'Blown away': Safe climate niche closing fast, with billions at risk: SMH

By Peter Hannam

May 5, 2020

As much as one-third of the world's population will be exposed to Sahara Desert-like heat within half a century if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at the pace of recent years.

Scientists from China, the US and Europe found that the narrow

climate niche that has supported human society would shift more over the next 50 years than it had in the preceding 6000 years.

"As many as 3.5 billion people will be exposed to "near-unliveable" temperatures averaging 29 degrees through the year by 2070. Less than 1 per cent of the Earth's surface now endures such heat.

That heat compares with the narrow 11- to 15-degree range that has supported civilisation over the past six millennia, according to research published Tuesday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

Xu Chi, a researcher at China's Nanjing University and one of the paper's authors, said: "We were frankly blown away by our own initial results. As our findings were so striking, we took an extra year to carefully check all assumptions and computations."

Read the complete SMH article

We are talking about 'drought-proofing' again – they are simplistic solutions that will destroy Australia : The Guardian

"The Australian landscape, its plants and animals have evolved to cope with episodic flooding. 

By removing the water and preventing floods, we are also destroying that landscape and rivers functions that give life to it. The key lies in striking a better balance between the needs of the natural environment, agriculture and our cities. It also lies in being a lot smarter in how we use our water. For example, almost all of our urban storm water and most of our sewage effluent is not recycled.

The second myth – of making the desert bloom by turning coastal rivers to run inland – is as much in vogue today as it was 100 years ago. The drought has prompted calls to revive the Bradfield scheme, a 1930-40s plan to turn the Tully, Herbert and Burdekin rivers back across the Great Divide into central Queensland and connect to the Murray-Darling. Two centuries of development in Australia seem to have taught us little about the hazards of salinity, soil and water degradation, loss of habitat and species and the simple fact that the communities from which the water is taken will one day want it back. An awful political dilemma.

The third myth of “drought-proofing” our drier areas is equally fraught with risk because it invites us to grow things in areas where the nature of Australia makes it inadvisable to do so. It involves bringing water to places where it is normally only an episodic event, and can cause unforeseen problems. From a national perspective it is also unnecessary. Australia has a huge “fertile crescent” of reliable high rainfall country and fertile soils around our coastline, on which we could develop sustainable agriculture and horticulture."

"The critical need is not to drought­-proof the inland, for that is impossible.

It is to myth-proof Australians."

Read the complete The Guardian article by Honorary Professor John Williams 

#jailclimatecriminals  #climatechange  #jail climate criminals #suethefossilfools

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"This fictional short story is set in 2068

Their lands are becoming deserts but here is some hope.

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How to farm in desert climates 🌵 🐫 We have so much to learn from those who have come before us 🔥💧 What ancient wisdom has enriched your life? Credit to @worldeconomicforum 🙏

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