Environmental News

I did not actually ascend the big stick. Highest tower I ever did was 100 meters in Panama. It was wobbly.

 

10 Astonishing Viewing Platforms and Skywalks - Wonderslist

 

It is usually impoverished slope dwellers that get killed by volcanoes. Volcanologists come in second. Disassembly of tourists is rare.

 

Aliso Canyon methane release has dropped to second place:

Enormous Methane Leak From Ohio Gas Well Was One of Worst in American History, Satellites Reveal
Satellite observations reveal extreme methane leakage from a natural gas well blowout | PNAS

 

Indoor air [CO2] could become high enough to impair cognition:

Higher carbon dioxide levels could muddle our thinking

Based on study presented at AGU and published on a preprint server. Note that neither has undergone journal-level peer review. But it merits some consideration.

Your reporter adds that bottom-end CO2 sensors (non-dispersive infrared spectrometers) are reliable to within 30 ppm and cost about $70. Not very useful for research but good enough to know if your indoor air is too high. Adding also a thing that's been a burr under my saddle for a long time. Vehicles with very tight design and with airflow set to recirculate. Within such a small volume even one persons CO2 exhalation can have big effects. Some fella ought to make measurements. Single-vehicle fatal crashes where driver was alone and seems to have fallen asleep are not rare.

Not engine related is what I'm talking about, so pure electric vehicles are not excluded. It's about that liter of 20% CO2 you exhale every minute.

 

Farmers discussing matters they find important:

How a closed-door meeting shows farmers are waking up on climate change - POLITICO

 

Happy New Year, and New Decade to all zero-counters out there.

A rather grim summary of recycling:
The World's Recycling System Is Falling Apart. What's Going On? - Foundation for Economic Education

And more uplifting potentials for this decade:
Earthshot Prize - A decade of action to repair the Earth

 

Newly published
Burney JA (2020). The downstream air pollution impacts of the transition from coal to natural gas in the United States. Nature Sustainability https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0453-5

From the Abstract:

“Between 2005 and 2016 in the continental United States, decommissioning of a coal-fired unit was associated with reduced nearby pollution concentrations and subsequent reductions in mortality and increases in crop yield. In total during this period, the shutdown of coal-fired units saved an estimated 26,610 (5%–95% confidence intervals (CI), 2,725–49,680) lives and 570 million (249–878 million) bushels of corn, soybeans and wheat in their immediate vicinities; these estimates increase when pollution transport-related spillovers are included.”

Some of the most enjoyable figures are in 'extended data' and not paywalled.

There are other countries on similar paths where similar studies could be undertaken.

 

Blackrock is a large investment firm

Major investment firm to prioritize sustainability, back off coal | Ars Technica

links to the two letters mentioned:

Larry Fink's Letter to CEOs | BlackRock
BlackRock Client Letter | Sustainability

 

Wuhan virus is shaking things up on this side of the world

Wuhan, China, and 5 other cities have been quarantined as China attempts to halt the spread of the coronavirus. That's about 23 million people on lockdown.

Will not now link to other info about this. But keep in mind that this is Spring Festival travel time in China, so the timing is unfortunate.

Sleepy Kunming has one patient in isolation who happens to be in a hospital right across the street from my apartment. I am not inclined to provide photographic evidence