Hard to predict really….we always thought insects would hold out through anything, but a combination of climate change, pesticides and fertilizers seems to have caused all the world’s insects to plummet. Even in the best-preserved rainforests right now, surveys find only half as many insects by volume as they did just 50 years go, a drop in global biomass that has likely never happened so quickly in all the planet’s existence.
It’s likely that some species of every insect and arachnid group will survive at least in small pockets, while some will thrive and spread. Ticks for instance love hot, dry climates and are surging all over the globe. Desert species will probably do okay.
This year, global carbon emissions are expected to rise by roughly 2.7 percent — a rate comparable to a “speeding freight train” — according to new research from the Global Carbon Project, a collective comprised of more than 50 scientific institutions, and a leading authority on carbon pollution.
To appreciate the implications of this surge (and the propriety of the scientists’ locomotive metaphor): In October, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projected that the world was on pace to suffer widespread, climate-induced food shortages by 2040; when one takes 2018’s surge in emissions into account, such calamities could plausibly arrive by 2030.
A landmark climate-change lawsuit brought by young people against the US government can proceed, the Supreme Court said on 2 November. The case, Juliana v. United States, had been scheduled to begin trial on 29 October in Eugene, Oregon, in a federal district court. But those plans were scrapped last month after President Donald Trump’s administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene and dismiss the case.
The plaintiffs, who include 21 people ranging in age from 11 to 22, allege that the government has violated their constitutional rights to life, liberty and property by failing to prevent dangerous climate change. They are asking the district court to order the federal government to prepare a plan that will ensure the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere falls below 350 parts per million by 2100, down from an average of 405 parts per million in 2017.
By contrast, the US Department of Justice argues that “there is no right to ‘a climate system capable of sustaining human life’” — as the Juliana plaintiffs assert.
Bear forever in mind that this is a conservative government, a Republican government, arguing that no one has the right to a livable planet.
Common throughout sub-Saharan Africa, the African baobab is one of the biggest flowering plants in the world, and reputedly one of the longest-lived. It’s also known as the upside-down tree, because its bare branches look like roots, or as the monkey bread tree, because of its nutritious and edible fruit. It’s exceptionally long-lived, but recently, several of the oldest baobabs have been dying. Homasi, for example, was part of a grove of seven baobabs, six of which perished within a two-year period.
This isn’t an isolated event. Of the 13 oldest known baobabs in the world, four have completely died in the last dozen years, and another five are on the way, having lost their oldest stems. “These large and monumental trees, which can live for 2,000 years or more, were dying one after another,” says Adrian Patrut from Babes-Bolyai University in Romania, who has catalogued the deaths. “It’s sad that in our short lives, we are able to live through such an experience.”
An agency spokesman warned that “unprecedented levels of heat” were being seen in some areas.
More than 22,000 people have been taken to hospital with heat stroke, nearly half of them elderly, officials say.
On Monday, the city of Kumagaya reported a temperature of 41.1C (106F), the highest ever recorded in Japan.
The heatwave shows no sign of abating, forecasters say.
In central Tokyo, temperatures over 40C were also registered for the first time.
The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that temperatures of 35C or higher would continue until early August.
“We are observing unprecedented levels of heat in some areas,” spokesman Motoaki Takekawa said, adding that the heatwave was “a threat to life and we recognise it as a natural disaster”.
In Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo, a 91-year-old woman was found collapsed in a field and later pronounced dead in hospital. In nearby Saitama two elderly women were found dead in their homes.
With less than half of Japan’s public schools equipped with air conditioning, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the summer holidays could be extended to protect pupils.
“As a record heatwave continues to blanket the country, urgent measures are required to protect the lives of schoolchildren,” he told a news conference on Tuesday.
The public is being advised to drink plenty of water, to use air conditioning and to rest often.
People in some cities have taken part in an event known as uchimizu, or “water ceremony” – pouring or sprinkling cold water on to the hot pavements in an attempt to cool them.
The heatwave closely followed torrential rain that caused severe flooding and landslides in the west of Japan.
If only we knew what was likely causing these extreme weather conditions. I guess scientists are too busy wasting time and money on fake research to figure it out. idk
it’s crazy that im alive to witness major effects of climate change. like it always seemed super vague and it was always ‘the polar bears won’t have anywhere to live’ but this shit is going to fuck everything up bigtime.
Most people don’t realize how serious it is. We’ve only got 50 years worth of resources left, if we keep going the way we are, and honestly, that’s optimistic. Aside from that, we’ve already gone over the calculated “point of no return”, so even if we immediately start sucking gasses out of the atmosphere and stop all transport and agriculture, we’re going to see oceans rise, sea life die, we’re going to be crammed into smaller land areas, places like Melbourne will be underwater, and the fallout will probably send us into an ice age anyway (long story, but basically the ice melts, cold water sinks, the ocean flow responsible for thermoregulation of the planet is interrupted, cue ice age).
I can already see it now. Forget the hurricanes for a moment:
-Hay isn’t growing at the right time. Last year, no one got good hay where I live, because the weather (which has been in the same pattern during hay season for as long as I’ve been alive) was whacked out.
-None of my animals grew coats correctly, because the weather is just all wrong, and they don’t know what season they’re in.
-We’re getting new temperature records globally; basically, all weather is starting to change already
-Where I live, there are always two weeks where we see echidnas everywhere, and then we don’t see them the rest of the year. that is, until last year, when we barely saw them, spaced throughout several months.
-Let me reiterate, the animals cannot tell what season it is because climate change is altering weather patterns that have been here for as long as anyone can remember
-We also have more acidic rain due to all the gasses, which is why we’ve got so many statues and whatnot corroding even though they haven’t changed for thousands of years
-We had a tornado start to form in Melbourne. That’s unheard of.
We have the technology to slow down climate change. If we want to survive for more than 50 years, we need to act now. NOW. We need to put in place all the technologies we have, and pour money into more scientific research.
And why haven’t we? Because politicians earn money from oil companies and don’t care about the future of the planet, because they’re not going to be here in 50 years anyway.
lovingdread 