[TheClimate.Vote] November 6, 2019 - Daily Global Warming News Digest.

[Richard Pauli]

/November 6, 2019/

[CBC report]
*Elizabeth Warren slams Twitter for a policy that bans ads from groups 
fighting climate change*

Under Twitter's new ad rules, environmental groups can't pay to
spread pro-climate policy messages.
But Exxon can pay to spread tweets claiming a widespread political
conspiracy against it, and touting its pro-climate credentials
https://twitter.com/emorwee/status/1191687399547518977

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/05/elizabeth-warren-slams-twitter-for-ban-on-ads-tied-to-climate-change.html


[WaPo]
*More than 11,000 scientists from around the world declare a 'climate 
emergency'*
Analysis outlines six major steps that 'must' be taken to address the 
situation.
By Andrew Freedman - November 5, 2019
A new report by 11,258 scientists in 153 countries from a broad range of 
disciplines warns that the planet "clearly and unequivocally faces a 
climate emergency," and provides six broad policy goals that must be met 
to address it.

The analysis is a stark departure from recent scientific assessments of 
global warming, such as those of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on 
Climate Change, in that it does not couch its conclusions in the 
language of uncertainties, and it does prescribe policies.

The study, called the "World scientists' warning of a climate 
emergency," marks the first time a large group of scientists has 
formally come out in favor of labeling climate change an "emergency," 
which the study notes is caused by many human trends that are together 
increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

The report, published Tuesday in the journal Bioscience, was spearheaded 
by the ecologists Bill Ripple and Christopher Wolf of Oregon State 
University, along with William Moomaw, a Tufts University climate 
scientist, and researchers in Australia and South Africa...
- - -
The paper bases its conclusions on a set of easy-to-understand 
indicators that show the human influence on climate, such as 40 years of 
greenhouse gas emissions, economic trends, population growth rates, per 
capita meat production, and global tree cover loss, as well as 
consequences, such as global temperature trends and ocean heat content...
Other items on the study's list of policy priorities include quickly 
cutting emissions of short-lived climate pollutants, such as soot and 
methane, which could slow short-term warming. The study also calls for a 
shift to eating mostly plant-based foods and instituting agricultural 
practices that increase the amount of carbon the soil absorbs. On the 
economy, the study states that improving long-term sustainability and 
reducing inequality should be prioritized over growing wealth, as 
measured using gross domestic product. The authors also advocate for 
policies that would curtail biodiversity loss and the destruction of 
forests, and they recommend prioritizing the preservation of intact 
forests that store carbon along with other lands that can rapidly bury 
carbon, thereby reducing global warming.

"This is a document that establishes a clear record of the broad 
consensus among most scientists active at this point in history that the 
climate crisis is real, and is a major, even existential, threat to 
human societies, human well-being, and biodiversity," said Jesse 
Bellemare, an associate professor of biology at Smith College who is a 
signatory of the study's emergency declaration.

He said via email that the presence of so many biologists and ecologists 
on the list of signatories may reflect the fact that they are observing 
so many changes from an amount of climate change much smaller than what 
is projected for the future.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/11/05/more-than-scientists-around-world-declare-climate-emergency/
- - -
[Read the report]
*World Scientists' Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice*
https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/67/12/1026/4605229?searchresult=1



[From the Atomic Scientists]
*Trump to Paris Agreement: Drop dead*
https://thebulletin.org/2019/11/trump-to-paris-agreement-drop-dead/

- - -

[Opinion from a top D candidate]
*A climate denier-in-chief sits in the White House today. But not for long*
Elizabeth Warren
The next president must rejoin the Paris agreement and show the world 
that the United States is ready to lead on the international stage again

President Trump has now fulfilled his disastrous promise to pull the 
United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement. The agreement 
represents decades of work by both Democratic and Republican 
administrations to achieve a common goal: bringing every country of the 
world together to tackle the climate crisis, the existential threat of 
our time.

President Trump surprised no one with his decision to withdraw from the 
agreement. It is yet another reckless choice in line with his steps to 
rollback our bedrock environmental laws, which have cleaned up our water 
and our air for decades. But that doesn't minimize the gravity of his 
latest move. Trump is not only ceding American leadership at a critical 
juncture in the fight against climate change, he's also giving away 
American jobs in the clean energy economy of the future - walking away 
from the greatest economic opportunity of our time.

The science is clear: the costs of climate change are even greater than 
we thought. In fact, a report released last year by Trump's own 
government found that by the end of the century climate change will cost 
the American economy hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of 
lives every year. We are already seeing the cost of inaction here at 
home - bigger wildfires in California, record flooding in the Midwest 
and stronger hurricanes from Houston to New Orleans. And the global 
costs are even greater: climate change is making already unstable 
governments even less so, fueling international conflicts, and creating 
climate refugees around the world. It's also spreading diseases into new 
parts of the world, costing more lives. With each passing year, the 
climate crisis wreaks greater havoc.

But instead of acting to protect American lives and creating good paying 
jobs, we have let Big Oil set our climate policy in Washington. These 
companies spent three decades deceiving the public about the climate 
crisis, spreading lies and misinformation through their lobbyists. With 
Donald Trump in the White House, they now have a climate denier in chief.

President Trump continues to peddle lies about the climate crisis, while 
he lets big polluters go back to poisoning our air and water. He falsely 
claims that complying with the Paris Agreement would cost Americans 
"billions of dollars and put millions of jobs at risk for no meaningful 
reduction of emissions." This couldn't be further from the truth. The 
World Bank estimates that the Paris Agreement created a $23tn investment 
opportunity over the next decade in just the top 20 developing 
countries. As these countries move toward 100% clean energy, and other 
countries of the world join them, markets for America's clean energy 
innovation will only expand.

My Green Manufacturing Plan will jumpstart clean energy development 
right here in the United States by investing $2tn to grow clean energy 
at home and abroad, while creating millions of new, good paying, union 
jobs. And my Green Marshall Plan would directly assist countries abroad 
to buy American-made clean energy products, further expanding markets 
for green manufacturing.

The next president must rejoin the Paris Agreement, but that alone is 
not enough. Instead, she must show the world that the United States is 
ready to once again lead on the international stage. The first step is 
to submit a new US commitment under Paris raising our previous target to 
achieve rapid emission reductions. I have a plan for that. Next, we must 
encourage other nations like China and India to step up in this fight 
alongside us. And climate change must be an organizing principle in 
American diplomacy. That means whether it's negotiating new trade 
agreements or addressing security threats, my administration will 
consider the impacts of climate change as we make foreign policy decisions.

The world is facing one of the biggest threats we have ever encountered. 
But Americans do not walk away from a fight. We lead. In November 2020, 
it won't just be Donald Trump on the ballot but also the chance to renew 
America's climate leadership for a safer, cleaner, more secure and more 
prosperous future.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/05/elizabeth-warren-donald-trump-climate-leadership



[Rolling Stone has a great interview here]
*Jay Inslee Isn't Going Away*
The Washington governor may be out of the 2020 race, but his ideas are 
shaping the future of climate policy
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/jay-inslee-climate-plan-influence-902461/



[Observation]
*3 Months ago Trump offered Putin help w Fires in Siberia but not Cal - 
Trump's Russia First policy*
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/11/3/1897018/-3-Months-ago-Trump-offered-Putin-help-w-Fires-in-Siberia-but-not-Cal-Trump-s-Russia-First-policy



["OK Boomer" putdown in New Zealand Parliament]
*'OK, boomer': 25-year-old lawmaker shuts down heckler during climate 
change speech*
see the video 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/world/ok-boomer-new-zealand-lawmaker-chides-older-colleague/2019/11/05/9bcb6a9c-b54e-48bd-af7a-a7efb0476992_video.html
  "OK, boomer," she said, then continued her remarks.

The glib retort -- often employed by millennials and Gen Z -- has become 
global shorthand, a withering reply to condescension from older 
generations, notably, baby boomers. The viral phrase has also been 
labeled the latest shot fired in an escalating generation war, in which 
the front lines are social media comment sections and relations have 
frayed over issues such as student loan debt and climate change.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/11/05/ok-boomer-year-old-lawmaker-shuts-down-heckler-during-climate-change-speech/



[more heat, more ticks]
*I**llness linked to tick bite kills ex-N. Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan at 66*
Oct. 28, 2019 - By Adam Edelman
Hagan died after a three-year battle with encephalitis, which had been 
caused by Powassan virus, her family said.
Former North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan died Monday at the age of 66, NBC 
News has confirmed.

Hagan, a Democrat, served one term in the Senate from 2009 to 2015 after 
defeating Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole in 2008. She lost her seat in 
her first re-election race, in 2014, to Thom Tillis. Prior to her time 
in Congress, she served a decade in the North Carolina state Senate.

In a statement to NBC News, Hagan's family said Hagan had died after a 
three-year battle with encephalitis, a brain inflammation that can be fatal.

"We are heartbroken to share that Kay left us unexpectedly this 
morning," the Hagan family said in a statement. "We are deeply grateful 
for the support shared with our family as Kay worked to regain her 
strength these last few years after her illness, and we appreciate your 
continued prayers."

Hagan had been diagnosed in 2016 with Powassan virus. That virus is 
known to cause encephalitis and is transmitted to humans by ticks. There 
is no cure for the virus.

According to the Associated Press, Hagan spent time in January 2017 at 
an Atlanta rehabilitation center after being diagnosed with the virus.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/former-north-carolina-sen-kay-hagan-dead-66-n1072891
- - -
[CDC lists way too many]
*Tickborne Diseases of the United States*
In the United States, some ticks carry pathogens that can cause human 
disease, including:

- Anaplasmosis is transmitted to humans by tick bites primarily from
the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) in the northeastern and
upper midwestern U.S. and the western blacklegged tick (Ixodes
pacificus) along the Pacific coast.
- Babesiosis is caused by microscopic parasites that infect red
blood cells. Most human cases of babesiosis in the U.S. are caused
by Babesia microti. Babesia microti is transmitted by the
blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and is found primarily in the
northeast and upper midwest.
-Borrelia mayonii infection has recently been described as a cause
of illness in the upper midwestern United States. It has been found
in blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Borrelia mayonii is a new species and is the only species besides B.
burgdorferi known to cause Lyme disease in North America.
- Borrelia miyamotoi infection has recently been described as a
cause of illness in the U.S. It is transmitted by the blacklegged
tick (Ixodes scapularis) and has a range similar to that of Lyme
disease.
- Bourbon virus infection has been identified in a limited number
patients in the Midwest and southern United States. At this time, we
do not know if the virus might be found in other areas of the United
States.
- Colorado tick fever is caused by a virus transmitted by the Rocky
Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni). It occurs in the the
Rocky Mountain states at elevations of 4,000 to 10,500 feet.
- Ehrlichiosis is transmitted to humans by the lone star tick
(Ambylomma americanum), found primarily in the southcentral and
eastern U.S.
- Heartland virus cases have been identified in the Midwestern and
southern United States. Studies suggest that Lone Star ticks can
transmit the virus. It is unknown if the virus may be found in other
areas of the U.S.
- Lyme disease is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes
scapularis) in the northeastern U.S. and upper midwestern U.S. and
the western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) along the Pacific coast.
- Powassan disease is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes
scapularis) and the groundhog tick (Ixodes cookei). Cases have been
reported primarily from northeastern states and the Great Lakes region.
- Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis is transmitted to humans by the
Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum).
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is transmitted by the American
dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), Rocky Mountain wood tick
(Dermacentor andersoni), and the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus
sangunineus) in the U.S. The brown dog tick and other tick species
are associated with RMSF in Central and South America.
- STARI (Southern tick-associated rash illness) is transmitted via
bites from the lone star tick (Ambylomma americanum), found in the
southeastern and eastern U.S.
- Tickborne relapsing fever (TBRF) is transmitted to humans through
the bite of infected soft ticks. TBRF has been reported in 15
states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana,
Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington,
and Wyoming and is associated with sleeping in rustic cabins and
vacation homes.
- Tularemia is transmitted to humans by the dog tick (Dermacentor
variabilis), the wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni), and the lone
star tick (Amblyomma americanum). Tularemia occurs throughout the U.S.
- 364D rickettsiosis (Rickettsia phillipi, proposed) is transmitted
to humans by the Pacific Coast tick (Dermacentor occidentalis
ticks). This is a new disease that has been found in California.

https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/diseases/index.html
- -
[more than you may want to know about the rate of increase]
*Trends in tickborne diseases*
2019 HHS joint webinar: Emerging Issues in Tickborne Diseases
Video Lectures:

*HHS Working Group on Lyme and Other Tickborne Diseases: Emerging
Issues in Tickborne Disease 6/13/19*
https://youtu.be/7Ln24A576Pg
--
*2016 HHS joint webinar: Trends in Tickborne Diseases*
https://youtu.be/p6ZlEcaJDrw
- -
*New & Emerging Tickborne diseases: Agents, clinical features &
surveillance*
https://youtu.be/-pWpKdl-tsA

Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National 
Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division 
of Vector-Borne Diseases (DVBD)
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/diseases/trends.html
- -
[check everywhere, get tweezers]
*Tick Removal*
Removing a tick
If you find a tick attached to your skin, there's no need to panic--the 
key is to remove the tick as soon as possible. There are several tick 
removal devices on the market, but a plain set of fine-tipped tweezers 
work very well.

*How to remove a tick*
Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's
surface as possible.
Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk the
tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the
skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you
are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it
alone and let the skin heal.
After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your
hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
Never crush a tick with your fingers. Dispose of a live tick by
putting it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag/container,
wrapping it tightly in tape, or flushing it down the toilet.
clipart - https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/images/removal-ab.jpg - style
image showing the proper removal of a tick using a pair of tweezers

*Follow-up*
If you develop a rash or fever within several weeks of removing a tick, 
see your doctor. Be sure to tell the doctor about your recent tick bite, 
when the bite occurred, and where you most likely acquired the tick.
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html

- - -

[audio presentation]
*Bonus Episode: Disease-Carrying Ticks and How to Avoid Them*
Jun 13, 2018
Ticks pose numerous threats to human health and well-being, ranging from 
the familiar Lyme threat to spotted fever rickettsiosis and even 
mammalian meat allergies. For this special bonus episode of BioScience 
Talks, we chatted with Brian Allan of the University of Illinois 
Urbana-Champaign, who works with ticks hands on and leads important 
research on the ecology of infectious disease. He discussed tick 
species, their life stages and threats to human health, and the ways 
that people can avoid exposure to ticks during their most active 
periods. He also delved into recent research into the techniques and 
tactics that land managers are using to abate tick overabundance in the 
face of expanding ranges and growing numbers of many arthropod disease 
vectors.
Read more at https://bioscienceaibs.libsyn.com/#vshkrwfxsCcybHmX.99
https://bioscienceaibs.libsyn.com/bonus-episode-disease-carrying-ticks-and-how-to-avoid-them#mKf81XQ6GVlw8UIy.03


[creative sarcasm from the New Yorker magazine]
*Hello, Earthlings, We Are Here to Destroy You*
By Bob Vulfov
Greetings, citizens of Earth.

My slimy colleagues and I come from the planet ZOR-T4, and we do not 
come in peace. We're here to decimate your civilization and plunder your 
planet's resources. Our Council of Elders conducted an exhaustive study 
of Earth, and, unfortunately, you do not meet our standards for 
acceptable planetary existence. And so we must destroy you.

The Council was displeased with humankind's rampant wars, vast 
socioeconomic inequality, and habit of saying "Pretty good!" when 
another human asks you how you're doing, even if you're not doing pretty 
good. What's up with that? Why even ask the question if you're all just 
going to lie to one another? It makes no sense.

We've learned over time that destroying a species must be a precision 
operation. You can't just zap a planet with a big laser. Well, 
technically, we could zap any planet we wanted with our big laser. But 
then we wouldn't be able to harvest that planet's valuable resources. So 
our big laser generally goes unused.

Something we've done on other planets to facilitate extinction is 
install an impulsive imbecile as the leader of a country with advanced 
military technology. On planets like yours, which are already 
predisposed to tribalistic self-destruction, putting a raging cretin 
near a large cache of weapons is often the best way to insure 
destruction. Imagine our surprise when we saw your current state of 
political leadership. It was then that we knew we'd have to take a less 
conventional approach if we wanted to destroy Earth.

Another method of planetary annihilation that has worked for us in the 
past is accelerating a planet's climate crisis. We had a whole plan laid 
out, where we'd get to use our big laser (finally!) to melt your 
glaciers and polar ice caps, causing rising sea levels and devastating 
weather events. But it turns out you've already melted most of those 
things on your own. In fact, you've done more damage than we could ever 
do ourselves. So, yet again, our prized big laser sits idle.

We then thought that we could make medical care on your planet 
prohibitively expensive by hoarding all of your medicine and 
artificially raising the costs of basic prescription drugs. This would 
cause a majority of your civilization to die out. But you beat us to 
that, too. You folks should really consider destroying other planets, 
given what a good job you've done destroying your own.

There has to be something you haven't done to Earth yet. Maybe we could 
disrupt your food chain by wiping out most of your wildlife. You know, 
to collapse your complex network of ecosystems that have been billions 
of years in the making? Oh, you've already eradicated most life on Earth 
without our help? Right.

Wait, I know! This one's really diabolical. A few planets ago, we 
introduced artificial-intelligence technology and got the planet's 
inhabitants dependent on machines to do all of their work. The machines 
then gained sentience and destroyed every living thing in their wake. 
Wait, what are those shiny rectangles you're all holding? They track 
everything about you, and you can't exist without them? No!
Why won't you just let us destroy you? Is this some sort of advanced 
defensive tactic whereby you bring yourselves within an inch of complete 
destruction in order to dissuade us and then, as soon as we're gone, 
you'll quickly fix your planet? That can't be it, since you don't seem 
to be taking any preparatory steps to reverse the damage you've done. 
What kind of game are you playing, humans?

You know what? I'm starting to think that Earth doesn't have that many 
resources left for us to plunder, anyway. What a waste of time this all 
was. Pack up the big laser, gang. Let's go find a planet that can still 
be destroyed.
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/hello-earthlings-we-are-here-to-destroy-you


*This Day in Climate History - November 6, - from D.R. Tucker*

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