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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Another massive natural gas pipeline explosion in the US; Shoddy construction discovered on southern Keystone XL pipeline; Majority of red-state Americans now accept climate science; PLUS: The continuing and predicted humanitarian disaster of Super Typhoon Haiyan … All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen 11/14/2013

‘Green News Report’ – November 14, 2013  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...   · · · · ·   ‘Green News Report’ – November 14, 2013  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): A carbon tax would cut the deficit by $1 trillion; An innovative bamboo scooter that runs on AIR; 2013 is seventh hottest year; Warsaw talks thrash out UN climate roadmap; Climate deniers must pay $90k; Walmart’s emissions soar despite green talk; Could Carl Sagan have defeated climate denial?; New ‘plastic-eating’ ecosystem discovered in deep ocean; US crushes ivory to stop poaching; CA faces driest year on record … PLUS: The 9 biggest weather disasters in the next 30 Years … and much, MUCH more! …

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…

• VIDEO: Fox’s Heartless Response To The Philippines’ Call For Aid After Typhoon (Media Matters):
  On November 13, Stuart Varney, host of Varney & Co., celebrated Australia’s decision, saying he “do[esn’t] want to pay” to help the Philippines and other developing nations adapt to a rapidly changing climate.
• TX: Another Natural Gas Pipeline Explosion in US:
• VIDEO: Milford to remain evacuated for 24-hour period after gas pipeline explosion (WFAA Dallas)
• Entire town of Milford, Texas, evacuated after fiery pipeline explosion (LA Times)
• Shoddy Construction Discovered on Southern Keystone XL Pipeline:
• Report: Construction Problems Raise Questions About Integrity of Pipeline [PDF] (Public Citizen.org)
• VIDEO: New warnings of potential problems with Keystone pipeline (CBS News):
  CBS News has obtained warning letters written over the past two months to TransCanada from the federal agency that regulates pipelines. A September 10 letter warned TransCanada it was “not following their Construction Specifications” because “dents on the pipe” were found at dig sites with “rocky terrain.” And in a second warning, regulators noted a “high weld rejection rate” on a section in which 205 welds — nearly 50 percent — required repairs. The letter said TransCanada “failed to use properly qualified welders.”
• Keystone XL Study Warns of Defective Segments on Pipeline’s Southern Leg (Inside Climate News):
  Report by advocates says at least 125 sections on the southern portion of the Keystone have had to be repaired. Expert says concerns exaggerated.
• Super Typhoon Haiyan: Humanitarian Disaster, Climate Warning:
• Desperate Philippine typhoon survivors loot, dig up water pipes (Reuters)
• Haiyan Foretells Challenges for Military in Warming World (Climate Central):
  Although the humanitarian deployment is nothing new for the Pentagon, it foreshadows what many national security experts — including the Navy’s top Pacific commander — see as an increasingly challenging role for the U.S. as global warming influences the power and destructiveness of storms via warming and rising seas.
• VIDEO: US Pacific Commander Warns Climate Change #1 Security Threat (Asia Society)
• Chief of US Pacific forces calls climate biggest worry (Boston Globe) [emphasis added]:
  America’s top military officer in charge of monitoring hostile actions by North Korea, escalating tensions between China and Japan, and a spike in computer attacks traced to China provides an unexpected answer when asked what is the biggest long-term security threat in the Pacific region: climate change.
• Climate Change Is the Biggest Threat in the Pacific, Says Top U.S. Admiral (Wired)
• VIDEO: US Military Arrives As Victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines Desperate for Assistance (ABC News)
• VIDEO: Typhoon Haiyan: US carrier boosts Philippines relief effort (BBC News)
• Why Typhoon Haiyan Caused So Much Damage (NPR)
• Philippine typhoon: Tales of heartbreak, courage; hunger, anarchy (LA Times)
• Super Typhoon Haiyan: A Hint of What’s to Come? (Climate Central)
• Majority of Red-State Americans Accept Climate Change Science:
• Majority of red-state Americans believe climate change is real, study shows (Guardian UK):
  A vast majority of red-state Americans believe climate change is real and at least two-thirds of those want the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions, new research revealed on Wednesday….the research found 87% of Oklahomans and 84% of Texans accepted that climate change was occurring… 76% of Americans in both states also believed the government should step in to limit greenhouse gas emissions produced by industry….at least 62% of Americans in favour of action cutting greenhouse gas emissions from plants.
• Syper Typhoon Haiyan at UN Climate Treaty Talks:
• Typhoon in Philippines Casts Long Shadow Over U.N. Talks on Climate Treaty (NY Times)
• Wasaw COP19: Highlights for Thursday, 14 November 2013 (International Institute for Sustainable Development)
• US fears climate talks will focus on compensation for extreme weather (Guardian UK)
• VIDEO: Tearful Speech by Climate Change representative Yeb Sano to the UN after typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda (Frequency.com)


• “It’s time to stop this madness” – Transcript of Remarks by Philippines Chief Negotiator at UN climate talks (RTCC)

‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (Stuff we didn’t have time for in today’s audio report)…

• VIDEO: 9 biggest weather disasters in the next 30 Years: Jeff Masters (TEDx Talks):
  One year before Hurricane Sandy, Jeff Masters from Weather Underground predicts 9 weather disasters that could strike the United States in the next 30 years. Number 6 on his list (Sandy) happened. What are the other 8 disasters, and what can we do to prepare?
• 2013 is seventh hottest year, rising seas worsen typhoon (Reuters)
• Warsaw Talks to Thrash Out UN Climate Roadmap (Scientific American): The costs of reducing emissions may be flash points along the path toward a 2015 Paris treaty
• VIDEO: This innovative bamboo scooter runs on air (Grist):
  The EcoMoto was an Australian industrial design student’s third-year design project “aimed at developing a concept motorbike built around a compressed air powered engine.” As Darby Bicheno explains in his deep Australian accent, the air-powered engine is quiet and capable, perfect for short city trips. As long as the air compressor you use to fill the tank is powered by renewable energy, it’s pretty dang green.
• A Carbon Tax Would Cut The Deficit By $1 Trillion (Climate Progress):
  A carbon tax of $25 per ton of emissions would cut the deficit by $1 trillion over a decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
• Climate Deniers Must Pay $90,000 For ‘Not Acting Reasonably,’ Court Rules (Climate Progress):
  A New Zealand group dedicated to downplaying the existence of climate change has been ordered to pay close to $90,000 in court fees for bringing a “faulty” lawsuit that had sought to invalidate data that proved the country’s temperatures were on the rise.
• Low prices, high carbon: Walmart’s emissions soar despite green talk (Grist): The mega-retailer has been bragging for years about its sustainability initiatives, but its carbon footprint just keeps getting bigger.
• Could Carl Sagan have defeated climate denial? (Grist): Celebrating the great science communicator … while being realistic about how much things have changed since the days of the Cosmos series.
• MAP: What Our Coastline Will Look Like After We Melt All The World’s Ice (Climate Progress):
  The best science suggests that on our current CO2 emissions path, by 2100 we could well pass the tipping point that would make 200+ feet of sea level rise all but unstoppable – though it would certainly take a long time after 2100 for the full melt-out to actually occur.
• Look What’s Slowing Down Global Warming (Mother Jones):
  The recent slowdown in global temperature increases is partially the result of one of the few successful international crackdowns on greenhouse gases. Back in 1988, more than 40 countries, including the US, signed the Montreal Protocol, an agreement to phase out the use of ozone-depleting gases like chlorofluorocarbons (today the Protocol has nearly 200 signatories).
  …
  “The recent decrease in warming, presented by global warming skeptics as proof that humankind cannot affect the climate system, is shown to have a direct human origin.”
• Look who’s eating your plastic now: A whole unprecedented ecosystem (Grist):
  We already knew that barnacles, lanternfish, and whales have been gobbling up plastic. It turns out that the problem is even bigger than we thought — because it is much, much smaller. Welcome to the “plastisphere,” the tiny plastic-based ecosystem developing within the world’s oceans.
• U.S. crushes ivory to save elephants from extinction (SF Gate):
  The ivory crush in Denver, which was temporarily postponed by the government shutdown, is intended to “send a message to ivory traffickers and their customers that the United States will not tolerate this illegal trade.”
• As Climate Warms American West, Iconic Trout In Jeopardy (NPR)
• California on course for driest year on record (SF Gate
• “Pandora’s Promise”?: Myths And Facts About Nuclear Power (Media Matters) [emphasis added]:
  Media coverage of nuclear power often suggests that environmentalists are illogically blocking the expansion of a relatively safe, low-carbon energy source. However, in reality, economic barriers to nuclear power — even after decades of subsidies — have prevented the expansion of nuclear power.
• Why we don’t care about saving our grandchildren from climate change: (TIME’s Eco-Centric Blog) [emphasis added]:
  A new study shows that human beings are too selfish to endure present pain to avert future climate change. That’s why we need win-win solutions now….The Nature Climate Change study also underscores why “win-win” climate policies – like innovation investments that can lead directly to cheap clean energy, rather than policies that make dirty energy more expensive – are likely to be the most effective ones.

FOR MORE on Climate Science and Climate Change, go to our Green News Report: Essential Background Page

• Video Proof That Global Warming is a ‘Hoax’!: NASA Temperature Data 1888-2011 (The BRAD BLOG):



• NASA climate change video: This is the U.S. in 2100 (NASA).