Climate News: part 3

[Bamaro]

'Falcons' users (private jets) emit 500 times more CO2 per year into the atmosphere than the average citizen

Private aviation has increased global emissions by 50% in the last five years, with peaks during events such as the World Climate Summit held in Dubai, the Davos Economic Forum, or the Cannes Festival.

Annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from private aviation have surged by 46% between 2019 and 2023. These flights consume much more energy and emit much more CO2 per passenger than commercial flights, even though they are used by only 0.003% of the world's population, around 256,000 people. Each of them produces nearly 500 times more CO2 in a year than the average citizen.

Interestingly, the largest international events in the last five years were the ones that caused the highest peaks in air emissions. The event with the most private flights was the 2022 World Cup final held in Qatar, with 1,846 flights and almost 15,000 tons of CO2 emitted, followed by Davos Forum with 660 planes. Paradoxically, the UN meeting to mitigate climate change held last year in Dubai, COP28, was one of the events with the highest number of private flights, 644, which produced 4,800 tons of CO2.

Nearly a quarter of all private planes that flew to COP28 also flew to the World Cup final, although it does not mean the same people were on board, as many of these flights are charter. Other major events that caused emission peaks in the last five years were the Superbowl in Arizona or the Cannes Festival.

'Falcons' users emit 500 times more CO2 per year into the atmosphere than the average citizen

 

[Bamaro]

Global CO2 emissions to hit record high in 2024, report says

BAKU (Reuters) - Global carbon dioxide emissions, including those from burning fossil fuels, are set to hit a record high this year, pulling the world further off course from averting more destructive climate extremes, scientists said on Wednesday.

The Global Carbon Budget report, published during the U.N.'s COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, said global CO2 emissions are set to total 41.6 billion metric tons in 2024, up from 40.6 billion tons last year.

The bulk of these emissions are from burning coal, oil and gas. Those emissions would total 37.4 billion tons in 2024, up by 0.8% in 2023, the report said.

The rest are from land use, a category that includes deforestation and forest fires. The report by more than 80 institutions was led by the University of Exeter in Britain.

Global CO2 emissions to hit record high in 2024, report says

 

[Bamaro]

Ocean warming 4 times faster than in 1980s — and likely to accelerate in coming decades

Earth's oceans are getting warmer at an accelerating rate, researchers find — indicating that climate change is speeding up too.
The scientists found that ocean warming has more than quadrupled over the past 40 years and is likely to accelerate even faster in the future. The researchers published their findings in a new study published Tuesday (Jan. 28) in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

The team linked the accelerated ocean warming to climate change and Earth taking in more energy than it's emitting — a phenomenon called Earth's energy imbalance. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH4) trap heat in the atmosphere, which warm up the planet, and subsequently the oceans. This process, along with other human activities and natural variations, is a significant driver of Earth's energy imbalance, which has doubled within the last two decades.
Ocean warming 4 times faster than in 1980s — and likely to accelerate in coming decades

 

[crimsonaudio]

SMH

Amazon rainforest cut down to build highway for COP climate summit

The infrastructure required to host COP30 in Belém is undermining the cause, campaigners say.

www.bbc.com

 

[Huckleberry]

SMH

Amazon rainforest cut down to build highway for COP climate summit

The infrastructure required to host COP30 in Belém is undermining the cause, campaigners say.

www.bbc.com

Absolute stupidity.

 

[Elefantman]

SMH

Amazon rainforest cut down to build highway for COP climate summit

The infrastructure required to host COP30 in Belém is undermining the cause, campaigners say.

www.bbc.com

What's the big fuss? Buy enough carbon credits to make the project "carbon neutral". No harm, no foul.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

What's the big fuss? Buy enough carbon credits to make the project "carbon neutral". No harm, no foul.

LEED certified design, I am sure.

 

[Bamaro]

The cynic in me wonders whether COP30 is the real reason for this being built or a convenient excuse to get this postponed project green lighted (pun intended)

The state government of Pará had touted the idea of this highway, known as Avenida Liberdade, as early as 2012, but it had repeatedly been shelved because of environmental concerns.

 

[Bamaro]

Sea level update

In 2024, global sea level rose faster than expected mostly due to ocean water expanding as it warms, or thermal expansion. According to a NASA-led analysis, 2024’s rise was 0.23 in (0.59 cm) per year, compared to the expected rate of 0.17 in (0.43 cm) per year.
In recent years, about two-thirds of sea level rise was from melting ice sheets and glaciers. About a third came from thermal expansion of seawater. But in 2024, those contributions flipped, with two-thirds of sea level rise coming from thermal expansion.
Since the satellite record of ocean height began in 1993, the rate of annual sea level rise has more than doubled. In total, global sea level has gone up by 4 in (10 cm) since 1993. This long-term record is made possible by an uninterrupted series of ocean-observing satellites.
Details: https://go.nasa.gov/3Ft3Y1v

Video | Facebook

 

[Bamaro]

Last decade was Earth's hottest ever as CO2 levels reach an 800,000-year high, says UN report

Last year was the hottest year on record, the top 10 hottest years were all in the past decade and planet-heating carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are at an 800,000-year high, a report Wednesday said.

In its annual State of the Climate report, the World Meteorological Organization laid bare all the markings of an increasingly warming world with oceans at record high temperatures, sea levels rising and glaciers retreating at record speed.
The report attributed the heating to human activity — like the burning of coal, oil and gas — and in a smaller part to the naturally occurring El Nino weather phenomenon.
Last decade was Earth's hottest ever as CO2 levels reach an 800,000-year high, says UN report

I guess it's anthropogenic after all.

 

[Bamaro]

Arctic sea ice had its weakest winter buildup since record-keeping began 47 years ago, a symptom of climate change that will have repercussions globally, scientists said Thursday.

The Arctic reaches its maximum sea ice in March each year and then starts a six-month melt season. The National Snow and Ice Data Center said the peak measurement taken Saturday was 5.53 million square miles (14.33 million square kilometers) — about 30,000 square miles (80,000 square kilometers) smaller than the lowest previous peak in 2017.

That’s a difference about the size of California.

“ Warming temperatures are what’s causing the ice to decline,’' ice data scientist Walt Meier said.

Arctic sea ice hits record low for its usual peak growth period | AP News

 

[CrimsonJazz]

How environmental groups use hysteria to get rich—and stop progress

Groups like the Sierra Club and the Environmental Defense Fund collect billions in donations. But often they do more harm than good.

reason.com

The NRDC, Sierra Club, and Defenders of Wildlife even sue to stop solar and wind farms. They claim, for example, that California's Calico solar project would destroy the habitat of desert tortoises.

Once upon a time, the big threat to development was NIMBY: Not In My Back Yard.

Today, it's BANANA: Build Absolutely Nothing, Anywhere, Near Anyone.

"What that means is we don't get the lifestyle that we want," says Fisher. "If you wanted to build a new house, what kind of permits do you have to get? Who do you have to talk to? Is the Sierra Club going to sue?"

 

[75thru79]

Trump revokes $4 billion from California high-speed rail project

For years, California has planned to construct the high-speed rail line so that passengers could travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco in under three hours. The route would normally take between 5 and 7 hours by car, according to a Google Maps estimate.

The rail project was first green-lit by voters in 2008, with a deadline set for 2022. But it has since been fraught with delays and cost overruns.

The rail line could now cost up to $128 billion, according to 2024 estimates from the California High Speed Rail Authority. Voters initially approved a starter budget of about $10 billion.

A $128 billion (that's with a "B" folks) for a stupid train that will run from LA to San Fran. I wonder how the $128B get's allocated per trip. Who do they think is the target market for this? This is the epitome of stupidity and all the reason why governments should not be in charge of money, especially yours.

 

[Con]

Trump revokes $4 billion from California high-speed rail project



A $128 billion (that's with a "B" folks) for a stupid train that will run from LA to San Fran. I wonder how the $128B get's allocated per trip. Who do they think is the target market for this? This is the epitome of stupidity and all the reason why governments should not be in charge of money, especially yours.

I saw this story on a news show and was shocked at how much the cost of the high speed rail system went up. 10 billion is a lot but 128 billion is more than a lot.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Trump revokes $4 billion from California high-speed rail project



A $128 billion (that's with a "B" folks) for a stupid train that will run from LA to San Fran. I wonder how the $128B get's allocated per trip. Who do they think is the target market for this? This is the epitome of stupidity and all the reason why governments should not be in charge of money, especially yours.

The idiocy is the stuff of legend...

The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF), a French state-owned railroad operator, came to California in hopes of helping the state build a high-speed rail system from Los Angeles to San Francisco but left for North Africa in 2011 because the region was 'less politically dysfunctional' than the Golden State.

A company hoping to help California with its high-speed rail built one in North Africa instead, saying the region was ‘less politically dysfunctional’

After leaving in 2011, the company built a functioning high-speed rail system in Morocco in 2018, The New York Times reported.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[crimsonaudio]

NY Times gift link:
In Game-Changing Climate Rollback, E.P.A. Aims to Kill a Bedrock Scientific Finding

 

[92tide]

NY Times gift link:
In Game-Changing Climate Rollback, E.P.A. Aims to Kill a Bedrock Scientific Finding

morons

 

[jthomas666]

I saw this story on a news show and was shocked at how much the cost of the high speed rail system went up. 10 billion is a lot but 128 billion is more than a lot.

Yeah. I like the idea, but a budget going from 10 Billion to 128 Billion is something you only see in defense contracts.

 

[Bamaro]

Climate experts slam Energy Department report on greenhouse gases
An international group of more than 85 climate experts on Tuesday published a 439-page review arguing that a report by the Trump administration's Energy Department fails to "adequately represent the current scientific understanding of climate change," and it "exhibits pervasive problems" by misrepresenting scientific literature and cherry-picking data.
Climate experts slam Energy Department report on greenhouse gases