[TheClimate.Vote] December 31, 2017 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

Sun Dec 31 08:39:57 EST 2017

/December 31, 2017
/
[Polar Bear Dip and Dash]
*Mainers Jump in Frigid Waters to Fight Global Warming 
<http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2017-12-29/climate-change-air-quality/mainers-jump-in-frigid-waters-to-fight-global-warming/a60828-1>*
PORTLAND, Maine - Intrepid runners will be ringing out the old year this 
Sunday by taking a dip in icy waters to raise money for the fight 
against climate change.
With temperatures expected to be right around zero-degrees Fahrenheit, 
it promises to be the coldest Polar Bear Dip yet. The annual event is 
held every December 31 to raise money to support the work of the Natural 
Resources Council of Maine, the state's leading environmental advocacy 
organization.
According to Stacie Haines, the group's membership director, the 5K jog 
to the water's edge makes this event unique.
"A lot of runners come out for a fun-filled, sometimes slippery, 
sometimes snowy run around the Back Cove in Portland, and then we all 
meet at the beach at noon to jump into the ocean," she says.
So far, 140 Mainers have registered to participate in Sunday's Polar 
Bear Dip and Dash.
Haines says the funds raised will help the work they do with lawmakers 
and local communities to protect clean water and promote clean energy in 
the state.
"We're working to get proactive environmental bills passed and stop 
rollbacks to the environment," she explains. "We're working a lot right 
now on pushing solar energy in Maine."
They also work to protect wildlife and promote sustainability projects 
such as promoting alternatives to plastic bags.
Haines points out that being separate from the federal and state 
government allows independent organizations to concentrate on what's 
needed to protect, preserve and restore the environment.
"Organizations like ours are able to watchdog what's happening and take 
a non-biased approach at bringing light to these issues," she adds.
She says Sunday's event is already close to meeting its $25,000 
fundraising goal.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2017-12-29/climate-change-air-quality/mainers-jump-in-frigid-waters-to-fight-global-warming/a60828-1

[Video]
*'The Simpsons' Shut Down Trump's Climate Change Tweet 8 Years Ago 
<https://www.inverse.com/article/39780-donald-trump-climate-change-global-warming-tweet-simpsons>*
Peter Hess
On Thursday evening, President Trump took to Twitter to drop some 
climate change knowledge and debunk the notion that the Earth is 
warming. Unfortunately, he got the facts wrong in the same way that 
Homer Simpson got global warming wrong eight years ago.
"Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming," 
tweeted President Trump, referring to the record low temperatures on the 
East Coast of the United States as 2017 comes to a close....
Similarly, in episode 449 of The Simpsons, "O Brother, Where Bart Thou?" 
Homer tries to rag on Lisa, the household liberal, by pointing out the 
falling snow as evidence that climate change must not be real...
"Gee Lisa, looks like tomorrow I'll be shoveling ten feet of 'global 
warming,'" says Homer, clearly quite pleased with himself.- video clip: 
Homer Simpson on global warming <https://youtu.be/9SLbEDMZMAk> 
https://youtu.be/9SLbEDMZMAk
*"Global warming can cause weather at both extremes — hot and cold," 
Lisa calmly explains.*
the climate is not the same thing as the weather. A single day of snow 
or cold here or there, which we'd refer to as weather, doesn't say much 
about overall trends, which is what scientists call climate. Just 
because we still get snow doesn't mean that the Earth isn't warming, on 
average. This is the same scientific fallacy that President Trump seems 
to either not understand or not care to accurately convey to his 
followers...
While it is really cold outside in a lot of the East Coast states, that 
does nothing to disprove "good old Global Warming," as the president 
puts it. This phrase, an apparent attempt to belittle the notion of 
climate change, suggests that Homer J. Simpson and President Donald J. 
Trump possess similar levels of scientific literacy and intellectual 
honesty.
https://www.inverse.com/article/39780-donald-trump-climate-change-global-warming-tweet-simpsons
-
[The Weather Network]
*Dear RealDonaldTrump: We're officially mad 
<https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/donald-trump-usa-republican-administration-gop-climate-change-twitter-tweet-global-warming-extreme-cold/92636>*
Chris Scott, Chief Meteorologist
...Mr. Trump, you've really done it this time. The meteorologists are mad.
One tweet storm at 3 a.m. doesn't necessarily mean a person has a 
hostile personality: Maybe they've just had a bad day.  That's like the 
weather. A record cold New Year's Eve doesn't make global warming any 
less real...
The fact is, the planet is warming.
But in the spirit of discussion, what we need is less blame and more 
work on making our future better.  To start, we should all rise above 
connecting every bad weather system to the existence or absence of 
climate change.  We could do so much more by agreeing there is a 
problem, and tackling it together.
Sincerely,
Chris Scott, Meteorologist
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/donald-trump-usa-republican-administration-gop-climate-change-twitter-tweet-global-warming-extreme-cold/92636

[Reposting: Jeff Goodell - videos]
*"No One is Thinking About the Future" 
<https://climatecrocks.com/2017/12/30/reposting-jeff-goodell-no-one-is-thinking-about-the-future/>*
 From Peter Sinclair:
Jeff Goodell's book "The Water Will Come" became a best seller this year.
Here are excerpts of the interviews I did with him in Miami as he 
researched the book.
Jeff Goodell: In Florida, No One is Thinking about the Future 
<https://youtu.be/nk-d_m3IccY> https://youtu.be/nk-d_m3IccY
Jeff Goodell on Miami Beach Sea Level Flooding 
<https://youtu.be/jCIiK3mKUug> https://youtu.be/jCIiK3mKUug
Jeff Goodell Near Ilulissat Glacier 
<https://youtu.be/vbOuCPh_34U>https://youtu.be/vbOuCPh_34U
Flying along Ilulissat Glacier calving front 
<https://youtu.be/xyzk57piapo> https://youtu.be/xyzk57piapo
During the first Dark Snow Project expedition to Greenland, Jeff Goodell 
joined us on the day when we flew along one of the world's fastest 
flowing ice streams.
I handed Jeff a camera, and he took this shot.
https://climatecrocks.com/2017/12/30/reposting-jeff-goodell-no-one-is-thinking-about-the-future/
-
[video]
Reposting 2017: Extremes Rising Globally <https://youtu.be/9O7DIFUs11U>
New York Times journalist Keith Schneider gave me one of the best 
interviews of 2017. Here's a clip. <https://youtu.be/9O7DIFUs11U>
https://youtu.be/9O7DIFUs11U
Journalist Keith Schneider has reported from across the planet on Energy 
and Climate for decades.  He describes impacts of massive hydrological 
disruptions due to climate change in far flung areas.
https://climatecrocks.com/2017/12/30/reposting-2017-extremes-rising-globally/

[Reuters]
*Climate change cases predicted to make a legal splash in 2018 
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-climatechange-lawsuit/climate-change-cases-predicted-to-make-a-legal-splash-in-2018-idUSKBN1EM0IZ>*
Sophie Hares, Sebastien Malo
6 MIN READ
NEW YORK/TEPIC, Mexico (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A clutch of 
high-profile legal cases over responsibility for the effects of climate 
change will be fought out in courtrooms next year as claims stack up 
against both governments and some of the world's biggest oil and energy 
companies.
Lawsuits in the United States brought by young activists and several 
Californian cities are most likely to make waves, but legal action by a 
Peruvian farmer in Germany and Greenpeace in Norway could also cause 
ripples, said lawyers and academics.
"There is a trend towards more litigation around climate change, and 
probably the lack of political action in the United States may increase 
that trend," said Sophie Marjanac, a London-based lawyer at non-profit 
environmental law group ClientEarth.
"Where there's an abdication of leadership on climate action, I think 
the courts will have a greater role to play," she told the Thomson 
Reuters Foundation.
Lawyers and campaigners are closely watching the looming legal battles 
they say could set the stage for fresh claims against major oil and 
industrial companies, and pressure governments to ramp up action on 
climate change.
With U.S. President Donald Trump and his cabinet members named as 
defendants, the Juliana v. United States case brought by 21 young 
activists from Oregon is set to be one of the most closely followed in 2018.
In the federal case, scheduled for trial in February, the plaintiffs 
hope to establish that the government's climate change policies have 
failed to protect their constitutional right to live in a habitable 
environment.
The case remains locked in legal limbo, however, as the government tries 
to block it from proceeding.
Lawyers and academics say Juliana builds on the groundbreaking Urgenda 
case brought by hundreds of Dutch citizens in 2015, which saw the 
government ordered by a district court to accelerate reductions of 
greenhouse gas emissions.
However, that outcome is now being appealed, with a decision likely 
early next year.
Elsewhere, a January judgment is expected in a case brought by 
Greenpeace Nordic and environmental group Nature and Youth against 
Norway, which they claim has breached its pledge to combat climate 
change by granting oil and gas exploration rights.
*HISTORY REPEATING?*
Some lawyers and researchers say claims seeking specific damages from 
energy and industrial companies for actions that may have contributed to 
climate change could have a bigger impact than constitutional cases.
A successful ruling against a heavyweight corporate could potentially 
unleash a wave of similar claims, say case watchers, who reference 
long-running fights against tobacco, asbestos and pesticide 
manufacturers over harm to human health.
At least seven Californian cities and counties have brought lawsuits 
against major fossil fuel companies. San Francisco and Oakland are 
seeking billions of dollars to help protect against rising sea levels 
they blame on climate change.
"Why should taxpayers and impacted communities alone bear the growing 
costs of climate impacts when fossil fuel companies have played an 
outsized role in making the problem worse?" said Peter Frumhoff, 
director of science and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, 
after Santa Cruz city and county both filed lawsuits this month.
Tracy Hester, a lecturer at the University of Houston Law Center, said 
such claims could "redefine the rules of the game".
"They're essentially not trying to bring a global claim that's going to 
lock up all these issues in one court... they're different in that 
they're seeking damages," he said.
Trump's move to pull out of the Paris climate change accord and roll 
back environmental regulations means campaigners are increasingly 
resorting to litigation, as they did under former President George W. 
Bush, said case watchers.
*MITIGATION NOT LITIGATION*
While climate-related suits are not new, scientific advances could 
bolster plaintiffs as they try to pin responsibility for climate change 
on particular polluters.
A German court has agreed to hear evidence in a case brought by Peruvian 
farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya against RWE AG, asking the power giant to pay 
to reinforce a lake above his village dangerously swollen by glacial 
melt he says is caused by global warming the company contributed to.
Yet while there has been a steady rise in cases seeking to hold 
corporations and governments to account, few make it to court and legal 
action is largely limited to richer countries.
Despite a few exceptions - including a farmer who successfully sued 
Pakistan's government in 2015 - mitigating rather than litigating 
against climate change is favored in poorer countries where legal 
success is less likely, according to Cosmin Corendea, a legal expert at 
the United Nations University in Bonn.
But the knock-on effect of rulings on companies and governments could 
eventually be felt around the world, including in countries already 
struggling with climate change impacts.
"The decision of the court echoes," said Corendea. "It's important in 
climate change litigation to have this kind of momentum."
Reporting by Sophie Hares and Sebastien Malo; editing by Megan Rowling. 
Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of 
Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, 
resilience, women's rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit 
news.trust.org/climate
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-climatechange-lawsuit/climate-change-cases-predicted-to-make-a-legal-splash-in-2018-idUSKBN1EM0IZ

*
*[Interactive Map]*
Geoengineering Map <https://map.geoengineeringmonitor.org/>*
This interactive geoengineering map, prepared by ETC Group and the 
Heinrich Boell Foundation, is an attempt to shed light on the worldwide 
state of geoengineering by showing the scope of research and 
experimentation. There is no complete record of weather and climate 
control projects so this map is necessarily partial. It builds on an 
earlier map of Earth Systems Experimentation published in 2012. That 
original map documented almost 300 projects and experiments related to 
the field of geoengineering. Five years later over 800 such projects can 
be identified. These include projects in Carbon Capture, Solar Radiation 
Management, Weather Modification and other approaches.
For more information and background on geoengineering and its 
ecological, economic, social and justice implications see 
geoengineeringmonitor.org
https://map.geoengineeringmonitor.org/

*This Day in Climate History December 31, 2013 
<http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/dec/31/2013-climate-change-science-policy-review>  
-  from D.R. Tucker*
In The Guardian, Dana Nuccitelli notes:

    "As 2013 comes to a close, a review of the key climate events of the
    year reveals some interesting new research and effective myth
    debunking, but little net progress in terms of addressing the problem
    through policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/dec/31/2013-climate-change-science-policy-review
/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
//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/20171231/1199561c/attachment.html>