[TheClimate.Vote] January 17, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

[Richard Pauli]

/January 17, 2018/

[letters to Trump]
*106 Lawmakers Urge Trump: Restore Climate Change in National Security 
Strategy 
<https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16012018/military-climate-change-bipartisan-congress-letter-national-defense-strategy>*
The bipartisan letter says that as global temperatures become more 
volatile and sea levels rise, military installations and communities are 
increasingly at risk.
Phil McKenna
A bipartisan group of more than 100 members of Congress is urging 
PresidentDonald Trump 
<https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/donald-trump>to recognize climate 
change as a national security threat.
U.S. Reps. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)wrote a 
letter 
<http://langevin.house.gov/sites/langevin.house.gov/files/documents/01-11-18_Langevin_Stefanik_Letter_to_POTUS_Climate_Change_National_Security_Strategy.pdf>to 
the president signed by 106 members of Congress on Thursday in response 
to the administration's failure to mention the risks ofclimate change 
<https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/climate-change>in its National 
Security Strategy, released last month. Eleven Republicans signed the 
letter, including members of the House Armed Services, Foreign Affairs 
and Intelligence committees...
The lawmakers urged the president to "reconsider this omission" in the 
National Security Strategy.
David Titley, a retired rear admiral who is director of the Center for 
Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk at Penn State, said "facts on the 
ground" including the recent fires in California and the devastating 
Atlantic hurricane season are moving the needle in Congress, which he 
sees as a key driver for addressing climate change.
"Really, the long game is what Congress thinks," Titley said. 
"Administrations come and go, but Congress passes laws and has a checkbook."
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16012018/military-climate-change-bipartisan-congress-letter-national-defense-strategy


[Exxon Defense]
*Exxon Continues First Amendment Defense in Climate Fraud Probes 
<https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/01/16/exxon-continues-first-amendment-defense-climate-fraud-probes/>*
By Karen Savage
Exxon continues to cry foul, alleging that two state attorneys general 
are violating its First Amendment right to express its opinion on 
climate change.
In a brief filed last week in New York, attorneys for Exxon once again 
asserted that that investigations by Massachusetts Attorney General 
Maura Healey and New York Attorney Eric Schneiderman are part of a 
politically motivated conspiracy against the company and an attempt to 
silence the oil giant through intimidation.
The filing was the latest effort by Exxon to thwart investigations by 
the attorneys general into possible climate change-related deception by 
the company...
In its most recent brief, attorneys for Exxon said the attorneys general 
are targeting Exxon with "burdensome" and "harassing" investigations 
because of the company's views on climate change. Attorneys also link 
Healey and Schneiderman to climate activists who Exxon says are seeking 
to "harass perceived political opponents" and "delegitimize" Exxon.
Attorneys for Healey call Exxon's allegations absurd, particularly 
considering Exxon has taken the public stance of supporting the 
overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change.
"Exxon asserts that Attorney General Healey has joined in an illegal 
conspiracy to violate Exxon's rights because she does not agree with 
Exxon's views about climate change. Yet Exxon also states that it now 
endorses climate science, the existence of climate change, and efforts 
to combat it—consistent with Attorney Healey's position," Healey's 
attorneys wrote in a recent brief...
Schneiderman's attorneys said that for Exxon to prevail on a free speech 
allegation, it must plead and prove its right to free speech has been 
violated, something they contend Exxon has not done...
"These public statements demonstrate that, far from being muzzled, Exxon 
regularly engages in corporate advocacy concerning climate change," 
wrote attorneys for Schneiderman, adding that a state investigation is 
not a violation of Exxon's constitutionally protected rights...
Schneiderman also said that fraudulent statements are not protected by 
the First Amendment.
Exxon fired back, alleging that not only are its statements protected 
but also the company has been harmed by having to endure the "burden and 
expense" of the investigations....
"This filing makes clear that, at a minimum, Exxon's prior disclosures 
to investors, including Massachusetts investors, may not have adequately 
accounted for the effect of climate change on its business and assets," 
attorneys for Healey wrote.
https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/01/16/exxon-continues-first-amendment-defense-climate-fraud-probes/


[climate refugees]
*Study finds that global warming exacerbates refugee crises 
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/jan/15/study-finds-that-global-warming-exacerbates-refugee-crises>*
Higher temperatures increase the number of people seeking asylum in the EU
John Abraham
The refugee crisis - particularly in the Mediterranean area - has 
received large amounts of new attention in the past few years, with 
people fleeing from Syria and entering the European Union emblematic of 
the problem. There has been some research connecting this refugee 
problem with changes to the climate 
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/mar/18/worst-mediterranean-drought-in-900-years-has-human-fingerprints-all-over-it>. 
In particular, the years preceding the Syrian refugee crisis were 
characterized by a severe drought that reduced farm output and led to 
economic and social strife there.
Separating out the influences of climate change from general social 
instability may be impossible, because they are intimately linked. But 
we do know that climate change can cause social and economic 
instability. We also know that these instabilities can boil over into 
larger problems that lead to mass exodus. The problem isn't knowing the 
connection between climate and refugees exists - rather the problem is 
quantifying it...
After making this connection to observations, the authors then projected 
into the future. Using a collection of climate models that are able to 
predict Earth's future climate, the authors estimated that on a 
business-as-usual emissions pathway (where countries don't meaningfully 
reduce greenhouse gas emissions), asylum applications will increase by 
almost 200% by the end of the century. On the other hand, under a modest 
warming scenario, where humans take some meaningful action to reduce 
emissions, the increase falls to about 30%. Again, this shows that what 
humans do today to combat climate change really matters...
What was also interesting is that temperature is a better metric for 
this problem than precipitation. I wouldn't have guessed that initially; 
my naïve expectation would be that precipitation changes would also be 
very good at allowing prediction of asylum seekers. But it turns out 
temperature is much better. The discussion by the authors also 
demonstrated how many moving parts there are to this problem. Not only 
are the economic, climate, and social situations in the source country 
important, but those factors in the destination country are also 
critical. People migrate to where they expect better conditions.

    The significance of our paper is that we are not looking at impacts
    in particular countries, but spillovers in the form of asylum
    applications. Most economic damage assessments examine the direct
    impact on a country, but countries are interlinked. So even if most
    of the economic damages occur in developing countries, there might
    be repercussions for developed countries.

    There is an existing literature on migration and refugees, but
    previous studies usually focus on one country at the time. We use
    data from all over the world (103 source countries that list asylum
    applications to the EU in every year 2000-2014) to systematically
    examine the relationship. We picked the European Union as
    destination country since it receives almost half of the asylum
    applications.

Questions about how climate change impacts us and what can be done to 
stop or prepare for the changes. This paper takes us another step toward 
answering those questions.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/jan/15/study-finds-that-global-warming-exacerbates-refugee-crises
-
*Worst Mediterranean drought in 900 years has human fingerprints all 
over it 
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/mar/18/worst-mediterranean-drought-in-900-years-has-human-fingerprints-all-over-it>*
A new study shows that the current Mediterranean drought is likely the 
worst in 900 years, probably due to human-caused intensification
...It's tricky to discern not only whether past extreme weather have 
changed, but also whether human-caused global warming is a factor. 
Scientists need high-quality records that go back many decades to see if 
there is any trend towards increasing or decreasing extreme weather. But 
weather is quite variable. We can see a rise or fall in extreme weather 
events with no apparent cause, human or natural...
The title of the article, "Spatiotemporal drought variability in the 
Mediterranean over the last 900 years 
<http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015JD023929/abstract;jsessionid=9E57689ED3903997119102CF87B9D660.f01t02>" 
clearly indicates that this study considers almost a millennium of 
drought records and focuses attention on the Mediterranean region.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/mar/18/worst-mediterranean-drought-in-900-years-has-human-fingerprints-all-over-it


[NYTimes]
*Climate change is altering lakes and streams, study suggests 
<http://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/climate-change-is-altering-lakes-and-streams-study-suggests>*
NEW YORK (NYTIMES) - To scientists who study lakes and rivers, it seems 
humans have embarked on a huge unplanned experiment.
By burning fossil fuels, we have already raised the concentration of 
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 40 per cent, and we're on track to 
increase it by much more. Some of that gas may mix into the world's 
inland waters, and recent studies hint that this may have profound 
effects on the species that live in them...
"We're monkeying with the very chemical foundation of these ecosystems," 
said Emily H. Stanley, a limnologist (freshwater ecologist) at the 
University of Wisconsin-Madison. "But right now we don't know enough yet 
to know where we're going. To me, scientifically that's really 
interesting, and as a human a little bit frightening."..
Scientists began taking continuous measurements of carbon dioxide in the 
atmosphere in the 1950s, and today they have more than six decades of 
consistent readings. In the 1980s, oceanographers followed suit, 
developing carbon dioxide sensors and deploying them across the planet...
Over the past three decades, they've chronicled a steady rise of carbon 
dioxide in seawater.
Now that researchers have grown concerned about carbon dioxide levels, 
they've been developing ways to reconstruct their history...
Weiss and her colleagues used this method to figure out the carbon 
dioxide levels in four reservoirs in Germany from 1981 to 2015. They 
reported Thursday in the journal Current Biology that the amounts 
tripled in that time....
"We didn't really know what to expect," said Weiss. "But the speed of 
acidification we find is quite fast."..
These tiny, shrimplike creatures filter algae and microbes from water. 
They are devoured in turn by small fish, which are eaten by bigger fish. 
If rising carbon dioxide were to affect water fleas, Weiss reasoned, it 
could influence the entire lake ecosystem...
In another study, the team studied two species of mussels. One species 
relaxed its muscles in water high in carbon dioxide, so that its shell 
gaped open. The other species clamped its shell shut, so that it could 
no longer filter food...
The chemistry of some inland waters causes a lot of carbon dioxide to be 
converted into other compounds. Some lakes and streams may support a lot 
of underwater plants that take up the gas, for instance, while others 
may have microbes can release more of it.
Making matters even more complicated, the carbon dioxide levels in any 
particular body of freshwater can change drastically over time with 
swings in temperature and other conditions.
"You can have lakes where the carbon dioxide increases tenfold at 
night," said Hasler.
In decades to come, as carbon dioxide levels continue to climb in the 
atmosphere, Stanley speculated, the picture will only get more nuanced....
http://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/climate-change-is-altering-lakes-and-streams-study-suggests


[Council on Foreign Relations]*
**Clean Energy Might Reduce Global Warming, But What Will It Do to 
Geopolitics? 
<https://www.cfr.org/blog/clean-energy-might-reduce-global-warming-what-will-it-do-geopolitics>*
Varun Sivaram and Sagatom Saha
We imagine a future in which clean energy has substantially displaced 
fossil fuels by midcentury, and we describe five ways that the 
geopolitical landscape could shift as a result. Anticipating these 
shifts will require farsighted policymaking to safeguard U.S. interests 
and retain leadership through the transition from old to new energy 
systems. Here are the five most important geopolitical implications of a 
clean-energy future:
*1. America's Military Footprint in the Middle East Could Shrink*
In a plausible future in which electric vehicle sales skyrocket and 
countries around the world stock up on strategic petroleum reserves, the 
U.S. economy will require less oil to function and will be more 
resilient to potential supply shocks. This could clear the way for 
America to scale back its longstanding strong military presence in the 
Middle East...
*2. Russia and China Could Dominate the Nuclear Industry, Thwarting U.S. 
Geopolitical Goals*
  ...Russia and China, America's two greatest geopolitical rivals, lead 
the growing market. They may use their dominance in nuclear exports to 
build up coteries of client states willing to advance their geopolitical 
interests. In a double whammy, global nuclear security standards—an 
important U.S. security concern—might degrade under Russian and Chinese 
leadership of the nuclear industry...
*3. A Modernized Power Grid Could Strengthen North American Cooperation 
but Create Cyber-Threats*
...While these technologies will help grid operators manage the complex 
two-way, decentralized electricity flows, they also expose the United 
States to cybersecurity risks...
*4. The Rise of Clean Energy Could Provoke Global Trade Wars*
...the benefits an energy-dependent nation could yield from domestically 
producing and exporting its own energy may outweigh any penalty from 
flouting international trade rules. Yet the slow erosion of trade norms 
could threaten the global trade order from which the United States has 
reaped prosperity.
*5. America's Stance on Climate and Clean Energy Technology Leadership 
Could Profoundly Affect Its Global Standing*
As climate change rises on many countries' diplomatic agendas, so too 
would the benefits that America yields from helping other nations 
address it. Such a strategy would also grease the wheels of diplomacy in 
other international arenas critical to U.S. interests. By contrast, if 
the United States cedes leadership to countries such as China, it will 
not only jeopardize prospects for limiting climate change but also 
alienate allies and adversaries alike...
Now it is up to U.S. policymakers to determine whether the shifting 
energy landscape will serve America's interests or force it to cede its 
privileged position at the center of global geopolitics.
https://www.cfr.org/blog/clean-energy-might-reduce-global-warming-what-will-it-do-geopolitics


[Speaking Notes #8]
OXFORD CHANGE AGENCY EVENT - REPORT
*Agency in individual and collective change 
<http://www.climatepsychologyalliance.org/explorations/papers/257-oxford-change-agency-event-report>*
Climate Psychology Alliance with Living Witness
A day for psychological and social practitioners to share our 
experiences of enabling positive
responses to climate change.
*Mindfulness and Nature Connection, led by Nadine Andrews*
Reflection from Susan Johnson
I enjoyed a playful session of mindfulness and nature-connection 
exercises led by Nadine Andrews.
We tracked the sensations in our bodies; practiced recognising stones 
with our eyes closed through
touch; connected with trees and plants in the garden after humbly asking 
their permission; and
practiced interdependence and raised awareness as we were led around the 
garden with our eyes
shut. This brought an aliveness to my body that nourished me deeply. For 
me these exercises
supported an ongoing journey into embodied understanding of my place in 
the world which
profoundly deepens my sense of calm and connectedness and my ability to 
engage with what Joanna
Macy calls the "Great Turning" - the waking up of society towards a 
life-sustaining civilization.
Experiencing the "unbending arm" was perhaps the most surprising 
exercise - the simple effect of
imagining a flow of water running through my arm into the distance as I 
held it out in front of
me, made it so much harder for a colleague to force it to bend compared 
to the usual approach of
clenching muscles. This simply and compellingly demonstrated the very 
real power that arises from an
embodied connectedness to the world rather than facing a threat with a 
sense of isolation and
aloneness.
http://www.climatepsychologyalliance.org/explorations/papers/257-oxford-change-agency-event-report


[blog]
*New Creation News <http://newcreationews.blogspot.com/>*
News of the planet and the nexus of culture, ecology, justice, and 
spirituality.
This is what Margaret Wheatley wrote about our predicament in her 2012 
book, So Far From Home - Lost and Found in our Brave New World 
<http://margaretwheatley.com/books-products/books/far-home/>:

    As change agents, activists, concerned citizens, caring human
    beings, we are attempting to change a global culture that has
    emerged. How many people on the planet are happy with what's going
    on? Scarcely any. Most of us are appalled by the aggression,
    materialism, and greed now so commonplace... We speak out against
    corporate power, the deterioration of democracy, the loss of equity
    and opportunity, poverty, diseases the annihilation of species and
    culture....
    The global culture, with all its tragedies and injustices, is an
    emergent phenomenon. We have to accept this terrifying fact. It came
    to be from the convergence of many forces and now possesses
    characteristics that weren't there until it emerged. It has become a
    world where the values of greed, self-interest, and oppressive power
    emerged at a global scale and now supersedes all other values. Many
    of us, most of us, don't want it to be this way. We still aspire to
    work from values of justice, community, compassion, love. And we
    need to keep on with this absolutely. But no matter how well we
    embody these values, no matter how important our work is, we have to
    hold it differently...

Wheatley is not sanguine or romantic about the nature of this process 
and how hard it is to accept. Nor does she reach for some New Age or 
Conscious Evolution sort of spirituality that removes us from this basic 
drama. "Dark nights," she writes, "are...excellent examples of how chaos 
works to create more capacity; like all living systems, we first have to 
fall apart before we can figure out how to reorganize ourselves to fit 
the new environment. This is the role of despair - it causes us to fall 
apart."

    We are approaching a great climax in our history when our industrial
    prowess and expansion across the planet, our technological genius
    and ability to ravage the Earth for the resources required for that
    expansion are crashing into inevitable limits - and not only
    planetary limits, but also limits of what we can bear - morally,
    psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually - as we witness
    collectively, by way of all that technology, the scale of
    destruction of the planet and the cruelty embedded at the heart of
    the greed and material satisfaction that has driven this economic
    culture.

 From this perspective, the point is not to try to fix it, but to let it 
go, and in that letting go, we break with its logic, with its energy, 
and we become available for the next emergence to unfold through us, to 
be created through us, having no idea what it will look like, what that 
next world will be.
Video: The Shambhala Warrior Prophecy 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fVqrFNIRAc>
We are living in extraordinary times. Let's put our best talents, 
creativity, skills, and wisdom in service of the emergent new life that 
is rising up all around us, even in the midst of the collapse of the old.
Margaret Swedish
http://newcreationews.blogspot.com/


<http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/2008/11/07/michael-crichton-author-of-state-of-fear-leaves-global-warming-disinformation-legacy/>*This 
Day in Climate History January 17, 2006 
<http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/2008/11/07/michael-crichton-author-of-state-of-fear-leaves-global-warming-disinformation-legacy/>  
-  from D.R. Tucker*
January 17, 2006: The Fred Barnes book "Rebel-in-Chief: Inside the
Bold and Controversial Presidency of George W. Bush" is released. In
the book, Barnes notes that in 2005, Bush had a private meeting with
overrated novelist and climate-change denier Michael Crichton, during
which Bush and Crichton "were in near-total agreement" about the
supposed alarmism of climate activists.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/19/national/19warming.html?pagewanted=print&_r=0
http://scienceblogs.com/intersection/2006/02/16/the-full-barnes-treatment-of-b/
http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/2008/11/07/michael-crichton-author-of-state-of-fear-leaves-global-warming-disinformation-legacy/
/
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