[✔️] October 4, 2021 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

[👀 Richard Pauli]

/*October 4, 2021*/

/[ icky and sticky spill onto the beach]
/*Oil washes ashore in Southern California as 126,000 gallons from spill 
threaten wildlife*/
/Officials warned of an “environmental catastrophe” on Sunday after more 
than 120,000 gallons of oil leaked from a rig and washed up on beaches 
south of Los Angeles, threatening wildlife and closing popular shores.

Authorities said Sunday afternoon that the heavy crude oil did not 
appear to be leaking anymore, but that the cause and timeline remained 
under investigation. The oil spill, a few miles offshore from Newport 
Beach and Huntington Beach, was first reported Saturday and leaked about 
126,000 gallons spanning 13 square miles, officials said. The emergency 
sent people scrambling to contain the fallout and protect sensitive 
habitats.

“This oil spill constitutes one of the most devastating situations that 
our community has dealt with in decades,” Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem 
Kim Carr said during a news conference on Sunday. She said authorities 
are looking at how to hold accountable the responsible parties and 
warned there will be “a lot more hitting our shores over the next few 
days.”...
- -
Krysta Higuchi, a spokesperson for the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in 
Laguna Beach, said the group is prepared to treat marine mammals but had 
not yet received reports of any affected by the spill. “It’s all hands 
on deck, but it’s still a waiting game as we don’t know the full extent 
of the issue,” she said, adding it may take weeks before harmed wildlife 
washes ashore. “We’re just preparing for the worst but hoping for the best.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/10/03/oil-spill-california-huntington-newport//
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/[video on messy Congressional politics - Arizona] /
*Progressives Planning Primary Challenge Against Sen. Kyrsten Sinema*
Sep 30, 2021
NBC News
Progressive Arizona Democrats are said to be pursuing a primary 
challenge against the moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who is up for 
re-election in 2024. Sinema has faced criticism from members of her own 
party for her stances on the filibuster and infrastructure
Watch more NBC video: http://bit.ly/MoreNBCNews
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmJICxcNVLQ
- -
/[PBS explains it ]/
*Why Manchin, Sinema are holding out on reconciliation, and how their 
constituents feel*
Sep 30, 2021
PBS NewsHour
As Democrats work to reach an agreement on trillions of dollars of 
government spending, the fate of the reconciliation bill's final cost — 
and the passage of the president's overall legislative agenda — largely 
hinges on support from two key, influential Democratic senators: West 
Virginia's Joe Manchin and Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema. Lisa Desjardins and 
Stephanie Sy break down their stances
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHbk-nEnut0
- -
[Sinema rushes to cover up her liberal past]
*Kyrsten Sinema Rushes To Delete Old Tweets After They Resurface*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvJDRPFM0hc


/
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/[Beckwith video explaining the tropical changes]/
*Tropical Turmoil: Anomalies, Storms, and Monsoonal Changes Near the 
Equator*
Sep 27, 2021
Paul Beckwith
In this video I chat all about the changes in the tropics and the 
consequences of these changes.

I am presently studying and analyzing many components of the Earth’s 
climate system, as I prepare material for my daily presentations that I 
will give at the COP26 global climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland in 
the first two weeks of November.

We often think about the effects that the rapidly changing poles are 
undergoing, and their effects on the climate system of the entire 
planet. Seldom do we discuss the tropics. Although their temperature is 
not rising as fast as the poles, they are, like every other place on our 
planet Earth, undergoing massive disruptions.

I discuss changes in:
— the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) originating in the equatorial 
Pacific Ocean
— Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomaly magnitudes, spatial 
configurations, and ocean temperature with depth
— Outgoing LongWave Radiation (OLR) changes, wind speed changes near the 
surface and at jet stream altitudes
— changes to the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) location and 
intensity
— Monsoon regions, intensities, and regional changes (as the jet stream 
weakens, monsoonal effects become that much more important to 
determining regional weather patterns)
— Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) shifts
— Changes in Tropical Cyclone formation, characteristics, and 
Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) in each of the different regions of the 
planet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3hIBs7F1l0

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/[Clips from a long DeSmog post about the global influence and current 
extent of misinformation battles]/
*Revealed: Two Thirds of Online Posts from Six Major European Fossil 
Fuel Companies ‘Greenwashing’*
One expert called it a “systematic deceptive marketing campaign designed 
to interfere with the solution that is necessary to respond to the 
climate emergency: stopping fossil fuel production.”
ANALYSIS
**Rachel Sherrington -- Oct 3, 2021
Nearly two thirds of social media posts put out by six major European 
fossil fuel and energy companies since the end of 2019 present a “green” 
image of the company, despite the majority of their business activity 
remaining in fossil fuels, reveals new analysis by Desmog. The findings 
add to campaigner concerns that fossil fuel companies are promoting a 
misleading image of their business models as the need to decarbonize the 
economy becomes increasingly urgent.

DeSmog’s investigation shows a disproportionate focus on green or 
environmental efforts by the companies — including highlighting their 
net zero targets — compared to the share of their business that is made 
up of clean energy efforts compared to their continued extraction or use 
of fossil fuels.

Available figures compiled from various public corporate reports suggest 
that on average 80 percent of the businesses’ operations remain in oil 
and gas and, in one case, coal. The remaining 20 percent represents 
investments outside of fossil fuels, in areas such as renewables, carbon 
capture and storage, and research into new green technologies.

The analysis, however, found that 63 percent of the more than 3,000 
online posts and videos posted on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook by 
Royal Dutch Shell, TotalEnergies, Repsol, Eni, Fortum and Preem between 
December 2019 and April 2021 presented the energy companies as “green”. 
Among these posts, 18 percent were publicly designated as advertisements 
as they appeared on Facebook Ad Library; the number of adverts analysed 
is likely higher overall but YouTube and Twitter do not publicly 
disclose this information.

Meanwhile, only 16 percent of all online posts and promotions focussed 
on the companies’ fossil fuel activities, the research found, including 
arguing for the need for fossil fuels to ensure energy supplies remain 
stable, and arguing for their benefits to the economy in developing 
countries.

“This is greenwashing-101, and it’s utterly misleading,” said Geoffrey 
Supran, research associate in the Department of the History of Science 
at Harvard University, reacting to DeSmog’s findings. “Indeed, it’s the 
very epitome of greenwashing: act dirty, talk green.”

Greenwashing is defined as “an umbrella term” for the various misleading 
communications and other corporate practices that “intentionally, or 
not, induce false positive perceptions of an organization’s 
environmental performance.”...
- -
Half of the companies analysed dedicated over 80 percent of their posts 
to highlighting their involvement in green and climate-friendly work 
such as building up more renewable energy capacity. Green investments, 
however, make up just 12 percent of these companies’ portfolios on 
average based on publicly available figures.
- -
“These companies use advertising to distort the public debate, portray 
themselves as the good guys on environmental issues and to create a 
‘social licence’ for themselves – effectively build an aura of 
respectability around their activities that masks the true nature of the 
disastrous role they play,” said Barnaby Pace, senior campaigner at 
Global Witness.
*
**Worst Offenders*
Of all the companies analysed in the study, Swedish oil company Preem 
had the highest discrepancy between the number of online messages 
promoting a “green” image and the reality of its energy portfolio.

While more than 80 percent of Preem’s posts promoted a green image or 
highlighted the use of green technology, only 2 percent of the company’s 
business is outside of fossil fuels, according to figures provided to 
Desmog....
- -
Shell, which was identified as the second worst offender in the study, 
currently channels 90 percent of its long-term investments into fossil 
fuels, according to recent analysis, and between 2010 and 2018, it was 
reported to have dedicated just 1 percent of its investments to sources 
of low-carbon energy such as wind and solar.

However, 13 percent of Shell’s posts focussed specifically on renewable 
energies such as wind, solar, and hydropower. The company also had the 
largest share of promos focussing on hydrogen, which made up 11 percent 
of its total output.

Responding to DeSmog’s findings, a spokesperson at Shell said: “To help 
alter the mix of energy Shell sells, we need to grow these new 
businesses rapidly. That means letting our customers know through 
advertising or social media what lower-carbon solutions we offer now or 
are developing, so they can switch when the time is right for them.”

The third worst offender in the analysis, Finnish energy company Fortum, 
generates 54 percent of its energy from fossil fuels, including 9 
percent from coal and brown coal (also known as lignite). Coal is the 
world’s most polluting fossil fuel, and brown coal is the most polluting 
form of coal, producing up to a third more greenhouse gas emissions per 
ton than conventional black coal when burnt...
- -
*A Focus on ‘Net Zero’ *
DeSmog’s research found that among the green-focused social media posts, 
the fossil fuel companies were most likely to talk about their climate 
plans and initiatives. This included a wide range of strategies and 
projects, including a large focus on “net zero” targets, which the six 
companies have all introduced recently...
- -
“These advertisements don’t just promote green efforts; they promote the 
fossil fuel company too,” said White, calling the companies’ various 
low-carbon initiatives not much more than “token projects.”

He continued: “The millions spent on sophisticated marketing and 
advertising campaigns are about shaping public opinion and maintaining 
demand for fossil fuels. The harmful impact this has on the pace of 
change – at a time when the need to transition could not be clearer – 
cannot be underestimated.”

The other major “green” topic that companies promoted was their 
involvement in efforts to make transport more sustainable. Transport is 
one of the world’s most emitting sectors overall, making up more than 
one tenth of emissions worldwide.
- -
*Controversial Ideas *
A significant number of the green-focused social posts were about 
technologies and fuel sources which, although presented as green and 
climate-friendly by companies, have been the subject of significant 
concerns from scientists and activists over their potential to 
contribute to global emissions.

These technologies, several of which have been labelled as “false 
solutions” by environmental campaigners, made up 12 percent of promos 
overall.

“The fossil fuel industry loves pushing technological fixes to the 
climate crisis that mean that they don’t have to stop using fossil 
fuels,” said Global Witness’s Pace. “They are nearly always decades 
away, are vastly expensive or just simply don’t work.”
- -
The most recurring of these posts (making up a total 4 percent of all 
posts) was natural gas, which, despite being a fossil fuel, has a 
history of being presented as a bridge fuel towards a cleaner future due 
to the fact it produces less emissions than other conventional fuels 
when burnt.

Gas, however, still releases methane and carbon dioxide into the 
atmosphere, and its extraction leads to further emissions of the potent 
greenhouse gas methane, which is a more powerful greenhouse gas than 
carbon dioxide over the first 20 years after being released into the 
atmosphere. In a blow to the industry, the world’s leading energy 
analysts recently warned the use of natural gas must be drastically 
curtailed to meet climate goals.

Eni told DeSmog that gas will “in the long term” account for more than 
90 percent of the company’s hydrocarbon production and “will be an 
important support for intermittent sources in the energy transition.”

A spokesperson for Eni added the company “strongly believ[es] that 
technology is the only key to face this big challenge, which requires 
pragmatism in using all the industrial and technological solutions 
available to set up ad hoc strategies for each Country and Company’s needs.”

Online posts in this category also included attempts by companies to 
absorb greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere, either through 
man-made technologies, which made up 2 percent of posts, or through 
so-called “nature-based solutions,” most commonly made up of 
tree-planting initiatives, which made up 1 percent of promos overall.

While carbon capture and storage (CCS) — either through natural or 
manmade means — has been highlighted as an important solution in 
addressing climate change, companies have been criticised for using 
these technologies to justify continued use of fossil fuels. There are 
also doubts over the feasibility of rolling out these projects on a 
large scale....
- -
The risk, however, he said is that fossil fuel interests may try to 
“co-opt” these technologies to “avoid, first and foremost, scaling down 
fossil fuel production.”...
- -
“‘Greenwashing’ tends to minimize the wrongful nature of the industry’s 
messaging … It is a systematic deceptive marketing campaign.”  Karen 
Sokol, a professor at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
- -
Hydrogen, meanwhile, has been promoted by many in the energy sector as a 
clean alternative to gas, as the fuel does not produce any greenhouse 
gases when burnt. However, activists fear widespread use of the fuel, 
which is not currently in commercial use, may prolong the use of fossil 
fuels. There are several ways to produce hydrogen, but almost all of it 
currently in production uses methane as the feedstock, with 
non-renewable energy powering that production...
- -
Ultimately, this then allows for the industry to create a “‘Fossil Fuel 
Savior’ framing of the climate crisis that helps defend the status quo,” 
he said.

This point was echoed by Sokol, who said: “All technologies that involve 
continued fossil fuel production — including carbon capture and 
so-called blue or gray hydrogen — are not merely false solutions. They 
would accelerate the climate crisis, perpetuate existing and create new 
harms that disproportionately impact communities who have long been on 
the frontlines of fossil fuel infrastructure.”

*Social Good*
While most of the companies’ posts related to their core business in 
energy, the research revealed that all companies dedicated a significant 
number of posts (16 percent of all analysed) to emphasising positive 
involvement in wider social initiatives, not just the environment, 
including their involvement in schemes relating to diversity, education 
and training, poverty, and healthcare.

The company with the largest share of ads focussed on its wider social 
contribution was Italian oil giant Eni, which dedicated 37 percent of 
its promos to this theme. French oil company, TotalEnergies, also had a 
heavy focus on social initiatives, dedicating one in five of its online 
posts to social projects and initiatives such as supporting children’s 
projects in Africa, and getting more women into science.

Within the social good category, companies’ involvement and sponsorship 
of recreational activities, and notably sports, was a common theme. This 
included posts featuring partnerships with renowned sports personalities 
and brands, and promotion of their sponsorships of sportspeople and 
teams. Additional research by DeSmog found that five of the six 
companies (all companies except Fortum) were involved in sports 
sponsorships overall.
- -
*Fossil Fuels *
Just 16 percent of posts analysed highlighted the development and use of 
fossil fuels, the research found, despite these online promotions being 
most representative of the companies’ activities.

The most prevalent theme in the fossil fuel category was posts promoting 
a range of products related to conventional transport, which made up 13 
percent of all promos (390 posts and videos). This included content 
promoting petrol and diesel for cars, without any attempts to promote 
these fuels as climate-friendly, and posts highlighting companies’ 
petrol stations.

This category also included companies selling other products used for 
conventional transport, such as lubricants and engine oils. Transport 
was less likely to be subject to greenwashing than energy, the research 
found, with more posts simply showing companies’ involvement in 
conventional forms of transport than green alternatives.

A spokesperson from Shell told DeSmog that while the company invests 
“billions” in “lower-carbon” energy, “the world will still need oil and 
gas for many years to come. Investment in them will ensure we can supply 
the energy people will still have to rely on, while lower-carbon 
alternatives are scaled up.”...
- -
“This industry has a proven track-record of acting in bad faith on the 
climate crisis, and so the onus must be on them to show they are serious 
about reforming their business practices rather than their propaganda,” 
said Supran. “This means putting their money where their mouths are. As 
long as they continue to market themselves as low-carbon, yet invest 
almost entirely in high-carbon, their ads are, by definition, a 
distraction from reality that doesn’t deserve to be taken seriously.”

Research by Nadia Feldkircher, Ines Emprin, Charlotta Lahnalahti, 
Ingvild Deila, Mariangela Castillo, Katherine Besenyei and Kate McMahon.

This research was commissioned by Greenpeace. DeSmog retained full 
editorial control of the work.
https://www.desmog.com/2021/10/03/european-energy-companies-greenwashing/



/[Military has long known how to quickly spot wildfires   ] /
*The Secret War Over Pentagon Aid in Fighting Wildfires*
The military’s satellites excel at spotting new blazes, but for decades 
they have been mostly off limits to civilian firefighters.
William J. Broad - Updated Oct. 1, 2021

In July, as wildfires tore through the American West, President Biden 
met with the region’s governors to find better ways to battle the 
flames. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California requested use of military 
satellites that are designed to warn of missile attacks, calling the 
orbital fleet “a game changer” for spotting and fighting wildfires.

Mr. Biden promised to help. “When this meeting is over,” he said, “I’ll 
be on the phone with the Department of Defense.”

His call wasn’t the first — or the 50th.

The issue of using secret military gear to aid civilian firefighters 
arose 35 years ago. It grew as the White House, the Central Intelligence 
Agency, the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies sought to 
establish a national system that warned of undetected wildfires and 
menacing flare-ups.

The Pentagon allowed tests and a short-lived prototype. But the 
arrangements were never permanent. The military, eager to safeguard its 
prerogatives and orbital fleets, was always glad to shut the pipeline 
down. As a result, officials like Governor Newsom now have to lobby for 
emergency access.

But record-setting fires are likely to grow worse and pose grave new 
dangers that warrant an urgent response, according to proponents of 
deeper cooperation between officials who combat wildfires and those 
managing the military spacecraft. The nation can no longer afford 
endless turf wars and bureaucratic foot-dragging. It’s a matter, they 
say, of public safety.

“Fighting disasters is like fighting wars,” said Darrell G. Herd, a 
retired senior research scientist at the Defense Intelligence Agency who 
pioneered early orbital tests of wildfire detection. “You suffer if you 
don’t have adequate warning.”...
- -
Satellite-sharing proponents often cite the military’s Global 
Positioning System as a role model. That fleet of satellites began life 
in 1978 as a highly classified system for transmitting precise location 
data to the U.S. armed forces. In the 1980s, civilians gained access. 
Today, commercial uses include tracking vehicles and sending position 
data to millions of smartphones.

In an interview, Representative Adam B. Schiff, the California Democrat 
who heads the House Intelligence Committee, said the nation needed to 
rethink the military’s overall role in protecting American society and 
decide either to shrink its budgets or expand its domestic 
responsibilities. The new roles, he added, should include the permanent 
sharing of the attack-warning satellites with the civilian authorities.

“Part of a strong America is having a strong infrastructure that 
protects our citizens not just from foreign attack but natural 
disasters,” Mr. Schiff said. “We need to protect people from the growing 
intensity of these fires.”

Mr. Schiff cited a personal encounter. In 2009, a California wildfire 
grew into the largest in the modern history of Los Angeles County, 
killing two firefighters, destroying scores of homes and turning 
hundreds of square miles of green vegetation into blackened remains.

“I remember stepping outside my house one night,” Mr. Schiff said. “It 
looked like lava flowing down the canyons — like a scene out of a 
surreal horror film.”

The revitalized debate centers on an early generation of attack-warning 
satellites known as the Defense Support Program, a main participant in 
the fire experiments. First  sent aloft in 1970, the spacecraft orbit 
22,300 miles up, over the Equator, in sync with Earth’s rotation. 
Hanging motionless relative to the ground lets them peer without 
interruption at the same regions.

One satellite can see roughly a third of Earth’s surface, and three can 
scan the entirety of the planet. Their specialty is spotting the fiery 
plumes of attacking missiles. But their infrared sensors — sensitive to 
heat’s invisible rays — can see much more. Once, a spacecraft was able 
to pinpoint where an Air Force C-141 transport jet exploded over the 
South Atlantic.

The military has lofted 23 of the craft over the decades at an estimated 
cost of $15 billion. Their current numbers and orbital locations are 
classified secrets. By Washington standards, their operating costs are 
relatively low. A military contractor was recently awarded a renewal 
contract for $223 million over ten years, or $22.3 million a year.

Military craft in geosynchronous orbit have an edge over civilian 
satellites at lower altitudes that move steadily over Earth’s surface. 
The spacecraft in lower orbits see particular sites infrequently, often 
leaving them blind to new fires, sudden flare-ups and shifting flames. 
The images of NASA’s firefighting program are up to five hours old. In 
contrast, the military craft scan planet Earth every 10 seconds.

In fire season, striking images from satellite companies and the space 
fleets of civilian agencies are often made public, but those spacecraft 
typically detect blazes only after they’re too large to contain...
- -
In 2012, Medea, the C.I.A.’s environmental arm, compared the two 
approaches in a global test. The target was Brazil and its gargantuan 
forests, which farmers often set ablaze to clear land. The military’s 
attack-warning satellites came out on top. Their geostationary positions 
gave them continuous views, whereas the civilian satellites in lower 
orbits came and went over hours and days, often leaving them unable to 
detect new blazes.

On a temporary basis, California began using the military spacecraft to 
spot fires in 2018. Last year, Maj. Gen. David S. Baldwin, adjutant 
general of the California National Guard, told reporters that the state 
was “becoming pretty good at it.”

The main problem was the limited access. Most recently, use of the 
military asset was set to expire on Sept. 30, at the end of the federal 
government’s fiscal year. So, over the summer, the state of California 
mounted a lobbying campaign...
- -
In an interview, Linda Zall, a former C.I.A. official who for decades 
led the agency’s fire and environmental studies, said it was “a 
travesty” that civilian officials faced so much resistance to a modest 
step that promised to substantially enhance public safety.

The civilian authorities could soon get better options. Start-ups in 
Australia and Germany are planning to loft fire-spotting satellites in 
order to serve fast-growing international markets. And Planet, a U.S. 
company that built a fleet of nearly 200 imaging satellites, recently 
joined with a start-up to assess forest fire risks.
- -
The wildfire situation “is going to get worse before it gets better,” 
Mr. Harris said. As a matter of public safety commensurate with the 
growing threat, he added, now is the time to “move the bureaucracy, to 
tell it what’s important. Let’s take advantage of these very capable 
resources.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/27/science/wildfires-military-satellites.html



/[The news archive - looking back]/
*On this day in the history of global warming October  4, 2015*
  The New York Times editorial board observes:

    "India’s announcement of a long-term plan to combat greenhouse gas
    emissions brings on board all the world’s major economies — including
    big polluters like the United States, China, the European Union and
    Brazil — with national pledges to address climate change.
    "India’s pledge is among the least ambitious of the big emitters, but
    even so, with less than two months to go before a critical United
    Nations climate conference in Paris, it is an important development.
    In contrast to past efforts to reduce greenhouse gases by assigning
    specific emissions levels only to industrialized countries, while
    giving developing countries like India a pass (an approach that met
    with stiff resistance in the United States), the Paris conference is
    asking every country to create its own plan."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/opinion/sunday/a-big-boost-for-the-climate-summit.html?ref=opinion


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