[TheClimate.Vote] February 6, 2021 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Sat Feb 6 09:32:37 EST 2021
/*February 6, 2021*/
[Associated Press]
*Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez seek ‘climate emergency’ declaration*
By MATTHEW DALY
February 4, 2021
A week after President Joe Biden signed executive orders intended to
combat the worst effects of global warming, Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez and
other lawmakers urged him to go even further and declare a national
emergency on climate change. Along with other liberal lawmakers, the
independent Vermont senator and the New York Democratic congresswoman
introduced legislation in the House and Senate that would direct Biden
to declare a national climate emergency...
Ocasio-Cortez, a co-sponsor of the sprawling Green New Deal and, like
Sanders, a hero of the progressive left, said in a statement that the
U.S. has made progress since lawmakers introduced the emergency
resolution nearly two years ago.
“But now we have to meet the moment,″ she said. “We are out of time and
excuses. Our country is in crisis and to address it we will have to
mobilize our social and economic resources on a massive scale. We have
to start by calling this moment what it is: a national emergency.”
The legislation is supported by dozens of environmental groups that have
pushed Biden to act quickly and aggressively on climate change.
“We are at a life-changing, civilization-altering moment in our history,
as we face a climate crisis that demands a thunderous voice and a full
mobilization of every sector to match its scale and its urgency,″ said
Varshini Prakash, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, which
helped draft the Green New Deal...
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-climate-climate-change-legislation-41f233cca76605c82957b10c190287ec
[it's our too-slow to die, petro-masculine culture, psychological insight]
*A Former Trump Adviser May Have Revealed What The Fossil Fuel Bonanza
Was Really About*
It’s NOT the economy, stupid.
By Alexander C. Kaufman
Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council under former
President Donald Trump, is seen here in 2018. He’s remained a fixture on
the increasingly political Fox Business Network since leaving office.
Ramping up fossil fuel production and shredding pollution rules, as the
Trump administration did for four years, largely defies economic and
scientific logic in an era of costly climate disasters. But Larry
Kudlow, who was director of the National Economic Council for part of
that time, may have indicated Wednesday that the administration saw its
policies on fossil fuels through another lens: culture.
During an interview with Fox Business star Maria Bartiromo, Kudlow
dismissed President Joe Biden as an ideologue whose approach to climate
change threatens to “wreck the whole energy sector.”
“It turns out President Biden may be the most left-wing president we’ve
ever seen,” Kudlow said. “His actions on spending and taxing and
regulating, on immigration and fossil fuels and other cultural issues...
he may be the most left-wing.”
It was only a split second, possibly even an unintentional slip of the
tongue. But the idea of defining fossil fuels as a “cultural issue” gets
at something that typically goes unacknowledged in policy debates over
how to deal with the industry most responsible for destabilizing the
planet’s ecosystems. For conservatives, fossil fuel fights are just
another front in the U.S. culture war that’s been waged for decades over
issues like same-sex marriage and abortion.
On the other hand, the economic logic of pumping and burning more oil,
gas and coal is difficult to square.
Already, the planet has warmed 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial
averages, yielding biblically terrifying and astronomically expensive
results in the form of deadly floods and fires, prolonged droughts and
ravenous locust swarms. Last year, the United States alone suffered a
record-breaking 22 warming-fueled disasters that each topped $1 billion
in damages...
- -
If the adoption of renewable power and electric vehicles proves as swift
as leaders in the U.S., Europe and East Asia now say they want it to be,
new drilling projects ― which can take decades to pay off ― could become
what financial experts call “stranded assets,” virtually worthless money
pits that will never make a profit but may instead be costly to clean up.
What, then, explains the political power of fossil fuels? Hefty
political donations and the long-term need for some supply of the fuels,
albeit paired with some kind of technology to capture emissions, only
tell part of the story. The industry, especially in the U.S., also
serves as an avatar for a certain kind of cultural worldview, one that
resonates with tough-guy masculinity and patriarchal families.
- -
In 2014, researchers in Sweden found that climate denial was
“intertwined with a masculinity of industrial modernity that is on
decline.” Those who defended the industries destabilizing the planet
were trying “to save an industrial society” that men like them had built
and dominated, argued the researchers, whose work appeared in Norma:
International Journal for Masculinity Studies.
In 2018, Virginia Tech political scientist Cara Daggett gave the concept
a name: petro-masculinity.
“The concept of petro-masculinity suggests that fossil fuels mean more
than profit,” Daggett wrote in the international studies journal
Millennium. “Fossil fuels also contribute to making identities, which
poses risks for post-carbon energy politics.” ..
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-fossil-fuels_n_601c626fc5b68e068fbccba6
[video discussion]
*RESET.21 | MATTERS OF FACTS: THE SCIENCE OF GETTING IT RIGHT*
Feb 3, 2021
National Climate Emergency Summit
How much do the scientific facts really matter in addressing the climate
emergency?
Do we already know enough to set the right goals and timeframes for
action, and is the climate advocacy movement on the right track to
achieve climate justice and global protection?
Resistance to closer analysis of the climate reality can lead to a
dangerous underestimation of the problem and jeopardise the formation of
sound strategies. Deep-seated fears about the extent of the crisis, and
concerns about complex solutions, can fuel serious doubts about our
ability to respond in time. Yet, to succeed we need to reexamine the
facts with fresh rigor and unrestrained honesty to form action at a
level that will give us our best chance of local and global protection.
Join some of the world’s leading climate scientists and expert analysts
for a deep dive into the depths of major impacts, risks, and actions
that will shape climate advocacy in the decade ahead.
Sir David King – Former Chief Scientific Adviser for the United Kingdom
David Spratt – Research Director at Breakthrough National Centre For
Climate Restoration
Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick – Climate Scientist, UNSW Sydney
Moderated by Jo Chandler – Science Writer & Journalist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V8pTQnCp40&feature=youtu.be
[Perspective Article]
13 January 2021
*Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future*
Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Paul R. Ehrlich, Andrew Beattie, Gerardo Ceballos,
Eileen Crist, Joan Diamond, Rodolfo Dirzo, Anne H. Ehrlich, John Harte,
Mary Ellen Harte, Graham Pyke, Peter H. Raven, William J. Ripple,
Frédérik Saltré, Christine Turnbull, Mathis Wackernagel and Daniel T.
Blumstein
We report three major and confronting environmental issues that have
received little attention and require urgent action. First, we review
the evidence that future environmental conditions will be far more
dangerous than currently believed. The scale of the threats to the
biosphere and all its lifeforms—including humanity—is in fact so great
that it is difficult to grasp for even well-informed experts. Second, we
ask what political or economic system, or leadership, is prepared to
handle the predicted disasters, or even capable of such action. Third,
this dire situation places an extraordinary responsibility on scientists
to speak out candidly and accurately when engaging with government,
business, and the public. We especially draw attention to the lack of
appreciation of the enormous challenges to creating a sustainable
future. The added stresses to human health, wealth, and well-being will
perversely diminish our political capacity to mitigate the erosion of
ecosystem services on which society depends. The science underlying
these issues is strong, but awareness is weak. Without fully
appreciating and broadcasting the scale of the problems and the enormity
of the solutions required, society will fail to achieve even modest
sustainability goals.
*Introduction*
Humanity is causing a rapid loss of biodiversity and, with it, Earth's
ability to support complex life. But the mainstream is having difficulty
grasping the magnitude of this loss, despite the steady erosion of the
fabric of human civilization (Ceballos et al., 2015; IPBES, 2019;
Convention on Biological Diversity, 2020; WWF, 2020). While suggested
solutions abound (Díaz et al., 2019), the current scale of their
implementation does not match the relentless progression of biodiversity
loss (Cumming et al., 2006) and other existential threats tied to the
continuous expansion of the human enterprise (Rees, 2020). Time delays
between ecological deterioration and socio-economic penalties, as with
climate disruption for example (IPCC, 2014), impede recognition of the
magnitude of the challenge and timely counteraction needed. In addition,
disciplinary specialization and insularity encourage unfamiliarity with
the complex adaptive systems (Levin, 1999) in which problems and their
potential solutions are embedded (Selby, 2006; Brand and Karvonen,
2007). Widespread ignorance of human behavior (Van Bavel et al., 2020)
and the incremental nature of socio-political processes that plan and
implement solutions further delay effective action (Shanley and López,
2009; King, 2016).
We summarize the state of the natural world in stark form here to help
clarify the gravity of the human predicament. We also outline likely
future trends in biodiversity decline (Díaz et al., 2019), climate
disruption (Ripple et al., 2020), and human consumption and population
growth to demonstrate the near certainty that these problems will worsen
over the coming decades, with negative impacts for centuries to come.
Finally, we discuss the ineffectiveness of current and planned actions
that are attempting to address the ominous erosion of Earth's
life-support system. Ours is not a call to surrender—we aim to provide
leaders with a realistic “cold shower” of the state of the planet that
is essential for planning to avoid a ghastly future...
- - clips --
*Changing the Rules of the Game*
While it is neither our intention nor capacity in this short Perspective
to delve into the complexities and details of possible solutions to the
human predicament, there is no shortage of evidence-based literature
proposing ways to change human behavior for the benefit of all extant
life. The remaining questions are less about what to do, and more about
how, stimulating the genesis of many organizations devoted to these
pursuits (e.g., ipbes.org, goodanthropocenes.net, overshootday.org,
mahb.stanford.edu, populationmatters.org, clubofrome.org,
steadystate.org, to name a few). The gravity of the situation requires
fundamental changes to global capitalism, education, and equality, which
include inter alia the abolition of perpetual economic growth, properly
pricing externalities, a rapid exit from fossil-fuel use, strict
regulation of markets and property acquisition, reigning in corporate
lobbying, and the empowerment of women. These choices will necessarily
entail difficult conversations about population growth and the necessity
of dwindling but more equitable standards of living.
*Conclusions*
We have summarized predictions of a ghastly future of mass extinction,
declining health, and climate-disruption upheavals (including looming
massive migrations) and resource conflicts this century. Yet, our goal
is not to present a fatalist perspective, because there are many
examples of successful interventions to prevent extinctions, restore
ecosystems, and encourage more sustainable economic activity at both
local and regional scales. Instead, we contend that only a realistic
appreciation of the colossal challenges facing the international
community might allow it to chart a less-ravaged future. While there
have been more recent calls for the scientific community in particular
to be more vocal about their warnings to humanity (Ripple et al., 2017;
Cavicchioli et al., 2019; Gardner and Wordley, 2019), these have been
insufficiently foreboding to match the scale of the crisis. Given the
existence of a human “optimism bias” that triggers some to underestimate
the severity of a crisis and ignore expert warnings, a good
communication strategy must ideally undercut this bias without inducing
disproportionate feelings of fear and despair (Pyke, 2017; Van Bavel et
al., 2020). It is therefore incumbent on experts in any discipline that
deals with the future of the biosphere and human well-being to eschew
reticence, avoid sugar-coating the overwhelming challenges ahead and
“tell it like it is.” Anything else is misleading at best, or negligent
and potentially lethal for the human enterprise at worst.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419/full
[BBC News]
*Mark Carney: Climate crisis deaths 'will be worse than Covid'*
Sharanjit Leyl BBC News - Feb.5, 2021
The world is heading for mortality rates equivalent to the Covid crisis
every year by mid-century unless action is taken, according to Mark Carney.
The former central banker said the investment needed to avert millions
of deaths was double current rates.
But with governments ploughing billions into keeping economies afloat, a
question mark hangs over whether the recovery will be green enough.
The answer lies in smarter investment, Mr Carney said.
'We cannot retreat'
Mr Carney, who was the Bank of England governor up until last year, and
the head of the Bank of Canada before that, is now the United Nations
envoy for climate action and finance.
He told the BBC that while there were parallels between the Covid-19
pandemic and climate change, damage to the environment and ecosystems
has the potential to cause many more deaths.
"One of the biggest issues is you cannot self-isolate from climate," he
said. "That is not an option. We cannot retreat in and wait out climate
change, it will just get worse," he told Talking Business Asia: The
Climate Change Challenge.
- -
Mr Carney said that as the US returns to the world stage in the battle
against climate change, there's renewed momentum to the issue,
especially as last year China, the world's largest polluter, aimed to
become carbon neutral by 2060.
Although China continues to build coal-fired power plants, and draws
about 70% of its power from fossil fuel, the country is a crucial part
of the solution.
"There clearly are issues in terms of coal in China, and the sooner
China moves on that, the better for them and for the world.
"But China also produces 60% of the global solar photovoltaic panels. It
is also the largest producer of electric vehicles. So China has many
sides to this."
The US has the "largest and most sophisticated financial sector" along
with the "engineering and technological expertise" to get to net zero
emissions, he said.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55944570
[Views by HotShots of wildfires in 2020]
*Fire crews and organizations produce videos summarizing their
activities in 2020; Volume 4*
Bill Gabbert -- February 4, 2021
White Earth Reservation, Midewin Hotshots, Iron Mountain Handcrew,
Folsom Lake Veterans Crew, & Del Rosa Hotshots
Fire crews and organizations have produced some excellent videos showing
the highlights of their fire activities in 2020. We like to post them
each year, and we used to be able to do it with one article, but so far
this year we have found 28 — too many for one article. So this year we
will do it intermittently over a two-week period.
Here is Volume 4:
*White Earth Wildland Fire Season 2020*
https://youtu.be/nB93hi_hdCM
==
*Midewin 2020 Season VIdeo*
https://youtu.be/jY7uwgsR1eM
==
*IRON MOUNTAIN HANDCREW 2020 Crew Video*
https://youtu.be/NrCh3YY8g4I
==
*Folsom Lake Veterans Crew 2020 *
https://youtu.be/IH1dR6WkWcg
==
*Del Rosa Hotshots 2020 Fire Season -*
https://youtu.be/R8Qek59uRZ4
https://wildfiretoday.com/2021/02/04/fire-crews-and-organizations-produce-videos-summarizing-their-activities-in-2020-volume-4/
- -
[professional documentary 2019]
*Walking With Fire: A Wildfire Documentary*
Dec 5, 2019
Justin Sullivan
'Walking with Fire: A Wildfire Documentary' is an educational video
aimed at creating awareness and educating the public on the dangers of
wildfires. Video contracted by the Western Cape Provincial Government
Disaster and Fire & Rescue Services.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y0__CZI-Cw
[harsh talk ]
*Robert Hunziker: Post-doom with Michael Dowd*
Dec 14, 2020
thegreatstory
Title: "Abrupt Climate Change: The World Tour" -- Recorded in October
2020, this conversation with award-winning, prophetic (my word)
journalist, Robert Hunziker, is a basic primer -- a fundamental
education -- on the exponential, runaway, out of our control nature of
Abrupt Climate Change...looking at the latest evidence region-by-region:
Antarctica, Australia, Amazon rain forest, Oceans, Greenland, and
Arctic. Warning: this is sobering (perhaps un-sobering :-) stuff!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfzWBNLTf6I
[Digging back into the internet news archive]
*On this day in the history of global warming - February 6, 2005 *
February 6, 2005: Chris Mooney points out the numerous falsehoods in the
recently released Michael Crichton novel "State of Fear."
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2005/02/06/checking_crichtons_footnotes
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------/
/Archive of Daily Global Warming News
<https://pairlist10.pair.net/pipermail/theclimate.vote/2017-October/date.html>
/
https://pairlist10.pair.net/pipermail/theclimate.vote
/To receive daily mailings - click to Subscribe
<mailto:subscribe at theClimate.Vote?subject=Click%20SEND%20to%20process%20your%20request>
to news digest./
*** Privacy and Security:*This mailing is text-only. It does not carry
images or attachments which may originate from remote servers. A
text-only message can provide greater privacy to the receiver and sender.
By regulation, the .VOTE top-level domain must be used for democratic
and election purposes and cannot be used for commercial purposes.
Messages have no tracking software.
To subscribe, email: contact at theclimate.vote
<mailto:contact at theclimate.vote> with subject subscribe, To Unsubscribe,
subject: unsubscribe
Also you may subscribe/unsubscribe at
https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/theclimate.vote
Links and headlines assembled and curated by Richard Pauli for
http://TheClimate.Vote <http://TheClimate.Vote/> delivering succinct
information for citizens and responsible governments of all levels. List
membership is confidential and records are scrupulously restricted to
this mailing list.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/pipermail/theclimate.vote/attachments/20210206/0fa9b16f/attachment.html>
More information about the TheClimate.Vote
mailing list