[TheClimate.Vote] May 8, 2017 - Daily Global Warming News

Mon May 8 09:50:15 EDT 2017

/May 8, 2017/

https://www.vox.com/2016/10/4/13118594/2-degrees-no-more-fossil-fuels
*No country on Earth is taking the 2 degree climate target seriously 
<https://www.vox.com/2016/10/4/13118594/2-degrees-no-more-fossil-fuels>*

    If we mean what we say, no more new fossil fuels, anywhere.
    One of the morbidly fascinating aspects of climate change is how
    much cognitive dissonance it generates, in individuals and nations
    alike.
    The more you understand the brutal logic of climate change
    <https://grist.org/climate-change/2011-12-05-the-brutal-logic-of-climate-change/>
    - what it could mean, the effort necessary to forestall it - the
    more the intensity of the situation seems out of whack with the
    workaday routines of day-to-day life. *It's a species-level
    emergency, but almost no one is acting like it is.* And it's very,
    very difficult to be the only one acting like there's an emergency,
    especially when the emergency is abstract and science-derived,
    grasped primarily by the intellect.
    *This psychological schism
    <https://grist.org/article/why-climate-change-doesnt-spark-moral-outrage-and-how-it-could/>
    is true for individuals, and it's true for nations. Take the Paris
    climate agreement.*
    In Paris, in 2015, the countries of the world agreed (again
    <http://www.vox.com/2014/4/22/5551004/two-degrees>) on the moral
    imperative to hold the rise in global average temperature to under 2
    degrees Celsius, and to pursue "efforts to limit the temperature
    increase to 1.5 degrees." To date, 62 countries, including the
    United States, China, and India
    <http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/10/02/496305658/india-ratifies-paris-climate-change-agreement>,
    have ratified the agreement.
    Are any of the countries that signed the Paris agreement taking the
    actions necessary to achieve that target?
    No. The US is not. Nor is the world as a whole.
    The actions necessary to hold to 2 degrees, much less 1.5 degrees,
    are simply outside the bounds of conventional politics in most
    countries. Anyone who proposed them would sound crazy, like they
    were proposing, I don't know, a war or something.
    So we say 2 degrees is unacceptable. But we don't act like it is.
    This cognitive dissonance is brought home yet again in a report
    published in October from Oil Change International
    <http://priceofoil.org/content/uploads/2016/09/OCI_the_skys_limit_2016_FINAL_2.pdf>
    (in collaboration with a bunch of green groups). It's about fossil
    fuels and how much of them we can afford to dig up and burn, if
    we're serious about what we said in Paris. It's mostly simple math,
    but the implications are vast and unsettling.
    Let's start from the beginning.
    *Staying beneath 2 degrees means immediately and rapidly declining
    emissions*
    The report recommends that 2 degrees be seen instead as "an upper
    limit, a defense line that needs to be stringently defended, while
    less warming would be preferable."
    That math is daunting.
    *Staying beneath 2 degrees means ceasing all new fossil fuel
    development*
    First, a quick tour of terminology. There are fossil fuel resources
    (what is ultimately recoverable), reserves (what is known and
    economically recoverable), and developed reserves (what is known and
    recoverable in currently operating mines and fields).
    If we are serious about what we said in Paris, then no more
    exploring for new fossil fuels. No new mines, wells, or fossil fuel
    infrastructure. And rapid, managed decline in existing fossil fuels.
    *We are betting our species' future on our ability to bury carbon*
    Obviously, that assumption could be wrong on either end. CCS [Carbon
    Capture and Storage] could develop faster than expected or turn out
    to be utterly impractical and too costly on any time scale. It's too
    soon to know.
    What is clear is that we are betting our collective future on being
    able to bury millions of tons of carbon. It's a huge and
    existentially risky bet - and maybe one out of a million people even
    know it's being made.
    *Humanity is in a desperate situation*
    There are modeling scenarios that show us hitting our climate
    targets. But we should take no comfort from them. The fact is, we
    have waited until perilously late to act on climate change, and our
    range of options has narrowed. We face three choices:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8xV3Aycvvo
    *Scientists on the feasibility of the 1.5C climate change limit -
    Part 1 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8xV3Aycvvo>*
    **Carbon Brief asked attendees of the 1.5 degrees conference in
    Oxford about the feasibility of limiting global temperature rise to
    1.5C.
    **https://youtu.be/yfXKZ59r6w8
    ** Scientists on the feasibility of the 1.5C climate change limit -
    Part 2 <https://youtu.be/yfXKZ59r6w8>*
    Carbon Brief asked attendees of the 1.5 degrees conference in Oxford
    about the feasibility of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk6uapbG7gg
    *What can we say about the impacts of 1.5C of warming?
    <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk6uapbG7gg>*
    Carbon Brief asked scientists at the 1.5 degrees conference in
    Oxford about the impacts of a 1.5C rise in global temperature.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42vU_wx55KE
    *Animation: How much time is left before we use up our carbon budget
    for 1.5C of global warming?  40 seconds
    <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42vU_wx55KE>*
    The Paris climate deal set a temperature limit of "well below 2C" of
    global warming, and says there should be "efforts" to limit it to
    1.5C. But how much time do we have left before our greenhouse gas
    emissions take us past these thresholds?
    more at:
    The Sky's Limit: WHY THE PARIS CLIMATE GOALS REQUIRE A MANAGED
    DECLINE OF FOSSIL FUEL PRODUCTION
    <http://priceofoil.org/content/uploads/2016/09/OCI_the_skys_limit_2016_FINAL_2.pdf>
    http://priceofoil.org/content/uploads/2016/09/OCI_the_skys_limit_2016_FINAL_2.pdf

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03052017/flooding-storms-climate-change-extreme-weather-missouri-arkansas

    Extreme Weather Flooding the Midwest Looks a Lot Like*Climate
    Change*
    <https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03052017/flooding-storms-climate-change-extreme-weather-missouri-arkansas>

InsideClimate News 	 -‎May 6, 2017‎ 	

"Of course there is a*climate change*connection, because the oceans and 
sea surface temperatures are higher now because of*climate change*, and 
in general that adds 5 to 10 percent to the precipitation," Kevin 
Trenberth, a climate scientist with the*...*

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/07/fix-climate-change-put-cities-not-countries-in-charge-oslo-seoul

    How to fix*climate change*: put cities, not countries, in charge
    <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/07/fix-climate-change-put-cities-not-countries-in-charge-oslo-seoul>

The Guardian 	 -‎6 hours ago‎ 	

*Climate change*is the most urgent challenge facing humankind. Other 
issues make headlines: terrorism kills; inequality affects everyday life 
for billions around the globe.

http://www.wnyc.org/story/turn-climate-change-skeptics-advocates/
*(audio 16: mins) How to Turn Climate Change Skeptics Into Advocates 
<http://www.wnyc.org/story/turn-climate-change-skeptics-advocates/>*

    A former climate change skeptic attempts to get conservative
    lawmakers to take climate change seriously. May 5, 2017
    http://www.wnyc.org/story/on-the-media-2017-05-05
    <http://www.wnyc.org/story/jane-mayer-rise-conservative-orthodoxy/>
    *(audio 15 mins) On The Media Jane Mayer on the Rise of Conservative
    Orthodoxy *
    <http://www.wnyc.org/story/jane-mayer-rise-conservative-orthodoxy/>
      Jane Mayer on the decades-old infrastructure created by
    conservative billionaires /(Koch, Scaife)/ to help propagate
    conservative ideology and protect their interests.May 4, 2017

http://www.care2.com/causes/tick-borne-illnesses-could-boom-this-year-thanks-to-climate-change.html

    Tick-Borne Illnesses Could Boom This Year, Thanks to *Climate
    Change*
    <http://www.care2.com/causes/tick-borne-illnesses-could-boom-this-year-thanks-to-climate-change.html>

    Been bitten by a tick this year? As we edge toward the summer
    months, scientists warn that more of us could be in for that
    irritating nip, as tick numbers seem set to soar–and with them, the
    potential for a boom in cases of usually rare infections like the
    Powassan virus.
    Another danger is that as the climate warms, it appears to be
    increasing the length of time in which ticks can stay active and
    feed. And scientists say that shift could be responsible for this
    year's predicted bumper tick season.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climatechange-model-idUSKBN1802E2

    Scientists call for more precision in*global warming*predictions
    <http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climatechange-model-idUSKBN1802E2>

Reuters 	 -‎May 4, 2017‎ 	

Having a measurement that shows both numbers, the scientists argued, 
would let governments and other institutions trying to reduce greenhouse 
gas emissions and slow*global warming*decide which policies would be 
best in the short term and which should .

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/al-gore-calls-media-coverage-climate-change-a-nature-hike-book-revelation-1000884

    Al Gore Calls Media Coverage of*Climate Change*a "Nature Hike
    Through the Book of Revelation"
    <http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/al-gore-calls-media-coverage-climate-change-a-nature-hike-book-revelation-1000884>

Hollywood Reporter 	 -‎8 hours ago‎ 	

"Every night on the news is like a nature hike through the Book of 
Revelation," Al Gore said Saturday night when asked his opinion of how 
the news media reports on*climate change*. "And I'll wait for the 
newscasters to connect the dots," he continued

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/there_are_climate_uncertainties_acknowledge_plan_them_honesty_20170503

    Climate Change Uncertainties Abound - Let's Acknowledge and Plan for
    Them With Honesty
    <http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/there_are_climate_uncertainties_acknowledge_plan_them_honesty_20170503>

Truthdig 	 -‎21 hours ago‎ 	

Last fall, I attended a meeting of the Society for Decision Making Under 
Deep Uncertainty, hosted by the World Bank. The small, somewhat ad-hoc 
organization has a quirky name but an urgent goal - helping governments, 
companies and international .

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/08/us/scientist-says-budget-office-altered-his-testimony.html
*This Day in Climate History May 8, 1989 
<http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/08/us/scientist-says-budget-office-altered-his-testimony.html> 
-  from D.R. Tucker*
May 8, 1989: The New York Times reports that the Office of Management 
and Budget in the George H. W. Bush administration altered NASA climate 
scientist James Hansen's upcoming Senate testimony to emphasize alleged 
uncertainties in climate science.
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