[TheClimate.Vote] April 1, 2019 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

[Richard Pauli]

/April 1, 2019/


[More AOC videos from MSNBC interview]
*AOC on The Green New Deal: An extended conversation with MSNBC's Chris 
Hayes*
All In Extra: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has an extended conversation with 
MSNBC's Chris Hayes and audience members as part of "The Green New Deal" 
special. Included are Sarah Nelson, Intl. President of the Association 
of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO; Varshini Prakash of the Sunrise 
Movement; Waleed Shahid of the Justice Democrats; and Mark Paul an 
economist with the Roosevelt Institute.
https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/aoc-on-the-green-new-deal-an-extended-conversation-with-msnbc-s-chris-hayes-1468154947968


[Fool's Day anthem song for global warming]
*I Didn't Fuck It Up - Katie Goodman of Broad Comedy*
Katy Goodman makes a new ear worm: "There's never been a time..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdn3O6aaMNc


[CrazyTown podcast conversation]
*One Point Twenty-One Jigawatts (Episode 3)*
What would we do without energy? The short answer is, "Nothing, 
absolutely nothing." And sadly, most people know next to nothing about 
energy and its fundamental role in society and life itself. If you've 
ever tried to push a car a small distance down a street, then maybe you 
have some understanding. But do you know how many hours of human labor 
are contained in a barrel of oil? Or how much it would cost for people 
to do the work of a fossil-fueled machine? Or how hard a world champion 
cyclist has to pedal a bike to toast a single slice of Wonder Bread? In 
this episode of Crazy Town, Asher, Rob, and Jason look for answers as 
they tour the insane asylum where our energy habits reside.
https://www.postcarbon.org/crazytown/
https://www.postcarbon.org/crazytown/show-notes/


[psychological distress]
BBC Radio 1 & 1Xtra Stories
*Me & My Eco Anxiety*
In this podcast, we're talking about eco anxiety. We often hear stories 
about how humans are damaging the planet and - for some people - it can 
become overwhelming and impact on their mental health.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0743nt9
- -
*'Eco-anxiety': how to spot it and what to do about it*
Feeling overwhelmed by the existential challenge of climate change? 
You're not alone
Dave Fawbert - 27 March 2019
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/b2e7ee32-ad28-4ec4-89aa-a8b8c98f95a5



[A great global warming movie]
*'Woman at War' Film Review: Goofy Icelandic Ecoterrorism Thriller Is a 
Beautiful Hoot*
Toronto Film Festival 2018: Director Benedikt Erlingsson has a fabulous 
eye and a taste for deadpan absurdity
Steve Pond
 From the start, "Woman at War" lets you know that you're in for a ride 
that will be as arresting visually as it is offbeat conceptually.

The Icelandic film, which premiered on Friday at the Toronto 
International Film Festival, opens with gorgeous shots of the rugged 
Icelandic countryside, where a woman short-circuits a string of power 
lines with only a bow and arrow.
- - -
The middle-aged ecoterrorist then flees across the gentle hills, as 
music from a small combo plays in the background -- literally in the 
background, because when she stops to catch her breath, we see the three 
musicians who are playing the score standing on the heath behind her.

That's a wry touch that continues through the film: When Halla, played 
by Halldora Geirharosdottir, gets some news on the phone that makes her 
emotional, a gentle piano melody begins playing on the soundtrack -- and 
it's only a matter of time before she walks in the living room and we 
see the piano player tinkling the ivories in the corner.

By the end of the movie, Halla is being cued to upcoming events by the 
presence of her musicians: When she's in a security line at the airport 
and there's a drummer in the car outside pounding an insistent beat, 
she's seen enough suspense movies to know she might be in trouble.

Director Benedikt Erlingsson could be commenting on how film scores can 
be their own kind of spoilers or acknowledging that we all need a band 
to serenade our lives -- or perhaps this filmmaker has both a great eye 
and a great fondness for silliness.

Erlingsson's last film, "Of Horses and Men," was a twisted but 
delightful gem, an episodic comedy of human and equine manners that 
represented Iceland in the Oscar foreign-language race in 2013. (It 
didn't even get shortlisted, for which I blame the Academy far more than 
the director.)

"Woman at War" is more straightforward in that it tells one story, not 
six interlocking ones. But straightforward is a relative term when 
you're dealing with a director who has Erlingsson's fondness for deadpan 
absurdity.

Halla is a mild-mannered ecoterrorist who roams the heath striking back 
at the industrialization that threatens her country, then hiding from 
the drones, infrared cameras and helicopters full of cops that try to 
track her down. And by the way, she's a choirmaster who is trying to 
adopt a 4-year-old Ukrainian girl. And she has a twin sister. And a new 
friend who lives in the country with a loud dog and a bunch of sheep.
https://www.thewrap.com/woman-at-war-film-review-icelandic/
- - -
[movie review]
*WOMAN AT WAR*
Tomris Laffly - March 1, 2019
A thoughtful and dynamic blend of genres, Benedikt Erlingsson's 
contemporary environmental fable "Woman At War" continually thrills with 
a side of laughs. In its most endearing moments, Erlingsson's 
idiosyncratic sophomore feature is as rebellious and confident as the 
main heroine it follows through vast and damp Icelandic landscapes. She 
is Halla (the defiant Halldora Geirharosdottir, excelling in a 
physically demanding role), a beloved, single choir director in her 
early fifties, living a secret double-life as a green activist when no 
one is looking. Cutting power lines to sabotage a local aluminum plant 
in her spare time, Halla mostly operates alone in her heroic yet 
elaborate quests. In the film's breathtaking opening sequence, shot and 
edited in the heart-pounding tradition of cat-and-mouse thrillers (by 
Bergsteinn Bjorgulfsson and David Alexander Corno, respectively), she 
runs from helicopters and drones, hides in natural cracks of the earth 
and finds refuge in the home of a local greenhouse farmer (Jon 
Johannsson), who lends her a runaway vehicle and becomes her unofficial 
accomplice.

Having no interest in making a straightforward genre film, Erlingsson 
doesn't stop at creating anxiety-inducing tension and braids in an 
eccentric musical detail to his unique package. A fourth-wall-breaking 
live band (that includes composer Davio por Jonsson, musicians Magnus 
Trygvason Eliasen and Omar Guojonsson on keys, drums and sousaphone) and 
later on, a Ukrainian a cappella trio, accompany Halla in almost every 
scene to both comedic and unsettling effect. Slowly, we get to know this 
well-intentioned and modestly equipped crusader more intimately. Living 
in a handsomely appointed home where pictures of Nelson Mandela and 
Gandhi decorate her workspace, Halla rides her bike to work, wears a 
congenial smile and leads a responsible life ... that is of course when 
she isn't climbing up rooftops and dropping exposé leaflets to help turn 
civic opinion against the government's evil ecological plans. Given the 
nickname "Mountain Woman" by the media, Halla slowly finds herself at 
life-threatening odds with the authorities and their intensifying 
efforts to hunt her down. And this couldn't be happening at a more 
inconvenient time for her--all of a sudden, her long-awaited child 
adoption plans start looking like a real possibility, after the adoption 
agency finds her an orphaned little girl in the Ukraine.

More accessible than (but just as wildly unique and pastoral as) 
Erlingsson's debut feature "Of Horses and Men," "Woman at War" strikes a 
near perfect balance between delivering a character study, an urgent 
environmental and societal message and some good old-fashioned 
entertainment through a genuine and warm tale of one woman's stubborn 
efforts to be on the right side of history. While co-writers Olafur 
Egilsson and Benedikt Erlingsson unmistakably align their sympathies 
with Halla, they are also critical of her privileged attitude that 
threatens both her future adoptive daughter's prospects and the freedom 
of a random Spanish tourist (Juan Camillo Roman Estrada), who quickly 
becomes a prime terrorism suspect in the eyes of the police. The scribe 
duo deliciously twists the affairs at every turn, especially when 
Halla's New Age-y twin sister Asa (also played by Geirharosdottir, again 
with perfection) and choir singer/governmental worker Baldvin (Jorundur 
Ragnarsson) enter the picture as dubious partners in crime.

Cinematically and philosophically rewarding from start to finish, "Woman 
At War" thrives on the shoulders of Geirharosdottir, who brings to life 
two distinct characters that unite through sisterly bonds. Aspirational, 
feel-good but never shallow, Erlingsson's film melds together smarts and 
wry humor just as neatly as it does various musical genres. The 
delightful combination of these elements inform and deepen Halla's 
journey as a single woman, friendly neighbor and concerned citizen 
looking for a place in a deteriorating world she desperately tries to 
better. Erlingsson finds a lot of joy in her rousing, perilous 
disobedience. And frankly, his enthusiasm for Halla proves to be infectious.
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/woman-at-war-2019



[Promising not to fly]
*No-fly Climate- sci*
We are Earth scientists, academics, and members of the public who either 
don't fly or who fly less.

We feel that global warming poses a clear, present, and dire danger for 
humanity. In an era of obvious climate change, we believe that it's 
important to align our daily life choices with that reality. Actions 
speak louder than words.

We try to fly as little as possible while pushing for systemic change, 
especially through our home institutions. These are our stories - why we 
fly less, and what that means in a society that still rewards frequent 
flying.

Why the focus on academics? Academics are expected to attend 
conferences, workshops, and meetings. Many academics, including Earth 
scientists, have large climate footprints dominated by flying. 
Meanwhile, colleges and universities ostensibly exist to make a better 
future, especially for young people. We want our institutions to live up 
to that promise.

We're experimenting with having successful and satisfying lives and 
careers without all the flying. We hope that our openness about flying 
less helps to change flying culture, gradually reducing the professional 
handicap for those of us who choose to align our personal actions with 
our knowledge of global warming. We urge academic institutions to 
realize their responsibility to be role models in an age of obvious 
global warming, and therefore to adopt policies and strategies for 
flying less. We believe that shaming individuals is counterproductive.

We also hope to increase awareness of the climate impact of frequent 
flying outside of the scientific community. Flying currently accounts 
for less than 10% of the global climate impact, but it often dominates 
the emission profiles of the globally privileged few who can afford it.

Each member speaks strictly on his or her own behalf. Joining this site 
isn't necessarily a promise not to fly.

The site was founded by and is maintained by an Earth scientist (Dr. 
Peter Kalmus), with no outside funding or partisan agenda. You may 
contact Peter directly by sending him a message via the "Join" page.
https://noflyclimatesci.org/



[No foolin'?]
*Leaders told to bring plans, not speeches to UN climate summit*
Published on 25/03/2019, 4:14pm
A landmark conference hosted by Antonio Guterres in September aims to 
jolt flagging international action on climate change, in line with the 
latest science
By Karl Mathiesen
The UN secretary general is calling on world leaders to bring plans, not 
speeches to a climate summit he is hosting in September.

Representatives of Antonio Guterres wrote to heads of government last 
week, urging them to "demonstrate a leap in collective national 
political ambition and massive low-emission movements in the real economy".

Climate Home News understands organisers do not intend to give 
politicians the UN podium for speeches, in a departure from the typical 
format of such events.

"This summit will be action-oriented," the note, which was shared with 
CHN, said. "The deliverables and initiatives that will be showcased need 
to be implementable, scalable and replicable and have the potential to 
get us in line with the commitments of the Paris Agreement."

"I am calling on all leaders to come to New York in September with 
concrete, realistic plans to enhance their nationally determined 
contributions by 2020," the UN chief wrote in an article for the 
Guardian this month.

Countries are due to update their current pledges to the Paris 
Agreement, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), by the 
end of next year.

At the summit, governments have been asked to either bring those plans 
forward early, or at a minimum show that they will be ready for 2020. 
They must explain how those plans, which mostly focus on the road to 
2030, fit not only with Paris but also the latest science.

That means cutting global greenhouse gas emissions 45% by 2030 and 
heading for net-zero emissions by 2050, the letter said, citing last 
year's blockbuster report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 
Change (IPCC).

The summit seeks to close a huge gap between the goals of the Paris 
Agreement - to limit warming to 1.5C or below 2C - and the pledges 
countries have so far made to meet them. Current national commitments 
are projected to collectively limit warming to 3C. This would lead to 
global economic, environmental and social damage, according to climate 
scientists. Worse, most nations are off the pace to meet even these 
inadequate targets.

The note is the clearest indication yet of the hardline approach 
Guterres will take, after a speech last year indicating he would throw 
himself and "the entire United Nations" into the fight against climate 
change.

On a practical level, countries will be encouraged to form coalitions 
focused on specific aspects of the climate puzzle. For example, they may 
collaborate on the best ways to use carbon pricing, green heavy industry 
or develop "nature-based solutions" like forest growth.

With an eye to the growing global school strike movement, there is to be 
a special track for mobilisation and youth, overseen by the Marshall 
Islands and Ireland.

Pairs or trios of countries have been invited to oversee the different 
tracks and they will be supported by specific UN agencies. Laid out in 
detail in the note are criteria that will be used to assess proposals 
from countries at a preparatory meeting in Abu Dhabi in late June. If 
they do not pass muster, the plans will not be presented at the summit.

CHN understands the UN organisers view governments of G20 countries, 
which emit roughly three quarters of global greenhouse gases, as the 
major targets for the summit.

So far, only the Marshall Islands has submitted an updated NDC. "If we 
can do it so can everyone else and so they should by UN secretary 
general's summit," a foreign affairs adviser to the tiny Pacific country 
told CHN.

Global issues need global coverage

CHN is dedicated to bringing you the best climate reporting from around 
the world. It's a huge job and we need your help.

Developing countries will not be "inspired" by the summit's limited 
focus on climate finance, said Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, an ambassador and lead 
climate negotiator for the Democratic Republic of Congo. Many poorer 
countries have made meeting their current national pledges contingent on 
the delivery of a promise of $100bn per year from the richest countries 
in the world.

Despite a track on the $100bn target, the goals of the summit don't 
represent "money in the bank", Mpanu-Mpanu said. "If I don't see the 
money, how do you want me to scale up my NDC?"

UN diplomats, led by Guterres' special envoy Luis Alfonso de Alba, are 
already criss-crossing the globe to drum up support for the summit. The 
secretary general himself is set to raise the subject in his regular 
phone calls with world leaders.

De Alba's deputy Anne-Sophie Cerisola was in Beijing on Monday. China, 
the world's largest polluter, is also in a strong position to update its 
NDC, an influential government think tank said last year.

In the EU last week, a leaders' discussion of net-zero emissions was 
reportedly forced off the table by Germany. Neither the European 
Commission nor German environment ministry responded to questions 
regarding how this will affect the bloc's alignment with the summit's 
objective.

The document is notable for its use of the IPCC's 2018 report on the 
impacts of 1.5C warming as its benchmark, not the Paris Agreement, which 
hedges its targets between 1.5C and 2C. The shift is a clear signal that 
the UN secretary general views the upper limit 2C agreed in Paris in 
2015 as unacceptably risky.

The summit will take place on 23 September at the UN headquarters in New 
York. 
https://www.climatechangenews.com/2019/03/25/leaders-told-to-bring-plans-not-speeches-to-un-climate-summit/



[ick, ick, pass the relish]
NEWS ARCHAEOLOGY - 29 MARCH 2019
*Warm weather pushed Neanderthals into cannibalism*
Butchered corpses coincide with rapid climate change, researchers 
discover. Dyani Lewis reports.
A rapid period of warming more than 120,000 years ago drove Neanderthals 
in the south of France to eat six of their own, new research suggests.

The study, by French researchers Alban Defleur and Emmanuel Desclaux and 
published in the Journal of Archaeological Science paints a bleak 
picture of life for Neanderthals living during the last interglacial period.

In the 1990s, the remains of six Neanderthals - two adults, two 
adolescents and two children - were found in a small cave at Baume 
Moula-Guercy in the Rhone valley in southern France.

The bones bear many of the hallmarks of cannibalism: cut marks made by 
stone tools, complete dismemberment of the individuals, and finger bones 
that look as if they've been gnawed by Neanderthal teeth, rather than by 
other carnivores.

Remains from other sites in Croatia, Spain and Belgium also show 
evidence of cannibalism. But in each case, there has been a lack of 
evidence to answer the question of why the Neanderthals engaged in the 
practice. Was it for nourishment or cultural ritual?

"Cannibalism is always a contentious thing, because we find it quite 
revolting," says archaeologist Michelle Langley from Griffith University 
in Australia, who was not involved in the study.

The site at Baume Moula-Guercy seems to offer some clues.

The Neanderthal remains lie within a 40-centimetre-thick layer of the 
cave floor that corresponds to the last interglacial period. During this 
time - which lasted from 128,000 to 114,000 years ago - temperatures 
were one or two degrees Celsius higher than they are today, and several 
degrees higher than the periods preceding and following it.

Sifting through animal remains encased in layers of the cave floor, 
Defleur and Desclaux have reconstructed details of the animals that 
inhabited the region before, during and after the last interglacial period.
What they found was evidence of a rapid change in climate that 
drastically altered the environment of the Rhone Valley.

Before and after the warming, remains from reindeer and woolly mammoths 
are found, accompanied by smaller mice and lemmings. During the warmer 
period when the Neanderthals lived, the area was devoid of large 
mammals, instead inhabited by rodents and tortoises and snakes that 
migrated up from the Mediterranean.

"The change of climate from the glacial period to the last interglacial 
was very abrupt," says Desclaux.

"We're not [talking] in terms of geological scale, but more a human 
scale," he says. "Maybe within a few generations, the landscape totally 
changed."

Open grasslands gave way to temperate forests and the Neanderthals, 
accustomed to hunting large prey such as bison and mammoth, apparently 
struggled with this rapid change.

Analysis of tooth enamel from the Baume Moula-Guercy remains revealed 
stress lines typical of periods of stress, such as illness or malnutrition.

It's likely, says Desclaux, that the individuals were consumed during a 
short period of time, prompted by a desperation to survive on the part 
of their devourers.

Neanderthals wouldn't have made good food as part of a regular diet, 
because they aren't as rich in calories as other animals, such as deer. 
There also were only a few hundred of the hominins inhabiting western 
Europe at the time, so hunting them would have been out of the question.

"For the first time, they have proper evidence that shows they were in 
desperate times, and they were doing what they need to do to survive," 
says Langley. "They weren't doing anything different to what modern 
humans would do in the same situation"

Episodes of modern-day cannibalism during World War II or following the 
crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in 1972 are well documented.

Nonetheless, this new evidence of what likely occurred in the Rhone 
Valley doesn't rule out cannibalism for cultural or ritualistic purposes 
by other Neanderthals, says Desclaux.

"There have been cases of cultural cannibalism, but in this particular 
case that does not seem to be the case," he says.
https://cosmosmagazine.com/archaeology/warm-weather-pushed-neanderthals-into-cannibalism


[get ready, says NOAA]
*Spring Outlook: Historic, widespread flooding to continue through May*
Above-average spring rain and snow will worsen flood conditions

Nearly two-thirds of the Lower 48 states face an elevated risk for 
flooding through May, with the potential for major or moderate flooding 
in 25 states, according to NOAA's U.S. Spring Outlook issued today. The 
majority of the country is favored to experience above-average 
precipitation this spring, increasing the flood risk.

Portions of the United States - especially in the upper Mississippi and 
Missouri River basins including Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa – have 
already experienced record flooding this year. This early flooding was 
caused by rapid snow melt combined with heavy spring rain and late 
season snowfall in areas where soil moisture is high. In some areas, ice 
jams are exacerbating the flooding. Offices across the National Weather 
Service have been working with local communities, providing 
decision-support services and special briefings to emergency managers 
and other leaders in local, state and federal government to ensure the 
highest level of readiness before the flooding began.

Additional spring rain and melting snow will prolong and expand 
flooding, especially in the central and southern U.S. As this excess 
water flows downstream through the river basins, the flood threat will 
become worse and geographically more widespread.

https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/spring-outlook-historic-widespread-flooding-to-continue-through-may


*This Day in Climate History - April 1, - from D.R. Tucker*

/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------/

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