[TheClimate.Vote] March 21, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Wed Mar 21 10:53:34 EDT 2018
/March 21, 2018/
[video lecture 1:04:11]*
**"Planetary health: is human health at risk in the Anthropocene?" with
Sir Andrew Haines* <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prAwHCtl0YE>
Oxford Martin School
Streamed live on Mar 8, 2018
Human health is better now than at any time in history. Thanks to
advancements in technology, industry, agriculture and public health, we
are living longer and more prosperous lives than ever before. But since
the start of the Anthropocene period - the geological epoch marked by
humankind's impact on the planet - unprecedented environmental
challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, are
threatening our health and the health of our planet. Are we at risk of
losing the significant gains we have made in planetary health over the
years?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prAwHCtl0YE
[Vox explains science for the court]
*The judge in a federal climate change lawsuit wants a science tutorial
<https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/3/20/17129354/climate-change-lawsuit-tutorial-alsup>*
Here are answers to eight questions the judge wants to address during
his climate crash course.
By Umair Irfan - Mar 20, 2018
Unlike previous cases where climate change has gone to court, the
science itself isn't on trial...What will be debated here is the
question of liability for the impacts of climate change, a much murkier
legal issue and one with huge financial consequences for the energy sector.
To prepare for it, William Alsup, the judge presiding over two of the
lawsuits - filed by San Francisco and Oakland against Royal Dutch Shell,
BP, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, and Exxon Mobil - has scheduled a five-hour
tutorial on climate science this Wednesday...
The tutorial is a big deal: It will set a federal judicial precedent
establishing the facts of the mechanisms of global warming...
Alsup has posted eight questions on climate science that he wants to
address in the tutorial, some of which are very basic and others of
which are highly technical.
So, may it please the court, I've answered his honor's questions with
the help of several climate scientists.
*1) What caused the various ice ages (including the "little ice age" and
prolonged cool periods), and what caused the ice to melt? When they
melted, by how much did sea level rise?*
*Short answer: *The Earth, very slightly, very slowly, wobbles as it
spins, changing where sunlight hits the planet such that it allows ice
sheets to form or melt.
Long answer: If you've ever spun a top, you may have noticed that it can
stay upright even as it wobbles and that the spindle can trace circles
as the whole top spins.
More at
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/3/20/17129354/climate-change-lawsuit-tutorial-alsup
*2) What is the molecular difference by which CO2 absorbs infrared
radiation but oxygen and nitrogen do not?*
*Short answer: *A carbon dioxide molecule (CO2), which has three atoms
from two different elements, vibrates in a way that absorbs infrared
radiation. Molecules of nitrogen gas (N2) and oxygen gas (O2) are made
of two atoms of the same element and don't vibrate in the same way.
Long answer: In order to absorb in the infrared spectrum, a molecule has
to vibrate in a way that creates a separation of positive and negative
charges known as a "dipole moment."
See more at
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/3/20/17129354/climate-change-lawsuit-tutorial-alsup
*3) What is the mechanism by which infrared radiation trapped by CO2 in
the atmosphere is turned into heat and finds its way back to sea level?*
*Short answer:* Sunlight hits Earth's surface and is reflected back
toward the atmosphere as infrared radiation, where carbon dioxide
absorbs it and reemits it toward the Earth.
Long answer: The mechanism at work is the fundamental greenhouse effect
that keeps Earth from freezing into a ball of ice.
More at
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/3/20/17129354/climate-change-lawsuit-tutorial-alsup
*4) Does CO2 in the atmosphere reflect any sunlight back into space such
that the reflected sunlight never penetrates the atmosphere in the first
place?*
*Short answer:* Not really.
Long answer: Since carbon dioxide is an invisible gas, it doesn't absorb
or reflect light in the visible spectrum. It does reflect some solar
energy back into space, but the amount is too small to matter to
greenhouse effect calculations.
<https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2016GL071930>
*5) Apart from CO2, what happens to the collective heat from tail pipe
exhausts, engine radiators, and all other heat from combustion of fossil
fuels? How, if at all, does this collective heat contribute to warming
of the atmosphere?*
*Short answer:* It's negligible.
Long answer: In 2015, humanity produced 13,647 million tons of oil
equivalent energy, or 158,714 terawatt-hours of energy.
More at
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/3/20/17129354/climate-change-lawsuit-tutorial-alsup
*6) In grade school, many of us were taught that humans exhale CO2 but
plants absorb CO2 and return oxygen to the air (keeping the carbon for
fiber). Is this still valid? If so, why hasn't plant life turned the
higher levels of CO2 back into oxygen? Given the increase in human
population on Earth (4 billion [since the start of the Industrial
Revolution]), is human respiration a contributing factor to the buildup
of CO2?*
*Short answer: *Plants are indeed growing more because of increased
carbon dioxide, but it's not enough to offset the increases. And
humanity's breaths don't move the needle of atmospheric greenhouse gas
concentrations.
Long answer: Your grade school teachers are still right. more at
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/3/20/17129354/climate-change-lawsuit-tutorial-alsup
*7) What are the main sources of CO2 that account for the incremental
buildup of CO2 in the atmosphere?**
**Short answer:* Take a wild guess. Completely off the wall.
Long answer: Perhaps a more interesting way to ask this question is how
do we know the increases in carbon dioxide come from burning fossil fuels.
More at
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/3/20/17129354/climate-change-lawsuit-tutorial-alsup
*8) What are the main sources of heat that account for the incremental
rise in temperature on Earth?**
**Short answer: *Heat trapped by human-produced carbon dioxide is
driving most of the warming we're seeing.
Long answer: On balance, the changes humanity is making to the world are
causing the planet to warm, though some human-produced substances like
aerosols can also have a cooling effect: see
https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/d77qcA6u9XF8gRp7Nv6dzGRkK7Q=/0x0:1410x496/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1410x496):gifv():no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10455947/Bloomberg.gif
Bloomberg produced an excellent visualization
<https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-whats-warming-the-world/>
comparing the observed temperature changes on Earth to factors like
volcanic activity, changes in solar irradiance, and shifts in the
Earth's orbit-
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-whats-warming-the-world/
Greenhouse gases from fossil fuels again stand out as the main cause of
climate change. That's why the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
said it is "now 95 percent certain that humans are the main cause of
current global warming."
Special thanks to Glen Peters at the Center for International Climate
Research, Gavin Schmidt at NASA, and Andrew Dessler at Texas A&M
University.
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/3/20/17129354/climate-change-lawsuit-tutorial-alsup
--
[another expert, same answers]
*8 Answers to the Judge's Climate Change Questions in Cities vs. Fossil
Fuels Case
<https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20032018/judge-questions-climate-change-answers-fossil-fuels-lawsuit-california-cities-sea-level-rise-global-warming>*
San Francisco and Oakland want to hold fossil fuel companies liable for
sea level rise costs. In an unusual move, the judge ordered a climate
tutorial for the court.
By John H. Cushman Jr.
For whatever reason, the judge decided to ponder the science in a mock
classroom, rather than simply let the advocates for both sides spell it
out in briefs. And to kick-start the discussion, he issued a quirky set
of preliminary questions
<http://blogs2.law.columbia.edu/climate-change-litigation/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/case-documents/2018/20180306_docket-317-cv-06011_order.pdf>.
It would have been pretty easy for him to look up the answers, in the
works of learned societies, federal inter-agency committees
<http://nas-sites.org/americasclimatechoices/events/a-discussion-on-climate-change-evidence-and-causes/>,
and the authoritative United Nations climate change panel
<http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/wg1/WG1AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf>.
Scientists quickly circulated their own answers, like these
<https://twitter.com/AndrewDessler/status/971818509050236928> on Twitter
and these
<http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2018/03/alsup-asks-for-answers/>
in a lengthy, crowd-sourced posting. NASA Jet Propulsion Lab earth
scientist Alex Gardner's talk in the video
<https://youtu.be/ZJYs8L84L4s?t=4m26s> above provides another overview
of ice sheets, climate change and sea level rise.
Jack Cushman is an editor and reporter for InsideClimate News. Before
joining ICN, he worked for 35 years as a writer and editor in
Washington, D.C., principally with the Washington bureau of The New York
Times.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20032018/judge-questions-climate-change-answers-fossil-fuels-lawsuit-california-cities-sea-level-rise-global-warming
[Storytellers audio archive]
*CALIFORNIA ADAPTS <http://americaadapts.org/california-adapts-home/>*
A 3 part podcast special from America Adapts, the Climate Change Podcast
The climate of California is changing and the state is adapting, but are
the actions meeting the needs? In this three part podcast special, host
Doug Parsons interviews a range of experts as they tell about the
state's five major elements of climate adaptation: fire, drought, flood,
temperature, sea level rise. The contents address the question of
whether the state is ready for the changes everyone knows are coming.
California Adapts Episode Guide
<http://americaadapts.org/california-adapts-episodes/>
http://americaadapts.org/california-adapts-episodes/
http://americaadapts.org/california-adapts-home/
[Boston University research]
*The Problem with Cooking with (Fracked) Gas
<http://www.bu.edu/today/2018/the-problem-with-cooking-with-fracked-gas/>*
CAS prof among researchers studying potential for health consequences
Natural gas that has been derived from hydraulic fracking is now the
most commonly used fuel in gas fireplaces and kitchen ranges. It rose to
that level over the past 15 years, with little examination of the health
risks of the chemicals that are used in fracking and released when the
gas is burned.
"Few if any people have actually tested for what else is in this gas,"
says Nathan Phillips, a College of Arts & Sciences earth and environment
professor, one of the country's foremost experts on natural gas leaks
and explosions in the United States. "It's 90 to 95 percent methane, but
what else?"
Phillips and a team of researchers from several universities and
nonprofits are finding out, and they are concerned. Of the 108 volatile
organic compounds, or substances that easily become vapors or gases,
found in gas from four Massachusetts municipalities tested, 27 are
chemicals that are considered hazardous by federal Clean Air Act
standards, and 12 are suspected carcinogens.
Phillips' early findings were presented at the symposium Natural Gas
Infrastructure and Public Health, from Local to Global, held January 30
at the Photonics Center. Although the full study has not yet been
finalized or submitted for publication, Phillips talked to BU Today
about questions raised by his study and the problems with fossil fuel
dependence....
Different companies have their own recipes of substances that they don't
in many cases have to reveal. We're having to sleuth and
reverse-engineer this weird mix of stuff. Stuff that's nasty going into
the ground and nasty coming out of the ground. It's complicated to pull
it apart....
...generally speaking, organic compounds will tend to be combusted when
burned. Benzene, for example, doesn't combust fully. Incomplete
combustion is a problem in homes when 100 percent of the gas isn't burned...
Also, the stove study tested gas in Massachusetts, and in fact, all gas
is not the same gas. It comes from different areas.... Gas has a
provenance-it comes from a certain place, and that makes studying it
challenging...
Even outside, there are issues that we need to be concerned about
involving the health impacts of gas leaks.
Ventilation is important. Sometimes fans don't exhaust the air to the
outside; they trap it or sometimes it doesn't go anywhere.
http://www.bu.edu/today/2018/the-problem-with-cooking-with-fracked-gas/
[food]*
Why what we eat is crucial to the climate change question
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/05/why-what-we-eat-is-crucial-to-the-climate-change-question>*
Our food – from what we eat to how it is grown – accounts for more
carbon emissions than transport and yet staple crops will be hit hard by
global warming...
...the most immediate threat of climate change for most of the global
population will be at the dinner table, as our ability to grow critical
staple crops is being affected by the warming we've already experienced.
Between 1980 and 2008, for instance, wheat yields dropped 5.5 % and
maize yields fell 3.8% due to rising temperatures. Climate change
threatens the food security of millions of poor people around the world.
Young people are increasingly keen to protect the environment by
shifting to animal-product-free diets. They seek plant proteins which
taste like meat, while insects are also growing popular as an alternative.
What these inverse challenges – that food and agriculture are both
enormous contributors to climate change, and massively impacted by it –
really tell us is that our food systems, as currently structured, are
facing major challenges.
There is a much larger problem that implores us to look beyond farm and
agricultural practices. We need to open our eyes to solutions that
address the full scope of the challenge to create more sustainable and
equitable food systems. That way, we can provide healthy food for all
people while we protect our planet's resources at the same time...
So what are food systems? Everything from seed and soil to the
supermarket to the plate to the landfill. Food systems include the
growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing,
consumption, and disposal of food and food-related items.
While farming alone accounts for 10-12% of global greenhouse gas
emissions, when we look at entire food systems the contributions to
climate change more than double. A recent report published by the
Meridian Institute lays out the many factors throughout food systems
that spell trouble for the climate, and also explains why a broad
systems-wide perspective is necessary for implementing effective chang
While farming alone accounts for 10-12%
<https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/wg3/ipcc_wg3_ar5_chapter11.pdf>
of global greenhouse gas emissions, when we look at entire food systems
the contributions to climate change more than double. A recent report
published by the Meridian Institute
<http://www.merid.org/en/climatechangefoodsystems.aspx> lays out the
many factors throughout food systems that spell trouble for the climate,
and also explains why a broad systems-wide perspective is necessary for
implementing effective changes.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/05/why-what-we-eat-is-crucial-to-the-climate-change-question
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-whats-warming-the-world/
[Totten is a'float'n]
*Key Antarctic ice shelf larger than scientists thought
<http://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2018/key-antarctic-ice-shelf-larger-than-scientists-thought>*
20th March 2018
More of the Totten Glacier is floating on the ocean than previously
thought, increasing its potential to contribute to global sea level rise.
http://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2018/key-antarctic-ice-shelf-larger-than-scientists-thought
[Ice floats]
*The Great Totten Glacier is Floating on More Warming Water Than We
Thought
<https://robertscribbler.com/2018/03/20/the-great-totten-glacier-is-floating-on-more-warming-water-than-we-thought/>*
It's well known now that massive glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica
are contributing to an accelerating global sea level rise
<https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/new-study-finds-sea-level-rise-accelerating>.
And while we first thought Greenland was primarily at risk of producing
ocean-lifting melt this Century, we have now learned that both West and
East Antarctica are becoming involved...
But the situation is now looking a bit worse for the Totten Glacier - an
enormous sea-fronting slab of ice as big as France
<https://phys.org/news/2018-03-sea-giant-antarctic-glacier-thought.html>
that if it melted in total would, by itself, raise sea levels by about
10-13 feet globally.
Previously thought to be more resilient to melt as a result of
human-caused climate change and related fossil fuel burning, the Totten
was once considered to be stable. However, over recent years, concerns
were raised first when plumes of warm water were identified approaching
the glacier's base and later when it was confirmed that Totten was
melting from below
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/16/warm-ocean-water-is-slamming-into-and-melting-the-biggest-glacier-in-east-antarctica/?utm_term=.a0820b60b392>.
Concerns that were heightened by new research identifying how winds
associated with climate change were driving warmer waters closer and
closer to the huge ice slab
<https://insideclimatenews.org/news/01112017/east-antarctica-totten-glacier-melting-winds-warm-ocean-sea-level-rise-study>.
https://robertscribbler.com/2018/03/20/the-great-totten-glacier-is-floating-on-more-warming-water-than-we-thought/
[size of France]
*Sea level fears as more of giant Antarctic glacier floating than
thought
<https://phys.org/news/2018-03-sea-giant-antarctic-glacier-thought.html>*
More of a giant France-sized glacier in Antarctica is floating on the
ocean than previously thought, scientists said Tuesday, raising fears it
could melt faster as the climate warms and have a dramatic impact on
rising sea-levels.
The Totten Glacier is one of the fastest-flowing and largest glaciers in
Antarctica with scientists keen to keep a close eye on how it melts
given the enormous amount of water it could potentially unleash.
Using artificially created seismic waves that help scientists see
through the ice, researchers have discovered that more of the Totten
Glacier floats on the ocean than initially thought.
"In some locations we thought were grounded, we detected the ocean below
indicating that the glacier is in fact floating," said Paul Winberry
from Central Washington University, who spent the summer in Antarctica
studying the Totten.
- - - - - -
"Since the 1900s the global sea-level has risen by around 20 centimetres
and by the end of the century it's projected to rise by up to one metre
or more, but this is subject to high uncertainty which is why studying
glaciers such as the Totten is important," he said.
"These precise measurements of Totten Glacier are vital to monitoring
changes and understanding them in the context of natural variations, and
the research is an important step in assessing the potential impact on
sea-level under various future scenarios."
https://phys.org/news/2018-03-sea-giant-antarctic-glacier-thought.html
[The Guardian - Dana Nuccitelli - Mar 2018 ]
*John Kelly shut down Pruitt's climate denial 'red team,' but they have
a Plan B
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/mar/19/john-kelly-shut-down-pruitts-climate-denial-red-team-but-they-have-a-plan-b>*
'Let fossil fuel-funded think tanks make their case, then ignore it'
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/mar/19/john-kelly-shut-down-pruitts-climate-denial-red-team-but-they-have-a-plan-b
*This Day in Climate History - March 21, 2007
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/21/AR2007032100945.html>
- from D.R. Tucker*
March 21, 2007: • In her CBSNews.com "Notebook" segment, Katie Couric
observes:
"The last time Al Gore came to Capitol Hill--six years ago--he was
there to certify the electoral college results that made George Bush
president.
"But today it was a triumphant return, this time as a private
citizen, to declare that the world faces a 'planetary emergency'
over climate change. And now, a lot of his skeptics agree that Gore
makes a powerful point.
"The scientific consensus is clear, and Gore urged Congress to
listen to scientists, not special interests. He pushed for an
immediate freeze on greenhouse gases, as well as cleaner power
plants, more efficient cars, and stronger conservation efforts.
"Gore said 'a few years from now...the kinds of proposals we're
talking about today are going to seem so small compared to the scale
of the challenge.'
"Here's hoping Congress puts partisanship aside, and comes together
to act boldly on global warming."
http://youtu.be/sYpj2ZYfS3M
(In his remarks to Congress, Gore famously states: "The planet has a
fever. If your baby has a fever, you go to the doctor. If the doctor
says you need to intervene here, you don't say, 'Well, I read a
science fiction novel that told me it's not a problem.' If the
crib's on fire, you don't speculate that the baby is flame
retardant. You take action." Also, at this hearing, former House
Speaker Dennis Hastert, a Republican, states, "I believe the debate
over global warming is over"--an idea that would be considered
heresy throughout the entire GOP just two years later.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/21/AR2007032100945.html
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11437-al-gore-rallies-us-congress-over-climate.html#.UvtuMKa9LCQ
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