[✔️] February 2, 2022 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
👀 Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Wed Feb 2 10:14:22 EST 2022
/*February 2, 2022*/
/[ a most powerful opinion video in the NYTimes ]/
*Meet the People Getting Paid to Kill Our Planet*
American agriculture is ravaging the air, soil and water. But a powerful
lobby has cleverly concealed its damage.
By Kirk Semple, Adam Westbrook and Jonah M. Kessel
The global food system is a wonder of technological and logistical
brilliance. It feeds more people than ever, supplying a greater variety
of food more cheaply and faster than ever.
It is also causing irreparable harm to the planet.
The system — a vast web of industries and processes that stretches from
seed to pasture to packaging to supermarket to trash dump — produces at
least a third of all human-caused greenhouse gases.
Yet somehow these impacts aren’t in the forefront of the conversation
about global warming. Indeed, they often aren’t in the conversation at all.
In the Opinion Video above, we explore why. Our focus is American
agriculture, an industry that, while feeding the United States, is also
damaging the environment — contaminating the air and water, exhausting
the soil, destroying wildlife habitats and spurring climate change.
But despite these harms, the sector has largely been spared
environmental regulation. This exception reflects, in part, the special
place that farmers occupy in the American imagination. But the industry,
particularly the big corporations that are increasingly dominating the
sector, are also aided by one of the most effective lobbies on the planet.
This is the first in a series of three Opinion Videos that we are
publishing this month, each providing an angle on the food system and,
we hope, changing the way you look at food and making you think twice
about what you put on your plate. The second video will examine how a
few powerful companies dominate the chicken industry, trapping farmers
in exploitative relationships and condemning the animals to short,
wretched lives. The third video will propose a dietary modification that
may gross you out — but also might help curb climate change.
For now, pull up a chair at the lobbyists’ lunch table. Juicy, expensive
steak is on the menu. If you’re a taxpayer in the United States, try
your best to enjoy it. After all, considering agriculture’s enormous
public subsidies and the harm the industry is doing to your land, air
and water, it’s you who will ultimately be picking up the tab.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/01/opinion/climate-sustainability-agriculture-lobby.html
/[ Yikes! a few miles from me, Seattle local waters bubbling up ]/
*UW researchers discover methane gas bubbles coming up from the Puget
Sound seafloor*
Researchers with the University of Washington discovered the methane
plumes on accident while they were gathering other data.
Author: Glenn Farley
January 29, 2022
SEATTLE — Methane is a serious greenhouse gas, and it’s also coming up
from hundreds of plumes out of earthquake faults under Puget Sound.
“I find it amazing, and I’ve been here at the University since 1967,”
said oceanography professor Paul Johnson, who is helping to lead new
research into the plumes. He’s been on the University of Washington's
(UW) faculty for over 50 years. "Nobody knew these plumes were out there.”
The streams of bubbles were picked up by scanning sonar as it was left
running aboard UW's largest research ship while it was returning to port
in 2011, Johnson said. The “Tommy Thompson” had been out in the open
ocean doing other research, but no one noticed the plumes of gas until
one of his former students began analyzing the data.
"She's looking at the Puget Sound, 'what are those bubbles that are
coming out of the Kingston Arch there by the ferry doc?'" said Johnson.
Beginning in 2019, student cruises aboard a smaller research vessel
found more bubbles off Alki Beach. Bubbles were also found coming up
from the South Whidbey Island Fault to the north and the Seattle Fault
Zone near Alki Point.
A team then followed up with a separate cruise financed with a $100
thousand grant from the National Science Foundation.
“The fact that you have these clusters of plumes, and there are about 20
off Alki point and the Seattle Fault going all the way over to
Bainbridge Island,” said Johnson, “it says somehow these fault zones
are controlling where this methane comes up.”
Johnson says there are two primary areas of concern.
Methane plumes are nothing new out in the open ocean, but they're often
occurring at ocean depths where the methane is absorbed into the water
column before it makes it to the surface.
The Puget Sound, while deep, isn't that deep. Johnson estimates about
half of the Puget Sound methane could be making it to the atmosphere.
“It’s substantial on the scale of natural sources, but it’s small when
compared to leaking natural gas pipes,” Johnson said.
Johnson would like to know how this naturally occurring methane
contributes to the underlying layer of greenhouse gases to better
understand the overall mix of methane gas that’s influencing climate
change.
He also wants to research whether the gas leaking from earthquake faults
with a known risk for serious shaking says anything about the potential
for an earthquake, as well as where the methane could be coming from.
https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/methane-gas-bubbles-puget-sound-university-of-washington/281-fc6ae422-a165-434e-8501-48d620a45343
- -
/[ Local TV news report ]/
*UW researchers discover methane gas bubbles coming up from the Puget
Sound seafloor*
Jan 28, 2022
KING 5
Researchers with the University of Washington discovered the methane
plumes on accident while they were gathering other data.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxCVMm8xM_U
/[ "Unpalatable or untenable?" //choose one. //Climate scientist are
angry and distressed -- needing conversation -- audio interviews 34
mins ] /
*The Climate Scientist's Quandary*
Feb 1, 2022
ScientistsWarning
In a powerful conversation with Dr. Alison Green, Professors Bruce
Glavovic, Iain White and Tim Smith discuss their controversial paper,
calling for a moratorium on climate change research
(https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/...). One of their key points is
that it is now vital to disrupt 'science as usual', which has not been
effective in addressing the climate and ecological emergency.
Acknowledging that activism is important, they call for an urgent
conversation within the science community to address the question 'what
IS the role of scientists in trying to renegotiate the science-society
contract?'
Bruce Glavovic is a Professor at Massey University, Iain White is a
Professor of Environmental Planning, University of Waikato, and Tim
Smith is a Professor and ARC Future Fellow, University of the Sunshine
Coast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hBYOwDKO9k
- -
/[ Academic Article in Climate and Development ]/
*The tragedy of climate change science*
Bruce C. Glavovic, Timothy F. Smith, White
Published online: 24 Dec 2021
Download citation https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2021.2008855
*ABSTRACT*
The science-society contract is broken. The climate is changing.
Science demonstrates why this is occurring, that it is getting
worse, the implications for human well-being and social-ecological
systems, and substantiates action. Governments agree that the
science is settled. The tragedy of climate change science is that at
the same time as compelling evidence is gathered, fresh warnings
issued, and novel methodologies developed, indicators of adverse
global change rise year upon year. Meanwhile, global responses to
Covid-19 have shown that even emergent scientific knowledge can
bolster radical government action. We explore three options for the
climate change science community. We find that two options are
untenable and one is unpalatable. Given the urgency and criticality
of climate change, we argue the time has come for scientists to
agree to a moratorium on climate change research as a means to first
expose, then renegotiate, the broken science-society contract.
Figure 1. The tragedy of climate change science. Governments concur that
climate change is occurring. Yet scientists are compelled to do more
research. The tragedy is conducting more climate change research even
when the science is settled. Governments need to take action to halt
global warming and enable transformational adaptation and climate
resilient development....
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/figure/10.1080/17565529.2021.2008855?scroll=top&needAccess=true
https://www.tandfonline.com/na101/home/literatum/publisher/tandf/journals/content/tcld20/0/tcld20.ahead-of-print/17565529.2021.2008855/20211224/images/medium/tcld_a_2008855_f0001_oc.jpg
- -
*Three options for climate change science*
So what now for the science-society contract? As members of the
scientific community, how should we respond to the mounting evidence of
decline and lack of transformational government action? We see three
possible options for climate change science.
*The first *is continuation of climate change science as usual. We carry
on. Deliver more science. Collect more evidence of deleterious impacts.
This option is founded on hope of action. There are always forthcoming
agreements and the possibility of political shifts. There are small
policy gains unfolding in different places in different ways. We invest
in new ways to better communicate science. We continue with the IPCC
assessment process and general positioning, and endeavour to stay
politically neutral and avoid being policy prescriptive. However, this
option continues the naive demarcation between the practice of science
and the politics of policy-making (e.g. Jasanoff, 2004). Given that
climate change science is ‘settled’, and has been for decades, we argue
that this course runs counter to our own scientific training of
collecting and reflecting upon the evidence. The evidence shows that the
science-society contract is broken. The first option is therefore not
tenable.
*The second option* is intensified social science research and advocacy
on climate change. It focuses on better understanding why action has not
occurred, and how to enable the behavioural and institutional changes
required to contain global warming and climate change impacts. To date,
funding has been dominated by the natural and technical sciences
(Overland & Sovacool, 2020). Concentrated funding and research effort in
the social sciences and humanities lies at the heart of this pathway. We
recognize that in recent decades much more work is being done in this
realm by political scientists, sociologists, economists, human
geographers and the like, and this has exposed the powers and vested
interests that have impeded climate action (e.g. Supran & Oreskes,
2021). In parallel there has been a recognition among both scientists
and the public of the need for increased advocacy by the scientific
community (Cologna et al., 2021). However, even with more social science
research, scientific advocacy and significant support from civil
society, there have been no signs of systemic change in government
action. There is no evidence that more social science research and
traditional forms of advocacy will lead to transformative action within
the timeframes required to avert dire climate change consequences. The
second option is therefore also not tenable.
*The third option* is much more radical. Climate change science is
settled to the point of global consensus. We have fulfilled our
responsibility to provide robust knowledge. We now need to stop research
in those areas where we are simply documenting global warming and
maladaptation, and focus instead on exposing and renegotiating the
broken science-society contract. The IPCC’s 6th Assessment will be
completed in 2022. Will the response to this assessment be any different
to the previous five assessments? Nothing indicates that this will be
the case. In fact, given the rupture of the science-society contract
outlined here, it would be wholly irresponsible for scientists to
participate in a 7th IPCC assessment. We therefore call for a halt to
further IPCC assessments. We call for a moratorium on climate change
research until governments are willing to fulfil their responsibilities
in good faith and urgently mobilize coordinated action from the local to
global levels. This third option is the only effective way to arrest the
tragedy of climate change science.
The three options we set out here are either untenable or unpalatable.
Readers may well agree with the nature of the tragedy of climate change
science outlined here but disagree with our analysis of viable options.
Some may want greater detail on what a moratorium could encompass, or
argue for expanding traditional forms of advocacy. Equally, while some
may see the third option as damaging the credibility and objectivity of
the scientific community, we see this option as a new powerful
possibility for scientific advocacy and a further means by which
scientists can act in the public interest when all other avenues have
failed. The moratorium will be hard, and there will be short-term pain
for researchers, with an uncomfortable spotlight on the scientific
community. Questions will be raised regarding whether it is our ‘duty’
to use public funds to continue to improve the state of climate change
knowledge, or whether a more radical approach will serve society better?
We argue that a critical juncture has now been reached for human and
planetary well-being. Given the tragedy of climate change science
outlined here, a moratorium offers the only real prospect for restoring
the science-society contract. Other options are seductive but offer
false hope.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17565529.2021.2008855
/[ Overshoot prognostications lecture 3 years ago -- the social and
political change must know the physical conditions ]/
*3 Limits to Growth After 45 Years - Dennis Meadows at Ulm University*
Jun 7, 2019
FAWn Ulm
Keynote by Prof. Dr. Dennis Meadows
Please find the slides of the presentation here:
https://www.fawn-ulm.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/190524_Dennis_Meadows_Hochschultage_Ulm.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRXb4bJhSSw
/[ European changes ] /
*How a German coal region is becoming a poster child for a successful
green transition*
The fractured coal region of Lusatia is resurrecting itself as the now
home to the entire supply chain of electric vehicles
BY NAOMI BUCK - JAN 26, 2022...
- -
We spent 30 years looking for investors. And now they’re coming. —Fred
Mahro, mayor of Guben
In fact, Mayor Mahro is decidedly optimistic. Unemployment levels in
Lusatia, which peaked in the mid-2000s at 25%, now hover around 7%. Good
things are happening in Guben, the best of them last October, when Rock
Tech Lithium, a Canadian-German lithium development company
headquartered in Vancouver, announced that it would be building Europe’s
first lithium hydroxide converter in Guben.
The cleantech company’s €470-million investment in the Lusatian town
reflects a carefully crafted political strategy that is paying off...
- -
Another attractive feature of Brandenburg to investors is the
composition of its energy supply. At two-thirds renewable (wind, solar
and biomass), Brandenburg’s is the greenest grid in Germany: pretty
remarkable for a state that, as recently as 2017, was still running
mainly on coal. This makes it a natural home for electric mobility – but
also any other industry, in a world where carbon emissions hurt the
bottom line.
https://www.corporateknights.com/issues/2022-01-global-100-issue/how-a-german-coal-region-is-becoming-a-global-poster-child-for-a-successful-green-transition/
https://whowhatwhy.org/science/environment/how-a-german-coal-region-becomes-a-poster-child-for-green-transition-success/
/[ hmm, video showing officials dress in somber black ]/
*Punxsutawney Phil makes Groundhog Day prediction*
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. —
Video above from 2021: Punxsutawney Phil predicts six more weeks of winter
Six more weeks of winter is on the way. Punxsutawney Phil made his
prediction around 7:25 a.m. ET Wednesday at Gobbler's Knob.
Phil's "inner circle" summoned him from his tree stump to learn if he
saw his shadow. According to folklore, there will be six more weeks of
winter if he sees his shadow. If he doesn't, spring comes early.
The event took place virtually last year because of the coronavirus
pandemic, depriving the community, which is about 65 miles northeast of
Pittsburgh, of a boost from tourists.
It was streamed live and seen by more than 15,000 viewers worldwide at
one point. About 150 cardboard cutouts of fans were there to "watch."
Thousands returned in person this year.
The annual event has its origin in a German legend about a furry rodent.
According to records dating back to 1887, Phil has predicted winter more
than 100 times. Ten years were lost because no records were kept,
organizers said.
https://www.wgal.com/article/punxsutawney-phil-groundhog-day-prediction-2022/38957462#
/[The news archive - looking back]/
*On this day in the history of global warming February 2, 2015*
February 2, 2015:
The Washington Post reports:
"Sea levels aren’t the only things rising due to climate change — swaths
of land are too, including the nation of Iceland.
"That’s according to a new study published by a team of geologists from
the University of Arizona. According to their research, the melting of
Iceland’s glaciers has reduced pressure on the ground beneath them,
causing the land to “rebound” from the Earth’s crust.
"The notion that rock rebounds is not a new one, Sigrun Hreinsdottir,
one of the principal investigators on the project, explained to The
Washington Post. Land in Canada and Scandinavia is still slowly rising
after being pushed down by glaciers during the last ice age. More
recently, there are indications parts of Alaska and Chile are also
experiencing a 'rebound' phenomenon as glaciers retreat. But if those
rocks are like a memory foam mattress, remaining compressed long after
the pressure on them is gone, the rising land in Iceland is like a
trampoline, springing back at a rate of nearly 1.4 inches per year."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/02/climate-change-melting-glaciers-make-iceland-spring-upward-like-a-trampoline/?tid=hp_mm&hpid=z4
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