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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: The March for Science was a global success on 7 continents; What’s next? Recruiting scientists to run for elected office; Earth hits a milestone in rising CO2; PLUS: Britain hits its own milestone — its first full day without coal since the 1880s… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen 4/25/2017

‘Green News Report’ – April 25, 2017  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...   · · · · ·   ‘Green News Report’ – April 25, 2017  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): There Is No Conflict Between Creating Jobs and Protecting the Environment; Sea Level Rise Threat Estimate Doubled Due to Extreme Arctic Melt; An Old Rock Could Lead To ‘Next Generation’ Solar Cells; The nation is immersed in its warmest period in recorded history; The effects of climate change will force millions to migrate; The Fingerprints of Global Warming on Extreme Weather; EPA Budget Cuts Will Severely Affect Environmental Justice Communities; The Saga of North Carolina’s Contaminated Water; How a sewer will save St. Louis… PLUS: China, India Become Climate Leaders as West Falters…. and much, MUCH more! …

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

• March for Science was a global success:
• March for Science puts Earth Day focus on global opposition to Trump (Guardian UK):
  More than 600 marches held as organizers say science ‘under attack’
• Marching For Climate While Black (Rev. Lenox Yearwood, Huffington Post):
  [T]he deeply disappointing truth of this Earth Day case of racial profiling, was that none of my fellow science marchers stopped or took issue with what was happening.
• Here Are Some of the Best Signs From the March for Science (Slate)
• VIDEO: Former MythBusters Host: I’m Marching Because “We Need To Make Policies Based On The Best Evidence” (Media Matters)
• VIDEO: Scientists to march on Washington to protest ‘alternative facts’: (VOA News):
  “This is pretty remarkable and unprecedented,” said geochemist Eric Davidson…”I can’t think of another example where scientists have organized themselves in as many cities with an event as big as this,” he said.
• Getting Scientists out of the Lab and Into the Street Is Harder Than It Sounds (Mother Jones)
• Corporate media covered March for Science, but forgot by Sunday morning:
• Networks Covering March For Science Provided Platform For Climate Deniers (Media Matters):
  The April 22 edition of CNN’s New Day Saturday featured a guest panel discussing the marches that included Bill Nye the Science Guy and physicist William Happer, a climate change denier.
• Sunday News Shows Mostly Silent On March For Science, Perpetuating The Dearth Of Coverage On Climate Change (Media Matters):
  ABC’s This Week, CBS’ Face the Nation, and NBC’s Meet the Press failed to mention the March for Science at all, according to a Media Matters review. CNN’s State of the Union only had a brief headline about the demonstrations, and Fox Broadcasting Co.’s Fox News Sunday only dedicated about one and a half minutes to the story.
• What’s Next? Scientists running for elected office:
• 314 Action: (314Action.org)
• VIDEO: Shaughnessy Naughton of 314 Action on efforts to help scientists gear up to run for office [@ 7:09] (PBS Newshour)
• PBS NewsHour Highlights Scientists Taking To The Streets And Running For Office To Protect Their Work (Media Matters)
• Tens of thousands marched for science. Now what? (Washington Post):
  organizers say they aim to build a new science advocacy network and establish programs to better engage the public with science. “We intend to symbolically keep marching,” said national co-chair Valerie Aquino. “I would love for the March for Science to continue growing into a global movement.”
• EMILY’s List puts Shaughnessy Naughton “On the List” (EMILY’s List)
• Planet passes symbolic milestone of 410ppm atmospheric CO2:
• We Just Breached the 410 Parts Per Million Threshold (Climate Central):
  It stood at 280 ppm when record keeping began at Mauna Loa in 1958. In 2013, it passed 400 ppm. Just four years later, the 400 ppm mark is no longer a novelty. It’s the norm…”Its pretty depressing that it’s only a couple of years since the 400 ppm milestone was toppled,” Gavin Foster, a paleoclimate researcher at the University of Southampton told Climate Central last month…”The rate of increase will go down when emissions decrease,” Pieter Tans, an atmospheric scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said. “But carbon dioxide will still be going up, albeit more slowly. Only when emissions are cut in half will atmospheric carbon dioxide level off initially.”
• The Earth just reached a CO2 level not seen in 3 million years (Climate Progress):
  Since measurements began in the 1950s at Mauna Loa, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased 42 percent increase from pre-industrial levels. Children born today will likely never live in a world with levels below 400 parts per million.
• Britain’s first day without coal:
• British power generation achieves first ever coal-free day (Guardian UK):
  National Grid hails milestone as other sources like gas, nuclear, wind and solar allow UK to keep lights on with all coal-fired powerplants offline…Coal has seen significant declines in recent years, accounting for just 9% of electricity generation in 2016, down from around 23% the year before, as coal plants closed or switched to burning biomass such as wood pellets. Britain’s last coal power station will be forced to close in 2025, as part of a government plan to phase out the fossil fuel to meet its climate change commitments.
• Britain just had its first coal-free day since the Industrial Revolution (Wired UK)
• For First Time Since 1800s, Britain Goes a Day Without Burning Coal for Electricity (NY Times)
• Europe’s coal-fired power plants are shutting much faster than predicted (Bloomberg):
  After centuries of use, coal burning may disappear in a decade.

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

For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Daily Headlines page

• There Is No Conflict Between Creating Jobs and Protecting the Environment (Washington Monthly):
  Conservative philosophy takes for granted that the only legitimate jobs are private sector, of course, but it would be a mistake to grant the conceit. Government doesn’t exist in order to steal from people for its own benefit. It exists in order to provide essential communal services that the free market either will not pay for, or will not provide to enough people to avert humanitarian disaster.
• Extreme Arctic Melt Is Raising Sea Level Rise Threat; Estimate Doubled (Inside Cliamte News):
  Global sea level rise could happen at nearly twice the rate previously projected by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, even under the best scenario, according to a new report.
• Renewables: An Old Rock Could Lead To ‘Next Generation’ Solar Cells (E&E News):
  After a 170-year delay, the discovery of a strange, metallic-looking rock found in the Ural Mountains in Russia in 1839 has ignited a global technology race for a cheaper, more efficient solar cell. It could seriously disrupt the world’s solar market, currently dominated by China.
• The nation is immersed in its warmest period in recorded history (Washington Post):
  The U.S. is enduring a stretch of abnormally warm weather unsurpassed in the record books, and it shows no immediate sign of ending.
• The effects of climate change will force millions to migrate. Here’s what this means for human security. (Washington Post):
  To look at these issues in depth, the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University convened a working group on human migration and climate change. ISD’s April 2017 report, “New Challenges to Human Security: Environmental Change and Human Mobility,” brings together analysis and discussion from experts on climate change, resource management, migration, foreign policy and national security, and included government and nongovernmental organization policymakers and foreign policy practitioners.
• China, India Become Climate Leaders as West Falters (Climate Central):
  In the Western hemisphere, where centuries of polluting fossil fuel use have created comfortable lifestyles, the fight against warming has faltered largely due to the rise of far-right political groups and nationalist movements. As numerous rich countries have foundered, India and China have emerged as global leaders in tackling global warming.
• The Fingerprints of Global Warming on Extreme Weather (Climate Central):
  The idea behind extreme event attribution studies is to gain a better handle on how warming is changing the risk of different types of extreme weather in different areas. Because extremes have some of the biggest impacts on people, infrastructure and the economy, understanding how those risks are changing can help government officials and businesses better plan for the future.
• EPA Budget Cuts Will Severely Affect Environmental Justice Communities (Common Dreams):
  “The EPA is important to me because I live in an industrialized community,” said Kelley, who won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2011. “The EPA has been an authority that can really reduce air toxins that we’re exposed to. The state of Texas is very friendly to industry, and the EPA is like that big brother we can go to when there’s a major issue in our town.”
• The Saga of North Carolina’s Contaminated Water (The Atlantic):
  The state’s GOP leadership tried to make the state more business-friendly. Now residents are saying their water isn’t safe to drink…”It’s like our state is deaf, and the only voice they can hear is Duke Energy.”
• How a sewer will save St. Louis: (Politico Magazine):
  According to an Environmental Protection Agency report, just at the nation’s major beaches—a small portion of the country’s swimming areas—about 3,500 to 5,000 Americans a year get sick because of sewage-contaminated water.
• Trump’s latest gift to the coal industry might be illegal (Climate Progress):
  The Department of Interior has stayed a rule that would enforce royalty payments for coal mined on public lands.
• US EPA Confirms Continuity of Open Data Service beyond 28-Apr-2017 (Medium):
  The US Government’s largest civilian linked open data web service has been confirmed by EPA to remain operational beyond Friday 28-April 2017, pending Congress approving a C.R. or budget.
• Some Sea Creatures May Already Be Dissolving in Our Acidifying Oceans (Pacific Standard):
  The most troubling element of this finding: The conditions to which the researchers exposed the lab-grown colonies exist already off the coast of California.
• Texas chooses the fossil fuel CEO behind Dakota Access to guard its parks and wildlife (Climate Progress):
  Dallas billionaire and longtime pipeline exec Kelcy Warren was appointed by Gov. Abbott.
• A beginner’s guide to the debate over 100% renewable energy (Vox):
  Clean-energy enthusiasts frequently claim that we can go bigger, that it’s possible for the whole world to run on renewables – we merely lack the “political will.” So, is it true? Do we know how get to an all-renewables system? Not yet. Not really.
• Analysis: Just four years left of the 1.5C carbon budget (Carbon Brief):
  Four years of current emissions would be enough to blow what’s left of the carbon budget for a good chance of keeping global temperature rise to 1.5C.
• No country on Earth is taking the 2 degree climate target seriously (Vox):
  If we mean what we say, no more new fossil fuels, anywhere.

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).