Life is Strange

Music: Suite From "Restless": Willow's Nightmare / First Rage / Chain Of Ancients
Close Your Eyes (Buffy-Angel Love Theme)
Overture - Going trough the Motions
Under Your Spell / Standing (reprise)
Sacrifice (from "The Gift")

Time: 004412APR07



Ahh, late night bloggage, it's been a while. None of you will know that music, it's good though. The first one I like the best at the current moment. It's so surreal. It's been a pretty strange day. Funeral in the morning, lots of washing during the day, some video games, learning about teamwork and killing people in the evening.
I don't if I really have all that much to say, except perhaps that life seems kind of surreal these days. I think it's because I've been at uni so long now and I will be for a while yet. I feel like I'm kind of just phasing out, kind of like when you find yourself zoning out during a lecture or conversation or something, except more long-term, and I won't really wake up until I've finished with uni and can go and do something else, if ever. Might also have something to do with this IPCC WGII Fourth Assessment Report which has been released and which paints a somewhat depressing picture of the future. Things like:
"Approximately 20-30% of plant and animal species assessed so far are likely to be at increased risk of
extinction if increases in global average temperature exceed 1.5-2.5oC."
"At lower latitudes, especially seasonally dry and tropical regions, crop productivity is projected to decrease
for even small local temperature increases (1-2°C), which would increase risk of hunger."
"Corals are vulnerable to thermal stress and have low adaptive capacity. Increases in sea surface temperature
of about 1 to 3°C are projected to result in more frequent coral bleaching events and widespread mortality,
unless there is thermal adaptation or acclimatisation by corals."
"Many millions more people are projected to be flooded every year due to sea-level rise by the 2080s. Those
densely-populated and low-lying areas where adaptive capacity is relatively low, and which already face
other challenges such as tropical storms or local coastal subsidence, are especially at risk. The numbers
affected will be largest in the mega-deltas of Asia and Africa while small islands are especially vulnerable."
"Health
Projected climate change-related exposures are likely to affect the health status of millions of people,
particularly those with low adaptive capacity, through:
• increases in malnutrition and consequent disorders, with implications for child growth and
development;
• increased deaths, disease and injury due to heat waves, floods, storms, fires and droughts;
• the increased burden of diarrhoeal disease;
• the increased frequency of cardio-respiratory diseases due to higher concentrations of ground level
ozone related to climate change; and,
• the altered spatial distribution of some infectious disease vectors."

Specifically for Australia:

"As a result of reduced precipitation and increased evaporation, water security problems are projected to
intensify by 2030 in southern and eastern Australia and, in New Zealand, in Northland and some eastern
regions. ** D [11.4]
Significant loss of biodiversity is projected to occur by 2020 in some ecologically-rich sites including the
Great Barrier Reef and Queensland Wet Tropics. Other sites at risk include Kakadu wetlands, south-west
Australia, sub-Antarctic islands and the alpine areas of both countries. *** D [11.4]
Ongoing coastal development and population growth in areas such as Cairns and Southeast Queensland
(Australia) and Northland to Bay of Plenty (New Zealand), are projected to exacerbate risks from sea-level
rise and increases in the severity and frequency of storms and coastal flooding by 2050. *** D [11.4, 11.6]
Production from agriculture and forestry by 2030 is projected to decline over much of southern and eastern
Australia, and over parts of eastern New Zealand, due to increased drought and fire. However, in New
Zealand, initial benefits to agriculture and forestry are projected in western and southern areas and close to
major rivers due to a longer growing season, less frost and increased rainfall. ** N [11.4]
The region has substantial adaptive capacity due to well-developed economies and scientific and technical
capabilities, but there are considerable constraints to implementation and major challenges from changes in
extreme events. Natural systems have limited adaptive capacity."

It's quite a long summary and goes on with similar things for quite a while. It might not be exactly apocalyptic like I'm pretty sure I've heard some people say, but it is a bit sad. 20-30% of species is rather a lot to wipe out, also "significant loss of biodiversity" in the Great Barrier Reef is pretty sad, means I have 13 years or less to go and see it before it's rather fucked. Also life will suck for a lot of people when they have food and water issues, or they get flooded or blasted by hurricances and other extreme weather. It talks a lot about financial costs of these things since it is for policymakers, but I didn't notice anything about the cost of millions of refugees running about. Maybe it was included in the totals.
Oh well.
Society is so wasteful.