Posts about Climate Change (RSS, JSON)

11AM — Hip hop producer Madlib has lost his home and record collection during the LA wild fires. These records were the very essence of Madlib’s production, it’s a massive loss for him personally but also culturally. Just image the music that will never see the light of day because the samples are lost forever.

12PM — ‘Heat Islands’ Make Australia’s Summer Deadlier. Only mentioned as a side note, but Australian building standards play a huge role in how people cope with extreme heat. A wood frame is thinly cladded, every wall is plaster board, no insulation. Double glazed windows are luxury items. Ask any Australian and they’ll tell you that their houses are built for hot climates but these houses heat up just as fast in summer as they loose heat in winter. It’s almost as if Australians lack understanding of basic physics.

9AM — “Scientists failed for decades to communicate the coming risks of rapid sea-level rise to policymakers and the public, a new study has found.” I had to double check; the study was published in Nature, one of the most prestigious journals for scientific research, and not The Onion.

1PM — A UK technology firm installs small data centres at public swimming pools so the excess heat can be used to heat the pool water.

6PM — LOW←TECH MAGAZINE runs a solar-powered website that sometimes goes offline when the battery powering their server runs dry during spells of bad weather. The background showing the current battery status is a nice touch.