2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #31
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week.
Editor's Pick
143-mph 'fire tornado' that cut a path of destruction is an ominous sign of the future
A high-tension power transmission line tipped over from a tornado-like vortex that reached speeds of possibly more than 143 mph. (Cal Fire / National Weather Service)/h5>
As authorities sifted the rubble from the fire that burned more than 1,000 residences in Shasta County, they were startled by what they encountered.
A soaring transmission tower was tipped over. Tiles were torn off the roofs of homes. Massive trees were uprooted. Vehicles were moved. In one spot, a fence post was bent around a tree, with the bark on one side sheared off.
This was not typical wildfire damage. Rather, it was strong evidence of a giant, powerful spinning vortex that accompanied the Carr fire on July 26. The tornado-like condition, lasting an hour and a half and fueled by extreme heat and intensely dry brush as California heats up to record levels, was captured in dramatic videos that have come to symbolize the destructive power of what is now California’s sixth-most destructive fire.
It may take years before scientists come to a consensus on what to exactly call this vortex — a fire whirl, as named by the National Weather Service, or a fire tornado. Whatever it’s called, it’s exceptionally rare to see a well-documented fire-fueled vortex leap out of a wildfire and enter a populated area with such size, power and duration.
143-mph 'fire tornado' that cut a path of destruction is an ominous sign of the future by Rong-Gong Lin Ii , Joseph Serna & Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times, Aug 3, 2018
Links posted on Facebook
Sun July 29, 2018
- Sydney air quality tipped to dip as crews backburn to contain fires by Peter Hannam, Environment, Sydney Morning Herald, July 29, 2018
- How Climate Change Will Alter Our Food by Renee Cho, State of the Planet, Earth Institute, Columbia University, July 25, 2018
- 2018 is on pace to be the 4th-hottest year on record by Eric Levenson & Brandon Miller, CNN, July 28, 2018
- Redding left devastated and searching for loved ones as fire kills 5, keeps growing by Ruben Vives & Harriet Ryan, Los Angeles Times, July 29, 2018
- This Summer’s Heat Waves Could Be the Strongest Climate Signal Yet by Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News, July 28, 2018
- How much longer will Southern Ocean slow climate change? by Jamie Morton, NZ Herald/NewstalkZB, July 29, 2018
- Climate change science comeback strategies by Karin Kirk, Yale Climate Connections, July 26, 2018
- Our scorched Earth needs voters to put more heat on their politicians, Opinion by Andrew Rawnsley, Comment is Free, Guardian, July 29, 2018
Mon July 30, 2018
- Spring Is Springing Sooner, Throwing Nature's Rhythms Out Of Whack by Nathan Rott, NPR Morning Edition, July 23, 2018
- Temer’s deforestation policies put Paris goals at risk, scientists warn by Sue Branford, Mongabay, July 24, 2018
- Greek fires offer glimpse of extreme weather events facing the world by Jennifer Duggan, Irish Times, July 28, 2018
- Myanmar floods force more than 100,000 to flee homes by Sam Aung Moon, Reuters, July 30, 2018
- Global carbon tax in isolation could ‘exacerbate food insecurity by 2050’ by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, July 30, 2018
- America spends over $20bn per year on fossil fuel subsidies. Abolish them by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Environment, Guardian, July 30, 2018
- Soaring temperatures force Japan to confront entrenched ideas on handling the heat by Patrick St. Michael, Japan Times, July 28, 2018
- Japan’s utilities crank up oil-fired power in face of heat wave, Reuters/Japan Times, July 30, 2018
Tue July 31, 2018
- Six charts show mixed progress for UK renewables by Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, July 30. 2018
- Britain, Can We — Really — Talk About This Weather We’re Having?, Opinion by Adam Corner, New York Times, July 27, 2018
- Droughts, Heat Waves and Floods: How to Tell When Climate Change Is to Blame by Quirin Schiermeier, Nature/Scientific American, July 30, 2018
- Supreme Court Refuses to Halt Kids Climate Case by Dana Drugmand, Climate Liability News, July 30, 2018
- Hot Weather Spells Trouble For Nuclear Power Plants by Rebecca Hersher, NPR News, July 27, 2018
- The common thread in California's wildfires: heat like the state has never seen by Rong-Gong Lin Ii & Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, July 31, 2018
- Climate Change: We're Not Literally Doomed, but... by Kate Marvel, Hot Planet, Scientific American, June 30, 2018
- As California burns, many fear the future of extreme fire has arrived by Alissa Greenberg & Jason Wilson, Environment, Guardian, July 31, 2018
Wed Aug 1, 2018
- Researchers warn NZ on track for tropical climate if CO2 emissions not reduced by Andrew Macfarlane, TVNZ, July 31, 2018
- ‘Peak coal’ is getting closer, latest figures show, Guest Post by Christine Shearer, Carbon Brief, July 31, 2018
- Climate change denial won’t even benefit oil companies soon, Opinion by Phil McDuff, Opinion is Free, Guardian, July 31, 2018
- Unsurvivable heatwaves could strike heart of China by end of century by Damian Carrington, Environment, Guardian, July 31, 2018
- Climate experts now cite global warming during extreme weather disasters by James Rainey, NBC News, July 31, 2018
- Was this the heatwave that finally ended climate denial?, Opinion by Michael McCarthy, Comment is Free, Guardian, Aug 1, 2018
- Global warming: Scientists warn about emerging heat-waves that would surpass highest global mortality rate by Bhaswati Guha Majumder, International Business Times, Aug 1, 2018
- Warmer soil releasing more carbon, worsening climate change by Seth Borenstein, AP News, Aug 1, 2018
Thu Aug 2, 2018
- China region set to become deadliest heat wave zone: report by Bard Wilkinson, CNN, Aug 1, 2018
- Scientists draw new connections between climate change and warming oceans by Sean Bettam, University of Toronto News, Aug 1, 2018
- Surrounded by fire, California politicians question links to climate change by Jason Wilson, Environment, Guardian, Aug 1, 2018
- Unique and alarming': Engineers to be tested as rain events intensify by Peter Hannam, Environment, Sydney Morning Herald, July 30, 2018
- I won’t go on the BBC if it supplies climate change deniers as ‘balance’ Opinion by Rupert Read, Comment is Free, Guardian, Aug 2, 2018
- Environmental Groups Ask Supreme Court to Revisit Clean Power Plan Stay by Amanda Reilly, E&E News/Scientific American, July 30, 2018
- Trump Unveils His Plan to Weaken Fuel Efficiency Rules by Coral Davenport, Climate, New York Times, Aug 2, 2018
- First Big U.S. Offshore Wind Farm Offers $1.4 Billion to Customers by Jim Efstathiou Jr, Climate-Changed, Bloomberg News, Aug 1, 2018
Fri Aug 3, 2018
- Record-breaking temperatures leave 29 dead in South Korean heatwave by Jungeun Kim, Jennifer Kim and Euan McKirdy, CNN, Aug 2, 2018
- Portugal and Spain brace for record-breaking temperatures by Mihai Andrei, ZME Science, Aug 2, 2018
- Everyday plastics emit greenhouse gases by Sebastien Malo, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Aug 1, 2018
- Denialism: what drives people to reject the truth by Keith Kahn-Harris, The Long Read, Guardian, Aug 3, 2018
- The world's largest solar farm rises in the remote Egyptian desert by Rachel Scheier, Los Angeles Times, July 30, 2018
- 143-mph 'fire tornado' that cut a path of destruction is an ominous sign of the future by Rong-Gong Lin Ii , Joseph Serna & Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times, Aug 3, 2018
- Hot weather exposes World War II munitions in German waters by Nancy Isenson & Volker Witting, Deutsche Welle (DW), Aug 2, 2018
- Pressure to secure Mexico energy supply endangers green dream by Sophie Hares, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Aug 2, 2018
Sat Aug 4, 2018
- With 1.2 Billion Members, the Catholic Church Can Lead on Climate Action. Here Are 3 Ways How. by Kitty van der Heijden & Alberto Pallecchi, World Resources Institute (WRI), July 26, 2018
- Divesting from Fossil Fuels Can Help Solve the Climate Crisis by Christopher Pollon, The Tyee (Vancouver, BC), Aug 1, 2018
- In hot water: How summer heat has hit Nordic nuclear plants by Lefteris Karagiannopoulos, Reuters, Aug 1, 2018
- Pollution is slowing the melting of Arctic sea ice, for now by John Abraham, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Environment, Guardian, Aug 3, 2018
- How Big a Deal Is Trump’s Fuel Economy Rollback? For the Climate, Maybe the Biggest Yet by Brad Plumer, Climate, New York Times, Aug 4, 2018
- Europe heatwave: Side effects felt by zoo animals, sprout farmers and more, BBC News, Aug 3, 2018
- American (voter) attitudes on climate change are complex by Shane Hanlon, AGU Blogosphere, Aug 2, 2018
- The Link Between Climate Change and 'Flesh-Eating' Bacteria by Kimberly Hickok, Live Science, Aug 3, 2018
Posted by John Hartz on Saturday, 4 August, 2018
