More dangers lurking..

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Scientists have found evidence that frozen methane deposits in the Arctic Ocean – known as the “sleeping giants of the carbon cycle” – have started to be released over a large area of the continental slope off the East Siberian coast, the Guardian can reveal. High levels of the potent greenhouse gas have been detected down to a depth of 350 metres in the Laptev Sea near Russia, prompting concern among researchers that a new climate feedback loop may have been triggered that could accelerate the pace of global heating. The slope sediments in the Arctic contain a huge quantity of frozen methane and other gases – known as hydrates. Methane has a warming effect 80 times stronger than carbon dioxide over 20 years. The United States Geological Survey has previously listed Arctic hydrate destabilisation as one of four most serious scenarios for abrupt climate change.

'Sleeping giant' Arctic methane deposits starting to release, scientists find | Science | The Guardian

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Seafood has generally been considered part of a low-carbon diet, but new research points to a surprising link between fishing and carbon emissions. Bottom trawling — a widespread fishing practice — emits as much carbon dioxide as airplanes do annually, a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature found. Bottom trawling, which entails dragging a weighted net along the ocean floor to catch low-lying seafood such as shrimp, crab, and flounder, is notorious for wreaking havoc on ecosystems. In addition to the species the trawler targets, turtles and other marine life can get caught in the large nets and can die as a result. On top of that, we’re learning that trawlers also release significant carbon dioxide emissions into the ocean by disrupting carbon-rich sediments when they rake the seafloor.

Ocean emissions from bottom trawling are equivalent to global aviation, study finds - Vox

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The Amazon rainforest is now emitting more carbon dioxide than it is able to absorb, scientists have confirmed for the first time. The emissions amount to a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, according to a study. The giant forest had previously been a carbon sink, absorbing the emissions driving the climate crisis, but is now causing its acceleration, researchers said.

Most of the emissions are caused by fires, many deliberately set to clear land for beef and soy production. But even without fires, hotter temperatures and droughts mean the south-eastern Amazon has become a source of CO2, rather than a sink..

Amazon rainforest now emitting more CO2 than it absorbs | Amazon rainforest | The Guardian

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It’s also too soon to assess the impact of the new production methods on the destruction of Earth’s climate, which grows increasingly urgent and multivariate. Phenomena including mass extinction, deforestation and land degradation, rising global temperatures, extreme weather events, mass migration and human displacement, and entrenched pollution are all factors raising tough questions for all industries.
Whether industrial production writ large can be reconciled with the long-term health of the climate has yet to be demonstrated at scale, but economists are hopeful..

The Hill

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With global emissions needing to fall by half within seven years, it is now practically impossible for us to stay this side of the 1.5C dangerous climate change guardrail. This means that climate breakdown and all its ramifications will define the lives and livelihoods of everyone in the UK for generations and we need to plan on a commensurate timescale.

I thought the government’s plan to protect Britain from extreme heat would be bad. It’s worse than that | Bill McGuire | The Guardian

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Successive heatwaves threaten nature’s ability to provide us with food, say researchers, as they warn of an “unseen, silent dying” in our oceans amid record temperatures scorching the Earth. Heatwaves are ripping through Europe, the US and China, with the global hottest day ever recorded at the start of July, endangering human life as well as the land and sea it depends on. “Our food system is global,” said John Marsham, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Leeds. “There are growing risks of simultaneous major crop losses in different regions in the world, which will really affect food availability and prices. This is not what we’re seeing right now, but in the coming decades that’s one of the things I’m really scared of.

Rampant heatwaves threaten food security of entire planet, scientists warn | Food security | The Guardian

Here, in what is already one of the most expensive states in the US, the climate emergency is driving up the cost of living. Extreme weather, drought and drastic swings in temperature, all fueled by global heating, are affecting utility costs and insurance premiums, exacerbating housing shortages and causing food prices to go up. These issues are echoed throughout the US and the globe, as relentless heat and smoke pollution from wildfires push communities across the southern US, Europe and Asia to their limits. The health and economic impacts of the spate of extreme weather will become clearer in the months to come.

’We can’t escape’: climate crisis is driving up cost of living in the US west | California | The Guardian

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Travel as we know it could be extinct by the year 2040 due to climate change, a new report has warned.
Predictions for the future include holidaymakers “chasing the shade” and swapping traditional summer destinations like Greece and Mallorca for Belgium, Slovenia and Poland as temperatures continue to rise. Produced by Intrepid, the world’s largest B-Corp-certified travel company, in partnership with foresight agency The Future Laboratory, the Sustainable Future for Travel report outlines what holidays could look like by 2040 if action isn’t taken now.

Travel as we know it could be on the brink of extinction by 2040, warns report | The Independent