Floods, Fires, and Heat Domes (the climate change thread)

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Coal was too expensive compared to renewables.

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AI me to the Moon… Carbon footprint for ‘training GPT-3’ same as driving to our natural satellite and back

The eggheads who produced this guesstimate are based at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and are also behind an open-source tool called Carbontracker, which aims to predict the carbon footprint of AI algorithms. Lasse Wolff Anthony, one of Carbontracker’s creators and co-author of a study of the subject of AI power usage, believes this drain on resources is something the community should start thinking about now, as the energy costs of AI have risen 300,000-fold between 2012 and 2018, it is claimed.

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@FloridaManJefe, you guys ok down there? Seems Eta has dumped a lot of water on you!

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thanks, Doc!
Eta came across Islamorada Sunday night. Key Largo got the most wind, like 65mph sustained. lots of trees down, neighbor’s carport is gone, some signs blown down. the rains really socked the mainland, tho!
we’re high and dry on my rock. lots to clean up. no real damage.
I will spend the day helping my neighbor with a downed tree in his backyard.
have not heard of anyone being hurt, so that’s good.

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Glad to hear that you’re okay!

Stay safe Jefe!

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Good to hear. Stay safe and help where you can!

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Glad you’re okay!

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What a nightmare. I am glad you are OK.

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Permafrost covers 24 percent of the Earth’s land surface, and the soil constituents vary with local geology. Arctic lands offer unexplored microbial biodiversity and microbial feedbacks, including the release of carbon to the atmosphere. In some locations, hundreds of millions of years’ worth of carbon is buried. The layers may still contain ancient frozen microbes, Pleistocene megafauna and even buried smallpox victims. As the permafrost thaws with increasing rapidity, scientists’ emerging challenge is to discover and identify the microbes, bacteria and viruses that may be stirring.

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Tropical Cyclone Gati made landfall in Somalia on Sunday with sustained winds of around 105 mph. It’s the first recorded instance of a hurricane-strength system hitting the country. At one point before landfall, Gati’s winds were measured at 115 mph.

“Gati is the strongest tropical cyclone that has been recorded in this region of the globe; further south than any category 3-equivalent cyclone in the North Indian Ocean,” said Sam Lillo, a researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Physical Sciences Laboratory.

Its intensification from about 40 mph to 115 mph was “the largest 12-hour increase on record for a tropical cyclone in the Indian Ocean,” Lillo added.

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