Posted on 7 July 2024 by BaerbelW, Doug Bostrom, John Hartz

Story of the week

Our Story of the Week is brought to us by Dr. Ella Gilbert, a researcher with the British Antarctic Survey. As Gilbert mentions in her bio, she's passionate about "making climate science accessible to non-scientists." Dr. Gilbert backs that ambition with action, presenting as "Dr. Gilbz" on YouTube. In her newest production, Gilbert walks us through three very recent scientific publications that amplify worry over the fate of Antarctic ice sheets and hence the fate of coastal cities all over the globe:

• Widespread seawater intrusions beneath the grounded ice of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica
• Coupled ice–ocean interactions during future retreat of West Antarctic ice streams in the Amundsen Sea sector
• Tipping point in ice-sheet grounding-zone melting due to ocean water intrusion

As Dr. Gilbert explains, these papers suggest a high degree of risk unaccounted for in models of future behavior of ice in West Antarctica. These findings join other recent work raising biq questions about what our climate accident is unleashing from Earth's most southerly continent. It's fair to say that these investigations collectively trend toward grim possibilities.

What happens in Antarctica doesn't stay in Antarctica. Leaving aside fear of the unknown, the practical implications of underestimated Antarctic ice loss are unanticipated sea level rise, and hence suboptimal planning for adaptation of coastal cities to challenges presented by the rising sea. We may fail to see cases for complete retreat in time for some degree of planned exit as opposed to a panicked rout. Failng to take into account what Antactica is going to deliver to our shorelines  will be very costly.

Dr. Gilbert points out that even while we don't have complete information on the magnitude of Antarctic upheaval we're created, we do still know perfeclty well how to reduce whatever mayhem is in store: as quickly as possible we need to modernize our energy systems and dump the outmoded fossil fuels creating problems in the Antarctice and everwhere else on the planet. The biggest answer remains the same and plainly visible, leaving an even larger question hanging in the air: will we listen to and act on the best advice we have?

Stories we promoted this week, by publication date:

Before June 30

• More extreme heat demands coordinated action, WMO Press Release, Staff. "With extreme heat posing a growing threat to human health, the environment and key economic sectors, hundreds of millions of people in the northern hemisphere are bracing for what is typically the hottest month of the year, July."
• Firefighters near Phoenix battle wildfire as temperatures surpass 100F, US News, The Guardian, Maya Yang & Agencies. "Residents evacuate after Boulder View fire rips alongside Scottsdale, and wildfires in California and Oregon rage"
• The University of Chicago’s new climate initiative, Climate Change, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists,, Jessica McKenzie . "Brave research program or potentially dangerous foray into solar geoengineering?"https://thebulletin.org/2024/06/the-university-of-chicago-new-climate-initiative/
• Trump’s Environmental Agenda: Embrace Big Oil, Ignore the Climate Crisis, The Heat 2024, Capital & Main, Marcus Baram. "Project 2025 plan to gut climate policy and boost fossil fuels could set back global efforts for decades, say scientists and analysts."
• IEA calls for next national climate plans to target coal phase-down, Politics, Climate Home News, Joe Lo . "Countries have agreed to reduce power generated from coal, but shutting down plants is an economic and social challenge, especially in emerging economies"

June 30

• Santos uses new tactic to fight climate change movement after traditional owners lose court challenge against Barossa gas project, ABC NEWS (AU), Michael Slezak.
• 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #26, Skeptical Science, Bärbel Winkler, Doug Bostrom & John Hartz. A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, June 23, 2024 thru Sat, June 29, 2024.
• I saw first-hand just how much fracking destroys the earth, Comment is Free, The Gurdian, Opinion by Rebecca Solnit. "We’ve been making short-term decisions about our planet for a long time. The consequences are horrific to behold"

July 1

• At least 30 Reform candidates have cast doubt on human-induced global heating, The Guardian, Fintan Hogan. Exclusive: Analysis of social media posts, including by candidates projected to win seats, finds multiple mentions of ‘hoaxes’ and ‘the Illuminati’
• How much will climate change drag down the economy?, Yale Climate Connections, Dana Nuccitelli. It’s a trillion-dollar question.
• Record-smashing Hurricane Beryl may be an 'ominous' sign of what's to come, Nation, USA TODAY , Dinah Voyles Pulver & Doyle Rice.
• How bad will hurricanes get? Scientists look for answers in mud., Environment/Climate, Washington Post,, Don Grandino. "Their work suggests oceans are capable producing hurricane seasons far more relentless than anything modern society has seen so far."
• What Venezuela’s last glacier meant to my country, Opinion, Washington Post, Andrea Vasquez Guillen. "As glaciers around the world disappear, we must remember they are more than just ice."
• The Race to Save Glacial Ice Records Before They Melt Away, Yale Environment 360, Nicola Jones. "As glaciers melt around the globe, scientists are racing to retrieve ice cores that contain key historical records of temperature and climate that are preserved in the ice. Researchers are also pushing to gather ancient relics locked in the ice before they are lost to warming"
• Climate change ignored? Study reveals sociology's blind spot, Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories, Tevah Platt. A recent University of Michigan study exposes a gap in sociology: a lack of focus on climate change.
• Cooler states now forced to grapple with extreme heat fueled by climate change, Missouri Independent, Shalina Chatlani. Northern states in the US seek answers to dealing with new high temperatures by emulating old methods from the Deep South.

July 2

• Rebuttal Update Project - Summer break and relaxed publication schedule, Skeptical Science, John Mason, Bärbel Winkler & Ken Rice.
• Hurricane Beryl`s rapid intensification to Category 5 is alarming: Here`s why more tropical storms are exploding in strength, The Conversation - Articles (US), Brian Tang.
• Biden attacks Republican climate deniers as he unveils extreme-heat rules, Environment, The Guardian, Dharna Noor. "President hails proposal to protect millions of Americans from extreme heat – the top weather-related US killer"
• Beyond lithium: how a Swedish battery company wants to power Europe’s green transition with salt, Clean Energy Frontier, Climate Home News,, Martin Gelin & Meli Petersson Ellafi. "Northvolt has developed a sodium-based battery, which doesn’t require critical minerals and could help break European dependence on China for the technology"

July 3

• How to fight climate change in your close relationships, Yale Climate Connections, Samantha Harrington. By talking with your friends and family about climate solutions, you can exponentially grow your impact
• ‘It’s nonsensical’: how Trump is making climate the latest culture war, US News, The Guardian, Oliver Milman. "The ex-president is ranting about low water pressure and attacking mundane rules and technologies – and Republicans in Congress are now following his lead"
• Tropical forest degradation due to ‘edge effects’ is 200% higher than thought, Plants & Forests, Carbon Brief, Ayesha Tandon.
• Floods, fires and record heat: Climate disasters multiply around the world, World, Los Angeles Times, Max Kim & Stephanie Yang.
• How Europe’s Conspiracy Influencers Went From Covid-19 to the Climate, Politics, Rolling Stone Magazine, Sam Edwards, Alessio Perrone & Darren Loucaides. Conspiratorial narratives about climate action have entered the mainstream all over Europe

July 4

• Why climate change makes a hurricane like Beryl more dangerous, NPR Topics: Climate, Michael Copley.
• Far right using climate crisis as bogeyman to frighten voters and build higher walls | Jonathan Watts, Environment The Guardian, Jonathan Watts. It is no coincidence that ever more extreme politics has come at a time of ever more extreme weather
• China warns of hotter, longer heatwaves as climate change intensifies, World/China, Reuters,, Bernard Orr & David Stanway.
• Antarctica might raise sea level more than we thought, Dr. Gilbz on Youtube, Dr. Ella Gilbert.
• Can the climate survive the insatiable energy demands of the AI arms race?, Environment, The Guardian, Dan Milmo, Alex Hern & Jillian Ambrose,. "New computing infrastructure means big tech is likely to miss emissions targets but they can’t afford to get left behind in a winner takes all market"
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #27 2024, Skeptical Science, Marc Kodack & Doug Bostrom. Skeptical Science's weekly survey of climate research.