@LizBurakowskiFeb 6, 2023
Peter Gleick
California's average precipitation hasn't changed over the past 125 years. But it is getting more extreme. The red line shows the variability of precipitation.
That's the signal of #climatechange -- more droughts; more floods.
Feb 6, 2023 at 6:34pmWeb
Show threadCaffe NekoFeb 6, 2023
@petergleick that's why they (and so many others around the globe) need to invest in rainwater capture on a large scale. 90% water running off into the ocean is unacceptable.
Show threadDoug BostromFeb 7, 2023

@petergleick

Immediately makes me think of this:

"Regardless of which complex system is being studied, there’s a way of telling whether it is approaching a tipping point. Its outputs begin to flicker. The closer to its critical threshold it comes, the wilder the fluctuations. ."

Elsewhere, Arctic sea ice extent anomaly since ca. 2000 as reflected in bigger wiggles. (Notably and weirdly, those graphs are made on a rolling basis including the "we broke it" era/data.)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/30/capitalism-is-killing-the-planet-its-time-to-stop-buying-into-our-own-destruction

Capitalism is killing the planet – it’s time to stop buying into our own destruction

Instead of focusing on ‘micro consumerist bollocks’ like ditching our plastic coffee cups, we must challenge the pursuit of wealth and level down, not up

The Guardian
Show threadGary OFeb 7, 2023
@petergleick Are you sure the average has not changed over that period? Your graph shows the average over the whole period (a single number), not a moving average over time. I believe the moving average is trending lower, especially in the last decade.Here is the LOESS average per decade, through 2022, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/statewide/time-series/4/pcp/12/1/1895-2022?base_prd=true&begbaseyear=1901&endbaseyear=2000&trend=true&trend_base=10&begtrendyear=1895&endtrendyear=2022&filter=true&filterType=loess .
Statewide Time Series | Climate at a Glance | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Historical and spatial comparisons of local, county, state, regional, national, and global meteorological data to determine trends and patterns