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<p><i><font size="+1"><b>September 13, 2020</b></font></i></p>
[data correction - should be more than 40,000]<br>
<b>Oregon initially said 500,000 people had been evacuated because
of wildfires. The numbers didn't add up -- and the state
backtracked.</b><br>
By Brad Schmidt | The Oregonian/OregonLive and Mark Friesen | The
Oregonian/OregonLive<br>
The number of Oregonians told to evacuate because of unprecedented
wildfires is more than 40,000 - not the 500,000 residents initially
and erroneously announced by Oregon's Office of Emergency
Management, Gov. Kate Brown acknowledged Friday following
publication of an analysis by The Oregonian/OregonLive showing the
true number of evacuations to be far lower.<br>
<br>
The state in a news release Thursday night said an "estimated
500,000 Oregonians have been evacuated and that number continues to
grow."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/09/oregon-said-500000-people-have-been-evacuated-because-of-wildfires-the-numbers-dont-add-up.html">https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/09/oregon-said-500000-people-have-been-evacuated-because-of-wildfires-the-numbers-dont-add-up.html</a><br>
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[interactive map California fires]<br>
Cal Fire Incidents report<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/">https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/</a><br>
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[now they say they know]<br>
<b>A Secret Recording Reveals Oil Executives' Private Views on
Climate Change</b><br>
At a meeting last year, industry leaders contradicted public claims
that emissions of climate-warming methane are under control<br>
By Hiroko Tabuchi - Sept. 12, 2020<br>
<br>
Last summer, oil and gas-industry groups were lobbying to overturn
federal rules on leaks of natural gas, a major contributor to
climate change. Their message: The companies had emissions under
control.<br>
<br>
In private, the lobbyists were saying something very different.<br>
<br>
At a discussion convened last year by the Independent Petroleum
Association of America, a group that represents energy companies,
participants worried that producers were intentionally flaring, or
burning off, far too much natural gas, threatening the industry's
image, according to a recording of the meeting reviewed by The New
York Times.<br>
<br>
"We're just flaring a tremendous amount of gas," said Ron Ness,
president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, at the June 2019
gathering, held in Colorado Springs. "This pesky natural gas," he
said. "The value of it is very minimal," particularly to companies
drilling mainly for oil.<br>
<br>
A well can produce both oil and natural gas, but oil commands far
higher prices. Flaring it is an inexpensive way of getting rid of
the gas.<br>
- - <br>
The recording runs 1 hour 22 minutes, opening with a moderator's
remarks and concluding with a panel discussion that covered a wide
range of issues including job creation, the threats posed by solar
and wind energy, and the federal leasing of oil and gas rights. The
audio was provided by an organization dedicated to tracking climate
policy that said the recording had been made by an industry official
who attended the meeting...<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/12/climate/methane-natural-gas-flaring.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/12/climate/methane-natural-gas-flaring.html</a><br>
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[DW video report]<br>
<b>Deadly wildfires sweep across US west coast | DW News</b><br>
Sep 11, 2020<br>
DW News<br>
Unprecedented wildfires have forced half a million people to flee
their homes in Oregon as unusually hot and dry weather fans flames
across a number of western US states. Washington and California have
also been hard hit - all three states have reported casualties. In
San Francisco the fires have been making their presence felt, even
from a distance. As firefighters continue their battle across the
west coast, meteorologists are warning that it is not yet even peak
wildfire season. <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUrHmLNm9hU">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUrHmLNm9hU</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWtZWvLtonE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWtZWvLtonE</a>
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[Altitude]<br>
<b>California's wildfire smoke plumes are unlike anything previously
seen</b><br>
Smoke plumes have reached 55,000 feet in height with embedded
thunderstorms, lightning and possible tornadoes.<br>
- -<br>
In addition to the extreme fire heights, tornadic vortexes have been
spotted by radar within three of this year's colossal fires. The
first, the Loyalton Fire in Lassen County, Calif., even prompted the
National Weather Service to issue its first-ever fire tornado
warning on Aug. 15.<br>
<br>
Before 2020, only a few fires had ever produced documented fire
tornadoes in the United States; now we're seeing them every week or
two. Lareau says the tremendous heights of the wildfires' clouds,
combined with more concerted and astute observation, are factors in
the numerous fire tornadoes that have been reported this year. He
thinks there may be some also truth to the apparent increase...<br>
- -<br>
"These are still real outlier events," said Lareau. "The way I've
been trying to think about it, if it's a 1 in 100 event, now we
have, what, 7,000 fires on the landscape? The opportunity to
experience these extremes of fire weather are off the charts right
now."...<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/09/12/california-wildfires-smoke-plumes/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/09/12/california-wildfires-smoke-plumes/</a><br>
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<br>
[attitude]<br>
<b>Longtime Climate Science Denier Hired At NOAA</b><br>
September 12, 2020<br>
By: Rebecca Hersher and Joe Palca<br>
David Legates, a University of Delaware professor of climatology who
has spent much of his career questioning basic tenets of climate
science, has been hired for a top position at the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.<br>
<br>
Legates confirmed to NPR that he was recently hired as NOAA's deputy
assistant secretary of commerce for observation and prediction. The
position suggests that he reports directly to Neil Jacobs, the
acting head of the agency that is in charge of the federal
government's sprawling weather and climate prediction work.<br>
<br>
Neither Legates nor NOAA representatives responded to questions
about Legates' specific responsibilities or why he was hired. The
White House also declined to comment.<br>
<br>
Legates has a long history of using his position as an academic
scientist to publicly cast doubt on climate science. His appointment
to NOAA comes as Americans face profound threats stoked by climate
change, from the vast, deadly wildfires in the West to an unusually
active hurricane season in the South and East.<br>
<br>
Global temperatures have already risen nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit
as a result of greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels.
Warming is happening the fastest at the Earth's poles, where sea ice
is melting, permafrost is thawing and ocean temperatures are heating
up, with devastating effects on animals and humans alike...<br>
- - <br>
Michael Mann, professor of atmospheric science at Pennsylvania State
University, says in an email to NPR that Legates has, throughout his
career, "misrepresented the science of climate change, serving as an
advocate for polluting interests as he dismisses and downplays the
impacts of climate change."<br>
<br>
Mann adds: "At a time when those impacts are playing out before our
very eyes in the form of unprecedented wildfires out West and
super-storms back East, I cannot imagine a more misguided decision
than to appoint someone like Legates to a position of leadership at
an agency that is tasked with assessing the risks we face from
extreme weather events."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.gpb.org/news/2020/09/12/longtime-climate-science-denier-hired-at-noaa">https://www.gpb.org/news/2020/09/12/longtime-climate-science-denier-hired-at-noaa</a><br>
- - <br>
<b>Professor who has questioned climate science hired at NOAA</b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/516160-delaware-professor-who-has-questioned-climate-science-hired-at-noaa">https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/516160-delaware-professor-who-has-questioned-climate-science-hired-at-noaa</a><br>
- - <br>
[background research from DeSmogBlog]<br>
<b>David Legates</b> <br>
Ph.D. in Climatology, University of Delaware. <br>
<b>Background</b><br>
David R. Legates is a Joint Associate Professor of Geography at the
University of Delaware. In 2005, Legates was designated as
Delaware's State Climatologist. <br>
Legates was later asked to step down as State Climatologist by the
Dean of the University. Although no one at the university was
willing to explain the reason for replacing Legates as the State
Climatologist, Greenpeace speculates that the reason may have been
Legates's close ties with Willie Soon. <br>
<br>
In 2007, then-governor Ruth Ann Minner asked Legates to stop using
his formal title in public statements on climate change policy.
Minner wrote:<br>
<blockquote>"Your views on climate change, as I understand them, are
not aligned with those of my administration. In light of my
position and due to the confusion surrounding your role with the
state, I am directing you to offer any future statements on this
or other public policy matters only on behalf of yourself or the
University of Delaware, and not as state climatologist." <br>
</blockquote>
Legates and Soon have authored numerous papers together, including a
controversial 2007 "polar bear study" that was partially funded by
Koch Industries. Legates was the co-author on four of the 11 papers
that Soon received fossil fuel funding for - and failed to disclose
in the paper... <br>
<br>
Legates maintains affiliations with numerous conservative think
tanks that oppose climate change regulation or are skeptical of
man-made global warming, including the National Center for Policy
Analysis (NCPA) where he has been an "Adjunct Scholar" and
"Environmental Expert." ...<br>
<b>Stance on Climate Change</b><br>
Legates is a signatory of the Oregon Petition, which states that
"There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of
carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gasses is causing or
will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the
Earth's atmosphere and disruption of the Earth's climate. Moreover,
there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in
atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the
natural plant and animal environments of the Earth."<br>
<br>
<b>February 7, 2019</b><br>
In testimony before a subcommittee hearing on "Healthy Oceans and
Healthy Economies: The State of Our Oceans In the 21st Century,"
Legates cliamed: <br>
"Climate has always changed and weather is always variable, due to
complex, powerful natural forces. No efforts to stabilize the
climate can possibly be successful. […] The current emphasis on
climate change abatement will do far more harm than good."...<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.desmogblog.com/david-legates">https://www.desmogblog.com/david-legates</a><br>
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[follow the money]<br>
<b>Climate change is huge risk for the American financial system, a
major new bipartisan report says</b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/cftcs-groundbreaking-climate-change-report-sounds-a-bipartisan-alarm-on-costly-risks-for-u-s-financial-system-11599676452">https://www.marketwatch.com/story/cftcs-groundbreaking-climate-change-report-sounds-a-bipartisan-alarm-on-costly-risks-for-u-s-financial-system-11599676452</a><br>
<p>- - <br>
</p>
[CFTC Commodity Future Trading Commission]<br>
<b>Managing Climate Risk in the U.S. Financial System, Report of the
Climate-Related Market Risk Subcommittee (September 9, 2020)</b><br>
w.cftc.gov/About/AdvisoryCommittees/MarketRiskAdvisory/MRAC_Reports.html<br>
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[sure do]<br>
<b>Wildfires are striking closer and closer to cities. We know how
this will end</b><br>
The climate crisis is a factor, but so are efforts to fight fires -
which have had the opposite effect<br>
- -<br>
To understand how we got here, it is important to know that we have
come to expect control over such conflagrations relatively recently.
Prior to European settlement in the West, fire flowed freely,
sparked by lightning or intentionally by Native Americans to
encourage the growth of favored plants or clear areas for easier
hunting. As much as 4.5m acres of California's 105m acres might burn
every year. These low-intensity fires did not kill large trees, and
some plants even came to depend on fire to regenerate themselves. A
shrub called chamise appears to encourage fire by releasing
combustible gases in the presence of flames...<br>
<br>
The shift to a different approach occurred after several instances
in which wildfires became appalling urban fires. In October 1871,
railway workers sparked a brush fire in northern Wisconsin, which
swept into the city of Peshtigo and killed 1,500 people there and
elsewhere across a gargantuan footprint of 1.2 million acres. And in
the great fires of 1910, fires burning across several Western states
killed hundreds and razed a number of towns. People escaped by train
as the fires virtually licked at their heels...<br>
- - <br>
As Americans in California, Washington and Oregon are discovering,
wildfires do not only impact the wilderness. Towns and suburbs are
not inviolate. With so many of our Western paradises now under
threat, experts are begging us to bring controlled fire back into
the ecosystem in the form of prescribed burns. To ensure buildings
meet stringent fire codes. And to prepare city evacuation plans so
we do not repeat the gridlock in which many of those escaping
Paradise were trapped. We must, it almost goes without saying, get a
handle on the climate crisis.<br>
<br>
Witnessing the urban fire in Paradise, some of those we interviewed
for our book no longer thought it fanciful that a fire that could
maraud into the very heart of a major city, such as Los Angeles, San
Diego or the communities of the San Francisco Bay.<br>
<br>
University of California scientist Faith Kearns recounted to us that
she lives in the Berkeley flatlands, in a part of the Bay that is as
thoroughly urbanized as can be. Suddenly she was considering the
prospect that a fire might one day reach her home.<br>
<br>
"My neighborhood is full of Victorians. My neighbor's window is
about six feet away from my own…" she said, pausing in thought. "I
think we'll see it. I think we'll see it."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/12/wildfires-are-striking-closer-and-closer-to-cities-we-know-how-this-will-end">https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/12/wildfires-are-striking-closer-and-closer-to-cities-we-know-how-this-will-end</a><br>
<br>
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[Digging back into the internet news archive]<br>
<font size="+1"><b>On this day in the history of global warming -
September13, 2015 </b></font><br>
<p>The Los Angeles Times reports on the fossil fuel industry's role
in sabotaging a bill to reduce petroleum consumption in
California.<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-sac-brown-legislature-20150913-story.html">http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-sac-brown-legislature-20150913-story.html</a><br>
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