[TheClimate.Vote] October 9, 2019 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

Wed Oct 9 10:41:46 EDT 2019

/October 9, 2019/

[Reducing risk - cut power in a fire zone - check the Google map 
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1vw6HaeBAn2RbfDkgFXgmQl06vk03dqzx&usp=sharing 
]
*Power to nearly 1 million Californians could be shut off over fire hazard*
"The time to prepare is now," the National Weather Service says as 
utilities warn that power lines could spark new wildfires.
LOS ANGELES -- Electric utilities warned Tuesday that almost a million 
homes and businesses in California could have their electricity shut off 
for several days this week to prevent power lines from sparking wildfires.

Fire weather watches stretched the entire length of the state Tuesday as 
the National Weather Service said strong and damaging winds coupled with 
relatively low humidity created the "potential of rapid spread of fire."

"The time to prepare is now," the National Weather Service said -- a 
warning the state's power companies heeded.

Pacific Gas and Electric said it would begin turning off power in stages 
to nearly 800,000 residences and businesses in high-risk areas of 34 
counties across the northern and central parts of the state. Evan 
Duffey, a senior meteorologist for PG&E, said Tuesday night: "By all 
metrics, this is forecast to be the strongest offshore wind event since 
October 2017."
- - -
And it urged northern and central Californians to stock up for the long 
haul. While hazardous conditions were expected to extend only into 
Thursday afternoon, crews can't go out to inspect damaged power lines 
and restore electricity until after the severe weather has passed, it said.

So "customers are being asked to prepare for an extended outage," PG&E said.

Ray Riordan, the emergency management director for San Jose, said 
Tuesday that in addition to the two days of high winds, it could take 
five more days for all areas to have their power restored.

"You can expect that we may not have power for seven days," he said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/power-nearly-1-million-californians-could-be-shut-over-fire-n1064041
- - -
[Check the map]
*Planned power shutoff Oct. 9*
Based on PG&E's Oct. 8 notice of possible power shutoff in parts of 29 
counties in Northern California.
Planned power shutoff Oct. 9 - 
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1vw6HaeBAn2RbfDkgFXgmQl06vk03dqzx&usp=sharing
- -
*Map shows neighborhoods impacted by PG&E power shutoffs*
https://www.sfgate.com/california-wildfires/article/pge-potential-power-outage-map-wind-fire-14501332.php#photo-18398576

[Activism XR - 19 min video report Democracy Now]
*This is Not A Drill: 700+ Arrested as Extinction Rebellion Fights 
Climate Crisis With Direct Action*
Oct 8, 2019
Democracy Now!
More than 700 people have been arrested in civil disobedience actions as 
the group Extinction Rebellion kicked off two weeks of protests in 60 
cities worldwide, demanding urgent government action on the climate 
crisis. Its members have superglued themselves to government buildings, 
occupied public landmarks, shut down roads and taken to the streets to 
sound the alarm about the impending catastrophe of global warming. 
Extinction Rebellion, a nonpolitical movement, launched last year in the 
U.K. and rose to prominence in April, when it disrupted traffic in 
Central London for 11 days. For more about the significance of the 
coordinated global protests, we speak with Extinction Rebellion 
co-founder Gail Bradbrook.
#DemocracyNow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4pJSlLA_r0
more interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=movojNyr0aU
- - -
[angry rant]
*The Extinction Rebellion Returns | Jonathan Pie | 9 October 2019*
Oct 8, 2019
Extinction Rebellion
When it comes to the Climate Crisis you are either a hypocrite or an 
arsehole. The time has come to decide which you'd rather be. 
(http://www.jonathanpie.com) Broadcast 08.10.2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feeFO_LHOu8

[language: Global heating with climate destabilization]
*What should we call 'climate change'? It's political.*
By Kate Yoder on Oct 7, 2019
If you've ever wondered if "climate change" is the best way to describe 
the hot mess our planet has gotten into, you're not alone.

It may be time to start calling it a "crisis" or "emergency," according 
to academics, media outlets, and of course activists like Greta 
Thunberg. A phrase like "climate crisis" is more accurate, they argue, 
because it makes clear that we're talking about a full-on crisis that 
demands attention. After all, "change" on its own is hardly a bad thing.

They represent one side in a linguistic tug-of-war. For others, "climate 
change" isn't seen as too neutral -- it carries too much political baggage.

In redder parts of the United States, some scientists and meteorologists 
say a different communication strategy is needed, and it starts with 
dropping the whole "climate" thing altogether. The American 
Meteorological Society recommends talking about the unusual effects 
accompanying climate change -- stronger storms, worsening seasonal 
allergies, extreme heat -- without mentioning who or what is 
responsible, as Politico reported earlier this year. For Americans wary 
of the words "climate change," the thinking goes, the evidence of what 
our increasingly wild weather costs their communities might speak for 
itself.

This approach is gaining ground in the practical sphere of lawmaking, 
too. Local and federal officials in Republican strongholds are actually 
passing climate-related legislation -- they just don't call it that.

Towns in coastal North Carolina have adopted ordinances that push new 
construction to higher ground, mentioning "flood damage" but not 
"sea-level rise." Local governments in the Great Plains have enacted 
green measures, but they tend to frame them in terms of saving money or 
making the air cleaner. A report prepared for the Texas state government 
on hurricane preparedness last year mentioned "future-proofing" a 
whopping 44 times, and the changing climate only once.

And while climate change remains divisive among lawmakers on the Hill, 
no one seems to get upset about building infrastructure that can better 
withstand extreme weather. The word "resilience" has shown up in a 
handful of bills that Congress is considering or has already passed this 
year paying for highways, transportation, and infrastructure, as Roll 
Call reported last week.

"Liberal, conservative, left, right -- it doesn't matter when you're 
talking about resilience," Thomas W. Smith III, executive director of 
the American Society of Civil Engineers, told Roll Call. Republicans in 
Congress have noticed that natural disasters keep destroying federal 
infrastructure, and they want to put an end to the expensive cycle of 
destruction and rebuilding, even if they're not willing to address the 
root of the problem.

Under the Trump administration, wishy-washy terms like "resilience," 
"sustainability," and "pre-disaster mitigation" are on the rise in 
federal agencies. Not coincidentally, "climate" has been disappearing 
from government websites and reports. Just last week, E&E News reported 
that the White House deleted a line about climate change being a 
"serious challenge" from a draft of its proposal revoking California's 
ability to set stricter car pollution standards than the rest of the 
country.

But the rise of "resilience" predates the Trump administration. It's 
been steadily climbing in popularity since Google Trends started 
tracking searches in 2004.

Amid the battle over how to talk about our overheating planet, it's easy 
to forget that we all used to say "global warming." The phrase was once 
more popular than climate change, but it's been steadily losing ground 
to "climate change" over the past decade. It's a reminder that no matter 
how ingrained a phrase seems today, our terminology may be more flexible 
than we think.
https://grist.org/article/what-should-we-call-climate-change-its-political/

[Gates Foundation is thought to still hold coal and oil stocks - but no 
tobacco]
*Bill Gates Dismisses Fossil Fuel Divestments in Favor of Green Investments*
By James O'Malley -September 18, 2019
Billionaire Bill Gates has taken a side in the polarized issue of 
whether to dump fossil fuel stocks to effect climate change or hang on 
to them. Unlike the Church of England and some of the Rockefellers, 
Gates is on the side of staying in, saying that fossil fuel divestment 
"probably has reduced about zero tons of emissions."...
- - -
[Karma Takeaway: Gates makes a valuable point about the need for new 
energy technologies to tackle climate change. What he may have missed, 
however, is that divestment frees up cash that can then be invested 
elsewhere, such as into renewable energy.]
https://karmaimpact.com/bill-gates-dismisses-fossil-fuel-divestments-in-favor-of-green-investments/

*This Day in Climate History - October 9, 1996 - from D.R. Tucker*
Vice President Al Gore and former Representative Jack Kemp discuss the 
environment in the Vice Presidential debate, with Kemp bizarrely 
accusing Gore of promoting "fear of the climate" and embracing an 
"anti-capitalistic mentality," while Gore defends the Clinton 
administration's first-term environmental accomplishments.
(forward to 60:13--70:50)
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/74250-1
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------/

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