[TheClimate.Vote] June 16, 2020 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

[Richard Pauli]

/*June 16, 2020*/

[Wildfire season]
*Members of Congress call for increased support for wildfire preparedness*
https://wildfiretoday.com/2020/06/15/members-of-congress-call-for-increased-support-for-wildfire-preparedness/


*[**bold below *- clipped from the Lancet]
*COVID-19, nuclear war, and global warming: lessons for our vulnerable 
world*
JUNE 15, 2020
by James E. Muller and David G. Nathan
The COVID-19 pandemic teaches lessons we must embrace to overcome two 
additional existential threats: nuclear war and global warming. Health 
professionals need to send a message to those whose lives we have vowed 
to protect: all three threats result from forces of nature made 
dangerous by triumphs of human intelligence, and all three can be solved 
by human intelligence...
- -
The struggles against these threats teach valuable lessons.
*First, each threat must be recognised. *

*Second, political leaders must respect truth and defer to expertise. *

*Third, the threats are global and require global cooperation. *

*Fourth, we all have to focus on our collective survival, and that 
includes care for the least privileged.*

The world need not be the same after the pandemic. It can be better. A 
COVID-19-induced awakening can arrest our drift toward catastrophe. 
Health professionals, uniquely aware of the threats, have an obligation 
to enhance understanding of the requirements for survival in the 21st 
century.
JEM is a co-founder of International Physicians for Prevention of 
Nuclear War, the organisation awarded the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize.
DGN is a co-founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility. We declare 
no competing interests.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31379-9/fulltext
https://peaceandhealthblog.com/2020/06/15/covid-19-lessons/


[trumping reality]
*A War Against Climate Science, Waged by Washington's Rank and File*
Efforts to block research on climate change don't just come from the 
Trump political appointees on top. Lower managers in government are 
taking their cues, and running with them.
By Lisa Friedman
June 15, 2020

WASHINGTON -- Efforts to undermine climate change science in the federal 
government, once orchestrated largely by President Trump's political 
appointees, are now increasingly driven by midlevel managers trying to 
protect their jobs and budgets and wary of the scrutiny of senior 
officials, according to interviews and newly revealed reports and surveys.

A case in point: When John Crusius, a research chemist at the United 
States Geological Survey, published an academic paper on natural 
solutions to climate change in April, his government affiliation never 
appeared on it. It couldn't.

Publication of his study, after a month's delay, was conditioned by his 
employer on Dr. Crusius not associating his research with the federal 
government.

"There is no doubt in my mind that my paper was denied government 
approval because it had to do with efforts to mitigate climate change," 
Dr. Crusius said, making clear he also was speaking in his personal 
capacity because the agency required him to so. "If I were a 
seismologist and had written an analogous paper about reducing seismic 
risk, I'm sure the paper would have sailed through."
Government experts said they have been surprised at the speed with which 
federal workers have internalized President Trump's antagonism for 
climate science, and called the new landscape dangerous.

"If top-level administrators issued a really clear public directive, 
there would be an uproar and a pushback, and it would be easier to 
combat," said Lauren Kurtz, executive director of the Climate Science 
Legal Defense Fund, which supports scientists. "This is a lot harder to 
fight."

An inspector general's report at the Environmental Protection Agency 
made public in May found that almost 400 employees surveyed in 2018 
believed a manager had interfered with or suppressed the release of 
scientific information, but they never reported the violations. A 
separate Union of Concerned Scientists survey in 2018 of more than 
63,000 federal employees across 16 agencies identified the E.P.A. and 
Department of Interior as having the least trustworthy leadership in 
matters of scientific integrity.

Findings published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE in April on a 
subset of those agencies found that 631 workers agreed or strongly 
agreed that they had been asked to omit the phrase "climate change" from 
their work. In the same paper, 703 employees said they avoided working 
on climate change or using the phrase.

"They're doing it because they're scared," said Maria Caffrey, a former 
geography specialist at the National Park Service who battled managers 
as they tried to delete humanity's role in climate change from a recent 
report on sea-level rise. "These are all people who went to the March 
for Science rallies, but then they got into the office on Monday and 
completely rolled over."
Dr. Crusius said the research, on the environmental benefits and risks 
of storing carbon in trees, soil, ocean and wetlands to delay climate 
impacts, was important because climate change is a problem the 
government ultimately will need solid science to confront.

"We need all the help we can get, including from both federal and 
academic scientists," he said.

The U.S.G.S. denied that the paper was not approved because it dealt 
with climate change.

Lawmakers and others who work with scientists said publication of the 
research did not diminish the hurdles thrown in the way, which served to 
signal that writing about politically disfavored topics comes at a 
personal price.

At least one case predates the Trump administration. Danny Cullenward, a 
Stanford Law School lecturer, said the Energy Department tried in 2015 
to distance itself from his research, which showed the United States 
could not meet its Paris Agreement goals with the policies that 
President Barack Obama was pushing.

It is now widely acknowledged those policies most likely would not have 
cut emissions enough to meet those goals. But at the time, the Obama 
administration was working to persuade global leaders that the 
president's plans would get the country substantially toward that goal.

Dr. Cullenward, then a research fellow working with Lawrence Berkeley 
National Laboratory, said a lab adviser initially told him the research 
could not be released before the Paris Agreement talks. After he 
objected, he was told the study would require further review.

"I interpreted that to be, 'We're going to stick this thing in a black 
hole,'" Dr. Cullenward said. He resigned his affiliation with the lab.

John German, a spokesman for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, said 
Dr. Cullenward had been free to publish his work on his own but that 
Energy Department research must meet strict peer review standards that 
had not yet occurred.

Dr. Cullenward said his experience did not compare with the scale of 
violations in the Trump administration. But, he said, a pro-climate 
change president would not automatically make scientists' work secure.

"We can't get partisan about what scientific integrity means," he said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/climate/climate-science-trump.html
- -
[for instance]
*Report finds NOAA 'sharpiegate' statement 'not based on science' but 
political influence*
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/502814-noaa-sharpiegate-statement-not-based-on-science-but-political

[Explaining warming]
*A possible explanation for why West Antarctica is warming faster than 
East Antarctica*
by Bob Yirka , Phys.org
JUNE 15, 2020 REPORT
A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in South 
Korea has found a possible reason for West Antarctica warming faster 
than East Antarctica. In their paper published in the journal Science 
Advances, the group describes their study of surface and air temperature 
trends in the region over the past several decades in which they applied 
math models to the problem, and what they found.
Scientists have known for some time that Antarctica has been warming 
asymmetrically due to global warming, but they have not known why. To 
find an explanation for the differences, the researchers began with the 
assumption that such differences were likely due to natural climate 
variability. To find out if this might be the case, they carried out a 
two-part study.
The first part of the study involved studying climate data for the 
region over the years 1958 to 2012. Their goal was to see if they could 
spot trends. The second part of the study involved applying an empirical 
orthogonal function to the weather data to explain variability over 
time. In so doing, they found that warming sea surface temperatures in 
the Bellingshausen Antarctic and Amundsen seas appeared to be a driving 
force behind the asymmetrical warming. They also found variability in 
surface air temperatures over the course of multiple decades, which they 
attributed to climate fluctuations in the tropics (such as the El Niño 
Southern Oscillation)--they suggest such fluctuations also likely play a 
role in differences in the amount of warming in Antarctica.
More specifically, the researchers found that the asymmetric conditions 
originated from the harmony of the feedback between the atmosphere over 
the ocean versus that over the terrain. And warmer sea temperatures near 
the western parts of Antarctica had a positive feedback with the upper 
atmospheric conditions found over the western parts of the region. And 
finally, they report that the strength of the feedback in the region was 
controlled by the topography and an annual cycle. They conclude their 
assessment by suggesting that the climate differences that have been 
observed in the region are likely due to natural climate variability 
factors responding to global warming.
The researchers also suggest that natural climate factors could also 
result in spikes in temperatures over the eastern parts of Antarctic in 
the coming years, even as western parts of the region continue to see 
rising temperatures. They note that such conditions could lead to ice 
sheet collapse, adding to a rise in sea levels.
https://phys.org/news/2020-06-explanation-west-antarctica-faster-east.html



[DownUnder is 8% while up here we're higher at 12%]
*The number of climate deniers in Australia is more than double the 
global average, new survey finds*
Australian news consumers are far more likely to believe climate change 
is "not at all" serious compared to news users in other countries. 
That's according to new research that surveyed 2,131 Australians about 
their news consumption in relation to climate change.

The Digital News Report: Australia 2020 was conducted by the University 
of Canberra at the end of the severe bushfire season during January 17 
and February 8, 2020.
It also found the level of climate change concern varies considerably 
depending on age, gender, education, place of residence, political 
orientation and the type of news consumed.

Young people are much more concerned than older generations, women are 
more concerned than men, and city-dwellers think it's more serious than 
news consumers in regional and rural Australia.
More than half (58%) of respondents say they consider climate change to 
be a very or extremely serious problem, 21% consider it somewhat 
serious, 10% consider it to be not very and 8% not at all serious.

Out of the 40 countries in the survey, Australia's 8% of "deniers" is 
more than double the global average of 3%. We're beaten only by the US 
(12%) and Sweden (9%)...
https://theconversation.com/the-number-of-climate-deniers-in-australia-is-more-than-double-the-global-average-new-survey-finds-140450
- -
[Read the source report]
*Digital News Report: Australia 2020*
Most Australians will miss local news if it disappears
https://www.canberra.edu.au/research/faculty-research-centres/nmrc/digital-news-report-australia-2020


[Extinction means moving along]
*Researchers Argue That Earth Is In The Midst Of A Modern, Human-Made, 
Sixth Extinction*
David Bressan Contributor - I deal with the rocky road to our modern 
understanding of earth

An estimated 99% of all species ever living on planet Earth are now 
extinct. Extinction is part of life's history, and the extinction of 
single species happens all the time. Over time lost species are 
eventually replaced as natural selection acts on the survivors, evolving 
new species. Mass extinctions in the geological record are defined by 
the loss of a large part of biodiversity in a (geologically speaking) 
short interval, like a few hundred to thousands of years.

Paleontologists recognize five big mass extinction events in the fossil 
record. At the end of the Ordovician, some 443 million years ago, an 
estimated 86% of all marine species disappeared. At the end of the 
Devonian, some 360 million years ago, 75% of all species went extinct. 
At the end of the Permian, some 250 million years ago, the worst 
extinction event so far happened, with an extinction rate of 96%. At the 
end of the Triassic, some 201 million years ago, 80% of all species 
disappeared from the fossil record. The most famous mass extinction 
happened at the end of the Cretaceous, some 65 million years ago, when 
76% of all species went extinct, including the dinosaurs.

Scientists are still debating the factors driving mass extinction. 
Factors contributing to the disappearance of a species can be natural 
disasters, like volcanism, meteorite impacts, or climate change, but 
also biological ones, like competition, diseases, or depletion of resources.

In the last 400 years, many mammal, bird, amphibian, and reptile species 
went extinct. Research comparing recent extinctions with past 
extinctions shows that the current extinction rate is higher than would 
be expected from the fossil record. Researchers argue that the Earth is 
in the midst of a modern, human-made, sixth extinction.

A newly published study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of 
Science evaluated the extinction risk of 29,374 land-based vertebrates. 
The study identified 75 mammal, 335 bird, 41 reptile and 65 amphibian 
species on the brink of extinction, with populations of fewer than a 
thousand individuals. More than half of the species on the list have 
fewer than 250 individuals remaining. The majority of these critically 
endangered animals are concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions, 
where biodiversity is highest. Critically endangered species include the 
Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus), one of the rarest mammals in the 
world, of which fewer than 100 individuals survive in the wild. Of New 
Zealand's flightless, nocturnal, kakapo (Strigops habroptilus), only 200 
individuals survive, after the introduction by humans of foreign 
predators, like rats, and habitat destruction caused a population crash. 
According to a summary report from the United Nations, amphibians are 
among the most vulnerable group among vertebrates, with 40% of the 
studied species at risk of extinction. Most studies investigating 
drivers of extinction risk have focused on vertebrates. The conservation 
status of invertebrates is still poorly studied, and some estimates put 
27% of known species are at risk. Recent surveys have also shown a 
dramatic decline in insect populations.

According to the report, only a quarter of Earth's surface is still 
largely untouched by humans, but human activities spread wide and fast. 
Even the most remote corners of Earth are no longer pristine, as plastic 
debris found on the bottom of the 36,000 feet (11.000 meters) deep 
Mariana Trench shows.

On June 14, 2016, the Bramble Cay mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys rubicola) 
became the first mammal species to be declared extinct as a consequence 
of human-caused climate change. Living only on a vegetated coral reef 
located at the northern tip of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, now 
inundated by rising sea-levels, living individuals have last been seen 
in 2009.

Humans contribute to the current extinction crisis by habitat 
destruction and fragmentation, poaching, illegal trade, overharvesting, 
the introduction of non-native and domesticated species into the wild, 
pathogens, pollution, and climate change. "The ongoing sixth mass 
extinction may be the most serious environmental threat to the 
persistence of civilization, because it is irreversible," the authors of 
the most recent study write.
David Bressan - I'm a freelance geologist working mostly in the Eastern 
Alps...
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2020/06/14/researchers-argue-that-earth-is-in-the-midst-of-a-modern-man-made-sixth-extinction/#3c19d10c2f44



[Biden and DNC]
*This DNC council sees Biden's climate plan, and raises him -- by $14 
trillion*
By Joseph Winters on Jun 9, 2020
Bernie may be out of the primaries, but his $16 trillion climate plan 
lives on.

Last week, a Democratic National Committee (DNC) council proposed that 
the federal government spend a whopping $10 to 16 trillion addressing 
the climate crisis over the next 10 years. The group -- officially 
called the DNC Council on the Environment and the Climate Crisis -- is 
chaired by Michelle Deatrick, who was a surrogate for the Sanders 
campaign during the Democratic primaries.

To be clear, the group isn't aligned with the DNC's famously moderate 
leadership. The climate council was formed last year in response to 
widespread frustration from climate activists and leftists, who tried 
and failed to get the DNC to host a climate-specific debate for the 2020 
Democratic presidential candidates. As of February, the council has 
become a "permanent entity" of the DNC as a sort of ombudsman, providing 
advice on climate issues but not setting the party's official platform. 
That happens every four years at the DNC's national convention, which 
just so happens to be coming up this August. The climate council hopes 
its suite of recommendations will push the DNC to accept more ambitious 
policy planks ahead of the general election in November.
- - -
In its 14-page plan, the council details a host of policy 
recommendations to expedite the country's transition away from fossil 
fuels, including getting to "near-zero" emissions by 2040, banning 
fracking, and denying federal permits for new fossil fuel infrastructure 
projects. The plan provides a strong environmental justice framework, 
including the establishment of an interagency Just Transition Task Force 
to support communities affected by climate change and the energy 
transition and a target of directing 40 percent of the federal 
government's climate and environmental investments to vulnerable 
communities.

Deatrick says the DNC's climate platform must be comprehensive because 
climate change is comprehensive. "Almost everything needs to be viewed 
through the climate and environment lens," she told Grist. "The climate 
crisis touches almost everything."

She also says it's good politics for the DNC -- and for Biden -- to 
adopt such a strong climate and environment platform. Democrats 
frequently list climate change as one of their top two political 
priorities, and in recent years, centrist and Republican voters have 
jumped on the climate bandwagon as well. "We want the vice president to 
win in November," Deatrick said. "This is an important path forward to 
do that."

Altogether, the proposal more closely resembles Sanders' climate plan in 
policies and scope than Biden's, which only calls for a piddling $1.7 
trillion in climate spending over the next decade.

Biden's proposal has fallen flat with some progressive voters and 
environmental groups, many of whom supported Sanders during the primary 
and who have so far refused to throw their weight behind the Biden 
campaign without significant policy concessions. "We've tried to be 
super clear about the way that we need them to improve on not only their 
climate policy but their immigration, criminal justice, and financial 
regulation policies," Sunrise Movement co-founder and executive director 
Varshini Prakash told Vice News in April.

But Deatrick is hopeful that Biden will catch up to activists' demands. 
The climate council has been working closely with the Biden campaign, 
which she says has been receptive to the council's recommendations. In 
April, Biden signaled he was preparing to update his climate platform: 
"I have asked my campaign to commence a process to meaningfully engage 
with more voices from the climate movement," he said while accepting an 
endorsement from the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund.

The climate council has also been consulting with the Bernie-Biden 
"unity" task force on climate change, one of six eight-person task 
forces that the two campaigns formed after Sanders announced he was 
suspending his bid for the Democratic nomination. While some diehard 
Sanders supporters have been skeptical of the task forces, others have 
latched onto the opportunity to push Biden to the left. Sunrise's 
Prakash sits on Bernie's side of the climate task force, along with 
Green New Deal co-sponsor Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and 
Catherine Flowers, founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and 
Environmental Justice.

It remains to be seen whether the Biden campaign or the DNC will take 
the task force's recommendations --or those of the climate council -- to 
heart. Deatrick says the DNC's platform creation process has so far been 
opaque, and she doesn't know when the party's draft platform will be 
written. She hopes that, by releasing the council's recommendations now, 
it will drum up public support for an aggressive climate platform come 
August, when the Democratic Party's national convention will be held in 
Milwaukee.

But Biden could also choose to include the group's proposals in his next 
climate plan without waiting for DNC guidance. In the early 20th 
century, party platforms provided key talking points for the party's 
nominee, but ever since presidential candidates began publicly 
campaigning -- often for many months before the party convention --party 
platforms have become less important. Now, candidates mostly set their 
own agendas, meaning that, if he chose to adopt the climate council's 
ambitious proposals, Biden could become a beacon for the progressive 
climate movement, all on his own.

For Deatrick, making the Democratic nominee's official climate platform 
look more like Sanders' is urgent. "We need to address climate now," she 
told Grist. "The clock is ticking."
https://grist.org/politics/this-dnc-council-sees-bidens-climate-plan-and-raises-him-by-14-trillion/



[Humor - Onion sarcasm]
*ExxonMobil Simplifies Oil Extraction By Cutting Earth In Half*

IRVING, TX--Emphasizing that the new process would revolutionize the 
fossil fuel industry forever, ExxonMobil announced Friday that they had 
developed a simpler process of extracting oil that involved cutting the 
Earth in half. "According to our research, there is no faster, easier, 
and more painless way to find deep, previously undiscovered oil pockets 
than to chop the planet clean in half and take a look at the cross 
section," said spokesperson Christina Hill, adding that the process 
involved slicing the Earth along the prime meridian and then extracting 
the reserves to a giant oil rig. "While we understand that this will 
create a 90-degree drop-off point between the eastern and western 
hemispheres, as well as unleash the Earth's molten core, this is still a 
much safer alternative to fracking. Also, after the Earth has been cut 
in half, we at ExxonMobil fully intend to stick it back together." At 
press time, ExxonMobil was under fire for reportedly spilling all 2.1 
trillion gallons of untapped oil into outer space.
https://www.theonion.com/exxonmobil-simplifies-oil-extraction-by-cutting-earth-i-1844037046


[Digging back into the internet news archive]
*On this day in the history of global warming - June 16, 2008 *
Former Vice President Al Gore endorses Illinois Senator Barack Obama for 
president.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lmeJaKZwHI&sns=em

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