[TheClimate.Vote] July 1, 2020 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

[Richard Pauli]

/*July 1, 2020*/

[547 pages of big aspiration]
*Democrats unveil sweeping plan to tackle climate change*
The new document offers policy recommendations in nearly every sector of 
the economy.
video - 
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/30/democrats-unveil-sweeping-plan-to-tackle-climate-change-345503
By ANTHONY ADRAGNA - 06/30/2020
House Democrats released a sprawling and aggressive climate change plan 
on Tuesday aimed at curbing U.S. greenhouse gases and protecting 
vulnerable communities -- setting up a clash with Republicans and the 
Trump administration on the issue ahead of the fall election.

The 547-page report, the most ambitious Democratic climate plan to date, 
calls for setting a price on carbon dioxide pollution, eliminating 
pollution from cars by 2035 and from power plants by 2040 and achieving 
net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It also aims to make 
environmental justice a focus and says marginalized communities that 
often suffer the worst effects of climate change and pollution must get 
"the tangible benefits" of climate action.

In unveiling the plan, Democrats sought to spotlight the contrast 
between their efforts to reduce the pollution driving up the planet's 
temperatures, raising sea levels and fueling devastating weather and 
President Donald Trump's rejection of climate change science that has 
led the administration to roll back even modest measures to address the 
issue.

"It will be a fight as long as it needs to be," Speaker Nancy Pelosi 
said Tuesday. "We will turn this report into law, saving the planet. 
Democrats know that the climate crisis is the essential crisis of our time."

The document produced by the House's Select Committee on the Climate 
Crisis contains no input from Republicans, who have consistently derided 
any climate change policies such as the Green New Deal, a reference to 
the plan led last year by progressives Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 
(D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) that called for overhauling the 
U.S. economy to combat climate change...
- -
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden welcomed the House 
Democrats' work in a statement Tuesday.

"Vice President Biden applauds Speaker Pelosi, Congresswoman Castor, and 
House Democrats for continuing to make tackling climate change a top 
priority for our country," a spokesperson for the Biden campaign said. 
"As president, he will work with Congress to implement a bold agenda 
that addresses the climate emergency, achieves environmental justice, 
and creates good-paying jobs that provide a chance to join a union."

The plan also won praise from the Sunrise Movement, a climate-focused 
youth activist group that helped lead the push for the Green New Deal, 
though Lauren Maunus, the group's legislative manager, said it could 
have been stronger.

"That's a real sign that young people are changing politics in this 
country and the establishment is scrambling to catch up," Maunus said in 
a statement. "This plan is more ambitious than anything we have seen 
from Democratic leadership so far, but it still needs to go further to 
match the full scale of the crisis."

At an event to unveil the plan, Democrats touted an analysis conducted 
by independent energy consultant Energy Innovation that predicted if 
enacted, its measures would prevent 62,000 premature deaths annually by 
2050 while offering almost $8 trillion in cumulative health and climate 
benefits.

"We are releasing a transformative road map for solving the climate 
crisis," said Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), chair of the committee. "We 
have a plan for building the 100 percent clean energy economy. And we 
are going to do it in an equitable and inclusive way."

Republicans on the Climate Crisis Committee, led by ranking member Rep. 
Garret Graves (La.), released a statement saying they were 
"disappointed" Democrats did not let them help design the plan, but said 
they would seek to help craft measures as Congress considers further 
relief from the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Bipartisan recommendations to increase the resilience of our 
communities and address global emissions -- while strengthening the 
American economy and getting families back to work -- are worth 
pursuing," the GOP lawmakers said in their joint statement. "We expect 
this effort to continue in the committee."

The new document offers policy recommendations in nearly every sector of 
the economy. It calls for Congress to set a Clean Energy Standard to hit 
net-zero emissions in the electricity sector within two decades and 
while also mandating all cars be zero-emission by 2035 and heavy-duty 
trucks be 100 percent zero-emission by 2040.  [I often saw the summary 
phrase of "no later than 2050"]

It envisions slashing methane emissions from pipelines 90 percent by 
2030 compared to 2012 levels, doubling funding for public 
transportation, and making massive investments in energy efficiency 
programs. The road map calls for an economy-wide price on carbon as 
"only one tool to complement a suite of policies to achieve deep 
pollution reductions and strengthen community resilience to climate 
impacts," noting quickly pricing carbon is not a "silver bullet."...
- -
Echoing legislation, from House Natural Resources Chair Raul Grijalva 
(D-Ariz.), the road map calls for a reaching net-zero emissions from the 
nation's public lands and waters by 2040, including a one-year 
moratorium on new oil, gas and coal leases on public lands that would be 
accompanied with "robust" funds to help transition fossil fuel 
communities toward other economic opportunities. It also envisions a ban 
on all new offshore drilling "in any region of the Outer Continental Shelf."

"Addressing climate change can't be done with just one bill because the 
problem is caused by so many connected policy failures," Grijalva said 
in a statement. "The public rightly demands that Congress stop paying 
lip service to climate policy and start saving lives by making 
fundamental reforms."

Environmental justice provisions are central to its lengthy list of 
recommendations, including a major bill from Grijalva and Rep. Donald 
McEachin (D-Va.). The road map notes the murder of George Floyd on its 
first page and calls the protests in response "reminders of the 
consequences of past inaction."...
- -
"The House Select Committee's plan represents a major shift in 
Congressional leaders' approach to climate policy, towards a more urgent 
plan built on clean energy standards, investment and environmental 
justice," Evergreen Action said in a statement. "The House Select 
Committee plan provides a proven formula for Congress to lead on climate 
policy that matches the scale and urgency of the crisis."...
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/30/democrats-unveil-sweeping-plan-to-tackle-climate-change-345503
- -
[see the source material]
*Solving the Climate Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a Clean 
Energy Economy and a Healthy and Just America* calls on Congress to 
build a clean energy economy that values workers, centers environmental 
justice, and is prepared to meet the challenges of the climate crisis.
https://climatecrisis.house.gov/report
https://climatecrisis.house.gov/sites/climatecrisis.house.gov/files/SCCC%20summary.pdf
full report 
https://climatecrisis.house.gov/sites/climatecrisis.house.gov/files/Climate%20Crisis%20Action%20Plan.pdf
- -- - -
[Mother Jones says]
*The Democrats Have a New Climate Plan that Doesn't Entirely Depend on 
Capitalism*
Fixing our failing infrastructure? Check. Racial justice? Check.
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2020/06/the-democrats-have-a-new-climate-plan-that-doesnt-entirely-depend-on-capitalism/
- - - -
[WAPO says analysis-opinion]
*The Energy 202: House Democrats' sweeping climate plan comes with 
political risks*
The climate package is sure to face political challenges.
It has virtually no chance of becoming law during the current Congress, 
but House Democrats want to put down a marker.
- -
"Democrats are doubling down with a huge jobs-focused clean energy 
infrastructure and tax package, trying to draw a sharp contrast with a 
Republican Senate reluctant to pass true economic stimulus despite high 
unemployment numbers," said Paul Bledsoe, a former Senate Finance 
Committee staff member now with the Progressive Policy Institute. 
"Assuming no bipartisan deal is reached this summer, it sets up a 
showdown over contrasting economic visions for November."...
- -
The climate plan still leaves room for nuclear energy -- a contentious 
issue among Democrats.
The committee's plan allows for nuclear power to count toward a 
utility's clean energy requirements.

Long unpopular on the left because of the risk of meltdowns and other 
accidents, nuclear power still produces half of the carbon-free 
electricity in the country. The growing threat of climate change had led 
to soul-searching among environmentalists more recently over the issue...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2020/06/30/the-energy-202-house-democrats-sweeping-climate-plan-comes-with-political-risks/5ef9f526602ff1080719148b/


[James Hansen's book, latest chapters]
*Sophie's Planet #14: Chapters 21&22 (Congress and Elephants)*
30 June 2020
James Hansen
Testimony to Congress may be a pinnacle for communication with lawmakers 
and the public, but Congress is hardly a citadel of wisdom.  A witness 
has a hard time competing with preconceived opinions affected by 
political and special interest considerations.

That is why the public itself must understand the climate situation.  
When a Congressperson says that we have six years, seven months and 
three days (or some such number) to solve the climate matter, it is time 
to keep a very tight grip on your wallet.

We need to flatten and bend the curves, a task that is limited by 
nature, with nature's important time scales being mainly decades and 
centuries.  Those time lags have been our bete noire (just as the 1-3 
week lag has been for dealing with Covid-19), but if we understand the 
lags well, we can make effective use of them to avoid disastrous outcomes.

Sorry that I am slow in finishing this book, but I will finish it this 
year - it is important to be careful with fact checking. Here, for that 
purpose, are Chapters 21 & 22.

Side comment: those people favoring a specific carbon-free energy who 
focus on criticizing other carbon-free energies are enemies of young 
people and nature.  I try to help young people understand the situation 
in coming chapters.

I opened a Twitter account @DrJamesEHansen, 
(https://twitter.com/drjamesehansen), but I am focusing mainly on 
finishing the book.
https://mailchi.mp/caa/sophies-planet-14-chapters-2122-congress-and-elephants?e=c4e20a3850
- - -
[Hansen's University group]
*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/



[Serious Arctic]
*100 degrees in Siberia? 5 ways the extreme Arctic heat wave follows a 
disturbing pattern*
June 26, 2020
graph - https://twitter.com/ZLabe/status/1274751368985624576/photo/1

The Arctic heat wave that sent Siberian temperatures soaring to around 
100 degrees Fahrenheit on the first day of summer put an exclamation 
point on an astonishing transformation of the Arctic environment that's 
been underway for about 30 years.

As long ago as the 1890s, scientists predicted that increasing levels of 
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would lead to a warming planet, 
particularly in the Arctic, where the loss of reflective snow and sea 
ice would further warm the region. Climate models have consistently 
pointed to "Arctic amplification" emerging as greenhouse gas 
concentrations increase.

Well, Arctic amplification is now here in a big way. The Arctic is 
warming at roughly twice the rate of the globe as a whole. When extreme 
heat waves like this one strike, it stands out to everyone. Scientists 
are generally reluctant to say "We told you so," but the record shows 
that we did.

As director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center and an Arctic 
climate scientist who first set foot in the far North in 1982, I've had 
a front-row seat to watch the transformation.

*Arctic heat waves are happening more often - and getting stuck*
Arctic heat waves now arrive on top of an already warmer planet, so 
they're more frequent than they used to be.

Western Siberia recorded its hottest spring on record this year, 
according the EU's Copernicus Earth Observation Program, and that 
unusual heat isn't expected to end soon. The Arctic Climate Forum has 
forecast above-average temperatures across the majority of the Arctic 
through at least August.

Arctic temperatures have been rising faster than the global average. 
This map shows the average change in degrees Celsius from 1960 to 2019. 
NASA-GISS
Why is this heat wave sticking around? No one has a full answer yet, but 
we can look at the weather patterns around it.

As a rule, heat waves are related to unusual jet stream patterns, and 
the Siberian heat wave is no different. A persistent northward swing of 
the jet stream has placed the area under what meteorologists call a 
"ridge." When the jet stream swings northward like this, it allows 
warmer air into the region, raising the surface temperature.

Some scientists expect rising global temperatures to influence the jet 
stream. The jet stream is driven by temperature contrasts. As the Arctic 
warms more quickly, these contrasts shrink, and the jet stream can slow.

Is that what we're seeing right now? We don't yet know.

*Swiss cheese sea ice and feedback loops*
We do know that we're seeing significant effects from this heat wave, 
particularly in the early loss of sea ice.

The ice along the shores of Siberia has the appearance of Swiss cheese 
right now in satellite images, with big areas of open water that would 
normally still be covered. The sea ice extent in the Laptev Sea, north 
of Russia, is the lowest recorded for this time of year since satellite 
observations began.

The loss of sea ice also affects the temperature, creating a feedback 
loop. Earth's ice and snow cover reflect the Sun's incoming energy, 
helping to keep the region cool. When that reflective cover is gone, the 
dark ocean and land absorb the heat, further raising the surface 
temperature.

Sea surface temperatures are already unusually high along parts of the 
Siberian Coast, and the warm ocean waters will lead to more melting.

@ZLabe
In association with the record warmth 
(https://twitter.com/ZLabe/status/1274400286279233536 …), #Arctic sea 
ice extent along the Siberian coastline is currently a record low for 
the date.

So it goes - anomalous (even record-breaking: 
https://twitter.com/WorldClimateSvc/status/1274324717650968579 …) warmth 
continues in parts of Siberia (shifted a bit to the east)...

[Map from http://www.karstenhaustein.com/climate ]

*The risks of thawing permafrost*
On land, a big concern is warming permafrost - the perennially frozen 
ground that underlies most Arctic terrain.

When permafrost thaws under homes and bridges, infrastructure can sink, 
tilt and collapse. Alaskans have been contending with this for several 
years. Near Norilsk, Russia, thawing permafrost was blamed for an oil 
tank collapse in late May that spilled thousands of tons of oil into a 
river.

Thawing permafrost also creates a less obvious but even more damaging 
problem. When the ground thaws, microbes in the soil begin turning its 
organic matter into carbon dioxide and methane. Both are greenhouse 
gases that further warm the planet.

In a study published last year, researchers found that permafrost test 
sites around the world had warmed by nearly half a degree Fahrenheit on 
average over the decade from 2007 to 2016. The greatest increase was in 
Siberia, where some areas had warmed by 1.6 degrees. The current 
Siberian heat wave, especially if it continues, will regionally 
exacerbate that permafrost warming and thawing.

A satellite image shows the Norilsk oil spill flowing into neighboring 
rivers. The collapse of a giant fuel tank was blamed on thawing 
permafrost. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2020, CC BY

*Wildfires are back again*
The extreme warmth also raises the risk of wildfires, which radically 
change the landscape in other ways.

Drier forests are more prone to fires, often from lightning strikes. 
When forests burn, the dark, exposed soil left behind can absorb more 
heat and hasten warming.

We've seen a few years now of extreme forest fires across the Arctic. 
This year, some scientists have speculated that some of the Siberian 
fires that broke out last year may have continued to burn through the 
winter in peat bogs and reemerged.

A satellite images shows thinning sea ice in parts of the East Siberian 
and Laptev Seas and wildfire smoke pouring across Russia. The town of 
Verkhoyansk, normally known for being one of the coldest inhabited 
places on Earth, reported hitting 100 degrees on June 20. Joshua 
Stevens/NASA Earth Observatory 
https://images.theconversation.com/files/344131/original/file-20200625-33519-19djn55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1
*
*
*A disturbing pattern*
The Siberian heat wave and its impacts will doubtless be widely studied. 
There will certainly be those eager to dismiss the event as just the 
result of an unusual persistent weather pattern.

Caution must always be exercised about reading too much into a single 
event - heat waves happen. But this is part of a disturbing pattern.

What is happening in the Arctic is very real and should serve as a 
warning to everyone who cares about the future of the planet as we know it.

[Get our best science, health and technology stories. Sign up for The 
Conversation's science newsletter.]
https://theconversation.com/100-degrees-in-siberia-5-ways-the-extreme-arctic-heat-wave-follows-a-disturbing-pattern-141442


[Save and bookmark]
*ALLFED ALLIANCE TO FEED THE EARTH IN DISASTERS*
https://allfed.info/
- -
ALLFED Annual Report 2019
https://allfed.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ALLFED-Annual-Report-2019.pdf 




[Digging back into the internet news archive]
*On this day in the history of global warming - July 1, 1983 *

NBC's "Today" reports on the risk of sea level rise from global warming.

Clip removed from NBC in 2019: 
http://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/flatview?cuecard=40383
https://web.archive.org/web/changes/http://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/flatview

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