[TheClimate.Vote] August 27, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

[Richard Pauli]

/August 27, 2018/

[McCain on climate change]
*John McCain's Climate Change Legacy 
<https://insideclimatenews.org/news/26082018/john-mccain-climate-change-leadership-senate-cap-trade-bipartisan-lieberman-republican-campaign>*
The senator from Arizona brought climate science into Capitol Hill 
hearings and cap-and-trade legislation to a vote, but then moderate 
Republican politics changed.
By Marianne Lavelle - AUG 26, 2018
Among the many battles Sen. John McCain waged in his storied career, it 
is easy to overlook his fight for U.S. action on climate change.
He wrote legislation that failed. He built a bipartisan coalition that 
crumbled. And when Congress came closest to passing a bill that embraced 
his central idea-a market-based cap-and-trade system-McCain turned his back.
And yet, McCain's nearly decade-long drive on global warming had an 
impact that reverberates in today's efforts to revive the U.S. role in 
the climate fight. In the Senate chamber and on the campaign trail, the 
Arizona Republican did more than any other U.S. politician has done 
before or since to advance the conservative argument for climate action.
Today's efforts to recruit GOP members into the climate movement-appeals 
to conservative and religious values, the framing of climate change as a 
national security threat, efforts to stress market-based solutions and 
the role business leaders can play-all owe a debt to McCain.
At the same time, McCain's climate journey and its abrupt end serve as a 
cautionary tale of how far the Republican party has moved from a 
mainstream conservatism that is receptive to such appeals.
"What McCain did on climate is a really great reminder of where we need 
to get back to," said Kevin Curtis, executive director of NRDC Action. 
As an environmental lobbyist on Capitol Hill in the 2000s, Curtis 
watched close-up as McCain crafted the first economy-wide climate 
legislation in the U.S. with one of his closest friends in the chamber, 
Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, the Democrat who would later turn 
Independent...
- - - -
McCain Addresses Climate Change 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kqEbryfxnE>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kqEbryfxnE
McCain Plan On Climate Change <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZsmQzOT1oo>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZsmQzOT1oo
- - - -
A kind of coda to McCain's climate story came on May 10, 2017, when in 
defiance of the Trump administration, he cast the deciding vote against 
Congressional repeal of Obama administration regulations on the potent 
greenhouse gas methane. McCain can be seen on the floor facing off 
heatedly against a half-dozen GOP senators who surround and block him 
before he gestures thumbs-down, a foreshadowing of his later decisive 
vote against the Obamacare repeal. McCain said in a statement that while 
he thought the Obama methane rule was "onerous," he objected to the 
GOP's use of a legal provision that would have forever blocked the 
Interior Department from future regulation of methane, which he said was 
"an important public health and air quality issue."
"They all knew what his position was and thought they could turn him," 
said Jeremy Symons, EDF's vice president of political affairs. "The fact 
that he stood tall made a huge difference. That moment, that day 
demonstrated that environmental issues are always going to be a fight. 
And since then, the Senate has been a firewall" against the effort to 
roll back environmental protection in the current Congress.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/26082018/john-mccain-climate-change-leadership-senate-cap-trade-bipartisan-lieberman-republican-campaign
- - - - -
[McCain speaks video]
*John McCain: Climate Change Most Critical Issue of our Future (2003) 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bESD63lOuVg>*
Climate State - Published on Aug 26, 2018
Senator John McCain introduces legislation to reduce greenhouse gas 
emissions (January 8, 2003, at Capitol Hill).
Witnesses testified about proposals to limit greenhouse gas emissions, 
global climate change, and regulations that would create mandatory 
limits on all sectors of the economy. 
https://www.c-span.org/video/?174514-...
Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to join my friend and 
colleague, Senator McCain, to introduce the first ever comprehensive 
legislation to limit the emissions of greenhouse gases in the United 
States. Today we take the first step up a long mountain road, a road 
that will culminate with this country taking credible action to address 
the global problems of our warming planet. The rest of the world is now 
taking on the challenge this problem presents. The United States, as the 
world's largest emitter of the gases and the home of the world's 
strongest economy, must not have its head in the clouds. 
https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2003/01/09/senate-section/article/S153-1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bESD63lOuVg


[opinion letter signed by 60 scientists, writers, media people.]
*Climate change is real. We must not offer credibility to those who deny 
it 
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/26/climate-change-is-real-we-must-not-offer-credibility-to-those-who-deny-it>*
The Guardian - Aug 26, 2018
If 'balance' means giving voice to those who deny the reality of 
human-triggered climate change, we will not take part in the debate, say 
Jonathan Porritt, Caroline Lucas, Clive Lewis and 57 other writers, 
politicians and academics
We are no longer willing to lend our credibility to debates over whether 
or not climate change is real. It is real. We need to act now or the 
consequences will be catastrophic. In the interests of "balance", the 
media often feels the need to include those who outright deny the 
reality of human-triggered climate change.

Balance implies equal weight. But this then creates a false equivalence 
between an overwhelming scientific consensus and a lobby, heavily funded 
by vested interests, that exists simply to sow doubt to serve those 
interests. Yes, of course scientific consensus should be open to 
challenge - but with better science, not with spin and nonsense. We 
urgently need to move the debate on to how we address the causes and 
effects of dangerous climate change - because that's where common sense 
demands our attention and efforts should be.

Fringe voices will protest about "free speech". No one should prevent 
them from expressing their views, whether held cynically or misguidedly. 
However, no one is obliged to provide them with a platform, much less to 
appear alongside them to give the misleading impression that there is 
something substantive to debate. When there is an article on smoking, 
newspapers and broadcasters no longer include lobbyists claiming there 
are no links to cancer. When there's a round-the-world yacht race we 
don't hear flat-earthers given airtime: "This is madness; they'll sail 
off the edge!"
There's a workable model for covering fringe views - which is to treat 
them as such. They don't need to be ridiculed, just expected to 
challenge the evidence with better evidence, and otherwise ignored. As 
campaigners and thinkers who are led by science and the precautionary 
principle, and who wish to debate the real and vital issues arising from 
human-triggered climate change, we will not assist in creating the 
impression that climate denial should be taken seriously by lending 
credence to its proponents, by entertaining ideas that lack any basis in 
fact. Therefore we will no longer debate those who deny that 
human-caused climate change is real. There are plenty of vital debates 
to be had around climate chaos and what to do about it; this is simply 
no longer one of them. We urge broadcasters to move on, as we are doing.

    Jonathon Porritt Chair, Sustainable Development Commission 2000-11
    John Sauven Executive director, Greenpeace
    Prof Richard Murphy Director, Tax Research UK
    Peter Tatchell
    Prof Andrea Sella, Michael Faraday prize winner
    Prof Robert Ayres Author
    Caroline Lucas MP
    Clive Lewis MP
    Prof Molly Scott Cato MEP
    Dr Rupert Read Chair, Green House thinktank
    George Monbiot Author
    Dr Doug Parr Chief scientist, Greenpeace
    Chris Rose Former programme director, Greenpeace
    Jeremy Leggett Founder, Solar Century
    Mayer Hillman Senior fellow, Policy Studies Institute
    Bea Campbell
    Ed Gillespie Co-founder, Futerra
    Mark Lynas Author
    Dr James Garvey Author
    Oliver Tickell Author
    Chris Goodall Author
    Prof Clive Spash Author
    Prof Hugh Montgomery Co-founder, UK Climate and Health Council
    Prof Mark Maslin Author
    Prof Anthony Ryan Director, Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures
    Dr Sian Foch-Gatrell Green Ocean Project
    Dr Erik Buitenhuis Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
    David Wasdell Director, Apollo-Gaia Project
    Prof Paul Ekins UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources
    Dr Teresa Belton Author
    Dr Nick Brooks Climatic Research Unit, UEA
    Dr Simon Boxley Centre for Climate Change Education, University of
    Winchester)
    Prof Jem Bendell Sustainability Leadership Institute, University of
    Cumbria
    Dr David Drew MP
    Dr Ian Gibson Former chair of the House of Commons science and
    technology select committee)
    Keith Taylor MEP
    Clare Moody MEP
    Catherine Bearder MEP
    Cllr Jonathan Bartley Co-leader, Green party
    Carne Ross Former UK and UN diplomat
    Neal Lawson Director, Compass
    Ben Chacko Editor, Morning Star
    Deepak Rughani Co-director, Biofuelwatch
    Patrick Barkham Author
    Prof Gary Francione
    Prof Sarah Churchwell
    Dr Christine Cornea
    Dr Richard House
    Dr Abby Innes
    Dr Pierre Bocquillon
    Prof Del Loewenthal
    Prof Andrew Samuels
    Dr Jo Veltman
    Prof Peter Belton
    Dr Andrew Boswell
    Dr Katherine Kite
    Mark Crutchley
    Karen Whiterod
    Anne Dismorr
    Jonathan Kent

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/26/climate-change-is-real-we-must-not-offer-credibility-to-those-who-deny-it


[future storms]
*Hurricane Lane Brings Hawaii a Warning About Future Storm Risk 
<https://insideclimatenews.org/news/25082018/hurricane-lane-climate-change-ocean-sea-surface-temperature-hawaii-global-warming-tropical-weather>*
Warming water in the Central Pacific as global temperatures rise is 
likely to boost tropical storm activity in a region largely spared in 
the past.
BY BOB BERW
As Hurricane Lane's outer rain bands deluged the Hawaiian Islands this 
week, scientists looked to the ocean temperature for evidence of 
connections to climate change and clues to what may be ahead for this 
region where hurricane landfalls have been rare.
Climate scientists have been warning that warmer oceans and atmosphere 
will supercharge tropical weather systems. Globally, they generally 
expect fewer tropical storms overall but an increase in the most intense 
storms. But they also say it's important to understand that there will 
be regional nuances.
In some areas-including the waters near Hawaii-hurricanes will probably 
become more common by the end of the century, said Hiroyuki Murakami, a 
climate researcher with the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at 
Princeton University who focuses on extreme weather.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/25082018/hurricane-lane-climate-change-ocean-sea-surface-temperature-hawaii-global-warming-tropical-weather


[distilled irony]
*Big oil asks government to protect its Texas facilities from climate 
change 
<https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/texas-protect-oil-facilities-from-climate-change-coastal-spine/>*
AUG 22, 2018
PORT ARTHUR, Texas -- As the nation plans new defenses against the more 
powerful storms and higher tides expected from climate change, one 
project stands out: an ambitious proposal to build a nearly 60-mile 
"spine" of concrete seawalls, earthen barriers, floating gates and steel 
levees on the Texas Gulf Coast.
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/texas-protect-oil-facilities-from-climate-change-coastal-spine/


[fouling the nest]
*Cost of Coal: Electric Bills Skyrocket in Appalachia as Region's 
Economy Collapses 
<https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14082018/coal-energy-prices-appalachia-mining-electric-bill-kentucky-economy-aep-rates>*
As natural gas and renewables get cheaper elsewhere, residents in 
Appalachia are stuck paying for coal-fired power plants that no longer 
make economic sense.
BY JAMES BRUGGERS
The common denominator is American Electric Power, one of the nation's 
largest utilities. It owns Kentucky Power, along with two subsidiaries 
in neighboring West Virginia, Wheeling Power and Appalachian Power.
In May, Wheeling Power and Appalachian Power requested permission from 
the Public Service Commission of West Virginia to boost their monthly 
residential bill 11 percent because of declining sales. That was on top 
of a 29 percent increase between 2014 and 2018.
Customers in both states are furious that the regulators are going along.
"Our jobs available in this state are not a living wage, and many are 
working two, three jobs just to make it," wrote Elizabeth Bland of 
Beckley, West Virginia, in her protest letter to the commission. "Please 
turn down this request from Appalachian Power for the sake of all West 
Virginians."
Rising rates are just part of the problem.
Kentucky Power's monthly bill also includes surcharges, and a line for 
each customer's share of the utility's fixed costs. These add up in 
precious dollars.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14082018/coal-energy-prices-appalachia-mining-electric-bill-kentucky-economy-aep-rates


[radical opinion - be sure to vote]
AUGUST 24, 2018
*While Trump Sweats, the West Burns 
<https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/08/24/while-trump-sweats-the-west-burns/>*
by JILL RICHARDSON
The equation is simple. When it's hotter outside, water evaporates 
faster, so the "fuel" (trees, vegetation) is drier and more flammable. 
The many trees killed by drought and bark beetles also contribute to the 
dryness of the fuel.
As the effects of climate change get worse, they're also going to get 
more costly - in dollars, lives, and in quality of life. It would be far 
cheaper to prevent and mitigate the climate crisis.
Cheaper and better.
We're going to end up spending money either way: whether we pay to 
develop non-polluting energy sources, restore forests, and take other 
steps to prevent catastrophic climate change, or whether we don't, and 
then we have to pay for the consequences.
The costs of inaction? More wildfires and more hurricanes destroy more 
homes and take more human lives. Inhaled smoke from wildfires leads to 
increased respiratory illnesses. Sea levels rise and some parts of the 
world end up under water.
Unfortunately, simply leaving it all up to individuals and to the market 
isn't enough to prevent this outcome. We need to act collectively - as a 
nation and as a world. We've already pulled out of the Paris Climate 
agreement, which was inadequate but at least it was something.
Climate change is real - ask anyone living through smoke season. With 
midterm elections coming up, candidates should be pressed to clarify 
just what they're going to do about it.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/08/24/while-trump-sweats-the-west-burns/


*This Day in Climate History - August 27, 1989 
<http://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/27/us/summit-of-sorts-on-global-warming.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm> 
- from D.R. Tucker*
August 27, 1989: The New York Times reports:

    "Top Soviet and American scientists, environmentalists,
    policymakers, industry leaders and artists today urged President
    Bush and President Mikhail S. Gorbachev of the Soviet Union to form
    an 'environmental security alliance' to reverse what they fear could
    be a catastrophic warming of the planet.

    "The gathering urged that the superpowers promote energy-efficient
    technologies and phase out production and use of chlorofluorocarbons
    no later than the year 2000. The group said the countries should
    'substantially reduce' carbon dioxide emissions, reduce the loss of
    forests and promote tree planting worldwide. Participants asked that
    the two leaders appeal directly to their citizens to help.


    "The joint letter avoided specific goals to achieve a compromise
    between the Soviet and American participants and within the American
    contingent, even though some participants had wanted specific
    numerical and time goals on cutting emissions. But it represented
    the most concerted Soviet-American action yet over fears that the
    emission of industrial chemicals into the atmosphere is causing a
    worldwide warming trend, or 'greenhouse effect.'

    "'Soviet and U.S. scientists agreed that continued buildup of
    greenhouse gases at present rates will insure that global
    temperatures rise before the middle of the next century above
    anything in human history,' an accompanying report stated. The
    report said disruptions in agriculture and rising sea levels would
    cause 'massive refugee problems.'"

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/27/us/summit-of-sorts-on-global-warming.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm 



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