[TheClimate.Vote] December 4, 2017 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

Mon Dec 4 10:20:17 EST 2017

/December 4, 2017
/
[Wildfire Today]
*Strong winds and extreme wildfire danger predicted for Southern 
California this week 
<http://wildfiretoday.com/2017/12/03/strong-winds-and-extreme-wildfire-danger-predicted-for-southern-california-this-week/>*
This Santa Ana wind event will likely be the strongest and longest 
duration one we have seen so far this fire season. Red Flag Warnings 
have been issued for Sunday night through Thursday.
map: 
http://wildfiretoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/WindGustsTuesday.jpg
(Originally published at 9:31 a.m. PST December 3, 2017)
The strongest Santa Ana wind event so far this fire season is in the 
forecast for the coastal and mountain areas of Southern California this 
week. The National Weather Service has issued Red Flag Warnings for 
Sunday night through Thursday for areas within the counties of Santa 
Barbara, San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego.
It is unusual for a Red Flag Warning to extend over parts of five days. 
And this one has the possibility of being extended for an additional one 
or two days into the weekend.
The exact timing and speeds will vary by location, but generally, 
powerful winds will begin Sunday night out of the north and on Monday 
will be from the northeast at 25 to 40 mph with gusts of 50 to 65, 
reaching 80 at some peaks and exposed areas.
The NWS forecast includes this statement:
*If fire ignition occurs, there will be the potential for rapid spread 
of wildfire with extreme fire behavior that could lead to a threat to 
life and property.*
The strong winds and low relative humidities (5 to 15 percent) should 
continue at least through Thursday. Long range computer models are 
showing the possibility that the Santa Ana winds could persist into 
Friday or Saturday, which may require the extension of the Red Flag 
Warnings.
http://wildfiretoday.com/2017/12/03/strong-winds-and-extreme-wildfire-danger-predicted-for-southern-california-this-week/
-
*Forecast of powerful winds, low humidity triggers red flag warning 
<http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/ramona-sentinel/news/local-news/sd-cm-ram-red-flag-warning-20171203-story.html>*
The National Weather Service predicts powerful Santa Ana winds and low 
humidity will take hold in the region over the next week, increasing the 
risk of wildfires throughout the region.
The predicted wind event, with forecasts of gusts as high as 65 mph in 
the San Diego County mountains, prompted the NWS to issue a red flag 
warning and the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department to increase staffing. 
Fire officials said several years of drought coupled with heavy rains 
last winter created significant fire fuel in the form of underbrush and 
grass. And because of a lack of recent rain, all of the fuel is 
extremely dry and ready to spark, officials said.
"Meteorologists at the National Weather Service have not seen models for 
a Santa Ana event like this in many years," said San Diego Fire Chief 
Brian Fennessy. "We are being vigilant in up-staffing to protect San 
Diegans and their property. We ask that residents practice their 
evacuation plans and be prepared in case of a wildfire."
The red flag warning will go into effect at 3 a.m. Monday, when high 
pressure over the Great Basin will begin driving strong gusty winds into 
Orange and San Bernardino counties. The high winds will spread into the 
San Diego region Monday afternoon and evening.
Forecasters predict northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts of about 
55 mph and isolated gusts up to 65 mph. Daytime humidity will be as low 
as 5 to 10 percent, forecasters said. Strong, widespread winds were 
predicted from Monday night and Tuesday, and they will be possible again 
late Wednesday night and Thursday.
The red flag warning will conclude at 12 a.m. Friday. Winds were 
expected to weaken but still continue throughout Friday and Saturday. 
Forecasters warned any fires that develop will spread rapidly, and 
recommended avoiding any activities that can spark a fire.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/ramona-sentinel/news/local-news/sd-cm-ram-red-flag-warning-20171203-story.html

*La Nina contributes to wildfire threat in mid-South, Plains 
<http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/12/03/la-nina-contributes-to-wildfire-threat-in-mid-south-plains.html>*
Fox News-14 hours ago
OKLAHOMA CITY -  Conditions are ripe for winter wildfires from the 
mid-South through the Great Plains thanks to a combination of weather 
factors, including the climate phenomenon known as La Nina, that have 
left a lot of dry growth.
In addition to the La Nina, an occasional cooling of the equatorial 
Pacific Ocean that affects global weather and leaves the nation's 
midsection drier than normal in winter, a wet spring led to heavy growth 
of vegetation that a mild summer didn't kill off. A dry November 
increased drought conditions in states including Oklahoma, Kansas, 
Arkansas and Texas, said Oklahoma's state climatologist, Gary McManus.
McManus compared the potential scenario to that in March, when wildfires 
in northwestern Oklahoma, southwestern Kansas and the Texas Panhandle 
scorched a total of more than 2,000 square miles (5180 sq. kilometers) 
left six people dead and killed thousands of head of livestock.
"We are kind of seeing the epicenter of this drought originate in 
western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma and moving westward," potentially 
as far as New Mexico, according to Todd Lindley, science and operations 
officer at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Norman, 
Oklahoma...
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/12/03/la-nina-contributes-to-wildfire-threat-in-mid-south-plains.html

[Businessinsider]
*A change to the GOP tax bill would be a huge boost to energy companies 
<http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tax-reform-bill-senate-loopholes-private-equity-2017-12>*
A provision in the final Senate Republican tax bill would serve as a 
huge boon to large energy companies.
An amendment introduced on Friday night by Sen. John Cornyn - the 
second-ranking Republican in the Senate - would have allowed owners of 
publicly traded partnerships (PTPs) to take a deduction for pass-through 
businesses on their income. That deduction was increased to 23% in the 
latest version of the Senate Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
The original amendment would have allowed financial services firms 
classified as PTPs, such as private equity giants Blackstone and Carlyle 
Group, to take the pass-through benefit. When the language was added to 
the final version of the GOP bill, however, guardrails were put up to 
prevent these companies from benefitting.
"Financial PTPs primarily earn their income from the sale of securities 
and dividends, both of which are taxed at the capital gains rate - a 
rate lower than what’s required to claim the pass-through deduction for 
business income in the Senate bill," an aide to Cornyn told Business 
Insider. "Further, the fee income you referenced is not qualifying 
income under 7704(d).  They are not intended to benefit from this 
provision."
The change in the final bill, however, does allow oil and gas firms that 
are PTPs to take the benefit. Many energy companies are classified as 
master limited partnerships (MLPs), a type of PTP, to enjoy the tax 
benefits of a partnership. Many large MLPs are based in Cornyn's home 
state of Texas....
Fleischer said that while the final TCJA did not benefit private equity 
firms like the Cornyn amendment did, the bill did give a "MASSIVE new 
benefit to oil and gas PTPs."
The Senate passed the final version of the TCJA on Saturday by a vote of 
51 to 49.
http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tax-reform-bill-senate-loopholes-private-equity-2017-12
-
[activist action]
https://twitter.com/hashtag/killthebill
https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOPTaxScam

[SportCricket]
*Smog halts play as thick Delhi pollution threatens to spoil Virat Kohli 
masterclass against Sri Lanka 
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2017/12/03/smog-halts-play-thick-delhi-pollution-threatens-spoil-virat/>*
India captain Virat Kohli smashed a career-best 243 on his home ground 
but it was Delhi's notorious smog which dominated discussion after 
Sunday's play in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka.
The majority of the Sri Lankan players returned from the second day's 
lunch break wearing facemasks as the seasonal haze affecting the region 
thickened over the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
The second session witnessed two stoppages, of 17 and five minutes, as 
Lahiru Gamage and his pace colleague Suranga Lakmal both left the field 
finding it difficult to breathe.
"It's well documented that Delhi has high level of pollution," Sri Lanka 
coach Nic Pothas said afterwards, calling it a "unique case".
"At one point, we had a case of coming off the field vomiting. There 
were oxygen things in the change room. It's not normal for players to 
suffer that way."
Umpires Nigel Llong and Joel Wilson were discussing the air quality with 
the tourists when Kohli declared India's innings on 536-7.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2017/12/03/smog-halts-play-thick-delhi-pollution-threatens-spoil-virat/

*HIGH TIDE ON MAIN STREET 
<https://climateone.org/events/high-tide-main-street>*
[view transcript] <https://climateone.org/node/24224/#transcript>
How can owners of coastal property prepare for rising seas? The coast 
line has been basically in the same place for all of human civilization 
and now that’s changing in very unpredictable and unsettling ways. 
Oceans will rise faster than the past but no one can say how fast that 
will happen or what’s the best strategy for protecting trillions of 
dollars in waterfront real estate.
A week before Hurricane Sandy slammed into New York and New Jersey, John 
Englander published a book, High Tide on Main Street, predicting such a 
disaster. A resident of Florida, he now is a consultant to countries and 
cities on how to build cities that can withstand severe weather and 
changing. Will Travis is a national expert on balancing environmental 
and economic priorities along the San Francisco Bay and was a top 
California policy official for nearly 17 years. Kiran Jain is the former 
Chief Resilience Officer of Oakland and now is an executive at a startup 
that connects investors with municipal infrastructure projects.
Join us for a conversation about envisioning, creating and paying for a 
new way of life by the water.
[Video] The Rule of Law and Rising Seas <https://youtu.be/IPVso6ZEyRQ>
Climate One Published on Nov 20, 2017
https://youtu.be/IPVso6ZEyRQ
Sea level rise planning consultant, Will Travis, talks about today's 
antiquated laws when it comes to dealing with sea level rise and climate 
change.
https://climateone.org/events/high-tide-main-street

*This is the perfect temperature for humans - and it doesn't exist in 
the UK 
<http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/this-perfect-temperature-humans-it-doesnt-exist-uk-1649580>*
Barcelona, Monaco and Athens all provide ideal weather.
People who live in a slightly warmer climate live happier and more 
engaging lives, scientists have confirmed.
A recent study of about 1.7 million people found that 22 degrees 
celsius  [71.7 degrees Fahrenheit] was the perfect temperature to 
harbour residents that were more agreeable, emotionally stable and 
extroverted. The logic is straightforward: nicer weather leads people to 
go outside more often and interact with other members of their community.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, University of Melbourne 
researcher Professor Samuel Gosling said the information also revealed 
why people from cold and warm climates have different personalities. 
Gosling even believed as global warming heats the earth, human 
personalities will change.
"We know that personality traits vary across geographic regions," 
Gosling said. "We also know that these geographic personality traits are 
associated with a broad range of consequential outcomes, including 
economic activity, for example entrepreneurial start-up rates, crime 
rates, health behaviours, health outcomes and voting behaviour."
"So learning about the role of personality in potentially influencing 
these outcomes is of great interest to anyone who wants to affect these 
outcomes," Gosling said.
n the experiment, 1.66 million Americans and about 6.000 Chinese 
students were tested on five personality traits: agreeability, 
conscientiousness, emotional stability, extraversion and openness to new 
experiences.
Towns with an average temperature of 22 recorded the best results in 
both samples. Psychology expert Professor Nicholas Haslam said 22 
degrees was the "least taxing temperature" for the human body to regulate.
No major UK cities managed to reach an average of 22 degrees each year, 
some of which even failed to scratch the teens. London, Cambridge and 
Oxford all have an average temperature of 15 degrees. Manchester and 
Birmingham were slightly colder at 14 degrees.
Cardiff, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast all failed to exceed 15 degrees.
If you are keen on moving to the "ideal" temperature, Athens is the most 
suited in Europe at 22 degrees on the dot. Barcelona, Monaco, Naples and 
Malta are also ideal, all hovering between 20 and 22 degrees.
Australia also has several locations, including Adelaide, Sydney and the 
Gold Coast.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/this-perfect-temperature-humans-it-doesnt-exist-uk-1649580

*The Weekend Wonk: Carl Sagan on Climate - 1990 
<https://climatecrocks.com/2017/12/02/the-weekend-wonk-carl-sagan-on-climate-1990/>*
More treasurefrom Climate State YouTube channel. 
<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXy9Efp5QoTGGxmpKBujLLQ>
After being mysteriously blocked on YouTube, the Trove of climate 
science videos at Climate State is now back on line, after a big 
reaction went viral.

    (video) Carl Sagan on Climate as an Emerging Issue (1990)
    <https://youtu.be/KZbZ5RvW_qI>
    Climate State
    Carl Sagan's 2/9/1990 keynote speech before the 5th Annual Emerging
    Issues Forum at NCSU, broadcast live on North Carolina Public
    Television. Introduction by Roy Park of Park Communications.
    Recorded by Dr. Woody Sugg on a home VCR. Sagan spoke at the
    invitation of Jim Hunt, former NC Governor and the founder of the
    Institute for Emergng Issues. https://youtu.be/KZbZ5RvW_qI

https://climatecrocks.com/2017/12/02/the-weekend-wonk-carl-sagan-on-climate-1990/

*This Day in Climate History December 4, 2008 
<http://prospect.org/article/are-cows-worse-cars-0> -  from D.R. Tucker*
December 4, 2008:  Washington Post writer Ezra Klein calls upon climate 
activists to highlight the role meat consumption plays in fueling the 
climate crisis.
http://prospect.org/article/are-cows-worse-cars-0
/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
//Archive of Daily Global Warming News 
<https://pairlist10.pair.net/pipermail/theclimate.vote/2017-October/date.html> 
//
/https://pairlist10.pair.net/pipermail/theclimate.vote//
///
Send email to subscribe <a%20href=%22mailto:contact at theClimate.Vote%22> 
to this mailing. /

        *** Privacy and Security: * This is a text-only mailing that
        carries no images which may originate from remote servers.
        Text-only messages provide greater privacy to the receiver and
        sender.
        By regulation, the .VOTE top-level domain must be used for
        democratic and election purposes and cannot be used for
        commercial purposes.
        To subscribe, email: contact at theclimate.vote with subject: 
        subscribe,  To Unsubscribe, subject: unsubscribe
        Also youmay subscribe/unsubscribe at
        https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/theclimate.vote
        Links and headlines assembled and curated by Richard Paulifor
        http://TheClimate.Vote delivering succinct information for
        citizens and responsible governments of all levels.   List
        membership is confidential and records are scrupulously
        restricted to this mailing list.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/pipermail/theclimate.vote/attachments/20171204/71f9a37a/attachment.html>