[TheClimate.Vote] November 24, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

Sat Nov 24 10:11:04 EST 2018

/November 24, 2018/

[audio NPR - Katherine Hayhoe summarizes the report]
*New Climate Change Report Places Blame On Human Actions For Natural 
Disasters 
<https://www.npr.org/2018/11/24/670513629/new-climate-change-report-places-blame-on-human-actions-for-natural-disasters>*
November 24, 20187 (Audio will be available later today.)
Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday
NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Katherine Hayhoe of the Climate Science 
Center at Texas Tech University about a new report showing that recent 
extreme natural events are due to climate change.
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/24/670513629/new-climate-change-report-places-blame-on-human-actions-for-natural-disasters
- - -
[top story]
*Major Trump administration climate report says damages are 
'intensifying across the country' 
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/11/23/major-trump-administration-climate-report-says-damages-are-intensifying-across-country/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.97f89cfb7e2d>*
Scientists are more certain than ever that climate change is already 
affecting the United States -- and that it is going to be very expensive.
Brady Dennis and Chris Mooney - November 23 at 2:00 PM

The federal government on Friday released a long-awaited report with an 
unmistakable message: The effects of climate change, including deadly 
wildfires, increasingly debilitating hurricanes and heat waves, are 
already battering the United States, and the danger of more such 
catastrophes is worsening.

The report's authors, who represent numerous federal agencies, say they 
are more certain than ever that climate change poses a severe threat to 
Americans' health and pocketbooks, as well as to the country's 
infrastructure and natural resources. And while it avoids policy 
recommendations, the report's sense of urgency and alarm stand in stark 
contrast to the lack of any apparent plan from President Trump to tackle 
the problems, which, according to the government he runs, are 
increasingly dire.

The congressionally mandated document -- the first of its kind issued 
during the Trump administration -- details how climate-fueled disasters 
and other types of worrisome changes are becoming more commonplace 
throughout the country and how much worse they could become in the 
absence of efforts to combat global warming...
more at : 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/11/23/major-trump-administration-climate-report-says-damages-are-intensifying-across-country/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.97f89cfb7e2d
- - -
[NCA4 is the Latest major report]
*The Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), Volume II documents how 
climate change impacts people in regions and sectors across the United 
States, and how society is responding to climate change.*
[From Climate Nexus]
And now all our communications materials are updated and live on-line:

1. What is NCA4?:
https://climatenexus.org/climate-issues/science/national-climate-assessment/
2. NCA4 V2 notable findings:
https://climatenexus.org/climate-issues/science/4th-u-s-national-climate-assessment-notable-findings-v2/
3. NCA4 main messages:
https://climatenexus.org/climate-change-news/4th-u-s-national-climate-assessment-v2-main-messages/
4. Western US impacts backgrounder:
https://climatenexus.org/climate-issues/science/nca4_western_us/
5. Eastern US impacts
backgrounder:https://climatenexus.org/climate-issues/science/nca4_eastern_us/
6. NCA4 infographics:
https://climatenexus.org/climate-issues/science/infographics-nca4-v2/

*more at: 
https://climatenexus.org/climate-issues/science/national-climate-assessment/*
- - -
[Political comment from Washington State Governor Inslee]
[*comment on the timing of the major report 
<https://twitter.com/govinslee/status/1066084819044458496?s=21>*]
Governor Jay Inslee
‏Verified account @GovInslee
Today's Black Friday news dump by the White House shows just how much 
they want to hide the science about one of the most urgent threats 
facing our nation and world today. Irresponsible and dangerous. 
#ActOnClimate #WeAreStillIn
https://twitter.com/govinslee/status/1066084819044458496?s=21
- -
[Information intensification]
*Major Trump administration climate report says damages are 
'intensifying across the country' 
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/11/23/major-trump-administration-climate-report-says-damages-are-intensifying-across-country/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.97f89cfb7e2d>*
Audio will be available later today.Audio will be available later today. 
Audio will be available later today. past few days, I could not see the 
bay for all the smoke from the Paradise fire. Fires that approach the 
size of the Paradise fire are most common in the hot dry years -- the 
kind of years that we are likely to see many more of."

"We are trained to be skeptical and resist jumping to quick 
conclusions," he said. "But looking at the smoke, I could not help but 
think: 'This is climate change. This is what climate change looks like.' "
https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/11/23/major-trump-administration-climate-report-says-damages-are-intensifying-across-country/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.97f89cfb7e2d
- - -
[Here's the report]
*FOURTH NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT Volume II: Impacts, Risks, and 
Adaptation in the United States <https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/>*
The National Climate Assessment (NCA) assesses the science of climate 
change and
variability and its impacts across the United States, now and throughout 
this century.
*FOURTH NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT*
Summary Findings
These Summary Findings represent a high-level synthesis of the material 
in the underlying report. The findings consolidate Key Messages and 
supporting evidence from 16 national-level topic chapters, 10 regional 
chapters, and 2 chapters that focus on societal response strategies 
(mitigation and adaptation). Unless otherwise noted, qualitative 
statements regarding future conditions in these Summary Findings are 
broadly applicable across the range of different levels of future 
climate change and associated impacts considered in this report...
more at: https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/
- - - -
[Military]
*National Security in the Fourth National Climate Assessment 
<https://climateandsecurity.org/2018/11/23/national-security-in-the-fourth-national-climate-assessment/>*
The below are direct excerpts from the "Report-in-Brief" and the 
individual chapters highlighting explicit mentions of climate change 
impacts on "national security" and the "military."
Summary Findings
3 Interconnected Impacts: Climate change presents added risks to 
interconnected systems that are already exposed to a range of stressors 
such as aging and deteriorating infrastructure, land-use changes, and 
population growth. Extreme weather and climate-related impacts on one 
system can result in increased risks or failures in other critical 
systems, including water resources, food production and distribution, 
energy and transportation, public health, international trade, and 
national security. The full extent of climate change risks to 
interconnected systems, many of which span regional and national 
boundaries, is often greater than the sum of risks to individual 
sectors. Failure to anticipate interconnected impacts can lead to missed 
opportunities for effectively managing the risks of climate change and 
can also lead to management responses that increase risks to other 
sectors and regions. Joint planning with stakeholders across sectors, 
regions, and jurisdictions can help identify critical risks arising from 
interaction among systems ahead of time. (pg 13)"

10 Infrastructure: "Our Nation's aging and deteriorating infrastructure 
is further stressed by increases in heavy precipitation events, coastal 
flooding, heat, wildfires, and other extreme events, as well as changes 
to average precipitation and temperature. Without adaptation, climate 
change will continue to degrade infrastructure performance over the rest 
of the century, with the potential for cascading impacts that threaten 
our economy, national security, essential services, and health and 
well-being. (pg 17)"

Overview:
Human Health and Well-Being "Combined with other stressors, sea level 
rise, coastal storms, and the deterioration of coral reef and mangrove 
ecosystems put the longterm habitability of coral atolls in the Hawai'i 
and U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands region at risk, introducing issues 
of sovereignty, human and national security, and equity (Ch. 27: Hawai'i 
& Pacific Islands, KM 6).(pg 27)."

Box 1.4: How Climate Change Around the World Affects the United States 
"Natural variability and changes in climate increase risks to our 
national security by affecting factors that can exacerbate conflict and 
displacement outside of U.S. borders, such as food and water insecurity 
and commodity price shocks. More directly, our national security is 
impacted by damage to U.S. military assets such as roads, runways, and 
waterfront infrastructure from extreme weather and climate-related 
events (Figures 1.8 and 1.9). The U.S. military is working to both fully 
understand these threats and incorporate projected climate changes into 
long-term planning. For example, the Department of Defense has performed 
a comprehensive scenario-driven examination of climate risks from sea 
level rise to all of its coastal military sites, including atolls in the 
Pacific Ocean (Ch. 16: International, KM 3) (pg 28)."

Mitigation "Recent studies suggest that some of the indirect effects of 
mitigation actions could significantly reduce—or possibly even 
completely offset—the potential costs associated with cutting greenhouse 
gas emissions. Beyond reduction of climate pollutants, there are many 
benefits, often immediate, associated with greenhouse gas emissions 
reductions, such as improving air quality and public health, reducing 
crop damages from ozone, and increasing energy independence and security 
through increased reliance on domestic sources of energy (Ch. 13: Air 
Quality, KM 4; Ch. 29: Mitigation, KM 4). (pg31)"

Adaptation "Effective adaptation can also enhance social welfare in many 
ways that can be difficult to quantify, including improving economic 
opportunity, health, equity, national security, education, social 
connectivity, and sense of place, while safeguarding cultural resources 
and enhancing environmental quality. (pg 32-33)."

What Has Happened Since the Last National Climate Assessment? - New 
Aspects of This Report - New Chapters: "Public input also requested 
greater international context in the report, which has been addressed 
through two new additions. A new chapter focuses on topics including the 
effects of climate change on U.S. trade and businesses, national 
security, and U.S. humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (Chapter 
16). A new international appendix (Appendix 4) presents a number of 
illustrative examples of how other countries have conducted national 
climate assessments, putting our own effort into a global context."

Chapter 4: Energy Supply, Delivery, and Demand (Full Chapter)
Key Message 1 Nationwide Impacts on Energy: The Nation's energy system 
is already affected by extreme weather events, and due to climate 
change, it is projected to be increasingly threatened by more frequent 
and longer-lasting power outages affecting critical energy 
infrastructure and creating fuel availability and demand imbalances. The 
reliability, security, and resilience of the energy system underpin 
virtually every sector of the U.S. economy. Cascading impacts on other 
critical sectors could affect economic and national security. (page 70 
Executive Summary)"

State of the Sector: The Nation's economic security is increasingly 
dependent on an affordable and reliable supply of energy. Every sector 
of the economy depends on energy, from manufacturing to agriculture, 
banking, healthcare, telecommunications, and transportation.2 
Increasingly, climate change and extreme weather events are affecting 
the energy system (including all components related to the production, 
conversion, delivery, and use of energy), threatening more frequent and 
longer-lasting power outages and fuel shortages.3 Such events can have 
cascading impacts on other critical sectors43,44 and potentially affect 
the Nation's economic and national security (see Ch. 17: Complex Systems).

Box 4.2: Changing Dimensions of Energy Security: There is a trend of 
decreasing net imports (imports minus exports) of petroleum. In 2016, 
U.S. net imports reached a new low equal to about 25% of U.S. petroleum 
consumption, down from 60% in 2005.59 ,61 This significant decline is 
the result of several factors, including the exploitation of vast 
domestic shale oil reserves and, to a lesser extent, reduced demand 
levels and expanded biofuel production. While this shift has potential 
national security benefits, there is an accompanying altered geographic 
distribution of our energy production assets and activities that could 
result in changes in exposure to the effects of extreme weather and 
climate change."

Key Message 3 Improving Energy System Resilience: "The Nation's economic 
security is increasingly dependent on an affordable and reliable supply 
of energy. Every sector of the economy depends on energy, from 
manufacturing to agriculture, banking, healthcare, telecommunications, 
and transportation. Increasingly, climate change and extreme weather 
events are affecting the energy system, threatening more frequent and 
longer-lasting power outages and fuel shortages. Such events can have 
cascading impacts on other critical sectors, potentially affecting the 
Nation's economic and national security. At the same time, the energy 
sector is undergoing substantial policy, market, and technology-driven 
changes that are projected to affect these vulnerabilities. (page 71)"...
more at: 
https://climateandsecurity.org/2018/11/23/national-security-in-the-fourth-national-climate-assessment/

[Change over]
*First rain in months douses California wildfire, raises risk of 
mudslides 
<https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/22/first-rain-in-months-douses-california-wildfire-raises-risk-of-mudslides.html>*
Northern California's wildfires have been all but extinguished by the 
first significant rainfall in months.
The rain has raised the risk of flash flooding which would impact 
efforts to search for human remains.
Butte County's Sheriff says 563 people remain unaccounted for following 
the blaze.
The Camp Fire incinerated 13,503 homes in and around Paradise. The cause 
of the fire remains under investigation.

The state is undertaking the largest single wildfire cleanup operation 
in its history to remove toxic and radioactive ash and debris at burned 
home sites, said Eric Lamoureux from the Governor's Office of Emergency 
Services.

Butte County says evidence from recent fires in California showed that 
some destroyed homes and property contained "high and concerning levels 
of heavy metals, lead, mercury, dioxin, arsenic and other carcinogens. 
Some property may have the presence of radioactive materials."
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/22/first-rain-in-months-douses-california-wildfire-raises-risk-of-mudslides.html

[CBS News video 6 mins]
*Bill McKibben on how extreme weather is shrinking the planet 
<https://youtu.be/YdlinI4q3aY>*
CBS News
Published on Nov 20, 2018
Bill McKibben, co-founder of the grassroots climate movement 350.org, 
spoke to CBSN about his new article for The New Yorker, "How extreme 
weather is shrinking the planet," and the future that awaits the world 
as climate change continues.
https://youtu.be/YdlinI4q3aY

[map]
*Camp Fire: Map shows where PG&E had planned to shut down power ahead of 
blaze 
<https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/22/maps-show-where-pge-had-planned-to-shut-down-power-ahead-of-camp-fire/>*
By MATTHIAS GAFNI | mgafni at bayareanewsgroup.com
A PG&E map of the Camp Fire area, exclusively obtained by this news 
organization, raises new questions about the utility's power-shutoff 
policies and its decision to keep electricity flowing in advance of the 
deadly and destructive blaze.

The map, received from a PG&E official by Butte County chief 
administrative officer Shari McCracken, includes red lines overlaying 
the towns of Paradise, Magalia and others like a swarm of aggressive 
tapeworms. The red indicates the distribution lines that PG&E had 
planned to de-energize in advance of high winds and other dangerous fire 
conditions forecast for the morning of Nov. 8 -- a plan the utility 
ultimately decided was unnecessary.
The shutoff area shown on the map did not include the high-voltage 
transmission line that malfunctioned near where the fire first was 
reported. PG&E explained that it has a policy of not cutting power to 
lines 115,000 volts or higher -- but regulators interviewed in the wake 
of the disaster said this week there are no state and federal policies 
that prevent it.

The map reveals, for the first time, that PG&E did initially consider 
de-energizing a line near the town of Concow that went out 17 minutes 
after the first reported fire. A second fire reportedly ignited near 
that line, which may have helped feed the deadly Camp Fire on its march 
through Magalia, Concow and Paradise, where it has killed at least 81 
people and destroyed thousands of homes. Nearly 900 people are still 
unaccounted for.

"If PG&E has knowledge that there are high risk fire conditions, (it) 
should probably not restrict itself on what types of lines can or cannot 
be shut down," said attorney Britt Strottman, who represented the city 
of San Bruno in its lawsuit against PG&E for the deadly pipeline 
explosion. "PG&E and the (California Public Utilities Commission), as 
PG&E's regulator, should also actively work together on deciding which 
lines should be shut down."...
- - -
"When transmission lines blow, there is a shower of sparks akin to 
fireworks on the Fourth of July," he said. "All it takes is one spark to 
ignite a fire. If that occurs during high-wind conditions, with dry 
vegetation below, you have a calamity."

Firefighter radio transmissions indicate the Camp Fire started 
underneath high-tension power lines, and winds buffeted the flames from 
the managed vegetation area beneath the lines to the surrounding wild 
brush and timber. No cause has been determined for the fire, now the 
deadliest wildfire in California history, but Cal Fire has said its 
probe includes electrical infrastructure.

In light of a possible high-voltage-sparked deadly wildfire, is PG&E 
re-thinking its policy?

"As of right now, PG&E has not extended the Public Safety Power Shutoff 
Program to transmission lines that operate at 115kV or above," 
spokeswoman Andrea Menniti said.

Pitre said PG&E needs to open up the books on their inspection and 
maintenance records from the area, particularly in light of its 
checkered history in the Feather River Canyon, including millions of 
dollars in settlements.

"If you are going to operate equipment at the margins of failure," Pitre 
said, "then you better have a plan to shut down lines during adverse 
weather conditions to prevent the risk of a catastrophic event like a 
wildfire."
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/22/maps-show-where-pge-had-planned-to-shut-down-power-ahead-of-camp-fire/

*This Day in Climate History - November 24, 2008 
<http://youtu.be/fmgYX8gfxfs>- from D.R. Tucker*
November 24, 2008: In an interview on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," 
Robert Redford denounces the Bush administration's plan to have the 
Bureau of Land Management hold an oil and gas lease auction in Salt Lake 
City, Utah on December 19, 2008. That auction would become famous for 
Tim DeChristopher's act of civil disobedience during the event, as well 
as the auction's illegality.
http://youtu.be/fmgYX8gfxfs
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/americans-rejected-drill_b_144499

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