likely also to use it for heat and hot water.

The industry’s efforts went well beyond careful product placement, according to new research from the nonprofit Climate Investigations Center, which analyzes corporate efforts to undermine climate science and slow the ongoing transition away from fossil fuels. As the center’s study and a National Public Radio investigation show, when evidence emerged in the early 1970s about the health effects of indoor nitrogen dioxide exposure from gas stove use, the American Gas Association launched a campaign designed to manufacture doubt about the existing science.

As a researcher who has studied air pollution for many years – including gas stoves’ contribution to indoor air pollution and health effects – I am not naïve about the strategies that some industries use to avoid or delay regulations. But I was surprised to learn that the multipronged strategy related to gas stoves directly mirrored tactics that the tobacco industry used to undermine and distort scientific evidence of health risks associated with smoking starting in the 1950s.

The gas industry relied on Hill & Knowlton, the same public relations company that masterminded the tobacco industry’s playbook for responding to research linking smoking to lung cancer. Hill & Knowlton’s tactics included sponsoring research that would counter findings about gas stoves published in the scientific literature, emphasizing uncertainty in these findings to construct artificial controversy and engaging in aggressive public relations efforts..............

When science showed in the 1970s that gas stoves produced harmful indoor air pollution, the industry reached for tobacco’s PR playbook

The natural gas industry has spent years trying to undermine scientific findings about gas stoves and health. If this sounds familiar, that’s no accident.

theconversation.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Gas stoves expose millions in the US to unsafe limits of nitrogen dioxide, and disadvantaged communities face higher risk | CNN

Gas and propane stoves significantly increase exposure to nitrogen dioxide in rooms throughout the home, and these unsafe levels of exposure have had harmful effects on the health of tens of thousands of people in the United States, according to a new study.

www.cnn.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Industrial civilisation is close to breaching a seventh planetary boundary, and may already have crossed it, according to scientists who have compiled the latest report on the state of the world’s life-support systems.

“Ocean acidification is approaching a critical threshold”, particularly in higher-latitude regions, says the latest report on planetary boundaries. “The growing acidification poses an increasing threat to marine ecosystems.”

The report, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), builds on years of research showing there are nine systems and processes – the planetary boundaries – that contribute to the stability of the planet’s life-support functions.


Thresholds beyond which they can no longer properly function have already been breached in six. Climate change, the introduction of novel entities, change in biosphere integrity and modification of biogeochemical flows are judged to be in high-risk zones, while planetary boundaries are also transgressed in land system change and freshwater change but to a lesser extent. All have worsened, according to the data.

Stratospheric ozone depletion has remained stable, however, and there has been a slight improvement in atmospheric aerosol loading, the research says.……..

Earth may have breached seven of nine planetary boundaries, health check shows

Ocean acidification close to critical threshold, say scientists, posing threat to marine ecosystems and global liveability

www.theguardian.com

 

[LA - L.A.]

Some progress that hopefully is not coming too late. My emphasis in bold is the crux of the article and the progress. The problem with clean energy is not a production issue, it's a distribution issue and an energy company just figured out a significant way to solve the distribution problem.

A polluting, coal-fired power plant found the key to solving America’s biggest clean energy challenge | CNN

Xcel Energy is short-circuiting what could have been seven years of bureaucracy and red tape to solar energy to its customers.

www.cnn.com

​

"The polluting coal plant is on its way out, scheduled for retirement in the next five years. It’s generated billions of dollars’ worth of electricity in its 50-year life, but the most valuable of its parts is the plug — how it connects to the grid that powers our homes.​

​

Instead of letting it go to waste as the fossil fuel plant closes, Xcel Energy is going to leave it plugged in to connect the largest solar project in the Upper Midwest, and one of the largest in the entire country, directly to the grid.​

​

Repurposing the so-called interconnection system is short-circuiting what could have been seven years of bureaucracy and red tape to get this electricity distributed to its customers.​

​

Experts say this is the secret to solving America’s clean energy dilemma: There is more electricity from clean energy waiting to get connected to the grid than the entire amount of energy currently on the grid. The years-long delays are an existential threat to many projects’ chances of getting built."​

Progress being made on a different form of destructive pollution created from fossil fuels.

California governor signs law banning all plastic shopping bags at grocery stores | CNN Business

“Paper or plastic” will no longer be a choice at grocery store checkout lines in California under a new law signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom that bans all plastic shopping bags.

www.cnn.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Rich countries could raise five times the money that poor countries are demanding in climate finance, through windfall taxes on fossil fuels, ending harmful subsidies and a wealth tax on billionaires, research has shown.

Developing nations are asking for at least $1tn (£750bn) a year of public funds to help them cut greenhouse gases and cope with the impacts of extreme weather.

Rich countries are mooting potential sums much lower than this, in conventional climate finance such as low-interest loans from the World Bank and similar institutions.

But they are also discussing potential new forms of finance, such as a levy on shipping and on frequent flyers. Brazil, which currently has the presidency of the G20, is pushing for a wealth tax of about 2% on billionaires.

Research by the pressure group Oil Change International, published on Tuesday, shows that rich countries could generate $5tn a year from a combination of wealth and corporate taxes, and a crackdown on fossil fuels.

A wealth tax on billionaires could generate $483bn globally, while a financial transaction tax could raise $327bn. Taxes on sales of big technology, arms and luxury fashion would be another $112bn, and redistributing 20% of public military spending would be worth $454bn if implemented around the world………

Rich countries could raise $5tn of climate finance a year, study says

Simple measures could raise five times more money than poorer countries are asking for, research claims

www.theguardian.com

 

[Lapaz]

Some progress that hopefully is not coming too late. My emphasis in bold is the crux of the article and the progress. The problem with clean energy is not a production issue, it's a distribution issue and an energy company just figured out a significant way to solve the distribution problem.

A polluting, coal-fired power plant found the key to solving America’s biggest clean energy challenge | CNN

Xcel Energy is short-circuiting what could have been seven years of bureaucracy and red tape to solar energy to its customers.

www.cnn.com

​

"The polluting coal plant is on its way out, scheduled for retirement in the next five years. It’s generated billions of dollars’ worth of electricity in its 50-year life, but the most valuable of its parts is the plug — how it connects to the grid that powers our homes.​

​

Instead of letting it go to waste as the fossil fuel plant closes, Xcel Energy is going to leave it plugged in to connect the largest solar project in the Upper Midwest, and one of the largest in the entire country, directly to the grid.​

​

Repurposing the so-called interconnection system is short-circuiting what could have been seven years of bureaucracy and red tape to get this electricity distributed to its customers.​

​

Experts say this is the secret to solving America’s clean energy dilemma: There is more electricity from clean energy waiting to get connected to the grid than the entire amount of energy currently on the grid. The years-long delays are an existential threat to many projects’ chances of getting built."​

Progress being made on a different form of destructive pollution created from fossil fuels.

California governor signs law banning all plastic shopping bags at grocery stores | CNN Business

“Paper or plastic” will no longer be a choice at grocery store checkout lines in California under a new law signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom that bans all plastic shopping bags.

www.cnn.com

Getting rid of plastic bags is going to be a problem, and I anticipate a backlash. Paper bags are not suitable for carrying wet items, and cloth can also be a problem at times if things spill. I don't know enough about the problem that plastic is causing, but I wouldn't want to be forced to use paper or cloth. I've heard reports about microplastics, but I don't understand the health implications. Rather than outlawing all plastics, they should mandate biodegradable options, like Polylactic acid made from sugars, or Polyglycolic acid that degrades into water and carbon dioxide. I know the latter isn't great, but if we keep reducing carbon in other areas, it wouldn't hurt.

Custom PLA Bags — Envi Reusable Bags

Choose sustainable PLA bags made from corn starch or sugar cane, ideal for retailers and grocery stores seeking sustainable solutions.

www.envireusablebags.com

 

[LA - L.A.]

Getting rid of plastic bags is going to be a problem, and I anticipate a backlash.

There will always be some, but the majority here in CA are for it. The backlash has been on how long it's taken to get here. Read up on cellulose and other plant based alternatives that have the same short term durability of plastic, but are biodegradable and sustainable. Plastic is actually being forced on us by the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries.

Paper bags are not suitable for carrying wet items, and cloth can also be a problem at times if things spill.

See the comment above.

I don't know enough about the problem that plastic is causing, but I wouldn't want to be forced to use paper or cloth. I've heard reports about microplastics, but I don't understand the health implications.

Microplastics are endocrine disruptors and there is a very strong correlation between microplastics in the blood stream and heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic inflammation and neurological disease. Just like the planet can get rid of it, neither can our bodies. It causes significant health and disease issues for every living thing on the planet. Microplastics are even in the rain that falls from the sky.

Rather than outlawing all plastics, they should mandate biodegradable options, like Polylactic acid made from sugars, or Polyglycolic acid that degrades into water and carbon dioxide.

It's six one way, half dozen the other. If you make non-plastics mandatory, then plastics go bye bye. If you ban plastics, then they have to go bye bye and get replaced with alternatives. The fossil fuel and petrochemical industries have been real meanies in the sandbox. It's time to stop playing nice with them and take them to task. Don't take my word for what meanies they've been.

Attorney General Bonta Sues ExxonMobil for Deceiving the Public on Recyclability of Plastic Products

The first-of-its-kind lawsuit seeks to hold one of the largest petrochemical companies in the world accountable for misleading the public on plastic’s recyclability and polluting California’s environment and communities SAN FRANCISCO — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the...

oag.ca.gov

They've been more deceptive and manipulative than big tobacco ever was. There are plenty of eco friendly alternatives to plastic.

 

[Dragon]

Some progress that hopefully is not coming too late. My emphasis in bold is the crux of the article and the progress. The problem with clean energy is not a production issue, it's a distribution issue and an energy company just figured out a significant way to solve the distribution problem.

A polluting, coal-fired power plant found the key to solving America’s biggest clean energy challenge | CNN

Xcel Energy is short-circuiting what could have been seven years of bureaucracy and red tape to solar energy to its customers.

www.cnn.com

​

"The polluting coal plant is on its way out, scheduled for retirement in the next five years. It’s generated billions of dollars’ worth of electricity in its 50-year life, but the most valuable of its parts is the plug — how it connects to the grid that powers our homes.​

​

Instead of letting it go to waste as the fossil fuel plant closes, Xcel Energy is going to leave it plugged in to connect the largest solar project in the Upper Midwest, and one of the largest in the entire country, directly to the grid.​

​

Repurposing the so-called interconnection system is short-circuiting what could have been seven years of bureaucracy and red tape to get this electricity distributed to its customers.​

​

Experts say this is the secret to solving America’s clean energy dilemma: There is more electricity from clean energy waiting to get connected to the grid than the entire amount of energy currently on the grid. The years-long delays are an existential threat to many projects’ chances of getting built."​

Progress being made on a different form of destructive pollution created from fossil fuels.

California governor signs law banning all plastic shopping bags at grocery stores | CNN Business

“Paper or plastic” will no longer be a choice at grocery store checkout lines in California under a new law signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom that bans all plastic shopping bags.

www.cnn.com

This is actually a very good plan. Reusing older infrastructure.

Here, we’re making the most of the existing electrical grid to do just that, and solar power plays a huge role. Roughly one in four privately-owned homes have solar panels installed on their rooftops, feeding surplus energy back into the grid. When the sun isn’t shining, homeowners draw power from the grid instead. Every month, their utility bill reflects both the electricity they’ve produced and the amount they've used. Depending on the size of the solar installation and their energy consumption, they might either have a small bill to pay or even receive a payment for the excess energy they've generated. This is very much a plug in solution and only possible due to the extensive existing grid structure


In addition to solar power—both from private installations and large-scale solar farms—we also benefit from vast offshore wind farms, which can supply up to 30% of our energy needs when conditions are ideal. We’ve also established power-sharing agreements with Sweden and Norway, primarily drawing from their hydropower. This ensures that no matter the weather, there’s always a way to generate electricity. A key advantage of this approach is that it creates a more resilient energy grid, with multiple backup sources and fewer critical points of failure, enhancing overall stability and reliability

 

[LA - L.A.]

This is actually a very good plan. Reusing older infrastructure.

Here, we’re making the most of the existing electrical grid to do just that, and solar power plays a huge role. Roughly one in four privately-owned homes have solar panels installed on their rooftops, feeding surplus energy back into the grid. When the sun isn’t shining, homeowners draw power from the grid instead. Every month, their utility bill reflects both the electricity they’ve produced and the amount they've used. Depending on the size of the solar installation and their energy consumption, they might either have a small bill to pay or even receive a payment for the excess energy they've generated. This is very much a plug in solution and only possible due to the extensive existing grid structure


In addition to solar power—both from private installations and large-scale solar farms—we also benefit from vast offshore wind farms, which can supply up to 30% of our energy needs when conditions are ideal. We’ve also established power-sharing agreements with Sweden and Norway, primarily drawing from their hydropower. This ensures that no matter the weather, there’s always a way to generate electricity. A key advantage of this approach is that it creates a more resilient energy grid, with multiple backup sources and fewer critical points of failure, enhancing overall stability and reliability

Like you said, the best electric grid is one that utilizes a mix of electricity producing technology that has a good mix of micro to macro generation points.

The other thing we need to add is storage. That's another way these old power plants can be repurposed the can be converted to either massive iron based batteries or liquefied salt power storage. Iron batteries is an old technology. They are efficient, stable and environment friendly. They were just two heavy for portable use. Batteries tied into the grid don't need to be portable.

All fuel burning and nuclear power plants heat water to run a steam turbine. Liquefied salt technology uses solar furnaces, which are feasible almost everywhere on the planet, to super heat salt to it's melting point. The super hot liquid salt is used to run a steam turbine. It's a storage technology, because the liquid salt is stored in underground reservoirs that can keep the salt super hot and liquefied for several days without additional heating in the solar furnace. That's a way of capturing and storing solar energy for continuous use through the night and the occasional days when there's not enough solar energy to reheat the salt with the solar furnace.

Almost every fuel burning or nuclear power plant on the planet can be effectively transitioned to liquefied salt technology. The fossil fuel and nuclear industries have been using their financial and political influence to block and undermine attempts to make the transition.

We are being lied too every time someone tells us that we don't have the technology and resources to replace fossil fuels. It's a lie. We've had the ability to replace fossil fuels for at least a decade.

 

[Taurus]

Like you said, the best electric grid is one that utilizes a mix of electricity producing technology that has a good mix of micro to macro generation points.

The other thing we need to add is storage. That's another way these old power plants can be repurposed the can be converted to either massive iron based batteries or liquefied salt power storage. Iron batteries is an old technology. They are efficient, stable and environment friendly. They were just two heavy for portable use. Batteries tied into the grid don't need to be portable.

All fuel burning and nuclear power plants heat water to run a steam turbine. Liquefied salt technology uses solar furnaces, which are feasible almost everywhere on the planet, to super heat salt to it's melting point. The super hot liquid salt is used to run a steam turbine. It's a storage technology, because the liquid salt is stored in underground reservoirs that can keep the salt super hot and liquefied for several days without additional heating in the solar furnace. That's a way of capturing and storing solar energy for continuous use through the night and the occasional days when there's not enough solar energy to reheat the salt with the solar furnace.

Almost every fuel burning or nuclear power plant on the planet can be effectively transitioned to liquefied salt technology. The fossil fuel and nuclear industries have been using their financial and political influence to block and undermine attempts to make the transition.

We are being lied too every time someone tells us that we don't have the technology and resources to replace fossil fuels. It's a lie. We've had the ability to replace fossil fuels for at least a decade.

Someone should also mention how vulnerable our grid...ALL the grids, are to solar flares and magnetic storms. It wouldn't matter if we produced all of our electricity from unicorn farts and happy thoughts if the grid gets fried.

Carrington Event - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[LA - L.A.]

Someone should also mention how vulnerable our grid...ALL the grids, are to solar flares and magnetic storms. It wouldn't matter if we produced all of our electricity from unicorn farts and happy thoughts if the grid gets fried.

Carrington Event - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It can be hardened against solar activity, but it's expensive. I would argue it's more expensive not to hardened it, because it's a matter of when, not if, a solar storm is strong enough to shut down every vulnerable power grid on the planet within the same 24 hour period. Without exaggeration, that could be a civilization ending event.

 

[Taurus]

It can be hardened against solar activity, but it's expensive. I would argue it's more expensive not to hardened it, because it's a matter of when, not if, a solar storm is strong enough to shut down every vulnerable power grid on the planet within the same 24 hour period. Without exaggeration, that could be a civilization ending event.

If I were trying to convince Congress, I'd ask them how valuable it would be to completely halt a Russian nuclear attack. Now, melting the grid is on the same level as that, so how much are we willing to spend on a guarantee of preventing it?

 

[Optimus Prime]

Guess this can go here
=================

Fossil fuel lobbyists coordinated with lawmakers behind the scenes and across state lines to push and shape laws that are escalating a crackdown on peaceful protests against oil and gas expansion, a new Guardian investigation reveals.

Records obtained by the Guardian show that lobbyists working for major North American oil and gas companies were key architects of anti-protest laws that increase penalties and could lead to non-violent environmental and climate activists being imprisoned up to 10 years.

Emails between fossil fuel lobbyists and lawmakers in Utah, West Virginia, Idaho and Ohio suggest a nationwide strategy to deter people frustrated by government failure to tackle the climate crisis from peacefully disrupting the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure by enacting tough laws with lengthy jail sentences.


“Draft bill attached,” wrote a lobbyist representing two influential fossil fuel trade groups to the lead counsel for the West Virginia state energy committee in January 2020.

The law, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence, was later used to charge at least eight peaceful climate protesters including six senior citizens.

Amid ongoing record oil and gas expansion in the US, activists say they have turned to protests and non-violent civil disobedience such as blocking roads and chaining themselves to trees, machinery and equipment as a way to slow down construction, raise public awareness, and press for more urgent climate action by governments and corporations.

Civil disobedience is a form of political protest that involves breaking the law in a planned, symbolic way – which activists and rights experts say is part of the bedrock of a democratic society and in the tradition of civil rights movements.

The months-long investigation by the Guardian found that companies and lawmakers sought to increase the threat of criminal action against activists to protect oil and gas expansion – even as deadly and destructive extreme weather events hit communities nationwide.……..

Revealed: how the fossil fuel industry helps spread anti-protest laws across the US

Lobbyists and lawmakers have coordinated to enact new laws that increase criminal penalties for peaceful protests

www.theguardian.com

 

[Taurus]

Guess this can go here
=================

Fossil fuel lobbyists coordinated with lawmakers behind the scenes and across state lines to push and shape laws that are escalating a crackdown on peaceful protests against oil and gas expansion, a new Guardian investigation reveals.

Records obtained by the Guardian show that lobbyists working for major North American oil and gas companies were key architects of anti-protest laws that increase penalties and could lead to non-violent environmental and climate activists being imprisoned up to 10 years.

Emails between fossil fuel lobbyists and lawmakers in Utah, West Virginia, Idaho and Ohio suggest a nationwide strategy to deter people frustrated by government failure to tackle the climate crisis from peacefully disrupting the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure by enacting tough laws with lengthy jail sentences.


“Draft bill attached,” wrote a lobbyist representing two influential fossil fuel trade groups to the lead counsel for the West Virginia state energy committee in January 2020.

The law, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence, was later used to charge at least eight peaceful climate protesters including six senior citizens.

Amid ongoing record oil and gas expansion in the US, activists say they have turned to protests and non-violent civil disobedience such as blocking roads and chaining themselves to trees, machinery and equipment as a way to slow down construction, raise public awareness, and press for more urgent climate action by governments and corporations.

Civil disobedience is a form of political protest that involves breaking the law in a planned, symbolic way – which activists and rights experts say is part of the bedrock of a democratic society and in the tradition of civil rights movements.

The months-long investigation by the Guardian found that companies and lawmakers sought to increase the threat of criminal action against activists to protect oil and gas expansion – even as deadly and destructive extreme weather events hit communities nationwide.……..

Revealed: how the fossil fuel industry helps spread anti-protest laws across the US

Lobbyists and lawmakers have coordinated to enact new laws that increase criminal penalties for peaceful protests

www.theguardian.com

Want to get rid of these laws? Use them on Tea Party protests and idiots like Ammon Bundy.

 

[Lapaz]

If I were trying to convince Congress, I'd ask them how valuable it would be to completely halt a Russian nuclear attack. Now, melting the grid is on the same level as that, so how much are we willing to spend on a guarantee of preventing it?

Over the years we have had many solar storms and flares. I know it has caused problems, but what evidence is there that a solar storm could melt the grid? One of the approaches I've heard to improve power-grid resilience is rooftop solar. Would it also melt them too?