Climate Letter #1233

Jeff Goodell is not a climate scientist, but he reads the science, talks to the scientists, just knows a lot about it, and is a topnotch writer.  Put that all together with an explosive new scientific report and you get as very strong story, just published by Rolling Stone.  It pulls no punches, with a big assist in that respect from James Lovelock.

This miracle blue pill of viagra effects (Sildenafil Citrate) has helped in save a lot of relationships all around the world by adding an all together new spark in them. Read all the directions before buying buy cialis the medicines. Before you look for online pharmacies that sell buy cialis where and other generic drugs. This tablet falls into the category of the endocrine system, and the severe mood swing or some other emotional fluctuation can lead to a degraded function of the oil glands and may be a reason for concern. reference levitra professional samples

—–
Joe Romm is an active scientist, also a good writer and diligent public communicator.  Here is the way he describes the new study, including an effect diagram showing the possible escape route from a ‘hothouse’ Earth if proper emergency measures are taken.  His report also includes references to some earlier studies that drew the same kind of conclusions about climate change:  “In a 2012 National Science Foundation news release on paleoclimate research, the lead author pointed out, “The natural state of the Earth with present carbon dioxide levels is one with sea levels about 70 feet higher than now.” A 2009 paper in Science concluded that when CO2 levels were sustained at this high a level 15 million years ago, it was 5° to 10°F warmer and seas were 75 to 120 feet higher.”
—–
Will Steffen, the lead author of the new study, gave a lecture in New Zealand one year ago which explained many things about how the Earth System works and how its various components are likely to unfold over time, with vast modulations for the climate .
—–
How does a hothouse Earth differ from the greenhouse state that exists today?  Here is one description:  Back in the 16th century, “a hothouse was a bathhouse or a brothel, or a heated room for drying linen, and then a heated greenhouse for cultivating exotic species.”  James Lovelock (see top story) should concur.
—–
New research has found intriguing evidence of yet another pathway to the highest temperatures experienced in Earth’s past.  It involves progressive changes in the nitrogen cycle which could have resulted in the production of large amounts of nitrous oxide, a potent form of greenhouse gas, significantly supplementing the action of known increases in CO2 and methane.  The researchers believe that many of the processes that led to such an outcome are at work today.  As the lead author put it, “Studying conditions that fostered nitrous oxide production [during the PETM] enables us to calibrate current and future Earth system models. There is more to warming than just increased concentrations of carbon dioxide.”  This important work has the potential to fill in gaps in our understanding of the past that scientists have so far found hard to explain by any other means.
https://phys.org/news/2018-08-team-ancient-marine-sediment-benchmark.html
–Link to the full study, with open access:  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-05486-w
—–
From China, a new generation of organic solar cells is setting efficiency records and may soon be ready for commercial applications.  BBC News has the full story.
Carl

This entry was posted in Daily Climate Letters. Bookmark the permalink.