[TheClimate.Vote] May 7, 2020 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

[Richard Pauli]

/*May 7, 2020*/

[mindful, thoughtful, kind video - ~5 min]
*Covid 19 - Corona, Climate and Grandma*
May 6, 2020
INTERNATIONAL PSYCHOANALYTICAL ASSOCIATION
Created by the IPA Climate Committee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ind4g0HNkAE


[A wave of studies has recently emerged indicating that methane 
emissions from the U.S. oil and gas sector are significantly higher than 
thought prior and are a contributor to the unexpected global surge in 
atmospheric methane. /thanks HC/ ]
*Unexpected Surge in Atmospheric Methane*
Summary
A dramatic and surprising surge in atmospheric methane has emerged over 
the past several years. If not mitigated, this new trend could off-set 
the gains anticipated from the Paris Climate Agreement. In response, 
scientists have begun ringing alarm bells in several high-profile 
peer-reviewed publications.

Several sources have been identified as significant contributors to the 
surge, including the production of U.S. oil and gas. The full balance 
among these factors is not clear. However, there is a firm consensus 
among scientists that the best response to the surge is a deep and rapid 
reduction in methane emissions from the production and distribution of 
natural gas.

Methane pollution from the fossil-fuel sector is responsible for a 
lion's share of current anthropogenic emissions. Methane pollution from 
the production of oil and gas in particular is the most easily addressed 
source of methane. The International Energy Agency estimates that the 
global oil and gas industry can reduce 40-50% of methane emissions at 
zero net cost. Looking at options to replace natural gas altogether, 
clean alternatives to gas-fired power (e.g. utility-scale wind and solar 
power) are now cost-competitive and often even less-expensive.

In the United States, the fossil fuel industry is the largest source of 
methane pollution, and emissions from the oil and gas sector in 
particular have grown at least 40% over the last decade. And in another 
disturbing trend, a string of field studies over the last two years has 
revealed major unaccounted-for methane emissions from the production of 
oil and gas...

https://climatenexus.org/climate-change-news/methane-surge/


[Denialism cartooned]
*Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change lecture (16 mins)*
May 6, 2020
John Cook
A compilation of animated videos debunking the most common myths about 
climate change, using cartoons from the Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change 
book:
http://crankyuncle.com/book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hARJcK6FizA


[BBC report]
*Climate change and coronavirus: Five charts about the biggest carbon crash*
By Matt McGrath - Environment correspondent
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/98CB/production/_112151193_global_co2_1900-976-nc.png
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/9835/production/_112156983_tomtom_may2-nc.png
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/1053/production/_112097140_optimised-flights-nc.png
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/1292F/production/_112097067_co2_emissions_in_march_976-nc.png
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/13853/production/_112155997_global_co2_emissions_976-nc.png
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52485712


[press release]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MAY 5, 2020
Contact: Mike Tidwell, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, 
mtidwell at chesapeakeclimate.org, 240-460-5838
*Sixty US House Members Send Letter to Leadership Opposing Fossil Fuel 
Liability Relief Now and Always*
Representative Jamie Raskin Leads Members in Rejecting Attempts to Use 
COVID-19 as an Excuse to Shield Industry from Ongoing Lawsuits over 
Climate Change Damages

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Last night, 60 Members of Congress sent a letter to 
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to 
"categorically oppose any attempt to confer immunity on the fossil fuel 
industry or to limit its liability for the damages it causes to people 
or property." Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin (D) authored the 
impassioned letter.

The fossil fuel industry knowingly lied for half a century about the 
catastrophic damage their product would cause and now they are 
attempting to use the COVID-19 recovery to evade legal accountability 
for its wrongdoings. Members of Congress are making clear that the 
industry will have to pay for the damage it created.

Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, stated, 
"We applaud Congressman Raskin and all the lawmakers who put their name 
on this letter. The fossil fuel industry needs to pay for the damage it 
knowingly caused. The attempt of these companies to exploit this 
pandemic and make taxpayers clean up their mess is immoral."

Those costs are becoming increasingly concrete. Already more than a 
dozen city, county, and state governments across the country -- 
including the cities of Baltimore and Honolulu; the counties of King, 
Washington, and Boulder, Colorado, and the state of Rhode Island -- have 
sued fossil fuel companies in recent years to recover billions of 
dollars in damages resulting from climate change the companies knew 
their products would cause. Giving liability relief to the fossil fuel 
industry could keep those cases from having their day in court.

The letter has been endorsed by the Sierra Club, National Resource 
Defense Council (NRDC), 350.org, Earthjustice, Environmental Working 
Group, Greenpeace, Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), American 
Association for Justice (AAJ), the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), 
Food & Water Watch, Food & Water Action, Oxfam America, Union of 
Concerned Scientists, Oil Change International, Friends of the Earth, 
Public Citizen, VOICES (Victory over InFRACKstructure, Clean Energy 
Instead), Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Women's Earth and Climate Action 
Network International (WECAN International), Center for International 
Environmental Law (CIEL), Climate Hawks Vote, Center for Biological 
Diversity (CBD), Sustainable Energy & Economy Network, Center for 
Sustainable Economy, EarthRights International, Rachel Carson Council 
(RCC), Corporate Accountability, and the Institute for Governance & 
Sustainable Development.

The letter opposes liability relief for the fossil fuel under any 
circumstances, not just during the COVID-19 recovery. The final line 
reads, "Shielding carbon polluters from proper accountability is an 
irrelevant and dangerous distraction from the task at hand. It has no 
place in federal legislation--we think never, but especially not now."
###
The Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the oldest and largest 
grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about 
the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the 
Chesapeake Bay region. For 17 years, CCAN has been at the center of the 
fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, 
and Washington, D.C.
For more information, visit www.chesapeakeclimate.org.
- - -
[partial text from the letter:]
Although this brazen effort was defeated in the final bill we passed, an 
early draft
actually included language that would have immunized companies engaging 
in "covered
activities," and recent news stories suggest that the fossil fuel 
companies are continuing to lobby
hard for language that would absolve them of any accountability for 
their part in the climate crisis.

This is not the place to adjudicate the social costs of the carbon 
industries, but we will do
so if we must. Fossil fuel companies have known for more than 50 years 
that their industrial
emissions were causing cataclysmic environmental consequences. Instead 
of alerting the public,
they launched a decades-long campaign of denial, deceit and 
disinformation that succeeded in
forestalling meaningful government action to avert climate change. We 
now face the reality of
climate chaos and the need to undertake aggressive and costly policy 
changes--with very little
time to accomplish them before it is too late.
Climate adaptation and restoration from decades of burning fossil fuels 
will cost in the
trillions of dollars. A study by the Center for Climate Integrity and 
Resilient Analytics found that
just the most basic coastal defenses for the lower 48 states will cost 
more than $400 billion over
the next twenty years, and 132 coastal counties face an exorbitant bill 
amounting to more than $1
billion.

If the fossil fuel companies do not pay their fair share, these 
overwhelming costs will fall
onto our communities which are already facing profound economic hardship 
as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic.

Our communities cannot bear these costs alone, nor should they have to. 
Cities, counties,
and states across the country are fighting back by taking the companies 
that knowingly contributed
to climate change to court to recover their damages. We should not 
interfere with ongoing
litigation by granting the culpable parties a license to destroy our 
eco-system with financial
impunity and legal immunity.

The world is suffering through one of the worst public health disasters 
we have ever known.
History has placed on us an enormous burden to respond with speed, 
wisdom, and foresight to help
our constituents survive this crisis and to put the nation back on its 
feet. That is where our focus
must be. Shielding carbon polluters from proper accountability is an 
irrelevant and dangerous
distraction from the task at hand. It has no place in federal 
legislation--we think never, but
especially not now.
Very truly yours,
______________________
Jamie Raskin
Member of Congress
https://raskin.house.gov/sites/raskin.house.gov/files/5.4.20%20Letter%20to%20Leadership%20re%20Fossil%20Fuel%20Immunity%20Grabs%20FINAL.pdf



[Fox news keeps the controversy going]
*Michael Moore says coronavirus is a warning before Earth gets 'revenge' 
over climate change*
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/michael-moore-coronavirus-warning-earth-revenge-climate-change


[Radio EcoShock]
*RISING SEAS CRASH INTO COASTLINES: SEAN VITOUSEK*
Once in a lifetime record high seas can flood into cities and wash away 
coastlines. New research shows within 30 years, that extreme could be 
the new normal. Rising seas are the relentless new story for the rest of 
our lives. Dr. Sean Vitousek is a Research Oceanographer with the 
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, part of the U.S. Geological 
Survey. Sean is co-author of the new paper "Sea-level rise exponentially 
increases coastal flood frequency".

It's not just that hundreds of billions of dollars of coastal real 
estate is about to crash that market. Or that all the underground 
infrastructure in major coastal cities from Miami to New York are going 
under. The whole appearance of coastlines will have to be remapped, as 
up to half of beaches disappear and cliffs fall into the sea. Essential 
wetlands go salty and species go extinct.

Sean has a special and personal connection to the sea and the coasts. He 
was born and raised in Hawaii (really, I've seen his Birth 
Certificate!). He grew up surfing, and was President of the Princeton 
surf club. When many of the best California beaches are predicted to 
disappear as rising seas go right to the cliffs, Vitousek has a personal 
interest. He has gone around the country making presentations like: "Can 
Beaches Survive Climate Change? Predicting Long-Term Coastal Change in 
Southern California".
Dr. Sean Vitousek, USGS
*The Press Release for this new paper in the journal Nature says it all 
clearly:*
"Extreme flooding events in some US coastal areas could double every 
five years if sea levels continue to rise as expected, a study published 
in Scientific Reports suggests. Today's 'once-in-a-lifetime' extreme 
water levels -- which are currently reached once every 50 years -- may 
be exceeded daily along most of the US coastline before the end of the 
21st century.

Mohsen Taherkhani, Sean Vitousek and colleagues at the U.S. Geological 
Survey, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of 
Hawaii, investigated the frequency of extreme water levels measured by 
202 tide gauges along the US coastline and combined the data with 
sea-level rise scenarios to model the rate at which flooding events may 
increase in the future.

For 73% of the tide gauges used in the study, the difference in water 
level between the 50-year extreme water level and the daily average 
highest tide was found to be less than one meter, and most sea-level 
rise projections exceed one meter by 2100. The authors' model predicted 
that before 2050, current extreme water levels transitioned from 
50-year, once-in-a-lifetime flooding events to annual events in 70% of 
US coastal regions. Before the end of 2100, once-in-a-lifetime extremes 
were predicted to be exceeded almost daily for 93% of the sites measured.

The data suggest that present-day extreme water levels will become 
commonplace within the next few decades. Low-latitude areas will be the 
most susceptible, with their rate of coastal flooding predicted to 
double every five years. At the most susceptible sites, along the 
Hawaiian and Caribbean coast, the rate at which extreme water levels 
occur may double with every centimeter of sea-level rise.

Associated coastal hazards, such as beach and cliff erosion, will likely 
accelerate in concert with the increased risk of flooding, suggest the 
authors."

But what happens to this relatively conservative model if sea level rise 
is not gradual and predictable, but happens in relatively sudden steps 
(as show by the coral study in Texas, or if a large ice shelf breaks off 
in Antarctica? For the Texas coral study, listen to my interview with 
Pankaj Khanna on Radio Ecoshock.

Do the authors factor in more extreme storms, with storm surge much 
higher than before? How often will the coasts experience another 
Hurricane Sandy or worse? Sean was a co-author on this subject in 2016: 
"A multivariate extreme wave and storm surge climate emulator based on 
weather patterns".

Last year I spoke with the grand old man of coastal science, Dr. Orrin 
Pilkey. He worried the story of rising seas would focus on damage to big 
cities, while long stretches of the coastal ecology are washed away by 
rising seas. What do your models tell us about this?

Orrin Pilkey told us it is time to start withdrawing from the coastline 
now. We should not wait until it becomes a panic emergency.

Our whole system tries to prepare for a short emergency, like hurricane 
response. We roll out people, supplies, and sometimes the National 
Guard. But we are far less prepared for a constant, relentless emergency 
that rising seas will bring. Reading this new paper from McLaren et al, 
I was reminded of one aspect of controlling the new Corona Virus. The 
authors suggest we try to "flatten the curve" of warming, buying time to 
adapt to the impacts of rising seas.
https://www.ecoshock.org/2020/04/two-crises-on-a-small-planet.html
[at 45 min in,  the answer is about 1 month]



[O no]
*This is your brain on carbon emissions*
By the end of the century, indoor carbon dioxide could reach levels 
known to impair cognition..
https://anthropocenemagazine.org/2020/04/your-brain-on-carbon-emissions/



Digging back into the internet news archive]
*On this day in the history of global warming - May 7,  2001*

In a response to a question about whether President
George W. Bush would encourage energy conservation, White House press
secretary Ari Fleischer states: "That's a big no.  The President
believes that it's an American way of life, and that it should be the
goal of policy makers to protect the American way of life.  The
American way of life is a blessed one.  And we have a bounty of
resources in this country.  What we need to do is make certain that
we're able to get those resources in an efficient way, in a way that
also emphasizes protecting the environment and conservation, into the
hands of consumers so they can make the choices that they want to make
as they live their lives day to day."
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/briefings/20010507.html

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