[TheClimate.Vote] November 20, 2020 - Daily Global Warming News Digest.

[Richard Pauli]

/*November 20, 2020*/

[climate activists - AP video 1:24]
*Activists rally in DC to pressure Biden on climate*
Nov 19, 2020
Associated Press
Activists from a number of progressive groups rallied in Washington to 
push President-elect Joe Biden to uphold his commitments on climate 
change. (Nov. 19)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow6clD9Mx20


[thin ice risks]
*Winter drownings may increase in northern countries as ice thins with 
climate change*
The new study documents over 4,000 winter drownings that occurred during 
the past 10-30 years in 10 countries, including Canada, United States, 
Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Italy, Germany and Japan. 
Alarmingly, Canada had the highest number of winter drownings each year.

*Increased drownings in warmer winters*
Winter drownings were more common in warmer winters for these northern 
countries, occurring five times more frequently when mean winter air 
temperatures approached 0 C. Generally, most drownings occurred when 
mean winter air temperatures were between -5 C and 0 C. The higher 
likelihood of extremely warm days and rain-on-snow events in warm 
winters contributes to thinner, weaker and less stable ice...
- -
The highest number of drowning events occurred at the beginning and end 
of winter when ice cover is most precarious. The dates on which ice 
forms and melts are most affected by climate change, such that warming 
temperatures lead to delayed ice formation, earlier ice break-up, 
thinner ice and increased freeze-thaw events.

In addition, the warmer weather and longer daylight hours of early 
spring draw more people outside, which increases the risk of drowning. 
In a changing climate, winter drownings will likely increase because 
temperatures are increasing most rapidly in winter, while human 
awareness and behaviours are not adapting sufficiently...
- -
Barbara Byers, the chief research officer of the Lifesaving Society in 
Ontario, recommends evaluating the quality of the ice, and its type, 
before venturing onto it. Ice should be clear, hard and new.

"Avoid slushy ice; ice on or near moving water, like rivers and 
currents; ice that has thawed and refrozen; and layered or rotten ice 
caused by sudden temperature changes."

Byers cautions people to look out for other factors that weaken or "rot" 
ice, such as snow on ice that acts as a blanket and prevents it from 
hardening, or pressure ridges formed by wind or current pressure.

"It is important to keep away from unfamiliar paths or unknown ice. 
Avoid traveling on ice at night. Never go on the ice alone. A buddy may 
be able to rescue you or go for help in case you get into difficulty," 
said Byers. "No ice is without some risk. Minimize your risk."
Simon R. Watson co-authored this article. He was previously a research 
associate at York University.
https://theconversation.com/winter-drownings-may-increase-in-northern-countries-as-ice-thins-with-climate-change-150029


[Oops check those climate models]
*Simulations suggest geoengineering would not stop global warming if 
greenhouse gasses continue to increase*

by Bob Yirka , Phys.org - NOVEMBER 17, 2020

A trio of researchers, two with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 
and the other the California Institute of Technology, developed computer 
simulations suggesting that using geoengineering to cool the planet 
would not be enough to overcome greenhouse effects if emissions continue 
at the current rate. Tapio Schneider, Colleen Kaul and Kyle Pressel have 
published their results in the Proceedings of the National Academy of 
Sciences.

As scientists have become frustrated with the lack of progress toward 
greenhouse gas emission reductions, some are championing other ways to 
save the planet. One approach involves geoengineering--altering the 
Earth to solve a problem. Geoengineering to reduce global warming would 
involve emitting particulate material into the stratosphere to reflect 
heat from the sun back into space. Ideas for such an effort involve 
releasing reflective particles into the stratosphere where they would 
surround much of the Earth, reflecting back heat and cooling the planet. 
The idea is based on prior research demonstrating that parts of the 
Earth become cooler after volcanic eruptions due to ash spewed into the 
atmosphere. It has not been tested in the real world, and some 
researchers suggest there could be significant unforeseen side-effects. 
Additionally, the same technology could, in theory, be used as a weapon. 
In this new effort, the researchers built a computer simulation to 
determine whether such an approach would work.


They found that geoengineering could work, but only up to a certain 
point. If greenhouse gasses are not curbed, they will rise to levels 
that would have a negative impact on stratocumulus clouds, making them 
thin, and in some cases, eliminating them. Without this cloud cover, 
even the introduction of particles into the atmosphere would not be 
enough to prevent global warming. They suggest that geoengineering would 
not be a solution that some have proposed if levels of greenhouse gas 
emissions are not reduced.
https://phys.org/news/2020-11-simulations-geoengineering-global-greenhouse-gasses.html



[follow through]
*Court gives France three months to fulfill climate change commitments*
11/19/2020
In a ruling hailed by campaigners as "historic", France's top 
administrative court on Thursday gave the government a three-month 
deadline to show it is taking action to meet its commitments on climate 
change.

The government of France, which brokered the landmark 2015 Paris 
Agreement on climate change, was hauled before the Council of State by 
Grande-Synthe, a low-lying northern coastal town which is particularly 
exposed to the effects of climate change.

The Council, which rules on disputes over public policies, noted that 
"while France has committed itself to reducing its emissions by 40% in 
2030 compared to 1990 levels, it has, in recent years, regularly 
exceeded the 'carbon budgets' it had set itself."

It also noted that President Emmanuel Macron's government had, in a 
decree in April, deferred much of the reduction efforts beyond 2020.

Despite Macron's headline 2017 promise to "make our planet great again" 
-- a swipe at climate denialist US President Donald Trump who vowed to 
"make America great again" -- France is far off track to meet its 
commitments under the 2015 treaty.
https://www.france24.com/en/france/20201119-court-gives-france-three-months-to-fulfil-climate-change-commitments



[Opinion]
*The 'market' won't save us from climate disaster. We must rethink our 
system*
Expecting the free market to fix global warming is like trying to pound 
nails with a saw
- -
Incomplete communication misleads us consumers into buying products 
laden with hidden costs. Countless goods and services bear the stains of 
harms such as pollution, habitat destruction, floods, child labor, 
extinctions and disease. When we fill up at the gas station the price we 
are charged doesn't tell us that our purchase increases the odds that a 
wildfire will burn down our community. Making such partially informed 
choices is like buying a house having seen only the kitchen.

Another characteristic of the market that leads to failure is its 
inability to provide incentives for businesses to produce or protect 
public goods, such as fire departments or city parks. Most important, 
the market doesn't generate the public goods sometimes known as 
"ecosystem services", such as nutrient cycling, soil formation, oxygen 
creation and a livable climate. Many of these essential services operate 
in the background; like plumbing and wiring, they go unnoticed and 
unappreciated unless they fail...
- -
Consider your toaster. It's loaded with hidden costs that the market 
doesn't communicate and that individual consumers can't be expected to 
discover. But government (well, good government that pays attention to 
science) has the expertise to evaluate your toaster. If we citizens 
decide that we want to address climate change and air pollution, then 
government can do our bidding by devising energy efficiency standards 
for our appliances.

In fact, they did, decades ago. According to the American Council for an 
Energy-Efficient Economy, those regulations have saved more than $1tn to 
date and have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of the 
annual emissions of 800m cars. And we don't even know the standards are 
there - hardly the heavy hand of government that haunts free-marketeers' 
fever dreams.

So let's use our judgment to create an economy that better aligns with 
our values. Instead of surrendering our autonomy to the soulless 
mechanics of the market, we can freely choose to grow beyond being mere 
consumers and become forceful citizens.
Robert S Devine is the author of Bush Versus the Environment and The 
Sustainable Economy: The Hidden Costs of Climate Change and the Path to 
a Prosperous Future
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/19/climate-crisis-markets-economic-system


[journalism and paid propaganda]
*For $25K, you can publish climate denial in The Washington Post*
Should newspapers profit from spreading factual inaccuracies about 
deadly threats?...
- -
But last week, Gelman got his biggest get yet: a full-page, 1,421-word 
screed of unhinged climate trutherism in The Washington Post--the same 
paper that won the Pulitzer Prize for documenting that climate change 
has already become "a life-altering reality" and public health crisis 
across the world.

He says it cost him $25,000, and that it was worth every penny.

    [image of ad in Nov 9, 2020 Washington Post -
    https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa14d5a84-24f1-45cc-9094-fde0942809ce_1173x773.png

*Should newspapers profit from publishing factual inaccuracies about 
deadly threats?*
Ask any newspaper employee, and they'll tell you there is a firewall 
between the advertising department and the newsroom. What the 
advertising team does has no influence on what the reporters do.

That certainly appears to be the case at The Washington Post, which has 
some of the best climate coverage in the nation. Sure, the Post's 
editorial page sometimes publishes questionable climate arguments. But 
they're never based on claims as egregiously false as those in Gelman's ad.

Post climate editors did not respond to questions about whether they 
would ever publish claims resembling those in Gelman's ad. But it seems 
obvious they would not, the reason being the same reason the Post does 
not publish false claims about the science of coronavirus, or the 
science of smoking cigarettes. These are all major public health crises 
with the potential to kill millions--climate change being the "greatest 
public health challenge of the 21st century," according to over 100 
professional health and medical groups. And misinformation about public 
health crises harms people.

Seek truth and minimize harm: these are the key principles of ethical 
journalism. But they're also the key principles of ethical advertising. 
Would the Post allow full-page advertisement claiming cigarette smoking 
doesn't cause cancer, or that mask-wearing doesn't help contain 
coronavirus? If not, then what makes an advertisement containing climate 
denial any different?

*Crickets from the Post*
I posed those questions to Shani George, the Post's director of 
communications, but received no answer.

Naomi Oreskes, who teaches the history of science at Harvard University 
and studies climate disinformation, wishes newspapers were more willing 
to grapple with these topics.

"In the famous words of Dan Moynihan, we are all entitled to our own 
opinions, but we are not entitled to our own facts," she said. "At 
minimum," she added, Gelman's ad represents "a kind of false 
advertising"--an illegal practice not because of objectionable or 
reprehensible opinion, but because of outright lies.

If newspapers allow themselves to profit from spreading falsehoods, can 
the public trust them to be arbiters of truth? It's a difficult 
question, but one worth asking, Particularly in this modern era of 
rampant disinformation.

"I would like to see editors have a serious discussion about this," 
Oreskes said. "In private, editors have told me they do see a problem, 
but I do not know of any public discussion of it."
https://heated.world/p/for-25k-you-can-publish-climate-denial?=&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share



[Digging back into the internet news archive]
*On this day in the history of global warming - November 20, 2005 *

TBS airs "Earth to America," a two-hour climate-awareness special 
executive-produced by Laurie David, featuring Larry David, Bill Maher, 
Tom Hanks, Steve Martin and Leonardo DiCaprio, among others.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/19/arts/television/19eart.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

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