[✔️] December 25, 2021 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

[👀 Richard Pauli]

/*December 25, 2021*/

/[  BBC on the disinformation battlegrounds ] /
*Climate change: Small army of volunteers keeping deniers off Wikipedia*
By Marco Silva - Climate change disinformation specialist

Wikipedia has for so long been plagued by climate change denial. But a 
group of dedicated volunteers around the world is working tirelessly to 
keep the deniers at bay...
- -
The point of Wikipedia is that anyone with an internet connection can 
edit it. But that also makes it vulnerable to manipulation, and those 
who deny the climate crisis know it.

They've been waging an editing war to get their views across, and 
subtlety is not always their forte.

On one occasion, someone added a sentence wrongly suggesting climate 
scientists worldwide are in the pocket of a secretive Communist 
organisation.

Another user peppered paragraphs with the word "alleged", wrongly 
suggesting that basic climate science is far less settled than you might 
think.

And, in a rather mischievous twist, one time the entire text of an 
article on climate change was turned into a hyperlink. Users clicking on 
any of it would immediately be taken to an article about hoaxes.

Those kinds of stunts don't last long, though.

"That might stay up for a few minutes or an hour or so," David says. 
"But usually, one of the editors will spot it."...
- -
"Editors recognise all of the common climate denial myths, and most 
editors have a good feeling for misinformation red flags, including use 
of unreliable sources, of emotive words," she says.

"The most satisfying editing for me is the removal of misinformation."

Femke is clinical in her debunking of bad science, and a stickler for 
Wikipedia's rules.

In October, a user tried to add a sentence to the climate change 
article, wrongly suggesting that stopping the world from using fossil 
fuels would make no difference to global warming. Femke dismissed the 
edit, but not before explaining that such a statement would have to be 
backed by reliable sources.
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-59452614

- -

/[ BBC audio production of 8 different shows ]/
*The Denial Files**
**6. How bad information polluted the climate debate*
Released On: 27 Nov 2021 - Available for over a year
Setting the record straight on some of the most common misleading 
narratives and tactics to explore what future climate change 
battlegrounds might look like. We look at how fossil fuel interest 
groups use division as a distraction: either stoking fear that action to 
tackle climate change will hurt the poor, or attacking the messengers 
who raise the alarm. And we take you back to the start of 2021, when 
blackouts in Texas which killed hundreds were misleadingly blamed on 
wind turbines. The idea that renewables, like solar or wind power, are 
dangerously unreliable has been a common theme. What’s the truth behind 
the claim? And how does bad information surface after extreme weather 
events and times of climate crisis?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct2yqp



/[  Regardless whether you see it alone or see it in a group -- be sure 
to eat food after viewing ]/
*Don’t Look Up is a hellishly unfunny ride through The Discourse*
Even wildly talented actors can’t save a movie that repeats arguments we 
have every day
By Joshua Rivera  Dec 23, 2021
There’s dark credibility to Don’t Look Up, director Adam McKay’s gallows 
humor Netflix comedy about the end of the world. In it, scientists 
discover that a planet-killing comet is heading directly for Earth, and 
our window for averting extinction is incredibly narrow. When this 
urgent news is brought to the United States government, the response is 
one that is extremely plausible: doing nothing.

This isn’t so much a profound insight as a reasonable conclusion drawn 
from current events. Recurring gun violence, civil rights crises, or the 
ongoing pandemic response are all proof positive for a political reality 
defined by inaction, where needles only move when lawmakers’ careers — 
or private sector profits — are at stake. Don’t Look Up has little to 
offer beyond this, and even fewer laughs...
- -
Don’t Look Up doesn’t have as clear of a target, so instead it swings at 
everyone. Its worst parts are when it stops to show people on their 
phones. They tweet inanity, they participate in dumb viral challenges, 
they tune into propaganda and formulate conspiracy theory. At no point 
does Don’t Look Up’s script demonstrate an interest in why these people 
do these things, or what causes these online phenomena. Despite this 
being a central aspect of his story, McKay doesn’t seem to think it 
worthy of consideration. There’s a word for that: contempt.
https://www.polygon.com/reviews/22850873/dont-look-up-netflix-review



/[  Alternate motivations ]
/*Manchin’s strategy isn’t climate denial — it’s craftier*
By Chelsea Harvey | 12/23/2021
- -It’s not a unique position. Acknowledging the problem of climate 
change, while simultaneously advocating for the continued burning of 
fossil fuels, is a common stance among lawmakers, industry groups and 
corporations alike.

Some scientists have begun to refer to it as the “new climate denial.”

“We see the classic ‘delayist’ tropes here,” said Pennsylvania State 
University climate scientist Michael Mann in an email. Mann has 
described the push to delay climate action as a new brand of denial in 
his recent book, “The New Climate War,” and in recent interviews and op-eds.

Arguments like Manchin’s “have a veneer of credibility but quickly 
collapse upon scrutiny,” he says.

Other experts also note that outright climate denial — challenging the 
existence, causes or impacts of climate change — is quickly shrinking 
from the public discourse. Other tactics aimed at protecting the fossil 
fuel industry are taking its place.

“Fossil fuel companies — and politicians who need the support of 
Democratic, Independent, and moderate Republican voters — have realized 
delay is a safer and more effective strategy than climate denial in the 
court of public opinion,” said Ed Maibach, director of George Mason 
University’s Center for Climate Change Communication, in an email..

Manchin, he added, “is both a fossil fuel company owner and a politician 
who needs support of Democratic, Independent and moderate Republican 
voters. His delay tactics are an attempt to have his cake and eat it 
too.”...
- -
The effects of climate change on the grid have become increasingly stark 
in recent years. Manchin referenced recent blackouts in California and 
Texas as a cautionary tale — yet these disasters are a direct testament 
to the risks of climate change.----
Manchin: National debt a bigger threat than climate change
In reality, climate change is a major national security concern. And 
it’s costing the U.S. more and more money over time...
- -
According to NOAA, the number of “billion-dollar” weather disasters — 
disasters causing at least $1 billion in damages — is increasing over 
time. Between 1980 and 2000, the average was just 3.7 billion-dollar 
disasters each year. Between 2000 and 2019, that average more than 
doubled to about 8.5 events.

As of October, 18 billion-dollar disasters had occurred in the U.S. this 
year alone. They’ve cost the country more than $2 trillion.

Countless scientific studies indicate that extreme weather events are 
already worsening as the climate warms, and that they’ll continue to 
grow more severe in the future.

Meanwhile, experts say that climate change is a growing national 
security threat. An October report from the Pentagon concluded that 
climate change has “significant implications for U.S. national security 
and defense.”

“Increasing temperatures; changing precipitation patterns; and more 
frequent, intense, and unpredictable extreme weather conditions caused 
by climate change are exacerbating existing risks and creating new 
security challenges for U.S. interests,” the report found.
https://www.eenews.net/articles/manchins-strategy-isnt-climate-denial-its-craftier/



/[   FEWS Net is Famine Early Warning Systems Network  ] /
Global Weather Hazards
*Below-average rainfall continues to exacerbate dry conditions in 
southeast Africa*
December 23, 2021
Download - 
https://fews.net/sites/default/files/documents/reports/Global-Weather-Hazards-2021.12.24..pdf
https://fews.net/global/global-weather-hazards/december-23-2021



/[  New Mexico more drought ]
/*Forecasters: New Mexico should brace for worsening drought*
The last three months have been very dry in New Mexico and it’s going to 
get worse
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press
December 23, 2021,
Stream flows? Soil moisture levels? Mangham said it's the same story and 
it doesn't look good heading into the next year.

“Everything is just getting drier," he repeated.
- -
“It's very seldom you go and not get hardly any measurable precipitation 
this time of year so it’s very concerning,” he said. “It’s possibly 
devastating and it sure has everyone’s attention.”

For Copeland, who serves as a regional vice president with the New 
Mexico Cattle Growers Association, doing more with less is a key part of 
the equation that has helped to keep the family ranch humming for four 
generations.

“It's part of the evolution,” he said. “... So being able to pass this 
along to the children and grandchildren and sustain our operation as 
we’ve done for so long is extremely important to us.”
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/forecasters-mexico-brace-worsening-drought-81917300


/[  Whaaatt???  -- Not very smart ]/
*How the Building Industry Blocked Better Tornado Safeguards*
Engineers know how to protect people from tornadoes like the ones that 
recently devastated parts of Kentucky, but builders have headed off 
efforts to toughen standards...
- -
Building codes are a state responsibility in the United States. And, 
rather than each state devising its own building codes from scratch, the 
International Code Council issues a series of model codes for 
residential and commercial building, plumbing, electrical and even 
wildfire safety. States can then adopt those codes, modifying as needed....
- -
“I’m concerned that this is just not the fix,” said Jonathan Humble, a 
director of construction codes and standards at the American Iron and 
Steel Institute...
- -
“There’s a lot of building codes in this country that are based on hope: 
We just hope it won’t be that bad,” Mr. Fugate said. “And people die.”...
- -
Evidence suggests that tornado-resistant building standards don’t add 
significantly to the cost of a home. After a tornado devastated Moore, 
Okla., in 2013, the city imposed new regulations to reduce damage from 
future tornadoes. Those changes added about $3,000 to the cost of a new 
home, according to Elizabeth Weitman, the city’s community development 
director.

“It is well worth the money,” Ms. Weitman said.

Even so, the American Society of Civil Engineering decided to be 
cautious. When its new tornado standards were released on Dec. 1, they 
applied only to a narrow group of buildings, such as hospitals, fire 
stations and police stations.

They don’t include apartment buildings, warehouses, most manufacturing 
plants or houses. Mr. Scott said he hoped that would happen eventually.

“It’s a political issue more than anything else,” Mr. Scott said. “Many 
different organizations within the building code do not want to increase 
the cost of a home.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/22/climate/tornadoes-building-codes-safety.html



/[The news archive - looking back]/
*On this day in the history of global warming December  25, 2014*
December 25, 2014: The New York Times reports:

    "A plunge in oil prices has sent tremors through the global
    political and economic order, setting off an abrupt shift in
    fortunes that has bolstered the interests of the United States and
    pushed several big oil-exporting nations — particularly those
    hostile to the West, like Russia, Iran and Venezuela — to the brink
    of financial crisis.

    "The nearly 50 percent decline in oil prices since June has had the
    most conspicuous impact on the Russian economy and President
    Vladimir V. Putin. The former finance minister Aleksei L. Kudrin, a
    longtime friend of Mr. Putin’s, warned this week of a 'full-blown
    economic crisis' and called for better relations with Europe and the
    United States."

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/25/world/europe/oils-swift-fall-raises-fortunes-of-us-abroad.html


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