Wassup World! Today is July Twenty Fifth Two Thousand Eighteen and this is Wassup World News coming to you not so live with the Weekly Wednesday Wrap Up where we rebreak stories that impact our planets flora and fauna. Today, and every Wednesday moving forward we will be rebreaking news regarding Water, Air, Soil, Urban Spaces, Power and People.
Scientists have now found heightened traces of radiation in wine vintages grown in the famous Napa Valley after the nuclear emergency. To be clear, these heightened but faint traces of the radioactive isotope Caesium–137 don't pose a health risk to humans, experts say. The increased radiation is accredited to the The radioactive fallout of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. https://www.sciencealert.com/radioactive-traces-fukushima-detected-californian-wine-caesium-137-napa
The Atlantic's overturning circulation has been measured since 2004. Since then the change in overturn circulation has been 10 times larger than those anticipated by climate change models. The good news, indicators show that this slowdown of the Atlantic overturning circulation is ending which may slow melting in the Arctic. Bad news is that surface temperatures are likely to start rising more quickly in the coming decades. http://www.washington.edu/news/2018/07/18/atlantic-ocean-circulation-is-not-collapsing-but-as-it-shifts-gears-global-warming-will-reaccelerate/
For the last three years, not one calf has been born to the dwindling pods of black-and-white killer whales spouting geysers of mist off the coast in the Pacific Northwest. Normally four or five calves would be born each year. The number of orcas here has dwindled to just 75, a 30-year-low. Listed as endangered since 2005, the orcas are essentially starving, as their primary prey, the Chinook, or king salmon, are dying off. The orcas are also facing a new threat. The recent agreement between the Canadian government and Kinder Morgan to expand the Trans Mountain Pipeline may multiply oil tanker traffic through the orcas’ habitat by seven times, exposing them to excessive noise and potential spills. Construction is set to begin in August. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/09/science/orcas-whales-endangered.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur
Scientists at the University of Exeter say that fish are losing their sense of smell due to increased ocean acidity. The ocean absorbs CO2 and forms carbonic acid. Since the 1800's ocean CO2 levels have risen by 43% and is predicted to rise to more than double the current level by the end of the century. Research conducted by the university shows that increased ocean acidity causes fish to respond less to the smell of a predator, swim less, and freeze in shock more often. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-44925495
In Florida, toxic blue-green algae covers 90 percent of Lake Okeechobee and much of it's outlets. Meanwhile a long-running toxic Red Tide algae bloom on the state’s west coast has been killing sea turtles and manatees in the Boca Grande area. The toxic algae are always present in the Gulf of Mexico and other waterways around the state killing fish and irritating humans’ respiratory systems. Warmer water temperatures have boosted the likelihood and length of blooms in recent years. http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/Florida-s-summertime-slime-fueled-by-climate-change-as-well-as-pollution_169758168
Climate scientists have concluded for the first time that humans are pushing seasonal temperatures out of balance - shifting what one researcher called the very "march of the seasons themselves." The study, published Thursday in the journal Science, also calls attention to a persistent disconnect between findings that attribute warming to humanity and how the same research has been characterized in testimony before the US Congress. The authors give "odds of roughly 5 in 1 million" of these changes occurring naturally, without human influence. https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-have-shifted-the-earth-s-seasons-for-the-first-time-with-climate-change
A US federal appeals court in San Francisco on Friday rejected the Trump administration’s renewed bid to dismiss a lawsuit by young activists who say the U.S. government is ignoring the perils of climate change. Twenty-one children and young adults, ages 11 to 22, accused federal officials and oil industry executives of violating their due process rights by knowing for decades that carbon pollution poisons the environment, but doing nothing about it. The federal appeals court said the issues raised “are better addressed through the ordinary course of litigation.” President Trump’s administration has repeatedly tried to end the lawsuit but thusfar has be unsuccesful. A trial is scheduled for Oct. 29 in the federal court in Eugene, Oregon. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climatechange-lawsuit/u-s-loses-bid-to-end-childrens-climate-change-lawsuit-idUSKBN1KA2SB
The Trump administration will seek to revoke California’s authority to regulate automobile greenhouse gas emissions -- including its mandate for electric-car sales -- in a proposed revision of Obama-era standards, according to people familiar with the plan. The proposal, expected to be released this week, would put the brakes on federal rules to boost fuel efficiency into the next decade. Instead it would cap federal fuel economy requirements at the 2020 level, which under federal law must be at least a 35-mile-per-gallon fleet average, rather than letting them rise to roughly 50 mpg by 2025 as envisioned in the Obama-era plan. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-23/trump-is-said-to-seek-repeal-of-california-s-smog-fighting-power
Using sound waves, researchers from MIT, Harvard, and UC Berkely have discovered what amounts to over a quadrillion tonnes of diamonds distributed deep below the Earth's surface. The diamonds, however, are "impossible" to mine – as they are 145 to 241 kilometres (that's 90 to 150 miles) below the Earth's surface, far deeper than modern drills are capable of reaching. https://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-found-quadrillion-tons-of-diamonds-below-earth-surface-2018-7?r=US&IR=T
In his first major action as the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Andrew Wheeler finalized a revision of coal ash disposal regulations last Wednesday. States will be allowed to suspend groundwater monitoring requirements if they don’t believe there is a risk of harmful byproducts from coal ash migrating into aquifers. The revision also allows existing coal ash ponds, including those within five feet of groundwater or in wetlands, to continue operating beyond a previously determined April 2019 deadline. The (EPA) also announced Tuesday that it is implementing recently passed legislation that exempts farmers from having to report emissions derived from animal waste and other pollutants which currently account for roughly 20% of global emmisions. https://readsludge.com/2018/07/20/wheeler-finalizes-coal-ash-deregulation-he-pushed-as-a-coal-industry-lobbyist/ http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/398651-epa-signs-off-on-rule-exempting-farmers-from-reporting-emissions
Greek authorities are looking for dozens of people missing after the deadly wildfires near Athens. At least 80 people have died, and a search continues for survivors who fled the blaze, including those who took to the sea. High winds spread the fire, trapping many in homes and vehicles and forcing others into the water as they tried to escape the flames. The fire is now widely reported to be the deadliest on record in Greece. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44948173
Conservative groups are coming out in fierce opposition to legislation introduced by Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) that would impose a tax on carbon-emitting companies. Curbelo’s bill would repeal federal taxes on gasoline, diesel and aviation fuels and replace those with a $24 per metric ton tax on carbon dioxide emissions which would increase annually. The measure also breaks with the party’s long-standing opposition to policies that punish the fossil fuel industry for carbon pollution. http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/398381-conservatives-come-out-against-carbon-tax-bill-from-gop-lawmaker
A deadly heat wave across Texas is testing the state’s electrical grid and endangering residents as unrelenting temperatures tick higher. The typically hot Southern state is seeing dramatic conditions during a sweltering summer that has overwhelmed the United States and a number of other countries. At Enchanted Rock, a Texas state park located near Fredericksburg, park rangers reported last Thursday that the pink granite mountain’s surface temperature was 133 degrees. https://thinkprogress.org/texas-heat-wave-3bfb5af7813a/
Green Mountain Power suggested in an interview with local news that 500 distributed Tesla Powerwalls plus two larger energy storage facilities have saved its customers $500,000 this summer during peak demand hours. Vermont is the second smallest state in the country by population with near 620,000 residents. https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2018/07/19/tesla-powerwalls-and-powerpacks-save-vermont-500000-during-heatwaves/
Legislation to address climate change has repeatedly died in the US Congress. Climate action has been repeatedly drowned by the fossil fuel industry — spending nearly $2 billion in lobbying since 2000 alone. During the same period, Environmental and renewable energy sector lobbying expenditures came in at 1/10th the fossil fuel industry. https://thinkprogress.org/fossil-fuel-industry-outspends-environment-groups-on-climate-new-study-231325b4a7e6/
Japan's weather agency has declared a heatwave sweeping the country a natural disaster, with at least 65 deaths recorded in the past week. "unprecedented levels of heat" were being seen in some areas. More than 22,000 people have been taken to hospital with heat stroke, nearly half of them elderly, officials say. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/japan-heatwave-kills-at-least-15-12-000-rushed-to-hospital-10552728
On Saturday Youth-Led Marches Across the Globe Demanded Immediate and Ambitious Climate Action. 'This Is Zero Hour': has delcare that climate change is "an issue of survival" that must be confronted with urgency. Youth activists are asking legislators to "reject the corrupting monetary influence of fossil fuel executives," ban all new dirty energy developments, and safeguard the planet for both its current inhabitants and future generations. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/07/21/zero-hour-youth-led-marches-across-globe-demand-immediate-and-ambitious-climate
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I'm John Brindley, and Until next time, Peace Out World.