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<p><i><font size="+1"><b>December 27, 2020</b></font></i></p>
[clips from Yale Climate Connections]<br>
<b>The top 10 weather and climate events of a record-setting year </b><br>
In an all-around bizarre and largely unpleasant calendar year,
extreme weather and climate-related changes contributed to the woes
of 2020.By Jeff Masters, PhD, and Dana Nuccitelli | Monday, December
21, 2020<br>
<b>1. Hottest year on record?</b><br>
The official rankings will not be released until January 14, but
according to NASA, Earth’s average surface temperature in 2020 is
likely to tie with 2016 for the hottest year on record, making the
last seven years the seven hottest on record.<br>
<b>2. The wild 2020 Atlantic hurricane season</b><br>
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season produced an extraordinary 30
named storms (highest on record), 13 hurricanes (second-highest on
record), and six major hurricanes (tied for second-highest on
record): more than double the activity of an average season (12
named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes).<br>
<b>3. Record-high atmospheric carbon dioxide levels despite record
emissions drop</b><br>
As a result of restrictions taken to curb the coronavirus pandemic,
carbon emissions to the atmosphere in 2020 declined by 9 to 10% in
the U.S. and 6 to 7% globally, although some of those reductions
were offset by carbon released by wildfires. Those are the largest
annual carbon emissions declines since World War II and far more
than the 1% global and 6% U.S. emissions drops brought about by the
2008 Great Recession...<br>
<b>4. An apocalyptic wildfire season</b><br>
The year 2020 brought record levels of fire activity to the U.S. and
Arctic, but unusually low levels in Canada and tropical<br>
<b>5. Super Typhoon Goni: Strongest landfalling tropical cyclone on
record</b><br>
Super Typhoon Goni made landfall near Bato, Catanduanes Island,
Philippines, on November 1 with sustained winds of 195 mph and a
central pressure of 884 mb..<br>
<b>6. Hottest reliably measured temperature: 130°F in Death Valley</b><br>
Death Valley, California, hit an astonishing 129.9 degrees
Fahrenheit (54.4°C) at 3:41 p.m. PDT, August 16, 2020, at the
Furnace Creek Visitor’s Center...<br>
<b>7. Most expensive 2020 disaster: Flooding in China causes $32
billion in damage</b><br>
Seasonal monsoon flooding in China in June through September killed
278 people, damaged or destroyed 1.4 million homes and businesses,
and did $32 billion in damage, according to insurance broker Aon.
EM-DAT, the international disaster database, ranks that total as the
third-most expensive non-U.S. weather disaster since accurate
records began in 1990 (adjusted for inflation), behind 1998 flooding
in China ($48 billion) and 2011 flooding in Thailand ($47
billion)....<br>
<b>8. Near-record low Arctic sea ice</b><br>
Arctic sea ice reached its annual minimum on September 15, 2020,
bottoming out at its second-lowest extent and volume ever recorded,
behind 2012. A new study suggests that the 2012 record hasn’t been
broken despite ever-rising temperatures because the rapidly-warming
Arctic has altered the jet stream, leading to cloudy summer Arctic
conditions that have acted to temporarily preserve some of the sea
ice. However, long-term global warming will inevitably win out, and
scientists expect the Arctic to be ice-free in the summer beginning
sometime between 2030 and 2050. Overall, three-quarters of the
volume of summer sea ice in the Arctic has melted over the past 40
years...<br>
<b>9. U.S. withdrawal from Paris Climate Accord and election of Joe
Biden</b><br>
The U.S. officially withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement the
day after the November 3, 2020 election. But Joe Biden, who won that
presidential election, has announced his intent to immediately
rejoin the Paris agreement on the day of his inauguration: January
20, 2021...<br>
<b>10. A near-record number of global billion-dollar weather
disasters</b><br>
Through the end of November, 44 billion-dollar weather disasters had
occurred globally in 2020, according to the November 2020
Catastrophe Report from insurance broker Aon. The record in the Aon
database is 47, set in 2010, and 2020 could challenge that record
when the final tallies are announced on January 25, 2021...<br>
- -<br>
The report blamed human-caused climate change as a significant
factor in the increased disasters. It warned: “It is baffling that
we willingly and knowingly continue to sow the seeds of our own
destruction, despite the science and evidence that we are turning
our only home into an uninhabitable hell for millions of people.”
The U.N. report authors called attention to “industrial nations that
are failing miserably on reducing greenhouse gas emissions to levels
commensurate with the desired goal of keeping global warming at 1.5
degrees Celsius as set out in the Paris Agreement.”<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/12/the-top-10-weather-and-climate-events-of-a-record-setting-year/">https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/12/the-top-10-weather-and-climate-events-of-a-record-setting-year/</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[Grist gives us some good news]<br>
<b>6 reasons 2020 wasn’t as bad for climate change as you thought</b><br>
Even during a global pandemic, with powerful forces working against
it, momentum toward a less fiery future kept pace.<br>
By Emily Pontecorvo and Zoya Teirstein on Dec 23, 2020<br>
<b>1. Climate change was a major election issue</b><br>
Because polls show that climate change matters to Americans. A
lot...<br>
<b>2. Big institutions pledged to pull their cash out of fossil fuel
companies</b><br>
Whether divestment promotes the broader changes needed to
decarbonize the economy is still debated. But what became more
apparent in 2020 is the risk of maintaining investments in companies
that aren’t ready for those changes, which are happening regardless.
Exxon, which hasn’t made any commitment to reduce its total
emissions, did so poorly this year that it got booted from the Dow
Jones Industrial Average, an influential benchmark of top stocks...<br>
<b>3. Renewables kept growing despite the pandemic</b><br>
The vast majority of Americans say developing alternative sources of
energy should be prioritized over developing fossil fuels...<br>
<b>4. Pipelines became nearly impossible to build</b><br>
<b>5. Cities put a check on emissions from buildings</b><br>
As more buildings go fully electric, gas utilities could undergo a
slow death spiral, and fewer and fewer customers could end up paying
to maintain a vast network of gas pipelines.<br>
<b>6. The world agreed on achieving net-zero by mid-century</b><br>
The most important development in 2020 may not have been the slew of
net-zero pledges, but something a little more obscure. Companies
finally began publicly accounting for the emissions tied to their
supply chains and the products they produce, known as “scope 3”
emissions. Transparency around scope 3 puts more pressure on
reducing emissions throughout the economy...<br>
[Explaining Net Zero in a video] <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/DrHugcX4o0I">https://youtu.be/DrHugcX4o0I</a> <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://grist.org/climate/6-reasons-2020-wasnt-as-bad-for-climate-change-as-you-thought/">https://grist.org/climate/6-reasons-2020-wasnt-as-bad-for-climate-change-as-you-thought/</a><br>
<br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>[list from last year - 2019 ]<br>
This article is more than 1 year old<br>
<b>Climate crisis linked to at least 15 $1bn-plus disasters in
2019</b><br>
This article is more than 1 year old<br>
Christian Aid report highlights costs of floods, fires and storms
around the world<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/27/climate-crisis-linked-to-at-least-15-1bn-plus-disasters-in-2019">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/27/climate-crisis-linked-to-at-least-15-1bn-plus-disasters-in-2019</a><br>
</p>
<p>- -</p>
<b>Despite extreme weather and surging activism, 2019 saw political
paralysis on climate</b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/despite-extreme-weather-and-surging-activism-2019-saw-political-paralysis-on-climate">https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/despite-extreme-weather-and-surging-activism-2019-saw-political-paralysis-on-climate</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[Cambridge]<br>
<b>Massachusetts city to post climate change warning stickers at gas
stations</b><br>
Bright yellow stickers warn drivers burning of gasoline has ‘major
consequences on human health and the environment’<br>
Cambridge, Massachusetts, has become the first US city to mandate
the placing of stickers on fuel pumps to warn drivers of the
resulting dangers posed by the climate crisis.<br>
<br>
The final design of the bright yellow stickers, shared with the
Guardian, includes text that warns drivers the burning of gasoline,
diesel and ethanol has “major consequences on human health and the
environment including contributing to climate change”.<br>
<br>
The stickers will be placed on all fuel pumps in Cambridge, which is
situated near Boston and is home to Harvard University, “fairly
soon” once they are received from printers, a city spokesman
confirmed.<br>
<br>
“The city of Cambridge is working hard with our community to fight
climate change,” the spokesman added. “The gas pump stickers will
remind drivers to think about climate change and hopefully consider
non-polluting options.”<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/25/massachusetts-city-to-post-climate-change-warning-stickers-at-gas-stations">https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/25/massachusetts-city-to-post-climate-change-warning-stickers-at-gas-stations</a><br>
- -<br>
image <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2020/12/Cambridge-gas-pump-warning-label.png">https://cleantechnica.com/files/2020/12/Cambridge-gas-pump-warning-label.png</a><br>
- -<br>
[Old idea, new deployment]<br>
<b>Cambridge To Post Warning Stickers On Gas Pumps</b><br>
December 25th, 2020 by Steve Hanley <br>
<br>
Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to Harvard and MIT, is ground zero
for the tree hugger crowd in the United States, closely followed by
Berkeley on the Left Coast. So it should surprise no one that it
will be the first US city to place warning labels on the gas pumps
within its city limits. Warning labels similar to those approved by
Cambridge are already found in Sweden. Oddly enough, a campaign
advocating for similar stickers in Berkeley was unsuccessful...<br>
- -<br>
The stickers approved by the city are being printed and will be
placed on pumps in Cambridge “fairly soon” according to a
spokesperson for the city, who added, “The city of Cambridge is
working hard with our community to fight climate change. The gas
pump stickers will remind drivers to think about climate change and
hopefully consider non-polluting options.” The placement of the
stickers was approved by an ordinance passed by the city last
January. Cambridge has a plan in place to reduce carbon emissions by
80% and offset the remainder by 2050. Meeting those goals will make
it one of the first US cities to be carbon neutral.<br>
<br>
The warning label idea is not new. 350.org started advocating for
them in 2014 and Arnold Schwarzenegger added his voice to the chorus
in 2017. Will warning labels save the Earth? Of course not. But they
could lead some people to reassess their position on global heating
and that could lead to changes that promote a sustainable
environment. People still smoke despite warning labels on packs of
cigarettes but attitudes toward smoking have changed considerably
from the days when tobacco companies used to pay doctors to promote
their products.<br>
<br>
A journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step,
according to a Chinese proverb. Today, warning labels in Cambridge.
Tomorrow, warning labels all across the US. In the not too distant
future, a warning label on every pump in the world. If you want to
give the Earth a Christmas present this year, decide to advocate for
similar warning labels in your community. As Margaret Mead once
said, “Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed
people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever
has.” <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://cleantechnica.com/2020/12/25/cambridge-to-post-warning-stickers-on-gas-pumps/">https://cleantechnica.com/2020/12/25/cambridge-to-post-warning-stickers-on-gas-pumps/</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[video w George Monbiot]<br>
<b>How COVID-19 & the environmental crisis are linked | All Hail
The Lockdown</b><br>
Dec 22, 2020<br>
Al Jazeera English<br>
‘Connect It’ - The wake-up call that can’t be ignored<br>
<br>
In the final episode of #AllHailTheLockdown, Ali Rae speaks with
prominent British writer and environmental activist George Monbiot
and Brazilian environmental filmmaker Eliane Brum about the links
between COVID-19 and our wider ecological crisis. She also speaks
with human ecologist William E. Rees, co-creator of the ‘ecological
footprint’ concept, to discuss global resource scarcity, habitat
fragmentation and why the coronavirus is the wake-up call that can’t
be ignored. <br>
<br>
#AllHailTheLockdown is a 5 part series exploring the complexities of
our global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/1l4iAss4ehg">https://youtu.be/1l4iAss4ehg</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<br>
[4 opinion videos]<br>
<b>Top Ten Climate Disruption Events of 2020: You ain’t seen nothing
yet: Part 1 of 4</b><br>
Dec 24, 2020<br>
Paul Beckwith<br>
Where do I even begin? Abrupt climate change disruption accelerated
rapidly this year, but was overshadowed in most people’s minds by
the coronavirus. There were literally hundreds, thousands even, of
extreme weather events and climate disruption events bashing at
humanity and our stuff this year. <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ueGnwEeryc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ueGnwEeryc</a><br>
- - <br>
<b>Top Ten Weather and Climate Disruption Events in 2020: Wreaking
Havoc on Humanity: Part 2 of 4</b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0ABgVUUjRE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0ABgVUUjRE</a><br>
- - <br>
<b>Top Ten Weather and Climate Disruption Events in 2020: Worsening
Like a Bat Out of Hell: Part 3 of 4</b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/V3cR_5NDAEU">https://youtu.be/V3cR_5NDAEU</a><br>
- -<br>
<b>Yippee Ki-Yay MF (2020): Top Ten Weather and Climate Disruption
Events of 2020: Part 4 of 4</b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2tK-iKmI3A">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2tK-iKmI3A</a><br>
- - <br>
In this four part series of year-end videos I discuss the top ten
weather and climate events of 2020 as picked by the Yale Climate
Connections folks. They include:<br>
1) Hottest year on record (or 2nd or third).<br>
2) The Wild 2020 Atlantic hurricane season (30 storms).<br>
3) Record-high atmospheric carbon dioxide levels despite record
emissions drop.<br>
4) An apocalyptic wildfire season.<br>
5) Super Typhoon Goni: the strongest landfall inch tropical cyclone
on record.<br>
6) Hottest reliably measured temperature on ERth: 130 F (54.4 C) in
Death Valley.<br>
7) Most expensive 2020 disaster: Flooding in China causes $32
billion in damage.<br>
8) Near-record low Arctic sea ice.<br>
9) U.S. withdrawal from Paris Accord and election of Joe Biden.<br>
10) A near-record number of global billion-dollar weather disasters.<br>
As bad as this year’s weather and climate disruption has been, it
will seem like a tame year in the rearview mirror in only a few
short years.<br>
<br>
<br>
[Digging back into the internet news archive]<br>
<font size="+1"><b>On this day in the history of global warming -
December 27, 2012 </b></font><br>
<p>December 27, 2012: Lisa Jackson announces that she will step down
as EPA administrator.<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://youtu.be/Iqw7hO9OhCA">http://youtu.be/Iqw7hO9OhCA</a><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
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