[✔️] May 15, 2023- Global Warming News Digest | Positive Solar, NYC 1000 singing chorus, Economist sells hope, Rees on Overshoot, C Scientists in Twitter attack, Scientist abuse, Montana legislates stupidity, Mass civil action 2013

[Richard Pauli]

/*May*//*15, 2023*/

/[  Very positive news   -- thank you  ] /
*Despairing about climate change? These 4 charts on the unstoppable 
growth of solar may change your mind*
May 11, 2023

Last year, the world built more new solar capacity than every other 
power source combined.

Solar is now growing much faster than any other energy technology in 
history. How fast? Fast enough to completely displace fossil fuels from 
the entire global economy before 2050.

The rise and rise of cheap solar is our best hope for rapidly mitigating 
climate change.

Total solar capacity tipped over 1 terawatt (1,000 gigawatts) for the 
first time last year. The sector is growing at around 20% a year. If 
this continues, we’ll hit 6 terawatts around 2031. In capacity terms, 
that would be larger than the combined total of coal, gas, nuclear and 
hydro...

Fewer and fewer new fossil fuel power stations are now being built. As 
the rest of the global fleet age, most will retire by mid-century.

*Australia is finding the path*
It might surprise you to learn that Australia is a global renewable 
energy pathfinder. Most solar panels use Australian-developed PERC 
technology, for instance.

All the leading countries for per capita solar and wind generation are 
in Europe – except Australia. In Australia, 99% of new generation 
capacity is now solar and wind because it is cheap...
- -
*Where will the era of ubiquitous solar take us?*
Solar capacity has been growing at 20% a year for decades.

Elimination of fossil fuels from the global economy is straightforward: 
electrify everything using clean electricity from solar and wind. This 
includes:
electric vehicles replacing conventional vehicles
electric heat pumps replacing gas space and water heaters in homes and 
businesses
electric furnaces replacing gas burners in factories
electrolysis of water producing green hydrogen for the chemical 
industry, allowing for clean production of ammonia, metals, plastics and 
synthetic aviation fuel.
To run our homes, industries and vehicles with electricity, we’ll need 
to double electricity production. Why not more? Because electricity is 
usually much more efficient at producing an energy outcome. For example, 
85% of the petrol you put into your car is wasted as heat.

In countries with a significant chemical industry, electricity 
production might need to triple.

If these trends continue, by mid-century we will be in a very different 
– and better –  energy world.

Many developing countries – including population giants such as 
Indonesia, India, China and Nigeria – could catch up with Europe or 
Australia for per capita energy consumption. Given electricity 
consumption is strongly correlated with affluence, access to cheap 
electricity will be a major boon for many nations...
https://theconversation.com/despairing-about-climate-change-these-4-charts-on-the-unstoppable-growth-of-solar-may-change-your-mind-204901

- -

/[ music sing in with 1000 young people - video  (some call it "hopium")]/
*A huge group of New Yorkers came together to sing about climate change*

NEW YORK (PIX11) – There was a one-of-a-kind public performance at 
Lincoln Center on Saturday.

It was a world premiere public performance of a piece called “Search for 
Spring” in the main plaza. It was also billed as a crowd action for 
optimism. This hour-long choral piece explored the toll of climate 
change and our hope for a better future.

Gov. Hochul wants the OK to house migrants at Floyd Bennett Field
New Yorkers made up of six different choirs from across the five 
boroughs came together for this monumental work composed by Jonathan Dove...
- -
Fans of Jonathan Doves traveled from as far away as Minnesota to hear 
this piece that was free and open to all.

“I am passionate about climate change problems and here they are talking 
and singing about it, and it is just absolutely fantastic,” Marcia 
Aubineau, who traveled from Minnesota, told PIX11 News.
https://pix11.com/news/a-huge-group-of-new-yorkers-1000-came-together-to-sing-about-climate-change/

- -

/[ $ From the Economist - another exuberant expression of political hope 
-  $ ]/
*A new world order seeks to prioritise security and climate change*
But policymakers must not forget the lessons of economics

After the cold war, America and Europe established an economic order 
based upon open markets, global trade and limited state meddling in the 
economy. Climate change was a distant threat. Allowing countries like 
China or Russia into the global economy was widely seen to be beneficial 
for both them and their Western trading partners. As the two countries 
grew they would surely adopt market economics and, ultimately, 
democracy. Other things mattered. But economic considerations took 
precedence.

Not anymore. Policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic have come to the 
conclusion that national security and climate change must now come 
first. In Brussels talk is of “economic security” and “strategic 
autonomy”—policymakers want the bloc to be able to chart its own course. 
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, recently 
said that she wants to “derisk” relations with China. Officials in 
Washington have similar ambitions. They believe that the old world order 
allowed America’s industrial base to wither, created economic 
dependencies that could be exploited for geopolitical gain, left the 
climate crisis unaddressed and increased inequality in a manner that 
undermined democracy. Yet pursuing greater security, tackling climate 
change and seeking to counter the threat of China involves all manner of 
trade-offs. Even if economic considerations are no longer dominant, the 
discipline of economics still has much to offer...

[ more at ] 
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2023/05/11/a-new-world-order-seeks-to-prioritise-security-and-climate-change



/[ Fundamentals -- humans thinking systemically ]/
*William E. Rees on The Fundamental Issue: Overshoot*
Nate Hagens
May 14, 2023  #thegreatsimplification #overshoot #ecology
Excerpted from The Great Simplification episode #53 aired on January 11, 
2023
Full Episode:   William E. Rees: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQTuDttP2Yg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1vX03h7w9c



/[ disinformation battlegrounds ]/
*Climate crisis deniers target scientists for vicious abuse on Musk’s 
Twitter*
Abusive, often violent tweets denying the climate emergency have become 
a barrage since Elon Musk acquired the platform, say UK experts

Anna Fazackerley
Sun 14 May 2023 02.00 EDT

Climate scientists say the change has been stark, and they are fighting 
to make themselves heard over a “barrage” of often hostile comments.

“There’s been a massive change,” said Mark Maslin, professor of earth 
system science at University College London and the author of popular 
books including How to Save Our Planet. “I get so much abuse and rude 
comments now. It’s happening to all of us, but I challenge the climate 
deniers so I’ve been really targeted.”

Maslin says he used to have regular meetings with Sean Boyle, Twitter’s 
former head of sustainability, who was laid off in Musk’s mass cull of 
staff shortly after he took over in Aprll 2022. Maslin said Boyle 
discussed the platform’s work to develop ways of ensuring that trusted 
information was pushed to the top.

“They were using climate change as a good test bed, because it was 
fairly clear who the good and bad actors were,” Maslin said. “But he was 
sacked and Twitter became the wild west.”

Maslin said he will stay on the platform and push back against 
conspiracy theories with scientific evidence. “I want people to 
understand there are solutions. There is a real need for us to be on 
social media defending the truth, however nasty the responses get.”

But not all scientists have found standing up to regular hostility an 
easy feat. Doug McNeall, a statistician working on climate change at the 
Met Office Hadley Centre at Exeter University, said he had blocked or 
muted many accounts on Twitter even before Musk’s arrival. “I got to the 
point where it was definitely affecting my mental health,” he said.

“I spent years debating quite strongly with climate sceptics, including 
people I assume were paid,” he added. “But there can be a real personal 
cost interacting over a long time with people who are abusing you.”

McNeall said it was hard for scientists to work out how to cut through 
the false information on Twitter. “I just can’t tell if people are 
seeing disinformation or getting good scientific information about what 
is happening,” he said. “That’s really worrying.”

Ed Hawkins, professor of climate science at Reading University, who has 
94,000 Twitter followers, said he had seen a “huge increase” in tweets 
from climate-denier accounts, often involving conspiracy theories or 
long-debunked topics. “A larger fraction of the comments are personal 
and abusive,” he said. “Any mildly popular tweet from a climate 
scientist is now targeted for a barrage of replies.”

Hawkins has noticed that many denier accounts have paid subscriptions to 
Twitter and therefore appear higher up in the replies. “It appears to be 
a coordinated effort [by climate change deniers] to make it appear as 
though climate denial is more prevalent than it really is,” he said.

Professor Richard Betts, chair of climate impacts at Exeter University 
and head of climate impacts at the Hadley Centre, said: “Outright 
hostility has increased in recent weeks. It’s mostly just people saying 
you’re talking rubbish. They don’t want a conversation.”
A survey of 468 international climate scientists published by campaign 
group Global Witness last month found that prominent scientists were the 
most likely to face abuse, with half of those who had published at least 
10 papers reporting they had suffered online harassment as a result of 
their climate work. One in eight female scientists who reported abuse 
had been threatened with sexual violence.

Twitter was approached for comment but did not respond.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/14/climate-crisis-deniers-target-scientists-abuse-musk-twitter

- -

/[ From GlobalWitness.org ]/
*Global Hating -- What we found*
Half of climate scientists surveyed with more than 10 publications have 
faced online abuse
- -
Half of climate scientists surveyed with more than 10 publications have 
faced online abuse
The survey found that level of exposure to harassment was linked to 
amount of academic publications and frequency of media appearances. 
Overall, 39% of all scientists polled (183 out of 468) have experienced 
online harassment or abuse as a result of their climate work. This rate 
is lower for those who have published fewer than six articles (24%) and 
increases to 49% of scientists who have published more than 10 journal 
articles.
- -
The results suggest abuse increases with both academic output and media 
exposure. Of those scientists who are in the media at least once a month 
(13% of respondents), 73% have experienced abuse, and 29% reported 
having experienced ‘a great deal’ or ‘a fair amount’ of abuse. Even for 
those scientists who have never made any media appearances (19% of 
respondents), 12% reported they have experienced online abuse...

    "I keep communicating, but every time I engage, I also try to gauge
    what the repercussions could be and what are the benefits, and the
    benefit-risk analysis aspects of it. And so some things I’ve
    declined, and also because I’ve done quite a lot of press I don’t
    feel I need to accept and do everything. But I still try to engage
    as much as I can because climate change is a much bigger issue than
    the consequences that I am experiencing from actively engaging in
    communication.

    It’s my impression that the women get a worse deal than a lot of the
    men. But I also know that some of the more vocal climate scientists,
    no matter the gender, have had some rather unpleasant experiences as
    well. "

The death (and rape) threats were extended to my children
          –Quote from a climate scientist’s survey response
https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/global-hating/



/[ Hey Montana, does that include droughts, floods and wildfires?  ]/
*Gianforte signs bill banning state agencies from analyzing climate 
impacts *
House Bill 971 comes as Montana courts are poised to consider how “clean 
and healthful environment” protections intersect with energy regulations.
- -
The bill also comes as a Helena judge is weighing a case brought by 16 
youth plaintiffs asking the judicial branch to require the state to 
measure and regulate greenhouse gas emissions. That lawsuit, Held vs. 
Montana, is set for a 10-day hearing that will start June 12.
https://montanafreepress.org/2023/05/12/gianforte-signs-climate-change-analysis-ban-into-law/



/[  The news archive - looking back  --  at important, historic, and 
successful civil disobedience - although mostly symbolic ]/
/*May 15, 2013*/
May 15, 2013:  In a courageous act of civil disobedience that calls 
attention to coal's contamination of the climate, activists Ken Ward and 
Jay O'Hara forestall a coal shipment headed for the Brayton Point Power 
Plant in Somerset, Massachusetts.

http://lobsterboatblockade.org/

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/05/15-2

http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/lobster-boat-successfully-blockades-40000-ton-coal-shipment.html

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/05/15/climate-change-activists-say-they-blocked-freighter-from-delivering-coal-mass-power-plant/gjnEb86grXDaFflJPVynTI/story.html


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