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<font size="+1"><i>December 31, 2017<br>
</i></font> <br>
[Polar Bear Dip and Dash]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2017-12-29/climate-change-air-quality/mainers-jump-in-frigid-waters-to-fight-global-warming/a60828-1">Mainers
Jump in Frigid Waters to Fight Global Warming</a></b><br>
PORTLAND, Maine - Intrepid runners will be ringing out the old year
this Sunday by taking a dip in icy waters to raise money for the
fight against climate change. <br>
With temperatures expected to be right around zero-degrees
Fahrenheit, it promises to be the coldest Polar Bear Dip yet. The
annual event is held every December 31 to raise money to support the
work of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, the state's leading
environmental advocacy organization. <br>
According to Stacie Haines, the group's membership director, the 5K
jog to the water's edge makes this event unique.<br>
"A lot of runners come out for a fun-filled, sometimes slippery,
sometimes snowy run around the Back Cove in Portland, and then we
all meet at the beach at noon to jump into the ocean," she says. <br>
So far, 140 Mainers have registered to participate in Sunday's Polar
Bear Dip and Dash.<br>
Haines says the funds raised will help the work they do with
lawmakers and local communities to protect clean water and promote
clean energy in the state.<br>
"We're working to get proactive environmental bills passed and stop
rollbacks to the environment," she explains. "We're working a lot
right now on pushing solar energy in Maine."<br>
They also work to protect wildlife and promote sustainability
projects such as promoting alternatives to plastic bags.<br>
Haines points out that being separate from the federal and state
government allows independent organizations to concentrate on what's
needed to protect, preserve and restore the environment.<br>
"Organizations like ours are able to watchdog what's happening and
take a non-biased approach at bringing light to these issues," she
adds. <br>
She says Sunday's event is already close to meeting its $25,000
fundraising goal.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2017-12-29/climate-change-air-quality/mainers-jump-in-frigid-waters-to-fight-global-warming/a60828-1">http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2017-12-29/climate-change-air-quality/mainers-jump-in-frigid-waters-to-fight-global-warming/a60828-1</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[Video]<br>
<b><a
href="https://www.inverse.com/article/39780-donald-trump-climate-change-global-warming-tweet-simpsons">'The
Simpsons' Shut Down Trump's Climate Change Tweet 8 Years Ago</a></b><br>
Peter Hess<br>
On Thursday evening, President Trump took to Twitter to drop some
climate change knowledge and debunk the notion that the Earth is
warming. Unfortunately, he got the facts wrong in the same way that
Homer Simpson got global warming wrong eight years ago.<br>
"Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming,"
tweeted President Trump, referring to the record low temperatures on
the East Coast of the United States as 2017 comes to a close....<br>
Similarly, in episode 449 of The Simpsons, "O Brother, Where Bart
Thou?" Homer tries to rag on Lisa, the household liberal, by
pointing out the falling snow as evidence that climate change must
not be real...<br>
"Gee Lisa, looks like tomorrow I'll be shoveling ten feet of 'global
warming,'" says Homer, clearly quite pleased with himself.- video
clip: <a href="https://youtu.be/9SLbEDMZMAk">Homer Simpson on
global warming </a> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://youtu.be/9SLbEDMZMAk">https://youtu.be/9SLbEDMZMAk</a><br>
<b>"Global warming can cause weather at both extremes — hot and
cold," Lisa calmly explains.</b><br>
the climate is not the same thing as the weather. A single day of
snow or cold here or there, which we'd refer to as weather, doesn't
say much about overall trends, which is what scientists call
climate. Just because we still get snow doesn't mean that the Earth
isn't warming, on average. This is the same scientific fallacy that
President Trump seems to either not understand or not care to
accurately convey to his followers...<br>
While it is really cold outside in a lot of the East Coast states,
that does nothing to disprove "good old Global Warming," as the
president puts it. This phrase, an apparent attempt to belittle the
notion of climate change, suggests that Homer J. Simpson and
President Donald J. Trump possess similar levels of scientific
literacy and intellectual honesty.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.inverse.com/article/39780-donald-trump-climate-change-global-warming-tweet-simpsons">https://www.inverse.com/article/39780-donald-trump-climate-change-global-warming-tweet-simpsons</a></font><br>
-<br>
[The Weather Network]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/donald-trump-usa-republican-administration-gop-climate-change-twitter-tweet-global-warming-extreme-cold/92636">Dear
RealDonaldTrump: We're officially mad</a></b><br>
Chris Scott, Chief Meteorologist<br>
...Mr. Trump, you've really done it this time. The meteorologists
are mad.<br>
One tweet storm at 3 a.m. doesn't necessarily mean a person has a
hostile personality: Maybe they've just had a bad day. That's like
the weather. A record cold New Year's Eve doesn't make global
warming any less real...<br>
The fact is, the planet is warming.<br>
But in the spirit of discussion, what we need is less blame and more
work on making our future better. To start, we should all rise
above connecting every bad weather system to the existence or
absence of climate change. We could do so much more by agreeing
there is a problem, and tackling it together.<br>
Sincerely,<br>
Chris Scott, Meteorologist<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/donald-trump-usa-republican-administration-gop-climate-change-twitter-tweet-global-warming-extreme-cold/92636">https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/donald-trump-usa-republican-administration-gop-climate-change-twitter-tweet-global-warming-extreme-cold/92636</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[Reposting: Jeff Goodell - videos]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://climatecrocks.com/2017/12/30/reposting-jeff-goodell-no-one-is-thinking-about-the-future/">"No
One is Thinking About the Future"</a></b><br>
From Peter Sinclair:<br>
Jeff Goodell's book "The Water Will Come" became a best seller this
year.<br>
Here are excerpts of the interviews I did with him in Miami as he
researched the book.<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://youtu.be/nk-d_m3IccY">Jeff
Goodell: In Florida, No One is Thinking about the Future</a> <a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/nk-d_m3IccY">https://youtu.be/nk-d_m3IccY</a><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://youtu.be/jCIiK3mKUug">Jeff
Goodell on Miami Beach Sea Level Flooding</a> <a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/jCIiK3mKUug">https://youtu.be/jCIiK3mKUug</a><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://youtu.be/vbOuCPh_34U">Jeff
Goodell Near Ilulissat Glacier</a><font size="-1"> </font><a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/vbOuCPh_34U">https://youtu.be/vbOuCPh_34U</a><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://youtu.be/xyzk57piapo">Flying
along Ilulissat Glacier calving front</a> <a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/xyzk57piapo">https://youtu.be/xyzk57piapo</a><br>
During the first Dark Snow Project expedition to Greenland, Jeff
Goodell joined us on the day when we flew along one of the world's
fastest flowing ice streams.<br>
I handed Jeff a camera, and he took this shot.<font size="-1"><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://climatecrocks.com/2017/12/30/reposting-jeff-goodell-no-one-is-thinking-about-the-future/">https://climatecrocks.com/2017/12/30/reposting-jeff-goodell-no-one-is-thinking-about-the-future/</a></font><br>
-<br>
[video]<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://youtu.be/9O7DIFUs11U">Reposting
2017: Extremes Rising Globally</a><br>
New York Times journalist Keith Schneider gave me one of the best
interviews of 2017. <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://youtu.be/9O7DIFUs11U">Here's a clip.</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/9O7DIFUs11U">https://youtu.be/9O7DIFUs11U</a><br>
Journalist Keith Schneider has reported from across the planet on
Energy and Climate for decades. He describes impacts of massive
hydrological disruptions due to climate change in far flung areas.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://climatecrocks.com/2017/12/30/reposting-2017-extremes-rising-globally/">https://climatecrocks.com/2017/12/30/reposting-2017-extremes-rising-globally/</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[Reuters]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-climatechange-lawsuit/climate-change-cases-predicted-to-make-a-legal-splash-in-2018-idUSKBN1EM0IZ">Climate
change cases predicted to make a legal splash in 2018</a></b><br>
Sophie Hares, Sebastien Malo<br>
6 MIN READ<br>
NEW YORK/TEPIC, Mexico (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A clutch of
high-profile legal cases over responsibility for the effects of
climate change will be fought out in courtrooms next year as claims
stack up against both governments and some of the world's biggest
oil and energy companies.<br>
Lawsuits in the United States brought by young activists and several
Californian cities are most likely to make waves, but legal action
by a Peruvian farmer in Germany and Greenpeace in Norway could also
cause ripples, said lawyers and academics.<br>
"There is a trend towards more litigation around climate change, and
probably the lack of political action in the United States may
increase that trend," said Sophie Marjanac, a London-based lawyer at
non-profit environmental law group ClientEarth.<br>
"Where there's an abdication of leadership on climate action, I
think the courts will have a greater role to play," she told the
Thomson Reuters Foundation.<br>
Lawyers and campaigners are closely watching the looming legal
battles they say could set the stage for fresh claims against major
oil and industrial companies, and pressure governments to ramp up
action on climate change.<br>
With U.S. President Donald Trump and his cabinet members named as
defendants, the Juliana v. United States case brought by 21 young
activists from Oregon is set to be one of the most closely followed
in 2018.<br>
In the federal case, scheduled for trial in February, the plaintiffs
hope to establish that the government's climate change policies have
failed to protect their constitutional right to live in a habitable
environment.<br>
The case remains locked in legal limbo, however, as the government
tries to block it from proceeding.<br>
Lawyers and academics say Juliana builds on the groundbreaking
Urgenda case brought by hundreds of Dutch citizens in 2015, which
saw the government ordered by a district court to accelerate
reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.<br>
However, that outcome is now being appealed, with a decision likely
early next year.<br>
Elsewhere, a January judgment is expected in a case brought by
Greenpeace Nordic and environmental group Nature and Youth against
Norway, which they claim has breached its pledge to combat climate
change by granting oil and gas exploration rights.<br>
<b>HISTORY REPEATING?</b><br>
Some lawyers and researchers say claims seeking specific damages
from energy and industrial companies for actions that may have
contributed to climate change could have a bigger impact than
constitutional cases.<br>
A successful ruling against a heavyweight corporate could
potentially unleash a wave of similar claims, say case watchers, who
reference long-running fights against tobacco, asbestos and
pesticide manufacturers over harm to human health.<br>
At least seven Californian cities and counties have brought lawsuits
against major fossil fuel companies. San Francisco and Oakland are
seeking billions of dollars to help protect against rising sea
levels they blame on climate change.<br>
"Why should taxpayers and impacted communities alone bear the
growing costs of climate impacts when fossil fuel companies have
played an outsized role in making the problem worse?" said Peter
Frumhoff, director of science and policy at the Union of Concerned
Scientists, after Santa Cruz city and county both filed lawsuits
this month.<br>
Tracy Hester, a lecturer at the University of Houston Law Center,
said such claims could "redefine the rules of the game".<br>
"They're essentially not trying to bring a global claim that's going
to lock up all these issues in one court... they're different in
that they're seeking damages," he said.<br>
Trump's move to pull out of the Paris climate change accord and roll
back environmental regulations means campaigners are increasingly
resorting to litigation, as they did under former President George
W. Bush, said case watchers.<br>
<b>MITIGATION NOT LITIGATION</b><br>
While climate-related suits are not new, scientific advances could
bolster plaintiffs as they try to pin responsibility for climate
change on particular polluters.<br>
A German court has agreed to hear evidence in a case brought by
Peruvian farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya against RWE AG, asking the power
giant to pay to reinforce a lake above his village dangerously
swollen by glacial melt he says is caused by global warming the
company contributed to.<br>
Yet while there has been a steady rise in cases seeking to hold
corporations and governments to account, few make it to court and
legal action is largely limited to richer countries.<br>
Despite a few exceptions - including a farmer who successfully sued
Pakistan's government in 2015 - mitigating rather than litigating
against climate change is favored in poorer countries where legal
success is less likely, according to Cosmin Corendea, a legal expert
at the United Nations University in Bonn.<br>
But the knock-on effect of rulings on companies and governments
could eventually be felt around the world, including in countries
already struggling with climate change impacts.<br>
"The decision of the court echoes," said Corendea. "It's important
in climate change litigation to have this kind of momentum."<br>
<font size="-1">Reporting by Sophie Hares and Sebastien Malo;
editing by Megan Rowling. Please credit the Thomson Reuters
Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers
humanitarian news, climate change, resilience, women's rights,
trafficking and property rights. Visit news.trust.org/climate<br>
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-climatechange-lawsuit/climate-change-cases-predicted-to-make-a-legal-splash-in-2018-idUSKBN1EM0IZ">https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-climatechange-lawsuit/climate-change-cases-predicted-to-make-a-legal-splash-in-2018-idUSKBN1EM0IZ</a><br>
</font> <br>
<b><br>
</b>[Interactive Map]<b><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://map.geoengineeringmonitor.org/">Geoengineering Map</a></b><br>
This interactive geoengineering map, prepared by ETC Group and the
Heinrich Boell Foundation, is an attempt to shed light on the
worldwide state of geoengineering by showing the scope of research
and experimentation. There is no complete record of weather and
climate control projects so this map is necessarily partial. It
builds on an earlier map of Earth Systems Experimentation published
in 2012. That original map documented almost 300 projects and
experiments related to the field of geoengineering. Five years later
over 800 such projects can be identified. These include projects in
Carbon Capture, Solar Radiation Management, Weather Modification and
other approaches.<br>
For more information and background on geoengineering and its
ecological, economic, social and justice implications see
geoengineeringmonitor.org<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://map.geoengineeringmonitor.org/">https://map.geoengineeringmonitor.org/</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
<font size="+1"><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/dec/31/2013-climate-change-science-policy-review">This
Day in Climate History December 31, 2013 </a> - from D.R.
Tucker</b></font><br>
In The Guardian, Dana Nuccitelli notes:<br>
<blockquote>"As 2013 comes to a close, a review of the key climate
events of the<br>
year reveals some interesting new research and effective myth<br>
debunking, but little net progress in terms of addressing the
problem<br>
through policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."<br>
</blockquote>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/dec/31/2013-climate-change-science-policy-review">http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/dec/31/2013-climate-change-science-policy-review</a></font><br>
<font size="+1"><i><br>
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