[✔️] June 13, 2023- Global Warming News Digest | Montana court live, NYT, CO2 is 424ppm, See sea level rise mapped, Peter Gleick on 3 Ages of water, language, 1993 BTU tax

Tue Jun 13 09:41:53 EDT 2023

/*June*//*13, 2023*/

/[  The Montana live court started Monday - a zoom connection allows one 
to see the case live starting 9AM MT- this is tremendously innovative 
for court cases in Montana -- a large state where long distance travel 
can be burdensome. It is being recorded, and likely will be posted for 
viewing ]/
*The Live connection 
*https://fishercourtreporting.zoom.us/j/89337437466#success/
/https://www.youthvgov.org/held-v-montana
the fairly readable filed complaint - 
http://climatecasechart.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/case-documents/2020/20200313_docket-CDV-2020-307_complaint.pdf 

- -

[ NYTimes ]
*A Landmark Youth Climate Trial Begins in Montana*
Sixteen young people argue that the state is robbing their future by 
embracing policies that contribute to climate change.

By Mike Baker
Reporting from Helena, Mont.
June 12, 2023
A landmark climate change trial opened on Monday in Montana, where a 
group of young people are contending that the state’s embrace of fossil 
fuels is destroying pristine environments, upending cultural traditions 
and robbing young residents of a healthy future.

The case, more than a decade in the making, is the first of a series of 
similar challenges pending in various states as part of an effort to 
increase pressure on policymakers to take more urgent action on emissions.

Rikki Held, 22, a plaintiff who was among the first witnesses to testify 
on Monday, described how her family’s 3,000-acre ranch in eastern 
Montana had been threatened by droughts, wildfires and extreme weather, 
including heat waves and floods. At times she grew tearful talking about 
working through those conditions while trying to maintain the family’s 
livelihood.

“I know that climate change is a global issue, but Montana needs to take 
responsibility for our part of that,” Ms. Held said. “You can’t just 
blow it off and do nothing about it.”

The case revolves around the contention from 16 young residents — who 
range in age from 5 to 22 — that the state government has failed to live 
up to its constitutional mandate to “maintain and improve a clean and 
healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.”

State leaders have fought the accusations, calling the proceedings a 
show trial and a “gross injustice.”

“Montana’s emissions are simply too minuscule to make any difference,” 
Michael Russell, an assistant attorney general, said during the 
state’s opening statement. “Climate change is a global issue that 
effectively relegates Montana’s role to that of a spectator.”

The two-week trial in a courtroom in Lewis and Clark County will feature 
both the accounts of young people dealing with climate change and the 
testimony of climate experts. At the end, Judge Kathy Seeley will be 
asked by the plaintiffs to declare that the state’s support for the 
fossil fuel industry is unconstitutional.

Environmental advocates believe such a finding could put pressure on 
government leaders in Montana and elsewhere to take action on curbing 
emissions. They are also hopeful that the judge could order the state to 
consider climate impacts when approving new projects.

The effects of a warming climate are already spreading across Montana, 
including shrinking glaciers at Glacier National Park and a lengthening 
wildfire season that threatens the state’s treasured outdoor pastimes. 
The plaintiffs in the case have said that the state’s inaction on 
climate change threatens their ability to access clean water, sustain 
family ranches or continue hunting traditions.

“Montana’s warming climate will have cascading environmental and 
economic impacts,” Roger Sullivan, a lawyer for the young residents, 
said in opening statements.

The young people have personally experienced daunting signs of the 
future, not only the smoke from wildfires but also the flooding at 
Yellowstone National Park.

Julia Olson, the executive director of Our Children’s Trust, the 
environmental nonprofit that helped bring the Montana lawsuit, said the 
case had the potential to set a new course for a healthier and more 
prosperous future for the generations to come. Many of the young 
plaintiffs planned to testify.

In Montana, It’s Youth vs. the State in a Landmark Climate Case
Montana, whose unofficial nicknames include the “Treasure State,” has 
long had its fortunes yoked to the mining industry. Helena, the state 
capital, where the climate case is being tried, was founded in the 1860s 
by gold prospectors. Montana is the nation’s fifth-largest 
coal-producing state and the 12th-largest oil-producing state.

Earlier this year, continuing to demonstrate the state’s support of 
fossil fuels, Republican lawmakers approved a law that prohibits state 
regulators from considering the effect on climate when assessing large 
projects like new power plants or factories.

However, the state has also long treasured its unspoiled landscapes and 
crystal-clear lakes, embracing another unofficial nickname, “The Last 
Best Place.” The state added the language to its Constitution about the 
right to a clean and healthful environment in 1972 in response to 
growing concern about protecting those assets. Only a handful of states 
establish clear environmental rights in their constitutions...
The first witness called by the plaintiffs was Mae Nan Ellingson, who 
was the youngest delegate at the 1972 constitutional convention. She 
testified about how environmental protection was a key issue for many 
who were involved in the process.

“We wanted an environment that was clean and healthful, so it was a 
fairly long and contentious debate to ultimately get the words ‘clean 
and healthful’ included as descriptors of the environment,” she said.

The first day of the trial also featured an extensive review of charts 
and scientific reports, exploring the history of rising levels of carbon 
dioxide in the atmosphere, how the trend is linked to fossil fuels, the 
ways in which it contributes to a warming planet and the effects on Montana.

But some of the scientific details became a point of conflict. When the 
plaintiffs introduced the most recent climate assessment from the 
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, convened by the United 
Nations, which warned that there was “a rapidly closing window” to 
secure a “livable” future, the state objected, calling it “hearsay.” 
When the plaintiffs contended that the report was a government document 
based on government data, the Montana lawyers retorted: “I don’t think 
it’s our government.”

The judge allowed the report to be introduced.

State leaders have resisted the climate lawsuit, which had its roots in 
an unsuccessful effort in 2011 that pressed the state Supreme Court to 
force the state to take action on climate change. As part of the case, 
state officials have disputed the overwhelming scientific consensus that 
the burning of fossil fuels is changing the global climate and denied 
that severe weather events in the state were linked to rising air 
temperatures.

Our Children’s Trust has undertaken legal action in every state on the 
climate issue. While judges have dismissed most of the cases, several of 
the group’s lawsuits are pending. The group won another preliminary 
victory on June 1 when a judge ruled that a youth case in Oregon, aimed 
at the federal government, could go to trial.

Mike Baker is the Seattle bureau chief, reporting primarily from the 
Northwest and Alaska. @ByMikeBaker
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/12/us/montana-youth-climate-trial.html

/[ NOAA  press release 424 ppm  ]/
*Broken record: Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels jump again*
Annual increase in Keeling Curve peak is one of the largest on record
June 5, 2023
Carbon dioxide levels measured at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline 
Observatory peaked at 424 parts per million in May, continuing a steady 
climb further into territory not seen for millions of years, scientists 
from NOAA and Scripps Institution of Oceanographyoffsite link at the 
University of California San Diego announced today...
- -

“Every year we see carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere increase as a 
direct result of human activity,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, 
Ph.D. “Every year, we see the impacts of climate change in the heat 
waves, droughts, flooding, wildfires and storms happening all around us. 
While we will have to adapt to the climate impacts we cannot avoid, we 
must expend every effort to slash carbon pollution and safeguard this 
planet and the life that calls it home.”

Carbon dioxide pollution is generated by burning fossil fuels for 
transportation and electrical generation, by cement manufacturing, 
deforestation, agriculture and many other practices. Like other 
greenhouse gases, CO2 traps heat radiating from the planet’s surface 
that would otherwise escape into space, amplifying extreme weather 
events, such as heat waves, drought and wildfires, as well as 
precipitation and flooding.

Rising CO2 levels also pose a threat to the world's ocean, which absorbs 
both CO2 gas and excess heat from the atmosphere. Impacts include 
increasing surface and subsurface ocean temperatures and the disruption 
of marine ecosystems, rising sea levels and ocean acidification, which 
changes the chemistry of seawater, leading to lower dissolved oxygen, 
and interferes with the growth of some marine organisms.

NOAA began measurements in 1974, and the two research institutions have 
made complementary, independent observations ever since. Keeling’s son, 
geochemist Ralph Keeling, runs the Scripps program, including the 
sampling at Mauna Loa.

“What we’d like to see is the curve plateauing and even falling because 
carbon dioxide as high as 420 or 425 parts per million is not good,” 
Keeling said. “It shows that as much as we’ve done to mitigate and 
reduce emissions, we still have a long way to go.”

To visualize how sea level rise may affect your community, visit NOAA’s 
sea level rise viewer.
https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/broken-record-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide-levels-jump-again

- -

/[ NOAA's interactive data viewer ]/
*Sea Level Rise Viewer*/https://coast.noaa.gov/slr/ /**
Disclaimer

    The data and maps in this tool illustrate the scale of potential
    flooding, not the exact location, and do not account for erosion,
    subsidence, or future construction. Water levels are relative to
    Mean Higher High Water (MHHW) (excludes wind driven tides). The
    data, maps, and information provided should be used only as a
    screening-level tool for management decisions. As with all remotely
    sensed data, all features should be verified with a site visit. The
    data and maps in this tool are provided “as is,” without warranty to
    their performance, merchantable state, or fitness for any particular
    purpose. The entire risk associated with the results and performance
    of these data is assumed by the user. This tool should be used
    strictly as a planning reference tool and not for navigation,
    permitting, or other legal purposes.

https://coast.noaa.gov/slr/

/[ Discussion of new book  ]/
*Peter Gleick and The Three Ages of Water*
Climate One
June 12, 2023
This year’s precipitation across California is well above average, and 
snowpack is on track to be one of the largest since 1950. In an arid 
state that can seem like good news, but floods can be destructive and 
life-threatening, and also increase vegetation that may later go up in 
flames. From too little to too much – will we ever get out of this 
weather whiplash?

As we enter an era defined by climate disruption, the control, access 
and quality of water determines our ability to survive and thrive. How 
can we ensure a future where clean water exists for all who need it – 
including the ecosystems we depend on – and navigate the challenges of 
too little or too much? In his latest book, “The Three Ages of Water,” 
Dr. Peter Gleick explores this changing dynamic from life’s beginnings 
to today’s pressing climate and water challenges.
Join Climate One Host Greg Dalton for a live conversation with Peter 
Gleick about our evolving relationship with this fundamental force.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB7667K5Z4I

- -

[ Peter H. Gleick ]
*The Three Ages of Water: Prehistoric Past, Imperiled Present, and a 
Hope for the Future Kindle Edition*
by Peter Gleick (Author)
#1 New Release in Historical Study Reference

A revelatory account of how water has shaped the course of human life 
and history, and a positive vision of what the future can hold—if we act now

 From the very creation of the planet billions of years ago to the 
present day, water has always been central to existence on Earth. And 
since long before the legendary Great Flood, it has been a defining 
force in the story of humanity.

In The Three Ages of Water, Peter Gleick guides us through the long, 
fraught history of our relationship to this precious resource. Water has 
shaped civilizations and empires, and driven centuries of advances in 
science and technology—from agriculture to aqueducts, steam power to 
space exploration—and progress in health and medicine.

But the achievements that have propelled humanity forward also brought 
consequences, including unsustainable water use, ecological destruction, 
and global climate change, that now threaten to send us into a new dark 
age. We must change our ways, and quickly, to usher in a new age of 
water for the benefit of everyone. Drawing from the lessons of our past, 
Gleick charts a visionary path toward a sustainable future for water and 
the planet.

https://www.amazon.com/Three-Ages-Water-Prehistoric-Imperiled-ebook/dp/B0BH8GXT65

/[ oh by the way --- let's ask USGS ]/
*What is the difference between global warming and climate change?*
Although people tend to use these terms interchangeably, global warming 
is just one aspect of climate change. “Global warming” refers to the 
rise in global temperatures due mainly to the increasing concentrations 
of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. “Climate change” refers to the 
increasing changes in the measures of climate over a long period of time 
– including precipitation, temperature, and wind patterns...
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-difference-between-global-warming-and-climate-change 

/[The news archive - looking back at early failed attempts to make 
change ...]/
/*June 13, 1993*/
June 13, 1993: The Baltimore Sun reports on the well-financed effort by 
libertarian activists and fossil-fuel industry lobbyists to stop the BTU 
tax.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1993-06-13/news/1993164025_1_btu-tax-energy-tax-gasoline-tax 

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