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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Another GOP climate science denier enters the 2016 race; And a non-denier jumps in on the Democratic side; Bad news for Big Coal in China; PLUS: Florida’s denier disease is spreading — now officials in Wisconsin barred from work on climate change… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!
Green News Report
with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen
4/14/2015
‘Green News Report’ – April 14, 2015 | With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen... · · · · · ‘Green News Report’ – April 14, 2015 | With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...
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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Climate censorship gains steam in red states; Rapid global warming may be coming sooner than you think; The last time oceans went acidic this fast, 96% of marine life went extinct; Why new study on Arctic permafrost is so scary – it’s the microbes; L.A. mayor envision greener city where people walk and use mass transit; 5 years after BP Oil Spill, Obama Admin proposes new safety rules… PLUS: Republican Wins Award For Believing In Climate Change… and much, MUCH more! …
STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…
- Sen. Marco Rubio, Climate Science Flip-Flopper, Announces Run for President:
- VIDEO: Marco Rubio’s presidential announcement (Yahoo News)
- VIDEO: Marco Rubio Used to Believe in Climate Science. Now He’s Running for President. (Mother Jones):
“Global warming, dependence on foreign sources of fuel, and capitalism have come together to create opportunities for us that were unimaginable just a few short years ago,” he said, in a video recording unearthed by BuzzFeed. Rubio predicted that legal caps on greenhouse gas emissions were inevitable…
- Climate Change Denier Marco Rubio Chose a Drowning City to Announce His Presidential Bid (The New Republic)
- Stages of Denial: The various ways GOP presidential hopefuls do not believe in climate change. (Slate)
- Don’t Let Rand Paul Fool You On Climate Change (Climate Progress
- As Climate Denial Implodes, The Record Will Haunt Politicians (Climate Crocks)
- Polls: Majority of Voters Want Climate Action, Including Latinos:
- Marco Rubio on Climate Change: Latino Electorate Views Climate Change As Threat, Contrasts With Rubio (Latin Post) [emphasis added]:
Polling data conducted by Latino Decisions shows that 9 in 10 U.S. Latinos want the federal government to take action against climate change. Among the nine in 10 Latinos, 68 percent of Republican Latinos considered climate change was important.
- Most Republicans Say They Back Climate Action, Poll Finds (NY Times)
- The Issue That Could Derail Marco Rubio’s Presidential Chances With Latino Voters (Climate Progress)
- Voters want next president to favor climate policies, poll finds (The Hill) [emphasis added]:
Most voters want the next president to favor policies to fight climate change, outnumbering those who want a president who opposes such policies by nearly 2-to-1. The Washington Post-ABC News poll released Friday said that 59 percent want a president who “favors government action to address climate change,” compared with 31 percent who want someone who opposes government action.
- Hillary Clinton, Climate Hawk, Announces Run for President:
- VIDEO: Hillary Clinton’s Presidential Candidacy Announcement (C-SPAN)
- How Does Hillary Match Up With Other Dems On Climate Change? (Climate Progress)
- Here’s What a Hillary Clinton Presidency Would Mean for Global Warming (Mother Jones) [emphasis added]:
Clinton sees climate change as a major threat. But she still wants to boost fossil fuel supplies.
- Bad News for Big Coal in China:
- China’s coal imports fall nearly half in 12 months as anti-pollution drive bites (Guardian UK):
A slowing economy and tougher environmental checks to curb chronic air pollution problems are behind the 42% drop in imports
- China’s Pollution Assault Boosting Solar, Electric Vehicles (Bloomberg)
- China to Cut Coal-Fired Power Prices as Producers’ Costs Fall (Bloomberg)
- Wisconsin: Public Lands Officials Prohbited From Working on Climate Change:
- VIDEO: WI agency bans mention of climate change (MSNBC):
Chris Hayes talks to the only member of the Wisconsin Board of Commissioners of Public Lands to vote against a prohibition on discussion or work related to climate change.
- For Some Wisconsin State Workers, ‘Climate Change’ Isn’t Something You Can Talk About (Bloomberg)
- Wisconsin cutting environmental science, limiting talk of climate change (Ars Technica):
A state board bans talk of climate change; natural resources may cut all science.
‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (Stuff we didn’t have time for in today’s audio report)…
- Republican Wins Award For Believing In Climate Change (Climate Progress):
An incredible feat of “political courage.”
- Nearly 5 Years After BP Spill, White House Proposes New Rules For Offshore Drilling (AP)
- Climate Censorship Gains Steam in Red States (InsideClimate News):
Following Florida’s lead, Wisconsin becomes the latest state to squelch its employees’ words, and work, on a topic Republicans are trying to avoid.
- Rapid global warming may be coming sooner than you think (Mashable) [emphasis added]:
The PDO’s phases are similar in function to a bank’s ATM, with the negative phase allowing for more heat to be deposited in the ocean depths. When the PDO flips to positive, that heat gets withdrawn from the heat savings account, accelerating manmade global warming. When the PDO flips to positive, that heat gets withdrawn from the heat savings account, accelerating manmade global warming.
- Coal is dead: It’s time to accept it: (Motley Fool):
For years, coal supporters have been saying that a turnaround is just around the corner. China’s demand is about to pick up, domestic environmental regulations will be struck down and we’ll fire up coal plants again, or clean coal is here! Let’s face it: Coal is dead, and it’s been a long time coming.
- The Last Time Oceans Got This Acidic This Fast, 96% of Marine Life Went Extinct (Motherboard):
“We are concerned about modern ocean acidification,” she told me in an email. “Although the amount of carbon added to the atmosphere that triggered the mass extinction was probably greater than today’s fossil fuel reserves, the rate at which the carbon was released was at a rate similar to modern emissions.”
- Why This New Study On Arctic Permafrost Is So Scary (Climate Progress):
[A]ccording to the research, permafrost thaw could be accelerating permafrost thaw to a “potentially critical” level….“These are permanent emissions,” he said. “Once you thaw out that material, there’s no way to put that organic matter back into the permafrost “¦ you can’t re-freeze the permafrost.”
- LA Mayor Envisions Greener, More Walkable City in the Future (AP) [emphasis added]:
Los Angeles, known for its cars, smog and sprawl, wants to reinvent itself as the home of electric vehicles, solar panels and bicycle paths. Mayor Eric Garcetti on Wednesday unveiled an ambitious plan to make LA the most sustainable big city in the nation over the next two decades, a place where people ride bikes, board buses and trains, and even walk to get around.
- What Are the Most Endangered Rivers in the US? (Live Science):
“For 6 million years, the Colorado River has gathered fresh snowmelt high in the Rocky Mountains and carried that water south for 1,450 miles (2,300 kilometers). It travels over falls and rapids, through deserts and canyons, all the while providing water to 35 million people and thousands of acres of farmland. But today the river is at risk.
- Rate Of Climate Change To Soar By 2020s, With Arctic Warming 1°F Per Decade (Climate Progress):
New research from a major national lab projects that the rate of climate change, which has risen sharply in recent decades, will soar by the 2020s. This worrisome projection – which has implications for extreme weather, sea level rise, and permafrost melt – is consistent with several recent studies.
- Now’s Your Chance to Help Save the Imperiled Monarch Butterfly-and Get Paid to Do So (Take Part) [emphasis added]:
Another threat, according to Grant, has been well-intentioned individuals who have planted a tropical form of milkweed, which competes with native varieties and is not beneficial to monarchs or other pollinators.
FOR MORE on Climate Science and Climate Change, go to our Green News Report: Essential Background Page
But exactly how bad is still an open question, and a lot depends not only on how we react, but how quickly. The rate at which humans cut down on greenhouse gas emissions–if we do choose to cut them–will have a large bearing on how the world turns out by 2100, the forecasts reveal.
Restraining global warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius will require changing how the world produces and uses energy to power its cities and factories, heats and cools buildings, as well as moves people and goods in airplanes, trains, cars, ships and trucks, according to the IPCC. Changes are required not just in technology, but also in people’s behavior.
We can only recover the climate if we have our democracy back. Please join the movement to STOP Election Theft at Kickstarter. This campaign is raising money for Jonathan Simon, author of CODE RED: Computerized Election Theft and The New American Century to promote his book and message to a wider audience.
Citizens of 196 countries with more than 4,764 ports are in danger of port damage and/or shut down at 3 ft. of sea level rise (SLR).
Jim Hanson says it can happen as early as 2042, others say as early as 2033 (Will This Float Your Boat – 8).
‘Warm blob‘ in Pacific Ocean linked to weird weather across the U.S.