The Guardian:
The vast expanse of sea ice around Antarctica has suffered a “precipitous” fall since 2014, satellite data shows, and fell at a faster rate than seen in the Arctic.
The plunge in the average annual extent means Antarctica lost as much sea ice in four years as the Arctic lost in 34 years. The cause of the sharp Antarctic losses is as yet unknown and only time will tell whether the ice recovers or continues to decline.
But researchers said it showed ice could disappear much more rapidly than previously thought. Unlike the melting of ice sheets on land, sea ice melting does not raise sea level. But losing bright white sea ice means the sun’s heat is instead absorbed by dark ocean waters, leading to a vicious circle of heating.
Sea ice spreads over enormous areas and has major impacts on the global climate system, with losses in the Arctic strongly linked to extreme weather at lower latitudes, such as heatwaves in Europe.
The loss of sea ice in the Arctic clearly tracks the rise in global air temperatures resulting from human-caused global heating, but the two poles are very different. The Arctic is an ocean surrounded by continents and is exposed to warming air, while Antarctica is a freezing continent surrounded by oceans and is protected from warming air by a circle of strong winds.
Antarctic sea ice had been slowly increasing during the 40 years of measurements and reached a record maximum in 2014. But since then sea ice extent has nosedived, reaching a record low in 2017.
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~~Hoax~~~.
This is what we climate science overreactors have said dictates that we must do what we can to reduce emissions that contribute to the greenhouse effect. We may not be able to say humans are solely responsible for global warming but we can say we contribute to it and that is the only thing we can control. Our failure to do so puts the Keys, the Everglades and every flat, low lying estuary in the WORLD at risk, to say nothing of thousands of species of plants and animals that are critical to our ecosystems. No big deal, right?
Pogo, we seem to be hell bent on it – pun intended
BBC: ‘Football pitch’ of Amazon forest lost every minute
An area of Amazon rainforest roughly the size of a football pitch is now being cleared every single minute, according to satellite data.
The rate of losses has accelerated as Brazil’s new right-wing president favours development over conservation.
The largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon is a vital carbon store that slows down the pace of global warming.
A senior Brazilian official, speaking anonymously, told us his government was encouraging deforestation.
[…]
What does this mean for the forest?
Satellite images show a sharp increase in clearances of trees over the first half of this year, since Jair Bolsonaro became president of Brazil, the country that owns most of the Amazon region.
The most recent analysis suggests a staggering scale of losses over the past two months in particular, with about a hectare being cleared every minute on average.
The single biggest reason to fell trees, according to official figures, is to create new pastures for cattle, and during our visit we saw countless herds grazing on land that used to be rainforest.
Over the past decade, previous governments had managed to reduce the clearances with concerted action by federal agencies and a system of fines.
But this approach is being overturned by Mr Bolsonaro and his ministers who have criticised the penalties and overseen a dramatic fall in confiscations of timber and convictions for environmental crimes.
Why does this matter?
The forest holds a vast amount of carbon in its billions of trees, accumulated over hundreds or even thousands of years.
Every year, the leaves also absorb a huge quantity of carbon dioxide that would otherwise be left in the atmosphere adding to the rise in global temperatures.
By one recent estimate, the trees of the Amazon rainforest pulled in carbon dioxide equivalent to the fossil fuel emissions of most of the nine countries that own or border the forest between 1980-2010.
The forest is also the richest home to biodiversity on the planet, a habitat for perhaps one-tenth of all species of plants and animals.
And it is where one million indigenous people live, hunting and gathering amid the trees.
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speaking of futbol pitches
cbs sports:
Women’s World Cup 2019: What to know about semifinalists as USA, England, Sweden and Netherlands eye the title
The field is down to four in France — what are the strengths and weaknesses of each squad?
Just four teams remain at the 2019 Women’s World Cup after the quarterfinals finished up on Saturday. The United States, the reigning champion and No. 1 ranked team in the world, highlights the the field, and the Americans will face England on Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET on fuboTV (Try for free). In the other semifinal, it’s the surprising Netherlands taking on confident Sweden on Wednesday. Gone are cup favorites France and Germany, and the winner of USA-England will be the favorite in Sunday’s final. But what should you know about all four remaining teams?
Here’s a look at the their World Cup history, and things to know about each semifinalist:
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from daryl cagle’s desk at cagle post:
I’m disappointed to write that star Canadian cartoonist, Michael de Adder, was cut from five Brunswick News, Inc. newspapers after drawing the cartoon below, about Donald Trump, … …
wapo editorial board: Trump’s Fourth of July plans just keep getting worse
THIS PAGE in recent weeks has been graced with letters from readers recounting their memories of gathering on the Mall and watching the fireworks on the Fourth of July. Claire O’Dwyer Randall remembered her father driving her family in a 1939 DeSoto sedan “as close as we can get” to the Mall. Mary Resnick wrote about “our” special spot on the steps of the reflecting pool, surrounded by tens of thousands of “our best friends.” Carol Cavanaugh explained how the celebration was her annual reminder of the United States as glorious melting pot.
The letters were written in response to President Trump taking direct control of plans for the country’s premier Independence Day festivities; the writers were worried that a day traditionally set aside for Americans to come together for simple love of country was in danger of being co-opted and usurped. Judging by the latest revelations of the president’s plans, they were right to worry. The order of the day as ordained by Mr. Trump will not be patriotism but instead personality and politics.
It was bad enough that Mr. Trump sought to make the holiday about himself with plans to deliver a nationally televised address from the Lincoln Memorial, thus eliminating what many consider the hands-down best spot in Washington for fellowship and fireworks on the Fourth of July. But Mr. Trump now plans to cordon off an area in front of the memorial reserved just for dignitaries, family and friends. Nothing about reserved seating says “We the people.”
Equally, if not more troubling, is his insistence on a display of military might that will include a flyover of warplanes and the stationing of tanks or other armored military vehicles on the streets of the capital. What this will cost the Defense Department and the National Parks Service is anyone’s guess. (Officials have refused comment.) But the question of expense pales in comparison with the message that will be sent by a gaudy display of military hardware that is more in keeping with a banana republic than the world’s oldest democracy.
Administration officials say the celebration will be bigger and better than before, with more music and a longer fireworks display. But Americans shouldn’t be lured by the trappings or the spectacle or the rhetoric of Mr. Trump. Instead, like our letter writers, they should claim the day for values embraced by the founders: freedom, tolerance and respect for all.
People await the fireworks in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on July 4, 2018. (Calla Kessler/The Washington Post)
Saw the movie Jaws last night. So wish the character of Quint was actually trump… getting eaten alive by a shark is exactly what he deserves.
This large doe was just in our yard. Sorry about the missing head… she was moving fast. She didn’t touch our garden… yet. Might be time to consider buying our summer veggies at a local farm stand.
Renee, If you have hostas, she will.
renee, who knows, your jaws wish might have been granted.
BREAKING: Vice President Pence on Air Force Two Diverted Back to White House For Undisclosed ‘Emergency’
WASHINGTON (FOX NEWS) – Vice President Pence’s airplane was diverted from New Hampshire back to Washington on Tuesday after being called back for an undisclosed emergency.
Pence was scheduled to visit Salem on Tuesday to participate in a roundtable discussion and deliver remarks on the opioid crisis and illegal drug flow in New Hampshire.
But shortly before the vice president was scheduled to arrive, an announcer at the event told the crowd that Air Force Two had been diverted because of an emergency.
“We do have a situation where the vice president was called back to Washington,” Randy Gentry, a representative of Pence’s office, told the crowd, saying the event was being canceled.
A spokesman for Pence’s office said the vice president needs to go back to the White House, and said the vice president will return to New Hampshire at a later date.
President Trump is in Washington on Tuesday, but has no public events scheduled.
Sources at Capitol Hill and the White House could not immediately provide details when asked what type of emergency it entailed.
This is a developing story. Stay with us for updates.
ny times; House Files Lawsuit Seeking Disclosure of Trump Tax Returns
WASHINGTON — The House’s tax-writing committee sued the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday demanding access to President Trump’s tax returns, escalating a fight with an administration that has repeatedly dismissed as illegitimate the Democrats’ attempt to obtain Mr. Trump’s financial records.
The lawsuit moves the dispute into federal courts after months of sniping between the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee, which requested and then subpoenaed the returns, and the Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin. The outcome is likely to determine whether financial information that Mr. Trump — breaking with longstanding tradition — has kept closely guarded as a candidate and as president will be viewed by Congress and, ultimately, by the public.
In Tuesday’s filing, the House argued that the administration’s defiance of its request amounted to “an extraordinary attack on the authority of Congress to obtain information needed to conduct oversight of Treasury, the I.R.S., and the tax laws on behalf of the American people.”
[Read the committee’s legal complaint.]
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No one should go to the mall on july 4th
Boycott the disrespect for the 4th of July
KC – damn skippy.
Pogo…. Rick loves hostas… we have some very old and large ones. I remember when we first built this house 40 yrs ago this summer. The only wildlife back then was a few birds, chipmunks, and squirrels. Now nature is reclaiming the place back.
The women’s soccer game against England is almost set to start…. Go USA!
Renee, we’ve got a great crop of hostas in our back yard. The deer jump the fence – often while our “guard dog” is watching. they love the hostas. We came back from vacation and they were nothing but stems – which look like celery with the leaves cut off once the deer have had their dinner.
So it’s 1-1 at 22′. Odd that Megan Rapinoe didn’t start. She scored the US’s last 4 goals.
Now 2-1 US
Mr Pogo, what is ‘skippy’, sir ?
The Fourth O’July is a time we’ll want Mr Bink to rant us a good rant.
pence plane heads back to D.C.
pence team claims pence never left D.C.
Did the traveling trumperatives forget to pack the pencedent on board AF2 before taking off ?
Inquiring peoples wanna know.
XR, that’s an expression I heard from one of my study group members in law school. No idea what its origin was. As you can guess, it’s like “Hell, yeah” but without the redneck slant.
BTW that 2nd US goal was a header by Alex Morgan, assist from Lindsey Horan. Keep it up!!!
XR – I guess they had to do an emergency return to DC because the crew didn’t realize Pence wasn’t on the plane? Hmmmm, sounds a bit fishy to me.
The vice pencident was missing ! he prolly took a long opioid break. Or, the entire vice pee and pee team took one.
I presume that the AF guys were sober.
I copy, Mr Pogo. Thanks.
Halfway through the 2nd period, still 2-1 US!!! The last 20 minutes of a soccer match go by very quickly if you’re down a goal.
Renee, what happened with the 2nd England goal? The ESPN commentary is unclear, but it sounds like it was cancelled because of an offside player.
I’m definitely gonna have to watch the replay tonight.
Lot of extra time – into 6 minutes now.
Whew!! Finally over. Congrats US.
Pogo… I watched on my local Fox affiliate… they said it was definitely offside.
YEEEEEEHAAAAW! Can’t wait until the finale on Sunday!
Yay US Women!
I was going to mention something about Tass reporting Putin calling an emergency at the same time SFB called back his adoring white creepy guy from New Hampshire (IIRC). But that would be a coincidence, I do not believe in coincidences.
A fine day – met with a dear friend and his girlfriend for lunch. It was wonderful.
Biden drops like a stone. Harris on the rise
KGC – Biden is a known. Now Harris is a known. Uncle Joe needs to sit on the porch a bit and be a supportive guy. A few elections ago he might have . . . no he lost those elections too.
Come on bad weather. This is the first time I wanted to have bad weather on the Fourth. Desperate times call for desperate calls.
BB
Rain Dance
Rain in the forecast — deluge needed
Biden is reminding us why he lost numerous presidential campaigns.
KC is dancing her ass off – doing a jig for Biden’s latest poll numbers and a rain dance for the 4th in DC. I’ll join in the latter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHEsE9yN2CY
Uncle Joe is hurting down 10 pts. generally but he still leads,
What I’m enjoying is Bernie being kicked to the curb. 4th place in recent polls and down to single numbers in a Iowa poll.
Jack
Jack, re Bernie!, you and me.
LP’s girlfriend is coming to NYC for the 4th. I recommended finding a rooftop bar overlooking the harbor to watch the Macy’s fireworks. He agrees it’s a better option than watching the latest trumpfest.
NEW THREAD inspired by ms cracker