[TheClimate.Vote] August 3, 2017 - Daily Global Warming News

[Richard Pauli]

/August 3, 2017/

Yale..*.**our latest national survey finds that a majority of American 
voters support more climate action.* 
<https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/all/politics-global-warming-may-2017/>
  A majority of registered voters – including large majorities of 
liberal, moderate and conservative Democrats, Independents, and nearly 
half or more of liberal and moderate Republicans – want corporations and 
industry, citizens themselves, the U.S. Congress, President Trump, and 
their own members of Congress to do more to address global warming. Half 
of conservative Republicans want corporations and industry to do more to 
address global warming, although fewer want Congress or President Trump 
to take action. Download the Report Here. 
<https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Global-Warming-Policy-Politics-May-2017-min.pdf>
https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Global-Warming-Policy-Politics-May-2017-min.pdf
Likewise, most registered voters support policies to promote clean 
energy and reduce carbon pollution, including:
     Funding more research into renewable energy sources such as solar 
and wind power (86% of all registered voters, 95% of Democrats, 82% of 
Independents, and 76% of Republicans).
     Providing tax rebates to people who purchase energy-efficient 
vehicles or solar panels (84% of all registered voters, 95% of 
Democrats, 82% of Independents, and 74% of Republicans).
     Regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant (77% of all registered 
voters, 94% of Democrats, 75% of Independents, and 57% of Republicans).
     Requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a carbon tax and using the 
money to reduce other taxes (such as income tax) by an equal amount – a 
plan often referred to as a "revenue neutral carbon tax" (70% of all 
registered voters, 88% of Democrats, 68% of Independents, and 48% of 
Republicans).
The study also found that nearly a third (31%) of registered voters are 
willing to participate in a campaign to convince elected officials to 
take action to reduce global warming, representing tens of millions of 
people. Yet nearly 8 of 10 registered voters say no one has ever asked 
them to contact elected officials, and 2 out of 3 say they have never 
been contacted by an organization working to reduce global warming.
https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/all/politics-global-warming-may-2017/


*This strange spot in the Atlantic is resisting global warming. 
Scientists think they know why. 
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/08/02/this-strange-spot-over-the-atlantic-isnt-getting-warmer-scientists-think-they-may-know-why/>*
By Chelsea Harvey August 2
A mysterious "warming hole" 
<http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/full/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00490.1>in the 
North Atlantic Ocean, an anomalous zone of cooling temperatures 
<http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2015/03/whats-going-on-in-the-north-atlantic/> 
which has fascinated and puzzled scientists for the past few years, may 
be evidence of more troubling processes at work.
A new study, just out in the journal Nature Climate Change, has joined a 
growing body of literature suggesting the cold patch is evidence that a 
major ocean current system  -  which transports heat and influences 
climate and weather patterns around the world  -  may be slowing down. 
What’s more, the melting of Arctic sea ice could be to blame....
The warming hole is situated over roughly the same part of the ocean 
where a so-called cold "blob," a zone of water persistently cooler 
compared to the surrounding area, was discovered several years ago.
The theory suggests that not as much heat is getting transported to that 
region of the North Atlantic anymore  -  and this could indicate a big 
problem with one of the ocean’s most important currents.
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, is a powerful 
conveyor-like current system that carries warm water north from the 
equator and sends cool water back down from the Arctic.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/08/02/this-strange-spot-over-the-atlantic-isnt-getting-warmer-scientists-think-they-may-know-why/


*Most Important Issues: Germans, Unlike Americans, More Worried About 
Climate Change Than War Or Terror 
<http://www.newsweek.com/climate-change-germany-donald-trump-poll-645246>*
According to the poll ... 71 percent of Germans said they were most 
personally worried by climate change. Potential future wars were named 
as the most worrying issue by 65 percent and terror attacks by 63 percent.
In the U.S., Gallup regularly asks Americans for what they consider to 
be the most important problem. ... on Gallup’s July survey just 3 
percent of Americans named "Environment/pollution" as their top issue, 
putting it behind terrorism, jobs, unemployment, poor governance and others.
http://www.newsweek.com/climate-change-germany-donald-trump-poll-645246


*Air Quality Alert as wind shift blows B.C. wildfire smoke into Western 
Washington 
<http://komonews.com/news/local/air-quality-alert-as-wind-shift-blows-bc-wildfire-smoke-into-western-washington>*
SEATTLE -- Smoke from wildfires burning in British Columbia began 
spreading into Western Washington Tuesday 
<http://wasmoke.blogspot.com/2017/08/812017-what-is-impacting-air-quality-in.html> 
turning skies from their traditional sapphire blue to more of a milky 
haze and degrading the air quality.
An Air Quality Alert has been issued by the Washington Department of 
Ecology for Whatcom, Skagit and parts of Snohomish Counties in addition 
to the San Juan, Whidbey and Camano Islands with air quality varying as 
low as the "unhealthy for sensitive groups".
The Ecology department warns 
<http://wasmoke.blogspot.com/p/federal.html> "children, the elderly and 
those with respiratory illnesses are at most risk for serious health 
effects."
The smoke came in tandem with a budding heat wave building into the 
Pacific Northwest. As a ridge of high pressure intensified, the winds 
have shifted to blowing in from the north/northeast, spreading smoke 
across Vancouver and south into Western Washington.
http://komonews.com/news/local/air-quality-alert-as-wind-shift-blows-bc-wildfire-smoke-into-western-washington
-
*Washington Smoke Information <http://wasmoke.blogspot.com/p/federal.html>*
This site is an effort by county, state, and Federal agencies and Indian 
Tribes to coordinate and aggregate information for Washington 
communities affected by smoke from wildland fires. The information is 
posted here by the agencies themselves while volunteers built and 
maintain the page.
http://wasmoke.blogspot.com/p/federal.html
-
*Thick smoke hinders fight against B.C. wildfires - British Columbia ... 
<http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/thick-smoke-hinders-wildfire-fight-1.4231400http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/thick-smoke-hinders-wildfire-fight-1.4231400>*
www.cbc.ca/news/.../british-columbia/thick-smoke-hinders-wildfire-fight-1.4231400
15 hours ago
More than 840 fires have charred about 4,260 square kilometres in B.C. 
since April 1, and officials say hot, dry weather is expected to worsen 
conditions in the days ahead as smoke hangs over several communities.
"It creates a lot of safety issues for our aircraft," said Kevin 
Skrepnek with the B.C. Wildfire Service. "We can't fight what we can't 
see out there."
The Kamloops Airport tweeted Tuesday that smoke had forced several 
flights in and out of the area to be delayed or cancelled.
Environment Canada has declared the air quality in Kamloops an 8  - or 
high risk  -  on its air quality health index.
With record-breaking temperatures expected across much of the province, 
it will be increasingly important to ensure crews get proper hydration, 
nutrition and rest, Skrepnek added.
-
*Climate change expected to increase premature deaths from air pollution 
<https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170731114536.htm>*
A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
estimates that future climate change, if left unaddressed, is expected 
to cause roughly 60,000 deaths globally in the year 2030 and 260,000 
deaths in 2100 due to climate change's effect on global air pollution.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170731114536.htm
-
*Climate change to cause humid heatwaves that will kill even healthy 
people 
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/02/climate-change-to-cause-humid-heatwaves-that-will-kill-even-healthy-people>*
If warming is not tackled, levels of humid heat that can kill within 
hours will affect millions across south Asia within decades, analysis finds
Extreme heatwaves that kill even healthy people within hours will strike 
parts of the Indian subcontinent unless global carbon emissions are cut 
sharply and soon, according to new research.
Even outside of these hotspots, three-quarters of the 1.7bn population – 
particularly those farming in the Ganges and Indus valleys – will be 
exposed to a level of humid heat classed as posing "extreme danger" 
towards the end of the century.
The new analysis assesses the impact of climate change on the deadly 
combination of heat and humidity, measured as the "wet bulb" temperature 
(WBT). Once this reaches 35C, the human body cannot cool itself by 
sweating and even fit people sitting in the shade will die within six hours.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/02/climate-change-to-cause-humid-heatwaves-that-will-kill-even-healthy-people


*This Day in Climate History August 3, 2015 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/03/us/politics/donald-trump-attacks-as-republican-rivals-court-donors-at-koch-retreat.html>  
-  from D.R. Tucker*
    August 3, 2015:
*The New York Times reports:*
"As five of the 2016 Republican presidential candidates descended on an 
exclusive donor conference hosted by the oil-billionaire brothers 
Charles G. and David H. Koch, Donald J. Trump had a message for his rivals.
"'I wish good luck to all of the Republican candidates that traveled to 
California to beg for money etc. from the Koch Brothers,' Mr. Trump, who 
leads in many national polls, wrote in a Sunday morning Twitter post. 
'Puppets?'"
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/03/us/politics/donald-trump-attacks-as-republican-rivals-court-donors-at-koch-retreat.html
*
**The New York Times also reports:*
"The issue of climate change played almost no role in the 2012 
presidential campaign.
President Obama barely mentioned the topic, nor did the Republican 
nominee, Mitt Romney. It was not raised in a single presidential debate.
"But as Mr. Obama prepares to leave office, his own aggressive actions 
on climate change have thrust the issue into the 2016 campaign. 
Strategists now say that this battle for the White House could feature 
more substantive debate over global warming policy than any previous 
presidential race."
http://wwwnytimes.com/2015/08/03/us/politics/obama-policy-could-force-robust-climate-discussion-from-2016-candidates.html?_r=0

*The AP reports:*
"Aiming to jolt the rest of the world to action, President Obama moved 
ahead Sunday with even tougher greenhouse gas cuts on American power 
plants, setting up a certain confrontation in the courts with energy 
producers and Republican-led states.
"In finalizing the unprecedented pollution controls, Obama was 
installing the core of his ambitious and controversial plan to 
drastically reduce overall US emissions, as he works to secure a legacy 
on fighting global warming. Yet it will be up to Obama’s successor to 
implement his plan, which has faced steep Republican opposition from 
Capitol Hill to the 2016 campaign trail.
"Opponents planned to sue immediately and to ask the courts to block the 
rule temporarily. Many states have threatened not to comply.
"The Obama administration estimated the emissions limits will cost $8.4 
billion annually by 2030. The actual price won’t be clear until states 
decide how they will reach their targets. But energy industry advocates 
said the revision makes Obama’s mandate even more burdensome, costly, 
and difficult to achieve.
‘"'They are wrong,' the Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator, 
Gina McCarthy, said flatly, accusing opponents of promulgating a 
‘doomsday' scenario.
"Last year, the Obama administration proposed the first greenhouse gas 
limits on existing power plants in US history, triggering a yearlong 
review and received more than 4 million public comments.
"On Monday, Obama was to unveil the final rule publicly at an event at 
the White House.
"'Climate change is not a problem for another generation,’ Obama said in 
a video posted to Facebook. ‘Not anymore.’
"The final version imposes stricter carbon dioxide limits on states than 
were previously expected: a 32 percent cut by 2030, compared with 2005 
levels, the White House said. Last year, Obama’s proposed version called 
for a 30 percent cut.
"Immediately, Obama’s plan began reverberating in the 2016 presidential 
race, with Hillary Rodham Clinton voicing her strong support and using 
it to criticize her GOP opponents for failing to offer a credible 
alternative.
"‘It’s a good plan, and as president, I’d defend it,’ Clinton said.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/08/02/obama-rule-for-power-plants-compel-steeper-emissions-cuts/vhwQU4MUS6MPcaAskKqqKI/story.html

*The Washington Post reports:*
"Four weeks before the official rollout, the news for President Obama’s 
signature regulation on climate change suddenly went from bad to abysmal.
"Already, the Senate’s top Republican was urging a nationwide boycott of 
the carbon-cutting proposal known as the Clean Power Plan. Fourteen 
states had joined in a lawsuit seeking to block the rule even before it 
became final. Then came a blow from the Supreme Court: a surprise June 
29 decision blocking the White House’s previous attempt at curbing 
pollution from coal-burning power plants.
"By July 7, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency was testily 
deflecting questions over whether the Clean Power Plan — a pillar of the 
White House’s climate-change strategy — could survive the gantlet of 
legal and political challenges it faced.
"'We certainly know how to defend against lawsuits, for crying out 
loud,' EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told reporters at a Washington 
news conference.
"White House officials pressed ahead with the proposal, ultimately 
deciding on an altered version that will be formally adopted at a 
ceremony Monday. But while the revised rule expresses lofty aims, the 
details reflect real, practical concerns about the battles still to 
come: an expected onslaught of litigation and legislation designed to 
derail the rule.
"The final shape of the Clean Power Plan was hashed out over months of 
often contentious meetings as administration officials debated how to 
balance two competing objectives. On one side were advocates who pushed 
for the deepest possible cuts in U.S. greenhouse-gas pollution to help 
build momentum for international climate talks this December in Paris. 
On the other were experienced regulators and lawyers who saw trouble 
ahead as the proposed rule picked up growing numbers of opponents in 
Congress and in the utilities industry..."
"But other observers said the administration appeared to have gotten 
exactly what it wanted. Supporters said the revisions to the regulation 
undercut the most salient legal and political objections raised by 
critics, including the claim that the plan will unfairly burden poor 
people or will lead to disruptions in the power supply. At the same 
time, the plan appears capable of achieving its goals of encouraging 
greater adoption of renewable energy as well as dramatic reductions in 
heat-trapping carbon pollution over the next 15 years, said S. William 
Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air 
Agencies, an independent group that represents state regulators."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/internal-debate-over-clean-energy-plan-pitted-ambition-against-legal-worries/2015/08/02/9e0c1c94-3966-11e5-9c2d-ed991d848c48_story.html

*NYTimes.com reports:*
"President Obama on Monday unveiled an aggressive plan to sharply limit 
greenhouse gases emitted by the nation’s power plants, declaring that 
time was running out to thwart the most dangerous impacts of global 
climate change.
"'No challenge poses a greater threat to our future and future 
generations than a changing climate,' Mr. Obama said in a speech from 
the East Room of the White House as he announced his most ambitious 
action to date to tackle the planet’s rising temperatures. 'There is 
such a thing as being too late when it comes to climate change.'
"The president, who wants to make his initiatives to address the warming 
of the planet a central element of his legacy, called the new rules a 
public health imperative and 'the single most important step America has 
ever taken in the fight against global climate change.' He also sought 
to wrap the policy in the legitimacy of transcendental values, noting 
that Pope Francis had issued an encyclical in June, calling action on 
the issue a 'moral obligation.'
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/us/obama-unveils-plan-to-sharply-limit-greenhouse-gas-emissions.html?mwrsm=Email
http://www.msnbc.com/thomas-roberts/watch/president-obama-unveils-clean-power-plan-497601603688
http://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-reports/watch/sustained-change--obama-unveils-climate-plan-497534531635
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/08/03/3687270/final-carbon-rule-clean-power-plan/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cptop3
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