[TheClimate.Vote] February 13, 2021 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

[Richard Pauli]

/*February 13, 2021*/

[is this peak fossil fuel in 2020? - 40 second video opinion]
*Saul Griffith: Is 2020 Peak Fossil?*
Feb 12, 2021
greenmanbucket
Saul Griffith is a PhD from MIT, and CEO of Otherlab, a research and 
design firm specializing in energy.
Mr Griffith is a winner of the MacArthur Foundation's "Genius" Award.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m6gzWgO5RI

- -

[in Australia]
*Workers 'devastated' as ExxonMobil closes Melbourne refinery | ABC News*
Feb 10, 2021
ABC News (Australia)
1.27M subscribers
Three hundred refinery workers are out of a job after the ExxonMobil 
plant in Melbourne's west shut its doors.
Subscribe: http://ab.co/1svxLVE​  Read more here: https://ab.co/2MQ7po5​
It's another heavy blow to the oil refining sector and there are fears 
it could spell the end for other Melbourne businesses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYHZW6aZJCM

- -

[Bloomberg]
*Shell freezes salaries, cuts $1bn in bonuses amid overhaul*
The Anglo-Dutch oil giant is moving towards greener energy, which also 
means shedding 9,000 jobs over the next two years, its CEO said.
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/2/11/shell-freezes-salaries-to-save-cash-in-company-overhaul



[perhaps this CYA action is why Bill Gates is speaking up]
*Microsoft’s surprise funding of climate change denial campaigns in 2020 
uncovered*
by Kareem Anderson
Feb 13, 2021-  inNews
Once again, Microsoft has been caught espousing a progressive and 
idealistic position while traversing in political opposition financially.

Last week Microsoft seemingly put a button on the issue of how and where 
it puts money in politics with its new Microsoft Corporation 
Stakeholders Voluntary PAC (MSVPAC). The change in strategy and policy 
came after the company was forced to re-evaluate donations to 
representatives involved or associated with the rhetoric or actions that 
led and resulted in the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

However, journalist Emily Atkin over at HEATED points out that the 
change interestingly omits any acknowledgment of Microsoft’s financial 
culpability in aiding some of the same people into re-election who also 
wade in climate denial prior. While giving credit where credit is due, 
Microsoft may have suspended donations to individuals and parties that 
have publicly denied the results of the 2020 presidential election but 
the company was also busy funding many of those individuals’ re-election 
campaigns as they also denied climate change as late as November 2020.

Using data obtained from OpenSecrets.org Atkin and crew were able to 
uncover where Microsoft’s money went in 2020 and surprisingly $200,000 
of it went to proudly outspoken climate deniers despite Microsoft 
championing itself as an industry leader in fighting for climate justice 
and sustainability.

For those interested, the breakdown is as follows:

    $25,000 to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
    $12,500 to Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)
    $10,000 to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS)
    $10,000 to Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT)
    $10,000 to Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND)
    $10,000 to Sen. John Thune (R-SD)
    $10,000 to Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
    $9,000 to Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)
    $7,500 to Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
    $5,000 to Sen. Todd Young (R-IN)
    $5,000 to Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
    $30,000 to Steve Scalise (R-LA)
    $25,000 to Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)
    $20,000 to Kevin Brady (R-TX)
    $10,000 to Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)

When asked, on several occasions, about the issue, Microsoft has given a 
similar statement that echoes company president Brad Smith’s original 
PAC defense of essentially, they are paying to play.

We recognize that to make progress on the issues that matter to our 
customers and to our business, we must engage with candidates and 
officeholders who hold a range of views. Given the breadth of our policy 
agenda, it’s unlikely we’ll agree on every issue, but we’ve learned that 
engagement—even when individuals hold different positions—is an 
essential part of achieving progress.

In Microsoft’s defense, we don’t know what sort of conversations were 
had through this form of “engagement” and how successful Microsoft has 
been in advancing climate change policies with these representatives. 
However, it should be noted that back in 2015, several of the recipients 
of Microsoft “engagement contributions voted “no” on an amendment 
declaring climate change a reality. Since voting no, many of the listed 
recipients of Microsoft’s “engagement” donations continue to hold very 
similar beliefs and public stances against pushing a climate change 
agenda or even admitting that it’s a reality.

As of now, Microsoft has suspended all of its political contributions 
for 2020, but if and when the company lifts its ban and starts 
“engaging” with political parties and representatives again, will it 
take into consideration the lack of legislature brought forth by 
individuals benefiting from its 2020 re-election donations? When asked 
about this specific issue, the company couldn’t be reached for comment. 
We’ll update when there is more information from Microsoft.

https://www.onmsft.com/news/microsofts-surprise-funding-of-climate-change-denial-campaigns-in-2020-uncovered
[$200K seems to be a pretty cheap price for selling out the future, Bill.]

- -

[Bill quickly redeems - tune in Sunday]
*Bill Gates says climate change is biggest challenge ever faced by humanity*
"The amount of change, new ideas. It's way greater than the pandemic. 
And it needs a level of cooperation that would be unprecedented," Gates 
tells Anderson Cooper. See the interview, Sunday on 60 Minutes.
Feb 12, 2021

Bill Gates, an integral player in the digital revolution as the 
co-founder of Microsoft, hopes to play a critical role in fighting 
climate change.

The billionaire philanthropist has invested in programs tackling global 
problems of poverty and disease for decades and recently, the pandemic. 
Now he sets his sights on evading the disaster scientists warn is ahead 
if the planet continues to warm.

Gates believes halting the temperature rise will be the biggest 
challenge ever faced by humanity. "The amount of change, new ideas. It's 
way greater than the pandemic," Gates tells Anderson Cooper in a 60 
Minutes interview airing Sunday. "And it needs a level of cooperation 
that would be unprecedented."

But Gates hopes people will be able to develop ways to reduce or 
eliminate greenhouse gases – mostly carbon dioxide – that scientists say 
contribute to global warming.

"We have more educated people than ever. We have a generation that's 
speaking out on this topic. And, you know, I got to participate in the 
miracle of the personal computer and the internet," Gates says. "And so, 
yes, I have a bias to believe innovation can do these things."

Gates outlines potential innovations to manufacturing, agriculture and 
transportation in a new book, "How to Avoid Climate Disaster." He speaks 
about his optimistic vision on the next edition of 60 Minutes, Sunday, 
February 14 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bill-gates-climate-change-60-minutes-2021-02-12/
[No, this is classic CYA]



[About Dakota Pipeline]*
**Fire Drill Friday with Jane Fonda, Tara Houska, and Nalleli Cobo*
Join Jane Fonda, Greenpeace USA, and guests Tara Zhaabowekwe Houska of 
Giniw Collective and Nalleli Cobo to push President Biden to #StopLine3!
Web Site: https://firedrillfridays.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/firedrillfriday
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firedrillfriday
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FireDrillFriday
https://www.facebook.com/firedrillfriday/videos/261671905353577


[Two from The Barents Observer]
*Ice cold winter on far northern coast, but nearby Arctic waters are 
record warm*
Northern Russia and Scandinavia had the coldest January in years. 
Meanwhile, adjacent Arctic waters were up to 8 C° warmer than normal.
https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/2021/02/ice-cold-winter-high-northern-coast-nearby-arctic-ocean-record-warm
- -
*It is mid-winter, but world's most powerful icebreaker lies idle in port*
The brand new Arktika has not been sailing since the middle of December.
https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/arctic-nuclear-safety/2021/02/it-mid-winter-worlds-most-powerful-icebreaker-lies-idle-port



[slipping back and failing to catch up ]
*NASA's Climate Communications Might Not Recover From the Damage of 
Trump's Systemic Suppression*
LAURA TENENBAUM -  FEBRUARY 10, 2021
Before former U.S. President Donald Trump incited a hostile insurrection 
against the Capitol, he’d already smashed wrecking balls through the 
ranks of government agencies. Among the many casualties was the truth 
about climate science, which NASA was routinely prevented from sharing 
with the public that supports it.
I was the senior science editor for NASA’s Global Climate Change website 
and witnessed the impact of science suppression firsthand. I’d been at 
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), one of 10 NASA centers, for a 
decade when, three weeks into the Trump Administration, on Feb. 16, 
2017, the Washington Post published an article noting that while the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Park Service were 
shutting down climate communication, NASA was still writing about 
climate change. The Post piece shared links to my most recent NASA blog 
post about the rapid increase of ice-mass loss in Greenland, plus my 
@NASAClimate tweets and NASA Climate Change Facebook page...
more at - https://time.com/5937784/nasa-climate-trump/



[Digging back into the internet news archive]
*On this day in the history of global warming - February 13, 2013 *

On the Fox News Channel program "Hannity," Daryl Hannah discusses the 
anti-Keystone XL movement. In addition, Hannah discusses the risks of 
KXL in an interview for CBSNews.com.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2163423203001/

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/climate-change-action-a-moral-obligation-says-daryl-hannah/ 


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