It’s gettin’ hot in here | ‘Climate change: how a warming world is a threat to our food supplies’ (Infographic)

Source: The Guardian

Related:

• ‘Millions face starvation as world warms, say scientists’ (The Guardian)
• ‘Climate change and rising food prices heightened Arab Spring’ (Scientific American)
• ‘World Bank chief says global warming threatens the planet and the poorest’ (Washington Post)

It’s Gettin’ Hot in Here | David Roberts: ‘Climate Change Is Simple’ (remixed by Ryan Cooper)

Via YouTube:

David Roberts is staff writer at Grist.org. In “Climate Change is Simple” he describes the causes and effects of climate change in blunt, plain terms.

On April 16, 2012, speakers and attendees gathered at TEDxTheEvergreenStateCollege: Hello Climate Change to reflect on the ability — and responsibility — of formal and informal education to inspire and empower action in this era of climate change.

Related:

• David Roberts: ‘Climate change is simple: We do something or we’re screwed’ (Grist)
• ‘Why can’t we quit fossil fuels?’ (The Guardian)
• ‘Global warming’s new frightening deadline’ (Vancouver Sun)

Happy Earth Day!

It’s Gettin’ Hot in Here: Arctic Sea Ice Breaking Up, February-March 2013 (Video)

For those keeping score at home, February and March are winter months.

Video source: NOAA via YouTube

Related:

• ‘Ice Breaking News: This Is Your 2013 Arctic Freezing Season On Crack’ (Climate Progress)
• ‘‘Spectacular’ 1,000 kilometre-long crack rips across ice in Canada’s Beaufort Sea’ (The National Post)
• ‘Scientists link frozen spring to dramatic Arctic sea ice loss’ (The Guardian)



From Clean Technica:

A class of elementary school students in Durham, North Carolina recently set out on a mission to make their classroom 100% solar powered. The fourth grade class started a Kickstarter campaign: Our Solar Powered Classroom for that purpose, and they greatly exceeded their goal. The class has stated that the extra funds will be used to purchase a larger system, which will then sell back electricity to the community.

Check out the rest of the article here.

Photo source: Clean Technica

Related:

• ‘Crowdfunding Clean Energy’ (NY Times)
• ‘“Crowdfunding” Gives Boost to Renewables in U.S.’ (IPS News)

From CBC:

The Harper government is pulling out of a United Nations convention that fights droughts in Africa and elsewhere, which would make Canada the only country in the world outside the agreement.

…

The UN body has a research committee dedicated to finding ways to stop the spread of droughts that lay waste to farmland across the planet, particularly Africa.

Scientists, governments and civil society organizations are headed to Bonn next month “to carry out the first ever comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of desertification, land degradation and drought,” says a notice from the United Nations Environment Program.

“Also, for the very first time, governments will provide concrete data on the status of poverty and of land cover in the areas affected by desertification in their countries.”

The issue of encroaching deserts has become urgent because of renewed droughts that have plunged millions into poverty in Africa’s Sahel belt last year and in East Africa the year before.

The Bonn-based secretariat for the UN body said no Canadian official had contacted them about the withdrawal.

In my opinion this is irresponsible and embarrassing and definitely not my Canada. Though I should hardly be surprised. Canada is one of the world’s worst when it comes to tackling climate change and drought is a symptom of climate change.

You can check out the rest of the article here. The bold facing in the article quote is my own.

A short paragraph from a recent New York Times article, ‘Crowdfunding Clean Energy’.

(Photo source: Inc.com)

Seen around town: Another grey, sometimes deluge like day here in Vancouver. In this case, at the City Hall-Broadway subway station.

It’s Gettin’ Hot in Here: ‘How Many Gigatons of CO2?’ (Infographic)

Designed by David McCandless, this infographic… illustrates the amount of carbon dioxide that has been released into the atmosphere, how much can “safely” be released into the atmosphere and how much fossil fuel companies have ready to burn. It also associates the amount of global warming that will occur after different amounts of carbon release. If you read about climate change, you’ll sometimes hear these figures called the “carbon budget” or “the math of climate change.” It is an important and powerful concept to absorb and should change your thinking on how fast we must act.  (Source: Treehugger)

Infographic source: Information is Beautiful

It’s gettin’ hot in here: ‘Dramatic temperature increases could threaten Canadian health, infrastructure’ (Infographic)

From The Globe and Mail:

In the past 65 years, Canada’s national average winter temperature has risen 3.2 degrees.

This reaffirms what many suspected. Canada is getting hotter faster than ever before and at a faster rate than almost any other country. Rain, snow, sleet and hail storms are becoming more erratic. What were once considered exceptional weather patterns – the kind researchers reject to avoid skewing their data – are becoming common.

…

Canada’s infrastructure wasn’t built for this kind of climate. And much of the burden falls on municipal governments, with road, sewer and transit systems that can barely cope with existing weather conditions, let alone future vagaries.

…

Local public health officials are also paying close attention to vulnerable populations as extreme heat and cold become more frequent. They use climate projections to plan West Nile virus prevention – milder winters and springs can mean more mosquitos carrying the disease.

It’s a big deal for businesses, too, although many don’t know it yet. “Or they don’t want to know: They see it as a kind of capitulation,” said Blair Feltmate, who runs Canada’s Climate Change Adaptation Project.

More here.