2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #23

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week.

Editor's Pick

Artificial Intelligence—A Game Changer for Climate Change and the Environment

Climate Model Los Alamos National Laboratory  

AI is continually improving climate models. Photo: Los Alamos National Lab 

As the planet continues to warm, climate change impacts are worsening. In 2016, there were 772 weather and disaster events, triple the number that occurred in 1980. Twenty percent of species currently face extinction, and that number could rise to 50 percent by 2100. And even if all countries keep their Paris climate pledges, by 2100, it’s likely that average global temperatures will be 3?C higher than in pre-industrial times.

But we have a new tool to help us better manage the impacts of climate change and protect the planet: artificial intelligence (AI). AI refers to computer systems that “can sense their environment, think, learn, and act in response to what they sense and their programmed objectives,” according to a World Economic Forum report, Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for the Earth.

In India, AI has helped farmers get 30 percent higher groundnut yields per hectare by providing information on preparing the land, applying fertilizer and choosing sowing dates. In Norway, AI helped create a flexible and autonomous electric grid, integrating more renewable energy.

And AI has helped researchers achieve 89 to 99 percent accuracy in identifying tropical cyclones, weather fronts and atmospheric rivers, the latter of which can cause heavy precipitation and are often hard for humans to identify on their own. By improving weather forecasts, these types of programs can help keep people safe.

Artificial Intelligence—A Game Changer for Climate Change and the Environment by Renee Choo, State of the Planet, Earth Institute, June 5, 2018


Links posted on Facebook

Sun June 3, 2018

Mon June 4, 2018

Tue June 5, 2018

Wed June 6, 2018

Thu June 7, 2018

Fri June 8, 2018

Sat June 9, 2018

Posted by John Hartz on Saturday, 9 June, 2018


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