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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Cooler weather slows growth of Canada's catastrophic oil sands region fire; U.S. officials warn Western snowpack is melting at record speed; Mobil Oil CEO tried to warn of climate change back in 1982; PLUS: More conservative Republican voters accept climate change than ever before (Don't tell Donald Trump!)... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Exxon scrambles to contain climate crusade; Germany just generated 90 percent of the power it needs from renewables; Fact-checking Trump's vow to create Appalachian coal jobs; Watch global warming heat up over 166 years; SolarCity unveils new software services for utilities, grid operators; Children in farm communities pay a steep price for the food we eat... PLUS: New record set for world's cheapest solar, now undercutting coal... and much, MUCH more! ...

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY'S 'GREEN NEWS REPORT'...

• VIDEO: Scientists Aren't Just 'F*cking With You': Jimmy Kimmel Takes On Sarah Palin's Climate Denial (Climate Progress) [emphasis added]:
  
  "[T]the idea that she knows more than 97 percent of scientists is offensive and dangerous," Kimmel said. "No matter what Sarah Palin and these geniuses she surrounds herself with try to tell you, climate change is not a liberal versus conservative thing, but the people who profit from ignoring it want you to believe it is."
• Massive wildfire one of costliest natural disasters in Canadian history:
• Live Blog: Breaking updates on the Fort McMurray wildfire (CBC)
• Canada Fort McMurray: Leader says 90% of city survived (BBC)
• Inside Fort McMurray: First escorted media tour of the fire-ravaged city (CTV)
• Inside fire-ravaged Fort McMurray: Utter devastation, glimmers of hope (CNN)
• Fort McMurray wildfire could burn for months and be Canada's costliest natural disaster (The Independent)
• Here's the Climate Context For the Fort McMurray Wildfire (Climate Central) [emphasis added]:
  
  As the planet continues to warm, these types of fires will likely only become more common and intense as spring snowpack disappears and temperatures warm...Temperatures soared into the low 90s - up to 40°F (22°C) above normal for this time of year - coupled with high winds helped fan the flames late that afternoon.
• Alberta's aging forests increase risk of 'catastrophic fires': 2012 report (Edmonton Journal):
  
  “Wildfire suppression has significantly reduced the area burned in Alberta’s boreal forest. However, due to reduced wildfire activity, forests of Alberta are aging, which ultimately changes ecosystems and is beginning to increase the risk of large and potentially costly catastrophic wildfires.”
• Western snowpack melting at 'record speed':
• Western U.S. Snowpack Melting At Record Speed (Capitol Radio):
  
  [S]nowpack, from Washington to Wyoming, is melting so quickly, flooding is a possibility in some areas. "Most areas saw major decreases in snowpack during April and are now below normal," according to the NRCS May 2016 Western Snowpack and Water Supply Conditions report.
• Record breaking snowmelt reported in April (Helena, MT Independent Record)
• Warm Weather Drives Record Snowmelt, Fuels Fire Concerns (Flathead Beacon)
• Western Snowpack and Water Supply Conditions, May 2016 [PDF] (USDA National Water and Climate Center)
• Poll: More Americans than ever accept climate change:
• AUDIO: 'BradCast' 5/5/2016: Are Republican Voters Finally 'Warming Up' to Climate Change Science? (BRAD BLOG)
• Trump Calls Climate Change A Hoax. His Backers? Not So Much. (Miami Herald):
  
  Backers of a President Donald Trump, who once called climate change a “con job,” may beg to differ with their leader.
• Global Warming and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election (Yale University)
• Majority Of Trump Voters Believe Global Warming Is Real, Poll Finds (Huffington Post)
• Many More Republicans Now Believe in Climate Change; Poll shows a big leap from two years ago (Scientific American)
• Exxon Knew - And So Did Mobil Oil's CEO, back in 1982:
• Mobil's Chief Executive Warned of CO2 From Oil Sands Fuels in 1982 (InsideClimate News):
  
  The CEO of Mobil Corporation warned in 1982 that burning Canadian oil sands fuels could lead to a buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with calamitous effects. His concerns provide further evidence that oil industry executives were aware of the climate impact of their products decades ago, and of the dangers of exploiting unconventional reserves with a higher carbon footprint.
• CO2's Role in Global Warming Has Been on the Oil Industry's Radar Since the 1960s (InsideClimate News)
• Koch Brothers' Political Activism Protects Their 50-Year Stake in Canadian Heavy Oils (InsideClimate News, May 2012)

'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (Stuff we didn't have time for in today's audio report)...

• Exxon scrambles to contain climate crusade (Politico):
  
  A green campaign to make the company pay for climate change is besieging the oil industry and its conservative allies.
• The 4th Largest Economy In The World Just Generated 90 Percent Of The Power It Needs From Renewables (Climate Progress):
  
  On Sunday, for a brief, shining moment, renewable power output in Germany reached 90 percent of the country’s total electricity demand. That’s a big deal. On May 8th, at 11 a.m. local time, the total output of German solar, wind, hydropower, and biomass reached 55 gigawatts (GW), just short of the 58 GW consumed by every light bulb, washing machine, water heater and personal computer humming away on Sunday morning.
• AP FACT CHECK: Trump's Vow To Create Appalachian Coal Jobs (AP):
  
  Donald Trump says he would bring back lost coal-mining jobs, and he is positioning for the November election in big coal states by portraying Hillary Clinton as a job killer. Trump, however, has yet to explain exactly how he will revitalize Appalachia's coal industry.
• This Animation Lets You Watch Global Warming Heat Up Over 166 Years (Slate):
  
  When it comes to climate change, it’s often difficult to convey an appropriate sense of urgency. After all, this is a problem that been building for decades, and will take decades of coordinated effort to solve...Still, something especially troubling is happening at a planetary scale this year. Using data from the U.K. Met Office’s Hadley Centre, Ed Hawkins, a climate scientist at the University of Reading, constructed an affecting animation...
• SolarCity unveils new software services for utilities, grid operators (Utility Dive):
  
  The company says its new software platform can turn a utility-scale solar project with energy storage into a dispatchable resource, providing high-return capacity services and helping utilities avoid capacity charges and manage demand peaks more cost-effectively than traditional generation.
• CA Gov. Jerry Brown Orders Permanent Water Conservation Measures (Capitol Radio):
  
  Brown's order on Monday came as water officials considering whether to ease a 20 percent conservation order for cities and towns. The order does not set a mandatory percentage for saving water.
• Wildfires, Once Confined to a Season, Burn Earlier and Longer (NY Times):
  
  Fires, once largely confined to a single season, have become a continual threat in some places, burning earlier and later in the year, in the United States and abroad. They have ignited in the West during the winter and well into the fall, have arrived earlier than ever in Canada and have burned without interruption in Australia for almost 12 months...A leading culprit is climate change.
• New Record Set for World's Cheapest Solar, Now Undercutting Coal (Bloomberg):
  
  The lowest priced solar power has plunged almost 50 percent in the past year. Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power International set a record in January 2015 by offering to build a portion of the same Dubai solar park for power priced at 5.85 cents per kilowatt-hour. Records were subsequently set in Peru and Mexico before Dubai reclaimed its mantel as purveyor of the world’s cheapest solar power.
• Army Corps Rejects Permit For Coal Terminal At Cherry Point (Bellingham Herald):
  
  The proposed coal terminal for Cherry Point is likely dead after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied a needed permit Monday, May 9.
• Sanders and Clinton Court West Virginians Hit Hard by Coal’s Decline (NY Times):
  
  With West Virginia’s economy battered by a coal industry in free fall, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is hoping that a strong showing in this state’s Democratic primary on Tuesday will keep him a force in the party’s politics by showing that his message still resonates, even though his rival, Hillary Clinton, has an almost insurmountable lead in delegates.
• Bison Officially Designated As National Mammal Of U.S. (Reuters):
  
  North America's bison, a living emblem of the Western frontier that roamed the continent by the millions before being hunted to near extinction in the late 1800s, was officially designated on Monday as the national mammal of the United States.
• Children in Farm Communities Pay a Steep Price for the Food We Eat (Civil Eats):
  
  The evidence linking pesticide exposure to childhood cancers and learning and behavioral problems has grown increasingly strong.
• In Flint Crisis, Questions Grow Over Quest For Pipeline (AP):
  
  After months of national attention on lead-tainted drinking water in Flint, many are starting to ask questions about a 74-mile pipeline being built from Lake Huron to the struggling former auto manufacturing powerhouse.
• Florida Dredging Would Cut Path Across Corals in ‘Crisis' (Climate Central):
  
  As America’s only barrier reefs bleach, dissolve and succumb to disease, experts worry that a $320 million plan to expand oil and cargo shipments through Florida’s corals could worsen flooding and threaten ecosystems crucial to fisheries and tourism businesses.
• Yosemite National Park, Brought To You By Starbucks? (Washington Post):
  
  A Coca-Cola Visitor Center will still be off-limits, but an auditorium at Yosemite National Park named after Coke will now be permitted. Naming rights to roads are not up for grabs, but visitors could tour Bryce Canyon in a bus wrapped in the Michelin Man.
• OPEC Set to Hold Fast on Policy Following Saudi Oil Minister’s Exit (Wall St. Journal):
  
  The dismissal of Ali al-Naimi as Saudi Arabia’s oil minister puts the country’s deputy crown prince firmly in control of energy policy and makes an agreement to freeze oil production less likely when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets next month, OPEC officials said.
• CA Coastal Commission Pushed Scientists To Change Views On Big Project (LA Times):
  
  The future of the Newport Banning Ranch site, where developers want to build a hotel and hundreds of homes, now rests with the California Coastal Commission — which is engaged in its own struggle for identity.
• Want to fight climate change? Here are the 7 critical life changes you should make (Grist) [emphasis added]:
  
  So, given the imperfections of this world, what is a lone wolf such as yourself to do? Here are some conclusions gleaned from this study: 1. Buy the most fuel-efficient car you can afford, then drive it as little as possible....

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

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

                 

Article Categories: CNN, California, Alaska, Environment, Republicans, Green News, Donald Trump, Canada, Oil, Climate change, Extreme weather, Election 2016, Exxon Mobil