Thy eternal summer shall not fade.
July 6, 2023 6:22 AM Subscribe
The World May Have Just Experienced the Hottest Day Ever Recorded [Time] The entire planet sweltered to the unofficial hottest day in human recordkeeping July 3, according to University of Maine scientists at the Climate Reanalyzer project. High temperature records were surpassed July 3 and 4 in Quebec and northwestern Canada and Peru. Cities across the U.S. from Medford, Oregon to Tampa, Florida have been hovering at all-time highs, said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Beijing reported 9 straight days last week when the temperature exceeded 35°C (95°F). This global record is preliminary, pending approval from gold-standard climate measurement entities like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. [Bonus: Wiki-list of weather records]
This global record is preliminary, pending approval from gold-standard climate measurement entities like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. But it is an indication that climate change is reaching into uncharted territory. It legitimately captures global-scale heating and NOAA will take these figures into consideration when it does its official record calculations, said Deke Arndt, director of the National Center for Environmental Information, a division of NOAA. “In the climate assessment community, I don’t think we’d assign the kind of gravitas to a single day observation as we would a month or a year,’’ Arndt said. Scientists generally use much longer measurements — months, years, decades — to track the Earth’s warming. In addition, this preliminary record for the hottest day is based on data that only goes back to 1979, the start of satellite record-keeping, whereas NOAA’s data goes back to 1880.
This global record is preliminary, pending approval from gold-standard climate measurement entities like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. But it is an indication that climate change is reaching into uncharted territory. It legitimately captures global-scale heating and NOAA will take these figures into consideration when it does its official record calculations, said Deke Arndt, director of the National Center for Environmental Information, a division of NOAA. “In the climate assessment community, I don’t think we’d assign the kind of gravitas to a single day observation as we would a month or a year,’’ Arndt said. Scientists generally use much longer measurements — months, years, decades — to track the Earth’s warming. In addition, this preliminary record for the hottest day is based on data that only goes back to 1979, the start of satellite record-keeping, whereas NOAA’s data goes back to 1880.
And we got an el Niño coming, I hear.
Anecdotally, I can say for sure that the chiller on my apartment building is underspecced for what's going on.
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:31 AM on July 6, 2023
Anecdotally, I can say for sure that the chiller on my apartment building is underspecced for what's going on.
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:31 AM on July 6, 2023
Single day records more anecdotal than anything else, except that it seems we keep breaking those more frequently. In any case, if this can help clue more people in that this shit is real and we must act now… also… Kuujjuaq was the hottest place in Canada and that’s not a place normally associated with warm weather.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 6:37 AM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by WaterAndPixels at 6:37 AM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
In my personal barometer of climate hell, Texas, we are starting to see climate related deaths in both winter and summer. Always summer of course. Between heat and humidity, Houston is sailing past caution temperatures, well into the danger zone, and straddling the line of extremely dangerous. And it's still early summer but we've already had several days at 100 degrees. God help us.
Oh, and we're due for another mega hurricane soon, in the sense that 100 year storms are not exactly 100 years any more. Closer to ten. Probably gonna see another flood soon too.
posted by Jacen at 6:53 AM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh, and we're due for another mega hurricane soon, in the sense that 100 year storms are not exactly 100 years any more. Closer to ten. Probably gonna see another flood soon too.
posted by Jacen at 6:53 AM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Daily 2-meter Air Temperature is online. Thick black line is this year, orange line is last year, the main "track" shows the 1979-2000 mean and 2 standard deviations. The gap between the (current) thick black line and ... everything else ... is not good.
Related, recently: ocean temperatures.
posted by Wordshore at 7:08 AM on July 6, 2023 [10 favorites]
Related, recently: ocean temperatures.
posted by Wordshore at 7:08 AM on July 6, 2023 [10 favorites]
Between heat and humidity, Houston is sailing past caution temperatures
I grew up in Houston and now live in Dallas (for family reasons) and have been on the east coast and in Austin in between. I realized a few years ago, while watching my Rice University alum circle and my old Celtic music circle of friends and loved ones scatter out of Texas, that most of us were as much climate refugees as refugees from our state's awful politics. Some of those folks had been flooded out of homes on the west side of town twice.
Here in Dallas, I'm definitely living the siesta schedule (active mornings, quiet mid-day when the sun is at its height, active evenings) most of the time. It's not as humid as Houston and not quite as hot, but the baking heat is still pretty bad. One of the targets of the so-called "Death Star" law that just came out of the recent legislative session here in Texas were Dallas and Austin laws mandating water breaks for construction workers in the heat. Workers need those breaks but maintaining the fiction that everything is fine here and keeping cities from doing anything that might cost businesses money is more important than humane treatment of the folks who build our homes and offices.
It scares me how much the (physical) climate in Texas has changed for the worse since I was a child. We are definitely in the find out stage of climate change.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 7:19 AM on July 6, 2023 [23 favorites]
I grew up in Houston and now live in Dallas (for family reasons) and have been on the east coast and in Austin in between. I realized a few years ago, while watching my Rice University alum circle and my old Celtic music circle of friends and loved ones scatter out of Texas, that most of us were as much climate refugees as refugees from our state's awful politics. Some of those folks had been flooded out of homes on the west side of town twice.
Here in Dallas, I'm definitely living the siesta schedule (active mornings, quiet mid-day when the sun is at its height, active evenings) most of the time. It's not as humid as Houston and not quite as hot, but the baking heat is still pretty bad. One of the targets of the so-called "Death Star" law that just came out of the recent legislative session here in Texas were Dallas and Austin laws mandating water breaks for construction workers in the heat. Workers need those breaks but maintaining the fiction that everything is fine here and keeping cities from doing anything that might cost businesses money is more important than humane treatment of the folks who build our homes and offices.
It scares me how much the (physical) climate in Texas has changed for the worse since I was a child. We are definitely in the find out stage of climate change.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 7:19 AM on July 6, 2023 [23 favorites]
In my personal barometer of climate hell, Texas, we are starting to see climate related deaths in both winter and summer. Always summer of course. Between heat and humidity, Houston is sailing past caution temperatures, well into the danger zone, and straddling the line of extremely dangerous. And it's still early summer but we've already had several days at 100 degrees. God help us.I used to live in Texas, so I fully understand this type of heat/hell. That being said, reading this makes me want to scream because I'm thinking of all the climate related deaths and then you learn about a recent law that has been overturned because of the shitheads in charge of the state:
• Texas law overrides safeguards like water breaks as temperatures rise [Washington Post]
“A law in Texas will soon override labor ordinances statewide that guarantee, among other things, construction workers are given 10-minute breaks to drink water and rest in the shade. The law, signed Tuesday by Gov. Greg Abbott (R), will overturn many local laws regulating businesses across Texas, ensuring cities and counties instead follow state codes. Proponents say the law makes it easier for companies to sidestep a patchwork of local regulations to get work done. But opponents warn it overturns worker protections in more liberal municipalities that aren’t able to pass in the state legislature, where the GOP has majorities.posted by Fizz at 7:21 AM on July 6, 2023 [10 favorites]
[...]
The state law overriding local ordinances, House Bill 2127, won’t go into effect until Sept. 1, but it comes amid growing concerns about heat waves in Texas, including one that residents are experiencing now. Heat indexes recently topped 120 degrees in the southern part of Texas, with the state breaking heat records on Thursday and Friday, amplifying concerns about worker safety. Since 2010, at least 53 Texas workers have died of heat-related illness, according to NPR and Columbia Journalism Investigations. Climate change has made the Texas heat worse. A report from the state’s climatologist estimates that the number of 100-degree days is expected to nearly double by 2036 compared to 2001-2020.”
For the past couple of years I've been trying to get academics to act on climate change. This has generally been a failure. Some few people (especially younger ones) and a few campuses have been active, but most have refused. Generally, faculty and staff tell me they're too overwhelmed by other things to consider taking any climate crisis steps.
But the other popular argument I hear? "This isn't happening in my lifetime. It's not a priority."
posted by doctornemo at 7:31 AM on July 6, 2023 [5 favorites]
But the other popular argument I hear? "This isn't happening in my lifetime. It's not a priority."
posted by doctornemo at 7:31 AM on July 6, 2023 [5 favorites]
monday broke the record, tuesday broke monday's record, wednesday matched tuesday's record...
posted by Clowder of bats at 7:38 AM on July 6, 2023
posted by Clowder of bats at 7:38 AM on July 6, 2023
I just read Faltering by Bill McKibben. Truly unsettling.
posted by slogger at 7:51 AM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by slogger at 7:51 AM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
So, random question, if a homeowner were looking at needing to replace their home's HVAC sometime soonish (depending on how long an old-model compressor holds out, but it's old), would timing now be a concern? I.e., anyone have any sense if there might there soon be supply and supply-chain issues for HVAC components? And that the hypothetical homeowner should maybe go ahead and get the HVAC replacement in motion sooner rather than later, to avoid those possible issues?
posted by LooseFilter at 8:19 AM on July 6, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by LooseFilter at 8:19 AM on July 6, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'm Mister Green Christmas
I'm Mister Sun
I'm Mister Heat Blister
I'm Mister Hundred and One
They call me Heat Miser
Whatever I touch
Starts to melt in my clutch
I'm too much!
posted by kirkaracha at 8:32 AM on July 6, 2023 [6 favorites]
I'm Mister Sun
I'm Mister Heat Blister
I'm Mister Hundred and One
They call me Heat Miser
Whatever I touch
Starts to melt in my clutch
I'm too much!
posted by kirkaracha at 8:32 AM on July 6, 2023 [6 favorites]
It's a powerful and underappreciated book, slogger.
It inspired one of my new projects - here's a bit.
posted by doctornemo at 8:33 AM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
It inspired one of my new projects - here's a bit.
posted by doctornemo at 8:33 AM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
>might there soon be supply and supply-chain issues for HVAC components?
Last year's IRA added HEEHRA:
https://www.rewiringamerica.org/policy/high-efficiency-electric-home-rebate-act
which gives most people a $14,000 subsidy to upgrade HVAC etc. which will start being available later this year or early next year.
This will stretch demand no doubt.
Housing starts: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HOUST are still elevated so not much slack from that alas.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 8:33 AM on July 6, 2023 [8 favorites]
Last year's IRA added HEEHRA:
https://www.rewiringamerica.org/policy/high-efficiency-electric-home-rebate-act
which gives most people a $14,000 subsidy to upgrade HVAC etc. which will start being available later this year or early next year.
This will stretch demand no doubt.
Housing starts: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HOUST are still elevated so not much slack from that alas.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 8:33 AM on July 6, 2023 [8 favorites]
Beijing reported 9 straight days last week
Have just returned from the southwest on an extended break and the temperatures felt so hot ,weeks did feel nine days long...
posted by inflatablekiwi at 8:51 AM on July 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
Have just returned from the southwest on an extended break and the temperatures felt so hot ,weeks did feel nine days long...
posted by inflatablekiwi at 8:51 AM on July 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
> So, random question, if a homeowner were looking at needing to replace their home's HVAC sometime soonish (depending on how long an old-model compressor holds out, but it's old), would timing now be a concern?
Anecdotal, I just did mine in March and had no supply issues. The contractor said all the components were off the shelf and stocked at the local supplier.
posted by zompus at 8:53 AM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Anecdotal, I just did mine in March and had no supply issues. The contractor said all the components were off the shelf and stocked at the local supplier.
posted by zompus at 8:53 AM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Couple of on-point recent pieces from Two Bit da Vinci (YouTube):
El Niño 2023 is Going to be a INSANE! (13m47s)
The Canadian Wildfires - What's REALLY Going On? (22m30s)
posted by flabdablet at 8:56 AM on July 6, 2023
El Niño 2023 is Going to be a INSANE! (13m47s)
The Canadian Wildfires - What's REALLY Going On? (22m30s)
posted by flabdablet at 8:56 AM on July 6, 2023
News about records breaking sells news, but I really want the news about what, if anything I can do. I'm so tired of the deniers.
That Texas law is so fucking evil. Where I live, they get paid pretty well, but there's not enough pay to work in 100F+ heat with refreshing humidity sarcasm tag because that kills people and is horrible and unnecessary. This is why people need unions. Also, work at night when it's less hot. I would bet folding money that most road workers are Hispanic and Black. Fucking Republicans.
posted by theora55 at 8:58 AM on July 6, 2023 [16 favorites]
That Texas law is so fucking evil. Where I live, they get paid pretty well, but there's not enough pay to work in 100F+ heat with refreshing humidity sarcasm tag because that kills people and is horrible and unnecessary. This is why people need unions. Also, work at night when it's less hot. I would bet folding money that most road workers are Hispanic and Black. Fucking Republicans.
posted by theora55 at 8:58 AM on July 6, 2023 [16 favorites]
...so far.
posted by wellvis at 8:59 AM on July 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by wellvis at 8:59 AM on July 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
You’re right, theora55, there is going to be a big shift toward necessary activities of all kinds at night.
Hard to even begin to imagine the ramifications.
posted by jamjam at 9:06 AM on July 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
Hard to even begin to imagine the ramifications.
posted by jamjam at 9:06 AM on July 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
I live in the Tampa Bay Area and all I can say is this is not sustainable. In 1968, the TB area had a little over 50 days per year of temps above 90. Last year we had nearly 100. Three months of the year it's so uncomfortable that you can't be outside longer than 30 mins without feeling like you're going to die. The heat index right now at noon is 100 degrees and it will probably tip 105 by this afternoon. But, this is fine.
posted by photoslob at 9:14 AM on July 6, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by photoslob at 9:14 AM on July 6, 2023 [5 favorites]
You'll be never guess where a worker died from hyperthermia in Texas.
(That's sarcasm.)
posted by tofu_crouton at 9:26 AM on July 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
(That's sarcasm.)
posted by tofu_crouton at 9:26 AM on July 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
Just finished "The Deluge" by Stephen Markley. It's like The Stand but for climate change.
posted by kiwi-epitome at 9:32 AM on July 6, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by kiwi-epitome at 9:32 AM on July 6, 2023 [5 favorites]
Speaking of Texas, I ran the "Chilly Cheeks" 5k at Star Ranch nudist resort near Austin, TX on October 9th, 2021. No one had chilly cheeks that day; the temperature was 90+ and sunny. In October.
I returned to Star Ranch several times that Fall & Winter, as temperatures in TX at that time often supported the shedding of clothes outdoors.
I predict rising temperatures and the resultant stresses on our power grid (less reliable air conditioning due to brownouts & blackouts) will convert more people to nudism as a practical coping strategy.
You heard it here first.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 9:48 AM on July 6, 2023 [15 favorites]
I returned to Star Ranch several times that Fall & Winter, as temperatures in TX at that time often supported the shedding of clothes outdoors.
I predict rising temperatures and the resultant stresses on our power grid (less reliable air conditioning due to brownouts & blackouts) will convert more people to nudism as a practical coping strategy.
You heard it here first.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 9:48 AM on July 6, 2023 [15 favorites]
Some friends in Eugene, OR. report having 90-degree days. Still nicely down in the 50s at night, thankfully.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:55 AM on July 6, 2023
posted by Thorzdad at 9:55 AM on July 6, 2023
I’ve replaced that doomerism with consumerism. I bought a wearable around the neck fan with a thermoelectric cooling plate to make the outdoors bearable. It has a dual action first with the fans speeding up evaporative cooling and the metal part cools the blood going back to my core. If you live in part of the country without AC, or a building with insufficient cooling for these record temps I highly recommend it.
posted by interogative mood at 10:05 AM on July 6, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by interogative mood at 10:05 AM on July 6, 2023 [5 favorites]
That Texas law is so fucking evil. Where I live, they get paid pretty well, but there's not enough pay to work in 100F+ heat-- theora55
As the world heats up, it is going to have to learn from places that have been that hot all along. A friend of mine from Arizona says that it is just standard practice there for construction and other outdoor workers to stop work in the middle of the day, only working in the mornings and evenings. It is something everyone who lives there just knows how to do.
posted by eye of newt at 10:10 AM on July 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
As the world heats up, it is going to have to learn from places that have been that hot all along. A friend of mine from Arizona says that it is just standard practice there for construction and other outdoor workers to stop work in the middle of the day, only working in the mornings and evenings. It is something everyone who lives there just knows how to do.
posted by eye of newt at 10:10 AM on July 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
we're hotter than we ever were
and now we're even hotter
and now we're even hotter
we're hotter than we ever were
and now we're hotter still.
posted by scruss at 10:20 AM on July 6, 2023 [6 favorites]
and now we're even hotter
and now we're even hotter
we're hotter than we ever were
and now we're hotter still.
posted by scruss at 10:20 AM on July 6, 2023 [6 favorites]
What's truly bizarre is the weather in the Bay Area right now is unseasonably cool. The forecast high for today where I am is 65F (average high would be 82F). There are threats of a heat dome hitting us later on this month, so perhaps my smugness will be punished.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 10:44 AM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 10:44 AM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
I’ve replaced that doomerism with consumerism.
I’m kind of surprised I've yet to see 'doomercrats' cast as an aspersion by the right.
I deserve that label if anyone does, and I wish I could find ways to avoid thinking that way that don’t involve outright denial.
posted by jamjam at 11:50 AM on July 6, 2023
I’m kind of surprised I've yet to see 'doomercrats' cast as an aspersion by the right.
I deserve that label if anyone does, and I wish I could find ways to avoid thinking that way that don’t involve outright denial.
posted by jamjam at 11:50 AM on July 6, 2023
Man...
I oscillate between optimism and anger, and right now, I am in an anger cycle. It does partly paralyse me, because I feel like shouting at the top of my voice all the time, and I know from experience that won't get me anywhere. But WHY ARE PEOPLE NOT GETTING THIS!?!?!?
You may wonder what the optimism is about, but it is actually simple. Since I was very young, I have been angry with the construction industry, and if we make the changes we all need now, they will be also the changes I want. It's not that I am against modern architecture in the post-modern King Charles manner. I rather like the original modern architecture. What I don't like is speculative planning and building and ridiculous consumerist opulence, regardless of the style. In my optimistic phases, I imagine that climate change will force us to rethink planning and construction and infrastructure from scratch and we can then build a better world. I just did some evaluations with my students, and one young man said the most motivating lecture was the last one before the exams (unfortunately a bit late for his exam results), so I went back through it, and could see it was just on the fine line between anger and optimism. Maybe I should work on that.
On a practical level: those of you who live in hot places, could you not get solar panels to run your AC? Then at least the AC wouldn't be contributing to the disaster. And it's easier than re-learning how to build in hot climates, something people have known for thousands of years but "we" have obviously forgotten.
posted by mumimor at 11:55 AM on July 6, 2023 [4 favorites]
I oscillate between optimism and anger, and right now, I am in an anger cycle. It does partly paralyse me, because I feel like shouting at the top of my voice all the time, and I know from experience that won't get me anywhere. But WHY ARE PEOPLE NOT GETTING THIS!?!?!?
You may wonder what the optimism is about, but it is actually simple. Since I was very young, I have been angry with the construction industry, and if we make the changes we all need now, they will be also the changes I want. It's not that I am against modern architecture in the post-modern King Charles manner. I rather like the original modern architecture. What I don't like is speculative planning and building and ridiculous consumerist opulence, regardless of the style. In my optimistic phases, I imagine that climate change will force us to rethink planning and construction and infrastructure from scratch and we can then build a better world. I just did some evaluations with my students, and one young man said the most motivating lecture was the last one before the exams (unfortunately a bit late for his exam results), so I went back through it, and could see it was just on the fine line between anger and optimism. Maybe I should work on that.
On a practical level: those of you who live in hot places, could you not get solar panels to run your AC? Then at least the AC wouldn't be contributing to the disaster. And it's easier than re-learning how to build in hot climates, something people have known for thousands of years but "we" have obviously forgotten.
posted by mumimor at 11:55 AM on July 6, 2023 [4 favorites]
For the past couple of years I've been trying to get academics to act on climate change.
What do you expect academics to do? I'm confused.
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 11:57 AM on July 6, 2023 [8 favorites]
What do you expect academics to do? I'm confused.
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 11:57 AM on July 6, 2023 [8 favorites]
the most motivating lecture was the last one before the exams
Now I am curious... may I see or read that lecture?
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 12:08 PM on July 6, 2023
Now I am curious... may I see or read that lecture?
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 12:08 PM on July 6, 2023
> It is something everyone who lives there just knows how to do.
take a siesta?
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 12:08 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
take a siesta?
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 12:08 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Now I am curious... may I see or read that lecture?
It's in Danish, and the slides might not give the whole story, since for obvious reasons, I'm careful about what I put up on the uni-net. But I may write an article during the holidays with the content.
posted by mumimor at 12:16 PM on July 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
It's in Danish, and the slides might not give the whole story, since for obvious reasons, I'm careful about what I put up on the uni-net. But I may write an article during the holidays with the content.
posted by mumimor at 12:16 PM on July 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
>could you not get solar panels to run your AC?
way ahead of you. producing 50kWh/day this summer which covers 100% of my A/C and BEV needs. PGE's Net Metering (v2) plan was too good a deal to pass up!
Unfortunately CA is still facing a massive Duck Curve each day:
https://www.caiso.com/TodaysOutlook/Pages/supply.html
is showing solar (& wind) producing 19GW currently and we're exporting 6GW (for pennies per kW no doubt) while idling the natgas "peakers" at 8GW while we charge the batteries and wait for the 6:30 - 10:00pm crunch (when the peakers peak at 16GW and the batteries give us ~4GW for an hour to two...)
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 12:18 PM on July 6, 2023 [4 favorites]
way ahead of you. producing 50kWh/day this summer which covers 100% of my A/C and BEV needs. PGE's Net Metering (v2) plan was too good a deal to pass up!
Unfortunately CA is still facing a massive Duck Curve each day:
https://www.caiso.com/TodaysOutlook/Pages/supply.html
is showing solar (& wind) producing 19GW currently and we're exporting 6GW (for pennies per kW no doubt) while idling the natgas "peakers" at 8GW while we charge the batteries and wait for the 6:30 - 10:00pm crunch (when the peakers peak at 16GW and the batteries give us ~4GW for an hour to two...)
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 12:18 PM on July 6, 2023 [4 favorites]
I feel like the reporting on climate change never ever learns its lesson. When you just report doom without giving people something concrete to do to help, they become paralyzed and do nothing. The number one thing you can do as an individual right now is to get political. Support candidates who make climate action a priority up and down tbe ticket. Show up to community org groups, food not bombs, the DSA, BLM, a food bank, a lefty book club, whatever kind of progressive thing works for you. It's all connected. The same people who care about the planet care about each other. Collective action is the way.
posted by petiteviolette at 12:53 PM on July 6, 2023 [11 favorites]
posted by petiteviolette at 12:53 PM on July 6, 2023 [11 favorites]
But I may write an article during the holidays with the content.
If you do, can you let us know? Thank you!
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 1:06 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
If you do, can you let us know? Thank you!
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 1:06 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've been trying to break out of the doom cycle myself. I've been taking the actions I can take personally (just got heat pumps installed, thinking about solar, taking steps to be a one car family, cutting down on consumption more broadly, eating less meat and especially red meat, etc.), and trying to advocate politically for larger scale changes (renewable energy infrastructure, denser development near transit hubs to reduce car dependency, etc.) I've also been trying to read good climate news with all the bad ones this summer to remind myself people are doing things.
Like Texas's grid did *not* fail during this heatwave because there's been so much solar and wind construction! Mystic Power Plant can close thanks to rooftop solar! A million ebikes were purchased in the US last year! We need to keep doing these things, even if it seems futile.
posted by damayanti at 1:14 PM on July 6, 2023 [7 favorites]
Like Texas's grid did *not* fail during this heatwave because there's been so much solar and wind construction! Mystic Power Plant can close thanks to rooftop solar! A million ebikes were purchased in the US last year! We need to keep doing these things, even if it seems futile.
posted by damayanti at 1:14 PM on July 6, 2023 [7 favorites]
→
Until someone builds some land west of CA, it will always have that problem. All the batteries in the world can't fix it.
→
It failed because ERCOT (hilariously, a Regional Reliability Council) are unutterably shitty, but they've got good PR to always make it someone else's fault
posted by scruss at 1:33 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Unfortunately CA is still facing a massive Duck Curve each day
Until someone builds some land west of CA, it will always have that problem. All the batteries in the world can't fix it.
→
Like Texas's grid did *not* fail during this heatwave because there's been so much solar and wind construction!
It failed because ERCOT (hilariously, a Regional Reliability Council) are unutterably shitty, but they've got good PR to always make it someone else's fault
posted by scruss at 1:33 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
This is why I can't re-watch Star Trek's The Inner Light.
It's too close to home.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 1:45 PM on July 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
It's too close to home.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 1:45 PM on July 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
It failed because ERCOT (hilariously, a Regional Reliability Council) are unutterably shitty, but they've got good PR to always make it someone else's fault
I think you misread the scope of the negative there- the grid held up during the heatwave (unlike when it collapsed during the cold snap/ice storm in 2021) because there's been more wind and solar built. Obviously, the failure during the cold snap was not due to renewables like ERCOT tried to say.
posted by damayanti at 2:04 PM on July 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
I think you misread the scope of the negative there- the grid held up during the heatwave (unlike when it collapsed during the cold snap/ice storm in 2021) because there's been more wind and solar built. Obviously, the failure during the cold snap was not due to renewables like ERCOT tried to say.
posted by damayanti at 2:04 PM on July 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
My hope is on the panels with covered the emerging tech of infrared reflective coatings. These are able to radiate the heat from the sub back into space. We can create a globally distributed set of arrays of these panels and effectively reduce the amount of heating we receive from the sun.
posted by interogative mood at 3:06 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by interogative mood at 3:06 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
We'll be at 1.5C this year
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 3:52 PM on July 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 3:52 PM on July 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
I can't adequately express my grief and rage. Never have I felt more helpless.
And it did not have to be this way.
All we had to do was reign in the greed.
posted by Savannah at 6:28 PM on July 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
And it did not have to be this way.
All we had to do was reign in the greed.
posted by Savannah at 6:28 PM on July 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
Thanks very much for the tip on HEEHRA Heywood Mogroot, we just bought a new house without central AC and it was a DIY job where the insulation somehow traps tall he heat inside while letting moisture in from the basement and not venting it through the attic. This morning - at 5:30am in the morning - it was 81F and 73% humidity inside and that's WITH two (standing) 8,000 BTU AC units running all night (but it's a big 'open concept' house with vaulted ceilings - lots of air to cool, not efficient at all).
We got some dehumifiers so it's bearable (for now) at 90F but only 35% humidity, but we definitely need to do something about the heat for the second half of the summer, especially if there are days when it's hot AND the air quality is bad so it's not a good idea to run the window units.
The house has baseboard heating too, putting in an electric heat pump will save soooooo much on the energy bill in the long term. And I'd love to see if "weatherization" includes attic ventilation for the humidity.
posted by subdee at 6:39 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
We got some dehumifiers so it's bearable (for now) at 90F but only 35% humidity, but we definitely need to do something about the heat for the second half of the summer, especially if there are days when it's hot AND the air quality is bad so it's not a good idea to run the window units.
The house has baseboard heating too, putting in an electric heat pump will save soooooo much on the energy bill in the long term. And I'd love to see if "weatherization" includes attic ventilation for the humidity.
posted by subdee at 6:39 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
we're hotter than we ever were
and now we're even hotter
Still, we didn’t start the fire.
posted by bendy at 7:12 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
and now we're even hotter
Still, we didn’t start the fire.
posted by bendy at 7:12 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Winter is not coming
posted by eustatic at 7:37 PM on July 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by eustatic at 7:37 PM on July 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
> Related, recently: ocean temperatures.
Antarctic: Sea-Ice Concentration/Extent/Thickness
posted by kliuless at 5:32 AM on July 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
Antarctic: Sea-Ice Concentration/Extent/Thickness
posted by kliuless at 5:32 AM on July 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
https://projects.propublica.org/climate-migration/ - New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States - September 15, 2020
North America maps and discussion of rainfall, wetbulb temperatures, wildfires, etc. in the 2040-2060 period.
posted by sebastienbailard at 8:36 AM on July 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
North America maps and discussion of rainfall, wetbulb temperatures, wildfires, etc. in the 2040-2060 period.
posted by sebastienbailard at 8:36 AM on July 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
This is why I can't re-watch Star Trek's The Inner Light.
Dune
posted by BlueHorse at 3:23 PM on July 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Dune
posted by BlueHorse at 3:23 PM on July 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
We needed to reign in more than just the obvious greed, Savannah.
About 4% of mammals are wild now, with most of the rest being our food, which represents 21% of all carbon emissions, and more of heating via methane.
Is meat consumption greed? At least some here think yes it's greed of the worst sort, but really this point would be debated. All those other debates too: Air travel, cars, global shipping, overpopulation, etc., really even fertilizer made from fossil fuels. It's all greed from some perspective of course, but not one held by enough people.
It had to be this way. We need collapse for our species to learn how to survive on our little island, like any other species which reaches its physical limits. Yet individually, we are not completely bound to obey the maximum power principle or whatever it is, even if our societies must do so.
We therefore might speed up this learning process some, or at least bring through more or our collective knowledge and more of the diversity of life on this planet. "Collapse now and avoid the rush."
posted by jeffburdges at 11:38 AM on July 9, 2023
About 4% of mammals are wild now, with most of the rest being our food, which represents 21% of all carbon emissions, and more of heating via methane.
Is meat consumption greed? At least some here think yes it's greed of the worst sort, but really this point would be debated. All those other debates too: Air travel, cars, global shipping, overpopulation, etc., really even fertilizer made from fossil fuels. It's all greed from some perspective of course, but not one held by enough people.
It had to be this way. We need collapse for our species to learn how to survive on our little island, like any other species which reaches its physical limits. Yet individually, we are not completely bound to obey the maximum power principle or whatever it is, even if our societies must do so.
We therefore might speed up this learning process some, or at least bring through more or our collective knowledge and more of the diversity of life on this planet. "Collapse now and avoid the rush."
posted by jeffburdges at 11:38 AM on July 9, 2023
where the insulation somehow traps tall he heat inside while letting moisture in from the basement and not venting it through the attic.
If you don't have A/C you should be very careful about insulation, because insulation traps heat as well as it traps cold, and human bodies are 100F heaters constantly running. High ceilings like you have are great in hot climates because heat rises and cold air falls, so it's not like you have to condition all the space with your window units.
And AC was specifically designed to deal with hot temperatures and high humidity, so there are some things were it's better to go with the best tool for the job. If you have hot with low humidity, then you can vent it all out when it's cooler in the evenings. But humidity traps in heat, so venting doesn't really help.
In most cases, adding attic ventilation is not smart. The attic should be a sealed, at least lightly air conditioned space.
posted by The_Vegetables at 12:23 PM on July 10, 2023
If you don't have A/C you should be very careful about insulation, because insulation traps heat as well as it traps cold, and human bodies are 100F heaters constantly running. High ceilings like you have are great in hot climates because heat rises and cold air falls, so it's not like you have to condition all the space with your window units.
And AC was specifically designed to deal with hot temperatures and high humidity, so there are some things were it's better to go with the best tool for the job. If you have hot with low humidity, then you can vent it all out when it's cooler in the evenings. But humidity traps in heat, so venting doesn't really help.
In most cases, adding attic ventilation is not smart. The attic should be a sealed, at least lightly air conditioned space.
posted by The_Vegetables at 12:23 PM on July 10, 2023
"This is like dinosaurs having their picture taken with an asteroid."
I'd still take that selfie myself though..
posted by jeffburdges at 3:54 AM on July 21, 2023
I'd still take that selfie myself though..
posted by jeffburdges at 3:54 AM on July 21, 2023
If a climate catastrophe giant asteroid was threatening to take out most humans on Earth I'd certianly take pictures vs. curling up in the fetal position.
The book The Last Policeman has a pretty good, if depressing, take on this sort of thing.
posted by Mitheral at 5:03 AM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
The book The Last Policeman has a pretty good, if depressing, take on this sort of thing.
posted by Mitheral at 5:03 AM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by Halloween Jack at 6:30 AM on July 6, 2023 [11 favorites]