<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<font size="+2"><font face="Calibri"><i><b>July</b></i></font></font><font
size="+2" face="Calibri"><i><b> 7, 2023</b></i></font><font
face="Calibri"><br>
</font><br>
<i>[ What you missed this morning on NPR news - text and audio </i><i><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/07/1186044585/reality-tv-climate-change">https://www.npr.org/2023/07/07/1186044585/reality-tv-climate-change</a>
]</i><br>
<b>Climate change is our reality — so why wouldn't it appear on
reality TV?</b><br>
July 7, 20235:00 AM ET<br>
Heard on Morning Edition<br>
Chloe Veltman<br>
When Recipe for Disaster premieres on the CW Network next month,
it'll dish up plenty of the sugary and salty ingredients viewers
have come to expect from cooking contests on reality TV. The show
pairs professional chefs with a friend or family member who is
hopeless in the kitchen. The contestants will "compete to make
spectacular dishes while battling ridiculous disasters."<br>
<br>
But the show's producers also mix in the reality TV equivalent of
lean proteins and veggies. Recipe for Disaster will feature chefs
who cook with sustainable ingredients, compete to win meat and
dairy-free cooking challenges, and even tell a joke about climate
change being responsible for the sudden tropical rainstorm that
soaks them as they try to cook.<br>
Lately, the creators of everything from celebrity gabfests to car
racing competitions — the realm of so-called "unscripted TV" — have
been finding ways to slip information about human-caused climate
change and sustainable living onto our screens.<br>
<br>
Data from Statistica shows roughly a third of U.S. adults between 18
and 64 currently watch reality TV. But Recipe for Disaster executive
producer Cyle Zezo says even though climate change is very much part
of everyone's everyday reality, reality TV executives themselves
have long shied away from the topic.<br>
"A couple of years ago, if you'd brought up talking about climate on
screen, people would think it was crazy and they wouldn't even touch
the subject," Zezo told NPR at the recent Hollywood Climate Summit.<br>
But Zezo said attitudes have started to shift toward featuring
climate change on shows.<br>
<br>
"When you talk to buyers now, maybe they don't exactly know how to
do it, but the door is more open to it," he said. "And I'm excited
to follow that where it goes."<br>
<br>
Scenes modeling sustainable behaviors or highlighting the impact of
climate change have been cropping up lately in shows as diverse as
the paranormal reality series Ghost Adventures, (in one episode, an
anthropologist suggests climate change might be responsible for the
unexpected sighting of a massive unidentified sea creature); talk
shows, such as Jane Fonda's appearance a few months ago on The Kelly
Clarkson Show; and the business startup contest Shark Tank (for
example, Gwyneth Paltrow buys into a sustainable diaper company).<br>
According to a University of Southern California study shared with
NPR ahead of its fall publish date, nearly 30,000 mentions of
climate change-related keywords appeared across every category of
unscripted TV between last August and this February.<br>
<br>
"That included home shows, food shows, docuseries, even sports,"
said Erica Rosenthal, director of research at the university's
Norman Lear Center, the group behind the study. "So that was really
a surprising and exciting finding."<br>
An unlikely climate change reality star<br>
One unlikely example of the new openness to climate change
programing is the car racing show Extreme E.<br>
In the series, electric SUVs try to outpace each other in remote
parts of the world hit hard by climate change. Season one included a
race in Greenland that passed by a retreating glacier.<br>
<br>
The show also includes many direct mentions of the term "climate
change," such as, "In climate change, everyone needs to win, or we
all lose." Last year, according to the producer's audience growth
report, the show reached 135 million viewers across the globe.<br>
But unscripted shows like this one that center climate change as a
topic — or even mention the term directly — are still relatively
rare.<br>
<br>
"What we're seeing is plenty of fleeting mentions of terms that are
climate-adjacent," USC's Rosenthal said. "But not necessarily
explicitly climate change."<br>
<br>
Rosenthal said the most commonly used terms in the study were
"vegan," "vegetarian," "insulation" and "solar."<br>
<br>
"The term 'climate change' itself represented just 4% of all of the
keyword mentions we came across," Rosenthal said, though he added
that the term did make it into the top 10 of the keywords the study
covered.<br>
This baseline analysis of unscripted TV was created as a follow-up
to research published last year on scripted TV and movies. As with
this previous study, the new findings are based on the analysis of
show scripts. This means it excludes most non-verbal references to
sustainable behaviors or climate change depicted on screen, such as,
for instance, Recipe for Disaster's use of compost bins on set.<br>
<br>
"When people are talking about climate change and global warming,
they're talking about it through other ways," said University of
Colorado Boulder environmental studies professor, Max Boykoff.<br>
<br>
Boykoff, who studies the intersection of mass media and climate
change, said he's not surprised that unscripted TV producers tend to
sneak climate change-adjacent material into their shows, rather than
address the topic head on.<br>
"Unscripted television is a way to get into the homes of people who
otherwise may not take interest in climate change," Boykoff said.
"Those who otherwise may see it as yet another set of challenges
that they just don't want to have to deal with."<br>
<br>
But Boykoff said producers need to be bolder, since the medium has
the power to reach so many people. Using that influence only to
focus on small behavioral changes isn't enough.<br>
<br>
"Climate change is a collective action problem at a global scale,"
Boykoff said. "We ought not get caught up in just using a mug
instead of a paper cup and thinking that we've done our job."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/07/1186044585/reality-tv-climate-change">https://www.npr.org/2023/07/07/1186044585/reality-tv-climate-change</a>
<p>- -</p>
<i>[ 3 examples - referenced links - new video shows engage with
global warming]</i><br>
<b>The Climate Reality: Rescripting Unscripted</b><br>
YEA! Impact<br>
Streamed live on Jun 22, 2023<br>
This workshop focuses on climate justice and sustainability in
unscripted TV. Highlighting leaders in front of and behind the
screen, the conversation is followed by a facilitated audience
discussion--providing attendees with the opportunity to brainstorm
ways to integrate climate into unscripted content. Moderated by Emmy
award-winning TV host Nina Parker, panelists include Emmy and
Grammy winning producer/showrunner Rikki Hughes, Yasmin Shackleton
(EP, Next in Fashion, Masterchef), James Longman (Co-EP, Late Late
Show), Andraéa LaVant (CEO, LaVant Consulting, Impact Producer for
Crip Camp), and Cyle Zezo (Producer, Penn & Teller: Fool Us,
Whose Line Is It Anyway).<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUSBdZN71aE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUSBdZN71aE</a><br>
<p>- -</p>
<b>Shark Tank US | Guest Shark Gwyneth Paltrow Teams Up For Kudos
Deal</b><br>
Sony Pictures Television<br>
Jun 17, 2023 #SharkTankUS #SharkTank #SharkTankAmerica<br>
Amrita Saigal is seeking $250k for a 5% stake in her company Kudos.<br>
From Season 14 Episode 10<br>
Watch Now: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.ctv.ca/shows/shark-tank">https://www.ctv.ca/shows/shark-tank</a> <br>
Subscribe to SPTV for more from your favorite shows:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://bit.ly/SPTVsubscribe">https://bit.ly/SPTVsubscribe</a><br>
About Shark Tank: The Sharks – tough, self-made, multi-millionaire
and billionaire tycoons – continue their search to invest in the
best businesses and products that America has to offer. The Sharks
will once again give people from all walks of life the chance to
chase the American dream and potentially secure business deals that
could make them millionaires.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3xdEGiypvc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3xdEGiypvc</a><br>
<p>- -</p>
<b>Extreme E: Race For The Planet Season 1 | Official Trailer</b><br>
Extreme E<br>
Jul 1, 2022<br>
<blockquote>Subscribe for more Extreme E: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://bit.ly/3uj6v3z">https://bit.ly/3uj6v3z</a><br>
Where to Watch Live: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://bit.ly/3ctoVbI">https://bit.ly/3ctoVbI</a><br>
Website: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://extreme-e.com">https://extreme-e.com</a> <br>
Instagram: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://instagram.com/extremeelive">https://instagram.com/extremeelive</a><br>
TikTok: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://tiktok.com/@extremeelive">https://tiktok.com/@extremeelive</a><br>
Facebook: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://facebook.com/extremeelive">https://facebook.com/extremeelive</a><br>
Twitter: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://twitter.com/extremeelive">https://twitter.com/extremeelive</a><br>
</blockquote>
Extreme E is a radical new racing series which will see eSUVs
compete in the most remote corners of the planet that have been
impacted by climate change.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Od4i1OGStE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Od4i1OGStE</a><br>
<br>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></p>
<i><font face="Calibri">[ yesterday's news seems to persist - AP -
and likely return ]</font></i><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>Earth hit an unofficial record high
temperature this week – and stayed there</b><br>
</font><font face="Calibri">BY SETH BORENSTEIN AND MELINA WALLING<br>
July 5, 2023<br>
Earth’s average temperature on Wednesday remained at an unofficial
record high set the day before, the latest grim milestone in a
week that has seen a series of climate-change-driven extremes.<br>
<br>
The average global temperature was 17.18 Celsius (62.9 degrees
Fahrenheit), according to the University of Maine’s Climate
Reanalyzer, a tool that uses satellite data and computer
simulations to measure the world’s condition. That matched a
record set Tuesday, and came after a previous record of 17.01
Celsius (62.6 degrees Fahrenheit) was set Monday.<br>
<br>
While the figures are not an official government record, “this is
showing us an indication of where we are right now,” said National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Sarah
Kapnick. And NOAA indicated it will take the figures into
consideration for its official record calculations.<br>
<br>
Scientists generally use much longer measurements — months, years,
decades — to track the Earth’s warming, but the daily highs are an
indication that climate change is reaching uncharted territory.<br>
<br>
While some countries had colder weather than usual,
high-temperature records were surpassed this week in Quebec and
Peru.<br>
<br>
In North Grenville, Ontario, the city turned ice hockey rinks into
cooling centers as temperatures Wednesday hit 32 degrees Celsius
(90 degrees Fahrenheit), with humidity making it making it feel
like 38 degrees (100 degrees Fahrenheit).<br>
<br>
“I feel like we live in a tropical country right now,” city
spokeswoman Jill Sturdy said. “It just kind of hits you. The air
is so thick.”<br>
<br>
Beijing reported nine straight days last week when the temperature
exceeded 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), and ordered a
stop to all outdoor work Wednesday, as the temperature reached 41
degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit).<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">On Wednesday, 38 million Americans were under
some kind of heat alert, Kapnick said.<br>
<br>
Scientists have warned for months that 2023 could see record heat
as human-caused climate change, driven largely by the burning of
fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil, warmed the
atmosphere. They also noted that La Nina, the natural cooling of
the ocean that had acted as a counter, was giving way to El Nino,
the reverse phenomenon marked by warming oceans.<br>
<br>
“A record like this is another piece of evidence for the now
massively supported proposition that global warming is pushing us
into a hotter future,” said Stanford University climate scientist
Chris Field, who was not part of the calculations.<br>
<br>
One of the largest contributors to this week’s records is an
exceptionally mild winter in the Antarctic, according to data from
the Climate Reanalyzer. Parts of the continent and nearby ocean
were 10-20 degrees Celsius (18-36 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than
averages from 1979-2000.<br>
<br>
“Temperatures have been unusual over the ocean and especially
around the Antarctic this week, because wind fronts over the
Southern Ocean are strong pushing warm air deeper south,” said
Raghu Murtugudde, professor of atmospheric, oceanic and earth
system science at the University of Maryland and visiting faculty
at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay...</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">- -</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Chari Vijayaraghavan, a polar explorer and
educator who has visited the Arctic and Antarctic regularly for
the past ten years says global warming is obvious at both poles,
and threatens the region’s wildlife as well as driving ice melt
that raises sea levels.<br>
<br>
“Warming climates might lead to increasing risks of diseases such
as the avian flu spreading in the Antarctic that will have
devastating consequences for penguins and other fauna in the
region,” Vijayaraghavan said.<br>
<br>
University of Maine climate scientist Sean Birkel, creator of the
Climate Reanalyzer, said the daily figures are unofficial but a
useful snapshot of what’s happening in a warming world.<br>
<br>
Even though the dataset used for the unofficial record goes back
only to 1979, Kapnick said that given other data, the world is
likely seeing the hottest days in “several hundred years that
we’ve experienced.”<br>
<br>
More frequent, and more intense heat waves disrupted life around
the world and caused life-threatening temperatures.<br>
<br>
Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, regional director for Europe at the World
Health Organization, said climate change was attacking the
continent “in a big way” which had the potential to wind back 50
years of progress in public health.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Large parts of India and Pakistan faced a
days-long heat wave in June that killed over 100 people across the
two countries. Temperatures subsided in the last week as the
monsoon rains began.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://apnews.com/article/global-heat-record-hottest-climate-change-july-483fc8e2a286062773692db1a37efe23">https://apnews.com/article/global-heat-record-hottest-climate-change-july-483fc8e2a286062773692db1a37efe23</a><br>
</font>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></p>
<font face="Calibri"><br>
</font> <font face="Calibri"><i>[ Mis and Dis-information battles
]</i></font><br>
<font face="Calibri"> <b>‘Double agents’: fossil-fuel lobbyists
work for US groups trying to fight climate crisis</b></font><br>
<font face="Calibri"> </font> <font face="Calibri">Oliver Milman
@olliemilman<br>
Wed 5 Jul 2023<br>
</font><font face="Calibri">‘Double agents’: fossil-fuel lobbyists
work for US groups trying to fight climate crisis<br>
Exclusive: new database shows 1,500 US lobbyists working for
fossil-fuel firms while representing universities and green groups<br>
Oliver Milman<br>
<br>
More than 1,500 lobbyists in the US are working on behalf of
fossil-fuel companies while at the same time representing hundreds
of liberal-run cities, universities, technology companies and
environmental groups that say they are tackling the climate
crisis, the Guardian can reveal.<br>
<br>
Lobbyists for oil, gas and coal interests are also employed by a
vast sweep of institutions, ranging from the city governments of
Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia; tech giants such as Apple
and Google; more than 150 universities; some of the country’s
leading environmental groups – and even ski resorts seeing their
snow melted by global heating.<br>
<br>
The breadth of fossil-fuel lobbyists’ work for other clients is
captured in a new database of their lobbying interests which was
published online on Wednesday.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">It shows the reach of state-level fossil-fuel
lobbyists into almost every aspect of American life, spanning
local governments, large corporations, cultural institutions such
as museums and film festivals, and advocacy groups, grouping
together clients with starkly contradictory aims.<br>
<br>
For instance, State Farm, the insurance company that announced in
May it would halt new homeowner policies in California due to the
“catastrophic” risk of wildfires worsened by the climate crisis,
employs lobbyists that also advocate for fossil fuel interests to
lawmakers in 18 states.<br>
<br>
Meanwhile, Baltimore, which is suing big oil firms for their role
in causing climate-related damages, has shared a lobbyist with
ExxonMobil, one of the named defendants in the case. Syracuse
University, a pioneer in the fossil fuel divestment movement, has
a lobbyist with 14 separate oil and gas clients.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">“It’s incredible that this has gone under the
radar for so long, as these lobbyists help the fossil fuel
industry wield extraordinary power,” said James Browning, a former
Common Cause lobbyist who put together the database for a new
venture called F Minus. “Many of these cities and counties face
severe costs from climate change and yet elected officials are
selling their residents out. It’s extraordinary...</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">The worst thing about hiring these lobbyists is
that it legitimizes the fossil fuel industry,” Browning added.
“They can cloak their radical agenda in respectability when their
lobbyists also have clients in the arts, or city government, or
with conservation groups. It normalizes something that is very
dangerous.”</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">The searchable database, created by compiling
the public disclosure records of lobbyists up to 2022 reveals:<br>
</font>
<blockquote><font face="Calibri">-- Some of the most
progressive-minded cities in the US employ fossil-fuel
lobbyists. Chicago shares a lobbyist with BP. Philadelphia’s
lobbyist also works for the Koch Industries network. Los Angeles
has a lobbyist contracted to the gas plant firm Tenaska. Even
cities that are suing fossil fuel companies for climate damages,
such as Baltimore, have fossil fuel-aligned lobbyists...</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">-- Environmental groups that push for action
on climate change also, incongruously, use lobbyists employed by
the fossil-fuel industry. The Environmental Defense Fund shares
lobbyists with ExxonMobil, Calpine and Duke Energy, all major
gas producers. A lobbyist for the Natural Resources Defense
Council Action Fund also works on behalf of the mining company
BHP.</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">--- Large tech companies have repeatedly
touted their climate credentials but many also use fossil
fuel-aligned lobbyists. Amazon employs fossil-fuel lobbyists in
27 states. Apple shares a lobbyist with the Koch network.
Microsoft’s lobbyist also lobbies on behalf of Exxon. Google has
a lobbyist who has seven different fossil fuel companies as
clients.</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">-- More than 150 universities have ties to
lobbyists who also push the interests of fossil-fuel companies.
These include colleges that have vowed to divest from fossil
fuels under pressure from students concerned about the climate
crisis, such as California State University, the University of
Washington, Johns Hopkins University and Syracuse University.
Scores of school districts, from Washington state to Florida,
have lobbyists who also work for fossil-fuel interests.</font><br>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">-- A constellation of cultural and
recreational bodies also use fossil-fuel lobbyists, despite in
many cases calling for action on the climate crisis. The New
Museum in New York City, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
and the Sundance Film Institute in Utah all share lobbyists with
fossil-fuel interests, as does the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
and the Florida Aquarium. Even top ski resorts such as Jackson
Hole and Vail, which face the prospect of dwindling snow on
slopes due to rising temperatures, use fossil-fuel lobbyists.</font><br>
</blockquote>
<font face="Calibri">Cities, companies, universities and green
groups that use fossil fuel-linked lobbyists said this work did
not conflict with their own climate goals and in some cases was
even beneficial. “It is common for lobbyists to work for a variety
of clients,” said a spokesperson for the University of Washington.<br>
<br>
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art said it
had retained a lobbyist on the F Minus database “for a period
during the pandemic … We are not currently working with the
company.”<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">A spokesperson for the Environmental Defense
Fund said that working for big oil is “not, in itself, an
automatic disqualification. In some cases it can actually help us
find productive alignment in unexpected places.” Microsoft said
despite its lobbying arrangements there is “no ambiguity or doubt
about Microsoft’s commitment to the aggressive steps needed to
address the world’s carbon crisis”.<br>
<br>
But the vast scale of the use of fossil-fuel lobbyists by
organizations that advocate for climate action underlines the
deeply embedded influence of oil, gas and coal interests,
according to Timmons Roberts, an environmental sociologist at
Brown University.<br>
<br>
“The fossil-fuel industry is very good at getting what it wants
because they get the lobbyists best at playing the game,” Roberts
said. “They have the best staff, huge legal departments, and the
ability to funnel dark money to lobbying and influence channels.<br>
<br>
“This database really makes it apparent that when you hire these
insider lobbyists, you are basically working with double agents.
They are guns for hire. The information you share with them is
probably going to the opposition.”...<br>
-- -</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Roberts said that climate-concerned
organizations may get a “short-term” benefit by gaining access to
politicians close to the fossil fuel lobbyists they use but that
the enduring impact is to simply reinforce the status of polluting
industries. “It would make a big difference if all of these
institutions cut all ties with fossil fuel lobbyists, even if they
lose some access to insider decisions,” he said. “It would be
taking one more step to removing the social license from an
industry that’s making the planet uninhabitable.”<br>
<br>
Nearly all states require lobbyists to register and submit
periodic disclosure reports, and lobbyists tend not to advocate
for both sides of the same piece of legislation. Beyond that, the
laws around lobbying are scant. There is no bar to lobbyists
working for clients with seemingly diametrically opposing aims,
and there are few guardrails to ensure sensitive information is
not shared with the other side.<br>
<br>
This has led to lobbyists with client lists that are jarring in
their juxtapositions. Hinman Straub, a New York-based advisory
firm, lobbies on behalf of Koch Industries, known for its history
of climate denial and muscular efforts to block action to cut
emissions, as well as Bard College, one of the most liberal
institutions in the US...<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Seth McKeel, a former Republican state
legislator in Florida, is lobbyist to both Apple, which has vowed
to completely decarbonize its supply chain by 2030, and Kinder
Morgan, which has more than 140 oil and gas terminals...</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><br>
Syracuse University’s lobbyist, the Brown & Weinraub outfit,
also has 14 fossil-fuel clients, including Koch Industries
companies, Shell and the American Petroleum Institute, a situation
that Alex Scrivner, a Syracuse PhD student and campus climate
advocate, described as “disheartening”. The Koch Industries
network itself shares lobbyists with a broad range of
institutions, from the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre to Google.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">The practice of political lobbying has grown
significantly since the 1970s, with the fossil-fuel industry among
the most prolific users of paid operatives to help shape
favourable government policies. A study released in May found that
not only is the industry more likely to lobby than others, its
lobbying expenditures have jumped when faced with potential
climate-linked threats to its business model.<br>
<br>
This morass of fossil-fuel lobbying now touches all flavours of
political persuasion. Lobbying contracts can involve a range of
different tasks that do not necessarily directly clash with the
stated aims of another client, and some environmental groups feel
that having fossil fuel-aligned lobbyists can open up pathways to
Republican lawmakers who might otherwise not be amenable to them.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Denis Dison, director of communications for the
National Resources Defense Council Action Fund, said the
environmental group “as a rule” doesn’t use people who also work
with the fossil-fuel industry. But he added that “at times we
retain vendors that specialize in engagement that can help build
support for climate and equity progress across both sides of the
aisle”.<br>
<br>
Browning said his advice would be to avoid “cynical calculations”.
He said: “We got into this mess on climate by groups seeking
short-term wins but empowering the fossil fuel industry and giving
them credibility.” State capitols can act as a sort of “alternate
reality” where existential issues like the climate crisis are
overshadowed by the desire to cultivate alliances and bolster
influence, he added.<br>
<br>
“People just assume there is no alternative to the status quo, but
it’s time to take a side. It’s all about who is in the room when
decisions are made, and the only way to force change is to get
these fossil-fuel companies and their lobbyists out of the room.”<br>
<br>
Lobbyists, like lawyers, are not required to hold the same
worldview as their clients, according to Sarah Bryner, director of
research at OpenSecrets, a non-profit that tracks lobbying. “But
you could see it would be problematic to represent clients with
radically opposed views to other clients,” she said.<br>
<br>
“The money thing matters, too. These environmental groups, and
even cities, can’t pay lobbyists as much as huge multinational
fossil fuel companies can, so there is an imbalance there.
Loyalties would be split.”<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Meghan Sahli-Wells saw the pressure exerted by
fossil-fuel lobbying first-hand while she was mayor of Culver
City, California, where she spearheaded a move to ban oil drilling
near homes and schools. Culver City, part of Los Angeles county,
overlaps with the Inglewood oilfield, and the close proximity of
oilwells to residences has been blamed for worsening health
problems, such as asthma, as well as fueling the climate crisis.<br>
<br>
“It takes so much community effort and political lift to pass
policies and then these lobbying firms come in and try to undo
them overnight,” said Sahli-Wells, who ended her second mayoral
term in 2020. Oil and gas interests, which spent $34m across
California lobbying lawmakers and state agencies last year,
mobilised against the ban, arguing it would be economically
harmful and cause gasoline prices to spike.<br>
<br>
“There was just a huge push from the fossil fuel industry,”
Sahli-Wells said. “It’s not a good look to be funding lobbyists
for fossil fuels, especially with public money.<br>
<br>
“I hope that many people just don’t know they share lobbyists with
fossil-fuel companies and that this database will bring
transparency and allow leaders to better vet these companies,” she
added. “You shouldn’t be funding the person who is poisoning you.”<br>
</font><font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/05/double-agent-fossil-fuel-lobbyists">https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/05/double-agent-fossil-fuel-lobbyists</a><br>
</font>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font> </p>
<br>
<font face="Calibri"> <i>[ Opinion from Aljazeera ]</i></font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>China’s new problem: climate misinformation
driven by nationalism</b><br>
Climate conspiracies once suited Beijing’s narrative. Not any
more. Now, China is both a culprit and a target.<br>
Purple Romero<br>
</font><font face="Calibri">3 Jul 2023</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Much has been written about climate
misinformation in the West but there has been far less scrutiny of
the problem in China – a country that is both a significant carbon
emitter and a leader in developing green technology.<br>
<br>
Annie Lab, our fact-checking project at the University of Hong
Kong, looked into the diverse narratives of such climate
misinformation, examples of which we have encountered and verified
in the past.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">One thing we can say is that these narratives
are deeply connected to China’s assertion of its identity and
pursuit of its aspirations. China has bounced back after years of
poverty, establishing itself as an economic behemoth. It takes
pride in this shift and development, so any challenge to this
progress – and to the image of China – is perceived as hostile.<br>
<br>
Not too long ago, that included climate change, which, from about
2009-2011, was often depicted in Chinese books and popular TV
shows as a Western hoax designed to torpedo China’s economic rise.<br>
<br>
After 2011, however, the messaging changed. These books and public
statements disappeared amid growing public consciousness about
climate change. This forced, in some ways, the government to take
the problem seriously.<br>
<br>
However, online, climate denial lives on and remains strong...</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">We also found similar dodgy Chinese posts on
YouTube and Twitter as well as articles from The Epoch Times, a
news organisation reportedly linked to Falun Gong, a religious
group banned in mainland China.<br>
<br>
Our research unveiled various narratives, one of which explained
the recurring manipulated images depicting Swedish activist Greta
Thunberg as having gained weight. As it turned out, the doctoring
of her photos to make her look that way is not an isolated case,
nor is it a juvenile attempt at malicious pillory or an example of
harmless mockery.<br>
<br>
A deeper look takes us back to comments by Thunberg that stirred
patriotic assertions, including that she was a tool or puppet of
the West. In a May 2021 tweet, Thunberg said that while China
remains a developing country, it must be more conscious about its
carbon emissions...</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">She was accused of being a “selective
environmentalist” because she did not comment on Japan’s plans to
release nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, although she
did share an article about it. Chinese online posts also said
Thunberg told the Chinese people to stop using chopsticks to
reduce deforestation – though there is no evidence the climate
activist ever made such a statement.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Tensions between China and the West have shaped
another narrative, too.<br>
<br>
If before, Chinese book authors said climate change was something
the West invented so China would rely on it for green technology,
now there are social media posts saying the opposite. As the Asian
giant has emerged as a leading manufacturer of clean tech, it is
now the target of West-based far-right conspiracy theories, too.
Misleading posts were found on Twitter as well as video-sharing
platforms Rumble and Bitchute suggesting that climate change is
supposedly just a scam concocted by China so the West could depend
on it for green technology.<br>
<br>
An offshoot of this is another strand of misinformation: The use
of unverified videos on Twitter in Chinese allegedly showing
Chinese-manufactured e-vehicles and wind turbines of shoddy
quality.<br>
<br>
Meanwhile, other social media claims and articles have downplayed
the role of man-made emissions. On YouTube, one said volcanic
eruptions put more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than human
activities do. This has been debunked.<br>
<br>
On WeChat, a user said global warming was caused by changes in the
Earth’s orbit around the sun. The United States space agency NASA
has clarified that while the sun does indeed have an effect on the
Earth’s climate, “it isn’t responsible for the warming trend we’ve
seen over recent decades”.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Chinese experts themselves stepped in to
correct some of these claims. Authorities from the National Space
Weather Forecasting Station of the China Meteorological
Administration debunked a claim about solar activity being the
main driver behind changes in the Earth’s climate.<br>
<br>
The China Environment News, the official outlet of China’s
Ministry of Ecology and Environment, meanwhile, came out with an
article that explained why, contrary to viral claims, rising
temperatures will not usher in a period of prosperity for mainland
China. This particular claim is very specific to China as it harks
back to the Han and Tang dynasties, which were said to have
experienced stability and prosperity during warmer climates.<br>
<br>
Wu Yixiu, a former climate journalist with China Dialogue, a
non-profit organisation that analyses climate issues in China and
has offices in London and Beijing, told us the claim resonated
with the public because it mirrored China’s aspiration of
“rejuvenation”.<br>
<br>
This narrative, along with the others, reveals that climate
misinformation in China is largely shaped by nationalism, a
sentiment that has become more fervent under President Xi Jinping,
even if the Chinese government itself has to step in at times to
challenge false claims.<br>
<br>
It is not always about the science but about the story. And if the
story is uncomfortable, a dose of climate misinformation is never
far away.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Purple Romero is a Filipina multimedia
journalist who has written about climate change, gender issues,
foreign affairs and labour rights for local and international news
organisations.<br>
</font><font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/7/3/chinas-new-problem-climate-lies-fuelled-by-nationalism">https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/7/3/chinas-new-problem-climate-lies-fuelled-by-nationalism</a><br>
</font>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></p>
<i><font face="Calibri">[ Well, this is a cynical opinion from a
climate activist ]</font></i><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>How Stupid Are the Ruling Elite? Too Stupid
To Stay Alive.</b><br>
</font><font face="Calibri">Ray Katz<br>
Jun 27, <br>
We’ll need to rescue those fools, as well as our children, Nature
and ourselves.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri">No matter how educated they are, the ultra-rich
are ultra-stupid. The Koch brothers? Super well-educated. Degrees
in engineering. (Okay, only one of the two is still alive. But
he’s educated.) Well educated indeed. Charles Koch, the one who’s
still breathing, has a degree in engineering from MIT and two
advanced degrees — in nuclear and chemical engineering.<br>
<br>
And yet he’s an idiot. I don’t mean I disagree with him on
politics and other things. I do, but that’s not what I’m talking
about. I mean he’s really, really stupid.<br>
<br>
Think about it. Engineering. CHEMICAL engineering. He fully
understands that his activities and the overall use of fossil
fuels is destroying the habitability of the planet. He knows that
due in large part to his “success,” his own grandchildren — and
possibly even his (now adult) children, will suffer terribly on an
ever more hostile planet, one with increasingly frequent and
severe heatwaves, floods, wildfires, shortages. He knows that we
are seeing NOW — TODAY — the start of a full-fledged climate
collapse, one that without a serious and determined U-Turn will
result in unprecedented massive suffering.<br>
<br>
A suffering that even today’s ultra-wealthy fools like Koch
himself will be unable to escape. Because THE ENTIRE PLANET is
becoming a living Hell.<br>
<br>
Charles Koch, the well-educated “smart” guy continues doing what
he’s doing — destroying the habitability of the planet he and his
loved ones live on.<br>
<br>
How is he not the stupidest person on the planet? Well, maybe he
isn’t, because he’s got some serious competition....<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>The Role of Stupidity in the Titan Implosion</b><br>
It may not be nice to speak ill of the dead, but maybe it’s
necessary to try to keep others alive. This is why I feel
compelled to talk about OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush, who died
when the submersible vehicle he was on — with four others —
imploded while visiting the Titanic.<br>
<br>
Rush had a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Princeton
University. He held an MBA from UCLA/Berkley. When he failed to
become an astronaut, he decided to explore the oceans, and
ultimately he and a partner founded a company that sold tourist
trips to the ocean’s depths.<br>
<br>
But for all his education, Rush was incredibly stupid. He decided
that the dangers of oceanic tourism was exaggerated and that
regulations were overblown. Rush came to this conclusion even
though he had been an aerospace engineer. He knew better — or
should have.<br>
<br>
But his stupidity exceeded his education. To save money — that MBA
trumped that engineering degree, you see — he purchased inferior
carbon fiber from Boeing, material that was past its shelf life,
to build his submersible vehicles.<br>
<br>
The Titan, which imploded killing him and the other four
passengers, was purposely built using inferior materials. Who’s
stupider, Koch or Stockton?<br>
<br>
<b>Not Brilliant and Evil. Stupid and Pathetic.</b><br>
The people who are destroying the habitability of our Earth, the
alleged wealthy brilliant supervillains like Elon Musk and Jeff
Bezos are nothing of the sort. They are well-educated and, in some
nominal way, kind of smart.<br>
<br>
But they are functionally morons. They are literally too stupid,
crippled by a tunnel vision of greed and hubris, to stay alive.
It’s a miracle that any of them are still breathing.<br>
<br>
We are scared of these people. We think they are brilliant,
powerful, greedy and power mad. They are only the latter two. And
those latter two qualities negate any possibility of brilliance.
This also blunts their ability to effectively wield power.<br>
<br>
The power these ultra-wealthy fools have is illusory. They are on
top because of the systems we live in — a system that rewards
people like them. And so, not only do we need to remove people
like them from power — and THEY have the power because they fund
politicians and PACs and therefore make policy — but we need to
end the systems that grant them their destructive power. Because
it is those systems, not any actual ability, that enables Bezos
and Musk and Stockton and Jamie Dimon and other wealthy fools to
endanger us all.<br>
<br>
<b>Our Unrealized Power</b><br>
This illusion of power, more than any actual power, is what
enables a few thousand self-destructive fools to bring the entire
Earth to the brink of climate collapse. We must puncture and
deflate this illusion, and seize the power which is rightfully
ours.<br>
<br>
Who does all the work? Who makes everything happen? Who produces
all the goods and services? Who makes the world work — at least on
the occasions when it does?<br>
<br>
Ordinary working people. The “little” people. The people who live
off the scraps of the ultra-wealthy. The alleged beneficiaries of
the “job creators.”<br>
<br>
This whole notion is ass-backwards. Just as no Pharaoh designed or
built a pyramid, these billionaires take credit for things they
simply did not do. They are 100% dependent on US, on ordinary
people who DO EVERYTHING, for their positions, for their wealth,
and for their power.<br>
<br>
Everything they have is due to us. And those who empower them can
and MUST and WILL dis-empower them. We will do this to save our
children, to rescue Nature, to save ourselves, and even to save
our very, very stupid foes.<br>
<br>
We will do this because we share a common humanity, and because we
are all part of Nature, and we cannot continue to live if we
destroy Nature.<br>
<br>
We will awaken ourselves and alert the others. We will let people
know — people who have given up, who believed themselves
powerless, who were defeated by despair — that WE have the power,
that WE will exercise that power and that together WE will save
whatever can be salvaged from our dire circumstances.<br>
<br>
Thank you for reading. Now please join our efforts. We will be
starting an initiative called “Strike While the Planet Is Hot.”
You can participate by simply printing and posting a flyer! It’s a
small but meaningful action. You can encourage others to do the
same. Find and print the signs from A Climate Declaration.<br>
<br>
Someone took the first axe to the Berlin Wall. We can be the first
to set the climate revolution into motion.<br>
<br>
<i>Please follow me on Medium. And check out these websites:
EarthRebirth Team (group); 5 Minutes to Save the Earth
(podcast); A Climate Declaration (framework for change). You can
also attend the live video chat — a “Virtual Climate Party — on
July 1, 2023 at 2pm EST.</i> <br>
</font><font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://ray-katz.medium.com/how-stupid-are-the-ruling-elite-too-stupid-to-stay-alive-6557a1a25ca9">https://ray-katz.medium.com/how-stupid-are-the-ruling-elite-too-stupid-to-stay-alive-6557a1a25ca9</a></font>
<p><font face="Calibri">- -</font></p>
<font face="Calibri"><i>[ links from above ]</i><br>
</font><font face="Calibri"><b>A Climate Declaration </b><br>
</font><font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://aclimatedeclaration.com/">https://aclimatedeclaration.com/</a></font>
<p><font face="Calibri">- -</font></p>
<font face="Calibri">PODCAST - </font><br>
<font face="Calibri"><b>5 MINUTES TO SAVE THE EARTH</b></font><br>
<font face="Calibri">Action, Not Reaction<br>
Strategically, to save the Earth, we will need to take the
initiative. We need to stop reacting to the failed leaders, the
excuse makers, the delayers and deniers. We must take the
initiative, grab hold of the microphone and LEAD. Here’s how.<br>
</font><font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://5minutestosavetheearth.com/">https://5minutestosavetheearth.com/</a></font>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></p>
<font face="Calibri"> </font><font face="Calibri"> <i>[The news
archive - looking back at a global warming martyr ]</i></font><br>
<font face="Calibri"> <font size="+2"><i><b>July 7, 2005</b></i></font>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"> July 7, 2005: Rick Piltz, who resigned from
the US Climate Change Science Program earlier in the year over the
Bush Administration's aggravated assault on climate science,
appears on Air America's "The Al Franken Show" to discuss the
administration's hostility to science.</font><br>
<br>
Piltz died in 2014 - one of the original climate change martyrs - he
has made some solid history, important to notice.<br>
<blockquote>Frederick Steven "Rick" Piltz (July 29, 1943 – October
18, 2014) was a former senior associate in the U.S. Climate Change
Science Program. In March 2005, he resigned over political
interference in the program's climate change reports. In June
2005, the New York Times exposed the role of Philip Cooney in
editing government documents on climate change to create an
appearance of scientific uncertainty. A former lobbyist with the
American Petroleum Institute, Cooney resigned and days later took
a job at Exxon Mobil.<br>
<br>
Piltz went on to found Climate Science Watch, a project to hold
public officials accountable for using climate science with
integrity in policy making. Climate Science Watch is a program of
the Government Accountability Project, a whistleblower protection
agency in Washington, D.C.<br>
<br>
Politicization of science<br>
Piltz spent 14 years in various positions in Washington closely
following how global warming science is misused by the government
and special interest groups. From 1995, he served in senior
positions in the Climate Change Science Program, before resigning
in March 2005. In his resignation letter, he wrote, "I believe the
overarching problem is that the [Bush] Administration...does not
want and has acted to impede forthright communication of the state
of climate science and its implication for society."<br>
<br>
Within months, the New York Times exposed White House operative
Philip Cooney for editing government climate documents to increase
uncertainty about the science. Cooney resigned and joined Exxon
Mobil.<br>
<br>
Piltz also states that forces within the Bush administration have
sought to hide the results from the National Assessment on Climate
Change.<br>
<br>
Government watchdog<br>
Piltz founded Climate Science Watch in the summer of 2005. The
group tracks and investigates climate science policy developments
in the news and occasionally publishes leaked documents from
government insiders.<br>
<br>
Piltz testified twice before Congress since creating Climate
Science Watch.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_S._Piltz">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_S._Piltz</a><br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://youtu.be/AhJAF6nODCU">http://youtu.be/AhJAF6nODCU</a></font><br>
<font face="Calibri"> <br>
<br>
</font>
<p><font face="Calibri">======================================= <br>
</font> <font face="Calibri"><b class="moz-txt-star"><span
class="moz-txt-tag">*Mass media is lacking, many </span>daily
summaries<span class="moz-txt-tag"> deliver global warming
news - a few are email delivered*</span></b> <br>
</font> <font face="Calibri"><br>
=========================================================<br>
</font> <font face="Calibri"><b>*Inside Climate News</b><br>
Newsletters<br>
We deliver climate news to your inbox like nobody else. Every
day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the web’s
top headlines deliver the full story, for free.<br>
</font> <font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://insideclimatenews.org/">https://insideclimatenews.org/</a><br>
--------------------------------------- <br>
*<b>Climate Nexus</b> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://climatenexus.org/hot-news/*">https://climatenexus.org/hot-news/*</a>
<br>
Delivered straight to your inbox every morning, Hot News
summarizes the most important climate and energy news of the
day, delivering an unmatched aggregation of timely, relevant
reporting. It also provides original reporting and commentary on
climate denial and pro-polluter activity that would otherwise
remain largely unexposed. 5 weekday <br>
================================= <br>
</font> <font face="Calibri"><b class="moz-txt-star"><span
class="moz-txt-tag">*</span>Carbon Brief Daily </b><span
class="moz-txt-star"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/newsletter-sign-up">https://www.carbonbrief.org/newsletter-sign-up</a></span><b
class="moz-txt-star"><span class="moz-txt-tag">*</span></b> <br>
Every weekday morning, in time for your morning coffee, Carbon
Brief sends out a free email known as the “Daily Briefing” to
thousands of subscribers around the world. The email is a digest
of the past 24 hours of media coverage related to climate change
and energy, as well as our pick of the key studies published in
the peer-reviewed journals. <br>
more at <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.getrevue.co/publisher/carbon-brief">https://www.getrevue.co/publisher/carbon-brief</a>
<br>
================================== <br>
*T<b>he Daily Climate </b>Subscribe <a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://ehsciences.activehosted.com/f/61*">https://ehsciences.activehosted.com/f/61*</a>
<br>
Get The Daily Climate in your inbox - FREE! Top news on climate
impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered week days.
Better than coffee. <br>
Other newsletters at <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.dailyclimate.org/originals/">https://www.dailyclimate.org/originals/</a>
<br>
<br>
</font> </p>
<font face="Calibri">
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------/
<br>
/Archive of Daily Global Warming News <a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://pairlist10.pair.net/pipermail/theclimate.vote/">https://pairlist10.pair.net/pipermail/theclimate.vote/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
/To receive daily mailings - click to Subscribe <a
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="mailto:subscribe@theClimate.Vote?subject=Click%20SEND%20to%20process%20your%20request"><mailto:subscribe@theClimate.Vote?subject=Click%20SEND%20to%20process%20your%20request></a>
to news digest./<br>
<br>
Privacy and Security:*This mailing is text-only. It does not
carry images or attachments which may originate from remote
servers. A text-only message can provide greater privacy to the
receiver and sender. This is a personal hobby production curated
by Richard Pauli<br>
By regulation, the .VOTE top-level domain cannot be used for
commercial purposes. Messages have no tracking software.<br>
To subscribe, email: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated
moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:contact@theclimate.vote">contact@theclimate.vote</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="mailto:contact@theclimate.vote"><mailto:contact@theclimate.vote></a>
with subject subscribe, To Unsubscribe, subject: unsubscribe<br>
Also you may subscribe/unsubscribe at <a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/theclimate.vote">https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/theclimate.vote</a><br>
Links and headlines assembled and curated by Richard Pauli for <a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://TheClimate.Vote">http://TheClimate.Vote</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://TheClimate.Vote/"><http://TheClimate.Vote/></a>
delivering succinct information for citizens and responsible
governments of all levels. List membership is confidential and
records are scrupulously restricted to this mailing list. </font><font
face="Calibri"><br>
</font>
</body>
</html>