[TheClimate.Vote] December 16, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

Sun Dec 16 08:56:07 EST 2018

/December 16, 2018/

[Action: ask senators for a sensible nominee]
*Interior Secretary Zinke resigns amid investigations 
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/interior-secretary-zinke-resigns-amid-investigations/2018/12/15/481f9104-0077-11e9-ad40-cdfd0e0dd65a_story.html>*
Interior Secretary Zinke resigned from office, overwhelmed with 
scandals. Investigators at his own agency have also referred his case to 
the Justice Department, which means he could soon be facing criminal 
charges.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/interior-secretary-zinke-resigns-amid-investigations/2018/12/15/481f9104-0077-11e9-ad40-cdfd0e0dd65a_story.html?utm_term=.cd135bc1fdfa

[Talks end, till next year]
Wa$hingtonPost'
*1,000 little steps': Global climate talks end in progress but fail to 
address the galloping pace of climate change*
"In the climate emergency we're in, slow success is no success."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/12/15/negotiators-strike-deal-global-climate-talks-questions-linger-over-whether-it-measures-up/

[First, talk about it]
*The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: talk about 
it 
<https://www.ted.com/talks/katharine_hayhoe_the_most_important_thing_you_can_do_to_fight_climate_change_talk_about_it>*
(Katharine Hayhoe | TEDWomen 2018)
How do you talk to someone who doesn't believe in climate change? Not by 
rehashing the same data and facts we've been discussing for years, says 
climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe. In this inspiring, pragmatic talk, 
Hayhoe shows how the key to having a real discussion is to connect over 
shared values like family, community and religion -- and to prompt 
people to realize that they already care about a changing climate. "We 
can't give in to despair," she says. "We have to go out and look for the 
hope we need to inspire us to act -- and that hope begins with a 
conversation, today."
https://www.ted.com/talks/katharine_hayhoe_the_most_important_thing_you_can_do_to_fight_climate_change_talk_about_it

[Climate and Security]
*The Climate and Security Podcast: Episode 4 with Christine Parthemore 
<https://climateandsecurity.org/2018/12/15/the-climate-and-security-podcast/>*
Christine Parthemore
Welcome again to The Climate and Security Podcast! Episode 4 is a 
special, audio-only episode. We will return to video podcasts from our 
next episode and going forward.
audio https://youtu.be/C5VjMsxnIHs
In this episode, host Dr. Sweta Chakraborty talks to Christine 
Parthemore, Dir. of the Climate-Nuclear-Security Program at The Council 
on Strategic Risks. Sweta asks Christine about the largely unknown, but 
significant, and long-shared history of climate and nuclear issues. In 
particular, U.S. and Russian nuclear weapon development and data 
collected since the Cold War accelerated the understanding of the human 
impacts on the atmosphere. Sweta and Christine discuss how nuclear and 
climate issues are converging today, and how we can think about this 
confluence of threats. Christine also shares her incredible work in 
removing and destroying chemical weapons from Syria as well as how 
weapons of mass destruction are classified and governed...
- -
The Center for Climate and Security's video podcast takes climate change 
out of its environmental box, and brings it to the big kid's table of 
national and international security. Featuring a series of exclusive 
dialogues between host Dr. Sweta Chakraborty and leading security, 
military and foreign affairs experts, the podcast explores our 
responsibility to prepare for a rapidly-changing world.
https://climateandsecurity.org/2018/12/15/the-climate-and-security-podcast/

[Pew poll information from April 2018]
*#16 Americans (59%) say climate change is affecting their local 
community 
<http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/12/13/18-striking-findings-from-2018/>*
Most Americans (59%) say climate change is affecting their local 
community at least some, especially those who live near a coast. 
Two-thirds of those who live within 25 miles of a coastline (67%) say 
this, compared with 59% of those who live 25 to 299 miles from a coast 
and half of those who live 300 miles or more from a coast. These 
geographical differences exist within the parties too: Democrats and 
Democratic-leaning independents who live within 25 miles of a coastline 
are more likely than those who live at least 300 miles inland to say 
climate change is affecting their local community. The same is true 
among Republicans and Republican leaners.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/12/13/18-striking-findings-from-2018/
- -
[on the other hand]
*Almost seven-in-ten Americans have news fatigue, more among Republicans 
<http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/05/almost-seven-in-ten-americans-have-news-fatigue-more-among-republicans/>*
If you feel like there is too much news and you can't keep up, you are 
not alone. A sizable portion of Americans are feeling overwhelmed by the 
amount of news there is, though the sentiment is more common on the 
right side of the political spectrum, according to a Pew Research Center 
survey conducted from Feb. 22 to March 4, 2018.
Almost seven-in-ten Americans (68%) feel worn out by the amount of news 
there is these days, compared with only three-in-ten who say they like 
the amount of news they get.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/05/almost-seven-in-ten-americans-have-news-fatigue-more-among-republicans/

[get government going]
*Is a Green New Deal Possible Without a Revolution? 
<http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/what-is-the-green-new-deal-explained-revolution.html>*
By Eric Levitz - DEC. 13, 2018
- -
Grassroots, social-media-powered political organizing can fuel 
reactionary movements and genocides; but it can also trigger teachers' 
strikes.
We're going to need carbon taxes to get where Green New Dealers wish to 
take us. But we'll also need a dash of mass civil disobedience (or at 
least, a million millennial march or two).
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/what-is-the-green-new-deal-explained-revolution.html

[Book recommendation]
*Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and 
Happiness <https://www.rickhanson.net/resilient/>*
by Rick Hanson Ph.D (Author), Forrest Hanson  (Author)
These days it's hard to count on the world outside. So it's vital to 
grow strengths inside like grit, gratitude, and compassion--the key to 
resilience, and to lasting well-being in a changing world.

True resilience is much more than enduring terrible conditions. We need 
resilience every day to raise a family, work at a job, cope with stress, 
deal with health problems, navigate issues with others, heal from old 
pain, and simply keep on going.

With his trademark blend of neuroscience, mindfulness, and positive 
psychology, New York Times bestselling author Dr. Rick Hanson shows you 
how to develop twelve vital inner strengths hardwired into your own 
nervous system. Then no matter what life throws at you, you'll be able 
to feel less stressed, pursue opportunities with confidence, and stay 
calm and centered in the face of adversity.

This practical guide is full of concrete suggestions, experiential 
practices, personal examples, and insights into the brain. It includes 
effective ways to interact with others and to repair and deepen 
important relationships.

Warm, encouraging, and down-to-earth, Dr. Hanson's step-by-step approach 
is grounded in the science of positive neuroplasticity. He explains how 
to overcome the brain's negativity bias, release painful thoughts and 
feelings, and replace them with self-compassion, self-worth, joy, and 
inner peace.
https://www.rickhanson.net/resilient/

[A Christmas tale for our time, the Stockdale Paradox relates to our 
situation]
The Stockdale Paradox
*How One Man Survived 8 Years In A Vietnamese Prison Camp 
<https://www.ndoherty.com/stockdale-paradox/>*
by Niall Doherty
The Stockdale Paradox – James Stockdale
Some of the best lessons I've learned about personal development come 
from a book that isn't aimed at the personal development market at all. 
It's a book about business and leadership, called Good to Great.
Author Jim Collins and his research team spent five years trying to 
identify the common factors that separated good (or briefly great) 
companies, from companies which were able to achieve and then sustain 
excellence for fifteen consecutive years or more.
While reading, I realized that almost all the findings in the book could 
be applied on a personal level as well.
While I would highly recommend that you get your hands on this book and 
read it in its entirety, today I'd like to share a part of it that has 
stuck with me most.
The Stockdale Paradox is named after admiral Jim Stockdale, who was a 
United States military officer held captive for eight years during the 
Vietnam War.
Stockdale was tortured more than twenty times by his captors, and never 
had much reason to believe he would survive the prison camp and someday 
get to see his wife again.
And yet, as Stockdale told Collins, he never lost faith during his ordeal:

    "It is an observation of rules that survivors follow under extreme
    duress.
    One should retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless
    of the difficulties.
      AND at the same time, Confront the most brutal facts of your
    current reality, whatever they might be.
    I didn't say anything for many minutes, and we continued the slow
    walk toward the faculty club, Stockdale limping and arc-swinging his
    stiff leg that had never fully recovered from repeated torture.
    Finally, after about a hundred meters of silence, I asked, "Who
    didn't make it out?"

    "Oh, that's easy," he said. "The optimists."

    "The optimists? I don't understand," I said, now completely
    confused, given what he'd said a hundred meters earlier.

    "The optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, 'We're going to be
    out by Christmas.' And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go.
    Then they'd say,'We're going to be out by Easter.' And Easter would
    come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would
    be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart."

    Another long pause, and more walking. Then he turned to me and said,
    "This is a very important lesson.  You must never confuse faith that
    you will prevail in the end--which you can never afford to
    lose--with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your
    current reality, whatever they might be."

    To this day, I carry a mental image of Stockdale admonishing the
    optimists: "We're not getting out by Christmas; deal with it!"
    Good To Great, by Jim Collins, The Stockdale Paradox, Chapter 4,
    pages 83–85

https://www.ndoherty.com/stockdale-paradox/

[pass me the barbecue sauce]
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.180325
*Researchers suggest broiler chicken is the hallmark of the Anthropocene*
December 12, 2018 by Bob Yirka, Phys.org
A team of researchers from several institutions in the U.K. and one in 
South Africa has come to the conclusion that the broiler chicken offers 
perhaps the most striking evidence of the rise of the Anthropocene. In 
their paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the 
group outlines their reasons for choosing the chicken as a signal of 
human biosphere reconfiguration.

Scientists have begun suggesting that we are now living in a new epoch, 
which thehy call the Anthropocene--the age of man-made impacts on the 
planet. In this new effort, the researchers suggest the broiler chicken 
is a prime example of the changes we have wrought. They note, for 
example, that the broiler chicken is now by far the most populous bird 
on the planet--at any given moment, there are approximately 23 billion 
of them. The second most populous bird, by comparison, is the red-billed 
quelea, and there are just 1.5 billion of them.

There are so many chickens that their body mass is greater than all 
other birds combined. And they are not anywhere close to their initial 
native state--the modern broiler is unable to survive and reproduce in 
the wild. It has been bred to eat non-stop, allowing it to grow to a 
desired size in just five to nine weeks. And as it grows, its meaty 
parts outgrow its organs, making it impossible for many to survive to 
adulthood. And all these chickens are being cooked and eaten, and their 
bones are discarded. Billions of bones wind up in landfills where they 
are covered over in an oxygen-free environment, making it likely that 
they will, over time, become fossilized. If we do not survive due to 
global warming, pandemics or nuclear warfare, the researchers suggest, 
the next dominant life form will likely dig up our landfills and find 
evidence of our love for the broiler chicken.

The idea of the broiler chicken as a symbol for our time here on Earth 
may be unsettling, they note, but other options do not sound much 
better. We will also be leaving behind things like plastics and 
radiation signatures.
Read more at: 
https://phys.org/news/2018-12-broiler-chicken-hallmark-anthropocene.html#jCp

*This Day in Climate History - December 16, 2008 
<http://youtu.be/EaIe9c_UxU4> - from D.R. Tucker*
December 16, 2008: On MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," Francesca Grifo 
of the Union of Concerned Scientists discusses the Bush Administration's 
environmental track record.
http://youtu.be/EaIe9c_UxU4
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