COTW: Global Warming Gets Worse

 The chart from NOAA says it all:

The Earth's temperature has risen by .32F per decade in the last forty years.  2020 was the second warmest on record as you cans see on the right side of the chart.  The ten warmest years on record have occurred since 2005. 2020 was hot despite a La Nina that cooled vast areas of the Pacific Ocean.The heat reached all the way to the Antarctic, where the station at Esperanza Base, at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, appeared to set a new all-time record high temperature of 65.1 degrees F on Februay 6, 2020 If the yearly emissions continue to climb as they have done, climate models predict that global average temperature will be 5-10 degrees hotter than the 1901-60 average. Our climate destroying activities dump 11 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year. If we are to survive as a species, we have change the way we live our lives.

A mew study, one of the most extensive of its kind, was conducted by CSIRO the Australian government's scientific research body that found the fire season is lengthening into autumn and winter with increased activity over the last thirty years. These effects are driven by climate change according to CSIRO researchers. The study considered eight drivers of wildfires. Climate was found to be the overwhelming driver of fire activity. The frequency of mega fires--over a million hectares burned--has jumped since the year 2000, a trend that is likely to continue in an era of global warming. Although globally wildfires have decreased, Australia has experienced an increase in the extent of wildfires. In some areas of the southeast and south with fire intervels less than twenty years, which is significant since some ecosystems cannot fully recover in such a short time frame.

Australia has faced international criticism for its government's refusal to advance emission targets it set or 2030. The country's rank has dropped to 58 out of 64 places in the Climate Performance Index ahead of Saudi Arabia and Iran. Althoug the nation's alternative energy sector is robust, most of the work is being done by individual states, not the national government. The Morrison government has refused to make plans for phasing out gas and coal, a major export

20 Yellowstone Wolves Killed

Hunters took twenty of Yellowstone's iconic wolves in newly returned hunting seasons.  That number is the  most killed in one season since the species was reintroduced to the national park. Fifteen were killed in Montana after crossing the park boundaries, five more met their deaths in Wyoming and Idaho according to the AP.  The Phantom Lake pack as been eliminated according to park officials after its members were killed in a two month span beginning in October. An estimated 123 wolves remain in the park were hunting is prohibited.  More will die as the hunting season progresses in surrounding states.

The park superintendent has asked Montana Governor, Greg Gianforte to close down the season and re-establish lower quotas.  Gianforte is an avid hunter and trapper.  Gianforte, obviously a wolf hater, received a warning from a state game official last year after trapping and shooting a radio-collardwolf about 10 miles from the park boarder. Montana has set a limit of 82 wolves in the area boarding to the north of the park.  So far 64 have been killed this season. Trappers are allowed to lure wolves outside the protected zone with bait.  Yellowstone's wolves draw visitors to the park from around the world, providing millions in revenue for the tourist industry,   Federal protection for the wolves were lifted based in part on assurances that states would manage their populations sustainably.

The resumption of wolf persecution in red states should alarm the current administration.  It is primarily motivated by a twisted concept of "states rights" and reactionary partisanship.  President Biden should direct the US Fish and Wildlife Service to return the gray wolf to the Endangered Species list immediately, before the progress achieved in reestablishing the wolf since the 1990's is lost.

Pantanal Wildfires Kill Estimated 17 million Animals

Last year the extensive wildfires in the Pantanal, the world's largest wetland in South America, made the news. A new study in Scientific Reports estiamtes that a shocking 17 million veterbrates were killed by the fires, which burned around 30% of the biome or about 4.5 million hectares. The estimate is likely an undercount since many animals died underground or may have died later to due to their injuries. Scientists examining the damage, found jaguars that could not walk on their burnt paws, and tapirs with red patches of scorched skin. Dead crocodiles littered the ground, unable to run away fast enough to escape the flames.  The results were not unexpected by experts who said the large number testifies to the rich biodiversity of the region.  Survey teams walked transacts close to the fires, enduring heat, smoke, and flames to identify 300 different specie or genus.  Scientists are not sure how the fires will affect the Pantanal in the long run.

Fires again hit the Pantanal this year during only about 10% of the area, but some of that coincides with areas burned in 2020,  Cumulative impacts will be severe.  Once again, climate change shows it's devastating effects on Earth's creatures.

Panthera onca

Freakish Colorado Wildfire Does $513 million in Damage

The wildfire that erupted in the suburbs of Boulder, CO last week was driven by freakish high winds coming down the mountains.  These strong, warm chinook winds, also called Föhn winds, are a regular feature of life close to the mountain ramparts. About thousand homes and building were burnt to ashes.  Boulder has been in a severe drought for months.  Experts warn of more intense weather related episodes as global warming changes weather patterns for the worse. The problem is compounded by developments expanding into the Rocky Mountain foothills.

The fire covered 9.4 square miles and is the most destructive in the history of the state. In 2020 the state suffered three of the largest fires in its history, consuming acres of tinder dry forests and grasslands.The worst damage occurred in the towns of Louisville and Superior. Considering how fast the fire moved, driven by winds in excess of 100mph, there fortunately few casualties. The next day temperatures dropped below freezing and it snowed. Definitely a bad day in Boulder. [Superior, CO credit: AP]

'Toontime: This Week in Trump

Rosemary Woods demonstrates the deletion of the White House tapes--AP

Update: On the first anaversary of the day that 'Merica came very close to loosing democratically elected government, we learn that the right-wing media was also aware of the coup plotting in the White House. Text messages from Sean Hannity, a well-known TV personality at Fox and a Trump apologist, show he had advance knowledge of the "Green Bay Sweep" and shared his concerns with Der Leader about the consequence of the unprecedented effort to prevent the peaceful transfer of power that has occurred in this country for over 200 years. The J6 Committee asked the broadcaster to voluntarily appear before it for testimony. In their letter to him, the Committee noted it had dozens of his text messages sent to former chief of staff Mark Meadows that indicated he had "advance knowledge regarding President Trump's and his legal team's planning for January 6th." 

It also appeared to the Committee that Hannity has detailed knowledge of the former guy's state of mind having engaged with him directly before January 6th. The coup leader ignored contemporaneous pleas from his staff and prominent supporters to do something to quell the violence taking place on Capitol Hill According to first hand witnesses, Trump sat in the dinning room off the Oval Office and "gleefully" watched the event unfold on television. Perhaps dear reader you are old enough to remember the infamous 181/2 minute gap in the White House tapes during Watergate. This time, we have 187 minutes of presidential inaction while outnumbered Capitol police fought to hold off Trump's mob.

Attorney General Garland vowed justice will be done to perpetrators of the insurrection regardless of who they are.  The truth is that he used the prestige and influence of his office to manipulate gullible supporters, some of whom may border on mental illness, in an effort to undermine what remains of our democracy. Free speech does not include inciting violence, just as it does not include shouting fire in crowded theater.  For his criminal conduct in office he bears the greater accountability. 

There is no justice until the chief plotter is brought to account before the bar.

credit: KAL
Wackydoodle sez: He's loving it!

{31.12.21} Now we know that the attempted coup to overthrow the duly elected government of the United States on January 6th had a codename. Peter Navarro, former senior aide to Herr Trumpillini told Daily Beast  that the coordinated effort to install their leader was unimaginatively called, "the Green Bay Sweep"  Clearly, the plotters are football fans, if not democrats. Navarro told reporters he spent time persuading 100 congress members to support the effort to delay counting of the Electoral College ballots so that a constitutional crisis would develop throwing the election into the House of Representatives where cult supporters have a numerical advantage. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) officially signed off on a protest against counting Biden electors, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) provided the required second. Although Navarro admitted the objection had little chance of succeeding, it was intended to delay the proceeding long enough so additional doubt about the election's validity could be raised from swing state governments.  It was also intended to achieve 24 hour television coverage of the concocted dispute.  Navarro's role was to provide grist for the propaganda mill in the form of a three part White House report detailing the alleged election fraud that never existed in reality.

Steve Bannon was to devise a way to utilize the so-called "receipts" from Navarro to delay and subvert the Electoral College count.  It was up to Vice President Pence to run with the ball, to continue their pathetic football analogy.  The only real mystery in all of this is why no one has been indicted for seditious conspiracy or illegally interfering in a federal election.  Navarro also said that Trumpillini was certainly "on board" with the Sweep, as evidenced by his remarks to the mob on the Ellipse.  Navarro insists that no violence was intended, but it did occur thanks to incitement by their putsch leader. Perhaps the fact that one hundred congress members were willing to support Trump's insanity has scared the Department of Justice into complete submission.  The degree of impunity displayed by plotters is obvious.  Meanwhile, Bannon is turning his criminal prosecution for contempt of Congress into a one-man discovery expedition bent on smearing Democrats with charges of politically motivated prosecution.  Who said the best defense is always an offense?

The J6 Committee has requested testimony from two Repugnant representatives, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.  Navarro has yet to be called to a hearing.  James Waldron was subpoenaed by the Committee to appear and provide documents.  Waldron was involved in the efforts to delay the counting of votes by briefing Congress members on election fraud theories, contributing to a power point presentation, and visiting the White House to discuss plot details with chief of staff Mark Meadows, "eight to ten times" according to press reports.

credit: A. Zygus
BC Idonwanna sez: Careful, he's fragile, and may have COVID!

COTW: The Omicron Surge

The Omicron varient of SARS-CoV-2 virus is now the dominant strain in the US. Althought less virulent than Delta, it is more contagious and new cases of infections are rising throughout the US. The death toll is also rising andCOVID-19 is now considered to be the third leading cause of death in the US. This chart shows the trend in infections.  Scientist expect that COVID-19 will become endemic eventually, akin to the flu or common cold but only after the organism has adapted to its host immune system for several years.

Is a virus alive? Not according to NASA's definition of life. Viruses reproduce, a key function of life, but only by hijacking the systems of a eukaryrote. It has neither nucleus or organelles to perform internal metabolism. It does adapt to its environment as we have unfortunately seen happen during the pandemic.The truth is that viruses lie in a gray zone of the tree of life, and may be the first extraterrestrial organisms discovered by man. Cuidado!

Creature Feature: Whose been Sleeping in My Tree?

Residents of Bruin Drive in  Chesapeake, VA were asking that question when a mother black bear and her three cubs settled down to a winter's nap in a neighborhood tree.  This Virginia Pilot/AP photo is very cute so US Person could not resist posting it here:

Fortunately for the bear family, police and wildlife officers summoned to the scene reacted in a controlled manner to their presence in the Silverwood neighborhood, an upscale area of large homes and spacious lawns with many large trees. They blocked off streets and asked nearby neighbors to stay indoors until the bears left the scene on their own. First reports of bears on the block came in at 2am.  Police stayed busy throughout the day keeping peepers away. Cameras with long lenses proliferated, and TV crews arrive to record the event. By 7pm the bears were still there, but only one wildlife official remained on the scene. The plan was to give the bears quiet time to wake up and move on, and it worked. The visit by the four bears will be remembered for a long time by people living on Bruin Drive.