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<p><i><font size="+1"><b>March 31, 2020</b></font></i></p>
[going backwards]<br>
<b>U.S. to Announce Rollback of Auto Pollution Rules, a Key Effort
to Fight Climate Change</b><br>
By Coral Davenport<br>
Ms. Davenport has been covering federal climate change policy since
the George W. Bush administration.<br>
<br>
March 30, 2020<br>
WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration is expected on Tuesday to
announce its final rule to rollback Obama-era automobile fuel
efficiency standards, relaxing efforts to limit climate-warming
tailpipe pollution and virtually undoing the government's biggest
effort to combat climate change.<br>
<br>
The new rule, written by the Environmental Protection Agency and the
Department of Transportation, would allow cars on American roads to
emit nearly a billion tons more carbon dioxide over the lifetime of
the vehicles than they would have under the Obama standards and
hundreds of millions of tons more than will be emitted under
standards being implemented in Europe and Asia...<br>
- - <br>
Over the weekend, White House officials looked at a new option for
their cost-benefit analysis, according to two people familiar with
the matter, who asked to speak anonymously because the rule was not
yet final. Their solution was an approach that factors in the
estimated costs of building fuel-efficient vehicles that are, so
far, less popular with consumers. By eliminating the Obama-era
mandate to build and sell such vehicles, the thinking goes,
automakers would see an economic benefit in the range of $38 billion
to $58 billion. <br>
Some analysts scoffed at that assertion.<br>
<br>
"It's not going to be supported by the science," said Chet France,
a former senior E.P.A. vehicle emissions specialist who is now a
consultant who works with the Environmental Defense Fund, an
advocacy group. "This will be the icing on cake of the legal
flaws."<br>
- - -<br>
If the rule does survive legal challenges, it would put the United
States out of step with the rest of the global auto market, moving
it from one of the strongest fuel economy standards in the world to
one of the weakest. The American standard would be lower than those
of the European Union, China, India, Japan and South Korea. That
could present long-term challenges to the American auto industry, as
other automakers develop more sophisticated, high-efficiency,
low-pollution vehicles while American ones focus on gas guzzlers.<br>
<br>
The new measure will combine with a related rule, issued last year,
that revoked the right of California and other states to set their
own tougher vehicle emissions standards. California has spearheaded
a pair of multistate lawsuits to block both rules, escalating a
political war between Mr. Trump and the nation's most populous
state.<br>
- - <br>
Ultimately, the limits on atmospheric emissions will most likely be
decided by the Supreme Court. Automakers most fear verdicts that
uphold the legal authority of California and other states to enact
their own standards, and allow the Trump standards to move forward
elsewhere. That would split the nation's auto market in two...<br>
- - -<br>
"One thing we've learned from the Trump administration is be careful
what you ask for," said Dr. Victor of the University of California,
San Diego.<br>
<br>
"The auto industry wanted a smoother glide path to a more efficient
future," he added. "Instead what they got was the populist politics
of the far right, which is blowing up in their faces."<br>
<br>
Mr. Trump's defenders say his moves are not aimed at automakers but
at consumers who generally prefer larger vehicles, such as pickup
trucks and sport utility vehicles.<br>
<br>
"He's not doing it to be conciliatory to industry, he's doing it for
consumers, and for his own personal and political reason," Mr. Pyle
said.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/climate/trump-fuel-economy.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/climate/trump-fuel-economy.html</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>[Down under, back then]<br>
<b>'Probably the worst year in a century': Australia's
environmental toll of 2019</b><br>
The annual Australia's Environment report finds last year's heat
and drought caused unprecedented damage.<br>
Record heat and drought across Australia delivered the worst
environmental conditions across the country since at least 2000,
with river flows, tree cover and wildlife being hit on an
"unprecedented scale", according to a new report.<br>
<br>
The index of environmental conditions in Australia scored 2019 at
0.8 out of 10 - the worst result across all the years analysed
from 2000.<br>
<br>
The year delivered unprecedented bushfires, record heat, very low
soil moisture, low vegetation growth and 40 additions to the
threatened species list.<br>
<br>
The report's lead author, Prof Albert van Dijk of the Australian
National University's Fenner school of environment and society,
told Guardian Australia 2019 was "probably the worst in a century
or more" for the environment.<br>
"This is not the new normal - this is just getting worse and
worse," he said, adding that 2019 had seen a "continuing descent
into an ever more dismal future. You start to see ecosystems fall
apart and then struggle to recover before the next major
disturbance."<br>
<br>
The Australia's Environment report scored environmental conditions
across seven indicators - inundation, streamflow, vegetation
growth, leaf area, soil protection, tree cover and the number of
hot days.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/30/probably-the-worst-year-in-a-century-the-environmental-toll-of-2019">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/30/probably-the-worst-year-in-a-century-the-environmental-toll-of-2019</a><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[opinion]<br>
<b>The coronavirus outbreak is part of the climate change crisis</b><br>
Therefore, climate action should be central to our response to the
COVID-19 pandemic.<br>
by Vijay Kolinjivadi <br>
The speed and scope of the coronavirus outbreak have taken world
governments by surprise and left the stock market reeling. Since the
virus first appeared in China's Hubei province, it has infected over
700,000 people and killed more than 33,000 across the world in less
than six months.<br>
<br>
The interconnectedness of our globalised world facilitated the
spread of COVID-19. The disruption this continues to cause has made
evident societal dependence on global production systems.<br>
<br>
The pandemic has forced governments into a difficult balancing act
between ensuring public safety and wellbeing and maintaining profit
margins and growth targets. Ultimately, the prospect of a large
death toll and the collapse of health systems have forced countries
to put millions of people on lockdown.<br>
<br>
These sweeping and unprecedented measures taken by the government
and international institutions could not but make some of us wonder
about another global emergency that needs urgent action - climate
change. <br>
<br>
The two emergencies are in fact quite similar. Both have their roots
in the world's current economic model - that of the pursuit of
infinite growth at the expense of the environment on which our
survival depends - and both are deadly and disruptive.<br>
<br>
In fact, one may argue that the pandemic is part of climate change
and therefore, our response to it should not be limited to
containing the spread of the virus. What we thought was "normal"
before the pandemic was already a crisis and so returning to it
cannot be an option.<br>
<br>
The common roots of COVID-19 and climate change<br>
Despite the persistent climate denialism in some policy circles, by
now it is clear to the majority across the world that climate change
is happening as a result of human activity - namely industrial
production.<br>
<br>
In order to continue producing - and being able to declare that
their economy is growing - humans are harvesting the natural
resources of the planet - water, fossil fuels, timber, land, ore,
etc - and plugging them into an industrial cycle which puts out
various consumables (cars, clothes, furniture, phones, processed
food etc) and a lot of waste.<br>
<br>
This process depletes the natural ability of the environment to
balance itself and disrupts ecological cycles (for example
deforestation leads to lower CO2 absorption by forests), while at
the same time, it adds a large amount of waste (for example CO2 from
burned fossil fuels). This, in turn, is leading to changes in the
climate of our planet.<br>
<br>
This same process is also responsible for COVID-19 and other
outbreaks. The need for more natural resources has forced humans to
encroach on various natural habitats and expose themselves to yet
unknown pathogens.<br>
<br>
At the same time, the growth of mass production of food has created
large-scale farms, where massive numbers of livestock and poultry
packed into megabarns. As socialist biologist Rob Wallace argues in
his book Big Farms Make Big Flu, this has created the perfect
environment for the mutation and emergence of new diseases such as
hepatitis E, Nipah virus, Q fever, and others.<br>
<br>
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates
that three out of four new infectious diseases come from
human-animal contact. The outbreaks of Ebola and other coronaviruses
such as MERS, for instance, were triggered by a jump from animal to
human in disturbed natural habitats.<br>
<br>
In the case of COVID-19, it is suspected that the virus was
transmitted to humans at a "wet market" in the city of Wuhan, where
wildlife was being sold.<br>
<br>
The mass-scale breeding of wild animals, including pangolins, civet
cats, foxes, wild geese, and boar among many others is a $74bn
industry in China and has been viewed as a get-rich-quick scheme by
its rural population.<br>
<br>
The origin of the virus makes it a perfect example of how the way
capitalism commodifies life to turn it into profit can directly
endanger human life. In this sense, the ongoing pandemic is the
product of unrestrained capitalist production and consumption
patterns and is very much part of the deleterious environmental
changes it is causing.<br>
<br>
The failure to contain it is also due to the capitalist drive of the
global economy. In the United States, some have claimed that profit
losses from the freezing of economic activity are not worth closing
the country for business for more than 15 days.<br>
<br>
The World Bank Group has also recently stated that structural
adjustment reforms will need to be implemented to recover from
COVID-19, including requirements for loans being tied to doing away
with "excessive regulations, subsidies, licensing regimes, trade
protection...to foster markets, choice, and faster growth
prospects."<br>
<br>
Doubling down on neoliberal policies which encourage the
unrestrained abuse of resources would be a catastrophic prospect in
a post-COVID-19 world. The suspension of environmental laws and
regulations in the US is already a frightening sign of what
returning to "normal" means for the establishment. <br>
<br>
Climate change is happening<br>
Although both COVID-19 and climate change are rooted in the same
abusive economic behaviour and both have proven to be deadly for
humans, governments have seen them as separate and unconnected
phenomena and have therefore responded rather differently to them.<br>
<br>
The vast majority of countries around the world - albeit with
varying degrees of delay - have taken strict measures to curb the
movement and gathering of people in order to contain the virus, even
at the expense of economic growth.<br>
<br>
The same has not happened with climate change. Current climate
change measures have taken little heed of the scale and progression
of the environmental changes we are experiencing. Climate change
does not follow four-year election cycles or five-year economic
plans. It does not wait for 2030 or 2050 Sustainable Development
targets.<br>
<br>
Various aspects of climate change progress at different speeds and
in different locations and although for some of us these changes
might not be obvious or palpable, they are happening. There are also
certain thresholds which if crossed will cause change to be
irreversible - whether in greenhouse gas concentration in the
atmosphere, the loss of insect populations or the melting of the
permafrost. <br>
<br>
And while we do not get daily updates on the death toll caused by
climate change, as we do with COVID-19, it is much deadlier than the
virus.<br>
<br>
Global warming of 3C and 4C above pre-industrial levels could easily
lead to a series of catastrophic outcomes. It could severely affect
our ability to produce food by decreasing the fertility of soils,
intensifying droughts, causing coastal inundations, increasing the
loss of pollinators, etc. It could also cause severe heatwaves
across the world, which have already proven increasingly deadly both
in terms of high temperatures and the wildfires they cause, as well
as more extreme weather phenomena like hurricanes.<br>
<br>
Pursuing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, carbon offsetting
schemes, incremental eco-efficiencies, vegan diets for the wealthy
and other similar tactics will not stop climate change because they
do not discourage mass industrial production and consumption but
simply shift their emphasis. Such approaches will never work because
they do not entail the necessary radical change of our high-powered
lives that is required to force us to slow down and reduce our
emissions.<br>
<br>
The rapid response to COVID-19 around the world illustrates the
remarkable capacity of society to put the emergency brake on
"business-as-usual" simply by acting in the moment. It shows that we
can take radical action if we want to.<br>
<br>
Lockdowns across the world have already resulted in a significant
drop in greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants. In China, for
instance, the lockdown caused carbon dioxide to drop by at least 25
percent and nitrogen dioxide by 37 percent. <br>
<br>
Taking action<br>
Yet, this temporary decrease in greenhouse gases should not be a
cause for celebration. The fact is that as a result of the
lockdowns, millions of people have already lost their jobs and
billions will probably struggle amid the economic downturn the
outbreak is causing.<br>
<br>
While some have called for climate change to be just as drastic as
the one undertaken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it should
not be. We need a just climate transition which ensures the
protection of the poor and most vulnerable and which is integrated
into our pandemic response. This would not only reverse the climate
disaster we are already living in but also minimise the risk of new
pandemics like the current one breaking out. <br>
<br>
The just climate transition should involve economic reforms to
introduce "planned degrowth" that puts the wellbeing of people over
profit margins. The first step towards that is ensuring the stimulus
packages that governments are announcing across the world are not
wasted on bailing out corporations.<br>
<br>
We must avoid at all costs a situation where unscrupulous big
businesses and state actors are allowed free reign to reinforce
appalling global inequality while the rest of civil society is
quarantined at home. <br>
<br>
We should demand that government funds are instead allocated to
decentralised renewable energy production in order to start
implementing the Green New Deal and create new meaningful jobs amid
the post-COVID-19 economic crisis. In parallel, we should ensure the
provision of universal healthcare and free education, the extension
of social protection for all vulnerable populations and the
prioritisation of affordable housing.<br>
<br>
The current response to COVID-19 could help usher in some of these
changes. It could get us accustomed to lifestyles and work patterns
that minimise consumption. It could encourage us to commute and
travel less, reduce household waste, have shorter work weeks, and
rely more on local supply chains - i.e. actions that do not hurt the
livelihoods of the working classes but shift economic activity from
a globalised to a more localised pattern.<br>
<br>
Obviously, the conditions surrounding COVID-19 are not ideal, but
the rapid and urgent actions in response to the virus and the
inspiring examples of mutual aid also illustrate that society is
more than capable of acting collectively in the face of grave danger
to the whole of humanity.<br>
<br>
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not
necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance. <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/coronavirus-outbreak-part-climate-change-emergency-200325135058077.html">https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/coronavirus-outbreak-part-climate-change-emergency-200325135058077.html</a>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[Ozone hole]<br>
<b>ENORMOUS HOLE IN THE OZONE APPEARS ABOVE ARCTIC IN RARE
ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON</b><br>
BY HANNAH OSBORNE ON 3/30/20 <br>
A huge hole in the ozone layer has appeared above the Arctic in a
rare atmospheric phenomenon. Freezing temperatures have caused ozone
levels to plummet, leaving a hole stretching from Hudson Bay to
Russia's northern Arctic islands.<br>
<br>
Images from NASA's Arctic Ozone Watch show how the hole has been
growing since the start of March, with ozone levels dropping
significantly. Blue and purple colors show where there is the least
amount of ozone, while reds and yellows indicate where levels are
higher.<br>
<br>
Ozone is a gas made of three oxygen atoms. It is created naturally
in the stratosphere, a layer of Earth's atmosphere that sits between
seven and 25 miles above the surface of the planet. Ultraviolet rays
from the sun break oxygen molecules into atoms. It is highly
reactive and acts as a shield, protecting life on Earth from harmful
UV rays.<br>
<br>
It is a thin layer and is moved around by winds high in the
atmosphere, and is depleted by both natural and manmade atmospheric
gasses.<br>
A hole in the ozone layer appears above Antarctica each spring. In
the 1980s, scientists noticed the layer in this region was thinning
drastically. The cause was established to be the release into the
atmosphere of manmade compounds called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
These chemicals were found to destroy ozone and, under the 1987
Montreal Protocol, are banned by 196 United Nations member states
and the European Union. The hole still appears in Antarctica every
year, but it is now healing.<br>
<br>
Natural ozone depletion is driven by cold temperatures. Antarctica,
which is surrounded by oceans, gets far colder than the Arctic.
Freezing conditions in Antarctica means high-altitude clouds form
and come together. These cloud formations lead to chemical reactions
that cause ozone depletion.<br>
<br>
The Arctic, however, is surrounded by mountainous continents,
meaning temperatures normally do not plummet so low that these
conditions are created. This year, however, temperatures dropped
significantly, leading to the ozone depletion that was recorded.<br>
John Pyle, an atmospheric scientist at the U.K.'s University of
Cambridge, told Newsweek over email: "The low temperature condition
(temperatures less than about 195k) in the Arctic are much less
common. Interestingly, the Antarctic ozone hole last year was quite
small; temperatures in the low stratosphere were higher than normal.
In contrast, this Arctic winter/spring has seen a very strong lower
stratospheric polar vortex and persistent, widespread very low
temperatures. So, it's the meteorological conditions that set the
condition--and this year's Arctic has been exceptional."<br>
<br>
Markus Rex, an atmospheric scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute
in Potsdam, Germany, told Nature that there has been more cold air
above the Arctic than any other winter for 40 years.<br>
<br>
According to the magazine, measurements taken from weather balloons
and observing stations in the region have shown a 90 percent drop in
ozone levels. It is thought this could be one of the largest Arctic
ozone holes on record.<br>
"We have at least as much loss as in 2011, and there are some
indications that it might be more than 2011," Gloria Manney, an
atmospheric scientist at NorthWest Research Associates in Socorro,
New Mexico, told Nature.<br>
<br>
The hole is not a concern and it will likely start to repair over
the coming weeks. Martyn Chipperfield, professor in atmospheric
chemistry at the University of Leeds, U.K., told Newsweek: "We are
entering spring. The atmosphere will warm up and the wind patterns
will change. That will put a stop to the depletion and the depletion
will repair itself."<br>
<br>
He said it can be monitored with satellite observations and weather
center forecasting models. "The 'hole,' or remnants of it, may move
southwards but that is easily tracked," he said. "If needed alerts
for high UV could be issued, but that is very unlikely to be
necessary at this time of year."<br>
<br>
The risk of large holes in the ozone appearing over the coming
decades is also decreasing, as the bans introduced in the Montreal
Protocol see levels of ozone-depleting chemicals drop even further,
Chipperfield said.<br>
<br>
"The scientific community has said for more than 20 years that,
notwithstanding the Protocol, as we move towards recovery, very low
temperatures in any particular year will lead to more ozone
depletion in that year. So, this is exactly what we'd expect," Pyle
added.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.newsweek.com/ozone-hole-arctic-rare-phenomenon-1495075">https://www.newsweek.com/ozone-hole-arctic-rare-phenomenon-1495075</a>
<p><br>
</p>
<br>
[Digging back into the internet news archive]<br>
<font size="+1"><b>On this day in the history of global warming -
March 31, 2009 </b></font><br>
<b>MSNBC's Keith Olbermann rips denialist Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL):</b><br>
<blockquote>"But our winner, Congressman John Shimkus, Republican of
Illinois, with two fascinating and utterly contradictory
statements. A, Congressman Shimkus on why there isn't global
warming. 'Today we have about 388 parts per million of Carbon
Dioxide in the atmosphere. I think in the age of the dinosaurs,
when we had most flora and fauna, we were probably at 4,000 parts
per million. There's a theological debate that this is a
carbon-starved planet, not too much carbon.' <br>
<br>
"Number one, Carbon and Carbon Dioxide are not the same thing.
Number two, the only theological debate over how much carbon the
plan needs would be taking place in the church of the Labrea Tar
Pits. Number three, didn't the freaking dinosaurs go extinct? Or
do they just have a bad public relations person? <br>
<br>
"But I'm digressing. B, Congressman Shimkus on why it doesn't
matter anyway. 'The Earth will end only when God declares it's
time to be over. A man will not destroy this Earth. This Earth
will not be destroyed by a flood. I appreciate having panelists
here who are men of faith, and we can get into the theological
discourse of that position. But I do believe that God's word is
infallible, unchanging, perfect.'<br>
<br>
"So a man pressing a button to start a nuclear war, that would be
God's infallible word? Why do we bother trying to govern? Can't
he do something about the budget deficit? By the way, as you hit
me over the head with your Bible, Congressman, there ain't a word
in it about those dinosaurs you mentioned earlier. <br>
<br>
"Congressman John Shimkus of Illinois, today's worst person in the
world!"<br>
</blockquote>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBf75v2k3EE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBf75v2k3EE</a><br>
- - -<br>
<b>MSNBC's Rachel Maddow also mocks Shimkus during her "GOP in
Exile" segment:</b><br>
<blockquote>"While the Republican Party continues its search for
mean in the minority, one Republican congressman, John Shimkus of
Illinois, maybe should stop searching. Just sit down, Congressman
and take a breather, honestly. Check this out:<br>
<br>
"REP. JOHN SHIMKUS (R-IL): Today, we have about 388 parts per
million in the atmosphere. I think in the age of dinosaurs, where
we had more flora and fauna, we were probably at 4,000 parts per
million. There is a theological debate that this is a carbon
starved planet, not too much carbon. <br>
<br>
"MADDOW: In other words, we shouldn't bother trying to reduce the
amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere because the dinosaurs
did just fine with the tons of carbon that God gave them for their
atmosphere. Also, the dodo bird ate plenty of cholesterol. And
the saber tooth tiger never, ever flossed. Stop worrying,
people."<br>
</blockquote>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF9z-QkeO-E">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF9z-QkeO-E</a><br>
<br>
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