[✔️] October 30, 2021 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

Sat Oct 30 06:06:05 EDT 2021

/*October 30, 2021*/

/[ The Guardian reports, in the US everybody knows already ]/
*Exxon CEO accused of lying about climate science to congressional panel*
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney likens oil company bosses’ responses to 
those of tobacco industry at historic h
Chris McGreal - 28 Oct 2021
The chief executive of ExxonMobil, Darren Woods, was accused of lying to 
Congress on Thursday after he denied that the company covered up its own 
research about oil’s contribution to the climate crisis.
For the first time, Woods and the heads of three other major petroleum 
companies were questioned under oath at a congressional hearing into the 
industry’s long campaign to discredit and deny the evidence that burning 
fossil fuels drove global heating. When pressed to make specific pledges 
or to stop lobbying against climate initiatives, all four executives 
declined...
- -
The hearing also questioned the leaders of two powerful lobby groups 
accused of acting as front organisations for big oil, the American 
Petroleum Institute and the US Chamber of Commerce.

Khanna noted that API was heavily funded by oil company money as it 
resisted the expansion of infrastructure for electric vehicles and 
opposed a methane fee backed by Biden, including flooding Facebook with 
advertisements in recent months.

Khanna challenged each of the oil executives in turn to resign from API 
over its position on electric vehicles or to tell it to stop its 
opposition to a methane fee. All of them declined to do so.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/28/exxon-ceo-accused-lying-climate-science-congressional-panel

- -

/[contempt for Congress ]/
*Republicans Slobbered All Over Themselves to Apologize to Big Oil CEOs*
In an absurd spectacle on Thursday, Republicans expressed a deep love 
for the fossil fuel industry—which just so happens to be one of their 
biggest donors.
Brian Kahn -- Oct 28, 2021
Republicans and fossil fuel interests have a, shall we say, cozy 
relationship. But that relationship went from snuggly to downright NSFW 
on Thursday at a hearing ostensibly about fossil fuel misinformation.

The House Oversight Committee welcomed executives from four fossil 
companies and two trade groups as well as a pipeline welder to probe 
decades of campaigns to confuse the public. There’s plenty of fodder. 
The past few years have seen journalist and academic investigations, 
lawsuits, FTC complaints, and sting operations that have revealed the 
ways the fossil fuel industry misleads the public—and continues to do so 
to this day. That has put the entire planet in a dangerous place now, 
with a steep carbon pollution drawdown needed to avert extreme climate 
damage.

But what Republican members of Congress wanted to do on Thursday was 
humbly apologize to CEOs of some of the most powerful corporations on 
Earth for being forced to account for their actions. More than that, 
they wanted to thank them for their service to society and scold anyone 
who dared question these titans of industry...
[See a partial transcript ]
https://gizmodo.com/republicans-slobbered-all-over-themselves-to-apologize-1847959116

/- -/

/[ theAnalysis.news - hear one audio clip 17 mins]/
*House Committee Chairwoman Maloney Nails Oil Executives*
October 29, 2021
House of Representatives Oversight Committee held hearings with the CEOs 
of the largest oil companies where Chairwoman Maloney read quotes from 
internal Exxon documents, which exposed that Exxon knew for years that 
fossil fuels were causing global warming and that it would lead to 
catastrophic consequences. She attempted to get the CEOs to acknowledge 
having lied, which they refused to do. This is an excerpt from the House 
of Representatives Oversight Committee held on October 28, 2021.
https://blubrry.com/theanalysisnews/82414208/house-committee-chairwoman-maloney-nails-oil-executives/

/
/

/[  Answer is:  "...Not until they have tried everything else first" 
succinct video] /
*COP 26 key priorities. Will our leaders FINALLY do the right thing??*
Oct 27, 2021
Just Have a Think

COP26 is a global climate conference that kicks off in Glasgow on Sunday 
31st October 2021. It could be the most pivotal meeting of world leaders 
that we see in our lifetime, and it needs to deliver some pretty 
ambitious and robust resolutions if we're to stand any chance of keeping 
global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius. So, can our politicians 
filter out the cacophony of climate noise in the world right now and 
focus on the key priorities that will actually make a difference?

Video Transcripts available at our website - http://www.justhaveathink.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtYHYlJFpIo

- -

/[ Clever advice from a historical beast - in a video ]/
*United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)*
dontchooseextinction.com

The world spends an astounding US$423 billion annually to subsidize 
fossil fuels for consumers – oil, electricity that is generated by the 
burning of other fossil fuels, gas, and coal. This is four times the 
amount being called for to help poor countries tackle the climate 
crisis, one of the sticking points ahead of the COP26 global climate 
conference next week, according to new UN Development Programme (UNDP) 
research.

The amount spent directly on these subsidies could pay for COVID-19 
vaccinations for every person in the world, or pay for three times the 
annual amount needed to eradicate global extreme poverty. When indirect 
costs, including costs to the environment, are factored into these 
subsidies, the figure rises to almost US$6 trillion, according to data 
published recently by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Instead, UNDP’s analysis highlights that these funds, paid for by 
taxpayers, end up deepening inequality and impeding action on climate 
change.

The main contributor to the climate emergency is the energy sector which 
accounts for 73 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Fossil 
fuel subsidy reforms would contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and 
benefit human health and well-being, and they are a first step towards 
correctly pricing energy – one that reflects the ‘true’ and full cost of 
using fossil fuels to society and the environment.

But UNDP’s analysis shows that fossil fuel subsidy reforms can also be 
unfair and harmful for households and society if they are poorly 
designed. While fossil fuel subsidies tend to be an unequalising tool - 
as the lion’s share of the benefits concentrate among the rich - these 
subsidies also represent an important portion of poor peoples’ incomes 
that otherwise must be paid for energy consumption. Fossil fuel 
subsidies’ removal thus could easily become an income- and 
energy-impoverishing strategy. This contributes to making fossil fuels 
reform difficult, and imposes a key barrier to transitioning to clean 
and renewable energy sources.

The Don’t Choose Extinction campaign features a collective intelligence 
platform, the Global Mindpool, to help tackle the most important issues 
of our time. Linking insights from around the world - on the climate 
emergency, the crisis in nature and inequality – the Global Mindpool 
will support UNDP to better inform and equip policy makers in 
government, civil society, and the private sector.

For more information on the ‘Don’t Choose Extinction’ campaign, visit 
www.dontchooseextinction.com

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the 
injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our 
broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations 
to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet.
https://dontchooseextinction.com/en/the-problem/

/[ check the math one more time ]/
*Netherlands in danger as sea level rises faster than forecast*
Jack Parrock, Brussels
October 27 2021
Dutch scientists have warned that sea levels will rise much faster than 
expected, which could cause havoc for the Netherlands.

Research by the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute says sea levels off 
the country’s coast could rise by 2m between 2000 and 2100...
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/netherlands-in-danger-as-sea-level-rises-faster-than-forecast-3ptfjgw5w

/[ Seems like common sense ]/
*Sea-level rise causing frozen grounds along Arctic coastlines to thaw, 
study suggests*
By Aya Al-Hakim  Global News
October 7, 2021
In a new study, researchers at Dalhousie University have found that 
sea-level rise is causing permafrost along Arctic coastlines “to thaw 
and retreat,” threatening northern ecosystems.

Permafrost, which is any ground that remains completely frozen — 0 C or 
colder — for at least two years straight, plays an important role in 
stabilizing coastlines.

According to NASA, these permanently frozen grounds are most common in 
regions with high mountains and in Earth’s higher latitudes — near the 
North and South poles.

They help regulate groundwater flow and lock carbon and greenhouse gases 
in the sediment.

“Sea-level rise is causing saltwater to move into terrestrial 
environments and freshwater reservoirs along coastlines around the world 
— a concerning phenomenon that has been studied extensively,” Alison 
Auld, the senior research reporter, said in a release...
“Little is known, however, about how this saltwater intrusion affects 
high-latitude permafrost environments like the Arctic.”

By studying how sea-level rise affects these environments, researchers 
will gain a better understanding of how climate change is impacting 
Arctic ecosystems and communities.
Julia Guimond, a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow in 
Dal’s department of civil and resource engineering and lead author of 
the paper, said permafrost thaw may have potential implications for 
coastal infrastructure.

“The presence of permafrost can impact the stability of the land. And so 
… this loss of permafrost can trigger fast slumps or increased erosion 
in these areas that are already experiencing really rapid erosion,” said 
Guimond.

“So just heightening the vulnerability of coastal communities, coastal 
infrastructure that’s now on land, that’s not held stable by permafrost.”
In addition, she explained that saltwater intrusion triggering 
permafrost thaw can also have implications for global warming.

“Permafrost literally holds tons of carbon in the sediments. And so any 
time you find another driver of permafrost thaw, which we’re showing 
that sea-level rise can trigger thaw, you get the release of carbon into 
the environment,” Guimond said.

Despite these concerning implications, Guimond said she’s generally an 
optimistic person.

“Being in it every day and seeing the science that happens and the 
brilliance of colleagues and the creativity, I have to have hope.”

Guimond said what’s worrisome is the “feedback,” which is the effect 
that change in one part of an ecosystem has on another, that researchers 
don’t fully understand yet.
“When you think about a changing climate, what we’ve shown in this study 
is that here is just yet another potential feedback where you have 
sea-level rise driving permafrost thaw,” she said.

So her hope is to draw attention to these dynamic coastal systems.

“The natural world is filled with so many feedbacks that have potential 
potentially large implications for global climate and sort of the 
trajectory that we’re facing in the coming years.”...
https://globalnews.ca/news/8250073/sea-level-rise-frozen-grounds-arctic-coastlines-thaw-dalhousie/

- -

/[ study of shoreline melting dynamics  in //Geophysical Research Letters ]/
*Saltwater Intrusion Intensifies Coastal Permafrost Thaw*
First published: 21 September 2021 
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL094776Citations: 1
*Abstract*

    Surface effects of sea-level rise (SLR) in permafrost regions are
    obvious where increasingly iceless seas erode and inundate
    coastlines. SLR also drives saltwater intrusion, but subsurface
    impacts on permafrost-bound coastlines are unseen and unclear due to
    limited field data and the absence of models that include
    salinity-dependent groundwater flow with solute exclusion and
    freeze-thaw dynamics. Here, we develop a numerical model with the
    aforementioned processes to investigate climate change impacts on
    coastal permafrost. We find that SLR drives lateral permafrost thaw
    due to depressed freezing temperatures from saltwater intrusion,
    whereas warming drives top-down thaw. Under high SLR and low warming
    scenarios, thaw driven by SLR exceeds warming-driven thaw when
    normalized to the influenced surface area. Results highlight an
    overlooked feedback mechanism between SLR and permafrost thaw with
    potential implications for coastal infrastructure, ocean-aquifer
    interactions, and carbon mobilization.

*Plain Language Summary*

    Along coastlines globally, sea-level rise is causing saltwater to
    intrude into terrestrial environments and freshwater reservoirs
    (i.e., saltwater intrusion). The impact of saltwater intrusion on
    temperate and tropical environments has been extensively studied,
    but assessment of saltwater intrusion impacts on high-latitude
    permafrost environments is lacking due to limited field data and
    appropriate models. This knowledge gap limits projections of climate
    change impacts to coastal Arctic ecosystems and communities. In this
    study, we develop and use a mathematical model that incorporates
    multiple, interrelated processes, including how salt content affects
    the freezing temperature of water, to evaluate the impacts of
    sea-level rise and associated saltwater intrusion on coastal
    permafrost. Results show that sea-level rise causes saltwater to
    intrude into the unfrozen pore space of permafrost. With a lower
    freezing temperature than freshwater, saltwater intrusion triggers
    permafrost thaw and lateral retreat. The combination of atmospheric
    and oceanic warming and sea-level rise has the potential to drive
    extensive permafrost loss along Arctic coastlines.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2021GL094776

/[ Playing unfairly and deceitfully in US history - informed commentator 
video ]/
*How The Auto Industry Carjacked The American Dream | Climate Town*
Apr 8, 2021
Climate Town
Where we're going, we don't need roads.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOttvpjJvAo

/[The news archive - looking back at a moment of villainy ]/
*On this day in the history of global warming October  30, 2003*
October 30, 2003:

The US Senate rejects the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act of 
2003 in a 55-43 vote. The bill failed after an all-out assault on the 
legislation aided by ExxonMobil-funded "researcher" Willie Soon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/31/us/senate-defeats-climate-bill-but-proponents-see-silver-lining.html

*http://youtu.be/eJFZ88EH6i4* -  This is a succinct, classic video 
history of vile and obvious disinformation

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