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vox_mundi

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #900 on: August 26, 2019, 05:46:58 PM »
Quote from: DrTskoul
... “I have been flying since Monday and have not seen anything.”

Maybe he's blind? ...



-------------------------------------

NASA's AIRS Maps Carbon Monoxide from Brazil Fires
https://phys.org/news/2019-08-nasa-airs-carbon-monoxide-brazil.html

New data from NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument, aboard the Aqua satellite, shows the movement high in the atmosphere of carbon monoxide associated with fires in the Amazon region of Brazil.



This time series maps carbon monoxide at an altitude of 18,000 feet (5,500 meters) from Aug. 8-22, 2019. As the series progresses, the carbon monoxide plume grows in the northwest Amazon region then drifts in a more concentrated plume toward the southeastern part of the country.

Each "day" in the series is made by averaging three days' worth of measurements, a technique used to eliminate data gaps. Green indicates concentrations of carbon monoxide at approximately 100 parts per billion by volume (ppbv); yellow, at about 120 ppbv; and dark red, at about 160 ppbv. Local values can be significantly higher.

A pollutant that can travel large distances, carbon monoxide can persist in the atmosphere for about a month. At the high altitude mapped in these images, the gas has little effect on the air we breathe; however, strong winds can carry it downward to where it can significantly impact air quality. Carbon monoxide plays a role in both air pollution and climate change.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2019, 05:52:15 PM by vox_mundi »
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #901 on: August 26, 2019, 06:02:52 PM »
The Amazon Fires Reveal the Dysfunction of the Global Community
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2019/08/amazon-fires-reveal-dysfunction-global-community/159426/

The case for territorial incursion in the Amazon is far stronger than the justifications for most war.

When Jair Bolosonaro won Brazil’s presidential election last year, having run on a platform of deforestation, David Wallace-Wells asked, “How much damage can one person do to the planet?” Bolsonaro didn’t pour lighter fluid to ignite the flames now ravishing the Amazon, but with his policies and rhetoric, he might as well have. The destruction he inspired—and allowed to rage with his days of stubborn unwillingness to douse the flames—has placed the planet at a hinge moment in its ecological history. Unfortunately, the planet doesn’t have a clue about how it should respond.

In part, the problem is that so much of the world is now governed by leaders who share Bolsonaro’s sensibility. Even before Bolsonaro presided over the incineration of the world’s storehouse of oxygen, he led a dubious regime. His path to power began with the corrupt impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, followed by the arrest of his higher-polling electoral rival.

In part, the problem is the dismal state of international institutions, which haven’t been so tattered since World War II. In the face of global critics begging Bolsonaro to stop the destruction of the Amazon, he shouts about the threats to Brazil’s sovereignty. For that complaint to land, he would need democratic legitimacy, and this revanchist has none; yet those critics do nothing more than sputter inconsequential rage.

Like Donald Trump, he squeezes personal joy from his confrontations with foreign leaders and NGOs, posing as the manly enemy of the effete elites. In other words, he’s letting the fires burn, at least in part, to troll his enemies. He’s cutting out the world’s lungs for the sake of owning the libs.

Quote
... If a country obtains chemical or biological weapons, the rest of the world tends to react with fury—or at least it did in the not-so-distant past. ... The destruction of the Amazon is arguably far more dangerous than the weapons of mass destruction that have triggered a robust response. The consequences of the unfolding disaster—which will extinguish species and hasten a worst-case climate crisis—extend for eternity.

To lose a fifth of the Amazon to deforestation would trigger a process known as “dieback,” releasing what The Intercept calls a “doomsday bomb of stored carbon.”

If there were a functioning global community, it would be wrestling with how to more aggressively save the Amazon, and acknowledging that the battle against climate change demands not only new international cooperation but, perhaps, the weakening of traditional concepts of the nation-state. ... In the meantime, the planet chokes on old notions of sovereignty.

-----------------------

Brazil’s Bolsonaro Is Endangering the World
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2019/08/brazils-amazon-policies-endanger-world/159425/

As a store of carbon, the Amazon is fundamental to the survival of every person. If destroyed or degraded, the giant rain forest is simply beyond humanity’s ability to get back. Even if people were to replant half a continent’s worth of trees, the diversity of creatures across Amazonia, once lost, will not be replenished for roughly 10 million years. And that is 33 times longer than Homo sapiens, as a species, has existed.

-------------------------------

G7: Trump Skips Talks On Climate Crisis and Amazon Fires
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/26/donald-trump-skips-g7-talks-on-climate-crisis-and-amazon-fires

Donald Trump did not attend Monday’s crucial discussion on climate and biodiversity at the G7 meeting of international leaders in Biarritz, missing talks on how to deal with the Amazon rainforest fires as well as new ways to cut carbon emissions.

Reporters noticed at the start of the session that the US president’s chair was empty.

Trump was later asked by reporters covering a meeting with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, whether he had attended the climate session. He replied: “We’re having it in a little while.” He did not appear to hear when a reporter told him it had just taken place.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2019, 06:32:44 PM by vox_mundi »
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

GeoffBeacon

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #902 on: August 27, 2019, 04:21:02 PM »
I've been trying to find out whether increased wildfires are in the CMIP models
account for forest fire feedbacks. I wrote Carbon Footprints & Wildfires just before the Amazon Headlined.

My latest score is

.

Corrections and improvements welcome.

Il faut cultiver notre cité-jardin
The Sustainable Plotlands Association

DrTskoul

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #903 on: August 27, 2019, 06:46:03 PM »
Other than CO2 increase isn't any other feedback associated with forest fires captured by the land use sub models

Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #904 on: August 27, 2019, 06:57:51 PM »
Quote from: DrTskoul
... “I have been flying since Monday and have not seen anything.”

Maybe he's blind? ...
 
<snip>

Or, it’s so smokey, he’s flying purely on instruments because there’s nothing to see out the windows but clouds and smoke. :-\
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

DrTskoul

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #905 on: August 27, 2019, 07:38:55 PM »

VideoGameVet

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #906 on: August 27, 2019, 07:56:15 PM »
I've been trying to find out whether increased wildfires are in the CMIP models
account for forest fire feedbacks. I wrote Carbon Footprints & Wildfires just before the Amazon Headlined.

My latest score is

.

Corrections and improvements welcome.

I put the wildfire feedbacks into the backstory for The Climate Trail game, because I read that one major California wildfire (say Paradise) offsets all the annual gains in reducing CO2 emissions in the state.
"Humans went to the moon on purpose. We destroyed an entire planet by just not caring."

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #907 on: August 27, 2019, 08:37:21 PM »
As Amazon burns, fires in next-door Bolivia also wreak havoc
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/25/world/americas/bolivia-fires-amazon.html?action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage
The fires have engulfed the country’s largest city in smoke, and are threatening villages, productive farms, and endangered species.

nanning

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #908 on: August 28, 2019, 06:37:29 PM »
‘Worst of wildfires still to come’ despite Brazil claiming crisis is under control

Forestry expert warns annual burning season had yet to fully play out and calls for urgent steps to reduce potential damage
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/28/brazil-amazon-wildfires-worst-to-come

Excerpts:
The fires raging in the Brazilian Amazon are likely to intensify over the coming weeks, a leading environmental expert has warned, despite government claims the situation had been controlled.
About 80,000 blazes have been detected in Brazil this year – more than half in the Amazon region – although on Saturday far-right president Jair Bolsonaro claimed the situation was “returning to normal”.

“The worst of the fire is still to come,” wrote Tasso Azevedo, a forest engineer and environmentalist who coordinates the deforestation monitoring group MapBiomas.

At a summit of Amazon governors on Tuesday – supposedly convened to discuss responses to the fires – Bolsonaro repeatedly attacked environmentalists and indigenous activists who he claimed were holding back Brazil’s economy.

Many, though not all, of the Amazon governors backed Bolsonaro’s vision for the region.
"It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly" - Bertrand Russell
"It is preoccupation with what other people from your groups think of you, that prevents you from living freely and nobly" - Nanning
Why do you keep accumulating stuff?

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #909 on: August 28, 2019, 06:46:42 PM »
Africa has more fires than Amazon
Experts Brace For An Apocalyptic Future As Earth’s Forests Burn To The Ground
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/experts-brace-for-an-apocalyptic-future-as-earths-forests-slowly-burn-to-the-ground
Quote
A world without forests would be an apocalyptic wasteland, and right now we are losing our forests at an astounding rate.  As you read this article, more than 10,000 wildfires are ripping through forested areas of South America and Africa, and global leaders seem powerless to do anything about it.  Most of the media attention has been on the horrific wildfires in the Amazon rainforest, and we are being told that the number of fires in Brazil is up 85 percent compared to last year.  But the number of fires is actually much higher in Africa.  In fact, it is being reported that there are “approximately five times as many wildfires burning in Africa than in the Amazon” at this point.  Our planet is literally being destroyed right in front of our eyes, and a lot of people don’t seem to care.

Yeah, yeah , he's a bit of a crackpot but that doesn't mean he is wrong on this.

nanning

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #910 on: August 29, 2019, 04:54:36 AM »
Wildfires in Africa:
Yes, more fires are burning in sub-Saharan Africa than in Brazil. But context is important
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/27/world/africa-wildfires-amazon-trnd/index.html

African grasslands are meant to burn – we can’t let this distract from the Amazon fires
http://theconversation.com/african-grasslands-are-meant-to-burn-we-cant-let-this-distract-from-the-amazon-fires-122564
"It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly" - Bertrand Russell
"It is preoccupation with what other people from your groups think of you, that prevents you from living freely and nobly" - Nanning
Why do you keep accumulating stuff?

sidd

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #911 on: August 29, 2019, 07:06:55 AM »
America's Finest News Source reports on an isolated tribe revealed by wildfires in the Amazon rainforest:

"a small tribe of isolated rich sociopaths who are completely untouched by consequence ... a tiny society of wealthy agribusiness executives and financiers who have never before been visited by any ramifications for their actions,”

" living in a totally isolated bubble means that they’ll fight back against any integration efforts, so we have to proceed with caution"

" while we may not yet understand their greedy and reckless lifestyle, it’s theirs, and they want to preserve it."

https://www.theonion.com/amazon-deforestation-reveals-tribe-of-isolated-rich-soc-1837623801

sidd

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #912 on: August 29, 2019, 10:06:47 PM »
Experts explain how the Brazilian wildfires became so devastating and what can be done to save the rain forest
https://abcnews.go.com/International/experts-explain-brazilian-wildfires-devastating-save-rain-forest/story?id=65194500&cid=clicksource_4380645_null_card_hed
Quote
Wildfires in Brazil occur every year when farmers illegally start them to either clear new land for farming and cattle ranching or to prevent new vegetation from sprouting, which is common in a tropical, humid climate, Rachel Garrett, environmental policy professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, told ABC News.

The Amazon, Siberia, Indonesia: A world of fire
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/climate/fire-amazon-africa-siberia-worldwide.html
Quote
The growing intensity of wildfires and their spread to new corners of the globe raises fears that climate change is exacerbating the dangers.

Where there’s wildfire, there’s smoke. Protecting ‘clean-air refugees.’
https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2019/0828/Where-there-s-wildfire-there-s-smoke.-Protecting-clean-air-refugees
Quote
Wildfire smoke has produced the lowest air quality readings ever recorded in a handful of Western cities the past two years, including San Francisco and Portland, Oregon. The rising public health concerns over the increasing size, frequency, and intensity of wildfires have prodded elected officials across the West to seek remedies. Their proposals advance practical solutions that, on another level, counter the dual sense of futility and isolation that climate change can provoke.
« Last Edit: August 29, 2019, 11:07:30 PM by Tom_Mazanec »

TerryM

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #913 on: August 30, 2019, 12:13:08 AM »
America's Finest News Source reports on an isolated tribe revealed by wildfires in the Amazon rainforest:

"a small tribe of isolated rich sociopaths who are completely untouched by consequence ... a tiny society of wealthy agribusiness executives and financiers who have never before been visited by any ramifications for their actions,”

" living in a totally isolated bubble means that they’ll fight back against any integration efforts, so we have to proceed with caution"

" while we may not yet understand their greedy and reckless lifestyle, it’s theirs, and they want to preserve it."

https://www.theonion.com/amazon-deforestation-reveals-tribe-of-isolated-rich-soc-1837623801

sidd
Some have escaped and may be living in your neighborhood!
Remain calm, but report any egregious examples encountered.


Politicians and their immediate entourage usually are found to be indigenous sociopaths.
An unexpected outbreak has recently been sighted in Singapore!


Soundproofing your home and using Saran Wrap to seal window openings may prove a sufficient barrier.
Stay Vigilant, Stay Safe, Stay Home.
Terry

Lewis

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #914 on: August 31, 2019, 04:34:45 PM »
Amazon fires show world heading for point of no return according to UN
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/amazon-fires-show-world-heading-for-point-of-no-return-says-un/ar-AAGz6NF

There are now 93,175 fires in Brazil right now and number keeps rising everyday.
http://queimadas.dgi.inpe.br/queimadas/portal-static/situacao-atual/

« Last Edit: September 03, 2019, 03:37:04 PM by Lewis »

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #915 on: September 01, 2019, 12:52:54 AM »
Amazon fires 'extraordinarily concerning', warns UN biodiversity chief
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/30/amazon-fires-biodiversity-united-nations?CMP=share_btn_tw
Quote
Cristiana Paşca Palmer, the executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said the destruction of the world’s biggest rainforest was a grim reminder that a fresh approach was needed to stabilise the climate and prevent ecosystems from declining to a point of no return, with dire consequences for humanity.

“The Amazon fires make the point that we face a very serious crisis,” she told the Guardian. “But it is not just the Amazon. We’re also concerned with what’s happening in other forests and ecosystems, and with the broader and rapid degradation of nature. The risk is we are moving towards the tipping points that scientists talk about that could produce cascading collapses of natural systems.”

Slim

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #916 on: September 01, 2019, 07:31:52 PM »
I don't mean to downplay any of the amazon burning, but when I look at most of the satellite data it looks like most of the burning is on the periphery, rather then the heart of the amazon?  Am I wrong in this?

kassy

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #917 on: September 01, 2019, 08:08:57 PM »
You can see patterns of human in the data, see #892 and the link there.

They are probably connecting roads and freeing up better connected spaces.
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Alexander555

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #918 on: September 01, 2019, 08:37:50 PM »

kassy

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #919 on: September 02, 2019, 10:30:34 AM »
‘It’s really close’: How the Amazon Rainforest could self-destruct

...

The Amazon’s plant life stores an estimated 100 billion tonnes of carbon. By comparison, every coal plant worldwide combined emitted 15 billion tonnes of carbon in 2017. So even if only a small proportion of the trees destroyed by large-scale deforestation burn, this longtime buffer against climate change could instead become a driver of it.

...
Asked for a best guess as to when the Amazon might cross that threshold, Thomas Lovejoy, a prominent environmental scientist, said he and another scientist based in Brazil, Carlos Nobre, had independently arrived at the same estimate: 20 per cent to 25 per cent deforestation.

The number was a “hip shot,” Mr Lovejoy said. And deforestation alone would not set off the cycle but was shorthand for a more complex set of drivers.

The Brazilian government’s own estimate for deforestation of the Amazon stands at 19.3 per cent, though some scientists consider this an under-count.

...

They subjected plots of rainforest to a decade of small but repeated fires like those set by farmers, and they found something alarming. After enough cycles, even if the fires caused only moderate damage, if rainfall dropped, the trees began dying off in huge numbers.

The proportion of plant life that died after a fire suddenly spiked from 5 per cent or 10 per cent to 60 per cent - sudden ecological death.

“We were able to document that, yes, the Amazon does have a tipping point,” Ms Balch said of her team’s experiment, which is still going on. “And it can happen in a very short period of time.”

But what most disturbed the scientists was how this phenomenon seemed to fit into a larger cycle - one that implicated the rainforest as a whole.

That cycle is triggered by four forces, all but three of them man-made: roads, fires, invasive grasses and climate change.

...

Repeated studies have found that deforestation leads to reductions in rainfall - and can even extend the annual dry season by a full month. There are already indications that Amazon deforestation will lead to catastrophic reductions in rainfall.

A study led by Claudia Stickler, an environmental economist, projected that, under current rates of deforestation in the area around Brazil’s Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, rainfall will decline so precipitously that the dam will generate only 60 per cent of its planned output.

“If you talk to indigenous groups, they all say that rainfall has changed,” Mr Nepstad said. “This is, to me, what we need to be focused on.”

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/it-s-really-close-how-the-amazon-rainforest-could-self-destruct

In the nineties simulations pointed to 2050 as the time when the amazon would change to a carbon emitter but at this rate that date will move forward quite a bit.
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nanning

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #920 on: September 03, 2019, 07:14:00 PM »
Another view from 'outside' on civilisation:

    We, the peoples of the Amazon, are full of fear. Soon you will be too
by Raoni Metuktire, tribe chief

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/02/amazon-destruction-earth-brazilian-kayapo-people

Quotes:
What you are doing will change the whole world and will destroy our home – and it will destroy your home too.

And that common enemy is you, the non-indigenous peoples who have invaded our lands and are now burning even those small parts of the forests where we live that you have left for us.

When your money comes into our communities it often causes big problems, driving our people apart. And we can see that it does the same thing in your cities, where what you call rich people live isolated from everyone else, afraid that other people will come to take their piu caprim away from them. Meanwhile other people starve or live in misery because they don’t have enough money to get food for themselves and their children.

making sure that everyone else has enough to eat before they feed themselves, which is our way, the way of the Kayapó, the way of indigenous people.

You have to change the way you live because you are lost, you have lost your way. Where you are going is only the way of destruction and of death.

"It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly" - Bertrand Russell
"It is preoccupation with what other people from your groups think of you, that prevents you from living freely and nobly" - Nanning
Why do you keep accumulating stuff?

Alexander555

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #921 on: September 03, 2019, 07:55:55 PM »
Somebody should arm them, so that they at least can fight back. Before these globalists kill them all.

TerryM

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #922 on: September 04, 2019, 01:26:55 AM »
Somebody should arm them, so that they at least can fight back. Before these globalists kill them all.
Because an "Armed community is a Safe community"?
Terry

nanning

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #923 on: September 04, 2019, 07:41:36 AM »
  A beautiful comment in the Guardian on the above article.

The Meaning Of Life:

by pinkmouse
https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/132590167
Something the environmental crisis has revealed is the depth of nihilism in capitalist society. People genuinely see no meaning in their lives, no humanity in other people’s eyes. Life for them is about entertaining oneself until the moment of death. The entirety of existence is about eating burgers, going on holiday and getting Instagram likes.

I think those of us who wish to prevent ecocide and not see indigenous people enslaved by capitalism need to call this nihilism out for what it is. People leading meaningless lives don’t want to be told that their lives are meaningless and are at root often deeply uncomfortable about how vaid and shallow their existence is. Greta Thunberg tweeted yesterday:

Before I started school striking I had no energy, no friends and I didn’t speak to anyone. I just sat alone at home, with an eating disorder.
All of that is gone now, since I have found a meaning, in a world that sometimes seems shallow and meaningless to so many people

For the indigenous people of the Amazon like the Kayapo the meaning and sanctity of the world around them is beyond question. It is us wallowing in dead leaves.
"It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly" - Bertrand Russell
"It is preoccupation with what other people from your groups think of you, that prevents you from living freely and nobly" - Nanning
Why do you keep accumulating stuff?

Ranman99

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #924 on: September 04, 2019, 04:56:54 PM »
Just because life has no meaning does not mean one can't make one up for oneself and enjoy the entertainment!!  :-*

Extinction is the way this thing works we mustn't forget. At least what appears to be extinction is appears to be happening i.e. death in general apart from entropy. Given a long enough time line nothing will remember noone or no thing!!

However it is always nice to help where one can!!!

😎

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #925 on: September 04, 2019, 06:30:40 PM »
"There's no doubt about it" -- Researchers suggest increased fire activity, and cost, due to climate change in Alaska
https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Theres-no-doubt-about-it-Researchers-suggest-increased-fire-activity-and-cost-due-to-climate-change-in-Alaska-559099721.html
Quote
Wildfires have ravaged Southcentral and Southwestern Alaska in the 2019 fire season. As of Aug. 30, total acreage burned in Alaska accounted for 64 percent of all acreage burned in the U.S. The cost of fighting fires in Southcentral and Southwest Alaska is just over $51 million, and growing.

Researchers have made conservative estimates of the costs of wildfire response in Alaska's changing climate, ranging from $1.2 - $2.1 billion by 2100.

As fires ravage the Amazon, indigenous tribes pray for protection
http://news.trust.org/item/20190902022725-lsdgm/
Quote
In the village of Feijo, in the West of Brazil, approaching the border with Peru, indigenous people from the tribe of Shanenawa on Sunday performed a ritual to try to find peace between humans and nature. With faces painted, dozens danced in circles as they prayed to put an end to the fires.

Fire hazard: Children struggle to breathe as smoke chokes Amazon city
http://news.trust.org/item/20190902192659-y8bp5/
Quote
The smoke permeating the city, the capital of Brazil's northwestern state of Rondonia, is leading concerned parents to wait for hours in line at local hospitals to get help for their children who are struggling to breathe.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation visited four health centres in the city, one of the hardest hit by smoke from the burning rainforest. In all, there were reports of children, some of them infants, seeking medical care due to smoke inhalation.

Hidden Danger in Water Confronts California Wildfire Survivors
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/hidden-danger-in-water-confronts-california-wildfire-survivors
Quote
California’s 2018 Camp Fire was the deadliest blaze in state history. The fast-moving inferno burned 153,000 acres in Butte County, destroyed nearly 19,000 buildings, and caused the deaths of 86 people.

From all that destruction, a mysterious threat has emerged for those who appeared to have gotten by unscathed: household water supplies with concentrations of toxic benzene—including one sample that had 923 times what the state considers safe.
« Last Edit: September 04, 2019, 07:17:50 PM by Tom_Mazanec »

Alexander555

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #926 on: September 04, 2019, 09:40:09 PM »
The Amazon Fires Reveal the Dysfunction of the Global Community
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2019/08/amazon-fires-reveal-dysfunction-global-community/159426/

The case for territorial incursion in the Amazon is far stronger than the justifications for most war.

When Jair Bolosonaro won Brazil’s presidential election last year, having run on a platform of deforestation, David Wallace-Wells asked, “How much damage can one person do to the planet?” Bolsonaro didn’t pour lighter fluid to ignite the flames now ravishing the Amazon, but with his policies and rhetoric, he might as well have. The destruction he inspired—and allowed to rage with his days of stubborn unwillingness to douse the flames—has placed the planet at a hinge moment in its ecological history. Unfortunately, the planet doesn’t have a clue about how it should respond.

In part, the problem is that so much of the world is now governed by leaders who share Bolsonaro’s sensibility. Even before Bolsonaro presided over the incineration of the world’s storehouse of oxygen, he led a dubious regime. His path to power began with the corrupt impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, followed by the arrest of his higher-polling electoral rival.

In part, the problem is the dismal state of international institutions, which haven’t been so tattered since World War II. In the face of global critics begging Bolsonaro to stop the destruction of the Amazon, he shouts about the threats to Brazil’s sovereignty. For that complaint to land, he would need democratic legitimacy, and this revanchist has none; yet those critics do nothing more than sputter inconsequential rage.

Like Donald Trump, he squeezes personal joy from his confrontations with foreign leaders and NGOs, posing as the manly enemy of the effete elites. In other words, he’s letting the fires burn, at least in part, to troll his enemies. He’s cutting out the world’s lungs for the sake of owning the libs.

Quote
... If a country obtains chemical or biological weapons, the rest of the world tends to react with fury—or at least it did in the not-so-distant past. ... The destruction of the Amazon is arguably far more dangerous than the weapons of mass destruction that have triggered a robust response. The consequences of the unfolding disaster—which will extinguish species and hasten a worst-case climate crisis—extend for eternity.

To lose a fifth of the Amazon to deforestation would trigger a process known as “dieback,” releasing what The Intercept calls a “doomsday bomb of stored carbon.”

If there were a functioning global community, it would be wrestling with how to more aggressively save the Amazon, and acknowledging that the battle against climate change demands not only new international cooperation but, perhaps, the weakening of traditional concepts of the nation-state. ... In the meantime, the planet chokes on old notions of sovereignty.

-----------------------

Brazil’s Bolsonaro Is Endangering the World
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2019/08/brazils-amazon-policies-endanger-world/159425/

As a store of carbon, the Amazon is fundamental to the survival of every person. If destroyed or degraded, the giant rain forest is simply beyond humanity’s ability to get back. Even if people were to replant half a continent’s worth of trees, the diversity of creatures across Amazonia, once lost, will not be replenished for roughly 10 million years. And that is 33 times longer than Homo sapiens, as a species, has existed.

-------------------------------

G7: Trump Skips Talks On Climate Crisis and Amazon Fires
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/26/donald-trump-skips-g7-talks-on-climate-crisis-and-amazon-fires

Donald Trump did not attend Monday’s crucial discussion on climate and biodiversity at the G7 meeting of international leaders in Biarritz, missing talks on how to deal with the Amazon rainforest fires as well as new ways to cut carbon emissions.

Reporters noticed at the start of the session that the US president’s chair was empty.

Trump was later asked by reporters covering a meeting with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, whether he had attended the climate session. He replied: “We’re having it in a little while.” He did not appear to hear when a reporter told him it had just taken place.

And that one person is Obama. You have to understand that the USD is the world reserve currency. For most international trade countries need USD. And Obama printed 10 trillion USD. That money made the rest of the world grow. And when they grow, they need more USD. And that makes the USD stronger and stronger. A couple years ago you had a little more than 1,5 brasilian real for 1 usd. Today you have 4 brasilian real for 1 usd. That makes brasilian soybeans 70% cheaper than US soybeans compared to a couple years ago. If they asked 1,5 real for 1 kilo soybeans a couple years ago, they now almost get 3 kilo soybeans for that same 1 usd. And US farmers can not drop their price with 70 %, for them 1 USD stays 1 USD. And that creates plenty demand for brasilian soybeans. And i know what Bolsanero has been telling before the elections, but maybe he counted on the people to vote for him because they are tired of all that political correctness. I'am not sure if he realised it was going to have such an impact. ofcourse, it's his job to protect the forest. But demands comes from global growth, and that global growth is triggered by Obama's money printing spree. And because he did'nt do what he had to do, the money printing continues. Consumption on basis of printed money, soon we can say goodbuy to the entire Amazon forest i think. And in a low yield world, 70 % is a big margin. And did you ever asked yourself the question if there are some brasilian soybeans involved in the products you buy. I think many people don't do. So they will eat the Amazon without knowing. And Trump, he tries to sell American soybeans to keep US farmers alive. Maybe he will fail, but it will cost us the Amazon forest.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #927 on: September 06, 2019, 03:53:01 AM »
Murietta, California

Quote
Kitty Alvarado (@HeyKitty) 9/5/19, 6:48 PM
#TenajaFire burning behind homes pushed firefighters back it was intense #Murrieta
https://twitter.com/heykitty/status/1169744086925897728
Frightening 30-sec video, and she shouldn’t be there.

Quote
CAL FIRE Riverside (@CALFIRERRU) 9/5/19, 9:33 AM
#TenajaFIRE Morning Update 09/05/2019 6:20 a.m.: The fire is 1,400 acres and is now 7% contained. Resources remain on scene as they work to fully contain and control the fire. All evacuation orders remain in place.
https://twitter.com/calfirerru/status/1169604525860114432?s=21

Quote
CAL FIRE Riverside (@CALFIRERRU)9/5/19, 5:33 PM
#TenajaFIRE New Evacuation orders issued for for Montanya Place, Botanica Place, Belcara, Place, Lone Oak Way @RivCoReady
https://twitter.com/calfirerru/status/1169725208820715522
Evac orders at the link.

Tenaja Fire Maps: Evacuations, Size & Photos in Murietta, CA
https://heavy.com/news/2019/09/tenaja-fire-california-murrieta/
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Hefaistos

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #928 on: September 06, 2019, 12:38:46 PM »
A lot is on fire in this thread. However, the burnt area is trending down over time, according to data from NASA earth observatory. "Globally, the total acreage burned by fires declined 24 percent between 1998 and 2015, according to a new paper published in Science. "

First graph needs a click to display.

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/90493/researchers-detect-a-global-drop-in-fires

Rodius

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #929 on: September 06, 2019, 12:55:15 PM »
A lot is on fire in this thread. However, the burnt area is trending down over time, according to data from NASA earth observatory. "Globally, the total acreage burned by fires declined 24 percent between 1998 and 2015, according to a new paper published in Science. "

First graph needs a click to display.

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/90493/researchers-detect-a-global-drop-in-fires

Less to burn?
And even if it has reduced, it is still destroying more than is being grown back.

Hefaistos

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #930 on: September 06, 2019, 01:24:18 PM »
...even if it has reduced, it is still destroying more than is being grown back.

That statement is seemingly not correct.
At least if we look at forestation/deforestation, the trend during the same period as the data on wildfires, is that "global tree cover is actually increasing." according to research reported in Nature.
Mainly, it is human activities that's behind this increase in forestation: "We show that—contrary to the prevailing view that forest area has declined globally5—tree cover has increased by 2.24 million km2 (+7.1% relative to the 1982 level). This overall net gain is the result of a net loss in the tropics being outweighed by a net gain in the extratropics. Global bare ground cover has decreased by 1.16 million km2 (−3.1%), most notably in agricultural regions in Asia. Of all land changes, 60% are associated with direct human activities and 40% with indirect drivers such as climate change."

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0411-9

https://phys.org/news/2018-08-global-forest-loss-years-offset.html

Graph byline: "a, Mean annual estimates. b, Long-term change estimates. Both mean and change estimates are expressed as per cent of pixel area at 0.05° × 0.05° spatial resolution. Pixels showing a statistically significant trend (n = 35, two-sided Mann–Kendall test, P < 0.05) in either TC, SV or BG are depicted on the change map. Circled numbers in the colour legend denote dominant change directions: 1, TC gain with SV loss; 2, BG gain with SV loss; 3, TC gain with BG loss; 4, BG gain with TC loss; 5, SV gain with BG loss; and 6, SV gain with TC loss. Credit: Nature (2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0411-9"

Rodius

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #931 on: September 06, 2019, 02:20:09 PM »
The UN disagrees with your info.

http://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/en/

Rodius

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #932 on: September 06, 2019, 02:31:29 PM »
This one is more appropriate given the longer time frame being used.

https://ourworldindata.org/forests

bbr2314

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #933 on: September 06, 2019, 07:55:59 PM »
The UN disagrees with your info.

http://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/en/
The UN is not based on science or data. Satellite measurements firmly support the data posted by Hefaistos (and my constant scouring of data, anecdotally, also supports this notion).

Furthermore the linked articles only discuss DEFORESTATION which is meaningless when you do not include REFORESTATION as well. Saying 1M KM^2 of forests are disappearing every year when 1.5M KM^2 of forests are also appearing every year, yet the bigger number is being left out, is a gross omission.

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #934 on: September 06, 2019, 09:26:57 PM »
Are the forests that are regrown the same as the forests that disappear? Monoculture vs biodiversity, for instance. Or how much is contiguous and how much isn't. Can a 500-year old tree be compared to a sapling? Etc.
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Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #935 on: September 06, 2019, 11:25:49 PM »
A Livestock Farmer’s Response to the Amazon Fires
https://civileats.com/2019/09/04/a-livestock-farmers-response-to-the-amazon-fires/
Quote
As for the assertion that we should all “eat less meat,” I believe we already do that when we choose humanely raised meat—because it’s more expensive and challenging to find.

For now, I believe the best way for American meat eaters to respond to the Amazon fires is to do our homework on meat labeling. And to learn the name of every livestock farmer within 50 miles, so we can buy meat we trust, regardless of the labels.

Amazon fires are 'true apocalypse', says Brazilian archbishop
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/05/amazon-fires-are-true-apocalypse-says-brazilian-archbishop
Quote
The archbishop’s words also highlight a widening division between the Catholic church and the Pentecostal movement. Pope Francis has championed a more harmonious relationship with the natural world for the sake of future generations, in contrast to the fast-growing new-world Pentecostalists who form the support base for the ramped-up resource exploitation advocated by Bolsonaro and Donald Trump.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2019, 12:13:31 AM by Tom_Mazanec »

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #936 on: September 07, 2019, 12:16:47 AM »
Are the forests that are regrown the same as the forests that disappear? Monoculture vs biodiversity, for instance. Or how much is contiguous and how much isn't. Can a 500-year old tree be compared to a sapling? Etc.

Yes, there are tons of problems with quantification due to vague criteria for what counts as "forest." So yes, a teak plantation (non-native) in Costa Rica planted on a pasture to be harvested every ~18 years is considered "reforestation."

It is clear that the main problem now is in the tropics, though the logging of old growth, pushing farther and farther into areas that were previously never logged in the "global north" is damaging even though it is not deforestation.

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #937 on: September 07, 2019, 12:41:56 AM »
The Best Way to Fight Fires in the Amazon
https://newrepublic.com/article/154926/best-way-fight-fires-amazon
Quote
No matter how great the international pressure, in the end, the Amazon’s most powerful ally will be the Brazilian people. In the last five years alone, popular rage has contributed to the impeachment of a president, the imprisonment of another, and the emergence of the current one. Finding ways to work with, rather than against, public opinion is vital. Over the last week, in cities all over Brazil, thousands have marched to demand government action on the fires. By continuing to ignore the Amazon’s plight, Bolsonaro risks alienating his base at home and the country’s trading relations abroad. Pretty soon, this Brazilian administration will be forced to admit that there’s nothing to be gained from deforestation.

HOW FIRES IN THE AMAZON COULD HURT MIGRATORY BIRDS
https://www.alleghenyfront.org/how-fires-in-the-amazon-could-hurt-migratory-birds/
Quote
In North America, a lot of areas are adapted to this cycle of fire, and then regrowth. There are species that require pristine forest, but there are also species that require a habitat that is growing back up. Many of those species have had to the most precipitous declines, because if we aren’t managing the landscape for those habitats, they may not happen on their own, especially if we’re suppressing fire.

It’s the accumulation of all these threats that’s an issue, and it isn’t just habitat loss. There are other threats, as well, but habitat loss is certainly the greatest threat that birds face.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2019, 01:06:26 AM by Tom_Mazanec »

Rodius

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #938 on: September 07, 2019, 02:41:33 AM »
Forests are no plantations.

Data sets are only of use when considering the type of forest.

Plantations are nowhere near the same quality as real, old growth forests.
In some cases data can be ignored in terms of usefulness. Intuition or just plane old fashioned observation is enough to know that old growth forests are basically gone.

Europe used to be filled with them, where are they now? The Black Forest is nowhere near what it was a few hundred years ago.
The Amazon is quickly becoming a shade of itself over the last century.
Australia basically has no forest left. I drove 30 hours across Southern Australia in January and spent 26 hours of that time driving across farmland that used to be forests.... and I deliberately went out of my way to visit the forest regions and reserves.
The US is basically a huge farm at the expense of nature.
Russia still has vast forests but they are also burning and being destroyed by newly arrived insects that are eating the trees out of existence.
SE Asia is taking so much old growth forest that the wildlife has nowhere to hide anymore.

Old growth forest is what matters.

It takes centuries to do that, maybe even longer. If there was any data that compared forests today to that of 300 years ago, then the comparison would be stark.
That is what I am talking about.... not a mere comparison between 30 or 40 years.

Nature, forests, are on their knees.
Mono culture forests are not forests, not the kind that makes a difference anyway. They are for our own needs, and I would put money on it that they burn far more often than old growth forest.

I havent looked for the research, which for this forum is a bad thing, but sometimes it is obvious beyond belief that forest are disappearing, and are not being replaced as they once were.
It is like looking at the videos of arctic ice disappearing ans saying nothing is wrong in the arctic. You dont need copious amounts of data to see the obvious in the arctic... and you dont really need it to see old growth forests are disappearing just as fast.

If you want time hunt down supporting research, I will find it when I have time over the coming week, but I would be seriously surprised if anyone here would disagree with the idea the old growth forests are dying rapidly and I doubt anyone would disagree with the concept that new growth forest and plantations are equal to old growth forests.

But if research is needed to state the obvious, I will look for it if needs be.

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #939 on: September 07, 2019, 04:08:21 AM »
But if research is needed to state the obvious, I will look for it if needs be.


I would say research is always needed to state the obvious, because in science sometimes it turns out that the obvious just ain't so.
Not that I am disagreeing with you on your point...in fact I suspect you are right.

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #940 on: September 07, 2019, 04:33:56 AM »
I agree with Tom. I suspect you are right, but I can't look that way. Research would be welcomed.
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Rodius

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #941 on: September 07, 2019, 06:35:20 AM »
I am sorry if I don’t go deep enough or I have wandered somewhat. I am not a researcher and I don’t have a degree.

What I found (research listed below)

The first three articles support the idea that primary forests have indeed been reduced in area. Although complex, the global area is reducing for old growth forests.

Reforested land or plantations do make up for it somewhat but ultimately the amount of land that is forested has decline over the last 300 odd years. Not a massive surprise.

It does appear that the temperate regions (Russia) remains about the same although it is stressed. Tropical regions are not doing as well (https://www.sciencealert.com/worlds-tropical-forests-declining)

I then saw something about soil and carbon, so I looked into that to see if there was a difference between how much carbon was held in old growth forests compared to plantation forests. From what I can determine at this quick glance, is old growth forests store a lot of carbon and the soil goes deeper. Reforested or plantations also store a lot of carbon in the soil but the depth of the soil is less and the root systems are not as deep as old growth forests. BUT, plantation forest are a positive influence in taking carbon out of the air and into the soil and is one way to improve soil quality over time. (my thinking is it would be better to simply not destroy old growth forest in the first place)

Burning old growth forests does release more carbon via burning and then soil degradation after the fact, something that is happening in Central Africa, SE Asia and the Amazon. Australia as well, but I don’t think that is deliberate, that is just climate changing in a way that allows more and bigger fires to occur naturally.

This is getting way off track, if I dig any deeper I will find myself down a bottomless pit of reading.
In short, old growth forests are reducing over the last 300 years. Reforestation is sort of keeping up but is losing the battle, and the quality of forest (diversity of life, soil quality etc) is reduced.
I am so sorry for dragging the wildfire thread off topic. The only thing I got from this is that old forest destruction via burning is far worse than other types of forests mostly because of the degradation of soil and reduced diversity of life.

Article One
Abstract
Here, we provide the first global gridded estimates of the underlying land conversions (land‐use transitions), wood harvesting, and resulting secondary lands annually, for the period 1700–2000. Using data‐based historical cases, our results suggest that 42–68% of the land surface was impacted by land‐use activities (crop, pasture, wood harvest) during this period, some multiple times. Secondary land area increased 10–44 × 106 km2; about half of this was forested. Wood harvest and shifting cultivation generated 70–90% of the secondary land by 2000
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2006.01150.x

Article 2
Abstract
The results of a new approach to the specification of the relationship between deforestation and population are presented. They suggest that approximately half of the deforestation that has occurred over the long sweep of human history can be explained statistically in terms of population growth. It is cautioned, however, that serious conceptual and methodological problems confront the analysis of the relationship.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1085(19981030)12:13/14%3C1983::AID-HYP713%3E3.0.CO;2-M

Article three
Forests in Flux
Forests worldwide are in a state of flux, with accelerating losses in some regions and gains in others. Hansen et al. (p. 850) examined global Landsat data at a 30-meter spatial resolution to characterize forest extent, loss, and gain from 2000 to 2012. Globally, 2.3 million square kilometers of forest were lost during the 12-year study period and 0.8 million square kilometers of new forest were gained. The tropics exhibited both the greatest losses and the greatest gains (through regrowth and plantation), with losses outstripping gains.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/342/6160/850


Soil
Article 1
Abstract
Old-growth forests remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere1,2 at rates that vary with climate and nitrogen deposition3. The sequestered carbon dioxide is stored in live woody tissues and slowly decomposing organic matter in litter and soil4. Old-growth forests therefore serve as a global carbon dioxide sink, but they are not protected by international treaties, because it is generally thought that ageing forests cease to accumulate carbon5,6. Here we report a search of literature and databases for forest carbon-flux estimates. We find that in forests between 15 and 800 years of age, net ecosystem productivity (the net carbon balance of the forest including soils) is usually positive. Our results demonstrate that old-growth forests can continue to accumulate carbon, contrary to the long-standing view that they are carbon neutral. Over 30 per cent of the global forest area is unmanaged primary forest, and this area contains the remaining old-growth forests7. Half of the primary forests (6 × 108 hectares) are located in the boreal and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. On the basis of our analysis, these forests alone sequester about 1.3 ± 0.5 gigatonnes of carbon per year. Thus, our findings suggest that 15 per cent of the global forest area, which is currently not considered when offsetting increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, provides at least 10 per cent of the global net ecosystem productivity8. Old-growth forests accumulate carbon for centuries and contain large quantities of it. We expect, however, that much of this carbon, even soil carbon9, will move back to the atmosphere if these forests are disturbed.
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature07276

Soil article 2
Results
Mean annual temperature (MAT) was the most important predictor of soil C. Forest age explained little to no variability in soil C, in contrast with above‐ground studies. Data on long‐term trends in soil C are limited, as median time since forest growth was 15 years. Soil C stocks were similar between tropical secondary forests, tree plantations and reference forests. Differences between plantation and successional forests only appeared below 10 cm on sites with MAT < 21.3 °C. Former pastures and cultivated sites differed from each other only to depths of 30 or 100 cm. Climatic variables appeared multiple times across all layers of the regression trees, consistent with strong interactions between MAT and precipitation on soil C stocks.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2012.00788.x

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #942 on: September 07, 2019, 07:17:16 AM »
Thanks for the effort Rodius :). Interesting articles. I don't think it is off-topic.
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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #943 on: September 07, 2019, 02:09:46 PM »
Thanks for the effort Rodius :). Interesting articles. I don't think it is off-topic.

Seconded.  And I have posted a cross-link in the Forests thread.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #944 on: September 07, 2019, 09:36:46 PM »
Australia

NSW RFS on Twitter: "This morning there are more than 65 bush & grass fires across #NSW. 3 fires remain at Emergency Warning. More than 500 firefighters continue to protect homes &amp; work to control fires in difficult conditions. #nswrfs #nswfires”
https://twitter.com/NSWRFS/status/1170093147872874496
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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #945 on: September 08, 2019, 01:22:40 AM »
Australia.

I am not entirely sure the fires even stopped in Northern Australia this year.
The entire Central East of the country is in the worst drought since records began.... I personally think it isnt a drought but desertification.
Rivers are struggling to survive... between the drought and agriculture sucking the rivers dry up North they are killing the river system.

On top of that, with Antarctica doing its funky stratospheric thing, that is going to bring in even more heat and reduced rain for at least the next three months.

In Victoria, the winter has been normal, so enough rain to grow grass and turn it green again for the first time in ten years.... while this is nice, in Oz that means more fuel for the fires this year.

This year is already bad but it is going to become much worse. The entire East Coast is primed and ready for super massive fires. I dont think cities are even immune to them this year.

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #946 on: September 09, 2019, 05:48:45 PM »
Disaster strikes in Bolivia as fires lay waste to unique forests
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/09/disaster-strikes-in-bolivia-as-fires-devastate-unique-forests/
Quote
Fires are raging in Bolivia, hitting particularly hard the Chiquitano dry forests of the country’s southern Santa Cruz region.
Officials say the fires are largely the result of intentional burning to convert forest to farmland. Sources say this practice has recently intensified after Bolivian president Evo Morales signed a decree in July expanding land demarcated for livestock production and the agribusiness sector to include Permanent Forest Production Lands in the regions of Beni and Santa Cruz.
Satellite data indicate 2019 may be a banner year for forest loss, with tree cover loss alerts spiking in late August to levels more than double the average of previous years. Most of these alerts are occurring in areas with high fire activity, with data from NASA showing August fire activity in Santa Cruz was around three times higher than in years past.
Human communities are suffering due to the fires, with reports of smoke-caused illnesses and drinking water shortages. Meanwhile, biologists are worried about the plants and animals of the Chiquitano dry forests, many of which are unique, isolated and found nowhere else in the world.

Australia Bushfires Arrive Early, Destroying Historic Lodge in ‘Omen’ of Future
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/09/world/australia/bushfires-wildfires-climate-change.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront
Quote
Experts and some state officials, agreeing with that dire assessment, have been quick to identify climate change as a major cause — a controversial argument for some people here in a country that is heavily reliant on the coal industry, with a conservative government that has resisted making climate policy a priority.

But the recent flames spreading not just through the country’s dry middle but also into its rainforests are one of many data points that make the patterns and problems undeniable.
« Last Edit: September 09, 2019, 06:33:27 PM by Tom_Mazanec »

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #947 on: September 11, 2019, 08:26:31 PM »
Australia Bushfires Arrive Early, Destroying Historic Lodge in ‘Omen’ of Future
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/09/world/australia/bushfires-wildfires-climate-change.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront
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But over the weekend, a bushfire destroyed the beloved getaway, one of Australia’s oldest nature resorts — drawing tears from neighbors and alarm from officials who warned that climate change and drought threatened to bring Australia its worst fire season on record.

“This is an omen, if you will,” said Andrew Sturgess, who is in charge of fire prediction for the state of Queensland, where the lodge had stood in Lamington National Park.

This is a worst-possible wildfire scenario for Southern California
https://www.vox.com/2019/9/10/20804560/climate-change-california-wildfire-2019
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The wildfire that smashes all of California’s previous notions of “the worst that could happen” begins with an illegal firecracker set off by campers in the the San Bernardino National Forest. Patches of this forest, near the spa city of Palm Springs, have burned many times before. But this fire becomes monstrously big in a matter of hours because a severe, multi-year drought and an extra-long hot summer have left an unprecedented number of trees and shrubs bone dry, defenseless to flame.

As tall Ponderosa and sugar pine trees in the federally protected area are engulfed, embers from their crowns fly forward, propelled by wind, igniting the next patch of forest. US Forest Service firefighters try to contain it, but the fire is too big and moving much too fast with fierce winds helping it along. In just two days, the fire is 10 miles wide.

The fire can spread in all directions inside the national forest with so much available fuel, and at first there isn’t much threat to human life. But as it grows bigger, it will race eastward toward the edge of Palm Springs, population 48,000, and northeast toward San Bernardino, population 220,000.
« Last Edit: September 11, 2019, 09:38:43 PM by Tom_Mazanec »

vox_mundi

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #948 on: September 13, 2019, 08:47:05 PM »
PG&E Agrees To Pay $11 Billion Insurance Settlement Over California Wildfires
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/13/760479525/pg-e-to-pay-11-billion-insurance-settlement-over-wildfires-in-paradise-and-elsew

Utility giant PG&E has agreed to a second large settlement over devastating Northern California wildfires, saying it will pay $11 billion to resolve most insurance claims from the wine country fires in 2017 and massive Camp Fire in 2018.

"These claims are based on payments made by insurance companies to individuals and businesses with insurance coverage for wildfire damages" in those catastrophic blazes, PG&E said in announcing the deal.

The utility says the tentative deal with a group of insurers covers about 85% of claims from those fires. While the $11 billion sum is large, it's far smaller than the roughly $20 billion that the insurance companies wanted, after paying out billions to California wildfire victims.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #949 on: September 13, 2019, 10:09:37 PM »
Brazilian Amazon fires scientifically linked to 2019 deforestation: report
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/09/brazilian-amazon-fires-scientifically-linked-to-2019-deforestation-report/
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A scientific report released today by the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) reveals critical overlap between deforestation and fire alerts. Mongabay had exclusive access to the report ahead of release.
At least 52,500 hectares (130,000 acres) of the Brazilian Amazon — the equivalent to 72,000 soccer fields — were cleared through 2019 and then burned in August. The findings offer a base map overlapping 2019 deforestation and fire hotspots, and include 16 high-resolution time lapse videos unveiling newly cleared agricultural lands linked to fire occurrences.
MAAP’s findings show that the dramatic photos that garnered worldwide attention of smoky fires sweeping the Brazilian Amazon in August do not correspond with burning rainforest, but instead coincide with areas intentionally deforested this year, with the cleared land then set ablaze to finish the agricultural conversion process.
Although the report didn’t detect major forest fires in Brazil to date, the risk still exists, as the dry season deepens, given that many fire occurrences were detected on agriculture-forest boundaries. The study doesn’t say how much of the 52,500 hectares cleared in the first 8 months of 2019 were illegally deforested.