Desdemona Despair – Page 31 – Blogging the End of the World™

Time series of summer forest fire burned area and spring to summer (April to October) maximum near surface temperature 1971-2021 in California; (B) observed versus out-of-sample 10-fold predicted changes in BA. Vertical gray lines indicate 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles of 10,000 different predictions. Colors indicate the decade of each sample. The Inset shows a map of California with the domain of interest shaded in gray. Turcu, et al., 2023 / PNAS

June 18, 2023

Global warming at the center of recent California wildfires – “We show that nearly all of the observed increase in burned area in California over the past half-century is attributable to human-caused climate change”

By Anne M. Stark 12 June 2023 (LLNL) – Summer wildfire seasons in California routinely break records. The average summer burn area in forests in northern and central portions of the state have increased fivefold between 1996 and 2021 compared to between 1971 and 1995. Although the drivers of increased temperature and dryness are known, […]

The human Ecological Footprint measured as “Overshoot Day”, 1971-2023. The Ecological Footprint is the most comprehensive biological resource accounting metric available. Based on 15,000 data points per country per year, it adds up all of people’s competing demands for biologically productive areas – food, timber, fibers, carbon sequestration, and accommodation of infrastructure. Currently, the carbon footprint, i.e., the carbon emissions from burning fossil fuel, make up 61 percent of humanity’s Ecological Footprint. For the last 5 years, the trend has flattened. How much of this is driven by economic slow-down or deliberate decarbonization efforts is difficult to discern. Still, overshoot reduction is far too slow. To reach the UN’s IPCC target of reducing carbon emissions by 43 percent worldwide by 2030 compared to 2010 would require moving Earth Overshoot Day 19 days annually for the next seven years. Graphic: Global Footprint Network / National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts / FoDaFo / York University

June 18, 2023

The 2023 Earth Overshoot Day lands on August 2 – Trend is flattening but still far from reversing – “Persistent overshoot leads to ever more prominent symptoms including unusual heat waves, forest fires, droughts, and floods, with the risk of compromising food production”

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, 5 June 2023 – August 2nd marks this year’s Earth Overshoot Day, according to the latest National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts. They now track countries’ performance up to 2022, reducing reporting lag by three years. However, Earth Overshoot Day’s apparent delay by five days compared to last year’s isn’t all good news, as genuine advancements amount […]

Map showing the global 1-day area-weighted 2m atmospheric temperature anomalies. Temperature anomalies are calculated from the NCEP Climate Forecast System (CFS) and CFS Reanalysis (CFSR). The anomaly values fluctuate day-to-day and week-to-week depending on prevailing weather patterns. For context, daily temperatures for the domains below are available via interactive charts for the entire CFS/CFSR 1979–present record. Anomalies are based on 1979–2000 climatology for the specific day of the year. Graphic: Climate Reanalyzer / Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine

June 18, 2023

June 2023 temperatures briefly passed key climate threshold – “We’ve loaded the climate system. No one should be surprised when we set extended global records. 1.5°C is coming fast; it may already be here.”

BERLIN, 16 June 2023 (AP) – Worldwide temperatures briefly exceeded a key warming threshold earlier this month, a hint of heat and its harms to come, scientists worry. The mercury has since dipped again, but experts say the short surge marked a new global heat record for June and indicates more extremes ahead as the […]

Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Simon Stiell speaks during a news conference at the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial (CCM) at Eigtveds Pakhus, in Copenhagen, Denmark, 21 March 2023. Photo: Ritzau Scanpix / Liselotte Sabroe / REUTERS

June 18, 2023

UN climate body head dissatisfied with Bonn climate talks outcome – “Never satisfied. In terms of whether reasonable progress made. Yes. Was it enough? We will know as we as we enter the COP28 itself.”

By Riham Alkousaa 16 June 2023 BERLIN (Reuters) – The head of the United Nation’s climate body said on Friday he was not satisfied with the outcome of a 10-day conference and the process was moving too slowly given the urgency of the climate crisis. “Never satisfied. In terms of whether reasonable progress made. Yes. […]

Iranian-Canadian artist Simin Keramati sits in the PaykanArtCar during its unveiling at the Oslo Freedom Forum on 13 June 2023. The car is adorned with women's hair, serving as a visual representation of support for the “Women, Life, Freedom” protest movement against Iran’s Islamist regime. Photo: Fredrik Naumann / AP Images / PaykanArtCar

June 18, 2023

Activists say the human rights movement is failing – “Back in the day, human rights groups were ahead of the curve. But autocratic regimes have learned from that. They’re investing in their tactics, and they’re coordinating.”

By Nahal Toosi 18 June 2023 OSLO, Norway (POLITICO) – Gatherings of human rights activists tend to feature commitments to the cause mixed with a lot of gallows humor — after all, many such advocates have survived and persisted in their roles despite imprisonment, torture and surveillance by authoritarian regimes. But on a sunlit June […]

Greta Thunberg stands outside the Swedish parliament in Stockholm during her last School Strike for Climate on 9 June 2023. Photo: Reuters

June 13, 2023

Greta Thunberg takes part in her last school strike for climate – “We who can speak up have a duty to do so. … The fight has only just begun.”

By Tobi Thomas 10 June 2023 (The Guardian) – After what began as a solo protest in Sweden five years ago and grew into a movement with millions of children across the world participating, Greta Thunberg has taken part in her last “school strike” protest as she graduates from school. The protests, which led to many climate […]

Plaintiffs Mica, 14; Badge 15, Lander 18, and Taleah, 19, listen to arguments during a status hearing on 12 May 2023, in Helena, Montana, for a case that they and other Montana youth filed against the state arguing Montana officials are not meeting their constitutional obligations to protect residents from climate change. The first-of-its-kind trial began Monday, 12 June 2023, before District Court Judge Kathy Seeley in Helena. Photo: Thom Bridge /Independent Record / AP

June 13, 2023

Youth environmentalists bring Montana climate case to trial after 12 years, seeking to set precedent – “We’ve seen repeatedly over the last few years what the Montana state Legislature is choosing. They are choosing fossil fuel development. They are choosing corporations over the needs of their citizens.”

By Matthew Brown and Amy Beth Hanson 10 June 2023 HELENA, Montana (AP News) – Whether a constitutional right to a healthy, livable climate is protected by state law is at the center of a lawsuit going to trial Monday in Montana, where 16 young plaintiffs and their attorneys hope to set an important legal precedent. It’s the first […]

Accidental overdoses in San Francisco in 2023 by day of death, January-April. Totals for fentanyl, heroin, medicinal opioids, methamphetamine, and cocaine are shown. Graphic: San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

June 13, 2023

One in five deaths among young Californians tied to fentanyl – “What we are doing is not working”

By Dani Anguiano 24 May 2023 LOS ANGELES (The Guardian) – Overdoses involving fentanyl were behind one in five deaths of people ages 15-24 in California, the latest indicator of an emergency that shows no signs of slowing. Drug overdoses now kill two to three times as many people in the state as car accidents, […]

Smoke billows upward from a planned ignition by firefighters tackling the Donnie Creek Complex wildfire south of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada on 3 June 2023. Photo: B.C. Wildfire Service / REUTERS

June 11, 2023

Canada on track for its worst-ever wildfire season in 2023 – “Over the last 20 years, we have never seen such a large area burned so early in the season”

OTTAWA, 5 June 2023 (Reuters) – Canada is on track for its worst-ever year of wildfire destruction as warm and dry conditions are forecast to persist through to the end of the summer after an unprecedented start to the fire season, officials said on Monday. Blazes are burning in nearly all Canadian provinces and territories, […]

Illustration showing that Chevron omits more than 90 percent of its emissions in its “net zero” “aspiration”. Though Chevron is quick to proffer its “net zero” commitment as proof of its commitment to address climate change, its “net zero” pledge is 1) only an “aspiration”, as carefully stated on its website; and 2) only applies to its Scope 1 emissions (that result from operating the facilities/equipment/vehicles/buildings that Chevron owns) and Scope 2 emissions (produced from the energy Chevron uses), not its Scope 3 emissions (caused by the end-use of Chevron’s products – sold oil and gas). Graphic: Corporate Accountability

June 11, 2023

“Worthless”: Chevron’s carbon offsets are mostly junk and some may harm – “It’s clear from this report and other research that net zero as a framework opens the door for claims of climate action while continuing with business as usual”

By Nina Lakhani 24 May 2023 NEW YORK (The Guardian) – A new investigation into Chevron’s climate pledge has found the fossil-fuel company relies on “junk” carbon offsets and “unviable” technologies, which do little to offset its vast greenhouse gas emissions and, in some cases, may actually be causing communities harm. Chevron, which reported $35.5bn […]