[TheClimate.Vote] July 20, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Fri Jul 20 09:33:34 EDT 2018
/July 20, 2018/
[one of many locations]
*Sweden Wildfires Most Serious in Recent Times Aggravated By
Record-Smashing Heat, Ongoing Drought With No End in Sight
<https://weather.com/news/news/2018-07-18-sweden-wildfires-norway-finland-record-heat-drought>*
Dozens of wildfires are burning in Sweden, prompting a call for help
from the EU.
Much of Scandinavia is suffering through a record-smashing heat wave.
There is no end in sight to this heat wave.
At least 40 wildfires were burning in parts of Sweden Wednesday, the
Local Sweden reported, prompting evacuations in the Swedish counties of
Dalarna, Gävleborg and Jamtland.
A pair of Italian planes and eight Norwegian helicopters were assisting
firefighting efforts, and Sweden's Civil Contingencies Agency requested
more aerial assistance from the European Union in what they told the
Local Sweden was the nation's most serious wildfire situation of modern
times.
This is happening during a heat wave that is smashing some all-time
records across parts of Scandinavia.
Kvikkjokk, a village in northern Sweden just north of the Arctic Circle,
topped out at 32.5 degrees Celsius, just above 90 degrees Fahrenheit,
setting their all-time record high, according to climatologist and world
records expert Maximiliano Hererra.
Sweden's most serious rash of wildfires in recent history has prompted a
call for help from the European Union amid a record-smashing
Scandinavian heat wave that shows no signs of letting up.
Wednesday, the Kevo observation station in northern Finland set an
all-time record for Lapland, reaching 92 degrees, according to the
Finnish Meteorological Institute.
Downtown Helsinki, Finland, topped the 30-degree Celsius mark – 86
degrees Fahrenheit – for the first time in eight years, according to
MeteoFrance meteorologist Etienne Kapikian.
In Norway, an all-time record for the northern Norwegian county of Troms
was reached Wednesday when Bardufoss soared to 92.3 degrees Wednesday.
Tuesday, the village of Tana Bru, Norway, at roughly 70 degrees north
latitude – just a tad farther south than Utqiagvik, Alaska (formerly
Barrow) – topped 86 degrees.
According to Hererra, all-time record highs have been set in 14
locations in Norway, 10 locations in Finland and three locations in Sweden.
Hot, Dry Since May
This heat wave is just the latest episode of what's been an
exceptionally hot, dry late spring and summer so far in northern Europe.
Since May, an expansive high-pressure ridge aloft has stretched across
most of northern Europe, from Ireland and the U.K. to Scandinavia.
This blocking high has diverted rain well south over southern Europe,
and its sinking air has inhibited rain over northern Europe during that
time.
Europe had its warmest May and second-warmest June in continental
records dating to 1910, according to NOAA's monthly global climate
summaries.
This has led to worsening drought from Scandinavia to the Baltic
countries, Poland, Germany, the U.K. and Ireland, according to the
Copernicus European Drought Observatory.
The first half of summer – June 1 through July 16 – was the driest in
modern records for the U.K., according to the U.K. Met Office.
Visby, Sweden, on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea, picked up a
mere 1.7 millimeters – 0.07 inches – of rain in May, their driest dating
to 1859, according to Sweden's Meteorological and Hydrological Institutes.
After a brief breather in the heat and some rainfall this weekend,
another upper-level ridge of high pressure is forecast to intensify over
Scandinavia, northern Europe and northwestern Russia next week, possibly
persisting into early August.
This also means the northern European drought is likely to worsen over
the next few weeks, with the danger of additional wildfires.
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com...
https://weather.com/news/news/2018-07-18-sweden-wildfires-norway-finland-record-heat-drought
[BBC reports]
*Slowing Gulf Stream current to boost warming for 20 years
<https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44875508>*
By Matt McGrath
The prospect of the Gulf Stream slowing down and even stopping
altogether has worried many experts in recent years.
Some believed that this would cause a rapid cooling around the world
with resulting global chaos.
But a new study finds the Gulf Stream go-slow will have a significant
impact on planetary temperatures, but not in a chilled out way.
The Gulf Stream is an ocean current that keeps the UK warmer than it
would be given its latitude alone.
Researchers say a slower current will carry less heat down to the deep
oceans meaning more will enter the atmosphere.
Worries over the fate of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation
(Amoc), of which the Gulf Stream is part, were graphically illustrated
in the 2004 film, The Day After Tomorrow.
It focused on a sudden collapse of the Amoc caused by global warming
leading to a disastrous freezing and the dawning of a new ice age.
So much for Hollywood - the reality according to the corresponding
author of this new study is very different.
"The headlines have said that the Gulf Stream is collapsing and the Ice
Age is coming sooner than scientists think," Prof Ka-Kit Tung from the
University of Washington told BBC News.
- - - - -
*It works like this - The warm waters from tropical regions are carried
up to the North Atlantic where the current sinks them deep into the
oceans, with cooler waters then returning south in their stead.*
When the Amoc current moves faster, more of the heat that is trapped in
our atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels is taken and stored up
to 1,500m below the surface of the ocean. When it slows down, less heat
is sequestered in the seas and so our land surface temperatures increase....
- - - - -
*Will the slowdown in the Atlantic current continue?*
That's unlikely according to this study.
"We think that the decline of Amoc is reaching the minimum and if
history repeats, we will think this one will last about two decades."
"Where we have direct measurements, such as off the coast of Florida,
the measurements there have flattened since 2011. In the northern
Atlantic it is still declining."
*So what will this mean for the UK?*
While the waters of the North Atlantic will definitely cool as a result
of changes in the flow, the experts says it's likely that the UK will
see continued impacts of climate change over the next 20 years according
to this study.
"The air temperatures globally will be warming and there's no barrier
for that so there won't be much cooling in the UK, you will probably
still see the normal global warming," said Prof Tung.
The study has been published in the journal Nature.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44875508
[Our flat legal system fails in this 3D global world]
*New York City Climate Suit Dismissed by Federal Judge
<https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/07/19/new-york-city-climate-suit-john-keenan/>*
By Dana Drugmand
A federal judge ruled in favor of five major oil companies on Thursday,
dismissing New York City's climate liability lawsuit against them.
U.S. District Judge John Keenan's ruling marks the second major victory
for the fossil fuel companies fighting these climate suits in federal
court. Late last month, Judge William Alsup dismissed the lawsuit
brought by Oakland and San Francisco against the same five defendants in
U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
New York City's complaint, filed in January, included claims of public
nuisance, private nuisance and trespass and sought monetary damages from
BP, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell to help
pay for the costs of protecting the city from climate impacts.
New York officials said they would appeal the ruling.
Like Alsup, Keenan found that the courts are not the proper forum to
address harms resulting from climate change and greenhouse gas
pollution, saying it's an issue for the executive and legislative
branches to tackle.
"There is a grave irony here. The fossil fuel company defendants claimed
in court-and the judge apparently agreed-that it is entirely up to
Congress and the President to address climate change. But these same
defendants and their trade groups have fought successfully against even
modest laws and regulations to cut the carbon pollution from burning
fossil fuels that causes global warming," Ken Kimmel, president of the
Union of Concerned Scientists said in a statement. "My grandmother would
have called this 'chutzpah' and lawyers call it 'unclean hands,' but no
matter what you call it, the court should not have let these companies
off the hook with this defense."
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) welcomed the outcome.
"From the moment this baseless lawsuit was filed, manufacturers have
argued that the courtroom was not the proper venue to address this
global challenge," NAM president Jay Timmons said in a statement. "Judge
Keenan made that clear in his decision today. Now that San Francisco,
Oakland and New York City have had their cases dismissed, the other
municipalities should withdraw their complaints to save taxpayer
resources and focus on meaningful solutions."
The other cases around the country, however, including one that will be
announced on Friday by the city of Baltimore, are being filed in state
court, so the reasoning of Alsup and Keenan will not necessarily apply.
Keenan said that federal common law governs the city's claims, and
therefore, the Clean Air Act displaces those claims. The Clean Air Act
authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse
gas emissions, which is the reasoning behind the failure of previous
federal cases, including AEP v. Connecticut (2011) and Native Village of
Kivalina v. ExxonMobil (2012).
Keenan also said that because the city has benefitted from fossil fuels,
a point emphasized by the oil companies in their hearing in front of
Keenan, the city is culpable for climate change as well. "As an initial
matter, it is not clear that Defendants' fossil fuel production and the
emissions created therefrom have been an 'unlawful invasion' in New York
City, as the City benefits from and participates in the use of fossil
fuels as a source of power, and has done so for many decades," Keenan wrote.
Also like Alsup, Keenan avoided the issue of climate damages, which was
the basis for New York's complaint.
"It is also important to note that this suit was not focused on
'solving' global warming," Kimmel said. "The suit sought to compensate
New York City for the damages it has already suffered and will incur
down the road. The climate threats facing New York City are
overwhelming, and taxpayers are already paying to protect the city from
future Sandy-scale damages.
Keenan dismissed the suit in its entirety with prejudice, meaning the
city may not bring the same claim again.
New York officials, however, say they stand by the conviction that
fossil fuel companies are liable for the harms their product has created.
"The Mayor believes big polluters must be held accountable for their
contributions to climate change and the damage it will cause New York
City. We intend to appeal this decision and to keep fighting for New
Yorkers who will bear the brunt of climate change," said Seth Stein,
spokesman for the NYC Mayor's Office.
San Francisco and Oakland have yet to announce if they will appeal
Alsup's decision.
Meanwhile, other climate liability lawsuits are pending in courts in
California, King County, Wash., Colorado, and Rhode Island.
According to Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for
Climate Change Law at Columbia University, the New York City decision
does not determine the outcome of the other cases.
"It does show that Judge Alsup's decision has resonated with at least
one other judge, and I wouldn't be surprised if other judges also find
the reasoning persuasive," he said. "But there is at least one other
court that found the exact opposite, namely that state public nuisance
claims are available."
That would be Judge Vince Chhabria, who decided that state law should
govern the claims brought by Marin and San Mateo counties and the city
of Imperial Beach. The fossil fuel companies are appealing that decision.
The jurisdiction issue may be the key factor in determining the success
of these suits.
"The cases that are either filed in federal court or-as with the San
Francisco and Oakland cases-removed to federal court are decided under
federal law," said Ann Carlson, professor of environmental law and
co-director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the
Environment at UCLA School of Law. "Federal nuisance law is much less
favorable for the cities and counties than state law is. The state
courts are where we are likely to see interesting and perhaps surprising
rulings."
Keenan, however, rejected the possibility that the city could bring its
claims under state common law. "Given the interstate nature of these
claims, it would thus be illogical to allow the City to bring state law
claims when courts have found that these matters are areas of federal
concern that have been delegated to the Executive Branch as they require
a uniform, national solution," he said in the ruling.
Keenan also followed Alsup's lead in determining that holding foreign
companies liable (as Shell and BP are headquartered outside the U.S.)
and weighing liability for worldwide emissions would raise foreign
policy implications. "To litigate such an action for injuries from
foreign greenhouse gas emissions in federal court would severely
infringe upon the foreign-policy decisions that are squarely within the
purview of the political branches of the U.S. Government," Keenan wrote.
"Accordingly, the Court will exercise appropriate caution and decline to
recognize such a cause of action."
https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/07/19/new-york-city-climate-suit-john-keenan/
[Psys Org]
*Money talks when trying to influence climate change legislation
<https://phys.org/news/2018-07-money-climate-legislation.html>*
Climate lobbying is big business. A new analysis shows that between 2000
and 2016, lobbyists spent more than two billion dollars on influencing
relevant legislation in the US Congress. Unsurprisingly, sectors that
could be negatively affected by bills limiting carbon emissions, such as
the electrical utilities sector, fossil fuel companies and
transportation corporations had the deepest pockets. Their lobbying
efforts dwarfed those of environmental organizations, the renewable
energy industry and volunteer groups. These results are published in
Springer's journal Climatic Change in a study led by Robert J. Brulle of
Drexel University in the US.
Brulle analyzed data from mandatory lobbying reports made available on
the website Open Secrets. In his study, he calculated that the two
billion dollars spent between 2000 and 2016 on climate-related issues
actually only amounted to 3.9 per cent of the 53,5 billion dollars spent
over the same period on lobbying on other issues in the US.
The study also showed that the amount spent on climate change lobbying
varied depending on the timing of proposed legislation and congressional
hearings. Only about 50 million dollars (about 2 per cent of total
lobbying) was spent between 2000 and 2006. But expenditure increased
significantly in the following years, peaking in 2009 at 362 million
dollars-9 per cent of the total spent on lobbying for that year.
Following a slight decrease in 2010, climate petitioning efforts dropped
dramatically to around 3 per cent of overall lobbying efforts after 2011.
The sector that spent the most on climate change lobbying was the
electrical utilities sector, at 554 million dollars (26,4 per cent of
all climate change lobbying expenditure) over the 16-year period
studied. The fossil fuel sector spent 370 million dollars and the
transportation sector spent 252 million dollars during this time. In
contrast, the efforts of environmental organizations and the renewable
energy sector each only constituted about 3 per cent of climate lobbying
expenditures. This was significantly overshadowed by the spending of the
sectors engaged in the supply and use of fossil fuels by a ratio of 10:1.
"The vast majority of climate lobbying expenditure came from sectors
that would be highly impacted by climate legislation," Brulle explains.
"The spending of environmental groups and the renewable energy sector
was eclipsed by the spending of the electrical utilities, fossil fuel,
and transportation sectors."
Brulle says that this has important implications for the fate, outcome
and nature of future climate legislation, which is largely determined by
intra-sector and inter-industry competition. He says that the activities
of environmental organizations and non-profit organizations often
constitute one-time, short-term mobilization efforts. This is a
shortcoming, given the vast expenditures and continuous presence of
professional lobbyists.
"Lobbying is conducted away from the public eye. There is no open debate
or refutation of viewpoints offered by professional lobbyists meeting in
private with government officials," explains Brulle. "Control over the
nature and flow of information to government decision-makers can be
significantly altered by the lobbying process and creates a situation of
systematically distorted communication. This process may limit the
communication of accurate scientific information in the decision-making
process."
https://phys.org/news/2018-07-money-climate-legislation.html
[for future archeologists]
*Buried Internet infrastructure at risk as sea levels rise
<https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180716141627.htm>*
Date: July 16, 2018
Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Summary: Thousands of miles of buried fiber optic cable in densely
populated coastal regions of the United States may soon be inundated by
rising seas, according to a new study.
"Most of the damage that's going to be done in the next 100 years will
be done sooner than later," says Barford, an authority on the "physical
internet" - the buried fiber optic cables, data centers, traffic
exchanges and termination points that are the nerve centers, arteries
and hubs of the vast global information network. "That surprised us. The
expectation was that we'd have 50 years to plan for it. We don't have 50
years."
The study, conducted with Barford's former student Ramakrishnan
Durairajan, now of the University of Oregon, and Carol Barford, who
directs UW-Madison's Center for Sustainability and the Global
Environment, is the first assessment of risk of climate change to the
internet. It suggests that by the year 2033 more than 4,000 miles of
buried fiber optic conduit will be underwater and more than 1,100
traffic hubs will be surrounded by water. The most susceptible U.S.
cities, according to the report, are New York, Miami and Seattle, but
the effects would not be confined to those areas and would ripple across
the internet, says Barford, potentially disrupting global communications.
The peer-reviewed study combined data from the Internet Atlas, a
comprehensive global map of the internet's physical structure, and
projections of sea level incursion from the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The study, which only evaluated risk
to infrastructure in the United States, was shared today with academic
and industry researchers at the Applied Networking Research Workshop, a
meeting of the Association for Computing Machinery, the Internet Society
and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Much of this infrastructure is buried and follows long-established
rights of way, typically paralleling highways and coastlines, says
Barford. "When it was built 20-25 years ago, no thought was given to
climate change."
Many of the conduits at risk are already close to sea level and only a
slight rise in ocean levels due to melting polar ice and thermal
expansion as climate warms will be needed to expose buried fiber optic
cables to sea water. Hints of the problems to come, says Barford, can be
seen in the catastrophic storm surges and flooding that accompanied
hurricanes Sandy and Katrina.
Buried fiber optic cables are designed to be water-resistant, but unlike
the marine cables that ferry data from continent to continent under the
ocean, they are not waterproof.
Risk to the physical internet, says Barford, is coupled to the large
population centers that exist on the coasts, which also tend to be the
same places where the transoceanic marine cables that underpin global
communication networks come ashore. "The landing points are all going to
be underwater in a short period of time," he notes...
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180716141627.htm
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5569901>*This Day
in Climate History - July 20, 2006
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5569901>- from
D.R. Tucker*
July 20, 2006: NPR reports on the GOP's show trials, er, hearings
regarding climate research in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5569901
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