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<font size="+1"><i>November 23, 2017</i></font><br>
<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://climateandsecurity.org/2017/11/22/defense-bill-passes-with-climate-change-and-national-security-provision/">Defense
Bill Passes with Climate Change and National Security Provision</a></b><br>
Every year since 1961, the U.S. Congress has passed the <a
style="text-decoration: underline; color: #2585B2;"
href="https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings-and-legislation/ndaa-national-defense-authorization-act">National
Defense Authorization Act</a> - or the NDAA, as it's known in
acronym-obsessed Washington. The bill essentially determines which
agencies are responsible for defense, establishes funding levels,
and sets policies under which money will be spent. Last week, the
U.S. Congress <a style="text-decoration: underline; color:
#2585B2;"
href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/climate-change-is-a-direct-threat-to-national-security-the-defense-bill-says-and-trump-is-expected-to-sign-it/article/2641507">passed
the FY2018 NDAA</a>, and sent it to the President for signature.
He is expected to promptly sign it. Interestingly, this year's NDAA,
among many other things, says something loud and clear about climate
change: there is a bipartisan majority in Congress that accepts
climate change is a "direct threat" to national security, and that
the Department of Defense (DoD) must have the authority to prepare
for it. <br>
In response, <a style="text-decoration: underline; color: #2585B2;"
href="https://climateandsecurity.org/advisory-board/john-conger/">John
Conger</a>, Senior Policy Advisor with the Center for Climate and
Security, <a style="text-decoration: underline; color: #2585B2;"
href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/climate-change-is-a-direct-threat-to-national-security-the-defense-bill-says-and-trump-is-expected-to-sign-it/article/2641507">noted
in an interview</a> with the Washington Examiner:
<blockquote>Lawmakers have shifted from being a headwind on climate
change as a national security issue to being a tailwind, said John
Conger, a senior policy adviser with the Center for Climate and
Security.<br>
Changing climate is a "direct threat" to U.S. national security,
endangering 128 military bases with sea rise and global
destabilization that could fuel terror groups, according to the
NDAA, which is a bipartisan compromise struck by the House and
Senate.<br>
The bill orders a Pentagon report on the top 10 at-risk bases and
what should be done to protect them…<br>
The language on climate change, almost certain to become law, is a
sign that under the new Republican administration, Congress is
moving toward more acceptance of the phenomenon being a serious
security issue, and that the military will continue efforts to
assess and plan for the risks.<font size="-1">..<br>
</font>"The military's goal is to be pragmatic and apolitical.<font
size="-1"><br>
</font></blockquote>
Beyond the political significance of the bill, the climate and
security provision is also a step forward in terms of substance,
particularly as it relates to adapting the nation's military
infrastructure to a changing climate. As Conger <a
href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/climate-change-is-a-direct-threat-to-national-security-the-defense-bill-says-and-trump-is-expected-to-sign-it/article/2641507">states</a>:
"the new NDAA report is a shift because it requires the military to
say how it will shore up the at-risk bases and what the cost may
be." <br>
In short, climate change is a matter of national security, and the
U.S. military has to deal with it. It is heartening to see the
nation's policy-makers warming up (pun intended) to that reality.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://climateandsecurity.org/2017/11/22/defense-bill-passes-with-climate-change-and-national-security-provision/">https://climateandsecurity.org/2017/11/22/defense-bill-passes-with-climate-change-and-national-security-provision/</a><br>
<br>
<b><br>
</b><b><a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://www.sierraclub.org/">KXL
Federal Suit Survives Motion to Dismiss</a></b><br>
<b>Federal Lawsuit Challenging Keystone XL Approval Will Move
Forward</b><br>
Court Stops Trump Administration From Flouting Environmental Laws<br>
Great Falls, MT -- [Wednesday] a federal judge ruled that a lawsuit
brought by environmental and landowner groups over the Trump
administration's approval of the cross-border permit for the
Keystone XL tar sands pipeline can proceed. The decision rejects
attempts by the administration and TransCanada, the company behind
the proposed pipeline, to have the lawsuit thrown out. <br>
The lawsuit was filed in March by the Northern Plains Resource
Council, Bold Alliance, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of
the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Club.
It challenged the U.S. Department of State's and other agencies'
inadequate and outdated environmental review of the pipeline, which
relied on a dated environmental impact statement from January 2014
and failed to consider key information on the project's impacts. In
motions filed in June, the administration and TransCanada argued
that, in approving the pipeline, the administration was not required
to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) or the
Endangered Species Act (ESA), two of America's bedrock environmental
laws. In its ruling today, the court rejected the administration's
argument that presidential authority bars judicial review of the
approvals... <br>
"Once again, the courts are serving as a critical backstop against
this administration's attempts to flout the law for the benefit of
corporate polluters," said Sierra Club Senior Attorney Doug Hayes.
"The American people will not stand by as the administration tries
to bypass critical environmental laws that exist to protect our land
and our clean water. Keystone XL is a threat to our land, water,
wildlife, and climate, and we will continue fighting, in the courts
and in the streets, to ensure that it is never built." <br>
"This is a key step toward holding the Trump administration
accountable for recklessly approving this dirty and incredibly
dangerous pipeline," said Jared Margolis, a senior attorney at the
Center for Biological Diversity. "Keystone would be a catastrophe
for endangered wildlife and our climate, and we'll keep fighting
until it's dead and buried."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.sierraclub.org/">https://www.sierraclub.org/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22112017/thanksgiving-family-climate-denial-global-warming-science-answers">Debunking
Climate Change Myths: A Thanksgiving Conversation Guide</a></b><br>
We asked our readers to share the top climate denial claims and
global warming questions they hear from family. Here's what science
shows - and how to explain it.<br>
Some of the misinformation that creeps into the doubters'
discussions are the lingering leftovers of years of deliberate <a
href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22102015/Exxon-Sowed-Doubt-about-Climate-Science-for-Decades-by-Stressing-Uncertainty">peddling
of misinformation</a>, often by fossil fuel interests. <br>
Some of it persists because, face it, not everybody is well versed
in the scientific consensus, which is based on multiple streams of
evidence from dozens of specialized disciplines. Who can keep up?<br>
Even those who are thankful this year for the work of the United
States Global Change Research Program, which just published <a
href="https://science2017.globalchange.gov/chapter/front-matter-about/">an
update of the latest science</a>, may not have studied all the
details.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22112017/thanksgiving-family-climate-denial-global-warming-science-answers">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22112017/thanksgiving-family-climate-denial-global-warming-science-answers</a><br>
-<br>
<b>Tamino</b><br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://tamino.wordpress.com/2017/11/22/thanksgiving-dinner-how-to-talk-to-drunk-uncle/">Thanksgiving
Dinner: How to Talk to "Drunk Uncle"</a></b><br>
Posted on November 22, 2017 <br>
We've been there, most of us. Thanksgiving dinner, lots of family
including many you don't see very often, and at some point somebody
says something so terrible, you feel like you have to respond. Maybe
it's about global warming, and you're a young climate activist
(thank you!). Here's my advice.<br>
<b>#1: You Don't Have To</b><br>
I was at Thanksgiving dinner at my wife's parents' house, along with
her brother, sisters, spouses, kids, and grampa. Grampa is not a bad
guy - he was in his 90s by then, and was a WWII veteran (fought in
Patton's army). Like many families at Thanksgiving, we decided to
watch a football game. Like most, it begins with the singing of the
national anthem. The singer is a black woman. That's when grampa
complains, because, he says, everybody knows "black women can't
sing."<br>
I felt two instincts: one, to laugh out loud in the most derisive
fashion; two, to scream "Aretha!!!" at the top of my lungs (if you
don't know who Aretha is, google it - it's worth finding out).
Fortunatey, my sister-in-law simply said, "Oh grampy, you're so
silly!" Situation defused, useless argument avoided.<br>
Maybe you're a young climate activist, your mom and dad are climate
activists, your brother is a poli-sci major focusing on climate
issues and your sister is a grad student studying climate science.
Only "drunk uncle" doesn't get it - so you don't have to respond. A
simple, "Oh uncle, you're so silly!" is probably best. Let your
family enjoy Thanksgiving in peace.<br>
<b>#2: Be Polite and Respectful, and Stay Calm</b><br>
There's an old saying, that when you argue with an idiot nobody can
tell who's the idiot. That's even more true for a shouting-match.
If, however, drunk uncle is loud, obnoxious, and abusive while you
are calm, rational, and polite, it helps avoid strife at the dinner
table and it makes your claims so much more persuasive. You might
not think so at the time, but it does.<br>
There's also the fact that Thanksgiving is not about climate change.
It's about family. Maybe you really do "need" to respond, not to let
things go unchallenged, but you don't have to be angry.<br>
Staying calm is perhaps most important. Never forget that one of the
ways climate deniers get their way is to make you lose control. Stay
in control.<br>
<b>#3: Be Honest</b><br>
Totally honest. Don't make up stuff. Don't claim what you don't
know. Always remember that a perfectly good answer to a question is:
"I don't know."<br>
<b>#4: Know Your Audience</b><br>
When you respond to something provocative from "drunk uncle," be
aware that you aren't talking for him. To him, maybe, but not for
him. You're talking for the other people. Your 11-year-old cousin
who is genuinely afraid of climate change. Your other cousin, who's
not sure. Your aunt who thinks it's a Chinese plot. These are the
people you might actually influence - not drunk uncle.<br>
Are they conservatives? Instead of talking about being eco-friendly
to mother earth, talk about the economy - that man-made climate
change is already making it harder. Talk about national security,
how global warming is a severe threat according to, oh, how about
the pentagon and the military?<br>
Are they liberal? Instead of talking national security, talk about
how it will impact the poor most of all. And yes, feel free to sing
the praises of taking care of mother earth.<br>
Are they evangelical Christians? Mention that God himself told us to
take good care of his garden. We might have "dominion" over the
earth, but that only means we're caretakers, not owners. It's God's
earth, not ours.<br>
<b>#5: Know Your Facts</b><br>
How much has planet Earth warmed since 1900? (About 1.1°C = 2°F).
What's the current level of CO2 in the atmosphere? (About 407
ppm=parts per million). How fast is it rising? (About 2.5 ppm/year).
What's the scientific consensus that climate change is real,
man-made, and dangerous? (About 97%). When drunk uncle spouts
nonsense, and you have the facts and figures at your fingertips, you
win.<br>
You don't have to learn it all. But the more you know, the more
persuasive you'll be. Learn it ahead of time; nothing makes you look
more "out-of-control" than leaving the table to google the facts.<br>
<b>#6: Give Hope</b><br>
It's easy to talk about what we can't do, what we can't avoid. That
turns people off. Talk about what we can do. Talk about the benefits
of renewable energy - both climate-wise and economic. This is
especially true if your 11-year-old cousin is so afraid she cries
about her future. SHE needs hope … show her you're not going to let
her down.<br>
<b>#7: It's the simple things that take your breath away</b><br>
I was at a diner having breakfast with my wife. It wasn't crowded at
all, but at the next table was a man talking loudly about how the
new tax bill to fund education was just more of the "take my
hard-earned money" liberal nonsense. Rather than argue, all I said
(just loud enough to be heard) was this:<br>
Mark Twain said, "Every time you stop a school, you will have to
build a jail."<br>
The effect was miraculous. Suddenly the complainer wanted more
funding for education! You had to be there to believe how effective
it was. And there was no angry argument.<br>
That kind of saying isn't easy to find (unless you're Mark Twain).
But when you find one, use it.<br>
<b>#8: Know When to Quit</b><br>
Let drunk uncle be the one who won't shut up about the subject. Keep
it short, keep it to the point, and when you've made your point,
stop. It's way more effective. And don't forget, Thanksgiving dinner
is about the love of family.<br>
There's my advice. I hope it serves you well.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://tamino.wordpress.com/2017/11/22/thanksgiving-dinner-how-to-talk-to-drunk-uncle/">https://tamino.wordpress.com/2017/11/22/thanksgiving-dinner-how-to-talk-to-drunk-uncle/</a><br>
</font>-<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://ideas.ted.com/how-to-talk-to-someone-who-doesnt-believe-in-climate-change/">How
to talk to someone who doesn't believe in climate change</a></b><br>
Nov 15, 2017 / Daryl Chen<br>
Not every conversation with a climate denier has to lead to raised
voices and hurt feelings. Here's how to do it constructively.<br>
"Climate change has become one of the taboo topics - like sex,
politics and religion - that doesn't get talked about at the
Thanksgiving table," says Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale
Program on Climate Change Communication. "In fact, most of us are
willing and even interested to discuss it, but their perception is
other people don't want to."<br>
So go ahead and engage with the uncle who insists the weather's
always been changing and it has nothing to do with us. Or the cousin
who can't make up her mind about anything - whether global warming
is real or not, whether it's serious or not, or whether it's
human-caused or not.<br>
Here's some advice to guide you.<br>
<b>1. Tailor your argument to them; don't just use the one that
worked on you...</b><br>
<b>2. Tell them what worries you about climate change...</b><br>
<b>3. Appeal to their basic values - not yours...</b><br>
<b>4. Encourage climate-friendly acts that match what's most
important to them...</b><br>
<b>5. Accept small steps in the right direction.</b><br>
You may be hoping your relative leaves your conversation, fully
converted in heart and mind. But when did you ever do a 180 on a
major issue after a single chat?<br>
So even if you'd rather they skipped their weekly steak because they
want to reduce the methane emitted by cows, get over it. You're
still nudging them towards choices that will help combat global
warming.<br>
And though these changes may be small, they could be the first steps
in a bigger transformation.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://ideas.ted.com/how-to-talk-to-someone-who-doesnt-believe-in-climate-change/">https://ideas.ted.com/how-to-talk-to-someone-who-doesnt-believe-in-climate-change/</a></font><br>
-<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://grist.org/article/this-holiday-season-instead-of-picking-your-battles-pick-your-battlefield/">This
holiday season, instead of picking your battles, pick your
battlefield</a></b><b><br>
</b>By Eve Andrews on Nov 21, 2017<br>
Common etiquette dictates that political conversation is not
appropriate for family dinners. Much has been said and written since
the election about the best solution for the hyper-polarized
political situation. And it boils down to: People who love and
respect each other need to engage one another in political
discussion, even - especially - if they disagree. In other words,
etiquette is bad!<br>
I talked to several people with politically diverse families about
how they approached that issue at Thanksgiving 2016. They almost
entirely opted to simply make nice, remain quiet, and try to keep
from imploding. But now, a year later,...<br>
This is their advice. <br>
One-on-one is more effective than a large holiday dinner.<br>
Neil, 35, is a Texas native and conservative-turned-liberal - "I
voted for Bush in 2000," he whispers conspiratorially to me over the
phone - who now works on energy efficiency in Dallas.<br>
In the couple of weeks between the 2016 election and Thanksgiving,
Neil was a volatile mess, as he's currently being reminded by
Facebook's most evil feature, "A year ago today…." One day it serves
up a weepy status update, the next, some half-hearted attempt to
counteract the pervasive negativity and bitterness of his social
circles. Every fresh Trump speech or quote, however, convinced him
that there was little to be optimistic about....<br>
However, over the course of the year, he's found that he's been able
to make some headway in private, one-on-one conversations with his
in-laws. The key, he says, is focusing on issues that matter to them
- conservation, education, the energy grid - rather than the current
tenant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.<br>
It's not always easy - there's a frequent sensation of "beating
one's head against the wall" - and he often feels exhausted or
discouraged talking with committed conservatives. But it's certainly
yielded more meaningful conversation than in a potentially
overwhelming, all-family setting. Neil says he's been able to
meaningfully discuss how the actions of the Trump administration -
particularly in his cabinet nominations - have gone against the
intentions and values of his relatives who voted for them.<br>
Be realistic. If you know your family can't be swayed, save your
mental strength and find a coping mechanism.<br>
"There's nothing I can say that will change their mind," she
explains. "They think about this issue as preserving family land,
preserving it in a way where your kids can still make a living off
of it."<br>
"You have to find strength deep down inside to ignore it. It sounds
counterproductive, and ignoring is not what progressive people do at
all," Elena tells me. "But if you want to continue to have that
family, there has to be some compromise of your principles and
values."..<br>
The bigotry of the Trump administration is exactly what pushes
Michael, 30, who lives in Pennsylvania, to keep trying to engage
people in conversation.<br>
Trump's inauguration was on his daughter's first birthday. "She
lives in a white conservative area, and she's black - she looks
black," he says. "Trump just encourages racism and emboldens
racists, and I have to figure out how to explain that to her."<br>
What Michael found hardest about the election was worrying about
what his daughter's future would look like as a result of a Trump
presidency. "That's my whole thought process: How can I reverse
anything that that idiot does?"<br>
But his anxiety over Trump's effect on his daughter will not be
taking place at family gatherings with the white, conservative
relatives of his ex-girlfriend (his daughter's mother)."She doesn't
spend any time with family members who are conservative," he
explains "I forbid it, and her mom and I agree on that. We don't
want our daughter to feel like she doesn't fit in or have to feel
that kind of hostility low-key."..<br>
"We had the same concerns: our families, good jobs," he remembers
about his fellow patrons. "If you bond with people on that part of
it and then realize we're humans and what we agree on, it's easier
to talk to people."<br>
Michael says that those conversations are even more necessary today
as many people who voted for Trump may be starting to feel
embarrassed and frustrated by his presidency - especially as we
approach the midterm elections.<br>
To be effective (and cordial!), meaningful political conversations
with those around you have to start well before voting season - and
since Thanksgiving falls right after elections, it's about as far
from the next voting season as you can get. But you have to set
realistic boundaries. You have to know when, and where, and how
those conversations should take place. A holiday table could be an
apt scene for nuanced discussion, or it could lead to screaming,
tears, hurled pies, and even more stubbornly entrenched political
stances. Every family is different - unhappy in its own way!<br>
<b>My advice to you this Thanksgiving is simply: Read the room</b>.
The difficult conversations do have to happen, but they shouldn't
happen in the most difficult of settings.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://grist.org/article/this-holiday-season-instead-of-picking-your-battles-pick-your-battlefield/">http://grist.org/article/this-holiday-season-instead-of-picking-your-battles-pick-your-battlefield/</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://nowtoronto.com/news/are-we-headed-for-near-term-human-extinction/">Are
we headed for near-term human extinction?</a></b><br>
Recent studies suggest it is irresponsible to rule out the
possibility after last week's "warning to humanity" from more than
15,000 climate change scientists<br>
BY ZACH RUITER NOVEMBER 22, 2017 <br>
A <a
href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/bix125/4605229"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration:
none; color: rgb(213, 19, 46); font-weight: bold;">"warning to
humanity"</a><span> </span>raising the spectre "of potentially
catastrophic climate change... from burning fossil fuels,
deforestation and agricultural production – particularly from
farming ruminants for meat consumption," was published in the
journal BioScience last week. <br>
More than 15,000 scientists from 184 countries endorsed the caution,
which comes on the 25th anniversary of a letter released by the
Union of Concerned Scientists in 1992, advising that "a great change
in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if
vast human misery is to be avoided."<br>
A quarter century on, what gets lost in the dichotomy between
climate change believers and deniers is that inaction and avoidance
in our daily lives are forms of denial, too. <br>
And what most of us are collectively denying is the mounting
evidence that points to a worst-case scenario unfolding of near-term
human extinction. <br>
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit;
font-weight: 700;">Exponential climate change</strong> <br>
In 2015, 195 countries signed the<a
href="https://nowtoronto.com/news/cop21%E2%80%93-the-morning-after/"
style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; color:
rgb(213, 19, 46); font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>Paris Climate
Agreement</a><span> </span>to limit the rise in global temperature
to below 2 degrees Celsius to avoid dangerous climate change. But
none of the major industrialized countries that signed the agreement
are currently on track to meet the non-binding targets. The Trump
administration has indicated the United States will withdraw from
the agreement entirely. <br>
In July, a study in the peer-reviewed journal,<span> </span><a
href="http://www.pnas.org/content/114/30/E6089" target="_blank"
style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; color:
rgb(213, 19, 46); font-weight: bold;">Proceedings Of The National
Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America</a>, claimed
"biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction" is
underway. And that "all signs point to ever more powerful assaults
on biodiversity in the next two decades, painting a dismal picture
of the future of life, including human life," the study states.<br>
According to scientists, the majority of previous mass extinctions
in the geologic record were characterized by abrupt warming between
6 to 7 degrees Celsius.<span> </span><a
href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/sep/28/met-office-study-global-warming"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration:
none; color: rgb(213, 19, 46); font-weight: bold;">As recently as
2009</a>, British government scientists warned of a possible
catastrophic 4 degrees Celsius global temperature increase by 2060. <br>
As<span> </span><a
href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/aug/01/underground-magma-triggered-earths-worst-mass-extinction-with-greenhouse-gases"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration:
none; color: rgb(213, 19, 46); font-weight: bold;">Howard Lee
wrote in the Guardian</a><span> </span>in August, "Geologically
fast build-up of greenhouse gas linked to warming, rising
sea-levels, widespread oxygen-starved ocean dead zones and ocean
acidification are fairly consistent across the mass extinction
events, and those same symptoms are happening today as a result of
human-driven climate change."<br>
Runaway climate change is non-linear. Shifts can be exponential,
abrupt and massive due to climate change "feedbacks," which can
amplify and diminish the effects of climate change. Here are five
you need to know about:<br>
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit;
font-weight: 700;">1. Climate lag </strong><br>
Temperature increases<span> </span><a
href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/9/12/124002"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration:
none; color: rgb(213, 19, 46); font-weight: bold;">lag by about a
decade</a>, according to<span> </span><a
href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/HeatBucket/heatbucket4.php"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration:
none; color: rgb(213, 19, 46); font-weight: bold;">NASA's Earth
Observatory</a>. "Just as a speeding car can take some time to
stop after the driver hits the brakes, the earth's climate systems
may take a while to reflect the change in its energy balance."<br>
According to a NASA-led study released in July 2016, "Almost
one-fifth of the global warming that has occurred in the past 150
years has been missed by historical records due to quirks in how
temperatures were recorded." <br>
Adding the climate lag to the current level of global temperature
increase would take us past the 2 degree Paris Agreement climate
target within a decade. <br>
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit;
font-weight: 700;">2. Ice-free Arctic</strong><br>
Dr. Peter Wadhams of the Polar Ocean Physics Group at Cambridge
University<span> </span><a
href="http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/arctic-could-become-ice-free-for-first-time-in-more-than-100000-years-claims-leading-scientist-a7065781.html"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration:
none; color: rgb(213, 19, 46); font-weight: bold;">told The
Independent</a>more than a year ago that the central part of the
Arctic and the North Pole could be ice-free within one to two years.<br>
Not only will melting Arctic sea ice raise global sea levels, it
will also allow the earth to absorb more heat from the sun because
ice<span> </span><a
href="http://e360.yale.edu/features/as_arctic_ocean_ice_disappears_global_climate_impacts_intensify_wadhams"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration:
none; color: rgb(213, 19, 46); font-weight: bold;">reflects the
sun's rays</a><span> </span>while blue open water absorbs it.<br>
One study in the Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of
The United States Of America estimates the extra heat absorbed by
the dark waters of the Arctic in summer would<span> </span><a
href="http://scripps.ucsd.edu/biblio/observational-determination-albedo-decrease-caused-vanishing-arctic-sea-ice"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration:
none; color: rgb(213, 19, 46); font-weight: bold;">add the
equivalent of another 25 per cent<span> </span></a>to global
greenhouse gas emissions. <br>
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit;
font-weight: 700;">3. The 50 gigaton methane "burp"</strong><br>
Dr. Natalia Shakhova, of the University of Alaska Fairbanks'
International Arctic Research Center has warned that a 50-gigaton
burp, or "pulse," of methane from thawing Arctic permafrost beneath
the East Siberian Arctic Shelf is<span> </span><a
href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39957-release-of-arctic-methane-may-be-apocalyptic-study-warns"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration:
none; color: rgb(213, 19, 46); font-weight: bold;">"highly
possible at any time."</a> <br>
Methane is a greenhouse gas much more potent than carbon dioxide. A
50 gigaton burp would be the equivalent of roughly two-thirds of the
total carbon dioxide released since the beginning of the industrial
era. <br>
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit;
font-weight: 700;">4. Accelerated ocean acidification</strong><br>
The world's oceans are carbon sinks that sequester a third of the
carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide
emitted in addition to that which is produced naturally has changed
the chemistry of seawater. The carbon in the oceans converts into
carbonic acid, which lowers pH levels and makes the water acidic.<br>
As of 2010, the global population of phytoplankton, the microscopic
organisms that form the basis of the ocean's food web, has<span> </span><a
href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/phytoplankton-population/"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration:
none; color: rgb(213, 19, 46); font-weight: bold;">fallen by about
40 per cent since 1950</a>. Phytoplankton also absorb carbon
dioxide and produce half of the world's oxygen output. <br>
The accelerating loss of ocean biodiversity and continued
overfishing may result in a<span> </span><a
href="http://www3.epa.gov/region1/npdes/schillerstation/pdfs/AR-024.pdf"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration:
none; color: rgb(213, 19, 46); font-weight: bold;">collapse of all
species of wild seafood by 2048</a>, according to a 2006 study
published in the journal Science.<br>
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit;
font-weight: 700;">5. From global warming to global dimming</strong><br>
The Canadian government recently announced plans to phase out
coal-fired electricity generation by 2030. But at the same time as
warming the planet, pollution from coal power plants, airplanes and
other sources of industrial soot, aerosols and sulfates are
artificially cooling the planet by filling the atmosphere with
reflective particles, a process known as global dimming. <br>
Airplanes, for example, release condensation trails (or contrails)
that form cloud cover that reflects the sun. The effects of global
dimming are best evidenced by a 2 degree Celsius temperature
increase in North America after all commercial flights were grounded
for three days following the attacks of 9/11.<br>
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit;
font-weight: 700;">The take-away</strong><br>
Out of control climate change means feedback mechanisms may
accelerate beyond any capacity of human control. The occurrences
discussed in this article are five of some 60 known weather-related
phenomenon, which can lead to what climate scientist James Hansen
has termed the "Venus Syndrome," where oceans would boil and the
surface temperature of earth could reach 462 degrees Celsius. Along
the way humans could expect to die in resource wars, starvation due
to food systems collapse or lethal heat exposure. <br>
Given all that remains unknown and what is at stake with climate
change, is it irresponsible to rule out the possibility of human
extinction in the coming decades or sooner? <br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://nowtoronto.com/news/are-we-headed-for-near-term-human-extinction/">https://nowtoronto.com/news/are-we-headed-for-near-term-human-extinction/</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171122093039.htm">Species
may appear deceptively resilient to climate change</a></b><br>
Ecological air conditioning offers short-term protection from a
warming climate<br>
Natural habitats play a vital role in helping other plants and
animals resist heat stresses ramping up with climate change -- at
least until the species they depend on to form those habitats become
imperiled...<br>
Habitat More Important Than Latitude for Some<br>
The study adds to the understanding of how different species respond
to climate change. Scientists have observed some plants and animals
under climate change are leaving lower latitudes for cooler ones.
But this study shows that, for some species, habitat is more
important than latitude in protecting them from the effects of
climate change.<br>
"If you're an octopus living in a mussel bed, the most important
thing to keep your body temperature survivable is that mussel bed
around you, not whether you live in Southern California, where it's
warmer, or Washington," Jurgens said.<br>
The study also reinforces the benefits of habitat conservation. It
indicates that destroying habitat can reduce climate resilience,
while restoring and conserving habitat can help maintain
biodiversity as the climate warms.<br>
"People are really big compared to most organisms on the planet,"
Jurgens said. "We're enormous, and it's hard for us to understand
what it's like to be in these habitats unless you imagine yourself
in a place like a forest you walk into on a hot day. If that
temperature is what you need to survive, that forest better be
there."<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171122093039.htm">https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171122093039.htm</a></font><br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/us/climate-change-threatens-to-strip-the-identity-of-glacier-national-park.html?mwrsm=Email"><br>
</a><font size="+1"><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/us/climate-change-threatens-to-strip-the-identity-of-glacier-national-park.html?mwrsm=Email">This
Day in Climate History November 23, 2014 </a> - from D.R.
Tucker</b></font><br>
November 23, 2014: The New York Times reports:<br>
"A warming climate is melting [Glacier National Park's] glaciers, an<br>
icy retreat that promises to change not just tourists' vistas, but<br>
also the mountains and everything around them.<br>
"Streams fed by snowmelt are reaching peak spring flows weeks
earlier<br>
than in the past, and low summer flows weeks before they used to.
Some<br>
farmers who depend on irrigation in the parched days of late summer<br>
are no longer sure that enough water will be there. Bull trout, once<br>
pan-fried over anglers' campfires, are now caught and released to<br>
protect a population that is shrinking as water temperatures rise."<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/us/climate-change-threatens-to-strip-the-identity-of-glacier-national-park.html?mwrsm=Email">http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/us/climate-change-threatens-to-strip-the-identity-of-glacier-national-park.html?mwrsm=Email</a></font><br>
<br>
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