[TheClimate.Vote] May 16, 2019 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

[Richard Pauli]

/May 16, 2019/


[NRDC blocks toxic infrastructure]
*New York State Blocks Williams Pipeline*
May 15, 2019 - Rob Friedman
New York State has denied water quality certification for the Williams 
Pipeline, also known as the Northeast Supply Enhancement Project, or 
NESE.  The Williams pipeline would have transported fracked gas from 
Pennsylvania, through New Jersey, crossing under New York Harbor and the 
Atlantic Ocean, finally terminating in the Rockaways in New York City. 
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) denied 
the key permit for the project citing its dangerous impacts to New 
York's waterways, but this fight is far from being over.
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/rob-friedman/new-york-state-blocks-williams-pipeline
- - -
[press release]
For Release: Wednesday, May 15, 2019
*DEC Statement on Water Quality Certification for Proposed Northeast 
Supply Enhancement Pipeline Project*
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today 
announced the agency's denial, without prejudice, of the required Clean 
Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification for the proposed 
Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline project. The full decision 
is outlined in a letter (PDF) by Daniel Whitehead, Director, Division of 
Environmental Permits, DEC.

As currently conceived in the application, construction of the NESE 
pipeline project is projected to result in water quality violations and 
fails to meet New York State's rigorous water quality standards. 
Specifically, construction of the proposed project would result in 
significant water quality impacts from the re-suspension of sediments 
and other contaminants, including mercury and copper. In addition, the 
proposed project would cause impacts to habitats due to the disturbance 
of shellfish beds and other benthic resources.

DEC conducted a comprehensive review of the NESE application and 
supporting materials, as well as the more than 14,000 public comments 
received on the project, before reaching this decision. DEC subjects all 
applications for environmental permits to an extensive and transparent 
review process that encourages public input at every step‎.
https://www.dec.ny.gov/press/117017.html


[Politics Biden - AOC]*
**Tell her to 'look at my record': Biden responds to Ocasio-Cortez's 
criticism on climate*
Former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday pushed back against criticism 
from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez following a report that he planned to 
seek a "middle ground" solution to climate change.

"No middle ground," Ocasio-Cortez, 29, said at an event promoting the 
Green New Deal in Washington on Monday. The freshman Democrat from New 
York was addressing "conservatives on both sides of the aisle" who say 
her climate change proposal is too extreme or radical. And the youngest 
woman ever elected to Congress bemoaned the inaction of lawmakers who 
were warned 30 years ago about the potential impacts of global warming.

"I will be damned if the same politicians who refused to act then are 
going to try to come back today and say, 'We need a middle-of-the-road 
approach to save our lives," she said.

On Friday, Reuters published a report that said Biden was working on a 
plan to address climate change that "will appeal to both 
environmentalists and the blue-collar voters who elected Donald Trump."...
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2019/05/14/joe-biden-answers-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-climate-change-criticism/3665930002/



[Widely seen, brief video]
*"You idiots": Bill Nye unloads on climate change deniers*
Scientists lets fly with some choice profanity, critiques
By Reis Thibault | Washington Post
Bill Nye frolicked in a ball pit to explain how the planet's populations 
compete for resources. He took a chain saw to a loaf of bread, comparing 
it to Earth's crust, and he was nearly blown away in a wind tunnel while 
shouting "science!"

But he's talking about global warming now - and he's in no mood to mess 
around.

"By the end of this century, if emissions keep rising, the average 
temperature on Earth could go up another four to eight degrees," Nye 
said, appearing on a segment of HBO's "Last Week Tonight with John 
Oliver" on Sunday.

The famously zany scientist and host of the PBS series "Bill Nye the 
Science Guy" then aimed a blowtorch at a globe to illustrate his 
argument: "What I'm saying is, the planet's on fire," Nye said, 
punctuating his point with some R-rated profanity.
Gone was the Nye of the '90s, the man whose show was a middle school 
substitute teacher's secret weapon. This was the Science Guy, circa 
2019, delivering a sermon squared directly at the legions of Gen Xers 
and Millennials who were weaned on Nye's brand of wacky pedagogy.
And he had a message for his erstwhile pupils, especially those who 
eventually became members of Congress.

"Grow up," he said, injecting some more language that wouldn't fly in 
public broadcasting. "You're not children anymore. I didn't mind 
explaining photosynthesis to you when you were 12. But you're adults 
now, and this is an actual crisis, got it?"

Nye took to Oliver's show to teach his audience about global warming and 
its possible solutions - namely, the Green New Deal and carbon pricing 
(in his words, "when something costs more, people buy less of it. Safety 
glasses off. That's it.").

Nye appeared to endorse Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's, D-N.Y., 
trademark legislation, telling lawmakers they needed to do something and 
chiding those who have said the proposal is too expensive. As he spoke 
into the camera, the globe continued to burn.

"There are a lot of things we could do to put it out," he said. "Are any 
of them free? No, of course not. Nothing's free, you idiots."

His harsh tone surprised some - one viewer wrote on Twitter that he 
"just heard Bill Nye swear and it's blowing my mind." Another observed, 
"Global warming is so bad that it now has Bill Nye the Science Guy 
cursing us out to fix it."

Even Oliver, as his show ended, gasped, "I think we've all broken Bill Nye."

But for Nye, the man whom The Washnigton Post once dubbed "half mad 
professor, half Mr. Rogers," the role of climate crusader is not a new 
one. In recent years, he has talked with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., 
about the dangers of man-made climate change and has debated Fox News' 
Tucker Carlson, who questioned whether those dangers really exist.

In April 2017, he took the stage at the March for Science in Washington 
and declared that "science is for all," the best antidote to 
anti-vaxxers and climate deniers alike.

"Our lawmakers must know that science serves every one of us," he said 
then. "Every citizen of every nation in society. Science must shape 
policy. Science is universal. Science brings out the best in us. With an 
informed, optimistic view of the future, together we can - dare I say it 
- save the world!"

That month, he also debuted a new TV series with an equally urgent 
title: "Bill Nye Saves the World." And judging by his turn on Oliver's 
show, he's willing to go to great lengths to get his message out - even 
if it takes some fire and fury...
video -https://twitter.com/i/status/1127868266217500683
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/05/13/you-idiots-bill-nye-unloads-on-climate-change-deniers/



[The Guardian knows]
*'It has to be dealt with': what's the future for midwest towns affected 
by climate change?*
Chris McGreal in Iowa - Wed 15 May 2019
- - -
Larry Turner doesn't expect to be back.
"We're going to lose our town," he said as he hosed down what little he 
was able to rescue from his 95-year-old mother's house after weeks 
underwater in the small Iowa community of Pacific Junction. "I've been 
here 68 years and this is the worst I've ever seen. Every home got 
destroyed."

Pacific Junction's 470 residents were forced to flee in mid-March after 
a surge of water hit the Missouri river and busted through levees the 
length of Iowa to create the region's biggest floods in living memory. 
The breach that wrecked the town occurred a few miles to the north. 
Within hours, surrounding farmland disappeared under an inland sea and 
Pacific Junction was drowned by 15 feet of water.

It was a month before most residents could get back into their homes and 
no one has returned permanently because their houses are uninhabitable. 
Pacific Junction's streets are still piled high with remnants of 
furniture, washing machines and toys.

Officials went through the town tagging which homes might be salvaged 
and which are doomed. Some residents have marked houses "For sale. As 
is" but it is difficult to imagine who would buy.
- -
"I haven't heard anybody disagree that there are climate changes 
happening. The source of the climate change may be in debate for some. 
For many of us it's not. But it still has to be dealt with. Even very 
conservative areas realize they're struggling with many, many climate 
issues they're going to have to deal with. When the problem is so clear, 
it's easier to get everybody in the same room pushing in the same 
direction."
- - -
For now though, the immediate struggle in Pacific Junction is to see 
whether the town even has a future. The mayor said it can come back.

"A lot of these families have been down here between 40 and 80 years. 
I'm fourth generation. My daughter is a fifth. There is nothing that was 
untouched. It's completely gutted. But we'll start over again," he said.

Turner is doubtful.
"I'd say we'd be lucky to get 25% back. I don't think it'll be a town 
anymore," he said.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/15/it-has-to-be-dealt-with-what-is-the-future-for-midwest-towns-affected-by-climate-change 



[Air Pollution May 30 Webinar]
*The Role of Green Infrastructure in Air Pollution Abatement *
The third webinar series on the "Air Pollution Mitigation Using Passive 
Techniques in the Built Environment: Sharing International Best 
Practice" will be presented at 11 a.m. EDT/ 8 a.m. PDT on May 30. The 
webinar is on "The Role of Green Infrastructure in Air Pollution Abatement."
Richard Baldauf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is 
chairing the webinar and will give a presentation on Exploring Green 
Infrastructure Air Quality Impacts as Part of Sustainable Urban Design
Dr. Sara Janhall of RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Sweden, will 
present on Deposition and Dispersion - Interaction between Vegetation 
and Particle Air Pollution
Dr. David Nowak, USDA Forest Service, will present on The Role of Urban 
Trees in Mitigating Air Pollution

EPA is participating in the international webinar series, which aims to 
bring together experts to collaborate in a community forum on best 
practices around passive mitigation of air pollution in the built 
environment. Experts are providing their unique experiences for 
gathering evidence on passive techniques to mitigate air pollution, such 
as green infrastructures, solid barriers and urban design.

The series has attracted over 750 registrants from more than 55 
countries, which reflects the international community participating in 
the webinars.
https://www.tcd.ie/civileng/air-pollution-webinar-series/programme-details/


*This Day in Climate History - May 16, 2013 - from D.R. Tucker*
On CNN, SkepticalScience.com's John Cook discusses the scientific 
community's verdict on climate change.
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2013/05/16/intv-global-warming-study-cook.cnn.html
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