[TheClimate.Vote] January 30, 2019 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

[Richard Pauli]

/January 30, 2019/

[BBC understands the Arctic Vortex]
*US shivers in 'once-in-a-generation' polar vortex*
Deadly cold weather has brought what meteorologists call a 
"once-in-a-generation" deep freeze to the US.
The extreme Arctic blasts, caused by a spinning pool of cold air known 
as the polar vortex, could bring wind chill temperatures as low as -53C 
(-64F)...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47047089


[Six months?  That means in July-August heatwaves, a serious moratorium 
more likely]
*King County Council approves 6-month moratorium on major fossil-fuel 
facilities*
The King County Council on Monday approved a six-month moratorium on 
building or expanding major fossil-fuel infrastructure, joining other 
local governments in the Northwest with similar measures that aim to use 
local zoning laws to restrict fossil-fuel pipelines, storage facilities 
and other infrastructure.

The ordinance, introduced by Councilmember Dave Upthegrove, disallows 
permitting for fossil-fuel projects in unincorporated King County. It 
also directs the county executive's office to produce a survey of 
existing facilities, study those facilities' impacts on communities, 
analyze the existing regulations that apply to them, recommend changes 
to regulations and permitting, and evaluate county-owned facilities for 
health impacts. The ordinance also declares a state of emergency.

"Reducing the pollution that causes climate change is quite possibly the 
greatest moral imperative facing my generation," said Upthegrove. "Our 
action makes it clear, here in King County, our future is not fossil 
fuels but a clean-energy future."

The moratorium is fairly limited. The ordinance does not apply to gas 
stations or other fossil-fuel products sold directly to consumers. It 
does not disallow existing infrastructure or directly address rail lines 
or pipelines, which are regulated by the federal government. It excludes 
fuel storage for airports, marine servicing facilities and railyards...
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/king-county-council-approves-6-month-moratorium-on-major-fossil-fuel-facilities/
- - -
[television coverage video]
*King County Council passes 6-month moratorium on fossil fuel facilities*
https://www.king5.com/video/tech/science/environment/king-county-council-passes-6-month-moratorium-on-fossil-fuel-facilities/281-24acb0c6-a0fd-4a75-94b0-5d13a8b1eb3b?jwsource=cl


[go figure]
*Americans are worried about climate change -- but don't want to pay 
much to fix it*
The rhetoric around climate change is shifting, but it's not leading to 
action.
https://www.vox.com/2019/1/28/18197262/climate-change-poll-public-opinion-carbon-tax


[Sierra Club points of Optimism]
*10 Reasons to Feel Hopeful About Climate Change in 2019*
Humanity's on the brink, but signs are emerging that we'll pull back
BY WENDY BECKTOLD | JAN 10 2019
In 2018, hurricanes, floods, fires, and droughts wreaked a level of 
destruction on the planet that, according to scientists, is just a taste 
of what is to come. In October, the International Panel on Climate 
Change issued a report stating that we have about 12 years to avoid 
catastrophic climate change. Meanwhile, global greenhouse gas emissions 
reached a record high in 2018. So is it still reasonable to hope that we 
can wean ourselves off fossil fuels in time to avert global calamity?

As David Roberts of Vox points out, that's the wrong question. Climate 
change is happening now, and lots of change for the worse is already 
locked into place. But, as Roberts puts it, "we have some choice in how 
screwed we are." Climate change isn't a binary--safe or unsafe, screwed 
or not screwed--but rather a spectrum. That will remain true no matter 
how we respond to the task of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, or how 
severe the weather gets. "Yes, it's going to get worse," Roberts writes, 
"but nobody gets to give up hope or stop fighting." Exactly right. Here, 
then, are 10 glimmers of hope that humanity will opt for less screwed 
over more screwed in 2019.   [titles listed ]:

    *1. The Divestment Movement Keeps Growing...**
    **2. The Paris Agreement Holds Steady...**
    **3. The Rule of Law Still Rules...**
    **4. Renewable Energy Is on the Rise...**
    **5. Coal Is Going, Going... **
    **6. Technology Is Advancing...**
    **7. Transportation Is Headed in the Right Direction ...**
    **8. The Scales of Justice Are Tipping ...**
    **9. The Political Winds Are Shifting...**
    **10. Youths Are on the March..*.

more at- 
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/10-reasons-feel-hopeful-about-climate-change-2019


[a little science]
*Climate change reshaping how heat moves around globe*
Shifts in ocean, atmosphere heat transfer important to watch, 
researchers say
Date: January 28, 2019
Source: Ohio State University
Summary:
The Earth's atmosphere and oceans play important roles in moving heat 
from one part of the world to another, and new research is illuminating 
how those patterns are changing in the face of climate change...
- - -
Without heat transfer, the world's hottest spots would be sizzling and 
the coolest spots would be even more frigid. Conditions in both hot and 
cold climates are affected by the movement of heat from the equator 
toward the poles in the atmosphere and oceans, He said.

As scientists look for a better understanding of all the factors 
contributing to climate change -- and for ways to ameliorate the problem 
-- these heat-transfer patterns are important to watch, He said.

This is the first study to examine current changes in heat transfer and 
to conclude that warming temperatures are driving increased heat 
transfer in the atmosphere, which is compensated by a reduced heat 
transfer in the ocean. Additionally, the researchers concluded that the 
excess oceanic heat is trapped in the Southern Ocean around the Antarctic...
- -
"For instance, if we didn't have heat transfer, Ohio would be 20 or 30 
degrees colder than we are right now," Liu said. "Therefore, it is 
important to predict how the heat transfer will be changed in the future."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190128125334.htm


["nothing personal, just business"]
*Ocasio-Cortez dings Facebook, Microsoft, Google for 'implicit' support 
of climate change denial*
Facebook, Microsoft and Google were "high-level" sponsors of the 
LibertyCon conference in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.
The conference was also sponsored by a group that denies climate change 
and talks about the supposed benefits of CO2 emissions.
Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Chellie 
Pingree of Maine are asking Facebook, Microsoft and Google to reaffirm 
their commitment to a "more sustainable future."
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/28/ocasio-cortez-dings-tech-for-implicit-support-of-climate-change-denial.html


[activism: Extinction Rebellion report]
*Climate Change = Mass Murder. Rebel for Life*
Extinction Rebellion Protest and DIE-IN, NYC January 26, 2018
by  Susan Spieler, PsyD

Note from Kathie MM: It is still January 2019, the month of resolutions, 
and we should continue to celebrate all the New Year's resolutions made 
by people working to make the environment great again-thereby trying to 
ensure a future for life on earth.  There will be no peace and social 
justice without an enduring environment and no enduring environment 
without worldwide citizen activism. Susan Spieler shares a great example 
of a movement whose time had come decades ago. Join the Extinction 
Rebellion!  And Join Engaging Peace.

When people feel endangered, disputes intensify.  When food and water 
are increasingly scarce due to wildfires and droughts, people become 
desperate and violence increases. Passivity regarding environmental 
issues is giving way to climate activism.  Of particular interest to 
proponents of peace and social justice is a new non-violent activist 
movement called Extinction Rebellion (XR) that seeks media attention by 
organizing highly visible and well-orhestrated events.

This movement made its first appearance in London where the ER provoked 
arrests by stopping traffic on the London Bridge. And, on Saturday 
January 26, 2019, the first US XR event of the year began in NYC in 
front of the Plaza Hotel and was followed by a march along Fifth Avenue 
with brass band parade music.

I was there.
https://engagingpeace.com/?p=14316


[dire prognostications]
*The End of Ice & the Destruction of our Planet (w/ Dahl Jamail)*
Thom Hartmann Program
Published on Jan 21, 2019
Our Conversations with Great Minds series re-launches with a fascinating 
discussion with author Dahl Jamail, author of "The End of Ice".

The world is melting; oceans are rising, yet most ignore the perils 
ahead. Thom and Dahl's conversation covers the state of the Great 
Barrier Reef in Australia, melting glaciers which could drown the planet 
and whether it is too late to reverse climate change. Has humanity 
destroyed itself?
Books mentioned:
The End of Ice (Dahr Jamail) https://amzn.to/2DogCMH
Threshold (Thom Hartmann) http://amzn.to/2hwoGSt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjOA8qR0-AA&t=3s


[we suffer from solution aversion]
*Many Americans think that climate-change deniers 'get what they 
deserve' when disasters strike*
- -
Shot through with schadenfreude
More than a third of people who believe that climate change is primarily 
caused by humans agree at least somewhat with the idea that natural 
disaster victims who do not accept climate science get what they deserve 
when they're hit by climate-caused disasters. The overwhelming majority 
(68 percent) of these people were Democrats, although some Republicans 
(22 percent) and independents (10 percent) held these feelings as well.

Further, we find evidence consistent with the idea that this 
schadenfreude is fueled by partisan teamsmanship.

The biggest politically motivated predictor of thinking that climate 
deniers deserve to be hit by natural disasters was whether someone 
identifies as an ideological liberal. In fact, among Democrats, 
identifying as a liberal is associated with approximately a 38 percent 
greater likelihood of believing that climate-change deniers get what 
they deserve if their region is devastated by a hurricane.
- - -
It's not enough to win; the other side must suffer

Our findings reveal just how deeply Americans have come to dislike 
members of the other political team: deeply enough to believe that 
others should suffer physical harm as suitable retribution for holding 
differing opinions about contentious issues.

Whatever the cause of this animosity, it's unlikely to be useful in 
political debate. Previous research suggests that people are more 
receptive to changing their minds about climate and other 
science-related issues when others make an effort to recognize and 
validate their values and concerns. Wishing ill on opponents is unlikely 
to persuade them to change their minds.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2019/01/24/many-americans-think-that-climate-change-deniers-get-what-they-deserve-when-disasters-strike/?utm_term=.2a1b8540c414


[Not surprising]
DAILY NEWS  25 January 2019
*Carbon dioxide levels will soar past the 410 ppm milestone in 2019*
- -
Clear trend
While the long term trend is remorselessly clear, the annual rise varies 
greatly from year to year depending on how the weather affects the 
balance between plants taking up CO2 as they grow and releasing it as 
they decay or burn. During El Nino years, for instance, there can be 
extensive droughts and wildfires, leading to big jumps in CO2 levels.

The biggest ever annual rise, of 3.4 ppm, occurred in 2016 during a 
strong El Nino. The forecast rise of 2.8 would also be one of the 
largest rises on record.
CO2 concentrations at any one place also vary over the year, peaking at 
the end of the winter and falling as plants grow in summer. Betts' 
forecast is for the monthly average at Mauna Loa in Hawaii to peak at 
415 ppm in May and drop back to 408 ppm in September before rising even 
higher in 2020.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2191881-carbon-dioxide-levels-will-soar-past-the-410-ppm-milestone-in-2019/


[China Earth Sciences]
December 2018, Volume 61, Issue 12, pp 1714-1727 | Cite as
*Climate tipping-point potential and paradoxical production of methane 
in a changing ocean*
Abstract
The global warming potential of methane (CH4) is about 30 times stronger 
than that of carbon dioxide (CO2) over a century timescale. Methane 
emission is hypothesized to have contributed to global climate change 
events and mass extinctions during Earth's history. Therefore, the study 
of CH4 production processes is critically important to the understanding 
of global climate change. It has been a dogma that biogenic CH4 
detectable in the oceans originates exclusively from the anaerobic 
metabolic activity of methanogenic archaea in hypoxic and anoxic 
environments, despite reports that many oxic surface and near-surface 
waters of the world's oceans are CH4-supersaturated, thereby rendering 
net sea-to-air emissions of CH4. The phenomenon of CH4 production in 
oxic marine waters is referred to as the "ocean methane paradox". 
Although still not totally resolved, recent studies have generated 
several hypotheses regarding the sources of CH4 production in oxic 
seawater. This review will summarize our current understanding of the 
importance of CH4 in the global climate and analyze the biological 
processes and their underpinning mechanisms that lead to the production 
of CH4 in oxic seawater environments. We will also tentatively explore 
the relationships of these microbial metabolic processes with global 
changes in climate and environment.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11430-017-9265-y


[more ice core science]
*Antarctic-wide array of high-resolution ice core records reveals 
pervasive lead pollution began in 1889 and persists today*
Scientific Reports volume 4, Article number: 5848 (2014)
*Abstract*

    Interior Antarctica is among the most remote places on Earth and was
    thought to be beyond the reach of human impacts when Amundsen and
    Scott raced to the South Pole in 1911. Here we show detailed
    measurements from an extensive array of 16 ice cores quantifying
    substantial toxic heavy metal lead pollution at South Pole and
    throughout Antarctica by 1889 - beating polar explorers by more than
    22 years. Unlike the Arctic where lead pollution peaked in the
    1970s, lead pollution in Antarctica was as high in the early 20th
    century as at any time since industrialization. The similar timing
    and magnitude of changes in lead deposition across Antarctica, as
    well as the characteristic isotopic signature of Broken Hill lead
    found throughout the continent, suggest that this single emission
    source in southern Australia was responsible for the introduction of
    lead pollution into Antarctica at the end of the 19th century and
    remains a significant source today. An estimated 660 t of industrial
    lead have been deposited over Antarctica during the past 130 years
    as a result of mid-latitude industrial emissions, with
    regional-to-global scale circulation likely modulating aerosol
    concentrations. Despite abatement efforts, significant lead
    pollution in Antarctica persists into the 21st century.

https://www.nature.com/articles/srep05848


[psychological resilience]
*CONSCIENTIOUS PROTECTORS*
Written by Lise Van Susteren     Published: 20 January 2019
As an increasing number of activists are prepared to risk arrest in 
order to defend the Earth against fossil fuel capitalism. What role 
might climate psychology play in their defence?

*The Duress or Necessity Defence*
Activists threatened with prosecution are making increasing use of the 
"Duress Defense" (by Circumstance) in the UK and the "Necessity Defense" 
in the U.S. Is there a role for mental health professionals to play?

*The 'valve turners': Activists faced jail time to briefly stop the flow 
of ...*
As fear mounts and the consequences of harmful actions against human 
life and nature from dangerous policies and actions becomes ever more 
apparent, outrage at expanding, unchecked threats that increase our 
peril can be expected to rise as well. In the effort to protect society, 
and seeing it as the lesser of two evils, a growing number of 
individuals will be willing to break the law - risking arrest and even 
incarceration. Like the Conscientious Objectors, from whom they get 
their name, these Conscientious Protectors, will be acting on deeply 
held principle: at this time of accelerating danger to the planet they 
have no choice: either they take action to protect life, or by their 
inaction they will be complicit in its destruction.

*The Legal Case for the Defence*
The legal profession is the first line of defense for Conscientious 
Protectors - offering an increasingly used option:
in the UK Conscientious Protectors may plead the "Duress by 
Circumstance" defense.
In the US Conscientious Protectors may plead the "Necessity Defense".

The criteria needed to mount the defense revolve around key concepts: 
the danger is objective, the threat to bodily or other harm is serious, 
the response was proportional, and the act was one a reasonable person 
could be expected to take.

For details:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duress_in_English_law
https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Necessity+defense

In the US the defense is grounded in both common law (based on 
precedent) and in many jurisdictions by statutory law (the policy is 
spelled out). No statutory Federal law exists....
- -
more at -- 
https://www.climatepsychologyalliance.org/explorations/papers/313-conscientious-protectors

*This Day in Climate History - January 30, 1976 - from D.R. Tucker*
January 30, 1976: The US Supreme Court issues the Buckley v. Valeo 
ruling, one of several controversial rulings that effectively allow 
polluters to interfere with the US political process.
http://www.fec.gov/law/litigation/Buckley.pdf
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