[TheClimate.Vote] December 9, 2017 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Sat Dec 9 10:30:56 EST 2017
/December 9, 2017
/
[Bloomberg News]
*Koch-Backed Business Group Splinters in Climate-Change Dispute
<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-08/corporate-revolt-has-business-group-at-a-crossroads-over-climate>*
Activist groups fill void as companies drop ALEC membership
Climate change, repeal of 17th amendment considered by group
A business-backed group that rose to prominence by prodding state
legislatures to cut taxes, environmental regulations and gun
restrictions, now finds itself at a crossroads amid declining membership
and a bitter dispute over climate change.
The battle at the American Legislative Exchange Council erupted at the
group's winter meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, this week as members
scrapped a measure declaring that climate change is not a risk after
opposition from Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp.
"It was corporate blackmail," said Steve Milloy, a policy adviser for
the Heartland Institute, a group critical of climate science. "They
basically said, 'We're going to leave.' "
The dispute over the climate provisions highlights the internal discord
for the Arlington, Virginia-based group, which gained fame fighting
President Barack Obama's regulatory agenda. Over the past five years,
more than 100 businesses left the organization, illustrating corporate
concerns that the group may be going too far.
ALEC, which has been funded by companies like Koch Industries Inc. and
coal giant Peabody Energy Corp., has 2,000 mostly Republican state
legislator members, which it pairs with representatives from
corporations and free-market interest groups. In recent years it debated
model measures for state legislatures that take aim at state renewable
energy requirements, set stricter voter identification requirements and
would have U.S. senators appointed by state legislatures, not elected...
Over the past five years ALEC has shed more than 100 members including
Ford Motor Co. and Expedia Inc., largely over its position against
climate rules, renewable energy and other issues that don't jive with
corporations' publicly stated sustainability goals.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-08/corporate-revolt-has-business-group-at-a-crossroads-over-climate
-
*(video) GE to Cut 12,000 Jobs in Power Business
<https://youtu.be/EudvzIzBs6U>*
Dec.07 -- General Electric Co. plans to cut 12,000 jobs in its power
business as the company's new leaders look to slash costs and stabilize
the beleaguered manufacturer. Bloomberg's Rick Clough reports on
"Bloomberg Markets."
https://youtu.be/EudvzIzBs6U
-
Reuters:
*Fossil-fuel slowdown spreads pain at GE and beyond
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ge-jobs-breakingviews/breakingviews-fossil-fuel-slowdown-spreads-pain-at-ge-and-beyond-idUSKBN1E1346>*
ZURICH/LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - General Electric Co (GE.N) said Thursday it
is axing 12,000 jobs at its global power business, the struggling
industrial conglomerate's latest effort to shrink itself into a more
focused company.
The U.S. company launched the cuts to save $1 billion in 2018 at its
Power business, saying it expects dwindling demand for fossil fuel power
plants to continue. GE's cuts follow a decision by rival Siemens AG to
slash 6,900 jobs in the face of a global shift by electric utilities
away from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy such as wind and
solar.
GE did not give a breakdown of the job cuts, which represent about 4
percent of its overall workforce of 295,000, saying only that they would
be primarily outside the United States. The cuts represent about 18
percent of GE's Power business, GE said.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ge-jobs-breakingviews/breakingviews-fossil-fuel-slowdown-spreads-pain-at-ge-and-beyond-idUSKBN1E1346
*Red Flag Warnings in Southern California and Colorado
<http://wildfiretoday.com/2017/12/08/red-flag-warnings-in-southern-california-and-colorado/>*
Red Flag Warnings have been issued for areas in Southern California and
Colorado.
An extended period of Santa Ana offshore winds will continue through at
least Sunday focused over much of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties
http://wildfiretoday.com/2017/12/08/red-flag-warnings-in-southern-california-and-colorado/
*Thomas Fire continues to march to the west
<http://wildfiretoday.com/2017/12/08/thomas-fire-continues-to-march-to-the-west/>*
The fire has burned 132,000 acres near Ventura, Carpinteria, and Ojai in
Southern California. Ventura County Fire Department reports 401
structures have been destroyed.
http://wildfiretoday.com/2017/12/08/thomas-fire-continues-to-march-to-the-west/
[_UC DAVIS_]
*How climate denial blogs undermine scientific understanding
<https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/how-climate-denial-blogs-undermine-scientific-understanding>*
Human-caused global warming is accepted by leading scientific
organizations around the world, but public opinion about humanity's role
fails to keep pace with these consensus views. Internet blogs contribute
to this gap by casting doubt on iconic climate science topics, such as
polar bears and sea ice extent, setting them up as "keystone dominoes"
to topple scientific understanding.
The authors analyzed 90 blogs that covered climate change. None of the
blogs were truly in the middle. Instead they fell into one of two camps:
45 were science-based and 45 were denier blogs. These camps each took
completely different positions on Arctic ice extent and polar bear status.
"We found a major gap between the facts from scientific literature and
the science-based blogs on one hand, versus the opinions ventilated in
climate-change denying blogs on the other," said first author Jeff
Harvey from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology. "This is a very
dangerous gap, as these blogs are read by millions."
Of the 45 denier blogs, about 80 percent relied on a single denier blog
for their evidence, which itself had a single author who had not
conducted any original research or published any articles in the
peer-reviewed literature on polar bears. This lack of expertise and
evidence is common among such blogs, the study says, as are personal
attacks against researchers and attempts to misstate the extent of
scientific certainty about crucial issues.
Call to action:***Four ways to determine credibility***
*1. Follow the data *- Data trails of skeptics go cold quickly.
*2. Follow the money *- Some prominent climate deniers are linked to
think tanks that downplay human-caused climate change or receive
direct funding from fossil-fuel companies.
*3. Follow the credentials *- Scientists described as "experts" on
denier blogs often lack relevant expertise.
*4. Follow the language *- Climate deniers often attack those with
different views with insults, such as "eco-fascists," "fraudsters"
or "green terrorists," or by accusing them of being part of a global
"scam" or "hoax."
** - criteria described in the study**
The research team included ecologists, polar bear researchers, climate
scientists, science communicators and sociologists from six countries.
They conclude with a call to action for scientists to venture beyond the
confines of their labs and lecture halls to engage the public and
policymakers, as well as to counter misinformation on social and
traditional media directly.
"Climate change deniers use deception to sow doubt and confusion,
influence public perception, and stall meaningful action," said
co-author Eric Post, a professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and
Conservation Biology and fellow with the John Muir Institute of the
Environment at UC Davis. "We have an obligation as researchers and
academics to expose these tactics. There are no alternatives to facts."
The study received no external funding
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/how-climate-denial-blogs-undermine-scientific-understanding
-
[Oxford Academic]*
**Internet Blogs, Polar Bears, and Climate-Change Denial by Proxy
<https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/bix133/4644513>*
Abstract
Increasing surface temperatures, Arctic sea-ice loss, and other evidence
of anthropogenic global warming (AGW) are acknowledged by every major
scientific organization in the world. However, there is a wide gap
between this broad scientific consensus and public opinion. Internet
blogs have strongly contributed to this consensus gap by fomenting
misunderstandings of AGW causes and consequences. Polar bears (Ursus
maritimus) have become a "poster species" for AGW, making them a target
of those denying AGW evidence. Here, focusing on Arctic sea ice and
polar bears, we show that blogs that deny or downplay AGW disregard the
overwhelming scientific evidence of Arctic sea-ice loss and polar bear
vulnerability. By denying the impacts of AGW on polar bears, bloggers
aim to cast doubt on other established ecological consequences of AGW,
aggravating the consensus gap. To counter misinformation and reduce this
gap, scientists should directly engage the public in the media and
blogosphere.
https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/bix133/4644513
[AGU meeting]*
****Fall AGU 2017
<http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2017/12/fall-agu-2017/>*
AGU is an international Union of scientists, working together on a broad
spectrum of scientific topics that span all of the Earth and space
sciences. ... Our science is accurate, peer reviewed, and well respected.*
*It's that time of year again.#AGU17
<https://twitter.com/search?q=%23AGU17&src=typd>is from Dec 11 to Dec 16
in New Orleans (the traditional venue in San Francisco is undergoing
renovations).
As in previous years, there will be extensive live streams from "AGU On
Demand <https://fallmeeting.agu.org/2017/virtual-options/>" (free, but
an online registration is required) of interesting sessions and the
keynote lectures from prize-winners and awardees.
Some potential highlights will beDan Rather, Baba Brinkman, and Joanna
Morgan <https://fallmeeting.agu.org/2017/keynote-speakers/>. The
E-lightning sessions are alreadyfilled with posters
<https://agu2017fallmeeting-agu.ipostersessions.com/Default.aspx?s=gallery>covering
many aspects of AGU science.Clara Deser
<https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm17/meetingapp.cgi/Session/29084>,Bjorn
Stevens
<https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm17/meetingapp.cgi/Session/29089>,David
Neelin
<https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm17/meetingapp.cgi/Session/29035>,Linda
Mearns
<https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm17/meetingapp.cgi/Session/29030>andThomas
Stocker
<https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm17/meetingapp.cgi/Session/29162>are giving
some the key climate-related named lectures. TheTyndall Lecture by Jim
Fleming
<https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm17/meetingapp.cgi/Session/29028>might also
be of interest.
As usual there are plenty of sessions devoted topublic affairs and
science communication
<https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm17/meetingapp.cgi/Program/1514>, including
one focused on the use of humour in #scicomm (on Friday at 4pm to
encourage people to stay to the end I imagine), and a workshop on
Tuesday (joint with the ACLU and CSLDF) onlegal issues for scientist
activists and advocates
<https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm17/meetingapp.cgi/Session/38542>.
AGU is also a great place to apply for jobs,get free legal advice
<https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm17/meetingapp.cgi/Session/38410>, mingle,
and network.
A couple of us will be there - and we might find time to post on
anything interesting we see. If any readers spot us, say hi!
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2017/12/fall-agu-2017/
[American Heart Association Journals]
*Twenty-Seven Ways a Heat Wave Can Kill You: Deadly Heat in the Era of
Climate Change
<http://circoutcomes.ahajournals.org/content/10/11/e004233/tab-figures-data>*
Feasible pathways through which heat can damage vital organs and result
in death.
Climate Change, Deadly Heat, and Global Health Disparities
*Our synthesis reveals the multitude of ways to die during a heat wave
and provides a worrisome glimpse into what a warming planet may have in
store for us. *The described deadly heat pathways can be triggered
anytime that climatic conditions result in hyperthermia, highlighting
that everyone can be at risk. More importantly, they also suggest even
greater vulnerability for individuals with compromised thermoregulatory
capacity (eg, the old, the young, and the sick), those with limited
socioeconomic capacity (eg, the poor and the isolated), and those
engaged in strenuous outdoors activities. Although some physical
resilience to heat may be gained through acclimation, numerous
constraints prevent humans from rapidly evolving higher heat
tolerance... Instead, the health impacts of heat waves could be reduced
through social adaptations that limit heat exposure (eg, alert systems,
air conditioning, and greening cities)... Although such protective
measures have been effectively used in the past... they may not be
affordable for all of humanity... and even among those who can afford
them, a warming world will recurrently "imprison people" indoors... and
may turn infrastructure failures (eg, power outages) into catastrophic
events.
*With such widespread consequences for human health from a warming
planet (not to mention linked impacts from droughts, wild fires, storms,
floods, sea-level rise, etc), one would expect large public concern
about climate change.* Yet, according to Pew polls, only 36% of people
in the United States, 54% across countries, are personally concerned
about climate change. Among several explanations for this climate denial
and reduced sense of concern is our optimism bias; basically, climate
change may be bad but will not affect me. Remarkably, scientists may be
unintentionally fostering this bias. For instance, the latest
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report and the United States
Climate Assessment both noted that heat waves pose a threat to human
health through heat stroke, mainly in elderly, poor, or isolated people.
This narrative can feed our optimism bias because heat stroke alone
oversimplifies the many physiological ways by which heat waves kill and
thus falls short of depicting our high sensitivity to heat; likewise,
the suggestion that only some sectors are at risk could generate a false
sense of security for those who are not in any of those vulnerable
groups. Such an optimism, however, is unwarranted because as noted in
this article, there is a multitude of ways things can go wrong during a
heat wave (Table)
<http://circoutcomes.ahajournals.org/content/10/11/e004233#T1>, and they
can happen to anyone, with of course much greater risk to individuals
with compromised thermoregulatory capacity and those frequently exposed
to heat.
*In a recent analysis, we found that by 2100, under current emission of
greenhouse gasses, 3 of 4 people in the world will be exposed to deadly
heat conditions every year,* with a higher occurrence of these
conditions in intertropical areas (Figure)
<http://circoutcomes.ahajournals.org/content/10/11/e004233#F1>. The
impacts will manifest differently with perhaps larger economic burdens
of adaptation for the wealthy and higher death tolls for the poor. Given
large socioeconomic differences within and among countries, heat waves
could exacerbate global disparities in health, especially given the
diminished resources for several of these regions to respond to
acceleration in warming. In the last decade, there has been >2300%
increase in the loss of human life from heat waves as a result of less
than 1 degree C warming. With 27 ways to die during a heat wave, the
death toll that occurred with <1 degree C of warming emphasizes the
heightened risk to human life even under the optimistic target of
allowing the planet to warm up by another 1 degree C. Clearly, reducing
the dangers of a warming world will require us to outperform even our
most optimistic projections of climate change mitigation yet.
Download PDF
<http://circoutcomes.ahajournals.org/content/10/11/e004233.full.pdf?download=true>
Ambient conditions that prevent body heat dissipation (eg, too hot,
too humid, or both) trigger dangerous physiological responses or
pathways that have been a topic of considerable medical interest for
"military personnel, athletes, and occupations exposed to extreme
heat, such as mining."4 To systematically synthesize these deadly
pathways, we searched online databases (ie, PubMed and Google
Scholar) using the key words pathophysiology and heat illness, heat
stroke, or heat stress. We categorized pathways in a table listing
physiological mechanisms by columns and vital organs impacted by
rows. We performed secondary searches combining as key words the
mechanism (column name) and organ (row name) of empty cells in our
table to ensure that empty cells represented a lack of evidence. In
total, we identified 5 physiological mechanisms triggered by heat
exposure (ie, ischemia, heat cytotoxicity, inflammatory response,
disseminated intravascular coagulation, and rhabdomyolysis) and 7
vital organs that can be critically impacted (ie, brain, heart,
intestines, kidneys, liver, lungs, and pancreas; Table). Of 35
possible combinations (5 physiological mechanisms times 7 vital
organs), we found medical evidence for 27 different pathways by
which physiological mechanisms triggered by heat can lead to organ
failure and ultimately death (Table). No single publication reported
all physiological pathways highlighting the comprehensive scope of
our synthesis.
http://circoutcomes.ahajournals.org/content/10/11/e004233##
These interactions should be taken as feasible pathways through
which heat can damage vital organs and result in death. The
frequency in which these pathways were cited in the literature
cannot be used as indication of the risk of occurrence of specific
pathways because publications are more likely related to the extent
to which novel insights are obtained for the different pathways as
opposed to how frequent they occur. Supporting references are
provided in Table I in the Data Supplement.
http://circoutcomes.ahajournals.org/content/10/11/e004233/tab-figures-data
Camilo Mora, Chelsie W.W. Counsell, Coral R. Bielecki, Leo V Louis
http://circoutcomes.ahajournals.org/content/10/11/e004233/tab-figures-data
https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.117.004233
[NSFW music]
*Post-punk song 'Anthropogenic Climate Change Is Real' is a wake-up call
to Trump
<https://boingboing.net/2017/12/08/post-punk-song-anthropogenic.html>*
Follow the bouncing Trump head in this music video for "Anthropogenic
Climate Change Is Real" by Oakland, California post-punk band You Can't
Make This Shit Up Amerika.
Written by Tennessee Mowrey and Kevin Goldberg, the song is a wake-up
call to Trump and any other "fucking asshole" who doesn't believe that
climate change exists.
It was co-produced by my pal Ampersand, who writes:
"I immediately felt that these spirited and pissed off millennials
were giving voice not only to my feelings about our president and his
policies around climate change, but potentially to millions of others as
well, and that it was important that the song was out in the world."
I agree.
Give it a watch. Be forewarned, it's (rightly) sprinkled with NSFW
language."
(video) You Can't Make This Shit Up Amerika - Anthropogenic Climate
Change Is Real <https://youtu.be/lpP3qqzKexY>
https://youtu.be/lpP3qqzKexY
see also:
https://youcantmakethisshitupamerika.bandcamp.com/album/anthropogenic-climate-change-is-real
https://boingboing.net/2017/12/08/post-punk-song-anthropogenic.html
*This Day in Climate History December 9, 2009
<http://youtu.be/R8rZ7YXHHfk> - from D.R. Tucker*
December 9, 2009: On MSNBC's "Countdown," Chris Hayes strongly
criticizes the Washington
Post for running an article by Sarah Palin peddling climate-denial
conspiracy theories.
http://youtu.be/R8rZ7YXHHfk
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
//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/20171209/d9526a12/attachment.html>
More information about the TheClimate.Vote
mailing list