TUHO: + komentar od Nafeeze Ahmed

But there’s a deeper problem. New scientific research confirms that capitalism’s structural obsession with endless growth is destroying the very conditions for human survival on planet Earth.
A landmark study in the journal Nature Communications, “Scientists’ warning on affluence” — by scientists in Australia, Switzerland and the UK — concludes that the most fundamental driver of environmental destruction is the overconsumption of the super-rich.
This factor lies over and above other factors like fossil fuel consumption, industrial agriculture and deforestation: because it is overconsumption by the super-rich which is the chief driver of these other factors breaching key planetary boundaries.
The paper notes that the richest 10 percent of people are responsible for up to 43 percent of destructive global environmental impacts.
In contrast, the poorest 10 percent in the world are responsible just around 5 percent of these environmental impacts:

https://medium.com/...lism-is-eroding-safe-operating-space-for-humanity-warn-scientists-6e469132dbba

The affluent citizens of the world are responsible for most environmental impacts and are central to any future prospect of retreating to safer environmental conditions. We summarise the evidence and present possible solution approaches. Any transition towards sustainability can only be effective if far-reaching lifestyle changes complement technological advancements. However, existing societies, economies and cultures incite consumption expansion and the structural imperative for growth in competitive market economies inhibits necessary societal change.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16941-y

@Intersucho
Stav půdní vláhy je na celém území ČR v obvyklém či lepším stavu (bílá barva), než je průměr z období 1961-2010. Za posledních šest let jsme takto jednobarevnou mapu, znamenající nulové riziko sucha ve vegetačním období, vydat nemohli.

Zázrak!

https://oenergetice.cz/...zemsko-chce-splnit-cil-oze-pomoci-statistickeho-prevodu-energie-od-danska/

Nový doklad, že se počasí zbláznilo. V Česku padl jeden rekord - Seznam Zprávy
https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/...k/novy-doklad-ze-se-pocasi-zblaznilo-v-cesku-padl-jeden-rekord-110237

Hopi farming: a 2000-year-long agriculture experiment - Radio Cafe
http://radiocafe.media/downtoearth-hopi/

Hopi farmers were practicing regenerative agriculture before it was named. Working with the soil, the weather, the water cycle, seeds, and cultural practices, they fed themselves in the dry land of northern Arizona for millennia. Now the industrial food system has challenged their way of living and farming. We talk to traditional Hopi farmer Dr. Michael Kotutwa Johnson; he’s a research associate with the Native American Agriculture Fund and has a doctorate in natural resources management.

Bill Gates leads $10M investment in Quidnet’s long-duration geomechanical pumped storage – pv magazine USA
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/...0m-investment-in-quidnets-long-duration-geomechanical-pumped-storage/

Quidnet looks to use “excess” renewable energy to store pressurized-water under ground at dry oil and gas wells. The startup is aiming to work with electric utilities and deliver commercial-scale projects across the North American electric grid.

“Quidnet’s GPS technology is a novel form of hydroelectric energy storage. It uses time-tested well-drilling and construction technologies to pump water under pressure into subsurface geological reservoirs to store energy. When variable renewable energy is not available, this water is released to drive hydroelectric turbines to power the electric grid,” said Quidnet CEO Joe Zhou.

Zhou noted, in an interview with pv magazine that the company was “building off of known supply chains: pumping, wells, drilling, piping, etc.”

He added, “Today, the duration is ten hours but we can get to tens of hours, maybe hundreds of hours, dependent on the volume of the cavern.”

The project in New York State will be 2 MW/20 MWh in size, supported through NYSERDA’s High Performing Grid Program. Chou adds, “The 2-MW project will be funded by NYSERDA with $2.5 million — we’ll contribute the other half.” The company suggests that “even at this modular scale, per-kilowatt installed costs are expected to be less than 50% of traditional pumped storage due to simpler civil construction scope.”

“Integrating renewables and replacing retiring thermal generation require cost-effective long- duration electricity storage at an immense scale,” said the CEO.

...

Companies that have pursued long-duration energy storage include:

* Flow battery firms such as Primus, Invinity, Sumitomo, UET, ESS and ViZn
* Gravity-based approaches such as Gravity Power, Ares Power, and Energy Vault
* Compressed air or gas approaches such as Hydrostor and Highview Power
* Whatever Form is doing: Form Energy has raised over $50 million in funding from Eni Next, MIT’s The Engine, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Prelude Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group and Macquarie Capital. Form’s first commercial project is a 1-MW, grid-connected storage system capable of delivering its rated power continuously for 150 hours with Minnesota-based utility Great River Energy.

Methane (CH₄) is a potent greenhouse gas. Latest preliminary observations...

February 2020 - 1873.7 ppb
February 2019 - 1864.9 ppb

After Ice - short film preview
https://vimeo.com/381247648


After Ice is a short film that explores how the glacial landscapes of the Hornafjörður region of Southeast Iceland are being affected by climate change. By comparing modern-day drone footage with 3D models created from aerial photography collected by the National Land Survey of Iceland throughout the Twentieth Century, we can gain a glimpse of not only the physical changes but also the aesthetics of a disappearing frozen world.

​A project by:
Kieran Baxter and Þorvarður Árnason

Historical imagery based on aerial photography from Landmælingar Íslands / Nation Land Survey of Iceland

​Drone filming in Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður / Vatnajökull National Park carried out under special permit

Emissions Are Surging Back as Countries and States Reopen
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/17/climate/virus-emissions-reopening.html

After a drastic decline this spring, global greenhouse gas emissions are now rebounding sharply — a stark reminder that even as the pandemic rages, the world is still far from getting global warming under control.

Denmark Strikes Historic Climate Deal to Slash Emissions
https://www.bloomberg.com/...-06-22/danish-parliament-strikes-historic-climate-deal-to-cut-emissions

Danish lawmakers have struck a climate agreement to ensure their country can live up to a goal of cutting carbon emissions by 70% from 1990 levels over the coming decade.

The deal, which was entered last night after winning broad backing across party lines, means Denmark will commit to cutting carbon emissions by 3.4 million tonnes. Lawmakers also agreed to build the world’s first energy islands, while investments will be made in carbon capture and greener fuels, the Climate Ministry said in a statement on its website.

Observed temperature anomaly (from GISSTEMP) over June 2019 - May 2020 vs projected average temperature anomaly from 34 CMIP6 climate models over 2016-2025 using the worse scenario ssp585. Unfortunately observations confirm the worse IPCC projections... https://t.co/aRmz0s4NNi

Does that mean we are heading for RCP 8.5?

Yes ssp585 from CMIP6 ~ RCP85 from CMIP5

Rattan Lal interview by Josie Watson
320 Gigatons Drawdown by 2100: A "Win, Win, Win” Strategy
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Soil4Climate/permalink/2280436375561437

Eminent soil scientist, Dr. Rattan Lal, Director of the Ohio State University Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, in an exclusive interview with Soil4Climate’s International Policy Liaison, Josie Watson, at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) headquarters in Rome on World Soil Day, December 5, 2018, said restoring degraded soils and vegetation can, by the year 2100, draw down 320 gigatons (billion metric tons) of carbon from the atmosphere — the equivalent of lowering the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration by 150 to 160 parts per million (ppm). Enumerating many co-benefits of this approach, including addressing the issues of poverty and food security, Lal calls soil restoration a “win, win, win” strategy.

TRANSCRIPT

Soil4Climate: How much drawdown of carbon dioxide into soil is possible, in the world?

Dr. Rattan Lal: That's a very important and relevant question, especially on World Soil Day.

We have estimated, along with many other colleagues, the possibility is about 150 to 160 gigatons of carbon cumulative until 2100. So, between now and 2100, maybe about 160 gigatons, which is approximately 75 to 80 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 (carbon dioxide) drawdown. Now, this includes all soils, including degraded soils, desertified soils, and so forth.

But, even if we take the recent estimates of how much carbon has been depleted from the soils of the world, and that means we can replace that much back, that’s about 135 gigatons. So, the estimate of the world soil sink capacity for carbon between now and 2100, for the next 80 years, is somewhere between 130 to 150 gigatons of carbon, which is a very sizable amount.

If you combine this with also what can be sequestered in the vegetation, that’s another 150 to 160 gigatons. So total, put together, we have a possibility of putting carbon in the terrestrial biosphere, soil and vegetation, about 320 gigatonnes of carbon, which is equal to about 150 to 160 parts per million CO2 drawdown from the atmosphere.

This is a great opportunity. Not only that, it’s a natural process, it’s also cost-effective, and it has many co-benefits.

Therefore, it’s very important that we support the activity of the (United Nation’s) Global Soil Partnership (GSP) and other initiatives that have been started throughout the world including (France’s) 4-per-1000 and AAA (Adaptation of African Agriculture).

I think this is a thing that we should encourage the policymakers meeting right now in Poland to really discuss, support, and undertake.

We should encourage our policymakers that this process of restoring degraded soils and ecosystems — desertified land — is a “win, win, win” option.

It’s a bridge to the future. It buys us time until the no-carbon and low-carbon fuel sources take effect.

At the same time, it is the best option to achieve the sustainable development goals of ending hunger, ending poverty, improving life on the terrestrial ecosystem, empowering women — women are the most important farming community in developing countries.

So, soil carbon sequestration, terrestrial carbon sequestration, is something we cannot afford to miss. I will strongly support GSP (UN FAO Global Soil Partnership) to follow up with this activity.

In last year, the congress that was held here at the FAO headquarters was a very successful event, and I hope a similar event can be done in the future.

END

Soil4Climate Interview with Dr. Rattan Lal on World Soil Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WB72kyaCBw