2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #5
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Jan 27 through Sat, Feb 2, 2019
Editor's Pick
A surprising new picture of ocean circulation could have major consequences for climate science
Some experts say the Atlantic Ocean circulation is already slowing down — but we’re just beginning to learn how it really works.
The ocean near the southern tip of Greenland during a cruise to deploy the initial OSNAP array. (Photo Credit: C. Nobre/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.)
It may be the biggest wild card in the climate system. Scientists have long feared that the so-called “overturning” circulation in the Atlantic Ocean could slow down or even halt due to climate change — a change that would have enormous planetary consequences.
But at the same time, researchers have a limited understanding of how the circulation actually works, since taking measurements of its vast and remote currents is exceedingly difficult. And now, a major new research endeavor aimed at doing just that has suggested a dramatic revision of our understanding of the circulation itself.
A new 21-month series of observations in the frigid waters off Greenland has led to the discovery that most of the overturning — in which water not only sinks but returns southward again in the ocean depths — occurs to the east, rather than to the west, of the enormous ice island. If that’s correct, then climate models that suggest the circulation will slow as the climate warms may have to be revised to take this into account.
A surprising new picture of ocean circulation could have major consequences for climate science by Chris Mooney, Washington Post, Jan 31, 2019
Links posted on Facebook
Sun Jan 27, 2019
- Germany agrees to end reliance on coal stations by 2038 by Adam Vaughan, Guardian, Jan 26, 2019
- This Could Be The Biggest Scandal Of The Climate Change Era, Opinion by Sandrine Dixson-Declève & Anders Wijkman, Huffington Post, Jan 23, 2019
- Climate change creates a new migration crisis for Bangladesh by Tim McDonnell, National Geographic, Jan 24, 2019
- Ways to help kids cope with — and help combat — climate change by Ronit Feinglass Plank, Lifestyles, Washington Post, Jan 22, 2019
- Climate change: The more we know, the worse it seems, Opinion by Mark Lynas, CNN, Jan 26, 2019
- Extinction Rebellion activists occupy Scottish parliament by Severin Carrell, Guardian, Jan 25, 2019
- Want to fix obesity and climate change at the same time? Make Big Food companies pay. by Julia Belluz. Science & Health, Vox, Jan 27, 2019
- Trump rollbacks for fossil fuel industries carry steep cost by Matthew Brown, AP, Jan 27, 2019
Mon Jan 28, 2019
- The diet for a healthy planet: what should environmentalists eat? by Jessica Glenza, Environment, Guardian, Jan 27, 2019
- Water wars: Are India and Pakistan heading for climate change-induced conflict? by Melanie Hall, Environment, Deutsche Welle (DW), Jan 25, 2019
- As youth anger over climate change mounts, protests spread around the globe by Rick Noack, World, Washington Post, Jan 25, 2019
- Cod stocks on course to crash if ocean warming continues by Jonathan Watts, Environment, Guardian, Jan 25, 2019
- The New Language of Climate Change by Bryan Bender, Politico Magazine, Jan 27, 2019
- Why people in the US south stay put in the face of climate change by Megan Mayhew Bergman, Environment, Guardian, Jan 25, 2019
- In Florida, a New Governor Shifts Gears on Environment, and Maybe Climate Change by James Bruggers, InsideClimate News, Jan 28, 2019
- Science Says: Get used to polar vortex outbreaks by Seth Borenstein, AP News, Jan 28, 2019
Tue Jan 29, 2019
- A January to forget': Hot end to month puts heat records in play by Peter Hannam, Environment, Sydney Morning Herald, Jan 29, 2019
- Terrifying': Scientists dig deep for missing piece of climate puzzle by Peter Hannam, Environment, Sydney Morning Herald, Jan 27, 2019
- Lakes 'skating on thin ice' as warming limits freeze by Matt McGrath, BBC News, Jan 28, 2019
- Polar Vortex to Grip Midwest With Most Extreme Cold in a Generation by Mitch Smith, New York Times, Jan 28, 2019
- If the Earth Is Warming, Why Is It So Cold Outside? by Kendra Pierre-Louis, Climate, New York Times, Jan 28, 2019
- Heatwave breaks second 157-year record, Radio New Zealand, Jan 29, 2018
- America's Energy Future: What the Government Misses in Its Energy Outlook and Why It Matters by Dan Gearino, InsideClimate News, Jan 28, 2019
- AP FACT CHECK: Global warming hasn’t gone away despite cold by Seth Borenstein, AP News, Jan 29, 2019
Wed Jan 30, 2019
- Warming seas may increase frequency of extreme storms by Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA's Vital Signs of the Planet, Jan 28, 2019
- Ancient Plants Reveal Arctic Summers Haven't Been This Hot in 115,000 Years by Brian Kahn, Gizmodo, Jan 27, 2019
- How frigid polar vortex blasts are connected to global warming by Jennifer Francis, The Conversation US, Jan 29, 2019
- The secret to legislative success for climate activists by Teal Arcadi, Washington Post, Jan 28, 2018
- The Climate Kids Are Coming by Mark Hertsgaard, The Nation, Jan 29, 2019
- Scientists Consider “Quick Response” Plan to Counter Climate Misinformation by Scott Waldman, E&E News/Scientific American, Jan 30, 2019
- Trump always dismisses climate change when it’s cold. Not so fast, experts say. by Chris Mooney & Brady Dennis, Climate & Environment, Washington Post, Jan 29, 2019
- Making cities more dense always sparks resistance. Here’s how to overcome it. by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Jan 30, 2019
Thur Jan 31, 2019
- A Green New Deal must not sabotage climate goals by Dana Nuccitelli, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Jan 30, 2019
- What is the polar vortex – and how is it linked to climate change? by Oliver Milman, Guardian, Jan 31, 2019
- Hollywood: Can You Get Climate Change Right for Once? by Kate Marvel, Scientific American, Jan 30, 2019
- Climate Change Transforms These Cute Little Birds Into Murderous Brain-Eating Zombies by GrrlScientist, Forbes, Jan 29, 2019
Fri Feb 1, 2019
- Scientists say Ocasio-Cortez’s dire climate warning is spot on by Joe Romm, Think Progress, Jan 31, 2019
- SkS Analogy 18 - Cliff jumping and temperature changes by Evan & jg, Skeptical Science, Jan 30, 2019
- How do we change the conversation about climate change - and start doing more about it? by Nick Logan, Global News, Jan 31, 2019
- Climate Advocates Underestimate Power of Fossil Fueled Misinformation Campaigns, Say Top Researchers by Graham Readfearn, DeSmog, Jan 18, 2019
- Greta Thunberg: 5 things we can learn about climate change from a 16-year-old schoolgirl by Jessica Taylor, Evening Standard, Jan 30, 2019
- To tackle climate change, share burden — and benefits by Clea Simon, The Harvard Gazette, Jan 30, 2019
- Hollywood: Can You Get Climate Change Right for Once? by Kate Marvel, Scientific American, Jan 30, 2019
- Q&A: How is Arctic warming linked to the ‘polar vortex’ and other extreme weather? by Robert McSweeney, Carbon Brief, Jan 31, 2019
- Climate Change As A Matter Of International Security by David Banis, Forbes, Jan 31, 2019
- Beyond Drought: States Rebalance Their Colorado River Use as Global Warming Dries the Region by Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News, Jan 31, 2019
Sat Feb 2, 2019
- “Global warming” and “climate change” are disasters at conveying our environmental predicament by Elijah Wolfson, Quartz, 31 Jan, 2019
- January was Australia's hottest month since records began by Lisa Cox, The Guardian, Jan 31, 2019
- Thousands skip school in Belgium for fourth-straight week to attend climate march by Owen Daugherty, The Hill, Jan 31, 2019
- A surprising new picture of ocean circulation could have major consequences for climate science by Chris Mooney, Washington Post, Jan 31, 2019
- Forecast: flurries of shivering climate-change deniers by John Cook, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Jan 29, 2019
- Scientist Who Rejects Warming Is Named to EPA Advisory Board by Scott Waldman, E&E News/Scientific American, Feb 1, 2019
- 16 Sustainability Leaders Weigh In: How YOU Can Help To Reverse Global Warming by Ryan Hagen, Crowdsourcing Sustainability, Jan 11, 2019
- New research, January 21-27, 2019 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, Feb 1, 2019
Posted by John Hartz on Saturday, 2 February, 2019
