Hottest July on record.

Don Enss

Last month wasn’t just the hottest July on record for the surface of earth. It continued the longest-ever streak of record-breaking months—15, according to data released on Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). July followed the hottest June, May, April, March, February, January, December, November, October, and September, along with last August, July, June, and May.


The extremes of recent months are such that we're only midway into 2016, and there’s already a greater than 99 percent likelihood that this year will go down as the hottest on record, according to Gavin Schmidt, who directs NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. NASA and NOAA maintain independent records of the earth’s temperatures, and both agree that last month was a scorcher. "July 2016 was absolutely the hottest month since the instrumental records began," Schmidt wrote on Twitter.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-08-17/fires-floods-and-scorchers-earth-destroys-yet-another-heat-record

Oct 4 Ch 12 ?s – Sharing the Sky

Don Enss

Chapter 12:

1.      In Cheyenne the word for water is the same as what?

2.      What is it that drives some people mad about renewables?

3.      There is no more potent weapon in the battle against fossil fuels than what?

4.      Desperate people do what?

5.      What is the main power of divestment from fossil fuels?

6.      What is one of the most opportune times to build that next economy?

Quiz Oct 4

Ch12

1. Why is the Sierra Club pursuing "triage" on the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Reservations in Montana?

2. What did Red Cloud say is part of Natives' way of life?

3. What are the roots of Denmark's and Germany's commitment to renewables?

4. What are participants in the divestment movement asking colleges and municipalities to do, in addition to divesting?

5. What's the greenest town in America?

6. How does the case for climate debt differ from that for reparations in general?

DQ

• "We need common agreement that having been wronged does not grant a country the right to repeat the same crime on an even grander scale." How would you make that case, if you were invited to address a climate summit of developing nations? 417
• Do we all have a "right to breathe clean air" that should override all other considerations (including a tribe's election of a former coal miner as its president)? 390
• Can we all benefit from getting "a few solar panels over on grandma's house"? How can we make that happen? 396
• 
  

Climate Change And The Astrobiology Of The Anthropocene : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR

DONALD DRUMPF AND THE CLIMATE-CHANGE COUNTDOWN
By Elizabeth Kolbert 

...Which brings us, as so many things do these days, to the Presidential election. Donald Drumpf, 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 Drumpf victory. Or it could be seen as the reason to be terrified of a Drumpf victory. If the next four years are spent rolling back whatever progress has been made on emissions, then almost certainly the temperature targets that world leaders set last year in Paris will be breached. In fact, even if the next four years are spent making more progress, it’s likely that the targets will be breached. In the case of climate change, to borrow from Dr. King once again, tomorrow really is today.

92% of World's Population Breathes Toxic Air

Quite staggering numbers that underscores the need to act now . 12.4 million Americans also threatened by toxic oil and gas industries. Click on the map half way down the page and you can see just how big of an issue it is.

For example its effecting 12.4 million people. 11,543 schools and 639 medical facilities and a rough are of 184,578 square miles, bigger than California


http://www.ecowatch.com/who-air-pollution-2020969888.html

Better than nothing

One minute and 22 seconds were spent on climate change and other environmental issues in Monday’s presidential debate—and that was pretty much all Hillary Clinton talking. (Surprise, surprise.) How does that compare to debates in past years? We ran the numbers on the past five election cycles to find out.

The high point for attention to green issues came in 2000, when Al Gore and George W. Bush spent just over 14 minutes talking about the environment over the course of three debates. The low point came in 2012, when climate change and other environmental issues got no time at all during the presidential debates. Some years, climate change came up during the vice presidential debates as well.

2016 so far: 1 minute, 22 seconds in one presidential debate.

2012: 0 minutes.

2008: 5 minutes, 18 seconds in two presidential debates. An additional 5 minutes, 48 seconds in a vice presidential debate.

2004: 5 minutes, 14 seconds in a single presidential debate.

2000: 14 minutes, 3 seconds in three presidential debates. 5 minutes, 21 seconds in a vice presidential debate.

In total, over the five election seasons we looked at, climate change and the environment got 37 minutes and 6 seconds on the prime-time stage during the presidential and vice presidential debates. That's out of more than 1,500 minutes of debate. Not an impressive showing.

A note about how we arrived at these times:

We parsed questions asked of candidates and searched the transcripts for keywords like "climate," "environment," "energy," and "warming." We cross-referenced the transcripts with video of the debates. Only the mentions that pertained to fighting climate change, cleaning up the environment, and reducing emissions counted. President Obama’s passing reference to clean energy jobs in 2012 didn't count, nor did discussions of energy security, because they were in the context of the economy and not fighting climate change.

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Lost in the woods & the cosmos

Reached the Breaking Point

This is what we've been talking about in class.. Earth has officially warmed up past the turning point.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-s-co2-passes-the-400-ppm-threshold-maybe-permanently/?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#link_time=1475095886

Alternative Questions to Ch. 10

1. The students of Bella Bella contemplated what such a spill (referencing the Exxon Valdez disaster) would mean on their coast. What realization did they come to if the sockeye salmon, a keystone species, were to be threatened?

2. In regards to the hearings concerning the Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline, what was it that shocked many of Bella Bella's residents other than the "weird and false accusations of violence"?

3. Klein describes the extraction jobs from the view points of the tar sands workers, saying that when they often discuss their time spend working in North Alberta, it is comparable to what?

4. Klein brings up the point of so called "battles" between corporations and communities, saying that they "seem to come to this stark choice: water vs. gas. Water vs. oil. Water vs. coal," and what has emerged in the movement is...?"

5. According to Klein, if the tar sand pipeline threatens to become an "artery of death,"due to the transportation of poisons across an estimated one thousand waterways, then what will occur?

6. Klein paraphrases The Guardian in saying that "extreme energy demands that we destroy a whole lot of the essential substance we need to survive --water--" just to do what?

7. Anni Vassiliou describes the backwards logic used by economic systems as "living in a upside down world." What is the backwards logic she is referring to?

8. Chinese peasants who rely on traditional subsistence activities like agriculture and fishing have a history of militant uprisings  against industrial projects that cause what?

9. Critics have been quick to point out that divestment won't bankrupt Exxon because if Harvard sells its stock, this will happen?

10. When it comes to fracking in particular, groups like the Environmental Defense Fund have pointedly not joined grassroots calls for drilling bans and a rapid shift to 100 percent renewables, but have instead done what?

11. Current trade and investment rules provide legal grounds for foreign corporations to fight virtually any attempt by governments to restrict the exploitation of fossil fuels, particularly when what occurs?

12. What does Klein say is the "very essence of self-determination?"

DQ:

Klein brings up the question on page 361, saying "what is democracy if it doesn't encompass the capacity to decide, collectively, to protect something that no one can live without?" What does this say about the priorities of the people in comparison to those of corporations and why is it that money seems to dictate the power of action?

Stay calm

Bill McKibben ‏@billmckibben  Sep 23

Sure hope #debate moderators focus on key issues like email security and don't waste time on marginal issues like climate change

How big a problem is climate change? And how we can fight against it?

?How big a problem is climate change

Each year, Earth Day—April 22—marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. On April 22,1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values. Earth Day 1970 gave voice to that emerging consciousness, channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns on the front page. Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. By the end of that year, the first Earth Day had led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. The world in need to take an action toward the climate change crisis. We have to give .a voice that emerging consciousness and putting environmental concerns on the front line

The climate is changing. The earth is warming up, and there is now overwhelming scientific consensus that it is happening, and human-induced. With global warming on the increase and species and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally are diminishing. Many are agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest threats facing the planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various regions, and/or increasing extremities in weather patterns. Many are afraid that tackling climate change is going to be too costly. But increasingly, studies are showing action will not just be cheaper than inaction, but could actually result in economic, environmental and even health benefits, while improving sustainability. For many years, large, influential businesses and governments have been against the idea of global warming. Many have poured a lot of resources into discrediting what has generally been accepted for a long time as real. Now, the mainstream is generally worried about climate change impacts and the discourse seems to have shifted accordingly. Some businesses that once engaged in disinformation campaigns have even changed their opinions, some even requesting governments for regulation and direction on this issue.

Yet, by 2050 when certain emission reductions are needed by, their reduced emissions will still add up to be go over their fair share

In effect, the more there will be delay the more the poor nations will have to save the Earth with their sacrifices (and if it works, as history shows, the rich and powerful will find a way to rewrite history to claim they were the ones that saved the planet).

I found some top ways we can use to stop climate change: such

Got involved by take a few minutes to contact your political representatives and the media to tell them you want immediate action on climate change

Be energy efficient, You already switch off lights — what's next? Change light bulbs to compact fluorescent or LEDs. Unplug computers, TVs and other electronics when not in use. Wash clothes in cold or warm (not hot) water. Dryers are energy hogs, so hang dry when you can. Install a programmable thermostat. 

Ask your utility to switch your account to clean, renewable power, such as from wind farms. If it doesn't offer this option yet, ask it to.

Buy organic and locally grown foods. Avoid processed items. Grow some of your own food. And eat low on the food chain — at least one meat-free meal a day — since 18 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions come from meat and dairy production. Food writer Michael Pollan sums it up best: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Garbage buried in landfills produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Keep stuff out of landfills by composting kitchen scraps and garden trimmings, and recycling paper, plastic, metal and glass. Let store managers and manufacturers know you want products with minimal or recyclable packaging.

Carbon taxes make polluting activities more expensive and green solutions more affordable, allowing energy-efficient businesses and households to save money. They are one of the most effective ways to reduce Canada's climate impact. If your province doesn't have a carbon tax, ask your premier and MLA to implement one.

Air travel leaves behind a huge carbon footprint. Before you book your next airline ticket, consider greener options such as buses or trains, or try vacationing closer to home. You can also stay in touch with people by videoconferencing, which saves time as well as travel and accommodation costs.

Finally, Transportation causes about 25 per cent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, so walk, cycle or take transit whenever you can. You'll save money and get into better shape! If you can't go car-free, try carpooling or car sharing, and use the smallest, most fuel-efficient vehicle possible.

References

Klein, Naomi. This Changes Everything

http://www.globalissues.org/issue/178/climate-change-and-global-warming

http://www.earthday.org/about/the-history-of-earth-day/

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/top-10-ways-you-can-stop-climate-change/

http://www.communistvoice.org/DWV-150423.html

Federal Bill Seeks First Native American Land Grab in 100 Years

A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Utah Republican Congressmen Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz seeks to take 100,000 acres of Ute tribal lands and hand them over to oil and mining companies. 

Not sure what is more disturbing, the complete insult it is to the Native Americans or the potential (but almost certain) harmful repercussions that will result if passed.

http://www.ecowatch.com/native-american-land-grab-2010250967.html

Cancerous Chromium-6 Found in US Drinking Water

Could our water be even more toxic than we thought?

According to a analysis from the non-profit research and advocacy organization Environmental Working Group (EWG), a program under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tested over 60,000 water samples and found that the cancerous chemical known as chromium-6 has contaminated over 75 percent of the water samples. The EPA data shows that about 218 million Americans among all 50 states are exposed to potentially unsafe levels of chromium-6.


http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/29046/20160922/cancerous-erin-brockovich-chemical-found-u-s-drinking-water.htm

World's Largest Solar Plant Goes Online

Largest solar plant to go online in India to provide 648 megawatts, enough to power 300,000 homes. Another positive step in the right direction.

http://www.ecowatch.com/worlds-largest-solar-plant-2011318629.html

Extreme weather cost taxpayers 67 billion from 2005-15

With these extreme weather events which cost taxpayers 67 billion from 05-15, which is "likely and underestimate", along with the New York Times study in 2015 showing 83 % of respondents said that unmitigated climate change poses a very or somewhat serious problem in the future.It's troubling that it isn't a bigger issue than it is considering its impacts on two very important fronts which some might say are the two most important things there is today, life and money.

http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-extreme-weather-2013651705.html

Sept 27 Ch 10 ?s – Love will save this place.

Don Enss

Chapter 10:

1.      On the way to the Bella Bella hearings about the Northern Gateway, the Joint Review Panel members saw outside their van windows little more than a stereotypical mob of angry Indians. But how did it appear to the people outside the van?

2.      When what is being fought for is an identity, a culture, a beloved place that people are determined to pass on to their grandchildren, what can companies offer as a bargaining chip?

3.      What is the culture of fossil fuel extraction – by both necessity and design?

4.      What is the animating force behind every single movement fighting extreme extraction?

5.      In the global victories against coal, what has the world bank done that could turn out to be a severe blow to the coal industry?

6.      What is the one thing that the elites in China cannot insulate themselves from?

7.      What is the fossil fuel divestment movement saying to companies?

8.      As anti-fossil fuel forces gain strength, extractive companies are beginning to fight back using a familiar tool. What is it? 

Jesse Brandon and Caroline Duncan: our project report will be on Earthships. Including but not limited to, the definition, benefit, possibilities, funtionality, and cost of Earthships. If anyone cares to join our report, just comment below.

Jesse Brandon and Caroline Duncan: our project report will be on Earthships. Including but not limited to, the definition, benefit, possibilities, funtionality, and cost of Earthships. If anyone cares to join our report, just comment below.

Quiz Sep 27

Everyone, please select a midterm group presentation topic by Tuesday. If you have a topic preference in mind, post it and see if anyone wants to join you. Some of the ideas we floated in class: Food ethics and environmental impacts; Thoreau, & other environmental roots icons; "Earthships"; TED Talks;  Climate misconceptions; Social media as a tool for environmental activism; ...

Ch 10
1. Why was the engagement of Bella Bella's students in opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline a "big deal"?

2. What do extractive industries like Arch Coal not "get"?

3. How much water does it take to produce a barrel of tar sands oil?

4. Why do Chinese environmentalists "thank smog"?

5. What movement has the Sierra Club belatedly joined?

6. What are Transition Towns?

DQ

• Would it be futile or constructive to push for fossil fuel divestiture at MTSU? Would it be worthwhile to invite President McPhee to speak with us again about joining the Universtiy Presidents' climate initiative, ACUPCC, in support of a green campus?
• What are some local actions that might help in "expanding public spaces and nurturing civic involvement" in middle Tennessee?
• What did you hear in the first "debate" that encourages or discourages you?

Ecotopia 2121...

Andy Revkin added,

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

Ice storm rolls from Texas to Tennessee - I'm in Los Angeles and it's freezing. Global warming is a total, and very expensive, hoax!

0 retweets0 likes

	Climate Reality (@ClimateReality)
9/25/16, 7:14 AM Iowa’s huge new wind farm is expected to power about 800,000 homes! read.bi/2cpiLtt pic.twitter.com/oxtKBpTbTL

	TED Talks (@TEDTalks)
9/24/16, 8:56 PM "With the right design, sustainability is nothing but the rigorous use of common sense." t.ted.com/PoQDp4C

	Bill McKibben (@billmckibben)
9/23/16, 10:32 AM Given the new math, from now on anyone proposing a new pipeline, coal mine, oil well is effectively a climate deniernewrepublic.com/article/136987…

1. Al Gore ‏@algore  3h3 hours ago

   .@LesterHoltNBC, tonight's debate should-of course-include questions on the climate crisis, the greatest threat we face as a nation & world.

   481 retweets890 likes
2. Al Gore ‏@algore  Sep 21

   Exciting news: the #ParisAgreement has now been ratified by 60 nations. Another step closer to our sustainable future!

   499 retweets876 likes

My Vote

Come November, I will be casting my eighteenth ballot in a Presidential election. And it will be the most important one of my lifetime... BY ROGER ANGELL New Yorker  (continues)
==
Patagonia's Philosopher-King
...When Clinton mentioned the value of compromise, he said, rolling his eyes, “It’s the work of the Devil.” He and Patagonia have fiercely opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership. “I’m on Obama’s shit list,” he said. “I’ve become an isolationist, actually. Anything of any seriousness that happens has to happen on a local level. I think we’re seeing the end of empire, the end of globalism. It can’t hold. People will revert: protecting your family, protecting your village. Like the Dark Ages. I honestly believe that.” He added, “Drumpf is the perfect person to take us to the apocalypse.

He listened to Clinton. The high-pitched political oratory seemed almost to pain him. He’d long ago despaired of the process, and of its inadequacy to address what he deems the existential threats to our climate, our food and water supplies, and the survival of life on earth, in any recognizable form. After listening for a while, he said, “Nobody’s mentioning global warming. No one wants to deal with it.” As though on cue, Clinton said, “I believe climate change is real!” But then she moved on to other wedges: immigration, the minimum wage.

“That was her environmental message?” Chouinard said. “Oh, God.”

...The company laid off twenty per cent of its workforce, which no longer consisted mainly of friends and friends of friends. “It was hard,” Chouinard said. “I realized we were just growing for the sake of growing, which is bullshit.”

...Patagonia helped launch something called the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, a consortium of big retailers, like Walmart, Macy’s, and the Gap, which, among other things, is now devising a system to give a sustainability grade to every purchasable product. “But I’ve become cynical about whether we can have any influence,” Chouinard said. “Everyone’s just greenwashing. The revolution isn’t going to happen with corporations. The elephant in the room is growth. Growth is the culprit.”

...As Chouinard steered us through the sublime vistas of Montana, enumerating extinctions and threats, one felt not depressed—or even, as one often is, in the presence of ecological jeremiads, exasperated—but, rather, almost inexplicably exhilarated. Maybe it was the trench humor, the dark comedy of the climber in dire straits. Whenever Chouinard says, “We’re fucked,” he laughs.

“He’s one of the most pessimistic people I’ve ever known,” McGuane said. “And yet one of the most fun people to do things with.”

The optimism, when it comes, is in his accounts of tiny victories, rare as they may be, and his belief in the effort, if not the outcome. “We stopped a dam the other day,” he said, at one point, as we drove along the Madison. “In Alaska, on the Susitna River. We gave a grant of twenty-five thousand dollars to a filmmaker who was making a film called ‘Supersalmon.’ The film comes out, the guy shows it around, and the governor, just like that, he kills the dam. You don’t get many clear-cut victories like that. But sometimes all it takes is one person.”

 (continues)

Gary Johnson, still clueless

In case you were thinking of casting a Libertarian protest vote...

	Mother Jones (@MotherJones)
9/22/16, 9:45 PM Gary Johnson wants to ignore climate change because the sun will destroy the Earth one day ow.ly/AQ2j304tLs0

Study guide

Quiz 1    

1. Why do we engage in ecological amnesia?

2. Who (besides politicians) can declare a crisis?

3. What target was agreed on at Copenhagen? What is projected by the World Bank, and by the IEA?

4. What habit of thought rules our era?

5. What kind of shift does Klein consider crucial to addressing "our problem"?

Quiz 2

1. What percentage of climate scientists have concluded that anthropogenic climate change is real?

2. What is the Heartland Institute devoted to?

3. What was Upton Sinclair's famous observation?

4. What is "green fascism"?

5. Who did Al Gore proclaim to have "the best green energy program" in North America?

6. What three "policy pillars" are incompatible with bringing emissions to safe levels?

7. What accounting system has created a distorted picture of the drivers of global emissions?

8. What logic, "even more entrenched than free trade," must be confronted if we're to have a chance of achieving lower emissions in time?

Quiz 3

1. What is Energiewende?

2. Within what time-frame did Jacobson and Delucchi conclude we could shift to renewables?

3. What percentage of profits did the Big Five oil companies devote to renewables in 2008?

4. What was missing from President Carter's famous "malaise" speech, according to Christopher Lasch?

Quiz 4

1. What has cut off the past and orphaned critical opinion in the present?

2. What stopped the President from seizing the moment of financial crisis to create a transitional climate opportunity?

3. How can natural gas serve as an effective short-term transition fuel?

4. How are the Canadian tar sands not like science fiction?

5. What do intelligent investors know about the results and commitments of U.N. climate summits?

6. What language has become foreign to a great many of us?

Quiz 5

1. What's the dominant conceptual model used by today's decision makers?

2. How does our culture rationalize drawing down finite resources without worrying about tomorrow?

3. Who's the patron saint of extractivism, and what's the ironic legend of his death?

4. Who calls coal a "natural sponge"?

5. What's the antithesis of extractivism?

6. Who advocated a "land ethic"?

Quiz 6

1. Who partnered in Texas to save a prairie chicken?

2. What's virtually impossible to do without taking money of questionable origin?

3. What was the "environmentalism of the poor"?

4. Who said "we should have tried to change the system and root causes"?

5. What environmental group partnered with Walmart?

6. What do we now know about fracking that weakens its case, compared to the early '90s?

7. How are some manufacturers gaming the carbon trading system?

8. What does Klein say the leader of the Environmental Defense Fund wants environmentalists to do more?

Quiz 7

1. What's Gaia Capitalism?

2. What should we remember about Noah's Ark?

3. What has Virgin Airways added to its fleet since Richard Branson's meeting with Al Gore?

4. How has air capture technology "morphed"?

5. What was Branson "onto," with his pledge, and what's the problem with it?

6. What's our most intoxicating narrative?

Quiz 8

1. With what Jane Austen-inspired metaphor does Klein describe the work of the Chicheley Hall retreat?

2. What kind of wave might ensue, if we ever stopped blocking the sun?

3. Why is Frankenstein a terribly poor metaphor for geoengineering?

4. What kind of stories do we need, according to Klein, instead of visions of a space-faring human future?

Quiz 9

1. Where is Blockadia?

2. What stopped the Russian government from prosecuting Arctic Sunrise protesters as pirates?

3. What's Blockadia's simple principle?

4. Oilwatch International leads a global movement to do what?

5. What's the Catch-22 of fossil fuels?

6. What was the Halliburton Loophole?

7. What was the most disliked industry in America in 2013?

8. What does Wendell Berry say it would take to eliminate sacrifice zones and ecological crises?

==
Ch 10
1. Why was the engagement of Bella Bella's students in opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline a "big deal"?

2. What do extractive industries like Arch Coal not "get"?

3. How much water does it take to produce a barrel of tar sands oil?

4. Why do Chinese environmentalists "thank smog"?

5. What movement has the Sierra Club belatedly joined?

6. What are Transition Towns?