Month: December 2018

This young lady deserves..no, demands, your attention.

Description:

Greta Thunberg realized at a young age the lapse in what several climate experts were saying and in the actions that were being taken in society. The difference was so drastic in her opinion that she decided to take matters into her own hands. Greta is a 15-year-old Stockholm native who lives at home with her parents and sister Beata. She’s a 9th grader in Stockholm who enjoys spending her spare time riding Icelandic horses, spending time with her families two dogs, Moses and Roxy. She love animals and has a passion for books and science. At a young age, she became interested in the environment and convinced her family to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

Yale Program on Climate Communications:

Some members of Congress are proposing a “Green New Deal” for the U.S. They say that a Green New Deal will produce jobs and strengthen America’s economy by accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. The Deal would generate 100% of the nation’s electricity from clean, renewable sources within the next 10 years; upgrade the nation’s energy grid, buildings, and transportation infrastructure; increase energy efficiency; invest in green technology research and development; and provide training for jobs in the new green economy.

While the Green New Deal has been a fixture of the post-election news cycle, and at least 40 members of Congress (to date) have endorsed the idea, little is known about the American public’s support for or opposition to it. To inform this question, we surveyed a nationally-representative sample of registered voters in the United States.

In the survey, we showed respondents a brief description of the Green New Deal, which was identical to the first paragraph of this report (above). The description was followed by the question “How much do you support or oppose this idea?”

The survey results show overwhelming support for the Green New Deal, with 81% of registered voters saying they either “strongly support” (40%) or “somewhat support” (41%) this plan.

Gizmodo:

The Green New Deal is popping. New polling released on Friday by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication shows that 81 percent of respondents across the political spectrum support the progressive plan to combat climate change by rapidly weaning the U.S. off fossil fuels.

The findings are stunning but also come with a couple caveats, namely that most people haven’t heard much about the Green New Deal, and they may not know of its connection to incoming representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a bete noire in the right wing fever swamps. Still, the fact that the idea enjoys broad support in a semi-vacuum shows that before Americans descend into their political bunkers, progressive policies are actually quite popular.

The Green New Deal is a set of aspirational goals in line with the best available climate science. Among those goals are switching the U.S. electrical grid to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, improving energy efficiency, and setting up policies for a green jobs guarantee while planning a just transition for fossil fuel workers as they move into new economic sectors. If it sounds good to you, you’re not alone.

The new polling numbers (which are based on online polling of 966 registered voters) show that 81 percent of respondents support this idea either “somewhat” or “strongly”. That includes 92 percent of Democrats, 88 percent of Independents, and even 64 percent of Republicans. The numbers are markedly higher than similar polling done by progressive think tank Data for Progress earlier this year. There’s no set plan for how to get there, but that’s why groups like the Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats have been lobbying for Democratic leadership in the House to setup a select committee to create that plan.

Continue reading “Poll: Green New Deal is Wildly Popular”

Above, climate deniers as always with their finger on the pulse of reality, have decided to double down on coal burning.

Denialist clown and tobacco shill Steven Milloy is leading a “Burn more Coal” campaign, as America wakes up to the depths of the climate catastrophe.

On the other hand, when we run out of coal, we can always burn stupid.
See more Milloy brilliance, and Twitter’s responses, below.

CNBC:

Americans have reached consensus on the need to act in response to climate change with one conspicuous exception: Republicans.

A new NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll identifies that sharp break in the evolving pattern of public opinion as scientists have amplified their warnings of rising global temperatures and linked them to a range of natural disasters. Overall, 66 percent of Americans now say they’ve seen enough evidence to justify action, up from 51 percent two decades ago.

That figure incorporates 85 percent of Democrats, 79 percent of independents, 71 percent of women, 61 percent of men and strong majorities of all racial groups. At least 55 percent agree on the need for action in all regions of the country, and at all age, education and income levels.

Resistance comes only from the one-third of Americans who identify themselves as Republicans. A 56 percent majority of the GOP says either that concern about climate change is unwarranted or that more research is necessary before taking action.

The survey shows how deeply the Republican rank and file has absorbed the messages from GOP leaders and media outlets that fears about the issue have been either exaggerated or fabricated outright. Republican Congressional leaders opposed decisions by President Clinton and Obama to curb US carbon emissions in concert with action by other nations.

Continue reading “As Americans Wake up to Climate Threat, Deniers Dig In”

Greta Thunberg is having none of your bullshit.

“NASA lies.” Check.

“They’re in it for the money.”  Check.

“Do your own research.”  Check.

“God’s word is true, He’s in Control, and He’s still up there.” Check, and Check.

The Arctic Report card, an annual review of northern polar changes by NOAA scientists, comes out at the AGU Fall Meeting each year.

This year, as the increasingly dire observations were being outlined, the Administration’s representatives were at the COP meeting in Poland describing how they plan to make it worse.
As the US joined with the Saudis and Russians in sabotaging global cooperation, those in attendance were not amused.

 

Energy storage technology is moving along the same track that solar did a decade ago – lower cost, better performance, new technologies.

The Arctic Report Card is an annual update on changes in the Arctic, and is rolled out at the AGU Fall Meeting. This is the first time I’ve actually attended the press conference.

Retired Admiral Tim Gallaudet, acting Chair of NOAA, was the target of some pointed questions from reporters as to whether the White House has been fully briefed on the findings, and how that squares with professed denial of climate science. Gillaudet fended them off, insisting that the White House continues to support NOAA science.

New York Times:

The warmer Arctic air causes the jet stream to become “sluggish and unusually wavy,” the researchers said. That has possible connections to extreme weather events elsewhere on the globe, including last winter’ssevere storms in the United States.

The jet steam normally acts as a kind of atmospheric spinning lasso that encircles and contains the cold air near the pole; a weaker, wavering jet stream can allow Arctic blasts to travel south in winter and can stall weather systems in the summer, among other effects.

The more rapid warming in the upper north, known as Arctic amplification, is tied to many factors, including the simple fact that snow and ice reflect a lot of sunlight, while open water, which is darker, absorbs more heat. As sea ice melts, less ice and more open water create a “feedback loop” of more melting that leads to progressively less ice and more open water.

And as Arctic waters become increasingly ice-free, there are commercial and geopolitical implications: New shipping routes may open, and rivalries with other countries, including Russia, are intensifying.

 

 

Continue reading “Arctic Report Card 2018”

In Washington DC, the world’s largest scientific meeting is underway – The American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting is Burning Man for earth, ocean and atmospheric scientists, and I’m lining up the interviews, sessions and after-hours activities that will make this another exhausting but illuminating week.

Very happy to chat with Dr Katey Walter Anthony this morning, famous for her youtube vids that have blown so many minds with exploding methane bubbles on arctic lakes. Informative and sharp on one of our biggest climate question marks. Stay tuned – I’ll be hit and miss this week.

Below, AGU Pressroom has wifi, coffee,… and food – for journalists on a budget…

This pirate vid is up for now, includes the whole monologue from the other night that I couldn’t find on the Late Show channel – they chose to omit some of the more gallows humor on climate, apparently.

 

UPDATE – sadly video has been removed by the user.