[TheClimate.Vote] July 24, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

Tue Jul 24 10:50:11 EDT 2018

/July 24, 2018/

[England sweats]
*Met Office issues UK heatwave alert on hottest day of the year 
<https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jul/23/met-office-issues-a-heatwave-alert-and-tells-uk-public-to-stay-inside>*
People told to stay out of the sun as temperatures reach 33C
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jul/23/met-office-issues-a-heatwave-alert-and-tells-uk-public-to-stay-inside
- - -
[Japan]
*Japan heatwave: Warnings issued amid scorching temperatures 
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44910435>*
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44910435
- - - -
[related stresses]
*Climate change study ties warming temperatures to rising suicide risk 
<https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/23/health/climate-change-suicide-rates-study-intl-wxc/index.html>*
https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/23/health/climate-change-suicide-rates-study-intl-wxc/index.html
- - - -
[Comment from a statustician]
*Heat Waves Gone Wild 
<https://tamino.wordpress.com/2018/07/23/heat-waves-gone-wild/>*
It may take another decade or even longer for such associations to be 
established definitively.
This much is certain: the consequences are deadly. Can we afford to wait 
and see?
https://tamino.wordpress.com/2018/07/23/heat-waves-gone-wild/
- - -
[fire]
*Huge wildfires are spreading in California, Oregon, and Colorado. 
They're poised to get worse. 
<https://www.vox.com/2018/7/20/17582890/wildfires-2018-california-colorado-oregon-ferguson-substation>*
The fire season now runs almost year-round, and 2018 is already worse 
than usual.
https://www.vox.com/2018/7/20/17582890/wildfires-2018-california-colorado-oregon-ferguson-substation

[Earth Overshoot day - when the rest of the year must recover.]
*Earth's resources consumed in ever greater destructive volumes 
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/23/earths-resources-consumed-in-ever-greater-destructive-volumes>*
Study says the date by which we consume a year's worth of resources is 
arriving faster
Humanity is devouring our planet's resources in increasingly destructive 
volumes, according to a new study that reveals we have consumed a year's 
worth of carbon, food, water, fibre, land and timber in a record 212 days.
As a result, the Earth Overshoot Day - which marks the point at which 
consumption exceeds the capacity of nature to regenerate - has moved 
forward two days to 1 August, the earliest date ever recorded.
To maintain our current appetite for resources, we would need the 
equivalent of 1.7 Earths, according to Global Footprint Network, an 
international research organisation that makes an annual assessment of 
how far humankind is falling into ecological debt...
- - - -
In the past, economic slowdowns - which tend to reduce energy 
consumption - have also shifted the ecological budget in a positive 
direction. The 2007-08 financial crisis saw the date push back by five 
days. Recessions in the 90s and 80s also lifted some of the pressure, as 
did the oil shock of the mid 1970s.
But the overall trend is of costs increasingly being paid by planetary 
support systems.
Separate scientific studies over the past year has revealed a third of 
land is now acutely degraded, while tropical forests have become a 
source rather than a sink of carbon. Scientists have also raised the 
alarm about increasingly erratic weather, particularly in the Arctic, 
and worrying declines in populations of bees and other insect 
pollinators, which are essential for crops.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/23/earths-resources-consumed-in-ever-greater-destructive-volumes

[Time to discuss snow]
*Global Warming: Let It Snow 
<https://tamino.wordpress.com/2018/07/23/global-warming-let-it-snow/>*
Posted on July 23, 2018
With the oppressive heat striking across the world, I thought I might 
provide a little relief to readers plagued by high temperatures by 
discussing something they might welcome right about now: snow.
Snow is crucially important in many regions because it's a source of 
water, and let's face it, water is important for life. When snow 
accumulates during winter, it builds up a reservoir of water which is 
then released to the environment during snowmelt. This is critical, 
especially in areas like the western U.S. where snowpack forms a huge 
part of their water supply. Snowmelt feeds rivers and lakes, and 
ultimately humans, and does so at the right time to sustain a healthy 
ecosystem and healthy agriculture.
- - - -
When climate changes, when rainfall and drought and temperature and 
storminess and even snowpack changes, living things have to adapt to new 
situations. We (and other life forms) have adapted to conditions as they 
were. We're already having trouble from the way things are. The worst is 
yet to come as we try to survive the way things will be.
https://tamino.wordpress.com/2018/07/23/global-warming-let-it-snow/

[Opinions from two local politicians]
*Marin Voice: Fossil fuel industry must be accountable for its actions 
<http://www.marinij.com/article/NO/20180719/LOCAL1/180719802>*
By Kate Sears and Dave Pine
7/19/18
It's been more than 40 years since the fossil fuel industry's own 
experts warned executives about the potentially "severe" consequences of 
burning oil, gas and coal. And nearly a quarter-century has passed since 
Exxon and others launched a massive public relations and lobbying 
campaign to deceive the public, press and policymakers about those 
consequences.
Not until late 2012 did then-Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson acknowledge that 
"increasing CO2 emissions in the atmosphere is going to have an impact."
But Tillerson followed that long overdue admission with the startling 
statement that humans will just "adapt to this" because it is merely "an 
engineering problem (with) engineering solutions."
That begs the question: Who will have to pay for all that adaptation and 
engineering?
Apparently, Exxon and the other fossil fuel companies think it should be 
anyone but them. Those corporations continue to rake in billions of 
dollars in profits -xxon made almost $20 billion in 2017 alone - while 
pushing the adaptation costs onto taxpayers in communities already 
suffering the consequences of the industry's actions.
That's why so many communities like ours are now filing lawsuits against 
Exxon and many of the biggest fossil fuel companies. Our residents, 
workers and businesses should not be on the hook for costs and damages 
from rising seas and other climate change-related consequences that were 
knowingly, and deliberately, caused by those companies.
Although the San Francisco and Oakland lawsuits were recently dismissed, 
that has virtually no impact on our lawsuits. Their suits were decided 
under federal common law, while ours are on their way back to state 
court where they belong and they're still moving forward under state 
common law claims.
Two new studies highlight the escalating threats and the associated 
costs. First, NASA scientists found that the rate of ice melt in 
Antarctica has tripled since 2012, accelerating sea-level rise that is 
already harming our communities. The more seas rise, the more it costs 
to plan for and implement adaptation and protective measures.
In addition, a new Union of Concerned Scientists report analyzed Zillow 
real estate data in conjunction with peer-reviewed coastal flooding 
projections. It found that more than 300,000 coastal homes in the U.S. 
and another 14,000 commercial properties, with a combined market value 
of $136 billion, will be at risk of chronic flooding over the next 30 years.
These reports are especially disturbing for Marin and San Mateo 
counties, which were already among the most at-risk counties in the state.
Meanwhile, many fossil fuel companies are now trying to greenwash their 
record while refusing to take responsibility for what they've done. 
Worse still, they are blaming the victims - you, your family and your 
neighbors. That's just what they do whenever someone tries to hold them 
accountable: they deny, they distract, they delay, and they attack the 
messengers.
Now they're even pushing a proposal that would give them blanket 
immunity from lawsuits like the ones we filed last summer to protect our 
taxpayers. You heard that right. If they get their way, the companies 
who knowingly created this problem wouldn't have to pay a single dime to 
cover all the costs they're imposing on us.
It's clear that Exxon and the other defendants will do or say whatever 
it takes to avoid responsibility for the high costs of climate 
change-related adaptation and engineering that even Rex Tillerson 
acknowledges are unavoidable. But those are costs that should be borne 
by the companies that both caused the harm and then tried to deny it.
Regardless of their tactics, we remain determined to protect our 
communities and to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for their 
actions.
Kate Sears represents District 3 (Southern Marin) on the Marin County 
Board of Supervisors. Dave Pine is president of the San Mateo County 
Board of Supervisors.
http://www.marinij.com/article/NO/20180719/LOCAL1/180719802

[now for the solutions]
*CLIMATE SOLUTIONS FOR A STRONGER AMERICA 
<http://www.climatenarrative.org/>*
Tested Messaging For Engaging On Climate Change & Clean Energy
http://www.climatenarrative.org/

[Classic Video of the Day]
https://youtu.be/XB3S0fnOr0M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB3S0fnOr0M&feature=youtu.be

*This Day in Climate History - July 24, 2000 
<http://web.archive.org/web/20010525195935/http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/0508-09.htm> 
- from D.R. Tucker*
July 24, 2000: BP launches its controversial "Beyond Petroleum" 
advertising campaign.

    WASHINGTON - May 8 - Calling BP "one of the leading environmental
    firms in the world today," as Vice President Cheney did during
    today's interview with CNN's John King, is like calling Moe the
    smartest of the Three Stooges. We are disappointed that the focused
    on coal, nuclear and oil.
    BP has spent millions of dollars to greenwash its environmental
    record and to convince the world that it is the green oil company.
    But BP's track record is just like that of any other major oil
    company -- full of oil spills, major accidents, violations, and
    environmental devastation. BP is also lobbying Congress to allow oil
    and gas drilling in the pristine coastal plain of the Arctic
    National Wildlife Refuge.

    BP could not even announce its new advertising campaign without
    showcasing its own hypocrisy. On July 24, 2000, the London-based oil
    giant announced that they were going beyond petroleum. But on that
    very same day, the company agreed to pay $10 million in penalties
    for environmental and pollution violations at nine of its oil
    refineries.

    The company's track record suggests that BP stands for big polluter,
    not beyond petroleum. Consider that:

    · In the last four months, BP has been responsible for three oil
    spills in Prudhoe Bay. Between January 1997 and March 1998, BP was
    responsible for 104 oil spills in Prudhoe Bay.

    · On April 13, the Wall Street Journal reported "almost a third of
    the safety shutoff valves tested at one platform failed to close."
    The valves serve as their last line of defense in case of emergency.
    If these valves are inoperative, there is potential for massive
    environmental degradation. State inspectors discovered that nine of
    30 surface safety valves at one drilling platform in Prudhoe Bay
    failed to close, and Neal McCleary, the head of BP's Prudhoe
    operations admitted "It's a reality that valves don't close 100% of
    the time."

http://web.archive.org/web/20010525195935/http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/0508-09.htm
http://youtu.be/GVsPT6ePKPw

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