The spotlight is a weekly, categorized compilation of links and excerpts from environmentally related posts at Daily Kos. Any posts included in the collection do not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of them. Because of the interconnectedness of the subject matter, some of these posts can be placed in more than one category.
CLIMATE EMERGENCY & EXTREME WEATHER
Kitchen Table Kibitzing: Keening Over Climate Collapse by boatsie. An atmospheric river was predicted in the San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday. So I was doubtful I would even make it over to the East Bay for the four-hour introductory session of the Women’s Climate Group, eight females who had signed up to participate in a twelve-week exploration and search for resolution around climate collapse. [...] When it was my turn to present a three-minute introduction, I sifted through decades of experience to find the most relevant work to condense my background into a sound byte. I chose to mention my work for WiserEarth, the Global Call for Climate Action, and the Climate Action Network. I mentioned that I had attended several UN COPs and had been very active in organizing climate mobilizations, including the phenomenal People’s Climate March in 2014. I concluded by saying I felt emotionally and physically paralyzed by despair for the past few years. As though my legs had been cut off beneath the knee. That my activism had virtually ceased. Throughout the four hours, we sometimes worked with partners, answering questions designed to give voice to our innermost feelings. There were tears, anger, some screaming behind pillows. There was an overall consensus that talking about our feelings surrounding climate change was not something we felt comfortable doing in our everyday lives, even with members of our immediate family, and that it was difficult even to find a lexicon to discuss it. We were all aghast as we watched the power of denial as people continued on with their life choices as if nothing was wrong. Many of us expressed shame that we were not confrontational enough, not doing enough.
Climate change and ecological crises have collided. IPCC's sugarcoating fails to reflect the science by Pakalolo. Most are unaware that one of three data sets has shown that 2023 breached 1.5 C above the Paris threshold for the first time. Copernicus EU first reported an average temperature of 1.48 Celsius. NASA Hadley at 1.4 Celsius. Berkeley Earth at 1.54 Celsius. Berkeley Earth, a California-based non-profit research organization, has been preparing independent analyses of global mean temperature changes since 2013. The following is our report on global mean temperature during 2023. We conclude that 2023 was the warmest year on Earth since 1850, exceeding the previous record set in 2016 by a clear and definitive margin. The global annual average for 2023 in our dataset was estimated as 1.54 ± 0.06 °C (2.77 ± 0.11 °F) above the average during the period 1850 to 1900, which is traditionally used a reference for the preindustrial period. This is the first time that any year has exceeded the key 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) threshold. The significance of this is discussed below. Also, please note that given the uncertainties and differences in methodologies, other groups are expected to report 2023 as slightly less than 1.5 °C above preindustrial. The differences between Berkeley Earth’s analysis and that of other groups is discussed at the end of this report. The last nine years have included all nine of the warmest years observed in the instrumental record.
Freak waves caused damage to a US Army base and shuttered airports in remote islands of Micronesia by Pakalolo. "Northern swells may cause inundation in northern atolls and north-facing shores. Hazardous conditions for swimming and sailing in small crafts due to crashing waves and stronger than usual currents due to swells." National Weather Service Offshore cyclonic storm surge barreled across islands and atolls in the Marshall Islands. Significant damage in the island chain, including the United States Bucholz Army Base, Iata ta kwa icao pkwa faa lid kwa in Marshallese, located on the Kwajalein Atoll, the world’s largest atoll. The atolls and islands are roughly halfway from Australia to the Hawaiian Islands. Three other islands also lost airports. Remarkably, no one was killed; one was injured.
Earth needs your help and your immediate attention: ACM by NeverEverAgain. We are almost all invested in solving the climate crisis, with many on the sidelines who want to contribute, but need to know how. There are so, so many ways to fight back, from seemingly insignificant decisions to full frontal engagement with politicians, shareholders and CEOs. I am hopeful for many reasons, but that is not this diary’s focus. The main objectives are putting/keeping the climate emergency front and center, where it belongs, and offer ways for YOU to engage and use your unique talents to stop the damage. Healing the earth’s environment and stopping the extinctions are, in my opinion, the most important things we can do.
Overnight News Digest: It is only January and the world is already experiencing record heat by Magnifico. Prepare for a ‘Gray Swan’ Climate. From The Atlantic: The next climate extremes are both predictable and unprecedented, and they’re coming on fast. From a climate perspective, 2024 is beginning in uncharted territory. Temperatures last year broke records not by small intervals but by big leaps; 2023 was the hottest year ever recorded, and each month in the second half of the year was the hottest—the hottest June, the hottest July, all the way through to December. July was in fact the hottest month in recorded history. Already, experts predict that 2024 is likely to be even hotter. But these heat records, although important milestones, won’t hold their title for long. “Getting too excited about any given year is a bit of a fool’s game, because we’re on an escalator that’s going up,” Jason Smerdon, a climate scientist at the Columbia Climate School, told me. “We’re going to be doing this every year.” Instead, the way to think about climate change now is through two interlinked concepts. The first is nonlinearity, the idea that change will happen by factors of multiplication, rather than addition. The second is the idea of “gray swan” events, which are both predictable and unprecedented. Together, these two ideas explain how we will face a rush of extremes, all scientifically imaginable but utterly new to human experience.
Cartoon: Climate change by Pedro Molina.
ENERGY, EMISSIONS & TRANSPORTATION
Renewable Tuesday: Counting the Lies, Carrying Out the Truth by Mokurai. IRENA—@IRENA. The 360 Gigawatts Reason to Boost Finance for Energy Storage Now. The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) – the world’s largest multilateral fund supporting energy storage in developing countries – is working on bridging this gap. CIF is the biggest funder globally of mini-grids, a proven game-changer for isolated communities. A single rural electrification project in Mali has given almost a half a million people access to cleaner, cheaper and more reliable electricity, by replacing costly and polluting diesel generators with a hybrid (battery storage and diesel) mini-grid system. CIF is also fueling the next frontier in energy storage: $70m in CIF funding is set to help kick-start a $9 billion energy revolution in Brazil, which includes substantial investments in energy storage, such as pumped hydro and green hydrogen development. And in the Maldives, CIF is supporting the government’s efforts to hit one of the most ambitious climate targets in the world: net zero by 2030. Getting there will take a concerted effort. While sunshine is plentiful, the population of the Maldives is spread across more than 200 islands and is 95% reliant on generators driven by expensive and highly-polluting diesel.
Biden's LNG Decision: "A massive win" Against Fossil Fuels by boatsie. In what is being touted as “the biggest check any president has ever applied to the fossil fuel industry, and the strongest move against dirty energy in American history,” the White House this morning announced the halt of licensing new Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) terminals until more research is conducted on their environmental impact. “The pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” that John Kerry and the rest of the world’s governments signed in Dubai was given actual meaning by Biden’s move,” writes Bill McKibben. “He’s thrown down the gauntlet to other world leaders: the world’s biggest hydrocarbon producer has said we’ve reached a limit.” The ruling, which impacts four of the 17 LNG terminals in the United States, sidesteps the catastrophic finding that cumulatively, were these terminals to be built, their carbon footprint would be larger than that of the European Union. It comes at a time when LNG shipments to Asia and Europe have risen substantially since the Ukraine war.
Such a huge win for the president on LNG exports by billmckibben. As the White House confirmed with the official release of its policy at 5 a.m. this morning, all new licenses for LNG export terminals are hereby halted, until the policies used to figure out if they’re in the “public interest” can be updated to include modern economics and science. That this is a huge victory can’t be said strongly enough—for the people in the Gulf who have fought so long and hard (it was such fun to join Roishetta Ozane et al in a press conference this morning), and for the planet. This is the biggest check any president has ever applied to the fossil fuel industry, and the strongest move against dirty energy in American history. And if you have any doubts, check out the tears of outrage from Big Oil. (Fox News coverage here, if you’re experienced in handling schadenfreude). But our job is to look ever forward, and hence are some thoughts about what this means for the fight in the hottest year humans have ever seen
Bill McKibben on Biden's LNG: "A Massive Win and What it Means" by willyr. Bill McKibben has some very good news for us and for the environment. From his Substack—The Crucial Years. This is the biggest check any president has ever applied to the fossil fuel industry, and the strongest move against dirty energy in American history I’d say there are several clear and crucial take-homes: 1. The pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” that John Kerry and the rest of the world’s governments signed in Dubai was given actual meaning by Biden’s move. He’s thrown down the gauntlet to other world leaders: the world’s biggest hydrocarbon producer has said we’ve reached a limit. 2. There’s finally an actual climate test in place for American fossil fuel expansion plans. This is what we failed to win in the Keystone XL fight; though Barack Obama indicated in his rejection of that plan that we should build new stuff if it “only if it does not significantly exacerbate carbon pollution,” we’ve had to wait ten years for that to be turned into policy. It now needs to be formally expanded to every decision we make!
Biden Administration announces pause in approvals for liquid natural gas (LNG) export terminal by Dan Bacher. The Joe Biden administration is apparently halting approvals for the controversial CP2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Louisiana in order to review and update the process for determining such projects' impact on the public interest, according to the New York Times. The New York Times cited three unnamed sources in the article, so the information still needs to be officially confirmed by the Administration. The Times story was published just after the Energy Information Agency (EIA) reported record natural gas and crude oil production in the U.S. in 2023. The U.S. is now not only the world’s largest producer of oil and gas, but the world’s largest net exporter of crude oil and liquified natural gas. Experts predict that the LNG export terminal decision will also have implications for the additional 16 proposed LNG export facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a statement from Fossil Free Media. “If completed, these facilities would result in an extra 3.2 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, close to the entire annual emissions of the European Union,” the group reported. “ Just Venture Global’s CP2 project alone would have over 20 times the greenhouse gas emissions of the Willow, a project that President Biden enraged youth voters by approving last March.”
Bill Burch, Democratic Candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner, exposes oil sector time bomb by Egberto Willes. Petroleum Engineer Bill Burch, a Texas Railroad Commissioner Candidate, exposes the lax oil sector regulation that is causing the poisoning of our groundwater, ranch land, and farmland. In a powerful display of commitment and expertise, Bill Burch, a Democratic candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission, shines a light on a critical yet often overlooked aspect of Texas politics: the responsibility and influence of the Railroad Commission. Far from its misleading name, the Commission wields considerable power over the oil and gas industry, a sector deeply embedded in the fabric of Texas society and economy. Burch’s campaign confronts a complex and daunting challenge: educating the public about the vital importance of this agency and the pressing need for responsible, transparent, and environmentally conscious governance.
Dark Brandon is Destroying Methane Emissions: Boosting Biden Day 19 by GoodNewsRoundup. Methane is a climate “super pollutant” that is many times more potent than carbon dioxide and is responsible for approximately one third of the warming from greenhouse gases occurring today. Sharp cuts in methane emissions are among the most critical actions the United States can take in the short term to slow the rate of climate change. And Biden is doing just that! US targets oil and natural gas industry’s role in global warming with new rule on methane emissions: The Biden administration on Saturday issued a final rule aimed at reducing methane emissions, targeting the U.S. oil and natural gas industry for its role in global warming as President Joe Biden seeks to advance his climate legacy. The Environmental Protection Agency said the rule will sharply reduce methane and other harmful air pollutants generated by the oil and gas industry, promote use of cutting-edge methane detection technologies and deliver significant public health benefits in the form of reduced hospital visits, lost school days and even deaths. Air pollution from oil and gas operations can cause cancer, harm the nervous and respiratory systems and contribute to birth defects.
CRITTERS & THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Dawn Chorus: The Traveling Birder in Ethiopia by laniusX. Ethiopia. The Mother of Africa. The only African country never to be colonized. The land of the Queen of Sheba. The place where humanity began. It’s a country with a long, fascinating cultural history but a lot of unfortunate recent history (famine, a communist dictatorship, civil wars, war with its neighbors). And when most westerners think of places to go in Africa it’s not one of the first countries that spring to mind. It doesn’t really have the charismatic megafauna of Kenya, Tanzania, or South Africa. What Ethiopia does have is 16 endemic birds and access to many birds that are only found in Ethiopia and other Horn of Africa countries that really aren’t open for foreigners to visit, such as Somalia, Eritrea, or Sudan. Our tour focused on the southern part of the country in the Great Rift Valley and some of the high plateaus on either side of it. [...] A beauty we saw from our hotel balcony is the Ethiopian Bee-eater:
The Daily Bucket - eagle catches a heron, and thoughts about predation by OceanDiver. January 21, 2023. Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest. A few days ago I was heading home on my daily walk when I heard a lot of sudden bird activity behind me: gulls, crows and a heron calling in alarm. When I looked, I saw an eagle flying low over the bay, amidst a swirl of gulls and crows, chasing a Great Blue heron. I was about a quarter of a mile away so my pics are not great, but this series of photos shows what I saw from my vantage. Eagles kill their prey quickly, which reduces the chance of being injured themselves, or losing it. An eagle’s hunting success rate is only about 20% and they require up to a pound of food a day, so they must be on the lookout for good hunting opportunities. Catching a heron is a high reward hunt but there’s also a considerable energy cost, not just the catching but getting it out of the very cold water here.
The Daily Bucket: King Tide and Other Delights by BrownsBay. My town of Edmonds, Washington, sits perched on the eastern shore of Puget Sound, the “Sound” being part of the greater Salish Sea. Across the Sound, in view, is the Kitsap Peninsula. Beyond, the Olympic Mountains form the backdrop. Over the years I’ve watched the tides rise and ebb. Low tide lets me walk the beach for miles, if I choose. High tide limits the amount of beach exposed and the distance one can traverse along the shoreline. When the celestial bodies align in a definitive way, we have the highest of high tides called King Tides. From MyNorthwest: What is a King Tide? King Tides are the highest tides that occur during each winter season when the sun, moon and earth are all aligned. The earth rotates around the sun in an elliptical orbit, and during the winter season, our planet is closer to the sun in that orbit, resulting in a greater gravitational pull from the sun. When the moon is aligned with the sun, both produce a stronger gravitational pull on the oceans, resulting in King Tides.
The Daily Bucket Friday Sequence -- Crows versus Gull by Clickadee. Joseph J. Delia Jr. Park in Sterling Heights is pretty typical of community parks in my area of SE Michigan. They generally have lots of sports-related space, walking trails, play and picnic areas, and, Michigan being a “water wonderland,” some body of water. The largish pond was frozen and snow covered, with Canada Geese hanging out on its banks. A creek drained out of the pond and meandered through the park. It wasn’t long before I saw an American Crow flying around a first winter Ring-billed Gull. The Crow didn’t seem menacing, but instead more playful. It had something in its bill, that it was dropping over the Gull and then grabbing. I watched for awhile, mesmerized, and then remembered the camera. These photos are in sequence as I took them.
The Daily Bucket -- Detroit River Winter Scenes by Clickadee. A spur of the moment trip yesterday afternoon to the Detroit River ended up paying off. I picked up my birding buddy on the way as we tried to sneak a peak before the weather turned. It was overcast and spitting rain, but the heavy stuff held off just long enough. We headed to Dingell Park on the Detroit River, about half way between the headwaters at Belle Isle and the mouth at Lake Erie Metropark. There was a substantial amount of ice in the water, most of it traveling with the current. Today we have snow, freezing rain, ice — what’s called a wintry mix. The temps are above freezing, so I don’t think the ice will be dangerous enough to bring down limbs.
Otters Are Both Cute and Helping Us Fight Climate Change by satanicpanic. Climate change isn’t my normal beat, but I’ll make an exception for some of the cutest little creatures in the animal kingdom. Turns out they are busy little beavers maintaining kelp forests, and like beavers, their efforts help everyone: A recent study in the journal PLOS Climate, led by researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, details how southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris) off the coast of California have helped kelp forests remain resilient to the impacts of climate change. First the scientists analyzed US government records that inventoried California kelp forests as far back as 1910, compared them with modern information about those same kelp forests today. Then they used a machine learning framework to ascertain and rank the factors that have altered kelp forest density since 1910. The results were intriguing: While kelp forests suffered dramatic losses along the Northern and Southern coastlines, they had increased in abundance in central California. That is because this is the only region where, despite attempts to hunt them to extinction in pursuit of their fur, southern sea otters have managed to carry on.
Earth Matters: Endangering the Endangered Species Act; 'new denial' on climate change at YouTube by Meteor Blades. Half a century ago last month, President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act, which, in a move that would be unthinkable today, the Senate had passed unanimously and the House of Representatives approved in a 390-12 vote. As President Joe Biden noted in his ESA proclamation three weeks ago, he voted for the law as a freshman senator in 1973. The legislation was approved against a backdrop of fear that animals such as the gray wolf, grizzly bear, whooping crane, and bald eagle, as well as plants like the Virginia Round-Leaf Birch, Miccosukee Gooseberry, and Sulphur Hot Springs Buckwheat would vanish forever. The law makes it a federal crime to harm species appearing on the government’s endangered and threatened lists and requires federal agencies to undertake their tasks with an eye toward avoiding threats to such species or their habitat. It is widely considered to be one of the best and most comprehensive conservation measures on the planet. Republicans have nonetheless spent years trying to eviscerate it, and they’ve recently stepped up their efforts. The Center for Biological Diversity on Tuesday released its report,—Paving the Road to Extinction—blasting Republicans for adding a record 27 anti-wildlife riders to appropriations bills. Most likely will not pass, but it only takes a few wins to cause serious harm. Among the riders are ones to prevent the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from finalizing a rule to protect the estimated 350 North Atlantic right whales from ship strikes and the 50 remaining Rice’s whales from ship strikes and gas and oil activity. Other riders seek to remove gray wolves in the contiguous 48 states from the endangered and threatened lists and eliminate protections for grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, with the proviso that courts be barred from intervening.
FOOD, AGRICULTURE & GARDENING
Birds and Bees Act by Groundnut. “State senator Borrelo has written a response to the passing of the birds and bees act, by New York State. He states that Cathy Hochul has caved to “extremists.” This implies 2 things that are probably not true. One Cathy Hochul did not want to take action and 2 the people who wanted to are “extremists.” The Birds and Bees act bans the use of three neonic insecticides in seed coatings and use on some ornamentals. It will allow (force) the application as sprays of these same insecticide. Neonics in seeds are mainly used as preventatives, to avoid early season insect infestations. For this reason 90% of the time they have no effect on yield. Although, sometimes they make a big difference. On average, they do not increase incomes for the corn and soybean farmers that will be affected. Like insurance, the chemicals mainly lower risk. Neonics are related to nicotine, but have the advantage of being much less toxic to human beings and other animals with backbones than nicotine itself (watch out Republicans). They remain generally toxic to animals without backbones and are strongly associated with the decline of bees and insects in general.
ACTION
Note: The climate strike action began at San Francisco City Hall in 2019. The following entries are excerpts from “letters” that were issued each week of the action. Although the strike was focused on San Francisco, many of the same issues affect countless U.S. cities.]
State After State After State Of Emergency -- Strike for the Planet week 193 by birches. This week: State After State After State of Emergency. Climate chaos means more and bigger disasters. How is SF going to pay for this … SF’s Climate Action Plan price tag is $14 - 22 billion and that plan includes some serious handwaving and wishful thinking (for example, 8000 new homes, ~50% low income or affordable, built in a flood zone ) so it’s a safe bet that the actual price is much higher.With less and less time in which to reset, … It’s hard to clean up from one disaster when in the middle of a second, or third. The rate of disasters has increased (see above), and this substantially decreases our ability to rebound.
How Is SF's Government Like The GOP? -- Strike for the Planet week 192 by birches. This week: How is SF Government Like the GOP? On the GOP’s first trial, they failed spectacularly.
And it’s not like it was a particularly difficult task, either. With a tiny majority in the House, in lieu of running roughshod over our rights and democracy, Republicans are instead gunning for the record set in 1855 of longest time/most votes to select a Speaker. They yelled and screamed all through elections season about lies and corruption and how they’re going to take action as soon as they get to D.C., but when they arrived they couldn’t even vote in a Speaker let alone deliver on their rhetoric. On SF’s first trial, we failed just as hard. SF talks a good game re. the climate (if you don’t listen to the actual words being said), but when our first climate chaos crisis hits, a crisis predicted in great detail, days in advance, when that happens, SF fails spectacularly.
Back To Basics -- Strike for the Planet week 191 by birches. SF’s chances of surviving decrease daily. How are we failing? Let’s count the ways: • We’re still producing lots of CO2 • we’re not planning for sea level rise and building housing in areas that will be underwater soon (see Thwaites). • we have insufficient water supplies coupled with an on-going megadrought • our industrial base is limited and fossil-fuel-dependent • our sewage system is indefensible and at sea level • we continue to have gross environmental racism and inequities as seen in shade, housing, health, food, and pollution exposure • we lack self-sufficiency • and we have little local control over our energy. Each failure has a solution.
Thwaites -- Strike for the Planet week 190 by birches. Thwaites is a glacier in Antarctica. It is known as one half of the weak underbelly of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. It is east of Mount Murphy and flows into Pine Island Bay on the Amundsen Sea. It holds the rest of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet glaciers on land, like the cork in a bottle. Thwaites is also the name of an ice shelf. This ice shelf was grounded against an underwater ridge in the Amundsen Sea, pushing against the Thwaites Glacier, holding it on land. And there was an iceberg named B22a that calved off this ice shelf. It calved off Thwaites in 2001 and got stuck in front of the ice shelf, preventing calving into the open ocean, also operating like a cork in a bottle. Let’s talk sizes here. We’ve got 2 corks. The glacier is the size of Great Britain. The iceberg was 53 miles long and 40 miles wide. The iceberg became unstuck in September. It is now disintegrating and moving out to sea. One cork gone.
WATER & INFRASTRUCTURE
Environmental Groups, Tribal Organizations File Lawsuit Against Delta Tunnel Project by Dan Bacher. On January 22, a coalition of environmental and Tribal organizations took legal action in the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento, against the California Department of Water Resources for violating the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The groups filing the lawsuit against the Department of Water Resources include The Bay Institute, California Indian Environmental Alliance, Golden State Salmon Association, Restore the Delta, San Francisco Baykeeper, and the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. The groups are represented by Jason Flanders at Aqua Terra Aeris Law Group and by attorneys at San Francisco Baykeeper. “The groups contend that when the agency finalized approval for Governor Newsom’s controversial Delta tunnel project in December 2023, it failed to consider, avoid, or mitigate the wide range of negative effects the project would have on Tribal and other historically marginalized communities, as well as on endangered fish populations and other wildlife,” according to a press statement from the coalition.
Group Urges State Water Board To Prevent Merced River From Drying Up Again by Dan Bacher. The Merced River, a tributary of the San Joaquin River in California’s San Joaquin Valley, has been known by local anglers for its fine trout, black bass and catfish fishing over the years. The river has also been known historically for its big Chinook salmon runs. The most memorable year was in 1985 when my longtime friend Felix Alvarez reported epic salmon fishing on the river that fall. Unfortunately, the Merced has been closed to salmon fishing for many years, due to the sharp decline of fall Chinook runs caused by decades of water diversions by agribusiness. In late 2022, the Merced River, the14th biggest river in California, ran completely dry for four months near its confluence point with the San Joaquin River, according to Friends of the River.
MISCELLANY
Is It Too Much to Ask for a Non-Childish Technology Culture? by angryea. I saw this the other week and was reluctant to bring it up. I do not especially like tit-for-tat kind of articles, but this newsletter is more of the techno-utopianism that strikes me as at the heart of a significant portion of what is wrong with this country. The post itself is broadly over the top. It essentially argues that because Malthus missed the Green Revolution, all concerns about technology are misplaced. Anyone concerned about the limits of the planet or the cost of technology are doomers or Malthusians and technology will never, ever cause anything bad. IN fact, technology is like a cornucopia in that it brings advancement for free, like magic. [...] It is a deeply, deeply silly argument but it still kinds of set me off. Anyone who actually works with technology understands that technology is just a tool. Sometimes it is good and appropriate, sometimes it is bad and inappropriate. But it always, always has tradeoffs.
Earth needs your help and your immediate attention: ACM by NeverEverAgain. We are almost all invested in solving the climate crisis, with many on the sidelines who want to contribute, but need to know how. There are so, so many ways to fight back, from seemingly insignificant decisions to full frontal engagement with politicians, shareholders and CEOs. I am hopeful for many reasons, but that is not this diary’s focus. The main objectives are putting/keeping the climate emergency front and center, where it belongs, and offer ways for YOU to engage and use your unique talents to stop the damage. Healing the earth’s environment and stopping the extinctions are, in my opinion, the most important things we can do.
Overnight News Digest by annetteboardman. From Reuters: Climate threatened Tuvalu holds election watched by Taiwan, China. Voting began on Friday in the tiny Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu in a national election that is being closely watched by China, Taiwan, the US and its ally Australia, amid a tussle for influence in the region. Tuvalu, with a population of about 11,200 spread across nine islands, has campaigned at international conferences for greater action to help low-lying nations address climate change, because science shows its capital Funafuti risks being inundated by tides by 2050.
Overnight News for Jan 24 (Crisis? What Crisis? edition) by jeremybloom. Background on this story: The EPA was worried this judge would block it from ALL environmental justice action, so they backed down. That should have ended the case, but the judge decided to go ahead and rule anyway. Bloomberg Law — Louisiana Judge Blocks EPA From Enforcing Civil Rights Mandates. Louisiana successfully convinced a federal judge in the state to block the EPA and the Department of Justice from imposing disparate impact requirements under the Civil Rights Act.Judge James D. Cain Jr.'s decision Tuesday prevents the Environmental Protection Agency and DOJ from imposing or enforcing such requirements against the state or any state agency under Title VI of the act. Cain, of the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, also blocked the EPA and DOJ from enforcing any Title VI requirements unless they are both ratified by the president and based on requirements within the EPA’s disparate impact regulations. The agency’s regulations essentially block EPA-funded agencies from taking actions that “are intentionally discriminatory or have a discriminatory effect.” Louisiana’s case stems from the federal government’s investigations into complaints that certain state agencies violated Title VI by discriminating against Black residents through the agencies’ oversight of an area known as “Cancer Alley.”
Eco Anxiety: gun violence, climate violence and you by Philip S Wenz. The Oxford American Dictionary defines stochastic as “…randomly determined; having a random probability distribution or pattern that may be analyzed statistically but may not be predicted precisely.” A classic example of stochastic behavior, from the physical sciences, is the activity of gas molecules in a closed container. The molecules float around and bump into each other, but there is no way to predict which particular molecules will collide at any given time. The same is true of sudden climate change impacts. We know we will suffer from tornadoes and hurricanes, fast-moving wildfires, flash floods and so on, but we don’t know when and where they will strike. Will our town be the next Lahaina or Paradise, California? There are too many variables in the global weather system to make precise predictions. The incidence of mass shootings is similar. In the complex system of our society, these events are stochastic. We can predict that they will occur, and we can study the patterns of their past occurrence and possibly learn something about their causes — they are often committed by young, socially isolated males, for example — but we can’t predict the time or location of the next mass shooting event.
What Has Biden Done -- Updated by Just Saying. Climate/Environmental Protections • Rejoined the Paris Agreement to combat climate change • Over 100 Executive Orders and legislation to develop clean energy, protect America's lands and waterways, reduce pollution, and stimulate the development of clean energy businesses • Reducing costs of electric vehicles (EVs) for families, initiating first national EV charging network, and historic investments into EV batteries and materials • Assistance to American offshore wind industry, and convened the nation’s first federal-state offshore wind partnership • New policies and regulations to reduce super pollutants like HFCs and methane gas, and to reduce other emissions fueling climate change • $350 million to 14 states for the reduction of methane gas • More than $1 billion for cleanup of Superfund sites, over $250 million to clean up brownfield sites, and $725 million for abandoned mine lands • Restored protections for Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monuments; and designated Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument for conservation of lands and waters and to protect tribal cultural resources and support outdoor recreation • $1 billion to clean up and restore the Great Lakes • $729 million to Virginia for railway projects
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: The Doomsday Clock stays at 90 seconds before midnight by billlaurelMD. I recommend listening to the broadcast when you have an opportunity. There is also a written summary with links to webpages with more details on each area of concern. Briefly, the contributions to the clock-setting were familiar: • Global conflicts, especially in Ukraine and the Middle East, and potentially in Taiwan potentially could escalate to use of nuclear weapons • Global warming continues unabated, with 2023 being the warmest year in the official instrumental record. It was also one of, if not THE, warmest years in the 24,000 year reconstructed record, as we can see below. Note the 1,000-year cooling about 13,000 years ago (called the Younger Dryas), which was probably caused by a massive flux of fresh water from the melting glaciers over North America, which caused a temporary shutdown of the meridional ocean circulation. On a more positive note, the U.S. saw its global warming emissions decrease 1.9% in 2023 because of a decrease in coal and increased renewables in the energy mix.
RECENT SPOTLIGHTS