It has been a while since one of these “What’s Hot” posts went out, so it was high time to bring it back!
Welcome to a review of some of the most important climate change related stories from the past few months. Included are some important info about Greenland ice loss, record ocean temps, record breaking summer heat, a couple of great podcasts to listen to, and some ideas about what you can do to save money and reduce your climate impact. Here we go…
Greenland Ice Loss
Climate scientists have underestimated how much ice Greenland is losing. They found that previous methods missed ice loss in hard-to-reach areas, like fjords. To address this, they used machine learning to analyze satellite images of glaciers over nearly four decades. This new data revealed that Greenland lost 20% more ice than previously thought.
The findings also suggest that glaciers that are more sensitive to seasonal temperature changes are more likely to retreat in the long term. But beyond that, this ice meltwater is basically a large river of cold, fresh water flowing into the North Atlantic.
This river of meltwater may be a reason that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is slowing down. The AMOC brings warm Gulf Stream water to the coast of Northern Europe. A slowing or loss of the AMOC may radically destabilize the climate of Northern Europe.
Record Ocean Temps and the 2024 Hurricane Season
The Atlantic Ocean is heating up, with record-breaking warm sea surface temperatures recently. Over 90% of the tropical Atlantic is experiencing extreme warmth.
This belt of warn equatorial water bodes poorly for the 2024 hurricane season that just began, with forecasts predicting an above-average number of storms (see the next topic). The Caribbean is expected to be especially hard-hit, with some areas already experiencing water temperatures that wouldn’t normally be seen until much later in the year.
Warmer water can also cause storms to intensify more quickly as they approach land, a relatively recent phenomenon known as rapid intensification.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts an above-normal 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. The season runs from June 1 to November 30. NOAA predicts 17 to 25 named storms, with 8 to 13 becoming hurricanes, including 3 to 6 major hurricanes (Category 3, 4, or 5).
From the NOAA briefing… “The upcoming Atlantic hurricane season is expected to have above-normal activity due to a confluence of factors, including near-record warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, development of La Nina conditions in the Pacific, reduced Atlantic trade winds and less wind shear, all of which tend to favor tropical storm formation.”
https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-predicts-above-normal-2024-atlantic-hurricane-season
Every summer will be the coolest summer of the rest of your life
The first quarter of 2024 broke worldwide temperature records, making it the hottest ever recorded. This alarming warmth is likely due to a strong El Niño event, a cyclical climate pattern that is expected to weaken by the end of the year, as the Pacific transitions to the cooling La Nina.
However, some scientists are concerned that the unusual warmth in 2023 may signal a new, unpredictable climate state. Despite the El Niño’s retreat, 2024 is still likely to be the hottest or second hottest year on record.
Great podcasts
Here’s a couple of great listens to get a new perspective on… climate change forced migration; and some new takes on tackling climate adaptation.
People moving away from places affected by extreme heat, wildfires, and sea level rise… Abrahm Lustgarten, interviewed for the Climate Now podcast, says millions of people will be displaced by climate change in the next 30 years (hundreds of thousand have/are being displaced currently).
Rising insurance costs and the availability of water are major factors (as well as extreme heat and flooding). People are expected to move northward to escape the worst effects.
There’s a great book that was published a few years ago that presages this topic, The World in 2050: Our Northern Future. It was a great read then, and now I might go back and read it again after listening to this podcast.
This may also be the time to start thinking about moving North before the inevitable hordes of climate refuges. Which has probably already started and will accelerate, sooner than later, reversing the decades long trend of people moving south in the U.S.
There is a LOT that can be done to keep things from getting worse — and every tenth of a degree of warming prevented translates into economic loss prevented, reduced conflict, less pressure on global civilization, and fewer people displaced or killed.
Five Times Faster: Ways to Accelerate the Transition to Net-Zero — a new podcast episode from GARP (the Global Association of Risk Professionals), interviews Simon Sharpe, Director of Economics, UNFCCC Climate Champions.
They explore how climate science needs to be more actionable for policymakers, and economists need to consider a wider range of solutions than just carbon pricing. The episode also suggests that the current model of climate diplomacy is slowing down progress.
Some nice outside the box thinking.
From the podcast page… “Simon has published influential reports and created ground-breaking international projects in climate change risk assessment, economics, and diplomacy. His recent book, “Five Times Faster,” draws from Simon’s ten years’ experience at the forefront of climate change policy and diplomacy.”
https://www.garp.org/podcast/five-times-faster-cr-240321
If you like podcasts, check out our post on the best climate change podcasts and the best energy transition podcasts! :)
Adapting to Change and Reducing Your Impact
There’s a fantastic website that has aggregated all of the Inflation Reduction Act tax benefits into one place. It’s found at RewiringAmerica.org.
From their site… “Rewiring America is the leading electrification nonprofit, focused on electrifying our homes, businesses, and communities. We develop accessible, actionable data and tools, and build coalitions and partnerships to make going electric easier for households and communities…”
The site features electrification guides for homeowners, renters and business, and a lot more. Check it out and learn how you can save money going electric, while doing good for the planet (and help prevent that extra tenth of a degree of warming!).
There are so, so many topics to focus on and write about, sometimes it’s hard to even begin. It can also be depressing to think about, though there are many opportunities to remake the world and your own life for the better.
This blog will be publishing on a more regular schedule going forward, mostly on topics of what we at TCA like to call “personal adaptation”.
We are going solar and re-insulating, and hope to go all electric within a year or two. So be on the look out for articles on these topics, a crazy idea about how to defray the costs of a solar panel install, installing a heat pump water heater, IRA associated tax breaks, and other personal adaptation topics.
The TCA will be your personal climate change, crash test dummy! 😉
We’ll also update and revisit some of the classics on surviving extreme heat, recovering from flooding, and determining your own climate risks.
Please stay tuned for more, and if there’s a climate change topic that you’d like to see written about, please comment below or shoot an email to contact@theclimateadvisor.com or theclimateadvisor@gmail.com.
Thanks for sticking around. 🙂