Daily Archives: October 10, 2018

Boston Climate & Sea-Level Update – October 2018

[This information represents the Boston news component of a lager series: Climate & Sea-Level Update: Digital Dispatches from a World on the Edge]

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Like many other cities in the post-Columbian world after 1492, Boston was founded on an estuary along the coastline of eastern North America at the convergence of several river systems that drain into the Atlantic ocean.  It was organized from its inception as a safe harbor on the edge of a continent linked to a global nexus of maritime migration and trade.

Because of its location and history over the last four centuries Boston has invested heavily in coastal infrastructure for its business, commercial, residential and transportation needs.  Like many other post-Columbian port cities located at sea-level, it has enjoyed a considerable measure of prosperity over the centuries because of its location as a gateway to a well-endowed continent linked to numerous global seaborne trading empires.

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Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, from “Histoire générale des voyages,” 1758

But Boston’s circumstance is changing rapidly — very rapidly.  In fact, the circumstances of nearly all the post-Columbian cities around the world are changing in much the same way.  Moreover things are changing more quickly than anyone had foreseen.  As global climate change becomes more pronounced post-Columbian cities around the world are beginning to encounter unprecedented challenges due to the increase in the severity and frequency of coastal storms, the anticipated increase in over land rainfall in its nearby river drainage basins and the inexorable rise of sea-level itself.

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The response to these changes has been widespread.  Universities, marine research institutes, aquariums, science museums, public libraries, and a whole range of citizen public affairs and educational groups are developing innovative ways to inform and engage the public on the nature and pace of these transformations that all coastal populations must face from now onward.

Witness the October 2018 “unveiling” of “Resilient” Boston Harbor:

Although this is a important and timely new initiative — based in part on the studies done by Dr. Paul Kirshen and his research team at the U. Mass Boston — it remains an open question as to whether these plans can be implemented or whether they will be effective in time=frame we have for action.  Dr. James Hansen has pointed out that even the aspirations of the Paris Climate accord are not sufficient to avert disaster for coastal cities around the world:

Hansen-coastal

Because of the urgency of the situation on a local level citizens from Boston and well beyond throughout New England have begun to investigate their own community circumstances and link their local understandings with global trends through the use of directories to online climate information sources, including:

and the YouTube Channel:

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See related:

Return to the Climate & Sea-Level Update “Home Page.”

Senator Bernie Sanders FURIOUS Speech Ahead of Senate Final Vote on Kavanaugh Confirmation


Today News Feed
Published on Oct 5, 2018

Senator Bernie Sanders FURIOUS Speech Ahead of Senate Final Vote on Judge Brett Kavanaugh Confirmation to Supreme Court

Economic Losses Due To Climate-related Disasters & other topics – Daily Briefing (10 October 2018)


United Nations

Published on Oct 10, 2018

Daily Press Briefing: SG Travels, Death Penalty, UNISDR, Colombia, Haiti, Afghanistan, Philippines, Bosnia, and Mental Health Day Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

THE OFFICE FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

UNISDR’s mandate has been defined by a number of United Nations General Assembly Resolutions, the most notable of which is “to serve as the focal point in the United Nations system for the coordination of disaster reduction and to ensure synergies among the disaster reduction activities of the United Nations system and regional organizations and activities in socio-economic and humanitarian fields” (UN General Assembly Resolution 56/195).

The 2017 Annual Report is the final report of the 2016-17 biennium and provides an overview of the results achieved by UNISDR against its Work Programme 2016-2019.

Big Oil Faces Consequences As Cities File Lawsuits For Environmental Destruction


The Ring of Fire

Published on Oct 10, 2018

On this episode of America’s Lawyer, Mike Papantonio and Farron Cousins discuss climate change lawsuits from U.S. cities that aim to have fossil fuel industries pay the damages that are expected to turn out. Then Mike talks with Brigida Santos about how corporate Marijuana growers might take over the Marijuana market. He also talks about a re-trail for a Judge that imprisoned kids for money.

Neil deGrasse Tyson schools former GM exec Lutz on climate change

Micheleland
Published on Mar 3, 2012

for educational purposes & stuff. the best series on the debate over climate change: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52KLGq…

Fox News has spent years telling their viewers that climate change is a liberal “hoax”


mediamatters4america
Published on Oct 10, 2018

90 scientists from 40 countries released a UN report warning of pending global catastrophe if we don’t take serious action on climate change now. Fox News has spent years telling their audience they have nothing to worry about.

Epidemics, Pandemics and How to Control Them


Gresham College
Streamed live 111 minutes ago

Some infections come in repeated epidemic waves, others are new to human populations. Some mutate or species jump. It depends on the route of transmission. A lecture by Christopher Whitty, Gresham Professor of Physic 10 October 2018 6pm (UK time) https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-an… Some infections come in repeated epidemic waves, others are new to human populations. A known human threat such as influenza may mutate or a new infection jumps the species barrier from animals to humans: recent examples include HIV and Ebola, and the historical example of plague. What happens depends on the route of transmission. Methods for tackling an airborne disease like influenza are different from those for touch (Ebola), insect vector (Zika), water (cholera) or sexual transmission (HIV).

MAJOR HURRICANE MICHAEL CLOSE TO LANDFALL FOOTAGE COMPILATION


Climate State
Published on Oct 10, 2018

Potentially Catastrophic Hurricane Michael Nearing Landfall in Florida Panhandle https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/Pot… NASA Hurricane Michael From Space https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbDb4… Kerry Emanuel on Strong Hurricanes and the Future (2018) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5kWu… Jeff Piotrowski https://twitter.com/Jeff_Piotrowski Periscope live feed https://www.pscp.tv/Jeff_Piotrowski/1… Reed Timmer https://twitter.com/ReedTimmerAccu Dakota Smith https://twitter.com/weatherdak Gage Shaw https://twitter.com/WXgage Jeff Gammons https://twitter.com/StormVisuals

Powell: Not sure Trump can be a moral leader


CNN   Published on Oct 7, 2018

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell tells Fareed Zakaria that he isn’t sure President Trump can be a moral leader in the world, and that he hopes Trump comes to the realization that he should stop insulting people.

U.N. releases gloomy report on global warming


CBS This Morning

Published on Oct 9, 2018

Scientists say climate change is getting worse and there could be “life-or-death” consequences for our planet in the next 20 years. The new report from the U.N. predicts that at the current warming rate, millions more people will die from extreme heat by the year 2040. New York Times international climate reporter Somini Sengupta joins “CBS This Morning” to discuss the details of the report.