Climate Change / Global Warming Discussion

[betstarship]

Article worth a read.

We have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe, warns UN

Urgent changes needed to cut risk of extreme heat, drought, floods and poverty, says IPCC

www.theguardian.com

Also, I read the first page of this thread and, then, this latest page...only 10 year difference. Remarkable.

 

[betstarship]

Great site by a top researcher

Climate change indicators

All data are referenced at My visualizations: Arctic Climate Seasonality and Variability Arctic Sea Ice Extent and Concentration Arctic Sea Ice Volume and Thickness Arctic Temperatures Antarctic Se…

zacklabe.com

 

[mspohr]

‘Like a dam breaking’: experts hail decision to let US climate lawsuits advance

The decision, climate experts and advocates said, felt “like a dam breaking” after years of legal delays to the growing wave of climate lawsuits facing major oil companies. Without weighing in on the merits of the cases, the supreme court on Monday rebuffed an appeal by major oil companies that want to face the litigation in federal courts, rather than in state courts, which are seen as more favorable to plaintiffs. ExxonMobil Corp, Suncor Energy Inc and Chevron Corp had asked for the change of venue in lawsuits by the state of Rhode Island and municipalities in Colorado, Maryland, California and Hawaii.

 

[mspohr]

Energy Transition Is ‘More Profound Than the Internet,’ Says John Podesta

The White House’s clean energy advisor said climate change will usher in an economic transformation “on a size and scale never heard of in human history.”

www.bloomberg.com

When humanity looks back on this period in history, it will be seen as an inflection point in the climate crisis, White House advisor John Podesta said at the Bloomberg Green Summit on Wednesday. A Democratic strategist who joined the Biden administration last year as senior advisor on clean energy innovation & implementation, Podesta said climate change is ushering in “a transformation of the global economy on a size and scale never heard of in human history.”

The IRA’s $374 billion in credits and incentives for carbon-free development makes it the country’s largest climate investment ever. One analysis found that, if fully implemented, the IRA will cut US greenhouse gas emissions 37% to 41% from 2005 levels. The Biden administration has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030.

 

[JRP3]

The extended La Nina period which kept temperatures relatively lower is ending and we might be on the verge of an intense El Nino period which could lead to record highs.

 

[mspohr]

Green investment funds pushing money into fossil fuel firms, research finds

BlackRock and L&G among asset managers using funds with ESG label to invest in coal, oil and gas

www.theguardian.com

Investment funds branded as green or socially responsible are being used by some of the world’s largest asset managers to invest hundreds of millions of pounds in fossil fuel companies, according to a report. The research by the Common Wealth thinktank showed that the US fund managers BlackRock and State Street and the UK-based Legal & General were among asset managers to use funds with an “environment, social and governance” (ESG) label to invest in fossil fuel firms. The leftwing thinktank said that despite claims that ESG funds offer a green and socially responsible option for investors, “the research shows these funds are significantly exposed to fossil fuel companies”. Between February and April this year, BlackRock, State Street and Legal & General alone were found to hold $1bn (£800m) in bonds issued by fossil fuel companies in their ESG funds.

 

[mspohr]

A Sweeping Proposal Would Hand Conservationists A Big Win

Biden’s Interior wants to give conservationists equal power to oil companies on public lands in order to protect them — rather than exploit them.

www.huffpost.com

BOISE, Idaho — For decades, the federal government has incentivized drilling, mining, logging and livestock grazing on America’s public lands via antiquated laws and leasing programs dating back as far as the late 1800s. Never has there been a similar system for acquiring public lands in order to protect them, rather than exploit them.

The Bureau of Land Management unveiled a draft rule late last month that would place conservation “on equal footing” with energy development and other traditional uses — a proposal that seeks to confront the agency’s long record of prioritizing extraction across the federal estate. A key provision of that rule would grant the BLM, which oversees one-tenth of all land in the United States, the authority to issue “conservation leases” to promote land protection and ecosystem restoration.

 

[cpa]

I applaud the BLM for its modern thinking.

That said, appearing on the docket for the Supremes is a case that will attempt to overturn the 1984 Chevron case regarding the extent that government bureaucracies can interpret and provide guidance on federal law when the law is vague or silent. In essence, Congress passes legislation that is enacted into law. Various agencies then implement these laws.

The case appearing on the docket has to do with fishermen off the Atlantic Coast have to pay a government monitor to assess their catches so that they do not overfish the types of fish they are after. The NOAA is in charge of fisheries in this country. This regulation was implemented so as not to deplete the fish in the sea. The fishermen assert that this is wrong because it is not spelled out in statute. (IANAL, but this is my interpretation of the facts.)

The plaintiffs are represented by an organization that is against big government, and argue that these agencies have surpassed their designated duties. It is the classic separation of powers argument that the Executive Branch cannot override the legislative branch with following the law.

Chicken Littles like myself fear that if the Supremes overturn the 1984 Chevron case and declare these regulations null and void and unconstitutional, most federal agencies will be gutted for the sake of "small government" and will exist only in skeleton form.

I hope I am wrong.

 

[mspohr]

Green investment funds pushing money into fossil fuel firms, research finds

BlackRock and L&G among asset managers using funds with ESG label to invest in coal, oil and gas

www.theguardian.com

Investment funds branded as green or socially responsible are being used by some of the world’s largest asset managers to invest hundreds of millions of pounds in fossil fuel companies, according to a report. The research by the Common Wealth thinktank showed that the US fund managers BlackRock and State Street and the UK-based Legal & General were among asset managers to use funds with an “environment, social and governance” (ESG) label to invest in fossil fuel firms. The leftwing thinktank said that despite claims that ESG funds offer a green and socially responsible option for investors, “the research shows these funds are significantly exposed to fossil fuel companies”. Between February and April this year, BlackRock, State Street and Legal & General alone were found to hold $1bn (£800m) in bonds issued by fossil fuel companies in their ESG funds.

 

[mspohr]

New York takes big step toward renewable energy in ‘historic’ climate win

Measure will also help shift utilities away from private companies to make them publicly owned

www.theguardian.com

New York state has passed legislation that will scale up the state’s renewable energy production and signals a major step toward moving utilities out of private hands to become publicly owned. The bill, included in the state’s new budget, will require the state’s public power provider to generate all of its electricity from clean energy by 2030. It also allows the public utility to build and own renewables while phasing out fossil fuels.

NYPA is the largest state public utility in the country. The vast majority of the electricity generated by NYPA comes from hydropower: over 80%. This new legislation will require the state to phase out the six natural gas-fired plants that NYPA operates across New York City by 2030. (NYPA had previously agreed to shut down the plants by 2035.) NYPA built these “peaker plants” in 2001 to meet energy demands during peak times – such as the hottest days of the year. The plants, which emit nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide, are located in the Queens and the Bronx boroughs of New York City and the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan – the latter two of which have some of the highest asthma-related death rates in the country.

Historically, when utilities are owned by investors, profits go to shareholders. But in publicly owned models, profits are reinvested in the utility’s operations. Rates on energy bills are also generally lower.

 

[mspohr]

Fire and concrete: will France’s model of radical climate protest catch on?

As campaigning hots up around the world once again, eyes have been turning to the country that is taking things further

www.theguardian.com

In the UK, when climate activists want to block a road, they sit down on it. When their fellow activists in France want to do the same, they build a wall across one side, and set the other side on fire.

Remarkably, they did so without any interruption from police, despite perpetrating a level of illegal disruption unheard of across the Channel. As climate protests hot up around the world once again, eyes have been turning to France as the country taking it to its most radical extent. This month, Andreas Malm, the human ecologist and author of the climate activist bible How to Blow Up a Pipeline, said in an interview it was France that was seeing the most exciting developments in environmental protest.

Birdie said Darmanin called them “terrorists”. “You can see this camp: we’re not terrorists. We are just people who cook, who clean, who put up toilets, who play music, who protest. This is something that we do. We are not violent people. But they try to make us pass as violent people and as terrorists. And as such, we have to be careful what we show and who we show we are.”

 

[JRP3]

Birdie said Darmanin called them “terrorists”. “You can see this camp: we’re not terrorists. We are just people who cook, who clean, who put up toilets, who play music, who protest. This is something that we do. We are not violent people. But they try to make us pass as violent people and as terrorists. And as such, we have to be careful what we show and who we show we are.”

while on the other they piled haystacks and tyres and set them ablaze.

Burning tires not exactly peaceful or environmentally friendly.

 

[mspohr]

Burning tires not exactly peaceful or environmentally friendly.

I love to sit around a peaceful burning tire in the evening while I enjoy my dinner.

 

[DrGriz]

I love to sit around a peaceful burning tire in the evening while I enjoy my dinner.

And the nice thing is, it burns all night.

 

[mspohr]

‘Mind-boggling’ methane emissions from Turkmenistan revealed

Leaks of potent greenhouse gas could be easily fixed, say experts, and would rapidly reduce global heating

www.theguardian.com

Methane leaks alone from Turkmenistan’s two main fossil fuel fields caused more global heating in 2022 than the entire carbon emissions of the UK, satellite data has revealed. Emissions of the potent greenhouse gas from the oil- and gas-rich country are “mind-boggling”, and an “infuriating” problem that should be easy to fix, experts have told the Guardian.

 

[ggies07]

A nice, brief, updated video on this subject:

 

[mspohr]

A nice, brief, updated video on this subject:

Insightful!

 

[mspohr]

New US rules could stem emissions from coal and gas power plants

Environmental groups laud the regulation, which would advance clean power in the US – if it survives expected legal challenges

www.theguardian.com

The US is set to impose new carbon pollution standards upon its coal- and gas-fired power plants, in a move that the Biden administration has hailed as a major step in confronting the climate crisis. Under new rules put forward by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), new and existing power plants will have to meet a range of new standards to cut their emissions of planet-heating gases. This, the EPA predicts, will spur facilities to switch to cleaner energy such as wind and solar, install rarely used carbon capture technology or shut down entirely.

 

[mspohr]

It's the economy, stupid...

Impact of warmer seas on fish stocks leads to rise in pirate attacks

Study of piracy hotspots in east Africa and South China Sea found that piracy increases when fish populations decline and vice versa

www.theguardian.com

We wanted to test the hypothesis: does piracy increase when fish production declines and decrease when fish production increases?” said LaFree. The answer, they found, was yes. “We did a multi-varied analysis to see whether the underlying theory was statistically significant and it is.”
You tend to think either you are a criminal or a non-criminal,” said LaFree. “But there is evidence from other researchers that some fishermen drift into it, depending on how fishing is going.”

 

[ggies07]

I got this idea from someone on Twitter - mark where you and your children's first breaths are...pretty glaring visual.