Jet Stream Dominoes of #Melting Ice

 Iceberg, with Mount Dundas in the background, Qaasuitsup, west Greenland, Denmark. 

Dominoes fall: Vanishing Arctic ice shifts jet stream, which melts Greenland glaciers

Investigating the factors affecting ice melt in Greenland — one of the most rapidly changing places on Earth — is a major priority for climate scientists. And new research is revealing that there are a more complex set of variables affecting the ice sheet than experts had imagined. A recent set of scientific papers have proposed a critical connection between sharp declines in Arctic sea ice and changes in the atmosphere, which they say are not only affecting ice melt in Greenland, but also weather patterns all over the North Atlantic.

The new studies center on an atmospheric phenomenon known as “blocking” — this is when high pressure systems remain stationary in one place for long periods of time (days or even weeks), causing weather conditions to stay relatively stable for as long as the block remains in place. They can occur when there’s a change or disturbance in the jet stream, causing the flow of air in the atmosphere to form a kind of eddy, said Jennifer Francis, a research professor and climate expert at Rutgers University.

Blocking events over Greenland are particularly interesting to climate scientists because of their potential to drive temperatures up and increase melting on the ice sheet. 

 The Washington Post 



Experimental Solar-Powered Plane Completes Journey Across The Pacific

"By attempting the first solar flight around the world, pushing back the boundaries of the possible, going into the unknown, and taking on a project deemed impossible by industry experts, Bertrand Piccard and [alternating pilot] André Borschberg want to support concrete actions for sustainability and show that the world can be run on clean technologies."

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/24/475473222/experimental-solar-powered-plane-completes-journey-across-the-pacific 

Rooftop solar on every Australian household “no issue at all” for grid

Australia could install solar PV on every residential rooftop in the country without causing any problems for the running of the national grid. Australia should introduce legislation like that recently adopted by San Francisco, where all new-build houses are now required to have a PV system installed.

http://reneweconomy.com.au/2016/74077 

China debt levels reach record high

More than 15% of total commercial lending in China was “potentially at risk,” meaning that banks faced a loss of 4.9 trillion renminbi, an amount equivalent to 7%t of GDP. Others estimate that the stock of non-performing loans may be even higher.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/04/26/chin-a26.html

When the Truth is Found to be Lies, Confidence in Currency Dies

WHAT LIES?  Really?  There have been so many.  Here are a few examples specific to the United States (the lies in other countries are probably similar):

Lyndon Johnson: In 1965, after decades of excessive government expenditures which caused rising consumer price inflation and rising gold and silver prices, Johnson removed silver from U.S. coins.  He stated,

“If anybody has any idea of hoarding our silver coins, let me say this. Treasury has a lot of silver on hand, and it can be, and it will be used to keep the price of silver in line with its value in our present silver coin. There will be no profit in holding them out of circulation for the value of their silver content.”

He lied.  One hundred dollars purchased 77 ounces of silver in 1965.  A decade later $100 purchased 24 ounces of silver.  Four decades later $100 purchased 13 ounces of silver.  In 2025 $100 will probably purchase less than one ounce of silver. 

Richard Nixon, the gold window, and Watergate: In 1971 President Nixon“temporarily” rescinded the agreement to convert US dollars submitted by foreign governments for gold.  He stated, 

The Deviant Investor  

Leaked TTIP Documents Published by #Greenpeace

Protesters take part in a demonstration against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership free trade agreement in Hannover, Germany, April 23, 2016.

Greenpeace Publishes Leaked TTIP Documents Revealing ‘Grave’ Environmental, Public Health Concerns

UPDATE: 6 a.m. EDT — Greenpeace on Monday released a raft of leaked documents detailing talks between the European Union and the United States regarding a far-reaching free-trade deal. In a statement,  the environmental nonprofit said "grave concerns" over environment and public health in the EU were laid bare in the 248 pages of leaked Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiating texts. 

"These documents make clear the scale and scope of the trade citizens of the United States and the European Union are being asked to make in pursuit of corporate profits. It is time for the negotiations to stop, and the debate to begin," Sylvia Borren, executive director of Greenpeace Netherlands, said in the statement. "We call on the negotiators to release the latest, complete text to facilitate that discussion, and we ask that the negotiations be stopped until these questions, and many more have been answered. Until we can fully engage in a debate about the standards we and our planet need and want." 

 International Business Times

Listen Carefully for Hints of the Next Global Recession  

In fact, it’s instructive to remember that global recessions have usually begun suddenly and been a real surprise to most people. As I have argued in this column and with George A. Akerlof in “Animal Spirits” (Princeton 2009), such events can largely be ascribed ultimately to contagious stories of wide significance. Basically, global recessions tend to begin when newly popular narratives reduce individuals’ motivation to spend money. Psychology matters a great deal.

How Microgrids May Transform The Future Of Energy  

The study found that the Western Australia grid could be replaced by 85 percent renewable energy at a cost $124 per MWh versus $127 per MWh for a replacement conventional system. The cheaper renewable system relies on roughly 5,000 MW of wind power, 2,000 MW of solar PV combined with battery storage and molten salt solar storage. Using a distributed grid of thousands of PV installations and hundreds of wind generators reduced costs, according to the researchers. This cost reduction was due in large part to reduced need for thousands of miles of electrical poles, wires, transformers, and associated maintenance labor.

Dredging of Miami Port Badly Damaged Coral Reef, Study Finds  

South Florida has the only coral reef in the continental United States and 80 to 90 percent of it has died or been badly harmed over the years, officials say. The causes include ocean temperatures that have dipped too low or risen too high, acidification, sewage and pollution. Several cycles of white plague disease, including one in 2014 that coincided with the dredge, have also badly hurt South Florida’s reef. White plague, a virus that bleaches and kills coral, has been destroying reefs around the world.

Human Extinction Isn't That Unlikely

“A typical person is more than five times as likely to die in an extinction event as in a car crash,” says a new report.

The risk of human extinction due to climate change—or an accidental nuclear war—is much higher than that. The Stern Review, the U.K. government’s premier report on the economics of climate change, estimated a 0.1 percent risk of human extinction every year. That may sound low, but it also adds up when extrapolated to century-scale. The Global Challenges Foundation estimates a 9.5 percent chance of human extinction within the next hundred years.

And that number probably underestimates the risk of dying in any global cataclysm. The Stern Review, whose math suggests the 9.5-percent number, only calculated the danger of species-wide extinction. The Global Challenges Foundation’s report is concerned with all events that would wipe out more than 10 percent of Earth’s human population.

“We don’t expect any of the events that we describe to happen in any 10-year period. They might—but, on balance, they probably won’t,” Sebastian Farquhar, the director of the Global Priorities Project, told me. “But there’s lots of events that we think are unlikely that we still prepare for.”

The Atlantic