Posted on 9 September 2018 by John Hartz

Story of the Week...

Rise for Climate: thousands march across US to protest environment crisis

Protests spearheaded by march in San Francisco ahead of climate change summit in the city next week

Several thousand people took part in a climate march in New York City on Thursday. Ten activists were arrested after blocking the street in front of Andrew Cuomo’s Manhattan office. Photograph: Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock 

Tens of thousands of people took part in marches and other events across the US on Saturday, calling for a swift transition to renewable energy in order to stave off the various perils of climate change.

The Rise for Climate protests was spearheaded by what organizers called the largest ever climate march on the US west coast. The march, which snaked through the heart of San Francisco, came ahead of a climate change summit in the city next week that will gather mayors and business leaders from around the world.

The San Francisco march, which called for California governor Jerry Brown to end fossil fuel extraction in the state, attracted around 30,000 people, organizers said.

An array of activities, including rallies, voter registration drives and vigils, were scheduled to take place across the US, in cities such as Boston, Miami and Portland, Oregon. Events were also planned in Puerto Rico. In New Orleans, protesters planned to agitate for the halt of the Bayou Bridge pipeline, an extension of the controversial Dakota Access project that last year spurred a lengthy standoff at the Standing Rock reservation.

Rise for Climate: thousands march across US to protest environment crisis by Oliver Milman, Environment, Guardian, Sep 8, 2018 

Editorial of the Week...

Trump’s dirty environmental policies will echo for ages

The Big Rivers Electric Corporation power plant in Robards, Ky., May 27. The Trump administration on Aug. 21 made public the details of its new pollution rules governing coal-burning power plants, and the fine print includes an acknowledgment that the plan would increase carbon emissions and lead to up to 1,400 premature deaths annually.  Photo: LUKE SHARRETT /NYT

As the world watches the legal twists and turns of the Trump administration, something far more consequential is happening. Long after Trump, Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort and the rest are forgotten, the inhabitants of Earth will still be dealing with climate change. And policies the president recently announced are going to make the problem worse for us and put future generations on track for disaster.

A couple of weeks ago, Trump began relaxing automotive fuel efficiency standards that require automakers to improve fuel efficiency of cars over the next decade. Now, Trump is replacing former President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan, a policy that reduces emissions from electric power plants.

By the EPA’s own analysis, these actions by Trump reverse policies that were addressing climate change.

To understand how climate is affecting you today, consider the miserable summer we’ve experienced. Climate change is one of the reasons it’s so hot. So, it follows that it’s driving up your air-conditioning bill, as well as the bill for businesses you rely on. Like higher oil prices, this increased expense ripples through the economy and takes money out of your pocket. 

Trump’s dirty environmental policies will echo for ages, Opinion by Andrew Dessler*, San Antonio Express-News, Sep 3, 2018

*Andrew Dessler is a professor of atmospheric sciences and the Reta A. Haynes Chair in Geosciences at Texas A&M University. 

Toon of the Week...

Quote of the Week...

Negotiations, however still needed to "achieve full clarity in climate finance," Espinosa said, referring to a $100 billion fund to help developing countries tackle climate change, describing funding as a "politically sensitive" issue.

Critics say that developed countries remained uncommitted over finance.

"The U.S. is a major culprit in taking finance off the table," Lidy Nacpil, coordinator at non-governmental organisation the Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development, told reporters.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who in the past has described climate change as a hoax, pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement in 2017, saying it favoured other countries and was disadvantageous to the United States. 

Good progress" at Bangkok climate talks on draft Paris accord rules - UN official by Chayut Setboonsarng, Reuters, Sep 9, 2018

Coming Soon on SkS...

• Kavanaugh’s views on EPA’s climate authority are dangerous and wrong (Dana)
• Getting involved with Climate Science via crowdfunding or -sourcing (Baerbel)
• How Arctic lakes accelerate permafrost carbon losses (Carbon Brief)
• Guest Post (John Abraham)
• New research this week (Ari)
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37 (John Hartz)
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming weekly Digest #37 (John Hartz)

John Cook Sighting...

John Cook was one of three panelists on the Aug 30 NPR/Climate Cast radio broadcast, How Houston's recovering from a hurricane boosted by climate change hosted by Paul Hunter.

Cook's topic:

Australia on the front lines of climate change. And the politics of climate change in Australia is even more intense than here in the U.S. Aussie native John Cook, a research assistant professor at the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University, explains. 

SkS Week in Review...

• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #36 by John Hartz
• New research, August 27 - September 2, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki
• An alternative to propping up coal power plants: Retrain workers for solar by Joshua Pearce (The Conversation US)
• Rising CO2 levels could push ‘hundreds of millions’ into malnutrition by 2050 by Daisy Dunne (Carbon Brief)
• California's response to record wildfires: shift to 100% clean energy by Dana Nuccitelli (Climate Consensus - 97%, Environment, Guardian)
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #35 by John Hartz

Poster of the Week...