[TheClimate.Vote] December 27, 2017 -- Daily Global Warming News Digest

[Richard Pauli]

/December 27, 2017
/
*US government climate report looks at how the oceans are buffering 
climate change 
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/dec/26/us-government-climate-report-looks-at-how-the-oceans-are-buffering-climate-change>*
A key chapter of the US Global Change Research Program Report deals with 
how the oceans are being impacted by human carbon pollution
The oceans are important because they act as a buffer; that is, they 
absorb much of the effects of greenhouse gases. In fact, the oceans 
absorb a lot of human carbon pollution. This is a big help for us 
because without the oceans, the climate would change much faster...
Since the oceans absorb so much of our carbon pollution and the 
resulting heat (93% of the extra heat), they turn a short-term problem 
into a long-term problem....
The pollution we emit today will have effects for many years (partly 
because of the oceans). We cannot just stop emitting pollution and think 
this problem will immediately go away. We have to plan ahead. And, 
importantly, we have to stop emitting before most of the effects are 
evident.
-  the oceans are absorbing almost all the heat from greenhouse gases...
-  the heat may lead to major changes in the ocean currents...
-  the oceans are absorbing a lot of the human carbon pollution... the 
oceans are becoming more acidic 
<https://skepticalscience.com/ocean-acidification-global-warming-intermediate.htm>. 

-   the observed decrease in the amount of oxygen in the ocean waters... 
near the coasts, ...we may see as much as 3.5% decrease in oxygen.
The report is freely available <http://www.globalchange.gov/>, and the 
chapters clearly separate out different topics. I encourage people to 
download and rely upon this resource which presents an up-to-date 
understanding of climate change <http://www.globalchange.gov/>.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/dec/26/us-government-climate-report-looks-at-how-the-oceans-are-buffering-climate-change
-
[GlobalChange.gov]
*Read it now  NCA4 Review and Comment Now Open 
<https://www.globalchange.gov/>*
Review and comment on the public draft of Volume II of the Fourth 
National Climate Assessment, Climate Change Impacts, Risks, and 
Adaptation in the United States. The deadline for providing comment is 
January 31, 2018.
http://www.globalchange.gov/


[wildfires]
*Wet winters may not dampen small wildfires 
<https://phys.org/news/2017-12-winters-dampen-small-wildfires.html#jCp>*
December 22, 2017 by Carol Rasmussen, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASA scientists conducting research on the connection between fuel 
moisture and fires have uncovered a paradox: a wet winter corresponds to 
more small wildfires in the following fire season, not fewer, as is 
commonly assumed. Large fires behave more "logically," with fewer large 
fires after a wet winter and more after a dry one...
Jensen and co-authors correlated records of wildfire occurrences across 
the contiguous United States from 2003 through 2012 with soil moisture 
measurements from the U.S./German Gravity Recovery and Climate 
Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission and U.S. Geological Survey data on 
vegetation and landscape types. They found that although each landscape 
type varied in average soil moisture and average number of fires, in 
every landscape type, the number of small fires increased after a wet 
pre-season...
Jensen explained that a wet winter causes grasses and other small plants 
to grow profusely. These plants dry out and die at the end of the 
growing season, leaving abundant fuel for a wildfire. Trees and larger 
shrubs, however, retain more moisture after a wet winter. That might 
hamper the ability of small fires to grow into large ones in landscapes 
containing trees...
Data assimilation, a technique commonly used with weather forecasting 
models, adds ongoing observational data throughout the course of a 
simulation to keep a model on track...
https://phys.org/news/2017-12-winters-dampen-small-wildfires.html#jCp


[OilPrice.com]
*Oil Major: 70% Of Crude Can Be Left In The Ground 
<https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Oil-Major-70-Of-Crude-Can-Be-Left-In-The-Ground.html>*
By Nick Cunningham
Canada's oil sands are too dirty to be produced, and should probably 
stay in the ground.
That has long been the sentiment of environmental groups, but it is also 
gaining acceptance even among some of the largest oil companies in the 
world.
"A lot of fossil fuels will have to stay in the ground, coal obviously … 
but you will also see oil and gas being left in the ground, that is 
natural," Statoil's CEO Eldar Saetre told Reuters in an interview. "At 
Statoil we are not pursuing certain types of resources, we are not 
exploring for heavy oil or investing in oilsands. It is really about 
accessing the most carbon-efficient barrels."
Meanwhile, Statoil is under pressure at home on another front: its 
Arctic wells in the Barents Sea have come up dry, capping off a highly 
disappointing drilling season.
If heavy oil and oil sands are to be left unproduced, then a lot of oil 
will need to stay in the ground. According to the USGS, about 70 percent 
of the world's discovered oil reserves are in the form of heavy oil and 
bitumen. Much of that comes from Venezuela - one of the last places in 
the world that an oil company wants to do business in these days - and 
Canada...
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Oil-Major-70-Of-Crude-Can-Be-Left-In-The-Ground.html


[CH4]
*It's in the Air! Record Methane Emissions Trigger Norwegian Climate 
Alarm 
<https://sputniknews.com/environment/201712251060304709-norway-methane-climate-change/>*
25.12.2017
Ever-rising emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, have 
triggered the concern of Norwegian climate researchers, who suggest its 
effect can exceed that of carbon dioxide, which is more commonly blamed 
for global warming...
While the international emphasis in fighting climate change has been 
almost exclusive placed on carbon dioxide, its fellow greenhouse gas 
methane remains largely overlooked. A new study by the Norwegian 
Environment Agency has indicated a record high concentration of methane 
in the atmosphere, which may have far-reaching consequences, the 
national broadcaster NRK reported...
According to the research carried out by the Norwegian Institute for Air 
Research (NILU) on behalf of the country's Environment Agency, methane's 
power to absorb the heat emanating from the sun is 25 percent stronger 
that previously assumed, which means that the greenhouse gas, which is 
32 times stronger than carbon dioxide, plays a greater role in climate 
change, as its concentration is also on the rise...
Methane (CH4) is currently listed as the second-largest contributor to 
man-made greenhouse emissions after carbon dioxide. Natural sources 
account for about 40 percent of the annual global emissions of methane. 
In Norway alone, methane accounts for one-tenth of the environmental 
footprint...
https://sputniknews.com/environment/201712251060304709-norway-methane-climate-change/


[Climate Risk Index]
*Global Climate Risk Index 2017 <https://germanwatch.org/en/12978>*
Who suffers most from extreme weather events? Weather-related loss 
events in 2015 and 1996 to 2015
The Global Climate Risk Index 2017 analyses to what extent countries 
have been affected by the impacts of weather-related loss events 
(storms, floods, heat waves etc.). The most recent data available - from 
2015 and 1996-2015 - were taken into account. The countries affected 
most in 2015 were Mozambique, Dominica as well as Malawi. For the period 
from 1996 to 2015 Honduras, Myanmar and Haiti rank highest.
This year's 12th edition of the analysis reconfirms that, according to 
the Climate Risk Index, less developed countries are generally more 
affected than industrialised countries. Regarding future climate change, 
the Climate Risk Index may serve as a red flag for already existing 
vulnerability that may further increase in regions where extreme events 
will become more frequent or more severe due to climate change. While 
some vulnerable developing countries are frequently hit by extreme 
events, there are also some others where such disasters are a rare 
occurrence.
The climate summit in Marrakesh is giving the "go-ahead" on developing 
the "rule-book" for the Paris Agreement, including the global adaptation 
goal, adaptation communication systems, and finance assessment systems 
for building resilience. A review on the UNFCCC's work on loss and 
damage provides the opportunity to better detail the next 5-year's work 
on loss and damage, in relation to the climate regime, as well as to 
better understand exactly how loss and damage should be taken up under 
the Paris Agreement.
Download: Global Climate Risk Index 2017 [PDF, 1,45 MB] 
<https://germanwatch.org/en/download/16411.pdf>
https://germanwatch.org/en/12978


*This Day in Climate History December 27, 2014 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/27/us/bipartisan-effort-to-restrict-lobbyists-influence-of-attorneys-general.html> 
-  from D.R. Tucker*
December 27, 2014
The New York Times reports:

    "In state legislatures and major professional associations, a
    bipartisan effort is emerging to change the way state attorneys
    general interact with lobbyists, campaign donors and other corporate
    representatives.

    "This month, during a closed-door meeting of the National Association
    of Attorneys General, officials voted to stop accepting corporate
    sponsorships. In Missouri, a bill has been introduced that would
    require the attorney general, as well as certain other state
    officials, to disclose within 48 hours any political contribution
    worth more than $500. And in Washington State, legislation is being
    drafted to bar attorneys general who leave office from lobbying their
    former colleagues for a year.

    "Perhaps most significant, a White House ethics lawyer in the
    administration of George W. Bush has asked the American Bar
    Association to change its national code of conduct to prohibit
    attorneys general from discussing continuing investigations or other
    official matters while participating in fund-raising events at resort
    destinations, as they often now do. Those measures could be adopted in
    individual states.

    "The actions follow a series of articles in The New York Times that
    examined how lawyers and lobbyists — from major corporations, energy
    companies and even plaintiffs’ law firms — have increasingly tried to
    influence state attorneys general."

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/27/us/bipartisan-effort-to-restrict-lobbyists-influence-of-attorneys-general.html

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