[TheClimate.Vote] May 21, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Mon May 21 06:57:46 EDT 2018
/May 21, 2018/
[CBS News YouTube video 6 mins]
*Adapt or Die: How Much is our Climate Changing?
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kfYrf-CCFw>*
CBS News - May 20, 2018
Sea levels and temperatures are rising across the globe. El Ninos are
happening more frequently and April was the coldest one in 20 years. But
is there any silver lining to our rapidly changing climate?
Meteorologist Jeff Berardelli joins CBSN to discuss how much of a change
we are seeing...
CBSN is the first digital streaming news network that will allow
Internet-connected consumers to watch live, anchored news coverage on
their connected TV and other devices. At launch, the network is
available 24/7 and makes all of the resources of CBS News available
directly on digital platforms with live, anchored coverage 15 hours each
weekday. CBSN. Always On.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kfYrf-CCFw
[New Zealand science]
*Report links health to climate change
<https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/357810/report-links-health-to-climate-change>*
20 May 2018
Climate change could massively impact the health sector, according to a
new report.
The report by the Environment and Science Research Institute
<https://www.esr.cri.nz/assets/Uploads/Climate-Change-and-Env-Health-FINAL-20180517.pdf>
(ESR) outlined the possible effects on human health, as a result of
extreme weather, air pollution and UV radiation.
- - - - -
The report, commissioned by the Ministry of Health, reviewed
international and domestic research to consider what health effects may
present over the next 50 to 100 years.
It is the first of its kind in New Zealand.
The report broke down the effects of climate change and looked at what
health effects could then arise.
Dr Nokes said extreme weather and rising temperatures could bring
drought causing wildfires and water contamination or shortage.
Storms and heavy rain could also affect water quality and flooding -
particularly affecting the health of those living in low-lying coastal
areas.
- - - -
Dr Nokes said the link between climate change and health was not
discussed enough.
"It's surprising that the connection hasn't been made more, because we
all live in the environment and changes to that environment are
potentially going to have effects on us.
"It's fairly certain that the more we start looking at the overall
impacts or expected effects of climate change we're going to need to
understand what those effects will be for humans trying to exist in this
changing environment."
The Ministry of Health was working with ESR to develop a plan.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/357810/report-links-health-to-climate-change
- - - -
[PDF file report 175 pages]
*Climate Change and Environmental Health
<https://www.esr.cri.nz/assets/Uploads/Climate-Change-and-Env-Health-FINAL-20180517.pdf>*
https://www.esr.cri.nz/assets/Uploads/Climate-Change-and-Env-Health-FINAL-20180517.pdf
[change always happens]
*Adapt or die: Can evolution outrun climate change?
<https://www.cbsnews.com/news/adapt-or-die-cbsn-originals/>*
"It's been stated that the Galapagos is the natural laboratory for
evolution. And we're saying that it's a natural laboratory for studying
climate change and evolutionary responses to climate change," Witman
told CBS News' Adam Yamaguchi.
He said evolutionary changes that once unfolded over hundreds of
thousands of years are now happening before our eyes.
"It's a major new perspective in evolutionary biology and ecology,
because it's forcing ecologists like me to think about adaptation and
natural selection on the period of ten years or so," he said.
- - - - -
Chaves and his students track minute changes, year to year, in the
shapes and sizes of the finches' beaks as the flocks adapt to the
varieties of food available. Those with inadequate beaks don't survive.
And because the finches breed two or three generations every year, "in
so little time, you can see evolution in action," he said.
These rapid adaptations may give it an advantage for survival in a
changing world. In 2017, researchers discovered that an entirely new
species had been formed when a wayward bird mated with another finch
species and produced offspring. Chaves expects to see more of that
happening globally as various species migrate.
But it won't always work. "Many species will not be able to make it," he
said, echoing the concerns Jimenez expressed for the penguins and Witman
for the coral ecosystem. "For many species in which you have this
limitation of time, you might be too late."
It may be the ultimate test of the survival of the fittest, and many
species -- even our own -- could lose out.
"I think the issue right now that we have is that the changes are
happening in such a short period of time. The same amount of change that
you've seen happening in a couple of millions of years has happened in
the last 40 years," Chaves said. "From our perspective of humans, we
have understand that it's our responsibility that these changes are
happening because [of] our own mishandling of the planet."
It's no longer enough for animals to evolve. They have to adapt now,
adapt fast -- or die.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/adapt-or-die-cbsn-originals/
[NewScientist says worse than RCP8.5]
*Worst-case climate change scenario is even worse than we thought
<https://www.newscientist.com/article/2168847-worst-case-climate-change-scenario-is-even-worse-than-we-thought/>*
By Michael Le Page
The phrase "worse than we thought" is a cliche when it comes to climate
change. There are lots of studies suggesting we're in for more warming
and worse consequences than thought, and few saying it won't be as bad
<https://www.newscientist.com/round-up/worse-climate/>. But guess what:
it's worse than we thought.
A study of the future global economy has concluded that the standard
worst-case scenario used by climate scientists is actually not the worst
case.
How much the climate will change depends on how much greenhouse gas we
emit
<https://www.newscientist.com/article/2168780-we-messed-up-our-figures-on-how-much-carbon-dioxide-is-too-much/>,
which in turn depends on the choices we make as a society - including
how the global economy behaves. To handle this, climatologists use four
scenarios called RCPs, each of which describes a different possible future.
The RCP8.5 scenario is the worst for the climate. It assumes rapid,
unfettered economic growth and rampant burning of fossil fuels
<https://www.newscientist.com/article/2152929-bad-news-carbon-emissions-have-suddenly-started-rising-again/>.
It now seems RCP8.5 may have underestimated the emissions that would
result if we follow the economic path it describes.
More money, more emissions
"Our estimates indicate that, due to higher than assumed economic growth
rates, there is a greater than 35 per cent probability that year 2100
emissions concentrations will exceed those given by RCP8.5," says Peter
Christensen <http://www.peterchristensen.net/> of the University of
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
In one sense, it is not quite that bad. RCP8.5 assumes no action is
taken to limit warming, which is unlikely. "We've already locked in a
certain amount of climate policy," says Glen Peters
<https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=EW93x94AAAAJ&hl=en> of the
Center for International Climate Research in Norway.
But the worrying implication is that emissions could be much higher than
expected even if climate action continues and is ramped up. "The results
will also affect estimates of emissions pathways under a variety of
policy scenarios," says Christensen.
While some claim the link between economic growth and greenhouse
emissions has been broken - or "decoupled" - it's only been weakened.
Carbon emissions have risen in the European Union over the past four
years as economic growth has picked up
<https://twitter.com/Peters_Glen/status/993750403018829825>, Peters
points out. In 2017, EU emissions rose 1.8 per cent. Journal reference:
/PNAS/, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1713628115
<http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1713628115>
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2168847-worst-case-climate-change-scenario-is-even-worse-than-we-thought/
[money talking]
*Shell faces shareholder challenge over climate change approach
<https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/20/shell-faces-shareholder-challenge-over-climate-change-approach-paris-climate-deal>*
Investors back resolution calling on oil giant to set tougher carbon
targets in line with Paris climate deal
Royal Dutch Shell <https://www.theguardian.com/business/royaldutchshell>
faces a shareholder challenge over climate change this week, as
investors insist oil and gas firms should offer more transparency and
action on carbon emissions.
A growing number of pension funds have backed a resolution at Shell's
AGM on Tuesday that calls on the company to set tougher carbon targets
that are in line with the goals of the Paris climate deal
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/12/paris-climate-deal-key-points>.
The proposal has been backed by the Church of England, the Dutch pension
fund Aegon and, most recently, Nest, the workplace pension scheme set up
by the UK government, which has 7m pound sterling invested in Shell.
Mark van Baal, the founder of Follow This <https://follow-this.org/>, a
Dutch campaign group that brought the resolution, said: "Investors have
a choice: vote for Shell's 'whatever world' or vote for the world of the
Church of England, a world in which all companies set targets to limit
climate change to well below 2C."
The resolution has been highlighted by 60 large investors managing more
$10.4tn (7.72tn) in assets, though they stopped short of publicly
backing it...
more at:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/20/shell-faces-shareholder-challenge-over-climate-change-approach-paris-climate-deal
[41C is 105F]
*Karachi morphs into a giant baking oven
<https://tribune.com.pk/story/1715029/1-karachi-morphs-giant-baking-oven/?amp=1>*
Fahim Hussain
ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI: A heatwave blasting through Karachi and southern
parts of the country for the last four days smashed the 44 degrees
Celsius mark, sending people to scramble for shelter in the fasting
month of Ramazan.
The increased loadshedding and numerous power outages added to the
misery of the people, forcing them to take to the streets to vent their
anger. A pregnant woman died in Hyderabad while protesting against
persistent load-shedding.
Sunday's temperature surpassed previous day's reading at 41 degrees C,
meteorologists said.
The sweltering heatwave in the city and elsewhere in Sindh is likely to
extend its unwelcome stay by four to five days, they said.
The heatwave is expected to peak between Monday and Wednesday,
drastically pushing the temperatures even higher, Dr Ghulam Rasool,
director-general at the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), said...
Interior parts of Sindh can expect temperatures reaching up to 50
degrees C [122F] as a renewed heatwave envelopes the province, he warned.
The official attributed the soaring temperatures to a halt in sea breeze
which allowed the heatwave - that rode into the city on Saturday - to
continue for four days.
Meanwhile, deadly heatwaves are going to be country's much bigger
socio-economic and health problem in the coming decades, particularly in
densely populated urban areas of the country.
The global warming-induced extreme weather events are becoming more
frequent and occurring over a much greater portion of the country.
Climate change ministry spokesperson Mohammad Saleem said, "But
devastating fallouts of heatwaves on humans can be largely mitigated
through timely and effective responsive measures."...
- - - -
"With every 1 degree C rise in temperatures, the capacity of the air to
hold moisture goes up by 7 per cent. People with no access to air
conditioning or a cool breeze become, however, at high risk," he added...
- - - -
Saleem said that according to the study's findings based on data of
about 783 heatwave incidents in 164 cities from 36 countries indicate
that about 30% of the world's population (and about 13% of the land
area) experiences at least 20 days per year on which the deadly
threshold is reached...
More at:
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1715029/1-karachi-morphs-giant-baking-oven/?amp=1
[Candidates]
*314 Action is proud to endorse these scientists and other STEM leaders
who will fight to protect science and stand up to climate deniers.
<http://www.314action.org/endorsed-candidates-1/>*
http://www.314action.org/endorsed-candidates-1/
[who protects what]
*Wealthy's use of private firefighters ignites debate in wildfire
country
<https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/western-wildfires/wildfire-prone-states-wealthy-pay-have-private-firefighters-protect-their-n869061>*
"I could care less who owns the house," one firefighter said. "I just
want to save as many people as possible."
by Chiara Sottile / May.04.2018
As wildfires burn from Maine to Michigan, and California slowly recovers
from last year's devastating - and costly - wildfire season, a debate
has ignited over the use of private firefighting teams deployed by
insurance companies and used to protect homes belonging largely to the
wealthy.
The insurance companies offering this additional service are often for
policyholders with properties valued at more than $1 million - and for
homeowners with these insurance plans, having this extra protection can
be the difference between their home surviving the fire and burning to
the ground.
Fred Giuffrida and his wife, Pamela Joyner, were home at their hilly
16-acre Sonoma ranch late last Oct. 8 when, looking out from the family
room window, Joyner saw an ominous pink glow in the distance. It was a
gusty night in wine country, so she went outside to get a better look.
She smelled smoke.
"Twenty minutes later, the whole hill was ablaze," Giuffrida told NBC News.
"There's only one way off the hill, so we said, 'We can't afford to
stick around here,'" Giuffrida recalled in a phone interview. After
banging on the door to alert a neighbor, they fled their home in the
early morning hours of Oct. 9, not knowing what they would find when
they returned.
Image: WDS firefighters apply water in their effort to completely
extinguish the fire near Giuffrida's home in October 2017.
Fred Giuffrida credits his Sonoma home surviving the October fires to
firefighters from Wildfire Defense Services, dispatched by his insurance
company. Here, WDS firefighters apply water in their effort to
completely extinguish the fire near Giuffrida's home in October
2017.Courtesy WDS
- - - -
That night, and for the next several nights, multiple wildfires ignited
across wine country. All told, the "October Fire Siege" would destroy
more than 245,000 acres - the most destructive in the state's history.
By month's end, 43 people had lost their lives, 100,000 residents had
been forced to evacuate, and an estimated 8,900 structures had been
destroyed, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection, known as Cal Fire...
more at:
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/western-wildfires/wildfire-prone-states-wealthy-pay-have-private-firefighters-protect-their-n869061
[Opinion]
*The Dangerous Belief That Extreme Technology Will Fix Climate Change
<https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/geoengineering-climate-change_us_5ae07919e4b061c0bfa3e794>*
It boils down to a failure to question capitalism, civilization, and the
notion of progress.
Aleszu Bajak
- -- -
But the problem with the way geoengineering is discussed today, lamented
John Ehrenfeld, former director of the MIT Program on Technology,
Business, and Environment, is that it doesn't address the societal
issues that got us in this mess in the first place.
"It's a failure to accept complexity of the system, and the system
includes people," Ehrenfeld told me recently over coffee. For decades,
Ehrenfeld, who is now retired, researched and promoted the concept of
sustainability. But to Ehrenfeld, after all the climate conferences, all
the stakeholder roundtables, all the debates on market-driven solutions,
the questions and answers being debated never questioned capitalism,
civilization, and the notion of progress.
Tackling a problem as deeply ingrained as global warming, Ehrenfeld
said, will require humanity to face an existential question that
geoengineering alone cannot address: Are we willing to sacrifice growth
to ensure the survival of our species?
"Absent decoupling growth from progress," Ehrenfeld said, "we won't
address the core of the problem."
more at:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/geoengineering-climate-change_us_5ae07919e4b061c0bfa3e794
[Of course]
*Heart attacks seem more common after extreme temperature changes
<https://www.popsci.com/extreme-temperature-fluctuations-heart-attack>*
Unseasonably warm afternoons might not do us much good.
By Marlene Cimons Nexus Media March 2, 2018
Extreme weather tied to heart health.
Temperatures along the East Coast began fluctuating wildly last month,
from winter-like cold one day - which is normal for February - to
summer-like hot the next day - which is anything but. This is a
portentous harbinger of global climate change, and an irksome turn of
events, as it forced people to switch their clothes, thermostats, and
ceiling fans from one day to another.
As it turns out, such abrupt temperature swings also may be bad for your
health. Cardiology researchers in Michigan recently linked extreme
day-to-day changes in temperatures to a significant increase in heart
attacks, a finding that raises the disturbing possibility of yet another
harmful effect of our warming planet on human health.
"Global warming is expected to cause extreme weather events, which may,
in turn, result in large day-to-day fluctuations in temperature," said
Hedvig Andersson, a cardiology researcher at the University of Michigan.
"Our study suggests that such fluctuations in outdoor temperature could
potentially lead to an increased number of heart attacks and affect
global cardiac health in the future."...
more at:
https://www.popsci.com/extreme-temperature-fluctuations-heart-attack
[Sarasota comic drama]
*Local playwright creates 'dark comedy' about climate change
<http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20180519/local-playwright-creates-dark-comedy-about-climate-change>*
Jack Gilhooley's 'The Long Reunion,' which has its premiere at the
Manatee Performing Arts Center, uses the Manatee River as the setting
for a play about rising seas
About two years ago, playwright Jack Gilhooley witnessed high tide in
Miami Beach and knew he found the subject for his next "dark comedy."
"We saw fish swimming down Collins Avenue," Gilhooley remembered. "That
image stuck with me. I knew there was a play there."
Gilhooley, a Manatee County resident, is the author of about 100 one-act
and full-length works for the stage. Audiences in Sarasota, New York
City, Canada, Scotland, Ireland and other venues have seen his
critically acclaimed dramas.
His heavier themes have focused on race relations, bigamy, fascism, the
realities of war, corruption in higher education and more.
So, for his latest play, the former college instructor who defines "dark
comedy" as "a social commentary about a controversial subject" did not
hesitate to take on the often disputed topic of climate change and sea
level rise.
"I believe in climate change," Gilhooley said. "I'm no scientist. I'm
just a playwright. But I read a lot."
Books such as John Englander's "High Tide on Main Street" and Naomi
Klein's "This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate" convinced
the dramatist that global warming is leading to more frequent flooding
and altering coastlines.
His new play, "The Long Reunion," premieres Wednesday evening in the
Manatee Performing Arts Center's Kiwanis Studio Theatre, where it runs
through May 27.
In 2017, he presented a draft during a workshop of new scripts in Boca
Raton, hoping to find an outlet for it on the East Coast. "I got no
takers." In that version, he used a fictional locale.
When the Bradenton theater expressed interest in staging it, Gilhooley
agreed to change the setting to the Manatee River - just steps away from
where the play is to be performed.
The plot concerns three graduates of Manatee High School's Class of 1993
who periodically gather at the fictional Manatee Riverview Inn for reunions.
Gilhooley has not worked with the cast members or director Mark Woodland
before but says he has "a great deal of admiration for them and gratitude."
Eldred Brown portrays Jimmy, a rock band manager who is "skeptical about
climate change." Jennifer Eddy-Kwiatowski performs as Daisy, who has
been married five times. Scott Ehrenpreis takes on the role of Billy,
"an idealist" and ex-football star who teaches at St. Stephen's
Episcopal School. Brenna Griffith plays several generations of
waitresses at the riverside restaurant where the classmates gather for
their 25th, 35th, 45th, 55th and 65th reunions.
In their dialogue, the characters mention actual alumni from Manatee
High's Class of 1993, whose names are used with permission.
As time progresses, they learn that "things are not what their yearbook
predicted."
According to a plot summary: By their final reunion in 2058, when they
are age 82, "rising tides threaten to dump the eatery along with the
trio of geezers into the Manatee River."
In that final scene, the restaurant is about to close forever and
audiences can expect "an ominous, comic ending," Gilhooley said.
Gilhooley hopes the play will raise more local awareness about the issue
of sea level rise.
"People figure they won't be around to see it (sea level rise) - but
their grandchildren will," Gilhooley said. "I do wish people here were
more concerned."
http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20180519/local-playwright-creates-dark-comedy-about-climate-change
*This Day in Climate History - May 21, 2010
<http://www.newrepublic.com/article/politics/the-crisis-comes-ashore> -
from D.R. Tucker*
May 21, 2010: In the New Republic, Al Gore notes:
"During the last 22 years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change has produced four massive studies warning the world of the
looming catastrophe that is being caused by the massive dumping of
global-warming pollution into the atmosphere. Unfortunately, this
process has been vulnerable to disruption and paralysis by a cynical
and lavishly funded disinformation campaign. A number of large
carbon polluters, whose business plans rely on their continued
ability to freely dump their gaseous waste products into the global
atmospheric commons - as if it is an open sewer—have chosen to
pursue a determined and highly organized campaign aimed at
undermining public confidence in the accuracy and integrity of the
global scientific community. They have attacked the scientific
community by financing pseudo-studies aimed at creating public doubt
about peer-reviewed science. They have also manipulated the
political and regulatory process with outsized campaign
contributions and legions of lobbyists (there are now four
anti-climate lobbyists for every single member of the House and Senate).
"This epic public contest between the broad public interest and a
small but powerful special interest has taken place during a time
when American democracy has grown sclerotic. The role of money in
our politics has exploded to a dangerous level. Our democratic
conversation is now dominated by expensive 30-second television
commercials, which consume two-thirds of the campaign budgets of
candidates in both political parties. The only reliable source of
such large sums of campaign cash is business lobbies. Most members
of the House and Senate facing competitive election contests are
forced to spend several hours each day asking special interests for
money to finance their campaigns. Instead of participating in
committee hearings, floor debates, and Burkean reflection on the
impact of the questions being considered, they spend their time as
supplicants. Though many struggle to resist the influence their
donors intend to have on their decision-making process, all too
frequently human nature takes its course.
"Their constituents now spend an average of five hours per day
watching television - which is, of course, why campaigns in both
political parties spend most of their money on TV advertising.
Viewers also absorb political messages from the same special
interests that are wining and dining and contributing to their
elected officials. The largest carbon polluters have, for the last
17 years, sought to manipulate public opinion with a massive and
continuing propaganda campaign, using TV advertisements and all
other forms of mass persuasion. It is a game plan spelled out in one
of their internal documents, which was leaked to an enterprising
reporter, that stated: 'reposition global warming as theory rather
than fact.' In other words, they have mimicked the strategy
pioneered by the tobacco industry, which undermined the scientific
consensus linking the smoking of cigarettes with diseases of the
lung and heart - successfully delaying appropriate health measures
for almost 40 years after the landmark surgeon general’s report of
1964."
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/politics/the-crisis-comes-ashore
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