[TheClimate.Vote] October 12, 2019 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

[Richard Pauli]

/October 12 , 2019/

[Grand Dame]
*Jane Fonda arrested in DC after protesting climate change (CLOSE UP)*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESfT4_9fjng


[headline says it best]
*'Upside-Down Rivers' of Warm Water Are Carving Antarctica to Pieces*
By Brandon Specktor - Senior Writer - Planet Earth
Antarctica's ice shelves are under attack at their most vulnerable points.
- - -
According to Karen Alley, lead author of the new study, it appears that 
vast currents of warm, buoyant water are carving "upside-down rivers" 
into the bottoms of the ice shelves, nibbling away at their already weak 
edges.

"Warm water circulation is attacking the undersides of these ice shelves 
at their most vulnerable points," Alley, an assistant professor at the 
College of Wooster in Ohio and a former researcher at the National Snow 
and Ice Data Center, said in a statement...
- - -
The team determined that the currents can grow miles wide and tens of 
miles long, impacting huge sections of the ice shelves at once. 
Time-lapse images of these melting shelves show that it doesn't take 
long for the sagging troughs and spreading cracks to result in collapse.

"Like scoring a plate of glass, the [warm water] renders the shelf 
weak," study co-author Ted Scambos, a senior scientist at the University 
of Colorado Boulder, said in the statement. "And, in a few decades, it's 
gone, freeing the ice sheet to ride out faster into the ocean."

Because ice shelves can serve as natural dams that prevent melting 
continental ice from gushing into the ocean en masse, the speed of their 
decay has a direct impact on sea-level rise. How much of an effect is 
still unclear; because these hidden forces besieging ice shelves are 
relatively newly discovered, current climate models do not account for 
them. Further study of the vulnerable edges of ice-shelves -- not just 
in Antarctica, but in Greenland, as well -- are required to further 
estimate the extent of the damage.

"These effects matter," Alley said. "But exactly how much, we don't yet 
know. We need to."
https://www.livescience.com/antarctica-ice-shelf-upside-down-rivers.html



[Paul Beckwith on the latest on the Arctic methane]
*Arctic Methane Measurements over Eastern Siberian Shelf Are Now the 
Highest Ever Measured: 1 of 2*
Oct 10, 2019
Paul Beckwith
A group of Russian scientists led by Igor Semiletov, aboard one of the 
world's largest research ships, the RV Akademik Mstislav Keldysh over 
the Arctic Ocean's Eastern Siberian Arctic Shelf have directly measured 
extremely high methane levels in the water column and atmosphere above. 
Seafloor permafrost sediments are thawing with high ocean temperatures 
and the organic material is then decomposed by microbes to produce 
methane which bubbles up to the surface. Methane levels in air were as 
high as 16 ppm which is 9x higher than global average levels.
A group of Russian scientists led by Igor Semiletov, aboard one of the 
world's largest research ships, the RV Akademik Mstislav Keldysh over 
the Arctic Ocean's Eastern Siberian Arctic Shelf have directly measured 
extremely high methane levels in the water column and atmosphere above. 
Seafloor permafrost sediments are thawing with high ocean temperatures 
and the organic material is then decomposed by microbes to produce 
methane which bubbles up to the surface. Methane levels in air were as 
high as 16 ppm which is 9x higher than global average levels.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyJvtDdGls4
- - -
[2nd of 2 videos]
*Arctic Methane Measurements over Eastern Siberian Shelf Are Now the 
Highest Ever Measured: 2 of 2*
In our world of satellite data, computer models, and simulations, 
on-the-ground (on-the-ocean in this case!)  field work is invaluable. 
UK's Peter Wadham's is the sea-ice expert and Russia's Igor Semiletov is 
the Arctic methane expert, both exploring via numerous expeditions over 
many decades. Recent data from an expedition led by the latter report 
report stunning methane levels 9x higher than global averages. This is 
very serious, given methane's global warming potential of 34x, 86x, and 
over 150x with timescales of 100 years, 20 years, and a few years, 
respectively.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubc-KlcMIdw



[new website from James Hansen]
*Climate Science Awareness and Solutions*
Connecting dots from advancing basic climate science to promoting public 
awareness to advocating policy actions
https://csas.earth.columbia.edu/



[Google turns bad]
*Revealed: Google made large contributions to climate change deniers*
Google has made "substantial" contributions to some of the most 
notorious climate deniers in Washington despite its insistence that it 
supports political action on the climate crisis.

Among hundreds of groups the company has listed on its website as 
beneficiaries of its political giving are more than a dozen 
organisations that have campaigned against climate legislation, 
questioned the need for action, or actively sought to roll back 
Obama-era environmental protections.

The list includes the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a 
conservative policy group that was instrumental in convincing the Trump 
administration to abandon the Paris agreement and has criticised the 
White House for not dismantling more environmental rules...
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/11/google-contributions-climate-change-deniers
- - -
[moral idiocy by a cyber company]
*The obscure law that explains why Google backs climate deniers*
Company wants to curry favour with conservatives to protect its 'section 
230' legal immunity
Revealed: Google made large contributions to climate change deniers
When Eric Schmidt was asked on a radio show in 2014 why Google was 
supporting an ultra-conservative climate-denying pressure group in 
Washington, the then chairman of the internet giant offered an 
unequivocal response: it was wrong and Google was not going to do it again.

"The consensus within the company was that that was some sort of mistake 
and so we're trying to not do that in the future," Schmidt told NPR. 
People who opposed or questioned climate science were making the world 
"a much worse place", he added, and Google "should not be aligned with 
such people".

But five years later, Google still funds more than a dozen organisations 
that deny the climate crisis and oppose political action to try to solve 
it. Among them is the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), the group 
that launched the notorious Cooler Heads Coalition two decades ago, a 
group of conservative and libertarian pressure groups dedicated to 
dispelling the "myths" of global heating.
For Google, providing financial backing to groups such as CEI and the 
Cato Institute - staunch free marketeers - has nothing to do with 
climate science, and everything to do with its effort to curry favour 
with conservatives on its most pressing issue in Washington: protecting 
an obscure section of the US law that is worth billions of dollars to 
the company.

The law - known as section 230 of the Communications Decency Act - was 
established in the 1990s, at a time when the internet was in its 
infancy, and helped to give rise to internet giants, from Google to 
Facebook, by offering legal immunity to the companies for third party 
comments, in effect treating them as distributors of content and not 
publishers.

Section 230, in effect, allowed Google and Facebook to be shielded from 
the kinds of libel laws that can ensnare other companies, such as 
newspapers.

The law has important advocates across the political spectrum, from 
Democrats who hail it as a triumph of free speech, to Republicans who 
say it has promoted free enterprise and innovation.

But now some lawmakers, including Republicans, think it might be time to 
revise section 230. The senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, has said 
Google's alleged bias in favour of Democrats means it is not a neutral 
platform and should not be protected from liability.

Google's decision to give to groups such as CEI reflects an attempt to 
win friends in Republican and conservative circles, and support those 
lawmakers on the right who are champions of section 230.

"I think the future of conservatism is up for grabs in the Trump era," 
said one person who is familiar with the company's thinking on political 
giving. "We are in a moment where Google has been injected in a lot of 
culture wars … and there is a lot of hostility in conservative circles."

There is little doubt that Google has a loyal friend in CEI. In a recent 
letter to members of Congress, CEI and other conservative groups called 
for the protection of section 230, saying it had created "new venues for 
conservative speech", and that lawmakers who wanted to upend it were 
"well-meaning but mistaken".

CEI has also defended Google in other realms. In a recent op-ed 
published in the Atlantic, a CEI senior fellow named Mario Loyola argued 
that the launch of a recent antitrust investigation into Google by 48 
state attorneys general, led by the Texas attorney general Ken Paxton - 
a strong supporter of Ted Cruz - would not do anything to help the public.

A CEI spokesperson, who declined to comment on questions about Google, 
told the Guardian: "CEI is a nonprofit organisation that advocates 
free-market solutions to public policy issues. CEI's research programmes 
and positions are developed independently by policy experts and reflect 
a longstanding, steadfast dedication to principles of economic liberty 
and limited government."

When Google was asked about its support for CEI and groups like it, a 
company spokesperson said: "We sponsor organisations from across the 
political spectrum that advocate for strong technology policies. We've 
been extremely clear that Google's sponsorship doesn't mean that we 
endorse that organisation's entire agenda - we may disagree strongly on 
some issues."

Google employees have privately spoken out about the company's support 
for some conservative groups. In a discussion with employees in March 
2018 - a recording of which was heard by the Guardian - Adam Kovacevich, 
who at the time served as head of public policy at Google (he has since 
left the company), defended the company's alignment with some conservatives.

He said he had been directed to forge the relationships after the 2016 
election of Donald Trump. It reflected a view that the company was seen 
as too close to Hillary Clinton's campaign and other Democrats.

The discussion took place after a controversy over Google's sponsorship 
of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the annual 
meeting of conservatives, where Google hosted a party.

To the consternation of many employees, its logo appeared on banners 
next to the NRA's. In his opening remarks on the call, Kovacevich said 
it was important to build relationships not only with people in power 
"but also the people who influence them".

"It can be hard sometimes to reconcile our business interests with our 
stated values, and finding that balance is something our team has to 
navigate really on a daily basis, and it has gotten more and more 
complicated," Kovacevich can be heard saying in the recording.

While Google staff seemed to accept Google needed to forge ties across 
the political spectrum, the majority of the employees on the call 
expressed concern that the company was too far out of step with its 
values. The Wall Street Journal and Wired have previously reported on 
the meeting.

This year, Google did not sponsor CPAC. But big technology companies 
were frequently named - and lambasted - by conservative participants in 
their speeches. In one case, the rightwing provocateur James O'Keefe 
encouraged tech employees to secretly record colleagues in their offices 
in order to expose their alleged biases.

"We will equip you with a camera," O'Keefe said. "If they're lying, 
cheating, scamming, we're going to find them, make them famous internet 
celebrities, expose them for all the world to see."
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/11/obscure-law-google-climate-deniers-section-230



[Song and Dance - text and audio]
*New Musical Puts Climate Change Center Stage*
By EVE ZUCKOFF
There are musicals about our founding fathers, cute orphans, the French 
Revolution... And now? There's a musical about climate change. The Cape 
Cod Theater Company in Harwich is debuting the world premiere of "Crude: 
The Climate Change Musical."

During early rehearsals, director Fran Lautenberger found herself 
hurrying around the stage, ordering changes be made to the set, props be 
found, actors moved.

"Can you get up on the table, please?" she called out to a young actress.

Lautenberger knows this show could be a tough sell; yes, there are 
musical fanatics, and yes, there are climate change zealots. But how 
much do those circles overlap?

"I was at my physical therapist and he goes, 'Climate change musical? 
Boy, that sounds boring,'" Lautenberger said. "That's what people say. 
And you're like, 'No, no -- entertaining.'"

The actors range in age from 17 to 74. They play characters like a slimy 
corporate crook, an accountant turned whistleblower, and a public 
relations whiz.

"It's about an environmentalist daughter who tries to outwit her oil 
tycoon dad," explained Cape-based playwright Maureen Condon. "It's a fun 
musical romp through the world of big oil and high stakes public 
relations, where solar startups and wind startups are pawns in a game of 
family politics and corporate intrigue."

The show features songs like "Face the Water," a tune that turns 
warnings about sea level rise into rhyme: "Dad, if you don't do what you 
oughta, we're going to have to face the water, and watch our coastal 
cities wash away," sings actress Ann Vohs.

Climate change stories are everywhere these days, but setting it to 
music adds a whole new dimension.

"Well, I wanted to write a musical anyway, and since climate change is 
my favorite topic..." Condon said, trailing off with a laugh.

Condon was inspired to write the show because, she says, living on the 
Cape means you're constantly aware of the threats from rising seas and a 
changing climate.

"I think most people -- a lot of people -- tune out climate change. It 
is terrifying," she said. "But I think arts are a wonderful way to 
engage the public in a discussion and thoughtful processing of 
information about tough issues."

On the Cape, sea levels are expected to rise by as many as three feet in 
the next 30 years. At the same time, more intense storms could dump feet 
rather than inches of rain, flooding homes and increasing erosion. 
Sometimes those kinds of facts feel inaccessible, or too bleak to really 
think about.

"Comedy is uniquely equipped to bring people's defenses down while 
exposing how there are many ways of knowing," said Max Boykoff, a social 
researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder and author of "Creative 
(Climate) Communications."

He says we have to find new ways to talk about climate change to achieve 
wider awareness.

"Not everybody wakes up in the morning and pulls out the latest issue of 
Science or Nature and starts reading peer-reviewed research with their 
morning coffee," Boykoff said. "People engage with these issues in a 
variety of ways. Having, say, a musical, just opens up another pathway 
or another opportunity for people to engage who otherwise may not take 
an interest or may not see the connections between their lives and a 
changing climate."

No matter what audience members take in about climate change, says 
director Fran Lautenberger, most of all she wants them to have a good time.

"We want you to enjoy yourself and be like, 'Yeah, I really want to see 
this, and this is fun,'" Lautenberger said. "And oh, by the way, oh, we 
might go green at the end there."
   "Crude: The Climate Change Musical" will run every Thursday through 
Sunday from Oct. 10 to Nov. 10 at the Cape Cod Theater Company in Harwich.
https://www.capeandislands.org/post/new-musical-puts-climate-change-center-stage#stream/0



*This Day in Climate History - October 12, 2004 - from D.R. Tucker*
In a sentence that speaks volumes, Wall Street Journal columnist Brendan 
Miniter, discussing the October 8 debate between President Bush and 
Democratic opponent John Kerry, observes:
"On the one issue in the debate in which Democrats hold the natural 
advantage, the environment, Mr. Kerry came out on top."
http://web.archive.org/web/20041120230653/http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/bminiter/?id=110005744
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