Climate Today December 6-12, 2013

8/12/2019 Climate Today December 6-12, 2013

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CLIMATE TODAYDecember 6- 12, 2013

Climate- THE Defining Challenge

PRESIDENTIAL QUOTES

The liberty of a democracy is not safeif the people tolerated the growth of private power to a point where

it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself.That in its essence is fascism:

ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power.Franklin D. Roosevelt

Apr il 29, 1938

http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/219075.Franklin_D_Roosevelt

For a speech still relevant:http://publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu/faculty-research/new-deal/roosevelt-speeches/fr042938.htm

AND

"I believe this is the defining challenge of our time,making sure our economyworks for every working American."

President Barack Obamahttp://www.voanews.com/content/obama-economic-inequality-is-hurting-americas-future/1803524.html

For video-http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/04/obama-income-inequality_n_4384843.html

- When I heard Obama on the radio say that the economicsof working Americans is the defining

challenge of our time, I shouted back at him No! No! Why?Solving climate change will be how ourera is judged in the future.Without that, no economic shift will be meaningful, eaten up by ecosystemcollapses and severe weather. Yes, you need to feed your kids breakfast, but if your house is on fire,which will be the defining challenge?I read The Crash of 2016 and decided not to include this depressing book in Climate Today, but afterObamas claim, its jumped back in. We need to see how both unjust economicsandinaction on climatechange are connected, backed by the same greedy players! Thom Hartmans reveals HOW, overdecades, big funding has manipulated all aspects of our democracy, and he makes it clear why solvingclimate change- and economic justice- is proving to be a very tough battle. Billionaires crave even morebillions, while our planets ecosystems collapse, and the poor get poorer. Corporate interests twistelections, court decisions, education, and importantly, the media. Hartman concludes that we will justhave to begin to build the new systems that will restart our society after the Crash. We can hope heswrong about the Crash, but hes right about build ing eco-responsible and socially just solut ions

NOW. FDR warns about the dangers of allowing private power to be stronger and more controlling thandemocracy, and this book begins to shed light on how decades of hidden plots and big money blindus to t he science and politics of surv ival. - Editor

The Crash of 2016 -The Plot to Destroy Americaand What We Can Do to Stop ItThe United States is more vulnerable today than ever before-including during the GreatDepression and the Civil War-because the pillars of democracy that once supported abooming middle class have been corrupted. Corporate and billionaire power and greedhave replaced democratic infrastructure and governance. Although we are in the midstof what could become the most catastrophic economic crash in American history, a
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/219075.Franklin_D_Roosevelthttp://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/219075.Franklin_D_Roosevelthttp://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/219075.Franklin_D_Roosevelthttp://publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu/faculty-research/new-deal/roosevelt-speeches/fr042938.htmhttp://publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu/faculty-research/new-deal/roosevelt-speeches/fr042938.htmhttp://www.voanews.com/content/obama-economic-inequality-is-hurting-americas-future/1803524.htmlhttp://www.voanews.com/content/obama-economic-inequality-is-hurting-americas-future/1803524.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/04/obama-income-inequality_n_4384843.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/04/obama-income-inequality_n_4384843.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/04/obama-income-inequality_n_4384843.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/04/obama-income-inequality_n_4384843.htmlhttp://www.voanews.com/content/obama-economic-inequality-is-hurting-americas-future/1803524.htmlhttp://publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu/faculty-research/new-deal/roosevelt-speeches/fr042938.htmhttp://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/219075.Franklin_D_Roosevelthttp://www.goodreads.com/author/show/219075.Franklin_D_Roosevelt


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way forward is emerging. Before us stands a genuine opportunity to embrace the moral motive over theprofit motive- and to rebuild the American economic model that once yielded great success. THE CRASHOF 2016 is not just a roadmap to redemption in post-Crash America, but a criti cal wake-up call,challenging us to act.http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-crash-of-2016-thom-hartmann/1115779224?ean=9780446584814

For a video interview-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izxP_U2vzoU

- Just one example of far too many! Great climate reporters are being fired in so many companies.Ownership and advertisers permeate most media to cleverly not deal with greenhouse gases building up.- Editor

Bjorn Yesterday: NY Times Runs Op-Ed Asserting Poor People Need MoreCarbon PollutionThe New York Times shuts down its environment desk and its GreenBlog this year. Then last week, the Times public editor publishes adamning analysis showing that the papers climate coverage haddropped sharply.The papers response? Devote some of its scarce op-ed space to theumpteenth rehashed Bjorn Lomborg piece touting more carbon pollutionand R&D in place of climate action, The Poor Need Cheap FossilFuels. If that headline sounds familiar, its because Lomborg hadpieces in USA Today and National Post making similar arguments.Lomborg tw ists the facts beyond recognition.http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/04/3018051/bjorn-lomborg-carbon-pollution/

QUOTE

It will take commitment from all Tasmaniansif we are to achieve our shared vision for the futu re.

I am optimistic that while the task ahead is urgent,we have built strong foundations that will

support Tasmania to adapt and prosper in a low-carbon economy.Together, we can help shape the future in this,

the criti cal decade.

Cassy OConnor, Minister for Climate Change, Tasmania, and Visionary

- Continuing the vision of solutions even when her nations Prime Minister Abbott aims to repeal carbonemissions trading and has slashed funding for renewable energy!An example fo r us al l! - Editor

Tasmania Aims For 100% Renewable EnergyLast week, the Tasmanian government released "Climate Smart Tasmania: A 2020Climate Change Strategy." "Tasmania is a renewable energy powerhouse - ourannual average electricity supply comes from 87 per cent renewable energy," saysthe Minister for Climate Change, Cassy OConnor. Tasmania has also set a goalof slashing its carbon emissions by 35% by 2020.The Strategy sets out 9priority areas and more than 80 actions both to reduce emissions and prepare forthe impacts of a changing climate.http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4055

For the report Climate Smart Tasmania- A 2020 Climate Change Strategy-http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/212762/2020_Climate_Change_Strategy.PDF
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-crash-of-2016-thom-hartmann/1115779224?ean=9780446584814http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-crash-of-2016-thom-hartmann/1115779224?ean=9780446584814http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izxP_U2vzoUhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izxP_U2vzoUhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izxP_U2vzoUhttp://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/04/3018051/bjorn-lomborg-carbon-pollution/http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/04/3018051/bjorn-lomborg-carbon-pollution/http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4055http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4055http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4055http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/212762/2020_Climate_Change_Strategy.PDFhttp://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/212762/2020_Climate_Change_Strategy.PDFhttp://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4055http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/04/3018051/bjorn-lomborg-carbon-pollution/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izxP_U2vzoUhttp://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-crash-of-2016-thom-hartmann/1115779224?ean=9780446584814


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- At Climate Today, we have a file called Surprise Factor, stuffed with articles of scientists in a widevariety of fields being shocked because climate changes were happening far faster than theydanticipated. The surprise file is the scariest of them all. Years ago, we reported on the bookAbruptClimate Changewritten in 2002- its more than tragic that weve known for so long and done so little!Some changes will occur very quickly and will be irreversible. Now the crazies dont even want to fund awarning system! Dont theyhave children? - Editor

Ready Or Not. Abrupt Climate Changes Worry Scientists MostAn expert panel at the National Academy of Sciences is calling for an early warningsystem to alert us to abrupt and potentially catastrophic events triggered by climatechange.The committee says science can anticipate some major changes to the Earth thatcould affect everything from agriculture to sea level. But we aren't doing enoughto look fo r those changes and anticipate their impacts .And this i s not amatter for some distant future. The Earth is already experiencing both gradual

and abrupt climate change.To listen-http://www.npr.org/2013/12/03/248474721/ready-or-not-quick-climate-changes-worry-scientists-mosthttp://nas-sites.org/americasclimatechoices/other-reports-on-climate-change/2013-2/abrupt-impacts-of-climate-change/

For a 4 page summary-http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/materials-based-on-reports/reports-in-brief/abrupt-climate-

change-brief-FINAL-web.pdfFor the older bookAbrupt Climate Change-http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10136

QUOTE

I think everyone was startledby what we saw in 2012,and there was a lot of pressure to close down the fishery for the 2013 season.

The survey this summer foundjust 20 percent of the 2012 record low,so it has fallen off incredibly sharply.

John Annala, Chief Scientific Officer at the Gulf of Maine Research Institu te

- Heres a small example of how precarious ecosystems and their bounty can be. When you hear wordslike surprised or startled, its not good. This is also a hint of why we at Climate Today are deeplyconcerned about the issue of food. Similar situations of reducing diverse food yields are happening allover the world. -Editor

2014 Shrimp Season In The Gulf Of Maine Has Been CanceledThe Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted unanimouslyto halt shrimping for the upcoming season. The annual shrimp surveyin 2012 revealed the lowest abundance of adults ever recorded in thesurveys thirty-year history. During the last ten years the watertemperature in the Gulf of Maine has been running about 5

degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the previous one hundred yearaverage. Even if Northern shrimp prove themselves to be more heattolerant than scientists predict, the warmer waters in the Gulf ofMaine are proving deadly to the shrimps food supply, tinyzooplankton. Last spring, the usual surge in plankton neverhappened.http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/04/3021451/maine-shrimp-season-closed/
http://www.npr.org/2013/12/03/248474721/ready-or-not-quick-climate-changes-worry-scientists-mosthttp://www.npr.org/2013/12/03/248474721/ready-or-not-quick-climate-changes-worry-scientists-mosthttp://www.npr.org/2013/12/03/248474721/ready-or-not-quick-climate-changes-worry-scientists-mosthttp://www.npr.org/2013/12/03/248474721/ready-or-not-quick-climate-changes-worry-scientists-mosthttp://nas-sites.org/americasclimatechoices/other-reports-on-climate-change/2013-2/abrupt-impacts-of-climate-change/http://nas-sites.org/americasclimatechoices/other-reports-on-climate-change/2013-2/abrupt-impacts-of-climate-change/http://nas-sites.org/americasclimatechoices/other-reports-on-climate-change/2013-2/abrupt-impacts-of-climate-change/http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/materials-based-on-reports/reports-in-brief/abrupt-climate-change-brief-FINAL-web.pdfhttp://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/materials-based-on-reports/reports-in-brief/abrupt-climate-change-brief-FINAL-web.pdfhttp://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/materials-based-on-reports/reports-in-brief/abrupt-climate-change-brief-FINAL-web.pdfhttp://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/materials-based-on-reports/reports-in-brief/abrupt-climate-change-brief-FINAL-web.pdfhttp://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10136http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10136http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10136http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/04/3021451/maine-shrimp-season-closed/http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/04/3021451/maine-shrimp-season-closed/http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/04/3021451/maine-shrimp-season-closed/http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10136http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/materials-based-on-reports/reports-in-brief/abrupt-climate-change-brief-FINAL-web.pdfhttp://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/materials-based-on-reports/reports-in-brief/abrupt-climate-change-brief-FINAL-web.pdfhttp://nas-sites.org/americasclimatechoices/other-reports-on-climate-change/2013-2/abrupt-impacts-of-climate-change/http://nas-sites.org/americasclimatechoices/other-reports-on-climate-change/2013-2/abrupt-impacts-of-climate-change/http://www.npr.org/2013/12/03/248474721/ready-or-not-quick-climate-changes-worry-scientists-mosthttp://www.npr.org/2013/12/03/248474721/ready-or-not-quick-climate-changes-worry-scientists-most


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QUOTE

"Adapt ing to an evo lv ing c limate is going to be requ iredin every sector of soc iety, in every region of the globe.

We need to get go ing , to provide integrated science if we are going to meet the challenge.

Richard Moss, senior scientist, Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Preparing for Hell and High WaterIn the journal Science,an international group of researchers urge the development of science needed tomanage climate risks and capitalize on unexpected opportunities. Climate preparedness research needsto integrate social and climate science, engineering, and other disciplines. The need to adapt andadjust is going to be global.http://www.pnnl.gov/news/release.aspx?id=1020

For the article Hell and High Water: Practice-Relevant Adaptation Sciencehttp://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6159/696.summary?sid=f9097460-2c0d-4d2d-a856-0f2aac9893bc

Heres Dr. Hansen with his family. Which of your loved ones have rights to a healthy future?

- Dr. Hansen deeply loves his grandchildren, has warned about climate change for decades at the highestlevels, and is now dedicating his life to his and our preciousdescendants rights to a decent future.Politicians have not listened well, so now to the courts.- EditorAssessing 'Dangerous Cl imate Change'

Earth's history shows that 2C global warming is likely to result ineventual sea level rise of the order of six meters (20 feet).Moreover, we note that such warming level would induce "slowamplifying feedbacks".Our paper was initiated to provide the scientif ic basis for legalactions against national and state governments for not doingtheir job of p rotecting the rights of young people and future

generations.A lower court ruling in the case against the U.S.federal government, suggesting that the "trust" doctrine does notgive the court a constitutional basis for ordering actions on theexecutive branch, is now being appealed to a higher court. The

appeal places greater emphasis on "equal protection of the laws" and "due process", which the U.S.Constitution guarantees to all people.From an email from James Hansen-http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2013/20131202_PopularSciencePlosOneE.pdfAssessing 'Dangerous Cl imate Change'- Required Reduct ion of Carbon Emissions to ProtectYoung People, Future Generations and Naturehttp://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0081648&representation=PDF
http://www.pnnl.gov/news/release.aspx?id=1020http://www.pnnl.gov/news/release.aspx?id=1020http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6159/696.summary?sid=f9097460-2c0d-4d2d-a856-0f2aac9893bchttp://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2013/20131202_PopularSciencePlosOneE.pdfhttp://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2013/20131202_PopularSciencePlosOneE.pdfhttp://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2013/20131202_PopularSciencePlosOneE.pdfhttp://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0081648&representation=PDFhttp://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0081648&representation=PDFhttp://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0081648&representation=PDFhttp://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2013/20131202_PopularSciencePlosOneE.pdfhttp://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6159/696.summary?sid=f9097460-2c0d-4d2d-a856-0f2aac9893bchttp://www.pnnl.gov/news/release.aspx?id=1020


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Climate Today December 6-12, 2013