Planet Earth

COP26 Glasgow will provide world stage for Scotland’s green innovation

Every year since 1994, the UN has gathered together the world’s governments at its Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference of the parties (COP), held in a different country each time. The convention’s ultimate aim is to prevent “dangerous” human interference with the climate system. The onus is on developed countries to lead the way and the convention directs funds to developing countries to help them in their efforts.

COP25, held in Madrid at the beginning of December 2019, did not end well. Swedish youth activist Greta Thunberg’s solemn speech gave short shrift to countries neglecting their responsibilities, and the likes of the US President, Donald Trump, and Brazil’s President, Jair Bolsonaro, responded with personal attacks.

Tensions ran high when climate justice activists were barred from entering the venue and talks stalled, and negotiations ending two days late with a compromise deal on cutting global carbon emissions. Given the raised status of the world’s climate emergency, it was a disappointing end to a conference for which many had high hopes.

In the cold light of a new year, everyone from activists to world leaders are reflecting on COP25’s ultimate failure to set down rules on creating a carbon market between countries. But already, behind the scenes, the UK is looking to the next summit – because this year COP26 will be pitching its tent in Glasgow.

More than 30,000 people are expected to descend on the city in November 2020. For those who live and work in Glasgow it will be a chance to experience being part of an important climate action event. People from around the country will be able to participate in hundreds of events that will be happening across the city. So why will COP26 be such a big occasion for Glasgow, and what will the city itself bring to the mix?

Why hosting COP26 is a big deal

The world’s governments have met every year for nearly three decades to (try to) agree how to stop – or at least reduce the impacts of – climate change. But the fact that these nations have not been able to meet the overall UNFCCC objectives is one of the reasons we now face a global climate emergency.

As world summits go, they don’t get much more important than the UN’s climate change convention. In those three decades, this will be the first time a COP summit has been held in the UK. From a policy perspective, COP26 will be important for at least four reasons:

1. It will take place in the year when all countries are asked to submit their new long-term goals – so ambition to address the global climate emergency will be high on the agenda.

2. It will have to finish the work that COP25 was unable able to conclude – setting out the rules for a carbon market between countries.

3. From Glasgow onwards, the implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement will be the key driver of international climate action.

4. COP26 will come just weeks after the US presidential election with the potential implications this will have for US climate policy and US participation in COP26.

Come November 2020, the eyes of the world will be firmly on Glasgow.

Glasgow on show

COP26 Glasgow will provide world stage for Scotland's green innovation 17 — The Scots have always been keen innovators.

Scotland has a long and rich history of discovery and innovation, including Glasgow’s past as a world-class centre of shipbuilding, trade and industrial production – a legacy that has contributed to greenhouse gas emissions but has also added much to the quality of human life. From pioneering work on the steam engine and wind turbines, to the invention of television and the life-saving discoveries of penicillin, gin and tonic and Billy Connolly’s shipyard humour, Glasgow has helped shape the modern world.

Glasgow and its history can also shed light on how cities, societies and people can reinvent themselves from a former industrial workhorse to a city of culture, services and new green technologies. Scotland’s collective commitment to net-zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045 now puts the country at the forefront of real action on the climate emergency. During COP26, Glasgow’s research and innovation will be on show to the world.

Engineers are leading the development of renewable technologies such as tidal energy and floating offshore wind turbines. Scotland is at the forefront of establishing hydrogen as a viable energy source, providing hubs for related skills and knowledge-sharing, to ensure that new technologies can be integrated into the grid and controlled.

Scotland also leads the way not only on the science innovation, but on ways in which research and development can provide community-informed solutions to sea and climate change challenges, and on how climate change relates to Scotland’s coastline and islands.

Researchers in Scotland are also at the forefront of the science-policy-practice interface, working with people in the field to deliver climate change risk and adaptation policies. And with climate change already a reality, Glasgow is also producing science that helps communities become more prepared and resilient.

COP26 Glasgow will provide world stage for Scotland's green innovation 18 — Scotland is at the forefront of offshore wind turbine technology.
Shutterstock

More than a political event

Glasgow’s experts and innovators will have their moment to shine at COP26 – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect with those deciding the direction and effectiveness of the global debate on climate change action. COP26 Glasgow can also be an inspirational event for Scotland’s young people, the generation which will inherit both the burden of climate change and the means to address it.

As we build up to COP26, the Scottish government and Glasgow City Council, alongside the universities of Strathclyde, Glasgow and Glasgow Caledonian, will be planning numerous events that will run alongside the main COP26 activities.

The countdown has begun. Glasgow will seek to demonstrate to the world how Scottish research and innovation is playing an important role in tackling the global climate emergency.

Source link

Related Topics:Glasgow global climate emergency

Up Next

Face masks that cleanse the air – 2020 trend?

Don't Miss

The Doom of Ancient Egypt Might Soon Befall Earth, Archaeologist Warns

Comments

Planet Earth

M6.5 earthquake in Idaho. Is Yellowstone or Rainier next?

On the night of March 31 to April 1 (2020-03-31 23:52:31 (UTC)) in the USA, in Idaho,a M6.5 earthquake occurred. The epicenter of the seismic event lies at a depth of 10 km:

This seismic event has become the second strongest in the history of the state. The first place is occupied by an earthquake in the same area, on October 28, 1983, the magnitude of which was 6.9 points.

At the moment, information about the victims and damages is only being collected, but all this is not the main thing. The main thing here is different:

Felt the earthquake from Idaho in Kelowna, BC! #earthquake pic.twitter.com/PukmQVi60A
– Kelly (@kellyrmcintosh) April 1, 2020

The Roller City of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada is is more than 700 km from the epicenter in the north direction, more precisely – a little to the north-west, or more precisely – along the line of the so-called Challis Arc:

The Challis Arc is a volcanic field with a length of about 1,500 kilometers, the origin of which is not very clear. It is assumed that the field appeared as a result of subduction of the ancient Kula / Farallon plate under North America:

The ancient plate partly sank, displacing magma, which, in turn, climbed out of volcanoes. The partly remains of Kula / Farallon were absorbed into the base of North America. All together, this led to the appearance of corrugated belts along the west coast. One of these belts is called the Challis Arc:

Thus, the epicenter was somewhere in a zone of very deep subduction and the earthquake mechanism there looks something like this:

That is why the earthquake was felt in Canada, that is, along the Challis Arc, but it did not spread a thousand kilometers to the West, East and South.

The mechanism of the earthquake is known, the earthquake is not very unusual, and the topic could be closed. However, the problem is that Utah and Idaho appear in a series of prophecies that promise a series of cataclysms to the United States. if we talk about earthquakes, we explained the mechanism above: the cause of the earthquake in Idaho and the previous earthquake in Utah are the ancient pieces of the lithosphere floating under the continent.

For some reason, fragments of these plates intensified: maybe they started to sink again, maybe they decided to float – we don’t know this. But we know that according to one theory, Yellowstone was the result of flooding / melting of fragments of the Farallon plate. The same goes for the Cascade Mountains. Therefore, if the Farallon plate suddenly became active – now we need to wait for major news from the Rainier volcano or even from the world-famous caldera!

Planet Earth

The sun affects the emergence of large-scale epidemics on Earth

A Serbian scientist saw a correlation between weak ultraviolet radiation and the emergence of large-scale epidemics of infectious diseases. Images from American satellites confirm that the ultraviolet radiation of the sun or the disinfection of the atmosphere at the time when COVID-19 appeared was even weaker than during the period of H1N1 propagation.

Let’s recall the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic. It spread, despite all the efforts of the World Health Organization. Of course, nothing could be done with this epidemic, since it erupted during the period of the weakest solar radiation. After all, just as after surgery, the surgical room is sterilized with ultraviolet lamps, the atmosphere of the earth naturally sterilizes ultraviolet solar radiation.

Low radiation and epidemics

The founder of heliocentric electromagnetic meteorology Milan Stevanchevich saw a correlation between weak ultraviolet radiation and the emergence of large-scale epidemics of infectious diseases. Although NASA has not yet linked these phenomena, images from American satellites confirm that the ultraviolet radiation of the sun at the time the coronavirus appeared was even weaker than during the period of H1N1 propagation. In 2009, the level of ultraviolet radiation of the sun was eight units, and in 2019 – only five units. The lack of ultraviolet radiation, that is, disinfection of the atmosphere, in both cases led to the unhindered spread of the virus in the northern hemisphere.

Seasonal character

The Belgrade School of Meteorology believes that the level of ultraviolet radiation is also seasonal. In winter, the level is much lower than in summer. During maximum solar activity, ultraviolet radiation reaches 35 units. But in the period between two cycles of solar activity, ultraviolet radiation reaches the lowest levels or disappears.

Milan Stevanchevich explains:

“On March 11, the outbreak of AP 2758 on the Sun caused an increase in ultraviolet radiation. In the geoeffective position, one x-ray emission was recorded, which became the first after more than 300 days of inactivity of the Sun.”

When a flash on the Sun occurs on a side not visible from Earth, the level of ultraviolet radiation decreases. Its next growth is expected in early April 2020, and entry into a geoeffective position is expected on April 7, when the radiation will be sent directly to the Earth.

The level of ultraviolet radiation at the surface of the earth depends on the radiated power and density of the clouds over a particular place. Although ultraviolet radiation has a diffuse nature, the influence of clouds is great, since they reduce the level of ultraviolet radiation above the surface of the earth. Water in the atmosphere is an element that creates the effect of a greenhouse, so exposure to ultraviolet radiation also depends on cloud cover. Clouds weaken all types of energy emanating from the sun.

An increase in temperature does not play any role in the disinfection of the atmosphere, so flu can appear even when the daytime temperature is high.

Ultraviolet radiation is a natural phenomenon that makes possible the existence of man on planet Earth. But strong ultraviolet radiation is very dangerous for human health. Fortunately, nature has provided for everything. When activity on the Sun grows, cloudiness intensifies, as clouds are formed by the combination of hydrogen and oxygen, which are emitted by the Sun, and therefore the level of ultraviolet radiation decreases.

It is expected that weak X-ray radiation will reach a maximum on April 7, when the AP 2758 volcano appears on the visible side of the Sun, which disinfects the atmosphere more. No matter how weak the effect of x-rays, it plays a large role in the total radiation of the sun.

Studies show that pandemics can occur only between periods of two activity cycles, when the activity of the Sun is minimal, that is, when the level of ultraviolet radiation in winter is the lowest. Epidemics occur only at the beginning and at the end of the solar cycle. Seasonal influenza with variable variability depends on the current activity of the Sun. The weakest viruses in the period of maximum activity of the Sun.

For the disinfection of the atmosphere, the angle of incidence of ultraviolet and x-ray radiation plays a large role, since the level of radiation per unit area during the day depends on it.

It must be said that the transition period between the 24th and 25th cycles of solar activity is exceptionally long. The activity of the Sun reached an extraordinary minimum. The level of activity of the Sun in 2019 – 2020 is the lowest since 1810. Temperature has no effect on COVID-19.

If NASA’s forecast comes true, then in ten years we should expect another mutation of the virus.

Planet Earth

Michigan nurse shares details of what is happening in hospitals

One of Michigan’s nurses shot a terrifying video of her workday so people would be more careful about their health and especially with coronavirus. The woman added that she felt as if she was in a battlefield. During her story, she was constantly in tears.

During her last shift, the duration of which was 13 hours, she was separately from her colleagues and was involved in the treatment of two seriously ill patients. She supported them with an assisted breathing apparatus. The nurse encourages people to be more careful and take this problem as seriously as possible.

The nurse plead for hospitals to make every effort possible to eliminate the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, which has only recently intensified. To date, Michigan is in fifth place in case numbers, in which more than two thousand are infected with coronavirus and at least 43 deaths were recorded.

Just a few days ago, two hospitals already announced that they were completely full and they did not have the opportunity to accept new patients. The state expects that over the next three weeks the number of patients may increase to 16 thousand. The government, in turn, said that at the moment there are only 25 thousand beds, 80% of which are already occupied.

The number of cremated people in Wuhan significantly exceeded the death toll from coronavirus

On March 23, Chinese authorities allowed relatives of coronavirus victims in Wuhan to receive the urns with the ashes of their relatives. According to Liu Ping (pseudonym), a local resident who was in front of the Hankou funeral home, there were huge queues of people lined up. Liu Ping arrived in the morning to pick up her father’s ashes, and was only able to pick up the ashes at 14:00.

After leaving the bureau, Liu Ping saw a truck that was transporting bins. She found out from the driver that an order had been placed for 2500 boxes, the same quantity had been delivered the day before. A total of 5 thousand deaths from coronavirus is against the 2531 official cases. This information is from only one funeral home. There are eight in total in Wuhan.

Michigan nurse shares details of what is happening in hospitals 36

According to Sun Jiatong, deputy director of the Wuhan City Civil Affairs Bureau, 21,703 corpses were cremated in a month and a half, eight times the official statistics.

At first, all the bodies were planned to be taken to the Hankou crematorium, but there were no available spaces there. As a result, other local institutions accepted and shared the dead between them. It is scary to imagine the real number of deaths in the whole of China.