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<font size="+1"><i>May 8, 2018</i></font><br>
<br>
[facebook's latest blunder]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/facebook-partners-with-global-warming-skeptics-while-cracking-down-on-untrustworthy-news-sources-050718.html">Facebook
partners with global warming skeptics while cracking down on
'untrustworthy' news source</a></b><br>
ConsumerAffairs - Amy Martyn<br>
Conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation already wields its
influence in high places, with numerous employees rotating in and
out of the Trump administration and an agenda that it brags has been
embraced by the president.<br>
The powerful non-profit now has the ear of Facebook executives.
Leaders at the social media giant are reportedly meeting with The
Heritage Foundation as part of an audit into whether the platform's
news feed harbors an anti-conservative bias.<br>
During Senate hearings this year, numerous Republican lawmakers
grilled CEO Mark Zuckerberg over a suspected bias that the news feed
may have against conservative news outlets. The tech site Gizmodo
had reported two years ago that former workers in Facebook's
"trending topics" department suppressed trending stories if they
came from conservative sources.<br>
In response to the criticism, Facebook told the site Axios last week
that it is agreeing to an outside audit into its suspected liberal
bias. The audit will be conducted by the Heritage Foundation, as
well as former Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, now an attorney.<br>
- - - -<br>
<b>Ranking sites by "trustworthiness"</b><br>
The foundation described Facebook's move as encouraging. "From what
I've heard, it sounds encouraging that Facebook is taking steps to
evaluate where things stand in the marketplace," Rob Bluey, a
spokesman with the Heritage Foundation, told Axios.<br>
It's just one of numerous investigations that Facebook has agreed to
launch into itself recently in response to concerns about what
content gets promoted in the news feed. But its numerous policies to
address critics seem at times to conflict with one another. The site
this year has also announced plans to crack down on "fake news," or
untrustworthy news sources that spread false information.<br>
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last week that Facebook is now ranking news
organizations on trustworthiness, and promoting or suppressing such
organizations based on that metric, in an effort to end
"polarization."<br>
"We put [that data] into the system, and it is acting as a boost or
a suppression, and we're going to dial up the intensity of that over
time," Zuckerberg told reporters last week. "We feel like we have a
responsibility to further [break] down polarization and find common
ground."<br>
<b>Denying climate change</b><br>
In that case, The Heritage Foundation would seem an unlikely partner
to take part in its anti-conservative bias study. The Union of
Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group of scientists, has described
the Heritage Foundation as one of numerous organizations that
spreads misinformation about climate science, "a strategy designed
to confuse the public about global warming and delay action on
climate change," they write.<br>
The Climate Investigations Center says that the Heritage Foundation
"since its inception" has used "a variety of tactics to distort
public opinion on climate change and influence decision making in
Washington."<br>
While the Heritage Foundation says on its website that it receives
funding from donors large and small, the group has well-documented
ties with corporate donors that include the Koch brothers and
ExxonMobil. Keeping in line with the ideologies of its corporate
donors, the Heritage Foundation has for years claimed that global
warming is not a serious problem or that the science is far from
settled.<br>
<br>
David Kreutzer was a fellow at the Heritage Foundation when he wrote
that "no consensus exists that man-made emissions are the primary
driver of global warming." Kreutzer briefly worked in the
Environmental Protection Agency under Trump but resigned and
returned to his former post at the foundation last year.<br>
<b>"True believers," the Heritage Foundation describes climate
scientists and environmental advocates as, "want us to accept
sacrifices now-and a poorer world-in favor of unproven policies to
avert warming that may or may not occur, and that may or may not
be harmful."</b><br>
Climate scientists don't agree with that assertion, but it hasn't
stopped policies promoted by the Heritage Foundation from gaining
traction in the White house. The site Politico reported shortly
after the 2016 election that the Heritage Foundation had taken over
as Trump's "shadow" transition team, vetting resumes or working in
the administration directly. The foundation more recently touted
that Trump has embraced two-thirds of its own policy agenda.<br>
- - - - -<br>
Facebook's press team has not yet returned an inquiry from
ConsumerAffairs.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/facebook-partners-with-global-warming-skeptics-while-cracking-down-on-untrustworthy-news-sources-050718.html">https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/facebook-partners-with-global-warming-skeptics-while-cracking-down-on-untrustworthy-news-sources-050718.html</a><br>
<br>
<br>
[just now]<br>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MONDAY, MAY 7, 2018<br>
<font size="-1">CONTACT:</font><br>
<font size="-1">Pastor Harry Joseph, 5th District H.E.L.P.
Association, (210) 315-7532<br>
</font><b>State Court Declares Bayou Bridge Pipeline's Coastal
Use Permit Illegal</b><br>
CONVENT, La. - Louisiana's 23rd Judicial District Court has ruled
that the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources(DNR) violated the
Coastal Use Guidelines when it issued Bayou Bridge Pipeline, LLC a
Coastal Use Permit, allowing the company to construct and operate a
crude oil pipeline through Louisiana's Coastal Zone. The court ruled
in favor of the Petitioners in the case, Pastor Harry Joseph,
Genevieve Butler, H.E.L.P. association, the Gulf Restoration
Network, the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, and Bold Louisiana, who argued
that the DNR illegally failed to apply critical regulations under
the Coastal Use Guidelines and failed to meet the agency's duty as
public trustee over the natural resources of the state. The
Petitioners are represented by the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic.<br>
- - - - -(snip)<br>
Petitioners' attorney Elizabeth Livingston de Calderon stated, "We
are pleased for our clients that the court recognized the importance
of enforcing the mandatory public safety and environmental
protection provisions under the law."<br>
<font size="-1">NOTE: This court ruling is in reference to the
Coastal Use Permit issued by Louisiana Department of Natural
Resources. A different lawsuit regarding Bayou Bridge's Section
404 Permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is ongoing.
</font><br>
<br>
<br>
[great idea!]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.ocregister.com/2018/05/04/california-to-become-first-u-s-state-mandating-solar-on-new-homes/">California
to become first U.S. state mandating solar on new homes</a></b><br>
The California Energy Commission is scheduled to vote Wednesday, May
9, on new energy standards mandating most new homes have solar
panels starting in 2020.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.ocregister.com/2018/05/04/california-to-become-first-u-s-state-mandating-solar-on-new-homes/">https://www.ocregister.com/2018/05/04/california-to-become-first-u-s-state-mandating-solar-on-new-homes/</a><br>
<font size="-1"><br>
</font><br>
[just the facts]<font size="-1"> <br>
</font><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-05-07/people-can-demand-too-much-certainty-of-science">People
Can Demand Too Much Certainty of Science</a></b><br>
Bloomberg<br>
It's counterintuitive but true. Here's why.<br>
Some scientists quoted in the news worried that Pruitt's new rule
would disqualify data on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, for
example,...<br>
- - - - <br>
<span style="color: rgb(60, 60, 60); font-size: 18px; font-style:
normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal;
font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;
display: inline ! important; float: none;">The focus on false
positives is premised on the assumption that problems recently
uncovered in<span> </span></span><a
href="http://fayeflamwriter.com/researchers-show-ease-of-finding-dubious-results/"
target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color:
transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px;
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border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 114, 255); border-left-style:
initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial;
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font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal;
font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit;
font-weight: 400; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 18px;
line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(60, 60,
60); text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; letter-spacing:
normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none;
white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width:
0px;">psychology</a><span style="color: rgb(60, 60, 60);
font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures:
normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400;
letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial;
text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline ! important;
float: none;"><span> </span>and some areas of<span> </span></span><a
href="https://www.nature.com/articles/483531a" target="_blank"
rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color: transparent;
margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px;
border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial;
border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 114, 255); border-left-style:
initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial;
border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial;
font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal;
font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit;
font-weight: 400; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 18px;
line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(60, 60,
60); text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; letter-spacing:
normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none;
white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width:
0px;">medical research</a><span style="color: rgb(60, 60, 60);
font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures:
normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400;
letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial;
text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline ! important;
float: none;"><span> </span>also extend to environmental science.
In a 27-page document describing the rule, Pruitt made reference
to the so-called "replication crisis"<span> </span></span><span
style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none;
font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal;
font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit;
font-weight: 400; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 18px;
line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(60, 60,
60); font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align:
start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space:
normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">-</span><span
style="color: rgb(60, 60, 60); font-size: 18px; font-style:
normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal;
font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;
display: inline ! important; float: none;"><span> </span>concerns
over systematic reviews revealing that more than half of published
studies<span> </span></span><a
href="https://www.nature.com/news/over-half-of-psychology-studies-fail-reproducibility-test-1.18248"
target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color:
transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px;
border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial;
border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 114, 255); border-left-style:
initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial;
border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial;
font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal;
font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit;
font-weight: 400; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 18px;
line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(60, 60,
60); text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; letter-spacing:
normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none;
white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width:
0px;">could not be replicated</a><span style="color: rgb(60, 60,
60); font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures:
normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400;
letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial;
text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline ! important;
float: none;">, but only in those limited fields. There's no
evidence so far that the same kind of crisis affects physics,
astrophysics, chemistry, climatology and other fields.</span><br>
<span style="color: rgb(60, 60, 60); font-family:
TiemposTextWeb-Regular, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New
Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal;
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; display: inline !important; float: none;"></span><br>
Scientists quickly<span> </span><a
href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2018/04/25/this-letter-signed-by-985-scientists-explains-why-epa-chiefs-new-move-could-harm-your-health/?utm_term=.76faffe9ef25"
target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color:
transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px;
border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial;
border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial;
border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial;
border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 114, 255); border-left-color: initial;
border-image: initial; font-variant: inherit; font-weight:
inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 18px; line-height:
inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color:
rgb(60, 60, 60); text-decoration: none;">expressed opposition</a><span> </span>to
Pruitt's transparency rule, arguing that he would use it as an
excuse to roll back regulation critical for protecting public
health. It wasn't clear from Pruitt's proposal whether the
transparency was supposed to apply only to future regulations, or
whether it would allow him to change existing ones.<br>
UCLA statistics and epidemiology professor Sander Greenland helped
me consider the importance of false negatives. He said that the
tendency to produce false positives or negatives varies from one
field to another, and may depend on the incentives faced by
researchers.,,<br>
- - - - -<br>
The scientists who've objected to Pruitt's proposed rule are right
to worry. The rule is vaguely worded and premised on assumptions and
innuendo. It's all aimed at an alleged problem with false positive
results - but Pruitt hasn't supplied any direct evidence that
there's a proliferation of false positives in environmental science,
or that such false results are causing any harm.<br>
Pruitt's rule could go into effect after a 30-day comment period,
though the Washington Post<span> </span><a
href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/04/24/pruitt-to-unveil-controversial-transparency-rule-limiting-what-research-epa-can-use/?utm_term=.68aafef28b1a"
target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color:
transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px;
border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial;
border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial;
border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial;
border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 114, 255); border-left-color: initial;
border-image: initial; font-variant: inherit; font-weight:
inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 18px; line-height:
inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color:
rgb(60, 60, 60); text-decoration: none;">reports</a><span> </span>that
it could face opposition in court. Pruitt is promoting "Transparency
in Regulatory Science" as a way to avoid regulations based on weak
or flawed evidence. But the rule itself is based on an alleged
problem for which there's no solid evidence at all.<br>
<span style="color: rgb(60, 60, 60); font-family:
TiemposTextWeb-Regular, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New
Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal;
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; display: inline !important; float: none;"></span><font
size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-05-07/people-can-demand-too-much-certainty-of-science">https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-05-07/people-can-demand-too-much-certainty-of-science</a><br>
</font><br>
<br>
[Friends of the Court]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/05/07/three-democratic-ags-file-brief-support-california-climate-suits/">Three
Democratic AGs File Brief in Support of California Climate Suits</a></b><br>
By Jennifer Dorroh<br>
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has jumped into the fight
to hold oil companies accountable for climate change, although not
with a state investigation as many climate activists had hoped.
Instead, he's supporting the lawsuits by two California cities
against the oil industry in federal court.<br>
Becerra filed an amicus brief last week supporting San Francisco and
Oakland in their suit against a group of oil companies in U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of California. It was also
signed by Democratic attorneys general Gurbir Grewal of New Jersey
and Robert Ferguson of Washington.<br>
<br>
The friend-of-the-court brief counters a recent filing by 15
Republican state attorneys general urging the court to dismiss the
cases. The Democratic AGs said that brief and the oil companies'
motion for dismissal, "tell a one-sided story of unbounded
endorsement of extraction and consumption of fossil fuels by
California and the federal government." <br>
"Defendants do not, of course, point to any laws that explicitly
authorize them to market fossil fuels while intentionally concealing
their knowledge about the harms from those fuels, which is conduct
the Plaintiffs complain of," they said.<br>
<br>
The briefs were filed ahead of a May 24 hearing on Exxon's motion to
dismiss. The Democratic AGs also weighed in on the jurisdictional
battle, supporting the cities and their supporters' argument that
the suits should be tried in state court. Although, Judge William
Alsup had already ruled against sending the case back to state
court, the cities believe state law is more favorable to their
claims and previous federal cases have set precedent in favor of the
industry.<br>
Alsup wrote in his decision to place them in federal court: "Taking
the complaints at face value, the scope of the worldwide predicament
demands the most comprehensive view available, which in our American
court system means our federal courts and our federal common law."..<br>
<font size="-1">More at:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/05/07/three-democratic-ags-file-brief-support-california-climate-suits/">https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/05/07/three-democratic-ags-file-brief-support-california-climate-suits/</a></font><br>
<br>
[behavior influences everything]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/05/08/eric-schneiderman-resign-exxon-climate/">With
Schneiderman Resignation, Exxon Climate Investigation Loses a
Leader</a></b><br>
<strong style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;">By Jennifer
Dorroh</strong><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">New York
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who launched the first
state-level climate investigation of Exxon, resigned Monday night
after an article in </span><a
href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/four-women-accuse-new-yorks-attorney-general-of-physical-abuse"
style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; color:
rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: 500;"><span
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">The New Yorker</span></a><span
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;"> revealed that four
women had accused him of assault. What his resignation may mean
for New York's investigation into possible fraud by Exxon is not
yet clear.</span><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">"It's been my
great honor and privilege to serve as Attorney General for the
people of the State of New York. In the last several hours,
serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made
against me. While these allegations are unrelated to my
professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will
effectively prevent me from leading the office's work at this
critical time. I therefore resign my office, effective at the
close of business on May 8, 2018," he said<span> </span></span><a
href="https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/statement-attorney-general-eric-t-schneiderman"
style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; color:
rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: 500;"><span
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">in a statement</span></a><span
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">.</span><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">The movement to
hold oil companies accountable for sea level rise and other
impacts from climate change lost a powerfully placed advocate.
Schneiderman launched his investigation in 2015 with a subpoena
seeking 40 years of records of Exxon's climate research. Since
then, he has been tenacious in countering Exxon's legal moves to
thwart his investigation, and continued his pursuit of what the
oil giant knew about climate change while simultaneously
expressing doubt about climate change science to shareholders and
the public.</span><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">After a U.S.
District Court dismissed a suit Exxon pursued against him,
Schneiderman<span> </span></span><a
href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/04/23/exxon-climate-probe-new-york-massachusetts/"
style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; color:
rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: 500;"><span
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">said in a
statement</span></a><span style="box-sizing: inherit;
font-weight: 400;">: "At every turn in our investigation, Exxon
has tried to distract and deflect from the facts at hand. But we
will not be deterred: our securities fraud investigation into
Exxon continues."</span><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">Now, his
resignation raises questions about whether New York will be
deterred from pursuing that investigation. Schneiderman, a
Democrat who had served as New York attorney general since 2010,
was running for re-election. The state legislature will meet in
joint session to choose a replacement to complete his current
term.</span><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">Schneiderman
began the battle against the oil giant when</span><a
href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05112015/new-york-attorney-general-eric-schneiderman-subpoena-Exxon-climate-documents"
style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; color:
rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: 500;"><span
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;"><span> </span>he
subpoenaed Exxon</span></a><span style="box-sizing: inherit;
font-weight: 400;"><span> </span>in December 2015.</span><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">In March 2016,
Schneiderman led a group of 17 state attorneys general, calling
themselves</span><a
href="https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/al-gore-and-new-york-attorney-general-eric-schneiderman-launch-ags-united-clean-power-coalition"
style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; color:
rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: 500;"><span
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;"><span> </span>AGs
United for Clean Power</span></a><span style="box-sizing:
inherit; font-weight: 400;">, at a press conference and pledged to
hold fossil fuel companies accountable for their conduct involving
climate change. Former Vice President Al Gore called it "the best,
most hopeful step in years," and said, "What these attorneys
general are doing is extremely important. These brave members of
this coalition are doing their job like they did in the tobacco
case."</span><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">The attorneys
general of Massachusetts and the U.S. Virgin Islands launched
their own investigations in early 2016, but only Massachusetts and
its AG, Maura Healey, remains in the fight along with New York.</span><br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/05/08/eric-schneiderman-resign-exxon-climate/">https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/05/08/eric-schneiderman-resign-exxon-climate/</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[Pretty strong]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.resilience.org/stories/2018-05-07/george-monbiots-wreckage-friendly-critique/">George
Monbiot's Out of the Wreckage; A friendly critique</a></b><br>
By Ted Trainer, originally published by Resilence.org<br>
Few have made a more commendable contribution to saving the planet
than George Monbiot. His recent book, Out of the Wreckage, continues
the effort and puts forward many important ideas…but I believe there
are problems with his diagnosis and his remedy...<br>
- - - - <br>
George doesn't seem to grasp the significance of the limits, the
magnitude of the overshoot, or therefore the essential nature of the
sustainability problem and its extremely radical implications. Above
all he does not stress the need to happily embrace extremely frugal
"lifestyles". Sustainability cannot be achieved unless the pursuit
of affluence as well as the dominance of neo-liberalism ceases, and
he therefore does not deal with what is in fact the main task for
those wishing to save the planet; i.e., increasing general awareness
that a Simpler Way of some kind must be taken. George does not
discuss the simplicity theme.<br>
<br>
This has been a criticism in terms of goals. I think the book also
has a problem regarding means. The book is primarily about politics.
It is a sound critique of the way the present decision making system
works for the rich and of the need for us to take control of it into
our hands via localism. But George is saying in effect, "Let's get
out there and build community and take control and then we can fix
things." Unfortunately I think that advice is based on a
questionable analysis of the situation and of how to fix it.<br>
<br>
My case requires some discussion of what I see as perhaps the book's
major problem, which is to do with the nature of community, more
accurately with the conditions required for it to exist or come into
existence. Again George's documentation of the sorry state of
community today is to be applauded. But I think his strategic
recommendations mostly involve little more than a plea for us to
just come together and commune, as if we have made the mistake of
forgetting the importance of community and all would be well if we
just woke up and knocked on our neighbour's door.<br>
- - - - <br>
There is now no possibility of heading off an extremely serious
multifactorial global breakdown. For instance greenhouse gas
emissions would have to be reduced at maybe 8% p.a., and yet they
are rising. Renewable energy would have to replace fossil fuels in a
few decades … but presently it contributes only 1.5% of world energy
use. There are strong reasons to think that oil will become very
scarce within ten years. (See Ahmed, 2017.) Global debt levels are
so high now and rising so fast that the coming CFC 2.0 will dwarf
the previous GFC1. Did you know that global insect populations have
suddenly begun to plunge? Forget about your white rhino, it's the
little fellows at the base of food chains that really matter. Need I
go on...<br>
Yes, go on at: <font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.resilience.org/stories/2018-05-07/george-monbiots-wreckage-friendly-critique/">http://www.resilience.org/stories/2018-05-07/george-monbiots-wreckage-friendly-critique/</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[Ethics and Climate Change]<br>
<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJSFUcfU6Dw">training on
how to ask questions of opponents of climate change policies to
expose ethical problems</a></b><br>
Donald Brown - Published on May 7, 2018 - 18:44<br>
This video helps NGOs and media members to ask questions of
opponents of climate change policies to expose ethical and moral
problems with cost and scientific uncertainty arguments made against
climate change policies and laws<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJSFUcfU6Dw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJSFUcfU6Dw</a><br>
<br>
<br>
[Not very smart since it calls greater attention]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/05/03/the-energy-202-interior-agency-blocks-group-of-archaeologists-from-attending-scientific-conference/5aea1d9230fb042db57972ac/?utm_term=.2db1390c1edd">The
Energy 202: Interior agency blocks group of archaeologists from
attending scientific conference</a></b><br>
By Dino Grandoni<br>
The Bureau of Land Management blocked at least 14 of its staff
archaeologists and other specialists from attending a major
scientific conference this year, at a time when archeological sites
have become a flashpoint in the debate over public lands protection.<br>
The archeologists and other BLM employees, many working and living
in Western states, were originally scheduled to attend the annual
meeting in Washington of the Society for American Archaeology, the
largest organization of professional archaeologists in the Western
Hemisphere.<br>
- - - -<br>
One BLM employee, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution,
said that staffers vetted their conference attendance through the
BLM director's office for approval during both the Obama and Trump
administrations. Under both administrations, budget was a
consideration, but under Trump "individual events themselves and
topics to be covered got more scrutiny," the employee said.<br>
<br>
"This entire incident reeks of scientific interference to advance
the administration's energy-at-all-costs agenda," said Aaron Weiss,
media director at the Center for Western Priorities. <br>
The restriction on archaeologists attending the conference this year
did not span the entire Interior Department. The National Park
Service, another division within Interior, gave the greenlight to
all 25 of its archaeologists who asked for permission to go to the
SAA conference, NPS spokesman Jeremy Barnum said.<br>
At other times, however, various Interior Department agencies reined
in how government-funded science is publicized.<br>
<br>
Last year, officials at Interior headquarters directed the U.S.
Geological Survey to delete a line from a news release discussing
the role climate change played in raising Earth's oceans and removed
two top climate experts at Montana's Glacier National Park from a
delegation scheduled to show Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg
around the park full of shrinking glaciers.<br>
<font size="-1">more
at:<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/05/03/the-energy-202-interior-agency-blocks-group-of-archaeologists-from-attending-scientific-conference/5aea1d9230fb042db57972ac/?utm_term=.2db1390c1edd">https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/05/03/the-energy-202-interior-agency-blocks-group-of-archaeologists-from-attending-scientific-conference/5aea1d9230fb042db57972ac/?utm_term=.2db1390c1edd</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[Fare thee well in not-well air]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://theconversation.com/is-air-pollution-making-you-sick-4-questions-answered-91605">Is
air pollution making you sick? 4 questions answered</a></b><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2817%2930505-6/fulltext">Last
year, a study found</a> that more than 8 million people per year
die early from air pollution exposure. This amounts to more deaths
than diarrheal disease, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined.<br>
<br>
As a researcher in air pollution and its health effects, I know that
even if you don't live in these places, air pollution likely still
affects your quality of life. Here's what you need to know.<br>
<br>
1. What exactly is air pollution?<br>
Air pollution is a general term that usually describes a mixture of
different chemicals that circulate in the air.<br>
<br>
Invisible gases, like ozone or carbon monoxide, and tiny particles
or droplets of liquids mix together in the atmosphere. Each molecule
is impossible to see with the naked eye, but when trillions gather
together, you can see them as haze.<br>
<br>
These chemicals are almost always mixed together in varied amounts.
Scientists do not yet understand how these different mixtures affect
us. Each person responds differently to air pollution exposure -
some people have few effects, while others, such as kids with
asthma, might become very ill.<br>
What's more, air pollution mixtures in a given location change over
time. Changes can occur quickly over a few hours or gradually over
months.<br>
- - - -<br>
There are also many chemical reactions that occur in the air itself.
These reactions create what are known as secondary pollutants, some
of which are<span> </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4455590/" style="color: rgb(85, 117, 133); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">quite toxic</a>.<br>
Finally, it's important to realize that air pollution knows no
boundaries. If a pollutant is emitted in one location, it very
easily moves across borders - both regional and national - to
different places. New Delhi, for example, experiences seasonal
pollution, thanks to extensive burning of agricultural fields some
200 miles away.<br>
- - - - -<br>
This is a tricky question, because air pollution is a hidden problem
that acts as a trigger for many health problems. Plenty of people
suffer from asthma and lung diseases, heart attacks and cancer, and<span> </span><a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs313/en/" style="color: rgb(85, 117, 133); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">all of these are linked to particulate matter exposure</a>.
The best<span> </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673617305056" style="color: rgb(85, 117, 133); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">evidence to date</a><span> </span>suggests
that the higher the dose of air pollution, the worse our response
will be.<br>
Unfortunately, there are many other things that lead to these
diseases, too: poor diet, your inherited genes, or whether you have
access to high quality medical care or you smoke cigarettes, for
example. This makes figuring out the cause of a specific illness
attributed to air pollution exposure much more difficult.<br>
- - - -<br>
The U.S. and Europe have made<span> </span><a href="https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/progress-cleaning-air-and-improving-peoples-health#pollution" style="color: rgb(85, 117, 133); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">excellent progress</a><span> </span>in
reducing air pollution concentrations over the past couple of
decades, largely by crafting effective air quality regulation.<br>
However, in the U.S. today, where environmental laws are being<span> </span><a href="http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/resources/climate-deregulation-tracker/" style="color: rgb(85, 117, 133); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">methodically dismantled</a>,
there is a bigger worry that policymakers are simply choosing to
ignore science. One new member of the Environmental Protection
Agency's science advisory board is Robert Phalen of the University
of California, Irvine, who has suggested that<span> </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/16/modern-air-is-too-clean-the-rise-of-air-pollution-denial" style="color: rgb(85, 117, 133); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">"modern air is too clean for optimum health"</a>.<br>
This goes against thousands of research papers and is certainly not
true. While some components of air pollution have little effect on
human health, this should not be used to muddy our understanding of
air pollution exposure. This is a common tactic to confuse the
public with unimportant statistics in order to sow confusion,
presumably with an underlying intent to influence policy.<br>
The evidence is clear: Air pollution exposure is lethal and causes
death across the world. That should be important to all of us.<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://theconversation.com/is-air-pollution-making-you-sick-4-questions-answered-91605">https://theconversation.com/is-air-pollution-making-you-sick-4-questions-answered-91605</a></font><br>
-<br>
[proof of what you already know - in The Lancet]<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2817%2930505-6/fulltext">Estimates
and 25-year trends of the global burden of disease attributable to
ambient air pollution: an analysis of data from the Global Burden
of Diseases Study 2015</a><br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2817%2930505-6/fulltext">https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)30505-6/fulltext</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
[how about a political movement instead?]<br>
<b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://ivn.us/2018/04/26/usa-today-nearly-two-thirds-americans-given-up-political-parties/">USA
Today: Nearly Two-Thirds of Americans Have Given Up On Political
Parties</a></b><br>
By W.E. Messamore<br>
Many Americans will be staying out of the voting booth for the 2018
elections, disillusioned by the promises of politicians and
convinced that the political system is irreparably corrupt.<br>
- - - - -<br>
"Nearly two-thirds of adult U.S. citizens will stay away from the
polls during the coming midterm elections, and they say they have
given up on the political parties and a system that they say is
beyond reform and repair…<br>
A majority of those non-voters would like to see a third party or
multiple parties."<br>
As the Huffington Post notes: "The poll surveyed Americans who
aren't registered to vote or who are registered but say they're
unlikely to cast a ballot. Combined, the two groups include more
than 100 million adults, the pollsters note."<br>
68 percent of independent voters and party registered voters who say
they are unlikely to vote this year agreed with the statement: "I
don't pay much attention to politics because it is so corrupt." It's
a marked increase over the 54 percent of respondents who agreed to
this characterization of politics in the 2012 survey.<br>
And 63 percent of respondents in these categories agreed or strongly
agreed with the statement: "I don't pay much attention to politics
because nothing ever gets done - it's a bunch of empty promises,"
which is also up from the 59 percent who said the same nearly six
years ago.,,<br>
Read more at:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://ivn.us/2018/04/26/usa-today-nearly-two-thirds-americans-given-up-political-parties/">https://ivn.us/2018/04/26/usa-today-nearly-two-thirds-americans-given-up-political-parties/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
[That's a year's worth of rain for Seattle]<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/05/03/hawaii-49-inches-rain-climate-change/"><b>A
49-Inch Downpour in Hawaii Raises Alarm About Climate Costs
Ahead</b></a><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">A staggering
rainstorm on the north shore of the Hawaiian island of Kauai is
the latest clue that climate change-related impacts are already
threatening the islands. On April 14 and 15, a gauge in Waipa<span> </span></span><a
href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=92081&src=twitter-iotd"
style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; color:
rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: 500;"><span
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">recorded 49
inches</span></a><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight:
400;"><span> </span>of rain in 24 hours. For perspective, the
rains from Hurricane Harvey, which inundated the Houston area with<span> </span></span><a
href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/25/580689546/harvey-the-most-significant-tropical-cyclone-rainfall-event-in-u-s-history"
style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; color:
rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: 500;"><span
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">up to 60 inches
last year</span></a><span style="box-sizing: inherit;
font-weight: 400;">, occured over a four-day span. </span><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">The state is
still assessing the full extent of damage, and</span><a
href="https://governor.hawaii.gov/newsroom/latest-news/governor-ige-county-mayors-announce-assistance-for-kaua%CA%BBi-and-waimanalo-farmers/"
style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; color:
rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: 500;"><span> </span><span
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">Gov. David Ige
recently announced</span></a><span style="box-sizing: inherit;
font-weight: 400;"><span> </span>a plan to help farmers who
suffered losses during the storm. More than 220 people had to be
airlifted to safety by the Army and National Guard as a major road
was blocked by landslides. A herd of bison was carried off by the
flood waters, with some animals having to be rescued from the
ocean.</span><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">A group within
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that
investigates extreme weather and climate events is analyzing the
storm to determine whether the storm broke the national record
for the most rainfall within a 24-hour period.</span><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">The</span><a
href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/extremes/ncec/records"
style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; color:
rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: 500;"><span> </span><span
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">current 24-hour
record</span></a><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight:
400;"><span> </span> is 43 inches, set in Alvin, Texas in 1979.</span><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">Setting a new
record will be just the latest reminder that as the climate warms,
parts of Hawaii are already experiencing bigger torrential rains
and will likely see</span><a
href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate1890"
style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; color:
rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: 500;"><span> </span><span
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">more frequent
tropical cyclones</span></a><span style="box-sizing: inherit;
font-weight: 400;">. Pao-Shin Chu, Hawaii's state climatologist
and a professor at the University of Hawaii, noted that his
research showed that the Big Island has seen more frequent heavy
rains in the past 50 years.</span><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">"If given a one
degree C warming, the atmospheric moisture is expected to increase
by 7 percent. With this additional moisture available in the air,
it may help trigger heavy downpours if other conditions are
right," Chu said by email.</span><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">But is not just
heavy downpours and stronger hurricanes, Hawaii's Department of
Land and Natural Resources </span><a
href="https://climateadaptation.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/SLR-Report_Dec2017.pdf"
style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; color:
rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: 500;"><span
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">published a
report</span></a><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight:
400;"><span> </span>last December that examined how sea level rise
will affect its residents and economy.</span><br>
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 400;">The report
estimated that rising seas could cost the state $19 billion in
lost land and structures alone by the middle to second half of
this century, with Oahu, the most populated island, the most
vulnerable to damage. That figure doesn't include losses that
result from flooded roads, utilities and other infrastructure. It
also doesn't even begin to tackle the question of how much extreme
weather will cost the state...<br>
<font size="-1"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/05/03/hawaii-49-inches-rain-climate-change">https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2018/05/03/hawaii-49-inches-rain-climate-change</a></font>/<br>
</span><br>
<br>
<font size="+1"><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/08/us/scientist-says-budget-office-altered-his-testimony.html">This
Day in Climate History - May 8, 1989</a> - from D.R. Tucker</b></font><br>
May 8, 1989: The New York Times reports that the Office of
Management and Budget in the George H. W. Bush administration
altered NASA climate scientist James Hansen's upcoming Senate
testimony to emphasize alleged uncertainties in climate science.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/08/us/scientist-says-budget-office-altered-his-testimony.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/08/us/scientist-says-budget-office-altered-his-testimony.html</a><br>
<br>
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