[TheClimate.Vote] January 10, 2020 - Daily Global Warming News Digest..

[Richard Pauli]

/*January 10, 2020*/

[Washington Post says]
*This is perhaps Trump's most cynical comment about the environment yet*
By Philip Bump
National correspondent focused largely on the numbers behind politics
Jan. 9, 2020
During an event at the White House on Thursday, President Trump was 
asked by a reporter about his position on global warming: Did he still 
consider it a hoax, as he'd repeatedly indicated before running for 
president?

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
We should be focused on magnificently clean and healthy air and not
distracted by the expensive hoax that is global warming!

"No, not at all," Trump replied. "Nothing's a hoax. Nothing's a hoax 
about that. It's a very serious subject."

Then everything went sideways. Here's how Trump continued.

"I want clean air. I want clean water. I want the cleanest air, want
the cleanest water. The environment is very important to me."
"Somebody wrote a book that I'm an environmentalist and actually
called, 'The Environmentalist', actually, before I did this. But
they wrote a book. I'd like to get it. I have it in the other
office. I'll bring it to my next news conference, perhaps. I'm sure
you'll be thrilled to see it. I'm sure you'll report all about it."
"But no, I'm a big believer in that word: the environment. I'm a big
believer. But I want clean air. I want clean water. And I also want
jobs, though. I want I don't want to close up our industry because
somebody said, you know, you have to go with wind or you have to go
with something else that's not going to be able to have the capacity
to do what we have to do. We have the best employment numbers we've
ever had. We have the best unemployment numbers we've ever had. So
that's very important."

It's worth breaking that down, line by line.

"I want clean air. I want clean water. I want the cleanest air, want the 
cleanest water. The environment is very important to me." Okay, fine. 
We've heard this before; Trump often talks about "the environment" in 
terms of clean air and water, as though he's a 1974 public-service 
announcement airing on your local CBS affiliate. Global warming is only 
about "clean air" in the sense that warming is caused by the unchecked 
release of gases like carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, 
and it's only about "clean water" in the sense that increased saturation 
of carbon dioxide in ocean water is making that water more acidic. But 
there's absolutely no reason to assume that this is the context in which 
Trump's using that phrasing.

He used to understand that there was a distinction between climate 
change and clean air. That the line has now been erased.

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
We should be focused on magnificently clean and healthy air and not
distracted by the expensive hoax that is global warming!

We should assume that -- willingly or accidentally -- he's simply moving 
the argument into safer political territory. Since many of those whose 
experience with the environmental movement predates the emergence of 
climate change as an issue probably similarly understand "caring for the 
environment" as "not dumping tires in lakes," he's simply pivoting from 
something on which his record is nonexistent to something on which his 
record is merely bad. He's done nothing on climate change but move 
backward; he has, at least, talked about clean air and water.

He has also championed policy and regulatory changes that would loosen 
existing air and water protections. There's voluminous documentation of 
these changes. And while he has, at times, claimed that America's air 
and water are the cleanest in the world, they aren't -- and things may 
be worsening.

"Somebody wrote a book that I'm an environmentalist…I'm sure you'll 
report all about it." If this book exists, Google isn't aware of it.

Update: The book has been identified. It is "Donald J. Trump: An 
Environmental Hero," written by Edward Russo -- a long-time employee of 
the Trump Organization -- in 2016.

Trump's made this claim before, that he's a champion of the environment. 
Here, for example, is what he said in November when asked about the 
tension between risk and championing business, particularly in the 
context of climate change.

"Well, you know, climate change is a very complex issue. I consider 
myself to be, in many ways, an environmentalist, believe it or not," he 
said. "When I build buildings, I did the best environmental impact 
statements. I was -- You know, I know the game better than anybody."

That's an impressively bad pivot. He's an environmentalist…because he 
completed "the best" environmental impact reports?

Environmental impact reports, or EIRs, are governmentally mandated 
assessments of the possible environmental effects of a building or 
construction project. The state of New York, where most of Trump's 
construction projects were completed, requires EIRs under the State 
Environmental Quality Review Act. That Trump completed mandated reports 
on the possible impacts of his buildings qualifies him, in his view, as 
an environmentalist.

Now the kicker. The White House event Thursday where Trump was renewing 
his claim to being an environmentalist? It was focused on scaling back 
the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, which, among 
other things, mandates environmental reviews for federal projects.

Under President Barack Obama, that mandate had been expanded to include 
new attention to the effects on climate change. Trump, while claiming to 
be an environmentalist, wants to loosen environmental rules similar to 
those which, in another context, he used to tout his own environmentalism...
- - -
"I'm a big believer in that word: the environment. I'm a big believer. 
But I want clean air. I want clean water. And I also want jobs, though. 
I want I don't want to close up our industry because somebody said, you 
know, you have to go with wind." This is the heart of the tension Trump 
was asked about in November. Where is the line drawn between the need to 
ensure that American jobs are preserved -- or, at least, preserving 
corporate profits -- and between curtailing the effects of global warming?

This is a real debate, and one which bears actual risks for American 
politicians. Democrats eager to address the warming climate are asked to 
explain what then happens to coal miners whose product becomes anathema. 
Hillary Clinton's fumbling treatment of this question in the 2016 
campaign did her no favors in places like western Pennsylvania.

Trump, despite his talk about clean air, has given no indication at all 
that he's particularly interested in giving much weight to any 
consideration besides jobs and profit margins. Every time his 
administration rolls back another set of rules or regulations, the 
framing is the same: It's important for the economy.

The White House document defending the particular rollback Trump 
announced Thursday focused on that point, too: "The President is 
delivering on his promise to transform our government and reform 
regulations to work for the American people."

So Trump is an environmentalist who conflates climate change with the 
need for clean water and air -- which he has separately undermined -- 
and we know he's an environmentalist both because an employee identified 
him as such in a book and because he completed the sorts of government 
mandated environmental reviews which he scaled back during the event in 
which he again declared himself to be an environmentalist.

Any other questions?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/01/09/this-is-perhaps-trumps-most-cynical-comment-about-environment-yet

- - -

[difficult to understand]
*Trump Moves to Exempt Big Projects From Environmental Review*
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/climate/trump-nepa-environment.html


[HAARETZ]
*A Super-rare Storm Just Smashed Into Israel. Expect More*
Global warming is exacerbating atmospheric chaos in unpredictable ways, 
science warns, and Tel Aviv just bore the brunt
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/.premium-a-super-rare-storm-smashed-into-israel-this-weekend-forecast-expect-more-1.8355090


[Japan]
*Researchers: Global warming may slow typhoons*
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200109_32/


[Activism Strategy]
*Climate Movement Takes Aim at Wall Street, Because 'Money Is Only 
Language Fossil Fuel Industry Speaks'*
"Stop the Money Pipeline" campaign demands that banks, insurers, and 
asset managers cut ties with planet-destroying companies.
Climate activists on Thursday announced a new campaign that aims to send 
a message to Wall Street: "Stop financing fossil fuels and deforestation 
and start respecting human rights and Indigenous sovereignty."
Organized by a coalition of climate, youth, and Indigenous groups, Stop 
the Money Pipeline will officially launch Friday at the final event in a 
weekly civil disobedience series that actor and activist Jane Fonda 
kicked off in October called Fire Drill Fridays...
- - -
"As the world's largest investor in fossil fuel companies, BlackRock is 
effectively financing disinformation campaigns that have delayed climate 
action for decades," declared Kathy Mulvey, a campaign director at the 
Union of Concerned Scientists. "Investors need to expect more and 
tolerate less from fossil fuel companies--and tell them to swiftly get 
on board with climate action, or get out of the way."

BlackRock announced Thursday that it is joining the Climate Action 100+ 
investor initiative. Members of the BlackRock's Big Problem network 
responded by calling the move a "first step in the right direction" and 
urging the firm to "go beyond words and actually make meaningful changes 
to the way it wields its power."

According to the tenth annual Fossil Fuel Finance Report Card, released 
in March 2019 by RAN and other groups, 33 global banks have collectively 
poured at least $1.9 trillion into the fossil fuel industry since world 
leaders adopted the Paris climate agreement in December 2015. The report 
card identified Chase as the bank that gave the most to coal, gas, and 
oil companies from 2016 to 2018.

"Our government won't move on climate so we have to move our money.
The fossil fuel industry can't survive without its friends on Wall
Street." --Clara Vondrich, Divest-Invest

"Banks around the globe are betting against our future with every dollar 
they invest in fossil fuels," Greenpeace USA climate campaign director 
Janet Redman said Thursday. "Money is the oxygen on which the climate 
crisis burns--and we need everyone to care where their money is being 
spent."

As EarthRights International executive director Ka Hswa Wa put it: 
"Money is the only language that the fossil fuel industry speaks. For 
decades, the industry's game has been to pursue profit recklessly while 
shifting the costs onto local communities. Today, we have come together 
to announce that the rules of the game have changed and fossil fuel 
companies will be held accountable."...
- - -
Divest-Invest director Clara Vondrich emphasized the added importance of 
pressuring major financial players to take action to address the climate 
emergency given that global governments continue to drag their feet.

"Our government won't move on climate so we have to move our money. The 
fossil fuel industry can't survive without its friends on Wall Street," 
Vondrich said. "Without loans, insurance and investment, Big Oil dries 
up. Money talks, and we can walk. Wall Street caused the financial 
crash. We won't let it cause the climate crash."
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/09/climate-movement-takes-aim-wall-street-because-money-only-language-fossil-fuel


[Greta]
***Greta Thunberg questions newspapers that accept fossil fuel advertising*
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/477396-greta-thunberg-questions-newspapers-that-accept-fossil-fuel


[Book mentions]
*St. Paul Public Libraries: Let's talk about climate change*
Read Brave program features climate change books for all ages
Paul Huttner - January 9, 2020
How do you deal with what can be a touchy topic? Talk about it.

That's what St. Paul Public Libraries hopes will happen with its Read 
Brave program.

St. Paul libraries want to foster a community-wide conversation about 
climate change
Here's are some selected reads from the project:

*Picture Book*
"Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya" by Donna Jo Napoli 
and Kadir Nelson

"This is a great book for young children. It is the story of Wangarĩ 
Muta Maathai, who [was] a real-life Kenyan activist and Nobel Peace 
Prize winner. And Maathai did her work by helping women solve problems 
like hunger and dirty water by offering up different kinds of trees that 
they can plant. And one by one they created a movement in Kenya," 
Penkert said. "And it really makes you, one, want to go out and plant a 
tree, and two, really think about trees and all of the different ways 
they benefit us."

*Middle Grades*
"Bayou Magic" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

"This is a fictional story set in the deep south, and it's a community 
facing an environmental challenge," Penkert said. "There's a really 
interesting interplay here between [generations] and how can young 
people lead? In this case it's a young girl who says, 'I want to be a 
hero,' and what does that mean, and what can she learn from her 
grandmother?"

*Young Adult*
"The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

The publish describes this science fiction book as a story set "in a 
future world ravaged by global warming, [where] people have lost the 
ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. 
The only people still able to dream are North America's indigenous 
population -- and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of 
the world."

Penkert said the book's complexity offers a lot to talk about, and 
recommended checking it out as an audio book.

"Hearing this story told to you adds another layer to the experience," 
Penkert said, adding that St. Paul libraries have unlimited copies of 
the audio book to check out.

Author Cherie Dimaline is scheduled to visit St. Paul March 11-13.

*Adult*
"Rising: Dispatches From the New American Shore" by Elizabeth A. Rush

"This book is set on the coasts, and so I went into not sure if this 
would feel relevant to a Minnesotan," Penkert said. "She goes to Staten 
Island, to Miami, to the deep south and asks real people, not how will 
climate change impact them in the future, how has it already impacted 
them? And you really get to know individuals in communities where they 
are facing real questions about relocation and, when are we going to 
have to decide to give our neighborhood back to the land?"

"The End of Ice" by Dahr Jamail

"This is a book where you get to travel around the world with the 
author. So he takes you to the mountains in Alaska, to the Amazon rain 
forest, to the coral reefs," Penkert said. "He talks to the people who 
are living there and the scientists who are working there, and what are 
they seeing?"
Author Dahr Jamail is scheduled to visit St. Paul on April 9.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/01/09/st-paul-public-libraries-lets-talk-about-climate-change


[Digging back into the internet news archive]
*On this day in the history of global warming  - January 10, 2013 *
Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson observes:

"So we're going to deal with climate change whether we like it or
not. We're going to spend many billions of dollars over the coming
years providing disaster relief in the wake of hurricanes and other
destructive weather events. If we're a bit smarter, we'll spend even
more to protect our coastal cities from storm surges of the kind
that devastated parts of New York. Investment in barriers and
floodwalls will ultimately save both money and lives.

"But if we were really smart, we'd be talking about how to mitigate
the ultimate damage by weaning ourselves from coal, oil and other
energy sources that produce carbon emissions."

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-01-10/opinions/36272697_1_climate-change-climate-change-noaa

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