[TheClimate.Vote] September 12, 2019 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Thu Sep 12 09:12:17 EDT 2019
/September 12, 2019/
[Happer out to pasture]
*Climate Denialist to Depart White House National Security Council*
William Happer, the White House architect of a stalled plan to attack
the established science of climate change, is leaving the Trump
administration on Friday, according to three people familiar with his plans.
Dr. Happer, a physicist who gained notoriety by claiming that the
greenhouse gases contributing to warming the planet are beneficial to
humanity, and for likening attacks on fossil fuels to "the demonization
of the poor Jews under Hitler" in a 2014 interview, serves on the
National Security Council as President Trump's deputy assistant for
emerging technologies.
His signature effort at the White House was a plan to establish a panel
to question the scientific consensus that climate change is
overwhelmingly caused by humans and is a growing threat to national
security. The effort was blocked by other senior White House and
administration officials, including members of the military and
intelligence communities.
Dr. Happer also tried to edit scientific facts about climate change in
testimony to Congress from a State Department intelligence analyst. His
suggestions, first reported by The New York Times, included objecting to
the phrase "tipping point" to describe when the planet reaches a
threshold of irreversible climate change...
"'Tipping points' is a propaganda slogan for the scientifically
illiterate," Dr. Happer wrote in a margin comment captured by track
changes in working documents. "They were a favorite of Al Gore's science
adviser, James Hansen."
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email newsletter.
The White House and a spokesman for the National Security Council did
not respond to a request for comment, and Dr. Happer did not respond to
an email seeking comment on Wednesday. His departure was first reported
by E&E News, an energy policy news site.
The three people familiar with Dr. Happer's plans noted the former
Princeton University professor just turned 80 and had always intended to
stay at the White House for one year.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/11/climate/william-happer-climate-change-white-house.html
[audio - World Affairs - important, deep thinking and some language for
children - this is great]
*Eco-Anxiety: Climate Change and Mental Health*
A burning Amazon rainforest. Thinning ice sheets. Sea level rise.
Wildfires in California. Thawing Arctic permafrost. It's no surprise
that many of us have anxiety about our planet's future. The mental
health impacts of climate change are increasing distress about the
future while intensifying the trauma of natural disasters already
happening. On this week's episode of WorldAffairs, Caroline Hickman,
Executive Committee member of the Climate Psychology Alliance and
teaching fellow at the University of Bath joins WorldAffairs co-host Ray
Suarez to discuss eco-anxiety in the age of climate change.
We want to hear from you! Please take part in a quick survey to tell us
how we can improve our podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PWZ7KMW
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eco-anxiety-climate-change-and-mental-health/id101215657?i=1000449258261
http://worldaffairs.libsyn.com/eco-anxiety-climate-change-and-mental-health
- - -
[introducing]
*Caroline Hickman*
Teaching Fellow, Department of Social & Policy Sciences
Centre for Analysis of Social Policy (CASP)
Department of Education
https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/persons/caroline-hickman
[Greenpeace Activism happening now]
*This morning 22 Greenpeace activists climbed the Fred Hartman Bridge in
Texas to block the Houston Ship Channel *-- the largest oil export
shipping channel for some of the biggest polluters in the world. We are
in a climate emergency, created by the fossil fuel industry and fueled
by the Trump administration, and it's time for a reckoning. In advance
of the third democratic debate tonight in Houston, and just over a week
from the global youth-led climate strikes, this action is a call for our
leaders to imagine a world beyond fossil fuels and embrace a just
transition to renewable energy.
We believe that we deserve a world without fossil fuels, and if we have
the courage to take on this industry, we can create a transition that
puts millions of people into safe, high-paying, union jobs in the
renewable energy economy. The fact is, we can either take the actions
necessary to prevent climate catastrophe today, or live with an ongoing
climate emergency -- with more floods, mega-storms, fires, and
instability -- for years to come. And communities like Houston that are
already on the frontlines of climate change and fossil fuel pollution
that will suffer the most if we fail.
Here's a link to our press release for more information:
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/breaking-greenpeace-climbers-block-houston-ship-channel-halting-oil-industry-operations-ahead-of-democratic-debate/
We need your help to amplify these activists' courageous actions. Here's
how you can help:
*1. Get the word out:*
Retweet this post on twitter:
https://twitter.com/greenpeaceusa/status/1172110668939563009
And this one: https://twitter.com/greenpeaceusa/status/1172118925888434177
Share (and watch) this Facebook livestream:
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/livestream/
*2. Amplify with this sample social media language:*
These @greenpeaceusa activists are demanding a reckoning for the fossil
fuel billionaires who are profiting at the expense of the planet. Watch
the action LIVE here >> https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/livestream/
#PeopleVsOil
We're in a climate emergency created by the fossil fuel industry, and
Trump's made it worse. Join these courageous activists in demanding our
leaders say yes to a #GreenNewDeal and no to fossil fuels >>
bit.ly/2kyY0TL #PeopleVsOil
This is a crisis, and these activists are acting like it! They're
shutting down the largest fossil fuel thoroughfare in the country
because they believe a world beyond fossil fuels is possible.
#PeopleVsOil https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/livestream/
These @greenpeaceusa activists are taking action today so we don't have
to face radical climate impacts tomorrow. Watch and share their action
here >> https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/livestream/ #PeopleVsOil
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/breaking-greenpeace-climbers-block-houston-ship-channel-halting-oil-industry-operations-ahead-of-democratic-debate/
[45 min video interview with Greta Thunberg in NYC]
*"We Are Striking to Disrupt the System": An Hour with 16-Year-Old
Climate Activist Greta Thunberg*
Democracy Now!
Published on Sep 11, 2019
In her first extended broadcast interview in the United States, we spend
the hour with Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist
who has inspired millions across the globe. Last year she launched a
school strike for the climate, skipping school every Friday to stand in
front of the Swedish parliament, demanding action to prevent
catastrophic climate change. Her protest spread, quickly going global.
Hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren around the globe have
participated in their own local school strikes for the climate. Since
her strike began in 2018, Greta has become a leading figure in the
climate justice movement. She has joined protests across Europe. She has
addressed world leaders at the U.N. climate talks in Poland and the
European Union Parliament. She has even met the pope. And now she is in
New York to join a global climate strike on September 20 and address the
U.N. Climate Action Summit on September 23. Greta has refused to fly for
years because of emissions, so she arrived here after a two-week
transatlantic voyage aboard a zero-emissions racing yacht. She is also
planning to attend the U.N. climate summit in Santiago, Chile, in
December. Greta joined us Tuesday in our Democracy Now! studio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgi30Wy_V74
[Heat dries soil]
*Climate change may cut soil's ability to absorb water*
Date: September 11, 2019
Source: Rutgers University
Summary:
Coasts, oceans, ecosystems, weather and human health all face impacts
from climate change, and now valuable soils may also be affected.
Climate change may reduce the ability of soils to absorb water in many
parts of the world, according to a new study. And that could have
serious implications for groundwater supplies, food production and
security, stormwater runoff, biodiversity and ecosystems.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190911151204.htm
[Says NASA]
*NASA Research Gives New Insight into How Much Atmosphere Mars Lost*
A key tracer used to estimate how much atmosphere Mars lost can change
depending on the time of day and the surface temperature on the Red
Planet, according to new observations by NASA-funded scientists.
Previous measurements of this tracer - isotopes of oxygen - have
disagreed significantly. An accurate measurement of this tracer is
important to estimate how much atmosphere Mars once had before it was
lost, which reveals whether Mars could have been habitable and what the
conditions might have been like.
Mars is a cold, inhospitable desert today, but features like dry
riverbeds and minerals that only form with liquid water indicate that
long ago it had a thick atmosphere that retained enough heat for liquid
water - a necessary ingredient for life - to flow on the surface. It
appears that Mars lost much of its atmosphere over billions of years,
transforming its climate from one that might have supported life into
the desiccated and frozen environment of today, according to results
from NASA missions such as MAVEN and Curiosity and going back to the
Viking missions of 1976.
- - -
The new work will help researchers refine their estimates of the ancient
Martian atmosphere. Because the measurements can now be understood to be
consistent with the results of such processes in other planets'
atmospheres, it means they are on the right track for understanding how
the Martian climate changed. "It shows that the atmospheric loss was by
processes that we more or less understand," said Livengood. "Critical
details remain to be worked out, but it means that we don't need to
invoke exotic processes that could have resulted in removing CO2 without
changing the isotope ratios, or changing just some ratios in other
elements."
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/mars-lost-atmosphere
[informed conjecture]
*122 degrees for days: the looming Phoenix heat wave that could harm
thousands*
How climate change could bring the Katrina of extreme heat to Arizona.
By Umair Irfan Sep 9, 2019, 8:00am EDT
To live in the 21st century is to live with the threat of weather
growing more and more wicked.
Droughts, heat waves, and wildfires are growing more intense and
dangerous from global warming and rising greenhouse gas emissions.
Meanwhile, we're not reckoning with scientists' predictions that
worst-case weather scenarios will be more likely -- and common -- if we
don't change course. Only 41 percent of the American public believes
climate change will affect them personally, a 2018 survey by Yale and
George Mason University found.
Phoenix, Arizona, is susceptible to a heat wave that could peak at a
staggering 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Southern California could face a
wildfire that burns 1.5 million acres of land. Tampa, Florida, could see
26 feet of storm surge flooding from a hurricane, just below the
record-breaking 28-foot storm surge of Hurricane Katrina...
- - -
*One day in the future, a massive wave of high-pressure air will park
over Phoenix.*
As the sun rises amid an already scorching summer, the pressure will
hold the accumulated heat in place and the triple-digit temperatures
will tick up higher and higher. 119 degrees Fahrenheit. 120. 121. 122.
Health officials will warn citizens to stay inside, but some will
venture out and emergency room visits will spike. At night, the
temperature will drop only to 100.
It's an alarming prospect for a rising population. Phoenix is home to
1.6 million people and is the second-fastest-growing city in the United
States. The metro area is home to 4 million and is projected to grow to
6.6 million people by 2050. By then, more than 20 percent of the
population will be older than 65...
- - -
Over the next 24 hours of this heat wave, electricity use will surge
higher as millions of air conditioners blast at full force, and the
power grid will sputter as power lines strain. Power plants will run
dangerously low on cooling water as the rivers that feed the region slow
to a trickle and heat up. Generators will become less efficient.
The grid will succumb to brownouts and blackouts. Air conditioners will
wheeze out, leaving many in homes that will grow dangerously hot. Water
pumps will shut off, threatening people with dehydration. Freezers will
thaw and food will spoil. Lines will form at gas stations as stalled
pumps force drivers to refuel by hand.
Anxiety will grow about the region's water supply. The Phoenix
metropolitan region will already be in a drought and what little water
is left will start becoming too hot to use. The nearby water reservoirs
will be at record lows. Golf courses turn yellow as water restrictions
go into effect.
By Day 5, city officials will declare a public health emergency.
Officials will ask people to congregate in malls, libraries, and rec
centers to minimize the cooling load.
Gasoline will be in short supply as people start to leave the city.
Traffic will gridlock as asphalt bubbles and roads close. Flights will
be grounded as the heat makes the air too thin to generate enough lift
for aircraft to safely take off and climb. Cacti will wilt. Air
pollution will reach record levels as dust and ozone build up, leading
to another spike in emergency room visits.
This surging heat with temperatures peaking around the 120s will linger
for two weeks, as rising average temperatures increase the length,
severity, and frequency of extreme heat. The city's economy will grind
to a halt. Lights will switch off. By the end of this cascade, many may die.
- - -
*Phoenix is already hot, but the heat will only get worse*
Many of these effects have already happened before. Scientists,
engineers, and city planners are worried they could happen again with
more devastation. In 2018, researchers mapped out how extreme heat could
lead to a rippling collapse in infrastructure, warning that Phoenix
might face "a [Hurricane] Katrina of extreme heat."
Such a scenario could happen in Phoenix in the next few decades as the
climate changes. The city's past brushes with heat extremes are
illustrative.
- - -
With few tolerable outdoor hours in the day, many jobs will increasingly
become nocturnal. Road construction crews in Phoenix already work in the
middle of the night on highways, since it's safer for workers and
because it's easier to work with materials like concrete at lower
temperatures. Recreation activities like hiking are beginning to become
more popular before the sun comes up.
- - -
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/9/9/20804544/climate-change-phoenix-heat-wave-deaths-extreme-weather
[Tangential factoid - Snopes will confirm the truth]
*Bricks of cocaine washed ashore in Florida after Hurricane Dorian.*
Mostly True
What's True
A brick of cocaine was found on a beach in Florida as Hurricane Dorian
began to impact the area.
What's False
A large amount of cocaine was found in a duffel bag on a Florida beach
before the storm.
What's Undetermined
It's unclear if Hurricane Dorian played any part in these drugs washing
up on shore.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cocaine-bricks-wash-up-dorian/
*This Day in Climate History - September 12, 2007 - from D.R. Tucker*
September 12, 2007: US District Judge William Sessions III issues a
240-page decision upholding Vermont's right to regulate greenhouse gas
emissions from vehicles.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/12/AR2007091202391.html
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