Wild fires in Australia and elsewhere are extreme

From the Interview of Peter Dykstra by Steve Curwood

CURWOOD: It’s Living on Earth, I’m Steve Curwood. The signs of a changing climate seem to be emerging more and more behind the headlines, so for the latest we are on the line now with Peter Dykstra, an editor for Environmental Health News, that’s EHN.org and DailyClimate.org. Hi Peter!

DYKSTRA: Hi Steve, how often do you hear the phrase ‘the fire is too big to put out’ from firefighters? That’s what they’re saying about a huge bush fire outside of Australia’s largest city, Sydney. They say that the city may be couched in smoke for months to come.

CURWOOD: That is not very good news. And of course, it’s due to this massive drought over there.
DYKSTRA: We’ve seen pictures of the iconic Sydney Opera House, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge sort of covered in smoke. That’s the most populous area of the country. And it’s a very, very strong message that climate change is here to stay. And we’re also looking at others from around the world.

CURWOOD: Okay, what do you have in mind?
DYKSTRA: In Bali, tourism center in Indonesia, there’s a combination of drought and the increase in tourism that are really doing a number on the water supply.

CURWOOD: So running out of water for tourists who want their long showers and then how do you grow food?
DYKSTRA: Growing food is part of it. And it’s this inevitable clash between the tourist industry and tourists on one hand and the local residents on the other to get their day-to-day needs. But there’s still another one from Africa.

CURWOOD: Okay, and what’s that one?
DYKSTRA: Victoria Falls, another iconic tourist destination on the Zambezi River. More than half a mile long waterfall is running dry in a way that no one’s ever seen before as a result of the worst drought in that area in a century.

CURWOOD: So is there no water going over the falls or is it just sort of . . . .
DYKSTRA: It’s a trickle. There are some remarkable pictures where you see what used to be in what’s normally this cascade of water stretched out over half a mile. It’s now mostly barren cliffs with just a little stream heading over the falls.

CURWOOD: And I bet this isn’t the last of things along these lines that you’ve noted.
DYKSTRA: There’s one more unfortunately, we need to go to the Alps where it is winter and instead of the Southern Hemisphere summer, and winter, of course is ski season, and we’re looking at an increasing number of closed and even abandoned ski resorts in the Alps, due to a decline in skiable days during the winter months.

CURWOOD: Signs of climate disruption everywhere. Hey Peter, what else do you have for us today?
DYKSTRA: Well, here’s something it seems we’re mentioning this all the time. Unfortunately, we have to mention it again. Because last week, two more indigenous environmental activists, anti-logging activists, were murdered in what appears to be a drive-by shooting in the northeastern Brazilian state of Maranhao.

CURWOOD: Oh man, this is just happening way too much. I think last year 100 and, more than 160 environmental activists were killed. When will this stop do you think?
DYKSTRA: It’s, I don’t know that it’s ever going to stop. There are still brave people who have obviously literally put their lives on the line.

CURWOOD: What do we have from the annals of history for today, Peter?
DYKSTRA: There’s a 20th anniversary, and for me it’s hard to believe that this is already 20 years ago. December 18, 1999, Julia Butterfly Hill came down from the tree she had been sitting in for more than two years, a Northern California Redwood that was slated for cutting.

/// — Julia Butterfly Hill lived in a nearly 200 foot tall California redwood dubbed ‘Luna’ for 738 days to draw attention to the plight of forests. (Photo in Transcript) — ///.

CURWOOD: That tree, I believe, was called Luna.
DYKSTRA: Luna was the name given to the tree. There was an attempt to kill Luna out of spite. But as far as we know, the tree is still alive and well and growing and enormous. Something is different about Julia Butterfly Hill. Her website says she’s “no longer available to discuss the epic tree sit, and that her life has moved on.” I guess somebody that could deal with more than two years worth of absolute solitude may not want to deal with celebrity for the rest of her life.

CURWOOD: Who could blame her? Thanks, Peter. Peter Dykstra is an editor with Environmental Health News, that’s EHN.org and DailyClimate.org. We’ll talk to you real soon, right after the holidays.

DYKSTRA: Well good to talk to you as always and happy holidays to you and happy holidays to everyone.
CURWOOD: And there’s more on these stories at the Living on Earth website, LOE.org.

Related links:

Actress Diane Lane one of those arrested for protesting climate change

Attribution is a serious activity with global climate scientists

From an Article by Jessica Corbett, Common Dreams, July 27, 2018

With wildfires raging the world over, a new preliminary analysis conducted by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) and reported by the Guardian found that the global climate crisis notably increased the likeliness of last year’s Hurricane Harvey and “Lucifer” heat wave, as well as the current heat wave sweeping across Northern Europe and fueling fires in the Arctic Circle.

“This is something that society can and should prepare for. But equally there is no doubt that we can and should constrain the increasing likelihood of all kinds of extreme weather events by restricting greenhouse gas emissions as sharply as possible.”
— Friederike Otto, University of Oxford

“We found that for the weather station in the far north, in the Arctic Circle, the current heat wave is just extraordinary—unprecedented in the historical record,” said Geert Jan van Oldenborgh of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and WWA.

The researchers found that climate change made the heat wave in Northern Europe more than twice as likely, Hurricane Harvey three times more likely, and the Lucifer heat wave 10 times more likely.

“By comparing extreme weather with historical measurements and with computer models of a climate unaltered by carbon emissions, researchers can find how much global warming is increasing the risk of dangerous weather,” the Guardian explained. This analysis differs from a full study that would require “many climate models to be run on high-powered computers, which takes months.”

Summarizing their conclusion, Friederike Otto of the University of Oxford and WWA told the newspaper, “The logic that climate change will do this is inescapable—the world is becoming warmer, and so heat waves like this are becoming more common.”

While “most heat wave studies have been done on large scale averages, so European-wide temperatures,” Otto noted that “in this study, we have looked at individual locations, where people live, to represent the heat wave people are actually experiencing.”

The heat wave that has fueled more than 50 fires in Sweden in recent weeks has also caused excessive heat throughout the U.K. and Europe—including in Greece, where a fire killed dozens earlier this week.

Pointing to recent comments from British politicians who are demanding concrete action to prevent such events from becoming the “new normal” and endangering thousands or even millions of lives, 350.org echoed their call and highlighted worldwide rallies planned for September 8th to demand a future free of fossil fuels.

“What was once regarded as unusually warm weather will become commonplace, and in some cases, it already has,” Otto concluded. “So this is something that society can and should prepare for. But equally there is no doubt that we can and should constrain the increasing likelihood of all kinds of extreme weather events by restricting greenhouse gas emissions as sharply as possible.”

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Comment from 350.org on July 27, 2018

So true. The intense heat so many people are experiencing just goes to show – climate change is here, now. It will get worse – so we have to do better. Let’s all take action and #RiseForClimate on September 8th.

See also: http://350.org/rise

— 350 dot org (@350) 9:28 AM – July 27, 2018