[TheClimate.Vote] November 24, 2020 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Tue Nov 24 12:34:39 EST 2020
/*November 24, 2020*/
[BBC]
*Biden cabinet: John Kerry named climate envoy as inner circle get key
posts*
US President-elect Joe Biden is to nominate one of the leading
architects of the Paris climate agreement as his climate envoy.
Ex-US Secretary of State John Kerry was one of several named for top
positions by the Biden transition team on Monday.
It marks a big break with the climate policy under the Trump
administration as Mr Biden makes good on his campaign pledge to tackle
climate change.
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-55046714
[looking up from the NYTimes]
*Finding Hope When Things Feel Gloomy*
Creating hope may be an uphill climb, but there are ways to get there.
By Jenny Taitz - Nov. 18, 2020
In my practice as a clinical psychologist, on more days than not, I hear
some version of this plea: "How can I feel hopeful without deluding myself?"
I get it. While helping appropriately skeptical people build meaningful
lives, I never want to sugarcoat the state of the world. Feeling
frustration and pain makes sense during this unnerving time.
Yet there is still room for hope, which isn't a flimsy feeling or about
convincing yourself that things will improve. Hope is an action-filled
process -- and I teach my patients to look at it that way, too.
According to a renowned hope researcher, Dr. Charles Snyder, who was a
professor in psychology at the University of Kansas, hope arises when
you identify paths to approach your goals alongside a willingness to
persevere despite obstacles.
When you equate hope with empowering behaviors, it doesn't feel
optimistic so much as realistic.
But even when pursuing hope feels unnatural, it can be liberating.
Maintaining hope when facing challenges predicts both emotional and
physical resilience, while hopelessness, or the combination of
experiencing negative life events and believing you're powerless, fuels
depression.
"Hope is a psychological stabilizer -- it protects our well-being from
stressful events," said Mark Manson, an author who writes about hope and
happiness.
Even if you feel emotionally depleted now, research suggests that it's
possible to consciously and systematically increase hope. In analyzing
dozens of studies on brief hope interventions in older adults, Silvia
Hernandez, a doctoral candidate at Case Western Reserve University in
Cleveland, said cognitive behavioral therapies can significantly improve
hope in people struggling with depression, health and bereavement.
"We know that if we can help a person bear the storm, they will
eventually see sunlight," Ms. Hernandez said. "Holding onto the smallest
sliver of hope can be enough to pull us through and ultimately save a life."
Here are some of my favorite ways to spark and maintain hope in hard times.
*Control what you can*
While you should allow yourself to experience a certain amount of
distress and mourning, step away from the urge to give up entirely. When
crises in the world at large feel out of your control, thinking about
the various components of your life -- and setting small, specific goals
to improve them -- can help reduce feelings of helplessness.
"I remember the values, like kindness and compassion, that form the
North Star I try to navigate my life by, and keep in touch with their
importance through the turmoil and uncertainty and anxiety of life right
now," said Sharon Salzberg, a mindfulness teacher and the author of
"Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World."
"Doing this gives my life a cohesive path that feels like it is onward
leading," she said.
*Swap microaggressions for 'micro-progressions'*
If it feels overwhelming to think about how to take steps forward right
now, try noticing small opportunities in what Cory Newman, director of
the Center for Cognitive Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania,
calls "micro-progressions."
"Contrary to microaggressions, which are small but hurtful and
accumulative comments or actions that show insensitivity toward persons
who are not in the 'white privilege camp,' micro-progressions are small
actions that communicate respect," Dr. Newman said.
While these deliberate behaviors don't undo inequalities, they are steps
in the direction of beginning emotional reparations.
"Micro-progressions are best delivered without any announcement, as if
they are not special, but just normal," Dr. Newman said. "An example
would be resisting an urge to comment in a meeting while a person of
color who has not yet finished speaking continues to have the floor."
*Work on your mental agility*
Remember that a key facet of hope is creatively problem-solving when
obstacles arise. Plan ways to move forward rather than shutting down
when stressors come up. Similar to athletes who anticipate "hitting a
wall," rehearse pushing past fatigue. If you strategize before you're
drained, you can keep going.
Of course, shifting from feeling as if there are no options to actively
brainstorming and executing ideas takes practice. It can be tough to get
past all-or-nothing thinking. In cognitive psychology, there's a bias
known as functional fixedness, where people become locked into seeing
only one use for common objects, even when that's not the case. One
example I use with clients is peanut butter: While it's a spread for a
sandwich, it can also be used to remove gum from your hair. In the same
way, thinking resourcefully may not come easily, but if you let yourself
think out of the box, you may find surprising solutions.
So take a moment to anticipate thoughts or urges that haunt you, like,
"I can't," or notice when you're itching to give something up, then
imagine how you might shift your inner soundtrack, perhaps by seeing
these thoughts as visitors you don't have to take too seriously. You can
also list thoughts that hijack you, each on its own index card, then
shuffle through them casually (e.g. "Why bother?") as you continue to
sit with your emotions and move toward pursuing meaningful actions.
*
**Consider what is still true for you*
In the midst of so much pain, it's possible to consciously notice what
hasn't been broken by all the disruption and change. Ms. Salzberg
practices and prescribes reflecting on the question, "What's still true?"
"If you can find something intact, whole, unbroken, it will give you
hope," she said. "It might be the life reflected in a child's smile or a
puppy's antics. It might be nature; it might be fundamental beliefs in
things like the power of love."
One thing that never changes is that it's impossible to predict the
future. Instead of expecting that everything will go terribly, shift
into a more open state of mind. Curiosity helps interrupt despair, Dr.
Newman said.
Added Mr. Manson: "Few of the challenges we face today are historically
unique and most of the long-term trends show that the world is
continuing to get better."
*Build a hope kit*
Gathering uplifting photos, music, mementos and a list of practices that
inspire you can help you access the motivation to keep going when you
need a boost. While this may seem superficial, one study showed that
creating a hope collection significantly increased hope in patients with
terminal cancer.
"Go to the park, remove your shoes, and feel the grass," advised Juan
Carlos Ruiz, a pastor at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Bay
Ridge, Brooklyn. Over the course of the pandemic, Mr. Ruiz has provided
funerals and burials for many undocumented individuals, at no cost to
their families. To bolster his hope, he similarly anchors himself with
nature.
Creating hope takes willingness and ongoing effort, like an uphill
climb, yet ultimately leads to enjoying an improved perspective -- not
to mention awe-inspiring views.
Jenny Taitz is an assistant clinical professor in psychiatry at the
University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of "How to be
Single and Happy: Science-Based Strategies for Keeping Your Sanity While
Looking for a Soul Mate" and "End Emotional Eating." @drjennytaitz
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/18/smarter-living/finding-hope-when-things-feel-gloomy.html
[ACU lecture]
*2020 Hydrology Early Career Award November Lecture Series Frontiers in
Hydroclimate Change*
Nov 23, 2020
AGU
In recognition and celebration of our 2020 Hydrology Section Early
Career Awardees, we will be launching a new seminar series for the month
of November. Our Early Career awardees will be presenting 30-minute
seminars on their advances and views of the future. You will also hear
from their nominators about their accomplishments.
Please join us on the first three Friday's of November 2020 to hear from
these outstanding young hydrologists.
Our first lecture on Friday, November 6, by Dr. Veronica Morales from
the University of California, Davis is entitled: "Frontiers in
Subsurface Transport". On Friday November 13, Dr. Simone Fatichi from
the National University of Singapore will present on "Frontiers in
Ecohydrology". On Friday, November 20, Dr. Niko Wanders from Utrecht
University will present on "Frontiers in Hydroclimate Change".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggY7ElsvwDY
[Podcast - Got Science - audio from the Union of Concerned Scientist]
*Why Trust Science? with Author Naomi Oreskes*
Updated Nov 6, 2020
This episode starts with part four of our series on who pays for climate
damages followed by a replay of Dr. Naomi Oreskes discussing her book,
Why Trust Science?
*In this episode*
- We find out what flossing has to do with trusting science
- Colleen and Naomi discuss Naomi's new book, Why Trust Science?.
- Naomi explains why double blind studies aren't always necessary, or
possible
more at - https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/why-trust-science-0
- -
[Opinion from Naomi Oreskes CNN]
*America's devastating divorce from science*
Opinion by Naomi Oreskes
September 15, 2020
(CNN)What do you say about a 75-year-old dream that has died? In 1945,
Vannevar Bush, the MIT dean who mobilized American science during World
War II, laid out the blueprint for what would become the social contract
between science and American society for the next half century.
America would support science -- particularly through a new agency,
called the National Science Foundation (NSF) but also through existing
or expanded federal agencies such as NASA, the Weather Service, and the
US Geological Survey -- and in return science would support America,
through technical innovation that would better our material conditions
and information that would enable us to face life's challenges and solve
them.
Government was key to Bush's vision: the NSF would be a federal agency
and it would be the federal government, through Congressional
appropriations, that would support basic scientific research, trusting
that the investment of taxpayer dollars would be readily repaid.
For several decades, that dream seemed to be fulfilled. Congress
generously supported science, and both Republican and Democratic
presidents signed the relevant appropriations bills. Those presidents
also appointed highly qualified people to run science-oriented agencies
like the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA and the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
And science, by and large, delivered on Bush's promise. Scientists
developed safe and effective vaccinations against deadly childhood
diseases, advanced the development of computer science and artificial
intelligence, created a theoretical framework for understanding why
earthquakes happen where they do, and learned to make remarkably
accurate weather forecasts. Not all of this was done on the federal
dime, but an awful lot of it was.
But then many things changed, one of which was climate change. Already
in the 1960s scientists were predicting that burning fossil fuels would
change our climate in dangerous ways, and by 1988 they were telling us
that the climate was, indeed, changing. But, starting in the 1990s,
rather than accepting these facts and finding ways to act on them
consistent with our values and principles, conservative political and
business leaders began to discount and deny them.
As the evidence got stronger, denial did not yield to acceptance,
begrudging or otherwise. Instead, the denial got increasingly aggressive
and belligerent.
Today, denial has become deadly. The Western United States are reeling
in the face of unprecedented economic and ecological damage from
wildfires and the choking smoke those fires have left in their wakes. As
fires continue to rage, one Oregon official has advised people to brace
themselves for a "mass fatality incident." Meanwhile, yet another
monster hurricane is bearing down on the Gulf Coast -- while four other
tropical storms are churning -- an almost unprecedented event.
The damage and destruction of "extreme weather events" -- fueled by
man-made climate change -- is no longer a prediction, theory or
hypothesis. It's our regular reality. We are losing both lives and
livelihoods.
And in the midst of this hydra of climate-fueled catastrophe, what is
our President, Donald Trump, doing? Hiring a notorious climate science
denier, David Legates, to help run NOAA -- the federal agency most
responsible for providing us with good climate information. The
Washington Post reported this week that Legates formerly served as
Delaware's climatologist but was "forced out" because of his
"controversial views" on the issue.
But while the proposed appointment has been duly reported in the press
-- and scientists have duly protested -- it sadly isn't news. This
administration has repeatedly placed people who have questioned or
rejected science in positions of authority throughout the federal
service. Vice President Pence rejects evolutionary theory and suggested
that smoking doesn't kill, and the President himself, as is well known,
has claimed that climate change is a hoax.
Another day, another outrage.
Under these circumstances, it is tempting to respond by defending
science and scientists, and by calling for more funding for research,
more STEM education, and more scientists in the pipeline through greater
efforts at inclusion. But the reality of the past two decades is that
that approach doesn't work. As scientific conclusions become more
indisputable, the machinations of those who are threatened by it become
more outrageous.
It is evident that our scientific social contract is broken. Too many of
our political leaders no longer seem to believe that science serves our
national purpose. They see scientific evidence not as something to work
with, but something to be worked around.
The writer and Iraqi war veteran Roy Scranton has written that the way
he managed the dark reality of warfare was to embrace his own death.
Each day, he would wake up and tell himself that he needn't fear,
because he was already dead. "The only thing that mattered was that I
did my best to make sure everyone else came back alive."
The unfortunate reality is that our elected government is increasingly
populated with many men and women who do not merely ignore scientific
facts, they appear to despise them and the people who produce them. They
see science as something that stands in the way of their political
goals, and therefore must be pushed out of the way.
The solution to this cannot be a call for more science or the
restoration of "scientific integrity," whatever that is. We have tried
that and it has failed. There comes a point when maybe one simply has to
accept that the dream has died and it is time for a new one. I don't
know what a new social contract for science would look like, but I am
pretty sure it is time to start looking for it.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/14/opinions/another-day-another-trump-outrage-on-climate-and-science-oreskes/index.html
[Digging back into the internet news archive]
*On this day in the history of global warming - November 24, 2008 *
In an interview on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," Robert Redford
denounces the Bush administration's plan to have the Bureau of Land
Management hold an oil and gas lease auction in Salt Lake City, Utah on
December 19, 2008. That auction would become famous for Tim
DeChristopher's act of civil disobedience during the event, as well as
the auction's illegality.
http://youtu.be/fmgYX8gfxfs
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/americans-rejected-drill_b_144499
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