[TheClimate.Vote] Feb 18, 2017 - Daily Global Warming News for All -

Sat Feb 18 10:20:34 EST 2017

/News clips to help you stay well-informed about global warming -  
Please forward this email.  February 18, 2017
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    Scott Pruitt, longtime adversary of EPA, confirmed to lead the
    agency
    <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/02/17/scott-pruitt-long-time-adversary-of-epa-confirmed-to-lead-the-agency/>

Washington Post 	 -‎2 hours ago‎ 	

    Scott Pruitt, who as Oklahoma's attorney general spent years suing
    the Environmental Protection Agency over its efforts to regulate
    various forms of pollution, was confirmed Friday as the agency's
    next administrator.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy-firms-in-secretive-alliance-with-attorneys-general.html
    *Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General
    <https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy-firms-in-secretive-alliance-with-attorneys-general.html>*
    http://maplight.org/content/epa-nominee-pruitt-received-more-than-350000-from-energy-sources-in-oklahoma-races
    *EPA Nominee Pruitt Received More Than $350,000 from Energy Sources
    in Oklahoma Races
    <http://maplight.org/content/epa-nominee-pruitt-received-more-than-350000-from-energy-sources-in-oklahoma-races>*
    February 16, 2017 - President Donald Trump's choice to lead the
    Environmental Protection Agency has received $352,946 in
    contributions from members of the energy and natural resources
    sector since 2001, according to a MapLight analysis of data from the
    National Institute of Money in State Politics.
    The majority of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt's
    contributions from the energy sector in his campaigns came from the
    oil and gas industry, which donated $276,611. Donations from
    electric utilities, the next-highest donor group, totaled $42,385.

https://www.followthemoney.org/research/blog/energy-interests-power-pruitt/
*Energy Interests Power Pruitt 
<https://www.followthemoney.org/research/blog/energy-interests-power-pruitt/>*

    Pruitt, who clashed with the Obama administration over its EPA
    regulations and has questioned the legitimacy of the scientific
    consensus around climate change, has received major backing from the
    energy and natural resources sector over the course of his career.
    In fact, the sector ranks second among all interests contributing to
    Pruitt.
    The Institute has contributions data on Scott Pruitt since he won
    reelection to the Oklahoma State Senate in 2002. Contributions from
    the energy and natural resources sector increased in each of his
    subsequent campaigns for lieutenant governor and attorney general.
    In total, energy and natural resources interests accounted for 12
    percent of Pruitt's campaign contributions during his attorney
    general campaigns, matching the 12 percent they accounted for in all
    his campaigns combined. To put that in perspective, attorney general
    candidates nationwide have received just three percent of their
    contributions from energy and natural resources interests since 2000

http://climatenewsnetwork.net/canadas-glacial-ice-loss-sea-level/
*Canada's glacial ice loss raises sea level 
<http://climatenewsnetwork.net/canadas-glacial-ice-loss-sea-level/>*

    Dramatic increase in ice loss from the Arctic glaciers of Canada's
    northernmost archipelago is now a major contributor to sea level
    rise.   By Tim Radford
    LONDON, 17 February, 2017 – Glaciers on Canada's Queen Elizabeth
    Islands are melting at an ever faster rate. Between 2005 and 2015,
    ice loss accelerated massively from three billion tonnes a year to
    30 billion, according to new research.
    The islands, which make up Canada's northernmost archipelago, are
    home to a quarter of all the Arctic ice − second only to Greenland.
    And the flow of meltwater there from what once were frozen rivers is
    now a major contributor to sea level rise.
    Scientists report in Environmental Research Letters journal that
    they used satellite data from 1991 to 2015, and ice thickness data...

https://www.propublica.org/article/childs-play-team-trump-rewrites-a-department-of-energy-website-for-kids

    Child's Play: Team Trump Rewrites a Department of Energy Website for
    Kids
    <https://www.propublica.org/article/childs-play-team-trump-rewrites-a-department-of-energy-website-for-kids>

ProPublica 	 -‎11 hours ago‎ 	

    On a page dedicated to coal, the following sentences were deleted:
    "In the United States, most of the coal consumed is used as a fuel
    to generate electricity. Burning coal produces emissions that
    adversely affect the environment and human health."...
    The two pie charts that were axed showed that although coal
    generated only 42 percent of total U.S. electricity in 2014, it
    created 76 percent of total carbon dioxide emissions linked to
    electricity generation....
    "Impact" seems to have been a word the new administration disliked
    in particular...
    The sentence "Reuse and recycling can also reduce coal's
    environmental impact" was changed to "Reuse and recycling can also
    reduce the environmental effects of coal production and use."
    "Underground mines have less of an impact on the environment
    compared to surface mines" became "Underground mines generally have
    a lesser effect on the landscape compared to surface mines."
    "Impacts of coal mining" was changed to "Effects of coal mining,"
    and "Reducing the environmental impacts of coal use" became
    "Reducing the environmental effects of coal use."..
    In a section on oil, the sentence, "There are environmental concerns
    associated with hydraulic fracturing" became "Hydraulic fracturing
    has some effects on the environment."..
    On a separate kids' page for greenhouse gases, a paragraph detailing
    the U.S. share of global carbon dioxide emissions was also deleted:
    "The United States, with 4 percent of the world's population,
    produced about 17 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions from
    burning fossil fuels in 2011, the most recent year for which global
    data are available. The United States has the world's largest
    economy and meets 83 percent of its energy needs by burning fossil
    fuels."..
    Another change involved shrinking a paragraph into footnote-sized
    font. The minimized text includes a description of methane as "a
    strong greenhouse gas" that results from coal mining. In the same
    paragraph, the sentence "Learn more about greenhouse gas emissions"
    — along with a link to the EIA's page on "Where Greenhouse Gases
    Come From" — was deleted.
    The EIA, which is part of the Department of Energy, bills itself as
    a "statistical and analytical agency" that distributes "independent
    and impartial energy information" for use in policymaking and in
    educating the public.
    The Trump administration, it seems, wasn't altogether impressed with
    the site or its awards. In recent weeks, language on the website
    describing the environmental impacts of energy sources has been
    reworked, and two pie charts concerning the link between coal and
    greenhouse gas emissions have been removed altogether.

https://envirodatagov.org/
*The Environmental Data and Governance Initiative (EDGI) 
<https://envirodatagov.org/>*

    The Environmental Data and Governance Initiative (EDGI) is an
    international network of academics and non-profits addressing
    potential threats to federal environmental and energy policy, and to
    the scientific research infrastructure built to investigate, inform,
    and enforce.  Dismantling this infrastructure — which ranges from
    databases to satellites to models for climate, air, and water —
    could imperil the public's right to know, the United States'
    standing as a scientific leader, corporate accountability, and
    environmental protection.

http://www.npr.org/2017/02/17/515621902/in-massachusetts-coastal-residents-consider-how-to-adapt-to-climate-change
*(audio) In Massachusetts, Coastal Residents Consider How To Adapt To 
Climate Change 
<http://www.npr.org/2017/02/17/515621902/in-massachusetts-coastal-residents-consider-how-to-adapt-to-climate-change>*

    Living by the ocean might sound nice, but in the era of climate
    change, it's a risky proposition...
    As sea levels rise, coastal residents are faced with tough choices:
    try to fortify their homes, move to higher ground or just pull up
    roots and leave...
    Climate scientists predict that devastation of these areas from
    storms will become more common. Higher seas mean even a less
    powerful storm could push the tides up over Nahant's seawalls....

https://www.hakaimagazine.com/article-short/arctic-shipping-traffic-has-been-rising-decades
*Arctic Shipping Traffic Has Been Rising for Decades 
<https://www.hakaimagazine.com/article-short/arctic-shipping-traffic-has-been-rising-decades>*

    The opening of the Arctic Ocean is not a new phenomenon.
      Researchers in Ontario have conducted the first detailed,
    long-term spatial analysis of shipping activity in Canada's icy
    northern waters and their results show that Arctic shipping has been
    on the rise for longer than many of us realize. Conversely, the
    research shows that some areas of the Canadian Arctic—including most
    of the northern route of the fabled Northwest Passage—are still
    essentially no-go zones.

The latest NOAA ENSO forecast (02/13/2017):
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/lanina/enso_evolution-status-fcsts-web.pdf

http://gizmodo.com/gigantic-bats-die-upside-down-make-australias-heatwave-1792269548
*Gigantic Bats Are Dying Upside Down, Making Australia's Heatwave Look 
Like a Horror Movie 
<http://gizmodo.com/gigantic-bats-die-upside-down-make-australias-heatwave-1792269548>*

    If you've ever seen Australia's grey-headed flying fox, you know
    that they're absolutely terrifying. With an average wingspan of over
    3 feet, these threatened animals are sometimes called megabats. But
    you haven't really seen terrifying until you've seen the flying fox
    dying by the hundreds, which is precisely what's happening Down
    Under right now....
    Most of Australia is experiencing an absolutely insane heatwave this
    weekend. And while there are some heartening images being circulated
    on social media, like of this koala getting a drink of water from a
    helpful human friend, the deaths of the gigantic freak bats is both
    sad and haunting to watch.

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/17/murray-energy-ceo-claims-global-warming-is-a-hoax.html

    Murray Energy CEO claims *global warming* is a hoax, says 4000
    scientists tell him so
    <http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/17/murray-energy-ceo-claims-global-warming-is-a-hoax.html>

CNBC 	 -‎5 hours ago‎ 	

    Murray Energy Chairman and CEO Robert Murray on Friday claimed
    global warming is a hoax and repeated a debunked claim that the
    phenomenon cannot exist because the Earth's surface is cooling.
    Murray's claim that there is no scientific analysis behind climate
    change is not true.
    His second claim that Earth is cooling is also false.
    "The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2.0
    degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th
    century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and
    other human-made emissions into the atmosphere," NASA and NOAA said.

http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/abuses_of_science/scientists-sign-on-statement.html 
*
This Day in Climate History  February 18, 2004 
<http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/abuses_of_science/scientists-sign-on-statement.html>-  
from D.R. Tucker
*

    **Sixty scientists, including several Nobel laureates, issue a joint
    statement denouncing the George W. Bush administration for
    distorting, downplaying and disregarding scientific findings on such
    issues as human-caused climate change.
    http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/abuses_of_science/scientists-sign-on-statement.html

*
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