View allAll Photos Tagged argumentation
Three women were sitting together drinking coffee on a lovely peaceful afternoon.
They talked about their husbands, lovers, sons and men in general.
They soon became bitter somehow.
They remembered the role of men in history.
The women remembered the thin, almost transparent layer of cultural civilization. Alcohol and group gathering and a bogeyman too often showed the ugly face of the forgotten malignancy of that angry chimpanzee underneath that layer.
As hooligans they hardly recognized their sons and men again.
The sons, who were second-born (the third and fourth sons aso.), had to leave the farm and home to seek their fortune and fame and a (new) empire in the world.
The woman remembered the vulnerability of their sons to ideologies and religions, their black and white thinking, their simple solutions and their intolerant and bloody "us and them", to achieve their merciless goals.
How easily they could be seduced by cynical old men, who always let the young suicide bombers go first into that promised land in the afterlife, which had not ever been seen by nobody, ever and never. ;-)
The desperate women thought about the wars and the rapes, mass killings, and the crusades, the Holocaust, the genocides, the general racism in this world.
They thought of the crime statistics, the severity of the crimes that have been committed by men and will be in future.
The prisoners, guards, judges and lawyers, the police and politicians, investment bankers and the tax dodgers.
They had to think about the men of religions and their misogyny.
They thought of the testosterone in general.
Or was it just a problem of the youth bulges and not religions, tribal feuds and poverty as main reasons responsible for the escalation of terrorism?
Is the oversized proportion of the male youth in the total population to blame for the deadly fights?
Do religions and ideologies only provide the necessary disinhibition to kill for the future world warrior?
Even terrorists need a justification, so that they can sleep better.
They want to kill for a "better" peaceful world, how perverse is that???
The list and the questions seemed endless.
The three women were moaning deeply, a moan so deep and old as mankind itself.
So much pain in the world!
The women did not have the arrogance to believe that they had considered everything, but what had occurred to them was bad enough, wasn`t it?
Then suddenly they had an idea, a brilliant idea they thought:
Fast, repeated cuts, in order to reduce the "Imaginary Heroes" to their right measurement.
The only infirmity of this argument was, that every son has got a mother ;-)
Even if it was just a daydream, men do not fall asleep too tight tonight and the nights after, the woman of the world could wake up very soon before you do ;-).
Belfast (/ˈbɛl.fɑːst/ or /ˈbɛl.fæst/; from Irish: Béal Feirste, meaning "mouth of the sandbanks") is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, on the River Lagan. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 286,000. Belfast was granted city status in 1888.
Belfast was a centre of the Irish linen, tobacco processing, rope-making and shipbuilding industries: in the early 20th century, Harland and Wolff, which built the RMS Titanic, was the biggest and most productive shipyard in the world. Belfast played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, and was a global industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century. Industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast the biggest city in Ireland at the beginning of the 20th century, and industrial and economic success was cited by unionist opponents of Home Rule as a reason why Ulster should fight to resist it.
Today, Belfast remains a centre for industry, as well as the arts, higher education, business, and law, and is the economic engine of Northern Ireland. The city suffered greatly during the period of conflict called "the Troubles", but latterly has undergone a sustained period of calm, free from the intense political violence of former years, and substantial economic and commercial growth. Additionally, Belfast city centre has undergone considerable expansion and regeneration in recent years, notably around Victoria Square.
Belfast is served by two airports: George Best Belfast City Airport in the city, and Belfast International Airport 15 miles (24 km) west of the city. Belfast is a major port, with commercial and industrial docks dominating the Belfast Lough shoreline, including the Harland and Wolff shipyard, and is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) as a global city.
Name
The name Belfast is derived from the Irish Béal Feirsde, which was later spelled Béal Feirste. The word béal means "mouth" or "rivermouth" while feirsde/feirste is the genitive singular of fearsaid and refers to a sandbar or tidal fordacross a river's mouth. The name would thus translate literally as "(river) mouth of the sandbar" or "(river) mouth of the ford". This sandbar was formed at the confluence of two rivers at what is now Donegall Quay: the Lagan, which flows into Belfast Lough, and its tributary the Farset. This area was the hub around which the original settlement developed. The Irish name Béal Feirste is shared by a townland in County Mayo, whose name has been anglicised as Belfarsad.
An alternative interpretation of the name is "mouth of [the river] of the sandbar", an allusion to the River Farset, which flows into the Lagan where the sandbar was located. This interpretation was favoured by Edmund Hoganand John O'Donovan. It seems clear, however, that the river itself was named after the tidal crossing.
In Ulster Scots the name of the city is Bilfawst or Bilfaust, although "Belfast" is also used.
History
The site of Belfast has been occupied since the Bronze Age. The Giant's Ring, a 5,000-year-old henge, is located near the city, and the remains of Iron Age hill forts can still be seen in the surrounding hills. Belfast remained a small settlement of little importance during the Middle Ages. John de Courcy built a castle on what is now Castle Street in the city centre in the 12th century, but this was on a lesser scale and not as strategically important as Carrickfergus Castle to the north, which was built by de Courcy in 1177. The O'Neill clan had a presence in the area.
In the 14th century, Cloinne Aodha Buidhe, descendants of Aodh Buidhe O'Neill built Grey Castle at Castlereagh, now in the east of the city. Conn O'Neill of the Clannaboy O'Neills owned vast lands in the area and was the last inhabitant of Grey Castle, one remaining link being the Conn's Water river flowing through east Belfast.
Belfast became a substantial settlement in the 17th century after being established as a town by Sir Arthur Chichester, which was initially settled by Protestant English and Scottish migrants at the time of the Plantation of Ulster. (Belfast and County Antrim, however, did not form part of this particular Plantation scheme as they were privately colonised.) In 1791, the Society of United Irishmen was founded in Belfast, after Henry Joy McCracken and other prominent Presbyterians from the city invited Theobald Wolfe Tone and Thomas Russell to a meeting, after having read Tone's "Argument on Behalf of the Catholics of Ireland". Evidence of this period of Belfast's growth can still be seen in the oldest areas of the city, known as the Entries.
Belfast blossomed as a commercial and industrial centre in the 18th and 19th centuries and became Ireland's pre-eminent industrial city. Industries thrived, including linen, rope-making, tobacco, heavy engineering and shipbuilding, and at the end of the 19th century, Belfast briefly overtook Dublin as the largest city in Ireland. The Harland and Wolff shipyards became one of the largest shipbuilders in the world, employing up to 35,000 workers. In 1886 the city suffered intense riots over the issue of home rule, which had divided the city.
In 1920–22, Belfast became the capital of the new entity of Northern Ireland as the island of Ireland was partitioned. The accompanying conflict (the Irish War of Independence) cost up to 500 lives in Belfast, the bloodiest sectarian strife in the city until the Troubles of the late 1960s onwards.
The Troubles
Belfast has been the capital of Northern Ireland since its establishment in 1921 following the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It had been the scene of various episodes of sectarian conflict between its Catholic and Protestant populations. These opposing groups in this conflict are now often termed republican and loyalist respectively, although they are also referred to as 'nationalist' and 'unionist'. The most recent example of this conflict was known as the Troubles – a civil conflict that raged from around 1969 to 1998.
Belfast saw some of the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, particularly in the 1970s, with rival paramilitary groups formed on both sides. Bombing, assassination and street violence formed a backdrop to life throughout the Troubles. The Provisional IRA detonated 22 bombs within the confines of Belfast city centre in 1972, on what is known as "Bloody Friday", killing eleven people. Loyalist paramilitaries including the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) claimed that the killings they carried out were in retaliation for the IRA campaign. Most of their victims were Catholics with no links to the Provisional IRA. A particularly notorious group, based on the Shankill Road in the mid-1970s, became known as the Shankill Butchers.
In all, over 1,600 people were killed in political violence in the city between 1969 and 2001. Sporadic violent events continue as of 2015, although not supported by the previous antagonists who had reached political agreement in 1998.
A classic case and argument to shoot what's out there. Sooner or later, it'll mean something. An ex Conrail SD60I leads a mixed freight east along the CSX Trenton Sub. Almost all of the SD60 variants are off the CSX roster. What was common place, now is not to be repeated.
Pic 2:
Miku: I just love this room don’t you? :)
Asper: You are everywhere! Why wouldn’t you!
(Asper looks around.)
Asper: Can You move some of the little you’s aside, I need more room for my Hello Kitty collection.
Miku: I am not removing any little me’s from this room! -_-
Jade knocks on the door and walks in the room.
Jade: Hi Miku. :)
Miku: Hello! Asper thinks there should be less of me in this room. I don’t think so.
Asper: Because there needs to be more cats!
Jade: I’m staying out of this. (Takes a step back. She let the two ramble off, then interrupts their argument) So you must be Asper?
Asper: Yup! Nice to meet you… sorry I don’t know your name?
Jade: It is Jade Ddalgi. :)
Asper: Ddalgi as in strawberry?
Jade: You could say that. Hey does anyone know who Maxine Nelson is?
Miku: Not a clue.
Asper: I don’t know, but we can look her up like any Good roommates should. ;)
"Поистине всегда там, где недостает разумных доводов, их заменяет крик." Л. да Винчи
"Truly always, where there are not enough reasonable arguments, they are replaced by scream" L. da Vinci
more from series here *+ 7 photo*
neonihil.livejournal.com/74706.html
taken together with AlisaWonderland
you can check her pictures in her pool
Los Santos Justo y Pastor is today considered to be one of the very finest examples of a troglodytic church on the Iberian peninsula. Its greater site splays with outside cavities and additional man-made caves, and, as with the sites of the Église Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Faido (above to the north East on a high Alava plateau and including a potential Celtiberic-style 'tree of life' rupestre) and the well known Ojo Guareña cave church complex (with associated prehistoric finds from several ages), history has clearly implanted and adorned over ancient armatures of considered hollow ground.
Today arguments tend to be made that the initial cave spaces date to early Medieval times. Whilst active inputs can be seen from these dates, and whilst examples do exist that look to be firmly rooted from medieval dates, a wide thought perimeter is perhaps required in order to protect against 'clipping'. In this context I would define 'clipping' as when an element from a site's later chronology is described and offered as a foundation marker or gestation point at the expense of a deeper past, in effect clipping deeper ages from its 'history'. A thought experiment may be taken from popular conceptions of the heavily covered Roman Empire: well known for its roads, saunas, galea, plastrons and fresh water systems: here clipping would be to ignore that all of these elements existed with refined examples from dates and epochs prior to the Romans - thus imagining that they brought in this package of 'new'. Whilst this example works with some popular conceptions, the interpretation of these troglodytic spaces is finer and necessarily open to debate. We expect to find some sites that are fully from historical dates, but need to remain wary. Seeing an element in a troglodytic cave and identifying it as being of Moorish or Visigoth origin, and then inferring that therefore the whole space was from this date may 'clip' the site from a deeper chronology. Again raw rock surface and sites that attract attentive behaviours may not leave layers of archaeological data, and therefore assessments may need to be made from many angles and approaches.
The site of Los Santos Justo y Pastor sits back in a cliff prior to the entrance into the vivid Canon e Horalda and its Las Tuercas heights - a 'Larzac' of naturally sculpted landscape and rare tunnel-form 'rock ledges'.
As with many examples, Los Santos Justo y Pastor is far too large to have been for a hermits lone thoughts. In general, documenting a hermit from a late date in an example of just such a structure and clipping the definition and chronology of the example to that one person and his style and issues of life would be an error, as the last use of many an old way can be a lonely affair. Hermits existed and hermits may well be associated with elements of the building's stories, but not all.
Whilst the Los Santos Justo y Pastor can be visited and recognised for its historical splendour, the site retains details, forms, ornaments and styles that can be compared with many many other sites from this category - elements that pose questions.
Los Santos Justo y Pastor is not an example of the creation of some back-of-the-woods characters trying to the best of their ability to emulate great buildings that they had heard about, but not seen, and is not a building equivalent of a 14th century drawing of an elephant. Aside the additions and renewals of history, there are styles that are not associated with the pre-Romanesque; and styles that may require call for an appreciation of an influence from late prehistoric 'architecture'.
Top left: Exterior alcove for sepulchre. This is not systematic, and occasionally sepulchres are presented in carved recesses rather than alcoves. This feature links the site with examples of monolithic necropolis that adorn landscape features without necessary association with buildings.
Top right: these original openings have been filled-in during history and I re-found outlines using photoshop. Notice the simple carved line around the opening forms. Notice how one form is in the shape of a stone tool in the way that some standing stones follow tool forms. The same oblong triangular form and outline is not unique to this site.
Lower left: Small round holes that liberate shafts of light into the interior spaces are common to this category of 'building'. Here the round hole was probably carved into square shape at some point in history, with the initial half circle above the hole still visible. Curved and straight line indents are often associated with roofs attached to monoliths and can be thought to lock tile and fixer at a junction where rock run-off arrives. Examples in the Monsanto megasite in Portugal are clear to see in operation. Here the trough indents is perhaps too small for a roof addition, and other decorative troughs associated with the site are of potential Celtiberic style and seem to direct run-off water away from openings without the necessary addition of a roof, potentially protecting painted areas from great veils of water.
Lower right: A man-made cavity abutted by monolithic graves and of a style of cavity that elsewhere in the Iberian Peninsula may be associated with late prehistoric ages (see below). Surely happenstance, but worth noting is the fact that, from this angle the opening appears as a large prehistoric pot.
AJM 04.11.20
Oscar pretends to disdain the music I write but deep down I think that he's a fan!
Also I'd like to thank the guys 'n gals at mpb.com. I had trouble with this fab lens and they fixed it, no argument, and returned it promptly. My thanks to them!
Expert ID arguments welcome. I believe this is an adult beginning to molt out of alternate plumage.
San Simeon, San Luis Obispo County, California, USA.
The use of any of my photos, of any file size, for any purpose, is subject to approval by me. Contact me for permission. Image files are available upon request. My email address is available at my Flickr profile page. Or send me a FlickrMail.
No doubt arguing about whether it's too, too ostentatious to put a lion-studded iron gate on one's garage.
I had taken this shot of the Confederate Gen. Breckenridge statue in downtown Lexington on the day of the Great Eclipse of 2017. In the four-plus months since that day, I have been very conflicted about posting this on social media, because at the time, the emotions were running white hot in the middle of the debate over keeping or removing the statue, and there didn't appear to be a lot of in-between; it was either you were for keeping the statue due to concerns over whitewashing history, or you were for moving or destroying it because it stood on the site of one of the biggest slave auctions in the US at the time, and was erected during the Jim Crow era. When I saw this, I found it fitting the image of him appearing to plead his case in front of the iconic 5/3 building, one of the most prominent and identifiable features of the Lexington skyline, with the partially eclipsed sun setting behind it, juxtaposing old and new Lexington, all of this on the heels of the riots in Charlottesville. The statue was taken down in October, thanks to the efforts of the Take Back Cheapside movement and in part, due to the ripple effect of what happened in Charlottesville. It was certainly one of the big stories of 2017. #igerslexington #igerslouisville #igerskentucky
Two Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) engage in a dominance fight in a small pond in Mikumi National Park of Tanzania. When Hippopotamus fight, water goes everywhere!
« If you appreciate my work and would like to support me becoming an independent photographer, become a Patreon supporter at www.patreon.com/alexdehaas, or buy me a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/alexdehaas :) »
"Sometimes ... when she talks to me like that ... I feel I'd like to go up there ... and curse her ... and-and-and leave her forever ! Or at least defy her ! But I know I can't. She's ill."
('Mrs. Bates' and diorama by RK / 'Wig' by McFarlane Toys)
strobist info:
snooted (diy) Metz 48 high cam right @1/16, snooted McGoat SS-150 at left behind me.
Canon 7D + Tokina 12-24 f4
PRESIDENT OBAMA: President Hollande, Mr. Secretary General, fellow leaders. We have come to Paris to show our resolve. We offer our condolences to the people of France for the barbaric attacks on this beautiful city. We stand united in solidarity not only to deliver justice to the terrorist network responsible for those attacks but to protect our people and uphold the enduring values that keep us strong and keep us free. And we salute the people of Paris for insisting this crucial conference go on -- an act of defiance that proves nothing will deter us from building the future we want for our children. What greater rejection of those who would tear down our world than marshaling our best efforts to save it? Nearly 200 nations have assembled here this week -- a declaration that for all the challenges we face, the growing threat of climate change could define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other. What should give us hope that this is a turning point, that this is the moment we finally determined we would save our planet, is the fact that our nations share a sense of urgency about this challenge and a growing realization that it is within our power to do something about it.Our understanding of the ways human beings disrupt the climate advances by the day. Fourteen of the fifteen warmest years on record have occurred since the year 2000 -- and 2015 is on pace to be the warmest year of all. No nation -- large or small, wealthy or poor -- is immune to what this means. This summer, I saw the effects of climate change firsthand in our northernmost state, Alaska, where the sea is already swallowing villages and eroding shorelines; where permafrost thaws and the tundra burns; where glaciers are melting at a pace unprecedented in modern times. And it was a preview of one possible future -- a glimpse of our children’s fate if the climate keeps changing faster than our efforts to address it. Submerged countries. Abandoned cities. Fields that no longer grow. Political disruptions that trigger new conflict, and even more floods of desperate peoples seeking the sanctuary of nations not their own. That future is not one of strong economies, nor is it one where fragile states can find their footing. That future is one that we have the power to change. Right here. Right now. But only if we rise to this moment. As one of America’s governors has said, “We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change, and the last generation that can do something about it.”I’ve come here personally, as the leader of the world’s largest economy and the second-largest emitter, to say that the United States of America not only recognizes our role in creating this problem, we embrace our responsibility to do something about it.Over the last seven years, we’ve made ambitious investments in clean energy, and ambitious reductions in our carbon emissions. We’ve multiplied wind power threefold, and solar power more than twentyfold, helping create parts of America where these clean power sources are finally cheaper than dirtier, conventional power. We’ve invested in energy efficiency in every way imaginable. We’ve said no to infrastructure that would pull high-carbon fossil fuels from the ground, and we’ve said yes to the first-ever set of national standards limiting the amount of carbon pollution our power plants can release into the sky.The advances we’ve made have helped drive our economic output to all-time highs, and drive our carbon pollution to its lowest levels in nearly two decades. But the good news is this is not an American trend alone. Last year, the global economy grew while global carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels stayed flat. And what this means can’t be overstated. We have broken the old arguments for inaction. We have proved that strong economic growth and a safer environment no longer have to conflict with one another; they can work in concert with one another.
And that should give us hope. One of the enemies that we'll be fighting at this conference is cynicism, the notion we can't do anything about climate change. Our progress should give us hope during these two weeks -- hope that is rooted in collective action. Earlier this month in Dubai, after years of delay, the world agreed to work together to cut the super-pollutants known as HFCs. That's progress. Already, prior to Paris, more than 180 countries representing nearly 95 percent of global emissions have put forward their own climate targets. That is progress. For our part, America is on track to reach the emissions targets that I set six years ago in Copenhagen -- we will reduce our carbon emissions in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. And that's why, last year, I set a new target: America will reduce our emissions 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels within 10 years from now.So our task here in Paris is to turn these achievements into an enduring framework for human progress -- not a stopgap solution, but a long-term strategy that gives the world confidence in a low-carbon future.Here, in Paris, let’s secure an agreement that builds in ambition, where progress paves the way for regularly updated targets -- targets that are not set for each of us but by each of us, taking into account the differences that each nation is facing. Here in Paris, let’s agree to a strong system of transparency that gives each of us the confidence that all of us are meeting our commitments. And let’s make sure that the countries who don’t yet have the full capacity to report on their targets receive the support that they need. Here in Paris, let’s reaffirm our commitment that resources will be there for countries willing to do their part to skip the dirty phase of development. And I recognize this will not be easy. It will take a commitment to innovation and the capital to continue driving down the cost of clean energy. And that’s why, this afternoon, I’ll join many of you to announce an historic joint effort to accelerate public and private clean energy innovation on a global scale.Here in Paris, let’s also make sure that these resources flow to the countries that need help preparing for the impacts of climate change that we can no longer avoid. We know the truth that many nations have contributed little to climate change but will be the first to feel its most destructive effects. For some, particularly island nations -- whose leaders I’ll meet with tomorrow -- climate change is a threat to their very existence. And that’s why today, in concert with other nations, America confirms our strong and ongoing commitment to the Least Developed Countries Fund. And tomorrow, we’ll pledge new contributions to risk insurance initiatives that help vulnerable populations rebuild stronger after climate-related disasters.And finally, here in Paris, let’s show businesses and investors that the global economy is on a firm path towards a low-carbon future. If we put the right rules and incentives in place, we’ll unleash the creative power of our best scientists and engineers and entrepreneurs to deploy clean energy technologies and the new jobs and new opportunities that they create all around the world. There are hundreds of billions of dollars ready to deploy to countries around the world if they get the signal that we mean business this time. Let’s send that signal.That’s what we seek in these next two weeks. Not simply an agreement to roll back the pollution we put into our skies, but an agreement that helps us lift people from poverty without condemning the next generation to a planet that’s beyond its capacity to repair. Here, in Paris, we can show the world what is possible when we come together, united in common effort and by a common purpose.And let there be no doubt, the next generation is watching what we do. Just over a week ago, I was in Malaysia, where I held a town hall with young people, and the first question I received was from a young Indonesian woman. And it wasn’t about terrorism, it wasn’t about the economy, it wasn’t about human rights. It was about climate change. And she asked whether I was optimistic about what we can achieve here in Paris, and what young people like her could do to help.I want our actions to show her that we’re listening. I want our actions to be big enough to draw on the talents of all our people -- men and women, rich and poor -- I want to show her passionate, idealistic young generation that we care about their future. For I believe, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that there is such a thing as being too late. And when it comes to climate change, that hour is almost upon us. But if we act here, if we act now, if we place our own short-term interests behind the air that our young people will breathe, and the food that they will eat, and the water that they will drink, and the hopes and dreams that sustain their lives, then we won't be too late for them.And, my fellow leaders, accepting this challenge will not reward us with moments of victory that are clear or quick. Our progress will be measured differently -- in the suffering that is averted, and a planet that's preserved. And that’s what’s always made this so hard. Our generation may not even live to see the full realization of what we do here. But the knowledge that the next generation will be better off for what we do here -- can we imagine a more worthy reward than that? Passing that on to our children and our grandchildren, so that when they look back and they see what we did here in Paris, they can take pride in our achievement. Let that be the common purpose here in Paris. A world that is worthy of our children. A world that is marked not by conflict, but by cooperation; and not by human suffering, but by human progress. A world that’s safer, and more prosperous, and more secure, and more free than the one that we inherited. Let’s get to work. Thank you very much.
www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/30/remarks-pr...
Nearly 150 global leaders are gathering in Paris amid tight security for a critical UN climate meeting.The conference, known as COP21, starts on Monday and will try to craft a long-term deal to limit carbon emissions.Observers say that the recent terror attacks on the French capital will increase the chances of a new agreement.Around 40,000 people are expected to participate in the event, which runs until 11 December.The gathering of 147 heads of state and government is set to be far bigger than the 115 or so who came to Copenhagen in 2009, the last time the world came close to agreeing a long term deal on climate change.Rallies call for action.While many leaders including Presidents Obama and Xi Jinping were always set to attend this conference, the recent violent attacks in Paris have encouraged others to come in an expression of solidarity with the French people.Unlike at Copenhagen, the French organisers are bringing the leaders in at the start of the conference rather than waiting for them to come in at the end, a tactic which failed spectacularly in the Danish capital.On Sunday thousands of people took part in demonstrations worldwide to demand they take firm action.Considerable differencesDelegates are in little doubt that the shadow cast over the city by the attacks will enhance the chances of agreement."I believe that it will make a deal more likely, because what I feel from the parties is that they are very eager to move," said Amjad Abdulla from the Maldives, who chairs the Alliance of Small Island States in the negotiations.A former UK government adviser on climate change and now chairman of environmental think tank E3G, Tom Burke, believes that some leaders will push the line that, by tackling rising temperatures, you remove one of the causes of terrorism.One key problem is what form an agreement will take. The US for instance will not sign up to a legally binding deal as there would be little hope of getting it through a Senate dominated by Republicans."We're looking for an agreement that has broad, really full participation," said US lead negotiator Todd Stern at a news briefing earlier this week."We were quite convinced that an agreement that required actually legally binding targets would have many countries unable to participate."Many developing countries fundamentally disagree. As does the European Union."We must translate the momentum we have seen on the road to Paris into an ambitious, operational, legally binding agreement," said EU commissioner Miguel Arias Canete, in a statement.As well as the form there are also many issues with the content.There are a wide range of views on what the long-term goal of the agreement should be.While it will ostensibly come down to keeping temperatures from rising more than 2C above the pre-industrial level, how that will be represented in the text is the subject of much wrangling.Some countries reject the very notion of 2C and say 1.5C must be the standard. Others want to talk about decarbonising the world by the middle or end of this century.For major oil producers the very idea is anathema.While the fact that more than 180 countries have put forward national plans to cut emissions is a major strength of this conference, there are still big questions marks about how to verify those commitments that will actually be carried out."People in the negotiations, people outside the negotiations are going to be looking for the capacity to have trust and confidence in what countries say they are doing," Todd Stern told reporters."[You] can't run the system without that."COP 21 - the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties - will see more than 190 nations gather in Paris to discuss a possible new global agreement on climate change, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the threat of dangerous warming due to human activities.While there is some consensus among the parties that the plans will need to be reviewed every five years, there is no question of punitive restrictions if a country doesn't meet its targets.And among the many other issues in dispute, almost inevitably, is money. While rich countries promised they would give $100bn by 2020 to the developing world back in 2009, the cash has been slow in coming. Right now there is no agreement about what happens after 2020.While there is a general air of optimism and a willingness to get a deal done, success isn't guaranteed this time round. Many believe that a country such as India, with close to 300 million people without electricity, will refuse to sign up to a strong agreement that limits future fossil fuel use.If that happens, the whole process could come unstuck, as nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.Tom Burke for one believes that going against the flow will be particularly difficult this time round."I think one of the reasons people will find it hard to hold out at the end will be because of the level of political capital that Obama has invested in climate change, making it clear it is a primary legacy issue for him," he said.
www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34950442
The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world as a result of increased CO2 from human activities. This is causing Greenland's ice sheets and glaciers to melt, contributing to sea level rise.On average, global sea level has risen almost 8 inches since 1901, coming from two main sources: rising ocean temperatures that cause water to expand, and melting glaciers and ice sheets which add water to the oceans.The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded the oceans will continue rising in coming decades, conservatively projecting up to a 3 foot increase in global mean sea level by 2100. Other studies project an even higher sea level rise if we stay near our current emissions path for carbon pollution. In our stories, we explore how sea level rise impacts homes, livelihoods, economies, and families around the world.In just 2012, the ice that melted in Greenland and flowed into the ocean was equivalent to the amount of water flowing over Niagara Falls for 5 straight years.
yearsoflivingdangerously.com/topic/sea-level-rise/
Adapting to Sea Level Rise in the Coastal Zone. Rising sea level settles border dispute.In an unusual example of the effects of global climate change, rising sea levels in the Bay of Bengal have helped resolve a troublesome territorial dispute between two of the world's most populated countries, a leading Indian oceanographer says.Sugata Hazra, the head of oceanography at Kolkata's Jadavpur University, says a flat muddy patch of land known as South Talpatti in Bangladesh and New Moore Island in India has disappeared under the Bay of Bengal. The landmass had been claimed by both countries but Professor Hazra says satellite images prove it has gone.''It is now a submerged landmass, not an island,'' Professor Hazra told the Herald.Sea-level rise caused by climate change was ''surely'' a factor in the island's inundation, Professor Hazra said.''The rate of sea-level rise in this part of the northern Bay of Bengal is definitely attributable to climate change,'' he said.
''There is a close correlation between the rate of sea-level rise and the sea surface temperature.''The island was once about 3.5 kilometres long and three kilometres wide and situated four kilometres from the mouth of the Hariabhanga River, the waterway that marks a stretch of the border between south-western Bangladesh and India.Scientists believe the disputed island was formed following a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal in 1970 and both countries laid claim to the land.
Bilateral negotiations were inconclusive and in 1981 the Indian government sent gunboats to the island and members of its Border Security Forces planted an Indian flag there.
The island was not inhabited but Bangladeshi fishermen were reportedly sighted there frequently during the dry season.
''This is a unique instance of how climate resolves a dispute,'' said Professor Hazra.''It also goes to show how climate can affect all of us beyond geographical boundaries.''The Indian government had once sent ships with guns to guard the island.''Now one will have to think of sending submarines to mount a vigil there.''Professor Hazra said sea-level rise, changes in monsoonal rain patterns which altered river flows and land subsidence were all contributing to the inundation of land in the northern Bay of Bengal.The low-lying delta region that makes up much of Bangladesh and the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal are acutely vulnerable to climate change.The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts rising sea levels will devour 17 per cent of Bangladesh by 2050, displacing at least 20 million people. More than 155 million people live in the country.The Bangladesh non-governmental organisation Coastal Watch says an average of 11 Bangladeshis are losing their homes to rising waters every hour.Professor Hazra predicts that 15 per cent of the Indian Sundarbans region on the northern shore of the Bay of Bengal will be submerged by 2020.''A lot of other islands are eroding very fast,'' he said.The cyclone-prone region is also likely to experience more frequent and extreme storms as the sea-water temperature in the Bay of Bengal rises due to global warming
Read more: www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/rising-sea-leve...
Can we stop the seas from rising? Yes, but less than you think.
One of the main concerns with climate change is that it's causing the oceans to advance. Global sea levels have risen about seven inches over the past century and that pace is accelerating. Not only does this threaten coastal regions, but it also makes storm surges much worse — both for huge hurricanes like Sandy and for smaller storms too.And the oceans are likely to keep creeping up. Scientists project that if we keep warming the planet at our current pace, sea levels could rise between two and seven feet by 2100, particularly as the world's glaciers and ice caps melt. So that raises the question: Is there anything we can do to stop sea-level rise? How much would cutting greenhouse-gas emissions help?As it turns out, reducing our emissions would help slow the rate of sea-level rise — but at this point, it's unlikely that we could stop further rises altogether. That's the upshot of a recent study from the National Center on Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The study estimated that aggressive steps to cut emissions could reduce the amount of sea-level rise by somewhere between 6 and 20 inches in 2100, compared with our current trajectory. That's quite a bit. But sea levels will keep rising for centuries no matter what we do. We can't stop it entirely. We can only slow the pace.As NCAR's Gerald Meehl, a co-author of the study, explained to me by e-mail, it's a lot easier to stabilize global temperatures by cutting carbon emissions than it is to stabilize sea-level rise. The carbon-dioxide that we've already loaded into the atmosphere will likely have effects on the oceans for centuries to come. "But with aggressive mitigation," Meehl added, "you can slow down the rate of sea level rise, which buys time for adaptation measures."There are two ways that global warming causes sea levels to rise. First, as carbon-dioxide traps more heat on the planet, the oceans get warmer and expand in volume. Second, ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica as well as other glaciers start melting, pouring more water into the oceans. Once these processes get underway, they won't stop quickly, even if we ceased putting carbon-dioxide into the atmosphere tomorrow.The NCAR paper estimated that if emissions go unchecked, we could warm the planet 4°C over pre-industrial levels by 2100, causing sea levels to rise between two and five feet. By contrast, if we get really proactive at cutting emissions, we could probably keep the temperature increase below 2°C. But sea levels would still rise by between 11 inches and 3.5 feet. (The wide range is due to the uncertainties in modeling the behavior of glaciers and ice sheets—if the ice sheets destabilize, a bigger rise is possible.) That's progress, but not total victory.We're going to need to adapt to sea-level rise no matter what we do on carbon emissions. Even the "optimistic" scenario in the NCAR paper still envisions sea-levels rising roughly 11 inches by 2100. That's assuming we cut emissions drastically and the ice sheets don't do anything too unpredictable. Even then, New York City will have a bigger flood zone than it does today. Storm surges on the coasts will be much larger. Low-lying areas will be at greater risk. In Bangladesh, for instance, the area prone to severe flooding would increase by 69 percent (pdf) with just a foot of sea-level rise.That said, cutting emissions can make a significant difference this century. Keeping sea-level rise a foot or two lower than it otherwise might be is nothing to sneeze at. As this map of New York City shows, the flood zone increases dramatically with each additional foot of sea-level rise. A city like Norfolk, Va. could get swamped entirely by a Category 3 hurricane if ocean levels rose by two to five feet. Florida's adaptation costs go up by billions of dollars with each additional foot of sea-level rise. Every little bit helps.Sea-level rise is likely a much bigger problem for future generations. Not to get too morbid, but I'll probably be dead by 2100. So will most people reading this blog. So the main question at issue here is whether we want to leave our descendants a relatively stable coastline or an unstable one. According to NCAR projections, sea levels could rise as much as 34 feet, or nine meters, by 2300 if emissions continue unchecked (though modeling projections that far out have very large uncertainties, so don't take this as a definitive number). To get a sense of what a nine-meter rise would look like, check out this interactive map. South Florida would be underwater. So would New Orleans. And Shanghai. And the Netherlands. And Bangladesh. But this is also 200 years in the future. That's a big reason why climate change is such a difficult problem to deal with.
www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/11/01/can...
Les pays du monde entier vont vivre au rythme des négociations climatiques du 29 novembre au 11 décembre 2015. Un accord entre 195 pays doit être trouvé pour maintenir le réchauffement climatique en dessous des 2 degrés, d’ici à 2050. Mais comment se déroulent les négociations derrière les portes du Bourget, où 150 chefs d’états et plus de 40 000 personnes sont attendus? Nous suivons Caroline Tubercule, membre de l’équipe française de négociation dans son marathon pour sauver la planète.
En savoir plus sur www.lemonde.fr/cop21/video/2015/11/29/en-patates-comprend...
Malgré l'interdiction de manifester, 10.000 personnes se sont réunies dimanche à Paris pour participer à une chaîne humaine contre le réchauffement climatique, selon les organisateurs."cette chaîne humaine, c'est un contre-pouvoir citoyen à la conférence officielle qui sera contre-productive car elle est faite avec des industriels dont les intérêts sont contraires à l'écologie."
www.lesechos.fr/paris-climat-2015/actualites/021518198440...
This is an altercation that occurred at a nest I visit every year on Sullivan's Island, SC. The bird on the right tried to land in the nest and was basically run off by the other bird. DSC_6931-39
[...] He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense [...]
-- Quote by Joseph Conrad (English novelist, 1857-1924)
Rome, Italy (April, 2008)
In 1908, the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I celebrated his 60th anniversary on the throne. The Emperor only wanted a celebration on a very small scale. But the supporters persuaded him that a national celebration would both benefit the economy and strengthen cohesion in the empire, which was shaken by quarrels between nationalities: "Very late, only on 11 March 1908, the Emperor reluctantly bowed to the arguments of his advisors and authorized celebrations and a procession.
Nevertheless the nations were already preparing for the ultimate conflict leading to WW1.
Recommended reading: August 1914 / Barbara Tuchmann
Base picture taken from: