[TheClimate.Vote] April 13, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

Richard Pauli richard at theclimate.vote
Fri Apr 13 10:10:13 EDT 2018


/April 13, 2018/

[Youth Activism]
*'We are not a force to be ignored': Young people take up climate 
activism <http://news.trust.org/item/20180411121123-7pbv6>*
"When I think of climate change, I am driven by fear and anger"
Half the world's population is now under 30 years old - and those youth 
are becoming increasingly powerful political and social advocates for 
action, including on climate change, according to a 2017 World Economic 
Forum study that questioned youths from 180 countries.
Youth-led climate organisations are springing up around the globe. Their 
desire for change stems from personal experience of and worry about 
climate change, as well as a desire to hold their governments to account 
for failing to act swiftly enough on the problem, their members say.
http://news.trust.org/item/20180411121123-7pbv6?
- - - - -
[Youth: big legal fight in little Eugene]
*JULIANA V. UNITED STATES CLIMATE TRIAL SET FOR OCTOBER 29, 2018* 
<https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/s/20180412-Trial-Date-Set-in-Juliana-v-US-Press-Release.pdf>
Eugene, Oregon -- During a public case management conference today, U.S. 
Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin set October 29, 2018 as the trial date 
for Juliana v. United States, the constitutional climate lawsuit brought 
by 21 young people and supported by Our Children's Trust. The trial will 
be heard before U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken in Eugene, Oregon.
Julia Olson, executive director and chief legal counsel of Our 
Children's Trust and co-lead counsel for youth plaintiffs said:
"We have our trial date. In the coming months there will be depositions 
of the parties, defendants' disclosure of their experts, and expert 
depositions in late summer. We will build a full factual record for 
trial so that the Court can make the best informed decision in this 
crucial constitutional case."
DOJ attorneys representing the Trump administration told Judge Coffin 
that the trial date he set "won't work" for defendants. They claimed 
they needed additional time to address expert witness reports and find 
rebuttal experts for every one of plaintiffs' experts, to which Judge 
Coffin asked:
"Where am I missing something? Given your admissions in this case, what 
is it about the science that you intend to contest with your rebuttal 
witnesses?"
The Court also made it clear that it is not going to make decisions on 
summary judgment motions before the full record at trial, despite 
defendants' intentions to move to summary judgment prior to October 29.
Background info: https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/us/federal-lawsuit
Here's the FB post: 
https://www.facebook.com/youthvgov/photos/a.186886431354003.40508.186475038061809/1996636997045595/?type=3&theater
Here's twitter: https://twitter.com/youthvgov/status/984514929649582080
here's the PDF announcement: 
https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/s/20180412-Trial-Date-Set-in-Juliana-v-US-Press-Release.pdf


[CO2 expresses influence 30 years hence]
*New Zealand bans all new offshore oil exploration as part of 
'carbon-neutral future' 
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/12/new-zealand-bans-all-new-offshore-oil-exploration-as-part-of-carbon-neutral-future?CMP=share_btn_link>*
Prime minister
says move 'will essentially take effect in 30 or more years' time'
The New Zealand government will grant no new offshore oil exploration 
permits in a move that is being hailed by conservation and environmental 
groups as a historic victory in the battle against climate change.
The ban will apply to new permits and won't affect the existing 22, some 
of which have decades left on their exploration rights and cover an area 
of 100,000 sq km.
The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, 
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/jacinda-ardern> said her government 
"has a plan to transition towards a carbon-neutral future, one that 
looks 30 years in advance".
"Transitions have to start somewhere and unless we make decisions today 
that will essentially take effect in 30 or more years' time, we run the 
risk of acting too late and causing abrupt shocks to communities and our 
country."
- - - See the Facebook video post 
<https://www.facebook.com/jacindaardern/videos/10155186542372441/>  - - 
https://www.facebook.com/jacindaardern/videos/10155186542372441/
"Half the world's whale and dolphin species visit or live in New Zealand 
waters, from the critically endangered Maui's dolphin to giant blue 
whales," said the group's chief executive, Kevin Hague.
"Today, these sensitive creatures are made safer from the threat of oil 
spills and the sonic barrage of seismic testing. Keeping New Zealand's 
oil and gas in the ground reduces everyone's risk, and tells the world 
we're serious about reducing our contribution to climate change."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/12/new-zealand-bans-all-new-offshore-oil-exploration-as-part-of-carbon-neutral-future?CMP=share_btn_link


[text lines and video about Atlantic streams]
*Gulf Stream current at its weakest in 1,600 years, studies show 
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/11/critical-gulf-stream-current-weakest-for-1600-years-research-finds>*
Warm current that has historically caused dramatic changes in climate is 
experiencing an unprecedented slowdown and may be less stable than 
thought - with potentially severe consequences
- - - -
The warm Atlantic current linked to severe and abrupt changes in the 
climate in the past is now at its weakest in at least 1,600 years, new 
research shows. The findings, based on multiple lines of scientific 
evidence, throw into question previous predictions that a catastrophic 
collapse of the Gulf Stream would take centuries to occur.
Such a collapse would see western Europe suffer far more extreme 
winters, sea levels rise fast on the eastern seaboard of the US and 
would disrupt vital tropical rains. The new research shows the current 
is now 15% weaker than around 400AD, an exceptionally large deviation, 
and that human-caused global warming is responsible for at least a 
significant part of the weakening.
The current, known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation 
(Amoc), carries warm water northwards towards the north pole. There it 
cools, becomes denser and sinks, and then flows back southwards. But 
global warming hampers the cooling of the water, while melting ice in 
the Arctic, particularly from Greenland, floods the area with less dense 
freshwater, weakening the Amoc current.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/11/critical-gulf-stream-current-weakest-for-1600-years-research-finds
- - - - -
[YouTube video explains]
*Stronger evidence for a weaker Atlantic overturning 
<https://youtu.be/7KJlrpvUXw8>*
Potsdam Institute
Published on Apr 11, 2018
Levke Caesar and Stefan Rahmstorf from the Potsdam Institute for Climate 
Impact Research on their new paper.
The Atlantic overturning - one of Earth's most important heat transport 
systems, pumping warm water northwards and cold water southwards - is 
weaker today than any time before in more than 1000 years. Sea surface 
temperature data analysis provides new evidence that this major ocean 
circulation has slowed down by roughly 15 percent since the middle of 
the 20th century, according to a study published in the highly renowned 
journal Nature by an international team of scientists. Human-made 
climate change is a prime suspect for these worrying observations.
Article: Levke Caesar, Stefan Rahmstorf, Alexander Robinson, Georg 
Feulner, Vincent Saba (2018): Observed fingerprint of a weakening 
Atlantic Ocean overturning circulation. Nature [DOI: 
10.1038/s41586-018-0006-5]
Video https://youtu.be/7KJlrpvUXw8
- - - - - -
[Text]
*Stronger evidence for a weaker Atlantic overturning 
<https://www.pik-potsdam.de/news/press-releases/stronger-evidence-for-a-weaker-atlantic-overturning>*
04/11/2018. The Atlantic overturning - one of Earth's most important 
heat transport systems, pumping warm water northwards and cold water 
southwards - is weaker today than any time before in more than 1000 
years. Sea surface temperature data analysis provides new evidence that 
this major ocean circulation has slowed down by roughly 15 percent since 
the middle of the 20th century, according to a study published in the 
highly renowned journal Nature by an international team of scientists. 
Human-made climate change is a prime suspect for these worrying 
observations.
- - - -
There have been long debates whether the Atlantic overturning could 
collapse, being a tipping element in the Earth system. The present study 
does not consider the future fate of this circulation, but rather 
analyses how it has changed over the past hundred years. Nevertheless, 
Robinson cautions: "If we do not rapidly stop global warming, we must 
expect a further long-term slowdown of the Atlantic overturning. We are 
only beginning to understand the consequences of this unprecedented 
process - but they might be disruptive."
Several studies have shown, for example, that a slowdown of the Atlantic 
overturning exacerbates sea-level rise on the US coast for cities like 
New York and Boston. Others show that the associated change in Atlantic 
sea surface temperatures affects weather patterns over Europe, such as 
the track of storms coming off the Atlantic. Specifically, the European 
heat wave of summer 2015 has been linked to the record cold in the 
northern Atlantic in that year - this seemingly paradoxical effect 
occurs because a cold northern Atlantic promotes an air pressure pattern 
that funnels warm air from the south into Europe.
- - - -
The Atlantic overturning evolution over the past millennium deduced from 
indirect evidence of subsurface temperatures almost exactly matches that 
found previously by Rahmstorf and colleagues in 2015 - which is quite 
remarkable, given that the new study is based on ocean sediments, while 
the earlier study used a network of evidence found on the land surface, 
such as ice core and tree ring data.
"Several lines of evidence are coming together to a consistent picture 
now, all pointing at the same weakening since the 1950s," says 
Rahmstorf: "The subpolar Atlantic cooling, the warming inshore of the 
Gulf Stream, Thornalley's proxy data for subsurface Atlantic 
temperatures, and earlier proxy data from deep sea corals showing water 
mass changes in the Gulf of Maine."
The Thornalley study also suggests that a part of the Atlantic 
overturning - the deep flow of Labrador Sea Water - was affected 150 
years ago by warming and ice melt at the end of the 'Little Ice Age'. 
This illustrates the sensitivity of the overturning circulation to 
warming and freshwater input - something that is happening again now 
with human-caused warming and accelerating Greenland melt. However, 
judging by the data of past subsurface temperatures, this event 150 
years ago was not associated with such a profound overall reduction in 
the heat transport in the Atlantic ocean as the warming from fossil fuel 
greenhouse gases that has occurred mainly since 1950 - a global warming 
that is larger than any time before in the history of human civilization.
Article: Levke Caesar, Stefan Rahmstorf, Alexander Robinson, Georg 
Feulner, Vincent Saba (2018): Observed fingerprint of a weakening 
Atlantic Ocean overturning circulation. Nature [DOI: 
10.1038/s41586-018-0006-5]
*Weblink to the article:*http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0006-5
*Weblink to the short video on the study:*https://youtu.be/7KJlrpvUXw8
*Weblink to the blogpost of co-author Stefan 
Rahmstorf:*https://scilogs.spektrum.de/klimalounge/staerkere-belege-fuer-ein-schwaecheres-golfstromsystem/


[Superb two year old classic video from National Geographic]
*Climate Denial - Arnold Schwarzenegger & Bill Nye 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc_vtegGcNM>*
GlobalClimateNews
(re)Published on Apr 11, 2018
Bill Nye is feeling down. He's visiting his therapist - Dr. Arnold 
Schwarzenegger - wondering why he doesn't feel like himself lately. He 
feels as if a horrible weight is on his shoulders. The therapist listens 
sympathetically and diagnoses the cause. Bill is suffering from grief... 
climate change grief.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc_vtegGcNM


[and at an increasing rate]
*Global warming is causing an Alaskan glacier to melt at the fastest 
pace in 400 years 
<https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/04/11/global-warming-causing-alaskan-glacier-melt-fastest-pace-400-years/506549002/>*
Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
One of the USA's tallest glaciers is melting at the fastest pace in 400 
years, a new study reports.
The study 
<https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/2017JD027539> 
said melting on Mount Hunter in Alaska's Denali National Park can be 
linked mainly to rising summer temperatures in the region.
"We have not seen snow melt like this in at least four centuries," said 
study lead author Dominic Winski, a glaciologist at Dartmouth College.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/04/11/global-warming-causing-alaskan-glacier-melt-fastest-pace-400-years/506549002/
- - - - - - -
[Research Article]
*A 400‐year ice core melt layer record of summertime warming in the 
Alaska Range 
<https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/2017JD027539>*
Plain Language Summary

    Warming in mountainous areas affects glacier melt, water resources,
    and fragile ecosystems, yet we know relatively little about climate
    change in alpine areas, especially at high latitudes. We use ice
    cores drilled on Mt. Hunter, in Denali National Park, to develop a
    record of summer temperatures in Alaska that extends 400 years into
    the past; farther than any other mountain record in the North
    Pacific region. The ice core record shows that 60 times more
    snowmelt occurs today than 150 years ago. This corresponds to
    roughly a 2 degree C increase in summer temperature, which is faster
    than summertime warming in Alaska near sea level. We suggest that
    warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean has contributed to the rapid
    warming on Mt. Hunter by enhancing high‐pressure systems over
    Alaska. Our ice core record indicates that alpine regions
    surrounding the North Pacific may continue to experience accelerated
    warming with climate change, threatening the already imperiled
    glaciers in this area.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/2017JD027539

[carnivores and climates]
*Meet the Meatocracy 
<http://www.climatehealers.org/meatocracy/meet-the-meatocracy>*
If you are not at the table as an equal, then you are on the menu!
— Tony Gonzalez, American Indian Movement
This is the story of the "Meatocracy" and our global campaign to evolve 
beyond it. To follow this story, please begin by watching "The Films 
THEY Don't Want You To See <http://www.climatehealers.org/films>." Then 
click on the links below to see:
"Who Are THEY? <http://www.climatehealers.org/meatocracy/who-are-they>"
"What Do THEY Want? 
<http://www.climatehealers.org/meatocracy/what-do-they-want>"
"What Can WE Do About It? <http://what-can-we-do-about-it/>"
We trust you find it as intriguing and inspiring as we do!


[coming UN Climate Change Conference end of April]
RESOURCE / 11 APR, 2018 / https://unfccc.int/
*How to Navigate the Website 
<https://unfccc.int/news/how-to-navigate-the-website>*
The UN Climate Change secretariat (UNFCCC) has enhanced its website in 
order to improve the public access to information through modern and 
user-friendly technology.
Users can find all the information about the UNFCCC process and meetings 
that was available on the old website through the new website front-page 
https://unfccc.int/.
Information about the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (Bonn, 30 
April-10 May) is prominently displayed on the front-page through the 
"Process and meetings" tab in the top menu of the new website and 
through the specific tabs for each of the bodies' session.
Clicking on "Process and meetings" / "Conferences" / "Bonn Climate 
Change Conference April 2018" you will find all the information 
currently available about the upcoming conference, including the agendas 
and documents for the different sessions (SBI 48/SBSTA 48/APA 1-5), as 
well as logistical details and information for the press. More 
information will be made available closer to the date....
more at: https://unfccc.int/news/how-to-navigate-the-website


*This Day in Climate History - April 13, 2012 
<http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/apr/13/climate-change-a-hot-issue/> 
- from D.R. Tucker*
April 13, 2012: In the Spokane, Washington Spokesman-Review, "Democracy 
Now" host Amy Goodman observes:

    "The Pentagon knows it. The world’s largest insurers know it. Now,
    governments may be overthrown because of it. It is climate change,
    and it is real. According to the U.S. National Oceanic and
    Atmospheric Administration, last month was the hottest March on
    record for the United States since 1895, when records were first
    kept, with average temperatures of 8.6 degrees above average. More
    than 15,000 March high-temperature records were broken nationally.
    Drought, wildfires, tornadoes and other extreme weather events are
    already plaguing the country."

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/apr/13/climate-change-a-hot-issue/


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