2 Degrees

Isn’t this interesting – this story has been out there since April 21, 2015.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/21/opinions/sutter-climate-two-degrees/index.html

The most important number you've never heard of

By John D. Sutter, CNN

If the world warms more than 2 degrees Celsius, we're all in a lot of trouble.

This was a follow-up article on May 21, 2015 by the same author.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/21/opinions/sutter-6-degrees-climate/index.html

(CNN)Climate change is all about degrees.

Six degrees Celsius of warming may not sound like much -- probably because "temperatures can swing by 6 degrees within an hour if a warm front passes, and it doesn't mean the end of the world," said Mark Lynas, author of a book called "Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet."

But if we raise global average surface temperatures by just 6 degrees above pre-industrial levels, Lynas told me, we'll create "a scenario which is so extreme it's almost unimaginable."

You'll find Lynas' "Six Degrees" on a list of 12 climate change must-reads below. It includes a Pulitzer Prize winner, Elizabeth Kolbert's "The Sixth Extinction," as well as an illustrated account of an artist's dive into climate science, titled "Climate Changed."

You readers suggested all these, and I've included some of your comments about them.

Sign up for the "2 degrees" newsletter if you want to join our freewheeling book club.

We'll tackle "Six Degrees" first, since it's a great primer.

Here are his 12 must-read climate change books.  Do you recognize any? 

1. "Six Degrees," by Mark Lynas

Chapter by chapter, Lynas explores what the world would look like if it warms 1 degree, 2 degrees, 3, degrees Celsius, etc. He's great at distilling the science and maintaining a sense of optimism amid some very gloomy predictions about the future. Suggested by Lance Olsen.

2. "This Changes Everything," by Naomi Klein

"Well researched, compelling arguments, hits home for multiple audiences, and is a realistic call to action." -- Laura S. Lynes, from Canmore, Alberta

3. "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight," by Thom Hartmann

"It's all-encompassing -- it delves into the various feedback systems in a climate change context, and also the underlying cultural philosophy or stories we tell ourselves that continue to create the situation we're in. Fascinating stuff!" -- Trevor, from Los Angeles

4. "The Age of Sustainable Development," by Jeffrey D. Sachs

"Comprehensive and positive summary of the steps required for sustainable development with good overviews of the problems causing climate change." -- Dan Fowler, from Austin, Texas

5. "Comfortably Unaware," by Richard A. Oppenlander

"People don't realize the devastating impact that our food choices have on the planet. This book explains how animal agriculture is the single biggest cause of global warming." -- Wendy Horowitz, from New Haven, Connecticut

6. "The Sixth Extinction," by Elizabeth Kolbert

"An amazingly well written narrative on the effect our species has had on the planet. As our population continues to grow and our demand on our very limited resources escalates, the negative impact we have had and continue to have is well explained." -- Sharon Lynch, from Benicia, California

7. "The End of the Long Summer," by Dianne Dumanoski

"A really thoughtful, wise and balanced appraisal of fact that, going on past changes to the climate, we are likely to reach a sudden tipping point and experience huge climate changes over just a few years, BUT that humans are incredibly resilient and adaptable and rather than go extinct, will likely rise to the challenge.

"This book gave me hope while presenting the facts." -- Persephone Maywald, from Australia

8. "Climate Wars," by Gwynne Dyer

"Waves of climate refugees. Dozens of failed states. All-out war. From one of the world's great geopolitical analysts comes a terrifying glimpse of the strategic realities of the near future, when climate change drives the world's powers towards the cut-throat politics of survival," the publisher's description says.

9. "Merchants of Doubt," by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway

Here's an endorsement from John Horgan, of Scientific American: "The book, which packages rigorous research in fiery rhetoric, inspired a documentary, 'Merchants of Doubt' ... I highly recommend the book and documentary, which reveal how disturbingly easy it can be for unscrupulous spin-meisters to dupe journalists and the public." The book was suggested by Aaron Thierry, a reader from Edinburgh, Scotland

10. "Don't Even Think About It," by George Marshall

A Twitter user -- @timreckmeyer -- suggested this one as part of a discussion on whether we at CNN should be leading climate change stories with images of sad polar bears on ice sheets. (He thinks we shouldn't. You can see from the gallery below that we still are, from time to time.) George Marshall, the book's author, explores how our brains shape (and warp) perceptions about climate change. I'm hoping this book will help me understand how to better explain this subject -- and will settle the polar bear debate.

11. "Climate Changed," by Philippe Squarzoni

"It's an amazing book. It's an illustrated nonfiction book (graphic novel format) that is built on Squarzoni's interviews with IPCC scientists. The science is well explained, but the power comes from watching Squarzoni absorb the information and struggle to fit it into his life, just like a reader, over the six years it took him to put the book together. So the intangible social aspect of climate, which is probably more important to solutions than climate science itself, is explored with candor." -- Richard Reiss, from New York

12. "The Great Transition," by Lester Brown

"Right away, book club or no, this book must be read: 'The Great Transition,' by Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute," a reader, Elizabeth McCommon, wrote in an e-mail. A friend "put it in my hands this last weekend, saying it would help me regain optimism about the future," she said.

Sounds like it worked.

Email questions to: climate [at] cnn.com.

Subscribe to the "2 degrees" newsletter.

Do we still deny the fact that climate change is a real crisis??!

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

This link is for an article that shows how human-caused global warming is a major threat. Actually, the real problem is that we still deny and ignore the existence of this crisis. If they could deny for decades that cigarettes caused cancer, or that leaded gasoline and lead-based paint were major public health disasters, they can also deny that burning carbon fuels has anything to do with the climate. So many capitalists and conservative politicians still deny the danger of human-caused climate change, and there have been repeated attempts to discredit climate science. Climate denial may not have science on its side, but it has a lot of big money behind it. This denial goes on while the world suffers from one hot year after another, and while countries face cleaning up after one environmental disaster after another. Also in this article, they put some solutions on how we could help people to be aware of the climate change issue and how we are supposed to deal with it. For example, Build a working class environmental movement! It is up to the working-class movement to develop a realistic program to deal with the environmental crisis. Also sssessing different trends in the environmental movement: some books of interest, such what we have in the class "This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate.  

Americans willing to pay carbon tax?

The stumbling block in Congress for confronting climate change has perpetually been the economic challenge. There has been little support for paying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

But now, there is some evidence of a quiet undercurrent of support for a carbon policy, whether it be a tax, cap-and-trade or regulations.

The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) — which, in full disclosure, I direct — and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released a poll Wednesday on how Americans feel about various issues related to climate and energy.

One of the questions looked at willingness to pay for a carbon policy. The results, on the surface, are not very encouraging to any of its advocates: 43 percent of Americans aren’t willing to pay anything to fund such a policy.

Most people would infer from this that putting a price on carbon is challenging. And, politically, it is. But buried in the polling data is a striking revelation: Many people are willing to pay real money for a carbon policy. In fact, on average, Americans appear willing to pay more than a robust climate policy is projected to cost.

 Continue reading the main story

 

Branson's small steps

At least he's a peripatetic.

	Richard Branson (@richardbranson)
9/12/16, 9:15 AM Why small steps make big strives virg.in/izXXY #WeStrive pic.twitter.com/vvd774lN6i

Discussion Questions

• Is it fair to place at least some blame on the average person who has investments in market accounts that hold shares in "dirty" energy companies? Because shareholders seem to be the enablers for the profit-driven oil companies; without people holding shares the company fails.
• Is there any kind of realistic alternative to flying? Would it make more sense to invest in technology that gives us a low-energy means to cross continents? 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352485516301219

Coastal ecosystems face the impacts of climate change much more rapidly than others due to the increase in the temperature of coastal waters. They hold some of the greatest demonstrations of biodiversity in the world and it is crucial that they are conserved and protected in order to preserve not only environmental aspects, but also cultural as well. This article focuses on the coastal regions of Southern China and Southeastern Asia.  

Alternative Questions for Ch. 7

1. What did Branson pledge to spend 3 billion dollars developing over the next decade?

2. How did Bill Clinton react to Branson's $3 billion pledge?

3. What did Branson metaphorically describe carbon as, declaring that we should "attack it in any possible way we can, many people will die just like in any war."?

4. When Branson was speaking with Time, what did he explain was necessary for industries to do if the government "can't deliver" in regards to leading the way to a green future?

5. What is "The Pickens Plan" and how had it radically changed within a couple years of its launch?

6. Today, though the Virgin Green Fund continues to invest in one biofuel company, the rest of its investments are considered to be a "grab bag" of what and what has happened to the momentum of the search of a biofuel breakthrough?

7. According to Klein, the Virgin boss wishes to reduce the amount of his original $3 billion commitment. What does Branson blame the shortfall on?

8. Why did Branson see Calgary as a "great city to start in," in regards to the Earth Challenge?

9. During the 2006 rise in radical environmental activist groups, particularly in the U.K., the government was considering what in light of the highly controversial proposed new runway at Heathrow?

10. According to Klein in response to Branson's pledge, it makes perfect sense to make the "profits and proceeds from the businesses that are most responsible for exacerbating the climate change" to do what?

DQ:

1. Michael Bloomberg and Bill Gates have both used their philanthropy to aggressively advocate for finding solutions to the climate situation, however, they invest in companies that create more environmental issues. Can this be considered hypocrisy and if so is their motivation truly in making profits or environmental conservation?

2. Why do you think there is inconsistent momentum in the pledges and projects that are dedicated to creating solutions for the climate crisis?

Sept 15 Ch 7 ?s – This Changes Everything.

Don Enss

Chapter 7 ?s:

1.      Where did Branson pledge the money would come from if Virgin’s transportation divisions weren’t profitable enough to meet the $3 billion target?

2.      What did Jeremy Grantham say that capitalism would do by ignoring the finite nature of resources and by neglecting the long-term well-being of the planet and its potentially crucial biodiversity?

3.      What did Bill Gates mean by “energy miracles,” when he referred to governments massively increasing spending on R&D?

4.      According to Klein, Branson hasn’t completely given up on awarding the $25 million prize, he’s just “changed his role from straight-up patron to something more akin” to what?

5.      Why was 2006 a pivotal year for the climate change debate?

6.      Why did Branson spend a night in jail?

Greeks bearing gifts

Don Enss

Remember the old saying after the fall of Troy, “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.” Well, a more appropriate saying in our time might be “Beware of billionaires promising to be the one to fix every problem by themselves.” This includes global warning.

I have to admit that sometimes well maybe more that sometimes I am astounded that they can make statements and get a free pass from the reporters.  Sometime I would just like a reporter to say, “Give me a break! Do you really think that I am that stupid or gullible or that my listeners are to buy that?”  When Branson answered “I’m not very good with figures,” or “I failed my elementary maths.” I would have been all over that – “and you can say that with a straight face knowing that you are the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company and negotiate contracts involving sophisticated planning, budgeting, and tax decisions?

”

But they just smile and ask him some inane question about what it felt like having a naked woman riding his back during a sky-dive. I certainly hope that as people become more involved and engaged that politicians and business leaders won’t be allowed to spin their answers, that they will be confronted and challenged when they try to. But it all starts with each one of us. When you hear something that doesn’t sound right, question it and then instead of being part of the social media circulation, be the one who interjects and says “that’s incorrect and here’s where you can learn more about that and see how the individual lied or misquoted.”

 Not to single out Eric Trump, but he was in the news tweeting a photograph showing a big rally recently in Florida. Fortunately, Mark Cuban saw the tweet and realized that it was from his center in Texas and that it wasn’t this week at all. He called him on it. Hopefully some of people who haven't made up their minds might pause to think about whether this is the first time.

"The climate always changes"

• When someone tells you, “The climate is always changing,” show them this cartoon

Of course the climate has always changed, but we’re now seeing temperatures never experienced before. File away under: Things To Show Climate Denying Relatives on Thanksgiving.
==
Postscript. Uh-oh. Looks like there may be a problem with this...

Epic Climate Cartoon Goes Viral But It Has One Key Problem

Questions and Discussions

1. What became the richest environment in the world?
2. What is the main fossil fuels groups have championed?
3. What is the "low-hanging fruit" theory?
4. Who is mark Z. Jacobson?

***some cool links Jesse and I stumbled upon

 http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/15gocj/:12NGMN3dq:pAeu7wdY

 http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1KKqmU/:42@IsqW@:pAeu7wdY

 http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/7SYD4y/:42@IsqMx:pAeu7wdY

 http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2E5OIB/:HWgg4_dm:pAeu7wdY

DQs Sept 13

1.          John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer said, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” I could not help but think of Fred Krupp who took a strong environmental group, EDF, and twisted its purpose for financial gain. This is not the first agency or corporation where this has happened.  Can you think of others?

2.          Harvard University sociologist Theda Skocpol indicated that a major barrier to success in the fight against climate change is an “absence of a mass movement applying pressure from below.” That may be true but who or what triggers that mass movement? 

A tree is not just a tree

Don Enss

When President Reagan uttered “a tree is a tree,” he only demonstrated his ignorance of the roles that trees have play in humans lives since the beginning.  Sadly, he did not stop to think that there are trees in the United States that have been here much longer than he or us, in fact much longer than our country has existed.  His cavalier comments might have played well to those who see only trees as a source of firewood, building materials, paper products and so much more, but they display a lack of respect for the role trees have played in protecting our climate, of providing habitats for other creatures, and for human beings all over the world,

This morning on the way to class, I stopped at an old maple tree and wondered if it was here when MTSU first opened. How many students have walked passed it? How many professors? And until this morning I was probably like most. I had walked passed it countless times without stopping to take a look at it, to touch its bark, to gaze at its scars and wounds, most inflicted by man.  For a moment it provided a shady respite from the sun and I thought about it being stationed there through all of the storms, through all of the seasons with no place to seek shelter, no way to shield its roots from the mower blades and no one to complain to.

No Mr. Reagan, a tree is not just a tree and I am sorry that you did not realize that.

I think this video (posted below) has a lot of the same information that we want to use in our video. I like what he has to say but I think it would be more effective if it was shorter and maybe we could make the guy with the misconceptions more villainous or silly-- to make it more obvious that he or she is uninformed. Perhaps we could use the same data in a different format or find updated data about global warming/climate change. I think we should also put the misconceptions in text format on the video like he did.

I think we should limit our video to 5 Misconceptions About Global Warming—or 5 Things You Thought You Knew About Global Warming—so that we can give each idea enough attention.

Quiz Sep15

Ch7

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?

DQ

• Is the Gaia Hypothesis a constructive model of the planetary ecosystem?
• How can a green future be "a win-win for all concerned"? 233
• Is it bad rhetorical strategy to proclaim that capitalism threatens our existence?
• Do you draw any distinction between Branson, Gates, Buffett, Pickens, Bloomberg, et al? Are you more disappointed in one than the others?
• If you were a climate-conscious billionaire, what would YOU do?
• Is it immoral to try and profit from climate disruption? 234
• Have you heard of Tom Steyer before? Why do you think we've not heard more of him?
• Is there anything "cute" about solar panels? 237
• Are most "green billionaires" malevolent, cynical, or just habituated to the profit motive? Or all of the above?
• Would it be a good or bad thing to multiply proven oil reserves? 248
• Do you accept the more charitable interpretation of what's gone wrong with Branson's pledge and prize initiatives? Do you grant his good intentions? Why aren't good intentions enough? 251
• Do you consider it likely that Branson, Buffett, Gates et al will support legislated regulation, higher taxes, and steeper royalty rates? 254
• Should we be actively pressing our university to divest from fossil fuels, or making other symbolic or substantive green "gestures"?  (For instance, urging President McPhee to join with other university presidents in accepting a "climate challenge"? FYI-we tried that.)
  
  Post your DQs and your video project scripts, please
  
  ==
  
  Oceans Are Absorbing Almost All of the Globe’s Excess Heat
  
  This year is on track to be the third consecutive hottest year on record. Where does that heat go? The oceans, mostly... (continues)
  
  ==
  
  August ties for hottest month on record
  
  It just keeps getting hotter.
  
  August has tied July for the distinction of being the hottest month since record-keeping began in 1880, NASA said in a news release onMonday.
  
  And there’s a good chance 2016 will become the third year in a row of record heat.
  
  An increase in greenhouse gas emissions and El Niño, a weather pattern that warms parts of the Pacific Ocean, has contributed to temperature increases in 2016, scientists said earlier this year.
  
  “But we’ve had El Niños before, they haven’t given us the record-warm temperatures like this,” said Gavin Schmidt, the director for NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
  
  The records being set continue to stack up.
  
  • August and July are now the hottest months on record.
  
  • Every month since October 2015 has set a new monthly high-temperature record.
  
  • The first six months of this year beat 2015 for the hottest half-year ever recorded.
  
  • Both 2014 and 2015 set new heat records, and 2016 is on pace to continue the trend.
  
  Mr. Schmidt cautioned against putting too much significance on monthly rankings and emphasized that the long-term warming trend is more significant.
  
  “This year really does stand out in comparison with all the other years,” Mr. Schmidt said.
  
  The streak of record highs could end — for a while at least — if a weather pattern known as La Niña, in which sea surface temperatures fall below normal, takes hold soon, but Mr. Schmidt said it’s not clear that will materialize.
  
  And even if it does, it is not likely to prevent 2016 from becoming the hottest year on record. nyt

http://www.iflscience.com/environment/costa-rica-has-been-running-on-100-renewable-electricity-for-76-days-and-counting/

This article is highlighting Costa Ricas renewable energy program. We were talking about this the other day in class.

What is the Clean Power Plan?

What is the Clean Power Plan?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Power_Plan

Here’s just a little information from the above link.

The Clean Power Plan is a policy aimed at combating anthropogenic climate change(global warming) that was first proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency in June 2014, under the administration of US President Barack Obama.^[1] The final version of the plan was unveiled by President Obama on August 3, 2015.^[2]

The final version of the Clean Power Plan is the first to set a national limit on carbon pollution produced from power plants. The plan would lower the carbon emitted by power generators.^[3]

The Clean Power Plan is designed to strengthen the trend of clean energy by setting standards for power plants and goals for states to cut their carbon pollution.^[4]

Here’s a link to the efforts being made to fight this plan. (Open the documents and see who’s attending and how much money is going into this effort).

http://www.exposedbycmd.org/RAGA-Clean-Power-Plan

Chap 6 "Fruits, not Roots" questions

Don Enss

Chapter 6:

1.      Words do matter. How was the 2003 pledge by The Nature Conservancy worded to justify their continued extraction of hydrocarbons?

2.      What is a painful reality behind the environmental movement’s catastrophic failure to effectively battle the economic interests behind soaring emissions?

3.      Name four green movement groups that don’t take donations from polluters and are fighting against polluters’s wrong doings around the globe.

4.      Where does the financial ties between funders and public interest work become relevant?

5.      In all, twenty-three federal environmental acts became law over the course of the 1970s alone. List just five Acts.

6.      How did Fred Krupp change EDF’s goals?

7.      What is the most important preservation work that any environmental group can do?

8.      What was the mantra of the early ecologist?

Quiz Sep13

Ch6

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?

DQ

• COMMENT: "Coal isn't the enemy. Carbon emissions are." 191
• What kind of political leadership would it take to bring back the heady days of environmental bipartisanship? 202 Are there any Stewart Udalls in the wings? Or can the grassroots movement force bipartisanship?
• What didn't Ronald Reagan understand about trees? 203
• Can we pick the low-hanging fruit AND dig up the roots? 223
• If you're unwilling to take on the oil companies, does that make you a non-environmentalist? 223

The Video Project

• Post some lines of dialogue for our would-be viral video. If enough of us choose to participate, we'll spend class-time on this. Our goal is to finish by Sep.21, before the first debate. Participants will be rewarded with some extra runs on the scorecard.

If you missed Don's email:

...we thought it might be better to just concentrate on the issue of climate change and take any partisanship out of the picture, so we won't include any political leaders. When you're drafting your scripts think of what it will mean to you and your children, if you have any now or in the future,  or other children and raise you concerns about what is going on. And some of you may want to include some positive suggestions for example economic benefits to rural Americans on having their own co-ops - that's a win-win for all of us. Terms like steward-ship, taking care of our home, leaving it better for the next generation may be something that you want to incorporate in your scripts. (Again, it's just a draft so it doesn't need to be perfect, but try to make it fit you and your personality and something you could comfortably say).

Here is my script and as I mentioned, I will be the bad guy in this video. If I do it well, I will be a very disliked person, but then if it helps the country, I can live with the abuse.

Interviewer: Sir, do you have a moment for a question?

Me: Sure, but make it quick.

Interviewer: Are you worried about how our climate is changing?

Me: No!

Interviewer: So you don't believe the climate is changing?

Me: Of course it's changing, it's hot as hell right now so would you mind if we step into the shade. (move to the shade, pause). But worried about it no. Look if I'm lucky I've got ten years to live and I can find air conditioned places in that time, so it's not my problem.  When I was young I had to live under the threat of nuclear annihilation, let today's young people live under the threat of climate annihilation. It'll be good for them, build their character.

Interviewer: But aren't you worried about the sea level rising and parts of the United States going underwater.

Me: Hey, they should of thought of that when they bought waterfront property (sinister laugh). Look, I live in Tennessee and if the entire state of Florida and most of the east coast went under water, I wouldn't lose any sleep. In fact, my property value would rise. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to find some air-conditioning.

Interviewer: Thank you sir

Yours doesn't need to be that long, but hopefully, I can set the stage for some of you and Dr. Oliver in your scripts to challenge my cynicism and hypocrisy. 

Also, some of you might want to consider coming up as a pair. One says something and they other agrees and elaborates or questions.

The student interviewed after me might want to begin their comment with "Wow! What a jerk!" You'll be the heroine or hero to the viewers.

Let's have some fun with this. Who knows, maybe it'll make a difference beyond the intrinsic satisfaction of creativity in a good cause.

	Reality Drop (@RealityDrop)
9/8/16, 9:04 PM “There’s no conflict between a healthy economy and a healthy planet.” - @POTUS bit.ly/2bUnxBl #ClimateHope

Some good news on climate front

Some good news on climate front

http://www.npr.org/sections/environment/

California Gov. Jerry Brown Signs New Climate Change Laws

Brown signed two laws designed to be the most ambitious initiative on climate change in the country. The business community says the laws don't consider the economic impact on the state.

I called his office and thanked him.

Governor Jerry Brown

c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 445-2841

Fax: (916) 558-3160

And some good news on the site about Community activists in North Dakota.

Unfortunately, there’s still plenty of bad news as you will see as you scroll down the site.

I also heard a report about this case on NPR last night after I left. I couldn’t find the NPR segment, but here is an article about it.

https://www.tni.org/en/briefing/netherlands-indonesia-bit-rolls-back-implementation-new-indonesian-mining-law

In July 2014, Newmont Mining Corporation brought a case against Indonesia using the Indonesia-Netherlands BIT at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).1 In making the legal claim, the mining giant argued that the Indonesian Government's plans to implement a ban on unprocessed mineral exports would violate the investment agreement between Indonesia and the Netherlands. The case at ICSID was presented four months after Indonesia announced it would not renew its Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with the Netherlands when it expires in July 2015. After one month, Newmont withdrew its case against Indonesia but only after it had reached an agreement with the Indonesian government, giving the mining company special exemptions from the new mining law.