[TheClimate.Vote] June 30, 2017 - Daily Global Warming News

[Richard Pauli]

/June 30, 2017/

*Climate change in the U.S. could help the rich and hurt the poor 
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/06/29/climate-change-in-the-u-s-could-help-the-rich-and-hurt-the-poor/>* 

Washington Post
Researchers have long warned that unmitigated climate change could cause 
severe financial hardship to the United States in coming decades. But a 
new study published Thursday in the journal Science details how global 
warming could disproportionately affect poor areas of the country, 
contributing to widening economic inequality among Americans.
"The poor regions will get poorer and the richer regions will benefit," 
said study co-author Solomon Hsiang, a professor of public policy at the 
University of California at Berkeley. "What we're seeing here is that 
climate change will have a very large impact on the quality of life and 
economic opportunity in the coming decades for ourselves and our children."
A 300-page White House report last year described the health problems 
associated with climate change as one of the gravest threats to the 
nation. It detailed the potential of increased deaths from extreme heat, 
longer allergy seasons and more polluted air and water. Likewise, 
diseases transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes could spread farther and 
faster, and more people would face the prospect of near-constant floods.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/06/29/climate-change-in-the-u-s-could-help-the-rich-and-hurt-the-poor/


Study: Climate change will especially hurt Texas, Southeast 
<http://www.statesman.com/news/local/study-climate-change-will-especially-hurt-texas-southeast/sJP1TDZhleSqPJKzUmXPwM/> 

...a recent study showing Texas and other states in the South will bare 
the brunt of climate change as sea levels rise and hotter temperatures 
lead to higher mortality rates...
The story conflicts with many state and federal officials' views on 
whether climate change has any real effect on the environment. U.S. Rep. 
Lamar Smith (R-San Antonio), who chairs the House Committee on Science, 
Space and Technology, has said the Environmental Protection Agency 
stifles science in favor of an "extreme climate agenda" and has called 
to make the EPA "great again."
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/study-climate-change-will-especially-hurt-texas-southeast/sJP1TDZhleSqPJKzUmXPwM/


*'Very strong' climate change signal in record June heat 
<http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40449234>*
BBC News
The June heat waves that impacted much of the UK and Western Europe were 
made more intense because of climate change say scientists.
Forest fires in Portugal claimed scores of lives while emergency heat 
plans were triggered in France, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Britain experienced its warmest June day since the famous heat wave of 1976.
Human-related warming made record heat 10 times more likely in parts of 
Europe the researchers say.
During June, mean monthly temperatures about 3C above normal were 
recorded across western parts of the continent. France experienced its 
hottest June night ever on 21st when the average around the country was 
26.4C.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40449234

*
**Task force report puts 'material risks' of climate change in focus 
<https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/task-force-report-puts-material-risks-of-climate-change-in-focus/article35493217/>*
SHAWN MCCARTHY - GLOBAL ENERGY REPORTER
Momentum is growing for energy companies and other corporations to 
formally and clearly spell out the risks that climate change poses to 
the value of their assets and their future profitability, even as the 
Trump administration seeks to play down the threat.
On Thursday, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure 
(TCFD), led by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, releases 
its final report that includes a series of recommendations aimed at 
providing capital markets with clearer information on risks and 
opportunities as the world transitions to a lower-carbon economy.
The TCFD report will be presented by Bank of England Governor Mark 
Carney at next week's Group of 20 leaders summit in Hamburg, Germany, 
and proposes a voluntary approach that would expand on the existing 
requirements for companies to report "material risks" in their 
securities filings
Now, researchers with World Weather Attribution have carried out a 
multi-method analysis to assess the role of warming connected to human 
activities in these record temperatures..
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/task-force-report-puts-material-risks-of-climate-change-in-focus/article35493217/
-more:
*European Heat   Seeking climate change clues in sizzling heat 
<https://wwa.climatecentral.org/>*
Scientists have confirmed that human-caused climate change played an 
important role in the excessively-high temperatures that gripped much of 
Western Europe in June.
The month of June was marked by extremely-high temperatures and 
wildfires across Western Europe. In Portugal, a deadly forest fire 
killed at least 64 people and injured more than 200. A major forest fire 
in Spain forced more than 1,500 people from lodgings. In France, 
Switzerland and the Netherlands heat wave plans were triggered. England 
observed its hottest June day since the legendary heat wave summer of 1976.
Climate change made the intensity and frequency of such extreme heat at 
least twice as likely in Belgium, at least four times as likely in 
France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and central England and at least 
10 times as likely in Portugal and Spain, according to a new analysis by 
scientists with World Weather Attribution (WWA) and scientific partners 
in England, France and Switzerland. WWA is an international coalition of 
scientists focused on assessing possible climate change influences on 
extreme weather events. The team analyzed the recent record June warmth 
in seven Western European countries.
Friederike Otto, senior researcher at Oxford University, said the 
results are consistent with a warming planet in which summers are 
getting hotter and heat waves are becoming more frequent, intense and 
can come earlier or later in the summer season than before.
https://wwa.climatecentral.org/


*Merkel to put climate change at centre of G20 talks after Trump's Paris 
pullout 
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/29/merkel-vows-to-put-climate-change-at-centre-of-g20-talks>*
German chancellor says Trump administration's decision to quit Paris 
climate agreement means EU must show leadership on issue
Tackling climate change will be one of the central tasks of the upcoming 
Hamburg G20 summit of the world's largest economies, the German 
chancellor, Angela Merkel, said on Thursday, following the US withdrawal 
from the Paris climate pact.
Merkel, who will host the gathering of global leaders in the northern 
port city, said the climate change scepticism of the Trump 
administration made it all the more important for the European Union to 
show leadership.
"Since the decision of the US to quit the Paris climate agreement, we 
are more determined than ever to make it successful," she said. "We must 
tackle this existential challenge, and we cannot wait until every last 
person on earth has been convinced of the scientific proof."
When chairing the summit, Merkel said she would seek to guide talks such 
that they furthered the goals of the Paris deal, but she conceded that 
differences with the US meant discussions would not be easy.
"The differences are obvious and it would be dishonest to try to cover 
that up. That I won't do," she said, adding that the forum, which meets 
on 7 and 8 July, would also discuss common approaches to trade, another 
area in which the Trump administration's protectionist instincts are at 
odds with the European Union's.
"Anybody who believes the problems of the world can be solved with 
isolationism and protectionism is labouring under a huge error," Merkel 
said.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/29/merkel-vows-to-put-climate-change-at-centre-of-g20-talks


*Larsen C Ice Shelf Calving and Retreat 2017 
<http://www.climatesignals.org/headlines/events/larsen-c-ice-shelf-calving-and-retreat-2017>*
The poleward march in the break-up of ice-shelves along the Antarctic 
Peninsula is consistent with the global direction of climate change.
After the current calving event is complete, the extant of Larsen C will 
be the smallest on record and probably the smallest since the last 
interglacial period 115,00 years ago.
The Antarctic Peninsula exhibits an extraordinarily large range of 
natural variation.
The immediate mechanisms driving the current calving event are part of 
the natural calving process along the Antarctic Peninsula.
Some key questions about the conditions for this calving event remain 
unanswered, hampered in part by the lack of direct observations. 
[Holland interview and Jones et al]
Air temperatures in the Antarctic Peninsula region have been warming 
since the 1950s, and the very latest temperature readings reinforce that 
trend.
Ocean temperatures under the Larsen C ice shelf are largely unknown.
The Larsen C shelf has experienced a stretch of thinning from 1994 to 
2009 and then thickening thereafter.
After completion of the current calving, the geometry of the remaining 
ice-shelf is projected to be unstable and prone to run-away collapse.
Long-term trends driven by climate change, including changing winds and 
warming atmospheric temperatures may have added to the vulnerability of 
the ice sheet.
In particular, climate change may be contributing to the potential 
retreat and collapse of the Larsen C ice shelf through wind-driven loss 
of snow cover, ponding of meltwater, and hydrofracturing.
A collapse of the Larsen C ice shelf may release blocked glaciers, 
contributing 1 centimeter to sea level rise.
http://www.climatesignals.org/headlines/events/larsen-c-ice-shelf-calving-and-retreat-2017


*The Henchmen in Trump's Climate Denial Army Are Well-Trained and 
On-Message 
<http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/06/the-henchmen-in-trumps-climate-denial-army-are-well-trained-and-on-message/>*
Remember when Spicer said, "I have not had a conversation with him"?
...Udall continued to press for more on Trump's official position. "I 
asked you the official Trump administration position," he said. "I know 
you stated your position, but what is the official position?"
Whether Trump believes climate change may be beside the point: His 
cabinet officials represent all the shades of climate change denial 
<https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09062017/five-shades-climate-denial-donald-trump-scott-pruitt-rex-tillerson-jobs-uncertainty-white-house>, 
and that may be enough.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/06/the-henchmen-in-trumps-climate-denial-army-are-well-trained-and-on-message/
-more:
*5 Shades of Climate Denial, All on Display in the Trump White House 
<https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09062017/five-shades-climate-denial-donald-trump-scott-pruitt-rex-tillerson-jobs-uncertainty-white-house>*
 From 'it's not real' to 'it's not urgent,' take a tour through the many 
shades of climate change denial wielded by Donald Trump's administration.
BY MARIANNE LAVELLE
Whether dismissing global warming as a hoax, questioning humanity's role 
in it, exaggerating the unknowns, playing down the urgency of action, or 
playing up the costs, President Donald Trump and his team have served up 
every flavor of climate denial.
/https://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/styles/colorbox_full/public/Shades-of-Climate-Denial-529px_0.png?itok=VComIOjU/
Although the arguments varied - as if they were different shades or 
stages of denial - they all served the same purpose: to create an 
exaggerated sense of dispute in order to bolster a case against decisive 
climate action. The latest gambit is to avoid the subject entirely.
*'It's Not Real'*
The deepest shade of denial - outright rejection of global warming - is 
embodied by Trump's infamous 2012 tweet that called global warming a 
Chinese plot to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive. That same year, 
Sen. James Inhofe, the longtime climate denier and Oklahoma Republican 
who has been a mentor to Pruitt, released his climate change book, "The 
Greatest Hoax."...
*'It's Not Our Fault,' and Other Lighter Shades*
Pruitt, the EPA administrator, has raised doubts about humanity's role 
in global warming, contradicting not only many decades of scientific 
research, but also his own EPA. So has Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke. 
Both agency heads have set a course to eliminate climate policy and 
rules that restrict fossil fuel development....
*The Science Is Just Too Uncertain.*
"The increase in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are 
having an effect," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said during his 
confirmation hearing. "Our ability to predict that effect is very limited.
"The long-invoked scientific uncertainty argument exploded once again 
into the public sphere when The New York Times' new conservative 
columnist Bret Stephens launched his column with a broad swipe at 
climate scientists and activists for "claiming total certainty about the 
science."
Stephens characterized the observed temperature increase so far as 
"modest" (even though the IPCC called it "unprecedented in decades to 
millennia"), and asserted that this warming was the only indisputable 
fact in climate science (ignoring other observed changes that don't rely 
on models, like ocean acidification, movement of species, and the 
atmospheric carbon concentration.)...
*Urgency, Shmurgency*
One key element of climate science overlooked - or ignored - by all of 
the deniers, no matter their shade of denial, is the urgency of taking 
action. The IPCC in its last assessment of the science used the concept 
of a "carbon budget" to explain that there is a finite amount of carbon 
dioxide emissions that can be added to the atmosphere if civilization 
wants to limit the global temperature rise to much less than 2 degrees 
Celsius and avoid the worst impacts of climate change....
*What About Jobs?*
..Trump cited a study sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to make 
his case that the Paris treaty would cost the U.S. economy billions. But 
the study's assumptions - or example, that there would be no increase in 
renewable energy to replace coal - are extremely pessimistic...
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09062017/five-shades-climate-denial-donald-trump-scott-pruitt-rex-tillerson-jobs-uncertainty-white-house


*Interview by Nick Breeze with Dr Natalia Shakhova and Dr Igor Semiletov*
A new scientific paper published in Nature Communication Journal 
<http://www.envisionation.co.uk/index.php/nick-breeze/203-subsea-permafrost-on-east-siberian-arctic-shelf-now-in-accelerated-decline> 
demonstrates that the mechanisms of destabilisation of subsea 
permafrost, contrary to previous claims, provide new insights into 
increased emissions from the worlds largest deposits of methane, that 
exists in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS).
The subsea permafrost has for thousands of years acted as a seal, 
restricting the flow of gas through the water column to the atmosphere. 
This paper clearly shows that permafrost degradation and the occurrence 
of gas migration pathways are key factors in controlling the emissions.
*Dr. Shakhova*: The area of hotspots is determined by the fraction of 
subsea permafrost that is disintegrated. The process of permafrost 
degradation started thousands of years ago and it is now a key driver 
triggering methane emissions from these long-preserved deposits.
Emissions that are occurring right now are the result of a combined 
effect of natural and  anthropogenic warming and they will be 
accelerated until warming is turned to cooling. Even after it happens, 
there is no mechanism to stop permafrost disintegration in the ESAS 
besides shelf exposure above the sea level that would serve to freeze 
the gas migration paths so that they integrate with the permafrost. 
Before that, the amount of methane that is releasing will increase while 
the supply lasts.
As gas within the sedimentary basins of the ESAS have been accumulating 
for a million years with no way to be released earlier, the supply for 
currently occurring emissions is tremendous. Because the shelf area is 
very shallow (mean depth is less than 50 metres), a fraction of these 
emissions will reach the atmosphere. The problem is that this fraction 
would be enough to alter the climate on our planet drastically....
http://www.envisionation.co.uk/index.php/nick-breeze/203-subsea-permafrost-on-east-siberian-arctic-shelf-now-in-accelerated-decline


*Boaty McBoatface submarine records successful maiden voyage 
<https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jun/28/boaty-mcboatface-submarine-maiden-voyage>*
Robotic submersible probes depths of up to 4,000m near Antarctic 
Peninsula to obtain unprecedented data on how mixing ocean waters affect 
climate change
A yellow submarine dubbed Boaty McBoatface has obtained "unprecedented 
data" from its first voyage exploring one of the deepest and coldest 
ocean regions on Earth, scientists have said.
The robotic submersible was given the name originally chosen for a new 
polar research ship by irreverent contestants in a public competition. 
Embarrassed officials decided to ignore the popular vote and instead 
named the vessel the RRS Sir David Attenborough in honour of the veteran 
broadcaster. A storm of protest led to a compromise that allowed the 
name to live on.
The submarine plunged to depths as far as 4,000 metres to obtain 
information about temperature, water flow speed and turbulence from 
Orkney Passage, a region of the Southern Ocean about 500 miles from the 
Antarctic Peninsula.
The data will help scientists to understand the complex ways that mixing 
ocean waters affect climate change.
The research council was mobbed with more than 7,000 ideas for names in 
the month-long competition period, among them RRS Onion Knight, RRS I 
Like Big Boats and I Cannot Lie, and RRS Capt'n Birdseye Get Off My Cod.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jun/28/boaty-mcboatface-submarine-maiden-voyage


*This Day in Climate History June 30, 2002 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/30/opinion/unhealthy-air.html>  -  from 
D.R. Tucker*
June 30, 2002: Republican-turned-Independent Senator Jim Jeffords of 
Vermont calls out President George W. Bush in a New York Times piece for 
his administration's reckless disregard of climate science.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/30/opinion/unhealthy-air.html /
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