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bookmark_borderEurope Drought: And Yes, All Fish Will Die

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Water wars… coming to a town near you:
* Europe hydrogeneration is down 20% in France, down 30% in Italy, and down 50% in Spain. And, did you know solar panels are less efficient in high temperatures? There is more resistance in all power lines, too.
* Germany the Rhine water levels fall to new low making it non-navigable for ships
* France is relocating fish into tanks because the water is too warm. Thousands of other fish die due to lack of O2 — “Without rain, the river “will continue to empty. And yes, all fish will die”

Politico reports, Watts going down? Europe’s scorching summer parches hydropower.
“Record-breaking temperatures are starving hydropower plants and raising questions about how to adapt them for the future.”

The Guardian reports, Europe’s rivers run dry as scientists warn drought could be worst in 500 years.
“Crops, power plants, barge traffic, industry and fish populations devastated by parched waterways”

The Human Induced Climate Change Experiment

bookmark_borderClimate Change: A Hard Rain Is Falling

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by Daniel Brouse and Sidd Mukherjee

In a vacuum, everything falling to earth accelerates at 9.8 m/s^2 (32ft/s^2) [the downward speed increases at 9.8 m/s (32 ft/s) every second.]

Rain accelerates down to earth initially at 9.8 m/s^2, but air resistance slows the drops to a constant speed called the terminal velocity which depends on the size of the drop. “When all the parameters are considered the terminal velocity of a typical raindrop is calculated to be about 9 meters per second or 20 mph. A smaller raindrop of radius 0.15 cm has a terminal velocity of about 7 meters per second or 16 mph.” (1)

Velocity is only one factor in calculating the momentum of rain. The mass of rain also factors into the momentum.
p = mv
p = momentum
m = mass
v = velocity

“Climate change can affect the intensity and frequency of precipitation. Warmer oceans increase the amount of water that evaporates into the air. When more moisture-laden air moves over land or converges into a storm system, it can produce more intense precipitation — for example, heavier rain and snowstorms.” (2)

Part of the increasing momentum is transferred to the sides and upward increasing wind turbulence, as well as updrafts.

Most of the momentum is transferred upon impact. You may notice the rain bouncing higher off the streets and sidewalks. As rain becomes more massive, it will have greater momentum when it hits the ground. Ground without groundcover will be hit harder causing more damage. The groundcover will also be hit harder causing more damage.
* Concrete and asphalt will sustain more damage.
* Solar panels and roofs will sustain more damage.
* Trees and plants will sustain more damage.
* Food crops will sustain more damage.

1. “What is the speed of falling raindrops?” Kyle Hathcox, Glenn Marsch, David Ward (2001)
2. “Climate Change Indicators: Heavy Precipitation” EPA (2021)

The Human Induced Climate Change Experiment

bookmark_borderClimate Change and Pathogens

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In the report published in Nature entitled Over half of known human pathogenic diseases can be aggravated by climate change, data analyst and associate professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at the University of Hawaii Manoa, Camilo Mora, said climate hazards aggravated 58% of all known human pathogens. That is over half of infectious diseases discovered since the end of the Roman Empire.

A whopping 58% of an authoritative list of infectious diseases documented to have impacted humanity have already been shown to be aggravated by climatic hazards — a finding the researchers found “shocking,” Mora said.

Movement of people and animals caused by climate is one factor. Warming at higher latitudes allowed vectors and pathogens to survive winter is another factor. The report goes on to say, “The human pathogenic diseases and transmission pathways aggravated by climatic hazards are too numerous for comprehensive societal adaptations, highlighting the urgent need to work at the source of the problem: reducing GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions.”

This research reveals more evidence that humans will have difficulty adapting to climate change, especially those in developing countries, Mora said.

“The magnitude of the vulnerability when you think about one or two diseases — okay, sure, we can deal with that,” he said. “But when you’re talking about 58% of the diseases, and 58% of those diseases can be affected or triggered in 1,000 different ways. So that, to me, was also revealing of the fact that we’re not going to be able to adapt to climate change.”

Climate Change and Health

The Human Induced Climate Change Experiment

bookmark_borderClimate Endgame: Exploring Catastrophic Climate Change

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America released the study Climate Endgame: Exploring catastrophic climate change scenarios:

Prudent risk management requires consideration of bad-to-worst-case scenarios. Yet, for climate change, such potential futures are poorly understood. Could anthropogenic climate change result in worldwide societal collapse or even eventual human extinction? At present, this is a dangerously underexplored topic. Yet there are ample reasons to suspect that climate change could result in a global catastrophe. Analyzing the mechanisms for these extreme consequences could help galvanize action, improve resilience, and inform policy, including emergency responses.

The Potential for Climate Catastrophe
There are four key reasons to be concerned over the potential of a global climate catastrophe. First, there are warnings from history. Climate change (either regional or global) has played a role in the collapse or transformation of numerous previous societies and in each of the five mass extinction events in Phanerozoic Earth history (38). The current carbon pulse is occurring at an unprecedented geological speed and, by the end of the century, may surpass thresholds that triggered previous mass extinctions. The worst-case scenarios in the IPCC report project temperatures by the 22nd century that last prevailed in the Early Eocene, reversing 50 million years of cooler climates in the space of two centuries.

This is particularly alarming, as human societies are locally adapted to a specific climatic niche. The rise of large-scale, urbanized agrarian societies began with the shift to the stable climate of the Holocene ∼12,000 y ago. Since then, human population density peaked within a narrow climatic envelope with a mean annual average temperature of ∼13 °C. Even today, the most economically productive centers of human activity are concentrated in those areas. The cumulative impacts of warming may overwhelm societal adaptive capacity.
Second, climate change could directly trigger other catastrophic risks, such as international conflict, or exacerbate infectious disease spread, and spillover risk. These could be potent extreme threat multipliers.

Third, climate change could exacerbate vulnerabilities and cause multiple, indirect stresses (such as economic damage, loss of land, and water and food insecurity) that coalesce into system-wide synchronous failures. This is the path of systemic risk. Global crises tend to occur through such reinforcing “synchronous failures” that spread across countries and systems, as with the 2007–2008 global financial crisis (44). It is plausible that a sudden shift in climate could trigger systems failures that unravel societies across the globe.
The potential of systemic climate risk is marked: The most vulnerable states and communities will continue to be the hardest hit in a warming world, exacerbating inequities. Using the medium-high scenario of emissions and population growth, by 2070, around 2 billion people are expected to live in these extremely hot areas. Currently, only 30 million people live in hot places, primarily in the Sahara Desert and Gulf Coast.

Finally, climate change could irrevocably undermine humanity’s ability to recover from another cataclysm, such as nuclear war. That is, it could create significant latent risks (Table 1): Impacts that may be manageable during times of stability become dire when responding to and recovering from catastrophe. These different causes for catastrophic concern are interrelated and must be examined together.

More on Climate Change

bookmark_borderFlorida Insurance Regulators Taking an “unprecedented” and “extraordinary” Step

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The St. Lucie News Tribune reports:

Florida insurance regulators are taking an “unprecedented” and “extraordinary” step to try and prevent tens of thousands of homeowners from being forced to look for new property insurance coverage if rating agency Demotech follows through on plans to downgrade many Florida carriers.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation announced a plan Wednesday to provide companies that are downgraded with reinsurance coverage through state-run Citizens Property Insurance.

The dramatic decision to assume financial responsibility for a raft of struggling insurers underscores the dire circumstances Florida is facing as a large portion of its homeowners insurance market teeters on the brink of collapse.

Downgrading so many companies could wreak havoc in the state, causing big problems for homeowners and the real estate industry.

Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require borrowers to have a home insurance policy from a highly-rated company. Florida’s home insurance market is dominated by smaller companies that only get ratings from Demotech, giving the company significant sway in the industry.

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each offer an exception to the financial rating requirements for an insurer that is covered by a reinsurer who assumes, by endorsement, 100 percent of the insurer’s liability for any covered loss payable, but unpaid by the insurer, by reason of insolvency,” the release states.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that it makes sense to use Citizens as a financial backstop for insurers, because if the companies are downgraded many of their policies would ultimately flow into Citizens – the state’s insurer of last resort.

“If the companies get downgraded and they have to shed policies those will end up going on Citizens anyway, so the exposure to Citizens is more to take on the policies than it will be to act as a reinsurer of last resort,” DeSantis said during a press conference in Tampa.

Reinsurance is insurance for insurance companies. By providing such coverage, Citizens would be on the hook to pay the claims if the downgraded insurers aren’t able to meet their financial obligations. Spiking reinsurance costs have contributed to the home insurance industry’s problems in Florida, which is heavily reliant on such coverage.

The additional reinsurance coverage comes on top of a $2 billion rescue fund approved by state lawmakers during a special session earlier this year. That fund provides reinsurance at no cost to Florida insurers. It was part of a package of reforms intended to stabilize the insurance industry.

Demotech had planned to release its ratings revisions on Tuesday, but said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Network – Florida that it is taking more time to update the ratings.

“As the current regulatory climate has become hostile and negative and we have and will expend a significant effort creating responses to third party letters, we will be taking additional time to review information and consider the issues affecting the companies operating in Florida,” the statement reads.

More articles on Flood Insurance, Rising Sea Levels and Global Warming.

bookmark_borderAir Pollution and Cognitive Decline, Dementia

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In a UK study, a causal relationship has been established between air pollution and cognitive decline / dementia. The primary cause is a decline in blood flow to the brain.

Cognitive decline, dementia and air pollution

COMEAP reviewed nearly 70 studies in human populations (epidemiological studies) which looked at possible links between air pollution and a decline in mental ability and dementia in older people. They also considered studies which investigated how air pollution might affect the brain.

From this review, it can be concluded that it is likely that air pollution does contribute to these effects. The most likely way this occurs is through effects on the circulation. It is known that air pollutants, particularly small particles, can affect the heart and blood vessels, including to the brain.

POLLUTION OVERVIEW
Morgantown, Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA, New York/Newark, Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA rank in the worst pollution for the Northeastern USA.

The worst in Pennsylvania include Emsworth, Forest Hills, Freedom, Ben Avon, Edgewood, Braddock, Millvale, Carnegie, North Braddock, Sewickley, McKeesport, Bristol, Chester, Norristown, Harrisburg, Hershey, Lancaster, Kutztown, York, Allentown, Freemansburg, Swiftwater, Wilkes-Barre, Altoona, Montoursville, State College, Tioga, Kittanning, Farrel, and Erie.

WORST CITIES FOR OZONE POLLUTION
#1: Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA
#2: Bakersfield, CA
#3: Visalia, CA
#4: Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA
#5: Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
#6: San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
#7: Denver-Aurora, CO
#8: Houston-The Woodlands, TX
#9: Sacramento-Roseville, CA
#10: Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem, UT
#11: Las Vegas-Henderson, NV
#12: El Paso-Las Cruces, TX-NM
#13: San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA
#14: New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA
#15: El Centro, CA
#16: Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI
#16: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK
#18: Fort Collins, CO
#19: San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA
#20: Chico, CA
#21: Reno-Carson City-Fernley, NV
#22: Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM
#23: Redding-Red Bluff, CA
#24: Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI
#25: San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX

WORST CITIES FOR PARTICLE POLLUTION
#1: Bakersfield, CA
#2: Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA
#2: Visalia, CA
#4: San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA
#5: Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA
#6: Medford-Grants Pass, OR
#7: Fairbanks, AK
#8: Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
#9: Chico, CA
#10: El Centro, CA
#11: Sacramento-Roseville, CA
#12: Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN
#13: Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN
#14: Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV
#15: Bend-Prineville, OR
#16: Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI
#16: Redding-Red Bluff, CA
#18: McAllen-Edinburg, TX
#18: Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD
#18: Eugene-Springfield, OR
#21: Yakima, WA
#22: Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI
#22: Houston-The Woodlands, TX
#24: St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL
#25: Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC
#25: Shreveport-Bossier City-Minden, LA

bookmark_borderTropical Stratospheric Ozone Loss and Rocket Debris

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We might have another problem.
A whole buncha people, Elon Musk included, are launching thousands of satellites designed to fall into atmosphere at end of life (decade or less) and burn up, not to speak of rocket exhaust… except the products of that burning are all kindsa metal and other oxides whose chemical effects on the stratosphere is not at all well understood.

We are throwing all kindsa crap into the upper atmosphere, a system we do not fully understand. We are throwing $hit over our heads.
Now over the last few days I see reports of tropical ozone loss and elsewhere.
Something tells me this is not a good idea.

Oh, another thing, the reason i brought up disturbances in tropic stratosphere is that top of atmosphere is higher in the tropics
(higher temp and pressure) so satellites hit that part first when they are deorbiting at end of life into higher drag bits of the
atmosphere.

— Sidd

Observation of large and all-season ozone
losses over the tropics

“The whole-year large tropical O3 hole could cause a great global concern as it can lead to increases in ground-level ultraviolet radiation and affect 50% of the Earth’s surface area, which is home to approximately 50% of the world’s population. Moreover, the presence of the tropical and polar O3 holes is equivalent to the formation of three “temperature holes” observed in the stratosphere. These findings will have significances in understanding planetary physics, ozone depletion, climate change, and human health.”

bookmark_borderGood Gut Bacteria (Gut Microbiome)

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by Daniel Brouse
help@membrane.com

Good Gut Bacteria
“Gut bacteria play several important roles in your health, such as communicating with your immune system and producing certain vitamins. Your gut bacteria can also affect how different foods are digested and produce chemicals….” (Why the Gut Microbiome Is Crucial for Your Health)

Most people start fermenting good gut bacteria from their mother’s breast milk. There are around 40 trillion bacterial cells in your body. They come from a wide variety of sources. One type can only be found in the milk or meat of cud chewing bovine. If your gut bacteria are destroyed, it is very difficult to re-establish. Eating and/or drinking probiotics will not in-and-of-itself re-establish good gut bacteria. COVID (and other conditions) destroys good gut bacteria resulting in a compromised immune system. The best way to re-establish your good gut bacteria is to consume breast milk for at least 6 months. Alternatively, you need to get all the right ingredients for fermentation including the proper 300 to 500 bacterial types, chemicals for the reaction, and lots of fiber.

Your gut bacteria changes throughout the day. The makeup of the bacteria cultures varies depending on what your body is doing. Eating, exercising, and sleeping will alter the good gut bacteria needed for the job. Changing your sleep schedule, or other changes to lifestyle, may result in noticeable changes in your digestion (runny stool to constipation.) Other reasons you may notice changes in your good gut bacteria activity include breaking down toxic food compounds or providing protection from pathogenic organisms (that enter the body through drinking or eating contaminated water or food.)

Vitamins
There is a symbiotic relationship between good gut bacteria and vitamins. “It has been known for decades that intestinal bacteria make important contributions to human metabolism and physiology. Perhaps the example best known to clinicians is the microbial synthesis of the essential nutrient vitamin B12 — the enzymes required for B12 synthesis are possessed by bacteria but not by plants or animals.” (Microbial production of vitamin B12)

Several bacterial genera that are common in the distal intestine (e.g., Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, and Enterococcus) are known to synthesize vitamins. Thiamine, folate, biotin, riboflavin, and panthothenic acid are water-soluble vitamins that are plentiful in the diet, but that are also synthesized by gut bacteria. Likewise, it has been estimated that up to half of the daily Vitamin K requirement is provided by gut bacteria. Interestingly, the molecular structure of bacterially synthesized vitamins is not always identical to the dietary forms of the vitamins. In fact, several specialized epithelial transporters have been recognized to participate specifically in the absorption of vitamins derived from gut bacteria. (Contributions of Intestinal Bacteria to Nutrition and Metabolism in the Critically Ill)

Vitamin D and its nuclear receptor (VDR) regulate intestinal barrier integrity, and control innate and adaptive immunity in the gut. (Vitamin D and the Host-Gut Microbiome)

Sunlight and the photosynthesis of vitamin D also play an important and symbiotic role in maintaining good gut health.

Fiber
Soluble fiber benefits your digestion, gut bacteria, and blood sugar levels.

New knowledge about the gut microbiota and its interaction with the host’s metabolic regulation has emerged during the last few decades. Several factors may affect the composition of the gut microbiota, including dietary fiber. Dietary fiber is not hydrolyzed by human digestive enzymes, but it is acted upon by gut microbes, and metabolites like short-chain fatty acids are produced. The short-chain fatty acids may be absorbed into the circulation and affect metabolic regulation in the host or be a substrate for other microbes. (Dietary Fiber, Gut Microbiota, and Metabolic Regulation)

The best sources of dietary fiber are: beans, whole grains, brown rice, popcorn, nuts, baked potato with skin, berries, and bran cereal. Juicing and/or blending destroys most of the fiber.

A study “Cancer Prevention with Resistant Starch” (conducted over the last 30 years) shows that resistant starch reduces your risk of cancer. Good sources of resistant starch include rice or potatoes that have been cooked and cooled, as well as, whole grains such as barley and oats.

The resistant starches produce good bacteria that reduces a type of acid that promotes changes to your DNA. The changes to your DNA increase the risk of many types of cancer. The discovery may also explain in part why COVID increases your risk of cancer. COVID is known to destroy good gut bacteria.

Back to the NAD+ Immune Boosting Diet

bookmark_borderGreen Energy Storage: The Sand Battery

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by Daniel Brouse

One of the main problems with solar and wind energy is storage. They are great for making electricity when the sun is out or the wind is blowing, but how can you store energy for dark windless nights in the cold of winter of the heat of summer? Neither lead acid nor lithium batteries offer the ability to store electricity on an industrial scale. For applications like the power grid, we need much better and environmentally friendly storage.

The most efficient alternative batteries are based on membrane technology. My favorite is the membrane based battery that can be 100% efficient and never losses it’s ability to hold a charge. There are quite a few other battery types that do not involve mining or exploitation of natural resources. These include underwater bladders that solar electricity pumps up when the sun is out. Then, air is let out to turn turbines when batteries are needed. Another method is buried rocks that are heated up by solar during the sunlight and geothermal energy is used for batteries.

The most practical alternative battery that is currently in use is the sand battery. The battery uses low-grade sand and is charged up with heat made from from solar or wind electricity. The sand stores the heat near 932 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Whenever there’s like this high surge of available green electricity, we want to be able to get it into the storage really quickly,” says Markku Ylönen, one of the founders of Polar Night Energy who have developed a sand battery.

Battery scientist and climate change expert Sidd Mukherjee says, “It’s a heat store… nice and simple. You can get better by using a phase change material like Glauber’s salt, but at the expense of more complexity. Sand is nice and simple. So is water.”

How a sand battery works.
How a sand battery works.

What about solar energy? Can’t we use solar for everything?

How to go net zero now. Free and easy. Save thousands. Save the planet.

The Human Induced Climate Change Experiment

bookmark_borderHow You Photosynthesize (And Why a Vitamin D Supplement Is Not the Same)

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by Daniel Brouse

Did you know you photosynthesize?

Most of the vitamin D in your body is created by exposure to sunlight.

“During exposure to sunlight, the high-energy UV photons (290-315 nm) penetrate the epidermis and photolyze 7-dehydrocholesterol (provitamin D3) to previtamin D3. Once formed, previtamin D3 undergoes a thermally induced isomerization to vitamin D3 that takes 2-3 days to reach completion.” (Photosynthesis of vitamin D in the skin: effect of environmental and life-style variables )

That is to say, the sunlight hits your skin and you photolyze vitamin D3. Actually, it is previtamin D3. This is the important part as to why you can not obtain the same benefits by taking a vitamin D supplement. Previtamin D is not the only part of the chemical equation you produce while photosynthesizing. There are photo proteins, melatonin, other hormones, and important ingredients your body needs to maintain a healthy immune system (among other things.) Some of these ingredients have unique biologic properties. Unique means you can not obtain them any other way than through sunlight.

“Sunshine may play a role in regulating hormones and sleep patterns by affecting the melatonin circadian rhythm. Melatonin is a hormone produced in the pineal gland, from the chemical melanin. Melanin is produced in the skin through sun exposure. Melatonin helps with inducing sleep.” (Sleep, sunshine & vitamin D)

The complex process of photosynthesis and metabolism starts in your skin. Most of the immune system benefits happen from the start of the process (skin) and continue for 2 to 3 days on the way to the blood stream. After a couple days, a small piece of the process makes it into your blood as Vitamin D3. When you take Vitamin D3 supplements, you miss all the benefits of the photosynthesis process, as well as, the “good gut bacteria” process.

IMPORTANT NOTE: There are great risks to exposing your skin to sunlight. Exposure to Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation can cause premature aging of the skin and signs of sun damage such as wrinkles, leathery skin, liver spots, actinic keratosis, and solar elastosis. UV rays can also cause eye problems. Most skin cancers are a result of exposure to the UV rays in sunlight. There are also many people that need to take vitamin D supplements for other reasons. You should talk to your doctor. “Vitamin D supplements have potential harms, such as a risk of hypercalcemia and kidney stones, when given at high doses.” (Vitamin, Mineral, and Multivitamin Supplementation to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer)

In some cases, vitamin D supplements may be advised by your doctor. Listen to your doctor. For most people, sunlight is the best thing to do. It only takes 30 seconds to a minute-and-a-half of sunlight per day for your body to make enough Vitamin D. The crucial elements of the equation are: how direct the sunlight and how dark the skin. (e.g. If you have dark skin and live in Canada during the winter, you will need a lot more sunlight.) Some studies suggest that once skin is exposed to the sun it becomes increasing less effective at producing D. I try to remember to expose my wrists from time-to-time. The more virgin to sunlight the skin, the better the skin is at creating vitamin D through photosynthesis. It also reduces the amount of time needed exposing the skin to dangerous radiation.

Learn More About Vitamin D and Sunlight
Vitamin D, Health, and Wellness

Back to the NAD+ Immune Boosting Diet