[TheClimate.Vote] March 8, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

[Richard Pauli]

/March 8, 2018/

[Legal]
*Teenagers Defeat Trump's Move to Kill Climate Change Lawsuit 
<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-07/youths-defeat-trump-s-move-to-kill-climate-change-lawsuit>*
Bloomberg March 7, 2018
They claim that for more than 50 years, the office of the president and 
eight federal agencies promoted regulations to support the U.S. energy 
industry's proliferation of fossil fuels, accounting for a quarter of 
the world's carbon emissions. They asked the court to force the 
government to formulate a formal plan to change course...

    Juliana v. United States is not about the government’s failure to
    act on climate. Instead, the 21 young
    plaintiffs assert that the U.S. government, through its affirmative
    actions in creating a national energy
    system that cause climate change, has violated their constitutional
    rights to life, liberty, and property, and
    has failed to protect essential public trust resources. The case is
    one of many related legal actions brought
    by youth in several states and countries, all supported by Our
    Children’s Trust, and all seeking
    science-based action by governments to stabilize the climate system.

Barring an intervention by the Supreme Court, U.S. District Judge Ann 
Aiken must now decide which government officials can be questioned in 
depositions. The teens earlier sought the testimony of Rex Tillerson, 
who was chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp. and 
headed a petroleum industry trade group before Trump appointed him as 
Secretary of State. The deposition request was denied while his 
confirmation to that post was pending.
The appeal is In re: USA v. USDC-ORE, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
Ninth Circuit (San Francisco). The lower-court case is Juliana v. 
U.S.A., 15-cv-01517, U.S. District Court, District of Oregon (Eugene).
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-07/youths-defeat-trump-s-move-to-kill-climate-change-lawsuit
Press Release: 
<https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/s/20180307-Press-Release-Ninth-Circuit-Decision-on-Trump-Writ-of-Mandamus.pdf> 
https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/s/20180307-Press-Release-Ninth-Circuit-Decision-on-Trump-Writ-of-Mandamus.pdf


[Vermont]
*VERMONT TOWNS PASS RESOLUTIONS SEEKING CLIMATE SOLUTIONS* 
<https://vtdigger.org/2018/01/10/resolutions-launched-30-vermont-towns-seek-climate-solutions/>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 6, 2018
34 VERMONT TOWNS PASS RESOLUTIONS SEEKING CLIMATE SOLUTIONS
On Town Meeting Day, Vermont residents from 34 towns voted 
overwhelmingly in favor of resolutions seeking climate solutions. The 
exact wording of each resolution varied, but all the resolutions 
acknowledged the severity of climate change, urged the State of Vermont 
to meet its goals for 90% renewable energy, and called for a fair and 
equitable transition off fossil fuels. The majority of the resolutions 
also demanded a ban on any new fossil fuel infrastructure, such as 
natural gas pipelines. In many towns the resolutions passed unanimously, 
and every resolution  passed where it was on the agenda or ballot.
"Every corner of Vermont has been impacted by climate change, with 
either floods, increased Lyme disease, wind storms, reduced snow, or 
shortened sugaring seasons," said Maeve McBride, director of 350Vermont. 
"So, it's not surprising that we see these resolutions passing in 10 
different Vermont counties. Clearly, Vermonters are not happy with the 
State's meager progress, and they want to see more action on climate 
change."
https://vtdigger.org/2018/01/10/resolutions-launched-30-vermont-towns-seek-climate-solutions/


[Important Video presentation]
*The Third Industrial Revolution: A Radical New Sharing Economy 
<https://youtu.be/QX3M8Ka9vUA>*
VICE Jeremy Rifkin
Published on Feb 13, 2018
The global economy is in crisis. The exponential exhaustion of natural 
resources, declining productivity, slow growth, rising unemployment, and 
steep inequality, forces us to rethink our economic models. Where do we 
go from here? In this feature-length documentary, social and economic 
theorist Jeremy Rifkin lays out a road map to usher in a new economic 
system.
A Third Industrial Revolution is unfolding with the convergence of three 
pivotal technologies: an ultra-fast 5G communication internet, a 
renewable energy internet, and a driverless mobility internet, all 
connected to the Internet of Things embedded across society and the 
environment.
This 21st century smart digital infrastructure is giving rise to a 
radical new sharing economy that is transforming the way we manage, 
power and move economic life. But with climate change now ravaging the 
planet, it needs to happen fast. Change of this magnitude requires 
political will and a profound ideological shift.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX3M8Ka9vUA


[Pipeline battles]
*Bayou Bridge Pipeline Opponents Say Louisiana Governor's Office Is 
Surveilling Them 
<https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/03/07/bayou-bridge-pipeline-louisiana-governor-edwards-surveillance>*
By Julie Dermansky • Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Opponents of the Bayou Bridge pipeline accused Louisiana Governor John 
Bel Edwards of meeting with representative of the oil and gas industry 
while refusing to meet with activists and communities affected by the 
pipeline's construction. They further allege that the administration has 
instead placed them under surveillance, pointing to similar treatment of 
Dakota Access pipeline opponents in North Dakota in 2016. Their claims 
are based in part on emails and other public records released by the state.
The activists brought their grievances to the Democratic governor's home 
and office on March 1, holding a press conference in front of the 
Governor's Mansion in Baton Rouge and then occupying the foyer to his 
office in the State Capitol for over an hour.
"The Bayou Bridge pipeline should be called the John Bel pipeline," 
Louisiana Bucket Brigade founder and director Anne Rolfes declared at 
the press conference. In her view, "any accidents that will happen" 
related to the pipeline lead back to the Governor. He had the power to 
stop it, she said, but chose not to.
At the press conference, representatives from the HELP Association, 350 
New Orleans, L'eau est La Vie (Water Is Life) camp, and the Center for 
Constitutional Rights also expressed disappointment in what they 
described as the state government's cozy relationship with industry.
Louisiana Bucket Brigade read aloud emails about the Bayou Bridge 
pipeline from the Edwards administration and industry that were obtained 
by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a New York-based legal 
and educational nonprofit...
https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/03/07/bayou-bridge-pipeline-louisiana-governor-edwards-surveillance


[Tipping points]
*The Current Onset of Climate Tipping Points 
<https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/03/07/the-current-onset-of-climate-tipping-points/>*
by ANDREW GLIKSON
As extreme temperatures, the rate of sea ice melt, the collapse of 
Greenland glaciers, the thawing of Siberian and Canadian permafrost and 
increased evaporation in the Arctic drive cold snow storms into Europe 
and North America, and as hurricanes and wild fires affect tropical and 
semi-tropical parts of the globe, it is becoming clear Earth is entering 
a shift in state of the atmosphere-ocean system associated with 
destructive climate tipping points. As Arctic permafrost is thawing an 
analogy with geological methane-release events such as the 56 million 
years-old Paleocene-Eocene boundary thermal maximum (PETM) event is 
becoming more likely.
As is well known to students of the history of the climate, once a 
temperature threshold is breached, abrupt weather events ensue amplified 
by feedbacks such as decreased reflectivity of the Earth surface and 
enhanced release of greenhouse gases, often within short time frames...
The current warming of Earth manifest in the Arctic Sea, the melting of 
polar ice sheets, penetration of snow storms into mid-latitudes, 
permafrost thaw, hurricanes and wildfires and the rise in extreme 
weather events, manifesting a shift in state of the atmosphere-ocean 
system, constitutes an existential threat to humanity and much of nature.
Apart from sharp reduction in carbon emissions, there appears to be one 
chance to save the biosphere as we know it, namely CO2 down-draw using 
every available method (cf. basalt dust application of soils, carbon 
cultivation of soils (biochar), CO2 removal by air streaming through 
basalt, extensive sea weed farms, 'sodium trees' sequestering CO2 using 
sodium hydroxide in pipe systems). This would require funds on the 
$trillions-scale currently allocated for the military and for wars, 
humanity's choice being between ongoing wars and defense of the Planet.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/03/07/the-current-onset-of-climate-tipping-points/


[International influence]
*Fiji climate lead challenged consultants' influence before losing job 
<http://www.climatechangenews.com/2018/03/06/fiji-climate-lead-lost-job-challenging-consultants-influence/>*
06/03/2018
Nazhat Shameem Khan was removed from her role in the UN climate talks 
presidency after a protracted power struggle with Australian and 
European advisers
By Megan Darby
Climate Home News is one of the world's most trusted independent sources 
of climate politics news. Sign up for our newsletter 
<http://www.climatechangenews.com/newsletter-sign-up/>.
Fiji's presidency of the UN climate talks was an unprecedented 
opportunity for the Pacific island state to make its mark internationally.
But thesudden removal 
<http://www.climatechangenews.com/2018/02/28/fiji-chief-negotiator-replaced-midway-un-climate-presidency/> 
of chief negotiator Nazhat Shameem Khan last week, despite praise for 
her leadership, revealed a rift between the Geneva-based diplomat and 
capital Suva.
At the centre of the fight is a group of Australian and European 
consultants brought in to assist the Fijian government to deliver its 
biggest diplomatic challenge. Shameem Khan had increasingly objected to 
the prominent role these outsiders had within Fiji's presidency.
In exclusive interviews with Climate Home News, insiders said this 
eventually led to her deposal, with prime minister Frank Bainimarama 
taking the consultants' side. They raised concerns that Fiji ceding 
control to unaccountable professionals jeopardised a critical year of 
climate talks.
"In the world of [UN climate negotiations], to see a small island state 
in the presidency being closely managed and controlled by consultants 
from developed countries is not good for trust and goodwill," a source 
from the Fijian delegation told Climate Home News. "But [the 
consultants] refused to take a back seat and we had difficulties in 
relation to this."
Another member of the national staff, contacting CHN independently, 
said: "Most of their advice and interference was harmful rather than 
helpful… They undermined us and didn't understand the local dimensions."
Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity...

    Fiji's presidency of the climate talks centred on the UN conference
    of parties (Cop) in Bonn in November 2017 and will continue
    throughout 2018.

    To help with the huge undertaking, the Fijian government hired
    consultants, including law firm Baker McKenzie, climate experts
    Systemiq and public relations specialists Qorvis. An Australian,
    John Connor, was appointed as executive director. It is not unusual
    for national delegations, particularly small or poor countries with
    limited capacity, to take external advice.

    They were paid through funds donated by other countries, with the
    bulk coming from the developed world.

    The consultants chalked up wins for Fiji, brokering a $50 million
    green bond for the island nation and coordinating "America's Pledge"
    with California governor Jerry Brown and business leader Mike Bloomberg.

    Initially, Shameem Khan and her team relied on consultants, UN
    officials and former presidents of the climate talks to bring them
    up to speed on the issues and processes. As they became more
    knowledgeable, though, they quickly came to question the
    consultants' advice and level of influence over the strategy.

    "The balance of power was wrong from day one," said the first Fijian
    delegation source. "They were telling us how to run the Cop at a
    visionary level."

It is not the first time Qorvis' influence on Fiji's government has been 
questioned. In November, a former public servant told Australia's ABC he 
had lost his job after refusing to become a "lackey" for the PR firm.
Fiji passes the baton this year to Poland, which is hosting the next 
climate summit in December. Bainimarama told parliament Fiji would 
continue to preside over a mass outreach programme, known as the 
"talanoa dialogue", in partnership with Poland after its formal term ended.
"This article originally appeared on Climate Home News". 
<http://www.climatechangenews.com/2018/03/06/fiji-climate-lead-lost-job-challenging-consultants-influence/>
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2018/03/06/fiji-climate-lead-lost-job-challenging-consultants-influence/
[sources $]
*Fijian PM Statement 070318 by Megan Darby on Scribd 
<https://www.scribd.com/document/373187479/Fijian-PM-Statement-070318#from_embed>*
https://www.scribd.com/document/373187479/Fijian-PM-Statement-070318#from_embed


[Measure]
*Canada Is Unsustainable. So Is Everywhere Else 
<https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2018/02/23/Canada-Is-Unsustainable-So-Is-Everywhere-Else/>*
If we want equality - and to survive - profound change is needed.
By Crawford Kilian 23 Feb 2018
"Sustainability" is a very popular buzzword, though it's hard to define. 
We generally take it to mean going on living as we do today, only 
forever, and with endless - but sustainable! - economic growth. We elect 
governments on their promises that, under their rule, we will keep on 
truckin' and our children will truck even better.
But a recent research article suggests that we're deceiving ourselves 
and living far beyond our means - all of us, including Canada.
Writing in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Sustainability, a team at 
the University of Leeds led by economist Daniel O'Neill presented 
ananalysis <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-018-0021-4>that we 
and our politicians will have to study and respond to. Many are going to 
reject it. But they are going to have to offer a better analysis if they 
want to be as persuasive as O'Neill.
"A good life all within planetary boundaries" is a clearly written 
document (though the math is beyond me) based on widely accepted 
premises and a relatively new theory called"doughnut economics." 
<https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/08/doughnut-economics-by-kate-raworth-review>In 
a sense, it's a logical extension of Justin Trudeau's claim to balancing 
the economy and environment, but with very different results.
The Earth is in the "Goldilocks" zone of the solar system - not too hot, 
not too cold, just right. Similarly, a Goldilocks economy must use 
enough resources to fund social benefits for everyone, but it can't 
overshoot those resources or we're all in trouble.


      The Tyee is supported by readers like you

Join us and grow independent media in Canada <http://support.thetyee.ca/>

O'Neill sets out 11 social objectives aligned with the UN's Sustainable 
Development Goals. They're pretty modest: a healthy life expectancy of 
65; adequate nutrition, sanitation and access to energy; an income over 
$1.90 a day; 94 per cent employment; equality (aGini index 
<http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-31847943>of 3.0, better 
than Canada's 3.2); secondary education; social support; and democratic 
quality (at least as good as the U.S. and U.K.). All these objectives 
are achievable by resource development and efficient distribution of the 
proceeds.
*Four key boundaries*
That resource development faces four key boundaries. First, O'Neill 
assumes climate change must be kept below a temperature increase of two 
degrees Celsius. Second is land-system change - the quantity of biomass 
harvested, wasted, or lost due to land-use changes. An example might be 
a forest lost to housing.
The third boundary is our use of fresh water, which we usually take for 
granted as infinite until a drought hits.
Fourth is our use of nitrogen and phosphorus in agriculture, as well as 
our ecological and material "footprints" - how many other organisms 
perish and ecosystems collapse to meet our needs. B.C.'s wild salmon 
come to mind.
O'Neill and his team then apply doughnut economics to 151 countries 
around the world: Which of them are achieving the social objectives, and 
which are living within the means of their resource base? The results 
are surprising, and disturbing.
Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria achieve all 11 social objectives, 
closely followed by Japan, France, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and 
Australia. Canada achieves nine out of 11 objectives, matching the Czech 
Republic and the U.S.
But we are transgressing six of the seven biophysical boundaries. We 
haven't maxed out our fresh water supply, though we're getting close. 
The U.S. is worse on employment and equality, and is starting an 
overdraft on its fresh water.
You wouldn't want to live in the countries that stay within their 
biophysical boundaries, like Malawi and Yemen. They've achieved 
essentially none of the social objectives. Similarly, Haiti crosses no 
biophysical boundaries, but has achieved none of the social objectives 
except employment. (Check the study's interactive website,Country 
Comparisons <https://goodlife.leeds.ac.uk/countries/>, for some 
eye-opening contrasts.)
*And the winner is…*
The country that comes closest to sustainability? Vietnam. Its carbon 
emissions are too high, but it achieves six of the 11 social objectives.
A writer for the conservative U.S. magazineNational Review 
<http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/456138/environmentalists-push-global-wealth-redistribution>promptly 
condemned the O'Neill study as a blatant attempt to impose totalitarian 
income redistribution on the world. Many Canadians and Americans will 
endorse that view.
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2018/02/23/Canada-Is-Unsustainable-So-Is-Everywhere-Else/


*This Day in Climate History - March 8, 2012 
<http://blogsofbainbridge.typepad.com/greenfront/2012/03/michael-stafford-gop-stuck-in-a-conservative-wonderland-.html> 
   -  from D.R. Tucker*
March 8, 2012: In a syndicated column, former Delaware Republican Party 
official Michael Stafford notes:

    "The far-right’s capture of the GOP has gone largely unchallenged by
    more responsible voices within the Party. Jon Huntsman, for example,
    was the sole presidential candidate willing to directly confront the
    prevailing [right-wing] orthodoxy on climate and evolution. Perhaps
    this isn’t surprising, given the viciousness of the attacks directed
    at dissenters. The passion for purging and purity, and the primaries
    that resemble nothing so much as heresy trials, highlight a critical
    fact about the far-right. In Conservative Wonderland,
    dissent--thoughtcrime--is the political version of a capital offense."

http://themoderatevoice.com/140941/gop-stuck-in-a-conservative-wonderland/
http://blogsofbainbridge.typepad.com/greenfront/2012/03/michael-stafford-gop-stuck-in-a-conservative-wonderland-.html
/
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