[TheClimate.Vote] April 19, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Thu Apr 19 09:05:44 EDT 2018
/April 19, 2018/
[Virginia activism]
*Anger over pipelines spills into General Assembly
<http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/general-assembly/anger-over-pipelines-spills-into-general-assembly/article_60a21d92-9d4f-5804-9e99-22c706c4cb5b.html>*
BY MICHAEL MARTZ Richmond Times-Dispatch - April 18, 2018
Intensifying public anger over the pending construction of two massive
natural gas pipelines through Virginia boiled over into the General
Assembly Wednesday, when more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers asked
Gov. Ralph Northam for more oversight of stream crossings and tree
cutting and to protect the rights of landowners protesting the projects.
Organized by Del. Mark Keam, D-Fairfax, a news conference conducted
before the assembly reconvened in its annual veto session brought
lawmakers into the fight from other parts of the state that aren't
affected directly by construction of the Atlantic Coast and Mountain
Valley pipelines.
Del. Danica Roem, D-Prince William, was among a group of Northern
Virginia Democrats who joined the protest, dismissing what she called
"NOVA versus ROVA (Rest of Virginia) BS."
"It is our obligation to stand with them," Roem said.
The legislators joined protesters in waving posters that said "I stand
with Red" in solidarity with a 61-year-old woman in the Roanoke Valley
known publicly as Red, who, with her daughter, has been camping in trees
on her Bent Mountain property to prevent crews from cutting trees in the
path of the pipeline.
Longtime neighbor and family friend Genesis Chapman said he has spent
last week "camping under Red's tree," with temperatures dipping into the
mid-20s and "spitting snow." He accused Roanoke and state police of
denying the women access to food and water, and "spotlighting (them) at
night like animals.
"My community is under siege," said Chapman, a lifelong resident of Bent
Mountain.
- - - - -
David Sligh, an environmental lawyer for Wild Virginia and leading
opponent of the Dominion-led pipeline, responded that public utility
customers "will pay dearly for the cost of this unnecessary project,"
which he contends would produce "huge profits" for its developers but
few benefits for utility ratepayers....
http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/general-assembly/anger-over-pipelines-spills-into-general-assembly/article_60a21d92-9d4f-5804-9e99-22c706c4cb5b.html
- - - - -
[5 min video pipeline activism]
*Red Terry Takes A Stand (video) <https://youtu.be/dt3Bz_uwBsA>*
Sarah Hazlegrove - Richmond, Virginia
Published on Apr 16, 2018
61-year-old landowner and tree-sitter "Red Terry" on Bent Mountain in
Virginia. The local police are denying her food and water as she
protests the radical Mountain Valley Pipeline for fracked gas.
Courageous and passionate about the wetlands, swamps and waterways
located on the family farm on Bent Mountain ,Virginia, Red Terry, is
taking a stand. A stand against the construction of the Mountain Valley
Pipeline that threatens her family's land, and the water that flows
from the mountain into the Roanoke and Salem valley.
"See also thisblog post
<http://bluevirginia.us/2018/04/video-red-terry-takes-a-stand-i-will-come-out-of-the-tree-when-these-people-get-off-my-land>about
the video on the excellent web site Blue Virginia. And learn more about
the pipeline fight across Virginia and West Virginiahere
<http://chesapeakeclimate.org/virginia/no-new-pipelines-in-virginia/>.
Sign up
foralerts<http://org.salsalabs.com/o/423/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=7823>related
to the fight here. "
https://youtu.be/dt3Bz_uwBsA
[Opinion: aim for collective engagement]
*To the Editor:
Re "He Called Out Sick, Then Apologized for Dying" (news article, April
16), about a civil rights lawyer who set himself afire in a Brooklyn
park:
<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/opinion/suicide-environmental-protest.html>*
As a psychiatrist I know that dark emotions may lie behind the face
we show to others, and that any suicide is the result of complex
forces, a mix of anger and despair. All that may be needed to light
the fuse is the "right" catalyst. David Buckel's suicide is likely
no exception. What is unusual is the catalyst: Mr. Buckel said he
wanted to die to call attention to climate change.
Climate change has been linked to suicide and suicidal ideation,
which increase during and after extreme weather events and on days
of poor air quality from burning fossil fuels. Suicides among
farmers in drought-stricken areas have skyrocketed. As the impacts
of global warming ratchet up, so will the emotional toll.
Suicide is a highly contagious act. This suicide was described as a
political protest, and that makes it dangerously seductive for
someone seeking a "noble" rationale.
The antidote to rage and despair, with climate change the catalyst,
is not individual self-destructive protest, but collective
engagement in political action.
LISE VAN SUSTEREN, WASHINGTON
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/opinion/suicide-environmental-protest.html
[New book release blurb]
*Routledge Handbook of Human Rights and Climate Governance
<https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Handbook-of-Human-Rights-and-Climate-Governance/Duyck-Jodoin-Johl/p/book/9781138232457>*
Edited by Sebastien Duyck, Sebastien Jodoin, Alyssa Johl
2018 - Routledge 430 pages See site for Google Preview
Description
Over the last decade, the world has increasingly grappled with the
complex linkages emerging between efforts to combat climate change and
to protect human rights around the world. The Paris Climate Agreement
adopted in December 2015 recognized the necessity for governments to
take into consideration their human rights obligations when taking
climate action. However, important gaps remain in understanding how
human rights can be used in practice to develop and implement effective
and equitable solutions to climate change at multiple levels of
governance...
This book brings together leading scholars and practitioners to offer a
timely and comprehensive analysis of the opportunities and challenges
for integrating human rights in diverse areas and forms of global
climate governance. The first half of the book explores how human rights
principles and obligations can be used to reconceive climate governance
and shape responses to particular aspects of climate change. The second
half of the book identifies lessons in the integration of human rights
in climate advocacy and governance and sets out future directions in
this burgeoning domain...
Featuring a diverse range of contributors and case studies, this
Handbook will be an essential resource for students, scholars,
practitioners and policy makers with an interest in climate law and
governance, human rights and international environmental law.
https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Handbook-of-Human-Rights-and-Climate-Governance/Duyck-Jodoin-Johl/p/book/9781138232457
[Evaluating Risk]
*Welcome to TRANSrisk <http://www.transrisk-project.eu/>*
*Transitions Pathways and Risk Analysis for Climate Change Mitigation
and Adaption Strategies*
started in September 2015 under the umbrella of EU Horizon 2020 programme.
TRANSrisk aims to assess low emission transition pathways that are
technically and economically feasible and acceptable from a social and
environmental viewpoint.
TRANSrisk brings together quantitative models and qualitative
approaches, focusing on participatory consultations with stakeholders as
a link between the approaches.
http://www.transrisk-project.eu/
- - - - - -
TRANSrisk Infographics
<http://www.transrisk-project.eu/consensus-building/infographics>
http://www.transrisk-project.eu/consensus-building/infographics
- - - - -
[video about Transrisk]
*3rd TRANSrisk Video <https://youtu.be/Xzp2kSONDP0>*
TRANSrisk
Published on Dec 11, 2017
This video presents the progress of TRANSrisk within the 2nd year of its
implementation.
https://youtu.be/Xzp2kSONDP0
[Video Webinar]
*Climate Adaptation Policy at the State and Local Level
<http://securityandsustainabilityforum.org/climate-adaptation-policy-at-the-state-and-local-level-9294>*
Security & Sustainability Forum
Arizona State University's School of Sustainability is hosting a new
five-webinar series - "Climate Change Adaptation & Resilience Leadership
Series". The series is co-hosted by the American Society of Adaptation
Professionals and the University of the District of Columbia's College
of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences.
The free series will introduce participants to climate change adaptation
and resilience leaders working in policy, innovation and technology, and
climate justice and social equity from across various scales of
government and other sectors. These experts share cutting-edge examples
of how they are putting effective, innovative and equitable climate
adaptation into practice.
Deliberate, proactive climate action is a deviation from
business-as-usual, and requires boldly challenging the status quo. At
the heart of climate action are individuals: courageous leaders who may
come from any part of society. Climate action requires revising, or
creating new, law, policy, or regulation to incentivize adaptation
action and penalize maladaptation. In this webinar, hear from
individuals who exemplify visionary leadership and are moving their
jurisdictions forward through groundbreaking climate policy.
http://securityandsustainabilityforum.org/climate-adaptation-policy-at-the-state-and-local-level-9294
[Videos produced by Nick Breeze 2016]
*#COP21 - Lord Martin Rees & Dr. Hugh Hunt Discuss Climate Pessimism
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RigR-ApZEsw>*
Published on Apr 24, 2016
Will the "Paris Agreement" be enough to limit global warming and an
ensuing climate catastrophe from greenhouse gas emissions? In this
candid conversation between 2 University of Cambridge luminaries, we
hear another view that exists outside of the UNFCCC rhetoric.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RigR-ApZEsw
- - - - - -
*Lord Martin Rees & Dr. Hugh Hunt - Climate conversations [Part 2]
<https://youtu.be/k3Nz_QNcsG8>*
Published on Apr 28, 2016
This part 2 in the series between Lord Rees and Dr. Hunt filmed at
University of Cambridge.
https://youtu.be/k3Nz_QNcsG8
- - - - - -
*Lord Martin Rees And Dr. Hugh Hunt - Part 3 <https://youtu.be/ZXYjSRq8cdw>*
Published on May 4, 2016
Martin Rees and Hugh Hunt discuss the current climate change realities
and requirements in the wake of the Paris Agreement - Part 3
- - - - -
[Dec 2015 produced by Nick Breeze]
*Dr. Hugh Hunt & Professor Kevin Anderson discussing Climate Change
realities <https://youtu.be/svlU6p0gHgo>*
Nick Breeze
Published on Dec 20, 2015
In this spontaneous conversation between two of Britain's most vocal
scientists on climate change and engineering, we see a frank analysis of
the details that bely inconvenient truths for each one us.
Our current carbon pollution rate is taking us towards a planet that is
on average 4ªC warmer than today with regional variations far exceeding
this and changes to the natural world that will be so profound that it
is fair to say, this will not be the same planet.
https://youtu.be/svlU6p0gHgo
[Military stuff]
*Miltary Climate Studies Links from Peak Oil web blog
<http://peakoil.com/forums/military-climate-studies-links-t72897.html>*
The Navy and Joint Chiefs have a number of studies. Also, the British
Ministry of Defense (MOD) and Australian Defence Force (ADF) have a
number of studies. SwissRe, MunichRe, Chatham House, CNAS, the
WorldBank, PriceWaterCooper and several other independent think tanks
are keeping current on the subject.
DNI/NIC: Implications for US National Security of Anticipated
Climate Change (2016)
<https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Reports%20and%20Pubs/Implications_for_US_National_Security_of_Anticipated_Climate_Change.pdf>
DoD: National Security Implications of Climate-Related Risks and a
Changing Climate (2015)
<http://archive.defense.gov/pubs/150724-congressional-report-on-national-implications-of-climate-change.pdf?source=govdelivery>
CIA/PNAS: Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change: Anticipating Surprises
(2013)
<https://www.nap.edu/catalog/18373/abrupt-impacts-of-climate-change-anticipating-surprises>Briefing
Slides
<http://nas-sites.org/americasclimatechoices/files/2013/12/NRCabruptclimatechangereleaseevent.pdf>
DNI/NIC: Global Food Security (2015)
<https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Reports%20and%20Pubs/Global_Food_Security_ICA.pdf>
DNI/NIC: Global Food Security: Emerging Technologies to 2040
<https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/nic/NICR%202012-30%20Global%20Food_Security%20Emerging%20Technology%20FINAL.pdf>
DNI/NIC: Global Food Security: Key Drivers—A Conference Report
(2012)
<https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/nic/NICR%202012-05%20Global%20Food%20Security%20Conf%20Rpt%20FINAL.pdf>
DNI/NIC: Global Water Security (2012)
<https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Special%20Report_ICA%20Global%20Water%20Security.pdf>
DNI/NIC: Natural Resources in 2020, 2030, and 2040: Implications for
the United States (2013)
<https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/NICR%202013-05%20US%20Nat%20Resources%202020,%202030%202040.pdf>
The major assumption underpinning this analysis is that mounting
prosperity in both the developed and the developing world will
continue to drive increased consumer demand for key resources. At
the same time, constraints in energy, water, and other critical
natural resources and infrastructure, together with socio-economic
shifts, will bring new and hard-to-manage instabilities.There will
be an increasing risk of discontinuous and systemic shocks to 2040
as a consequence of these factors.
The Bottom Line:At the aggregate level, there are significant
scarcity challenges for a number of key natural resources with
potential impact on US security.
Markets for agricultural commodities will remain tight through
to 2020 and probably to 2030, with maize experiencing the
largest increase in prices. Significant wheat production occurs
in water-stressed and climate vulnerable regions in Asia (China,
India, Pakistan, and Australia); markets therefore will remain
susceptible to harvest shocks. Markets for oil likely will
remain tight to 2020, and natural gas markets in certain regions
may have constrained supplies.
Commodity price shocks will afflict a wide range of consuming
countries with weak governance regimes or high income inequality
(Afghanistan, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan,
Somalia, and Ukraine).
...
Energy.Markets for oil likely will remain tight and volatile to
2020. In the absence of ambitious policies on efficiency and
deployment of new technology, or significant production from
unconventional sources,severe shortages of oil between 2025 and
2030would prompt emergency measures to reduce demand and to switch
fuels in major importing countries.
DNI/NIC = Director National Intelligence/National Intelligence
CouncilPublications
<https://www.dni.gov/index.php/about/organization/national-intelligence-council-nic-publications>
[now for something (almost) completely different]
*A New Study Suggests There Could Have Been Intelligent Life on Earth
Before Humans
<https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/mbxk4y/a-new-study-suggests-there-could-have-been-intelligent-life-on-earth-before-humans>*
Looking for aliens across deep space is great, but have we looked hard
enough in our own terrestrial backyard—here on Earth?
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/mbxk4y/a-new-study-suggests-there-could-have-been-intelligent-life-on-earth-before-humans
- - - -
[remember old TV sci-fi?]
*The Silurian Hypothesis
<http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2018/04/the-silurian-hypothesis/>*
(The naming of this idea comes from a 1970 Dr. Who episode where an
ancient race of reptilians ("Silurians") who had put themselves in
hibernation to avoid a global catastrophe were awakened by experimental
nuclear physics experiments.)
The Silurian Hypothesis
<http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2018/04/the-silurian-hypothesis/#ITEM-21256-0>
(preprint <http://arxiv.org/abs/1804.03748>) is the idea if industrial
civilization had arisen on Earth prior to the existence of hominids,
what traces would be left that could be detectable now? As a starting
point, we explore what the traces of the Anthropocene will be in
millions of years - carbon isotope changes, global warming, increased
sedimentation, spikes in heavy metal concentrations, plastics and more -
and then look at previous examples of similar events in the geological
record. What is unique about our presence on Earth and what might be
common to any industrial civilization? Can we rule out similar causes?
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2018/04/the-silurian-hypothesis/
- - - - -
[Not impossible, plausible?]
*Was There a Civilization On Earth Before Humans?
<https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/are-we-earths-only-civilization/557180/>*
A look at the available evidence
ADAM FRANK
"Wait a second," he said. "How do you know we're the only time there's
been a civilization on our own planet?"... that first conversation
launched a new study we've recently published
<https://arxiv.org/abs/1804.03748>in the International Journal of
Astrobiology.
- - - - -
It's not often that you write a paper proposing a hypothesis that you
don't support. Gavin and I don't believe the Earth once hosted a
50-million-year-old Paleocene civilization. But by asking if we could
"see" truly ancient industrial civilizations, we were forced to ask
about the generic kinds of impacts any civilization might have on a
planet. That's exactly what the astrobiological perspective on climate
change is all about. Civilization building means harvesting energy from
the planet to do work (i.e., the work of civilization building). Once
the civilization reaches truly planetary scales, there has to be some
feedback on the coupled planetary systems that gave it birth (air,
water, rock). This will be particularly true for young civilizations
like ours still climbing up the ladder of technological capacity. There
is, in other words, no free lunch. While some energy sources will have
lower impact—say solar vs. fossil fuels—you can't power a global
civilization without some degree of impact on the planet.
- - - - -
Once you realize, through climate change, the need to find lower-impact
energy sources, the less impact you will leave. So the more sustainable
your civilization becomes, the smaller the signal you'll leave for
future generations.
In addition, our work also opened up the speculative possibility that
some planets might have fossil-fuel-driven cycles of civilization
building and collapse. If a civilization uses fossil fuels, the climate
change they trigger can lead to a large decrease in ocean oxygen levels.
These low oxygen levels (called ocean anoxia) help trigger the
conditions needed for making fossil fuels like oil and coal in the first
place. In this way, a civilization and its demise might sow the seed for
new civilizations in the future.
By asking about civilizations lost in deep time, we're also asking about
the possibility for universal rules guiding the evolution of all
biospheres in all their creative potential, including the emergence of
civilizations. Even without pickup-driving Paleocenians, we're only now
learning to see how rich that potential might be.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/are-we-earths-only-civilization/557180/
- - - -
[it's academic now]
*The Silurian Hypothesis: Would it be possible to detect an industrial
civilization in the geological record? <https://arxiv.org/abs/1804.03748>*
Gavin A. Schmidt, Adam Frank
(Submitted on 10 Apr 2018)
If an industrial civilization had existed on Earth many millions of
years prior to our own era, what traces would it have left and would
they be detectable today? We summarize the likely geological fingerprint
of the Anthropocene, and demonstrate that while clear, it will not
differ greatly in many respects from other known events in the
geological record. We then propose tests that could plausibly
distinguish an industrial cause from an otherwise naturally occurring
climate event.
Comments: Accepted for publication in the International Journal of
Astrobiology
https://arxiv.org/abs/1804.03748
*This Day in Climate History - April 19, 2009
<http://youtu.be/WPA-8A4zf2c> - from D.R. Tucker*
April 19, 2009: House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) stumbles
through an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week,"
shamelessly attempting to dismiss concerns about carbon pollution.
http://youtu.be/tAHSm6Wt1W8
http://youtu.be/WPA-8A4zf2c
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