[TheClimate.Vote] August 4, 2020 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

Tue Aug 4 09:38:45 EDT 2020

/*August  4, 2020*/

[up 28%]
*Amazon region: Brazil records big increase in fires*
[See the video too]
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-53626544

[TIME Magazine declares:]
*It's Time for American Leaders to Wake Up to the Threat of Climate 
Change for the Good of the Planet and Business*
BY JOHN R. KASICH - AUGUST 3, 2020
Kasich was the governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019.
The coronavirus pandemic has worn out its welcome on Earth. Just try and 
find someone who's not sick and tired of working from the basement, 
wearing a mask, bumping elbows in greeting or simply living with the 
worry of themselves or their family getting sick. And these 
inconveniences pale in comparison to the pain many have suffered from 
sickness or the loss of loved ones.

If we could have seen the pandemic coming and had the power to prevent 
it, of course, we would have. If we had that power but sat on our hands 
as millions became sick and died, that inaction would be unforgivable.

There is another problem that we know is coming, that we have the power 
to address, and yet which we continually do too little--or often 
nothing--to tackle. I'm talking about climate change.

Left unchecked, the impact of climate change will only further alter our 
world as we know it--reshaping our coastlines and the cities that sit on 
them, accelerating species extinction, devastating agriculture and 
causing famine, ravaging our economy and impacting everyone's health.
Though often regarded as a hot potato in politics, one of the biggest 
points of opposition to addressing climate change is the cost. How can a 
world whose transportation and energy systems are so heavily rooted in 
burning hydrocarbons afford to scrap them and shift to other, cleaner 
forms of energy?

I approach it from the other direction, however: how can we afford not to?

Yes, the looming cost to human life and the natural world are paramount 
and merit immediate and sustained commitment to long-term action. For 
those who also worry about the economics of tackling climate change, 
consider this: Goldman Sachs recently estimated that there is $16 
trillion to be made in just the next 10 years from new investments in 
renewable energy. Furthermore, if the United States committed to help 
keep global warming within 2 degrees Celsius, this would create between 
$1 trillion and $2 trillion in yearly investments in renewable energy.

At a time when the global pandemic has dealt a mighty blow to the 
world's economy, those kinds of numbers should be music to our ears. Why 
would we not embrace the enormous economic benefits and job creation of 
investing in next generation transportation and renewable energy systems?

As a Republican governor of the 7th largest state and a top-25 global 
economy, I was proud to champion energy and environmental policies that 
helped Ohio reduce its carbon emissions by almost 30 percent between 
2005 and 2014--all while achieving strong job creation and still 
managing major new investments in natural gas from shale with 
regulations that surpassed the federal government's.

Our approach was balanced, reasonable and productive, with a focus on 
encouraging energy investments while also protecting public health and 
the environment--and preserving the Ohio's renewable energy standard. 
Thanks to the state's support for renewable energy, thousands of new 
jobs were created by companies like Amazon and Facebook which, like many 
tech companies, are committed to renewable energy use.

The time has come for people who understand the need to be good stewards 
of our environment--and who can appreciate the value of a global 
economic boost--to roll up their sleeves and push for the switch to 
renewable energy and clean transportation. Traditional renewable energy 
sources like solar and wind have stood the test of time and merit 
greater investment and deployment. Clean natural gas can be the bridge 
as we ramp up more renewables and make the final break from 
carbon-intensive fuels. We also need to support research into new green 
energy technologies and bring these to market.

I joined with former Secretary of State John Kerry and former California 
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger behind an effort called "World War Zero" 
to help bring together a group of unlikely allies - Democrats, 
Republicans and independents, scientists, military leaders, business 
leaders, diplomats, entertainers, and ordinary people from all walks of 
life - to mobilize, speak up, and tackle climate change together. And to 
find new ways of helping people appreciate the need to address the problem.

Seeing the economic benefits of renewable energy investments at a time 
of a global recession might not be an angle that first comes to mind. 
But tough problems merit different approaches and demand that we take 
advantage of the opportunities when they arise--like now.

Just like America's shift to a wartime footing in the 1940s helped end 
the Great Depression, the manufacturing revolution and global job 
creation that would be ushered in by the transition to a clean energy 
economy could deal critical blows to two dragons at once: climate change 
and the economic downturn. Let your voice be heard and make clear to 
those who lead that we cannot waste this opportunity.
https://time.com/5873394/take-climate-change-seriously-business/

[political adjustments]
*With big rallies cancelled, young climate activists are adapting 
election tactics*
Phone banks, social media and friend-to-friend campaigning are the new 
focus ahead of this year's US elections

or young climate activists in the US, staying home because of the 
pandemic does not mean staying silent, with plans gathering pace across 
the country to make their voices heard in November's elections.

It has been nearly a year since an estimated 6 million people across the 
world joined the youth-led global climate strikes on 20 September.

In the US, students from Los Angeles to Washington DC skipped school to 
voice their frustration over the slow response to the climate crisis by 
elected leaders, and Greta Thunberg told a cheering crowd in New York 
City "this is only the beginning".

But in the 10 months since the historic protests, the Covid-19 pandemic 
has ravaged the US, making meeting and organizing in-person hazardous. 
Climate strikes, including a major three-day mass protest that was 
planned for Earth Day 2020 in April, have been cancelled...
- -
But networks of youth climate activists have been regrouping, with a new 
focus on election campaigning with phone banks, social media and 
friend-to-friend organizing, according to interviews with organizers...
- -
"We are a generation that was really born into crises," said 
Jimenez-Hudis. "We don't have some golden age that we can look back on 
and feel that there is any kind of resonance with a call to normalcy 
because our normal has always been endless wars, has always been police 
brutality."

Youth voter turnout during the 2016 elections was disappointing with 
just 46% of eligible voters aged 18 to 29 going out to vote, compared to 
70% of the oldest voters, 70 and over.

Then in the wake of Donald Trump's election, youth movements began 
building campaigns and gaining visibility, with climate change growing 
as a key issue, driven in part by the burgeoning Sunrise Movement, which 
was founded in 2017.

In preparation for the 2018 midterm elections, the Sunrise Movement 
began training young activists to canvass for candidates who were 
proponents of renewable energy and publicly confront incumbents who take 
money from the fossil fuel industry. When the 2018 midterms came around, 
20% more young Americans ages 18 to 29 went out to vote compared to the 
last midterms in 2014, and Democrats won the House.

The group has more recently been pushing Democratic leaders to embrace 
the Green New Deal, a bold carbon-neutral plan for the economy 
championed by progressive Democrats including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Backing the policy was initially seen as too radical by many Democrats 
but it has now been embraced more widely by members of the party. Joe 
Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, recently 
unveiled a climate and jobs plan that mirrors some of the aggressiveness 
of the Green New Deal, though some activists believe he is not tough 
enough on fossil fuel industries.

With the pandemic, Jimenez-Hudis said, the Sunrise Movement has shifted 
its electoral strategy to focus entirely on phone banking and 
friend-to-friend organizing - encouraging people to talk to their 
friends and relatives directly about the candidates they support.

"We still have lots of work to do to make sure that we get the right 
Democrats on the ballot, the right Green New Deal champions on the 
ballot for the election in November just up and down the ticket," 
Jimenez-Hudis said.

The organization credits its phone banking volunteers for helping Jamaal 
Bowman, a former teacher who ousted a longtime congressman in New York, 
win his election and for tightening the race of Charles Booker, a 
Democrat in Kentucky who was hoping to run against the Republican 
senator Mitch McConnell.

Aligning racial justice and climate fights
In the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in May, the Sunrise 
Movement has also made efforts to streamline its focus toward racism and 
police brutality, encouraging members to attend protests and speak out 
about the intersection of racial justice and climate activism. The 
organization recently started its #WideAwake campaign, encouraging local 
activists to protest outside the homes of elected officials. On 
Juneteenth, a local Sunrise chapter coordinated such a protest outside 
the home of Senator McConnell, demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, who 
was shot and killed in her home by police in Louisville, Kentucky.

Recent months have helped some young climate activists see that the same 
systemic changes needed to address climate change are in line with the 
ones that will bring racial justice, escalating the need for elected 
officials who will bring those changes.

Rose Strauss, 20, a former organizer with the Sunrise Movement, said her 
time with the organization helped her understand the gravity of the 2020 
election. She dropped out of college so she could dedicate all her time 
to the election and canvass for Senator Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire.

Once it became clear that Sanders was not going to win the nomination, 
Strauss and a few fellow activists began to dedicate their efforts to 
starting a new initiative called the Down Ballot Disruption Project. The 
program, held entirely over Zoom, aims to teach young people how to 
canvass for candidates in their local elections and how to build a 
community around their activism, especially on social media.

Young people can "change this election in massive ways. The only arena 
right now, because we can't go and canvass outside, is social media. 
That's where we know how to do stuff," Strauss said. "We really need to 
make sure that the politicians who get elected this cycle are going to 
be the ones that are really caring about our futures."...
- -
"We want climate change to be a top priority on people's minds when 
they're going to the polls in November because of the way it will impact 
people of color and people living in those cities," said Zanagee Artis, 
20, the co-founder and deputy director of digital advocacy for Zero Hour.

While climate advocacy during the pandemic has largely been on video 
chats and social media, young activists are eager to get back on the 
streets. Fridays for Future, the global organization founded by Greta 
Thunberg, plans on holding a global climate strike on 25 September. 
Local chapters are working on what the protest will look like in their 
areas to accommodate local Covid-19 conditions.

Spencer Berg, 17, an organizer with Fridays for Future NYC, said 
organizers are still working out the logistics of what the protest will 
look like, but the overall message of the demonstration will be to 
advocate for a "green recovery" and ensure that New York City continues 
to uphold its commitments to fighting climate change.

While the pandemic has left devastation across the city and in many 
other places in the US, activists are hopeful that coronavirus can 
provide parallels to climate change and show how a single crisis can 
affect everyone.

Coronavirus has "inspired a lot of people because it has shown us that 
the government can act quickly and efficiently to quell a crisis", Berg 
said. "That's what this is: it's a climate crisis. A lot of politicians 
say we can't afford to do that, we don't have enough time for this, but 
coronavirus showed us that we can have complete systematic change if we 
need to."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/03/young-climate-activists-rallies-us-elections-coronavirus

[more curiosity video 50 mins]
*Living in the Time of Dying*
Documentary
If we accepted the climate science was true, how would we choose to live 
and what would matter to us? This is my journey exploring these topics.  
Interviews with: Author of " Deep Adaptation" Professor Jem Bendell, 
Dharma teacher and author of "Facing Extinction "Catherine Ingram, 
journalist and author of "The End of Ice" Dhar Jamail and Elder, teacher 
, author and Citizen of the Chiricuhua Apache Nation, Stan Rushworth.
To find out more about the doco, make a donation or listen to the full 
length interviews go to www.livinginthetimeofdying.com
https://www.livinginthetimeofdying.com/documentary

[Digging back into the internet news archive]
*On this day in the history of global warming - August 4, *

*NYTimes.com reports:*
"President Obama on Monday unveiled an aggressive plan to sharply limit 
greenhouse gases emitted by the nation's power plants, declaring that 
time was running out to thwart the most dangerous impacts of global 
climate change.

"'No challenge poses a greater threat to our future and future 
generations than a changing climate,' Mr. Obama said in a speech from 
the East Room of the White House as he announced his most ambitious 
action to date to tackle the planet's rising temperatures. 'There is 
such a thing as being too late when it comes to climate change.'

"The president, who wants to make his initiatives to address the warming 
of the planet a central element of his legacy, called the new rules a 
public health imperative and 'the single most important step America has 
ever taken in the fight against global climate change.' He also sought 
to wrap the policy in the legitimacy of transcendental values, noting 
that Pope Francis had issued an encyclical in June, calling action on 
the issue a 'moral obligation.'

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/us/obama-unveils-plan-to-sharply-limit-greenhouse-gas-emissions.html?mwrsm=Email

/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------/

/Archive of Daily Global Warming News 
<https://pairlist10.pair.net/pipermail/theclimate.vote/2017-October/date.html> 
/
https://pairlist10.pair.net/pipermail/theclimate.vote

/To receive daily mailings - click to Subscribe 
<mailto:subscribe at theClimate.Vote?subject=Click%20SEND%20to%20process%20your%20request> 
to news digest./

*** Privacy and Security:*This is a text-only mailing that carries no 
images which may originate from remote servers. Text-only messages 
provide greater privacy to the receiver and sender.
By regulation, the .VOTE top-level domain must be used for democratic 
and election purposes and cannot be used for commercial purposes. 
Messages have no tracking software.
To subscribe, email: contact at theclimate.vote 
<mailto:contact at theclimate.vote> with subject subscribe, To Unsubscribe, 
subject: unsubscribe
Also you may subscribe/unsubscribe at 
https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/theclimate.vote
Links and headlines assembled and curated by Richard Pauli for 
http://TheClimate.Vote <http://TheClimate.Vote/> delivering succinct 
information for citizens and responsible governments of all levels. List 
membership is confidential and records are scrupulously restricted to 
this mailing list.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/pipermail/theclimate.vote/attachments/20200804/f84950fb/attachment.html>