Hundreds of Pacific Islands are getting bigger despite global warming

Global warming postponed. Greenies predicted the opposite of this

New research says hundreds of islands in the Pacific are growing in land size, even as climate change-related sea level rises threaten the region.

The scientists used satellite images of islands as well as on-the-ground analysis to track the changes.

Coastal geomorphologist Dr Paul Kench said coral reef sediment was responsible for building up the islands.

"All the islands that we're looking at, and the atoll systems, comprise predominantly of the broken up corals, shells and skeletons of organisms on the coral reef, which waves then sweep up and deposit on the island," he said.

Dr Kench said in areas where coral reefs were healthy, enough sediment was being produced to cause islands to grow. "The majority of islands in each of those nations has either got larger or stayed very similar in size," he said.

"So, you know, one of the remarkable takeaways of the work is that these islands are actually quite dynamic in a physical sense."

Healthy coral reefs key to growth

Coastal erosion from rising sea level is considered a major threat to many Pacific communities, with some already watching shorelines recede.

Dr Kench said about 10 per cent of islands captured in the study had gotten smaller in size.

He said a better understanding of which islands are growing and which are eroding could help Pacific nations adapt to climate change.

"That gives the island nations some power to think about adaptation strategies, about where do you focus further development, and you would perhaps choose those islands which we can demonstrate are actually growing in size," he said.

"So we think it's affording some different sort of strategies and opportunities for islands to think about as they're contemplating an uncertain future."

Dr Kench said there was more work to be done in understanding other factors influencing the growth or reduction of Pacific islands.

"While we can look at sites that are healthy, and the sediment production that's creating the islands is still taking place, there has to be some concerns at those locations where the reefs are in poor condition," he said.

"So we're not suggesting here by any stretch of the imagination that islands have nothing to worry about.

"I guess one of the messages from the work that we're doing is that the outcome and the prognosis for islands is going to vary quite markedly from one site to the other."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-08/why-are-hundreds-of-pacific-islands-getting-bigger/13038430

EPA’s Wheeler announces science transparency rule, slams reporters

In a live stream event hosted by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler outlined a new science transparency rule being implemented at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Known officially as the not-so-brief “Strengthening Transparency in Pivotal Science Underlying Significant Regulatory Actions and Influential Scientific Information” rule, it requires researchers to divulge the processes and data by which they draw their conclusions and findings, according to The Washington Post.

“The American public deserves to know which studies we are using to craft our regulations, and which of those studies are key, or pivotal, to our decisions,” Wheeler said in his opening remarks. “And to the extent possible, that data should be available for the public to see.”

Not everyone is seeing it Wheeler’s way, however.

Left-leaning environmental groups claim the rule will make it harder for EPA to craft regulations and use studies, as many studies contain confidential or personal information that is prohibited from being disclosed.

Yet during the livestream, Wheeler brushed off those concerns, saying that is not an issue in this final rule.

“That data – those studies, can still be used. PPI (Protected Personal Information) data does not need to be disclosed,” Wheeler said in response to a question on that subject.

Throughout the livestream, Wheeler expressed frustration with incorrect information and reporting on the rule.

“But as far as trying to explain this to the public, it’s very difficult to break through at times, with the media, particularly when you have environmental activists masquerading as environmental reporters,” Wheeler said, adding their “agenda is not to present the truth, at times.”

Myron Ebell, Director of Energy and Environment at CEI, addressed the concerns of some conservative groups who felt the rule did not go far enough in limiting what has come to be known as “secret science” in environmental circles.

“For people who are looking for a magic bullet to solve the crisis of scientific integrity again, and…end the irreproducibility crisis, for those people, this rule may be a disappointment,” Ebell said. “But what I think what we need to understand is, it’s an incremental step forward…”

The rule is unlikely to be kept under the Biden administration. Being that the rule has been finalized, however, it may take some time for the incoming administration to go through the formal process needed to officially repeal the new rule.

https://www.cfact.org/2021/01/06/epas-wheeler-announces-science-transparency-rule-slams-reporters/

Missouri Conservation Department Moves to Open the State to Regulated Black Bear Hunting

In the waning days of 2020, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), the agency established by law to conserve, control, manage, restore, and regulate of the fish, forest, and wildlife resources of the state, took the penultimate step toward approving limited black bear hunting in the state.

Based on population data which determined Missouri’s black bear population has been growing by 9 percent a year, leading to an increase in nuisance bear complaints, and additional data suggesting the state’s bear population is expected to double in less than 10 years, Missouri’s Conservation Commission approved MDC’s proposal to open portions of the state to limited black bear hunting in October 2021.

If the bear hunt does take place, it would be the first time black bears were hunted legally in the state in more than 90 years.

Hunting an ‘Essential Part of Population Management’

With Missouri’s growing bear population in an increasingly urbanized state, hunting is a critical tool to maintain bear and prey populations at sustainable levels while reducing the chance for bear/human conflicts, Laura Conlee, a furbearer biologist for MDC, told Fox News.

“A bear-hunting season in our state will provide opportunities for Missourians to participate in the sustainable harvest of this valuable wildlife species,” said Conlee. “As our black bear population continues to grow, a highly regulated hunting season will be an essential part of population management in the future.

The timing and length of the season, allowed hunting methods, and a limited permit allocation coupled with a limited harvest quota will ensure a sustainable harvest of our growing bear population,” Conlee said.

Under MDC’s proposal, the state’s bear hunt would begin on third Monday in October, ending after 10 days, or, for each of the state’s three bear management zone, until a specific quota is reached, whichever comes first. Hunter’s would be allowed to take bears using either firearms or bows. Hunting over bait or with dogs would be disallowed for the present time.

The final step before Missouri’s legal bear hunt can take place is for Conservation Commissioners to approve MDC’s suggested harvest quotas and permit limits, which the agency plans to submit to the commissioners in the spring.

https://heartlanddailynews.com/2021/01/missouri-conservation-department-moves-to-open-the-state-to-regulated-black-bear-hunting/

Minneapolis Star Tribune Shamed on Yet Another Fake Coffee Climate Crisis

Just two days after Climate Realism debunked recently published false claims in the Minneapolis Star Tribune that climate change is “devastating” Central American coffee production, scientific evidence debunks another coffee crisis prediction the Star Tribune published in 2012.

In a 2012 article titled, “The last drop? Climate change threatens Arabica coffee crop,” the Star Tribune asserts, “Climate change could severely reduce the areas suitable for wild Arabica coffee before the end of the century.”

The article claims that Arabica is an especially important coffee bean because of its genetic diversity. According to the Star Tribune, Arabica beans also “lack the flexibility to cope with climate change.”

Eight years later, we can look at how these doomy claims are holding up. The answer is, Arabica beans are holding up just fine, while claims of doom and gloom are not holding up well at all.

The data website Statista reports that in every year since the Star Tribune’s 2012 prediction of declining Arabica production, production has instead exceeded the 2012 crop. This is quite amazing, considering that the 2012 crop was the third largest crop on record up to that time.

Arabica production is continuing a longstanding and rapidly upward trend. The 2020-2021 crop is forecast to be 20 percent higher than the 2012 crop. That is remarkable growth for less than a decade in time.

The Star Tribune made a second noteworthy prediction in the 2012 article that we can also review. The Star Tribune claimed climate change threatens all coffee varieties, in addition to Arabica. The Star Tribune asserted, “a changing climate could damage global production of coffee – the world’s second most traded commodity after oil.”

Statista documents even more impressive increases in total coffee bean production than has been the case regarding Arabica. The crop data show that total coffee production is setting new records virtually every year, with the 2020-2021 crop forecast to set yet another new record.

The reason the Minneapolis Star Tribune and other sock puppets of the climate industrial complex rarely publish actual data and instead couch their asserted crisis in subjective predictions rather than measurable real-world facts is that real-world facts and data consistently undermine the notion of an existing or imminent climate crisis. Coffee bean production, just like nearly every other measurable climate factor or impact, is enjoying beneficial improvement for the better as the Earth modestly warms.

https://climaterealism.com/2021/01/minneapolis-star-tribune-shamed-on-yet-another-fake-coffee-climate-crisis/

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