From the Guardian: Oceans suffocating as huge dead zones quadruple since 1950, scientists warn

Areas starved of oxygen in open ocean and by coasts have soared in recent decades, risking dire consequences for marine life and humanity

Ocean dead zones with zero oxygen have quadrupled in size since 1950, scientists have warned, while the number of very low oxygen sites near coasts have multiplied tenfold. Most sea creatures cannot survive in these zones and current trends would lead to mass extinction in the long run, risking dire consequences for the hundreds of millions of people who depend on the sea.

Climate change caused by fossil fuel burning is the cause of the large-scale deoxygenation, as warmer waters hold less oxygen. The coastal dead zones result from fertiliser and sewage running off the land and into the seas.

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from The Guardian http://ift.tt/2Ard2wA
Label: Climate Change

From the Guardian: Coral reef bleaching 'the new normal' and a fatal threat to ecosystems

Study of 100 tropical reef locations finds time between bleaching events has shrunk and is too short for full recovery

Repeated large-scale coral bleaching events are the new normal thanks to global warming, a team of international scientists has found.

In a study published in the journal Science, the researchers revealed a "dramatic shortening" of the time between bleaching events was "threatening the future existence of these iconic ecosystems and the livelihoods of many millions of people".

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from The Guardian http://ift.tt/2EYkEKK
Label: Climate Change

From the Guardian: Which works better: climate fear, or climate hope? Well, it's complicated

Communication is everything when it comes to the climate change debate – and there isn't just one way to speak to people's emotions

There's a debate in climate circles about whether you should try to scare the living daylights out of people, or give them hope – think images of starving polar bears on melting ice caps on the one hand, and happy families on their bikes lined with flowers and solar-powered lights on the other.

The debate came to something of a head this year, after David Wallace-Wells lit up the internet with his 7,000-word, worst-case scenario published in New York magazine. It went viral almost instantly, and soon was the best-read story in the magazine's history. A writer in Slate called it "the Silent Spring of our time". But it also garnered tremendous criticism and from more than the usual denier set.

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from The Guardian http://ift.tt/2E3V1XJ
Label: Climate Change

From the Guardian: BFI abandons plans for £130m national centre for film and television

Planning deadline could not be met, with situation partly blamed on state of political and economic climate as Brexit looms

Plans for a £130m national centre for film and television on the South Bank in London have been abandoned by the British Film Institute, in a decision partly blamed on the uncertain political and economic climate as Brexit looms.

A huge disappointment and setback for the BFI, the decision was taken shortly before Christmas and was confirmed on Tuesday.

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Label: Climate Change

From the Guardian: Keep global warming under 1.5C or 'quarter of planet could become arid'

A global temperature rise to 2C above pre-industrial levels could see many regions facing an increased threat of drought and wildfires, study suggests

More than a quarter of the planet's surface could become significantly drier if global temperatures rise 2C above pre-industrial levels, scientists predict.

The study, which is one of the most detailed assessments to date of future aridity, suggests that many regions could face an increased threat of drought and wildfires.

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from The Guardian http://ift.tt/2EFPmrJ
Label: Climate Change

From the Guardian: Spielberg's Ready Player One – in 2045, virtual reality is everyone's saviour

At last, a film that dares to show the positive side of living in virtual reality. Steven Spielberg's future shocker, about people using VR to escape hell on Earth, is everything The Matrix wasn't

It's 2045 and Earth has been brought to its knees by catastrophic climate change and a worldwide energy crisis, not to mention famine, poverty, disease and war. In short, everything we presently fear has come to pass. It is the ultimate dystopian future.

That's the premise of Ready Player One, a work of science fiction from 2011 by Ernest Cline and now a movie by Steven Spielberg. Wade Watts, the story's protagonist, is born into a generation that feels failed by reality. The only thing making life bearable is the OASIS, a globally networked virtual reality world. Using a visor and a set of haptic-feedback gloves, Wade and millions like him enter its realm daily.

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from The Guardian http://ift.tt/2A4ULoE
Label: Climate Change