[✔️] January 17, 2023- Global Warming News Digest

Richard Pauli Richard at CredoandScreed.com
Tue Jan 17 09:31:04 EST 2023


/*January 17, 2023*/

/[ news reports of recent rains  ] /
*California turns into an Ocean! Record flooding in San Diego and 
Sacramento*
Wild Weather US
8,560 views  Jan 16, 2023  CALIFORNIA
In this video, we're witnessing record flooding in California. San Diego 
and Sacramento are both experiencing record flooding, and the entire 
state is on high alert.

If you're in California right now, please be careful! This flooding is 
really serious, and if you're in any danger, please call 911. We'll be 
updating this video with more information as it becomes available. In 
the meantime, please stay safe and stay informed!

#storm #snow #flooding #usstorm #usnews #hail #California #SanFrancisco 
#atmosphericriver

Flooding in Santa Barbara, CA  - https://youtu.be/EXFWcCs_JRU
Heavy Snowstorm hit Ontario - https://youtu.be/ZP0yrAtbeH8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S64grzkhmTQ



/[ KTVU tv news report California reservoirs ]/
*California reservoirs filling quickly from steady storms*
KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco
1,298,417 views  Jan 10, 2023
The recent series of storms that have drenched the Bay Area and other 
parts of California are having a significant impact on the state's reservo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZYTKxH9Wlc



/[ Meta analysis report -- from Axios ]/
Jan 14, 2023 - Energy & Environment
*Global warming is about to accelerate*
Andrew Freedman, author of Axios Generate
- -
Animation showing global average surface temperature departures from 
average vs. 1951-1980. Image: NASA GISS.
https://images.axios.com/eYUjJ_SuH34kE0QMRRLfw8G-Isg=/0x0:1280x720/1920x1080/2023/01/13/1673625006487.gif?w=1920
- -
Believe it or not, average global surface temperatures have actually 
been relatively cool over the last three years — but that's about to change.

*Why it matters: *Temperatures are expected to jump this year — and 2024 
could set a new global record.

*The big picture: *A rare "triple dip" La Niña in the tropical Pacific 
Ocean kept temperatures in check in 2022, with the year ranking 
fifth-warmest since instrument records began.

    - La Niña events are characterized by cooler-than-average waters in
    the equatorial tropical Pacific, and tend to put a lid on global
    temperatures.
    - But 2022 still wound up as the fifth warmest year on record
    according to NASA and the Copernicus Climate Change Service. And if
    the phenomena dissipates, as forecasts increasingly indicate, global
    temperatures would likely jump this year and even more so next year.
    - If an El Niño event — characterized by milder than average ocean
    temperatures — sets in across the tropical Pacific, 2023 could even
    meet or come close to hitting a record high.

*What they're saying: *"I forecast about a 15% possibility of a new 
record in 2023. And if we are in an El Niño by the end of 2023, an 
almost certainty of a new record in 2024," Gavin Schmidt, who heads 
NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, told Axios via 
email.

*Zoom in:* According to NASA, the record-warmest year occurred in 2020 
and 2016, the latter of which occurred when there was a major El Niño 
underway. This has led some climate change doubters to claim that global 
warming halted in 2016.

    - - However, surface temperatures are just one sign of global
    warming. Other climate indicators all showed signs of continued
    global warming during 2022. Ocean heat content hit a record high, a
    recent study found.
    - - Glaciers continued to shrink, sea levels kept rising, and
    extreme weather and climate events continued to batter countries
    around the world.
    - - Studies tied many of these deadly extreme events to human-caused
    climate change.

*What's next: *This year looks milder than the last few years have been. 
It has a decent chance of at least making it into the top five, if not 
the top three warmest years, depending on how a transition to an El Niño 
plays out.

    - - Then 2024 has a higher likelihood of setting a new record,
    scientists told Axios. This is in part because there is a lag in the
    atmosphere's response to El Niño.

*Threat level: *The U.K. Met Office is forecasting that global average 
temperatures in 2023 will be at least 1.2°C (2.16°F) above the 
pre-industrial average. Keep in mind that the Paris Agreement tries to 
limit warming to 1.5°C.

    - - If warming exceeds this goal, studies show, the odds of
    potentially devastating climate change consequences will increase,
    such as greater melting of the polar ice sheets and the loss of
    tropical coral reefs.
    - - Zeke Hausfather, climate research lead at payments company
    Stripe, said 2023 looks warmer than the past few years, but
    pinpointing exactly how much is difficult at this point.
    - - "Given lags in the surface temperature response a transition to
    El Niño conditions in the latter half of 2023 would have more of an
    impact on 2024," he said via email.

https://www.axios.com/2023/01/14/global-warming-accelerates-2023



/[ new crimes of our times - text and video report ]/
*Vehicle charging stations targeted by copper thieves, Seattle City 
Light says*
by Mo Haider, KOMO News Staff
Sunday, January 15th 2023
SEATTLE, Wash. — Metal thieves have found a new target: electric vehicle 
charging stations.

Seattle City Light says it's seen a rash of vandalism. It turns out the 
thieves are after the copper in an electric car's charging cables.

Jenn Strang, Media Relations Manager for Seattle City Light, says this 
has been a problem on the rise.

“Since March of 2022, we have seen an increase of activity where we’ve 
have had people coming and removing the charging cables from our public 
charging stations,” said Strang.

Seattle City Light says 8 charging stations of theirs have been hit, and 
they believe it has to do with the copper in the cables.

“They are taking the metal and they are turning it in for monetary gain. 
Unfortunately, the amount of money they are going in is nominal. It’s 
about ten dollars,” said Strang.

The cost to replace the cables comes at a price tag of about $2,000 plus 
about $500 to have them installed.

Jim Fuda, the Exec. Dir. of Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound, says copper 
theft has been a problem for decades and electric vehicle chargers are 
just another way for thieves to get a hold of it.

“What’s a charging cable, anywhere from 6 to 10 to 12 feet, they cut 
that up in two to six foot lengths, and haul it out quickly, and strip 
it and go sell it to a fence,” said Fuda.

Seattle City Light is looking at other ways to stop cable thefts such as 
increasing security when it comes to access to chargers and a pilot 
program for curbside stations in communities.

“Instead of via a charging station that someone would drove up to, it’s 
something that’s mounted up to a pole and then you have to have an app, 
so by accessing the app the charger comes down,” said Strang.
https://komonews.com/news/local/vehicle-charging-stations-targted-by-copper-thieves-electric-tesla-public-seattle-city-light-car-wire-strang-curbside-puget-sound-washington-truck-drive-cable-app-supply-chain



/[ A distilled lessons in misleading and disinformation - share and 
replay 41 min video classic]/
*23 Ways to Mislead*
John Cook
2.73K subscribers
6,841 views  Oct 8, 2020
This Critical Thinking About Climate video explains 23 rhetorical 
techniques used in misinformation. Understanding the techniques of 
science denial is like a universal vaccine against misinformation. Once 
you know these red flags, you’ll be able to spot attempts to mislead you.

For more info on the logical fallacies and rhetorical techniques in 
science misinformation, see http://sks.to/flicc
Timestamps (h/t Jem Segal)

    Fake Experts: 1:30
    Bulk Fake Experts: 3:44
    Magnified Minority: 5:22
    False Balance: 5:43
    Logical Fallacies: 6:56
    Ad Hominem: 7:08
    Ambiguity: 8:49
    False Equivalence: 10:12
    Apples vs Oranges: 11:04
    False Analogy: 12:12
    False Balance (2): 13:58
    Oversimplification: 14:24
    Single Cause: 15:39
    False Choice: 17:28
    Red Herring: 19:59
    Blowfish: 21:08
    Strawman: 22:37
    Impossible Expectations: 24:09
    Moving Goalposts: 26:01
    Lowered Expectations: 27:52
    Cherry Picking: 29:36
    Anecdote: 31:28
    Slothful Induction: 33:30
    Wishful Thinking: 35:53
    Conspiracy Theories: 37:34

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gecDy9wDuCs

- -

/[ reminder of the classic web site for climate information - 
https://skepticalscience.com/ ]/
*Explaining climate change science & rebutting global warming 
misinformation*
Global warming is real and human-caused. It is leading to large-scale 
climate change. Under the guise of climate "skepticism", the public is 
bombarded with misinformation that casts doubt on the reality of 
human-caused global warming. This website gets skeptical about global 
warming "skepticism".

Our mission is simple: debunk climate misinformation by presenting 
peer-reviewed science and explaining the techniques of science denial.
https://skepticalscience.com/



/[  humans now have a true but imperfect glimpse into their precarious 
future - clips from text ]/
*‘If you win the popular imagination, you change the game’: why we need 
new stories on climate*
So much is happening, both wonderful and terrible – and it matters how 
we tell it. We can’t erase the bad news, but to ignore the good is the 
route to indifference or despair

by Rebecca Solnit
Thu 12 Jan 2023
Every crisis is in part a storytelling crisis. This is as true of 
climate chaos as anything else. We are hemmed in by stories that prevent 
us from seeing, or believing in, or acting on the possibilities for 
change. Some are habits of mind, some are industry propaganda. 
Sometimes, the situation has changed but the stories haven’t, and people 
follow the old versions, like outdated maps, into dead ends.

We need to leave the age of fossil fuel behind, swiftly and decisively. 
But what drives our machines won’t change until we change what drives 
our ideas. The visionary organiser adrienne maree brown wrote not long 
ago that there is an element of science fiction in climate action: “We 
are shaping the future we long for and have not yet experienced. I 
believe that we are in an imagination battle.”

In order to do what the climate crisis demands of us, we have to find 
stories of a livable future, stories of popular power, stories that 
motivate people to do what it takes to make the world we need. Perhaps 
we also need to become better critics and listeners, more careful about 
what we take in and who’s telling it, and what we believe and repeat, 
because stories can give power – or they can take it away.

To change our relationship to the physical world – to end an era of 
profligate consumption by the few that has consequences for the many – 
means changing how we think about pretty much everything: wealth, power, 
joy, time, space, nature, value, what constitutes a good life, what 
matters, how change itself happens. As the climate journalist Mary 
Heglar writes, we are not short on innovation. “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 their skills, we also need so much more. When I 
survey the field, it’s clear that what we desperately need is more artists.”

What the climate crisis is, what we can do about it, and what kind of a 
world we can have is all about what stories we tell and whose stories 
are heard. Climate change was a story that fell on mostly indifferent 
ears when it was first discussed in the mainstream more than 30 years 
ago. Even a dozen years ago, it was supposed to be happening very slowly 
and in the distant future. There were a lot of references to “our 
grandchildren’s time”. It was a problem that was difficult to grasp – 
this dispersed, incremental, atmospheric, invisible, global problem with 
many causes and manifestations, whose solutions are also dispersed and 
manifold. That voices from the climate movement have finally succeeded 
in making the vast majority understand it, and many care passionately 
about it, might be the biggest single victory the movement will have. 
Because once you’ve won the popular imagination, you’ve changed the game 
and its possible outcomes. But this was a long, slow, arduous process, 
and misconceptions still abound.


A lot of people don’t know that we’ve largely won the battle to make 
people aware and concerned. The LA Times ran a well-intentioned 
editorial last year about how most Americans don’t care about climate 
breakdown. That was true once, but no longer is. A Pew Research poll in 
2020 concluded that two-thirds of Americans wanted to see more 
government action on climate, but last summer the scientific journal 
Nature published a study concluding that most Americans believe that 
only a minority (37-43%) support climate action, when in reality a large 
majority (66-80%) does. That gap between perceived and actual support 
undermines motivation and confidence. We need better stories – and 
sometimes better means more up to date.

Outright climate denial – the old story that climate change isn’t real – 
has been rendered largely obsolete (outside social media) by 
climate-driven catastrophes around the globe and good work by climate 
activists and journalists. But other stories still stop us from seeing 
clearly. Greenwashing – the schemes created by fossil fuel corporations 
and others to portray themselves as on the environment’s side while they 
continue their profitable destruction – is rampant. It’s harder to 
recognise a false friend than an honest enemy, and their false 
solutions, delaying tactics and empty promises can be confusing for 
non-experts. Fortunately, as the climate movement has diversified, one 
new organisation, Clean Creatives, focuses specifically on pressuring 
advertising and PR agencies to stop doing the industry’s dirty work. 
Likewise, climate journalists are exposing how fossil fuel money is 
funding pseudo-environmental opposition to offshore wind turbines.

(As the climate activist and oil policy analyst Antonia Juhasz recently 
told me, the climate movement is now going after every aspect of the 
fossil fuel industry, including funding by banks and, via the divestment 
movement, shares held by investors; donations to politicians; insurers; 
permits for extraction; transport; refinement; emissions, notably 
through lawsuits concerning their impact; shutting coal-fired power 
plants; and pushing for a rapid transition to electrification.)

But we still lack stories that give context. For example, I see people 
excoriate the mining, principally for lithium and cobalt, that will be 
an inevitable part of building renewables – turbines, batteries, solar 
panels, electric machinery – apparently oblivious to the far vaster 
scale and impact of fossil fuel mining. If you’re concerned about mining 
on indigenous land, about local impacts or labour conditions, I give you 
the biggest mining operations ever undertaken: for oil, gas, and coal, 
and the hungry machines that must constantly consume them.

Extracting material that will be burned up creates the incessant cycle 
of consumption on which the fossil fuel industry has grown fabulously 
rich. It creates climate chaos as well as destruction and contamination 
at every stage of the process. Globally, burning fossil fuels kills 
almost 9 million people annually, a death toll larger than any recent 
war. But that death toll is largely invisible for lack of compelling 
stories about it.

All mining needs to be done with respect for the land and people in the 
vicinity, but the impact of mining for renewables needs to be weighed 
against the far more devastating impact of mining for and burning fossil 
fuel. The race is on to find battery materials that are more commonly 
available and less impactful than lithium and cobalt, and some of the 
results look promising. Last summer, Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology announced an aluminium-sulphur battery is in the works, while 
a US company is developing one that stores electricity using iron – the 
so-called “iron-air” battery. Efforts to extract battery materials from 
longterm coal waste in West Virginia are among the many others under 
way. And the Inflation Reduction Act includes funding to research better 
battery materials and domestic US sources.

Other stories of premature defeat are all too common. In the 
400,000-strong 2014 climate march in New York City, one section marched 
behind a huge banner declaring “WE HAVE THE SOLUTIONS” – but many people 
still believe we do not. We have the solutions we need in solar and 
wind; we just need to build them out and make the transition, fast. 
Looking to wildly ineffectual carbon sequestration and other undeveloped 
technologies as a relevant solution is like ignoring the lifeboats at 
hand in the hope that fancy new ones are coming when the ship is sinking 
and speed is of the essence.

One story I frequently encounter frames the possibilities in absolutes: 
if we can’t win everything, then we lose everything. There are so many 
doom-soaked stories out there – about how civilisation, humanity, even 
life itself, are scheduled to die out. This apocalyptic thinking is due 
to another narrative failure: the inability to imagine a world different 
than the one we currently inhabit.

People without much sense of history imagine the world as static. They 
assume that if the present order is failing, the system is collapsing, 
and there is no alternative. A historical imagination equips you to 
understand that change is ceaseless. You only have to look to the past 
to see such a world, dramatically different half a century ago, 
stunningly so a century ago. The UK, for example, ran almost entirely on 
coal power until the 1960s, and if you had said then that it would have 
to quit coal, many would have imagined this meant an utter collapse of 
the energy system, not its transformation. Even in 2008, the 
organisation Carbon Brief noted, “four-fifths of the UK’s electricity 
came from fossil fuels. Since then, the UK has cleaned up its 
electricity mix faster than any other major world economy. Coal-fired 
power has virtually disappeared and even gas use is down by a quarter. 
Instead, the country now gets more than half of its electricity from 
low-carbon sources, such as solar, wind and nuclear.” Scotland already 
generates nearly all the electricity it needs from renewables.

While I often hear people casually assert that our world is doomed, no 
reputable scientist makes such claims. Most are deeply worried, but far 
from hopeless. There are already profound losses, but our action or 
inaction determine how much more loss will occur, and whose it will be, 
and some repair is possible. Efforts sufficient to reduce the amount of 
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could lower temperatures and reverse 
some aspects of climate breakdown.

Even the journalist David Wallace-Wells, who rose to fame with a deeply 
pessimistic book about climate a few years ago, has shifted his view. He 
currently describes a future somewhere between the best and worst case 
scenarios, a future “with the most terrifying predictions made 
improbable by decarbonisation and the most hopeful ones practically 
foreclosed by tragic delay. The window of possible climate futures is 
narrowing, and as a result, we are getting a clearer sense of what’s to 
come: a new world, full of disruption … yet mercifully short of true 
climate apocalypse.”

A climate story we urgently need is one that exposes who is actually 
responsible for climate chaos. It’s been popular to say that we are all 
responsible, but Oxfam reports that over the past 25 years, the carbon 
impact of the top 1% of the wealthiest human beings was twice that of 
the bottom 50%, so responsibility for the impact and the capacity to 
make change is currently distributed very unevenly.

By saying “we are all responsible”, we avoid the fact that the global 
majority of us don’t need to change much, but a minority needs to change 
a lot. This is also a reminder that the idea that we need to renounce 
our luxuries and live more simply doesn’t really apply to the majority 
of human beings outside what we could perhaps call the overdeveloped 
world. What is true of Beverly Hills is not true of the majority from 
Bangladesh to Bolivia.

When it comes to who’s harming the climate, it’s also been popular to 
focus on individual contributions. The fossil fuel industry likes the 
narrative of personal responsibility as a way to keep us scrutinising 
ourselves and one another, rather than them. They’ve promoted the 
concept of climate footprints as a way to keep the focus on us and not 
them, and it’s worked. Usually if I ask people what they’re doing about 
the climate emergency, most will talk about what they’re not consuming 
or doing – but these will never add up to the speed and scale of change 
needed to change the system.

One of the goals of system change is to supersede individual virtue. 
Just as you no longer have to opt in to buying a car with seatbelts or 
ask for the no-smoking section on the train or restaurant, at some point 
in the near future you won’t have to opt into travelling in an electric 
car or bus, or living or working in all-electric buildings. 
Electrification will have happened because of the collective action that 
takes shape as policy and regulation...[more]
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2023/jan/12/rebecca-solnit-climate-crisis-popular-imagination-why-we-need-new-stories



/[The news archive - looking back at recent attempts to bring in politics ]/
/*January 17, 2016*/
January 17, 2016:
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Governor Martin 
O'Malley discuss the pressing need to address climate change at the 
NBC/YouTube Democratic primary debate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbE5PSu-p0s

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/sanders-trump-climate-change-hoax-chinese


=======================================
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- a few are email delivered*

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Every weekday morning, in time for your morning coffee, Carbon Brief 
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