Posts

wildfire

Europe’s Wildfire Weather Is Being Fueled By The Climate Crisis 

/in , /by

Major wildfires have been spreading throughout Europe, specifically in Spain and France. According to a scientific analysis, the extreme heat and drought that is fueling these fires is only being exacerbated by the climate crisis. 

Experts from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) consortium calculated that global heating has made hot, dry, and windy weather 20 times more likely in Spain and twice as likely in France. Constant and increased burning of oil, gas, and coal has warmed the planet making extreme weather events such as wildfires much more common in recent years. 

Embed from Getty Images

The end of June saw a major heatwave spread throughout Europe, and has caused an estimated 20,000 deaths. This heat, according to another WWA study, could not have accumulated without the extra heat that has been trapped in the atmosphere from climate change. 

Another study from the group also found that the climate crisis is causing soils to become extremely dry, leading to major drought throughout the continent as well. 

Between the heatwaves and dry lands, a perfect storm was created for wildfires. Studies performed last year also showed that the 2025 wildfires were fuelled by the climate crisis. 

Europe also experienced a wet winter and spring, which allowed extra vegetation to grow, and eventually dry out from the summer’s intense heat, and further allowing wildfires to spark and spread. 

Dr Clair Barnes, a research associate at Imperial College London and part of the WWA study team, said: 

“We’ve seen repeatedly how climate change increases hot, dry, flammable conditions that are extremely conducive to wildfires.”

“What’s unique about [the July fires in Spain and France] is that it’s still early in the season – and with another heatwave looming, these findings are extremely scary. What we’re seeing is a clear sign of the escalating impacts of [human-caused] warming.”

“What we are seeing now in Spain and France goes well beyond what we would expect from past events,” said the director of programs at Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center, Julie Arrighi. 

Embed from Getty Images

Dr. Augustin Colette at the French National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks stated: 

“The smoke increased particulate [pollution] peak levels up to 20 times above what is considered ‘fair air quality’, and extremely poor air quality was felt up to 400 km away from the fires.” 

Since early July, severe wildfires have been burning across Spain and France. More than 300,000 people were forced to leave their homes with thousands being destroyed. The WWA specifically analyzed the seven-day period in which the highest daily severity ratings for each country was recorded. 

They used weather records to establish statistical methods to estimate how much more likely a week of extremely high DSR is in today’s world when compared to the world before mass fossil-fuel burning raised the global temperature, according to the Guardian. 

The UN’s climate chief, Simon Stiell, said: 

“These European mega-fires show how fast climate-driven extreme heat and dry landscapes can turn wildfires into devastating national disasters.”

“Humanity continuing to burn colossal amounts of coal, oil and gas is making these conditions more dangerous, and these megafires more deadly and destructive. But the solutions are equally clear: all countries must move faster from fossil fuels to renewables and protect people from worsening climate impacts, from wildfires, to megastorms and floods, to droughts hitting food production.”

Real Estate Home & Keys

What To Expect From The US Housing Market In 2021

/in , /by

Realtor.com recently released their annual housing predictions report for next year. For 2021, the site is projecting record-high prices and a continuous rise in pricing due to an increased desire to sell after the Covid-19 pandemic. Mortgage interest rates hit record lows within the past year which helped fuel the housing market as the pandemic worsened, however, it’s predicted that these rates will also increase in the new year, which would make monthly housing payments more expensive. 

The pace of these pricing increases, however, will likely be slow. In general prices are expected to jump by 5.7% total as a result of more properties being placed on the market. Real estate industry heads are expecting the second half of the year will be full of houses on the market, because at that point a vaccine will likely be heavily distributed and in-person showings/open houses will hopefully be able to resume normally. 

“We expect affordability to become a bigger challenge, it’s going to make housing more expensive. But home prices will rise slower than this year.”

Embed from Getty Images

Danielle Hale is a Chief Economist for realtor.com, who also predicted that mortgage rates will begin to slowly increase within the second half of 2021. The current rate is at an all time low of 2.7%, however, it’s projected to increase to 3.4% by the end of next year. While that increase isn’t that intense, and will likely take the whole year, the residual increasing in preexisting mortgage payments will be noticeable. 

On a more positive note, sales of existing homes on the market, and future listings, are expected to increase by 7% in 2021, which would be amazing for the economy overall. This will be a direct result of individuals finally being able to leave their homes and seek a new property with features that they missed within the past ten months of lockdown. 

“Home prices can’t outpace income growth indefinitely. The higher prices rise, the harder it is for more buyers to get into the market. That tends to dampen demand.”

Embed from Getty Images

Again, most experts are expecting to see a more positive change in the second half of 2021 under the assumption that at that point a majority of the country will be vaccinated and the industry will return back to almost full normalcy. There’s no doubt that they’ll be plenty of houses on the market, the problem will come if there’s enough demand to meet the supply; especially considering the fact that America is also involved in yet another economic crisis that has left tens of millions of citizens unemployed. 

It’s also predicted that houses currently being developed and future residential construction projects will drive the market back up for individuals looking to rent. According to Hale, however, it’s all going to be dependent on every buyer/seller’s local market and economy: “Sellers are still expected to get top dollar for their home sales, the biggest challenge is finding their new home.”

If the nation undergoes a second lockdown in the beginning of 2021, as president-elect Joe Biden claims we will be, then fewer homes will also be placed on the market for obvious reasons, causing the market to slow tremendously. However, when it comes down to it, we’re talking about people’s lives over the US housing market, so it should be a no-brainer.

Covid Studies

Researchers Pressured To Focus On Sex Differences In Covid-19 Studies 

/in , /by

When it comes to medical research in general, unless a disease or virus has proven to only impact one sex over the other, men and women are often grouped together in terms of how doctors experiment to catch and fight new diseases. However, this process can be quite deadly, for example in the late 1990’s a heart drug named digoxin was marketed as being effective and safe, but after a while women were noticing a higher-rate of negative side effects when compared to men who took the drug. 

After further research it was discovered that the drug was actually attributing to a higher mortality rate in women but was decreasing mortality in men. So when it comes to the Covid-19 pandemic, some experts are wondering why there isn’t more of a focus on how this virus affects the sexes differently, if at all. 

Embed from Getty Images

Covid-19 seems to be impacting all demographics relatively equally, however, it’s already been thought of that men are twice as likely to die from the virus as women. That said, the main researchers around the world that are focusing on treatments for this virus are paying little to no attention to the variations in how it impacts an individual based on their biological sex. 

One study showed that only 416 of the 2,484 Covid-19 clinical trials currently occuring around the world account for sex/gender as a criteria for volunteer recruitment. When research around the malaria treatment drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) was saturating media timelines a few months ago, studies showed that the drug caused heart-rhythm side-effects that could be deadly. These side effects, however, were mainly occurring in women. 

There is a general recognition today that women aren’t as heavily involved in clinical trials as men. One of the known reasons for this is due to a series of birth defects and other problems resulting from fetal exposure to certain experimental drugs during clinical trials between the 1940s and 1970s. These defects created a massive ripple effect of scientists excluding women from medical trials if they’re at an age when they’re still fertile. 

Embed from Getty Images

Systemic racism in general has also caused a lot of scientists to view caucasian males as the “normal” when it comes to population types, therefore however their bodies react to whatever treatment is being tested will be universal for everyone else. Back in 2001 10 different drugs were pulled from the market after it was discovered that 8 of them were posing greater health risks for women over men due to a lack of inclusion in trials. Londa Schiebinger is a history of science professor who recently discussed the importance of sex analysis in clinical trials. 

“The problem is, if you don’t do sex analysis – if males and females have very different responses – you could miss accurate data on everybody.”

Many research funding agencies now have requirements for sex analysis’ in trials. Women have different hormone types and levels than men. They also have smaller kidneys and more fat tissue which is extremely important when it comes to medical research and dosage information. When it comes to infectious diseases, such as Covid-19, women are proven to have stronger immune systems in general due to their double X chromosomes. So in the same regard, ensuring that equal parts men and women are involved in all Covid trials is imperative for measuring all types of immune responses to this unpredictable virus.

Impeachment

Lawyer Reviews Democrats’ Arguments in Impeachment Trial

/in , /by

Devin J. Stone is a practicing lawyer whose YouTube channel looks at various elements in popular culture from the perspective of the law. In his latest video, he examined the arguments that have been presented in the trial so far, which includes those expressed by impeachment managers from the House of Representatives, led by Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff, that the president abused his office by soliciting campaign interference from Ukraine and obstructed Congress by trying to cover up their investigation into his alleged wrongdoing. In the video, Stone accuses the Republicans of arguing contradictory points; that it’s simultaneously too late and too early to call witnesses in the trial, and also that the Democrats should wait for the courts to decide whether White House officials are allowed to ignore congressional subpoenas and that the courts have no right to decide this type of question.

Embed from Getty Images

Republicans voted along strict party lines to block 11 amendments proposed by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that would have ensured witnesses be called during the trial and additional subpoenas issued, but also complained that Democrats presented nothing new at the trial, as if they weren’t directly responsible for that being the case. Stone also commented on the marathon nature of the proceedings, as arguments were heard for hours on end and went long into the night, which is likely to fatigue both the senators trying the case and the American people, likely an intentional move on the Republicans’ part, as they were the party who set the rules for the impeachment trial and also the party most interested in preventing the facts about the case from becoming known among the general public.

Stone also observed the various ways the impeachment of Trump differs from the impeachments of past presidents, most notably how the investigation of Trump was by necessity conducted by Democrats instead of by an independent counsel, and that the investigation was not exhaustively concluded before the articles of impeachment were sent to the Senate. As Attorney General William Barr was unwilling to appoint an independent counsel to investigate Trump, Democrats had to do it themselves, raising separation-of-powers questions and potentially causing legal problems for the Democrats later on.

Embed from Getty Images

Additionally, Stone also discussed the theory floating around the Internet that Chief Justice John Roberts can intervene more heavily in the trial, forcing witnesses to be called and documents to be produced. As expected, however, Roberts intervened very little in the trial, with his only extemporaneous comment being an admonishment of the hostile tone of both the prosecution and the defense during the first day of the trial. Stone said that he expected Roberts to do more of the same, fading into the background as arguments were heard, as presiding justices in past impeachment trials have taken a similarly passive role and “both sides-ing” the issues.

Finally, Stone pointed out the ridiculousness of the fact that Trump, in Davos, commenting about how the fact that the administration withheld evidence from the trial gives him an advantage in the trial, seemingly bragging about his obstruction of congress, one of the offenses he was impeached for. Truly, we live in interesting times.