[TheClimate.Vote] February 16, 2021 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Tue Feb 16 12:15:31 EST 2021
/*February 16, 2021*/
[chaotic weather in changing climates]
*At Least 12 Deaths Tied to Winter Storm Uri as Millions Remain Without
Power in Texas and Some Lose Water, Too*
The impacts of deadly Winter Storm Uri linger in Texas as the storm
heads toward the Northeast.
More than 4 million homes and businesses are still without power in Texas.
Hundreds of thousands of households have been warned to boil water
because of the blackouts.
https://weather.com/news/news/2021-02-16-winter-storm-uri-impacts-power-outages-boil-water
[PBS News Hour video, transcript, audio]
*Is the recent wave of severe weather across the U.S. a harbinger for
climate change?*
The winter of 2021 is writing itself into the record books this week,
with large swaths of the nation seeing the coldest weather in memory.
But is this a particularly severe phase of winter weather or is there
more to it than that? Dev Niyogi, a professor at the University of Texas
at Austin's Jackson School of Geosciences and Cockrell School of
Engineering, joins Amna Nawaz to discuss.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/is-the-recent-wave-of-severe-weather-across-the-u-s-a-harbinger-for-climate-change
[NYTimes]
*Mountains, Ice and Climate Change: A Recipe for Disasters*
Shrinking and thinning of glaciers is one of the most documented, and
least doubted, signs of the effects of global warming caused by rising
levels of greenhouse gases.
[Top Comment]
Earth’s climate is an angry beast and we are poking it with a stick.
The result will be ferocious.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/climate/climate-change-flash-flood-india.html
["This article originally appeared on Republic Report”]
*The Two Faces of Charles Koch*
BY JASMINE BANKS
*The Two Faces of Charles Koch*
Over the last few months, billionaire Charles Koch has done his best mea
culpa publicity tour for his new book, perhaps hoping some “Boy, did we
screw up,” sound bytes would cause folks to forget his legacy of funding
and supporting climate misinformation, lax environmental regulation, tea
party and ultra right wing politicians, the Citizens United ruling, and
so much more. Koch’s rebrand has even gone so far (left) that his
network has publicly pushed for the certification of Biden’s election,
and recently released a statement saying they’ll heavily weigh political
donations going further after it was revealed that they financially
backed all 13 senators who played a significant role in paving the way
for the violence at the Capitol. But as Koch’s PR train keeps chugging
along, I’m here to remind people that the tracks are still full of
marginalized folks he continues to roll right over.
With a book to sell, a corporate empire to maintain, and a democratic
administration in power for at least the next four years, it’s
understandable that Charles Koch wants to try and sweep away his
right-wing track record. However, it hasn’t been a misstep here or
there. Koch and his network has specifically and carefully manipulated
politicians, courts, lobbyists and more to their advantage for decades.
A quick refresher: While his spokespeople may be stating that they’ll be
more careful with where their money goes, they haven’t outright said
they would stop funding these folks. This recent statement isn’t strong
enough to make us forget who he funds. Between the Koch PAC and personal
donations from the Koch family itself, over $600,000 has gone into
bankrolling the 13 Senators who originally vowed to prevent Biden’s
confirmation. In addition, the Koch-funded Super PACs Americans for
Prosperity Action and Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce (now called
the Stand Together Chamber of Commerce), spent nearly $15 million since
2016 in hopes of getting five of the 13 senators elected. The massive
amount of money the Koch network has placed behind these politicians
makes one wonder which side of the mouth the Koch network was talking
from when they promoted their support for Biden’s election to be certified.
But it’s not just about the politicians he funds. Over the years the
Koch network has worked to limit the rights of both public sector and
private sector workers and to drain labor unions of resources and tools
to protect workers, in addition to undermining core regulations that
protect workers and consumers. They have also bankrolled efforts to
privatize public goods and public institutions as well as undermined
progressive taxation and taxes on corporations and the wealthiest. In
addition, Koch has backed regressive judicial appointments –including
Trump-nominated Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh,
and Amy Coney Barrett— pouring millions into getting them approved to
lifetime positions.
Koch funded campus centers that have been instrumental in creating lax
environmental regulations. The Trump administration has acted on many of
these centers’ polluter-friendly recommendations, directly harming the
68% of Black Americans who end up living next to harmful coal-fired
power plants, incinerators, chemical factories, and other polluters,
increasing the risk of both air and water contamination, resulting in
chronic health conditions like cancers, asthma, and heart, kidney,
liver, and lung diseases. It will be interesting to see how much Koch
has changed when he has to “play nice” with an administration that
pushes for a much greener environmental plan, which will certainly
impact his bottom line.
When it comes to COVID-19, Koch has been instrumental in promoting
dangerous ideas and legislation. He’s been tied to funding the Great
Barrington Declaration, which promotes a herd immunity approach to
solving COVID-19 — a scientifically unsound and deadly idea. And
regardless of those “screw ups” that happened in the past, Koch
continues to fund Americans for Prosperity, an organization instrumental
in getting harmful legislation passed regarding COVID-19, like this
recent bill in Wisconsin, that would limit liability around COVID-19
lawsuits, even if businesses didn’t follow proper health and safety
protocol, and make it harder for public schools to go remote, even at
the expense of students, teachers, and staff.
With all of this and more, it’s hard to believe Koch at his word.
Especially when his actions show that he and his network continue to
bankroll the very people and organizations he claims to be distancing
from. And even the platitudes being expressed are lukewarm at best.
Encouraging Congress to confirm Biden isn’t some groundbreaking
statement putting Koch out on any limb. Biden won, regardless of the
false claims of election fraud Trump and his acolytes continue to try
and push. Pushing for Biden’s certification and promising to consider
future funding is the safe bet, not a bold move the way some are trying
to spin it.
What would be a true change of character would be to call out the
politicians, including Trump, who promoted and laid the groundwork for
what happened at the Capitol. It would be a true apology to not only
condemn these people but pull the money that has supported them and
their actions for all of these decades.
But we know that’s not going to happen now, if the last 50+ years are
any indication. Charles Koch has a long track record of putting profits
over people and, despite his pretty words, his actions haven’t betrayed
his past. Who knows, perhaps when he has another new book to sell we’ll
see some actual change.
Jasmine Banks is the executive director of UnKoch My Campus.
https://www.republicreport.org/2021/the-two-faces-of-charles-koch/
- -
[UNKOCH ]
*GW's Regulatory Studies Center Actively Fuels The Climate Crisis.*
In June 2020, thanks to the hard work of student advocates, George
Washington University administration committed to full divestment from
fossil fuels, carbon neutrality by 2030, and reversing GW’s entire 200
year carbon footprint. George Washington leadership aligned with science
and acknowledged the need for our society to transition off of fossil
fuels as quickly as possible.
Why, then, has the university continued to lend its name and credibility
to climate deniers and efforts to deregulate the fossil fuel industry by
harboring the Koch and ExxonMobil funded Regulatory Studies Center?
The Regulatory Studies Center (RSC) has repeatedly acted as a front for
fossil fuel interests with a history of using GW’s name to provide
credibility to climate deniers, fossil fuel cronies, and other
discredited backers of pseudoscience. In particular, the RSC has
received over one million dollars from both ExxonMobil and the Koch
Foundation— part of a fossil fuel empire that profits from the
deregulation of the industry. Notably, the Kochs and ExxonMobil are
prominent architects of the decades long disinformation campaign fueling
climate denial.
By signing the open letter developed in partnership with Sunrise GW and
UnKoch My Campus, you can immediately send a letter to the leadership at
George Washington University to demand that George Washington University
cut ties with the Regulatory Studies Center today.
In partnership with Sunrise GW, UnKoch My Campus is calling on George
Washington University to cut ties with the Koch-funded Regulatory
Studies Center.
The university’s Regulatory Studies Center threatens the habitability of
our planet as well as the lives, homes, and general well-being of
millions of people. The university warmly embraces the Regulatory
Studies Center, and allows it, under the George Washington University
name, to provide biased research that undermines the severity of the
climate crisis.
To salvage any semblance of academic integrity or credibility, the
university must acknowledge the accepted climate science by holding the
Regulatory Studies Center accountable.
George Washington University MUST cut ties with the Regulatory Studies
Center or publicly disclose its funding, motivations, and
anti-regulation agenda.
http://www.unkochmycampus.org/
[Digging back into the internet news archive]
*On this day in the history of global warming - February 16, 2002 *
In response to President George W. Bush's February 14, 2002 speech on
climate change, the New York Times editorial page declares:
"The obvious conclusion to be drawn from President Bush's latest global
warming strategy, unveiled this week, is that he does not regard warming
as a problem. There seems no other way to interpret a policy that would
actually increase the gases responsible for heating the earth's
atmosphere. That the policy demands little from the American people,
while insulting allies who have agreed to take tough steps to deal with
the problem, only adds to one's sense of dismay."
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/16/opinion/backward-on-global-warming.html
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