New study shows the Arctic has entered an ‘unprecedented state’ that threatens the entire planet

We already know that global warming is transforming the Arctic, but a new study highlighting the intensity and speed of the changes says it’s worse than many scientists expected.

Trouble in the Arctic.

The newly released paper, “Key Indicators of Arctic Climate Change: 1971-2017,” is a work of scientists at the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland in Copenhagen (GUES). Published in a special issue on Arctic climate change by the journal Environmental Research letters, it is the first of its kind to combine observations of physical climate indicators with biological impacts. Previous to this study many of these indicators or measures of climate change were treated in isolation from one another.

Read the story from Nation of Change by Ruth Milka - “New study shows the Arctic has entered an ‘unprecedented state’ that threatens the entire planet.”

Global Warming Is Pushing Arctic Toward ‘Unprecedented State,’ Research Shows.

Global warming is transforming the Arctic, and the changes have rippled so widely that the entire biophysical system is shifting toward an "unprecedented state," an international team of researchers concludes in a new analysis of nearly 50 years of temperature readings and changes across the ecosystems.

Sheenjek River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Arctic forests are turning into bogs as permafrost melts beneath their roots. The icy surface that reflects the sun's radiation back into space is darkening and sea ice cover is declining. Warmth and moisture trapped by greenhouse gases are pumping up the water cycle, swelling rivers that carry more sediment and nutrients to the sea, which can change ocean chemistry and affect the coastal marine food chain. And those are just a few of the changes. 

The researchers describe how warming in the Arctic, which is heating up 2.4 times faster than the Northern Hemisphere average, is triggering a cascade of changes in everything from when plants flower to where fish and other animal populations can be found.

Read the Inside Climate News story by Bob Berwyn - “Global Warming Is Pushing Arctic Toward ‘Unprecedented State,’ Research Shows.”

Major climate report warns of strong risk of crisis as early as 2040

A landmark report from the United Nations’ scientific panel on climate change paints a far more dire picture of the immediate consequences of climate change than previously thought and says that avoiding the damage requires transforming the world economy at a speed and scale that has “no documented historic precedent.”

Harry Tayor, 6, plays with the bones of dead
livestock on his family's drought-hit NSW farm.

The report, issued on Monday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of scientists convened by the United Nations to guide world leaders, describes a world of worsening food shortages and wildfires, and a mass die-off of coral reefs as soon as 2040 — a period well within the lifetime of much of the global population.

The report “is quite a shock, and quite concerning,” said Bill Hare, an author of previous IPCC reports and a physicist with Climate Analytics, a nonprofit organisation. “We were not aware of this just a few years ago.”

Read the story by Coral Daveport from The New Daily - “Major climate report warns of strong risk of crisis as early as 2040.”

AGL chief determined to turn Liddell into renewables hub

The AGL chief executive, Andy Vesey, says he plans to “fully execute” his vision of transforming the Liddell coal-fired power station into a renewables hub, saying it will bring cheaper, greener and more reliable energy, while providing quality, long-term jobs for decades.

 AGL’s Andy Vesey speaks at an event in Sydney on Friday,
 where he also addressed the Liddell plant issue. 

Vesey left little doubt about his desired future for the plant during a speech on energy policy on Friday, again defying renewed pressure from the Turnbull government.

He said transforming the site into an integrated renewables hub – comprising renewable generation, batteries, gas and demand response – would be vastly preferable to extending its life for several years. 

Read the story by Christoper Knaus from The Guardian - “AGL chief determined to turn Liddell into renewables hub.”