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    <font size="+1"><i>October 29 , 2017<br>
        <br>
      </i></font><b> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2017/10/the_bond_industry_isn_t_worried_about_climate_change.html">Why
        Isn't the Bond Market More Worried About Climate Change?</a><br>
    </b>Coastal towns destroyed by Sandy still have perfect credit
    scores. Why?<br>
    Business leaders are excited about the timing of the vote in part
    because Miami currently has a double-A bond rating, meaning that the
    city can borrow money at low rates. Amidst the dire predictions and
    the full moon floods, that rating is a bulwark. It signifies that
    the financial industry doesn't think sea level rise and storm risk
    will prevent Miami from paying off its debts. In December, a report
    issued by President Obama's budget office outlined a potential
    virtuous cycle: Borrow money to build seawalls and the like while
    your credit is good, and your credit will still be good when you
    need to borrow in the future.<br>
    The alternative: Flood-prone jurisdictions go into the financial
    tailspin we recognize from cities like Detroit, unable to borrow
    enough to protect the assets whose declining value makes it harder
    to borrow.<br>
    But there's another element that helps cement the bargain:
    investors' confidence that coastal towns will pay back the money
    they borrow. Homebuyers are irrational. Politicians are
    self-interested. But lenders - and the ratings agencies that help
    direct their investments - ought to have a more clinical view.
    Evaluating long-term risk is exactly their business model. If they
    thought environmental conditions threatened investments, they would
    sound the alarm - or just vote with their wallets. They've done it
    before - cities like New Orleans, Galveston, Texas, and Seaside
    Heights, New Jersey were all downgraded by rating agencies after
    damage from Hurricanes Katrina, Ike, and Sandy. But all have since
    rebounded. There does not appear to be a single jurisdiction in the
    United States that has suffered a credit downgrade related to sea
    level rise or storm risk. Yet.<br>
    ...disasters tend to be good for credit, thanks to cash infusions
    from FEMA's generous Disaster Relief Fund...<br>
    ...people still want to live on the shore. ...<br>
    ...Most jurisdictions are large. New Jersey's coastal counties also
    contain thousands of inland homes whose risk exposure is much, much
    lower. ...<br>
    Generally, though, if you are looking for financial markets to start
    enforcing the risks of climate change, don't look at towns on the
    rebound. Those places - whether they're building seawalls or simply
    enforcing building codes on reconstructed properties - are better
    prepared. "The places you're going to see the biggest disasters,"
    Muir-Wood predicts, "are the ones that haven't been hit."<br>
    <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2017/10/the_bond_industry_isn_t_worried_about_climate_change.html">http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2017/10/the_bond_industry_isn_t_worried_about_climate_change.html</a><br>
    <b><br>
      <br>
      <a moz-do-not-send="true"
        href="https://microgridknowledge.com/islanded-microgrid-fires/">Microgrid
        Kept Power On Even as the California Wildfires Caused Outages</a><br>
    </b>When the islanded microgrid at Stone Edge Farm near Sonoma,
    Calif., kept operating for 10 days in spite of the fires that caused
    outages nearby, the operators seized the opportunity to learn as
    much as possible from the surprises they encountered.<br>
    The first surprise, of course, were the fires that struck suddenly,
    stoked by high winds and dry conditions. While the fires didn't burn
    the farm's property, they came within about five miles.<br>
    "At 5 am I got a phone call from an employee who couldn't get into
    work because everything was burning," said Craig Wooster, general
    contractor for the microgrid project. "I reached for the light and
    there was no light at my place, which instantly told me we needed to
    get the microgrid into island mode."<br>
    His son and an intern working at Stone Edge Farm put the microgrid
    in island mode to ensure the farm's irrigation system continued
    operating in case the power at the farm went out. The microgrid
    powers pumps that run water from wells, explained Wooster.<br>
    The microgrid, which includes a mix of solar, eight different types
    of batteries, 10 different kinds of inverters, and a natural gas
    microturbine, operated even though the power went out and officials
    called for evacuations. In fact, after being evacuated, Wooster and
    his associates operated the islanded microgrid remotely - for the
    first time.<br>
    This work makes Stone Edge Farm owner Mac McQuown happy, said
    Wooster. "We move microgrids forward and do it around the school
    district, and the long-term social and political good," he said.<b><br>
    </b><font size="-1"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
        href="https://microgridknowledge.com/islanded-microgrid-fires">https://microgridknowledge.com/islanded-microgrid-fires</a></font><b><br>
    </b>- video<br>
    <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://youtu.be/TEx4gm3523I"><b>The
        UCSD Microgrid - Showing the Future of Electricity ... Today</b></a><br>
    Rocky Mountain Institute visited the University of California, San
    Diego to study and document the "microgrid" that controls and
    integrates electricity supply and demand on the campus. UCSD's
    microgrid is one of the best examples of an electricity network that
    provides local control yet is interconnected with the larger
    electricity grid.<br>
    At UCSD, the microgrid provides the ability to manage 42 megawatts
    of generating capacity, including a central cogeneration plant, an
    array of solar photovoltaic installations and a fuel cell that
    operates on natural gas reclaimed from a landfill site. The central
    microgrid control allows operators to manage the diverse portfolio
    of energy generation and storage resources on the campus to minimize
    costs. In addition, the campus can "island" from the larger grid to
    maintain power supply in an emergency, as in the case of the power
    blackout that struck parts of Southern California, Arizona and
    Mexico in September 2011.<br>
    The microgrid at UCSD provides a living laboratory to experiment
    with integration and management of local resources and to optimize
    the use of these resources in interaction with market signals from
    the larger grid. <br>
    Learn how RMI is seeking to identify and amplify the kinds of
    solutions that have the potential to transform the electricity
    system by visiting <font size="-1"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
        href="https://youtu.be/TEx4gm3523I">http://www.rmi.org/electricity</a></font><b><br>
      <br>
      <br>
      <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/28/us-winter-has-shrunk-by-more-than-one-month-in-100-years">US
        winter has shrunk by more than one month in 100 years</a><br>
    </b>The length of the US winter is shortening, with the first frost
    of the year arriving more than one later than it did 100 years ago,
    according to more than a century of measurements from weather
    stations nationwide.<br>
    The trend of ever later first freezes appears to have started around
    1980, according to data from 700 weather stations across the US
    going back to 1895 and compiled by Ken Kunkel, a meteorologist at
    the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National
    Centers for Environmental Information.<br>
    Sea levels to rise 1.3m unless coal power ends by 2050, report says<br>
    Kunkel compared the first freeze from each of the 700 stations to
    the station's average for the 20th Century. Some parts of the
    country experience earlier or later freezes every year, but on
    average freezes are coming later.<br>
    The average first freeze over the last 10 years, from 2007 to 2016,
    is a week later than the average from 1971 to 1980.<br>
    This year, about 40% of the Lower 48 states have had a freeze as of
    23 October, compared to 65% in a normal year, according to Jeff
    Masters, meteorology director of the private service Weather
    Underground....<br>
    Overall the United States freeze season of 2016 was more than a
    month shorter than the freeze season of 1916. It was most extreme in
    the Pacific Northwest. Oregon's freeze season was 61 days – two
    months – shorter than normal...<br>
    <font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/28/us-winter-has-shrunk-by-more-than-one-month-in-100-years">https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/28/us-winter-has-shrunk-by-more-than-one-month-in-100-years</a></font><b><br>
      <br>
      <br>
      <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/a-nonviolent-strategy-to-end-violence-and-avert-human-extinction-the-teachings-of-gandhi-and-martin-luther-king/5615391">A
        Nonviolent Strategy to End Violence and Avert Human Extinction.
        The Teachings of Gandhi and Martin Luther King</a><br>
    </b><font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/a-nonviolent-strategy-to-end-violence-and-avert-human-extinction-the-teachings-of-gandhi-and-martin-luther-king/5615391">https://www.globalresearch.ca/a-nonviolent-strategy-to-end-violence-and-avert-human-extinction-the-teachings-of-gandhi-and-martin-luther-king/5615391</a></font><b><br>
      <br>
      <br>
      <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/10/27/maritimes-softwood-trees-in-decline-due-to-global-warming-study-warns.html">Maritimes'
        softwood trees in decline due to global warming, study warns</a></b><br>
    HALIFAX - A new federal study says climate change in the Maritimes
    may lead to a gradual reduction in the growth of softwood trees,
    which are crucial to the region's pulp industry.<br>
    Using computer models, the Natural Resources Canada study marks the
    first regionwide assessment of the composition and growth of the
    Acadian Forest to the end of this century.<br>
    The forest is carefully watched in forestry circles, as it is a
    unique mix temperate forests, with warmer weather trees like red
    maples, and boreal forests that include fir and spruce....<br>
    <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/10/27/maritimes-softwood-trees-in-decline-due-to-global-warming-study-warns.html">https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/10/27/maritimes-softwood-trees-in-decline-due-to-global-warming-study-warns.html</a><b><br>
      <br>
      <br>
    </b><b> </b><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.joboneforhumanity.org/in_antarctica_two_crucial_glaciers_accelerate_toward_the_sea">IN
        ANTARCTICA, TWO CRUCIAL GLACIERS ACCELERATE TOWARD THE SEA...</a></b><br>
    Two of the frozen continent's fastest-moving glaciers are shedding
    an increasing amount of ice into the Amundsen Sea each year...<br>
    The Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers are among the most critical in
    the world. They are currently holding back ice that, if melted,
    would raise the world's oceans by nearly four feet over centuries,
    an amount that would put many coastal cities underwater.<br>
    Glaciers are essentially long rivers of ice. Just as a river
    collects water that drains from a specific area, Antarctica's
    glaciers collect ice from parts of the great ice sheets that cover
    the continent. The amount of ice that could flow into the Pine
    Island glacier and then into the sea would eventually raise the
    world's sea level by over a foot and a half.<br>
    <b><a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://youtu.be/SZc5U9saIHI">(video)
        Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica Retreating Time Lapse </a></b> <a
      class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/SZc5U9saIHI">https://youtu.be/SZc5U9saIHI</a><br>
    The Pine Island's flow is accelerating rapidly. Its ice shelf, an
    expanse of ice that floats on water where the glacier meets the sea,
    has increased its speed by 75 percent from 1973 to 2010.<br>
    "This is a result of the warmer waters in front of them," said Eric
    Rignot, a climate scientist at the University of California, Irvine,
    who has done extensive research on polar ice.<br>
    "In some relatively colder years, we know the melt rate slowed down
    and the glaciers slowed down. On warm ocean years, the glacier moves
    really fast."<br>
    About 100 miles southwest of Pine Island, Thwaites glacier is also
    shedding more and more ice into the ocean.<br>
    The amount of ice that could flow into it and then into the sea
    would increase global sea level by more than two feet.<br>
    <b><a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://youtu.be/_5vT4SYPLd0">(video) 
        Thwaites Glacier Mass Balance History (1986-2016)</a></b>   <a
      class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/_5vT4SYPLd0">https://youtu.be/_5vT4SYPLd0</a><br>
    "There isn't a glacier in Antarctica that comes close to the ice
    discharge to Pine Island and Thwaites," Dr. Rignot said. "They are
    the largest discharger of ice in the Antarctic right now."<br>
    <font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.joboneforhumanity.org/in_antarctica_two_crucial_glaciers_accelerate_toward_the_sea">http://www.joboneforhumanity.org/in_antarctica_two_crucial_glaciers_accelerate_toward_the_sea</a><br>
      <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/26/climate/antarctica-glaciers-melt.html">https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/26/climate/antarctica-glaciers-melt.html</a></font><br>
    <br>
    <b><br>
    </b><b><a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://youtu.be/tr1vp23guOE">(Video)
        Al Gore 2017, 10 yrs After An Inconvenient Truth</a></b><br>
    Former Vice President, Al Gore joins Climate One, along with
    filmmakers, Bonnie Cohen and Jon Shenk to discuss An Inconvenient
    Sequel: Truth to Power. The film is a follow-up on the popular An
    Inconvenient Truth which was release 10 years ago. The trio will
    discuss the challenges the world still faces when it comes to
    climate change.<br>
    <font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
        href="https://youtu.be/tr1vp23guOE">https://youtu.be/tr1vp23guOE</a></font><br>
    <br>
    <br>
    <b><a
href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/10/25/jeff-flake-retires-climate-change-energy?">7
        Reasons Why <i>US </i><i>Senator</i> Jeff Flake Is Awful on
        Climate Change and Energy Justice</a></b><br>
    By Steve Horn • Wednesday, October 25, 2017 <br>
    This week, U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) made national headlines by
    dramatically announcing his retirement on the U.S. Senate floor.
    Flake focused his speech on the erratic behavior of President Donald
    Trump and the nationalistic, anti-immigration turn taken by some
    Republican Party politicians in recent years. <br>
    Yet lost in the conversation, thus far, has been almost any
    discussion of some of the major issues of our time: climate change,
    energy, and the environment. And on that count, Flake has made a
    career out of doing the bidding of his fossil fuel and mining
    industry corporate campaign donors. <br>
    Here are seven reasons why Jeff Flake has been awful on the issues
    which, for humanity in the long run, arguably count the most.<br>
    <strong style="font-weight: bold;">1. Climate Change Denier</strong><br>
    Perhaps superseding all else, Flake is a climate change science
    denier, claiming that no one "can say definitely" what has caused
    global temperature increases.<br>
    "Certainly, nobody can deny that we've had several years of warmer
    temperatures. If that signals routine change that is manmade or not,
    I don't think anybody can say definitely,"<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn0AG36ef-s" target="_blank"
      style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153, 204);">Flake
      said in 2014</a>.<br>
    In 2015,<span> </span><a
href="https://www.wired.com/2015/01/senators-dont-believe-human-caused-climate-change/"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">Flake also voted "nay"</a><span> </span>on an amendment
    proposed by Democrats for a<span> </span><span class="caps"
      style="font-size: 0.9em;">GOP</span>-proposed bill in favor of the
    Keystone<span> </span><span class="caps" style="font-size: 0.9em;">XL</span><span> </span>pipeline
    which asked if human activities led to climate change. Flake
    introduced his own amendment during the voting process,<span> </span><a
href="https://www.congress.gov/amendment/114th-congress/senate-amendment/103"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">one which supported</a> "the evaluation and consolidation
    of duplicative green building programs."<br>
    For insight into his motivations, look to Flake's campaign backers
    in the fossil fuel industry.<span> </span><a
href="https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/industries?cid=N00009573&cycle=CAREER"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">According to OpenSecrets.org</a>, Flake has taken $312,260
    from the oil and gas industry and another $226,721 from the electric
    utilities industry since his congressional career began in 2000.<br>
    In the 2012 Senate race to represent Arizona, Flake took <a
href="https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/pacs?cat=E01&catlong=Oil+%26+Gas&cid=N00009573&cycle=2012&seclong=Energy+%26+Natural+Resources&sector=E"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">$96,000</a><span> </span>from the oil and gas industry, <a
href="https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/pacs?cat=E08&catlong=Electric+Utilities&cid=N00009573&cycle=2012&seclong=Energy+%26+Natural+Resources&sector=E"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">$32,500</a><span> </span>from electric utilities, and
    $39,000 from the coal industry. That included taking money from
    funders of climate change denial, such as<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.desmogblog.com/koch-industries-inc"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">Koch Industries</a>,<span> </span><a
href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2016/06/13/court-documents-show-peabody-energy-funded-dozens-climate-change-denying-groups"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">Peabody Energy</a>,<span> </span><a
href="https://www.desmogblog.com/exxonmobil-funding-climate-science-denial"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">ExxonMobil</a>, and the<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.desmogblog.com/american-petroleum-institute"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">American Petroleum Institute</a>. <br>
    On the same day he gave his retirement speech, Flake was one of 17
    Senators to <a
href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/jeff-flake/"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">vote against</a><span> </span>a disaster relief aid package
    for Puerto Rico and Hurricane Maria.<br>
    <strong style="font-weight: bold;">2.) Opponent of Public Lands</strong><br>
    Flake has also long been a proponent of "states' rights" for<span> </span><span
      class="caps" style="font-size: 0.9em;">U.S.</span><span> </span>federal
    lands, a colloquialism often used by conservatives and
    corporate-financed groups to argue for transferring ownership of
    federal lands to the states in order to make it easier for drilling
    and mining companies to access public land for
    extractive purposes... <br>
    ...The Center for American Progress has pigeonholed Flake as part of
    the "<a
href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/reports/2016/04/11/135044/the-rise-to-power-of-the-congressional-anti-parks-caucus/"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">Anti-Parks Caucus</a>" due to his anti-public lands
    politicking. Likewise, the Center for Biological Diversity put Flake
    on its<span> </span><a
href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/pdfs/Public_Lands_Enemies.pdf"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">top 15 list of "public land enemies."</a><br>
    <strong style="font-weight: bold;">3.) Rubberstamp for
      Trump Nominees</strong><br>
    Flake has voted "yes" on 23 out of 24 Trump federal agency nominees,
    with the exception being a vote in which he didn't participate. He
    voted "yes" for all of Trump's energy and environmental nominees,
    including Secetary of the Interior<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.desmogblog.com/ryan-zinke" target="_blank"
      style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153, 204);">Ryan
      Zinke</a>, Secretary of Energy<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.desmogblog.com/rick-perry" target="_blank"
      style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153, 204);">Rick
      Perry</a>, Secretary of State<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.desmogblog.com/rex-tillerson" target="_blank"
      style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153, 204);">Rex
      Tillerson</a>, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.desmogblog.com/scott-pruitt" target="_blank"
      style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153, 204);">Scott
      Pruitt</a>. <br>
    <span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">"</span><span
      class="caps" style="font-size: 0.9em;">EPA</span>'s litany of
    overreaching regulations have strained Arizona's economic
    competitiveness,"<span> </span><a
href="https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2017/2/flake-statement-on-the-confirmation-of-scott-pruitt-for-epa-administrator"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">Flake said in a statement</a><span> </span>in response to
    Pruitt's successful nomination to head the<span> </span><span
      class="caps" style="font-size: 0.9em;">EPA</span>. "I was pleased
    to vote to confirm Scott Pruitt as<span> </span><span class="caps"
      style="font-size: 0.9em;">EPA</span><span> </span>Administrator so
    together we can get to work eliminating unnecessary economic
    barriers and restoring regulatory certainty." <br>
    Pruitt, like Flake, is a climate change denier.<br>
    <strong style="font-weight: bold;">4.) Cheerleader for Fracking
      and Coal</strong><br>
    Flake has been supportive of the Pruitt-led<span> </span><span
      class="caps" style="font-size: 0.9em;">EPA</span><span> </span>and
    its deregulatory efforts, including the rollback of President
    Obama's Clean Power Plan, which would have regulated greenhouse gas
    emissions of coal-fired power plants. ..<br>
    <span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">... </span>Additionally,<span> </span><a
      href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll249.xml" target="_blank"
      style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153, 204);">Flake
      voted "yes"</a><span> </span>for a bill, the <a
      href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-bill/00910"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011</a>, which would
    block the<span> </span><span class="caps" style="font-size: 0.9em;">EPA</span>'s
    ability to use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases to
    address climate change. It was<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/billsum.php?id=s482-112"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">lobbied for</a><span> </span>by Koch Industries,
    ExxonMobil, Chevron, America's Natural Gas Alliance (<span
      class="caps" style="font-size: 0.9em;">ANGA</span>), Peabody
    Energy, Edison Electric Institute, and a litany of other major
    fossil fuel industry players.<br>
    Flake and McCain also denounced the Clean Power Plan when proposed
    in 2015 in a letter to then-<span class="caps" style="font-size:
      0.9em;">EPA</span>Administrator Gina McCarthy. The two of them<span> </span><a
href="https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2015/7/senators-mccain-flake-urge-obama-administration-to-address-harmful-effects-of-proposed-clean-power-plan-regulations-on-arizona"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">described the plan</a><span> </span>as an "attempt to
    bypass Congress and commandeer the state regulatory process to
    impose unduly burdensome carbon-emissions regulations at existing
    power plants." Flake even referred to Obama's regulatory plans as a
    "war on coal."<br>
    "There is a war on coal at the<span> </span><span class="caps"
      style="font-size: 0.9em;">EPA</span>. Let's call it for what it
    is,"<span> </span><a
href="https://www.nhonews.com/news/2012/sep/11/jeff-flake-tells-page-residents-he-supports-navaj/"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">Flake told an audience in 2012</a>. "And they're going to
    use anything they can, it seems, to push forward that war
    on coal."...<br>
    <strong style="font-weight: bold;">5.) Opponent of Indigenous Rights</strong><br>
    Perhaps most prominently in recent years, Flake and McCain also
    co-sponsored and pushed a bill which was eventually inserted into
    the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016 (<span class="caps"
      style="font-size: 0.9em;">NDAA</span>) calling for thousands of
    acres of national parks land to be handed over to Rio Tinto and <span
      class="caps" style="font-size: 0.9em;">BHP</span><span> </span>Billiton
    for copper mining purposes. The catch: It was located on land
    considered holy by the San Carlos Apache tribe.<br>
    "The land grab was sneakily anti-democratic even by congressional
    standards,"<span> </span><a
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/29/opinion/selling-off-apache-holy-land.html?_r=1"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">explained a New York Times op-ed</a> in May 2015. "[T]he
    giveaway language was slipped onto the defense bill by Senators John
    McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona at the 11th hour. The tactic was
    successful only because, like most last-minute riders, it bypassed
    public scrutiny … The deal is an impressive new low in congressional
    corruption, unworthy of our country's ideals no matter what side of
    the aisle you're on. It's exactly the kind of cynical maneuvering
    that has taught the electorate to disrespect politicians  -  a
    disdain for government that hurts everyone."... <br>
    <strong style="font-weight: bold;">6.) Right-Wing Machine,
      Apartheid Ties</strong><br>
    Flake's rise to Congress started by many acounts during his time
    spent as executive director of the<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Goldwater_Institute"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">Goldwater Institute</a>, which is part of the right-wing<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.desmogblog.com/state-policy-network"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">State Policy Network</a>, itself<span> </span><a
href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2013/12/09/stink-tanks-historical-records-reveal-state-policy-network-created-alec"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">founded as an offshoot</a><span> </span>of the<span> </span><a
href="https://www.desmogblog.com/american-legislative-exchange-council"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">American Legislative Exchange Council (<span class="caps"
        style="font-size: 0.9em;">ALEC</span>)</a>. In his recently
    released book <em>Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of
      Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle</em>, Flake's book
    shares a title with that of the late Senator <a
      href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Barry_Goldwater"
      title="Barry Goldwater" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:
      none; color: rgb(51, 153, 204);">Barry Goldwater</a>'s famous 1960
    book,<span> </span><em>The Conscience of a Conservative</em>. Among
    other things, Goldwater<span> </span><a
href="https://thinkprogress.org/goldwater-and-civil-rights-f776ce938115/"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">voted against</a>the Civil Rights Act of 1964.<br>
    As Phoenix New Times reported back in 1999, Flake cut his teeth at
    the Institute as<span> </span><a
      href="http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/think-tank-warfare-6420757"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">an avid opponent of public schools</a><span> </span>and
    proponent of a voucher, school-choice system.<br>
    Before running the Goldwater Institute, Flake served as a lobbyist
    for the mining company Rossing Uranium in Namibia, 68 percent owned
    by mining giant Rio Tinto. Flake's official biography only mentions
    his work abroad there as executive director of the Foundation for
    Democracy, helping the country "<a
      href="https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/about-jeff"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">usher in freedom and democracy</a>." At the time, Namibia
    was run by the South African government, which imposed apartheid in
    the country until it gained independence in 1990.<br>
    <strong style="font-weight: bold;">7.) Koch Brothers Servant</strong><br>
    In his 2012 Senate race, Flake's biggest donor by far was<a
      href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Club_for_Growth"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);"><span> </span>Club for Growth</a>, a group co-founded by<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.desmogblog.com/stephen-moore" target="_blank"
      style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153, 204);">Stephen
      Moore</a>, who was a senior economic adviser for the Trump
    presidential campaign. Moore co-authored a book steeped in climate
    change denial, <em>Fueling Freedom: Exposing the Mad War on Energy,</em><span> </span>alongside<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.desmogblog.com/kathleen-hartnett-white"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">Kathleen Hartnett White</a>, who was<span> </span><a
href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/10/13/trump-kathleen-hartnett-white-ceq"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204); outline: 0px;">recently named chair</a><span> </span>of the
    Trump White House Council on Environmental Quality (<span
      class="caps" style="font-size: 0.9em;">CEQ</span>).<br>
    That year Flake received<span> </span><a
href="https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/contributors?cid=N00009573&cycle=2012&type=I"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">just over $1 million</a><span> </span>from the Club, which<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Club_for_Growth"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">receives funding</a><span> </span>from the Koch network and
    other wealthy conservatives, and he was the biggest recipient of its
    donations for that electoral cycle. Flake also served as a signatory
    for<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.desmogblog.com/americans-for-prosperity"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">Americans for Prosperity'</a>s (<span class="caps"
      style="font-size: 0.9em;">AFP</span>) <a
      href="http://noclimatetax.com/the-pledge/" target="_blank"
      style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153, 204);">"No
      Climate Tax" pledge</a>.<span> </span><span class="caps"
      style="font-size: 0.9em;">AFP</span><span> </span>is a front group
    founded and created by the<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.desmogblog.com/koch-family-foundations"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">Koch Family Foundations</a>.<br>
    Flake also received a<span> </span><a
href="http://conservativetransparency.org/donor/koch-industries-pac/page/35/?order_by=year%20DESC&page=5"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">$2,000 campaign contribution</a> from Koch Industries for
    his 2012 Senate race. In return, Flake has received a 98 percent
    scorecard rating from<span> </span><span class="caps"
      style="font-size: 0.9em;">AFP</span><span> </span>and a 97 percent
    rating from Club for Growth,<span> </span><a
      href="https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/about-jeff"
      target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153,
      204);">which he touts </a>on his official Senate biography page.<br>
    <font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/10/25/jeff-flake-retires-climate-change-energy">https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/10/25/jeff-flake-retires-climate-change-energy</a>?</font><br>
    <br>
    <br>
    <font size="+1"><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2012-11-01/its-global-warming-stupid">This
          Day in Climate History October 29, 2012</a>  -  from D.R.
        Tucker</b></font><br>
    October 29, 2012: Superstorm Sandy assaults the East Coast, killing
    at<br>
    least 117 people, leaving millions without power and causing at
    least<br>
    $65 billion in damage. Several days later, Bloomberg Businessweek<br>
    publishes the now-famous cover story: "It's Global Warming, Stupid."<br>
    <font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2012-11-01/its-global-warming-stupid">http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2012-11-01/its-global-warming-stupid</a><br>
      <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
        href="http://youtu.be/z8Z-omE7578">http://youtu.be/z8Z-omE7578</a></font><br>
    <font size="+1"><i><br>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
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          curated by Richard Pauli</small><small> for  <a
            class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://TheClimate.Vote">http://TheClimate.Vote</a>  
          delivering succinct information for citizens and responsible
          governments of all levels.</small><small>   L</small><small>ist
          membership is confidential and records are scrupulously
          restricted to this mailing list. <br>
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