[✔️] October 27, 2021 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
👀 Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Wed Oct 27 08:40:36 EDT 2021
/*October 27, 2021*/
/[ Good questions in this hour long video ] /
*Who Can Make Meaningful Change in the Climate Crisis?*
Oct 25, 2021
The Royal Institution
Who has the power to make meaningful change in the climate crisis? Do we
require strict top-down action from government, business and other
leaders or can the climate crisis best solved with a bottom-up
grassroots approach?
Watch the Q&A: https://youtu.be/HO6_lV3giH0
This event is part of our new series on the climate crisis in
partnership with the Grantham Institute.
*Alyssa Gilbert *is the Director of Policy and Translation at the
Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment. Alyssa
connects relevant research across the university with policy-makers and
businesses. Together with the team at Grantham and academics across
Imperial, she delivers outputs for those audiences ranging from briefing
papers through to workshops and events. She has expanded these outputs
to include digital learning through a Massive Open Online Course on
Clean Power, and an Art & Science exhibit, amongst other approaches.
*Trewin Restorick* is the founder of Global Action Plan and the founding
CEO of Hubub, a charity which makes environmental issues fun. Launching
creative campaigns and collaborating with companies, Hubub is a
visionary charity. Trewin's history of working in environmental change
and his ability to actively engage his audiences makes him well-placed
to discuss green issues.
*Moustapha Kamal Gueye *is Coordinator of the Green Jobs Programme at
the International Labour Organisation in Geneva. Kamal comes from UNEP
where he served as Acting Head, Green Economy Advisory Services from
2009 to 2012. Before UNEP, he was for three years Senior Programme
Manager-Environment Cluster at the International Centre for Trade and
Sustainable Development (ICTSD) in Geneva. Previously, Kamal spent
twelve years across Asia, managing policy research projects on renewable
energy, environment and sustainable development at the Institute for
Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in Japan.
The event is chaired by Colleen Becker – Co-Founder of start up Stealth
Mode.
This talk was recorded on 12 October 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2OEE45dYMU
- -
/[ some questions following ]/
*Q&A: Who Can Make Meaningful Change in the Climate Crisis?*
Oct 14, 2021
The Royal Institution
The panelists answer audience questions following their presentations.
This event is part of our new series on the climate crisis in
partnership with the Grantham Institute.
On the panel are:
*Alyssa Gilber*t is the Director of Policy and Translation at the
Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment.
*Trewin Restorick *is the founder of Global Action Plan and the founding
CEO of Hubub, a charity which makes environmental issues fun.
*Moustapha Kamal Gueye* is Coordinator of the Green Jobs Programme at
the International Labour Organisation in Geneva.
The event is chaired by Colleen Becker – Co-Founder of start up Stealth
Mode.
This talk was recorded on 12 October 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO6_lV3giH0
/[ Congressional hearings begin on Thursday ]/
*Fueling the Climate Crisis: Exposing Big Oil’s Disinformation Campaign
to Prevent Climate Action*
Meeting Notes: This hearing will convene in room 2154 of the Rayburn
House Office Building and over Zoom, which has been approved by the House.
Washington D.C. (October 22, 2021)— On Thursday, October 28, 2021, at
9:00 a.m. ET, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee
on Oversight and Reform, and Rep. Ro Khanna, the Chairman of the
Subcommittee on the Environment, will hold a hearing to examine the
fossil fuel industry’s long-running, industry-wide campaign to spread
disinformation about the role of fossil fuels in causing global warming.
The fossil fuel industry has had scientific evidence about the dangers
of climate change since at least 1977. Yet for decades, the industry
spread denial and doubt about the harm of its products—undermining the
science and preventing meaningful action on climate change even as the
global climate crisis became increasingly dire, and its deadly impact on
Americans increased.
More recently, some large fossil fuel companies took public stances in
support of climate actions while privately continuing to block reforms,
invest overwhelmingly in fossil fuel extraction, and support efforts to
extend the life of fossil fuel investments. The industry reportedly
spends billions to promote climate disinformation through branding and
lobbying. Moreover, they increasingly outsource lobbying to trade
groups, obscuring their own roles in disinformation efforts.
On September 16, 2021, the Chairs sent letters to top fossil fuel
executives requesting documents and communications related to their
organization’s role in supporting disinformation and misleading the
public to prevent action on the climate crisis. To date, all the fossil
fuel entities have failed to adequately comply with the Committee’s request.
WITNESSES
Mr. Darren Woods
Chief Executive Officer
ExxonMobil Corporation
Mr. David Lawler
Chief Executive Officer
BP America Inc.
Mr. Michael K. Wirth
Chief Executive Officer
Chevron Corporation
Ms. Gretchen Watkins
President
Shell Oil Company
Mr. Mike Sommers
President
American Petroleum Institute
Ms. Suzanne Clark
President and Chief Executive Officer
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Hearings
https://oversight.house.gov/legislation/hearings/fueling-the-climate-crisis-exposing-big-oil-s-disinformation-campaign-to
- -
/[academic YouTube lecture]/
*Day 5 - Stephan Lewandowsky: Climate denial: drivers and consequences*
Oct 5, 2021
Institut des sciences cognitives - UQAM
ISC 2021 Summer School – Cognitive Challenges of Climate Change
https://sites.grenadine.uqam.ca/sites/isc/en/iscuqam2021/schedule?date=2021-05-28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJhXuv-vEys
/[ Get your program ]/
OCT 24, 2021 3 MIN READ
*A COP26 Preview*
COP26 starts next week in Glasgow, Scotland, the most important
international climate meeting since Paris in 2015.
On the agenda is the first comprehensive update to country-level
emissions reduction targets — none of which are ambitious enough to meet
the global goal of cutting carbon in half by 2030 and limiting global
temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. To get back on track, virtually
everything about everything has to change.
We need a revolution.
The main topic in Glasgow will be money. More specifically, who pays for
the climate devastation already occurring around the world (especially
in countries who did almost nothing to cause the problem). The climate
negotiator lingo for this is "loss and damage". The other money-related
sticking points are how to motivate rich countries to do more emissions
cuts faster, namely through carbon markets or international carbon
taxes, and how to have rich countries fund renewable energy and other
zero-carbon technologies in frontline countries hit hardest. Against a
global political backdrop that's witnessing stark inequality as the
Covid pandemic rages on, China-US tensions rising, and billions of
dollars of climate disaster racking up almost daily, it's going to be a
high-stakes meeting.
As has been happening for decades now, the talks themselves are also
riddled with inequality. Rich, high-emitting countries have historically
dominated the talks and filled them with delay tactics, until the rise
of the political power of small island states and the Climate Vulnerable
Forum which won the 1.5 degree temperature target in Paris. This year,
it's been very difficult for poorer countries to even afford the
logistics to attend the talks, as vaccine inequality and a heavy police
presence is keeping climate activists away.
Times like this, there's a critical role for climate journalists. Even
what sounds good on the surface can have deadly consequences. For
example, there's an absolutely huge difference between zero carbon and
"net zero" carbon — one ends the root cause of climate catastrophe, one
allows those who have caused the problem to keep on causing the problem
while commodifying the forests, people, and shorelines of frontline
countries.
The story here is simple, but still undertold: Climate catastrophe is
here, it's deadly, and it's an existential threat unlike anything we've
ever experienced as a species.
Why don't our leaders reflect that urgency? I think it's that they're so
invested in the status quo, they can't imagine anything else other than
extraction, disaster, and exploitation. I think it's that they still
don't believe that a better world is possible.
A better world IS possible
In the months leading up to COP26, one country, Zambia, is remaking
itself for an era of climate change.
Zambia — one of the countries most affect by climate change — has
committed to cutting its emissions by a minimum of 25% by 2030, or by as
much as 47% by 2030 with significant international support.
About 60% of Zambia’s population is below 30. A youth movement in this
year's elections helped put Hakainde Hichilema in power with a plan to
create a new ministry of Green Economy and Environment to transform the
country — so it's a great example of a country that's reimagining itself
and putting its future in its own hands.
On Thursday, I'll be publishing an investigative piece from Zambia-based
writer Fiske Nyirongo about the nexus of drought, economic inequality,
and hope for the future.
To build a better world, we have to imagine it.
As a special treat, my favorite climate writer Mary Annaïse Heglar's
latest essay is in The Nation, it's out today, and it's interactive.
She writes: "The real question isn’t about what the world is doing, it’s
about what we’re doing. It’s not whether the world is ending or
beginning. It’s whether we’re creating or destroying it. And the answer
is, of course, both."
It's a beautiful way to actively insert yourself into the story we're
all co-creating. I'd encourage everyone to read it!
https://thephoenix.earth/putting-catastrophe-into-perspective/
- -
/[ from the Nation ]/
*To Build a Beautiful World, You First Have to Imagine It*
Looking at the climate fight, it’s clear what we desperately need is
more artists.
By Mary Annaïse Heglar - OCTOBER 24, 2021
It’s been a heavy week for those of us who want to preserve life on
earth. Somehow, the latest, greatest hope for a livable future is in the
hands of one man—a senator, not even a king! Given how few Americans
voted for him, it’s absurd that Joe Manchin has so much national
influence. But when you factor in the scale of US power and its historic
and current responsibility for the climate crisis, it’s downright grotesque.
When Senator Ed Markey joined climate activists outside of the Capitol
on October 7, he said, “There’s no middle ground between a livable and
an unlivable world.”
But there is a world in between—and we’re in it now. It’s a world where
everything feels tenuous, like if you touch anything, it might all
crumble. It’s one where you feel uneasy making plans months in advance,
because you can’t picture the future. Today, coming up with a 10-year
plan feels ridiculous—like building a house on quicksand.
As we careen from crisis to crisis, it’s hard not to wonder whether the
world is ending. But, for the only species with a record, for better or
worse, of intentionally changing the planet, that’s a cop-out. The real
question isn’t about what the world is doing, it’s about what we’re
doing. It’s not whether the world is ending or beginning. It’s whether
we’re creating or destroying it. And the answer is, of course, both.
The climate crisis is a crisis of many things: science, economics,
politics, immigration. As the author Amitav Ghosh said, “the climate
crisis is also a crisis of culture, and thus of the imagination.” To be
clear, that doesn’t mean innovation or invention—we’ve got loads of
ideas for solar panels and microgrids. While we have all of these
pieces, we don’t have a picture of how they come together to build a new
world. For too long, the climate fight has been limited to scientists
and policy experts. While we need those skills, we also need so much
more. When I survey the field, it’s clear that what we desperately need
is more artists.
We talk a lot about building a “livable future,” but what does that
really mean? Not much for those of us barely surviving today.
Furthermore, I don’t want a future that’s merely livable. I want a
beautiful world. I’m sick of nightmares, and I’m ready to dream again.
I’d like to introduce to everyone the concept of world-building. At its
core, world-building is what it sounds like: the process of creating an
imaginary world for a work of fiction. It’s the practice of taking the
ideas in your head, the sensations from your imagination, and allowing
people to see what you see, feel what you feel. It’s as much about
creating new things as it is about destroying old structures and
assumptions. It’s an art, not a science.
World-building is often thought to be the domain of science fiction, but
any work of fiction, or even nonfiction, requires it. You have to build
the world as your character sees it, because as every novelist knows,
world-building is more about the characters than about the environment.
And so it is in life: None of us experiences the world the same way, so
we live in our own little versions of it.
We need to apply world-building to the planet we live on. While artists
might be the most accomplished at this, they can’t do it alone this
time. We’re all going to have to push our imaginations. Here’s one way
to start: Close your eyes and think of the world as you see it. Remember
that world-building begins with the main character. (That’s you!) So ask
yourself: Who are you, and what do you stand for? And now, what do the
people around you stand for?
Picture your surroundings. Observe everything that’s beautiful and
everything that’s ugly, scary, uncertain: the storms, the fires, the
injustices, the screaming, the gnashing of teeth. As you consider your
surroundings—including the laws of society and mores of culture—take
note of how you feel in them, how you interact with them. Think about
what you can change and what you can’t. Open your eyes. Breathe.
Now, close your eyes and imagine the world you want to live in. You’re
starting with the same main character. (Still you!) But maybe the people
around you have changed. What do they value in this world? How do they
treat each other? What’s important in this new world, and what isn’t?
What does power—not just electricity—look like? How does the air feel on
your skin? What does it smell like? In my world, there’s laughter and
lightness in the air, and it’s not weighed down with those noxious
chemicals that make my nose burn. Memorize your version—every detail,
every sensation. You’ll need to keep coming back here until you make it
real.
When you open your eyes, ask yourself: Is there something from that
world I can bring into this one? That’s your job now. If we’re going to
make the world over, let’s do it right. Let’s make a masterpiece.
Mary Annaïse Heglar is a climate writer and cohost of the podcast Hot Take.
https://www.thenation.com/article/environment/climate-world-building/
/[ Some science fundamentals]/
*Day 1 - Paul Thagard: History of Cognitive Science and Its Relevance to
Climate Change*
Premiered Oct 5, 2021
Institut des sciences cognitives - UQAM
ISC 2021 Summer School - Cognitive Challenges of Climate Change
(https://sites.grenadine.uqam.ca/sites/isc/en/iscuqam2021/schedule?date=2021-05-24)
a 40 minute video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKEU2aMzWJ8
Day 1
Talk by Paul Thagard: History of Cognitive Science and Its Relevance to
Climate Change
MC: Nadia Seraiocco, Lecturer and Ph.D candidate, Écoles des médias, UQAM
Abstract:
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of mind, embracing
psychology, computer modeling, neuroscience, linguistics,
anthropology, and philosophy. Its intellectual roots are in the
1950s when cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence began.
Its organizational roots are in the 1970s when the term “cognitive
science” was introduced and the Cognitive Science Society was
formed. Cognitive science combines ideas and methods from multiple
fields to address important questions about intelligent thinking.
Climate change raises mental questions that require
interdisciplinary answers. Why do almost all scientists believe that
global warming is caused by human activities and that serious
actions must be taken to slow it? Why do some powerful politicians
and wealthy people deny that climate change is a problem? How can
climate change deniers be convinced that climate change is a serious
problem? Why do many people who believe that climate change is
serious nevertheless do little about it?
Bio:
Paul Thagard is a philosopher, cognitive scientist, and author of many
interdisciplinary books. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of
Philosophy at the University of Waterloo, where he founded and directed
the Cognitive Science Program. He is a graduate of the Universities of
Saskatchewan, Cambridge, Toronto (Ph.D. in philosophy) and Michigan (MS
in computer science). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the
Cognitive Science Society, and the Association for Psychological
Science. The Canada Council awarded him a Molson Prize (2007) and a
Killam Prize (2013). His books include: The Cognitive Science of
Science: Explanation, Discovery, and Conceptual Change (MIT Press,
2012); The Brain and the Meaning of Life((Princeton University Press,
2010); Hot Thought: Mechanisms and Applications of Emotional Cognition
(MIT Press, 2006); and Mind: Introduction to Cognitive Science (MIT
Press, 1996; second edition, 2005). Oxford University Press published
his 3-book Treatise on Mind and Society in 2019.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKEU2aMzWJ8
/[ one of a series of videos ]/
*Weather Reports: A Burning Testament to Climate Collapse*
Sep 28, 2021
Harvard Divinity School
This conversation is part of a ten-week series of online
conversations with poets, writers, public servants, theologians,
biologists, scholars, and activists who are engaged in the spiritual
reckoning and awakening surrounding climate collapse, sacred land
protection, and planetary health.
The featured speaker for this first installment in the series is British
filmmaker Lucy Walker.
Following the aftermath of the 2018 Camp Fire (the deadliest in
California’s history), British filmmaker Lucy Walker directed “Bring
Your Own Brigade” (2021). The film urgently asks: why are catastrophic
wildfires increasing in number and severity around the world, and what
can be done about it? Clips of the groundbreaking film were shown
throughout the conversation, even as the American West continues to burn.
Respondent: Teresa Cavasas Cohn, University of Idaho, RPL Climate Change
Fellow
This event took place on September 20, 2021.
Sponsored by: Harvard Divinity School, The Constellation Project, The
Center for the Study of World Religions, Religion and Public Life at
HDS, Theasophie Teas, and the Planetary Health Alliance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoYFGlK0LzU
/[ This is change. Environmental revolution in the future of death...
innovation - super green. ] /
*Let's Visit the Human Composting Facility!*
Oct 22, 2021
Ask a Mortician
For the DIE hard gardening enthusiast...
- -
Learn more about Recompose: https://recompose.life/
Learn more about Bells Mountain: https://www.rememberland.org/
Explore our NEWLY REDESIGNED website: http://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/
- -
SELECTED SOURCES & ADDITIONAL READING
Recompose
https://recompose.life
Bells Mountain (Remember Land)
https://www.rememberland.org/
- -
“Dust to dust: Will California lawmakers legalize human composting —
transforming bodies into soil?”
https://calmatters.org/politics/2021/...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LJSEZ_pl3Y
/[12 minute bilingual report from VICE - global warming and drug runners ] /
*Climate Change Is Pushing Indigenous Runners to Smuggle Drugs*
Oct 22, 2021
VICE News
The Rarámuri of northern Mexico are known as some of the world's best
ultramarathon runners. Crop failures caused by climate change are
increasingly pushing them into the hands of cartels, which employ them
to run drugs across hundreds of miles of the US-Mexico borderlands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5rlrjtEBZ0
/[ Looking to COP 26 for solutions ]/
*What is the least we need from COP26?*
If global carbon emissions are to fall quickly, negotiators must bear
the following in mind...
- -
The technologists have done a wonderful job in showing that we can
decarbonise our economies quickly enough. Now leaders must show they
understand the implications. Act quickly. That is how to avoid disaster.
https://www.ft.com/content/f859d515-f1d0-405f-9aee-c609951f4254
/[ waters rising ]/
*Sea Level Rise Seminar, 2021-10-19: Matt Palmer*
Oct 23, 2021
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Sea Level Rise Seminar, 2021-10-19
Speaker: Matt Palmer
*Title: Exploring the Drivers of Global and Local Sea-Level Change Over
the 21st Century and Beyond*
Abstract:
We present a set of global and local sea-level projections at
example tide gauge locations under the RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5
emissions scenarios, including exploratory extended projections to
2300 based on emulation of individual CMIP5 models. Combining the
projections with observed tide gauge records, we explore the
contribution to total variance that arises from sea-level
variability, different emissions scenarios, and model uncertainty.
For the period out to 2300 we further breakdown the model
uncertainty by sea-level component and consider the dependence on
geographic location, time horizon, and emissions scenario. Our
analysis highlights the importance of local variability for
sea-level change in the coming decades and the potential value of
annual-to-decadal predictions of local sea-level change. Projections
to 2300 show a substantial degree of committed sea-level rise under
all emissions scenarios considered and highlight the reduced future
risk associated with RCP2.6 and RCP4.5 compared to RCP8.5. Tide
gauge locations can show large ( > 50%) departures from the
global average, in some cases even reversing the sign of the change.
While uncertainty in projections of the future Antarctic ice dynamic
response tends to dominate post-2100, we see substantial differences
in the breakdown of model variance as a function of location, time
scale, and emissions scenario.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tIhUQ9VbhE
/[The news archive - looking back]/
*On this day in the history of global warming October 27, 2006*
October 27, 2006: Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Olympia Snowe
(R-ME) urge ExxonMobil to stop funding climate-change-denying think tanks.
http://web.archive.org/web/20130303200905/http://www.rockefeller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=87f3ae3b-0f0d-44ee-af03-9080592901a4
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