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<font size="+1"><i>April 11, 2018</i></font><br>
<br>
[NYTimes$] <br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/26/opinion/pruitt-attack-science-epa.html">Scott
Pruitt's attack on science would paralyze the Environmental
Protection Agency</a></b><br>
By Gina McCarthy and Janet G. McCabe<br>
26 March 2018<br>
(The New York Times) - Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, has announced that he alone will
decide what is and isn't acceptable science for the agency to use
when developing policies that affect your health and the
environment.<br>
It is his latest effort to cripple the agency. Mr. Pruitt, who as
Oklahoma's attorney general <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/e-scott-pruitt-3b771653/">described
himself</a> as "a leading advocate against the E.P.A.'s activist
agenda," said in <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://dailycaller.com/2018/03/19/epa-scott-pruitt-secret-science/">an
interview published in The Daily Caller </a>last week that he
would no longer allow the agency to use studies that include
nonpublic scientific data to develop rules to safeguard public
health and prevent pollution.<br>
Opponents of the agency and of mainstream climate science call these
studies "secret science." But that's simply not true. Peer review
ensures that the analytic methodologies underlying studies funded by
the agency are sound.<br>
Some of those studies, particularly those that determine the effects
of exposure to chemicals and pollution on health, rely on medical
records that by law are confidential because of patient privacy
policies. These studies summarize the analysis of raw data and draw
conclusions based on that analysis. Other government agencies also
use studies like these to develop policy and regulations, and to
buttress and defend rules against legal challenges. They are, in
fact, essential to making sound public policy. <br>
We don't have the details of the new policy. But don't be fooled by
this talk of transparency. Mr. Pruitt and some conservative members
of Congress are setting up a nonexistent problem in order to prevent
the E.P.A. from using the best available science. These studies
adhere to all professional standards and meet every expectation of
the scientific community in terms of peer review and scientific
integrity. In the case of the air pollution studies, a rigorous
follow-up examination was done by the <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.healtheffects.org/">Health Effects Institute</a>,
a nonprofit research group that studies air pollution. The institute
corroborated the findings.<br>
In taking this action, Mr. Pruitt appears to be adopting the
policies of the Honest and Open New E.P.A. Science Treatment Act, a
bill aimed at the agency. Conservative lawmakers have tried to pass
versions of this bill before to shackle the agency's rule making.
That law would prohibit the E.P.A. from taking any action "unless
all scientific and technical information relied on to support" it is
"specifically identified, and publicly available in a manner
sufficient for independent analysis and substantial reproduction of
research results."<br>
<br>
An analysis of a similar bill introduced in 2015 by the
Congressional Budget Office estimated it would cost $250 million a
year over the first few years to carry out because it would require
new "data collection, correspondence and coordination with study
authors, construction of a database to house necessary information,
and public dissemination" of the information.<br>
<br>
The analysis, which did not appear to take into account the cost of
redacting details like trade secrets or personally identifiable
medical information, also predicted the agency would reduce by half
the number of studies it relies on in developing policies and
regulations because of the cost of complying with the law.<br>
<br>
"The quality of the agency's work would be compromised if that work
relies on a significantly smaller collection of scientific studies,"
the analysis found.<br>
<br>
This approach would undermine the nation's scientific credibility.
...<br>
<font size="-1">[more <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/26/opinion/pruitt-attack-science-epa.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/26/opinion/pruitt-attack-science-epa.html</a>]</font><br>
---<br>
[send this link to your representatives]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://www.healtheffects.org/">Health
Effects Institute</a></b><br>
We provide high-quality, trusted science for cleaner air and better
health. Read more about our research mission and unique model of
equal partnership by government and industry.<br>
HEI is a nonprofit corporation chartered in 1980 as an independent
research organization to provide high-quality, impartial, and
relevant science on the health effects of air pollution. HEI
typically receives balanced funding from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and the worldwide motor vehicle industry. Other
public and private organizations periodically support special
projects or certain research programs.<br>
To accomplish its mission, HEI<br>
Identifies the highest priority areas for health effects research;<br>
Competitively funds and oversees the conduct of research projects;<br>
Provides intensive independent review of HEI-supported and related
research;<br>
Integrates HEI's research results with those of other institutions
into broader evaluations; and<br>
Communicates the results of HEI research and analyses to public and
private decision makers.<font size="-1"><br>
</font><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.healtheffects.org/research/ongoing-research">Ongoing
Research</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.healtheffects.org/research/ongoing-research">https://www.healtheffects.org/research/ongoing-research</a><br>
Low levels of air pollution<br>
Traffic-related air pollution: exposure and health<br>
Non-tailpipe emissions and exposures near roadways and in tunnels<br>
Effectiveness of air quality interventions (Accountability)<br>
Mechanistic studies of air pollution and health<br>
Rosenblith Award New Investigators<br>
Statistical methods development<font size="-1"><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.healtheffects.org/">https://www.healtheffects.org/</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[spectacular views of ice science in Greenland - must see]<br>
(show off your large screen monitor)<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://youtu.be/okafyLzGvcw">ICE
ALIVE - Documenting Life and Rapid Change</a></b><br>
Climate State<br>
Published on Apr 10, 2018<br>
Joseph Cook is taking a closer look at the microbial life that can
be found all over the planet's glaciers and ice sheets. It is
increasingly clear that this rich ecosystem affects the melt rates
of polar ice and snow and could be accelerating climate change.
Narrated by Jim Al-Khalili and starring Chris Hadfield.<br>
YouTube<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://youtu.be/okafyLzGvcw">https://youtu.be/okafyLzGvcw</a></font><br>
Vimeo<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://vimeo.com/258993236">https://vimeo.com/258993236</a><br>
<br>
<br>
[ A forest is a person ]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/amazon-rainforest-colombia-protect-deforestation-environment-logging-supreme-court-legal-rights-a8292671.html">Colombian
government ordered to protect Amazon rainforest in historic
legal ruling</a></b><br>
'Supreme Court's decision marks a precedent in terms of climate
change litigation'<br>
Peter Stubley <br>
The Colombian government has been ordered to take urgent action to
protect the Amazon rainforest by its own supreme court.<br>
In a historic ruling, the country's most senior judges said the
state had not done enough to tackle the destruction of the
environment.<br>
The court recognised the Amazon as an "entity subject of rights" -
meaning it has the same legal rights as a human being - and ordered
action plans to be drawn up within four months.<br>
"It is clear, despite numerous international commitments,
regulations ... that the Colombian state has not efficiently
addressed the problem of deforestation in the Amazon," the supreme
court said.<br>
Colombia's rainforest covers an area roughly the size of Germany and
England combined but is slowly being destroyed by farming,
agriculture, cocaine production, illegal mining and logging...<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/amazon-rainforest-colombia-protect-deforestation-environment-logging-supreme-court-legal-rights-a8292671.html">https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/amazon-rainforest-colombia-protect-deforestation-environment-logging-supreme-court-legal-rights-a8292671.html</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[Banking on the future!]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://fs-unep-centre.org/">Banking
on Sunshine: World Added Far More Solar Than Fossil Fuel Power
Generating Capacity in 2017</a></b><br>
China leads with more than half of world's new solar capacity<br>
Global solar investment jumps 18 percent to $160.8 billion<br>
Cumulative renewable energy investment since 2004: $2.9 trillion<br>
Frankfurt/Nairobi, 5 April 2018 - Solar energy dominated global
investment in new power generation like never before in 2017. The
world installed a record 98 gigawatts of new solar capacity, far
more than the net additions of any other technology - renewable,
fossil fuel or nuclear.<br>
The 12th Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2018 report,
released on 5 April 2018 by Frankfurt School - UNEP Collaborating
Centre, UN Environment, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, finds that
falling costs for solar electricity, and to some extent wind power,
is continuing to drive deployment. Last year was the eighth in a row
in which global investment in renewables (exclude large hydro)
exceeded $200 billion - and since 2004, the world has invested $2.9
trillion in these green energy sources.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://fs-unep-centre.org/">http://fs-unep-centre.org/</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[Change analysis]<br>
<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leRRAvnDc6s">The Future
of Humanity, Malcolm Gladwell - WGS 2018</a></b><br>
World Government Summit<br>
Published on Mar 1, 2018<br>
"There has been a dramatic shift in the nature of what people want
and need from their governments." - Malcolm Gladwell, Globally
Renowned Author<br>
The world has changed fundamentally, according to the author Malcolm
Gladwell, from one in which problems are puzzles to one in which
they are, instead, mysteries. Using terminology developed by an
intelligence official, Gregory Treverton, Gladwell said this
distinction often centres on the amount of information available. In
the past it was often about having too little data - a puzzle; in
today's world too much data is more likely to be the issue - a
mystery. To take education as an example, today a wealth of data on
how teachers perform is available, including on such complex is-sues
as how a particular teacher's methods interact with the capabilities
of an individual student. Similar issues affect fields as diverse as
defense and health care. This places challenges on institutions such
as governments, because many developed their ways of operating in
the 19th or even the 18th century. They are equipped to solve
puzzles, not mysteries.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/leRRAvnDc6s">https://youtu.be/leRRAvnDc6s</a><br>
<br>
<br>
[This is a consensus-based report ]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/major-report-paints-grim-picture-biodiversity">Major
Report Paints Grim Picture of Biodiversity</a></b><br>
Last month the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released the first <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.ipbes.net/news/media-release-biodiversity-nature%E2%80%99s-contributions-continue-%C2%A0dangerous-decline-scientists-warn">summaries
of five reports</a> on global biodiversity, outlining the current
state of plants, animal, and land health across the globe. A series
of science reports may sound like a dry, academic exercise-and to
some extent they are-but this massive work involving 550 authors
from 100 countries compiled over three years is a major event in the
history of conservation. For the first time, baseline hard science
data on biodiversity has been gathered and analyzed in one place.<br>
The goal is to give policy makers, conservationists, industry, and
the public the information they need to save the biodiversity that's
left and to restore what humanity has broken. <br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/major-report-paints-grim-picture-biodiversity">https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/major-report-paints-grim-picture-biodiversity</a></font><br>
---<br>
[Authored by member nations.]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.ipbes.net/news/media-release-biodiversity-nature%E2%80%99s-contributions-continue-%C2%A0dangerous-decline-scientists-warn">Human
well-being at risk. Landmark reports highlight options to
protect and restore nature and its vital contributions to people</a></b><br>
Declining Biodiversity - Now and in the Future<br>
<b>The Americas</b><br>
"In the Americas, rich biodiversity makes an immense contribution to
the quality of life, helping to reduce poverty while strengthening
economies and livelihoods," said Dr. Jake Rice (Canada), co-chair of
the Americas assessment with Dr. Cristiana Simao Seixas (Brazil) and
Prof. Maria Elena Zaccagnini (Argentina).<br>
"The economic value of the Americas' land-based nature's
contributions to people is estimated to be more than US$24 trillion
per year - equivalent to the region's GDP, yet almost two-thirds -
65% - of these contributions are in decline, with 21% declining
strongly. Human-induced climate change, which affects temperature,
precipitation and the nature of extreme events, is increasingly
driving biodiversity loss and the reduction of nature's
contributions to people, worsening the impact of habitat
degradation, pollution, invasive species and the overexploitation of
natural resources."<br>
According to the report, under a 'business as usual' scenario,
climate change will be the fastest growing driver negatively
impacting biodiversity by 2050 in the Americas, becoming comparable
to the pressures imposed by land use change. On average today, the
populations of species in an area are about 31% smaller than was the
case at the time of European settlement. With the growing effects of
climate change added to the other drivers, this loss is projected to
reach 40% by 2050.<br>
The report highlights the fact that indigenous people and local
communities have created a diversity of polyculture and agroforestry
systems, which have increased biodiversity and shaped landscapes.
However, the decoupling of lifestyles from the local environment has
eroded, for many, their sense of place, language and indigenous
local knowledge. More than 60% of the languages in the Americas, and
the cultures associated with them, are troubled or dying out....<br>
<font size="-1">more at: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.ipbes.net/news/media-release-biodiversity-nature%E2%80%99s-contributions-continue-%C2%A0dangerous-decline-scientists-warn">https://www.ipbes.net/news/media-release-biodiversity-nature%E2%80%99s-contributions-continue-%C2%A0dangerous-decline-scientists-warn</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[March 2015]<br>
<b><a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/24/climate-change-denial-immoral-says-head-episcopal-church">Climate
denial is immoral, says head of US Episcopal church</a></b><br>
Climate change is a moral challenge threatening the rights of the
world's poorest people and those who deny it are not using God's
gift of knowledge, says presiding bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori<br>
"It is in that sense much like the civil rights movement in this
country where we are attending to the rights of all people and the
rights of the earth to continue to be a flourishing place," Bishop
Jefferts Schori said in an interview with the Guardian. "It is
certainly a moral issue in terms of the impacts on the poorest and
most vulnerable around the world already."<br>
In the same context, Jefferts Schori attached moral implications to
climate denial, suggesting those who reject the underlying science
of climate change were turning their backs on God's gift of
knowledge.<br>
It's hard work when you have a climate denier who will not see the
reality of scientific truth.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/24/climate-change-denial-immoral-says-head-episcopal-church">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/24/climate-change-denial-immoral-says-head-episcopal-church</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
<font size="+1"><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/magazine/11Economy-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&">This
Day in Climate History - April 11, 2010 </a> - from D.R.
Tucker</b></font><br>
April 11, 2010: In the New York Times Magazine, Paul Krugman
observes:<br>
<blockquote>"If you listen to climate scientists — and despite the
relentless campaign to discredit their work, you should — it is
long past time to do something about emissions of carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases. If we continue with business as usual,
they say, we are facing a rise in global temperatures that will be
little short of apocalyptic. And to avoid that apocalypse, we have
to wean our economy from the use of fossil fuels, coal above all.<br>
<br>
"But is it possible to make drastic cuts in greenhouse-gas
emissions without destroying our economy?<br>
<br>
"Like the debate over climate change itself, the debate over
climate economics looks very different from the inside than it
often does in popular media. The casual reader might have the
impression that there are real doubts about whether emissions can
be reduced without inflicting severe damage on the economy. In
fact, once you filter out the noise generated by special-interest
groups, you discover that there is widespread agreement among
environmental economists that a market-based program to deal with
the threat of climate change — one that limits carbon emissions by
putting a price on them — can achieve large results at modest,
though not trivial, cost."<br>
</blockquote>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/magazine/11Economy-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/magazine/11Economy-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&</a><br>
<br>
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