[TheClimate.Vote] July 29, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Sun Jul 29 09:56:25 EDT 2018
/July 29, 2018/
[CBS news reports]
*Record-breaking heat and fires are worsened by climate change,
scientists say
<https://www.cbsnews.com/news/record-breaking-heat-and-fires-are-worsened-by-climate-change-scientists-say/>*
Heat waves are setting all-time temperature records
<https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-record-high-temperatures-temps-near-120-degrees-in-southwest-today-2018-07-24/>
across the globe -- again. Europe sufferedits deadliest fire
<https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fire-in-greece-officials-see-serious-indications-arson-led-to-forest-fire-relatives-head-to-athens-morgue-2018-07-26/>
in more than a century, and one of nearly 90 large fires in the U.S.
West burned dozens of homes
<https://www.cbsnews.com/news/carr-fire-redding-fire-evacuation-shasta-county-california-wildfire-destroys-homes-2018-07-28/>
and forced the evacuation of at least 37,000 people near Redding,
California. Flood-inducing downpours
<https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dangerous-weather-eastern-united-states-flood-watches-latest-forecast-2018-07-25/>
have pounded the U.S. East this week.
It's all part of summer - but it's all being made worse by human-caused
climate change <https://www.cbsnews.com/climate-change/>, scientists say.
"Weirdness abounds," said Rutgers University climate scientist Jennifer
Francis.
Japan hit 106 degrees on Monday, its hottest temperature ever. Records
fell in parts of Massachusetts, Maine, Wyoming, Colorado, Oregon, New
Mexico and Texas. And then there's crazy heat in Europe, where normally
chill Norway, Sweden and Finland all saw temperatures they have never
seen before
<https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fires-in-sweden-wildfires-rage-amid-intense-nordic-heat-wave-2018-07-18/>
on any date, pushing past 90 degrees. So far this month, at least 118 of
these all-time heat records have been set or tied across the globe,
according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
<http://www.noaa.gov/>.
The explanations should sound as familiar as the crash of broken records.
"We now have very strong evidence that global warming has already put a
thumb on the scales, upping the odds of extremes like severe heat and
heavy rainfall," Stanford University climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh
said. "We find that global warming has increased the odds of
record-setting hot events over more than 80 percent of the planet, and
has increased the odds of record-setting wet events at around half of
the planet."...
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/record-breaking-heat-and-fires-are-worsened-by-climate-change-scientists-say/
- - - - -
[Same news story]
*Extreme heat and wildfires made worse by climate change, say scientists
<https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/extreme-heat-wildfires-worsened-climate-change-say-scientists-n895496>*
Europe suffered its deadliest fire in more than a century, and wildfires
in the western United States forced thousands of people from their homes.
by Associated Press / Jul.28.2018
Heat waves are setting all-time temperature records across the globe, again.
Europe suffered its deadliest fire in more than a century, and one of
nearly 90 large fires in the U.S. West burned dozens of homes and forced
the evacuation
<http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/smoke-california-s-huge-cranston-fire-creates-its-own-weather-n895081>
of at least 37,000 people near Redding, California. Flood-inducing
downpours have pounded the U.S. East this week.
It's all part of summer - but it's all being made worse by human-caused
climate change
<http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-government-websites-climate-change-survive-trump-era-n891806>,
scientists say.
"Weirdness abounds," said Rutgers University climate scientist Jennifer
Francis.
Japan hit 106 degrees on Monday, its hottest temperature ever. Records
fell in parts of Massachusetts, Maine, Wyoming, Colorado, Oregon, New
Mexico and Texas...
And then there's crazy heat in Europe, where normally chill Norway,
Sweden and Finland all saw temperatures they have never seen before on
any date, pushing past 90 degrees.
So far this month, at least 118 of these all-time heat records have been
set or tied across the globe, according to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.
The explanations should sound as familiar as the crash of broken records.
- - - - -
Climate scientists have long said they can't directly link single
weather events, like a heat wave, to human caused climate change without
extensive study. In the past decade they have used observations,
statistics and computer simulations to calculate if global warming
increases the chances of the events.
A study by European scientists Friday found that the ongoing European
heat wave is twice as likely because of human-caused global warming,
though those conclusions have not yet been confirmed by outside
scientists...
The World Weather Attribution <https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/>
team said they compared three-day heat measurements and forecasts for
the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland with historical records going back
to the early 1900s.
"The world is becoming warmer and so heat waves like this are
becoming more common," said Friederike Otto, a member of the team
and deputy director of the Environmental Change Institute at the
University of Oxford.
Erich Fischer, an expert on weather extremes at the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology in Zurich who wasn't part of the analysis said
the authors used well-established methods to make their conclusions.
Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb said the link between climate
change and fires isn't as strong as it is with heat waves, but it is
becoming clearer...
A devastating fire in Greece - with at least 83 fatalities - is the
deadliest fire in Europe since 1900, according to the International
Disaster Database run by the Centre for the Research on the Epidemiology
of Disasters in Brussels, Belgium.
In the United States on Friday, there were 89 active large fires,
consuming nearly 900,000 acres, according to the National
Interagency Fire Center. So far this year, fires have burned 4.15
million acres, which is nearly 14 percent higher than average over
the past 10 years.
The first major science study to connect greenhouse gases to stronger
and longer heat waves was in 2004. It was titled "More intense, more
frequent and longer lasting heat waves in the 21st century."
Study author Gerald Meehl of the National Center for Atmospheric
Research said Friday that now it "reads like a prediction of what has
been happening and will continue to happen as long as average
temperatures continue to rise with ever-increasing emissions of
greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels. It's no mystery."
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/extreme-heat-wildfires-worsened-climate-change-say-scientists-n895496
[what BBC does:]
*Carr fire: California blaze kills children and great-grandmother
<https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/07/10/why-california-fire-season-is-off-to-worst-start-in-10-years/>*
Two children and their great-grandmother are among five people to have
died in a raging wildfire in northern California, reports say.
Two firefighters died on Thursday, 17 people are missing and tens of
thousands have fled their homes.
The fires in Shasta county are being sucked up by strong winds to form
"fire tornados" that are uprooting trees and overturning cars, fire
officials say.
Firefighters are battling the blaze, which is only 5% contained so far.
The blazes, known as the Carr fire, have destroyed at least 500
structures and are threatening thousands of homes.
The wildfire began on Monday after a car malfunctioned. It has scorched
over 48,000 acres (194 sq km) of land - an area larger than the city of
San Francisco.
The photos that explain the world's wildfires
<https://www.bbc.com/news/world-44943143>
Reality Check: Mapping the global heatwave
<Reality%20Check:%20Mapping%20the%20global%20heatwave>
Why wildfires are breaking out in the 'wrong' countries
<https://www.bbc.com/news/world-44941999>
Sherry Bledsoe has confirmed that her grandmother Melody Bledsoe, 70,
and her two children Emily Roberts, five, and James Roberts, four, died
in the fire, reports say.
They were caught in the path of the fire as they were about to evacuate
their home in the town of Redding, NBC reported.
Melody Bledsoe's husband, Ed, earlier described how she had called him
while he was out shopping and told him to return home because the fire
was getting close to the house.
When he reached home he found it destroyed and surrounded by police
tape, he said.
Another relative told NBC that Melody Bledsoe had called police to say
they were trapped inside the house but the line went dead during the call.
Two firefighters - fire inspector Jeremy Stoke, and a bulldozer operator
who has not yet been named, died trying contain the blaze.
More than 3,400 firefighters have been deployed
<http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2164> -
but the local fire department has warned that hot, dry weather is
forecast for the rest of the week, and could make the blaze worse.
"We are seeing fire whirls - literally what can be described as a
tornado," California department of forestry and fire protection
(CalFire) chief Ken Pimlott told reporters.
"This fire was whipped up into a whirlwind of activity" by gale-force
winds, he said, "uprooting trees, moving vehicles, moving parts of
roadways."
"These are extreme conditions... we need to take heed and evacuate,
evacuate, evacuate."
Fire whirls, also known as fire "tornadoes", are spinning vortexes
of air, ash and fire
They form when rising hot air begins to rotate and forms a vortex
that picks up flammable gases and burning debris vegetation
Fire whirls typically only last a few minutes but can be very
dangerous because they can move quickly
They can reach dozens of metres in height, with core temperatures
as high as 1,090C.
About 37,000 residents have been forced to leave the area.
One local, Liz Williams, found herself and her two children stuck in
traffic as people rushed to evacuate. She eventually fled by foot.
"I've never experienced something so terrifying in my life," she told AP
news agency. "I didn't know if the fire was just going to jump out
behind a bush and grab me and suck me in."
The Carr fire is one of almost 90 active large fires in the US,
according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
In California, the Ferguson fire has killed one firefighter and led to
the closure of much of Yosemite National Park, while the Cranston fire
in Riverside County in the south has burned 11,500 acres (46 sq km) of land.
Wildfires are a common occurrence in California during the state's long,
hot, dry summers.
However, *experts say this has been the worst start to the fire season
in 10 years
<https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/07/10/why-california-fire-season-is-off-to-worst-start-in-10-years/>*
- partly due to the 2012-2017 drought that killed off large amounts of
vegetation.
In December,***Governor Jerry Brown said devastating wildfires fuelled
by climate change had become "the new normal"
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42297370>*, and that large
fires "could happen every year or every few years".
[visual of Calif wildfire data]
https://twitter.com/ClimateSignals/status/1022903140721483776
[Climate change science comeback strategies]
*Steering conversations with people adamantly resistant to accepting
climate science. (Part I)
<https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2018/07/climate-change-science-comeback-strategies-part-one/>*
The first lesson is this: have a conscious strategy, rather than a
knee-jerk response. Think about where you want to go and what your goals
are. And if your aim is to simply make the other person feel bad or look
bad, then maybe reconsider if that's helpful to either of you....
- - -
Strategy #1 - Correct the science
At its core, climate change is a scientific topic, although the
controversy around it is largely pinned to ideology, rather than to
scientific acumen. Nonetheless, a healthy dose of science is rarely a
bad idea, as long as it's delivered in a constructive manner. Remember,
climate contrarians who have changed their minds have credited science
more than any other factor...
- - - -
Strategy #2 - Expose the myth, misinformation, or fallacy
Few may be surprised that most attempts to undermine climate science
hinge on some type of misinformation. Cherry-picked data, fake experts,
and conspiracy theories are well-worn hallmarks of contrarian rhetoric...
- - - -
Strategy #3 - Engage in dialogue
One of the hardest tasks when faced with someone whose opinions clash
with yours is to take a deep breath and do the unthinkable: listen...
- - - -
Strategy #4 - Be persuasive
Scott Gruhn doesn't have formal training in climate science or
communications, but he demonstrates admirable skill in both arenas.
Gruhn is a tireless, effective defender and explainer of climate science
on Facebook. His persuasive posts routinely get people to soften their
stance and consider evidence, and he's even been able to usher a half
dozen people to do a complete turnabout in their views...
https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2018/07/climate-change-science-comeback-strategies-part-one/
[media: "much more serious issues being put aside" like global warming]
*Noam Chomsky on Mass Media Obsession with Russia & the Stories Not
Being Covered in the Trump Era <https://youtu.be/x6qk01yq-dY?t=3m13s>*
Democracy Now!
Published on Jul 27, 2018
https://democracynow.org - The New York Times reports special counsel
Robert Mueller is scrutinizing President Trump's tweets as part of
Mueller's expanding probe into Trump's ties to Russia. This latest
revelation in the Mueller investigation is part of a nearly 24-hour
stream of headlines about Trump, Russia and the administration's various
scandals. But is the mainstream media missing the real stories amid its
obsession with “Russiagate”? For more, we speak with world-renowned
political dissident, linguist, author and professor Noam Chomsky on
media manipulation in the Trump era.
Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs weekdays on
nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our
livestream 8-9AM ET: https://democracynow.org
https://youtu.be/x6qk01yq-dY?t=3m13s
[Letters to the Editor - Opinion]
*Californians can ride in cars or fight climate change. They can't do
both
<http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-ol-le-climate-change-cars-20180727-story.html>*
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-ol-le-climate-change-cars-20180727-story.html
[Sunday criticizing the NYTimes for blaming all humans]
*Looking for the Enemy
<https://medium.com/@huntercutting/looking-for-the-enemy-7b0813ff9b0c>
NYT Magazine's Nathaniel Rich Goes Full Pogo
<https://medium.com/@huntercutting/looking-for-the-enemy-7b0813ff9b0c>*
By Hunter Cutting
According to Jake Silverstein, the editor in chief of the New York Times
Magazine, "the August 5 issue of @NYTmag will be dedicated entirely to a
single story, a captivating, revelatory history about the decade we
almost stopped climate change, but didn't."
And the breathless hype doesn't stop there, Silverstein lauds the
author, Nathaniel Rich, tweeting the piece as: *"a remarkable piece of
historical journalism that will change the way you think about global
warming."*
Unfortunately the early hints suggest that Rich's piece will do anything
but that.
"I question whether partisanship is really our biggest problem. And
I question whether the industries' misinformation campaign, as
cynical and clownish as it is, is the problem."
And a bit later, Rich doubles down, going on to say:
"I question additionally whether a lack of public concern is our
biggest problem."
*"What is our problem? The shortest, most simple answer, I believe,
is human nature.* We're a medium-term species. We plan ahead, but
only so far. We're willing to sacrifice comfort in the present for
security in the future, but within reason."
It is at this point that Rich effectively throws out thirty years of
political history, and blames you and me for climate change. He's
gone full Pogo, declaring he has met the enemy and it is us...
So I question whether partisanship is really our biggest problem.
And *I question whether the industries' misinformation campaign, as
cynical and clownish as it is, is the problem."
*
Ironically Rich himself would appear to be exhibit A for his argument
about the limitations of human vision. However, I hope I'm wrong about
that, and I look forward to reading the NYT special issue. Regardless,
there is a huge range in the natural variability of the human species.
Better pundits with clearer vision are out there.
https://medium.com/@huntercutting/looking-for-the-enemy-7b0813ff9b0c
[DOE video visualization]
*E3SM: DOE's New, State-of-the-Science Earth System Model
<https://youtu.be/8Df96rx3i9g>*
doescience Published on Apr 23, 2018
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today unveiled a powerful, new earth
system model that uses the world's fastest computers so that scientists
can better understand how earth system processes interact today and how
they may evolve in the future. The Energy Exascale Earth System model,
or E3SM, is the product of four years of development by top geophysical
and computational scientists across DOE's laboratory complex. This video
highlights the capabilities and goals of the E3SM project. For more
information, visit www.E3SM.org. [comments have been disabled]
https://youtu.be/8Df96rx3i9g
[One more thing from a Russian scientist]
*Vladimir Vernadsky and the Disruption of the Biosphere
<http://climateandcapitalism.com/2018/06/05/vladimir-vernadsky-and-the-disruption-of-the-biosphere/>*
Posted on June 5, 2018
Vladimir Vernadsky, 1863-1945
Virtually unknown in the west, the great Russian geologist and
geochemist pioneered scientific study of life's impact on the Earth.
The first scientist to undertake a serious study of the dynamic
relationship between life and the Earth as a whole was the Russian
geochemist Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky. Born in 1863 and educated in
St. Petersburg, Munich and Paris, by 1900 he was well-known both as a
geologist and as a liberal opponent of Tsarist autocracy. A founder of
the Constitutional Democratic (Kadet) Party and member of its central
committee for many years, he represented the universities' constituency
in the Duma (Parliament) from 1906 to 1911, when he resigned to protest
government attacks on academic freedom. In 1915, he founded the
Commission for the Study of the Natural Productive Forces of Russia
(KEPS), to identify sources of strategic raw materials: its work
continued under the Soviet government until 1930. Although he opposed
the Bolshevik revolution, he resigned from the Kadets when the party
supported military action against the new government. After the Civil
War, he returned to Petrograd and resumed his position as head of the
Academy of Sciences.
In the early 1930s, Vernadsky criticized the government's takeover of
scientific institutions, and objected to attempts to impose dialectical
materialism as an official and mandatory philosophy. He frequently
intervened privately to aid scholars who faced official censorship or
persecution. But for the most part he refrained from publicly opposing
Stalin's policies, to avoid endangering his scientific work. He wasn't a
Marxist, but he was a Russian patriot, eager to contribute to the
country's development, and that probably saved him from the fate of many
other scientists in the purges. As his biographer notes, “it was not
uncommon for Stalinists to worry more about Marxists with whom they
disagreed and whom they distrusted, than they did about non-Marxists who
worked loyally for the regime, did not intrigue, and were no real threat
to Stalin's position.”[3]
- - - - -
The Biosphere
In 1922, while studying and teaching in Paris, Vernadsky wrote “A plea
for the establishment of a biogeochemical laboratory,” and sent it to
scientific bodies in Europe and the United States, hoping to get
international funding, but only the Soviet government responded
positively.[4] He established his laboratory - really a small research
institute - in Leningrad in 1926.
Vernadsky's focus on biogeochemistry - he created both the word and the
science -reflected his conviction that the composition and principal
characteristics of our planet could not be explained by geology and
chemistry alone. “I realized,” he later wrote, “that the basis of
geology lies in the chemical element - in the atom - and that living
organisms play a prominent role, perhaps the leading one, in our natural
environment - the biosphere.”
http://climateandcapitalism.com/2018/06/05/vladimir-vernadsky-and-the-disruption-of-the-biosphere/
[Classic video from April 2018]
*Changing the Climate: How Public Health, Cities, and the Media Can
Advance Climate Solutions <https://youtu.be/fikdONZ9a50>*
KEYNOTE
Gina McCarthy, Former Administrator, United States Environmental
Protection Agency and Professor of the Practice of Public Health,
Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
https://youtu.be/fikdONZ9a50
[Satire relief Trevor Noah]
*THE WORLD IS ON FIRE
<http://www.cc.com/video-clips/ofx6b3/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-the-world-is-on-fire>*
Clip7/26/2018
Climate scientists sound the alarm about record-breaking high
temperatures across the globe, and Trevor offers a few creative solutions.
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/ofx6b3/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-the-world-is-on-fire
<July%2029,%202004:%20At%20the%20Democratic%20National%20Convention,%20Senator%20John%20Kerry%20of%20Massachusetts,%20the%20Democratic%20Presidential%20nominee,%20notes%20that%20if%20he%20is%20elected,%20he%20will%20%22have%20a%20vice%20president%20who%20will%20not%20conduct%20secret%20meetings%20with%20polluters%20to%20rewrite%20our%20environmental%20laws.%22,,He%20also%20observes:,,%E2%80%9CWe+value+an+America+that+controls+its+own+destiny+because+it%27s+finally+and+forever+independent+of+Mideast+oil.+What+does+it+mean+for+our+economy+and+our+national+security+when+we+have+only+3+percent+of+the+world%27s+oil+reserves,%20yet%20we%20rely%20on%20foreign%20countries%20for%2053%20percent%20of%20what%20we%20consume?,,%E2%80%9CI+want+an+America+that+relies+on+its+ingenuity+and+innovation,%20not%20the%20Saudi%20royal%20family.,,%E2%80%9CAnd+our+energy+plan+for+a+stronger+America+--+our+energy+plan+will+invest+in+new+technologies+and+alternative+fuels+and+the+cars+of+the+future,%20so%20that%20no%20young%20American%20in%20uniform%20will%20ever%20be%20held%20hostage%20to%20our%20dependence%20on%20oil%20from%20the%20Middle%20East.%22,,http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25678-2004Jul29.html,,http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Day4Ev>*This
Day in Climate History - July 29, 2004
<July%2029,%202004:%20At%20the%20Democratic%20National%20Convention,%20Senator%20John%20Kerry%20of%20Massachusetts,%20the%20Democratic%20Presidential%20nominee,%20notes%20that%20if%20he%20is%20elected,%20he%20will%20%22have%20a%20vice%20president%20who%20will%20not%20conduct%20secret%20meetings%20with%20polluters%20to%20rewrite%20our%20environmental%20laws.%22,,He%20also%20observes:,,%E2%80%9CWe+value+an+America+that+controls+its+own+destiny+because+it%27s+finally+and+forever+independent+of+Mideast+oil.+What+does+it+mean+for+our+economy+and+our+national+security+when+we+have+only+3+percent+of+the+world%27s+oil+reserves,%20yet%20we%20rely%20on%20foreign%20countries%20for%2053%20percent%20of%20what%20we%20consume?,,%E2%80%9CI+want+an+America+that+relies+on+its+ingenuity+and+innovation,%20not%20the%20Saudi%20royal%20family.,,%E2%80%9CAnd+our+energy+plan+for+a+stronger+America+--+our+energy+plan+will+invest+in+new+technologies+and+alternative+fuels+and+the+cars+of+the+future,%20so%20that%20no%20young%20American%20in%20uniform%20will%20ever%20be%20held%20hostage%20to%20our%20dependence%20on%20oil%20from%20the%20Middle%20East.%22,,http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25678-2004Jul29.html,,http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Day4Ev>
- from D.R. Tucker*
July 29, 2004: At the Democratic National Convention, Senator John Kerry
of Massachusetts, the Democratic Presidential nominee, notes that if he
is elected, he will "have a vice president who will not conduct secret
meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws."
He also observes:
“We value an America that controls its own destiny because it's
finally and forever independent of Mideast oil. What does it mean
for our economy and our national security when we have only 3
percent of the world's oil reserves, yet we rely on foreign
countries for 53 percent of what we consume?
“I want an America that relies on its ingenuity and innovation, not
the Saudi royal family.
“And our energy plan for a stronger America -- our energy plan will
invest in new technologies and alternative fuels and the cars of the
future, so that no young American in uniform will ever be held
hostage to our dependence on oil from the Middle East."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25678-2004Jul29.html
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Day4Ev
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