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<font size="+1"><i>May 2, 2018</i></font><br>
<br>
[A new list]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.climatechangenews.com/2018/05/01/11-key-themes-countries-take-stock-paris-agreement-progress/">11
key themes as countries take stock of Paris Agreement progress</a></b><br>
By Megan Darby - published on 01/05/2018<br>
The Talanoa Dialogue could be a springboard to stronger action on
climate change, or just another talking shop. Here are the
discussions to watch...<br>
In the next two weeks in Bonn, national negotiators will meet
assorted academics, campaigners and lobbyists in parallel sessions
to exchange ideas. They have been asked to answer three questions –
the third being the hardest and most important: Where are we? Where
do we want to go? How do we get there?<br>
More than 400 submissions have been made, which give a flavour of
the discussions to come. Come the COP24 climate summit in Katowice
this December, these will bubble up to the political level.<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.climatechangenews.com/2018/05/01/11-key-themes-countries-take-stock-paris-agreement-progress/">Here
are 11 of the key themes.</a><br>
More at: <font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.climatechangenews.com/2018/05/01/11-key-themes-countries-take-stock-paris-agreement-progress/">http://www.climatechangenews.com/2018/05/01/11-key-themes-countries-take-stock-paris-agreement-progress/</a></font><br>
- - - - <br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.climatechangenews.com/2018/05/01/bonn-morning-brief-simply-dont-time-waste/">Bonn
morning brief: 'We simply don't have any time to waste'</a></b><br>
US diplomat and Obama appointee Trigg Talley once again led his
state department team to the talks. His new boss, Mike Pompeo, is
yet to show his hand on international climate policy. (His focus is
taken up with North Korean denuclearisation). Will he continue his
predecessor Rex Tillerson's policy of unenlightened disinterest? Or
will the Koch brothers' <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/11/30/pompeo-koch-ally-paris-climate-critic-tipped-us-secretary-state/">most
financially favoured politician</a> use his power to push the
talks off balance?<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.climatechangenews.com/2018/05/01/bonn-morning-brief-simply-dont-time-waste/">http://www.climatechangenews.com/2018/05/01/bonn-morning-brief-simply-dont-time-waste/</a><br>
</font><br>
<br>
[Security Advisor - about the future]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/385650-warren-sanders-want-climate-change-considered-in-selection-of-homeland">Warren,
Sanders want climate change considered in selection of homeland
security adviser</a></b><br>
BY JOHN BOWDEN - 05/01/18 <br>
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are
calling on the Trump administration to consider the effects of
climate change when selecting President Trump's next homeland
security adviser.<br>
In a letter to Trump, the two senators urge the president to select
an individual who "takes seriously" severe weather patterns and
storms caused by a changing climate.<br>
"The Homeland Security Advisor regularly attends meetings of the
National Security Council and is responsible for overseeing the
Administration's response to natural disasters, including
hurricanes," reads a statement from Warren's office.<br>
"[Tom] Bossert, who served as Homeland Security Advisor since
January 2017 until his resignation last month, had refused to
acknowledge the overwhelming scientific consensus that human-induced
climate change contributes to severe weather events."<br>
Bossert resigned in April, after John Bolton joined the White House
as national security adviser and sought to shake up the team. A
replacement for the homeland security adviser has not yet been
announced.<br>
"Without a dedicated federal effort to reduce the quantity of
greenhouse gasses that human activity releases into the atmosphere,
climate change will continue to worsen and cause increasingly severe
weather events, including hurricanes," the two senators wrote in the
letter. "Climate change is having and will have a tangible and
harmful impact on our national security and disaster readiness."<br>
The Trump administration has moved to strip fighting climate change
from government websites and policies. The president announced last
year that the U.S. would exit the Paris climate accord, a global
agreement aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/385650-warren-sanders-want-climate-change-considered-in-selection-of-homeland">http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/385650-warren-sanders-want-climate-change-considered-in-selection-of-homeland</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[Peter Sinclair reports] <br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://climatecrocks.com/2018/04/30/jeff-flake-on-solar-energy-nuclear-power-and-how-gop-needs-to-wake-up-on-climate/">Jeff
Flake on Solar Energy, Nuclear Power, and How GOP Needs to Wake
up on Climate</a></b><br>
by greenman3610<br>
Doing a brief speaking tour in Philadelphia area. In the meantime,
remember the Dark Snow fundraiser still ongoing. In a Senator Jeff
Flake, an Arizona Republican, speaking in New Hampshire (stick a pin
in that) March 2018. CNN: Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, a vocal critic
of President Donald Trump, delivered a series of verbal blows […]<br>
"I hope that someone does run the Republican primary, somebody to
challenge the President," he said Friday after a man in the audience
asked if he'd make a White House run. "I think the odds that I will
are long, but I've not ruled it out."<br>
Flake's message targeted the "Never Trump" movement, as he sought to
paint himself as a conservative alternative to the President.<br>
Video: <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://youtu.be/5kZC-qP6I0g">Jeff Flake on Solar Energy,
Nuclear Energy, and Climate</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/5kZC-qP6I0g">https://youtu.be/5kZC-qP6I0g</a><br>
Any Republican thinking of coming out on climate should listen to
Jerry Taylor's story.<br>
video - <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://youtu.be/1cbey_bxI2U">Climate 'Skeptic' Flips, Now
Backs Action</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/1cbey_bxI2U">https://youtu.be/1cbey_bxI2U</a><br>
and <br>
video - <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://youtu.be/enPZWL1Sqqo">Jerry Taylor: How I Talk to
Fellow Conservatives about a Carbon Tax</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/enPZWL1Sqqo">https://youtu.be/enPZWL1Sqqo</a><br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://climatecrocks.com/2018/04/30/jeff-flake-on-solar-energy-nuclear-power-and-how-gop-needs-to-wake-up-on-climate/">https://climatecrocks.com/2018/04/30/jeff-flake-on-solar-energy-nuclear-power-and-how-gop-needs-to-wake-up-on-climate/</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[Yale reminder]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2018/04/icymi-on-talking-about-climate-change/">In
Case You Missed It ... on talking climate change </a></b><br>
Let's examine how best to talk about climate change, in ways that
don't lead to fear, sadness, guilt, confusion ... and more.<br>
We need to talk more about climate change. We all know this, even if
we don't do it. And a small spate of recent pieces (including one
here) provide us some useful and encouraging how-to tips.<br>
Still, for many, such conversations aren't much fun to think about.
Indeed, the topic of climate change is quite likely to upset us, to
make us feel scared, sad, guilty, confused, overwhelmed, helpless,
anxious. These feelings push us into the many paralyzing maneuvers
psychologists associate with self-protective denial.<br>
Which is why psychologist Rosemary Randall's essay <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://aeon.co/essays/we-need-to-talk-about-climate-change-even-if-it-s-depressing">"The
Id and the Eco" </a>(Aeon, 2012) is still well worth reading.
This short, insightful piece offers a clear view of why and how our
emotions lead us to avoid facing this subject. And it suggests that
we begin to move on by recognizing and naming our emotions, then
talking about them with compassion and without judgment.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2018/04/icymi-on-talking-about-climate-change/">https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2018/04/icymi-on-talking-about-climate-change/</a></font><br>
- - - -<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://aeon.co/essays/we-need-to-talk-about-climate-change-even-if-it-s-depressing">The
id and the eco</a></b><br>
Thinking about climate change makes people feel helpless and anxious
– but that's why we must talk about it openly<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://aeon.co/essays/we-need-to-talk-about-climate-change-even-if-it-s-depressing">https://aeon.co/essays/we-need-to-talk-about-climate-change-even-if-it-s-depressing</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[Alaska youth]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.adn.com/opinions/2018/04/30/young-alaskans-take-action-in-the-courts-after-decades-of-inaction-on-climate-change/">Young
Alaskans take action in the courts after decades of inaction on
climate change</a></b><br>
Opinion, Tristan Glowa, Kyrstyn Kelley <br>
Today, April 30, oral arguments will be heard regarding the case
brought by the Our Children's Trust youth plaintiffs against the
State of Alaska. These leaders from across the state will be in
court because they believe that the status quo is not enough.<br>
<blockquote> We are writing as young Alaskans representing hundreds
of others throughout our communities who have brought attention to
the critical issue of climate change for the past two decades to
express our full support for the youth plaintiffs' lawsuit. The
world is running out of time to act on climate change and our
state government must be held accountable, especially when the
federal government refuses to address the issue and routinely
denies science.<br>
</blockquote>
Climate change is the most pressing issue facing our generation––we
have the most to lose or gain, depending on the actions our leaders
take today. It's a matter of justice for future generations.<br>
<br>
We have each been involved with efforts to seek policy change and
action on climate over the years: In 2005, we collected 5,000
signatures from teenagers in more than 150 villages and cities
around the state, asking our congressional delegation to take action
on climate change. We received a nod in the media, but no action
from Sen. Lisa Murkowski or other leaders. As part of the program
Alaska Youth for Environmental Action, we have traveled to our state<br>
capitol each year since 2003 asking State Administrations for action
on climate. We have seen no meaningful action.<br>
- - - - -<br>
Given the continued inaction of Alaskan political officials, we
believe that the Our Children's Trust case is now necessary.
Plaintiffs are asking the court to order the State of Alaska to put
together a climate change action plan that includes specific and
enforceable reductions in emissions necessary to stabilize the
climate and protect future generations. While Gov. Bill Walker and
Lt. Governor Byron Mallott have established a Climate Action
Leadership Team - a step in the right direction - we believe the
threat to our future warrants decisive political action as the suit
demands.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.adn.com/opinions/2018/04/30/young-alaskans-take-action-in-the-courts-after-decades-of-inaction-on-climate-change/">https://www.adn.com/opinions/2018/04/30/young-alaskans-take-action-in-the-courts-after-decades-of-inaction-on-climate-change/</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[promotional]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://www.climatevisuals.org/">Climate
Visuals </a></b><br>
We're proud to share with you our completely revamped Climate
Visuals website, the world's first evidence-based library of climate
images.<br>
If you're familiar with the old website, you'll find it much easier
now to search for, share and use images to help you tell more
diverse, relevant and compelling visual stories of climate change.<br>
Based on international social research, Climate Visuals provides
seven principles and a growing library of images of climate causes,
impacts and solutions from around the world, presented in
partnership with some of the world's leading photographic agencies.<br>
Every day, thousands of images of climate change are shared around
the world, but too many still depict polar bears, melting glaciers
and smokestacks. These don't tell the powerful and urgent human
stories that are at the heart of the climate challenge: images of
people being affected by - and responding to - climate change.<br>
<blockquote>This website contains a growing library of photographs
to provide inspiration and guidance for campaigners, picture
editors and communications practitioners selecting imagery for
communicating climate change. All images are captioned with an
explanation of how they fit with the seven Climate Visuals
principles, and why they work. Each image is linked to its
original source and many are available to download for free under
Creative Commons licenses for use in blogs, articles and
campaigns.<br>
</blockquote>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://youtu.be/5bvCO9FFU9Y">Video
Introduction to Climate Visuals</a><br>
Climate Outreach <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://youtu.be/5bvCO9FFU9Y">https://youtu.be/5bvCO9FFU9Y</a><br>
Climate Visuals is a world first: an evidence-based resource for
visual climate change communication, based on social research with
thousands of people in three countries. The website contains a
growing, library of photographs to provide inspiration and guidance
for campaigners, picture editors and communications practitioners
selecting imagery for communicating climate change.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.climatevisuals.org/">https://www.climatevisuals.org/</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[News Opinion]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-rethink-our-moral-obligations-to-create-a-better-world-93286">We
need to rethink our moral obligations to create a better world</a></b><br>
Anne Schwenkenbecher<br>
Our collective overuse and misuse of antibiotics is accelerating
resistance to these universal drugs, leaving people increasingly
vulnerable to infections that can no longer be treated. This applies
not only to the use of antibiotics in human medicine, but also in
animal industries.<br>
<br>
Antibiotic resistance is an example of a collective action problem.
These are problems where what is individually rational leads to a
collectively undesirable outcome. Small things that many of us do,
often on a daily basis, can have disastrous consequences in
aggregate. The most challenging problems humanity is facing are in
one way or another collective action problems.<br>
<br>
The list of global collective action problems is long: plastic
pollution of our oceans and waterways; the heightened concentration
of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere leading to global warming; and
the consumption of meat, the production of which is tied to
environmental degradation.<br>
<br>
<b>The importance of individual action</b><br>
What problems such as these have in common is that they cannot be
resolved by any political actor on their own. We need global,
coordinated policy responses to address these issues with any
measure of success. Political actors – states, international
organisations, or alliances of states – need to cooperate.<br>
<br>
But should we leave it to policy makers and our political
representatives to address these questions? I believe that in doing
so we would violate important moral obligations as individuals.<br>
<br>
Apart from coordinated policy responses, aggregate individual
actions can actually have a significant positive impact on
alleviating problems of collective action (even if they will not
resolve them).<br>
<br>
Let's take the example of antibiotic resistance. The World Health
Organization has identified a number of actions each of us can take
to help reduce the spread of resistance. These include limiting the
medical use of antibiotics (where that is a safe option), reducing
the consumption of food produced using antibiotics, and preventing
infections through improved hygiene.<br>
<br>
Similarly, climate researchers have identified individual actions
that will have the greatest impact on climate change mitigation,
provided enough people join in. These include having one fewer
child, living car-free, avoiding air travel and shifting to a
plant-based diet. If enough of us take such actions we can
collectively limit global warming to a maximum of 2℃, thereby
achieving something that global political actors have failed to
achieve.<br>
<br>
<b>The paradox of collective action</b><br>
The paradox of collective action is that while none of us can
individually make a difference to the overall outcome, together we
can. And while no individual's failure to act will undermine the
success of the collective effort, if too many people continue with
business as usual we will not make a change for the better.<br>
<br>
So why change your behaviour if it doesn't make much difference for
better or worse? Understanding how we might have obligations for
collective problems will mean we need to rethink some of our common
assumptions and intuitively held views about morality.<br>
<br>
This, in fact, is something moral philosophers have been grappling
with for several decades. The late Oxford philosopher Derek Parfit
thought that so-called "common-sense morality" would often lead us
to make mistakes in our "moral mathematics". We tend to neglect the
moral import of small (often imperceptible) contributions to
large-scale problems (or benefits, for that matter). This is an
empirical claim, but it also applies to moral theorising.<br>
<br>
One of the conceptual obstacles to rethinking our moral mathematics
is the view that if an action of mine does not make a perceptible
difference to an outcome then I cannot be morally required to
perform it (or to refrain from performing it). Holding on to such a
principle means to let everyone off the hook for the kind of global
collective action problems mentioned above.<br>
<br>
<b>Rethinking our moral obligations</b><br>
Here is a way in which we could rethink our moral obligations
regarding problems of collective action. We could think of our
individual obligations as deriving from the collectively optimal
response to these problems and understand our responsibility to
address them as shared, rather than individual.<br>
<br>
Moral obligations or responsibilities, on this view, have different
sources. Sometimes, we have obligations to perform certain actions
or to produce certain outcomes because we can make a difference for
the better. At other times, the source of our obligation may not
reside in the effect of our actions or omissions, but in how these
relate to a collective pattern of action that we perceive as morally
right.<br>
<br>
We might think that closing the emissions gap or slowing down
antibiotic resistance by reducing our carbon or anti-microbial
footprint is the best collective pattern of action available to us
(beyond government action). Consequently, our obligations to change
our behaviour can be seen as deriving their moral force from the
fact that they form part of that pattern.<br>
<br>
So reducing our carbon footprint or reducing our anti-microbial
footprint are actions that are constitutive of our collectively
doing the right thing. Another way of putting this is to say that
individual moral responsibility (remedial, in this case) need not be
tied to individual causal impact, but may derive from our collective
responsibility and our joint difference-making ability.<br>
<font size="-1"><font size="-2"><em style="margin: 0px; padding:
0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px;
vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);
font-style: italic; color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family:
"Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New
Roman", serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2;
word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">This is the sixth article in a series in which
philosophers discuss the greatest moral challenge of our time,
and how we should address it. Read part one<span> </span><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-greatest-moral-challenge-of-our-time-its-how-we-think-about-morality-itself-92101" style="color: rgb(85, 117, 133); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">here</a>,
part two<a href="https://theconversation.com/looking-for-truth-in-the-facebook-age-seek-out-views-you-arent-going-to-like-91659" style="color: rgb(85, 117, 133); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"> here</a>,
part three<span> </span><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-become-global-citizens-to-rebuild-trust-in-our-globalised-world-91660" style="color: rgb(85, 117, 133); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">here</a>,
part four<span> </span><a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-shoot-the-messenger-when-confronted-with-inconvenient-ideas-91661" style="color: rgb(85, 117, 133); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">here</a>,
and part five<span> </span><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-must-develop-techno-wisdom-to-prevent-technology-from-consuming-us-91656" style="color: rgb(85, 117, 133); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">here</a>.</em></font><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-rethink-our-moral-obligations-to-create-a-better-world-93286">https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-rethink-our-moral-obligations-to-create-a-better-world-93286</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[What's in your textbook?] <br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://phys.org/news/2018-04-pages-devoted-climate-introductory-science.html">Study
finds very few pages devoted to climate change in introductory
science textbooks</a></b><br>
Phys.Org<br>
Now, in new research published in the journal Environmental
Communication, Yoho and co-author Rittmann examined more than the
15,000 combined ... They found that less than 4 percent of pages
were devoted toward discussing climate change, global warming,
related environmental issues...<br>
- - - <br>
Among the most polarizing issues encountered in science and society
today is the topic of global climate change. Despite nearly
universal scientific consensus that it is indeed real and caused by
us, the American public and politicians continue to be skeptical of
the science...<br>
They found that less than 4 percent of pages were devoted toward
discussing climate change, global warming, related environmental
issues or renewable energy applications.<br>
In addition, the research team found:<br>
<blockquote>- While they observed a large variation for individual
books, biology textbooks had on average the largest number of
pages discussing the effects of climate change, but still less
than 2 percent, while chemistry textbooks showed the largest
variation, and physics books have an average of less than 0.5
percent of total pages;<br>
- The greatest content is in the final third of the book for
biology and chemistry, which supports a general trend in education
in that "applications" usually are addressed towards the end of a
course of study, building on a firm foundation of content
knowledge;<br>
- Among the three disciplines, the least emphasis was placed on
renewable energy technologies in the biology textbooks examined.
Characteristically, alternative fuels and other technologies
related to the transportation sector are emphasized heavily in
chemistry and physics;<br>
- Nuclear energy, which was addressed separately, is found on less
than 1 percent of textbook pages and unfavorably represented.<br>
</blockquote>
By documenting that large textbooks devote relatively few pages to
these pressing societal issues, this research calls into question
the effectiveness of the information provided to students in
introductory materials.<br>
<font size="-1">Read more at: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://phys.org/news/2018-04-pages-devoted-climate-introductory-science.html">https://phys.org/news/2018-04-pages-devoted-climate-introductory-science.html</a></font><br>
<br>
<b><br>
</b>[Buying influence in the University]<b><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/gmu-student-lawsuit-challenges-privacy-influence-of-public-university-donors/article_8da92c8a-4a60-11e8-8c17-635deab723b2.html">
GMU student lawsuit challenges privacy, influence of public
university donors</a></b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/gmu-student-lawsuit-challenges-privacy-influence-of-public-university-donors/article_8da92c8a-4a60-11e8-8c17-635deab723b2.html">http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/gmu-student-lawsuit-challenges-privacy-influence-of-public-university-donors/article_8da92c8a-4a60-11e8-8c17-635deab723b2.html</a><br>
-<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2018/04/30/george-mason-u-president-admits-gift-agreements-raise-questions/">George
Mason U. President Admits Some Gift Agreements "Raise Questions"</a></b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2018/04/30/george-mason-u-president-admits-gift-agreements-raise-questions/">https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2018/04/30/george-mason-u-president-admits-gift-agreements-raise-questions/</a><br>
-<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/385560-major-university-allowed-conservative-donors-say-in-hiring-and">Major
university allowed conservative donors say in hiring and firing
of faculty: documents</a></b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/385560-major-university-allowed-conservative-donors-say-in-hiring-and">http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/385560-major-university-allowed-conservative-donors-say-in-hiring-and</a><br>
<b>-<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/04/30/us/ap-us-koch-college.html">
Documents Show Ties Between University, Conservative Donors</a></b><br>
By The Associated Press - April 30, 2018<br>
FAIRFAX, Va. - Virginia's largest public university granted the
conservative Charles Koch Foundation a say in the hiring and firing
of professors in exchange for millions of dollars in donations,
according to newly released documents.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/04/30/us/ap-us-koch-college.html">https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/04/30/us/ap-us-koch-college.html</a></font><br>
-<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/george-mason-president-some-donations-fall-short-of-academic-standards/2018/04/28/bb927576-4af0-11e8-8b5a-3b1697adcc2a_story.html?utm_term=.a90113fb1b08">George
Mason president: Some donations 'fall short' of academic
standards</a></b><br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/george-mason-president-some-donations-fall-short-of-academic-standards/2018/04/28/bb927576-4af0-11e8-8b5a-3b1697adcc2a_story.html?utm_term=.a90113fb1b08">https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/george-mason-president-some-donations-fall-short-of-academic-standards/2018/04/28/bb927576-4af0-11e8-8b5a-3b1697adcc2a_story.html?utm_term=.a90113fb1b08</a></font><br>
-<br>
[From Climate News]<br>
<strong><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/">What're the Kochs Up To
Lately? Ruining the Planet, As Per Usual.</a> </strong><br>
With all the fireworks around Pruitt's neverending scandalrama, and
the other uproars over all "<a
href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=305a01a2bc&e=95b355344d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #dd2953;font-weight:
normal;text-decoration: underline;">the best people</a>" in the
Trump administration, the Koch brothers are enjoying a moment of
relative obscurity.<br>
<br>
But a group of six senators are aiming to change that. The lawmakers
sent letters last week the White House and eight regulatory bodies
soliciting information about how <a
href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=37400cb990&e=95b355344d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #dd2953;font-weight:
normal;text-decoration: underline;">the Koch network has
infiltrated the Trump administration</a>.<br>
Their concerns are certainly well-founded, and they've documented
multiple employees whose CVs brag about their Koch network gigs,
like Doug Domenech. But we're surprised it's taken this long to
become a concern worthy of a letter...<br>
<br>
After all, we raised this flag <a
href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=a31f2b926c&e=95b355344d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #dd2953;font-weight:
normal;text-decoration: underline;">back in November 2016</a>,
pointing to Pence, Pompeo, and Domenech's Kochnecctions. Then nearly
a year later <a
href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=3dd714cfa2&e=95b355344d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #dd2953;font-weight:
normal;text-decoration: underline;">in October '17</a>, there was
<a
href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=d39a5e7add&e=95b355344d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #dd2953;font-weight:
normal;text-decoration: underline;">the Jane Mayer profile</a> of
Pence's career as a Koch crony. Then <a
href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=0658608fc4&e=95b355344d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #dd2953;font-weight:
normal;text-decoration: underline;">in December '17</a> Public
Citizen's <a
href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=b5fdcadb82&e=95b355344d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #dd2953;font-weight:
normal;text-decoration: underline;">Koch Government</a> report
detailed the 44 Kochs in 45's cabinet, and of course <a
href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=ea3a930233&e=95b355344d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #dd2953;font-weight:
normal;text-decoration: underline;">replacing Tillerson with
Pompeo</a> was another chance to call out the Kochs.<br>
<br>
All the while, the Koch operatives who haven't (yet) been invited
into Trump's cabinet of puppets continue trying to subvert democracy
for their funders profit. Case in point: a collection of Koch groups
<a
href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=68ed9844bb&e=95b355344d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #dd2953;font-weight:
normal;text-decoration: underline;">submitted a lengthy public
comment</a> on the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan last
week. And the <a
href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=b37533a1b1&e=95b355344d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #dd2953;font-weight:
normal;text-decoration: underline;">Koch-funded Daily Caller</a>
was, of course, all too happy <a
href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=31f274fab0&e=95b355344d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #dd2953;font-weight:
normal;text-decoration: underline;">to do PR for them</a>,
eschewing any funding information and instead calling them "free
market groups." <br>
Fortunately, the constellation of Koch groups are up against a
formidable foe. Beyond the reality of climate change and the
Endangerment Finding, last week a group of 27 states, counties and
cities <a
href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=6ebf51b31c&e=95b355344d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #dd2953;font-weight:
normal;text-decoration: underline;">announced their support for
the CPP</a> and opposition to Pruitt's "error-filled" attempts to
justify the repeal.<br>
<br>
And a second coalition of 15 local governments <a
href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=a15cafebba&e=95b355344d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #dd2953;font-weight:
normal;text-decoration: underline;">submitted a comment alleging</a>
that Pruitt's repeated criticisms of the CPP, and promises to repeal
it, constitute a "lack of due process and fairness" that renders the
public comment period moot because Pruitt's already made up his mind
to repeal. They assert that Pruitt's "involvement has irreparably
tainted the current administrative process, and as a result, EPA
must withdraw the proposed CPP repeal."<br>
If Pruitt's still EPA Administrator, playing in the big league so to
speak, by the time the CPP repeal goes through, he'll be facing some
stiff courtroom opposition. As <a
href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=856cbffac9&e=95b355344d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #dd2953;font-weight:
normal;text-decoration: underline;">Kamala Harris once pointed out</a>,
Pruitt's record in suing the EPA was… not good, "Baseball fan Pruitt
lost 6 of 7 lawsuits against the EPA," Harris Tweeted last year.
"That would be a mediocre .142 batting average."<br>
<br>
Now that Pruitt would be defending the EPA instead of suing it,
we're wondering if he will get sent back down to the Koch's (coal
and oil-) miner league. <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/">https://climatenewsnetwork.net/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
[Yum, I think] <br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/health-wellbeing/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501238&objectid=12042137">Creepy
cuisine: The rise of edible insects</a></b><br>
New Zealand Herald<br>
"The fact that most of us don't know what the impact of our Western
diet is having on global warming is frightening and it became very
important to us to ... Diack started farming locusts for pet food in
2009, but changed his focus after reading a newspaper article about
Israeli grasshopper farmers and "the ...<br>
<br>
More than just creepy-crawlies, insects may be the answer for the
world's nutrition and environmental issues. Lucy Corry meets
advocates of eating food with six (and eight) legs.<br>
There are ants in Javier Carmona's kitchen and he's pretty happy
about it. These aren't the kinds of ants that march through
pantries, leaving a chemical stench and sticky footprints; these are
crisp black critters that he's currently scattering over dishes of
sweetcorn with chipotle butter, coffee crema, dried manchego cheese
and toasted corn silk. "They're quite citrusy," he says chirpily.<br>
Carmona, head chef at hip Auckland restaurant Inti, is no stranger
to unusual ingredients. Cynics might say that embracing insects is
just the latest way to capture diners' dollars, but he's adamant
that there's more to it.<br>
<br>
"We're not trying to be gimmicky; we're not trying to freak people
out. I'm not doing this to be 'wacky Javier'. It makes sense
culturally to our restaurant because insects were a huge
pre-Hispanic food source and the Aztec and Mayan cultures survived
on them," he says...<br>
"They taste good as well. More importantly, there's a social aspect
to it - insects are high-protein, they are good for the environment,
producing them doesn't trash our waterways, they don't contribute to
greenhouse gas emissions, there aren't the same costs to feed them …
there are a multitude of reasons why eating them makes perfect sense
for us."..<br>
- - - - -<br>
"I think people like to buy something that's got a lot of shock
factor, they like to freak out their friends. And that's good for us
because we want to shock people. We want bugs to be talked about."<br>
At home, Genefaas regularly adds cricket flour to green smoothies
and loves to snack on his brand's flavoured fried insects. He knows
there's a long way to go before these ingredients are considered
mainstream, but says Crawlers are in it for the long haul.<br>
"We want people to have a really good experience. It's not just
about shocking people, we want to educate them. If you'd never
cooked kangaroo before you'd still know that you could fry it in a
pan like a steak. With insects, we need to give people recipes and
show them that you can use deep-fried crickets like croutons on a
salad, or add them to black beans and lentils. We want to show
people that they can be part of the solution."<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/health-wellbeing/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501238&objectid=12042137">https://www.nzherald.co.nz/health-wellbeing/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501238&objectid=12042137</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[Mindless, guilty pleasure movie, touches nerve]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lukethompson/2018/05/01/blu-ray-review-tremors-6-pits-survivalist-against-global-warming-worms/#bf387732121f">Blu-ray
Review: 'Tremors 6' Pits Survivalist Against Global Warming
Worms</a></b><br>
Luke Y. Thompson , CONTRIBUTOR<br>
<blockquote>But when part 6 became available for advance review, I
confess I couldn't resist the chance to check in on those
subterranean killer "graboid" sandworms and their now-perpetual
nemesis, Gross' gun-nut survivalist Burt Gummer.<br>
<br>
If you have the chance to do so cheaply, I can offer a qualified
endorsement. You wouldn't want to pay the price of a movie ticket
for this, but as a direct-to-video monster cheapie, it's more fun
than most. Leaning into the silliness without getting quite as
absurd as the Sharknados of the world, Tremors 6 uses climate
change the way '50s monster movies spun off of nuclear weapons,
with the very real-world fear taking a subtle and subconscious
backseat to a literal monster being unleashed. In this case, it's
a prehistoric graboid and kin--including the flying variety that
go by a name we can't reprint here--emerging from melted
permafrost above the Canadian arctic circle.<br>
<br>
Global warming is also an excuse to shoot the thing in
less-than-arctic conditions. You've heard of day-for night
photography? Director Don Michael Paul here shoots sand-for-snow,
as over-lighting and a blue filter turn the deserts of South
Africa into snow-covered mountaintops. It's an effective illusion,
tipped off only by the behind-the-scenes extras. It's an
interesting gambit to have a premise likely to appeal more to
liberals feature a protagonist who's way more identifiable to
conservatives, but to focus on any politics here would be a
diversion. As Paul clearly states in the Blu-ray extras, his
purpose is mainly to have the best and grossest kills in the
series so far, and put them in new settings like water and snow.
This may seem oxymoronic in a PG-13 movie, but just remember that
mutilating fictional monsters any disgusting way you like is
absolutely fine by the MPAA, so long as their internal organs and
blood/vomit are bright orange.<br>
</blockquote>
"Starting from the very first movie, the Tremors series has always
established that its human characters aren't exactly the brightest
bulbs in the pinball machine, so it's more forgivable than usual
when they do the sorts of very stupid things characters in monster
movies ought not do, like stand right next to the window, or waste
all their ammo before they can actually see what they're shooting
at."<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lukethompson/2018/05/01/blu-ray-review-tremors-6-pits-survivalist-against-global-warming-worms/#bf387732121f">https://www.forbes.com/sites/lukethompson/2018/05/01/blu-ray-review-tremors-6-pits-survivalist-against-global-warming-worms/#bf387732121f</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
<font size="+1"><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvY9e_ZxxyA">This Day in
Climate History - May 2, 2008</a> - from D.R. Tucker</b></font><br>
May 2, 2008: On MSNBC's "Countdown," Keith Olbermann and guest
Rachel Maddow react to GOP presidential candidate John McCain's
remarks earlier in the day linking the Iraq War to US energy policy.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvY9e_ZxxyA">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvY9e_ZxxyA</a><br>
<br>
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