rty values crashed; foreclosure and bankruptcy rates bled. For states, counties, cities, and towns; for manufacturers, retailers, and middle- and low-income families, the consequences were—and continue to be—catastrophic. Other nations were soon caught up in the undertow.In late 2009 and early 2010, the economy showed some signs of renewed vigor. Understandably, everyone wants it to get “back to normal.” But here’s a disturbing thought: What if that is not possible? What if the goalposts have been moved, the rules rewritten, the game changed? What if the decades-long era of economic growth based on ever-increasing rates of resource extraction, manufacturing, and consumption is over, finished, and done? What if the economic conditions that all of us grew up expecting to continue practically forever were merely a blip on history’s timeline?It’s an uncomfortable idea, but one that cannot be ignored: The “normal” late-20th century economy of seemingly endless growth actually emerged from an aberrant set of conditions that cannot be perpetuated.That “normal” is gone. One way or another, a “new normal” will emerge to replace it. Can we build a different, more sustainable economy to replace the one now in tatters?Let’s be clear: I believe we are in for some very hard times. The transitional period on our way toward a post-growth, equilibrium economy will prove to be the most challenging time any of us has ever lived through. Nevertheless, I am convinced that we can survive this collective journey, and that if we make sound choices as families and communities, life can actually be better for us in the decades ahead than it was during the heady days of seemingly endless economic expansion. Richard Heinberg…
Added by Michael Grove at 11:01 on December 10, 2010
alculations per second and is capable of taking in 215 billion weather observations from all over the world every day. But despite its impressive computational power, and ability to give advanced warning, accurate long-range forecasts on a local level remain out of reach.
"It's the regional details that are important, about where the risks will be, where the rain will fall and getting that information to first responders as fast as we can," says Andy Kirkman, head of government services at the Met Office. That regional data could be provided in the future by the Met’s new supercomputer, which was announced on Monday and will be the most powerful climate supercomputer in the world. The government said that it will invest £1.2bn into the project. The supercomputer itself is expected to cost £854m, with the remaining funds set to go towards investment in the Observations network and programme offices over a 10-year period from 2022 to 2032. The machine will increase the Met Office computing capacity six-fold allowing it to better forecast for airports so they can plan for potential disruption.
The Met's new supercomputer will look to deliver at least a further three times supercomputing capacity in the last four years of the programme. But, aside from the extra processing power, the Met Office is also hoping the machine will make it easier to deal with the data coming out. “It's valued not just in the accuracy but making that data more available to people to work on,” Kirkman says.
Being able to do this will only become more urgent as global warming starts to change the environment. The computer will use all the data available to allow it to predict everything from reasonable scenarios, to what are termed “black swan events”, ones which are unpredictable and potentially catastrophic.
…
Added by Michael Grove at 14:57 on September 5, 2020