Weather, or Not category archive

Der Spiegel looks at the mass deaths of Amazon River dolphins. A snippet:

Together with her colleagues, Marmontel set out to learn what caused the mysterious die-off. They dissected the cadavers, took water samples, analyzed weather and climate conditions and interviewed fishermen and locals. Was it a virus? Were they killed by an organic poison used by indigenous tribes for fishing? Was the lake polluted by pesticides? Could the dolphins have starved to death?

Ultimately, only one possible explanation remained, says (Marine biologist Miriam–ed.) Marmontel: “The animals were victims of climate change.”

The Colorado Sun takes a deep dive into some shallow water–specifically how Lakes Powell and Mead, the two largest reservoirs west of the Rockies–are but a trickle of their former selves.

If this doesn’t motivate some action, then nothing will:

The price of beer could rise sharply this century, and it has nothing to do with trends in craft brewing. Instead, a new study says beer prices could double, on average, because of the price of malted barley, a key ingredient in the world’s favorite alcoholic drink.

By projecting heat and drought trends over the coming decades, a team of researchers in China, the U.K. and the U.S. found that barley production could be sharply affected by the shifting climate. And that means some parts of the world would very likely be forced to pay much more for a beer.

Details at the link.

Via Le Show.

It’s October and I’m running the blankety-blank air condtioning for Pete’s sake.

. . . and the outlook is getting darker.

In a recent comprehensive assessment by PLOS, the Public Library of Science, firefly experts estimate that at least 14% of North American firefly species are threatened; classified as critically endangered or endangered.

Scientists at PLOS say their numbers are dwindling due to climate change and the use of pesticides.

When I was a young ‘un growing up on the farm about forty miles north of where I type this, we saw fireflies flashing throughout the summer evenings.

I can’t remember the last time I saw a firefly.

Dick Polman has more.

inside a larger story about a house fire on North Carolina’s Outer Banks is a warning that the climates they are a-changing, and they’re coming for all of us:

The cottage was built in 1948 and was placed on the town’s “local historic landmark” list in 2011. It had twice been moved west to protect it from being lost to the Atlantic Ocean, according to town records.

So says the fungus among us.

Afterthought;

Yesterday, we finally got a break from two weeks of oppressive heat.

I must say, I cannot remember a heat wave which felt so oppressive as this one. I’ve been known to ride my bicycle in 90s Fahrenheit weather and still enjoy the ride, but this time I stuck to the inside bike.

I am not sanguine.

I fear we are well past the tipping point.

Current events do not give cause for complacency.

It’s a flood where there’s never been a flood before.

Climate change is no longer a prediction.

I fear that we are well past the tipping point, for it’s all around us every day.