[TheClimate.Vote] September 15, 2018 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Sat Sep 15 10:51:56 EDT 2018
/September 15, 2018/
[dramatic videos mostly]
*Hurricane FLORENCE Storm Chaser Compilation
<http://climatestate.com/2018/09/14/hurricane-florence-storm-chaser-compilation/http://climatestate.com/2018/09/14/hurricane-florence-storm-chaser-compilation/>*
http://climatestate.com/2018/09/14/hurricane-florence-storm-chaser-compilation/
[agreement and division in CA]
*The Energy 202: Climate conference shows divide among Democrats over
how to counter global warming <https://www.washingtonpost.com/>*
SAN FRANCISCO -- The organizers of a climate-change conference here in
California wanted their three-day summit to be a repudiation of
President Trump. And during many speeches, and commitments from cities
and companies to reduce their impact on the environment, it was.
But at other times both in and outside the convention center in San
Francisco, activists protested against the current Democratic approach.
The clash marked a high-profile schism between the middle- and far-left
segments of the Democratic coalition about how forcefully to address
climate change.
The event was set up to show how the private sector and local
governments are pressing ahead to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions even
as the president promises to pull the United States out of the landmark
Paris climate agreement.
The Global Climate Action Summit was organized by the state's Democratic
governor, Jerry Brown, who just days earlier signed a bill committing
California to getting 100 percent of its electricity from carbon-free
sources by 2045. He followed that up with an even more ambitious
mandate, outlined in an executive order, to decarbonize California's
entire economy by that year too. And then on Thursday, he signed a bevy
of 16 bills attempting to reduce the carbon footprint of California's
many automobiles by putting more electric cars on the road.
The climate summit saw a scattershot of plans and commitments by other
states, cities and companies eager to push ahead on problems they
believe Trump has turned his back on. Groups and companies announced
plans on everything from rain forests to electric car charging stations.
Twelve cities, including Tokyo and Seoul, joined an initiative to slash
emissions in city centers, making room on the roads for electric car
fleets. And New York City announced it will invest $4 billion in pension
funds for climate change initiatives in the next three years, doubling
current investments. On the industry side, LeasePlan, a Dutch company
that is one of the biggest fleet providers in world with 1.8 million
vehicles, will step up purchases of electric vehicles. So will the
French electricity giant EDF Energy, which has about 30,000 vehicles,
organizers said.
- - - -
It remains to be seem whether that constellation of commitments from
cities and companies, none of which are legally binding, turns out to be
just a wish list. But many of the more well-traveled attendees of
climate conferences were encouraged.
"I've been to a lot of gatherings and conferences related to the climate
crisis for many years now, and this is really top-notch," former vice
president Al Gore said in an interview. "The nature of the commitments
being announced is extremely heartening."
At times, the summit felt like a reunion of officials who served in the
Barack Obama and Bill Clinton administrations. (Obama made an
appearance, though only via prerecorded video.) ...
- - - -
"You need keep-it-in-the-ground commitments," Jennifer Morgan, executive
director of Greenpeace International, said in an interview. "People
don't know how big oil and gas development is in California."
Broadly, the progressive climate wing wants to see end to the cozy
relationship many of elected Democrats have with corporations.
That message made its way on stage when protesters interrupted a speech
by former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg by yelling "our air is not
for sale."
Back in front of the microphone, Bloomberg quipped in reply: "Only in
America could you have environmentalists protesting an environmental
conference."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/09/14/the-energy-202-climate-conference-shows-divide-among-democrats-over-how-to-counter-global-warming/5b9ad9741b326b47ec9595d3/?utm_term=.644c187927a9
- - - - -
[Video report contentious gathering in California]
*Democracy Now!
<https://www.democracynow.org/shows/2018/9/14?autostart=111.0>*
has long covered the issue of climate change. We reported from the U.N.
Climate Change Conferences in Paris, Lima, Warsaw, Doha, Durban, Cancún,
and Copenhagen, and from Bolivia's World Peoples' Summit on Climate
Change. We've interviewed many of the world's top scientists, writers,
policy makers, activists, indigenous leaders and academics on the issue.
We continue to follow the climate movements.
"Climate Capitalism is Killing Our Communities": Protesters Disrupt Gov.
Brown's SF Climate Summit <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obb2HD-NQR8>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obb2HD-NQR8
Effective Tool to Limit Greenhouse Emissions or a "License to Pollute?":
A Debate on Cap-and-Trade <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccd2cfTU6rw>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccd2cfTU6rw
Over 100 Indigenous Activists Decry California Gov. Jerry Brown's
Market-Based Climate Solutions
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlzAPA4P1Io>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlzAPA4P1Io
A Debate on Geoengineering: Should We Deliberately "Hack" Planet Earth
to Combat Climate Change? <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEIoNLryWuw>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEIoNLryWuw
*Transcripts
<https://www.democracynow.org/2018/9/14/effective_tool_to_limit_greenhouse_emissions#transcript>*
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/9/14/effective_tool_to_limit_greenhouse_emissions#transcript
https://www.democracynow.org/shows/2018/9/14?autostart=111.0
[Opinion]
*You-cant-put-america-first-if-you-put-climate-change-last
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2018/09/13/you-cant-put-america-first-if-you-put-climate-change-last/?utm_term=.6f57f03a231c>*
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2018/09/13/you-cant-put-america-first-if-you-put-climate-change-last/?utm_term=.6f57f03a231c
[California fires still burning]
*Delta Fire surpasses 60,000 acres after Thursday flare-up closed I-5
for 6 hours
<https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/fires/article218388250.html>*
BY MICHAEL MCGOUGH - September 14, 2018
Crews continue to make progress fighting the Delta Fire burning in
Shasta County, with the blaze 28 percent contained Friday at 60,018
acres, according to a 7 a.m. Cal Fire incident update.
Fire activity flared up along the freeway Thursday evening, forcing
another temporary closure of a stretch of Interstate 5 and multiple
ramps. Traffic was reopened for all lanes in both directions at about 6
p.m., according to Caltrans.
At least 17 structures have been destroyed by the Delta Fire so far,
according to the latest Cal Fire update. More than 3,200 personnel are
assigned to the fire, including about 1,000 from the U.S. Forest
Service, the agency said on Twitter.
Mandatory evacuation orders were lifted Wednesday for parts of Shasta
County. Voluntary evacuation warnings remained in place for residents of
Dunsmuir in Siskiyou County, and evacuations and road closures remained
in place for some of Trinity County through Thursday. Up-to-date,
detailed evacuation information can be found on the fire's Inciweb page
and the Facebook pages of those three counties' sheriff's offices...
more at:
https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/fires/article218388250.html
[From Hakai magazine}
*The Oracle of Oyster River
<https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/the-oracle-of-oyster-river/>*
On Vancouver Island, a hermit-priest has spent a lifetime contemplating
the natural world. At 95, he has come to believe there is a way we can
save it...
Charles Brandt sums it up this way: *the universe is a community of
subjects to be communed with, not objects to be exploited. The Earth is
a one-time endowment; we don't get a second chance. The Earth is
primary; humans and all other beings are derivative.*
https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/the-oracle-of-oyster-river/
[Paul Gilding Independent writer & advisor on sustainability.]
*Why Incumbents Fail – And What that Means for Sustainability
<https://paulgilding.com/2018/09/14/cc2080914-why-incumbents-fail/>*
The core assumption and focus of people who work to drive sustainability
through markets – as corporate leaders, investors, NGOs or thought
leaders – is that we need to convince existing companies and their
shareholders that sustainability is first good for their business, and
secondly, they can successfully transition to a sustainable business
model...
- - - -
But the world has changed. Today sustainability is an existential threat
to the global economy and that means the scale and speed of change
required is profoundly different.
We are now up against time bounded needs that can only be addressed
through radical innovation in technology and business models –
inevitably resulting in disruptive change across the market. Anything
less will see issues like climate change, pollution, inequality and
resource constraint pose system wide threats to global economic and
social stability.
- - - -
The key questions to understand are why incumbents fail – and can this
be addressed – and what can be done to accelerate the success of the
disruptors? I will be focusing my work on this issue over the coming
year at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability
Leadership, via this new research programme I am supporting.
This research will explore my hypothesis on what the current evidence
suggests:
- *Incumbent businesses, no matter how good their intentions, rarely
deliver disruptive change*. When they do – often by buying
disruptors – they are driven more by the threat from disruptive
players than their own insights or strategies. Fear of loss is the
driver for incumbents, not opportunity. There is a live example
today with Tesla and the auto industry.
-*Disruptive players usually win because they are not held back by
the assets, culture and risk aversion of incumbents*. There are
exceptions (and why they are is very important), but they do not
define how the system behaves.
- *Capital follows opportunity and growth, but rarely prices risk
accurately*. Thus, markets crash, carbon bubbles pop and boom/bust
cycles are inevitable in disruption. But over time, markets get it
right. The dot com boom correctly sensed the possibilities and the
dot com crash didn't prevent tech companies from dominating today's
stock markets.
-*Markets are ruthless and unsentimental. They have no ideology
except self-interest and will happily for example, destroy the oil
industry and do so quickly when they act.*
This all suggests that, given the scale and speed of change needed on
sustainability, many and *perhaps most of today's major old companies,
simply won't get there. Not because they couldn't in theory, but because
they won't in practice.***They have some combination of products,
assets, culture and values that means transitioning is simply too
difficult, too expensive in the short term or just isn't going to happen
in time. They will instead be replaced by new companies – a process
profoundly beneficial to the economy.
If this is right, it calls into question the very foundation of the
global movement for corporate sustainability. We need to have that
discussion.
https://paulgilding.com/2018/09/14/cc2080914-why-incumbents-fail/
[changes]
*Big Oil Gives In to Common Sense and Invests in Renewable Energy
<http://climatestate.com/2018/09/14/big-oil-gives-in-to-common-sense-and-invests-in-renewable-energy/>*
September 14, 2018
The rise of electric vehicles (EVs) over the last few years portends a
steep decline in the demand for hydrocarbons over the next several years
as they become more and more mainstream. As demand for gasoline drops,
so too would oil prices, undercutting Big Oil's profitability. By
diversifying, they hedge against this looming downturn and open up new
revenue streams as their renewable investments will likely play a part
in powering the EV revolution.
Development costs for solar and wind power have dropped dramatically
over in recent years as the technologies have scaled. The costs per
kilowatt-hour for renewables has fallen to significantly below those of
fossil fuels, spurring greater innovations and more market momentum,
which Big Oil would be loath to miss out on – their investors are used
to consistently strong returns.
Finally, investor pressure is finally starting to stick this time. Back
in May, 60 massive institutional investors in command of a combined
$10.4 trillion in assets penned an open letter demanding the oil and gas
companies pick up their slack on supporting climate protection goals,
specifically in compliance with the Paris Agreement .
These trends are incredibly hard to ignore and oil companies finally got
the message that it's time to move on from fossil fuels, even it's only
baby steps for now.
Greener Pastures
This dramatic change in Big Oil's investment strategy presages an era of
incredible growth in the renewables sector. The last bastion of climate
deniers in industry has cracked and many players are making an
about-face toward a more sustainable future...
http://climatestate.com/2018/09/14/big-oil-gives-in-to-common-sense-and-invests-in-renewable-energy/
[what to do]
*An Unusual Grant Fuels a Push to Start Treating Climate Change as a
Real Emergency
<https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2018/6/14/an-unusual-grant-fuels-a-push-to-start-treating-climate-change-as-a-real-emergency>*
Tate Williams
A major challenge to organizing and advocacy around climate change is
how even to approach a problem so large, complex, and gradually
advancing (although it feels less gradual with every year, to be honest).
An advocacy group that launched in 2014 has one answer--we respond like
we're at war.
For the Climate Mobilization Project, the climate crisis demands not
incremental changes or gradual reductions in emissions, but an emergency
response led by government that is on the scale of the response to World
War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The group just picked up a
grant from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Shelter Rock of
$100,000, an amount they say is the "country's single largest
philanthropic investment in emergency climate action."
This modest grant from a local funder to a little-known climate outfit
is worth a closer look, with an eye to takeaways for other players in
this space. We've been saying for a while now that if climate change is
really the time-urgent, existential threat that so many, including top
funders, say it is, then civil society and philanthropy needs to start
acting on that belief. Nonprofits need to hit harder and foundations
need to give more--a lot more--while there's still time.
But what would that look like, exactly?
Related:
*Dear Climate Funders: The Clock is Ticking. Use Your Endowments
<https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/9/25/dear-climate-funders-the-clock-is-ticking-use-your-endowment.html>*
*If an Asteroid Were Hurtling Toward Earth, How Would Philanthropy
Respond?
<https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2016/2/23/if-an-asteroid-were-hurtling-toward-earth-how-would-philanth.html>*
The Climate Mobilization Project was started by a group of friends from
varying backgrounds--psychology, journalism, neuroscience--and now
boasts an advisory board that includes former executive director of
Greenpeace International, Paul Gilding, and leading climatologist
Michael E. Mann.
The project's director, Margaret Klein Salamon, told Inside Philanthropy
that the grant from UUCSR was the first that it had ever received. "We
have been funded thus far through monthly giving, major giving, and
especially the in-kind donations of volunteers," she said. "We have
leveraged volunteers, including experts in policy, climate science and
organizing, to a huge degree."
The war-footing for climate change concept is more than just a rallying
cry. It's an operational approach that's gotten increasing attention in
recent years. For example, a 2016 NBER paper by Hugh Rockoff explored
the rapid transformation of the U.S. economy in World War II to see
whether this mobilization model "provides lessons about how the economy
could be transformed to meet scarcities produced by climate change or
other environmental challenges." Bill McKibben also fleshed out the
World War II analog in a long 2016 article in the New Republic, noting
that Pearl Harbor made "individual Americans willing to do hard things:
pay more in taxes, buy billions upon billions in war bonds, endure the
shortages and disruptions that came when the country's entire economy
converted to wartime production."
For its part, the Climate Mobilization Project is following a
city-by-city strategy to move the country into emergency mode. It's
campaigning to get governments to declare a climate emergency, initiate
aggressive carbon reduction commitments, and become advocates for
further emergency mobilization. The campaign cites some political
advances, including the Los Angeles City Council voting to explore what
would be the country's first Climate Emergency Mobilization Department.
And just this week, Berkeley, California, declared a climate emergency.
The people behind it aren't fixed on one particular pathway for cities
to take, but a proposed plan for how the country might proceed is pretty
intense, including a transformation of our food systems, government
rationing, carbon sequestration research, massive land preservation, and
significant reductions in resource consumption. The group also has a
strong environmental justice framing, calling for an "emergency speed
transition that not only seeks to prevent unimaginable suffering from
climate and environmental catastrophe, but reinvents our economy to
address the social inequities on which an extractive economy is based."
That's likely a big part of what connected with the Unitarian
Universalist Congregation of Shelter Rock. UUCSR is a prominent
congregation based in New York with a long record of social justice work
and philanthropy. In addition to its Veatch grantmaking program, a
Congregational Large Grants Program gives amounts of $100,000 to
grantees voted on by the congregation. A climate change grant is a
unique choice for the program, although past giving is wide-ranging,
from prison reform to disaster relief.
The compelling thing about the Climate Mobilization Project is that,
while arguably unrealistic in its goals--since there's no political
consensus on this issue, as Rockoff's paper notes--it is unflinching in
its diagnosis of the level of response that climate change warrants.
Much of its goal is to build a movement around how we should
collectively think about climate change--mainly that the status quo of
the approach to date is unacceptable. And from the standpoint of a
funder like UUCSR, it's a status quo that's certainly unjust.
https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2018/6/14/an-unusual-grant-fuels-a-push-to-start-treating-climate-change-as-a-real-emergency
[final word on TV hurricane coverage (how fake news can break like the
wind)]
Weather channel drama <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFh-X1bv4P0>
Stephen Stoddard - Published on Sep 14, 2018
Reporter can barely stand,. Two Bros in shorts walk by without issue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFh-X1bv4P0
*This Day in Climate History - September 15, 2002
<http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/15/us/with-white-house-approval-epa-pollution-report-omits-global-warming-section.html>
- from D.R. Tucker*
September 15, 2002: The New York Times reports:
"For the first time in six years, the annual federal report on air
pollution trends has no section on global warming, though President
Bush has said that slowing the growth of emissions linked to warming
is a priority for his administration.
"The decision to delete the chapter on climate change was made by
top officials at the Environmental Protection Agency with White
House approval, White House officials said."
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/15/us/with-white-house-approval-epa-pollution-report-omits-global-warming-section.html
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