[✔️] October 3, 2021 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

Sun Oct 3 09:14:02 EDT 2021

/*October 3, 2021*/

/[Its about time]/
*Climate change: Stop smoke and mirrors, rich nations told*
By Matt McGrath - Environment correspondent, Milan
Rich countries' plans to curb carbon are "smoke and mirrors" and must be 
urgently improved, say poorer nations.

Ministers meeting here in Milan at the final UN session before the 
Glasgow COP26 climate conference heard that some progress was being made.

But officials from developing countries demanded tougher targets for 
cutting carbon emissions and more cash to combat climate change.

One minister condemned "selfishness or lack of good faith" in the rich 
world.

US special envoy John Kerry said all major economies "must stretch" to 
do the maximum they can...
- -
"I do not want to underestimate the amount of work that is required but 
I think there is a renewed urgency in our discussions."

However there are significant hurdles to clear before leaders arrive in 
Glasgow and technical questions about carbon markets and transparency 
are still unresolved.

"We need to change. And we need to change radically, we need to change 
fast," said EU vice-president Frans Timmermans. "And that's going to be 
bloody hard."
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58774786

/[ Ironic or inevitable?] /
*Apple and Disney among companies backing groups against US climate bill*
Amazon and Microsoft also supporting groups fighting legislation despite 
promises to combat the climate crisis, analysis finds
Oliver Milman -- 1 Oct 2021
Some of America’s most prominent companies, including Apple, Amazon, 
Microsoft and Disney, are backing business groups that are fighting 
landmark climate legislation, despite their own promises to combat the 
climate crisis, a new analysis has found.

A clutch of corporate lobby groups and organizations have mobilized to 
oppose the proposed $3.5tn budget bill put forward by Democrats, which 
contains unprecedented measures to drive down planet-heating gases. The 
reconciliation bill has been called the “the most significant climate 
action in our country’s history” by Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader 
in the US Senate.

Most large US corporations have expressed concern over the climate 
crisis or announced their own goals to cut greenhouse gases. Jeff Bezos, 
one of the world’s richest people, has said that the climate crisis is 
the “biggest threat to our planet” and the company he founded, Amazon, 
has created a pledge for businesses to cut their emissions to net zero 
by 2040. Microsoft has promised to be “carbon negative” within a decade 
from now and Disney is aiming to use only renewable-sourced electricity 
within the same timeframe.

But these leading companies, and others, either support or actively 
steer the very lobby groups that are attempting to sink the bill that 
carries the weight of Joe Biden’s ambitions to tackle the climate 
crisis, threatening one of the last major legislative efforts that will 
help decide whether parts of the world plunge into a new, barely livable 
climatic state...
“Major corporations love to tell us how committed they are to addressing 
the climate crisis and building a sustainable future, but behind closed 
doors, they are funding the very industry trade groups that are fighting 
tooth and nail to stop the biggest climate change bill ever,” said Kyle 
Herrig, president of watchdog group Accountable.US, which compiled the 
analysis.

None of the companies contacted by the Guardian would rebuke the stance 
of the lobby groups they are part of and none said they would review 
their links to these groups.

“Hiding behind these shady groups doesn’t just put our environment at 
risk – it puts these companies’ household names and reputations in 
serious jeopardy,” Herrig said.

The US Chamber of Commerce has vowed to “do everything we can to prevent 
this tax raising, job killing reconciliation bill from becoming law”. 
The leading business lobby group’s board includes executives from 
companies including Microsoft, Intuit, United Airlines and Deloitte, 
which have all expressed concern over climate change – Deloitte even 
includes teaching the climate crisis to employees in its staff training 
– and have made various promises to reduce emissions.

Another group, the Business Roundtable, has said it is “deeply 
concerned” about the passage of the bill, largely because it raises 
taxes on the wealthy. The organization is made up of company chief 
executives, including Apple’s Tim Cook, who has called for stronger 
action on the climate emergency from governments and businesses. Other 
members include Andy Jassy, chief executive of Amazon, Sundar Pichai, 
who heads Google’s parent company Alphabet, and Darren Woods, chief 
executive of the oil giant Exxon.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group 
that includes Bayer and AstraZeneca among its members, has run adverts 
attacking the proposed bill. The Rate Coalition, another lobby group 
that has Disney, FedEx and Verizon as members, is also planning an 
advertising blitz to help kill off the legislation while the National 
Association of Manufacturers – backed by Johnson&Johnson, Dow and 
Goodyear – has said it is attempting to upend the bill “in every way you 
can imagine”.

This blitz threatens legislation that already faces a perilous path 
through Congress, with the president needing every Senate Democrat to 
vote for the package for it to pass. Joe Manchin, the centrist Democrat 
from West Virginia who is a major recipient of donations from the fossil 
fuel industry, has said the climate section of the bill “makes no sense” 
and has demanded that subsidies for coal, oil and gas remain in place. 
Republicans universally oppose the bill.

If enacted, the bill would establish a system to phase out emissions 
from the US electricity system, provide payments to prop up carbon-free 
nuclear energy and support the adoption of electric vehicles.

As the first major attempt at climate legislation in more than a decade, 
the bill comes at a time when scientists warn the world is rapidly 
running out of time to avoid catastrophic climate change. The 
legislation’s failure would not only wound Biden politically, it would 
also likely hinder attempts to prod other countries into more drastic 
action at crucial upcoming UN climate talks in Scotland.

“This is a historic chance to end fossil fuel subsidies and invest in a 
livable future,” said Lukas Ross, climate program manager at Friends of 
the Earth. “We can’t waste this opportunity to pass meaningful climate 
legislation because there might not be another.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/01/apple-amazon-microsoft-disney-lobby-groups-climate-bill-analysis

/[ take care with language ] /
*Why calling extreme climate events ‘natural’ disasters is wrong*
By Lauren Crosby Medlicott  - - 02/10/2021

With the consequences of global warming are increasingly evident around 
the world, the campaign for #NoNaturalDisasters is out to challenge the 
terminology surrounding these phenomena.

‘Natural’ disaster terminology
The group claims there is no such thing as a natural disaster, giving 
the following explanation on its website.

“If we recognise and accept the standard definition of a disaster as a 
‘serious disruption of the function of a community or a society at any 
scale due to hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure, 
vulnerability and capacity’ then we must consider human involvement at 
the core.”
- -
“To call a disaster ‘natural’ absolves powerful decision-makers of 
responsibility for allowing or forcing people to live in vulnerable 
conditions,” says Kevin Blanchard, founder of the #NoNaturalDisasters 
Campaign. “This use of ‘natural’ strips disaster stories of their 
social, political, environmental and economic context – one where 
injustice is pervasive.”
https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/10/02/why-calling-extreme-climate-events-natural-disasters-is-wrong

/[to the computer and find where you live]/
*Google Maps tracks global warming with new “Fire” layer, Tree Canopy tool*
"Fire" will be a top-level layer just like traffic, satellite, and 
transit maps.
RON AMADEO - 9/29/2021
Google Maps is getting a few new features to help people better 
understand our burning planet. The first is a new "fire" layer in the 
main map view, which will let you view the exact boundaries of a 
wildfire just as easily as you can look up the current traffic patterns. 
Google has done fire information before as part of the "crisis response" 
website, but with climate change making "Fire Season" a yearly 
occurrence in dry areas like Australia and the Western US, wildfires 
will now be a top-level Maps feature.

Google says the new fire level will bring "all of Google’s wildfire 
information together" in an easy interface. In the US, it will also pull 
in data from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), and the 
company says it wants to expand fire detail with other government 
agencies, starting with Australia in "the coming months." Wildfire 
boundaries should be updated on an hourly basis, and Google says you'll 
be able to tap on a fire to see information from local governments, like 
"emergency websites, phone numbers for help and information, and 
evacuation details. When available, you can also see important details 
about the fire, such as its containment, how many acres have burned, and 
when all this information was last reported."
Google also announced it's going to expand the Tree Canopy tool it 
launched in 2020. This Google Maps tool combines Google's plethora of 
aerial imagery with computer vision AI to generate a map that shows tree 
cover in cities. Today's announced expansion will increase the Tree 
Canopy imagery from 15 cities to 100 cities worldwide.

Google wants city planners to use the Tree Canopy tool to combat the 
phenomena of urban heat islands, where miles of asphalt and a dearth of 
shade from trees can cause cities to be significantly hotter than the 
surrounding areas. Google says heat islands "disproportionately impact 
lower-income communities and contribute to a number of public health 
concerns — from poor air quality to dehydration. With Tree Canopy data, 
local governments have free access to insights about where to plant 
trees to increase shade, reduce heat and mitigate these adverse effects."

Google started the Tree Canopy tool in Los Angeles, and the company says 
the data "has become a critical piece of the city’s long-term goal to 
increase tree shade by at least 50% by 2028." The tool is also being 
used by officials in Louisville, Austin, Chicago, and Miami.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/09/google-maps-tracks-global-warming-with-new-fire-layer-tree-canopy-tool/

/[think of power as either FIRM or CLEAN - nuke is both]/
*Why nuclear plants are shutting down*
Oct 1, 2021
Vox
The nuclear power dilemma, explained.

The infamous Indian Point nuclear plant, located roughly 30 miles north 
of Manhattan, shut down earlier this year. To some, the shutdown was a 
victory following decades of protests about safety and environmental 
concerns. Here’s the problem: When operating, Indian Point provided more 
electricity than is produced annually by all solar and wind in New York 
state. And Indian Point is not the only plant closing. Cleo Abram 
explores why so many nuclear plants are shutting down - by taking a 
closer look at Indian Point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC7YD98HixM

/[riding an electric bike in England video]/
*Are e-bikes worth it?*
Jul 30, 2021
Simon Clark
Are electric bikes just hype, or are they really the future of travel? I 
bought one to find out. Learn more about the future of transport with 
CuriosityStream! Sign up at https://www.curiositystream.com/Simon...

Recently I bought myself a Ridgeback Arcus 1, a budget electric bike (an 
EPAC, electric pedal assisted cycle), to find out if e-bikes lived up to 
the hype. In particular, I wanted to test if its stated range of 50km 
was actually accurate, so cycled from my new home in Bath to a meeting 
at the Yogscast's studio, yogstudios, in Bristol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUShhvNwlN0
- -
/[basic bike education]/
*Why Dutch Bikes are Better (and why you should want one)*
Feb 8, 2021
Not Just Bikes
The Dutch-style bicycle, an upright bicycle designed for comfort - not 
sport - is commonplace in the Netherlands. But they're incredibly rare 
in many other countries.

This video explores why these bicycles are so useful, practical, and 
comfortable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aESqrP3hfi8&

/[The news archive - looking back - oh ick]/
*On this day in the history of global warming October 3 ,*

October 3, 2000: Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W.
Bush discuss energy issues in the first presidential debate; Gore
strongly backs clean-energy development, while Bush endorses domestic
drilling, natural gas and "clean coal." In response, Gore also
indicates support for "clean coal."

(20:15--27:08)

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/159295-1

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