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[[File:'Thin Blue Layer' of Earth's Atmosphere 2.jpg]]


::[[File:ClimateNews 360.jpg]]


<big><big>'''Climate Security News & Events'''</big></big>


:[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Climate_Change <big>'''Climate Change'''</big>]


::'''[[Climate News Events Archive ... 1970 to Today]]'''


<big><big><big>'''ClimateChange360 News'''</big></big></big> 
&nbsp;


''Time to act to make a positive difference''
[[File:Earth Emoji.png |link=https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=GQ8VYHB2UC4J4]]




<big><big>GreenPolicy360 & Strategic Demands</big></big>
<big><big><font color=green> '''''Support Green360's 'Green Wings' ''''' </font> </big></big>


: Now is the Time for New Definitions of National & Global Security
: <big>''Make a Positive Difference Every Day''</big>
                                     


:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Security
: [[File:Donate Button.png|link=https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=GQ8VYHB2UC4J4]]


:* https://strategicdemands.com/environmental-security/  
:[https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-78.28,25.74,2944/loc=-82.652,27.914 <font color=green>'''''GreenPolicy360'''''</font>]




🌎


:[[File:On Earth, GreenPolicy360, Clearwater, Florida.jpg]]


'''"Positive Green News Stories", delivered via EuroNews/Green'''


* https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/07/11/here-are-all-the-positive-environmental-stories-from-2023-so-far




:::::<big>'''"Time for Action, a Toles' Dali-Clock Warns, Don't Delay"'''</big>


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:::::[[File:Toles - Dali - Climate.jpg]]




&nbsp; 


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Too_Hot <big><big><big><font color=orange>'''🥵 When it gets too hot'''</font></big></big></big>]
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Too_Hot <big><big><big><font color=orange>'''🥵 When it gets too hot'''</font></big></big></big>]
:: <big><big>'''<font color=orange>Even your news is hot ....'''</font></big></big>




Line 43: Line 49:
'''National Centers for Environmental Prediction''' - https://www.nco.ncep.noaa.gov/ | https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/
'''National Centers for Environmental Prediction''' - https://www.nco.ncep.noaa.gov/ | https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/


&nbsp;


 
[[File:NOAA climate report - GHGs as of 2023.png]]
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🦠 <big><big>'''[[Earth Science Vital Signs]]'''</big></big>
:::[[File:C02 in atmosphere chart-3.png]]


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Vital_Signs
:::The Keeling Curve




<big>New Ways to See & Experience Planet Earth</big>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;


Visit GreenPolicy360's story of Earth Science research from our decades of research, eco-activism and #PlanetCitizens education.
[[File:Thin Blue Layer 768x432.jpg]]


Our eco operating system (eOS) includes:
NASA - Astronaut Reid Wiseman


[[EarthPOV]]
"Thin Blue Layer" @GreenPolicy360 - [http://www.thinbluelayer.com www.ThinBlueLayer.com]


ThinBlueLayer.com - [[Look at how thin our atmosphere is]]
<small>* https://greenpolicy360.net/images/Reid_Wiseman_thinbluelayer_m.jpg</small>


[[Earth and Space, Politics]]
<small>* https://www.thephoblographer.com/2014/09/10/nasa-astronaut-reid-wiseman-best-space-photographer-time/</small>


[[New Definitions of National Security]]
<small>* https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BuDZa8ZCEAAJzmd.jpg:large</small>


[[Planet API]]


[[Earth Science Research from Space]]
&nbsp;


[[Micro-satellites]]
::[[File:NASA's continuing vision and mission - as of 2005.png]]


[[Virtual Earth]]


[[HelloEarth]]


[[Democratization of Space]]
'''Track Earth System Science back to its beginnings at NASA with its Planet Earth 'Mission Statement' --'''


[[Earth Right Now]]
: '''and a Congressperson who envisioned Earth Science as 'Big Science' over decades that followed...'''


[[Earth Science Vital Signs]]


[[The Commons]]
'''With deep appreciation, a Tip of our GreenPolicy360 Hat to our Decades-long Friend and Colleague [[George E. Brown Jr]]'''


[[Earth Imaging-New Space]]
Advancing Science, Facts, Technology and Data to Make the Case for Environmental Protection


1960s/70s, Beginnings of Planet Citizen Eco-Challenge and Evolutionary Change




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* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr




<big><big>'''Flashback -- 1959, On Effects of CO2, via the Scientific American'''</big></big>
[[File:EarthScience Missions via the EOS - 2022.png]]


* https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/carbon-dioxide-and-climate/
<small>* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:EarthScience_Missions_via_the_EOS_-_2022.png</small>




<big><big>'''Flashback -- 1978, Climate Action Memories'''</big></big>


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr
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<big><big>'''First National Climate Act, Historic Work'''</big></big>


GreenPolicy360 Siterunner / SJ Schmidt: The beginnings of modern environmental and climate science can be traced to the 1960s and 1970s. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences played a key role in laying a foundation of scientific reports and data.'''
:[[File:ClimateNews 360.jpg]]


[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Energy_and_Climate_Report%2C_1977%2C_National_Academy_of_Sciences.pdf '''Energy and Climate Report, 1977, National Academy of Sciences / 175 pp. / PDF via GreenPolicy360''']


Rep. George Brown took the findings of the 1977 Energy and Climate Report from the Academy of Sciences and made the science actionable. In a historic moment, he proposed and drafted the legislation of the first U.S. National Climate Program and shepherded its passage in 1978.
<small>* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Too_Hot</small>


This first federal program established to study and assess scientifically the issues and risks of human-caused climate change became a foundation for comprehensive initiatives, with an array of new Earth Science missions led by NASA and NOAA, the EPA and USGS.


🦠 <big><big>'''[[Earth Science Vital Signs]]'''</big></big>


:[[File:US Public Law 95-367.png]]
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Vital_Signs


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security






🌎                 
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<big><big><big>'''2023'''</big></big></big>
<big><big>'''New Ways to See & Experience Planet Earth'''</big></big>




<big><big>'''November'''</big></big>
'''Visit GreenPolicy360's story of Earth Science research from our decades of being there, from the first '''[[Earth Day]]''' to first Climate Act science and work along with Congressperson '''[[George E. Brown Jr]]''', years of green politics at the frontlines...




<big><big>'''Sixth Annual Report / International Assessment on Climate Change'''</big></big>
GreenPolicy360's eco operating system (eOS) includes:


* https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/
'''[[About Us]]'''


'''[[EarthPOV]]'''


<big>'''Fifth Annual Report / United States Assessment on Climate Change'''</big>
'''[[Green Politics with GreenPolicy360]]'''


* https://www.globalchange.gov/our-work/fifth-national-climate-assessment


ThinBlueLayer.com - [[Look at how thin our atmosphere is]]


<big><big>'''What About the Pledges and Promises Made by Nations at International Climate Summits?'''</big></big>
[[Earth and Space, Politics]]


'''''Nations keep upping fossil-fuel production despite climate pledges'''''
[[New Definitions of National Security]] - [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Strategic_Demands '''Strategic Demands''']


''“World leaders pledged in 2015 to reduce emissions in a combined effort to limit climate change. Now they are stepping up production of oil, gas and coal, which will have the opposite effect. The top-20 energy-producing nations intend by 2030 to extract double the amount of fossil fuels that would be consistent with the threshold needed to keep warming in check,” the Wall Street Journal’s Eric Niiler ''


* https://www.wsj.com/science/environment/fossil-fuel-emissions-pledge-climate-warming-united-nations-0334b862
[[Planet API]]
* https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/climate/fossil-fuels-expanding.html


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png
[[Earth Science Research from Space]]
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources


[[Democratization of Space]]


<big><big>'''''Why many scientists are now saying climate change is an all-out ‘emergency’'''''</big></big>
[[Earth Imaging-New Space]]


Via the Washington Post
[[Micro-satellites]]


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/10/30/climate-emergency-scientists-declaration/


[[Virtual Earth]]


... ''In 2018, Bill Ripple saw pictures of a town called Paradise, Calif., completely destroyed by wildfire. Houses had disappeared in the blaze; all that remained were twisted hunks of metal and glass. Ripple started writing a new academic paper. He called it: '''“World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency.”''' He sent it to colleagues to see if anyone wanted to sign on. By the time [https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/70/1/8/5610806?login=false '''the paper was published in the journal Bioscience in 2019'''], it had 11,000 signatures from scientists around the world — it now has more than 15,000.'' ...
[[HelloEarth]]


''Last week, he published a new paper on the state of the climate system. It was called '''“Entering Uncharted Territory.”''' “Scientists are more willing to speak out,” Ripple said. “As a group, we’ve been pretty hesitant, historically.” But, he added, “I feel like scientists have a moral obligation to warn humanity.”''


[[The Commons]]


''... climate scientists — who once refrained from entering the public fray — are now using strident language to describe the warming planet. References to “climate emergency” and “climate crisis,” once used primarily by activist groups like the U.K.-based Extinction Rebellion or the U.S.-based Sunrise Movement, are spiking in the academic literature. Meanwhile, scientists’ communication to the media and the public has gotten more exasperated — and more desperate... As recently as 2015, only 32 papers in the Web of Science research database included the term “climate emergency.” In 2022, 862 papers contained the phrase.''
[[Earth Right Now]]


[[Earth Science Vital Signs]]




<big><big>'''[[Earth Science Vital Signs]]'''</big></big>


·····································




<big><big>''' ‘Uncharted territory’ imperils life on Earth'''</big></big>


Climate Reports with Vital Signs in "BioScience", Global, Academic, Peer-Reviewed Publication
<big><big>'''Flashback -- 1978, Climate Action Memories'''</big></big>


* https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1004310


<big><big>'''Earth's First National Climate Act'''</big></big>


CORVALLIS, Ore. – ''An international coalition of climate scientists says in a paper published today that the Earth’s vital signs have worsened beyond anything humans have yet seen, to the point that life on the planet is imperiled.''
: In 1978 the U.S. Congress led the way with [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png '''Public Law 95-367''']


''William Ripple, a distinguished professor in the Oregon State University College of Forestry, and former OSU postdoctoral researcher Christopher Wolf are the lead authors of the report, and 10 other U.S. and global scientists are co-authors.''
: A Congressman from East Lost Angeles, who was a trained in physics and an engineer, drafted a visionary program


''“Without actions that address the root problem of humanity taking more from the Earth than it can safely give, we’re on our way to the potential collapse of natural and socioeconomic systems and a world with unbearable heat and shortages of food and freshwater,” Wolf said.''
: Representative George E. Brown was deeply involved in the earlier Clean Air Act, the establishment of the EPA, and NASA Earth Science start-up missions


''Published in BioScience, “The 2023 State of the climate report: Entering uncharted territory” notes that 20 of 35 planetary vital signs the authors use to track climate change are at record extremes...''
: What was launched has led now to a deep database of Atmospheric/Earth Science and nearly every nation of the world developing '''[[National Climate Plans]]'''  




GreenPolicy360 Siterunner / SJ Schmidt: The modern environmental era and Earth Science/Climate Science can be traced to the 1960s and 1970s. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences played a key role in laying a foundation of scientific reports and data.'''


🌎
Your GreenPolicy founder was involved, especially with the work of a Congressman who took the Academy of Science report and drafted the first National Climate Act. It was a follow on to Earth Day activism and was accompanied by a broad array of NASA research and Earth Science [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp,_OCO-2,_June_2014_m.jpg '''measuring and monitoring missions'''] intended to guide climate policy and decision-making.






<big>'''Position on Climate Change and Energy Policy of the Newly Elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives'''</big>
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Energy_and_Climate_Report%2C_1977%2C_National_Academy_of_Sciences.pdf '''Energy and Climate Report, 1977, National Academy of Sciences / 175 pp. / PDF via GreenPolicy360''']


Via E&E News / October 26
Rep. George Brown took the findings of the 1977 Energy and Climate Report from the Academy of Sciences and made the science actionable. In a historic moment, he proposed and drafted the legislation of the first U.S. National Climate Program and shepherded its passage in 1978.


''A spokesperson for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) did not respond to a request for comment about the congressman’s current views on climate change.''
This was the first federal program established to study and assess scientifically the issues and risks of human-caused climate change and was a foundation for comprehensive initiatives of NASA and NOAA, the EPA and USGS.


''In his former role as chair of the Republican Study Committee, Johnson was aggressive in messaging against the Green New Deal, producing a 13-page memo decrying the progressive platform as a “Greedy New Steal” and sponsoring an anti-Green New Deal resolution.''


''Advocates in the conservative energy arena — including Mike McKenna, a veteran energy lobbyist who worked in the Trump White House — said they don’t see much difference between Johnson and most fellow conservatives when it comes to their views on energy policy.''
:[[File:US Public Law 95-367.png]] 


''Even Johnson’s 2 percent lifetime rating with the League of Conservation Voters, which scores lawmakers on their environmental votes in Congress, isn’t that much of an outlier: He shares that score with 23 other Republicans, and 24 Republicans have scores of 1 or zero percent.''






<big>'''''New House Speaker Champions Fossil Fuels and Dismisses Climate Concerns'''''</big>
::·························································································


'''''Representative Mike Johnson comes from Louisiana oil country and has said he does not believe burning fossil fuels is changing the climate'''''


* https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/26/climate/mike-johnson-climate-policies.html




''A Pew Research Center [https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2023/10/25/how-americans-view-future-harms-from-climate-change-in-their-community-and-around-the-u-s/ '''survey'''] released Tuesday found that a vast majority of Democrats polled — 85 percent — said that climate change is an extremely or very serious problem, while 47 percent of Republicans viewed climate change as not too serious or not a problem at all....''
<big><big>'''1968-1970, a 'Whole Earth' Vision ("Earthrise") via NASA'''</big></big>


:The First Earth Day and an Environmental Protection Movement Is Launched


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::New Ways of Doing Business, Sustainable, Resilient, Forward-looking




<big>'''''U.S. oil production hits all-time high, conflicting with efforts to curb climate change'''''</big>
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Whole_Earth <big>'''A Whole Earth Point of View'''</big>]


Via PBS


* https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/u-s-oil-production-hits-all-time-high-conflicting-with-efforts-to-curb-climate-


[[File:Blue Marble photo taken by the crew of Apollo 17 (1972).jpg]]


[https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Blue_Marble_photo_taken_by_the_crew_of_Apollo_17_(1972).jpg "Blue Marble" / NASA, 1972]




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<big>'''[[Earth Day Memories on the 50th Anniversary]]'''</big>


Congressman George Brown steps up and a long ride begins ...


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Day_Memories_on_the_50th_Anniversary


[[File:Laudate Deum - To All Peoples of Good Will - On the Climate Crisis.png]]


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Pope_Francis_on_the_Environment
:::[[File:Earth Day Flag.png]]


::<small>'''A Whole Earth Point of View''' -- http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Whole_Earth</small>




[[File:Laudate Deum, Laudato Si - Oct 2023.png]]


[[File:Christina Korp Earth Day and Apollo 8.jpg]]


: <big>'''Steven Schmidt, GreenPolicy360 Siterunner....'''</big>


··························
:: DYK? Yes, we know, we remember the beginnings !


::'Earthrise' and 'Earth Day'


::* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Apollo.jpg


<big><big>'''September'''</big></big>
::* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_Day




Don't Be a Doomer, or Denier...


[[File:Living Earth.png]]


<big>'''''Stop the doom. We failed to prevent climate change – but we will decide how bad it'll get'''''</big>


''Both doom and denial can lead us down a path of disengagement, which is so convenient to fossil fuel interests that profit from climate inaction''
By Michael E. Mann /  September 27, 2023


Michael E. Mann is a Presidential Distinguished Professor and director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability & the Media at the University of Pennsylvania. He's the author of the new book "Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth's Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis."
<big>'''A Life Affirming 'Earthrise' '''</big>


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Above.png


''Are we finally seeing meaningful action on climate? If you’re an optimist, you might be encouraged by the climate provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law last year by President Joe Biden, which are starting to bear fruit.''


''And among other developments, California – the world’s fifth largest economy – is now flexing its climate action muscle, bringing a lawsuit against carbon polluters for the damage they have caused.''
[[File:Earthrise 100 Photographs That Changed the World .jpg]]


''But these developments are long overdue. More than three decades ago, the nations of the world entered into an agreement to prevent “dangerous human interference” with the climate. Thanks to this past summer, we can see that the danger's already here and we know what it looks like.''
<small>"Earthrise" -- https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Apollo_8</small>


''It looks like the Hawaiian paradise of Maui set ablaze in a deadly inferno born of extreme drought. It looks like the orange tinge of my home city of Philadelphia shrouded in choking Canadian wildfire smoke. Or the faces of grief-stricken families in nearby Bucks County who lost loved ones to a “wall of water” from an epic flash flood. It looks like the flooded streets and homes of quintessential New England towns. And the scalded feet of toddlers in Phoenix who made the mistake of walking out onto toaster oven-hot pavement.''


''Dangerous climate change is a shape-shifting beast, but we've just seen it in all its forms.''


''The few remaining climate change dismissives respond with their usual refrain “that’s just weather.” But there is a larger context here, the context provided by Earth’s longer-time climate history, that tells us otherwise. An array of paleoclimate evidence – from ice cores, tree rings and corals to ocean sediments, stalactites and stalagmites – indicates that we might well have just experienced the warmest days of the warmest month in at least 100,000 years. Hardly just some fluke roll of the weather dice.''
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/images/1969_beginnings_of_the_modern_environmental_movement.pdf <big>'''Beginnings of the Modern Environmental Movement'''</big>]


''That realization might seem daunting and disquieting, because it speaks to the fragility of this moment. We are, after all, rapidly exiting the range of climate conditions that prevailed during the roughly 6,000-year period in which human civilization arose. Does this mean that our civilization is now threatened? That it’s too late to act? Are we – in essence – doomed?''
<small><small>* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/images/1969_beginnings_of_the_modern_environmental_movement.pdf</small></small>


''Is 2023 the hottest summer on record? What to know to understand our changing climate.''


''Both climate deniers and 'doomers' can lead to inaction...''
🌎




<big><big>'''1992 -- The First International UN Earth Summit''' </big></big>


<big>'''[[Apocalyptic Thinking]]'''</big>
: We (your GreenPolicy360 founder) reported 'deep into the first Earth Summit'...
: and in that early 90s year worked to draft a [https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Jerry_Brown_92_Presidential_Platform_We_the_People.jpg 1992 US presidential campaign platform] 'deep on the green'...
: Later, as a Wikipedia editor, we added language to the Earth Summit page describing how the Climate Summit led to the launch of the UNFCCC climate conferences that have been held for decades... 




:::::: <big>'''''Launch of the Annual International [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Framework_Convention_on_Climate_Change ''(UNFCCC)''] Climate Conferences'''''</big>


''You might think so while doomscrolling on social media, where we’re now bombarded with selective factoids and graphics leading us to believe that Earth’s climate is spinning out of control, that runaway warming is propelling us past a tipping point, plunging us down a planetary death spiral.''


''Might as well just bid goodbye to your loved ones now.''
:::::::::: [[File:Earth Summit 1992-s.png|link=http://www.planetcitizens.org]]
 
:::::::::: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Earth_Summit_1992.jpg '''Earth Summit (1992)''']


''We’re told by climate “doomers” that scientists who insist there’s still time to act are lying to the public, hiding the inevitability of our collective demise. These accusations mimic those of years and decades past from climate dismissives. Both doom and denial can lead us down a path of disengagement, which is so convenient to fossil fuel interests that profit from climate inaction.''
:::::::::* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Earth_Summit_1992.jpg


''Climate doom goes viral on TikTok:The spread of 'climate doom' on social media is hurting the climate justice movement – and Gen Z...''
:::::::::* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Summit


''The reality is that global temperatures are almost where models decades ago predicted they would be at this point given ongoing fossil fuel burning. No runaway warming, but steady heating that will continue as long as we emit carbon pollution. The truth is bad enough – it’s reason enough for dramatic action.''
:::::::::* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Framework_Convention_on_Climate_Change             


''And Earth’s climate history reveals the truth, offering not just thousands but billions of years' worth of lessons.''


''Let’s begin 4 billion years ago, when life emerged from the primordial ooze. The sun then was roughly 30% dimmer than today. Calculations indicate that, all else being equal, Earth should have been a frozen, lifeless planet. Yet we know it wasn’t. Life abounded.''
GreenPolicy360 with our associate Strategic Demands has, also for decades, worked on "New Definitions of National (and Global) Security.  


''The solution to this paradox, first offered by scientist Carl Sagan, was that the planet-warming greenhouse effect must have been even stronger then. Moreover, as the sun gradually grew brighter over the ensuing billions of years, Earth’s greenhouse effect grew weaker.''
Visit these Climate News links for more on this 'Earth in Human Hands' priority.


''Earth appears to have a natural “thermostat” that keeps the planet within habitable bounds and life itself – including the global carbon cycle that helps regulate the concentration of carbon dioxide, a critical greenhouse gas – plays a critical role. This is the “Gaia hypothesis,” named after the Greek Earth goddess, first formulated by scientists James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis in the early 1970s. There is now substantial evidence to back it up.''


''So we can relax then? The natural stabilizing mechanisms of Earth’s climate will bail us out?''
[[File:New-Definitions-of-National-Security - banner.png]]


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security


* https://strategicdemands.com/new-definitions-of-security/


<big>'''[[Planet Citizen Action]]'''</big>
&nbsp;




<big><big><big>'''2024'''</big></big></big>


'''''How do you deal with climate doom? The antidote is doing.'''''




.... ''Yes, we have failed to prevent dangerous climate change. It is here. But it’s up to us as to how bad it will get.''
<big><big>'''November'''</big></big>


''A [https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Montana_climate_trial_News_-_2023-08-14.png '''Montana court ruling'''] in August 2023 sided with young plaintiffs who claimed state policies used to evaluate requests for fossil fuel projects are unconstitutional because they don't allow for agencies to consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.''


''Today we are generating carbon dioxide more than 10 times faster than in any of these past episodes. If we do not dramatically reduce carbon emissions, the paleoclimate record tells us we will, in a matter of decades, exceed levels of warmth not seen in millions of years. It is the unprecedented rate of change today that poses a monumental challenge to life on this planet.''
As the reality hits, the consequences of Election 2024 begin:


[[File:US Election 2024 impacts our climate legacy.png]]


''A window of opportunity still remains for averting a catastrophic warming of the planet by 3 degrees Fahrenheit, where we’ll see far worse consequences. But that window is closing, and we’re not yet making enough progress.''


''Will voters care? [In U.S. polls] Climate change isn't a top issue for Democrats or Republicans. [Yet]  We're at a tipping point on planet Earth.''
<big>'''President Biden Highlights His Term's Climate-Related Accomplishments and Legacy'''</big>


''We must not give in to despair. The antidote to doom is doing.''
November 17, 2024 / As quoted in press services and US Office of the US White House media release


''We are seeing meaningful progress. And we should be especially inspired by youth climate activists...''


In the Amazon Rainforest, President Biden urged leaders to work to protect the environment on Sunday, during a visit to the Amazon rainforest that marked the first such trip by any sitting U.S. president in history, warning that "history is literally watching us now."


"Today, I'm proud to be here — the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Amazon rainforest — to recommit to protecting the rainforests, like this one" the president said. He added that "the fight to protect our planet is literally a fight for humanity for generations to come."


<big>'''[[Climate Problems, Climate Solutions]]'''</big>
He highlighted his climate legacy, declaring that no one can reverse America’s green transition as President-elect Donald Trump’s fossil-friendly policies loom large.


   
The president said the "fight against climate change has been a defining cause of my presidency," touting rejoining the Paris Agreement, launching a global methane pledge and delivering on climate financing. The president announced during the visit that the U.S. has reached its goal of increasing its climate finance to over $11 billion a year, up from $1.5 billion when Mr. Biden took office. He also designated Nov. 17 as International Conservation Day, while the administration announces new conservation efforts including $50 million for the Amazon Fund, among other initiatives. And he cited the passage of the "most significant climate change law in history," referring to the Inflation Reduction Act, which cuts carbon while creating clean energy investments and jobs.  


Mr. Biden outlined that leaders "don't have to choose between the environment and the economy," urging that "we can do both."


<big><big>'''Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth's Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis'''</big></big>
Biden began his term by bringing the U.S. back into the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change that Trump had withdrawn from. Trump, a climate change skeptic, has said he will withdraw from the agreement again, as well as loosen restrictions on oil and gas exploration.




Thank you Michael -- https://earth.sas.upenn.edu/people/michael-mann
[[File:Climate Legacy of Biden.jpg]]


* https://michaelmann.net/books/our-fragile-moment


* https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/michael-e-mann/our-fragile-moment/9781541702899/
🌎




Publisher's Description:


''In this sweeping work of science and history, the renowned climate scientist and author of The New Climate War shows us the conditions on Earth that allowed humans not only to exist but thrive, and how they are imperiled if we veer off course.''
'''November 13, 2024'''




'''Michael E. Mann speaks of his newly published book -- "Our Fragile Moment"'''
What Climate Summit? Climate Work Stumbles:


* https://youtu.be/pxiZIsiILQg?si=Fdl7FcGDdvN3XRA0
<big>'''''Earth’s biggest polluters aren’t sending leaders to UN climate talks in a year of weather extremes'''''</big>


'''''Big names and powerful countries noticeably absent at UN international climate conference'''''


Via the Associated Press


'''‘Our Fragile Moment’ finds modern lessons in Earth's history of climate'''
* https://apnews.com/article/cop29-climate-world-leaders-baku-azerbaijan-3e933f5a3fe1321e85097ef8befcc7f6


* https://www.sciencenews.org/article/fragile-moment-book-earth-history-climate


Climate conference "won’t have the top leaders of the 13 largest carbon dioxide-polluting countries — a group responsible for more than 70% of the heat-trapping gases emitted last year."


''United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told world leaders who did show up that the world is seeing “a master class in climate destruction” in a year virtually certain to be hottest on record.'' ...


[[File:Our Fragile Moment.png]]
''United Nations officials downplayed the lack of head of state star power, saying that every country is represented and active in the climate talks.''




[[File:Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions (as of 2024) and Pathways Going Forward.jpg]]


'''Fragile Moment / Publisher's Weekly announcement'''


* http://www.publishersweekly.com/9781541702899


* https://www.amazon.com/Our-Fragile-Moment-Lessons-Survive/dp/1541702891
'''November 9, 2024'''




<big><big>'''The Work to Deal with Climate Change Continues Despite a Change in the US Presidency'''</big></big>


: '''International climate change conferences began in the 1990s to chart national action plans, they are not going to halt'''


···································································


John Podesta, who serves as President Biden’s top climate diplomat, departs tomorrow for United Nations-led climate summit.


As he discussed the upcoming climate negotiations, Podesta is quoted as saying he will try to reassure America’s allies that the clean energy transition is unstoppable and that U.S. emissions are poised to drop even with a president who denies the science of climate change.


<big>'''''Wanted: 20,000 Young Americans to Fight Climate Change'''''</big>
”There’s no question that having someone leading the federal government who thinks climate change is a hoax is an impediment to accelerating action", but because of investments already made, U.S. emissions are on a downward trajectory and the private sector is not backing away from renewable power.
 
“This is not the end of our fight for a cleaner, safer planet. The fight is bigger than one election or political cycle.”
 
* https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/09/climate/biden-environmental-groups-climate-policies-trump.html


''Announcement to create an “American Climate Corps” that would train thousands of young people for green jobs''


* https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/climate/biden-climate-corps-youth.html
More on the Climate Summit


<big><big>'''As the United Nations Climate Change Conference Begins'''</big></big>
* https://unfccc.int/
* https://unfccc.int/cop29#sessions
* https://unfccc.int/climate-action
* https://unfccc.int/news
<big>'''Report on the Cliimate Summit'''</big>


'''Via Semafor'''


··························································
* https://www.semafor.com/newsletter/11/08/2024/what-does-climate-action-look-like-under-trump


''COP29, which starts in Baku on Monday, will be the first chance for world leaders and climate activists to regroup ahead of another four years with Donald Trump.
The US delegation, Biden’s last, will definitely suffer from a drop in negotiating clout. But it’s a big world, and there are plenty of other countries ready to step into the power vacuum, especially China. Jonathan Pershing, a former top climate negotiator under Biden, told reporters yesterday the biggest story to watch won’t be the US leaving the room, but whether any countries follow them in walking away from the Paris Agreement — and he doesn’t think any will. Stay tuned here for special coverage from the ground.




[[File:Canary - 1.jpg]]
'''''The Conservative Climate Agenda'''''




''With Donald Trump heading back to the White House and a Republican sweep of Congress looking increasingly likely, the small but growing cohort of climate-focused conservatives has a chance to push for a different approach to the energy transition. Outright climate science denial is far less common among Republicans than it was during Trump’s first term, and the fact that most clean-energy funding from the Inflation Reduction Act has gone to Republican districts will make it politically untenable to repeal the law.''


··················································································
''A spokesperson for Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), who is set to lead the environment and public works committee, said a top priority will be “to cut red tape that slows down infrastructure projects.” In general, the conservative vision for climate action is all about cutting red tape, said Chris Barnard, president of the American Conservation Coalition, an advocacy group: “The North Star under a Trump administration is a vision that extends beyond the traditional ‘drill, baby, drill,’ to more like, ‘build, baby, build’.”''


''(L)ast-minute climate priorities for Biden include finalizing more loans from the Department of Energy, settling on hydrogen tax-credit rules, and pushing other countries for an ambitious climate finance deal at COP29, even though the latter two at least would likely be undone by Trump. Biden can also finalize a waiver for California under the Clean Air Act that allows the state to move further than the federal government on emissions regulation, which is “going to be an important avenue for continued progress in case of federal backsliding,” said Sonia Aggarwal, CEO of the think tank Energy Innovation.''


<big>'''August'''</big>




<big>'''''Wealthy oil nation lays groundwork for ‘eye-popping’ climate fund'''''</big>
'''''China and the EV Sector Globally'''''


''The United Arab Emirates has drawn a backlash from climate advocates for its role hosting the global climate talks, but the massive fund it’s considering would help countries green their economies''


Via Politico
''In Washington, Brussels, and elsewhere, Western policymakers have been focused on the threat to automotive jobs from Chinese carmakers, whose hybrids and battery-powered vehicles are racing ahead of competitors from the US and Europe. Meanwhile, Chinese companies have been strengthening another, lower-profile EV sector in their home market — and now they are looking to extend that dominance worldwide.''


''Electric two-wheeler mopeds first appeared on China’s roads about 20 years ago, but thanks to a confluence of factors, they are now ubiquitous. And with their domestic market increasingly saturated, the companies that make them are casting their ambitions abroad.''


''A G-7 government official said envoys from the oil-rich Mideast nation had privately mentioned the idea of a fund of at least $25 billion.''
''"The next opportunity is to go global,” Zhou Chao, vice president of Yadea, a major Chinese electric two-wheeler brand, recently told 21st Century Business Herald.''


''Creation of the fund would be one of the largest ever state-sponsored financial efforts to help countries fight climate change. And it comes as the UAE and Sultan al-Jaber, the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. who is leading the climate talks, have drawn criticism from environmental advocates and some U.S. and European lawmakers for hosting the international gathering despite being one of the world’s largest contributors of greenhouse gases.''


''In Washington, Republicans in Congress have vowed to block any U.S. effort to fulfill President Joe Biden’s promise to contribute $11 billion annually to international climate finance efforts...''
'''''In many ways, the humble two-wheeler is the most successful electric vehicle China has ever rolled out on a scale that is truly mind-blowing.'''''


''The summit, known as COP28, starts on Nov. 30''
''More than 45 million are sold every year in China says Joseph Constanty, senior director of global strategy and growth at NIU, a Nasdaq-listed Chinese electric two-wheeler brand.  


Nationwide, some 400 million electric two-wheelers — mostly mopeds — were zipping on the road at the end of 2023, according to state-run newswire Xinhua, compared to 20.4 million electric cars.''


Read More:


* https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/18/united-arab-emirates-eye-popping-climate-fund-00111736
:: [[File:China EV exports - 2010-2023 - Horton-Gavekal.png]]




Line 433: Line 452:




[[File:Montana climate trial News - 2023-08-14.png]]
'''November 6, 2024'''




'''A History-Making Decision: Trump Elected President'''


<big>'''''Judge rules in favor of Montana youths in landmark climate decision'''''</big>
* https://www.foxnews.com/elections


''''' ‘This is a monumental decision,’ said a lawyer for the young plaintiffs, and could influence how judges handle similar cases in other states'''''


* https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/
~


* https://www.axios.com/2023/08/14/montana-youths-climate-change-landmark-lawsuit


* https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/first-of-its-kind-legal-ruling-favors-youth-in-montana-climate-case/
'''November 4, 2024'''




''In the first ruling of its kind nationwide, a Montana state court decided Monday in favor of young people who alleged the state violated their right to a “clean and healthful environment” by promoting the use of fossil fuels...''
<big>'''The Business Community Speaks Up'''</big>


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/08/14/youths-win-montana-climate-trial/
* https://www.forbes.com/sites/amyfeldman/2024/11/04/the-elections-climate-choice-harris-trump-elon-musk-tesla/


* https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-youth-montana-trial-c7fdc1d8759f55f60346b31c73397db0


* https://apnews.com/article/youth-climate-trial-montana-18e301a701fcf4badc904984455406fc
''There are many clear choices at stake in tomorrow’s Presidential election. One of the starkest is climate and it comes at a time when the planet is careening toward catastrophic levels of warming.''


* https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/14/montana-climate-trial-young-activists-judge-order
''Vice President Kamala Harris has called climate change an “existential threat.” While she hasn’t detailed a climate plan, she’s widely expected to continue federal support for clean energy and electric vehicles in an ongoing effort to move the American economy away from fossil fuels. In 2022, she cast the tie-breaking vote for the Inflation Reduction Act and has pledged to fully implement it.''


''Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has called climate change “one of the greatest scams of all time,” and vowed to end federal support for the clean energy transition, while ramping up drilling for oil and gas, including in the Arctic. He withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Accord during his first term and – after President Joe Biden quickly rejoined – has said that he’d do so again.''


<big>The Decision:</big>
''Data released by the United Nations last week showed that greenhouse gases hit record highs in 2023, with CO2 accumulating in the atmosphere at a faster rate than at any time during human existence. That’s an important reminder, if one was needed at a time of worsening hurricanes and extreme heat, that now is a critical time for setting policies to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change. As Peter Maysmith, senior vice president of campaigns for the League of Conservation Voters, told the New York Times last week about the choice this election: “The stakes when it comes to climate change literally could not be higher.”'' ...


August 14, 2023


RIKKI HELD, et al., Plaintiff, V. STATE OF MONTANA, et al., Defendant
~


* https://static1.squarespace.com/static/571d109b04426270152febe0/t/64da53511de19d2889830a2c/1692029780262/08%3A14%3A23+Findings+of+Fact%2C+Conclusions+of+Law+and+Order.pdf


<big><big>[[Generation Green]]</big></big>


<big><big>'''The Day Before'''</big></big>


🌎
: '''Tomorrow, November 5th, the US Votes'''




<big>'''A Republican Party 2024 Climate Strategy: More Drilling, Less Clean Energy'''</big>
'' “We are on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster,” begins a report published last month in the journal BioScience. “Much of the very fabric of life on Earth is imperiled... We are stepping into a critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis.”''


: [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/04/climate/republicans-climate-project2025.html?unlocked_article_code=nqYfzu86yDyWph7LaCGRrq7yGPOHI5ScJEZTFniJuSz_5OFeWoulkqXl4LJtRgER9MaQxT1XN4csp8vAj0xLbt6KvaA3RJeMfqdi56yBxlmDceM1O6xSJzSJGl8RK7YzDQp3ncYg_dwD-ViR2zSBTXqgmOqPuREYs9wzNVZSLI_OeAhmpa83E1eruwoYHVCYVOG5oEyqTehh4QFDawsvUKjtcNRYqk1uIW90qEQvSO1mQbfW2FFXozm-_LSEorzCFfTeOORiiFmVjKSL7PVSQJdn3lPQWY24oSWCccJfLz6g1IznZksiCb04SWOM3snKqrEJTA8cnSeuK5WcgV69On4hqQvO4kqMfQ&smid=url-share Via the New York Times, August 4, 2023, Unlocked article]
-- Oxford Academic BioScience / Special 2024 Report


:: ''The New York Times asked the leading Republican presidential candidates whether they support the Project 2025 strategy but none of the campaigns responded''


''This is a global emergency beyond any doubt. Much of the very fabric of life on Earth is imperiled. We are stepping into a critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis. For many years, scientists, including a group of more than 15,000, have sounded the alarm about the impending dangers of climate change driven by increasing greenhouse gas emissions and ecosystem change (Ripple et al. 2020). For half a century, global warming has been correctly predicted even before it was observed—and not only by independent academic scientists but also by fossil fuel companies (Supran et al. 2023). Despite these warnings, we are still moving in the wrong direction; fossil fuel emissions have increased to an all-time high, the 3 hottest days ever occurred in July of 2024 (Guterres 2024), and current policies have us on track for approximately 2.7 degrees Celsius (°C) peak warming by 2100 (UNEP 2023). Tragically, we are failing to avoid serious impacts, and we can now only hope to limit the extent of the damage. We are witnessing the grim reality of the forecasts as climate impacts escalate, bringing forth scenes of unprecedented disasters around the world and human and nonhuman suffering. We find ourselves amid an abrupt climate upheaval, a dire situation never before encountered in the annals of human existence. We have now brought the planet into climatic conditions never witnessed by us or our prehistoric relatives...''


♦
* https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biae087


* https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biae087/7808595?login=false


<big>'''Project2025'''</big>


: '''A 920-page Republican Party Political Plan'''
GreenPolicy360:  


:* https://www.project2025.org/policy/
'''Election Day in the United States, November 5th, approaches and the gathering winds of the future whistle ever closer...'''


'''The decision made will have far reaching and long lasting consequences.'''


Politico.com has published an advance outline of climate and environment related policies that a next US president, if Republican Party, would be urged to adopt. The goals of the [https://www.project2025.org/about/advisory-board/ '''groups'''] who contributed to the plan, led by the Heritage Foundation, are described as a 'battle plan'.
'''Since the 1970s and first '[[Earth Day]]' and first  [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png 'National Climate Program Act'], Green Policy's founder-siterunner has spoken of the critical importance of protecting our [https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Earthrise_Planetary_Awareness.jpg 'living blue-green Earth']. Now, let us be clear-eyed about what we have to face in front of us. Tomorrow is a historic turning point, a day of reckoning.


:* https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/28/far-right-climate-plans-00107498
'''Here, let us consider a voice from America's southern states with words that need to resonate:'''


''"Every existing global conflict, every human vulnerability and every form of social instability is already being exacerbated by climate calamities. There is no issue on the political table that will not be made exponentially worse if we allow the living earth to enter its death throes, and yet climate has rarely been part of the political discourse during this election year... Where planetary survival is concerned, it is too late to sit out an election on principle, or to cast a vote for a third-party candidate... This is the time to go to the polls and vote.''


''“Project 2025 is not a white paper. We are not tinkering at the edges. We are writing a battle plan, and we are marshaling our forces,” said Paul Dans, director of Project 2025 at the Heritage Foundation, which compiled the plan as a road map for the first 180 days of the next GOP administration. “Never before has the whole conservative movement banded together to systematically prepare to take power day one and deconstruct the administrative state.”''
''"The Democrats’ policies aren’t unassailable, but they are at least capable of keeping this planet alive long enough for the rest of the human race to come around to understanding how urgent is the danger we already face, how much worse it is going to get and how little time we have to hold off the unthinkable." -- Margaret Renki''




As described in Politico:
'''Let Margaret's words on protecting our [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/index.php?search=living+earth&title=Special%3ASearch&profile=advanced&fulltext=1&ns0=1 'Living Earth'] be a guide for decisions - and votes - in tomorrow's US election. Our generation's legacy, it must be said, is on the line.'''


''The initiative has previously drawn attention for its efforts to prepare a systematic conservative takeover of the federal bureaucracy, in contrast to the perceptions of chaos that marked much of former President Donald Trump’s term. Those include plans to assemble a database of as many as 20,000 people who could serve in the next administration — “a right-wing LinkedIn,” as The New York Times described it in April — and proposals to impose sweeping Oval Office control over spending decisions, civil service employees and independent federal agencies.''


''(I)ts implications for U.S. climate policy — at a time of record heat waves sweeping the globe — have drawn far less attention.''
&nbsp; 


''The comprehensive plan covers virtually all operations of the federal government, not just energy and climate programs.''
<big>'''October'''</big>


''It’s much more ambitious than the pledges that all the Republican presidential primary candidates have made so far to roll back Biden’s signature climate law. It also wouldn’t simply nullify Biden’s climate executive orders, something that a Republican president could easily do just after taking office.''


''(T)he ideas laid out in Project 2025 show that conservative organizations want to achieve a more fundamental shift — moving federal agencies away from public health protections and environmental regulations in order to help the industries they have been tasked with overseeing, said Andrew Rosenberg (a former senior official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration''.) ...
'''October 30'''


''Preventing the expansion of the electric grid would slow down renewable energy projects, threatening U.S. climate goals while cooling the sector’s economic growth, said Mike O’Boyle, a senior director at the nonpartisan policy firm Energy Innovation and head of its electricity program.''
<big>'''Clean Energy Is Booming in the U.S. The Election Could Change That'''</big>


''“If we totally step away from the role of the federal government, our economy is going to miss out in a big way because the rest of the world is moving on climate, so they’re poised to reap the benefits both for their energy consumers but also in terms of manufacturing.”'' ...
''Over the last two years, a surge in clean energy manufacturing has helped push U.S. factory construction to the highest level in half a century. Solar power installations and electric car sales are breaking records. Even Republican-led states like Montana and Utah are writing climate plans to secure federal cash.''


''(An) increase in state power wouldn’t apply to California, which has a history of setting more aggressive environmental standards than those of the federal government under a Clean Air Act waiver. The Project 2025 plan would “ensure that other states can adopt California’s standards only for traditional/criteria pollutants, not greenhouse gasses.”''
''Yet the law driving this dizzying transformation of America’s energy landscape, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, is facing a highly uncertain future as next week’s election looms.''


''Another key goal is to restructure how EPA uses science, particularly research that supports regulations by showing risks to public health from industrial pollution.''  
''If he returns to the White House, former President Donald J. Trump has suggested he would gut the law, which is expected to pour as much as $1.2 trillion over the next decade into technologies to fight climate change such as wind turbines, solar panels, nuclear reactors, carbon capture and E.V.s, as well as the factories to supply them.''


''“My plan will terminate the Green New Deal, which I call the Green New Scam,” Mr. Trump said in September, using his catchall phrase for climate policies. “We will rescind all unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act.”''




♦
Read the Election 2024 article


* https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/30/climate/clean-energy-us-2024-election.html?unlocked_article_code=1.WE4.RxVK.QbstDpkM1EIT&smid=em-share




<big>'''July'''</big>


🌎




[[File:Cradle of Civilization - and climate change.jpg]]


GreenPolicy360: Today's October 28th opinion piece from The Guardian begins to paint a view of what will be rolled out in any Trump administration. One only has to look back to the time Trump held office from 2016 to 2020 to see how much damage was done.


<big>'''Civilization and 'Cradles'... the 'Fertile Crescent'... with Much More to Consider over the Past Few Millennia'''</big>
'''[[Environmental Law, Rollbacks under Trump 2016-20]]'''


: '''Human-impact on Planet Earth'''
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Environmental_Law,_Rollbacks_under_Trump_2016-20


:*  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/29/world/middleeast/iraq-water-crisis-desertification.html


The plans of the ex-president to unravel environmental protections, health, safety and security are in place, they have been previewed and promised, they are more extreme than in the past.


🌎


[[File:Republican Party 2024 Climate Strategy.png]]


<big>'''We used to call climate change "global warming" back in the 1970s'''</big>
Project 2025 impacts -- https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Republican_Party_2024_Climate_Strategy.png


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Global_Warming




In the event Donald Trump again takes the reins of presidential power there will be a sharp turn away from science and return to climate change denial, fossil fuel priorities -- and profound 'externalities' with generational costs, and a strategic demands threat horizon that will accelerate with overwhelming risks on multiple fronts.


1978
Prepare for turbulent times and, however the US election is determined by vote, law, and politics, we urge a reasoned, values-driven response in the coming weeks and months. Be strong, and act to make a positive difference as facts 'on the ground' are presented.


[[File:US Public Law 95-367.png]]
Ours is a green ethic and platform for the future. Get ready for the next chapter in a story we are creating together, in many ways against the odds.




<big>'''Five ways a Trump presidency would be disastrous for the climate'''</big>


:1988
'''Via The Guardian'''


:[[File:Hansen-testimony-1988.jpg]]
'''October 28, 2024


* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Hansen-testimony-1988.jpg
* https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/28/donald-trump-climate-change-environment






🌎


Update, decades later


July 19, 2023, via The Guardian
<big><big>'''Historic Hurricane -- and Florida Is Directly in Its Path'''</big></big>


[[File:Update - James Hansen July 2023 'We are fools'.png|link=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/19/climate-crisis-james-hansen-scientist-warning]]
:'''Described as a Monster, Hurricane Milton Intensified to a Category 5 in a Matter of Hours'''




······································································


October 9


Reuters


<big>'''World registers hottest day ever recorded on July 3'''</big>
The temperatures of Gulf of Mexico ocean water is trending warmer. High 80s and higher out there off the West Coast of Florida. Visitors to the coastline and barrier islands enjoy dipping into the warmness -- and so do tropical storms, cyclones, hurricanes...




<big><big>'''''Hot, Hot'''''</big></big>
<big>'''GreenPolicy360: Historic Hurricanes, Weather 'Disturbances' that within Hours Intensify to Highest Categories of Destructive Storm Power'''</big>


''NCEP @NOAA has placed Earth's average temperature yesterday (July 3rd) as the hottest single day thus far measured by humans.


''This is driven by the combination of El Niño on top of global warming, and we may well see a few even warmer days over the next 6 weeks.  
Here's a bit of Earth Science. A top of the news article via the Washington Post that puts Hurricane Milton in perspective...


-- [https://twitter.com/RARohde/status/1676159433477373952 pic.twitter.com/RCrROHaWwp]
* https://wapo.st/4dCicbN




''Hurricanes require a lengthy recipe list to materialize, but scientists agree that one ingredient has been pushing these storms to new limits recently: ocean heat. Waters in the Gulf of Mexico started to break all-time temperature highs this summer, but recent weeks have seen an extra jolt of warmth — what scientists describe as a “marine heat wave”...''


[[File:CFSV2 world temp July 3, 2023.png]]
“Marine heat waves are like the monsters for the future,” said Soheil Radfar, a coastal hazards researcher at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. “We should be prepared against this monster that is going to supercharge tropical cyclones and make them stronger.”


''...scientists say, ocean heat has increased to record levels in recent decades due to human-caused climate change. The reason is simple: The oceans, which cover more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface, absorb most of the excess heat created by burning fossil fuels. Water also can absorb large amounts of heat with relatively little temperature change, making it a very efficient place to store all the trapped heat in the atmosphere.''


''Using computer models, [https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-shift-index-alert/hurricane-milton-october-2024?itid=lk_inline_enhanced-template '''an analysis from Climate Central'''] said the record sea surface temperatures over the past two weeks were 400 to 800 times more likely as a result of climate change.''


···························




<big>'''Extreme Climate Impacts, Extreme Insurance Numbers on the Way'''</big>
[[File:Earth - Pacific Ocean.png]]




'''''As climate crisis intensifies, insurers will likely reshape where people live — leaving desperate homeowners in the lurch'''''
:<big><big><font color=green>'''Geo-Facts to Keep in Mind'''</font></big></big>


''Homeowners insurance is becoming more expensive in the US with the average premium jumping 11% this year to $1,700, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Florida residents pay much more: $6,000 a year on average, doubling over the past three years. The trade group forecast that the state's property-insurance rates could surge by 40% or more this year.''
::[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/29/risk-from-sea-level-rises-unless-emissions-reduced <big>'''Globally, 410 million people are at risk from sea level rise'''</big>]


''In Florida, some two dozen private companies have declared insolvency, stopped issuing policies, or withdrawn from the state since February 2022. The Insurance Information Institute said the main cause was high levels of litigation that saddle Florida insurers with legal costs, combined with billions of dollars in losses from Hurricane Ian and other storms in recent years.''


* https://www.businessinsider.com/how-insurers-will-shape-where-people-live-climate-change-2023-7
As of 2021, about ten percent of the world's population,


approximately 770 million people, live on land less than 5 meters above the high tide line.


'''Climate Change, Global Warming, Urban Heat Islands, Mosquitoes -- and Disease'''
''The first global elevation model derived from [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-23810-9 '''satellite LiDAR data'''] in 2021... finds the worldwide land area less than 2  meters above mean sea level that is most vulnerable to Sea-Level Rise is 649,000 km2 ... 62% is in the tropics. Even assuming a low-end relative SLR of 1 meter by 2100 and a stable lowland population number and distribution, the 2020 population of 267 million on such land would increase to '''at least 410 million''' of which 72% is in the tropics and 59% in tropical Asia alone.''  


''The deadliest animal in the world is smaller than a pencil eraser and weighs around two-thousandths of a gram — less than the weight of a single raindrop. Every year, it kills an estimated 700,000 people by partaking in what scientists grimly call a “blood meal.”''
[http://www.columbia.edu/~mhs119/SeaLevel/ <small>''Sea-Level change over time... Satellites began measuring sea level precisely in 1992/1993.''</small>]


''It’s the mosquito — and, increasingly, it’s on the move.''
&nbsp;


''These global shifts, which will only accelerate as the planet warms, have sparked concern that the diseases mosquitoes carry will exact an even higher toll in the months and years to come.''
<big><font color=gray>'''Climate Change, Sea-Level Rise + Extreme Weather = 'Climate Migration' </font>'''</big>


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/07/01/mosquito-days-malaria-texas-florida/
'''Climate change is increasing the threat posed by hurricanes and cyclones in at least three ways. Rising sea levels mean more storm surge and flooding. Warmer sea surface temperatures increase the frequency and severity of the most intense and damaging storms. And a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, which leads to elevated rainfall and extreme weather events...'''


'''For hundreds of millions living in high threat areas with limited resilience to extreme weather shocks and evacuations, the destruction of recurrent temporary displacement can lead to permanent displacement. For others the risks, costs, and danger of living in high risk coastal areas will produced 'managed retreat' to higher ground to reduce costs and threats. The future of coastline living will recall today's weather, climate, lifestyle decisions and changes producing good and/or damaging outcomes induced by humanity.'''


<big><big>'''June'''</big></big>


:[[File:Tropical Cyclone - Hurricane Population Displacement Risks.jpg]]


[https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/power-our-planet-live-in-paris-sees-twenty-thousand-activists-global-south-leaders-and-artists-gather-to-demand-justice-on-behalf-of-the-worlds-climate-vulnerable-countries-301859750.html ''''''POWER OUR PLANET'''''']
: Hurricane Population Displacement Risks


'' 'Live in Paris' event -- twenty thousand activists, global south leaders, and artists gather to demand justice on behalf of cliamate-vulnerable countries.''


''PARIS, June 22, 2023 / via PRNewswire -- A night that united the Global North and Global South, 'Power Our Planet: Live in Paris' lit up the iconic Champ de Mars this evening, as climate activists, Heads of State, many famed names in music, and twenty thousand global citizens gathered to call for justice on behalf of the world's climate-vulnerable countries. Hosted by international advocacy organization Global Citizen, the event was broadcast and streamed live around the world, rallying the people everywhere to hold to account the leaders gathering in Paris for the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact.''




🌎
October 8




[[File:Hindu Kush-Himalayas - 2023 Report on Dangerous Climate Impacts.png]]
'''WARNING WARNING'''


Take this seriously Florida !!


<big><big>'''Himalayan glaciers could lose 80% of their volume'''</big></big>
* https://x.com/nbergwx/status/1843535722747466170?s=61&t=14LnFHA-cgLSdk-DhRp7cw


Via Associated Press, June 20, 2023


Noah Bergren, Meteorologist, Orlando, Florida:


''Glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates across the Hindu Kush Himalayan mountain ranges and could lose up to 80% of their volume this century if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t sharply reduced, according to a new report.''
''This is nothing short of astronomical. I am at a loss for words to meteorologically describe you the storms small eye and intensity. 897mb pressure with 180 MPH max sustained winds and gusts 200+ MPH. '''This is now the 4th strongest hurricane ever recorded by pressure on this side of the world. The eye is TINY at nearly 3.8 miles wide. This hurricane is nearing the mathematical limit of what Earth's atmosphere over this ocean water can produce.'''''


''The report Tuesday from Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development warned that flash floods and avalanches would grow more likely in coming years, and that the availability of fresh water could be curtailed for nearly 2 billion people who live downstream of 12 rivers that originate in the mountains.''


'''''Ice and snow in the Hindu Kush Himalayan ranges are an important source of water for those rivers, which flow through 16 countries in Asia and provide fresh water to 240 million people in the mountains and another 1.65 billion downstream.'''''
&nbsp;


''“The people living in these mountains who have contributed next to nothing to global warming are at high risk due to climate change,” said Amina Maharjan, a migration specialist and one of the report’s authors. “Current adaptation efforts are wholly insufficient, and we are extremely concerned that without greater support, these communities will be unable to cope.”''


* https://apnews.com/article/himalayan-glaciers-climate-change-melting-85cf414573ed8a9fbde4cb56ecf4fdd7
Via Newsweek


''Over the weekend, AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter described Milton as a "historic, once-in-a-lifetime storm for Floridians."''


'''Read the Hindu Kush - Himalayan report from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development'''
''Another meteorologist choked back tears during an appearance on Florida NBC station WTVJ, with an emotional John Morales telling viewers on Monday: "It's just an incredible, incredible, incredible hurricane... this is just horrific. Maximum sustained winds are 160 miles per hour and, um, it is just gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico."''


<big>'''''Snow and ice in the Hindu Kush Himalaya are fast disappearing, with grave implications for people and nature'''''</big>


* https://hkh.icimod.org/hi-wise/
[[File:Hurricane Intensification ++.jpeg]]






🌎
''"The seas are so incredibly, incredibly hot, record hot, as you might imagine," he added. "You know what's driving that — I don't need to tell you — global warming, climate change, [is] leading to this and becoming an increasing threat."''




&nbsp;


<big>'''Earth Science Open-Access Database Being Made Available to the World Community'''</big>
'''Florida's West Coast, Near Sea Level, and Vulnerable'''


: '''Planet Citizens, Planet Scientists, Now Is the Time for Knowing and Acting to Make a Difference While There's Still Time '''
(Associated Press) ''The Gulf of Mexico coastline of Florida is shallow with a gentle, sloping shelf. The higher ocean floor acts as a barrier that retains the storm’s outflow of water, forcing the ocean to surge onto shore. That’s the opposite of Florida’s east coast, where the ocean floor drops suddenly a few miles from the coast.''


''“You can have the same storm, the same intensity, the same everything, but very different surges."''


''The UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies meetings represent the last big milestone in climate negotiations before the culmination of the first Global Stocktake underthe Paris Agreement at COP 28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It will provide an opportunity to collectively reflect on where the world stands in terms of addressing climate change.''
''A 2015 report from the Boston-based catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark and Co. concluded that Tampa Bay is the most vulnerable place in the U.S. to storm surge flooding from a hurricane and stands to lose $175 billion in damage.''


* https://enb.iisd.org/bonn-climate-change-conference-sbi58-sbsta58




[[File:Global Stocktake, the first GST.jpg]]
🌎


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Global_Stocktake,_the_first_GST.jpg




GreenPolicy360 welcomes the arrival of a global science mission, a "Global Stocktake", a collection of earth science data to be made available to the  community of nations, to planet citizen activists and scientists, educational institutions, non-profits, NGOs, young and old to become tools for legal enforcement of national climate plans & pledges.
<big><big>'''End of an Era'''</big></big>


: Historic day in the UK, where the industrial revolution fired up. The end of coal generated power... #climatechange #GreenPolicy360


<big>'''[[Planet Citizen Action]] | [[Climate Problems, Climate Solutions]]'''</big>


[[File:End of coal power in UK - 1.jpg]]




🌎
[[File:End of coal power in UK - 2.png]]




<big>'''Arctic 'Amplifications' '''</big>
[[File:End of coal power in UK - 3.png]]


&nbsp;


[[File:Arctic - Kolbert - 2023.png]]


🌎


* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Kolbert


<big>'''September'''</big>


''Over the past four decades, the far north has already been warming four times as quickly as the global average, a phenomenon that scientists call Arctic amplification...''


* https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/06/climate/arctic-sea-ice-melting.html
<big>'''''Scientists have captured Earth’s climate over the last 485 million years'''''</big>


''A history of wild temperature shifts and offered a warning on the consequences of human-caused warming''


Via the Washington Post


<big>'''May'''</big>
* https://wapo.st/4dc2CTV (gift article)
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/09/19/earth-temperature-global-warming-planet/




<big><big>'''''A Supreme Court Ruling the Fossil-Fuel Industry Doesn’t Like'''''</big></big>
(Science) ''What was Earth’s temperature tens to hundreds of millions of years ago? The planet has gone through different periods, some with extensive polar ice caps and others being completely ice-free. Estimating past global temperature is important for understanding the history of life on Earth, for predicting future climate, and more broadly, to inform the search for other habitable planets.'' ...


''Communities can now sue in state courts for compensation for the costs of climate change—something oil companies have fought against for years''
''Judd et al. have brought a powerful new tool to this task: data assimilation. They combined a large set of climate model simulations at different global temperatures across the last 485 million years with the oxygen isotope dataset as well as with other less frequently sampled temperature indicators such as temperature-sensitive organic molecules. Joining the model and the geological data enabled the authors to account for regional variations in predicted temperature. For example, a sample from a polar region was compared to climate model predictions in the same region. This produces a more accurate estimate of the global average temperature of Earth over time.''
* https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads1526


''By [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Bill_McKibben,_planet_citizen '''Bill McKibben''']''


* https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/a-supreme-court-ruling-the-fossil-fuel-industry-doesnt-like
[[File:Timeline-climate-change-history-485-million years.jpg]]
* https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rejects-oil-companies-appeals-climate-change-disputes-rcna49823
* https://news.yahoo.com/fossil-fuel-influence-us-supreme-110009095.html
* https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/04/supreme-court-fossil-fuel-industry-climate-lawsuits-ruling/
* https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/25/experts-hail-decision-us-climate-lawsuits-advance




''September 19, 2024''


🌎
{WaPo) ''An ambitious effort to understand the Earth’s climate over the past 485 million years has revealed a history of wild shifts and far hotter temperatures than scientists previously realized — offering a reminder of how much change the planet has already endured and a warning about the unprecedented rate of warming caused by humans.''


''The timeline, published Thursday in the journal Science, is the most rigorous reconstruction of Earth’s past temperatures ever produced, the authors say. Created by combining more than 150,000 pieces of fossil evidence with state-of-the-art climate models, it shows the intimate link between carbon dioxide and global temperatures and reveals that the world was in a much warmer state for most of the history of complex animal life.''


''At its hottest, the study suggests, the Earth’s average temperature reached 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit (36 degrees Celsius)... The revelations about Earth’s scorching past are further reason for concern about modern climate change, said Emily Judd, a researcher at University of Arizona and the Smithsonian specializing in ancient climates and the lead author of the study. The timeline illustrates how swift and dramatic temperature shifts were associated with many of the world’s worst moments — including a mass extinction that wiped out roughly 90 percent of all species and the asteroid strike that killed the dinosaurs.''


[[File:Methane Reduction proposal passes in EU Parliament - May 2023.png]]
''“We know that these catastrophic events … shift the landscape of what life looks like,” Judd said. “When the environment warms that fast, animals and plants can’t keep pace with it.”''


<small>* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methane_Reduction_proposal_passes_in_EU_Parliament_-_May_2023.png</small>
''At no point in the nearly half-billion years that Judd and her colleagues analyzed did the Earth change as fast as it is changing now, she added: “In the same way as a massive asteroid hitting the Earth, what we’re doing now is unprecedented.”''




''Background''


''Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and air pollutant and is responsible for approximately a third of current global warming. It comes from a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, waste and energy, which are responsible respectively for 53%, 26% and 19% of EU methane emissions according to the European Environment Agency. Today, methane emissions are covered under the targets in the EU’s Effort Sharing Regulation.''
🌎


''The EU has signed up to the '''Global Methane Pledge''', which aims to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030, which could eliminate over 0.2˚C warming by 2050.''


''Since it launched at COP26's international climate summit, the Global Methane Pledge has generated unprecedented momentum for methane action.  Country endorsements of the GMP have grown from just over 100 last year to 150, more than 50 countries have developed national methane action plans or are in the process of doing so, substantial new financial resources are being directed to methane action, and partners have launched “pathways” of policies and initiatives to drive methane reductions in key methane-emitting sectors – a GMP Energy Pathway launched at the June 2022 Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate and a GMP Food and Agriculture Pathway and GMP Waste Pathway, both launched at COP27.''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methane_cuts_pledge_-_COP27.png
[[File:Facts about US Energy Use.jpg]]




[[File:Methane emissions to be cut - COP26 pledges.png]]
'''''How do Americans power their lives? Steve Ballmer breaks down the facts about US energy use, production, and environmental impact. Get the data right from US government sources.'''''


<big>'''Watch the Video and Read the 'Facts about US Energy' Transcript'''</big>


* https://usafacts.org/just-the-facts/energy/


''Environmental Law & Enforcement''
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCbUx_znoYg


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Laws
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Ballmer
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png


'''About USAFacts'''


''Global Methane Pledge''
Steve Ballmer launched USAFacts.org in 2017, a not-for-profit organization whose goal is to allow people to understand U.S. government revenue, spending and societal impact. He is reported to have contributed $10 million to fund teams of researchers who populated the website's database with official data.


* https://www.globalmethanepledge.org/
* https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2022/the-global-methane-pledge
* https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/cop27-more-countries-join-methane-pact-focus-turns-farms-waste-2022-11-17/
* https://www.state.gov/global-methane-pledge-from-moment-to-momentum/
* https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/the-global-methane-pledge-cop26-explainer/ (@COP26)


🌎




🌎
<big>'''AI App, 'How Fast Is Renewable Energy Growing Statistically?''''</big>




"Grounding AI in reality with a little help from Data Commons"


<big>'''April'''</big>


:[[File:Ground AI in Reality, a Renewable Energy case study.jpeg]]


<big>'''D.C. Politics: Threats to Ax the Historic Clean Energy, Climate Legislation'''</big>


''House Republicans’ proposal for averting a breach of the federal debt limitseeks to relitigate one of the most consequential congressional debates of last year — by taking an ax to President Joe Biden’s signature climate law.''
::<small>* https://research.google/blog/grounding-ai-in-reality-with-a-little-help-from-data-commons/</small>


''The White House’s counterargument: Gutting the law would wipe out tens of thousands of jobs that the law is creating in Republican-held states.''


''The proposal that Speaker Kevin McCarthy unveiled Wednesday would raise the federal debt limit while repealing the host of green energy tax incentives established under Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act.''


* https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/20/house-gop-debt-limit-plan-inflation-reduction-act-00092891
🌎






🌎
<big>'''Get Kids Out of Diesel-Powered School Buses'''</big>


'''More Electric Buses than Ever Are Entering Public School District Fleets'''


'''On Earth Day 2023, Fox News Finds Its Way to Report the Top of the News'''
Via Electrek


* https://electrek.co/2024/08/30/blue-bird-just-delivered-its-2000th-electric-school-bus/


[[File:Fox on Earth Day 2023.jpg]]


''The Clean School Bus Program is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that provides a total of $5 billion over five years for electric school bus transportation across the US.''


''Britton Smith, president at Bus EV provider Blue Bird Corporation, explains, “Local, state, and federal funding for clean school buses remains at a historic high. Above all, we applaud the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program for accelerating the adoption of zero-emission student transportation nationwide and for helping to usher in an unprecedented era of technology innovation.”


<big>'''Recalling the Story of Earth Day with GreenPolicy360'''</big>


: Youthful activism can bring positive change to our world


:: 'Teach-ins and the First Earth Day remembered
<big>'''August'''</big>


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_Day


<big></big>'''Michael E. Keeps on Keeping on'''</big></big>


[[File:Goodall on the power of the young.png]]
Looking forward to the 3rd Edition of his classic textbook




<big>'''Intro Climate Change Textbook'''</big>


🌎
* https://www.amazon.com/Dire-Predictions-Understanding-Climate-Change/dp/0133909778


[[File:Global Climate Change textbook-Edition2.jpg]]




<big><big>'''GreenPolicy360 Remembers and Celebrates the Life of the Woman 'Who Brought Us the World''''</big></big>
Also, Related (Free) Academic Course @SDG Academy


: '''She Fought 'The Man', [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military%E2%80%93industrial_complex <big> 'The MIC'</big>], and She Won'''
* https://sdgacademy.org/course/climate-change-the-science-and-global-impact/


:: The Pentagon-favored military contractors and their big-money video spying systems lost out to the vision and talent of Virginal Norwood


::: Tower Norwood's digital scanning instrument, initially rejected and opposed by 'Top Brass' Pentagon generals, proved its value and prevailed
By Michael E. Mann


* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_E._Mann




<big>'''Virginia Tower Norwood, ‘Mother’ of Satellite Imaging Systems, Dies at 96'''</big>
🌎


:'''A pioneer in aerospace, she invented a technology that has enabled scientists to map and study the earth for more than 50 years'''


::* https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/12/science/space/virginia-norwood-dead.html
On the International Climate Front


::* https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/03/30/virginia-norwood-landsat-engineer-dies/
<big><big>'''IPCC meeting fails to agree on timeline for seventh assessment report'''</big></big>


::* https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/06/29/1025732/the-woman-who-brought-us-the-world/
* https://www.carbonbrief.org/ipcc-meeting-in-sofia-fails-to-agree-timeline-for-seventh-assessment-report/




'''Beginning with Virginia's 'Invention', Five Decades+ of Unique Earth Science Imaging from Space'''


: From Landsat to today's Earth Observing Missions, the Multispectral Scanning System Continues to Gathers Essential Earth Science Data
''The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) saw more than 230 delegates from 195 member governments revisit an unresolved topic from the previous meeting in January – finalising the timeline for the IPCC’s seventh assessment report (AR7) cycle.''


:: A Profoundly Vital Resource of Digital Data Mapping Earth's Systems, Providing the Dynamic Observations for Science and Policy Decisions
''AR7 will be the IPCC’s latest round of reports summarizing the most recently published climate science.''


''First published in 1990, the assessment reports typically take 6-7 years to complete. The [https://www.carbonbrief.org/carbon-briefs-definitive-guide-to-the-entire-ipcc-sixth-assessment-cycle/ '''Sixth “summary climate report for policymakers”'''] was published in March last year.''




<big>'''[[LANDSAT and Virginia Tower Norwood]]'''</big>
'''More re: the IPCC / UNFCCC conferences and National Climate Plans'''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/LANDSAT_and_Virginia_Tower_Norwood
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change (IPCC - Via Wikipedia)


&nbsp;
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Earth_Summit_1992.jpg (International Climate Conferences, Origins)


:[[File:Virginia Norwood - 1948.jpg]]
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/IPCC_Report_Nov_2014 (Fifth IPCC Climate Report)


&nbsp;
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPCC_Sixth_Assessment_Report (Sixth Climate Report)


::[[File:Virginia Tower Norwood and James Hodgson - 1972.jpg]]
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/National_Climate_Plans ('''[[National Climate Plans]]''')


&nbsp;


[[File:Landsat band imagery.png]]


&nbsp;


<big><big><big>'''''50th + Anniversary of Landsat'''''</big></big></big>
🌎




[[File:Landsat 50th anniv Sept 2016.jpg]]


<small>http://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Landsat8DataUsersHandbook.pdf</small>
<big>'''Governor Tim Walz from Mid-America, Minnesota, Is the New Vice President Candidate'''</big>


: The American Heartland Sends One Its Own on a Quest for National Election




<big><big>'''Envisioned as an Intergenerational Science Mission'''</big></big>
By Lucas Jackson/Reuters


The  first land-focused Earth-observation satellite, Landsat 1 (initially called the 'Earth Resources Technology Satellite-1 / ERTS-1) is launched to Earth orbit from Vandenberg, CA.
''Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate elevates a politician with one of the strongest state-level records on clean energy in the US.''


Beginnings of [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_Science_from_Space '''Earth Science from Space'''] #RemoteSensing #AtmosphericScience #EarthScience #OceanScience
''In 2023, Walz signed into law a target for Minnesota to get 100% of its power from zero-carbon sources, including nuclear, by 2040, and coal has fallen behind renewables and nuclear as the state’s top sources of power for the first time during his tenure. He set aside $2 billion in grants for clean energy projects in the state, a move likened to a local version of the federal Inflation Reduction Act. And in June, he signed legislation aimed at shaving a full year off the time it takes to get permits to build energy and grid transmission projects.''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_Science_from_Space
''Earlier, as a member of Congress, he voted in favor of carbon-pricing legislation and pitched it to skeptical constituents in Minnesota as a new way to squeeze profit out of farmland.''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_System_Science
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Right_Now




🌎




<big><big><big>'''EOS'''</big></big></big>


<big>'''Earth Observing System'''</big>
<big>'''''Climate change deniers make up nearly a quarter of US Congress'''''</big>


''Climate denialists – 23 in Senate and 100 in House – are all Republicans and make US an outlier internationally''


Originating with a NASA 'Mission Statement' and visionary Earth Science leaders in the U.S. Congress, a whole earth research mission, environmental protection movement is launched...
* https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/05/climate-change-denial-congress


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/1969_beginnings_of_the_modern_environmental_movement.pdf




GreenPolicy360 siterunner, Steven Schmidt, recalls the origins of earth science missions and visionary leaders:
🌎


The Original Mission Statement of NASA (1958) provided Congressional intent and guidance to the first generation of space programs. [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr '''US Congressman George Brown'''], if he were here, would've done I am certain everything within his power to continue the original 'our' part of the mission statement... 'to understand and protect our home planet'...


''“To understand and protect our home planet; to explore the universe and search for life; to inspire the next generation of explorers ... as only NASA can.”''


<big>'''Antarctica Spikes Up the Temperatures'''</big>


The NASA programs to understand and protect can be traced to the 1960s when a monumental new technology was invented and, with a fortuitous shift in U.S. remote imaging capabilities from to digital, 'multispectral' scanning, the Landsat program took off and the data that began coming back from near-orbit Landsat satellites forever changed how we see, study and interact with our home planet.
'''Near record heatwave...'''


* https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/01/antarctic-temperatures-rise-10c-above-average-in-near-record-heatwave


<big>'''[[George E. Brown Jr]]'''</big> | <big>'''[[LANDSAT and Virginia Tower Norwood]]'''</big> | <big>'''"[[Generation Green]]"'''</big>


''Ground temperatures across great swathes of the ice sheets of Antarctica have soared an average of 10C above normal over the past month, in what has been described as a near record heatwave.''


GreenPolicy360's archive of the 1960s/70s earth science, an environmental era start up that your GreenPolicy360 Siterunner experienced personally, includes memories that reveal rarely discussed [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&profile=default&search=landsat&fulltext=Search '''highlights of the Landsat and first earth observation satellites'''], the beginnings of the Earth Observing System (EOS), a platform of digital earth system science missions now continuing in a fifth decade of vital science.
''While temperatures remain below zero on the polar land mass, which is shrouded in darkness at this time of year, the depths of southern hemisphere winter, temperatures have reportedly reached 28C above expectations on some days.''




Landat's digital imaging scanner created unique digital technology enabling scientists to monitor earth's living systems and our changing environment. Zoom in on the Multispectral Scanner and "The Woman Who Brought Us the World" -- Virginia Tower Norwood. We are witnessing digital data begins to flow into databases for science around our world as NASA's original mission statement -- “To understand and protect our home planet..." becomes mission reality.
'''''The Planet's Hot (the Numbers Are Talking, Scientists Are Warning)'''''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/LANDSAT_and_Virginia_Tower_Norwood
''The globe has experienced 12 months of record warmth, with temperatures consistently exceeding the 1.5C rise above preindustrial levels that has been touted as the limit to avoiding the worst of climate breakdown.''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Multispectral_Scanning_Systen_-_MSS.jpg




[[File:Multispectral Scanning Systen - MSS.jpg]]
<big>'''''Antarctic temperatures soar 50 degrees above norm in long-lasting heat wave'''''</big>


''Historic warm spell in East Antarctica is an ominous example of the temperature spikes this polar climate could experience more of in a warming world''


<big>Virginia Tower Norwood's Vision</big>
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/07/31/antarctica-heat-wave-warming-climate/


Here we focus on the amazing story of Virginia Tower Norwood who invented technology that made LANDSAT's digital spectral imaging possible. Her talent, her vision forever changed the field of earth science. In many ways, while inventing and convincing the reluctant aerospace men around her that digital imaging was the way to go, she was also continuing to be a first mover, graduating from MIT and creating a path of success for a next generation of women as scientists and engineers who would change the world.


The Landsat mission was a proverbial 'game-changing moment. A mission -- "To understand and protect our home planet" -- was turned into reality. A Congressman versed in physics and trained as a engineer, and a scientist-engineer, a woman who had to convince the power-that-be, leaders of the military-industrial-complex who were unsupportive of her new digital Mulitspectral 'thing', to go forward digitally, that 'digital was the future, that databases from digital imaging were 'gold'. George Brown was an 'environmentalist' before the term became familiar, a man who was among the first to recognize the serious threat of global warming (before the term "climate change" became familiar.) Virgini Tower Norwood was a force to be reckoned with though surrounded by corporate bosses and uniformed generals. Together, George and Virginia changed our world. Landsat, not video but digital, was a profound moment, a beginning of humanity attempting to point digital imaging toward earth's living system and measure... 


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Landsat_data_users_handbook
<big>'''July'''</big>


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp,_OCO-2,_June_2014_m.jpg


July 23




:[[File:Living Earth.png]]
[[File:Leah Stokes - UCSB - Prof Climate and Energy Policy - Re Kamala Harris.png|link=https://x.com/leahstokes/status/1815500469231337505?s=61&t=14LnFHA-cgLSdk-DhRp7cw]]




[[File:Leah Stokes - UCSB - Prof Climate and Energy Policy.png]]


We, at GreenPolicy360, are remembering, up close, first-generation Earth Science...


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space


&nbsp;
'''Dr. Leah C. Stokes'''


<big><big>'''The Earth Observing System (EOS)'''</big></big>
@leahstokes


GreenPolicy360: The mission of the Earth Observing System that became a core element of the ongoing NASA earth science programs was first envisioned in the 1970s. The constellation of satellites that now comprise a connected matrix of ongoing earth digital imaging programs came about as the U.S. Congress realized in the years following NASA's establishment that Planet Earth was central to NASA's work. The initial NASA mission statement spoke of this study of Planet Earth as a key goal of NASA programs. A new science, space and technology Congressional Committee was created to envision and oversee these programs and one of the first realizations about the need for earth science came about through the LANDSAT program [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Landsat_data_users_handbook '''(see here)''']. A historic moment brought into existence digital mapping, that is, [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/LANDSAT_and_Virginia_Tower_Norwood '''multi-spectral imaging of earth'''] from an orbiting satellite in space, envisioned and designed to collect and 'save' data of earth's living systems. This databank was considered to be essential by committee member George E. Brown who, as a physicist and engineer, began his three-decade + career in Congress. George eventually became known for his "big science" initiatives. What few knew back then at the beginning was how essential this data would become as climate science came into the light (in 1977 and '78 with George's work central to the drafting and passage of the first '''National Climate Act'''.)
'''Vice President Kamala Harris has a long record on climate change and environmental justice you probably haven't heard enough about. I've been digging into her background and this woman is a climate champion. Can't wait for her to be PRESIDENT!'''


In the 1980s, the Earth Observing System (EOS) work began in earnest.
Here are the receipts... THREAD!


NASA's Project Science Office years later described its beginning with this statement:
* https://x.com/leahstokes/status/1815500469231337505?s=61&t=14LnFHA-cgLSdk-DhRp7cw


''>Results from early missions shed light on critical components of the Earth system while prompting further, more advanced investigations. The NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) program was conceived in the 1980s and began to take shape in the early 1990s. EOS is comprised of a series of coordinated polar-orbiting satellites designed to monitor and understand key components of the climate system and their interactions through long-term global observations. The EOS missions focus on the following climate science areas: radiation, clouds, water vapor, and precipitation; the oceans; greenhouse gases; land-surface hydrology and ecosystem processes; glaciers, sea ice, and ice sheets; ozone and stratospheric chemistry; and natural and anthropogenic aerosols.''




'''NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Reference Handbook'''
🌎


* https://eospso.gsfc.nasa.gov/mission-category/3 




July 10


In June 1992, the National Space Policy Council issued a National Space Policy Directive and EOS became part of a global change observation system.
GreenPolicy360: We have often spoken of the importance of facts and science in decision making. We've talked of 'discussion, debate' and how, in a working democracy, the pros and cons, costs and benefits, pluses and minuses should be part of 'navigating' toward goals we have set. We have aimed at 'on the merits' decisions. So, with this in mind let's take under review a number of Comments that are responding the recent 'Chevron decision' and the U.S. Supreme Court (an arbiter expected to be reasonable and reasoned in its judgments).


We recognize that it's a rare thing to find a thread of Comments that are worth citing these days, but we think we have found an exception here. So, a thank you to media working to inform and elevate public discussion, debate and decision-making when it comes to the critical issues facing the body politic.


::[[File:Earth Observing System - fleet of satellites.png]]
Now, without further ado, the link provided below is a free, no paywall view. We are quoting Comments as published by the Washington Post as is, which are followed by our article on the SCOTUS decision from this past week.


::<small>NASA Earth Science Missions continuing to extend decades of earth system science missions</small>
* https://wapo.st/462E3XF


&nbsp;




·················
'''''Regarding The Post’s June 29 front-page article “Court weakens authority of U.S. agencies”:'''''


''Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. famously described a modest role for the Supreme Court in his nomination hearings. But the decision to overrule the Chevron deference doctrine and to expand the role of courts is an extraordinary and self-aggrandizing claim of power and authority for the judicial branch.''


''Acceptable regulatory policy should be shaped by three considerations:''


<big>'''March'''</big>
''1. The wishes of the voters, expressed through an elected president, his or her appointees, and elected legislators who alone define and control agency power.''


''2. The weight of scientific and technical evidence about the issue.''


<big><big>'''What happens in Antarctica doesn't stay in the Antarctic'''</big></big>
''3. The actual impacts on affected stakeholders — regulated parties and the publics they serve — whose views are collected through elaborate outreach efforts that both bring major players to the drafting table and involve thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of public comments.''


''The role of the courts is to keep agencies within whatever boundaries Congress delineates. When Congress does not, cannot or will not identify those boundaries, Chevron teaches that reasonable agency — often by players “present at the creation” — are as close as we can get to actual legislative intent. Creating a more intrusive role for courts seems unwise, as courts do not participate in any of the three conditions for acceptable policy.''


[[File:Thwaites.jpg]]
William R. Andersen, Seattle




<big>'''''Melting Antarctic ice predicted to cause rapid slowdown of deep ocean current by 2050'''''</big>
''Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is wrong that the Chevron deference doctrine is “unworkable.” The process works! But like everything in a democracy, it is messy.''


''New research by Australian scientists suggests 40% slowdown in just three decades could alter world’s climate for centuries''
''Congress provides wide discretion to federal agencies in writing and implementing rules required by legislation. That process is time-consuming and factually and analytically rigorous, and it includes numerous checks and balances. It takes years to write and promulgate a regulation, after which organizational or individual stakeholders have an opportunity to file a lawsuit — which they very often do. These lawsuits have to be addressed as part of the regulatory process. Many members of the public also have an opportunity to review and question the work of “bureaucrats,” many of whom are scientists, economists, engineers, epidemiologists and other subject-matter experts. As recently as last year, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs issued guidance aimed at making it easier for more people to participate in the federal rulemaking process.''


* https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/30/melting-antarctic-ice-predicted-to-cause-rapid-slowdown-of-deep-ocean-current-by-2050
''The end result may be a regulation some group with a vested interest doesn’t like. But that’s life, especially in a democratic society. You win some and you lose some. The Supreme Court, in its infinite wisdom, has only mucked up the waters.''


* https://phys.org/news/2023-03-deep-ocean-currents-antarctica-collapse.html
Josh Lowry, Silver Spring




Abyssal ocean overturning slowdown and warming driven by Antarctic meltwater
''In 1981, I joined the solicitor’s office at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, defending agency decisions before federal appellate courts. When the Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council decision was issued in 1984, I cited it in dozens of briefs and in oral argument. Overruling this significant precedent is a tragic mistake. Under Chevron, when a statute administered by an agency contained ambiguous terms, the reviewing courts would defer to the agency construction as long as that decision was rational.''


* https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05762-w
''The pretext advanced in the majority decision doing away with Chevron was that the 1984 case led to inconsistency because interpretations would often change when a new administration took power. During my appellate tenure, I recall only one time when an incoming administration attempted such a change. That circumstance occurred in 1981, before Chevron existed, when incoming Reagan administration commissioners tried to overturn a prior decision that had been upheld by the 11th Circuit.''


<small>''The abyssal ocean circulation is a key component of the global meridional overturning circulation, cycling heat, carbon, oxygen and nutrients throughout the world ocean. The strongest historical trend observed in the abyssal ocean is warming at high southern latitudes, yet it is unclear what processes have driven this warming, and whether this warming is linked to a slowdown in the ocean’s overturning circulation. Furthermore, attributing change to specific drivers is difficult owing to limited measurements, and because coupled climate models exhibit biases in the region. In addition, future change remains uncertain, with the latest coordinated climate model projections not accounting for dynamic ice-sheet melt. Here we use a transient forced high-resolution coupled ocean–sea-ice model to show that under a high-emissions scenario, abyssal warming is set to accelerate over the next 30 years. We find that meltwater input around Antarctica drives a contraction of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), opening a pathway that allows warm Circumpolar Deep Water greater access to the continental shelf. The reduction in AABW formation results in warming and ageing of the abyssal ocean, consistent with recent measurements. In contrast, projected wind and thermal forcing has little impact on the properties, age and volume of AABW. These results highlight the critical importance of Antarctic meltwater in setting the abyssal ocean overturning, with implications for global ocean biogeochemistry and climate that could last for centuries.''</small>
''In short, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is fixing a problem that does not exist. Even if it did exist, the simple solution would be to bar an agency that has been afforded deference for one interpretation from again claiming deference for a different construction of the same provision.''


''The real reason for the conservative assault on Chevron is to prevent an alleged “deep administrative state” with its “liberal bias” from imposing allegedly onerous regulations on business. Agency decisions at FERC are rendered by five commissioners appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Only three can be from the same political party. To be sure, these commissioners collaborate with lawyers, economists, engineers and other regulatory specialists when reaching their decisions. During my four decades at FERC, political biases were checked at the door. The men and women I worked with were consummate professionals, always seeking the correct result. Sometimes, we got it wrong. In those cases, the agency was unable to show a logical connection between the facts adduced and the decision made. Accordingly, the appellate court either reversed or remanded the cases despite the grant of deference.''


'''''If greenhouse gas emissions continue at today’s levels, the current in the deepest parts of the ocean could slow down by 40% in only three decades.'''''
''The ultimate folly in Chief Justice Roberts’s decision is his “belief” that all federal jurists are paragons of virtue without any biases whatsoever. I pity those federal agencies whose decisions are subject to review in federal district courts. The conservative rush to the district court in Amarillo, Tex., and Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk will be immediate.''


'''''This, the scientists said, could generate a cascade of impacts that could push up sea levels, alter weather patterns and starve marine life of a vital source of nutrients.'''''
Joel Cockrell, Damascus


'''''Antarctic ice melt could disrupt the world’s oceans ...'''''


'''''Americans deserve consistency'''''


''The Antarctic overturning circulation is part of a global network of currents that shift heat, oxygen and nutrients around the globe''
''As a former director of the Office of Enforcement and assistant general counsel for enforcement at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, I am very concerned about the impact overturning the Chevron decision will have on radiation and nuclear reactor requirements. The impacts of nuclear accidents do not respect the boundaries of states or district courts. The American people deserve uniform requirements that equally protect all.''
''Global warming is accelerating the melting of ice in Antarctica, and the increased amount of fresh water flooding into the ocean is disrupting the flow of the Antarctic overturning circulation''


* https://www.straitstimes.com/world/antarctic-ice-melt-could-disrupt-the-world-s-oceans-study
''Yet now, U.S. courts will decide for themselves the reasonableness of NRC implementation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, which requires the commission to promulgate “standards and instructions to govern the possession and use of special nuclear material, source material, and byproduct material as the Commission may deem necessary or desirable to promote the common defense and security or to protect health or to minimize danger to life or property.”''
* https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/monster-iceberg-released-billions-of-tonnes-of-fresh-water-into-ocean


         
''Given the varying educations, experiences and perspectives of judges, despite their acting in good faith, the reversal of Chevron will no doubt create a “crazy quilt” of requirements resulting in varying levels of safety and protection in different districts, states and regions of our country. This will also result in confusion and costs to the nuclear industry.''


····························································
Jim Lieberman, Silver Spring


                                         


[[File:March 20 2023.png]]
'''''...And expertise'''''


''The recent overturning of the “Chevron doctrine” by the Supreme Court will definitely affect Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate toxic air pollutants. I had the honor of working for the Environmental Protection Agency for 30 years. My job was concerned with the Clean Air Act and the regulations developed to implement it.''


''''''Synthesis': Another IPCC Report, Another IPCC Warning''''': ''“In the near term, every region in the world is projected to face further increases in climate hazards (medium to high confidence, depending on region and hazard), increasing multiple risks to ecosystems and humans (very high confidence). Hazards and associated risks expected in the near-term include an increase in heat-related human mortality and morbidity (high confidence), food-borne, water-borne, and vector-borne diseases (high confidence), mental health challenges (very high confidence), flooding in coastal and other low-lying cities and regions (high confidence), biodiversity loss in land, freshwater and ocean ecosystems (medium to very high confidence, depending on ecosystem), and a decrease in food production in some regions (high confidence).”''
''The Clean Air Act is one of the most complicated environmental statutes, and the regulations promulgated under that statute are equally complicated because of the broad array of industrial processes they cover. Consequently, the EPA is often called upon to clarify both statutory and regulatory language and to explain whether or how those rules would apply to a particular configuration or modification of an industrial plant or process.''


* https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/
''During my tenure at the agency, I wrote many of these policy memorandums that set legal precedent and enabled the EPA to effectively implement environmental regulations. These interpretation policies adhere strictly to a “plain-language reading” of the statutory and regulatory language, and they are scrutinized by legal staff to ensure the EPA does not overstep the intent of the original statutory or regulatory language. The clarifications are an integral part of the environmental regulatory implementation process.''


'''GreenPolicy360: A Sad Song of Science, over and over, and over...''' [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr '''50+ years of earth science data''']
''EPA staff have spent decades writing and implementing these regulations and are uniquely qualified to make these interpretations. Removing this authority from regulatory agencies and placing it with the courts will severely limit the EPA’s ability to act in a timely and effective way to protect the environment from toxic pollutants. Without these years of expertise, the courts are not in a position to take over this responsibility, and the health and welfare of the public will suffer.''


:'''The global scientific community is speaking out, again'''
Scott Throwe, Bristol, R.I.


::* https://www.ipcc.ch/ar6-syr/


''''''Get Congress to work''''''


''' 'Deja vu' time, an old story, a generational story from the first climate studies and environmental actions in the 1970s following on the first 'Earth Day' [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Day_Memories_on_the_50th_Anniversary in 1970] and continuing on to [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Vorsorgeprinzip_at_GreenPolicy360_-_sjs.png today in 2023] ... '''
''Karen Tumulty’s June 29 op-ed, “The Supreme Court just gave Congress more work. But is it up to the job?,” was well done.''


: Call us Planet Citizens venturing on to make a #PlanetCitizen difference
''From my own career of 30 years of legislative advocacy, I would add that if Congress is going to function in the way it will need to now that the Supreme Court has tasked lawmakers with writing much more detailed legislation, it is critical to restore congressional “regular order,” which has been eroding since Georgia Republican Newt Gingrich’s tenure as speaker of the House in the 1990s.''


* http://www.planetcitizen.org
''Regular order is simply the congressional process through which all legislation must be reported from a related committee to be considered on the floor of the House or Senate. The committee process itself encouraged legislative expertise, bipartisan behavior and cohesive, on-time policy results. The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 established a new congressional budget process and timetable, a budget committee in each house, a Congressional Budget Office, and congressional control over the impoundment of funds by the executive branch.''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Generation_Green
''Yet today, the use of continuing resolutions has become common any time that Congress and the president do not reach agreement on spending levels and fail to enact regular appropriations by the start of the federal fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. Between fiscal years 2010 and 2022, 47 continuing resolutions passed, allowing Congress to delay its duties for as long as 176 days at a time. On three occasions, not even a continuing resolution was approved, resulting in a government shutdown.''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Citizen_Action
''This astonishing record of legislative failure is a direct result of not adhering to the important committee role, the fundamental precept of regular order. If Congress can’t even fund the government, how can it be expected to write detailed regulations?''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Problems,_Climate_Solutions
Dan Flanagan, Annapolis, Md.


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Citizens,_Planet_Scientists


○




🌎
<big><big>'''It's 'Ripe' for Individual Court-by-Court Judicial Rulings Following SCOTUS Abandonment of Decades under the 'Chevron Decision' '''</big></big>


: The U.S. Supreme Court's Recent Term Ended with Multiple Precedents Overthrown and Severe Impacts on the Climate Crisis


''The court is moving into new territory acting with its new majority to overturn 40 years of legal precedent


March 13, 2023
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/28/supreme-court-chevron-federal-agency-authority/


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/06/28/supreme-court-chevron-ruling-congress/


Political Challenges, Fossil Fuels, Energy Infrastructure


[[File:Willow project in Alaska approved.png]]
June 28 / 29




[[File:Alaska Willow - March 12 2023.png]]
With the ''Loper Bright v. Raimondo'' decision the court is ushering in another era ...setting aside decades of admistrative decisions and law following the 1984 ''Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council'' decision. The 1984 decision had been a basis to a doctrine that requires judges to defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of statutes that they are charged with administering. The questions now are far reaching as to how Congress can meet the new standards set by the Supreme Coourt.  


Background: In the new ''Loper Bright v. Raimondo decision'', SCOTUS looks to courts as more suited than the EPA and Executive agencies following legislative language and intent in administrative law decisions.


* https://insideclimatenews.org/news/28062024/supreme-court-overturns-chevron-doctrine/


:·················································································································· 
''Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity: “The sky’s the limit for industry now. No regulation is immune from challenge. As just one example, if the industry decides to challenge the E.P.A.’s underlying authority to regulate CO2, they might win and it would have an enormous impact on climate policy. The same could apply to all rules, mileage standards, power plant emissions, etc.”''


* https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/02/climate/supreme-court-climate-chevron.html?unlocked_article_code=1.400.kMcF.AdZV6NXMaBpF&smid=url-share


[[File:Going Green 2019.jpg]]


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Fossil_Fuels <big>'''Fossil Fuels'''</big>]


'''''Now come the after effects of the Supreme Court's decision. The Washingont Post, for example, asks how how the decision will impact Electric Vehicles incentives and Internal Combustion Vehicles emissions limits... Who knows? Does it depend on the Judge and whatever the Judge's opinions (and knowledge or lack of knowledge) of science factors effecting regulations are? What about Congressional intent? How about existing rules and data as to their efficacy in achiving legislative purposes?'''''


<big><big>'''Spreadsheet: The Oil & Gas Industry Is Making History'''</big></big>
''(WaPo) Federal government help for electric vehicles — and a federal crackdown on emissions from gasoline-powered cars and trucks — may be in trouble.''


: '''Profit-taking in a Historically Profitable Year'''
''The Biden administration’s most consequential climate rule could be newly vulnerable: The Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to boost sales of electric vehicles while slashing emissions from gasoline-powered cars and trucks.''


''Republican attorneys general from more than two dozen states had already sued the EPA over the Biden administration’s most consequential climate rule, a sweeping attempt to transform the U.S. auto market. The top trade association for the U.S. oil and gas industry, which could see demand for its products decline as consumers shift to EVs, has also challenged the regulations in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Opponents say the agency has overstepped its authority.''


:'''Saudi oil giant Aramco posts record $161.1 billion profit for 2022'''
''The EPA will need to convince the court that Congress empowered it to issue the rules, said Jeff Holmstead, a partner at the law and lobbying firm Bracewell LLP and a former top EPA official under President George W. Bush.''


::'''Four oil companies had total sales of $1 trillion last year'''
''“The question is going to be, ‘Did Congress clearly intend to give EPA authority to force a fundamental shift in the transportation sector?’”''


:::'''Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon and Shell all reported record profits in 2022'''
(Ed. note: An accompanying question is did Congress in its writing of these laws expect the judiciary to interpret them, technically? For example, nitrous oxide ("laughing gas" sedaative that dentists use) is different than nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxides (climate-damaging pollution emissions (and nitrous oxide that contributes to ozone depletion). Yet, Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch in the rendered Trump v. United States decision did not know the difference and miswrote the decision. In the past, Supreme Court judges have spoken of not being much interested in greenhouse gases, i.e., the atmospheric polluting emissions that science demonstrates cause climate change. Judges, bottom line, are not trained scientists who understand, and can fairly 'judge environmental protection regulations written and statutorily passed by Congress... Here come the judges, and a corollary, there's Congress attempting with popular support for laws now being directed by SCOTUS to write, and pass over filibuster, gerrymander, blocking maneuvers a new generation of precisely detailed, technically delineated statutes that will be, hypothetically, delivered out of legislative committee oversight and markup processes. Is this new system being pushed a workable fix? Is the re-do now delivered by SCOTUS intended to limit EPA regulatory roles and authorities, as well as Congressional intent? The questions must be asked now with increasing importance given to effective policy.




''Oil giant Saudi Aramco has reported earning $161bn last year, claiming the highest-ever recorded annual profit by a publicly listed company and drawing immediate criticism from activists.''
'''''Corporate climate disclosure'''''


''The monster profit by the firm, known formally as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., came off the back of energy prices rising after Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022, with sanctions limiting the sale of Moscow’s oil and natural gas in Western markets.''
''Publicly traded companies are soon supposed to start sharing key details about their carbon footprints and how much of a threat climate changes poses to their bottom lines. But the Supreme Court’s decision may kill that requirement before it even takes effect.''


* https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/12/oil-giant-saudi-aramco-records-historic-161bn-profit-in-2022
''The Securities and Exchange Commission, the country’s main Wall Street and banking regulator, approved that new requirement in March. The rule tests the powers of the federal government to compel companies to confront global warming, making it significantly harder for businesses to gloss over their role in higher emissions and their vulnerability to climate change. And it immediately came under legal assault; the SEC paused enforcement as soon as multiple lawsuits were filed.''


''Now the success of the rule could hinge on the SEC’s ability to convince judges that the policy is not intended to drive companies to lower their emissions, but merely to require they share information investors need, a key role of the regulator.''




<big>'''CERAWeek'''</big>
(Ed. Remembering Justice Scalia and administrative law: E&E... Scalia touted the so-called Chevron doctrine, that held if Congress has been silent or ambiguous about how to tackle an issue, the courts should defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of the law.


'''The Industry Celebrates: The Oil & Gas Annual Global Conference'''
"Broad delegation to the executive is the hallmark of the modern administrative state; agency rulemaking powers are the rule rather than, as they once were, the exception; and as the sheer number of modern departments and agencies suggests, we are awash in agency ‘expertise,’" the Chief Justice said.


* https://twitter.com/hashtag/CERAWeek
"In the long run, Chevron will endure and be given its full scope," he went on, because "it more accurately reflects the reality of government, and thus more adequately serves its needs."


* https://twitter.com/apienergy/status/1633123424192061440
The Chevron doctrine, which sprang from an environmental case decided before Scalia joined the court, is central to environmental law, where cases frequently center on whether agency regulations can be deemed reasonable interpretations of the law.


* https://twitter.com/SvitlanaRomanko/status/1632779448801017856


And also Scalia in full disclosure, with the question of judicial scientific knowledge in the air:


'''February 2023'''
''(2012) Justice Scalia was engaged in an onstage conversation with (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's) remarkable president, Shirley Ann Jackson, a physicist. She asked him to explain his dissent in the 2007 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency had the authority to regulate carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas emitted by human activities, as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.


“The issue was simply whether carbon was an environmental pollutant or not,” he said. “I did not think it was ever regarded as that. It is not the Atmospheric Protection Agency. It’s the Environmental Protection Agency. That was the basis for my dissent.”


''Fox News/Opinion / February 24, 2023''
Enough said about this Judge as to generational scientific knowledge. That his opinion was in the minority is more than fitting.




<big>'''''Retirement savings of millions of Americans could go to companies worried about climate change'''</big>''
Note / Background:


''Biden's ESG investment rules threaten your retirement savings''
June 2022


''GOP to Vote 'anti-woke'''
* https://www.npr.org/2022/06/30/1103595898/supreme-court-epa-climate-change


* https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-gop-votes-next-week-kill-bidens-woke-esg-investing-rule


''The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a major blow to the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate carbon emissions that cause climate change. The decision by the conservative court majority sets the stage for further limitations on the regulatory power of other agencies as well.''


○
''By a vote of 6 to 3, the court said that any time an agency does something big and new – in this case addressing climate change – the regulation is presumptively invalid, unless Congress has specifically authorized regulating in this sphere.''


''"That's a very big deal because they're not going to get it from Congress because Congress is essentially dysfunctional," said Harvard law professor Richard Lazarus, an expert on environmental law.''


<big>'''The E.S.G. Fight Looms Ahead'''</big>
''"This could not have come at a worse time" because "the consequences of climate change are increasingly dire and we're running out of time to address it."''


'''GreenPolicy360's position -- 'Yes, properly, intelligently, appropriately, wisely, pick your word for smart investing. Our word is an acronym. ESG, and ESG investing's time is now''''


''Kentucky passed a law targeting banks and their climate policies. Bankers sued the attorney general. Whose definition of investment risk should prevail?''
<big><big>'''SCOTUS & the History of CO2 as an Air Pollutant'''</big></big>


* https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/24/your-money/anti-esg-investing-kentucky.html
: From the Clean Air Act to the EPA (Dissent: Scalia, Roberts, Alito, Thomas)


* https://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_v._Environmental_Protection_Agency


'''''Environment, social, and governance (ESG) factors have boomed in recent years'''''
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_greenhouse_gases_under_the_Clean_Air_Act


* https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2022/07/the-secs-proposed-esg-rules-aim-to-provide-better-information-to-investors/


''The case: Massachusetts, 11 other states, and several environmental advocacy organizations petitioned the EPA requesting the regulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) as an air pollutant.''


''Bloomberg projects that ESG investments may surpass $41 trillion worldwide by the end of 2022, up from $22.8 trillion in 2016. In the US alone, sustainable investments grew to $17.1 trillion in 2020, which accounts for a third of US assets under management according to the US Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment.''  
''The issue: Did the EPA have legal authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide emissions? Did the EPA have discretion not to regulate carbon dioxide emissions for policy reasons under the Clean Air Act?''


''As interest in ESG investing grows, there is considerable variation in how fund managers define ESG and how funds approach ESG investing. For example, some funds may exclude certain polluting investments like oil and gas, while other funds may include some oil and gas companies based on their stated commitment to decarbonization. There is also variation in the utility of the ESG label to investors: researchers have found high levels of misleading claims among ESG funds.''
''The outcome: The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the EPA had to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from motor vehicles if they were found to be endangering public health and welfare.''


''Regulators and investors are questioning the approach and impact of many ESG funds. Given the lack of relevant reporting requirements, it’s difficult for investors to understand how a fund accounts for ESG factors in investment decisions and what impacts those investments have on the issues they claim to address.''




<big><big>'''ESG Factors'''</big></big>
<big>'''🥵'''</big>


'''Real Money, Big Investment Money Begins to Shift Direction'''


'''Environmental, social, and governance investing''' 


'''Business Intelligence (BI) @Work'''
[[File:Zack Labe - climate viz - June 2024.png]]


* https://www.esg.org/what-is-esg
Via Zachary Labe / https://zacklabe.com/


* https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/environmental-social-and-governance-esg-criteria.asp
&nbsp;


<big>'''June'''</big>




'''ESG Creates Value'''
<big><big>'''Heat waves and climate change -- and have you noticed the cost of Olive Oil?!'''</big></big>


* https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/five-ways-that-esg-creates-value
The Washington Post


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/06/23/climate-change-warming-economy-impacts/




'''Deloitte Insight into ESG'''
''This year, the global price of olive oil hit an all-time high, according to data from the International Monetary Fund.''


* https://www2.deloitte.com/ce/en/pages/global-business-services/articles/esg-explained-1-what-is-esg.html
''Experts say that benchmark is inextricably linked to another unwelcome superlative: 2023 was Europe’s second-hottest year on record.''


''In early 2023, warm winter conditions interfered with trees’ ability to set fruit. When summer brought temperatures of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, the few olives that grew dropped off the vine before ripening. Scorching air sapped moisture from vegetation and soils, plunging much of the continent into drought and causing plants to wither and die.''


🌎
''Such high temperatures — which in some cases would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change, studies show — helped cut the region’s olive oil production to almost half of typical levels, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Because the European Union produces more than 60 percent of the world’s olive oil, that shortage made itself felt at grocery stores around the planet...''




<big>'''🥵'''</big>


<big><big> '''Planet Citizens & Global 360 Challenges'''</big></big>


: [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Climate_Policy '''Climate Policy @GreenPolicy360''']
[[File:Heat hitting billions.png]]


:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Problems,_Climate_Solutions


[[File:On the heat beat... NYT reporting-June 21 2024.png]]


:::'''GreenPolicy360: Act Now:'''
<small><small>* https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/21/climate/heat-deaths-floods-drought.html?unlocked_article_code=1.1U0.2Rzb.6dHHkHtlsZxy&smid=url-share</small></small>


:::[[File:You can manage only what you can measure Dr David Crisp, OCO-2, June 2014 m.jpg]]


:::[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp,_OCO-2,_June_2014_m.jpg  '''Measure to Manage''']


&nbsp;
<big>'''🥵'''</big>
 
<big>'''Onward: Earth Science Travels from 1970 to 2023 with GreenPolicy360's Siterunner'''</big>


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/User:Siterunner


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Day_Memories_on_the_50th_Anniversary


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_Day
[[File:Florida and climate change denial.png]]


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr
<small>* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Florida_and_climate_change_denial.png</small>






GreenPolicy360 in Action
<big>'''Florida Gov. DeSantis signs bill that deletes climate change from state law'''</big>


<big><big>'''GreenPolicy360's Climate Plans Enforcement Project'''</big></big>


'Measure, Monitor & Manage Emissions'... 'Turning National Climate Plans, Pledges & Promises into Reality'
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week signed legislation that erases most references to climate change from state law. The new law takes effect July 1.


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources
* https://www.npr.org/2024/05/17/1252012825/florida-gov-desantis-signs-bill-that-deletes-climate-change-from-state-law
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:INDC
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Laws
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Glasgow_Climate_Summit_-_Pledges,_Promises,_Declarations_-_What%27s_Next_Up




::::::::···········································································
(Interview Transcript / Excerpt)




STEVE INSKEEP: Florida did have goals to enhance renewable energy use. What happens to those goals now?


<big><big>'''GreenPolicy360'''</big></big>
AMY GREEN: This law nullifies those goals, which were aimed at moving the state toward 100% clean energy by 2050, and that's a benchmark scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. Keep in mind that here in Florida, the primary energy source is natural gas. The renewable energy goals were implemented in 2022 after some 200 young Floridians, all under the age of 25, filed a petition for rulemaking calling for them. I talked with one of those young Floridians, Delaney Reynolds. She described the new policy as, in her words, despicable and actually infuriating to read about and follow.


INSKEEP: Although clearly, the Republican-led legislature in Florida had a different view.


:: [[File:Methods to enforce climate pledges-NDCs - Dec 2021.png]]
GREEN: That's right. This law is also right in line with Governor Ron DeSantis' rhetoric on these issues. As governor, he's described himself as, quote, "not a global warming person," and he's focused the state's climate policy on the Resilient Florida Program, which his administration characterizes as a historic investment to prepare communities for rising seas, more intense storms and flooding, and that program is aimed at hardening the infrastructure here. As a former presidential candidate, he said he would expand American dominance in oil and gas, and went so far as to promise he would replace the words climate change with energy dominance in national security and foreign policy guidance, and you see that reflected in this state legislation.


Climate Action Plans 360
INSKEEP: Does the legislation match with what Floridians want?


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources ''' GrnPolicy360: Climate Plans Enforcement Initiative''']
GREEN: Not really. A new survey out this week from Florida Atlantic University shows that 90% of Floridians think that climate change is happening, and that's compared with 72% of all Americans who believe the same.


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:INDC
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Global_Stocktake,_the_first_GST.jpg
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Laws
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Glasgow_Climate_Summit_-_Pledges,_Promises,_Declarations_-_What%27s_Next_Up




'''More'''


How to turn each nation's climate pledges into 'effective climate action'
* https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/desantis-rejects-climate-change-rationale-for-record-breaking-rain/ar-BB1ogM9L
* https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/desantis-climate-change-bill-florida-b2546117.html
* https://www.wlrn.org/the-florida-roundup/2024-06-10/florida-tv-meteorologists-climate-change-forecasts
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change_in_Florida


:Promises of international climate summits in Paris (2015) & Glasgow (2021) require 'follow through'
::Measuring & monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with satellite missions is becoming a 'GreenPolicy360 climate tool working nation-by-nation. Smart science applied and put into action by [http://www.planetcitizens.org '''planet citizens'''.]


○


Critical local/national/global policy, planning, and action: creating, curating, and developing climate data that underlies the U.S. National Climate Assessments


* https://eos.org/science-updates/climate-data-you-can-trust
[[File:Asia Society exhibit 2024 - Mount Everest glacier, then and now.jpg]]


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security
<big>'''Asia Society presents immersive photography and video exhibition visualizing the climate crisis'''</big>




:······································································
Bill McKibben


* https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/images-of-climate-change-that-cannot-be-missed


''I think the single best collection of images of the climate crisis I’ve ever seen is the exhibit that will be up through early August at the Asia Society, on Park Avenue. (If that seems a parochial spot for a global exhibit, it is worth remembering that sixty per cent of the world’s population lives in Asia.)


<big><big>'''''[[Thin Blue Layer]]'''''</big></big>
Co-curated by the celebrated photographer Susan Meiselas and the exhibition designer Jeroen de Vries, and led by the Asia Society’s Orville Schell, the longtime China watcher and correspondent for The New Yorker (whose late brother Jonathan wrote '''“The Fate of the Earth''', which first appeared in the magazine), “Coal + Ice” is an evolving project. The first version of it that I saw, several years ago, centered on some remarkable images from the mountain climber and cinematographer David Breashears, who died in March, at the age of sixty-eight. Beginning in 2007, he’d retraced the 1921 Mallory expedition to Everest, climbing to the same crags to photograph the same Rongbuk valley, to show the massive ice loss that had occurred in the intervening decades. Now those images, in this updated version of the exhibit, fill an entire wall: first you see historical photographs, some by George Mallory and others by the Italian photographer Vittorio Sella, and then the screen wipes right to left to bring up the modern image of the much diminished glacier. It’s mesmerizing, as are the video images on the opposite side of the room, of a titanic coal-mining machine scraping the side of a Chinese cliff...''


: <big>'''''[[Look at how thin our atmosphere is]]'''''</big>


NEW YORK — Climate change takes center stage at Asia Society with the presentation of COAL + ICE, an immersive photography and video exhibition taking place February 13 through August 11, 2024. The exhibition is accompanied by a multidisciplinary program series, with performances and activations throughout the city, designed to raise awareness and catalyze responses to the climate crisis.


:[[File:ThinBlue-3 iss030e031276.jpg|link=https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/ThinBlue_iss030e031276.jpg]]
* https://asiasociety.org/asia-society-presents-immersive-photography-and-video-exhibition-visualizing-climate-crisis




<big><big>'''Atmospheric Science / Earth Science @GreenPolicy360'''</big></big>
Encompassing work by over 30 photographers and artists from around the world, the exhibition traces a photographic arc of climate change spanning the past century, from deep within coal mines, to the melting glaciers of the greater Himalaya.


: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space '''Earth Science Research from Space''']
Greenhouse gases are warming the high-altitude climate of the Tibetan Plateau, disturbing the great rivers of Asia and disrupting the lives of billions of people downstream. Rising sea levels and extreme weather events are highlighted in the exhibition by an immersive presentation of the video installation Deluge by Gideon Mendel, documenting flooding around the world.


: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security '''New Definitions of National Security''']
COAL + ICE is a collaborative visual experience that calls attention to the urgent global issue of climate change. Through intimate portraits and vast, altered landscapes, the works on view document the consequences triggered by our continued reliance on fossil fuels, and bring to life the environmental and human costs of climate change, in Asia and around the world.  


: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/@Earth360 '''@Earth360''']
The exhibition is presented across four floors of Asia Society in a series of projects by photographers, artists, and designers who foreground a range of differently scaled solutions to the climate crisis.


: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/OCO-2 '''OCO-2 / OCO-3''']
Co-curated by Magnum photographer Susan Meiselas and exhibition designer Jeroen de Vries, and led by Orville Schell, Asia Society Vice President and Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations, the exhibition has evolved since its initial premiere in Beijing in 2011.


: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Right_Now '''Earth Right Now''']
A growing set of works from around the world visualizes the human consequences of climate change, including droughts, floods, fires, and migration. Each photographer's commitment to capturing our changing environment and its human toll is reflected in imagery curated from their long-term, authored bodies of work.


: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Vital_Signs '''Earth Science Vital Signs''']
Visitors to the exhibition at Asia Society are greeted by a two-story presentation of two large-scale photographs by artist Clifford Ross capturing the menacing waves of Nazaré, Portugal, which swell up to 100 feet high with increased hurricane and storm activity.


Artist Maya Lin has created an interactive presentation from What Is Missing?, a memorial to the places and species we are losing during this sixth mass extinction that highlights memory, action, and hope, and shares new pathways toward a more livable planet.


······················································
Leveraging behavioral science, world-building, and storytelling, Jake Barton’s Accelerator 2050 features a time machine that invites visitors to text with an AI-derived version of their future self about the positive impact of the climate actions they will take now and in years to come. 


Participating artists and photographers include


Jake Barton
Bernd and Hilla Becher
Daniel Beltrá
Noah Berger
Matt Black
David Breashears
Jimmy Chin
Bruce Davidson
Cameron Davidson
John Davies
Willem Diepraam
Anna Filipova
Geng Yunsheng
Lewis Hine
Jane Hirshfield
Joris Ivens
Dolf Kruger
Meridith Kohut
Maya Lin
Dana Lixenberg
George Mallory
Gideon Mendel
Niu Guozheng
Darcy Padilla
Gordon Parks
Clifford Ross
Camille Seaman
Vittorio Sella
Nichole Sobecki
Song Chao
Jamey Stillings
Henri Storck
Superflux
Peter van Agtmael
Major E. O. Wheeler
Witho Worms
Yu Haibo


[[File:Earth Information Center from NASA.jpg]]
Climate Action Partners


Asia Society has partnered with over 30 arts, culture, educational, environmental, and community organizations across the city to highlight the breadth of climate-related activities occurring in all five boroughs. Our Climate Action Partners include: American Museum of Natural History, Billion Oyster Project, Bronx River Alliance, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Brooklyn Grange, Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation, City of Water Day, Climate Fresk, Climate Film Festival New York, The Climate Museum, Dysturb, Fotografiska New York, French Institute Alliance Française, Hudson River Foundation/NY NJ Harbor & Estuary Program, Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center, International Center of Photography (ICP), LA MAMA, Lincoln Center, Magnum Foundation, Melting Metropolis, National Sawdust, New York Botanical Garden, New York Public Library, New York WILD Film Festival, NYU Gallatin WetLab, Park Avenue Armory, THE POINT Community Development Corporation, Queens Public Library, Staten Island Museum, The Trust for Governors Island, Waterfront Alliance, and Working & Learning Together Electronics (WALTER).


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Earth_Information_Center_from_NASA.jpg


Support


COAL + ICE is funded by the generous contributions of The Schmidt Family Foundation, Janet Ross, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Frank and Susan Brown, Adobe, Jerome Dodson, Stephanie Hui, Laumont Editions, and many kind donors who wish to remain anonymous.


Climate Change - NASA
[[File:Nazare Wave IX, Portugal.jpg]]
:* https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/ | Vital Signs


Climate Change - MIT
:* https://climateprimer.mit.edu/ | Climate Science, a Primer


Climate Change - Metrics
🌎
:* https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/climate-change-data-green/ | Bloomberg Green Climate Data-Dashboard Intel




[[File:NOAA Climate.Gov.png]]
<big>'''May'''</big>




&nbsp;
<big><big>'''''Louisiana’s coast is sinking. Advocates say the governor is undermining efforts to save it'''''</big></big>


[[File:CO2 photo.JPG]]


May 25


&nbsp;


----
''For the past decade, Louisiana’s program for coastal protection has been hailed as one of the best in the country, after the devastation from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita pushed the state to shore up coastlines, repair levees and protect natural habitats.''


''But now, environmental advocates and experts say the state’s new Republican governor is undermining its coastal protection agency — the state’s first and strongest line of defense against climate change-induced sea level rise. In an open letter published this week and signed by more than 200 business leaders, environmental advocates and other experts, various groups warned against Gov. Jeff Landry’s plans to transform the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.''


&nbsp;
''“The very future of our state is at stake,” the letter read.''


[[File:Global temperature change 1850-2016.gif]]
''Environmentalists say that the new governor’s actions could hobble the agency just as its work is most needed.''


''The moves come as other right-leaning states are also cutting back on climate goals and even references to climate change. This month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill erasing most mentions of climate change from state law. DeSantis is also poised to nullify the state’s targets for 100 percent renewable energy by 2050.''


''Since 2005, when Louisiana was devastated by two hurricanes, the coastal restoration agency has built or revamped over 300 miles of levees that hold back floodwaters, and restored dozens of miles of barrier islands that can absorb the pressure of waves and rising seas. The agency works to shore up these defenses in the face of future, stronger storms and higher seas.''


<big><big>'''Global temperature spiral (1850-2020)'''</big></big>
''Its work is critical, experts say: Louisiana is losing coastline at a dramatic rate.''


Visit the Global Temperature GIF animation, updated thru 2020
''In the past century, the state has lost over 2,000 square miles of land; it could lose 2,000 more in the next 50 years, scientists predict. As sea level rise has accelerated, so has the loss of land. Wetlands are “drowning” in many areas of the state — covered by sea level rise faster than they can grow.''


''In the coming decades, scientists say, the state could lose up to 75 percent of its natural buffer against hurricanes and storms.''




<small>''' "We have to identify the problem, then act in many ways to solve the problem. Global warming is the threat of our times."''' </small>
:······························································································


:<small>-- [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Governor_Jerry_Brown '''Jerry Brown, California Governor''']</small>


[[File:DeSantis against climate science - again.jpg]]


<small>''' "We’re going to need to use every tool in the toolbox if we’re going to solve this problem." '''</small>


:<small>-- [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Michael_E_Mann_--_act_with_hope_not_fear.jpg '''Michael E. Mann''']</small>


[[File:DeSantis against climate science - 2.jpg]]


:[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Anthropocene <font color=orange><big><big><big>'''Anthropocene'''</big></big></big></font>]


&nbsp;


<big>'''Climate Central Online Dashboard'''</big>
:<big>🥵</big>  


''Online tools to help meteorologists and journalists cover connections between weather, news, and climate in real time, and to alert public and private organizations and individuals about particular local conditions related to climate change, its impacts, or its solutions.''


* https://www.climatecentral.org/


:'''May 9 - Washington Post'''


Nations are aiming to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius but even if all nations achieve the targets set for themselves at the [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Change_Summit_Paris '''2015 Paris Agreement'''] and ([https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/INDCs '''intended and nationally determined climate goals''']), our [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/26/climate/greenhouse-gas-emissions-un-climate-report.html '''average global temperatures are on track to rise by 2.7 degrees Celsius by the end of the century''']


[[File:Trump promise to oil ceo gathering - 1.png]]


&nbsp;
[[File:Trump promise to oil ceo gathering - 2.png]]


[[File:Mauna Loa CO2 - April 2022.png]]  
[[File:Trump promise to oil ceo gathering - 4.png]]


:::::* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:C02_in_atmosphere_chart-3.png


'''·························'''


&nbsp;


<big><big><big>'''Watch the Curve'''</big></big></big>
2021 Flashback -- 23 Environmental Rules Rolled Back in Trump’s First 100 Days


:[https://www.history.com/news/keeling-curve-global-warming-climate-change <big><big>'''The Keeling Curve'''</big></big>]
'''[[Environmental Rules Rolled Back]]'''


::<big>'''Keeling's Curve has been called one of the most important scientific works of the 20th century'''</big>
<small>* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Environmental_Rules_Rolled_Back</small>




::[[File:C02 in atmosphere chart-3.png]]
&nbsp;


🌎


[[File:Global fossil fuel emissions - in a lifetime graphic.png]]
&nbsp;




&nbsp;
<big><big>'''What Happens When NASA Loses 'Eyes in the Sky' Satellite Missions Viewing Earth?'''</big></big>


::::[[File:Our Biggest Experiment - by Alice Bell.jpg]]
:Earth Observing Systems (EOS) are critical elements of data-gathering Earth Science




''Three long-running satellites to be switched off, forcing scientists to figure out how to adjust their views of our changing planet.''


🌎
* https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/03/climate/nasa-satellites-data.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pU0.KuUV.NOKSPdxmFxcV&smid=em-share




<big>'''GreenPolicy360 and Strategic Demands:'''</big>
''Sometime in the next few years — no one knows exactly when — three NASA satellites, each one as heavy as an elephant, will go dark.''


<big>[[New Definitions of National Security]]</big>
''Already they are drifting, losing height bit by bit. They have been gazing down at the planet for over two decades, far longer than anyone expected, helping us forecast the weather, manage wildfires, monitor oil spills and more. But age is catching up to them, and soon they will send their last transmissions and begin their slow, final fall to Earth.''


<big>[[Eco-nomics]]</big>
''It’s a moment scientists are dreading.''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security
''When the three orbiters — Terra, Aqua and Aura — are powered down, much of the data they’ve been collecting will end with them, and newer satellites won’t pick up all of the slack. Researchers will either have to rely on alternate sources that might not meet their exact needs or seek workarounds to allow their records to continue.''


* https://strategicdemands.com/new-definitions-of-security/
''With some of the data these satellites gather, the situation is even worse: No other instruments will keep collecting it. In a few short years, the fine features they reveal about our world will become much fuzzier.''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Eco-nomics
''“Losing this irreplaceable data is simply tragic,” said Susan Solomon, an atmospheric chemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Just when the planet most needs for us to focus on understanding how we are affected by it, and how we are affecting it, we seem to be disastrously asleep at the wheel.”''


''The main area we’re losing eyes on is the stratosphere, the all-important home of the ozone layer.''


🌎


...


GreenPolicy360: PlanetCitizens, Planet Scientists confront the climate change crisis and chart the data and physics of change.


We must act now, each of us, to make a positive difference.  
''To scientists who study our changing planet, the difference between the same data and almost the same data can be vast. They might think they understand how something is evolving. But only by monitoring it continuously, in an unchanging way, over a long stretch of time, can they be confident about what’s going on.''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Citizens,_Planet_Scientists
''Even a short break in the records can create problems.''




[[File:Oceans hottest in 2022.png]]
...


::<small>* https://weather.com/news/climate/video/worlds-ocean-were-hottest-on-record-in-2022</small>


''The end of Terra and Aqua will affect the way we monitor another important driver of our climate: how much solar radiation the planet receives, absorbs and bounces back to space. The balance between these amounts — or, really, the imbalance — determines how much Earth warms or cools. And to understand it, scientists rely on the instruments of NASA’s Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System, or CERES.''


''Right now, four satellites are flying with CERES instruments: Terra, Aqua, plus two newer ones that are also nearing their end. Yet only one replacement is in the works. Its life expectancy? Five years.''


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Too_Hot <big><big><big> <font color=orange>'''''The Heat Is On'''''</font></big></big></big>]
''“Within the next 10 years, we’re going to go from four missions down to one, and the one remaining will be past its prime,” said Norman G. Loeb, the NASA scientist who leads CERES. “To me, that’s really sobering.”''




''GENEVA (AP) — Much of the Alps just don’t look right for this time of year. Sparse snowfall and unseasonably warm winter weather in Europe’s central mountains are allowing grass to blanket hillsides across the region...''


''The dearth of snow has revived concerns about temperature upheaval linked to climate change.''
[[File:Suomi satellite 2014.png]]


''The start to 2023 picked up where many countries had already left off: Last year was the hottest on record in both Switzerland and France. More broadly, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization says the past eight years are on track to be the eight warmest on record. Its final tally on global temperature figures for 2022 will be released in mid-January.''


''Germany too has seen unusually springlike temperatures — as high as 16 degrees Celsius (61 Fahrenheit) in parts of the country on Monday. New Year’s Eve is believed to have been the warmest since reliable records began. The German Weather Service reported readings of 20 Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) and just above at four weather stations in southern Germany, news agency dpa reported.''
&nbsp;




🌎
🌎


&nbsp;


<big><big>'''''[[Planet Citizen Action]]'''''</big></big>
::::[[File:Earth-Day.png]]




:''[[PlanetCitizen]] | [[Planet Citizens]] | [[Planet Citizens, Planet Scientists]]''
'''April 22, 2024'''


::''[[EarthPOV]] | [[Earth Right Now]] | [[Earth Science Vital Signs]]''


<big><big><big>'''Personal Memories on the Road to the First Earth Day'''</big></big></big>


: By Steve Schmidt / GreenPolicy360 Founder-Siterunner


:[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Global_Climate_Agreements_Through_the_Years.pdf <big><big>''Global Climate Agreements Through the Years''</big></big>]
:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Day_Memories_on_the_50th_Anniversary


;:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/index.php?title=File:Global_Climate_Agreements_Through_the_Years.pdf
:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Earth-Day.png






[[File:Climate Change Poses a Widening Threat to National Security.png]]
[[File:ThinBlue-3 iss030e031276.jpg|link=https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/ThinBlue_iss030e031276.jpg]]




<big><big>[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/PlanetCitizen PlanetCitizen.org] / [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_and_Space,_Politics Earth System Science] / [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Vital_Signs Measuring "Vital Signs"]</big></big> 


<big><big>'''GreenPolicy360 and Strategic Demands Continue Decades of Advocacy for 'New Definitions of National Security''''</big></big>


:As [http://www.planetcitizens.com '''Planet Citizens'''], we continue working to rethink and redefine the orthodox definitions that nations in the past have used to project power and 'spheres of influence'
<big>🥵</big>


::'Hard (military) power' and 'soft (diplomatic) power' have limits (think of [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Nuclear_Weapons '''nuclear weapons'''])


:::Real, overarching security demands a new vision, a mutual security, a new strategic understanding
<big><big>'''Climate change damage could cost $38 trillion per year by 2050, study finds'''</big></big>


::::GreenPolicy360 & Strategic Demands are envisioning [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Whole_Earth ''''whole earth''''] strategic security solutions
<big>'''World economy already committed to income reduction of 19 % due to climate change'''</big>


:::::* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security
* https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/climate-change-damage-could-cost-38-trillion-per-year-by-2050-study-finds-2024-04-17/
* https://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/latest-news/38-trillion-dollars-in-damages-each-year-world-economy-already-committed-to-income-reduction-of-19-due-to-climate-change


::::::* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Global_Security


:::::::* https://strategicdemands.com/new-definitions-of-security/
''April 17 (Reuters) - Damage to farming, infrastructure, productivity, and health from climate change will cost an estimated $38 trillion per year by 2050, German government-backed research finds, a figure almost certain to rise as human activity emits more greenhouse gases...''


::::::::* https://strategicdemands.com/environmental-security/
''(The) study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), which is backed by the German government, stands out for the severity of its findings.
It calculates climate change will shave 17% off the global economy's GDP by the middle of the century.''


''"The world population is poorer than it would be without climate change," Potsdam climate data researcher Leonie Wenz, a co-author on the study, said. "It costs us much less to protect the climate than not to."''


&nbsp;
''At an estimated $6 trillion, the cost of measures to limit global warming to within 2 degrees Celsius (3.6F) of pre-industrial temperatures by 2050 would be less than a sixth of the cost of the estimated damage caused by allowing warming to exceed that level, the report said.''


----
''For the study, the researchers looked at temperature data and rainfall for more than 1,600 regions over the last 40 years, and considered which of these events were costly. They then used that damage assessment, along with climate model projections, to estimate future damage.''


''If emissions continue at today's rate - and the average global temperature climbs beyond 4C - the estimated economic toll after 2050 amounts to a 60% income loss by 2100, the findings suggest. Limiting the rise in temperatures to 2C would contain those losses at an average of 20%.''


&nbsp;




<big><big><big><big>''''' 2022'''''</big></big></big></big>
<big><big>'''Carbon Brief Predicts Huge Spike in Emissions if Trump Re-elected'''</big></big>


* https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-trump-election-win-could-add-4bn-tonnes-to-us-emissions-by-2030/




<big>'''December 2022'''</big>
'''''“We have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country by far. We are a nation that has the opportunity to make an absolute fortune with its energy.”''''' -- Donald Trump, 2024




<big>'''GreenPolicy360: As we all approach 2023 the message we carry, and how best to carry it, deepens in importance'''</big>
''Analysis: Trump election win in 2024 could add 4bn tonnes to US emissions by 2030.''


Onward Planet Citizens !
''This extra 4bn tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) by 2030 would cause global climate damages worth more than $900bn, based on the latest US government valuations.''


* http://www.planetcitizens.org
''For context, 4GtCO2e is equivalent to the combined annual emissions of the EU and Japan, or the combined annual total of the world’s 140 lowest-emitting countries.''


* https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/climate-crisis/who-really-invented-the-climate-stripes
''Put another way, the extra 4GtCO2e from a second Trump term would negate – twice over – all of the savings from deploying wind, solar and other clean technologies around the world over the past five years...''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Good_science_needs_good_data_.png


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Stats_-_Green_Research_%26_Science
'''Look back at the ex-president's climate record - 2017-2021'''


<big>'''Trump Era Environmental Rollbacks'''</big>


[[File:Who really invented the climate stripes - Climate Change Education.png]]
* https://www.brookings.edu/interactives/tracking-deregulation-in-the-trump-era/ | Brookings - Deregulatory Tracker
* https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/12/15/the-trump-administrations-major-environmental-deregulations/ | Brookings on Trump's Environmental Dereg. Record
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Climate_Change_Litigation_Databases_Climate_Law.png | Climate Litigation Database
* http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/resources/climate-deregulation-tracker | Climate Deregulation Tracker
* http://blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechange/ | Columbia Law School - Climate Change Blog
* https://climate.law.columbia.edu/content/energy-law | Columbia Law - Energy Law
* https://climate.law.columbia.edu/content/environmental-land-use-law | Columbia Law - Environmental, Land Use Law
* http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/resources/silencing-science-tracker/ | Columbia Law - 'Silencing Science' Tracker
* https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2018/07/tracking-the-trackers/ | Harvard Law - List of Organizations Tracking US Environmental 2016-2020 Rollbacks
* https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html | NYT - Trump Envir Rollbacks




[[File:Global temperature change - from 1850-2019.jpg]]
<big><big>🌎</big></big>




::[[File:Mapping changes in global temperature 1850-2022.png]]


<big><big>'''Enough to send alarms across the US insurance industry -- </big></big>


[[File:IMG 20180801 105449.jpg]]
<big>'''and here's to those tracking trends, costs, risks, insurance rates and home affordability'''</big>




Via Associated Press hard-running, and constantly-working environmental reporter, [https://apnews.com/author/seth-borenstein '''Seth Borenstein''']


🌎
:[[File:NOAA extreme weather events charting.png]]




<big><big>'''Will the Climate Action Pledges Be Honored?'''</big></big>


UN Climate Change Executive Secretary speaking at the COP27 closing plenary
<big>🌎</big>


* https://unfccc.int/news/cop27-closing-remarks-by-the-un-climate-change-executive-secretary


''Friends, we came here to Sharm el-Sheikh to launch a new phase of our collective process. The secretariat will help parties and future presidents to navigate this path to the new phase of implementation. I will take this responsibility seriously. I will listen carefully to all parties and other stakeholders in the coming months. I intend to share my views with parties on the margins of the June sessions on the operation of this inter-governmental process. As custodian of this process, I'm gaining a much clearer vision of how we do things differently.''


''I see the following. Firstly, accountability on the commitments that are made by nations, sectors, businesses and institutions. There is absolutely no point putting ourselves through all that we've just gone through if we're going to participate in an exercise of collective amnesia the moment the cameras move on. The numbers on our NDCs just don't add up. The transparency of commitments from countries, businesses and institutions will be a priority of the Secretariat. The Secretary General asked the Secretariat to come up with a plan early next year on how we'll ensure transparency and accountability with non-state actors, that have been critical in getting us to where we are today. They are critical in getting us to where we need to be. Civil society should take significant credit for helping us get to this point. Without the voices of individuals, whether they're activists, researchers, scientists, youth or indigenous peoples, we would not have gotten this far.''
An Educational Prompt and Request, as forwarded by [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/index.php?search=Michael+E+Mann&title=Special%3ASearch&profile=advanced&fulltext=1&ns0=1 '''Michael E. Mann''']


''Secondly, I've been humbled thinking about the millions of people around the world who've been following our challenges and progress here at COP 27. This is a joint human endeavor like no other. To protect our collective future. Your voices at home have an immediate impact on policymakers and what they feel is demanded and what they feel is possible. Your voices have a direct impact on how we find our way forward at the multilateral level. You can help us deliver transformations in global systems that are needed if we are able to deal with this crisis. And finally, our global financial system must be pushed and multilateral development banks reformed to be able to harness their financial power, technical expertise and leverage further private finance. The cost of inaction is far, far greater than the cost of action.''


''We now have only seven COP sessions ahead of us before 2030. We must focus on 2030 and then work back from there. We have a series of milestones ahead. We must pull together with resolve through all processes, may they be national, regional or others such as the G20. Every single milestone matters and builds momentum. Keep your eye on 2030. That is our horizon...''
[[File:Story telling and science education.png]]




GreenPolicy360:


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources
<big>🥵</big>


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png




🌎
<big><big>'''March'''</big></big>




<big><big>'''''Climate models can’t explain 2023’s huge heat anomaly — we could be in uncharted territory'''''</big></big>


<big><big>'''Global Summit Ends: 35,000+ participants leave for their home nations and territories'''</big></big>
''Taking into account all known factors, the planet warmed 0.2 °C more last year than climate scientists expected. More and better data are urgently needed.''




[[File:COP27 logo.png]]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_Schmidt ''From Gavin Schmidt'']


''Schmidt heads NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.[5] He was named for the director position in June 2014 as its then deputy director, becoming to the third person to hold this post, which had been vacant after the retirement of James E. Hansen''


The Global Climate Summit (COP27) Website
* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Huge_heat_anomaly_in_2023_-_by_Gavin_Schmidt.png


* https://cop27.eg/#/


''When I took over as the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, I inherited a project that tracks temperature changes since 1880. Using this trove of data, I’ve made climate predictions at the start of every year since 2016. It’s humbling, and a bit worrying, to admit that no year has confounded climate scientists’ predictive capabilities more than 2023 has.''


''For the past nine months, mean land and sea surface temperatures have overshot previous records each month by up to 0.2 °C — a huge margin at the planetary scale. A general warming trend is expected because of rising greenhouse-gas emissions, but this sudden heat spike greatly exceeds predictions made by statistical climate models that rely on past observations. Many reasons for this discrepancy have been proposed but, as yet, no combination of them has been able to reconcile our theories with what has happened.''




<big>'''In a 2,020-word statement, Special Presidential Envoy for the Climate John Kerry said the nations of the world lag far behind on the pledges they had promised under the Paris accords he helped broker in 2015...'''</big>
''For a start, prevalent global climate conditions one year ago would have suggested that a spell of record-setting warmth was unlikely. Early last year, the tropical Pacific Ocean was coming out of a three-year period of La Niña, a climate phenomenon associated with the relative cooling of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Drawing on precedents when similar conditions prevailed at the beginning of a year, several climate scientists, including me, put the odds of 2023 turning out to be a record warm year at just one in five.''


* https://eg.usembassy.gov/u-s-special-presidential-envoy-for-climate-john-kerry-cop27-closing-statement/
''El Niño — the inverse of La Niña — causes the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean to warm up. This weather pattern set in only in the second half of the year, and the current spell is milder than similar events in 1997–98 and 2015–16.''


''However, starting last March, sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean began to shoot up. By June, the extent of sea ice around Antarctica was by far the lowest on record. Compared with the average ice cover between 1981 and 2010, a patch of sea ice roughly the size of Alaska was missing. The observed temperature anomaly has not only been much larger than expected, but also started showing up several months before the onset of El Niño....''


''Almost two years ago this very week, President-elect Biden asked me to be his special envoy for climate. It was a perilous moment. The world was rushing toward climate chaos. Any hope of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius was slipping further and further away.''


''We’ve been sprinting to make up for lost time ever since – starting on day one, when President Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement, and with our updated nationally determined contribution. It’s been full steam ahead to confront the climate crisis – both at home, and in partnership around the world.''
''Better, more nimble data-collection systems are clearly needed. NASA’s PACE mission, which launched in February, is a step in the right direction. In a few months, the satellite should start providing a global assessment of the composition of various aerosol particles in the atmosphere. The data will be invaluable for reducing the substantial aerosol-related uncertainty in climate models. Hindcasts, informed by new data, could also provide insights into last year’s climate events.''


''One year ago, we left COP26 in Glasgow with nations representing 65 percent of global GDP committed to 2030 targets in line with 1.5℃. The International Energy Agency calculated that if all the commitments and initiatives put forward by Glasgow were fully implemented, we could limit warming to 1.8 degrees.''
''But it seems unlikely that aerosol effects provide anything close to a full answer. In general, the 2023 temperature anomaly has come out of the blue, revealing an unprecedented knowledge gap perhaps for the first time since about 40 years ago, when satellite data began offering modellers an unparalleled, real-time view of Earth’s climate system. If the anomaly does not stabilize by August — a reasonable expectation based on previous El Niño events — then the world will be in uncharted territory. It could imply that a warming planet is already fundamentally altering how the climate system operates, much sooner than scientists had anticipated. It could also mean that statistical inferences based on past events are less reliable than we thought, adding more uncertainty to seasonal predictions of droughts and rainfall patterns.''


''One year later, as we depart Sharm el-Sheikh, the IEA now tells us that if the new commitments and actions announced here are fully implemented, we can limit warming to 1.7 degrees. That’s a journey – from well over 2 degrees to 1.8 to now 1.7 – that we can be proud of, even as we recognize we are just getting started. But make no mistake: we have kept the hope of 1.5 alive. How? By implementing real projects and deploying real dollars to accelerate the energy transition, which enables us to further enhance global ambition...''


Read more at Nature:


''We are partnering with nations on an array of initiatives to drive action in this critical decade.''
* https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00816-z


''150 countries – fully three-quarters of the nations of the world – have now joined us in the Global Methane Pledge, to slash global methane emissions 30 percent by 2030. Over 95 percent of countries will include methane in their 2030 NDC targets. Tackling methane is the fastest, most effective way to reduce near-term warming and keep 1.5℃ within reach.''


🥵


''Contributor countries and public funds can’t do the job alone. We need a massive infusion of private capital.''


''That is why the United States, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Bezos Earth Fund have introduced the concept of an Energy Transition Accelerator to catalyze private capital that will speed the transition from dirty to clean power in developing countries. Over the coming year, we’ll engage with governments, companies, and civil society – all the relevant stakeholders – to build in strong guardrails ensuring both a just transition and full environmental integrity.''
<big><big>'''"Disquieting"'''</big></big>


''As we work to reduce emissions and avert the consequences of runaway warming, we also must help vulnerable countries cope with the impacts they are experiencing today and will in the future.''
'''Why is the sea so hot?'''


By Elizabeth Kolbert


○
Via The New Yorker




<big>'''Activists and some national leaders say they are becoming disillusioned with the COP summits'''</big>
''In early 2023, climate scientists — and anyone else paying attention to the data — started to notice something strange. At the beginning of March, sea-surface temperatures began to rise. By April, they’d set a new record: the average temperature at the surface of the world’s oceans, excluding those at the poles, was just a shade under seventy degrees. Typically, the highest sea-surface temperatures of the year are observed in March, toward the end of the Southern Hemisphere’s summer. Last year, temperatures remained abnormally high through the Southern Hemisphere’s autumn and beyond, breaking the monthly records for May, June, July, and other months.''  


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environmnet/2022/11/21/john-kerry-cop27-climate-biden/
''The North Atlantic was particularly bathtub-like; in the words of Copernicus, an arm of the European Union’s space service, temperatures in the basin were “off the charts.” ... “We don’t really know what’s going on,” Gavin Schmidt, the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told me. “And we haven’t really known what’s going on since about March of last year.” He called the situation “disquieting.”


* https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/why-is-the-sea-so-hot


<big>'''State Department releases official U.S. positions on the Global Climte Summit (COP27)'''</big>
* https://abcnews.go.com/International/month-warmest-january-record-nasa-expert-explains-warming/story?id=107022888


''Climate change poses an existential threat to people and our planet. It is already threatening lives and livelihoods as families and communities are being displaced by natural disasters and water scarcity. Recognizing the urgency of addressing the climate crisis, we have engaged in a whole-of-government effort to mitigate the output of dangerous greenhouse gases, to increase other nations’ climate ambitions, and to strengthen the United States’ and the world’s capacity to adapt to the planet’s changing environment.''
* https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/record-breaking-oceans-the-unresolved-atlantic-anomaly-behind-rising-temperatures/ar-BB1jxzXY


* https://www.state.gov/demonstrating-the-u-s-commitment-to-climate-action-at-cop27/




* https://www.state.gov/u-s-announcements-on-ocean-climate-action-at-cop27/
··············································································


* https://www.state.gov/the-united-states-announces-the-first-cohort-of-countries-to-endorse-the-ocean-conservation-pledge-at-cop27/


* https://www.state.gov/u-s-leadership-advances-global-efforts-to-conserve-critical-ecosystems-and-protect-carbon-sinks-a-progress-report-on-implementing-u-s-efforts-on-the-plan-to-conserve-global-forests-critical-carbon/
<big><big>'''New Methods for Tracking Methane'''</big></big>


* https://www.state.gov/global-methane-pledge-from-moment-to-momentum/
: '''GRN360 Climate Plans Enforcement Casts a Spotlight on Methods to Effectively Cut Emissions'''


: '''Documenting the 'Super-Emitters' from Above as Part of Green Planning, Monitoring, and Management


○


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp,_OCO-2,_June_2014_m.jpg <big>'''Measure and Monitor to Manage'''</big>]


November 20, 2022


GreenPolicy360: As the global climate conference in Egypt ends, and the results are announced and published, agreements and non-agreements, progress and missed opportunity, it becomes apparent that the Conference of the Parties, COP27, didn't accomplish what was needed and necessary #ClimateAction #StrategicDemands
''American oil and natural gas wells, pipelines and compressors are spewing three times the amount of the potent heat-trapping gas methane as the government thinks, causing $9.3 billion in yearly climate damage, a new comprehensive study calculates.''


''(M)ore than half of these methane emissions are coming from a tiny number of oil and gas sites, 1% or less, this means the problem is both worse than the government thought but also fairly fixable, said the lead author of a study in Wednesday's journal 'Nature'.''


Via The Guardian
''Large methane emissions events around the world detected by satellites grew 50% in 2023 compared to 2022 with more than 5 million metric tons spotted in major fossil fuel leaks, the International Energy Agency reported Wednesday in their Global Methane Tracker 2024. World methane emissions rose slightly in 2023 to 120 million metric tons, the report said.''


<big>'''Key Outcomes of COP27'''</big>
''“This is really an opportunity to cut emissions quite rapidly with targeted efforts at these highest emitting sites,” said lead author Evan Sherwin, an energy and policy analyst at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab who wrote the study while at Stanford University. “If we can get this roughly 1% of sites under control, then we're halfway there because that's about half of the emissions in most cases.”''


* https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/20/cop27-climate-summit-egypt-key-outcomes
<small>* https://ngid9.sites.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj22011/files/media/file/ngi_brief_2020-06_r3.pdf</small>




🌎


[[File:MethaneSat - 3.PNG]]


<big>'''''What Happened at COP27 After EU Threatened to Walk Out'''''</big>


By Bloomberg Green
On March 4, 2024, MethaneSAT detached from the SpaceX Transporter-10 rocket that carried the emissions-monitor into space.


* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-19/eu-threatens-to-walk-away-from-cop27-climate-talks-in-egypt
The groundbreaking satellite is designed to help protect the Earth’s climate by accelerating reductions of this powerful greenhouse pollutant, focusing on oil and gas operations, a major source of methane.




🌎
MethaneSAT data will become available, it has been announced, for download in the Google Earth Engine database...




<big>'''U.S. Climate Representative Focuses In On Methane Mitigation and Cuts Pledge'''</big>
'''MethaneSAT is the first satellite developed by an environmental non-profit and enables emissions tracking and business accountability. The net result -- faster reductions of methane gas.'''


: GreenPolicy360 Pushes for 'Climate Plans Enforcement', 'Moving from Promises & Pledges to Action & Verification'
* https://www.methanesat.org/project-updates/methanesat-is-launching-today-on-groundbreaking-mission-to-protect-the-climate/


[[File:Methane cuts pledge - COP27.png]]
* https://www.methanesat.org/press/


* https://www.methanesat.org/


🌎


<big><big>'''Climate Action Plans 360'''</big></big>


<big>'''An Insider Listing with Analysis of the Documents and Agreements Being Discussed, Debated and Decided at the Global Climate Summit'''</big>
In 2020/21 GreenPolicy360 first put forward a strategic initiative for "climate plans enforcement" developed and presented by nearly all nations of the world at climate summits. The Paris conference in 2015 was the first reveal of this plans and since then many promises for action have been made by nations and their political representatives -- but with sporadic follow up and performance.


Via CarbonBrief
We saw a pressing need to, as we put it, 'turn national climate plans and pledges into reality'. The plans/pledges/promises made on paper had to translate to action on the ground and, as we said, in the skies above. The [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/INDCs '''INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions)'''] had to bring in facts and data, and as we pointed to, the data was there in the form of satellite missions capable of surveying and reporting emissions, hot spots, 'code red' vital signs.


* https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Z0wyEGoU_6da9SGNlsqzyi8PPEa0fkeIYjne4Xcmezo/edit#gid=0
In other words, as we have said for many years, science could be and should be used. [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp,_OCO-2,_June_2014_m.jpg ''' 'Measure-to-manage' '''] was a call to action for climate plans enforcement.


The use of [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Imaging-New_Space '''Earth Imaging'''] systems via satellite programs was high on our list, as our GreenPolicy360 founder has been involved in [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space '''Earth Science research from space'''] since its beginnings in the 1970s.
🌎


Now, with the launch of MethaneSAT, the vision of data that can be used for enforcement, to reduce methane emissions as a potent source of global warming, is now becoming a reality. Read on...


<big><big>'''Global Methane Pledge'''</big></big>
'''Distributing the data is the next step ...'''


* https://www.globalmethanepledge.org/


* https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2022/the-global-methane-pledge
'''GRN360: Climate Plans Enforcement Initiative'''


* https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/cop27-more-countries-join-methane-pact-focus-turns-farms-waste-2022-11-17/
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources




* https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/the-global-methane-pledge-cop26-explainer/ (@COP26)
'''GRN3360: Methods to Enforce Climate Plan Pledges'''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png 


○


: [[File:MethaneSat - 1.jpg]]


[[File:Climate Change COP27 - Nov 11 2022 US Representatives.jpg]]




[[File:Climate Change COP27 - Nov 11 Kathy Castor.jpg]]
: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp,_OCO-2,_June_2014_m.jpg Measure-to-Manage]


<small>Kathy Castor, (D-Tampa, Florida), Chair, Select Committee on the Climate Crisis</small>


* https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-03-07/michael-r-bloomberg-methane-tracking-satellite-s-powerful-potential


'''Watch the presentation of the U.S. Delegation at the Global Climate Change Conference - COP27'''
* https://gizmodo.com/methane-satellite-monitors-oil-gas-companies-1851313982


: View the Closed Caption Remarks and Complete Text Compiled by C-Span
* https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/environment/article/methane-satellite-spacex-pollution-tracking-18695764.php


* https://www.space.com/methane-tracking-satellite-launch-spacex-transporter-10


November 11, 2022
* https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/methanesat-revolutionizes-climate-action-satellite-launched-to-expose-global-polluters/ar-BB1jp4MK


* https://www.c-span.org/video/?524184-1/speaker-pelosi-holds-news-conference-global-climate-conference
* https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-climate/methanesat-satellite-methane-emmissions-9197297/


* https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/4/24090025/methanesat-satellite-launch-spacex-bezos-fund-google-map-methane-edf


* https://english.elpais.com/climate/2024-03-07/the-big-brother-that-will-monitor-oil-industry-methane-leaks-is-orbiting-earth-already.html


🌎
* https://optics.org/news/15/3/6




'''''First satellite developed by an environmental non-profit will see methane emissions others can’t, paving the way for heightened accountability and faster reductions'''''


[[File:Global Stocktake, the first GST.jpg]]


: '''MethaneSAT Media Kit'''


* https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bgTObsvTOgQC5iaalJqSd6mf0ssjm5Sv


<big><big>'''Time for Planet Citizen Action and a "CEOS", a Committee on Earth Observation Satellites'''</big></big>
* https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11dR5BgbA7mReJ0XuO_NwCswqBId8RFf9


GreenPolicy360 welcomes the arrival of a global science mission, a "Global Stocktake", a collection of earth science data to be made available to the  community of nations, to planet citizen activists and scientists, educational institutions, non-profits, NGOs, young and old to become tools for legal enforcement of national climate plans & pledges
* https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hcuHOaduqd7vWLwfKCBu2eP4W_NqB292


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Global_Stocktake,_the_first_GST.jpg




'''View GreenPolicy360's 'National Climate Plans Enforcement' Project'''
🌎




<big>'''''GreenPolicy360's Campaign to 'Turn National Climate Promises & Pledges into Reality' '''''</big>


: Our Climate Plans Enforcement Initiative continues as the next Global Climate Conference approaches, November's Conference of the Parties (COP27)
<big>'''February'''</big>


:: Drawing from the database of Earth Science resulting from decades of space-based missions designed to provide us with actionable 'Earth-system and Climate-related data'


::: Measuring and Monitoring to better manage Earth's Living, Dynamic and Changing Systems, Local, National and Global
<big><big>'''What Happens When a Wind Farm Comes to a Coal Town?</big></big>


: Ask the Mining Folks in Small-Town West Virginia What They Think


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png ''Methods to Enforce Climate Plan Pledges'']
* https://www.npr.org/2024/02/26/1233128242/coal-renewable-energy-west-virginia-inflation-reduction-act-climate


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources ''GreenPolicy360: Climate Plans Enforcement Initiative'']


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:INDC ''Pressuring Nations to Step Up, Cooperate, and Act Now'']


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Laws ''Environmental Laws, Regs, Rules... Lawsuits & Legal Actions'']
················································································


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Glasgow_Climate_Summit_-_Pledges,_Promises,_Declarations_-_What%27s_Next_Up ''Glasgow (2021) & Paris (2015) Summits: Int'l Climate Plan Pledges & Promises (INDCs-NDCs)'']




[[File:Copernicus.EU over Pyrenees - Feb 2024.png]]


[[File:Earth Observing System - fleet of satellites.png]]
* https://www.copernicus.eu/en/media/image-day-gallery/worrying-lack-snow-pyrenees


"Earth Observing System": Decades of Earth Science/Climate Science Data Accessible for Planet Citizen Action


February / Climate change comes to European mountain communities


:[[File:EarthRightNow Earth Science satellite fleet circa 2015 m.jpg]]
Via the Copernicus, EU satellite system, post from Ron Merkord, a graduate of CalTech whose work includes state-of-the-art laser imaging.


Our GreenPolicy360, [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Citizens '''Planet Citizens community'''] is proud to call Ron a friend.


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Earth_Observing_System_-_fleet_of_satellites.png


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space


<big><big>'''Dreaming of Global Open Source Earth Imaging'''</big></big>


: '''A 'Before & After' Story


🌎


'''Siterunner/GreenPolicy360:'''


In the 1960s, as the environmental movement came into the imagination of many young people across the United States, in East Los Angeles, my new Congressman and friend, [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr '''Representative George E. Brown'''] first told me of his dream to bring Earth Science, especially via Earth imaging/observation programs, to the world. He spoke of 'open science', and new digital imaging. At GreenPolicy36 we have written about this period and brought into the light a woman who literally invented the first multispectral imaging scanner for satellite viewing of the Earth. Rep Brown was a central figure in the start-up of the NASA Earth Science programs (and went on to shepherd them along as flocks of satellites became what we have today, a constellation of Earth Observing satellites and systems.


: [[File:Time Nov 10 2022 COP27.jpg]]
Back in the day before there were any Earth Science satellites, there was a dream, a dream of Earth Science satellites and a dream expressed off and on to a young high school student in the Congressman's district. As I look at the image of the Pyrenees and the effects of climate, taken by a spectral system in a Earth imaging and mnonitoring satellite above, I think it is a good time to look back and recall a Congressman's dream. 


: <small>* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Time_Nov_10_2022_COP27.jpg</small>
I was at Cantwell High when I first met George Brown, and I was beseeching (yes we used words like beseeching in the olden days) to help me by giving me insight into the government's policies that were threatening life on Earth. Nuclear proliferation was that early 60s debate topic in California schools. This was soon after the Cuban Missile Crisis and the 'close call' where kids were 'ducking under desks' as 'sirens blared' in prep for a nuclear missile attack. The missile crisis was narrowly averted, as history later how near the world came to the precipice and, as students, we debated how to deal with the threats.


George Brown was, soon after entering Congress, a leader in space and technology. He was a trained in physics, and an engineer who entered politics to make a difference. His district/our district extended into the San Gabriel Valley and, listening to George as I complained about the Jesuit students at Loyola High being my debate nemesis, George talked about Pasadena, where Loyola was located. He talked about how Pasadena, and Loyola, and CalTech and JPL. The California Institute of Technology and Jet Propulsion Laboratory were new to me and he explained how they were among the best higher education, science and applied engineering hubs in the nation, and world. He also explained how they were going to be the core of his dream to bring Earth Science via science, technology and new NASA Earth Science programs into reality. Considering he now had the ways and means to do so, with his position in Congress, I believed him and, for 30+ years was a young friend and later colleague as he went about the business of proposing, developing, launching and managing a first generation of Earth imaging/observation programs that became a foundation for all.


Today, George Brown is known by some for his work to get the [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Landsat_data_users_handbook '''Landsat program'''] going, a first of its kind in Earth Science,  a program now in its fifth decade, a program that has uniquely captured a vast, dynamic/taken over time, invaluable data set of Earth images. The Landsat program has, as George pushed to engineer,  developed an increasingly capable scanning system circling our Planet Earth.


<big><big>'''Climate Summit / COP27 Updates - November 11, 2022'''</big></big>
Let's look closer. George was right about the money invested in CalTech and JPL, stars in a NASA public/private partnership, as some of the most famed and awarded scientists, teachers, graduate students, engineers, and visiting professors brought state-of-the-art science to people of the wsorld. George was pushing 'open source' before the Internet was talking and developing 'open source' code. He was prescient in seeing the value proposition of the tools we were developing as enablers of environmental protection, and a gift for future generations. He had to argue constantly with the military, who attempted to keep many of these tools and systems confidential for security reasons. but in many cases George prevailed... and the systems were released into the public arena, and scientists and educators and students everywhere saw with new eyes the beauty and challenges we were experiencing as 'Generation Green' as the Whole Earth came into view.


Via NY Times Reporters/Live - On Location
Take, for example, the scanning and consider how it developed, version by version to today from the original [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/LANDSAT_and_Virginia_Tower_Norwood '''Landsat multispectral system'''].


* https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/11/11/climate/cop27-climate-summit


* https://time.com/6232753/bad-news-for-the-planet-as-global-carbon-emissions-continue-to-increase/
<big>'''Spectral Imaging'''</big>


Multispectral imaging to Hyperspectral imaging (spectral imaging / imaging spectroscopy) to Full Spectral Imaging (improving Earth remote sensing capabilities)


<big>Transcript of President Biden's Speech at the 27th International Climate Conference</big>


* https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/11/11/remarks-by-president-biden-at-the-27th-conference-of-the-parties-to-the-framework-convention-on-climate-change-cop27-sharm-el-sheikh-egypt/
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_imaging
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multispectral_imaging#Applications
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperspectral_imaging
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_spectral_imaging




<big>More from the Global Climate Conference</big>
Now let's look at how these systems, designs, com systems, digital imaging, analysis (measuring and monitoring capabilities were (and are being) shared with and employed by European space science, especially as the nations of the world deal with Climate Change and now continually gather facts and data with which to utilize to make wise decisions. The data is needed George said, we have to go get the information we need to have. George Brown then drafted the first [https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png '''US National Climate Act'''] back in the 1970s. His dream was to give us the tools to build on, a foundation of 'Big Science' to put to work to help future generations community-by-community, nation-by-nation.


COP27: Biden says the climate crisis is about ‘very life of the planet’
Even with the pressing challenges we face in these times, I think George would be pleased if he were still here in person.


* https://www.npr.org/2022/11/11/1136000297/biden-says-u-s-will-rise-to-the-global-challenge-of-climate-change
In a way George E. Brown is still here. 'Eyes on Earth' science, EOS missions data shared with all, carries on the mission.


* https://www.ucsusa.org/about/news/president-bidens-cop27-speech-highlights-climate-progress-us-still-falling-behind-global


[[File:Celebrating 50 Years of Landsat.png]]




🌎




[[File:COP27 'opening speech'.png]]
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SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT, Nov 7 (Reuters) - ''United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres told countries gathered at the start of the COP27 summit in Egypt on Monday they face a stark choice: work together now to cut emissions or condemn future generations to climate catastrophe.''


''The speech set an urgent tone as governments sit down for two weeks of talks on how to avert the worst of climate change, even as they are distracted by Russia’s war in Ukraine, rampant consumer inflation and energy shortages.''
<big>'''NASA Continues with Its Original Mission Statement --'''</big>


:<big>'''"To understand and protect our home planet..."'''</big>




[[File:COP27 logo.png]]
::'''PACE: Joining the EOS Mission '''


::[[File:PACE - NASA Jan 17 2024.png]]


<big><big>'''COP27'''</big></big>


: <big>'''Time for [[Planet Citizen Action]]'''</big>
'''EOS l Earth Observing System'''


:* https://stories.undp.org/cop27-a-chance-to-act
[[File:Earth Observing System - fleet of satellites.png]]




[[File:COP27 A chance to act.jpg]]
::'''The NASA/Earth Observation-Earth Science Mission Statement'''


::[[File:NASA's continuing vision and mission - as of 2005.png]]




🌎


·································································


[[File:NASA has a new mission... against Methane.png]]


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:NASA_has_a_new_mission..._against_Methane.png


<big>'''Get with the Action [[Planet Citizens]]'''</big>


'''GreenPolicy360: Methane hot spots we're coming to find you, identify you, act to stop you and enforce climate laws.'''


:'''"Super emitters", we have a message for you, you can't hide....'''
::[[File:To be fully alive is to work for the common good.png]]


:* https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/methane-super-emitters-mapped-by-nasa-s-new-earth-space-mission


:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:NASA_has_a_new_mission..._against_Methane.png


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🌎


<big>'''After the 28th Int'l Climate Summit in 2023 in Dubai, Azerbaijan names a former oil executive to lead 2024 climate talks'''</big>


* https://www.npr.org/2024/01/05/1223171536/cop29-climate-talks-azerbaijan-former-oil-executive


<big>'''October'''</big>




<big>'''''Climate Pledges Are Falling Short, and a Chaotic Future Looks More Like Reality'''''</big>
<big><big>'''2023'''</big></big>


''With an annual summit next month, the United Nations assessed progress on countries’ past emissions commitments. Severe disruption would be hard to avoid on the current trajectory''


'''A Best Book of 2023'''


Via NY Times / Oct 26


* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/26/climate/un-climate-pledges-warming.html
<big>'''Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth's Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis'''</big>




''Countries around the world are failing to live up to their commitments to fight climate change, pointing Earth toward a future marked by more intense flooding, wildfires, drought, heat waves and species extinction, according to a report issued Wednesday by the United Nations.''
Thank you Michael -- https://earth.sas.upenn.edu/people/michael-mann


''Just 26 of 193 countries that agreed last year to step up their climate actions have followed through with more ambitious plans. The world’s top two polluters, China and the United States, have taken some action but have not pledged more this year, and climate negotiations between the two have been frozen for months.''
* https://michaelmann.net/books/our-fragile-moment


''Without drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the report said, the planet is on track to warm by an average of 2.1 to 2.9 degrees Celsius, compared with preindustrial levels, by 2100.''


''That’s far higher than the goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) set by the landmark Paris agreement in 2015, and it crosses the threshold beyond which scientists say the likelihood of catastrophic climate impacts significantly increases.''


[[File:Our Fragile Moment.jpg]]


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[[File:Climate Emergency Institute - Oct 2022.png]]


<big><big>'''December'''</big></big>


<big>'''Interview: Chomsky and Pollin: Pushing a Viable Climate Project Around COP27'''</big>


Via Truthout


* https://truthout.org/articles/chomsky-and-pollin-pushing-a-viable-climate-project-around-cop27
[[File:A scorching year, what about the 360 warming data.jpg]]




''Will COP27 end up as yet another failure on the part of world leaders to slow or stop global warming? Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin share their thoughts and insights on the climate crisis conundrum by dissecting the current state of affairs and what ought to be done to stop humanity’s march to the climate precipice...''
December 26, 2023


''The 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in Egypt from November 6-18, 2022. Nearly 200 countries will come together in yet another attempt to tackle climate breakdown. COP26, held in Glasgow about the same time last year had been hailed as “our last best hope,” but it did not achieve much as too many compromises were made. The hope for COP27 is that the world will set more stringent greenhouse gas emissions reduction requirements considering the ever-clearer consequences of global warming. Noam, is this a significant climate meeting? Can we expect a breakthrough, or will it end up yet another futile international effort to reverse climate change? Indeed, what’s standing on the way of governments’ failure to slow or even reverse global warming? Isn’t the evidence already overwhelming that the world stands on a climate precipice? What prevent us from stepping back from the abyss?''
GreenPolicy360: We are reading this morning's Washington Post front-of-the-news online, and thinking how our story arc as planet citizens, planet scientists (as we've come to call eco activists like us) has a parallel to the WaPo climate news as 2023 comes to a close.


* https://wapo.st/3RWxf8A




<big>'''September'''</big>
Let's pull a few quotes from the article, a wrap up review of climate and global warming this year, and predictions by three scientists and related commentary about that the numbers could be telling all of us about our common future.


One line stands out in particular -- ''The record shows that the pace of warming clearly sped up around the year 1970.''


[[File:E9731160-8940-4336-88FC-A73490CF3E63.jpeg]]


1970 was the year your GreenPolicy360 founder-siterunner was working to set up [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Day_Memories_on_the_50th_Anniversary '''the first Earth day'''] alongside a science-trained new Congressperson, [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr '''George E. Brown''']. Together we were also attempting to bring 'Big Science', especially coordinated [https://greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_Science_from_Space '''EarthPOV-Earth Science'''] and [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Atmospheric_Science '''Atmospheric Science'''] into view, the data needed to make informed policy decisions which the Representative was leading and enabling  with legislative initiatives, including [https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png '''the First National Climate Act'''.]


<big><big>'''Hurricane Ian Hits Florida with Historic Force'''</big></big>


:<big>'''The Fast 'Intensification' of Ian'''</big>
Today, some 50+ years on, in a democratically debating world with databases and data resulting from all these years of science, observation, research, study and expertise at work, we as a species, globally connected humanity, are attempting how best to apply our [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_System_Science '''Earth System Science'''] knowledge base. The goal of having the necessary data and science informing us of Earth's dynamic, changing, living systems has been achieved to a significant degree.


We can say Earth is now in our hands. The question of questions is how will we act?


: Hurricane Ian '''-- Close to Cat5 -- [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/E9731160-8940-4336-88FC-A73490CF3E63.jpeg Jim Cantore reporting] '''


:* https://twitter.com/JimCantore/status/1575076077914972160


[[File:Earth in Human Hands Intro.png]]


🌎




<big>'''Climate-induced, warm water in the Gulf of Mexico is a feeder of intensity'''</big>
WaPo: ''Now, after what is poised to be the hottest year in recorded history, the same experts believe that it is already happening.''


* https://twitter.com/ClimateCentral/status/1575116109744939010
''In a paper published last month, climate scientist James E. Hansen and a group of colleagues argued that the pace of global warming is poised to increase by 50 percent in the coming decades, with an accompanying escalation of impacts.''


''According to the scientists, an increased amount of heat energy trapped within the planet’s system — known as the planet’s “energy imbalance” — will accelerate warming. “If there’s more energy coming in than going out, you get warmer, and if you double that imbalance, you’re going to get warmer faster,” Hansen said in a phone interview.''


🌎
''Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist with Berkeley Earth, has similarly called the last few months of temperatures “absolutely gobsmackingly bananas” and noted, “there is increasing evidence that global warming has accelerated over the past 15 years.”''


''But not everyone agrees. University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann has argued that no acceleration is visible yet: '''“The truth is bad enough,”''' he wrote in a blog post.''


<big>'''Destructive Surges with Hurricanes, Extreme Weather Events'''</big>


'''Florida, we're pointing at Gulf Waters heating up and 'inducing' more powerful storms'''
GreenPolicy360:


'''Hurricane Ian, September 26, the 'spaghetti plot lines' warn of a historic Gulf Hurricane on the way...'''
As followers of Climate reporting at GreenPolicy360 might recall, the scientific work and writing of Michael E. Mann have a special attention. A recent commentary by longtime eco-writer Andy Revkin is of special interest as Michael Mann and James Hansen et al debate the extent of the Climate Crisis ...


* https://revkin.substack.com/p/dont-be-distracted-by-the-latest#%C2%A7heat-around-a-stark-new-climate-paper


[[File:Ian, powered by a climate induced warmer Gulf of Mexico.jpg]]


In whatever perspective our readers see and experience human-induced climate change/global warming, and respond to [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Problems,_Climate_Solutions '''environmental protection and climate challenges'''], we can say that our initial goal of recognizing a crisis-in-the-making and [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security '''a new vision and changes to make informed decisions'''] was set in motion over decades, from 1970 and first Earth Day on to today.




<big><big>'''[[Climate News]]'''</big></big>
[[File:Vorsorgeprinzip at GreenPolicy360 - sjs.png]]




<big>'''''There are 'no easy fixes' in Florida. But could Hurricane Ian's havoc bring a call for better planning?'''''</big>
Here we are.... What comes next in our story?  


Via USA Today
It's almost 2024. Time to keep on with the work [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Citizens '''planet citizens'''.]


''Researchers who study flooding, development and climate change were horrified by the emerging images but not surprised. For years, they have warned that sprawling development in Florida and other coastal states wasn't sustainable, especially with the warming climate supercharging hurricane rainfall.''


''"This is kind of what we had expected for days in advance, and it's still heartbreaking to see so many people stranded," said Kevin Reed, associate professor in atmospheric science at Stony Brook University...''
[[File:Living Earth.png]]


''"None of this is surprising," said Linda Shi, an assistant professor in Cornell University's city and regional planning department. "How much does it take for us to want to make a change? Our policies and our choices have led us to this point."''


''Reed and colleagues recently published a study looking at all hurricanes during the 2020 season and concluded climate change was adding up to 10% more rain to today's hurricanes. On Thursday, they used the same models to compare Ian's rainfall and concluded it was at least 10% higher than it would have been without the warming climate.''
[[File:You can manage only what you can measure Dr David Crisp, OCO-2, June 2014 m.jpg]]


''"This is one of the clearest indicators of how climate change is impacting storms," Reed said. It may not seem like a lot, but 2 inches on top of an already large amount of rainfall makes an enormous impact.''
   
   


'''''What can Florida learn from Hurricane Ian?'''''
🌎


''"Mother Nature keeps telling us homes don't belong where we built them, yet we continue to build homes where they don't belong."''


''"We can’t stop cyclone events or stop the rain from falling, but we can build communities that are better able to withstand these events,” says John Dickson, president of the national Aon Edge Insurance Company. "We need to think about more resilient structure, and we need to make a plan to handle the water and move it away from our people and our families and our property.''
'''December 13, 2023'''


''Whether a storm water system is designed for rain that could occur once every 25 years or a rainfall event every 100 years, the system probably would be overwhelmed with rain like Ian's, said Chad Berginnis, executive director for the Association of State Floodplain Managers.''


''The state may have to accept the fact that developers will have to build at higher elevations.''
[[File:COP28 News - Dec 13 2023.png]]




···················································································
&nbsp;




<big>'''''Re: Florida's Flood and Property Insurance Crisis'''''</big>
<big><big>'''A Dubai Surprise'''</big></big>


TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — ''As hurricane season approaches, it’s not an understatement to say that water is heading to Florida. However, in addition to the rain and storms coming to the Sunshine State, residents are also likely to see higher flood insurance costs in 2022.''
With Multiple [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caveat '''Caveats''']


Florida has 8,436 miles (13,576 km) of coastline, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the second highest number of shore miles in the U.S. by distance.''




~ The terms “coastline” and “shoreline” are often used interchangeably, but they have different meanings. The coastline of a place is defined as the boundary between the coast and the shore. In other words, a coastline is a big-picture view of the approximate line between the land and the sea. A shoreline is an ever-changing line that marks the specific place where the water and shore meet...
'''CNBC'''


''The latest proposal published by the UAE early on Wednesday. Dec. 13, calls for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.”''


TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — ''Halloween isn’t the only scary thing coming up in October for Florida residents. More immediately, the state is going to see rate hikes on flood insurance as the Federal Emergency Management Agency implements a new risk rating system on Oct. 1.''
* https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/13/countries-agree-to-deal-at-cop28-climate-summit.html


''Flood insurance is a yearly cost to homeowners who use it, and it covers homes in danger of water damage, particularly during storms. For Florida, that’s all year but particularly in hurricane season.''


Starting on Oct. 1, FEMA is implementing a program update it calls Risk Rating 2.0, which will change the way that flood insurance rates are calculated and charged and could lead to price increases for thousands of homeowners with waterfront properties. The changes coming through the system update are part of FEMA’s 2018-2022 Strategic Plan.''
'''Economist'''


''The COP28 deal might be historic, but there are many caveats...'''


* https://coast.noaa.gov/states/florida.html
* https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2023/12/13/the-cop28-deal-might-be-historic-but-there-are-many-caveats


* https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/88-of-florida-homeowners-to-see-higher-flood-insurance-rates/


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Living_coastline
'''Reuters'''


''Representatives from nearly 200 countries agreed at the COP28 climate summit on Wednesday to begin reducing global consumption of fossil fuels to avert the worst of climate change, signalling the eventual end of the oil age.''


''The deal struck in Dubai after two weeks of hard-fought negotiations was meant to send a powerful message to investors and policy-makers that the world is united in its desire to break with fossil fuels, something scientists say is the last best hope to stave off climate catastrophe.''


<big>'''''Ian threatens Florida's already unstable insurance market'''''</big>
''COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber called the deal "historic" but added that its true success would be in its implementation.''


* https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ian-threatens-floridas-unstable-insurance-market-90658469
''"We are what we do, not what we say," he told the crowded plenary at the summit. "We must take the steps necessary to turn this agreement into tangible actions."''


''Several countries cheered the deal for accomplishing something that until now eluded decades of climate talks.''


'''''Six Florida property insurance companies were declared insolvent this year, and others are canceling or not renewing policies'''''  
''"It is the first time that the world unites around such a clear text on the need to transition away from fossil fuels," Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide said.''


* https://www.axios.com/local/miami/2022/10/03/florida-property-insurance-crisis-litigation
''More than 100 countries had lobbied hard for strong language in the COP28 agreement to "phase out" oil, gas and coal use, but came up against powerful opposition from the Saudi Arabia-led oil producer group OPEC, which said the world can cut emissions without shunning specific fuels.''


''That battle pushed the summit a full day into overtime on Wednesday, and had some observers worried the negotiations would end at an impasse...''


···········
* https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/countries-push-cop28-deal-fossil-fuels-talks-spill-into-overtime-2023-12-12/




<big><big>More:</big></big>
'''Financial Times'''


''A new federal summary of the globe's climate last year takes bits and pieces of grim news from the past 18 months and rolls it into a sobering report on the world's warming climate.''  
''COP28 is better than feared, but less than needed''


''Long-term warming trends continue worldwide, even when interrupted by temporary cooler weather phenomena, such as the lingering La Nina in the Pacific, concluded the 2021 "State of the Climate" report released Wednesday (Sept. 28).''
''Call to move away from fossil fuels lacks deadlines to phase them out...''


''"The data presented in this report are clear – we continue to see more compelling scientific evidence that climate change has global impacts and shows no sign of slowing,” said Rick Spinrad, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The report is prepared by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, with contributions from scientists around the world.''
* https://www.ft.com/content/21852bf3-80e6-46f7-ad06-c94d89bc90de


   
~ The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/ '''6th IPCC'''] report is a "dire warning about the consequences of inaction" on climate change.
   
~ It's not just ecosystems and weather being affected by warming: People are suffering and dying, experts say.
   
~ In North America, human life, safety and livelihood will be at risk from sea-level rise, severe storms and hurricanes, especially in coastal areas.


'''NY Times'''


* https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/30/hurricane-ian-flooded-florida-climate-change/8125673001/
''Two Words That Could Change the World''


* https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2022/09/01/report-weather-extremes-climate-change-no-slowing/7949934001/
''An unlikely breakthrough on fossil fuels at COP28''




''They are just two little words. They appear on just one page of an 11,000 word document.''


🌎
''But the inclusion of the phrase “fossil fuels” in the final agreement from COP28 marks a potentially trajectory-altering moment in the fight against climate change. The global pact calls for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner.”''


''For almost 30 years, negotiators representing nations from around the world had struggled and failed to reach an obvious consensus: that the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas should be wound down to avoid further catastrophic global warming.''


''But overnight, representatives from more than 170 countries arrived at a surprising deal, in Dubai of all places.''


<big>'''''Fueling the Climate Crisis: Examining Big Oil’s Prices, Profits, and Pledges'''''</big>
''The text is not as clear as many leaders, activists and scientists had hoped. It includes caveats and wiggle room, and is nonbinding. Nevertheless, the inclusion of explicit language calling for a move away from coal, oil and gas is being hailed as a major breakthrough...''  


: ''The hearing convened in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building and over Zoom''


: ''Date: Thursday, September 15, 2022 - 9:30am''
~




* https://oversight.house.gov/legislation/hearings/fueling-the-climate-crisis-examining-big-oil-s-prices-profits-and-pledges
The US delegation that officially traveled to Dubai included a number of Republicans. Their points of view were expressed in a wide-ranging E&E article ... ''Many House Republicans — who said repeatedly they were only going to COP28 to tout U.S. leadership on domestic emissions reductions, not explore how their country can join the international fight against climate change more broadly — used face time with Kerry to, among other things, blast proposed EPA regulations to crack down on tailpipe emissions and incentivize a switch to electric vehicles. In interviews with reporters, other GOP members derided the Biden administration’s “rush to green” agenda...''


* https://youtu.be/4exyXG-Gg1c
* https://www.eenews.net/articles/4-takeaways-from-lawmakers-at-cop28/


* https://youtu.be/pBX9DBqWt1Q


* https://oversight.house.gov/investigations/energy-environment
John Kerry, US special representative on the climate acknowledged the difficulty of negotiations:  


''“I think everybody here should be pleased that in a world of Ukraine and the Middle East war and all the other challenges of a planet that is foundering, this is a moment where multilateralism has actually come together and people have taken individual interests and attempted to define the common good. That is hard. That is the hardest thing in diplomacy, the hardest thing in politics.”''


''On Thursday, September 15, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. ET, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Rep. Ro Khanna, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Environment, held a hearing to examine Exxon, Chevron, BP, and Shell’s record-breaking profits.''


''Discussed was the adequacy of their climate pledges and the Committee heard firsthand accounts from survivors of climate change-induced severe weather events.''
🌎




''In 2021, Exxon’s net profits were more than $23 billion, Chevron reported profits of $15.6 billion, BP netted its highest profits in eight years at $12.8 billion, and Shell brought in $21.1 billion.  The fossil fuel industry’s profits have only increased in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  In the past quarter, since the start of the Ukraine War, five major oil companies raked in $55 billion.''  
'''December 12'''


''Despite reaping record profits, these companies have not taken the steps that scientists say are needed to prevent the worst climate impacts. Instead, they continue their greenwashing campaign by publicly supporting the Paris Agreement and claiming to be working towards a net-zero future, while issuing incomplete and misleading climate pledges and making inadequate investments in unproven energy sources and technologies.''
''At the same time, the climate crisis is growing more severe, with record heat waves, droughts, flooding, and other extreme weather harming Americans and people around the world.''


''The hearing is part of the Committee’s investigation into the fossil fuel industry’s long-running campaign to spread disinformation about climate change and greenwash its role in causing global warming.''
'''Carbon Brief reports as the COP28 draws to a close...'''  


''At the Committee’s earlier hearing in October 2021, fossil fuel executives finally admitted under oath that burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change, which is an existential threat to our planet—but they refused to stop spending money to block climate action.''
* https://twitter.com/DrSimEvans/status/1734684722104815927/photo/1


''Earlier this year, the Committee invited five board members from Exxon, Chevron, Shell, and BP to testify at a hearing about the companies’ climate pledges. They failed to appear. The Committee once again invited the board members to testify, but they once again declined to appear on the date requested.''
: - "Rule 16" looms... (postponements, no action, roll overs to COP29)




[https://www.carbonbrief.org/interactive-tracking-negotiating-texts-at-cop28-climate-summit/Interactive: '''Tracking negotiating texts at COP28 climate summit''']


<big>'''''Climate bill's unlikely beneficiary: US oil and gas industry'''''</big>


''While the law concentrates on clean energy incentives, it also guarantees new drilling opportunities for oil and gas companies''


* https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/nation-world/us-oil-gas-industry-climate-bill/507-355b2dec-4761-4018-808e-7eed8553ca9d
<big>''' COP28 climate talks in Dubai, United Arab Emirates'''</big>


Negotiation are the core legal process at the summit


The nations deal-making process is difficult to observe... and as the international climate conference comes to a conclusion remember there are promises that need now to become on-the-ground / in-the-air realities...


WASHINGTON — The U.S. oil industry hit a legal roadblock in January when a judge struck down a $192 million oil and natural gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico over future global warming emissions from burning the fuels. It came at a pivotal time for Chevron, Exxon and other industry players: the Biden administration had curtailed opportunities for new offshore drilling, while raising climate change concerns...
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png


... The industry’s setback was short-lived, however. The climate measure President Joe Biden signed Tuesday bypasses the administration's concerns about emissions and guarantees new drilling opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. The legislation was crafted to secure backing from a top recipient of oil and gas donations, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, and was shaped in part by industry lobbyists...
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources


... While the Inflation Reduction Act concentrates on clean energy incentives that could drastically reduce overall U.S. emissions, it also buoys oil and gas interests by mandating leasing of vast areas of public lands and off the nation’s coasts. And it locks renewables and fossil fuels together: If the Biden administration wants solar and wind on public lands, it must offer new oil and gas leases first...
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Laws


... As a result, U.S. oil and gas production and emissions from burning fuels could keep growing, according to some industry analysts and climate experts. With domestic demand sliding, that means more fossil fuels exported to growing foreign markets, including from the Gulf where pollution from oil and gas activity plagues many poor and minority communities.....




Carbon Brief:


[[File:IEA - Support for Fossil Fuels - re 2021.jpg]]
"The (climate conferences) process often fades into the background, hidden from sight in closed-door negotiating rooms and late-night sessions, where diplomats – and then ministers – hash out their disagreements.


"However, COP28 will culminate in a set of legal decisions, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its associated Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement.


"This set of legal texts lies at the heart of COP28 – and every other UN climate summit.


<big><big>'''''IEA News'''''</big></big>
* https://www.carbonbrief.org/interactive-tracking-negotiating-texts-at-cop28-climate-summit/




<big>'''''Support for fossil fuels almost doubled in 2021, slowing progress toward international climate goals, according to new analysis from OECD and IEA'''''</big>


GreenPolicy360: Focus on the agreements, pledges/promises, results and .... keeping in mind that each nation subsequently has to return to their individual country to turn their climate summit agreements, pledges/promises into *Results


29 August 2022


* https://www.iea.org/news/support-for-fossil-fuels-almost-doubled-in-2021-slowing-progress-toward-international-climate-goals-according-to-new-analysis-from-oecd-and-iea
At the International Climate Summmit (COP28, Conference of the Parties)


* https://www.iea.org/news
Today, Dec. 12, is the scheduled final day of the gathering of nations


* https://www.iea.org/about
* https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/conferences/un-climate-change-conference-united-arab-emirates-nov/dec-2023/about-cop-28




''Major economies sharply increased support for the production and consumption of coal, oil and natural gas, with many countries struggling to balance longstanding pledges to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies with efforts to protect households from surging energy prices, according to analysis released today by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Energy Agency.''


''New OECD and IEA data show that overall government support for fossil fuels in 51 countries worldwide almost doubled to 697.2 USD billion in 2021, from 362.4 USD billion in 2020, as energy prices rose with the rebound of the global economy. In addition, consumption subsidies are anticipated to rise even further in 2022 due to higher fuel prices and energy use...''
::[[File:Waiting game.png]]


''“Fossil fuel subsidies are a roadblock to a more sustainable future, but the difficulty that governments face in removing them is underscored at times of high and volatile fuel prices. A surge in investment in clean energy technologies and infrastructure is the only lasting solution to today’s global energy crisis and the best way to reduce the exposure of consumers to high fuel costs,” said the IEA Executive Director.''
::* https://www.cop28.com/en/schedule






🌎
::[[File:Latest from Dubai.png]]




'''August 26, 2022'''
<big>'''Tracking Negotiating Texts, Tracking News on the Dubai 2023 Int'l Climate Summit'''</big>


<big><big>'''''California Acts to Ban the Sale of New Gasoline Cars'''''</big></big>
December 12, 2023


''The decision, to take effect by 2035, will very likely speed a wider transition to electric vehicles because many other states follow California’s standards''


''After the California Air Resources Board approved Thursday regulations that ban the sale of new gas-engine vehicles by 2035, requiring all new cars to run on electricity or hydrogen, California Gov. Gavin Newsom told ABC News he was confident that more states would do the same to help combat climate change.''
Read updates from Carbon Brief:


* https://www.carbonbrief.org/interactive-tracking-negotiating-texts-at-cop28-climate-summit/


BY THE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD | AUG. 26, 2022
* https://www.carbonbrief.org/daily-brief/oil-states-face-outrage-as-fossil-fuel-phaseout-dropped-from-cop-draft/


* https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-08-26/california-gas-car-ban-zero-emission


''It’s hard to overstate the significance of California’s move this week to end the sale of new gas-powered cars.''
<big>'''Daily Briefing December 12. 2023 | 10:00am'''</big>


''The California Air Resources Board’s vote Thursday setting a firm 2035 deadline is huge and consequential for climate change, air quality and health. The nation’s most populated and worst-polluted state is the first to adopt rules that will finally stop adding gas-fueled passenger vehicles to its roads.''
'''Oil states face outrage as fossil fuel phaseout dropped from COP draft'''


''The end of the internal combustion engine era, and the toll on our lungs and our planet, is finally on the horizon.''


''This regulation will require automakers to sell increasing percentages of zero-emission and plug-in hybrid vehicles starting with 35% of new car sales in 2026, reaching 68% in 2030 and 100% by 2035. Zero-emission vehicles account for 16.5% of California’s new sales today, a rate that leads the nation but lags behind Europe and China. So these rules help reestablish California’s climate leadership, putting it in step with other leading nations and making it one of the first — and the largest — vehicle markets in the world to require 100% of new sales be zero emissions.''
''The COP28 presidency has presented a draft agreement that drops references to the phaseout of fossil fuels, reports a frontpage Financial Times story. It says the latest draft document only sets out a range of actions that countries “could” take to cut emissions to net-zero by 2050. It says that “negotiators and ministers from countries around the world at the weekend accused Saudi Arabia of piling pressure on Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 president and head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, to shift the focus of any agreement away from fossil fuels”. The draft text talks of “reducing both consumption and production of fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, so as to achieve net-zero by, before or around 2050, in keeping with the science”, the Guardian reports on its frontpage, under the headline: “COP28 draft climate deal criticised as ‘grossly insufficient’ and ‘incoherent’.” Crucially, however, this is framed as optional, the paper says, with the text calling on countries to “take actions that could include” reducing fossil fuels. It adds: “The text put forward by the summit presidency after 10 days of wrangling was received with concern and anger by many climate experts and politicians, though others welcomed elements of the draft including the first mention in a COP text of reducing fossil fuel production.” BBC News says the phrase “phase out” was included in a previous draft of the text, but has since been removed. It adds: “All 198 countries at the summit must agree or there is no deal.” Reuters reports that a coalition of more than 80 countries, including the EU, US and small island states, are pushing for the agreement to include language around a “phase out”. However it says they are coming up against “strong opposition”, led by Saudi Arabia. Bloomberg notes that if adopted, the text would be the first UN treaty “specifically calling for reduced use of all fossil fuels, including oil and gas”. It adds that COP president Sultan Al Jaber delayed the publication of the draft text by almost ten hours on Monday while he “sought compromise”. Axios notes that the text is not final, and says that “many countries are expected to vigorously oppose this draft during what is expected to be a long night in Dubai and a contentious day on Tuesday”. ''


''It’s a pivotal moment for a state that has been shaped for decades, often negatively, by automobiles and the health-damaging pollution they generate.''
''A spokesperson for Sultan Al Jaber, the Emirati oil executive who is leading the talks in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, said in a statement that the draft was “a huge step forward”, according to the New York Times. Elsewhere, Al Jazeera quotes Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UNFCCC, who called for countries to “clear the unnecessary tactical blockades out of the way”. According to the outlet, Stiell said: “I urge negotiators to reject incrementalism. Each step back from the highest ambition will cost countless millions of lives.” The Washington Post quotes John Silk, minister of natural resources and commerce for the Marshall Islands saying: “The Republic of the Marshall Islands did not come here to sign our death warrant. We came to fight for 1.5C and for the only way to achieve that: a fossil fuel phase out.” The Times quotes Wopke Hoekstra, the EU’s climate commissioner, who said that the latest version was “disappointing” and “not adequate to addressing the problem” of climate change. According to the paper, he added: “Scientists are crystal clear about what is needed. And on the top of that list is phasing out fossil fuel.” Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock called key elements of the text “unacceptable”, according to the Independent. The Guardian adds: “The Australian climate change minister, Chris Bowen, has declared phasing out fossil fuels globally is central to Australia’s push to become a renewable energy superpower, and named Saudi Arabia as a block to agreement on the issue at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.” Politico says: “The draft ‘really doesn’t meet the expectations of this COP in terms of the urgently needed transition to clean sources of energy and the phaseout of fossil fuels,’ US climate envoy John Kerry said during a fractious, closed-door meeting late Monday night and early Tuesday, which Politico listened to via an unsanctioned feed.” It adds that in the early hours of Tuesday morning, protesters stood outside chanting “this text is bullshit”. The Press Association reports that “Ireland’s environment minister Eamon Ryan, who is a lead EU negotiator on climate finance, has said the first draft text from the COP28 Presidency is unacceptable and that the EU could walk away from the talks if it is not improved”. Climate Home News quotes ex-US vice president Al Gore, who said “this obsequious draft reads as if Opec dictated it word for word”. The New Scientist, City AM, the Hill, BusinessGreen, Nikkei Asia, the i newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, the Hindu, Bangkok Post, Le Monde, and Forbes also cover the story.''




'''More on California's decision to drive forward into a new world of transportation'''
~


* https://www.npr.org/2022/08/27/1119360031/california-gas-cars-electric-cars-zero-emission-climate-change


* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/25/business/energy-environment/electric-vehicles-automakers.html
Reuters question -- '''''Explainer - Why does OPEC oppose the idea of a fossil fuel phase-out at COP28?'''''


* https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2022/08/california-ban-cars-emissions-climate-change/
Reuters answer -- '''''Why does it matter for OPEC?'''''


:~


* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/climate/california-gas-cars-emissions.html
(The international news service of Reuters answers in 'simple English' here...)


* https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/us/california-new-gas-car-ban-2035/index.html


* https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/24/23320148/california-gas-car-ban-2035-ev-climate-change
''Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries together control nearly 80% of the world's proven oil reserves and about a third of global daily oil production.''


* https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/california-hold-final-hearing-banning-sale-new-gas-cars-2035
''OPEC+, which includes allies such as Russia and Kazakhstan, controls an even bigger share of global crude reserves and production at about 90% and 40% respectively.''


''The members rely heavily on oil and gas revenues as their main source of income.''


·························
''Oil revenues averaged 75% of total budget revenues of OPEC's leader Saudi Arabia since 2010 and represent around 40-45% of its GDP.''


''For other OPEC+ members the share of oil and gas in the GDP varies between 16% and 50%. OPEC's net oil export revenue stood at $888 billion in 2022, a 43% rise vs 2021.''


'''August 24, 2022'''
''Hence, any language that calls for the phasing out of fossil fuels threatens the model on which these oil- and gas-producing countries' economies are built.''




<big><big>'''''Democrats Designed the Climate Law to Be a Game Changer'''''</big></big>


Via the NY Times | 08/22/2022
<big><big>'''''Saudi Arabia Is Trying to Block a Global Deal to End Fossil Fuels, Negotiators Say'''''</big></big>


* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/22/climate/epa-supreme-court-pollution.html
December 10 / NYT International


* https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/climate/saudi-arabia-cop28-fossil-fuels.html


················································


''Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading exporter of oil, has become the biggest obstacle to an agreement at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai, where countries are debating whether to call for a phaseout of fossil fuels in order to fight global warming, negotiators and other officials said.''


Via E&E News | CLIMATEWIRE
''The Saudi delegation has flatly opposed any language in a deal that would even mention fossil fuels — the oil, gas and coal that, when burned, create emissions that are dangerously heating the planet. Saudi negotiators have also objected to a provision, endorsed by at least 118 countries, aimed at tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030.''


08/24/2022 
''Saudi diplomats have been particularly skillful at blocking discussions and slowing the talks, according to interviews with a dozen people who have been inside closed-door negotiations. Tactics include inserting words into draft agreements that are considered poison pills by other countries; slow-walking a provision meant to help vulnerable countries adapt to climate change; staging a walkout in a side meeting; and refusing to sit down with negotiators pressing for a phaseout of fossil fuels.''




<big><big>'''''CO2 as a Pollutant'''''</big></big>
<big><big>'''''At COP28, pageantry is over and negotiations get intense to save a planet in peril'''''</big></big>


'''''Climate legislation signed into law this month by President Joe Biden bolsters EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases'''''
Associated Press


'''''In a first, climate law defines CO2 as air pollutant'''''
December 8


''In enacting a sweeping climate measure, analysts said Biden and congressional Democrats signaled a desire for EPA to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. Firming up EPA’s legal footing also is a boost for an agency that has faced court challenges from conservatives who question EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. That authority rests on '''Massachusetts v. EPA''', a 2007 Supreme Court decision that found the agency is required to regulate CO2 as a pollutant dangerous to public health.''
* https://apnews.com/article/climate-negotiations-cop28-warming-fossil-fuels-7c8553b85082a6e4d33439add4d8f15a




····························
''In a letter dated Dec. 6, Haitham Al-Ghais, secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, warned all members that there was rising pressure at the summit to target fossil fuels. He called those plans “politically motivated campaigns” against oil-rich nations that put “our people’s prosperity and future at risk.”''  ...


''A draft of (the summit agreement) negotiating text made public by COP28 officials on Friday included several options for final language, ranging from a call to phaseout fossil fuels “in line with the best available science,” to no mention at all of the future of oil, gas and coal.''


WEEKLY PLANET
''The possibilities also included a phaseout of “unabated” fossil fuels, a vague term that suggests that oil, gas and coal could continue to be used as long there was technology to capture and store the resulting carbon emissions. No such technology currently exists at the scale that scientists say is required.''


08/24/2022 / Via The Atlantic
''The OPEC letter sets up a potential showdown in the remaining days of the summit between the group’s member states and other nations, including the United States, that want world economies to transition away from fossil fuels.''


by Robinson Meyer


''While it’s true that [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_Reduction_Act_of_2022 the IRA] itself consists almost only of carrots, that is not true of the broader structure of American climate law. There is, in fact, a big “stick” for tackling carbon pollution already on the books in the United States, as well as an agency tasked with wielding that stick. I’m talking about the Clean Air Act and the EPA. And the IRA, by design, strengthens the government’s ability to wield that stick.''
···················································


''It does this in at least two ways. The first is that the IRA confirms that carbon dioxide is a type of air pollution covered by the Clean Air Act, as initially reported by The New York Times earlier this week.''


''This has broader consequences than it might seem. In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts v. EPA that carbon dioxide counted as an air pollutant, and that, if the EPA decided that CO2 harmed human health and the environment, it could regulate CO2 under the Clean Air Act. That ruling—and the EPA’s official determination, a few years later, that CO2 is dangerous—has anchored the agency’s climate regulations on cars and trucks, and its proposed rules for the power grid.''
<big><big>'''Ideas Emanating from the Global Climate Conference in the United Arab Emirates Range Far 'n Wide'''</big></big>


''But then in June, the Court circumscribed some of the EPA’s authority over the power grid. Conservative justices have harped on the fact that Congress has never clearly delegated the power to regulate greenhouse gases to the EPA.''
Here's one GHG approach that the oil/gas industry is pushing -  CDR, Carbon Dioxide Removal


''Now it has. The IRA repeatedly defines greenhouse gas as a form of air pollution. It amends several sections of the Clean Air Act to define “greenhouse gas” as encompassing “the air pollutants carbon dioxide, hydrofluorocarbons, methane, nitrous oxide, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.” In another section, it grants money under the Clean Air Act for any project that “reduces or avoids greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of air pollution.”''
GreenPolicy360: How realistic, viable, eco-nomic is this just announced CO2 removal project of Frontier?


''Congress has now clearly spoken: Carbon dioxide is a form of air pollution. And though this will not undo this year’s ruling, it buttresses the EPA’s underlying legal authority to regulate climate pollution.''


'''Enhanced Rock Weathering Carbon Removal Techniques'''


············································································
December 7


* https://frontierclimate.com/writing/lithos


<big><big>'''''The EPA Just Quietly Got Stronger'''''</big></big>


* https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/the-epa-just-quietly-got-stronger/ar-AA112B16
''Enhanced weathering describes a variety of approaches to accelerate the natural absorption and storage of carbon in rocks. When exposed to rain, wind, or seawater, alkaline rocks slowly break down, or “weather.” During this process, the worn-down rocks absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and turn it into bicarbonate, which eventually makes its way into the ocean through groundwater for permanent storage. This process normally takes hundreds or thousands of years, but by grinding up alkaline rocks like basalt or olivine to increase their surface area, and spreading them on fields to increase their exposure to ambient CO₂, the effect can be achieved in just a few years. Enhanced weathering approaches could account for 2–4 gigatons of carbon removal per year by 2050, which would be 40% of the projected global carbon removal portfolio.''




·················································································································
''Zeke Hausfather: Basalt dissolves when interacting with acidity in rainwater, and the calcium and other cations form bicarbonate. Bicarbonate washes off the field into rivers and is stored in the oceans for millennia before precipitating to the ocean floor as carbonate.''


''As far as permanent CDR pathways go, its got a lot of advantages:''
• '' Low energy use, particularly when using abundant waste fines from basalt quarries''
• ''Significant co-benefits in terms of soil pH management, N2O emissions reductions, and crop yields'': https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.05343


More on CO2 and Greenhouse Gases as Pollutants to be Regulated under Law
* https://x.com/hausfath/status/1732812200363106740?s=20


* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_greenhouse_gases_under_the_Clean_Air_Act
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide_removal


* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_weathering


··················································································




'''Your GreenPolicy360 Founder/Siterunner's thoughts:'''
Then there carbon captures techniques... mitigation results are unimpressive to date ...


To the Supreme Court: Here is the exacting and specific language about CO2 and air 'pollutants'
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_capture_and_storage


Over the years, and on our GreenPolicy360 site, I have shared my knowledge of the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Air Act, the first era of environmental protection legislation and the first National Climate Act. My long time friend Congressman George E Brown, a principal drafter of enabling legislation during the 1970s/80s/90s, and activist member and a chair of the House of Representative oversight committee of science, technology, and earth science/atmosphereic science space programs,  was a mover and shaker who shared with me many of his thoughts and initiatives. Over the years, until his passing in 1999, I learned about the legislation and *the intent* of the legislation that he and his colleagues were drafting. His/their language, for example, the definitions of pollutants, was intended to be broad and expansive. The definition of air pollution in the Clean Air Act, for example, addressed health and safety, and protection of life ... They knew that the science of the day would become more empirically defined as atmospheric and earth science they were setting in motion w NASA/NOAA and USGS missions was supported, funded, launched and reported. The empirical data, as they planned, was collected and analyzed over the years and decades and the scientific case became clearer and clearer. CO2 and other greenhouse gases were impacting air quality and atmospheric disruption was forcing climate change. The U.S. Supreme Court, unfortunately for years, was unable to accept the intent and language of the legislators on this critically important work. Recently, with the '''Massachusetts v. EPA''' 2007 Supreme Court decision and now with the signing of clarifying 2022 legislative language, the climate action work will gather scope and speed at the federal agencies, especially at the EPA.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_air_capture#carbon_sequestration


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr


* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png
''Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an expensive and unproven technology that distracts from global decarbonization efforts while allowing the oil and gas industry to conduct business as usual.''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Laws
''Even if realized at its full announced potential, CCS will only account for about 2.4% of the world’s carbon mitigation by 2030, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It’s worth noting that not one single CCS project has ever reached its target CO2 capture rate. An IEEFA study has reviewed the capacity and performance of 13 flagship projects and found that 10 of the 13 failed or underperformed against their designed capacities, mostly by large margins.''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Environmental_Protection_Agency_logo.png
* https://ieefa.org/ccs


When Congressman Brown drafted originating legislation establishing a '''national climate change research program''' via the [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png National Climate Program Act of 1978], the scientific community and nation were just beginning to awaken to a new national security threat. I remember his concern, our concern. He was trained as a scientist, an engineer, with an ability to see facts and data sets in a way others could not.


Representative Brown was out in front of "Big Science". In his decades on the House Science, Space & Technology Committee, he worked to expand the reach of science. He knew that [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp,_OCO-2,_June_2014_m.jpg  good data enabled good policy decisions]. He pressed for first-generation earth science satellites and ongoing earth monitoring missions and data sharing.
·································


Among his many initiatives, George Brown was a key figure in proposing, establishing, and then saving the [https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Landsat program] and its [http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/02/us/last-civilian-photography-satellites-to-shut-down.html unique 'open-access' database of Earth Science imaging] when President Reagan attempted to shut Landsat down. Landsat was a model for all the following [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space earth science research missions from space] and is now moving into its fifth decade with [http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/?p=10391 Landsat 9.]




Rep. George E. Brown, an activist member and for many years chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
[[File:Planet Dove satellite image over Dubai.png]]


* https://www.congress.gov/member/george-brown/B000918 (1963-1999)


* https://science.house.gov/
<big>'''Controversy & More in Dubai at the 28th International Climate Conference'''</big>


* https://science.house.gov/about/history-and-jurisdiction
: December 4, 2023 / The Climate News Heats Up


: * https://www.theenergymix.com/no-science-linking-fossil-phaseout-to-1-5c-target-al-jaber-claims-in-ill-tempered-video/


At the beginning of the 'space race', the House Committee on Science and Aeronautics was created by the 85th Congress in 1957 to oversee the newly-created National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Science and Aeronautics Committee was the first committee since 1892 to be established for an entirely new area of jurisdiction. The committee’s jurisdiction over the years has expanded to include most civilian non-medical scientific research throughout the government, including National space policy, Earth remote sensing policy; Space commercialization, including commercial space activities relating to the Department of Transportation and the Department of Commerce, the National Science Foundation, the Energy Department, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), EPA, NOAA and the Department of Homeland Security. (Informally known as the Science committee, the committee's name was change to the "Committee on Science and Technology" in 1974. At that time, the Committee’s jurisdiction was expanded to include legislation related to energy, the environment, the atmosphere, civil aviation research and development, and the National Weather Service. The Committee on Science and Technology was also given a "special oversight" function providing for exclusive responsibility among all Congressional Standing Committees to review and study, on a continuing basis, all laws, programs and government activities involving Federal non-military research and development. In its early years, the Committee was an important partner in the Apollo Program that led to a man landing on the moon and strengthening science education and scientific research. After the Committee’s role expanded, the Committee has played an important role in much of the legislation Congress has considered dealing with domestic and international science, technology, standards, and competitiveness. In the 112th Congress, Chairman Hall changed the Committee's name to the "Committee on Science, Space and Technology."


''Via Wikipedia / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Brown_Jr.''
[[File:Climate News Dec 4 2023 in Dubai.png]]


''Brown was known as a champion for science. He left behind a deep and expansive legacy that has shaped science and science policy in America. Among some of his many accomplishments during his service on the House Science Committee:''


• ''Established the first federal climate change research program in the [https://www.congress.gov/bill/95th-congress/house-bill/06669 Federal Climate Program Act of 1978]''
   
• ''Established the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Science_and_Technology_Policy Office of Science and Technology Policy]''
 
• ''Established the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Environmental_Protection_Agency Environmental Protection Agency]''
   
• ''Established the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Technology_Assessment Office of Technology Assessment]''




<big>'''''Open secret at global climate talks: The top temperature goal is mostly gone'''''</big>


• http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Environmental_movement
: ''Researchers injected a sobering finding into global climate negotiations Sunday by saying the world will likely fail its most important warming test''


• [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Can_our_environment_be_saved_George_Brown-Omnibus_Environmental_Bill_1969.pdf George Brown on the Omnibus Environmental Bill, 1969]
* https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/03/cop28-global-temperature-goal-00129766


• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Ethics_and_Climate_Change


• [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Env_policy_laws_US_'the_beginning'_of_env_era.jpg @GreenPolicy360, 'The beginning of the modern environmental era']


🌎


:[[File:Env policy laws US 'the beginning' of env era.jpg]]




<big>'''November'''</big>


🌎


'''They're here...'''


'''August 16, 2022'''
''On 30 November, some 75,000 delegates including politicians, ministers, representatives from civil society, the private sector, international organisations and media organisations (including Energy Monitor) will descend on Expo City, Dubai''


PRESS RELEASE


<big>'''''President Biden Signs Landmark Climate Bill into Law'''''</big>
<big><big>'''Organizers of COP28 have plans: Leaked briefing documents reveal plans to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 nations'''</big></big>


''Statement by the President of the Union of Concerned Scientists''
<big>The Climate Summit, the 28th International Climate Gathering Is Opening</big>


WASHINGTON
: The News Isn't Good


''President Joe Biden today signed into law the largest climate bill in U.S. history. This bill will go a long way toward reducing emissions and building the clean energy economy of the future, advancing the ongoing work of fighting climate change and lingering harms from fossil fuel extraction and use, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).''


''Today is a landmark day for the country and for the climate. The signing of this bill marks a win for future generations who deserve our best efforts to secure a safer and healthier world. It’s a success that belongs to the activists, researchers, and organizers who have fought tirelessly against powerful opposition to make sure that policymakers take action to address the very real and present danger that climate change poses to all of us.''
[[File:Oil-gas deals during Climate Summit.png]]


''This new law is a huge step forward. It’s also one step in a long, crucial effort to reduce the threat of climate change and build a new, clean, and equitable economy. More attention is still needed to address provisions included in the bill that could perpetuate harms communities face from fossil fuel pollution. The administration must follow up today’s signing with strong environmental and public health rules that will help speed the transition to clean energy and reduce pollution that especially harms Black, Brown, Indigenous and low-income communities. Congress, state governments and the private sector must also redouble efforts to ensure that the nation can meet its climate goals. Today’s bill signing marks a success--one that we must build on in the months and years to come.''


November 27


🌎


'''''COP28 President Lobbied on Fossil Fuel at Climate Meetings, BBC Reports


''WASHINGTON / Via the NY Times and Online News Services  —  Fresh off signing expansive climate legislation, President Biden and his administration are planning a series of executive actions to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help keep the planet from warming to dangerous temperatures, senior White House officials said.''
'''''Sultan Al Jaber allegedly planned to use meetings with foreign governments about the upcoming UN climate summit to push forward the oil and gas agenda, according to the BBC


''Mr. Biden is on track to deploy a series of measures, including new regulations on emissions from vehicle tailpipes, power plants and oil and gas wells, the officials said.''


''Cop28 host UAE planned to promote oil deals during climate talks


<big><big>'''''After Signing Climate Bill, Biden Prepares More Actions to Cut Emissions'''''</big></big>
''Leaked briefing documents for meetings with governments contained ‘asks’ from state oil firm''


''Regulations from the E.P.A. and elsewhere will help the president meet his aggressive climate goals''


''The Green Climate Package continues to grow with Executive Orders and Agency Actions''
''According to British Broadcasting, The United Arab Emirates planned to use its role as the host of UN climate talks as an opportunity to strike oil and gas deals''


* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/19/us/politics/biden-climate-bill-emissions.html
* https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67508331


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Sen_Whitehouse_-_president_needs_to_put_forward_powerful_climate_agenda_-_July_15_2022.pdf


''The documents - obtained by independent journalists at the Centre for Climate Reporting working alongside the BBC - were prepared by the UAE's COP28 team for meetings with at least 27 foreign governments ahead of the COP28 summit, which starts on 30 November.


'''Speed & Scope Is Up: Green Transition / Climate Action on the Move'''
''They included proposed "talking points", such as one for China which says Adnoc, the UAE's state oil company, is "willing to jointly evaluate international LNG [liquefied natural gas] opportunities" in Mozambique, Canada and Australia.


* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/17/opinion/environment/inflation-reduction-act-climate-change.html
''The documents suggest telling a Colombian minister that Adnoc "stands ready" to support Colombia to develop its fossil fuel resources.


''There are talking points for 13 other countries, including Germany and Egypt, which suggest telling them Adnoc wants to work with their governments to develop fossil fuel projects...''


🌎


🌎


'''August 12, 2022'''


<big><big>'''''Is it too late to keep global warming below 1.5 °C?'''''</big></big>


<big><big>'''U.S. House of Representatives Passes Historic Legislative Package'''</big></big>
'''''These 7 charts reveal the challenge'''''


'''Inflation, Taxes, Health -- Energy and Climate'''


After lengthy 'rip-roaring attack speech' by Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and speeches by Democratic Leaders Hoyer and Pelosi, the vote is strictly partisan
'When representatives from 197 countries arrive in Dubai this month for the latest round of climate negotiations, they will have to confront a basic question: are nations meeting the goal they set of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels?''


With a vote of 220 to 207, the House agreed to the single largest federal investment in the fight against climate change and the most substantial changes to national health care policy since passage of the Affordable Care Act. The bill now goes to Mr. Biden for his signature
''This will be the first time that humanity formally assesses its progress under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The goal of this mandatory ‘global stocktake’ is to ensure that political leaders face the facts every five years... Countries must follow up with new climate commitments in 2025...''




<big>'''House approves Biden’s flagship climate and tax package'''</big>
* https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-023-03601-6/index.htm


''Final passage of $700bn bill marks significant legislative victory for U.S. president''
* https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-what-is-the-global-stocktake-and-could-it-accelerate-climate-action


''The House vote is party-line 220-207 to pass the legislation''
* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resource


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png


[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-08-12/the-climate-future-just-changed-eight-predictions-for-2030 <big>''Cleaner air, greener cities, shifted politics: 8 visions of the future after the new climate bill''</big>]


November 2023: ''"If governments deliver in full on their national energy and climate pledges, then oil and gas demand would be 45% below today's level by 2050 and the temperature rise could be limited to 1.7 °C. If governments successfully pursue a 1.5 °C trajectory, and emissions from the global energy sector reach net zero by mid-century, oil and gas use would fall by 75% to 2050."''


Via Green / Climate Politics at Bloomberg
* https://www.iea.org/reports/the-oil-and-gas-industry-in-net-zero-transitions


* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-08-12/the-climate-future-just-changed-eight-predictions-for-2030




The Inflation Reduction Act, which just passed through the House after approval by the Senate last week, is a climate investment with no parallel in US history. The spending package of $374 billion, expected to be signed into law by President Joe Biden, is aimed at turbocharging the largest economy’s belated shift to clean energy. It also has controversial sweeteners for the oil and gas industries...
[[File:Too Hot, a new heat record - Nov 18 2023.png]]


Here are eight mostly hopeful visions of the (near) future from climate watchers, tech investors and activists.


Improved air quality starts at home


Healthier neighborhoods delivered by (electric) trucks
<big><big>'''Sixth Annual Report / International Assessment on Climate Change'''</big></big>


More transparent supply chains
* https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/


Cities that reach 100% electrification


Slower-rising seas…
<big>'''Fifth Annual Report / United States Assessment on Climate Change'''</big>


…and continued rising temperatures
* https://www.globalchange.gov/our-work/fifth-national-climate-assessment


An entrenched green economy


Next-generation climate politics
<big><big>'''What About the Pledges and Promises Made by Nations at International Climate Summits?'''</big></big>


'''''Nations keep upping fossil-fuel production despite climate pledges'''''


'''More'''
''“World leaders pledged in 2015 to reduce emissions in a combined effort to limit climate change. Now they are stepping up production of oil, gas and coal, which will have the opposite effect. The top-20 energy-producing nations intend by 2030 to extract double the amount of fossil fuels that would be consistent with the threshold needed to keep warming in check,” the Wall Street Journal’s Eric Niiler ''


* https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/12/us-house-passes-climate-bill-inflation-reduction-act
* https://www.wsj.com/science/environment/fossil-fuel-emissions-pledge-climate-warming-united-nations-0334b862
* https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/climate/fossil-fuels-expanding.html


* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-12/us-climate-bill-keeps-hope-alive-for-halting-warming-at-1-5-c
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources


* https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-set-to-pass-democrats-climate-healthcare-and-tax-package-11660296604


* https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/08/12/nation/congress-oks-dems-climate-health-bill-biden-triumph/
<big><big>'''''Why many scientists are now saying climate change is an all-out ‘emergency’'''''</big></big>


* https://grist.org/politics/house-passes-the-inflation-reduction-act-the-most-significant-climate-bill-in-us-history/
Via the Washington Post


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/10/30/climate-emergency-scientists-declaration/




🌎
... ''In 2018, Bill Ripple saw pictures of a town called Paradise, Calif., completely destroyed by wildfire. Houses had disappeared in the blaze; all that remained were twisted hunks of metal and glass. Ripple started writing a new academic paper. He called it: '''“World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency.”''' He sent it to colleagues to see if anyone wanted to sign on. By the time [https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/70/1/8/5610806?login=false '''the paper was published in the journal Bioscience in 2019'''], it had 11,000 signatures from scientists around the world — it now has more than 15,000.'' ...


''Last week, he published a new paper on the state of the climate system. It was called '''“Entering Uncharted Territory.”''' “Scientists are more willing to speak out,” Ripple said. “As a group, we’ve been pretty hesitant, historically.” But, he added, “I feel like scientists have a moral obligation to warn humanity.”''




''The U.S. action could spur other nations to do more — especially China and India, the two largest carbon emitters along with the U.S. That in turn could lower prices for renewable energy globally, experts said.''
''... climate scientists — who once refrained from entering the public fray — are now using strident language to describe the warming planet. References to “climate emergency” and “climate crisis,” once used primarily by activist groups like the U.K.-based Extinction Rebellion or the U.S.-based Sunrise Movement, are spiking in the academic literature. Meanwhile, scientists’ communication to the media and the public has gotten more exasperated — and more desperate... As recently as 2015, only 32 papers in the Web of Science research database included the term “climate emergency.” In 2022, 862 papers contained the phrase.''


''Investments work better at fostering clean energy than regulations, said Leah Stokes, an environmental policy professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The climate bill is likely to spur billions in private investment, she said: “That’s what’s going to be so transformative.”''




<big><big>'''A Green New Deal by Another Name'''</big></big>
<big><big>'''[[Earth Science Vital Signs]]'''</big></big>


: '''Three Legislative Actions Add Up to a New Version of a Green New Deal'''


:: '''Infrastructure, CHIPS, IRA...'''


::* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Green_New_Deal
<big><big>''' ‘Uncharted territory’ imperils life on Earth'''</big></big>


Climate Reports with Vital Signs in "BioScience", Global, Academic, Peer-Reviewed Publication


<big><big>'''''Sweeping climate bill pushes American energy to go green'''''</big></big>
* https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1004310


* https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-congress-climate-and-environment-f084d23d61ebb068068d4aa92c82fdbb


Associated Press / August 12, 2022
CORVALLIS, Ore. – ''An international coalition of climate scientists says in a paper published today that the Earth’s vital signs have worsened beyond anything humans have yet seen, to the point that life on the planet is imperiled.''


By SETH BORENSTEIN, MATTHEW DALY and MICHAEL PHILLIS
''William Ripple, a distinguished professor in the Oregon State University College of Forestry, and former OSU postdoctoral researcher Christopher Wolf are the lead authors of the report, and 10 other U.S. and global scientists are co-authors.''


''“Without actions that address the root problem of humanity taking more from the Earth than it can safely give, we’re on our way to the potential collapse of natural and socioeconomic systems and a world with unbearable heat and shortages of food and freshwater,” Wolf said.''


''WASHINGTON (AP) — After decades of inaction in the face of escalating natural disasters and sustained global warming, Congress hopes to make clean energy so cheap in all aspects of life that it’s nearly irresistible. The House is poised to pass a transformative bill Friday that would provide the most spending to fight climate change by any one nation ever in a single push...''
''Published in BioScience, “The 2023 State of the climate report: Entering uncharted territory” notes that 20 of 35 planetary vital signs the authors use to track climate change are at record extremes...''


''The crux of the long-delayed bill, singularly pushed by Democrats in a closely divided Congress, is to use incentives to spur investors to accelerate the expansion of clean energy such as wind and solar power, speeding the transition away from the oil, coal and gas that largely cause climate change.''


''The United States has put the most heat-trapping gases into the air, burning more inexpensive dirty fuels than any other country. But the nearly $375 billion in climate incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act are designed to make the already plummeting costs of renewable energy substantially lower at home, on the highways and in the factory. Together these could help shrink U.S. carbon emissions by about two-fifths by 2030 and should chop emissions from electricity by as much as 80%.''


''“This legislation is a true game-changer. It will create jobs, lower costs, increase U.S. competitiveness, reduce air pollution,” said former Vice President Al Gore, who held his first global warming hearing 40 years ago. “The momentum that will come out of this legislation, cannot be underestimated.”''
🌎




''The U.S. action could spur other nations to do more — especially China and India, the two largest carbon emitters along with the U.S. That in turn could lower prices for renewable energy globally, experts said.''


''Because of the specific legislative process in which this compromise was formed, which limits it to budget-related actions, the bill does not regulate greenhouse gas emissions, but deals mainly in spending, most of it through tax credits as well as rebates to industry, consumers and utilities.''
<big>'''Position on Climate Change and Energy Policy of the Newly Elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives'''</big>


''Investments work better at fostering clean energy than regulations, said Leah Stokes, an environmental policy professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The climate bill is likely to spur billions in private investment, she said: “That’s what’s going to be so transformative.”''
Via E&E News / October 26


''A spokesperson for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) did not respond to a request for comment about the congressman’s current views on climate change.''


''The bill promotes vital technologies such as battery storage. Clean energy manufacturing gets a big boost. It will be cheaper for consumers to make climate-friendly purchasing decisions. There are tax credits to make electric cars more affordable, help for low-income people making energy-efficiency upgrades and incentives for rooftop solar and heat pumps.''
''In his former role as chair of the Republican Study Committee, Johnson was aggressive in messaging against the Green New Deal, producing a 13-page memo decrying the progressive platform as a “Greedy New Steal” and sponsoring an anti-Green New Deal resolution.''


''There are also incentives for nuclear power and projects that aim to capture and remove carbon from the atmosphere...''
''Advocates in the conservative energy arena — including Mike McKenna, a veteran energy lobbyist who worked in the Trump White House — said they don’t see much difference between Johnson and most fellow conservatives when it comes to their views on energy policy.''


''Even Johnson’s 2 percent lifetime rating with the League of Conservation Voters, which scores lawmakers on their environmental votes in Congress, isn’t that much of an outlier: He shares that score with 23 other Republicans, and 24 Republicans have scores of 1 or zero percent.''


''The Rhodium Group research firm estimates the bill would dramatically change the arc of future U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, cutting them by 31% to 44% in 2030, compared to what had been shaping up to be 24% to 35% by 2005 without the bill, said Rhodium partner John Larsen. Clean power on the grid, an upcoming Rhodium report says, would jump from under 40% now to between 60% and 81% by 2030, he said.''


''“It’s not as big as I want, but it’s also bigger than anything we’ve ever done,″ said Sen. Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat who leads the Senate climate caucus. “A 40% emissions reduction is nothing the U.S. has ever come close to before.″''


<big>'''''New House Speaker Champions Fossil Fuels and Dismisses Climate Concerns'''''</big>


''As decisive a change as it is for U.S. policy and emissions, it still does not reach the official U.S. goal of cutting carbon pollution roughly in half by 2030 to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across the economy by 2050.''
'''''Representative Mike Johnson comes from Louisiana oil country and has said he does not believe burning fossil fuels is changing the climate'''''


* https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/26/climate/mike-johnson-climate-policies.html


''Republicans, who unanimously opposed the bill in the Senate, say it would add to consumers’ energy costs, with House GOP Whip Steve Scalise claiming it “wastes billions of dollars in Green New Deal slush funds.”''


''A Pew Research Center [https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2023/10/25/how-americans-view-future-harms-from-climate-change-in-their-community-and-around-the-u-s/ '''survey'''] released Tuesday found that a vast majority of Democrats polled — 85 percent — said that climate change is an extremely or very serious problem, while 47 percent of Republicans viewed climate change as not too serious or not a problem at all....''


''“It’s a mark of shame that it took this long for our political system to react,” said Bill McKibben, a long-time climate activist, adding that it leaves the fossil fuel industry with too much power. “But this will help catalyze action elsewhere in the world; it’s a declaration that hydrocarbons are finally in decline and clean energy ascendant, and that the climate movement is finally at least something of a match for Big Oil.”''


···················································




[https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr5376/BILLS-117hr5376eas.pdf '''The 730-page bill is here''']
<big>'''''U.S. oil production hits all-time high, conflicting with efforts to curb climate change'''''</big>


Via PBS


🌎
* https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/u-s-oil-production-hits-all-time-high-conflicting-with-efforts-to-curb-climate-




[[File:US Senate passes 430 billion climate bill.png]]




<small>* https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-democrats-fend-off-amendments-430-bln-climate-drug-bill-2022-08-07/</small>
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<big>'''August 7, 2022'''</big>




[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/User:Siterunner '''Steve Schmidt / Founder, GreenPolicy360''']: It took 45+ yrs to pass real climate action called for in the 1970s w the first National Climate Act. Our #GreenPolicy360 network thanks Rep George E. Brown, a main mover at the beginning, who'd be smiling now if he were here ...  
[[File:Laudate Deum - To All Peoples of Good Will - On the Climate Crisis.png]]


* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Pope_Francis_on_the_Environment


* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr




<big><big>'''''Five Decades in the Making: Why It Took Congress So Long to Act on Climate'''''</big></big>
[[File:Laudate Deum, Laudato Si - Oct 2023.png]]


* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/07/climate/senate-climate-law.html




<big>'''Bookmark Climate Policy @GreenPolicy360'''</big>
··························


* http://bit.ly/GreenPolicy360Climate




○
<big><big>'''September'''</big></big>




[[File:Democratic Party Climate Bill - Aug 2022.png]]
Don't Be a Doomer, or Denier...




<big>'''''Stop the doom. We failed to prevent climate change – but we will decide how bad it'll get'''''</big>


July 28
''Both doom and denial can lead us down a path of disengagement, which is so convenient to fossil fuel interests that profit from climate inaction''
By Michael E. Mann /  September 27, 2023


<big>'''An Inside Look at the Surprise Deal with Senator Manchin'''</big>
Michael E. Mann is a Presidential Distinguished Professor and director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability & the Media at the University of Pennsylvania. He's the author of the new book "Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth's Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis."


By Steve Clemons


* https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/3578472-how-manchin-struck-a-miracle-of-a-deal-with-schumer-pelosi-and-biden/
''Are we finally seeing meaningful action on climate? If you’re an optimist, you might be encouraged by the climate provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law last year by President Joe Biden, which are starting to bear fruit.''


''And among other developments, California – the world’s fifth largest economy – is now flexing its climate action muscle, bringing a lawsuit against carbon polluters for the damage they have caused.''


July 27
''But these developments are long overdue. More than three decades ago, the nations of the world entered into an agreement to prevent “dangerous human interference” with the climate. Thanks to this past summer, we can see that the danger's already here and we know what it looks like.''


[https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22122281-inflation_reduction_act_of_2022 Read the Full Text of the Proposed Legislation]
''It looks like the Hawaiian paradise of Maui set ablaze in a deadly inferno born of extreme drought. It looks like the orange tinge of my home city of Philadelphia shrouded in choking Canadian wildfire smoke. Or the faces of grief-stricken families in nearby Bucks County who lost loved ones to a “wall of water” from an epic flash flood. It looks like the flooded streets and homes of quintessential New England towns. And the scalded feet of toddlers in Phoenix who made the mistake of walking out onto toaster oven-hot pavement.''


IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES—117th Cong., 1st Sess. H. R. 5376 To provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 14
''Dangerous climate change is a shape-shifting beast, but we've just seen it in all its forms.''


''The few remaining climate change dismissives respond with their usual refrain “that’s just weather.” But there is a larger context here, the context provided by Earth’s longer-time climate history, that tells us otherwise. An array of paleoclimate evidence – from ice cores, tree rings and corals to ocean sediments, stalactites and stalagmites – indicates that we might well have just experienced the warmest days of the warmest month in at least 100,000 years. Hardly just some fluke roll of the weather dice.''


[[File:Surprise climate deal.png]]
''That realization might seem daunting and disquieting, because it speaks to the fragility of this moment. We are, after all, rapidly exiting the range of climate conditions that prevailed during the roughly 6,000-year period in which human civilization arose. Does this mean that our civilization is now threatened? That it’s too late to act? Are we – in essence – doomed?''


''Is 2023 the hottest summer on record? What to know to understand our changing climate.''


<big><big>'''''Surprise Deal Would Be Most Ambitious Climate Action Undertaken by U.S.'''''</big></big>
''Both climate deniers and 'doomers' can lead to inaction...''


''The announcement Wednesday (July 27) of an agreement in the Senate almost instantly reset the role of the United States in the global effort to fight climate change''


* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/28/climate/climate-change-deal-manchin.html


<big>'''[[Apocalyptic Thinking]]'''</big>


''WASHINGTON — The $369 billion climate and tax package forged in a surprise deal by Senate Democrats on Wednesday would be the most ambitious action ever taken by the United States to try to stop the planet from catastrophically overheating.''


''The agreement, which Senate Democrats hope to pass as early as next week, shocked even some who had been involved in the sputtering negotiations over climate legislation during the past year. The announcement of a deal, after many activists had given up hope, almost instantly reset the role of the United States in the global effort to fight climate change.''


''You might think so while doomscrolling on social media, where we’re now bombarded with selective factoids and graphics leading us to believe that Earth’s climate is spinning out of control, that runaway warming is propelling us past a tipping point, plunging us down a planetary death spiral.''


○
''Might as well just bid goodbye to your loved ones now.''


''We’re told by climate “doomers” that scientists who insist there’s still time to act are lying to the public, hiding the inevitability of our collective demise. These accusations mimic those of years and decades past from climate dismissives. Both doom and denial can lead us down a path of disengagement, which is so convenient to fossil fuel interests that profit from climate inaction.''


(NYT) Until yesterday, the Democratic Party seemed as if it were on the verge of squandering a major opportunity to combat climate change. Democrats control both Congress and the presidency, and yet they had been unable to agree on a package of climate policies to accelerate the use of clean energy and reduce emissions. Senator Joe Manchin had been blocking any deal, and the Senate is so closely divided that the Democrats cannot afford to lose a single vote.
''Climate doom goes viral on TikTok:The spread of 'climate doom' on social media is hurting the climate justice movement – and Gen Z...''


Yesterday, however, Manchin appeared to change his mind. He announced that he had agreed to include hundreds of billions of dollars for climate and energy programs in a bill that would also reduce prescription drug prices, raise taxes on the affluent and shrink the federal deficit.
''The reality is that global temperatures are almost where models decades ago predicted they would be at this point given ongoing fossil fuel burning. No runaway warming, but steady heating that will continue as long as we emit carbon pollution. The truth is bad enough – it’s reason enough for dramatic action.''


If Manchin and other Democrats remain united, it would be a very big deal. “This has the opportunity to be an enormous breakthrough for climate progress,” Sam Ricketts, co-founder of Evergreen Action, an environmental group, told The Times.
''And Earth’s climate history reveals the truth, offering not just thousands but billions of years' worth of lessons.''


It’s especially significant because congressional Republicans have almost uniformly opposed policies to slow climate change (a contrast with conservatives in many other countries). And it remains unclear whether Democrats will again control both Congress and the White House anytime soon. If Congress fails to pass a climate bill this summer, it may not do so for years — while the ravages of climate change worsen.
''Let’s begin 4 billion years ago, when life emerged from the primordial ooze. The sun then was roughly 30% dimmer than today. Calculations indicate that, all else being equal, Earth should have been a frozen, lifeless planet. Yet we know it wasn’t. Life abounded.''


''The solution to this paradox, first offered by scientist Carl Sagan, was that the planet-warming greenhouse effect must have been even stronger then. Moreover, as the sun gradually grew brighter over the ensuing billions of years, Earth’s greenhouse effect grew weaker.''


○
''Earth appears to have a natural “thermostat” that keeps the planet within habitable bounds and life itself – including the global carbon cycle that helps regulate the concentration of carbon dioxide, a critical greenhouse gas – plays a critical role. This is the “Gaia hypothesis,” named after the Greek Earth goddess, first formulated by scientists James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis in the early 1970s. There is now substantial evidence to back it up.''


''So we can relax then? The natural stabilizing mechanisms of Earth’s climate will bail us out?''


<big>'''US-China climate working group cancelled after Pelosi’s Taiwan visit'''</big>


: ''Talks on topics like methane cuts, forests, clean power and action in cities have been cancelled after a diplomatic spat over Taiwan''


: * https://www.climatechangenews.com/2022/08/08/us-china-climate-working-group-cancelled-after-pelosis-taiwan-visit/
<big>'''[[Planet Citizen Action]]'''</big>




○


'''''How do you deal with climate doom? The antidote is doing.'''''


<big><big>President Biden needs to put forward a powerful 'executive' climate agenda</big></big>


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Sen_Whitehouse_-_president_needs_to_put_forward_powerful_climate_agenda_-_July_15_2022.pdf
.... ''Yes, we have failed to prevent dangerous climate change. It is here. But it’s up to us as to how bad it will get.''


''A [https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Montana_climate_trial_News_-_2023-08-14.png '''Montana court ruling'''] in August 2023 sided with young plaintiffs who claimed state policies used to evaluate requests for fossil fuel projects are unconstitutional because they don't allow for agencies to consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.''


''Today we are generating carbon dioxide more than 10 times faster than in any of these past episodes. If we do not dramatically reduce carbon emissions, the paleoclimate record tells us we will, in a matter of decades, exceed levels of warmth not seen in millions of years. It is the unprecedented rate of change today that poses a monumental challenge to life on this planet.''


○


''A window of opportunity still remains for averting a catastrophic warming of the planet by 3 degrees Fahrenheit, where we’ll see far worse consequences. But that window is closing, and we’re not yet making enough progress.''


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Too_Hot <big><big><big><font color=orange>'''Too Hot'''</font></big></big></big>]
''Will voters care? [In U.S. polls] Climate change isn't a top issue for Democrats or Republicans. [Yet]  We're at a tipping point on planet Earth.''


: <big><big>''''Severe Weather Events': More Frequent, More Costly'''</big></big>
''We must not give in to despair. The antidote to doom is doing.''


''We are seeing meaningful progress. And we should be especially inspired by youth climate activists...''


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_News  <big><big><font color=orange>Climate Change News</font></big></big>]


<big>'''Harbinger''' | Merriam-Webster \HAHR-bun-jer\ Noun: Something that foreshadows a future event. Anticipatory sign of what is to come...</big>


<big>'''[[Climate Problems, Climate Solutions]]'''</big>


<big>'''''A drought in Italy’s risotto heartland'''''</big>




July 2022
<big><big>'''Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth's Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis'''</big></big>


''VESPOLATE, Italy — There’d been a single day of good rainfall all year, the afternoon temperature was again nearing 100 degrees, and Fabrizio Rizzotti walked into his fields — 220 acres of rice, a plant that grows by being submerged in water.''


''He didn’t need his boots.''
Thank you Michael -- https://earth.sas.upenn.edu/people/michael-mann


''The rice stems were desiccated and stunted. The field, rather than lush with shin-high water, crunched underfoot. Rizzotti, a seventh-generation rice farmer, said the paddy was already dead — “not a single grain of rice can come from this,” he said — and then he gestured to an adjacent field, slightly greener and in dire need of more water.''
* https://michaelmann.net/books/our-fragile-moment


''“In a few days that field will be dead, too,” he said. “It’s stomach-churning.”''
* https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/michael-e-mann/our-fragile-moment/9781541702899/




''In Europe’s sweltering summer, few places have been hit more directly than northern Italy, where extreme drought has dried up a major river, triggered a state of emergency and put the country’s famed agricultural flatlands in profound trouble. The drought is also causing Italians to fret about the things they’ve taken for granted: not just green rice fields typical of this region, but also the foods derived from them...''
Publisher's Description:


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/22/italy-drought-2022-rice-risotto/
''In this sweeping work of science and history, the renowned climate scientist and author of The New Climate War shows us the conditions on Earth that allowed humans not only to exist but thrive, and how they are imperiled if we veer off course.''




'''Michael E. Mann speaks of his newly published book -- "Our Fragile Moment"'''


<big>''''Megadrought': Worst drought in the U.S. Southwest in the past 1,200 years'''</big>
* https://youtu.be/pxiZIsiILQg?si=Fdl7FcGDdvN3XRA0


'''Since 2000, the the drought's on the ground reality becomes more and more evident'''


'''Wildfires, lakes drying, rivers shrinking, water shortages, soil loss, environmental degradation... counting the losses...


''We have spiked the climate system, releasing heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere faster than at any other time in at least the past 50 million years. Human-fueled megadroughts like this one will be more frequent and severe in the future. In the Southwest, there will be more years with declining snowpack, more years with water shortages and a more dire mismatch between where water is available and where it is needed...''  
'''‘Our Fragile Moment’ finds modern lessons in Earth's history of climate'''


* https://www.sciencenews.org/article/fragile-moment-book-earth-history-climate


[[File:History of drought in the US Southwest.png]]




[[File:Our Fragile Moment.png]]




··········································································································································


'''Fragile Moment / Publisher's Weekly announcement'''


<big><big>'''President Biden needs to put forward a powerful climate agenda'''</big></big>
* http://www.publishersweekly.com/9781541702899


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Sen_Whitehouse_-_president_needs_to_put_forward_powerful_climate_agenda_-_July_15_2022.pdf
* https://www.amazon.com/Our-Fragile-Moment-Lessons-Survive/dp/1541702891






'''July 19, 2022'''


Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (RI): ''The Biden administration can do more on climate, and with legislative options now closed, the President must act. It's time for executive Beast Mode.''
···································································




·····················


<big>'''''Wanted: 20,000 Young Americans to Fight Climate Change'''''</big>


'''July 15, 2022'''
''Announcement to create an “American Climate Corps” that would train thousands of young people for green jobs''


@SenWhitehouse
* https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/climate/biden-climate-corps-youth.html


* https://twitter.com/senwhitehouse/status/1548017198991478784




'''''Senator Whitehouse (RI): With reconciliation foreclosed as a path for ambitious climate action, Congress must pivot to potentially bipartisan climate solutions such as a border carbon adjustment. Meanwhile, the executive branch has lots of tools at its disposal.'''''
··························································


''Let’s review one by one what executive branch “Climate Beast Mode” might look like.''




OMB must promulgate a robust social cost of carbon (north of $100/ton) and require broad use across government decision-making – procurement, regulations, grants, leasing, permitting, royalty rates, investment decisions, foreign aid, trade agreements, & more.
[[File:Canary - 1.jpg]]


•


WV v. EPA didn't end EPA’s ability to regulate carbon pollution from power plants. EPA options include requiring all coal- & gas-fired power plants to install carbon capture technology, as EPA did in 2015 for new coal-fired plants.


•
··················································································


But power plants aren’t just sources of carbon pollution – they also pollute our air and water with soot, heavy metals, and other toxic pollutants. EPA must tighten controls on PM 2.5 (soot), coal ash, mercury, nitrogen oxides, and more.


•
<big>'''August'''</big>


Cars & light trucks are the single largest source of carbon pollution. EPA and DOT restored Obama-era standards, but now they need to go much further and push the industry towards manufacturing 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2035.


•
<big>'''''Wealthy oil nation lays groundwork for ‘eye-popping’ climate fund'''''</big>


Heavy-duty trucks are also a huge source of carbon pollution. EPA doesn’t yet address this, and that needs to change. California’s advanced clean truck rule would increase zero-emission trucks, and EPA must follow suit.
''The United Arab Emirates has drawn a backlash from climate advocates for its role hosting the global climate talks, but the massive fund it’s considering would help countries green their economies''


•
Via Politico


Green procurement can use the government’s immense purchasing power (more than $600 billion in contracts per year!) to decarbonize steel, cement, asphalt, buildings, vehicles, and so much more.


•
''A G-7 government official said envoys from the oil-rich Mideast nation had privately mentioned the idea of a fund of at least $25 billion.''


EPA must promulgate a rigorous rule limiting methane emissions from oil and gas facilities. The rule must apply across the supply chain, including low-producing (but high-leaking) wells, and crack down on venting and flaring not just leaks.
''Creation of the fund would be one of the largest ever state-sponsored financial efforts to help countries fight climate change. And it comes as the UAE and Sultan al-Jaber, the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. who is leading the climate talks, have drawn criticism from environmental advocates and some U.S. and European lawmakers for hosting the international gathering despite being one of the world’s largest contributors of greenhouse gases.''


•
''In Washington, Republicans in Congress have vowed to block any U.S. effort to fulfill President Joe Biden’s promise to contribute $11 billion annually to international climate finance efforts...''


Satellite measurements can locate methane leaks to target strict enforcement against companies that are not in compliance.
''The summit, known as COP28, starts on Nov. 30''


•


It’s past time for DOJ to investigate the fossil fuel industry for its decades of lies. DOJ brought a civil RICO investigation against the tobacco industry for a similar history of dissembling and won big.
Read More:


•
* https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/18/united-arab-emirates-eye-popping-climate-fund-00111736


Interior must by rule sharply limit methane emissions from oil/gas produced on federal lands/waters, use social cost of carbon to raise royalty rates, and reform bonding rules so companies can’t abandon wells to leak methane & leave taxpayers on the hook.


•


The Department of Energy has many energy efficiency rules it must strengthen. Together, these rules significantly reduce carbon pollution and they save families money. Win – win!
🌎


•


The president should use his bully pulpit to remind Americans of the danger, call out fossil fuel obstruction in Congress, and get the rest of corporate America to finally lean in on climate action, creating space in Congress for bipartisan climate successes.


•
[[File:Montana climate trial News - 2023-08-14.png]]


(No trade association is any damned use on climate, big lobbies like Chamber are hostile, and the whole vast apparatus of corporate political influence ends up against us. Stop it.)


•


The administration should sit down with G7 partners, design carbon border tariffs, and create a carbon club of nations dedicated to decarbonizing. Good for the environment and a big win for American competitiveness!
<big>'''''Judge rules in favor of Montana youths in landmark climate decision'''''</big>


''''' ‘This is a monumental decision,’ said a lawyer for the young plaintiffs, and could influence how judges handle similar cases in other states'''''


'''Copy the PDF Agenda here:'''
* https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/


'''[[File:Sen Whitehouse - president needs to put forward powerful climate agenda - July 15 2022.pdf]]'''
* https://www.axios.com/2023/08/14/montana-youths-climate-change-landmark-lawsuit


* https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/first-of-its-kind-legal-ruling-favors-youth-in-montana-climate-case/




····················································································
''In the first ruling of its kind nationwide, a Montana state court decided Monday in favor of young people who alleged the state violated their right to a “clean and healthful environment” by promoting the use of fossil fuels...''


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/08/14/youths-win-montana-climate-trial/


* https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-youth-montana-trial-c7fdc1d8759f55f60346b31c73397db0


[[File:Manchin again - July 15 2022.png]]
* https://apnews.com/article/youth-climate-trial-montana-18e301a701fcf4badc904984455406fc


* https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/14/montana-climate-trial-young-activists-judge-order


Senator from West Virginia and Republican members of the US Senate join to end the Biden 'Build Back Better' plan


<big>The Decision:</big>


<big>'''''How One Senator Doomed the Democrats’ Climate Plan'''''</big>
August 14, 2023


'''''Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia led his party and his president through months of tortured talks, with nothing to show for it as the planet dangerously heats up'''''
RIKKI HELD, et al., Plaintiff, V. STATE OF MONTANA, et al., Defendant


Via the NY Times
[https://static1.squarespace.com/static/571d109b04426270152febe0/t/64da53511de19d2889830a2c/1692029780262/08%3A14%3A23+Findings+of+Fact%2C+Conclusions+of+Law+and+Order.pdf '''Decision TEXT-PDF''']


July 15, 2022


* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/15/climate/manchin-climate-change-democrats.html
🌎




''First, he killed a plan that would have forced power plants to clean up their climate-warming pollution. Then, he shattered an effort to help consumers pay for electric vehicles. And, finally, he said he could not support government incentives for solar and wind companies or any of the other provisions that the rest of his party and his president say are vital to ensure a livable planet.''
<big>'''A Republican Party 2024 Climate Strategy: More Drilling, Less Clean Energy'''</big>


''Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, who took more campaign cash from the oil and gas industry than any other senator, and who became a millionaire from his family coal business, independently blew up the Democratic Party’s legislative plans to fight climate change. The swing Democratic vote in an evenly divided Senate, Mr. Manchin led his party through months of tortured negotiations that collapsed on Thursday night, a yearlong wild goose chase that produced nothing as the Earth warms to dangerous levels.''
: [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/04/climate/republicans-climate-project2025.html?unlocked_article_code=nqYfzu86yDyWph7LaCGRrq7yGPOHI5ScJEZTFniJuSz_5OFeWoulkqXl4LJtRgER9MaQxT1XN4csp8vAj0xLbt6KvaA3RJeMfqdi56yBxlmDceM1O6xSJzSJGl8RK7YzDQp3ncYg_dwD-ViR2zSBTXqgmOqPuREYs9wzNVZSLI_OeAhmpa83E1eruwoYHVCYVOG5oEyqTehh4QFDawsvUKjtcNRYqk1uIW90qEQvSO1mQbfW2FFXozm-_LSEorzCFfTeOORiiFmVjKSL7PVSQJdn3lPQWY24oSWCccJfLz6g1IznZksiCb04SWOM3snKqrEJTA8cnSeuK5WcgV69On4hqQvO4kqMfQ&smid=url-share Via the New York Times, August 4, 2023, Unlocked article]


''“It seems odd that Manchin would choose as his legacy to be the one man who single-handedly doomed humanity,” said John Podesta, a former senior counselor to President Barack Obama and founder of the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank....''
:: ''The New York Times asked the leading Republican presidential candidates whether they support the Project 2025 strategy but none of the campaigns responded''  




''“Rage keeps me from tears,” Senator Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts and a longtime advocate for climate legislation, wrote on Twitter late Thursday (7/14)...''
♦




''A poll conducted in early May by the Pew Research Center found a majority of Americans, 58 percent, think the federal government is doing too little to reduce the effects of global warming while 22 percent said it is doing the right amount and 18 percent said it is doing too much. In the same survey, 71 percent said their community had been hit by extreme weather in the past year and a majority linked it to climate change.''
<big>'''Project2025'''</big>


''President Biden has pledged to the rest of the world that the United States, the country that has historically pumped the most greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, would cut its emissions in half by 2030. Without legislation, it will be impossible to meet Mr. Biden’s climate goals...''
: '''A 920-page Republican Party Political Plan'''


:* https://www.project2025.org/policy/




○
Politico.com has published an advance outline of climate and environment related policies that a next US president, if Republican Party, would be urged to adopt. The goals of the [https://www.project2025.org/about/advisory-board/ '''groups'''] who contributed to the plan, led by the Heritage Foundation, are described as a 'battle plan'.


:* https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/28/far-right-climate-plans-00107498




[[File:Greta Thunberg - Week 203 Climate Strike.png]]
''“Project 2025 is not a white paper. We are not tinkering at the edges. We are writing a battle plan, and we are marshaling our forces,” said Paul Dans, director of Project 2025 at the Heritage Foundation, which compiled the plan as a road map for the first 180 days of the next GOP administration. “Never before has the whole conservative movement banded together to systematically prepare to take power day one and deconstruct the administrative state.”''


&nbsp;


○
As described in Politico:


''The initiative has previously drawn attention for its efforts to prepare a systematic conservative takeover of the federal bureaucracy, in contrast to the perceptions of chaos that marked much of former President Donald Trump’s term. Those include plans to assemble a database of as many as 20,000 people who could serve in the next administration — “a right-wing LinkedIn,” as The New York Times described it in April — and proposals to impose sweeping Oval Office control over spending decisions, civil service employees and independent federal agencies.''


<big>'''June'''</big>
''(I)ts implications for U.S. climate policy — at a time of record heat waves sweeping the globe — have drawn far less attention.''


''The comprehensive plan covers virtually all operations of the federal government, not just energy and climate programs.''


<big><big>'''Gina McCarthy, President Joe Biden’s national climate advisor, says "we have to be creative" with climate strategies and solutions'''</big></big>
''It’s much more ambitious than the pledges that all the Republican presidential primary candidates have made so far to roll back Biden’s signature climate law. It also wouldn’t simply nullify Biden’s climate executive orders, something that a Republican president could easily do just after taking office.''


'''An interview with Time Magazine comes as the U.S. Supreme Court announces its decision to curtail Environmental Protection Agency regulatory powers'''
''(T)he ideas laid out in Project 2025 show that conservative organizations want to achieve a more fundamental shift — moving federal agencies away from public health protections and environmental regulations in order to help the industries they have been tasked with overseeing, said Andrew Rosenberg (a former senior official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration''.) ...


''Preventing the expansion of the electric grid would slow down renewable energy projects, threatening U.S. climate goals while cooling the sector’s economic growth, said Mike O’Boyle, a senior director at the nonpartisan policy firm Energy Innovation and head of its electricity program.''


'''Read the Time article'''
''“If we totally step away from the role of the federal government, our economy is going to miss out in a big way because the rest of the world is moving on climate, so they’re poised to reap the benefits both for their energy consumers but also in terms of manufacturing.”'' ...


* https://time.com/6192857/biden-climate-scotus-west-virginia/ 
''(An) increase in state power wouldn’t apply to California, which has a history of setting more aggressive environmental standards than those of the federal government under a Clean Air Act waiver. The Project 2025 plan would “ensure that other states can adopt California’s standards only for traditional/criteria pollutants, not greenhouse gasses.”''


''Another key goal is to restructure how EPA uses science, particularly research that supports regulations by showing risks to public health from industrial pollution.''


<big><big>'''Chart a Path to Slash Emissions (even as SCOTUS turns against the EPA's authority to act) '''</big></big>


(excerpt)


''“We’ve set very solid goals, we’re making significant progress on the transition to clean energy,” she told TIME on June 28. “And that is not going to live and die by the Supreme Court’s decision.”''
♦


''To meet the White House’s goals, she said, the Administration needs to get “creative” and find novel ways to galvanize the energy transition. That includes inventive use of regulations at places like EPA, as well as the Administration’s engagement with the private sector, use of its own purchasing power, and use of the Defense Production Act to accelerate the production of domestic clean energy technology, she says. “It can’t just be about using regulations or using Congress to fix this; to actually continue accelerating, we have to be creative,” she said, one of at least ten times she used the word creative in the course of the conversation.''


''It is certainly true that EPA power plant regulations are far from the only—or even the most important—tool in the climate policy toolkit in 2022. But in order to get the U.S. anywhere near the Administration’s goal of slashing emissions in half from 2005 levels by 2030, the creativity that McCarthy speaks about needs to be matched with speed and focus...''


''One of the reasons McCarthy is hopeful, she says, is the government now has a wider range of options for how to address climate change than when she first engaged in the fight. After failing to pass climate legislation in his first term, President Barack Obama turned to the EPA to pass new regulations that would cut emissions from power plants. With McCarthy as its administrator, the agency issued the Clean Power Plan in 2015. The regulation set state-by-state emissions reduction standards for the power sector and was designed to shut down coal-fired power plants—though states were left to decide on their own how to meet their targets. While it never actually took effect as it wound its way through the courts, it quickly became the centerpiece of Obama’s climate strategy.''
<big>'''July'''</big>


''On the surface, the circumstances today look similar. Congress continues to drag its feet on climate funding and the Administration is turning to second-best options to regulate emissions. But McCarthy says the picture is actually radically different. While large utility companies opposed the Clean Power Plan, they have since embraced the need to transition to clean energy and have partnered with the Biden Administration. And with climate change now seeping into a range of other areas—from trade to agriculture—the Administration no longer needs to rely on narrow authorities under the Clean Air Act. “During the Obama Administration, you know, it was so much earlier on in the climate challenge,” said McCarthy. “When I ran the EPA, it was the linchpin, and the options were limited. It was an entirely different conversation.”''


''In discussing climate actions Biden has taken that wouldn’t have been imaginable during the Obama years, McCarthy cites his use of the Defense Production Act, which will allow the government to coordinate with industry on the production of a range of clean energy technologies including solar panels, heat pumps, and insulation. The Biden Administration’s commitment for the federal government to transition its fleet of cars and trucks to zero-emissions vehicles shows how it’s setting a [https://time.com/5934090/joe-biden-climate-executive-order/ '''market signal'''] for industry to transition, she says. And she touts the work the Administration has done to expand offshore wind, bringing together state governments and the private sector to help rapidly expand the clean energy source.''


''Despite the Supreme Court ruling in [[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:SCOTUS_EPA_decision_-_June_30_2022.jpg '''West Virginia v. EPA''']], the EPA’s work remains a key component of the Biden Administration’s strategy. While the Supreme Court significantly curtailed the agency’s authority to make major changes to the nation’s power sector under a particular provision of the Clean Air Act, it didn’t limit the agency from addressing climate change in other ways. On Wednesday, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said on a TIME-moderated panel at the Aspen Ideas Festival that following the Supreme Court ruling, the agency planned to show the industry other environmental regulations it can implement under its remaining authority. “We have a suite of regulations that we can present to the power sector in one fell swoop, looking at regulating water, waste, and air quality,” he said. “And the power sector then can take a look at the economics to comply with those rules at one time, or they can say ‘hey, to hell with the past, let’s invest more quickly in the future.'”''
[[File:Cradle of Civilization - and climate change.jpg]]


''It’s not clear that all of these so-called ‘creative’ measures put the Administration on track to meet its emissions reductions goals. It’s hard to have an up-to-the-minute accounting of where all of these initiatives leave those targets, but an in-depth analysis from the Rhodium Group earlier this month that takes account for a range of policy developments suggests it will be tough without Congress’ help. Right now, without further policy action, emissions will remain flat and lead to a decline of 17-25% below 2005 levels in 2030, the report finds. Congressional legislation that would provide tax incentives for clean energy deployment, among other things, combined with much of the work McCarthy mentions, could get the U.S. above the 50% reduction threshold that the Administration promised.''


''Congress does appear likely to enact some form of bipartisan climate spending bill, though the exact contours remain unclear. McCarthy, of course, says she’s optimistic. “This is all about getting to a 50% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030,” she says. “We think that the work that we’re doing now will get us very close to that.”''
<big>'''Civilization and 'Cradles'... the 'Fertile Crescent'... with Much More to Consider over the Past Few Millennia'''</big>


○
: '''Human-impact on Planet Earth'''


:*  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/29/world/middleeast/iraq-water-crisis-desertification.html


'''Rhodium Group Report'''


<big><big>'''Has the US Supreme Court Blocked the Path to the 2030 Climate Target?</big></big>
🌎


July 1, 2022


<big>'''We used to call climate change "global warming" back in the 1970s'''</big>


''Yesterday, in a 6-to-3 decision in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Supreme Court ruled that EPA does not have the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon emissions from the power sector through a system-wide mandate to shift from coal-fired power generation toward cleaner sources. The ruling constrains one of the most powerful regulatory tools from the executive branch’s toolbox of regulations to help reduce US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In light of the decision and amid stalled climate action in Congress, many are now questioning what climate policy options are still left on the table, and whether the US still has the ability to achieve its 2030 climate target of reducing emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels.''
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Global_Warming


''We find that the Supreme Court’s ruling does not change the game by much. Last fall, Rhodium Group published Pathways to Paris, a comprehensive assessment of a portfolio of federal legislation, regulations, and other actions across all levels of government, which together could put the 2030 target within reach. In this note, we revisit that list of actions and assess the implications of the Supreme Court ruling for the pathway to the 2030 climate target. We find that while the ruling certainly makes the pathway rockier, it hasn’t necessarily put the target out of reach. The silver lining of the ruling is that it has cleared up ambiguities that have plagued power sector GHG emissions regulations for a decade. Going forward, EPA may have more legal certainty and can still leverage other regulatory tools that could drive significant emissions cuts in the power sector and other sectors. However, EPA needs to move fast in order to help achieve the target. Without swift progress on all fronts—including in Congress and across other levels of government—the 2030 target is in jeopardy.''


'''''What West Virginia v. EPA does and doesn’t do'''''


''The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in West Virginia v. EPA rules that EPA does not have the authority under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions from the power sector at a system-wide level. While the ruling certainly limits regulatory pathways to reducing emissions and removes one of the more efficient and low-cost regulatory options, the decision was also not the worst-case scenario for EPA’s ability to regulate emissions that many had feared. The ruling does not entirely revoke EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, nor does it state that EPA can’t regulate GHG emissions from power plants. EPA still has the authority to regulate emissions at the point source or individual power plant level—what’s often referred to as “inside the fence line” of the facility, as opposed to “outside the fence line” or a systems-based approach, which is now off-limits under the ruling.''
1978


''One consolation from the ruling is that it potentially clears up legal ambiguities that have plagued power sector emissions regulations for a decade. EPA may have more certainty about the rules of the regulatory road and how to regulate emissions from point sources. The Supreme Court made it clear that if EPA wants to regulate emissions from point sources, it can only consider emissions-control measures at the source. This is the same approach that EPA has used for an array of other pollutants over the 50+ year history of the Clean Air Act. Indeed, it’s the same approach EPA has used in setting GHG standards for new power plants as well as one of the three building blocks in the Obama EPA’s Clean Power Plan. While the ruling means that some regulatory options are now off-limits, it also means that EPA now knows that it can leverage existing emissions-control technologies to drive significant emissions cuts in the power sector, such as carbon capture and fuel blending. Some of these options may cost more than a system-wide approach and may result in fewer co-benefits like reduced local air pollution, but all of that will depend on how EPA ultimately chooses to exercise its clarified authority and what other conventional pollutant regulations it pursues.''
[[File:US Public Law 95-367.png]]


'''''What the ruling means for the 2030 climate target'''''


''In light of the ruling, and especially as federal climate legislation is currently stalled in Congress, many are now questioning what regulatory options and other climate policy options are still left on the table, and whether the US still has the ability to achieve its 2030 climate target of reducing emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels.''


''In order to answer those questions, we revisit '''Pathways to Paris'''...''' ''(see the updated June 2022 Pathway report linked below)''
:1988


:[[File:Hansen-testimony-1988.jpg]]


Read the full July 1, 2022 Rhodium Group report analyzing the impacts of the Supreme Court's West Virginia v. EPA decision
* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Hansen-testimony-1988.jpg


* https://rhg.com/research/supreme-court-2030-climate-target/






_________________________________________________________
Update, decades later


July 19, 2023, via The Guardian


[[File:Update - James Hansen July 2023 'We are fools'.png|link=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/19/climate-crisis-james-hansen-scientist-warning]]


<big><big>'''Progress on the Pathway to Paris?'''</big></big>


June 2022
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''It’s been nearly a year and a half since President Biden entered office and made addressing climate change one of his administration’s top priorities. Pledging to take a whole-of-government approach to the problem, Biden built out a climate team inside the White House and promptly set an ambitious target to reduce US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030. Congress also prioritized addressing climate change, first with key infrastructure investments and then with the House of Representatives passing over $500 billion in climate and clean energy spending through budget reconciliation. In addition, 24 states have adopted the same 2030 target or have comparable targets in place.''
Reuters


''Last fall, Rhodium Group published Pathways to Paris, a comprehensive assessment of a portfolio of policy actions that the US can take to put the 2030 climate target within reach. In that report, we found that no single action taken by any single part of the US federal system is sufficient. Instead, joint action consisting of a steady stream of legislation, regulations, and other activities across all levels of government can put the 2030 target within reach. In this note, we revisit the list of actions we considered and assess progress on each. We find that while some movement has occurred on some fronts, most big-ticket items have yet to get started or are still under deliberation in Congress. Without ramped-up action across the board in the very near future, it will be increasingly difficult to envision a pathway to the 2030 target.''
<big>'''World registers hottest day ever recorded on July 3'''</big>


'''''Nearly 18 months of a whole-of-government approach to climate change'''''


''When President Biden entered office, he made climate change a top priority, more so than any other president before him. Coming after the Trump administration’s systematic dismantling of climate and clean energy initiatives, the Biden administration has taken hundreds of actions to undo the damage and reverse regulatory rollbacks. The high-caliber appointments of Gina McCarthy and John Kerry as the first-ever National Climate Advisor and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, respectively, sent a strong signal that the President was taking the climate challenge seriously. With unified government, there was hope of ambitious and swift congressional action on investments in decarbonization.''
<big><big>'''''Hot, Hot'''''</big></big>


''Now, nearly 18 months in, the administration has set ambitious goals on everything from offshore wind deployment to ramping up electric vehicle sales, cutting global methane emissions, and achieving a 100% clean electricity grid. Regulatory actions to rein in greenhouse gasses are moving forward in a few key sectors. Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) which contained several multi-billion dollar investments in emerging clean technologies and clean infrastructure. The administration has also taken key steps to help achieve long-term decarbonization goals, including standing up a Buy Clean Task Force to use the federal government’s purchasing power to help clean up heavy industry, and committing the federal government to increased sustainability targets. Critically, the administration has emphasized environmental justice across agencies and started initiatives to address disproportionate climate and environmental impacts in disadvantaged communities.''
''NCEP @NOAA has placed Earth's average temperature yesterday (July 3rd) as the hottest single day thus far measured by humans.


''Subnational actions also have the potential to accelerate and amplify emission reductions catalyzed by federal actions and, in some instances, deliver tons that the federal government can’t easily reach. States have kept a steady drumbeat setting ambitious climate targets to help do their part to achieve climate targets, especially during the federal inaction of the Trump administration. And we’ve seen several states step up climate action in key sectors in recent months as well.''
''This is driven by the combination of El Niño on top of global warming, and we may well see a few even warmer days over the next 6 weeks.  


''However, at the same time, the $555 billion in climate spending in the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) that passed the House in November remains in Senate deliberation limbo. Congress, states and the White House aren’t tackling climate change in a vacuum but instead are dealing with a host of other challenges. The country is in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, once-in-a-generation inflation, sky-high energy prices, a war in Europe, and ongoing supply chain disruptions—all of which at best distract from additional climate action and at worst may lead to actions that could run counter to long-term climate goals.''
-- [https://twitter.com/RARohde/status/1676159433477373952 pic.twitter.com/RCrROHaWwp]


''In '''Pathways to Paris''', we found that without any new climate action, the US is not on track to meet its 2030 target of reducing emissions 50-52% below 2005 levels. With no additional action, emissions stay roughly flat, getting to 17-25% below 2005 levels in 2030 (reflecting the uncertainty around energy prices, technology costs, and carbon removal from natural and working lands). This leaves an emissions gap of 1.7-2.3 billion metric tons between current policy and the 2030 target. To fill that gap, we developed a “joint action” scenario— congressional passage of the IIJA and BBBA, alongside regulations and other executive branch actions and supplemented with subnational action in climate-leader states. All together, this scenario would achieve an emission reduction of 45-51% below 2005 levels—putting the 2030 target of a 50-52% reduction within reach...''




[[File:CFSV2 world temp July 3, 2023.png]]


Read the full Rhodium Group report on US climate promises kept and unkept, a follow on to the international Paris climate agreement of 2015.


* https://rhg.com/research/progress-on-the-pathway-to-paris/


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<big>'''Extreme Climate Impacts, Extreme Insurance Numbers on the Way'''</big>




'''''As climate crisis intensifies, insurers will likely reshape where people live — leaving desperate homeowners in the lurch'''''


[[File:SCOTUS EPA decision - June 30 2022.jpg]]
''Homeowners insurance is becoming more expensive in the US with the average premium jumping 11% this year to $1,700, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Florida residents pay much more: $6,000 a year on average, doubling over the past three years. The trade group forecast that the state's property-insurance rates could surge by 40% or more this year.''


''In Florida, some two dozen private companies have declared insolvency, stopped issuing policies, or withdrawn from the state since February 2022. The Insurance Information Institute said the main cause was high levels of litigation that saddle Florida insurers with legal costs, combined with billions of dollars in losses from Hurricane Ian and other storms in recent years.''


○
* https://www.businessinsider.com/how-insurers-will-shape-where-people-live-climate-change-2023-7




<big><big><big>Supreme Court of the United States on West Virginia v. EPA</big></big></big>
'''Climate Change, Global Warming, Urban Heat Islands, Mosquitoes -- and Disease'''


''The deadliest animal in the world is smaller than a pencil eraser and weighs around two-thousandths of a gram — less than the weight of a single raindrop. Every year, it kills an estimated 700,000 people by partaking in what scientists grimly call a “blood meal.”''


: Click [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/SCOTUS_News_re_West_Virginia_v_EPA_Decision.pdf '''Here'''] for a scan of news/commentary and opinion re the June 30, 2022 decision
''It’s the mosquito — and, increasingly, it’s on the move.''


:: <big><big>[[File:SCOTUS News re West Virginia v EPA Decision.pdf]]</big></big>
''These global shifts, which will only accelerate as the planet warms, have sparked concern that the diseases mosquitoes carry will exact an even higher toll in the months and years to come.''


::* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/SCOTUS_News_re_West_Virginia_v_EPA_Decision.pdf
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/07/01/mosquito-days-malaria-texas-florida/




○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
<big><big>'''June'''</big></big>




'''June 30, 2022'''
[https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/power-our-planet-live-in-paris-sees-twenty-thousand-activists-global-south-leaders-and-artists-gather-to-demand-justice-on-behalf-of-the-worlds-climate-vulnerable-countries-301859750.html ''''''POWER OUR PLANET'''''']


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/SCOTUS_News_re_West_Virginia_v_EPA_Decision.pdf News | Commentary | Opinion]
'' 'Live in Paris' event -- twenty thousand activists, global south leaders, and artists gather to demand justice on behalf of cliamate-vulnerable countries.''


''PARIS, June 22, 2023 / via PRNewswire -- A night that united the Global North and Global South, 'Power Our Planet: Live in Paris' lit up the iconic Champ de Mars this evening, as climate activists, Heads of State, many famed names in music, and twenty thousand global citizens gathered to call for justice on behalf of the world's climate-vulnerable countries. Hosted by international advocacy organization Global Citizen, the event was broadcast and streamed live around the world, rallying the people everywhere to hold to account the leaders gathering in Paris for the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact.''


<big>'''Re: U.S. Supreme Court Decision on West Virginia v. EPA'''</big>


🌎


'''Read the Decision:'''


* https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20-1530/205559/20211217145954348_West%20Virginia%20v.%20EPA%20final.pdf
[[File:Hindu Kush-Himalayas - 2023 Report on Dangerous Climate Impacts.png]]




<big><big>'''Himalayan glaciers could lose 80% of their volume'''</big></big>


Via Associated Press, June 20, 2023


'''More About the Decision'''


<big><big>'''Supreme Court restricts the EPA's authority to mandate carbon emissions reductions'''</big></big>
''Glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates across the Hindu Kush Himalayan mountain ranges and could lose up to 80% of their volume this century if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t sharply reduced, according to a new report.''


Via National Public Radio
''The report Tuesday from Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development warned that flash floods and avalanches would grow more likely in coming years, and that the availability of fresh water could be curtailed for nearly 2 billion people who live downstream of 12 rivers that originate in the mountains.''


By Nina Totenberg / Legal Affairs Correspondent / News of the U.S. Supreme Court 
'''''Ice and snow in the Hindu Kush Himalayan ranges are an important source of water for those rivers, which flow through 16 countries in Asia and provide fresh water to 240 million people in the mountains and another 1.65 billion downstream.'''''


''“The people living in these mountains who have contributed next to nothing to global warming are at high risk due to climate change,” said Amina Maharjan, a migration specialist and one of the report’s authors. “Current adaptation efforts are wholly insufficient, and we are extremely concerned that without greater support, these communities will be unable to cope.”''


'''Read and/or Listen the NPR story / [https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/2022/06/30/1109051564/all-things-considered-for-june-30-2022 All Things Considered]'''
* https://apnews.com/article/himalayan-glaciers-climate-change-melting-85cf414573ed8a9fbde4cb56ecf4fdd7


* https://www.npr.org/2022/06/30/1103595898/supreme-court-epa-climate-change


'''Read the Hindu Kush - Himalayan report from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development'''


''The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a major blow to the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate carbon emissions that cause climate change. The decision by the conservative court majority sets the stage for further limitations on the regulatory power of other agencies as well.''
<big>'''''Snow and ice in the Hindu Kush Himalaya are fast disappearing, with grave implications for people and nature'''''</big>


''By a vote of 6 to 3, the court said that any time an agency does something big and new – in this case addressing climate change – the regulation is presumptively invalid, unless Congress has specifically authorized regulating in this sphere.''
* https://hkh.icimod.org/hi-wise/


''"That's a very big deal because they're not going to get it from Congress because Congress is essentially dysfunctional," said Harvard law professor Richard Lazarus, an expert on environmental law. "This could not have come at a worse time" because "the consequences of climate change are increasingly dire and we're running out of time to address it."'' ...


''The issue before the court was how the EPA can regulate coal-fired power plants, which in this country are the single largest source of carbon emissions that cause climate challenge. The Obama administration set state-by-state carbon limits and encouraged states to rely less on coal and more on alternative energy sources. Even though the program was blocked by the courts, it met its targets 11 years ahead of schedule for the simple reason that it turned out coal was too expensive compared to other power generating sources.''


''But on Thursday, the Supreme Court turned thumbs down on any such systemic approach. Bringing to life what the court has called '''"the major questions doctrine,"''' the court said that neither the EPA nor any other agency may adopt rules that are transformational to the economy--unless Congress has specifically authorized such a rule to address a specific problem, like climate change.''
🌎


''Writing for the court majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that under what the court has recently called the '''"major questions doctrine,"''' neither the EPA nor any other agency may adopt rules that are "transformational" to the economy — unless Congress has specifically authorized such a transformative rule to address a specific problem, like climate change.''


''In "certain extraordinary cases, both separation of powers principles and a practical understanding of legislative intent make us 'reluctant to read into ambiguous statutory text' the delegation claimed to be lurking there," Roberts writes. "To convince us otherwise, something more than a merely plausible textual basis for the agency action is necessary. The agency instead must point to 'clear congressional authorization' for the power it claims."''


'''''Justice Elena Kagan, in a furious dissent, said essentially that the Court is making up new rules that contradict nearly a century of regulatory law. The text of the Clean Air Act, she said, clearly anticipates that the EPA will have to deal with new problems and uses broad language to allow that. The Court majority, she says, "does not have a clue about how to address climate change...yet it appoints itself, instead of congress or the expert agency...the decision-maker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening."'''''
<big>'''Earth Science Open-Access Database Being Made Available to the World Community'''</big>


'''''The decision appears to enact major new limits on agency regulations across the economy, limits of a kind not imposed by the court for 75 years or more.''' ''The decision, for instance, casts a cloud of doubt over a proposed Securities and Exchange Commission rule that would require companies offering securities to the public to disclose climate-related risks – like severe weather events that have or likely will affect their business models. Also in jeopardy is a new interim rule adopted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission "aimed at treating greenhouse gas emissions and their contribution to climate change the same as all other environmental impacts [the Commission] considers."''
: '''Planet Citizens, Planet Scientists, Now Is the Time for Knowing and Acting to Make a Difference While There's Still Time '''


''The decision was a particularly bad omen for environmentalists. In a very real sense, it seemed to reject any holistic regulatory attempt to deal with climate change.''


''The UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies meetings represent the last big milestone in climate negotiations before the culmination of the first Global Stocktake underthe Paris Agreement at COP 28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It will provide an opportunity to collectively reflect on where the world stands in terms of addressing climate change.''


○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
* https://enb.iisd.org/bonn-climate-change-conference-sbi58-sbsta58




'''June 27, 2022'''
[[File:Global Stocktake, the first GST.jpg]]


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Global_Stocktake,_the_first_GST.jpg


[[File:WV v EPA SCOTUS poll - June 27 2022 before court decision.png]]


GreenPolicy360 welcomes the arrival of a global science mission, a "Global Stocktake", a collection of earth science data to be made available to the  community of nations, to planet citizen activists and scientists, educational institutions, non-profits, NGOs, young and old to become tools for legal enforcement of national climate plans & pledges.


[[File:Environmental laws in US - Supreme Court votes soon.png]]


<big>'''[[Planet Citizen Action]] | [[Climate Problems, Climate Solutions]]'''</big>


''WASHINGTON — Within days, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision that could severely limit the federal government’s authority to reduce carbon dioxide from power plants — pollution that is dangerously heating the planet.''


''But it’s only a start.''


''The case, West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, is the product of a coordinated, multiyear strategy by Republican attorneys general, conservative legal activists and their funders, several with ties to the oil and coal industries, to use the judicial system to rewrite environmental law, weakening the executive branch’s ability to tackle global warming.''
🌎


''Coming up through the federal courts are more climate cases, some featuring novel legal arguments, each carefully selected for its potential to block the government’s ability to regulate industries and businesses that produce greenhouse gases...''


''Victory for the plaintiffs in these cases would mean the federal government could not dramatically restrict tailpipe emissions because of vehicles’ impact on climate, even though transportation is the country’s largest source of greenhouse gases.''
<big>'''Arctic 'Amplifications' '''</big>


''The government also would not be able to force electric utilities to replace fossil fuel-fired power plants, the second-largest source of planet warming pollution, with wind and solar power.''


''And the executive branch could not consider the economic costs of climate change when evaluating whether to approve a new oil pipeline or similar project or environmental rule.''
[[File:Arctic - Kolbert - 2023.png]]


''Those limitations on climate action in the United States, which has pumped more planet-warming gases into the atmosphere than any other nation, would quite likely doom the world’s goal of cutting enough emissions to keep the planet from heating up more than an average of 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with the preindustrial age. That is the threshold beyond which scientists say the likelihood of catastrophic hurricanes, drought, heat waves and wildfires significantly increases. The Earth has already warmed an average of 1.1 degrees Celsius.''


''“If the Supreme Court uses this as an opportunity to really squash E.P.A.’s ability to regulate on climate change, it will seriously impede U.S. progress toward solving the problem,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton University.''
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Kolbert


''The ultimate goal of the Republican activists, people involved in the effort say, is to overturn the legal doctrine by which Congress has delegated authority to federal agencies to regulate the environment, health care, workplace safety, telecommunications, the financial sector and more.''


''Over the past four decades, the far north has already been warming four times as quickly as the global average, a phenomenon that scientists call Arctic amplification...''


'''Read the Full Article'''
* https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/06/climate/arctic-sea-ice-melting.html


* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/19/climate/supreme-court-climate-epa.html




<big>'''May'''</big>


&nbsp;


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<big><big>'''''A Supreme Court Ruling the Fossil-Fuel Industry Doesn’t Like'''''</big></big>


''Communities can now sue in state courts for compensation for the costs of climate change—something oil companies have fought against for years''


''By [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Bill_McKibben,_planet_citizen '''Bill McKibben''']''


::::[[File:Oceans and Climate Change - DeCaprio July 2022.png]]
* https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/a-supreme-court-ruling-the-fossil-fuel-industry-doesnt-like
* https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rejects-oil-companies-appeals-climate-change-disputes-rcna49823
* https://news.yahoo.com/fossil-fuel-influence-us-supreme-110009095.html
* https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/04/supreme-court-fossil-fuel-industry-climate-lawsuits-ruling/
* https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/25/experts-hail-decision-us-climate-lawsuits-advance






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🌎






[[File:Oil gas climate change response plans - circa 2022.png]]
[[File:Methane Reduction proposal passes in EU Parliament - May 2023.png]]


<small>* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methane_Reduction_proposal_passes_in_EU_Parliament_-_May_2023.png</small>




''Background''


········································································································································································
''Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and air pollutant and is responsible for approximately a third of current global warming. It comes from a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, waste and energy, which are responsible respectively for 53%, 26% and 19% of EU methane emissions according to the European Environment Agency. Today, methane emissions are covered under the targets in the EU’s Effort Sharing Regulation.''


''The EU has signed up to the '''Global Methane Pledge''', which aims to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030, which could eliminate over 0.2˚C warming by 2050.''


''Since it launched at COP26's international climate summit, the Global Methane Pledge has generated unprecedented momentum for methane action.  Country endorsements of the GMP have grown from just over 100 last year to 150, more than 50 countries have developed national methane action plans or are in the process of doing so, substantial new financial resources are being directed to methane action, and partners have launched “pathways” of policies and initiatives to drive methane reductions in key methane-emitting sectors – a GMP Energy Pathway launched at the June 2022 Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate and a GMP Food and Agriculture Pathway and GMP Waste Pathway, both launched at COP27.''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methane_cuts_pledge_-_COP27.png


[[File:Journey of a Climate Pixel - May 2022.png]]


[[File:Methane emissions to be cut - COP26 pledges.png]]


[[File:ESA Living Planet Symposium - May 2022.png]]




[[File:ESA Living Planet Symposium - Announcement.png]]
''Environmental Law & Enforcement''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Laws
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png




:🌎
''Global Methane Pledge''


* https://www.globalmethanepledge.org/
* https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2022/the-global-methane-pledge
* https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/cop27-more-countries-join-methane-pact-focus-turns-farms-waste-2022-11-17/
* https://www.state.gov/global-methane-pledge-from-moment-to-momentum/
* https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/the-global-methane-pledge-cop26-explainer/ (@COP26)




[[File:Heat Wave Asia - April May 2022.png]]


🌎




: [[File:Southeast-asia-heatwave-nasa-2022.jpg]]


: <small>NASA</small>
<big>'''April'''</big>




<big>'''D.C. Politics: Threats to Ax the Historic Clean Energy, Climate Legislation'''</big>


🌎
''House Republicans’ proposal for averting a breach of the federal debt limitseeks to relitigate one of the most consequential congressional debates of last year — by taking an ax to President Joe Biden’s signature climate law.''


''The White House’s counterargument: Gutting the law would wipe out tens of thousands of jobs that the law is creating in Republican-held states.''


<big><big>'''Professor Michael Mann's online course on Climate begins today - April 29th'''</big></big>
''The proposal that Speaker Kevin McCarthy unveiled Wednesday would raise the federal debt limit while repealing the host of green energy tax incentives established under Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act.''


: '''Consider signing up - It's free'''
* https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/20/house-gop-debt-limit-plan-inflation-reduction-act-00092891


* https://www.edx.org/course/climate-change-the-science-and-global-impact


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Climate_course_at_SDG_(2022)_recd_by_Michael_E_Mann.png


* https://michaelmann.net/books/climate-war
🌎




'''On Earth Day 2023, Fox News Finds Its Way to Report the Top of the News'''


[[File:Climate course at SDG (2022) recd by Michael E Mann.png]]


[[File:Fox on Earth Day 2023.jpg]]




🌎


<big>'''Recalling the Story of Earth Day with GreenPolicy360'''</big>


<big>'''On Earth Day, April 22'''</big>
: Youthful activism can bring positive change to our world


:: 'Teach-ins and the First Earth Day remembered


[[File:Project Drawdown with Matt Scott - On Earth Day 2022.png]]
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_Day




'''Drawdown Stories | Drawdown Neighborhoods'''
[[File:Goodall on the power of the young.png]]


: '''Frontline Communities, #ClimateJustice and Equity Action'''




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🌎




<big>'''A Record of Attempting to Deconstruct the EPA... Now Running for U.S. Senate'''</big>


<big><big>'''GreenPolicy360 Remembers and Celebrates the Life of the Woman 'Who Brought Us the World''''</big></big>


[[File:Scott Pruitt - running for James Inhofe Senate seat - Apr 2022.png]]
: '''She Fought 'The Man', [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military%E2%80%93industrial_complex <big> 'The MIC'</big>], and She Won'''


:: The Pentagon-favored military contractors and their big-money video spying systems lost out to the vision and talent of Virginal Norwood


April 19 / Scott Pruitt, who many consider the worst Environmental Protection Agency head in the EPA's history, is now looking, as announced in April 2022, for election as a Senator from Oklahoma, replacing James Inhofe, who many consider [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Inhofe_and_the_Snowball.png '''the worst Senator on environmental policy issues'''.]
::: Tower Norwood's digital scanning instrument, initially rejected and opposed by 'Top Brass' Pentagon generals, proved its value and prevailed






····················································································
<big>'''Virginia Tower Norwood, ‘Mother’ of Satellite Imaging Systems, Dies at 96'''</big>


:'''A pioneer in aerospace, she invented a technology that has enabled scientists to map and study the earth for more than 50 years'''


::* https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/12/science/space/virginia-norwood-dead.html


'''Via Strategic Demands, GreenPolicy360's associate''':
::* https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/03/30/virginia-norwood-landsat-engineer-dies/


[[File:Eyes On Global Security Threats - via Strategic Demands April 2022.png|link=https://strategicdemands.com/eyes-on-the-global-security-threat/]]
::* https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/06/29/1025732/the-woman-who-brought-us-the-world/




'''Beginning with Virginia's 'Invention', Five Decades+ of Unique Earth Science Imaging from Space'''


: From Landsat to today's Earth Observing Missions, the Multispectral Scanning System Continues to Gathers Essential Earth Science Data


<big>'''Methane (greenhouse gas) rose more last year than any other year since records began in 1983 and is at a record high'''</big>
:: A Profoundly Vital Resource of Digital Data Mapping Earth's Systems, Providing the Dynamic Observations for Science and Policy Decisions


Via EOS / April 2022


* https://eos.org/articles/a-climate-mystery-warns-us-to-heed-the-unknown


<big>'''[[LANDSAT and Virginia Tower Norwood]]'''</big>


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/LANDSAT_and_Virginia_Tower_Norwood


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&nbsp;


:[[File:Virginia Norwood - 1948.jpg]]


&nbsp;


<big>'''Biden's (and the World's) Imperiled Climate Agenda'''</big>
::[[File:Virginia Tower Norwood and James Hodgson - 1972.jpg]]


* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/01/climate/biden-climate-change.html
&nbsp;


[[File:Landsat band imagery.png]]


''On Thursday (March 31st), President Biden said he would release one million barrels of oil a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for as long as 180 days to help bring down global oil prices. The scale and duration of such a release would be historic. The United States also plans to increase exports of natural gas to help Europe wean itself from Russian supplies. Environmentalists are concerned that both of those moves will lead to more domestic drilling at a moment when scientists say nations must sharply and quickly cut fossil fuel use.''
&nbsp;


''The president used the announcement about the petroleum reserve to make a plea for his stymied climate legislation, saying that he was boosting gas and oil supplies to deal with an immediate crisis but that the country’s long term energy independence should be rooted in wind, solar and other renewable sources that are insulated from global market fluctuations.''
<big><big><big>'''''50th + Anniversary of Landsat'''''</big></big></big>


''“Ultimately, we and the whole world need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels altogether,” Mr. Biden said. “We need to choose long-term security over energy and climate vulnerability. We need to double down on our commitment to clean energy and tackling the climate crisis with our partners and allies around the world. And we can do that by passing my plan that’s literally before the Senate right now, the United States Congress right now.”''


[[File:Landsat 50th anniv Sept 2016.jpg]]


<small>http://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Landsat8DataUsersHandbook.pdf</small>


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March 30, 2022
<big><big>'''Envisioned as an Intergenerational Science Mission'''</big></big>


The  first land-focused Earth-observation satellite, Landsat 1 (initially called the 'Earth Resources Technology Satellite-1 / ERTS-1) is launched to Earth orbit from Vandenberg, CA.


<big>'''Via The Atlantic / Weekly Planet'''</big>
Beginnings of [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_Science_from_Space '''Earth Science from Space'''] #RemoteSensing #AtmosphericScience #EarthScience #OceanScience


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_Science_from_Space


<big>'''''The world has changed since 2020 — it has changed, for that matter, since the middle of last month, when Vladimir Putin began his campaign to conquer all of Ukraine'''''</big>
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_System_Science
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Right_Now


By Robinson Meyer


''... More than a quarter of the natural gas that Europe imports from Russia flows in pipelines that run through Ukraine, and large, violent military campaigns do not tend to treat fragile (and flammable) fossil-fuel infrastructure delicately. But Russia’s role as a major oil producer to the world, and Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas (beyond just that which flows through Ukrainian pipelines), has brought the issue to the center of global politics.''


''... In the coming years, the European Union seems likely to go on a mad decarbonizing dash, electrifying as much of its energy system as possible so as to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. But even optimistic accounts posit that the continent cannot hope to regain “energy sovereignty” until 2027. It will need more than just heat pumps and solar panels; it will need someone else to sell it gas.''


''Last week, the EU promised to import 50 billion cubic meters of liquid natural gas from the United States annually through 2030. Right now, for context, it imports about 17 billion cubic meters of LNG a year, so it will need to find another 33 billion cubic meters to meet its goal.''
<big><big><big>'''EOS'''</big></big></big>


''That is a lot of gas. It exceeds the LNG imports of every country in North and South America combined. It seems reasonable to conclude, therefore, that if the EU follows through on its commitment—but no country produces more gas—then it will break the global market for liquid natural gas. That will make natural-gas prices rise everywhere, for all countries, even those that don’t buy LNG from the United States. And that will force middle-income countries—such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Thailand—that have been planning on importing natural gas to instead buy coal, a far dirtier and more climate-destructive fuel...''
<big>'''Earth Observing System'''</big>


''If Europe’s democracies believe that their ability to import natural gas from a non-Russia country is essential to their survival, then American climate advocates should find a way to help them—without cutting a blank check to U.S. natural-gas producers or extending the gas system’s lifetime into the 2030s.''


''Climate activists remain correct in their essential diagnosis: In order to avoid catastrophic changes to the climate system, most undrilled fossil fuels must remain in the ground. But for the next few years, climate policy will require a subtler hand than advocates have been used to providing. It means that the U.S. must make strategic investments to increase grappling with the energy system as it exists today — which is fossil-fuel-dependent — not because fossil fuels have inherent value but because only by understanding the current situation can the U.S. plan for the future. Putin’s war has all but ensured that the path to decarbonization will not be a straight line. But if advocates navigate this moment carefully, then the U.S. and the EU can find a shortcut, not a detour.''
Originating with a NASA 'Mission Statement' and visionary Earth Science leaders in the U.S. Congress, a whole earth research mission, environmental protection movement is launched...


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/1969_beginnings_of_the_modern_environmental_movement.pdf


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GreenPolicy360 siterunner, Steven Schmidt, recalls the origins of earth science missions and visionary leaders:


<big><big>'''Announcement from GreenPolicy360 & Strategic Demands'''</big></big>
The Original Mission Statement of NASA (1958) provided Congressional intent and guidance to the first generation of space programs. [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr '''US Congressman George Brown'''], if he were here, would've done I am certain everything within his power to continue the original 'our' part of the mission statement... 'to understand and protect our home planet'...


''“To understand and protect our home planet; to explore the universe and search for life; to inspire the next generation of explorers ... as only NASA can.”''


Stay tunes as GreenPolicy360 launches a crucial new 'Climate Plans Enforcement Project'


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources
The NASA programs to understand and protect can be traced to the 1960s when a monumental new technology was invented and, with a fortuitous shift in U.S. remote imaging capabilities from to digital, 'multispectral' scanning, the Landsat program took off and the data that began coming back from near-orbit Landsat satellites forever changed how we see, study and interact with our home planet.




[[File:Climate Plans Enforcement Project - 2.png]]
<big>'''[[George E. Brown Jr]]'''</big> | <big>'''[[LANDSAT and Virginia Tower Norwood]]'''</big> | <big>'''"[[Generation Green]]"'''</big>




GreenPolicy360's archive of the 1960s/70s earth science, an environmental era start up that your GreenPolicy360 Siterunner experienced personally, includes memories that reveal rarely discussed [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&profile=default&search=landsat&fulltext=Search '''highlights of the Landsat and first earth observation satellites'''], the beginnings of the Earth Observing System (EOS), a platform of digital earth system science missions now continuing in a fifth decade of vital science. 


:[[File:Earth System Observatory-1.jpg]]


Landat's digital imaging scanner created unique digital technology enabling scientists to monitor earth's living systems and our changing environment. Zoom in on the Multispectral Scanner and "The Woman Who Brought Us the World" -- Virginia Tower Norwood. We are witnessing digital data begins to flow into databases for science around our world as NASA's original mission statement -- “To understand and protect our home planet..." becomes mission reality.


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/LANDSAT_and_Virginia_Tower_Norwood


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Multispectral_Scanning_Systen_-_MSS.jpg


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[[File:Multispectral Scanning Systen - MSS.jpg]]




<big><big>'''''Coal Mining Emits More Super-Polluting Methane Than Venting and Flaring From Gas and Oil Wells'''''</big></big>
<big>Virginia Tower Norwood's Vision</big>


''So much methane is released from coal mining, the Global Energy Monitor says, that it exceeds the carbon dioxide emissions from burning coal at over 1,100 coal-fired power plants in China''
Here we focus on the amazing story of Virginia Tower Norwood who invented technology that made LANDSAT's digital spectral imaging possible. Her talent, her vision forever changed the field of earth science. In many ways, while inventing and convincing the reluctant aerospace men around her that digital imaging was the way to go, she was also continuing to be a first mover, graduating from MIT and creating a path of success for a next generation of women as scientists and engineers who would change the world.


* https://insideclimatenews.org/news/15032022/coal-mining-methane/
The Landsat mission was a proverbial 'game-changing moment. A mission -- "To understand and protect our home planet" -- was turned into reality. A Congressman versed in physics and trained as a engineer, and a scientist-engineer, a woman who had to convince the power-that-be, leaders of the military-industrial-complex who were unsupportive of her new digital Mulitspectral 'thing', to go forward digitally, that 'digital was the future, that databases from digital imaging were 'gold'. George Brown was an 'environmentalist' before the term became familiar, a man who was among the first to recognize the serious threat of global warming (before the term "climate change" became familiar.) Virgini Tower Norwood was a force to be reckoned with though surrounded by corporate bosses and uniformed generals. Together, George and Virginia changed our world. Landsat, not video but digital, was a profound moment, a beginning of humanity attempting to point digital imaging toward earth's living system and measure... 


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Landsat_data_users_handbook


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* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp,_OCO-2,_June_2014_m.jpg




<big><big><big>'''More Manchin Mania'''</big></big></big>


<big>'''Big Coal Senator Again Devastates America's Moves to Renewable Energy'''</big>
:[[File:Living Earth.png]]


<big>'''Vital Change, in a Key Policy Position, Is Shut Down by West Virginia's Senator, 'Top Gun' for Coal/Gas/Oil Money'''</big>


<big>'''Manchin Blocks Nomination of Energy-Transition Advocate to the Powerful Federal Reserve Board'''</big>


We, at GreenPolicy360, are remembering, up close, first-generation Earth Science...


<small>''Read the Story in the New Yorker''</small>
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space


&nbsp;


'''''Sarah Bloom Raskin Withdraws Her Presidential Nomination'''''
<big><big>'''The Earth Observing System (EOS)'''</big></big>


''Biden’s nominee had publicly encouraged measures to mitigate climate change, including a transition to cleaner energy, which triggered a backlash from America’s powerful oil, gas, and coal industries.''
GreenPolicy360: The mission of the Earth Observing System that became a core element of the ongoing NASA earth science programs was first envisioned in the 1970s. The constellation of satellites that now comprise a connected matrix of ongoing earth digital imaging programs came about as the U.S. Congress realized in the years following NASA's establishment that Planet Earth was central to NASA's work. The initial NASA mission statement spoke of this study of Planet Earth as a key goal of NASA programs. A new science, space and technology Congressional Committee was created to envision and oversee these programs and one of the first realizations about the need for earth science came about through the LANDSAT program [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Landsat_data_users_handbook '''(see here)''']. A historic moment brought into existence digital mapping, that is, [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/LANDSAT_and_Virginia_Tower_Norwood '''multi-spectral imaging of earth'''] from an orbiting satellite in space, envisioned and designed to collect and 'save' data of earth's living systems. This databank was considered to be essential by committee member George E. Brown who, as a physicist and engineer, began his three-decade + career in Congress. George eventually became known for his "big science" initiatives. What few knew back then at the beginning was how essential this data would become as climate science came into the light (in 1977 and '78 with George's work central to the drafting and passage of the first '''National Climate Act'''.)


On Tuesday (March 15), in the face of what she described as “relentless attacks by special interests” who oppose her frank acknowledgment that climate change could pose a threat to economic stability, Sarah Bloom Raskin submitted a letter to President Joe Biden withdrawing as his nominee to become the vice-chair for supervision of the Federal Reserve Board. For weeks, Raskin noted, the Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee “held hostage” not only her nomination but those of Biden’s four other picks to run the Fed, including the reappointment of its chair, Jerome Powell.''
In the 1980s, the Earth Observing System (EOS) work began in earnest.


''In commentary last September, Bloom Raskin suggested that regulators should “ask themselves how their existing instruments can be used to incentivize a rapid, orderly, and just transition away from high-emission and biodiversity-destroying investments.” She was merely echoing the position taken by top central bankers and economists all over the world. But her expressed hope of encouraging a potential transition to cleaner energy triggered a backlash from America’s powerful oil, gas, and coal industries. Her withdrawal will likely enable the Senate’s confirmation of the rest of Biden’s slate of nominees to the Fed, at a time of roaring inflation and mounting perils abroad. But it dooms the most powerful central bank in the world to a state of willful blindness regarding the looming chaos that scientists predict climate change will unleash.''
NASA's Project Science Office years later described its beginning with this statement:


''Bloom Raskin’s fate was sealed on Monday (March 14), when Joe Manchin, the Democratic senator from West Virginia, signalled that he would oppose her confirmation because she “failed to satisfactorily address my concerns about the critical importance of financing an all-of-the-above energy policy to meet our nation’s critical energy needs.” Manchin’s family fortune is largely derived from coal, and he has taken more money from fossil-fuel interests than any other senator during the current cycle. Every Republican member of the Senate Banking Committee has also taken money from fossil-fuel interests, cumulatively accepting more than eight million dollars during their political careers from the producers of the carbon emissions that are helping to cause climate change. Given Democrats’ single-vote advantage in the Senate, Manchin’s opposition has all but killed the Bloom Raskin nomination, relegating her to having to find a Republican vote, which seemed especially unlikely after Susan Collins, of Maine, also signalled her opposition on Monday.''
''>Results from early missions shed light on critical components of the Earth system while prompting further, more advanced investigations. The NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) program was conceived in the 1980s and began to take shape in the early 1990s. EOS is comprised of a series of coordinated polar-orbiting satellites designed to monitor and understand key components of the climate system and their interactions through long-term global observations. The EOS missions focus on the following climate science areas: radiation, clouds, water vapor, and precipitation; the oceans; greenhouse gases; land-surface hydrology and ecosystem processes; glaciers, sea ice, and ice sheets; ozone and stratospheric chemistry; and natural and anthropogenic aerosols.''


''Bloom Raskin, who is a law professor at Duke University, is not a new or untested figure on the national economic stage. She was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to top economic positions twice before.....


..“This is not a novel or radical position,” Bloom Raskin says in her letter. “The Department of Defense has been systematically analyzing the energy security risks of climate change for years, developing mitigation strategies to confront them. Banks and insurance companies incorporate financial aspects of extreme weather events into their plans. Farmers, ranchers and businesses across the country already are struggling to adapt to extreme floods, hurricanes, rising sea levels and wildfires. Central banks around the world have already begun acting on these issues. Chairman Powell has recognized climate change as a significant risk that needs to be incorporated into the supervisory process. Any vice chair for supervision who ignored these realities—which are manifesting every day across this country—would be guilty of gross dereliction of duty.”..
'''NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Reference Handbook'''


* https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/sarah-bloom-raskin-withdraws-her-nomination-to-the-federal-reserve-board
* https://eospso.gsfc.nasa.gov/mission-category/3 


* https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21417717/sarahbloomraskinletter.pdf




In June 1992, the National Space Policy Council issued a National Space Policy Directive and EOS became part of a global change observation system.


················································································


::[[File:Earth Observing System - fleet of satellites.png]]


::<small>NASA Earth Science Missions continuing to extend decades of earth system science missions</small>


<big><big>'''The Senator from West Virginia Continues to Hammer Energy Conversion Policy'''</big></big>
&nbsp;


<big>'''When One Senator, from One State, Can Continue to End Vital Energy and Climate Progress'''</big>


·················


''“I’m very reluctant to go down the path of electric vehicles,” Manchin said at the energy conference CERAWeek, held in Houston. “I’m old enough to remember standing in line in 1974 trying to buy gas – I remember those days. I don’t want to have to be standing in line waiting for a battery for my vehicle, because we’re now dependent on a foreign supply chain, mostly China.”''


''Manchin, who has taken more money in political donations from fossil fuel interests than any other senator, also said he has “a hard time understanding” why the federal government would invest in a network of electric car charging stations, as the Biden administration aims to do.''


''“I’ve read history, and I remember Henry Ford inventing the Model-T, but I sure as hell don’t remember the US government building filling stations,” Manchin said to applause. “The market did that.”''
<big>'''March'''</big>


* https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/15/manchin-reluctant-electric-cars-biden-climate-crisis-fight


<big><big>'''What happens in Antarctica doesn't stay in the Antarctic'''</big></big>




[[File:Oil profits and US gas prices.png]]
[[File:Thwaites.jpg]]




''The largest oil and gas companies made a combined $174bn in profits in the first nine months of the year as gasoline prices climbed in the US, according to a new report.''
<big>'''''Melting Antarctic ice predicted to cause rapid slowdown of deep ocean current by 2050'''''</big>


''The bumper profit totals, provided exclusively to the Guardian, show that in the third quarter of 2021 alone, 24 top oil and gas companies made more than $74bn in net income. From January to September, the net income of the group, which includes Exxon, Chevron, Shell and BP, was $174bn.''
''New research by Australian scientists suggests 40% slowdown in just three decades could alter world’s climate for centuries''


* https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/30/melting-antarctic-ice-predicted-to-cause-rapid-slowdown-of-deep-ocean-current-by-2050


* https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/dec/06/oil-companies-profits-exxon-chevron-shell-exclusive
* https://phys.org/news/2023-03-deep-ocean-currents-antarctica-collapse.html


* https://newrepublic.com/article/165658/windfall-tax-whitehouse-khanna-common-wealth


Abyssal ocean overturning slowdown and warming driven by Antarctic meltwater


* https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05762-w


················································································
<small>''The abyssal ocean circulation is a key component of the global meridional overturning circulation, cycling heat, carbon, oxygen and nutrients throughout the world ocean. The strongest historical trend observed in the abyssal ocean is warming at high southern latitudes, yet it is unclear what processes have driven this warming, and whether this warming is linked to a slowdown in the ocean’s overturning circulation. Furthermore, attributing change to specific drivers is difficult owing to limited measurements, and because coupled climate models exhibit biases in the region. In addition, future change remains uncertain, with the latest coordinated climate model projections not accounting for dynamic ice-sheet melt. Here we use a transient forced high-resolution coupled ocean–sea-ice model to show that under a high-emissions scenario, abyssal warming is set to accelerate over the next 30 years. We find that meltwater input around Antarctica drives a contraction of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), opening a pathway that allows warm Circumpolar Deep Water greater access to the continental shelf. The reduction in AABW formation results in warming and ageing of the abyssal ocean, consistent with recent measurements. In contrast, projected wind and thermal forcing has little impact on the properties, age and volume of AABW. These results highlight the critical importance of Antarctic meltwater in setting the abyssal ocean overturning, with implications for global ocean biogeochemistry and climate that could last for centuries.''</small>




'''''If greenhouse gas emissions continue at today’s levels, the current in the deepest parts of the ocean could slow down by 40% in only three decades.'''''


<big><big>'''As War in Ukraine Rages with Russia'''</big></big>
'''''This, the scientists said, could generate a cascade of impacts that could push up sea levels, alter weather patterns and starve marine life of a vital source of nutrients.'''''


''Oil & Gas Rise to the Top of the News Cycle''
'''''Antarctic ice melt could disrupt the world’s oceans ...'''''


March 8, 2022


'''''Russia warns of $300 oil, threatens to cut off European gas if West bans energy imports'''''
''The Antarctic overturning circulation is part of a global network of currents that shift heat, oxygen and nutrients around the globe''
''Global warming is accelerating the melting of ice in Antarctica, and the increased amount of fresh water flooding into the ocean is disrupting the flow of the Antarctic overturning circulation''


* https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/08/russia-warns-of-300-oil-if-ban-goes-ahead-threatens-to-cut-off-european-gas.html
* https://www.straitstimes.com/world/antarctic-ice-melt-could-disrupt-the-world-s-oceans-study
* https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/monster-iceberg-released-billions-of-tonnes-of-fresh-water-into-ocean


Russia flexes its energy muscle as one of the world’s top oil producers with an average of 10.5 million b/d in 2020, accounting for 11% of global production...
         


Russia, one of the top crude oil and petroleum exporters globally, threatens the European and global economy. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2020 Russia was the second largest net exporter sending on average 540,000 barrels daily to the United States and, in 2021, on average 670,000 barrels were exported to the United States.
····························································
 
                                         


* https://theconversation.com/can-the-us-find-enough-natural-gas-sources-to-neutralize-russias-energy-leverage-over-europe-175824
[[File:March 20 2023.png]]


* https://theconversation.com/how-russia-hooked-europe-on-its-oil-and-gas-and-overcame-us-efforts-to-prevent-energy-dependence-on-moscow-174518


The oil industry in Russia was privatized after the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia has since forced a consolidation and asserted more control over the sector. Gazprom, Rosneft and Lukoil are the top Russian oil and gas producers.
''''''Synthesis': Another IPCC Report, Another IPCC Warning''''': ''“In the near term, every region in the world is projected to face further increases in climate hazards (medium to high confidence, depending on region and hazard), increasing multiple risks to ecosystems and humans (very high confidence). Hazards and associated risks expected in the near-term include an increase in heat-related human mortality and morbidity (high confidence), food-borne, water-borne, and vector-borne diseases (high confidence), mental health challenges (very high confidence), flooding in coastal and other low-lying cities and regions (high confidence), biodiversity loss in land, freshwater and ocean ecosystems (medium to very high confidence, depending on ecosystem), and a decrease in food production in some regions (high confidence).”''


Oligarchs/Autocrats under Russian government control set the policies of the oil sector and its exports and revenue comprise a large percentage of Russian revenue and foreign reserves...
* https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/
   
   
And in response, the U.S. and Europe's economies and political dissension respond:


'We could be producing more crude in this country today... Oil and gas, more U.S. oil production that's the ticket to deal with the Russian invasion of Ukraine...' -- Republican message on the news cycle
'''GreenPolicy360: A Sad Song of Science, over and over, and over...''' [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr '''50+ years of earth science data''']


:'''The global scientific community is speaking out, again'''


Meanwhile, from the American Enterprise Institute today...
::* https://www.ipcc.ch/ar6-syr/


Here's Mark J. Perry on Twitter, March 7, 2022


''Despite the hype, fantasy and false hopes about renewable energy, fossil fuels will supply more than 75% of US energy in 2050 -- 4X more than renewables (solar, windmills, etc.) -- according to EIA's new Energy Outlook 2022''
''' 'Deja vu' time, an old story, a generational story from the first climate studies and environmental actions in the 1970s following on the first 'Earth Day' [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Day_Memories_on_the_50th_Anniversary in 1970] and continuing on to  [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Vorsorgeprinzip_at_GreenPolicy360_-_sjs.png today in 2023] ... '''


: Call us Planet Citizens venturing on to make a #PlanetCitizen difference


Then there's this... a pushback message for those pushing for more oil production
* http://www.planetcitizen.org


* https://www.vox.com/22959903/russia-ukraine-oil-gas-price-europe-us-exports-climate-change
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Generation_Green


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Citizen_Action


::::············································································································
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Problems,_Climate_Solutions


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Citizens,_Planet_Scientists




::::[[File:IPCC Report - Feb 2022.jpg]]


🌎




&nbsp;


[[File:Climate News - United Nations Report - Feb 2022.png]]
March 13, 2023




&nbsp;
Political Challenges, Fossil Fuels, Energy Infrastructure
<big><big>'''UN 'Essential Report': Adapting to climate change ‘happening worldwide’ '''</big></big>


''World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas reminded delegates that during COP26, “there was not a single head of State who questioned the scientific facts”, saying the message had got through and “has been heard”.''
[[File:Willow project in Alaska approved.png]]


* https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/02/1111952


* https://www.ipcc.ch/working-group/wg2/
[[File:Alaska Willow - March 12 2023.png]]




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:·················································································································· 


<big><big>'''EV Charging Stations, US Highways, Biden 2021 Infrastructure and Transportation Plan'''</big></big>


February 10, 2022


Google News Headlines
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Fossil_Fuels <big>'''Fossil Fuels'''</big>]


* https://arstechnica.com/cars/2022/02/four-fast-chargers-every-50-miles-us-unveils-ev-infrastructure-plan/


* https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/10/biden-rolls-out-5-billion-to-states-for-electric-vehicle-chargers.html
<big><big>'''Spreadsheet: The Oil & Gas Industry Is Making History'''</big></big>


* https://www.wsj.com/articles/ev-charging-network-will-target-interstate-highways-11644487200
: '''Profit-taking in a Historically Profitable Year'''


* https://electrek.co/2022/02/10/biden-announces-5-billion-over-5-years-for-a-nationwide-ev-charging-network/


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/02/10/electric-vehicle-charging/
:'''Saudi oil giant Aramco posts record $161.1 billion profit for 2022'''


* https://insideevs.com/news/566683/biden-electric-car-chargers-5billion/
::'''Four oil companies had total sales of $1 trillion last year'''


* https://www.marketwatch.com/story/biden-rolls-ahead-with-spending-on-interstate-ev-charging-network-11644503767
:::'''Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon and Shell all reported record profits in 2022'''




·······································································
''Oil giant Saudi Aramco has reported earning $161bn last year, claiming the highest-ever recorded annual profit by a publicly listed company and drawing immediate criticism from activists.''


''The monster profit by the firm, known formally as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., came off the back of energy prices rising after Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022, with sanctions limiting the sale of Moscow’s oil and natural gas in Western markets.''


<big>'''Economist: "Targeting methane “ultra-emitters” could cheaply slow climate change" '''</big>
* https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/12/oil-giant-saudi-aramco-records-historic-161bn-profit-in-2022




GreenPolicy360: (Project-in-Dev) We see potential for international earth science research involving current orbiting satellite missions. Emissions data targeting 'ultra-emission' sites could (and should) be made available to NGOs, educational institutions, and national governments to identify, measure/monitor, and take enforcement actions in accord with each nation's international climate pledges/promises, regulations and laws. We have set in motion steps to advance this cooperative, open-source database project (January 2022)


* https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2022/02/05/targeting-methane-ultra-emitters-could-cheaply-slow-climate-change
<big>'''CERAWeek'''</big>


'''The Industry Celebrates: The Oil & Gas Annual Global Conference'''


<big><big>Earth Science Research from Space: Methane emissions</big></big>
* https://twitter.com/hashtag/CERAWeek


'''''Extremely large emitters — releasing more than 25 tons per hour — can be seen and tracked from near-earth orbit'''''
* https://twitter.com/apienergy/status/1633123424192061440


'''''Earth imaging data from a sensor aboard a European satellite, Sentinel 5'''''
* https://twitter.com/SvitlanaRomanko/status/1632779448801017856


* https://sentinel.esa.int/web/sentinel/missions/sentinel-5


'''February 2023'''


''Using data from 2019 and 2020, (scientists) located about 1,200 of these ultra emitters, a large portion of them from Russia, Turkmenistan, the United States, the Middle East and Algeria.''


''Total emissions from these sites were estimated at about 9 million tons per year. In terms of its potential to warm the planet, that much methane is equivalent to about 275 million tons of carbon dioxide, which is the total carbon footprint of 40 million people, based on the global average per capita.''
''Fox News/Opinion / February 24, 2023''




'''''Ultra-Emitters Seen From Space: Huge Methane Leaks'''''
<big>'''''Retirement savings of millions of Americans could go to companies worried about climate change'''</big>''


* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/climate/methane-leaks-satellites.html
''Biden's ESG investment rules threaten your retirement savings''


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/02/03/cracking-down-methane-ultra-emitters-is-quick-way-combat-climate-change-researchers-find/
''GOP to Vote 'anti-woke'''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space
* https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-gop-votes-next-week-kill-bidens-woke-esg-investing-rule




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○




<big><big>'''''Can Democracy Solve the Climate Crisis'''''</big></big>
<big>'''The E.S.G. Fight Looms Ahead'''</big>


Foreign Policy Magazine
'''GreenPolicy360's position -- 'Yes, properly, intelligently, appropriately, wisely, pick your word for smart investing. Our word is an acronym. ESG, and ESG investing's time is now''''


* https://foreignpolicy.com/the-magazine/
''Kentucky passed a law targeting banks and their climate policies. Bankers sued the attorney general. Whose definition of investment risk should prevail?''


* https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/07/climate-change-democracy/
* https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/24/your-money/anti-esg-investing-kentucky.html




<big>'''''Elected officials work through compromise, but a warming planet waits for no one'''''</big>
'''''Environment, social, and governance (ESG) factors have boomed in recent years'''''  


''In the past 14 months, the United States and Germany both held national elections that placed climate change policy squarely at the center of national debate. The fact that two of the world’s five largest economies committed to addressing the world’s most pressing crisis through public discourse followed by public voting was an unprecedented democratic experiment.''
* https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2022/07/the-secs-proposed-esg-rules-aim-to-provide-better-information-to-investors/


''It did not work out as optimists hoped. On the one hand, the victorious parties in both countries vowed to achieve what was necessary to prevent the worst effects of climate change from occurring, in accordance with the international climate agreement unanimously approved in Paris in 2015. But on the other hand, in neither country can the resulting policies be described as fulfilling that promise.''


''All the major German parties (except for the far-right Alternative for Germany) said they would work to limit climate change to the 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels stipulated in the Paris Agreement; [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_90/The_Greens '''the Greens'''] claimed, plausibly, that only their platform contained ideas sufficient to fulfill the promise. But even as the Greens succeeded at joining the national government (having earned a record-breaking 15 percent at the polls - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annalena_Baerbock Annalena Baerbock is the new Foreign Minister]), few of the policy specifics found their way into the governing agenda for the next four years. The Greens claimed a higher carbon price was necessary; no mention of any such increase made it into the coalition agreement. The Greens argued that ending the domestic excavation of coal by 2030 was nonnegotiable; the government has failed to make a firm commitment to do that. The Greens claimed the country would need to invest an extra 50 billion euros ($56 billion) per year in renewable energy infrastructure; the new government has vowed instead to maintain a balanced budget.''
''Bloomberg projects that ESG investments may surpass $41 trillion worldwide by the end of 2022, up from $22.8 trillion in 2016. In the US alone, sustainable investments grew to $17.1 trillion in 2020, which accounts for a third of US assets under management according to the US Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment.''  


''A similar slippage between campaign ambition and watered-down governance has occurred in the United States. Democrat Joe Biden’s election platform vowed that the country’s electricity sector would be carbon-free by 2035 and that the entire U.S. economy would achieve full carbon neutrality by 2050—promises that the Biden administration has never disavowed. But the central policies intended to achieve those timelines have no realistic chance of passing Congress. The administration will receive nowhere close to the $2 trillion that Biden said would be necessary to fund renewable energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Manchin from the coal-producing state of West Virginia has refused to pass any law that explicitly disincentivizes the energy sector’s use of fossil fuels, as the Biden campaign had envisioned. At the same time, the Biden administration has openly lobbied the Middle Eastern oil-producing countries of OPEC to increase production, in hopes of lowering the price of gasoline for domestic drivers.''
''As interest in ESG investing grows, there is considerable variation in how fund managers define ESG and how funds approach ESG investing. For example, some funds may exclude certain polluting investments like oil and gas, while other funds may include some oil and gas companies based on their stated commitment to decarbonization. There is also variation in the utility of the ESG label to investors: researchers have found high levels of misleading claims among ESG funds.''


''The climate agendas of the current U.S. and German governments—from the Biden administration’s use of tax incentives to encourage the expansion of renewable energy to the new German government’s vow to devote 2 percent of the country’s land to the generation of wind power—are not actively harmful. In sum, they will almost certainly accelerate both countries’ reduction of carbon emissions. But by any fair accounting, they are inadequate to solving climate change on the timeline implied by the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree commitment—namely, a 50 percent reduction of emissions by 2035 and complete global carbon neutrality by 2050. “The problem with the climate measures of this new government is the speed,” said Pauline Brünger, a spokesperson for Germany’s Fridays for Future activist group.''
''Regulators and investors are questioning the approach and impact of many ESG funds. Given the lack of relevant reporting requirements, it’s difficult for investors to understand how a fund accounts for ESG factors in investment decisions and what impacts those investments have on the issues they claim to address.''  


''Representatives from the U.S. and German governments say their policies are the result of the necessary compromises demanded by the democratic process. But it’s fair to wonder whether that’s just another way of restating the problem. According to the climate science, the timelines to limit warming aren’t an expression of subjectively perceived urgency but objective measures defined by the boundary of a catastrophic climate tipping point. In a 2018 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a U.N. group of climate scientists, declared that achieving carbon neutrality by midcentury was the only way to prevent global temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees—beyond which, Arctic ice would melt (and ocean levels would rise) far more quickly, humans would more frequently suffer heat death, and vast numbers of species, from insects to sea coral, would end up on the verge of extinction.''


''In other words: Democracy works by compromise, but climate change is precisely the type of problem that seems not to allow for it. As the clock on those climate timelines continues to tick, this structural mismatch is becoming increasingly exposed. And as a result, those concerned by climate change—some already with political power, others grasping for it—are now searching for, and finding, new ways of closing the gap between politics and science, by any means necessary...''
<big><big>'''ESG Factors'''</big></big>


'''Real Money, Big Investment Money Begins to Shift Direction'''


   
'''Environmental, social, and governance investing'''  
Read the Full Article:


* https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/07/climate-change-democracy/
'''Business Intelligence (BI) @Work'''


* https://www.esg.org/what-is-esg


* https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/environmental-social-and-governance-esg-criteria.asp


····························································································· 




'''ESG Creates Value'''


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png <big><big>'''National Climate Plan Pledges & Promises Must Be Enforced'''</big></big>]
* https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/five-ways-that-esg-creates-value


''How to turn each nation's climate pledges into 'effective climate action' '''


:'''Promises & pledges of international climate summits in Paris (2015) & Glasgow (2021) now require & demand 'climate action enforcement' '''


::'''Measuring & monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with satellite missions can become a cooperative climate tool 'working nation-by-nation' '''
'''Deloitte Insight into ESG'''


 
* https://www2.deloitte.com/ce/en/pages/global-business-services/articles/esg-explained-1-what-is-esg.html
'''GreenPolicy360 Siterunner - SJS / January 2022''': Looking back to the 1960s and 70s to the beginnings of the [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space '''Earth Science from Space'''] missions of NASA and affiliated U.S. agencies in association with higher education and aerospace business, the vision statements of Congressional leaders like [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr '''Rep. George E. Brown (D-Los Angeles)'''], set in motion the [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp,_OCO-2,_June_2014_m.jpg '''measuring and monitoring'''] programs that led to decades of atmospheric and earth systems data. This constellation of new space technology -- digital imaging, Earth 360° remote viewing, scientific observations, changes over time, atmospheric and earth temperature trend lines, all came into our hands. 'Drilling down', not for gas and oil, but in the parsing of data, now has the promise to provide essential ways and means to deliver real- and extended-time knowledge bases which can be used, effectively and we propose legally, to deliver on pledges and promises made at international climate change conferences and summits.
 
Let us do our part in continuing to expand this first-generation earth science vision -- space-based cooperative missions, initiatives and ventures -- that makes it possible to turn database tracking of emissions [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Externalities '''(externalities)'''] -- CO2, methane, CFCs and other gases -- nation-by-nation into Climate Plan Enforcement (CPEs).
 
It is time to move from distant pledged goals to coordinated nation-by-nation climate action. Using best practices, effective nationally determined, and legally enforced operational plans, we can become agents of change making a positive real-world difference. As it is said -- "Earth Is In Our Hands", let us turn science and knowledge into climate action now.
 
The strategic demands for international cooperation and action is our generations greatest task and our legacy. Let us take up our climate challenge. Our time is today to enforce well intended, but extremely hard to achieve climate pledges.
 
* https://www.climatechangenews.com/2021/12/07/five-ways-satellite-observations-can-help-deliver-glasgow-climate-pact/




Line 3,343: Line 3,371:




<big><big><big>''''' 2021'''''</big></big></big>


<big><big> '''Planet Citizens & Global 360 Challenges'''</big></big>


<big><big>'''December 2021'''</big></big>
: [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Climate_Policy '''Climate Policy @GreenPolicy360''']


:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Problems,_Climate_Solutions




:::[[File:McKibben re Manchin - Dec 2021.png]]
:::'''GreenPolicy360: Act Now:'''


:::[[File:You can manage only what you can measure Dr David Crisp, OCO-2, June 2014 m.jpg]]


 
:::[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp,_OCO-2,_June_2014_m.jpg  '''Measure to Manage''']
:[[File:Manchin, one Senator, acts to kill BBB and US climate plan - Dec 19 2021.png]]


&nbsp;
&nbsp;
 
<big>'''Onward: Earth Science Travels from 1970 to 2023 with GreenPolicy360's Siterunner'''</big>


'''Mark today, December 19, 2021'''
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/User:Siterunner


One Senator today, a Senator elected by 290,000 voters in one of the least populous states, goes on the [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/manchin-says-he-cannot-vote-for-build-back-better-ive-done-everything-humanly-possible Fox channel] to announce, suddenly, that he, in explanation, has 'done everything humanly possible'. As 'swing vote' in the U.S. Senate, he will kill the Build Back Better Act and all its climate provisions. That the U.S. and world are facing #ClimateCrisis does not enter this man's mind as he explains his motive. What is seen as needed and necessary by Americans across political divides and by scientists, by young people and people of the world is nowhere seen by this man Manchin as explains to Fox on Sunday, amid Christmas season decorations, why he's bearing destructive news. What is as key to economic well being in the U.S., competitive moves as promised with infrastructure and energy, and [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Environmental_protection '''#EnvironmentalProtection'''] at home and as a global leader becomes, in one fell swoop, a tragic collapse.
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Day_Memories_on_the_50th_Anniversary


'Senator Manchin's Surprise' sweeps across U.S. and world media. The Office of the President reacts to Manchin's news with an immediate, and harsh press office statement ending with a promise to continue trying for passage 'next year'.
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_Day


* https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/19/statement-from-press-secretary-jen-psaki-4/
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr






[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Citizen_Action '''Now is the time for #ClimateAction''']
GreenPolicy360 in Action


Across the globe, the U.S. is now again seen as failing by the nations of the world. The costs of this failure will be extensive, as the U.S. comes across as untrustworthy and dysfunctional as some 200 nations attempt to put forward their own climate plans after the Glasgow Climate Summit. Calls for action, real climate action beyond promises, are a highest priority.  Governments are attempting to step up and confront the clear and present danger of the #ClimateCrisis, the U.S., after 4 years of Trump administration climate change denial, attacks on environmental science and retreat from global and national environmental protection, now faces another profound national security challenge. -- GreenPolicy360 [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Strategic_Demands '''#StrategicDemands'''] [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:New_Definitions_of_National_Security '''#NewDefinitionsofNationalSecurity''']
<big><big>'''GreenPolicy360's Climate Plans Enforcement Project'''</big></big>


'Measure, Monitor & Manage Emissions'... 'Turning National Climate Plans, Pledges & Promises into Reality'


Press Secretary Jen Psaki:  
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:INDC
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Laws
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Glasgow_Climate_Summit_-_Pledges,_Promises,_Declarations_-_What%27s_Next_Up


'''''"... Sudden and inexplicable reversal"'''''


'''''"Breach of his commitments to the President and the Senator’s colleagues in the House and Senate"'''''
::::::::···········································································


''“Senator Manchin’s comments this morning on FOX are at odds with his discussions this week with the President, with White House staff, and with his own public utterances.”''


''“Weeks ago, Senator Manchin committed to the President, at his home in Wilmington, to support the Build Back Better framework that the President then subsequently announced. Senator Manchin pledged repeatedly to negotiate on finalizing that framework ‘in good faith.'”''


''"Senator Manchin’s statement about the climate provisions in Build Back Better are wrong. Build Back Better will produce a job-creating clean energy future for this country — including West Virginia.''''
<big><big>'''GreenPolicy360'''</big></big>




* https://ijr.com/white-house-manchin-bbb-betrayed-commitments-biden-colleagues/
:: [[File:Methods to enforce climate pledges-NDCs - Dec 2021.png]]


* https://www.npr.org/2021/12/20/1065695953/build-back-better-climate-change
Climate Action Plans 360


* https://www.politicususa.com/2021/12/19/jen-psaki-statement-suggests-joe-manchin-stabbed-biden-in-the-back.html
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources ''' GrnPolicy360: Climate Plans Enforcement Initiative''']


* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/19/climate/manchin-climate-build-back-better-bill.html
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:INDC
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Global_Stocktake,_the_first_GST.jpg
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Laws
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Glasgow_Climate_Summit_-_Pledges,_Promises,_Declarations_-_What%27s_Next_Up


* https://www.eenews.net/articles/dems-scramble-seethe-after-manchin-kills-climate-bill/




How to turn each nation's climate pledges into 'effective climate action'


···········································
:Promises of international climate summits in Paris (2015) & Glasgow (2021) require 'follow through'
::Measuring & monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with satellite missions is becoming a 'GreenPolicy360 climate tool working nation-by-nation. Smart science applied and put into action by [http://www.planetcitizens.org '''planet citizens'''.]




Critical local/national/global policy, planning, and action: creating, curating, and developing climate data that underlies the U.S. National Climate Assessments


<big><big><big><big>'''Climate Wire'''</big></big></big></big>
* https://eos.org/science-updates/climate-data-you-can-trust


* https://www.eenews.net/articles/dems-scramble-seethe-after-manchin-kills-climate-bill/
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security




<big>'''''Manchin, who owns a coal company, continues to reject the notion that climate change demands urgent action. He called the climate provisions in Biden’s bill “catastrophic.”'''''</big>
:······································································




''An explosive chain reaction of finger-pointing and hand-wringing followed Sen. Joe Manchin’s declaration yesterday that he would oppose President Biden’s signature climate bill.''


''Climate experts started scrambling for workarounds to compensate for the money and policies killed by the West Virginia Democrat’s decision that he announced during a "Fox News Sunday" interview yesterday. The White House began picking up the pieces of a political coalition riven by distrust and recriminations. And climate diplomacy, already staggering from this year’s disappointing global climate summit, was poised to sink to a new low.''
<big><big>'''''[[Thin Blue Layer]]'''''</big></big>


''The bill’s defeat would mark the third time since 1993 that Democrats have failed to pass a climate law after winning unified control of government — only now, scientists say there’s no time left to preserve a safe climate.''
: <big>'''''[[Look at how thin our atmosphere is]]'''''</big>


''Global temperatures already have risen about 1.1 degrees Celsius from preindustrial levels. Biden has set a goal of cutting U.S. emissions in half by 2030 — roughly the same rate the entire world must follow, scientists say, in order to keep warming well below 2 C.''


''The $1.7 trillion "Build Back Better Act" opposed by Manchin would have directed $550 billion to climate policy, the largest pot of money in the bill. The version passed by the House included over $300 billion in clean energy tax credits and a methane fee for the oil and gas industry.''
:[[File:ThinBlue-3 iss030e031276.jpg|link=https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/ThinBlue_iss030e031276.jpg]]


''Its collapse raises new problems for Democrats’ 2022 midterm campaigns, as well as future international efforts to combat global warming.''


<big><big>'''Atmospheric Science / Earth Science @GreenPolicy360'''</big></big>


~
: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space '''Earth Science Research from Space''']


: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security '''New Definitions of National Security''']


''Internationally, the ramifications of Biden’s failure could take longer to materialize. America’s ability to meet its own climate commitments is seen as key to getting other countries to do more to tackle the climate crisis.''
: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/@Earth360 '''@Earth360''']


''For now, some deals struck on the sidelines of COP 26 likely will be unaffected by Congress’ inaction. Those agreements include a commitment among more than 100 countries to cut methane emissions and a new corporate-centered campaign to get heavy-polluting companies to green their supply chains (Greenwire, Oct. 5).''
: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/OCO-2 '''OCO-2 / OCO-3''']


''Where it will matter most is on U.S. credibility.''
: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Right_Now '''Earth Right Now''']


''“The diplomacy around climate change is easy to overstate," said David Victor, a public policy professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. “But it’s got to make enough progress that everyone in the world sees that as a legitimate process and that there are efforts being made.”''
: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Vital_Signs '''Earth Science Vital Signs''']


''Before and after COP 26, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry pushed China, India, Russia and several other large emitters to step up their climate mitigation efforts — even as they have chided the United States for failing to pass climate legislation.''


''Kerry told E&E News in October that the United States could meet its climate goals without legislation. As an example, he pointed to the role businesses could play in helping reduce global emissions (Climatewire, Oct. 15).''
······················································






·······················
[[File:Earth Information Center from NASA.jpg]]




* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Earth_Information_Center_from_NASA.jpg


<big>[[Glasgow Climate Summit - Pledges, Promises, Declarations - What's Next Up]]</big>




<big><big>'''Glasgow Climate Summit (COP26) - Pledges, Promises, Declarations'''</big></big>
Climate Change - NASA
:* https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/ | Vital Signs


<big>Multiple Shades of Climate Action Promised and Agreements-Yet-To-Become-Reality</big>
Climate Change - MIT
:* https://climateprimer.mit.edu/ | Climate Science, a Primer


Climate Change - Metrics
:* https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/climate-change-data-green/ | Bloomberg Green Climate Data-Dashboard Intel


GreenPolicy360: How many results of the Glasgow Summit are legally binding? What can be expected as a reality check as the thousands who attended the Glasgow Climate Summit return home to their some 200 nations around the world?


It's time for a reality check. Given the gravity of the threat of #ClimateChange, of global disruption of Earth's life supporting systems, of the biosphere and life on Earth as we know it, shouldn't our governments turn to the clear and present danger of the #ClimateCrisis? 
[[File:NOAA Climate.Gov.png]]


As the following "Reflections on Glasgow a Few Weeks Later" by Ted Parson, Esq., a legal expert on International Environmental Law explains with citations and copious detail, "how big a contribution they (nations attending the Glasgow conference) will make needs to be taken with a 'grain of salt. They will probably fall short of initial optimistic estimates, sometimes by a lot."


&nbsp;


The fact is the Glasgow Climate Summit and its pledges, promises and declarations "mostly lack provisions for enforcement, monitoring, or even standardized reporting."
[[File:CO2 photo.JPG]]


GreenPolicy360 continues to express our belief in the need for enforcement of promises being made as Conferences of the Parties, promises after promises pass by year after year.


How can nations access and share successful models, best practices, regulations and laws in order to achieve real, verifiable climate progress?
&nbsp;


How best can we deliver cooperative open access to measure and monitor each nation's promised programs and progress?
----




&nbsp;


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png
[[File:Global temperature change 1850-2016.gif]]






[[File:Methods to enforce climate pledges-NDCs - Dec 2021.png]]
<big><big>'''Global temperature spiral (1850-2020)'''</big></big>


Visit the Global Temperature GIF animation, updated thru 2020






<small>''' "We have to identify the problem, then act in many ways to solve the problem. Global warming is the threat of our times."''' </small>


················································································································································
:<small>-- [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Governor_Jerry_Brown '''Jerry Brown, California Governor''']</small>




<small>''' "We’re going to need to use every tool in the toolbox if we’re going to solve this problem." '''</small>


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:New_German_government_announces_far_reaching_climate_plans.png <big><big>'''New German Government Announces Far-reaching Climate Plans'''</big></big>]
:<small>-- [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Michael_E_Mann_--_act_with_hope_not_fear.jpg '''Michael E. Mann''']</small>




[[File:New German government announces far reaching climate plans.png]]
:[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Anthropocene <font color=orange><big><big><big>'''Anthropocene'''</big></big></big></font>]


&nbsp;


····················································································································································
<big>'''Climate Central Online Dashboard'''</big>


''Online tools to help meteorologists and journalists cover connections between weather, news, and climate in real time, and to alert public and private organizations and individuals about particular local conditions related to climate change, its impacts, or its solutions.''


* https://www.climatecentral.org/


[[File:Historic photographs - Humble Oil TX - Exxon.png]]


Nations are aiming to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius but even if all nations achieve the targets set for themselves at the [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Change_Summit_Paris '''2015 Paris Agreement'''] and ([https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/INDCs '''intended and nationally determined climate goals''']), our [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/26/climate/greenhouse-gas-emissions-un-climate-report.html '''average global temperatures are on track to rise by 2.7 degrees Celsius by the end of the century''']




&nbsp;


····································
[[File:Mauna Loa CO2 - April 2022.png]]


:::::* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:C02_in_atmosphere_chart-3.png




<big><big>'''November 2021'''</big></big>
&nbsp;


<big><big><big>'''Watch the Curve'''</big></big></big>


:[https://www.history.com/news/keeling-curve-global-warming-climate-change <big><big>'''The Keeling Curve'''</big></big>]


[[File:Climate strike - Week 171.png]]
::<big>'''Keeling's Curve has been called one of the most important scientific works of the 20th century'''</big>




::[[File:C02 in atmosphere chart-3.png]]


······························································································································


[[File:Global fossil fuel emissions - in a lifetime graphic.png]]


[[File:Energy Charter Treaty.jpg]]


&nbsp;


::::[[File:Our Biggest Experiment - by Alice Bell.jpg]]


···············································································




🌎


<big><big>'''''Glasgow's hope for the climate battle'''''</big></big>


: by Michael E. Mann and Susan Joy Hassol
<big>'''GreenPolicy360 and Strategic Demands:'''</big>


<big>[[New Definitions of National Security]]</big>


<big>''"Our future now depends on holding leaders accountable for carrying out the pledges they made at Glasgow."''</big>
<big>[[Eco-nomics]]</big>


:* https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-11-13/cop26-glasgow-climate-change
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security


* https://strategicdemands.com/new-definitions-of-security/


:: [[File:Michael Mann - Susan Joy Hassol after Glasgow.jpg]]
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Eco-nomics
 




Line 3,538: Line 3,590:




GreenPolicy360: PlanetCitizens, Planet Scientists confront the climate change crisis and chart the data and physics of change.


[[File:COP26 concludes.png]]
We must act now, each of us, to make a positive difference.  


[[File:COP26 concludes - 2.png]]
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Citizens,_Planet_Scientists


[[File:COP26 concludes - 3.png]]


[[File:Oceans hottest in 2022.png]]


::<small>* https://weather.com/news/climate/video/worlds-ocean-were-hottest-on-record-in-2022</small>


······························································································································································




[[File:House passes biggest climate investment in U.S. history.png]]
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Too_Hot <big><big><big> <font color=orange>'''''The Heat Is On'''''</font></big></big></big>]




November 19
''GENEVA (AP) — Much of the Alps just don’t look right for this time of year. Sparse snowfall and unseasonably warm winter weather in Europe’s central mountains are allowing grass to blanket hillsides across the region...''


<big><big>'''U.S. House of Representatives passes biggest climate investment in U.S. history'''</big></big>
''The dearth of snow has revived concerns about temperature upheaval linked to climate change.''


<big>Now the legislative package goes to the Senate</big>
''The start to 2023 picked up where many countries had already left off: Last year was the hottest on record in both Switzerland and France. More broadly, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization says the past eight years are on track to be the eight warmest on record. Its final tally on global temperature figures for 2022 will be released in mid-January.''


* https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/19/house-passes-biggest-climate-investment-in-us-history-.html
''Germany too has seen unusually springlike temperatures — as high as 16 degrees Celsius (61 Fahrenheit) in parts of the country on Monday. New Year’s Eve is believed to have been the warmest since reliable records began. The German Weather Service reported readings of 20 Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) and just above at four weather stations in southern Germany, news agency dpa reported.''




<big>'''$555 billion in climate programs'''</big>
🌎




''(The overall 'Build Back Better' legislative package) biggest climate spending components include 10-year tax credits to expand and accelerate investments in renewable power, including wind, solar and nuclear. The bill also includes a proposal to raise the electric vehicle tax credit to up to $12,500 for vehicles made at a unionized factory in the U.S.''
<big><big>'''''[[Planet Citizen Action]]'''''</big></big>


''Other climate-related items in the legislation include:''


: ''Delivering consumer rebates for shifting to clean energy and electrification''
:''[[PlanetCitizen]] | [[Planet Citizens]] | [[Planet Citizens, Planet Scientists]]''


: ''Advancing environmental justice by investing in disadvantaged communities''
::''[[EarthPOV]] | [[Earth Right Now]] | [[Earth Science Vital Signs]]''
   
: ''Creating a new Civilian Climate Corp to create jobs and conserve public lands''
   
: ''Investing in coastal restoration, forest management and soil conservation.''




🌎


:[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Global_Climate_Agreements_Through_the_Years.pdf <big><big>''Global Climate Agreements Through the Years''</big></big>]


<big><big>'''''After COP26 Summit, World Waits to See if U.S. Democratic Party Can Pass Climate Legislation'''''</big></big>
;:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/index.php?title=File:Global_Climate_Agreements_Through_the_Years.pdf


* https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/after-cop26-summit-world-waits-to-see-if-democrats-can-pass-climate-legislation/




''Dozens of congressional Democrats traveled to Scotland last week, where they met with high-level U.N. officials and global leaders to convince the world that they will deliver on President Biden’s pledge to halve emissions by 2030. The sales team included multiple Senate delegations, as well as a group of more than 20 House Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)''
[[File:Climate Change Poses a Widening Threat to National Security.png]]


''“The reception there was overwhelmingly positive,” House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Chair Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) said in an interview after returning from Scotland on Friday. “For example, members of the European Parliament who we met with, they went out of their way to say, ‘Thankfully, the U.S. is back. We need you as a strong partner to meet the scientific imperative and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.’”''


''House Democrats are hoping to pass the $1.7 trillion reconciliation package—which includes some $555 billion for climate and clean energy—this week. That would send it on to the 50-50 Senate, where Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has raised concerns about key climate provisions and where slow procedural timetables could push consideration of the bill into December.''


<big><big>'''GreenPolicy360 and Strategic Demands Continue Decades of Advocacy for 'New Definitions of National Security''''</big></big>


🌎
:As [http://www.planetcitizens.com '''Planet Citizens'''], we continue working to rethink and redefine the orthodox definitions that nations in the past have used to project power and 'spheres of influence'


::'Hard (military) power' and 'soft (diplomatic) power' have limits (think of [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Nuclear_Weapons '''nuclear weapons'''])


<big>'''''Reports from the International Climate Summit'''''</big>
:::Real, overarching security demands a new vision, a mutual security, a new strategic understanding


::::GreenPolicy360 & Strategic Demands are envisioning [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Whole_Earth ''''whole earth''''] strategic security solutions


[[File:COP26 Climate Summit concludes.jpg]]
:::::* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security


::::::* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Global_Security


'''''November 13, 2021'''''
:::::::* https://strategicdemands.com/new-definitions-of-security/


<big>'''''At COP26, nations agree to speed climate action, but world remains off target'''''</big>
::::::::* https://strategicdemands.com/environmental-security/


''Exhausted negotiators from nearly 200 nations struck a deal Saturday intended to propel the world toward more urgent climate action, without offering the transformative breakthrough scientists say must happen if humanity is to avert catastrophic warming.''


* https://apple.news/ASwRW5wCNRQCW6HrV8a1lUQ
&nbsp;


----


🌎


&nbsp;


[[File:LMDCs make their case at the Glasgow climate summit.png]]


<big><big><big><big>''''' 2022'''''</big></big></big></big>


&nbsp;




[[File:LDCs face the climate crisis, raise the alarm - Nov 2021.png]]
<big>'''December 2022'''</big>




<big>'''GreenPolicy360: As we all approach 2023 the message we carry, and how best to carry it, deepens in importance'''</big>


······················································································································································································
Onward Planet Citizens !


* http://www.planetcitizens.org


'''Go Gavin Go. Time for science, measuring & monitoring, facts to confront the pressing challenges of #ClimateChange'''
* https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/climate-crisis/who-really-invented-the-climate-stripes


: Via NASA: "You can manage only what you can measure"
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Good_science_needs_good_data_.png


: #AtmosphericScience #EarthScience #StrategicDemands #PlanetCitizensPlanetScientists
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Stats_-_Green_Research_%26_Science


:: * https://fb.watch/9bvqr4CFSJ/


[[File:Who really invented the climate stripes - Climate Change Education.png]]


[[File:Gavin in Glasgow - Nov 10 2021.png]]


[[File:Global temperature change - from 1850-2019.jpg]]


[[File:You can manage only what you can measure Dr David Crisp, OCO-2, June 2014 m.jpg]]


::[[File:Mapping changes in global temperature 1850-2022.png]]




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[[File:IMG 20180801 105449.jpg]]






'''''November 6, 2021'''''
🌎




[[File:Glasgow-Climate Conference News-Nov 6, 2021.png]]
<big><big>'''Will the Climate Action Pledges Be Honored?'''</big></big>


UN Climate Change Executive Secretary speaking at the COP27 closing plenary


* https://unfccc.int/news/cop27-closing-remarks-by-the-un-climate-change-executive-secretary


'''''November 5'''''  
''Friends, we came here to Sharm el-Sheikh to launch a new phase of our collective process. The secretariat will help parties and future presidents to navigate this path to the new phase of implementation. I will take this responsibility seriously. I will listen carefully to all parties and other stakeholders in the coming months. I intend to share my views with parties on the margins of the June sessions on the operation of this inter-governmental process. As custodian of this process, I'm gaining a much clearer vision of how we do things differently.''


''I see the following. Firstly, accountability on the commitments that are made by nations, sectors, businesses and institutions. There is absolutely no point putting ourselves through all that we've just gone through if we're going to participate in an exercise of collective amnesia the moment the cameras move on. The numbers on our NDCs just don't add up. The transparency of commitments from countries, businesses and institutions will be a priority of the Secretariat. The Secretary General asked the Secretariat to come up with a plan early next year on how we'll ensure transparency and accountability with non-state actors, that have been critical in getting us to where we are today. They are critical in getting us to where we need to be. Civil society should take significant credit for helping us get to this point. Without the voices of individuals, whether they're activists, researchers, scientists, youth or indigenous peoples, we would not have gotten this far.''


''Less than a week into the international climate summit in Glasgow, known as COP26, the mood is mixed.  
''Secondly, I've been humbled thinking about the millions of people around the world who've been following our challenges and progress here at COP 27. This is a joint human endeavor like no other. To protect our collective future. Your voices at home have an immediate impact on policymakers and what they feel is demanded and what they feel is possible. Your voices have a direct impact on how we find our way forward at the multilateral level. You can help us deliver transformations in global systems that are needed if we are able to deal with this crisis. And finally, our global financial system must be pushed and multilateral development banks reformed to be able to harness their financial power, technical expertise and leverage further private finance. The cost of inaction is far, far greater than the cost of action.''


''There have been positive developments, such as pledges to end and reverse deforestation, a deal to cut methane emission levels by 30% by 2030 and new commitments to phase out coal power.''  
''We now have only seven COP sessions ahead of us before 2030. We must focus on 2030 and then work back from there. We have a series of milestones ahead. We must pull together with resolve through all processes, may they be national, regional or others such as the G20. Every single milestone matters and builds momentum. Keep your eye on 2030. That is our horizon...''


''Ultimately, however, the success of the summit will be judged on whether countries and companies can keep the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal alive. This critically important temperature threshold refers to the aspirational target of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement.''


''Experts say it is difficult to see how COP26 can steer the world toward 1.5 degrees Celsius.''
GreenPolicy360:


* https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/05/cop26-climate-summit-why-glasgow-is-drawing-parallels-to-copenhagen.html
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png


································································································


🌎


<big><big>A First-Hand Point of View at the International Climate Summit</big></big>




By [https://yaleclimateconnections.org/author/lauren-boritzke-smith/ '''Lauren Boritzke Smith''']
<big><big>'''Global Summit Ends: 35,000+ participants leave for their home nations and territories'''</big></big>


GLASGOW, Scotland, COP 26 – ''Being on the ground in Glasgow, Scotland, for COP26 is a strange and humbling experience... The work happening here is fast-paced, desperate, hopeful, angering, innovative, rooted in community … and frustrating. So many stories here plead to be heard as the world heads for further warming on a runaway train of emissions...''


So, what does it truly feel like to be here at COP26? [https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/11/frustrations-over-voices-unrepresented-in-formal-cop26-talks/ '''Read More''']
[[File:COP27 logo.png]]




The Global Climate Summit (COP27) Website


[[File:Climate Summit - Leonardo DiCaprio.png]]
* https://cop27.eg/#/






[[File:Fox headline - Biden calls climate crisis 'an existential threat'.jpg]]


<big>'''In a 2,020-word statement, Special Presidential Envoy for the Climate John Kerry said the nations of the world lag far behind on the pledges they had promised under the Paris accords he helped broker in 2015...'''</big>


&nbsp;
* https://eg.usembassy.gov/u-s-special-presidential-envoy-for-climate-john-kerry-cop27-closing-statement/


[[File:NYT - Nov 1 - Day 1 headlines from Glasgow Climate Summit.png]]


''Almost two years ago this very week, President-elect Biden asked me to be his special envoy for climate. It was a perilous moment. The world was rushing toward climate chaos. Any hope of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius was slipping further and further away.''


&nbsp;
''We’ve been sprinting to make up for lost time ever since – starting on day one, when President Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement, and with our updated nationally determined contribution. It’s been full steam ahead to confront the climate crisis – both at home, and in partnership around the world.''


''Time to act to make a difference''
''One year ago, we left COP26 in Glasgow with nations representing 65 percent of global GDP committed to 2030 targets in line with 1.5℃. The International Energy Agency calculated that if all the commitments and initiatives put forward by Glasgow were fully implemented, we could limit warming to 1.8 degrees.''


''One year later, as we depart Sharm el-Sheikh, the IEA now tells us that if the new commitments and actions announced here are fully implemented, we can limit warming to 1.7 degrees. That’s a journey – from well over 2 degrees to 1.8 to now 1.7 – that we can be proud of, even as we recognize we are just getting started. But make no mistake: we have kept the hope of 1.5 alive. How? By implementing real projects and deploying real dollars to accelerate the energy transition, which enables us to further enhance global ambition...''


[[File:COP26 in GLASGOW - 31 OCT-12 NOV 2021.jpg]]


''We are partnering with nations on an array of initiatives to drive action in this critical decade.''


<big><big>'''International climate negotiations in Glasgow, Scotland'''</big></big>
''150 countries – fully three-quarters of the nations of the world – have now joined us in the Global Methane Pledge, to slash global methane emissions 30 percent by 2030. Over 95 percent of countries will include methane in their 2030 NDC targets. Tackling methane is the fastest, most effective way to reduce near-term warming and keep 1.5℃ within reach.''


* https://ukcop26.org/


''Contributor countries and public funds can’t do the job alone. We need a massive infusion of private capital.''


''That is why the United States, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Bezos Earth Fund have introduced the concept of an Energy Transition Accelerator to catalyze private capital that will speed the transition from dirty to clean power in developing countries. Over the coming year, we’ll engage with governments, companies, and civil society – all the relevant stakeholders – to build in strong guardrails ensuring both a just transition and full environmental integrity.''


[[File:Earth Summit 1992.jpg]]
''As we work to reduce emissions and avert the consequences of runaway warming, we also must help vulnerable countries cope with the impacts they are experiencing today and will in the future.''




○


<big><big>'''Remembering the First Earth Summit'''</big></big>


GreenPolicy360 Siterunner: Thirty years ago and now I'm older and looking back at the first "Earth Summit" that led to the first global  'Conference of the Parties'. My reports to the Environmental News Service (ENS) picked up on the green, environmental platform planks I was also adding to the [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Jerry_w_Steve_%2792_pres_campaign_at_the_Dem_plat_hearing_m.jpg '''Platform in Progress'''] for California Governor Jerry Brown's presidential campaign. The first Earth Summit and Governor Brown's energetic efforts both moved a vital, forward-looking vision and both encountered myriad obstacles from powers-that-be and business-as-usual. The obstacles didn't stop before or after 1992. The work continued on and continues to today... November 2021, fifty years on...
<big>'''Activists and some national leaders say they are becoming disillusioned with the COP summits'''</big>


I'm now remembering and picking up and continuing the threads of Representative [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr '''George E. Brown's work] '''to advance climate science, beginning in earnest with the first [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png '''National Climate Act of 1978'''] and establishment of the [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:1977_from_the_Office_of_Science_and_Technology_Policy.jpg '''Office of Science and Technology Policy'''] to push what was called a "big science, earth science" agenda with the first generation of [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_Science '''focused earth studies and science'''], [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp,_OCO-2,_June_2014_m.jpg '''measuring and monitoring'''] [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/The_Commons ''' 'the Commons' '''], [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Atmospheric_Science '''earth's atmosphere'''], natural resources (e.g., [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Landsat_data_users_handbook '''Landsat's start up'''] and a [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space '''deep, multi-decade array of NASA/NOAA/USGS missions'''] that have now continued for half a century.
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environmnet/2022/11/21/john-kerry-cop27-climate-biden/


A tip of our GreenPolicy360 hat to [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Citizens '''#PlanetCitizens'''] and [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Citizens,_Planet_Scientists '''#PlanetCitizensPlanetScientists'''.]


Here's to '''Opportunity for Citizen Activism'''  
<big>'''State Department releases official U.S. positions on the Global Climte Summit (COP27)'''</big>


&nbsp;
''Climate change poses an existential threat to people and our planet. It is already threatening lives and livelihoods as families and communities are being displaced by natural disasters and water scarcity. Recognizing the urgency of addressing the climate crisis, we have engaged in a whole-of-government effort to mitigate the output of dangerous greenhouse gases, to increase other nations’ climate ambitions, and to strengthen the United States’ and the world’s capacity to adapt to the planet’s changing environment.''


* https://www.state.gov/demonstrating-the-u-s-commitment-to-climate-action-at-cop27/


<big><big>'''October 2021'''</big></big>


* https://www.state.gov/u-s-announcements-on-ocean-climate-action-at-cop27/


* https://www.state.gov/the-united-states-announces-the-first-cohort-of-countries-to-endorse-the-ocean-conservation-pledge-at-cop27/


[[File:Earth gets hotter, deadlier during decades of climate talks - AP Oct 30 2021.png]]
* https://www.state.gov/u-s-leadership-advances-global-efforts-to-conserve-critical-ecosystems-and-protect-carbon-sinks-a-progress-report-on-implementing-u-s-efforts-on-the-plan-to-conserve-global-forests-critical-carbon/


* https://www.state.gov/global-methane-pledge-from-moment-to-momentum/


'''October 30, 2021 / Associated Press'''


[https://apnews.com/article/climate-science-technology-environment-europe-98e55f2c64aa6d3dc76a5fc64f8d4ba2 '''''Earth gets hotter, deadlier during decades of climate talks''''']
○




[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oren_Lyons Oren Lyons], Chief of the Onondaga Iroquois Nation, writes of ancient wisdom:
November 20, 2022


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Seventh_Generation
GreenPolicy360: As the global climate conference in Egypt ends, and the results are announced and published, agreements and non-agreements, progress and missed opportunity, it becomes apparent that the Conference of the Parties, COP27, didn't accomplish what was needed and necessary #ClimateAction #StrategicDemands




Via The Guardian


'''October 29'''
<big>'''Key Outcomes of COP27'''</big>


* https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/20/cop27-climate-summit-egypt-key-outcomes


<big><big>'''Biden's Climate Plan Survives Negotiations in Congress'''</big></big>


'''Next Step, Turn the Framework Agreement into Passed Legislation'''
🌎


WaPo / ''Biden’s new Build Back Better bill has $555 billion for climate, making it the biggest clean energy bill ever''


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/10/28/climate-biden-build-back-better/
<big>'''''What Happened at COP27 After EU Threatened to Walk Out'''''</big>


* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/climate/climate-change-framework-bill.html
By Bloomberg Green


* https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/29/joe-biden-climate-plan-emissions-cop26
* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-19/eu-threatens-to-walk-away-from-cop27-climate-talks-in-egypt




''The White House’s Build Back Better plan unveiled Thursday represents the biggest clean-energy investment in U.S. history, with a $555 billion package of tax credits, grants and other policies aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions that are fueling climate change.''
🌎


''Although Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) forced Democrats to drop a key provision targeting the electric power sector, the final bill includes an array of tax credits for companies and consumers that will make it easier to buy electric vehicles, install solar panels, retrofit buildings and manufacture wind turbines and other clean-energy equipment in the United States.''


''The climate package comes at a time when President Biden is hoping to demonstrate at a high-profile United Nations summit next week that the United States can meet its international climate commitments. The legislation, coupled with executive actions, could help Biden halve U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in less than nine years compared with 2005 levels.''
<big>'''U.S. Climate Representative Focuses In On Methane Mitigation and Cuts Pledge'''</big>


''“This is game-changing,” said Carol Browner, who served as President Barack Obama’s top climate adviser... Comparing it to the 2009 stimulus bill that funneled billions of dollars to clean energy, Browner said, “This is six times the amount of Obama’s investment, and we thought that was big.”''
: GreenPolicy360 Pushes for 'Climate Plans Enforcement', 'Moving from Promises & Pledges to Action & Verification'


[[File:Methane cuts pledge - COP27.png]]


'''''Clean energy central to the Biden economic agenda'''''


''“Climate in 2020 became an electoral powerhouse,” said Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who co-sponsored a cap-and-trade bill that passed the House in 2009 but stalled in the Senate. “That army of the Sunrise Movement, the youth climate strikers, they have proven that if you organize around clean energy, around climate issues, you can change the inside dynamic of the back rooms of Washington.”''
🌎


''Documents from the White House and analyses by independent experts suggest the legislation will reduce U.S. annual carbon dioxide emissions by about a gigaton, nearly a sixth of its current annual emissions.''


<big>'''An Insider Listing with Analysis of the Documents and Agreements Being Discussed, Debated and Decided at the Global Climate Summit'''</big>


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Via CarbonBrief


* https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Z0wyEGoU_6da9SGNlsqzyi8PPEa0fkeIYjne4Xcmezo/edit#gid=0


[[File:Oct 21, 2021 - On Eve of International Climate Summit.jpg]]
🌎




<big><big>'''Fossil Fuels Production Soars'''</big></big>
<big><big>'''Global Methane Pledge'''</big></big>


* https://strategicdemands.com/fossil-fuels-producation-soars/
* https://www.globalmethanepledge.org/


* https://productiongap.org/2021report/
* https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2022/the-global-methane-pledge


* https://www.newstatesman.com/chart-of-the-day/2021/10/how-the-world-is-on-course-for-failure-on-climate-change
* https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/cop27-more-countries-join-methane-pact-focus-turns-farms-waste-2022-11-17/




* https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/the-global-methane-pledge-cop26-explainer/ (@COP26)


::[[File:Production Gap - productiongap.org.png]]


○


[[File:Production Gap - fossil fuel production continues soaring - 2021 report.png]]


[[File:Climate Change COP27 - Nov 11 2022 US Representatives.jpg]]


::[[File:Production Gap - UN report on fossil fuel production.png]]


[[File:Climate Change COP27 - Nov 11 Kathy Castor.jpg]]


<small>Kathy Castor, (D-Tampa, Florida), Chair, Select Committee on the Climate Crisis</small>


<big><big><big>'''Private Equity Funds, Sensing Profit in Tumult, Are Propping Up Oil'''</big></big></big>


* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/13/climate/private-equity-funds-oil-gas-fossil-fuels.html
'''Watch the presentation of the U.S. Delegation at the Global Climate Change Conference - COP27'''


: View the Closed Caption Remarks and Complete Text Compiled by C-Span




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November 11, 2022


* https://www.c-span.org/video/?524184-1/speaker-pelosi-holds-news-conference-global-climate-conference


October 20, 2021


NY Times


🌎


<big>'''''How a Single Senator Derailed Biden's Climate Plan'''''</big>


: ''The Centerpiece of the president's environmental agenda has fallen apart because of the objections of a single senator.''


[[File:Global Stocktake, the first GST.jpg]]


[[File:Manchin kills the Biden climate plan.jpg]]




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<big><big>'''Time for Planet Citizen Action and a "CEOS", a Committee on Earth Observation Satellites'''</big></big>


GreenPolicy360 welcomes the arrival of a global science mission, a "Global Stocktake", a collection of earth science data to be made available to the  community of nations, to planet citizen activists and scientists, educational institutions, non-profits, NGOs, young and old to become tools for legal enforcement of national climate plans & pledges


'''''Does one West Virginia coal-state Senator kill the US plan to confront the #ClimateCrisis'''''
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Global_Stocktake,_the_first_GST.jpg


* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/20/podcasts/the-daily/joe-biden-climate-plan-joe-manchin.html


'''View GreenPolicy360's 'National Climate Plans Enforcement' Project'''


''Disabling... one week before the start of the international climate summit... the US climate response model intended to provide a guide for global nation-by-nation #ClimateAction''


<big>'''''GreenPolicy360's Campaign to 'Turn National Climate Promises & Pledges into Reality' '''''</big>


[[File:Manchin moves - Dr Volts - Oct 25.jpg]]
: Our Climate Plans Enforcement Initiative continues as the next Global Climate Conference approaches, November's Conference of the Parties (COP27)


:: Drawing from the database of Earth Science resulting from decades of space-based missions designed to provide us with actionable 'Earth-system and Climate-related data'


''History will tell the story of Senator Manchin''
::: Measuring and Monitoring to better manage Earth's Living, Dynamic and Changing Systems, Local, National and Global




'''''The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October - 12 November 2021'''''
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png ''Methods to Enforce Climate Plan Pledges'']


* https://ukcop26.org/  
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources ''GreenPolicy360: Climate Plans Enforcement Initiative'']


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:INDC ''Pressuring Nations to Step Up, Cooperate, and Act Now'']


○
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Laws ''Environmental Laws, Regs, Rules... Lawsuits & Legal Actions'']


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Glasgow_Climate_Summit_-_Pledges,_Promises,_Declarations_-_What%27s_Next_Up ''Glasgow (2021) & Paris (2015) Summits: Int'l Climate Plan Pledges & Promises (INDCs-NDCs)'']


<big>'''October 18, 2021 / As the [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:COP26_in_GLASGOW_-_31_OCT-12_NOV_2021.jpg ''COP-26 Global Climate Summit Approaches'']'''</big>


: '''Fifty + Years of Climate Science -- It's Overdue Time for International Climate Action'''


[[File:Earth Observing System - fleet of satellites.png]]


The science is saying '''#ClimateCrisis''' to all who would listen -- The time is NOW to act to make a positive difference in our common future
"Earth Observing System": Decades of Earth Science/Climate Science Data Accessible for Planet Citizen Action


: <small>''' "There is a near-linear relationship between cumulative anthropogenic CO2 emissions and the global warming they cause."''' </small>


:: * https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-18/the-climate-science-you-missed
:[[File:EarthRightNow Earth Science satellite fleet circa 2015 m.jpg]]




[[File:Changes in carbon dioxide per 1000 years - via Climate Central.jpg]]
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Earth_Observing_System_-_fleet_of_satellites.png


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space


:[[File:Global temperature change 1901-2000.jpg]]




🌎


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[[File:Biden urged to act - Oct 18 2021 - The Guardian.png]]
: [[File:Time Nov 10 2022 COP27.jpg]]


: <small>* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Time_Nov_10_2022_COP27.jpg</small>




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<big><big>'''Climate Summit / COP27 Updates - November 11, 2022'''</big></big>


Via NY Times Reporters/Live - On Location


<big><big><big>[[Money in Politics]]</big></big></big>
* https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/11/11/climate/cop27-climate-summit


* https://time.com/6232753/bad-news-for-the-planet-as-global-carbon-emissions-continue-to-increase/


[[File:Planet Plan B - for Senator Manchin.jpg]]


* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/16/climate/democrats-carbon-tax-climate.html
<big>Transcript of President Biden's Speech at the 27th International Climate Conference</big>


* https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/11/11/remarks-by-president-biden-at-the-27th-conference-of-the-parties-to-the-framework-convention-on-climate-change-cop27-sharm-el-sheikh-egypt/




[[File:McKibben reaction to Manchin blocking Biden's climate plan.png]]
<big>More from the Global Climate Conference</big>


COP27: Biden says the climate crisis is about ‘very life of the planet’


* https://www.npr.org/2022/11/11/1136000297/biden-says-u-s-will-rise-to-the-global-challenge-of-climate-change


[[File:Manchinema - Manchin and Sinema block climate action - and are rewarded by lobbyist contributions.png]]
* https://www.ucsusa.org/about/news/president-bidens-cop27-speech-highlights-climate-progress-us-still-falling-behind-global




&nbsp;


<big>'''Historic Levels of Political Spending and #PoliticoPay from Lobbyists, Online Solicitations, PACS, 'Deep Pockets' and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_money 'Dark Money'] '''</big>
🌎




[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/16/us/politics/midterm-elections-campaign-financing.html '''''Money Floods the Race for Control of Congress (NYT/Oct 16, 2021)''''']
[[File:COP27 'opening speech'.png]]


''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_Street_%28Washington,_D.C.%29 K Street] is a major thoroughfare in the United States capital of Washington, D.C. known as a center for numerous lobbyists and advocacy groups. In political discourse, "K Street" has become a metonym for Washington's lobbying industry since many lobbying firms were traditionally located on the section in Northwest Washington which passes from Georgetown through a portion of Downtown D.C''


&nbsp;


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SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT, Nov 7 (Reuters) - ''United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres told countries gathered at the start of the COP27 summit in Egypt on Monday they face a stark choice: work together now to cut emissions or condemn future generations to climate catastrophe.''


&nbsp;
''The speech set an urgent tone as governments sit down for two weeks of talks on how to avert the worst of climate change, even as they are distracted by Russia’s war in Ukraine, rampant consumer inflation and energy shortages.''


[[File:Roadmap to Build an Economy Resilient to Climate Change Impacts - Oct 2021.jpg]]




'''Fact Sheet - Biden administration roadmap to build an economy resilient to climate change impacts'''
[[File:COP27 logo.png]]


* https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/15/fact-sheet-biden-administration-roadmap-to-build-an-economy-resilient-to-climate-change-impacts/


<big><big>'''COP27'''</big></big>


: <big>'''Time for [[Planet Citizen Action]]'''</big>


::::··················································································································
:* https://stories.undp.org/cop27-a-chance-to-act




[[File:Green New Deal - Strategic Demands - Oct 1, 2021.png]]
[[File:COP27 A chance to act.jpg]]




[[Planet Citizens]]


[[Look at how thin our atmosphere is]]
🌎


[[New Definitions of National Security]]


[[Earth Science Vital Signs]]
[[File:NASA has a new mission... against Methane.png]]


[[Green New Deal]]
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:NASA_has_a_new_mission..._against_Methane.png




&nbsp;
'''GreenPolicy360: Methane hot spots we're coming to find you, identify you, act to stop you and enforce climate laws.'''


<big><big>'''September 2021'''</big></big>
:'''"Super emitters", we have a message for you, you can't hide....'''  


:* https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/methane-super-emitters-mapped-by-nasa-s-new-earth-space-mission


&nbsp;
:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:NASA_has_a_new_mission..._against_Methane.png


: [[File:Landsat 9 Launches - 1.jpg]]




: [[File:Landsat 9 Launches - 2.jpg]]
🌎






<big><big>9 Things About Landsat 9 !!!!!!!!!</big></big>  
<big>'''October'''</big>


: NASA (2021)


* https://youtu.be/DGE-N8_LQBo
<big>'''''Climate Pledges Are Falling Short, and a Chaotic Future Looks More Like Reality'''''</big>


''With an annual summit next month, the United Nations assessed progress on countries’ past emissions commitments. Severe disruption would be hard to avoid on the current trajectory''




<big>New Landsat Mission Launches Successfully</big>
Via NY Times / Oct 26


* https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-launches-new-mission-in-major-milestone-to-monitor-earths-landscapes-from-space/
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/26/climate/un-climate-pledges-warming.html




''Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland says the program provides "a rich form of data" that helps people in their everyday lives and is vital in dealing with climate change.''
''Countries around the world are failing to live up to their commitments to fight climate change, pointing Earth toward a future marked by more intense flooding, wildfires, drought, heat waves and species extinction, according to a report issued Wednesday by the United Nations.''


''The U.S. Interior Department, the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA with the Congressional Science and Technology Committee (originally the [https://science.house.gov/about/history-and-jurisdiction Science and Astronautics Committee] were responsible for building the original Landsat program (which overcame much opposition within the military). [https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/about/history ERTS-1, the Earth Resources Technology Satellite], as the original Landsat satellite was officially first called, was 'greenlighted' to go as a real time earth observation mission in 1970. The vast digital database it gathered has proven over the years the wisdom of the visionaries who first proposed, drafted legislation creating, funding, then engineering, testing, launching and ably defending the Landsat mission from critics over the decades. Now the results are being re-considered for the unique value they provide in guiding policy discussion, debate and decisions. The Landsat library of imagery, millions of images, multispectrum observations of change on earth over the first fifty years of the mission's existence, are seen in a new light.''
''Just 26 of 193 countries that agreed last year to step up their climate actions have followed through with more ambitious plans. The world’s top two polluters, China and the United States, have taken some action but have not pledged more this year, and climate negotiations between the two have been frozen for months.''


''"We're in the thick of the climate crisis right now, we see that every day — drought, wildfires, hurricanes, Hurricane Ida that devastated parts of the South and went all the way up to New England," the current Interior Department head, Ms Haaland, the first Native American to hold the post said.''
''Without drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the report said, the planet is on track to warm by an average of 2.1 to 2.9 degrees Celsius, compared with preindustrial levels, by 2100.''


''"Images like the ones that Landsat 9 will bring back to us will help to guide us in how we are approaching climate change, working to make sure that we can make the best decisions possible, so that folks have water into the future, that we can grow our food into the future."''
''That’s far higher than the goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) set by the landmark Paris agreement in 2015, and it crosses the threshold beyond which scientists say the likelihood of catastrophic climate impacts significantly increases.''




<small>* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp,_OCO-2,_June_2014_m.jpg</small>
·······························································································


: [[File:You can manage only what you can measure Dr David Crisp, OCO-2, June 2014 m.jpg]]


[[File:Climate Emergency Institute - Oct 2022.png]]


:[[File:Landsat memories.png]]


<big>'''Interview: Chomsky and Pollin: Pushing a Viable Climate Project Around COP27'''</big>


:[[File:Landsat 9 about to launch.png]]
Via Truthout


* https://truthout.org/articles/chomsky-and-pollin-pushing-a-viable-climate-project-around-cop27




[[File:Landsat band imagery.png]]
''Will COP27 end up as yet another failure on the part of world leaders to slow or stop global warming? Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin share their thoughts and insights on the climate crisis conundrum by dissecting the current state of affairs and what ought to be done to stop humanity’s march to the climate precipice...''


''The 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in Egypt from November 6-18, 2022. Nearly 200 countries will come together in yet another attempt to tackle climate breakdown. COP26, held in Glasgow about the same time last year had been hailed as “our last best hope,” but it did not achieve much as too many compromises were made. The hope for COP27 is that the world will set more stringent greenhouse gas emissions reduction requirements considering the ever-clearer consequences of global warming. Noam, is this a significant climate meeting? Can we expect a breakthrough, or will it end up yet another futile international effort to reverse climate change? Indeed, what’s standing on the way of governments’ failure to slow or even reverse global warming? Isn’t the evidence already overwhelming that the world stands on a climate precipice? What prevent us from stepping back from the abyss?''




Landsat was a model for all the following [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space earth science research missions from space] and is now moving into its fifth decade with [http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/?p=10391 Landsat 9]


* https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/landsat-9
<big>'''September'''</big>


* https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0034425720303382?dgcid=coauthor#f0005


* https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/landsat-1-3/landsat-1
[[File:E9731160-8940-4336-88FC-A73490CF3E63.jpeg]]


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/LANDSAT_and_Virginia_Tower_Norwood
<big><big>'''Hurricane Ian Hits Florida with Historic Force'''</big></big>


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space
:<big>'''The Fast 'Intensification' of Ian'''</big>




:::::······················································································
: Hurricane Ian '''-- Close to Cat5 -- [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/E9731160-8940-4336-88FC-A73490CF3E63.jpeg Jim Cantore reporting] '''


:* https://twitter.com/JimCantore/status/1575076077914972160


::::<big>'''John Kerry, U.S. Global Envoy on Climate Action Faces a 'Tough Path''''</big>


🌎


[[File:John Kerry - Climate Envoy - 2021-09-26.png]]


<big>'''Climate-induced, warm water in the Gulf of Mexico is a feeder of intensity'''</big>


* https://twitter.com/ClimateCentral/status/1575116109744939010


: [[File:President Joe Biden at the UN - Sept 2021.jpg]]


🌎


<big><big>'''U.S. President speaks of pressing national and global challenges faced by today's generation'''</big></big>


<big>GreenPolicy360: Our "intergenerational" responsibility begins to be recognized, acknowledged and acted upon</big>
<big>'''Destructive Surges with Hurricanes, Extreme Weather Events'''</big>


'''Florida, we're pointing at Gulf Waters heating up and 'inducing' more powerful storms'''


''In his first address to the United Nations General Assembly as president, President Joe Biden said the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and other threats present world leaders with a stark choice at "the dawning of what must be a decisive decade for our world."''
'''Hurricane Ian, September 26, the 'spaghetti plot lines' warn of a historic Gulf Hurricane on the way...'''


* https://www.politifact.com/article/2021/sep/21/un-speech-joe-biden-calls-collective-action-climat/


[[File:Ian, powered by a climate induced warmer Gulf of Mexico.jpg]]


''"We’re challenged by urgent and looming crises, wherein lie enormous opportunities, if we can summon the will and resolve to seize these opportunities," Biden said Sept. 21.''


''Biden addressed protecting the rights of women, nuclear disarmament, expanding individual liberty, and reducing global hunger, casting the U.S. as focused on diplomacy and partnerships.''


''"We are not seeking a new cold war, or a world divided into rigid blocs," Biden said. "The United States is ready to work with any nation that steps up and pursues peaceful resolution to shared challenges, even if we have intense disagreement in other areas, because we'll all suffer the consequences of our failure."''
<big><big>'''[[Climate News]]'''</big></big>




'''''On climate change, "the scientists and experts are telling us we are fast approaching a point of no return."'''''
<big>'''''There are 'no easy fixes' in Florida. But could Hurricane Ian's havoc bring a call for better planning?'''''</big>


''Biden’s words about "approaching a point of no return" reflects the broad concern that the world is unlikely to be able to keep global warming to within the 1.5 degrees Celsius target of the Paris Agreement.''
Via USA Today


''If the Paris Agreement targets are to be met, there may be very few years left for policy makers to start cutting emissions. Here we calculate by what year, at the latest, one has to take action to keep global warming below the 2 K target (relative to pre-industrial levels) at the year 2100 with a 67 % probability; we call this the point of no return (PNR).''
''Researchers who study flooding, development and climate change were horrified by the emerging images but not surprised. For years, they have warned that sprawling development in Florida and other coastal states wasn't sustainable, especially with the warming climate supercharging hurricane rainfall.''


* https://esd.copernicus.org/articles/9/1085/2018/
''"This is kind of what we had expected for days in advance, and it's still heartbreaking to see so many people stranded," said Kevin Reed, associate professor in atmospheric science at Stony Brook University...''


''"None of this is surprising," said Linda Shi, an assistant professor in Cornell University's city and regional planning department. "How much does it take for us to want to make a change? Our policies and our choices have led us to this point."''


''In a landmark report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released Aug. 9, 234 authors relying on more than 14,000 studies stated that "it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land."''
''Reed and colleagues recently published a study looking at all hurricanes during the 2020 season and concluded climate change was adding up to 10% more rain to today's hurricanes. On Thursday, they used the same models to compare Ian's rainfall and concluded it was at least 10% higher than it would have been without the warming climate.''  


* https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/
''"This is one of the clearest indicators of how climate change is impacting storms," Reed said. It may not seem like a lot, but 2 inches on top of an already large amount of rainfall makes an enormous impact.''


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/08/09/ipcc-climate-report-global-warming-greenhouse-gas-effect/
'''''What can Florida learn from Hurricane Ian?'''''


''"Mother Nature keeps telling us homes don't belong where we built them, yet we continue to build homes where they don't belong."''


○
''"We can’t stop cyclone events or stop the rain from falling, but we can build communities that are better able to withstand these events,” says John Dickson, president of the national Aon Edge Insurance Company. "We need to think about more resilient structure, and we need to make a plan to handle the water and move it away from our people and our families and our property.''


''Whether a storm water system is designed for rain that could occur once every 25 years or a rainfall event every 100 years, the system probably would be overwhelmed with rain like Ian's, said Chad Berginnis, executive director for the Association of State Floodplain Managers.''


<big><big>'''As West Virginia Senator Manchin Threatens to Kill Climate Legislation'''</big></big>
''The state may have to accept the fact that developers will have to build at higher elevations.''


''In the current election cycle, Mr. Manchin has received [https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/joe-manchin/industries?cid=N00032838&cycle=2022&type=C more campaign donations from the oil, coal and gas industries than any other senator]''


* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/19/climate/manchin-climate-biden.html
···················································································


: #PoliticoPay #MoneyinPolitics #DemocracyofDollars


<big>'''''Re: Florida's Flood and Property Insurance Crisis'''''</big>


<big><big>'''As they gather at U.N., world leaders face furious push to act quickly on climate change'''</big></big>
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — ''As hurricane season approaches, it’s not an understatement to say that water is heading to Florida. However, in addition to the rain and storms coming to the Sunshine State, residents are also likely to see higher flood insurance costs in 2022.''


'''''‘We really are out of time,’ Secretary-General António Guterres warns, imploring countries to set aside political differences'''''
Florida has 8,436 miles (13,576 km) of coastline, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the second highest number of shore miles in the U.S. by distance.''


''With only six weeks left until a crucial global climate summit in Scotland, presidents and prime ministers also face pressure to set aside these diplomatic tensions and act quickly and collectively to slow the warming of the planet... This week’s U.N. General Assembly marks one of the last high-profile opportunities for countries to publicly commit to more ambitious, concrete action to cut greenhouse gas emissions ahead of November’s climate summit in Glasgow.''


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/09/19/climate-change-united-nations/
~ The terms “coastline” and “shoreline” are often used interchangeably, but they have different meanings. The coastline of a place is defined as the boundary between the coast and the shore. In other words, a coastline is a big-picture view of the approximate line between the land and the sea. A shoreline is an ever-changing line that marks the specific place where the water and shore meet...




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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — ''Halloween isn’t the only scary thing coming up in October for Florida residents. More immediately, the state is going to see rate hikes on flood insurance as the Federal Emergency Management Agency implements a new risk rating system on Oct. 1.''


''Flood insurance is a yearly cost to homeowners who use it, and it covers homes in danger of water damage, particularly during storms. For Florida, that’s all year but particularly in hurricane season.''


<big><big>'''''U.S. Congress 'Gets Its Last Best Chance at Meaningful Climate Action' '''''</big></big>
Starting on Oct. 1, FEMA is implementing a program update it calls Risk Rating 2.0, which will change the way that flood insurance rates are calculated and charged and could lead to price increases for thousands of homeowners with waterfront properties. The changes coming through the system update are part of FEMA’s 2018-2022 Strategic Plan.''


'''''Press Herald makes the point explicit... Will the Congress act??'''''


* https://www.pressherald.com/2021/09/19/our-view-congress-gets-its-last-best-chance-at-meaningful-climate-action-2/
* https://coast.noaa.gov/states/florida.html


* https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/88-of-florida-homeowners-to-see-higher-flood-insurance-rates/


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Living_coastline


···············································································································································································




<big>'''''Ian threatens Florida's already unstable insurance market'''''</big>


<big><big><big>'''Four Years of Climate Change Denial, the Trump Presidency's Lost Years'''</big></big></big>
* https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ian-threatens-floridas-unstable-insurance-market-90658469


: '''History will calculate the cost of retreat by the U.S. President'''


'''''Six Florida property insurance companies were declared insolvent this year, and others are canceling or not renewing policies'''''


: [https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/17/us/catastrophic-climate-change-un-report/index.html <big><big>'''Planet is on catastrophic path to 2.7 degrees of warming, UN reports prior to International Summit in Glasgow'''</big></big>]
* https://www.axios.com/local/miami/2022/10/03/florida-property-insurance-crisis-litigation


:: * https://ukcop26.org/


···········


[[File:Google News - On Climate Sept 2021.jpg]]


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Google_News_-_On_Climate_Sept_2021.jpg
<big><big>More:</big></big>


''A new federal summary of the globe's climate last year takes bits and pieces of grim news from the past 18 months and rolls it into a sobering report on the world's warming climate.''


[[File:Google News - On Climate Sept 2021 - Catastrophic 2.jpg]]
''Long-term warming trends continue worldwide, even when interrupted by temporary cooler weather phenomena, such as the lingering La Nina in the Pacific, concluded the 2021 "State of the Climate" report released Wednesday (Sept. 28).''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Google_News_-_On_Climate_Sept_2021_-_Catastrophic_2.jpg
''"The data presented in this report are clear – we continue to see more compelling scientific evidence that climate change has global impacts and shows no sign of slowing,” said Rick Spinrad, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The report is prepared by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, with contributions from scientists around the world.''


   
~ The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/ '''6th IPCC'''] report is a "dire warning about the consequences of inaction" on climate change.
   
~ It's not just ecosystems and weather being affected by warming: People are suffering and dying, experts say.
   
~ In North America, human life, safety and livelihood will be at risk from sea-level rise, severe storms and hurricanes, especially in coastal areas.


[[File:Google News - On Climate Sept 2021 - Catastrophic 3.jpg]]
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Google_News_-_On_Climate_Sept_2021_-_Catastrophic_3.jpg


* https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/30/hurricane-ian-flooded-florida-climate-change/8125673001/


[[File:Google News - On Climate Sept 2021 - Catastrophic 4.jpg]]
* https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2022/09/01/report-weather-extremes-climate-change-no-slowing/7949934001/


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Google_News_-_On_Climate_Sept_2021_-_Catastrophic_4.jpg




[[File:Google News - On Climate Sept 2021 - Catastrophic 5.jpg]]
🌎


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Google_News_-_On_Climate_Sept_2021_-_Catastrophic_5.jpg




[[File:Google News - On Climate Sept 2021 - Catastrophic 6.jpg]]
<big>'''''Fueling the Climate Crisis: Examining Big Oil’s Prices, Profits, and Pledges'''''</big>


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Google_News_-_On_Climate_Sept_2021_-_Catastrophic_6.jpg
: ''The hearing convened in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building and over Zoom''


: ''Date: Thursday, September 15, 2022 - 9:30am''




··························································
* https://oversight.house.gov/legislation/hearings/fueling-the-climate-crisis-examining-big-oil-s-prices-profits-and-pledges


* https://youtu.be/4exyXG-Gg1c


* https://youtu.be/pBX9DBqWt1Q


<big><big>'''''James Hansen: Rate of Global Warming During Next 25 Years Could Be Double What It Was in the Previous 50'''''</big></big>
* https://oversight.house.gov/investigations/energy-environment


''Former NASA climate scientist James Hansen urged Congress decades ago to act on climate change. Now he says he expects reduced aerosol pollution to lead to a steep temperature rise''


* https://insideclimatenews.org/news/15092021/global-warming-james-hansen-aerosols/
''On Thursday, September 15, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. ET, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Rep. Ro Khanna, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Environment, held a hearing to examine Exxon, Chevron, BP, and Shell’s record-breaking profits.''


* https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/12/2013/2020/
''Discussed was the adequacy of their climate pledges and the Committee heard firsthand accounts from survivors of climate change-induced severe weather events.''




'''''James Hansen on irreversible climate change, fee and dividend and the fossil fuel industry'''''
''In 2021, Exxon’s net profits were more than $23 billion, Chevron reported profits of $15.6 billion, BP netted its highest profits in eight years at $12.8 billion, and Shell brought in $21.1 billion.  The fossil fuel industry’s profits have only increased in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  In the past quarter, since the start of the Ukraine War, five major oil companies raked in $55 billion.''  


* https://youtu.be/QnG5q_md78k
''Despite reaping record profits, these companies have not taken the steps that scientists say are needed to prevent the worst climate impacts. Instead, they continue their greenwashing campaign by publicly supporting the Paris Agreement and claiming to be working towards a net-zero future, while issuing incomplete and misleading climate pledges and making inadequate investments in unproven energy sources and technologies.''
''At the same time, the climate crisis is growing more severe, with record heat waves, droughts, flooding, and other extreme weather harming Americans and people around the world.''


''The hearing is part of the Committee’s investigation into the fossil fuel industry’s long-running campaign to spread disinformation about climate change and greenwash its role in causing global warming.''


[https://storage.googleapis.com/plos-corpus-prod/10.1371/journal.pone.0081648/1/pone.0081648.pdf?X-Goog-Algorithm=GOOG4-RSA-SHA256&X-Goog-Credential=wombat-sa%40plos-prod.iam.gserviceaccount.com%2F20210918%2Fauto%2Fstorage%2Fgoog4_request&X-Goog-Date=20210918T150348Z&X-Goog-Expires=86400&X-Goog-SignedHeaders=host&X-Goog-Signature=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 '''''Assessing ‘‘Dangerous Climate Change’’: Required Reduction of Carbon Emissions to Protect Young People, Future Generations and Nature''''']
''At the Committee’s earlier hearing in October 2021, fossil fuel executives finally admitted under oath that burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change, which is an existential threat to our planet—but they refused to stop spending money to block climate action.''


''We assess climate impacts of global warming using ongoing observations and paleoclimate data. We use Earth’s measured energy imbalance, paleoclimate data, and simple representations of the global carbon cycle and temperature to define emission reductions needed to stabilize climate and avoid potentially disastrous impacts on today’s young people, future generations, and nature. A cumulative industrial-era limit of,500 GtC fossil fuel emissions and 100 GtC storage in the biosphere and soil would keep climate close to the Holocene range to which humanity and other species are adapted. Cumulative emissions of 1000 GtC, sometimes associated with 2uC global warming, would spur ‘‘slow’’ feedbacks and eventual warming of 3–4uC with disastrous consequences. Rapid emissions reduction is required to restore Earth’s energy balance and avoid ocean heat uptake that would practically guarantee irreversible effects. Continuation of high fossil fuel emissions, given current knowledge of the consequences, would be an act of extraordinary witting intergenerational injustice. Responsible policymaking requires a rising price on carbon emissions that would preclude emissions from most remaining coal and unconventional fossil fuels and phase down emissions from conventional fossil fuels.''
''Earlier this year, the Committee invited five board members from Exxon, Chevron, Shell, and BP to testify at a hearing about the companies’ climate pledges.  They failed to appear. The Committee once again invited the board members to testify, but they once again declined to appear on the date requested.''




'''''Introduction'''''


''Humans are now the main cause of changes of Earth’s atmospheric composition and thus the drive for future climate change. The principal climate forcing, defined as an imposed change of planetary energy balance is increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil fuel emissions, much of which will remain in the atmosphere for millennia. The climate response to this forcing and society’s response to climate change are complicated by the system’s inertia, mainly due to the ocean and the ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica together with the long residence time of fossil fuel carbon in the climate system. The inertia causes climate to appear to respond slowly to this human-made forcing, but further long-lasting responses can be locked in.''
<big>'''''Climate bill's unlikely beneficiary: US oil and gas industry'''''</big>


''More than 170 nations have agreed on the need to limit fossil fuel emissions to avoid dangerous human-made climate change, as formalized in the 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change. However, the stark reality is that global emissions have accelerated and new efforts are underway to massively expand fossil fuel extraction by drilling to increasing ocean depths and into the Arctic, squeezing oil from tar sands and tar shale, hydro-fracking to expand extraction of natural gas, developing exploitation of methane hydrates, and mining of coal via mountaintop removal and mechanized long-wall mining. The growth rate of fossil fuel emissions increased from 1.5%/year during 1980–2000 to 3%/year in 2000–2012, mainly because of increased coal use.''
''While the law concentrates on clean energy incentives, it also guarantees new drilling opportunities for oil and gas companies''


''The Framework Convention does not define a dangerous level for global warming or an emissions limit for fossil fuels. European Union in 1996 proposed to limit global warming to 2uC relative to pre-industrial times based partly on evidence that many ecosystems are at risk with larger climate change. The 2uC target was reaffirmed in the 2009 ‘‘Copenhagen Accord’’ emerging from the 15th Conference of the Parties of the Framework Convention with specific language ‘‘We agree that deep cuts in global emissions are required according to science, as documented in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report with a view to reduce global emissions so as to hold the increase in global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius...’’
* https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/nation-world/us-oil-gas-industry-climate-bill/507-355b2dec-4761-4018-808e-7eed8553ca9d


''A global warming target is converted to a fossil fuel emissions target with the help of global climate-carbon-cycle models, which reveal that eventual warming depends on cumulative carbon emissions, not on the temporal history of emissions. The emission limit depends on climate sensitivity, but central estimates, including those in the upcoming Fifth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are that a 2uC global warming limit implies a cumulative carbon emissions limit of the order of 1000 GtC. In comparing carbon emissions, note that some authors emphasize the sum of fossil fuel and deforestation carbon. We bookkeep fossil fuel and deforestation carbon separately, because the larger fossil fuel term is known more accurately and this carbon stays in the climate system for hundreds of thousands of years. Thus fossil fuel carbon is the crucial human input that must be limited. Deforestation carbon is more uncertain and potentially can be offset on the century time scale by storage in the biosphere, including the soil, via reforestation and improved agricultural and forestry practices. There are sufficient fossil fuel resources to readily supply 1000 GtC, as fossil fuel emissions to date (370 GtC) are only a small fraction of potential emissions from known reserves and potentially recoverable resources. Although there are uncertainties in reserves and resources, ongoing fossil fuel subsidies and continuing technological advances ensure that more and more of these fuels will be economically recoverable. As we will show, Earth’s paleoclimate record makes it clear that the CO2 produced by burning all or most of these fossil fuels would lead to a very different planet than the one that humanity knows.''


''Our evaluation of a fossil fuel emissions limit is not based on climate models but rather on observational evidence of global climate change as a function of global temperature and on the fact that climate stabilization requires long-term planetary energy balance. We use measured global temperature and Earth’s measured energy imbalance to determine the atmospheric CO2 level required to stabilize climate at today’s global temperature, which is near the upper end of the global temperature range in the current interglacial period (the Holocene). We then examine climate impacts during the past few decades of global warming and in paleoclimate records including the Eemian period, concluding that there are already clear indications of undesirable impacts at the current level of warming and that 2uC warming would have major deleterious consequences. We use simple representations of the carbon cycle and global temperature, consistent with observations, to simulate transient global temperature and assess carbon emission scenarios that could keep global climate near the Holocene range. Finally, we discuss likely over-shooting of target emissions, the potential for carbon extraction from the atmosphere, and implications for energy and economic policies, as well as intergenerational justice... (www.plosone.org - Dec 2013)''


WASHINGTON — The U.S. oil industry hit a legal roadblock in January when a judge struck down a $192 million oil and natural gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico over future global warming emissions from burning the fuels. It came at a pivotal time for Chevron, Exxon and other industry players: the Biden administration had curtailed opportunities for new offshore drilling, while raising climate change concerns...


<big><big>'''''Nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement'''''</big></big>
... The industry’s setback was short-lived, however. The climate measure President Joe Biden signed Tuesday bypasses the administration's concerns about emissions and guarantees new drilling opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. The legislation was crafted to secure backing from a top recipient of oil and gas donations, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, and was shaped in part by industry lobbyists...


'''''UN Framework Convention on Climate Change'''''
... While the Inflation Reduction Act concentrates on clean energy incentives that could drastically reduce overall U.S. emissions, it also buoys oil and gas interests by mandating leasing of vast areas of public lands and off the nation’s coasts. And it locks renewables and fossil fuels together: If the Biden administration wants solar and wind on public lands, it must offer new oil and gas leases first...


17 September 2021
... As a result, U.S. oil and gas production and emissions from burning fuels could keep growing, according to some industry analysts and climate experts. With domestic demand sliding, that means more fossil fuels exported to growing foreign markets, including from the Gulf where pollution from oil and gas activity plagues many poor and minority communities.....


'''''Summary'''''


''This version of the synthesis report on nationally determined contributions synthesizes  information  from  the  164  latest  available  nationally  determined  contributions communicated by the 191 Parties to the Paris Agreement and recorded in the interim registry
of nationally determined contributions as at 30 July 2021.''


* https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma2021_08_adv.pdf
[[File:IEA - Support for Fossil Fuels - re 2021.jpg]]




<big><big>'''''Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Working Group)'''''</big></big>


09 August 2021
<big><big>'''''IEA News'''''</big></big>


* https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/


* https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/
<big>'''''Support for fossil fuels almost doubled in 2021, slowing progress toward international climate goals, according to new analysis from OECD and IEA'''''</big>




29 August 2022


·····································································································
* https://www.iea.org/news/support-for-fossil-fuels-almost-doubled-in-2021-slowing-progress-toward-international-climate-goals-according-to-new-analysis-from-oecd-and-iea


* https://www.iea.org/news


* https://www.iea.org/about


<big><big><big>'''U.S. President Biden Steps Up to the Challenge'''</big></big></big>


: '''How much damage did the Trump years deliver to the security of the nation and planet?'''
''Major economies sharply increased support for the production and consumption of coal, oil and natural gas, with many countries struggling to balance longstanding pledges to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies with efforts to protect households from surging energy prices, according to analysis released today by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Energy Agency.''  


::'''Turning around from abandonment of the critical tasks facing humanity'''
''New OECD and IEA data show that overall government support for fossil fuels in 51 countries worldwide almost doubled to 697.2 USD billion in 2021, from 362.4 USD billion in 2020, as energy prices rose with the rebound of the global economy. In addition, consumption subsidies are anticipated to rise even further in 2022 due to higher fuel prices and energy use...''


''“Fossil fuel subsidies are a roadblock to a more sustainable future, but the difficulty that governments face in removing them is underscored at times of high and volatile fuel prices. A surge in investment in clean energy technologies and infrastructure is the only lasting solution to today’s global energy crisis and the best way to reduce the exposure of consumers to high fuel costs,” said the IEA Executive Director.''




: [[File:Biden - clean energy ambitions.JPG]]


🌎


<big><big>'''Ambitious Biden - Aims for nearly half nation's energy to come from solar by 2050'''</big></big>


From 4% to 45%: Biden Offers Ambitious Blueprint for Solar Energy
'''August 26, 2022'''


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/09/08/biden-solar-climate-change/
<big><big>'''''California Acts to Ban the Sale of New Gasoline Cars'''''</big></big>


* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/08/business/energy-environment/biden-solar-energy-climate-change.html
''The decision, to take effect by 2035, will very likely speed a wider transition to electric vehicles because many other states follow California’s standards''


''After the California Air Resources Board approved Thursday regulations that ban the sale of new gas-engine vehicles by 2035, requiring all new cars to run on electricity or hydrogen, California Gov. Gavin Newsom told ABC News he was confident that more states would do the same to help combat climate change.''




<big>'''''DOE Solar Futures Study Provides Blueprint for Zero-Carbon Grid'''''</big>
BY THE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD | AUG. 26, 2022


Sept 8, 2021
* https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-08-26/california-gas-car-ban-zero-emission


* https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-releases-solar-futures-study-providing-blueprint-zero-carbon-grid
''It’s hard to overstate the significance of California’s move this week to end the sale of new gas-powered cars.''


''The California Air Resources Board’s vote Thursday setting a firm 2035 deadline is huge and consequential for climate change, air quality and health. The nation’s most populated and worst-polluted state is the first to adopt rules that will finally stop adding gas-fueled passenger vehicles to its roads.''


'''''New Report Shows Solar Energy Rapidly Expands, Generating More Electricity in 2035 than All Homes Consume Today and Creating Economic Opportunities Across America'''''
''The end of the internal combustion engine era, and the toll on our lungs and our planet, is finally on the horizon.''


''WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released the Solar Futures Study detailing the significant role solar will play in decarbonizing the nation’s power grid. The study shows that by 2035, solar energy has the potential to power 40% of the nation’s electricity, drive deep decarbonization of the grid, and employ as much as 1.5 million people—without raising electricity prices. The study’s findings call for massive and equitable deployment of clean energy sources, underscoring the Biden Administration’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis and rapidly increase access to renewable power throughout the country...''
''This regulation will require automakers to sell increasing percentages of zero-emission and plug-in hybrid vehicles starting with 35% of new car sales in 2026, reaching 68% in 2030 and 100% by 2035. Zero-emission vehicles account for 16.5% of California’s new sales today, a rate that leads the nation but lags behind Europe and China. So these rules help reestablish California’s climate leadership, putting it in step with other leading nations and making it one of the first — and the largest — vehicle markets in the world to require 100% of new sales be zero emissions.''


''It’s a pivotal moment for a state that has been shaped for decades, often negatively, by automobiles and the health-damaging pollution they generate.''


○


'''More on California's decision to drive forward into a new world of transportation'''


<big><big>'''IPCC report: ‘Code red’ for human driven global heating'''</big></big>
* https://www.npr.org/2022/08/27/1119360031/california-gas-cars-electric-cars-zero-emission-climate-change


* https://strategicdemands.com/code-red-human-driven-global-heating/
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/25/business/energy-environment/electric-vehicles-automakers.html


* https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2022/08/california-ban-cars-emissions-climate-change/


<big><big>'''''This Is 'Code Red' '''''</big></big>
:~


'' "We got to listen to the scientists and the economists, and the national security experts, they all tell us this is code red," Biden said... "The nation and the world are in peril. That's not hyperbole. That is a fact." ''
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/climate/california-gas-cars-emissions.html


* https://www.axios.com/biden-extreme-weather-this-code-red-e8fa9294-6b3c-4720-abac-1a4f94a3d7a3.html
* https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/us/california-new-gas-car-ban-2035/index.html


* https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/24/23320148/california-gas-car-ban-2035-ev-climate-change


August 9, 2021
* https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/california-hold-final-hearing-banning-sale-new-gas-cars-2035


<big><big>''''''Climate change widespread, rapid, and intensifying – IPCC 6th Climate Assessment''''''</big></big>


* https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/
·························


* https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/08/1097362


* https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/
'''August 24, 2022'''


* https://interactive-atlas.ipcc.ch/


<big><big>'''''Democrats Designed the Climate Law to Be a Game Changer'''''</big></big>


Via the NY Times | 08/22/2022


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* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/22/climate/epa-supreme-court-pollution.html




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<big><big>'''Extreme Weather: Hurricane Ida'''</big></big>


<big>'''''Climate change’s ‘fingerprint’ seen in Ida flooding'''''</big>
Via E&E News | CLIMATEWIRE


''“We saw one of the most rapid intensification events on record within 24 hours, going from a very weak hurricane to something right on the edge of a category five storm.” -- Michael E. Mann @MichaelEMann''
08/24/2022 


* https://t.co/iKASz4xdEn


<big><big>'''''CO2 as a Pollutant'''''</big></big>


'''''Climate legislation signed into law this month by President Joe Biden bolsters EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases'''''


<big><big>'''August 2021'''</big></big>
'''''In a first, climate law defines CO2 as air pollutant'''''


''In enacting a sweeping climate measure, analysts said Biden and congressional Democrats signaled a desire for EPA to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. Firming up EPA’s legal footing also is a boost for an agency that has faced court challenges from conservatives who question EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. That authority rests on '''Massachusetts v. EPA''', a 2007 Supreme Court decision that found the agency is required to regulate CO2 as a pollutant dangerous to public health.''


<big><big>'''Even in Australia, Where Climate Change Denial Is Rampant'''</big></big>


<big>''' ‘Blistering temperatures’: Dark roofing banned on Sydney’s urban fringe'''</big>
····························


* https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/blistering-temperatures-dark-roofing-banned-on-sydney-s-urban-fringe-20210820-p58kma.html


''Dark roofing will be banned in Sydney’s south-west growth area in an attempt by the NSW government to dial back the heat island effect while providing sorely needed new homes.''
WEEKLY PLANET


''Lighter coloured roofs will be a mandatory part of the planning controls for the Wilton area, busting the march of Colorbond Ironstone that has long been synonymous with Australian urban sprawl.''
08/24/2022 / Via The Atlantic


''Residential lots must also be big enough for a tree in every backyard under a new set of rules applauded by urban-heat scientists as a step towards addressing rising temperatures following the grim picture painted by the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.''
by Robinson Meyer


''While it’s true that [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_Reduction_Act_of_2022 the IRA] itself consists almost only of carrots, that is not true of the broader structure of American climate law. There is, in fact, a big “stick” for tackling carbon pollution already on the books in the United States, as well as an agency tasked with wielding that stick. I’m talking about the Clean Air Act and the EPA. And the IRA, by design, strengthens the government’s ability to wield that stick.''


<big>'''Time running out to limit warming -- Climate action needed now'''</big>
''It does this in at least two ways. The first is that the IRA confirms that carbon dioxide is a type of air pollution covered by the Clean Air Act, as initially reported by The New York Times earlier this week.''


* https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/still-in-the-control-cabin-time-running-out-to-limit-warming-ipcc-says-20210809-p58h9j.html
''This has broader consequences than it might seem. In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts v. EPA that carbon dioxide counted as an air pollutant, and that, if the EPA decided that CO2 harmed human health and the environment, it could regulate CO2 under the Clean Air Act. That ruling—and the EPA’s official determination, a few years later, that CO2 is dangerous—has anchored the agency’s climate regulations on cars and trucks, and its proposed rules for the power grid.''


''But then in June, the Court circumscribed some of the EPA’s authority over the power grid. Conservative justices have harped on the fact that Congress has never clearly delegated the power to regulate greenhouse gases to the EPA.''


·····································································································
''Now it has. The IRA repeatedly defines greenhouse gas as a form of air pollution. It amends several sections of the Clean Air Act to define “greenhouse gas” as encompassing “the air pollutants carbon dioxide, hydrofluorocarbons, methane, nitrous oxide, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.” In another section, it grants money under the Clean Air Act for any project that “reduces or avoids greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of air pollution.”''


''Congress has now clearly spoken: Carbon dioxide is a form of air pollution. And though this will not undo this year’s ruling, it buttresses the EPA’s underlying legal authority to regulate climate pollution.''


<big><big>'''Code Red: Now What? How Will We Respond?'''</big></big>


'''Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) Tweeted:'''
············································································


''This basically sums up our current situation. The “code red” IPCC report came out a week ago. Since then not one politician has been held accountable. Not one politician has been asked how they are going to act in line with this.''


Thread 1/4 (Graph by @Peters_Glen)
<big><big>'''''The EPA Just Quietly Got Stronger'''''</big></big>


* https://t.co/1r4vljDzJw
* https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/the-epa-just-quietly-got-stronger/ar-AA112B16


* https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1427328275773280265


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[[File:CO2 global pathways via IPCC AR6 - how will we respond.jpg]]


More on CO2 and Greenhouse Gases as Pollutants to be Regulated under Law


* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_greenhouse_gases_under_the_Clean_Air_Act


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[[File:Unprecedented report - IPCC Aug-9-2021.jpg]]


'''Your GreenPolicy360 Founder/Siterunner's thoughts:'''


[[File:IPCC report August 9-2021 (1).jpg]]
To the Supreme Court: Here is the exacting and specific language about CO2 and air 'pollutants'


Over the years, and on our GreenPolicy360 site, I have shared my knowledge of the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Air Act, the first era of environmental protection legislation and the first National Climate Act. My long time friend Congressman George E Brown, a principal drafter of enabling legislation during the 1970s/80s/90s, and activist member and a chair of the House of Representative oversight committee of science, technology, and earth science/atmosphereic science space programs,  was a mover and shaker who shared with me many of his thoughts and initiatives. Over the years, until his passing in 1999, I learned about the legislation and *the intent* of the legislation that he and his colleagues were drafting. His/their language, for example, the definitions of pollutants, was intended to be broad and expansive. The definition of air pollution in the Clean Air Act, for example, addressed health and safety, and protection of life ... They knew that the science of the day would become more empirically defined as atmospheric and earth science they were setting in motion w NASA/NOAA and USGS missions was supported, funded, launched and reported. The empirical data, as they planned, was collected and analyzed over the years and decades and the scientific case became clearer and clearer. CO2 and other greenhouse gases were impacting air quality and atmospheric disruption was forcing climate change. The U.S. Supreme Court, unfortunately for years, was unable to accept the intent and language of the legislators on this critically important work. Recently, with the '''Massachusetts v. EPA''' 2007 Supreme Court decision and now with the signing of clarifying 2022 legislative language, the climate action work will gather scope and speed at the federal agencies, especially at the EPA.


[[File:IPCC report August 9-2021 (2).jpg]]
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr


* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png


<big><big>'''Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change'''</big></big>
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Laws


* https://www.ipcc.ch/  
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Environmental_Protection_Agency_logo.png


* https://bit.ly/IPCCLIVE
When Congressman Brown drafted originating legislation establishing a '''national climate change research program''' via the [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png National Climate Program Act of 1978], the scientific community and nation were just beginning to awaken to a new national security threat. I remember his concern, our concern. He was trained as a scientist, an engineer, with an ability to see facts and data sets in a way others could not.


* https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/05/press-conference-details-wgi-ar6/
Representative Brown was out in front of "Big Science". In his decades on the House Science, Space & Technology Committee, he worked to expand the reach of science. He knew that [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp,_OCO-2,_June_2014_m.jpg  good data enabled good policy decisions]. He pressed for first-generation earth science satellites and ongoing earth monitoring missions and data sharing.


* https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-i/
Among his many initiatives, George Brown was a key figure in proposing, establishing, and then saving the [https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Landsat program] and its [http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/02/us/last-civilian-photography-satellites-to-shut-down.html unique 'open-access' database of Earth Science imaging] when President Reagan attempted to shut Landsat down. Landsat was a model for all the following [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space earth science research missions from space] and is now moving into its fifth decade with [http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/?p=10391 Landsat 9.]




Rep. George E. Brown, an activist member and for many years chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology


:[[File:We are all in this together-IPCC report-August 2021.jpg]]
* https://www.congress.gov/member/george-brown/B000918 (1963-1999)


* https://science.house.gov/


* https://science.house.gov/about/history-and-jurisdiction


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At the beginning of the 'space race', the House Committee on Science and Aeronautics was created by the 85th Congress in 1957 to oversee the newly-created National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Science and Aeronautics Committee was the first committee since 1892 to be established for an entirely new area of jurisdiction. The committee’s jurisdiction over the years has expanded to include most civilian non-medical scientific research throughout the government, including National space policy, Earth remote sensing policy; Space commercialization, including commercial space activities relating to the Department of Transportation and the Department of Commerce, the National Science Foundation, the Energy Department, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), EPA, NOAA and the Department of Homeland Security. (Informally known as the Science committee, the committee's name was change to the "Committee on Science and Technology" in 1974. At that time, the Committee’s jurisdiction was expanded to include legislation related to energy, the environment, the atmosphere, civil aviation research and development, and the National Weather Service. The Committee on Science and Technology was also given a "special oversight" function providing for exclusive responsibility among all Congressional Standing Committees to review and study, on a continuing basis, all laws, programs and government activities involving Federal non-military research and development. In its early years, the Committee was an important partner in the Apollo Program that led to a man landing on the moon and strengthening science education and scientific research. After the Committee’s role expanded, the Committee has played an important role in much of the legislation Congress has considered dealing with domestic and international science, technology, standards, and competitiveness. In the 112th Congress, Chairman Hall changed the Committee's name to the "Committee on Science, Space and Technology."


<big><big>'''Gulf Stream in Critical Danger'''</big></big>
''Via Wikipedia / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Brown_Jr.''


'''Consequences of Gulf Stream Collapse Would Be Catastrophic'''
''Brown was known as a champion for science. He left behind a deep and expansive legacy that has shaped science and science policy in America. Among some of his many accomplishments during his service on the House Science Committee:''


• ''Established the first federal climate change research program in the [https://www.congress.gov/bill/95th-congress/house-bill/06669 Federal Climate Program Act of 1978]''
   
• ''Established the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Science_and_Technology_Policy Office of Science and Technology Policy]''
 
• ''Established the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Environmental_Protection_Agency Environmental Protection Agency]''
   
• ''Established the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Technology_Assessment Office of Technology Assessment]''


<small>Click on the following PDF for links to Google News articles online, local, national and global</small>


* '''https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Gulf_Stream_in_Critical_Danger.pdf'''


• http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Environmental_movement


• [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Can_our_environment_be_saved_George_Brown-Omnibus_Environmental_Bill_1969.pdf George Brown on the Omnibus Environmental Bill, 1969]


[[File:Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation - Gulf Stream - Aug 2021.jpg]]
• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Ethics_and_Climate_Change


• [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Env_policy_laws_US_'the_beginning'_of_env_era.jpg @GreenPolicy360, 'The beginning of the modern environmental era']




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:[[File:Env policy laws US 'the beginning' of env era.jpg]]






:: [[File:Wildfires 2021 - August.jpg]]
🌎




'''August 16, 2022'''


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PRESS RELEASE


<big>'''''President Biden Signs Landmark Climate Bill into Law'''''</big>


''Statement by the President of the Union of Concerned Scientists''


[[File:Energy Imbalance, Climate Change - Aug 1 2021.png]]
WASHINGTON


&nbsp;
''President Joe Biden today signed into law the largest climate bill in U.S. history. This bill will go a long way toward reducing emissions and building the clean energy economy of the future, advancing the ongoing work of fighting climate change and lingering harms from fossil fuel extraction and use, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).''


''Today is a landmark day for the country and for the climate. The signing of this bill marks a win for future generations who deserve our best efforts to secure a safer and healthier world. It’s a success that belongs to the activists, researchers, and organizers who have fought tirelessly against powerful opposition to make sure that policymakers take action to address the very real and present danger that climate change poses to all of us.''


<big><big>'''July 2021'''</big></big>
''This new law is a huge step forward. It’s also one step in a long, crucial effort to reduce the threat of climate change and build a new, clean, and equitable economy. More attention is still needed to address provisions included in the bill that could perpetuate harms communities face from fossil fuel pollution. The administration must follow up today’s signing with strong environmental and public health rules that will help speed the transition to clean energy and reduce pollution that especially harms Black, Brown, Indigenous and low-income communities. Congress, state governments and the private sector must also redouble efforts to ensure that the nation can meet its climate goals. Today’s bill signing marks a success--one that we must build on in the months and years to come.''


Via the NY Times


July 29, 2021
🌎


''The $1 trillion infrastructure deal reached by a bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday would make a significant down payment on President Biden’s ambitious environmental agenda. But the money for provisions to cut the pollution fueling climate change is a fraction of the $2 trillion that Mr. Biden once vowed to spend.''


''The plan, which has $550 billion in new spending, includes the first federal funds designated for “climate resilience” — to adapt and rebuild roads, ports and bridges to withstand the damages wrought by the rising sea levels, stronger storms and more devastating heat waves that will come as the planet continues to warm.''
''WASHINGTON / Via the NY Times and Online News Services  — Fresh off signing expansive climate legislation, President Biden and his administration are planning a series of executive actions to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help keep the planet from warming to dangerous temperatures, senior White House officials said.''


''Hours after the deal was reached on Wednesday, the Senate voted 67 to 32 to take up the infrastructure bill, as Republicans joined Democrats in clearing the way for action on a crucial piece of President Biden’s agenda.''
''Mr. Biden is on track to deploy a series of measures, including new regulations on emissions from vehicle tailpipes, power plants and oil and gas wells, the officials said.''


''Though it falls short of Mr. Biden’s goals, the White House sees the bipartisan measure as a first step toward passing a separate $3.5 trillion bill that Democrats hope to push through on a party-line basis, over the objection of Republicans.''


''“As climate policy, this is an appetizer,” Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii, said of the package unveiled on Wednesday. “It’s not the main course.”''
<big><big>'''''After Signing Climate Bill, Biden Prepares More Actions to Cut Emissions'''''</big></big>


* https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/07/29/us/politics-news
''Regulations from the E.P.A. and elsewhere will help the president meet his aggressive climate goals''


&nbsp;
''The Green Climate Package continues to grow with Executive Orders and Agency Actions''


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* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/19/us/politics/biden-climate-bill-emissions.html


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Sen_Whitehouse_-_president_needs_to_put_forward_powerful_climate_agenda_-_July_15_2022.pdf


:[[File:Wavy Jet Stream by Patrick Mazza.jpg]]


'''Speed & Scope Is Up: Green Transition / Climate Action on the Move'''


<big><big>It's All Connected</big></big>
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/17/opinion/environment/inflation-reduction-act-climate-change.html




''You often hear [https://twitter.com/MichaelEMann @MichaelEMann] say the models underestimate the connection... a connection between climate change and a more amp’d - wavy jet...  you can see how when we have a natural wavy jet pattern, which is very established this spring/summer, climate change impacts enhance it, by having more energy in the system (heat and moisture) magnifying extremes.''
🌎


* https://twitter.com/WeatherProf/status/1416370332638797824


* https://www.nature.com/articles/srep45242
'''August 12, 2022'''




''Jennifer Francis of Woods Hole Research Institute drew the connection back in 2015. Viewing an increase in jet stream waviness, she and fellow authors concluded, “These results suggest that as the Arctic continues to warm faster than elsewhere in response to rising greenhouse-gas concentrations, the frequency of extreme weather events caused by persistent jet-stream patterns will increase...”''
<big><big>'''U.S. House of Representatives Passes Historic Legislative Package'''</big></big>


''Some models which emphasize Arctic heating show a tripling by the end of the century. But if we can keep global heating under 2°C/3.6°F, we can likely avert those increases.''
'''Inflation, Taxes, Health -- Energy and Climate'''


''This is why we need dramatic reductions in burning coal, oil and natural gas beginning immediately, as well as in deforestation, another significant source of climate pollution. The emergence of radical impacts demands radical action. Business as usual is done. If we want to leave a world with which our children can cope, when the capacity of humanity and nature to adapt is stressed beyond the breaking point, we need to rise up as people and demand change now.''
After lengthy 'rip-roaring attack speech' by Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and speeches by Democratic Leaders Hoyer and Pelosi, the vote is strictly partisan


* https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/1/014005
With a vote of 220 to 207, the House agreed to the single largest federal investment in the fight against climate change and the most substantial changes to national health care policy since passage of the Affordable Care Act. The bill now goes to Mr. Biden for his signature


&nbsp;


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<big>'''House approves Biden’s flagship climate and tax package'''</big>


''Final passage of $700bn bill marks significant legislative victory for U.S. president''


<big><big>'GOING BIG' ANNOUNCEMENT - JULY 14, 2021</big></big> | <big><big>'''[[European Union Green Deal - Fit for 55]]'''</big></big>
''The House vote is party-line 220-207 to pass the legislation''




[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-08-12/the-climate-future-just-changed-eight-predictions-for-2030 <big>''Cleaner air, greener cities, shifted politics: 8 visions of the future after the new climate bill''</big>]


[[File:EU unveils new climate change policy - July 14 2021 - 1.jpg]]


[[File:EU unveils new climate change policy - July 14 2021 - 2.jpg]]
Via Green / Climate Politics at Bloomberg


[[File:EU unveils new climate change policy - July 14 2021 - 3.jpg]]
* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-08-12/the-climate-future-just-changed-eight-predictions-for-2030


[[File:EU unveils new climate change policy - July 14 2021 - 4.jpg]]


[[File:EU unveils new climate change policy - July 14 2021 - 5.jpg]]
The Inflation Reduction Act, which just passed through the House after approval by the Senate last week, is a climate investment with no parallel in US history. The spending package of $374 billion, expected to be signed into law by President Joe Biden, is aimed at turbocharging the largest economy’s belated shift to clean energy. It also has controversial sweeteners for the oil and gas industries...


[[File:EU unveils new climate change policy - July 14 2021 - 6.jpg]]
Here are eight mostly hopeful visions of the (near) future from climate watchers, tech investors and activists.  


[[File:EU unveils new climate change policy - July 14 2021 - 7.jpg]]
Improved air quality starts at home


[[File:EU unveils new climate change policy - July 14 2021 - 8.jpg]]
Healthier neighborhoods delivered by (electric) trucks


More transparent supply chains


<big><big>'''European Union launches new climate plan for "our children and grandchildren"'''</big></big>
Cities that reach 100% electrification


[https://apnews.com/article/europe-business-government-and-politics-climate-environment-and-nature-3df2a86ea7491cf2fdff98960cf30bb3 '''(AP) Landmark climate proposals''']
Slower-rising seas…


…and continued rising temperatures


* https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/eu-climate-action_en
An entrenched green economy


* https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/eu-climate-action/2030_ctp_en
Next-generation climate politics


* https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/strategies/2050_en


'''More'''


* https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/12/us-house-passes-climate-bill-inflation-reduction-act


''BRUSSELS — The European Union unveiled sweeping new legislation Wednesday to help meet its pledge to cut emissions of the gases that cause global warming by 55% over this decade, including a controversial plan to tax foreign companies for the pollution they cause.''
* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-12/us-climate-bill-keeps-hope-alive-for-halting-warming-at-1-5-c


[https://www.e3g.org/news/fit-for-55-the-eu-s-impressive-dive-into-deep-and-whole-economy-decarbonisation/ ''Press Release: Fit for 55: The EU’s deep and whole-economy decarbonisation'']
* https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-set-to-pass-democrats-climate-healthcare-and-tax-package-11660296604


''The package is intended to implement the goal of reducing average EU carbon emissions by 55% in 2030.''
* https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/08/12/nation/congress-oks-dems-climate-health-bill-biden-triumph/


[https://ec.europa.eu/info/system/files/2021_commission_work_programme_new_policy_objectives_factsheet_en.pdf ''EU Commission Work Programme'']
* https://grist.org/politics/house-passes-the-inflation-reduction-act-the-most-significant-climate-bill-in-us-history/




* https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_3541


* https://voxeurop.eu/en/fit-for-55-carbon-pricing-could-become-reality/
🌎


* https://eu.boell.org/en/2021/07/07/fit-for-55


* http://www.aalep.eu/fit-55-legislative-package


''The U.S. action could spur other nations to do more — especially China and India, the two largest carbon emitters along with the U.S. That in turn could lower prices for renewable energy globally, experts said.''


''Seeking to transform everything from heating to transport, the European Union is seeking to expand its flagship carbon market. The bloc also wants accelerate the rate at which companies from utilities to steelmakers and cement producers are forced to curb pollution.''
''Investments work better at fostering clean energy than regulations, said Leah Stokes, an environmental policy professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The climate bill is likely to spur billions in private investment, she said: “That’s what’s going to be so transformative.”''


''The legislation proposed by the EU's executive branch, the European Commission, encompasses about a dozen major proposals, ranging from the de-facto phasing out of gasoline and diesel cars by 2035 to new levies on gases from heating buildings.''


''They involve a revamp of the bloc's emissions trading program, under which companies pay for carbon dioxide they emit, and introduce taxes on shipping and aviation fuels for the first time.''
<big><big>'''A Green New Deal by Another Name'''</big></big>


''The European Commission's proposals will need to be negotiated and approved by EU member states and the European Parliament.''
: '''Three Legislative Actions Add Up to a New Version of a Green New Deal'''


''The Green Deal 'Fit for 55' proposals would impose tariffs on some imports from countries with less strict rules on protecting the environment. It would also mean the end of sales in the European Union of new gas- and diesel-powered cars in just 14 years.''
:: '''Infrastructure, CHIPS, IRA...'''


''Many carmakers have already announced huge investments in electrification, partly in anticipation of tougher emissions targets, but want to know whether the EU will back them by building public charging stations, and how soon it wants hybrid electric/combustion vehicles to be phased out.''
::* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Green_New_Deal


''"By 2040, most carmakers' models will be pretty much electrified anyway," said Nick Parker, a managing director at consultancy AlixPartners. "The question is whether they (the EU) might try to force the journey along the way or leave it up to individual carmakers to decide that path for themselves."''


<big><big>'''''Sweeping climate bill pushes American energy to go green'''''</big></big>


''The changes would help the EU cut emissions by at least 55% from 1990 levels by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. They’d also set a precedent for other nations seeking to clean up their economies to avert catastrophic rises in global temperatures ahead of climate talks in Scotland later this year.''
* https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-congress-climate-and-environment-f084d23d61ebb068068d4aa92c82fdbb


Associated Press / August 12, 2022


''"By acting now we can do things another way... and choose a better, healthier and more prosperous way for the future," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday (July 14, 2021).''
By SETH BORENSTEIN, MATTHEW DALY and MICHAEL PHILLIS


''"It is our generational task... [to secure] the wellbeing of not only our generation, but of our children and grandchildren. Europe is ready to lead the way."''


''The overhaul, the biggest since the Emissions Trading System was created in 2005, would raise to 4.2% the rate at which the pollution cap shrinks each year from 2.2% now, according to the proposals unveiled on Wednesday. The EU would also expand its carbon market to include shipping and start an adjacent emissions-trading program for heating and transport fuels. Expectations of stricter rules has already help send carbon prices to a record this year. EU carbon prices almost doubled over the past year.''
''WASHINGTON (AP) — After decades of inaction in the face of escalating natural disasters and sustained global warming, Congress hopes to make clean energy so cheap in all aspects of life that it’s nearly irresistible. The House is poised to pass a transformative bill Friday that would provide the most spending to fight climate change by any one nation ever in a single push...''


''The crux of the long-delayed bill, singularly pushed by Democrats in a closely divided Congress, is to use incentives to spur investors to accelerate the expansion of clean energy such as wind and solar power, speeding the transition away from the oil, coal and gas that largely cause climate change.''


''“This reform could be the most crucial change to the EU ETS so far,” said Marco Mensink, director general of the European Chemical Industry Council. “We have to get it right. It has to not only set the framework for emissions reductions but also help create breakthrough technologies we urgently need.''
''The United States has put the most heat-trapping gases into the air, burning more inexpensive dirty fuels than any other country. But the nearly $375 billion in climate incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act are designed to make the already plummeting costs of renewable energy substantially lower at home, on the highways and in the factory. Together these could help shrink U.S. carbon emissions by about two-fifths by 2030 and should chop emissions from electricity by as much as 80%.''  


''“This legislation is a true game-changer. It will create jobs, lower costs, increase U.S. competitiveness, reduce air pollution,” said former Vice President Al Gore, who held his first global warming hearing 40 years ago. “The momentum that will come out of this legislation, cannot be underestimated.”''


''The measures are part of a broader package to bring every sector of the EU’s economy in line with the stricter emissions goal agreed under the ambitious Green Deal. The EU ETS, a cap-and-trade program that’s a central pillar of the bloc’s strategy to cut greenhouse gases, has already brought emissions down in the past 16 years to a level just shy of its existing 2030 goal of 43%.''


''The U.S. action could spur other nations to do more — especially China and India, the two largest carbon emitters along with the U.S. That in turn could lower prices for renewable energy globally, experts said.''


''The plan to create an emissions trading system (ETS) for transport and buildings has been denounced as “politically suicidal” and “a huge political mistake” by Pascal Canfin, the chair of the European parliament’s environment committee and a key Macron ally. “It’s a very bad idea,” he said.''
''Because of the specific legislative process in which this compromise was formed, which limits it to budget-related actions, the bill does not regulate greenhouse gas emissions, but deals mainly in spending, most of it through tax credits as well as rebates to industry, consumers and utilities.''


''In a stark warning, he said the commission was “going to trap” lower middle class families. Hardest hit would be people in regions with poor public transport and tenants who could not pay for energy efficiency upgrades to their homes, he said. “It’s a huge political mistake, including for the European project,” Canfin said.''
''Investments work better at fostering clean energy than regulations, said Leah Stokes, an environmental policy professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The climate bill is likely to spur billions in private investment, she said: “That’s what’s going to be so transformative.”''


''The French government, which takes over the EU’s rotating presidency in 2022, was forced to abandon a fuel tax rise in 2018 after a fierce backlash from gilets jaunes (yellow vest) protesters.''


''The bill promotes vital technologies such as battery storage. Clean energy manufacturing gets a big boost. It will be cheaper for consumers to make climate-friendly purchasing decisions. There are tax credits to make electric cars more affordable, help for low-income people making energy-efficiency upgrades and incentives for rooftop solar and heat pumps.''


''Apart from criticisms coming from some quarters, a consensus has formed that Europe will be out in front in confronting the climate crisis. The hope is that an aggressive economic and coordinated European campaign to meet the climate change challenge will act to motivate countries across the globe to take similar aggressive action.''
''There are also incentives for nuclear power and projects that aim to capture and remove carbon from the atmosphere...''




○
''The Rhodium Group research firm estimates the bill would dramatically change the arc of future U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, cutting them by 31% to 44% in 2030, compared to what had been shaping up to be 24% to 35% by 2005 without the bill, said Rhodium partner John Larsen. Clean power on the grid, an upcoming Rhodium report says, would jump from under 40% now to between 60% and 81% by 2030, he said.''


''“It’s not as big as I want, but it’s also bigger than anything we’ve ever done,″ said Sen. Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat who leads the Senate climate caucus. “A 40% emissions reduction is nothing the U.S. has ever come close to before.″''


<big>'''Historic NASA and European Space Agency Agreement on Climate Science Cooperation'''</big>


* https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-esa-partner-in-new-effort-to-address-global-climate-change
''As decisive a change as it is for U.S. policy and emissions, it still does not reach the official U.S. goal of cutting carbon pollution roughly in half by 2030 to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across the economy by 2050.''


* https://spacenews.com/nasa-and-esa-sign-agreement-on-climate-science-cooperation/


* https://phys.org/news/2021-07-nasa-european-space-agency-climate.html
''Republicans, who unanimously opposed the bill in the Senate, say it would add to consumers’ energy costs, with House GOP Whip Steve Scalise claiming it “wastes billions of dollars in Green New Deal slush funds.”''




''WASHINGTON — NASA and the European Space Agency have agreed to cooperate on future Earth science missions and related activities in an effort to better understand climate change.''
''“It’s a mark of shame that it took this long for our political system to react,” said Bill McKibben, a long-time climate activist, adding that it leaves the fossil fuel industry with too much power. “But this will help catalyze action elsewhere in the world; it’s a declaration that hydrocarbons are finally in decline and clean energy ascendant, and that the climate movement is finally at least something of a match for Big Oil.”''


''The leaders of the two agencies signed a joint statement of intent in a virtual meeting July 13, declaring their plans to cooperate on Earth science research, particularly involving climate change, ranging from missions to research and applications.''


''“Climate change is an all-hands-on deck, global challenge that requires action now,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement about the agreement. “This agreement will set the standard for future international collaboration, providing the information that is so essential for tackling the challenges posed by climate change and helping to answer and address the most pressing questions in Earth science for the benefit of the United States, Europe, and the world.”''


''The partnership was formalized through a joint statement of intent, signed Tuesday, which outlines how the agencies will collaborate to ensure continuity of Earth observations; advance understanding of the Earth System, climate change and application of that knowledge; and collaborate on an open data policy that promotes open sharing of data, information, and knowledge within the scientific community and the wider public.''
[https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr5376/BILLS-117hr5376eas.pdf '''The 730-page bill is here''']


''“Together, NASA and ESA provide most of the world’s Earth science coverage through our Earth-observing satellites,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science. “This transformative agreement will build on that capability, forging a critical international climate science partnership to tackle the most challenging climate questions in an integrated and strategic way. Not only will NASA and ESA work together to deliver unparalleled Earth science observations, research, and applications, but all of our findings will also be free and open for the benefit of the entire world as we work together to combat and mitigate climate change.”''


🌎


''“This is a massive step-up from anything we’ve ever done,” Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA, told FLORIDA TODAY.''


''“It’s more strategic, multi-mission, multi-science as opposed to just mission by mission which is how we’ve worked before.”''
[[File:US Senate passes 430 billion climate bill.png]]


''Of particular interest to coastal regions like Florida, at the frontlines of the impacts of sea-level rise, NASA and ESA are planning to extend Earth science research including Sentinel-6, flying two satellites to continue a three-decade record of sea level measurements. The Sentinel monitoring and tracking program includes NASA and ESA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States and the European Commission, Eumetsat and French space agency CNES in Europe. NASA launched the first European-built Sentinel-6 satellite in November 2020.''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Sea-Level_Rise
<small>* https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-democrats-fend-off-amendments-430-bln-climate-drug-bill-2022-08-07/</small>




''Recently NASA announced that it would pursue a series of missions called the '''Earth System Observatory''', implementing recommendations of the 2018 decadal survey. NASA requested a $250 million increase for Earth science in its fiscal year 2022 budget proposal in May, and a House bill advanced by an appropriations subcommittee July 12 included that increase.''
<big>'''August 7, 2022'''</big>




::::::::[[File:Earth System Observatory.jpg]]
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/User:Siterunner '''Steve Schmidt / Founder, GreenPolicy360''']: It took 45+ yrs to pass real climate action called for in the 1970s w the first National Climate Act. Our #GreenPolicy360 network thanks Rep George E. Brown, a main mover at the beginning, who'd be smiling now if he were here ...  


:::::[[File:Earth System Observatory-1.jpg]]
* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png


:::::[[File:Earth System Observatory-2.jpg]]
* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr




<big><big>'''''Five Decades in the Making: Why It Took Congress So Long to Act on Climate'''''</big></big>


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* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/07/climate/senate-climate-law.html




<big>'''Bookmark Climate Policy @GreenPolicy360'''</big>


Via CleanTechnica
* http://bit.ly/GreenPolicy360Climate


[https://cleantechnica.com/2021/07/01/climate-change-from-heating-human-bodies-to-baking-the-earth/ '''''Climate Change: From Heating Human Bodies To Baking The Earth''''']


''The climate activist Bill McKibben says we need to remind ourselves how the recent novel temperatures are affecting the planet itself.''
○




[https://cleantechnica.com/2021/06/18/heat-stifles-strains-grids-in-us-west/ '''''Heat Stifles & Strains Grids In U.S. West''''']
[[File:Democratic Party Climate Bill - Aug 2022.png]]


''Mutually worsening heat and drought, both fueled by climate change, are stifling the American West, stoking wildfire fears and straining electrical grids — and the worst is far from over...''




&nbsp;
July 28


<big><big>'''June 2021'''</big></big>
<big>'''An Inside Look at the Surprise Deal with Senator Manchin'''</big>


By Steve Clemons


[[File:Pacific Northwest-US-Too Hot-June 2021.jpg]]
* https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/3578472-how-manchin-struck-a-miracle-of-a-deal-with-schumer-pelosi-and-biden/




[[File:Too Hot-US-June 2021.jpg]]
July 27


[https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22122281-inflation_reduction_act_of_2022 Read the Full Text of the Proposed Legislation]


<big><big>'''''Devastating News: Climate Change Impacts to Hit Sooner than Predicted'''''</big></big>
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES—117th Cong., 1st Sess. H. R. 5376 To provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 14


* https://phys.org/news/2021-06-climate-impacts-sooner.html


''Climate change will fundamentally reshape life on Earth in the coming decades, even if humans can tame planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, according to a landmark draft report from the UN's climate science advisors obtained by AFP.''
[[File:Surprise climate deal.png]]


''Species extinction, more widespread disease, unliveable heat, ecosystem collapse, cities menaced by rising seas—these and other devastating climate impacts are accelerating and bound to become painfully obvious before a child born today turns 30.''


''The choices societies make now will determine whether our species thrives or simply survives as the 21st century unfolds, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says in a draft report seen exclusively by AFP.''
<big><big>'''''Surprise Deal Would Be Most Ambitious Climate Action Undertaken by U.S.'''''</big></big>


''But dangerous thresholds are closer than once thought, and dire consequences stemming from decades of unbridled carbon pollution are unavoidable in the short term.''
''The announcement Wednesday (July 27) of an agreement in the Senate almost instantly reset the role of the United States in the global effort to fight climate change''


''"The worst is yet to come, affecting our children's and grandchildren's lives much more than our own."''
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/28/climate/climate-change-deal-manchin.html




<big><big>'''''Crushing Climate Impacts: Draft UN report'''''</big></big>
''WASHINGTON — The $369 billion climate and tax package forged in a surprise deal by Senate Democrats on Wednesday would be the most ambitious action ever taken by the United States to try to stop the planet from catastrophically overheating.''


''PARIS (AFP) / June 23, 2021 - Climate change will fundamentally reshape life on Earth in the coming decades, even if humans can tame planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, according to a landmark draft report from the UN's climate science advisers obtained by Agence France-Presse.''
''The agreement, which Senate Democrats hope to pass as early as next week, shocked even some who had been involved in the sputtering negotiations over climate legislation during the past year. The announcement of a deal, after many activists had given up hope, almost instantly reset the role of the United States in the global effort to fight climate change.''


''Species extinction, more widespread disease, unliveable heat, ecosystem collapse, cities menaced by rising seas - these and other devastating climate impacts are accelerating and bound to become painfully obvious before a child born today turns 30.''


''The choices societies make now will determine whether our species thrives or simply survives as the 21st century unfolds, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says in a draft report seen exclusively by AFP...''
○




''"The worst is yet to come, affecting our children's and grandchildren's lives much more than our own," the report says.''
(NYT) Until yesterday, the Democratic Party seemed as if it were on the verge of squandering a major opportunity to combat climate change. Democrats control both Congress and the presidency, and yet they had been unable to agree on a package of climate policies to accelerate the use of clean energy and reduce emissions. Senator Joe Manchin had been blocking any deal, and the Senate is so closely divided that the Democrats cannot afford to lose a single vote.


''By far the most comprehensive catalogue ever assembled of how climate change is upending our world, the report reads like a 4,000-page indictment of humanity's stewardship of the planet.''
Yesterday, however, Manchin appeared to change his mind. He announced that he had agreed to include hundreds of billions of dollars for climate and energy programs in a bill that would also reduce prescription drug prices, raise taxes on the affluent and shrink the federal deficit.


''But the document, designed to influence critical policy decisions, is not scheduled for release until February 2022 - too late for crunch UN summits this year on climate, biodiversity and food systems...''
If Manchin and other Democrats remain united, it would be a very big deal. “This has the opportunity to be an enormous breakthrough for climate progress,” Sam Ricketts, co-founder of Evergreen Action, an environmental group, told The Times.


It’s especially significant because congressional Republicans have almost uniformly opposed policies to slow climate change (a contrast with conservatives in many other countries). And it remains unclear whether Democrats will again control both Congress and the White House anytime soon. If Congress fails to pass a climate bill this summer, it may not do so for years — while the ravages of climate change worsen.




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<big>'''US-China climate working group cancelled after Pelosi’s Taiwan visit'''</big>


[[File:Arctic Siberia Heatwave - Again - June 2021.jpg]]
: ''Talks on topics like methane cuts, forests, clean power and action in cities have been cancelled after a diplomatic spat over Taiwan''


: * https://www.climatechangenews.com/2022/08/08/us-china-climate-working-group-cancelled-after-pelosis-taiwan-visit/


<big>'''''Ground Temperatures Hit 118 Degrees in the Arctic Circle'''''</big>


* https://gizmodo.com/ground-temperatures-hit-118-degrees-in-the-arctic-circl-1847144505
○


''The 118-degree-Fahrenheit temperature was measured on the ground in Verkhojansk, in Yakutia, Eastern Siberia, by the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel satellites.''


* https://www.copernicus.eu/en/media/image-day-gallery/land-surface-temperature-sakha-republic
<big><big>President Biden needs to put forward a powerful 'executive' climate agenda</big></big>


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Sen_Whitehouse_-_president_needs_to_put_forward_powerful_climate_agenda_-_July_15_2022.pdf


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[[File:Citizens Climate Lobby - Save Our Future Act 2021.jpg]]
○




<big>Citizens Climate Lobby / Save Our Future Act</big>
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Too_Hot <big><big><big><font color=orange>'''Too Hot'''</font></big></big></big>]


June 16, 2021
: <big><big>''''Severe Weather Events': More Frequent, More Costly'''</big></big>


Today ⁦‪@SenWhitehouse‬⁩ and ⁦‪@SenBrianSchatz‬⁩ introduced the #SaveOurFutureAct, an ambitious #PriceOnPollution bill that would reduce emissions, address environmental justice concerns, and invest in coal community transitions.


* https://twitter.com/citizensclimate/status/1405268994269999106
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_News  <big><big><font color=orange>Climate Change News</font></big></big>]


* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxhAtAWwX5Q
<big>'''Harbinger''' | Merriam-Webster \HAHR-bun-jer\ Noun: Something that foreshadows a future event. Anticipatory sign of what is to come...</big>




* https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/whitehouse-and-schatz-introduce-save-our-future-act-to-charge-big-polluters-for-emissions-redirect-trillions-to-american-families-and-communities-harmed-by-pollution
<big>'''''A drought in Italy’s risotto heartland'''''</big>


* https://www.edf.org/media/senators-whitehouse-and-schatz-introduce-bill-cut-climate-and-air-pollution-across-economy


* https://www.wri.org/insights/innovative-us-bill-tackles-climate-change-local-pollution-and-economic-inequality
July 2022


''VESPOLATE, Italy — There’d been a single day of good rainfall all year, the afternoon temperature was again nearing 100 degrees, and Fabrizio Rizzotti walked into his fields — 220 acres of rice, a plant that grows by being submerged in water.''


''He didn’t need his boots.''


Via E&E News / June 16, 2021
''The rice stems were desiccated and stunted. The field, rather than lush with shin-high water, crunched underfoot. Rizzotti, a seventh-generation rice farmer, said the paddy was already dead — “not a single grain of rice can come from this,” he said — and then he gestured to an adjacent field, slightly greener and in dire need of more water.''


''Infrastructure / Clean Energy / American Jobs Plan ''
''“In a few days that field will be dead, too,” he said. “It’s stomach-churning.”''


* https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/31/fact-sheet-the-american-jobs-plan/


''In Europe’s sweltering summer, few places have been hit more directly than northern Italy, where extreme drought has dried up a major river, triggered a state of emergency and put the country’s famed agricultural flatlands in profound trouble. The drought is also causing Italians to fret about the things they’ve taken for granted: not just green rice fields typical of this region, but also the foods derived from them...''


<big>'''''Progressives escalate climate demands'''''</big>
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/22/italy-drought-2022-rice-risotto/


''"There has to be an absolute unbreakable guarantee that climate has to be at the center of any infrastructure deal that we cut," Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts said at a news conference with Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon... If there is no climate, there is no deal."


* https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/558860-tensions-grow-between-liberals-and-centrists-on-infrastructure


* https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063735103
<big>''''Megadrought': Worst drought in the U.S. Southwest in the past 1,200 years'''</big>


'''Since 2000, the the drought's on the ground reality becomes more and more evident'''


''Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) ramped up the pressure with a news conference yesterday in which they said Congress should pass an infrastructure and climate deal by the August recess, or stay in town if it's not wrapped up.''
'''Wildfires, lakes drying, rivers shrinking, water shortages, soil loss, environmental degradation... counting the losses...  


''"We need to move forward with 50 Democratic votes now that the Republicans have shown us they are not serious about creating clean energy jobs, jump-starting a clean energy revolution or adding the standards and investments we need to attack this crisis," Markey said.''
''We have spiked the climate system, releasing heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere faster than at any other time in at least the past 50 million years. Human-fueled megadroughts like this one will be more frequent and severe in the future. In the Southwest, there will be more years with declining snowpack, more years with water shortages and a more dire mismatch between where water is available and where it is needed...''  


''To support a deal with the group of 10, Merkley said he would need to have 50 votes for a reconciliation vote in hand before the bipartisan bill "ever goes to the floor."''


''"We're telling you today we're going to get this deal," Merkley said. "We cannot let the American people down, and we cannot let our planet down. This has to be part of the deal."''
[[File:History of drought in the US Southwest.png]]


''House Budget Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) said yesterday that the administration is giving the bipartisan Senate talks "a week or 10 days more, and that's about it."''


''He said his committee will mark up a budget resolution with reconciliation instructions that cover the entirety of Biden's [https://www.eenews.net/assets/2021/03/31/document_daily_02.pdf American Jobs Plan] and American Families Plan, including "social" infrastructure and climate. That would set the stage for a partisan reconciliation bill.''


''Should a bipartisan deal emerge, "we just take that part out of the instructions," Yarmuth said.''


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<big><big>'''President Biden needs to put forward a powerful climate agenda'''</big></big>


[[File:Keystone to Enridge - McKibben - June 11, 2021.jpg]]
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Sen_Whitehouse_-_president_needs_to_put_forward_powerful_climate_agenda_-_July_15_2022.pdf




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'''July 19, 2022'''


[[File:IMO Headquarters - photo via NYT.jpg]]
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (RI): ''The Biden administration can do more on climate, and with legislative options now closed, the President must act. It's time for executive Beast Mode.''




<big><big><big>''In Deep Water''</big></big></big>
·····················


<big>'''''Tasked to Fight Climate Change, a Secretive U.N. Agency Does the Opposite'''''</big>


''Behind closed doors, shipbuilders and miners can speak on behalf of governments while regulating an industry that pollutes as much as all of America’s coal plants''
'''July 15, 2022'''


''Investigative report on international shipping and its voluminous emissions -- and the difficulties of turning these ships toward a cleaner climate''
@SenWhitehouse


''NY Times investigation led by [https://www.nytimes.com/by/matt-apuzzo Matt Apuzzon]''
* https://twitter.com/senwhitehouse/status/1548017198991478784


* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/03/world/europe/climate-change-un-international-maritime-organization.html


* https://www.imo.org/
'''''Senator Whitehouse (RI): With reconciliation foreclosed as a path for ambitious climate action, Congress must pivot to potentially bipartisan climate solutions such as a border carbon adjustment. Meanwhile, the executive branch has lots of tools at its disposal.'''''


* https://seekingalpha.com/article/4040332-is-eu-undermining-un-efforts-to-curb-maritime-pollution
''Let’s review one by one what executive branch “Climate Beast Mode” might look like.''


* https://marketanalysis.com/carbon-free-shipping-all-electric-powertrain-tugboats-powered-by-battery-and-hydrogen-fuel-cell/


* https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22022019/shipping-pollution-imo-heavy-fuel-oil-ban-black-carbon-measures-united-nations/
OMB must promulgate a robust social cost of carbon (north of $100/ton) and require broad use across government decision-making – procurement, regulations, grants, leasing, permitting, royalty rates, investment decisions, foreign aid, trade agreements, & more.


•


Comments
WV v. EPA didn't end EPA’s ability to regulate carbon pollution from power plants. EPA options include requiring all coal- & gas-fired power plants to install carbon capture technology, as EPA did in 2015 for new coal-fired plants.


McName
•


Falmouth - June 3
But power plants aren’t just sources of carbon pollution – they also pollute our air and water with soot, heavy metals, and other toxic pollutants. EPA must tighten controls on PM 2.5 (soot), coal ash, mercury, nitrogen oxides, and more.


''So the stuff they use on vessels is called Bunker C oil, sometimes residual oil or Number 6 oil. When they refine oil from the ground, you get your diesel oil for cars (which is then further refined to remove practically all the sulfur in it), gasoline, kerosene , etc., what you have at the bottom of the barrel is this black slug called bunker C. It has everything you do not want going into air but it is cheap and works well in boilers that have zero environmental controls like large ocean going cargo vessels. Nowadays even peaking unit natural gas turbines that use high grade distillate oil as a backup when the natural gas supply is disrupted, the distilled has as much sulfur as natural gas which is to say practically none. Anyway cargo vessels like to use Bunker C not only because its cheap but because it has a very high flash point which makes it safe, an important point for a vessel a thousand miles away from any land. But when you burn Bunker C, wow does it put out not only tons and tons of CO2 and SO2 but also a toxic brew of everything under the sun. It is bad stuff.''
•


* https://wiki.anton-paar.com/en/bunker-oil-marine-fuel-oil/
Cars & light trucks are the single largest source of carbon pollution. EPA and DOT restored Obama-era standards, but now they need to go much further and push the industry towards manufacturing 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2035.


* https://www.corrosionpedia.com/definition/196/bunker-oil
•


Heavy-duty trucks are also a huge source of carbon pollution. EPA doesn’t yet address this, and that needs to change. California’s advanced clean truck rule would increase zero-emission trucks, and EPA must follow suit.


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•


Green procurement can use the government’s immense purchasing power (more than $600 billion in contracts per year!) to decarbonize steel, cement, asphalt, buildings, vehicles, and so much more.


•


[[File:NASA Earth - Identifying methane gas leaks - 2021.jpg]]
EPA must promulgate a rigorous rule limiting methane emissions from oil and gas facilities. The rule must apply across the supply chain, including low-producing (but high-leaking) wells, and crack down on venting and flaring not just leaks.


•


Satellite measurements can locate methane leaks to target strict enforcement against companies that are not in compliance.


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•


It’s past time for DOJ to investigate the fossil fuel industry for its decades of lies. DOJ brought a civil RICO investigation against the tobacco industry for a similar history of dissembling and won big.


<big><big><big>In Alaska -- Dealing with a Previous Administration's Drilling Decisions</big></big></big>
•


<big>Political Playbook: Biden administration struggles to define an achievable environmental agenda</big>
Interior must by rule sharply limit methane emissions from oil/gas produced on federal lands/waters, use social cost of carbon to raise royalty rates, and reform bonding rules so companies can’t abandon wells to leak methane & leave taxpayers on the hook.


•


''In a paradox worthy of Kafka, ConocoPhillips plans to install “chillers” into the permafrost — which is thawing fast because of climate change — to keep it solid enough to drill for oil, the burning of which will continue to worsen ice melt...''
The Department of Energy has many energy efficiency rules it must strengthen. Together, these rules significantly reduce carbon pollution and they save families money. Win – win!


''Over the past 60 years, Alaska has warmed more than twice as fast as the rest of the United States. Arctic ecosystems are in disarray, sea ice is disappearing, sea levels are rising and the ground is thawing...''
•


''This month the world’s leading energy agency warned that governments around the globe must stop approving fossil fuel projects now if they want to keep the increase in average global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius, compared with preindustrial levels. That’s the threshold beyond which scientists say the Earth will experience irreversible damage.''
The president should use his bully pulpit to remind Americans of the danger, call out fossil fuel obstruction in Congress, and get the rest of corporate America to finally lean in on climate action, creating space in Congress for bipartisan climate successes.


''Press officers at the White House, the Interior Department and the Justice Department all declined to comment on how the administration’s recent decisions align with its climate pledges.''
•


* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/28/climate/biden-fossil-fules-climate-Willow.html
(No trade association is any damned use on climate, big lobbies like Chamber are hostile, and the whole vast apparatus of corporate political influence ends up against us. Stop it.)


•


<big><big>''Biden to Suspend Trump’s Eleventh-Hour Oil Leases in Arctic''</big></big>
The administration should sit down with G7 partners, design carbon border tariffs, and create a carbon club of nations dedicated to decarbonizing. Good for the environment and a big win for American competitiveness!


''Arctic oil leases were sold two weeks before Trump left office''


''Interior Department to conduct fresh environmental analysis''
'''Copy the PDF Agenda here:'''


* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-01/biden-to-suspend-trump-s-eleventh-hour-oil-leases-in-arctic
'''[[File:Sen Whitehouse - president needs to put forward powerful climate agenda - July 15 2022.pdf]]'''


&nbsp;


<big><big>'''May 2021'''</big></big>


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:[[File:Big Oil Rocked by News May 27 2021.jpg]]


[[File:Manchin again - July 15 2022.png]]




<big><big>'''''Lawsuits, Court Orders, Investor Activism'''''</big></big>
Senator from West Virginia and Republican members of the US Senate join to end the Biden 'Build Back Better' plan


<big>'' "Big Oil is at a tipping point" ''</big>


<big>'''''How One Senator Doomed the Democrats’ Climate Plan'''''</big>


* https://www.wsj.com/articles/climate-ruling-could-force-big-change-at-shell-11622131737
'''''Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia led his party and his president through months of tortured talks, with nothing to show for it as the planet dangerously heats up'''''


* https://www.npr.org/2021/05/28/1000882311/big-oil-faces-a-reckoning-decades-in-the-making
Via the NY Times


* https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/27/big-oil-defeats-represent-a-watershed-moment-in-the-climate-battle.html
July 15, 2022


* https://grist.org/energy/why-climate-rage-hit-exxon-chevron-and-shell-on-the-same-day/
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/15/climate/manchin-climate-change-democrats.html


* https://www.reuters.com/business/legal/big-oil-may-get-more-climate-lawsuits-after-shell-ruling-lawyers-activists-2021-05-28/


* https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Moodys-Credit-Risk-Is-Growing-For-Big-Oil.html
''First, he killed a plan that would have forced power plants to clean up their climate-warming pollution. Then, he shattered an effort to help consumers pay for electric vehicles. And, finally, he said he could not support government incentives for solar and wind companies or any of the other provisions that the rest of his party and his president say are vital to ensure a livable planet.''


* https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/27/cataclysmic-day-for-oil-companies-sparks-climate-hope
''Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, who took more campaign cash from the oil and gas industry than any other senator, and who became a millionaire from his family coal business, independently blew up the Democratic Party’s legislative plans to fight climate change. The swing Democratic vote in an evenly divided Senate, Mr. Manchin led his party through months of tortured negotiations that collapsed on Thursday night, a yearlong wild goose chase that produced nothing as the Earth warms to dangerous levels.''


''“It seems odd that Manchin would choose as his legacy to be the one man who single-handedly doomed humanity,” said John Podesta, a former senior counselor to President Barack Obama and founder of the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank....''


&nbsp;


<big><big>'''''Climate Action Advocates Win 2 Seats on Exxon’s Board'''''</big></big>
''“Rage keeps me from tears,” Senator Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts and a longtime advocate for climate legislation, wrote on Twitter late Thursday (7/14)...''


''HOUSTON, TEXAS — Big Oil was knocked down a peg on Wednesday when shareholders of Exxon Mobil dealt the company’s management a stunning defeat by electing at least two board candidates nominated by activist investors who pledged to steer the company away from oil and gas and toward cleaner energy...''


''A poll conducted in early May by the Pew Research Center found a majority of Americans, 58 percent, think the federal government is doing too little to reduce the effects of global warming while 22 percent said it is doing the right amount and 18 percent said it is doing too much. In the same survey, 71 percent said their community had been hit by extreme weather in the past year and a majority linked it to climate change.''


* https://engine1.com/
''President Biden has pledged to the rest of the world that the United States, the country that has historically pumped the most greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, would cut its emissions in half by 2030. Without legislation, it will be impossible to meet Mr. Biden’s climate goals...''


* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/26/business/exxon-mobil-climate-change.html


* https://justcapital.com/news/why-engine-no-1-is-taking-on-exxonmobil-in-arguably-the-biggest-proxy-battle-of-the-season/


* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/27/business/dealbook/exxon-mobil-engine-no-1.html
○






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[[File:Greta Thunberg - Week 203 Climate Strike.png]]


&nbsp;


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<big><big><font color=orange>''''' 🥵 When it gets Too Hot....'''''</font></big></big>


[[File:Heat stress in US may double by end of century.jpg]]
<big>'''June'''</big>




<big><big>'''Gina McCarthy, President Joe Biden’s national climate advisor, says "we have to be creative" with climate strategies and solutions'''</big></big>


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'''An interview with Time Magazine comes as the U.S. Supreme Court announces its decision to curtail Environmental Protection Agency regulatory powers'''




<big><big>'''Net Zero by 2050'''</big></big>
'''Read the Time article'''


'''The International Energy Agency weighs in with 'A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector' '''
* https://time.com/6192857/biden-climate-scotus-west-virginia/ 


May 2021


* https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050
<big><big>'''Chart a Path to Slash Emissions (even as SCOTUS turns against the EPA's authority to act) '''</big></big>


(excerpt)


[https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/4719e321-6d3d-41a2-bd6b-461ad2f850a8/NetZeroby2050-ARoadmapfortheGlobalEnergySector.pdf '''IEA Full Report / PDF''']
''“We’ve set very solid goals, we’re making significant progress on the transition to clean energy,” she told TIME on June 28. “And that is not going to live and die by the Supreme Court’s decision.”''


''To meet the White House’s goals, she said, the Administration needs to get “creative” and find novel ways to galvanize the energy transition. That includes inventive use of regulations at places like EPA, as well as the Administration’s engagement with the private sector, use of its own purchasing power, and use of the Defense Production Act to accelerate the production of domestic clean energy technology, she says. “It can’t just be about using regulations or using Congress to fix this; to actually continue accelerating, we have to be creative,” she said, one of at least ten times she used the word creative in the course of the conversation.''


''It is certainly true that EPA power plant regulations are far from the only—or even the most important—tool in the climate policy toolkit in 2022. But in order to get the U.S. anywhere near the Administration’s goal of slashing emissions in half from 2005 levels by 2030, the creativity that McCarthy speaks about needs to be matched with speed and focus...''


GIF
''One of the reasons McCarthy is hopeful, she says, is the government now has a wider range of options for how to address climate change than when she first engaged in the fight. After failing to pass climate legislation in his first term, President Barack Obama turned to the EPA to pass new regulations that would cut emissions from power plants. With McCarthy as its administrator, the agency issued the Clean Power Plan in 2015. The regulation set state-by-state emissions reduction standards for the power sector and was designed to shut down coal-fired power plants—though states were left to decide on their own how to meet their targets. While it never actually took effect as it wound its way through the courts, it quickly became the centerpiece of Obama’s climate strategy.''


''On the surface, the circumstances today look similar. Congress continues to drag its feet on climate funding and the Administration is turning to second-best options to regulate emissions. But McCarthy says the picture is actually radically different. While large utility companies opposed the Clean Power Plan, they have since embraced the need to transition to clean energy and have partnered with the Biden Administration. And with climate change now seeping into a range of other areas—from trade to agriculture—the Administration no longer needs to rely on narrow authorities under the Clean Air Act. “During the Obama Administration, you know, it was so much earlier on in the climate challenge,” said McCarthy. “When I ran the EPA, it was the linchpin, and the options were limited. It was an entirely different conversation.”''


[[File:IEA Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector to Reach Net Zero by 2050.jpg|link=https://twitter.com/i/status/1394518259261710337]]
''In discussing climate actions Biden has taken that wouldn’t have been imaginable during the Obama years, McCarthy cites his use of the Defense Production Act, which will allow the government to coordinate with industry on the production of a range of clean energy technologies including solar panels, heat pumps, and insulation. The Biden Administration’s commitment for the federal government to transition its fleet of cars and trucks to zero-emissions vehicles shows how it’s setting a [https://time.com/5934090/joe-biden-climate-executive-order/ '''market signal'''] for industry to transition, she says. And she touts the work the Administration has done to expand offshore wind, bringing together state governments and the private sector to help rapidly expand the clean energy source.''


''Despite the Supreme Court ruling in [[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:SCOTUS_EPA_decision_-_June_30_2022.jpg '''West Virginia v. EPA''']], the EPA’s work remains a key component of the Biden Administration’s strategy. While the Supreme Court significantly curtailed the agency’s authority to make major changes to the nation’s power sector under a particular provision of the Clean Air Act, it didn’t limit the agency from addressing climate change in other ways. On Wednesday, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said on a TIME-moderated panel at the Aspen Ideas Festival that following the Supreme Court ruling, the agency planned to show the industry other environmental regulations it can implement under its remaining authority. “We have a suite of regulations that we can present to the power sector in one fell swoop, looking at regulating water, waste, and air quality,” he said. “And the power sector then can take a look at the economics to comply with those rules at one time, or they can say ‘hey, to hell with the past, let’s invest more quickly in the future.'”''


''It’s not clear that all of these so-called ‘creative’ measures put the Administration on track to meet its emissions reductions goals. It’s hard to have an up-to-the-minute accounting of where all of these initiatives leave those targets, but an in-depth analysis from the Rhodium Group earlier this month that takes account for a range of policy developments suggests it will be tough without Congress’ help. Right now, without further policy action, emissions will remain flat and lead to a decline of 17-25% below 2005 levels in 2030, the report finds. Congressional legislation that would provide tax incentives for clean energy deployment, among other things, combined with much of the work McCarthy mentions, could get the U.S. above the 50% reduction threshold that the Administration promised.''


<big>'''''End new oil, gas and coal funding to reach net zero, says IEA'''''</big>
''Congress does appear likely to enact some form of bipartisan climate spending bill, though the exact contours remain unclear. McCarthy, of course, says she’s optimistic. “This is all about getting to a 50% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030,” she says. “We think that the work that we’re doing now will get us very close to that.”''


''Investors should not fund new oil, gas and coal supply projects if the world wants to reach net zero emissions by mid-century, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced today (May 18, 2021), in the top global watchdog's starkest warning yet to curb fossil fuels.''
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''"The pathway to net zero is narrow but still achievable. If we want to reach net zero by 2050 we do not need any more investments in new oil, gas and coal projects."''


* https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/radical-change-needed-reach-net-zero-emissions-iea-2021-05-18/
'''Rhodium Group Report'''


<big><big>'''Has the US Supreme Court Blocked the Path to the 2030 Climate Target?</big></big>


July 1, 2022


<big>'''''No place for new fossil fuels if world is to reach net zero by 2050, says landmark report'''''</big>


''Roadmap comes just months before UK hosts major global climate summit''
''Yesterday, in a 6-to-3 decision in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Supreme Court ruled that EPA does not have the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon emissions from the power sector through a system-wide mandate to shift from coal-fired power generation toward cleaner sources. The ruling constrains one of the most powerful regulatory tools from the executive branch’s toolbox of regulations to help reduce US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In light of the decision and amid stalled climate action in Congress, many are now questioning what climate policy options are still left on the table, and whether the US still has the ability to achieve its 2030 climate target of reducing emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels.''


Via The Independent
''We find that the Supreme Court’s ruling does not change the game by much. Last fall, Rhodium Group published Pathways to Paris, a comprehensive assessment of a portfolio of federal legislation, regulations, and other actions across all levels of government, which together could put the 2030 target within reach. In this note, we revisit that list of actions and assess the implications of the Supreme Court ruling for the pathway to the 2030 climate target. We find that while the ruling certainly makes the pathway rockier, it hasn’t necessarily put the target out of reach. The silver lining of the ruling is that it has cleared up ambiguities that have plagued power sector GHG emissions regulations for a decade. Going forward, EPA may have more legal certainty and can still leverage other regulatory tools that could drive significant emissions cuts in the power sector and other sectors. However, EPA needs to move fast in order to help achieve the target. Without swift progress on all fronts—including in Congress and across other levels of government—the 2030 target is in jeopardy.''


* https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/fossil-fuels-end-net-zero-b1848938.html
'''''What West Virginia v. EPA does and doesn’t do'''''


''The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in West Virginia v. EPA rules that EPA does not have the authority under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions from the power sector at a system-wide level. While the ruling certainly limits regulatory pathways to reducing emissions and removes one of the more efficient and low-cost regulatory options, the decision was also not the worst-case scenario for EPA’s ability to regulate emissions that many had feared. The ruling does not entirely revoke EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, nor does it state that EPA can’t regulate GHG emissions from power plants. EPA still has the authority to regulate emissions at the point source or individual power plant level—what’s often referred to as “inside the fence line” of the facility, as opposed to “outside the fence line” or a systems-based approach, which is now off-limits under the ruling.''


<big>'''''The International Energy Agency Issues a Landmark Statement About Fossil Fuels'''''</big>
''One consolation from the ruling is that it potentially clears up legal ambiguities that have plagued power sector emissions regulations for a decade. EPA may have more certainty about the rules of the regulatory road and how to regulate emissions from point sources. The Supreme Court made it clear that if EPA wants to regulate emissions from point sources, it can only consider emissions-control measures at the source. This is the same approach that EPA has used for an array of other pollutants over the 50+ year history of the Clean Air Act. Indeed, it’s the same approach EPA has used in setting GHG standards for new power plants as well as one of the three building blocks in the Obama EPA’s Clean Power Plan. While the ruling means that some regulatory options are now off-limits, it also means that EPA now knows that it can leverage existing emissions-control technologies to drive significant emissions cuts in the power sector, such as carbon capture and fuel blending. Some of these options may cost more than a system-wide approach and may result in fewer co-benefits like reduced local air pollution, but all of that will depend on how EPA ultimately chooses to exercise its clarified authority and what other conventional pollutant regulations it pursues.''


''Our hope for a livable world rests on a series of crucial sentences''
'''''What the ruling means for the 2030 climate target'''''


By Bill McKibben
''In light of the ruling, and especially as federal climate legislation is currently stalled in Congress, many are now questioning what regulatory options and other climate policy options are still left on the table, and whether the US still has the ability to achieve its 2030 climate target of reducing emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels.''


Via The New Yorker
''In order to answer those questions, we revisit '''Pathways to Paris'''...''' ''(see the updated June 2022 Pathway report linked below)''


* https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-international-energy-agency-issues-a-milestone-statement-about-fossil-fuels


''The crucial turning points of the climate era can be found in a series of sentences, some of them pretty opaque, but all of them critical. The latest came on Tuesday morning in a report from the International Energy Agency, in Paris, and it could very well signal the start of the end of the fossil-fuel era. So it’s important to first set it in the context of a few other such statements.''
Read the full July 1, 2022 Rhodium Group report analyzing the impacts of the Supreme Court's West Virginia v. EPA decision


''In 1995, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said, “The balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate.” Ever since NASA’s Jim Hansen told Congress, in 1988, that climate change was under way, the world’s scientists and governments had been scrambling to reach workable conclusions on which to base policy. This sentence was the key line of the I.P.C.C.’s Second Assessment Report: close observers understood that, over the objections of countries such as Saudi Arabia, the world’s scientific community was announcing, irrevocably, that global warming was very real.''
* https://rhg.com/research/supreme-court-2030-climate-target/


''In 2015, in Article 2 of the Paris climate accord, the world’s governments committed to “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change.” This was the first time that the world had set a solid target, and that target was a hard one: holding the rise in warming as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a goal urged by climate activists and the most vulnerable nations.''


''In 2018, the I.P.C.C. reported on what it would take to meet that Paris goal, saying, “In model pathways with no or limited overshoot of 1.5°C, global net anthropogenic CO2 emissions decline by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 (40–60% interquartile range), reaching net zero around 2050 (2045–2055 interquartile range).” Translation: if you want to have any chance of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees, you have to cut emissions in half by 2030, and to net zero by 2050.''


''The statement on Tuesday from the I.E.A. is a recommendation. It reads, “There is no need for investment in new fossil fuel supply in our net zero pathway. Beyond projects already committed as of 2021, there are no new oil and gas fields approved for development in our pathway, and no new coal mines or mine extensions are required.” That emphasis is in the original—in fact, in the new report that sentence is in headline-size type, as well it should be. It says that, after two hundred and fifty years, in the view of the I.E.A., the time has come to stop exploring for oil, gas, and coal. No rational plan for getting to 1.5 degrees (or anywhere near it) can deal with any new supply. Instead, the “the focus for oil and gas producers switches entirely to output—and emissions reductions—from the operation of existing assets.” That is, we obviously can’t stop burning fossil fuel tomorrow, but we have to be headed decisively in that direction—which means stopping the development of new fields and draining what we must from existing fields to hold us over until we’ve built enough solar panels and wind turbines.''
_________________________________________________________


''This message comes from a credible source—indeed, the I.E.A. has always been captive to the fossil-fuel industry, or at least to the countries, such as the United States, where that industry has held sway. For years, its forecasts of how fast renewable energy would spread were understatements; it was an engine of the status quo.''


''But now governments and corporations, pushed by civil society—and, perhaps, by a recognition of our climate plight—are suddenly committing to net-zero targets. Virtually all the big banks, for instance, have made this pledge. And now the I.E.A. has told them what it means. If they’re serious about it, they don’t just have to lend money to people who want to set up solar panels. (Clearly, they have to do that. “Policies need to be designed,” the report says, “to send market signals that unlock new business models and mobilise private spending, especially in emerging economies.”) Just as important, they must now stop doing what they’ve long been doing, which is pumping trillions of dollars into fossil fuels....''


''The fact that the I.E.A. is now saying this so loudly and clearly will be an immeasurable boost to campaigners around the world who have been working to block the fossil-fuel industry and its backers among the banks, insurance companies, and asset managers. It’s also a reflection of how much the world is changing. Part of that is due to the election of Joe Biden, of course, but the sheer logic of the scientific argument can eventually cut through even vested interest. It’s been an agonizing three-plus decades since Hansen’s warning, and that vested interest may have delayed action too long; waiting until the icecaps were actually melting was an incredible mistake.''
<big><big>'''Progress on the Pathway to Paris?'''</big></big>


''But the strength of these four sentences is what our hope for a livable world rests on, the intellectual scaffolding erected by science and reason—and the passion of hardworking activists—on which to base our future. We will all find out if they’re strong enough for that daunting task.''
June 2022




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''It’s been nearly a year and a half since President Biden entered office and made addressing climate change one of his administration’s top priorities. Pledging to take a whole-of-government approach to the problem, Biden built out a climate team inside the White House and promptly set an ambitious target to reduce US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030. Congress also prioritized addressing climate change, first with key infrastructure investments and then with the House of Representatives passing over $500 billion in climate and clean energy spending through budget reconciliation. In addition, 24 states have adopted the same 2030 target or have comparable targets in place.''


''Last fall, Rhodium Group published Pathways to Paris, a comprehensive assessment of a portfolio of policy actions that the US can take to put the 2030 climate target within reach. In that report, we found that no single action taken by any single part of the US federal system is sufficient. Instead, joint action consisting of a steady stream of legislation, regulations, and other activities across all levels of government can put the 2030 target within reach. In this note, we revisit the list of actions we considered and assess progress on each. We find that while some movement has occurred on some fronts, most big-ticket items have yet to get started or are still under deliberation in Congress. Without ramped-up action across the board in the very near future, it will be increasingly difficult to envision a pathway to the 2030 target.''


<big>'''National Parks of the US Plan for Change'''</big>
'''''Nearly 18 months of a whole-of-government approach to climate change'''''


As climate change hits, a new directive -- “Resist, Accept, Direct” -- arrives to help park employees triage species and landscapes, assess risks when relocating species, save plants and animals that can no longer survive in their natural habitat.
''When President Biden entered office, he made climate change a top priority, more so than any other president before him. Coming after the Trump administration’s systematic dismantling of climate and clean energy initiatives, the Biden administration has taken hundreds of actions to undo the damage and reverse regulatory rollbacks. The high-caliber appointments of Gina McCarthy and John Kerry as the first-ever National Climate Advisor and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, respectively, sent a strong signal that the President was taking the climate challenge seriously. With unified government, there was hope of ambitious and swift congressional action on investments in decarbonization.''


''Now, nearly 18 months in, the administration has set ambitious goals on everything from offshore wind deployment to ramping up electric vehicle sales, cutting global methane emissions, and achieving a 100% clean electricity grid. Regulatory actions to rein in greenhouse gasses are moving forward in a few key sectors. Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) which contained several multi-billion dollar investments in emerging clean technologies and clean infrastructure. The administration has also taken key steps to help achieve long-term decarbonization goals, including standing up a Buy Clean Task Force to use the federal government’s purchasing power to help clean up heavy industry, and committing the federal government to increased sustainability targets. Critically, the administration has emphasized environmental justice across agencies and started initiatives to address disproportionate climate and environmental impacts in disadvantaged communities.''


“We weren’t being trained on how to manage for change... We were being trained on how to keep things like they were in the past.”
''Subnational actions also have the potential to accelerate and amplify emission reductions catalyzed by federal actions and, in some instances, deliver tons that the federal government can’t easily reach. States have kept a steady drumbeat setting ambitious climate targets to help do their part to achieve climate targets, especially during the federal inaction of the Trump administration. And we’ve seen several states step up climate action in key sectors in recent months as well.''


“You have a whole profession of people having to shift how we think.”
''However, at the same time, the $555 billion in climate spending in the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) that passed the House in November remains in Senate deliberation limbo. Congress, states and the White House aren’t tackling climate change in a vacuum but instead are dealing with a host of other challenges. The country is in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, once-in-a-generation inflation, sky-high energy prices, a war in Europe, and ongoing supply chain disruptions—all of which at best distract from additional climate action and at worst may lead to actions that could run counter to long-term climate goals.''


* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/18/climate/national-parks-climate-change.html
''In '''Pathways to Paris''', we found that without any new climate action, the US is not on track to meet its 2030 target of reducing emissions 50-52% below 2005 levels. With no additional action, emissions stay roughly flat, getting to 17-25% below 2005 levels in 2030 (reflecting the uncertainty around energy prices, technology costs, and carbon removal from natural and working lands). This leaves an emissions gap of 1.7-2.3 billion metric tons between current policy and the 2030 target. To fill that gap, we developed a “joint action” scenario— congressional passage of the IIJA and BBBA, alongside regulations and other executive branch actions and supplemented with subnational action in climate-leader states. All together, this scenario would achieve an emission reduction of 45-51% below 2005 levels—putting the 2030 target of a 50-52% reduction within reach...''




[[File:Change.jpg]]


&nbsp;
Read the full Rhodium Group report on US climate promises kept and unkept, a follow on to the international Paris climate agreement of 2015.


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* https://rhg.com/research/progress-on-the-pathway-to-paris/




<big>'''Facebook's Climate of Deception: How Viral Misinformation Fuels the Climate Emergency'''</big>


* https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/facebook_climate_misinformation/
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* https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/disinfo_hub/




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[[File:SCOTUS EPA decision - June 30 2022.jpg]]




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[[File:Temperatures New Normal is Not Normal.jpg]]


<big><big><big>Supreme Court of the United States on West Virginia v. EPA</big></big></big>


<big>'''''Global heating pace risks ‘unstoppable’ sea level rise as Antarctic ice sheet melts'''''</big>


'''''World faces ‘abrupt jump’ in pace of ice loss around 2060 unless emissions reduced to meet Paris agreement goals, (another) study warns'''''
: Click [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/SCOTUS_News_re_West_Virginia_v_EPA_Decision.pdf '''Here'''] for a scan of news/commentary and opinion re the June 30, 2022 decision


* https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/05/antarctica-ice-sheet-melting-global-heating-sea-level-rise-study
:: <big><big>[[File:SCOTUS News re West Virginia v EPA Decision.pdf]]</big></big>


'''''Findings'''''
::* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/SCOTUS_News_re_West_Virginia_v_EPA_Decision.pdf


- ''The current pace of global heating risks unleashing “rapid and unstoppable” sea level rise from the melting of Antarctica’s vast ice sheet''


- ''Unless planet-heating emissions are swiftly reduced to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement, the world faces a situation where there is an “abrupt jump” in the pace of Antarctic ice loss around 2060''
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''“Once you put enough heat into the climate system, you are going to lose those ice shelves, and once that is set in motion you can’t reverse it. The oceans would have to cool back down before the ice sheet could heal, which would take a very long time. On a societal timescale it would essentially be a permanent change... It’s really the next few decades that will determine the sea level rise from Antarctica. These ice shelves won’t be able to just grow back.” --  Robert DeConto, University of Massachusetts''
'''June 30, 2022'''


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/SCOTUS_News_re_West_Virginia_v_EPA_Decision.pdf News | Commentary | Opinion]


<big>''Antarctic ‘doomsday glacier’ may be melting faster than was thought''</big>


* https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/30/antarctic-doomsday-glacier-may-be-melting-faster-than-was-thought
<big>'''Re: U.S. Supreme Court Decision on West Virginia v. EPA'''</big>


''The fate of Thwaites – nicknamed the doomsday glacier – and the massive west Antarctic ice sheet it supports are the biggest unknown factors in future global sea level rise.''


''Over the past few years, teams of scientists have been crisscrossing the remote and inaccessible region on Antarctica’s western edge to try to understand how fast the ice is melting and what the consequences for the rest of the world might be.''
'''Read the Decision:'''


''“What happens in west Antarctica is of great societal importance,” said Dr Robert Larter, a scientist with the British Antarctic Survey and principal investigator with the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, the most ambitious research project ever carried out in Antarctica. “This is the biggest uncertainty in future sea level rise.”''
* https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20-1530/205559/20211217145954348_West%20Virginia%20v.%20EPA%20final.pdf




[[File:Worlds glaciers melting faster - Nature report - Apr 2021-1.jpg]]




[[File:Worlds glaciers melting faster - Nature report - Apr 2021-2.jpg]]
'''More About the Decision'''


<big><big>'''Supreme Court restricts the EPA's authority to mandate carbon emissions reductions'''</big></big>


Via National Public Radio


🌎
By Nina Totenberg / Legal Affairs Correspondent / News of the U.S. Supreme Court 




<big><big>'''April 2021'''</big></big>
'''Read and/or Listen the NPR story / [https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/2022/06/30/1109051564/all-things-considered-for-june-30-2022 All Things Considered]'''


* https://www.npr.org/2022/06/30/1103595898/supreme-court-epa-climate-change


<big>'''''Solar Energy Price Revolution by Bill McKibben'''''</big>


''April 29, 2021 / excerpted from The New Yorker''
''The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a major blow to the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate carbon emissions that cause climate change. The decision by the conservative court majority sets the stage for further limitations on the regulatory power of other agencies as well.''


''By a vote of 6 to 3, the court said that any time an agency does something big and new – in this case addressing climate change – the regulation is presumptively invalid, unless Congress has specifically authorized regulating in this sphere.''


''Earth Week has come and gone, leaving behind an ankle-deep and green-tinted drift of reports, press releases, and earnest promises from C.E.O.s and premiers alike that they are planning to become part of the solution. There were contingent signs of real possibility—if some of the heads of state whom John Kerry called on to make Zoom speeches appeared a little strained, at least they appeared. (Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister of Australia, the most carbon-emitting developed nation per capita, struggled to make his technology work.) But, if you want real hope, the best place to look may be a little noted report from the London-based think tank [https://carbontracker.org/ Carbon Tracker Initiative].''
''"That's a very big deal because they're not going to get it from Congress because Congress is essentially dysfunctional," said Harvard law professor Richard Lazarus, an expert on environmental law. "This could not have come at a worse time" because "the consequences of climate change are increasingly dire and we're running out of time to address it."'' ...  


''Titled “The Sky’s the Limit,” it begins by declaring that “solar and wind potential is far higher than that of fossil fuels and can meet global energy demand many times over.” Taken by itself, that’s not a very bold claim: scientists have long noted that the sun directs more energy to the Earth in an hour than humans use in a year. But, until very recently, it was too expensive to capture that power. That’s what has shifted—and so quickly and so dramatically that most of the world’s politicians are now living on a different planet than the one we actually inhabit. On the actual Earth, circa 2021, the report reads, “with current technology and in a subset of available locations we can capture at least 6,700 PWh p.a. [petawatt-hours per year] from solar and wind, which is more than 100 times global energy demand.” And this will not require covering the globe with solar arrays: “The land required for solar panels alone to provide all global energy is 450,000 km2, 0.3% of the global land area of 149 million km2. That is less than the land required for fossil fuels today, which in the US alone is 126,000 km2, 1.3% of the country.” These are the kinds of numbers that reshape your understanding of the future.''
''The issue before the court was how the EPA can regulate coal-fired power plants, which in this country are the single largest source of carbon emissions that cause climate challenge. The Obama administration set state-by-state carbon limits and encouraged states to rely less on coal and more on alternative energy sources. Even though the program was blocked by the courts, it met its targets 11 years ahead of schedule for the simple reason that it turned out coal was too expensive compared to other power generating sources.''


''We haven’t yet fully grasped this potential because it’s happened so fast. In 2015, zero per cent of solar’s technical potential was economically viable—the small number of solar panels that existed at that time had to be heavily subsidized. But prices for solar energy have collapsed so fast over the past three years that sixty per cent of that potential is already economically viable. And, because costs continue to slide with every quarter, solar energy will be cheaper than fossil fuels almost everywhere on the planet by the decade’s end. (It’s a delicious historical irony that this evolution took place, entirely by coincidence, during the Administration of Donald Trump, even as he ranted about how solar wasn’t “strong enough” and was “very, very expensive.”) The Carbon Tracker report, co-written by Kingsmill Bond, is full of fascinating points, such as how renewable energy is the biggest gift of all for some of the poorest nations, including in Africa, where solar potential outweighs current energy use by a factor of more than a thousand. Only a few countries—Singapore, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and a handful of European countries—are “stretched” in their ability to rely on renewables, because they both use a lot of energy and have little unoccupied land. In these terms, Germany is in the third-worst position, and the fact that it is nonetheless one of the world’s leaders in renewable energy should be a powerful signal: “If the Germans can find solutions, then so can everyone else.”''  
''But on Thursday, the Supreme Court turned thumbs down on any such systemic approach. Bringing to life what the court has called '''"the major questions doctrine,"''' the court said that neither the EPA nor any other agency may adopt rules that are transformational to the economy--unless Congress has specifically authorized such a rule to address a specific problem, like climate change.''


''The numbers in the report are overwhelming—even if the analysts are too optimistic by half, we’ll still be swimming in cheap solar energy. “We have established that technical and economic barriers have been crossed by falling costs. It follows that the main remaining barrier to change is the ability of incumbents to manipulate political forces to stop change,” the report reads. Indeed. And the problem is that we need that change to happen right now, because the curves of damage from the climate crisis are as steep as the curves of falling solar prices. Given three or four decades, economics will clearly take care of the problem—the low price of solar power will keep pushing us to replace liquid fuels with electricity generated from the sun, and, eventually, no one will have a gas boiler in the basement or an internal-combustion engine in the car. But, if the transition takes three or four decades, no one will have an ice cap in the Arctic, either, and everyone who lives near a coast will be figuring out where on earth to go.''
''Writing for the court majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that under what the court has recently called the '''"major questions doctrine,"''' neither the EPA nor any other agency may adopt rules that are "transformational" to the economy — unless Congress has specifically authorized such a transformative rule to address a specific problem, like climate change.''


''Change is hard. The job of politicians is to make it easier for those affected, so that what must happen can happen—and within the time we’ve been allotted by physics. But that hard job is infinitely easier now that renewable energy is suddenly so cheap. The falling price puts the wind at our backs, as it were. It’s the greatest gift we could have been given as a civilization, and we dare not waste it.''
''In "certain extraordinary cases, both separation of powers principles and a practical understanding of legislative intent make us 'reluctant to read into ambiguous statutory text' the delegation claimed to be lurking there," Roberts writes. "To convince us otherwise, something more than a merely plausible textual basis for the agency action is necessary. The agency instead must point to 'clear congressional authorization' for the power it claims."''


'''''Justice Elena Kagan, in a furious dissent, said essentially that the Court is making up new rules that contradict nearly a century of regulatory law. The text of the Clean Air Act, she said, clearly anticipates that the EPA will have to deal with new problems and uses broad language to allow that. The Court majority, she says, "does not have a clue about how to address climate change...yet it appoints itself, instead of congress or the expert agency...the decision-maker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening."'''''


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'''''The decision appears to enact major new limits on agency regulations across the economy, limits of a kind not imposed by the court for 75 years or more.''' ''The decision, for instance, casts a cloud of doubt over a proposed Securities and Exchange Commission rule that would require companies offering securities to the public to disclose climate-related risks – like severe weather events that have or likely will affect their business models. Also in jeopardy is a new interim rule adopted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission "aimed at treating greenhouse gas emissions and their contribution to climate change the same as all other environmental impacts [the Commission] considers."''


''The decision was a particularly bad omen for environmentalists. In a very real sense, it seemed to reject any holistic regulatory attempt to deal with climate change.''


[https://carbontracker.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/The-Skys-the-Limit_Infographic.png Solar-Wind Infographic]


○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○


- Solar and wind potential is far higher than that of fossil fuels and can meet global energy demand many times over, unlocking huge benefits for society.


- With current technology and in a subset of available locations we can capture at least 6,700 PWh p.a. from solar and wind, which is more than 100 times global energy demand.
'''June 27, 2022'''




- The collapse in renewable costs in the last three years means that half of this solar and wind technical potential now has economic potential, and by the end of the decade it will be over 90%.
[[File:WV v EPA SCOTUS poll - June 27 2022 before court decision.png]]


- The land required for solar panels alone to provide all global energy is 450,000 km2, 0.3% of the global land area of 149 million km2 – less than the current land footprint of fossil fuel infrastructure. This differs by country (see interactive global map at 'Sky's the Limit')


* https://carbontracker.org/reports/the-skys-the-limit-solar-wind/
[[File:Environmental laws in US - Supreme Court votes soon.png]]


* https://carbontracker.org/solar-and-wind-can-meet-world-energy-demand-100-times-over-renewables/


''WASHINGTON — Within days, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision that could severely limit the federal government’s authority to reduce carbon dioxide from power plants — pollution that is dangerously heating the planet.''


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''But it’s only a start.''


''The case, West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, is the product of a coordinated, multiyear strategy by Republican attorneys general, conservative legal activists and their funders, several with ties to the oil and coal industries, to use the judicial system to rewrite environmental law, weakening the executive branch’s ability to tackle global warming.''


''Coming up through the federal courts are more climate cases, some featuring novel legal arguments, each carefully selected for its potential to block the government’s ability to regulate industries and businesses that produce greenhouse gases...''


[[File:Senate votes on methane - April 28, 2021.jpg]]
''Victory for the plaintiffs in these cases would mean the federal government could not dramatically restrict tailpipe emissions because of vehicles’ impact on climate, even though transportation is the country’s largest source of greenhouse gases.''


''The government also would not be able to force electric utilities to replace fossil fuel-fired power plants, the second-largest source of planet warming pollution, with wind and solar power.''


''And the executive branch could not consider the economic costs of climate change when evaluating whether to approve a new oil pipeline or similar project or environmental rule.''


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''Those limitations on climate action in the United States, which has pumped more planet-warming gases into the atmosphere than any other nation, would quite likely doom the world’s goal of cutting enough emissions to keep the planet from heating up more than an average of 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with the preindustrial age. That is the threshold beyond which scientists say the likelihood of catastrophic hurricanes, drought, heat waves and wildfires significantly increases. The Earth has already warmed an average of 1.1 degrees Celsius.''


''“If the Supreme Court uses this as an opportunity to really squash E.P.A.’s ability to regulate on climate change, it will seriously impede U.S. progress toward solving the problem,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton University.''


''The ultimate goal of the Republican activists, people involved in the effort say, is to overturn the legal doctrine by which Congress has delegated authority to federal agencies to regulate the environment, health care, workplace safety, telecommunications, the financial sector and more.''


:[[File:Earth Day and Climate at the Center.jpg]]


'''Read the Full Article'''


* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/19/climate/supreme-court-climate-epa.html


<big><big>'''Earth Day Summit'''</big></big>




<big>'''Coming This Week on Earth Day, April 22'''</big>
&nbsp;


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[[File:Earth Day 2021 - Climate Summit News-1.jpg]]




::::[[File:Oceans and Climate Change - DeCaprio July 2022.png]]


[[File:Timelapse in Google Earth-4.jpg]]




<big><big><big>'''Timelapse from Google Earth'''</big></big></big>
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<big>'''Welcome to Timelapse!'''</big>




'''Rebecca Moore, Director, Google Earth, Earth Engine & Outreach:'''
[[File:Oil gas climate change response plans - circa 2022.png]]


''To explore Timelapse in Google Earth, go to [https://earth.google.com/web/@41.98486546,-87.91260108,195a,24634d,35y,0h,0t,0r/data=CjISMBIgNTQ0MGExNzMxYzI1MTFlYTk0NDM4YmI2ODk0NDUyOTciDG1haW5Ob1JhbmRvbQ g.co/Timelapse] — choose any place on the planet where you want to see time in motion.''




<big><big><u>'''[[Google Earth Timelapse]]'''</u></big></big>


: Launch Date: April 15, 2021
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* http://goo.gle/timelapse




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[[File:Journey of a Climate Pixel - May 2022.png]]


<big><big><big>'''The Carbon Mapper Partnership'''</big></big></big>


<big>'''Welcome to the Carbon Mapper Program'''</big>
[[File:ESA Living Planet Symposium - May 2022.png]]




::[https://carbonmapper.org/ <big><big><u>'''Carbon Mapper'''</u></big></big>]
[[File:ESA Living Planet Symposium - Announcement.png]]


::[[File:Planet 4-15-2021 10-22-51 AM.jpg]]




:🌎


:''NASA’s Earth sciences mission --- focused on supporting a strong, data-driven response to the climate crisis.''


:::::'''[[Planet API]]''' --- '''[[Earth Science Research from Space]]''' --- '''[[Earth Science Vital Signs]]'''


[[File:Heat Wave Asia - April May 2022.png]]


&nbsp;


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: [[File:Southeast-asia-heatwave-nasa-2022.jpg]]


: <small>NASA</small>


[https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1063729621 Via E&E News]


<big><big>'''U.S. intelligence experts warn of unchecked climate change'''</big></big>


🌎


[https://climateandsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/a-security-threat-assessment-of-climate-change.pdf SECURITY THREAT ASSESSMENT OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE (PDF)]


National security and intelligence experts warn that climate change could become a “catastrophic” threat to security and recommended quick action to be taken to mitigate risks
<big><big>'''Professor Michael Mann's online course on Climate begins today - April 29th'''</big></big>


* https://climateandsecurity.org/a-security-threat-assessment-of-global-climate-change/
: '''Consider signing up - It's free'''


* https://www.edx.org/course/climate-change-the-science-and-global-impact


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* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Climate_course_at_SDG_(2022)_recd_by_Michael_E_Mann.png


* https://michaelmann.net/books/climate-war


<big>'''Mauna Loa Observatory CO2'''</big>


'''April 2021 - New record high'''


[[File:Climate course at SDG (2022) recd by Michael E Mann.png]]


''"For the first time in recorded history, the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, or CO2, was measured at more than 420 parts per million at the Mauna Loa Observatory on the Big Island of Hawaii."''


: * https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2636/Rise-of-carbon-dioxide-unabated


: * https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/monthly.html
🌎


: * https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/weekly.html


: * https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/
<big>'''On Earth Day, April 22'''</big>




[[File:Project Drawdown with Matt Scott - On Earth Day 2022.png]]


:[[File:Mauna Loa Observatory CO2 - April 2021 - New record high.jpg]]


'''Drawdown Stories | Drawdown Neighborhoods'''


&nbsp;
: '''Frontline Communities, #ClimateJustice and Equity Action'''




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<big><big>'''March 2021'''</big></big>
<big>'''A Record of Attempting to Deconstruct the EPA... Now Running for U.S. Senate'''</big>




[[File:Volvo goes EV (1) March 2021.jpg]]  [[File:Volvo goes EV (2) March 2021.jpg]]
[[File:Scott Pruitt - running for James Inhofe Senate seat - Apr 2022.png]]




April 19 / Scott Pruitt, who many consider the worst Environmental Protection Agency head in the EPA's history, is now looking, as announced in April 2022, for election as a Senator from Oklahoma, replacing James Inhofe, who many consider [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Inhofe_and_the_Snowball.png '''the worst Senator on environmental policy issues'''.]


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[[File:60 biggest banks invest 3.8 trillion in fossil fuels from 2016-2020.jpg]]
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[https://www.ran.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Banking-on-Climate-Chaos-2021.pdf <big>'''''"Banking on Climate Chaos" (PDF)"'''''</big>]


''Introduction: This report analyzes fossil fuel financing from the world’s 60 largest commercial and investment banks — aggregating their leading roles in lending and underwriting of debt and equity issuances — and finds that these banks poured a total of $3.8 trillion into fossil fuels from 2016–2020.
'''Via Strategic Demands, GreenPolicy360's associate''':


:1. ''Fossil fuel financing dropped 9% last year, parallel to the global drop in fossil fuel demand and production due to the COVID-19 pandemic.''
[[File:Eyes On Global Security Threats - via Strategic Demands April 2022.png|link=https://strategicdemands.com/eyes-on-the-global-security-threat/]]
:2. ''And yet 2020 levels remained higher than in 2016, the year immediately following the adoption of the Paris Agreement.''




[https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/544726-60-largest-banks-in-the-world-invested-38-t-in-fossil-fuels-report <big>'''''60 largest banks in the world invested $3.8 trillion in fossil fuels: Report'''''</big>]


''"Despite the economic recession induced by the coronavirus pandemic, more money went into the industry in 2020 than in 2016"''


''The world’s 60 biggest banks have financed the fossil fuel industry to the tune of nearly $4 trillion in the five years since the Paris climate agreement, according to a report released March 24th by a coalition of environmental organizations.''
<big>'''Methane (greenhouse gas) rose more last year than any other year since records began in 1983 and is at a record high'''</big>


''The report was authored by Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International, Reclaim Finance, and Sierra Club, and is endorsed by over 300 organizations from 50 countries around the world.''
Via EOS / April 2022


* https://www.marketwatch.com/story/major-banks-including-jpmorgan-and-citi-have-invested-3-8-trillion-in-fossil-fuels-since-the-paris-agreement-11616635285
* https://eos.org/articles/a-climate-mystery-warns-us-to-heed-the-unknown


* https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2021/03/24/new-report-worlds-60-largest-banks-have-poured-38-trillion-fossil-fuels-paris-0




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<big>'''Biden's (and the World's) Imperiled Climate Agenda'''</big>


:[[File:Science Baselines-Trendlines-Data changing over decades 3-14-2021.jpg]]
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/01/climate/biden-climate-change.html




[[File:Extreme temperatures over the decades - NASA-GISS data as of Feb 2021.jpg]]
''On Thursday (March 31st), President Biden said he would release one million barrels of oil a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for as long as 180 days to help bring down global oil prices. The scale and duration of such a release would be historic. The United States also plans to increase exports of natural gas to help Europe wean itself from Russian supplies. Environmentalists are concerned that both of those moves will lead to more domestic drilling at a moment when scientists say nations must sharply and quickly cut fossil fuel use.''


''The president used the announcement about the petroleum reserve to make a plea for his stymied climate legislation, saying that he was boosting gas and oil supplies to deal with an immediate crisis but that the country’s long term energy independence should be rooted in wind, solar and other renewable sources that are insulated from global market fluctuations.''


&nbsp;
''“Ultimately, we and the whole world need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels altogether,” Mr. Biden said. “We need to choose long-term security over energy and climate vulnerability. We need to double down on our commitment to clean energy and tackling the climate crisis with our partners and allies around the world. And we can do that by passing my plan that’s literally before the Senate right now, the United States Congress right now.”''


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<big>''Endless Summer? Climate Crisis Could Lengthen Hottest Temperatures by Six Months''</big>
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* https://www.ecowatch.com/endless-summer-climate-crisis


March 30, 2022


<big>''Coming episodes of high heat and high humidity — known as extreme wet-bulb (TW) temperature''</big>


''TW temps that go beyond the limits of human survival''
<big>'''Via The Atlantic / Weekly Planet'''</big>


''Above a wet-bulb temperature of 35 Celsius, or 95 degrees Fahrenheit, the body cannot cool down, as sweat on the skin can no longer evaporate. Prolonged exposure to such conditions can be fatal, even for healthy people...''


* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/climate/climate-change-heat-tropics.html
<big>'''''The world has changed since 2020 — it has changed, for that matter, since the middle of last month, when Vladimir Putin began his campaign to conquer all of Ukraine'''''</big>


* https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00695-3
By Robinson Meyer


* https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab7d04
''... More than a quarter of the natural gas that Europe imports from Russia flows in pipelines that run through Ukraine, and large, violent military campaigns do not tend to treat fragile (and flammable) fossil-fuel infrastructure delicately. But Russia’s role as a major oil producer to the world, and Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas (beyond just that which flows through Ukrainian pipelines), has brought the issue to the center of global politics.''


''... In the coming years, the European Union seems likely to go on a mad decarbonizing dash, electrifying as much of its energy system as possible so as to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. But even optimistic accounts posit that the continent cannot hope to regain “energy sovereignty” until 2027. It will need more than just heat pumps and solar panels; it will need someone else to sell it gas.''


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''Last week, the EU promised to import 50 billion cubic meters of liquid natural gas from the United States annually through 2030. Right now, for context, it imports about 17 billion cubic meters of LNG a year, so it will need to find another 33 billion cubic meters to meet its goal.''


''That is a lot of gas. It exceeds the LNG imports of every country in North and South America combined. It seems reasonable to conclude, therefore, that if the EU follows through on its commitment—but no country produces more gas—then it will break the global market for liquid natural gas. That will make natural-gas prices rise everywhere, for all countries, even those that don’t buy LNG from the United States. And that will force middle-income countries—such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Thailand—that have been planning on importing natural gas to instead buy coal, a far dirtier and more climate-destructive fuel...''


<big>Atlantic currents seem to have started fading last century</big>
''If Europe’s democracies believe that their ability to import natural gas from a non-Russia country is essential to their survival, then American climate advocates should find a way to help them—without cutting a blank check to U.S. natural-gas producers or extending the gas system’s lifetime into the 2030s.''


: Another predicted impact of climate change may be here
''Climate activists remain correct in their essential diagnosis: In order to avoid catastrophic changes to the climate system, most undrilled fossil fuels must remain in the ground. But for the next few years, climate policy will require a subtler hand than advocates have been used to providing. It means that the U.S. must make strategic investments to increase grappling with the energy system as it exists today — which is fossil-fuel-dependent — not because fossil fuels have inherent value but because only by understanding the current situation can the U.S. plan for the future. Putin’s war has all but ensured that the path to decarbonization will not be a straight line. But if advocates navigate this moment carefully, then the U.S. and the EU can find a shortcut, not a detour.''


* https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/atlantic-currents-seem-to-have-started-fading-last-century/


* https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00699-z
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''The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)—one of Earth’s major ocean circulation systems—redistributes heat on our planet and has a major impact on climate. Here, we compare a variety of published proxy records to reconstruct the evolution of the AMOC since about ad 400. A fairly consistent picture of the AMOC emerges: after a long and relatively stable period, there was an initial weakening starting in the nineteenth century, followed by a second, more rapid, decline in the mid-twentieth century, leading to the weakest state of the AMOC occurring in recent decades.''  
<big><big>'''Announcement from GreenPolicy360 & Strategic Demands'''</big></big>




<big><big>'''February 2021'''</big></big>
Stay tunes as GreenPolicy360 launches a crucial new 'Climate Plans Enforcement Project'


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources


From the '''Texas Monthly''' reporting on the state's energy crisis brought on by a surge of 'freezing  Arctic weather'


Prepare now Texas, 'winterize' your power generation system -- the warming climate and melting Arctic are Texas problems... and shifts in the 'polar vortex' are sending you, the oil/gas/fossil fuel capitol of the US, a signal
[[File:Climate Plans Enforcement Project - 2.png]]


Resilience and planning are needed, not a blame game targeting interstate cooperation and renewable energy sources as the enemy




:''(Texas does) not have the legal authority to require power companies to winterize. That’s left up to the Texas Legislature and other state agencies. (In the days following the blackouts, Governor Greg Abbott called on the Legislature to consider approving a statewide winterization mandate.)''
:[[File:Earth System Observatory-1.jpg]]


:''While some legislators have pointed their fingers at ERCOT or have used the blackouts to blame wind and renewable energy, much of the responsibility actually lies with the lawmakers themselves, according to a prominent energy expert. “This is not a pin the tail on the donkey issue. This is a systematic failure,” he said. “It’s an abject failure of policy and planning, not of technology.”


:''Carey King, the assistant director of the University of Texas’s Energy Institute, says Texas doesn’t need to change its market rules to ensure (that the Texas electrical) ERCOT grid is more reliable. “We need to make a change in policy to fix the situation,” King says. “The simplest way is probably to have a separate policy that mandates winterization and that has an independent verification process.” Yet even if lawmakers approve a winterization mandate this Legislative session, it will be cold comfort to the millions of Texans who went without power and heat for extended periods this week.''




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[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Special:RecentChanges <font color=gray><big><big>'''''Top of the News @GreenPolicy360'''''</big></big></font>]


<big><big>'''''Coal Mining Emits More Super-Polluting Methane Than Venting and Flaring From Gas and Oil Wells'''''</big></big>


:[https://apnews.com/article/us-return-paris-climate-world-leaders-ee8eb8b6744394ad41e33f94843b6586 <big>'''''U.S. Officially Back in the Global Climate Accord'''''</big>]
''So much methane is released from coal mining, the Global Energy Monitor says, that it exceeds the carbon dioxide emissions from burning coal at over 1,100 coal-fired power plants in China''


* https://insideclimatenews.org/news/15032022/coal-mining-methane/


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<big>'''''Bill Gates: How the world can avoid a climate disaster'''''</big>


''"Without innovation, we will not solve climate change. We won't even come close."''
<big><big><big>'''More Manchin Mania'''</big></big></big>


<big>'''Big Coal Senator Again Devastates America's Moves to Renewable Energy'''</big>


''Watch on 60 Minutes''
<big>'''Vital Change, in a Key Policy Position, Is Shut Down by West Virginia's Senator, 'Top Gun' for Coal/Gas/Oil Money'''</big>


* https://www.cbsnews.com/video/bill-gates-climate-change-60-minutes-2021-02-14/
<big>'''Manchin Blocks Nomination of Energy-Transition Advocate to the Powerful Federal Reserve Board'''</big>




::::[[File:Bill Gates on Climate.jpg]]
<small>''Read the Story in the New Yorker''</small>




'''''Sarah Bloom Raskin Withdraws Her Presidential Nomination'''''


Via the Washington Post:
''Biden’s nominee had publicly encouraged measures to mitigate climate change, including a transition to cleaner energy, which triggered a backlash from America’s powerful oil, gas, and coal industries.''


'''''So what does the future look like? What can we expect on the climate?'''''
On Tuesday (March 15), in the face of what she described as “relentless attacks by special interests” who oppose her frank acknowledgment that climate change could pose a threat to economic stability, Sarah Bloom Raskin submitted a letter to President Joe Biden withdrawing as his nominee to become the vice-chair for supervision of the Federal Reserve Board. For weeks, Raskin noted, the Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee “held hostage” not only her nomination but those of Biden’s four other picks to run the Fed, including the reappointment of its chair, Jerome Powell.''


''Bill Gates: I still am optimistic. I think that if people see how broad the work has to be and how critical innovation is across all these many different areas, and apply the resources, I think we can get to zero by 2050. People who think it’s easy are almost as much of a problem as people who think it doesn’t matter. You know, first I have to convince people it’s hard, and then I have to say, “And, by the way, innovation, properly accelerated, is more magical than you think.” Particularly if we take five approaches for every problem and therefore, even if only one of the five works, we’ll be okay.''
''In commentary last September, Bloom Raskin suggested that regulators should “ask themselves how their existing instruments can be used to incentivize a rapid, orderly, and just transition away from high-emission and biodiversity-destroying investments.” She was merely echoing the position taken by top central bankers and economists all over the world. But her expressed hope of encouraging a potential transition to cleaner energy triggered a backlash from America’s powerful oil, gas, and coal industries. Her withdrawal will likely enable the Senate’s confirmation of the rest of Biden’s slate of nominees to the Fed, at a time of roaring inflation and mounting perils abroad. But it dooms the most powerful central bank in the world to a state of willful blindness regarding the looming chaos that scientists predict climate change will unleash.''


''Bloom Raskin’s fate was sealed on Monday (March 14), when Joe Manchin, the Democratic senator from West Virginia, signalled that he would oppose her confirmation because she “failed to satisfactorily address my concerns about the critical importance of financing an all-of-the-above energy policy to meet our nation’s critical energy needs.” Manchin’s family fortune is largely derived from coal, and he has taken more money from fossil-fuel interests than any other senator during the current cycle. Every Republican member of the Senate Banking Committee has also taken money from fossil-fuel interests, cumulatively accepting more than eight million dollars during their political careers from the producers of the carbon emissions that are helping to cause climate change. Given Democrats’ single-vote advantage in the Senate, Manchin’s opposition has all but killed the Bloom Raskin nomination, relegating her to having to find a Republican vote, which seemed especially unlikely after Susan Collins, of Maine, also signalled her opposition on Monday.''


&nbsp;
''Bloom Raskin, who is a law professor at Duke University, is not a new or untested figure on the national economic stage. She was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to top economic positions twice before.....


::[[File:National Climate Task Force - first mtg Feb 11 2021.jpg]]
..“This is not a novel or radical position,” Bloom Raskin says in her letter. “The Department of Defense has been systematically analyzing the energy security risks of climate change for years, developing mitigation strategies to confront them. Banks and insurance companies incorporate financial aspects of extreme weather events into their plans. Farmers, ranchers and businesses across the country already are struggling to adapt to extreme floods, hurricanes, rising sea levels and wildfires. Central banks around the world have already begun acting on these issues. Chairman Powell has recognized climate change as a significant risk that needs to be incorporated into the supervisory process. Any vice chair for supervision who ignored these realities—which are manifesting every day across this country—would be guilty of gross dereliction of duty.”..


* https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/sarah-bloom-raskin-withdraws-her-nomination-to-the-federal-reserve-board


&nbsp;
* https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21417717/sarahbloomraskinletter.pdf


<big>'''GreenPolicy360:'''</big>


The time is now for a redefinition of security threats. Our GreenPolicy360 / Strategic Demands point of view is coming into a wider acceptance by more [http://www.planetcitizens.org 'planet citizens'], especially young people across the globe, in all nations.... a new 21st century vision is taking place right in front of us.


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security
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* https://strategicdemands.com/now-is-the-time-to-advance-new-definitions-of-national-security/




From the new U.S. Biden administration and throughout the governing leadership, with executive orders and follow-on legislative actions, a strong push to redefine real security is rolling out.
<big><big>'''The Senator from West Virginia Continues to Hammer Energy Conversion Policy'''</big></big>


<big>'''When One Senator, from One State, Can Continue to End Vital Energy and Climate Progress'''</big>


Here, Michael E. Mann begins to capture the moment in a USA Today opinion:


* https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/4336625001
''“I’m very reluctant to go down the path of electric vehicles,” Manchin said at the energy conference CERAWeek, held in Houston. “I’m old enough to remember standing in line in 1974 trying to buy gas – I remember those days. I don’t want to have to be standing in line waiting for a battery for my vehicle, because we’re now dependent on a foreign supply chain, mostly China.”''


''Now, Biden is gathering his council to assess the current and future dangers in this fight, including all 17 intelligence agencies; a general on the international front, John Kerry, who will also have a seat on the National Security Council and will direct our diplomatic efforts abroad; and another general on the domestic front, former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy, who will coordinate climate action in the homeland.''  
''Manchin, who has taken more money in political donations from fossil fuel interests than any other senator, also said he has “a hard time understanding” why the federal government would invest in a network of electric car charging stations, as the Biden administration aims to do.''


''“I’ve read history, and I remember Henry Ford inventing the Model-T, but I sure as hell don’t remember the US government building filling stations,” Manchin said to applause. “The market did that.”''


* https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/15/manchin-reluctant-electric-cars-biden-climate-crisis-fight


🌎 <font color=gray><big><big>'''January'''</big></big></font>




[[File:Oil profits and US gas prices.png]]


: [[File:GM Decision Rocks Industry - January 2021.jpg]]


&nbsp;
''The largest oil and gas companies made a combined $174bn in profits in the first nine months of the year as gasoline prices climbed in the US, according to a new report.''


<big><big>'''''G.M. Announcement Shakes Up U.S. Automakers’ Transition to Electric Cars'''''</big></big>
''The bumper profit totals, provided exclusively to the Guardian, show that in the third quarter of 2021 alone, 24 top oil and gas companies made more than $74bn in net income. From January to September, the net income of the group, which includes Exxon, Chevron, Shell and BP, was $174bn.''


''Every carmaker is trying to figure out how to make the leap before governments force it and Tesla and other start-ups lure away drivers''


* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/29/business/general-motors-electric-cars.html
* https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/dec/06/oil-companies-profits-exxon-chevron-shell-exclusive


* https://newrepublic.com/article/165658/windfall-tax-whitehouse-khanna-common-wealth


''A new president took office this month determined to fight climate change. Wall Street investors think Tesla is worth more than General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen and Ford put together. And China, the world’s biggest car market, recently ordered that most new cars be powered by electricity in just 15 years.''


''Those large forces help explain the decision by G.M.’s chief executive, Mary T. Barra, that the company will aim to sell only zero-emission cars and trucks by 2035.''


''Her announcement, just a day after President Biden signed an executive order on climate change, blindsided rivals who usually seek to present a united message on emissions and other policy issues. But it was also years in the making. G.M. has had a love-hate relationship with electric cars going back decades, but under Ms. Barra, who took over in 2014, it has inched its way toward a full embrace of the technology...''
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~


<big><big>'''As War in Ukraine Rages with Russia'''</big></big>


[https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/01/28/general-motors-plans-to-exclusively-offer-electric-vehicles-by-2035.html <big>'''''General Motors to Exclusively Offer Electric Vehicles by 2035'''''</big>]
''Oil & Gas Rise to the Top of the News Cycle''


''Automotive executives and analysts are bullish that EVs, led by stricter regulations to reduce carbon emissions, are the future for the automotive industry.''
March 8, 2022


''Dane Parker, GM chief sustainability officer, reiterated that the company plans to be profitable in its transition from vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines to EVs.''
'''''Russia warns of $300 oil, threatens to cut off European gas if West bans energy imports'''''


''"We feel this is going to be the successful business model of the future," he said during a media briefing Thursday. "We know there are hurdles, we know there are technology challenges, but we're confident that with the resources we have and the expertise we have that we'll overcome those challenges and this will be a business model that we will be able to thrive in the future."''
* https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/08/russia-warns-of-300-oil-if-ban-goes-ahead-threatens-to-cut-off-european-gas.html


''GM has already announced plans to shift three of its U.S. plants to produce electric vehicles. Parker said the company is "excited" about the transition at its other plants.''
Russia flexes its energy muscle as one of the world’s top oil producers with an average of 10.5 million b/d in 2020, accounting for 11% of global production...


''"We feel like this transition is one that will protect all of our futures and will help us create a future that will benefit not only the planet, but the people," he said.''
Russia, one of the top crude oil and petroleum exporters globally, threatens the European and global economy. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2020 Russia was the second largest net exporter sending on average 540,000 barrels daily to the United States and, in 2021, on average 670,000 barrels were exported to the United States.


''GM plans to release 30 new EVs globally by 2025 under a $27 billion investment in electric and autonomous vehicles during that time frame. It also previously announced expectations for a majority, if not all, of its luxury Cadillac cars and SUVs sold globally to be EVs by 2030.''
* https://theconversation.com/can-the-us-find-enough-natural-gas-sources-to-neutralize-russias-energy-leverage-over-europe-175824


''"This is the time for this technology; this is the time for this change," Parker said, citing reduction in pricing and advancements in technologies, among other factors. "The convergence of those things has made this an inflection point that we want to seize."''
* https://theconversation.com/how-russia-hooked-europe-on-its-oil-and-gas-and-overcame-us-efforts-to-prevent-energy-dependence-on-moscow-174518


&nbsp;
The oil industry in Russia was privatized after the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia has since forced a consolidation and asserted more control over the sector. Gazprom, Rosneft and Lukoil are the top Russian oil and gas producers.


···············································································
Oligarchs/Autocrats under Russian government control set the policies of the oil sector and its exports and revenue comprise a large percentage of Russian revenue and foreign reserves...
And in response, the U.S. and Europe's economies and political dissension respond:


'We could be producing more crude in this country today... Oil and gas, more U.S. oil production that's the ticket to deal with the Russian invasion of Ukraine...' -- Republican message on the news cycle


[[File:US Biden climate agenda news re January 27, 2021.jpg]]


Meanwhile, from the American Enterprise Institute today...


···············································································
Here's Mark J. Perry on Twitter, March 7, 2022


''Despite the hype, fantasy and false hopes about renewable energy, fossil fuels will supply more than 75% of US energy in 2050 -- 4X more than renewables (solar, windmills, etc.) -- according to EIA's new Energy Outlook 2022''


<big><big>'''President Biden rolls out an environmental protection and climate agenda'''</big></big>


Then there's this... a pushback message for those pushing for more oil production


''President Biden vows monumental action on climate change''
* https://www.vox.com/22959903/russia-ukraine-oil-gas-price-europe-us-exports-climate-change
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/01/27/biden-climate-change/


''Biden signing executive orders''
* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/climate/biden-climate-executive-orders.html


''Biden unveils climate change plan - CNN (Video)''
::::·························································································
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_4uy_mggrs


''Biden's energy policies get slammed in Louisiana''
* https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/politics/louisiana-industry-slams-bidens-oil-and-gas-policies/289-ef505163-5181-41cb-b5dd-f545e5a8aa0b


''Presidential Executive Order Could Mean Big Changes To Colorado's Oil & Gas Industry (Video)''
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhmhSvyzJm0


''CBS This Morning - Biden administration focused on fighting against climate change (Video)''
::::[[File:IPCC Report - Feb 2022.jpg]]
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3_suSf-2eA


''Environmental Justice and Climate''
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/01/26/biden-environmental-justice-climate/


''We need to do more / LA Times Editorial''
* https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-01-27/biden-climate-congress-trump-carbon-motor-vehicles
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-IKIEdyZow (LA Times - Biden: 'Can't wait any longer' on climate crisis)


''Fox News - Reps. Scalise, Herrell: Biden's reckless, job-killing energy executive orders must be reversed''
&nbsp;
* https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/scalise-herrell-biden-energy-executive-orders


[[File:Climate News - United Nations Report - Feb 2022.png]]




<big><big>'''Environmental Action Agenda - Out of the Starting Gate and Accelerating'''</big></big>
&nbsp;
<big><big>'''UN 'Essential Report': Adapting to climate change ‘happening worldwide’ '''</big></big>


Via Washington Post / Energy 202:
''World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas reminded delegates that during COP26, “there was not a single head of State who questioned the scientific facts”, saying the message had got through and “has been heard”.''


'''''What's on the new administration's agenda today:'''''
* https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/02/1111952


''Oil and gas leasing: Perhaps biggest move is Biden's expected decision to halt new oil and gas leasing on federal lands. The drafted moratorium would not affect activity around existing leases, but would pause auctions for the right to drill on new parcels throughout much of the west as well as in the Gulf of Mexico. The order will also not restrict energy development on tribal lands.''
* https://www.ipcc.ch/working-group/wg2/
   
''Addressing environmental justice: The Biden administration will establish at least three different bodies meant to address the unequal impact of dirty air and water on poor and minority communities — an office of health and climate equity at the Health and Human Services Department, an environmental justice office at the Justice Department and a third interagency council at the White House. The White House will also establish another cross-government group to help communities transition away from fossil fuels.''
   
''Protecting nature: Biden also is planning to instruct the government to set aside nearly a third of the nation’s land and water by the end of the decade for conservation. Biden pledged during the campaign to pursue that “30 by 30" goal as means of blunting the buildup of greenhouse gases by sequestering carbon and preserving habitat for threatened plants and animals.''
   
''Tackling super pollutants: Biden will tell the State Department to send to the Senate the Kigali Amendment, an international agreement to slash the use of a group of human-made compounds that both contribute to climate change and deplete the ozone layer. The Trump administration never submitted the treaty to Congress despite the urging of both business groups and several congressional Republicans.''
   
''Kick-starting an “all-of-government” approach: Biden direct every agency to factor climate change into the decisions they make, including purchasing electric vehicles, getting power from carbon-free sources and bolstering the buildings and other federal facilities to the impacts of rising temperatures.''




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<big><big>'''EV Charging Stations, US Highways, Biden 2021 Infrastructure and Transportation Plan'''</big></big>


<big><big>'''New Definitions of National Security'''</big></big>
February 10, 2022


<big>'''Moving the Agenda, 'High Gear', Top Speed'''</big>
Google News Headlines


The security of every nation and every person and community on Earth is at stake as we move into the 3rd decade of the 21st Century. Two immense existential threats -- climate change and nuclear weapons -- face humanity. We, at GreenPolicy360 and our associate Strategic Demands have continued our focused effort to bring understanding and action to confront these threats. Take a look:
* https://arstechnica.com/cars/2022/02/four-fast-chargers-every-50-miles-us-unveils-ev-infrastructure-plan/


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security
* https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/10/biden-rolls-out-5-billion-to-states-for-electric-vehicle-chargers.html


* https://strategicdemands.com/new-definitions-of-security/
* https://www.wsj.com/articles/ev-charging-network-will-target-interstate-highways-11644487200


* https://electrek.co/2022/02/10/biden-announces-5-billion-over-5-years-for-a-nationwide-ev-charging-network/


Now we see the former U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry with Joe Biden's support, moving [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/president-biden-to-sign-executive-order-pausing-oil-and-gas-leasing/ar-BB1d8OqF "high speed".]
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/02/10/electric-vehicle-charging/


Systemic climate action and cooperation between nations are critical to solving the #ClimateCrisis and #NuclearWeaponsThreat.  
* https://insideevs.com/news/566683/biden-electric-car-chargers-5billion/


GreenPolicy360 supports the change in U.S. policy from Trump administration climate denial and a new nuclear arms race to Biden administration climate action and nuclear arms control.
* https://www.marketwatch.com/story/biden-rolls-ahead-with-spending-on-interstate-ev-charging-network-11644503767


:[https://apnews.com/article/climate-climate-change-john-kerry-barack-obama-3e71f433206b40c52a14e4900717a4c7''Via the Associated Press] / January 27, 2021


:''Kerry’s diplomatic efforts match the fast pace of domestic climate directives by the week-old Biden administration, which created the job Kerry now holds. Those directives include a Biden order expected Wednesday spelling out how U.S. intelligence, defense and homeland security agencies should address the security threats posed by worsening droughts, floods and other natural disasters under global warming.''
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:''At 77, Kerry is working to make a success out of the global climate accord that he helped negotiate in Paris as President Barack Obama’s secretary of state — and that he then saw rejected by President Donald Trump, who also spurned all other Obama-era legacy efforts to wean the U.S. and global economies off climate-damaging fossil fuels.''


:''Success for Kerry is hardly assured. At home, he faces pushback from the oil and gas industry and hears concerns that jobs will be lost. Internationally, there’s uncertainty about whether Biden’s climate commitments can survive the United States’ intensely divided politics, let alone the next presidential transition.''
<big>'''Economist: "Targeting methane “ultra-emitters” could cheaply slow climate change" '''</big>


:''Environmentalists are pushing him to be aggressive — even demonstrating outside his house on his first full day on the job.''


:''Underscoring the urgency, Kerry -- working from his home on Boston’s patrician Beacon Hill during the COVID-19 pandemic -- sat before a computer screen and started talking before sunup last Thursday, his first full day in his new job, to a global business forum in Europe...''
GreenPolicy360: (Project-in-Dev) We see potential for international earth science research involving current orbiting satellite missions. Emissions data targeting 'ultra-emission' sites could (and should) be made available to NGOs, educational institutions, and national governments to identify, measure/monitor, and take enforcement actions in accord with each nation's international climate pledges/promises, regulations and laws. We have set in motion steps to advance this cooperative, open-source database project (January 2022)


* https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2022/02/05/targeting-methane-ultra-emitters-could-cheaply-slow-climate-change


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<big><big>Earth Science Research from Space: Methane emissions</big></big>


<big>'''Greta responds to Ted'''</big>
'''''Extremely large emitters — releasing more than 25 tons per hour — can be seen and tracked from near-earth orbit'''''


* https://www.thewrap.com/greta-thunberg-ted-cruz/
'''''Earth imaging data from a sensor aboard a European satellite, Sentinel 5'''''


* https://sentinel.esa.int/web/sentinel/missions/sentinel-5


<big>''Turning around and reversing the Trump climate, energy & environmental rollbacks''</big>


''The U.S. 'accepts' the Paris International Climate Agreement (again)''
''Using data from 2019 and 2020, (scientists) located about 1,200 of these ultra emitters, a large portion of them from Russia, Turkmenistan, the United States, the Middle East and Algeria.''


* https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html
''Total emissions from these sites were estimated at about 9 million tons per year. In terms of its potential to warm the planet, that much methane is equivalent to about 275 million tons of carbon dioxide, which is the total carbon footprint of 40 million people, based on the global average per capita.''




'''''Ultra-Emitters Seen From Space: Huge Methane Leaks'''''


:[[File:Acceptance on behalf of the United States of America.png]]
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/climate/methane-leaks-satellites.html


* https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/02/03/cracking-down-methane-ultra-emitters-is-quick-way-combat-climate-change-researchers-find/


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space


<big>'''''Biden, in a Burst of Climate Orders, Rejoins the Paris Agreement'''''</big>


''The president also canceled the Keystone XL pipeline and ordered federal agencies to begin the process of reinstating environmental regulations reversed under the Trump administration.''
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''Via the New York Times''


''Inauguration Day / January 20, 2021''
<big><big>'''''Can Democracy Solve the Climate Crisis'''''</big></big>


* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html
Foreign Policy Magazine


* https://foreignpolicy.com/the-magazine/


''WASHINGTON — President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday recommitted the United States to the Paris climate agreement, the international accord designed to avert catastrophic global warming, and ordered federal agencies to start reviewing and reinstating more than 100 environmental regulations that were weakened or rolled back by former President Donald J. Trump.''
* https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/07/climate-change-democracy/


''The moves represent a first step in healing one of the deepest rifts between the United States and the rest of the world after Mr. Trump defiantly rejected the Paris pact and seemed to relish his administration’s push to weaken or undo major domestic climate policies...''


<big>'''''Elected officials work through compromise, but a warming planet waits for no one'''''</big>


·······················································
''In the past 14 months, the United States and Germany both held national elections that placed climate change policy squarely at the center of national debate. The fact that two of the world’s five largest economies committed to addressing the world’s most pressing crisis through public discourse followed by public voting was an unprecedented democratic experiment.''


''It did not work out as optimists hoped. On the one hand, the victorious parties in both countries vowed to achieve what was necessary to prevent the worst effects of climate change from occurring, in accordance with the international climate agreement unanimously approved in Paris in 2015. But on the other hand, in neither country can the resulting policies be described as fulfilling that promise.''


''All the major German parties (except for the far-right Alternative for Germany) said they would work to limit climate change to the 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels stipulated in the Paris Agreement; [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_90/The_Greens '''the Greens'''] claimed, plausibly, that only their platform contained ideas sufficient to fulfill the promise. But even as the Greens succeeded at joining the national government (having earned a record-breaking 15 percent at the polls - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annalena_Baerbock Annalena Baerbock is the new Foreign Minister]), few of the policy specifics found their way into the governing agenda for the next four years. The Greens claimed a higher carbon price was necessary; no mention of any such increase made it into the coalition agreement. The Greens argued that ending the domestic excavation of coal by 2030 was nonnegotiable; the government has failed to make a firm commitment to do that. The Greens claimed the country would need to invest an extra 50 billion euros ($56 billion) per year in renewable energy infrastructure; the new government has vowed instead to maintain a balanced budget.''


<big><big>'''''The president needs to hit the ground running on climate'''''</big></big>
''A similar slippage between campaign ambition and watered-down governance has occurred in the United States. Democrat Joe Biden’s election platform vowed that the country’s electricity sector would be carbon-free by 2035 and that the entire U.S. economy would achieve full carbon neutrality by 2050—promises that the Biden administration has never disavowed. But the central policies intended to achieve those timelines have no realistic chance of passing Congress. The administration will receive nowhere close to the $2 trillion that Biden said would be necessary to fund renewable energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Manchin from the coal-producing state of West Virginia has refused to pass any law that explicitly disincentivizes the energy sector’s use of fossil fuels, as the Biden campaign had envisioned. At the same time, the Biden administration has openly lobbied the Middle Eastern oil-producing countries of OPEC to increase production, in hopes of lowering the price of gasoline for domestic drivers.''


''By Michael E. Mann, January 12, 2021''
''The climate agendas of the current U.S. and German governments—from the Biden administration’s use of tax incentives to encourage the expansion of renewable energy to the new German government’s vow to devote 2 percent of the country’s land to the generation of wind power—are not actively harmful. In sum, they will almost certainly accelerate both countries’ reduction of carbon emissions. But by any fair accounting, they are inadequate to solving climate change on the timeline implied by the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree commitment—namely, a 50 percent reduction of emissions by 2035 and complete global carbon neutrality by 2050. “The problem with the climate measures of this new government is the speed,” said Pauline Brünger, a spokesperson for Germany’s Fridays for Future activist group.''


* https://thebulletin.org/premium/2021-01/the-president-needs-to-hit-the-ground-running-on-climate/
''Representatives from the U.S. and German governments say their policies are the result of the necessary compromises demanded by the democratic process. But it’s fair to wonder whether that’s just another way of restating the problem. According to the climate science, the timelines to limit warming aren’t an expression of subjectively perceived urgency but objective measures defined by the boundary of a catastrophic climate tipping point. In a 2018 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a U.N. group of climate scientists, declared that achieving carbon neutrality by midcentury was the only way to prevent global temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees—beyond which, Arctic ice would melt (and ocean levels would rise) far more quickly, humans would more frequently suffer heat death, and vast numbers of species, from insects to sea coral, would end up on the verge of extinction.''


''In other words: Democracy works by compromise, but climate change is precisely the type of problem that seems not to allow for it. As the clock on those climate timelines continues to tick, this structural mismatch is becoming increasingly exposed. And as a result, those concerned by climate change—some already with political power, others grasping for it—are now searching for, and finding, new ways of closing the gap between politics and science, by any means necessary...''


''The sobering reality is that even if every country meets their currently stated commitments under the Paris Agreement (and many, including the United States and the European Union, are falling at least a bit short at this point), that gets us less than halfway to where we need to be—i.e., on a path to limiting average global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, or about 3.6 degrees
Fahrenheit. We need to keep warming below that level if we want to avoid some of the worst—and in some cases irreversible—impacts. Better yet, we should aim for the more stringent 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.6 degrees Fahrenheit) that many are now calling for. While the Paris Agreement is a good starting point, we need to go well beyond existing Paris commitments now to achieve the reductions that are necessary: more than 7.5 percent per year globally for the next decade.''


''In the last four years, under Donald Trump, the power of the federal government to protect the public has been handed over to the very polluters these agencies were built to regulate. Scientific expertise has been trampled by political (in)correctness over things as silly as “Sharpiegate” and as serious as COVID-19. With hundreds of thousands dead from coronavirus, we’ve sadly seen just how deadly it can be when political leaders hide or distort the evidence for political and ideological reasons...''
Read the Full Article:


* https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/07/climate-change-democracy/


''One mitigating factor is that over the last four years, many people and organizations found ways to work around a president who refused to lead, with state and other local governments stepping up to fill the void. Add all the action up, across all the ambitious states, cities, businesses, and others, and we can deliver up to a 37 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2030. Already, a third of all Americans live in a jurisdiction that’s made a commitment to 100 percent clean energy.''


''And the good news is that there is much that President-Elect Biden can do almost immediately once in office. As former President Obama demonstrated, the president can use diplomacy to negotiate powerful international agreements such as the Paris Agreement, issue executive actions to insure higher vehicle fuel efficiency standards, tighten regulations on polluters, and block  massive additional fossil fuel infrastructure—such as the Keystone XL pipeline).''


''Biden has a clear mandate generally (he is only the fourth challenger in 100 years to defeat an incumbent president seeking a second elected term) and on climate change specifically (which he made central to his campaign)...''
····························································································· 




''Biden has put forward a [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/climate/biden-climate-change.html bold climate plan] with ambitious targets for reducing carbon emissions and support for both regulatory and market-driven policy measures, as have Senate and House Democrats. There is real opportunity for meaningful climate legislation, but it will require some degree of compromise...''


[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png <big><big>'''National Climate Plan Pledges & Promises Must Be Enforced'''</big></big>]


''How to turn each nation's climate pledges into 'effective climate action' '''


''Given an even modestly favorable shift in political winds, one could envision [a bold climate bill] passing the House and moving on to the Senate with a half-dozen or more moderate conservatives crossing the aisle, joining with Senate Democrats to pass the bill within the next year or two…''
:'''Promises & pledges of international climate summits in Paris (2015) & Glasgow (2021) now require & demand 'climate action enforcement' '''


''The president, in short, will have to win over potential allies in the middle, yet remain unafraid to play hardball with the Congress people who are captured by the fossil fuel industry.''
::'''Measuring & monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with satellite missions can become a cooperative climate tool 'working nation-by-nation' '''


''That, really, is what we need: A president who can unite us and who can lead us forward, together to tackle the great challenges we face. In the first 100 days he can help solve a crisis that would otherwise afflict us for the next 10,000 years.''




[[File:You can manage only what you can measure Dr David Crisp, OCO-2, June 2014 m.jpg]]


'''More by Michael Mann'''


* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Book_Reviews_@GreenPolicy


<big><big>'''Climate Action Plans 360'''</big></big>


[[File:The New Climate War - January 2021.jpg]]


GreenPolicy360: Climate Plans Enforcement Initiative
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Plans_Enforcement_-_Resources


Methods to Enforce Climate Plan Pledges
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png


·······················································
Pressuring Nations to Step Up, Cooperate, and Act Now
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:INDC


Com't on Earth Observation Satellites
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Global_Stocktake,_the_first_GST.jpg


Environmental Laws, Regs, Rules... Lawsuits & Legal Actions
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Laws


:[[File:Burst of climate denial as Trump presidency ends.jpg]]




'''''A Late Burst of Climate Denial Extends the Era of Trump Disinformation'''''
[[File:Challenge of Acting for the Commons.png]]
 
* https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/climate/trump-disinformation-climate-change.html
 
 
 
''The climate crisis continued unabated in 2020, with the joint highest global temperatures on record, alarming heat and record wildfires in the Arctic, and a record 29 tropical storms in the Atlantic.''
 
* https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/08/climate-crisis-experts-2020-joint-hottest-year-ever-recorded
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Special:RecentChanges <font color=gray><big><big>'''''Top of the News @GreenPolicy360'''''</big></big></font>]
 
:[https://apnews.com/article/climate-climate-change-pollution-3f226aed9c58e36c69e7342b104d48bf ''(AP) Applying the brakes on "Committed Warming" to prevent a global crash'']
 
 
 
:[[File:NextEra - January12 2021.jpg]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
<big><big><big>''''' 2020'''''</big></big></big>
 
 
 
[[File:US 2020-billion-dollar-disasters-map.png]]
 
 
 
 
<big>'''December'''</big>
 
 
'''N.Y. Times Editorial / Joe Biden Takes Climate Change Seriously'''
 
* https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/opinion/biden-cabinet-climate-change.html
 
 
○
 
 
<big><big>'''The Weekly Planet'''</big></big>
 
A new weekly newsletter from The Atlantic on the state of the Climate Crisis
 
The Big Stories on Climate from 2020
 
* https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/12/5-biggest-climate-stories-2020/617468/big
 
 
·······················································
 
 
:::[[File:Solar panel price - 1976-2019.png]]
 
&nbsp;
 
 
·······················································
 
 
[https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/12/10/parisversaire-climate-ambition-summit-whos-whos/ <big>Climate Crisis --- #TimeforAction: Global Nations Meet Up with Climate Action Plans</big>]
 
December 12, 2020... 76 heads of state present new expanded climate commitments at virtual UN summit
 
 
[[File:EU agrees to cut emissions 55 percent by 2030.jpg]]
 
 
:::[[File:RacetoZero - Dec 2020 UNFCCC.jpg]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
<big>'''''Hot, Hotter, the Big Picture: 2020 will go down as one of the three warmest years on record'''''</big>
 
[https://www.axios.com/co2-goals-energy-production-3885412f-a7cf-429c-b37d-44a7a1de46e5.html ''Via Axios'']
 
 
''The World Meteorological Organization reports this year is set to end about 2.2°F warmer than the last half of the 1800s. That's a half degree away from the limit set by the Paris climate accord, which could be exceeded by 2024, the WMO said today.''
 
''Among the dozens of extremes of 2020, from the WMO report:''
 
''Record 30 Atlantic named tropical storms and hurricanes.''
   
''Death Valley had the hottest temperature on Earth in the last 80 years.''
   
''Record wildfires in the western U.S. and record heat in Australia.''
   
''Record wildfires and a prolonged heat wave in the Arctic.''
   
''Record low Arctic sea ice was reported for April and August, and the yearly minimum, in September, was the second lowest on record.''
 
''Between the lines: It's projected to get worse before it gets better, judging by current fossil fuel production projections.''
 
 
·····························································
 
 
<big><big>Big Money & the Climate Crisis</big></big>
 
Beyond 'urging' governments to act, Capital must act to solve the climate crisis
 
'Business-as-usual' will not 'get the job done', new vision, new approaches are demanded
 
Together we need 'speed of solutions' necessary to address the scope of the climate crisis
 
 
(2020)
 
'''''Via Politico / U.S. Federal Reserve formally calls out climate change as stability risk'''''
 
* https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/10/fed-climate-change-risk-435685
 
 
(2019)
 
''The [http://theinvestoragenda.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/191201-GISGCC-FINAL-for-COP25.pdf '''Global Investor Statement to Governments on Climate Change'''] urges action that includes phasing out thermal coal power, ending subsidies for fossil fuels, and updating and strengthening nationally-determined contributions (NDCs) to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.''
 
:''More than 630 investors who collectively manage over $37 trillion in assets are calling on governments across the world to step up action to address climate change and achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. ''
 
:* https://www.iigcc.org/resource/global-investor-statement-to-governments-on-climate-change/
 
 
(2018)
 
'''''Via Reuters / Investors managing $32 trillion in assets call for action on climate change'''''
 
* https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-investors/investors-managing-32-trillion-in-assets-call-for-action-on-climate-change-idUSKBN1O80TR
 
 
 
:··························································································
 
 
:<big>I Am Greta, the Documentary</big>
 
:[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:I_Am_Greta_-_the_Documentary.jpg Youth talk truth to power]
 
 
:[[File:I Am Greta - the Documentary.jpg]]
 
 
 
[[File:Greta - the politics thats needed.jpg]]
 
 
[[File:Greta anger into action.png]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
:··························································································
 
 
<big>November 23, 2020</big>
 
&nbsp;
 
<big><big>'''John Kerry Selected to Newly Created U.S. Climate Leadership Position'''</big></big>
 
'''First-ever International Climate 'Envoy' to Join National Security Council with Presidential Cabinet-level Status'''
 
 
'''GreenPolicy360 & Strategic Demands applaud this historic, critically important shift in the U.S. policy and vision'''
 
For years GreenPolicy360 and StratDem have advocated Climate Policy become a U.S. National/Global Security priority
 
:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Climate_Policy
:* https://strategicdemands.com/environmental-security/
 
 
<big>'''New Definitions of National & Global Security'''</big>
 
:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security
:* https://strategicdemands.com/new-definitions-of-security/
 
 
:·······················································································
 
 
<big>'''Biden prioritizes climate crisis, names John Kerry special envoy'''</big>
 
(CNN) / 8:00 PM EST, November 23, 2020
 
 
''Washington -- President-elect Joe Biden on Monday appointed John Kerry as his special presidential envoy for climate, underscoring his commitment to tackling the global crisis and offering a symbolic rebuke to President Donald Trump's lack of leadership on the issue.''
 
''Kerry, who was President Barack Obama's secretary of state, will be a Cabinet-level official in Biden's administration and will sit on the National Security Council.''
 
''"This marks the first time that the NSC will include an official dedicated to climate change, reflecting the president-elect's commitment to addressing climate change as an urgent national security issue," the Biden transition team said in a statement.''
 
''The elevation of the issue in Kerry's appointment previews a shift in policy and approach from the current President's repeated denial of the scientific reality of the crisis and systematic rollback of environmental policies.''
 
''"It'll be an honor to work with our allies and partners, alongside rising young leaders in the climate movement, to tackle the climate crisis with the seriousness and urgency it deserves," Kerry wrote in a tweet.''
 
''The energy around the issue of the climate crisis has escalated in a short period of time. When Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, during his first presidential campaign in 2016, called climate change the foremost national security crisis, he was pilloried as not being serious about foreign policy. Five years later, the White House will have a special envoy for climate with a seat at National Security Council meetings.''
 
 
<big>'''President-elect Joe Biden Picks John Kerry to Help Regain Global Leadership on Climate Change (Wall Street Journal)'''</big>
 
''Kerry is a former secretary of state who oversaw U.S. negotiations on Paris climate accord for Obama administration...''
 
 
'''John Kerry Appointed as Biden's Special Presidential Envoy for Climate'''
 
:* https://www.greenmatters.com/p/john-kerry-climate-change
:* https://www.greenmatters.com/p/biden-climate-office
 
 
'''Former Secretary of State will be a special presidential envoy for climate, a role that does not require Senate confirmation'''
 
:* https://www.rollcall.com/2020/11/23/kerry-climate-global/
 
 
'''Newly appointed “climate czar” and veteran diplomat John Kerry said the next US administration would treat climate change as a “national security emergency”'''
 
:* https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/11/23/joe-biden-picks-john-kerry-us-first-presidential-envoy-climate-change/
 
 
 
······················································································· 
 
 
<big><big><big>'''''Global Climate Agreements Through the Years, 1987-2020'''''</big></big></big>
 
''November 18, 2020 | Re-Shared Courtesy of the Climate Reality Project''
 
* https://climaterealityproject.org/blog/global-climate-agreements-through-years
 
 
''This week, the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – commonly known as COP 26 – was scheduled to kick off in Glasgow, UK. But amidst a raging pandemic that has made in-person gatherings unsafe, the conference was postponed a year, and will instead take place in November 2021.''
 
''For climate activists around the world, the decision to postpone may have come as a letdown, even if the rationale was understandable. Five years ago in Paris, the parties present at COP 21 set forth a historic agreement that brought nearly every nation in the world together on a vision to seriously combat the climate crisis. There was real hope that COP 26 could deliver another major step to strengthen the Paris Agreement.''
''Because while Paris was a major milestone, it was far from the first step the global community has taken on climate. Driven by activists and climate scientists around the world, the member states of the UNFCCC have been working for climate solutions for decades now.''
 
 
:<big><big>'''''[[File:Global Climate Agreements Through the Years.pdf]]'''''</big></big>
 
:• '''''1987''''' – ''Montreal Protocol: In response to the deterioration of the ozone layer, member states of the United Nations come together to regulate nearly 100 chemicals known as ozone depleting substances. The Montreal Protocol was ratified by all 197 member states, making it the only UN treaty ever ratified by every member. While the agreement was focused on ozone restoration, it proved that the global community can unify around urgent environmental action, and deliver results.''
:• '''''1992''''' – ''Earth Summit: The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, also called the Earth Summit, opened UNFCCC for signature. By year’s end, 158 nations had signed on to UNFCCC, paving the way for annual Conferences of the Parties (COP).''
:• '''''1995''''' – ''COP 1: The first COP was held in Germany in 1995, and was overseen by Angela Merkel, then a minister in the German government responsible for environmental issues. COP 1 laid the foundation for future meetings and delivered the Berlin Mandate, which set forth a process for combatting the climate crisis in the new millennium.''
:• '''''1997''''' – ''Kyoto Protocol: COP 3 produced the world’s first international treaty requiring the reduction of global warming pollution, with industrialized nations agreeing to cumulatively cut their greenhouse gas to 5 percent below 1990 levels within 10–15 years. Notably, India and China had yet to enter their economic booms, and thus were not considered industrialized nations for purposes of the protocol and are not subject to the requirements. And while 192 nations would eventually adopt the Kyoto Protocol, the United States does not, undermining the agreement.''
:• '''''2001''''' – ''Marrakesh Accords: Representatives from 160 nations meet to further plan out implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, including differentiations between developed nations and transitioning nations.''
:• '''''2005''''' – ''Kyoto Protocol goes into effect: After nearly a decade of work on its implementation, the Kyoto Protocol goes into effect. In the ensuing years, many nations – including the European Union – would meet their targets and cut emissions. That progress, however, was more than offset by countries like the US and China continuing to increase emissions.''
:• '''''2009''''' – ''COP 15: When world leaders gathered in Copenhagen for COP 15, there were high hopes for a legally binding treaty to build off of the Kyoto Protocol. Instead, nations were unable to agree on firm targets and left instead with just a non-binding accord. Still, the conference did produce some progress on setting targets and implementation mechanisms, as well as establishing a goal of $100 billion per year in financing for developing nations to shift towards low-carbon development and build resilience.''
:• '''''2011''''' – ''COP 17: Countries meeting in Durban agree to develop a “protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force” that would be “applicable to all Parties.” The agreement in Durban lays the foundation for a binding, universal agreement to come in the following years.''
:• '''''2013''''' – ''Warsaw Mechanism for Loss and Damage: COP 19 saw the establishment of the first formalized international mechanism for dealing with loss and damage, a term broadly understood to mean the negative consequences of the climate crisis that cannot be avoided through mitigation and adaptation. Developing and vulnerable nations have long pushed for action on loss and damage and continue to call for further action.''
:• '''''2015''''' – ''Paris Agreement: After years of struggling to achieve a broad agreement that could build upon the Kyoto Protocol, COP 21 delivered the Paris Agreement – the most ambitious global climate agreement the world has ever seen. The Paris Agreement set an overarching goal to keep warming “well below” 2 degrees Celsius while “pursuing efforts” to keep it under 1.5 degrees, and included each nation offering specific, challenging targets that they felt were achievable, even if they have so far been inadequate. With China, India, and the US on board at its signing, this historic accord gave the world both the framework to halt rising temperatures and the international muscle to do it. Unfortunately, there was a major setback when the Trump Administration refused to act on US commitments and then removed the country from the agreement earlier this month. But by design, the Paris Agreement offers an easy path for nations to re-enter the agreement – and President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to return the US to the accord on his first day in office.''
:• '''''2019''''' – ''Climate Action Summit: Set against the backdrop of youth climate strikes around the globe, UN Secretary-General António Guterres convened a special summit to focus on the need for urgent action and encourage nations to enhance their pledges to cut carbon emissions. And 70 nations stepped up, committing to cut emissions by more than their Paris pledges. But those nations represented just 6.8 percent of global emissions – and with the US, China, and India offering few concrete promises, the summit did not deliver the hoped-for breakthrough.''
:• '''''2020''''' – ''Postponement of COP 26: Recognizing that deeper emissions reductions would be required to meet the challenge, countries agreed at COP 21 to update or enhance their first Paris Agreement commitments by the end of 2020. But COP 26’s postponement has limited countries’ ability to pressure each other to do so. The United Kingdom hopes to encourage higher commitments on December 12, the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement adoption.''
 
 
:○
 
 
<small>
:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Climate_Change
 
:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Climate_Policy
 
:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_News
 
:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Change_Summit_Paris
 
:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Intended_Nationally_Determined_Contributions
 
:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Montreal_Protocol
 
:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/IPCC_Report_Nov_2014
 
:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/PeoplesClimateMarch
 
:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Citizen_Action
</small>
 
 
································································································
 
 
 
<big>'''President-elect Biden planning to move fast on climate'''</big>
 
* https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/climate/biden-climate-change.html
 
 
 
'''''Election results: Joe Biden wins — here’s what that means for climate change policy and the Green New Deal'''''
 
:Via Vox
 
* https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/21547245/joe-biden-wins-2020-climate-change-clean-energy-policy
 
 
'''''Biden Could Roll Back Trump Agenda With Blitz of Executive Actions'''''
 
:Via NY Times
 
* https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/08/us/politics/biden-trump-executive-action.html
 
 
'''''Environmentalists say Biden's win was crucial for climate progress
 
* https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/environmentalists-say-biden-s-win-was-crucial-climate-progress-now-n1247135
 
 
'''''Joe Biden could bring Paris climate goals 'within striking distance' | Climate change'''''
 
:Via The Guardian
 
* https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/08/joe-biden-paris-climate-goals-0-1c
 
 
'''''Five things Joe Biden can do to fight climate change — without Congress' help'''
 
* https://news.yahoo.com/amphtml/five-things-joe-biden-fight-110021589.html
 
 
 
[[File:Biden-Harris, CNN News Online - Nov 8, 2020.jpg]]
 
 
 
 
[[File:US 2020 Congressional Election Outcomes and Climate Legislation Potential.jpg|link=https://s3.amazonaws.com/scifri-segments/scifri202011062.mp3]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
···············································································································
 
&nbsp;
 
 
[https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-says-rejoin-paris-climate-agreement-on-first-day-2020-11  '''Joe Biden says the United States will rejoin the Paris International Climate Agreement on his first day as President''']
 
 
 
[[File:US Quits Climate Accord.jpg]]
 
 
 
<big><big>'''If Biden Is Elected President'''</big></big>
 
 
<big>''Biden’s Bold Climate Plans Could Be Thwarted in GOP-Run Senate''</big>
 
''November 4, 2020, 2:38 PM EST''
 
 
'''''Narrowly divided Senate seen as barrier to big climate push'''''
   
'''''Biden would tap federal agencies to pursue green vision'''''
 
''“An emboldened, moderate Senate is poised to stymie a progressive agenda at every turn,” observed Washington consultant Gloria Dittus. “A legislative Green New Deal has been derailed.”''
 
''Biden couldn’t count on help from a Republican-controlled Senate to realize his climate vision, which lays out epic changes in the U.S. energy mix, anchored by promises to install renewable energy infrastructure, get cleaner cars on the road and create zero-emission mass transit systems. Instead, Biden would have to court the chamber’s moderates...''
 
''Without allies to push his environmental agenda through Capitol Hill, Biden would be even more reliant on federal agencies to adapt decades-old laws to meet emerging challenges such as climate change. But creative agency regulations could face tough scrutiny in federal courts reshaped with the addition of more than 200 Trump-appointed judges.''
 
''“Given the fact that Biden’s probably not going to have a compliant Senate to work with don’t look for him getting policy done through a reconciliation bill or even an ambitious climate bill,” said Eric Washburn, an environmental policy consultant and former adviser to top Senate Democrats. “He’s going to have to do what he is going to do to promote his clean energy and climate agenda administratively, and that’s going to put a lot of pressure on EPA.”''
 
 
* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-04/biden-s-bold-climate-plans-could-be-thwarted-in-gop-run-senate
 
 
··············································································································
 
 
<big>'''John Christy, More Than a Climate Science Contrarian'''</big>
 
Inside Climate News takes a close, fair, and objective look at a controversial scientist, a political person of lasting consequence -- John Christy.
 
Your GreenPolicy360 siterunner points to the work of Mr. Christy and advises a close, careful reading of this look at a climate scientist near the center of the Trump administration's point of view. No matter the outcome of the 2020 US presidential election, and its outcome determining the direction of the work of critical government agencies such as the EPA, NOAA, USGS, DOE and beyond into the international and global work studying and dealing with a threatening climate crisis, the life and times of John Christy tell a tale with lasting importance.
 
Be objective, read the John Christy story and, as we say over and over at GreenPolicy360, study of the science...
 
* https://insideclimatenews.org/news/30102020/john-christy-alabama-climate-contrarian
 
 
A look at current USGS climate science changes planned by the Trump administration.
 
* https://www.wired.com/story/trumps-attacks-on-climate-science-are-coming-to-fruition/
 
 
: ···························································································································
 
 
<big><big>'''The Day After the U.S. Election, the U.S. Leaves the International Climate Agreement'''</big></big>
 
 
<big>'''GreenPolicy360 [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Green_Stories_of_the_Day Story of the Day]'''</big>
 
'''What are the consequences of a U.S. retreat from cooperative climate action?'''
 
 
''Via the Associated Press / November 1, 2020''
 
 
''The day after the presidential election, the United States formally leaves the 2015 Paris agreement to fight climate change. A year ago, President Donald Trump’s administration notified the United Nations that America is exiting the climate agreement. And because of technicalities in the international pact, Nov. 4 is the earliest a country can withdraw...''
 
''If the U.S. remains out of the climate pact, today’s children are “going to see big changes that you and I don’t see for ice, coral and weather disasters,” said Stanford University’s Rob Jackson.''
 
''Because the two presidential candidates have starkly different positions on climate change policy, the election could have profound repercussions for the world’s approach to the problem, according to more than a dozen experts.''
 
''“That election could be a make or break point for international climate policy,” said Niklas Hohne, a climate scientist at Wageningen University in Germany.''
 
''In pulling out of the agreement, Trump has questioned climate science and has rolled back environmental initiatives that he called too restrictive in cutting future carbon pollution from power plants and cars.''
 
''American carbon emissions dropped by less than one percent a year from 2016 to 2019, until plunging probably temporarily during the pandemic slowdown, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. More than 60 countries cut emissions by higher percentages than the U.S. in that time period, according to [https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/ international data].''
 
 
''Eleven years ago, the world was on pace to add about another 5 degrees (2.8 degrees Celsius) of warming. But with emission cut pledges from Paris and afterward, the world is facing only about another 2.2 degrees (1.2 degrees Celsius) of warming if countries do what they promise...''
 
''“If Biden wins, the whole world is going to start reorienting toward stepping up its action,” said the Dean of the University of Michigan’s environment program.''
 
''If the U.S. remains out of Paris, countries trying to cut emissions drastically at potentially high costs to local industry may put “border adjustment” fees on climate laggards like America to even the playing field, said Nigel Purvis, a climate negotiator in the Clinton and second Bush administrations. The European Union is already talking about such fees...''
 
 
''[https://climateactiontracker.org/ Climate Action Tracker] ran calculations comparing a continuation of the Trump administration’s current emission trends to what would happen if Biden worked toward net zero emissions... (they) found that in the next 10 years a Trump scenario, which includes a moderate economic bounce-back from the pandemic, would emit 6 billion tons (5.4 billion metric tons) more greenhouse gases than the Biden scenario — an 11% difference.''
 
''Other nations will do more to limit carbon pollution if the U.S. is doing so and less if America isn’t, said Cornell University climate scientist Natalie Mahowald. “In terms of leadership, it will make an immense difference,” she said.''
 
''In Paris, the U.S. was crucial in getting the agreement finished. The rest of the world ended up pledging to reduce roughly five tons of carbon pollution for every ton the U.S. promised to cut.''
 
 
[https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-climate-climate-change-paris-e6db5893841465bab91f18d8fde8b800 ''Read the full AP story by science reporter Seth Borenstein'']
 
''Follow Seth on Twitter @borenbears
 
''Read more stories on climate issues by The Associated Press at -- https://www.apnews.com/Climate''
 
 
 
 
🌎 <font color=gray><big><big>'''''October'''''</big></big></font>
 
 
 
<big><big><big>'''''Attempting to Setback Science & Environmental Protections'''''</big></big></big>
 
 
''From The New York Times: The Trump Administration Is Reversing, or Attempting to Reverse, Nearly 100 Environmental Rules.''
 
''Here’s a [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html List Tracking Trump Environmental Rollbacks]. The White House has dismantled major climate and environmental policies focused on clean air, water, wildlife and toxic chemicals. Here’s how it adds up (as of October 31, 2020).''
 
* https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html
 
 
More on Trump Administration environmental rollbacks/reversals/legislative and regulatory actions to end and/or limit environmental protections...
 
 
<big>'''Environmental Deregulation, Climate Litigation'''</big>
 
(from GreenPolicy360's Eco-Dashboard) 
 
 
* https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2018/07/tracking-the-trackers/ | A List of Organizations Tracking US Environmental Rollbacks
* https://www.brookings.edu/interactives/tracking-deregulation-in-the-trump-era/ | Brookings - Deregulatory Tracker
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Laws | Category - Environmental Laws
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Climate_Change_Litigation_Databases_Climate_Law.png <big>'''Climate Litigation Database'''</big>]
 
* http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/resources/climate-deregulation-tracker | Climate Deregulation Tracker
* http://blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechange/ | Columbia Law School - Climate Change Laws
* https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/regulatory-rollback-tracker | Harvard Law School - Envir Law Rollbacks
* http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/resources/silencing-science-tracker/ | 'Silencing Science' Tracker
 
 
 
<big>US National Climate Assessment, NOAA and Politics:
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:NOAA_undergoes_political_changes_-_Oct_2020.jpg Profound changes] announced as US 2020 election nears</big>
 
 
[[File:NOAA undergoes political changes - Oct 2020.jpg]]
 
 
 
:·····················································································································
 
 
 
<big><big>'''''Joe Biden is calling climate change the ‘number one issue facing humanity’ '''''</big></big>
 
[https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/10/24/joe-biden-climate-change-is-number-one-issue-facing-humanity.html Reprinted courtesy of CNBC] / October 24, 2020
 
 
□ Joe Biden declares climate change the "number one issue facing humanity" and vows a national transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy he says will create millions of new jobs.
   
□ Biden's $2 trillion plan puts the U.S. on a path to zero carbon pollution from the electricity sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050.
   
□ Scientists say that Biden's transition plan is required to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change.
   
□ Climate change has fueled record-setting wildfires in the U.S. West and one of the most active Atlantic hurricane seasons this year.
 
 
 
''Joe Biden declared climate change the "number one issue facing humanity" and vowed a national transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy that could create millions of new jobs.''
 
'''"It's the number one issue facing humanity. And it's the number one issue for me," Biden said in an interview.''
 
''"Climate change is the existential threat to humanity. Unchecked, it is going to actually bake this planet. This is not hyperbole. It's real. And we have a moral obligation."''
 
''Scientists have repeatedly warned that climate-change fueled disasters will continue to get worse and parts of the world will become unlivable as global temperatures rise and governments fail to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the burning of oil, gas and coal.''
 
 
''Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, has boasted a $2 trillion plan that invests significantly in clean energy in the transportation, electricity and building industry, cuts fossil fuel emissions and improves infrastructure.''
 
''Biden's plan also puts the U.S. on a path to zero carbon pollution from the electricity sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050. Coal and natural gas comprise more than 60% of the electricity sector, according to the Energy Information Association.''
 
''"It's going to create millions of jobs ... We can't be cavalier about the impact it's going to have on how we're going to transition to do all this," Biden said. "But I just think it's a gigantic opportunity, a gigantic opportunity to create really good jobs."''
 
''Scientists say that Biden's transition plan is required to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change.''
 
''"No one is going to build another oil or gas-fired electric plant. They're going to build one that is fired by renewable energy," Biden said in the interview podcast. "We have to invest billions of dollars in making sure that we're able to transmit over our lines."''
 
''Biden's plan to transition from oil and natural gas could be politically popular but may potentially hurt him in major oil and gas states as the Nov. 3 election nears.''
 
''The issue is particularly important in Pennsylvania, a state that could be decisive on election day and has a strong fracking industry and Trump base in the southwestern part of the state. Biden, however, has said he would only ban fracking on federal lands. Most oil and gas does not come from federal lands.''
 
''But oil and gas executives have been aware of the global movement towards renewable energy and say the U.S. will still require fossil fuel production for decades to come even during a global transition.''
 
''Biden said he's gone to the major labor unions in the U.S. to convince them to sign onto his climate change plan, emphasizing that he won't "discount the concerns" of people who could lose work during a transition to renewables.''
 
''In Thursday's presidential debate, Biden emphasized that the transition away from climate-changing fossil fuels would occur "over time." After the debate, he said that fossil fuels would not be eliminated until 2050 as part of his plan.''
 
 
''President Trump, who has pulled the U.S. from the Paris climate accord and consistently expressed support for fracking, responded to Biden's remarks with a traditional appeal to voters in competitive oil and gas states.''
 
''"Basically what he is saying is he is going to destroy the oil industry," Trump said during Thursday's debate. "Will you remember that, Texas? Will you remember that, Pennsylvania? Oklahoma? Ohio?"''
 
''Trump has denied the science of climate change and reversed more than 70 major environmental regulations during his four years in office, with nearly 30 more in progress.''
 
''But climate change has been a top issue of the 2020 presidential election, especially among younger voters.''
 
''Nearly two-thirds of voters think the federal government is not doing enough to mitigate climate change, according to a Pew Research Center poll this year. Roughly 79% of Americans said the U.S. should make developing alternative sources of energy like wind and solar a priority.''
 
''Biden leads on climate change by an enormous margin, with 58% to 19% of registered voters saying the former vice president would address the problem better than President Trump, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.''
 
''This year, climate-change fueled disasters including record-setting wildfires in the U.S. West and one of the most active Atlantic hurricane seasons ever have plagued the country.''
 
''September 2020 was the warmest month on record worldwide and this year is set to be one of the five hottest in recorded history.''
 
 
 
[https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2020/06/23/two-thirds-of-americans-think-government-should-do-more-on-climate/ Two-Thirds of Americans Think Government Should Do More on Climate]
 
 
* https://grist.org/politics/republican-party-climate-change/
 
* https://www.greentechmedia.com/amp/article/can-u.s-lawmakers-agree-on-big-climate-and-clean-energy-legislation
 
 
 
Jeff Berardelli (@WeatherProf):
 
What's up with the Colorado Fires? You may be surprised to hear how much the climate has changed. 
 
Video: https://t.co/MW1uTg6cyo 
 
 
Story: https://t.co/mWxGsgGZCB
 
* https://t.co/w6x81Ipk1K
 
* https://twitter.com/WeatherProf/status/1320053488106328064
 
 
 
[[File:Whats up w the Colorado fires - and Calif fires - and ....jpg]]
 
 
:··················································
 
 
'''October 22, 2020'''
 
 
[[File:US Pres Debate - Oct 22 2020.jpg]]
 
<small>https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Pres_Debate_-_Oct_22_2020.jpg</small>
 
 
 
:···························································
 
 
 
[[File:Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal.jpg]]
 
 
<big><big>Climate change: watershed or endgame?</big></big>
 
[https://bookshop.org/books/climate-crisis-and-the-global-green-new-deal-the-political-economy-of-saving-the-planet/9781788739856 @Bookshop]
 
 
''From the Publisher''
 
''In this compelling new book, Noam Chomsky, the world's leading public intellectual, and Robert Pollin, a renowned progressive economist, map out the catastrophic consequences of unchecked climate change--and present a realistic blueprint for change: the Global Green New Deal.''
 
''Together, Chomsky and Pollin show how the forecasts for a hotter planet strain the imagination: vast stretches of the Earth will become uninhabitable, plagued by extreme weather, drought, rising seas, and crop failure. Arguing against the misplaced fear of economic disaster and unemployment arising from the transition to a green economy, they show how this bogus concern encourages climate denialism.''
 
''Humanity must stop burning fossil fuels within the next thirty years and do so in a way that improves living standards and opportunities for working people. This is the goal of the Green New Deal and, as the authors make clear, it is entirely feasible. Climate change is an emergency that cannot be ignored. This book shows how it can be overcome both politically and economically.''
 
&nbsp;
 
···················································
 
 
<big><big>'''''Conoco Buys Concho'''''</big></big>
 
''Doubling down on the Permian Basin''
 
''Both companies have lost more than 40% of their value in 2020''
 
 
''Conoco is focusing on the West Texas/South New Mexico Permian Basin, the shale and fracking hotbed that made the United States the world's largest oil producer. Concho is viewed as one of the best Permian operators and brings along a large amount of expertise on the region.''
 
''The move will also make Conoco even more exposed to the same forces that have swiftly moved against fossil fuels.''
 
''"It is a bit of a contrarian move to double down on oil and gas at a time when it's unpopular in the investment community," said Pavel Molchanov, energy analyst at Raymond James Financial in Clearwater, Florida. "Many investors are turned off by the commodity volatility, regardless of what they think about climate," said Molchanov.''
 
 
<big>''Europe is moving the opposite direction''</big>
 
''The broader challenge to the deal is the climate crisis.''
 
''The mood is so glum in the oil industry that European oil majors are pivoting away from oil and gas in favor of renewables and low-carbon solutions.''
 
''BP revealed plans in August to slash its oil production by 40% and pour billions of dollars into clean energy as it attempts to deliver net-zero emission by 2050. The UK company also warned that world demand for oil may have peaked last year.''
 
''ExxonMobil, once the world's most valuable company, was recently surpassed in market capitalization by wind and solar company NextEra Energy.''
 
 
○
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Special:RecentChanges <font color=gray><big><big>'''''Top of the News @GreenPolicy360'''''</big></big></font>]
 
:[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Climate_emergency.jpg <font color=green><big>''''''"Climate Emergency", don't forget the climate crisis for a moment even as political chaos and a global coronavirus rage'''''</big></font>]
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''Hotter & Hotter'''</big>
 
Via Associated Press / Seth Borenstein
 
'''''Earth breaks September heat record, may reach warmest year'''''
 
* https://apnews.com/article/science-climate-climate-change-5282059feae2661424d7ff3fd5ad4044
 
 
''Boosted by human-caused climate change, global temperatures averaged 60.75 degrees (15.97 Celsius) last month, edging out 2015 and 2016 for the hottest September in 141 years of recordkeeping, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Wednesday. That’s 1.75 degrees (0.97 degrees Celsius) above the 20th century average.''
 
''This record was driven by high heat in Europe, Northern Asia, Russia and much of the Southern Hemisphere, said NOAA climatologist Ahira Sanchez-Lugo. California and Oregon had their hottest Septembers on record.''
 
''Earth has had 44 straight Septembers where it has been warmer than the 20th century average and 429 straight months without a cooler than normal month, according to NOAA.''
 
 
·····················································
 
 
Scheduled for January 2021 Publication
 
<big>'''The New Climate War'''</big>
 
by Michael E. Mann
 
@MichaelEMann
 
PublicAffairs / Perseus
 
''In The New Climate War, Mann argues that all is not lost. He draws the battle lines between the people and the polluters-fossil fuel companies, right-wing plutocrats, and petrostates. And he outlines a plan for forcing our governments and corporations to wake up and make real change, including:''
 
:''a common-sense, attainable approach to carbon pricing- and a revision of the well-intentioned but flawed currently proposed version of the Green New Deal;''
   
:''allowing renewable energy to compete fairly against fossil fuels;''
   
:''debunking the false narratives and arguments that have worked their way into the climate debate and driven a wedge between even those who support climate change solutions;''
   
:''combatting climate doomism and despair-mongering.''
 
 
''With immensely powerful vested interests aligned in defense of the fossil fuel status quo, the societal tipping point won’t happen without the active participation of citizens everywhere aiding in the collective push forward. This book will reach, inform, and enable citizens everywhere to join this battle for our planet.''
 
 
·····················································································
 
&nbsp;
 
<big>'''Copernicus Programme - Climate Change Service'''</big>
 
* https://climate.copernicus.eu/surface-air-temperature-september-2020
 
 
'''Global-mean temperatures were substantially above average in September  2020. The month was:'''
 
: 0.63°C warmer than the 1981-2020 average for September
 
: the warmest September in this data record
 
: warmer by 0.05°C than September 2019, the previous warmest September
 
: warmer by 0.08°C than September 2016, the third warmest September.
 
 
'''Temperatures averaged over the twelve-month period from October 2019 to September 2020 were:'''
 
: most above the 1981-2010 average over a large part of Siberia, and the Arctic Ocean to the north of Siberia and Alaska
   
: above average over virtually all of Europe, more so in the east;
   
: above average over most other areas of land and ocean;
 
 
&nbsp;
 
'''September 30, 2020'''
 
 
<big><big>'''From the U.S. Presidential Campaign Debate'''</big></big>
 
<big>“We have the lowest carbon. Look at our numbers now. We are doing phenomenal.”</big>
 
<big> -- The U.S. President</big>
 
GreenPolicy360.... the president's statement is far from the truth
 
 
Via NBC News / On the Climate Change Question Asked by Moderator Chris Wallace
 
* https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/09/30/climate-change-first-debate-full-video-2020-dbx-vpx.cnn
 
* https://grist.org/politics/its-been-12-years-since-presidential-debate-moderators-asked-about-climate-change/
 
 
''President Trump: “We have the lowest carbon. Look at our numbers now. We are doing phenomenal.”''
 
''“That's the biggest lie he's told tonight, and there have been some biggies,” Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University, tweeted after Trump’s assertion about having the “lowest” carbon emissions.''
 
''Biden, on the other hand, has made climate change a focus of his campaign. In July, he released [https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/how-biden-s-climate-plan-makes-clean-energy-2035-very-n1234528 a $2 trillion plan] to build a clean energy economy that includes the ambitious goal of achieving a 100 percent clean electricity standard by 2035.''
 
''Though Biden’s climate plan is not as far-reaching as the proposed Green New Deal championed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., it has been met with praise from climate scientists and environmental activists.''
 
''Trump attempted to sow divisions between Biden’s camp and the supporters of the Green New Deal, claiming that Biden’s failure to support the plan meant he “just lost the radical left.”''
 
''Ocasio-Cortez dismissed the notion, tweeting in response: “Our differences are exactly why I joined Biden’s Climate Unity Task Force — so we could set aside our differences & figure out an aggressive climate plan to address the planetary crisis at our feet. Trump doesn’t even believe climate change is real.”''
 
''In the debate, Biden also reiterated his plan to rejoin the Paris Agreement and work with global partners to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Trump announced plans in 2017 to quit the landmark climate accord, a move that has been widely criticized by climate researchers.''
 
''Yet for all the debate’s vitriol, experts said, it’s important that climate change was a featured topic. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in March found that 60 percent of Americans say that climate change is a major threat to the U.S., up from 44 percent in 2009. The inclusion of climate issues in the presidential debate “reflects the heightened political and grassroots interest in the subject.”''
 
 
 
[[File:AOC 9-29-2020.jpg]]
 
 
 
More on the U.S. presidential debate at Strategic Demands
 
* https://strategicdemands.com/the-day-after-the-debate/
 
 
·············································································
 
 
'''Climate Change Critics Recruited by US President'''
 
Via E&E News
 
''At least three prominent researchers who question the severity of climate change rebuffed the opportunity to take a senior position at NOAA.''
 
''The White House has been quietly working in recent weeks to reshape the leadership of NOAA with a goal of criticizing climate science...''
 
''According to Andrew Rosenberg, who served as a deputy director at NOAA in the Clinton administration, and now runs the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, the political appointments could be a strategic way to get climate denialists "burrowed" in at NOAA. If the political appointees are offered career positions, they will be much harder to dismiss after Trump is gone because of protections for federal workers, Rosenberg said.''
 
''"They're packing these positions, and I'm worried they're going to get burrowed in into career positions in NOAA. First of all, getting appointed in the first place is sending a very strong signal that we are not interested in the overall scientific evidence of climate change; we're going to go with the view of the fringe. That's very distressing, not only to climate change, but everything NOAA does."''
 
* https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063714831
 
 
'''Climate Change Denialist Given Top Role'''
 
* https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/climate-change-denialist-given-top-role-major-us-science-agency
 
 
Update: On Thursday (Sept. 24), 85 House Democrats sent a letter to Jacobs and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross protesting the appointment of Legates, saying he would "clearly be in a position to seriously damage the agency's scientific integrity."
 
''"While Legates promotes the fossil fuel industry's agenda and derides taxpayer dollars spent on mitigating the 'undetectable effects of climate change,' the staggering cost of failing to address climate change is terrifying to the rest of us working to save a livable future for our children and grandchildren," they wrote.''
 
 
'''David Legates, wrong for NOAA, wrong for the climate crisis, wrong for the profound responsibility'''
 
* https://www.democracynow.org/2020/9/18/noaa_david_legates_climate_crisis''
 
 
David Legates at a Heartland Institute conference speaking on “Why CO2 Emissions Are Not Creating a Climate Crisis”:
 
DAVID LEGATES: ''We’ve all heard that carbon dioxide, of course, is a pollutant. It drives climate. It is the single most important factor that determines what the climate is going to be in the future and what the temperature is going to be and how much precipitation there’s going to be, so much so that we have to put a danger sign on carbon dioxide. But the question I really want to ask is: Is it really a benefit? Not just simply has it gotten a bad rap, but is it really something that we could do with a little bit more? … So, the answer to my question, “Is carbon dioxide a pollutant or a benefit?” it clearly isn’t a pollutant. It is definitely a benefit, and we can do with a little bit more of it.''
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''Wildfires Rage (but conditions... climate change, heat, drought, warming ocean temperatures...  the connections driving extreme weather events go unreported)'''</big>
 
 
''As wildfires continue to rage across the western United States and hurricanes barrel towards the East Coast, a new report out Thursday says voters want the media to do a better job at covering the climate crisis and connecting the dots between extreme weather events and climate change.''
 
''"The media has a responsibility to inform viewers of the connections between climate change and the increasingly unstable world around them," write Dr. Genevieve Gunther, Danielle Deiseroth, and Marcela Mulholland in a summary of the research conducted by Data for Progress and End Climate Silence. "It's not just climate activists and policy wonks that want to see this kind of coverage; our polling shows that a broad-base of voters do too."''
 
''While plenty of coverage of extreme weather events such as hurricanes exists, what does not is the connection to the climate crisis in the same reporting, the authors report. For example, ABC, CBS, and NBC aired a combined 50 segments on Hurricane Laura, yet not one connected the storm to climate change.''
 
''"Media coverage is critical in determining how the public perceives climate change," they continued. "To give voters the information they need to make political decisions in an increasingly chaotic world, the media must cover the climate crisis with the accuracy and urgency it deserves."''
 
 
GreenPolicy360:
 
Is it time for the Media to add a 'Take Action' option to their Climate Reporting?
 
Is it time for a public service offer, for example how about an app, or a link, or a button?
 
* https://actionbutton.org/
 
 
:····································
 
 
<big><big>'''Joe Biden Points at the Climate Policy Failures of Donald Trump'''</big></big>
 
"Unending barrage of Tragedies"
 
* https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/516144-biden-hits-trump-on-climate-western-fires-foreshadow-unending-barrage-of
 
 
''Biden: "The science is clear, and deadly signs like these are unmistakable - climate change poses an imminent, existential threat to our way of life. President Trump can try to deny that reality, but the facts are undeniable. We absolutely must act now to avoid a future defined by an unending barrage of tragedies like the one American families are enduring across the West today."''
 
''"Left unchecked, wildfires and other extreme weather disasters will only continue to grow in frequency and intensity, endangering the lives of tens of millions of Americans, ravaging our lands and waterways, rendering the air unbreathable, and laying waste to our economic security," Biden added. "In the years ahead, there will be no challenge more consequential to our future than meeting and defeating the onrushing climate crisis."''
 
 
''The statement comes as [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Major_fires_in_US_-Sept_2020.jpg record major wildfires] ravage the Western U.S., California, Oregon, Washington state...''
 
''"The debate is over, around climate change," said California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). "This is a climate damn emergency. This is real and it's happening."''
 
&nbsp;
 
::[[File:Major fires in US -Sept 2020.jpg]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
<big>'''All Time Record Heat'''</big>
 
* https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-06/southern-california-braces-for-more-record-breaking-heat-as-firefighters-battle-wildfires-across-the-state
 
* https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/weather/los-angeles-county-sets-record-high-temperature-as-heat-wave-continues/ar-BB18LOMR
 
* https://time.com/5886622/record-wildfires-california-climate-change/
 
 
''Ron Merkord:''
 
''Sept. 6, 2020''
 
''2020 is on track to be the hottest year the Earth has seen in  recorded history, 100+ years.  Before that, 2019 was the hottest on record, etc etc.  You get the idea.''
 
''Now here is the real kicker, something to really ponder in today's heat.  2020 will also be the COLDEST year in the next 100 years.  This is the coldest year from now on that you, or your grandkids, will ever know.''
 
 
·······························
 
 
<big>'''The U.S. president has no climate plan. We ask -- 'Why isn’t that headline news?' '''</big>
 
Via Bill Moyers News / Covering Climate Now
 
* https://billmoyers.com/story/the-sitting-president-has-no-climate-plan-why-isnt-that-headline-news/Now
 
* https://www.coveringclimatenow.org/climate-beat/cm6g4gwy6x0icmtp0072wyglve005i
 
 
<big>Fire and Water: Land and Watershed Management in the Age of Climate Change</big>
 
* https://bioneers.org/fire-and-water-watershed-management-zmbz2008
 
 
 
<font color=gray><big><big><big>'''August 2020'''</big></big></big></font>
 
 
[[File:We must flatten the curve, yes ... August 2020.jpg]]
 
&nbsp;
 
·······························
 
 
<big>'''From the Democrat's Climate Crisis Committees'''</big>
 
* https://www.democrats.senate.gov/climate-report
 
* https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/24/democrats-climate-plan-fossil-fuel-industry
 
 
* Chair Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) / https://www.democrats.senate.gov/climate
 
* Chair Kathy Castor (D-Florida) / https://climatecrisis.house.gov/
 
 
* https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/29/joe-biden-climate-jobs-plan-gamble
 
* https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/29/democrats-climate-crisis-carbon-emissions
 
 
''Senate Democrats 200-page plan arguing that significant US climate action will require stripping the fossil fuel industry of its influence over the government and the public’s understanding of the crisis.''
 
''“It’s important for the public to understand that this is not a failure of American democracy that’s causing this,” said Sheldon Whitehouse, a Senate Democrat from Rhode Island. “It is a very specific and successful attack on American democracy by an industry with truly massive financial motivation to corrupt democratic institutions.”''
 
''A 16-page chapter of the report titled '''Dark Money''' lays out how “giant fossil fuel corporations have spent billions – much of it anonymized through scores of front groups – during a decades-long campaign to attack climate science and obstruct climate action”.''
 
''Senator Whitehouse: “I don’t think Americans understand enough the extent to which the fossil fuel industry has weaponized a whole variety of systems and laws that now competes with the government itself for dominance.”''
 
 
<big>'''''Big oil remembers 'friend' Trump with millions in campaign funds'''''</big>
 
''Donations to support the president’s re-election have flooded in from a fossil fuel industry that has enjoyed three years of energy deregulation and tax cuts...''
 
* https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/09/big-oil-trump-campaign-donations-fossil-fuel-industry
 
 
<big>'''Climate, the Second Most Important Issue among US Voters'''</big>
 
Polls tracking the issues in the 2020 campaign
 
''NYT Climate (@nytclimate) tweeted at 0:28 PM on Mon, Aug 24, 2020''
 
''The number of Americans who feel passionately about climate change is rising sharply, and the issue appears likely to play a more important role in this year’s election than ever before...'' 
 
* https://t.co/xUFZmqJiL0
 
 
''The issue public around climate change has grown tremendously over time, the survey suggests. In 2015, the group was 13 percent of the population. By 2020, it had nearly doubled to 25 percent.''
 
''The survey was a joint project of Stanford, Resources for the Future, a Washington research group, and ReconMR, a survey research company.''
 
 
·······························
 
 
<big>The Climate Crisis Is Still a Crisis</big>
 
If the fate of American democracy is on the ballot in November, so too is the future of the planet
 
Op-Ed / The Atlantic / August 19, 2020
 
* https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/climate-crisis-still-crisis/615319/
 
 
·······································
 
 
<big>'''Inside Joe Biden's Network of Climate Advisers'''</big>
 
: '''Kamala Harris on Climate Policy'''
 
* https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/inside-joe-bidens-network-of-climate-advisers/
 
* https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kamala-harris-climate-record-senate-california-attorney-general-1043195/
 
* https://insideclimatenews.org/news/11082020/kamala-harris-joe-biden-election-2020-climate-change
 
 
·······································
 
 
<big>'''''Last decade was Earth's hottest on record as climate crisis accelerates'''''</big>
 
* https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/12/hottest-decade-climate-crisis-2019
 
 
... ''and 2020 is hot, hot''
 
 
[[File:2020 record temperatures.png]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
···············································································
 
 
[https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/coastal-flooding-could-hit-nearly-20-of-global-gdp-as-climate-change-accelerates-storms-sea-level-rise/ar-BB17nnTg '''Coastal Flooding Could Hit 20% of Global GDP''']
 
 
···············································································
 
 
'''Murdoch Family that Controls Fox Media Empire Imploding'''
 
Climate, Politics, News -- Inside the Family
 
 
Rupert Murdoch's media empire
 
'''News Corp hugely influential across the world'''
 
Including The Sun, The Times, Sky Corp-Sky News, the New York Post, global satellite distribution, entertainment media and internet corporations...
 
Fox Corporation (distinct from the News Corp as of 2013) - Fox networks, Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Sports
 
 
James Murdoch was previously regarded as heir apparent to his father's right-wing media empire, with its deep political influence around the world. He has grown increasingly critical of the firm's news outlets for their "denial" of the climate crisis.
 
 
As quoted:
 
''James and wife Kathryn grew increasingly vocal in expressing their progressive political views.''
 
''Following the deadly white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 James sent an open letter to company employees criticising US President Donald Trump's response. "I can’t even believe I have to write this: standing up to Nazis is essential; there are no good Nazis," he wrote. "Or Klansmen, or terrorists."''
 
''Last September he told The New Yorker: "There are views I really disagree with on Fox."''
 
''He made headlines again when he lashed out at the company's climate coverage during the summer bushfire crisis in Australia.''
 
''"Kathryn and James’ views on climate are well established and their frustration with some of the News Corp and Fox coverage of the topic is also well known,” a spokesperson for Murdoch and his wife told The Daily Beast website.''
 
''"They are particularly disappointed with the ongoing denial among the news outlets in Australia given obvious evidence to the contrary."
 
''Earlier this month it was revealed that James and Kathryn had each donated US$615,000 to Joe Biden's campaign, making them among the Democratic nominee's biggest supporters.''
 
''Now, with just three months until the US presidential election, James is completely untethered from his family's empire - raising the possibility he will become more outspoken about his political views and his concerns about the Murdoch empire's editorial positions.''
 
* https://amp.smh.com.au/world/north-america/james-murdoch-makes-statement-in-the-style-of-his-dramatic-departure-20200801-p55hjs.html
 
 
* https://news.sky.com/story/rupert-murdochs-son-james-quits-news-corporation-board-after-disagreements-over-editorial-content-12040255
 
* https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/07/james-murdoch-quits-news-corp-board-citing-editorial-rift.html
 
* https://www.dw.com/en/james-murdoch-quits-news-corp-board-over-editorial-content-disagreement/a-54399898
 
* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-31/james-murdoch-quits-news-corp-board-over-editorial-content
 
* https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/business/media/james-murdoch-resigns-news-corp.html
 
* https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-01/james-murdoch-resigns-from-news-corp-board/12514700
 
* https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/07/31/media/james-murdoch-resigns-news-corp/index.html
 
 
[[File:James Murdoch quits News Corp.jpg]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
····················
 
 
<big>'''''July 2020'''''</big>
 
 
'''U.S. Abandonment of International Climate Agreement Has Lasting Ramifications'''
 
* https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/30/how-trump-emboldening-other-countries-bad-behavior-climate-crisis
 
 
''The divisions Trump’s stance has opened up within his own nation have also been starkly in evidence at the annual UN climate talks, where for the last three years, two different American groups have been showing up. One occupies a brightly lit central pavilion hosting prominent politicians, celebrities, business leaders and top investors, attracting big audiences for glitzy presentations on clean technology and green jobs. These are Congressional Democrats, state leaders and city mayors, commanding huge budgets and able to slash emissions and foster green schemes, but without the levers of federal power. The real US delegation – the one with the power to vote and veto at the UN – sits down in the hall, in a small drab office with only a diminutive Stars and Stripes and photocopied sign on the firmly shut door, denoting its presence...''
 
 
·······················································
 
 
 
[[File:PBS NOVA on climate change resiliency.jpg|link=https://www.facebook.com/NOVApbs/videos/vb.29589997195/3993157670756043/?type=2&theater]]
 
&nbsp;
 
·······················································
 
 
[https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/23/magazine/climate-migration.html <big>''''' 'The Great Climate Migration' '''''</big>]
 
Global / Interactive, Feature Story
 
NY Times / July 23, 2020
 
 
····················································································
 
 
[[File:7-20-2020 GreenPolicy360 RT No.2.jpg]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
····························································································
 
 
 
<big><big><big>'''This App Could Be a Game Changer'''</big></big></big>
 
'''This could be a very big deal'''
 
''There’s an old truism in the business world: what gets measured gets managed. One of the challenges in managing the greenhouse gas emissions warming the atmosphere is that they aren’t measured very well.''
 
''“Currently, most countries do not know where most of their emissions come from,” says Kelly Sims Gallagher, a professor of energy and environmental policy at Tufts University’s Fletcher School. “Even in advanced economies like the United States, emissions are estimated for many sectors.” Without this information “you cannot devise smart and effective policies to mitigate emissions,” she says, and “you cannot track them to see if you are making progress against your goals.”''
 
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp,_OCO-2,_June_2014_m.jpg<big><big>'''Measure to Manage'''</big></big>]
 
[[File:You can manage only what you can measure Dr David Crisp, OCO-2, June 2014 m.jpg]]
 
 
''The ultimate solution to this problem — the killer app, as it were — would be real-time tracking of all global greenhouse gases, verified by objective third parties, and available for free to the public.''
 
''Now, a new alliance of climate research groups called the Climate TRACE (Tracking Real-Time Atmospheric Carbon Emissions) Coalition has launched an effort to make the vision a reality, and they’re aiming to have it ready for COP26, the climate meetings in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021 (postponed from November 2020). If they pull it off, it could completely change the tenor and direction of international climate talks.''
 
* https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/7/16/21324662/climate-change-air-pollution-tracking-greenhouse-gas-emissions-trace-coalition
 
 
 
·········································································
 
 
<big>'''''Methane rises to highest level on record'''''</big>
 
''Livestock farming and fossil fuels are main causes of rise in gas, which is 28 times more powerful than CO2 at trapping heat''
 
''The data, the science, then comes the business of politics and choosing to act or not to act
 
* https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab9ed2
 
 
''Study report findings, published in Earth System Science Data and Environmental Research Letters, show that more than half of the methane in the atmosphere now comes from human sources.''
 
''Climate stabilization remains elusive, with increased greenhouse gas concentrations already increasing global average surface temperatures 1.1 °C above pre-industrial levels (World Meteorological Organization 2019). Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel use, deforestation, and other anthropogenic sources reached ~ 43 billion metric tonnes in 2019 (Friedlingstein et al 2019, Jackson et al 2019). Storms, floods, and other extreme weather events displaced a record 7 million people in the first half of 2019 (IDMC 2019). When global mean surface temperature four million years ago was 2 °C–3 °C warmer than today (a likely temperature increase before the end of the century), ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica melted and parts of East Antarctica's ice retreated, causing sea levels to rise 10–20 m (World Meteorological Organization 2019)...''
 
 
································································
 
 
<big><big><big>'''"Build Back Better": Biden Climate & Clean Energy Plan'''</big></big></big>
 
* https://www.npr.org/2020/07/14/890814007/biden-outlines-2-trillion-climate-plan
 
* https://www.npr.org/2020/07/09/889347429/biden-counters-trumps-america-first-with-build-back-better-economic-plan
 
* https://joebiden.com/clean-energy/
 
 
''Biden's climate initiative calls to chart the United States on "an irreversible path" to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.''
 
''To do that, the plan would aim to achieve a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035. It would also upgrade 4 million buildings and weatherize 2 million homes over four years to increase energy efficiency. And the proposal, Biden's campaign says, would seek to shift major cities toward public transportation and "create millions of good, union jobs rebuilding America's crumbling infrastructure."''
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who made climate change the central focus of his failed 2020 Democratic presidential campaign, called Biden's plan "visionary."
 
"This is no status quo plan," Inslee [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/us/politics/biden-climate-plan.html told the New York Times]. "It is comprehensive. This is not some sort of, 'Let me just throw a bone to those who care about climate change.'"
 
 
 
[https://apnews.com/7cdf40d9bd40c75861fc0053212d034a <big>''' Need to 'Reframe' the Climate Debate'''</big>]
 
 
[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-climate-change-factbox-idUSKCN24F0XX Via Reuters / Biden v Trump on Environment, Climate, and Future -- the 2020 election will set the course]
 
Major climate issues at play in the Nov. 3 election
 
''Joe Biden has pledged to take action on climate change that would be "impossible" for a future president to reverse should he beat President Donald Trump in the November election.''
 
''The former vice president told renewable energy industry executives on a fundraising call Monday night (reported via Newsweek) that he would put down "such a marker" on climate change it would be "impossible for the next president to turn it around."''
 
''Speaking about his plan for tackling climate change, Biden said: "God willing I win and even if I serve eight years, I want to make sure we put down such a marker that it's impossible for the next president to turn it around."''
 
''He added that the climate crisis was the "most sweeping crisis of all," adding that it had an impact on other crises facing the U.S., including the coronavirus pandemic and the related economic downturn.''
 
 
'''''Over 100 environmental protection laws and regulations have been rolled back by the Trump administration. Trump has abandoned international agreements on climate and has moved the US to a position of pariah in global environmental security relations.'''''
 
 
:[https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2018/07/tracking-the-trackers/ ''List of Organizations Tracking US Environmental Rollbacks'']
 
:[http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/resources/climate-deregulation-tracker ''Climate Deregulation Tracker'']
 
:[http://blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechange/ ''Columbia Law School Climate Change Laws'']
 
:[https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/regulatory-rollback-tracker ''Harvard Law School - Environmental Law Rollbacks'']
:[http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/resources/silencing-science-tracker/ '' 'Silencing Science' Tracker'']
 
 
 
································································
 
 
<big>'''Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW)'''</big>
 
Another solution for dealing with CO2
 
Rock dust, not a 'magic bullet', but add it to the climate response arsenal
 
[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/08/spreading-rock-dust-on-fields-could-remove-vast-amounts-of-co2-from-air Via The Guardian]
 
 
“ERW (enhanced rock weathering) is a straightforward, practical approach.” Prof Jim Hansen and one of the research team, said: “Much of this carbonate will eventually [wash into] the ocean, ending up as limestone on the ocean floor.''
 
 
·····································································
 
 
<big><big><big>Climate -- Facts & Falsehoods</big></big></big>
 
Hard & Soft Lies in the Realm of Climate Politics
 
and... Sorting Out Fact from Fiction
 
 
'''Facebook's role in climate denial mis-info'''
 
* https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/climate-denial-spreads-on-facebook-as-scientists-face-restrictions/
 
 
'''Follow ClimateFeedback.org, searching for factual climate info'''
 
* https://climatefeedback.org/feedbacks/
 
 
:::[[File:GP360 tagcloud3.png|link=https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Green_Stories_of_the_Day]]
 
 
 
<big><big><big>Tracking Climate Change Denial & Misinfo</big></big></big>
 
'''GreenPolicy360 provides best-in-science climate news & reviews'''
 
* https://climatefeedback.org | ClimateFeedback.org
* https://climatecrocks.com/ | Climate -- Crocks, Denial, Facts & Vids
* http://www.desmogblog.com/ | Desmog Blog
* http://www.desmogblog.com/about | Desmog & Climate Change
* http://www.desmogblog.com/global-warming-denier-database | Denier Database
* http://www.desmogblog.com/slamming-the-climate-skeptic-scam | Desmog Perspective
* https://www.beforetheflood.com/explore/the-deniers/top-10-climate-deniers/ | Denier Favorites
* https://www.drillednews.com/post/fake-science-is-a-real-danger | Drilled - Corp Sponsored
* https://grist.org/series/skeptics/ | Grist on Skeptics
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_of_the_Humans,_a_documentary_film Re: Misinfo of 'Planet of the Humans' Documentary]
 
: [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Change_Denier_Talking_Points_--_and_Rebuttals Rebutting Climate Denier Talking Pts]
 
 
* https://skepticalscience.com/argument.php | Skeptical Science Site
* https://skepticalscience.com/climate-models-intermediate.htm | Skeptical - Attacks on Climate Models
* https://www.snopes.com/collections/climate-change-denial-debunked/ | Snopes on Climate
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Science_denial_graph.jpg Techniques of Science Denial (Graph)]
 
:[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:FLICC_techniques_of_science_denial.png Techniques of Science Denial (Video)]
 
 
 
:································································· 
 
 
 
 
[[File:Economist.com global capital snapshot as of July 2020.jpg]]
 
 
 
 
: ······················································
 
 
 
[[File:Scott-mark-kelly-nasa.jpg]]
 
 
'''Twins... both advocates for #EarthScience from Space'''
 
Accelerating humanity's approaches to deal with the #ClimateCrisis'''
 
 
Photo by Astro Scott Kelly -- He sees the big picture... http://www.scottkelly.com/
 
Photo of Astro Mark Kelly -- He's now running to be Arizona's next Senator... http://www.markkelly.com/
 
 
<big>[[Earth Science Research from Space]]</big>
 
 
'''Twins double the data'''
 
https://blogs.nasa.gov/ISS_Science_Blog/2015/09/10/twins-double-the-data-for-space-station-research-part-one/
 
https://blogs.nasa.gov/ISS_Science_Blog/2015/09/21/twins-double-the-data-for-space-station-research-part-two/
 
 
[[File:03-Scott-Kelly-NASA.jpg]]
 
 
[[File:Mark Kelly in space.jpg]]
 
 
 
<big>'''''June 2020'''''</big>
 
 
 
[[File:Democratic Climate Plan-Introduced June 2020.jpg]]
 
 
 
'''June 25, 2020'''
 
 
<big>''TV News' near silence on record-shattering temperatures in the Arctic is part of a disturbing trend in climate coverage''</big>
 
 
:''NBC Today only program across US broadcast and cable TV networks to mention the record hot Arctic temperatures''
 
:''Broadcast and cable TV news has been nearly silent about the unfolding climate catastrophe in the Arctic''
 
 
* https://www.mediamatters.org/broadcast-networks/tv-newss-near-silence-record-shattering-temperatures-arctic-part-disturbing
 
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Arctic
 
 
'''June 20, 2020'''
 
 
[[File:Arctic-Siberia-6-20-2020.jpg]]
 
 
 
······································
 
 
[[File:Climate diplomacy is failing - June 2020.jpg]]
 
 
······································
 
 
[http://www.showyourstripes.info/ <big>'''Show Your Stripes'''</big>]
 
 
[[File:Global temperature change - from 1850-2019.jpg]]
 
 
::[[File:January-May 2020 temp anomaly.jpg]]
 
 
:::[[File:CO2 at Mauna Loa data - June 02, 2020 - 417.90 ppm.jpg]]
 
&nbsp;
 
<big><big>'''''Atmospheric CO2 levels rise sharply despite global economic impacts and Covid-19 lockdowns '''''</big></big> 
 
 
''Via The Guardian''
 
'''''Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have risen strongly to a new peak this year in spite of the global effects of the coronavirus crisis'''''
 
''The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere reached 417.2 parts per million in May, 2.4ppm higher than the peak of 414.8ppm in 2019, according to readings from the Mauna Loa observatory in the US.''
 
''Carbon dioxide tends to peak each year in late May, when the impacts of the northern hemisphere spring have yet to take effect, so the month’s data is compared from year to year. Measurements have been taken continuously at the remote Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii since 1958, providing vital information for climate scientists.''
 
 
* https://scripps.ucsd.edu/programs/keelingcurve/
 
 
 
······································
 
 
<big>Keep an Eye on Sean Casten and the New Plan of the Democrat's Climate Crisis Committee</big>
 
 
By Nick Sobczyk, E&E News reporter
 
* https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063321787
 
 
''Sean Casten is now a Democrat representing a quintessential swing district — Illinois' 6th — that was part of the party's 2018 House takeover strategy.''
 
''But unlike many newly elected Democratic moderates, Casten — an Irish-born clean energy entrepreneur — ran primarily on climate change.''
 
''"I'm quite certain that myself and [California Democratic Rep.] Mike Levin were the first two people to ever run for office on climate policy and win," Casten said during an extensive interview with E&E News shortly before COVID-19 turned the world on its head.''
 
''Both lawmakers now sit on the '''Select Committee on the Climate Crisis'''. Casten is also working on flood insurance on the Financial Services Committee and other energy and environmental issues on the Science, Space and Technology Committee.''
 
''He's also one of four co-chairs of the New Democrat Coalition's Climate Change Task Force. It's part of a climate-tinged moderate flair that helped him win a district that had been in Republican hands for nearly 50 years.''
 
''"I spent 16 years building companies that had a mission to profitably reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Casten said. "That still is my top issue."
 
'''''For Casten, climate policy is the family business... Casten's Father, Tom Casten'''''
 
''Tom Casten has developed a reputation as one of the world's top experts on energy recycling and efficiency, testifying before Congress and authoring various articles as well as a book, "Turning Off the Heat: Why America Must Double Energy Efficiency to Save Money and Reduce Global Warming."''
 
''But after graduating from Middlebury College with a degree in biology and biochemistry, Sean Casten, like most college students, didn't want to follow directly in his father's footsteps.''
 
''"I felt like, OK, I don't want to do the same thing my dad did, but his whole career has been around the power side, and it seems like transportation is something we've got to fix," Casten said.''
 
''''''Why don't we start something together?''''''
 
''So he went back to school for a graduate degree in biochemical engineering from Dartmouth College and promptly got a job with mammoth consultancy Arthur D. Little's chemical engineering group doing fuel chain analyses...''
 
'''''Then came Turbosteam and then Recycled Energy Development'''''
 
''The pair teamed up, and Casten moved to Illinois in 2007 to found Recycled Energy Development, a company focused on making steam systems more efficient by finding ways to use the excess to generate power.''
 
''The Castens sold off the company in 2016, before Sean ran for Congress, but he brings Recycled Energy Development's goal to Capitol Hill — to profitably slash greenhouse gas emissions.
 
'''''The congressional expert'''''
 
''With that background close at hand, Casten swings from funny and engaging to eye-glazingly wonky, stringing together detailed answers about various aspects of climate policy that go far beyond the technical expertise of most lawmakers. It's the kind of stuff usually reserved for staffers.''
 
''"I got a real fetish for output-based emissions standards," Casten said, laughing as he chewed on a bagel during an early-morning interview in his Capitol Hill office. "Are you familiar with those?"''
 
''That's exactly the space he wants to occupy. Congress has plenty of doctors and public health experts to work on health care policy, and it has plenty of members, mostly Republicans, with backgrounds in extractive industries who are interested in energy. Few have the kind of specialty Casten has.''
 
''When Casten was heading up the U.S. Clean Heat and Power Association — the national trade group for his slice of the energy industry — he said they used to joke that the only members worth meeting with were the late Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), the longtime House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.).''
 
''"And if you couldn't get a meeting with them, get a meeting with staff, because it just wasn't going to be worth your time," he said, referring back to the long-term members, who have since left Congress.
 
''That's to say that Casten knew Capitol Hill before he was elected to serve there. As chairman of the trade group in 2007, he was even called in to testify on energy efficiency policy before the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure, then chaired by Bingaman.''
 
''Nowadays, in Casten's view, there still aren't enough lawmakers who understand "the overlap between climate policy, energy policy and energy markets."''
 
 
GreenPolicy360: Soon the Democrats in Congress will be putting forward their new #ClimateCrisis committee plan and legislative package. It promises to be one of the most critically important initiatives for the nation, and world, in the upcoming third decade of the 21st century. We can fully expect Sean Casten (with his father Tom whispering advice) to be out in front of the plan's proposal. Keep an eye on Casten...
 
 
 
····················································································
 
 
'''Defend Our Future | #ClimateCrisis 🌎✊🏿✊🏽✊ (@DefendOurFuture) Tweeted:'''
 
If you are 35 years old or younger, you've never experienced a cooler-than-average month on Earth. #ActOnClimate #ClimateCrisis #FridaysForFuture
 
* https://twitter.com/DefendOurFuture
 
* https://t.co/nv0UQwqc9M (Washington Post)
 
&nbsp;
 
······················
 
 
<big>'''''May 2020'''''</big>
 
 
[[File:Arctic heat in Russia-Siberia 2020.gif]]
 
 
<big>'''Earlier this week in Siberia up to 86 degrees F. (30.1 C.)'''</big>
 
Arctic is ... Freakishly Warm
 
 
''The Arctic has been on one recently. Russia had its hottest winter ever recorded, driven largely by Siberian heat. That heat hasn’t let up as the calendar turns to spring. In fact, it’s intensified and spread across the Arctic. Last month was the hottest April on record for the globe, driven by high Arctic temperatures that averaged an astounding 9.4 degrees Celsius above normal, according to  [https://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/maps/index_v4.html NASA data...]''
 
''Large parts of Russia were anywhere from 6 to 8 degrees Celsius hotter than normal, according to data kept by Russia’s weather service. That smashes the previous record set in the winter of 2015-16 by 1.3 degrees Celsius. Amid the widespread heat were major records in places like Moscow, which barely got a winter at all this year.''
 
 
 
[[File:Arctic 30.1 C at 62.5 N.jpg]]
 
 
 
············································
 
 
[https://finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/unpriceable-risk-climate-change-stalks-210000988.html <big>'''''"Unpriceable Climate Change Stalks $31 Trillion Debt Market"'''''</big>]
 
''Across continents, bond investors are struggling to answer what Deutsche Bank AG strategists dubbed “the question of our age” -- how much societies are willing to sacrifice in economic growth to counter climate change, and what that spells for the world’s $31 trillion sovereign debt market.''
 
''“It’s frankly very difficult to answer,” said Shamik Dhar, London-based chief economist for BNY Mellon Investment Management. “Some of the worst aspects of climate change haven’t been priced.”''
 
 
············································
 
 
<big>'''Unsuitable for 'human life to flourish' '''</big>
 
'''Up to 3B will live in extreme heat by 2070, [https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1910114117 study warns]'''
 
Another chant, another warning chant from the chorus
 
(In Greek) What happens next? What happens next?
 
* https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/3063849001
 
* https://apnews.com/bdcdb1e537c2f23becb3960fbd4a8ed8
 
 
············································
 
 
<big><big>'''Times They Are a Changing'''</big></big>
 
'''National Center for Science Education (@NCSE)'''
 
A hotter planet changes relationships between infectious agents, hosts, and the human body's defense mechanisms.
 
New vectors, new viruses, new transnational threats are coming ...
 
Yes, a hotter planet is connected to pandemics
 
* https://t.co/agsrfkr0lA
 
 
············································
 
 
'''Climate Models and Critiques of Climate Models'''
 
Refining the Models with Paleoclimate Data
 
CESM2 Models - Community Earth System Model, version 2 | Equilibium Climate Sensitivity (ECS) testing | CMIP5 and CMIP6 Coupled Models Intercomparison Project (CMIP)
 
* https://phys.org/news/2020-04-latest-climate-unrealistically-high-future.amp
 
 
······················
 
 
GreenPolicy360 Siterunner:
 
'''Good science requires good data, scientific reasoning, discernment.'''
 
At GreenPolicy we often cite an axiom [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp,_OCO-2,_June_2014_m.jpg 'you can manage only what you can measure'], which NASA cites as a foundation for their earth science missions. We agree with the scientists at NASA. NASA programs such as OCO-2, satellite remote measurements and monitoring of CO2 in the earth's atmosphere provide essential data for effective policy decisions to limit harmful emissions.
 
As earth systems science progresses over the coming years years, '''we believe a constant dialogue and debate about good data and science is not only appropriate, but is necessary'''.
 
In the case of a recently released documentary on YouTube, 'Planet of the Humans', produced by Michael Moore and directed by Jeff Gibbs, '''hard questions dealing with climate change/global warming, scientific data and politics, threats and range of solutions, are appropriate to ask, no matter how challenging the questions.'''
 
At the same time, we need good science -- facts, data, 'running the numbers', measuring and monitoring over time, analysis, evaluation -- to choose appropriate technology and to make personal choices dealing with climate change and our common environment. The choices are ours to make or we face the consequences of indecision and business-as-usual. '''Human-caused problems are realities we can observe and measure. Human-advanced answers are needed and necessary.'''
 
The thoughts of Richard Heinberg from Post Carbon Institute should be considered. His years of work in the field of environmental science, climate, and energy are definitely worthy of respect. He and the Post Carbon Institute know about renwable energy, its ups and downs. Fossil fuels too. Richard also has a breadth of experience that few have that gives him an ability to 'get real' about this controversial documentary.
 
His initial conclusion? The Moore-Gibbs documentary is a "conversation starter". That it is. I agree. It can't be ignored. Questions of how best to deal with the facts of climate and environmental disruption, and strategic demands for [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security new definitions of national/global security], are here and now.
 
These are questions GreenPolicy360 has raised since our founding. However one looks at the Moore-Gibbs argument, the Earth is in our hands.
 
As planet citizens we have to act, good or bad. We are a 'planet of the humans.' Our choice. Humanity's choice. It's time we choose how to act.   
 
 
'''Planet of the Humans: A Personal, Thoughtful Review Published at the Post Carbon Institute by [https://www.postcarbon.org/our-people/richard-heinberg-board/ Richard Heinberg]'''
 
* https://www.postcarbon.org/review-planet-of-the-humans/#
 
 
[[File:Post carbon instit logo.jpg]]
 
 
'''''Review: Planet of the Humans'''''
 
''Richard Heinberg''
 
''April 27, 2020''
 
''"It starts a conversation we need to have"''
 
''A few days ago, Emily Atkin posted a reaction to Michael Moore’s latest film, Planet of the Humans (directed and narrated by Jeff Gibbs), in which she began by admitting that she hadn’t seen the film yet. When writers take that approach, you know there’s already blood in the water. (She has since watched the film and written an actual review. Full disclosure: I’m in the film, included as one of the “good guys.” But I don’t intend to let that fact distort my comments in this review.)''
 
''The film is controversial because it makes two big claims: first, that renewable energy is a sham; second, that big environmental organizations—by promoting solar and wind power—have sold their souls to billionaire investors.''
 
''I feel fairly confident commenting on the first of these claims, regarding renewable energy, having spent a year working with David Fridley of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to assess the prospects for a complete transition to solar and wind power.''
 
''We found that the transition to renewables is going far too slowly to make much of a difference during the crucial next couple of decades, and would be gobsmackingly expensive if we were to try replacing all fossil fuel use with solar and wind. We also found, as the film underscores again and again, that the intermittency of sunshine and wind is a real problem—one that can only be solved with energy storage (batteries, pumped hydro, or compressed air, all of which are costly in money and energy terms); or with source redundancy (building way more generation capacity than you’re likely to need at any one time, and connecting far-flung generators on a super-grid); or demand management (which entails adapting our behavior to using energy only when it’s available). All three strategies involve trade-offs. In the energy world, there is no free lunch. Further, the ways we use energy today are mostly adapted to the unique characteristics of fossil fuels, so a full transition to renewables will require the replacement of an extraordinary amount of infrastructure in our food system, manufacturing, building heating, the construction industry, and on and on. Altogether, the only realistic way to make the transition in industrial countries like the US is to begin reducing overall energy usage substantially, eventually running the economy on a quarter, a fifth, or maybe even a tenth of current energy.''
 
''Is it true that mainstream enviros have oversold renewables? Yes. They have portrayed the transition away from fossil fuels as mostly a political problem; the implication in many of their communications is that, if we somehow come up with the money and the political will, we can replace oil with solar and continue living much as we do today, though with a clear climate conscience. That’s an illusion that deserves shattering. But the film does make some silly mistakes. Gibbs claims that a solar panel will generate less energy than it took to build the panel. That’s a misleading claim. Many teams of researchers have addressed the question of energy return on energy invested for solar power, and even the most pessimistic results (with which I mostly agree) say that the technology can yield a marginal energy gain. Much of that gain goes away if we have to “pay” for the energy investment entailed in providing batteries or redundant capacity. Wind power generally has a better energy payback than solar, but the location of turbines matters a great deal and ideal sites are limited in number. Assessing solar and wind power calls for complicated energy accounting, but the film reduces that complexity to a blanket, binary dismissal.''
 
''The film is low on nuance, but our global climate and energy dilemma is all shades of gray. Gibbs seems to say that renewables are a complete waste of time. I would say, they are best seen as a marginal transitional strategy for industrial societies. Given climate change and the fact that fossil fuels are depleting, finite resources, it appears that if we want to maintain any sort of electrical energy infrastructure in the future, it will have to be powered by renewables—hydro, wind, or solar. As many studies have confirmed, the nuclear power industry has little realistic prospect of revival. The future will be renewable; there simply isn’t any other option. What is very much in question, however, is the kind of society renewable energy can support.''
 
''The fact is that we’ve already bet our entire future on electricity and electronics. Communications and information processing and storage have all been digitized. That means that if the grid goes down, we’ve lost civilization altogether. I don’t think we can maintain global grids at current scale without fossil fuels, but I can envision the possibility of a process of triage whereby, as population and resource consumption shrink, the digital world does as well, until it’s small enough to be powered by renewable electricity that can be generated with minimal and acceptable environmental damage.''
 
''I agree with Gibbs, however, that renewables are realistically incapable of maintaining our current levels of energy usage, especially in rich countries like the US. Transitioning to electric cars may be a useful small-scale and short-term strategy for reducing oil consumption (I drive one myself), but limits to lithium and other raw materials used in building e-cars mean we really need to think about how to get rid of personal cars altogether.''
 
''Mainstream enviros will hate this movie because it exposes some of their real failings. By focusing on techno-fixes, they have sidelined nearly all discussion of overpopulation and overconsumption. Maybe that’s understandable as a marketing strategy, but it’s a mistake to let marketing consultants sort truth from fiction for us.''
 
''During recent decades, the big environmental orgs wearied of telling their followers to reduce, reuse, and recycle. They came to see that global problems like climate change require systemic solutions that, in turn, require massive investment and governmental planning and oversight. But the reality is, we need both high-level systemic change and widespread individual behavior change. That’s one of the lessons of the coronavirus pandemic: “flattening the curve” demands both central planning and leadership, and individual sacrifice.''
 
''Planet of the Humans paints environmental organizations and leaders with a broad and accusatory brush. One target is Jeremy Grantham, a billionaire investment analyst who created the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment in 1997. Grantham was already a mega-rich investor before he “got religion” on environmental issues. I’ve had several face-to-face meetings with him (full disclosure: the Grantham Foundation has provided modest funding to Post Carbon Institute, where I work) and it’s clear that he cares deeply about overpopulation and overconsumption, and he understands that economic growth is killing the planet. He’s scared for his children and grandchildren, and he genuinely wants to use whatever wealth and influence he has to change the world. To imply, as the film does, that he merely sees green tech as an investment strategy is a poorly aimed cheap shot. Bill McKibben, who is skewered even more savagely, also deserves better; he has replied to the film here.''
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/A_Bomb_in_the_Center_of_the_Climate_Movement.pdf <big><big>'''Read Bill McKibben's Response to the Michael Moore Film'''</big></big>]
 
 
''Finally, the film leaves viewers with no sense of hope for the future. I understand why Gibbs made that choice. Too often, “hopium” is simply a drug we use to numb ourselves to the horrific reality of our situation and its causes—in which we are all complicit.''
 
''Yet, however awful the circumstance, we need a sense of human agency. In the face of the pandemic, many of us are reduced to sitting at home sewing facemasks; it seems like a paltry response to a spreading sickness that’s taking tens of thousands of lives, but it’s better than sitting on our hands and saying “Woe is me.” The same goes for climate change: figuring out how to eat lower on the food chain, or how to get by without a car, or how to reduce home energy usage by half, or growing a garden might seem like trivial responses to such an overwhelming crisis, but they get us moving together in the right direction.''
 
''For all the reasons I’ve mentioned, Planet of the Humans is not the last word on our human predicament. Still, it starts a conversation we need to have, and it’s a film that deserves to be seen.''
 
(Reprinted courtesy of Post Carbon Institute / Visit at https://www.postcarbon.org/)
 
 
More from GreenPolicy360:
 
<big>'''[[Planet of the Humans, a documentary film]]</big>
 
 
More Reviews of the Documentary:
 
'''''Via Forbes by Robert Bryce'''''
 
• Stanford Prof. and Others 'Can’t Muzzle Planet Of The Humans’
 
• SLAPP lawsuit ruling against Mark Jacobson recharges renewables debate
 
• Planet of the Humans has been viewed over 4.6 million times in first weeks of its release on YouTube
 
[https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertbryce/2020/04/30/stanford-professor-cant-muzzle-planet-of-the-humans-must-pay-defendants-legal-fees-in-slapp-suit/#6f9a3c0fe0ac In the background the arguments, politics and legal actions continue]
 
 
'''''Via Vox - Planet of the Humans deceives viewers about clean energy and climate activists'''''
 
[https://www.vox.com/2020/4/28/21238597/michael-moore-planet-of-the-humans-climate-change Michael Moore produced a film about climate change that’s a gift to Big Oil'']
 
 
'''''Via DeSmog - Climate Deniers Rush to Promote Michael Moore Film'''''
 
[https://www.desmogblog.com/2020/05/01/fossil-fuel-backed-climate-deniers-rush-promote-michael-moore-planet-of-humans An anti-renewables pile on by fossil fuel supporters]
 
 
 
'''''Via Inside Climate News - Things Michael Moore gets wrong in his film'''''
 
'''''The documentary's "facts" are deceptive and misleading, not to mention way out of date'''''
[https://insideclimatenews.org/news/29042020/inside-clean-energy-michael-moore-planet-of-the-humans-review Counting the Mistakes...]
 
 
 
:[[File:Renewables v fossil fuels life cycle CO2 impact-chart.png]]
 
 
 
··································
 
 
<big>'''''April 2020'''''</big>
 
 
'''There's social media 'Trending', then there's real-world Trending...'''
 
[https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/27/meteorologists-say-2020-on-course-to-be-hottest-year-since-records-began '''2020 on course to be hottest year since records began]
 
 
······················································
 
 
'''How Much Cleaner EVs Are, Really'''
 
OilPrice.com Reveals Reports & Data
 
* https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/New-Study-Reveals-Just-How-Much-Cleaner-EVs-Are.html
 
 
··································
 
 
<big><big>[[Earth Day 2020]]</big></big>
 
 
'''What legislative accomplishments did the first Earth Day movement push forward and enable?'''
 
Here's how we at GreenPolicy360 describe the first-generation environmental foundation of environmental protections that the Earth Day movement and pressure helped to build --
 
 
[[File:Env policy laws US 'the beginning' of env era .jpg|link=https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Env_policy_laws_US_%27the_beginning%27_of_env_era.jpg]]
 
&nbsp;
 
<big>[[George E. Brown Jr]]</big>
 
 
'''Rep. George E. Brown (D - California)
 
Drafter, First National Climate Act
 
 
[[File:US Public Law 95-367.png]]
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Env_policy_laws_US_%27the_beginning%27_of_env_era.jpg First U.S. National Climate Act]
• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png
 
 
 
····································································································
 
 
<big>'''Warmest Oceans on Record Could Set Off a Year of Extreme Weather'''</big>
 
Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans have reached record highs
 
''The world’s seas are simmering, with record high temperatures spurring worry among forecasters that the global warming effect may generate a chaotic year of extreme weather ahead. Parts of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans all hit the record books for warmth last month, according to the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Information.''
 
''In the Gulf of Mexico, where offshore drilling accounts for about 17% of U.S. oil output, water temperatures were 76.3 degrees Fahrenheit (24.6 Celsius), 1.7 degrees above the long-term average, said Phil Klotzbach at Colorado State University. If Gulf waters stay warm, it could be the fuel that intensifies any storm that comes that way...''
 
 
··································
 
 
'''As of April 2020, what is the gasoline-powered future? What is 'the market' saying?'''
 
Market valuations:
 
:Tesla: $134 billion
:Honda: $39 billion
:BMW: $35 billion
:Daimler: $32 billion
:GM: $31 billion
:Ferrari: $28 billion
:Ford: $20 billion
:Nissan: $15 billion
:Subaru: $14 billion
:Fiat Chrysler: $12 billion
:Kia: $10 billion
:Mazda: $3 billion
 
 
Meanwhile:
 
'''Bank/Lender Takeovers Shock the Shale/Oil Patch'''
 
* https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Big-Banks-Set-To-Seize-Shale-Oil-Assets.amp.html
 
''' U.S. Shale Bust Like No Other'''
 
* https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN21X0HC
 
'''Oil Price Collapse Puts Fracking Industry in the Crosshairs'''
 
* https://oilprice.com
 
* https://www.bloomberg.com/energy
 
 
''“It’s a financial bloodbath,” said Clark Williams-Derry, an analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. “With oil prices at the current level, there’s a real risk many of them will simply go bankrupt.”''
 
''Fracking now makes up 63% of U.S. oil production, the Energy Information Administration estimates. That figure was set to increase as oil/gas drilling grew faster in the U.S. than any other country, and 90% of that is dependent on fracking, according to a report by scientists at more than a dozen environmental groups.''
 
 
··································
 
 
'''China: Hundreds of Coal-fired Power Stations to be Built?'''
 
* https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-will-china-build-hundreds-of-new-coal-plants-in-the-2020s
 
 
''Powerful stakeholders, such as the network operator State Grid and industry body the China Electricity Council, are lobbying for targets that would allow hundreds of new coal-fired power stations to be built.''
 
''... a recent update to the “traffic light system” for new coal-power construction signaled further relaxation of permitting.''
 
''This is all despite significant overcapacity in the sector, with more than half of coal-power firms already loss-making and with typical plants running at less than 50% of their capacity.''
 
''The push for more coal power also appears at odds with China’s climate goals, including a target to peak its CO2 emissions no later than 2030. To reach this goal, low-carbon sources will need to cover any increases in energy demand, meaning less need for additional electricity generation from coal.''
 
''As the country grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, however, controls on overcapacity may be vulnerable to the political priority of propping up economic growth. As a result, the restraints on another coal power boom are likely to be financial and economic, rather than regulatory.''
 
'''''Coal power'''''
 
''China’s “economic miracle” has seen the country become the world’s second-largest economy and pulled nearly a billion people out of poverty. But this progress has been built on a boom in energy from coal, meaning China has also become the world’s largest carbon polluter by far.''
 
''China’s CO2 emissions increased again by around 2% in 2019, based on recently released official economic data, and 65% of the annual growth in energy consumption came from fossil fuels.''
 
''Coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and still accounted for 57.7% of China’s energy use in 2019, the data shows. Coal plants, which burn approximately 54% of all coal used in the country, provide 52% of generating capacity and 66% of electricity output – down from a peak of 81% in 2007.''
 
''China’s upcoming five year plan... will set national targets and priorities for the next five years. The energy targets that will be set by the plan mean it will be a crucial document for global efforts to tackle climate change.''
 
''China’s 14th FYP, five-year plan, setting out its national goals for 2021-2025, will arguably be one of the world’s most important documents for global efforts to tackle climate change.''
 
 
··································
 
 
'''UN Climate Conference Postponed as World Grapples With Virus'''
 
United Nations climate talks scheduled for November in Scotland have been postponed as the coronavirus continues to spread
 
* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-01/un-climate-conference-postponed-as-world-grapples-with-virus
 
 
··································
 
 
<big>'''Oil/Gas Stock Prices Continue to Plunge'''</big>
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Fossil_Fuels Fossil Fuels] Demand Continues Historic Fall
 
Up, Down
 
* https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/04/oil-set-to-crater-monday-as-opec-meeting-delayed-tensions-flare-between-saudi-arabia-and-russia.html
 
Gasoline Demand Drops Most Ever
 
* https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/04/01/the-other-bomb-thats-dropping-cramers-warning-as-first-shale-company-files-for-chapter-11.html
 
* https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN21J3RE
 
* https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/markets/saudis-boost-oil-output-defying-trump-e2-80-99s-plea-to-end-price-war/ar-BB120I0d
 
* https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/01/gop-sen-dan-sullivan-calls-on-saudis-to-end-its-oil-price-war.html
 
* https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-meet-oil-executives-reeling-190014896.html
 
 
··································
 
 
<big>'''''March 2020'''''</big>
 
 
'''Energy Lobby Op-Ed Says "People like cheap energy"'''
 
* https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/03/climate-change-policy-start-with-common-ground/
 
* https://www.desmogblog.com/institute-energy-research
 
 
··································
 
 
[[File:Drilled - Website.jpg]]
 
&nbsp;
 
 
<big><big><big>'''The Madmen of Climate Denial</big></big>'''</big>
 
'''Drilled: A True Crime Podcast about Climate Change'''
 
:[https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/drilled-a-true-crime-podcast-about-climate-change/id1439735906?i=1000422276050 Apple Podcasts]
:[https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/drilled/id1439735906?mt=2 Apple Podcasts-2]
:[https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/I35tyxb55ysetxugu5vaugol2da Google Play]
:[https://pca.st/S2o5 Pocket Casts]
:[https://radiopublic.com/drilled-8Qd2Kq/s1!a200b RadioPublic]
:[https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/range/drilled Stitcher]
:[https://open.spotify.com/show/6zrL0QQWBhlVFsCveE2mtE Spotify]
:[https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/Drilled-p1175859/ TuneIn]
 
&nbsp;
 
·········································································
 
 
[https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/03/1059061 '''UN/WMO Report / State of the Global Climate''']
 
* https://youtu.be/Oft0nY_lnZI
 
 
 
[[File:When your house is on fire.jpg]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
···················································
 
 
'''Shell makes plans for the future: An invite draws in a climate scientist'''
 
A report from the frontlines of the decarbonization movement
 
* https://nymag.com/intelligencer/amp/2020/03/shell-climate-change.html
 
 
···················································
 
 
''' 'Goks Uncertainty Language': Editing US Government Documents to Insert Climate Denial and Equivocation Language'''
 
* https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/02/climate/goks-uncertainty-language-interior.html
 
 
···················································
 
 
'''Andrew Wheeler, Administrator of the US EPA, 'spinning' the Administration's climate record'''
 
Congressional oversight committee pushes back
 
* https://www.eenews.net/stories/1062464145
 
 
''"Excluding climate from the budget, eliminating research and voluntary industry partnership programs, and weakening modest existing rules, which is happening, does not give me any indication that the agency is taking this environmental threat seriously," (Rep. Tonko) said.''
 
''Wheeler, however, sought to shift the blame for EPA's limited response to climate change onto lawmakers.
 
"We take climate change seriously. We are implementing the laws Congress has given us," the EPA chief said. "Congress has not passed any new additional laws to address climate change."''
 
''Early this Congress, Tonko spearheaded Energy and Commerce's passage of a measure, H.R. 9, to keep the United States in the Paris climate accord. He is now leading the House's effort to pass a more ambitious carbon-cutting measure (E&E Daily, Feb. 25). Neither bill is likely to pass in the Republican-controlled Senate.''
 
''"Mr. Administrator, with all due respect, I don't know how you could make a statement like that after the Administration's complete abandonment of federal climate action," Tonko responded. "Americans are watching; the world is watching. I don't think anyone is reassured."''
 
 
···················································
 
 
 
[[File:Mulvaney says no lifestyle change.jpg]]
 
 
 
'''Another scientific study, another eye-opening result: Methane CH4 is more prevalent than thought'''
 
''This result indicates that anthropogenic fossil CH4 emissions are underestimated by about 38 to 58 teragrams CH4 per year, or about 25 to 40 per cent of recent estimates. Our record highlights the human impact on the atmosphere and climate, provides a firm target for inventories of the global CH4 budget, and will help to inform strategies for targeted emission reductions.''
 
* https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-1991-8
 
* https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/02/19/world/methane-emissions-humans-fossil-fuels-underestimated-climate-change/index.html
 
 
···················································
 
 
BP pledges to cut its emissions, to 'reimagine' a [https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/who-we-are/reimagining-energy.html NetZero goal by 2050], as memories of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill BP Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster continue on...]
 
 
BP "Reimagining Energy" ... ''Our purpose is reimagining energy for people and our planet. We want to help the world reach net zero and improve people’s lives.''
: ''We will aim to dramatically reduce carbon in our operations and in our production, and grow new low carbon businesses, products and services.''
: ''We will advocate for fundamental and rapid progress towards Paris and strive to be a leader in transparency.''
: ''We know we don’t have all the answers and will listen and work with others.''
: ''We want to be an energy company with purpose; one that is trusted by society, valued by shareholders and motivating for everyone who works at BP.''
: ''We believe we have the experience and expertise, the relationships and the reach, the skill and the will, to do this.''
 
 
''This will mean tackling around 415 million tonnes of emissions – 55 million from our operations and 360 million tonnes from the carbon content of our upstream oil and gas production. Importantly these are absolute reductions, to net zero, which is what the world needs most of all. We are also aiming to cut the carbon intensity of the products we sell by 50% by 2050 or sooner.''
 
''The world’s carbon budget is finite and running out fast; we need a rapid transition to net zero.'' -- ''Bernard Looney, chief executive officer''
 
 
○
 
 
Questions of Scope: How to Define and Measure Emissions Reductions
 
 
* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-11/why-company-carbon-cuts-should-include-scope-check-quicktake
 
* https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2020/02/14/hold-bp-to-pledge-on-cutting-emissions-editorial/
 
* https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article240263391.html
 
* https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/7/eaaw8863
 
* https://climatereality.com/blog/actions-vs-words-look-fossil-fuel-greenwashing
 
 
'''More on Fossil Fuels'''
 
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Fossil_Fuels
 
 
 
······································································
 
 
 
[[File:Undermining climate policy in the American West.jpg]]
 
 
 
 
[[File:Tipping Points - 2020.jpg]]
 
 
 
''Via the U.S. National Center for Science Education (@NCSE) and Carbon Brief:''
 
 
<big>'''''Nine ‘tipping points’ that could be triggered by climate change'''''</big>
 
 
: 1. Shutdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation
: 2. West Antarctic ice sheet disintegration
: 3. Amazon rainforest dieback
: 4. West African monsoon shift
: 5. Permafrost and methane hydrates
: 6. Coral reef die-off
: 7. Indian monsoon shift
: 8. Greenland ice sheet disintegration
: 9. Boreal forest shift
 
* https://t.co/kq2PpyGnpW
 
* https://t.co/AZKnLySdSs
 
* https://twitter.com/NCSE/status/1227313998481313794
 
 
 
<big>Tipping Points: 'Too close for comfort'</big>
 
* https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03595-0
 
 
:···················································
 
 
'''Global Trends in Climate Change Litigation'''
 
* [http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/GRI_Global-trends-in-climate-change-litigation-2019-snapshot-2.pdf The lawsuits are speeding up and adding up / Grantham Institute]
 
 
[[File:Climate Change Litigation Databases Climate Law.png]]
 
 
 
:···················································
 
 
'''Real Money's Jim Cramer explains...'''
 
* https://realmoney.thestreet.com/jim-cramer/jim-cramer-once-again-why-fossil-fuels-are-on-the-wrong-side-of-history-15227698
 
 
::·············································
 
&nbsp;
 
::[[File:Climate Models.png]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
::'''Extreme Projections (RCPs) at Issue'''
 
:: Maybe a More Middling Projection Is Called For (or Not)
 
 
::'''Do You Feel Lucky?'''
 
::* https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00177-3
 
 
::'''Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs)'''
 
::* https://www.nature.com/articles/nature08823
 
 
::A new generation of scenarios, called the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), has a much more nuanced approach to baselines.
 
::RCPs to SSPs ... This means [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378016300681?via%3Dihub IPCC authors can highlight a broader range of climate change outcomes.]
 
 
[http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/ar5/prpc_syr/11022014_syr_copenhagen.pdf '''About the IPCC''']
 
::''IPCC reports draw on the many years of work by the scientific community investigating climate change.''
 
::More than 830 coordinating lead authors, lead authors and review editors from over 80 countries and covering a range of scientific, technical and socio-economic views and expertise, produced the three working group contributions, supported by over 1000 contributing authors and drawing on the insights of over 2,000 expert reviewers in a process of repeated review and revision.
 
::The authors assessed more than 30,000 scientific papers to develop the Fifth Assessment Report. About 60 authors and editors drawn from the IPCC Bureau and from Working Group author teams have been involved in the writing of the Synthesis Report.
 
 
:○
 
 
[[File:Thwaites Glacier-2020.jpg]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
···········································································
 
 
'''Famous Money Advisor - Author - TV Personality, [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Cramer Jim Cramer], is down on fossil fuel companies'''
 
''I'm done with fossil fuels. They're done... We're in the death-knell phase.''
 
 
: (Video interview)
 
* https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/1223246855015993345
 
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Fossil_Fuels
 
 
○
 
 
<big><big>'''''2020: Looking Out at the New Year'''''</big></big>
 
 
<big><big>'''''Hottest Decade on Record'''''</big></big>
 
 
(Via International wire services reporting)
 
''The decade that just ended was by far the hottest ever measured on Earth, capped off by the second-warmest year on record, two US agencies [https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-noaa-analyses-reveal-2019-second-warmest-year-on-record NASA and NOAA reported]. And scientists said they see no end to the way man-made climate change keeps shattering records.''
 
''“If you think you’ve heard this story before, you haven’t seen anything yet,” Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said at the close of a decade plagued by raging wildfires, melting ice and extreme weather that researchers have repeatedly tied to human activity.''
 
''Schmidt said Earth as a whole is probably the hottest it has been during the Holocene — the past 11,500 years or so — meaning this could be the warmest period since the dawn of civilization. But scientists’ estimates of ancient global temperatures, based on tree rings, ice cores and other telltale signs, are not precise enough to say that with certainty.''
 
''The 2010s averaged 58.4 degrees Fahrenheit (14.7 degrees Celsius) worldwide, or 1.4 degrees (0.8 C) higher than the 20th century average and more than one-third of a degree (one-fifth of a degree C) warmer than the previous decade, which had been the hottest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.''
 
''The decade had eight of the 10 hottest years on record. The only other years in the top 10 were 2005 and 1998.''
 
 
····························
 
 
'''Movers and shakers in the world of capital are shifting investments'''
 
'''More are disinvesting in short-term high risk fossil fuels'''
 
'''Climate impacts are factoring in to strategies'''
 
* https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2020-01-22/the-world-s-most-profitable-hedge-fund-is-now-a-climate-radical
 
 
''Chris Hohn, the front-of-market money manager with $30 billion in assets, is pushing portfolio companies to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and disclose their carbon footprint. If they don’t, he says he’ll oust their boards or dump their shares... (Read the story at Bloomberg)''
 
 
From SJS / GreenPolicy360's siterunner:
 
 
[[File:BlackRock on financial security and climate.jpg]]
 
 
 
[[File:BlackRock CEO says the climate crisis is about to trigger.jpg]]
 
 
'''U.S. CO2 Emissions Data/Graphs for 2019: Coal continues downward trend, Renewables continue up'''
 
* https://insideclimatenews.org/news/07012020/infographic-united-states-emissions-2019-climate-change-greenhouse-gas-coal-transportation
 
 
····························
 
 
'''For Years he has claimed climate change and global warming are a 'Hoax'. Today he says 'no, it's a very serious subject', then he attacks the foundation law of environmental protection'''
 
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/01/09/this-is-perhaps-trumps-most-cynical-comment-about-environment-yet/
 
 
<big>[[National Environmental Policy Act]]</big>
 
 
* https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/09/trump-to-announce-sweeping-changes-to-the-national-environmental-policy-act.html
 
* https://www.npr.org/2020/01/09/794857523/trump-administration-proposes-major-changes-to-bedrock-environmental-law
 
* https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/01/trump-national-environmental-policy-act-nepa-review-oil-mining-projects.html
 
* https://earthjustice.org/features/nepa
 
 
''NEPA is often said to be [https://www.nrdc.org/experts/amanda-jahshan/nepa-magna-carta-environmental-law the Magna Carta of the environmental movement...]''
 
&nbsp;
 
···························· 
 
 
'''An Australian in the midst of the fires: Time to cast a harsh judgment and 'some blame' on 'the other side' reporting of climate denial'''
 
* https://amp.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/we-the-media-must-take-some-of-the-blame-as-australia-burns-20200106-p53pc3.html
 
 
'''Murdoch Media -- Australia, U.K., U.S. &  International 24/7/365, Concerted Campaign Against 'Greenies' Continues Day In, Day Out'''
* https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/08/world/australia/fires-murdoch-disinformation.html
 
 
'''Murdoch's News Corp'''
 
'Dangerous, misinformation'
 
* https://amp.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/dangerous-misinformation-news-corp-employee-s-fire-coverage-email-20200110-p53qel.html
 
 
····························
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/GreenPolicy360_Archive_Highlights_2019 '''''2019: GreenPolicy360 Featured Stories''''']
 
 
 
[[File:Thin Blue Layer Reflection.png|link=https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Thin_Blue_Layer_Reflection.png]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
····························
 
 
<big><big>'''''December 2019'''''</big></big>
 
 
'''Looking Back, Looking Forward'''
 
High points and low points from 2019
 
* https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/12/the-high-and-low-points-for-climate-change-in-2019/
 
''Katharine Hayhoe, PhD, of Texas Tech, looking beyond the U.S., is very encouraged by real-world, large-scale, system-wide actions that are being taken by countries around the world. For example:''
 
''Canada has a federal price on carbon and re-elected the party that introduced it (as compared to Australia where they were voted out and the carbon tax was flushed down the toilet).
 
''The United Kingdom has (at least temporarily) imposed a moratorium on fracking.
 
''Finland is phasing out coal and it will be banned by 2029.
 
''Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is divesting from companies dedicated to oil and gas exploration.
 
''Ireland became the first country in the world to divest from fossil fuels entirely.
 
''New Zealand has committed to being carbon neutral by 2050, and Scotland by 2045. Additionally, nearly 70% of
Scotland’s electricity is already green.
 
 
''Hayhoe says she is encouraged by “the increasing awareness of the climate crisis and its coverage by the media,” and she pointed to youth protests, major IPCC and National Climate Assessment reports...''
 
 
 
[[File:Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions - trajectory 1980-2020.jpg]]
 
 
 
'''Emissions Up, Heat Up'''
 
2019 --- After Years of Warning Reports --- and Years of Rejections of the Reports, the Science and Data
 
A Decade Comes to an End, 2020 Begins as the  #ClimateCrisis Accelerates
 
''The Production Gap report, which revealed that the world was planning to produce about 50% more fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting warming to 2 C, and 120% more than would be consistent with limiting warming to 1.5 C. Rather than reducing emissions as promised, the International Monetary Fund found countries have been stoking them by subsidizing fossil fuels to the tune of trillions of dollars a year.''
 
''Hard on the Production Gap report, a report by the World Meteorological Organization showed the concentration of climate-heating greenhouse gases had hit a new record high in 2018 with no sign of a slowdown.''
 
''This was followed by the U.N.’s Emissions Gap report, which warned that even if countries met all the pledges they had signed up to in 2015 (which is unlikely), we could expect a 3.2 C temperature rise by the end of the century. This would make much more of the world unlivable, with hotter, deadlier heatwaves, more frequent floods and droughts and lost harvests.''
 
''The year comes to an end amid extreme weather events, superstorms, heatwaves and wildfires...''
 
 
·····································································
 
 
[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cjrqYY5gV0U Bill McKibben at the Bioneers Conference]
 
: "This is the 30th birthday of Bioneers..." Bill talks of climate change.....
 
:: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cjrqYY5gV0U Video], Introduced by Kenny Ausubel of [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Bioneers the Bioneers] 
 
 
·············································································
 
 
<big><big>'''''More Than Climate Plans Are Needed'''''</big></big>
 
[[File:We are now truly in uncharted territory-Falter.jpg]]
 
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Bill_McKibben,_planet_citizen
 
 
 
''Bill McKibben: Whoever gets the Dem nomination should hire whoever is writing @MikeBloomberg's climate plans.''
 
 
'''''Mike Bloomberg has a plan to clean up electricity and it doesn’t need Congress'''''
 
''Bloomberg would supercharge the EPA to get rid of coal and block new natural gas''
 
Via Vox / By David Roberts / December 17, 2019
 
* https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/energy-and-environment/2019/12/17/21023873/mike-bloomberg-climate-change-policy-power-natural-gas-coal
 
 
:·····························································
 
 
'''Russia's President Putin Talks Climate'''
 
* [https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=emb_logo&v=R7nLMLnObiU&fbclid=IwAR27wgGtme-raWyJl6zI13aANL72tMOHlpQYaXsLZ0MnUlovZiZDv7nsbaA Video]
 
 
:·····························································
 
 
'''Climate Summit in Madrid ends without action agenda. More promises to act, few commitments'''
 
 
Video with Dr. Peter Carter/ 'What about the science?'
 
* https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=oa13KrOvE2s
 
 
* https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-accord-quotebox/total-disconnect-voices-from-marathon-madrid-climate-summit-idUSKBN1YJ0EW
 
* https://www.carbonbrief.org/cop25-key-outcomes-agreed-at-the-un-climate-talks-in-madrid
 
 
 
························································
 
 
<big>The Science and Policy of Climate Action</big>
 
 
* https://eos.org/agu-news/the-science-and-policy-of-climate-action
 
* https://fromtheprow.agu.org/agu-revises-climate-and-data-position-statements-declares-world-in-climate-crisis-and-reaffirms-data-as-a-world-heritage/
 
* https://www.agu.org/Share-and-Advocate/Share/Policymakers/Position-Statements/Position_Climate
 
 
Former California Governor Jerry Brown:
 
''“Scientists have to get the word to the politicians that the lifeblood of the future is new knowledge.”''
 
 
[https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157133423679121&id=48001409120 ''It's up to scientists like you... To educate... To cut through the fog of politics... '']
 
 
:···························································································
 
 
<big><big>'''In Madrid, how did the first week of the  25th UN Climate Change Conference go?'''</big></big>
 
* https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/09/cop25-climate-summit-what-happened-during-first-week
 
 
 
:[[File:Carolina Schmidt opens 25th annual UN climate conference - Dec 2019 Madrid.jpg]]
 
 
[https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/11/1052251 UN: About the Conference, Things You Need to Know]
 
 
··························
 
 
'''''Europe’s Green Deal Aims For 2050 ‘Climate-Neutral Continent’'''''
 
 
[https://www.forbes.com/sites/anagarciavaldivia/2019/12/12/europes-green-deal-plan-to-become-the-worlds-first-climate-neutral-continent-by-2050/ In Madrid at the 25th Annual International Climate Conference]
 
 
''The European Commission has unveiled the three-decade roadmap towards a sustainable economy. The Green Deal aims to achieve EU’s climate neutrality by mid-century and will cover all economic sectors, notably energy, agriculture, and transport.''
 
''“The European Green Deal is our new growth strategy,” said the new Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on December 11. The former defense minister of Germany has promised to present the first European Climate Law within 100 days.''
 
''By next summer, the EU Executive will launch a plan to increase EU’s 2030 climate target from the current 40% to 50-55% in order to make possible the net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.''
 
''Among the actions to lead the global fight against climate change, the Commission proposes revisions on the renewable energy and energy efficiency directives. In this area, there is a particular focus on redesigning European buildings...''
 
 
 
 
<big>World leaders arrive at the 25th UN Climate Change Conference</big>
 
[https://twitter.com/i/status/1201393341730115584 #TiempoDeActuar! #TimeforAction !]
 
 
"We inherited the planet from our parents, and we need to hand it over to future generations" - @KurtykaMichal formally opens the #ClimateChange gathering before handing over its Presidency to  [https://twitter.com/CarolaSchmidtZ Carolina Schmidt @CarolaSchmidtZ].
 
[http://bit.ly/35SrnCn <big>'''Webcast'''</big>]
 
 
Recently a majority of lawmakers in the European Parliament voted to declare '''"a climate and environmental emergency in Europe and globally."''' The European Parliament vote to declare a 'climate emergency' stands in stark contrast to the United States and its president.
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Fossil_Fuels '''Read about Fossil Fuels and Continuing Emissions Production''']
 
 
 
(CNN) ''It's a summit that could make or break the world's climate commitments.''
 
''Around 25,000 people from 200 countries are descending on Madrid this week to attend the COP25 climate change conference. They include dozens of heads of state and government, business leaders, scientists and, of course, activists -- including Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg.''
 
''United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Sunday that the summit marks the '''"point of no return"''' in humanity's fight against climate change.''
 
 
·······················································
 
 
 
<big><big>'''GreenPolicy360 Arctic Watch'''</big></big>
 
<big>What happens in the North doesn't stay in the North</big>
 
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Arctic
 
''The North Polar Region has warmed almost as much in the last decade as the whole of the Earth in the last 137 years, according to a new study.''
 
''The research paper claims the Arctic has warmed by 1.35°F (0.75°C) in 10 years, while Earth as a whole has warmed by around 1.44°F (0.8°C) since the start of the 1880s.''
 
''The new research paper, written by 15 international experts, predicts the effects of a 3.6°F (2°C) average global temperature rise – a milestone anticipated in the Paris Agreement.''
 
'' 'Many of the changes over the past decade are so dramatic they make you wonder what the next decade of warming will bring,' said lead author Eric Post, a UC Davis professor of climate change ecology.''
 
'' 'If we haven't already entered a new Arctic, we are certainly on the threshold.' ''
 
 
'''Science Advances: Arctic Warming Fast & Faster'''
 
* https://www.wired.com/story/the-arctic-is-warming-much-faster-than-the-rest-of-earth/
 
 
····························
 
 
<big><big>'''''November 2019'''''</big></big>
 
 
[[File:Thin Blue difference.jpg]]
 
 
[[File:Thin Blue difference - approx 12 miles high.jpg]]
 
&nbsp;
 
 
····································································
 
 
'''''UK-US Trade Agreement after Brexit: Climate Action Provisions?'''''
 
Check out what US trade reps state can't be added into any agreement (climate policy banned)
 
* https://twitter.com/alexwickham/status/1199646273114124289
 
 
························································
 
 
<big>'''''Central Banks and IMF Plan Climate Impact Economic 'Stress Tests' '''''</big>
 
* https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2019-11-26/central-banks-should-do-stress-tests-on-climate-imf-says
 
 
:·········································································
 
 
[[File:Slash emission now or face climate disaster.jpg]]
 
 
···········································
 
 
<big><big>'''''Climate Action Now'''''</big></big>
 
''"We have to start working beyond targets," New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tells Parliament. "We have to start working beyond aspiration. We have start moving beyond signs of hope and deliver signs of action. That is what this government is doing and proudly so."''
 
* (Video) https://twitter.com/nzlabour/status/1192318245149143040
 
* https://www.ecowatch.com/new-zealand-zero-emissions-2641247378.html
 
 
''With a goal of Net Zero Emissions''
 
* https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/07/the-growing-list-of-countries-committing-to-a-net-zero-emissions-goal
 
 
[[File:State of the paris agreement nov2019.jpg]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
<big><big>'''''October 2019'''''</big></big>
 
 
[[File:Covering Climate Now.jpg]]
 
 
<big>Covering Climate Now</big>
 
* https://www.coveringclimatenow.org
 
* https://twitter.com/hashtag/coveringclimatenow #coveringclimatenow
 
A global journalism initiative committed to bringing more and better coverage to the defining story of our time
 
More than 250 news outlets around the world have committed to Covering Climate Now. What is it? An initiative to provide focused coverage of the climate crisis in print, on air and online.
 
 
&nbsp;
························
 
 
<big>'''''On Thin Ice'''''</big>
 
 
* https://www.euronews.com/2019/10/28/walking-on-thin-ice-in-the-arctic
 
''The Arctic has been warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, with higher temperatures pushing sea ice into a loop of melting and thinning. Its extent is lower today than in the ‘80s and ‘90s in “every area, every month and every season”, according to a recent IPCC report, which points out the plunging sea ice levels of September are probably unseen in at least 1,000 years. The same report points out that the Arctic’s sea ice melt season has grown as ice melts earlier and waters freeze later in the year. “We'll have winter sea ice for a long time to come, but unless actions are quickly taken, the summer sea ice might be essentially gone only a few decades from now,” says Dr. Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).''
 
 
·······················································
 
 
'''Soaking Up CO2: Don't Forget the Role of the Fungi'''
 
* https://m.phys.org/news/2013-03-fungi-responsible-carbon-sequestration-northern.html
 
 
········································································
 
 
[https://time.com/5709100/halt-climate-change-300-billion/ ''Slow Desertification, Buy Time to Fully Confront Global Warming'']
 
 
························································
 
 
<big><big>'''''Loss of Natural Vegetation Has Huge Impact on Climate'''''</big></big>
 
 
''CO2 increases, observed to be correlated with more recent temperature trends according to NASA’s [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/OCO-2 OCO-2] satellite observations, are a result of trends in the loss of natural vegetation, respiration and ability to uptake carbon...''
 
~
 
''A new NASA study provides space-based evidence that Earth’s tropical regions were the cause of the largest annual increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration seen in at least 2,000 years.''
 
''In 2015 and 2016, OCO-2 recorded atmospheric carbon dioxide increases that were 50 percent larger than the average increase seen in recent years preceding these observations. These measurements are consistent with those made by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). That increase was about 3 parts per million of carbon dioxide per year -- or 6.3 gigatons of carbon. In recent years, the average annual increase has been closer to 2 parts per million of carbon dioxide per year -- or 4 gigatons of carbon.''
 
''These record increases occurred even though emissions from human activities in 2015-16 are estimated to have remained roughly the same as they were prior to the El Nino, which is a cyclical warming pattern of ocean circulation in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean that can affect weather worldwide.''
 
''In eastern and southeastern tropical South America, including the Amazon rainforest, severe drought spurred by El Nino made 2015 the driest year in the past 30 years. Temperatures also were higher than normal. These drier and hotter conditions stressed vegetation and reduced photosynthesis, meaning trees and plants absorbed less carbon from the atmosphere. The effect was to increase the net amount of carbon released into the atmosphere.''
 
 
····························
 
 
'''"Managed Retreat"'''
 
* https://earther.gizmodo.com/americans-are-already-moving-away-from-the-rising-water-1838914613/amp
 
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Sea-Level_Rise
 
 
'''Los Angeles Times: The Climate Crisis Is Here, What Are You Doing About It?'''
 
* https://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-climate-change-crisis-global-warming-part-1-story.html
 
 
<big>'''''September 2019'''''</big>
 
 
 
[[File:How Earth Survived - Time Magazine - Sept 2019.jpg]]
 
 
 
<big>'''Carbon Budgeting as Financial Planning Budgeting'''</big>
 
As #PlanetCitizens w/ GreenPolicy360, we turn to our friends at #GlobalCitizen for a deep discussion of a heating Earth, CO2 and a ticking clock'''
 
* https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/what-does-a-carbon-budget-mean/
 
 
* SJS/GreenPolicy360 -- We/GreenPolicy360 recommend a new descriptor for carbon pricing -- Not a tax, let's call it... +EC... +Emissions Cost
 
 
[[File:Greta Thunberg at the UN.jpg|link=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KAJsdgTPJpU]]
 
 
: [[File:Greta Thunberg at the UN - the eyes of the world will be upon them.jpg]]
 
: [[File:Greta outside the Swedish Parliament, August 2018.jpg]]
 
 
<big><big>One Year Later --- as Greta's Protest of One Grows Worldwide</big></big>
 
: One becomes many, a ripple becomes waves
 
 
: [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/21/across-the-globe-millions-join-biggest-climate-protest-ever Millions Join In]
 
: [[File:Climate Strike Around the World - Sep20,2019.jpg]]
 
 
 
::::[[File:Mick stands in support of the global climate strike.jpg]]
 
 
:[[File:Strike - Sept 20.jpg]]
 
 
 
<big>'''Climate Week / Climate Strike'''</big>
 
:[https://globalclimatestrike.net/ '''''Global Climate Strike, Find Your Local Strike Event''''']
 
 
• https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateAction
 
• https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateStrikes
 
• https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateCrisis
 
• https://twitter.com/hashtag/FridaysForFuture
 
 
 
·······························································   
 
 
Scott Sawyer [http://www.planetcitizen.org Planet Citizen] lays it out -- [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Confronting_Climate_Change.pdf Confronting Climate Change]
 
'''Go Scott go! Climate Week is happening!!'''
 
 
[https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateWeek <big><big>'''#ClimateWeekisHere'''</big></big>]
 
 
············································
 
 
<big><big><big>Climate Change Solutions: the Fight for Earth</big></big></big>
 
• https://time.com/climate-change-solutions/
 
 
 
'''Dr. Marvel: Beyond Hope Is Courage'''
 
Time to #ActonClimate, Putting Science to Good Use
 
* https://onbeing.org/blog/kate-marvel-we-need-courage-not-hope-to-face-climate-change/
 
 
'''More from Dr. Kate Marvel'''
 
* https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/hot-planet/shut-up-franzen/
 
 
···························································································
 
 
[https://medium.com/@teamwarren/100-clean-energy-for-america-de75ee39887d '''''"Clean Energy for America": Elizabeth Warren's Climate Plan''''']
 
[https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/09/03/politics/elizabeth-warren-jay-inslee-clean-energy-plan-green-new-deal/index.html '''''Warren Picks Up the Inslee Climate Plan''''']
 
 
 
<big>'''''August 2019'''''</big>
 
 
<big>'''''Methane, a huge driver of climate change'''''</big>
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_EPA_to_reverse_methane_rules.jpg ''Read More on Methane Production and the EPA'']
 
 
[[File:US EPA to reverse methane rules.jpg]]
 
 
 
················································   
 
 
[https://theintercept.com/2019/08/21/climate-debate-dnc/  '''''Why the Democratic National Committee Must Change the Rules and Hold a Climate Debate''''']
 
''By Naomi Klein''
 
 
[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/22/climate/bernie-sanders-climate-change.html '''''NYT / Bernie Sanders’s ‘Green New Deal’: A $16 Trillion Climate Plan''''']
 
 
[http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/jay-inslee-wont-qualify-for-cnn-climate-debate.html ''Eight Dem Pres Candidates Prep for Climate Debate / Hosted by CNN,  Sept. 4'']
 
''Gov. Inslee Out, Calif Sen. Harris to Skip''
 
[https://mobile.twitter.com/TheOnion/status/1164609331276472320 ''Jay Inslee withdraws from presidential campaign, but promises to keep fighting climate change and the climate crisis'']
 
 
······························
 
 
<big>'''Tree Mortality'''</big>
 
[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/11/giant-african-baobab-trees-die-suddenly-after-thousands-of-years'''The Oldest Baobabs Are Ending Their Time on Earth]'''
 
 
[[File:Oldest tree.png]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
·································································
 
 
[https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/a-growing-number-of-americans-are-alarmed-about-global-warming/ <big>''Scientific American: 'Growing Number of Americans Are Alarmed about Global Warming' ''</big>]
 
 
 
<big>'''''The Jet Stream, the Gulf Stream, Greenland, Europe & Florida: All Connected'''''</big>
 
 
'''''Climate change: how the jet stream is changing your weather'''''
 
https://www.ft.com/content/591395fe-b761-11e9-96bd-8e884d3ea203
 
''Northern Atlantic current is shifting course — with implications for crops and sea levels''
 
''A heatwave in Greenland is producing record highs across the ice sheet, including at East Grip, the second highest monitoring station. “If you start melting at the top of the ice sheet, we are going to lose [the] Greenland ice sheet long-term."''
 
''Via London's Financial Times''
 
 
''At the summit of the Greenland ice cap the temperature rarely rises above zero degrees centigrade — the elevation is 3,200m and the ice below is more than a mile thick.''
 
''But last Friday (Aug 2, 2019), as the sun beat down, a small weather station laden with sensors captured something highly unusual: the temperature crept past zero and up to 3.6C — the highest since records began three decades ago. As temperatures rose across the massive ice sheet, which blankets an area five times the size of Germany, around 60 per cent of the surface started to melt, one of the largest ever recorded.''
 
 
[[File:Greenland July 2019.png]]
 
 
''Scientists know of only three prior occasions in the past 800 years when there has been melting at the very top of the Greenland ice cap, which is kept chilled by the large volume of ice beneath. But this seems to be getting more frequent — it is now the second time this decade it has happened.''
 
''“The last time we saw melting at the summit, in 2012, we thought it was the extreme of the extremes, and wouldn’t happen again so quickly,” says Konrad Steffen, a professor of climate and cryosphere at ETH Zurich, who operates a network of 18 monitoring stations across the ice sheet. “But now we are facing more of these extremes.”''
 
''The immediate trigger for the heatwave was a shift in atmospheric currents high above the earth’s surface: the North Atlantic Jet Stream... Scientists are racing to understand how this current of air is changing as the planet heats up...''
 
 
<big>'''''As Gulf Stream cools and weakens, what’s in store for Florida?'''''</big>
 
''http://www.tampabay.com/environment/as-gulf-stream-cools-and-weakens-whats-in-store-for-florida-20190805''
 
 
''Melting ice caps in Greenland are disrupting this marine circulatory system, which has reached its weakest point in 1,600 years, recent studies show''
 
''Via the South Florida Sun Sentinel''
 
 
''Visible from the air as a ribbon of cobalt blue water a few miles off the coast, the Gulf Stream forms part of a clockwise system of currents that transports warm water from the tropics up the east coast and across the Atlantic to northwestern Europe. In the frigid climate near Greenland, the water cools, sinks and flows south again, rolling through the deep ocean toward the tropics.''
 
''A weaker Gulf Stream would mean higher sea levels for Florida’s east coast. It could lead to colder winters in northern Europe (one reason many scientists prefer the term climate change to global warming). And it could mean that a lot of the heat that would have gone to Europe would stay along the U.S. east coast and in Florida.''
 
''“If you slow down the sinking of water in the North Atlantic, that means you have a pileup of waters along the eastern seaboard of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico,” said Brenda Ekwurzel, director of climate science for the Union of Concerned Scientists, an environmental group. “That means that you have increased regional sea level rise just from that ocean circulation change. So that’s not good for New York City, Norfolk or along Florida.”''
 
''Unlike other climate change phenomena, such as sea level rise, the collapse of the current could happen suddenly if it reaches a tipping point.''
 
 
·····················
 
 
<big>'''''July 2019'''''</big>
 
 
[https://bioneers.org/paul-hawken-reverse-climate-change-zmaz1907/ '''''Read the Interview between Paul Hawken and the Bioneers''''']
 
[[File:Bioneers-Hawken-Being Fierce and Fearless.jpg]]
 
 
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[https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/07/weight-of-the-world-climate-change-scientist-grief/ ''Climate Crisis, Atmospheric Disruption, the Global Horizon and 'Weight of the World' '']
 
''Burdens of Being a Climate Scientist, Pressures of Everyday Work and Realizations''
 
 
<big>'''''Green New Deal, Positions on the Issues, US 2020 Presidential Campaign'''''</big>
 
(as of July 2, 2019, updated weekly)
 
 
[http://filesforprogress.org/reports/gnd_scorecards/rubric.pdf Comprehensive comparison on climate] of U.S. Democratic Party 2020 presidential candidates on climate
 
 
 
'''GreenPolicy 360:''' Update: In the United States, as the world observes, a political crisis in in underway. The U.S. politics is roiled by dissension, anger, a president who is more than divisive with accusations and daily threats against people and countries.
 
Currently, in the U.S. Senate, the Republican party is wielding a majority vote as a result of an electoral system promolgated at the time of slavery as a compromise to bring into the federal union the slave-holding states of the South. The so-called 'red states' in today's U.S. politics the vestiges of the past have resulted in a Senate Majority leader from Kentucky, Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has hold the power in the Senate to allow or block any legislative initiative or legislative proposal. With the blocking mandate of Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, there is no chance of passage of climate legislation. The filibuster and arcane parliamentary rules, backed by U.S. Supreme Court enabled political financing by deep pocket donors, added on top of the Senate's composition determined with a Constitutional representation of two Senators per state no matter the population of the state, ensures that no significant change will occur for years to come. The disproportionate power of small population, rural U.S. states is a fact. Blocking of visionary and necessary change, blocking of the nation's and global security is a fact. The withdrawal of the U.S. from the international climate agreement leaves the United States as the only country in the world to reject the 2015 Paris climate accord. 
 
'''The question becomes 'what's next?' '''
 
As Democratic party candidates campaign for president in the 2020 election, the Democratic party continues to look at possibilities for substantive change in the nation's direction, beginning with a forward-looking energy policy and #ClimateSolutions to realistically, immediately advance national and global security.
 
The coming storm that is expanding on the horizon -- climate disruption and all its consequences -- is more than real. Science can issue the warnings of a #ClimateCrisis. It is up to the political leadership to act. 
 
 
 
<big>'''''A Climate Debate by Democratic Presidential Candidates? Then What? What's Next?'''''</big>
Let's take a look at what one commentator, David Roberts, says about questions to be asked:
 
 
[https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/energy-and-environment/2019/7/3/20678520/democratic-debate-2019-climate-change-dnc-questions ''Via Vox / July 3, 2019'']
 
 
''According to most polling, Democrats’ best hope in 2020 is a fairly narrow majority in the Senate. There is no chance of getting to 60 Senate votes on any Democratic bill. So as long as Mitch McConnell is willing to filibuster everything, no legislation, including climate legislation, can pass. If Democrats win a majority in the Senate, will you advocate for reforming or scrapping the filibuster?''
 
''In my experience, everyone, including candidates and average voters, is annoyed by this question. And it violates my premise above, since it’s not directly under the president’s power.''
 
''But I don’t see any way around it. I don’t see any point in talking about legislation of any kind as long as McConnell wields the filibuster. He will kill everything he has the ability to kill. He has made that very, very clear.''
 
''I would also accept, as a substitute here, any kind of democracy reform question — restoring voting rights, ending partisan gerrymandering, statehood for DC, what have you. I agree with South Bend mayor and candidate Pete Buttigieg: The system is so structurally stacked against progressives at this point that they have got to take the time to prioritize structural reform for once. Ambitious climate policy, or policy of any kind, has become prohibitively difficult.''
 
''Conservatives want to break Congress as a legislative body and simply use it to stack the federal bench with conservative judges. That’s largely what they’ve done under Trump. Democrats have got to make the system work again before any of the other stuff they talk about is possible.''
 
 
○
 
 
[[File:Climate Change at EDX, taught by Michael Mann.jpg]]
 
 
 
<big>'''''June 2019'''''</big>
 
 
[[File:June 2019 - NASA GISS data - hottest on record.jpg]]
 
&nbsp;
 
 
'''As the US Democratic party holds its first 2020 presidential candidates debate in Miami...'''
 
Out of four hours of televised debate, how much time involved climate and/or 'existential questions'?
 
 
<big>'''''15 Minutes Among Twenty Candidates. Two Nights, Eight Minutes+Seven Minutes'''''</big>
 
''The first climate question arrives more than 80 minutes into the Dem presidential debate on both nights''
 
 
::[[File:Climate debate.jpg]]
 
 
''Photo via Vox''
 
''https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/policy-and-politics/2019/6/28/18906968/democratic-debate-2019-climate-change''
 
 
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2019/06/27/the-energy-202-seven-minutes-was-devoted-to-climate-change-in-the-first-democratic-debate/5d13fc231ad2e552a21d514c/ <big>''Via the Washington Post / First Debate Night, Seven Minutes in Miami, Florida''</big>] 
 
''"Tonight’s debate made it crystal clear that the media and the political establishment are out of touch with our generation," said Varshini Prakash, executive director of the Sunrise Movement. "Our survival is worth more time than vague, irrelevant, and trivial questions posed 80 minutes into the debate to a few minor candidates."''
 
: [https://newrepublic.com/article/154334/first-democratic-debate-failed-planet ''Via The New Republic / First Democratic Debate Failed the Planet'']
 
 
'''GreenPolicy360''': In 2016, during all the US presidential debates, a
[https://grist.org/election-2016/climate-airtime-presidential-debate/ climate policy question was asked, what, once?] Tonight (June 26th) the US Democratic Party starts their presidential campaign debate, in Miami, even as the current US pres denies the big picture, the climate/global/atmospheric threat, the existential challenges, the national/state and local #ClimateCrisis impacts.
 
For decades now the GreenPolicy team has warned of the gathering crisis and we have urged a New Vision, a strategic vision with [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security ''New Definitions of National and Global Security''.] The time is now for the Democratic Party to step up and face the great challenge of our generation -- climate disruption, climate crisis.
 
In Florida, the consequences of [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Sea-Level_Rise sea level rise] are vivid and VERY real.
 
Globally, this is an existantial crisis, climate disruption, that is, atmospheric disruption, what GreenPolicy360 calls the disruption of the [http://www.thinbluelayer.com "thin blue layer"], earth's life protecting atmosphere.
 
Speaking of climate disruption, global security and protection/preservation of the atmosphere, watch this [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M7hOpT0lPGI scientist talk] of the clear and present dangers of nuclear war. We are "one mistake away" from nuclear war initiated by any of the nuclear weapons countries (the U.S., Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, France, the U.K., North Korea) leading to regional impacts spreading to global winter and collapse of civilization.
 
We need New Definitions of National and Global Security and concerted action now to protect our common security and prevent the fast escalating threats to life as we know it.
 
 
[[File:Miami Dem debate - NBCs Savannah on scene.jpg]]
 
 
[https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2019/06/20/florida-could-face-76-billion-in-climate-change-costs-by-2040-report-says/ <big>''Via the Tampa Bay Times / Florida could face $76 billion in climate change costs by 2040''</big>]
 
 
• ''https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/24/us/miami-democratic-debates.html''
 
''No question is of more critical importance to Florida’s future, or to the Democrats’ chance to take the state in next year’s presidential election. It is so important that some activists had hoped that climate change would be the sole focus when 20 Democrats take the debate stage for the first time in this campaign on Wednesday and Thursday in downtown Miami.
 
''Climate change is now among the top three 2020 election issues cited by Florida Democrats, according to a new statewide survey. Some 71 percent of Florida voters, including 85 percent of Democrats, support government action to address climate change, according to the survey by Climate Nexus in partnership with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, which polled 1,558 registered Florida voters online this month.''
 
 
• ''https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/26/politics/democratic-presidential-debates-florida-climate-change/index.html''
 
''All of Miami Beach is low-lying, but parts are just a foot or two above sea level, making it prone to flooding during storms and extreme high tides, according to Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales. Add the estimated 9 inches that sea levels have risen in the region in the past 100 years, and you have a recipe for costly flooding.''
 
''Then there is the problem of the very ground on which Miami Beach and much of South Florida sits. Made from the remnants of ancient coral reefs, the porous limestone beneath the region is not unlike Swiss cheese, with natural underground "pipes" that allow water to bubble up to the surface...''
 
 
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[[File:Blue Green Alliance - us labor unions-green jobs.jpg]]
 
 
 
<big>''BlueGreen Alliance Letter to U.S. House of Representatives in Support of H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act''</big>
 
''The BlueGreen Alliance urged the U.S. House of Representatives to pass H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act''
 
• '''''https://www.bluegreenalliance.org/resources/bluegreen-alliance-letter-to-u-s-house-of-representatives-in-support-of-h-r-9-the-climate-action-now-act/'''''
 
 
 
<big>''Labor, Environmental Leaders Release Historic “Solidarity for Climate Action” Platform''</big>
 
''June 24, 2019 / Groups Say Platform Will Create Good-Paying Jobs, Address Income Inequality and the Climate Crisis''
 
• '''''https://www.bluegreenalliance.org/the-latest/labor-environmental-leaders-release-historic-solidarity-for-climate-action-platform/'''''
 
 
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''As the US President, Vice President and Republican party ranks deny climate science and the climate threat, the evidence and facts continue to 'pile on' -- national and global security is in critical peril:
 
 
<big><big><big>'''Evidence, Facts, Science & Action'''</big></big></big>
 
'''"Earth in Human Hands, Now Is the Time for Climate Action'''
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Vital_Signs GreenPolicy360 '''Like a Doctor Would Do, Monitor a Patient's 'Vital Signs' ''']
 
 
<big>''Climate Change: NASA Asks the Question, How Do We Know about Climate Systems?''</big>
 
• '''''https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/'''''
 
 
[[File:NASA co2-graph-061219.jpg]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
 
<big><big><big>'''Trump Ends Clean Power Plan'''</big></big></big>
 
&nbsp;
 
[[File:Jerry Brown re EPA - 19 June 2019.jpg]]
 
 
• https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-epa-weaken-clean-power-20190619-story.html
 
• https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/climate/epa-coal-emissions.html
 
 
''Trump EPA finalizes rollback of key Obama climate rule that targeted coal plants''
 
• ''https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/trump-epa-finalizes-rollback-of-key-obama-climate-rule-that-targeted-coal-plants/2019/06/19/b8ff1702-8eeb-11e9-8f69-a2795fca3343_story.html''
 
''The U.S. electricity sector needs to cut its emissions 74 percent over 2005 levels by 2030 to avoid hitting the 2-degree mark, according to the International Energy Agency.''
 
''Overall, the country must slash greenhouse gas emissions 48 percent by 2030, according to the [https://www.iea.org/ International Energy Agency's] Brent Wanner, with the deepest cuts coming from the power sector because cheap alternatives to coal are readily available.''
 
 
''Jason Bordoff, founding director of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, in an interview said that his group had found that more aggressive action by U.S. officials such as a nationwide carbon tax of $50 per ton could cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent over the next decade.''
 
''“Market forces don’t do that by themselves,” Bordoff said. “You need regulations.”''
 
 
''A [https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aafe25 paper] published this year by researchers at Harvard, Boston University and Syracuse University, as well as Resources for the Future, said that the agency’s new rule might increase efficiency at individual coal plants, but then they might end up operating more frequently and for a longer time.''
 
''The researchers found that as many as 28 percent of the plants affected could actually produce higher overall emissions in 2030...''
 
''The Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed replacement of the Clean Power Plan (CPP), targets heat rate improvements (HRIs) at individual coal plants in the US. Due to greater plant efficiency, such HRIs could lead to increased generation and emissions, known as an emissions rebound effect... (the Trump EPA replacement, ACE) is expected to increase the number of operating coal plants and amount of coal-fired electricity generation...''
 
 
 
[[File:Wheeler-Mulvaney-repeal of Clean Power Plan-June19,2019.jpg]]
 
 
 
''(Associated Press) Obama EPA head Gina McCarthy said Trump officials had "made painfully clear that they are incapable of rising to the challenge and tackling this crisis. They have shown a callous disregard for EPA's mission, a pattern of climate science denial and an inexcusable indifference to the consequences of climate change."''
 
''Burning of fossil fuels for electricity, transportation and heat is the main human source of heat-trapping carbon emissions.''
 
''Trump has rejected scientific warnings on climate change, including a dire report this year from scientists at more than a dozen federal agencies noting that global warming from fossil fuels "presents growing challenges to human health and quality of life." Administration officials argue climate science is imperfect, and that it's not clear climate change would have as great an impact as forecast...''
 
''House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described the change as a "dirty power scam" and "a stunning giveaway to big polluters." She called climate change "the existential threat of our time" and said the administration was ignoring scientific studies and yielding to special interests.''
 
 
······················································································   
 
 
[[File:Tree of Life nmicrobiol201648-f1 via Nature.jpg]]
 
 
18 June 2019
 
<big>Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change</big>
 
• ''https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-019-0222-5''
 
''In the Anthropocene, in which we now live, climate change is impacting most life on Earth. Microorganisms support the existence of all higher trophic life forms. To understand how humans and other life forms on Earth (including those we are yet to discover) can withstand anthropogenic climate change, it is vital to incorporate knowledge of the microbial ‘unseen majority’. We must learn not just how microorganisms affect climate change (including production and consumption of greenhouse gases) but also how they will be affected by climate change and other human activities. This Consensus Statement documents the central role and global importance of microorganisms in climate change biology. It also puts humanity on notice that the impact of climate change will depend heavily on responses of microorganisms, which are essential for achieving an environmentally sustainable future.''
 
 
GreenPolicy360: In our EOS website, we speak of the 'tiny little ones', the unseen species, the essential building blocks of life, of soil and water, the foundations of the food chain, the critical connecting tissue of the more 'iconic' larger species ... take a look at our associated [http://www.tinybluegreen.com www.tinybluegreen.com] site and explore the rarely seen or considered ocean/sea life that is being impacted greatly by climate change.
 
 
····················································································
 
 
<big>'''''Donald Trump tells the UK's Prince Charles that the US has 'clean climate' '''''</big>
 
''President blames other countries for environmental crisis, in long talk with prince''
 
• ''https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/05/donald-trump-tells-prince-charles-us-is-clean-on-climate-change''
 
 
<small>GreenPolicy360: As human-caused climate change threatens our future well-being, the US president dismantles climate science programs. Donald Trump speaks to the UK of the clean climate in the US, that is, environmental action and successes of those leaders proceeding him, even as the US president [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Environmental_rollbacks_in_US_by_Trump_administration_as_of_June_2019,_NYT_report.jpg dismantle with an 'aggressive schedule'] most every significant US environmental protection federal program. The Trump administration continues this record, and escalates the risks and damage by abandoning international climate and environmental agreements, attacking climate science and its warnings, and blocking nearly every move in Congress and the U.S. courts to advance environmental protection. We are left to wonder what he means by a "good climate, as opposed to a disaster".</small>
 
 
''Trump: “He (Prince Charles) is really into climate change and I think that’s great. What he really wants and what he really feels warmly about is the future. He wants to make sure future generations have climate that is good climate, as opposed to a disaster, and I agree. Well, the United States right now has among the cleanest climates there are based on all statistics. And it’s even getting better because I agree with that we want the best water, the cleanest water. It’s crystal clean, has to be crystal clean clear.”''
 
''Asked by Piers Morgan if he accepted the science on climate change, Trump said: “I believe there’s a change in weather, and I think it changes both ways. Don’t forget, it used to be called global warming, that wasn’t working, then it was called climate change. Now it’s actually called extreme weather, because with extreme weather you can’t miss.”''
 
 
* ''Note: An Associated Press analysis (June 18) of federal air data showed U.S. progress on cleaning the air may be stagnating after decades of improvement. Despite Trump's repeated false claims that America's air is the cleanest it's ever been, there were 15% more days with unhealthful air both last year and the year before than on average from 2013 through 2016, the four years when America had its fewest number of those days since at least 1980.''
 
 
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<big>'''''84 Environmental Rules on the Way Out Under Trump'''''</big>
 
'''''Via the NY Times / June 3, 2019'''''
 
 
• ''https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks.html''
 
• ''https://twitter.com/nytclimate/status/1136094068914774016''
 
 
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<big><big>''Children and the Future: Rights to Health and Life''</big></big>
 
 
[https://www.youthvgov.org/alleyesonjuliana '''''Constitutional youth climate lawsuit, Juliana v. United States, before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Portland, Oregon''''']
 
[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Hr54kA9pFXf1Yl1u3m8iT35RcKo2pQD0VHTHg_KBUhk/edit '''''Social Media Toolkit for #AllEyesOnJuliana''''']
 
 
• https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/04/climate/climate-lawsuit-juliana.html
 
• https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/kids-climate-claims-compelling-but-judges-question-courts-role
 
• https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04062019/children-climate-change-lawsuit-health-risk-juliana-case-appeals-court
 
• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-7101965/amp/Young-Americans-lawsuit-climate-change-faces-big-hurdle.html
 
 
 
··················································
 
 
[[File:Denying human-caused climate change.jpg]]
 
 
::::·················
 
 
:[[File:CO2 since 1751.png]]
 
 
<big>'''''Trump administration escalates war on climate science'''''</big>
 
• ''https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/27/us/politics/trump-climate-science.html''
 
 
[https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/may/29/energy-department-molecules-freedom-fossil-fuel-rebranding <big>'''''"Freedom Gas"'''''</big>]
 
 
······························
 
 
''Via Earth Institute / Columbia University''
 
''The Trump Administration is losing on climate in the courts. More than two and a half years into the Trump Administration, no climate change-related regulatory rollback brought before the courts has yet survived legal challenge. Nevertheless, climate change is one arena where the administration’s rollbacks have been both visible and real. In total, the Sabin Center’s U.S. Climate Deregulation Tracker identifies a total of 94 actions taken by the executive branch in 2017 and 2018 to undermine and reverse climate protections.''
 
 
• ''https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2019/06/10/trump-climate-deregulation-tracker-2019/''
 
 
·····················································································
 
 
'''''Jerry Brown launching a California-China climate change institute at UC Berkeley'''''
 
''https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article231494868.html''
 
 
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[https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/energy-and-environment/2019/5/18/18628870/green-new-deal-jay-inslee-2020-climate-change ''Via Vox / Jay Inslee is writing the climate plan the next president should adopt'']
 
''Inslee’s campaign is systematically translating the GND’s lofty goals — to decarbonize the economy sector by sector, in a way that creates high-quality jobs and protects frontline communities — into policy proposals, focused on an immediate 10-year mobilization. This isn’t just a campaign play, it’s a document the next Democratic president is going to want in-hand when the time comes to get to work. (And if that president needs some kind of climate czar ...)''
 
 
:• ''https://www.jayinslee.com/issues/100clean''
 
:• ''https://jayinslee.com/issues/evergreen-economy''
 
:• ''https://www.jayinslee.com/issues/climate-corp''
 
 
:·····························································
 
 
<big>'''Thought for the Day: A Man Named Grantham, Q & A, Beacon Hill, Boston'''</big>
 
• ''https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/11/magazine/climate-change-exxon-renewable-energy.html''
 
''Jeremy Grantham’s fund is going long on lithium and copper, which he believes will form the vascular system of future renewable-powered supergrids. His confidence derives from an odd and specific conviction that “sooner or later, there will be a carbon tax,” and much of the market capitalization of the leading oil and gas companies will be erased. “You have a certainty,” he said. “It will happen. Or we’ll be on our way to a failed civilization.”''
 
''It took me a moment to process what this meant. Grantham was saying that a bet on a future carbon tax was a sure thing because the absence of a carbon tax meant civilizational catastrophe. If he were right, he could make billions. If he were wrong, it wouldn’t matter, because the world would be on fire. “Perfectly fine logic,” Grantham said, as the old radiators gurgled around him...''
 
''In the last few years, Grantham has committed all but 2 percent of his personal fortune to funding projects — energy storage, pesticides, lightweight cars — that might help save us in the event of two degrees of warming. In June 2018, he gave a keynote address at an investment conference in Chicago.''
 
''The two speeches before Grantham’s were called “Take a Balanced Approach to Sourcing Cash Flows” and “Making Sense of the Multitude of Multifactor ETFs.” Grantham called his speech “The Race of Our Lives.”''
 
''“You could call this presentation the story of carbon dioxide and Homo sapiens,” he began. Then he spoke for nearly an hour about glacial runoff, food scarcity and lithium batteries. He explained how a turbine’s efficiency increased exponentially with the length of its blades. He said that offshore wind farms in the churning North Sea could soon provide the cheapest power on the planet. He rose to a techno-utopian pitch, speaking about our obligations to our grandchildren, decency over profit.
 
''Even as he spoke lucidly about climate change, Grantham represented a tangled and confusing paradox. Perched as he was at the pinnacle of the market, he was developing an acute sense of the market’s failure to address the problem that most obsessed him. Yet he continued to help oversee a $70 billion firm, which was the main source of his wealth.''
 
''If anyone was living inside the tortured contradictions between the market and the climate — between our modern economy and its ultimate external cost — Grantham, I thought, was the person.''
 
 
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[https://www.climatechangenews.com/2019/05/27/eu-plans-satellite-fleet-monitor-co2-every-country/ <big>'''''EU plans first satellite fleet to monitor CO2 in every country'''''</big>]
 
 
<big><big>'''OCO-3 News Coverage Should Have Been of a Globally Important Event'''</big></big>
 
OCO-3 arrives at the International Space Station to begin its earth science-space mission. There's little to find in Media coverage on its real-world importance whether on Google News, Bing Search, Yahoo, Duck Duck Go, pick your international news sources...
 
Yet, in fact and substance, the science of OCO-3 is critically important. Earth Science. Measuring CO2. JPL-Caltech/NASA, scientific inquiry at its best. Essential data and baseline information critical for informed policy and decision-making (yet President Donald Trump tried to kill the launch of OCO-3 and related US FY2018 missions to measure and monitor CO2).
 
A global security story... National security... Existential threats ...
 
 
[[File:OCO-3 video.jpg | link=https://youtu.be/7GMjU5pSufk?list=PLTiv_XWHnOZrc_nIeYjlzpcr_3HioYGlo]]
 
 
[[File:OCO-3 video2.jpg | link=https://youtu.be/7GMjU5pSufk?list=PLTiv_XWHnOZrc_nIeYjlzpcr_3HioYGlo]]
 
&nbsp;
 
 
<big><big>'''''OCO-3 Arrives at the International Space Station'''''</big></big>
 
[https://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-oco-3-orbiting-carbon-observatory-nasa-20190426-story.html (Interview at JPL courtesy of the LA Times)]
 
''OCO-3 was built at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge for less than $100 million, using parts left over from its predecessor, OCO-2. Once the carbon observatory gets to the ISS, a robotic arm will mount it on the underside of the space station so it can keep a close eye on the carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere.
 
''That will help scientists answer questions about how and why levels of the greenhouse gas fluctuate over days, months and years.
 
''“Our goal is to get really good data so we can make informed decisions about how to manage carbon and carbon emissions in the future,” said Annmarie Eldering, the mission’s project scientist at JPL.
 
Carbon dioxide makes up a tiny fraction of the molecules in our atmosphere — roughly 400 parts per million. But seemingly small changes in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have an outsized effect on the planet’s temperature.
 
''“Carbon is really effective at trapping heat,” Eldering said. “Even changing the ratio from 300 parts per million to 400 parts per million makes a big difference.”
 
''OCO-3 is so sensitive that it can detect changes as small as 1 part per million. So if CO2 levels go from 406 ppm one day to 407 ppm the next, the space-based observatory will record the increase.''
 
 
[[File:C02 in atmosphere chart-3.png]]
 
 
 
·········································································
 
 
[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48221080 ''Climate Change News: Ireland Declares Climate Emergency'']
 
 
[https://www.climatechangenews.com/2019/05/14/merkel-pledges-make-germany-carbon-neutral-2050/ ''Via Climate Change News / Merkel pledges to make Germany carbon neutral by 2050'']
 
''Addressing climate ministers from around the world at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin on May 14, German Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled plans to increase Germany’s climate response ambitions.''
 
''“It’s about climate neutrality. This means that we should not ensure there are absolutely no CO2 emissions but that if there are still CO2 emissions, we must find alternative mechanisms to store this CO2 or offset it,” Merkel said.''
 
''“I therefore propose that we have a discussion in the climate cabinet about how we could reach the goal of being CO2 neutral by 2050 and the discussion should not be about whether we can reach that goal but about how we will reach it.”''
 
''A net-zero emissions strategy would bring Germany in line with eight EU member states calling on the bloc to strengthen its mid-century climate targets.''
 
 
···································································
 
 
<big>'''''It's Way Overdue, It's Time for Action -- #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency'''''</big>
 
 
'''''The Climate Mobilization - https://www.theclimatemobilization.org'''''
: (TW) https://twitter.com/MobilizeClimate
 
• https://www.theclimatemobilization.org/victory-plan
 
• https://www.theclimatemobilization.org/implementation-plans
 
 
'''''The Climate Reality Project - https://www.climaterealityproject.org'''''
: (TW) https://twitter.com/climatereality
 
 
'''''The Action Network - https://actionnetwork.org'''''
: (TW) https://twitter.com/theactionnet
 
 
:··············································
 
 
[https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/04/29/politics/beto-orourke-climate-change-policy/index.html '''''Via CNN / Presidential candidate O'Rourke releases plan to fight climate change with $5 trillion investment and net-zero emissions by 2050''''']
 
• ''https://betoorourke.com/climate-change''
 
• ''https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-29/beto-orourke-climate-change-plan''
 
''O'Rourke's climate change plan would "set a first-ever, net-zero emissions by 2030 carbon budget for federal lands, stopping new fossil fuel leases, changing royalties to reflect climate costs, and accelerating renewables development and forestation."''
 
 
'''''A four-part framework for addressing climate change:'''''
 
* ''Start Cutting Pollution on Day One and Taking Executive Actions to Lead on Climate
   
* ''Mobilize $5 Trillion for Climate Change with Investment in Infrastructure, Innovation, and Our People and Communities
   
* ''Guarantee our Net-Zero Emissions Ambition by 2050
   
* ''Defend our Communities That Are Preparing for and Fighting Against Extreme Weather
 
''O’Rourke’s [https://betoorourke.com/climate-change/ website has the full rollout of the plan], which aims to re-enter the Paris agreement and seek a “more ambitious global plan for 2030 and beyond.” It also brings up a $5 trillion figure, and hints at how he plans on paying for it:
 
''The first bill he sends to Congress will launch a 10-year mobilization of $5 trillion directly leveraged by a fully paid-for $1.5 trillion investment — the world’s largest-ever climate change investment in infrastructure, innovation, and in our people and communities.
 
''The bill will be funded with the revenues generated by structural changes to the tax code that ensure corporations and the wealthiest among us pay their fair share and that we finally end the tens of billions of dollars of tax breaks currently given to fossil fuel companies.
 
''O’Rourke’s website goes on to say “we need a guarantee that we will, in fact, achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and get halfway there by 2030.” The site notes these ambitions are in line with those of the [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Green_New_Deal Green New Deal].''
 
 
····················································
 
 
[https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/17/world/trillion-trees-climate-change-intl-scn/index.html <big>'''''Plant Trees, Lots of Trees'''''</big>]
 
''London (CNN) What's low-tech, sustainable and possibly the most effective thing we can do to fight climate change? Planting trees. A trillion of them.
Tom Crowther is a climate change ecologist at Swiss university ETH Zurich. Four years ago he found there are about 3 trillion trees already on earth -- much higher than NASA's previous estimate of 400 billion. Now, his team of researchers has calculated there is enough room on the planet for an additional 1.2 trillion -- and that planting them would have huge benefits in terms of absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide, the main driver of climate change.''
 
''"The amount of carbon that we can restore if we plant 1.2 trillion trees, or at least allow those trees to grow, would be way higher than the next best climate change solution," Crowther told CNN.''
 
''Because his research is currently under review for publication in the journal Science, he says he can't share exact figures of how much extra CO2 could be stored by those trees. But he points to numbers from [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/ProjectDrawdownCO2 Project Drawdown] -- a non-profit that ranks climate solutions by the amount of CO2 they could remove from the atmosphere. Its [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Drawdown_Solution_Chart.png number one ranked solution] -- managing the release of HFC greenhouse gases from fridges and air conditioners -- could reduce atmospheric CO2 by 90 billion tons. Crowther says planting 1.2 trillion trees would give a reduction "way above" that figure... #afforestation #reforestation #rewild''
 
 
<big>''[[ProjectDrawdownCO2]]''</big>
 
<big>''[[Global Forest Watch]]''</big>
 
 
• ''https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-tree-plant-soldiers-reassign-climate-change-global-warming-deforestation-a8208836.html''
 
• ''https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/13/worlds-lost-forests-returning-trees''
 
• ''https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/07/india-plants-50-million-trees-uttar-pradesh-reforestation''
 
• ''https://www.nationalforests.org/who-we-are/press-news/plant-50-million-trees''
 
• ''https://www.greenbeltmovement.org''
 
• ''https://www.treepeople.org/''
 
• ''https://www.nyrp.org/blog/nyc-just-planted-1-million-trees-heres-how-we-did-it''
 
• ''https://www.arborday.org/enterprise/projects''
 
• ''https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/plant-a-billion''
 
• ''https://twitter.com/PozProgress/status/1120331413428031488''
 
 
[[File:Three trillion trees.jpg]]
 
 
 
··············································································· 
 
[https://mashable.com/article/climate-change-young-activists ''Ways to combat climate change according to young activists'']
 
''1. Learn as much as you can about climate change''
 
''2. Understand the government's role in climate change''
 
''3. Make politicians listen''
 
 
······························ 
 
 
[https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-john-kerry-climate-change-trump-20190404-story.html ''Kerry, Moniz challenge Trump on Climate Change / Via the LA Times'']
 
''Developing new international initiatives to hold politicians accountable for undermining the fight against climate...''
 
 
························································································
 
 
[https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2019/house-democrats-new-climate-legislation-would-ensure-u-s-honors-paris-agreement-commitments '''''House Democrats’ New Climate Legislation Would Ensure U.S. Honors Paris Agreement Commitments''''']
 
''Climate Bill introduced by Speaker Pelosi, Select Committee on Climate Chair Castor, Democratic colleagues''
 
''Washington, D.C.''
 
''Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced legislation this past week to keep the United States in the Paris Climate Agreement.''
 
''With an announced goal of honoring US commitments to tackle climate change alongside the other nearly 200 nations that signed the agreement, Democratic leadership is moving from President Trump's previously announcement of his intention to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement.
 
''The House legislation is sponsored by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Chairwoman Kathy Castor (D-FL), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), and House Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX).''
 
 
···························································································
 
 
 
[https://electrek.co/2019/03/27/energy-demand-emissions-2018/ '''''Global energy demand at highest growth in a decade, emissions reach record high in 2018''''']
 
[https://www.iea.org/geco/ ''International Energy Agency: Global Energy & CO2 Status Report'']
 
 
''Global energy consumption in 2018 increased at nearly twice the average rate of growth since 2010, driven by a robust global economy and higher heating and cooling needs in some parts of the world. Demand for all fuels increased, led by natural gas, even as solar and wind posted double digit growth. Higher electricity demand was responsible for over half of the growth in energy needs. Energy efficiency saw lacklustre improvement. As a result of higher energy consumption, CO2 emissions rose 1.7% last year and hit a new record.''
 
 
·······················
 
 
<big>'''''March 2019'''''</big>
 
 
'''''"Now everyone's talking about climate change," U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said at one of three separate news conferences Wednesday, March 27th, on the issue of the Green New Deal.'''''
 
 
SJS / GreenPolicy360 siterunner / former presidential campaign adv for Jerry Brown: ''"Set the agenda, draft a platform of policies to go for, step up and get [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Out_in_Front out in front]"''
 
 
Florida, the site of the [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:First_D_pres_debate_-_2019.jpg first Democrat presidential debate] (in Miami), begins to focus in on critical issues of the 2020 campaign. Miami is most at risk for sea-level rise, followed closely by much of the Florida coastline and bay/estuarine regions like Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater -- https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Sea-Level_Rise
 
• ''https://www.tampabay.com/ap/national/climate-change-politics-burn-hot-after-green-new-deal-vote-ap_nationald09589c6e5fa4582b643c6b231d6c897''
 
• ''https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2019/03/25/marco-rubio-says-green-new-deal-not-a-realistic-solution-to-climate-challenges''
 
• ''https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2019/03/26/marco-rubio-and-rick-scott-rejected-the-green-new-deal-but-now-acknowledge-climate-change-whats-their-plan''
 
 
···································································································
 
 
[https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/22/top-oil-firms-spending-millions-lobbying-to-block-climate-change-policies-says-report '''''Via the Guardian / Top oil firms spending millions lobbying to block climate change policies''''']
 
''The largest five stock market listed oil and gas companies spend nearly $200m (£153m) a year lobbying to delay, control or block policies to tackle climate change... Increasingly they are using social media to successfully push their agenda to weaken and oppose any meaningful legislation to tackle global warming...''
 
''More #MoneyinPolitics / #PolitioPay at [https://influencemap.org/report/How-Big-Oil-Continues-to-Oppose-the-Paris-Agreement-38212275958aa21196dae3b76220bddc InfluenceMap.org]''
 
 
 
······································································
 
 
[https://www.sciencenews.org/article/students-worldwide-are-striking-demand-action-climate-change <big>'''''Students Worldwide Are Striking to Demand Climate Action Change'''''</big>]
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:March_against_climate_change_March_2019,_Amersterdam.jpg <font color=green><big>''Going Global: Student #ClimateStrike, March 15, 2019''</big></font>]
 
 
[[File:Youth Climate Strikes-March15,2019.jpg]]
 
• https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/03/15/global-climate-strike-pictures-millions-students-walk-out-demand-planetary
 
 
• '''[https://twitter.com/hashtag/climatechange?src=hash #ClimateChange] [https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateEmergency?src=hash #ClimateEmergency] [https://twitter.com/hashtag/GlobalWarming?src=hash #GlobalWarming]'''
 
• '''[https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ActOnClimate%20&src=typd #ActOnClimate] [https://twitter.com/hashtag/schoolstrike4climate?src=hash #SchoolsStrike4Climate] [https://twitter.com/search?q=%23GretaThunberg&src=tyah #GretaThunberg]'''
 
• '''[https://twitter.com/hashtag/YouthForClimate?src=hash #YouthForClimate] [https://twitter.com/hashtag/fridaysforfuture?src=hash #FridaysForFuture] [https://twitter.com/hashtag/globalstrikeforfuture?src=hash #GlobalStrikeforFuture]'''
 
• '''[https://twitter.com/hashtag/klimaatstaking?src=hash #Klimaatstaking] [https://twitter.com/hashtag/climatejustice?src=hash #ClimateJustice] [https://twitter.com/hashtag/schoolstrike4climate?src=hash #SchoolStrike4Climate]'''
 
 
[[File:March against climate change March 2019, Amersterdam.jpg|link=https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/March_against_climate_change_March_2019%2C_Amersterdam.jpg]]
 
 
 
·························································································
 
 
 
'''''The Current US Environmental Protection Chief Speaks'''''
 
''Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler [https://thinkprogress.org/wheeler-fossil-fuels-green-new-deal-bff9a70b0eb8/ touted the benefits of fossil fuel sources] like coal while calling those who support urgent climate action “oblivious” during remarks to energy industry officials on Monday.''
 
''“What the United States offers the world in terms of energy is that our fossil fuels are extracted and produced in a more environmentally conscious manner than anywhere else in the world,” Wheeler said. “If other countries want to purchase coal on the open market, we mine our coal in a safer and more environmentally friendly manner than other nations.”''
 
''“The truth is that those who oppose U.S. fossil fuel production are actually taking the most environmentally preferable energy source off the table for the rest of the world. This is a disservice to human health and the environment,” the former coal lobbyist continued.''
 
''Wheeler claimed at the CERAWeek conference in Houston, Texas that “supporters of the Green New Deal – or plans like it – are not only oblivious to how far we’ve come, but also where we are headed.”''
 
 
[[File:Andrew Wheeler - EPA chief-coal industry lobbyist.jpg]]
 
 
 
·························
 
 
''March 12, 2019''
 
'''''Kathy Castor, Congressional chair of the new [https://castor.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398852 Select Committee on the Climate Crisis] identifies climate failures of the Trump budget proposal'''''
 
''“The Trump administration’s budget proposal ignores the climate crisis. Climate science is clear: To help avert climate catastrophe, the United States needs to transition to a clean energy economy as fast as possible. The climate crisis must be addressed through virtually all areas of American life and, as a result, virtually all areas of the President’s budget should reflect this.''
 
''“The president’s budget fails to respond to the administration’s own warnings contained in the National Climate Assessment or propose any means to tackle the crisis. For example, moving to the clean energy economy means deploying technology we have now but also investing in new research to accelerate the development of breakthrough technologies and create new jobs. The Trump administration’s budget eliminates ARPA-E and all-but shutters the Department of Energy office dedicated to incubating groundbreaking research into clean transportation, renewable energy, and energy efficiency—thereby eliminating the hope for our workforce and our planet they bring. The scope of the climate challenge requires an all-hands-on-deck government investment in so many areas but certainly in advanced energy technologies...”'' 
 
''“America needs a budget that reflects the urgency of the climate crisis. The president’s budget lacks the insight and investment needed to get America moving and underscores that the cost of doing nothing is too high.”''
 
 
[[File:Kathy-castor-tampa-bay-florida.jpg]]
 
 
 
················································· 
 
 
<big>'''''Rejectionist Climate Council?'''''</big>
 
 
• https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/432675-dozens-of-ex-officials-warn-trump-against-white-house-panel-on
 
• https://climateandsecurity.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/letter-to-the-president_senior-military-and-national-security-leaders-denounce-nsc-climate-panel_2019_3_05-1.pdf
 
 
''Fifty-eight former officials organized by the American Security Project and the Center for Climate and Security write to President Trump to express concerns about the new climate council, which includes members who question the science behind global warming.''
 
''"It is dangerous to have national security analysis conform to politics," their letter states. "Our officials’ job is to ensure that we are prepared for current threats and future contingencies. We cannot do that if the scientific studies that inform our threat assessments are undermined."''
 
''"Climate change is a threat to US national security. Climate change is real, it is happening now, it is driven by humans, and it is accelerating. The overwhelming majority of scientists agree: less than 0.2% of peer-reviewed climate science papers dispute these facts."''
 
 
○
 
 
[[File:Andrew Wheeler confirmed to head EPA.jpg]]
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''Observing CO2 Levels'''</big>
 
''Highest weekly average CO2 ever measured at [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauna_Loa_Observatory Mauna Loa]: 412.4 ppm, almost 4 ppm above same time last year.''
 
''February seems on its way to end as highest month too, most probably for the last 2 million years.''
 
 
''2018's max monthly Mauna Loa CO2 concentration was 411.3 ppm in May. The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeling_Curve @Keeling_curve] mean for February so far is 411.8 ppm. Looks like the previous year's record is being breached early this year.''
 
 
[[File:Mauna Loa - CO2 - Feb2019.jpg]]
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''''February 13, 2019'''''</big>
 
:[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/index.php?title=File:Stratosphere_or_troposphere...scalia-via-NYT-Revkin2009.jpg '''Ruling on Atmosphere and Impacts on the United States''']
 
[[File:Stratosphere or troposphere...scalia-via-NYT-Revkin2009.jpg]]
 
 
'''''February 12, 2019'''''
 
 
'''''Glimpse the future climate in your US city via the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science'''''
 
''The interactive mapping uses 12 different measures to describe climate, including minimum and maximum temperature and total precipitation for winter, spring, summer and fall. Two emissions scenarios are considered – one that assumes high current emissions continue and one that assumes emissions peak mid-century and then decline. Numerous future climate forecasts are considered as generated by 27 different climate models.''
 
 
:• [https://fitzlab.shinyapps.io/cityapp/ '''''Interactive Map / What will climate 'feel like' in 60 years?''''']
 
:• [https://phys.org/news/2019-02-climate-north-american-cities-shift.html '''''Glimpse the Future, Get Ready''''']
 
 
[[File:Climate usa 60 years on.jpg|link=https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/gfx/news/2019/climateofnor.jpg]]
 
 
 
············································
 
 
<big>'''''Green New Deal Starts Up'''''</big>
 
'''''Resolution Launches the Legislative Process'''''
 
'''''Explore the origins and Follow the progress of the Green New Deal @GreenPolicy360 '''''
: ''https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Green_New_Deal''
 
 
[https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/2/7/18211709/green-new-deal-resolution-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-markey '''''There’s now an official Green New Deal''''']
 
''Here is what’s in it, here are the fights it picks, and the fights it avoids''
 
''The resolution consists of a preamble, five goals, 14 projects, and 15 requirements.''
 
 
'''''Legislative path forward''' -- ''https://thinkprogress.org/experts-green-new-deal-resolution-ocasio-cortez-infrastructure-85ff057dd235/''
 
 
 
[[File:GND next steps.png|link=https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Green_New_Deal]]
 
 
 
············································ 
 
 
[https://www.desmogblog.com/john-christy '''New U.S. Science Advisor John Christy''']
 
''Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler appoints Christy to agency’s [https://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabpeople.nsf/WebExternalCommitteeRosters?OpenView&committee=BOARD&secondname=Science%20Advisory%20Board Science Advisory Board], in position to take an active role in guiding agency policies and regulations.'' (Climate skeptic/denier with a [https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/427941-epa-puts-climate-skeptic-conservative-think-tank-scholar-on-science record])
 
 
&nbsp;
 
: [[File:REMA-hillshade-rendering-800px-768x768.jpg]]
 
 
: <big>'''''Summer in [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Antarctica Antarctica]: Satellites Tell a Story of Melting Ice'''''</big>
 
: ''"For global sea-level change in the next century, this Thwaites glacier is almost the entire story."''
 
 
'''''January 29, 2019'''''
 
* Kamala Harris, U.S. presidential candidate -- https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1090091453341155328
 
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Kamala_Harris-GND-Jan_28,2019.png
 
::[[File:Kamala Harris-GND-Jan 28,2019.png|link=https://twitter.com/blkahn/status/1090094408446496768]]
 
 
 
·························································································
 
 
[https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/terrifying-scientists-dig-deep-for-missing-piece-of-climate-puzzle-20190125-p50tjs.html '''Antarctica, drilling ice cores, asking the big questions by investigating atmospheric history''']
 
“It’s literally the only place on the planet where we can get large amounts of clean air that have not been compromised by this carbon-14 aspect that we are looking for... We’ve got absolutely everything we wanted to get done. The samples "have all been absolutely perfect and cleaner than we thought”.
 
“Science agencies began flagging climate change as a threat in the 1980s well before the warming signal became clear above the background noise of natural variation... Now the signals are everywhere."
 
"Here we are dealing with a $1 trillion question - whether we let the atmosphere go, business as usual and don’t care, or we reel in emissions and try to manage the planet.”
 
“We are trying to manage that question with million-dollar science - it’s not a bad payback.”
 
 
····················································································
 
 
[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4rYRqzW2bh4&t=9s '''''Project Drawdown (podcast) -- Paul Hawken and Ralph Nader''''']
 
''Paul Hawken makes the case that global warming is reversible in his book “Drawdown.”''
 
 
:[[File:Drawdown.jpg]]
 
 
&nbsp;
:············································································ 
 
 
 
<big><big><big>'''''Valuing the Future, Valuing the Present'''''</big></big></big>
 
 
[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/upshot/how-to-think-about-the-costs-of-climate-change.html ''Via the NY Times / It's the Economy, Stupid ! ... 'Climate Change in the Decades to Come' '']
 
''It’s clear that climate change poses environmental risks beyond anything seen in the modern age. But we’re only starting to come to grips with the potential economic effects.''
 
 
'''''January 17, 2019'''''
 
[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/16/andrew-wheeler-climate-change-trump-epa-hearings '''''Lost in the Daily News Cycle: US Environmental Protection Nominee Supports Coal, Downplays Climate Change Crisis''''']
 
''Andrew Wheeler, Trump's EPA pick says climate change 'not the greatest crisis'. The former coal lobbyist took over the EPA when his predecessor Scott Pruitt resigned after months of controversy. Wheeler says, in confirmation hearings (reported by few media outlets), that "he is carrying out the president’s “regulatory reform agenda” and that the US is the “gold standard for environmental progress”.''
 
''The environment could become a top issue in the 2020 presidential race. Asked if he agreed with the president’s past statements that climate change is a Chinese “hoax”, Wheeler said he would “not use the hoax word, myself”. The latest major Trump resignations and firings. But Wheeler said he would “not call it the greatest crisis”.''
 
''“I consider it a huge issue that has to be addressed globally.”''
 
''Wheeler also told the New Jersey senator Cory Booker, a likely presidential contender, that he is “still examining” a [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:RCP-projections-damage_to_US_economy.jpg '''November report from US government scientists'''] showing the country will suffer from heat-related deaths, coastal flooding and infrastructure damage.''
 
''Booker said Wheeler’s regulatory changes “fly in the face” of that science, and the Massachusetts senator Ed Markey called it “unacceptable” that Wheeler would seek confirmation without being familiar with the report.''
 
''Wheeler was a lobbyist at Faegre Baker Daniels, where he represented coal company Murray Energy until August 2017. Murray Energy wrote the administration a list of rule changes that would help the industry, and they are largely under way.''
 
 
:• [https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/16/politics/wheeler-epa-confirmation-hearing/index.html '''''Andrew Wheeler Returns''''']
 
:• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvAI4ecyygQ '''''Wheeler, Close Ties to 'Chief Climate Change Denier in US Senate' ''''' ''(Video/CNN)'']
 
:• [https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/15/opinions/andrew-wheeler-bad-choice-epa-kimmell/index.html '''''Worse than Scott Pruitt''''']
 
:• [https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/03/politics/epa-wheeler-climate-protections/index.html '''''Trump's pick for EPA already rolling back climate change protections''''']
 
 
 
 
'''''January 13, 2019'''''
 
<big>''Economically feasible CO2 reduction of fossil fuel emissions?''</big>
 
[https://nexusmedianews.com/this-powder-could-cheaply-capture-carbon-pollution-from-power-plants-4894e58cd6a2 ''''' 'Powder' to capture carbon pollution from power plants''''']
 
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0008622318310157 '''''Ion-activated carbon nanospheres for CO2 capture''''']
 
''The powder can be used without needing to install additional equipment. And the raw materials  —  sugar, molasses, rice husk, straws or agar  (from red algae) —  are renewable, abundant and cheap, especially when compared to existing technologies.''
 
''“It can be employed by developed and developing nations alike. Since cost is not a barrier to taking action, we have the ability to see significant change in a very short time. There are not a lot of other solutions out there we can say that about.”''
 
 
'''''January 11, 2019'''''
 
[https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/2465450002 ''''' 'Race against time'...''''']
 
 
''Rep. Kathy Castor is the Tampa Bay Florida Democrat that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has chosen to chair the new '''Select Committee on the Climate Crisis'''.''
 
''"We are in a race against time," Castor, 52, told USA TODAY.''
 
 
''Castor spoke of her committee and the challenges it faces:''
 
''Q: Much of the information on climate change is out there. So what do you hope to accomplish with this new committee?''
 
''Castor: We're going to press for dramatic carbon pollution reduction. We want to win the clean energy future to defend the American way of life and avoid catastrophic and costly weather events that have dire impacts.''
 
''Q: What are some of the issues you want to pursue and how will you work with the standing congressional committee to achieve them?''
 
''Castor: Right off the bat, we will tackle fuel economy standards, make sure the Commerce Committee and the (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee) are focused on that. The Financial Services Committee has to do a flood insurance reform bill. We will be involved in that as well.''
 
''Q: You mentioned flood insurance. Representing a coastal district, you know what flooding and storms can do. Should we rebuild along the shore?''
 
''Castor: We shouldn't be insuring at taxpayer expense homes and businesses that have been destroyed repeatedly on the shore. Folks know full well that they're in hurricane's path or flood's path and they do that on their own. I'm concerned the (flood) maps are not up-to-date, that states and local communities are not acting fast enough to adopt policies to revise maps.''
 
''Q: Is there a concern you may getting in the way of standing committees who are already charged with environmental protection and climate change issues?''
 
''Castor: No, we're going to be complimentary. This is a collaborative effort. It's just being elevated because the threat to our way of life is at stake. It's all hands on deck... I do see our jurisdiction as being very broad. We're talking about the planet.''
 
''We don't have time to wait. Whatever we can press to accomplish as soon as possible, we will do that.''
 
 
○
 
 
[[File:Mauna loa CO2 record scripps.png]]
 
 
○
 
 
[https://phys.org/news/2019-01-thwart-climate.html '''''Via Phys.org / Act, make a difference... 8 steps you can take to help thwart climate change''''']
 
[https://davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/top-10-ways-can-stop-climate-change/ '''''Via David Suzuki / 10 things you can do about climate change''''']
 
[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/29/opinion/climate-change-global-warming-history.html '''''Via the NY Times / Three decades after a top climate scientist warned Congress of the dangers of global warming, greenhouse gas emissions keep rising and so do global temperatures''''']
 
SJS / GreenPolicy360 Siterunner: Perhaps, to be provide additional perspective, we should say four decades after a Congressman from East LA, a leader in the [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Environmental_movement new environmental movement] drafted and pushed through the [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png first US climate study program]... With great appreciation to [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr George E. Brown], his vision and advocacy of science over decades of leadership.
 
 
···························
 
 
'''1977, the First Climate Report'''
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Energy_and_Climate_Report%2C_1977%2C_National_Academy_of_Sciences.pdf '''Energy and Climate Report, 1977, National Academy of Sciences / 175 pp. / PDF via GreenPolicy360''']
 
'''1978, the First Climate Act'''
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png '''National Climate Program Act, Public Law 95-367''']
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/National_Climate_Program_Act_Public_Law_95-367_Sept_1978.pdf '''National Climate Program Act, September 1978''']
 
'''1988, a History-making Senate Hearing'''
 
[https://grist.org/article/a-climate-hero-the-early-years/ '''James Hansen's Warning to Congress in 1988:''']
 
: Ten years after the [https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-92/pdf/STATUTE-92-Pg601.pdf National Climate Program Act] was drafted by Representative Brown and the Climate Act's passage in 1978 began the federal government's study of climate change, impacts and risks, Professor Hansen [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Hansen-testimony-1988.jpg strongly warns the US Senate] of the rising danger of climate change.
 
 
···························
 
 
'''''December 30, 2018'''''
 
[https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-december-30-2018-n951406 '''''Meet the Press (Transcript): Gov. Jerry Brown, Michael Bloomberg and science experts  confront challenges of climate disruption / global warming''''']
 
○
 
'''''December 16'''''
 
[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/16/what-was-agreed-at-cop24-in-poland-and-why-did-it-take-so-long '''Another International Climate Conference Concludes''']
 
'''Promises to take action adding up, but needed actions are not'''
 
 
 
[[File:Like a speeding freight train.png]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
<big>'''''International Climate (INDC) Progress'''''</big>
 
* ''https://www.climate-change-performance-index.org/''
 
* ''https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/7-countries-paris-climate-agreeement/''
 
* ''https://truthout.org/articles/carbon-emissions-will-reach-a-record-high-of-37-billion-tons-in-2018/''
 
 
························
 
 
<big>'''''Global carbon emissions reached record high in 2018'''''</big>
 
''When it comes to promises to begin cutting the emissions that fuel climate change, the world remains well off target.''
 
''Page One / December 5, 2018''
 
''By Brady Dennis and Chris Mooney / [https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/12/05/we-are-trouble-global-carbon-emissions-reached-new-record-high/ Washington Post]''
 
 
''Global emissions of carbon dioxide have reached the highest levels on record, scientists projected Wednesday, in the latest evidence of the chasm between international goals for combating climate change and what countries are actually doing.''
 
''Between 2014 and 2016, emissions remained largely flat, leading to hopes that the world was beginning to turn a corner. Those hopes have been dashed. In 2017, global emissions grew 1.6 percent. The rise in 2018 is projected to be 2.7 percent.''
 
''The expected increase, which would bring fossil fuel and industrial emissions to a record high of 37.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, is being driven by nearly 5 percent emissions growth in China and more than 6 percent in India, researchers estimated, along with growth in many other nations throughout the world. Emissions by the United States grew 2.5 percent, while emissions by the European Union declined by just under 1 percent.''
 
''As nations are gathered for climate talks in Poland, the message of Wednesday’s report was unambiguous: When it comes to promises to begin cutting the greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change, the world remains well off target.''
 
''“We are in trouble. We are in deep trouble with climate change,” United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said this week at the opening of the 24th annual U.N. climate conference, where countries will wrestle with the ambitious goals they need to meet to sharply reduce carbon emissions in coming years.''
 
''“It is hard to overstate the urgency of our situation,” he added. “Even as we witness devastating climate impacts causing havoc across the world, we are still not doing enough, nor moving fast enough, to prevent irreversible and catastrophic climate disruption...”''
 
 
 
<big><big>'''''Never Give Up, Never Ever Give Up'''''</big></big>
 
 
[[File:Michael E Mann -- act with hope not fear.jpg|link=https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Michael_E_Mann%2C_act_with_hope_not_fear.jpg]]
 
 
 
<big>'''''RCPs & the U.S. National Climate Assessment/Report'''''</big>
 
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:RCP-projections-damage_to_US_economy.jpg
 
 
[[File:RCP-projections-damage to US economy.jpg]]
 
 
 
[https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/ <big>'''''2018 / U.S. National Climate Assessment/Report (Overview/PDFs/Docs)'''''</big>]
 
: [https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/downloads/ '''''U.S. Global Climate Change / 4th National Climate Assessment (PDFs)''''']
 
 
[https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2018-11-23/americans-will-pay-billions-more-for-climate-change-and-that-s-the-best-case '''U.S National Climate Assessment: A Bleak Report, a Bleak Government Response''']
 
[https://earther.gizmodo.com/government-climate-report-lays-out-how-screwed-we-are-i-1830624858/amp '''The New Abnormal'''] / [https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060107237 '''E&E News: Not Good, Bad, Very Bad, Soon to be Worse''']
 
 
[https://www.axios.com/major-new-climate-report-warns-billions-losses-climate-change-159ba78c-41bd-462b-aa60-578f64878a85.html '''''Via Axios / New climate report warns of increasingly dire risks to U.S.''''']
 
[https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/23/health/climate-change-report-bn/index.html ''Via CNN / Climate change will shrink US economy and kill thousands'']
 
 
[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/23/climate-change-america-us-government-report '''''Via The Guardian / Climate change 'will inflict substantial damages on US lives' ''''']
 
:''US National Climate Assessment details climate change impact''
   
:''Current response to crisis is insufficient''
 
 
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/11/23/major-trump-administration-climate-report-says-damages-are-intensifying-across-country '''''Via Washington Post / Major Trump administration climate report says damage is ‘intensifying across the country’ ''''']
 
:''Scientists are more certain than ever that climate change is already affecting the United States — and that it is going to be very expensive.''
 
 
[https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/11/26/politics/donald-trump-climate-change/index.html '''''Via CNN / Donald Trump buried a climate change report he doesn't believe''''']
 
:''President Donald Trump's views on climate change are very, very well established.''
 
:''Just over eight years ago, he tweeted this: "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive." In 2014, he penned this tweet: "It's late in July and it is really cold outside in New York. Where the hell is GLOBAL WARMING??? We need some fast! It's now CLIMATE CHANGE."''
 
:''And then, this from last Wednesday: "Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS - Whatever happened to Global Warming?"''
 
:''The [https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/ report] concludes not only that the world's temperature is rising and but also that the preponderance of evidence suggests human actions play a role in it. The report's authors conclude that the changing climate "is transforming where and how we live and presents growing challenges to human health and quality of life, the economy, and the natural systems that support us." And that, unless we change our practices and policies, there will be "substantial damages to the US economy, environment, and human health and well-being over the coming decades."''
 
:''It's, candidly, a terrifying read. Unless we start making some major changes -- and soon -- we face the very real potential of crossing the point of no return when it comes to the planet's warming, and the consequences that result from it.''
 
:''Important to note: This is not a partisan document. It was... produced by 13 agencies within the Trump administration -- the result of Congress, in the 1980s (after the [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png first climate study and program approved by Congress in 1978,]) mandating that this sort of report be submitted every four years as a sort of reference point for lawmakers and legislators.''
 
 
[[File:I dont believe it.png]]
 
 
* ''https://eos.org/features/what-specific-costs-and-risks-do-we-face-from-climate-change''
 
* ''https://www.france24.com/en/20181124-usa-climate-change-report-warns-severe-damage-health-economy''
 
* ''https://insideclimatenews.org/news/23112018/infographic-national-climate-assessment-us-economy-extreme-weather-global-warming-cost-lives-wildfires-agriculture-federal-report''
 
* ''https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/23/climate/us-climate-report.html''
 
* ''https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/climage-change-consequences-already-being-felt-in-communities-across-u-s-new-federal-report-says''
 
* ''https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/federal-climate-change-report-759793/''
 
 
* ''https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/11/most-chilling-parts-2018-climate-assessment/576598/''
 
* ''https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/26/climate-change-report-trump-air-pollution''
 
* ''https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2018/11/27/weather-washingtons-future-hellish-heat-high-water-says-trump-administration-climate-report''
 
 
 
* ''https://www.salon.com/2018/11/26/the-trump-administration-tried-to-bury-its-own-climate-change-report-and-right-wing-media-helped/''
 
 
 
<big>'''''Clean Energy Solutions'''''</big>
 
* ''https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/11/16/18096352/climate-change-clean-energy-policies-guide''
 
: ''https://us.energypolicy.solutions/''
 
 
····················································································
 
 
[https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/california-fire-democrats-control-house-it-s-time-get-serious-ncna936976 '''''Via NBC / Democrats: Time to Get Serious, a Green New Deal''''']
 
 
''California is on fire and Democrats control the House — it's time to get serious about climate change.''
 
''A [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Green_New_Deal Green New Deal] would tie solutions to the climate crisis to the promise of a stronger economy, upending the false jobs-vs.-environment dichotomy.''
 
 
 
[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-tweet-global-warming-climate-change-thanksgiving-driving-traffic-a8646081.html ''Logic 101: It's cold outside. Ergo, WHAT GLOBAL WARMING?'']
 
 
<big>'''''California on fire, US President & Secretary of Interior blame environmentalists'''''</big>
 
::[https://grist.org/article/the-bizarre-and-frightening-conditions-that-sparked-the-camp-fire/ '''''The Camp Fire Destruction of Paradise''''']
 
::[https://www.chicoer.com/2018/11/17/editorial-camp-fire-the-tragedy-we-were-all-warned-about/ '''''Editorial: Camp Fire the tragedy we were all warned about''''']
 
 
''Stanford Earth System Science Professor: Atmospheric conditions for California wildfires are expected to worsen in the future because of the effects of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change_in_California climate change in California]. "What we're seeing over the last few years in terms of the wildfire season in California [is] very consistent with the historical trends in terms of increasing temperatures, increasing dryness, and increasing wildfire risk". Other [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/carr-fire-latest-california-wildfire-worse-update-global-warming-a8471956.html experts agree] that global warming has a role in California's drought and extreme weather conditions...''
 
 
·····················································································
 
 
<big>'''''Profound Environmental Oversight Change in U.S. House of Representatives'''''</big>
 
''Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D–TX) is the presumed new chair of the House science committee, succeeding the retiring [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Lamar-smith-press_2015.jpg Representative Lamar Smith (R)]. In a [https://democrats-science.house.gov/news/press-releases/ranking-member-johnson-statement-election-results-and-seeking-chairmanship statement released], Johnson said she would have three priorities “If I am fortunate enough to be elected chair.” One is ensuring “that the United States remains the global leader in innovation, which will require attention to a wide range of activities,” including supporting “a robust federally funded R&D enterprise,” and “defending the scientific enterprise from political and ideological attacks.” A second is addressing the “challenge of climate change, starting with acknowledging it is real.” The third is restoring “the credibility of the science committee as a place where science is respected and recognized as a crucial input to good policymaking.” It is not yet clear whether the new Democratic leadership of the House will allow the science panel chair to retain the power to unilaterally issue investigative subpoenas, which outgoing chair Smith used to demand information from climate scientists and others. If so, observers expect the panel to use that power to aggressively investigate a range of actions taken by President Donald Trump’s administration on climate, energy, and environmental policy.''
 
''(Via Science Magazine)''
 
 
··································
 
 
'''''Foreign Policy Magazine'''''
 
[https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/06/the-nobel-prize-for-climate-catastrophe/ '''''The Nobel Prize for Climate Catastrophe''''']
 
''The economist William Nordhaus will receive his profession’s highest honor for research on global warming that’s been hugely influential — and entirely misguided.
 
 
''The stakes couldn’t be higher. After all, this isn’t just a matter of abstract academic debate; the future of human civilization hangs in the balance.''
 
''In the 1990s, Nordhaus invented the first integrated assessment models to explore how economic growth affects carbon emissions, and how climate change in turn affects economic growth. The basic mechanisms that Nordhaus described continue to inform the models that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) uses today. No one disputes that this qualifies as a significant contribution to the field. The question, rather, has to do with how Nordhaus has used his models to argue for a particular policy agenda.''
 
''The models showed that if we were to rapidly reduce carbon emissions in line with what scientists say is necessary to avoid climate breakdown – by putting a high tax on carbon, for instance – it would significantly slow down the rate of economic growth. As far as scientists are concerned, that’s not a problem; we should obviously do whatever it takes to avoid climate catastrophe. But for economists like Nordhaus, this is not acceptable. After all, the whole point of neoclassical economics is to do whatever it takes to grow economic output.''
 
''So, Nordhaus’ career has been devoted to finding what he calls a “balance” between climate mitigation and GDP growth. In a famous 1991 paper titled “To slow or not to slow,” he argued firmly for the latter option: Let’s not be too eager to slow down global warming, because we don’t want to jeopardize growth.''
 
''To justify this conclusion, Nordhaus manipulates what is known as the “discount rate,” which is how economists value the costs of climate breakdown in the present as compared to the future. It might sound arcane, but it’s really quite straightforward. A discount rate of zero means that future generations are valued equally to the present; a high discount rate means that future generations are valued less, or “discounted,” compared with nearer generations.''
 
''Nordhaus prefers a high discount rate—very high. Discounting the future allows him to argue that we shouldn’t reduce emissions too quickly, because the economic cost to people today will be higher than the benefit of protecting people in the future. Instead, we should do the opposite: Focus on GDP growth now even if it means locking in future climate catastrophe. This is justifiable, he says, because future generations will then be much richer than we are and therefore better able to manage the problem.''
 
''Using this logic, Nordhaus long claimed that from the standpoint of “economic rationality” it is “optimal” to keep warming the planet to about 3.5 degrees Celsius over preindustrial levels—vastly in excess of the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold that the IPCC insists on.''
 
''It sounds morally problematic and flies in the face of scientists’ warnings, but economists and policymakers have lined up behind Nordhaus’s argument. They like it because it gives them license to carry on with the status quo and delay difficult decisions. President Trump, for instance, has been aggressive in his preference for growth over climate action. This is in large part what explains the fact that nearly 30 years after the first IPCC report was published, global emissions are still going up. It also helps explain why even with the Paris climate agreement in place, and with all of the plans promised by the world’s governments, we’re still headed for about 3.3 degrees Celsius of warming. It’s all eerily similar to the Nordhaus trajectory.''
 
''So how do economists get away with believing that these extreme temperatures are somehow okay? Because the Nordhaus model tells us that even the worst catastrophes will not really hurt the global economy all that much. Maybe a percentage point or two at the most, by the end of the century—much less than the cost of immediate action.''
 
 
'''Read more at FP - https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/06/the-nobel-prize-for-climate-catastrophe/'''
 
 
······································································
 
 
[https://phys.org/news/2018-10-earth-oceans-absorbed-percent-previously.amp <big>'''''Earth's oceans absorbing more heat than previously thought'''''</big>]
 
* ''https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0651-8''
 
 
······································································
 
 
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/10/03/climate-scientists-are-struggling-find-right-words-very-bad-news/ <big>'''''Climate scientists are struggling to find the right words for very bad news'''''</big>]
 
* '' Alarming report from the U.N.'s top climate science panel ... enormous gap between where we are and where we need to be''
 
 
<big><big>'''''Intergovernmental (IPCC) Report / Global Warming of 1.5 ºC'''''</big></big>
 
''October 2018''
 
'''''https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/'''''
 
: ''https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/preface/''
 
: ''https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/summary-for-policy-makers/''
 
: ''https://report.ipcc.ch/sr15/pdf/sr15_spm_final.pdf (Summary Report)''
 
 
[https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/were-almost-out-of-time-the-alarming-ipcc-climate-report-and-what-to-do-next/ ''Via Brookings / We’re almost out of time: The alarming IPCC climate report and what to do next'']
 
[https://www.earthday.org/2018/10/08/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-ipcc-climate-report/ ''Via Earthday /What You Need to Know About the New IPCC Climate Report'']
 
 
<big><big>'''''Special International Report Released / October 8, 2018'''''</big></big>
 
<big>'''''Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change / IPCC'''''</big>
 
 
(The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme.)
 
 
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/10/08/the-climate-is-changing-heres-how-politics-will-also-change/ '''''Not doing enough to combat climate change''''']
 
* [https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/08/world-leaders-climate-change-ipcc-report '''''World Leaders & Climate Change Action Plans''''']
 
* [http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/news/bbc-programme-foiled-again-by-climate-change-deniers/ '''''Don't be fooled or foiled by Climate Change Deniers''''']
 
* [https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/08/climate-change-what-you-can-do-campaigning-installing-insulation-solar-panels '''''Here's what you can do, actions to make a difference''''']
 
* [https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikescott/2018/10/08/trump-ignores-the-impacts-of-climate-change-at-his-peril-and-ours/ '''''Trump ignores impacts of climate changes and our peril''''']
 
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/10/08/the-energy-202-the-clock-is-ticking-to-stop-catastrophic-global-warming-top-climate-scientists-say/5bba6db41b326b7c8a8d1884/ '''''Clock is ticking to stop catastrophic global warming''''']
 
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-planet-is-on-a-fast-path-to-destruction-the-media-must-cover-this-like-its-the-only-story-that-matters/2018/10/08/f806a7f0-caea-11e8-a3e6-44daa3d35ede_story.html '''''The media must cover this like it's the only story that matters''''']
 
 
 
* ''https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/OCO-2''
 
* ''https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Environmental_full-cost_accounting''
 
 
[https://twitter.com/IPCC_CH/status/1048216063090065409 The numbers behind the #IPCC Special Report on Global Warming]
 
 
''Thousands of scientists gathered to bring together the last five years of advances in climate science to answer key questions for policymakers.''
 
* http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sr15/
 
* https://twitter.com/hashtag/SR15 #SR15
 
* https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateAction?src=hash
 
 
 
······································································
 
 
 
[[File:Jerry Brown-Climate Week, NYC, Sept2018.jpg]]
 
 
[https://www.theclimategroup.org/news/new-climate-pledges-announced-global-leaders-10th-climate-week-nyc <big>'''''The Climate Group Gathers in New York'''''</big>]
 
 
''New climate pledges announced by global leaders at the 10th Climate Week''
 
 
······························································
 
 
<big><big><u>'''''[[Global Climate Action Summit]]'''''</u></big></big>
 
 
<big>'''''After the Global Climate Action Summit'''''</big>
 
''September 18, 2018''
 
[http://www.bteam.org/announcements/a-strong-wave-of-hope-in-a-sea-of-fear/ ''A Strong Wave of Hope in a Sea of Fear'']
 
[https://www.csis.org/events/role-private-sector-achieving-sustainable-development-goals-sdgs ''The Role of the Private Sector in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)'']
 
[https://twitter.com/UNFCCC/status/1041936627902423040 ''UN / Another reminder by @NASA that #ClimateChange is real and accelerating. #StepUp2018'']
 
[http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-climate-summit-economy-20180914-story.html ''By announcing California's first satellite launch, Gov. Jerry Brown ends climate summit with a cosmic boom'']
 
 
* [https://www.gov.ca.gov/2018/09/14/governor-brown-closes-global-climate-action-summit-were-launching-our-own-damn-satellite/ '''''California, Planet Labs, and the Environmental Defense Fund Team Up''''']
 
* [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Launching_soon.png '''''Launching Soon: California Looks to the Future ''''']
 
* '''''https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Governor_Jerry_Brown'''''
 
 
[[File:Launching soon.png]]
 
 
 
···················································
 
 
 
<big>'''''Current Global Warming Index'''''</big>
 
* ''Current to date / http://www.globalwarmingindex.org/''
 
 
[[File:AWI AR5 new SD.png]]
 
 
 
·························
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:NASA-aerosol-earth.png <small>'''''Dust In the Wind'''''</small>]
 
[[File:NASA-aerosol-earth.png]]
 
 
&nbsp;
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:REMA_Antarctica_9-7-2018.png <small>'''''What Am I?'''''</small>]
 
[[File:REMA Antarctica 9-7-2018.png]]
 
 
 
····································································
 
 
<big>''Texas Feels the Impacts: Asks for Fed Help''</big>
 
''PORT ARTHUR, Texas (AP) — As the nation plans new defenses against the more powerful storms and higher tides expected from climate change, one project stands out: an ambitious proposal to build a nearly 60-mile “spine” of concrete seawalls, earthen barriers, floating gates and steel levees on the Texas Gulf Coast.
 
''Big oil, which is blamed for contributing to global warming, now wants the federal government to build safeguards against the consequences of it.
 
''The plan is focused on a stretch of coastline that runs from the Louisiana border to industrial enclaves south of Houston that are home to one of the world’s largest concentrations of petrochemical facilities, including most of Texas’ 30 refineries, which represent 30 percent of the nation’s refining capacity.
 
''Texas is seeking at least $12 billion for the full coastal spine, with nearly all of it coming from public funds. Last month, the government fast-tracked an initial $3.9 billion for three separate, smaller storm barrier projects that would specifically protect oil facilities...
 
''Protecting a wide expanse will be expensive. After Hurricane Harvey, a special Texas commission prepared a report seeking $61 billion from Congress to “future proof” the state against such natural disasters, without mentioning climate change, which scientists say will cause heavier rains and stronger storms.
 
''Via the Associated Press / August 22, 2018''
 
 
○
 
 
'''''Conference attracted climate science deniers and fossil fuel evangelists'''''
 
[https://insideclimatenews.org/news/07082018/heartland-institute-climate-change-denial-trump-administration-fossil-fuels-carbon-tax ''Via Inside Climate News / August 8, 2018'']
 
 
○
 
 
''The wrap on this customized Tesla is inspired by Professor Ed Hawkin’s ‘Warming Stripes’ graphic.''
 
''The graphic shows each year’s average global temperature, between 1850-2017, as a color, blue for cooler than average, red for warmer. The deeper the color, the further from the average. Check out the Climate Lab Book at [http://www.climate-lab-book.ac.uk www.climate-lab-book.ac.uk].
 
 
[[File:IMG 20180801 105449.jpg]]
 
 
 
<big>'''''July 2018'''''</big>
 
 
[https://phys.org/news/2018-08-scientists-mineral-co2-atmosphere.amp '''''CO2 vs. Magnesite. Mineralization. Mitigation. Gesundheit.''''']
 
 
○
 
 
''Via E&E News''
 
* https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060088035%F0%9F%94%92
 
 
<big>''''' 'Brave new world' as team Inhofe takes over'''''</big>
 
''Robin Bravender, E&E News reporter''
 
''Greenwire: Friday, July 6, 2018''
 
 
''It's official: Alumni of the best-known climate skeptic in Congress are leading EPA.
 
''Former aides to Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) have helped shape President Trump's energy policy agenda since even before he was elected. Many of them quickly landed top spots at EPA and in the White House, and Inhofe alumnus Ryan Jackson helped shepherd Scott Pruitt through the confirmation process before becoming his chief of staff at the agency last year.''
 
''But now an ex-Inhofe staffer is taking the reins as [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Scott_pruitt_epa.jpg Pruitt leaves under a cloud of controversies].''
 
''Andrew Wheeler, who steps in as EPA's chief on Monday, was staff director and chief counsel to Inhofe on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for much of the George W. Bush administration.''
 
''Jackson, a longtime friend of Wheeler, is expected to remain as EPA's chief of staff after Pruitt's exit. Jackson — a native Oklahoman — was an Inhofe aide who worked as EPW staff director and Inhofe's chief of staff.''
 
''Brittany Bolen became the acting head of EPA's policy shop after Samantha Dravis left earlier this year. Bolen was Republican counsel to Inhofe on the EPW Committee. Daisy Letendre, a communications adviser in the policy office, was Inhofe's communications director. And former Inhofe counsel Mandy Gunasekara is now principal deputy assistant administrator in EPA's air office...''
 
 
 
''"With these Inhofe staff, you get all of the Pruitt policy and none of the Pruitt baggage," said an energy lobbyist and former congressional staffer.''
 
''It makes sense that ex-Inhofe aides would populate EPA under a Republican administration, the lobbyist said, given Inhofe's long tenure as the top Republican on the Senate committee charged with overseeing the agency...''
 
''They also share an appreciation for process, said Matt Dempsey, Inhofe's former communications director...''
 
 
 
''Under Wheeler, "the whole tone is going to be different," the energy lobbyist said. "People are going to perceive that Andy is going to spend his time on policy and not thinking about whether he's the next senator from Oklahoma."''
 
''But as Republicans and many in industry are celebrating the rise of the Inhofe crowd at EPA, some on the left are furious that disciples of the Senate's most vocal climate change skeptic — famous for throwing a snowball on the Senate floor to try to disprove global warming — are leading the agency tasked with protecting the environment.''
 
''"It is a brave new world of pro-fossil-fuel ideologues who seem not to care about anything but industry profits, the rest of the country be damned," said Bill Snape, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. "We're all getting hit in the head by the snowball at this point. It's obviously disturbing."''
 
 
[[File:Inhofe and the Snowball.png]]
 
 
 
······················································································ 
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez '''''Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a new Democratic Party green leader who's out in front''''']
 
''From Ocasio-Cortez's platform:''
 
''Climate change is the single biggest national security threat for the United States and the single biggest threat to worldwide industrialized civilization, and the effects of warming can be hard to predict and self-reinforcing.''
 
''Alexandria strongly supports transitioning the United States to a carbon-free, 100% renewable energy system and a fully modernized electrical grid by 2035. She believes renewable fuels must be produced in a way that achieves our environmental and energy security goals, so we can move beyond oil responsibly in the fight against climate change. By encouraging the electrification of vehicles, sustainable home heating, distributed rooftop solar generation, and the conversion of the power grid to zero-emissions energy sources, Alexandria believes we can be 100% free of fossil fuels by 2035.''
 
''Furthermore, Alex believes in recognizing the relationship between economic stability and environmental sustainability. It’s time to shift course and implement a Green New Deal – a transformation that implements structural changes to our political and financial systems in order to alter the trajectory of our environment.''
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''James Hansen’s groundbreaking testimony on global climate change'''</big>
 
'''June 23rd, 2018 is thirty years to a day after Dr. Hansen's testimony in 1988'''
 
 
'''A retrospective look...''' '''''"A Prophet of Doom Was Right About the Climate"'''''
 
''On June 23, 1988, in the sweltering heat, Hansen told a U.S. Senate committee he was 99 percent certain that the year’s record temperatures were not the result of natural variation. It was the first time a lead scientist drew a connection between human activities, the growing concentration of atmospheric pollutants, and a warming climate.''
 
 
*[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Hansen_testimony_WaPo_front_page.jpg ''Jim Hansen'']
 
* ''https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Hansen-testimony-1988.jpg''
 
 
'''James Hansen testifies in 1988: Ten Years after the Establishment of the [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png National Climate Program Act]'''
 
''“It’s time to stop waffling so much and say that the evidence is pretty strong that the greenhouse effect is here,”'' Hansen told reporters.
 
 
* ''http://grist.org/article/a-climate-hero-the-early-years/''
 
* ''http://grist.org/article/a-climate-hero-the-testimony/''
 
* ''http://grist.org/article/a-climate-hero-an-outspoken-truth/''
 
 
:<font color=blue>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font>
 
 
<u>[[File:James Hansen - NY Times Opinion - June 23, 2018.pdf]]</u>
 
''https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/James_Hansen_-_NY_Times_Opinion_-_June_23%2C_2018.pdf''
 
 
* [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/jun/25/30-years-later-deniers-are-still-lying-about-hansens-amazing-global-warming-prediction ''Via The Guardian / 30 years later, deniers are still lying about Hansen’s amazing global warming prediction'']
 
 
:<font color=blue>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font>
 
 
<big>'''''Global Warming: A Warning Thirty Years Ago, and Now'''''</big>
 
 
* [http://www.tampabay.com/looking-for-signs-of-global-warming-theyre-all-around-you-ap_nationalc895b9ac7e4a4370953e51862285c2ce ''AP-Associated Press / June 19, 2018 / Looking for signs of global warming? They're all around you'']
 
''It's been 30 years since much of the world learned that global warming had arrived. On June 23, 1988, NASA scientist James Hansen testified before Congress, explaining that heat-trapping gases spewed by the burning of fossil fuels were pushing temperatures higher.''
 
''But it turns out climate isn't the only thing that's changing: Nature itself is, too. That's the picture painted by interviews with more than 50 scientists and an Associated Press analysis of data on plants, animals, pollen, ice, sea level and more.''
 
''You don't need a thermometer or a rain gauge to notice climate change, and you don't need to be a scientist to see it...''
 
 
* [http://www.tampabay.com/warned--years-ago-global-warming-is-in-our-living-room-ap_nationaldbd81ca2a7244ea088a8208bab1c87e2 ''AP / June 18, 2018 / Warned 30 years ago, global warming 'is in our living room''']
 
''On June 23, 1988, a sultry day in Washington, James Hansen told Congress and the world that global warming wasn't approaching — it had already arrived. The testimony of the top NASA scientist, said Rice University historian Douglas Brinkley, was "the opening salvo of the age of climate change."''
 
''Thirty years later, it's clear that Hansen and other doomsayers were right. But the change has been so sweeping that it is easy to lose sight of effects large and small — some obvious, others less conspicuous.''
 
''Earth is noticeably hotter, the weather stormier and more extreme. Polar regions have lost billions of tons of ice; sea levels have been raised by trillions of gallons of water. Far more wildfires rage.''
 
''Over 30 years — the time period climate scientists often use in their studies in order to minimize natural weather variations — the world's annual temperature has warmed nearly 1 degree (0.54 degrees Celsius), according to the '''National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / NOAA'''. And the temperature in the United States has gone up even more — nearly 1.6 degrees.''
 
"The biggest change over the last 30 years, which is most of my life, is that we're no longer thinking just about the future," said Kathie Dello, a climate scientist at Oregon State University in Corvallis. "Climate change is here, it's now and it's hitting us hard from all sides."
 
''Warming hasn't been just global, it's been all too local. According to an Associated Press statistical analysis of 30 years of weather, ice, fire, ocean, biological and other data, every single one of the 344 climate divisions in the Lower 48 states — NOAA groupings of counties with similar weather — has warmed significantly, as has each of 188 cities examined.''
 
 
* [http://www.tampabay.com/james-hansen-wishes-he-wasnt-so-right-about-global-warming-ap_national664cf2e917604adf90472daa35989ffb ''AP / June 18, 2018 / James Hansen wishes he wasn't so right about global warming'']
 
''James Hansen wishes he was wrong. He wasn't.''
 
''NASA's top climate scientist in 1988, Hansen warned the world on a record hot June day 30 years ago that global warming was here and worsening. In a scientific study that came out a couple months later, he even forecast how warm it would get, depending on emissions of heat-trapping gases.''
 
''The hotter world that Hansen envisioned in 1988 has pretty much come true so far, more or less. Three decades later, most climate scientists interviewed rave about the accuracy of Hansen's predictions given the technology of the time.''
 
''Hansen won't say, "I told you so."''
 
''"I don't want to be right in that sense," Hansen told The Associated Press, in an interview is his New York penthouse apartment. That's because being right means the world is warming at an unprecedented pace and ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland are melting.''
 
''Hansen said what he really wishes happened is "that the warning be heeded and actions be taken."''
 
''They weren't. Hansen, now 77, regrets not being "able to make this story clear enough for the public..."''
 
 
: <font color=blue>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font>
 
 
<big>'''''Priority: Climate Data, Climate Facts, Climate Policy'''''</big>
 
''June 24, 2018 Via the NY Times and Washington Post''
 
 
* [https://nyti.ms/2MTCyC4 ''NOAA May Lose Its Climate Focus'']
 
''The Trump administration appears to be planning to shift the mission of one of the most important federal science agencies that works on climate change — away from climate change.''
 
''The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is part of the Department of Commerce, operates a constellation of earth-observing satellites. Because of its work on climate science data collection and analysis, it has become one of the most important U.S. agencies for making sense of the warming planet. But that focus may shift, according to a slide presentation at a Department of Commerce meeting by Tim Gallaudet, the acting head of the agency.''
 
 
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/06/25/ocean-science-agency-chief-suggests-removing-climate-from-mission-statement-adding-focus-on-trade-deficit/ ''NOAA to remove 'climate' from mission statement?'']
 
''A recent presentation by the acting head of the United States' top weather and oceans agency suggested removing the study of "climate" from its official mission statement, focusing the agency's work instead on economic goals and "homeland and national security."''
 
''Critics say this would upend the mission of the $5.9 billion National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.''
 
''NOAA's mission, the agency currently says, is "to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources."''
 
''In a presentation at a Department of Commerce "Vision Setting Summit" earlier this month, Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet, the agency's acting administrator, suggested a change to that mission statement, as well as a new emphasis on tripling the size of the U.S. aquaculture industry within a decade and moving to "reduce the seafood trade deficit."''
 
 
 
:<font color=blue>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font>
 
 
[[File:Burning the Data.png]]
 
 
<big>'''''[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_Science Earth Science] / [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Security Environmental Security] - [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Global_Security Global Security]'''''</big>
 
*[https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/reports/2018/06/13/452065/burning-the-data/ <small>''Government acting to burn the climate data''</small>]
 
 
 
:<font color=green>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font>
 
 
 
[[File:Over the Amazon.png|link=https://youtu.be/ruAeaxlu6pU]]
 
 
[https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/3d-view-of-amazon-forests-captures-effects-of-el-ni-o-drought '''Over the Amazon forest canopies''']
 
 
<big>'''Climate Change and Impacts in the Amazon'''</big>
 
 
''Flying over the Brazilian Amazon with an instrument firing 300,000 laser pulses per second, NASA scientists have made the first 3D measurements of forest canopies in the region.''
 
''"Climate projections for the Amazon basin suggest warmer and drier conditions in coming decades," said Earth system scientist Doug Morton at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and a co-author on the research recently published in New Phytologist. "Drought events give us a preview of how tropical forests may react to a warmer world.”''
 
 
<big><font color=green>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font></big>
 
 
[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/judge-orders-epa-to-produce-science-behind-pruitts-warming-claims/ <big>'''''Judge Orders EPA to Produce Science'''''</big>]
 
 
''Via E&E News-Scientific American''
 
''June 5, 2018 / Freedom of Information Request To Be Acted Upon''
 
 
''EPA must produce the opposing body of science Administrator Scott Pruitt has relied upon to claim that humans are not the primary drivers of global warming, a federal judge has ruled.''
 
''The EPA boss has so far resisted attempts to show the science backing up his claims.''
 
''Not long after he took over as EPA administrator, Pruitt appeared on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” where he was asked about carbon dioxide and climate change. He said, “I would not agree that it’s a primary contributor to the global warming that we see.”''
 
''The next day, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking the studies Pruitt used to make his claims. Specifically, the group requested “EPA documents that support the conclusion that human activity is not the largest factor driving global climate change.”''
 
''On Friday, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Beryl Howell, ordered the agency to comply.''
 
''“Particularly troubling is the apparent premise of this agency challenge to the FOIA request, namely: that the evidentiary basis for a policy or factual statement by an agency head, including about the scientific factors contributing to climate change, is inherently unknowable.”''
 
''If the case proceeds, it could mean that Pruitt would have to produce such research in the coming months or next year.''
 
 
:·································································
 
 
* [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/26/senior-epa-officials-collaborated-with-climate-change-denial-group-emails-show '''''Senior EPA officials collaborated with climate change denial group, emails show''''']
 
 
<big><big>'''Before and After: The Oklahoma Congressman Shifts from Climate Change Denial'''</big></big>
 
<big>'''Trump’s new NASA Chief seem to have changed his position'''</big>
 
 
''''' "I fully believe and know the climate is changing" '''''
 
:''''' “I also know that we human beings are contributing to it in a major way” '''''
 
 
[https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/05/trump-nasa-climate-change-bridenstine/560642/ ''Via The Atlantic'']
 
 
''Jim Bridenstine: “As far as my position on climate change and how it’s evolved, I’ll be very open...” the new administrator of NASA said at a town hall Thursday (May 17) at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.''
 
''“I don’t deny that consensus that the climate is changing,” he said. “In fact, I fully believe and know that the climate is changing. I also know that we humans beings are contributing to it in a major way. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. We’re putting it into the atmosphere in volumes that we haven’t seen, and that greenhouse gas is warming the planet. That is absolutely happening, and we are responsible for it.”''
 
''... whether Bridenstine’s views on climate change have changed or not, the views of his bosses haven’t, and this remains a point of concern for Bridentine’s critics. The Trump White House has proposed cutting or canceling many of nasa’s earth-science missions. So far, they’ve been spared. Republicans don’t have enough seats in the Senate to pass their dream budgets, so they’ve had to negotiate bipartisan budget legislation with Democrats. This setup has preserved most of nasa’s climate funding, but not all. The latest budget deal didn’t specifically mention nasa’s Carbon Monitoring System, a $10-million program to track greenhouse-gas emissions around the world. The Trump administration took that as an opportunity to terminate the program.''
 
 
 
* [https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/trump-dismantles-nasa-climate-change-program '''''Trump dismantles NASA climate change program''''']
 
* [https://www.axios.com/by-the-numbers-what-americans-want-nasa-to-do-0e79425d-acd5-4f59-8dd3-e81d82e3281f.html '''''Americans want NASA to focus more on our home planet: Survey''''']
 
 
 
[[File:NASA top priority survey-May 2018.png]]
 
 
 
················································
 
 
<big>'''''What EPA Climate Website?'''''</big>
 
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/05/04/it-has-been-more-than-a-year-since-epa-took-down-its-climate-website-for-updating/ '''''It has been more than a year since the EPA took down its climate website''''']
 
Washington Post
 
''The news came on a Friday evening in April 2017 : The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had removed an informational website about climate change, taking down a page that had been up, in some form, for nearly two decades and under three presidents.''
 
''Before its removal, the page had plainly stated a position on climate change: It is caused by humans, and there’s no significant doubt about that. But that position contradicted statements by the new EPA chief, Scott Pruitt, who had expressed doubts about human activity being the dominant driver of climate change.''
 
''EPA said at the time that the site had been taken down for review and that it had been archived and was still available as part of a “snapshot” of the state of the site on Jan. 19, 2017, just as the new administration took command.''
 
''But a year later, the agency’s climate page is still down.''
 
''Would-be visitors are redirected to a notice saying that “this page is being updated.”''
 
 
·························································································
 
 
[[File:Scale of energy use-2000-2016.jpg]]
 
 
<big>'''''Can the world kick its fossil-fuel addiction fast enough?'''''</big>
 
[https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-04931-6 '''''Clean energy is growing quickly. But time is running out to rein in carbon emissions''''']
 
 
 
························································································
 
 
 
[[File:Temperatures in Central England since 1772.jpg]]
 
 
 
··············································································
 
 
<big>'''''U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Update:'''''</big>
 
* [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-24/pruitt-proposes-limits-to-scientific-research-used-by-epa-staff Pruitt Proposes Limits to Scientific Research Used by EPA Staff]
 
 
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/04/24/senate-republicans-call-for-greater-scrutiny-of-pruitts-management-spending-decisions/ Congressional calls for investigation into Pruitt]
 
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-more-we-learn-about-pruitt-the-clearer-it-is-he-needs-to-go/2018/04/23/8c7da556-4737-11e8-8b5a-3b1697adcc2a_story.html The more we learn about Pruitt, the clearer it is he needs to go]
 
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-factory-of-bad-ideas-how-scott-pruitt-undermined-his-mission-at-epa/2018/04/20/695fa2c0-42ac-11e8-bba2-0976a82b05a2_story.html ‘A factory of bad ideas’: How Scott Pruitt undermined his mission at EPA]
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Pruitt-pol_cartoon-arizona_central.jpg Editorial / Newspaper / Media political cartoons across the U.S. on Scott Pruitt]
 
 
[[File:Pruitt-pol cartoon-arizona central.jpg]]
 
 
 
·············································································
 
 
:[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Carbon_Brief <u>'''''More re: Shared Socioeconomic Pathways'''''</u>]
 
[[File:SSP Baselines-projections 2018-2100.png|link=https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Carbon_Brief]]
 
 
::······································································
 
 
 
[[File:Earth-by astro Ricky Sanders-June2018 (2).png]]
 
 
 
::[[File:Copernicus EU logo.jpg|link=https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Copernicus_EU]]
 
 
:: <big>'''''Methane, We're Watching'''''</big>
 
:: ''https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Copernicus_EU''
 
 
:: '''''Detecting methane from space'''''
 
::''"There has been quite a buzz around this unique advancement in space, and the valuable data it will provide on methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that accounts for a quarter of the warming our planet is experiencing today. Curbing anthropogenic methane emissions is one of the most efficient and economical options available to slow the rate of warming over the next few decades, while efforts continue to reduce CO2 emissions worldwide."''
 
 
::* [https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-04478-6 '''''Update: US environmental group wins millions to develop methane-monitoring satellite''''']
 
 
::'''''The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is planning to be the first environmental group to send its own satellite into space.'''''
 
 
::<big><big><u>'''''[[New Space]]'''''</u></big></big>
 
 
::''“We need good solid data so that we really can support global action on climate change, and we’ve got to do it fast,” says Steven Hamburg, the EDF’s chief scientist.''
 
::''The most detailed measurements currently available of atmospheric methane concentrations currently come from a sensor aboard the European Space Agency’s [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Copernicus_EU Sentinel-5P spacecraft], which launched in October 2017. The Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument provides global coverage at a '''resolution of nearly 50 square kilometres''', but those measurements do not capture the dispersed sources of emissions from oil and gas fields.''
 
::''Commercial firms have developed high-resolution sensors that can be placed aboard 10-centimetre-sided [https://www.nature.com/news/mini-satellites-prove-their-scientific-power-1.15051 CubeSats] to measure emissions from individual wells or other facilities. Those data are proprietary, however, and the measurements cannot be scaled up to the level of an entire oil and gas field.''
 
::''The Environmental Defense Fund team is designing MethaneSAT to provide more-precise measurements, at a '''resolution of 1 square kilometre''', with global coverage at least once a week.''
 
 
 
:::*''https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Imaging-New_Space''
 
 
[[File:You can manage only what you can measure Dr David Crisp, OCO-2, June 2014 m.jpg]]
 
 
 
::···························································
 
 
 
<big>'''''Paleoclimate: Digging into the Past to Chart our Future: Richard Alley & Gavin Schmidt'''''</big>
 
 
''As human activities drive Earth’s rapidly changing climate, there is an urgent need to build better models that help us predict and prepare for our future. These models need robust data that stretch far back in time. Enter: the fossil record—a storehouse of climate evidence that paleontologists are getting better and better at deciphering. Join us for an evening with two renowned researchers—Richard Alley, Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences and an Associate of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at Penn State, and Gavin Schmidt, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies...''
 
 
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlYFaqtzWMU Understanding Climate Change (Video) / Presentation starts at 10:10]
 
 
[[File:Paleoclimate-at the Museum of Natural History-2.png|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlYFaqtzWMU]]
 
 
 
 
<big>'''''March 2018'''''</big>
 
 
'''''Via CarbonBrief:'''''
 
*[https://www.carbonbrief.org/in-depth-is-shells-new-climate-scenario-as-radical-as-it-says ''''' "Is Shell’s new climate scenario as ‘radical’ as it says?" ''''']
 
 
···························································
 
 
<big>'''''Global Energy & CO2 Status Report'''''</big>
 
'''''Latest trends in energy and emissions'''''
 
* ''http://www.iea.org/geco/''
 
* [http://www.iea.org/about/ourmission/ ''International Energy Agency'']
 
 
''The IEA’s first Global Energy and CO2 Status Report – released in '''March 2018''' – provides a snapshot of recent global trends and developments across fuels, renewable sources, and energy efficiency and carbon emissions, in 2017.''
 
'''''Overview'''''
 
''Global energy demand grew by 2.1% in 2017, according to IEA preliminary estimates, more than twice the growth rate in 2016. Global energy demand in 2017 reached an estimated 14 050 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe), compared with 10 035 Mtoe in 2000.''
 
''Fossil fuels met over 70% of the growth in energy demand around the world. Natural gas demand increased the most, reaching a record share of 22% in total energy demand. Renewables also grew strongly, making up around a quarter of global energy demand growth, while nuclear use accounted for the remainder of the growth. The overall share of fossil fuels in global energy demand in 2017 remained at 81%, a level that has remained stable for more than three decades despite strong growth in renewables.''
 
''Improvements in global energy efficiency slowed down. The rate of decline in global energy intensity, defined as the energy consumed per unit of economic output, slowed to only 1.7%* in 2017, much lower than the 2.0% improvement seen in 2016.''
 
''The growth in global energy demand was concentrated in Asia, with China and India together representing more than 40% of the increase. Energy demand in all advanced economies contributed more than 20% of global energy demand growth, although their share in total energy use continued to fall. Notable growth was also registered in Southeast Asia (which accounted for 8% of global energy demand growth) and Africa (6%), although per capita energy use in these regions still remains well below the global average.''
 
'''''Carbon dioxide (CO2)'''''
 
''Global energy-related CO2 emissions grew by 1.4% in 2017, reaching a historic high of 32.5 gigatonnes (Gt), a resumption of growth after three years of global emissions remaining flat. The increase in CO2 emissions, however, was not universal. While most major economies saw a rise, some others experienced declines, including the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico and Japan. The biggest decline came from the United States, mainly because of higher deployment of renewables.''
 
'''''Oil'''''
 
''World oil demand rose by 1.6% (or 1.5 million barrels a day) in 2017, a rate that was more than twice the annual average seen over the last decade. An increasing share of sport utility vehicles and light trucks in major economies and demand from the petrochemicals sector bolstered this growth.''
 
'''''Natural gas'''''
 
''Global natural gas demand grew by 3%, thanks in large part to abundant and relatively low-cost supplies. China alone accounted for almost 30% of global growth. In the past decade, half of global gas demand growth came from the power sector; last year, however, over 80% of the rise came from industry and buildings.''
 
'''''Coal'''''
 
''Global coal demand rose about 1% in 2017, reversing the declining trend seen over the last two years. This growth was mainly due to demand in Asia, almost entirely driven by an increase in coal-fired electricity generation.''
 
'''''Renewables'''''
 
''Renewables saw the highest growth rate of any energy source in 2017, meeting a quarter of global energy demand growth. China and the United States led this unprecedented growth, contributing around 50% of the increase in renewables-based electricity generation, followed by the European Union, India and Japan. Wind power accounted for 36% of the growth in renewables-based power output.''
 
 
·································································
 
 
<big>'''''143 Million People May Soon Become Climate Migrants'''''</big>
 
'''''Climate change will drive human migration more than other events, a new report warns. But the worst impacts can be avoided.'''''
 
 
''[https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/climate-migrants-report-world-bank-spd/ National Geographic] / [http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/infographic/2018/03/19/groundswell---preparing-for-internal-climate-migration World Bank] / March 2018''
 
 
''Climate change will transform more than 143 million people into “climate migrants” (#ClimateMigration) escaping crop failure, water scarcity, and sea-level rise, a new World Bank report concludes.''
 
''Most of this population shift will take place in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America—three “hot spots” that represent 55 percent of the developing world’s populations.''
 
''The report, [https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/29461 Groundswell—Preparing for Internal Climate Migration], also shifts the focus from cross-border migration, which has drawn global attention as refugees and migrants flee war, poverty and oppression, to in-country migration, which involves many more millions of people on the move in search of viable places to live.''
 
 
·································································
 
 
<big>'''''US Climate Politics: Red Team v. Blue Team Climate Debate Cancelled'''''</big>
 
'''''March 9, 2018 / NYT'''''
 
''The idea of publicly critiquing climate change on the national stage has been a notable theme for Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the E.P.A. For nearly a year he has championed the notion of holding military-style exercises known as red team, blue team debates, possibly to be broadcast live, to question the validity of climate change.''
 
''Mr. Pruitt has spoken personally with Mr. Trump about the idea, and the president expressed enthusiasm for it, according to people familiar with the conversations.''
 
''But the plan encountered widespread resistance within the administration from Mr. Kelly and other top officials, who regarded it as ill-conceived and politically risky, and when Mr. Pruitt sought to announce it last fall, they weighed in to stop him...''
 
''The tension between the White House and the E.P.A. over the red team, blue team idea reflects a broader rift within the administration over whether and how directly to attack climate change science itself. While the words “climate change” have been removed from many federal websites, and Mr. Trump has mocked global warming in tweets, the administration has stopped short of using the power of the federal government to attack the science.''
 
 
(GreenPolicy editor: The Trump administration has demonstrably not "stopped short of using the power of the federal government to attack the science" of climate change. The GreenPolicy360 '''Climate News''' page and related pages such as [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_and_Space,_Politics Earth Science and Earth Research from Space] examine the facts of this administration's concerted actions against climate and environmental science and policy. The record of actions taken will be discussed for years as the issue of damage to national and environmental security increases as vital national security interest.)
 
 
* [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Security,_National_Security '''''Environmental Security, National Security''''']
 
 
·································································
 
 
<big>'''''World Bank announces it will no longer finance oil/gas projects after 2019'''''</big>
 
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enG1JbNq5BQ
 
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb5m09ej8HE
 
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwT2b9bHvNI
 
 
 
·································································
 
 
<big>'''''Exxon is abandoning Russian projects'''''</big>
 
'''''Hopes of drilling in Moscow's Arctic ocean oil fields end'''''
 
Via the Wall Street Journal -- https://www.wsj.com/articles/exxon-abandons-russian-projects-brokered-by-tillerson-1519897033
 
''Withdrawal from joint venture brokered by Tillerson for now marks end of energy giant’s hopes of drilling in Arctic ocean oil fields''
 
''The Texas oil giant said in a regulatory filing late Wednesday that it would walk away from the joint venture with state-controlled PAO Rosneft to seek oil in the ice-choked waters of the Kara Sea, a hard-fought deal signed in 2012 by the company’s former chief executive, Rex Tillerson, now U.S. secretary of state.''
 
''Mr. Tillerson touted the agreement as a breakthrough giving Exxon access to one of the world’s great unexplored oil and gas basins. The company reportedly spent about $700 million to drill the first well, likely making it the most expensive ever. It struck oil, according to Rosneft...''
 
''Exxon declined to comment on the reasons for its decision. The company said it would formally begin to withdraw from the Rosneft joint ventures this year, taking a $200 million loss after taxes.''
 
''Rosneft said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that it would support the return of Exxon to the projects in the future if it were legally possible.''
 
 
More re: Arctic warming, via GreenPolicy360 -- https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Arctic
 
 
[[File:Exxon-Russia abandon oil drilling in Arctic-March 1, 2018.png]]
 
 
 
·····························
 
 
<big>'''''February 2018'''''</big>
 
 
<big>'''''The story behind the satellite that Trump wants dead'''''</big>
 
'''''It’s difficult to describe all the ways this is stupid'''''
 
* ''The Orbiting Carbon Observatory's primary job is to see what's happening to the carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere''
 
 
''There were plenty of striking things about February 12th's budget news, given that it contained lots of draconian cuts that were simultaneously restored because Congress had boosted spending the week before. But perhaps the most striking among them was an item in the proposed budget for NASA: Trump wants to block the follow on to a highly successful NASA mission.''
 
''To truly appreciate just how awful this is, you have to understand the history of that satellite and what it means to the scientific community as a whole. So let's step back and take a look at why the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (or OCO) exists in the first place. It turns out it was built specifically to handle some outstanding questions of the sort that people in the administration say are important, and killing its successor would mean the existing mission never lives up to its full potential.''
 
:* '''''https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/02/op-ed-the-story-behind-the-satellite-that-trump-wants-dead/'''''
 
 
 
:[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:CO2_photo.JPG <big>'''''CO2 Molecule'''''</big>]
 
 
[[File:CO2 photo m.jpg]]
 
 
 
:·····················································································
 
 
:* [https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-pinpoints-cause-of-earth-s-recent-record-carbon-dioxide-spike '''NASA Pinpoints Cause of Earth’s Recent Record Carbon Dioxide Spike''']
 
 
'''''A new NASA study provides space-based evidence that Earth’s tropical regions were the cause of the largest annual increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration seen in at least 2,000 years...'''''
 
'''''The findings are published in the journal Science Friday as part of a collection of five research papers based on OCO-2 data.'''''
 
 
[https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4514 <big>'''''Carbon Dioxide and OCO-2 Data: Earth Science that Counts'''''</big>]
 
:NASA OCO-2, critical measurements, critical mission -- https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12478
:[https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004500/a004514/co2_30.with_labels_360p30.mp4 NASA CO2 Video]
 
::''Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most important greenhouse gas released to the atmosphere through human activities...''
 
 
:::* (NASA Media / "Following Carbon Dioxide Through the Atmosphere") | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syU1rRCp7E8
 
 
::''The OCO-2 mission greatly expands the ability to observe atmospheric carbon dioxide. OCO-2 collects high-precision, total column measurements of carbon dioxide (from the sensor to Earth’s surface) during daylight conditions.''
 
::''Scientists can use [https://gmao.gsfc.nasa.gov/research/science_snapshots/new-view-CO2.php model results] to understand and predict where carbon dioxide is being emitted and removed from the atmosphere and how much is from natural processes and human activities.''
 
:: ''OCO-2's unprecedented science is "a step toward answering critical questions about carbon dioxide and Earth's climate future."''
 
 
:······································
 
 
:[http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41778089 <big>'''''Record Surge in CO2'''''</big>]
 
::[https://mobile.twitter.com/guardianeco/status/924960833729265669 New CO2 Record]
:::[https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3020046/wmo-greenhouse-gas-concentrations-reach-highest-level-in-800-000-years CO2 Highest Level in 800,000 Years]
 
 
 
[[File:2017 second hottest on record.png]]
 
 
 
 
[[File:NOAA-30 years global land-ocean temp anomaly.png]]
 
 
 
<big>'''''Scott Pruitt's Opinion'''''</big>
 
:'''''Environmental Protection Chief [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Pruitt_opinion_Feb2018.png Talks] and [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Pruitt_E%26E_news_February_7,2018.png Explains]'''''
 
 
[[File:Pruitt opinion Feb2018.png]]
 
 
[[File:Pruitt E&E news February 7,2018.png]]
 
 
···········································································
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:January_31,_2018_Renewable_cuts_proposed.png '''''Full Costs of Fossil Fuels & Global Impact Set Aside''''']
 
[[File:Cut renewable energy-efficiency Jan2018.png | link=https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:January_31,_2018_Renewable_cuts_proposed.png]]
 
 
···························································································
 
 
<big><big>'''''US Environmental Nominee Goes Down in Controversy'''''</big></big>
 
WASHINGTON / Via NY Times / February 4, 2018 — ''The Trump administration plans to withdraw its nomination of Kathleen Hartnett White, a climate change skeptic, to lead the Council on Environmental Quality...''
 
''Mrs. White has "called renewable energy “unreliable and parasitic,” described global warming as “a creed, a faith, a dogma that has little to do with science,” and asserted that science does not dictate policy in democracies."''
 
''President Trump in October appointed Ms. White, a former Texas environmental regulator who has said that carbon dioxide should be considered the “gas of life” rather than a pollutant, to be the White House senior environmental adviser.''
 
 
·······························································
 
 
<big><big>'''''Scrubbed: Penultimate Politics'''''</big></big>
 
:<big>'''''National/Global Security Failure in Strategy Doctrine'''''</big>
 
''"The Pentagon scrubbed its latest National Defense Strategy of all references to climate change..."''
 
''A [https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2018-National-Defense-Strategy-Summary.pdf summary document] released January 19, 2018, makes no mention of “climate,” “warming,” “planet,” “sea levels” or even “temperature.” All 22 uses of the word “environment” refer to the strategic or security landscape. The 11-page memo, signed by Defense Secretary James Mattis, is the first update to the policy in a decade.''
 
''It’s unlikely the Department of Defense will release a full National Defense Strategy report; instead, the document is expected to remain classified. The Pentagon did not immediately return a call requesting comment.''
 
''The move comes a month after the White House dropped climate change from the list of threats in its National Security Strategy.'' (Via HuffPost)
 
: [http://strategicdemands.com/new-definitions-of-security/ ''Demand for a New Security Vision Grows Critical'']
 
: [http://www.strategicdemands.com ''Visit GreenPolicy's associate, Strategic Demands'']
 
 
·····································································
 
 
[[File:Landsat 50th anniv Sept 2016.jpg]]
 
 
<big>'''''National Academy of Sciences Report: Top Science Priorities for Space-Based Earth Observation Over Next Decade'''''</big>
 
: ''http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=52040''
 
''We live on a dynamic Earth shaped by both natural processes and the impacts of humans on their environment. It is in our collective interest to observe and understand our planet, and to predict future behavior to the extent possible, in order to effectively manage resources, successfully respond to threats from natural and human-induced environmental change, and capitalize on the opportunities – social, economic, security, and more – that such knowledge can bring.''
 
 
<big><u>'''''[[Earth Science Research from Space]]'''''</u></big>
 
<big><u>'''''[[Earth and Space, Politics]]'''''</u></big>
 
 
* [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Congressman_george.e.brown.gif '''''George Brown: Looking back at beginnings of earth science research from space and forward-looking National Security''''']
 
 
''By continuously monitoring and exploring Earth, developing a deep understanding of its evolving behavior, and characterizing the processes that shape and reshape the environment in which we live, we not only advance knowledge and basic discovery about our planet, but we further develop the foundation upon which benefits to society are built. Thriving on Our Changing Planet presents prioritized science, applications, and observations, along with related strategic and programmatic guidance, to support the U.S. civil space Earth observation program over the coming decade.''
 
 
[[File:EarthDecadel Priorities-2018.jpg]]
 
 
 
 
[http://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/isobaric/1000hPa/orthographic <big><font color=green> '''''December 2017'''''</font></big>]
 
 
<big><big>'''''Climate Science @ Reddit: Time to to Look Again to the Future'''''</big></big>
 
: https://www.reddit.com/search?q=Climate
 
 
 
<big>'''''November 2017'''''</big>
 
 
<big><big>'''''Global Climate Action @ the United Nations Climate Change Conference'''''</big></big>
 
: [http://www.dw.com/en/opinion-what-actually-happened-at-the-bonn-climate-conference-and-why-it-matters/a-41424593 Bonn Climate Conference Report]
 
: [https://cop23.unfccc.int/cop23/global-climate-action-cop23-full-programme Bonn / Global Climate Action / Programme]
 
 
:<big>'''''International Cooperation (and US Non-Cooperation)'''''</big>
 
::'''''Framework Convention on Climate Change'''''
 
::http://unfccc.int/2860.php
::https://cop23.unfccc.int/
 
:::[https://cop23.unfccc.int/news/cop23-kicks-off-with-strong-calls-to-hold-to-paris-agreement-path Call to Hold to the Paris Agreement]
:::[https://cop23.unfccc.int/news/un-climate-change-conference-2017-aims-for-further-faster-ambition-together Climate Change Conference Aims for Progress]
 
 
[[File:Climate Change Conf Nov 6-17.png]]
 
 
 
[http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-germany-jerry-brown-climate-change-20171108-story.html '''''California Gov. Jerry Brown delivers a blunt climate change message in Germany''''']
 
''Brown has been hailed in German media as the “anti-Trump” for his efforts to keep the United States engaged in the 2015 Paris agreement’s commitments to cut greenhouse emissions...''
 
''“It’s hard to get your mind around something so extensive,” said Brown, who was appointed by Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, the U.N. conference president, to serve as a special advisor for states and regions...''
 
''“Let’s lead the whole world to realize this is not your normal political challenge,” he added. “This is much bigger. This is life itself. It requires courage and imagination.”''
 
:[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Governor_Jerry_Brown ''@Green Policy: Jerry Brown'']
 
:[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/California_out_in_front_in_a_Green_future ''Calif Out in Front in a Green Future'']
 
 
················································
 
 
[http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41778089 <big>'''''Carbon Dioxide in Atmosphere Surges'''''</big>]
 
:[https://mobile.twitter.com/guardianeco/status/924960833729265669 '''''Atmospheric Science - Earth CO2 Surging''''']
::[https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3020046/wmo-greenhouse-gas-concentrations-reach-highest-level-in-800-000-year '''''Highest CO2 in 800,000 Years''''']
 
 
······································
 
 
[https://climathaon.climate-kic.org/ <big>''''' "Climathon" '''''</big>]
:To highlight the global collaboration happening across the world -- http://www.climate-kic.org/
::https://eit.europa.eu/newsroom/climate-kic-malm%C3%B6-encourages-children-in-climathon
 
:::'''Climate-KIC, from the European Union'''
::::: The EU’s main climate innovation initiative - http://www.climate-kic.org/
 
 
::··························································································
 
 
<big>'''''Now Only One Country Refusing to Support the International Climate Agreement'''''</big>
 
:'''''November 7, 2017'''''
 
:[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-paris-agreement-us-climate-change-donald-trump-world-country-accord-a8041996.html '''''Trump's Rejection: U.S. Outside of International Community''''']
:[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/07/syria-signs-paris-climate-agreement-and-leaves-us-isolated '''''U.S. Isolated''''']
 
 
<big>'''''Only Two Countries Outside the International Climate Agreement'''''</big>
 
:'''''October 24'''''
 
:[http://e360.yale.edu/digest/as-nicaragua-signs-paris-agreement-only-u-s-and-syria-left-outside-global-pact '''''As Nicaragua Signs Paris Agreement, Only U.S. and Syria Left Outside Global Climate Agreement''''']
 
 
::··································································································
 
 
<big>'''''In the U.S., Trump Administration Acts to Repeal President Obama's Climate Plan'''''</big>
 
'''''Via Vox'''''
 
''EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announces actions to repeal the Clean Power Plan, Obama’s program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from US power plants.''
 
''This begins a legal and regulatory process that will grind on for many years, likely longer than Trump’s first term.''
 
''While there is public support for fighting climate change (about 61 percent of Americans, in one recent poll) and specifically for regulating carbon emissions (even a majority of Trump voters, in one poll), the Clean Power Plan does not rest on voter expectations, but on a legal expectation.''
 
''In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled, in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_v._Environmental_Protection_Agency Massachusetts v. EPA], that carbon dioxide qualifies as an air pollutant under the Clean Air Act. If the EPA determines that carbon is a danger to public health, the court said, it must regulate carbon to reduce that danger.''
 
''In 2009, the EPA issued its [https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/endangerment-and-cause-or-contribute-findings-greenhouse-gases-under-section-202a-clean Endangerment Finding], demonstrating (based on intensive research and documentation) that greenhouse gases are in fact a danger to public health.''
 
''The Supreme Court ruling plus the Endangerment Finding mean that the EPA is legally obligated to regulate carbon in such a way as to meliorate the danger it poses to public health.''
 
''The only way EPA can escape that core legal obligation is to overturn the Endangerment Finding. Some conservative denialist groups, recognizing that fact, are [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/climate/scott-pruitt-epa-endangerment-finding.html pressuring Pruitt] to attempt just that. Doing so, however, would likely prove impossible. It would have to pass legal review, and the simple fact is that the science overwhelmingly supports the EPA’s case.''
 
 
:<big><font color=green>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font></big> <big><font color=blue>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font></big>
 
 
:• [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/how-scott-pruitts-epa-is-erasing-obamas-climate-change-legacy/ '''''WAR ON THE EPA: How Scott Pruitt’s EPA Is Erasing Obama’s Climate Change Legacy''''']
 
:• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-epa-rips-up-the-clean-power-plan/2017/10/11/3e08f38e-adf5-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html '''''The EPA rips up the Clean Power Plan''''']
 
:• [https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/scott-pruitt-and-donald-trump-further-endanger-the-planet '''''Scott Pruitt and Donald Trump Further Endanger the Planet''''']
 
:• [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/opinion/trump-coal-climate-emissions.html '''''Mr. Trump Nails Shut the Coffin on Climate Relief''''']
 
:• [https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/10/11/trump-epas-4-year-strategic-plan-doesnt-mention-climate-not-once '''''Trump EPA's 4-Year Strategic Plan Doesn't Mention 'Climate.' Not Once.''''']
 
:• [https://insideclimatenews.org/news/10102017/trump-coal-clean-power-plan-epa-renewable-energy-wind-solar-pruitt-perry '''''Inside the Coal War Games''''']
 
:• [https://cleantechnica.com/2017/10/11/withdrawing-clean-power-plan-wont-bring-back-coal-states-unite/ '''''Withdrawing Clean Power Plan Won’t Bring Back Coal, States Unite''''']
 
:• [http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/article178193601.html '''''EPA rollbacks are bad for our planet''''']
 
 
:<big><font color=green>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font></big> <big><font color=blue>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font></big>
 
 
'''''Oil Change International Statement on Clean Power Plan Repeal'''''
 
''WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to repeal the Clean Power Plan. In response, Janet Redman, U.S. Policy Director at Oil Change International issued the following statement:''
 
''“Pruitt’s move to repeal the Clean Power Plan shouldn’t come as any surprise. He’s repeatedly partnered with fossil fuel companies to sue the EPA for regulating the industry’s air, water, and climate pollution. This kind of cronyism is exactly what happens when government agencies are captured by the corporations they’re supposed to oversee.''
 
''“According to Pruitt, this is just another way to even the playing field for coal, oil, and gas - but he knows as well as anyone that fossil fuels already get massive government giveaways. In fact, permanent tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry are seven times higher than those for renewable energy.''
 
''“The fight to curb the worst abuses of the fossil fuel energy industry won’t stop here. Federal legislation, the courts, and millions of voters have made it clear that the federal government is obligated to protect American workers and families from the deadly impacts of dirty energy, not hand polluters taxpayer dollars.''
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''''Visit the NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory OCO-2'''''</big>
 
 
<big><u>'''[[OCO-2]]'''</u></big>
 
 
[https://twitter.com/UNFCCC/status/910376712030052357 <big><u>'''''#ClimateAction Is a Race Against Time'''''</u></big>]
 
• https://twitter.com/UNFCCC/status/910376712030052357
 
 
[[File:Race against time.png|link=https://twitter.com/UNFCCC/status/910376712030052357]]
 
 
 
○
 
 
<big><big>'''Earth Science Deep Budget Cuts at NASA'''</big></big>
 
 
:[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/12/magazine/what-could-we-lose-if-a-nasa-mission-goes-dark.html <big>'''''What Could We Lose if a NASA Climate Mission Goes Dark?'''''</big>]
 
::'''''Threat to the NASA Mission and Environmental Security'''''
 
 
'''The [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Earth_science_missions_in_space_US_circa2017.jpg current array of American earth science satellites], comprising dozens of NOAA and NASA missions, is the product of some 40 years of experimentation and investment on the part of the federal government.'''
 
The satellites go by acronyms like '''GOES-13, Modis, SMAP and [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/OCO-2 OCO-2]'''... We are in a "golden age" of [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space earth science research from space].
 
'''Multiple programs and missions are now being placed in danger by a 'deconstruction' agenda''' by some in the US Congress, in particular by several Congressmen from oil/gas states like Texas and Oklahoma. House science and environment chair Lamar Smith and environment committee chair Senator Jim Inhofe have taken positions to severely cut earth science programs. It is not a move, as GreenPolicy has argued, that advances the nation's security nor does it build a vital position of the US within the global community of nations.
 
'''President Trump’s budget plan proposes to cut OCO-3, a follow-up mission that would continue essential OCO-2 earth science, CO2 monitoring work.'''
 
The political debate continues, but the physics and data, the science, the facts have their own momentum that if denied or hidden, if databases are scrubbed with data lost as a result ("data gaps") of precipitous actions, this will deliver serious costs to future generations. '''The conclusions of most all current climate scientists are, without doubt, serious science at work and if the science and scientists warnings are ignored it will be at the peril of today's generations and those of the future.'''
 
'''Much is at stake.''' Many speak of existential questions that are now [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Earth_in_Human_Hands_review.png in human hands]. Humanity is entering a new era, an [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Anthropocene Anthropocene Era] where new challenges and new responsibilities are coming into view. Our challenges are local, national and global. It is for us to rise to the challenge.
 
 
[[File:Earth in Human Hands Intro.png]]
 
 
○
 
 
<big><big>'''''Climate Science Denier to Head Up NASA?'''''</big></big>
 
'''''US President to Nominate a Political Voice from Inhofe's Oklahoma...'''
 
: [https://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/102617%20-%20Bridenstine%20Opposition.pdf '''"Deep Concern" Expressed Over Nomination of Jim Bridenstine to Head NASA''']
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''NASA's Mission to Study Planet Earth in Jeopardy''' </big>
 
September 2, 2017 Report by Joe Romm
 
• https://thinkprogress.org/trump-names-climate-science-denier-to-run-nasa-c9a46a6f4a52/
 
 
'''More from Joe Romm at GreenPolicy [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Green_Stories_of_the_Day <font color=green> "Stories of the Day"</font>]'''
 
::Dr. Joseph Romm, creator of climateprogress.org -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6ag3b1WCYc -- http://www.climateprogress.org
:::Joe Romm -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_J._Romm -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_and_High_Water_(book)
 
 
'''More on Jim Bridenstine from [https://thinkprogress.org/climate Think Progress/Climate]'''
 
'''''Bridenstine is a politician without any scientific credentials, unlike previous NASA chiefs''''' ... ''NASA scientists have led the way in documenting the scientific reality of climate change. But in 2013, Bridenstine not only gave a speech on the House floor filled with standard denier talking points, he actually ended his remarks with a demand that President Obama [https://thinkprogress.org/congressman-demands-obama-apologize-to-oklahoma-for-investing-in-climate-change-research-4d39d5e58fb9/ apologize for funding research into climate science].''
 
''The truth is that while “planetary warming does not care about the election,” humanity very much cares that the Trump Administration is doing everything it can to undermine climate science and climate action. Bridenstine’s nomination deserves widespread opposition.''
 
 
'''A Quick Look Back at Bridenstein in the US Congress'''
 
''Just as extreme weather season kicks off, freshman Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) demanded that President Obama apologize to Oklahoma for allocating funding to climate change research. Bridenstine, a climate denier who serves on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, plans to introduce a bill that defunds climate change research.''
 
:See [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Houston,_In_Danger.png Hurricane Harvey, Houston, Texas, August 2017]
:• https://youtu.be/GUcsAFnwC7k
 
 
<big>'''Tracking an Anti-Science Faction in the US Congress'''</big>
 
:• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_and_Space,_Politics
 
 
'''The nomination of Jim Bridenstine brings a new level of threat to US national security ...'''
 
GreenPolicy360 re-visits our associate Strategic Demands' Op-Ed in July 2016 -- '''Republicans in Congress, A Vote to Block National Security?'''
 
:• http://strategicdemands.com/republicans-vote-to-block-national-security/
 
 
○
 
 
<big><big>'''''Texas, Louisiana, Florida -- and the National Flood Insurance Program'''''</big></big>
 
 
Read more at Sea-Level Rise -- https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Sea-Level_Rise
 
 
○
 
 
<big><big>'''''Hurricane Harvey Devastates Texas'''''</big></big>
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Hurricane_Harvey_a_sign%2C_or_not_a_sign_of_things_to_come.pdf ''Extreme Weather: Costs and Risks'']
 
[[File:Hurricane Harvey 800x450.jpg|link=https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Hurricane_Harvey_a_sign%2C_or_not_a_sign_of_things_to_come.pdf]]
 
 
:::[[File:Houston, In Danger.png|link=https://www.propublica.org/series/hell-and-high-water]]
 
 
:[https://twitter.com/AstroKomrade/status/902319524497813508 <big><big>'''''Over Texas / August 29'''''</big></big>]
 
::[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/08/29/harvey-marks-the-most-extreme-rain-event-in-u-s-history/ ''Harvey marks the most extreme rain event in U.S. history''] 
:::• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Harvey_Houston.png
 
 
https://assets.rbl.ms/10607706/980x.jpg
 
 
::○
 
 
::[[File:Climate Time Machine NASA Earth Science-2.png]]
 
 
 
[[File:Temperature anomalies global-countries-1900-2016-.png|link=https://www.flickr.com/photos/150411108@N06/35471910724/]]
 
&nbsp;
 
 
 
[https://globalchange.mit.edu/news-media/jp-news-outreach/monitoring-implementation-paris-agreement <big>'''''Monitoring the Global Climate Accord'''''</big>]
::• ''https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:INDC''
 
 
[http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2989202/donald_trump_ends_ipcc_funding_and_abandons_global_science_leadership.html '''''Donald Trump ends IPCC funding and 'abandons global science leadership' ''''']
 
''The US has ended its funding to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change despite the serious national security implications for the country ...''  [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security and security impacts internationally.]'''
 
''This is a remarkable departure considering the previous high regard for the IPCC, including the fact it was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about  man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.”''
 
 
[[File:IPCC logo.jpg]]
 
 
''More on IPCC from GreenPolicy360''
 
:• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/IPCC_Report_Nov_2014
 
 
○
 
 
[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/us/politics/scott-pruitt-epa.html '''''NYT / Scott Pruitt Is Carrying Out His E.P.A. Agenda in Secret''''']
 
 
''(A)s he works to roll back regulations, close offices and eliminate staff at the agency charged with protecting the nation’s environment and public health, Mr. Pruitt is taking extraordinary measures to conceal his actions, according to interviews with more than 20 current and former agency employees.''
 
 
''WASHINGTON — When career employees of the Environmental Protection Agency are summoned to a meeting with the agency’s administrator, Scott Pruitt, at agency headquarters, they no longer can count on easy access to the floor where his office is, according to interviews with employees of the federal agency.''
 
''Doors to the floor are now frequently locked, and employees have to have an escort to gain entrance.
 
''Some employees say they are also told to leave behind their cellphones when they meet with Mr. Pruitt, and are sometimes told not to take notes.''
 
''Mr. Pruitt, according to the employees, who requested anonymity out of fear of losing their jobs, often makes important phone calls from other offices rather than use the phone in his office, and he is accompanied, even at E.P.A. headquarters, by armed guards, the first head of the agency to ever request round-the-clock security.''
 
''A former Oklahoma attorney general who built his career suing the E.P.A., and whose LinkedIn profile still describes him as “a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda,” Mr. Pruitt has made it clear that he sees his mission to be dismantling the agency’s policies — and even portions of the institution itself.''
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''''Climate Science, Special Report / Key Findings'''''</big>
 
:The 673 page report represents a massive body of the latest scientific findings on climate change.
 
::[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Climate-Science-Special-Report-TOD-US_2017.pdf '''Full Version Report''']
 
 
''The report carries with it a monumental scientific gravitas. A level of credibility that Trump, even in his wildest fantasies, couldn’t hope to achieve. It includes a culmination of research coming from thousands of peer-reviewed studies resulting in the accumulated work of tens of thousands of scientists. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) served as the lead government agency conducting the report. Representatives from three other federal agencies joined with NOAA along with a team of 54 scientist authors and reviewers drawing from both public and private sector institutional knowledge in compiling the report.''
 
:• https://robertscribbler.com/tag/climate-science-special-report/
 
:• https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/03/15/obama-left-trump-a-major-climate-change-report-and-independent-scientists-just-said-its-accurate/
 
 
○
 
 
'''''Via Politico''''' / [http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/09/pruitt-climate-science-challenge-splits-conservative-allies-241426 ''Pruitt climate science challenge splits conservative allies'']
 
''There is concern the GOP and its policies will suffer if the EPA chief reopens a losing argument about whether global warming is real''
 
○
 
[http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-08/05/c_136501902.htm '''Via China News Xinhua / 'Official' US Notice of Withdrawal from International Climate Agreement''']
 
○
 
[http://www.npr.org/2017/08/02/541124579/al-gore-warns-that-trump-is-a-distraction-from-the-issue-of-climate-change '''''National Public Radio - Fresh Air''''' / '''''Al Gore Warns That Trump Is A 'Distraction' From The Issue Of Climate Change''''']
 
''"I have no illusions about the possibility of changing Donald Trump's mind," Gore says. "I think he has made it abundantly clear that he's throwing his lot in with the climate deniers."''
 
Gore spoke with the president multiple times prior to Trump's announcement about the Paris accord. Gore is now focused on building a bipartisan consensus to address the climate crisis.
 
Part of creating that consensus is spreading awareness of an issue that Gore has been following for decades. His 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which was basically an adaption of his Power Point presentation about the effects of global warming, was a surprise box office success. Now he has a new documentary, called [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Inconvenient_sequel-front_outside_cover.jpg An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power].
 
 
:• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/A_Day_with_Al_Gore
 
:[[File:Inconvenient sequel-front outside cover.jpg]]
 
 
<big>'''''Interview Highlights'''''</big>
 
'''''On conversations he's had with Trump about climate change'''''
 
''I have taken the old-school view that conversations with a president should be kept confidential, but I will tell you that my simple focus was to convince him to stay in the Paris Agreement, and I had reason to believe that there was a real chance that he might. Previously, before his presidential campaign, he had signed a full page newspaper ad demanding that President Obama take bolder action to solve the climate crisis, so I felt there might be something to work with, and there are some people in his inner circle who certainly do believe that we have to solve the climate crisis. But he has surrounded himself with a rogues' gallery of climate deniers, coming out of the fossil fuel industry, and I think it's rather obvious that they've gained control of his thought process on this issue.''
 
 
'''''On why he believes Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement'''''
 
''I think he felt it was another way to throw a bone to his hardcore base. He's adopted the strategy of ignoring any effort to reach out to those who did not support him or to build broader coalitions across party and ideological lines, and seems to be counting on the fervor and passion of his shrinking base to keep him and his presidency afloat. I think that a part of his base has been particularly passionate in trying to deny the existence of a climate crisis.''
 
 
'''''On the "distracting quality" of the Trump presidency'''''
 
''One of the many problems he's posing for our country is the endless series of distractions — the new round of tweets, the new absurdities every day. When there's a new outrage I feel as if I have to download some existing outrage onto a hard drive so I can make room for the new outrage. The distracting quality of what he says and does is very harmful to our country's ability to sustain our focus on the most important challenges we have. ...''
 
''I have no interest in access to the Trump White House. I have no interest in any further dialogue with him. I wouldn't rule it out, because who knows what circumstances could develop, but I have no reservation about withholding criticism of him on those grounds. I just don't want to contribute to the constant distraction that takes us away from what we ought to be focused on.''
 
 
'''''On how big money is playing more of a role in the denial of climate change'''''
 
''[The fossil fuel industry] financed a major cottage industry of climate denial with pseudo scientists who crank out these phony pseudo-scientific reports. Their principal product is doubt. They know they don't have to win the argument, they just have to create enough doubt to lead people to lose any sense of urgency about solving this crisis. They have made some headway. But again, because Mother Nature has a more persuasive voice than any of us, they're losing this battle. The Paris Agreement was truly a historic breakthrough, illustrating that all around the world opinions are getting stronger and stronger in favor of solving the climate crisis. We're the only country with a major conservative party wedded to provable idiocy on climate science.''
 
 
'''''On how technological advancements can help combat climate change'''''
 
''Electricity from the sun and the wind is now in many regions much cheaper than electricity from dirty fossil fuels. Electric cars are becoming affordable. Batteries are coming down very quickly in cost, and coupled with renewable energy will utterly transform the world's energy systems, along with sustainable agriculture and forestry, we now have a chance to use these tools to really solve the climate crisis in time to avoid the catastrophic consequences that would otherwise fall upon us.''
 
 
'''''On if he ever imagined a reality TV star could be president'''''
 
''I did envision that someone with the skills of an actor on the screen might become president, and it was not long thereafter that Ronald Reagan was elected. I think it's not coincidental that someone like Donald Trump with not only the skill set of a reality TV star and the social media skills of what he has become, the tweeter in chief, was successful in today's media environment.''
 
''I do think that we need to reclaim the integrity and functionality of our constitutional system, and I hope that we'll see continued progress in moving the forms and patterns of democracy onto the Internet — which, with all of its many problems, the echo chambers and all the rest, nevertheless [restores] the ability of individuals with command of the facts and the ability to express themselves clearly to attract those who agree with their point of view and use knowledge as a form of power that substitutes for great wealth or force of arms.''
 
 
○
 
 
'''''July / June 2017'''''
 
 
<big>'''Head of the US House Committee on Science: Climate Change is "Beneficial"'''</big>
 
 
[https://www.buzzfeed.com/zahrahirji/lamar-smith-tours-the-arctic <big>'''''Lamar Smith Goes to Greenland'''''</big>]
 
 
[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lamar-smith-climate-change-beneficial_us_59765a54e4b0e201d577466d <big>'''''Lamar Smith Returns from Greenland'''''</big>]
 
 
<big><big>'''''Don't Believe Lamar's Line'''''</big></big>
 
''WASHINGTON — Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) — who has spent his career cozying up to fossil fuel interests, dismissing the threat of climate change and harassing federal climate scientists — is now arguing that pumping the atmosphere full of carbon dioxide is “beneficial” to global trade, crop production and the lushness of the planet.''
 
''Rather than buying into “hysteria,” Americans should be celebrating the plus sides of a changing climate, Smith argues in an [http://dailysignal.com/2017/07/24/dont-believe-hysteria-carbon-dioxide/ op-ed] published July 24th in The Daily Signal, a news website published by the conservative Heritage Foundation.''
 
 
○
 
 
<big>''''' How California Plans to Go Far Beyond Any Other State on Climate'''''</big>
 
 
[https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/26/climate/california-climate-policy-cap-trade.html '''''NYT / Just How Far Can California Possibly Go on Climate?''''']
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/California_out_in_front_in_a_Green_future '''''GreenPolicy360 / California out in front in a Green future''''']
 
 
''Over the past decade, California has passed a sweeping set of climate laws to test a contentious theory: that it’s possible to cut greenhouse gas emissions far beyond what any other state has done and still enjoy robust economic growth.''
 
''If California prevails, it could provide a model for other policy makers, even as President Trump scales back the federal government’s efforts on climate change. The state may also develop new technologies that the rest of the world can use to cut emissions.''
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''Voice of the People, via Vox'''</big>
 
 
[[File:How to Do Rapid Social Transformation.png]]
 
[[File:Along Comes a Writer.png]]
 
[[File:Most people.png]]
 
[[File:Degrading.png]]
 
[[File:Science Heroes.png]]
 
[[File:Cleantech is a winning issue, own it.png]]
 
[[File:Clean energy.png]]
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''''News from the UK and Europe'''''</big>
 
 
[https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/07/the-uk-is-banning-all-new-petrol-and-diesel-cars-by-2040 '''''UK banning all new petrol and diesel cars by 2040''''']
 
:[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/26/governments-air-quality-plan-is-cynical-headline-grabbing-say-critics '''''Government's air quality plan is headline-grabbing''''']
 
:''UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove’s pledge to ban new petrol and diesel cars in 23 years is not enough to tackle health crisis now, say campaigners''
 
:[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jul/25/britain-to-ban-sale-of-all-diesel-and-petrol-cars-and-vans-from-2040 '''''Britain to ban sale of all diesel and petrol cars and vans''''']
 
:''Plans follow [https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/06/france-ban-petrol-diesel-cars-2040-emmanuel-macron-volvo '''French commitment'''] to take polluting vehicles off the road by 2040 owing to effect of poor air quality on people’s health''
 
 
~
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Environmental_movement Environmental progress] on common quality of life issues, building on the precedents of the US Clean Air Act of 1963 and the 1967 Air Quality Act to confront air pollution problems.
 
:Air Pollution, emissions/externalities, measuring the costs to health and environmental security, acting to mitigate the threat, the consequences, local and global...
 
 
<u>'''[[The Commons]]'''</u>
 
 
• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Air_Pollution
 
• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Air_Quality
 
• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Environmental_full-cost_accounting
 
• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Externalities
 
 
○
 
 
[http://blog.ucsusa.org/guest-commentary/what-is-the-cost-of-one-meter-of-sea-level-rise '''''What Is the Cost of One Meter of Sea-Level Rise?''''']
 
 
<big>'''''At the G-20 Meeting in Germany: The US Equation, 19+1'''''</big>
 
'''''Attempting to Find "a text that can be tolerated"''''' - ''by James Robbins, BBC Diplomatic Correspondent''
 
''For many hours, draft versions of the summit conclusions were causing deep concern to most G20 members. On climate change, it was effectively a G19 plus the United States.''
 
''Part of the final text will apparently recognise Donald Trump's rejection of the global Paris agreement to limit rising temperatures. But language the US was insisting on, which seemed to endorse the use of coal and oil long into the future, has now apparently reached a form others can tolerate, because they are not directly associated with it.''
 
''While this deadlock has apparently been resolved, it reflects a very divisive summit in which the rest of the world has been struggling to come to terms with the US president's "America first" policy: his suspicion or rejection of the whole concept of worldwide agreements designed to encourage free trade as well as collective action against global warming.''
 
 
<big>''''' 'World Aligns Against Trump' ... G-20_19+1'''''</big>
 
:• https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/at-g-20-eu-warns-of-trade-war-if-trump-imposes-restrictions-on-steel/2017/07/07/0ffae390-62f4-11e7-a6c7-f769fa1d5691_story.html
 
:• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_News
 
:• http://time.com/4850421/g20-trump-paris-agreement-climate-change/
 
:• http://www.cbsnews.com/news/angela-merkel-donald-trump-paris-agreement-i-deplore-this/
 
:• http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-against-the-world-g20-paris-climate
 
:• http://www.dw.com/en/g20-usa-abandons-climate-consensus/a-39612962
 
 
○
 
 
'''''World Leaders Move Forward on Climate, Without U.S.'''''
 
''At the G-20 summit meeting, 19 other members broke decisively with President Trump by signing a policy blueprint for meeting their goals in the Paris accord...''
 
:• https://nyti.ms/2uWoRsi
 
 
[[File:G-20 19+1.png]]
 
 
○
 
 
'''''Continuing News / Scroll'''''
 
 
'''''The US President Attempts to Squelch the Science'''''
 
[http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/340328-science-division-of-white-house-office-no-longer-staffed-report '''''White House Science Office Shut Down''''']
 
[http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-hatchet-pruitt-20170702-story.html '''''EPA’s Scott Pruitt is Trump’s most adept and dangerous hatchet man''''']
 
[https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060056858 '''''Pruitt launching program to 'critique' #climatechange science''''']
 
: ''U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is leading a formal initiative to challenge mainstream climate science ... The disclosure follows the administration's suggestions over several days that it supports reviewing climate science outside the normal peer-review process used by scientists ... The source said Energy Secretary Rick Perry also favors the review. Executives in the coal industry interpret the move as a step toward challenging the endangerment finding, the agency's legal foundation for regulating greenhouse gases from cars, power plants and other sources ... If Pruitt somehow succeeded in rolling back the finding — an outcome that many Republicans say is far-fetched — the federal government would no longer be required to restrict greenhouse gas emissions.''
 
:: [http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/06/epa-staffers-weigh-in-on-trump-damage/ '''''Trump Time: Taking Down the EPA''''']
 
::○
 
::[http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40274234 '''''Word: No renegotiation for Trump rejectionists''''']
 
::[http://www.climatecentral.org/news/us-footnote-g7-climate-talks-21533 '''''US G7 Climate 'Footnote' ''''']
 
::[http://www.bmub.bund.de/en/topics/climate-energy/climate/international-climate-policy/paris-agreement/fact-check/ '''''German Environmental Ministry Fact Checks Trump's Abandoning Global Climate Treaty''''']
 
::[http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2017/06/this_is_not_going_to_be_good_for_climate_change.html '''''Trump’s Pick for DOJ Top Environmental Attorney Has a Vast Anti-Climate Record''''']
 
::[https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06062017/trump-names-bp-oil-spill-lawyer-climate-policy-foe-top-doj-environment-attorney '''''Trump Names BP Oil Spill Lawyer, Climate Policy Foe as Top DOJ Environment Attorney''''']
 
 
<big>'''What About the Facts, the Science, the Future, the Common Good?'''</big>
 
 
DJT: You want facts? Fact is, I'm PRESIDENT. What don't you understand, I am the PRESIDENT, I know the facts. I decide your future.
 
(Insert tagline Make America Great Again in all CAPS here)
 
What [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/The_Commons "Common Good"]? There is no '''"global community".'''
 
 
[[File:DJT - US message to world.jpg]]
 
 
○
 
 
'''The data, atmospheric and earth science continue...'''
 
'''Update via [https://data.giss.nasa.gov/ NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies]'''
 
[https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2587/april-2017-was-second-warmest-april-on-record/ '''NEWS | May 15, 2017 | April 2017 was second-warmest April on record''']
 
 
:[[File:Earth gets hotter May2016.jpg]]
 
 
<big>'''''AP FACT CHECK: A blast of hot air with Trump's climate move'''''</big>
 
 
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/06/01/fact-checking-president-trumps-claims-on-the-paris-climate-change-deal
 
• https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/6/2/15727984/deceptions-trump-paris-speech
 
 
○
 
 
<big><big>'''''The consequences start now / June 1'''''</big></big>
 
 
''The US will be judged, this day will be long remembered.''
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:New_Definitions_of_National_Security.png ''National Security & Global Security are interrelated'']. ''He doesn't know this. There's so much he doesn't know & so much he doesn't know that he doesn't know.''
 
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-just-betrayed-the-world-now-the-world-will-fight-back/2017/06/01/3c0b8026-46e7-11e7-a196-a1bb629f64cb_story.html ''Trump just betrayed the world. Now the world will fight back'']
 
[http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/31/jerry-brown-donald-trump-paris-climate-change-deal-238993 ''Brown: The Rest of the World Is Against Trump''] / [https://www.gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=19817 ''Governor Brown Statement on White House Paris Climate Agreement Announcement'']
 
: ''“This current departure from reality in Washington will be very short-lived, that I promise you,” Brown told POLITICO in an interview. “I’ve spoken with Republicans here in the Legislature, and they’re beginning to get very serious about climate action, so the momentum is all the other way. And I think Trump, paradoxically, is giving climate denial such a bad name that he’s actually building the very movement that he is [purporting] to undermine...”''
 
 
''Eurasian response strategy rolls out, aka US acts to turn the world against the US'' -- http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/335901-european-chinese-leaders-unite-after-reports-trump-may-withdraw-from
 
: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/world/europe/climate-paris-agreement-trump-china.html
 
: ''Premier Li Keqiang of China said on Thursday that his country remained committed to the fight against climate change and to participating in international efforts for a greener world.''
 
: ''“China will continue to uphold its commitments to the Paris climate agreement,” Mr. Li said, confirming a position his country agreed to alongside the United States in 2014, in what proved to be a watershed moment for the ultimate passage of the landmark accord the following year.''
 
: ''“Step by step, and very arduously, together with other countries, we will work toward the goals set” by global leaders in 2015, Mr. Li said, standing beside Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany in Berlin.''
 
: ''Ms. Merkel, who welcomed the Chinese commitment as “encouraging,” has been a leader in the global push for climate action since 1992, when she played a crucial international role in passage of the world’s first climate treaty, the Kyoto Protocol.''
 
 
''US business leaders point at downside'' -- http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/big-business-urges-trump-stick-paris-climate-accord-n766641 --
http://lowcarbonusa.org/business
 
''“If you have to go to a board of directors and say, ‘I have to make a multibillion-dollar investment that is multi-year,’ are you going to base it on two or four years in the political cycle or … on long-term economic, technological, and consumer trends?”'' -- [https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/trump-climate-change-paris/528633/ Melissa Lavinson / The Atlantic]
 
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/06/01/trump-is-about-to-do-something-terrible-and-destructive-the-gop-must-own-the-consequences/ ''The GOP must own the consequences.'']
 
 
::<font color=green>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font>
 
 
[http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/donald-trump-climate-change-paris-agreement-accord-deal-us-withdraw-global-warming-environment-a7764916.html <big>'''''The Future of Humanity, or Crime Against / May 31'''''</big>]
:''Forward or back?'' -- https://www.axios.com/scoop-trump-is-pulling-u-s-out-of-paris-climate-deal-2427773025.html
:''Backwards looking -- "The 22"'' -- https://www.axios.com/scoop-top-republican-senators-urge-trump-to-exit-paris-climate-deal-2421530161.html
 
 
:''A policy direction from the US president that will live up to the challenges or deliver economic, environmental disasters.''
 
::''“I’ve always made more money in bad markets than in good markets.” -- DJ Trump, Quoted 05/23/16 - MSNBC''
 
 
 
::https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/05/31/trump-nearing-a-decision-on-whether-to-pull-u-s-from-paris-climate-deal-breaking-ranks-with-more-than-190-countries/
:::• http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-trump-paris-climate-change-20170531-story.html
 
 
: ''The Trump administration: A bump on the road.''
 
: ''Remember that a future president can rejoin the Paris global climate agreement with a 'flick of a pen'.''
 
 
[[File:I've done all I can.png]]
 
 
: ''Musk Says He'll Leave Trump's Business Councils If U.S. Exits Paris Deal.'' [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-01/musk-jumps-off-trump-train-in-wake-of-paris-pullout-decision ''June 1: Musk departs ...'']
 
 
::http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/05/donald-trump-paris-agreement
:::https://cleantechnica.com/2017/05/31/breaking-donald-trump-set-pull-america-paris-climate-agreement-probably/
::::https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/05/31/the-planet-loses-but-u-s-is-bigger-loser-if-it-withdraws-from-paris-climate-agreement/
 
 
: ''"The noose tightens," Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer, co-editor of the peer-reviewed journal Climatic Change, told [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/scientists-donald-trump-pull-out-paris-climate-change-agreement-a7759411.html The Independent]. The US withdrawing from the Paris Agreement would only aggravate the climate change problem and make it much more difficult to prevent the crossing of a global temperature to a dangerous threshold. Three billion tonnes of additional carbon dioxide could be released into the air every year...''
 
 
○
 
 
:[http://billmoyers.com/story/little-big-man/ <big>'''''Little Big Politics / May 30'''''</big>]
::http://billmoyers.com/topics/democracy-government/
 
:::''"America’s Little Big Man -- http://billmoyers.com/story/little-big-man/''
::::''Trump is teaching us how deeply disturbed our American world actually is"''
 
 
○
 
 
[[File:G7 Split-2017.png]]
 
[[File:G7-Climate-2017.png]]
 
[[File:G7 Climate News.png]]
 
[[File:G7 DJTclimatetweet.png]]
 
[[File:G7-Climate-News.png]]
 
 
 
: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/05/07/world-worries-trump-set-dump-paris-climate-deal
 
 
'''GreenPolicy360'''
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Change_Summit_Paris Revisiting the International Climate Change Summit]
 
 
 
<font color=green>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font> <font color=blue>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font> <font color=green>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font>
 
 
 
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/05/16/epa-asked-the-public-which-regulations-to-gut-and-got-an-earful-about-leaving-them-alone/ '''Change the EPA Regulations? Public Comment a LOUD NO''']
 
''Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency put out a call for comments about what regulations are in need of repeal, replacement or modification. The effort stemmed from an executive order issued by President Trump earlier this year instructing agencies to reexamine regulations that “eliminate jobs, or inhibit job creation” and/or “impose costs that exceed benefits.”''
 
''More than 55,100 responses rolled in by the time the comment period closed on Monday — but they were full of Americans sharing their experiences of growing up with dirty air and water, and with pleas for the agency not to undo safeguards that could return the country to more a more polluted era.''
 
''“Know your history or you’ll be doomed to repeat it,” one person wrote. “Environmental regulations came about for a reason.''
 
 
○
 
 
[https://www.fastcompany.com/40428688/conservative-group-led-by-epa-chief-pruitt-received-dark-money-to-battle-environmental-regulations '''Money Talks: Pruitt Listens''']
 
 
<big>'''''Conservative Group Led By EPA Chief Pruitt Received Dark Money To Battle Environmental Regulations'''''</big>
 
''June  2017'' / Via MapLight-Fast Company
 
:'''''Donors include group affiliated with the Koch brothers, whose companies are now lobbying the EPA and the Trump administration'''''
 
 
○
 
 
:[http://e360.yale.edu/features/how-big-money-in-politics-blocked-u-s-action-on-climate-change <big>'''''How Money in Politics Blocks Action on Climate Change'''''</big>]
 
:[http://www.wri.org/blog/2017/04/climate-science-explained-10-graphics <big>'''''Climate Science Graphically Explained'''''</big>]
 
:[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_for_Science <big>'''''March for Science'''''</big>]
 
:[https://twitter.com/search?src=typd&q=%23climatemarch <big>'''''#ClimateMarch 2017'''''</big>]
 
 
 
<big><big>'''Fighting Back'''</big></big>
 
'''''Trump's [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Environmental_Rules_Rolled_Back Rollback of Environmental Regulations]'''''
 
'''''Opposition Begins in the Courts'''''
 
 
(''Via Forbes - April 15, 2017'')
 
''No matter who's in office, every major EPA rule ends up in court. It's inevitable. Industry groups and many Republican-run states fought every major EPA rule under President Obama, and Democrat-led states and green groups will do the same with President Trump. This type of partisan litigation has been commonplace since the EPA was created almost fifty years ago.''
 
''This time around, however, the environmental groups will have to rely even more heavily on litigation than in the past. That's because, of the three branches of the federal government, the Democrats now only hold a majority of one portion of one branch: the lower courts. The federal district and appellate courts are packed with Clinton and Obama appointees. Although the balance on the U.S. Supreme Court is now likely 5-4 in favor of conservatives, there are 13 intermediate appeals courts; according to Russell Wheeler, a scholar at the Brookings Institution, nine of these appeals courts have a majority of Democratic appointees. The lower federal district courts are also filled with Democratic appointees.''
 
''The green groups will almost certainly look to exploit these majorities over the next two years. As David Doniger, Director of the Climate and Clean Air Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council said recently: “Scott Pruitt has to tear down our climate and clean air regulations the same way they were built up, following all the steps required by law. We’ll fight at every step, and we’ll see them in court.”''
 
''What’s more, virtually every major environmental statute (like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act) includes a citizen suit provision. These provisions allow citizens (including environmental groups) to sue the EPA, state agencies, and companies that fail to comply with environmental mandates. Courts can order offenders to comply and even impose hefty penalties.  In addition to challenging rules that are made (or more likely, repealed) under a Pruitt-led EPA, expect to see environmental groups filing more citizen suits than usual over the next few years.''
 
 
:::[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/14/trumps-epa-chief-scott-pruitt-calls-for-an-exit-to-the-paris-climate-agreement/ '''''EPA Chief, Scott Pruitt, Calls for ‘Exit’ from the Paris International Climate Accord''''']
 
 
:''It is far from clear how the Trump administration could actually “exit” the Paris agreement, assuming that the Pruitt line wins and the administration determines that it wants to. Now that the agreement has entered into force, it takes three years under its terms for a party to withdraw, followed by a one-year waiting period — a length roughly equal to Trump’s first term in office.''
 
 
:[https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/mar/19/ernest-moniz-trump-administration-climate-change-energy-secretary '''''Pruitt says he does not believe carbon dioxide is “a primary contributor to the global warming that we see”, even though NASA and the EPA itself agree it is''''']
 
:[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2017/mar/09/epa-scott-pruitt-carbon-dioxide-global-warming-video '''''Pruitt and Carbon Dioxide (Video)''''']
 
:[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/04/14/epa-administrator-scott-pruitts-claim-that-china-and-india-have-no-obligations-until-2030-under-the-paris-accord/ '''''Pruitt Plays Fast and Loose with Facts. China, India? He's Not Close to the Facts''''']
 
 
 
:[https://eos.org/articles/former-noaa-chief-scientist-warns-of-threats-to-science '''''Former NOAA Chief Scientist Warns of Threats to Science''''']
 
: ''"There’s a strong antiscience attitude within this administration. I have heard nothing that suggests support for a scientific agenda."''
 
 
:[https://eos.org/articles/white-house-budget-plan-slams-climate-and-environmental-programs '''''White House Budget Plan Slams Climate and Environmental Programs''''']
 
 
 
 
[http://www.climatecentral.org/news/antarctica-co2-400-ppm-million-years-20451 <big>'''CO2 / 400 PPM, Science Facts and Global Risks'''</big>]
: [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/atmospheric-carbon-dioxide-record-rate-pruitt_us_58c9009ce4b09e52f55492ea '''''As Scott Pruitt Denies Climate Science, Atmospheric CO2 Rises At A Record Rate''''']
 
 
[https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/carbon-clock/ <big>'''CO2 / Carbon Clock'''</big>]
 
 
[[File:Bloomberg Carbon Clock.png|link=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/carbon-clock/]]
 
&nbsp;
 
[https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/monthly.html <big><u>'''Latest CO2 Data Reports from Mauna Loa'''</u></big>]
 
 
'''https://scripps.ucsd.edu/programs/keelingcurve/'''
 
 
 
[[File:Mauna Loa CO2 week ending May 15, 2017.png|link=http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:October_2016-400PPM.png]]
 
 
 
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/carbon-clock/BLOOMBERG-CARBON-CLOCK-TECHNICAL-WORKING-PAPER.pdf
 
 
 
::[[File:C02 in atmosphere chart.png]]
 
 
::[[File:C02 in atmosphere chart-2.png]]
 
 
 
○
 
 
[https://theconversation.com/we-are-heading-for-the-warmest-climate-in-half-a-billion-years-says-new-study-73648 <big>'''Research Report: We are heading for the warmest climate in half a billion years. So what’s the big deal?'''</big>]
 
○
 
'''From GreenPolicy friend [https://www.propublica.org/site/author/andrew_revkin Andrew Revkin]''': "The following ProPublica article just scrapes the surface on why there's no easy answer in deciding how much to invest now to limit downside risk to future generations ... there’s probably no more consequential and contentious a target for the incoming administration than an arcane metric called the “social cost of carbon."
 
 
<big>'''''Will Trump’s Climate Team Accept Any ‘Social Cost of Carbon’?'''''</big>
 
:• https://www.propublica.org/article/will-trumps-climate-team-accept-any-social-cost-of-carbon
 
The nation’s top science panel has just sketched a clearer way to set a fair price today for cutting tomorrow’s climate risks. Some of Trump’s advisers say the price should be zero.
 
Currently set at [https://www.epa.gov/climatechange/social-cost-carbon $36 per ton of carbon dioxide], the metric is produced using a complex, and contentious, set of models estimating a host of future costs to society related to rising temperatures and seas, then using a longstanding economic tool, a discount rate, to gauge how much it is worth today to limit those harms generations hence. (For context, the United States emitted about [http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/overview.php?v=CO2ts1990-2015 5.1 billion tons of CO2 in 2015], out of a global total of 36 billion.)
 
... the social cost of carbon underpins justifications for policies dealing with everything from power plants to car mileage to refrigerator efficiency. The carbon valuation has already helped shape 79 regulations.
 
The strongest sign of a coming challenge to the social cost calculation came in a post-election memorandum from Thomas Pyle, who was then president of the industry-funded American Energy Alliance and Institute for Energy Research and who now leads the Trump transition team for the Department of Energy. In the memo, he predicted policies resulting in “ending the use of the social cost of carbon in federal rule makings.”
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''''March 30, 2017'''''</big>
 
 
[[File:Politics and Science in the House un-Science Committee.png]]
 
 
<big>'''''March 29, 2017'''''</big>
 
 
[[File:Science and Climate Hearing March29,2017.png]]
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Lamar-smith-press_2015.jpg '''''Chair of House Science Committee Says the Journal ‘Science’ Is Not Objective''''']
 
 
[[File:Lamar-smith-press 2015.jpg]]
 
 
<big>'''''March 28, 2017'''''</big>
 
 
[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-energy-idUSKBN16Z1L6 '''''Trump signs order sweeping away Obama-era climate policies''''']
 
 
[http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/27/politics/trump-climate-change-executive-order/ '''''5:23 PM ET - CNN / Trump dramatically changes US approach to climate change''''']
 
 
:• https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-puts-the-planet-on-a-dangerous-path/2017/03/28/fcb3564e-13d6-11e7-833c-503e1f6394c9_story.html
 
:• http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/donald-trump-war-climate-underway-article-1.3011887
 
 
:• http://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/3/28/15097628/sean-spicer-climate-change-hoax-trump
 
:• http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/us-politics/trump-signs-order-dismantling-obama-era-climate-policies/article34450304/
 
:• http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/326188-dem-states-pledge-climate-action-in-face-of-trump-roll-back
 
:• http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-epa-coal-20170328-story.html
 
 
[[File:Trump guts climate policy 3-28-2017 10-26-34 AM.png]]
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''''Trump to hire major coal lobbyist to be deputy administrator at EPA'''''</big>
 
''Trump's reported pick, Andrew Wheeler, to help lead the EPA is a former senior staffer of climate change denier Sen. James Inhofe''
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''''Environmental Legal Actions Are Just the Beginning'''''</big>
 
[http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/youth-led-high-stakes-climate-lawsuit-shifts-focus-to-trump-w473224 '''''Youth Climate Lawsuit Shifts Focus to Trump''''']
 
''''' "What's likely the highest-stakes climate lawsuit on the planet?" '''''
 
 
○
 
 
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/03/09/this-climate-lawsuit-could-change-everything-no-wonder-the-trump-administration-doesnt-want-it-going-to-trial/ '''''Climate lawsuit to stop Trump administration 'destruction of documents' ''''']
 
:''Shortly after President Trump’s inauguration, the plaintiffs submitted a request that the Department of Justice preserve all documents that could be relevant to the lawsuit, including information on climate change, energy and emissions, and cease any destruction of such documents that may otherwise occur during the presidential transition. The request came just days after reports began to surface of climate information disappearing from White House and certain federal agency websites.''
 
 
::* [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/28/arctic-researcher-donald-trump-deleting-my-citations '''''How destruction of climate science documents/data sets/online info proceeds even as legal actions move to block the administration's attempt to purge facts and scientific evidence''''']
 
 
:''“We are concerned with the new administration’s immediate maneuver to remove important climate change information from the public domain and, based on recent media reports, we are concerned about how deep the scrubbing effort will go,”Julia Olson, chief legal counsel for the plaintiffs and executive director of the advocacy group '''Our Children’s Trust''', said in a statement at the time. “Destroying evidence is illegal and we just put these new U.S. Defendants and the Industry Defendants on notice that they are barred from doing so.”''
 
 
::* [https://qz.com/928236/the-word-science-has-disappeared-from-the-mission-statement-of-the-epas-office-of-science-and-technology/ '''''Disappearing “Science” from the Core Mission Statement of the EPA Office of Science and Technology''''']
 
 
:''The Trump administration is combating this request in its motion to stay litigation, along with its motion to appeal. The administration charges that the United States could be “irreparably harmed” if the case’s proceedings are not halted pending consideration of its appeal, claiming that “the extraordinary scope of this litigation and the concomitant scope of discovery that Plaintiffs appear to be seeking set this case apart.”''
 
:''“One of the things that the government argues is that the preservation of documents itself represents a burden on the government,” said Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School. “What they’re arguing is that they’ll be irreparably injured by having to go through discovery here.”''
 
:''This, he added, “sends kind of the wrong signal, or at least a very dangerous signal, in terms of what the government’s priorities are or what it’s thinking of doing. It shouldn’t be any kind of burden for the government to preserve documents that are already in existence.”''
 
:''But given the broad implications of the case for U.S. climate action, especially if the plaintiffs prevail, “it’s not surprising that the Trump administration would want to quash it,” said Gallagher, the Sierra Club legal director.''
 
:''If the case were successful, the federal government would be obligated to take meaningful action against climate change, probably through a planned reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. This type of order would run counter to the current administration’s priorities. On Thursday, Scott Pruitt, the EPA chief, [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Pruitt_talks_EPA_-_CO2.png rejected the underlying science of climate change], and the administration has indicated its intent to cancel a number of Obama-era climate and environmental regulations, including the Clean Power Plan, and withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.''
 
 
::* [http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2017/publc-records-03-23-2017.php '''''Activists Rush to Save Government Science Data''''']
 
 
○
 
 
<big><big>'''''Environmental Protection Agency's New Chief Rejects Core Mission of the EPA'''''</big></big>
 
 
[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/us/politics/scott-pruitt-environmental-protection-agency.html '''''E.P.A. Head Stacks Agency With Climate Change Skeptics''''']
 
[https://qz.com/928236/the-word-science-has-disappeared-from-the-mission-statement-of-the-epas-office-of-science-and-technology/ '''''Who needs “science” in an EPA Office of Science and Technology mission statement anyway?''''']
 
 
: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Pruitt '''''Who Is Scott Pruitt (Wikipedia)''''']
 
::[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Pruitt_denies_basic_climate_science_-_Vox.pdf <font color=green>'''''Pruitt denies basic climate science - Vox op/ed pdf '''''</font>]
 
::'''''"It’s not about Pruitt, it’s about the Republican Party.'''''
 
:::'''''"The GOP’s goal is to block or reverse any policy that would negatively affect its donors and supporters''''', who are drawn disproportionately from carbon-intensive industries and regions... That means, effectively, blocking any efficacious climate policy (which, almost by definition, will diminish fossil fuels).
 
::::'''''"Alone among major parties in the developed world,''''' ''the GOP rejects the need to act on climate change. That’s the outrage. Pruitt is an epiphenomenon."''
 
 
[[File:Pruitt talks EPA - CO2.png]]
 
 
----
 
 
[[File:Overview planet earth1.jpg]]
 
 
[[File:NASA Climate Feb16,2017.png|link=https://twitter.com/NASAClimate]]
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:NASA_Climate_Feb16,2017.png '''THAW in the Arctic''']
 
: https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Arctic
 
:: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Arctic1_by_Timo_Lieber_800x480.jpg ''Timo Lieber, Arctic Melt Photography'']
 
○
 
 
[https://www.wired.com/2017/01/tillersons-hearing-seals-us-wont-lead-climate-change/ <big><big>'''New US Secretary of State Tillerson and Climate Change'''</big></big>]
: [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Arctic <big>''Arctic Thaws -- US and Russia Prepare for Historic Gas/Oil Development in the North''</big>]
 
 
[[File:Tillerson-first day at the Dept of State.png]]
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''''Via [http://katharinehayhoe.com/wp2016/biography/ Katharine Hayhoe''''']</big>
 
[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/aug/25/heres-what-happens-when-you-try-to-replicate-climate-contrarian-papers '''''When you try to replicate climate contrarian papers''''']
 
[https://www.facebook.com/katharine.hayhoe/videos/1823744504517095/ Katharine Hayhoe, Professor, Texas Tech, videos]
 
 
<big><big>'''''January 2017'''''</big></big>
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Security,_National_Security '''''Environmental Security, National Security''''']
 
 
[http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-92423116/ <big>''''''Trump is at war with science and knowledge''''''</big>]
 
-- ''Via the Los Angeles Times''
 
 
''Nearly every day brings a new report of a federal agency told to shut down communications with the public or even members of Congress; tweets about important topics such as climate change removed from the public record; bans on talking to the press...''
 
''Researchers in government and elsewhere are concerned that shutting down outside communications is merely the first step in a campaign to undermine the credibility of established science. As Alex Parker, an astronomer at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., observed in a tweet this week: “Barring public communication from science agencies reduces their visibility, which masks their value, which makes them easier to dismantle.”''
 
 
 
[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-pope/the-most-dangerous-bill-y_b_14067390.html ''Carl Pope: The REINS Act ... a bill which would effectively repeal future standard setting under every important environmental, public health, consumer protection, labor standards, occupational safety and civil rights law on the books.'']
 
 
[[File:HotAgain.JPG]]
 
 
[[File:Another year, another record.png]]
 
 
 
<big>'''''Former Chief of ExxonMobil Testifies Before US Congress'''''</big>
 
* ''President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, said he believes the risks of climate change "could be serious enough that action should be taken,” but he did not elaborate on what that action should be.''
 
 
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/01/11/tillerson-says-u-s-should-maintain-its-seat-at-table-on-fighting-global-climate-change/?utm_term=.b61ecd90abf8 '''Tillerson testified that he formed his views'''] ''“over about 20 years as an engineer and a scientist, understanding the evolution of the science.” Ultimately, he said, he concluded that increasing greenhouse-gas concentrations in the atmosphere are having an effect on the earth’s climate. But he added, “Our ability to predict that effect is very limited,” and precisely what actions nations should take “seems to be the largest area of debate existing in the public discourse.”''
 
 
<big>'''''Former General in Charge of US Central Command Appears Before Congress'''''</big>
 
* [http://thehill.com/policy/defense/313920-mattis-will-tout-international-alliances-during-testimony '''Gen. James Mattis Faces Congress -- Next Up, the Global Community''']
 
 
General Mattis' pre-hearing written remarks line up with the ex Exxon chief executive, Rex Tillerson, nominee for Secretary of State. We agree that international alliances must be stressed as strategic goals, but alliances have to be mutual with core values that go beyond theaters of war and continued conflict. The geopolitics of today extend far beyond the interests of the new US administration preparing to take office in opposition to critical international alliances. The recently achieved climate accord is a key element in national/global security. Although the US Department of Defense has instituted policies that acknowledge and take into account the 'threat multiplier' of global climate change, the new administration and allies in Congress have announced efforts to pushback climate cooperation internationally and rollback renewable energy goals.
 
The ''realpolilitik'' of a multilateral world with energy and climate policies that the new administration opposes is about to play out politically and, in the case of General Mattis, militarily. He will soon face challenges from many of the industrial democracies in opposition to the Trumpian view of the world.
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''''A New Year Arrives as New Challenges Arise'''''</big>
 
 
<big>[https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-and-the-climate-his-hot-air-on-warming-far-from-the-greatest-threat  '''''Trump and the Climate: His Hot Air on Warming Is Far From the Greatest Threat''''']</big>
 
:(From [https://www.propublica.org/site/author/andrew_revkin Andy Revkin], his second article on his new Beat at [https://www.propublica.org/about/reporters-beats/ ProPublica])
 
:''Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, has frightened many with his embrace of fossil fuels.''
 
:''What’s truly scary, scientists and others say, is how much larger the problem is than one American president.''
 
 
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 
 
 
'''''December 14th, 2016'''''
 
<big>'''''Governor Jerry Brown Calls On Scientists to Deliver "Truth Telling"'''''</big>
 
 
: The American Geophysical Union meet up in California is the largest Earth and space science meeting in the world
 
: The AGU promotes discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity
 
 
[[File:Jerry Brown AGU-Dec14,2016.png|link=https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Jerry_Brown_AGU-Dec14,2016.png]]
 
 
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 
 
 
<big><big>'''On the Election of Donald Trump as US President'''</big></big>
 
 
[[File:Tillerson Sec of State.png]]
 
[[File:Tillerson-Sec of State-frontrunner news-Dec10.png]]
 
 
 
[[File:Jorge Leon Arellano OPEC-Energy Demand Presentation-CSIS-Dec2016.png]]
 
 
<font color=blue>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font>
 
[[File:The Questionnaire.png]]
 
 
<big>''''The List', aka, beginnings of a purge'''</big>
 
 
'''Trump transition team for Energy Department seeks names of employees involved in climate meetings'''
 
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/09/trump-transition-team-for-energy-department-seeks-names-of-employees-involved-in-climate-meetings/
 
'''Trump Team Memo Hints at Big Shake-Up of U.S. Energy Policy'''
 
* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-09/trump-team-s-memo-hints-at-broad-shake-up-of-u-s-energy-policy
 
'''Trump team letter sparks 'witch hunt' fears at Energy Department'''
 
* http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2016/12/trump-transition-wants-names-of-energy-department-staff-who-worked-on-climate-232424
 
'''Trump team wants 'lists' of Energy Department climate researchers'''
 
* http://mashable.com/2016/12/09/trump-energy-department-climate-lists/
 
 
○
 
 
<big>'''Trump to scrap NASA climate research in crackdown on ‘politicized science’'''</big>
 
* '''''NASA’s Earth Science division is set to be stripped of funding... [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/22/nasa-earth-donald-trump-eliminate-climate-change-research Via The Guardian]'''''
 
* [http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-nasa-earth-science-thanksnasa-2016-12 '''''Scientists around the world are worried about a Trump team proposal to ax NASA's 58-year mission to study the Earth''''']
 
* [http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/11/28/under-trump-will-nasas-space-science-include-planet-earth/ '''''Under Trump, Will NASA’s Space Science Include Planet Earth?''''']
 
* [https://theconversation.com/eyes-in-the-sky-cutting-nasa-earth-observations-would-be-a-costly-mistake-69705 '''''Eyes in the sky: Cutting NASA Earth observations would be a costly mistake''''']
 
 
○
 
 
'''''GreenPolicy360'' [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_and_Space,_Politics ''addresses the upcoming Earth Science debate and decisions] to be determined in Congress and by the incoming President.'''''
 
'''''The consequences -- and legacy -- of this generation's actions, the president-elect's actions, the US Congress actions and its votes, the corporate interests and lobbying will be felt -- and judged -- for decades going forward.'''''
 
 
<font color=blue>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font>
 
 
'''Continuing Post-election News'''
 
:'''Trump elected, Trump administration plans to dismantle environmental policy and protection...'''
:• http://www.eenews.net/
:• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-picks-top-climate-skeptic-to-lead-epa-transition/
:• http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/11/09/trump-left-just-lost-war-climate-change/
 
 
[[File:Ebell-Trump.png|link=http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/?action=click&contentCollection&region=TopBar&WT.nav=searchWidget&module=SearchSubmit&pgtype=Homepage#/revkin+climate+ebell+myron+competitive/since1851/allresults/1/allauthors/oldest/]]
 
 
[[File:E&E.png]]
 
 
<font color=green><big>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</big></font> <font color=blue><big>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</big></font>
 
 
[[File:Climate Change Agr Nov 4, 2016.png]]
 
 
<font color=green><big>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</big></font> <font color=blue><big>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</big></font>
 
 
 
<big>'''Standing Rock, Water, Oil and Taking a Stand'''</big>
 
 
[[File:Check in.png]]
 
 
[[File:Standing Rock Bison appear.png]]
 
 
https://steemit.com/dapl/@thirdeye/the-great-bison-spirit-and-the-dakota-access-pipeline
 
::'''Standing Rock Arrival of Wild Buffalo'''
:::• https://youtu.be/fetub0FvEwk
 
 
'''Remember and Respect Indigenous Rights'''
 
• http://www.yesmagazine.org/how-to-talk-about-standing-rock-20161028
 
 
 
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
 
 
CANNON BALL, ND - The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has released a statement regarding law enforcement escalation today at Dakota Access Pipeline protest sites.
 
''The statement below is from Dave Archambault II, Chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe:
 
''"Militarized law enforcement agencies moved in on water protectors with tanks and riot gear today. We continue to pray for peace. We call on the state of North Dakota to oversee the actions of local law enforcement to, first and foremost, ensure everyone’s safety. The Department of Justice must send overseers immediately to ensure the protection of First Amendment rights and the safety of thousands here at Standing Rock. DOJ can no longer ignore our requests. If harm comes to any who come here to stand in solidarity with us, it is on their watch. They must step in and hold the state of North Dakota and Morton County accountable for their acts of violence against innocent, prayerful people.
 
''The Obama administration has asked DAPL to voluntarily halt construction until the review process has been completed, but DAPL has ignored these repeated requests. By deploying law enforcement to support DAPL construction, the State of North Dakota is collaborating with Energy Transfer Partners and escalating tensions.
We need our state and federal governments to bring justice and peace to our lands, not the force of armored vehicles.
 
''We have repeatedly seen a disproportionate response from law enforcement to water protectors’ nonviolent exercise of their constitutional rights. Today we have witnessed people praying in peace, yet attacked with pepper spray, rubber bullets, sound and concussion cannons. We urge state and federal government agencies to give this tense situation their immediate and close attention.
 
''We also call on the thousands of water protectors who stand in solidarity with us against DAPL to remain in peace and prayer. Any act of violence hurts our cause and is not welcome here. We invite all supporters to join us in prayer that, ultimately, the right decision—the moral decision—is made to protect our people, our sacred places, our land and our resources. We won't step down from this fight. As peoples of this earth, we all need water. This is about our water, our rights, and our dignity as human beings."''
 
 
[https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandingRock?src=hash #StandingRock]
 
 
 
='''Earth Science 360°'''=
 
 
<big>'''''Countries Climate Action/INDC Plans'''''</big>
 
::<big>'''''October 4, 2016: EU votes to affirm the #ParisAgreement'''''</big>
 
:::[http://time.com/4519895/paris-agreement-ratification-european-union/ ''The most comprehensive international agreement ever to combat man-made climate change] will take effect next month, less than a year after negotiators from more than 190 countries reached international accord.''
 
:::''October 5, 2016  / The European Parliament yesterday approved ratification of the Paris climate accord by the European Union (EU).''
:::''United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: "There are two requirements for the Paris Agreement to enter into force. Fifty-five parties to the Agreement, and fifty-five percent of greenhouse gas emissions accounted for... With the action taken by the EU Parliament, we will achieve both thresholds."''
 
:::[http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-paris-agreement-climate-change-20161006-snap-story.html '''''Step Up the Fight -- Now! / LA Times''''']
 
 
[[File:Map of the World wiki commons m.png]]
 
 
 
 
'''''GreenPolicy continues listing and updating climate plans and climate plan actions from countries across the globe...'''''
::[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:INDC '''''Follow Nearly 200 Nations as Climate Action Plans (INDCs) Are Announced & Implemented''''']
 
 
'''''Earth Day / April 22, 2016 / Signing Climate Action Plans'''''
 
::[http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2016/04/parisagreementsingatures '''''Paris Agreement Signatures''''']
 
::[http://touch.latimes.com/#section/2426/article/p2p-86754843/ '''''175 Nations Sign on Earth Day''''']
 
 
'''''As of January 1, 2016, [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Intended_Nationally_Determined_Contributions GreenPolicy has updated 189 country climate plans''''']
 
::• '''''http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Country'''''
 
 
<font color=blue>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font>
 
 
<big>'''First Cruise Ship Crossing Ice-Free Arctic Passage'''</big>
 
 
:[[File:Crystal Serenity cruises 2016.png|link=https://www.wired.com/2016/03/climate-change-opens-first-luxury-arctic-cruise-route/]]
 
 
[http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/15687-serenity-departs-for-northwest-passage-trip.html Seward - August 17, 2016]
 
[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/crystal-serenity-cruise-ulukhaktok-1.3736984 Ulukhaktok - August 27, 2016]
 
[http://www.ktva.com/shows/frontiers/episode-74-crystal-serenitys-historic-voyage-951/ Arrival in New York City - September 16, 2016]
 
 
<font color=blue>············································································</font>
 
 
[[File:Hotimes.png]]
 
 
 
[[File:US Presidential Campaign-2016 ClintonvTrump on Envir Issues.png|link=http://e360.yale.edu/feature/hillary_clinton_donald_trump_on_energy_and_environment_2016_presidential_election/3031/]]
 
 
<font color=green>·······························································</font>
 
 
<big>'''"A Hoax", Human-Caused Climate Change is a Hoax claims a US Candidate for President, while International Climate Agreements Make History'''</big>
 
[http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/donald-trump-and-the-climate-change-countdown '''Donald Trump and the Climate-Change Countdown''']
 
September 29 -- Elizabeth Kolbert: ''Donald Trump, who has very publicly called climate change a “hoax” (despite very publicly denying having done so, in Monday’s debate), has said that he will “rescind” the Clean Power Plan. Hillary Clinton, in contrast, has said that she will carry it out. Whoever is elected will, it seems, have the chance to nominate the deciding Justice to the Supreme Court. This could be seen as yet another reason to be terrified of a Trump victory. Or it could be seen as the reason to be terrified of a Trump victory.''
 
○
 
September 2 -- There they go again, a [http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-us-china-climate-20160903-snap-story.html follow-up monumental agreement] between China and the US, although Republican candidate Trump calls climate change a [http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jun/03/hillary-clinton/yes-donald-trump-did-call-climate-change-chinese-h/ "Chinese hoax"]. Sure Donald, whatever...
 
○
 
<big><big>'''U.S. and China ratify sweeping climate deal and urge other nations to follow their lead'''</big></big>
 
''The swift action is likely to spur other nations to move with more dispatch, both to formalize the deal and to cut emissions, said Jake Schmidt, director of international programs for the NRDC - Natural Resources Defense Council.''
 
''“It creates a momentum,” Schmidt said. “If you want to be a good global citizen, '''you need to act on climate change, and you need to do it now'''.”''
 
 
[[File:Jake-Schmidt-NRDC.jpg|link=https://www.nrdc.org/experts/jake-schmidt]]
 
○
 
''FYI GreenPolicy readers, no, your Siterunner Steven Schmidt isn't related to Jake Schmidt of NRDC or, for that matter, related to [http://earthsky.org/earth/gavin-schmidt-on-communicating-climate-change NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt], but ... 
 
''"Brother Gavin" from NASA Goddard is on message again here as he reports the data ...''
 
 
[[File:Gavin carbonprice.jpg|link=http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Time_for_a_Price_on_Carbon]]
 
 
<big>'''NASA: Earth is warming at a pace 'unprecedented in 1,000 years''''</big>
 
[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/30/nasa-climate-change-warning-earth-temperature-warming '''Via The Guardian''']
 
 
'''August 30, 2016'''
 
The planet is warming at a pace not experienced within the past 1,000 years, at least, making it “very unlikely” that the world will stay within a crucial temperature limit agreed by nations just last year, according to Nasa’s top climate scientist.
 
This year has already seen scorching heat around the world, with the average global temperature peaking at 1.38C above levels experienced in the 19th century, perilously close to the 1.5C limit agreed in the landmark Paris climate accord. July was the warmest month since modern record keeping began in 1880, with each month since October 2015 setting a new high mark for heat.
 
Nasa said that records of temperature that go back far further, taken via analysis of ice cores and sediments, suggest that the warming of recent decades is out of step with any period over the past millennium.
 
“In the last 30 years we’ve really moved into exceptional territory,” ''' Gavin Schmidt, director of Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies''', said. “It’s unprecedented in 1,000 years. There’s no period that has the trend seen in the 20th century in terms of the inclination (of temperatures).”
 
“Maintaining temperatures below the 1.5C guardrail requires significant and very rapid cuts in carbon dioxide emissions or co-ordinated geo-engineering. That is very unlikely. We are not even yet making emissions cuts commensurate with keeping warming below 2C.”
 
 
[[File:Global temp anomaly record NASA-2016.png]]
 
 
:····················································
 
 
[[File:NIDIS Global Drought Conditions June 2016 Report .png|link=https://www.drought.gov/gdm/current-conditions]]
 
 
[[File:Plant Trees-infographic.jpg]]
 
 
○
 
 
<div style="float:left; padding-left:10px; padding-right:10px;">
{| cellpadding="10px" cellspacing="10px" style="background-color:#e9ebde; border:1px solid #c2bfb5;" frame="rhs"
|-
|align="left" width="348px" | <center>'''More Climate News from GreenPolicy'''</center>
* [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space '''Earth Science Research from Space''']
* [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_and_Space,_Politics '''Earth and Space, Politics''']
* [https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Right_Now '''Earth Right Now''']
|}
</div>
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
<big>'''''US House Science Committee Acts to Defend ExxonMobile Against Attorneys General'''''</big>
 
:[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/ExxonMobil_and_US_House_Science_Committee_v_US_Attorneys_General_and_Environmental_Groups '''''Exxon Investigation Proceeds Despite Committee Action''''']
 
 
 
<big>'''''US House Committee Grills EPA'''''</big>
 
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Johnson_(Ohio_politician) ''Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH)] notably called the EPA rules “un-American” during a July 6th hearing of the Energy and Power subcommittee held to review the EPA’s regulations, especially regarding coal-generated power.''
 
''“I think it’s absurd, I think it’s irresponsible. Quite frankly, [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Mccabe-epa.jpg Ms. McCabe], I think it’s un-American.”''
 
''“It's like a dad-gum permission slip to do business in America... doesn't produce a product, doesn't pay a salary, it doesn't go to any company's bottom line. It's like going to the movie theater and buying a ticket but you don't get the popcorn or the diet Coke, you gotta pay extra to get that stuff, and the projector doesn't work. It's a ripoff!”''
 
 
:[[File:Mr Johnson from Ohio.png]]
 
 
<big>'''''Just Another Hot Air Day'''''</big>
 
[[File:CCI-June29,2016.png]]
 
 
 
<big>'''''June 2016'''''</big>
 
[http://strategicdemands.com/republicans-vote-to-block-national-security/ '''''Republicans in US Congress Vote to Block National & Global Security''''']
:'''''Attempt to Defund and Block Defense Dept. Studies and Work Related to Impacts of Climate Change'''''
 
 
:[http://grist.org/election-2016/sanders-final-win-climate-action-in-the-democratic-platform/ '''''Democratic Party environmental positions voted into platform, Sanders endorses 'most progressive' platform''''']
 
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Letter_to_Congress_June_28,_2016.pdf '''''Thirty-One Top Scientific Societies Speak with One Voice on Global Climate Change''''']
 
 
'''''May 26 / Trump v the World of Science: [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/27/us/politics/donald-trump-global-warming-energy-policy.html US Republican Presidential Candidate Announces His Energy Policy]'''''
:''''''Presumptive Nominee' Says Cancel the Paris agreement, More fossil fuels, Less Clean/Renewable Energy'''''
 
 
 
<big>'''''U.S. Presidential Campaign: [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Candidates_2016.jpg Environmental Threats]'''''</big>
 
'''''Trump v the World: [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/27/us/politics/donald-trump-global-warming-energy-policy.html Announces his Energy policy]'''''
:'''''Republican presidential candidate -- Cancel the Paris agreement, More fossil fuels, Less Clean/Renewable Energy'''''
 
:''In a [http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/05/26/3782434/trump-let-the-world-burn/ speech] laying out his energy agenda for the United States, Trump promised to undo essentially every major policy developed in last decade intended to slow human-caused global warming.''
 
 
'''''Trump declares he [http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2016/03/trump-climate-change-washington-post doesn't believe the science], says he believes climate change a [http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/06/16/3670229/president-trump-climate/ hoax] and that climate change is [http://grist.org/article/what-future-president-trump-thinks-of-climate-change/ "BS" ''''']
 
 
:''Trump tweet: This very expensive GLOBAL WARMING bullshit has got to stop.'' [http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/05/19/3779862/trump-paris-climate-deal-environmentalist-reaction/ '''Environmentalists are the problem', acc to the Republican candidate for president'']
:''Our planet is freezing, record low temps,and our GW scientists are stuck in ice''
 
 
 
:[http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/us/politics/hillary-clinton-lays-out-climate-change-plan.html '''''Clinton on Climate Change'''''] -- [https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets/2016/03/06/clinton-will-tackle-climate-change-as-president/ '''''Campaign''''']
 
:[http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/12/07/bernie_sanders_climate_plan_calls_for_end_to_nuclear_energy.html '''''Sanders Climate Plan'''''] -- [https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-vs-clinton-on-fracking-and-climate-change-new-tv-ad-up-in-minnesota-colorado/ '''''Campaign''''']
 
 
 
''May 31, Stephen Hawking interviewed by ITV on science, global threats and... the US presidential election:''
 
''Stephen Hawking / ITV: The world-famous theorist has made no secret of his disdain for the likely Republican Party presidential nominee. But asked if his knowledge of the universe meant he could explain the popular appeal of the billionaire tycoon, he told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "I can't. He is a demagogue, who seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator". In the same interview, Hawking also said he didn’t believe Trump was the greatest threat facing America, or even the world. The greatest threat, he said, is human-caused climate change.''
 
''“A more immediate danger is runaway climate change,” Hawking said. "Runaway climate change... A rise in ocean temperature would melt the ice-caps, and cause a release of large amounts of carbon dioxide from the ocean floor." "We are changing our climate for the worse. That would have catastrophic effects."'' 
 
 
[[File:Stephen Hawking Genius on PBS 1.jpg]]
 
 
○
 
''May 20, Another scholar speaks out, Noam Chomsky addresses the US presidential election: ... "(W)e haven’t even talked about the worst problems: the economic problems are bad enough, as are the social problems, but far worse than these are the major threats to the survival of the human species – the threat of nuclear war and environmental catastrophe. Here, if you look at the US primaries, you have to be impressed and appalled by the utter irrationality of the species. Here are two enormous problems that have to be faced right now, and they are almost absent from the primaries."'' ''And Trump?'' ''"(T)here are some pretty stable elements of his ideology, if you can even grant him that concept. One of them is: “Climate change is not taking place.” As he puts it: “Forget it.” And that’s almost a death knell for the species – not tomorrow, but the decisions we take now are going to affect things in a couple of decades, and in a couple of generations it could be catastrophic."''
 
○
 
''Anthropogenic Global Warming #AGW'' / ''http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/''
: ''Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming #CAGW'' / ''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runaway_climate_change''
 
 
:[[File:Earth gets hotter May2016.jpg]]
 
'''''“Another month, another record. The extraordinary heat that was recorded in 2015 pales by comparison to 2016.”'''''
 
*[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Earth_gets_hotter_May2016.jpg '''''Earth Gets Hotter, Much Hotter''''']
 
 
:<big><font color=orange>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font></big>
 
 
:[[File:Kidscelebrateclimatelawsuit.jpg]]
 
 
<big>'''''Youth Climate Advocates Secure Victory in Massachusetts Climate Change Lawsuit'''''</big>
:''Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts rules that state must impose comprehensive cuts in greenhouse gas emissions''
 
:''Must comply with the 'Global Warming Solutions Act'''
:[http://ourchildrenstrust.org/sites/default/files/2016.05.17.MASupCtPR.pdf '''''Youth Climate Lawsuit Moves Forward'''''] ''in Massachusetts Climate Change Lawsuit.''
 
 
<big>'''See Related Lawsuit Update: March 2017'''</big>
 
[http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/youth-led-high-stakes-climate-lawsuit-shifts-focus-to-trump-w473224 '''''Youth Climate Lawsuit Shifts Focus to Trump''''']
 
 
<big>''It's Donald Trump vs. 21 young people armed with global consensus on climate change''</big>
'''''What's likely the highest-stakes climate lawsuit on the planet'''''
 
''Earlier this month, not long after the plaintiffs' lawyers replaced President Obama with Trump in the suit, the administration filed a request for interlocutory appeal – a rare request since appeals are usually filed after a trial judgment, not before. Trump's lawyers also objected to a letter sent to federal agencies demanding that they preserve climate data and emails between the administration and the fossil-fuel industry that might prove the government has known since the 1960s about the dangers to public health posed by fossil fuels.''
 
''Lawyers for Trump are responding quickly and aggressively to a case that will embarrass and interfere with the administration's efforts to roll back environmental regulations and kneecap the EPA...''
 
 
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Global_Warming '''''Global Warming:Higher Global Temperatures''''']
 
*[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Global_Warming_gif_1850-2016.gif '''''GIF / Graphic 1850-2016''''']
 
 
[[File:Global Warming spiral2016-2.png | link=http://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Global_Warming_gif_1850-2016.gif]]
 
 
 
 
[[File:ClimateNews 360.jpg]]
 
 
 
'''''April 22 -- Earth Day: Countries Signing the Paris Agreement at the UN'''''
 
* '''''http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Earth_day_2016.jpg'''''
 
'''''The R's on the Science Com't act -- by surveilling scientists'''''
* '''''https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QK5Kp2uM1E&feature=youtu.be'''''
 
 
 
* [http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/275663-more-than-130-countries-will-sign-climate-deal-on-earth-day '''''Earth Day Climate Summit Signing''''']
: ''130 countries have committed to sign the Paris climate change deal during a kickoff ceremony on April 22, Earth Day''
 
: [http://touch.latimes.com/#section/2426/article/p2p-86754843/ '''''175 Nations Sign on Earth Day''''']
 
 
 
:[[File:World Bank Group Climate Change Action Plan 2016.png |link=http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/World_Bank_Group_-_Climate_Change_Action_Plan]]
 
 
<big>'''''April 2016'''''</big>
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:One_day_in_the_debate_US_energy_mix_and_climate_change_costs_and_risks.png '''''Fracking etc, one day in the life of the US energy mix 'n mash''''']
 
 
 
[[File:Sea-Level Rise Twice as High as Previously Predicted.png]]
 
 
<big>'''''March 2016'''''</big>
 
:<big>'''''Great Barrier Reef bleaching may be 'last wake-up call', marine scientists say'''''</big>
 
[[File:Coral bleaching Great Barrier Reef 2016.jpeg]]
 
 
<big>'''''Coral as a canary, a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentinel_species#Canaries_in_coal_mines sentinel species]'''''</big>
 
:[http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/coral-growth-already-being-affected-by-acidifying-oceans-new-research-finds-20160223-gn1vs4.html '''''Coral reefs in peril as ocean environment is transformed''''']
 
:[http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/10/world/asia/climate-related-death-of-coral-around-world-alarms-scientists.html '''''NYT: Climate-Related Death of Coral Around World Alarms Scientists''''']
 
:[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/great-barrier-reef-half-of-natural-wonder-is-dead-or-dying-and-it-is-on-the-brink-of-extinction-a6992411.html '''''Great Barrier Reef: Half of natural wonder is ‘dead or dying’ and it is on the brink of extinction, scientists say''''']
 
 
[[File:Great Barrier Reef May 2016.png]]
 
 
<big>'''''Underwater Heat Wave Devastates Great Barrier Reef'''''</big>
 
''Hardest-hit area includes some of Australia’s most remote and pristine coral''
:''March 29, 2016''
 
CANBERRA, Australia — An underwater heat wave is devastating huge swaths of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, marine researchers have found.
 
[http://gizmodo.com/a-nightmare-is-unfolding-in-the-great-barrier-reef-1767702006 '''''A Nightmare is Unfolding in the Great Barrier Reef''''']
 
''Extensive bleaching has been caused by higher ocean temperatures''
 
''To prevent further damage, governments should commit to lowering emissions, an Australian team says''
 
 
[http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2016/0329/Great-Barrier-Reef-bleaching-may-be-last-wake-up-call-marine-scientists-say '''''A Wake-Up Call''''']
 
''"This has been the saddest research trip of my life," James Cook University professor Terry Hughes, the convener of the National Coral Bleaching Taskforce, said in a press release after the team aerially surveyed almost 2,500 miles of the northern Australia reefs.''
 
''Coral bleaching is a modern phenomenon, marine scientists say; Over the past 400 years, there's no evidence of bleaching events until the late 20th century. Changing environmental factors like rising sea temperatures can cause the coral to expel their photosynthetic algae, called zooxanthellae, making many turn stark white. Others remain vivid, but have lost the green and brown hues that signal health. Without the symbiotic algae to process sunlight into oxygen and other nutrients, the coral dies.''
 
[http://www.smh.com.au/environment/great-barrier-reef-in-grip-of-worst-bleaching-event-20160328-gnsqrc.html '''''Sydney, Australia - The Worst Bleaching Event''''']
 
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/03/29/huge-swaths-of-the-great-barrier-reef-are-seeing-severe-coral-bleaching-scientists-say/ '''''Great Barrier Reef in Danger''''']
 
''"What we're seeing now is unequivocally to do with climate change," Prof Justin Martin Univ of Queensland [http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-28/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching-95-per-cent-north-section/7279338 tells the ABC]''
 
 
[http://www.tinybluegreen.com <big>'''''Visit Latest Ocean Science at www.TinyBlueGreen.com'''''</big>]
 
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6oRWAL0aR4 <big>'''''Australia's Great Barrier Reef hit by severe bleaching - Video'''''</big>]
 
 
[[File:Great Barrier Reef severe bleaching die-off.png | link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6oRWAL0aR4]]
 
 
 
'''''March 2016'''''
 
[http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/35398-climate-disruption-in-overdrive-submerged-cities-and-melting-that-feeds-on-itself ''Truthout'']
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Anthropogenic_climate_disruption_%28ACD%29 '''''Anthropogenic Climate Disruption: The Debate, Updates, and the Money Behind Much of the Debate''''']
 
''"Apparently, impending catastrophe doesn't mean much to some of the United States' wealthiest people. Once again a report has arisen documenting how fossil fuel millionaires pumped more than $100 million into Republican presidential super PACs last year. That means that $1 out of every $3 donated to Republican candidates coming from hyper-rich individuals came from people who made their fortunes from fossil fuels. In boosting GOP politicians, these funders were simply acting to protect their cash cows from those of us who happen to give a damn about the planet.''
 
''"A recent report by the Center for American Progress Action Fund shows that more than six out of every 10 Americans are represented by someone in Congress who denies the reality of ACD. According to the report, 59 percent of the Republican House caucus and an amazing 70 percent of the Republicans in the Senate deny ACD is real. The report also reveals that, according to the US Census, 202,803,591 Americans are represented by an ACD denier."''
 
 
<big><font color=blue>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font></big>
 
 
<big><big>'''''Threat Environment'''''</big></big>
 
<big>'''''ExxonMobil Under Investigation'''''</big>
 
:[http://www.amazon.com/Private-Empire-ExxonMobil-American-Power/dp/0143123548 '''''"Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power"''''']
 
:[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/books/review/private-empire-steve-colls-book-about-exxon-mobil.html '''''NYT: "ExxonMobil: A Well-Oiled Machine"''''']
 
:[http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/may/31/private-empire-exxonmobil-book-review '''''Guardian: "Thorough and accessible portrait of a secretive corporation is fascinating and deeply disturbing"''''']
 
:[http://www.alternet.org/environment/could-legal-case-save-humanity-climate-disaster-exxon-could-face-big-comeuppance '''''NY's State Attorney and Calif's AG Go After ExxonMobil''''']
 
:[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/steve-coll-how-exxon-shaped-the-climate-debate/ '''''ExxonMobil Bkrd''''']
 
:[http://insideclimatenews.org/content/Exxon-The-Road-Not-Taken '''''Exxon, the Road Not Taken''''']
 
:[http://www.democracynow.org/2016/3/30/headlines/more_attorneys_general_back_exxon_mobil_climate_change_probe '''''FBI Probe, More AGs Support Investigation of ExxonMobil''''']
 
:''Money-in-Politics: Giants of the oil and gas industry spend [http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/04/07/big-oil-spent-115m-obstructing-climate-laws-in-2015-ngo-says/ millions in 2015] to manipulate lawmakers and public discourse on climate change''
 
 
[[File:Big oil lobbying spend.jpg | link=http://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Oil-Gas_Lobby_Spend_Report_2015.pdf]]
 
 
[http://priceofoil.org/ '''''Oil Change International''''']  ... ''"Exposing the true costs of fossil fuels"''
 
 
''ExxonMobil predicts "long-term demand growth" and profits in investor report''
 
~
 
[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-07/trying-to-put-a-price-on-big-oil-s-climate-obstruction-efforts '''''Bloomberg: Big Oil's Climate Obstruction Efforts''''']
 
~
 
[http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20160409/NEWS/160409267 '''''Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Meltsdown with Bizarre Accusation: Like Cromwell Did Catholics?''''']
 
:''U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Democrat who is the Senate's leading voice on climate change, is locked in a bitter brawl with the Wall Street Journal editorial page over his proposal to sue fossil fuel companies for fraud''
 
 
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:3-15-2016_10-49-38_AM.png '''''March 15th: Not Good News''''']
 
[[File:3-15-2016 10-49-38 AM.png|link=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/15/record-global-temperatures-are-shocking-and-yet-we-dont-respond-seriously]]
 
 
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
 
 
<big>'''''The Presidential campaign comes to the 'Sunshine State''''''</big>
 
''Sunshine state pol updates -- Some environmental [http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/column-gov-scott-clueless-in-lake-crisis/2268841 Carl Hiaasen] riffing on Florida's Gov Scott, and an e-bit of Clinton & Sanders from today's Miami Herald & TampaBay Times.''
 
''Clinton "mocked the Scott administration's directive to state employees not to use the words "climate change" and pledged to support renewable energy in Florida."''
 
''"Of Scott's order to state employees, she said: "I found this one hard to believe. I mean, you've just got to shake your head at that."''
 
''"When Republicans say they can't talk about climate change because they're not scientists, Clinston said, there's a cure for that: "Go talk to a scientist."''
 
''Sanders "also criticized Republicans for their obstinance on climate change, which he said is holding Florida back from becoming a leader in renewable energy."''
 
''"The state of Florida has an extraordinary natural resource: its called sunlight," Sanders said, "and this state should be a leader in the world in producing solar energy."''
 
''And from Florida, an Editorial re: political moves in the 'Sunshine State'... misnaming a constitutional amendment that would, in effect, *prevent sunshine/solar energy* from competing w/ the fossil fuel industry. The issue is now before the Court. Ivan Penn formerly w/ the St Pete Times, now w/ the LA Times, wrote extensively about energy issues in Florida. What a long-running story it is. Today's [http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-court-should-reject-solar-amendment/2268839 Tampa Bay Times Editorial] speaks of the latest chapter of public good v energy industry-lobbying power...''
 
 
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 
 
 
[[File:Elon-musk and tesla alternative to fossil energy.jpg | http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Energy_Storage_-_Batteries_and_Grid]]
 
 
<big><big>'''''Energy Innovation:'''''</big></big>
 
<big>'''''Shift Away from Fossil Fuels to Renewables'''''</big>
 
<big>'''''Our Generational Challenge: Transformative Eco-nomics'''''</big>
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Energy_Storage_-_Batteries_and_Grid '''''NextGen Batteries, Grid-Scale Storage, Metering & Efficiencies''''']
:[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Tesla,_electric_cars '''''Elon Musk & Tesla''''']
 
:'''''Elon's thinking, a [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Thank-you-thank-you_s.jpg planet citizen's thinking]''''':
 
:''From GrnPolicy: Elon Musk spoke of how the iconic whole earth [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Blue_Marble_photo_-_Apollo_17.jpg "Blue Marble"] photo of Earth had inspired him to dream and to move his technology plans toward a space & earth connection...''
 
:''Elon speaks of the danger to Earth's atmosphere, our planet's [http://www.thinbluelayer.com 'thin blue layer']'': '''''"We’re running the most dangerous experiment in history right now, which is to see how much carbon dioxide the atmosphere can handle before there is an environmental catastrophe.”'''''
 
:''"The greater the change to the chemical composition of the physical, chemical makeup of the oceans and atmosphere [due to increased carbon emissions], the greater the long-term effect will be... [W]hy would you run this crazy experiment to see how bad it'll be? We know it's at least some bad, and the overwhelming scientific consensus is that it'll be 'really bad'."''
 
:''"As far as Earth is concerned, I think the biggest problem that humanity faces is one of sustainable energy. If we don’t solve that problem this century, independent of any environmental concerns, we will face economic collapse… This is obvious."''
 
 
::<big><font color=green>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font></big>
 
 
'''''Obvious security threats that go un-acknowledged...'''''
 
<big>'''''None of the Republican Candidates for US President Support Action Against Climate Change'''''</big>
 
[http://desmogblog.com/2016/03/03/warming-accelerates-talk-climate-change-dissipates '''''What Problems, We See No Problems''''']
 
:[http://scorecard.lcv.org/ '''''Environmental Scorecard''''']: '''''Cruz and Rubio [http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/02/25/3753742/national-environmental-scorecard/ voted against every green bill],'''''
:'''''and opposed every pro-environment, anti-pollution piece of legislation'''''
 
'''''Trump has taken things further, even as he declares his concern over nuclear weapons'''''
:''Trump'' [http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2016/03/trump-climate-change-washington-post ''"Not a Big Believer" in Climate Change'']
 
:[http://grist.org/article/what-future-president-trump-thinks-of-climate-change/ '''BS'?'']
 
:''Trump tweet: This very expensive GLOBAL WARMING bullshit has got to stop.''
:''Our planet is freezing, record low temps,and our GW scientists are stuck in ice''
 
:[http://desmogblog.com/climate-cover-up '''''More from DeSmog''''']/[http://www.desmogblog.com/ '''''Desmog Blog''''']
 
::<big><font color=green>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font></big>
 
''Florida's Senator, Marco Rubio, campaigns for president denying human activity's connection to climate change. Yet his home state feels the impacts even as the Senator and most of Republican leadership in the State looks away: “Florida is ground zero for sea level effects in the United States, and the debate here still seems to be whether this is happening – not what to do to prepare for it,” said Jay Famiglietti, a senior water scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “Given our current rates of rise, we can expect some rather severe consequences, and I’m not sure we’re ready to deal with the consequences of what’s going on.”''
 
''Read more about Florida and climate change'' [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Sea-Level_Rise_%26_Mitigation ''here'']
 
 
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
 
 
<big>'''''February 2016'''''</big>
 
'''''Breaking News/Feb. 14''''': ''The sudden death of US Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia sets up "an evenly divided bench", as commentators report on Feb. 13th on the news of the Justice's death in Texas. This change in the Court has wide-ranging consequence, including the Court's critically important vote on President Obama’s most ambitious effort to fight climate change, the [http://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan/clean-power-plan-existing-power-plants Clean Power Plan]. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit now has to finish hearing the case and rule before the Supreme Court takes up the climate plan again. The Court now will be divided and visibly a "deadlocked" judiciary until a new Supreme Court justice is appointed and confirmed.''
 
''The Supreme Court's Feb. 9th Stay Order to halt implementation of the President's Clean Power Plan, a large part of the US climate plan put forward at the international climate summit in Paris in December, came on what was described as an "unprecedented" decision by the Court on a 5-4 vote. Without Scalia's vote on environmental issues, the Court's reach will be limited to block Presidential powers addressing environmental and climate issues. The balance of power has shifted. On climate and energy policy, and many upcoming important and historic cases before the Court, the future decisions of the Court are more than ever in question. The presidential campaign has much more at stake now impacting the future of the country -- and planet. The next Supreme Court justice will, no doubt, be a swing vote with real power.''
 
:[http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/17/business/economy/next-supreme-court-justice-will-be-crucial-to-climate-change.html '''''Next Supreme Court Justice Will Be Crucial to US Climate Policy''''']
 
:[http://e360.yale.edu/feature/the_courts_irresponsible_action_threatens_vital_climate_policies/2962/ '''''Supreme Court’s Action Threatens Vital Climate Policies''''']
:''The US Supreme Court order blocking President Obama’s plan to cut emissions from coal-burning power plants is an unprecedented step and one of the most environmentally harmful decisions ever made by the nation’s highest court''
 
:[http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35605916 '''''Consequences if the US Quits Climate Agreement''''']
 
 
 
[http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/10/us/politics/supreme-court-blocks-obama-epa-coal-emissions-regulations.html '''''US Supreme Court Deals Blow to Obama’s Efforts to Regulate Coal Emissions''''']
 
''WASHINGTON — NYT/Feb 9, 2016 — In a major setback for President Obama’s climate change agenda, the Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the administration’s effort to combat global warming by regulating emissions from coal-fired power plants.''
 
''A stunning development,” Jody Freeman, a Harvard law professor and former environmental legal counsel to the Obama administration, said in an email. She added that “the order certainly indicates a high degree of initial judicial skepticism from five justices on the court,” and that the ruling would raise serious questions from nations that signed on to the landmark Paris climate change pact in December."''
 
'''''Related Coverage of Supreme Court Climate Vote'''''
 
* [http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-court-obama-climate-change-20160209-story.html '''''Court Puts Climate Change Rules on Hold''''']
 
* [http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/02/09/3747944/breaking-the-supreme-court-just-gave-the-finger-to-president-obamas-environmental-policies/ '''''Five Republican members of the Supreme Court hand down unexpected orders Tuesday, halting environmental regulations''''']
 
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/02/10/the-supreme-court-could-block-obamas-climate-plans-but-it-cant-stop-clean-energy/ '''''The Supreme Court could block Obama’s climate plans — but it can’t stop clean energy''''']
 
* [http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35541323 '''''Supreme Shock: Has US court holed Paris Climate deal?''''']
 
 
 
''''''Washington DC and World Around DC''''''
 
[https://weather.com/news/climate/news/record-warmest-january-global-2016 '''''January 2016 Was the Most Abnormally Warm Month Ever Recorded, NASA Says''''']
 
:''NASA's analysis found this was the largest monthly warm temperature anomaly in their database dating to 1880''
 
[http://mashable.com/2016/01/13/hottest-year-2015-berkeley-data/ '''''2015: Hottest in modern times''''']
:[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/2015_Hottest_year_b.pdf '''''Not new news, it's hotter'''''] -- [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Globally-averaged_temps_thru_2015_via_NASA_Goddard.gif '''''NASA Data''''']
 
[http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/science/earth/2015-hottest-year-global-warming.html '''''It's Hot: Is It Deniable? Ask the US Congress''''']
 
:[http://phys.org/news/2016-01-man-made-oceans.html '''''Man-made heat put in oceans has doubled since 1997, study finds''''']
: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/01/18/this-is-where-90-percent-of-global-warming-is-going/ '''''The Oceans: This is where 90% of global warming is going''''']
: [http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2915.html '''''Ocean heat study @ Nature Climate Change Journal''''']
: [http://berkeleyearth.org/temperature-reports/ '''''Hot and hotter, earth science data reports''''']
 
 
[[File:Globally-averaged temps thru 2015 via NASA Goddard.gif]]
 
 
 
[http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/12/climate-scientist-environment-apocalypse-human-extinction '''''Predictions: Climate change to speed up''''']
:'''''Climate scientists say human impacts are adding up faster than reported...
:'''''Business-as-usual forces argue "not to worry", that the consensus of science is wrong...'''''
:'''''Looking back & looking forward... what if's / ''''' [https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/earth20130610.html'''''NASA Asks: "Is a Sleeping Giant Stirring in the Arctic?"''''']
 
 
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw7GfNR5PLA ''"Watch 25 years of Arctic Sea Ice disappear"'']
 
[[File:Arctic sea ice watch 25 yrs of ice cover change.png | link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw7GfNR5PLA]]
 
 
 
<big>'''''Action Agenda'''''</big>
 
'''''Via Climate Reality Project'''''
:[https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/follow-leader-how-11-countries-are-shifting-renewable-energy ''FOLLOW THE LEADER: HOW 11 COUNTRIES ARE SHIFTING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY'']
 
''SWEDEN / COSTA RICA / NICARAGUA / SCOTLAND / GERMANY / URUGUAY / DENMARK / CHINA (Wondering how the world's largest carbon emitter can also be a leader in renewable energy? It may seem counter-intuitive, but in 2014 China had the most installed wind energy capacity – by a longshot – and the second-highest installed solar PV capacity) / MOROCCO / UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (In the US, a new solar energy system was installed every two minutes and 30 seconds in 2014, earning the US fifth place on the installed solar PV capacity global rankings. America also has the second-highest installed wind energy capacity in the world (after China). Unfortunately, the energy demand in the States far outpaces the renewable capacity) / KENYA (geo-thermal)''
 
○
 
<big>'''''Snapshot — January 2016'''''</big>
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Signs_of_Hydrocarbon_era_faltering.png '''''The sands of time shift and the hydrocarbon era begins to fade''''']
 
○
 
[https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/3zjy4e/science_ama_series_were_noaa_and_nasa_scientists/ '''''2016: Reddit AMA: Science-Sea Level Rise''''']
 
''Update:'' '''''Jason-3 in Orbit - http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/jason-3-launches-to-monitor-global-sea-level-rise'''''
 
''https://blogs.nasa.gov/Jason-3/''
 
[http://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/jason3/ '''''Jason-3 Mission'''''] -- [http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/jason-3/ '''''Jason-3 to launch Jan 17, 2016''''']
 
''Earth science/measurements provide critical information about ocean circulation patterns and about both global and regional changes in sea level and the climate implications of a warming world''
 
''For over 20 years, the Jason series of satellites (and their predecessor TOPEX/Poseidon), have helped to track global sea level rise, one of the main symptoms of climate change, and other climate phenomena such as El Niño. Data from Jason-3 will be added to this record and will be vital in helping to improve climate prediction models''
 
○
 
<big>'''''US Congress attempts to deny the security threat'''''</big>
 
[http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/02/house-science-committee-takes-up-climate-change-again/ '''''Feb 3, 2016 / House Science Com't Meets Again: Focus on why we shouldn’t do anything about climate change''''']
 
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2015-a-year-of-progress-and-buffoonery-on-climate-change/2016/01/02/9ad6955c-af33-11e5-9ab0-884d1cc4b33e_story.html '''''Looking back at 2015, Green Progress and GOP Buffoonery''''']
:''Washington Post editorial, January 3, 2016''
 
[http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/12/30/the-15-most-ridiculous-things-conservative-medi/207669 '''''15 Ridiculous Things Far Out Media Said About Climate Change In 2015''''']
 
: ''Media Matters, End of Year wrap up''
 
 
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/12/22/meet-the-house-science-committee-chairman-whos-trying-to-put-global-warming-research-on-ice/ '''''US House Science Com't Chair Climate/Security Disaster''''']
 
[http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/263805-obama-vetoes-gop-attempts-to-kill-climate-rules '''''Obama Vetoes GOP Attempt to Kill Climate Rules''''']
 
[https://100.org/100-goes-global-maps/ '''''Going Global Renewables Is the Challenge''''']
 
 
 
[https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2646001/Final-COP21-draft.pdf '''''The Adoption of the Paris Agreement; the final draft''''']
 
''Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, said the talks were the most complicated and difficult negotiations he had ever been involved in.''
 
''“I have been attending many difficult multilateral negotiations, but by any standard, this negotiation is most complicated, most difficult, but most important for humanity...”
 
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_Change_Summit_Paris '''''Paris Climate Summit: Moments''''']
 
[[File:Paris 1.5.jpg|link=https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2646001/Final-COP21-draft.pdf]]
 
 
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 
 
 
[http://www.nbcnews.com/video/watch-president-obamas-speech-to-paris-climate-conference-in-full-576212035597 '''''"Let's Get to Work": President Obama's Climate Speech in Paris''''']
 
[[File:Paris Obama Nov30,2015.png|link=http://www.nbcnews.com/video/watch-president-obamas-speech-to-paris-climate-conference-in-full-576212035597]]
 
 
 
<big><big>'''''Visit GreenPolicy's International List of National Climate Plans'''''</big></big>
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:INDC '''''Update of INDC plans by GreenPolicy360 as of Jan 1, 2016''''']
 
 
 
[[File:INDCs as of Nov28,2015.png]]
 
<big>[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Intended_Nationally_Determined_Contributions '''''Climate Action Plans''''']</big>
 
 
<big>'''''Intended Nationally Determined Contributions [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Intended_Nationally_Determined_Contributions (INDCs)]'''''</big>
 
[http://www4.unfccc.int/submissions/INDC/Submission%20Pages/submissions.aspx '''''Submitted INDC Plans''''']
 
'''''INDC portal -- http://unfccc.int/focus/indc_portal/items/8766.php'''''
 
 
 
'''''Quoted re: the Paris Climate Summit'''''
 
:'''''Union of Concerned Scientists''': ''"It's very important that we not lock into place the initial offers [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Intended_Nationally_Determined_Contributions (INDCs)] that countries have put on the table... We need to have, by the end of this decade, an initial review of where we are at and what more can be done to lift ambition... and countries need to be prepared to review and revise upward their initial offers."''
 
:'''''''NY Times Editorial Board''''': ''"So far, more than 170 countries, accounting for over 90 percent of global greenhouse emissions, have submitted pledges, and more may emerge in Paris. Will these pledges be enough to ward off the worst consequences of global warming? No."''
 
:[http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/12/what-does-the-paris-agreement-say/419577/ '''''The Paris Agreement: Unresolved Questions''''']
 
 
'''''December 2015'''''
 
<big>'''''*NASA Earth Sciences 2016 Budget No Longer Cut $500 Million'''''</big>
 
''Final budget bill provides $1.92 billion for '''Earth Science''' research''
 
''The final budget bill provides $1.92 billion for Earth Science research, just $20 million less than the President's original budget request. The cut is slight compared to initial GOP budget cuts proposed in the House and Senate which had slashed as much as $500 million from the President's request.''
 
''NASA administrator Charles Bolden [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Security argued before Congress this summer and fall] that it was critical to increase the size of NASA's Earth Science programs.''
 
''Under the newly passed Fiscal Year 2016 NASA Budget, virtually all of the agency’s programs benefit with either full or added funding.'' -- http://www.universetoday.com/123937/nasa-receives-significant-budget-boost-fiscal-year-2016
 
 
 
'''''Congress Committee Cuts Earth Science research'''''
 
[[File:Smith - Science Com't sm 2015.jpg|link=http://www.vox.com/2015/11/22/9777582/lamar-smith-noaa]]
 
Committee Chair Smith/R-TX After Hearing on NASA/NOAA Budget
 
○
 
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ku6rhdmbF4 '''''U.S. Congress/Science Committee News (Not Good News)''''']
 
''Via Vox'' -- [http://www.vox.com/2015/11/22/9777582/lamar-smith-noaa '''''U.S. House Science Committee Talks Conspiracy and Subpoenas''''']
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_and_Space,_Politics <big>'''''Earth Science Politics'''''</big>]
 
:[http://news.sciencemag.org/climate/2015/12/bully-pulpit-ted-cruz-offers-his-take-climate-change ''From a bully pulpit, Ted Cruz offers his take on climate change / Dec 9'']
:[http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/12/ted-cruz-climate-change-pause ''Cruz 'cherry-picks' from the climate record; Texas oil Senator's debate strategy'']
:[http://scienceblogs.com/significantfigures/index.php/2015/12/09/everything-senator-ted-cruz-said-about-climate-change-in-this-npr-interview-was-wrong/ ''Cruz: I learned to debate in college and I'm right'']
:[http://www.aaas.org/sites/default/files/Intersociety%20NOAA_letter%2011-24-2015.pdf ''Letter to Science Committee re: integrity / Nov 24'']
:[http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/11/25/3725782/scientists-scold-science-committee-chair/ ''More from American science organizations'']
:[http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/217488-american-meteorological-society-criticizes-congressional-witch-hunt-demands-for-noaa-correspondence ''Science Orgs respond to attacks by Science Committee'']
 
 
<big><font color=blue>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</font></big>
 
 
<big>'''''Opposition Clips'''''</big>
 
'''''December'''''
 
''Via New Republic/Dec 15'' -- [https://newrepublic.com/article/125806/paris-climate-deal-gop-candidates-move-nothing-happened '''''What Climate Agreement? GOP Candidates Ignore the International Agreement''''']
 
''Via NY Times/Dec 4'' -- [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/04/opinion/republicans-climate-change-denial-denial.html '''''Republicans' Climate Change Denial Denial''''']
 
:''Krugman: Future historians will almost surely say that the most important thing happening in the world during December 2015 was the climate talks in Paris. True, nothing agreed to in Paris will be enough, by itself, to solve the problem of global warming. But the talks could mark a turning point, the beginning of the kind of international action needed to avert catastrophe....''
 
:''I’d urge everyone outside the climate-denial bubble to frankly acknowledge the awesome, terrifying reality. We’re looking at a [Republican] party that has turned its back on science at a time when doing so puts the very future of civilization at risk. That’s the truth, and it needs to be faced head-on.''
 
'''''GreenPolicy360: Time to Pressure Congress: Environmental Security Delivers National Security'''''
 
''Via New Yorker/Dec 4'' -- [http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/congress-moves-to-sabotage-the-paris-climate-summit '''''Congress Moves to Sabotage the Paris Climate Summit''''']
 
''Via Mother Jones/Dec 4'' -- [http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/12/chris-christie-climate-change-hell-no '''''Chris Christie: "Hell No," America Shouldn't Lead on Climate Change''''']
 
''Via CommonDreams-PR Watch/Dec 3'' -- [http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/12/03/corporate-lobby-group-alec-works-scuttle-global-climate-agreement '''''Corporate Lobby Group ALEC Works to Scuttle Global Climate Agreement''''']
 
''Via Bloomberg Politics/Dec 2'' -- [http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-12-02/obama-s-paris-climate-push-likely-to-survive-republican-foes '''''Obama's Climate Plans to Survive Republican Foes''''']
 
''Via Think Progress/Dec 2'' -- [http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/12/02/3726951/house-votes-kill-clean-power-plan/ '''''House votes to kill clean power plan''''']
 
''Via Bloomberg Business/Dec 1'' -- [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-30/unearthing-america-s-deep-network-of-climate-change-deniers '''''"Unearthing America's Deep Network of Climate Change Deniers":''''']
:[http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2875.html '''''"New study'''''] ''attempts the first tally of those driving the peculiarly American strain of climate change denial"''
 
'''''November'''''
 
''Via Climate Progress'' -- [http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/11/19/3723922/republicans-meddle-in-climate-negotiations/ '''''U.S. Senate Republicans Say 'No' to Paris Climate Accord''''']
 
''Via The Atlantic'' -- [http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/12/the-republican-attempt-to-derail-the-paris-climate-talks/418290/ '''''Republican Attempt to Derail the Paris Climate Talks''''']
 
''Via Politico'' -- [http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/paris-climate-talks-government-shutdown-collide-216140 '''''"Republicans seek to strangle Paris climate pact"''''']
 
''Via Washington Post'' -- [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/11/17/amid-record-global-temperatures-congress-to-vote-to-stop-obamas-clean-power-plan/ '''''"Amid record global temperatures, Senate votes to block Obama’s Clean Power Plan"''''']
 
 
[[File:John Barrasso - R-Wyoming - 2015 Photo credit Getty.jpg|link=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/paris-climate-talks-government-shutdown-collide-216140]]
 
 
 
[http://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-the-legal-form-of-the-paris-climate-agreement '''''Important: Legal forms for Paris climate agreement''''']
 
[http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/activists-officials-disagree-over-future-of-massive-paris-climate-march-20151117 ''March and demonstrations in Paris will go on'']
:[https://www.avaaz.org/en/event/globalclimatemarch/?slideshow ''2000+ Climate Events/Locations''] [https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateMarch?src=hash ''#ClimateMarch'']
 
 
 
[http://newsroom.unfccc.int/cop21parisinformationhub/ ''Paris Climate Mtgs, Opening Nov 30 - Information Hub''] 
:[http://unfccc.int/2860.php ''Climate Meetings-Schedule'']
 
 
 
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ku6rhdmbF4 '''''U.S. Congress/Science Committee News (Not Good News)''''']
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Security ''Environmental Security'']
:[http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/05/syria-climate-years-living-dangerously-symbolia ''Syria, War, Climate Connection'']
 
 
 
<big>'''''On Point'''''</big>
 
[http://www.vox.com/2015/11/8/9690654/keystone-climate-activism '''''What critics of the Keystone campaign misunderstand / Vox''''']
 
''Nov 6, 2015''
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Keystone_XL_In_depth_win_for_greens.png '''''"Win for Greens"'''''] / [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Keystone_XL_decision_day.png '''''"No to Keystone, Yes to the Planet"''''']
 
[http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/07/us/obama-expected-to-reject-construction-of-keystone-xl-oil-pipeline.html ''Goodbye Keystone XL: President Obama/US State Dept Reject Pipeline'']
 
 
 
<big>'''''It's Your Breathing Planet'''''</big>
 
[[File:BreathingEarth.gif|link=https://youtu.be/r2yLSLmnsY4]]
 
 
<big>'''''Join In, Act, Follow, Be Out in Front'''''</big>
 
[http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/07.pdf ''UN / Climate Plans "Synthesis Report"'']
 
:[https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateAction?src=hash #climateaction]
:[https://twitter.com/hashtag/COP21?src=hash #COP21]
:[https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDCs?src=hash #INDCs]
:[https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateChange?src=hash #climatechange]
 
 
''Christiana Figueres'' [https://twitter.com/CFigueres ''@CFigueres'']
:''Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change''
:[https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3qkkzw/i_am_christiana_figueres_the_top_un_climate/ ''Figueres - REDDIT AMA -- Oct 28'']
 
 
 
[https://twitter.com/hashtag/ADP2?src=hash <big>''#ADP2''</big>]
 
 
 
'''''UN Climate Action @UNFCCC'''''
:''Oct. 19, 2015''
:''Opening plenary of the latest @UN climate negotiations kicks off today in Bonn''
:''http://bit.ly/1OObz76'' ''#ADP2''
 
''Christiana Figueres'' [https://twitter.com/CFigueres ''(@CFigueres)'']
:''Opening plenary of resumed #ADP2 session starts. Last few steps toward Paris. Focus!''
:[https://twitter.com/CFigueres/status/656024169868611584/photo/1 ''pic.twitter.com/A63Cyfds2N'']
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Intended_Nationally_Determined_Contributions '''''Climate Plans/INDCs in Preparation for December UNFCCC Conference in Paris''''']
 
 
[[File:Climate Plan pledges as Oct6,2015.png | link=http://insideclimatenews.org/news/05102015/climate-treaty-forecast-cloudy-chance-disaster-united-nations-pledge-global-warming]]
 
 
<big><big>'''''Intended Nationally Determined Contributions'''''</big></big>
 
[http://www4.unfccc.int/submissions/indc/Submission%20Pages/submissions.aspx '''''Progress Reports on Climate Action Plans (INDCs) as Submitted to the UN''''']
 
[https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDC?src=hash ''#INDC''] / [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intended_Nationally_Determined_Contributions ''INDCs defined at Wikipedia'']
 
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/UN_Framework_Convention_on_Climate_Change-2015 '''''Conference of Parties 21, UN Climate Change Conference''''']
 
 
[http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/09/25/pope-francis-united-nations-address-migrants-climate/72746990/ '''''Pope pushes world leaders at UN to protect environment''''']
 
''Pope Francis called on world leaders gathered at the United Nations in New York on Sept. 25th to take firm action on the environment, blaming a "selfish and boundless thirst for power and material" for its destruction.''
 
''"We human beings are part of the environment," Francis said. "We live in communion with it, since the environment itself entails ethical limits which human activity must acknowledge and respect. ... Any harm done to the environment, therefore, is harm done to humanity."''
 
''Pope Francis again ​made history a day after his address to a joint session of Congress, delivering a speech before the largest-ever gathering of world leaders at the United Nations​.''
​
''In his address to the General Assembly, the popular ​"people’s ​pope​"​ critiqued the current “culture of waste” and urged government leaders to do more to combat poverty and address environmental abuses. Climate change, he reiterated, could “threaten the very existence of the human species.”''
 
 
 
[[File:Star Solar Renewable Power.JPG]]
 
 
 
[[File:OCO-2 carbon dioxide Sept2014-Sept2015.gif]]
 
 
'''''I am OCO-2 -- reporting home''''' [http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-whats-warming-the-world/ ''Climate deniers blame global warming on nature. This NASA data begs to differ'']
 
 
'''''More from OCO-2''''' -- ''https://youtu.be/8YsoVWxR9-w''
 
 
 
; <big>[http://climate.nasa.gov/''NASA Climate News...'']</big>
 
 
; <big><big>''NASA Missions / Earth Right Now''</big></big>
 
 
[[File:EarthRightNow Earth Science @work via 2014-2015 NASA launches m.png]]
 
 
: [http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/jason-3/ '''''Jason 3''''']
:: [http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4823 '''''Jason-3 Launches to Monitor Global Sea Level Rise''''']
:: [http://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/jason3/ '''''Jason-3 Launched: January 2016''''']
 
: [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GPM/main/index.html '''''GPM - Next-generation measurements of global snow and rain''''']
 
: [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/oco2/index.html '''''OCO-2 - Measuring atmospheric carbon dioxide''''']
 
: [https://twitter.com/IamOCO2 '''''OCO-2 / (TW)''''']
 
: [http://www.nasa.gov/rapidscat/#.VUzlIvlViE0 '''''ISS - Rapidscat - Monitoring ocean winds''''']
 
: [http://www.nasa.gov/cats/#.VUzlU_lViE0 '''''CATS - Observing pollution, dust and smoke in the atmosphere''''']
 
: [http://www.nasa.gov/smap/ '''''SMAP - Studying soil moisture''''']
 
 
[[File:NASA MISR.png]]
 
 
'''''https://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/''''' --- '''''https://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/projects-supported'''''
 
'''''The Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) at NASA Langley Research Center responsible for processing, archiving, and distribution of NASA Earth science data'''''
 
 
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
 
 
: [[File:BeltandRoad-EnvironmentalRisks.jpg]]
 
 
Eurasian futures... https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Eurasia
 
 
 
<big><big>'''''News Highlights --- 2015'''''</big></big>
 
 
<big>'''''California out in front modeling and sharing green best practices'''''</big>
 
''http://www.bioneers.org/bioneers-e-book-california-climate-leadership/''
 
 
 
* [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/California_out_in_front_in_a_Green_future California 'Out in Front of a Green Future']
 
* [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/California_is_ahead_of_the_game_as_Obama_releases_Clean_Power_Plan Obama Releases 'Clean Power Plan']
 
 
 
<big>[http://globalapolloprogramme.org/ '''''Time for a Global Apollo Initiative''''']</big>
 
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Apollo_Programme ''Global Apollo Program], a 10 year project to make renewable energy cheaper than fossil fuels through internationally coordinated and publicly funded research into renewable energy technology...''
 
 
 
<big>'''''Watching Game-Changing Players Like Elon Musk'''''</big>
 
:[http://www.ted.com/talks/elon_musk_the_mind_behind_tesla_spacex_solarcity '''''TED2013 - The mind behind Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity...''''']
:[http://www.spacex.com/news '''''SpaceX Joins NASA Earth Science Launch Program''''']
:[https://www.pinterest.com/pin/476607573042779770/ '''''New Space, Earth Science''''']
 
 
[[File:SpaceX.jpg]]
 
 
<big>'''''Jason-2 and Jason-3'''''</big>
 
'''''Update January 2016''''':
 
[http://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/jason3/ '''''Jason-3 Mission'''''] -- [http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/jason-3/ '''''Jason-3 -- Launched Jan 17, 2016''''']
 
''Ocean circulation patterns, global and regional changes in sea level, and climate implications of a warming world''
 
 
 
<big>[http://www.nasa.gov/goddard/risingseas '''''What's up with sea level rise?''''']</big>
 
''In a series of media opportunities through Aug. 28, NASA experts present up-to-date global outlook on current conditions and future projections of [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Sea-Level_Rise_%26_Mitigation sea level rise]''
 
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/08/28/why-nasas-so-worried-that-greenlands-melting-could-speed-up/ ''Why NASA’s worried that Greenland’s melting could speed up'']
 
[https://twitter.com/EarthVitalSigns ''@EarthVitalSigns''] [https://twitter.com/hashtag/earthrightnow ''#EarthRightNow''] [https://twitter.com/insideclimate ''InsideClimate News (TW)'']
 
 
······································································································
 
 
; <big><big>''Planet Citizens''</big></big>
 
; [http://www.planetcitizen.org ''Planet Citizen'']
 
; [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Citizens,_Planet_Scientists ''Planet Citizens, Planet Scientists'']
 
; [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/EarthPOV ''EarthPOV'']
 
 
 
; <big><big>''Earth360°, the 'Big Picture''</big></big>
 
;  [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/HelloEarth ''#HelloEarth'']
 
;  [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Right_Now ''Earth Right Now'']
 
;  [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Vital_Signs ''Earth Science, Vital Signs'']
 
;  [http://www.pinterest.com/stratdem/environmental-security/ ''From the Vantage Point of Space'']
 
;  [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Look_at_how_thin_our_atmosphere_is ''"Thin Blue", the Thin Layer of Protective Atmosphere'']
 
 
:<big><big>'''''Our Life-Supporting Earth Atmosphere'''''</big></big>
 
:* [http://www.thinbluelayer.com '''''"Thin Blue" / www.thinbluelayer.com''''']
 
 
[[File:'Thin Blue Layer' of Earth's Atmosphere 2.jpg|link=https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:%27Thin_Blue_Layer%27_of_Earth%27s_Atmosphere_xl.jpg]]
 
&nbsp;
 
 
; <big><big>''Environmental Security ↔ National Security''</big></big>
 
;  [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security '''''New Definitions of National Security''''']
 
 
::[[File:Overview planet earth1.jpg]]
 
 
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
 
 
; <big><big>''Earth Science from Space, Politics''</big></big>
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_and_Space,_Politics '''''Earth and Space, Politics 2015''''']
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Environmental_Security '''''Environmental Security, the Challenge and the Missions''''']
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:NASA_orbiting_fleet_2015.jpg '''''Earth Observing Science, NASA Space Fleet, as of 2015''''']
 
[http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=4208 '''''Earth Observing NASA Space Fleet, as of 2014''''']
 
 
 
; <big><big>''Carbon Brief's Infographic of Earth Climate Science Satellites''</big></big>
 
 
'''''Satellites in operation (2016) adding to scientists’ understanding of climate change'''''
 
* http://www.carbonbrief.org/interactive-satellites-used-monitor-climate-change
 
 
[[File:How satellites monitor climate change circa 2016.png]]
 
 
 
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
 
 
<big><big>'''''References - Climate News'''''</big></big>
 
 
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CD2X2UsUUAANuYf.jpg
 
 
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/GreenLinks <big>'''''Climate Change News / @ GreenLinks'''''</big>]
 
 
[https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/GTN_GreenLinks_Trending_News <font color=green>'''''GreenPolicy Trending News'''''</font>]
 
[https://twitter.com/350 <font color=green>'''''350.org Dispatches & Climate Science News'''''</font>]
 
 
[http://berkeleyearth.org/blog-announcements/ <font color=green>'''''Berkeley Earth Science News''''']</font>
 
[http://www.businessgreen.com/blog <font color=green>'''''BusinessGreen / UK - Blogs''''']</font>
 
[http://www.eenews.net/cw  <font color=green>'''''E&E ClimateWire / Climate Digest''''']</font>
 
[https://twitter.com/GreenAllianceUK <font color=green>'''''GreenAllianceUK (TW)''''']</font>
 
[http://www.theguardian.com/us/environment <font color=green>'''''Guardian Environment / UK''''']</font>
 
[http://insideclimatenews.org/ <font color=green>'''''Inside Climate News''''']</font>
: [https://twitter.com/insideclimate <font color=green>'''''Inside Climate (TW)''''']</font>
 
[http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/ <font color=green>'''''New York Times 'Dot Earth'''''']</font>
 
[https://twitter.com/Revkin/lists/green-blog-voices/  <font color=green>'''''Revkin List / Green Blog Voices''''']</font> 
 
[https://theconversation.com/us/environment<font color=green>'''''The Conversation / Climate-Environment''''']</font> 
 
[https://twitter.com/unfccc <font color=green>'''''United Nations/UNFCCC Climate Change Negotiations and Related News''''']</font>
 
[http://newsroom.unfccc.int/ <font color=green>'''''UN Climate Change Newsroom''''']</font>
 
[http://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/ <font color=green>'''''Yale Climate Connections''''']</font>
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/CO2_Facts <font color=green>'''''Carbon Dioxide Facts''''']</font>
 
 
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
 
 
[[File:NASAEarth 437x246.jpg|link=http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_News]]
 
 
::'''''Follow GreenPolicy's [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_News Climate Science/News]'''''
 
::''Daily/Weekly / Install Feedly as a News Aggregator''
 
::''https://feedly.com/i/welcome''
 
 
[[File:GHG emissions 1970-2010.jpg]]
 
 
::<big>'''''Earth Right Now'''''</big>
 
::''http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Right_Now''
::[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space Earth Science from Space ''Earth Science from Space'']
 
 
::'''''February 2015 - http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4487'''''
 
::''Over the past 12 months NASA has added five missions to its orbiting Earth-observing fleet''
:::''- the biggest one-year increase in more than a decade....''
 
 
[[File:NASA orbiting fleet 2015 m.jpg]]
 
 
 
<big>○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○</big>
 
 
<big>'''''Green Policy Archive: Looking Back, Looking Forward'''''</big>
 
[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_Observations '''''Earth Observations/Climate News Archive''''']
 
:[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Look_at_how_thin_our_atmosphere_is '''''How Thin Our Atmosphere''''']
 
:[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_and_Space,_Politics '''''Earth & Space Politics''''']
 
:[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security '''''"New Definitions of National Security"''''']
 
:[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Environmental_movement '''''Environmental Movement''''']
 
:[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Intended_Nationally_Determined_Contributions '''''Paris Agreement, Climate Plans''''']
 
:[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Citizens,_Planet_Scientists '''''Planet Citizens, Planet Scientists''''']
 
 
<big><big>'''Back to the Beginnings of the Modern Era of Science on Global Warming/Climate Change'''</big></big>
 
 
[[File:US Public Law 95-367.png]]
 


[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr '''''Climate and Environmental Leader, George Brown, the Congressman who authored the first US climate legislation''''']


::: <big>[[Climate News Events Archive ... 1970 to Today]]</big>


:[http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Congressman_george.e.brown.gif '''''George E. Brown, East Lost Angeles, a visionary leader who cared''''']
::: [[File:Atmospheric Experiment of Humanity.jpg]]


:: [http://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Can_our_environment_be_saved_George_Brown-Omnibus_Environmental_Bill_1969.pdf '''''Congressional Speech, 1969, 'Can Our Environment Be Saved?' ''''']




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Latest revision as of 15:54, 21 November 2024


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Climate Security News & Events

Climate Change
Climate News Events Archive ... 1970 to Today

 

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Make a Positive Difference Every Day


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"Time for Action, a Toles' Dali-Clock Warns, Don't Delay"
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🥵 When it gets too hot

Even your news is hot ....


Earth Temperature Today 🌡️ Climate Change Institute -- https://climatereanalyzer.org/clim/t2_daily/

Climate Forecast System - https://cfs.ncep.noaa.gov/ | https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/weather-climate-models/climate-forecast-system

National Centers for Environmental Prediction - https://www.nco.ncep.noaa.gov/ | https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/

 

NOAA climate report - GHGs as of 2023.png


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The Keeling Curve


 

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NASA - Astronaut Reid Wiseman

"Thin Blue Layer" @GreenPolicy360 - www.ThinBlueLayer.com

* https://greenpolicy360.net/images/Reid_Wiseman_thinbluelayer_m.jpg

* https://www.thephoblographer.com/2014/09/10/nasa-astronaut-reid-wiseman-best-space-photographer-time/

* https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BuDZa8ZCEAAJzmd.jpg:large


 

NASA's continuing vision and mission - as of 2005.png


Track Earth System Science back to its beginnings at NASA with its Planet Earth 'Mission Statement' --

and a Congressperson who envisioned Earth Science as 'Big Science' over decades that followed...


With deep appreciation, a Tip of our GreenPolicy360 Hat to our Decades-long Friend and Colleague George E. Brown Jr

Advancing Science, Facts, Technology and Data to Make the Case for Environmental Protection

1960s/70s, Beginnings of Planet Citizen Eco-Challenge and Evolutionary Change



EarthScience Missions via the EOS - 2022.png

* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:EarthScience_Missions_via_the_EOS_-_2022.png


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* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Too_Hot


🦠 Earth Science Vital Signs


·························································································


New Ways to See & Experience Planet Earth


Visit GreenPolicy360's story of Earth Science research from our decades of being there, from the first Earth Day to first Climate Act science and work along with Congressperson George E. Brown Jr, years of green politics at the frontlines...


GreenPolicy360's eco operating system (eOS) includes:

About Us

EarthPOV

Green Politics with GreenPolicy360


ThinBlueLayer.com - Look at how thin our atmosphere is

Earth and Space, Politics

New Definitions of National Security - Strategic Demands


Planet API

Earth Science Research from Space

Democratization of Space

Earth Imaging-New Space

Micro-satellites


Virtual Earth

HelloEarth


The Commons

Earth Right Now

Earth Science Vital Signs


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Flashback -- 1978, Climate Action Memories


Earth's First National Climate Act

In 1978 the U.S. Congress led the way with Public Law 95-367
A Congressman from East Lost Angeles, who was a trained in physics and an engineer, drafted a visionary program
Representative George E. Brown was deeply involved in the earlier Clean Air Act, the establishment of the EPA, and NASA Earth Science start-up missions
What was launched has led now to a deep database of Atmospheric/Earth Science and nearly every nation of the world developing National Climate Plans


GreenPolicy360 Siterunner / SJ Schmidt: The modern environmental era and Earth Science/Climate Science can be traced to the 1960s and 1970s. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences played a key role in laying a foundation of scientific reports and data.

Your GreenPolicy founder was involved, especially with the work of a Congressman who took the Academy of Science report and drafted the first National Climate Act. It was a follow on to Earth Day activism and was accompanied by a broad array of NASA research and Earth Science measuring and monitoring missions intended to guide climate policy and decision-making.


Energy and Climate Report, 1977, National Academy of Sciences / 175 pp. / PDF via GreenPolicy360

Rep. George Brown took the findings of the 1977 Energy and Climate Report from the Academy of Sciences and made the science actionable. In a historic moment, he proposed and drafted the legislation of the first U.S. National Climate Program and shepherded its passage in 1978.

This was the first federal program established to study and assess scientifically the issues and risks of human-caused climate change and was a foundation for comprehensive initiatives of NASA and NOAA, the EPA and USGS.


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1968-1970, a 'Whole Earth' Vision ("Earthrise") via NASA

The First Earth Day and an Environmental Protection Movement Is Launched
New Ways of Doing Business, Sustainable, Resilient, Forward-looking


A Whole Earth Point of View


Blue Marble photo taken by the crew of Apollo 17 (1972).jpg

"Blue Marble" / NASA, 1972


Earth Day Memories on the 50th Anniversary

Congressman George Brown steps up and a long ride begins ...


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A Whole Earth Point of View -- http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Whole_Earth


Christina Korp Earth Day and Apollo 8.jpg

Steven Schmidt, GreenPolicy360 Siterunner....
DYK? Yes, we know, we remember the beginnings !
'Earthrise' and 'Earth Day'


Living Earth.png


A Life Affirming 'Earthrise'


Earthrise 100 Photographs That Changed the World .jpg

"Earthrise" -- https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Apollo_8


Beginnings of the Modern Environmental Movement

* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/images/1969_beginnings_of_the_modern_environmental_movement.pdf


🌎


1992 -- The First International UN Earth Summit

We (your GreenPolicy360 founder) reported 'deep into the first Earth Summit'...
and in that early 90s year worked to draft a 1992 US presidential campaign platform 'deep on the green'...
Later, as a Wikipedia editor, we added language to the Earth Summit page describing how the Climate Summit led to the launch of the UNFCCC climate conferences that have been held for decades...


Launch of the Annual International (UNFCCC) Climate Conferences


Earth Summit 1992-s.png
Earth Summit (1992)


GreenPolicy360 with our associate Strategic Demands has, also for decades, worked on "New Definitions of National (and Global) Security.

Visit these Climate News links for more on this 'Earth in Human Hands' priority.


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2024


November


As the reality hits, the consequences of Election 2024 begin:

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President Biden Highlights His Term's Climate-Related Accomplishments and Legacy

November 17, 2024 / As quoted in press services and US Office of the US White House media release


In the Amazon Rainforest, President Biden urged leaders to work to protect the environment on Sunday, during a visit to the Amazon rainforest that marked the first such trip by any sitting U.S. president in history, warning that "history is literally watching us now."

"Today, I'm proud to be here — the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Amazon rainforest — to recommit to protecting the rainforests, like this one" the president said. He added that "the fight to protect our planet is literally a fight for humanity for generations to come."

He highlighted his climate legacy, declaring that no one can reverse America’s green transition as President-elect Donald Trump’s fossil-friendly policies loom large.

The president said the "fight against climate change has been a defining cause of my presidency," touting rejoining the Paris Agreement, launching a global methane pledge and delivering on climate financing. The president announced during the visit that the U.S. has reached its goal of increasing its climate finance to over $11 billion a year, up from $1.5 billion when Mr. Biden took office. He also designated Nov. 17 as International Conservation Day, while the administration announces new conservation efforts including $50 million for the Amazon Fund, among other initiatives. And he cited the passage of the "most significant climate change law in history," referring to the Inflation Reduction Act, which cuts carbon while creating clean energy investments and jobs.

Mr. Biden outlined that leaders "don't have to choose between the environment and the economy," urging that "we can do both."

Biden began his term by bringing the U.S. back into the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change that Trump had withdrawn from. Trump, a climate change skeptic, has said he will withdraw from the agreement again, as well as loosen restrictions on oil and gas exploration.


Climate Legacy of Biden.jpg


🌎


November 13, 2024


What Climate Summit? Climate Work Stumbles:

Earth’s biggest polluters aren’t sending leaders to UN climate talks in a year of weather extremes

Big names and powerful countries noticeably absent at UN international climate conference

Via the Associated Press


Climate conference "won’t have the top leaders of the 13 largest carbon dioxide-polluting countries — a group responsible for more than 70% of the heat-trapping gases emitted last year."

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told world leaders who did show up that the world is seeing “a master class in climate destruction” in a year virtually certain to be hottest on record. ...

United Nations officials downplayed the lack of head of state star power, saying that every country is represented and active in the climate talks.


Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions (as of 2024) and Pathways Going Forward.jpg


November 9, 2024


The Work to Deal with Climate Change Continues Despite a Change in the US Presidency

International climate change conferences began in the 1990s to chart national action plans, they are not going to halt


John Podesta, who serves as President Biden’s top climate diplomat, departs tomorrow for United Nations-led climate summit.

As he discussed the upcoming climate negotiations, Podesta is quoted as saying he will try to reassure America’s allies that the clean energy transition is unstoppable and that U.S. emissions are poised to drop even with a president who denies the science of climate change.

”There’s no question that having someone leading the federal government who thinks climate change is a hoax is an impediment to accelerating action", but because of investments already made, U.S. emissions are on a downward trajectory and the private sector is not backing away from renewable power.

“This is not the end of our fight for a cleaner, safer planet. The fight is bigger than one election or political cycle.”


More on the Climate Summit

As the United Nations Climate Change Conference Begins 

* https://unfccc.int/
* https://unfccc.int/cop29#sessions
* https://unfccc.int/climate-action
* https://unfccc.int/news

Report on the Cliimate Summit

Via Semafor


COP29, which starts in Baku on Monday, will be the first chance for world leaders and climate activists to regroup ahead of another four years with Donald Trump.

The US delegation, Biden’s last, will definitely suffer from a drop in negotiating clout. But it’s a big world, and there are plenty of other countries ready to step into the power vacuum, especially China. Jonathan Pershing, a former top climate negotiator under Biden, told reporters yesterday the biggest story to watch won’t be the US leaving the room, but whether any countries follow them in walking away from the Paris Agreement — and he doesn’t think any will. Stay tuned here for special coverage from the ground.


The Conservative Climate Agenda


With Donald Trump heading back to the White House and a Republican sweep of Congress looking increasingly likely, the small but growing cohort of climate-focused conservatives has a chance to push for a different approach to the energy transition. Outright climate science denial is far less common among Republicans than it was during Trump’s first term, and the fact that most clean-energy funding from the Inflation Reduction Act has gone to Republican districts will make it politically untenable to repeal the law.

A spokesperson for Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), who is set to lead the environment and public works committee, said a top priority will be “to cut red tape that slows down infrastructure projects.” In general, the conservative vision for climate action is all about cutting red tape, said Chris Barnard, president of the American Conservation Coalition, an advocacy group: “The North Star under a Trump administration is a vision that extends beyond the traditional ‘drill, baby, drill,’ to more like, ‘build, baby, build’.”

(L)ast-minute climate priorities for Biden include finalizing more loans from the Department of Energy, settling on hydrogen tax-credit rules, and pushing other countries for an ambitious climate finance deal at COP29, even though the latter two at least would likely be undone by Trump. Biden can also finalize a waiver for California under the Clean Air Act that allows the state to move further than the federal government on emissions regulation, which is “going to be an important avenue for continued progress in case of federal backsliding,” said Sonia Aggarwal, CEO of the think tank Energy Innovation.


China and the EV Sector Globally


In Washington, Brussels, and elsewhere, Western policymakers have been focused on the threat to automotive jobs from Chinese carmakers, whose hybrids and battery-powered vehicles are racing ahead of competitors from the US and Europe. Meanwhile, Chinese companies have been strengthening another, lower-profile EV sector in their home market — and now they are looking to extend that dominance worldwide.

Electric two-wheeler mopeds first appeared on China’s roads about 20 years ago, but thanks to a confluence of factors, they are now ubiquitous. And with their domestic market increasingly saturated, the companies that make them are casting their ambitions abroad.

"The next opportunity is to go global,” Zhou Chao, vice president of Yadea, a major Chinese electric two-wheeler brand, recently told 21st Century Business Herald.


In many ways, the humble two-wheeler is the most successful electric vehicle China has ever rolled out on a scale that is truly mind-blowing.

More than 45 million are sold every year in China says Joseph Constanty, senior director of global strategy and growth at NIU, a Nasdaq-listed Chinese electric two-wheeler brand.

Nationwide, some 400 million electric two-wheelers — mostly mopeds — were zipping on the road at the end of 2023, according to state-run newswire Xinhua, compared to 20.4 million electric cars.


China EV exports - 2010-2023 - Horton-Gavekal.png


🌎


November 6, 2024


A History-Making Decision: Trump Elected President


~


November 4, 2024


The Business Community Speaks Up


There are many clear choices at stake in tomorrow’s Presidential election. One of the starkest is climate and it comes at a time when the planet is careening toward catastrophic levels of warming.

Vice President Kamala Harris has called climate change an “existential threat.” While she hasn’t detailed a climate plan, she’s widely expected to continue federal support for clean energy and electric vehicles in an ongoing effort to move the American economy away from fossil fuels. In 2022, she cast the tie-breaking vote for the Inflation Reduction Act and has pledged to fully implement it.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has called climate change “one of the greatest scams of all time,” and vowed to end federal support for the clean energy transition, while ramping up drilling for oil and gas, including in the Arctic. He withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Accord during his first term and – after President Joe Biden quickly rejoined – has said that he’d do so again.

Data released by the United Nations last week showed that greenhouse gases hit record highs in 2023, with CO2 accumulating in the atmosphere at a faster rate than at any time during human existence. That’s an important reminder, if one was needed at a time of worsening hurricanes and extreme heat, that now is a critical time for setting policies to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change. As Peter Maysmith, senior vice president of campaigns for the League of Conservation Voters, told the New York Times last week about the choice this election: “The stakes when it comes to climate change literally could not be higher.” ...


~


Generation Green

The Day Before

Tomorrow, November 5th, the US Votes


“We are on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster,” begins a report published last month in the journal BioScience. “Much of the very fabric of life on Earth is imperiled... We are stepping into a critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis.”

-- Oxford Academic BioScience / Special 2024 Report


This is a global emergency beyond any doubt. Much of the very fabric of life on Earth is imperiled. We are stepping into a critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis. For many years, scientists, including a group of more than 15,000, have sounded the alarm about the impending dangers of climate change driven by increasing greenhouse gas emissions and ecosystem change (Ripple et al. 2020). For half a century, global warming has been correctly predicted even before it was observed—and not only by independent academic scientists but also by fossil fuel companies (Supran et al. 2023). Despite these warnings, we are still moving in the wrong direction; fossil fuel emissions have increased to an all-time high, the 3 hottest days ever occurred in July of 2024 (Guterres 2024), and current policies have us on track for approximately 2.7 degrees Celsius (°C) peak warming by 2100 (UNEP 2023). Tragically, we are failing to avoid serious impacts, and we can now only hope to limit the extent of the damage. We are witnessing the grim reality of the forecasts as climate impacts escalate, bringing forth scenes of unprecedented disasters around the world and human and nonhuman suffering. We find ourselves amid an abrupt climate upheaval, a dire situation never before encountered in the annals of human existence. We have now brought the planet into climatic conditions never witnessed by us or our prehistoric relatives...


GreenPolicy360:

Election Day in the United States, November 5th, approaches and the gathering winds of the future whistle ever closer...

The decision made will have far reaching and long lasting consequences.

Since the 1970s and first 'Earth Day' and first 'National Climate Program Act', Green Policy's founder-siterunner has spoken of the critical importance of protecting our 'living blue-green Earth'. Now, let us be clear-eyed about what we have to face in front of us. Tomorrow is a historic turning point, a day of reckoning.

Here, let us consider a voice from America's southern states with words that need to resonate:

"Every existing global conflict, every human vulnerability and every form of social instability is already being exacerbated by climate calamities. There is no issue on the political table that will not be made exponentially worse if we allow the living earth to enter its death throes, and yet climate has rarely been part of the political discourse during this election year... Where planetary survival is concerned, it is too late to sit out an election on principle, or to cast a vote for a third-party candidate... This is the time to go to the polls and vote.

"The Democrats’ policies aren’t unassailable, but they are at least capable of keeping this planet alive long enough for the rest of the human race to come around to understanding how urgent is the danger we already face, how much worse it is going to get and how little time we have to hold off the unthinkable." -- Margaret Renki


Let Margaret's words on protecting our 'Living Earth' be a guide for decisions - and votes - in tomorrow's US election. Our generation's legacy, it must be said, is on the line.


 

October


October 30

Clean Energy Is Booming in the U.S. The Election Could Change That

Over the last two years, a surge in clean energy manufacturing has helped push U.S. factory construction to the highest level in half a century. Solar power installations and electric car sales are breaking records. Even Republican-led states like Montana and Utah are writing climate plans to secure federal cash.

Yet the law driving this dizzying transformation of America’s energy landscape, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, is facing a highly uncertain future as next week’s election looms.

If he returns to the White House, former President Donald J. Trump has suggested he would gut the law, which is expected to pour as much as $1.2 trillion over the next decade into technologies to fight climate change such as wind turbines, solar panels, nuclear reactors, carbon capture and E.V.s, as well as the factories to supply them.

“My plan will terminate the Green New Deal, which I call the Green New Scam,” Mr. Trump said in September, using his catchall phrase for climate policies. “We will rescind all unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act.”


Read the Election 2024 article


🌎


GreenPolicy360: Today's October 28th opinion piece from The Guardian begins to paint a view of what will be rolled out in any Trump administration. One only has to look back to the time Trump held office from 2016 to 2020 to see how much damage was done.

Environmental Law, Rollbacks under Trump 2016-20


The plans of the ex-president to unravel environmental protections, health, safety and security are in place, they have been previewed and promised, they are more extreme than in the past.


Republican Party 2024 Climate Strategy.png

Project 2025 impacts -- https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Republican_Party_2024_Climate_Strategy.png


In the event Donald Trump again takes the reins of presidential power there will be a sharp turn away from science and return to climate change denial, fossil fuel priorities -- and profound 'externalities' with generational costs, and a strategic demands threat horizon that will accelerate with overwhelming risks on multiple fronts.

Prepare for turbulent times and, however the US election is determined by vote, law, and politics, we urge a reasoned, values-driven response in the coming weeks and months. Be strong, and act to make a positive difference as facts 'on the ground' are presented.

Ours is a green ethic and platform for the future. Get ready for the next chapter in a story we are creating together, in many ways against the odds.


Five ways a Trump presidency would be disastrous for the climate

Via The Guardian

October 28, 2024


🌎


Historic Hurricane -- and Florida Is Directly in Its Path

Described as a Monster, Hurricane Milton Intensified to a Category 5 in a Matter of Hours


October 9


The temperatures of Gulf of Mexico ocean water is trending warmer. High 80s and higher out there off the West Coast of Florida. Visitors to the coastline and barrier islands enjoy dipping into the warmness -- and so do tropical storms, cyclones, hurricanes...


GreenPolicy360: Historic Hurricanes, Weather 'Disturbances' that within Hours Intensify to Highest Categories of Destructive Storm Power


Here's a bit of Earth Science. A top of the news article via the Washington Post that puts Hurricane Milton in perspective...


Hurricanes require a lengthy recipe list to materialize, but scientists agree that one ingredient has been pushing these storms to new limits recently: ocean heat. Waters in the Gulf of Mexico started to break all-time temperature highs this summer, but recent weeks have seen an extra jolt of warmth — what scientists describe as a “marine heat wave”...

“Marine heat waves are like the monsters for the future,” said Soheil Radfar, a coastal hazards researcher at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. “We should be prepared against this monster that is going to supercharge tropical cyclones and make them stronger.”

...scientists say, ocean heat has increased to record levels in recent decades due to human-caused climate change. The reason is simple: The oceans, which cover more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface, absorb most of the excess heat created by burning fossil fuels. Water also can absorb large amounts of heat with relatively little temperature change, making it a very efficient place to store all the trapped heat in the atmosphere.

Using computer models, an analysis from Climate Central said the record sea surface temperatures over the past two weeks were 400 to 800 times more likely as a result of climate change.


Earth - Pacific Ocean.png


Geo-Facts to Keep in Mind
Globally, 410 million people are at risk from sea level rise


As of 2021, about ten percent of the world's population,

approximately 770 million people, live on land less than 5 meters above the high tide line.

The first global elevation model derived from satellite LiDAR data in 2021... finds the worldwide land area less than 2  meters above mean sea level that is most vulnerable to Sea-Level Rise is 649,000 km2 ... 62% is in the tropics. Even assuming a low-end relative SLR of 1 meter by 2100 and a stable lowland population number and distribution, the 2020 population of 267 million on such land would increase to at least 410 million of which 72% is in the tropics and 59% in tropical Asia alone.

Sea-Level change over time... Satellites began measuring sea level precisely in 1992/1993.

 

Climate Change, Sea-Level Rise + Extreme Weather = 'Climate Migration'

Climate change is increasing the threat posed by hurricanes and cyclones in at least three ways. Rising sea levels mean more storm surge and flooding. Warmer sea surface temperatures increase the frequency and severity of the most intense and damaging storms. And a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, which leads to elevated rainfall and extreme weather events...

For hundreds of millions living in high threat areas with limited resilience to extreme weather shocks and evacuations, the destruction of recurrent temporary displacement can lead to permanent displacement. For others the risks, costs, and danger of living in high risk coastal areas will produced 'managed retreat' to higher ground to reduce costs and threats. The future of coastline living will recall today's weather, climate, lifestyle decisions and changes producing good and/or damaging outcomes induced by humanity.


Tropical Cyclone - Hurricane Population Displacement Risks.jpg
Hurricane Population Displacement Risks



October 8


WARNING WARNING

Take this seriously Florida !!


Noah Bergren, Meteorologist, Orlando, Florida:

This is nothing short of astronomical. I am at a loss for words to meteorologically describe you the storms small eye and intensity. 897mb pressure with 180 MPH max sustained winds and gusts 200+ MPH. This is now the 4th strongest hurricane ever recorded by pressure on this side of the world. The eye is TINY at nearly 3.8 miles wide. This hurricane is nearing the mathematical limit of what Earth's atmosphere over this ocean water can produce.


 


Via Newsweek

Over the weekend, AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter described Milton as a "historic, once-in-a-lifetime storm for Floridians."

Another meteorologist choked back tears during an appearance on Florida NBC station WTVJ, with an emotional John Morales telling viewers on Monday: "It's just an incredible, incredible, incredible hurricane... this is just horrific. Maximum sustained winds are 160 miles per hour and, um, it is just gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico."


Hurricane Intensification ++.jpeg


"The seas are so incredibly, incredibly hot, record hot, as you might imagine," he added. "You know what's driving that — I don't need to tell you — global warming, climate change, [is] leading to this and becoming an increasing threat."


 

Florida's West Coast, Near Sea Level, and Vulnerable

(Associated Press) The Gulf of Mexico coastline of Florida is shallow with a gentle, sloping shelf. The higher ocean floor acts as a barrier that retains the storm’s outflow of water, forcing the ocean to surge onto shore. That’s the opposite of Florida’s east coast, where the ocean floor drops suddenly a few miles from the coast.

“You can have the same storm, the same intensity, the same everything, but very different surges."

A 2015 report from the Boston-based catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark and Co. concluded that Tampa Bay is the most vulnerable place in the U.S. to storm surge flooding from a hurricane and stands to lose $175 billion in damage.


🌎


End of an Era

Historic day in the UK, where the industrial revolution fired up. The end of coal generated power... #climatechange #GreenPolicy360


End of coal power in UK - 1.jpg


End of coal power in UK - 2.png


End of coal power in UK - 3.png

 


🌎


September


Scientists have captured Earth’s climate over the last 485 million years

A history of wild temperature shifts and offered a warning on the consequences of human-caused warming

Via the Washington Post


(Science) What was Earth’s temperature tens to hundreds of millions of years ago? The planet has gone through different periods, some with extensive polar ice caps and others being completely ice-free. Estimating past global temperature is important for understanding the history of life on Earth, for predicting future climate, and more broadly, to inform the search for other habitable planets. ...

Judd et al. have brought a powerful new tool to this task: data assimilation. They combined a large set of climate model simulations at different global temperatures across the last 485 million years with the oxygen isotope dataset as well as with other less frequently sampled temperature indicators such as temperature-sensitive organic molecules. Joining the model and the geological data enabled the authors to account for regional variations in predicted temperature. For example, a sample from a polar region was compared to climate model predictions in the same region. This produces a more accurate estimate of the global average temperature of Earth over time.


Timeline-climate-change-history-485-million years.jpg


September 19, 2024

{WaPo) An ambitious effort to understand the Earth’s climate over the past 485 million years has revealed a history of wild shifts and far hotter temperatures than scientists previously realized — offering a reminder of how much change the planet has already endured and a warning about the unprecedented rate of warming caused by humans.

The timeline, published Thursday in the journal Science, is the most rigorous reconstruction of Earth’s past temperatures ever produced, the authors say. Created by combining more than 150,000 pieces of fossil evidence with state-of-the-art climate models, it shows the intimate link between carbon dioxide and global temperatures and reveals that the world was in a much warmer state for most of the history of complex animal life.

At its hottest, the study suggests, the Earth’s average temperature reached 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit (36 degrees Celsius)... The revelations about Earth’s scorching past are further reason for concern about modern climate change, said Emily Judd, a researcher at University of Arizona and the Smithsonian specializing in ancient climates and the lead author of the study. The timeline illustrates how swift and dramatic temperature shifts were associated with many of the world’s worst moments — including a mass extinction that wiped out roughly 90 percent of all species and the asteroid strike that killed the dinosaurs.

“We know that these catastrophic events … shift the landscape of what life looks like,” Judd said. “When the environment warms that fast, animals and plants can’t keep pace with it.”

At no point in the nearly half-billion years that Judd and her colleagues analyzed did the Earth change as fast as it is changing now, she added: “In the same way as a massive asteroid hitting the Earth, what we’re doing now is unprecedented.”


🌎


Facts about US Energy Use.jpg


How do Americans power their lives? Steve Ballmer breaks down the facts about US energy use, production, and environmental impact. Get the data right from US government sources.


Watch the Video and Read the 'Facts about US Energy' Transcript


About USAFacts

Steve Ballmer launched USAFacts.org in 2017, a not-for-profit organization whose goal is to allow people to understand U.S. government revenue, spending and societal impact. He is reported to have contributed $10 million to fund teams of researchers who populated the website's database with official data.


🌎


AI App, 'How Fast Is Renewable Energy Growing Statistically?'


"Grounding AI in reality with a little help from Data Commons"


Ground AI in Reality, a Renewable Energy case study.jpeg


* https://research.google/blog/grounding-ai-in-reality-with-a-little-help-from-data-commons/


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Get Kids Out of Diesel-Powered School Buses

More Electric Buses than Ever Are Entering Public School District Fleets

Via Electrek


The Clean School Bus Program is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that provides a total of $5 billion over five years for electric school bus transportation across the US.

Britton Smith, president at Bus EV provider Blue Bird Corporation, explains, “Local, state, and federal funding for clean school buses remains at a historic high. Above all, we applaud the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program for accelerating the adoption of zero-emission student transportation nationwide and for helping to usher in an unprecedented era of technology innovation.”


August


Michael E. Keeps on Keeping on

Looking forward to the 3rd Edition of his classic textbook


Intro Climate Change Textbook

Global Climate Change textbook-Edition2.jpg


Also, Related (Free) Academic Course @SDG Academy


By Michael E. Mann


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On the International Climate Front

IPCC meeting fails to agree on timeline for seventh assessment report


The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) saw more than 230 delegates from 195 member governments revisit an unresolved topic from the previous meeting in January – finalising the timeline for the IPCC’s seventh assessment report (AR7) cycle.

AR7 will be the IPCC’s latest round of reports summarizing the most recently published climate science.

First published in 1990, the assessment reports typically take 6-7 years to complete. The Sixth “summary climate report for policymakers” was published in March last year.


More re: the IPCC / UNFCCC conferences and National Climate Plans



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Governor Tim Walz from Mid-America, Minnesota, Is the New Vice President Candidate

The American Heartland Sends One Its Own on a Quest for National Election


By Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate elevates a politician with one of the strongest state-level records on clean energy in the US.

In 2023, Walz signed into law a target for Minnesota to get 100% of its power from zero-carbon sources, including nuclear, by 2040, and coal has fallen behind renewables and nuclear as the state’s top sources of power for the first time during his tenure. He set aside $2 billion in grants for clean energy projects in the state, a move likened to a local version of the federal Inflation Reduction Act. And in June, he signed legislation aimed at shaving a full year off the time it takes to get permits to build energy and grid transmission projects.

Earlier, as a member of Congress, he voted in favor of carbon-pricing legislation and pitched it to skeptical constituents in Minnesota as a new way to squeeze profit out of farmland.


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Climate change deniers make up nearly a quarter of US Congress

Climate denialists – 23 in Senate and 100 in House – are all Republicans and make US an outlier internationally


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Antarctica Spikes Up the Temperatures

Near record heatwave...


Ground temperatures across great swathes of the ice sheets of Antarctica have soared an average of 10C above normal over the past month, in what has been described as a near record heatwave.

While temperatures remain below zero on the polar land mass, which is shrouded in darkness at this time of year, the depths of southern hemisphere winter, temperatures have reportedly reached 28C above expectations on some days.


The Planet's Hot (the Numbers Are Talking, Scientists Are Warning)

The globe has experienced 12 months of record warmth, with temperatures consistently exceeding the 1.5C rise above preindustrial levels that has been touted as the limit to avoiding the worst of climate breakdown.


Antarctic temperatures soar 50 degrees above norm in long-lasting heat wave

Historic warm spell in East Antarctica is an ominous example of the temperature spikes this polar climate could experience more of in a warming world


July


July 23


Leah Stokes - UCSB - Prof Climate and Energy Policy - Re Kamala Harris.png


Leah Stokes - UCSB - Prof Climate and Energy Policy.png


Dr. Leah C. Stokes

@leahstokes

Vice President Kamala Harris has a long record on climate change and environmental justice you probably haven't heard enough about. I've been digging into her background and this woman is a climate champion. Can't wait for her to be PRESIDENT!

Here are the receipts... THREAD!


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July 10

GreenPolicy360: We have often spoken of the importance of facts and science in decision making. We've talked of 'discussion, debate' and how, in a working democracy, the pros and cons, costs and benefits, pluses and minuses should be part of 'navigating' toward goals we have set. We have aimed at 'on the merits' decisions. So, with this in mind let's take under review a number of Comments that are responding the recent 'Chevron decision' and the U.S. Supreme Court (an arbiter expected to be reasonable and reasoned in its judgments).

We recognize that it's a rare thing to find a thread of Comments that are worth citing these days, but we think we have found an exception here. So, a thank you to media working to inform and elevate public discussion, debate and decision-making when it comes to the critical issues facing the body politic.

Now, without further ado, the link provided below is a free, no paywall view. We are quoting Comments as published by the Washington Post as is, which are followed by our article on the SCOTUS decision from this past week.


Regarding The Post’s June 29 front-page article “Court weakens authority of U.S. agencies”:

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. famously described a modest role for the Supreme Court in his nomination hearings. But the decision to overrule the Chevron deference doctrine and to expand the role of courts is an extraordinary and self-aggrandizing claim of power and authority for the judicial branch.

Acceptable regulatory policy should be shaped by three considerations:

1. The wishes of the voters, expressed through an elected president, his or her appointees, and elected legislators who alone define and control agency power.

2. The weight of scientific and technical evidence about the issue.

3. The actual impacts on affected stakeholders — regulated parties and the publics they serve — whose views are collected through elaborate outreach efforts that both bring major players to the drafting table and involve thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of public comments.

The role of the courts is to keep agencies within whatever boundaries Congress delineates. When Congress does not, cannot or will not identify those boundaries, Chevron teaches that reasonable agency — often by players “present at the creation” — are as close as we can get to actual legislative intent. Creating a more intrusive role for courts seems unwise, as courts do not participate in any of the three conditions for acceptable policy.

William R. Andersen, Seattle


Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is wrong that the Chevron deference doctrine is “unworkable.” The process works! But like everything in a democracy, it is messy.

Congress provides wide discretion to federal agencies in writing and implementing rules required by legislation. That process is time-consuming and factually and analytically rigorous, and it includes numerous checks and balances. It takes years to write and promulgate a regulation, after which organizational or individual stakeholders have an opportunity to file a lawsuit — which they very often do. These lawsuits have to be addressed as part of the regulatory process. Many members of the public also have an opportunity to review and question the work of “bureaucrats,” many of whom are scientists, economists, engineers, epidemiologists and other subject-matter experts. As recently as last year, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs issued guidance aimed at making it easier for more people to participate in the federal rulemaking process.

The end result may be a regulation some group with a vested interest doesn’t like. But that’s life, especially in a democratic society. You win some and you lose some. The Supreme Court, in its infinite wisdom, has only mucked up the waters.

Josh Lowry, Silver Spring


In 1981, I joined the solicitor’s office at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, defending agency decisions before federal appellate courts. When the Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council decision was issued in 1984, I cited it in dozens of briefs and in oral argument. Overruling this significant precedent is a tragic mistake. Under Chevron, when a statute administered by an agency contained ambiguous terms, the reviewing courts would defer to the agency construction as long as that decision was rational.

The pretext advanced in the majority decision doing away with Chevron was that the 1984 case led to inconsistency because interpretations would often change when a new administration took power. During my appellate tenure, I recall only one time when an incoming administration attempted such a change. That circumstance occurred in 1981, before Chevron existed, when incoming Reagan administration commissioners tried to overturn a prior decision that had been upheld by the 11th Circuit.

In short, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is fixing a problem that does not exist. Even if it did exist, the simple solution would be to bar an agency that has been afforded deference for one interpretation from again claiming deference for a different construction of the same provision.

The real reason for the conservative assault on Chevron is to prevent an alleged “deep administrative state” with its “liberal bias” from imposing allegedly onerous regulations on business. Agency decisions at FERC are rendered by five commissioners appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Only three can be from the same political party. To be sure, these commissioners collaborate with lawyers, economists, engineers and other regulatory specialists when reaching their decisions. During my four decades at FERC, political biases were checked at the door. The men and women I worked with were consummate professionals, always seeking the correct result. Sometimes, we got it wrong. In those cases, the agency was unable to show a logical connection between the facts adduced and the decision made. Accordingly, the appellate court either reversed or remanded the cases despite the grant of deference.

The ultimate folly in Chief Justice Roberts’s decision is his “belief” that all federal jurists are paragons of virtue without any biases whatsoever. I pity those federal agencies whose decisions are subject to review in federal district courts. The conservative rush to the district court in Amarillo, Tex., and Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk will be immediate.

Joel Cockrell, Damascus


Americans deserve consistency

As a former director of the Office of Enforcement and assistant general counsel for enforcement at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, I am very concerned about the impact overturning the Chevron decision will have on radiation and nuclear reactor requirements. The impacts of nuclear accidents do not respect the boundaries of states or district courts. The American people deserve uniform requirements that equally protect all.

Yet now, U.S. courts will decide for themselves the reasonableness of NRC implementation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, which requires the commission to promulgate “standards and instructions to govern the possession and use of special nuclear material, source material, and byproduct material as the Commission may deem necessary or desirable to promote the common defense and security or to protect health or to minimize danger to life or property.”

Given the varying educations, experiences and perspectives of judges, despite their acting in good faith, the reversal of Chevron will no doubt create a “crazy quilt” of requirements resulting in varying levels of safety and protection in different districts, states and regions of our country. This will also result in confusion and costs to the nuclear industry.

Jim Lieberman, Silver Spring


...And expertise

The recent overturning of the “Chevron doctrine” by the Supreme Court will definitely affect Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate toxic air pollutants. I had the honor of working for the Environmental Protection Agency for 30 years. My job was concerned with the Clean Air Act and the regulations developed to implement it.

The Clean Air Act is one of the most complicated environmental statutes, and the regulations promulgated under that statute are equally complicated because of the broad array of industrial processes they cover. Consequently, the EPA is often called upon to clarify both statutory and regulatory language and to explain whether or how those rules would apply to a particular configuration or modification of an industrial plant or process.

During my tenure at the agency, I wrote many of these policy memorandums that set legal precedent and enabled the EPA to effectively implement environmental regulations. These interpretation policies adhere strictly to a “plain-language reading” of the statutory and regulatory language, and they are scrutinized by legal staff to ensure the EPA does not overstep the intent of the original statutory or regulatory language. The clarifications are an integral part of the environmental regulatory implementation process.

EPA staff have spent decades writing and implementing these regulations and are uniquely qualified to make these interpretations. Removing this authority from regulatory agencies and placing it with the courts will severely limit the EPA’s ability to act in a timely and effective way to protect the environment from toxic pollutants. Without these years of expertise, the courts are not in a position to take over this responsibility, and the health and welfare of the public will suffer.

Scott Throwe, Bristol, R.I.


'Get Congress to work'

Karen Tumulty’s June 29 op-ed, “The Supreme Court just gave Congress more work. But is it up to the job?,” was well done.

From my own career of 30 years of legislative advocacy, I would add that if Congress is going to function in the way it will need to now that the Supreme Court has tasked lawmakers with writing much more detailed legislation, it is critical to restore congressional “regular order,” which has been eroding since Georgia Republican Newt Gingrich’s tenure as speaker of the House in the 1990s.

Regular order is simply the congressional process through which all legislation must be reported from a related committee to be considered on the floor of the House or Senate. The committee process itself encouraged legislative expertise, bipartisan behavior and cohesive, on-time policy results. The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 established a new congressional budget process and timetable, a budget committee in each house, a Congressional Budget Office, and congressional control over the impoundment of funds by the executive branch.

Yet today, the use of continuing resolutions has become common any time that Congress and the president do not reach agreement on spending levels and fail to enact regular appropriations by the start of the federal fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. Between fiscal years 2010 and 2022, 47 continuing resolutions passed, allowing Congress to delay its duties for as long as 176 days at a time. On three occasions, not even a continuing resolution was approved, resulting in a government shutdown.

This astonishing record of legislative failure is a direct result of not adhering to the important committee role, the fundamental precept of regular order. If Congress can’t even fund the government, how can it be expected to write detailed regulations?

Dan Flanagan, Annapolis, Md.


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It's 'Ripe' for Individual Court-by-Court Judicial Rulings Following SCOTUS Abandonment of Decades under the 'Chevron Decision'

The U.S. Supreme Court's Recent Term Ended with Multiple Precedents Overthrown and Severe Impacts on the Climate Crisis

The court is moving into new territory acting with its new majority to overturn 40 years of legal precedent


June 28 / 29


With the Loper Bright v. Raimondo decision the court is ushering in another era ...setting aside decades of admistrative decisions and law following the 1984 Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council decision. The 1984 decision had been a basis to a doctrine that requires judges to defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of statutes that they are charged with administering. The questions now are far reaching as to how Congress can meet the new standards set by the Supreme Coourt.

Background: In the new Loper Bright v. Raimondo decision, SCOTUS looks to courts as more suited than the EPA and Executive agencies following legislative language and intent in administrative law decisions.

Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity: “The sky’s the limit for industry now. No regulation is immune from challenge. As just one example, if the industry decides to challenge the E.P.A.’s underlying authority to regulate CO2, they might win and it would have an enormous impact on climate policy. The same could apply to all rules, mileage standards, power plant emissions, etc.”

Going Green 2019.jpg


Now come the after effects of the Supreme Court's decision. The Washingont Post, for example, asks how how the decision will impact Electric Vehicles incentives and Internal Combustion Vehicles emissions limits... Who knows? Does it depend on the Judge and whatever the Judge's opinions (and knowledge or lack of knowledge) of science factors effecting regulations are? What about Congressional intent? How about existing rules and data as to their efficacy in achiving legislative purposes?

(WaPo) Federal government help for electric vehicles — and a federal crackdown on emissions from gasoline-powered cars and trucks — may be in trouble.

The Biden administration’s most consequential climate rule could be newly vulnerable: The Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to boost sales of electric vehicles while slashing emissions from gasoline-powered cars and trucks.

Republican attorneys general from more than two dozen states had already sued the EPA over the Biden administration’s most consequential climate rule, a sweeping attempt to transform the U.S. auto market. The top trade association for the U.S. oil and gas industry, which could see demand for its products decline as consumers shift to EVs, has also challenged the regulations in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Opponents say the agency has overstepped its authority.

The EPA will need to convince the court that Congress empowered it to issue the rules, said Jeff Holmstead, a partner at the law and lobbying firm Bracewell LLP and a former top EPA official under President George W. Bush.

“The question is going to be, ‘Did Congress clearly intend to give EPA authority to force a fundamental shift in the transportation sector?’”

(Ed. note: An accompanying question is did Congress in its writing of these laws expect the judiciary to interpret them, technically? For example, nitrous oxide ("laughing gas" sedaative that dentists use) is different than nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxides (climate-damaging pollution emissions (and nitrous oxide that contributes to ozone depletion). Yet, Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch in the rendered Trump v. United States decision did not know the difference and miswrote the decision. In the past, Supreme Court judges have spoken of not being much interested in greenhouse gases, i.e., the atmospheric polluting emissions that science demonstrates cause climate change. Judges, bottom line, are not trained scientists who understand, and can fairly 'judge environmental protection regulations written and statutorily passed by Congress... Here come the judges, and a corollary, there's Congress attempting with popular support for laws now being directed by SCOTUS to write, and pass over filibuster, gerrymander, blocking maneuvers a new generation of precisely detailed, technically delineated statutes that will be, hypothetically, delivered out of legislative committee oversight and markup processes. Is this new system being pushed a workable fix? Is the re-do now delivered by SCOTUS intended to limit EPA regulatory roles and authorities, as well as Congressional intent? The questions must be asked now with increasing importance given to effective policy.


Corporate climate disclosure

Publicly traded companies are soon supposed to start sharing key details about their carbon footprints and how much of a threat climate changes poses to their bottom lines. But the Supreme Court’s decision may kill that requirement before it even takes effect.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, the country’s main Wall Street and banking regulator, approved that new requirement in March. The rule tests the powers of the federal government to compel companies to confront global warming, making it significantly harder for businesses to gloss over their role in higher emissions and their vulnerability to climate change. And it immediately came under legal assault; the SEC paused enforcement as soon as multiple lawsuits were filed.

Now the success of the rule could hinge on the SEC’s ability to convince judges that the policy is not intended to drive companies to lower their emissions, but merely to require they share information investors need, a key role of the regulator.


(Ed. Remembering Justice Scalia and administrative law: E&E... Scalia touted the so-called Chevron doctrine, that held if Congress has been silent or ambiguous about how to tackle an issue, the courts should defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of the law.

"Broad delegation to the executive is the hallmark of the modern administrative state; agency rulemaking powers are the rule rather than, as they once were, the exception; and as the sheer number of modern departments and agencies suggests, we are awash in agency ‘expertise,’" the Chief Justice said.

"In the long run, Chevron will endure and be given its full scope," he went on, because "it more accurately reflects the reality of government, and thus more adequately serves its needs."

The Chevron doctrine, which sprang from an environmental case decided before Scalia joined the court, is central to environmental law, where cases frequently center on whether agency regulations can be deemed reasonable interpretations of the law.


And also Scalia in full disclosure, with the question of judicial scientific knowledge in the air:

(2012) Justice Scalia was engaged in an onstage conversation with (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's) remarkable president, Shirley Ann Jackson, a physicist. She asked him to explain his dissent in the 2007 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency had the authority to regulate carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas emitted by human activities, as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.

“The issue was simply whether carbon was an environmental pollutant or not,” he said. “I did not think it was ever regarded as that. It is not the Atmospheric Protection Agency. It’s the Environmental Protection Agency. That was the basis for my dissent.”

Enough said about this Judge as to generational scientific knowledge. That his opinion was in the minority is more than fitting.


Note / Background:

June 2022


The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a major blow to the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate carbon emissions that cause climate change. The decision by the conservative court majority sets the stage for further limitations on the regulatory power of other agencies as well.

By a vote of 6 to 3, the court said that any time an agency does something big and new – in this case addressing climate change – the regulation is presumptively invalid, unless Congress has specifically authorized regulating in this sphere.

"That's a very big deal because they're not going to get it from Congress because Congress is essentially dysfunctional," said Harvard law professor Richard Lazarus, an expert on environmental law.

"This could not have come at a worse time" because "the consequences of climate change are increasingly dire and we're running out of time to address it."


SCOTUS & the History of CO2 as an Air Pollutant

From the Clean Air Act to the EPA (Dissent: Scalia, Roberts, Alito, Thomas)


The case: Massachusetts, 11 other states, and several environmental advocacy organizations petitioned the EPA requesting the regulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) as an air pollutant.

The issue: Did the EPA have legal authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide emissions? Did the EPA have discretion not to regulate carbon dioxide emissions for policy reasons under the Clean Air Act?

The outcome: The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the EPA had to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from motor vehicles if they were found to be endangering public health and welfare.


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Zack Labe - climate viz - June 2024.png

Via Zachary Labe / https://zacklabe.com/

 

June


Heat waves and climate change -- and have you noticed the cost of Olive Oil?!

The Washington Post


This year, the global price of olive oil hit an all-time high, according to data from the International Monetary Fund.

Experts say that benchmark is inextricably linked to another unwelcome superlative: 2023 was Europe’s second-hottest year on record.

In early 2023, warm winter conditions interfered with trees’ ability to set fruit. When summer brought temperatures of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, the few olives that grew dropped off the vine before ripening. Scorching air sapped moisture from vegetation and soils, plunging much of the continent into drought and causing plants to wither and die.

Such high temperatures — which in some cases would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change, studies show — helped cut the region’s olive oil production to almost half of typical levels, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Because the European Union produces more than 60 percent of the world’s olive oil, that shortage made itself felt at grocery stores around the planet...


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Heat hitting billions.png


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* https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/21/climate/heat-deaths-floods-drought.html?unlocked_article_code=1.1U0.2Rzb.6dHHkHtlsZxy&smid=url-share


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Florida and climate change denial.png

* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Florida_and_climate_change_denial.png


Florida Gov. DeSantis signs bill that deletes climate change from state law


Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week signed legislation that erases most references to climate change from state law. The new law takes effect July 1.


(Interview Transcript / Excerpt)


STEVE INSKEEP: Florida did have goals to enhance renewable energy use. What happens to those goals now?

AMY GREEN: This law nullifies those goals, which were aimed at moving the state toward 100% clean energy by 2050, and that's a benchmark scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. Keep in mind that here in Florida, the primary energy source is natural gas. The renewable energy goals were implemented in 2022 after some 200 young Floridians, all under the age of 25, filed a petition for rulemaking calling for them. I talked with one of those young Floridians, Delaney Reynolds. She described the new policy as, in her words, despicable and actually infuriating to read about and follow.

INSKEEP: Although clearly, the Republican-led legislature in Florida had a different view.

GREEN: That's right. This law is also right in line with Governor Ron DeSantis' rhetoric on these issues. As governor, he's described himself as, quote, "not a global warming person," and he's focused the state's climate policy on the Resilient Florida Program, which his administration characterizes as a historic investment to prepare communities for rising seas, more intense storms and flooding, and that program is aimed at hardening the infrastructure here. As a former presidential candidate, he said he would expand American dominance in oil and gas, and went so far as to promise he would replace the words climate change with energy dominance in national security and foreign policy guidance, and you see that reflected in this state legislation.

INSKEEP: Does the legislation match with what Floridians want?

GREEN: Not really. A new survey out this week from Florida Atlantic University shows that 90% of Floridians think that climate change is happening, and that's compared with 72% of all Americans who believe the same.


More


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Asia Society presents immersive photography and video exhibition visualizing the climate crisis


Bill McKibben

I think the single best collection of images of the climate crisis I’ve ever seen is the exhibit that will be up through early August at the Asia Society, on Park Avenue. (If that seems a parochial spot for a global exhibit, it is worth remembering that sixty per cent of the world’s population lives in Asia.)

Co-curated by the celebrated photographer Susan Meiselas and the exhibition designer Jeroen de Vries, and led by the Asia Society’s Orville Schell, the longtime China watcher and correspondent for The New Yorker (whose late brother Jonathan wrote “The Fate of the Earth, which first appeared in the magazine), “Coal + Ice” is an evolving project. The first version of it that I saw, several years ago, centered on some remarkable images from the mountain climber and cinematographer David Breashears, who died in March, at the age of sixty-eight. Beginning in 2007, he’d retraced the 1921 Mallory expedition to Everest, climbing to the same crags to photograph the same Rongbuk valley, to show the massive ice loss that had occurred in the intervening decades. Now those images, in this updated version of the exhibit, fill an entire wall: first you see historical photographs, some by George Mallory and others by the Italian photographer Vittorio Sella, and then the screen wipes right to left to bring up the modern image of the much diminished glacier. It’s mesmerizing, as are the video images on the opposite side of the room, of a titanic coal-mining machine scraping the side of a Chinese cliff...


NEW YORK — Climate change takes center stage at Asia Society with the presentation of COAL + ICE, an immersive photography and video exhibition taking place February 13 through August 11, 2024. The exhibition is accompanied by a multidisciplinary program series, with performances and activations throughout the city, designed to raise awareness and catalyze responses to the climate crisis.


Encompassing work by over 30 photographers and artists from around the world, the exhibition traces a photographic arc of climate change spanning the past century, from deep within coal mines, to the melting glaciers of the greater Himalaya.

Greenhouse gases are warming the high-altitude climate of the Tibetan Plateau, disturbing the great rivers of Asia and disrupting the lives of billions of people downstream. Rising sea levels and extreme weather events are highlighted in the exhibition by an immersive presentation of the video installation Deluge by Gideon Mendel, documenting flooding around the world.

COAL + ICE is a collaborative visual experience that calls attention to the urgent global issue of climate change. Through intimate portraits and vast, altered landscapes, the works on view document the consequences triggered by our continued reliance on fossil fuels, and bring to life the environmental and human costs of climate change, in Asia and around the world.

The exhibition is presented across four floors of Asia Society in a series of projects by photographers, artists, and designers who foreground a range of differently scaled solutions to the climate crisis.

Co-curated by Magnum photographer Susan Meiselas and exhibition designer Jeroen de Vries, and led by Orville Schell, Asia Society Vice President and Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations, the exhibition has evolved since its initial premiere in Beijing in 2011.

A growing set of works from around the world visualizes the human consequences of climate change, including droughts, floods, fires, and migration. Each photographer's commitment to capturing our changing environment and its human toll is reflected in imagery curated from their long-term, authored bodies of work.

Visitors to the exhibition at Asia Society are greeted by a two-story presentation of two large-scale photographs by artist Clifford Ross capturing the menacing waves of Nazaré, Portugal, which swell up to 100 feet high with increased hurricane and storm activity.

Artist Maya Lin has created an interactive presentation from What Is Missing?, a memorial to the places and species we are losing during this sixth mass extinction that highlights memory, action, and hope, and shares new pathways toward a more livable planet.

Leveraging behavioral science, world-building, and storytelling, Jake Barton’s Accelerator 2050 features a time machine that invites visitors to text with an AI-derived version of their future self about the positive impact of the climate actions they will take now and in years to come.

Participating artists and photographers include

Jake Barton Bernd and Hilla Becher Daniel Beltrá Noah Berger Matt Black David Breashears Jimmy Chin Bruce Davidson Cameron Davidson John Davies Willem Diepraam Anna Filipova Geng Yunsheng Lewis Hine Jane Hirshfield Joris Ivens Dolf Kruger Meridith Kohut Maya Lin Dana Lixenberg George Mallory Gideon Mendel Niu Guozheng Darcy Padilla Gordon Parks Clifford Ross Camille Seaman Vittorio Sella Nichole Sobecki Song Chao Jamey Stillings Henri Storck Superflux Peter van Agtmael Major E. O. Wheeler Witho Worms Yu Haibo


Climate Action Partners

Asia Society has partnered with over 30 arts, culture, educational, environmental, and community organizations across the city to highlight the breadth of climate-related activities occurring in all five boroughs. Our Climate Action Partners include: American Museum of Natural History, Billion Oyster Project, Bronx River Alliance, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Brooklyn Grange, Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation, City of Water Day, Climate Fresk, Climate Film Festival New York, The Climate Museum, Dysturb, Fotografiska New York, French Institute Alliance Française, Hudson River Foundation/NY NJ Harbor & Estuary Program, Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center, International Center of Photography (ICP), LA MAMA, Lincoln Center, Magnum Foundation, Melting Metropolis, National Sawdust, New York Botanical Garden, New York Public Library, New York WILD Film Festival, NYU Gallatin WetLab, Park Avenue Armory, THE POINT Community Development Corporation, Queens Public Library, Staten Island Museum, The Trust for Governors Island, Waterfront Alliance, and Working & Learning Together Electronics (WALTER).


Support

COAL + ICE is funded by the generous contributions of The Schmidt Family Foundation, Janet Ross, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Frank and Susan Brown, Adobe, Jerome Dodson, Stephanie Hui, Laumont Editions, and many kind donors who wish to remain anonymous.

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May


Louisiana’s coast is sinking. Advocates say the governor is undermining efforts to save it


May 25


For the past decade, Louisiana’s program for coastal protection has been hailed as one of the best in the country, after the devastation from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita pushed the state to shore up coastlines, repair levees and protect natural habitats.

But now, environmental advocates and experts say the state’s new Republican governor is undermining its coastal protection agency — the state’s first and strongest line of defense against climate change-induced sea level rise. In an open letter published this week and signed by more than 200 business leaders, environmental advocates and other experts, various groups warned against Gov. Jeff Landry’s plans to transform the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.

“The very future of our state is at stake,” the letter read.

Environmentalists say that the new governor’s actions could hobble the agency just as its work is most needed.

The moves come as other right-leaning states are also cutting back on climate goals and even references to climate change. This month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill erasing most mentions of climate change from state law. DeSantis is also poised to nullify the state’s targets for 100 percent renewable energy by 2050.

Since 2005, when Louisiana was devastated by two hurricanes, the coastal restoration agency has built or revamped over 300 miles of levees that hold back floodwaters, and restored dozens of miles of barrier islands that can absorb the pressure of waves and rising seas. The agency works to shore up these defenses in the face of future, stronger storms and higher seas.

Its work is critical, experts say: Louisiana is losing coastline at a dramatic rate.

In the past century, the state has lost over 2,000 square miles of land; it could lose 2,000 more in the next 50 years, scientists predict. As sea level rise has accelerated, so has the loss of land. Wetlands are “drowning” in many areas of the state — covered by sea level rise faster than they can grow.

In the coming decades, scientists say, the state could lose up to 75 percent of its natural buffer against hurricanes and storms.


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May 9 - Washington Post


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2021 Flashback -- 23 Environmental Rules Rolled Back in Trump’s First 100 Days

Environmental Rules Rolled Back

* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Environmental_Rules_Rolled_Back


 

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What Happens When NASA Loses 'Eyes in the Sky' Satellite Missions Viewing Earth?

Earth Observing Systems (EOS) are critical elements of data-gathering Earth Science


Three long-running satellites to be switched off, forcing scientists to figure out how to adjust their views of our changing planet.


Sometime in the next few years — no one knows exactly when — three NASA satellites, each one as heavy as an elephant, will go dark.

Already they are drifting, losing height bit by bit. They have been gazing down at the planet for over two decades, far longer than anyone expected, helping us forecast the weather, manage wildfires, monitor oil spills and more. But age is catching up to them, and soon they will send their last transmissions and begin their slow, final fall to Earth.

It’s a moment scientists are dreading.

When the three orbiters — Terra, Aqua and Aura — are powered down, much of the data they’ve been collecting will end with them, and newer satellites won’t pick up all of the slack. Researchers will either have to rely on alternate sources that might not meet their exact needs or seek workarounds to allow their records to continue.

With some of the data these satellites gather, the situation is even worse: No other instruments will keep collecting it. In a few short years, the fine features they reveal about our world will become much fuzzier.

“Losing this irreplaceable data is simply tragic,” said Susan Solomon, an atmospheric chemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Just when the planet most needs for us to focus on understanding how we are affected by it, and how we are affecting it, we seem to be disastrously asleep at the wheel.”

The main area we’re losing eyes on is the stratosphere, the all-important home of the ozone layer.


...


To scientists who study our changing planet, the difference between the same data and almost the same data can be vast. They might think they understand how something is evolving. But only by monitoring it continuously, in an unchanging way, over a long stretch of time, can they be confident about what’s going on.

Even a short break in the records can create problems.


...


The end of Terra and Aqua will affect the way we monitor another important driver of our climate: how much solar radiation the planet receives, absorbs and bounces back to space. The balance between these amounts — or, really, the imbalance — determines how much Earth warms or cools. And to understand it, scientists rely on the instruments of NASA’s Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System, or CERES.

Right now, four satellites are flying with CERES instruments: Terra, Aqua, plus two newer ones that are also nearing their end. Yet only one replacement is in the works. Its life expectancy? Five years.

“Within the next 10 years, we’re going to go from four missions down to one, and the one remaining will be past its prime,” said Norman G. Loeb, the NASA scientist who leads CERES. “To me, that’s really sobering.”


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April 22, 2024


Personal Memories on the Road to the First Earth Day

By Steve Schmidt / GreenPolicy360 Founder-Siterunner


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PlanetCitizen.org / Earth System Science / Measuring "Vital Signs"


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Climate change damage could cost $38 trillion per year by 2050, study finds

World economy already committed to income reduction of 19 % due to climate change


April 17 (Reuters) - Damage to farming, infrastructure, productivity, and health from climate change will cost an estimated $38 trillion per year by 2050, German government-backed research finds, a figure almost certain to rise as human activity emits more greenhouse gases...

(The) study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), which is backed by the German government, stands out for the severity of its findings. It calculates climate change will shave 17% off the global economy's GDP by the middle of the century.

"The world population is poorer than it would be without climate change," Potsdam climate data researcher Leonie Wenz, a co-author on the study, said. "It costs us much less to protect the climate than not to."

At an estimated $6 trillion, the cost of measures to limit global warming to within 2 degrees Celsius (3.6F) of pre-industrial temperatures by 2050 would be less than a sixth of the cost of the estimated damage caused by allowing warming to exceed that level, the report said.

For the study, the researchers looked at temperature data and rainfall for more than 1,600 regions over the last 40 years, and considered which of these events were costly. They then used that damage assessment, along with climate model projections, to estimate future damage.

If emissions continue at today's rate - and the average global temperature climbs beyond 4C - the estimated economic toll after 2050 amounts to a 60% income loss by 2100, the findings suggest. Limiting the rise in temperatures to 2C would contain those losses at an average of 20%.


Carbon Brief Predicts Huge Spike in Emissions if Trump Re-elected


“We have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country by far. We are a nation that has the opportunity to make an absolute fortune with its energy.” -- Donald Trump, 2024


Analysis: Trump election win in 2024 could add 4bn tonnes to US emissions by 2030.

This extra 4bn tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) by 2030 would cause global climate damages worth more than $900bn, based on the latest US government valuations.

For context, 4GtCO2e is equivalent to the combined annual emissions of the EU and Japan, or the combined annual total of the world’s 140 lowest-emitting countries.

Put another way, the extra 4GtCO2e from a second Trump term would negate – twice over – all of the savings from deploying wind, solar and other clean technologies around the world over the past five years...


Look back at the ex-president's climate record - 2017-2021

Trump Era Environmental Rollbacks


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Enough to send alarms across the US insurance industry --

and here's to those tracking trends, costs, risks, insurance rates and home affordability


Via Associated Press hard-running, and constantly-working environmental reporter, Seth Borenstein

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An Educational Prompt and Request, as forwarded by Michael E. Mann


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March


Climate models can’t explain 2023’s huge heat anomaly — we could be in uncharted territory

Taking into account all known factors, the planet warmed 0.2 °C more last year than climate scientists expected. More and better data are urgently needed.


From Gavin Schmidt

Schmidt heads NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.[5] He was named for the director position in June 2014 as its then deputy director, becoming to the third person to hold this post, which had been vacant after the retirement of James E. Hansen


When I took over as the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, I inherited a project that tracks temperature changes since 1880. Using this trove of data, I’ve made climate predictions at the start of every year since 2016. It’s humbling, and a bit worrying, to admit that no year has confounded climate scientists’ predictive capabilities more than 2023 has.

For the past nine months, mean land and sea surface temperatures have overshot previous records each month by up to 0.2 °C — a huge margin at the planetary scale. A general warming trend is expected because of rising greenhouse-gas emissions, but this sudden heat spike greatly exceeds predictions made by statistical climate models that rely on past observations. Many reasons for this discrepancy have been proposed but, as yet, no combination of them has been able to reconcile our theories with what has happened.


For a start, prevalent global climate conditions one year ago would have suggested that a spell of record-setting warmth was unlikely. Early last year, the tropical Pacific Ocean was coming out of a three-year period of La Niña, a climate phenomenon associated with the relative cooling of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Drawing on precedents when similar conditions prevailed at the beginning of a year, several climate scientists, including me, put the odds of 2023 turning out to be a record warm year at just one in five.

El Niño — the inverse of La Niña — causes the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean to warm up. This weather pattern set in only in the second half of the year, and the current spell is milder than similar events in 1997–98 and 2015–16.

However, starting last March, sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean began to shoot up. By June, the extent of sea ice around Antarctica was by far the lowest on record. Compared with the average ice cover between 1981 and 2010, a patch of sea ice roughly the size of Alaska was missing. The observed temperature anomaly has not only been much larger than expected, but also started showing up several months before the onset of El Niño....


Better, more nimble data-collection systems are clearly needed. NASA’s PACE mission, which launched in February, is a step in the right direction. In a few months, the satellite should start providing a global assessment of the composition of various aerosol particles in the atmosphere. The data will be invaluable for reducing the substantial aerosol-related uncertainty in climate models. Hindcasts, informed by new data, could also provide insights into last year’s climate events.

But it seems unlikely that aerosol effects provide anything close to a full answer. In general, the 2023 temperature anomaly has come out of the blue, revealing an unprecedented knowledge gap perhaps for the first time since about 40 years ago, when satellite data began offering modellers an unparalleled, real-time view of Earth’s climate system. If the anomaly does not stabilize by August — a reasonable expectation based on previous El Niño events — then the world will be in uncharted territory. It could imply that a warming planet is already fundamentally altering how the climate system operates, much sooner than scientists had anticipated. It could also mean that statistical inferences based on past events are less reliable than we thought, adding more uncertainty to seasonal predictions of droughts and rainfall patterns.


Read more at Nature:


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"Disquieting"

Why is the sea so hot?

By Elizabeth Kolbert

Via The New Yorker


In early 2023, climate scientists — and anyone else paying attention to the data — started to notice something strange. At the beginning of March, sea-surface temperatures began to rise. By April, they’d set a new record: the average temperature at the surface of the world’s oceans, excluding those at the poles, was just a shade under seventy degrees. Typically, the highest sea-surface temperatures of the year are observed in March, toward the end of the Southern Hemisphere’s summer. Last year, temperatures remained abnormally high through the Southern Hemisphere’s autumn and beyond, breaking the monthly records for May, June, July, and other months.

The North Atlantic was particularly bathtub-like; in the words of Copernicus, an arm of the European Union’s space service, temperatures in the basin were “off the charts.” ... “We don’t really know what’s going on,” Gavin Schmidt, the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told me. “And we haven’t really known what’s going on since about March of last year.” He called the situation “disquieting.”


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New Methods for Tracking Methane

GRN360 Climate Plans Enforcement Casts a Spotlight on Methods to Effectively Cut Emissions
Documenting the 'Super-Emitters' from Above as Part of Green Planning, Monitoring, and Management


Measure and Monitor to Manage


American oil and natural gas wells, pipelines and compressors are spewing three times the amount of the potent heat-trapping gas methane as the government thinks, causing $9.3 billion in yearly climate damage, a new comprehensive study calculates.

(M)ore than half of these methane emissions are coming from a tiny number of oil and gas sites, 1% or less, this means the problem is both worse than the government thought but also fairly fixable, said the lead author of a study in Wednesday's journal 'Nature'.

Large methane emissions events around the world detected by satellites grew 50% in 2023 compared to 2022 with more than 5 million metric tons spotted in major fossil fuel leaks, the International Energy Agency reported Wednesday in their Global Methane Tracker 2024. World methane emissions rose slightly in 2023 to 120 million metric tons, the report said.

“This is really an opportunity to cut emissions quite rapidly with targeted efforts at these highest emitting sites,” said lead author Evan Sherwin, an energy and policy analyst at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab who wrote the study while at Stanford University. “If we can get this roughly 1% of sites under control, then we're halfway there because that's about half of the emissions in most cases.”

* https://ngid9.sites.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj22011/files/media/file/ngi_brief_2020-06_r3.pdf


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On March 4, 2024, MethaneSAT detached from the SpaceX Transporter-10 rocket that carried the emissions-monitor into space.

The groundbreaking satellite is designed to help protect the Earth’s climate by accelerating reductions of this powerful greenhouse pollutant, focusing on oil and gas operations, a major source of methane.


MethaneSAT data will become available, it has been announced, for download in the Google Earth Engine database...


MethaneSAT is the first satellite developed by an environmental non-profit and enables emissions tracking and business accountability. The net result -- faster reductions of methane gas.


Climate Action Plans 360

In 2020/21 GreenPolicy360 first put forward a strategic initiative for "climate plans enforcement" developed and presented by nearly all nations of the world at climate summits. The Paris conference in 2015 was the first reveal of this plans and since then many promises for action have been made by nations and their political representatives -- but with sporadic follow up and performance.

We saw a pressing need to, as we put it, 'turn national climate plans and pledges into reality'. The plans/pledges/promises made on paper had to translate to action on the ground and, as we said, in the skies above. The INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions) had to bring in facts and data, and as we pointed to, the data was there in the form of satellite missions capable of surveying and reporting emissions, hot spots, 'code red' vital signs.

In other words, as we have said for many years, science could be and should be used. 'Measure-to-manage' was a call to action for climate plans enforcement.

The use of Earth Imaging systems via satellite programs was high on our list, as our GreenPolicy360 founder has been involved in Earth Science research from space since its beginnings in the 1970s.

Now, with the launch of MethaneSAT, the vision of data that can be used for enforcement, to reduce methane emissions as a potent source of global warming, is now becoming a reality. Read on...

Distributing the data is the next step ...


GRN360: Climate Plans Enforcement Initiative


GRN3360: Methods to Enforce Climate Plan Pledges


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Measure-to-Manage



First satellite developed by an environmental non-profit will see methane emissions others can’t, paving the way for heightened accountability and faster reductions


MethaneSAT Media Kit


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February


What Happens When a Wind Farm Comes to a Coal Town?

Ask the Mining Folks in Small-Town West Virginia What They Think


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February / Climate change comes to European mountain communities

Via the Copernicus, EU satellite system, post from Ron Merkord, a graduate of CalTech whose work includes state-of-the-art laser imaging.

Our GreenPolicy360, Planet Citizens community is proud to call Ron a friend.


Dreaming of Global Open Source Earth Imaging

A 'Before & After' Story


Siterunner/GreenPolicy360:

In the 1960s, as the environmental movement came into the imagination of many young people across the United States, in East Los Angeles, my new Congressman and friend, Representative George E. Brown first told me of his dream to bring Earth Science, especially via Earth imaging/observation programs, to the world. He spoke of 'open science', and new digital imaging. At GreenPolicy36 we have written about this period and brought into the light a woman who literally invented the first multispectral imaging scanner for satellite viewing of the Earth. Rep Brown was a central figure in the start-up of the NASA Earth Science programs (and went on to shepherd them along as flocks of satellites became what we have today, a constellation of Earth Observing satellites and systems.

Back in the day before there were any Earth Science satellites, there was a dream, a dream of Earth Science satellites and a dream expressed off and on to a young high school student in the Congressman's district. As I look at the image of the Pyrenees and the effects of climate, taken by a spectral system in a Earth imaging and mnonitoring satellite above, I think it is a good time to look back and recall a Congressman's dream.

I was at Cantwell High when I first met George Brown, and I was beseeching (yes we used words like beseeching in the olden days) to help me by giving me insight into the government's policies that were threatening life on Earth. Nuclear proliferation was that early 60s debate topic in California schools. This was soon after the Cuban Missile Crisis and the 'close call' where kids were 'ducking under desks' as 'sirens blared' in prep for a nuclear missile attack. The missile crisis was narrowly averted, as history later how near the world came to the precipice and, as students, we debated how to deal with the threats.

George Brown was, soon after entering Congress, a leader in space and technology. He was a trained in physics, and an engineer who entered politics to make a difference. His district/our district extended into the San Gabriel Valley and, listening to George as I complained about the Jesuit students at Loyola High being my debate nemesis, George talked about Pasadena, where Loyola was located. He talked about how Pasadena, and Loyola, and CalTech and JPL. The California Institute of Technology and Jet Propulsion Laboratory were new to me and he explained how they were among the best higher education, science and applied engineering hubs in the nation, and world. He also explained how they were going to be the core of his dream to bring Earth Science via science, technology and new NASA Earth Science programs into reality. Considering he now had the ways and means to do so, with his position in Congress, I believed him and, for 30+ years was a young friend and later colleague as he went about the business of proposing, developing, launching and managing a first generation of Earth imaging/observation programs that became a foundation for all.

Today, George Brown is known by some for his work to get the Landsat program going, a first of its kind in Earth Science, a program now in its fifth decade, a program that has uniquely captured a vast, dynamic/taken over time, invaluable data set of Earth images. The Landsat program has, as George pushed to engineer, developed an increasingly capable scanning system circling our Planet Earth.

Let's look closer. George was right about the money invested in CalTech and JPL, stars in a NASA public/private partnership, as some of the most famed and awarded scientists, teachers, graduate students, engineers, and visiting professors brought state-of-the-art science to people of the wsorld. George was pushing 'open source' before the Internet was talking and developing 'open source' code. He was prescient in seeing the value proposition of the tools we were developing as enablers of environmental protection, and a gift for future generations. He had to argue constantly with the military, who attempted to keep many of these tools and systems confidential for security reasons. but in many cases George prevailed... and the systems were released into the public arena, and scientists and educators and students everywhere saw with new eyes the beauty and challenges we were experiencing as 'Generation Green' as the Whole Earth came into view.

Take, for example, the scanning and consider how it developed, version by version to today from the original Landsat multispectral system.


Spectral Imaging

Multispectral imaging to Hyperspectral imaging (spectral imaging / imaging spectroscopy) to Full Spectral Imaging (improving Earth remote sensing capabilities)



Now let's look at how these systems, designs, com systems, digital imaging, analysis (measuring and monitoring capabilities were (and are being) shared with and employed by European space science, especially as the nations of the world deal with Climate Change and now continually gather facts and data with which to utilize to make wise decisions. The data is needed George said, we have to go get the information we need to have. George Brown then drafted the first US National Climate Act back in the 1970s. His dream was to give us the tools to build on, a foundation of 'Big Science' to put to work to help future generations community-by-community, nation-by-nation.

Even with the pressing challenges we face in these times, I think George would be pleased if he were still here in person.

In a way George E. Brown is still here. 'Eyes on Earth' science, EOS missions data shared with all, carries on the mission.


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NASA Continues with Its Original Mission Statement --

"To understand and protect our home planet..."


PACE: Joining the EOS Mission
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EOS l Earth Observing System

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The NASA/Earth Observation-Earth Science Mission Statement
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Get with the Action Planet Citizens


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After the 28th Int'l Climate Summit in 2023 in Dubai, Azerbaijan names a former oil executive to lead 2024 climate talks


2023


A Best Book of 2023


Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth's Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis


Thank you Michael -- https://earth.sas.upenn.edu/people/michael-mann


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December


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December 26, 2023

GreenPolicy360: We are reading this morning's Washington Post front-of-the-news online, and thinking how our story arc as planet citizens, planet scientists (as we've come to call eco activists like us) has a parallel to the WaPo climate news as 2023 comes to a close.


Let's pull a few quotes from the article, a wrap up review of climate and global warming this year, and predictions by three scientists and related commentary about that the numbers could be telling all of us about our common future.

One line stands out in particular -- The record shows that the pace of warming clearly sped up around the year 1970.


1970 was the year your GreenPolicy360 founder-siterunner was working to set up the first Earth day alongside a science-trained new Congressperson, George E. Brown. Together we were also attempting to bring 'Big Science', especially coordinated EarthPOV-Earth Science and Atmospheric Science into view, the data needed to make informed policy decisions which the Representative was leading and enabling with legislative initiatives, including the First National Climate Act.


Today, some 50+ years on, in a democratically debating world with databases and data resulting from all these years of science, observation, research, study and expertise at work, we as a species, globally connected humanity, are attempting how best to apply our Earth System Science knowledge base. The goal of having the necessary data and science informing us of Earth's dynamic, changing, living systems has been achieved to a significant degree.

We can say Earth is now in our hands. The question of questions is how will we act?


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WaPo: Now, after what is poised to be the hottest year in recorded history, the same experts believe that it is already happening.

In a paper published last month, climate scientist James E. Hansen and a group of colleagues argued that the pace of global warming is poised to increase by 50 percent in the coming decades, with an accompanying escalation of impacts.

According to the scientists, an increased amount of heat energy trapped within the planet’s system — known as the planet’s “energy imbalance” — will accelerate warming. “If there’s more energy coming in than going out, you get warmer, and if you double that imbalance, you’re going to get warmer faster,” Hansen said in a phone interview.

Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist with Berkeley Earth, has similarly called the last few months of temperatures “absolutely gobsmackingly bananas” and noted, “there is increasing evidence that global warming has accelerated over the past 15 years.”

But not everyone agrees. University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann has argued that no acceleration is visible yet: “The truth is bad enough,” he wrote in a blog post.


GreenPolicy360:

As followers of Climate reporting at GreenPolicy360 might recall, the scientific work and writing of Michael E. Mann have a special attention. A recent commentary by longtime eco-writer Andy Revkin is of special interest as Michael Mann and James Hansen et al debate the extent of the Climate Crisis ...


In whatever perspective our readers see and experience human-induced climate change/global warming, and respond to environmental protection and climate challenges, we can say that our initial goal of recognizing a crisis-in-the-making and a new vision and changes to make informed decisions was set in motion over decades, from 1970 and first Earth Day on to today.


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Here we are.... What comes next in our story?

It's almost 2024. Time to keep on with the work planet citizens.


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December 13, 2023


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A Dubai Surprise

With Multiple Caveats


CNBC

The latest proposal published by the UAE early on Wednesday. Dec. 13, calls for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.”


Economist

The COP28 deal might be historic, but there are many caveats...'


Reuters

Representatives from nearly 200 countries agreed at the COP28 climate summit on Wednesday to begin reducing global consumption of fossil fuels to avert the worst of climate change, signalling the eventual end of the oil age.

The deal struck in Dubai after two weeks of hard-fought negotiations was meant to send a powerful message to investors and policy-makers that the world is united in its desire to break with fossil fuels, something scientists say is the last best hope to stave off climate catastrophe.

COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber called the deal "historic" but added that its true success would be in its implementation.

"We are what we do, not what we say," he told the crowded plenary at the summit. "We must take the steps necessary to turn this agreement into tangible actions."

Several countries cheered the deal for accomplishing something that until now eluded decades of climate talks.

"It is the first time that the world unites around such a clear text on the need to transition away from fossil fuels," Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide said.

More than 100 countries had lobbied hard for strong language in the COP28 agreement to "phase out" oil, gas and coal use, but came up against powerful opposition from the Saudi Arabia-led oil producer group OPEC, which said the world can cut emissions without shunning specific fuels.

That battle pushed the summit a full day into overtime on Wednesday, and had some observers worried the negotiations would end at an impasse...


Financial Times

COP28 is better than feared, but less than needed

Call to move away from fossil fuels lacks deadlines to phase them out...


NY Times

Two Words That Could Change the World

An unlikely breakthrough on fossil fuels at COP28


They are just two little words. They appear on just one page of an 11,000 word document.

But the inclusion of the phrase “fossil fuels” in the final agreement from COP28 marks a potentially trajectory-altering moment in the fight against climate change. The global pact calls for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner.”

For almost 30 years, negotiators representing nations from around the world had struggled and failed to reach an obvious consensus: that the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas should be wound down to avoid further catastrophic global warming.

But overnight, representatives from more than 170 countries arrived at a surprising deal, in Dubai of all places.

The text is not as clear as many leaders, activists and scientists had hoped. It includes caveats and wiggle room, and is nonbinding. Nevertheless, the inclusion of explicit language calling for a move away from coal, oil and gas is being hailed as a major breakthrough...


~


The US delegation that officially traveled to Dubai included a number of Republicans. Their points of view were expressed in a wide-ranging E&E article ... Many House Republicans — who said repeatedly they were only going to COP28 to tout U.S. leadership on domestic emissions reductions, not explore how their country can join the international fight against climate change more broadly — used face time with Kerry to, among other things, blast proposed EPA regulations to crack down on tailpipe emissions and incentivize a switch to electric vehicles. In interviews with reporters, other GOP members derided the Biden administration’s “rush to green” agenda...


John Kerry, US special representative on the climate acknowledged the difficulty of negotiations:

“I think everybody here should be pleased that in a world of Ukraine and the Middle East war and all the other challenges of a planet that is foundering, this is a moment where multilateralism has actually come together and people have taken individual interests and attempted to define the common good. That is hard. That is the hardest thing in diplomacy, the hardest thing in politics.”


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December 12


Carbon Brief reports as the COP28 draws to a close...

- "Rule 16" looms... (postponements, no action, roll overs to COP29)


Tracking negotiating texts at COP28 climate summit


COP28 climate talks in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Negotiation are the core legal process at the summit

The nations deal-making process is difficult to observe... and as the international climate conference comes to a conclusion remember there are promises that need now to become on-the-ground / in-the-air realities...


Carbon Brief:

"The (climate conferences) process often fades into the background, hidden from sight in closed-door negotiating rooms and late-night sessions, where diplomats – and then ministers – hash out their disagreements.

"However, COP28 will culminate in a set of legal decisions, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its associated Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement.

"This set of legal texts lies at the heart of COP28 – and every other UN climate summit.


GreenPolicy360: Focus on the agreements, pledges/promises, results and .... keeping in mind that each nation subsequently has to return to their individual country to turn their climate summit agreements, pledges/promises into *Results


At the International Climate Summmit (COP28, Conference of the Parties)

Today, Dec. 12, is the scheduled final day of the gathering of nations


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Tracking Negotiating Texts, Tracking News on the Dubai 2023 Int'l Climate Summit

December 12, 2023


Read updates from Carbon Brief:


Daily Briefing December 12. 2023 | 10:00am

Oil states face outrage as fossil fuel phaseout dropped from COP draft


The COP28 presidency has presented a draft agreement that drops references to the phaseout of fossil fuels, reports a frontpage Financial Times story. It says the latest draft document only sets out a range of actions that countries “could” take to cut emissions to net-zero by 2050. It says that “negotiators and ministers from countries around the world at the weekend accused Saudi Arabia of piling pressure on Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 president and head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, to shift the focus of any agreement away from fossil fuels”. The draft text talks of “reducing both consumption and production of fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, so as to achieve net-zero by, before or around 2050, in keeping with the science”, the Guardian reports on its frontpage, under the headline: “COP28 draft climate deal criticised as ‘grossly insufficient’ and ‘incoherent’.” Crucially, however, this is framed as optional, the paper says, with the text calling on countries to “take actions that could include” reducing fossil fuels. It adds: “The text put forward by the summit presidency after 10 days of wrangling was received with concern and anger by many climate experts and politicians, though others welcomed elements of the draft including the first mention in a COP text of reducing fossil fuel production.” BBC News says the phrase “phase out” was included in a previous draft of the text, but has since been removed. It adds: “All 198 countries at the summit must agree or there is no deal.” Reuters reports that a coalition of more than 80 countries, including the EU, US and small island states, are pushing for the agreement to include language around a “phase out”. However it says they are coming up against “strong opposition”, led by Saudi Arabia. Bloomberg notes that if adopted, the text would be the first UN treaty “specifically calling for reduced use of all fossil fuels, including oil and gas”. It adds that COP president Sultan Al Jaber delayed the publication of the draft text by almost ten hours on Monday while he “sought compromise”. Axios notes that the text is not final, and says that “many countries are expected to vigorously oppose this draft during what is expected to be a long night in Dubai and a contentious day on Tuesday”.

A spokesperson for Sultan Al Jaber, the Emirati oil executive who is leading the talks in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, said in a statement that the draft was “a huge step forward”, according to the New York Times. Elsewhere, Al Jazeera quotes Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UNFCCC, who called for countries to “clear the unnecessary tactical blockades out of the way”. According to the outlet, Stiell said: “I urge negotiators to reject incrementalism. Each step back from the highest ambition will cost countless millions of lives.” The Washington Post quotes John Silk, minister of natural resources and commerce for the Marshall Islands saying: “The Republic of the Marshall Islands did not come here to sign our death warrant. We came to fight for 1.5C and for the only way to achieve that: a fossil fuel phase out.” The Times quotes Wopke Hoekstra, the EU’s climate commissioner, who said that the latest version was “disappointing” and “not adequate to addressing the problem” of climate change. According to the paper, he added: “Scientists are crystal clear about what is needed. And on the top of that list is phasing out fossil fuel.” Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock called key elements of the text “unacceptable”, according to the Independent. The Guardian adds: “The Australian climate change minister, Chris Bowen, has declared phasing out fossil fuels globally is central to Australia’s push to become a renewable energy superpower, and named Saudi Arabia as a block to agreement on the issue at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.” Politico says: “The draft ‘really doesn’t meet the expectations of this COP in terms of the urgently needed transition to clean sources of energy and the phaseout of fossil fuels,’ US climate envoy John Kerry said during a fractious, closed-door meeting late Monday night and early Tuesday, which Politico listened to via an unsanctioned feed.” It adds that in the early hours of Tuesday morning, protesters stood outside chanting “this text is bullshit”. The Press Association reports that “Ireland’s environment minister Eamon Ryan, who is a lead EU negotiator on climate finance, has said the first draft text from the COP28 Presidency is unacceptable and that the EU could walk away from the talks if it is not improved”. Climate Home News quotes ex-US vice president Al Gore, who said “this obsequious draft reads as if Opec dictated it word for word”. The New Scientist, City AM, the Hill, BusinessGreen, Nikkei Asia, the i newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, the Hindu, Bangkok Post, Le Monde, and Forbes also cover the story.


~


Reuters question -- Explainer - Why does OPEC oppose the idea of a fossil fuel phase-out at COP28?

Reuters answer -- Why does it matter for OPEC?


(The international news service of Reuters answers in 'simple English' here...)


Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries together control nearly 80% of the world's proven oil reserves and about a third of global daily oil production.

OPEC+, which includes allies such as Russia and Kazakhstan, controls an even bigger share of global crude reserves and production at about 90% and 40% respectively.

The members rely heavily on oil and gas revenues as their main source of income.

Oil revenues averaged 75% of total budget revenues of OPEC's leader Saudi Arabia since 2010 and represent around 40-45% of its GDP.

For other OPEC+ members the share of oil and gas in the GDP varies between 16% and 50%. OPEC's net oil export revenue stood at $888 billion in 2022, a 43% rise vs 2021.

Hence, any language that calls for the phasing out of fossil fuels threatens the model on which these oil- and gas-producing countries' economies are built.


Saudi Arabia Is Trying to Block a Global Deal to End Fossil Fuels, Negotiators Say

December 10 / NYT International


Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading exporter of oil, has become the biggest obstacle to an agreement at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai, where countries are debating whether to call for a phaseout of fossil fuels in order to fight global warming, negotiators and other officials said.

The Saudi delegation has flatly opposed any language in a deal that would even mention fossil fuels — the oil, gas and coal that, when burned, create emissions that are dangerously heating the planet. Saudi negotiators have also objected to a provision, endorsed by at least 118 countries, aimed at tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Saudi diplomats have been particularly skillful at blocking discussions and slowing the talks, according to interviews with a dozen people who have been inside closed-door negotiations. Tactics include inserting words into draft agreements that are considered poison pills by other countries; slow-walking a provision meant to help vulnerable countries adapt to climate change; staging a walkout in a side meeting; and refusing to sit down with negotiators pressing for a phaseout of fossil fuels.


At COP28, pageantry is over and negotiations get intense to save a planet in peril

Associated Press

December 8


In a letter dated Dec. 6, Haitham Al-Ghais, secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, warned all members that there was rising pressure at the summit to target fossil fuels. He called those plans “politically motivated campaigns” against oil-rich nations that put “our people’s prosperity and future at risk.” ...

A draft of (the summit agreement) negotiating text made public by COP28 officials on Friday included several options for final language, ranging from a call to phaseout fossil fuels “in line with the best available science,” to no mention at all of the future of oil, gas and coal.

The possibilities also included a phaseout of “unabated” fossil fuels, a vague term that suggests that oil, gas and coal could continue to be used as long there was technology to capture and store the resulting carbon emissions. No such technology currently exists at the scale that scientists say is required.

The OPEC letter sets up a potential showdown in the remaining days of the summit between the group’s member states and other nations, including the United States, that want world economies to transition away from fossil fuels.


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Ideas Emanating from the Global Climate Conference in the United Arab Emirates Range Far 'n Wide

Here's one GHG approach that the oil/gas industry is pushing - CDR, Carbon Dioxide Removal

GreenPolicy360: How realistic, viable, eco-nomic is this just announced CO2 removal project of Frontier?


Enhanced Rock Weathering Carbon Removal Techniques

December 7


Enhanced weathering describes a variety of approaches to accelerate the natural absorption and storage of carbon in rocks. When exposed to rain, wind, or seawater, alkaline rocks slowly break down, or “weather.” During this process, the worn-down rocks absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and turn it into bicarbonate, which eventually makes its way into the ocean through groundwater for permanent storage. This process normally takes hundreds or thousands of years, but by grinding up alkaline rocks like basalt or olivine to increase their surface area, and spreading them on fields to increase their exposure to ambient CO₂, the effect can be achieved in just a few years. Enhanced weathering approaches could account for 2–4 gigatons of carbon removal per year by 2050, which would be 40% of the projected global carbon removal portfolio.


Zeke Hausfather: Basalt dissolves when interacting with acidity in rainwater, and the calcium and other cations form bicarbonate. Bicarbonate washes off the field into rivers and is stored in the oceans for millennia before precipitating to the ocean floor as carbonate.

As far as permanent CDR pathways go, its got a lot of advantages: • Low energy use, particularly when using abundant waste fines from basalt quarries • Significant co-benefits in terms of soil pH management, N2O emissions reductions, and crop yields: https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.05343


Then there carbon captures techniques... mitigation results are unimpressive to date ...


Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an expensive and unproven technology that distracts from global decarbonization efforts while allowing the oil and gas industry to conduct business as usual.

Even if realized at its full announced potential, CCS will only account for about 2.4% of the world’s carbon mitigation by 2030, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It’s worth noting that not one single CCS project has ever reached its target CO2 capture rate. An IEEFA study has reviewed the capacity and performance of 13 flagship projects and found that 10 of the 13 failed or underperformed against their designed capacities, mostly by large margins.


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Planet Dove satellite image over Dubai.png


Controversy & More in Dubai at the 28th International Climate Conference

December 4, 2023 / The Climate News Heats Up
* https://www.theenergymix.com/no-science-linking-fossil-phaseout-to-1-5c-target-al-jaber-claims-in-ill-tempered-video/


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Open secret at global climate talks: The top temperature goal is mostly gone

Researchers injected a sobering finding into global climate negotiations Sunday by saying the world will likely fail its most important warming test


🌎


November


They're here...

On 30 November, some 75,000 delegates including politicians, ministers, representatives from civil society, the private sector, international organisations and media organisations (including Energy Monitor) will descend on Expo City, Dubai


Organizers of COP28 have plans: Leaked briefing documents reveal plans to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 nations

The Climate Summit, the 28th International Climate Gathering Is Opening

The News Isn't Good


Oil-gas deals during Climate Summit.png


November 27


COP28 President Lobbied on Fossil Fuel at Climate Meetings, BBC Reports

Sultan Al Jaber allegedly planned to use meetings with foreign governments about the upcoming UN climate summit to push forward the oil and gas agenda, according to the BBC


Cop28 host UAE planned to promote oil deals during climate talks

Leaked briefing documents for meetings with governments contained ‘asks’ from state oil firm


According to British Broadcasting, The United Arab Emirates planned to use its role as the host of UN climate talks as an opportunity to strike oil and gas deals


The documents - obtained by independent journalists at the Centre for Climate Reporting working alongside the BBC - were prepared by the UAE's COP28 team for meetings with at least 27 foreign governments ahead of the COP28 summit, which starts on 30 November.

They included proposed "talking points", such as one for China which says Adnoc, the UAE's state oil company, is "willing to jointly evaluate international LNG [liquefied natural gas] opportunities" in Mozambique, Canada and Australia.

The documents suggest telling a Colombian minister that Adnoc "stands ready" to support Colombia to develop its fossil fuel resources.

There are talking points for 13 other countries, including Germany and Egypt, which suggest telling them Adnoc wants to work with their governments to develop fossil fuel projects...


🌎


Is it too late to keep global warming below 1.5 °C?

These 7 charts reveal the challenge


'When representatives from 197 countries arrive in Dubai this month for the latest round of climate negotiations, they will have to confront a basic question: are nations meeting the goal they set of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels?

This will be the first time that humanity formally assesses its progress under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The goal of this mandatory ‘global stocktake’ is to ensure that political leaders face the facts every five years... Countries must follow up with new climate commitments in 2025...



November 2023: "If governments deliver in full on their national energy and climate pledges, then oil and gas demand would be 45% below today's level by 2050 and the temperature rise could be limited to 1.7 °C. If governments successfully pursue a 1.5 °C trajectory, and emissions from the global energy sector reach net zero by mid-century, oil and gas use would fall by 75% to 2050."


Too Hot, a new heat record - Nov 18 2023.png


Sixth Annual Report / International Assessment on Climate Change


Fifth Annual Report / United States Assessment on Climate Change


What About the Pledges and Promises Made by Nations at International Climate Summits?

Nations keep upping fossil-fuel production despite climate pledges

“World leaders pledged in 2015 to reduce emissions in a combined effort to limit climate change. Now they are stepping up production of oil, gas and coal, which will have the opposite effect. The top-20 energy-producing nations intend by 2030 to extract double the amount of fossil fuels that would be consistent with the threshold needed to keep warming in check,” the Wall Street Journal’s Eric Niiler


Why many scientists are now saying climate change is an all-out ‘emergency’

Via the Washington Post


... In 2018, Bill Ripple saw pictures of a town called Paradise, Calif., completely destroyed by wildfire. Houses had disappeared in the blaze; all that remained were twisted hunks of metal and glass. Ripple started writing a new academic paper. He called it: “World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency.” He sent it to colleagues to see if anyone wanted to sign on. By the time the paper was published in the journal Bioscience in 2019, it had 11,000 signatures from scientists around the world — it now has more than 15,000. ...

Last week, he published a new paper on the state of the climate system. It was called “Entering Uncharted Territory.” “Scientists are more willing to speak out,” Ripple said. “As a group, we’ve been pretty hesitant, historically.” But, he added, “I feel like scientists have a moral obligation to warn humanity.”


... climate scientists — who once refrained from entering the public fray — are now using strident language to describe the warming planet. References to “climate emergency” and “climate crisis,” once used primarily by activist groups like the U.K.-based Extinction Rebellion or the U.S.-based Sunrise Movement, are spiking in the academic literature. Meanwhile, scientists’ communication to the media and the public has gotten more exasperated — and more desperate... As recently as 2015, only 32 papers in the Web of Science research database included the term “climate emergency.” In 2022, 862 papers contained the phrase.


Earth Science Vital Signs


‘Uncharted territory’ imperils life on Earth

Climate Reports with Vital Signs in "BioScience", Global, Academic, Peer-Reviewed Publication


CORVALLIS, Ore. – An international coalition of climate scientists says in a paper published today that the Earth’s vital signs have worsened beyond anything humans have yet seen, to the point that life on the planet is imperiled.

William Ripple, a distinguished professor in the Oregon State University College of Forestry, and former OSU postdoctoral researcher Christopher Wolf are the lead authors of the report, and 10 other U.S. and global scientists are co-authors.

“Without actions that address the root problem of humanity taking more from the Earth than it can safely give, we’re on our way to the potential collapse of natural and socioeconomic systems and a world with unbearable heat and shortages of food and freshwater,” Wolf said.

Published in BioScience, “The 2023 State of the climate report: Entering uncharted territory” notes that 20 of 35 planetary vital signs the authors use to track climate change are at record extremes...


🌎


Position on Climate Change and Energy Policy of the Newly Elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives

Via E&E News / October 26

A spokesperson for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) did not respond to a request for comment about the congressman’s current views on climate change.

In his former role as chair of the Republican Study Committee, Johnson was aggressive in messaging against the Green New Deal, producing a 13-page memo decrying the progressive platform as a “Greedy New Steal” and sponsoring an anti-Green New Deal resolution.

Advocates in the conservative energy arena — including Mike McKenna, a veteran energy lobbyist who worked in the Trump White House — said they don’t see much difference between Johnson and most fellow conservatives when it comes to their views on energy policy.

Even Johnson’s 2 percent lifetime rating with the League of Conservation Voters, which scores lawmakers on their environmental votes in Congress, isn’t that much of an outlier: He shares that score with 23 other Republicans, and 24 Republicans have scores of 1 or zero percent.


New House Speaker Champions Fossil Fuels and Dismisses Climate Concerns

Representative Mike Johnson comes from Louisiana oil country and has said he does not believe burning fossil fuels is changing the climate


A Pew Research Center survey released Tuesday found that a vast majority of Democrats polled — 85 percent — said that climate change is an extremely or very serious problem, while 47 percent of Republicans viewed climate change as not too serious or not a problem at all....


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U.S. oil production hits all-time high, conflicting with efforts to curb climate change

Via PBS



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September


Don't Be a Doomer, or Denier...


Stop the doom. We failed to prevent climate change – but we will decide how bad it'll get

Both doom and denial can lead us down a path of disengagement, which is so convenient to fossil fuel interests that profit from climate inaction

By Michael E. Mann / September 27, 2023

Michael E. Mann is a Presidential Distinguished Professor and director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability & the Media at the University of Pennsylvania. He's the author of the new book "Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth's Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis."


Are we finally seeing meaningful action on climate? If you’re an optimist, you might be encouraged by the climate provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law last year by President Joe Biden, which are starting to bear fruit.

And among other developments, California – the world’s fifth largest economy – is now flexing its climate action muscle, bringing a lawsuit against carbon polluters for the damage they have caused.

But these developments are long overdue. More than three decades ago, the nations of the world entered into an agreement to prevent “dangerous human interference” with the climate. Thanks to this past summer, we can see that the danger's already here and we know what it looks like.

It looks like the Hawaiian paradise of Maui set ablaze in a deadly inferno born of extreme drought. It looks like the orange tinge of my home city of Philadelphia shrouded in choking Canadian wildfire smoke. Or the faces of grief-stricken families in nearby Bucks County who lost loved ones to a “wall of water” from an epic flash flood. It looks like the flooded streets and homes of quintessential New England towns. And the scalded feet of toddlers in Phoenix who made the mistake of walking out onto toaster oven-hot pavement.

Dangerous climate change is a shape-shifting beast, but we've just seen it in all its forms.

The few remaining climate change dismissives respond with their usual refrain “that’s just weather.” But there is a larger context here, the context provided by Earth’s longer-time climate history, that tells us otherwise. An array of paleoclimate evidence – from ice cores, tree rings and corals to ocean sediments, stalactites and stalagmites – indicates that we might well have just experienced the warmest days of the warmest month in at least 100,000 years. Hardly just some fluke roll of the weather dice.

That realization might seem daunting and disquieting, because it speaks to the fragility of this moment. We are, after all, rapidly exiting the range of climate conditions that prevailed during the roughly 6,000-year period in which human civilization arose. Does this mean that our civilization is now threatened? That it’s too late to act? Are we – in essence – doomed?

Is 2023 the hottest summer on record? What to know to understand our changing climate.

Both climate deniers and 'doomers' can lead to inaction...


Apocalyptic Thinking


You might think so while doomscrolling on social media, where we’re now bombarded with selective factoids and graphics leading us to believe that Earth’s climate is spinning out of control, that runaway warming is propelling us past a tipping point, plunging us down a planetary death spiral.

Might as well just bid goodbye to your loved ones now.

We’re told by climate “doomers” that scientists who insist there’s still time to act are lying to the public, hiding the inevitability of our collective demise. These accusations mimic those of years and decades past from climate dismissives. Both doom and denial can lead us down a path of disengagement, which is so convenient to fossil fuel interests that profit from climate inaction.

Climate doom goes viral on TikTok:The spread of 'climate doom' on social media is hurting the climate justice movement – and Gen Z...

The reality is that global temperatures are almost where models decades ago predicted they would be at this point given ongoing fossil fuel burning. No runaway warming, but steady heating that will continue as long as we emit carbon pollution. The truth is bad enough – it’s reason enough for dramatic action.

And Earth’s climate history reveals the truth, offering not just thousands but billions of years' worth of lessons.

Let’s begin 4 billion years ago, when life emerged from the primordial ooze. The sun then was roughly 30% dimmer than today. Calculations indicate that, all else being equal, Earth should have been a frozen, lifeless planet. Yet we know it wasn’t. Life abounded.

The solution to this paradox, first offered by scientist Carl Sagan, was that the planet-warming greenhouse effect must have been even stronger then. Moreover, as the sun gradually grew brighter over the ensuing billions of years, Earth’s greenhouse effect grew weaker.

Earth appears to have a natural “thermostat” that keeps the planet within habitable bounds and life itself – including the global carbon cycle that helps regulate the concentration of carbon dioxide, a critical greenhouse gas – plays a critical role. This is the “Gaia hypothesis,” named after the Greek Earth goddess, first formulated by scientists James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis in the early 1970s. There is now substantial evidence to back it up.

So we can relax then? The natural stabilizing mechanisms of Earth’s climate will bail us out?


Planet Citizen Action


How do you deal with climate doom? The antidote is doing.


.... Yes, we have failed to prevent dangerous climate change. It is here. But it’s up to us as to how bad it will get.

A Montana court ruling in August 2023 sided with young plaintiffs who claimed state policies used to evaluate requests for fossil fuel projects are unconstitutional because they don't allow for agencies to consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.

Today we are generating carbon dioxide more than 10 times faster than in any of these past episodes. If we do not dramatically reduce carbon emissions, the paleoclimate record tells us we will, in a matter of decades, exceed levels of warmth not seen in millions of years. It is the unprecedented rate of change today that poses a monumental challenge to life on this planet.


A window of opportunity still remains for averting a catastrophic warming of the planet by 3 degrees Fahrenheit, where we’ll see far worse consequences. But that window is closing, and we’re not yet making enough progress.

Will voters care? [In U.S. polls] Climate change isn't a top issue for Democrats or Republicans. [Yet] We're at a tipping point on planet Earth.

We must not give in to despair. The antidote to doom is doing.

We are seeing meaningful progress. And we should be especially inspired by youth climate activists...


Climate Problems, Climate Solutions



Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth's Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis


Thank you Michael -- https://earth.sas.upenn.edu/people/michael-mann


Publisher's Description:

In this sweeping work of science and history, the renowned climate scientist and author of The New Climate War shows us the conditions on Earth that allowed humans not only to exist but thrive, and how they are imperiled if we veer off course.


Michael E. Mann speaks of his newly published book -- "Our Fragile Moment"


‘Our Fragile Moment’ finds modern lessons in Earth's history of climate


Our Fragile Moment.png


Fragile Moment / Publisher's Weekly announcement



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Wanted: 20,000 Young Americans to Fight Climate Change

Announcement to create an “American Climate Corps” that would train thousands of young people for green jobs


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August


Wealthy oil nation lays groundwork for ‘eye-popping’ climate fund

The United Arab Emirates has drawn a backlash from climate advocates for its role hosting the global climate talks, but the massive fund it’s considering would help countries green their economies

Via Politico


A G-7 government official said envoys from the oil-rich Mideast nation had privately mentioned the idea of a fund of at least $25 billion.

Creation of the fund would be one of the largest ever state-sponsored financial efforts to help countries fight climate change. And it comes as the UAE and Sultan al-Jaber, the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. who is leading the climate talks, have drawn criticism from environmental advocates and some U.S. and European lawmakers for hosting the international gathering despite being one of the world’s largest contributors of greenhouse gases.

In Washington, Republicans in Congress have vowed to block any U.S. effort to fulfill President Joe Biden’s promise to contribute $11 billion annually to international climate finance efforts...

The summit, known as COP28, starts on Nov. 30


Read More:


🌎


Montana climate trial News - 2023-08-14.png


Judge rules in favor of Montana youths in landmark climate decision

‘This is a monumental decision,’ said a lawyer for the young plaintiffs, and could influence how judges handle similar cases in other states


In the first ruling of its kind nationwide, a Montana state court decided Monday in favor of young people who alleged the state violated their right to a “clean and healthful environment” by promoting the use of fossil fuels...


The Decision:

August 14, 2023

RIKKI HELD, et al., Plaintiff, V. STATE OF MONTANA, et al., Defendant

Decision TEXT-PDF


🌎


A Republican Party 2024 Climate Strategy: More Drilling, Less Clean Energy

Via the New York Times, August 4, 2023, Unlocked article
The New York Times asked the leading Republican presidential candidates whether they support the Project 2025 strategy but none of the campaigns responded


♦


Project2025

A 920-page Republican Party Political Plan


Politico.com has published an advance outline of climate and environment related policies that a next US president, if Republican Party, would be urged to adopt. The goals of the groups who contributed to the plan, led by the Heritage Foundation, are described as a 'battle plan'.


“Project 2025 is not a white paper. We are not tinkering at the edges. We are writing a battle plan, and we are marshaling our forces,” said Paul Dans, director of Project 2025 at the Heritage Foundation, which compiled the plan as a road map for the first 180 days of the next GOP administration. “Never before has the whole conservative movement banded together to systematically prepare to take power day one and deconstruct the administrative state.”


As described in Politico:

The initiative has previously drawn attention for its efforts to prepare a systematic conservative takeover of the federal bureaucracy, in contrast to the perceptions of chaos that marked much of former President Donald Trump’s term. Those include plans to assemble a database of as many as 20,000 people who could serve in the next administration — “a right-wing LinkedIn,” as The New York Times described it in April — and proposals to impose sweeping Oval Office control over spending decisions, civil service employees and independent federal agencies.

(I)ts implications for U.S. climate policy — at a time of record heat waves sweeping the globe — have drawn far less attention.

The comprehensive plan covers virtually all operations of the federal government, not just energy and climate programs.

It’s much more ambitious than the pledges that all the Republican presidential primary candidates have made so far to roll back Biden’s signature climate law. It also wouldn’t simply nullify Biden’s climate executive orders, something that a Republican president could easily do just after taking office.

(T)he ideas laid out in Project 2025 show that conservative organizations want to achieve a more fundamental shift — moving federal agencies away from public health protections and environmental regulations in order to help the industries they have been tasked with overseeing, said Andrew Rosenberg (a former senior official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.) ...

Preventing the expansion of the electric grid would slow down renewable energy projects, threatening U.S. climate goals while cooling the sector’s economic growth, said Mike O’Boyle, a senior director at the nonpartisan policy firm Energy Innovation and head of its electricity program.

“If we totally step away from the role of the federal government, our economy is going to miss out in a big way because the rest of the world is moving on climate, so they’re poised to reap the benefits both for their energy consumers but also in terms of manufacturing.” ...

(An) increase in state power wouldn’t apply to California, which has a history of setting more aggressive environmental standards than those of the federal government under a Clean Air Act waiver. The Project 2025 plan would “ensure that other states can adopt California’s standards only for traditional/criteria pollutants, not greenhouse gasses.”

Another key goal is to restructure how EPA uses science, particularly research that supports regulations by showing risks to public health from industrial pollution.


♦


July


Cradle of Civilization - and climate change.jpg


Civilization and 'Cradles'... the 'Fertile Crescent'... with Much More to Consider over the Past Few Millennia

Human-impact on Planet Earth


🌎


We used to call climate change "global warming" back in the 1970s


1978

US Public Law 95-367.png


1988
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Update, decades later

July 19, 2023, via The Guardian

Update - James Hansen July 2023 'We are fools'.png


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Reuters

World registers hottest day ever recorded on July 3


Hot, Hot

NCEP @NOAA has placed Earth's average temperature yesterday (July 3rd) as the hottest single day thus far measured by humans.

This is driven by the combination of El Niño on top of global warming, and we may well see a few even warmer days over the next 6 weeks.

-- pic.twitter.com/RCrROHaWwp


CFSV2 world temp July 3, 2023.png


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Extreme Climate Impacts, Extreme Insurance Numbers on the Way


As climate crisis intensifies, insurers will likely reshape where people live — leaving desperate homeowners in the lurch

Homeowners insurance is becoming more expensive in the US with the average premium jumping 11% this year to $1,700, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Florida residents pay much more: $6,000 a year on average, doubling over the past three years. The trade group forecast that the state's property-insurance rates could surge by 40% or more this year.

In Florida, some two dozen private companies have declared insolvency, stopped issuing policies, or withdrawn from the state since February 2022. The Insurance Information Institute said the main cause was high levels of litigation that saddle Florida insurers with legal costs, combined with billions of dollars in losses from Hurricane Ian and other storms in recent years.


Climate Change, Global Warming, Urban Heat Islands, Mosquitoes -- and Disease

The deadliest animal in the world is smaller than a pencil eraser and weighs around two-thousandths of a gram — less than the weight of a single raindrop. Every year, it kills an estimated 700,000 people by partaking in what scientists grimly call a “blood meal.”

It’s the mosquito — and, increasingly, it’s on the move.

These global shifts, which will only accelerate as the planet warms, have sparked concern that the diseases mosquitoes carry will exact an even higher toll in the months and years to come.


June


'POWER OUR PLANET'

'Live in Paris' event -- twenty thousand activists, global south leaders, and artists gather to demand justice on behalf of cliamate-vulnerable countries.

PARIS, June 22, 2023 / via PRNewswire -- A night that united the Global North and Global South, 'Power Our Planet: Live in Paris' lit up the iconic Champ de Mars this evening, as climate activists, Heads of State, many famed names in music, and twenty thousand global citizens gathered to call for justice on behalf of the world's climate-vulnerable countries. Hosted by international advocacy organization Global Citizen, the event was broadcast and streamed live around the world, rallying the people everywhere to hold to account the leaders gathering in Paris for the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact.


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Himalayan glaciers could lose 80% of their volume

Via Associated Press, June 20, 2023


Glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates across the Hindu Kush Himalayan mountain ranges and could lose up to 80% of their volume this century if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t sharply reduced, according to a new report.

The report Tuesday from Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development warned that flash floods and avalanches would grow more likely in coming years, and that the availability of fresh water could be curtailed for nearly 2 billion people who live downstream of 12 rivers that originate in the mountains.

Ice and snow in the Hindu Kush Himalayan ranges are an important source of water for those rivers, which flow through 16 countries in Asia and provide fresh water to 240 million people in the mountains and another 1.65 billion downstream.

“The people living in these mountains who have contributed next to nothing to global warming are at high risk due to climate change,” said Amina Maharjan, a migration specialist and one of the report’s authors. “Current adaptation efforts are wholly insufficient, and we are extremely concerned that without greater support, these communities will be unable to cope.”


Read the Hindu Kush - Himalayan report from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

Snow and ice in the Hindu Kush Himalaya are fast disappearing, with grave implications for people and nature


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Earth Science Open-Access Database Being Made Available to the World Community

Planet Citizens, Planet Scientists, Now Is the Time for Knowing and Acting to Make a Difference While There's Still Time


The UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies meetings represent the last big milestone in climate negotiations before the culmination of the first Global Stocktake underthe Paris Agreement at COP 28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It will provide an opportunity to collectively reflect on where the world stands in terms of addressing climate change.


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GreenPolicy360 welcomes the arrival of a global science mission, a "Global Stocktake", a collection of earth science data to be made available to the community of nations, to planet citizen activists and scientists, educational institutions, non-profits, NGOs, young and old to become tools for legal enforcement of national climate plans & pledges.


Planet Citizen Action | Climate Problems, Climate Solutions


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Arctic 'Amplifications'


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Over the past four decades, the far north has already been warming four times as quickly as the global average, a phenomenon that scientists call Arctic amplification...


May


A Supreme Court Ruling the Fossil-Fuel Industry Doesn’t Like

Communities can now sue in state courts for compensation for the costs of climate change—something oil companies have fought against for years

By Bill McKibben


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* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methane_Reduction_proposal_passes_in_EU_Parliament_-_May_2023.png


Background

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and air pollutant and is responsible for approximately a third of current global warming. It comes from a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, waste and energy, which are responsible respectively for 53%, 26% and 19% of EU methane emissions according to the European Environment Agency. Today, methane emissions are covered under the targets in the EU’s Effort Sharing Regulation.

The EU has signed up to the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030, which could eliminate over 0.2˚C warming by 2050.

Since it launched at COP26's international climate summit, the Global Methane Pledge has generated unprecedented momentum for methane action. Country endorsements of the GMP have grown from just over 100 last year to 150, more than 50 countries have developed national methane action plans or are in the process of doing so, substantial new financial resources are being directed to methane action, and partners have launched “pathways” of policies and initiatives to drive methane reductions in key methane-emitting sectors – a GMP Energy Pathway launched at the June 2022 Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate and a GMP Food and Agriculture Pathway and GMP Waste Pathway, both launched at COP27.


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Environmental Law & Enforcement


Global Methane Pledge


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April


D.C. Politics: Threats to Ax the Historic Clean Energy, Climate Legislation

House Republicans’ proposal for averting a breach of the federal debt limitseeks to relitigate one of the most consequential congressional debates of last year — by taking an ax to President Joe Biden’s signature climate law.

The White House’s counterargument: Gutting the law would wipe out tens of thousands of jobs that the law is creating in Republican-held states.

The proposal that Speaker Kevin McCarthy unveiled Wednesday would raise the federal debt limit while repealing the host of green energy tax incentives established under Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act.


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On Earth Day 2023, Fox News Finds Its Way to Report the Top of the News


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Recalling the Story of Earth Day with GreenPolicy360

Youthful activism can bring positive change to our world
'Teach-ins and the First Earth Day remembered


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GreenPolicy360 Remembers and Celebrates the Life of the Woman 'Who Brought Us the World'

She Fought 'The Man', 'The MIC', and She Won
The Pentagon-favored military contractors and their big-money video spying systems lost out to the vision and talent of Virginal Norwood
Tower Norwood's digital scanning instrument, initially rejected and opposed by 'Top Brass' Pentagon generals, proved its value and prevailed


Virginia Tower Norwood, ‘Mother’ of Satellite Imaging Systems, Dies at 96

A pioneer in aerospace, she invented a technology that has enabled scientists to map and study the earth for more than 50 years


Beginning with Virginia's 'Invention', Five Decades+ of Unique Earth Science Imaging from Space

From Landsat to today's Earth Observing Missions, the Multispectral Scanning System Continues to Gathers Essential Earth Science Data
A Profoundly Vital Resource of Digital Data Mapping Earth's Systems, Providing the Dynamic Observations for Science and Policy Decisions


LANDSAT and Virginia Tower Norwood

 

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50th + Anniversary of Landsat


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http://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Landsat8DataUsersHandbook.pdf


Envisioned as an Intergenerational Science Mission

The first land-focused Earth-observation satellite, Landsat 1 (initially called the 'Earth Resources Technology Satellite-1 / ERTS-1) is launched to Earth orbit from Vandenberg, CA.

Beginnings of Earth Science from Space #RemoteSensing #AtmosphericScience #EarthScience #OceanScience



EOS

Earth Observing System


Originating with a NASA 'Mission Statement' and visionary Earth Science leaders in the U.S. Congress, a whole earth research mission, environmental protection movement is launched...


GreenPolicy360 siterunner, Steven Schmidt, recalls the origins of earth science missions and visionary leaders:

The Original Mission Statement of NASA (1958) provided Congressional intent and guidance to the first generation of space programs. US Congressman George Brown, if he were here, would've done I am certain everything within his power to continue the original 'our' part of the mission statement... 'to understand and protect our home planet'...

“To understand and protect our home planet; to explore the universe and search for life; to inspire the next generation of explorers ... as only NASA can.”


The NASA programs to understand and protect can be traced to the 1960s when a monumental new technology was invented and, with a fortuitous shift in U.S. remote imaging capabilities from to digital, 'multispectral' scanning, the Landsat program took off and the data that began coming back from near-orbit Landsat satellites forever changed how we see, study and interact with our home planet.


George E. Brown Jr | LANDSAT and Virginia Tower Norwood | "Generation Green"


GreenPolicy360's archive of the 1960s/70s earth science, an environmental era start up that your GreenPolicy360 Siterunner experienced personally, includes memories that reveal rarely discussed highlights of the Landsat and first earth observation satellites, the beginnings of the Earth Observing System (EOS), a platform of digital earth system science missions now continuing in a fifth decade of vital science.


Landat's digital imaging scanner created unique digital technology enabling scientists to monitor earth's living systems and our changing environment. Zoom in on the Multispectral Scanner and "The Woman Who Brought Us the World" -- Virginia Tower Norwood. We are witnessing digital data begins to flow into databases for science around our world as NASA's original mission statement -- “To understand and protect our home planet..." becomes mission reality.


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Virginia Tower Norwood's Vision

Here we focus on the amazing story of Virginia Tower Norwood who invented technology that made LANDSAT's digital spectral imaging possible. Her talent, her vision forever changed the field of earth science. In many ways, while inventing and convincing the reluctant aerospace men around her that digital imaging was the way to go, she was also continuing to be a first mover, graduating from MIT and creating a path of success for a next generation of women as scientists and engineers who would change the world.

The Landsat mission was a proverbial 'game-changing moment. A mission -- "To understand and protect our home planet" -- was turned into reality. A Congressman versed in physics and trained as a engineer, and a scientist-engineer, a woman who had to convince the power-that-be, leaders of the military-industrial-complex who were unsupportive of her new digital Mulitspectral 'thing', to go forward digitally, that 'digital was the future, that databases from digital imaging were 'gold'. George Brown was an 'environmentalist' before the term became familiar, a man who was among the first to recognize the serious threat of global warming (before the term "climate change" became familiar.) Virgini Tower Norwood was a force to be reckoned with though surrounded by corporate bosses and uniformed generals. Together, George and Virginia changed our world. Landsat, not video but digital, was a profound moment, a beginning of humanity attempting to point digital imaging toward earth's living system and measure...


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We, at GreenPolicy360, are remembering, up close, first-generation Earth Science...

 

The Earth Observing System (EOS)

GreenPolicy360: The mission of the Earth Observing System that became a core element of the ongoing NASA earth science programs was first envisioned in the 1970s. The constellation of satellites that now comprise a connected matrix of ongoing earth digital imaging programs came about as the U.S. Congress realized in the years following NASA's establishment that Planet Earth was central to NASA's work. The initial NASA mission statement spoke of this study of Planet Earth as a key goal of NASA programs. A new science, space and technology Congressional Committee was created to envision and oversee these programs and one of the first realizations about the need for earth science came about through the LANDSAT program (see here). A historic moment brought into existence digital mapping, that is, multi-spectral imaging of earth from an orbiting satellite in space, envisioned and designed to collect and 'save' data of earth's living systems. This databank was considered to be essential by committee member George E. Brown who, as a physicist and engineer, began his three-decade + career in Congress. George eventually became known for his "big science" initiatives. What few knew back then at the beginning was how essential this data would become as climate science came into the light (in 1977 and '78 with George's work central to the drafting and passage of the first National Climate Act.)

In the 1980s, the Earth Observing System (EOS) work began in earnest.

NASA's Project Science Office years later described its beginning with this statement:

>Results from early missions shed light on critical components of the Earth system while prompting further, more advanced investigations. The NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) program was conceived in the 1980s and began to take shape in the early 1990s. EOS is comprised of a series of coordinated polar-orbiting satellites designed to monitor and understand key components of the climate system and their interactions through long-term global observations. The EOS missions focus on the following climate science areas: radiation, clouds, water vapor, and precipitation; the oceans; greenhouse gases; land-surface hydrology and ecosystem processes; glaciers, sea ice, and ice sheets; ozone and stratospheric chemistry; and natural and anthropogenic aerosols.


NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Reference Handbook


In June 1992, the National Space Policy Council issued a National Space Policy Directive and EOS became part of a global change observation system.


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NASA Earth Science Missions continuing to extend decades of earth system science missions

 


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March


What happens in Antarctica doesn't stay in the Antarctic


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Melting Antarctic ice predicted to cause rapid slowdown of deep ocean current by 2050

New research by Australian scientists suggests 40% slowdown in just three decades could alter world’s climate for centuries


Abyssal ocean overturning slowdown and warming driven by Antarctic meltwater

The abyssal ocean circulation is a key component of the global meridional overturning circulation, cycling heat, carbon, oxygen and nutrients throughout the world ocean. The strongest historical trend observed in the abyssal ocean is warming at high southern latitudes, yet it is unclear what processes have driven this warming, and whether this warming is linked to a slowdown in the ocean’s overturning circulation. Furthermore, attributing change to specific drivers is difficult owing to limited measurements, and because coupled climate models exhibit biases in the region. In addition, future change remains uncertain, with the latest coordinated climate model projections not accounting for dynamic ice-sheet melt. Here we use a transient forced high-resolution coupled ocean–sea-ice model to show that under a high-emissions scenario, abyssal warming is set to accelerate over the next 30 years. We find that meltwater input around Antarctica drives a contraction of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), opening a pathway that allows warm Circumpolar Deep Water greater access to the continental shelf. The reduction in AABW formation results in warming and ageing of the abyssal ocean, consistent with recent measurements. In contrast, projected wind and thermal forcing has little impact on the properties, age and volume of AABW. These results highlight the critical importance of Antarctic meltwater in setting the abyssal ocean overturning, with implications for global ocean biogeochemistry and climate that could last for centuries.


If greenhouse gas emissions continue at today’s levels, the current in the deepest parts of the ocean could slow down by 40% in only three decades.

This, the scientists said, could generate a cascade of impacts that could push up sea levels, alter weather patterns and starve marine life of a vital source of nutrients.

Antarctic ice melt could disrupt the world’s oceans ...


The Antarctic overturning circulation is part of a global network of currents that shift heat, oxygen and nutrients around the globe

Global warming is accelerating the melting of ice in Antarctica, and the increased amount of fresh water flooding into the ocean is disrupting the flow of the Antarctic overturning circulation


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'Synthesis': Another IPCC Report, Another IPCC Warning: “In the near term, every region in the world is projected to face further increases in climate hazards (medium to high confidence, depending on region and hazard), increasing multiple risks to ecosystems and humans (very high confidence). Hazards and associated risks expected in the near-term include an increase in heat-related human mortality and morbidity (high confidence), food-borne, water-borne, and vector-borne diseases (high confidence), mental health challenges (very high confidence), flooding in coastal and other low-lying cities and regions (high confidence), biodiversity loss in land, freshwater and ocean ecosystems (medium to very high confidence, depending on ecosystem), and a decrease in food production in some regions (high confidence).”


GreenPolicy360: A Sad Song of Science, over and over, and over... 50+ years of earth science data

The global scientific community is speaking out, again


'Deja vu' time, an old story, a generational story from the first climate studies and environmental actions in the 1970s following on the first 'Earth Day' in 1970 and continuing on to today in 2023 ...

Call us Planet Citizens venturing on to make a #PlanetCitizen difference


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March 13, 2023


Political Challenges, Fossil Fuels, Energy Infrastructure

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Fossil Fuels


Spreadsheet: The Oil & Gas Industry Is Making History

Profit-taking in a Historically Profitable Year


Saudi oil giant Aramco posts record $161.1 billion profit for 2022
Four oil companies had total sales of $1 trillion last year
Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon and Shell all reported record profits in 2022


Oil giant Saudi Aramco has reported earning $161bn last year, claiming the highest-ever recorded annual profit by a publicly listed company and drawing immediate criticism from activists.

The monster profit by the firm, known formally as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., came off the back of energy prices rising after Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022, with sanctions limiting the sale of Moscow’s oil and natural gas in Western markets.


CERAWeek

The Industry Celebrates: The Oil & Gas Annual Global Conference


February 2023


Fox News/Opinion / February 24, 2023


Retirement savings of millions of Americans could go to companies worried about climate change

Biden's ESG investment rules threaten your retirement savings

GOP to Vote 'anti-woke'


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The E.S.G. Fight Looms Ahead

GreenPolicy360's position -- 'Yes, properly, intelligently, appropriately, wisely, pick your word for smart investing. Our word is an acronym. ESG, and ESG investing's time is now'

Kentucky passed a law targeting banks and their climate policies. Bankers sued the attorney general. Whose definition of investment risk should prevail?


Environment, social, and governance (ESG) factors have boomed in recent years


Bloomberg projects that ESG investments may surpass $41 trillion worldwide by the end of 2022, up from $22.8 trillion in 2016. In the US alone, sustainable investments grew to $17.1 trillion in 2020, which accounts for a third of US assets under management according to the US Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment.

As interest in ESG investing grows, there is considerable variation in how fund managers define ESG and how funds approach ESG investing. For example, some funds may exclude certain polluting investments like oil and gas, while other funds may include some oil and gas companies based on their stated commitment to decarbonization. There is also variation in the utility of the ESG label to investors: researchers have found high levels of misleading claims among ESG funds.

Regulators and investors are questioning the approach and impact of many ESG funds. Given the lack of relevant reporting requirements, it’s difficult for investors to understand how a fund accounts for ESG factors in investment decisions and what impacts those investments have on the issues they claim to address.


ESG Factors

Real Money, Big Investment Money Begins to Shift Direction

Environmental, social, and governance investing

Business Intelligence (BI) @Work


ESG Creates Value


Deloitte Insight into ESG


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Planet Citizens & Global 360 Challenges

Climate Policy @GreenPolicy360


GreenPolicy360: Act Now:
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Measure to Manage

 

Onward: Earth Science Travels from 1970 to 2023 with GreenPolicy360's Siterunner


GreenPolicy360 in Action

GreenPolicy360's Climate Plans Enforcement Project

'Measure, Monitor & Manage Emissions'... 'Turning National Climate Plans, Pledges & Promises into Reality'


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GreenPolicy360


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Climate Action Plans 360

GrnPolicy360: Climate Plans Enforcement Initiative


How to turn each nation's climate pledges into 'effective climate action'

Promises of international climate summits in Paris (2015) & Glasgow (2021) require 'follow through'
Measuring & monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with satellite missions is becoming a 'GreenPolicy360 climate tool working nation-by-nation. Smart science applied and put into action by planet citizens.


Critical local/national/global policy, planning, and action: creating, curating, and developing climate data that underlies the U.S. National Climate Assessments


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Thin Blue Layer

Look at how thin our atmosphere is


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Atmospheric Science / Earth Science @GreenPolicy360

Earth Science Research from Space
New Definitions of National Security
@Earth360
OCO-2 / OCO-3
Earth Right Now
Earth Science Vital Signs


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Climate Change - NASA

Climate Change - MIT

Climate Change - Metrics


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Global temperature spiral (1850-2020)

Visit the Global Temperature GIF animation, updated thru 2020


"We have to identify the problem, then act in many ways to solve the problem. Global warming is the threat of our times."

-- Jerry Brown, California Governor


"We’re going to need to use every tool in the toolbox if we’re going to solve this problem."

-- Michael E. Mann


Anthropocene

 

Climate Central Online Dashboard

Online tools to help meteorologists and journalists cover connections between weather, news, and climate in real time, and to alert public and private organizations and individuals about particular local conditions related to climate change, its impacts, or its solutions.


Nations are aiming to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius but even if all nations achieve the targets set for themselves at the 2015 Paris Agreement and (intended and nationally determined climate goals), our average global temperatures are on track to rise by 2.7 degrees Celsius by the end of the century


 

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Watch the Curve

The Keeling Curve
Keeling's Curve has been called one of the most important scientific works of the 20th century


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GreenPolicy360 and Strategic Demands:

New Definitions of National Security

Eco-nomics


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GreenPolicy360: PlanetCitizens, Planet Scientists confront the climate change crisis and chart the data and physics of change.

We must act now, each of us, to make a positive difference.


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* https://weather.com/news/climate/video/worlds-ocean-were-hottest-on-record-in-2022


The Heat Is On


GENEVA (AP) — Much of the Alps just don’t look right for this time of year. Sparse snowfall and unseasonably warm winter weather in Europe’s central mountains are allowing grass to blanket hillsides across the region...

The dearth of snow has revived concerns about temperature upheaval linked to climate change.

The start to 2023 picked up where many countries had already left off: Last year was the hottest on record in both Switzerland and France. More broadly, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization says the past eight years are on track to be the eight warmest on record. Its final tally on global temperature figures for 2022 will be released in mid-January.

Germany too has seen unusually springlike temperatures — as high as 16 degrees Celsius (61 Fahrenheit) in parts of the country on Monday. New Year’s Eve is believed to have been the warmest since reliable records began. The German Weather Service reported readings of 20 Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) and just above at four weather stations in southern Germany, news agency dpa reported.


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Planet Citizen Action


PlanetCitizen | Planet Citizens | Planet Citizens, Planet Scientists
EarthPOV | Earth Right Now | Earth Science Vital Signs


Global Climate Agreements Through the Years


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GreenPolicy360 and Strategic Demands Continue Decades of Advocacy for 'New Definitions of National Security'

As Planet Citizens, we continue working to rethink and redefine the orthodox definitions that nations in the past have used to project power and 'spheres of influence'
'Hard (military) power' and 'soft (diplomatic) power' have limits (think of nuclear weapons)
Real, overarching security demands a new vision, a mutual security, a new strategic understanding
GreenPolicy360 & Strategic Demands are envisioning 'whole earth' strategic security solutions


 


 


2022


December 2022


GreenPolicy360: As we all approach 2023 the message we carry, and how best to carry it, deepens in importance

Onward Planet Citizens !


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Will the Climate Action Pledges Be Honored?

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary speaking at the COP27 closing plenary

Friends, we came here to Sharm el-Sheikh to launch a new phase of our collective process. The secretariat will help parties and future presidents to navigate this path to the new phase of implementation. I will take this responsibility seriously. I will listen carefully to all parties and other stakeholders in the coming months. I intend to share my views with parties on the margins of the June sessions on the operation of this inter-governmental process. As custodian of this process, I'm gaining a much clearer vision of how we do things differently.

I see the following. Firstly, accountability on the commitments that are made by nations, sectors, businesses and institutions. There is absolutely no point putting ourselves through all that we've just gone through if we're going to participate in an exercise of collective amnesia the moment the cameras move on. The numbers on our NDCs just don't add up. The transparency of commitments from countries, businesses and institutions will be a priority of the Secretariat. The Secretary General asked the Secretariat to come up with a plan early next year on how we'll ensure transparency and accountability with non-state actors, that have been critical in getting us to where we are today. They are critical in getting us to where we need to be. Civil society should take significant credit for helping us get to this point. Without the voices of individuals, whether they're activists, researchers, scientists, youth or indigenous peoples, we would not have gotten this far.

Secondly, I've been humbled thinking about the millions of people around the world who've been following our challenges and progress here at COP 27. This is a joint human endeavor like no other. To protect our collective future. Your voices at home have an immediate impact on policymakers and what they feel is demanded and what they feel is possible. Your voices have a direct impact on how we find our way forward at the multilateral level. You can help us deliver transformations in global systems that are needed if we are able to deal with this crisis. And finally, our global financial system must be pushed and multilateral development banks reformed to be able to harness their financial power, technical expertise and leverage further private finance. The cost of inaction is far, far greater than the cost of action.

We now have only seven COP sessions ahead of us before 2030. We must focus on 2030 and then work back from there. We have a series of milestones ahead. We must pull together with resolve through all processes, may they be national, regional or others such as the G20. Every single milestone matters and builds momentum. Keep your eye on 2030. That is our horizon...


GreenPolicy360:


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Global Summit Ends: 35,000+ participants leave for their home nations and territories


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The Global Climate Summit (COP27) Website



In a 2,020-word statement, Special Presidential Envoy for the Climate John Kerry said the nations of the world lag far behind on the pledges they had promised under the Paris accords he helped broker in 2015...


Almost two years ago this very week, President-elect Biden asked me to be his special envoy for climate. It was a perilous moment. The world was rushing toward climate chaos. Any hope of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius was slipping further and further away.

We’ve been sprinting to make up for lost time ever since – starting on day one, when President Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement, and with our updated nationally determined contribution. It’s been full steam ahead to confront the climate crisis – both at home, and in partnership around the world.

One year ago, we left COP26 in Glasgow with nations representing 65 percent of global GDP committed to 2030 targets in line with 1.5℃. The International Energy Agency calculated that if all the commitments and initiatives put forward by Glasgow were fully implemented, we could limit warming to 1.8 degrees.

One year later, as we depart Sharm el-Sheikh, the IEA now tells us that if the new commitments and actions announced here are fully implemented, we can limit warming to 1.7 degrees. That’s a journey – from well over 2 degrees to 1.8 to now 1.7 – that we can be proud of, even as we recognize we are just getting started. But make no mistake: we have kept the hope of 1.5 alive. How? By implementing real projects and deploying real dollars to accelerate the energy transition, which enables us to further enhance global ambition...


We are partnering with nations on an array of initiatives to drive action in this critical decade.

150 countries – fully three-quarters of the nations of the world – have now joined us in the Global Methane Pledge, to slash global methane emissions 30 percent by 2030. Over 95 percent of countries will include methane in their 2030 NDC targets. Tackling methane is the fastest, most effective way to reduce near-term warming and keep 1.5℃ within reach.


Contributor countries and public funds can’t do the job alone. We need a massive infusion of private capital.

That is why the United States, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Bezos Earth Fund have introduced the concept of an Energy Transition Accelerator to catalyze private capital that will speed the transition from dirty to clean power in developing countries. Over the coming year, we’ll engage with governments, companies, and civil society – all the relevant stakeholders – to build in strong guardrails ensuring both a just transition and full environmental integrity.

As we work to reduce emissions and avert the consequences of runaway warming, we also must help vulnerable countries cope with the impacts they are experiencing today and will in the future.


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Activists and some national leaders say they are becoming disillusioned with the COP summits


State Department releases official U.S. positions on the Global Climte Summit (COP27)

Climate change poses an existential threat to people and our planet. It is already threatening lives and livelihoods as families and communities are being displaced by natural disasters and water scarcity. Recognizing the urgency of addressing the climate crisis, we have engaged in a whole-of-government effort to mitigate the output of dangerous greenhouse gases, to increase other nations’ climate ambitions, and to strengthen the United States’ and the world’s capacity to adapt to the planet’s changing environment.



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November 20, 2022

GreenPolicy360: As the global climate conference in Egypt ends, and the results are announced and published, agreements and non-agreements, progress and missed opportunity, it becomes apparent that the Conference of the Parties, COP27, didn't accomplish what was needed and necessary #ClimateAction #StrategicDemands


Via The Guardian

Key Outcomes of COP27


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What Happened at COP27 After EU Threatened to Walk Out

By Bloomberg Green


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U.S. Climate Representative Focuses In On Methane Mitigation and Cuts Pledge

GreenPolicy360 Pushes for 'Climate Plans Enforcement', 'Moving from Promises & Pledges to Action & Verification'

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An Insider Listing with Analysis of the Documents and Agreements Being Discussed, Debated and Decided at the Global Climate Summit

Via CarbonBrief


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Global Methane Pledge



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Kathy Castor, (D-Tampa, Florida), Chair, Select Committee on the Climate Crisis


Watch the presentation of the U.S. Delegation at the Global Climate Change Conference - COP27

View the Closed Caption Remarks and Complete Text Compiled by C-Span


November 11, 2022


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Time for Planet Citizen Action and a "CEOS", a Committee on Earth Observation Satellites

GreenPolicy360 welcomes the arrival of a global science mission, a "Global Stocktake", a collection of earth science data to be made available to the community of nations, to planet citizen activists and scientists, educational institutions, non-profits, NGOs, young and old to become tools for legal enforcement of national climate plans & pledges


View GreenPolicy360's 'National Climate Plans Enforcement' Project


GreenPolicy360's Campaign to 'Turn National Climate Promises & Pledges into Reality'

Our Climate Plans Enforcement Initiative continues as the next Global Climate Conference approaches, November's Conference of the Parties (COP27)
Drawing from the database of Earth Science resulting from decades of space-based missions designed to provide us with actionable 'Earth-system and Climate-related data'
Measuring and Monitoring to better manage Earth's Living, Dynamic and Changing Systems, Local, National and Global


Methods to Enforce Climate Plan Pledges

GreenPolicy360: Climate Plans Enforcement Initiative

Pressuring Nations to Step Up, Cooperate, and Act Now

Environmental Laws, Regs, Rules... Lawsuits & Legal Actions

Glasgow (2021) & Paris (2015) Summits: Int'l Climate Plan Pledges & Promises (INDCs-NDCs)


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"Earth Observing System": Decades of Earth Science/Climate Science Data Accessible for Planet Citizen Action


EarthRightNow Earth Science satellite fleet circa 2015 m.jpg



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* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Time_Nov_10_2022_COP27.jpg


Climate Summit / COP27 Updates - November 11, 2022

Via NY Times Reporters/Live - On Location


Transcript of President Biden's Speech at the 27th International Climate Conference


More from the Global Climate Conference

COP27: Biden says the climate crisis is about ‘very life of the planet’


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SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT, Nov 7 (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres told countries gathered at the start of the COP27 summit in Egypt on Monday they face a stark choice: work together now to cut emissions or condemn future generations to climate catastrophe.

The speech set an urgent tone as governments sit down for two weeks of talks on how to avert the worst of climate change, even as they are distracted by Russia’s war in Ukraine, rampant consumer inflation and energy shortages.


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COP27

Time for Planet Citizen Action


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GreenPolicy360: Methane hot spots we're coming to find you, identify you, act to stop you and enforce climate laws.

"Super emitters", we have a message for you, you can't hide....


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October


Climate Pledges Are Falling Short, and a Chaotic Future Looks More Like Reality

With an annual summit next month, the United Nations assessed progress on countries’ past emissions commitments. Severe disruption would be hard to avoid on the current trajectory


Via NY Times / Oct 26


Countries around the world are failing to live up to their commitments to fight climate change, pointing Earth toward a future marked by more intense flooding, wildfires, drought, heat waves and species extinction, according to a report issued Wednesday by the United Nations.

Just 26 of 193 countries that agreed last year to step up their climate actions have followed through with more ambitious plans. The world’s top two polluters, China and the United States, have taken some action but have not pledged more this year, and climate negotiations between the two have been frozen for months.

Without drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the report said, the planet is on track to warm by an average of 2.1 to 2.9 degrees Celsius, compared with preindustrial levels, by 2100.

That’s far higher than the goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) set by the landmark Paris agreement in 2015, and it crosses the threshold beyond which scientists say the likelihood of catastrophic climate impacts significantly increases.


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Interview: Chomsky and Pollin: Pushing a Viable Climate Project Around COP27

Via Truthout


Will COP27 end up as yet another failure on the part of world leaders to slow or stop global warming? Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin share their thoughts and insights on the climate crisis conundrum by dissecting the current state of affairs and what ought to be done to stop humanity’s march to the climate precipice...

The 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in Egypt from November 6-18, 2022. Nearly 200 countries will come together in yet another attempt to tackle climate breakdown. COP26, held in Glasgow about the same time last year had been hailed as “our last best hope,” but it did not achieve much as too many compromises were made. The hope for COP27 is that the world will set more stringent greenhouse gas emissions reduction requirements considering the ever-clearer consequences of global warming. Noam, is this a significant climate meeting? Can we expect a breakthrough, or will it end up yet another futile international effort to reverse climate change? Indeed, what’s standing on the way of governments’ failure to slow or even reverse global warming? Isn’t the evidence already overwhelming that the world stands on a climate precipice? What prevent us from stepping back from the abyss?


September


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Hurricane Ian Hits Florida with Historic Force

The Fast 'Intensification' of Ian


Hurricane Ian -- Close to Cat5 -- Jim Cantore reporting


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Climate-induced, warm water in the Gulf of Mexico is a feeder of intensity


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Destructive Surges with Hurricanes, Extreme Weather Events

Florida, we're pointing at Gulf Waters heating up and 'inducing' more powerful storms

Hurricane Ian, September 26, the 'spaghetti plot lines' warn of a historic Gulf Hurricane on the way...


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Climate News


There are 'no easy fixes' in Florida. But could Hurricane Ian's havoc bring a call for better planning?

Via USA Today

Researchers who study flooding, development and climate change were horrified by the emerging images but not surprised. For years, they have warned that sprawling development in Florida and other coastal states wasn't sustainable, especially with the warming climate supercharging hurricane rainfall.

"This is kind of what we had expected for days in advance, and it's still heartbreaking to see so many people stranded," said Kevin Reed, associate professor in atmospheric science at Stony Brook University...

"None of this is surprising," said Linda Shi, an assistant professor in Cornell University's city and regional planning department. "How much does it take for us to want to make a change? Our policies and our choices have led us to this point."

Reed and colleagues recently published a study looking at all hurricanes during the 2020 season and concluded climate change was adding up to 10% more rain to today's hurricanes. On Thursday, they used the same models to compare Ian's rainfall and concluded it was at least 10% higher than it would have been without the warming climate.

"This is one of the clearest indicators of how climate change is impacting storms," Reed said. It may not seem like a lot, but 2 inches on top of an already large amount of rainfall makes an enormous impact.


What can Florida learn from Hurricane Ian?

"Mother Nature keeps telling us homes don't belong where we built them, yet we continue to build homes where they don't belong."

"We can’t stop cyclone events or stop the rain from falling, but we can build communities that are better able to withstand these events,” says John Dickson, president of the national Aon Edge Insurance Company. "We need to think about more resilient structure, and we need to make a plan to handle the water and move it away from our people and our families and our property.

Whether a storm water system is designed for rain that could occur once every 25 years or a rainfall event every 100 years, the system probably would be overwhelmed with rain like Ian's, said Chad Berginnis, executive director for the Association of State Floodplain Managers.

The state may have to accept the fact that developers will have to build at higher elevations.


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Re: Florida's Flood and Property Insurance Crisis

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — As hurricane season approaches, it’s not an understatement to say that water is heading to Florida. However, in addition to the rain and storms coming to the Sunshine State, residents are also likely to see higher flood insurance costs in 2022.

Florida has 8,436 miles (13,576 km) of coastline, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the second highest number of shore miles in the U.S. by distance.


~ The terms “coastline” and “shoreline” are often used interchangeably, but they have different meanings. The coastline of a place is defined as the boundary between the coast and the shore. In other words, a coastline is a big-picture view of the approximate line between the land and the sea. A shoreline is an ever-changing line that marks the specific place where the water and shore meet...


TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Halloween isn’t the only scary thing coming up in October for Florida residents. More immediately, the state is going to see rate hikes on flood insurance as the Federal Emergency Management Agency implements a new risk rating system on Oct. 1.

Flood insurance is a yearly cost to homeowners who use it, and it covers homes in danger of water damage, particularly during storms. For Florida, that’s all year but particularly in hurricane season.

Starting on Oct. 1, FEMA is implementing a program update it calls Risk Rating 2.0, which will change the way that flood insurance rates are calculated and charged and could lead to price increases for thousands of homeowners with waterfront properties. The changes coming through the system update are part of FEMA’s 2018-2022 Strategic Plan.



Ian threatens Florida's already unstable insurance market


Six Florida property insurance companies were declared insolvent this year, and others are canceling or not renewing policies


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More:

A new federal summary of the globe's climate last year takes bits and pieces of grim news from the past 18 months and rolls it into a sobering report on the world's warming climate.

Long-term warming trends continue worldwide, even when interrupted by temporary cooler weather phenomena, such as the lingering La Nina in the Pacific, concluded the 2021 "State of the Climate" report released Wednesday (Sept. 28).

"The data presented in this report are clear – we continue to see more compelling scientific evidence that climate change has global impacts and shows no sign of slowing,” said Rick Spinrad, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The report is prepared by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, with contributions from scientists around the world.


~ The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 6th IPCC report is a "dire warning about the consequences of inaction" on climate change.

~ It's not just ecosystems and weather being affected by warming: People are suffering and dying, experts say.

~ In North America, human life, safety and livelihood will be at risk from sea-level rise, severe storms and hurricanes, especially in coastal areas.



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Fueling the Climate Crisis: Examining Big Oil’s Prices, Profits, and Pledges

The hearing convened in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building and over Zoom
Date: Thursday, September 15, 2022 - 9:30am



On Thursday, September 15, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. ET, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Rep. Ro Khanna, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Environment, held a hearing to examine Exxon, Chevron, BP, and Shell’s record-breaking profits.

Discussed was the adequacy of their climate pledges and the Committee heard firsthand accounts from survivors of climate change-induced severe weather events.


In 2021, Exxon’s net profits were more than $23 billion, Chevron reported profits of $15.6 billion, BP netted its highest profits in eight years at $12.8 billion, and Shell brought in $21.1 billion. The fossil fuel industry’s profits have only increased in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the past quarter, since the start of the Ukraine War, five major oil companies raked in $55 billion.

Despite reaping record profits, these companies have not taken the steps that scientists say are needed to prevent the worst climate impacts. Instead, they continue their greenwashing campaign by publicly supporting the Paris Agreement and claiming to be working towards a net-zero future, while issuing incomplete and misleading climate pledges and making inadequate investments in unproven energy sources and technologies.

At the same time, the climate crisis is growing more severe, with record heat waves, droughts, flooding, and other extreme weather harming Americans and people around the world.

The hearing is part of the Committee’s investigation into the fossil fuel industry’s long-running campaign to spread disinformation about climate change and greenwash its role in causing global warming.

At the Committee’s earlier hearing in October 2021, fossil fuel executives finally admitted under oath that burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change, which is an existential threat to our planet—but they refused to stop spending money to block climate action.

Earlier this year, the Committee invited five board members from Exxon, Chevron, Shell, and BP to testify at a hearing about the companies’ climate pledges. They failed to appear. The Committee once again invited the board members to testify, but they once again declined to appear on the date requested.


Climate bill's unlikely beneficiary: US oil and gas industry

While the law concentrates on clean energy incentives, it also guarantees new drilling opportunities for oil and gas companies


WASHINGTON — The U.S. oil industry hit a legal roadblock in January when a judge struck down a $192 million oil and natural gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico over future global warming emissions from burning the fuels. It came at a pivotal time for Chevron, Exxon and other industry players: the Biden administration had curtailed opportunities for new offshore drilling, while raising climate change concerns...

... The industry’s setback was short-lived, however. The climate measure President Joe Biden signed Tuesday bypasses the administration's concerns about emissions and guarantees new drilling opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. The legislation was crafted to secure backing from a top recipient of oil and gas donations, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, and was shaped in part by industry lobbyists...

... While the Inflation Reduction Act concentrates on clean energy incentives that could drastically reduce overall U.S. emissions, it also buoys oil and gas interests by mandating leasing of vast areas of public lands and off the nation’s coasts. And it locks renewables and fossil fuels together: If the Biden administration wants solar and wind on public lands, it must offer new oil and gas leases first...

... As a result, U.S. oil and gas production and emissions from burning fuels could keep growing, according to some industry analysts and climate experts. With domestic demand sliding, that means more fossil fuels exported to growing foreign markets, including from the Gulf where pollution from oil and gas activity plagues many poor and minority communities.....


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IEA News


Support for fossil fuels almost doubled in 2021, slowing progress toward international climate goals, according to new analysis from OECD and IEA


29 August 2022


Major economies sharply increased support for the production and consumption of coal, oil and natural gas, with many countries struggling to balance longstanding pledges to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies with efforts to protect households from surging energy prices, according to analysis released today by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Energy Agency.

New OECD and IEA data show that overall government support for fossil fuels in 51 countries worldwide almost doubled to 697.2 USD billion in 2021, from 362.4 USD billion in 2020, as energy prices rose with the rebound of the global economy. In addition, consumption subsidies are anticipated to rise even further in 2022 due to higher fuel prices and energy use...

“Fossil fuel subsidies are a roadblock to a more sustainable future, but the difficulty that governments face in removing them is underscored at times of high and volatile fuel prices. A surge in investment in clean energy technologies and infrastructure is the only lasting solution to today’s global energy crisis and the best way to reduce the exposure of consumers to high fuel costs,” said the IEA Executive Director.


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August 26, 2022

California Acts to Ban the Sale of New Gasoline Cars

The decision, to take effect by 2035, will very likely speed a wider transition to electric vehicles because many other states follow California’s standards

After the California Air Resources Board approved Thursday regulations that ban the sale of new gas-engine vehicles by 2035, requiring all new cars to run on electricity or hydrogen, California Gov. Gavin Newsom told ABC News he was confident that more states would do the same to help combat climate change.


BY THE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD | AUG. 26, 2022

It’s hard to overstate the significance of California’s move this week to end the sale of new gas-powered cars.

The California Air Resources Board’s vote Thursday setting a firm 2035 deadline is huge and consequential for climate change, air quality and health. The nation’s most populated and worst-polluted state is the first to adopt rules that will finally stop adding gas-fueled passenger vehicles to its roads.

The end of the internal combustion engine era, and the toll on our lungs and our planet, is finally on the horizon.

This regulation will require automakers to sell increasing percentages of zero-emission and plug-in hybrid vehicles starting with 35% of new car sales in 2026, reaching 68% in 2030 and 100% by 2035. Zero-emission vehicles account for 16.5% of California’s new sales today, a rate that leads the nation but lags behind Europe and China. So these rules help reestablish California’s climate leadership, putting it in step with other leading nations and making it one of the first — and the largest — vehicle markets in the world to require 100% of new sales be zero emissions.

It’s a pivotal moment for a state that has been shaped for decades, often negatively, by automobiles and the health-damaging pollution they generate.


More on California's decision to drive forward into a new world of transportation

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August 24, 2022


Democrats Designed the Climate Law to Be a Game Changer

Via the NY Times | 08/22/2022


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Via E&E News | CLIMATEWIRE

08/24/2022


CO2 as a Pollutant

Climate legislation signed into law this month by President Joe Biden bolsters EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases

In a first, climate law defines CO2 as air pollutant

In enacting a sweeping climate measure, analysts said Biden and congressional Democrats signaled a desire for EPA to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. Firming up EPA’s legal footing also is a boost for an agency that has faced court challenges from conservatives who question EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. That authority rests on Massachusetts v. EPA, a 2007 Supreme Court decision that found the agency is required to regulate CO2 as a pollutant dangerous to public health.


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WEEKLY PLANET

08/24/2022 / Via The Atlantic

by Robinson Meyer

While it’s true that the IRA itself consists almost only of carrots, that is not true of the broader structure of American climate law. There is, in fact, a big “stick” for tackling carbon pollution already on the books in the United States, as well as an agency tasked with wielding that stick. I’m talking about the Clean Air Act and the EPA. And the IRA, by design, strengthens the government’s ability to wield that stick.

It does this in at least two ways. The first is that the IRA confirms that carbon dioxide is a type of air pollution covered by the Clean Air Act, as initially reported by The New York Times earlier this week.

This has broader consequences than it might seem. In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts v. EPA that carbon dioxide counted as an air pollutant, and that, if the EPA decided that CO2 harmed human health and the environment, it could regulate CO2 under the Clean Air Act. That ruling—and the EPA’s official determination, a few years later, that CO2 is dangerous—has anchored the agency’s climate regulations on cars and trucks, and its proposed rules for the power grid.

But then in June, the Court circumscribed some of the EPA’s authority over the power grid. Conservative justices have harped on the fact that Congress has never clearly delegated the power to regulate greenhouse gases to the EPA.

Now it has. The IRA repeatedly defines greenhouse gas as a form of air pollution. It amends several sections of the Clean Air Act to define “greenhouse gas” as encompassing “the air pollutants carbon dioxide, hydrofluorocarbons, methane, nitrous oxide, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.” In another section, it grants money under the Clean Air Act for any project that “reduces or avoids greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of air pollution.”

Congress has now clearly spoken: Carbon dioxide is a form of air pollution. And though this will not undo this year’s ruling, it buttresses the EPA’s underlying legal authority to regulate climate pollution.


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The EPA Just Quietly Got Stronger


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More on CO2 and Greenhouse Gases as Pollutants to be Regulated under Law


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Your GreenPolicy360 Founder/Siterunner's thoughts:

To the Supreme Court: Here is the exacting and specific language about CO2 and air 'pollutants'

Over the years, and on our GreenPolicy360 site, I have shared my knowledge of the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Air Act, the first era of environmental protection legislation and the first National Climate Act. My long time friend Congressman George E Brown, a principal drafter of enabling legislation during the 1970s/80s/90s, and activist member and a chair of the House of Representative oversight committee of science, technology, and earth science/atmosphereic science space programs, was a mover and shaker who shared with me many of his thoughts and initiatives. Over the years, until his passing in 1999, I learned about the legislation and *the intent* of the legislation that he and his colleagues were drafting. His/their language, for example, the definitions of pollutants, was intended to be broad and expansive. The definition of air pollution in the Clean Air Act, for example, addressed health and safety, and protection of life ... They knew that the science of the day would become more empirically defined as atmospheric and earth science they were setting in motion w NASA/NOAA and USGS missions was supported, funded, launched and reported. The empirical data, as they planned, was collected and analyzed over the years and decades and the scientific case became clearer and clearer. CO2 and other greenhouse gases were impacting air quality and atmospheric disruption was forcing climate change. The U.S. Supreme Court, unfortunately for years, was unable to accept the intent and language of the legislators on this critically important work. Recently, with the Massachusetts v. EPA 2007 Supreme Court decision and now with the signing of clarifying 2022 legislative language, the climate action work will gather scope and speed at the federal agencies, especially at the EPA.


When Congressman Brown drafted originating legislation establishing a national climate change research program via the National Climate Program Act of 1978, the scientific community and nation were just beginning to awaken to a new national security threat. I remember his concern, our concern. He was trained as a scientist, an engineer, with an ability to see facts and data sets in a way others could not.

Representative Brown was out in front of "Big Science". In his decades on the House Science, Space & Technology Committee, he worked to expand the reach of science. He knew that good data enabled good policy decisions. He pressed for first-generation earth science satellites and ongoing earth monitoring missions and data sharing.

Among his many initiatives, George Brown was a key figure in proposing, establishing, and then saving the Landsat program and its unique 'open-access' database of Earth Science imaging when President Reagan attempted to shut Landsat down. Landsat was a model for all the following earth science research missions from space and is now moving into its fifth decade with Landsat 9.


Rep. George E. Brown, an activist member and for many years chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology


At the beginning of the 'space race', the House Committee on Science and Aeronautics was created by the 85th Congress in 1957 to oversee the newly-created National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Science and Aeronautics Committee was the first committee since 1892 to be established for an entirely new area of jurisdiction. The committee’s jurisdiction over the years has expanded to include most civilian non-medical scientific research throughout the government, including National space policy, Earth remote sensing policy; Space commercialization, including commercial space activities relating to the Department of Transportation and the Department of Commerce, the National Science Foundation, the Energy Department, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), EPA, NOAA and the Department of Homeland Security. (Informally known as the Science committee, the committee's name was change to the "Committee on Science and Technology" in 1974. At that time, the Committee’s jurisdiction was expanded to include legislation related to energy, the environment, the atmosphere, civil aviation research and development, and the National Weather Service. The Committee on Science and Technology was also given a "special oversight" function providing for exclusive responsibility among all Congressional Standing Committees to review and study, on a continuing basis, all laws, programs and government activities involving Federal non-military research and development. In its early years, the Committee was an important partner in the Apollo Program that led to a man landing on the moon and strengthening science education and scientific research. After the Committee’s role expanded, the Committee has played an important role in much of the legislation Congress has considered dealing with domestic and international science, technology, standards, and competitiveness. In the 112th Congress, Chairman Hall changed the Committee's name to the "Committee on Science, Space and Technology."

Via Wikipedia / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Brown_Jr.

Brown was known as a champion for science. He left behind a deep and expansive legacy that has shaped science and science policy in America. Among some of his many accomplishments during his service on the House Science Committee:

• Established the first federal climate change research program in the Federal Climate Program Act of 1978

• Established the Office of Science and Technology Policy

• Established the Environmental Protection Agency

• Established the Office of Technology Assessment


• http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Environmental_movement

• George Brown on the Omnibus Environmental Bill, 1969

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Ethics_and_Climate_Change

• @GreenPolicy360, 'The beginning of the modern environmental era'


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August 16, 2022

PRESS RELEASE

President Biden Signs Landmark Climate Bill into Law

Statement by the President of the Union of Concerned Scientists

WASHINGTON

President Joe Biden today signed into law the largest climate bill in U.S. history. This bill will go a long way toward reducing emissions and building the clean energy economy of the future, advancing the ongoing work of fighting climate change and lingering harms from fossil fuel extraction and use, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

Today is a landmark day for the country and for the climate. The signing of this bill marks a win for future generations who deserve our best efforts to secure a safer and healthier world. It’s a success that belongs to the activists, researchers, and organizers who have fought tirelessly against powerful opposition to make sure that policymakers take action to address the very real and present danger that climate change poses to all of us.

This new law is a huge step forward. It’s also one step in a long, crucial effort to reduce the threat of climate change and build a new, clean, and equitable economy. More attention is still needed to address provisions included in the bill that could perpetuate harms communities face from fossil fuel pollution. The administration must follow up today’s signing with strong environmental and public health rules that will help speed the transition to clean energy and reduce pollution that especially harms Black, Brown, Indigenous and low-income communities. Congress, state governments and the private sector must also redouble efforts to ensure that the nation can meet its climate goals. Today’s bill signing marks a success--one that we must build on in the months and years to come.


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WASHINGTON / Via the NY Times and Online News Services — Fresh off signing expansive climate legislation, President Biden and his administration are planning a series of executive actions to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help keep the planet from warming to dangerous temperatures, senior White House officials said.

Mr. Biden is on track to deploy a series of measures, including new regulations on emissions from vehicle tailpipes, power plants and oil and gas wells, the officials said.


After Signing Climate Bill, Biden Prepares More Actions to Cut Emissions

Regulations from the E.P.A. and elsewhere will help the president meet his aggressive climate goals

The Green Climate Package continues to grow with Executive Orders and Agency Actions


Speed & Scope Is Up: Green Transition / Climate Action on the Move


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August 12, 2022


U.S. House of Representatives Passes Historic Legislative Package

Inflation, Taxes, Health -- Energy and Climate

After lengthy 'rip-roaring attack speech' by Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and speeches by Democratic Leaders Hoyer and Pelosi, the vote is strictly partisan

With a vote of 220 to 207, the House agreed to the single largest federal investment in the fight against climate change and the most substantial changes to national health care policy since passage of the Affordable Care Act. The bill now goes to Mr. Biden for his signature


House approves Biden’s flagship climate and tax package

Final passage of $700bn bill marks significant legislative victory for U.S. president

The House vote is party-line 220-207 to pass the legislation


Cleaner air, greener cities, shifted politics: 8 visions of the future after the new climate bill


Via Green / Climate Politics at Bloomberg


The Inflation Reduction Act, which just passed through the House after approval by the Senate last week, is a climate investment with no parallel in US history. The spending package of $374 billion, expected to be signed into law by President Joe Biden, is aimed at turbocharging the largest economy’s belated shift to clean energy. It also has controversial sweeteners for the oil and gas industries...

Here are eight mostly hopeful visions of the (near) future from climate watchers, tech investors and activists.

Improved air quality starts at home

Healthier neighborhoods delivered by (electric) trucks

More transparent supply chains

Cities that reach 100% electrification

Slower-rising seas…

…and continued rising temperatures

An entrenched green economy

Next-generation climate politics


More


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The U.S. action could spur other nations to do more — especially China and India, the two largest carbon emitters along with the U.S. That in turn could lower prices for renewable energy globally, experts said.

Investments work better at fostering clean energy than regulations, said Leah Stokes, an environmental policy professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The climate bill is likely to spur billions in private investment, she said: “That’s what’s going to be so transformative.”


A Green New Deal by Another Name

Three Legislative Actions Add Up to a New Version of a Green New Deal
Infrastructure, CHIPS, IRA...


Sweeping climate bill pushes American energy to go green

Associated Press / August 12, 2022

By SETH BORENSTEIN, MATTHEW DALY and MICHAEL PHILLIS


WASHINGTON (AP) — After decades of inaction in the face of escalating natural disasters and sustained global warming, Congress hopes to make clean energy so cheap in all aspects of life that it’s nearly irresistible. The House is poised to pass a transformative bill Friday that would provide the most spending to fight climate change by any one nation ever in a single push...

The crux of the long-delayed bill, singularly pushed by Democrats in a closely divided Congress, is to use incentives to spur investors to accelerate the expansion of clean energy such as wind and solar power, speeding the transition away from the oil, coal and gas that largely cause climate change.

The United States has put the most heat-trapping gases into the air, burning more inexpensive dirty fuels than any other country. But the nearly $375 billion in climate incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act are designed to make the already plummeting costs of renewable energy substantially lower at home, on the highways and in the factory. Together these could help shrink U.S. carbon emissions by about two-fifths by 2030 and should chop emissions from electricity by as much as 80%.

“This legislation is a true game-changer. It will create jobs, lower costs, increase U.S. competitiveness, reduce air pollution,” said former Vice President Al Gore, who held his first global warming hearing 40 years ago. “The momentum that will come out of this legislation, cannot be underestimated.”


The U.S. action could spur other nations to do more — especially China and India, the two largest carbon emitters along with the U.S. That in turn could lower prices for renewable energy globally, experts said.

Because of the specific legislative process in which this compromise was formed, which limits it to budget-related actions, the bill does not regulate greenhouse gas emissions, but deals mainly in spending, most of it through tax credits as well as rebates to industry, consumers and utilities.

Investments work better at fostering clean energy than regulations, said Leah Stokes, an environmental policy professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The climate bill is likely to spur billions in private investment, she said: “That’s what’s going to be so transformative.”


The bill promotes vital technologies such as battery storage. Clean energy manufacturing gets a big boost. It will be cheaper for consumers to make climate-friendly purchasing decisions. There are tax credits to make electric cars more affordable, help for low-income people making energy-efficiency upgrades and incentives for rooftop solar and heat pumps.

There are also incentives for nuclear power and projects that aim to capture and remove carbon from the atmosphere...


The Rhodium Group research firm estimates the bill would dramatically change the arc of future U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, cutting them by 31% to 44% in 2030, compared to what had been shaping up to be 24% to 35% by 2005 without the bill, said Rhodium partner John Larsen. Clean power on the grid, an upcoming Rhodium report says, would jump from under 40% now to between 60% and 81% by 2030, he said.

“It’s not as big as I want, but it’s also bigger than anything we’ve ever done,″ said Sen. Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat who leads the Senate climate caucus. “A 40% emissions reduction is nothing the U.S. has ever come close to before.″


As decisive a change as it is for U.S. policy and emissions, it still does not reach the official U.S. goal of cutting carbon pollution roughly in half by 2030 to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across the economy by 2050.


Republicans, who unanimously opposed the bill in the Senate, say it would add to consumers’ energy costs, with House GOP Whip Steve Scalise claiming it “wastes billions of dollars in Green New Deal slush funds.”


“It’s a mark of shame that it took this long for our political system to react,” said Bill McKibben, a long-time climate activist, adding that it leaves the fossil fuel industry with too much power. “But this will help catalyze action elsewhere in the world; it’s a declaration that hydrocarbons are finally in decline and clean energy ascendant, and that the climate movement is finally at least something of a match for Big Oil.”


The 730-page bill is here


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US Senate passes 430 billion climate bill.png


* https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-democrats-fend-off-amendments-430-bln-climate-drug-bill-2022-08-07/


August 7, 2022


Steve Schmidt / Founder, GreenPolicy360: It took 45+ yrs to pass real climate action called for in the 1970s w the first National Climate Act. Our #GreenPolicy360 network thanks Rep George E. Brown, a main mover at the beginning, who'd be smiling now if he were here ...


Five Decades in the Making: Why It Took Congress So Long to Act on Climate


Bookmark Climate Policy @GreenPolicy360


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Democratic Party Climate Bill - Aug 2022.png


July 28

An Inside Look at the Surprise Deal with Senator Manchin

By Steve Clemons


July 27

Read the Full Text of the Proposed Legislation

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES—117th Cong., 1st Sess. H. R. 5376 To provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 14


Surprise climate deal.png


Surprise Deal Would Be Most Ambitious Climate Action Undertaken by U.S.

The announcement Wednesday (July 27) of an agreement in the Senate almost instantly reset the role of the United States in the global effort to fight climate change


WASHINGTON — The $369 billion climate and tax package forged in a surprise deal by Senate Democrats on Wednesday would be the most ambitious action ever taken by the United States to try to stop the planet from catastrophically overheating.

The agreement, which Senate Democrats hope to pass as early as next week, shocked even some who had been involved in the sputtering negotiations over climate legislation during the past year. The announcement of a deal, after many activists had given up hope, almost instantly reset the role of the United States in the global effort to fight climate change.


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(NYT) Until yesterday, the Democratic Party seemed as if it were on the verge of squandering a major opportunity to combat climate change. Democrats control both Congress and the presidency, and yet they had been unable to agree on a package of climate policies to accelerate the use of clean energy and reduce emissions. Senator Joe Manchin had been blocking any deal, and the Senate is so closely divided that the Democrats cannot afford to lose a single vote.

Yesterday, however, Manchin appeared to change his mind. He announced that he had agreed to include hundreds of billions of dollars for climate and energy programs in a bill that would also reduce prescription drug prices, raise taxes on the affluent and shrink the federal deficit.

If Manchin and other Democrats remain united, it would be a very big deal. “This has the opportunity to be an enormous breakthrough for climate progress,” Sam Ricketts, co-founder of Evergreen Action, an environmental group, told The Times.

It’s especially significant because congressional Republicans have almost uniformly opposed policies to slow climate change (a contrast with conservatives in many other countries). And it remains unclear whether Democrats will again control both Congress and the White House anytime soon. If Congress fails to pass a climate bill this summer, it may not do so for years — while the ravages of climate change worsen.


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US-China climate working group cancelled after Pelosi’s Taiwan visit

Talks on topics like methane cuts, forests, clean power and action in cities have been cancelled after a diplomatic spat over Taiwan
* https://www.climatechangenews.com/2022/08/08/us-china-climate-working-group-cancelled-after-pelosis-taiwan-visit/


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President Biden needs to put forward a powerful 'executive' climate agenda


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Too Hot

'Severe Weather Events': More Frequent, More Costly


Climate Change News

Harbinger | Merriam-Webster \HAHR-bun-jer\ Noun: Something that foreshadows a future event. Anticipatory sign of what is to come...


A drought in Italy’s risotto heartland


July 2022

VESPOLATE, Italy — There’d been a single day of good rainfall all year, the afternoon temperature was again nearing 100 degrees, and Fabrizio Rizzotti walked into his fields — 220 acres of rice, a plant that grows by being submerged in water.

He didn’t need his boots.

The rice stems were desiccated and stunted. The field, rather than lush with shin-high water, crunched underfoot. Rizzotti, a seventh-generation rice farmer, said the paddy was already dead — “not a single grain of rice can come from this,” he said — and then he gestured to an adjacent field, slightly greener and in dire need of more water.

“In a few days that field will be dead, too,” he said. “It’s stomach-churning.”


In Europe’s sweltering summer, few places have been hit more directly than northern Italy, where extreme drought has dried up a major river, triggered a state of emergency and put the country’s famed agricultural flatlands in profound trouble. The drought is also causing Italians to fret about the things they’ve taken for granted: not just green rice fields typical of this region, but also the foods derived from them...


'Megadrought': Worst drought in the U.S. Southwest in the past 1,200 years

Since 2000, the the drought's on the ground reality becomes more and more evident

Wildfires, lakes drying, rivers shrinking, water shortages, soil loss, environmental degradation... counting the losses...

We have spiked the climate system, releasing heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere faster than at any other time in at least the past 50 million years. Human-fueled megadroughts like this one will be more frequent and severe in the future. In the Southwest, there will be more years with declining snowpack, more years with water shortages and a more dire mismatch between where water is available and where it is needed...


History of drought in the US Southwest.png



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President Biden needs to put forward a powerful climate agenda


July 19, 2022

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (RI): The Biden administration can do more on climate, and with legislative options now closed, the President must act. It's time for executive Beast Mode.


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July 15, 2022

@SenWhitehouse


Senator Whitehouse (RI): With reconciliation foreclosed as a path for ambitious climate action, Congress must pivot to potentially bipartisan climate solutions such as a border carbon adjustment. Meanwhile, the executive branch has lots of tools at its disposal.

Let’s review one by one what executive branch “Climate Beast Mode” might look like.


OMB must promulgate a robust social cost of carbon (north of $100/ton) and require broad use across government decision-making – procurement, regulations, grants, leasing, permitting, royalty rates, investment decisions, foreign aid, trade agreements, & more.

•

WV v. EPA didn't end EPA’s ability to regulate carbon pollution from power plants. EPA options include requiring all coal- & gas-fired power plants to install carbon capture technology, as EPA did in 2015 for new coal-fired plants.

•

But power plants aren’t just sources of carbon pollution – they also pollute our air and water with soot, heavy metals, and other toxic pollutants. EPA must tighten controls on PM 2.5 (soot), coal ash, mercury, nitrogen oxides, and more.

•

Cars & light trucks are the single largest source of carbon pollution. EPA and DOT restored Obama-era standards, but now they need to go much further and push the industry towards manufacturing 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2035.

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Heavy-duty trucks are also a huge source of carbon pollution. EPA doesn’t yet address this, and that needs to change. California’s advanced clean truck rule would increase zero-emission trucks, and EPA must follow suit.

•

Green procurement can use the government’s immense purchasing power (more than $600 billion in contracts per year!) to decarbonize steel, cement, asphalt, buildings, vehicles, and so much more.

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EPA must promulgate a rigorous rule limiting methane emissions from oil and gas facilities. The rule must apply across the supply chain, including low-producing (but high-leaking) wells, and crack down on venting and flaring not just leaks.

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Satellite measurements can locate methane leaks to target strict enforcement against companies that are not in compliance.

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It’s past time for DOJ to investigate the fossil fuel industry for its decades of lies. DOJ brought a civil RICO investigation against the tobacco industry for a similar history of dissembling and won big.

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Interior must by rule sharply limit methane emissions from oil/gas produced on federal lands/waters, use social cost of carbon to raise royalty rates, and reform bonding rules so companies can’t abandon wells to leak methane & leave taxpayers on the hook.

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The Department of Energy has many energy efficiency rules it must strengthen. Together, these rules significantly reduce carbon pollution and they save families money. Win – win!

•

The president should use his bully pulpit to remind Americans of the danger, call out fossil fuel obstruction in Congress, and get the rest of corporate America to finally lean in on climate action, creating space in Congress for bipartisan climate successes.

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(No trade association is any damned use on climate, big lobbies like Chamber are hostile, and the whole vast apparatus of corporate political influence ends up against us. Stop it.)

•

The administration should sit down with G7 partners, design carbon border tariffs, and create a carbon club of nations dedicated to decarbonizing. Good for the environment and a big win for American competitiveness!


Copy the PDF Agenda here:

File:Sen Whitehouse - president needs to put forward powerful climate agenda - July 15 2022.pdf


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Manchin again - July 15 2022.png


Senator from West Virginia and Republican members of the US Senate join to end the Biden 'Build Back Better' plan


How One Senator Doomed the Democrats’ Climate Plan

Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia led his party and his president through months of tortured talks, with nothing to show for it as the planet dangerously heats up

Via the NY Times

July 15, 2022


First, he killed a plan that would have forced power plants to clean up their climate-warming pollution. Then, he shattered an effort to help consumers pay for electric vehicles. And, finally, he said he could not support government incentives for solar and wind companies or any of the other provisions that the rest of his party and his president say are vital to ensure a livable planet.

Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, who took more campaign cash from the oil and gas industry than any other senator, and who became a millionaire from his family coal business, independently blew up the Democratic Party’s legislative plans to fight climate change. The swing Democratic vote in an evenly divided Senate, Mr. Manchin led his party through months of tortured negotiations that collapsed on Thursday night, a yearlong wild goose chase that produced nothing as the Earth warms to dangerous levels.

“It seems odd that Manchin would choose as his legacy to be the one man who single-handedly doomed humanity,” said John Podesta, a former senior counselor to President Barack Obama and founder of the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank....


“Rage keeps me from tears,” Senator Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts and a longtime advocate for climate legislation, wrote on Twitter late Thursday (7/14)...


A poll conducted in early May by the Pew Research Center found a majority of Americans, 58 percent, think the federal government is doing too little to reduce the effects of global warming while 22 percent said it is doing the right amount and 18 percent said it is doing too much. In the same survey, 71 percent said their community had been hit by extreme weather in the past year and a majority linked it to climate change.

President Biden has pledged to the rest of the world that the United States, the country that has historically pumped the most greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, would cut its emissions in half by 2030. Without legislation, it will be impossible to meet Mr. Biden’s climate goals...


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June


Gina McCarthy, President Joe Biden’s national climate advisor, says "we have to be creative" with climate strategies and solutions

An interview with Time Magazine comes as the U.S. Supreme Court announces its decision to curtail Environmental Protection Agency regulatory powers


Read the Time article


Chart a Path to Slash Emissions (even as SCOTUS turns against the EPA's authority to act)

(excerpt)

“We’ve set very solid goals, we’re making significant progress on the transition to clean energy,” she told TIME on June 28. “And that is not going to live and die by the Supreme Court’s decision.”

To meet the White House’s goals, she said, the Administration needs to get “creative” and find novel ways to galvanize the energy transition. That includes inventive use of regulations at places like EPA, as well as the Administration’s engagement with the private sector, use of its own purchasing power, and use of the Defense Production Act to accelerate the production of domestic clean energy technology, she says. “It can’t just be about using regulations or using Congress to fix this; to actually continue accelerating, we have to be creative,” she said, one of at least ten times she used the word creative in the course of the conversation.

It is certainly true that EPA power plant regulations are far from the only—or even the most important—tool in the climate policy toolkit in 2022. But in order to get the U.S. anywhere near the Administration’s goal of slashing emissions in half from 2005 levels by 2030, the creativity that McCarthy speaks about needs to be matched with speed and focus...

One of the reasons McCarthy is hopeful, she says, is the government now has a wider range of options for how to address climate change than when she first engaged in the fight. After failing to pass climate legislation in his first term, President Barack Obama turned to the EPA to pass new regulations that would cut emissions from power plants. With McCarthy as its administrator, the agency issued the Clean Power Plan in 2015. The regulation set state-by-state emissions reduction standards for the power sector and was designed to shut down coal-fired power plants—though states were left to decide on their own how to meet their targets. While it never actually took effect as it wound its way through the courts, it quickly became the centerpiece of Obama’s climate strategy.

On the surface, the circumstances today look similar. Congress continues to drag its feet on climate funding and the Administration is turning to second-best options to regulate emissions. But McCarthy says the picture is actually radically different. While large utility companies opposed the Clean Power Plan, they have since embraced the need to transition to clean energy and have partnered with the Biden Administration. And with climate change now seeping into a range of other areas—from trade to agriculture—the Administration no longer needs to rely on narrow authorities under the Clean Air Act. “During the Obama Administration, you know, it was so much earlier on in the climate challenge,” said McCarthy. “When I ran the EPA, it was the linchpin, and the options were limited. It was an entirely different conversation.”

In discussing climate actions Biden has taken that wouldn’t have been imaginable during the Obama years, McCarthy cites his use of the Defense Production Act, which will allow the government to coordinate with industry on the production of a range of clean energy technologies including solar panels, heat pumps, and insulation. The Biden Administration’s commitment for the federal government to transition its fleet of cars and trucks to zero-emissions vehicles shows how it’s setting a market signal for industry to transition, she says. And she touts the work the Administration has done to expand offshore wind, bringing together state governments and the private sector to help rapidly expand the clean energy source.

Despite the Supreme Court ruling in [West Virginia v. EPA], the EPA’s work remains a key component of the Biden Administration’s strategy. While the Supreme Court significantly curtailed the agency’s authority to make major changes to the nation’s power sector under a particular provision of the Clean Air Act, it didn’t limit the agency from addressing climate change in other ways. On Wednesday, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said on a TIME-moderated panel at the Aspen Ideas Festival that following the Supreme Court ruling, the agency planned to show the industry other environmental regulations it can implement under its remaining authority. “We have a suite of regulations that we can present to the power sector in one fell swoop, looking at regulating water, waste, and air quality,” he said. “And the power sector then can take a look at the economics to comply with those rules at one time, or they can say ‘hey, to hell with the past, let’s invest more quickly in the future.'”

It’s not clear that all of these so-called ‘creative’ measures put the Administration on track to meet its emissions reductions goals. It’s hard to have an up-to-the-minute accounting of where all of these initiatives leave those targets, but an in-depth analysis from the Rhodium Group earlier this month that takes account for a range of policy developments suggests it will be tough without Congress’ help. Right now, without further policy action, emissions will remain flat and lead to a decline of 17-25% below 2005 levels in 2030, the report finds. Congressional legislation that would provide tax incentives for clean energy deployment, among other things, combined with much of the work McCarthy mentions, could get the U.S. above the 50% reduction threshold that the Administration promised.

Congress does appear likely to enact some form of bipartisan climate spending bill, though the exact contours remain unclear. McCarthy, of course, says she’s optimistic. “This is all about getting to a 50% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030,” she says. “We think that the work that we’re doing now will get us very close to that.”


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Rhodium Group Report

Has the US Supreme Court Blocked the Path to the 2030 Climate Target?

July 1, 2022


Yesterday, in a 6-to-3 decision in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Supreme Court ruled that EPA does not have the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon emissions from the power sector through a system-wide mandate to shift from coal-fired power generation toward cleaner sources. The ruling constrains one of the most powerful regulatory tools from the executive branch’s toolbox of regulations to help reduce US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In light of the decision and amid stalled climate action in Congress, many are now questioning what climate policy options are still left on the table, and whether the US still has the ability to achieve its 2030 climate target of reducing emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels.

We find that the Supreme Court’s ruling does not change the game by much. Last fall, Rhodium Group published Pathways to Paris, a comprehensive assessment of a portfolio of federal legislation, regulations, and other actions across all levels of government, which together could put the 2030 target within reach. In this note, we revisit that list of actions and assess the implications of the Supreme Court ruling for the pathway to the 2030 climate target. We find that while the ruling certainly makes the pathway rockier, it hasn’t necessarily put the target out of reach. The silver lining of the ruling is that it has cleared up ambiguities that have plagued power sector GHG emissions regulations for a decade. Going forward, EPA may have more legal certainty and can still leverage other regulatory tools that could drive significant emissions cuts in the power sector and other sectors. However, EPA needs to move fast in order to help achieve the target. Without swift progress on all fronts—including in Congress and across other levels of government—the 2030 target is in jeopardy.

What West Virginia v. EPA does and doesn’t do

The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in West Virginia v. EPA rules that EPA does not have the authority under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions from the power sector at a system-wide level. While the ruling certainly limits regulatory pathways to reducing emissions and removes one of the more efficient and low-cost regulatory options, the decision was also not the worst-case scenario for EPA’s ability to regulate emissions that many had feared. The ruling does not entirely revoke EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, nor does it state that EPA can’t regulate GHG emissions from power plants. EPA still has the authority to regulate emissions at the point source or individual power plant level—what’s often referred to as “inside the fence line” of the facility, as opposed to “outside the fence line” or a systems-based approach, which is now off-limits under the ruling.

One consolation from the ruling is that it potentially clears up legal ambiguities that have plagued power sector emissions regulations for a decade. EPA may have more certainty about the rules of the regulatory road and how to regulate emissions from point sources. The Supreme Court made it clear that if EPA wants to regulate emissions from point sources, it can only consider emissions-control measures at the source. This is the same approach that EPA has used for an array of other pollutants over the 50+ year history of the Clean Air Act. Indeed, it’s the same approach EPA has used in setting GHG standards for new power plants as well as one of the three building blocks in the Obama EPA’s Clean Power Plan. While the ruling means that some regulatory options are now off-limits, it also means that EPA now knows that it can leverage existing emissions-control technologies to drive significant emissions cuts in the power sector, such as carbon capture and fuel blending. Some of these options may cost more than a system-wide approach and may result in fewer co-benefits like reduced local air pollution, but all of that will depend on how EPA ultimately chooses to exercise its clarified authority and what other conventional pollutant regulations it pursues.

What the ruling means for the 2030 climate target

In light of the ruling, and especially as federal climate legislation is currently stalled in Congress, many are now questioning what regulatory options and other climate policy options are still left on the table, and whether the US still has the ability to achieve its 2030 climate target of reducing emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels.

In order to answer those questions, we revisit Pathways to Paris'... (see the updated June 2022 Pathway report linked below)


Read the full July 1, 2022 Rhodium Group report analyzing the impacts of the Supreme Court's West Virginia v. EPA decision


_________________________________________________________


Progress on the Pathway to Paris?

June 2022


It’s been nearly a year and a half since President Biden entered office and made addressing climate change one of his administration’s top priorities. Pledging to take a whole-of-government approach to the problem, Biden built out a climate team inside the White House and promptly set an ambitious target to reduce US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030. Congress also prioritized addressing climate change, first with key infrastructure investments and then with the House of Representatives passing over $500 billion in climate and clean energy spending through budget reconciliation. In addition, 24 states have adopted the same 2030 target or have comparable targets in place.

Last fall, Rhodium Group published Pathways to Paris, a comprehensive assessment of a portfolio of policy actions that the US can take to put the 2030 climate target within reach. In that report, we found that no single action taken by any single part of the US federal system is sufficient. Instead, joint action consisting of a steady stream of legislation, regulations, and other activities across all levels of government can put the 2030 target within reach. In this note, we revisit the list of actions we considered and assess progress on each. We find that while some movement has occurred on some fronts, most big-ticket items have yet to get started or are still under deliberation in Congress. Without ramped-up action across the board in the very near future, it will be increasingly difficult to envision a pathway to the 2030 target.

Nearly 18 months of a whole-of-government approach to climate change

When President Biden entered office, he made climate change a top priority, more so than any other president before him. Coming after the Trump administration’s systematic dismantling of climate and clean energy initiatives, the Biden administration has taken hundreds of actions to undo the damage and reverse regulatory rollbacks. The high-caliber appointments of Gina McCarthy and John Kerry as the first-ever National Climate Advisor and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, respectively, sent a strong signal that the President was taking the climate challenge seriously. With unified government, there was hope of ambitious and swift congressional action on investments in decarbonization.

Now, nearly 18 months in, the administration has set ambitious goals on everything from offshore wind deployment to ramping up electric vehicle sales, cutting global methane emissions, and achieving a 100% clean electricity grid. Regulatory actions to rein in greenhouse gasses are moving forward in a few key sectors. Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) which contained several multi-billion dollar investments in emerging clean technologies and clean infrastructure. The administration has also taken key steps to help achieve long-term decarbonization goals, including standing up a Buy Clean Task Force to use the federal government’s purchasing power to help clean up heavy industry, and committing the federal government to increased sustainability targets. Critically, the administration has emphasized environmental justice across agencies and started initiatives to address disproportionate climate and environmental impacts in disadvantaged communities.

Subnational actions also have the potential to accelerate and amplify emission reductions catalyzed by federal actions and, in some instances, deliver tons that the federal government can’t easily reach. States have kept a steady drumbeat setting ambitious climate targets to help do their part to achieve climate targets, especially during the federal inaction of the Trump administration. And we’ve seen several states step up climate action in key sectors in recent months as well.

However, at the same time, the $555 billion in climate spending in the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) that passed the House in November remains in Senate deliberation limbo. Congress, states and the White House aren’t tackling climate change in a vacuum but instead are dealing with a host of other challenges. The country is in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, once-in-a-generation inflation, sky-high energy prices, a war in Europe, and ongoing supply chain disruptions—all of which at best distract from additional climate action and at worst may lead to actions that could run counter to long-term climate goals.

In Pathways to Paris, we found that without any new climate action, the US is not on track to meet its 2030 target of reducing emissions 50-52% below 2005 levels. With no additional action, emissions stay roughly flat, getting to 17-25% below 2005 levels in 2030 (reflecting the uncertainty around energy prices, technology costs, and carbon removal from natural and working lands). This leaves an emissions gap of 1.7-2.3 billion metric tons between current policy and the 2030 target. To fill that gap, we developed a “joint action” scenario— congressional passage of the IIJA and BBBA, alongside regulations and other executive branch actions and supplemented with subnational action in climate-leader states. All together, this scenario would achieve an emission reduction of 45-51% below 2005 levels—putting the 2030 target of a 50-52% reduction within reach...


Read the full Rhodium Group report on US climate promises kept and unkept, a follow on to the international Paris climate agreement of 2015.


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Supreme Court of the United States on West Virginia v. EPA


Click Here for a scan of news/commentary and opinion re the June 30, 2022 decision
File:SCOTUS News re West Virginia v EPA Decision.pdf


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June 30, 2022

News | Commentary | Opinion


Re: U.S. Supreme Court Decision on West Virginia v. EPA


Read the Decision:



More About the Decision

Supreme Court restricts the EPA's authority to mandate carbon emissions reductions

Via National Public Radio

By Nina Totenberg / Legal Affairs Correspondent / News of the U.S. Supreme Court


Read and/or Listen the NPR story / All Things Considered


The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a major blow to the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate carbon emissions that cause climate change. The decision by the conservative court majority sets the stage for further limitations on the regulatory power of other agencies as well.

By a vote of 6 to 3, the court said that any time an agency does something big and new – in this case addressing climate change – the regulation is presumptively invalid, unless Congress has specifically authorized regulating in this sphere.

"That's a very big deal because they're not going to get it from Congress because Congress is essentially dysfunctional," said Harvard law professor Richard Lazarus, an expert on environmental law. "This could not have come at a worse time" because "the consequences of climate change are increasingly dire and we're running out of time to address it." ...

The issue before the court was how the EPA can regulate coal-fired power plants, which in this country are the single largest source of carbon emissions that cause climate challenge. The Obama administration set state-by-state carbon limits and encouraged states to rely less on coal and more on alternative energy sources. Even though the program was blocked by the courts, it met its targets 11 years ahead of schedule for the simple reason that it turned out coal was too expensive compared to other power generating sources.

But on Thursday, the Supreme Court turned thumbs down on any such systemic approach. Bringing to life what the court has called "the major questions doctrine," the court said that neither the EPA nor any other agency may adopt rules that are transformational to the economy--unless Congress has specifically authorized such a rule to address a specific problem, like climate change.

Writing for the court majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that under what the court has recently called the "major questions doctrine," neither the EPA nor any other agency may adopt rules that are "transformational" to the economy — unless Congress has specifically authorized such a transformative rule to address a specific problem, like climate change.

In "certain extraordinary cases, both separation of powers principles and a practical understanding of legislative intent make us 'reluctant to read into ambiguous statutory text' the delegation claimed to be lurking there," Roberts writes. "To convince us otherwise, something more than a merely plausible textual basis for the agency action is necessary. The agency instead must point to 'clear congressional authorization' for the power it claims."

Justice Elena Kagan, in a furious dissent, said essentially that the Court is making up new rules that contradict nearly a century of regulatory law. The text of the Clean Air Act, she said, clearly anticipates that the EPA will have to deal with new problems and uses broad language to allow that. The Court majority, she says, "does not have a clue about how to address climate change...yet it appoints itself, instead of congress or the expert agency...the decision-maker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening."

The decision appears to enact major new limits on agency regulations across the economy, limits of a kind not imposed by the court for 75 years or more. The decision, for instance, casts a cloud of doubt over a proposed Securities and Exchange Commission rule that would require companies offering securities to the public to disclose climate-related risks – like severe weather events that have or likely will affect their business models. Also in jeopardy is a new interim rule adopted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission "aimed at treating greenhouse gas emissions and their contribution to climate change the same as all other environmental impacts [the Commission] considers."

The decision was a particularly bad omen for environmentalists. In a very real sense, it seemed to reject any holistic regulatory attempt to deal with climate change.


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June 27, 2022


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WASHINGTON — Within days, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision that could severely limit the federal government’s authority to reduce carbon dioxide from power plants — pollution that is dangerously heating the planet.

But it’s only a start.

The case, West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, is the product of a coordinated, multiyear strategy by Republican attorneys general, conservative legal activists and their funders, several with ties to the oil and coal industries, to use the judicial system to rewrite environmental law, weakening the executive branch’s ability to tackle global warming.

Coming up through the federal courts are more climate cases, some featuring novel legal arguments, each carefully selected for its potential to block the government’s ability to regulate industries and businesses that produce greenhouse gases...

Victory for the plaintiffs in these cases would mean the federal government could not dramatically restrict tailpipe emissions because of vehicles’ impact on climate, even though transportation is the country’s largest source of greenhouse gases.

The government also would not be able to force electric utilities to replace fossil fuel-fired power plants, the second-largest source of planet warming pollution, with wind and solar power.

And the executive branch could not consider the economic costs of climate change when evaluating whether to approve a new oil pipeline or similar project or environmental rule.

Those limitations on climate action in the United States, which has pumped more planet-warming gases into the atmosphere than any other nation, would quite likely doom the world’s goal of cutting enough emissions to keep the planet from heating up more than an average of 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with the preindustrial age. That is the threshold beyond which scientists say the likelihood of catastrophic hurricanes, drought, heat waves and wildfires significantly increases. The Earth has already warmed an average of 1.1 degrees Celsius.

“If the Supreme Court uses this as an opportunity to really squash E.P.A.’s ability to regulate on climate change, it will seriously impede U.S. progress toward solving the problem,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton University.

The ultimate goal of the Republican activists, people involved in the effort say, is to overturn the legal doctrine by which Congress has delegated authority to federal agencies to regulate the environment, health care, workplace safety, telecommunications, the financial sector and more.


Read the Full Article


 

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NASA


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Professor Michael Mann's online course on Climate begins today - April 29th

Consider signing up - It's free


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On Earth Day, April 22


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Drawdown Stories | Drawdown Neighborhoods

Frontline Communities, #ClimateJustice and Equity Action


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A Record of Attempting to Deconstruct the EPA... Now Running for U.S. Senate


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April 19 / Scott Pruitt, who many consider the worst Environmental Protection Agency head in the EPA's history, is now looking, as announced in April 2022, for election as a Senator from Oklahoma, replacing James Inhofe, who many consider the worst Senator on environmental policy issues.


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Via Strategic Demands, GreenPolicy360's associate:

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Methane (greenhouse gas) rose more last year than any other year since records began in 1983 and is at a record high

Via EOS / April 2022


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Biden's (and the World's) Imperiled Climate Agenda


On Thursday (March 31st), President Biden said he would release one million barrels of oil a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for as long as 180 days to help bring down global oil prices. The scale and duration of such a release would be historic. The United States also plans to increase exports of natural gas to help Europe wean itself from Russian supplies. Environmentalists are concerned that both of those moves will lead to more domestic drilling at a moment when scientists say nations must sharply and quickly cut fossil fuel use.

The president used the announcement about the petroleum reserve to make a plea for his stymied climate legislation, saying that he was boosting gas and oil supplies to deal with an immediate crisis but that the country’s long term energy independence should be rooted in wind, solar and other renewable sources that are insulated from global market fluctuations.

“Ultimately, we and the whole world need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels altogether,” Mr. Biden said. “We need to choose long-term security over energy and climate vulnerability. We need to double down on our commitment to clean energy and tackling the climate crisis with our partners and allies around the world. And we can do that by passing my plan that’s literally before the Senate right now, the United States Congress right now.”


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March 30, 2022


Via The Atlantic / Weekly Planet


The world has changed since 2020 — it has changed, for that matter, since the middle of last month, when Vladimir Putin began his campaign to conquer all of Ukraine

By Robinson Meyer

... More than a quarter of the natural gas that Europe imports from Russia flows in pipelines that run through Ukraine, and large, violent military campaigns do not tend to treat fragile (and flammable) fossil-fuel infrastructure delicately. But Russia’s role as a major oil producer to the world, and Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas (beyond just that which flows through Ukrainian pipelines), has brought the issue to the center of global politics.

... In the coming years, the European Union seems likely to go on a mad decarbonizing dash, electrifying as much of its energy system as possible so as to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. But even optimistic accounts posit that the continent cannot hope to regain “energy sovereignty” until 2027. It will need more than just heat pumps and solar panels; it will need someone else to sell it gas.

Last week, the EU promised to import 50 billion cubic meters of liquid natural gas from the United States annually through 2030. Right now, for context, it imports about 17 billion cubic meters of LNG a year, so it will need to find another 33 billion cubic meters to meet its goal.

That is a lot of gas. It exceeds the LNG imports of every country in North and South America combined. It seems reasonable to conclude, therefore, that if the EU follows through on its commitment—but no country produces more gas—then it will break the global market for liquid natural gas. That will make natural-gas prices rise everywhere, for all countries, even those that don’t buy LNG from the United States. And that will force middle-income countries—such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Thailand—that have been planning on importing natural gas to instead buy coal, a far dirtier and more climate-destructive fuel...

If Europe’s democracies believe that their ability to import natural gas from a non-Russia country is essential to their survival, then American climate advocates should find a way to help them—without cutting a blank check to U.S. natural-gas producers or extending the gas system’s lifetime into the 2030s.

Climate activists remain correct in their essential diagnosis: In order to avoid catastrophic changes to the climate system, most undrilled fossil fuels must remain in the ground. But for the next few years, climate policy will require a subtler hand than advocates have been used to providing. It means that the U.S. must make strategic investments to increase grappling with the energy system as it exists today — which is fossil-fuel-dependent — not because fossil fuels have inherent value but because only by understanding the current situation can the U.S. plan for the future. Putin’s war has all but ensured that the path to decarbonization will not be a straight line. But if advocates navigate this moment carefully, then the U.S. and the EU can find a shortcut, not a detour.


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Announcement from GreenPolicy360 & Strategic Demands


Stay tunes as GreenPolicy360 launches a crucial new 'Climate Plans Enforcement Project'


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Coal Mining Emits More Super-Polluting Methane Than Venting and Flaring From Gas and Oil Wells

So much methane is released from coal mining, the Global Energy Monitor says, that it exceeds the carbon dioxide emissions from burning coal at over 1,100 coal-fired power plants in China


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More Manchin Mania

Big Coal Senator Again Devastates America's Moves to Renewable Energy

Vital Change, in a Key Policy Position, Is Shut Down by West Virginia's Senator, 'Top Gun' for Coal/Gas/Oil Money

Manchin Blocks Nomination of Energy-Transition Advocate to the Powerful Federal Reserve Board


Read the Story in the New Yorker


Sarah Bloom Raskin Withdraws Her Presidential Nomination

Biden’s nominee had publicly encouraged measures to mitigate climate change, including a transition to cleaner energy, which triggered a backlash from America’s powerful oil, gas, and coal industries.

On Tuesday (March 15), in the face of what she described as “relentless attacks by special interests” who oppose her frank acknowledgment that climate change could pose a threat to economic stability, Sarah Bloom Raskin submitted a letter to President Joe Biden withdrawing as his nominee to become the vice-chair for supervision of the Federal Reserve Board. For weeks, Raskin noted, the Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee “held hostage” not only her nomination but those of Biden’s four other picks to run the Fed, including the reappointment of its chair, Jerome Powell.

In commentary last September, Bloom Raskin suggested that regulators should “ask themselves how their existing instruments can be used to incentivize a rapid, orderly, and just transition away from high-emission and biodiversity-destroying investments.” She was merely echoing the position taken by top central bankers and economists all over the world. But her expressed hope of encouraging a potential transition to cleaner energy triggered a backlash from America’s powerful oil, gas, and coal industries. Her withdrawal will likely enable the Senate’s confirmation of the rest of Biden’s slate of nominees to the Fed, at a time of roaring inflation and mounting perils abroad. But it dooms the most powerful central bank in the world to a state of willful blindness regarding the looming chaos that scientists predict climate change will unleash.

Bloom Raskin’s fate was sealed on Monday (March 14), when Joe Manchin, the Democratic senator from West Virginia, signalled that he would oppose her confirmation because she “failed to satisfactorily address my concerns about the critical importance of financing an all-of-the-above energy policy to meet our nation’s critical energy needs.” Manchin’s family fortune is largely derived from coal, and he has taken more money from fossil-fuel interests than any other senator during the current cycle. Every Republican member of the Senate Banking Committee has also taken money from fossil-fuel interests, cumulatively accepting more than eight million dollars during their political careers from the producers of the carbon emissions that are helping to cause climate change. Given Democrats’ single-vote advantage in the Senate, Manchin’s opposition has all but killed the Bloom Raskin nomination, relegating her to having to find a Republican vote, which seemed especially unlikely after Susan Collins, of Maine, also signalled her opposition on Monday.

Bloom Raskin, who is a law professor at Duke University, is not a new or untested figure on the national economic stage. She was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to top economic positions twice before.....

..“This is not a novel or radical position,” Bloom Raskin says in her letter. “The Department of Defense has been systematically analyzing the energy security risks of climate change for years, developing mitigation strategies to confront them. Banks and insurance companies incorporate financial aspects of extreme weather events into their plans. Farmers, ranchers and businesses across the country already are struggling to adapt to extreme floods, hurricanes, rising sea levels and wildfires. Central banks around the world have already begun acting on these issues. Chairman Powell has recognized climate change as a significant risk that needs to be incorporated into the supervisory process. Any vice chair for supervision who ignored these realities—which are manifesting every day across this country—would be guilty of gross dereliction of duty.”..


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The Senator from West Virginia Continues to Hammer Energy Conversion Policy

When One Senator, from One State, Can Continue to End Vital Energy and Climate Progress


“I’m very reluctant to go down the path of electric vehicles,” Manchin said at the energy conference CERAWeek, held in Houston. “I’m old enough to remember standing in line in 1974 trying to buy gas – I remember those days. I don’t want to have to be standing in line waiting for a battery for my vehicle, because we’re now dependent on a foreign supply chain, mostly China.”

Manchin, who has taken more money in political donations from fossil fuel interests than any other senator, also said he has “a hard time understanding” why the federal government would invest in a network of electric car charging stations, as the Biden administration aims to do.

“I’ve read history, and I remember Henry Ford inventing the Model-T, but I sure as hell don’t remember the US government building filling stations,” Manchin said to applause. “The market did that.”


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The largest oil and gas companies made a combined $174bn in profits in the first nine months of the year as gasoline prices climbed in the US, according to a new report.

The bumper profit totals, provided exclusively to the Guardian, show that in the third quarter of 2021 alone, 24 top oil and gas companies made more than $74bn in net income. From January to September, the net income of the group, which includes Exxon, Chevron, Shell and BP, was $174bn.



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As War in Ukraine Rages with Russia

Oil & Gas Rise to the Top of the News Cycle

March 8, 2022

Russia warns of $300 oil, threatens to cut off European gas if West bans energy imports

Russia flexes its energy muscle as one of the world’s top oil producers with an average of 10.5 million b/d in 2020, accounting for 11% of global production...

Russia, one of the top crude oil and petroleum exporters globally, threatens the European and global economy. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2020 Russia was the second largest net exporter sending on average 540,000 barrels daily to the United States and, in 2021, on average 670,000 barrels were exported to the United States.

The oil industry in Russia was privatized after the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia has since forced a consolidation and asserted more control over the sector. Gazprom, Rosneft and Lukoil are the top Russian oil and gas producers.

Oligarchs/Autocrats under Russian government control set the policies of the oil sector and its exports and revenue comprise a large percentage of Russian revenue and foreign reserves...

And in response, the U.S. and Europe's economies and political dissension respond:

'We could be producing more crude in this country today... Oil and gas, more U.S. oil production that's the ticket to deal with the Russian invasion of Ukraine...' -- Republican message on the news cycle


Meanwhile, from the American Enterprise Institute today...

Here's Mark J. Perry on Twitter, March 7, 2022

Despite the hype, fantasy and false hopes about renewable energy, fossil fuels will supply more than 75% of US energy in 2050 -- 4X more than renewables (solar, windmills, etc.) -- according to EIA's new Energy Outlook 2022


Then there's this... a pushback message for those pushing for more oil production


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  UN 'Essential Report': Adapting to climate change ‘happening worldwide’

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas reminded delegates that during COP26, “there was not a single head of State who questioned the scientific facts”, saying the message had got through and “has been heard”.


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EV Charging Stations, US Highways, Biden 2021 Infrastructure and Transportation Plan

February 10, 2022

Google News Headlines


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Economist: "Targeting methane “ultra-emitters” could cheaply slow climate change"


GreenPolicy360: (Project-in-Dev) We see potential for international earth science research involving current orbiting satellite missions. Emissions data targeting 'ultra-emission' sites could (and should) be made available to NGOs, educational institutions, and national governments to identify, measure/monitor, and take enforcement actions in accord with each nation's international climate pledges/promises, regulations and laws. We have set in motion steps to advance this cooperative, open-source database project (January 2022)

* https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2022/02/05/targeting-methane-ultra-emitters-could-cheaply-slow-climate-change


Earth Science Research from Space: Methane emissions

Extremely large emitters — releasing more than 25 tons per hour — can be seen and tracked from near-earth orbit

Earth imaging data from a sensor aboard a European satellite, Sentinel 5


Using data from 2019 and 2020, (scientists) located about 1,200 of these ultra emitters, a large portion of them from Russia, Turkmenistan, the United States, the Middle East and Algeria.

Total emissions from these sites were estimated at about 9 million tons per year. In terms of its potential to warm the planet, that much methane is equivalent to about 275 million tons of carbon dioxide, which is the total carbon footprint of 40 million people, based on the global average per capita.


Ultra-Emitters Seen From Space: Huge Methane Leaks


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Can Democracy Solve the Climate Crisis

Foreign Policy Magazine


Elected officials work through compromise, but a warming planet waits for no one

In the past 14 months, the United States and Germany both held national elections that placed climate change policy squarely at the center of national debate. The fact that two of the world’s five largest economies committed to addressing the world’s most pressing crisis through public discourse followed by public voting was an unprecedented democratic experiment.

It did not work out as optimists hoped. On the one hand, the victorious parties in both countries vowed to achieve what was necessary to prevent the worst effects of climate change from occurring, in accordance with the international climate agreement unanimously approved in Paris in 2015. But on the other hand, in neither country can the resulting policies be described as fulfilling that promise.

All the major German parties (except for the far-right Alternative for Germany) said they would work to limit climate change to the 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels stipulated in the Paris Agreement; the Greens claimed, plausibly, that only their platform contained ideas sufficient to fulfill the promise. But even as the Greens succeeded at joining the national government (having earned a record-breaking 15 percent at the polls - Annalena Baerbock is the new Foreign Minister), few of the policy specifics found their way into the governing agenda for the next four years. The Greens claimed a higher carbon price was necessary; no mention of any such increase made it into the coalition agreement. The Greens argued that ending the domestic excavation of coal by 2030 was nonnegotiable; the government has failed to make a firm commitment to do that. The Greens claimed the country would need to invest an extra 50 billion euros ($56 billion) per year in renewable energy infrastructure; the new government has vowed instead to maintain a balanced budget.

A similar slippage between campaign ambition and watered-down governance has occurred in the United States. Democrat Joe Biden’s election platform vowed that the country’s electricity sector would be carbon-free by 2035 and that the entire U.S. economy would achieve full carbon neutrality by 2050—promises that the Biden administration has never disavowed. But the central policies intended to achieve those timelines have no realistic chance of passing Congress. The administration will receive nowhere close to the $2 trillion that Biden said would be necessary to fund renewable energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Manchin from the coal-producing state of West Virginia has refused to pass any law that explicitly disincentivizes the energy sector’s use of fossil fuels, as the Biden campaign had envisioned. At the same time, the Biden administration has openly lobbied the Middle Eastern oil-producing countries of OPEC to increase production, in hopes of lowering the price of gasoline for domestic drivers.

The climate agendas of the current U.S. and German governments—from the Biden administration’s use of tax incentives to encourage the expansion of renewable energy to the new German government’s vow to devote 2 percent of the country’s land to the generation of wind power—are not actively harmful. In sum, they will almost certainly accelerate both countries’ reduction of carbon emissions. But by any fair accounting, they are inadequate to solving climate change on the timeline implied by the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree commitment—namely, a 50 percent reduction of emissions by 2035 and complete global carbon neutrality by 2050. “The problem with the climate measures of this new government is the speed,” said Pauline Brünger, a spokesperson for Germany’s Fridays for Future activist group.

Representatives from the U.S. and German governments say their policies are the result of the necessary compromises demanded by the democratic process. But it’s fair to wonder whether that’s just another way of restating the problem. According to the climate science, the timelines to limit warming aren’t an expression of subjectively perceived urgency but objective measures defined by the boundary of a catastrophic climate tipping point. In a 2018 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a U.N. group of climate scientists, declared that achieving carbon neutrality by midcentury was the only way to prevent global temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees—beyond which, Arctic ice would melt (and ocean levels would rise) far more quickly, humans would more frequently suffer heat death, and vast numbers of species, from insects to sea coral, would end up on the verge of extinction.

In other words: Democracy works by compromise, but climate change is precisely the type of problem that seems not to allow for it. As the clock on those climate timelines continues to tick, this structural mismatch is becoming increasingly exposed. And as a result, those concerned by climate change—some already with political power, others grasping for it—are now searching for, and finding, new ways of closing the gap between politics and science, by any means necessary...


Read the Full Article:


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National Climate Plan Pledges & Promises Must Be Enforced

How to turn each nation's climate pledges into 'effective climate action' '

Promises & pledges of international climate summits in Paris (2015) & Glasgow (2021) now require & demand 'climate action enforcement'
Measuring & monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with satellite missions can become a cooperative climate tool 'working nation-by-nation'


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Climate Action Plans 360


GreenPolicy360: Climate Plans Enforcement Initiative

Methods to Enforce Climate Plan Pledges

Pressuring Nations to Step Up, Cooperate, and Act Now

Com't on Earth Observation Satellites

Environmental Laws, Regs, Rules... Lawsuits & Legal Actions


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Climate News Events Archive ... 1970 to Today
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Ethics and Climate Change

Climate Action: An Ethical Responsibility


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Environmental Studies Online

 

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