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<font size="+1"><i>January 14, 2018</i></font><br>
<br>
[Climate Liability News]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/01/13/climate-lawsuit-los-angeles/">Next
Big Climate Lawsuit Could Come from Los Angeles</a></b><br>
Warning that climate change is already taking a "dire toll" on Los
Angeles, city councilors in the <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/us/california-fires.html?_r=0">wildfire-ravaged</a>
city have <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://twitter.com/MikeBoninLA/status/951911487785717760">introduced
a motion</a> urging a lawsuit to hold oil and gas companies
accountable.<br>
Introduced by City Councilmembers Mike Bonin and Paul Koretz, the
motion directs the city attorney to explore options for the suit and
requests an amicus brief in favor of <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/01/10/new-york-city-climate-lawsuit-liability-bill-de-blasio/">New
York's recent lawsuit</a> against five major oil companies for
damages caused by climate change....<br>
Damage from recent wildfires in California is estimated to be in the
billions and mudslides on fire-scarred terrain have killed at least
18 and destroyed dozens of homes. Both kinds of those disasters, as
well as more severe drought and extreme weather events, are linked
to global warming.<br>
The councilmens' motion cites reporting by the Los Angeles Times
indicating that by 2050, average temperatures in Los Angeles are
expected to rise by 5 degrees Fahrenheit...<br>
The councilors point to reporting by InsideClimate News which
revealed Exxon <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://insideclimatenews.org/content/Exxon-The-Road-Not-Taken">knew
for decades</a> that climate change was not only happening but
that it was largely driven by fossil fuel burning.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/01/13/climate-lawsuit-los-angeles/">https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/01/13/climate-lawsuit-los-angeles/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
[opinion! - methane!] <br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/01/12/global-warming-stirs-the-methane-monster/">Global
Warming Stirs the Methane Monster</a></b><br>
by ROBERT HUNZIKER<br>
It's January, yet methane hydrates in the Arctic are growling like
an incensed monster on a scorching hot mid-summer day. But, it is
January; it's winter, not July! On January 1st Arctic methane at
2764 ppb spiked upwards into the atmosphere, which, according to
Arctic News: "Was likely caused by ...<br>
Here's the problem: On average, sea surface temps were 23.35degreesF
warmer during the period October 1 to December 30, 2017 compared to
the 30-year average temperature. On October 25th, the sea surface
was as warm as 63.5degreesF. For the Arctic, that's hot, not just
warmer. And, that brings forth a big-gulp question: What's going to
happen in summertime when methane hydrates are more exposed?<br>
After all, methane (CH4) is a dominating greenhouse gas that makes
carbon dioxide (CO2) look like a piker during initial years and
packs the walloping risk of runaway global warming, which, in turn,
threatens agricultural sources of food… not a good scenario. Imagine
the chaos, considering the fact that "runaway" means totally out of
control!...<br>
In all, an impending disaster seems destined to happen, but nobody
knows when. It will likely occur unexpected by an ill advised,
crass, blundering, philistine society blindsided by a scorched
planet and extensive loss of foodstuff. Chaos spreads throughout
when all of a sudden, unexpectedly, crops fail. One bad crop season
follows another and another. For example, Syria, where its 2006-11
devastating drought caused 75% of Syria's farms to fail and 85% of
livestock to die. That's a wipeout!..<br>
In the end, as crops fail, it's too late to take remedial action
beyond dealing with dystopian warring factions locked in
bloodthirsty combat over morsels of foodstuff. ..<br>
Meantime, the two poles, north and south, are in the early stages of
collapse. Scientists know it, and there is lots of chatter about
geo-engineering and assorted methodologies to fix anthropogenic
global warming before it consumes civilization in a fireball, but
those proposals are in dreamland for the moment. Hopefully, one of
their fixit ideas works "to scale" because the planet is likely too
big for geo-engineering schemes to work without some kind of
unintended consequence, which may be worse than the original fix. In
fact, nobody really knows for sure what will happen when the
biosphere is forced to behave according to computer-designed plans.
It's an enormous undertaking!<br>
Therefore, it is recommended that today's push-button,
screen-watching youth learn survival skills rather than playing
games for hours on end, endlessly, moronically pre-occupied with
electronic fantasylands, because one day in the near future that
fantasy turns to harsh reality, likely hitting hard, really hard.<br>
After all, eco-migrants, numbering tens of thousands, are already
worldwide phenomena, especially along the southern and eastern
Mediterranean Sea regions, where land is turning bone dry faster
than anywhere else on the planet. It's the start of the Great Global
Warming Migration scenario… but, pray tell, where to?<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/01/01/the-unsung-epidemic/">https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/01/01/the-unsung-epidemic/</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[opinion]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/01062017/donald-trump-paris-climate-change-agreement-decided">Paris
Agreement: Trump's Climate Exit Risks U.S. Economy, World's
Welfare</a></b><br>
The U.S. backing out of its climate change commitments threatens to
lock in prolonged and dangerous warming, raising the cost for future
generations. <br>
By pulling the United States out of the Paris climate agreement,
President Donald Trump has rolled a pair of dice, with high stakes
for America's economic future and the welfare of the whole world.<br>
This is a huge gamble," said Nathaniel Keohane, vice president of
global climate programming at the Environmental Defense Fund. "We
know the longer we wait to act, the more expensive it will be and
the more drastic measures we'll have to take to avert the worst
impacts of climate change. So walking backwards on climate just when
the rest of the world has committed to move forward is a huge
gamble."...<br>
But because the window on climate action is closing so fast, whether
the world as a whole meets its goals may ultimately hinge on what
the U.S. does, said Bill Hare, one of the leaders of Climate Action
Tracker.<br>
"What would the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement mean for
the ability to keep temperatures well below 2 degrees? The answer
depends on how long the U.S. is out of the game," he said.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/01062017/donald-trump-paris-climate-change-agreement-decided">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/01062017/donald-trump-paris-climate-change-agreement-decided</a><br>
</font><br>
<br>
[Psychology]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.ric.edu/news/Pages/Human-Behavior-a-Factor-in-Reducing-Climate-Change.aspx">Human
Behavior a Factor in Reducing Climate Change</a></b><br>
Katherine Lacasse, assistant professor of psychology at Rhode Island
College, is among the co-authors of a new study that concludes human
behavior can have a major impact on climate change. Lacasse said the
study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, Vol. 8, is
rare because prior climate change studies don't tend to include how
the public's responses to climate change may impact global
temperature change. <br>
"Most climate models have been created by individuals who focused
more on natural systems and perhaps economic processes, but not on
human risk perception and behavior. And that's the new piece we've
added,'' Lacasse said, noting that the study took four years to
complete and more than 700,000 simulations to obtain results. ...<br>
"When we started the study we asked whether human responses to
climate change would even matter at all,'' she said. "However, our
findings show it is important because our model predicts a range of
temperature increases by the year 2100, from 3.4 to 6.2 degrees
Celsius. If humans respond to the increasing number of extreme
weather events and change their behavior to reduce their emissions,
we will more likely see temperature changes on the lower end of that
range.''<br>
The study found that long-term, less easily reversed behavioral
changes, such as insulating homes, installing solar panels or
purchasing hybrid cars, had a greater impact on mitigating
greenhouse gas emissions, which reduce climate change. Changes that
require repeated performance, such as manually adjusting thermostats
in homes or offices and trying to drive fewer miles, had less impact
on greenhouse gas emissions, the study showed...<br>
"People are likely to make behavior changes if they perceive it's
easy to do, inexpensive and accessible,'' Lacasse said. "Programs or
policies that help reduce the cost and difficulty of making
long-term changes can help support people to take big steps that
have a meaningful impact on the climate. For example, many community
solar programs are emphasizing that those who have solar panels meet
with neighbors who don't to answer questions about pricing and
financing options, and learn the best ways to install them.''...<br>
"Climate change is one of the biggest global issues that faces our
society,'' she said. "I was really motivated to study it because I
believe psychologists have a lot to say about why people act the way
they do and how we can solve climate change issues.''...<br>
She said she's encouraged by the positive feedback the study has
received from climate researchers.<br>
"It's a little too early to know the impact,'' she said. "But our
goal was for this to play a role in future climate models and
research. We have plans to expand our model by by looking at how the
behavior of one population may have an impact on another population,
and see if that will yield different results.''<br>
<font size="-1">For more information on the climate change study,
contact Lacasse via email at <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:klacasse@ric.edu">klacasse@ric.edu</a>. </font><br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.ric.edu/news/Pages/Human-Behavior-a-Factor-in-Reducing-Climate-Change.aspx">http://www.ric.edu/news/Pages/Human-Behavior-a-Factor-in-Reducing-Climate-Change.aspx</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[Mass Exinction Video frm 2010]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://calloflife.org/">Call of
Life; Facing the Mass Extinction</a></b><br>
If current trends continue, scientists warn that within a few
decades at least HALF of all plant and animal species on Earth will
disappear forever. <br>
All over the world species are becoming extinct at an astonishing
rate, from 1000 to 10,000 times faster than normal. The loss of
biodiversity has become so severe that scientists are calling it a
mass extinction event.<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://youtu.be/rdtxbtcJV74">Call
of Life: Facing the Mass Extinction</a> is the first feature
documentary to investigate the growing threat to Earth's life
support systems from this unprecedented loss of biodiversity.
Through interviews with leading scientists, psychologists,
anthropologists, philosophers, and indigenous and religious leaders,
the film explores the causes, the scope, and the potential effects
of the mass extinction, but also looks beyond the immediate causes
of the crisis to consider how our cultural and economic systems,
along with deep-seated psychological and behavioral patterns, have
allowed this situation to develop, continue to reinforce it, and
even determine our response to it. <br>
Call of Life tells the story of a crisis not only in nature, but
also in human nature, a crisis more threatening than anything human
beings have ever faced before.<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://youtu.be/rdtxbtcJV74"> video</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/rdtxbtcJV74">https://youtu.be/rdtxbtcJV74</a><br>
Call of Life examines the collective and individual responses that
will be needed to mitigate the impacts of the mass extinction and
makes clear the critical choices we have before us. We face the
potential of the natural world devastated beyond recognition, with
the loss of human life in the billions. Yet, we still have time to
avert the worst of the crisis and save much of the biosphere, if we
act now. The first step to is to create broad public awareness of
the problem—its magnitude and its implications. Only then can our
whole society begin to recognize the systemic changes that will be
required. The solution is clear: in order to save our planet and
secure a future for our own species and all species, we need a new
worldview. We must recognize that technology alone cannot save us.
We must realize that business-as-usual is no longer an option.
Instead, we need to create fundamental change in our culture, our
minds, and our hearts. Unique among all human generations, those of
us alive today have been given a great opportunity: one last chance
to preserve the vitality and magnificence of the living planet that
brought us into being, and is our only home.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://calloflife.org/">http://calloflife.org/</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[Speaking Notes #6]<br>
OXFORD CHANGE AGENCY EVENT - REPORT<br>
<b><a
href="http://www.climatepsychologyalliance.org/explorations/papers/257-oxford-change-agency-event-report">Agency
in individual and collective change</a></b><br>
Climate Psychology Alliance with Living Witness<br>
Written by Laurie Michaelis<br>
A day for psychological and social practitioners to share our
experiences of enabling positive<br>
responses to climate change. We'll explore how our different
approaches connect and complement<br>
each other, hoping to form a stronger community of practitioners. <br>
<b>The work that reconnects , Jo Hamilton</b><br>
The Work That Reconnects is a form of group work which has been
evolving since the 1970s, by<br>
Joanna Macy and together colleagues around the world. It draws on
systems science, spiritual<br>
traditions and deep ecology, with the aims of bringing people into
new relationship with the world;<br>
strengthening their capacity to respond to global issues; and take
part in the change towards a life<br>
sustaining society. It has variously been called 'Despair and
empowerment', or deep ecology<br>
workshops.. and indeed, how to describe the workshops is an ongoing
puzzle!<br>
The work follows a spiral form, starting with 'coming from
gratitude': coming into presence,<br>
quietness, reflective states, and enabling us to see the
inter-connections between ourselves and with<br>
the wider world. It then moves to 'owning and honouring pain for the
world': creating a space to<br>
'suffer with', to bring emotions that there might not be space or
safety to experience elsewhere, and<br>
do it together, not in isolation. In the shift to 'seeing with new
eyes', this is brought into wider<br>
relationship with each other, the world, experiencing the insights,
skills and experiences we bring, and<br>
experiencing 'power with' all this. The last stage is 'going forth',
where these insights and experiences<br>
are integrated into the changes we want to bring about in the world.<br>
'Gratitude, when it's real, offers no blinders. ON the contrary, in
the face of devastation and tragedy it<br>
can ground us. Especially when we're scared, gratitude can hold us
steady for the work that must be<br>
done.' (from https: //workthatreconnects.org/spiral ).<br>
The Work that Reconnects is primarily done through group work, with
workshops can be done in two<br>
hours – half a day – a weekend – a week or longer. Short forms of
the work (for example using paired<br>
active listening exercises and open- ended sentences) can be done in
around 20-30 minutes as part of<br>
other workshops, and can be a powerful way to enable participants to
reflect on how they feel about<br>
the issues they care about. Some exercises (for example the Truth
Mandala) are more like rituals,<br>
requiring longer time, and to create a strong container for
expression of grief, anger, and pain for the<br>
world.<br>
In the UK, exercises from The Work that Reconnects are also combined
with mindfulness, nature<br>
connection and other practices.<br>
There is a book form, Active Hope, written by Jonna Macy and Chris
Johnstone, which gives a flavour,<br>
but is more of a self-study, although in some places there are
facilitated 'Active Hope' groups who<br>
meet for one evening over 4-6 weeks, to reflect on the chapters and
explore the more experiential<br>
exercises together.<br>
I'm currently researching the links between involvement in groupwork
practices such as these, and<br>
engagement and sustaining action on climate change, as well as
facilitating the work that reconnects<br>
workshops in Oxfordshire. (<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:e.j.hamilton@pgr.reading.ac.uk">e.j.hamilton@pgr.reading.ac.uk</a>)<br>
Further resources:<br>
• The work that reconnects website: <a
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="http://www.workthatreconnects.org">www.workthatreconnects.org</a><br>
• Book: Joanna Macy and Molly Brown, 2014. Coming back to life New
Society Publishers:<br>
Gabriola Island, Canada. A guidebook for doing 'The Work that
Reconnects'<br>
• Work that Reconnects workshops in the UK: there are lots
happening, the most up to date<br>
place to find out about them is the 'Work that Reconnects UK'
facebook group<br>
• For an interesting article about 'Active Hope', see here: <a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.utne.com/mind-andbody/">http://www.utne.com/mind-andbody/</a><br>
active-hope-ze0z1209zsch?pageid=2#PageContent2<br>
• Book: Active Hope: How to face the Mess we're in without going
crazy. Janna Macy and Chris<br>
Johnstone. New World Library, California, USA.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.climatepsychologyalliance.org/explorations/papers/257-oxford-change-agency-event-report">http://www.climatepsychologyalliance.org/explorations/papers/257-oxford-change-agency-event-report</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
<font size="+1"><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0tbsps_KOA#t=73">This
Day in Climate History January 14, 2009</a> - from D.R.
Tucker</b></font><br>
January 14, 2009: MSNBC host Keith Olbermann denounces Senator James<br>
Inhofe (R-OK) for his rhetorical assault on former EPA Administrator
Carol Browner:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>"But our winner, climate change denier Senator James
Inhofe of<br>
Oklahoma, desperate to capsize the incoming energy and climate<br>
adviser, Carol Browner, branding her a secret socialist. Sounds
like<br>
a Christmas thing, secret socialist. And saying, 'There is
another<br>
organization that a lot of people don‘t realize. It‘s called the<br>
Center for American Progress. This report that came out, this is
the<br>
group that is trying for the Fairness Doctrine, trying to, I
think,<br>
dramatically upend the First Amendment. She, Carol Browner, was a<br>
member of that group.'<br>
<br>
"As he fulminated, Senator Inhofe even held up a copy of a Center
for<br>
American Progress report called 'The Structural Imbalance of
Political<br>
Talk Radio.' There's only one problem: in that report, the Center
for<br>
American Progress specifically concludes, quote, 'There is no need
to<br>
return to the fairness doctrine. Increasing ownership diversity
will<br>
lead to more diverse programming.'<br>
<br>
"So Senator, thanks for pointing out that Carol Browner belongs to
a<br>
group that specifically opposes reinstating the Fairness Doctrine<br>
you‘re so scared of. Senator James 'Maybe next time I‘ll remember
to<br>
read the damn thing first' Inhofe, today‘s worst person in the
world!"<br>
</blockquote>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0tbsps_KOA#t=73">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0tbsps_KOA#t=73</a></font><br>
<br>
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