[TheClimate.Vote] November 13, 2019 - Daily Global Warming News Digest.

Wed Nov 13 09:06:56 EST 2019

/November 13, 2019/

["Go Boomers, Go Billionaires"]
*How should billionaires spend their money to fight climate change? I 
asked 9 experts.*
Is it better to invest in developing clean energy technologies, say, or 
in trying to get a Democrat elected president?
- -
According to the Open Philanthropy Project, "overall American 
philanthropic funding for climate change activities appears to be on the 
order of several hundred million dollars per year."...
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/11/12/20910176/billionaire-philanthropy-charity-climate-change

[video from Peter Sinclair - classic explanation]
*Record warmth in Alaska. Freezing in the lower 48. What's up?*
I've got a vid for that.
https://youtu.be/Pe9SbC1D-sk
https://twitter.com/PeterWSinclair/status/1194064872969035781

[the regular becomes more irregular]
*Venice floods: Climate change behind highest tide in 50 years, says mayor*
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50401308

[Where there's smoke,]
*NSW public servants at climate conference told not to discuss link with 
bushfires*
Exclusive: email from government directs attendees at conference on 
climate adaptation to stay quiet on bushfire-climate link
As bushfire conditions were declared "catastrophic" on Tuesday, New 
South Wales bureaucrats attending a conference on adaption to climate 
change were directed not discuss the link between climate change and 
bushfires.

Bureaucrats from the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and 
Environment were sent an email soon after the AdaptNSW 2019 Forum began, 
causing consternation among some attendees who saw it as tantamount to 
gagging them...
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/13/nsw-public-servants-at-climate-conference-told-not-to-discuss-link-with-bushfires
- - -
[Meanwhile flames]
*NSW and Qld fires updates: water-bombing helicopter crash-lands at 
bushfires west of Brisbane - live*
Catastrophic fire conditions in New South Wales ease, but dozens of 
Australian bushfires remain burning. In Queensland, 70 fires are 
burning, with strong winds and temperatures in mid-30s forecast to make 
for hazardous conditions on Australia's east coast
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2019/nov/13/nsw-fires-qld-bushfires-queensland-australia-new-south-wales-rural-fire-live-news-latest-updates-queensland
- - -
[igniting political fires too]
*Australia's bush fires could last for months, with new rounds of dire 
conditions expected*
More than a dozen emergency warnings were issued Tuesday; political 
debate on climate change erupts down under...
- - -
On Tuesday, Sen. Jordon Steele-John, of the Green Party, blamed the 
major political parties, including Morrison, for not doing enough to 
reduce emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases. Australia is a 
leading producer of coal and has one of the highest carbon emissions per 
capita of any nation in the world.

"You are no better than a bunch of arsonists -- borderline arsonists, 
and you should be ashamed," Steele-John said, according to the Sydney 
Morning Herald. "Your selfishness and your ignorance have known no 
bounds for decades, and now our communities are paying the price."

In response, Morrison called for toning down the rhetoric as the fires 
continue to burn, enshrouding areas from Sydney northward, nearly to 
Brisbane and southeast to New Zealand. He called for the focus to be on 
the operational task of putting the fires out before discussing climate 
change.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/11/12/australias-bush-fires-could-last-months-with-new-rounds-dire-conditions-expected/

[Ethics and Climate]
*If some of the ethical and justice issues raised by climate change are 
so obvious that even monkeys would get them, why doesn't the media, 
NGOs, and citizens spot these ethical issues in climate change policy 
formation controversies?*
The ethical issues raised by arguments raised against climate change 
policies often raise obvious ethical problems such as the claim that a 
country such as the United States need not adopt policies if they will 
impose unacceptable costs on the nation or an industry discussed in this 
video. There are, however, many other examples of strong ethical 
problems with arguments made against proposed climate change policies 
that are not discussed in this video that are discussed on this website, 
ethicsandclimate.org. See the "index and start here" tab above on this 
website for other topics.
Donald A. Brown
https://ethicsandclimate.org/2019/11/11/if-some-of-the-ethical-and-justice-issues-raised-by-climate-change-are-so-obvious-that-even-monkeys-would-get-them-why-dont-the-media-ngos-and-citizens-spot-these-ethical-issues-raised-by-argumen/
https://youtu.be/jTlYcDaoasc

[Book review]
*The Big Thaw*
ANCIENT CARBON, MODERN SCIENCE, AND A RACE TO SAVE THE WORLD
by Eric Scigliano
Chris Linder, photographer
KIRKUS REVIEW
An intrepid band of scientists chases after carbon lurking beneath 
Arctic permafrost that threatens to destroy the world.
Teaming up with experts from the Woods Hole Research Center, science 
writer Scigliano (Seeing the Elephant, 2006, etc.) and photographer 
Linder (Science on Ice, 2011, etc.) tell the bleak true story of Arctic 
regions whose permafrost has trapped deadly carbon. ("Permafrost soils 
are rich in carbon--the legacy of the grasslands, peatlands, and forests 
of past epochs, protected by freezing from microbial breakdown.") Now, 
with Earth's temperature rising, these greenhouse emissions threaten to 
unleash untold devastation on the planet: "As it thaws, the Arctic's 
permafrost has the potential to upend the lives of people living in 
seaside condos in Miami, in exurban dream houses overlooking scenic 
wildlands in California...and in flimsy houses perched precariously on 
slippery hillsides in Haiti and on the floodplains of Bangladesh." But 
far from being a despairing portrayal, this work celebrates some 
undergraduate researchers, directed by a group of experienced and 
knowledgeable scientists from Woods Hole, as they travel to Arctic 
regions studying this potential catastrophe with an enthusiasm and 
engagement that prove courageous and inspirational. Here, in the Arctic 
taiga (forests) and tundra, these researchers are depicted in their 
daily investigative pursuits in Scigliano's text--written with 
scientists/debut authors Holmes, Natali, and Schade--and Linder's color 
photographs. The young team members display such a passion and joy in 
their love of science and the exacting and repetitive work of gathering 
important information that they will capture readers' hearts and minds 
through the many beautifully shot images and lucid prose that support 
this illuminating venture. Enhanced by sidebars that skillfully detail 
the lives and backgrounds of the young band and their mentors from Woods 
Hole, this volume is a tribute to the years of amassing compelling 
research into this problem that threatens to release more greenhouse 
emissions than humans will know what to do with. The book demonstrates 
the demanding activity of collecting data that is an antidote to the 
depression and helplessness many feel in the face of climate change. In 
its splendid design, well-written text, and revealing photos of the 
Arctic world and those who probe the impact of thawing permafrost on the 
climate, this book perfectly captures this critical issue and those who 
are meeting the challenge.
This wondrous and timely work--featuring stunning photos--explores a 
crucial environmental problem that endangers the planet.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/eric-scigliano/the-big-thaw-ancient-carbon-modern-science-and-a-r/

*This Day in Climate History - November 13, 2005 - from D.R. Tucker*
Fox News Channel airs "The Heat is On: The Case of Global Warming," a 
special that reportedly (and surprisingly, considering Fox's track 
record) does not feature any climate-change deniers. After 
fossil-fuel-industry front groups attack Fox for not including their 
viewpoint, Fox runs a special several months later featuring the views 
of climate-change deniers.
https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2012/10/24/timeline-fox-news-role-in-the-climate-of-doubt/190906 

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