[TheClimate.Vote] April 25, 2020 - Daily Global Warming News Digest.
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Sat Apr 25 12:26:24 EDT 2020
/*April 25, 2020*/
[legal move]
*Dutch officials reveal measures to cut emissions after court ruling*
Green activists claim victory as government will spend 3bn[Euros] on new
climate initiatives
The Dutch government has announced measures including huge cuts to coal
use, garden greening and limits on livestock herds as part of its plan
to lower emissions to comply with a supreme court ruling.
Climate litigation activists described the move as "an enormous win".
The small non-profit Urgenda Foundation, which filed the initial legal
challenge in 2013, said this and earlier compliance measures totalled
about 3bn euros, which confirms the impact of the world’s most
successful climate lawsuit to date.
Under the new package, coal-fired power stations will have to scale back
or close completely , cattle and pig herds will be reduced, subsidies
will be provided to home owners to use less concrete and more plants in
their gardens, and industry will have to find alternatives for several
polluting processes...
more at -
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/24/dutch-officials-reveal-measures-to-cut-emissions-after-court-ruling
[BBC informs]
*Coronavirus recovery plan 'must tackle climate change'*
"The world must work together, as it has to deal with the coronavirus
pandemic, to support a green and resilient recovery, which leaves no one
behind.
"At the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, we will come together to discuss
how we can turn ambition into real action."
https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/science-environment-52418624
- - -
[see it live April 28th]
*Petersberg Climate Dialogue XI*
The coronavirus crisis is presenting the international climate
negotiations with new challenges. The Climate Change Conference (COP 26)
has been postponed to 2021. This year, the Petersberg Climate Dialogue
(PCD) will not take place in its usual format. This time, however, the
ministers of 30 countries will meet online, because it is essential that
the exchange on the important issue of climate action continues.
The 11th Petersberg Climate Dialogue (PCD) will therefore be held as a
video conference on 27 and 28 April. The United Kingdom, as president of
the next Climate Change Conference (COP 26), will co-chair this year’s
PCD. At the invitation of Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze,
high-level government officials will discuss which measures could pave
the way for a green recovery from this economic crisis. Additional
exchanges between non-state actors such as businesses, cities, NGOs and
thinktanks, and between chief negotiators, will also take place.
Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and UN Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres are scheduled to give speeches and answer questions from the
ministers.
The speeches and the following discussion can be followed on 28 April at
15:10 via www.bmu.de/en/press/live-broadcast/.
Live Stream to the press conference with Federal Environment Minister
Svenja Schulze
Monday, 27 April 2020 from 10.30 am to 11.30 am (CET)
https://www.bmu.de/en/press/live-broadcast/
https://www.bmu.de/en/
[Voter Study Group report - Degrees of Change]
*Americans' Shifting Views on Global Warming*
BY PARRISH BERGQUIST, ROBERT GRIFFIN
APRIL 2020
Key Findings
- Americans today are more certain about the existence of climate
change, and they are more likely to perceive it as serious and
caused by human activities than in 2011.
- These changes have varied significantly by partisanship. Democrats
are increasingly certain about the existence, seriousness, and
human-caused nature of climate change. Republicans are increasingly
certain about its existence and seriousness, but no more likely to
think it is caused by human activity. Independents have grown
somewhat more skeptical of climate change in all of these respects.
- On an individual level, substantial numbers of Americans changed
their minds about the existence (24 percent), seriousness (20
percent), and causes (31 percent) of climate change.
- The individual-level changes were not equal among partisans.
Republicans were likeliest to change their minds about the
existence, seriousness, or cause of climate change, while Democrats
were the least likely to change.
- Between 2011 and 2019, younger Republicans adopted views that were
more skeptical about the existence and seriousness of climate change
as they aged. However, during the same time period, they became more
likely to accept that climate change is caused by human activity.
- There is evidence of enduring cohort differences among Republicans
when it comes to beliefs about the seriousness and human-caused
nature of climate change. On these issues, the differences between
younger and older Republicans today are larger than they were in
2011. However, cohort differences have not emerged on the issue of
climate change’s existence.
- Americans do not respond differently when asked about "global
warming" or "climate change." They are just as likely to say both
are happening, that they are serious, and that they are caused by
human activities...
This policy reversal exemplifies the polarized nature of climate change
in American politics. While many topics are divisive, there are few
where views about the basic facts, as well as the solutions, are as
deeply contested. Climate change has become a top priority issue for
Democratic voters, particularly in the liberal wing of the party.(i) But
prior analysis by the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group suggests that the
importance of climate change is one of the most divisive issues for
Democrats and Republicans.
The stakes are high. The United Nations International Panel on Climate
Change -- a collection of the world’s foremost climate scientists -- has
shown that climate impacts are already occurring, will get worse, and
that strong and swift action is crucial to warding off the worst effects
that climate change could cause.(ii) Understanding Americans’ views on
this issue, as well as how these views are changing, is of vital importance.
more at - https://www.voterstudygroup.org/publication/degrees-of-change
[Denial from your Cranky Uncle - video cartoon]
*Debunking Cranky Uncle on past climate change*
Apr 24, 2020
John Cook
A debunking of the "climate's changed naturally before so current
climate change must be natural" myth, using cartoons from the Cranky
Uncle vs. Climate Change book:
http://crankyuncle.com/book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPTORGuLWOo
*The Road to Change: America's Climate Crisis*
Tune in Saturday April 25 at 10pm EST and join Chief Climate
Correspondent Bill Weir for an American road trip to explore how the
climate crisis is already transforming life as we know it.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2020/04/20/road-to-change-america-climate-crisis-weir.cnn
http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2020/04/21/cnn-special-reports-presents-the-road-to-change-americas-climate-crisis/
[book about "The Climate Generation"]
*A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety*
How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet
by Sarah Jaquette Ray (Author)
April 2020
*About the Book*
A youth movement is reenergizing global environmental activism. The
"climate generation"-- late millennials and iGen, or Generation Z--is
demanding that policy makers and government leaders take immediate
action to address the dire outcomes predicted by climate science. Those
inheriting our planet’s environmental problems expect to encounter
challenges, but they may not have the skills to grapple with the
feelings of powerlessness and despair that may arise when they confront
this seemingly intractable situation.
Drawing on a decade of experience leading and teaching in college
environmental studies programs, Sarah Jaquette Ray has created an
"existential tool kit" for the climate generation. Combining insights
from psychology, sociology, social movements, mindfulness, and the
environmental humanities, Ray explains why and how we need to let go of
eco-guilt, resist burnout, and cultivate resilience while advocating for
climate justice. A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety is the essential
guidebook for the climate generation--and perhaps the rest of us--as we
confront the greatest environmental threat of our time.
https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520343306/
- -
[ video interview with author - 15 min]
*Sarah Jaquette Ray on "A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep
Your Cool on a Warming Planet"*
Ray explains what she learned from over a decade of teaching college
environmental studies courses--that her students were passionate about
global environmental activism but struggled with anxiety when faced with
the dire predictions of climate scientists. This revelation led her to
develop an "existential tool kit" for the climate
generation--Millennials and Gen Z’ers who are demanding action from
policymakers and government leaders--that ultimately became A Field
Guide to Climate Anxiety.
Find out how you can take action and stay sane during these challenging
times! A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety is now available wherever books
are sold, including indie stores currently offering curbside pickup, and
websites like Bookshop.org.
https://youtu.be/adNUFvsHwio
[climate psychology]
*Why facing our feelings is essential for tackling our climate crisis*
By Renee Lertzman
April 23, 2020
(CNN)Editor's note: Renée Lertzman Ph.D. is a climate psychologist,
researcher and strategist, focusing on individual and collective action
on our climate and environmental crises. The opinions expressed in this
commentary are her own. View more opinion at CNN.
Thirty years ago, I sat in a darkened lecture hall listening to what was
happening to our Earth because of the decisions people had made. Climate
change, toxic contamination, species loss, forest fires, soil depletion:
it was a litany of all the ways humans had gone very wrong. At least,
that's how it felt to me, at age 19. Human behavior was directly
influencing the globe's weather patterns. It was almost unthinkable.
Apparently, it was so unthinkable for those around me -- that people
were literally not thinking about it.
Meanwhile, my world was turned upside down, forcing me to reassess
almost everything -- how I traveled, what I ate, wore, what I drank out
of, slept in, even put on my face -- surprisingly intimate things. It
also made me think about who I was in the world, and who I wanted to be.
I did not identify as a scientist, activist or "radical." Yet, at that
time, those seemed to be the only people who understood our lethal and
dangerous trajectory.
I tried talking with other people about it. I wanted to understand what
I was feeling, and why others seemed somehow immune. Was it grief? Was
it a unique, new kind of anxiety? A crisis of "epistemic trust" -- the
helplessness Dr. Daniel Siegel calls when the world no longer seems
trustworthy?
It was all of the above. Yet at that time, not many people wanted to
talk about it. This is now changing. And that's a good thing, because
it's the ticket to our collective survival.
As we face a global pandemic, tornadoes march across our country,
forests burn, waters rise and warm, corals bleach, jungles disappear,
floods decimate entire regions, and storms devastate coastlines. More
and more people are feeling overwhelmed, anxious and despairing. And
here's the thing: we really need to be talking about this. Openly,
without judgment, shame, blame, guilt or "emotional policing."
We are seeing huge numbers of people starting to bravely name their
feelings, openly: I am scared. I feel overwhelmed. I feel powerlessness.
I feel angry. Such as Hugh, who struggles with anxiety and wrote into
CNN before the climate town hall, "I've been losing sleep after reading
a report that talks about how climate change could lead to the collapse
of civilization by 2050." A few years ago, this comment would have
seemed extreme. This is no longer the case. It just hasn't been
acknowledged as openly -- until now. And that's a very good thing,
especially in this uncertain, anxious and precarious time.
We are all seeking meaning at a time of such radical uncertainty and
upheaval. And so the talking heads come out: we should prepare for an
apocalypse, mobilize, activate, solve problems, come together, dialogue,
innovate, grieve, cry or simply check out.
But we're missing a crucial step. We need to name and acknowledge our
feelings; if we don't, we can't move forward.
As neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux reminds us, "Body hormones, such as
cortisol, help us cope with stress. But as with any useful chemical, you
can have too much of a good thing. Prolonged, intense stress can raise
the levels of cortisol beyond the point where they are useful and can
impair memory processing and decision making systems that normally help
us be effective amidst uncertainty and change. If we can keep our stress
at levels that are useful rather than harmful, we can help ourselves and
others be in the zone where we are able to use memory and foresight to
cope with the situation. But because we are each different, we each have
a unique tipping point."
The question is, how we can do this, particularly when the stakes are so
high. Psychologists have a term, "self-regulation" -- ways we can keep
our stress levels in a zone that enables us to be functional, proactive,
agile and resilient.
"It requires huge self-regulation to contemplate and open our minds to
apprehend the edges of these massive issues," said neuroscientist Sarah
Peyton, author of "Your Resonant Self." This would include climate
change, the pandemic, the economy, who we were pre-Covid-19 and who we
are now becoming. "No wonder people get their fuses blown: being asked
to take action, mourn, engage, with something so big."
When anxiety or being overwhelmed hits, we can move outside of our
"window of tolerance." Siegel describes this "window" as the optimal
zone of arousal where we are able to manage and thrive in everyday life,
despite the ups and downs. On the one end, when stressed we can go into
a "rigid" response, which may look like despair or depression, or a more
"chaotic" mode of agitation and rage. Often we ricochet between,
bouncing around based on how well we can cope with these stressors.
There are many things we can do -- individually, socially and
collectively -- to move us into our window of tolerance. We are all
doing them every day: walking, playing with our pets, cooking meals,
joking around with our friends. We can also try calming practices like
deep breathing and meditation known to powerfully change our stress
levels. And, what truly helps us all, is our ability to open up, be
honest, and have candid, compassionate conversations with those who feel
similarly or who are open to listening.
Many of us are afraid that we'll get pulled down into a black hole if we
call out pain, guilt and shame that arises when we recognize that we are
responsible for some big things going wrong, and that we are now reaping
what we've sown. But in fact, it's exactly the opposite.
Compassionately naming our emotions actively decreases activity in the
amygdala, as cognitive scientist Golnaz Tabibnia and her team have
discovered in their groundbreaking work. Or what Siegel calls "name it
to tame it."
Each of us need to support this kind of public global climate
conversation. And it starts with, "of course."
Of course you feel sad. Of course you have anxiety and are waking up at
night. Of course you are worried about your kids and family. Of course
you feel deep concern for all of humanity right now. Of course you feel
angry but are not sure why. Of course you are wondering where leadership
is. Of course you are grieving for the losses that are happening and
will continue. Of course you feel energized to show up as fully as you
can. Of course you care.
Saying "of course" to ourselves, first, and to each other as a regular
practice, gives us permission to show up as our full, effective selves
by first acknowledging the validity, complexity and intensity of the
feelings. When leaders, influencers and each of us does this, we are
saying, "You are not alone. I am here with you. Let's figure this out
together."
What this looks like in practice -- whether in UN meetings, your online
conversations, news coverage or a presidential candidate debate stage --
is having the courage and bravery to actively acknowledge and affirm
what many are feeling but not giving voice to.
Of course this is a terrifying moment. These issues seem intractable and
overwhelming. Of course it's hard to even contemplate. Of course no one
wants this to be happening, and everyone wishes it wasn't.
The bottom line is that we are all so much more capable of showing up as
our most active, hard-working, brilliant, creative, loving and generous
selves, when our experience is being part of something bigger than
ourselves. That we are not alone -- which at this moment we are most
certainly, clearly not. When we feel that we matter, our voices and
experiences count -- no matter how messy or complicated or dark or
hopeful. We can all help each other, and our beautiful and suffering
planet right now, by starting with saying to one person or a whole cast
of thousands, "Of course you feel that way." Of course.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/23/opinions/climate-crisis-psychology-lertzman/index.html
[Digging back into the internet news archive]
*On this day in the history of global warming - April 25, 1999 *
April 25, 1999: Reviewing former ABC News correspondent Bob Zelnick's
book "Gore: A Political Life" (which was published by the right-wing
outfit Regnery), the New York Times' Richard L. Berke notes that the
book does a hatchet job on the Vice President's climate advocacy:
"For example, while some environmentalists describe Gore's book 'Earth
in the Balance' as an impressive work that incorporates his knowledge
of global warming and other issues, Zelnick dismisses it as
'pathetically one-dimensional in its view of Western civilization,
shabby in its ignorance of economics, simplistic in its approach to
problem solving.'"
http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/04/25/reviews/990425.25berket.html
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