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'Everything has to change': Decades of ignored warnings are leaving towns with flood 'refugees'

The flood trauma runs right across Australia’s east coast.

Some people in Western Sydney are going through their fourth major flood in 18 months, and thousands of residents have been subjected to flood evacuation warnings.

With Australia in the midst of an ongoing flood catastrophe, governments across the country are struggling with how to future-proof residential areas and where to allow new developments.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-11/four-corners-flood-investigation-lismore-western-sydney/101217494


Blistering heat scorches Europe as Portugal wildfire injures 29 and officials warn of hotter, changing climate



Portugal has been put under a state of alert as temperatures in some parts are forecast to rise to 45C (113F), while France is battling an enormous fire in the south east.

From Tuesday, the Portuguese weather agency predicts temperatures of up to 45C (113F) in Alentejo - the region between Lisbon and the Algarve - with the rest of the country expecting temperatures in the high 30Cs and low 40Cs.

Spain's June rainfall was about half the 30-year average, and the country's reservoirs are on average at 45% capacity, according to government data.

Italy has also suffered a prolonged heatwave already this summer, enduring its worst drought in 70 years that has raised fears for crop harvests.


Pakistan epicenter of climate disaster despite producing less than 1% of GHG: Minister

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Senator Sherry Rehman, Federal Minister for Climate Change, received a phone call on Thursday from U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. They discussed the need for an energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy and committed to a renewed working partnership between Pakistan and the U.S.

Sherry Rehman stressed during the phone call that Pakistan is consistently ranked among the top ten most vulnerable countries in the world regarding climate change, which has now become an existential threat to the country.

She informed Senator Kerry of Pakistan's increased vulnerability to the climate crisis, stating that despite producing less than 1% of GHG emissions, Pakistan is now the epicenter of a global climate disaster.

She stated that the country is experiencing unprecedented heatwaves, critical glacial melt, drought one month, and flooding the next.

https://www.malaysiasun.com/news/272615229/pakistan-epicenter-of-climate-disaster-despite-producing-less-than-1-of-ghg-minister


Yosemite fire grows as crews protect iconic sequoias

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — A wildfire threatening the largest grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park more than doubled in size in a day, and firefighters were working in difficult terrain Sunday to protect the iconic trees and a small mountain town.

More than 500 mature sequoias were threatened in the famed Mariposa Grove but there were no reports of severe damage to any named trees, including the 3,000-year-old Grizzly Giant.

The giant sequoias, native in only about 70 groves spread along the western slope of California’s Sierra Nevada range, were once considered impervious to flames but have become increasingly vulnerable as wildfires fueled by a buildup of undergrowth from a century of fire suppression and drought exacerbated by climate change have become more intense and destructive.

So far in 2022, over 35,000 wildfires have burned nearly 4.7 million acres in the U.S., according to the National Interagency Fire Center, well above average for both wildfires and acres burned.

https://www.pressherald.com/2022/07/10/yosemite-fire-grows-as-crews-protect-iconic-sequoias/


Brutal Kan. climate threatens cattle’s health, ranchers' livelihoods



Rancher Scott Whiting heard stories about all kinds of extreme weather growing up in western Kansas.

But the combination of dangerous weather conditions that struck the region last month — killing thousands of cattle — took those extremes to another level.

Daytime high temperatures jumped from the mid-60s to well over 100 degrees in a matter of days, accompanied by unusually high humidity and calm winds. The seasons changed from cool spring to hot summer so quickly that a lot of Whiting’s cattle didn’t even have a chance to shed their long, thick winter coats.

He watched as some of them climbed into their drinking water tanks — something he’d never seen them do before — as they desperately tried to cool off.

https://hayspost.com/posts/b3982dff-a9b3-4d31-b006-023551c0260f


Plant Based Meats Do More to Address Climate Change Than Green Buildings or Zero-Emission Cars

Investments in plant-based alternatives to meat lead to far greater cuts in climate-heating emissions than other green investments, according to one of the world’s biggest consultancy firms.

The report from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that, for each dollar, investment in improving and scaling up the production of meat and dairy alternatives resulted in three times more greenhouse gas reductions compared with investment in green cement technology, seven times more than green buildings and 11 times more than zero-emission cars.

“Widespread adoption of alternative proteins can play a critical role in tackling climate change,” said Malte Clausen, a partner at BCG. “We call it the untapped climate opportunity—you’re getting more impact from your investment in alternative proteins than in any other sector of the economy.”

Scientists have concluded that avoiding meat and dairy products is the single biggest way to reduce your environmental impact on the planet and that large cuts in meat consumption in rich nations are essential to ending the climate crisis. The Project Drawdown group, which assesses climate solutions, places plant-based diets in the top three of almost 100 options.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/plant-based-meats-do-more-to-address-climate-change-than-green-buildings-or-zero-emission-cars-report-boston-consulting-group/


Monday could rank as one of the hottest days in Austin history

AUSTIN, Texas — We all know that conditions have been toasty recently, but summer 2022 is shaping up to be one for the record books.

After the hottest weekend of the year so far, our forecast calls for even warmer temperatures to start the beginning of the workweek. In fact, we could experience one of the hottest days ever in Austin since records began in 1897.

The current forecast calls for an afternoon high of 109 degrees on Monday afternoon. This would tie dates back in 1923, 1954, 2011, and 2012 to rank as one of the top 10 hottest days at the Camp Mabry climate site. The daily heat record for Monday is among the top six hottest days on record with a high of 110 back in 1917.



All of this comes after just experiencing the hottest May and June on record, and the National Weather Service has mentioned it is increasingly likely summer 2022 may also go down as the hottest on record.

https://www.kvue.com/article/weather/forecast/monday-july-11-hottest-days-austin-history/269-03d47423-a699-4f4e-b161-6e150ee67008


World War II-era boat emerges from Lake Mead as water levels continue to decline

LAS VEGAS — A sunken boat dating back to World War II is the latest object to emerge from a shrinking reservoir that straddles Nevada and Arizona.



It was used to survey the Colorado River decades ago, sold to the marina and then sunk, according to dive tours company Las Vegas Scuba.

The boat is just the latest in a series of objects unearthed by declining water levels in Lake Mead, the largest human-made reservoir in the U.S., held back by the Hoover Dam. In May, two sets of human remains were found in the span of a week.

Experts say climate change and drought have led to the lake dropping to its lowest level since it was full about 20 years ago.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/07/10/lake-mead-world-war-ii-era-boat/10025755002/

https://democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1127

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