pn783. Scientists say planet has "a fighting chance"

Scorched earth

█ Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are nontoxic, nonflammable chemicals containing atoms of carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. They are used in the manufacture of aerosol sprays, blowing agents for foams and packing materials, as solvents, and as refrigerants. ... they damage the ozone layer.

█ The ozone layer is a thin part of the Earth's atmosphere that absorbs most of the ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. When it is depleted, more of this UV radiation can reach the surface - causing potential harm to humans and other living things.

pn782. What Global Warming Means For Us: a global and local warning

 

Recent flooding: West Coast bridge collapse

[This posting is a condensation of Eva Corlett's article in The Guardian, "A land divided by climate extremes: what the IPCC report says about New Zealand" posted yesterday. Click here to read in full.]

The first major assessment of its kind in seven years from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found the globe’s ocean, land and air temperatures are rising, and the human influence is “unequivocal”. New Zealand land areas have warmed by 1.1C between 1910 and 2020. We are now a country divided by climate extremes. As global temperatures continue to rise, rain will batter the west and south leading to floods, while high temperatures will bring drought and fires to the east and north.

Droughts will impact on  horticulture, viticulture, arable cropping and livestock affecting production, quality and yield.” Cities will also be hotspots with localised heat and flooding more intense than global averages.

pn620. Declaration of Climate Emergency: The right direction but what size is the step? Ardern, Seymour, Shaw, Swarbrick, Thunberg, Bradbury, Farrar

Parliament  will vote on Tuesday whether to  join the UK, Canada, Ireland and France by declaring a  climate emergency. This was announced today by PM Jacinda Ardern. She said declaring a climate change emergency is not, in and of itself, tangibly do anything – it's more of a signal towards doing more for the climate. "A declaration is just that." Ardern said. Over 50 NZ scientists support the move, which has significant grassroots support and has already been enacted by some local councils.