TV News LIES

Thanks to the dire condition of the Earth's coral reefs, the planet has now reached its first tipping point for human-caused climate change, according to a new report by scientists in Europe.

The second Global Tipping Points Report, released Oct. 13, said warm-water coral reefs – on which nearly 1 billion people and a quarter of all marine life depend – are "passing their tipping point."

According to the report, widespread coral dieback is taking place and – unless global warming is reversed – extensive reefs as we know them will be lost, although small refuges may survive and must be protected.

What is a 'tipping point'?

A “tipping point” occurs when a small change tips a system into a new state, causing significant and long-term transformation. With the climate, these points of no return are specific moments when the planet has warmed so much that certain effects become irreversible.

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Dr Jane Goodall, who died today at 91, devoted her life to the study and conservation of chimpanzees and the other great apes.

Through her pioneering new ways to study them, Goodall discovered that chimps used tools, created complex societies and could be so aggressive they could even kill one another.

This suggested that chimps and humans are likely to have common ancestors - and was ground-breaking information.

Goodall’s work made waves amongst her fellow researchers, and the public enthusiastically responded to her revelations.

The idea that chimps and humans were related spurred debates about what it means to be human, inspiring a rethink on animal rights. Her books were so widely read that when one of Jane’s subjects Flo died in 1972, The Sunday Times ran an obituary.

Goodall remained active until the days before her death, engaged on a speaking tour of the US, and travelled the world widely to discuss her life and campaign to better understand the natural world.

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In the wake of the deadly flash floods in Texas on July 4, Texas leaders are betting on the lifesaving potential of flood warning sirens.

"What can we do better looking forward? We need sirens," said Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in an interview this week with NBC 5 in Dallas-Fort Worth. The floods killed at least 120 people.

Weather warning sirens are installed outside on tall poles and make a loud wailing sound to warn people in the area when water levels rise, signaling an imminent flood. Some also broadcast spoken warnings and directions about how to get to safety. These types of sirens are widely used in the United States to warn people about tornadoes and tsunamis but are much less common in areas that flood.

"If you had sirens blasting," Patrick said, "and if people had known 'if you hear a siren get to high ground,' maybe that would have saved some lives."

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A series of earthquakes struck the northern California coast on Thursday morning, rattling communities and activating emergency alerts for both shaking and tsunami risks just before 11am local time.

The largest, registered as a magnitude 7.0 and originating near the historic and picturesque town of Ferndale in Humboldt county, could be felt in San Francisco more than 260 miles (418km) away. Roughly 1.3 million people felt the shaking, according to initial estimates provided by the US Geological Survey (USGS), which also reported that risks to human life remained low.

Cellphones buzzed throughout the region, warning of the incoming shaking and offering ample time to brace and cover. Tsunami alerts also rang out for at least 5.3 million people on the California coast and into Oregon, warning of large waves, strong currents and coastal flooding that could persist through the afternoon.

Following the alert, Bay Area Rapid Transit trains were held as underground stations were cleared, as major delays were announced throughout the system, and the San Francisco fire department began clearing the beaches. The tsunami warning was withdrawn shortly after noon as officials announced the highest risks had subsided.

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California experienced its hottest month on record in July as grueling heat baked the American west for weeks on end.

The state’s average temperature for the month was 81.7F (27.6C), according to the National Centers for Environmental Information, but some areas endured days of temperatures greater than 100F (about 38C). Several cities broke temperature records during a heatwave in early July – Palm Springs hit 124F on 5 July, while Redding in the state’s far north saw a high of 119F on 6 July.

Death Valley, the hottest place on Earth, recorded its hottest month ever in July, according to the National Park Service (NPS). In Nevada, Las Vegas reached 120F on 7 July, its hottest day in history, and set a record for number of days over 115F.

The impacts of extreme heat are being felt across the US and the world as the climate crisis drives increasingly severe and dangerous weather conditions. Last month about one-third of the US population was under warnings for record heat. The Earth saw its hottest day in recorded history on 22 July, breaking a record set just one day earlier.

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