Category: weather

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A New UN Report Foretells of a Cataclysmic Climate Change Scenario

Countries signed the Paris Agreement in 2015 so they could find ways to protect the environment. Today, scientists have realized that the climate is changing faster than they first thought.

This year’s UN Report says that greenhouse gas emissions must decrease by 7.5% every year going forward to reduce the probability of warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius. A decrease of 2.7% annually would make sure the planet’s temperature doesn’t rise by 2 degrees Celsius.

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Scientists warn that even subtle temperature increases could have massive effects – and have already. These could and do include coral reef die-offs, increased severe weather events, and economic problems associated with these changes.

Climate is already causing economic issues. Scientists also say that changes could have been made more gradually if world economies had responded to climate change sooner.

G20 countries—those that make up the world’s 20 largest economies—are responsible for 78% of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2009, many of these countries pledged that they would stop subsidies to their national fossil fuel industry, but they didn’t commit to a deadline.

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Many countries are also far from meeting the commitments they pledged back then. Only five G-20 countries so far are on their way to reducing their carbon emissions rates to net zero.

Photo Credit: Pexels

Thankfully the report contains recommendations for changes countries can make so they can live up to their commitments and prevent drastic changes. The executive director of the UN’s Environment Program, Inger Andersen, says,

“This report gives us a stark choice: set in motion the radical transformations we need now, or face the consequences of a planet radically altered by climate change. We cannot afford to fail.”

Things sound grim, but at least there are things we can do to prevent extreme weather changes. What do you think of this news? Share your ideas below.

The post A New UN Report Foretells of a Cataclysmic Climate Change Scenario appeared first on UberFacts.

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This Is How You Can Avoid Getting a Ton of Static Shocks This Winter

There’s nothing like a random static shock to give you a shock during your day. Static shocks become even more common in the dry, winter air. But you don’t have to resign yourself to a life of randomly being zapped by your clothes/door knobs/car door.

Lifehacker reports that there are a few ways to prevent static shock. The shock is the result of static electricity, or the build-up of electric charge on the surface of an object. Objects become charged when electrons move from one insulator to another. When a charged object touches a conductor, such as a piece of metal, the charge discharges, causing the shock.

Rubber, for example, is an insulator, and so are wool and nylon. If you walk on a wool or nylon carpet with rubber soles, your body builds an electric charge. Then, when you touch a piece of metal like a doorknob, the charge discharges and you experience a shock.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

These shocks are more common in winter because dry air is also an insulator. Also, you’re more likely to wear wool in the winter, and wool is a common offender!

To avoid these shocks, you simply need to avoid that insulator-on-insulator contact. If you have wool or nylon carpets, avoid wearing rubber-soled shoes or slippers inside. Opt for leather or cotton instead. And if you’re wearing a wool sweater, be aware that sitting on certain types of fabrics will create static in your body. There are antistatic sprays that can help.

Photo Credit: iStock

Another way to avoid static in the house is to use a humidifier, which makes the air less dry and therefore lowers the amount of static in the house.

Lastly, to avoid getting shocked by the car door, try holding onto the metal frame until you’re out of the seat completely. Or, touch the car door with your keys.

BAM! Shock-free living.

The post This Is How You Can Avoid Getting a Ton of Static Shocks This Winter appeared first on UberFacts.

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Venice, Italy Is Underwater After the Highest Tide in 50 Years

If you’ve paid attention to the news the last week or so, you’ve seen the heartbreaking and devastating floods in one of Europe’s most-visited cities. Venice, Italy is a breathtaking destination, famous for its canals and historic buildings.

Recently, the highest tide in 50 years has inundated the city, and the mayor of Venice has blamed the catastrophe on one thing: climate change.

Paquebots(Navires spécialisé dans le transport de personnes.)L' année dernière, des conditions similaires ont frappé…

Posted by Olivier Godfurnon on Thursday, November 14, 2019

More than 85% of Venice flooded during this event, and the famous St. Mark’s Basilica was flooded for only the sixth time in 1,200 years. Four of those six floods have been in the past 20 years. Official records about such events in Venice have only been kept since 1923, and these high tides (called acqua alta in Italian) reached the highest levels in the city since 1966.

Posted by Sonny Tuttle on Monday, November 18, 2019

Luca Zaia, the governor of the Veneto region of which Venice is a part of, said, “We are faced with total, apocalyptic devastation. The art, the basilica, the shops and the homes, a disaster…Venice is bracing itself for the next high tide.” Zaia also described Venice as being “on its knees.”

Posted by Władimir Gromakowski on Sunday, November 17, 2019

The images coming out of Venice are shocking and sad, to say the least. People and animals trudging through the high waters, attempting to find higher ground and to save their personal belongings.

Posted by Sonny Tuttle on Monday, November 18, 2019

Posted by Sonny Tuttle on Monday, November 18, 2019

Venice is built on top of a marshy, shallow lagoon, which doesn’t help the situation. Sea levels have been rising around Venice (and everywhere) for years because of climate change, but the city is also sinking, increasing the impact.

Unless drastic action is taken, the problem looks like it will only get worse as time marches on until the city disappears into the ocean. Or something.

The post Venice, Italy Is Underwater After the Highest Tide in 50 Years appeared first on UberFacts.

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Venice, Italy Is Underwater After the Highest Tide in 50 Years

If you’ve paid attention to the news the last week or so, you’ve seen the heartbreaking and devastating floods in one of Europe’s most-visited cities. Venice, Italy is a breathtaking destination, famous for its canals and historic buildings.

Recently, the highest tide in 50 years has inundated the city, and the mayor of Venice has blamed the catastrophe on one thing: climate change.

Paquebots(Navires spécialisé dans le transport de personnes.)L' année dernière, des conditions similaires ont frappé…

Posted by Olivier Godfurnon on Thursday, November 14, 2019

More than 85% of Venice flooded during this event, and the famous St. Mark’s Basilica was flooded for only the sixth time in 1,200 years. Four of those six floods have been in the past 20 years. Official records about such events in Venice have only been kept since 1923, and these high tides (called acqua alta in Italian) reached the highest levels in the city since 1966.

Posted by Sonny Tuttle on Monday, November 18, 2019

Luca Zaia, the governor of the Veneto region of which Venice is a part of, said, “We are faced with total, apocalyptic devastation. The art, the basilica, the shops and the homes, a disaster…Venice is bracing itself for the next high tide.” Zaia also described Venice as being “on its knees.”

Posted by Władimir Gromakowski on Sunday, November 17, 2019

The images coming out of Venice are shocking and sad, to say the least. People and animals trudging through the high waters, attempting to find higher ground and to save their personal belongings.

Posted by Sonny Tuttle on Monday, November 18, 2019

Posted by Sonny Tuttle on Monday, November 18, 2019

Venice is built on top of a marshy, shallow lagoon, which doesn’t help the situation. Sea levels have been rising around Venice (and everywhere) for years because of climate change, but the city is also sinking, increasing the impact.

Unless drastic action is taken, the problem looks like it will only get worse as time marches on until the city disappears into the ocean. Or something.

The post Venice, Italy Is Underwater After the Highest Tide in 50 Years appeared first on UberFacts.

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Record Cold Temperatures Don’t Mean Climate Change Isn’t Taking Place

It’s cold outside! Really cold!

We aren’t even into December yet, but much of the country has already seen frigid temperatures and huge snowstorms this fall.

So, predictably, some climate change deniers and skeptics have rushed out (as they are wont to do) and cried from the rooftops that global warming and climate change don’t really exist. Just look at this cold, snowy weather we’re having…right?

WRONG. These short-term bouts of unusually cold weather don’t really have any effect on long-term temperature averages. Let’s look at the reasons why.

 

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If you’ll recall, a polar vortex developed in early 2019 and then split apart, sending a swath of cold air to the Great Lakes region. Amy Butler, an atmospheric scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, explained it this way, “Like a rock in a stream—in this case, the jet stream—[the polar vortex lobe] helped keep the jet stream pushed southward, which encourages cold air to be transported from Canada and the Arctic into mid-latitudes.”

The split polar vortex and other factors combined to create these cold conditions in early 2019, and some experts believed that the cold temperatures wouldn’t last long. And although the frigid conditions were uncomfortable and seemed to last a long time, the average monthly temperatures last December and January were actually above average for that time of year.

 

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In other words, random cold spells will always take place and weather is chaotic, but that does not mean that climate change isn’t occurring right now as we speak. Zachary Labe, a climate scientist at the University of California, Irvine, said, “The weather frequently changes from day-to-day or even hour-to-hour, while changes in our climate occur in the long-term, such as over 30 year periods. Therefore, we cannot say that one cold outbreak or weather event is evidence for or against climate change.”

And people tend to remember exceptional (read: cold) weather events rather than the normal, average days. But the fact is that winters have been warming. Over the past year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recorded 11,404 daily record lows across the globe. But the organization also recorded 21,907 new record HIGH temperatures.

 

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Bob Henson, meteorologist with Weather Underground, said, “That ratio [of record highs to lows] has been getting bigger over the past few decades. Cold doesn’t go away, it’s just less frequent.”

The post Record Cold Temperatures Don’t Mean Climate Change Isn’t Taking Place appeared first on UberFacts.

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Every State Ranked by How Miserable Its Winters Are

It’s predicted to be a loooooong, cold, crazy winter from late 2019 into the early months of 2020.

This article ranks all 50 states in terms of how bad, or, let’s just go ahead and say miserable, their winters are. These rankings come from Thrillist and take into account temperatures, weather patterns, how bad the roads are during the winter, and even the success of each state’s winter sports teams.

Let’s take a look at the rankings, starting with the least miserable. Number 50 probably won’t be a huge surprise….

50. Hawaii

 

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49. Arizona

48. California

47. Colorado

 

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46. Florida

45. New Mexico

44. Louisiana

43. Texas

42. Georgia

 

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41. Alabama

40. South Carolina

39. Mississippi

38. North Carolina

 

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37. Nevada

36. Tennessee

35. Utah

 

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34. Arkansas

33. Oklahoma

32. Virginia

 

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31. Maryland

30. Kentucky

29. West Virginia

28. Missouri

 

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27. Kansas

26. Delaware

25. Nebraska

24. New Jersey

23. Pennsylvania

 

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22. Vermont

21. Rhode Island

20. New York

 

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19. Connecticut

18. Washington

17. Oregon

16. Indiana

 

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15. New Hampshire

14. Ohio

13. Illinois

12. Wyoming

 

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11. Iowa

10. Massachusetts

9. Montana

8. Idaho

 

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7. Wisconsin

6. South Dakota

5. Maine

4. North Dakota

 

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3. Alaska

2. Michigan

1. Minnesota

 

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Those poor folks in Minnesota…

Stay warm out there this winter!

The post Every State Ranked by How Miserable Its Winters Are appeared first on UberFacts.

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In the mid 19th Century…

In the mid 19th Century, the belief persisted that weather was completely unpredictable. When one MP suggested in the Commons in 1854 that recent advances in scientific theory might soon allow them to know the weather in London “twenty-four hours beforehand”, the House roared with laughter.

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Italy’s Schools Will Require That Children Learn About Climate Change Starting in 2020

It looks like Italy is taking a big step in the fight against global warming and climate change, and for that, we should be thankful…and we should hope that this kind of curriculum spreads across the globe.

Lorenzo Fioramonti is Italy’s education minister, and he is now requiring that, starting in September 2020, all children in his country will receive education about climate change. All students will be required to have 33 hours of lessons each year dedicated to climate change and environmental sustainability.

Fioramonti also wants to eventually make climate change education part of math and geography curriculum so students will take sustainability into consideration when they study these subjects as well. The lessons will teach students the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and will be formed with help from environmental experts.

Fioramonti said, “The entire ministry is being changed to make sustainability and climate the centre of the education model. I want to make the Italian education system the first education system that puts the environment and society at the core of everything we learn in school.”

Italy’s education minister also believes that older people need to educate themselves and play a role in this movement, so all citizens can work together toward sustainability. Fioramonti said he wants to “build a strong bridge between old and new generations around sustainable development as a social glue.”

An NPR poll found that 80% of American parents are in favor of their kids learning about the issue. Wouldn’t that be nice…?

The post Italy’s Schools Will Require That Children Learn About Climate Change Starting in 2020 appeared first on UberFacts.

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Take a Break and Enjoy These 10 Interesting Facts

Workin’ 9 to 5…or later. No matter what your work schedule entails, sometimes you just need a break.

Am I right or am I right?

Yes, I’m right.

That’s why you need to take a short break, push your work to the side, and enjoy these 10 facts. That way, you’ll at least feel like you did something productive with your day.

Start your break…NOW!

1. Sweden in Japan!

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source

2. Life inside the crater.

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3. Are you a punny person?

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4. Smooth move, Bill…

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5. This might help out this winter.

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6. She nailed it!

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7. Sounds like paradise.

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8. Just a little late…

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9. That’s a cool fact.

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Source

10. All kinds of keys.

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Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

Okay, you had your fun…now it’s time to get back to work! Now!

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A Couple’s Wedding Photo Captured the ‘New Normal’ of Wildfires in California

A couple’s California wildfire wedding photo has gone viral in a huge way, as it’s the perfect example of the “new normal” for many Californians.

California is once again being ravaged by multiple fires across the state, including the Getty fire, the Hill fire, the Maria fire, and the Easy fire.

One of the largest fires is the Kincade fire in Sonoma Country. It has blazed over 77,000 acres worth of land and destroyed at least 352 structures so far.

On Saturday, a couple from Chicago got married at the Chateau St. Jean vineyard in Sonoma County, just miles away from the Kincade Fire. Photographer Karna Roa took this photo at their wedding.

In the photo, Katie and Curtis Ferland wear masks to protect their lungs from the smoke. The wildfire is seen blazing in the background in hues that resemble a dystopian sunset.

“I immediately thought of the American Gothic painting from the 1930s and how that couple at that time represented the normal America,” Karna told ABC 7. “And all of a sudden, in a very strange way, this has become our new normal of the wine country.”

Karna says this is the fourth wedding in three years that she’s photographed that was threatened by wildfires.

The wedding vendors had to evacuate hours before Katie and Curtis’ wedding, forcing their wedding planner to re-do the entire event on the fly. Somehow, they pulled the wedding off.

The next morning, the newlyweds evacuated too, along with all of their guests.

They say the now-viral wedding photo is a reminder of all the people who came together to make this wedding happen. For Karna, it’s a possible way to draw attention to the wildfires in Northern California.

“As long as it can bring more attention to the wildfires and the problems that Sonoma and Napa County and Northern California are facing, then I would love more people to see it,” Karna said.

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