[✔️] April 25, 2024 Global Warming News | Kolbert interview, book, Stefan Rahmstorf tipping point, Yale doomers, NPR board game, 2014 Madow

[Richard Pauli]

/*April *//*25, 2024*/

/[ Kolbert  - 27 min - it's happening right now ]/
*Climate One TV: Elizabeth Kolbert on Hope, Despair, and Everything In 
Between*
Climate One
Apr 24, 2024
Even before Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” brought climate change to 
the mainstream, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Elizabeth Kolbert was 
on the beat. Her reporting in the early 2000s culminated in her book 
“Field Notes from a Catastrophe,” which sounded the alarm on the causes 
and effects of global warming.

Nearly 20 years later, Kolbert is still bringing the climate story to 
the public with her new book “H Is for Hope: Climate Change from A to 
Z.” The book is told in bite size vignettes that paint a picture of our 
climate present, what the future may hold and where there may be space 
for hope.

Guests:
Elizabeth Kolbert, Journalist and Author
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpSsvIjOL54

- -

/[ this is an abecedary book - Referring to the alphabet; alphabetical; 
related to or resembling an abecedarius; abecedarian. [First attested in 
1580.] ]/
*H Is for Hope: Climate Change from A to Z.*
In twenty-six essays—one for each letter of the alphabet—the Pulitzer 
Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction takes us on a hauntingly 
illustrated journey through the history of climate change and the 
uncertainties of our future.

Climate change resists narrative—and yet some account of what’s 
happening is needed. Millions of lives are at stake, and upward of a 
million species. And there are decisions to be made, even though it’s 
unclear who, exactly, will make them.

In H Is for Hope, Elizabeth Kolbert investigates the landscape of 
climate change—from “A”, for Svante Arrhenius, who created the world’s 
first climate model in 1894, to “Z”, for the Colorado River Basin, 
ground zero for climate change in the United States. Along the way she 
looks at Greta Thunburg’s “blah blah blah” speech (“B”), learns to fly 
an all-electric plane (“E”), experiments with the effects of extreme 
temperatures on the human body (“T”), and struggles with the deep 
uncertainty of the future of climate change (“U”).

Adapted from essays originally published in The New Yorker and 
beautifully illustrated by Wesley Allsbrook, H Is for Hope is 
simultaneously inspiring, alarming, and darkly humorous—a unique 
examination of our changing world.
https://www.amazon.com/H-Hope-Climate-Change-Z-ebook/dp/B0CFJBR9QS



/[ yes, says respected, renown climatologist Stefan Rahmstorf  - video 
49 min ]/
*IS THE ATLANTIC OVERTURNING CIRCULATION APPROACHING A TIPPING POINT?*
Earth System Analysis - Potsdam Institute
Apr 24, 2024
Prof. Rahmstorf discusses the danger of a major ocean circulation 
change  with massive climate impacts around the world.
This lecture was held on the occasion of Rahmstorf being awarded the 
Alfred Wegener Medal for his scientific achievements, the most 
prestigious award of the European Geosciences Union EGU.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX7wAsdSE60
/[ Nitrogen -- beyond the habitability of the Earth ]/
*Nitrogen, Agrochemical Corporations, and International Trade: A 
Perilous Mix*
Fundraiser
theAnalysis-news
  Apr 24, 2024  #PaulJay #theanalysis #climatechange
Gilles Billen shows that industrial agriculture, propelled by 
international trade and specialization, has disturbed the nitrogen 
cycle. This has provoked the crossing of planetary boundaries and 
endangered the possibility of feeding the world. Alternatives do not 
require new technologies but different ways of organizing production and 
regional networks. Lynn Fries interviews Gilles Billen on GPEnewsdocs...
- -
Come visit us at https://theanalysis.news
Sign up for our newsletter: https://theanalysis.news/newsletter/

Like us on Facebook:   / theanalysisnews-111882350255869
Follow us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/paul__jay?lang=en
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvwnOyXTqEA/
/


/[ YALE Climate Connections advises language ]/
*How to talk to a climate doomer (even if that doomer is you)*
It’s not too late to tackle climate change, but sometimes it sure feels 
that way.
by DAISY SIMMONS
APRIL 23, 2024
- - (see the cartoon) 
https://i0.wp.com/yaleclimateconnections.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/424-Tom-Toro-The-End-Is-Near.jpg?w=1600&ssl=1
So someone you love is feeling doomy about climate change. Maybe they’ve 
experienced a catastrophic storm and know there’s more where that came 
from. Maybe they lost hope when the latest round of temperature records 
were shattered. Maybe they think it’s too late to fix the problem (it’s 
not), or that not enough people care.

Maybe the doomer is you. At least on some days.

To help ease those doomist feelings, we asked a couple of experts for 
their take: Susan Joy Hassol, the climate communication veteran who 
served as senior science writer on three National Climate Assessments, 
and Emma Lawrance, who leads the Climate Cares Centre at the Institute 
of Global Health, Innovation, Imperial College London, which works to 
understand and support mental health amid today’s climate and ecological 
crises.

Read on for their insights on climate doomism, why it’s decidedly not 
too late to tackle climate change, and how you might talk to a doomer 
(even if that means talking to yourself).

*You’re not alone*
Whether you’re thinking of a doomer you love or the one in the mirror, 
know that no one is alone in feeling a sense of hopelessness from time 
to time. Among U.S. residents who worry a lot about climate change, less 
than half are “extremely” or “moderately” confident they can affect what 
governments do about the problem, according to surveys by Yale 
University and George Mason University. (Editor’s note: Several study 
authors work with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, the 
publisher of this site.)
More people are experiencing climate impacts firsthand, so it makes 
sense that more of us are getting anxious about the future. A 2023 
survey found that roughly nine in 10 Americans have experienced at least 
one extreme weather event in the past five years — including drought, 
extreme heat, severe storms, wildfires, or flooding.

“As we hear more about climate science — much of which is cause for 
alarm — there can be an adaptive response to feel afraid or worried,” 
Lawrance says. “Sometimes that anxiety can be a motivation to act. But 
when we feel like, ‘This is too big, too overwhelming,’ and we feel 
powerless, it can be really defeating and overwhelming. Our body sort of 
shuts down to it, trying to keep us safe in what feels like an unsafe 
world.”

But our feelings about climate change are rarely one-dimensional.

“Sometimes people report it’s not one feeling or the other,” Lawrance 
says. “They feel a lot of ways at once, and feelings can change day to 
day.” One day might bring a mix of fear, grief, anger, guilt, 
hopelessness, or numbness.

Especially when you read the news.

“The headlines in the media are almost always about the problem,” Hassol 
says. “It’s about this terrible heat wave, this terrible storm, this 
terrible — whatever it is! And then there are the headlines that say 
something like, ‘We have X years to act on climate’ that lead people to 
think, ‘Well, if we don’t act in five years, then what? We’re screwed, 
right?’”

Doomism comes easy when you think it’s too late (it’s not)
“Is there still time to reduce global warming, or is it too late?” is 
one of the top questions Americans have about climate change, according 
to a recent survey by Yale University and George Mason University.

“We can’t afford to think that way — and it’s not true,” Hassol says. 
“The science is very clear that it is not too late to avoid the worst. … 
The temperature in the atmosphere should not keep rising once we get 
emissions to zero.”

There is no threshold past which we should stop trying to address 
climate change, according to climate scientist Michael Mann, who has 
frequently collaborated with Hassol. Every tenth of a degree change in 
temperature affects the extent of climate disruptions. That means the 
sooner we accelerate efforts, the better, but it doesn’t mean all hope 
is lost because we haven’t already solved the problem.

“It’s already dangerous. It’s already here,” Hassol says. “But what we 
can avoid still is global catastrophe. And we need to start from where 
we are now.”

“If we had started 30 years ago, yes, that would have been better. But 
you don’t pass your exit and say, ‘Screw it.’ You just get off the 
highway when you can,” she adds.

Lawrance agrees. “I think ultimately when you examine it, doomerism 
doesn’t really hold up to scrutiny because it’s too black or white, too 
win or lose,” Lawrance says. “At every point in time, there are better 
or worse paths forward. There are always things that can be saved.”
*
What can be done about climate change?*
To achieve that better path forward, the International Energy Agency 
says the world needs to do much more this decade, including tripling 
renewable energy capacity, halving energy intensity, and cutting methane 
emissions from fossil fuels by 75%. It’s going to be hard work. But we 
can do hard things; people have done hard things for millennia.

“This is the fight of our lives, and it’s a multigenerational task,” 
Hassol says. “We need what’s been called ‘cathedral thinking.’ That is, 
the people who started working on that stone foundation, they never saw 
the thing finished. It took generations to get these major works done. 
This is that kind of problem. And we have to all do our part.”

Which may require putting doomish feelings at bay, at least long enough 
to contribute to efforts in your community.

“The more I act, the better I feel, because I know I’m part of the 
solution,” Hassol adds. “I just turned 65. And like Martin Luther King 
said, I may not get to the mountaintop, but I believe that we as a 
people will eventually get there.”

*How to talk about climate doomism*
It can help to talk honestly about feelings of doomism, but it’s not an 
easy topic. People might worry about feeling judged. They might not want 
to focus on a topic they find overwhelming. They might feel protective 
of their position or have deeply held arguments for why a doomist point 
of view makes sense.

There’s no perfect script for these conversations, but some basic rules 
of thumb can help.

First and foremost: “Give yourself grace,” Lawrance says. “It is quite 
hard to have these kinds of conversations. You can plant seeds, but take 
the burden of having to change someone’s mind off yourself.”

Listen more, monologue less. Try to understand what’s behind the 
person’s position. “Is it fear that’s driving it? Is it a sense that 
they just really don’t know what can be done? Have some compassion for 
that because it is a really hard thing to grapple with,” Lawrance says. 
And when it makes sense to get into the science, keep it simple and 
focus on the bottom line: The science is clear that it’s not too late to 
avert the worst climate impacts in the future.

As Mann said in a 2022 interview, “The science does indicate that there 
is still hope for averting the worst impacts. And because of that, it 
would be so tragic if we fell into doom and despair at the very moment 
where we most need to act.”

Talk about how participating in climate solutions doesn’t just help 
reduce emissions — it can be good for people who take part, too. Not 
only can climate action support a brighter climate future; it can also 
bolster mental health. Experts like Lawrance think addressing climate 
change must include building up psychological resilience to its impacts. 
To do that, they suggest investing in adaptations that make living 
through climate change more manageable.

“We know the things that support good mental health and well-being are 
often very aligned with the things we need in societies that will point 
us towards a safer climate future,” Lawrance says. “Whether that’s less 
polluted air, food and water security, access to green space, reduced 
inequalities — all of these societies that have those things will have 
better mental health and lower emissions.”

Include examples of solutions in action. Doomers aren’t the only ones 
who can point to headlines. Solutions abound when you look for them: We 
can still save glaciers, restore wetlands and sagebrush habitat, protect 
whales, improve community resilience, store carbon in soil — the list 
goes on. And we can get inspired by progress already made on embracing 
renewable energy and electric vehicles. “So you can point to the places 
where [climate action] is working,” Hassol says. “And say ‘Look, they 
did it, we can do it, too.’ It’s so important for people to understand 
that we can get this done.”

For Hassol, knowing we can rise to the climate challenge is different 
from trusting it will happen.

“I know we have the technologies we need and that we know what policies 
work. So I have hope because I know we can do it,” she says. “But I also 
have constructive doubt. Will we rise to this challenge? Will we do what 
we have to do in time? I’m not sure. But having that constructive hope 
knowing that we can do it keeps me working for it.”

Tom Toro is a cartoonist and writer who has published over 200 cartoons 
in The New Yorker since 2010.

We help millions of people understand climate change and what to do 
about it. Help us reach even more people like you.
DAISY SIMMONS
Daisy Simmons, assistant editor at Yale Climate Connections, is a 
creative, research-driven storyteller with 25 years of professional 
editorial experience
https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/04/how-to-talk-to-a-climate-doomer-even-if-that-doomer-is-you/



/[ NPR plays at games ]/
*How do you build without over polluting? That's the challenge of new 
Catan board game*
APRIL 22, 20245:30 AM ET
Nathan Rott at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C.,

In the original version of the popular board game Settlers of Catan, 
players start on an undeveloped island and are encouraged to "fulfill 
your manifest destiny." To win you have to collect resources and 
develop, claiming land by building settlements, cities, and roads.

A new version of the board game, Catan: New Energies, introduces a 
21st-century twist — pollution. Expand responsibly or lose. In the new 
version, modern Catan needs energy. To get that energy players have to 
build power plants, and those plants can run on renewable energy or 
fossil fuels. Power plants operated on fossil fuels allow you to build 
faster but also create more pollution. Too much pollution causes 
catastrophes.

"Generally it's tough to depict reality in a game. The reality is always 
so much more complex," said Benjamin Teuber, managing director of 
Catan's production company and co-developer of the new game. Games, he 
adds, need to be fun.


The newest iteration of Catan will hit shelves this summer. And it aims 
to mirror reality in a couple of clear ways: Energy from fossil fuels 
creates more planet-altering pollution than renewables; too much 
pollution leads to bad things; those bad things are felt unequally.

"Sometimes flooding hits everybody, just as we see [in the real world]," 
said Teuber. "It doesn't matter who created the pollution. It affects 
everyone."

Teuber, who co-developed New Energies with his late dad, Klaus Teuber, 
said the game was an old idea they dusted off during the Covid-19 
pandemic. It's one that's become increasingly relevant as the real world 
grapples with the effects of real pollution: a rapidly warming planet 
that's worsening wildfires, floods, and heatwaves.

The game's developers are aware of the relevancy. "It's a very 
interesting topic in every culture that we publish in," Teuber said.

Polls show climate change is viewed as a major concern across many parts 
of the world. But adapting to the changes and addressing its roots have 
proven difficult. Teuber said he thinks board games can help move the 
conversation forward. Board games generally require people to sit around 
a shared table, to read each other, to negotiate and take risks, 
"without having a severe and bad consequence," he said. "Unless divorce 
is the result."

Climate change experienced through board games

Catan: New Energies is not the only new board game centered on climate 
change. Daybreak, the latest game from the creator of Pandemic, a 
popular cooperative board game, tasks players with working together to 
cut carbon emissions and limit global warming.

In a blog post on Daybreak's website, the game's co-designer Matteo 
Menapace wrote that he and co-creator Matt Leacock were inspired to make 
the game because they were both worried about climate change and weren't 
sure what to do about it.

"The problem with the question 'what can I do about climate change,' is 
how it implies climate action is like a single-player game, with you 
alone fighting against this huge invisible enemy," Menapace wrote. They 
believe addressing climate change and its causes will require a 
collective effort. That's why Daybreak requires "total cooperation," 
Menapace wrote. "It's a big leap from the current state of climate 
(in)action, but not an unreasonable one... and we aim for this game to 
play a role in accelerating this shift."

Catan Studio, the developer and publisher of Catan games, isn't as 
explicit in its intentions with its new game. The phrase "climate 
change" doesn't show up in any of the Catan: New Energies' promotional 
materials, packaging, or rulebooks. "Pollution" is the catch-all term 
for the problem.

Teuber said they talked about adding the term but decided to focus on 
energy and presenting players with the option of fossil fuels or 
renewable. "We assume players will draw their own conclusions as they 
engage with the game," he said.

The game's studio does note in its press materials that according to 
"evidence-based research and expert sources, [the] new game elements 
will get players thinking and talking about important issues."

A 2019 review of published research on board games and behavior by a 
team of Japanese researchers showed that "as a tool, board games can be 
expected to improve the understanding of knowledge, enhance 
interpersonal interactions among participants, and increase the 
motivation of participants." Though, it noted, the number of published 
studies on the topic is limited.

Dialogue from gameplay

"What games are really powerful at is starting dialogues," said Sam 
Illingworth, an associate professor of science communication at 
Edinburgh Napier University in the UK.

In the gaming world, there's a concept called the Magic Circle — a 
theory attributed to Johann Huizinga, a Dutch cultural historian, who in 
the 1930's posited that play creates a separate world with separate rules.

"It's the idea that we suspend disbelief on the gaming table," 
Illingworth said. "Like in the game Monopoly, it's perfectly good – 
strictly advisable – for me to want to bankrupt you, which is behavior 
that's morally repugnant away from the gaming table, but it means that 
those social hierarchies can break down and we can have conversations 
that we wouldn't normally be able to have."

In 2019, Illingworth co-designed a playable expansion to the original 
Catan that added climate change and sustainability to the gameplay. They 
called it Catan: Global Warming and posted the rules and instructions on 
how to adapt a regular Catan game online.

In the add-on, if players add too many greenhouse gasses, the whole 
island is destroyed and nobody wins. "So that creates a game state where 
psychologically there's obvious causality between actions and what 
happens, right?" Illingworth said. "So rather than just having a 
conversation about what might happen, you're actually experiencing it."

In Catan: New Energies, if pollution reaches too high a level to 
continue, the win goes to the person who built the most renewable energy 
power plants.

While workshopping the new game with colleagues, Teuber said they would 
often play too aggressively, aiming to "grow, grow, grow," they would 
build out fossil fuel power plants, he said. "We always manage to over 
pollute."

Test groups did the same. But after those games, the players would often 
come back and say, "We had heavy discussions afterwards," Teuber said. 
"We all felt kind of bad, we learned and thing or two, and the next game 
we played differently."
https://www.npr.org/2024/04/22/1245096795/catan-board-game-climate-change-pollution



/[The news archive -  what complexity ]/
/*April 25, 2014 */
April 25, 2014:
In the Washington Post, Rachel Maddow discusses the fossil fuel 
industry's interests in Russia.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/rachel-maddow-will-us-energy-companies-disrupt-obamas-russia-policy/2014/04/24/8c13dab6-ca6a-11e3-95f7-7ecdde72d2ea_story.html?utm_term=.48fd49a26786 



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