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<font size="+2"><font face="Calibri"><i><b>November </b></i></font></font><font
size="+2" face="Calibri"><i><b>5, 2023</b></i></font><font
face="Calibri"><br>
</font> <br>
<i>[ Important to know that cleaner air means hotter temperatures ]</i><br>
<b>Climate's 'Catch-22': Cutting pollution heats up the planet</b><br>
By Jake Spring and David Stanway<br>
November 2, 2023<br>
Nov 2 (Reuters) - Air pollution, a global scourge that kills
millions of people a year, is shielding us from the full force of
the sun. Getting rid of it will accelerate climate change.<br>
<br>
That's the unpalatable conclusion reached by scientists poring over
the results of China's decade-long and highly effective "war on
pollution", according to six leading climate experts.<br>
<br>
The drive to banish pollution, caused mainly by sulphur dioxide
(SO2) spewed from coal plants, has cut SO2 emissions by close to 90%
and saved hundreds of thousands of lives, Chinese official data and
health studies show.<br>
Yet stripped of its toxic shield, which scatters and reflects solar
radiation, China's average temperatures have gone up by 0.7 degrees
Celsius since 2014, triggering fiercer heatwaves, according to a
Reuters review of meteorological data and the scientists
interviewed.<br>
<br>
"It's this Catch-22," said Patricia Quinn, an atmospheric chemist at
the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
speaking about cleaning up sulphur pollution globally. "We want to
clean up our air for air quality purposes but, by doing that, we're
increasing warming."<br>
The removal of the air pollution - a term scientists call
"unmasking" - may have had a greater effect on temperatures in some
industrial Chinese cities over the last decade than the warming from
greenhouse gases themselves, the scientists said.<br>
<br>
Other highly polluted parts of the world, such as India and the
Middle East, would see similar jumps in warming if they follow
China's lead in cleaning the skies of sulphur dioxide and the
polluting aerosols it forms, the experts warned.<br>
The drop in pollution was accompanied by a leap in warming - the
nine years since 2014 have seen national average annual temperatures
in China of 10.34C, up more than 0.7C compared with the 2001-2010
period, according to Reuters calculations based on yearly weather
reports published by the China Meteorological Administration.<br>
<br>
Scientific estimates vary as to how much of that rise comes from
unmasking versus greenhouse gas emissions or natural climate
variations like El Nino.<br>
<br>
The impacts are more acute at a local level near the pollution
source. Almost immediately, China saw big warming jumps from its
unmasking of pollution near heavy industrial regions, according to
climate scientist Yangyang Xu at Texas A&M University, who
models the impact of aerosols on the climate.<br>
<br>
Xu told Reuters he estimated that unmasking had caused temperatures
near the cities of Chongqing and Wuhan, long known as China's
"furnaces", to rise by almost 1C since sulphur emissions peaked in
the mid-2000s.<br>
<br>
During heatwaves, the unmasking effect can be even more pronounced.
Laura Wilcox, a climate scientist who studies the effects of
aerosols at Britain's University of Reading, said a computer
simulation showed that the rapid decline in SO2 in China could raise
temperatures on extreme-heat days by as much as 2C.<br>
<br>
"Those are big differences, especially for somewhere like China,
where heat is already pretty dangerous," she said.<br>
<br>
Indeed, heatwaves in China have been particularly ferocious this
year. A town in the northwestern region of Xinjiang saw temperatures
of 52.2C (126F) in July, shattering the national temperature record
of 50.3C set in 2015.<br>
<br>
Beijing also experienced a record heatwave, with temperatures
topping 35C (95F) for more than four weeks.<br>
<br>
INDIA AND MIDDLE EAST<br>
The effects of sulphur unmasking are most pronounced in developing
countries, as the U.S. and most of Europe cleaned up their skies
decades ago. While the heat rise from sulphur cleanup is strongest
locally, the effects can be felt in far-distant regions. One 2021
study co-authored by Xu found that a decrease in European aerosol
emissions since the 1980s may have shifted weather patterns in
Northern China.<br>
<br>
In India, sulphur pollution is still rising, roughly doubling in the
last two decades, according to calculations by NOAA researchers
based on figures from the U.S.-funded Community Emissions Data
System.<br>
<br>
In 2020, when that pollution plummeted due to COVID lockdowns,
ground temperatures in India were the eighth warmest on record, 0.29
C higher than the 1981-2010 average, despite the cooling effects of
the La Nina climate pattern, according to the India Meteorological
Department.<br>
<br>
India aims for an air cleanup like China's, and in 2019 launched its
National Clean Air Programme to reduce pollution by 40% in more than
100 cities by 2026.<br>
<br>
Once polluted regions in India or the Middle East improve their air
quality by abandoning fossil fuels and transitioning to green energy
sources, they too will lose their shield of sulphates, scientists
said.<br>
<br>
"You stop your anthropogenic activities for a brief moment of time
and the atmosphere cleans up very, very quickly and the temperatures
jump instantaneously," added Sergey Osipov, a climate modeller at
the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi
Arabia.<br>
<b><br>
OFFSETTING WITH METHANE?</b><br>
As the implications of the pollution unmasking become more apparent,
experts are casting around for methods to counter the associated
warming.<br>
<br>
One proposal called "solar radiation management" envisions
deliberately injecting sulphur aerosols into the atmosphere to cool
temperatures. But many scientists worry that the approach could
unleash unintended consequences.<br>
<br>
A more mainstream plan is to curb methane emissions. This is seen as
the quickest way to tame global temperatures because the effects of
the gas in the atmosphere last only a decade or so, so cutting
emissions now would deliver results within a decade. Carbon dioxide,
by comparison, persists for centuries.<br>
<br>
As of 2019, methane had caused about 0.5C in warming compared with
preindustrial levels, according to IPCC figures.<br>
<br>
While more than 100 countries have pledged to reduce methane
emissions by 30% by the end of the decade, few have gone further
than drawing up "action plans" and "pathways" to cuts. China - the
world's biggest emitter - has yet to publish its plan.<br>
<br>
By targeting methane, the world could mitigate the warming effect of
the reduction in pollution and potentially avert catastrophic
consequences, said Michael Diamond, an atmospheric scientist at
Florida State University.<br>
<br>
"This doesn't doom us to going above 1.5 degrees Celsius if we clean
up the air."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/climates-catch-22-cutting-pollution-heats-up-planet-2023-11-02/">https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/climates-catch-22-cutting-pollution-heats-up-planet-2023-11-02/</a><br>
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</p>
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</p>
<i>[ Wildfire Today - planning ahead - opinion ]</i><br>
<b>More simultaneous large fires in the next 60 years</b><br>
Hunter Bassler <br>
November 3, 2023<br>
Wildfire simultaneity, or numerous large wildfires burning at the
same time, will become at least twice as frequent by 2085,
researchers are warning. A steadily increasing number of large
wildland fires — and the number of acres burned — has occurred over
the past few decades in the American West, but new research has
found that simultaneous large fires will burn even more often. <br>
<br>
“Future regional increases in simultaneous large Western USA
wildfires” was published in the International Journal of Wildland
Fire by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research; it
focused on wildfires that burned 1,000 acres or more between 1984
and 2015. Researchers used multiple fire indices to model how
simultaneity will likely change over the next 60 years. The study
also measured the fires by Geographic Area Coordination Centers to
see whether some geographic areas might see greater increases
compared with others.<br>
Simultaneous wildfires were projected to increase in every area of
the West. Not only were “bad years” projected to increase, but
increases in simultaneity also led to more intense wildfires. Peak
season for simultaneous wildfires was projected to become several
weeks longer by the end of the century.<br>
<br>
“The trend was particularly pronounced for the most severe wildfire
seasons — those that currently occur only every 10 years on
average,” the National Center for Atmospheric Research said. “In the
future, such seasons may be expected to occur at least twice as
often, and up to nearly five times per decade in the northern Rocky
Mountains, which was the most affected region.”<br>
The findings point toward a risk in an already understaffed and
under-resourced wildland firefighting force. Because crews are
transferred across the nation, or sometimes even across nations, to
battle fires depending on when an area’s season peaks, an increase
in peak season length could mean major challenges for firefighters
and fire managers.<br>
<br>
“Because firefighting decisions about resource distribution,
pre-positioning, and suppression strategies consider simultaneity as
a factor, these results underscore the importance of potential
changes in simultaneity for fire management decision-making,” the
study says.<br>
<br>
Steps can reportedly be taken to lessen the future risk of
simultaneous wildfires, including thinning forests, conducting
prescribed burns, and increasing numbers of firefighting crews and
equipment. But that will depend on how long it will take to make
those changes.<br>
<br>
“The strain on resources created by simultaneous fires can affect
the ability to conduct prescribed burns and pursue other
preventative action,” the center said.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://wildfiretoday.com/2023/11/03/more-simultaneous-large-fires-in-the-next-60-years/">https://wildfiretoday.com/2023/11/03/more-simultaneous-large-fires-in-the-next-60-years/</a><br>
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<i>[ climate catch up - 7 min video ]</i><br>
<b>World Climate Update 🌎 November 4th, 2023</b><br>
Regan Parenton<br>
Nov 4, 2023<br>
A quick update of things happening around the world.<br>
Please remember to like, share, and support my content:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://bit.ly/3wigHfg">http://bit.ly/3wigHfg</a><br>
<br>
Quote from the abstract: <br>
"Improved knowledge of glacial-to-interglacial global temperature
change yields Charney (fast-feedback) equilibrium climate
sensitivity 1.2 ± 0.3°C (2σ) per W/m2, which is 4.8°C ± 1.2°C for
doubled CO2."<br>
<br>
Resource used for todays presentation: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://climateandeconomy.com/">http://climateandeconomy.com/</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYqN3Yc-E-0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYqN3Yc-E-0</a><br>
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</p>
<i>[ a sour dish for those sitting at the table. </i><i>"Mix that
metaphor!" </i><i>]</i><br>
<b>Judge Squashes Lawsuit To Shut Down Wyoming Drilling Permits</b><br>
Gov. Mark Gordon and other groups defending Wyoming’s oil and gas
industries are praising a federal judge for squashing a lawsuit
brought by environmental groups to negate 900 oil and gas permits.<br>
Leo Wolfson<br>
November 03, 2023<br>
Gov. Mark Gordon and other groups defending Wyoming’s oil and gas
industries are praising a federal judge for squashing a lawsuit
brought by environmental groups to negate<br>
Wyoming’s oil and gas industries scored a win in federal court this
week.<br>
<br>
A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by the Center for
Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians against the federal
Department of Interior, state of Wyoming, Petroleum Association of
Wyoming and others to shut down hundreds of oil and gas drilling
permits.<br>
<br>
The lawsuit aimed to negate about 900 permits issued since 202 for
the Powder River Basin in northeast Wyoming.<br>
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan ruled Wednesday that the
environmental groups failed to establish any specific harm caused by
issuing the individual permits. She said the groups failed to
“allege a cognizable injury” or show standing to sue.<br>
<br>
Gov. Mark Gordon hailed the ruling as a win for the state and its
legacy fossil fuel industries that exposes “extreme environmental
groups” that aren’t based in Wyoming or have offices in the state.<br>
<br>
Had the case been upheld, the applications for permits to drill
would have been vacated. It also would have impacted more than 3,000
drilling applications issued in the Permian Basin in New Mexico. <br>
<br>
Petroleum Association of Wyoming President Pete Obermueller is
pleased with the ruling.<br>
<br>
“This is welcome news for an industry that has had to weather an
onslaught of opposition from those who wish to shut us down,”
Obermueller said in a statement. “Vacating 900 APDs in Wyoming would
have wreaked havoc on Wyoming’s economy, our schools and communities
from Gillette to Pinedale and Cheyenne to Wapiti, which is why PAW
intervened in this case on behalf of every Wyoming resident.”...<br>
- -<br>
Wyoming is the second largest oil and natural gas producer on
federal lands and produces much more energy than it consumes.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/11/03/judge-squashes-lawsuit-to-shut-down-wyoming-drilling-permits/">https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/11/03/judge-squashes-lawsuit-to-shut-down-wyoming-drilling-permits/</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
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<i>[ elephantiasis is catching ]</i><br>
<b>Kentucky’s Democratic governor would rather not talk about
climate change</b><br>
In a coal-powered state beset by disasters, Andy Beshear hopes to
win reelection by avoiding the elephant in the room.<br>
Kentucky’s Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, has been called the
state’s “consoler-in-chief.” He’s presided over a period of extreme
weather in the state, from tornadoes that leveled entire towns in
the farmlands of western Kentucky, to record flooding that washed
out thousands of homes in its mountainous Appalachian east. Through
it all, voters have taken note that the governor has made a habit of
personally visiting disaster sites and committing to funding their
recovery. <br>
<br>
But when it comes to the root causes of the state’s weather
troubles, Beshear is quieter. “I wish I could tell you why we keep
getting hit here in Kentucky,” said in a media briefing after the
floods. “I can’t give you the why, but I know what we do in response
to it.”<br>
<br>
Though climate scientists and environmental advocates have drawn a
link between the disasters and human-caused climate change, Beshear
has avoided discussing the topic at length. Now, he’s up for
reelection, against a Republican cut from Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell’s cloth.<br>
On Tuesday, Kentucky voters will be choosing between Beshear and
challenger Daniel Cameron, the state’s Republican attorney general.
Beshear, a Democrat, upset staunch Republican (and climate denier)
Matt Bevin in 2019 in a deep-red state that is still mainly
controlled by right-wingers at the local levels and in the state
legislature. Cameron, who has reliably come out against
environmental regulation at many turns, is appealing for a return to
Republican hegemony. As the state has been both pummeled by climate
disaster and remains politically enmeshed with the coal industry,
Beshear has toed a careful line, one that at times appears
self-contradictory, in order to keep his poll numbers strong...<br>
- -<br>
Kentucky experienced a 65 percent drop in coal production between
2013 and 2022, and eastern Kentucky is reeling from the rapid
decline of the industry and resulting layoffs and bankruptcies.
Nonetheless, coal still holds cultural significance and exerts
economic pull in the state. There are still plenty of active coal
mines in both east and west, and the state is still one of the top
five coal-burning states in the country...<br>
- -<br>
When discussing the energy transition, Beshear tends to focus on
something that might be more tangible to his voters: jobs. News
releases from the administration center on Kentucky’s record-low
unemployment rate and tout thousands of potential jobs in the
state’s electric vehicle sector...<br>
- -<br>
Lane Boldman, the executive director of a bipartisan advocacy group
called the Kentucky Conservation Committee, says that in red states
like Kentucky, it’s crucial for Democratic leaders to keep the focus
away from controversial topics that could provoke a knee-jerk
negative reaction in voters. “I think it’s a matter of the language
you use, versus what your actions are on the ground,” Boldman said.
<br>
<br>
Boldman pointed to recent investments in utility-scale solar on
abandoned eastern Kentucky strip mines, and new electric vehicle
battery plants slated for construction across the state, as evidence
of progress under Beshear’s administration. She also noted that the
administration is going after separate funding within the Inflation
Reduction Act for workforce development in the energy-efficiency
sector. One report showed that Kentucky’s clean energy sector
workforce grew faster than that of any other industry in the state
in 2022. If Beshear wants to win, Boldman said, it’s better to keep
his head down when it comes to talking about climate change. <br>
<br>
“The actions he’s taking are, I think, pretty pro-environment for a
state where the politics are very, very conservative,” she said.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://grist.org/elections/kentuckys-democratic-governor-would-rather-not-talk-about-climate-change/?utm_campaign=site-share-button-email">https://grist.org/elections/kentuckys-democratic-governor-would-rather-not-talk-about-climate-change/?utm_campaign=site-share-button-email</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<i>[ Cheap shot? ]</i><br>
<b>Senate Republicans introduce a climate bill — aimed at China</b><br>
The legislation aims to protect U.S. companies from cheap imports
from countries that lack robust greenhouse gas regulations.<br>
<br>
A new GOP bill would tack on a fee to products imported from
countries that have weaker climate pollution regulations than the
United States, like Chinese-made steel.<br>
<br>
By JOSH SIEGEL<br>
11/02/2023<br>
A trio of Republicans led by Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy is
introducing legislation Thursday that would impose a fee on products
imported from high greenhouse gas-emitting countries, a move aimed
at protecting U.S. manufacturers from competition from China and
other countries with lax environmental standards.<br>
The bill, shared exclusively with POLITICO, represents the first
GOP-led proposal to inject climate change policy into U.S. trade
rules through so-called carbon adjustment fees. It’s a strategy
that’s gained in popularity as industrialized nations that are
imposing ever-stricter climate regulations at home seek to ensure
they don’t drive domestic manufacturing to countries that have
weaker rules over emissions of the pollution that’s warming the
planet...<br>
- -<br>
His bill aims to encourage developing countries like India and
Vietnam to establish “international partnerships” with the U.S. in
which they impose a similar climate and trade policy in exchange for
preferential market access for their products to the U.S.<br>
<br>
“There is a possibility here for a big bargain,” Cassidy said,
arguing a pollution fee would fit with bipartisan efforts in
Congress to ease permitting rules for building energy products
domestically.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/02/senate-gop-climate-bill-china-00124909">https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/02/senate-gop-climate-bill-china-00124909</a><br>
<br>
<p><br>
</p>
<font face="Calibri"><br>
</font><font face="Calibri"> <i>[The news archive - from the
department of "Could'a, Would'a and Should'a" 58 years ago. ]</i></font><br>
<font face="Calibri"> <font size="+2"><i><b>November 5, 1965 </b></i></font>
</font><br>
<font face="Calibri"> </font> November 5, 1965: President
Johnson's Science Advisory Committee issues a report, "Restoring the
Quality of Our Environment," that cites the hazards of carbon
pollution.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/nov/05/scientists-warned-the-president-about-global-warming-50-years-ago-today">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/nov/05/scientists-warned-the-president-about-global-warming-50-years-ago-today</a>
<br>
<br>
<i>[ Make that 58 years ago]</i><br>
Scientists warned the US president about global warming 50 years ago
today<br>
On 5 November 1965 climate scientists summarized the risks
associated with rising carbon pollution in a report for Lyndon
Baines Johnson<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/nov/05/scientists-warned-the-president-about-global-warming-50-years-ago-today">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/nov/05/scientists-warned-the-president-about-global-warming-50-years-ago-today</a><br>
<br>
<p><font face="Calibri"> <br>
</font><font face="Calibri"><br>
=== Other climate news sources
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</font> <font face="Calibri"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
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--------------------------------------- <br>
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more at <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
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