[GWSG] Ocean's O down; cloud modelling; SLR report cards; concrete problems; big vertical ag; economic risks

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Oxygen levels in the world’s oceans have dropped 2% overall, and 40% in some tropical areas. The effects on sea life are subtle and widespread.  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-ocean-is-running-out-of-breath-scientists-warn/
[https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/7FD7E358-6E3E-4D2B-8286C30FE8D2C337.jpg]<https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-ocean-is-running-out-of-breath-scientists-warn/>

The Ocean Is Running Out of Breath, Scientists Warn - Scientific American<https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-ocean-is-running-out-of-breath-scientists-warn/>
www.scientificamerican.com
Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.



2. An article in Nature Geoscience reports a feedback between global warming and cloud cover in new climate modeling: the hotter it gets, the scarcer the stratocumulus clouds; the fewer the clouds, the more sunlight reaches the earth, and the hotter it gets. The effect may have caused global temperatures to jump 6C at the PETM, 56 million years ago, and could lie ahead of us, perhaps as the modeling suggests at 1,200 ppm of CO2.  Clouds are a major factor in climate sensitivity—that is, how much the heat rises for a doubling of CO2. Our previous assumption of little change in cloudiness at a doubling of CO2, a point expected for about mid-century unless we get far more serious than we are about the energy transition, would mean about 2C of warming. An assumption that we will have diminishing cloud cover with a doubling of CO2, which now seem more likely in improved modeling, means greater heat—3 to 5C. Such heat could make it unlikely for civilization to continue in anything like its present form (says Michael Mann). Further modeling, with attention to changes in wind patterns and strength, among other factors, is expected to modulate the findings, perhaps in our favor. Thanks to Ed Brock for the news. https://www.quantamagazine.org/cloud-loss-could-add-8-degrees-to-global-warming-20190225/
[https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2019/02/CloudsClimate-1200x630_SOCIAL.jpg]<https://www.quantamagazine.org/cloud-loss-could-add-8-degrees-to-global-warming-20190225/>

Cloud Loss Could Add 8 Degrees to Global Warming | Quanta Magazine<https://www.quantamagazine.org/cloud-loss-could-add-8-degrees-to-global-warming-20190225/>
www.quantamagazine.org
A state-of-the-art supercomputer simulation indicates that a feedback loop between global warming and cloud loss can push Earth’s climate past a disastrous tipping point in as little as a century.



3. William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science issues annual “report cards” on local sea level rise using a fifty-year record and recording levels with respect to local land surfaces, so that subsidence and acceleration in sea level rise rates are both represented. This approach is at variance with the practice at NOAA and other agencies. The VIMS report cards should be a useful tool for local vulnerability studies and climate action plans. https://phys.org/news/2019-02-cards-sea-level-east-gulf-coasts.html
[https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/gfx/news/hires/2019/reportcardss.jpg]<https://phys.org/news/2019-02-cards-sea-level-east-gulf-coasts.html>

Report cards show continued sea-level rise on East & Gulf coasts - phys.org<https://phys.org/news/2019-02-cards-sea-level-east-gulf-coasts.html>
phys.org
Sea level along the Gulf Coast at Grand Isle, Louisiana and Galveston, Texas continued to rise at high rates in 2018 (7.75 millimeters per year at Grand Isle and 6.19 mm/year at Galveston), while ...


Here’s the report card site with entries for 32 localities. https://www.vims.edu/research/products/slrc/index.php
Sea-Level Report Cards | Virginia Institute of Marine Science<https://www.vims.edu/research/products/slrc/index.php>
www.vims.edu
Want to know how sea level in your area is changing due to global warming and other factors? Our 'report cards' can help. Updated by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science each year as annual tide-gauge data become available, they display recent sea-level trends and project sea-level height to the year 2050 for 32 localities along the U.S. East, Gulf, and West coasts.



4. We now have more concrete by mass than we do of all trees, bushes, and shrubs combined. Concrete contributes 4-8% of greenhouse gasses, disrupts natural drainage, and threatens to leave much of the world a rigid waste. The industry needs some attention. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/feb/25/concrete-the-most-destructive-material-on-earth
[https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1f69da012dfe6924635beb6d0ea69b799788c8ed/0_0_4752_2851/master/4752.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&s=6332c6837e3b5867d3db869e3a703114]<https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/feb/25/concrete-the-most-destructive-material-on-earth>

Concrete: the most destructive material on Earth | Cities | The Guardian<https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/feb/25/concrete-the-most-destructive-material-on-earth>
www.theguardian.com
After water, concrete is the most widely used substance on the planet. But its benefits mask enormous dangers to the planet, to human health – and to culture itself



5. A French design for an urban vertical farm would produce foods with a high nutritive value, including seaweeds, edible insects, honey, and fish. https://inhabitat.com/superfarm-design-envisions-an-urban-vertical-farm-that-is-energy-self-sufficient/
[https://inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2019/02/SUPERFARM-by-Studio-NAB-2-706x369.jpg]<https://inhabitat.com/superfarm-design-envisions-an-urban-vertical-farm-that-is-energy-self-sufficient/>

SUPERFARM design envisions an urban vertical farm that is energy self-sufficient - inhabitat.com<https://inhabitat.com/superfarm-design-envisions-an-urban-vertical-farm-that-is-energy-self-sufficient/>
inhabitat.com
French design practice Studio NAB has proposed a large-scale vertical farm as a sustainable solution to urban population growth in the face of dwindling arable land. Envisioned for urban centers ...



6. Environmental risks to economic entities are increasing. The current bankruptcy of CA’s utility PG&E is an example. “It may now be impossible for utility companies to operate in California under the current conditions, given the risks.” Coastal real estate values are also at risk, as are all firms dependent on fossil fuels. Policy changes yet unknown are in prospect. https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-pg-and-e-bankruptcy-and-the-coming-climate-related-business-failures?utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Daily_022619&utm_medium=email&bxid=5be9cafe24c17c6adf39e724&user_id=18164692&esrc=&utm_term=TNY_Daily
[https://media.newyorker.com/photos/5c6dc0ce3bea5a06978cc2e2/16:9/w_1200,h_630,c_limit/Kolhatkar-PGE.jpg]<https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-pg-and-e-bankruptcy-and-the-coming-climate-related-business-failures?utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Daily_022619&utm_medium=email&bxid=5be9cafe24c17c6adf39e724&user_id=18164692&esrc=&utm_term=TNY_Daily>

The P.G. & E. Bankruptcy and the Coming Climate-Related Business Failures<https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-pg-and-e-bankruptcy-and-the-coming-climate-related-business-failures?utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Daily_022619&utm_medium=email&bxid=5be9cafe24c17c6adf39e724&user_id=18164692&esrc=&utm_term=TNY_Daily>
www.newyorker.com
The California-based utility may be the most high-profile company to face collapse for reasons linked to climate change, but it won’t be the last.



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