[TheClimate.Vote] March 13, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Tue Mar 13 08:22:21 EDT 2018
/March 13, 2018/
[innovation]
*America's Newest Weather Satellite Is a Game-Changer
<https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/03/americas-newest-weather-satellite-is-a-game-changer-for-forecasting-catastrophic-natural-events/>*
"The future of forecasting" is here...
Robbie Gonzalez - Mar. 3, 2018
...the important thing to know about GOES-16 and -17 is that they are
the most sophisticated environmental forecasting spacecraft ever to ride
a rocket to orbit. They'll monitor the eastern and western portions of
the US, respectively, and their adjoining oceans, spanning an area that
extends from the west coast of Africa to the eastern reaches of New
Zealand. Together, they'll provide researchers and meteorologists with
valuable data on weather systems - including violent storms, wildfires,
lightning, and dense fog - in close to real time. The upshot: more
accurate forecasts on your weather app, for one. More robust climate
models, for another. But most consequentially: more advance warning, the
next time local conditions turn cataclysmic.
The satellite formerly known as GOES-S will provide that warning with
the help of powerful instruments like the Advanced Baseline Imager. Its
70 megapixel camera will scan the planet along 16 spectral channels
tuned to detect visible, infrared, and near-infrared signals at four
times the resolution and five times faster than GOES-15, the satellite
GOES-S is destined to replace. Translation: This sentinel in the sky can
simultaneously image the Western hemisphere once every 15 minutes, the
continental US every five, and smaller areas of interest every 30 seconds...
"The key here is we're completing our picture of the west coast," says
Walsh. The weather in Hawaii and Alaska, and along the Pacific Coast,
originates farther west than researchers and forecasters could ever see
with GOES-16. Its sibling satellite, assuming all goes well, will give
researchers, forecasters, and the public a better sense of what's coming
- from the everyday, to the extreme.
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/03/americas-newest-weather-satellite-is-a-game-changer-for-forecasting-catastrophic-natural-events/
[Famine Early Warning Systems network]
*FEWS Net Global Weather Hazards
<http://www.fews.net/global/global-weather-hazards/march-9-2018>*
Despite recent rains, many areas of southern Africa remain dry
Download report
<http://www.fews.net/sites/default/files/documents/reports/GlobalWeatherHazard-18.03.08.pdf>
http://www.fews.net/sites/default/files/documents/reports/GlobalWeatherHazard-18.03.08.pdf
The Global Weather Hazards report anticipates severe weather or climate
events in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Central Asia.
This product provides maps with current weather and climate information;
short and medium range weather forecasts (up to one week); and the
potential impact on crop and pasture conditions. It does not reflect
long range forecasts or food security conditions.
http://www.fews.net/global/global-weather-hazards/march-9-2018
[Repression]
*Silencing Science Tracker
<http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/resources/silencing-science-tracker/about/>*
The Silencing Science Tracker is a joint initiative of the *Sabin Center
for Climate Change Law and the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund
<https://www.csldf.org/>*. It is intended to record reports of
government attempts to "silence science" since the November 2016
election. At this time, the tracker only includes actions taken by the
federal government, but we plan to add state-level actions in the future.
We define "silencing science" to include any action that has the effect
of restricting or prohibiting scientific research, education or
discussion, or the publication or use of scientific information.
The tracker does not include legislation affecting scientific research,
education, or discussion.
All tracker entries are drawn from media reports, with most taken from
national news sources. We do not take any position on the accuracy of
those reports. Please contact Romany Webb (rwebb at law.columbia.edu) to
recommend relevant media reports we may have missed or provide responses
or corrections to media reports we have included
http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/resources/silencing-science-tracker/about/
[Suspension]
*EPA Science Advisory Board Unofficially Suspended
<http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/silencing-science-tracker/epa-science-advisory-board-unofficially-suspended/>*
As of March 6, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Science
Advisory Board (SAB) had not met
<https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/03/06/stories/1060075513>in at
least six months.
http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/silencing-science-tracker/epa-science-advisory-board-unofficially-suspended/
[Restrictions]
*EPA Staff Participation in Scientific Integrity Survey Restricted
<http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/silencing-science-tracker/epa-staff-participation-in-scientific-integrity-survey-restricted/>*
E&E News reported
<https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/03/09/stories/1060075941> that
scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had been
restricted from participating in an online survey intended to gather
information on scientific integrity within the federal government.
http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/silencing-science-tracker/epa-staff-participation-in-scientific-integrity-survey-restricted/
[Climate Liability News]
*California Utilities, Climate Change and Wildfires: A Liability
Quagmire
<https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/03/12/climate-change-wildfires-california-utilities/>*
By Ucilia Wang
California's rampant wildfires have ignited legal questions as the state
begins to deal with the question of who's at fault and who pays for the
escalating damages.
Caught squarely in the middle is the state's electric companies, several
of whom have been found liable for huge settlements when their equipment
or negligence in maintaining it were blamed for costly fires. That has
driven them to use a new tactic: blaming climate change.
The three biggest utilities are linkingclimate change to wildfires
<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-23/best-shot-a-utility-has-against-fire-costs-may-be-climate-change>in
a bid to persuade the Public Utilities Commission to let them pass on
some of the ballooning firefighting and legal costs to their customers.
The utilities say a constitutional doctrine called inverse condemnation
has compelled them to settle lawsuits from property owners, firefighting
agencies and local governments. They believe the doctrine entitles them
to recoup some of the expenses by raising rates. The commission disagrees.
The stakes of this debate are high. San Diego Gas & Electric faced
more than 2,500 lawsuits and paid$2.4 billion in settlements
<http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M201/K962/201962746.PDF>for
its role in three fires in 2007 thatburned 1,738 homes
<http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/wildfire/sd-me-witch-creek-20171010-story.html>,
killed two people and scorched 368,316 acres in San Diego County.
Fourteen of the20 largest wildfires
<http://fire.ca.gov/communications/downloads/fact_sheets/top20_acres.pdf>in
California since 1932 took place within the past two decades. The
biggest one, the Thomas Fire, took place last December and lawsuits
are piling up against Southern California Edison. Up north, Pacific
Gas & Electric could potentially paybillions of dollars
<https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/18/santa-rosa-couple-sues-pge-for-negligence-leading-to-wildfire/>for
its role ina series of wildfires
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2017_Northern_California_wildfires>in
Northern California last October that killed 44 people and destroyed
8,900 buildings. Investigators haven't pinpointed the causes of
these recent firestorms.
Yet the stocks of both companies tumbled after the fires, leading to$20
billion
<https://energyathaas.wordpress.com/2018/01/16/what-does-the-stock-market-tell-us-about-the-california-wildfires/>in
combined market value losses.
"What the California utilities are facing is that large wildfires can
bankrupt them if they can't pass on the cost, if the size of potential
liabilities exceed the value of the companies," said Lucas Davis, a
professor of economic analysis and policy at UC Berkeley's Haas School
of Business.
Science has concluded that climate changecontributes to drier conditions
<https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-see-climate-change-in-californias-wildfires/>,
exacerbates drought and leads to a greater number and more intense
wildfires. The three utilities say that warming trend is a problem
shared by all Californians, who should then share the fire costs.
The problem may be shared by all, but the blame for causing it is where
the utilities run into a legal tangle. If climate change is to blame for
the wildfires, the utilities could turn and sue the fossil fuel industry
whose products have been overwhelmingly linked to rising global
temperatures. But that won't necessarily play well in the courts, said
Sean Hecht, an environmental law professor at the UCLA School of Law.
"Utilities use gas for power plants, and that doesn't make them the most
sympathetic plaintiffs," Hecht said.
The utilities' other options, Hecht said, are raising rates or lobbying
for legislation that limits their liability in homeowner lawsuits.
California officials and consumer advocates say the utilities' attempt
to blame climate change is distracting from their responsibility to
secure and maintain their equipment to limit fire risk.
"I'm finding that utilities are trying to confuse the issue," said state
Sen. Jerry Hill, who chairs the subcommittee on gas, electricity and
transportation safety. "Climate change might have spread the fires more
quickly, but it didn't start the fires."
Hill introduced legislation
<http://sd13.senate.ca.gov/news/2018-01-03-state-legislators-introduce-bill-prohibit-electric-utilities-pushing-costs-resulting>,
SB 819, in January that would prohibit utilities from raising rates to
recover costs if they were found negligent in a fire.
The bill is a reaction to a debate over whether San Diego Gas & Electric
could pass on the $379 million from the 2007 fires that it couldn't
cover through insurance. Thecommission denied
<http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M197/K851/197851767.PDF>the
utility's request last November because it said the company caused the
fire with improper maintenance of power lines. The commission also said
it wouldn't automatically deny rate increases in future cases in which
the utilities were at fault.
San Diego Gas & Electric isappealing the decision
<http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M201/K962/201962746.PDF>,
arguing that it wasn't at fault. The company said
<https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/CPUC-SDGE-2007-Wildfires-Costs-461048153.html>the
fires were caused by "hurricane-force winds," high heat and low
humidity. Its two fellow utilities arelobbying the commission
<http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M201/K974/201974376.PDF>to
change its mind as well.
The central issue in the appeal, however, is all about inverse
condemnation, which is based on theCalifornia and U.S. Constitution
<https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CONS§ionNum=SEC.%2019.&article=I>and
says government should compensate property owners for the damage it
caused. California courts have applied that doctrineto private utilities
<http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-court-of-appeal/1223894.html>as well
since the same liability exists for government-owned electric service
providers.
Inverse doctrine holds that utilities could be liable even if they
weren't negligent. That means power companies could be required to
compensate property owners even though they followed safety rules.
"The theory behind it is to create an incentive for utilities to take
even stronger actions to make sure it doesn't happen again," Hecht said.
That nudge has worked, Hill said, pointing out that the 2007 fires
prompted the San Diego utility toimprove fire prevention practices
<https://www.sdge.com/newsroom/press-releases/2016-08-08/sdge%E2%80%99s-skycrane-returns-support-regional-fire-fighting-needs-0>,
including replacing wooden poles with steel ones, employing
meteorologists and paying forfirefighting aircraft
<https://www.sdge.com/newsroom/press-releases/2016-08-08/sdge%E2%80%99s-skycrane-returns-support-regional-fire-fighting-needs-0>.
The courts have applied inverse condemnation with the understanding that
the cost of the damage would be shared by many, said Robert H. Thomas,
an attorney who chairs the state and local government law section at the
American Bar Association.
California judges haverejected the argument
<https://www.leagle.com/decision/incaco20120830026>that private
utilities should be exempt from inverse condemnation because they lack
the authority of public utilities to spread the financial responsibility
by taxing their customers. In/Pacific Bell Phone v. Southern California
Edison/ <https://www.leagle.com/decision/incaco20120830026>, the
appellate court said the electric utility, Edison, "has not pointed to
any evidence to support its implication that the commission would not
allow Edison adjustments to pass on damages liability during its
periodic reviews."
Pacific Gas & Electric said if the commission doesn't resolve how it
would apply inverse condemnation, then it's creating "essentially
unlimited liabilities" for utilities.
"Private utilities, including PG&E, have challenged the application of
inverse condemnation on various grounds. While in the past those
challenges have generally been unsuccessful, these [and other] issues
ultimately will need to be resolved by the California Supreme Court and
Federal courts," said Ari Vanrenen, a company spokesman, in an email.
Utilities could request rate increases to pay for greater insurance
coverage instead of legal fees. But that could send the wrong message.
"If a utility is completely covered, then it doesn't have an incentive
to be careful," Davis said. "What's really important is for the state of
California to get the incentives right for utilities, homeowners and
landowners to avoid fires in the future."
The blame game, inevitably, isn't going to reflect well on utilities,
regardless of how the courts ultimately rule.
"It appeals to a lot of people even if legally, you would ask, wait a
minute, what does that have to do with the causation and what happened
on your lines?" Thomas said. "In a way, a lot of these [questions] will
be decided not so much by legal cases but by politics. The public will
say, why should I pay for it when PG&E screws up?"
https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/03/12/climate-change-wildfires-california-utilities/
[say anything]
*Interior Officials Are Citing Coal Execs And Crank Bloggers To Defend
Climate Stances
<https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/interior-climate-change-crank-blogs_us_5aa2df63e4b086698a9da922>*
At the federal agency in charge of 20 percent of the U.S. landmass,
blogs like "Watts Up With That" trump The New York Times.
By Alexander C. Kaufman and Chris D'Angelo
"They're in the bubble of the climate misinformation world and ignoring
their own scientists. "
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/interior-climate-change-crank-blogs_us_5aa2df63e4b086698a9da922?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004
[ticks]
*Climate Change Pushes Ticks Into Canada, Bringing Lyme Disease (and
Confusion) With Them
<https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/03/climate-change-pushes-ticks-into-canada-bringing-lyme-disease-and-confusion-with-them/>*
Reported Lyme cases in Canada increased more than six-fold between 2009
and 2016, but many patients are still struggling to get diagnosed and
treated.
VIVIANE CALLIER - MAR 2018
Ticks carried by migratory birds have been raining down on Canada for
years. But it's only in the last 10 to 15 years, amid a changing climate
and the creation of new habitats in the north, that populations of deer
ticks (Ixodes scapularis) have been able to establish a permanent
beachhead in Canada. They have brought with them a variety of tick-borne
diseases, the most common of which is Lyme.
According to Canada's Lyme surveillance efforts, the number of reported
Lyme cases increased more than six-fold from 2009 (144 reported cases)
to 2016 (987 reported cases). And while public awareness of the disease
is increasing in Canada as caseloads surge, many patients still struggle
to get diagnosed and treated - enough so that many of them have been
driven to seek help beyond the country's borders, or even from
alternative medicine practitioners with questionable expertise but in
some cases, a more sympathetic ear.
"There are people who are really suffering," says Tara Moriarty, an
associate professor in the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of
Toronto who studies the dissemination of blood-borne pathogens. That
suffering, she says, "has made a lot of people feel very marginalized.
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/03/climate-change-pushes-ticks-into-canada-bringing-lyme-disease-and-confusion-with-them/
[paleo-liability]
*Burning coal may have caused Earth's worst mass extinction
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/mar/12/burning-coal-may-have-caused-earths-worst-mass-extinction>*
New geological research from Utah suggests the end-Permian extinction
was mainly caused by burning coal, ignited by magma
Great documentary by paleo investigator
*The Permian-Triassic Boundary - The Rocks of Utah
<https://youtu.be/uDH05Pgpel4>*
Benjamin Burger Published on Feb 26, 2018
The Great Dying! In this episode we head out to the Permian-Triassic
Boundary and try to discover what caused Earth's Largest Mass
Extinction event, 252 million years ago.
After 4-months of research, I'm excited to finally release this
exciting video!
A pre-print of the scientific paper is available at:
https://eartharxiv.org/khd9y
I've submitted this research to the journal "Global and Planetary
Change" for peer review.
YouTube video https://youtu.be/uDH05Pgpel4
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/mar/12/burning-coal-may-have-caused-earths-worst-mass-extinction
[Preprint]
*What caused Earth's largest mass extinction event? New evidence from
the Permian-Triassic boundary in northeastern Utah
<https://eartharxiv.org/khd9y>*
Abstract
The discovery of a Permian-Triassic boundary section in northeastern
Utah reveals a detailed record of events that led to one of the
greatest mass extinctions on the planet. From 83% to 97% of the
species living on the planet went extinct during this relatively
short interval of geological time, which defines the major
geological boundary between the Paleozoic and Mesozoic Eras. The
cause and resulting sequence of events that led to this extinction
have puzzled geologists for years. A new stratigraphic section in
Utah provides details enabling the reconstruction of the events that
led to this mass extinction. Geochemical analysis of the section
demonstrates a significant drop in carbonate and total organic
carbon, and a delayed occurrence of pyrite framboids. Carbon isotope
ratios (δ13C) show a negative excursion in carbonate with ratios
dropping from 2.585‰ to -3.627‰. Elevated mercury is present at the
boundary with a 4-fold increase from background levels. The boundary
layer shows elevated zinc, lead, strontium, and nickel, but not at
high enough levels to indicate a volcanic ash source. There is no
evidence in concentrations of siderophile and chalcophile elements
for an extraterrestrial impact. The stratigraphic section in Utah
supports the theory of a massive release of carbon dioxide,
resulting in the acidification of the oceans. High levels of
mercury, as well as elevated levels of zinc and lead, implicate a
coal source triggered by the contemporary Siberian Traps sill
complex. The delay of enriched sulfur and barium content in the
stratigraphic record indicates an anoxic ocean and upwelling of
methane hydrates from depth. Further study of this stratigraphic
section will aid our understanding of the global impact these
catastrophic events had on life and hopefully prevent it from
happening again.
https://eartharxiv.org/khd9y
-
[Also consider the paleo classic from 2008]
*Under a Green Sky: Global Warming, the Mass Extinctions of the Past,
and What They Can Tell Us About Our Future
<https://www.amazon.com/Under-Green-Sky-Warming-Extinctions/dp/0061137928/ref=sr_1_1>*
Peter Ward, PhD
Paleontologist Peter D. Ward, ... turned to the Permian problem, and
he has come to a stunning conclusion. In his investigations of the
fates of several groups of mollusks during those extinctions and
others, he discovered that the near-total devastation at the end of
the Permian was caused by rising levels of carbon dioxide leading to
climate change. But it's not the heat (nor the humidity) that's
directly responsible for the extinctions, and the story of the
discovery of what is responsible makes for an fascinating,
globe-spanning adventure. /[it's the sulfur]/
https://www.amazon.com/Under-Green-Sky-Warming-Extinctions/dp/0061137928/ref=sr_1_1
[Extreme alarmism]
*On The Fast Track to Extinction: Can Humanity Survive?
<https://www.mintpressnews.com/on-the-fast-track-to-extinction-can-humanity-survive/238660/>*
The threat faced by humanity is not the multitude of complex social,
political, economic and technological forces precipitating our rush to
extinction, it is our dysfunctional individual and collective
psychological state, perhaps a much more vexing problem to solve.
by Robert J. Burrowes
*Anyone reading the scientific literature*(or the progressive news
outlets that truthfully report this literature) knows that homo sapiens
are on the fast track to extinction, most likely sometime between 2025
and 2040.
For a taste of the evidence in this regard focusing on the climate,
see'Climate Collapse and Near Term Human Extinction'
<http://www.globalresearch.ca/guy-mcpherson-on-climate-collapse-and-near-term-human-extinction/5386102>,'What
They Won't Tell You About Climate Catastrophe'
<http://www.ecoshock.info/2012/11/kevin-anderson-what-they-wont-tell-you.html>,'Release
of Arctic Methane "May Be Apocalyptic," Study Warns'
<http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39957-release-of-arctic-methane-may-be-apocalyptic-study-warns>and'7,000
underground [methane] gas bubbles poised to "explode" in Arctic'
<http://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/news/n0905-7000-underground-gas-bubbles-poised-to-explode-in-arctic/?nf=News>.
Unfortunately, of course, the climate is not the only imminent threat to
human survival. With an insane leadership in the White House in the
United States – see'Resisting Donald Trump's Violence Strategically'
<http://www.eurasiareview.com/02032017-resisting-donald-trumps-violence-strategically-oped/>–
we are faced with the prospect of nuclear war. And even if the climate
and nuclear threats to our survival are removed, there is still a
substantial range of environmental threats – including rainforest
destruction, the ongoing dumping of Fukushima radiation into the Pacific
Ocean, extensive contamination from military violence… – that need to be
addressed, given the synergistic impacts of these multiple and
interrelated threats.
Can these extinction-threatening problems be effectively addressed?
Well the reality is that most (but not all) of them can be tackled
effectively if we are courageous enough to make powerful personal and
organizational decisions and then implement them. But we are not even
close to doing that yet. And time is obviously running out fast.
Given the evidence, scientific and otherwise, documenting the cause and
nature of many of these problems and what is required to fix them, why
aren't these strategies to address the problems implemented?
At the political and economic level, it is usually explained
structurally – for example, as an outcome of capitalism, patriarchy
and/or the states-system – or, more simply, as an outcome of the
powerful vested interests that control governments and the corporate
imperative to make profits despite exacerbating the current perilous
state of the Earth's biosphere and its many exploited populations (human
and otherwise) by doing so.
But the reality is that these political and economic explanations mask
the deeper psychological drivers that generate and maintain these
dysfunctional structures and behaviors.
Let me explain why and how this happens using the climate catastrophe to
illustrate the process...
While scientific concern about the increase in carbon dioxide in the
Earth's atmosphere had been raised more than a century ago – see 'The
Discovery of Global Warming' – it wasn't until the 1980s that this
concern started to gain significant traction in public awareness. And
despite ongoing agitation by some scientists as well as climate and
environment groups, corporate-funded climate deniers were able to stall
widespread recognition of, and the start of serious official action on,
the climate catastrophe for more than two more decades.
However, as the truth of the climate catastrophe was finally being
accepted by most people and the climate deniers were finally forced into
full-scale retreat on the issue of whether or not the climate
catastrophe was, in fact, so serious that it threatened human
extinction, the climate deniers implemented their back-up strategy: they
used their corporate media to persuade people that action wasn't
necessary 'until the end of the [21st] century' and to exaggerate the
argument about the 'acceptable' increase above the pre-industrial norm
– 2 degrees? 3 degrees? 1.5 degrees? – to obscure the truth that 0.5
degrees was, in fact, the climate science consensus back in 2007.
But, you might ask: 'Why would anyone prefer to ignore the evidence,
given the extinction-threatening nature of this problem?'
Or, to put the question more fully: 'Why would anyone – whether an
"ordinary" worker, academic, lawyer, doctor, businessperson, corporate
executive, government leader or anyone else – prefer to live in delusion
and believe the mainstream narrative about "the end of the century" (or
1.5 degrees) rather than simply consider the evidence and respond
powerfully to it?'
And what is so unattractive about the truth that so many people run from
it rather than embrace it?
Obviously, these questions go to the heart of the human (psychological)
condition so let me explain why most humans now live in a delusional
state whether in relation to the climate, environment issues generally,
the ongoing wars and other military violence, the highly exploitative
global economy or anything else...
People do not choose to live in delusion nor do they choose their
delusion consciously. A delusion is generated by a person's unconscious
mind; that is, the part of their own mind of which the individual is
normally unaware. So why does a person's unconscious mind generate a
delusion? What is the purpose of it?
A person's unconscious mind generates a delusion when the individual is
simply too terrified to contemplate and grapple with reality. Instead,
the person unconsciously generates a delusion and then lives in accord
with that delusion for the (obvious) reason that the delusion does not
frighten them.
This unconscious delusional state is the fundamental outcome of the
socialization, which I call 'terrorization', of the typical child during
their childhood.
Endlessly and violently coerced (by a variety of threatened and actual
punishments) to obey the will of parents, teachers and religious figures
in denial of their own self-will, while simultaneously denied the
opportunity to feel the fear, anger, sadness and other feelings that
this violence causes, the child has no choice but to suppress their
awareness of how they feel and the reality that caused these feelings.
As a result, this leaves virtually all children feeling terrified, full
of self-hatred and powerless. For brief explanations of how this
happens, see 'Understanding Self-Hatred in World Affairs' and 'Why Are
Most Human Beings So Powerless?'
However, and this point is important, each of these feelings is
extraordinarily unpleasant to feel consciously and the child never gets
the listening they need to focus on feeling them. See 'Nisteling: The
Art of Deep Listening'.
As a result, these feelings are suppressed below conscious awareness and
this fear, self-hatred and powerlessness become the primary but
unconscious psychological drivers of their behaviour and, significantly,
results in them participating mindlessly in the widespread 'socially
acceptable' delusions generated by elites and endlessly promulgated
through elite channels such as education systems, the corporate media
and entertainment industries.
Hence, as a result of being terrorized during childhood, delusion is the
most common state of human individuals, irrespective of their role in
society. For a full explanation of why this happens, see 'Why Violence?'
and 'Fearless Psychology and Fearful Psychology: Principles and Practice'.
And, as one part of their delusional state, most people must engage in
the denial of reality whenever reality (unconsciously) frightens them
(or threatens to bring their unconscious self-hatred or powerlessness
into their awareness). See 'The Psychology of Denial'. This, of course,
means that they are frightened to take action in response to reality but
also deny it is even necessary.
So what can we do about all of this? Well, as always, I would tackle the
problem at various levels...
If you are one of those rare people who prefer to research the evidence
and to act intelligently and powerfully in response to the truth that
emerges from this evidence, I encourage you to do so. One option you
have if you find the evidence of near-term human extinction compelling
in light of the lackluster official responses so far, is to join those
participating in 'The Flame Tree Project to Save Life on Earth'.
Obviously, tokenism on your part – such as rejecting plastic bags or
collecting rubbish from public places – is not enough in the face of the
profound changes needed.
Of course, if you are self-aware enough to know that you are inclined to
avoid unpleasant realities and to take the action that this requires,
then perhaps you could tackle this problem at its source by 'Putting
Feelings First'.
If you are one of those rare people who prefer to research the evidence
and to act intelligently and powerfully in response to the truth that
emerges from this evidence, I encourage you to do so. One option you
have if you find the evidence of near-term human extinction compelling
in light of the lackluster official responses so far, is to join those
participating in'The Flame Tree Project to Save Life on Earth'
<http://tinyurl.com/flametree>.
Obviously, tokenism on your part – such as rejecting plastic bags or
collecting rubbish from public places – is not enough in the face of the
profound changes needed.
Of course, if you are self-aware enough to know that you are inclined to
avoid unpleasant realities and to take the action that this requires,
then perhaps you could tackle this problem at its source by'Putting
Feelings First'
<https://feelingsfirstblog.wordpress.com/putting-feelings-first/>.
If you want intelligent, compassionate and powerful children who do not
grow up living in delusion and denial, consider making'My Promise to
Children' <https://feelingsfirstblog.wordpress.com/my-promise-to-children/>.
If you want to campaign on the climate, war, rainforest destruction or
any other issue that brings us closer to extinction, consider developing
a comprehensive nonviolent strategy to do so. SeeNonviolent Campaign
Strategy <https://nonviolentstrategy.wordpress.com/>.
And if you want to participate in the worldwide effort to end violence
in all of its manifestations, you are welcome to consider signing the
online pledge of'The People's Charter to Create a Nonviolent World'
<http://thepeoplesnonviolencecharter.wordpress.com/>.
In summary, the primary threat faced by humanity is not the synergistic
multitude of complex social, political, economic and technological
forces that are precipitating our rush to extinction.
The fundamental threat to our survival is our psychological incapacity
(particularly because of our fear, self-hatred and powerlessness) to
perceive reality and respond powerfully to it by formulating and
implementing appropriate social, political, economic and technological
measures that address our multifaceted crisis systematically.
Unless we include addressing this dysfunctional individual and
collective psychological state in our strategy to avert human
extinction, we will ultimately fail and extinction will indeed be our fate.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/on-the-fast-track-to-extinction-can-humanity-survive/238660/
-
[more intense]
*What is the Climageddon Scenario of Global Warming?
<http://www.joboneforhumanity.org/climageddon_scenario>*
http://www.joboneforhumanity.org/climageddon_scenario
[Spiegel]
Reporter Podcast - interview clip
*Understanding the Riddles of Greenland
<http://www.spiegel.de/international/tomorrow/reporter-podcast-studying-global-warming-in-greenland-a-1192899.html>*
Christoph Seidler traveled to the vast Greenland ice sheet to visit
scientists studying global warming there. In an interview, the reporter
talks about what makes such projects so special and why he almost didn't
make it back.
*SPIEGEL ONLINE:*Nice to have you back, Christoph. There are rumors to
the effect that you almost didn't make it back fromyour reporting trip
to Greenland
<http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-river-of-ice-scientists-study-greenland-s-role-in-sea-level-rises-a-1161220.html>.
*Christoph Seidler:*It wasn't easy, that's for sure. I had the pleasure
of visiting the EastGRIP project in Greenland, where scientists are
trying to drill through two-and-a-half kilometers of ice down to the
rock below...
*SPIEGEL ONLINE:* What does such a research station on the ice of
Greenland look like?
*Christoph Seidler:* When you approach the station in an airplane, all
you can see are a couple of small dots on the vast expanse of ice. They
are arranged in a fairly regular manner and get bigger and bigger the
closer you get. Eventually, you can see that the dots are of different
sizes. There is a large black one, which is the dome, the heart of the
research camp. And there are lots of small red ones, including the huts
or tents where the researchers sleep at night. It all looks a bit like
playing pieces on a board game, except that the board is completely
white...*
SPIEGEL ONLINE:*You mentioned the project is called EastGRIP. What does
that stand for?*
Christoph Seidler:*It stands for the East Greenland Ice Core Project,
because an ice core is being drilled at the site. There are already a
half-dozen such cores, so that's not necessarily what's new about this
project. The interesting part is where it's taking place, the North-East
Greenland Ice Stream, a gigantic ice highway that flows northeast from
the center of Greenland for a few hundred kilometers, ending up in the
sea in the form of a trio of glaciers. About 12 percent of Greenland's
ice is transported on this ice highway, and that's what is so exciting
about this project: It's the first time that a core is being drilled
from an ice stream like this one...*
Christoph Seidler:*We're talking about a place that very few people have
had the privilege to visit. ... I find the location to be something
special and also what is happening there, namely people collaborating
and trying to understand something about the world they live in. Because
it's a question that affects all of us: How will the melting of
Greenland change the ocean levels? It is about our future.*
SPIEGEL ONLINE:*What do the Greenlanders themselves say about the
research activity?*
Christoph Seidler:*That is a difficult question. I don't think they say
much at all, because they are busy enough with their lives and survival
in Greenland. It is an unbelievably tough environment. They have to
worry about trivial things like: "How is the internet connection?" "What
is there to buy?" "Where do the kids go to school?" In Greenland, there
are still immense social challenges. But to take a half-step back, it's
interesting to think about what effect climate change will have on
Greenland. At the moment, Greenland still belongs to Denmark, is
partially autonomous and would ultimately like to become independent.
And that could happen by earning money from natural resources - either
from oil or from the minerals present there. And that is something that
very much has to do with the climate change that the scientists there
are researching. Simply put, a melting Greenland is a Greenland where it
is easier to exploit natural resources. At the same time, a melting
Greenland is, of course, also a Greenland where the old laws and rules
that have been established over generations no longer apply. Things
like, for example: What's the best way to hunt? How do you know when
certain animals will be where? And in any case, because of
industrialization, and because of the American military presence since
World War II, Greenland has changed significantly, and the society as a
whole has yet to recover. If climate change is added on top of all that,
the population will find itself faced with huge problems. It's a pretty
onerous assortment of hurdles, so it's tough to say whether people in
Greenland find the scientific research good or bad. But I think, in
general, they find those things good that are somehow useful to them and
improve their lives.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/tomorrow/reporter-podcast-studying-global-warming-in-greenland-a-1192899.html
[Space...final frontier]
*"Potentialities of Space-Based Systems for Monitoring Climate Policies
and Mitigation of Climate Process Drivers,"
<https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14777622.2018.1436329>*
which just appeared on Astropolitics: The International Journal of Space
Politics and Policy (IJSPP); a Taylor and Francis Publishing journal:
Abstract:
The services of space-based technology have advanced for monitoring
strategies, especially for studying and predicting the physical
events in ecosystems. This article investigates the viability of
space technology use for monitoring implementations of climate
policies and, potentialities for mitigation of climate process
drivers. Qualitative data were sourced through Delphi experts'
method and quantitatively analyzed. The key findings show that
experts allude to the high (3.33/4) anticipatory contributions of
deploying space-based systems with dedicated sensors for monitoring
implementation of international climate treaties. However, while
there is a very strong yes (84.44 percent) rate on the potentiality
of space-based solar power for direct climate change mitigation, the
feasibility of deploying such systems in the near-future (2020 to
2025) is low (1.77/4). The statistics further show that the further
away the possible start-time (2040 and a 50-year horizon of 2065)
for deployment of space-based solar power, the more likely it will
be deployed. The article concludes that deploying satellites for
monitoring and mitigating global climate change contributes
significantly to climate change management efforts. Specifically,
the development of space-based solar power if fast-tracked. The
article also provides a conceptual framework for climate change
management using space technology, which facilitates constructive
discussion informing policy direction on the subject.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14777622.2018.1436329
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14777622.2018.1436329
[future]
*Climate change is a disaster foretold, just like the first world war
<https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/12/climate-change-is-a-disaster-foretold-just-like-the-first-world-war>*
Jeff Sparrow
The warnings about an unfolding climate catastrophe are getting more
desperate, yet the march to destruction continues
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/12/climate-change-is-a-disaster-foretold-just-like-the-first-world-war
[abjure regulation day]
*This Day in Climate History - March 13, 2001,
<http://www.heatisonline.org/contentserver/objecthandlers/index.cfm?id=3657&method=full>
2002
<http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/14/us/senate-deletes-higher-mileage-standard-in-energy-bill.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm>,
2008 <http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/epas-chief-criticized/> - from
D.R. Tucker*
March 13, 2001: The Bush administration announces that it will not
regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, abandoning a
campaign pledge under pressure from the fossil fuel industry.
http://www.heatisonline.org/contentserver/objecthandlers/index.cfm?id=3657&method=full
March 13, 2002: The US Senate, in a 62-38 vote, rejects an effort by
Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ) to strengthen CAFE
standards for automobiles, ignoring arguments that strengthening the
standards would make sense on both climate-change and national-security
grounds.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/14/us/senate-deletes-higher-mileage-standard-in-energy-bill.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
March 13, 2008: "CBS Evening News" reports on that day's House Select
Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming hearing concerning
EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson's response, or lack thereof, to the
2007 Massachusetts v. EPA ruling requiring Johnson's agency to regulate
CO2 as a pollutant.
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/epas-chief-criticized/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcA-fCZcfb0
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