[TheClimate.Vote] March 17, 2017 - Daily Global Warming News for All - Smog Airpocalypse in China, Forbes sees tipping point

Fri Mar 17 10:54:40 EDT 2017

/March 17, 2017         Airpocalypse Smog in China,  Forbes sees tipping 
point/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2017/mar/17/white-house-climate-change-funding-waste-money-video

    (video) White House calls *climate change*funding 'a waste of your
    money' - video
    <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2017/mar/17/white-house-climate-change-funding-waste-money-video>

The Guardian 	 -‎5 hours ago‎ 	

    White House budget director Mick Mulvaney confirmed on Thursday that
    the new administration had no interest in funding to combat climate
    change, saying: 'We're not spending money on that any more. We
    consider that to be a waste of your money'

https://www.forbes.com/sites/uhenergy/2017/03/16/have-we-passed-the-climate-change-tipping-point/

    Have We Passed the Climate Change Tipping Point? - Forbes
    <https://www.forbes.com/sites/uhenergy/2017/03/16/have-we-passed-the-climate-change-tipping-point/>

Forbes 	 -‎8 hours ago‎ 	

    There is a school of thought that says we will reach a tipping point
    with climate change, after which it will be too late to avoid a
    cascade of changes.
    Ralph Keeling, the originator of the famous Keeling Curve, said "it
    already seems safe to conclude that we won't be seeing a monthly
    value below 400 ppm this year – or ever again for the indefinite
    future."
    Let's consider what a tipping point actually is. The IPCC describes
    it as "abrupt and irreversible change." Lenton, et al. say it "will
    inevitably lead to a large change of the system, i.e., independently
    of what might happen to the controls thereafter." In other words,
    past the tipping point there will be drastic changes even if we stop
    emitting CO2. Rather than staying "well below 2 degrees Celsius
    above pre-industrial levels" as is the target of the United Nations
    Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), there could be
    warming of several degrees, with associated sea level rise and
    rainfall changes...
    These mechanisms are not directly dependent on CO2 concentration;
    they are triggered by warming alone. Given the amount of warming in
    recent decades, it is not surprising that they are occurring...
    Regardless of whether we have passed the tipping point, continued
    warming, rainfall pattern changes, significant sea level rise and
    continued northward and vertical migration of plant and animal
    species in the Northern Hemisphere seem certain. We are looking at a
    changed world and must adapt to it....there are multiple possible
    tipping points with different thresholds. Exceeding one does not
    mean you cannot avoid another.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/15/airpocalypse-smog-events-linked-to-global-warming-research-reveals
*'Airpocalypse' smog events in China linked to melting ice cap, research 
reveals 
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/15/airpocalypse-smog-events-linked-to-global-warming-research-reveals>*

    Stagnant weather caused by fast-melting Arctic ice helped create
    conditions for China's recent extreme air pollution events,
    scientists say..
    Climate change played a major role in the extreme air pollution
    events suffered recently by China and is likely to make such
    "airpocalypses" more common, new research has revealed....
    The new research is convincing, according to Prof Jennifer Francis,
    at Rutgers University in the US, who said people should be concerned
    at the growing evidence that the thawing Arctic is having major
    consequences further south. ..
    The researchers concluded that "extreme haze events in winter will
    likely occur at a higher frequency in China" as climate change
    continues to heat up the Arctic. Wang said this should drive an
    increased urgency in cutting both air pollution and the carbon
    emissions that cause global warming...
    "When you look at haze reduction, it is not just about reducing
    emissions of air pollutants, it is also about reducing emissions of
    greenhouses gases from China and all the other countries in the
    world, so we can possibly slow down the rapidly changing Arctic
    climate," Wang said...
    The emissions of greenhouse gases from human activity is responsible
    for at least half, and possibly up to two-thirds, of the fall in
    summer sea ice in the Arctic since the late 1970s, according to
    recent research...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/2017/03/15/1af691c2-041c-11e7-b1e9-a05d3c21f7cf_story.html

    Scientists link record-breaking February weather to man-made *global
    warming*
    <https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/2017/03/15/1af691c2-041c-11e7-b1e9-a05d3c21f7cf_story.html>

Washington Post 	 -‎4 hours ago‎ 	

    The average temperature last month was 41.2 degrees - 7.3 degrees
    warmer than normal but three-tenths a degree behind the record, the
    federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported
    last week.
    A March frost could kill early blooming trees and flowers and the
    lack of a proper winter could lead to more mosquitoes and ticks this
    year, Vecchi said.
    "What is lurking behind the corner while we're outside throwing a
    Frisbee might be looking to make our lives less pleasant," he said.
    An international science team calculated that man-made global
    warming tripled the likelihood for the nation's unusually warm month..

https://skepticalscience.com/ben-santer-on-seth-meyer.html
*(video) Ben Santer on Seth Meyer's Late Show – How Climate Deniers Lie 
<https://skepticalscience.com/ben-santer-on-seth-meyer.html>*

    The reason most people have not heard of Ben Santer is that, while
    his contributions to climate science have been massive and epic in
    importance, and his courage in standing up to an almost unparalleled
    barrage of attacks is legendary, Ben himself is one of the quietest,
    most unassuming people you will ever meet.
    My conversations with Ben a few months ago lead me to believe he had
    decided it was time to be more public in his advocacy, and I guess
    this is evidence of that.
    *Late Night with Seth Meyers *brief videos
    Dr. Ben Santer Is a Rogue Scientist
    <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjgIrdYHHP8>
    Dr. Ben Santer's Study Led to a Rat on His Doorstep
    <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTuHuBFTPfg>
    Dr. Ben Santer Debunks Ted Cruz' Denial of Climate Change
    <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRTovL4tIJY>
    Dr. Ben Santer Thinks This Is a Teachable Moment
    <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ULE6v6h2Oc>

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trumps-defense-secretary-cites-climate-change-as-national-security-challenge/

    Trump's Defense Secretary Cites*Climate Change*as National Security
    Challenge
    <https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trumps-defense-secretary-cites-climate-change-as-national-security-challenge/>

Scientific American 	 -‎1 hour ago‎ 	

Secretary of Defense James Mattis has asserted that*climate change*is 
real, and a threat to American interests abroad and the Pentagon's 
assets everywhere, a position that appears at odds with the views of the 
president who appointed him and many in*...*

http://www.gallup.com/poll/206030/global-warming-concern-three-decade-high.aspx

    *Global Warming *Concern at Three-Decade High in US
    <http://www.gallup.com/poll/206030/global-warming-concern-three-decade-high.aspx>

Gallup 	 -‎Mar 14, 2017‎ 	

    Forty-five percent of Americans now say they worry "a great deal"
    about global warming, up from 37% a year ago and well above the
    recent low point of 25% in 2011..
    - Americans worrying a great deal up eight percentage points to 45%
    - New high of 62% says effects of global warming are happening now
    - Belief that global warming poses a serious threat stretches to 42%
    WASHINGTON, D.C. - Record percentages of Americans are concerned
    about global warming, believe it is occurring, consider it a serious
    threat and say it is caused by human activity. All of these
    perceptions are up significantly from 2015.
    Sixty-eight percent of Americans - the highest Gallup has recorded -
    believe increases in Earth's temperatures over the last century are
    mainly due to the effects of pollution from human activities. Just
    29% now attribute global warming to natural changes in the
    environment. These opinions were gathered prior to the Environmental
    Protection Agency chief, Scott Pruitt, saying he is not persuaded
    that human activity is a primary factor in global warming

http://www.salon.com/2017/03/16/global-warming-denier-james-inhofe-says-the-environmental-protection-agency-is-brainwashing-our-kids/

    *Global warming*denier James Inhofe says the Environmental
    Protection Agency is "brainwashing our kids"
    <http://www.salon.com/2017/03/16/global-warming-denier-james-inhofe-says-the-environmental-protection-agency-is-brainwashing-our-kids/>

Salon 	 -‎1 hour ago‎ 	

    Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma - a climate change
    denier who once proclaimed, "God's still up there. The arrogance of
    people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what
    He is doing in the climate is to me outrageous..
    Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma - a climate change
    denier who once proclaimed, "God's still up there. The arrogance of
    people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what
    He is doing in the climate is to me outrageous." - told CNN's "New
    Day" on Thursday that Trump's plan will stop the EPA from
    "brainwashing" children...
    "We're gonna take all this stuff that comes out of the EPA, that's
    brainwashing our kids, that's propaganda, things that aren't true,
    allegations," Inhofe said...
    Prior to making those comments, Inhofe had praised the Clean Act
    Amendments as "very successful," arguing that "our air is cleaner,
    the pollution is down in spite of the fact that we drive twice as
    many miles."

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14032017/arctic-ice-melt-climate-change-science

    Arctic Sea Ice Melt, Driven by*Global Warming*, Accelerated by
    Nature
    <https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14032017/arctic-ice-melt-climate-change-science>

InsideClimate News 	 -‎Mar 14, 2017‎ 	

A new study zeroes in on just how much of the Arctic sea ice's 
precipitous decline in recent decades is attributable to manmade*global 
warming*and how much is due to natural processes, finding that between 
50 and 70 percent is caused by mankind.

http://www.mlive.com/news/us-world/index.ssf/2017/03/global_warming_study_has_scien.html

    Global warming study has scientists concerned about shrinking
    mammals
    <http://www.mlive.com/news/us-world/index.ssf/2017/03/global_warming_study_has_scien.html>

MLive.com 	 -‎5 hours ago‎ 	

FILE - In this July 21, 2016, file photo, the sun sets beyond visitors 
to Liberty Memorial on Thursday, July 21, 2016, as the temperature 
hovers around 100 degrees in Kansas City, Mo.

https://medsocietiesforclimatehealth.org/launch/

    *Climate change*is making Americans sick, nation's medical societies
    warn
    <http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2017/03/nations_doctors_climate_change.html>

cleveland.com 	 -‎Mar 15, 2017‎ 	

The newly formed Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health--an 
alliance of 11 of the nation's medical societies-- today released a 
report outlining how*climate change*is already threatening health, and 
what can be done about. In Ohio, heat waves, ...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/insider/a-sea-change-for-climate-coverage.html

    (photos) A Sea Change for Climate Coverage
    <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/insider/a-sea-change-for-climate-coverage.html>

New York Times 	 -‎6 hours ago‎ 	

A photographer near Lizard Island, Australia, documenting dead coral on 
the Great Barrier Reef in May 2016. Credit The Ocean Agency/XL Catlin 
Seaview Survey, via Associated Press
"The climate team was formed to handle breaking news stories exactly 
like this one, along with bigger enterprise pieces like last month's 
story on the water crisis in Mexico City," said Hannah Fairfield, who 
leads the new group from Washington...
The team, which has been around for a little longer than a month, exists 
as its own desk in the newsroom (just like, say, the national desk or 
the sports desk) and consists of editors and reporters in New York and 
Washington. The goal, Ms. Fairfield says, is to produce visual, 
explanatory and investigative journalism at a time when, as today's 
article indicates, the calamities caused by climate change seem to be 
intensifying...
The plan was to produce a longer-term piece of enterprise journalism - 
until Mr. Cave and Justin Gillis, who reported on the story from New 
York, caught wind of a study (to be published today as the cover article 
in the journal Nature) that detailed the extent of the reef's destruction...
....

http://sciencebusiness.net/news/80187/Alaska-is-a-case-study-on-the-perils-of-ignoring-global-warming
*Alaska is a case study on the perils of ignoring global warming 
<http://sciencebusiness.net/news/80187/Alaska-is-a-case-study-on-the-perils-of-ignoring-global-warming>*

    Éanna Kelly, Science|Business
    Climate change is happening, as Alaska vividly demonstrates. Now is
    time to prepare, says US ecologist Richard Boone, offering the
    Netherlands as one role model...
    However, the US has no national plans to deal with rising sea levels
    and no system to deal with uprooted people.
    The Dutch provide a good example of getting your act together in
    time to avert ruin, Boone said. "Look [what they have] done to
    protect themselves against the sea."
    The Netherlands, in its never-ending battle with water, runs an
    ongoing multibillion-euro flood defence programme to tame rising
    rivers, canals and the sea.
    We could all adopt the same attitude, said Boone. "Humans are smart
    so I think eventually we will have the political will to do something."

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-vehicles-smog-20170316-story.html 
*
This Day in Climate History March 17, 2017 
<http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-vehicles-smog-20170316-story.html> 
-  from D.R. Tucker*

    The Los Angeles Times reports: “The Trump administration’s move to
    shelve aggressive vehicle fuel economy standards raises the
    possibility of a confrontation over what for decades has been at the
    core of California’s fight against air pollution: the state’s power
    to set its own stricter emissions rules.”

/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  S//tay well-informed &  forward this email./

        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.
        . *** Privacy and Security: * We do NOT collect IP addresses. 
        This is a text-only mailing. It carries no graphics or images
        which may originate from remote servers that routinely track and
        identify IP address. Text-only messages provide greater privacy
        to the receiver and sender.  If you receive a version of this
        document in an email  with a graphics image - even a
        one-pixel-sized image, for optimal privacy from tracking, you
        should not open it. **
        By regulation, the .VOTE top-level domain must be used for
        democratic and election purposes and cannot be used for
        commercial purposes. .

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/pipermail/theclimate.vote/attachments/20170317/52d98c9d/attachment.html>