Letter: he delayed freeze in the Laptev Sea is consistent with the entire Arctic Ocean, which is set for the slowest recovery in the extent of sea ice this autumn, if the current daily trend continues (Alarm as Arctic sea ice not yet freezing at latest date on record, 22 October). This follows on from this summer having the second lowest minimum since 1979, with the early decades significantly above the annual trends during the last few years. Other feedback mechanisms are now starting to take hold of global heating, as current atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are well beyond the normal Quaternary levels over the last 800,000 years – usually 170 to 280 parts per million, between ice age maximums and interglacial stages, compared with a still accelerating anthropogenic 410 ppm, coupled with the impact from a significant rise in methane and other warming gases.

Guardian 25th Oct 2020 read more »

EXTINCTION REBELLION took action against Scotland’s “biggest climate polluter” today by blocking the gates of Ineos’s plant in Grangemouth. Groups of climate activists locked themselves together at the gates and blockaded approach roads to the refinery and offices with two boats. Campaigners, who also demonstrated outside Ineos’s headquarters in London, held up banners proclaiming: “No future in fossil fuels” and “climate justice = social justice.”

Morning Star 23rd Oct 2020 read more »

Around 50 people reportedly protested outside the ExxonMobil Chemical Fife Ethylene Plant near Cowdenbeath today (Saturday). The “spontaneous” protest followed a similar demonstration last week and was attended by residents, members of the Mossmorran Action Group, five Fife councillors and Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife.

Scotsman 24th Oct 2020 read more »

A total of 12 climate activists have been arrested after a 12-hour blockade at the Ineos refinery in Grangemouth. Extinction Rebellion Scotland was there protesting today as part of a programme of action.

Herald 23rd Oct 2020 read more »

For the first time since records began, the main nursery of Arctic sea ice in Siberia has yet to start freezing in late October. The delayed annual freeze in the Laptev Sea has been caused by freakishly protracted warmth in northern Russia and the intrusion of Atlantic waters, say climate scientists who warn of possible knock-on effects across the polar region. Ocean temperatures in the area recently climbed to more than 5C above average, following a record breaking heatwave and the unusually early decline of last winter’s sea ice.

Guardian 22nd Oct 2020 read more »

As global warming climbs and humanity’s water consumption increases, nuclear and fossil-fueled power plants that rely on freshwater for cooling may not be able to perform at their peak capacity or could be forced to shut down temporarily even as demand for their supplies for indoor cooling and other uses increase, according to researchers and industry experts. Climate change-exacerbated water shortage issues pose a near-term and longer-term performance risk to power plants, such as hydropower and nuclear, around the world. And in the Lower 48, more than half of the fossil-fueled and nuclear fleet is located in areas forecast to face climate-related water stress by the end of this decade under a business-as-usual scenario, according to an analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

S&P Global 21st Oct 2020 read more »

While this year will be memorable for many reasons, it is now more likely than not that 2020 will also be the warmest year for the Earth’s surface since reliable records began in the mid-1800s.

Carbon Brief 23rd Oct 2020 read more »

Extinction Rebellion protestors have blockaded the gates at the Ineos petrochemical refinery at Grangemouth in another climate protest. Activists have locked themselves onto two boats parked at the entrances, one of which is the “Amal Gous”, the same purple vessel used to create a barrier at the Shell Aberdeen HQ in January. Extinction Rebellion said the action, against climate pollution by Ineos, is planned to take place all day.

Energy Voice 23rd Oct 2020 read more »

Scotsman 23rd Oct 2020 read more »

The Met Office is launching a tool to help planners prepare for further extremes of rainfall and high temperatures. It warns that wild weather in the future is likely to place increasing challenges on health, infrastructure and services. The projections follow a year of UK extremes. The country experienced its wettest February, a record sunny May and the wettest ever day on 3 October.

BBC 22nd Oct 2020 read more »

iNews 22nd Oct 2020 read more »

Extreme weather poses a direct threat to human lives but also an indirect one because of its effects on key infrastructure like railways. A report by Network Rail into the Stonehaven derailment, in which three people died after debris was washed on to the tracks amid heavy rain, concluded climate change was affecting the network more quickly than expected, it was “simply not economically viable” to strengthen all trackside earthworks that needed to be and “we expect there will still be earthwork failures as a result of challenging weather”. Climate change is a pressing and deadly threat that our politicians still do not take seriously enough. That must change.

Scotsman 22nd Oct 2020 read more »

Global warming has already begun to alter the world perceptibly, with rising heat changing daily life for millions of people. Over more than half the planet’s land surface, nights are now warming at a rate faster than the days, with unpredictable consequences for plant and animal life. Warmer winters now mean that in Europe, Asia and North America, lakes that would once have frozen over are now increasingly sometimes ice-free even at the darkest moments of the year. And ever-higher temperatures encourage the spread of infectious diseases, and unexpectedly with that, the hazard of yet more warming. Increasing parasitic activity among farm animals could mean that infected cattle, sheep and goats can produce up to a third more methane. This natural gas is around 30 times more potent, as a greenhouse gas, than the same volume of carbon dioxide.

Climate News Network 20th Oct 2020 read more »

This year has seen wildfires of unprecedented scale, from California and the Amazon rainforest to remote corners of the Arctic. More than 4 million acres have burned in California alone in 2020, a record for one year. In the US west, dozens of people have been killed, and thousands more are now homeless and displaced. Intense wildfires have swept across the Arctic Circle, surpassing 2019, amid record carbon emission levels. In Brazil’s Amazon fires are at the highest levels in a decade.

Independent 21st Oct 2020 read more »

CAMPAIGNERS are calling on the Scottish Government to increase its fund to help the world’s poorest countries deal with climate change. Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, a coalition of 55 charities and campaign groups including Oxfam, say the climate justice fund has been frozen at £3 million a year since 2016. As Glasgow is hosting the United Nation’s climate change conference, COP26, next year, they say hosts should lead the way in helping poorer countries adapt to climate change and pay compensation for the irreversible damage caused.

The National 20th Oct 2020 read more »

Herald 20th Oct 2020 read more »

How the Amazon rainforest at risk because of an EU trade deal – Dr Richard Dixon. Trade deals with the EU are very topical just now but it is not a possible Brexit trade deal but a deal between the EU and four South American countries which concerns our international colleagues most.

Scotsman 20th Oct 2020 read more »

In Alaska and other high, cold places around the world, new research shows that mountains are collapsing as the permafrost that holds them together melts, threatening tsunamis if they fall into the sea. Scientists are warning that populated areas and major tourist attractions are at risk. One area of concern is a slope of the Barry Arm fjord in Alaska that overlooks a popular cruise ship route.

Guardian 18th Oct 2020 read more »

People from England should be taxed on Scottish property purchases, says an Englishman who owns a £2.4 million Scottish estate. Jeremy Leggett, the former scientific director at Greenpeace, bought the 1,200-acre Bunloit estate on Loch Ness this year. Now he is calling for people who buy from south of the border to face a tax surcharge to protect locals. Foreign citizens should be banned from buying Scottish property, he said. He told The National: “The Scottish government should tax people like me. Even a small surcharge on sales prices would help communities purchase their own land. I am told by estate agents that average land values are going up by 20 per cent a year — that is the road to ruin.” Businesses in Cairngorm National Park struggle to find staff as so many houses in the area are owned by holidaymakers, and locals are being forced out. Mr Leggett, now a solar energy entrepreneur, said: “I am hoping to show the grouse blasters that there might be another way of running Scottish estates.”

Times 19th Oct 2020 read more »