If you're dreaming of a white Christmas in the eastern and central U.S., you can probably keep dreaming. As EcoWatch reported last week, the unseasonably warm weather has set a number of December records.
#Christmas week could be one of the warmest on record in parts of the East. https://t.co/olJgO2jOCZ https://t.co/2pCopyKIQ4— The Weather Channel (@The Weather Channel)1450270167.0
Many cities in the eastern and central U.S. will see temperatures 10-20 degrees above average this week. If you live in the Eastern or Central U.S., Friday could be “one of the warmest Christmas Days of your lifetime,” The Weather Channel reported Sunday.
"Several cities in the East will likely see their warmest Christmas Eve or Christmas Day on record, adding to the more than 2,600 daily record high temperatures that have been tied or broken across the Lower 48 in the first 19 days of the month. This mild forecast means the prospect for a white Christmas is highly unlikely for many east of the Rockies."
We could potentially see the warmest #Christmas in living memory in the East: https://t.co/dkv3yWkkNT? #travel https://t.co/4VTW4uM0IQ— The Weather Channel (@The Weather Channel)1450701300.0
"Due to the warming effects of the strong El Niño climate pattern, many places that often have a good chance of seeing snow Christmas Day will miss out this year," explained AccuWeather. "El Niño has helped to strengthen a west-to-east jet stream that delivers mild Pacific air across the U.S."
"There's just not going to be enough cold air to support accumulating snow," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Anderson said. "Even if small amounts do fall [in the eastern U.S.] leading up to the holiday, it won't stick around, added AccuWeather. "The warm ground would cause melting very quickly."
El Nino will dash the hopes of many who are hoping for a white Christmas: https://t.co/vsi8MqJTlo https://t.co/Vr6bZ521jQ— AccuWeather.com (@AccuWeather.com)1450218010.0
Bloomberg's Tom Randall explained why "Frosty didn't stand a chance:"
This has been by far the hottest year on record, and it’s ending with an exclamation point. Holiday shoppers in New York’s Rockefeller Center have been checking off their lists in weather that’s an eerie 20 degrees warmer than normal. Meanwhile, another stack of global temperature records has fallen.
Last month was the hottest November in 136 years of data, according to U.S. figures released on Thursday, making it the ninth record-breaking month of 2015. This year has been so far off the charts, it’s certain to go down as the hottest year on record even if December turns out to be unusually cool (it won’t).
El Niño is largely responsible for this year’s extremes, but make no mistake: This is what global warming looks like. Before this year, 13 of the 14 hottest years fell in the 21st century. The thermometer creep is relentless.
It's not just the U.S. feeling the heat, either. From the UK to Australia, El Niño exacerbated by climate change is driving record warmth. Adelaide, Australia, where it's currently summer, set a record for December with four days in a row of temperatures more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
This year's El Niño is already one of the top three strongest on record and could yet become the strongest, according to the the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said last month that the impacts of El Niño are only exacerbated by climate change, putting the world in "uncharted territory."
While many Americans dream of a white Christmas, it's not actually as prevalent as you might think. Only 25 to 30 percent of the 48 contiguous states is typically snow-covered by Christmas, according to AccuWeather.
ICYMI What’s your historical probability of a #WhiteChristmas? Check out this map: https://t.co/Cg14vJMwYZ https://t.co/Saf51SpgIw— NOAA NCEI Climate (@NOAA NCEI Climate)1450109110.0
The National Center for Environmental Information, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, analyzed the historical probability of a white Christmas (defined as greater than one inch of snow on the ground). They said that "Most of Idaho, Minnesota, Maine, Upstate New York, the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and, of course, the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada Mountains all have a high probability of seeing a white Christmas. And, Aspen, Colorado, is just one of about a dozen locations boasting a 100 percent historical probability of seeing a white Christmas."
This year, however, two-thirds of the U.S. is probably out of luck for a white Christmas.
Is it really December? For much of the U.S., it feels more like April. Tweet us your unseasonable weather photos. https://t.co/FerU0sqZT8— Your Take (@Your Take)1450396067.0
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This image of the Santa Monica Mountains in California shows how a north-facing slope (left) can be covered in white-blooming hoaryleaf ceanothus (Ceanothus crassifolius), while the south-facing slope (right) is much less sparsely covered in a completely different plant. Noah Elhardt / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 2.5
If weather is your mood, climate is your personality. That's an analogy some scientists use to help explain the difference between two words people often get mixed up.
<p>In other words, weather exists in the short term. It's the state of the atmosphere in a specific area during a limited period (think minutes, hours, days or weeks). Climate, meanwhile, describes <em>long-term</em> average weather trends.</p><p>And if you're interested in the latter, you'd better know geography: Our global climate is made up of smaller <a href="https://scied.ucar.edu/shortcontent/climate" target="_blank">regional climates</a>. Break those down and you'll find local variations at just about every conceivable scale.</p><p>That brings us to microclimates, an amazing subject with broad applications for farming, conservation, wildlife management and <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/cities-withstand-global-warming.htm" target="_blank">city planning</a>.</p>
Size Matters
<p>Climates are a bit like woven tapestries. The big picture is important, no question. But so are all the seemingly minor details found inside the larger whole.</p><p><a href="https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/persons/tommaso-jucker" target="_blank">Tommaso Jucker</a> is an environmental scientist at the University of Bristol. In an email, Jucker says he'd define the term microclimate as "the suite of climatic conditions (temperature, rainfall, humidity, solar radiation) measured in localized areas, typically near the ground and at spatial scales that are directly relevant to ecological processes."</p><p>We'll talk about that last bit in a minute. But first, there's another criteria to discuss. According to some researchers, a microclimate — by definition — must differ from the larger area that surrounds it.</p><p><a href="https://www.cfc.umt.edu/research/paleoecologylab/publications/Davis_et_al_2019_Ecography.pdf" target="_blank">Forests</a> provide us with some great examples. "The climate near the ground in a tropical rainforest is dramatically different from the climate in the canopy 50 meters [164 feet] above," says University of Montana ecologist <a href="https://www.cfc.umt.edu/personnel/details.php?ID=1110" target="_blank">Solomon Dobrowski</a> in an email. "This vertical gradient among other factors allows for the staggering biodiversity we see in the tropics."</p><p>Likewise, scientists observed that a 2015 partial <a href="https://animals.howstuffworks.com/insects/bees-stopped-buzzing-during-2017-solar-eclipse.htm" target="_blank">solar eclipse</a> caused the air temperature of an Eastern European meadow to <a href="https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/wea.2802" target="_blank">change more dramatically</a> than it did in a nearby forest. That's because trees provide not only shade, but their leaves also reflect solar radiation. At the same time, forests tend to reduce wind speeds.</p><p>All those factors add up. A 2019 review of 98 wooded places — spread out across five continents — found that forests are 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) <a href="https://natureecoevocommunity.nature.com/posts/47363-forests-protect-animals-and-plants-against-warming" target="_blank">cooler on average</a> than the areas outside them.</p><p>Now if you hate the cold, don't worry; there's a cozy exception to the rule. According to that same study, forests are usually 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) warmer than the external environment during the wintertime. Pretty cool.</p>A Bug's Life
<p>When does a microclimate stop being, well, micro? In other words, is there a maximum size we should be aware of when discussing them?</p><p>Depends on who you ask. "In terms of horizontal scale, some have defined 'microclimate' as anything that is less than 100 meters [328 feet] in range," Jucker says. "I'm personally less prescriptive about this."</p><p>Instead, he says the "scale at which we want to measure [a particular] microclimate" ought to be "dictated" by the questions we're trying to answer.</p><p>"If I want to know how temperature affects the photosynthesis of a leaf, I should be measuring temperature at centimeter scale," Jucker explains. "If I want to know if and how temperature affects the habitat preference of a large, mobile mammal, it's probably more relevant to capture temperature variation across [tens to hundreds] of meters."</p><p>For instance, solitary plants have the power to generate itty-bitty microclimates. Just ask <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/geography/peter-blanken-0" target="_blank">Peter Blanken</a>, a geography professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder and the co-author of the 2016 book, "<a href="https://amzn.to/2XN6FT8" target="_blank">Microclimate and Local Climate</a>."</p><p>"A single stalk of corn can create its own microclimate through the shading and changes in soil properties in the immediate vicinity of the stalk," Blanken says via email. "For a field of corn, the microclimate created would be much larger, extending over the entire field," Blanken says via email.</p><p>Many organisms eke out a living in some of the dinkiest microclimates you can imagine.</p><p>Take <a href="https://animals.howstuffworks.com/insects/aphid-babies-born-pregnant.htm" target="_blank">aphids</a>, spider mites and leaf miner insects. All those critters are <a href="https://jeb.biologists.org/content/222/9/jeb192773" target="_blank">dwarfed by the plant leaves</a> they feed on. And every leaf comes with its own microclimate. Observations show that aphids seek out cooler leaves while those other invertebrates prefer warmed ones.</p><p>Because none of these animals can generate their own body heat, leaf microclimates have a critical effect on their well-being.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU1NjU0OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MTU5OTQwMH0.SGmwg2ouzf81AX_WYyfXn3047hBA9cya1jquQESQbUE/img.jpg?width=980" id="ef484" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d035a985cf7cf7eba49a6d229b977d7f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
The urban heat island effect is a good example of how microclimates work. NOAA
Microclimates on a Grand Scale
<p>It's no secret that our planet is going through some rough times at the macro level. The global temperature is <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/" target="_blank">climbing</a>; nine out of the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/news/2019-was-2nd-hottest-year-on-record-for-earth-say-noaa-nasa" target="_blank">10 hottest years on record</a> have occurred since 2005. And by one recent estimate, roughly 1 million species around the world are <a href="https://ipbes.net/sites/default/files/2020-02/ipbes_global_assessment_report_summary_for_policymakers_en.pdf" target="_blank">facing extinction</a> due to human activities.</p><p>"One of the big questions that ecologists and environmental scientists are trying to answer right now is how will individual species and whole ecosystems respond to rapid climate change and habitat loss," says Jucker. "...To me, [microclimates are] a key component of this research — if we don't measure and understand climate at the appropriate scale, then predicting how things will change in the future becomes a lot harder."</p><p>Developers have long understood the impact small-scale climates have on our daily lives. <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/urban-heat-island.htm#pt0" target="_blank">Urban heat islands</a> are cities that have higher temperatures than neighboring rural areas.</p><p>Plants release vapors that can moderate local climates. But in cities, natural greenery is often scarce. To make matters worse, plenty of our roads and buildings have a bad habit of absorbing or re-emitting heat from the sun. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Microclimate_and_Local_Climate/LHUZDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=urban%20heat%20island" target="_blank">Vehicle emissions</a> don't exactly help the situation.</p><p>Still, it's not like Boston or Beijing are thermal monoliths. Sometimes, the documented temperatures <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/can-we-turn-down-the-temperature-on-urban-heat-islands" target="_blank">within a single city</a> vary by 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit (8.3 to 11.1 degrees Celsius).</p><p>That's where metro parks and city trees come in. They have nice cooling effects on nearby neighborhoods. "Several cities around the world have developed programs to increase urban green spaces," says Blanken. "Tree planting programs and green roof programs, have been shown to lower surface temperatures, decrease air pollution and decrease surface water runoff (urban flash-flooding) in urban areas."</p>
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Flames from the Lake Fire burn on a hillside near a fire truck and other vehicles on Aug. 12, 2020 in Lake Hughes, California. Mario Tama / Getty Images
An "explosive" wildfire ignited in Los Angeles county Wednesday, growing to 10,000 acres in a little less than three hours.
<p>The so-called Lake Fire, which prompted evacuations and road closures, is remarkable for spreading so fast so early in the fire season without strong winds to drive it.</p><p>"It's pretty explosive fire behavior," Angeles National Forest Fire Chief Robert Garcia told <a href="https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2020/08/12/lake-hughes-fire-angeles-national-forest-lacofd/" target="_blank">CBS Los Angeles</a>. "It's typically what we see a little bit later in the season and often driven by wind. The fuel, moisture conditions and the fire at this particular location with the slope, it really created the recipe for rapid fire growth."</p>
<div id="ce282" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a315d353ac8959f1b506f12e2da87657"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1293722589903196160" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">|Update| The #LakeFire has grown to 10,000 acres and is 0% contained. https://t.co/gNuygunYX4</div> — Angeles_NF (@Angeles_NF)<a href="https://twitter.com/Angeles_NF/statuses/1293722589903196160">1597282476.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The fire ignited around 3:40 p.m. Wednesday and is still zero percent contained, according to the most recent information from the U.S. Forest Service's <a href="https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6953/" target="_blank">InciWeb</a>. It is burning about 65 miles northeast of Los Angeles in the Angeles National Forest, between Lake Hughes and Lake Castaic, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/08/12/lake-fire-california-lake-hughes-angeles-national-forest/3362336001/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories" target="_blank">USA TODAY reported</a>.</p><p>Evacuations were ordered for the entire Lake Hughes area Wednesday night. All told, residents of around 100 homes and buildings were told to flee.</p><p>Evacuees were directed to the Highland High School, but, because of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> pandemic, will have to remain in their cars, CBS LA reported.</p>
<p>In addition to its early start and rapid spread, the fire is notable because it is burning vegetation that hasn't been set ablaze since 1968.</p><p>"Portions of the forest [haven't] had a significant amount of fire in a very long time, 1968, for a large portion of that area, it hasn't burned since then," Garcia told <a href="https://abc7.com/lake-hughes-fire-brush-angeles-national-forest/6367793/" target="_blank">ABC 7</a>.</p>
<div id="c113f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c9f4391470f188b6e2856b1fc401fcda"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1293753451302674434" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">I have never seen anything like this. The #LakeFire is moving fast toward Lake Hughes. It created a fire tornado on… https://t.co/7DZeWe2rVS</div> — Veronica Miracle (@Veronica Miracle)<a href="https://twitter.com/ABC7Veronica/statuses/1293753451302674434">1597289834.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>There have been no reports of injuries and no official tally of structural damage, according to <a href="https://abc7.com/lake-hughes-fire-brush-angeles-national-forest/6367793/" target="_blank">ABC 7</a>. However, the fire was seen burning several homes.</p><p>Reporter Veronica Miracle tweeted that she had spoken to a man who had fled his home as a wall of flames approached.</p><p>"He thinks his house is gone," she said.</p>
<div id="a8aeb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9bd40093f0715b15feaf61119c36b8d8"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1293737541003128833" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Just spoke to a man who lives up the street from this road block. He says when he left his home there was a wall of… https://t.co/cW3pLDSWLm</div> — Veronica Miracle (@Veronica Miracle)<a href="https://twitter.com/ABC7Veronica/statuses/1293737541003128833">1597286040.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Television footage early Thursday showed buildings burned to the ground, <a href="https://apnews.com/beb7f003386f89e5be10cb8b5ff97fd5" target="_blank">The Associated Press reported</a>, but it was not clear if they were homes or not. Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief David Richardson said Wednesday night the flames might have burned some outbuildings.</p><p>More than 500 firefighters are combating the blaze, according to InciWeb. The area is expected to record temperatures in the 90s this afternoon.</p><p>Smoke from the fire could be seen from as far as Venice Beach Wednesday.</p>
<div id="0b41c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="db8e055853e93a3f057d22319303ee90"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1293691210557566976" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#LakeFire view from Venice Beach provided by @LACoLifeguards.
#LACoFD https://t.co/84jv0gSoVU</div> — L.A. County Fire Department (@L.A. County Fire Department)<a href="https://twitter.com/LACoFDPIO/statuses/1293691210557566976">1597274994.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> is making <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/california" target="_self">California</a>'s wildfires <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-wildfires-2636008989.html" target="_self">larger and more extreme</a> as high temperatures dry out vegetation, making it more likely to burn.</p>
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Although heat waves rarely get the attention that hurricanes do, they kill far more people per year in the U.S. and abroad. greenaperture / Getty Images
By Jeff Berardelli
Note: This story was originally published on August 6, 2020
If asked to recall a hurricane, odds are you'd immediately invoke memorable names like Sandy, Katrina or Harvey. You'd probably even remember something specific about the impact of the storm. But if asked to recall a heat wave, a vague recollection that it was hot during your last summer vacation may be about as specific as you can get.
<p>Although heat waves rarely get the attention that <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-season-2020-forecast-extremely-active-24-named-storms/" target="_blank">hurricanes</a> do, they kill far more people per year in the U.S. — about three times as many, <a href="https://www.weather.gov/hazstat/" target="_blank">according to NOAA</a>. In 1995 a scorching heat wave <a href="https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/July-2015/1995-Chicago-heat-wave/" target="_blank">in Chicago</a> left 739 people dead. </p><p>Heat waves are even more impactful overseas, partly because people there are less likely to have air conditioning. The <a href="https://www.climatesignals.org/events/european-heat-wave-2003" target="_blank">European heat wave of 2003</a> is estimated to have caused an astounding <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health" target="_blank">70,000 deaths</a>. In 2010, 56,000 people died in a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-heat-deaths-idUSTRE69O4LB20101025" target="_blank">heat wave in Russia</a>.</p><p>Perhaps if heat waves received as much public attention as hurricanes, lives could be saved? That's the idea behind a new initiative launched Wednesday that aims to tackle the notoriety issue by naming and ranking heat waves. The hope is that by raising awareness of the dangers, people will be more adequately prepared when heat waves strike. </p><p>The initiative is being led by the Atlantic Council's Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center. They, along with 30 global partners — including the cities of Miami, Mexico City, and Athens, Greece — announced the formation of the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance.</p><p><span></span>"This extreme heat crisis can no longer be the 'silent killer' it is," said Kathy Baughman McLeod, director of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center. "This growing risk — and related solutions — must be blasted from a megaphone to decision makers and to people everywhere."</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-07-13-climate-concern-extreme-heat-going-unrecorded-africa" target="_blank">study</a> released by Oxford University in July backs up the need to raise awareness about heat waves. The research shows that despite the fact that extreme heat events in sub-Saharan Africa are rapidly worsening because of climate change, there's been a lack of official record-keeping to document the impact in a region that is a "literal hotspot" for heat wave activity.</p><p>The analysis concludes that this failure is "putting the population at further risk," since "action plans and early warning systems are invaluable in mitigating the impacts of extreme temperatures."</p><p>While the United States has an elaborate system of warnings, from the National Weather Service to national and local media, including TV meteorologists, much of the developing world does not have that luxury. Research suggests that naming may help.</p><p>"The naming and ranking heat waves all over the world by the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance will, for the first time, convey the true nature of the threat heat poses, essential to protecting vulnerable people who are increasingly more susceptible to its harmful effects," said Rockefeller Foundation president Dr. Rajiv Shah in a <a href="https://www.onebillionresilient.org/post/extreme-heat-resilience-alliance-reducing-extreme-heat-risk-for-vulnerable-people" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p><p>The practice of naming major storms began years ago in order to help with quick identification, because names are presumed to be far easier to remember than numbers or technical terms. The World Meteorological Organization <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/our-mandate/focus-areas/natural-hazards-and-disaster-risk-reduction/tropical-cyclones/Naming" target="_blank">explains</a>, "Appending names to storms makes it easier for the media to report on tropical cyclones, heightens interest in warnings and increases community preparedness."<br> <br>One memorable recent heat wave — with an extremely memorable nickname — <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lucifer-heat-wave-forest-fires-wine-harvest-europe/" target="_blank">roasted Europe in 2017</a>. That heat wave became widely known as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lucifer-heat-wave-europe-regular-summer-occurrence-climate-change-study/" target="_blank">Lucifer</a>, and scientists say such extreme events have been made 10 times more likely due to climate change. </p>
<p>Dr. Ed Maibach, director of the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University, agrees that naming heat waves would help with preparedness.</p><p>"A heat wave is an abstraction. Abstract ideas are hard to understand and remember, while concrete ideas are easier to understand and remember. Naming something is a good way to make it more concrete," he said.</p><p>"Concrete ideas are also more actionable in that people can more easily figure what to do, or what not to do. Concrete ideas are also more likely to be shared from person to person, which is helpful from a communication and public safety perspective," adds Maibach.</p><p>This push to name and rank heat waves comes at a time when climate change is dramatically increasing the chances for extreme heat. A <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16970-7" target="_blank">study</a> published in July in Nature Communications shows that since 1950, heat waves globally are getting significantly more frequent, lasting longer and producing more cumulative heat — making populations more vulnerable to heat stress. </p>
<p>In 2016, famed climate scientist James Hansen from Columbia University <a href="https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2020/05/08/fatal-heat-humidity-emerging/" target="_blank">published research</a> showing that hotter summers could make parts of the Middle East and tropics "practically uninhabitable" by the end of the century. This May, a <a href="https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2020/05/08/fatal-heat-humidity-emerging/" target="_blank">follow up study</a> from Columbia concluded that potentially fatal combinations of humidity and heat are already beginning to emerge across the globe.</p><p>As the intensity of extreme heat accelerates, the number of deaths will rise dramatically. That's the conclusion of a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-climate-heat-inequality/?sref=wINQCNXe" target="_blank">major report</a> just released by Climate Impact Lab on Monday. Their research shows that by the year 2100, the global annual mortality rate due to excess heat is expected to climb to 73 per 100,000 people — a mortality rate similar to what New York state suffered from <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/coronavirus" target="_blank">COVID-19</a>. With an expected global population of around <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projections_of_population_growth#:~:text=UN%20projections%20published%20in%202019,2100%20to%20be%2010.9%20billion." target="_blank">11 billion</a>, that translates into 8 million heat-related deaths per year. </p><p>The report also concludes the poor will be disproportionately impacted by extreme heat and die at much higher rates, bolstering the argument for naming heat waves especially in developing nations.</p><p>But here in the U.S., many meteorologists are skeptical about naming heat waves. That's because defining heat waves is not easy — it entails factoring in many variables like intensity, longevity and the size of the area covered. Therefore, people may interpret the meaning differently. And as importantly, "heat wave" means different things to different people, depending on where they live. </p><p>In many parts of the U.S. the definition of a heat wave is three days or more in a row of 90+-degree heat. However, 100 degrees in Phoenix — which is an everyday summer occurrence — does not have nearly as big a physical impact as 100 degrees in Chicago, where people are not used to extreme heat. In addition, humidity, wind and sun exposure all play a big role in the impact, but those are not factored into the current definition of a heat wave. </p><p>The Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance plans to tackle this issue of differing definitions by ranking the severity of heat waves. But the concern among some meteorologists is that naming may lead to broad-brush assumptions when in reality there is so much local nuance. They feel there needs an updated, agreed-upon definition of what constitutes a heat wave.</p>
<div id="ecf36" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c2dcc9d48a6cd61f247df1544539a783"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1290959314132361216" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Naming heatwaves is a good idea—making the abstract concrete, the invisible visible. Why should hurricanes and wild… https://t.co/hDWgYb79Ob</div> — Ed Maibach (@Ed Maibach)<a href="https://twitter.com/MaibachEd/statuses/1290959314132361216">1596623660.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>In its <a href="https://www.onebillionresilient.org/post/extreme-heat-resilience-alliance-reducing-extreme-heat-risk-for-vulnerable-people" target="_blank">press release</a>, the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance said it is in active conversations with NOAA, the World Meteorological Organization and other institutions to build "the international cooperation needed to make naming and ranking of heat waves standard practice."</p><p>Though the debate continues, not all weather professionals are skeptical about the initiative. Lonnie Quinn, the chief weathercaster at WCBS-TV in New York City, thinks it's a good idea. "I 100% believe that naming heat waves will give them more credibility. The public will jump on board and it will result in them being taken more seriously," he said.</p><p>One thing virtually everyone in the climate and weather community agrees on: <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/climate-change" target="_blank">climate change</a> is <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dust-bowl-heat-wave-climate-change-twice-as-likely-study-says/" target="_blank">making extreme heat a more serious threat</a> to human health. Therefore, anything that can raise awareness is much needed. <br> <br>"Heat waves are dangerous," said Maibach. "Making them more concrete is a useful way to help people understand the dangers, act on the dangers, and share information with other people about the dangers."</p>
<p><em>This story originally appeared in</em> <em><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/" target="_blank">CBS News </a></em><em>and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A film by Felix Nuhr.
Thailand has a total population of 5,000 elephants. But of that number, 3,000 live in captivity, carrying tourists on their backs and offering photo opportunities made for social media.
<p>With the corona crisis, tourism revenues have plummeted, and those who make a living from elephants' tourism appeal are struggling even to cover their costs. A single elephant needs up to 250 kilograms (551 pounds) of food a day, costing around €25 ($29.50).</p><p>That's where Lek Chailert steps in. She's buying up elephants and rehousing them at the <a href="https://www.elephantnaturepark.org/" target="_blank">Elephant Nature Park</a> reserve in Chiang Mai. To provide and care for them properly, she founded the <a href="https://www.saveelephant.org/" target="_blank">Save Elephant</a> Foundation.</p>
<p>An elephant usually sells for around 2 million baht — about €54,000, or $64,000 — with young animals fetching the highest prices. But since their income from tourism has dried up, plenty of owners are ready to sell their animals for less. Chailert paid just 7 million baht for seven elephants from a riding center in Chang Puak.</p><p>The Elephant Nature Park now has 91 elephants, which live alongside horses, buffalo, dogs and cats, and are cared for by a human staff of 200. Sadly, it isn't possible to simply release these magnificent beasts into the wild because their natural habitat has long since been destroyed.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/elephants-biodiversity-coronavirus-tourism/a-54541254?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Scientists have found a way to use bricks as batteries, meaning that buildings may one day be used to store and generate power. Public Domain Pictures
One of the challenges of renewable power is how to store clean energy from the sun, wind and geothermal sources. Now, a new study and advances in nanotechnology have found a method that may relieve the burden on supercapacitor storage. This method turns bricks into batteries, meaning that buildings themselves may one day be used to store and generate power, Science Times reported.
Bricks are a preferred building tool for their durability and resilience against heat and frost since they do not shrink, expand or warp in a way that compromises infrastructure. They are also reusable. What was unknown, until now, is that they can be altered to store electrical energy, according to a new study published in Nature Communications.
The scientists behind the study figured out a way to modify bricks in order to use their iconic red hue, which comes from hematite, an iron oxide, to store enough electricity to power devices, Gizmodo reported. To do that, the researchers filled bricks' pores with a nanofiber made from a conducting plastic that can store an electrical charge.
The first bricks they modified stored enough of a charge to power a small light. They can be charged in just 13 minutes and hold 10,000 charges, but the challenge is getting them to hold a much larger charge, making the technology a distant proposition.
If the capacity can be increased, researchers believe bricks can be used as a cheap alternative to lithium ion batteries — the same batteries used in laptops, phones and tablets.
The first power bricks are only one percent of a lithium-ion battery, but storage capacity can be increased tenfold by adding materials like metal oxides, Julio D'Arcy, a researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, who contributed to the paper and was part of the research team, told The Guardian. But only when the storage capacity is scaled up would bricks become commercially viable.
"A solar cell on the roof of your house has to store electricity somewhere and typically we use batteries," D'Arcy told The Guardian. "What we have done is provide a new 'food-for-thought' option, but we're not there yet.
"If [that can happen], this technology is way cheaper than lithium ion batteries," D'Arcy added. "It would be a different world and you would not hear the words 'lithium ion battery' again."
Aerial view of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Gamboa, Panama, where a new soil study was held, on Sept. 11, 2019. LUIS ACOSTA / AFP via Getty Images
One of the concerns about a warming planet is the feedback loop that will emerge. That is, as the planet warms, it will melt permafrost, which will release trapped carbon and lead to more warming and more melting. Now, a new study has shown that the feedback loop won't only happen in the nether regions of the north and south, but in the tropics as well, according to a new paper in Nature.
<p>Scientists warmed tropical <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/soil">soil</a> to a level that was consistent with projections for how much the planet will warm up by the end of the century. When they heated the soil 4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, they found that the soil released 55 percent more carbon dioxide than the control soil, according to the paper, as <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20200812-global-warming-makes-tropical-soils-leak-co2-study" target="_blank">Agence-France Presse</a> (AFP) reported.</p><p>The takeaway is that tropical soils are far more sensitive to global heating than researchers had previously thought. It turns out that experimental evidence to confirm that long-held belief was missing.</p>
<p>"Soils form a living skin around the Earth," said Andrew Nottingham, the paper's lead author and a researcher at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, as <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/climate/tropical-soils-linked-to-carbon-emissions/" target="_blank">Cosmos Magazine</a> reported. "They contain vast amounts of organic matter – more carbon is held in soils than is held in plants and the atmosphere put together."</p><p>The complex carbon cycle has traditionally been held in balance by the earth's soil, which contains a teeming ecosystem of microorganisms, bacteria, fungi and insects that counterbalance the carbon released by the dead leaves and decaying plants. However, at warmer temperatures, the microbes speed up their rate of digestion and respiration, which kicks more carbon into the atmosphere and away from the soil, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/climate/tropical-soils-climate-change.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p>
<p>"The inputs of carbon to soils from plant detritus (dead wood, leaves and roots) roughly balance the losses to the atmosphere produced by the respiration of soil microorganisms that feed on that material," wrote Eric Davidson, a researcher at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, in a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02266-9" target="_blank">comment in <em>Nature</em></a> accompanying the study. "However, just a 1 percent imbalance of global soil-carbon effluxes over influxes would equal about 10 percent of global anthropogenic carbon emissions."</p><p>The finding "is another example of why we need to worry more," said Davidson, as The New York Times reported.</p>
<p>To conduct the experiment, Nottingham created a series of circular plots with electrical wires that he buried four-feet deep on a small island in Panama that houses the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Over the course of two years, Nottingham used the wires to heat the soil by 6 degrees Fahrenheit, which is how much the tropics are projected to warm by 2100, according to current climate projections, as The New York Times reported.</p><p>That's when Nottingham found that over the course of two years, the warming soil emitted 55 percent more carbon dioxide than the control soil. From there, the extrapolations begin. The researchers calculated that if a similar rise in temperature happened in the tropics around the globe in a two-year period between now and 2100, it would release the equivalent of 240 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, according to <a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-08-global-tropical-soils-leak-carbon.html" target="_blank">Phys.org</a>.</p><p>"That is more than six times the current annual emissions from human-related sources," said Nottingham, as Phys.org reported. "This could be an underestimation, because we might see large continued loss beyond the two years in our experiment."</p><p>"This is a very large response," said Margaret Torn, an ecologist at Lawrence Berkeley Lab in California, who was not involved in the study and who runs a similar warming experiment in a California forest that reported a roughly 35 percent increase in carbon emissions after two years, to The New York Times. "It's one of the largest I've heard of."</p>
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Trending
Florida Sheriff Bans Deputies From Wearing Masks as County Sets Daily Record for COVID-19 Deaths
20h
Health + Wellness
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods speaks during a press conference after a shooting at Forest High School on April 20, 2018 in Ocala, Florida. Gerardo Mora / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
A sheriff in Florida is under fire for deciding Tuesday to ban his deputies from wearing face masks while on the job—ignoring the advice of public health experts about the safety measures that everyone should take during the coronavirus pandemic as well as the rising Covid-19 death toll in his county and state.
<p>Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods' email to his deputies announcing the mask ban was first <a href="https://www.ocala.com/news/20200811/marion-county-deputies-ordered-not-to-wear-masks" target="_blank">reported</a> by the local <em>Ocala Star-Banner</em>, which noted that the county "<a href="https://www.ocala.com/news/20200811/13-new-covid-19-deaths-one-day-record-tuesday-in-marion-county" target="_blank">set a single-day record on Tuesday</a> for the most deaths related to Covid-19, with 13 more deaths reported," bringing the total to 102.</p><p>Various outlets across the nation then picked up the story on Wednesday—including the <em>Washington Post</em>, which obtained a copy of Woods' email and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/12/masks-florida-ban-billy-woods/" target="_blank">pointed out</a> that Florida also set a record in deaths related to Covid-19 on Tuesday. At least 277 deaths were recorded statewide, according to the<em> Post</em>.</p>
<div id="7a571" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="aad9dcf60e7385e6553ff23ffc1ae75d"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1293527664389693447" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Deaths hit a record in Florida yesterday. This guy's jail system is rife with COVID. And he's banned masks in his s… https://t.co/Cbp2wR32o1</div> — Michael McAuliff (@Michael McAuliff)<a href="https://twitter.com/mmcauliff/statuses/1293527664389693447">1597236002.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The <em>Post</em> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/coronavirus-us-cases-deaths/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_gfx-virus-tracker%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans&itid=hp_rhp__hp-top-table-main_gfx-virus-tracker%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans&itid=lk_inline_manual_8" target="_blank">reported</a> that Florida has seen over 542,000 cases and 8,600 deaths out of the nation's total 5.15 million cases and 162,000 deaths. As infections in Florida have soared in recent weeks, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has been<a href="https://www.kltv.com/2020/07/28/amid-soaring-florida-coronavirus-cases-governor-criticized/" target="_blank"> widely condemned</a> for rushing to lift restrictions.</p><p>Although some local and state leaders in other parts of the country <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/mask-wearing-sporadically-enforced-nations-major-police-departments/story?id=71341845" target="_blank">have implored</a> police officers to cover their faces while on duty during the crisis or even <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/02/oregon-police-trooper-leave-mask-mandate/5370034002/" target="_blank">issued</a> face mask requirements and punished law enforcement officials for refusing to comply, DeSantis has not mandated masks for anyone.</p><p>But Woods, in his email, prohibited his officers from wearing masks, with limited exceptions for those who are in a local courthouse, hospital, jail, or public school, or otherwise directly interacting with people suspected of being infected with the virus. As the <em>Star-Banner</em> reported:</p>
<blockquote>"For all of these exceptions, the moment that enforcement action is to be taken and it requires you to give an individual orders/commands to comply, the mask will be immediately removed," Woods said.<br><br>Woods said deputies who work special details or special events won't be allowed to wear masks unless it falls under the exceptions he provided.<br><br>"As for special details and/or any special events (paid or not), masks will not be worn. Effective immediately the entity that has requested and has hired a deputy for a special detail will be given clear instruction by Darian Tucker at the time of their written request that masks will not be worn (unless one of the exceptions above applies). In addition, if you are the special detail deputy you will again advise the contact person that a mask will not be worn by you," according to the email.<br></blockquote><p>"Any deputies confronted by community members about not covering their faces should "politely and professionally tell them I am not required to wear a mask nor will I, per the Order of the Sheriff," and walk away, Woods wrote. Regarding the Marion County Sheriff's Office, "effective immediately, any individual walking in to any one of our lobbies (which includes the main office and all district offices) that is wearing a mask will be asked to remove it."</p>
<div id="79024" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4ac086eab58b9713f2ad777c40938252"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1293578984148606977" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">This actively puts peoples' lives at risk. https://t.co/GKF0Xgjyex</div> — CAP Action (@CAP Action)<a href="https://twitter.com/CAPAction/statuses/1293578984148606977">1597248238.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Woods tied his mask ban to a wave of national protests against police brutality toward Black Americans and calls for reform that were sparked by Minnesota police killing George Floyd in May, writing that "in light of the current events when it comes to the sentiment and/or hatred toward law enforcement in our country today, this is being done to ensure there is clear communication and for identification purposes of any individual walking into a lobby."</p><p>The sheriff also claimed—without any supporting evidence and in contrast with the vast majority of messages from public health experts about the importance of<a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/07/418181/one-more-reason-wear-mask-youll-get-less-sick-covid-19" target="_blank"> everyone wearing a mask </a>throughout the pandemic to protect themselves and others—that "the amount of professionals that give the reason why we should, I can find the exact same amount of professionals that say why we shouldn't."</p><p>"Now, I can already hear the whining and just so you know I did not make this decision easily and I have weighed it out for the past two weeks," <a href="https://www.kold.com/2020/08/12/florida-sheriff-forbids-deputies-visitors-wearing-face-masks/" target="_blank">wrote</a> Woods, who oversees about 900 employees, according to the local newspaper. "This is no longer a debate nor is it up for discussion. Please keep in mind this entire pandemic is fluid and constantly changing the way things are done. However, my orders will be followed or my actions will be swift to address."</p><p>In addition to denouncing Woods' decision as dangerous and out-of-line with medical consensus on masks and the CDC's official<a href="https://abc7chicago.com/6367385/?ex_cid=TA_WLS_TW&taid=5f34411ed7d51b0001635d5b&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter" target="_blank"> recommendation</a>, some critics suggested the policy could encounter legal trouble.</p><p>As <em>MSNBC</em> political analyst Richard Stengel <a href="https://twitter.com/stengel/status/1293617005384302593" target="_blank">put it</a> in a tweet Wednesday: "Apart from being monstrous and ignorant and irresponsible, isn't this a violation of the civil rights of officers who want to wear masks?"</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/12/florida-sets-daily-record-covid-19-deaths-sheriff-bans-deputies-wearing-masks?cd-origin=rss" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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