Expect Future Storms to Intensify
By Keith Antonysen
Malcolm Turnbull says that the LNP is doing everything possible to keep Australians safe in relation to terrorism (ABC, A.M. 4/10/2017). There are risks, but for an individual reasonably remote.
Yet, in relation to anthropogenic climate change the LNP and Queensland Labor government are seeking to increase existential risks through promoting the huge Adani mine and suggesting the need for new coal powered energy plants. The new coal plants are provided with all sorts of exotic names (e.g. HELE, carbon capture and storage); but, they still void significant amounts of greenhouse gases. Oceans are often not widely discussed in relation to anthropogenic climate change, though they have a significant role in the creation of extreme weather.
There has been much discussion about the hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in relation to what influence climate change has had in relation to their ferocity; scientists state that warm oceans have a great deal of influence on the creation and strength of tropical storms.
Kevin Trenberth, one of authors of a new study on Oceans, has stated: “The higher temperatures are driving marine life toward the poles in search of livable habitats, bleaching coral reefs, and causing severe impacts on fisheries and aquacultures. They also contribute to more frequent and intense extreme weather events.”
Several scientists have stated that a warm Ocean leads to the creation of higher levels of water vapour in the atmosphere.
It is commonly understood that oceans only gradually build up warmth, or shed warmth slowly in comparison to the atmosphere.
Quote: “Earth’s temperature is rising, and it isn’t just in the air around us. More than 90 percent of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gas emissions has been absorbed into the oceans that cover two-thirds of the planet’s surface. Their temperature is rising, too, and it tells a story of how humans are changing the planet.”
Satellite altimentary displays how sea level is rising; commonsense informs us that water when warmed expands its volume. The point being that a rising sea level is an important factor in leading to worse impacts from storm surges.
Through warming oceans, the strength of storms will become stronger.
Creating new coal mines and coal fired power plants is a completely reckless pursuit; Turnbull definitely has not had safety in mind when spruiking these new potential developments.
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Johno
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Keith
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John Boyd
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nurses1968
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Keith
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townsvilleblog
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townsvilleblog
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guest
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Johno
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Harquebus
Return to home pageWell said Keith, and this from the abc today..
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-04/sydney-melbourne-urged-to-prepare-for-50c-days-by-end-of-century/90126
Hello LNP, wakey wakey.
Some interesting statistics of Atlantic Category 5 Hurricanes:
1851 – 1900 = 0
1901 – 1930 = 2
1931 – 1960 = 8
1961 – 1990 = 10
1991 – 2017 = 13
Eric Holthaus, Meteorologist:
The 2017 hurricane season has not yet finished; though, a Category 5 Atlantic storm is unlikely. Also, there are still three hurricane seasons to go to reach the three decade break up of data Eric Holthaus has used.
‘Several scientists have stated that a warm Ocean leads to the creation of higher levels of water vapour in the atmosphere.’ I think it is basic physics, and a fundamental parameter in climate modelling. The reason the oceans are slow to heat up is because there is so much water. That is also the reason it will take a long time to cool down if we ever achieve a reduction in CO2 sufficient to reverse the current imbalance between the power received from the sun,and the power re-radiated in to space; currently about 0.8 watts per square meter in the sun’s favour. These are hard physical measurements, and the resultant warming is also a hard physical requirement as the earth tries to restore equilibrium.
Trump Takes a First Step Toward Scrapping Obama’s Global Warming Policy
An EPA reference in relation to radiative forcing up to 2015:
https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-climate-forcing
Quote:
“In 2015, the Annual Greenhouse Gas Index was 1.37, which represents a 37 percent increase in radiative forcing (a net warming influence) since 1990 (see Figure 1).”
Also:
https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/aggi/aggi.html
There is 490e ppm of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, CO2 is now over 400 ppm. The radiative forcing for all greenhouse gases in 2016 was 3.027 watts per square metre. The radiative forcing for CO2 was 1.985 watts per square metre.
Please view the second reference particularly, it provideds the table at the bottom of the article where the radiative forcings were obtained.
We have recently seen multiple Hurricanes hit the United States of America, these storms are growing in intensity and frequency.
I live in Townsville a small tropical city of 200,000 people. We cope with cyclones the last one to hit Townsville, cyclone Yasi did a lot of damage, however the climate change deniers seem impervious to our plight, the LNP receive donations from the coal lobby which seems to dictate their energy policy, which is bad news for North Queensland (Sarina to Torres Straight) the Northern Territory and North West Australia. The Hawke government built a huge dam in N.Q. at the Burdekin Falls with a view to building a hydro electricity power station, this dam was completed in 1987 but the Qld govt did not build the hydro. So we have this massive dam providing water to farmers that could in fact produce electricity if either the federal or State govts or both decided to go ahead with it. The technology has moved ahead since 1987 and it is now possible to install pumped hydro which should be done as a matter of urgency. Townsville’s Ross River Dam has less than 18% in it and also needs a gravity fed pipeline from the Burdekin Falls Dam which could kill two birds with one stone if the political will was there.
We need to oust this extremist right wing govt in Canberra and elect a progressive govt to take its place, and that can’t be done quickly enough for my liking.
The horrible situation in Queensland politics is such that the population believes that Adani will provide 10 000 jobs and the Labor Premier finds it necessary to make the same claim to avoid being wedged. If Labor does not take up the Adani propaganda, the L-NP will.
The worst part about it is that if the truth were only known and accepted, Adani would have no hope of exploiting Oz ignorance in order to avoid massive debt in its business model. Even the Federal Government under Turnbull seems to be complicit in this scheme. But then Turnbull is hog-tied to the far Right who are in thrall to the IPA. No hope there.
Either way, Adani is a train-wreck loomiing at taxpayers’ expense. We need a court challenge.
On the subject of all things coalish, there is a national day of protesting re Adani coal mine. A chance to whip up some placard and hit the street. Whooohah. Saturday 7th.
Keith
Thank you for your consistent efforts of highlighting this issue. Too often the public is distracted by the unimportant and inconsequential and as is the case below, blatant lies.
“Vladimir Putin has defended climate change deniers and hailed the economic potential of the melting Arctic.”
“Mr Putin also defended the appointment of a global warming sceptic to the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States.”
https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/world/vladimir-putin-climate-change-real-good/