[TheClimate.Vote] October 4, 2019 - Daily Global Warming News Digest.

[Richard Pauli]

/October 4, 2019/

[Desmond Tutu's opinion]
*Climate change is the apartheid of our times*
Boycotts, sanctions and divestment proved effective in South Africa, but 
that required a mindset shift
by DESMOND TUTU
Corporations, financial institutions and socially conscious citizens 
must pull us back from the climate change abyss. They have the muscle to 
make renewables mainstream and reposition fossil fuels as the tobacco of 
the energy industry.
[--- issue related video 
https://next-media-api.ft.com/renditions/15688350393280/1280x720.mp4 ]
At last week's UN general assembly, more than 60 world leaders announced 
new climate targets, with 66 countries pledging to reach "net zero" 
carbon emissions by the middle of the century. But the US, Japan, 
Australia, Saudi Arabia and Brazil were not among them.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres is counting on the leadership of 
young activists to pressure governments to do more to address what he 
rightly calls the "climate emergency". We agree that forward-thinking 
young people are the change agents for tomorrow. But corporations and 
financial institutions must act today. They should join the more than 
1,100 institutions with $11tn in assets who have announced that they are 
divesting.

The campaign to divest from fossil fuel has two legs: participants agree 
to divest from fossil fuel and invest in renewable energy. Many have 
divested (and many more must still do so) but relatively few have 
reinvested in renewables. This second step is critical to make clean 
energy more affordable, push us to the tipping point and lead to the 
outlawing of fossil fuel use.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, one of our most important levers in 
overcoming apartheid was the support of global corporations that heeded 
the call to divest. Apartheid became a global enemy; now it is climate 
change's turn.

Yet energy companies are continuing to explore for new fossil fuel 
reserves that environmental scientists say we will never be able to use. 
By the time those reserves are tapped, global temperatures will have 
risen so high that the world as we know it will have ceased to exist. 
July was not only the hottest month on record globally but also the 
415th consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th century 
average. If not checked now, climate change will wreck all progress 
people have made in their understanding of the values of equality, 
shared responsibility, human rights and justice since the second world 
war and lay to waste the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

Former UN chief Ban Ki-moon's blunt warning that we can "delay and pay" 
for climate change or "plan and prosper" is a clarion call to action, 
but will those holding the reins of economic power have heard him? The 
rich and powerful must be persuaded to pay. They have caused most of the 
mess we are in. Their obligations are not legal; they are based in 
ethics and human values.

Sadly, the leaders of some of the largest contributors to climate change 
show little interest in human rights and justice. The prospect of what 
some are terming climate apartheid, in which the rich pay to protect 
themselves from the worst impacts while the poor take the full hit is 
becoming depressingly real.

Companies must step into the gap. The financial sector, in particular, 
must reinvent itself by gravitating to sustainable investments in both 
developed and developing markets. If they don't want to do it 
voluntarily, activists must insist that they do it.

Boycotts, sanctions and divestment ultimately proved effective in South 
Africa because the underlying cause had a critical mass of support, both 
inside and outside the country. That required a mindset shift. This 
time, the whole world must recognise that attempting to perpetuate the 
status quo is to damn future generations to violence and insecurity,

Real power lies not with those with the biggest bombs or bank accounts; 
it resides in the people who elect them to power, invest in their 
schemes and tolerate their trampling on the rights of others. We must 
use this power wisely.

The writer is archbishop emeritus and won the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize. 
Niclas Kjellstrom-Matseke, who chairs the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy 
Foundation and founded 17 Asset Management, also contributed
https://on.ft.com/30K2yFG



[internal combustion]
*California Is Prioritizing Mental Health Among Firefighters as Climate 
Change Worsens Wildfires*
California is stepping up to help its first responders and firefighters 
in light of worsening and more deadly wildfire seasons. Governor Gavin 
Newsom signed a few bills Tuesday to increase the access to mental 
health services for the state's first responders. This comes almost a 
year after the state saw the deadliest wildfire in its history, and it's 
much needed as climate change continues to intensify the blazes 
firefighters are expected to put out and save people from.

The bills Newsom signed will create a peer support network across the 
state, add post-traumatic stress disorder as an eligible injury for 
worker's compensation, and prevent public agencies from contracting out 
their 911 services to private for-profit companies. The peer support 
programs and financial assistance for employees suffering from PTSD are 
the focus here, though. They're creating new opportunities for 
individuals who are dealing with the severe mental stress that comes 
with fighting fires.

"The job of firefighters and first responders can be very rewarding, but 
at the same time, extremely unpredictable," said Newsom in a news 
release. "They can experience high-stress situations and traumatic 
incidents that can push them to the limit both physically and mentally, 
and we need to recognize and take those challenges head on. These bills 
are meant to ensure they have access to resources and help in their time 
of need, in the same way they assist their communities when they need 
them most."...
- - -
Climate change is set to worsen mental health nationwide as a result of 
exposure to natural disasters (such as wildfires or hurricanes) and the 
anxiety that comes with such an overwhelming global crisis.

"At this point, it's not just about firefighters," Brodsky said. "It's 
about all of us."
https://earther.gizmodo.com/california-is-prioritizing-mental-health-among-firefigh-1838714051


[oh poop!]
*Climate change is coming for our toilets. Here's how we can stop it.*
By Zoya Teirstein on Oct 2, 2019
Of all the amazing conveniences Americans are lucky enough to enjoy, the 
bowl that makes the poop go away is one of the best -- on par with the 
tap that turns the water on and the box that makes the food hot. But I 
am here to ruin your day and tell you that climate change could 
compromise the humble toilet. If we don't act soon, the consequences 
could be disgusting.

About one in five households in the United States depends on a septic 
system to eliminate waste (that's 60 million households, for those of 
you who don't like fractions). Septic systems not only dispose of our 
waste, they also protect public health, preserve precious water 
resources, and provide long-term peace of mind for city planners and 
plumbers alike. But that septic-associated security could go down the 
drain, according to information in a U.N. report on oceans published 
last week.

While the report is not specifically about your bathroom, per se, it 
shows how a stealthy threat -- sea-level rise -- could make it more 
difficult for people with septic systems to flush their toilets. A brief 
primer on septic systems, which are common in rural areas: The stuff in 
your toilet goes into an underground tank, where it breaks down (I'm 
gagging) and gets drained out into a leach field (gross) that's at least 
20 feet from your house. In order to function properly, those drainage 
fields have to be relatively dry.

Rising groundwater levels (a problem that accompanies sea-level rise) 
are soaking the fields, making it more difficult for our waste to break 
down and get absorbed properly. Rising groundwater also affects the 
soil's ability to filter out harmful bacteria, which poses a public 
safety risk. And to make matters worse, increased rainfall, another 
climate change-related perk, is exacerbating the issue. It's a back-up 
problem that can't be solved with a plunger, if you catch my drift.

New England, where roughly half of homes rely on septic systems, is 
especially at risk. So is Florida -- home to 12 percent of the nation's 
septic systems. Miami-Dade county commissioned a report on vulnerable 
toilets this year and found 64 percent of tanks could run into problems 
by 2040. Minnesota, an inland state, has to contend with another 
climate-related toilet problem: lack of snow. Snow, which keeps things 
nice and insulated, has been noticeably absent in early winter and 
spring. Freezing temperatures are still kicking around, though. That 
means the frost line has taken a dive deep underground and compromised 
thousands of Minnesotans' septic systems. See? Septic tanks are getting 
it from all sides these days.

So is the solution to dig up all the septic tanks, put them on stilts, 
and clothe them in Canada Goose parkas? Not exactly, says Elena Mihaly, 
staff attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation. She worked on a 2017 
report on climate change's effect on wastewater treatment systems that 
laid out some possible solutions to this poopy problem.

One method is to reform the way septic systems are regulated so that new 
systems are evaluated for their susceptibility to climate change before 
they're put in. Researchers are already mapping out areas with 
infrastructure that's vulnerable to groundwater level rise in coming 
years in states like New Hampshire. When it comes to existing septic 
systems, Mihaly says inspecting them when houses change hands at point 
of sale is a "way to make sure that we're checking in on how 
infrastructure is doing given current risk, and how it's changed from 30 
or 40 years ago."

And there are other practices that can head off this problem, too. 
Shallower leach fields, for example, rely on a narrower depth to treat 
water. Municipalities can install town-wide sewer systems in areas where 
household septic tanks don't make sense. Frequent inspections are key, 
too. "It's important to get your septic system inspected every three or 
four years," Mihaly said. "Not only looking at all the pieces on the 
outside but at what's happening with the groundwater that is flowing 
near it."

Most importantly, it's crucial to understand that groundwater doesn't 
act in predictable ways, and it can impact more than just septic 
systems. "It's not a given that if you have 3 feet of sea-level rise 
you'll always have this much groundwater rise inland," Mihaly said. 
"It's really dependent on the underlying geology of that area, so it's 
going to be very location-specific." Roads, drinking water wells, 
landfills, and other infrastructure are susceptible to rising 
groundwater, too. "We actually have infrastructure that's inland that we 
need to be thinking about as well in terms of reliability and 
functionality in the face of climate change," she said.

You hear that, America? Climate change is coming for our conveniences. 
It's time to get potty trained. 
https://grist.org/article/climate-change-is-coming-for-our-toilets-heres-how-we-can-stop-it/


[Capital Weather Gange]
*Exceptional heat wave topples October records across much of the U.S.*
Mid-July heat stifles 131 million during early fall...
- - -
However, nationwide, the high temperature records overwhelmingly 
outnumber the cold records during the past week as well as longer 
periods as well. This is consistent with trends that have been tied to 
human-caused global warming, which is favoring warm temperature records, 
particularly above average overnight low temperatures.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/10/02/exceptional-heat-wave-topples-october-records-across-much-us/ 


- - -

[Agro]
*A rich Rio Grande farming valley faces drier fields, rising heat, and a 
cross-state 'water war'*
Next-generation growers in New Mexico fear old wells and new technology 
may not keep pace as water dwindles.
"THINGS ARE DRYING UP"...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/gone-in-a-generation/farmers-climate-change.html?wpisrc=nl_green&wpmm=1#farmers


[Activism - Greta and XR for October 7th]
*Greta Thunberg, "The Eyes of Future Generations are upon You" | 
Extinction Rebellion*
Oct 2, 2019
Extinction Rebellion
"Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up 
and change is coming...whether you like it or not." - Greta Thunberg
The Rebellion will take place across the globe from 7th October. Sign up 
for London here https://Rebellion.earth/international...Worldwide 
actions are planned in other major cities. See if your city is listed 
https://Rebellion.earth/international...or, if your city is not listed, 
then please visit our global site https://Rebellion.Global/ to get in 
touch with your local group.
If not now, when?....If not you, who? Everybody now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfH6xpONabw

- - -

[More Extinction Rebellion]
*"What we want to do is save humanity from extinction", Prof. Jeffery, 
Behavioural Neuroscience | XR*
Oct 2, 2019
Extinction Rebellion
Heading for Extinction (and what to do about it): "The problem is that 
we as a society have for a long time been in denial of the ecologicial 
crisis. We've been watching television, we read the newspapers, we're 
informed citizens. We know there's been a problem with greenhouse gases 
and deforestation. We know intellectually that these things are 
happening but at the same time we've built a wall between our knowledge 
and our actions. And that means that although we know about it, we are 
not doing anything about it." - Kate Jeffery, Professor of Behavioural 
Neuroscience, Experimental Psychology, Division of Psychology and 
Language Sciences, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London 
(UCL) https://iris.ucl.ac.uk/iris/browse/pr...
The Rebellion will take place across the globe from 7th October.
Sign up for London here 
https://Rebellion.earth/international...Worldwide actions are planned in 
other major cities. See if your city is listed 
https://Rebellion.earth/international...or,
if your city is not listed, then please visit our global site 
https://Rebellion.Global/ to get in touch with your local group.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_gXMofQb0E



[Let's not hold our breath]
*Bill Gates book on fighting climate change coming next June*
Bill Gates is taking his fight against climate change to the printed page.

Gates is working on "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster," Doubleday 
announced Thursday. The Microsoft founder will outline his ideas for 
achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions, whether through local, 
national or global action. Gates said in a statement that he wanted to 
help "build the technologies, businesses, and industries to avoid the 
worst impacts of climate change."

At the United Nations' Climate Action Summit last month, Gates announced 
that his foundation was working with the World Bank and some European 
governments to provide $790 million to help millions of the world's 
small farmers adapt to climate change. The Gates foundation pledged $310 
million of that.

"How to Avoid a Climate Disaster" is scheduled for June 2020.
https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/bill-gates-book-fighting-climate-change-coming-june-66030805



[Risk]
*When Climate Change Leads to Mortgage Defaults*
Simple steps to make sure lenders and homebuyers -- not taxpayers -- 
bear the risk.
- - -
At the same time, when homebuyers neglect to buy the insurance that's 
federally mandated in flood hazard areas, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac 
should exercise their existing authority to transfer losses back to the 
lenders.

To make sure federal mortgage-market regulators have an accurate picture 
of flood risks, they should encourage the private-sector data-science 
industry to compete to provide the best possible forecasting algorithms. 
If mortgage lenders can steadily improve their understanding of climate 
risks, they can increasingly work those risks into their loan 
calculations, by asking for larger down payments and charging higher 
interest rates to borrowers buying vulnerable houses.

The risks of climate change keep growing, and homebuyers may never 
develop the expertise required to recognize them. But mortgage lenders 
have a responsibility to see what's ahead. They should ensure that their 
customers know what they're getting into, and that taxpayers are not 
unwittingly exposed.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-10-03/when-climate-change-leads-to-mortgage-defaults



[Two weeks ago PBS extends discussion]
*Why extreme climate scenarios no longer seem so unlikely*
Sep 19, 2019
PBS NewsHour
The United Nations has called climate change the "defining issue of our 
time." But new analyses suggest the planet's temperature will rise by 
even more than the UN had estimated -- and that warming creates 
ever-increasing energy consumption due to the need for more air 
conditioning. Paul Solman takes an updated look at the extreme risks the 
globe faces from potential worst-case scenarios.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu3WoacqZiQ


[Average temp in degrees Centigrade]
*If warming exceeds 2C, Antarctica's melting ice sheets could raise seas 
20 metres in coming centuries*
- - -
At the current rate of global emissions we may be back in the Pliocene 
by 2030 and we will have exceeded the 2C Paris target. One of the most 
critical questions facing humanity is how much and how fast global sea 
levels will rise.

According to the recent special report on the world's oceans and 
cryosphere by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 
glaciers and polar ice sheets continue to lose mass at an accelerating 
rate, but the contribution of polar ice sheets, in particular the 
Antarctic ice sheet, to future sea level rise remains difficult to 
constrain.

If we continue to follow our current emissions trajectory, the median 
(66% probability) global sea level reached by the end of the century 
will be 1.2 metres higher than now, with two metres a plausible upper 
limit (5% probability). But of course climate change doesn't magically 
stop after the year 2100...
- - -
Our study has important implications for the stability and sensitivity 
of the Antarctic ice sheet and its potential to contribute to future sea 
levels. It supports the concept that a tipping point in the Antarctic 
ice sheet may be crossed if global temperatures are allowed to rise by 
more than 2C. This could result in large parts of the ice sheet being 
committed to melt-down over the coming centuries, reshaping shorelines 
around the world...
https://theconversation.com/if-warming-exceeds-2-c-antarcticas-melting-ice-sheets-could-raise-seas-20-metres-in-coming-centuries-124484



[Yes, related to global warming is paleoclimatology - and it was more 
likely a comet]
*Did a large meteorite hit the earth 12,800 years ago? Here's new evidence*
by Francis Thackeray, The Conversation
Just less than 13,000 years ago, the climate cooled for a short while in 
many parts of the world, especially in the northern hemisphere. We know 
this because of what has been found in ice cores drilled in Greenland, 
as well as from oceans around the world.

Grains of pollen from various plants can also tell us about this cooler 
period, which people who study climate prehistory call the Younger Dryas 
and which interrupted a warming trend after the last Ice Age. The term 
gets its name from a wildflower, Dryas octopetala. It can tolerate cold 
conditions and was common in parts of Europe 12,800 years ago. At about 
this time a number of animals became extinct. These included mammoths in 
Europe, large bison in North America, and giant sloths in South America.

The cause of this cooling event has been debated a great deal. One 
possibility, for instance, is that it relates to changes in oceanic 
circulation systems. In 2007 Richard Firestone and other American 
scientists presented a new hypothesis: that the cause was a cosmic 
impact like an asteroid or comet. The impact could have injected a lot 
of dust into the air, which might have reduced the amount of sunlight 
getting through the earth's atmosphere. This might have affected plant 
growth and animals in the food chain.

Research we have just had published sheds new light on this Younger 
Dryas Impact Hypothesis. We focus on what platinum can tell us about it.

*How platinum fits into the picture*
Platinum is known to be concentrated in meteorites, so when a lot of it 
is found in one place at one time, it could be a sign of a cosmic 
impact. Platinum spikes have been discovered in an ice core in Greenland 
as well as in areas as far apart as Europe, Western Asia, North America 
and even Patagonia in South America. These spikes all date to the same 
period of time.

Platinum spike and temperature graph. Author supplied 
https://images.theconversation.com/files/294976/original/file-20191001-173364-1egasoj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=1

Until now, there has been no such evidence from Africa. But working with 
two colleagues, Professor Louis Scott (University of the Free State) and 
Philip Pieterse (University of Johannesburg), I believe there is 
evidence from South Africa's Limpopo province that partly supports the 
controversial Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis.

The new information has been obtained from Wonderkrater, an 
archaeological site with peat deposits at a spring situated outside a 
small town to the north of Pretoria. In a sample of peat we have 
identified a platinum spike that could at least potentially be related 
to dust associated with a meteorite impact somewhere on earth 12,800 
years ago.

The platinum spike at Wonderkrater is in marked contrast to almost 
constantly low (near-zero) concentrations of this element in adjacent 
levels. Subsequent to that platinum spike, pollen grains indicate a drop 
in temperature. These discoveries are entirely consistent with the 
Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis.

Wonderkrater is the first site in Africa where a Younger Dryas platinum 
spike has been detected, supplementing evidence from southern Chile, in 
addition to platinum spikes at 28 sites in the northern hemisphere.

We are now asking a question which needs to be taken seriously: surely 
platinum-rich dust associated with the impact of a very large meteorite 
may have contributed to some extent to major climatic change and 
extinctions?

*A meteorite crater in Greenland*
Very recently a large meteorite crater with a diameter of 31km was 
discovered in northern Greenland, beneath the ice of the Hiawatha 
glacier. It is not certain that it dates to the time of the Younger 
Dryas, but the crater rim is fresh, and ice older than 12,800 years is 
missing.

It seems possible (but is not yet certain) that this particular crater 
relates to the hypothesised meteorite that struck the earth at the time 
of the Younger Dryas, with global consequences.

The effects of a meteorite impact may potentially have contributed to 
extinctions in many regions of the world. There is no doubt that 
platinum spikes in North America coincide closely with the extinction of 
animals on a big scale about 12,800 years ago.

*Extinctions in Africa*
In a South African context, my team is suggesting that platinum-rich 
cosmic dust and its associated environmental effects may have 
contributed to the extinction of large animals that ate grass. These 
have been documented  at places such as Boomplaas near the Cango Caves 
in South Africa's southern Cape, where important excavations have been 
undertaken.

At least three species went extinct in the African subcontinent. These 
included a giant buffalo (Syncerus antiquus), a large zebra (Equus 
capensis) and a large wildebeest (Megalotragus priscus). Each weighed 
about 500kg more than its modern counterpart.

There may have been more than one cause of these extinctions. Hunting by 
humans could have been a factor. And the large buffalo, zebra and 
wildebeest had already been affected by habitat changes at the end of 
the last Ice Age, which was at its coldest about 18,000 years ago.

What about human populations? A cosmic impact could have indirectly 
affected people as a result of local changes in environment and the 
availability of food resources, associated with sudden climate change. 
Stone tools relate to the cultural identity of people who lived in the 
past. Around 12,800 years ago in at least some parts of South Africa 
there is evidence of an apparently abrupt termination of the "Robberg" 
technology represented by stone tools found for example at Boomplaas Cave.

Coincidentally, North American archaeological sites indicate the sudden 
end of a stone tool technology called Clovis.

But it is too early to say whether these cultural changes relate to a 
common causal factor.

Map showing platinum spikes. Author supplied 
https://images.theconversation.com/files/294977/original/file-20191001-173387-hjwi6d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1

*Reality check*
The Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis, and the evidence to support it, is 
a reminder of how much can change when a rocky object hits the earth. 
Many asteroids are situated between Mars and Jupiter, and on occasion 
some come very close to our planet. The probability of a large one 
striking earth may seem to be low. But it's not impossible.

Take Apophis 99942. It is classified as a potentially hazardous 
asteroid. It is 340 metres wide and will come exceptionally close to the 
earth (in relation to an Astronomical Unit, the distance between us and 
the sun) on Friday April 13 2029. The probability of its hitting us in 
ten years' time is only one in 100,000. But the probability of an impact 
may be even higher at some time in the remote future.

What's more, comets associated with the Taurid Complex approach the 
earth relatively closely at intervals of centuries. So a large asteroid 
or comet could fall to earth in the foreseeable future.

The Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis is highly controversial. But the 
evidence suggests it is not improbable that a large meteorite struck the 
earth as recently as 12,800 years ago, with widespread consequences.
https://theconversation.com/did-a-large-meteorite-hit-the-earth-12-800-years-ago-heres-new-evidence-122426


*This Day in Climate History - October 4, 2914 - from D.R. Tucker*
New York Times columnist Gail Collins observes:

"There was a time when Republicans were leaders in the fight to slow
climate change — particularly for the concept called 'cap and
trade,' which had a marketplace-friendly tilt. Among the co-sponsors
of a cap-and-trade bill in 2007 was Senator Lisa Murkowski, a
Republican of Alaska. Murkoswki had to run for re-election as an
independent in 2010, having lost her party’s nomination to a Tea
Party favorite who complains about 'climate-change alarmists.'

"These days, it takes courage for a Republican to acknowledge that
human beings have anything to do with climate change at all."

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/04/opinion/gail-collins-the-walrus-and-the-politicians.html 

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