[TheClimate.Vote] October 7, 2019 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

Mon Oct 7 10:49:12 EDT 2019

/October 7, 2019/

[Lessons not learned, will be repeated]
*California ignores the science as it OKs more homes in wildfire zones, 
researchers say*
Researchers say continued home building in high-risk wildfire areas 
threatens lives and makes big blazes more likely.
By JOSHUA EMERSON SMITH - OCT. 6, 2019
SAN DIEGO -- California's top firefighting authorities want to use 
chainsaws and flames to thin out forests and mow down brush on at least 
half a million acres a year from Redding to San Diego.
The plan -- which aims to roughly double the current pace of so-called 
vegetation management within five years -- comes at the behest of Gov. 
Gavin Newsom and is the state's primary response to the massive blazes 
that have ravaged communities across the state.

However, an emerging body of scientific research on patterns of homes 
destroyed by fire suggests the state's approach may be ignoring one of 
the most crucial elements for keeping people safe and limiting wildfire 
ignition sources.

Scientists have increasingly found that loss of property and life from 
fire is overwhelmingly the result of precariously placed housing in and 
bordering wildland areas -- residential developments that are, 
themselves, a major driver sparking conflagrations.
- - -
Cal Fire has acknowledged that housing construction continues in and 
around the state's wildlands, where about 11 million people now live in 
4.5 million homes.

Beyond cutting and burning down natural landscapes, the state's response 
to the threat of wildfire has been to require that new home construction 
use the latest in fire-resistant materials, encourage retrofits of older 
structures and improve roads used as evacuation routes...
"The physical location of being out in the WUI [wildland-urban 
interface] doesn't mean that the communities will be entirely burned 
down like we saw in Paradise if they're built to the latest standards," 
said Steve Hawks, Cal Fire deputy chief overseeing the Wildland Fire 
Prevention Engineering Program.

Hawks also downplayed the idea that building new homes in and around 
fire-prone areas would create more ignition sources, leading to more 
backcountry blazes...
- - -
"We can't proclaim ignorance or innocence," he added. "We have all of 
the information we need. What we don't have is political leadership at 
any level."

State officials have countered that the focus needs to be on protecting 
existing communities in high-fire areas, such as by paving new 
evacuation routes and helping residents pay for upgrades to their homes...
- - -
Still, a scientific study published Sept. 2 in the journal Fire found 
that defensible space is one of the least important factors in 
determining whether a home burns in a wildfire, especially vegetation 
removal beyond the first 5 to 10 feet around a home...
- - -
The research found that by far the most effective measures homeowners 
can take to protect homes is to install ember-resistant vents and 
double-pane windows and to box off eaves.

"What people are not aware of is that if you take your nice evergreen 
shrub and clear it away and put grass in there, you're actually making 
it more flammable," said coauthor Alexandra Syphard, chief scientist at 
Sage Insurance Holdings and one of the foremost experts on wildfire and 
housing in the state.

"People are getting the wrong message," she said. "They're thinking, 
'OK, I just need to clear away all this brush.' That's not the safest 
way to go about it."
Emerson Smith writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-06/california-ignores-science-homes-wildfire-zones

[A different kind of storm chaser]
*Hurricane Chasers: An Immigrant Work Force on the Trail of Extreme Weather*
Itinerant, largely undocumented workers devoted to hurricane recovery in 
the U.S. have endured shabby housing and haphazard payments.
$ 
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/05/us/hurricane-undocumented-immigrants-workers.html

[Bobbies battering XR Activists]
*'This Is Not What Democracy Looks Like': Outrage as London Police Use 
Battering Ram to Raid Extinction Rebellion Building*
"These tactics are very questionable and are arguably infringing on our 
rights to peaceful protest, and indeed our efforts to preserve people's 
right to life."
London police on Saturday raided a building Extinction Rebellion 
activists were using to store supplies ahead of a climate demonstration 
planned for Monday, a preemptive action environmentalists condemned as 
an unlawful crackdown on a peaceful protesters.

The Guardian reported that "10 people--seven women and three men--had 
been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance."

Video of the raid, which shows police using a battering ram to break 
into a south London building, quickly went viral Saturday as activists 
and British lawmakers expressed alarm at the aggressive tactic.

"This is not what democracy looks like," tweeted Extinction Rebellion 
London.

Labour MP Clive Lewis called the police raid "plain wrong."

Police use a battering ram to break into #ExtinctionRebellion warehouse 
in Kennington, south London pic.twitter.com/szb98zlZgP
-- Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) October 5, 2019

"No petroleum company warehouse has ever had a battering ram used on it 
by the police," said one Twitter user...
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/10/06/not-what-democracy-looks-outrage-london-police-use-battering-ram-raid-extinction
- -
[Video of out-of-breath police giving it a whack]
*Police raid Extinction Rebellion warehouse and make arrests days before 
environment protest*
Oct 5, 2019
Guardian News
Police battered the door of a building in Kennington, south London, 
where Extinction Rebellion activists were storing equipment to use in a 
demonstration next week and made arrests two days before the climate 
activism group plan to start occupying 12 sites in London.
Demonstrators in the 'international rebellion' want governments to take 
action against climate change
London police arrest activists in advance of environment protest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=V9cvhw2AXrg

[drilling baby, ]
*Trump Opens 725,000 Acres of California's Coast to Fossil Fuel Drilling*
The Trump administration on Friday moved to open more than 725,000 acres 
of California's central coast to potential oil and gas drilling, a 
decision environmentalists condemned as a disastrous handout to big 
polluters at a time when urgent action is needed to slash greenhouse gas 
emissions.

The move, announced by the Interior Department's Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM), ends a five-year moratorium on leasing federal land in 
California to fossil fuel companies.

As Reuters reported, the BLM "has not held a lease sale in California 
since 2013, when a judge ruled that the agency illegally issued leases 
without analyzing the environmental impact of drilling called hydraulic 
fracturing, or fracking."...
- - -
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday that BLM's decision "gives 
an immediate go-ahead to 14 drilling leases in San Benito, Monterey, and 
Fresno counties, mostly projects near existing drill sites, projects 
that have been pursued for years by fossil fuel companies looking to 
expand."

"But the action also opens the door for new leases in eight other 
counties, raising the prospect of additional drilling in such spots as 
the Santa Cruz Mountains, the East Bay hills and eastern Santa Clara 
County," according to the Chronicle.
https://truthout.org/articles/trump-opens-725000-acres-of-californias-coast-to-fossil-fuel-drilling/ 

[Follow your own money]
*Funding The Climate Breakdown : How can it be stopped?*
Oct 6, 2019
Just Have a Think
We all know the impact that fossil fuels, backed by huge government tax 
subsidies are having on the climate of our planet. What's less well 
publicised, and arguably even disguised by the top banks, are the mind 
boggling levels of investment that they have also been pouring into OIl, 
Coal and Gas, even since the Paris Accord of 2015. But you and I can 
change that. This week we take a look.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZPOsv71Htw
- - -
[A source]
BankTrack is the international tracking, campaigning and CSO support 
organisation targeting private sector commercial banks ('banks') and the 
activities they finance. We are an integral part of the global community 
of CSOs focused on the financial sector as a whole (multilateral and 
national development banks, export credit agencies, private and 
institutional investors, etc.).

BankTrack's mission is to stop banks from financing harmful business 
activities; to promote a banking sector that respects human rights and 
contributes to just societies and a healthy planet; and to support 
fellow civil society organisations in their engagement with banks.
https://www.banktrack.org/

[new climatology]
*As Temperatures Rise, "Flash Drought" Takes Hold across South*
Areas have gone from near-record wetness to drought conditions in just a 
matter of months...
"It's like what meteorologists have said for years--all drought is 
local," he said. "And no matter what happens, you're always going to 
have somebody on the wrong side of the line."
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/as-temperatures-rise-flash-drought-takes-hold-across-south/

[study published]
*Over half of Europe's endemic trees face extinction*
SixDegrees on 10/06/2019
Over half (58%) of Europe's endemic trees, those not found in any other 
part of the planet are threatened with extinction, according to IUCN

The newly published European Red List of Trees evaluated the 
conservation status of all 454 tree species native to the continent, and 
found that two fifths (42%) are regionally threatened with extinction. 
Among Europe's endemic trees – those that don't exist anywhere else on 
earth – 58% were found to be threatened, and 15% (66 species) assessed 
as Critically Endangered, or one step away from going extinct. Invasive 
and problematic native species are the largest threat to European trees. 
These include pests and diseases but also invasive plants introduced by 
humans which compete with native tree saplings.

The introduction of invasive species, unsustainable logging and urban 
development are key threats causing the decline of tree species such as 
the horse-chestnut across Europe.

"It is alarming that over half of Europe's endemic tree species are now 
threatened with extinction. Trees are essential for life on earth, and 
European trees in all their diversity are a source of food and shelter 
for countless animal species such as birds and squirrels, and play a key 
economic role. From the EU to regional assemblies and the conservation 
community, we all need to work together to ensure their survival," said 
Craig Hilton-Taylor, Head of the IUCN Red List Unit. "Perhaps most 
importantly, measures for conserving these threatened species, and many 
other overlooked species highlighted in today's European Red List 
assessments, need to be integrated into regular conservation planning 
and land management."...
https://www.sixdegreesnews.org/archives/27436/over-half-of-europes-endemic-trees-face-extinction
- - -
[Source material]
*European Red List of trees *
Abstract:

    The European Red List is a review of the status of European species
    according to IUCN regional Red Listing guidelines. It identifies
    those species that are threatened with extinction at the regional
    level – in order that appropriate conservation action can be taken
    to improve their status. This publication summarises results for all
    Europe's native species of tree (454 species), of which 265 species
    (over 58%) are endemic to continental Europe, with 56% (252 species)
    endemic to the 28 EU Member States. Of these, 168 (42%) of the
    species are threatened with extinction at the European level,
    however, for 57 species (nearly 13%) there was insufficient
    information to assign a conservation status, and are therefore
    classified as Data Deficient, and in need of further research. The
    main threat to tree species in Europe has been identified as
    invasive or problematic species, impacting 38% of tree species,
    followed by deforestation and wood harvesting, and urban development
    (both affecting 20% of tree species). For threatened species,
    livestock farming, land abandonment, changes in forest and woodland
    management, and other ecosystem modifications such as fire are the
    major threats, impacting the survival of trees.

https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/48512
- -
[download report 
https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/RL-4-026-En.pdf]

[diver]
*Opinion: I am a diver who documents climate change in the Arctic. And I 
am running out of time*
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-10-06/diving-arctic-climate-change-iceberg

*This Day in Climate History - October 7, 1984 - from D.R. Tucker*
At the conclusion of his first debate with President Ronald Reagan, 
Democratic challenger and former Vice President Walter Mondale declares:

    "I believe that we will be better off if we protect this
    environment. And contrary to what the President says, I think their
    record on the environment is inexcusable and often shameful. These
    laws are not being enforced, have not been enforced, and the public
    health and the air and the water are paying the price. That's not
    fair for our future.

    "I think our future requires a President to lead us in an all-out
    search to advance our education, our learning, and our science and
    training, because this world is more complex and we're being pressed
    harder all the time."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGvBFQQPRXs - (97:43-98:23)
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