*******************************************************************
LONDON, Aug 5(Reuters) - Eight years after its last update on climate science, the United Nations is set to publish a report Monday that will likely deliver even starker warnings about how quickly the planet is warming – and how damaging the impacts might get.
Since the last report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2013, both greenhouse gas emissions and the average global temperature have only continued to climb.
The new report will forecast how much more emissions can be pumped into the atmosphere before the average global temperature rises more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. That revised carbon budget may serve as a guide to governments as they map out their own emissions-cutting plans before a major U.N. climate conference in November. Read More
*******************************************************************
*******************************************************************
The Atlantic Ocean’s current system, an engine of the Northern Hemisphere’s climate, could be weakening due to climate change, which could have severe consequences for the world’s weather including “extreme cold” in Europe and parts of North America and rising sea levels in parts of the United States, according to a new scientific study.
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is part of a large system of ocean currents, known as the Gulf Stream, that transports warm water from the tropics northwards into the North Atlantic.
“The loss of dynamical stability would imply that the AMOC has approached its critical threshold, beyond which a substantial and in practice likely irreversible transition to the weak mode could occur,” said Niklas Boers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and author of the study published on Thursday. Read More
*******************************************************************
These interactive virtual sessions make experts and innovators associated with the World Economic Forum’s Strategic Intelligence platform available to share their insights on some of the most pressing global issues
Accelerating complexity can make it difficult to keep up with the latest trends, or make sense of seemingly abrupt shifts. In this context, we all need more innovative tools to help us make more strategic decisions.
The World Economic Forum has developed Strategic Intelligence to provide these tools, and illuminate the interlinked forces shaping the world. With the help of leading experts, the platform covers more than 270 diverse topics. Read More
*******************************************************************
NEW YORK, Aug 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar index was little changed on Monday as investors assessed how rising COVID-19 cases in the United States might affect the outlook for the economy.
Earlier, bitcoin hit its highest in nearly three months. It was last up 4.3% at $45,726.71, while Ether was up 3.4% at $3,117.10.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was last up 0.07% at 92.916 , near its four-month high of 93.194.
Data Monday showed U.S. job openings jumped to a fresh record high in June and hiring increased. That came on the heels of Friday's U.S. monthly jobs report that showed U.S. employers hired the most workers in nearly a year in July and continued to raise wages.
*******************************************************************
President Biden on the Senate passage of $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill: “There are no Republican bridges or Democratic roads. … This is about us doing the real hard work of governing. This is about democracy delivering for the people” https://t.co/94Pu0DzVer pic.twitter.com/n9lVbP8bjp
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 10, 2021
*******************************************************************
*******************************************************************
Brazzaville/Conakry – Health authorities in Guinea today confirmed a case of Marburg virus disease in the southern Gueckedou prefecture. This is the first time Marburg, a highly infectious disease that causes haemorrhagic fever, has been identified in the country, and in West Africa.
Marburg, which is in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola, was detected less than two months after Guinea declared an end to an Ebola outbreak that erupted earlier this year. Samples taken from a now-deceased patient and tested by a field laboratory in Gueckedou as well as Guinea’s national haemorrhagic fever laboratory turned out positive for the Marburg virus. Further analysis by the Institut Pasteur in Senegal confirmed the result.
The patient had sought treatment at a local clinic in Koundou area of Gueckedou, where a medical investigation team had been dispatched to probe his worsening symptoms.
“We applaud the alertness and the quick investigative action by Guinea’s health workers. The potential for the Marburg virus to spread far and wide means we need to stop it in its tracks,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. “We are working with the health authorities to implement a swift response that builds on Guinea’s past experience and expertise in managing Ebola, which is transmitted in a similar way.”
*******************************************************************
The culprit behind Florida's 3 million pounds of dead marine life is a harmful algae bloom that caused Florida to declare a state of emergency three years ago. It's called a red tide because it can turn the ocean a rusty red color.
Red tides are formed by Karenia brevis, a microscopic but powerful organism that occurs naturally in the Gulf of Mexico.
But it's not just life under the sea that's being damaged by the algae bloom - small businesses across Florida's tourism and seafood industries are suffering from the repercussions of the red tide as well.
"We were certainly impacted, we had to close for almost two months of harvest," Lost Coast Oyster, Tampa's first sustainable oyster farm, told Insider. "During that two months of closure, we still have to go out and take care of our farm ... and the products we're sitting on and not able to sell, some of it dies." Read More
*******************************************************************
*******************************************************************
A number of San Francisco deputies will seek employment elsewhere or opt for early retirement if they are required to take the COVID-19 vaccine under a new imposed vaccine mandate, warned the city’s sheriff’s union on Friday.
There are about 35,000 city employees. Religious exemptions or medical reasons may let some bypass the mandate, but those who refuse the shot and have no exemption will encounter consequences that could result in termination, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
The San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association published a statement on Facebook, saying they always supported safety measures against the virus but the issue at hand is that about 160 of their Sheriffs don’t want to take the vaccine due to their beliefs.
“The problem we are faced with now is the strict San Francisco Mandate which is vaccinate or be terminated. If deputy sheriffs are forced to vaccinate a percentage of them will retire early or seek employment elsewhere,” reads the statement.
The Sheriff’s Association notes that 160 of their 700 deputies are unwilling to take the vaccine, and that they can’t afford to lose them since they already have the lowest-ever staffing due to applicant testing restrictions imposed by the mayor. Read More
*******************************************************************
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sounding the alarm on a rare illness that was previously only seen in tropical climates, particularly South Asia and northern Australia.
Now, two people are dead and two have recovered after being infected with melioidosis — a disease that had never before been detected on contiguous US soil. Melioidosis has now been seen in Georgia, Kansas, Texas and Minnesota, LiveScience reported. The only other known cases of melioidosis in the US were in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean.
None of the four patients claimed to have traveled outside the country prior to becoming sick between March and July of this year.
The CDC “believes the most likely cause is an imported product (such as a food or drink, personal care or cleaning products or medicine) or an ingredient in one of those types of products,” according to the statement released Monday. Read More
*******************************************************************
*******************************************************************
Sunny,Thanks so much for the news,and all the time you put to it with your children, Listened about your awesome life with the Lord Jesus last night, was Great. So Good To serve God and Know Him. May You be so ever blessed Dear. Lori