[GWSG] A warning; a fix; Biden's first plans; near-term SLR; lasting damage in US West; NZ's plan

[Tilley, Al]

1. In Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future, 17 of the world’s top ecologists warn that the combination of biodiversity loss, the climate crisis, and overpopulation with its attendant overconsumption of the earth’s resources will create stresses in the near future for which we have made only insufficient plans and preparations. The authors “contend that only a realistic appreciation of the colossal challenges facing the international community might allow it to chart a less-ravaged future.” The article is brief and fully documented.  https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419/full

2. In Yale Environment 360 ecologist Carl Safina writes his thoughts on the article above. Technology alone, he maintains, will not provide an answer unless the values change by which that technology is employed. His silver bullet is “full citizenship for women.”  https://e360.yale.edu/features/avoiding-a-ghastly-future-hard-truths-on-the-state-of-the-planet

3. A climate policy based on determined ignorance has not served us well.  Joe Biden’s climate actions are taking us into a new story in which we create jobs and serve justice as we avoid disaster by reducing our emissions. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/30/joe-biden-climate-change-action

4. Nancy Shaver, former mayor of St. Augustine, FL, led the region’s first assessment of vulnerability to sea level rise. The study seems to have been ignored by the current leadership. Shaver provides a sketch of what is ahead in the next few years, a warning to St. Augustine and to other coastal cities. https://historiccity.com/2021/staugustine/news/guest-nancy-shaver-on-conditions-of-sea-level-rise-118891

5. The western and central US suffered from drought and fires last year. “We’ve got a pretty deep hole that 2020 has dug for us,” said Jon Meyer, research climatologist for the Utah Climate Center who points to low soil moisture, high temperatures and other measures of a hotter, drier climate. “Even a good year is not going to break us out of that.”   https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31012021/climate-change-west-droughts-wildfire/

6. New Zealand’s climate plans include more electric cars and fewer cows. "The cost of action on the economy is not as great as many have previously thought. In fact, action on climate change is an economic opportunity for New Zealand.”  https://phys.org/news/2021-01-electric-cars-cows-zealand-climate.html   <https://phys.org/news/2021-01-electric-cars-cows-zealand-climate.html%20%20%207>

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