[TheClimate.Vote] April 8, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Sun Apr 8 12:01:48 EDT 2018
/April 8, 2018/
[radio segment KCUR]
*(audio) Segment 1: Why global warming may be our military's biggest
threat.
<http://kcur.org/post/seg-1-how-climate-change-threatens-national-security-seg-2-inner-workings-supreme-court>*
While climate change may harm food production and lead to more intense
wildfires, it also poses a hazard to our military. How can our armed
forces respond? Today, we asked former Secretary of State Colin Powell's
chief of staff, who was director of the Marine Corps War College, to
shed light on how our nation's military leadership is changing its
approach to environmental issues.
Retired Army Col. Lawrence Wilkerson
<https://www.wm.edu/as/government/faculty-directory/wilkerson_l.php>,
College of William & Mary distinguished visiting professor of government
and public policy
Lawrence Wilkerson discusses the connections between climate change and
national security.
Hear the 22 minute segment #1
<http://kcur.org/post/seg-1-how-climate-change-threatens-national-security-seg-2-inner-workings-supreme-court>
http://kcur.org/post/seg-1-how-climate-change-threatens-national-security-seg-2-inner-workings-supreme-court
http://kcur.org/post/seg-1-how-climate-change-threatens-national-security-seg-2-inner-workings-supreme-court
https://climateandsecurity.org/2018/04/06/climate-security-week-in-review-march-31-april-6/
[book blurb]
*Open Space: The Global Effort for Open Access to Environmental
Satellite Data (Information Policy)
<https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/open-space>*
by Mariel Borowitz
An examination of environmental satellite data sharing policies,
offering a model of data-sharing policy development, case and practical
recommendations for increasing global data sharing.
Sharing data acquired by orbiting satellites is a key to making
possible effective short- and long-term global management of Planet
Earth. Mariel Borowitz's comprehensive and penetrating study of why
many nations share Earth-observation data, but some do not, is an
extremely valuable contribution to crafting a much needed
international approach to such data sharing.
John M. LogsdonProfessor Emeritus and Founder, Space Policy
Institute, The George Washington University
Summary
An examination of environmental satellite data sharing policies,
offering a model of data-sharing policy development, case and
practical recommendations for increasing global data sharing.
Key to understanding and addressing climate change is continuous and
precise monitoring of environmental conditions. Satellites play an
important role in collecting climate data, offering comprehensive
global coverage that can't be matched by in situ observation. And
yet, as Mariel Borowitz shows in this book, much satellite data is
not freely available but restricted; this remains true despite the
data-sharing advocacy of international organizations and a global
open data movement. Borowitz examines policies governing the sharing
of environmental satellite data, offering a model of data-sharing
policy development and applying it in case studies from the United
States, Europe, and Japan - countries responsible for nearly half of
the unclassified government Earth observation satellites.
Borowitz develops a model that centers on the government agency as
the primary actor while taking into account the roles of such
outside actors as other government officials and non-governmental
actors, as well as the economic, security, and normative attributes
of the data itself. The case studies include the U.S. National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. National
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), and the United
States Geological Survey (USGS); the European Space Agency (ESA) and
the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological
Satellites (EUMETSAT); and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency
(JAXA) and the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA). Finally, she
considers the policy implications of her findings for the future and
provides recommendations on how to increase global sharing of
satellite data.
https://www.amazon.com/Open-Space-Environmental-Satellite-Information/dp/0262037181/ref=sr_1_1
https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/open-space
- - - - - -
[Not all share all information]
*Half of Earth's satellites restrict use of climate data
<https://theconversation.com/half-of-earths-satellites-restrict-use-of-climate-data-93257>*
Mariel Borowitz | April 3, 2018
Scientists and policymakers need satellite data to understand and
address climate change. Yet data from more than half of unclassified
Earth-observing satellites is restricted in some way, rather than shared
openly.
When governments restrict who can access data, or limit how people can
use or redistribute it, that slows the progress of science. Now, as U.S.
climate funding is under threat, it's more important than ever to ensure
that researchers and others make the most of the collected data.
Why do some nations choose to restrict satellite data, while others make
it openly available? My book, "Open Space," uses a series of historical
case studies, as well as a broad survey of national practices, to show
how economic concerns and agency priorities shape the way nations treat
their data.
https://theconversation.com/half-of-earths-satellites-restrict-use-of-climate-data-93257
[The Muscle car as Zombie Character]
*Rolling Thunder: The Coming Battle Over MPG, Emissions, and States'
Rights
<https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/267000-rolling-thunder-the-coming-battle-over-mpg-vs-emissions-and-states-rights>*
ExtremeTech
By Bill Howard on April 5, 2018
President Trump's move to loosen fuel economy standards will polarize
the country: SUV and pickup fans versus hypermilers, climate-change
doubters and deniers versus those worried about global warming, and
spread-out middle America versus California and densely populated
northeastern states.
It also pits America against most of the rest of the world that is
trying to rein in fuel consumption and emissions.
There's also a simpler explanation: The administration is acknowledging
America's love affair with bigger vehicles that burn more fuel in a time
of relatively cheap gasoline - slightly more costly than the historical
average, but as much as a dollar a gallon less than much of the past decade.
*"Cars That People Want and Can Afford"*
In the past week, the Trump administration, through EPA administrator
Scott Pruitt, said fuel efficiency standards set by the Obama
administration for 2022-2025 are "not appropriate." A coalition of
Republican congressmen said in a statement,
If automakers cannot produce the cars people want to buy at prices
they can afford, that will quickly have an adverse impact on the
auto industry, its workers, and even the environment as older,
less-efficient cars will remain on our roadways. That is why we need
reasonable and achievable improvements in fuel economy, and this
determination is a step in the right direction … [the Pruitt
proposal] reflects current realities and better mirrors what the
car-buying public wants.
*America's Love Affair with Big Vehicles Continues*
For all that's written about hybrids and battery electric vehicles as
the cars of the future, alternative fuel vehicles comprise only about 4
percent of new vehicles sales. And half of those are diesel engines,
mostly in pickup trucks and big SUVs. Some of the BEVs and plug-in
hybrids go to buyers whose love of efficient cars goes hand in hand with
their desire to ride solo in HOV lanes in coastal cities.
In March, each of the top six auto brands got at least half their volume
from pickup trucks and SUVs: Fiat Chrysler got more than 90 percent,
Ford and GM got more than 75 percent, and Toyota, Nissan and Honda got
more than 50 percent. In March, sales of the new Lincoln Navigator
(5,900-6,200 pounds) were up 102 percent, and transaction prices
increased by $26,000 thanks to Black Label and Reserve models costing as
much as $93,000. The Ford Expedition was also up 46 percent, and the
Cadillac Escalade was up 14 percent. In comparison, the Toyota Prius was
down 19 percent. The Chevrolet Bolt EV, Chevrolet Volt, and Nissan Leaf
each had fewer than 2,000 sales in March.
*Rolling Back the MPG Standards*
The current fuel efficiency targets would have light-duty vehicles -
passenger cars, crossovers, SUVs, and pickup trucks - average 51.4 mpg.
That sounds high, and it is, because it includes various credits that
aren't tied to how much fuel is injected into the engine. In real-world
terms, the current standard means vehicles would have to achieve 36
real-world miles per gallon. The actual number for 2025 efficiency
hasn't been set, but it will likely be lower than the 54.5 mpg set by
the Obama administration. The current administration describes a "lower
trajectory" toward 2025. The current model-mix trajectory of the past
year and a half puts automakers below 50 governmental mpg and below 35
real-world mpg.
- - - - -
So, whatever happens to economy and emissions standards, history and
demographics say the impact will come and go over the course of a couple
years. In the meantime, enjoy cheap gas and big SUVs.
[Top Comment:]
Lonnie Veal
Looked at from another back-pocket POV ... Once you get over the New
car smell and the thrill of the thrum of power, and that first drive
off the lot when a car makes you feel like the technicolor ad- then
it just becomes ... your vehicle.
Then afterwards, the gas, the insurance, the maintenance, the
statistical chance of a 'ding' (or worse) from an accident...all of
that starts grabbing for your wallet on a regular basis. So moving
towards vehicles with Higher MPGs, model longevity and other factors
is a financial positive in the long run.
Don't get me wrong...I LOVE a sexy looking car like any other guy.
But there was a point when I kind of realized: I live in my House,
Not my Car. That was when my financial POV shifted. Especially when
I see that the Auto Makers are really more focused on getting
everyone to buy a new vehicle every 2-3 years.
There are folks who can afford to do that without even noticing.
Then there's everyone else.
more at:
https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/267000-rolling-thunder-the-coming-battle-over-mpg-vs-emissions-and-states-rights
- - - - - -
[Auto change by Auto Dealer]
*Maine Auto Dealer Blasts Trump & EPA As States Gear Up For Legal
Challenges
<https://cleantechnica.com/2018/04/04/maine-auto-dealer-blasts-trump-epa-as-states-gear-up-for-legal-challenges/>*
Steve Hanley
Adam Lee is chairman of Lee Auto Malls, a business with headquarters in
Lewiston, Maine, and founded by his grandfather in 1936. He and his
partners manage 19 dealerships in eight cities across the state of
Maine. Last August, he penned an op-ed piece for USA Today that pleaded
with the EPA and the Trump administration not to roll back the Obama-era
fuel economy rules for new cars.
*An Auto Dealer Speaks Out*
Now that the EPA has *decided to do exactly that
<https://cleantechnica.com/2018/04/03/greedy-automakers-want-stable-emissions-rules-but-get-chaos-instead/>*,
Lee has renewed his call to action. Because of my exalted status as a
contributor to CleanTechnica, I received a copy of his latest manifesto
in my email inbox yesterday. Here it is in its entirety.
As a third generation car dealer, I finally have trucks and SUVs
that get reasonable gas mileage. I can sell a full size truck and a
variety of SUVs that get just less than 30 miles per gallon, all
thanks to our current fuel economy standards. The list of cars and
crossovers that finally get between 30-40 mpg is long, and these
aren't even hybrids. As the number one Prius and Leaf dealer in the
state of Maine, I am pleased to see that there is finally
competition in this category. There was a long spell through the
1980's and early 2000's when the average fuel economy of cars and
trucks did not change.
With stronger fuel economy standards, the automakers were jerked out
of their efficiency complacency. Now almost everything on the road
gets much, much better mileage. Just look at the Chevy Bolt, which
goes 200 miles on a charge, and the Ram Eco Diesel, which gets
almost 30 mpg.
Can you imagine that in this day and age of space shuttles, drones,
iPhones and refrigerators that can order their own food, we are
really thinking of going backwards on advancing efficiency
technologies for vehicles? Do you think Honda, Nissan and Toyota are
planning to make cars that are less efficient? When did America
start to believe that losing our competitive edge was a good thing?
Our 82-year-old company survived the Great Recession, but it was a
terrible. Lots of other car dealers did not survive. Chrysler and
General Motors went broke. We cannot afford to sit by while the
manufacturers and the government work to reverse money-saving fuel
economy standards. When gas prices spike again, these standards will
be our savior.
The President keeps saying that these regulations are crushing the
auto industry. Here is my question for the President and the
Environmental Protection Agency: the last four years have been the
best in the history of the U.S. auto industry. They have also been
the most profitable for car dealers, ever. Why are we going to
change the very regulations that are giving us these great cars,
trucks and SUVs?"
more at:
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/04/04/maine-auto-dealer-blasts-trump-epa-as-states-gear-up-for-legal-challenges/
[More risk warning - thanks go to http://www.desdemonadespair.net/]*
Mass extinction with prior warning
<https://www.fau.eu/2018/03/14/news/research/mass-extinction-with-prior-warning/>
Scientists from FAU have proved that warning signs for mass extinction
do exist, contrary to previous assumptions.
*March 14, 2018
Mass extinctions throughout the history of the Earth have been well
documented. Scientists believe that they occurred during a short period
of time in geological terms. In a new study, FAU palaeobiologists and
their research partners have now shown that signs that the largest mass
extinction event in the Earth's history was approaching became apparent
much earlier than previously believed, and point out that the same
indicators can be observed today.
Mass extinctions are rare events that have catastrophic consequences.
These events often completely change the course of evolution. For
example, the rise of mammals - and therefore of humans - would probably
not have been possible had dinosaurs not become extinct 65 million years
ago. A meteorite hit the Earth plunging it into darkness and causing a
huge drop in temperature. The subsequent hunger crisis wiped out more
than 70 percent of all animal species. Man's ancestors were among the
lucky survivors.
The consequences of the extinction of species that occurred around 250
million years ago at the Permian-Triassic boundary were even more
catastrophic...
- - - -
In a new study published in the March edition of the renowned magazine
'Geology', a team of researchers from Germany and Iran have proved that
this crisis happened over a longer period of time. Under the leadership
of Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kießling, Chair for Palaeoenviromental Research at
FAU, who has also recently been appointed as lead author for the sixth
World Climate Report, and Dr. Dieter Korn from the Museum für Naturkunde
in Berlin, the scientists examined fossils in largely unresearched
geological profiles in Iran . Their results show that the first
indicators of a mass extinction were evident as early as 700,000 years
prior to the actual event. Several species of ammonoids were killed off
at that time and the surviving species became increasingly smaller in
size and less complex the closer the main event became.
The warning signs of mass extinction are also visible today.
The factors that led to a mass extinction at the end of the Permian
Period remind us very much of today, says Prof. Wolfgang Kießling.
'There is much evidence of severe global warming, ocean acidification
and a lack of oxygen. What separates us from the events of the past is
the extent of these phenomena. For example, today's increase in
temperature is significantly lower than 250 million years ago'...
more at:
https://www.fau.eu/2018/03/14/news/research/mass-extinction-with-prior-warning/
- - - -
[Geology Journal]
*Pre-mass extinction decline of latest Permian ammonoids
<https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article/46/3/283/526710/pre-mass-extinction-decline-of-latest-permian>*
Wolfgang Kiessling et al
Geology (2018) 46 (3): 283-286.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1130/G39866.1
Published: January 24, 2018
Abstract
The devastating end-Permian mass extinction is widely considered to
have been caused by large-scale and rapid greenhouse gas release by
Siberian magmatism. Although the proximate extinction mechanisms are
disputed, there is widespread agreement that a major extinction
pulse occurred immediately below the biostratigraphically defined
Permian-Triassic boundary. Our statistical analyses of stratigraphic
confidence intervals do not comply with a single end-Permian
extinction pulse of ammonoids in Iran. High turnover rates and
extinction pulses are observed over the last 700 k.y. of the Permian
period in two widely separated sections representative of a larger
area. Analyses of body sizes and morphological complexity support a
gradual decline over the same interval. Similar pre-mass extinction
declines and disturbances of the carbon cycle have sometimes been
reported from other regions, suggesting a widespread, but often
overlooked, environmental deterioration at a global scale, well
before the traditional main extinction pulse.
more at:
https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article/46/3/283/526710/pre-mass-extinction-decline-of-latest-permian:
[Lump of coal]
*China is massively betting on coal outside its borders - even as
investment falls globally
<https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/06/china-is-massively-betting-on-coal-outside-its-shores--even-as-investment-falls-globally.html>*
CNBC But, beyond its borders, the country has been the world's biggest
investor in coal power. "Chinese banks' and companies' investments in
coal abroad are a cause of major concern because of their potential to
lock in more climate warming emissions in our carbon-constrained world,"...
Globally, there was an increase in global coal consumption last year
after two straight years of decline, according to data released last
month by the International Energy Agency. The trend was driven by Asian
demand, the IEA added.
more at:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/06/china-is-massively-betting-on-coal-outside-its-shores-even-as-investment-falls-globally.html
[And it's still correct]
*Perhaps the clearest, most concise explanation of global warming you'll
see
<https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/4/6/1754837/-Perhaps-the-clearest-most-concise-explanation-of-global-warming-you-ll-see>*
There is evidence that the greatly increasing use of fossil fuels,
whose material contents after combustion are principally H20 and
CO2, is seriously contaminating the earth's atmosphere with CO2.
Analyses indicate that the CO2 content of the atmosphere since 1900
has increased 10 per cent. Since CO2 absorbs long-wavelength
radiation, it is possible that this is already producing a secular
climatic change in the direction of higher average temperatures.
This could have profound effects both on the weather and on the
ecological balances.
In view of the dangers of atmospheric contamination by both the waste
gases of fossil fuels and the radioactive contaminates from nuclear
power plants, Professor Hutchinson urges serious consideration of the
maximum utilization of solar energy...
There it is, easy as pie...
Which thoughtful expert wrote such a crisp summary of this all-important
matter?
It was Marion King Hubbert, Chief Geology Consultant...for Shell Oil
Company ... In 1962.
more at:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/4/6/1754837/-Perhaps-the-clearest-most-concise-explanation-of-global-warming-you-ll-see
[New Fame for UMaine]
* Daily Beast mentions Climate Reanalyzer in article on global warming
<https://umaine.edu/news/blog/2018/04/06/daily-beast-mentions-climate-reanalyzer-article-global-warming/>*
University of Maine
April 6, 2018
Daily Beast
<https://www.thedailybeast.com/four-reasons-snowy-springs-dont-disprove-global-warming>
featured the University of Maine Climate Change Institute's Climate
Reanalyzer in the article, "Four reasons snowy springs don't disprove
global warming." The article states that a small swath of land from
Maine to Georgia is not representative of the entire Earth's surface,
and the warming effects of global climate disruption have not been as
keenly felt there as elsewhere. The article points to the Climate
Reanalyzer's global temperature data, which shows that on Jan. 1, half
of the United States was much colder than average but nearly everywhere
else in the world - including the West Coast - was much hotter than average.
https://umaine.edu/news/blog/2018/04/06/daily-beast-mentions-climate-reanalyzer-article-global-warming/
- - - -
[Maine in the Daily Beast]*
**Four Reasons Snowy Springs Don't Disprove Global Warming*
<https://www.thedailybeast.com/four-reasons-snowy-springs-dont-disprove-global-warming>
For example, check out this global temperature data
<https://www.climaterealityproject.org/sites/default/files/storm3.png>
from the *University of Maine's "Climate Reanalyzer."* It shows that on
Jan. 1, 2018, half of the United States was much colder than average but
nearly everywhere else in the world-including the West Coast-was much
hotter than average. That's just one day, of course, but you can page
through the Climate Reanalyzer <http://cci-reanalyzer.org/> yourself and
see how often the pattern repeats.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/four-reasons-snowy-springs-dont-disprove-global-warming
--
[Try the Climate Reanalyer ]
*Climate Reanalyzer is a platform for visualizing climate and weather
datasets. <http://cci-reanalyzer.org/>*
The site is coded and maintained byDr. Sean Birkel
<http://climatechange.umaine.edu/people/profile/sean_birkel>through
support from theClimate Change Institute
<http://climatechange.umaine.edu/>andSchool of Earth and Climate
Sciences <https://umaine.edu/earthclimate/>of theUniversity of Maine
<http://www.umaine.edu/>, and partial support from theNational Science
Foundation <http://www.nsf.gov/>.
Here, you can access climate information using interfaces forreanalysis
<http://cci-reanalyzer.org/reanalysis/monthly_maps/>andhistorical
station data <http://cci-reanalyzer.org/clim/ghcn/>. Maps, timeseries,
and correlation analyses can be plotted for gridded models. Station data
and model timeseries can be exported in CSV format for use in
spreadsheet software.
Climate is average weather, and so/Climate Reanalyzer/also provides
access to weather forecast models. Get a 10-day forecast timeseries for
your location by using the placename search at the top-right of every
page.Forecast maps <http://cci-reanalyzer.org/wx/fcst/>from global and
regional models are also available. These maps can be animated.
The most visited page on the site isToday's Summary
<http://cci-reanalyzer.org/wx/DailySummary/>, which features several
weather variables, including temperature departure for the current day
relative to a recent climate baseline. The summary maps can be viewed
Google Earth.
/Climate Reanalyzer/is continually being improved and expanded. Check
ourFacebook page <http://www.facebook.com/ClimateReanalyzer>for updates.
http://cci-reanalyzer.org/
[Sunday Sermon Clive Hamilton]
*The Theodicy of the "Good Anthropocene"
<https://clivehamilton.com/the-theodicy-of-the-good-anthropocene/>*
24 JUNE 2015
To the dismay of those who first proposed it, the Anthropocene is being
reframed as an event to be celebrated rather than lamented and feared.
Instead of final proof of the damage done by techno-industrial hubris,
the 'ecomodernists' welcome the new epoch as a sign of man's ability to
transform and control nature.
Although the ecomoderns write as humanists, they construe the new epoch
in a way that is structurally a theodicy, that is, a theological
argument that aims to prove the ultimate benevolence of God.
The 'good Anthropocene' argument is founded on a belief in the ultimate
benevolence of the whole, a goodness that in the end transcends and
defeats the structural obstacles, sufferings and moral lapses that seem
to threaten it. …
A talk to the Breakthrough Institute Dialogue, Sausalito, 22 June 2015
https://clivehamilton.com/the-theodicy-of-the-good-anthropocene/
- - - - - -
[to the Breakthrough Institute July 14, 2015]
A Good Anthropocene?
*Competing Visions of Our Environmental Future
<https://thebreakthrough.org/index.php/dialogue/can-we-have-a-good-anthropocene>*
Human ingenuity has allowed the species to transcend every supposed
ecological limit in the past, but will it be enough to surmount the
challenges of a new geologic epoch, the Anthropocene? There are many
reasons to believe in the possibility of a "good Anthropocene," says the
opening panel of the 2015 Breakthrough Dialogue, but concerted political
and social action - not techno-utopian thinking - is needed.
Mark Lynas, author of The God Species and Six Degrees, opened the
discussion by pointing to humankind's remarkable achievements in recent
history. Globally, a demographic transition is underway in which birth
rates are plummeting. More productive forms of agriculture use less
land, allowing forests to regrow in the United States, Poland, and
Vietnam. Western countries have seen peak consumption of various
materials including steel, concrete, paper, and wood.
These trends give empirical weight to what Lynas's belief in a good
Anthropocene. Citing the opening passage of Charles Dicken's A Tale of
Two Cities, Lynas emphasized that humans will ultimately decide what
kind of planet they inhabit by actively "using science and technology as
[their] most potent tools for first identifying and then solving problems."
Encouraging as these decoupling trends are - whereby economic growth
does not come at the expense of the environment - they might not be
occurring fast enough to make a difference.
Clive Hamilton, an ethicist at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and
Public Ethics, argued that humans have already entered a frightening
period in planetary history. There is no way to make the Anthropocene
good, he says, only "less bad."
"By the end of the century it will very likely be hotter than it has
been for 15 million years," he said. "In short, the Earth system is now
operating in a different mode and nothing we can do now, even ending the
burning of fossil fuels in short order, can get it to 'bounce back' to
the Holocene."
At one level, the concept of a good Anthropocene tends to mask the
negative impacts we are currently experiencing, such as the California
mega-drought. But at a deeper level, argues Hamilton, the concept is a
theodicy, "founded on a belief in the ultimate benevolence of the whole,
a goodness that in the end transcends and defeats the structural
obstacles, sufferings, and moral lapses that seem to threaten it."
The ecomodernist appeal to a "good Anthropocene" (sometime in the
distant future), in turn, breeds complacency - best summed up by the
phrases "everything happens for the best."
Steve Fuller, a philosopher at the University of Warwick, challenged the
notion that providence leads to passiveness:
"It's not just about silent suffering, but perseverance in the face of
resistance," Fuller said. "One can believe that even though you're faced
with challenges in short-term, there will be gain in the longer term,
and that is the spur to action."
Radical political change is necessary, agreed Hamilton, who described
his principal objection to An Ecomodernist Manifesto as its lack of
discussion of present-day politics that impede action on global
challenges like climate change.
"Obviously technological change is needed; everyone believes that," he
said. "[But in the manifesto] there's no analysis of what the problem
is. There's no mention of fossil fuel lobby, dirty money, politics,
denialism, and there's no mention of Exxon and the Koch brothers."
Lynas pushed back on this, arguing that climate change denialism is a
political phenomenon that is partly a reaction to the capture of the
climate change issue by the Left and the "insistence that only
anti-capitalist approaches are viable solutions."
While the fossil fuel lobby has played some role in raising skepticism,
argued Lynas, in his 15-year involvement with climate negotiations, the
biggest point of contention has been what kind of development pathways
developing nations will take.
Across the globe, poor countries such as Bangladesh are choosing to
build coal-fired power plants to move away from using wood, which
destroys forests and causes indoor air pollution that kills millions
annually. In the ecomodernist view, this is a good thing even if brings
out more carbon dioxide emissions. Development involves accelerating
poor countries further up the energy ladder, from using wood and dung,
to coal, gas, and eventually zero-carbon sources like solar and nuclear.
"The hope is - and I don't believe this is somehow predestined or
designed - that we will be able to achieve enough of development to
avert the worst impacts of climate change," argued Lynas.
"My critique of the technofix is when technology substitutes for
political change, which is necessary for bringing about that
technological revolution," replied Hamilton.
A good degree of change may need to come within environmental ranks
first, countered Lynas, who pointed to environmentalists' opposition to
technologies such as nuclear power and genetically modified foods.
"Yes environmentalists make mistakes, for one, I think the opposition to
GMOs has been a serious error," said Hamilton. "I think the dangers of
nuclear power have been seriously overblown, but to blame the
environmental movement as opposed to the fossil fuel industry, doesn't
make any sense."
From the tenor of the debate, the Anthropocene - whether defined as
good or bad - is unlikely to be passive.
"An embrace of technology does not imply a passive techno-optimism or an
ignorance of the policy changed needed," said energy analyst Jesse
Jenkins. "We have to leave behind in the discussion that anyone here
looks at challenges ahead and says everything will be fine, leave it to
fate."
Read the transcript of Mark Lynas's presented remarks here.
<http://www.marklynas.org/2015/06/a-good-anthropocene-speech-to-breakthrough-dialogue-2015/>
Read the transcript of Clive Hamilton's presented remarks here.
<http://clivehamilton.com/the-theodicy-of-the-good-anthropocene/>
https://thebreakthrough.org/index.php/dialogue/past-dialogues/breakthrough-dialogue-2015
https://thebreakthrough.org/index.php/dialogue/can-we-have-a-good-anthropocene
[Tip of South America drought]
*Most Expensive Weather Disaster of 2018: a $3.9 Billion Drought in
Argentina and Uruguay
<https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/most-expensive-weather-disaster-2018-39-billion-drought-argentina-and-uruguay>*
Dr. Jeff Masters · March 30, 2018,
A severe lack of rainfall during over southern South America during the
summer of 2017 - 2018 has led to the worst drought in decades over
portions of Argentina and Uruguay. According to insurance broker Aon
Benfield, total losses are near $3.9 billion, making the drought the
most expensive weather-related disaster on the planet so far in 2018-and
the most expensive disaster in the history of both Argentina and Uruguay.
Hardest-hit was Argentina, where the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange
predicted that the drought would likely cause an economic loss of $3.4
billion. Argentina's 2018 soybean harvest is expected to be near the
record-low harvest of the drought year of 2009; both severe droughts
occurred during weak La Niña events. According to EM-DAT, the
international disaster database, the $3.4 billion cost of this year's
drought exceeds a $3 billion flood (2018 dollars) from October 1985 as
Argentina's most expensive disaster on record.
The lack of summer rainfall this year in Uruguay has led to the worst
drought conditions in that nation since 2008/09. Local industry
officials anticipated economic losses exceeding $500 million, which
would rank as that nation's most expensive disaster in history. The
previous record was the $380 million cost of a drought in 1999..
https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/most-expensive-weather-disaster-2018-39-billion-drought-argentina-and-uruguay
[Humor?: True news video lunacy sarcasm]
*Trump Saves America From Fake News Climate Change Paris Agreement Hoax
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NEnlXhdpmY>*
Super Deluxe
Published on Jun 7, 2017
Vic Berger Presents: Thank God President Trump saved America from the
failing and fake news Paris Agreement!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NEnlXhdpmY
*This Day in Climate History - April 8, 2003
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/08/opinion/08iht-edoppen_ed3_.html> -
from D.R. Tucker*
April 8, 2003: In the New York Times, climate scientist Michael
Oppenheimer declares:
"The threat of global warming, first raised in 1896, has outlived
many foreign policy crises. Our failure to deal with it is starting
to bear a bitter harvest not only in rising seas and intensified
rainstorms, but also in disruption of long-standing alliances, and
interference with other foreign policy objectives. It is well past
time for U.S. leaders to put the climate problem at the center of
America's domestic and international agendas."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/08/opinion/08iht-edoppen_ed3_.html
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