[TheClimate.Vote] December 17, 2017 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Sun Dec 17 10:06:11 EST 2017
/December 17, 2017
/
[California wildfire]
*Hundreds of homes in Montecito threatened as winds push Thomas fire
toward coast; new evacuations
<http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-thomas-fire-ledeall-20171216-story.html>*
New evacuation orders were issued in Santa Barbara County on Saturday as
the massive Thomas fire took aim at the hills above Montecito, with some
wind gusts reported up to 65 mph.
https://twitter.com/intent/retweet?tweet_id=942089328343183361
The so-called sundowner winds are pushing south from the mountains down
to the coast - removing moisture along the way - and are expected to
present firefighters in Santa Barbara County with their biggest
challenge since the Thomas fire roared back to life a week ago,
officials said.
"When the sundowners surface in that area and the fire starts running
down slopes, you are not going to stop it," Mark Brown, an operations
section chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection, told reporters at a Saturday morning news briefing. "And we
are not going to stand in front of it and put firefighters in untenable
situations."
'Unfortunately they under-predicted this one," Zaniboni said. "We
weren't expecting this severe of a wind event and we're certainly
getting the worst...This fire is two weeks old and here we are battling
it like it just started again this morning."
Fire officials said that 8,300 fire personnel had been mobilized to
fight the Thomas Fire- the largest mobilization of fire crews to fight
any wildfire in California history.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-thomas-fire-ledeall-20171216-story.html
-
*Smoke from wildfires may be surprisingly deadly, scientists report
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/12/15/smoke-from-wildfires-may-be-surprisingly-deadly-scientists-report/?utm_term=.4401e46fed1f>*
Washington Post
Just like smokestacks and tailpipes, wildfires fill the air with the
byproducts of combustion, including very dangerous small particles known
as PM2.5, which can get into the lungs and bloodstream. A growing body
of research has demonstrated that these particles degrade health and
contribute to thousands of deaths each year in the United States alone
by causing respiratory, cardiovascular and other health problems.
So just how deadly is the smoke from wildfires? While the numbers
presented this week are definitely preliminary, they suggest the cost
could be severe indeed.
Pierce presented the highest numbers at the meeting. He estimates that
between 5,000 and 25,000 people in the United States may die each year
at present from PM2.5 that specifically comes from the smoke of
wildfires burning in the United States and other nearby countries (such
as Canada). But the number of wildfire-linked deaths could triple by the
end of the century for high levels of global warming, he has found,
based on one climate modeling scenario (which, Pierce emphasizes, is
only a preliminary finding and should be replicated by other scientific
groups).
But the number of wildfire-linked deaths could triple by the end of the
century for high levels of global warming, he has found, based on one
climate ...
Friday was the 12th consecutive day of red flag fire warnings - the
longest sustained period of fire weather warnings on record.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/12/15/smoke-from-wildfires-may-be-surprisingly-deadly-scientists-report
*10 Ways Global Warming Will Change Your Personal Finances
<https://www.thestreet.com/slideshow/14407769/1/ten-ways-global-warming-will-change-your-personal-finances.html>*
Global warming will make life more expensive for everybody. Here are a
few ways it's heading for your wallet.
By Eric Reed
Disaster recovery will occupy huge sections of Texas, Puerto Rico and
Florida for years to come, with consequences for both spending and
employment.
The federal government can accommodate emergency spending better than
most households, which is an issue that more Americans will have to
begin considering.
In years to come, global warming will change personal finances in vast
and unpredictable ways. Here are the top 10 that we can be reasonably
sure of.
*#10. Banks will calculate mortgages differently.**
**#9. Homeowner's and renter's insurance will be priced differently.**
**#8. Insurance as an industry will have to change.**
**#7. Property values will fluctuate.**
**#6. Some jobs will vanish.**
**#5. Some jobs will grow.**
**#4. Some food will cost more.**
**#3. Energy costs will go up.**
**#2. Medical costs will increase.**
**#1. Consumers will have to begin budgeting for damage.*
As disruption grows more common, so, too, will expenses as disruption
and displacement cause additional expense as people get themselves to
safety. Living expenses will add up when workers can't get to their
jobs, and insurance (for people who have it) won't always cover everything.
https://www.thestreet.com/slideshow/14407769/1/ten-ways-global-warming-will-change-your-personal-finances.html
[opinion]
*If California is serious about climate change, the car can't be king of
our roads
<http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-ceqa-vmt-20171216-story.html>*
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-ceqa-vmt-20171216-story.html
[LA Time$]
*Interior Secretary Zinke reportedly dressed down Joshua Tree
superintendent over climate change tweets
<http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-zinke-twitter-joshua-tree-climate-change-20171215-story.html>*
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-zinke-twitter-joshua-tree-climate-change-20171215-story.html
*Atlantic hurricanes' rapid growth spurts are intensifying
<https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-017-08719-y>*
Over the past three decades, wind speeds in the strongest storms have
increased more rapidly in some areas...
n general, there was no significant difference in the amount of
intensification storms showed over the years. But that changed when
Leung and her colleagues looked only at the storms that intensified the
most. For these, the average intensification increased by nearly 0.4
knots per day each year.
Changing patterns
This trend held for storms in the central and eastern tropical Atlantic,
but not in the western Atlantic. Leung isn't yet sure why that is the
case, but it may have something to do with a long-term climate pattern
called the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), which affects
interactions between the ocean and atmosphere. Over the past three
decades, the AMO has been shifting phase in a way that causes sea
surface temperatures in parts of the Atlantic to rise. Warmer ocean
waters mean more energy for hurricanes to feed off. ..
"If it's connected to global warming, we can expect it to go forward,
and that's something we need to keep an eye on."
Leung says she expects this to be the case. "I wouldn't say that next
year we would have another 2017," she says. "But the likelihood of this
is increasing over time."
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-017-08719-y
[Classic Essay from 2008]
* The Waking Up Syndrome*
<http://www.hopedance.org/home/soul-news/413-the-waking-up-syndrome>
Created: Friday, 04 January 2008
by Sarah Anne Edwards and Linda Buzzell
"Humankind cannot bear very much reality." - T. S. Eliot
Just dealing with our daily lives keeps most of us too busy to worry
about whether or not the sky is falling. We focus on getting to and from
work, paying our bills, doing our errands, and, if our time-stressed
schedules allow, enjoying a little time to relax with friends and family.
But we're deluged of late with dire pronouncements from high-profile
newscasts, documentaries, and scientific reports about global warming,
melting ice caps, dwindling oil supplies, and a looming imminent
economic collapse. Closer to home, we've experienced climate-related
disasters: floods, wildfires, hurricanes, wildfires, and severe droughts.
While the sky may not be falling, this day-after-day onslaught of
alarming news is making it more difficult simply to overlook the triple
threat of environmental, climatic and economic concerns. It's leaving
many of us feeling like Alice in Wonderland, being sucked down a Rabbit
Hole into some frighteningly grotesque and unfamiliar world that's
anything but wonderful.
Few of us are eager to contemplate, let alone truly face, these looming
changes. Just the threat of losing chunks of the comfortable way of life
we're accustomed to (or aspiring to) is a frightening-enough prospect.
But there's no avoiding the current facts and trends of the human and
planetary situation. And as the edges of our familiar reality begin to
ravel, more and more people are reacting psychologically. A noticeable
pattern of behavior is emerging.
We call this pattern the Waking Up Syndrome, and it unfolds in six
stages, though not necessarily in any particular order.
*Stage 1 - Denial.*
When we first get an inkling of the shifting environmental reality and
its potential impact on both the national economy and our daily lives,
most people begin by denying it. We slip into one of four common ways to
discount things we'd rather not deal with:
"I don't believe it."
We simply deny the existence of any such concerns and refuse to consider
them. This might include latching eagerly onto any few remaining
naysayers for confirmation and comfort. But as the number of reputable
naysayers dwindles, more people are forced to face the fact that
"something" is happening.
"It's not a problem."
We may admit there's a change taking place, but deny that it's
significant, seeing such things as climate change and economic
fluctuations as part of a normal pattern that is nothing to concern
ourselves with. Or we may incorporate the changes we see happening into
our spiritual and religious beliefs, regarding them not as a problem,
but a test of faith, a sign of a global spiritual awakening, or evidence
of a long-awaited Apocalypse. Some may believe focusing on such problems
makes them worse and that we should instead visualize, meditate, or pray
for the world to be as we want it to be.
"Someone will fix it."
We may admit major problematic changes are underway but conclude that
there's nothing we personally can do about them and we needn't worry
because technology, scientists, the government, or some expert authority
will come up with a solution in time to save us.
"It's useless."
We may believe there's nothing anyone can do about macro-problems, so
why do anything, except perhaps eat, drink and be merry. What will be,
will be.
*
**Stage 2 - Semi-consciousness.*
In spite of the various ways we may try to discount what's happening to
our environment (and consequently to our economy and whole way of life),
as evidence mounts around us and the news coverage escalates, we may
begin to feel a vague sense of eco-anxiety. Some express this as
virulent anger at all this discussion about global warming. Others
dissociate from their growing concern and misdirect their feelings
toward other things in their lives, perhaps blaming family members or
jobs for their undefined discomfort.
*Stage 3 - The moment of realization.*
At some point we may encounter something that breaks through our
defenses and brings the inevitability and severity of the implications
of our collective problems into full consciousness. We might read a
particularly compelling article, learn more about the aftermath of
Katrina, hear a news broadcast about polar bear deaths or rampant fires
and flooding, see a documentary like "An Inconvenient Truth" or "The End
of Suburbia." Or - most dramatically – we might experience a natural
disaster ourselves with all its personal and economic costs.
At such moments, suddenly we realize no matter how we try to explain
away the changes that are happening, they are and will be accompanied by
huge challenges to life as we know it and cause considerable pain and
suffering for many, including ourselves and those we love.
Even if we believe all these disruptions are leading to a global
spiritual awakening or a long awaited Apocalypse- even if we think some
helpful new technology is going to emerge (hopefully soon)- we
nonetheless begin to understand on a visceral level that the changes
taking place will have dramatically unpleasant implications beyond
anything we've faced in our lifetimes. In fact, we realize many of these
uncomfortable changes are already underway and will be growing in coming
months and years, affecting most of the things we love and cherish.
But like the character Neo in the 1999 movie The Matrix, even at this
point we still have a choice. We can choose to swallow the metaphorical
red pill and find out just how deep this rabbit hole goes and where it
leads. Or we can take the soothing metaphorical blue pill and choose to
"escape" from the nightmarish Wonderland of the rabbit hole we've fallen
into by slipping back into the comfort of our favorite form of assuring
ourselves that all is well.
But if, like Neo, we take "the red pill," we wake up to the reality of
our individual and collective situation. We get that the triple threat
challenge facing us is a real Medusa monster. Once we're awake, the
problem is full-blown in our consciousness. It's right in our face. It
won't let us turn away, and the force of it makes "waking up" incredibly
painful.
The moment we realize - even briefly - that we're slipping into a
dangerously threatening new world that no longer makes sense according
what we've always believed, our genetic wiring kicks in with predictable
physiological and emotional threat responses that can take many forms.
Some of us become obsessive newswatchers, documentary filmgoers,
internet compulsives or book readers, wanting to know more and more
about what's really happening. Loved ones may think we've gone nuts.
Spouses may consider divorce; kids may decide mom and dad are hopeless
cranks.
The more fragile or vulnerable among us may get depressed or experience
panic attacks. If something about this current eco-trauma retriggers
earlier traumas in our lives, we may have a Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) reaction. Even the more resilient may throw themselves
obsessively into save-the-planet and other activities, soon to become
exhausted and weary from trying to do what no one person can.
Others, once they realize what's happening, see it as a new business or
political opportunity. These green business ventures can sometimes be
helpful and productive, but at other times can actively circumvent or
sabotage the efforts of those who are trying to solve the problems.
*Stage 4 - A Point of No Return.*
Once awakened, especially as economic and environmental changes
intensify, most of us find there is no turning back. We find ourselves
traveling deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. Whatever methods we've
used to avoid facing the coming changes is no longer successful to quell
our personal concerns. We can no longer help but notice the continuing
rapid progress of the bad trends – more expensive energy, higher costs
of living, a weaker economy, more species in trouble, rising
temperatures, more devastating severe weather events, increasing
political, economic and military competition (wars) over remaining
resources, etc. It all starts to make a dreadful sort of sense as we
let in the enormity of the situation.
One of the most difficult aspects of this stage is the profound but
unavoidable sense of isolation and disconnection we may feel when living
in a different world from most of those around us, a world we can no
longer escape from, but one few others seem to notice. The result is a
bizarre sense of surrealism. Interaction and communication can become a
challenge. How do we relate to a world that's no longer real to us, but
is business as usual to most? Do we try to reach out to others about the
ugly new reality and endure their defenses? Is it better to indulge
those who don't yet see the reality we've stumbled into and act "as if"
nothing has changed just to get along? Or might it be easier to withdraw
from life as we've known it and turn into a hermit?
*5. Despair, guilt, hopelessness, powerlessness.*
The realization sets in that one person or even one group or community
can't stop the effects of such things as climate change and peak oil and
their economic consequences from impacting millions of people around the
planet and at home. We see this thing spiraling out of control and
realize that our species, and even we individually, are responsible for
much of what's happening! As the mayor of Memphis said to the Los
Angeles Times when a major heat-wave hit his city and most of the
Midwest and South last summer, "This is pretty akin to a seismic event
in the sense that there is no solution that we here in this room can
come up with that will take care of everybody."
Some have suggested that this stage is similar to the traditional grief
process, and indeed, this is a time of grieving. But there is a
significant difference between this awakening and the normal experience
of grief. Grief that occurs after a loss usually ends with acceptance of
what's been lost and then one adjusts and goes on. But this is more like
the process of accepting a degenerative illness. It's not a one-time
loss one can accommodate and simply move on. It is a chronic, on-going,
permanent situation that will not only not improve, but actually
continue to worsen and become more uncomfortable in the foreseeable
future, probably for the entire lifetime of most people living today.
This is what author James Howard Kunstler calls "The Long Emergency."
Our grief and sorrow are also amplified by having to bear the pain of
upbeat acquaintances who go merrily along in their denial, discounting
their own uneasiness about what's happening and wondering why we're so
"negative."
*Stage 6 - Acceptance, empowerment, action.*
As we come to accept the limits of our general powerlessness, we also
find the parameters of the power we do have in this strange new
situation. We discover we no longer need to resist our current and
emerging reality. We don't need to feel compelled to save the entire
world or to hold onto a world that no longer makes sense. We are freed,
instead, to pursue what James Kunstler calls "the intelligent response,
" seeking and taking whatever creative, constructive action will best
sustain those aspects of life that are truly most important to us in the
context of the changes unfolding around us. At this point our curiosity
and creativity kick in and we can begin following our natural instincts
to find what is both feasible and rewarding to safeguard ourselves, our
families, our communities and the planet.
And indeed, growing numbers of people are beginning to respond with a
plethora of creative, socially and personally responsible actions along
four paths that are similar to those identified by Joanna Macy in her
book World as Lover, World as Self: Courage for Global Justice and
Ecological Renewal and Richard Heinberg in Peak Everything: Waking up to
the Century of Declines. We are finding individual and collective ways to:
*Resist making matters worse.*
What's going on may or may not be inevitable, but we don't have to speed
it along. We can do at least one thing to ease or lessen the negative
impact of these changes. We can join an environmental action group,
plant a tree, bike to work, help with a protest march or write letters
to our congressperson. Just doing our little bit to limit the damage
eases the psychological distress we're feeling, even if we're not
"saving the whole world." Taking even a small stand for what Macy calls
"the life-sustaining society" (as opposed to the life-destroying one)
gives us back our dignity and sense of agency.
Raise our level of consciousness so we can maintain some serenity and
not burn out in the midst of all this change. We might adopt a spiritual
practice of some kind, take up meditation, expand our understanding of
ecology or history, or spend time reconnecting with nature, learning to
live our lives in harmony with the rest of the earth.
*Build a lifeboat for ourselves and our loved ones.*
Many people are already taking steps to create a richer yet more
sustainable way of life better suited to weathering the new economic and
environmental realities. Some are moving to less vulnerable or expensive
locales. Others are simplifying their lives, starting to lower their
energy use, or creating personal and community permaculture gardens.
Still others are changing into more sustainable careers, joining
relocalization efforts to safeguard their local economy, or adopting
alternative ways to exchange needed goods and services. Learning more
about these positive possibilities is vital. Until we can see that there
are options, there's no way out of despair except to return to
dissociating or denying, which only makes us more vulnerable to the
difficulties around us.
*Join with others in small communities*
for support and understanding. Don't try to cope with this enormous
challenge alone! Find others who share your concerns and views. Some
people have formed reading or study groups around books like David
Korten's The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, Richard
Heinberg's Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World,
Cecile Andrews' Circle of Simplicity: Return to the Good Life, or Middle
Class Life Boat by Paul and Sarah Edwards. Others are becoming active in
relocalization efforts like those described on www.relocalize.net .
Still others are joining together to turn their neighborhood into a
sustainable "eco-hood" or exploring options for co-housing or eco-villages.
http://www.hopedance.org/home/soul-news/413-the-waking-up-syndrome
see also commentary with links, by author Linda Buzzell
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-buzzell/the-waking-up-syndrome_b_248073.html
[Parody Project music video]
*Confounds the Science - (Parody of) Sound of Silence - REMIX
<https://youtu.be/57jRBt4h6ks>*
Confounds the Science Video - Art Garfunkel played by Don Caron; Paul
Simon played by Linda Gower.
http://parodyproject.com/subscribe -
LYRICS to CONFOUNDS THE SCIENCE (Written by Don Caron)
Hello darkness my old friend.
It's time for him to tweet again,
but first he'll have to check in with fox news
'cause that's the only place he gets his clues.
That's how things get planted in his brain,
where they remain,
and it confounds the science.
The problem is he's not alone.
He tweets to people on his phone
that global warming is a giant hoax
perpetuated by the liberal folks,
and he hires people that all think the same,
that play his game
and it confounds the science.
When he talks to crowds of four
he sees ten thousand maybe more,
believing they all think he's god on earth
and was the product of a virgin birth
and if you disagree you're the victim of fake news
or feminist shrews
and it confounds the science.
"Fools," says he, "you do not know
it makes me smart from so much dough.
I know exactly where the problems are."
But his solutions are beyond bizarre
'cause his words never quite a sentence make
and thus he spake
and it confounds the science.
No limits on pollution now.
There's not a thing we don't allow.
Dump the garbage in the waterway.
Spray the toxins where your children play.
All the signs say that life on the planet is headed for a downward fall.
Go to the mall,
and continue to confound the science.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ORIGINAL SONG - Sound of Silence by Simon and
Garfunkel
The Sound of Silence was released in 1964 on Simon & Garfunkel's first
album release, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. The Album was a flop and only
sold around two thousand copies. The song had been written a year
earlier and the duo had ample opportunity to hone and perfect it before
they recorded it. After the album failed the duo split up. Paul Simon
relocated in Great Britain and Garfunkel went back to college.
A year later, inspired by the Byrds' version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" (a
Dylan song), Wilson, the producer of the Simon & Garfunkel album decided
to release The Sound of Silence again with some amped up guitar parts.
This new version was an instant hit. The two got together back in the
States and set out to create a follow-up hit, which they did, with "I am
a Rock." Both songs were released on an album titled "Sounds of Silence"
in 1965.
https://youtu.be/57jRBt4h6ks
*This Day in Climate History December 17, 2013
<http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/obama-and-climate-change-the-real-story-20131217#ixzz2nl3ftoNX>
- from D.R. Tucker*
December 17, 2013: In a RollingStone.com piece also printed in the
December 19, 2013 edition of the magazine, Bill McKibben observes that
President Obama's climate commitment is compromised:
"If you want to understand how people will remember the Obama climate
legacy, a few facts tell the tale: By the time Obama leaves office,
the U.S. will pass Saudi Arabia as the planet's biggest oil producer
and Russia as the world's biggest producer of oil and gas combined. In
the same years, even as we've begun to burn less coal at home, our
coal exports have climbed to record highs. We are, despite slight
declines in our domestic emissions, a global-warming machine: At the
moment when physics tell us we should be jamming on the carbon brakes,
America is revving the engine."
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/obama-and-climate-change-the-real-story-20131217#ixzz2nl3ftoNX
/
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