[TheClimate.Vote] February 4, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Sun Feb 4 09:23:18 EST 2018
/February 4, 2018/
["coldest Superbowl in history"]
*Super Bowl 52 Forecast: Bitterly Cold Temperatures Blast Minneapolis
This Weekend
<https://weather.com/forecast/regional/news/2018-01-22-super-bowl-lii-minneapolis-forecast>*
https://weather.com/forecast/regional/news/2018-01-22-super-bowl-lii-minneapolis-forecast
[TV Forecasters to Trump]
*America's top weather scientists offer to set Trump straight on climate
change
<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-climate-change-america-scientists-offer-explanation-global-warming-us-president-a8189201.html>*
Letter from American Meteorological Society points US President to
'wealth of comprehensive and accurate information' available via
government agencies like NASA.
Donald Trump has been sent a letter by the US's top scientific
organisation for weather and climate researchers, correcting him on
points made in a recent interview...
Many scientists have already been vocal in discrediting the ideas
suggested by the US President, and now the American Meteorological
Society (AMS) has offered to help him understand the science of climate
change.
In a letter, AMS executive director Dr Keith Seitter pointed Mr Trump in
the direction of the "wealth of comprehensive and accurate information
on climate change" available via US government agencies...
*Letter PDF document:
<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-climate-change-america-scientists-offer-explanation-global-warming-us-president-a8189201.html>*
https://www.ametsoc.org/ams/index.cfm/about-ams/ams-position-letters/ams-letter-to-president-trump-on-climate-change/
Dr Seitter offered the services of the AMS to help educate the US
President about the facts of climate change.
"The American Meteorological Society stands ready to provide assistance
in connecting Executive Branch staff with that knowledge and expertise
to ensure that you and your staff are working with credible and
scientifically validated information as you navigate the many difficult
policy areas impacted by the Earth's changing climate," he wrote...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-climate-change-america-scientists-offer-explanation-global-warming-us-president-a8189201.html
[complicity]
*Chevron Wants More Companies Blamed in Climate Liability Cases
<https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/02/03/chevron-climate-liability-california-statoil/>*
By Dana Drugmand
Chevron Corp., one of the defendants in a batch of climate change
nuisance lawsuits by communities in California, contends that the suits
are meritless, but just in case the company is deemed liable for carbon
pollution, it wants
<https://www.forbes.com/sites/legalnewsline/2018/02/01/facing-meritless-lawsuits-chevron-says-it-can-play-the-climate-change-blame-game-too/#6a63d35b7cd4>
the Norwegian state-owned oil company Statoil to shoulder some of the
liability burden.
In an interesting move that seems designed to hedge its own culpability,
Chevron filed a complaint
<https://jnswire.s3.amazonaws.com/jns-media/f6/c8/760598/CHEVRONvNORWAY.pdf>
for indemnity and contribution against Statoil in December in the U.S.
District Court in San Francisco.
"Chevron denies that Plaintiffs are entitled to any relief on their
Complaints," the company's complaint states. "However, in the event that
Chevron is held liable to Plaintiffs, Chevron is entitled to indemnity
and/or contribution from Statoil."
According to the Statoil website
<https://www.statoil.com/en/about-us.html#statoil-at-a-glance>, the
Norwegian energy giant operates in more than 30 countries and is the
world's largest offshore driller. The Chevron complaint cites Statoil's
production numbers, including approximately 251,000 barrels of oil per
day just in its U.S. business. Statoil did not immediately respond to a
request for comment...
"I don't view the move as demonstrating a fear of actual liability so
much as a strategic move to paint a more complicated picture about
global contributors to climate change," she said.
Such legal maneuverings are expected in a complex liability case.
Attribution science, however, shows that Chevron bears more
responsibility for historical emissions than Statoil.
A study <https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-013-0986-y> by
Richard Heede in 2013 identified 90 companies responsible for nearly
two-thirds of carbon emissions since the Industrial Revolution.
https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/02/03/chevron-climate-liability-california-statoil/
-
[The "But everybody does it" defense]
[THIRD-PARTY COMPLAINT OF
DEFENDANT CHEVRON CORPORATION
FOR INDEMNITY AND CONTRIBUTION
AGAINST THIRD-PA
RTY DEFENDANT
STATOIL ASA ]
<https://jnswire.s3.amazonaws.com/jns-media/f6/c8/760598/CHEVRONvNORWAY.pdf>
https://jnswire.s3.amazonaws.com/jns-media/f6/c8/760598/CHEVRONvNORWAY.pdf
Brief for the Tennessee Valley Authority as Respondents Supporting
Petitioners at 37, American Electric Power Co. Inc. v. State of
Connecticut, No. 10-74 (Jan. 2011); id. at 17, 37
(citing the extraordinary "breadth" of potential defendants in
common-law suits aimed at global climate change as one of many reasons
why such suits should be rejected).
A finding that Plaintiffs' allegations against Chevron and the other
named Defendants in these actions are true and sufficient would
implicate a multitude of domestic and international actors as parties
allegedly responsible for a portion of the in-juries and damages
Plaintiffs claim, either on the same basis as they would implicate
Chevron, or, in
the case of users and emitters of greenhouse gases, a more direct basis.
These include other fossil fuel producers (e.g., the numerous unnamed
fossil fuel companies (including others that are agencies or
instrumentalities of sovereign foreign states),
the United States, and numerous states, including California, see
California Public Resources Code § 3106(d));
promoters (e.g., the unnamed manufacturers of automobiles, aircraft,
heavy machinery, farm equipment, home and commercial heating equipment,
etc.);
and emitters (e.g., Plaintiffs themselves, private entities, and
individuals around the world who actually consume and burn the fossil
fuels that Plaintiffs allege give rise to global warming and the
sea-level rise of which Plaintiffs complain).
Accordingly, this third-party complaint is one of many that Chevron
expects to file should this case proceed past motions to dismiss.
https://jnswire.s3.amazonaws.com/jns-media/f6/c8/760598/CHEVRONvNORWAY.pdf
[Interactive Map for 2018]
*The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI)
<https://www.climate-change-performance-index.org/>* is an instrument
designed to enhance transparency in international climate politics. Its
aim is to put political and social pressure on those countries which
have, up until now, failed to take ambitious action on climate
protection. It also aims to highlight those countries with best practice
climate policies. On the basis of standardised criteria, the index
evaluates and compares the climate protection performance of 56
countries and the EU, which are together responsible for more than 90
percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
These are the Overall Results of this year's Climate Change Performance
Index. The ranking results of this category are defined by a country's
aggregated performance regarding 14 indicators within the four
categories GHG Emissions, Renewable Energy, Energy Use and Climate Policy.
The CCPI 2018 Results illustrate the main regional differences in
climate protection and performance within the 56 evaluated countries and
the EU. Despite decreasing growth rates in GHG emissions, still no
country performed well enough to reach the rating "very high" in this
year's index and therefore the top three ranks remain left open.
In this year's index, Sweden is leading the list, followed by Lithuania
and Morocco, while Saudi Arabia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of
Korea, Australia and the United States form the bottom five of this
classification, scoring "low" or "very low" across almost all categories.
https://www.climate-change-performance-index.org/
[cryoseism = frost quake]
*Weatherwatch: when cold makes the earth move
<https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/feb/02/weatherwatch-frost-ice-quake-cryoseism-wisconsin-great-lakes-canada>*
A frost quake, or cryoseism, is a rare event in bitter conditions, and
several have shaken the earth in the US and in Canada recently
esidents of Ozaukee County, Wisconsin were startled by a loud boom with
no visible source last Saturday. Some even reported that windows rattled
and their houses shook. What felt like a miniature earthquake was
actually a cryoseism, or frost quake.
Cryoseisms have been documented since the early 19th century. They are
caused by an explosive release of pressure underground, when water which
has drained into cracks in rocks expands as it freezes...
While frost quakes affect a small area compared to earthquakes, they can
be intense, causing plaster to fall and moving furniture inside
buildings. However, there was no reported structural damage from the
Ozaukee quake.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/feb/02/weatherwatch-frost-ice-quake-cryoseism-wisconsin-great-lakes-canada
-
[Still a mystery]
*Experts still looking into what caused Monday's seismic events in
Alberta
<https://globalnews.ca/news/3943723/alberta-beach-seismic-event-what-is-ice-quake/>*
(Jan 5th) There were at least two seismic events in Alberta late Monday
evening and experts say their current best guess is that they were
non-traditional ice quakes.
*"That change in temperature is very similar to when you take an ice
cube and you put it into a pop and then it just cracks in your drink".*
The incidents caused damage to homes in Alberta Beach, where residents
reported hearing loud crashing and creaking noises overnight.
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) oversees seismic activity in the
province. The AER’s geological survey branch confirmed that two seismic
events of approximately 2.0 magnitude each occurred at approximately
11:45 p.m. on Monday: one near Gull Lake and one near Pigeon Lake.
"There very well could be events that are smaller than that detection
threshold that we’re not able to see," AER seismologist Ryan Schultz
said on Wednesday. "If it happens over a very long time scale, we can’t
see that."
Since the phenomenon in Alberta Beach was reported, people in other
parts of Alberta are coming forward with similar experiences....
Ice quakes - or cryoseisms - usually occur when there is a rapid drop in
temperature. Water that is in the ground freezes. Because it has nowhere
else to go, it cracks the soil or rock, causing a loud noise and the
shaking of the ground...
There are two types of cryoseisms: a frost quake and an ice quake. An
ice quake occurs over bodies of water such as lakes and rivers.
https://globalnews.ca/news/3943723/alberta-beach-seismic-event-what-is-ice-quake/
[Rand Corporation audio call with experts]
*Exploring "Truth Decay"
<https://www.rand.org/multimedia/audio/2018/01/17/exploring-truth-decay.html>*
"Call with Experts" Discussion with Rand president and CEO Michael Rich.
https://www.rand.org/multimedia/audio/2018/01/17/exploring-truth-decay.html
-
[Rand Corporation report]
*Truth Decay - An Initial Exploration of the Diminishing Role of Facts
and Analysis in American Public Life
<https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2314.html>*
by Jennifer Kavanagh, Michael D. Rich
Truth Decay is defined as a set of four related trends: increasing
disagreement about facts and analytical interpretations of facts and
data; a blurring of the line between opinion and fact; an increase
in the relative volume, and resulting influence, of opinion and
personal experience over fact; and declining trust in formerly
respected sources of factual information.
This report explores three historical eras - the 1890s, 1920s, and
1960s - for evidence of the four Truth Decay trends and compares
those eras with the past two decades (2000s - 2010s). Two of the
four trends occurred in earlier periods: the blurring of the line
between opinion and fact and an increase in the relative volume, and
resulting influence, of opinion over fact. Declining trust in
institutions, while evident in previous eras, is more severe today.
No evidence of an increase in disagreement about facts and
analytical interpretations of facts and data was seen in the earlier
periods.
Four drivers, or causes, of Truth Decay are described: cognitive
bias, changes in the information system (including the rise of
social media and the 24-hour news cycle), competing demands on the
educational system that limit its ability to keep pace with changes
in the information system, and political, sociodemographic, and
economic polarization. Various agents also amplify Truth Decay's trends.
The consequences of Truth Decay manifest in many ways. The most
damaging effects might be the erosion of civil discourse, political
paralysis, alienation and disengagement of individuals from
political and civic institutions, and uncertainty about U.S. policy.
Download 300+ page Document PDF file
<https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR2300/RR2314/RAND_RR2314.pdf>
- ePub file
<https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR2300/RR2314/RAND_RR2314.epub>
- mobi file
<https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR2300/RR2314/RAND_RR2314.mobi>
This report explores the causes and consequences of Truth Decay and how
they are interrelated, and examines past eras of U.S. history to
identify evidence of Truth Decay's four trends and observe similarities
with and differences from the current period. It also outlines a
research agenda, a strategy for investigating the causes of Truth Decay
and determining what can be done to address its causes and consequences.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2314.html
-
[Podcast WhoWhatWhy]
*Truth Decay
<https://whowhatwhy.org/2018/02/02/truth-decay-diminishing-role-facts-public-life/>*
Audio podcast
Jeff Schechtman's guest on this week's WhoWhatWhy podcast is RAND
political scientist Jennifer Kavanagh, co-author of the report.
The shrinking role of facts and evidence-based analysis in American
public life poses a threat to democracy, to policy making, and to the
very notion of civic discourse.
*What the authors found, Kavanaugh says, is that disagreements over
objective facts have never been so wide and so deep. *
Read more at
https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/6217359/height/360/width/575/theme/legacy/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/#uHPs1wAmVQhbKkBF.99
https://whowhatwhy.org/2018/02/02/truth-decay-diminishing-role-facts-public-life/
*This Day in Climate History February 4, 1992
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9rZKJt4ZC4> - from D.R. Tucker*
February 4, 1992: In one of the worst examples of mainstream media
false-balance in US history, Ted Koppel hosts a “debate” on ABC's
"Nightline" between Sen. Al Gore (D-TN) and Rush Limbaugh on global
warming and other environmental issues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9rZKJt4ZC4 (Part 1)
http://youtu.be/WbC-yWycHfM (Part 2)
/
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