Posted on 11 February 2024 by BaerbelW

Story of the week

This past week Professor Michael Mann successfully concluded his lawsuit against fossil fuel industry proxies Rand Simberg and Mark Steyn, who dragged Mann's reputation through the mud with false information while working to deceive the public about the threat of climate change. After hearing testimony about the disgusting tactics employed by the defendants, the jury swiftly returned their judgement: the accused are indeed guilty of smearing Mann's character and owe him $1M in damages. No surprise, this all-too-rare example of reckless accusations being assigned a fair price tag is our story of the week. Our colleagues at DeSmog have done the best job of covering the entire affair. See Michael Mann Wins $1 Million Verdict In Defamation Trial for excellent coverage of the trial's conclusion and background. For our part we'll observe that Prof. Mann has a long memory and attention span. Meanwhile, prolonging justice delivered only hurt the defendants; Simberg and Steyn would have been smarter by settling years ago. 

Stories we thought important

Published before February 4

• The climate solutions worth funding — now by Jonathan Foley, Ted, July 2023
• How do we know our carbon emissions?  In this YouTube video, Simon Clark explains the technique used to estimate our carbon emissions. by Simon Clark, YouTube, Jan 31, 2024
• How one B.C. ski hill is coping with a weird, warm winter  A ski resort operator talks himself out of understanding his true situation.  by Alex Cyr , Macleans.ca, Feb 02, 2024
• Converging Climate Risks Interact to Cause More Harm, Hitting Disadvantaged Californians Hardest  Exposure to extreme heat and wildfire smoke together leads to far more cardiac and respiratory hospitalizations than either hazard alone, new research shows. California’s marginalized communities face the highest risks. by Liza Gross, Inside Climate News, Feb 02, 2024
• Heavy use of CO2 removal would trigger high sustainability risks   by Alexandra Deprez, Paul Leadley, Phillip Williamson & Felix Creutzig, Guest Post, Carbon Brief, Feb 2, 2024
• These Are the Climate Grannies. They`ll Do Whatever It Takes to Protect Their Grandchildren  They have the generational wisdom, environmental activism experience, free time—and they're not afraid of getting arrested. by Jessica Kutz, Inside Climate News, Feb 03, 2024
• Government Oppression Of Climate Protesters Is Rampant. Are You Next?  Government can become an instrument of oppression if it is controlled by those who seek to concentrate political power in their own hands by taking it away from others. by Steve Hanley, CleanTechnica, Feb 03, 2024

Published February 4

• 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #05 A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, Jan 28, 2024 thru Sat, Feb 4, 2024. by Bärbel Winkler, Skeptical Science, Feb 04, 2024
• How do you stop a glacier from melting? Simple - put up an underwater curtain  A 100km-long curtain moored to the Amundsen Sea bed in Antarctica could prevent catastrophic flooding elsewhere, say scientists by Robin McKie, The Guardian, Feb 04, 2024

• Policy Experts Say the UN Climate Talks Need Reform, but Change Would be Difficult in the Current Political Landscape  Limiting the size of the annual conference, eliminating conflicts of interest and adopting enforceable agreements with a voting system could help speed up global climate action, research shows. by Bob Berwyn, Inside Climate News, Feb 04, 2024
• Across America, clean energy plants are being banned faster than they're being built   by Elizabeth Weise & Suhail Bha, Investigations, USA TODAY, Feb 4, 2024

Published February 5

• Scientists challenge `flawed communication` of study claiming 1.5C warming breach  Scientists have challenged the conclusions of a new study suggesting that the planet has already exceeded the 1.5C warming threshold set under the Paris Agreement. by Ayesha Tandon, Carbon Brief, Feb 05, 2024
• A primer on atmospheric rivers  Atmospheric rivers are low-level jets of air that flow out of the tropics to the mid-latitudes. They are associated with extratropical cyclone systems.  by Andrew Dessler, The Climate Brink, Feb 05, 2024
• Ask A Glaciologist: This Is What To Do About Climate Change   by Tina Casey, CleanTechnica, Feb 05, 2024

Published February 6

• World `not prepared` for climate disasters after warmest ever January  Effect of El Niño phenomenon combined with human-driven global heating is causing increasing alarm among scientists by Jonathan Watts, The Guardian, Feb 06, 2024
• At a glance - What climate change is happening to other planets in the solar system?  This week's at-a-glance highlight features "What climate change is happening to other planets in the solar system?" by John Mason, Skeptical Science, Feb 06, 2024

• A famous climate scientist is in court with big stakes for attacks on science  In a D.C. courtroom, a trial is wrapping up this week with big stakes for climate science. One of the world's most prominent climate scientists is suing a right-wing author and a policy analyst for defamation. by Julia Simon, NPR, Frebruary 6, 2024
• Climate Information on Trial: Michael Mann`s Defamation Trial Wraps Up  The scientist Michael Mann is challenging attacks on his work in a defamation suit that’s taken 12 years to come to trial. by Delger Erdenesanaa, New York Times, Feb 06, 2024

• How the Oil Industry Indefinitely Delays Cleaning up Oil and Gas Wells in California  New analysis and documents reveal how industry lobbying has fueled a growing idle well crisis.  by Joe Fassler, DeSmog, Feb 06, 2024
• Record hot oceans are causing havoc from California to Chile. Is climate change to blame?   by Dinah Voyles Pulver, Nation, USA TODAY, Feb 6, 2024

Published February 7

• Q&A: European Commission calls for 90% cut in EU emissions by 2040  The EU should cut its emissions to 90% below 1990 levels by 2040, according to a new roadmap released by the European Commission. by Carbon Brief Staff, Carbon Brief, Feb 07, 2024
• New UN weather agency chief says rate of global warming is speeding up   by Seth Borenstein, Climate, AP News, Feb 7, 2024

Published February 8

• Climate Scientist`s Defamation Suit Over Comparison to Molester Goes to the Jury  Michael E. Mann is seeking punitive damages from two conservative bloggers who attacked his work and reputation without evidence.  by Adam M. Lowenstein, DeSmog, Feb 08, 2024
• Brace for impact: The case for Category 6 hurricanes  With climate change supercharging tropical cyclones, should we extend the hurricane rating scale to reflect new risks? by Andrew Dessler, The Climate Brink, Feb 08, 2024
• What to do when you’re completely overwhelmed by climate anxiety  How to act in service of the planet — and your values. by Allie Volpe, Even Better, Vox, Feb 8.2024
• Michael Mann Wins $1 Million Verdict In Defamation Trial  Victory over climate deniers sends a strong message in defense of climate science and scientists.  by Diane Bernard and Adam M. Lowenstein, DeSmog, Feb 08, 2024

• Climate scientist Michael Mann wins defamation case against conservative writers  Mann, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, had sued Rand Simberg, a policy analyst, and Mark Steyn, a right-wing author, for online posts published over a decade ago, respectively, by the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the National Review. by Julia Simon, NPR, Feb 8, 2024
• Canada’s Carbon Emissions Cover-Up  Canada’s carbon footprint is not just a step but a giant leap beyond what’s been claimed. A six-year study pulls back the curtain on the environmental debacle, revealing emissions rates that dwarf industry figures. by Jeremy Appel, Jacobin, Feb 8, 2024

Published February 9

• The Teachers' Guide to Cranky Uncle: Downloads and translations  The Teacher's Guide to Cranky Uncle is now also available in Albanian and Macedonian, thanks to the efforts of the Institute of Communication studies in Skopje! by Bärbel Winkler, Skeptical Science, Feb 9, 2024
• Climate Change Is No Laughing Matter. Or Is It?  Comedians, no strangers to tackling difficult and taboo subjects with humor, are increasingly turning their attention to the climate crisis. by Hilary Howard, NYT > Climate and Environment, Feb 09, 2024

• Critical Atlantic Ocean current system is showing early signs of collapse, prompting warning from scientists   by Laura Paddison, World/Climate, CNN, Feb 9, 2024
• Atlantic Ocean is headed for a tipping point - once melting glaciers shut down the Gulf Stream, we would see extreme climate change within decades, study shows   by René van Westen, Henk A. Dijkstra & Michael Kliphuis, The Conversation, Feb 09, 2024
• New study suggests the Atlantic overturning circulation AMOC "is on tipping course"   by Stefan Rahmstorf, RealClimate, Feb 09, 2024
• Over a decade later, climate scientist prevails in libel case  But the case is not entirely over, as he plans to go after the publishers again. by John Timmer, Ars Technica, Feb 9, 2024

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