[✔️] March 3, 2022 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
👀 Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Thu Mar 3 08:13:23 EST 2022
/*March 3, 2022*/
/[ now comes rapid change ] /
CLEAN ENERGY
*Russia’s war with Ukraine offers critical lessons for global energy
markets*
WED, MAR 2 2022
*KEY POINTS*
- The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the EU’s dependence on Russian
natural gas show that a diversification of energy supplies is
critical to establishing energy security.
- At the same time, the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change’s report out on Monday notes that coal and fossil fuels are
“choking humanity.”
- The confluence of these events spotlight a few key points about
current global energy markets.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/02/russia-ukraine-war-lessons-for-global-energy-markets.html
/[ predictable degradation ] /
*Climate change threatens nearly one third of U.S. hazardous chemical
facilities*
March 2, 2022
Nearly one third of the hazardous chemical facilities in the United
States are at risk from climate-driven floods, storms and wildfires,
according to a new analysis by the Government Accountability Office.
The federal watchdog analyzed more than 10,000 factories, refineries,
water treatment plants and other facilities that manufacture, store or
use dangerous chemicals. They found that more than 3,200 of them are
located in places where they face damage from sea level rise, hurricane
storm surge, wildfires or flooding from heavy rain.
"Recent natural disasters have demonstrated the potential for natural
hazards to trigger fires, explosions, and releases of toxic chemicals at
facilities," the report's authors note.
- -
The report suggests multiple ways that the EPA can protect people by
requiring the companies that own these facilities to prepare for
climate-driven weather.
For example, if a chemical plant stores substances that catch fire if
they are not refrigerated, then that plant needs to be prepared for the
prolonged power outages that climate-driven storms, heat waves and
wildfires can cause. Facilities located in flood zones need to make sure
that they can keep the water out of sensitive areas.
Such requirements are already included in regulations for facilities
that handle hazardous chemicals. But the EPA can do a better job
enforcing those regulations, the report finds. For example, the agency
could prioritize inspections at facilities that are located next to
vulnerable communities and at elevated risk from climate change.
The EPA issued a response to the report saying the agency "generally
agrees" with the recommendations and laying out a multi-year timeline
for reducing climate-related risk to hazardous chemical facilities.
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/02/1083943889/climate-change-threatens-nearly-one-third-of-u-s-hazardous-chemical-facilities
/[ Opinion from the Journal Nature ]/
*Climate change won’t wait for future innovation — we need action now*
Governments must focus on solutions that are already working, even when
they aren’t glamorous or supported by powerful lobbyists.
Marie Claire Brisbois
Reading national climate plans feels like perusing corporate advertising
brochures. There is an ever-increasing focus on the promise of
innovation: hydrogen fuel, new nuclear technologies and carbon capture
and storage, the plans claim, will close the gap between what the world
needs and what renewables can provide.
Yes, alternative energy sources and carbon removal will be crucial for
decarbonization. But let’s not pretend they’ll be here fast enough to
cap temperature rise at 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. Politicians
and researchers also need to do more with techniques that are already
established — highly effective, publicly supported ways to cut energy use.
One estimate suggests that steps such as increasing use of home
insulation, public transport, appliance repair and animal-free protein
could reduce emissions by 40–80% in the building, transport, industry
and food sectors (F. Creutzig et al. Nature Clim. Change 12, 36–46;
2022). Measures to cut energy use can make citizens healthier and
happier, and can ease the burden of the rising cost of energy. But they
are neglected.
US President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan heavily finances
technologies to produce clean hydrogen and supergrids (which carry large
amounts of electricity), with expectations of high economic returns. The
UK Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution also targets
innovations, from carbon capture to electric vehicles. These plans
acknowledge the crucial but boring role of reducing energy use, but do
little to bring it about. On 28 February, the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change released a report on the impacts of climate change and
how to mitigate them; I predict that responses will emphasize flashy
innovation over familiar established strategies...
This dynamic was evident on Transport Day at the COP26 climate-change
conference in Glasgow, UK, last year. The official agenda featured
technologies such as electric vehicles and new jet fuels. Cycling,
walking and public transport were mentioned only when a bottom-up effort
by 350 organizations squeezed one line into the official declaration. By
then, it was too late to steer the conversation.
Why do governments neglect proven practices to bet big on technological
fixes unlikely to arrive on time? I study the intersection of power,
politics and environmental decision-making, and that’s the question I’ve
focused on for more than a decade.
Of the hundreds of strategy plans I’ve analysed over the five years I’ve
been studying energy, almost every single one ensures three things.
First, that global citizens will still buy a lot of energy. Second, that
control of energy resources will remain concentrated among a few
industry players. Third, that energy-intensive companies and their
shareholders will still make huge profits.
It’s no secret that energy industries are powerful political actors, or
that governments overwhelmingly measure national progress by economic
growth. Less well-known is that this encourages politicians to produce
climate strategies that prioritize high economic returns over absolute
carbon reductions. There are examples from around the world of industry
lobbying to weaken carbon targets, to block the phasing out of coal and
even to label fossil-fuel-guzzling natural-gas plants as green investments.
Unglamorous solutions have few politically powerful advocates. Their
economic benefits come more from reducing costs than from increasing
growth, and tend to be spread across sectors and accrue to less-powerful
interests. For example, proposed programmes to retrofit homes in the
United Kingdom and Spain to be more energy efficient are projected to
create half a million jobs each, most of which would be in small or
medium-sized enterprises. National savings as air pollution falls are
realized in health and environment budgets, not growth projections...
Governments do sometimes prioritize broad benefits. Italy is offering
tax deductions of 110% to finance home energy retrofits. Cities
including Paris, Milan, Detroit and Montreal are scraping together money
to fund cycle lanes and pedestrian spaces. But these small interventions
are not enough. Few governments are making serious financial investments.
Here’s where the research community can step up. One way to counter the
fixation on profitable rather than proven climate solutions is for
analysts and researchers assessing policy options to build in metrics of
environmental sustainability, social connection, health and other
indicators of well-being. There are a wealth of relevant measures, such
as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Better
Life Index. These should be implemented and advanced widely.
An emerging research base suggests that governments can maintain
logistical and social services even when economic output is static. We
need more social-science research on how to encourage political support
for policies that don’t promote growth. Researchers must supply case
studies, models and ways to craft policy around energy use that consider
people as citizens, not simply consumers.
Unglamorous solutions are effective; critics can’t say they are a bad
idea. Instead, they argue that green innovation is the only way to
mobilize the private capital and ingenuity needed to solve the climate
crisis. But the evidence is clear: the planet needs us to do more to
implement what’s already working.
Nature 603, 9 (2022)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00560-2
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00560-2
/[ listen to the Red Cross ]/
*Red Cross International Joins Groups Calling Climate Change a "National
Security" Concern*
by Anna Penner
March 1st 2022
The Red Cross warns the threat of climate change to global stability and
safety must not be taken lightly. A new report by the International
Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) finds that 83% of all disasters in
the last decade were climate-related events, affecting 1.7 billion
people and killing 410,000.
Based on the report, the humanitarian organization providing emergency
assistance and disaster relief "is calling for global leaders to take
action [on climate change] by ensuring that money is there to invest in
disaster risk reduction, early warning systems, and community resilience."
The report found that over the past decade, 83 per cent of all disasters
were caused by extreme weather and climate-related events like floods,
storms and heatwaves...
- -
Globally, these disasters have killed more than 410,000 people and
affected a staggering 1.7 billion people.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak alone, more than 100
weather-related disasters have occurred, affecting around 50 million people.
The IFRC found that of the 2,850 disasters triggered by natural hazards
over the past ten years, the most frequent were floods. At this current
rate, 147 million people may be at risk of flooding by 2030 - but if we
act now, we can prevent disasters before they happen.
https://worldwarzero.com/magazine/2022/03/red-cross-joins-groups-calling-climate-change-a-national-security-concern/
- -
/[ Who is the Red Cross? ]/
*About the IFRC*
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian network and is guided by
seven Fundamental Principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality,
independence, voluntary service, universality and unity.
https://www.ifrc.org/world-disasters-report-2020
/[ Japan reading Marx ]/
*Japanese scholar looks to Marx's theory to explain pandemic, climate
change*
Sunday Feb. 27, 2022
Iwasaki Atsuko
NHK World Producer
A Japanese academic has penned a surprise bestseller that is prompting a
new generation of readers to consider the ideas of German philosopher
Karl Marx.
Saito Kohei says the coronavirus pandemic has emerged as evidence of "a
paradox" of global capitalism. His "Capital in the Anthropocene" has
sold about 400,000 copies in Japan since its 2020 publication.
In it, he takes Marx's warning about unrestrained capitalism issued 150
years ago, to explain the climate crisis we now face.
Saito, a 35-year-old associate professor at Osaka City University, had
already made a name for himself as a translator of Marxist ideas for the
modern world.
In 2018, he won the Deutscher Memorial Prize—an annual award that honors
new and innovative writing about Marxism—for a book titled "Karl Marx's
Ecosocialism" that draws on some of the philosopher's unpublished notes.
Author Saito Kohei argues that to fully understand the scope of Marx's
critique of political economy, we should not ignore its ecological
dimension.
NHK World interviewed Saito to find out more about how he believes
Marx's ideas can explain the modern world in which he says capitalism
has reached its limit.
*Limits of Capitalism*
"This age, Anthropocene, is a geological epoch during which human
economic activities are affecting the entire earth, destroying the
planet. Through global capitalism, we have achieved a prosperous society
by mining new resources, and promoting mass production and consumption.
But we know now that has caused a paradox," he says.
"It's a paradox that has emerged in the shape of the coronavirus
pandemic. The bad news is that COVID-19 is not the last, or the worst,
of the crises we face. Climate change is something even more severe.
"Capitalism forges ahead as developed countries relentlessly open up new
frontiers to get access to cheap labor and natural resources. Capitalism
as defined by Marx is this endless process of increasing values and wealth."
Saito says developed countries have passed on the costs of their growth,
like pollution, carbon emissions and destruction of the ecosystem -- on
other regions.
"In this age of the Anthropocene, there are no more frontiers left to
cultivate. Now, we see tornadoes in the United States and extreme
weather in Europe, just like in any other part of the world. Even if you
live in a developed country, there is no escape from a crisis like the
coronavirus pandemic, or climate change.
"What if capitalism still tries to expand just to maintain its system?
That's where we need to apply an emergency brake," says Saito.
Saito Kohei says a paradox of modern society is evident in the
coronavirus pandemic and the climate crisis.
Saito has openly expressed skepticism about "green new deal" policies
that try to promise both economic and environmental benefits.
"Consumption of energy and resources keeps increasing as an economy
develops. To tackle climate change, we need to drastically cut carbon
dioxide emissions. But I don't think we can manage economic growth at
the same time. Those of us who live in developed countries, must find a
way to slow down to steady-state, sustainable economies," he says.
"If we produce large quantities of electric vehicles, or solar panels,
or wind turbines, we will need to exploit limited resources, like
lithium, that are mainly sourced from less developed parts of the world.
I am concerned that such a situation could eventually give rise to a new
form of imperialism."
*Marx and "eco-socialism"*
Saito and other scholars are studying Marx's unpublished manuscripts
written in his late years. The notes include Marx's study of natural
science. Specifically, they show his keen interest in the types of
societies that existed before the rise of capitalism, including a
self-governing agricultural commune in Russia and a medieval community
in Germany.
"In these notes, I see Marx trying to draw a vision of a society after
capitalism. There is an idea that could be referred to as
'eco-socialism,' which places importance on sustainability and social
equality," he says. "I'm trying to imagine a future society by returning
to his philosophy."
Saito says Marx has an idea called "commons" that refers to things that
are essential for our daily lives, like water, electricity, education,
and medical care. They were managed together by a community, accessible
to anyone and anyone before capitalism.
"We now find ourselves in a position where capitalism has commodified or
enclosed everything on earth for profit-making accessible only for the
wealthy," he says.
Karl Marx coined the term "commons" for things essential to our daily
lives that are managed by the community. Saito says most have now been
appropriated for profit-making.
Saito says Marx believed there should be a measure to control and
reestablish these "commons," but not through privatization nor
nationalization. Saito says he believes that citizens should now share
and manage these public goods of "commons" in a democratic way, rather
than left to the market.
"Marx also viewed the earth as one 'common', but he was concerned that
the forces of production and consumption could eventually destroy that
status," says Saito.
"Based on his thought, I think that there may be enough existing wealth
now for people's demands to share. If we could increase the number of
these 'commons,' we could achieve a sustainable and equitable society
that Marx dreamed of."
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/1921/
[ fascinating science presented at COP 26 video ]
*Greenland’s Future*
Nov 10, 2021
International Cryosphere Climate Initiative
Greenland is now losing ice mass at three times the rate of the
mid-1990’s, and may soon be the largest single contributor to global
sea-level rise. Some studies have found that Greenland’s tipping point
may occur at around 1.6°C of sustained warming. What does the future
hold for Greenland’s 6-7 meters of sea-level rise?
Main Presenters: Dr. Mark Serreze, Director of the National Snow and Ice
Data Center; and Dr. Julie Brigham-Grette, University of Massachusetts
Amherst.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv7eHPqkzZI
/[The news archive - looking back at a key moment ]/
*March 3, 2003*
March 3, 2003: The Guardian reports on GOP operative Frank Luntz's
infamous memo urging Republicans to place renewed emphasis on alleged
"uncertainties" in climate science, to dull public support for efforts
to stem carbon pollution.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2003/mar/04/usnews.climatechange
http://youtu.be/hPdCkUiHCg4 [link closed]
http://youtu.be/_WiTVL9iT1w [link closed]
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------/
/Archive of Daily Global Warming News
<https://pairlist10.pair.net/pipermail/theclimate.vote/2017-October/date.html>
/
https://pairlist10.pair.net/pipermail/theclimate.vote
/To receive daily mailings - click to Subscribe
<mailto:subscribe at theClimate.Vote?subject=Click%20SEND%20to%20process%20your%20request>
to news digest./
Privacy and Security:*This mailing is text-only. It does not carry
images or attachments which may originate from remote servers. A
text-only message can provide greater privacy to the receiver and
sender. This is a hobby production curated by Richard Pauli
By regulation, the .VOTE top-level domain cannot be used for commercial
purposes. Messages have no tracking software.
To subscribe, email: contact at theclimate.vote
<mailto:contact at theclimate.vote> with subject subscribe, To Unsubscribe,
subject: unsubscribe
Also you may subscribe/unsubscribe at
https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/theclimate.vote
Links and headlines assembled and curated by Richard Pauli for
http://TheClimate.Vote <http://TheClimate.Vote/> delivering succinct
information for citizens and responsible governments of all levels. List
membership is confidential and records are scrupulously restricted to
this mailing list.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/pipermail/theclimate.vote/attachments/20220303/24b41fd4/attachment.htm>
More information about the TheClimate.Vote
mailing list