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FOR READERS/WRITERS: Earth Day & Cli-Fi

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FOR READERS & WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Scott: Today is Earth Day, so I thought we’d talk about cli-fi – climate change sci-fi. Readers, what are your fave reads (queer or otherwise)? Writers, share your books and links. Writers: This is a reader/writer chat – you are welcome to share your own book/link, as long as it fits the chat, but please do so as part of a discussion about the topic. Join the chat: FB: http://bit.ly/1MvPABVMeWe: http://bit.ly/2mjg8lf

Storing DNA on the Moon

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A “lunar ark” hidden inside the moon’s lava tubes could preserve the sperm, eggs and seeds of millions of Earth’s species, a group of scientists has proposed. The ark, or gene bank, would be safely hidden in these hollowed-out tunnels and caves sculpted by lava more than 3 billion years ago and would be powered by solar panels above. It would hold the cryogenically preserved genetic material of all 6.7 million known species of plants, animals and fungi on Earth, which would require at least 250 rocket launches to transport to the moon, according to the researchers. Scientists believe the … Read more

Climate Change: Greenland’s Dark Zone; Covid CO2 Drop Over; Company Pledges and More

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Mystery of Greenland’s expanding ‘dark zone’ finally solvedhttps://www.livescience.com/greenland-dark-zone-mystery-solved.htmlThe mystery of a growing “dark zone” on Greenland’s melting ice sheet has been solved. Researchers have found that phosphorus-rich dust blown across the ice may be the key to the phenomenon. Greenland’s ice sheet is the second largest in the world. It covers around 656,000 square miles (1.71 million square kilometers), an area three times the size of Texas, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). However, the ice sheet is now in a state of permanent retreat and is losing 500 gigatons (500 billion tons) of ice every … Read more

What if Earth’s Magnetic Field Flips Again?

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A reversal in Earth’s magnetic field thousands of years ago plunged the planet into an environmental crisis that may have resembled “a disaster movie,” scientists recently discovered. Our planet’s magnetic field is dynamic and, numerous times, it has flipped — when the magnetic North and South Poles swap places. In our electronics-dependent world, such a reversal could seriously disrupt communication networks. But the impact could be even more serious than that, according to the new study. For the first time, scientists have found evidence that a polar flip could have serious ecological repercussions. Their investigation connects a magnetic field reversal … Read more

CLIMATE CHANGE: Sea Levels May Rise Faster Than Predicted

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Sea levels will probably rise faster than most climate models predict, according to a new study. In 2019, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations scientific body that reports on climate change, said that the global sea-level average would likely rise at least 2.00 feet (0.61 meters) by the year 2100, but no more than 3.61 feet (1.10 m). Those numbers come from models that account for climate change and ocean heating, ongoing greenhouse gas emissions and potential changes in human behavior to prevent more warming. In this new study, researchers examined models of sea level through … Read more

Earth is Dying Faster Than We Thought

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Humanity is barreling toward a “ghastly future” of mass extinctions, health crises and constant climate-induced disruptions to society — one that can only be prevented if world leaders start taking environmental threats seriously, scientists warn in a new paper published Jan. 13 in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science. In the paper, a team of 17 researchers based in the United States, Mexico and Australia describes three major crises facing life on Earth: climate disruption, biodiversity decline and human overconsumption and overpopulation. Citing more than 150 studies, the team argues that these three crises — which are poised only to … Read more

Climate Change Updates

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Sahara’s ‘Godzilla’ Dust Storm Triggered by Arctic Warming?An enormous dust cloud dubbed “Godzilla” that surged over the Sahara Desert in June and then blew toward the U.S. may have reached its record-breaking size and density due to warming in the Arctic.https://www.livescience.com/godzilla-dust-cloud.html Dramatic Arctic Transformation May Be PermanentFrom vanishing sea ice to blistering air temperatures to zombie fires, climate change is reshaping the Arctic. And that transformation may be permanent, researchers said on Tuesday (Dec. 8) at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).https://www.livescience.com/agu-arctic-report-card-2020.html How Will Sea Levels Change With Climate Change?Sea level rise is not a new phenomenon. … Read more

Yes, Climate Change is Still Happening

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Wgule we’re all focused on US politics and Black Lives Matter and the COVID19 crisis, climate change (and pollution) continue apace: Antarctica could melt ‘irreversibly’ due to climate change, study warnsAntarctica contains more than half of the world’s freshwater in its sprawling, frozen ice sheet, but humanity’s decisions over the next century could send that water irreversibly into the sea. If global warming is allowed to continue unchecked, Antarctica will soon pass a “point of no return” that could reduce the continent to a barren, ice-free mass for the first time in more than 30 million years, according to a … Read more

Pulling Carbon Out of the Atmosphere

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Nature has equipped Earth with several giant “sponges,” or carbon sinks, that can help humans battle climate change. These natural sponges, as well as human-made ones, can sop up carbon, effectively removing it from the atmosphere. But what does this sci-fi-like act really entail? And how much will it actually take — and cost — to make a difference and slow climate change? Sabine Fuss has been looking for these answers for the last two years. An economist in Berlin, Fuss leads a research group at the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change and was part of … Read more

FOR WRITERS: The Climate’s A Changin’

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FOR WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Scott: Do you include climate change in your work? How? Give us some examples. Writers: This is a writer chat – you are welcome to share your own book/link, as long as it fits the chat, but please do so as part of a discussion about the topic. Join the chat: FB: http://bit.ly/1MvPABVMeWe: http://bit.ly/2mjg8lf