[GWSG] Earth impaired; food's footprint; wildfires' footprint; wind shear up; Hg rising; Miami's floods; SLR accelerating

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Soil is being lost far faster than it is being formed. An IPCC report underscores the need to convert pastures to forests, cease burning fossil fuels, and stop eating so much meat so that we can exit the current pattern of destruction and begin rebuilding the ability of the earth to sustain us. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/08/climate-crisis-reducing-lands-ability-to-sustain-humanity-says-ipcc
[https://www.bing.com/th?id=OVF.b0UF2cY7DkzBJoNUCi%2boMg&pid=Api]<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/08/climate-crisis-reducing-lands-ability-to-sustain-humanity-says-ipcc>
Climate crisis reducing land’s ability to sustain humanity, says IPCC<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/08/climate-crisis-reducing-lands-ability-to-sustain-humanity-says-ipcc>
www.theguardian.com
UN report finds ecosystems never before under such threat and restoration is urgent


2. The IPCC report above on the threat that the earth is losing the capacity to sustain life seriously underestimates the impact of agriculture—in particular, meat production. A calculation taking land use into account would nearly triple a Briton’s carbon footprint because of the full impact of meat and dairy farming. Eating a couple of pounds of beef releases as much carbon, for example, as driving a new car for a year or taking a round-trip flight from New York to London. Monbiot’s article is worth bookmarking for its assembly of sources on the footprint of food and its analysis of common errors.  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/08/ipcc-land-climate-report-carbon-cost-meat-dairy?fbclid=IwAR1zKGwmNFP6RRyqsnHbzyv-v8nhVCslPVLWvXQx0GxcAxe01ri_9H7sz1k
[https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/68e506f08566852d27c61f44d693d56c122cdb37/0_0_2560_1536/master/2560.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctb3BpbmlvbnMucG5n&enable=upscale&s=81af9f6b6c83f6f45707e42270c0704f]<https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/08/ipcc-land-climate-report-carbon-cost-meat-dairy?fbclid=IwAR1zKGwmNFP6RRyqsnHbzyv-v8nhVCslPVLWvXQx0GxcAxe01ri_9H7sz1k>
We can’t keep eating as we are – why isn’t the IPCC shouting this from the rooftops? | George Monbiot<https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/08/ipcc-land-climate-report-carbon-cost-meat-dairy?fbclid=IwAR1zKGwmNFP6RRyqsnHbzyv-v8nhVCslPVLWvXQx0GxcAxe01ri_9H7sz1k>
www.theguardian.com
In its crucial land and climate report, the IPCC irresponsibly understates the true carbon cost of our meat and dairy habits, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot


3. Wildfires are known for releasing great amounts of carbon in their smoke, but the net addition of carbon may be small. The charcoal the fires leave will sequester carbon for hundreds of years. When the charcoal is considered along with the carbon-fixing vegetation which normally follows a fire, the net carbon added to the atmosphere by a fire is greatly reduced. (The article implies, but does not say, that a wildfire could even be carbon negative.) Peat fires, an exception, produce little charcoal.   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190805134012.htm
How wildfires trap carbon for centuries to millennia - sciencedaily.com<https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190805134012.htm>
www.sciencedaily.com
Charcoal produced by wildfires could trap carbon for hundreds of years and help mitigate climate change, according to new research. A new study quantifies the important role that charcoal plays in ...


4. Wind shear in the jet stream is increasing with global heat, putting airline passengers and crew at greater risk of injury from turbulence. https://phys.org/news/2019-08-jet-stream-aircraft-turbulence-climate.html
[https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/gfx/news/hires/2019/5d4be9e253643.jpg]<https://phys.org/news/2019-08-jet-stream-aircraft-turbulence-climate.html>
Jet stream study confirms aircraft turbulence risk from climate change - phys.org<https://phys.org/news/2019-08-jet-stream-aircraft-turbulence-climate.html>
phys.org
Climate change is having a greater impact on the jet stream than previously thought, according to a new study published in Nature. Scientists at the University of Reading have discovered that the ...


5. Rising heat means more mercury in larger fish, even though mercury emissions are dropping as we cease burning coal. Increasing heat means an increase in appetite, so that the little ones eat more, and the big ones eat more of the little ones. https://phys.org/news/2019-08-climate-human-exposure-toxic-methylmercury.html
[https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/gfx/news/hires/2019/96-climatechang.jpg]<https://phys.org/news/2019-08-climate-human-exposure-toxic-methylmercury.html>
Climate change likely to increase human exposure to toxic methylmercury - phys.org<https://phys.org/news/2019-08-climate-human-exposure-toxic-methylmercury.html>
phys.org
Add another item to the ever-growing list of the dangerous impacts of global climate change: Warming oceans are leading to an increase in the harmful neurotoxicant methylmercury in popular seafood ...


6. Since 1996 the sea level in Miami has risen 5.9 inches and the tidal flooding has more than tripled. https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/08/08/analysis-sea-level-rise-is-combining-with-other-factors-regularly-flood-miami/


7. Sea level rise has been accelerating since the 1960s. https://phys.org/news/2019-08-global-sea-1960s.html
[https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/gfx/news/2019/2-studyfindsth.jpg]<https://phys.org/news/2019-08-global-sea-1960s.html>
Study finds that recent global sea level acceleration started in the 1960s - phys.org<https://phys.org/news/2019-08-global-sea-1960s.html>
phys.org
A new study led by the University of Siegen (Germany) finds an acceleration in sea-level rise starting in the 1960s that can be linked to changes in Southern Hemispheric westerly winds. The study ...


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