Tropical forests nearing critical temperatures thresholds

A tiny percentage of upper canopy leaves have already crossed that threshold, reaching temperatures so high — above 47 degrees Celsius — as to prevent photosynthesis, the study published in Nature reported.

Currently, some leaves exceed such critical temperatures only 0.01 percent of the time, but impacts could quickly scale up because leaves warm faster than air, the researchers said.

“You heat the air by two to three degrees and the actual upper temperature of these leaves goes up by eight degrees,” lead author Christopher Doughty of Northern Arizona University told journalists.

If tropical forest’s average surface temperature warms 4C above current levels — widely considered a worst-case scenario — “we’re predicting possible total leaf death,” he said.

The new research suggests that leaf death could become a new factor in the predicted “tipping point” whereby tropical forests transition due to climate change and deforestation into savannah-like landscapes.

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BRICS welcomes new members in push to reshuffle world order

  • Summary
  • Bloc adds Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and UAE
  • Expansion could lend global clout to BRICS
  • Group leaves door open to further expansion

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 24 (Reuters) – The BRICS bloc of developing nations agreed on Thursday to admit Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates in a move aimed at accelerating its push to reshuffle a world order it sees as outdated.

In deciding in favour of an expansion – the bloc’s first in 13 years – BRICS leaders left the door open to future enlargement as dozens more countries voiced interest in joining a grouping they hope can level the global playing field.

The expansion adds economic heft to BRICS, whose current members are China, the world’s second largest economy, as well as Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. It could also amplify its declared ambition to become a champion of the Global South.

But long-standing tensions could linger between members who want to forge the grouping into a counterweight to the West – notably China, Russia and now Iran – and those that continue to nurture close ties to the United States and Europe.

“This membership expansion is historic,” Chinese President Xi Jinping, the bloc’s most stalwart proponent of enlargement, said. “It shows the determination of BRICS countries for unity and cooperation with the broader developing countries.”

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This is a consequence of the NATO-neocon massacre of Ukraine and wanton provocation of Russia. Most of the world sees it for what it is and is disgusted by it. The sanctions on Russia failed, hurting only Europe and the West. Our American elitists have proved once again that they suck at everything but their own self-aggrandizement, and even that may backfire on them. ABN

This image has been around for some time. It clearly shows how words are manipulated not just to fool us but to force us to accept lies and absurdities. This undermines the normal thought and verbal systems that guide our use of language and concepts. Once undermined this verbal-conceptual system is fairly easily replaced with a new one, which, if it is amplified in the media, will become a new normal. Once that happens, mind-control is successful. ABN

GONZALO LIRA: Graphic thread on arrest, torture, release, and attempted escape from Ukraine

Right now, I’m about to try to get out of Ukraine, and seek political asylum in Hungary.

Either I’ll cross the border and make it to safety, or I’ll be disappeared by the Kiev regime.

This is what’s happened to me over the past three months.

1/25 

On May 1, I was arrested for my YouTube videos. The photos of my arrest are pretty funny—morning bed-head made me look like a character out of Dr. Seuss.

My crime was making videos critical of the West and their proxy regime in Kiev—and how they are destroying Ukraine.

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Gonzalo was caught by Ukrainian authorities shortly after posting this thread. More on that here: Gonzalo Lira REARRESTED trying to flee to Hungary. ABN

Magnus Carlsen WINS 2023 FIDE World Cup

Former World Champion Magnus Carlsen has accomplished a significant milestone in his illustrious chess career by capturing his inaugural World Cup title, the only tournament that was missing from his immense collection of victories.

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Carlsen at 13 against Kasparov

Chess—sometimes called ‘art in the form of a game’. ABN