Expert viewpoints dismissed as 'cherry-picking' amid universal alarm over Amazon rainforest collapse
The apparent dismissal of expert viewpoints as 'cherry-picking' amid universal alarm over the potential collapse of the Amazon rainforest reveals a blatant double standard, according to The Third Pole.
An article published this week in the journal Ambio claims that despite widespread concern about the impending collapse of the Amazon rainforest, "the narrative of climate change as a whole" tells a different story.
The study examined ChatGPT's narratives on climate change and found that, despite being relatively uniform and in line with scientific knowledge, they "convey no significant misinformation." However, the narratives omit specific topics in current debates about global warming, including the role of individual actors and activities associated with carbon emissions.
According to the ChatGPT narrative, humans are solely responsible for climate change and specific economic activities or actors associated with carbon emissions play no role. Similarly, the social structuration of vulnerability to climate impacts and issues of climate justice are barely addressed. The narrative comprises de-politicized stories that are highly optimistic about technological progress.
A recent study published in the journal Nature Communications found that sustained growth in sulfur hexafluoride emissions in China has been inferred from atmospheric observations. According to the research, China's sulfur hexafluoride emissions increased from 2.6 (2.3-2.7) gigagrams per year in 2011 to 5.1 (4.8-5.4) gigagrams per year in 2021. The rise is larger than the global total emissions rise, implying that it has offset falling emissions from other countries.
The U.S. has never produced more energy than it does today, according to a report released this week by Environment America Research and Policy Center and Frontier Group. Small-scale solar energy, including rooftop solar, is growing rapidly and produced enough electricity in 2022 to power 5.7 million typical American homes – more than all the homes in the state of Pennsylvania. According to the report, the U.S. has only scratched the surface of rooftop solar's potential.
Rooftop solar has the technical potential to generate electricity equivalent to about 45% of all electricity sales in the U.S. at 2022