Corals are climate 'fighters'
<>i>That they "need rising temperatures to slow" is just an assertion. No figures are given
Corals may be able to roll with the punches of climate change better than initially thought in coming decades, but need rising temperatures to slow to have a fighting chance.
Corals can pass down the ability to survive rising temperatures via their genes, researchers say.
That's the finding of new Queensland-led research, published on Monday and based on an analysis of 95 trait measurements across 19 species of reef-building corals from previous studies.
The authors determined corals, which have suffered widespread bleaching events in Australia this century, can pass down abilities to survive under environmental stresses such as rising temperatures through their genes.
"We found their ability to pass on adaptive traits is maintained despite increasing temperatures," said lead author Kevin Bairos-Novak, a PhD candidate at James Cook University's Coral Centre of Excellence.
"In particular, corals that are better than average at survival, growth and resisting bleaching stress under future ocean conditions should be good at passing those advantages on to their offspring."
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More Scientists Agree The Last Ice Age Was ~3-4°C Warmer Than Today
In a “major revision” to the “long-standing view,” scientists are increasingly concluding the last glaciation had summers “several degrees” warmer than today, with climate conditions warm enough to allow year-round grass grazing by horse, antelope, gazelle…in Siberia, Alaska, and north of the Arctic circle.
Multiple-degrees-warmer glacial temperatures pervaded both hemispheres.
The “long-standing view” is the current interglacial climate is distinctly warmer and more hospitable to plants, animals, and humans than at any time during the last Ice Age, or glaciation (from about 60,000 to 11,700 years ago).
This view “has undergone a major revision” during the last 20 years of geological study according to scientists publishing in the September (2021) edition of Quaternary International.
Vegetation and tree records with specific warmth thresholds and associated ice-free temperature requirements affirm the last glaciation needed to be “warmer than today by several degrees Celsius.” (Tarasov et al., 2021)
For example, these scientists document ~5°C warmer glacial climates (July) throughout Northern Asia (the study area):
“…reconstructed mean July temperatures above 12°C for most of the last cold stage [glacial] in the study area [throughout Northern Asia], where modern mean July temperatures are about 7°C”.
The widespread presence of grazing mammoths, horses, bison, deer, antelope, gazelle…in Siberia and Alaska and well north of the Arctic circle implies “year-round grazing grounds.”
This requires warmer temperatures and more pervasive ice-free grass-grazing ranges than exist today.
So, contrary to the long-standing view of a generally colder-than-present last glacial climate, there is a growing body of evidence that the distinction between interglacial and glacial climates may not be as stark as previously thought.
The CO2 concentration differential of ~180 to 200 PPM during the warmer glacial periods and 280 to 410 PPM during the colder modern period also contradict the long-standing view of higher CO2 levels accommodating warmer climates and vice versa.
Another new study (Wetterich et al., 2021) again affirms the last glaciation’s Siberian Arctic was warmer than it currently is (12-15°C vs. today’s 11°C) 51, 46-44, 41, and 39-31k yrs BP.
It was warm enough that horses, mammoths, bison…grazed year-round on Siberian grass.
The last glacial’s greater warmth also extended into the Southern Hemisphere, according to yet another new study (Civel-Mazens et al., 2021).
The Southern Ocean had “higher SST [sea surface temperatures] during the 40-24 kyrs period than during the Holocene” with LGM [Last Glacial Maximum, 24-18 kyrs ago] temperatures peaking at 13.6°C. Today’s temperatures are ~9°C, in this region, or 4.6°C colder.
During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 26-18k years before present), South Africa’s temperatures were “3-4°C higher than present in summer (and 2-4°C lower than present in winter)” (Kraaj et al., 2020).
https://climatechangedispatch.com/more-scientists-agree-the-last-ice-age-was-3-4c-warmer-than-today/
*****************************************Turning the Lights Off in America
Joe Biden’s new goal of vastly expanding solar power is not going to help the electrical grid.
The future’s so bright, Joe Biden’s gotta wear shades. At least that’s the message of his new goal of producing nearly half of the nation’s electricity from the sun by 2050. Maybe he just better eat his ice cream before it melts.
To what extent is this sunshine policy goal merely pie in the sky? Solar energy accounted for just 4% of America’s electricity last year, and Biden aims for 45%. “To achieve that growth,” report the Democrat propagandists at The New York Times, “the country would have to double the amount of solar energy installed every year over the next four years and then double it again by 2030.”
Oh.
That “will mean trillions of dollars in investments by homeowners, businesses and the government,” says the Times. “The electric grid — built for hulking coal, natural gas and nuclear power plants — would have to be almost completely remade with the addition of batteries, transmission lines and other technologies that can soak up electricity when the sun is shining and to send it from one corner of the country to another.”
Oh.
We might joke that Biden’s plan will reduce the amount of electricity produced, which will make his goal a lot easier, but that’s not what he wants. In fact, if achieving half solar electricity by 2050 wasn’t already going to be hard enough, Biden wants to compound the problem by goosing demand in a major way. 2030 is the same year he demands that half of all cars sold in the U.S. be electric.
Nevertheless, the Times reports, “The Energy Department said its calculations showed that solar panels had fallen so much in cost that they could produce 40 percent of the country’s electricity by 2035 — enough to power all American homes — and 45 percent by 2050.”
Why have panels become so much cheaper? The Times waits 12 more paragraphs to tell us the answer: “China dominates the supply chain for solar panels.”
Oh.
Complicating that supply chain, however, is China’s use of Uygher slave labor in the Xinjiang region. The Biden administration is blocking imports from there, but given that the “big guy” is in Beijing’s pocket, we don’t put too much stock in that ban.
We’re not saying that solar power, or other forms of renewable energy for that matter, are bad. We are saying that government mandates and favoritism distort the market in favor of energy sources that are inherently less reliable — and, again, all while increasing demand on that supply with things like electric vehicle mandates.
California’s rolling brownouts and blackouts have been a story for years, because the state has been struggling mightily to achieve exactly what Biden is now pushing. The state wants to be an example for the country, and it is that — of what not to do. California’s energy woes are a great case against the Green New Deal. Yet here Biden is, pushing it through anyway, apparently in an effort to go national with those blackouts.
That’s because “climate change poses an existential threat,” he says, and the only way to “fix” it is cramming through the ecofascist agenda. Or maybe not. “It’s here. It’s not going to get any better,” Biden said of climate change. Or maybe so. “We can stop it from getting worse,” he said. Who knows? Joe’s only been in Washington for 50 years.
“By 2020,” Biden declared this week, we’re going to “make sure all of our electricity is zero emissions.” Are we the only ones wondering if the lights are on but nobody’s home?
https://patriotpost.us/articles/82594-turning-the-lights-off-in-america-2021-09-09
*****************************************Australian Labor Party to resist Greens policies: Leader
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese says a Labor government won't be told by any minor party what to do on tax policy.
The Greens have announced a push for a new 40 per cent corporate super-profits tax on the excess profits made by big corporations, including mining corporations.
The policy would be part of its negotiating platform if the next election ends in a hung parliament.
Mr Albanese, who was a senior member of the last minority government, said Labor would have its own policies to put to voters.
"And I've said before, we won't be in a circumstance whereby any minor party tells us what to do," he told reporters in Sydney on Monday.
"We're seeking a mandate as a party of government to secure a majority Labor government after the next election, so that we can concentrate on fairness, concentrate on growing wealth, but also wealth distribution as well, making sure that no one's held back and no one is left behind."
Greens leader Adam Bandt told AAP he did not believe Mr Albanese.
"Whether it's Anthony Albanese or anyone else, if the Greens have two or three seats in the House and that's the difference between Labor being in government or staying in opposition, of course they'll talk to us," he said.
"If Labor seriously wants to remain in opposition because they won't tax billionaires and put dental into Medicare, then they're betraying the Australian people."
A minority-held parliament is not out of the question at the next election - due by May 2022 - with a uniform national swing of 0.5 per cent required to remove Scott Morrison's majority.
Meanwhile, veteran WA Greens senator Rachel Siewert has formally resigned from the upper house.
The Greens will need to nominate a replacement to fill the casual vacancy, which will then require the WA state parliament to rubber stamp it.
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My other blogs. Main ones below
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM )
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
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Jim Hansen and his twin
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