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David Wallace-Wells

@dwallacewells

6 Jul

"In 1974, the CIA produced a study on 'climatological research as it pertains to intelligence problems.' It warned of a new era of weird weather, leading to political unrest and mass migration (which, in turn, would cause more unrest)." (1/x) theguardian.com/science/2021/j…

@alicebell

This week, the Guardian has published an excerpt from the great @alicebell's new climate book OUR GREATEST EXPERIMENT. A thread.

“'The climate change began in 1960,' the report’s first page informs us, 'but no one, including the climatologists, recognized it.'"

Read 12 tweets

David Wallace-Wells

@dwallacewells

5 Jul

“What this means, in practical terms, is that there are a lot of old buildings in Miami that might look good on the outside, but inside, they are barely standing. ‘It’s like cancer in the building, eating it from the inside,’ says one developer.” rollingstone.com/politics/polit…

“While renovating a South Beach hotel, one architect I know discovered the structural walls were so weak you could practically knock them down with a hammer.”

“A lawyer involved in redevelopment of an old structure on 5th Street told me the concrete wall was so soft that he could reach into it and grab a handful of sand.”

Read 4 tweets

David Wallace-Wells

@dwallacewells

2 Jul

@GovInslee

Yesterday, I published a long piece on the off-the-charts Pacific Northwest heat dome and what @GovInslee called "the beginning of a permanent emergency." But I left two big and important thoughts out. A thread (1/x). nymag.com/intelligencer/…

@Sir_David_King

The first is well-captured in this bold Guardian front page. The newspaper has repurposed a comment by @Sir_David_King and stood behind it entirely, without quotes or attribution, as, effectively, a statement of fact.

To a certain degree, this probably overstates the near-term lesson of the heat dome, since even under present climate conditions this event appears to be shockingly unlikely. But precisely where it hit really does matter, and it is perhaps all the more terrifying as a result.

Read 15 tweets

David Wallace-Wells

@dwallacewells

2 Jul

A very thorough, vivid ominous read of the leaked I.P.C.C. report and its implications for Europe. A thread (1/x) politico.eu/article/how-cl…

"The scientists warn that billions of people are at risk of chronic water scarcity, tens of millions exposed to hunger and places near the equator will experience unsurvivable heat, unless steps are taken to build up defenses against climate shocks and cut emissions fast."

"During la canicule, the heat wave of 2003, European cities cooked their people. Something like 80,000 people died. Under any future warming scenario, a summer like 2003 will be disturbingly normal."

Read 20 tweets

David Wallace-Wells

@dwallacewells

2 Jul

“I was feeling immediate symptoms of heat exhaustion just being out there. It was already in the 90s at 9 a.m., and then on Monday when we finished up, it was over 100. I am definitely concerned that someone could get hurt and it could be fatal.” (1/x) nymag.com/intelligencer/…

“The workers were sweating, very red; it’s extremely hot outside and they’re wearing layers of clothing to protect themselves from the sun. They were in long-sleeved sweaters, completely covered from head to toe, including face masks.”

“And they looked pretty beat. Some of them had been working from 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. And there were others who had started working overnight, at 11 p.m. to midnight, and were still there around the hours of 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.”

Read 8 tweets

David Wallace-Wells

@dwallacewells

2 Jul

“Despite three decades of political efforts and a wealth of research on the causes and catastrophic impacts of climate change, global carbon dioxide emissions have continued to rise and are 60% higher today than they were in 1990.” (1/x) annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/an…

“Exploring this rise through nine thematic lenses—climate governance, the fossil fuel industry, geopolitics, economics, mitigation modeling, energy systems, inequity, lifestyles, and social imaginaries—draws out multifaceted reasons for our collective failure.”

“However, a common thread that emerges across the reviewed literature is the central role of power, manifest in many forms, from a dogmatic political-economic hegemony and influential vested interests to narrow techno-economic mindsets and ideologies of control.”

Read 4 tweets

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