Speed at which world’s glaciers are melting has doubled in 20 years | Glaciers | The Guardian

Hope we get our acts together soon!

Glacier melt contributing more to sea-level rise than loss of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, say experts

Portage glacier in Chugach National Forest in Alaska. The US state accounted for 25% of global glacier loss Photograph: Yereth Rosen/Reuters

Jonathan Watts and Niko Kommenda

Wed 28 Apr 2021 11.00 EDT

1100

The melting of the world’s glaciers has nearly doubled in speed over the past 20 years and contributes more to sea-level rise than either the Greenland or Antarctic ice sheets, according to the most comprehensive global study of ice rivers ever undertaken.

Scientists say human-driven global heating is behind the accelerating loss of high-altitude and high-latitude glaciers, which will affect coastal regions across the planet and create boom-and-bust flows of meltwater for the hundreds of millions of people who live downstream of these “natural water towers”.

Between 2000 and 2019, glaciers lost 267 gigatonnes (Gt) of ice per year, equivalent to 21% of sea-level rise, reveals a paper published in Nature. The authors said the mass loss was equivalent to submerging the surface of England under 2 metres of water every year.

This was 47% higher than the contribution of the melting ice sheet in Greenland and more than twice that from the ice sheet in Antarctica. As a cause of sea-level rise, glacier loss was second only to thermal expansion, which is prompted by higher ocean temperatures.

Continue reading at: Speed at which world’s glaciers are melting has doubled in 20 years | Glaciers | The Guardian

Tomorrow: Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University to speak on Sustainable Development at Siena Heights University

This is a brief reminder that the Sustainable College Committee of Siena Heights University is delighted to present Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University as our Winter 2021 William Issa Endowment Speaker on the Environment. Dr. Sachs’ talk is scheduled for April 28, 7:00 PM Eastern Daylight-Saving Time as a ZOOM meeting and is titled "Universities and the Sustainable Development Goals: Lessons from the Pandemic”. Dr. Sachs’ talk is free for the public. Please click the following link to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81278864571

The above poster can be downloaded in full resolution using the below link:

http://wassmer.org/SHU/Sachs_Design2_opt.pdf

Please feel free to forward this announcement to anybody who might be interested. Thank you in advance – and I hope to meet you virtually at Siena Heights University!

Full announcement: Jeffrey Sachs - SHU Sustainability

Tomorrow's Films - Environmental Documentary Series - Free Exclusive Screening & Filmmaker from India will attend

Tomorrow, 21-Apr, The 11^th Environmental Documentary Series will show the free documentary Ever Slow Green: https://www.brainfever.in/ever-slow-green/ whose filmmaker will join us life from India for Q&A and 3 short Youtube videos on The Green New Deal: https://berniesanders.com/issues/green-new-deal/ accessible through a playlist together all 4 videos last about 80 minutes.

About the films:

• EVER SLOW GREEN: 50 years ago, a unique afforestation project took root on an eroded desert plateau in Tamil Nadu, South India, when people from diverse countries came together to establish the international experimental township of Auroville. Initially driven by the necessity to make the harsh conditions more liveable, the idealism of some early residents lead them to develop expertise in cultivating the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest, a rare forest type native to the coastal belt of Tamil Nadu. Today, the lush Auroville forest is an outstanding example of eco-restoration that recreates and preserves a type of tropical forest that is on the verge of extinction. The filmmaker granted us exclusive free access through https://vimeo.com/407553297 , password will be provided via Zoom before the session

• The Green New Deal: Transform our energy system to 100 percent renewable energy and create 20 million jobs needed to solve the climate crisis. Ensure a just transition for communities and workers, including fossil fuel workers. Ensure justice for frontline communities, especially under-resourced groups, communities of color, Native Americans, people with disabilities, children and the elderly. Save American families money with investments in weatherization, public transportation, modern infrastructure and high-speed broadband. Commit to reducing emissions throughout the world, including providing $200 billion to the Green Climate Fund, rejoining the Paris Agreement, and reasserting the United States’ leadership in the global fight against climate change. Invest in conservation and public lands to heal our soils, forests, and prairie lands. End the greed of the fossil fuel industry and hold them accountable. Playlist on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcSYAU1r19GS-2lK7di-NWlYjtDiNcL-r

We will connect at 6:30 PM via Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83391076365?pwd=djZQa3hvQklncDlTdTdjbnBPdDcxdz09) and everybody will start the films soon after. After the films we will hold a discussion with the filmmaker on Zoom.

Full Program: Environmental Documentaries - SHU Sustainability

Tomorrow, 14-Apr, The 11th Environmental Documentary Series will show two free short documentaries and the filmmakers and/or directors will join us for Q&A:

Tomorrow, 14-Apr, The 11^th Environmental Documentary Series will show two free short documentaries and the filmmakers and/or directors will join us for Q&A: Peace with Nature and Solar For All, together 75 minutes.

About the films:

• Peace with Nature: Oak Alley’s documentary tells of the story of the restoration of Costa’s Rica’s rainforests from a low of 21% forest cover in the 1980s back to 52% cover in 2010. Costa Rica is also implementing policies to protect its biodiversity and become a carbon neutral economy.

  Peace with Nature in Costa Rica from Oak Alley Productions on Vimeo.

• Solar For All: Solar for All celebrates the successes and documents the challenges of the first two years of implementing Solar For All, Mayor Muriel Bowser's initiative to provide 100,000 low-to-moderate income families with the benefits of locally generated clean energy. One of the most progressive solar mandates in the U.S., #DCSolarStories exhibits how the District is using innovation and the concept of equity or "equal access" to local, clean energy to slash resident's utility burdens and protect underserved communities in the face of the changing climate.

  Solar For All from Pendragwn Productions on Vimeo.

The films is available for free on Vimeo: Peace with Nature and Solar For All. We will connect at 6:30 PM via Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83391076365?pwd=djZQa3hvQklncDlTdTdjbnBPdDcxdz09) and everybody will start the films soon after. After the films we will hold a discussion with the filmmakers on Zoom.

55 Corporations Paid $0 in Federal Taxes on 2020 Profits

55 Corporations Paid $0 in Federal Taxes on 2020 Profits

The silver bullet to finance infrastructure and the Green New Deal

Florida faces 'imminent' pollution catastrophe from phosphate mine pond | Florida | The Guardian

“Regular” nutrient input is degrading Florida’s Everglades and coral reefs for decades and causes “red tides” but this is even worse… "When will they ever learn" "that you cannot eat money"?

Full Story at: Florida faces 'imminent' pollution catastrophe from phosphate mine pond | Florida | The Guardian

Tomorrow, 24-Mar, The 11th Environmental Documentary Series will show: Public Trust

Tomorrow, 24-Mar, The 11^th Environmental Documentary Series will show: Public Trust, 98 minutes: https://www.patagonia.com/films/public-trust/

About the film: A Film about the Fight for America’s Public Lands, from Executive Producers Robert Redford & Yvon Chouinard. Our public lands and waters are under threat. As an extinction crisis looms and climate change continues to be one of the greatest threats our planet has ever faced, America’s 640 million acres of public lands support biodiversity and carbon sequestration. It’s essential that we fight for their protection by preventing the slashing of the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, fighting the potential permanent destruction of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota, and stopping the de facto sale of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—one of the last wild places in America.

The film is available for free on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGjnIG7puzY. We will connect at 6:30 PM via Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83391076365?pwd=djZQa3hvQklncDlTdTdjbnBPdDcxdz09) and everybody will start the films soon after. After the films we will hold a discussion on Zoom.

Schedule: Environmental Documentaries - SHU Sustainability