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<p><i><font size="+1"><b>April 7, 2021</b></font></i></p>
[Treasury secretary]<br>
<b>Yellen: 'We lost four important years' in fight against climate
change</b><br>
- -<br>
Yellen made the remarks in an address during her first meeting with
the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action. She
reportedly said the U.S. is committed to reaching the reduced
emissions goal of 2030 set by the Obama-era Paris climate agreement.<br>
<br>
“Climate, by its very nature, requires strong global cooperation,”
Yellen said. “We lost four important years, and we recognize that
many of you around the room have been leading change in your own
countries.”...<br>
- -<br>
Yellen has previously said Treasury's approach to climate change
will “change dramatically” under her leadership. During a meeting of
Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers and central bankers, Yellen
stated that the U.S. was prepared to take the lead in the global
fight against climate change following four years of environmental
rollbacks during the Trump administration.<br>
<br>
“She expressed strong support for G7 efforts to tackle climate
change, highlighting that her colleagues should expect the Treasury
Department’s engagement on this issue to change dramatically
relative to the last four years,” the Treasury Department said in a
statement at the time...<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/546758-yellen-we-lost-four-important-years-in-fight-against-climate-change">https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/546758-yellen-we-lost-four-important-years-in-fight-against-climate-change</a><br>
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[From DW]<br>
<b>Climate scientists, what keeps you up at night?</b><br>
Sam Baker - April.6.2021<br>
From atmospheric physicists to urban climatologists, DW spoke to
researchers who study the many and varied aspects of climate change
about what concerns them most as our planet heats up.<br>
What really makes this reporter's stomach churn thinking about
climate change? Thawing permafrost. A scenario where it all melts,
releasing copious amounts of CO2 and methane (it holds twice as much
carbon as the atmosphere holds right now), and there's no going
back.<br>
<br>
But what's at the top of the list of concerns for those who study
how climate change is unfolding – on ice sheets and urban street
corners, in oceans and farm fields – the climate scientists
themselves?<br>
<br>
DW asked a dozen experts spanning climatology, entomology,
oceanography and yes, permafrost research, what keeps them up at
night when it comes to the climate.<br>
<br>
<b>The greatest unknown – people</b><br>
Nana Ama Browne Klutse studies changing weather with climate models
at the University of Ghana. While she says tipping points like
permafrost thaw worry her, she also worries how individuals will
handle changing climates.<br>
<br>
"What can you do as an individual to avoid the impact of climate
change?" she asked. "We need government policies for resilience,
building of community, city resilience. Then we need that global
action."<br>
Climate scientist Ruth Mottram studies the Greenland and Antarctic
ice sheets and sea level rise for the Danish Meteorological
Institute, but it's not the science that worries her.<br>
<br>
"I'm less concerned that there are unknown processes going on that
we don't understand, and there could potentially be some unforeseen
catastrophe on the way," she said. "We know what a lot of the
impacts are going to be. I think what keeps me awake at night in a
metaphorical sense is really the interaction between the physical
system and how human societies are going to handle it."<br>
<br>
Giving the example of sea level, she says we will see a meter rise
this century — in our lifetimes or that of our children — and will
have to make tough decisions about our coastal cities. But she says
it won't end there.<br>
<br>
"I think that human societies have not really grasped what that
means and that adaptation to sea level rise is going to be a long
process and we are going to be doing it for hundreds of years," said
Mottram, suggesting that we start thinking in terms of the lifetimes
of cities (hundreds of years) rather than just human lifetimes.<br>
<b><br>
</b><b>Protecting the vulnerable</b><br>
Vladimir Romanovsky, a professor of geophysics at the University of
Alaska Fairbanks' Permafrost Laboratory, said that while he thinks
about how what happens in the Arctic will affect the rest of the
world, his concerns are much more local.<br>
<br>
"We should remember that there are still some people living in the
Arctic," he said. Around4 million people in fact who would have to
deal with the real-life consequences of solid ground thawing beneath
their feet and houses. "Changes in these local or regional kind of
climates and environments, they impact these people and some of
these impacts could be very severe."<br>
Closer to the planet's other pole, Carolina Vera fears that existing
inequalities will only be exacerbated by climate change.<br>
<br>
"Climate change is already impacting the most vulnerable sectors of
our planet," said Vera, who studies climate variability as a
principal researcher for the National Council of Science of
Argentina, a professor at the University of Buenos Aires and chief
of staff for Argentina's Ministry of Science and Technology. Her
work has led her to incorporate local knowledge and data collection
into studies, involving communities that are balancing the problems
of deforestation with their need to farm.<br>
<br>
<b>Heat & new extremes</b><br>
Perhaps not surprisingly, global heating is a key concern for many
researchers, like Dim Coumou, who studies extreme weather at Vrije
Universiteit Amsterdam.<br>
<br>
Of most concern to him are heat and humidity extremes in the tropics
– especially highly populated parts like West Africa, Pakistan and
India – which will make it unbearable to be outside. When cooling
down by sweating is no longer possible, people can't work outside
and therefore can't grow food. The likely result being mass
migration.<br>
<br>
But it's not just the tropics.<br>
<br>
Closely related to heat is the increase in extreme weather brought
on by a warming climate. Coumou and his colleagues' research shows
how changes to the jet stream will lead to more extreme weather in
Europe, including floods and droughts.<br>
"A warmer atmosphere can hold more water in it and when it rains, it
rains heavily leading to floods. A warmer ocean can lead to stronger
tropical cyclones," said Babiker, who works for the East African
Climate Center ICPAC in Nairobi. He explained that cyclones gain
more energy from warmer water.<br>
<br>
"We have seen evidence of all these events," he said. "The strongest
tropical cyclones to impact the Arabian Peninsula, Somalia, and
Mozambique occurred in the past 20 years!"<br>
<br>
And extreme weather events can bring further ecological disasters
along with them, like swarms of locusts, as Babiker and his
colleagues have found in their research.<br>
<b>Science for solutions</b><br>
Pests, drought and flooding are on Esther Ngumbi's mind too.<br>
<br>
An entomologist and professor of African American studies at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she said that what keeps
her up at night is the thought: "How can my science truly help?"<br>
<br>
Ngumbi's work on pest and drought-resistant crops is driven by her
concerns for vulnerable farmers who live in countries lacking social
safety nets, where one season of crop devastation due to insects can
mean going hungry and being unable to pay for their children's
education.<br>
<br>
"That truly makes me wake up every day and go to the lab to
understand how my research can contribute to solutions that we
need," she said.<br>
<br>
Natasha Picone – an urban climatologist at the National University
of Central Buenos Aires – says it's the solutions that occupy her
thoughts too.<br>
<br>
"With the pandemic, I realized that we are not doing enough for
changing our cities to be more livable," she said. Her research
informs urban planners about phenomena such as the urban heat island
effect, air pollution and urban run-off that can lead to flooding.
"If we don't change the path now, it will be really difficult to go
back."<br>
Weighing on the mind of oceanographer Renata Hanae Nagai at the
University of Parana in Brazil is her four-year-old nephew and what
his life will look like in a warmer world, but he also gives her
hope. During a recent trip to the beach to watch nesting turtles, he
warned others to leave the turtles alone.<br>
<br>
She sees this same care in her students – learning about problems
and coming up with solutions.<br>
<br>
"People are the solution," she said. "We try, even under the hardest
conditions."<br>
<br>
'Scientists are humans' too<br>
Levke Caesar, whose research recently made headlines, said the most
concerning thing for her is the people and organizations who deny
climate change.<br>
<br>
"For me, that's like morally totally unacceptable what they do –
they lie," said the climate physicist from Maynooth University in
Ireland, reflecting on encountering such people at public talks. "I
mean, you can't argue with climate."<br>
<br>
But this only pushes Caesar to better communicate what the science
shows.<br>
<br>
<b>They worry about us</b><br>
A common thread of this (rather unscientific) survey is that while
we laypeople might be worrying about what the science says, climate
scientists are often worrying about us.<br>
<br>
"Scientists always think about what are the results of their
studies, how are they important for, you know, for usual people, for
normal people," the permafrost scientist told me. While doing his
research, Romanovsky said he's always thinking about "how this could
be used to make life of people easier or more predictable."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.dw.com/en/solutions-climate-change-global-warming-permafrost-locusts-sea-level-extreme-weather-heat/a-57071503">https://www.dw.com/en/solutions-climate-change-global-warming-permafrost-locusts-sea-level-extreme-weather-heat/a-57071503</a><br>
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[The Hill seems a bit embarrassed by this article]<br>
<b>How to combat climate change misinformation</b><br>
BY KAREN CONOVER, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR —04/06/21 <br>
- -<br>
It’s time to have a serious debate on how to address climate change
without complicating the issue with further deceit or delay. <br>
<br>
The seeds of climate change misinformation were planted almost 40
years ago by the fossil fuel industry which likely understood the
negative impacts that a changing climate could have on their
business profits. The Union of Concerned Scientists and others have
documented efforts by the oil and coal industries in the 1980s to
sow doubt about climate science and develop messaging that we’d now
call “alternative facts.” Special interest groups were formed and
funded by fossil fuel interests to cultivate and spread
misinformation that would shut down efforts to address climate
change through legislative or regulatory means.<br>
Political candidates and lawmakers at all levels of government
continue the spread of doubt and dispel any urgency to address the
climate crisis, propelled by political donations and their claims at
times promoted by conservative media outlets. It’s been a
brilliantly executed strategy and the web of deception has secured
years of inaction. It’s also led to immeasurable environmental and
human damage — some of which may now be irreversible. <br>
<br>
Fossil fuel companies seem like the obvious villains of this story,
but sometimes the cause of misinformation is not quite so nefarious.
In my work in the renewable energy industry, many of the
misconceptions I hear are simply due to the difficulty in keeping up
with the pace of change. The cost of the clean energy is a good
example. The good news is that wind and solar costs have fallen 70
percent and 90 percent respectively over the last decade, making
them the most affordable new electricity sources in most of the U.S.
<br>
<br>
The bad news is that there is a wealth of reports, datasets and news
stories — some just a couple years old — that are outdated and
misrepresent the reality of the technology today. Many people still
don’t realize that reliable and cost-effective technologies to
address climate change are already widely deployed with great
success around the world.<br>
<br>
While climate change skeptics will always use whatever information
best suits their purpose, some of the problems of misinformation can
be addressed by launching a widespread education campaign to get
accurate and up to date information into the hands of the public,
government officials, and business leaders who play a role in
directing the U.S. response to climate change. <br>
<br>
Unfortunately, petty partisan politics is driving a new round of
deception as a pushback against President Biden’s climate agenda. It
may seem laughable to blame California wildfires on space lasers or
the Texas power outage on wind energy but when a Republican
congresswoman and Republican governor do just that, they are
blatantly misleading those to whom they have sworn to serve. At this
point, it’s hard to imagine who Republican climate change naysayers
think they are representing. <br>
And the oft-cited claim that addressing climate is bad for business
or will hurt the economy? The business community has already left
the politicians behind. It’s not just California tech companies
buying renewable energy and social media giants speaking out against
climate change misinformation. It’s Midwest auto manufacturers
committing to electric vehicles, financial firms incorporating
climate risk into their investment decisions, and big box stores in
rural communities installing solar panels on their rooftops. With
mounting evidence and global consensus, the Republican stance
against climate action is growing increasingly untenable.
Eventually, the lies they’ve told will catch up to them.<br>
<br>
Politicians, media outlets and others that mislead, distract and lie
about the reality of climate change need to be held accountable.
It’s notable that the business community have sued conservative
media networks for spreading false claims about the election or
acted to withhold political donations from lawmakers who voted
against the certification of the presidential election. Why not
extend those actions to include those who mislead the public about
climate change? <br>
<br>
Americans of all political parties must use their votes and their
voices to insist on dealing with the truth and coming together to
address problems. Rest assured, there are still plenty of
opportunities to fight about the policy mechanisms, prioritization
and the spending needed to address climate change. But there are
also a lot of ideas related to climate action that could unite the
left and right — creating jobs, expanding infrastructure, leading
the world in technical innovation, for instance.<br>
<br>
If we ignore the facts, we lose the ability to develop solutions or
negotiate good policy. It’s time to shut down the climate deniers
and the misinformation campaigns and adhere to the evidence and
analysis from the scientific community. It’s time to embrace the
truth. <br>
<br>
Karen Conover is a vice president and senior technical advisor at
DNV, former board member of the American Wind Energy Association and
an ambassador for the Clean Energy, Education and Empowerment
Program. She is also a Public Voices Fellow of the OpEd Project and
the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/546667-how-to-combat-climate-change-misinformation">https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/546667-how-to-combat-climate-change-misinformation</a><br>
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[Movie star]<br>
<b>The Last Word: Robert Redford on Activism, Fighting Climate
Change, and the Importance of Truth</b><br>
The acting legend talks founding Sundance, the moment he became an
environmentalist, and what ‘All the President’s Men’ was really
about<br>
By DAVID FEAR - APRIL 6, 2021 <br>
- -<br>
<b>You’ve said that as a longtime environmental activist, you’ve
become more radicalized over time. Was there a moment when you
began to understand that what was happening to our planet was more
serious than you’d realized?</b><br>
I was attending a conference in Denver, in 1989, where there was a
presentation by two scientists who explained Earth’s temperatures
were rising — they called it global warming. They explained what
would happen if we ignored this threat. That moment was my wake-up
call. I knew they were speaking the truth. Because one thing we’ve
learned is that time waits for no one. I realized that when there’s
something you have to do, you better act, and act quickly...<br>
- - <br>
<b>You helped bring All the President’s Men to the screen as a
producer, as well as starring in it. What do you think that film
can tell us about what the nation went through over the past few
years?</b><br>
That history has a tendency to repeat itself. I was attracted to the
story about two journalists who were searching for the truth. And
that was the story I wanted to tell. It wasn’t about Watergate,
really. It was about journalism and truth...<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/robert-redford-climate-change-interview-1151217/">https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/robert-redford-climate-change-interview-1151217/</a><br>
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[fires now]<br>
<b>Wisconsin Governor Declares State of Emergency Over Wildfire
Conditions</b><br>
More than 300 wildfires have destroyed nearly 1,500 acres since the
start of the year, and fire officials warn this could be a
longer-than-average season.<br>
By Derrick Bryson Taylor - <br>
April 6, 2021<br>
- -<br>
In the past week, there have been 149 wildfires across Wisconsin,
according to a map on the department’s website, and there have been
at least 340 fires since the start of the year.<br>
<br>
Over the weekend, the majority of Wisconsin was under a very high
risk for fire danger, including counties along the Illinois state
border and counties along Lake Michigan. Wildfire conditions across
the state will persist as long as there is a mix of dry vegetation,
unseasonably warm temperatures, low humidity and increasing winds,
the department said...<br>
- -<br>
While wildfires can occur at anytime of the year, the department
said, the majority of fires happen between March and May, making
spring the most critical fire season in Wisconsin.<br>
<br>
Because of how early the snow melted around the state, fire
officials anticipate a longer-than-average fire season this year.<br>
<br>
Wisconsin has seen its share of destructive wildfires in the past 20
years. In 2013, a logging crew unintentionally started a fire that
destroyed nearly 7,500 acres, including 23 residences, the
department said. In 2005, a fire burned 3,410 acres and destroyed at
least 30 residences.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/04/06/us/wisconsin-wildfire">https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/04/06/us/wisconsin-wildfire</a><br>
<p><br>
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<p><br>
</p>
[starting to keep score - 1500 in three years]<br>
<b>A list of some of the fires attributed to PG&E powerline
equipment</b><br>
Author Bill Gabbert -- April 6, 2021<br>
Charges were recently filed against the company for their role in
starting the Kincade Fire in Northern California<br>
<br>
In light of the charges recently filed against Pacific Gas and
Electric for the role their equipment played in starting the 2019
Kincade Fire in Northern California, we dug through some records
showing the significant part the company has played in starting
numerous wildfires over the last decade.<br>
<br>
The Wall Street Journal (subscription) reported that investigators
attributed more than 1,500 fires to PG&E power lines and
hardware between June 2014 and December 2017.<br>
<br>
CAL FIRE attributed 12 fires that started in Northern California on
October 8 and 9, 2017 to PG&E power equipment.<br>
<br>
Below are some of the fires attributed to PG&E between 1999 and
2020. It is not a complete or comprehensive list.<br>
<blockquote>Zogg Fire, September, 2020, 56,338 acres, destroyed 204
structures, and caused the deaths of four people.<br>
Kincade Fire, October, 2019, 77,000 acres, and destroyed 374
structures.<br>
Camp Fire, November , 2018, 154,000 acres, destroyed 18,000
structures, and caused the deaths of 84 people. The company
pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter.<br>
Cascade Fire, October 2017, 9,989 acres, destroyed 250 structures,
and caused the deaths of five people, including one firefighter.<br>
Redwood Valley Fire, October, 2017, 36,523 acres, destroyed 543
structures, and caused the deaths of 9 people.<br>
Sulphur Fire, October, 2017, 2,207 acres, destroyed 162
structures.<br>
Cherokee Fire, October, 2017, 8,417 acres, destroyed 6 structures.<br>
37 Fire, October, 2017, 1,660 acres, destroyed 3 structures.<br>
Blue Fire, October, 2017, 20 acres.<br>
Norrbom, Adobe, Partrick, Pythian and Nuns Fires burned together,
56,556 acres, destroyed 1,255 structures, and caused the deaths of
3 people.<br>
Pocket Fire, October, 2017, 17,357 acres, destroyed 783
structures.<br>
Atlas Fire, October, 2017, 51,624 acres, destroyed 783 structures,
and caused the deaths of 6 people.<br>
Butte Fire, September 2015, 70,868 acres, destroyed a total of 921
structures, including 549 homes, 368 outbuildings, and 4
commercial properties, and caused the deaths of two people.<br>
Pendola Fire, October, 1999, 11,725 acres.<br>
</blockquote>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://wildfiretoday.com/2021/04/06/a-list-of-some-of-the-fires-attributed-to-pge-powerline-equipment/">https://wildfiretoday.com/2021/04/06/a-list-of-some-of-the-fires-attributed-to-pge-powerline-equipment/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
[Digging back into the internet news archive]<br>
<font size="+1"><b>On this day in the history of global warming -
April 7, 2009 </b></font><br>
<p>April 7, 2009: In a story entitled "New Data Show Rapid Arctic
Ice Decline," the Washington Post observes: "The new evidence --
including satellite data showing that the average multiyear
wintertime sea ice cover in the Arctic in 2005 and 2006 was nine
feet thick, a significant decline from the 1980s -- contradicts
data cited in widely circulated reports by Washington Post
columnist George F. Will that sea ice in the Arctic has not
significantly declined since 1979."<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/06/AR2009040601634.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/06/AR2009040601634.html</a><br>
</p>
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