New report on climate change released today

[lpetrich]

Joe Biden's climate plan is the Green New Deal, minus the crazy.

Joe Biden has embraced the Green New Deal. He might not have uttered those magic words on Tuesday while unveiling his campaign’s new, far-reaching plan to combat climate change and revitalize the U.S. economy, but he didn’t have to. In substance and spirit, the Democratic nominee has signed on to the concept’s most important pieces, while doing away with some of its more controversial, and less essential, trappings.

It’s understandable why Biden might avoid the branding. For many moderates and conservatives, including our president, the phrase “green new deal” itself has become a shorthand for leftist overreach. In part, that’s because no one group can really claim complete ownership of the idea and some maximalist versions favored by young activists have included things like Medicare for All and a federal jobs guarantee, along with zeroing out carbon emissions, which make their proposals look a bit like democratic-socialist wishlists disguised as plans to stop global warming.

Also such things as concern about bovine flatulence and wanting to end air travel, what was in an unofficial FAQ leaked from AOC's office.

Over the last decade or two, the Democratic Party has preferred ways of tweaking markets, like cap-and-trade and carbon taxes.

Green New Dealers have taken a different, less market-focused approach, combining clean power mandates that would force a shift away from carbon, massive government spending and industrial policy designed to create jobs, and a strong emphasis on environmental justice for communities hardest hit by pollution.

...
Biden is borrowing some of his new ideas directly from Washington Governor Jay Inslee, whose short presidential run made him a folk hero to climate hawks. ...

... Unlike his former opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders, for instance, Biden wouldn’t ban natural gas and oil fracking or phase out nuclear power, and he leaves the door open to carbon capture technology, which some environmentalists see as distracting techno-optimism, and a lot of others think will be absolutely essential if we want to keep the planet from frying. Also, on the list of differences: AOC and Sen. Ed Markey wanted to move the country to clean energy in 10 years, whereas Biden’s timeline is longer and more realistic.

But activists are still clearly happy with Biden’s leftward shift. The Sunrise Movement, the youth activist organization closely associated with the Green New Deal, issued an approving statement that took credit for teaching Joe Bide to “talk the talk” on climate, and promised to make him “walk the walk.”

 

[TSwizzle]

Another daring exclusive from Teh Gruaniad;

Greta Thunberg has accused EU politicians of failing to acknowledge the scale of the climate crisis and said its €750bn Covid-19 recovery plan does not do enough to tackle the issue. The climate campaigner said the package of measures agreed by EU leaders proved that politicians were still not treating climate change as an emergency. “They are still denying the fact and ignoring the fact that we are facing a climate emergency, and the climate crisis has still not once been treated as a crisis,” Thunberg told the Guardian. “As long as the climate crisis is not being treated as a crisis, the changes that are necessary will not happen.”

Teh Gruaniad

 

[lpetrich]

Right-wing media’s favorite climate contrarians go on Fox shows to bash Biden’s climate plan | Media Matters for America

Climate contrarians Michael Shellenberger and Bjorn Lomborg both got airtime on Fox shows this week to attack Joe Biden’s recent climate plan and promote their new books, which similarly downplay the seriousness of the climate crisis. This claim is wrong, of course, and plays right into the hands of the right-wing media which is all too eager to use their message to delay necessary climate action.

...
Shellenberger is a pro-nuclear advocate who has a history of criticizing renewable energy, singing the praises of natural gas, and pushing contrarian and bad-faith views about the environmental movement. He’s espoused deliberately misleading claims on recent issues including the Amazon fires of 2019 and the recent Australia wildfires. Similarly, Lomborg has his own history of downplaying the dangers of climate change. As Media Matters wrote last year, he’s “been long discredited within the climate science community,” including being “caught downplaying the risks of sea level rise and even misrepresenting Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports.” His claim to fame, the book The Skeptical Environmentalist, was so riddled with errors that a Danish government committee found him guilty of “scientific dishonesty,” and a website was created specifically to debunk these errors.

Neither of these individuals, of course, are climate scientists.

Shellenberger likes natural gas??? Eek.

 

[bigfield]

Another daring exclusive from Teh Gruaniad;

Greta Thunberg has accused EU politicians of failing to acknowledge the scale of the climate crisis and said its €750bn Covid-19 recovery plan does not do enough to tackle the issue. The climate campaigner said the package of measures agreed by EU leaders proved that politicians were still not treating climate change as an emergency. “They are still denying the fact and ignoring the fact that we are facing a climate emergency, and the climate crisis has still not once been treated as a crisis,” Thunberg told the Guardian. “As long as the climate crisis is not being treated as a crisis, the changes that are necessary will not happen.”

Teh Gruaniad

Nice of you to bold your trigger words.

 

[bilby]

Right-wing media’s favorite climate contrarians go on Fox shows to bash Biden’s climate plan | Media Matters for America

Climate contrarians Michael Shellenberger and Bjorn Lomborg both got airtime on Fox shows this week to attack Joe Biden’s recent climate plan and promote their new books, which similarly downplay the seriousness of the climate crisis. This claim is wrong, of course, and plays right into the hands of the right-wing media which is all too eager to use their message to delay necessary climate action.

...
Shellenberger is a pro-nuclear advocate who has a history of criticizing renewable energy, singing the praises of natural gas, and pushing contrarian and bad-faith views about the environmental movement. He’s espoused deliberately misleading claims on recent issues including the Amazon fires of 2019 and the recent Australia wildfires. Similarly, Lomborg has his own history of downplaying the dangers of climate change. As Media Matters wrote last year, he’s “been long discredited within the climate science community,” including being “caught downplaying the risks of sea level rise and even misrepresenting Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports.” His claim to fame, the book The Skeptical Environmentalist, was so riddled with errors that a Danish government committee found him guilty of “scientific dishonesty,” and a website was created specifically to debunk these errors.

Neither of these individuals, of course, are climate scientists.

Shellenberger likes natural gas??? Eek.

Shellenberger understands that natural gas is better than most other options - particularly coal - and that it's better to have energy from gas than either energy from coal, or no energy at all.

You should read his book if you want to know what his position is - it's rather different from how it's been presented by various agenda-driven reviewers.

 

[lpetrich]

so you want to talk about... on Instagram: “Let’s talk about the Green New Deal ”
with slides

So you want to talk about: Green New Deal

What is the Green New Deal?

The Green New Deal is a 10-year goal to mobilize every aspect of American society to 100% clean and renewable energy by 2030, a guaranteed living-wage job for anyone who needs one, and a just transition for both workers and frontline communities.

The Green New Deal is sponsored by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA); it is the only plan put forward to address the interwoven crises of climate catastrophe, economic inequality, and racism at the scale that both science and justice demand.

@ soyouwanttotalkabout - source: the Sunrise Movement

The Green New Deal has five main goals:

• achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers
• create millions of good, high-wage jobs and ensure prosperity and economic security for all people of the United States
• invest in the infrastructure and industry of the United States to sustainably meet the challenges of the 21st century
• secure clean air and water, climate and community resilience, healthy food, access to nature, and a sustainable environment for all
• promote justice and equity by stopping current, preventing future, and repairing the historic oppression of frontline and vulnerable
  communities.

@ soyouwanttotalkabout - source: newconsensus.org

 

[lpetrich]

Greater racial and economic equity

The disproportionate benefits of a Green New Deal would go to the working-class families and communities of color that have endured disproportionate economic and environmental hazards for decades.

A Green New Deal must counteractsystemic racism and economic exploitation by giving hard-hit communities priority access to new job opportunities, cost savings, pollution cleanup projects, and climate resilience initiatives.

@ soyouwanttotalkabout - source: sierraclub.org

What would a Green New Deal achieve?

Millions of family-sustaining jobs:
Whether replacing lead pipes, weatherizing homes, expanding railways, or manufacturing wind turbines, millions of jobs would stimulate the economy.

Climate sanity:
By investing in smart grids for renewable energy distribution, encouraging energy-efficient manufacturing, and expanding low-emissions public transit, a Green New Deal would significantly reduce climate pollution.

Clean air and water:
GND would replace lead pipes, clean up hazardous waste sites, and reduce toxic air and water pollution from oil, gas, and coal. Those benefiting the most would be the communities of color and low-income families who today endure disproportionate exposure to toxins.

Lower costs:
GND would help working class families slash their energy bills and reduce their transit costs by offering more energy-efficient homes, access to affordable wind and solar power, and more reliable options for affordable public transportation.

@ soyouwanttotalkabout - source: sierraclub.org

 

[lpetrich]

The evidence for rapid climate change is compelling:

Warming Oceans
Global Temperature Rise
Shrinking Ice Sheets

Glacial Retreat
Decreased Snow Cover
Sea Level Rise

Extreme Events
Declining Arctic Sea Ice
Ocean Acidification

"Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal."
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

@ soyouwanttotalkabout source: climate.nasa.gov/evidence

How To Support:

Contact your elected representatives and urge them to support a plan to stop the climate crisis that's actually in line with what the world's top scientists and United Nations say is necessary.

Ask them to endorse Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's resolution for a Select Committee on a Green New Deal.

@ soyouwanttotalkabout

We must listen.

The scientific community is telling us in no uncertain terms that we have less than 11 years left to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and sustainable energy, if we are going to leave this planet healthy and habitable for ourselves, our children, grandchildren, and future generations.

We must act.

@ soyouwanttotalkabout Source: berniesanders.com

 

[Loren Pechtel]

so you want to talk about... on Instagram: “Let’s talk about the Green New Deal ??????”
with slides

So you want to talk about: Green New Deal

What is the Green New Deal?

The Green New Deal is a 10-year goal to mobilize every aspect of American society to 100% clean and renewable energy by 2030, a guaranteed living-wage job for anyone who needs one, and a just transition for both workers and frontline communities.

The Green New Deal is sponsored by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA); it is the only plan put forward to address the interwoven crises of climate catastrophe, economic inequality, and racism at the scale that both science and justice demand.

@ soyouwanttotalkabout - source: the Sunrise Movement

The Green New Deal has five main goals:

• achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers
• create millions of good, high-wage jobs and ensure prosperity and economic security for all people of the United States
• invest in the infrastructure and industry of the United States to sustainably meet the challenges of the 21st century
• secure clean air and water, climate and community resilience, healthy food, access to nature, and a sustainable environment for all
• promote justice and equity by stopping current, preventing future, and repairing the historic oppression of frontline and vulnerable
  communities.

@ soyouwanttotalkabout - source: newconsensus.org

Reality: We don't have the technology for it and it's going to make emissions worse, not better.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

so you want to talk about... on Instagram: “Let’s talk about the Green New Deal ”
with slides

So you want to talk about: Green New Deal

What is the Green New Deal?

The Green New Deal is a 10-year goal to mobilize every aspect of American society to 100% clean and renewable energy by 2030, a guaranteed living-wage job for anyone who needs one, and a just transition for both workers and frontline communities.

The Green New Deal is sponsored by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA); it is the only plan put forward to address the interwoven crises of climate catastrophe, economic inequality, and racism at the scale that both science and justice demand.

@ soyouwanttotalkabout - source: the Sunrise Movement

The Green New Deal has five main goals:

• achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers
• create millions of good, high-wage jobs and ensure prosperity and economic security for all people of the United States
• invest in the infrastructure and industry of the United States to sustainably meet the challenges of the 21st century
• secure clean air and water, climate and community resilience, healthy food, access to nature, and a sustainable environment for all
• promote justice and equity by stopping current, preventing future, and repairing the historic oppression of frontline and vulnerable
  communities.

@ soyouwanttotalkabout - source: newconsensus.org

Reality: We don't have the technology for it and it's going to make emissions worse, not better.

 

[lpetrich]

Acyn Torabi on Twitter: "Trump: AOC, that’s another beauty. She’s the designer of the Green New Deal. She knows nothing about the environment. She probably never studied. If I asked her, how many hours have you taken on the environment. https://t.co/p1lPeZKSRb" / Twitter
As if Trump is some great genius.

Liz Plank on Twitter: "The best way to know what an insecure man really thinks about himself is to pay attention to what he says about powerful women." / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Wow, really heartbroken to hear what a guy who thinks “windmill cancer” is a thing thinks about my climate policy.
Anyways check out our Green New Deal plan for Public Housing, we worked w/ scientists, building trade workers & NYCHA residents to write it: https://t.co/E8xOYR0QAS" / Twitter
noting
Green New Deal for Public Housing | Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Representative Ocasio-Cortez believes that a stable, safe and affordable home lays the foundation for a prosperous life and a thriving community for all people. This bill confronts America's public housing challenges head-on and turns them into opportunities.

Representative Ocasio-Cortez introduced the Green New Deal for Public Housing Act to establish a prosperous society that provides affordable and modern housing for all. This legislation serves to train and mobilize the workforce to decarbonize the public housing stock and improve the quality of life for all. It is time that our government invests in our infrastructure, our people, and our future.

 

[lpetrich]

Orlando Sentinel on Twitter: "Once in a lifetime: two hurricanes, same time, same place (links)" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Talk to me again about how a Green New Deal “goes too far to address the problem”" / Twitter

The picture shows the expected paths of hurricanes Laura and Marco, as of August 21.

• Laura: Dominican Republic - N Haiti - Cuba - Mobile AL
• Marco: NE Honduras - tip of Yucatan Peninsula - Houston TX

National Hurricane Center
As of August 24, 7 PM PDT,

• Laura: at the NW end of Cuba, should be at hurricane force when it hits SW LA at Thu 2 AM EDT
• Marco: at the SE end of LA, weakened to Tropical Storm / Depression

 

[TSwizzle]

OH NO !!! IT'S OUR LAST CHANCE TO SAVE THE PLANET !!!!!111!!!1!!!1 AGAIN !!!11!!!

Thirty years ago we were warned. Now is our last chance to listen. Thirty years ago this week, the population of Earth was given official notification that it faced a threat of unprecedented magnitude. etc, etc, etc.

TehGruaniad

They really mean it this time. No, seriously, no kidding around.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

OH NO !!! IT'S OUR LAST CHANCE TO SAVE THE PLANET !!!!!111!!!1!!!1 AGAIN !!!11!!!

Thirty years ago we were warned. Now is our last chance to listen. Thirty years ago this week, the population of Earth was given official notification that it faced a threat of unprecedented magnitude. etc, etc, etc.

TehGruaniad

They really mean it this time. No, seriously, no kidding around.

And when disaster hits you'll be saying there was nothing that could have been done about it.

 

[George S]

OH NO !!! IT'S OUR LAST CHANCE TO SAVE THE PLANET !!!!!111!!!1!!!1 AGAIN !!!11!!!

Thirty years ago we were warned. Now is our last chance to listen. Thirty years ago this week, the population of Earth was given official notification that it faced a threat of unprecedented magnitude. etc, etc, etc.

TehGruaniad

They really mean it this time. No, seriously, no kidding around.

And when disaster hits you'll be saying there was nothing that could have been done about it.

None of the predictions to date have come to pass. This leads me to doubt the latest cry of "Wolf."

Perhaps it is a slow-moving disaster which we would have plenty of time to react to.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

This slow moving disaster started in the late 19th century. Time to act probably well past now.

 

[ideologyhunter]

It's not that slow-moving. Winters in Ohio have changed since my childhood -- summers have definitely changed in the past quarter century -- and storm patterns, especially hurricane formation, are getting crazy compared to the recent past. Somehow the birds that migrate and the bears that need ice and the plants that grow at certain elevations know more about this than most people. Greenland just shed more ice last year than anyone predicted. Anyone want to guess where Miami will be in 2100? In a sensible world, unlike the present specimen, we'd be converting to renewable energy as fast as possible, reducing the size of our vehicles, pursuing carbon capture...but the Limbaughs and Delays among us have declared that God won't let us destroy the world, and the Trumps among us tell us it's a Chinese hoax.

 

[bilby]

It's not that slow-moving. Winters in Ohio have changed since my childhood -- summers have definitely changed in the past quarter century -- and storm patterns, especially hurricane formation, are getting crazy compared to the recent past. Somehow the birds that migrate and the bears that need ice and the plants that grow at certain elevations know more about this than most people. Greenland just shed more ice last year than anyone predicted. Anyone want to guess where Miami will be in 2100? In a sensible world, unlike the present specimen, we'd be converting to renewable energy as fast as possible, reducing the size of our vehicles, pursuing carbon capture...but the Limbaughs and Delays among us have declared that God won't let us destroy the world, and the Trumps among us tell us it's a Chinese hoax.

You misspelled 'nuclear'.

'Renewable' energy is just a means to sell lots of natural gas. That's why energy companies love it. It doesn't significantly reduce emissions.

Every country and region in the world needs to be consistently in the 'green' on this map. (<100gCO₂eq/kWh).

[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXt-oMxz6hA[/YOUTUBE]

https://www.electricitymap.org/?lang=en

The ONLY countries that are are either undeveloped, have a lot of Hydropower due to mountainous terrain, or use a large amount nuclear (or a combination of these factors).

France, Ontario, Sweden, and Norway are doing it right (but those first three are under intense pressure to stop, for "reasons" that can only be described as religious).

Germany and Denmark have invested VAST sums into wind power, yet are only infrequently 'green'. If they'd spent half as much on nuclear plants as they did on wind turbines, they would be like France.

Seriously, observation trumps hypothesis. This is no longer a matter of opinion; It's an observed and clear fact that only nuclear power allows developed nations to decarbonise their electricity production. The Germans have proven this - nothing hasn't been tried, to get Germany off fossil fuels, except nuclear power. If the Germans can't do it in two decades and at enormous expense, then it can't be done. They've tried. They've failed. Emulating their failure would be insane.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Meanwhile, Gulf of Mexico absolutely churning a massive hurricane. Hurricane Laura has strengthened 60 mph in 24 hrs! This thing could go Cat 5 before landfall. Hurricanes have been rev'ing up on the Gulf the last couple decades. And unlike Wilma, this thing may hit at near maximum intensity.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

And when disaster hits you'll be saying there was nothing that could have been done about it.

None of the predictions to date have come to pass. This leads me to doubt the latest cry of "Wolf."

Perhaps it is a slow-moving disaster which we would have plenty of time to react to.

It's slow-moving in the boiling-a-frog way--by the time people like you realize there's a problem it will be too late. Which is the intended approach--deny until it's inevitable and let others bear the costs.