Antarctic sea-ice is at a record LOW, study warns
It's the nature of ice that when sea ice melts, it has NO effect on sea levels
Antarctic sea ice is at a record low and has shrunk to below 772,000 square miles (2 million kilometres) since records began, a new study has warned.
While Arctic sea ice has been disappearing for years as a result of global warming, until recently, Antarctic sea ice was having the opposite experience.
Since the late 1970s, Antarctic sea ice has been enjoying a modest increase of around one per cent per decade.
However, measurements taken in February show that sea ice levels in the southern hemisphere are now at a record low.
Antarctic sea ice is at a record low and has shrunk to below 772,000 square miles (2 million kilometres) since records began, a new study has warned© Provided by Daily Mail Antarctic sea ice is at a record low and has shrunk to below 772,000 square miles (2 million kilometres) since records began, a new study has warned
On February 25, sea-ice levels in the Bellingshausen Sea, Amundsen Sea and the Weddell Sea hit record lows of around 30 per cent lower than the average from 1981-2010© Provided by Daily Mail On February 25, sea-ice levels in the Bellingshausen Sea, Amundsen Sea and the Weddell Sea hit record lows of around 30 per cent lower than the average from 1981-2010
What is sea ice?
Sea ice is simply frozen ocean water. It forms, grows, and melts in the ocean. In contrast, icebergs, glaciers, ice sheets, and ice shelves all originate on land.
*****************************************************
Majority Of People Unwilling To Fund ‘Saving The Planet’
Research in many places shows that people are very worried about climate change and they are broadly supportive of implementing policies to tackle this issue.
However, people struggle to accept the personal impact policies may have on them and are reluctant to put up the cash to implement the policies.
The Associated Press breathlessly reported in October the results of its own poll. “Majority in US concerned about climate change.” But the measure of that ‘concern’ didn’t make any headlines. Only 50 percent of those polled were willing to pay $1 more a month for electricity.
This is consistent with other polls by groups as disparate as the Washington Post and Competitive Enterprise Institute, which also reported that people are not so concerned about climate change that they are willing to crack open their wallets for it. (1)
Perhaps part of the issue is that fear of a change has dropped compared to other pressing issues. The following is a list of fears addressed by the Chapman University Survey of Americans Fear Wave 7 (2020/2021), ranked by the percent of Americans who reported being afraid or very afraid. (2)
Top Ten Fears Of 2020/2021 Percentage Very Afraid Or Afraid
1- Corrupt government officials 79.6 percent
2- People I love dying 58.5 percent
3- A loved one contracting COVID-19 58 percent
4- People I love becoming seriously ill 57.3 percent
5- Widespread civil unrest 56.5 percent
6- A pandemic or a major epidemic 55.8 percent
7- Economic/financial collapse 54.8 percent
8- Cyber-terrorism 51 percent
9- Pollution of oceans, rivers and lakes 50.8 percent
10- Biological warfare 49.3 percent
Global warming and climate change were number 13 at 48.7 percent
Environmental Concerns Diminishing
In the face of other fears and growing concerns, it seems as if environmental issues have taken a back seat. Fears of pollution of oceans, rivers and lakes have dropped in rank from second to ninth place, losing nearly 18 percent of Americans.
This trend can also be seen as 23.7 percent of respondents are now very afraid of climate change, down 13 percent from 2019. A similar sort of drop can be seen in those who are very afraid of pollution of the air (down 14 percent) and drinking water (down 18 percent). In general, it seems as if Americans are less afraid of concerns involving the environment than they were in years before. (2)
United Kingdom
The public in the United Kingdom is considerably more concerned by climate change than it was even a year ago, following a string of wildfires, storms and other extreme events around the world, a recent survey shows. However, the survey also finds that while people are in favor of drastic measures to help the country become net zero by 2050 in theory—when they realize the cost and potential inconvenience it could give them personally support drops off rapidly.
A majority of the UK public support seven out of eight key net zero policies, in principle, while opposing increased taxes on meat and dairy. (3)
Conclusion
Although folks say they are worried about climate change, most clearly aren’t worried enough to spend their own money on it, or make personal sacrifices for the cause.
https://principia-scientific.com/majority-of-people-unwilling-to-fund-saving-the-planet/
**********************************************Macron Doubles Down on Green Agenda as Fear of a Le Pen Victory Grows
As France’s incumbent president Emmanuel Macron faces a mortal threat to his presidency in his populist opponent Marine Le Pen, the La République En Marche leader has decided to double down on his green agenda seemingly in the hopes of winning over hostile leftist voters.
Le Pen has traditionally been far less enthusiastic when it comes to green energy when compared with other presidential candidates, with Macron now seemingly betting that the distinction will end up being the key difference that lands him a second term in the Élysée.
According to a report by Le Monde, the current French president laid great emphasis on his Green New Deal-like politics during a meeting on Saturday, claiming that he would turn France into a “great environmental nation“.
“We have been twice as fast as the previous two five-year periods in reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Macron claimed. “We have reduced them by 12% in five years.”
“But what the IPCC has told us again is that it’s not enough, we have to go twice as fast,” he continued. “You know what? We will do it.”
“The choice today is clear,” the President is also reported as saying. “The far-right is a climate-skeptic project, a project that wants to leave Europe’s climate ambitions, that wants to destroy windmills.”
Macron’s reference to windmills is seemingly a nod toward Le Pen’s desire to move France away from the use of wind farms, with the right-wing populist who is aiming to be France’s first woman president saying that she would implement a moratorium on new wind farms, and even aim to take down existing ones.
The incumbent Macron seems to be betting on such a Le Pen policy being extremely unpopular with the leftists within France’s population, who appear to be otherwise largely reluctant to vote for him, even if only to keep Le Pen out of office.
In particular, many who voted for the most successful left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon have reportedly struggled in deciding who they should vote for between Macron and Le Pen, with some even struggling to decide on whether to vote at all.
“It’s like choosing between the plague and cholera,” described one young leftist voter according to a POLITICO report.
However, it is far from certain whether Macron’s efforts will have an effect, prompting fears across the European Union that they could be soon facing down a Eurosceptic, strongly nationalist France, and that they too could see voters turn to the right in the coming years.
“Is it inconceivable that you could have a president of France that is an economic nationalist?” Ireland’s progressive deputy PM (Tánaiste) Leo Varadkar asked. “It is not.”
“I often worry sometimes that maybe there is a certain trajectory we are yet to follow,” he also said, saying that there was a danger Ireland would shift to the right over the coming decades. “There might be a backlash against individual liberty, against international trade agreements.”
**********************************************
Australian PFAS water treatment plant finally ready for action
This is an old Greenie scare but there is still no clear evidence that PFAS compounds are harmful to humans in the concentrations normally encountered
In a small remote town in the outback, a multi-million-dollar mega facility shipped in from America will soon turn potentially toxic drinking water into some of the cleanest in Australia.
It is the largest to be built so far and one of the first, but experts and activists say many more will be needed as Australia begins to deal with PFAS contamination.
A few years ago, residents of Katherine received the alarming news that the water they had been using was contaminated by a group of human-made chemicals known as PFAS, which some experts say are linked to cancers and other serious health concerns.
Between 1988 and 2004, during firefighting training at the Tindal RAAF Base, PFAS leached into the Katherine River and spread kilometres through the highly connected aquifer below.
The government advised against eating fish caught from the river, the local swimming pool was closed, bore-reliant properties surrounding the base were delivered bottled water by Defence and residents lined up for blood tests.
A major study on the health effects of PFAS and a landmark class action were launched and an interim water treatment plant was brought in, but its size left many in fear the clean water would run out.
Since then, residents have been clinging to the promise Australia's largest PFAS water treatment plant would be built and after years of delays it has been confirmed the facility will be completed by August at the latest.
Senior project manager at Power and Water Corporation Liam Early said it would deliver "very high-quality water," and agreed it would likely be the first of many needed across Australia as the nation began to grapple with the enormity of PFAS contamination.
Associate professor Suzie Reichman, an expert in pollution science at the University of Melbourne, said the sticky substances were known as "forever chemicals" because of their persistence in the environment and could be found in hundreds of everyday products like cosmetics, sunscreens and non-stick pans.
"Evidence is mounting that high concentrations can have a number of health impacts, including cancer," Dr Reichman said.
"We haven't definitively proven that in humans, but we also don't know what concentrations cause [cancers].
"The Australian government has taken a very precautionary approach and we have very low thresholds for PFAS in the environment, including in drinking water.
"But because it wasn't on people's radars as a contaminant for so long, we're now seeing it has gotten out into the environment … the more we look the more we're finding."
With an already high reliance on groundwater projected to rise across Australia as surface resources become less available due to climate change and droughts, Dr Reichman said treatment plants, despite their expense, would offer a good solution.
"We have already contaminated the environment with PFAS, and if it's the only source of water, the solution to keep it safe for people and stock … is to clean it up," she said.
After water is sucked up from the groundwater through a bore, it is processed through the pressure vessels.
Microplastics made of resin called "media" capture the PFAS and remove it from the water.
While Defence continues to filter contaminated water and pump it back into aquifers at Katherine, Oakey and Williamtown, ongoing droughts and lingering health concerns are far from over for residents.
Peter Spafford, Katherine's sole GP during the peak of the PFAS scare, said long-term health issues were still a worry for residents despite a major study finding no conclusive evidence of increased risk of cancer or disease in the three towns.
Amid over-pumping, drought, and the steady influence of climate change, he said the treatment plant was a "bandaid measure".
"It's tapping into underground water supplies, which, certainly with decreased rainfall and the increased usage due to fracking, [are] not necessarily sustainable," Dr Spafford said.
***************************************
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)
*****************************************
Jim Hansen and his twin
No comments:
Post a Comment