[TheClimate.Vote] November 24, 2017 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Fri Nov 24 09:00:15 EST 2017
/November 24, 2017/
*After ditching Paris, Trump's team has another big international
climate decision to make*
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/11/22/after-ditching-paris-trumps-team-has-another-big-international-climate-decision-to-make/?utm_term=.ffa41df563b6&wpisrc=nl_green&wpmm=1>
By Chris Mooney
While it's not the Paris climate agreement, hopes are rising that the
Trump administration will not walk away from another international
climate accord, one designed to limit emissions of super-polluting gases
from air conditioners and refrigerators that could otherwise sharply
warm the globe.
In Montreal this week, countries have assembled for the 29th meeting of
the parties to the*1987 Montreal Protocol*, a widely celebrated treaty
to protect the planet's ozone layer. And they're welcoming an extension
of the protocol, called the Kigali Amendment, which was negotiated last
year and late last week crossed a key ratification threshold. Its formal
acceptance now by 21 member countries will trigger its going into force
in early 2019.
The amendment specifically targets a category of climate pollutants
called*hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, *which are far more potent than
leading greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide or methane on a molecule
per molecule basis. HFCs were originally a substitute for the
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that severely damage the ozone layer, but
they've since been recognized as coming with their own significant problems.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/11/22/after-ditching-paris-trumps-team-has-another-big-international-climate-decision-to-make/
*Anti-Pipeline Activist Found Guilty After Being Barred From Mentioning
Climate Change
<https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/valve-turner-protest-pipeline-leonard-higgins_us_5a171e07e4b0d4906cade139>*
Leonard Higgins, the "valve turner" who shut down a tar sands pipeline
in Montana last year, was found guilty of a felony charge on Wednesday.
After a short trial lasting just a day and a half, climate activist and
retiree Leonard Higgins was found guilty on Wednesday of a serious
felony charge for his role in the "valve turner" protest last year that
resulted in the brief shutdown of a tar sands pipeline in Montana.
The 65-year-old former state worker from Portland, Oregon, said he'd
carried out the protest to raise awareness about the dangers of climate
change. Higgins and his defense team, however, were barred from
referring to climate change during the trial.
"It's my obligation to my kids," he told the Great Falls Tribune on Tuesday.
Higgins' defense attorney noted in court that Spectra had been notified
about 15 minutes in advance that the valve shutdown was imminent. After
turning off the valve, Higgins stayed onsite, awaiting arrest.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/valve-turner-protest-pipeline-leonard-higgins_us_5a171e07e4b0d4906cade139
*(video) Climate change, that's just a money grab by scientist... right?
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq8Jo9QN0qA>*
Global Weirding with Katharine Hayhoe
7:30 min Published on Nov 22, 2017
Climate change - aren't you scientists just making the whole thing up
for the money, the fame, and to further the Antichrist's agenda?
Find out in this all new episode of Global Weirding.
Global Weirding is produced by KTTZ Texas Tech Public Media and
distributed by PBS Digital Studios. New episodes every other Wednesday
at 10 am central. Brought to you in part by: Bob and Linda Herscher,
Freese and Nichols, Inc, and the Texas Tech Climate Science Center.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq8Jo9QN0qA
*In Climate Cases, Trump Administration Will Have to Argue Against Its
Own Evidence
<https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2017/11/22/climate-lawsuit-trump-administration-our-childrens-trust/>*
By Karen Savage
Very few would accuse the Trump administration of actually accepting the
science on climate change. The administration has scrubbed climate data
from federal government websites, and worked to undo most of President
Obama's climate policies, including pulling out of the Paris Climate
Agreement. But government agencies also continue to produce significant
data that serves as proof for the "other" side - including recently
releasing the fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA) that
painstakingly outlines the urgency of climate change.
As a result, while facing at least two lawsuits over its failure to act
on climate change, the Department of Justice may find itself
representing a defendant that has both admitted and denied the
allegations leveled against it.
In one of those cases, the landmark youth-led lawsuit Juliana v. United
States, the Obama administration complicated matters for its successor
by admitting to many of the plaintiffs' complaints in the government's
official response to the suit.
"They made a lot of factual concessions that I doubt the Trump
administration would have agreed with," said Yale Law School Doug Kysar.
"That puts the DOJ lawyers in this uncomfortable position of having made
admissions in their answer that the president is kind of openly disputing."
This unprecedented flip with no regard to the science has significant
implications for the Trump administration's legal strategy. Commenting
on the difficulties facing justice Department lawyers in these cases,
Hui Chen, a former federal prosecutor and most recently a consultant to
the fraud section of the DOJ's criminal division, said, "That was
precisely the kind of thing that makes it really difficult, especially I
think for people in the parts of Justice where it's more
policy/politically sensitive," ...
On top of the Obama administration filing, the NCA is particularly
damning. The report, compiled by scientists from 13 federal departments
and agencies, says, "It is extremely likely that human activities,
especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause of the
observed warming since the mid-20th century. For the warming over the
last century, there is no convincing alternative explanation supported
by the extent of the observational evidence."
In addition to mounting a legal defense, DOJ attorneys will also have to
consider the potential public relations fallout.
"The one thing we learned from the tobacco litigation is that the people
might accept all kinds of harm," said Kysar. "But when they think like
you're lying about the harm, they feel very, very differently about it."
https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2017/11/22/climate-lawsuit-trump-administration-our-childrens-trust/
*Shrinking glacier cover could lead to increased volcanic activity in
Iceland, warn scientists.
<https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171123095405.htm>*
A new study, led by the University of Leeds, has found that there was
less volcanic activity in Iceland when glacier cover was more extensive
and as the glaciers melted volcanic eruptions increased due to
subsequent changes in surface pressure.
Dr Graeme Swindles, from the School of Geography at Leeds, said:
"Climate change caused by humans is creating rapid ice melt in
volcanically active regions. In Iceland, this has put us on a path to
more frequent volcanic eruptions."
The study examined Icelandic volcanic ash preserved in peat deposits and
lake sediments and identified a period of significantly reduced volcanic
activity between 5,500 and 4,500 years ago. This period came after a
major decrease in global temperature, which caused glacier growth in
Iceland.
The findings, published in the journal Geology, found there was a time
lag of roughly 600 years between the climate event and a noticeable
decrease in the number of volcanic eruptions. The study suggests that
perhaps a similar time lag can be expected following the more recent
shift to warmer temperatures.
Study co-author, Dr Ivan Savov, from the School of Earth & Environment
at Leeds, explains: "When glaciers retreat there is less pressure on
Earth's surface. This can increase the amount of mantle melt as well as
affect magma flow and how much magma the crust can hold.
"Even small changes in surface pressure can alter the likelihood of
eruptions at ice-covered volcanos."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171123095405.htm
*(video news clips) Climate & Extreme Weather News #81 (November
15th-20th 2017) <https://youtu.be/dncO50MYSKQ>*
Climate & Extreme Weather News #81 (November 15th-20th 2017)
00:12 Greece: flash floods & Medicane Numa
11:25 Indonesia: Bandung, Lombok & Bekasi floods
19:23 Colombia: Cali, Cartagena & Cucuta floods
23:10 Bolivia: Ivirgarzarma flood
25:53 Paraguay: Ciudad del Este storm
27:58 Australia: Kalgoorlie & Melbourne storms
32:09 Vietnam: Storm Kirogi
32:57 The USA: Storms & snowfall
37:14 Turkey: Mersin hailstorm
39:16 October temp update; November temp anomalies; COP23 report; French
Alpine glaciers report & new warning from scientists
https://youtu.be/dncO50MYSKQ
*How are Trump & Coal the same? both pollute the commons, people hate
them, and vast majorities want them gone
<http://getenergysmartnow.com/2017/11/22/how-are-trump-coal-the-same-both-pollute-the-commons-people-hate-them-and-want-them-gone/>*
For the first time in history, green energy is now cheaper than black
energy. The world now has a unique opportunity to create a world that
runs entirely on green energy.
With this reality in mind, Orsted (the Danish clean-energy firm formerly
known as DONG (Danish Oil & Natural Gas)), chartered the largest global
survey ever focused on clean energy issues seeking to understand:
if people also want a green transformation and how they see challenges
and benefits.
http://getenergysmartnow.com/2017/11/22/how-are-trump-coal-the-same-both-pollute-the-commons-people-hate-them-and-want-them-gone/
*Global Warming Might Be Especially Dangerous for Pregnant Women
<https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/11/pregnancy-heat-outcomes/546362/>*
Scientists are concerned that heat waves could be linked to more
premature births and stillbirths....
A handful of researchers in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere are
methodically accumulating evidence suggesting that higher temperatures
could be linked to a higher risk of premature births, stillbirths, or
other negative pregnancy outcomes. The findings in each case, while
compelling, still raise as many questions as they seem to answer, and
all the researchers say that much more work needs to be done. But they
also suggest that enough evidence has already surfaced to warrant
increased scrutiny - particularly as global warming is expected to drive
average temperatures ever upward over coming decades....
The results were startling. Her research suggested that an increase of
10 degrees Fahrenheit in weekly average "apparent" temperatures - a
combination of heat and humidity - corresponded to an 8.6 percent
increase in premature births. That association was independent of air
pollution...
Nonetheless, McCormick would like to see pregnant women included in
public-health advisories about heat that currently target the elderly.
"I do think that we have enough research at this point to be concerned
about pregnant women as a vulnerable population," she said. "We should
be warning pregnant women about the risks of heat." Unlike other sources
of risk for stillbirth, heat is something pregnant women can try to
avoid or combat, such as by spending time in air-conditioning and
staying hydrated, the researchers say.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/11/pregnancy-heat-outcomes/546362/
*
(video) Schellnhuber: Unavoidable, Many have to Migrate (~1.4 Billion
affected by rising Sea 2060) <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1by_QU5jrDE>**
*Hans Joachim Schellnhuber from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact
Research in Germany speaks at the Impacts World 2017 conference. Title:
Avoiding the Unmanageable, Managing the Unavoidable: A Slogan Revisited
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1by_QU5jrDE 21 mins
TRAVEL
*Get to these destinations before global warming does
<http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/travel/global-warming-hit-travel-destinations-to-see-soon/article20640874.ece>*
*Kiribati *is a drowning nation that is well aware of its fate.
Comprising 33 atolls in the Pacific Ocean, the country is at the quietly
determined forefront of the global climate change battle. Already hit by
destructive tidal surges, Kiribati is staring at increasing erosion and
eventual inundation of causeways and water salination, according to a
World Bank study. In an article titled 'A Remote Pacific Nation,
threatened by rising seas' The New York Times journalist Mike Ives, says
that Kiribati "has essentially been drawing up plans for its demise",
buying land in Fiji and preparing for partial migration.
While that eventuality may still be some decades away, the nation has a
diving fraternity that is active all year round, plenty of clam fishing,
coral reefs, marine parks and clear, deep blue seas. The hub of all the
fun is Christmas Island, part of the Line Islands at one end of
Kiribati. The Line Islands - through which the International Date Line
passes - include eight that are part of Kiribati, and three that are
United States territory. Here, Millennium Atoll is a point of
international pride as far as coral reefs are concerned; no prizes for
guessing which country it falls under.
"Our country spans four quadrants of the Earth. So it is pretty big, but
really small at the same time," says Mike Roman, environmental worker,
writer and one of the organisers of Humans of Kiribati, a group of
residents who do a dual job of documenting life on the atolls and
representing the country on climate change platforms like COP23..
When asked about tourism, Roman merely says, "Most people come here to
cover climate change nowadays."
*Capital situation *In 2014, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) in
the US published a study on rising sea levels, sinking land and
increasing frequency of tidal floods along the country's east coast, and
patterns for coming decades. Some of the direst predictions were for
Washington DC.
The study estimates that the frequency of floods will rise "from chronic
to incessant" from 2030 to 2045. It says that Washington DC can expect
more than 150 tidal floods per year by 2030.
*On Edge *In 2007, massive floods submerged one-third of Indonesian
capital Jakarta, prompting evacuation of around 3,00,000 [sic] people.
According to The Guardian's article by Philip Sherwell titled '$40bn to
save Jakarta: the story of the Great Garuda', "Four million people live
in neighbourhoods that are now up to four metres below sea level." Parts
of the city now exist behind a seawall that protects it from the waters
of Jakarta Bay. The city is sinking by 25 centimetres every year. And
yet, the city is on the global tourism map. More than being a travel
destination unto itself, "Jakarta is mostly for transits," says the
administrator of The Packer Lodge, a backpackers' hostel in the
Chinatown in Glodok, "Most people here do a quick visit that lasts about
three days."
http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/travel/global-warming-hit-travel-destinations-to-see-soon/article20640874.ece
*Should homeowners give in to climate change?
<https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-weather/blogs/how-do-we-decide-when-give-in-climate-change>*
When deciding whether to rebuild homes destroyed by fire or floods, some
homeowners are throwing in the towel.
It's an intellectual and scientific question, but also one about ethics
and morality. Others questions should be: How comfortable are we in
putting first responders in harm's way to rescue people who refuse to
evacuate or insist upon rebuilding? Are we willing to ask some people to
give up their homes for the good of the community? How do we best
support those people who make this decision on their own or are forced
to? What is fair compensation for requiring people to leave their homes
due to disaster-avoidance?
On Staten Island, Herrkind's hope is that in the next 10 years, the rest
of the homes in his old neighborhood of Ocean Breeze will let their lots
be cleared and the land will return to nature. "I hope that they see the
bigger picture," he said. "That climate change is happening, and we need
to take steps to help the communities stay more resilient to the
changing needs of climate change."
We need to get better at addressing the practical and psychological
questions of climate change's impacts. It's only going to get more
intense as the decades pass, and the time to prepare has already begun.
https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-weather/blogs/how-do-we-decide-when-give-in-climate-change
*Could octopus DNA reveal the secrets of west Antarctica's ice sheet
collapse?
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2017/nov/23/could-octopus-dna-reveal-the-secrets-of-west-antarcticas-ice-sheet-collapse>*
Graham Readfearn
About 120,000 years ago, the Earth was in an interglacial period with
temperatures comparable to the 2C of warming that countries who are part
of the UN's Paris agreement (everyone but the US) are all trying to avoid.
Strugnell writes that by examining the DNA of some bottom-dwelling
animals currently living around the entire Antarctic continent, you can
work out if the ancestors of those species were able to move through
that trans-Antarctic seaway.
It sounds complicated – and it is.
But in the paper Strugnell describes recent advances in genome
sequencing that can "provide powerful insight into the demographic
history of species including processes such as migration, population
divergence and changes in effective population size".
"The genome of the species contains signatures of what happened to
populations in the past and different demographic changes – these are
all held within that DNA.
"The DNA contains a record of those processes and so we can investigate
different hypothesis of what happened in the past – just like your own
human DNA contains a record of your ancestors.
She has already used similar DNA techniques to understand the evolution
of octopus around Antarctica and now wants to push the technology even
further.
"The future of the planet is tied up in that ice," says Dr Ceridwen
Fraser, of the Australian National University. Fraser also uses DNA
analysis to work out how populations of species have moved around the
plant, particularly in Antarctica.
She says the techniques partly use what is known as the "molecular
clock" – an understanding of the way genes change, or mutate, in
different species.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2017/nov/23/could-octopus-dna-reveal-the-secrets-of-west-antarcticas-ice-sheet-collapse
thejuicemedia
*(video) (satire) Honest Government Ad - If you look carefully...
<https://youtu.be/GNIYL5x1oy0>*
Published on Nov 22, 2017
The Australien Government just released an ad warning us of people who
impersonate the Government, and it's surprisingly honest and informative.
https://youtu.be/GNIYL5x1oy0
*This Day in Climate History November 24, 2008
<http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/144499>- from D.R. Tucker*
November 24, 2008: In an interview on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow
Show," Robert Redford denounces the Bush administration's plan to have
the Bureau of Land Management hold an oil and gas lease auction in
Salt Lake City, Utah on December 19, 2008. That auction would become
famous for Tim DeChristopher's act of civil disobedience during the
event, as well as the auction's illegality.
http://youtu.be/fmgYX8gfxfs
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/144499
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